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A historical overview on mRNA vaccine development
No full textThe rapid development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 was made possible by the cumulative knowledge and advancements across multiple scientific fields. This chapter aims to explain the key milestones on the journey toward safe and effective mRNA vaccine products and covers three main aspects: (i) the discovery, in vitro production, and optimization of mRNA as a therapeutic modality, (ii) the search for a suitable vehicle that could enable the efficient and safe delivery of intact mRNA inside cells, with an emphasis on the development of the LNP technology, and (iii) the clinical progress of mRNA vaccines starting with the first proof-of-concept studies that demonstrated the rationale of using mRNA for vaccination, followed by how mRNA vaccine design clinically evolved over more than two decades of development.The rapid development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 was made possible by the cumulative knowledge and advancements across multiple scientific fields. This chapter aims to explain the key milestones on the journey toward safe and effective mRNA vaccine products and covers three main aspects: (i) the discovery, in vitro production, and optimization of mRNA as a therapeutic modality, (ii) the search for a suitable vehicle that could enable the efficient and safe delivery of intact mRNA inside cells, with an emphasis on the development of the LNP technology, and (iii) the clinical progress of mRNA vaccines starting with the first proof-of-concept studies that demonstrated the rationale of using mRNA for vaccination, followed by how mRNA vaccine design clinically evolved over more than two decades of development.B
Announcement of consensus conference on definitions of artificial intelligence for the next generation of surgeons
No full textThis editorial announces the need for a consensus conference on definitions of surgical nomenclature, which is evolving due to the introduction of non-human (hardware, software) devices and applications, including robotics. A recently created entity, the Artificial Intelligence Organization for Next Generation Surgeons (AIONS), comprised primarily of AIS editorial board members, has proposed updated definitions on the following terms: surgery, endoluminal surgery, percutaneous surgery, robots, robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), remote surgery, artificial intelligence surgery (AIS), robotic surgery, surgomics, non-invasive surgery. These definitions will be discussed during a Consensus Conference on Definitions of Artificial Intelligence, Surgery, Surgomics and Robotics, which is scheduled for February 12, 2025.This editorial announces the need for a consensus conference on definitions of surgical nomenclature, which is evolving due to the introduction of non-human (hardware, software) devices and applications, including robotics. A recently created entity, the Artificial Intelligence Organization for Next Generation Surgeons (AIONS), comprised primarily of AIS editorial board members, has proposed updated definitions on the following terms: surgery, endoluminal surgery, percutaneous surgery, robots, robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), remote surgery, artificial intelligence surgery (AIS), robotic surgery, surgomics, non-invasive surgery. These definitions will be discussed during a Consensus Conference on Definitions of Artificial Intelligence, Surgery, Surgomics and Robotics, which is scheduled for February 12, 2025.
DiatOmicBase: a versatile gene‐centered platform for mining functional omics data in diatom research
No full textDiatoms are prominent microalgae found in all aquatic environments. Over the last 20 years, thanks to the availability of genomic and genetic resources, diatom species such as Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana have emerged as valuable experimental model systems for exploring topics ranging from evolution to cell biology, (eco)physiology, and biotechnology. Since the first genome sequencing projects initiated more than 20 years ago, numerous genome-enabled datasets have been generated, based on RNA-Seq and proteomics experiments, epigenomes, and ecotype variant analysis. Unfortunately, these resources, generated by various laboratories, are often in disparate formats and challenging to access and analyze. Here we present DiatOmicBase, a genome portal gathering comprehensive omics resources from P. tricornutum and T. pseudonana to facilitate the exploration of dispersed public datasets and the design of new experiments based on the prior-art. DiatOmicBase provides gene annotations, transcriptomic profiles and a genome browser with ecotype variants, histone and methylation marks, transposable elements, non-coding RNAs, and read densities from RNA-Seq experiments. We developed a semi-automatically updated transcriptomic module to explore both publicly available RNA-Seq experiments and users' private datasets. Using gene-level expression data, users can perform exploratory data analysis, differential expression, pathway analysis, biclustering, and co-expression network analysis. Users can create heatmaps to visualize pre-computed comparisons for selected gene subsets. Automatic access to other bioinformatic resources and tools for diatom comparative and functional genomics is also provided. Focusing on the resources currently centralized for P. tricornutum, we showcase several examples of how DiatOmicBase strengthens molecular research on diatoms, making these organisms accessible to a broad research community.Diatoms are prominent microalgae found in all aquatic environments. Over the last 20 years, thanks to the availability of genomic and genetic resources, diatom species such as Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana have emerged as valuable experimental model systems for exploring topics ranging from evolution to cell biology, (eco)physiology, and biotechnology. Since the first genome sequencing projects initiated more than 20 years ago, numerous genome-enabled datasets have been generated, based on RNA-Seq and proteomics experiments, epigenomes, and ecotype variant analysis. Unfortunately, these resources, generated by various laboratories, are often in disparate formats and challenging to access and analyze. Here we present DiatOmicBase, a genome portal gathering comprehensive omics resources from P. tricornutum and T. pseudonana to facilitate the exploration of dispersed public datasets and the design of new experiments based on the prior-art. DiatOmicBase provides gene annotations, transcriptomic profiles and a genome browser with ecotype variants, histone and methylation marks, transposable elements, non-coding RNAs, and read densities from RNA-Seq experiments. We developed a semi-automatically updated transcriptomic module to explore both publicly available RNA-Seq experiments and users' private datasets. Using gene-level expression data, users can perform exploratory data analysis, differential expression, pathway analysis, biclustering, and co-expression network analysis. Users can create heatmaps to visualize pre-computed comparisons for selected gene subsets. Automatic access to other bioinformatic resources and tools for diatom comparative and functional genomics is also provided. Focusing on the resources currently centralized for P. tricornutum, we showcase several examples of how DiatOmicBase strengthens molecular research on diatoms, making these organisms accessible to a broad research community.
Narrative loops and climate futures : a form for uncertain times
No full textCross-fertilizing narrative theory and work in the environmental humanities, this article argues that the loop as a narrative form holds special significance vis-à-vis the imagining of climate change in contemporary fiction. More specifically, the loop captures the uncertainty and moral stakes of climate change as a planetary event that affirms human societies’ entanglement with the nonhuman but also disrupts their projection into a stable future. The starting point is Jesse Kellerman's time loop narrative Controller, which presents the reader with three alternative scenarios focusing on a man and his elderly mother. The discussion then turns to two novels (Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods and Jeff VanderMeer's Dead Astronauts) in which looping structures are more localized but nevertheless color the reader's interpretation of a dystopian situation. In both works, looping structures are deployed in conjunction with metafictional devices that hint at a way out of the loop. However, the loop remains unbroken in diegetic terms. Finally, the article turns to Hanya Yanagihara's novel To Paradise, arguing that its preoccupation with ethical entanglement with regard to climate disaster takes a loop-like form through the unexplained return of textual elements (e.g., the characters’ names) across the book's three parts.Cross-fertilizing narrative theory and work in the environmental humanities, this article argues that the loop as a narrative form holds special significance vis-à-vis the imagining of climate change in contemporary fiction. More specifically, the loop captures the uncertainty and moral stakes of climate change as a planetary event that affirms human societies’ entanglement with the nonhuman but also disrupts their projection into a stable future. The starting point is Jesse Kellerman's time loop narrative Controller, which presents the reader with three alternative scenarios focusing on a man and his elderly mother. The discussion then turns to two novels (Jeanette Winterson's The Stone Gods and Jeff VanderMeer's Dead Astronauts) in which looping structures are more localized but nevertheless color the reader's interpretation of a dystopian situation. In both works, looping structures are deployed in conjunction with metafictional devices that hint at a way out of the loop. However, the loop remains unbroken in diegetic terms. Finally, the article turns to Hanya Yanagihara's novel To Paradise, arguing that its preoccupation with ethical entanglement with regard to climate disaster takes a loop-like form through the unexplained return of textual elements (e.g., the characters’ names) across the book's three parts.A
Susceptibility of mammals to highly pathogenic avian influenza : a qualitative risk assessment from the Belgian perspective
No full textAimsThe world experienced a huge number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in birds, which could represent one of the largest registered epidemics of infectious disease in food-producing animals. Therefore, mammals, including humans, are continuously exposed to HPAI viruses leading to sporadic and sometimes unusual mammal infections. The aim of this paper is to assess the risk of crossing the avian/mammalian species barrier by the currently circulating HPAI viruses, focusing on the epidemiological situation of Belgium, a representative country for Western Europe.Methods and ResultsInformation on transmission pathways and species susceptibility, based on the experimental and epidemiological data, was reviewed and weighted to assess the risk of mammal infection with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses of the circulating clade 2.3.4.4b. This risk is defined as the likelihood of mammal infection by birds crossed by the clinical consequences of this infection for this animal. From the Belgian perspective, it is concluded that this risk remains 'low' to 'moderate' for captive/domestic mammal species. However, this risk was categorised as 'high' for certain species, i.e. mammals that have the opportunity to have frequent direct or indirect close contacts with infected (dead) birds, such as wild felids, wild mustelids, foxes and wild marine carnivore mammals. For some mammal species, the uncertainty associated with the assessment remains high due to an ever-changing situation.ConclusionsThe longer the virus will continue to circulate in wildlife/the environment the stronger the probability of contact between infected birds and mammals will become. This will increase the related risk of viral adaptation for efficient transmission between mammal, posing concerns for public health. Regular reassessments based on the field and experimental data are therefore necessary to implement and adapt risk-based mitigation measures. This will require continuous monitoring of avian influenza viruses in both birds and mammals as well as sharing of sequence data.AimsThe world experienced a huge number of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in birds, which could represent one of the largest registered epidemics of infectious disease in food-producing animals. Therefore, mammals, including humans, are continuously exposed to HPAI viruses leading to sporadic and sometimes unusual mammal infections. The aim of this paper is to assess the risk of crossing the avian/mammalian species barrier by the currently circulating HPAI viruses, focusing on the epidemiological situation of Belgium, a representative country for Western Europe.Methods and ResultsInformation on transmission pathways and species susceptibility, based on the experimental and epidemiological data, was reviewed and weighted to assess the risk of mammal infection with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses of the circulating clade 2.3.4.4b. This risk is defined as the likelihood of mammal infection by birds crossed by the clinical consequences of this infection for this animal. From the Belgian perspective, it is concluded that this risk remains 'low' to 'moderate' for captive/domestic mammal species. However, this risk was categorised as 'high' for certain species, i.e. mammals that have the opportunity to have frequent direct or indirect close contacts with infected (dead) birds, such as wild felids, wild mustelids, foxes and wild marine carnivore mammals. For some mammal species, the uncertainty associated with the assessment remains high due to an ever-changing situation.ConclusionsThe longer the virus will continue to circulate in wildlife/the environment the stronger the probability of contact between infected birds and mammals will become. This will increase the related risk of viral adaptation for efficient transmission between mammal, posing concerns for public health. Regular reassessments based on the field and experimental data are therefore necessary to implement and adapt risk-based mitigation measures. This will require continuous monitoring of avian influenza viruses in both birds and mammals as well as sharing of sequence data.A
Non-isometric translation and modulation invariant Hilbert spaces
No full textLet be a Hilbert space, continuously embedded in , and which containsat least one non-zero element in S ′(Rd). If there is a constant such that\|e^{i\langle \cdot ,\xi\rangle f( \cdot − x)\|_{H| ≤ C_0 \|f\|_{H} \qquad f ∈ H, x, \xi\in \mathbb{R}^d,then we prove that , with equivalent norms.Let be a Hilbert space, continuously embedded in , and which containsat least one non-zero element in S ′(Rd). If there is a constant such that\|e^{i\langle \cdot ,\xi\rangle f( \cdot − x)\|_{H| ≤ C_0 \|f\|_{H} \qquad f ∈ H, x, \xi\in \mathbb{R}^d,then we prove that , with equivalent norms.
Validation of a targeted LC-MS/MS method for cereulide and its application in food and faeces: towards better monitoring of Bacillus cereus-related foodborne outbreaks.
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High-precision wireless synchronization : when Wi-Fi meets UWB
No full textSeamless and reliable communication is crucial across personal and industrial domains in today’s interconnected world, ranging from multimedia streaming and augmented/virtual reality to smart manufacturing. This need extends to wireless communication, which supports mobile applications and offers greater flexibility. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) addresses stringent real-time demands with low latency, low jitter, and high availability, relying on precise time synchronization via the Precision Time Protocol (PTP). While PTP is widely adopted in wired networks, its usage in wireless networks is less common. This paper investigates the potential of Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology to achieve high-precision clock synchronization in Wireless-TSN (W-TSN). Traditionally used for indoor localization owing to its high-precision timestamping, UWB offers reliability and resilience against multipath fading. This research integrates UWB into Openwifi, an open-source Software Defined Radio (SDR) Wi-Fi chip design augmented with TSN capabilities, serving as the W-TSN solution. Significant improvements in synchronization accuracy were achieved by increasing the timestamping resolution and refining the clock drift correction algorithm within the Openwifi FPGA. This resulted in a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 13.1 ns and a 90th percentile (P90) clock error of 25.0 ns. The integration of UWB technology further improved clock synchronization accuracy by roughly 25%, achieving an MAE of 9.98 ns with a P90 error of 20.0 ns. Finally, the study highlights UWB-based synchronization’s potential applications and benefits, including inherent localization capabilities, while noting limitations such as range constraints and added complexity.Seamless and reliable communication is crucial across personal and industrial domains in today’s interconnected world, ranging from multimedia streaming and augmented/virtual reality to smart manufacturing. This need extends to wireless communication, which supports mobile applications and offers greater flexibility. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) addresses stringent real-time demands with low latency, low jitter, and high availability, relying on precise time synchronization via the Precision Time Protocol (PTP). While PTP is widely adopted in wired networks, its usage in wireless networks is less common. This paper investigates the potential of Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology to achieve high-precision clock synchronization in Wireless-TSN (W-TSN). Traditionally used for indoor localization owing to its high-precision timestamping, UWB offers reliability and resilience against multipath fading. This research integrates UWB into Openwifi, an open-source Software Defined Radio (SDR) Wi-Fi chip design augmented with TSN capabilities, serving as the W-TSN solution. Significant improvements in synchronization accuracy were achieved by increasing the timestamping resolution and refining the clock drift correction algorithm within the Openwifi FPGA. This resulted in a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 13.1 ns and a 90th percentile (P90) clock error of 25.0 ns. The integration of UWB technology further improved clock synchronization accuracy by roughly 25%, achieving an MAE of 9.98 ns with a P90 error of 20.0 ns. Finally, the study highlights UWB-based synchronization’s potential applications and benefits, including inherent localization capabilities, while noting limitations such as range constraints and added complexity.C