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Cytomegalovirus Blood DNAemia in Patients with Severe SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNAemia has been described in critically ill patients, including patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Our objective is to evaluate the prevalence and clinical impact of CMV DNAemia among patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and to explore the association between CMV DNAemia levels and clinical outcomes. METHODS: In this retrospective monocentric study, we included patients admitted in a tertiary ICU for severe COVID-19 and who required IMV. We aimed to compare clinical and demographic variables between patients with and without CMV DNAemia. Univariate and Cox regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with CMV DNAemia. RESULTS: During the study period, CMV blood DNAemia occurred in 30/135 patients (22%). Patients with CMV blood DNAemia had longer ICU and hospital length of stay, as well as longer duration of IMV, and were more likely to have received dexamethasone. However, there was no significant difference in ICU mortality between patients with and without CMV DNAemia (64.8% vs. 56.7%, p = 0.42). The Cox regression analysis showed that dexamethasone was the only factor independently associated with CMV blood DNAemia (HR 4.23 [1.006-17.792], p = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia requiring IMV, CMV DNAemia is common and associated with prolonged ventilation and increased LOS but not with increased mortality
Impact of the Angular Alignment on the Crystal Field and Intrinsic Doping of Bilayer Graphene/BN Heterostructures
No full textThe ability to tune the energy gap in bilayer graphene makes it the perfect playground for the study of the effects of internal electric fields, such as the crystalline field, which are developed when other layered materials are deposited on top of it. Here, we introduce a novel device architecture allowing simultaneous control over the applied displacement field and the crystalline alignment between two materials. Our experimental and numerical results confirm that the crystal field and electrostatic doping due to the interface reflect the 120° symmetry of the bilayer graphene/BN heterostructure and are highly affected by the commensurate state. These results provide unique insight into the role of twist angle in the development of internal crystal fields and intrinsic electrostatic doping in heterostructures. Our results highlight the importance of layer alignment, beyond the existence of a moiré superlattice, to understand the intrinsic properties of a heterostructure
High-throughput calculations of spin Hall conductivity in non-magnetic 2D materials
No full textSpin Hall effect (SHE) in two-dimensional (2D) materials is promising to effectively manipulate spin angular momentum and identify topological properties. In this work, we implemented an automated Wannierization with spin-orbit coupling on 426 non-magneticmonolayers including 210 metal and 216 insulators. Intrinsic spin Hall conductivity (SHC) has been calculated to find candidates exhibiting novel properties. We discover that Y2C2I2 has an unconventional SHE with canted spin due to low crystal symmetry, Ta4Se2 is a metallic monolayer with exceptionally high SHC, and the semi-metal Y2Br2 possesses efficient charge-to-spin conversion induced by anti-crossing in bands. Moreover, quantum spin Hall insulators are investigated for quantized SHC. The present work provides a highquality Wannier Hamiltonian database of 2D materials, and paves the way for the integration of 2D materials into high-performance and low-power-consumption spintronic devices
Longitudinal relationships between eco-emotions and pro-environmental behaviors among young people
No full textOne goal of Environmental Education (EE) is to promote pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs), which helps mitigate climate change (Stevenson, 2007). However, few studies investigate its impacts on PEBs and existing results suggests small effects (Van De Wetering et al., 2022). Eco-emotions could be a lever but it’s understanding is limited. First, actual literature lacks studies measuring joint effects of several emotions on different PEBs. Second, most studies are cross-sectional. Therefore, it is unkown whether eco-emotions influence PEBs, PEBs impacts eco-emotions or if they have reciprocal effects. This research investigates specificity and directions of the relations between several eco-emotions and dimensions of PEBs of young people. Graduate students from different study fields were invited to participate to an online survey during one of their courses. Eco-emotions are measured with 19 items (ex.: angry, sad, optimistic…) and dimensions of PEBs through 35 items on a large variety of behaviors from private and public sphere (mobility, food, activism, social behaviors…). This survey includes three measurement points separated by intervals of several months. The first phase was completed by 1,333 participants in September-October 2024. Of the 565 participants who agreed to be contacted by email and were invited to take part in the second phase in February 2025, 260 responded to the questionnaire. The third phase occurred in May and collected 243 responses. Linear regression analyses were used as a first step to demonstrate how eco-emotions are directly linked to dimensions of PEBs (only between time 1 and time 2). Then, the very preliminary results based on cross-lagged panel model analyses with random intercepts are presented, testing the longitudinal relationships between eco-emotions and dimensions of PEBs
Maternal Administration of Probiotics Augments IL17-Committed γδ T Cells in the Newborn Lung.
No full textThe early life period is increasingly being recognized as a window of opportunity to shape immunity, where microbiota and related probiotics have an important impact. Innate γδ T cells are the first T cells generated in utero, populating epithelial tissues such as the lung and contributing to tissue protection through, for example, IL17 production. Here, we studied the influence of maternal microbiota and probiotic supplementation during pregnancy on innate γδ T cells in the lung and thymus of newborn mice. Detailed time-kinetic experiments showed that at birth, the murine lung T cell population was specifically dominated by IL17-committed γδ T cells expressing an invariant Vγ6Vδ1 TCR. Single-cell RNA-sequencing showed that the biased IL17-commitment of perinatal lung γδT cells is highly conserved between mice and humans. While maternal microbiota depletion with antibiotics tended to decrease the frequency of the lung Vγ6 T cells of the offspring at birth, the maternal administration of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (L.rhm.), but not of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (B.lac.), increased significantly their frequency, resulting in the augmentation of the IL17-commitment of the mouse lung T cell compartment. Altogether, our data indicate that the maternal microbiota contributes to the shaping of IL17-committed γδT cells in the lungs of newborns and that maternal administration of specific probiotic strains can enhance this process
SPO11 dimers are sufficient to catalyse DNA double-strand breaks in vitro
No full textSPO11 initiates meiotic recombination through the induction of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs)1,2, but this catalytic activity has never been reconstituted in vitro3,4. Here, using Mus musculus SPO11, we report a biochemical system that recapitulates all the hallmarks of meiotic DSB formation. We show that SPO11 catalyses break formation in the absence of any partners and remains covalently attached to the 5′ broken strands. We find that target site selection by SPO11 is influenced by the sequence, bendability and topology of the DNA substrate, and provide evidence that SPO11 can reseal single-strand DNA breaks. In addition, we show that SPO11 is monomeric in solution and that cleavage requires dimerization for the reconstitution of two hybrid active sites. SPO11 and its partner TOP6BL form a 1:1 complex that catalyses DNA cleavage with an activity similar to that of SPO11 alone. However, this complex binds DNA ends with higher affinity, suggesting a potential role after cleavage. We propose a model in which additional partners of SPO11 required for DSB formation in vivo assemble biomolecular condensates that recruit SPO11–TOP6BL, enabling dimerization and cleavage. Our work establishes SPO11 dimerization as the fundamental mechanism that controls the induction of meiotic DSBs
A seat at the table: radical right populists in the Council of the EU and the politicisation of gender+ equality issues
No full textGesture Recognition on Deformable Objects Using Millimeter-Wave Radar
No full textAlthough deformable objects are not typically designed for digital interaction, they offer a largely unexplored potential—any such object could be repurposed as a medium for controlling digital content. While existing approaches embed sensors into deformable objects to enable interaction, this limits scalability and practicality of such systems. An alternative is to perform gesture recognition on deformable objects using a wrist-worn radar sensor. However, when analysing reflected radar signals it is difficult to separate reflections originating from the continues deformations of the object shape and those from the user’s hand and fingers. Additionally, the continuous shape changes of deformable objects introduce changes in radar cross-section, affecting signal variability. Furthermore, user ergonomics—such as variations in hand size, finger dexterity, and strength—are likely to influence the degree of object deformation during interaction. In this paper, we explore whether radar sensing can be used for robust gesture detection on deformable objects, focusing on how well does a system generalize to previously unseen users and what can we do to improve such generalisability. In pursuit of this goal, we record a dataset of 4.3k labelled gestures with Google Soli millimeter-wave radar sensor on a plush toy and demonstrates robust classification performance, achieving accuracy of up to 90\% on a five-gesture set. Furthermore, we investigate model generalizability and show that transfer learning improves recognition for previously unseen users, yielding performance gains of up to 20\%. These findings highlight the potential of radar-based sensing for spontaneous and practical interaction with deformable objects
Grandchild care and eldercare. A quid pro quo arrangement
No full textThe phenomenon of grandparents assuming the role of caretakers for their grandchildren is substantial and on the rise; a trend partially attributed to mothers’ increased participation in the workforce. While altruism is commonly assumed to be the primary driver behind such caregiving, we examine an additional motivation: the expectation among grandparents that they will receive care from their offspring in the event of their own incapacity. This study investigates this hypothesis from theoretical and empirical perspectives. Initially, we construct a theoretical framework, delineating a sub-game perfect Nash equilibrium model wherein the grandparent first commits to caring for the grandchild, followed by anticipation of receiving care from their adult child in disability scenarios. Subsequently, we empirically test the feasibility of this model by analysing data sourced from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Our results confirm that elderly parents who cared for their grandchildren received more support from their children in the case of a loss of autonomy
Legume-specific recruitment of rhizobia by hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
No full textThe legume-rhizobia symbiosis possesses great potential for sustainable agriculture because of its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, reducing crop dependence on nitrogen fertilizers. Rhizobia recognize the host legume through flavonoids released by the roots. These signals are detected by bacteria typically over a few millimeters. Recent research has shown that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi extend this recognition beyond 15 cm by transporting flavonoids along their hyphae. In soil, common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) linking plants are formed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We hypothesized that such networks linking different legumes can transmit host-specific signals, guiding rhizobia to their appropriate hosts. Using in vitro and greenhouse microcosms, we linked Medicago truncatula and Glycine max via a CMN of Rhizophagus irregularis and inoculated GFP-labeled Sinorhizobium meliloti and mCherry-labeled Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens on the hyphae. S. meliloti preferentially migrated towards M. truncatula, whereas B. diazoefficiens preferentially migrated towards G. max (155 ± 8 and 13 ± 3 nodules, respectively). This was confirmed in the greenhouse with a higher concentration of S. meliloti (2.1-2.5 × 105 CFU·g-1) near M. truncatula and a higher concentration of B. diazoefficiens (1.5-1.6 × 105 CFU·g-1) near G. max (71-82 and 15-18 nodules, respectively). Metabolomics revealed host-specific flavonoids in hyphal exudates: M. truncatula-connected hyphae released DL-liquiritigenin, naringenin, sakuranetin, and 3,7-dimethylquercetin, whereas G. max-connected hyphae released daidzin, 6"-O-malonyldaidzin, irilone, and erylatissin A. These findings establish that common mycorrhizal networks constitute a "navigation system", using chemical signals to orient rhizobia towards their specific hosts, thereby improving nodulation with potential applications in agriculture