Search

Les feux de végétation sont des phénomènes complexes nécessitant un suivi régulier. Pour ceci, dans la Réserve de Biosphère de la Pendjari, la fréquence et l’occurrence des feux actifs ont été analysées sur la base des images du capteur MODIS pour une période de 19 ans. En outre, la perception locale des impacts de la répétition du feu précoce sur les espèces végétales a été investiguée auprès de 150 riverains. Les images ont été traitées dans le logiciel ArcGIS pour évaluer l’intensité des feux actifs dans la réserve. Les données d’enquêtes ont été soumises à des Analyses en Composantes Principales et à des analyses de variance. Les résultats montrent que le feu précoce emblave en moyenne annuellement 295103 ha (61,76% de la superficie totale) avec une densité comprise entre 0,03 et 9,98 feux/km². Ce qui confirme la forte utilisation du feu précoce dans la réserve. Selon les enquêtés, cette régularité occasionne à long terme sur la végétation, une diminution de l’abondance des espèces comme Parkia biglobosa et Vitellaria paradoxa. Ces résultats permettront d’apporter une attention particulière à l’étude du lien entre le feu précoce et l’exploitation durable des espèces citées. Vegetation fires are complex phenomena that require regular monitoring. To this end, in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, the frequency and occurrence of active fires were analyzed on the basis of MODIS sensor images for a period of 19 years. In addition, the local perception of the impacts of repeated early fire on plant species was investigated with 150 local residents. Images were processed in ArcGIS software to assess the intensity of active fires in the reserve. Survey data were subjected to Principal Component Analysis and Analysis of Variance. The results show that early fire embraces an average of 295103 ha (61.76% of the total area) annually with a density between 0.03 and 9.98 fires/km². This confirms the high use of early fire in the reserve. According to the respondents, this regularity causes a long-term decrease in the abundance of species such as Parkia biglobosa and Vitellaria paradoxa on the vegetation. These results will allow us to pay particular attention to the study of the link between early fire and the sustainable exploitation of these species.

Background: Oral activated factor XI (FXIa) inhibitors may modulate coagulation to prevent thromboembolic events without substantially increasing bleeding. We explored the pharmacodynamics, safety, and efficacy of the oral FXIa inhibitor asundexian for secondary prevention after acute myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: We randomized 1601 patients with recent acute MI to oral asundexian 10, 20, or 50 mg or placebo once daily for 6 to 12 months in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2, dose-ranging trial. Patients were randomized within 5 days of their qualifying MI and received dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin plus a P2Y12 inhibitor. The effect of asundexian on FXIa inhibition was assessed at 4 weeks. The prespecified main safety outcome was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding comparing all pooled asundexian doses with placebo. The prespecified efficacy outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, MI, stroke, or stent thrombosis comparing pooled asundexian 20 and 50 mg doses with placebo. Results: The median age was 68 years, 23% of participants were women, 51% had ST-segment–elevation MI, 80% were treated with aspirin plus ticagrelor or prasugrel, and 99% underwent percutaneous coronary intervention before randomization. Asundexian caused dose-related inhibition of FXIa activity, with 50 mg resulting in >90% inhibition. Over a median follow-up of 368 days, the main safety outcome occurred in 30 (7.6%), 32 (8.1%), 42 (10.5%), and 36 (9.0%) patients receiving asundexian 10 mg, 20 mg, or 50 mg, or placebo, respectively (pooled asundexian versus placebo: hazard ratio, 0.98 [90% CI, 0.71–1.35]). The efficacy outcome occurred in 27 (6.8%), 24 (6.0%), 22 (5.5%), and 22 (5.5%) patients assigned asundexian 10 mg, 20 mg, or 50 mg, or placebo, respectively (pooled asundexian 20 and 50 mg versus placebo: hazard ratio, 1.05 [90% CI, 0.69–1.61]). Conclusions: In patients with recent acute MI, 3 doses of asundexian, when added to aspirin plus a P2Y12 inhibitor, resulted in dose-dependent, near-complete inhibition of FXIa activity without a significant increase in bleeding and a low rate of ischemic events. These data support the investigation of asundexian at a dose of 50 mg daily in an adequately powered clinical trial of patients who experienced acute MI. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT04304534; URL: https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search ; Unique identifier: 2019-003244-79.

The dog was the first domesticated animal. Its derivation from grey wolves Canis lupus is important to the study of mammalian domestication, and wolf domestication is an active area of investigation. Recent popular books have promoted a hypothesis that wolves domesticated themselves as opposed to the earliest hypothesis that featured pup collection, adoption, and artificial selection. Continuing research has produced a greater understanding of wolf ecology and behaviour, including new insights into the wolf's interaction with humans. Several characteristics make the wolf conducive to domestication: its sociality, catholic diet, excellent individual and cultural memory, inbreeding tolerance, varied personalities, and adaptable lifestyle. The wolf's fear of humans is the main impediment and that alone is a factor strongly disfavouring the self-selection hypothesis. However, collecting young pups from dens and raising them would foster their socialising with humans as pack members. Neither hypothesis explains how wolves undergoing domestication were separated reproductively from their wild relatives, an important condition for domestication. We combine information from the literature with information from our own research on wild wolves, archaeology, and canid morphology. We explain how pup collection and deliberate or incidental selection and encouragement to breed with similarly raised wolves could keep incipient dogs separated reproductively from wild relatives. The key is humans regularly feeding the wolves and keeping only those able to live harmoniously with humans. Well-fed, human-dependent wolves would remain near their food supply and in the company of humans, thus increasing their bonds to humans and vice versa. Outbreeding with wild wolves would thus be avoided. Generation after generation of these human-fed, raised, and selected wolves would become increasingly dependent on humans and shaped by them. The pup-adoption hypothesis presented here is more in keeping with basic wolf ecology and behaviour than the self-domestication hypothesis.

License information: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This research was partially funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF (FoReSee, grant no. 01LA1811B, Economics of the Climate Change II programme; COMTESS, grant no. 01LL0911A-G, Sustainable Land Management programme; Carbiocial, grant no. 01LL0902F, Sustainable Land Management programme, ECAS-BALTIC, grant no. 03F0860G, Küno Küstenforschung Nordsee / Ostsee), the European Commission (DESIRE, project number 561638-EPP-1-2015-1-JO-EPP KA2-CBHE-JP, grant agreement number: 2012-3324/001-001), the Flemish Interuniversity Council – University Development Cooperation VLIR-UOS (North South South Cooperation Programme ZIUS2015VOA3106), the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (CEBioS programme), the Special Research Fund of Hasselt University (BOF20TT06), the Belgian Science Policy BELSPO (EVAMAB of CEBioS programme), the Luc Hoffmann Institute, and the German Research Foundation DFG (Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC 2037 'CLICCS - Climate, Climatic Change, and Society', project no 390683824).

The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived1–8. Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000–30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located. © 2022, The Author(s). 8028-00005B; IP DKRVO 2019-2023, MK000094862; 220457/Z/20/Z, ERC-2013-StG-337574-UNDEAD, ERC-2019-StG-853272-PALAEOFARM; 075-15-2021-1069; European Molecular Biology Organization, EMBO: 217223/Z/19/Z; Vallee Foundation; Velux Fonden; Wellcome Trust, WT; Francis Crick Institute, FCI: FC001595; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020: 796877; Medical Research Council, MRC; Natural Environment Research Council, NERC: 210119/Z/18/Z, NE/K003259/1, NE/K005243/1, NE/S00078X/1, NE/S007067/1; Cancer Research UK, CRUK; European Research Council, ERC: 852558; Grantová Agentura České Republiky, GA ČR: 15-06446S; Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas: 2018-01640; Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse; Vetenskapsrådet, VR: 681396, BELSPO B2/191/P2/ICHIE; Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 16-18-10265-RNF, 20-17-00033, 21-18-00457-RNF, 310763; Science for Life Laboratory, SciLifeLab; Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej, NAWA: PPN/PPO/2018/1/00037 This work was supported by grants to P. Skoglund from the European Research Council (grant no. 852558), the Erik Philip Sörensen Foundation and the Science for Life Laboratory, Swedish Biodiversity Program, made available by support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. A.B., L.S., P. Swali and P. Skoglund were supported by Francis Crick Institute core funding (FC001595) from Cancer Research UK, the UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust. P. Skoglund was also supported by the Vallee Foundation, the European Molecular Biology Organisation and the Wellcome Trust (217223/Z/19/Z). Computations were supported by SNIC-UPPMAX. We also acknowledge support from Science for Life Laboratory, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the National Genomics Infrastructure funded by the Swedish Research Council and the Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science for assistance with massively parallel sequencing and access to the UPPMAX computational infrastructure. We thank the Yukon gold mining community and First Nations, including the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in, for continued support of our palaeontology research in the Yukon Territories, Canada. We thank the Danish National High-Throughput Sequencing Centre and BGI-Europe for assistance in sequencing data generation and the Danish National Supercomputer for Life Sciences–Computerome ( https://computerome.dtu.dk ) for computational resources. We thank National Museum Wales for continued sampling support. M. Germonpré acknowledges support from the Brain.be 2.0 ICHIE project (BELSPO B2/191/P2/ICHIE). M.T.P.G. was supported by the European Research Council (grant no. 681396). M.-H.S.S. was supported by the Velux Foundations through the Qimmeq Project, the Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond and the Independent Research Fund Denmark (8028-00005B). L.D. acknowledges support from FORMAS (2018-01640). D.W.G.S. received funding for this project from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 796877. M.P. was supported by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange–NAWA (grant no. PPN/PPO/2018/1/00037). V.J.S. was supported by the University of Zurich’s University Research Priority Program ‘Evolution in Action: From Genomes to Ecosystems’. This research was done with the participation of ZIN RAS (grant no. 075-15-2021-1069). We are grateful to the museum of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology UB RAS (Ekaterinburg, Russia) for provision of samples. R.P.J. and C.O’D. were supported by the Standing Committee for Archaeology of the Royal Irish Academy through the Archaeological Excavation Research Grant Scheme. E.Y.P., P.N. and V.V.P. are supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 16-18-10265-RNF and 21-18-00457-RNF). Y.V.K. was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 20-17-00033). M.H. was supported by the European Research Council (consolidator grant GeneFlow no. 310763). M.L.-G. was supported by the Czech Science Foundation GAČR (grant no. 15-06446S) and institutional financing of the Moravian Museum from the Czech Ministry of Culture (IP DKRVO 2019-2023, MK000094862). L.S. is supported by the Sir Henry Wellcome fellowship (220457/Z/20/Z). We thank Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart for sample access. L.F. and G.L. were supported by European Research Council grants (ERC-2013-StG-337574-UNDEAD and ERC-2019-StG-853272-PALAEOFARM) and Natural Environmental Research Council grants (NE/K005243/1, NE/K003259/1, NE/S007067/1 and NE/S00078X/1). L.F. was also supported by the Wellcome Trust (210119/Z/18/Z). This research was funded in whole, or in part, by the Wellcome Trust (FC001595). For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright licence to any author accepted manuscript version arising from this submission.

Background: Longitudinal changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers are seldom studied. Furthermore, data on biomarker gradient between lumbar (L-) and ventricular (V-) compartments seems to be discordant. Objective: To examine alteration of CSF biomarkers reflecting Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related amyloid-beta (A beta) aggregation, tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and early synaptic degeneration by CSF shunt surgery in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) in relation to AD-related changes in brain biopsy. In addition, biomarker levels in L- and V-CSF were compared. Methods: L-CSF was collected prior to shunt placement and, together with V-CSF, 3-73 months after surgery. Thereafter, additional CSF sampling took place at 3, 6, and 18 months after the baseline sample from 26 iNPH patients with confirmed A beta plaques in frontal cortical brain biopsy and 13 iNPH patients without A beta pathology. CSF Amyloid-beta(42) (A beta(42)), total tau (T-tau), phosphorylated tau (P-tau(181)), neurofilament light (NFL), and neurogranin (NRGN) were analyzed with customized ELISAs. Results: All biomarkers but A beta(42) increased notably by 140-810% in L-CSF after CSF diversion and then stabilized. A beta(42) instead showed divergent longitudinal decrease between A beta-positive and -negative patients in L-CSF, and thereafter increase in A beta-negative iNPH patients in both L- and V-CSF. All five biomarkers correlated highly between V-CSF and L-CSF (A beta(42) R = 0.87, T-tau R = 0.83, P-tau R = 0.92, NFL R = 0.94, NRGN R = 0.9; all p < 0.0001) but were systematically lower in V-CSF (A beta(42) 14 %, T-tau 22%, P-tau 20%, NFL 32%, NRGN 19%). With APOE genotype-grouping, only A beta(42) showed higher concentration in non-carriers of allele epsilon 4. Conclusion: Longitudinal follow up shows that after an initial post-surgery increase, T-tau, P-tau, and NRGN are stable in iNPH patients regardless of brain biopsy A beta pathology, while NFL normalized toward its pre-shunt levels. A beta(42) as biomarker seems to be the least affected by the surgical procedure or shunt and may be the best predictor of AD risk in iNPH patients. All biomarker concentrations were lower in V-than L-CSF yet showing strong correlations.

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare ticagrelor monotherapy with dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents. Background The role of abbreviated DAPT followed by an oral P2Y12 inhibitor after PCI remains uncertain. Methods Two randomized trials, including 14,628 patients undergoing PCI, comparing ticagrelor monotherapy with standard DAPT on centrally adjudicated endpoints were identified, and individual patient data were analyzed using 1-step fixed-effect models. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO ( CRD42019143120 ). The primary outcomes were the composite of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding tested for superiority and, if met, the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke at 1 year, tested for noninferiority against a margin of 1.25 on a hazard ratio (HR) scale. Results Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding occurred in fewer patients with ticagrelor than DAPT (0.9% vs. 1.7%, respectively; HR: 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.41 to 0.75; p Conclusions Ticagrelor monotherapy was associated with a lower risk for major bleeding compared with standard DAPT, without a concomitant increase in ischemic events.

Climate change and biodiversity loss trigger policies targeting and impacting local communities worldwide. However, research and policy implementation often fail to sufficiently consider and involve them. Therefore, we present the results of a collective self-assessment exercise for eight case studies of communications regarding climate change or biodiversity loss between project teams and local communities. We develop eight indicators of good stakeholder communication, reflecting the scope of Verran (2002)'s concept of postcolonial moments as a communicative utopia. We demonstrate that applying our indicators enhances communication, although we discover a divergence between timing, complexity, and (introspective) effort. Three cases qualify for postcolonial moments , but scrutinising power relations and genuine knowledge co-production remain rare. While we verify the potency of various instruments for deconstructing science, their sophistication cannot substitute trust-building and epistemic/transdisciplinary awareness. Lastly, we consider that reforming inadequate funding policies helps improving the work in and with local communities.

Ecosystem services are a telling concept to discuss the integrated management of natural resources, such as integrated water and soil, with non-academic stakeholders. Stakeholders have different perceptions regarding the management of various ecosystem services, which is challenging when aiming to develop and foster sustainable ecosystem management. We performed a stakeholder analysis as part of a social-ecological study in preparation of a decision support system for integrated water management within the Lake Manyara sub-basin (LMSB), Tanzania. The area includes a National Park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. A group discussion listed 26 stakeholders, categorized according to the sector, influence, and interest. The stakeholders were grouped into six functional categories: local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), other civil society groups, Belgian and international NGOs, authorities, academics associated to international donors and the private sector. We empirically identified advantages, shortcomings and associated risks when performing a stakeholder analysis with an interest-influence matrix. Confounding factors may include, e.g., the omission of important stakeholders, a different understanding of 'influence' and 'interest', or the omission of fragile groups. Instead of 'low' or 'high' interest and influence, we propose the terms 'supportive', 'potentially supportive', 'unsupportive', 'not interested', 'low or no influence' and 'antagonistic'. Further, we consider stakeholders who directly extract resources from the social-ecological system (SES) as a separate category, because of their direct dependence and impact on the SES. This improved stakeholder analysis framework for developing decision support systems in water basins can contribute to better analysis, understanding and management of aquatic social-ecological systems in general. We wish to address a special thanks to all stakeholders present at the two workshops in 2015 and 2016. This work has been co-financed by a North South South Project of VLIR-UOS (financed by the Belgian Development Cooperation, DGD), and by the EVAMAB project (Belgian Science Policy BELSPO). Esther Roux (CEBioS) is acknowledged for bibliographical editing. MPMV is supported by the Special Research Fund of Hasselt University (BOF20TT06). de Bisthoven, LJ (corresponding author), Royal Belgian Inst Nat Sci CEBioS, Brussels, Belgium. ljanssens@naturalsciences.be

Ebola and COVID-19 are textbook emerging diseases influenced by humans. Ebola is often considered a result of exotic nature threatening health. Conversely, COVID-19, emerged in an urban environment, entails risks worldwide. Geographical, virological and demographic differences influence risk perceptions and responses to both diseases. Because ecological understanding of urban human-animal relations improves disease risk assessment, we call for ethnographical exploration of this interface. ‘Global Urban Confinement Measures’ impact health by influencing disease perceptions, limiting nature access, and strengthening inequities. To prevent and mitigate zoonotic pandemics and their consequences, policy should promote nature connectedness, concert with stakeholders, and integrate nature-city-inhabitant interactions. doi: 10.1080/23748834.2020.1805282 ispartof: Cities & Health vol:5 issue:sup1 pages:S131-S139 status: Published online

Objective To determine whether using 12.5° Slocum-like triple pelvic osteotomy (TPO) plates would create sufficient femoral head coverage and lower the occurrence of overrotation compared with using 20° TPO plates in dogs with hip dysplasia. Study design Prospective clinical study. Sample population Thirty-five dogs with hip dysplasia (38 hips). Methods Nineteen hips were surgically treated with a custom-made Slocum-type 12.5° TPO plate, and these were matched to 19 hips surgically treated with a 20° commercial Slocum TPO plate. Hips were case matched according to size and breed. Ortolani sign, angles of subluxation and reduction, distraction index, and femoral head coverage (FHC) were compared between groups. Excessive coverage was defined as >80%. Results In the 12.5° group, FHC was ≥50% in all hips, with mean FHC (67%), gain (37%), and excessive coverage (11%) all significantly less than in the 20° group (79%, 54%, and 42%, respectively). Conclusion The 12.5° plate produced sufficient FHC compared with the 20° plate, with fewer hips with excessive coverage. Clinical significance The 12.5° TPO plate may result in sufficient FHC with a lower occurrence of excessive coverage compared with 20° plates.

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of ticagrelor monotherapy following 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for bifurcation lesions. Methods GLOBAL LEADERS was a randomized, superiority, all-comers trial comparing 1-month DAPT with ticagrelor and aspirin followed by 23-month ticagrelor monotherapy (experimental treatment) with standard 12-month DAPT followed by 12-month aspirin monotherapy (reference treatment) in patients treated with a biolimus A9-eluting stent. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death or new Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) at 2 years. Results Among the 15,845 patients included in this subgroup analysis, 2,498 patients (15.8%) underwent PCI for at least one bifurcation lesion. The incidence of the primary endpoint was similar between the bifurcation and nonbifurcation groups (4.7 vs. 4.0%, p = .083). The experimental treatment had no significant effect on the primary endpoint according to the presence/absence of a bifurcation lesion (bifurcation: hazard ratio [HR]: 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.51-1.07; nonbifurcation: HR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.76-1.07, p for interaction = .343), but was associated with significant reduction in definite or probable stent thrombosis (p for interaction = .022) and significant excess of stroke (p for interaction = .018) when compared with the reference treatment. Conclusions After PCI for bifurcation lesions using 1-month of DAPT followed by ticagrelor monotherapy for 23 months did not demonstrate explicit benefit regarding all-cause death or new Q-wave MI as in the overall trial. AstraZeneca; Biosensors International Group; Medicines company

Purpose The accumulation of misfolded tau is a common feature of several neurodegenerative disorders, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most common. Earlier we identified JNJ-64326067, a novel isoquinoline derivative with high affinity and selectivity for tau aggregates from human AD brain. We report the dosimetry of [18F] JNJ-64326067 and results of a proof-of-concept study comparing subjects with probable Alzheimer’s disease to age-matched healthy controls. Methods [18F] JNJ-64326067 PET scans were acquired for 90 min and then from 120 to 180 min in 5 participants with [18F]-florbetapir PET amyloid positive probable AD (73 ± 9 years) and 5 [18F]-florbetapir PET amyloid negative healthy controls (71 ± 7 years). Whole-body [18F] JNJ-64326067 PET CT scans were acquired in six healthy subjects for 5.5 h in 3 scanning sessions. Brain PET scans were visually reviewed. Regional quantification included kinetic analysis of distribution volume ration (DVR) estimated by Logan graphical analysis over the entire scan and static analysis of SUVr in late frames. Both methods used ventral cerebellar cortex as a reference region. Results One of the healthy controls had focal areas of PET signal in occipital and parietal cortex underlying the site of a gunshot injury as an adolescent; the other four healthy subjects had no tau brain signal. Four of the 5 AD participants had visually apparent retention of [18F] JNJ-64326067 in relevant cortical regions. One of the AD subjects was visually negative. Cortical signal in visually positive subjects approached steady state by 120 min. Temporal and frontal cortical SUVr/DVR values in visually positive AD subjects ranged from 1.21 to 3.09/1.2 to 2.18 and from 0.92 to 1.28/0.91 to 1.16 in healthy controls. Whole-body effective dose was estimated to be 0.0257 mSv/MBq for females and 0.0254 mSv/MBq for males. Conclusions [18F] JNJ-64326067 could be useful for detection and quantitation of tau aggregates.

Mainstreaming biodiversity in development cooperation activities is called for by scientists and policy-makers alike, as the current biodiversity crisis can only be mitigated if the linkages between biodiversity and human wellbeing are acknowledged. Reconciling biodiversity conservation and human development is a particularly topical challenge in highly biodiverse developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the population is highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. This study combines expert interviews with an evaluation of environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports, in order to determine the current motivations, obstacles and effectiveness of biodiversity mainstreaming in the DRC and to assess the framing, the representation and use of biodiversity in recently conducted EIAs in the DRC. Our findings indicate that biodiversity mainstreaming in the DRC is considered challenging due to enduring contextual (e.g. governance) factors; and that there is a strong support base for EIA among the interviewed experts. Turning to actual EIAs that were recently performed in the DRC, the diversity of framings motivating the uptake of biodiversity is remarkable. Instrumental reasons do not thwart intrinsic motivations –which is indicative of a support base for the non-instrumental value of biodiversity. The use of biodiversity baseline data in mitigation measures is low, and the taxonomic resolution of the biodiversity data in EIAs is uneven. Despite these challenges, the potential of EIA in the DRC is considered high, and linkages between project-driven EIA practice and biodiversity data collection and dissemination should be strengthened., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

BACKGROUND Direct-acting oral anticoagulant use for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation is limited by bleeding concerns. Asundexian, a novel, oral small molecule activated coagulation factor XIa (FXIa) inhibitor, might reduce thrombosis with minimal effect on haemostasis. We aimed to determine the optimal dose of asundexian and to compare the incidence of bleeding with that of apixaban in patients with atrial fibrillation. METHODS In this randomised, double-blind, phase 2 dose-finding study, we compared asundexian 20 mg or 50 mg once daily with apixaban 5 mg twice daily in patients aged 45 years or older with atrial fibrillation, a CHA2DS2-VASc score of at least 2 if male or at least 3 if female, and increased bleeding risk. The study was conducted at 93 sites in 14 countries, including 12 European countries, Canada, and Japan. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to a treatment group using an interactive web response system, with randomisation stratified by whether patients were receiving a direct-acting oral anticoagulant before the study start. Masking was achieved using a double-dummy design, with participants receiving both the assigned treatment and a placebo that resembled the non-assigned treatment. The primary endpoint was the composite of major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding according to International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis criteria, assessed in all patients who took at least one dose of study medication. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04218266, and EudraCT, 2019-002365-35. FINDINGS Between Jan 30, 2020, and June 21, 2021, 862 patients were enrolled. 755 patients were randomly assigned to treatment. Two patients (assigned to asundexian 20 mg) never took any study medication, resulting in 753 patients being included in the analysis (249 received asundexian 20 mg, 254 received asundexian 50 g, and 250 received apixaban). The mean age of participants was 73·7 years (SD 8·3), 309 (41%) were women, 216 (29%) had chronic kidney disease, and mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3·9 (1·3). Asundexian 20 mg resulted in 81% inhibition of FXIa activity at trough concentrations and 90% inhibition at peak concentrations; asundexian 50 mg resulted in 92% inhibition at trough concentrations and 94% inhibition at peak concentrations. Ratios of incidence proportions for the primary endpoint were 0·50 (90% CI 0·14-1·68) for asundexian 20 mg (three events), 0·16 (0·01-0·99) for asundexian 50 mg (one event), and 0·33 (0·09-0·97) for pooled asundexian (four events) versus apixaban (six events). The rate of any adverse event occurring was similar in the three treatment groups: 118 (47%) with asundexian 20 mg, 120 (47%) with asundexian 50 mg, and 122 (49%) with apixaban. INTERPRETATION The FXIa inhibitor asundexian at doses of 20 mg and 50 mg once daily resulted in lower rates of bleeding compared with standard dosing of apixaban, with near-complete in-vivo FXIa inhibition, in patients with atrial fibrillation. FUNDING Bayer.

Background: Current ESC guidelines recommend the use of intra-coronary pressure guidewires for functional assessment of intermediate-grade coronary stenoses. Angiography-derived quantitative flow ratio (QFR) is a novel method of assessing these stenoses, and guiding percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods/Design: The PIONEER IV trial is a prospective, all-comers, multi-center trial, which will randomize 2,540 patients in a 1:1 ratio to PCI guided by angiography-derived physiology or usual care, with unrestricted use in both arms of the Healing-Targeted Supreme sirolimus-eluting stent (HT Supreme). The stent's fast, biologically healthy, and robust endothelial coverage allows for short dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT); hence the antiplatelet regimen of choice is 1-month DAPT, followed by ticagrelor monotherapy. In the angiography-derived physiology guided arm, lesions will be functionally assessed using on-line QFR, with stenting indicated in lesions with a QFR ≤0.80. Post-stenting, QFR will be repeated in the stented vessel(s), with post-dilatation or additional stenting recommended if the QFR0.05. Usual care PCI is performed according to standard clinical practice. The primary endpoint is a non–inferiority comparison of the patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE) of all-cause death, any stroke, any myocardial infarction, or any clinically, and physiologically driven revascularization with a non–inferiority risk-difference margin of 3.2%, at 1-year post-procedure. Clinical follow-up will be up to 3 years.The PIONEER IV trial aims to demonstrate non–inferiority of QFR-guided PCI to usual care PCI with respect to POCE at 1-year in patients treated with HT Supreme stents and ticagrelor monotherapy.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.govUnique Identifier: NCT04923191Classifications: Interventional Cardiology

Objective. Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is one of the highly prevalent heart diseases in developing countries that can affect the pericardium, myocardium, or endocardium. Rheumatic endocarditis is a common RHD variant that gradually deteriorates the normal function of the heart valves. RHD can be diagnosed using standard echocardiography or listened to as a heart murmur using a stethoscope. The electrocardiogram (ECG), on the other hand, is critical in the study and identification of heart rhythms and abnormalities. The effectiveness of ECG to identify distinguishing signs of rheumatic heart problems, however, has not been adequately examined. This study addressed the possible use of ECG recordings for the characterization of problems of the heart in RHD patients. Approach. To this end, an extensive ECG dataset was collected from patients suffering from RHD (PwRHD), and healthy control subjects (HC). Bandpass filtering was used at the preprocessing stage. Each data was then standardized by removing its mean and dividing by its standard deviation. Delineation of the onsets and offsets of waves was performed using KIT-IBT open ECG MATLAB toolbox. PR interval, QRS duration, RR intervals, QT intervals, and QTc intervals were computed for each heartbeat. The median values of the temporal parameters were used to eliminate possible outliers due to missed ECG waves. The data were clustered in different age groups and sex. Another categorization was done based on the time duration since the first RHD diagnosis. Main results. In 47.2% of the cases, a PR elongation was observed, and in 26.4% of the cases, the QRS duration was elongated. QTc was elongated in 44.3% of the cases. It was also observed that 62.2% of the cases had bradycardia. Significance. The end product of this research can lead to new medical devices and services that can screen RHD based on ECG which could somehow assist in the detection and diagnosis of the disease in low-resource settings and alleviate the burden of the disease.

Lake Tana is the most important freshwater lake in Ethiopia. Besides pressures on water quality resulting from urbanization and deforestation, the invasion of the exotic water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) poses new threats to the ecosystem. Water hyacinth, endemic to South America, is widely considered as the world's worst aquatic invasive weed. In 2011, the weed appeared on the northern shores of Lake Tana, expanding in south-eastern direction. The lake area affected by water hyacinth was last estimated in 2015 at 34,500 ha, which equals 16% of the total lake surface. In this research, the benefits of water hyacinth control and eradication for the rural population inhabiting the northern and northeastern villages bordering Lake Tana, are investigated. In the area, the population largely depends on farming and fishing. An assessment of the total economic benefit of eradication was conducted. The stakeholder-centered approach led to measuring the willingness to contribute in labor and cash terms. Results showed smallholders in the study are willing to contribute over half-a-million euros annually. Costs of management actions can be weighed to the benefits, where further research is needed on the impact on other stakeholder groups. Moreover, wetland management should advance to explore multiple pathways in an integrated approach: water hyacinth control, water hyacinth utilization and sustainable waste water management. (C) 2020 International Association for Great Lakes Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. The authors would like to thank the VLIR-UOS project for funding this research through Bahir Dar University-Institutional University Cooperation (BDU-IUC) program. Moreover, the authors acknowledge the financial support of the UNESCO MAB Programme and the Belgian Science Policy, within the frame of the EVAMAB project. This manuscript is one of the outputs of Work Packages B and D of the EVAMAB Project (Economic valuation of ecosystem services in Biosphere Reserves: testing effective rapid assessment methods in selected African Biosphere Reserves). The lead author, Van Oijstaeijen W., has received financial support for the research stay in the form of a VLIR-UOS Travel Grant and obtained a PhD fellowship strategic basic research by FWO under contract No 1S46420N. The authors would like to thank the associate editor and the reviewers for their thorough reviews and constructive feedback. Van Oijstaeijen, W (corresponding author), Univ Antwerp, Dept Engn Management, Antwerp, Belgium. wito.vanoijstaeijen@uantwerpen.be

Background The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy after coronary drug‐eluting stent placement in adults with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) versus acute coronary syndromes (ACS) remains uncertain. Methods and Results This was a prespecified subgroup analysis of the GLOBAL LEADERS trial. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 to the experimental or reference strategy, stratified by ACS (experimental, n=3750; reference, n=3737) versus SCAD (experimental, n=4230; reference, n=4251). The experimental strategy was 75 to 100 mg aspirin daily plus 90 mg ticagrelor twice daily for 1 month, followed by 23 months of ticagrelor monotherapy. The reference strategy was 75 to 100 mg aspirin daily plus either 75 mg clopidogrel daily (for SCAD) or 90 mg ticagrelor twice daily (for ACS) for 12 months, followed by aspirin monotherapy for 12 months. The primary end point at 2 years was a composite of all‐cause mortality or non‐fatal centrally adjudicated new Q‐wave myocardial infarction. The key secondary safety end point was site‐reported Bleeding Academic Research Consortium grade 3 or 5 bleeding. The primary end point occurred in 147 (3.92%) versus 169 (4.52%) patients with ACS (rate ratio [RR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.69–1.08; P =0.189), and in 157 (3.71%) versus 180 (4.23%) patients with SCAD (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.71–1.08; P =0.221) with experimental and reference strategy, respectively ( P ‐interaction=0.926). Bleeding Academic Research Consortium grade 3 or 5 bleeding occurred in 73 (1.95%) versus 100 (2.68%) patients with ACS (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.54–0.98; P =0.037), and in 90 (2.13%) versus 69 (1.62%) patients with SCAD (RR, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.97–1.81; P =0.081; P ‐interaction=0.007). Conclusions While there was no evidence for differences in efficacy between treatment strategies by subgroup, the experimental strategy appeared to reduce bleeding risk in patients with ACS but not in patients with SCAD. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01813435.

Item does not contain fulltext OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate sex differences in procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes of instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR)- and fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided revascularization strategies. BACKGROUND: An iFR-guided strategy has shown a lower revascularization rate than an FFR-guided strategy, without differences in clinical outcomes. METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis of the DEFINE-FLAIR (Functional Lesion Assessment of Intermediate stenosis to guide Revascularization) study, in which 601 women and 1,891 men were randomized to iFR- or FFR-guided strategy. The primary endpoint was 1-year major adverse cardiac events (MACE), a composite of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or unplanned revascularization. RESULTS: Among the entire population, women had a lower number of functionally significant lesions per patient (0.31 +/- 0.51 vs. 0.43 +/- 0.59; p < 0.001) and less frequently underwent revascularization than men (42.1% vs. 53.1%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in mean iFR value according to sex (0.91 +/- 0.09 vs. 0.91 +/- 0.10; p = 0.442). However, the mean FFR value was lower in men than in women (0.83 +/- 0.09 vs. 0.85 +/- 0.10; p = 0.001). In men, an FFR-guided strategy was associated with a higher rate of revascularization than an iFR-guided strategy (57.1% vs. 49.3%; p = 0.001), but this difference was not observed in women (41.4% vs. 42.6%; p = 0.757). There was no difference in MACE rates between iFR- and FFR-guided strategies in both women (5.4% vs. 5.6%, adjusted hazard ratio: 1.10; 95% confidence interval: 0.50 to 2.43; p = 0.805) and men (6.6% vs. 7.0%, adjusted hazard ratio: 0.98; 95% confidence interval: 0.66 to 1.46; p = 0.919). CONCLUSIONS: An FFR-guided strategy was associated with a higher rate of revascularization than iFR-guided strategy in men, but not in women. However, iFR- and FFR-guided strategies showed comparable clinical outcomes, regardless of sex. (Functional Lesion Assessment of Intermediate Stenosis to guide Revascularization [DEFINE-FLAIR]; NCT02053038).

INTRODUCTION: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) can suffer from sudden movement arrests during upper limb tasks. The current study investigated a test to assess freezing of the upper limbs (FOUL) at two speed conditions to improve the sensitivity of FOUL detection. METHODS: Forty-nine patients with PD and 10 age-matched controls (HC) performed a freezing-provoking writing task, requiring up- and down-stroke writing at varying sizes in-between visual target zones indicating funnel-shapes on a touch-sensitive tablet. They performed five trials at their preferred speed, referred to as the Normal Funnel Task (NFT) and five trials at maximum speed, referred to as the Fast Funnel Task (FFT), in a random order. RESULTS: Based on a combination of kinematic criteria and video analysis, 183 FOUL episodes were detected in 24 participants (23 PD, 1 HC). The number of patients with FOUL, number of FOUL episodes and percentage time frozen were significantly higher during FFT than NFT. Most FOUL episodes occurred during writing at small (51.6%) and decreasing size (36.3%). Additionally, FOUL outcomes significantly correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire. CONCLUSION: As FOUL is more prevalent under higher task demands, these data offer support for the "threshold model", previously proposed to provide insight in freezing of gait (FOG) and underscoring the presupposed link between FOG and FOUL. As well, this study may provide a novel paradigm to assess FOUL in both laboratory and clinical settings. ispartof: PARKINSONISM & RELATED DISORDERS vol:64 pages:163-168 ispartof: location:England status: Published online