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The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes, and biota are exposed to multiple stressors, including pollution and climate change. Still, little is known about their joint impact. Here, we investigated the cumulative impact of crude oil, warming, and freshening on the copepod species Calanus glacialis and Calanus finmarchicus . Adult females were exposed to ambient conditions (control; 0 °C + 33 psu) and combined warming and freshening: 5 °C + 27 psu (Scenario 1), 5 °C + 20 psu (Scenario 2) for 6 days. All three conditions were tested with and without dispersed crude oil. In Scenario 1, fecal pellet production (FPP) significantly increased by 40-78% and 42-122% for C. glacialis and C. finmarchicus , respectively. In Scenario 2, FPP decreased by 6-57% for C. glacialis , while it fluctuated for C. finmarchicus . For both species, oil had the strongest effect on FPP, leading to a 68-83% reduction. This overshadowed the differences between climatic scenarios. All variables (temperature, salinity, and oil) had significant single effects and several joint effects on FPP. Our results demonstrate that Arctic copepods are sensitive to environmentally realistic concentrations of crude oil and climate change. Strong reductions in feeding can reduce the copepods' energy content with potential large-scale impacts on the Arctic marine food web.

Metamorphosis is a critical process in the life cycle of most marine benthic invertebrates, determining their transition from plankton to benthos. It affects dispersal and settlement and therefore decisively influences the dynamics of marine invertebrate populations. An extended period of metamorphic competence is an adaptive feature of numerous invertebrate species that increases the likelihood of finding a habitat suitable for settlement and survival. We found that crude oil and residues of burnt oil rapidly induce metamorphosis in two different marine invertebrate larvae, a previously unknown sublethal effect of oil pollution. When exposed to environmentally realistic oil concentrations, up to 84% of tested echinoderm larvae responded by undergoing metamorphosis. Similarly, up to 87% of gastropod larvae metamorphosed in response to burnt oil residues. This study demonstrates that crude oil and its burned residues can act as metamorphic inducers in marine planktonic larvae, short-circuiting adaptive metamorphic delay. Future studies on molecular pathways and oil-bacteria-metamorphosis interactions are needed to fully understand the direct or indirect mechanisms of oil-induced metamorphosis in marine invertebrates. With 90% of chronic oiling occurring in coastal areas, this previously undescribed impact of crude oil on planktonic larvae may have global implications for marine invertebrate populations and biodiversity.

Particles from tires are a major fraction of microplastic pollution. They contain a wide range of chemical additives that can leach into the water and be harmful to aquatic organisms. In this study, we investigated the acute toxicity of tire particle leachates in early life stages of three keystone echinoderm species (Paracentrotus lividus, Arbacia lixula, Diadema africanum). Embryos were exposed for 72 h to a range of leachate dilutions, prepared using a concentration of 1 g L -1 . Larval growth, abnormal development, and mortality were the measured endpoints. Furthermore, we estimated the activity of glutathione S transferase (GST) and the electron transport system (ETS) in P. lividus. Strong concentration-dependent responses were observed in all species, though with differing sensitivity. The median effect concentrations for abnormal development in P. lividus and A. lixula were 0.16 and 0.35 g L -1 , respectively. In D. africanum, mortality overshadowed abnormal development and the median lethal concentration was 0.46 g L -1 . Larvae of P. lividus were significantly smaller than the control from 0.125 g L -1 , while the other two species were affected from 0.5 g L -1 . ETS activity did not change but there was a non-significant trend of increasing GST activity with leachate concentration in P. lividus. Seven organic chemicals and eight metals were detected at elevated concentrations in the leachates. While we regard zinc as a strong candidate to explain some of the observed toxicity, it can be expected that tire particle leachates exhibit a cocktail effect and other leached additives may also contribute to their toxicity. Our results emphasize the importance of multi-species studies as they differ in their susceptibility to tire particle pollution. We found negative effects at concentrations close to projections in the environment, which calls for more research and mitigation actions on these pollutants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Shape matters for microplastics, but its definition, particularly for hyperspectral imaged microplastics, remains ambiguous and inexplicit, leading to incomparability across data. Hyperspectral imaging is a common approach for quantification, yet no unambiguous microplastic shape classification exists. We conducted an expert-based survey and proposed a set of clear and concise shapes ( fiber , rod , ellipse , oval , sphere , quadrilateral , triangle , free-form , and unidentifiable ). The categories were validated on images of 11,042 microplastics from four environmental compartments (seven matrices: indoor air; wastewater influent, effluent, and sludge; marine water; stormwater; and stormwater pond sediments), by inviting five experts to score each shape. We found that the proposed shapes were well defined, representative, and distinguishable to the human eye, especially for fiber and sphere . Ellipse , oval , and rod were though less distinguishable but dominated in all water and solid matrices. Indoor air held more unidentifiable , an abstract shape that appeared mostly for particles below 30 μm. This study highlights the need for assessing the recognizability of chosen shape categories prior to reporting data. Shapes with a clear and stringent definition would increase comparability and reproducibility across data and promote harmonization in microplastic research.

The entry of microplastics (MPs) into marine food webs is a major environmental concern. We investigated how the behavior of planktonic copepods influences the risk of MPs to enter marine food webs by applying a trait-based approach and by combining experiments (bottle incubations and video observations) with biogeographical analyses. We aimed to evaluate which type of feeding behavior is most risky in terms of MP ingestion and which marine geographical areas are more susceptible to MP ingestion by planktonic copepods. We used different species as models of the main foraging behaviors in planktonic copepods: feeding-current, cruising, ambush, and mixed behavior feeding. All behaviors showed a similarly low risk of MP ingestion, up to 1 order of magnitude lower than for similar-sized microalgae. We did not observe any influence of the prey type or MP size (8 and 20 μm) on MP ingestion for any of the behaviors. By mapping the global distribution of feeding behaviors, we showed that feeding-current feeding is the most common behavior, but the risk of MP ingestion remains equally low across the global ocean, independently of the predominant behavior. Overall, our results suggest a low risk of MP ingestion by planktonic copepods and therefore a minimal risk of trophic transfer of MPs via marine pelagic copepods in marine ecosystems.

Planktonic copepods are the most abundant animals in the ocean and key players in global biochemical processes. Recent modeling suggests that zooplankton ingestion of microplastics (MPs) can disrupt the biological carbon pump and accelerate a global loss of oceanic oxygen. Here we investigate the behavioral responses and ingestion rates of a model feeding-current generating copepod when exposed to microplastics of different characteristics by small-scale video observations and bottle incubations. We found that copepods rejected 80% of the microplastics after touching them with their mouth parts, in essence exhibiting a kind of taste discrimination. High rejection rates of microplastics were independent of polymer type, shape, presence of biofilms, or sorbed pollutant (pyrene), indicating that microplastics are unpalatable for feeding-current feeding copepods and that post-capture taste discrimination is a main sensorial mechanism in the rejection of microplastics. In an ecological context, taking into account the behaviors of planktonic copepods and the concentrations of microplastics found in marine waters, our results suggest a low risk of microplastic ingestion by zooplankton and a low impact of microplastics on the vertical exportation of fecal pellets.

Since 2004, there has been a marked diversification in the methods used to determine aquatic microplastic (MP) concentrations. Despite calls for a unified approach to MP sampling, the proliferation of new methods has accelerated in recent years. Both minor method adaptations and entirely novel approaches have been introduced to overcome barriers to reliable MP sampling, extraction and quantification, resulting in a variety of complimentary but also competing approaches. However, there is little clarity regarding the extent to which new methods are acknowledged and adopted, or of the apparent drivers of, as well as barriers to, said adoption. To explore these issues, the rate of method diversification was examined in a systematic review. The rate and degree of diversification were determined by scoring each method by its "degree of novelty": highly novel methods, secondary adaptations of existing methods and smaller, tertiary adaptations of existing methods. This analysis revealed that the rate of method diversification has been greatest since 2011. Our results indicate limited use of these novel methods and adaptations in the subsequent literature, with many researchers falling back on methods that are well established in the existing literature. Importantly, there is little consistency in the units used when reporting MP concentrations. However, these differences are seldom driven by method selection and are rather the result of discrepancies between researchers. Thus, in understanding the requirements of comparability and consistent reporting for monitoring purposes, we can apply a diverse approach to sampling whilst maintaining the applicability and usefulness of the resulting data., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: No immunomodulatory drug has been approved for primary Sjögren's syndrome, a systemic autoimmune disease affecting 0.1% of the population. To demonstrate the efficacy of targeting interleukin 6 receptor in patients with Sjögren's syndrome-related systemic complications., Methods: Multicentre double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial between 24 July 2013 and 16 July 2018, with a follow-up of 44 weeks, involving 17 referral centres. Inclusion criteria were primary Sjögren's syndrome according to American European Consensus Group criteria and score ≥5 for the EULAR Sjögren's Syndrome Disease activity Index (ESSDAI, score of systemic complications). Patients were randomised to receive either 6 monthly infusions of tocilizumab or placebo. The primary endpoint was response to treatment at week 24. Response to treatment was defined by the combination of (1) a decrease of at least 3 points in the ESSDAI, (2) no occurrence of moderate or severe activity in any new domain of the ESSDAI and (3) lack of worsening in physician's global assessment on a Visual Numeric Scale ≥1/10, all as compared with enrolment., Results: 110 patients were randomised, 55 patients to tocilizumab (mean (SD) age: 50.9 (12.4) years; women: 98.2%) and 55 patients to placebo (54.8 (10.7) years; 90.9%). At 24 weeks, the proportion of patients meeting the primary endpoint was 52.7% (29/55) in the tocilizumab group and 63.6% (35/55) in the placebo group, for a difference of -11.4% (95% credible interval -30.6 to 9.0) (Pr[Toc >Pla]=0.14)., Conclusion: Among patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome, the use of tocilizumab did not improve systemic involvement and symptoms over 24 weeks of treatment compared with placebo., Trial Registration Number: NCT01782235., Competing Interests: Competing interests: J-EG received honoraries and research grants from BMS and Pfizer, and honoraries from CSL Behring, Lilly, Janssen, UCB, Roche. All other authors declare no support from any organisation for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years, no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Food systems must become more sustainable and equitable, a transformation which requires the transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge. We present a framework of food sustainability that was co-created by academic and non-academic actors and comprises five dimensions: food security, right to food, environmental performance, poverty and inequality, and social-ecological resilience. For each dimension, an interdisciplinary research team-together with actors from different food systems-defined key indicators and empirically applied them to six case studies in Kenya and Bolivia. Food sustainability scores were analysed for the food systems as a whole, for the five dimensions, and for food system activities. We then identified the indicators with the greatest influence on sustainability scores. While all food systems displayed strengths and weaknesses, local and agroecological food systems scored comparatively highly across all dimensions. Agro-industrial food systems scored lowest in environmental performance and food security, while their resilience scores were medium to high. The lowest-scoring dimensions were right to food, poverty and inequality, with particularly low scores obtained for the indicators women's access to land and credit, agrobiodiversity, local food traditions, social protection, and remedies for violations of the right to food. This qualifies them as key levers for policy interventions towards food sustainability.

Microplastics (MPs) are polluting the Arctic, but our understanding of their abundance, distribution, and sources is limited. This study quantified MPs down to 10 μm in marine waters of the most populated region in Greenland. A new plastic-free pump-filter system was used to collect MPs from surface waters in the fjord Nuup Kangerlua close to Nuuk. Additionally, we took samples by horizontal tows with a bongo net (300 μm mesh-size). The median concentrations were 142 MPs m -3 and 0.12 MPs m -3 in the pump and bongo samples, respectively. The most abundant polymer was polyester across stations and sampling types. Fibers were the dominant shape in the bongo samples, while non-fibrous particles dominated in the pump samples. MP abundance was lower in the fjord and increased close to Nuuk and towards the open ocean, indicating that Nuuk is an important point source for MPs. In both samples, concentrations of MPs increased with decreasing size, illustrating the importance of quantifying the smallest fraction of MPs. Thus, the use of methods allowing for a quantification of the smallest MPs is vital to reduce the underestimation of MP concentrations in the environment. The smallest size fraction is also most available to plankton-feeding marine invertebrates and an important entry point for MPs into marine food webs. At the found concentrations, immediate adverse effects on the pelagic food webs are unlikely. However, growing anthropogenic activities could increase the risk of MPs to affect the sensitive Arctic ecosystem., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microplastics (MPs) are contaminants of emerging concern in the Arctic, but knowledge of their potential effects on Arctic plankton food webs remains scarce. We experimentally investigated ingestion and effects of MPs (20 μm polyethylene spheres) on the arctic copepods Calanus finmarchicus, C. glacialis and C. hyperboreus. These species dominate arctic zooplankton biomass and are relevant target species to investigate the potential impacts of MPs on the Arctic marine ecosystem. Females of each species were exposed to two concentrations of MPs (200 and 20,000 MPs L -1 ) in combination with different food (diatom) concentrations, reflecting high (3000-5000 cells mL -1 , spring phytoplankton bloom) and low (50-500 cells mL -1 , pre/post bloom) food conditions. MPs did not affect negatively fecal pellet production rates in any of the species at the studied exposure concentrations. However, egg production rates of copepods exposed to MPs were 8 times higher compared with the controls, which suggests that MP exposure can cause stress-induced spawning in arctic copepods. Microscopic examination of the fecal pellets confirmed ingested MPs in the three species (up to aprox. 1000 MPs cop -1 d -1 ). The number of MPs per pellet decreased exponentially with increasing food concentration. The daily ingestion of MPs per copepod was higher at low- food concentrations (250-500 cells mL -1 ). At our exposure conditions, the presence of MPs inside C. hyperboreus fecal pellets did not affect their sinking rates. Overall, our experimental research show that 1) acute exposure to virgin polyethylene MPs has a low impact on arctic Calanus species at environmentally relevant MP concentrations, independent of food availability, and 2) arctic copepods influence the environmental fate of plankton-sized MPs by exporting buoyant MPs from the surface layer to the sea floor via fecal pellets., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To investigate the frequency and risk factors of postoperative complications in RA patients treated with tocilizumab (TCZ)., Methods: The French registry REGATE recruited 1496 RA patients receiving TCZ in routine care. Data from patients treated with TCZ who underwent surgery were reviewed. Frequency of post-surgery complications was collected and compared in patients with and without complications in order to identify factors associated with complications. Similar analysis was performed in patients with postoperative infection., Results: We identified 167 patients who underwent 175 surgical procedures including 103 orthopaedic surgeries (58.9%). The patients were mainly women (84%) with a mean disease duration of 14.96±11.29 years. The mean delay between surgery and the last TCZ infusion was 4.94±1.74 weeks. Fifteen patients experienced 15 complications (8.6%) with 10 severe infections including 5 surgical site infections (33.3%). There was no significant difference between patients with and without complications. In multivariate analysis, previous treatment with rituximab in the previous year tended to be associated with postoperative complications (OR: 3.27, IC95% 0.92-11.49, p=0.06). Concerning postoperative infections, diabetes mellitus tended to be associated with this complication (OR: 3.73, IC95% 0.88-15.79, p=0.06) in multivariate analysis., Conclusions: In RA patients treated with TCZ in perfusion, the rate of surgical complications was low: 8.6%. The median time between surgery and last infusion was relatively short according to half-life of TCZ but did not influence the rate of postoperative complications.

Previous research reported the translocation of nano- and microplastics from the gastrointestinal tract to tissues in Daphnia magna, most prominently of fluorescent polystyrene beads to lipid droplets. For particles >300 nm, such transfer is biologically implausible as the peritrophic membrane retains these in the daphnid gut. We used confocal laser scanning microscopy to study tissue transfer applying the setup from a previous study (neonates exposed to 20 and 1000 nm polystyrene beads at 2 µg L -1 for 4 and 24 h), the same setup with a fructose-based clearing, and a setup with a 1000-fold higher concentration (2 mg L -1 ). We used passive sampling to investigate whether the beads leach the fluorescent dye. Although the 1000 nm beads were visible in the gut at both exposure concentrations, the 20 nm beads were detectable at 2 mg L -1 only. At this concentration, we observed fluorescence in lipid droplets in daphnids exposed to both particle types. However, this did not colocalize with the 1000 nm beads, which remained visible in the gut. We further confirmed the leaching of the fluorescent dye using a passive sampler, a method that can also be applied in future studies. In summary, we cannot replicate the original study but demonstrate that the fluorescence in the lipid droplets of D. magna results from leaching of the dye. Thus, the use of fluorescence as a surrogate for particles can lead to artifacts in uptake and translocation studies. This highlights the need to confirm the stability of the fluorescence label or to localize particles using alternative methods. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:1495-1503. © 2019 SETAC OPEN PRACTICES: The present study has earned Open Data/Materials badges for making publicly available the digitally shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science: https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki., (© 2019 SETAC.)

Objectives: Onset of primary SS is usually between 40 and 60 years of age, with severe systemic complications in 15% of cases. We sought to determine whether early-onset disease is related to a specific phenotype and if it is predictive of a poor outcome., Methods: Biological and clinical data from 393 patients recruited in the ASSESS cohort, a French multicentre prospective cohort, were compared according to age at diagnosis., Results: Fifty-five patients had early-onset disease, defined as age ⩽35 years at diagnosis, and presented a significantly higher frequency of salivary gland enlargement (47.2% vs 33.3%, P = 0.045), adenopathy (25.5% vs 11.8%, P = 0.006), purpura (23.6% vs 9.2%, P = 0.002) and renal involvement (16.4% vs 4.4%, P = 0.003). They had a higher frequency of hypergammaglobulinaemia (60.8% vs 26.6%, P < 0.001), RF positivity (41.5% vs 20.2%, P < 0.001), low C3 level (18.9% vs 9.1%, P = 0.032), low C4 level (54.7% vs 40.2%, P = 0.048) and autoantibodies [84.6% with anti-SSA vs 54.4% (P < 0.001) and 57.7% with anti-SSB vs 29.7% (P < 0.001)]. The change in ESSDAI scores between baseline and the 5-year follow-up was significantly different (P = 0.005) with a trend for worsening in the early-onset group (0.72, P = 0.27) and a significant improvement in the later onset group (-1.27, P < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Early-onset primary SS is associated with a specific phenotype defined by clinical and biological features known to be predictive factors of severe systemic disease. Interestingly, we showed a different evolution of the ESSDAI score depending on the age at disease onset, patients with early-onset disease tending to worsen over time., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)