New and improved proteomics technologies for understanding complex biological systems: Addressing a grand challenge in the life sciences

This White Paper sets out a Life Sciences Grand Challenge for Proteomics Technologies to enhance our understanding of complex biological systems, link genomes with phenotypes, and bring broad benefits to the biosciences and the US economy. The paper is based on a workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD, 14-15 February 2011, with participants from many federal R&D agencies and research communities, under the aegis of the US National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). Opportunities are identified for a coordinated R&D effort to achieve major technology-based goals and address societal challenges in health, agriculture, nutrition, energy, environment, national security, and economic development.     

The burden of traumatic brain injury from low-energy falls among patients from 18 countries in the CENTER-TBI Registry: A comparative cohort study

BackgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important global public health burden, where those injured by high-energy transfer (e.g., road traffic collisions) are assumed to have more severe injury and are prioritised by emergency medical service trauma triage tools. However recent studies suggest an increasing TBI disease burden in older people injured through low-energy falls. We aimed to assess the prevalence of low-energy falls among patients presenting to hospital with TBI, and to compare their characteristics, care pathways, and outcomes to TBI caused by high-energy trauma.Methods and findingsWe conducted a comparative cohort study utilising the CENTER-TBI (Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI) Registry, which recorded patient demographics, injury, care pathway, and acute care outcome data in 56 acute trauma receiving hospitals across 18 countries (17 countries in Europe and Israel). Patients presenting with TBI and indications for computed tomography (CT) brain scan between 2014 to 2018 were purposively sampled. The main study outcomes were (i) the prevalence of low-energy falls causing TBI within the overall cohort and (ii) comparisons of TBI patients injured by low-energy falls to TBI patients injured by high-energy transfer—in terms of demographic and injury characteristics, care pathways, and hospital mortality. In total, 22,782 eligible patients were enrolled, and study outcomes were analysed for 21,681 TBI patients with known injury mechanism; 40% (95% CI 39% to 41%) (8,622/21,681) of patients with TBI were injured by low-energy falls. Compared to 13,059 patients injured by high-energy transfer (HE cohort), the those injured through low-energy falls (LE cohort) were older (LE cohort, median 74 [IQR 56 to 84] years, versus HE cohort, median 42 [IQR 25 to 60] years; p < 0.001), more often female (LE cohort, 50% [95% CI 48% to 51%], versus HE cohort, 32% [95% CI 31% to 34%]; p < 0.001), more frequently taking pre-injury anticoagulants or/and platelet aggregation inhibitors (LE cohort, 44% [95% CI 42% to 45%], versus HE cohort, 13% [95% CI 11% to 14%]; p < 0.001), and less often presenting with moderately or severely impaired conscious level (LE cohort, 7.8% [95% CI 5.6% to 9.8%], versus HE cohort, 10% [95% CI 8.7% to 12%]; p < 0.001), but had similar in-hospital mortality (LE cohort, 6.3% [95% CI 4.2% to 8.3%], versus HE cohort, 7.0% [95% CI 5.3% to 8.6%]; p = 0.83). The CT brain scan traumatic abnormality rate was 3% lower in the LE cohort (LE cohort, 29% [95% CI 27% to 31%], versus HE cohort, 32% [95% CI 31% to 34%]; p < 0.001); individuals in the LE cohort were 50% less likely to receive critical care (LE cohort, 12% [95% CI 9.5% to 13%], versus HE cohort, 24% [95% CI 23% to 26%]; p < 0.001) or emergency interventions (LE cohort, 7.5% [95% CI 5.4% to 9.5%], versus HE cohort, 13% [95% CI 12% to 15%]; p < 0.001) than patients injured by high-energy transfer. The purposive sampling strategy and censorship of patient outcomes beyond hospital discharge are the main study limitations.ConclusionsWe observed that patients sustaining TBI from low-energy falls are an important component of the TBI disease burden and a distinct demographic cohort; further, our findings suggest that energy transfer may not predict intracranial injury or acute care mortality in patients with TBI presenting to hospital. This suggests that factors beyond energy transfer level may be more relevant to prehospital and emergency department TBI triage in older people. A specific focus to improve prevention and care for patients sustaining TBI from low-energy falls is required.

In a cohort study, Fiona Lecky and colleagues investigate the factors associated with traumatic brain injury resulting from low energy falls compared with injuries from high energy transfer mechanisms among patients across Europe and Israel.     

Comparing global models of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP): importance of vegetation structure on seasonal NPP estimates

Estimates of the seasonal absorbed fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) and net primary productivity (NPP) are compared among four production efficiency models (PEMs) and seven terrestrial biosphere models simulating canopy development. In addition, the simulated FPARs of the models are compared to the FASIR-FPAR derived from NOAA-AVHRR satellite observations. All models reproduce observed summergreen phenology of temperate deciduous forests rather well, but perform less well for raingreen phenology of savannas. Some models estimate a much longer active canopy in savannas than indicated by satellite observations. As a result, these models estimate high negative monthly NPP during the dry season. For boreal and tropical evergreen ecosystems, several models overestimate LAI and FPAR. When the simulated canopy does respond to unfavourable periods, the seasonal NPP is largely determined by absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). When the simulated canopy does not respond to unfavourable periods, the light use efficiency (LUE) influences the seasonal NPP more. However, the relative importance of APAR and LUE can change seasonally.     

The human proteome - a scientific opportunity for transforming diagnostics, therapeutics, and healthcare

ABSTRACT: A National Institutes of Health (NIH) workshop was convened in Bethesda, MD on September 26-27, 2011, with representative scientific leaders in the field of proteomics and its applications to clinical settings. The main purpose of this workshop was to articulate ways in which the biomedical research community can capitalize on recent technology advances and synergize with ongoing efforts to advance the field of human proteomics. This executive summary and the following full report describe the main discussions and outcomes of the workshop.     

Foragers of the stingless bee Plebeia droryana inform nestmates about the direction,but not the distance to food sources

1. The tropical stingless bees have evolved intricate communication systems to recruit nestmates to food locations. Some species are able to accurately communicate the location of food, whereas others simply announce the presence of food in the environment.
2. Plebeia droryana is a tiny Neotropical stingless bee that, until recently, was thought to use a solitary foraging strategy, that is without the use of a recruitment communication system. However, recent research has indicated that P. droryana might be able to recruit nestmates to specific food source locations.
3. We tested this by studying whether foragers can guide nestmates in the direction and the distance of artificial feeders placed in the vicinity of the colony. We trained bees to a scented sucrose solution feeder at 10 m and placed different feeders either in different directions (experiment 1) or in different distances (experiment 2). We found that P. droryana directs newcomers in the right direction, but distance information does not seem to be communicated.
4. Moreover, we then tested whether newcomers use chemical and visual cues originating from nestmates foraging at the food source, but found no evidence for the use of these social cues provided by conspecifics.
5. The potential mechanism that P. droryana may use to orient recruits toward the food source, however, remains unknown and requires further study.