Early Prediction of COVID-19 Patient Survival by Targeted Plasma Multi-Omics and Machine Learning

The recent surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations severely challenges healthcare systems around the globe and has increased the demand for reliable tests predictive of disease severity and mortality. Using multiplexed targeted mass spectrometry assays on a robust triple quadrupole MS setup which is available in many clinical laboratories, we determined the precise concentrations of hundreds of proteins and metabolites in plasma from hospitalized COVID-19 patients. We observed a clear distinction between COVID-19 patients and controls and, strikingly, a significant difference between survivors and nonsurvivors. With increasing length of hospitalization, the survivors’ samples showed a trend toward normal concentrations, indicating a potential sensitive readout of treatment success. Building a machine learning multi-omic model that considers the concentrations of 10 proteins and five metabolites, we could predict patient survival with 92% accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.97) on the day of hospitalization. Hence, our standardized assays represent a unique opportunity for the early stratification of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.     

Pathologies de la prostate : actualités en médecine nucléaire (diagnostic et thérapeutique)

Nuclear medicine could significantly contribute to management of patients with prostate carcinoma. Apart from bone scintigraphy, and success of sentinel lymph node procedure, from a diagnosis point of view ¹⁸F-fluorocholine, which is now disposable, will certainly allow better staging accuracy, better efficiency of recurrences detection, and better treatments evaluation. Regarding to treatments, several radiopharmaceuticals demonstrated their efficiency as palliative treatment of painful bone metastasis, and maybe in the near future will contribute to curative treatment when associated to chemotherapy.     

Eurocharax Tourainei nov. gen., nov. sp. (poisson teleosteen, Ostariophysi): Nouveau Characidae fossile des «Calcaires a Bythinies du Var

The study of fossil Fishes preserved in the «calcaires à Bythinies of Montmeyan, la Mourotte and Saint-Julien-le-Montagné basins (Var. France), makes possible the demonstration of their referal to the family Characidae: These Fishes, here mentioned as Eurocharax tourainei nov. gen., nov. sp., clearly differ from the Lower Eocene Characid fishes of Languedoc and Paris Basin by their set of teeth. The brackish condition of the “calcaires à Bythinies is taken into account for explaining the probable biogeographical history of these Fishes.     

Reconstitution of Carcinus maenas (crustacea) hemocyanin,in the presence of nonionic detergent

Carcinus maenas hemocyanin was reconstituted from the apo-protein using copper(I) chloride in presence of Triton X-100 at physiological pH. In these conditions Cu⁺ is stable and permitted a kinetic study of the reconstitution reaction to be made.     

Phosphate adsorption on bottom sediments of the Rio de la Plata

A study of the phosphate adsorption onto the bottom sediments of the Rio de la Plata has been made with the aim to understand the dynamics of this compound in the fluvio-marine system. Previous to the chemical analysis of the phosphate content, an extraction of the different adsorbed phosphate fractions have been made. In addition to phosphate, calcium, iron and aluminium in the sediment samples were determined. The phosphate is associated to the fine fractions of the sediments and good correlations with Al and Fe content in the bottom sediments were found. There is a relative decrease of the adsorbed phosphate on the bottom sediment in the areas where the influence of the marine water is more conspicuous; it is explained by the pH increase of the estuary waters due to the mixture with the marine waters. A hypothesis about the role of the ionic strength and the pH on the phosphate adsorption process is suggested.     

A new bacterial dehydrogenase oxidizing the lignin model compound guaiacylglycerol beta-O-4-guaiacyl ether

A lignin model compound, named in short guaiagylglycerol beta-guaiacyl ether (GGE), contains the beta-0-4 ether linkage that is common in the chemical structure of lignin. A Pseudomonas sp. (GU5) had been isolated as an organism able to grow with GGE as the sole source of carbon and energy. When grown on vanillate, the bacteria contained a NAD+ -dependent dehydrogenase converting GGE to a 355 nm absorbing product. The enzyme, named GGE-dehydrogenase, was purified about 160-fold using gel permeation, ion exchange on DEAE-Sephadex, and dye-ligand affinity chromatography. The new protein was about 52 kDa in apparent size with but one polypeptide chain after denaturation and reduction. According to several criteria, the product of GGE oxidation (Km = 12 microM) was identified as the corresponding conjugated ketone at the alpha-carbon of the C3 side-chain. The secondary alcohol function in GGE was apparently the sole target of the enzyme action. However the conversion of GGE into ketone catalyzed by the enzyme was only partial, and did not exceed 50%, probably because only one of the alpha-enantiomers was susceptible to enzyme attack. In contrast the ketone, either made by organic synthesis or by enzymic oxidation of GGE, could be totally reduced back to GGE (Km = 13 microM at pH 8.4, 8 microM at neutral pH), with NADH as the reductant, as confirmed by UV absorption and NMR spectra. Other model compounds with no primary alcoholic function, ether linkage or phenolic group were also substrates for the enzyme, confirming the specificity of GGE-dehydrogenase for the alpha-carbon position. Conjugation of the alpha-ketone with an adjacent phenolic nucleus interfered strongly with equilibrium constants and redox potentials of the system according to pH, and the enzyme displayed widely different optima with pH over 9 when oxidizing GGE, below 7 when reducing the ketone. Equilibrium studies showed that the ketone/GGE potential was -0.37 volt at pH 8.7, -0.23 volt at pH 7 (30 degrees C). The significance of this new dehydrogenase and its properties are discussed, especially in the general concern of lignin biodegradation.     

Comportamiento adaptativo de las personas con limitación funcional: la adaptación funcional de la vivienda en España

Introduction

Most elderly people or those with disabilities wish to stay in their own home rather than any other residential option, even when long-term care is required. The functional adaptation of homes is one of the key factors in doing this with safety and quality of life. This paper investigates whether people with disabilities (arising mainly from their advanced age) develop adaptive behaviours aimed at compensating for their functional loss through improvements in their home and environment, as well as knowing the covariables that explain it.