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Landscape simplification and the loss of semi-natural habitats are identified as important drivers of insect pollinator decline in farmlands, by disrupting the availability of floral resources and facilitating the occurrence of food shortages. Food shortages can lead to accelerated behavioral maturation in honey bees, with potential consequences for colony survival. However, little is known about the magnitude of behavioral maturation mediated by to food shortage under real field conditions, and whether it could be mitigated by the presence of semi-natural habitats. Here, we monitored the lifespan (LSP), age at first exit (AFE), foraging tenure, and foraging intensity of 1035 honey bees along a landscape gradient of semi-natural habitats in farmlands. We found a clear acceleration of behavioral maturation of bees during the food shortage season, with precocity in AFE between 6 and 10 days earlier and reduced LSP by 5 to 9 days, with no effect on foraging tenure or foraging intensity. We also found that higher proportions of semi-natural habitats mitigated behavioral maturation of bees by up to 6 days. Beyond the direct effects on adult bees, we found no delayed effect of larval feeding status on adult life-history traits or foraging behavior. Nevertheless, our results strongly advocate the implementation of policies aimed at increasing the coverage of semi-natural environments (e.g., grasslands, forests, hedgerows) in intensive agricultural landscapes to support honey bee survival and pollinator conservation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

High winter mortality of honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) has been observed in temperate regions over the past 30 years. Several biotic and abiotic stressors associated with winter colony losses have been identified, but the mechanisms and interactions underlying their effects remain unclear. We reviewed the effects of stressors on key overwintering biological traits, distinguishing between individual and colony traits. We found that disturbances at the level of individual traits can be amplified when transmitted to colony traits. By analyzing these cascading effects, we propose a concept of a feedback loop mechanism of winter mortality. We found that population size, social thermoregulation and honey reserve are integrative traits and can predict overwintering failure. Furthermore, we identified social thermoregulation as a good candidate for an early warning indicator. We therefore discuss existing tools for monitoring hive temperature to help mitigate the current high winter mortality of honey bees and support the sustainability of beekeeping., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The recent discovery of Hepatitis D (HDV)-like viruses across a wide range of taxa led to the establishment of the Kolmioviridae family. Recent studies suggest that kolmiovirids can be satellites of viruses other than Hepatitis B virus (HBV), challenging the strict HBV/HDV-association dogma. Studying whether kolmiovirids are able to replicate in any animal cell they enter is essential to assess their zoonotic potential. Here, we compared replication of three kolmiovirids: HDV, rodent (RDeV) and snake (SDeV) deltavirus in vitro and in vivo. We show that SDeV has the narrowest and RDeV the broadest host cell range. High resolution imaging of cells persistently replicating these viruses revealed nuclear viral hubs with a peculiar RNA-protein organization. Finally, in vivo hydrodynamic delivery of viral replicons showed that both HDV and RDeV, but not SDeV, efficiently replicate in mouse liver, forming massive nuclear viral hubs. Our comparative analysis lays the foundation for the discovery of specific host factors controlling Kolmioviridae host-shifting., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Khalfi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: To examine the relationship between patient-clinician concordance (racial/ethnic and gender) and patients' trust in their regular clinician., Methods: This mixed methods study used the 2019 U.S. Health Reform Monitoring Survey to examine concordance and patient trust in clinicians, and semi-structured interviews with 24 participants to explore patients' perceptions of how concordance relates to trust in their clinician., Results: Almost six in ten adults (59.8%) who had a regular clinician reported having trust in their clinician. White, Black, and Latino participants were similarly likely to report trust. Those with racial/ethnic concordant clinicians were 7.5 percentage points more likely to report trust than were those with non-concordant clinicians (62.4% vs 54.9%). This finding was consistent for men and women, and did not differ significantly across racial and ethnic groups. In interviews, while almost all participants described having trusted non-racial/ethnic concordant clinicians, several described immediately trusting concordant clinicians. In contrast, we did not observe a consistent relationship between patient-clinician gender concordance and trust., Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of increasing the number of Black and Latino clinicians, and also highlight that all clinicians need to work hard to build trust with patients from different racial/ethnic backgrounds., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Genetic diversity is a necessary condition for populations to evolve under natural adaptation, artificial selection, or both. However, genetic diversity is often threatened, in particular in domestic animal populations where artificial selection, genetic drift and inbreeding are strong. In this context, cryopreserved genetic resources are a promising option to reintroduce lost variants and to limit inbreeding. However, while the use of ancient genetic resources is more common in plant breeding, it is less documented in animals due to a longer generation interval, making it difficult to fill the gap in performance due to continuous selection. This study investigates one of the only concrete cases available in animals, for which cryopreserved semen from a bull born in 1977 in a lost lineage was introduced into the breeding scheme of a French local dairy cattle breed, the Abondance breed, more than 20 years later., Results: We found that this re-introduced bull was genetically distinct with respect to the current population and thus allowed part of the genetic diversity lost over time to be restored. The expected negative gap in milk production due to continuous selection was absorbed in a few years by preferential mating with elite cows. Moreover, the re-use of this bull more than two decades later did not increase the level of inbreeding, and even tended to reduce it by avoiding mating with relatives. Finally, the reintroduction of a bull from a lost lineage in the breeding scheme allowed for improved performance for reproductive abilities, a trait that was less subject to selection in the past., Conclusions: The use of cryopreserved material is an efficient way to manage the genetic diversity of an animal population, by mitigating the effects of both inbreeding and strong selection. However, attention should be paid to mating of animals to limit the disadvantages associated with incorporating original genetic material, notably a discrepancy in the breeding values for selected traits or an increase in inbreeding. Therefore, careful characterization of the genetic resources available in cryobanks could help to ensure the sustainable management of populations, in particular local or small populations. These results could also be transferred to the conservation of wild threatened populations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a quality-of-care improvement program implemented in emergency departments (EDs) in a Spanish autonomous community with the aim of reducing the use of unrecommended drugs when treating infants for acute bronchiolitis., Material and Methods: Before-after quasi-experimental intervention study. We retrospectively included infants aged 12 months or less who were treated for acute bronchiolitis in 24 Spanish national health system hospital EDs in December during 2 epidemic periods: in 2018, before implementing the program, and in 2019, after implementation. Data collected included epidemiologic information, clinical and care details, and clinical course. The program consisted of providing informative material and training sessions before the epidemic period started., Results: A total of 7717 episodes (4007 in 2018 and 2710 in 2019) were identified. Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics did not differ between the 2 periods. ED use of the following treatments decreased between the 2 periods: salbutamol, from 29.4% (95% CI, 28.8%-30.8%) in 2018 to 10.6% (95% CI, 9.6%-11.6%) in 2019; epinephrine from 6.0% (95% CI, 5.3%-6.8%) to 0.9% (95% CI, 0.7%-1.3%); and hypertonic saline solution fell from 8.2% (95% CI, 7.3%-9.1%) to 2.1% (95% CI, 1.7%-2.6%) (P.001, all comparisons). Prescriptions for salbutamol on discharge fell from 38.7% (95% CI, 36.9%-40.4%) to 10.6% (95% CI, 9.6%-11.6%) (P.001). Admissions and readmissions did not change, and the median time (interquartile range) spent in the ED fell from 81 (44-138) minutes to 66 (37-127) minutes (P.001)., Conclusion: The quality-of-care improvement initiative was able to decrease the number of unrecommended therapeutic interventions for acute bronchiolitis. However, we identified great variations between EDs, suggesting that training and assessment of impact should continue.

Pollinator insects forage in complex and unpredictable resource landscapes, often using social information from congeneric individuals to acquire knowledge about their environment. It has long been recognized that this process allows them to exploit floral resources more efficiently and thus increase individual fitness. However, by creating correlations between the behaviors of pollinators within a population, this could also indirectly influence the entire plant-pollinator community. One type of social information used by pollinators is the scent mark left on the corolla of flowers by previous visitors, which can be used as a cue to avoid recently depleted resources. We developed a spatially explicit agent-based model to examine the effects, at both individual and community levels, of pollinators using these scent marks. The model simulates a population of pollinators foraging on flowers in a continuous 2D space in which we can vary the density of pollinators. We showed that the use of scent marks as a source of information significantly increased the foraging efficiency of pollinators except when competition between pollinators was very low. At the community level, this also resulted in a marked homogenization between floral resources within the landscape: in the absence of scent marks, the coefficient of variation of the remaining nectar quantity per flower strongly increased with greater pollinator competition, but it remained low at all levels of competition when scent marks were used by the pollinators. Finally, the use of scent marks markedly decreased the number of pollinator flower visits, especially at high levels of pollinator competition, which can potentially reduce the pollination service., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Purpose of Review: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB), caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV), is a major cause of advanced liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. HBV replication is characterized by the synthesis of covalently closed circular (ccc) DNA which is not targeted by antiviral nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs) the key modality of standard of care. While HBV replication is successfully suppressed in treated patients, they remain at risk for developing HCC. While functional cure, characterized by loss of HBsAg, is the first goal of novel antiviral therapies, curative treatments eliminating cccDNA remain the ultimate goal. This review summarizes recent advances in the discovery and development of novel therapeutic strategies and their impact on cccDNA biology., Recent Findings: Within the last decade, substantial progress has been made in the understanding of cccDNA biology including the discovery of host dependency factors, epigenetic regulation of cccDNA transcription and immune-mediated degradation. Several approaches targeting cccDNA either in a direct or indirect manner are currently at the stage of discovery, preclinical or early clinical development. Examples include genome-editing approaches, strategies targeting host dependency factors or epigenetic gene regulation, nucleocapsid modulators and immune-mediated degradation., Summary: While direct-targeting cccDNA strategies are still largely at the preclinical stage of development, capsid assembly modulators and immune-based approaches have reached the clinical phase. Clinical trials are ongoing to assess their efficacy and safety in patients including their impact on viral cccDNA. Combination therapies provide additional opportunities to overcome current limitations of individual approaches., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors do not report conflict of interest. The research organization of T. F. B. has received a research grant in a collaborative research agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Objectives: To identify predictors of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing either transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) or surgical pulmonary valve replacement (SPVR) in an effort to quantify any early benefit of TPVR over SPVR., Methods: Using a risk-adjusted propensity score model, we compare early major morbidity and mortality between patients undergoing SPVR and TPVR at our institution between January 2006 and January 2014., Results: 145 patients in the SPVR cohort and 78 patients in the TPVR cohort were included. Primary pulmonary regurgitation was more common in the SPVR group (76.6% vs 23.1%, p<0.001) and primary pulmonary stenosis was more common in the TPVR group (9.7% vs 44.9%, p< 0.001). In unadjusted analysis, major morbidity and mortality occurred in 11.7% of SPVR patients versus 3.8% of TPVR patients (p=0.04). However, following risk adjustment and inclusion of a propensity score, no significant difference was seen between the two modalities. A larger right ventricular end-diastolic dimension (RVEDVI) was the only preoperative variable associated with the primary end point (OR 1.013/10 mL/m 2 increase, p=0.03). Hospital length of stay was significantly longer in patients undergoing SPVR (6.9±1.0 days SPVR vs 1.2±0.3 days TPVR, p<0.0001), with similar hospital costs between groups (mean: US$44 660±5071 SPVR vs US$48 355±1000 TPVR, p=0.7)., Conclusions: Following risk adjustment, no significant differences were observed between SPVR and TPVR strategies. TPVR was associated with a shorter hospitalisation; however, total hospitalisation costs were similar between groups., Competing Interests: Competing interests: TKJ: research grant support, consultant and scientific advisory board for Medtronic. The remaining authors have nothing to disclose., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Introduction: There are recommendations for decision-making as regards parents who do not vaccinate their children, but there are few publications analysing this problem. In November 2014, a pioneer medical clinic opened in Spain, for counselling on immunisation practices. The aim of this study is to determine the success of the recommendations of the American and Spanish Paediatrics Associations according to the number of parents who finally accept vaccination., Patients and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, prospective and single-centre study was conducted from November 2014 to March 2016. Children under the age of 16 not properly vaccinated, according to the immunisation schedule of the region where the study was conducted, were included after signing informed consent., Results: A total of 20 families were counselled. The median age of the children was 2 years, and 80% of them received no vaccine. Absolute non-acceptance of vaccination was practiced by 45% of parents. The main reasons for not vaccinating were: 100% thimerosal-containing, 90% risk of autism, 85% aluminium-containing, 70% presence of other stabilisers and preservatives, and 65% risk of anaphylaxis. The immunisation advice was said to be helpful by 90% of parents. Vaccination was accepted by 90% of parents (45% completely)., Conclusions: Anti-vaccination ideologies are strong and hard to change. Paediatricians not denying medical care to parents who endanger the lives of their own children are also hard to find. The meeting point is possible, and society needs it. Active listening, empathy, and good quality information were the keys to our results., (Copyright © 2016 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The larval form of the moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa, known as pine processionary caterpillar, is one of the main forest pests in southern Europe. Often, these caterpillars cause local reactions in humans, due to their microscopic stinging hairs. Most symptoms affect skin, in form of acute urticaria. Systemic reactions are rare. An eleven month old infant with a systemic reaction after ingestion of a pine processionary caterpillar is presented. The boy reached the Emergency Room with orofacial edema, drooling and urticaria. Drug treatment was enough to resolve the symptoms. The patient did not present airway commitment, nor anaphylaxis data at any moment, so more aggressive actions, such as endotracheal intubation, endoscopy or laryngoscopy, were rejected., (Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría.)

Background: The Joint Council on Thoracic Surgical Education was formed in 2008 to improve cardiothoracic education. Resident learning has been a concern as reflected in declining passing rates on the American Board of Thoracic Surgery examinations. The Joint Council on Thoracic Surgical Education piloted a program to determine whether early exposure to a cardiothoracic curriculum through participation in a board review course would improve learning. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of this project., Methods: Residents from the incoming classes of traditional 5-2 or 5-3 cardiothoracic training programs were randomly selected to attend a 3-day board review course (University of Utah) in September of their first year. For the 2012 and 2013 classes of cardiothoracic residents, we asked all incoming residents to take the prior spring in-training examination in July of their first year and then take the in-training examination in the spring of their first year. We combined the results of the incoming class of 2012 and 2013 and analyzed the results., Results: There were 171 residents who participated in either 2012 or 2013. There were 38 residents (78.9% were men) who attended the board review course and 133 (79.7% men) who did not. Questionnaires completed by the program directors and the residents who took the review course showed a favorable opinion of the program. The number of correct answers on the in-training examination, the percentage correct, and the percentile rank score increased more for the residents who took the review course, but was not statistically significant. When only the general thoracic surgery questions were analyzed, there was a statistically significant increase in the rank change between residents who attended the review course and residents who did not (8.4% increase versus 2.0% decrease, respectively; p = 0.042, Student t test)., Conclusions: This pilot study established for the first time the baseline level of knowledge of incoming residents assessed by the in-training examination. Participation in a board review type course early in the residency training program may increase learning by cardiothoracic residents, but there was not a clear statistical difference between the two groups. The program was viewed as favorable by both the participating residents and the program directors., (Copyright © 2016 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: From domestication to the current pattern of differentiation, domestic species have been influenced by reticulate evolution with multiple events of migration, introgression, and isolation; this has resulted in a very large number of breeds. In order to manage these breeds and their genetic diversity, one must know the current genetic structure of the populations and the relationships among these. This paper presents the results of a genetic diversity analysis on an almost exhaustive sample of the sheep breeds reared in France. Molecular characterization was performed with a set of 21 microsatellite markers on a collection of 49 breeds that include five breed types: meat, hardy meat, dairy, high prolificacy and patrimonial breeds., Results: Values of expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.48 to 0.76 depending on the breed, with specialized meat breeds exhibiting the lowest values. Neighbor-Net, multidimensional analysis or clustering approaches revealed a clear differentiation of the meat breeds compared to the other breed types. Moreover, the group that clustered meat breeds included all the breeds that originated from the United Kingdom (UK) and those that originated from crossbreeding between UK breeds and French local breeds. We also highlighted old genetic introgression events that were related to the diffusion of Merino rams to improve wool production. As a result of these introgression events, especially that regarding the UK breeds, the breeds that were clustered in the 'meat type cluster' exhibited the lowest contribution to total diversity. That means that similar allelic combinations could be observed in different breeds of this group., Conclusions: The genetic differentiation pattern of the sheep breeds reared in France results from a combination of factors, i.e. geographical origin, historic gene flow, and breed use. The Merino influence is weaker than that of UK breeds, which is consistent with how sheep use changed radically at the end of 19(th) century when wool-producing animals (Merino-like) were replaced by meat-producing breeds. These results are highly relevant to monitor and manage the genetic diversity of sheep and can be used to set priorities in conservation programs when needed.

Data obtained from the French Kennel Club and the Fichier National Canin were used to estimate the effect of inbreeding on average litter size and survival in seven French breeds of dog. Depending on the breed, litter sizes were 3.5-6.3 puppies and longevities were 7.7-12.2 years. Estimated heritabilities were 6.0-10.9% for litter size and 6.1-10.1% for survival at 2 years of age. Regression coefficients indicated a negative effect of inbreeding on both individual survival and litter size. Although the impact of baseline inbreeding within breeds appears to be limited, the improper mating of close relatives will reduce biological fitness through significant reduction of litter size and longevity., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)