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Since the influenza pandemic in 2009, there has been an increased focus on swine influenza A virus (swIAV) surveillance. This paper describes the results of the surveillance of swIAV in Danish swine from 2011 to 2018. In total, 3800 submissions were received with a steady increase in swIAV-positive submissions, reaching 56% in 2018. Full-genome sequences were obtained from 129 swIAV-positive samples. Altogether, 17 different circulating genotypes were identified including six novel reassortants harboring human seasonal IAV gene segments. The phylogenetic analysis revealed substantial genetic drift and also evidence of positive selection occurring mainly in antigenic sites of the hemagglutinin protein and confirmed the presence of a swine divergent cluster among the H1pdm09Nx (clade 1A.3.3.2) viruses. The results provide essential data for the control of swIAV in pigs and emphasize the importance of contemporary surveillance for discovering novel swIAV strains posing a potential threat to the human population.

The “Warnock Report” (Department for Education and Science, 1978) underlined the importance of early intervention for children with a range of special educational needs and the importance of partnership with families. This paper focuses on young children with intellectual disability to describe the longitudinal research on early development that has emerged since the report, and to describe the scholarly literature that has been impacted by this longitudinal work. First, we conducted a systematic literature search for primary reports of longitudinal studies on the early development of children with intellectual disability. Included studies were those that measured dependent (i.e., developmental outcomes) and independent variables (i.e., risk and resilience factors) on at least two measurement occasions (i.e., truly longitudinal), starting before the end of the 7th year of life, with samples including children with intellectual disability (or related terms). The topics of these studies, and of the publications that have cited these longitudinal studies, were extracted from titles and abstracts using machine reading and subjected to multidimensional clustering (VOSviewer; Van Eck and Waltman, 2016). The resulting body of 101 research studies (about 2.5 studies per year) covered a scattering of topics without a dominant focus. The literature that was impacted by these longitudinal studies consisted of 3,491 scientific publications. Three clusters of topics emerged from mapping the terms used in these publications, which were dominated by (1) syndrome and disorder related terms; (2) autism-related terms; and (3) disability and parent related terms. Topics related to autism and, to a lesser extent, parents showed the strongest increase over time. Topics related to intervention and programmes were mostly linked to the topics disability and parents. Taking into account the science mapping as well as features of the context in which research on intellectual disability takes place, we suggest a collaborative research agenda that systematically links topics relevant for intervention with longitudinal research, in co-creation with families.

Abstract Taurine has positive effects on bone metabolism. However, the effects of taurine on osteoblast apoptosis in vitro have not been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the activity of taurine on apoptosis of mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. The data showed that 1, 5, 10, or 20 mM taurine resulted in 16.7, 34.2, 66.9, or 63.7% reduction of MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis induced by the serum deprivation (serum-free α-MEM), respectively. Taurine (1, 5, or 10 mM) also reduced cytochrome c release and inhibited activation of caspase-3 and -9, which were measured using fluorogenic substrates for caspase-3/caspase-9, in serum-deprived MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, taurine (10 mM) induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phospho-rylation in MC3T3-E1 cells. Knockdown of the taurine transporter (TAUT) or treatment with the ERK-specific inhibitor PD98059 (10 μM) blocked the activation of ERK induced by taurine (10 mM) and abolished the anti-apoptotic effect of taurine (10 mM) in MC3T3-E1 cells. The present results demonstrate for the first time that taurine inhibits serum deprivation-induced osteoblast apoptosis via the TAUT/ERK signaling pathway. Key words: Taurine; Osteoblasts; Apoptosis; Taurine transporter; ERK

Objective: Psoriatic arthritis mutilans (PAM) is the most severe phenotype of psoriatic arthritis due to excessive bone erosion causing joint destruction and decreased functional capacity. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of comorbidities among patients with PAM and the association between comorbidities and joint involvement.Methods: A total of 66 patients aged ≥18 years from the Nordic countries with past or present psoriasis along with at least one mutilated joint were included in the present study.Results: The median number of comorbid conditions per patient was 1 [interquartile range (IQR) 0–2] and 16.7% reported three or more comorbidities. The most frequent comorbidity was hypertension (36.4%). The median number of mutilated joints per patient was 3 (IQR 1–8.3; range 1–38).Conclusion: Two thirds of the patients with PAM reported comorbid conditions and the most frequent was hypertension which affected more than a third of the patients. However, this study was unable to detect any association between comorbidities and the severity of PAM.

Infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 triggers an immune response with local inflammation in the lung, which may extend to a systemic hyperinflammatory reaction. Excessive inflammation has been reported in severe cases with respiratory failure and cardiovascular complications. In addition to the release of cytokines, referred to as cytokine release syndrome or “cytokine storm,” increased pro-inflammatory lipid mediators derived from the omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) arachidonic acid may cause an “eicosanoid storm,” which contributes to the uncontrolled systemic inflammation. Specialized pro-resolving mediators, which are derived from omega-3 PUFA, limit inflammatory reactions by an active process called resolution of inflammation. Here, the rationale for omega-3 PUFA supplementation in COVID-19 patients is presented along with a brief overview of the study protocol for the trial “Resolving Inflammatory Storm in COVID-19 Patients by Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids - A single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled feasibility study” (COVID-Omega-F). EudraCT: 2020-002293-28; clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04647604.

In this article, we analyze how participants perform disagreement in meetings organized with the explicit purpose of managing through dialogue conflicts concerning natural resources in Sweden. How is a conversation initiated about something that participants disagree about? How do they clarify to each other that, about what, and why they disagree? How do they show that they understand it is like that and what do they do when this is clear to them? Answers to these questions are important because, if dialogue is to contribute to the constructive development of conflict situations, dialogue should be regarded as a forum where disagreement is expressed and developed, rather than as a forum and tool for consensus. We conducted a sequential analysis of how disagreement is performed and accomplished in normative dialogues in which participants talk about how to reduce the negative impact of wildlife populations — such as predators and grazing birds — on human activities such as domestic reindeer husbandry and cropfarming. The analysis shows that disagreement is articulated in ways that do not seem to make ontological, epistemological and axiological differences among positions clear for participants. We identified six procedures through which disagreements are(not) accomplished in these conversations. This shows that routines and procedures in normative dialogue are characterized by consensus-preferences not helpful foragonistic dialogue. In order to avoid situations where dialogue leads to discursive closures, standards and procedures that facilitate articulation of disagreement need to be developed.

International audience; It is increasingly acknowledged that climate change is influencing terrestrial ecosystems by increased drought and rainfall intensities. Soil microbes are key drivers of many processes in terrestrial systems and rely on water in soil pores to fulfill their life cycles and functions. However, little is known on how drought and rainfall fluctuations, which affect the composition and structure of microbial communities, persist once original moisture conditions have been restored. Here, we study how simulated short-term drying and re-wetting events shape the community composition of soil fungi and prokaryotes. In a mesocosm experiment, soil was exposed to an extreme drought, then re-wetted to optimal moisture (50% WHC, water holding capacity) or to saturation level (100% WHC). Composition, community structure and diversity of microbes were measured by sequencing ITS and 16S rRNA gene amplicons 3 weeks after original moisture content had been restored. Drying and extreme re-wetting decreased richness of microbial communities, but not evenness. Abundance changes were observed in only 8% of prokaryote OTUs, and 25% of fungal OTUs, whereas all other OTUs did not differ between drying and re-wetting treatments. Two specific legacy response groups (LRGs) were observed for both prokaryotes and fungi. OTUs belonging to the first LRG decreased in relative abundance in soil with a history of drought, whereas OTUs that increased in soil with a history of drought formed a second LRG. These microbial responses were spread among different phyla. Drought appeared to be more important for the microbial community composition than the following extreme re-wetting. 16S profiles were correlated with both inorganic N concentration and basal respiration and ITS profiles correlated with fungal biomass. We conclude that a drying and/or an extreme re-wetting history can persist in soil microbial communities via specific response groups composed of members with broad phylogenetic origins, with possible functional consequences on soil processes and plant species. As a large fraction of OTUs responding to drying and re-wetting belonged to the rare biosphere, our results suggest that low abundant microbial species are potentially important for ecosystem responses to extreme weather events.