Assessment of microbial plankton diversity as an ecological indicator in the NW Mediterranean coast

High-throughput sequencing of microbial assemblages has been proposed as an alternative methodology to the traditional ones used in marine monitoring and environmental assessment. Here, we evaluated pico- and nanoplankton diversity as ecological indicators in NW Mediterranean coastal waters by comparing their diversity in samples subjected to varying degrees of continental pressures. Using metabarcoding of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes, we explored whether alphadiversity indices, abundance of Operational Taxonomic Units and taxonomic groups (and their ratios) provide information on the ecological quality of coastal waters. Our results revealed that only eukaryotic diversity metrics and a limited number of prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa displayed potential in assessing continental influences in our surveyed area, resulting thus in a restrained potential of microbial plankton diversity as an ecological indicator. Therefore, incorporating microbial plankton diversity in environmental assessment could not always result in a significant improvement of current marine monitoring strategies.Preprint2,35

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Diversity, distribution and phenology of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Les cigales o cicàdids són insectes amb fase juvenil endogea, cicle vital llarg i cants audibles, importants a les xarxes tròfiques d’ecosistemes terrestres. Malgrat l’interès que han despertat arreu, la informació històrica a la península ibèrica, i en particular a Catalunya, és escassa. El catàleg d’hemípters de Martorell y Peña (1879) hi cita set espècies. Després d’aquesta data, les cigales van rebre molt poca atenció fins al segle XXI. La informació acumulada els darrers anys permet estudiar la diversitat, distribució i fenologia del grup. A tal efecte, es va realitzar una cerca bibliogràfica mitjançant cercadors acadèmics, i es van analitzar les dades del portal ornitho.cat pel període 2006-2020 (N=3468 registres). Es presenta el catàleg de cicàdids de Catalunya que conté 12 espècies, un nombre comparable al d’altres territoris europeus: les cigales grossa, del pi, de l’olivera i negra, respectivament Lyristes plebejus Scopoli, 1763, Cicada orni Linné, 1758, C. barbara Stal, 1866 (al·lòctona introduïda) i Cicadatra atra Olivier, 1790; les brunzidores ala-roja, sigil·lada, de garriga i cotonosa, respectivament Tibicina haematodes Scopoli, 1763, T. quadrisignata Hagen, 1855, T. garricola Boulard, 1983 i T. tomentosa Olivier, 1790; i les cigalelles europea occidental, vespera, culprima i argentada, respectivament Cicadetta petryi Schumacher, 1924, Hilaphura varipes Waltl, 1837, Euryphara dubia Rambur, 1840 i Tettigettalna argentata Olivier, 1790. Es mostren mapes de riquesa i distribució d’espècies en quadrícules UTM de 5 × 5 km, diagrames de distribució altitudinal i fenologia per les espècies més comunes, així com il·lustracions originals de suport a la identificació. Aquest treball il·lustra el potencial de la ciència ciutadana per ampliar el coneixement de grups d’insectes poc estudiats i estableix un escenari de referència sobre el que fonamentar futurs estudis de la distribució i ecologia dels cicàdids.True cicadas (Cicadidae) are insects with a juvenile phase spent belowground, a long life cycle and audible songs, that are important in the trophic networks of terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the interest they arouse, historical information in the Iberian Peninsula, and more specifically in Catalonia, is scarce. The catalogue of Hemipteran by Martorell y Peña (1879) cited seven species. After that date, cicadas received very little attention until the 21st century. The information accumulated in recent years allowed us to study the diversity, distribution and phenology of the group. To this end, a bibliographic search was carried out using the academic search engines, and the data hosted at ornitho.cat website was analysed for the period 2006-2020 (N= 3468 records). The catalogue of cicadas of Catalonia presented here contains 12 species, a number comparable to that of other European territories: Cicadinae Lyristes plebejus Scopoli, 1763, Cicada orni Linné, 1758, C. barbara Stal, 1866 (introduced non-native) and Cicadatra atra Olivier, 1790; Tibicininae Tibicina haematodes Scopoli, 1763, T. quadrisignata Hagen, 1855, T. garricola Boulard, 1983 and T. tomentosa Olivier, 1790; and Cicadettinae Cicadetta petryi Schumacher, 1924, Hilaphura varipes Waltl, 1837, Euryphara dubia Rambur, 1840 and Tettigettalna argentata Olivier, 1790. We provide species richness and distribution maps in 5 × 5 km UTM grids, altitudinal distribution and phenology diagrams for the most common species, as well as original illustrations to support identification. This work shows the potential of citizen science to expand the knowledge of a scarcely studied group of insects and establishes a baseline scenario on which to base future studies of the distribution and ecology of cicadas

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Suivis écoacoustiques de la biodiversité dans la Zone Atelier Pyrénées Garonne

International audienc

Soundscape fragmentation alters bird acoustic and cultural diversity in southern Arizona

International audienc