Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier

The Congolese upwelling system (CoUS), located along the West African coast north of the Congo River, is one of the most productive and least studied systems in the Gulf of Guinea. The minimum sea surface temperature in the CoUS occurs in austral winter, when the winds are weak and not particularly favorable to coastal upwelling. Here, for the first time, we use a high‐resolution regional ocean model to identify the key atmospheric and oceanic processes that control the seasonal evolution of the mixed layer temperature in a 1°‐wide coastal band from 6°S to 4°S. The model is in good agreement with observations on seasonal timescales, and in particular, it realistically reproduces the signature of the surface upwelling during the austral winter, the shallow mixed layer due to salinity stratification, and the signature of coastal wave propagation. The analysis of the mixed layer heat budget for the year 2016 reveals a competition between warming by air‐sea fluxes, dominated by the incoming shortwave radiation throughout the year, and cooling by vertical mixing at the base of the mixed layer, as other tendency terms remain weak. The seasonal cooling is induced by vertical mixing, where local wind‐driven dynamics play a secondary role compared to subsurface processes. A subsurface analysis shows that remotely forced coastal‐trapped waves raise the thermocline from April to August, which strengthens the vertical temperature gradient at the base of the mixed layer and leads to the mixing‐induced seasonal cooling in the Congolese upwelling system.

Photochemistry has provided a powerful alternative to generate reactive intermediates under mild reaction conditions and photobiocatalysis is currently widely applied in organic synthesis. While enzyme‐based photocatalysis has attracted a lot of attention, light‐driven DNA‐based biohybrid systems are also increasingly being applied to a large variety of applications from molecular imaging to enantioselective catalysis, and other fields such as DNA‐encoded libraries (DELs). This review gives insights into these research fields by classifying the existing light‐driven DNA‐based biohybrid systems developed to date.

Background and Purpose Working memory, a primary cognitive domain, is often impaired in pediatric brain tumor survivors, affecting their attention and processing speed. This study investigated the long‐term effects of treatments, including surgery, radiotherapy (RT), and chemotherapy (CT), on working memory tracts in children with posterior fossa tumors (PFTs) using resting‐state functional MRI (rs‐fMRI) and diffusion MRI tractography. Methods This study included 16 medulloblastoma (MB) survivors treated with postoperative RT and CT, 14 pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) survivors treated with surgery alone, and 16 healthy controls from the Imaging Memory after Pediatric Cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults study (NCT04324450). Working memory tracts were identified by combining seed masks from rs‐fMRI maps and whole‐brain tractography from diffusion MRI. Connectivity alterations were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively, alongside neuropsychological evaluations and correlations with behavioral outcomes and mean supratentorial dose. Results Compared to controls, MB survivors exhibited significant impairments in the working memory network, including reductions in tract volume (TV), fiber density, fiber cross‐section (FC), mean streamline length (MLS), and fractional anisotropy (FA) (all p = 0.04). Lower working memory scores were correlated with reduced TV and FA in MB survivors. Higher mean supratentorial doses were associated with lower TV, FC, and FA values across multiple tracts, particularly in the arcuate and superior longitudinal fasciculi. Conclusions Tractography‐derived features highlighted white matter damage as a biomarker of treatment‐related neurotoxicity in PFTs survivors. These findings underscore the detrimental impact of RT and CT on working memory networks and emphasize the importance of preserving cognitive function during treatment planning.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) poses a significant and growing global health challenge, making early detection and slowing disease progression essential for improving patient outcomes. Traditional diagnostic methods such as glomerular filtration rate and proteinuria are insufficient to capture the complexity of CKD. In contrast, omics technologies have shed light on the molecular mechanisms of CKD, helping to identify biomarkers for disease assessment and management. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) could transform CKD care, enabling biomarker discovery for early diagnosis and risk prediction, and personalized treatment. By integrating multi‐omics datasets, AI can provide real‐time, patient‐specific insights, improve decision support, and optimize cost efficiency by early detection and avoidance of unnecessary treatments. Multidisciplinary collaborations and sophisticated ML methods are essential to advance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in CKD. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the pipeline for translating CKD omics data into personalized treatment, covering recent advances in omics research, the role of ML in CKD, and the critical need for clinical validation of AI‐driven discoveries to ensure their efficacy, relevance, and cost‐effectiveness in patient care.

Background Unexplained exertional dyspnoea without significant elevation of natriuretic peptides is common. One of the causes might be early heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Aims This study aimed to characterize patients with exertional dyspnoea and normal/near‐to‐normal N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) levels with regard to early stages of HFpEF and non‐cardiac causes. Method and Results Sixty‐six patients (age 62 ± 7 years old, 85% women) with dyspnoea assessed using the Multidimensional Dyspnea Profile (MDP) questionnaire and NT‐proBNP level of <125 pg/mL for patients <75 years old or <300 pg/mL for patients >75 years old were recruited. Patients with known significant heart disease, lung disease (abnormal respiratory function tests) or renal insufficiency stage ≥ 4 were excluded. In 11 patients (16.7%), HFpEF was confirmed according to the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Association (ESC HFA) criteria, 31 patients (47%) presented isolated deconditioning and 5 patients (7.6%) had idiopathic hyperventilation. In the remaining 19 patients (28.8%) with normal echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), no objective cause of dyspnoea could be found. Compared with patients without HFpEF, those with HFpEF were older, more often hypertensive and diabetic, with higher NT‐proBNP levels. They had higher E/e′ ratios during exercise echocardiography and lower volume of oxygen uptake (VO2) peaks and steeper minute ventilation (VE)/volume of carbon dioxide produced (VCO2) slopes during CPX. Psychological impact measured on the Short Form‐36 (SF‐36) questionnaire was less important in HFpEF patients than in other patients. Conclusions The most common causes of unexplained exertional dyspnoea in patients without significant elevation of natriuretic peptides are peripheral deconditioning, HFpEF and hyperventilation. Studying patients during exercise allows for getting more data about pathophysiology and improving patient phenotyping and management. Early unmasking of HFpEF using exercise echocardiography and/or CPX and initiation of treatment could prevent hospitalizations for acute heart failure. Although using exercise testing, many patients could not be classified according to their diagnosis, and this reinforces the need to better define exercise diagnostic criteria.

Battery-like organic materials including quinone-based electrodes with electrochemical activity have been extensively investigated for their use as electrode materials in energy storage devices due to their economic competitiveness and sustainable benefits. However, the intrinsic electrical insulating nature of organic quinones and their electrochemical reactivity limit power capability and stability upon charge/discharge cycling, respectively. Here, we report the preparation of a concentric layered architecture, MXene/Anthraquinone/Carbon Cloth (M/AQ/CC), by physisorption of anthraquinone onto the surface of carbon cloth via non-covalent π–π interactions, followed by dipping in exfoliated MXene suspension. The M/AQ/CC electrode, with a high mass loading (18.2 mg cm⁻²), delivered a capacity of 46 mAh g⁻¹ (about 1 mAh cm⁻² areal capacity or 6 mAh ml⁻¹ volume) at 0.5 A g⁻¹, with good rate performance and an enhanced cyclability over 5 k cycles. This simple preparation method can also be applied to incorporate MXene with a series of alternative organic redox carriers on freestanding carbon cloth, including thionin acetate and anthraquinone-2-sulfonate. The improvement in electrochemical performance highlights an efficient approach to store more charges via redox reactions from organic quinones pi-stacked at carbon surfaces, thanks to a protective MXene shield that stabilizes the Faradaic behavior of quinones over repetitive charge-discharge processes. The simplicity and versatility of this method should enable design of many advanced electrode materials based on MXene/quinones/carbon cloth for power devices.

Palladium dichloride (6‐10) and nickel dichloride (11‐15) complexes of a series of N‐substituted/functionalized bis(diphenylphosphino)amine‐type ligands (1‐5) were synthesized and characterized, using multinuclear NMR and FT‐IR, MS and EA. The solid‐state structures of complexes 6, 8·2CHCl3, 12 and 15 could be confirmed by XRD. All the complexes were evaluated as catalysts in the Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling reaction. Applying the optimized reaction conditions (from the literature) for such complexes, i.e. Cs2CO3 and 1,4‐dioxane, the palladium catalysts were found very efficient for the coupling of phenylboronic acid and aryl bromides functionalized with weak and moderate electron donating groups (EDGs) and weak and moderate electron withdrawing groups (EWGs). In contrast, reduced activity was observed for aryl bromides functionalized with strong EDGs and EWGs and no activity for aryl chlorides. Under the same reaction conditions, the nickel catalysts were completely inactive. Applying different and “greener” reaction conditions, i.e. K3PO4 and tert‐amyl alcohol, the nickel catalysts efficiently converted various aryl bromides and chlorides with a pool of aryl boronic acids, therefore clearly surpassing their palladium analogues at lower cost, economically and environmentally. Surprisingly, these reaction conditions could also be successfully applied to the palladium complexes, improving their performances and offering a “greener” alternative to the common conditions.

Background Postneonatal cerebral palsy (PNCP) is rare and requires large databases to be studied over time. Objectives To study the time trend of prevalence of PNCP overall and by cause, and to describe the clinical characteristics of children with PNCP according to cause and compared with children with pre/peri/neonatal CP (PPNCP). Methods The Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe (SCPE) database was used. Primary events (the first known chronological event in the causal chain) were classified according to the SCPE classification (six main and 19 sub‐categories). Prevalence trends for children born during 1976–2012 were modelled using multilevel generalised linear models. The clinical characteristics of PNCP and PPNCP cases born after 1998 were reported as proportions. Results The prevalence rates of PNCP were 1.76 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37, 2.23) and 0.82 per 10,000 live births (95% CI 0.73, 0.92) in children born during 1976–1980 and 2006–2012, respectively. The models showed a 2% annual decline in overall prevalence (prevalence rate multiplied by 0.98 each year) and a 10% decline for infectious causes for every 5‐year change. The prevalence rate in children born during 2006–2012 was 0.26 per 10,000 (95% CI 0.21, 0.32) for infectious causes, which remained the most frequent. No trend emerged for other causes. Unilateral spastic CP, associated impairments and severe gross motor dysfunction were more frequent in PNCP than in PPNCP, and PNCP showed predominantly grey matter injury (55.6%). Seventeen percent were born preterm. PNCP differed by cause, with cerebrovascular accidents presenting the least severe and hypoxic causes the most severe forms. Conclusion Our study confirms the decrease in the prevalence of PNCP in children born up to 2012, particularly for CP, due to infectious causes, which remain the most frequent. Children with PNCP had more severe presentation overall than those with PPNCP, with severity depending on the cause.

BACKGROUND Mechanical thrombectomy is the treatment of choice for ischemic strokes of the anterior circulation with proximal occlusion. Mechanical thrombectomy can be performed under sedation, which can lead to episodes of periprocedural agitation. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of agitation and determine the consequences during and after mechanical thrombectomy. METHODS This is an ancillary study to the AMETIS study (Anesthesia Management in Endovascular Therapy for Ischemic Stroke). We evaluated the patients from the sedation group of this randomized trial; some patients presented at least 1 episode of agitation during the procedure (determined by a Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score >1) prospectively collected. We explored the association between agitation and a composite outcome (Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score <2b and/or arterial perforation) through univariate and multivariate analyses, accounting for confounders (agitation, age, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, local thrombus) identified a priori by the acyclic diagram method. RESULTS Among the 138 participants (average age, 71±14 years; 72 [52%] male; average National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 15±6), 53 (38%) experienced at least 1 agitation episode. Agitation was neither a risk factor of Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score <2b and/or arterial perforation in univariate and multivariate analyses (adjusted odds ratio, 1.29 [0.57–2.92]; P =0.5), nor a risk of unfavorable outcome (adjusted OR, 0.7 [0.18–2.56]; P =0.56). Although, agitated patients had a higher incidence of conversion with intubation (21% versus 5%; OR, 5.3 [1.7–20]; P <0.01) and significantly worse radiological image quality (62% versus 17%; OR, 8.37 [3.9–19.1]; P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS Our study found a high frequency of agitation during mechanical thrombectomy under sedation. Despite the absence of any significant link with prognosis, Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score, and perforations, there is more conversion to general anesthesia with intubation and poorer quality images.

Objective To examine the course of interstitial lung disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA-ILD) in France on treatment with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) using the MAJIK-SFR registry. Methods Prospective national multicentre observational study identifying patients with RA-ILD from the MAJIK-SFR registry. Pulmonary assessment data were collected at JAKi initiation and follow-up visits (6 months, 12 months and a median of 21 months postinclusion), including chest high-resolution CT (HRCT), pulmonary function tests (forced vital capacity (FVC) and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO)), acute exacerbations of ILD, respiratory infections and lung cancers. Results We enrolled 42 patients (26 women, 62%) with RA-ILD with a mean age of 61±13 years and a mean disease duration of 16±10 years. Compared with the 778 RA patients without ILD from the MAJIK registry, RA-ILD patients were older, displayed more severe and active disease and had more prevalent comorbidities. Non-specific interstitial pneumonia and usual interstitial pneumonia accounted for 46% and 43% of the chest HRCT ILD patterns, respectively. No significant changes in FVC and DLCO were observed during the follow-up period. Chest HRCT lesions remained stable in 69% of patients. Progressive ILD was identified in 8 patients (19%). 16 (38%) respiratory tract infections were observed. Only one acute regressive exacerbation of ILD was noted, and no lung cancer was diagnosed. No deaths occurred. JAKi was discontinued in 17 patients including 8 for inefficacy on joint involvement and 5 for intolerance. Conclusion The analysis indicates stability of RA-ILD in patients treated with JAKi. The tolerance profile of JAKi in this higher risk population did not reveal new safety signal.

The dynamics of giant planet magnetospheres is controlled by a complex interplay between their fast rotation, their interaction with the solar wind, and their diverse internal plasma and momentum sources. In the ionosphere, the Hall and Pedersen conductances are two key parameters that regulate the intensity of currents coupling the magnetosphere and the ionosphere, and the rate of angular momentum transfer and power carried by these currents. We perform a comparative study of Hall and Pedersen conductivities and conductances in the four giant planets of our Solar System ‐ Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. We use a generic ionospheric model (restraining the studied ions to H3+ ${\mathrm{H}}_{3}^{+}$, CH5+ ${\text{CH}}_{5}^{+}$, and meteoric ions) to study the dependence of conductances on the structure and composition of these planets' upper atmospheres and on the main ionization sources (photoionization, ionization by precipitating electrons, and meteoroid ablation). After checking that our model reproduces the conclusions of Nakamura et al. (2022), https://doi.org/10.1029/2022ja030312 at Jupiter, that is, the contribution of meteoric ions to the height‐integrated conductances is non‐negligible, we show that this contribution could also be non‐negligible at Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, compared with ionization processes caused by precipitating electrons of energies lower than a few keV (typical energies on these planets). However, because of their weaker magnetic field, the conductive layer of these planets is higher than the layer where meteoric ions are mainly produced, limiting their role in magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling.

Forests provide many ecosystem services that strongly depend on species diversity, as illustrated by the repeatedly observed diversity–productivity relationships (DPRs). These forest DPRs are assumed to result mostly from complementarity between species at the tree level whilst emerging community‐level processes remain poorly explored. In this study, we propose that the ‘tree packing effect’ (TPE), where species diversity promotes productivity by positively impacting maximum stand density, is an important determinant of DPRs. We tested the two components of TPE: (i) whether maximum stand density increases with species richness and (ii) whether this higher stand density allowed by species richness promotes forest productivity. First, relying on national forest inventories of six European countries (NFIs, totaling 2,367,776 trees), we fitted self‐thinning lines to examine whether these lines were influenced by plot species richness. We showed that maximum stand density increases with tree species richness in Europe, in all but one country. This trend was notably stronger in extreme climates. Second, we ran a large simulation‐based experiment (including 7,024,815 simulations) with an individual‐based forest dynamics model able to control for stand‐density effects, to quantify DPRs for more than 1000 sites in Europe. Relying on an original method to quantify DPRs at the site level, we compared the strength of DPRs simulated with and without control for stand density. We found positive DPRs up to 10‐times stronger when TPE is at play than when stand density is controlled. This positive effect of diversity on forest productivity through tree packing is also stronger in extreme climates, especially in warm and dry conditions. Synthesis. Highlighting the generality of the TPE in European forests, our results reveal that the effect of diversity on forest functioning is partly mediated by diversity‐driven changes in stand density. This mechanism has been long overlooked in biodiversity—ecosystem functioning studies, but our findings strongly call for its reconsideration, especially in natural forests. It also opens key perspectives for management and climate change mitigation programmes.

Bacterial resistance is gaining ground and novel, unconventional strategies are required to improve antibiotic treatments. As a synthetic analog of planktonic bacilli, the natural bacterial swimmers that can penetrate bacterial biofilms, ultra‐short propelling magnetic nanochains are presented as bioinspired magnetic nanorobots, enhancing the antibiotic treatment in biofilm‐forming Staphylococcus epidermidis. Propelling nanochains, activated by a low intensity (<20 mT) and low frequency (<10 Hz) rotating magnetic field (RMF), prompt the otherwise resistant biofilm‐forming bacteria to become sensitive to methicillin, resulting in the killing of 99.99% of bacteria. While magnetic force‐driven spherical magnetic nanoparticles were previously reported as unidirectional biofilm channel diggers, propelling nanochains emerge as second‐generation magnetic nanorobots, which, due to their magnetic core, shape anisotropy, and negative zeta potential, combine magnetic responsiveness, torque‐driven movement, and attractive electrostatic interactions to attach to bacterial aggregates and multi‐directionally protrude throughout the biofilm, indulging mechanical forces. These synergistic effects, in combination with an antibiotic drug, destroy the bacterial extracellular matrix and eradicate the formed biofilm, as confirmed with several complementary techniques.

Most transplant‐ineligible patients present with multiple myeloma (MM) refractory to lenalidomide and/or anti‐CD38 monoclonal antibody at first relapse and represent a difficult‐to‐treat population. The Intergroupe Francophone du Myélome phase 2 study iberdomide, ixazomib and dexamethasone (I2D) evaluated the oral triplet iberdomide, ixazomib and dexamethasone in MM patients aged ≥70 years at first relapse (NCT04998786). Seventy patients were enrolled to receive iberdomide (1.6 mg on day 1–21), ixazomib (3 mg on day 1, 8, 15) and dexamethasone (20 mg on day 1, 8, 15, 22 on cycle 1–2 and 10 mg on day 1, 8, 15, 22 on cycle 3–6) (28‐day cycle) until disease progression. Median age was 76; 50% patients were frail according to the International Myeloma Working Group frailty score; 74% and 37% were refractory to lenalidomide and daratumumab respectively. With a median follow‐up of 14 months, the overall response rate was 64%, including 36% very good partial response or better. The 12‐month progression‐free survival, duration of response and overall survival were 52%, 76% and 86% respectively. The most common (46%) grade 3–4 toxicity was neutropenia. Non‐haematological adverse events were mostly grade 1 or 2. Overall, I2D demonstrated a favourable risk–benefit profile in elderly MM patients at first relapse, including in patients with lenalidomide and daratumumab refractory disease.