Publications by authors named "Marcon E"

Article Synopsis
  • * Analysis of data from over 1 million forest plots and thousands of tree species shows that wood density varies significantly by latitude, being up to 30% denser in tropical forests compared to boreal forests, and is influenced mainly by temperature and soil moisture.
  • * The research also finds that disturbances like human activity and fire alter wood density at local levels, affecting forest carbon stock estimates by up to 21%, emphasizing the importance of understanding environmental impacts on forest ecosystems.
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Cys2-His2 zinc-finger proteins (C2H2-ZNFs) constitute the largest class of DNA-binding transcription factors (TFs) yet remain largely uncharacterized. Although certain family members, e.g.

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  • N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and N6, 2'-O-dimethyladenosine (m6Am) are crucial modifications on mRNA that influence gene regulation, and the fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) is responsible for removing these modifications.
  • The study identifies ZBTB48, a protein involved in telomere maintenance, as a key regulator that interacts with FTO and affects its targeting to m6A/m6Am sites, influencing RNA decay rates.
  • The findings suggest that ZBTB48 plays a critical role in modulating FTO’s function and thus the expression of specific transcripts, impacting processes like cancer cell growth.
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Upper limb function loss in cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) contributes to substantial disability, and negatively impacts quality of life. Nerve transfer and tendon transfer surgery can provide improved upper limb function. This study assessed the utilization of nerve and tendon transfer surgery for individuals with tetraplegia in Canada.

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Messenger RNA precursors (pre-mRNA) generally undergo 3' end processing by cleavage and polyadenylation (CPA), which is specified by a polyadenylation site (PAS) and adjacent RNA sequences and regulated by a large variety of core and auxiliary CPA factors. To date, most of the human CPA factors have been discovered through biochemical and proteomic studies. However, genetic identification of the human CPA factors has been hampered by the lack of a reliable genome-wide screening method.

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Purpose: Adapting and validating the Portuguese version of Br-YFAS 2.0-Obes to allow it to be used by the Brazilian candidates for bariatric surgery.

Materials And Methods: This study included 329 individuals with body mass indexes (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m, candidates for bariatric surgery at a reference hospital in Brazil.

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Background: Physical activity (PA) is important for the long-term health and weight management of patients who undergo metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS). However, the roles of exercise professionals in MBS settings have not been systematically determined.

Objectives: To investigate: (1) who are the professionals implementing PA programming in MBS clinical settings; and (2) what patient-centric tasks do they perform?

Setting: Clinical and academic exercise settings worldwide.

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Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced and satellite-derived approaches to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands.

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Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records.

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Article Synopsis
  • Physical activity (PA) is essential for the long-term health and weight management of patients after metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS), but the exact roles of exercise professionals in these settings are unclear.
  • A study identified that exercise physiologists are primarily involved in PA programming in the U.S., while physiotherapists and other professionals participate internationally, focusing on tasks like exercise supervision and fitness testing.
  • Seven key areas of responsibility for exercise professionals were defined, emphasizing the need for clear PA guidelines and the integration of exercise into MBS programs as part of multidisciplinary care.
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Determining the drivers of non-native plant invasions is critical for managing native ecosystems and limiting the spread of invasive species. Tree invasions in particular have been relatively overlooked, even though they have the potential to transform ecosystems and economies. Here, leveraging global tree databases, we explore how the phylogenetic and functional diversity of native tree communities, human pressure and the environment influence the establishment of non-native tree species and the subsequent invasion severity.

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SUMO modifications regulate the function of many proteins and are important in controlling herpesvirus infections. We performed a site-specific proteomic analysis of SUMO1- and SUMO2-modified proteins in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent and lytic infection to identify proteins that change in SUMO modification status in response to EBV reactivation. Major changes were identified in all three components of the TRIM24/TRIM28/TRIM33 complex, with TRIM24 being rapidly degraded and TRIM33 being phosphorylated and SUMOylated in response to EBV lytic infection.

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SARS-CoV-2 virus spike (S) protein is an envelope protein responsible for binding to the ACE2 receptor, driving subsequent entry into host cells. The existence of multiple disulfide bonds in the S protein makes it potentially susceptible to reductive cleavage. Using a tri-part split luciferase-based binding assay, we evaluated the impacts of chemical reduction on S proteins from different virus variants and found that those from the Omicron family are highly vulnerable to reduction.

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  • SARS-CoV-2 relies on specific components from host cells for its infection and replication, making understanding these dependencies crucial for developing antiviral therapies.
  • In this study, researchers used genome-wide CRISPR knockout screens in various human cell lines to pinpoint genetic factors that influence SARS-CoV-2 infection, identifying the entry receptor as a key dependency across all tested cell lines.
  • Many of the identified host factors were specific to certain cell lines and related to pathways including cell signaling, immune responses, and chromatin modification, with a particular chromatin modifier in Calu-3 cells showing a significant effect on blocking the virus.
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  • The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) reflects a global trend showing that species richness typically increases towards the tropics, but understanding its causes has been challenging due to insufficient data.
  • A new high-resolution map of local tree species richness was created using extensive global forest inventory data and local biophysical factors, analyzing around 1.3 million sample plots.
  • Findings indicate that annual mean temperature is a significant predictor of tree species richness, aligning with the metabolic theory of biodiversity, but additional local factors also play a crucial role, especially in tropical regions.
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Alternative polyadenylation (APA) enhances gene regulatory potential by increasing the diversity of mRNA transcripts. 3' UTR shortening through APA correlates with enhanced cellular proliferation and is a widespread phenomenon in tumor cells. Here, we show that the ubiquitously expressed transcription factor Sp1 binds RNA in vivo and is a common repressor of distal poly(A) site usage.

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High performance affinity reagents are essential tools to enable biologists to profile the cellular location and composition of macromolecular complexes undergoing dynamic reorganization. To support further development of such tools, we have assembled a high-throughput phage display pipeline to generate Fab-based affinity reagents that target different dynamic forms of a large macromolecular complex, using the Chromosomal Passenger Complex (CPC), as an example. The CPC is critical for the maintenance of chromosomal and cytoskeleton processes during cell division.

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The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BGLF2 protein is a tegument protein with multiple effects on the cellular environment, including induction of SUMOylation of cellular proteins. Using affinity-purification coupled to mass-spectrometry, we identified the miRNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC), essential for miRNA function, as a top interactor of BGLF2. We confirmed BGLF2 interaction with the Ago2 and TNRC6 components of RISC in multiple cell lines and their co-localization in cytoplasmic bodies that also contain the stress granule marker G3BP1.

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Objectives: Same day discharge after minimally invasive hysterectomy has been shown to be safe and feasible. We designed and implemented a quality improvement perioperative program based on early recovery after surgery principles to improve the rate of same day discharge from 30% to 75% after minimally invasive gynecologic oncology surgery over a 12 month period.

Methods: We enrolled 102 consecutive patients undergoing minimally invasive hysterectomy at a single cancer center during a 12 month period.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein is essential for viral replication, making it a promising target for antiviral drug and vaccine development. SARS-CoV-2 infected patients exhibit an uncoordinated immune response; however, the underlying mechanistic details of this imbalance remain obscure. Here, starting from a functional proteomics workflow, we cataloged the protein-protein interactions of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including an evolutionarily conserved specific interaction of N with the stress granule resident proteins G3BP1 and G3BP2.

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Nuclear receptor-binding SET domain-containing 2 (NSD2) is the primary enzyme responsible for the dimethylation of lysine 36 of histone 3 (H3K36), a mark associated with active gene transcription and intergenic DNA methylation. In addition to a methyltransferase domain, NSD2 harbors two proline-tryptophan-tryptophan-proline (PWWP) domains and five plant homeodomains (PHDs) believed to serve as chromatin reading modules. Here, we report a chemical probe targeting the N-terminal PWWP (PWWP1) domain of NSD2.

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Unlabelled: Pneumothorax (PNX) and pneumomediastinum (PNM) are potential complications of COVID-19, but their influence on patients' outcomes remains unclear. The aim of the study was to assess incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of severe COVID-19 complicated with PNX/PNM.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter case-control analysis was conducted in COVID-19 patients admitted for respiratory failure in intermediate care units of the Treviso area, Italy, from March 2020 to April 2021.

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