eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. The cellular architecture of memory modules in Drosophila supports stochastic input integration

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Omar A Hafez
   2. Benjamin Escribano
   3. Rouven L Ziegler
   4. Jan J Hirtz
   5. Ernst Niebur
   6. Jan Pielage

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Detailed electron-microscopy reconstructions of neurons, which are now available for a complete Drosophila central brain, raise the prospect of detailed models of their electrical properties. This manuscript uses a recently released dataset to model one particular neuron in an olfactory learning center of the fly brain. The model elucidates how this neuron responds to synaptic inputs that represent odor, suggesting how modification of these synapses might underlie olfactory memory. This work brings together electrophysiological recordings and neuroanatomical reconstructions from volume electron microscopy to model how a neuronal arbor integrates synaptic inputs. With the many ongoing connectome mapping projects world wide, the results here can illustrate an approach to interpretation of connectomes towards understanding neural circuit function. The rules of synaptic plasticity discussed here furthermore do not only shed light into the mechanisms of learning and memory in biological systems but also inspire the formulation of new approaches to adjusting connection weights in artificial neural networks.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. International multicenter study comparing COVID-19 in patients with cancer to patients without cancer: Impact of risk factors and treatment modalities on survivorship

   This article has 52 authors:

   1. Issam I Raad
   2. Ray Hachem
   3. Nigo Masayuki
   4. Tarcila Datoguia
   5. Hiba Dagher
   6. Ying Jiang
   7. Vivek Subbiah
   8. Bilal Siddiqui
   9. Arnaud Bayle
   10. Robert Somer
   11. Ana Fernández Cruz
   12. Edward Gorak
   13. Arvinder Bhinder
   14. Nobuyoshi Mori
   15. Nelson Hamerschlak
   16. Samuel Shelanski
   17. Tomislav Dragovich
   18. Yee Elise Vong Kiat
   19. Suha Fakhreddine
   20. Abi Hanna Pierre
   21. Roy F Chemaly
   22. Victor Mulanovich
   23. Javier Adachi
   24. Jovan Borjan
   25. Fareed Khawaja
   26. Bruno Granwehr
   27. Teny John
   28. Eduardo Yepez Yepez
   29. Harrys A Torres
   30. Natraj Reddy Ammakkanavar
   31. Marcel Yibirin
   32. Cielito C Reyes-Gibby
   33. Mala Pande
   34. Noman Ali
   35. Raniv Dawey Rojo
   36. Shahnoor M Ali
   37. Rita E Deeba
   38. Patrick Chaftari
   39. Takahiro Matsuo
   40. Kazuhiro Ishikawa
   41. Ryo Hasegawa
   42. Ramón Aguado-Noya
   43. Alvaro Garcia García
   44. Cristina Traseira Puchol
   45. Dong Gun Lee
   46. Monica Slavin
   47. Benjamin Teh
   48. Cesar A Arias
   49. Data-Driven Determinants for COVID-19 Oncology Discovery Effort (D3CODE) Team
   50. Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis
   51. Alexandre E Malek
   52. Anne-Marie Chaftari

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study has looked at the 30-day mortality risk from COVID-19 in a large population of unvaccinated patients with and without cancer. Age and cancer were independent risk factors for death. In particular haematological malignancies and lung cancer presented the highest risk. These data add to the body of evidence regarding the risk of COVID-19 in patients with cancer. This manuscript is of broad interest to oncologists, internists, and infectious disease specialists in managing patients with COVID-19 and cancer.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Procalcitonin for antimicrobial stewardship among cancer patients admitted with COVID-19

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Hiba Dagher
   2. Anne-Marie Chaftari
   3. Patricia Mulanovich
   4. Ying Jiang
   5. Ray Hachem
   6. Alexandre E Malek
   7. Jovan Borjan
   8. George M Viola
   9. Issam Raad

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     One must appreciate the challenges of antimicrobial stewardship in an immunocompromised population. This retrospective single-institution study provides support for the working hypothesis that initial procalcitonin levels might be used in cancer patients admitted with COVID-19 infection to omit, reduce, or de-escalate the need for empiric antimicrobial therapy. In the setting of a global pandemic, this is a common issue with COVID-19 patients in generally, but far more difficult in a cancer patient population. The results presented here support the authors' conclusions, however, future subgroup analysis of more specific scenarios among cancer patients with COVID-19 (e.g., neutropenia, active chemotherapy, and need for intensive care) are warranted.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Differential processing of decision information in subregions of rodent medial prefrontal cortex

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Geoffrey W Diehl
   2. A David Redish

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this study, Diehl and Redish present a novel account of functional variability in the rodent medial prefrontal cortex. The authors report that, in general, the dorsal regions encode decision-related variables, whereas the ventral regions encode variables more linked to motivation, such as trial number in the session and amount of lingering time. Overall, the study is interesting, the experimental design is excellent, and the uniquely large neural data set is a strength. The suggestion of functional subdivisions in the prelimbic area is particularly provocative, and this conclusion, along with the data supporting it, will be of broad interest to those who study the anatomy and function of the rodent medial prefrontal cortex.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. The impact of lag time to cancer diagnosis and treatment on clinical outcomes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Parker Tope
   2. Eliya Farah
   3. Rami Ali
   4. Mariam El-Zein
   5. Wilson H Miller
   6. Eduardo L Franco

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The results of this work show a non-determinant effect of the COVID pandemic on the logistics of patient care from diagnosis to treatment modalities. The significance of this scoping review relates to the methodologic design of future outcome measures in cancer reporting that include time measurements between important clinical decision points or treatments in a standardized fashion. Without this standardization in reporting, comparisons to different length intervals are impossible and may have a significant impact on patient outcomes. The strength of the evidence is compelling, given the exhaustive nature of the literature review. This work should be seen by all oncologic units and research groups so that time benchmarks can be established that correlate to patient outcomes. These measurements require oncology society uptake and reporting to be effective.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Eco-evolutionary feedback can stabilize diverse predator-prey communities

   This article has 1 author:

   1. Stephen Martis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful theoretical and numerical study shows that evolution can stabilize predator and prey populations in a generalized Lotka-Volterra framework with high variance species-species interactions. It demonstrates an example of evolutionary bet hedging, rescuing species at risk of extinction due to destabilizing predator-prey interactions. The methodology is solid, but some modeling choices are quite specific, limiting direct applicability to concrete systems. The study should be useful to the community working on theoretical ecology and evolution, and the ecology-evolution coupling should resonate with a broader audience.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Associations of genetic and infectious risk factors with coronary heart disease

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Flavia Hodel
   2. Zhi Ming Xu
   3. Christian Wandall Thorball
   4. Roxane de La Harpe
   5. Prunelle Letang-Mathieu
   6. Nicole Brenner
   7. Julia Butt
   8. Noemi Bender
   9. Tim Waterboer
   10. Pedro Manuel Marques-Vidal
   11. Peter Vollenweider
   12. Julien Vaucher
   13. Jacques Fellay

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study confirms a role of traditional cardiovascular risk factors (age, sex, cholesterol levels, weight) and polygenetic risk scores when predicting coronary heart disease in a large prospective cohort. It further reports an independent effect of seropositivity from past infection with a commensal bacterium F. nucleatum as a risk factor. The work is based on solid data and methodology and constitutes an important contribution to the understanding of disease risk, but the role of infection needs independent replication.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Recognition of galactose by a scaffold protein recruits a transcriptional activator for the GAL regulon induction in Candida albicans

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Xun Sun
   2. Jing Yu
   3. Cheng Zhu
   4. Xinreng Mo
   5. Qiangqiang Sun
   6. Dandan Yang
   7. Chang Su
   8. Yang Lu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important manuscript investigates the circuitry connecting the galactose utilization regulon of the human pathogen and model organism Candida albicans to the sensing of galactose. In the non-pathogenic model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae this circuit represents a textbook model that rivals the lac operon as a teaching tool. Using a broad array of mainly classical approaches, this study convincingly demonstrates the transcriptional activators that are required for galactose (and GlcNAc) responsive galactose metabolic genes in C. albicans. The recognition of just how different the regulation of the galactose pathway across fungal species represents an important advance in our understanding of the evolution of the regulatory control of these circuits, and would make a nice addition to the textbook version of eukaryotic gene regulation.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Redox regulation of KV7 channels through EF3 hand of calmodulin

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Eider Nuñez
   2. Frederick Jones
   3. Arantza Muguruza-Montero
   4. Janire Urrutia
   5. Alejandra Aguado
   6. Covadonga Malo
   7. Ganeko Bernardo-Seisdedos
   8. Carmen Domene
   9. Oscar Millet
   10. Nikita Gamper
   11. Alvaro Villarroel

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Oxidation regulation of neuronal Kv7 channels contributes to the regulation of brain excitability. The manuscript concludes that this regulation is due to a disruption of the interaction between the S2S3 linker of Kv7 with the CaM EF3 site. The proposed mechanism is potentially important, but there are several weaknesses with the presentation and interpretation of the data that need to be addressed.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Interplay of adherens junctions and matrix proteolysis determines the invasive pattern and growth of squamous cell carcinoma

    This article has 12 authors:

    1. Takuya Kato
    2. Robert P Jenkins
    3. Stefanie Derzsi
    4. Melda Tozluoglu
    5. Antonio Rullan
    6. Steven Hooper
    7. Raphaël AG Chaleil
    8. Holly Joyce
    9. Xiao Fu
    10. Selvam Thavaraj
    11. Paul A Bates
    12. Erik Sahai

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study addresses several gaps that are evident with regards to cancer cell invasion in tissue. The approaches taken by this group encompassing mathematical modeling and experimental procedures are for the most part rigorous. The study is deemed as of high potential impact.

    Reviewed by eLife