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Spiders are common arthropod predators living in most habitats of the world, and due to their plasticity in exploitation of resources, different species may have wide distribution ranges that cover different habitat types. While most species live solitarily, some spider species have independently evolved a permanently social lifestyle where all group members cooperate in colony tasks such as prey capture and brood care. Spiders harbour microbial communities, which may vary among individual hosts (or host groups), and which could be important for shaping phenotypic responses to the local environment. In this thesis, I study ecological interactions within spider species, and between spiders and their local environment and their microbial communities. The thesis aims to understand adaptive responses that enable persistence in different environments and the occupation of new niches.The first chapter explores the organization of spider groups in relation to task differentiation, especially the link between task differentiation, personality, metabolism and reproductive state. The study found some (but limited) evidence indicating that personality, metabolic rate or reproductive status could explain task differentiation in the social spider Stegodyphus mimosarum.The second chapter investigates the role of intolerance towards conspecifics in dispersal decisions and group cohesion both in a temporary and a permanently social Stegodyphus species. Intolerance towards conspecifics is not the cause of dispersal, but rather develops after dispersal to maintain a solitary lifestyle in the temporary social species Stegodyphus lineatus. Intolerance is lost in the social species Stegodyphus sarasinorum, suggesting that this trait is redundant in permanently social species, because they do not interact with competing groups.The third chapter examined the interaction between social spiders and the host plants on which they build their communal nests. The study suggests that Stegodyphus dumicola spiders build their nests preferentially on specific plant species, including host plants with protective spines, and the preferred host plants are associated with improved survival.The fourth chapter investigated at the mode of transmission of bacterial symbionts in the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola, using a combination of life cycle analysis and experimental cross-fostering of offspring. Bacterial symbionts are transmitted across generations by a mixed mode of transmission involving regurgitation feeding by both mothers and non-reproducing female helpers. In the adult state, social transmission governs homogenization of microbiome composition among group-members.The fifth chapter tested whether ecological drift could cause variation in microbiome composition among groups in a social host species Stegodyphus dumicola. The results suggest that stochastic divergence in host-group microbiomes can arise during the process of group formation by individual founders, which could explain the existence of among-group variation in microbiome composition in the wild.My studies were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which delayed fieldwork (Chapter 6) and caused me to initiate a new study system (Chapter 7). Chapter 6 explores three-way associations between host plants, the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola and their microbial symbionts, to investigate whether plant host microbiomes or their chemical compounds are beneficial or transmitted to social spiders. This project is ongoing, and preliminary results on the microbiome of host plants and spider nests are presented. In the last chapter, I conducted research on the possible effects of urbanization on microbiome composition and diet of the solitary Garden spider Araneus diadematus, to explore whether the microbiome might be involved in occupation of urban areas. This project is ongoing, and preliminary results are presented.

Abstract:Although previous studies support the clinical benefit of imatinib regarding respiratory status in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, potential cardiotoxicity may limit its clinical application. This study aimed to investigate the cardiac safety of imatinib in COVID-19. In the CounterCOVID study, 385 hospitalized hypoxemic patients with COVID-19 were randomly assigned to receive 10 days of oral imatinib or placebo in a 1:1 ratio. Patients with a corrected QT interval (QTc) >500 ms or left ventricular ejection fraction <40% were excluded. Severe cardiac adverse events were monitored for 28 days or until death occurred. Electrocardiogram measurements and cardiac biomarkers were assessed repeatedly during the first 10 days. A total of 36 severe cardiac events occurred, with a similar incidence in both treatment groups. No differences were observed in the computer-generated Bazett, manually interpreted Bazett, or Fridericia-interpreted QTcs. No clinically relevant alterations in other electrocardiogram parameters or plasma high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations were observed. Similar findings were observed in a subgroup of 72 patients admitted to the intensive care unit. In the univariate and multivariable linear mixed models, treatment with imatinib was not significantly associated with QT interval duration, hs-cTnT, or NT-proBNP levels. In conclusion, imatinib treatment did not result in more cardiac events, QT interval prolongation, or altered hs-cTnT or NT-proBNP levels. This suggests that treatment with imatinib is safe in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 with a QTc duration of less than 500 ms and left ventricular ejection fraction >40%.

Spanish universities still face many barriers to the training of people with disabilities, especially with intellectual disabilities (ID). In general, continuing higher education courses are the main training response for the latter. Knowing the impact that confinement by COVID-19 has had on the students of these courses is a relevant element. The present investigation focused on analyzing the case of the confinement experience of 12 young students with ID who attended the continuing training program called Unidiversidad at the University of Alcalá (Spain). In particular, the implications on their emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships, and individual training were analyzed. Information was collected through a semi-structured interview with the students and a questionnaire with their relatives. The results reflect changes in emotional well-being linked to the increased concern of students for the health of their families. Interpersonal relationships were also affected, although participants tried to compensate for the lack of face-to-face interaction with instant messaging applications and video calls. The change in training to the online modality generated concern and uncertainty in students, although it also provided learning opportunities, which have been supported by peer tutoring and support from teachers. This work has been supported by the University Teaching Research Network Program of the Institute of Educational Sciences of the University of Alicante (2020-21 call). Ref. 5100.

BackgroundIt is unclear which patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are most susceptible for omicron breakthrough infections.MethodsWe assessed omicron breakthrough infections in vaccinated patients with MS with and without disease-modifying therapies enrolled in an ongoing large prospective study. We longitudinally studied humoral responses after primary and booster vaccinations and breakthrough infections.ResultsOmicron breakthrough infections were reported in 110/312 (36%) patients with MS, and in 105/110 (96%) infections were mild. Omicron breakthrough infections occurred more frequently in patients treated with anti-CD20 therapies and sphingosine-1 phosphate receptor (S1PR) modulators, patients with impaired humoral responses after primary immunisation (regardless of treatment) and patients without prior SARS-CoV-2 infections. After infection, antibody titres increased in patients on S1PR modulator treatment while anti-CD20 treated patients did not show an increase.ConclusionsSARS-COV-2 omicron breakthrough infections are more prevalent in patients with MS on anti-CD20 therapies and S1PR modulators compared with other patients with MS, which correlated with decreased humoral responses after vaccination. Humoral responses after infection were higher in S1PR modulator-treated patients in comparison to patients on anti-CD20 therapies, suggesting that immunological protection from contracting infection or repeated exposures may differ between these therapies.

Persons with diabetes mellitus may have an increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 compared to persons without diabetes. Prior studies indicate that immune response and thus vaccine effectiveness might be lower in persons with diabetes. We aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in adults with diabetes. Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched for studies that evaluated the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in adults with diabetes, published before 4 March 2022. Risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated using the ROBINS-I tool. At least two reviewers conducted the study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment independently. After screening of 2196 studies, a total of 17 articles were included. Six different COVID-19 vaccines (Ad5-nCoV-S, AZD1222, BNT162b2, CoronaVac, JNJ-78436735, and mRNA-1273) were included in the synthesis. Vaccine effectiveness was reported for SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalization, and death, and ranged from 24 to 96% in persons with diabetes, and from 33 to 97% in total study populations; effectiveness was generally lower for persons with diabetes. Odds ratios for breakthrough infection or severe COVID-19 ranged from 1.03 to 2.41 in vaccinated persons with diabetes compared to persons without diabetes. Even though the included studies were very heterogeneous, results from the synthesis indicate that effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines might be lower in persons with diabetes. More research is needed on the comparison of vaccine effectiveness between persons with and without diabetes, and the effectiveness of repeat COVID-19 vaccinations.

This paper elicits and quantifies narratives from open-ended surveys sent daily to U.S. stockholders during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using textual analysis, we extract thirteen narratives and measure their prevalence over time. A validation analysis confirms the behavioral and economic relevance of the retrieved narratives. Moreover, we find that the narratives contain predictive information for future excess stock and bond returns, and this predictability remains when controlling for contemporaneous information stemming from news and social media. Finally, we find evidence that political identity is reflected in the narrative tone.

Non-imaging phenotypes for the Queensland Twin Adolescent Brain (QTAB) project. The non-imaging phenotypes dataset contains restricted demographic data, as well as assessments of puberty, cognition, anxiety and/or depression, emotional and social behaviours, social support and family functioning, stress, sleep and physical health, early life and family demographics, dietary behaviour, and COVID-19 Pandemic Specific Assessments.

Introduction: Evidence-based early stroke care as reflected by fulfillment of process performance measures, is strongly related to better patient outcomes after stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). Detailed data on the resilience of stroke care services during the COVID-19 pandemic are limited. We aimed to examine the quality of early stroke care at Danish hospitals during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: We extracted data from Danish national health registries in five time periods (11 March, 2020–27 January, 2021) and compared these to a baseline pre-pandemic period (13 March, 2019–10 March, 2020). Quality of early stroke care was assessed as fulfilment of individual process performance measures and as a composite measure (opportunity-based score). Results: A total of 23,054 patients were admitted with stroke and 8153 with a TIA diagnosis in the entire period. On a national level, the opportunity-based score (95% confidence interval [CI]) at baseline for ischemic patients was 81.1% (80.8–81.4), for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) 85.5% (84.3–86.6), and for TIA 96.0% (95.3–96.1). An increase of 1.1% (0.1–2.2) and 1.5% (0.3–2.7) in the opportunity-based score was observed during the first national lockdown period for AIS and TIA followed by a decline of −1.3% (−2.2 to −0.4) in the gradual reopening phase for AIS indicators. We found a significant negative association between regional incidence rates and quality-of-care in ischemic stroke patients implying that quality decreases when admission rates increase. Conclusion: The quality of acute stroke/TIA care in Denmark remained high during the early phases of the pandemic and only minor fluctuations occurred.