Latest Articles

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  Section: Genomics ; Topics: Genetics/genomics

  In silico evidence suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein may target coiled-coil regions of numerous cytoskeletal and cytoskeleton-associated proteins

  Brézellec, Pierre  

  10.24072/pcjournal.681 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e13

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  Understanding the interactions between host and viral envelope proteins is essential to get insights into the dynamics of viral infection. To investigate more closely the mechanisms governing SARS-CoV-2 entry and intracellular trafficking, I reanalyzed the most extensive SARS-CoV-2–human protein–protein interactome dataset currently available. My investigation centered on the Spike S protein, a key player in initiating viral infection by binding to the host cell membrane receptor Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). I first present evidence demonstrating the statistical overrepresentation of actin-binding proteins among the Spike S partners/interactors. Next, I show that a majority of these partners contains a structural domain sharing high similarity with the C-terminal region of the Myosin II heavy chain, Myosin II being known for its roles in muscle contraction and various cellular motility processes. I subsequently demonstrate that this domain is particularly prevalent in actin-binding proteins, intermediate filaments proteins and kinesins, which all are related to the cytoskeleton known to be involved in diverse cellular functions, including endocytosis and intracellular transport — processes crucial for viral infections. Finally, I highlight that the structural domain mentioned above is a bonafide coiled-coil region. I therefore conclude that Spike S might target proteins possessing such regions. Collectively, my findings suggest that the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Spike S and human proteins, potentially mediated by coiled-coil regions, may have been underestimated. As this work relies on in silico evidence, direct biological extrapolations require caution.

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  Section: Neuroscience ; Topics: Neuroscience

  Power Pixels: a turnkey pipeline for processing of Neuropixel recordings

  Meijer, Guido T.;   Battaglia, Francesco P.  

  10.24072/pcjournal.679 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e12

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  There are many open-source tools available for the processing of neuronal data acquired using Neuropixels probes. Each of these tools, focuses on a part of the process from raw data to single neuron activity. For example, SpikeInterface is an incredibly useful Python module for pre-processing and spike sorting of individual recordings. However, there are more steps in between raw data and spikes, such as synchronization of spike times between probes and histological reconstruction of probe insertions. Therefore, we developed Power Pixels, combining the functionality of several packages into one integrated pipeline, which may be run in any lab workflow. It includes pre-processing, spike sorting, neuron-level quality control metrics, synchronization between multiple probes, compression of raw data, and ephys-to-histology alignment. Integrating all these steps into one pipeline greatly simplifies Neuropixels data processing, especially for novel users who might struggle to find their way around all the available code and tools.

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  Section: Organization Studies ; Topics: Business and Management, Political sciences, Sociology

  Thousand plateaus: A rhizomatic approach of collaborations among organizations

  Berkowitz, Heloise;   Bor, Sanne  

  10.24072/pcjournal.669 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e11

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  Collaborations among organizations may happen through a variety of inter-organizational arrangements, such as alliances, supply networks, industrial districts, policy networks or meta-organizations. We join recent efforts in analysing this plurality and diversity of organizations by drawing on the concept of rhizome to study inter-organizational arrangements. We aim to provide tools which can help analysis, comparison and cumulating knowledge about inter-organizational collaborations by moving beyond categories (which are often specific to one field, theory, sector, and so forth). To do so, we build on Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of rhizome and develop an analytical rhizomatic framework focusing on connections among members, heterogeneity of members, multiplicity of interactions and connections, asignifying rupture in the connections, cartography of interactions, and decalcomania in the adoption of knowledge. On this basis, we develop an inter-organizational web approach of collaborations among organizations and outline possible applications and research venues.

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  Section: Nutrition ; Topics: Sustainability science, Health sciences

  Does eating more frequently at the university cafeteria promote healthier and more environmentally friendly diets in French students?

  Arrazat, Laura;   Teil, Fanny; Nicklaus, Sophie;   Marty, Lucile  

  10.24072/pcjournal.678 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e10

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  As public institutions, French university cafeterias have the potential to favour student well-being and academic performance by offering affordable, high-quality meals. More than half of the student population ate in these facilities at least once a week, with 17% eating there daily. However, limited data exists on students' actual food choices in this context. This study aimed to investigate the role of university catering in student diets, focusing on nutritional quality and environmental impact. Two hundred and fifty-three students were recruited using a non-probability quotas-based sampling method at the entrance of a large university cafeteria in Dijon during autumn 2023. Participants were 56% women and 20.2 (2.6) years old on average; they ate at this cafeteria at least once a week. They were asked to take pictures of their meal tray each time they ate at this cafeteria during three months. They also completed online questionnaires assessing their sociodemographic characteristics, overall diet using a 125-item food frequency questionnaire and attendance at university catering. The nutritional quality and environmental impact of students' food choices at the university cafeteria and of their overall diets were assessed as adherence to French recommendations, sPNNS-GS2 score, and greenhouse gas emissions, kg eCO₂ and calculated for a standard 2000 kcal intake. The results indicated significant potential for improving the nutritional quality and environmental impact of both the students' food choices at the university cafeteria and of their overall diets. While frequent attendance at university catering was associated with healthier food choices (β=0.15, p=0.027) this did not translate into a broader improvement in the overall nutritional quality of students' diets (β=0.09, p=0.222). No associations were found between attendance at university catering with neither environmental impact of food choices (β=0.03, p=0.170) nor of overall diets (β=0.05, p=0.291). These findings suggest that although university catering has the potential to promote healthier and more sustainable eating habits, its full potential has yet to be realised notably by increasing the availability of healthier and more environmentally-friendly options such as legume-based dishes.