An interdisciplinary approach to improving conservation outcomes for parasites.

Parasites represent a significant proportion of Earth's biodiversity and play important roles in the ecology and biology of ecosystems and hosts, making them an important target for conservation. Despite increasing calls to prioritize protection for parasites in the academic literature, they remain undervalued and underrepresented in global biodiversity conservation efforts, not least due to the perception that the interests of parasite and host conservation are opposing and the common misconception that parasites are a threat, rather than a benefit, to conservation. We considered whether taking an interdisciplinary approach to parasite conservation research will generate novel insights and solutions concerning why and how parasite conservation should be practiced for the benefit of parasites, their hosts, ecosystems, and people.

Safety and efficacy of valoctocogene roxaparvovec with prophylactic glucocorticoids: 1-year results from the phase 3b, single-arm, open-label GENEr8-3 study.

Background: Valoctocogene roxaparvovec, an adeno-associated virus vector that transfers a human factor VIII (FVIII) coding sequence to hepatocytes, provides bleeding protection for people with severe hemophilia A (HA).

Objective: Determine the efficacy and safety of valoctocogene roxaparvovec with concomitant prophylactic glucocorticoids in the open-label, single-arm, phase 3b GENEr8-3 trial.

Methods: Participants with severe HA who were using HA prophylaxis received one 6x10 vg/kg infusion of valoctocogene roxaparvovec concomitantly with daily prophylactic glucocorticoids (40 mg prednisolone equivalent/d weeks 0‒8; taper to 5 mg/d weeks 9‒19).

Cartilaginous microtissues exhibit extreme resilience under compression with size-dependent mechanical properties.

Self-assembled cartilaginous microtissues provide a promising means of repairing challenging skeletal defects and connective tissues. However, despite their considerable promise in tissue engineering, the mechanical response of these engineered microtissues is not well understood. Here we examine the mechanical and viscoelastic response of progenitor cell aggregates formed from human primary periosteal cells and the resulting cartilaginous microtissues under large deformations as might be encountered in vivo.

Double trouble? Quantifying the risk from co-exposure to multiple pathogens in Tenebrio molitor at different CO concentrations.

The insect mass-rearing industry to produce feed and food is expanding rapidly. Insects in production frequently encounter multiple pathogens and environmental stressors simultaneously, which can lead to significant economic losses. Our understanding of the interactions between different stressors remains limited, and existing methods primarily focus on determining overall patterns of additivity, synergism, or antagonism.

Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.