The planktonic freshwater ciliate Balanion planctonicum (Ciliophora, Prostomatea): A cryptic species complex or a "complex species"?

The globally distributed ciliate Balanion planctonicum is a primary consumer of phytoplankton spring blooms. Due to its small size (~20 μm), identification and quantification by molecular tools is preferable as an alternative to the laborious counting of specimen in quantitative protargol stains. However, previous sequencing of the 18S rDNA V9 region of B.

A programmable environment for shape optimization and shapeshifting problems.

Soft materials underpin many domains of science and engineering, including soft robotics, structured fluids, and biological and particulate media. In response to applied mechanical, electromagnetic or chemical stimuli, such materials typically change shape, often dramatically. Predicting their structure is of great interest to facilitate design and mechanistic understanding, and can be cast as an optimization problem where a given energy function describing the physics of the material is minimized with respect to the shape of the domain and additional fields.

Case 336.

A 10-month-old female infant, who was second-born, was referred for progressive macrocephaly, axial hypotonia, developmental delay, and limb stiffness. Birth had occurred at 41 weeks, after an uneventful pregnancy and delivery, to nonconsanguineous parents. Noticeably, the child could not hold her head up at 4 months or sit at 10 months of age.

A strain-guided trial of cardioprotection in early-stage breast cancer patients on anti-HER2 therapy (PROTECT HER2).

Background: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) has been used to identify patients at risk for cancer-therapy related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD). However, there is limited data on the effectiveness of initiating cardioprotective therapy based on a strain-guided strategy in early stage HER2+ breast cancer patients. This randomized clinical trial assessed if treatment with carvedilol based on a strain-guided strategy can prevent development of CTRCD in HER2+ breast cancer patients on non-anthracycline based regimens.

Circular Engineered Sortase for Interrogating Histone H3 in Chromatin.

Reversible modification of the histone H3 N-terminal tail is critical in regulating the chromatin structure, gene expression, and cell states, while its dysregulation contributes to disease pathogenesis. Understanding the crosstalk between H3 tail modifications in nucleosomes constitutes a central challenge in epigenetics. Here, we describe an engineered sortase transpeptidase, cW11, that displays highly favorable properties for introducing scarless H3 tails onto nucleosomes.

Dispersal shapes compositional and functional diversity in aquatic microbial communities.

Unlabelled: Segregation and mixing shape the structure and functioning of aquatic microbial communities, but their respective roles are challenging to disentangle in field studies. We explored the hypothesis that functional differences and beta diversity among stochastically assembled communities would increase in the absence of dispersal. Contrariwise, we expected biotic selection during homogenizing dispersal to reduce beta and gamma diversity as well as functional variability.

The small membrane protein CcoS is involved in cofactor insertion into the cbb-type cytochrome c oxidase.

Respiratory complexes, such as cytochrome oxidases, are cofactor-containing multi-subunit protein complexes that are critically important for energy metabolism in all domains of life. Their intricate assembly strictly depends on accessory proteins, which coordinate subunit associations and cofactor deliveries. The small membrane protein CcoS was previously identified as an essential assembly factor to produce an active cbb-type cytochrome oxidase (cbb-Cox) in Rhodobacter capsulatus, but its function remained unknown.

Zirconia single retainer fixed dental prostheses for the posterior region-A novel preparation technique and literature review.

The principles of tissue preservation, minimally invasiveness and approaching different clinical situations biologically rather than surgically govern today's dentistry. Thus, different clinical scenarios require procedures that offer the dentist and the patient the possibility to choose the more invasive treatment options later in life. Subsequently, the case reported refers to a minimally invasive technique that treats single tooth edentulism using single partial retainer FDPs fabricated from monolithic zirconia.

Hospital variation in adoption of balanced transfusion practices among injured patients requiring blood transfusions.

Background: This study sought to measure hospital variability in adoption of balanced transfusion following the Pragmatic, Randomized Optimal Platelet and Plasma Ratios (PROPPR) guidelines. We hypothesized hospital adoption rates of balanced transfusion would be low, and vary significantly among hospitals after controlling for patient, injury and hospital characteristics.

Study Design And Methods: This was an observational cohort study of injured adult patients (≥16 years) in Trauma Quality Improvement Program hospitals 2016-2021.

PREDICTION OF TIME TO HEMODYNAMIC STABILIZATION OF UNSTABLE INJURED PATIENT ENCOUNTERS USING ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD DATA.

Background : This study sought to predict time to patient hemodynamic stabilization during trauma resuscitations of hypotensive patient encounters using electronic medical record (EMR) data. Methods: This observational cohort study leveraged EMR data from a nine-hospital academic system composed of Level I, Level II, and nontrauma centers. Injured, hemodynamically unstable (initial systolic blood pressure, <90 mm Hg) emergency encounters from 2015 to 2020 were identified.

Diet Optimization in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Impact on Disease Relapse and Inflammatory Markers. A 1-year Prospective Trial.

Background And Aims: Recent research has shown that Western-style diets have been associated with an increased risk of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Our aim was to examine the link between an anti-inflammatory diet and the maintenance of IBD remission, as well as to assess the potential therapeutic advantages of this dietary approach in preserving IBD remission.

Methods: The inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to a total of 189 individuals with IBD, with 21 individuals not meeting the criteria.

Association of Patient Reported Outcomes With Caregiver Burden in Older Patients With Advanced Heart Failure: Insights From the SUSTAIN-IT Study.

Background: Caregivers of patients with advanced heart failure may experience burden in providing care, but whether changes in patient health status are associated with caregiver burden is unknown.

Methods: This observational study included older patients (60-80 years old) receiving advanced surgical heart failure therapies and their caregivers at 13 US sites. Patient health status was assessed using the 12-item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (range, 0-100; higher scores are better).

Freshwater genome-reduced bacteria exhibit pervasive episodes of adaptive stasis.

The emergence of bacterial species is rooted in their inherent potential for continuous evolution and adaptation to an ever-changing ecological landscape. The adaptive capacity of most species frequently resides within the repertoire of genes encoding the secreted proteome (SP), as it serves as a primary interface used to regulate survival/reproduction strategies. Here, by applying evolutionary genomics approaches to metagenomics data, we show that abundant freshwater bacteria exhibit biphasic adaptation states linked to the eco-evolutionary processes governing their genome sizes.

Phenology and ecological role of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in freshwaters.

Background: Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria that supply their metabolism with light energy harvested by bacteriochlorophyll-a-containing reaction centers. Despite their substantial contribution to bacterial biomass, microbial food webs, and carbon cycle, their phenology in freshwater lakes remains unknown. Hence, we investigated seasonal variations of AAP abundance and community composition biweekly across 3 years in a temperate, meso-oligotrophic freshwater lake.

Echocardiographic parameters associated with less reverse left ventricular remodeling after transcatheter aortic valve implant in subjects with prosthesis patient mismatch.

Background: Transaortic valve implant (TAVI) is the treatment of choice for severe aortic stenosis (AS). Some patients develop prosthesis patient mismatch (PPM) after TAVI. It is challenging to determine which patients are at risk for clinical deterioration.

Predictors of sustained physical activity: behaviour, bodily health, and the living environment.

This study examined the determinants of sustained physical activity. Eighty-four participants undertook a 7-weeks walking regime (i.e.