Identifying climate refugia for vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa under future climate change scenarios.

Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) are recognised as having high ecological significance and susceptibility to disturbances, including climate change. One approach to providing information on the location and biological composition of these ecosystems, especially in difficult-to-reach environments such as the deep sea, is to generate spatial predictions for VME indicator taxa. In this study, the Random Forest algorithm was used to model the spatial distribution of density for 14 deep-water VME indicator taxa under current environmental conditions and future climate change scenarios (SSP2-4.

Recovery of deep-sea meiofauna community in Kaikōura Canyon following an earthquake-triggered turbidity flow.

Turbidity flows can transport massive amounts of sediment across large distances with dramatic, long-lasting impacts on deep-sea benthic communities. The 2016 M 7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake triggered a canyon-flushing event in Kaikōura Canyon, New Zealand, which included significant submarine mass wasting, debris, and turbidity flows.

Probabilistic ecological risk assessment for deep-sea mining: A Bayesian network for Chatham Rise, Pacific Ocean.

Increasing interest in seabed resource use in the ocean is introducing new pressures on deep-sea environments, the ecological impacts of which need to be evaluated carefully. The complexity of these ecosystems and the lack of comprehensive data pose significant challenges to predicting potential impacts. In this study, we demonstrate the use of Bayesian networks (BNs) as a modeling framework to address these challenges and enhance the development of robust quantitative predictions concerning the effects of human activities on deep-seafloor ecosystems.

Diagnosis and management of rectal syphilis-case report.

The incidence and prevalence of syphilis are rising worldwide. Rectal syphilis is a rare condition with few reported cases in the literature and therefore often missed from differential diagnosis of atypical anorectal ulceration. We report a case of a 64-year-old male who presented with change in the bowel habit and a palpable rectal mass on examination.

Developing power plant materials using the life cycle lens.

The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) environment will include magnetic, thermal, mechanical and environmental loads far greater than those seen in the Joint European Torus campaigns of the past decade or currently contemplated for ITER. Greater still are the neutron peak dose rates of 10 displacements per atom, per second, which in-vessel materials in STEP are anticipated to be exposed to. Reduced activation and high-fluence resilience therefore dominate the materials strategy to support the STEP Programme.

Myoferlin: A Potential Marker of Response to Radiation Therapy and Survival in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer.

Purpose: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer often require neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy to downstage the disease, but the response is variable with no predictive biomarkers. We have previously revealed through proteomic profiling that myoferlin is associated with response to radiation therapy. The aims of this study were to further validate this finding and explore the potential for myoferlin to act as a prognostic and/or therapeutic target.

Multiomics Analyses Identify AKR1A1 as a Biomarker for Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease. Because many genes associate with DKD, multiomics approaches were used to narrow the list of functional genes, gene products, and related pathways providing insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of DKD. The Kidney Precision Medicine Project human kidney single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data set and Mendeley Data on human kidney cortex biopsy proteomics were used.

A new variant of gallbladder duplication mimicking a choledochal cyst: stepwise management of an unexpected surgical finding.

We present a case of previously unclassified duplicated gallbladder which posed a surgical challenge intraoperatively by mimicking a choledochal cyst. An intraoperative cholangiogram was performed followed by a simple cholecystectomy. No further dissection was performed to avoid bile duct injury and complication from the unconventional anatomy.

Type 2 Diabetes Modifies the Association of CAD Genomic Risk Variants With Subclinical Atherosclerosis.

Background: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but questions remain about the underlying pathology. Identifying which CAD loci are modified by T2D in the development of subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcification [CAC], carotid intima-media thickness, or carotid plaque) may improve our understanding of the mechanisms leading to the increased CAD in T2D.

Methods: We compared the common and rare variant associations of known CAD loci from the literature on CAC, carotid intima-media thickness, and carotid plaque in up to 29 670 participants, including up to 24 157 normoglycemic controls and 5513 T2D cases leveraging whole-genome sequencing data from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide study identifies effector genes and druggable pathways for coronary artery calcification.

Coronary artery calcification (CAC), a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis, predicts future symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). Identifying genetic risk factors for CAC may point to new therapeutic avenues for prevention. Currently, there are only four known risk loci for CAC identified from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in the general population.

Methods for estimating insulin resistance from untargeted metabolomics data.

Context: Insulin resistance is associated with multiple complex diseases; however, precise measures of insulin resistance are invasive, expensive, and time-consuming.

Objective: Develop estimation models for measures of insulin resistance, including insulin sensitivity index (SI) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) from metabolomics data.

Design: Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Family Study (IRASFS).

Baseline serum HBV RNA is associated with the risk of hepatitis flare after stopping nucleoside analog therapy in HBeAg-negative participants.

Background And Aims: HBV RNA in peripheral blood reflects HBV cccDNA transcriptional activity and may predict clinical outcomes. The prospective Melbourne HBV-STOP trial studied nucleot(s)ide analog discontinuation in HBeAg-negative non-cirrhotic participants with long-term virological suppression. Ninety-six weeks after stopping treatment, the proportion of participants with virological relapse (HBV DNA > 2000 IU/mL), biochemical relapse (ALT > 2 × ULN and HBV DNA > 2000 IU/mL), or hepatitis flare (ALT > 5 × ULN and HBV DNA > 2000 IU/mL) was 89%, 58%, and 38%, respectively.