Multi-tissue characterization of the constitutive heterochromatin proteome in Drosophila identifies a link between satellite DNA organization and transposon repression.

Noncoding satellite DNA repeats are abundant at the pericentromeric heterochromatin of eukaryotic chromosomes. During interphase, sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins cluster these repeats from multiple chromosomes into nuclear foci known as chromocenters. Despite the pivotal role of chromocenters in cellular processes like genome encapsulation and gene repression, the associated proteins remain incompletely characterized.

A vaccine antigen central in influenza A(H5) virus antigenic space confers subtype-wide immunity.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5) viruses globally impact wild and domestic birds, and mammals, including humans, underscoring their pandemic potential. The antigenic evolution of the A(H5) hemagglutinin (HA) poses challenges for pandemic preparedness and vaccine design. Here, the global antigenic evolution of the A(H5) HA was captured in a high-resolution antigenic map.

Bi- and Monoallelic Variants and Chronic Kidney Disease in West Africans.

Background: Apolipoprotein L1 gene () variants are risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) among Black Americans. Data are sparse on the genetic epidemiology of CKD and the clinical association of variants with CKD in West Africans, a major group in the Black population.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study involving participants from Ghana and Nigeria who had CKD stages 2 through 5, biopsy-proven glomerular disease, or no kidney disease.

The Utility of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills as a Literacy Screener for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to (a) compare outcomes between children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and children with typical hearing (CTH) on the DIBELS Eighth Edition assessment and (b) compare outcomes of children who are DHH on the DIBELS to other standardized literacy assessments.

Method: Participants included 19 children who are DHH and 19 CTH in kindergarten or first grade. All participants who are DHH had bilateral hearing loss and used listening technology.

Oscillating spatiotemporal patterns of COVID-19 in the United States.

COVID-19 case rates in the US wax and wane in wave-like patterns over time, but the spatial patterns of these temporal epidemic waves have not been well characterized. By analyzing state- and county-level COVID-19 case rate data for spatiotemporal decomposition modes and oscillatory patterns, we demonstrate that the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 feature recurrent spatiotemporal patterns. In addition to the well-recognized national-level annual mid-winter surges, we demonstrate a prominent but previously unrecognized six-month north-south oscillation in the eastern US (Eastern US COVID-19 Oscillator-EUCO) that gives rise to regional sub-epidemics and travelling epidemic waves.

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Pandemic: The 1977 "Russian Flu".

Surprisingly, the 1977 "Russian flu" H1N1 pandemic influenza virus was genetically indistinguishable from strains that had circulated decades earlier but had gone extinct in 1957. This essay puts forward the most plausible chronology to explain the reemergence of the 1977 H1N1 pandemic virus: (1) in January-February 1976, a self-limited small outbreak of a swine H1N1 influenza virus occurred among Army personnel at Fort Dix, New Jersey; (2) in March 1976, the US launched a nationwide H1N1 swine influenza vaccine program; (3) other countries then also launched their own H1N1 R&D efforts; (4) a new H1N1 outbreak, genetically unrelated to the Fort Dix swine virus but indistinguishable from previously extinct H1N1 viruses, was detected early in 1977 in China; (5) the leading Chinese influenza virologist later disclosed that the Chinese military had conducted large H1N1 vaccine R&D studies in 1976. It is likely that the resurrected H1N1 influenza viruses were laboratory-stored strains that were unfrozen and studied as part of the emergency response to a perceived epidemic threat, and that accidentally escaped.

Combining clinically common drugs with hindlimb stretching in spinal cord injured rodents.

Study Design: Preclinical pilot study.

Objectives: To explore peripheral and central nociceptive mechanisms that contribute to muscle stretch-induced locomotor deficits following spinal cord injury.

Setting: Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Louisville, KY, USA.

Effects of amphibian genetic diversity on ecological communities.

The amount of genetic diversity within a population can affect ecological processes at population, community, and ecosystem levels. However, the magnitude, consistency, and scope of these effects are largely unknown. To investigate these issues, we conducted two experiments manipulating the amount of genetic diversity and environmental factors in larval amphibians.

Minimally Invasive Surgery for Colorectal Cancer: Benchmarking Uptake for a Regional Improvement Programme.

Background: The uptake of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for patients with colorectal cancer has progressed at differing rates, both across countries, and within countries. This study aimed to investigate uptake for a regional colorectal cancer improvement programme in England.

Method: We calculated the proportion of patients receiving elective laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgery amongst those diagnosed with colorectal cancer over 3 time periods (2007-2011, 2012-2016 and 2017-2021) in hospitals participating in the Yorkshire Cancer Research Bowel Cancer Improvement Programme (YCR BCIP).

Fabry disease Enzyme Enhancement on migalastat Study: FEES.

Background: There is limited information on the α-galactosidase A (α-Gal-A) in vivo response in Fabry patients receiving migalastat. In this single centre study, we evaluated changes from baseline in α-Gal A activity, lyso-Gb3 and other assessments in patients on migalastat.

Results: 79 patients were recruited (48 M:31F; median duration receiving migalastat 3.

Predicted mechanistic impacts of human protein missense variants.

Genome sequencing efforts have led to the discovery of tens of millions of protein missense variants found in the human population with the majority of these having no annotated role and some likely contributing to trait variation and disease. Sequence-based artificial intelligence approaches have become highly accurate at predicting variants that are detrimental to the function of proteins but they do not inform on mechanisms of disruption. Here we combined sequence and structure-based methods to perform proteome-wide prediction of deleterious variants with information on their impact on protein stability, protein-protein interactions and small-molecule binding pockets.

Nonclassical Crystallization Processes of Single-Crystalline Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks.

Controlling the two-dimensional polymerization processes of two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (2D COFs) is essential to fully realizing their distinct properties. Although most 2D COFs have been isolated as polycrystalline aggregates with only nanometer-scale crystalline domains, we have identified rapid, solvothermal conditions that provide micrometer-scale and larger single-crystal 2D polymers for a few 2D COFs. Yet it remains unclear why certain conditions produce far larger 2D polymers than others, which hinders generalizing these findings.

The Frequency of Neuropsychiatric Sequelae After Traumatic Brain Injury in the Global South: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of neuropsychiatric sequelae following traumatic brain injury (TBI) among the Western Asian, South Asian and African regions of the global south. All studies on psychiatric disturbances or cognitive impairment following TBI conducted (until August 2021) in the 83 countries that constitute the aforementioned regions were reviewed; 6 databases were selected for the literature search. After evaluating the articles using the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, the random effects model was used to estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), TBI-related sleep disturbance (TBI-SD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and cognitive impairment.

Shifting institutional culture to develop climate solutions with Open Science.

To address our climate emergency, "we must rapidly, radically reshape society"-Johnson & Wilkinson, All We Can Save. In science, reshaping requires formidable technical (cloud, coding, reproducibility) and cultural shifts (mindsets, hybrid collaboration, inclusion). We are a group of cross-government and academic scientists that are exploring better ways of working and not being too entrenched in our bureaucracies to do better science, support colleagues, and change the culture at our organizations.

Effects of the nematode subsp. and beech leaf disease on leaf fungal and bacterial communities on (American beech).

Unlabelled: Beech leaf disease (BLD) is a newly emerging disease in North America that affects American beech (). It is increasingly recognized that BLD is caused by a subspecies of the anguinid nematode subsp. (hereafter ) which is likely native to East Asia.

ProtVar: mapping and contextualizing human missense variation.

Genomic variation can impact normal biological function in complex ways and so understanding variant effects requires a broad range of data to be coherently assimilated. Whilst the volume of human variant data and relevant annotations has increased, the corresponding increase in the breadth of participating fields, standards and versioning mean that moving between genomic, coding, protein and structure positions is increasingly complex. In turn this makes investigating variants in diverse formats and assimilating annotations from different resources challenging.

Multiplexed Screening Using Barcoded Aptamer Technology to Identify Oligonucleotide-Based Targeting Reagents.

Recent FDA approvals of mRNA vaccines, short-interfering RNAs, and antisense oligonucleotides highlight the success of oligonucleotides as therapeutics. Aptamers are excellent affinity reagents that can selectively label protein biomarkers, but their clinical application has lagged. When formulating a given aptamer for use, molecular design details can determine biostability and biodistribution; therefore, extensive postselection manipulation is often required for each new design to identify clinically useful reagents harboring improved pharmacokinetic properties.

Identification and characterization of a nonbiological small-molecular mimic of a Zika virus conformational neutralizing epitope.

Antigenic similarities between Zika virus (ZIKV) and other flaviviruses pose challenges to the development of virus-specific diagnostic tools and effective vaccines. Starting with a DNA-encoded one-bead-one-compound combinatorial library of 508,032 synthetic, non-natural oligomers, we selected and characterized small molecules that mimic ZIKV epitopes. High-throughput fluorescence-activated cell sorter-based bead screening was used to select molecules that bound IgG from ZIKV-immune but not from dengue-immune sera.