Identification of fossil juniper seeds from Rancho La Brea (California, USA): drought and extirpation in the Late Pleistocene.

Juniperus spp. are keystone shrubs in western North America and important climatic indicators in paleo-records. However, a lack of taxonomic resolution among fossil species limits our ability to track past environmental changes.

Characterizing the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response and associations with patient factors: Serological profiling of participants enrolled in the GENCOV study.

Introduction: The GENCOV study sought to evaluate serological differences between individuals with differing COVID-19 severity and outcomes. We assessed the SARS-CoV-2 antibody response of GENCOV participants cross-sectionally 1-, 6-, and 12-months following COVID-19 diagnosis to identify patient factors associated with more robust and durable humoral immune responses.

Materials And Methods: COVID-19 patients and a control cohort of vaccinated infection-naïve participants were recruited at hospital sites across the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.

Use of digital food records in clinical settings: lessons in translation from a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Digital food records offer efficiencies in collecting and assessing dietary information remotely; however, research into factors impacting their translation into clinical settings is limited.

Methods: The study examined factors that may impact the integration of digital food records into clinical dietetic practice by assessing (1) the source and rate of data errors received, (2) the impact of dietitian-adjusted data on dietary variables and (3) the acceptance of use in a complex chronic condition cohort. Adults from specialist clinics enroled in a randomised controlled feasibility trial participated.

Harnessing IL-22 for metabolic health: promise and pitfalls.

Primarily perceived as an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial mediator in mucosa and skin, interleukin-22 (IL-22) has emerged as a pivotal metabolic regulator. Central to IL-22 signaling is its receptor, IL-22RA1. Through IL-22RA1, IL-22 orchestrates glucose homeostasis by modulating insulin secretion, reducing cellular stress in pancreatic islets, promoting beta-cell regeneration, and influencing hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism.