Colonoscopy-Assisted Laparoscopic Wedge Resection for Colonic Lesions and Its Impact on Quality of Life: Results From the LIMERIC Study.

Background: The LIMERIC study has proven that colonoscopy-assisted laparoscopic wedge resection effectively and safely removes benign colonic lesions unsuitable for endoscopic removal, thereby avoiding the need for major surgery.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of colonoscopy-assisted laparoscopic wedge on health-related quality of life of patients who participated in the LIMERIC study.

Design: Prospective multicenter study.

Scientists' call to action: Microbes, planetary health, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and protists, are essential to life on Earth and the functioning of the biosphere. Here, we discuss the key roles of microorganisms in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting recent and emerging advances in microbial research and technology that can facilitate our transition toward a sustainable future. Given the central role of microorganisms in the biochemical processing of elements, synthesizing new materials, supporting human health, and facilitating life in managed and natural landscapes, microbial research and technologies are directly or indirectly relevant for achieving each of the SDGs.

Temperature modulates dominance of a superinfecting Arctic virus in its unicellular algal host.

Complex virus-virus interactions can arise when multiple viruses coinfect the same host, impacting infection outcomes with broader ecological and evolutionary significance for viruses and host. Yet, our knowledge regarding virus competition is still limited, especially for single-celled eukaryotic host-virus systems. Here, we report on mutual interference of two dsDNA viruses, MpoV-45T and MpoV-46T, competing for their Arctic algal host Micromonas polaris.

Generative Bayesian modeling to nowcast the effective reproduction number from line list data with missing symptom onset dates.

The time-varying effective reproduction number Rt is a widely used indicator of transmission dynamics during infectious disease outbreaks. Timely estimates of Rt can be obtained from reported cases counted by their date of symptom onset, which is generally closer to the time of infection than the date of report. Case counts by date of symptom onset are typically obtained from line list data, however these data can have missing information and are subject to right truncation.

Influenza transmission dynamics quantified from RNA in wastewater in Switzerland.

Introduction: Influenza infections are challenging to monitor at the population level due to many mild and asymptomatic cases and similar symptoms to other common circulating respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. Methods for tracking cases outside of typical reporting infrastructure could improve monitoring of influenza transmission dynamics. Influenza shedding into wastewater represents a promising source of information where quantification is unbiased by testing or treatment-seeking behaviours.

Food webs in isolation: The food-web structure of a freshwater reservoir with armoured shores in a former coastal bay area.

Many shallow coastal bays have been closed off from the sea to mitigate the risk of flooding, resulting in coastal reservoir lakes with artificial armoured shorelines. Often these enclosed ecosystems show a persistent decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services, which is likely reflected in their food-web structure. We therefore hypothesize that the food webs of coastal reservoir lakes with armoured shorelines (1) consist of relatively few species with a low food-web connectance and short food chains, and (2) are mainly fuelled by autochthonous organic matter produced in the pelagic zone.

Shifts in phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in three cyanobacteria-dominated lakes after treatment with hydrogen peroxide.

Cyanobacteria can reach high densities in eutrophic lakes, which may cause problems due to their potential toxin production. Several methods are in use to prevent, control or mitigate harmful cyanobacterial blooms. Treatment of blooms with low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (HO) is a promising emergency method.

Temperature-Corrected Calibration of GS3 and TEROS-12 Soil Water Content Sensors.

The continuous monitoring of soil water content is commonly carried out using low-frequency capacitance sensors that require a site-specific calibration to relate sensor readings to apparent dielectric bulk permittivity () and soil water content (). In fine-textured soils, the conversion of to is still challenging due to temperature effects on the bound water fraction associated with clay mineral surfaces, which is disregarded in factory calibrations. Here, a multi-point calibration approach accounts for temperature effects on two soils with medium to high clay content.

Digest: The importance of genetic background in bacterial evolution.

How does genetic background influence a population's evolutionary response to an environmental change? Which traits are selected for and how quickly does the population adapt? Filipow et al. (2024) address these questions by exploiting the natural genetic variation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium often found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. They find that while genetic background influences the rate of phenotypic evolution, it does not alter the evolutionary outcome.

Hot summers raise public awareness of toxic cyanobacterial blooms.

Water quality of eutrophic lakes is threatened by harmful cyanobacterial blooms, which are favored by summer heatwaves and expected to intensify with global warming. Societal demands on surface water for drinking, irrigation and recreation are also highest in summer, especially during dry and warm conditions. Here, we analyzed trends in online searches to investigate how public awareness of cyanobacterial blooms is impacted by temperature in nine different countries over almost twenty years.

Why are different estimates of the effective reproductive number so different? A case study on COVID-19 in Germany.

The effective reproductive number Rt has taken a central role in the scientific, political, and public discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic, with numerous real-time estimates of this quantity routinely published. Disagreement between estimates can be substantial and may lead to confusion among decision-makers and the general public. In this work, we compare different estimates of the national-level effective reproductive number of COVID-19 in Germany in 2020 and 2021.

Colonoscopic-assisted laparoscopic wedge resection versus segmental colon resection for benign colonic polyps: a comparative cost analysis.

Aim: The colonoscopic-assisted laparoscopic wedge resection (CAL-WR) is proven to be an effective and safe alternative to a segmental colon resection (SCR) for large or complex benign colonic polyps that are not eligible for endoscopic removal. This analysis aimed to evaluate the costs of CAL-WR and compare them to the costs of an SCR.

Method: A single-centre 90-day 'in-hospital' comparative cost analysis was performed on patients undergoing CAL-WR or SCR for complex benign polyps between 2016 and 2020.

The harmful cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 is more resistant to hydrogen peroxide at elevated CO.

Rising atmospheric CO can intensify harmful cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic lakes. Worldwide, these blooms are an increasing environmental concern. Low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (HO) have been proposed as a short-term but eco-friendly approach to selectively mitigate cyanobacterial blooms.

Low-Pass Filters for a Temperature Drift Correction Method for Electromagnetic Induction Systems.

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) systems are used for mapping the soil's electrical conductivity in near-surface applications. EMI measurements are commonly affected by time-varying external environmental factors, with temperature fluctuations being a big contributing factor. This makes it challenging to obtain stable and reliable data from EMI measurements.

estimateR: an R package to estimate and monitor the effective reproductive number.

Background: Accurate estimation of the effective reproductive number ([Formula: see text]) of epidemic outbreaks is of central relevance to public health policy and decision making. We present estimateR, an R package for the estimation of the reproductive number through time from delayed observations of infection events. Such delayed observations include confirmed cases, hospitalizations or deaths.

Evaluation of Three Soil Moisture Profile Sensors Using Laboratory and Field Experiments.

Soil moisture profile sensors (SMPSs) have a high potential for climate-smart agriculture due to their easy handling and ability to perform simultaneous measurements at different depths. To date, an accurate and easy-to-use method for the evaluation of long SMPSs is not available. In this study, we developed laboratory and field experiments to evaluate three different SMPSs (SoilVUE10, Drill&Drop, and SMT500) in terms of measurement accuracy, sensor-to-sensor variability, and temperature stability.

Sex and gender in infection and immunity: addressing the bottlenecks from basic science to public health and clinical applications.

Although sex and gender are recognized as major determinants of health and immunity, their role is rarely considered in clinical practice and public health. We identified six bottlenecks preventing the inclusion of sex and gender considerations from basic science to clinical practice, precision medicine and public health policies. (i) A terminology-related bottleneck, linked to the definitions of sex and gender themselves, and the lack of consensus on how to evaluate gender.

Limited wedge resection for T1 colon cancer (LIMERIC-II trial) - rationale and study protocol of a prospective multicenter clinical trial.

Background: The sole presence of deep submucosal invasion is shown to be associated with a limited risk of lymph node metastasis. This justifies a local excision of suspected deep submucosal invasive colon carcinomas (T1 CCs) as a first step treatment strategy. Recently Colonoscopy-Assisted Laparoscopic Wedge Resection (CAL-WR) has been shown to be able to resect pT1 CRCs with a high R0 resection rate, but the long term outcomes are lacking.

Diagnostic value of radiological staging and surveillance for T1 colorectal carcinomas: A multicenter cohort study.

Background: The role of radiological staging and surveillance imaging is under debate for T1 colorectal cancer (CRC) as the risk of distant metastases is low and imaging may lead to the detection of incidental findings.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of radiological staging and surveillance imaging for T1 CRC.

Methods: In this retrospective multicenter cohort study, all patients of 10 Dutch hospitals with histologically proven T1 CRC who underwent radiological staging in the period 2000-2014 were included.

Sex-specific metabolic profiling to explain the increased CVD risk in women with migraine: a narrative review.

Background: Migraine is a disabling neurological disorder whose diagnosis is based on clinical criteria. A shortcoming of these criteria is that they do not fully capture the underlying neurobiological factors and sex-specific complications in migraine such as cardio- and cerebrovascular disease. Biomarker research can help to improve disease characterization and identify pathophysiological mechanism underlying these comorbidities.

Guidelines for the estimation and reporting of plasmid conjugation rates.

Conjugation is a central characteristic of plasmid biology and an important mechanism of horizontal gene transfer in bacteria. However, there is little consensus on how to accurately estimate and report plasmid conjugation rates, in part due to the wide range of available methods. Given the similarity between approaches, we propose general reporting guidelines for plasmid conjugation experiments.

Factors influencing the downstream passage of European silver eels (Anguilla anguilla) through a tidal sluice.

Tidal sluices are a frequent element in the tidal regions of Europe's rivers and may hinder downstream migrating European eels Anguilla anguilla. Sea level rise will reduce the possibility for tidal sluices to freely discharge water, further compressing windows of opportunity for the passage of eels. Understanding how eels utilize the discharge events of tidal sluices and which conditions facilitate successful passage is pivotal for the design of effective fish migration measures.