Century-long West Antarctic snow accumulation changes induced by tropical teleconnections.

Ice core measurements reveal dipole-like snow accumulation trends over West Antarctica throughout the 20th century, with an increase of >2000 billion metric tons over the Antarctic Peninsula and Ellsworth Land but a decrease of ~500 billion metric tons over Marie Byrd Land. Although atmospheric teleconnections were frequently revealed, linking variability between tropics and higher latitudes on interannual and decadal timescales, centennial-scale teleconnection is absent from literature. Here, using statistical analysis and numerical experiments, we reveal that changes of tropical oceans throughout the 20th century drive the long-term Antarctic snowfall trend.

Assessing Family Caregiver Readiness for Hospital Discharge of Patients With Serious or Life-Limiting Illness Using Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Self-Reported Data.

Objective: To assess how patient and caregiver factors influence caregiver readiness for hospital discharge in palliative care patients.

Study Setting And Design: This transitional care study uses cross-sectional data from a randomized controlled trial conducted from 2018 to 2023 testing an intervention for caregivers of hospitalized adult patients with a serious or life-limiting illness who received a palliative care consult prior to transitioning out of the hospital.

Data Sources And Analytical Sample: Caregiver readiness was measured with the Family Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (n = 231).

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 5.0.

Knowledge about seafloor depth, or bathymetry, is crucial for various marine activities, including scientific research, offshore industry, safety of navigation, and ocean exploration. Mapping the central Arctic Ocean is challenging due to the presence of perennial sea ice, which limits data collection to icebreakers, submarines, and drifting ice stations. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) was initiated in 1997 with the goal of updating the Arctic Ocean bathymetric portrayal.

The Impact of Age and Sex on Fasting Plasma Glucose and Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) in the Non-diabetes Population.

Introduction: We previously reported sex differences in the distribution of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) for men/women aged < 50 years vs older individuals, with implications for delayed diabetes diagnosis. Here, we explored whether this pattern was also seen in matched fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels.

Methods: We extracted data on same-day, paired HbA1c and FPG levels from clinical biochemistry laboratory databases from Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (n = 10,153) and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (n = 10,022) between Jan 2019 and Dec 2023.

MIBiG 4.0: advancing biosynthetic gene cluster curation through global collaboration.

Specialized or secondary metabolites are small molecules of biological origin, often showing potent biological activities with applications in agriculture, engineering and medicine. Usually, the biosynthesis of these natural products is governed by sets of co-regulated and physically clustered genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). To share information about BGCs in a standardized and machine-readable way, the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) data standard and repository was initiated in 2015.

One-Year Clinical Outcomes Following Aspheric Toric Monofocal IOL with a Double C-Loop Haptic Design Implantation.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate one-year clinical outcomes in cataract patients with pre-existing corneal astigmatism implanted with a biconvex aspheric toric monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) with a double C-loop haptic-design.

Methods: One hundred and eighteen patients (236 eyes) with corneal astigmatism (≥0.75D) were implanted bilaterally with the PODEYE toric IOL and assessed up to 1-year after surgery.

High-Throughput Algorithmic Optimization of Transcription for SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Production.

The transcription (IVT) of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) from the linearized deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) template of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant (B.1.617.

Investigating the existence of an osmotic barrier between xylem fibres and vessels in sugar maple (Acer saccharum) using microCT.

Sugar maples (Acer saccharum Marshall) develop elevated stem pressures in springtime through the compression and expansion of gas bubbles present within xylem fibres. The stability of this gas within the fibres is hypothesised to be due to the elevated sugar concentration of maple sap and the presence of an osmotic barrier between fibres and vessels. Without this osmotic barrier gas bubbles are predicted to dissolve rapidly.

The impact of internet connectivity when conducting a virtual clinical trial with participants living in rural areas.

Aim: The purpose of this secondary analysis was to describe issues related to internet connections during a virtual randomized clinical trial (v-RCT) that included family caregiver participants living in rural areas.

Background: Success of v-RCTs depends on reliable, high-quality internet access, which can be problematic in rural areas.

Methods: Interventionists documented connectivity issues and corrections made to address connectivity in a narrative note after each virtual visit with family caregivers enrolled in a v-RCT.

Economic Value of Unpaid Family Caregiver Time Following Hospital Discharge and at End of Life.

Context: Family caregivers (FCGs) play a crucial role in care for people with serious illness, yet unpaid care is often overlooked in estimates of care recipient (CR) care costs.

Objectives: This study quantifies the economic value of unpaid caregiving by FCGs between hospital discharge and end of life.

Methods: Trial participants were rural FCGs of CRs receiving palliative care during hospitalization.

Development and Application of Automated Sandwich ELISA for Quantitating Residual dsRNA in mRNA Vaccines.

The rise of mRNA as a novel vaccination strategy presents new opportunities to confront global disease. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an impurity byproduct of the in vitro transcription reaction used to manufacture mRNA that may affect the potency and safety of the mRNA vaccine in patients. Careful quantitation of dsRNA during manufacturing is critical to ensure that residual dsRNA is minimized in purified mRNA drug substances.

Cheminformatics-Guided Exploration of Synthetic Marine Natural Product-Inspired Brominated Indole-3-Glyoxylamides and Their Potentials for Drug Discovery.

Marine natural products (MNPs) continue to be tested primarily in cellular toxicity assays, both mammalian and microbial, despite most being inactive at concentrations relevant to drug discovery. These MNPs become missed opportunities and represent a wasteful use of precious bioresources. The use of cheminformatics aligned with published bioactivity data can provide insights to direct the choice of bioassays for the evaluation of new MNPs.

Transitional Palliative Care for Family Caregivers: Outcomes From a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Context: Patients receiving inpatient palliative care often face physical and psychological uncertainties during transitions out of the hospital. Family caregivers often take on responsibilities to ensure patient safety, quality of care, and extend palliative care principles, but often without support or training, potentially compromising their health and well-being.

Objectives: This study tested an eight-week intervention using video visits between palliative care nurse interventionists and caregivers to assess changes in caregiver outcomes and patient quality of life.

Swirls and scoops: Ice base melt revealed by multibeam imagery of an Antarctic ice shelf.

Knowledge gaps about how the ocean melts Antarctica's ice shelves, borne from a lack of observations, lead to large uncertainties in sea level predictions. Using high-resolution maps of the underside of Dotson Ice Shelf, West Antarctica, we reveal the imprint that ice shelf basal melting leaves on the ice. Convection and intermittent warm water intrusions form widespread terraced features through slow melting in quiescent areas, while shear-driven turbulence rapidly melts smooth, eroded topographies in outflow areas, as well as enigmatic teardrop-shaped indentations that result from boundary-layer flow rotation.

Caregiver recruitment strategies for interventions designed to optimize transitions from hospital to home: lessons from a randomized trial.

Challenges to recruitment of family caregivers exist and are amplified when consent must occur in the context of chaotic healthcare circumstances, such as the transition from hospital to home. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during our randomized controlled trial provided an opportunity for a natural experiment exploring and examining different consent processes for caregiver recruitment. The purpose of this publication is to describe different recruitment processes (in-person versus virtual) and compare diversity in recruitment rates in the context of a care recipient's hospitalization.

Triplinones A-H: Anti-Inflammatory Arylalkenyl α,β-Unsaturated-δ-Lactones Isolated from the Leaves of Australian Rainforest Plant (Lauraceae).

Our ongoing exploration of Australian rainforest plants for the biodiscovery of anti-inflammatory agents led to the isolation and structural elucidation of eight new arylalkenyl α,β-unsaturated-δ-lactones, triplinones A-H (), from the leaves of the Australian rainforest plant B. Hyland (Lauraceae). The chemical structures of these compounds were established by NMR spectroscopic data analysis, while their relative and absolute configurations were established using a combination of Mosher ester analysis utilizing both Riguera's and Kishi's methods, ECD experiments, and X-ray crystallography analysis.

Evaluating the Compatibility of New Recombinant Protein Antigens (Trivalent NRRV) with a Mock Pentavalent Combination Vaccine Containing Whole-Cell Pertussis: Analytical and Formulation Challenges.

Introducing new recombinant protein antigens to existing pediatric combination vaccines is important in improving coverage and affordability, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This case-study highlights the analytical and formulation challenges encountered with three recombinant non-replicating rotavirus vaccine (NRRV) antigens (t-NRRV formulated with Alhydrogel adjuvant, AH) combined with a mock multidose formulation of a pediatric pentavalent vaccine used in LMICs. This complex formulation contained (1) vaccine antigens (i.

Synthesis and Cheminformatics-Directed Antibacterial Evaluation of Echinosulfonic Acid-Inspired Bis-Indole Alkaloids.

Synthetic efforts toward complex natural product (NP) scaffolds are useful ones, particularly those aimed at expanding their bioactive chemical space. Here, we utilised an orthogonal cheminformatics-based approach to predict the potential biological activities for a series of synthetic bis-indole alkaloids inspired by elusive sponge-derived NPs, echinosulfone A () and echinosulfonic acids A-D (-). Our work includes the first synthesis of desulfato-echinosulfonic acid C, an α-hydroxy bis(3'-indolyl) alkaloid (), and its full NMR characterisation.

Coronary artery fistula following surgical myectomy for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: a case report.

Background: Coronary artery fistula is a rare, but recognized complication of surgical myectomy. Although most communicate with the right heart, a large fistula into the left ventricular cavity may result in a shunt haemodynamically analogous to aortic regurgitation. Understanding the variable presentation of iatrogenic coronary fistulae and the optimal evaluation strategy is critical to obtaining a timely diagnosis and instituting treatment.

Improved functional mapping of complex trait heritability with GSA-MiXeR implicates biologically specific gene sets.

While genome-wide association studies are increasingly successful in discovering genomic loci associated with complex human traits and disorders, the biological interpretation of these findings remains challenging. Here we developed the GSA-MiXeR analytical tool for gene set analysis (GSA), which fits a model for the heritability of individual genes, accounting for linkage disequilibrium across variants and allowing the quantification of partitioned heritability and fold enrichment for small gene sets. We validated the method using extensive simulations and sensitivity analyses.

Resonant Auger decay of iodobenzene below the I 4d edge.

New data are presented on the resonant Auger decay of iodobenzene (C6H5I) in the region of the I 4d-1 ionization threshold. The excited molecules decay by participator and spectator processes to populate single-hole valence states and two-hole, one-particle excited states of the cation, providing new information on the structure of C6H5I+. Excitation of dissociative C6H5I (I 4d5/2,3/2-1)σ* resonances can, in principle, result in ultrafast dissociation to C6H5 + I** and the subsequent autoionization of I**, but no evidence for this process is observed.