A global comparison of surface and subsurface microbiomes reveals large-scale biodiversity gradients, and a marine-terrestrial divide.

Subsurface environments are among Earth's largest habitats for microbial life. Yet, until recently, we lacked adequate data to accurately differentiate between globally distributed marine and terrestrial surface and subsurface microbiomes. Here, we analyzed 478 archaeal and 964 bacterial metabarcoding datasets and 147 metagenomes from diverse and widely distributed environments.

Metastatic-Site Radiation Therapy for Ewing Sarcoma and Rhabdomyosarcoma: Consensus Guidelines From the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Purpose: Despite the urgent need for improved outcomes in patients with metastatic Ewing sarcoma (EWS) and rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), it is unknown how to best approach metastatic-site radiation therapy for these patients and whether such treatment provides a significant oncologic benefit that outweighs the toxicities.

Methods And Materials: We gathered a panel of pediatric radiation oncologists from academic hospitals to identify and discuss current controversies regarding the role of radiation in the management of metastatic EWS and RMS. The panel reviewed existing clinical data and ongoing trials to address 5 key questions: (1) the role of whole lung irradiation (WLI) in treating lung metastases; (2) the number of metastatic sites warranting radiation therapy and the radicality of such an approach; (3) radiation techniques, including stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT); (4) the timing of metastatic-site radiation therapy; and (5) the utility of metastatic-site radiation therapy for relapsed metastatic disease.

Evaluating Scholastic Achievement in Pediatric Brain Tumor Survivors Compared With Healthy Controls.

Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) causes cognitive deficits in pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS). Traditionally, this is measured using neuropsychological testing, which lack prediagnosis baseline and do not necessarily trigger action. This pilot project investigated a novel patient-centered outcome of scholastic performance using state-collected educational data.

Principal role of fungi in soil carbon stabilization during early pedogenesis in the high Arctic.

Climate warming is causing widespread deglaciation and pioneer soil formation over glacial deposits. Melting glaciers expose rocky terrain and glacial till sediment that is relatively low in biomass, oligotrophic, and depleted in nutrients. Following initial colonization by microorganisms, glacial till sediments accumulate organic carbon and nutrients over time.

The relationship between freight train length and the risk of derailment.

In recent years, longer and heavier trains have become more common, primarily driven by efficiency and cost-saving measures in the railroad industry. Regulation of train length is currently under consideration in the United States at both the federal and state levels, because of concerns that longer trains may have a higher risk of derailment, but the relationship between train length and risk of derailment is not yet well understood. In this study, we use data on freight train accidents during the 2013-2022 period from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Rail Equipment Accident and Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Accident databases to estimate the relationship between freight train length and the risk of derailment.

The atmosphere: a transport medium or an active microbial ecosystem?

The atmosphere may be Earth's largest microbial ecosystem. It is connected to all of Earth's surface ecosystems and plays an important role in microbial dispersal on local to global scales. Despite this grand scale, surprisingly little is understood about the atmosphere itself as a habitat.

Effects on Lung Tissue After Breast Cancer Radiation: Comparing Photon and Proton Therapies.

Purpose: In breast cancer, improved treatment approaches that reduce injury to lung tissue and early diagnosis and intervention for lung toxicity are increasingly important in survivorship. The aims of this study are to (1) compare lung tissue radiographic changes in women treated with conventional photon radiation therapy and those treated with proton therapy (PT), (2) assess the volume of lung irradiated to 5 Gy (V5) and 20 Gy (V20) by treatment modality, and (3) quantify the effects of V5, V20, time, and smoking history on the severity of tissue radiographic changes.

Patients And Methods: A prospective observational study of female breast cancer patients was conducted to monitor postradiation subclinical lung tissue radiographic changes.

Arctic plasmidome analysis reveals distinct relationships among associated antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence genes along anthropogenic gradients.

Polar regions are relatively isolated from human activity and thus could offer insight into anthropogenic and ecological drivers of the spread of antibiotic resistance. Plasmids are of particular interest in this context given the central role that they are thought to play in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, plasmidomes are challenging to profile in environmental samples.

Creating an Integrated Coaching Culture in Higher Education.

In higher education, it is a common ask to do more with less while delivering high-quality, holistic service to students. Coaching has been shown to produce significant gains in strengthening self-efficacy, improving GPA, and increasing retention through graduation (Alzen et al., 2021; Capstick et al.

Proton Therapy in the Treatment of Men with Breast Cancer.

Purpose: Male breast cancer treatment involves multimodality therapy, including radiation therapy; nevertheless, few men have received proton therapy (PT) for it. Further, heart disease is an established leading cause of death in men, and radiation therapy heart dose correlates with cardiac toxicity, highlighting the need for cardiac-sparing radiation techniques. Thus, we provide a descriptive analysis of PT in a male breast cancer cohort.

Outcomes following proton therapy for pediatric esthesioneuroblastoma.

Background: Pediatric esthesioneuroblastoma (EN) can infiltrate skull base anatomy, presenting challenges due to high radiation doses and pediatric tissue sensitivity. This study reports outcomes of pediatric EN treated with proton radiotherapy (PT).

Procedure: Using an IRB-approved prospective outcomes registry, we evaluated patient, tumor, and treatment-related variables impacting disease control and toxicity in pediatric nonmetastatic EN treated with modern multimodality therapy, including PT.

Long-term organic carbon preservation enhanced by iron and manganese.

The balance between degradation and preservation of sedimentary organic carbon (OC) is important for global carbon and oxygen cycles. The relative importance of different mechanisms and environmental conditions contributing to marine sedimentary OC preservation, however, remains unclear. Simple organic molecules can be geopolymerized into recalcitrant forms by means of the Maillard reaction, although reaction kinetics at marine sedimentary temperatures are thought to be slow.

Liver Late Effects in Childhood Cancer Survivors Treated With Radiation Therapy: A PENTEC Comprehensive Review.

Purpose: A pediatric normal tissue effects in the clinic (PENTEC) comprehensive review of patients with childhood cancer who received radiation therapy (RT) to the liver was performed to develop models that may inform RT dose constraints for the liver and improve risk forecasting of toxicities.

Methods And Materials: A systematic literature search was performed to identify published data on hepatic toxicities in children. Treatment and outcome data were extracted and used to generate normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models.

Palliative care utilization and racial and ethnic disparities among women with de novo metastatic breast cancer in the United States.

Purpose: The potential disparities in palliative care delivery for underrepresented minorities with breast cancer are not well known. We sought to determine whether race and ethnicity impact the receipt of palliative care for patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the National Cancer Database for female patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer between 2010 and 2017 who received palliative care following diagnosis of MBC to assess the proportion of patients who received palliative care, including non-curative-intent local-regional or systemic therapy.

Clinical Characteristics, Treatment Considerations, and Outcomes of Infants with Rhabdomyosarcoma.

RMS most commonly presents in children and adolescents, however a subset of tumors are diagnosed in infants under one year of age. Due to the rarity of infant RMS, utilization of different treatment approaches and goals, and small sample sizes, the published studies of infants with RMS have yielded heterogeneous results. In this review, we discuss the outcomes of infants with RMS treated in various clinical trials and the strategies that various international cooperative groups have employed to reduce the morbidity and mortality related to treatment without compromising the overall survival of this population.

Proton Therapy for Bilateral Breast Cancer Maximizes Normal-Tissue Sparing.

Purpose: Treatment for bilateral breast cancer with radiation therapy is technically challenging. We evaluated the clinical and dosimetric outcomes of a small series of patients with synchronous bilateral breast cancer, including a photon dosimetric comparison, to identify optimal treatment planning approaches.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed a registry of patients (simultaneously) diagnosed with synchronous bilateral breast cancers who underwent postoperative definitive adjuvant proton therapy at our institution between 2012 and 2021.

Incidence of Rib Fracture following Treatment with Proton Therapy for Breast Cancer.

Purpose: To determine the rib fracture rate in a cohort of patients with breast cancer treated with proton therapy.

Patient And Methods: From a prospective database, we identified 225 patients treated with proton therapy between 2012 and 2020 (223 women; 2 men). Clinical and dosimetric data were extracted, the cumulative incidence method assessed rib fracture rate, and Fine-Gray tests assessed prognostic significance of select variables.

Active and dormant microorganisms on glacier surfaces.

Glacier and ice sheet surfaces host diverse communities of microorganisms whose activity (or inactivity) influences biogeochemical cycles and ice melting. Supraglacial microbes endure various environmental extremes including resource scarcity, frequent temperature fluctuations above and below the freezing point of water, and high UV irradiance during summer followed by months of total darkness during winter. One strategy that enables microbial life to persist through environmental extremes is dormancy, which despite being prevalent among microbial communities in natural settings, has not been directly measured and quantified in glacier surface ecosystems.

Transfer efficiency of organic carbon in marine sediments.

Quantifying the organic carbon (OC) sink in marine sediments is crucial for assessing how the marine carbon cycle regulates Earth's climate. However, burial efficiency (BE) - the commonly-used metric reporting the percentage of OC deposited on the seafloor that becomes buried (beyond an arbitrary and often unspecified reference depth) - is loosely defined, misleading, and inconsistent. Here, we use a global diagenetic model to highlight orders-of-magnitude differences in sediment ages at fixed sub-seafloor depths (and vice-versa), and vastly different BE's depending on sediment depth or age horizons used to calculate BE.