An understanding of fire-response traits is essential for predicting how fire regimes structure plant communities and for informing fire management strategies for biodiversity conservation. Quantification of these traits is complex, encompassing several levels of data abstraction scaling up from field observations of individuals, to general categories of species responses. We developed the Fire Ecology Database to accommodate this complexity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) exhibits extensive inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity, along with a significant stromal component. This protocol outlines steps to generate patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), isolate and enrich human PDAC epithelial cells, and verify their identity using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and human-specific markers. It provides a robust approach for culturing cancer epithelial cells to develop a human PDAC model system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the top causes of cancer-related death. Patients are frequently diagnosed in the more advanced stages when effective treatment options are limited; however, earlier detection of PDAC by liquid biopsy may expand treatment options and improve survival outcomes. Here, we developed a noninvasive detection assay for PDAC based on serum protease activity to leverage the increase in cancer-associated protease activity in the peripheral blood of patients with PDAC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTemporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis (OA) leads to pain, limited jaw function, and bite changes. When non-invasive treatments fail, minimally invasive procedures like TMJ arthrocentesis with saline and hyaluronic acid (HA) injections are commonly used. Orthobiologics, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and cell-derived products, have gained attention for their potential to enhance tissue healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntarctica, Earth's least understood and most remote continent, is threatened by human disturbances and climate-related changes, underscoring the imperative for biodiversity inventories to inform conservation. Antarctic ecosystems support unique species and genetic diversity, deliver essential ecosystem services and contribute to planetary stability. We present Antarctica's first comprehensive ecosystem classification and map of ice-free lands, which host most of the continent's biodiversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Opioid use disorder (OUD) continues to pose a significant challenge to public health in the United States. Chronic pain and OUD are highly comorbid conditions, yet few studies have examined the relative associations of pain status and severity toward multidimensional OUD recovery outcomes (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many oral and maxillofacial surgery patients are young, healthy adults who are opioid-naïve. Over-prescribing opioids increases the risk of subsequent misuse and diversion.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure and compare opioid prescriptions to opioid naïve and nonnaïve patients by oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Massachusetts from 2012 to 2022.
Patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma survive longer if disease spreads to the lung but not the liver. Here we generated overlapping, multi-omic datasets to identify molecular and cellular features that distinguish patients whose disease develops liver metastasis (liver cohort) from those whose disease develops lung metastasis without liver metastases (lung cohort). Lung cohort patients survived longer than liver cohort patients, despite sharing the same tumor subtype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFwas first described in humans in 1954, known to infect fish species and contaminate water and fish products. Inoculation to humans occurs through injured skin resulting in the formation of a solitary nodule known as "fish tank granuloma." Disseminated infections have been reported in the immunocompromised and can present with extracutaneous manifestations such as arthritis and osteomyelitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntel's efforts to build a practical quantum computer are focused on developing a scalable spin-qubit platform leveraging industrial high-volume semiconductor manufacturing expertise and 300 mm fabrication infrastructure. Here, we provide an overview of the design, fabrication, and demonstration of a new customized quantum test chip, which contains 12-quantum-dot spin-qubit linear arrays, code named Tunnel Falls. These devices are fabricated using immersion and extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), along with other standard high-volume manufacturing (HVM) processes as well as production-level process control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol
March 2025
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
December 2024
Decisions about solar geoengineering (SG) entail risk-risk tradeoffs between the direct risks of SG and SG's ability to reduce climate risks. Quantitative comparisons between these risks are needed to inform public policy. We evaluate idealized SG's effectiveness in reducing deaths from warming using two climate models and an econometric analysis of temperature-attributable mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith large wildfires becoming more frequent, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is to discover how interactions among fire-regime components, drought and land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented 2019-2020 Australian megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares, prompting major investment in biodiversity monitoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGranuloma faciale is a benign and rare skin disease, which usually presents as well-defined red-purple asymptomatic plaques or nodules on the face but can also present extra-facially. It poses a significant therapeutic challenge, with varying degrees of success reported by a range of medical and surgical treatments. We describe a 41-year-old lady with biopsy-confirmed facial granuloma faciale, affecting her nose, cheeks, upper lip, and forehead, who had failed a variety of medical treatments, UVB phototherapy, and pulsed dye laser.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Orofacial Pain (OFP) affects 15% of the general population. OFP conditions can be myofascial, also known as temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) or neuropathic. The underlying pathophysiology in several chronic OFP conditions, is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsparagine synthetase (ASNS) catalyzes the biosynthesis of asparagine from aspartate and glutamine. Cells lacking ASNS, however, are auxotrophic for asparagine. Use of L-asparaginase to promote asparagine starvation in solid tumors with low ASNS levels, such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is a rationale treatment strategy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Oral Maxillofac Surg
February 2025
Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) after temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery is an under-recognized problem. The aim of this study was to document the characteristics of CPSP and identify patient risk factors and comorbidities associated with the development of CPSP after total TMJ replacement (TJR). This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent TJR between 2000 and 2018 at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) are essential for promoting cleaner transportation by facilitating electric vehicle recharging. This study explores their broader economic impact on nearby businesses, analyzing data from over 4000 EVCS and 140,000 business establishments in California. Results show that installing one EVCS boosts annual spending at a nearby establishment by 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUND Mechanical preservation (MP) of deceased donor kidney transplants showed a 30% to 50% reduction in delayed graft function (DGF) as defined by dialysis in the first week, when compared with cold storage. DGF is associated with longer hospital stays and increased costs. In this study, we sought to understand the impact of MP on rates of DGF and length of hospital stays in a contemporary cohort of deceased donor kidney transplants in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSafeguarding biodiversity and human well-being depends on sustaining ecosystems. Two global standards for quantifying ecosystem change, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) and the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (EA), underpin headline indicators for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We analyse similarities and differences between the standards to understand their complementary roles in environmental policy and decision-making.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF