BK Polyomavirus-associated nephropathy - diagnostic and treatment standard.

BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is recognised as a significant viral complication of kidney transplantation. Prompt immunosuppression reduction reduces early graft failure rates due to BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (BKPyVAN), however modulation of immunosuppression can lead to acute rejection. Medium-to-long term graft outcomes are negatively impacted by BKPyVAN, likely due to a combination of virus-induced graft damage and host immune responses against graft alloantigens potentiated by immunosuppression reduction.

Gender disparities in adult patients undergoing emergency appendicectomy: A comparative analysis.

Background: Emergency appendicectomy (EA) is a common procedure, yet few studies have focused on gender differences in these patients. This study aims to evaluate the demographics, preoperative investigations, intraoperative findings, and clinical outcomes between males and females undergoing EA.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted across four hospitals involving patients who underwent EA between August 2018 and November 2025.

Climate-driven variation in the phenology of juvenile Ixodes pacificus on lizard hosts.

Ectothermic arthropods, like ticks, are sensitive indicators of environmental changes, and their seasonality plays a critical role in tick-borne disease dynamics in a warming world. Juvenile tick phenology, which influences pathogen transmission, may vary across climates, with longer tick seasons in cooler climates potentially amplifying transmission. However, assessing juvenile tick phenology is challenging in climates where desiccation pressures reduce the time ticks spend seeking blood meals.

Capacitive Scheme to Detect the Topological Magnetoelectric Effect.

The topological magnetoelectric effect (TME) is a defining property of three-dimensional Z_{2} topological insulators that was predicted on theoretical grounds more than a decade ago, but has still not been directly measured. In this Letter we propose a strategy for direct measurement of the TME and discuss the precision of the effect in real devices with charge and spin disorder.

What do medical students think about conscientious objection? A cross-sectional study from Turkey.

Background: Physicians' refusal to perform medical procedures that they deem contrary to their conscience may threaten basic human rights and public health. This study aims to investigate the thoughts and attitudes of future physicians on conscientious objection (CO) and thus contribute to the discussions from a country more heavily influenced by Eastern values.

Methods: A cross-sectional multi-center study was conducted among medical students country-wide, where 2,188 medical students participated via an online survey.

Maternal concentrations of perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and alterations in white matter microstructure in the developing brains of young children.

Background: Maternal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been linked to child neurodevelopmental difficulties. Neuroimaging research has linked these neurodevelopmental difficulties to white matter microstructure alterations, but the effects of PFAS on children's white matter microstructure remains unclear. We investigated associations between maternal blood concentrations of six common perfluoroalkyl sulfonates and white matter alterations in young children using longitudinal neuroimaging data.

Individual variation and selection for phenotypic plasticity of laying date and clutch size across different environmental conditions in Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).

Several studies have emphasized that phenotypic plasticity should be a key mechanism to cope with current rapid environmental changes by allowing individuals to quickly express new adaptive phenotypes. Yet, few studies have investigated the evolutionary potential of plasticity for multiple traits simultaneously and using several different environmental variables. Here, we assess the extent of variation in, and the selection acting on phenotypic plasticity of key ecological traits, laying date and clutch size, using five environmental variables, in a Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) population monitored since 2004.

Cognition and wellbeing in middle-aged early treated people with phenylketonuria: Preliminary results and methodological lessons.

The first cohort of early-treated adults with phenylketonuria (PKU) is reaching middle-age and moving towards old age. We do not know if and how the effects of an aging brain may interact with the effect of PKU. This study compared wellbeing and cognition in 19 middle-aged adults with PKU (age 40+ mean = 45.

Highway paving dramatically increased dengue transmission in the Amazon.

Human mobility drives the spread of many infectious diseases, yet the health impacts of changes in mobility due to new infrastructure development are poorly understood and currently not accounted for in impact assessments. We take a novel quasi-experimental approach to identifying the link between mobility and infectious disease, leveraging historical road upgrades as a proxy for regional human mobility changes. We analyzed how highway paving altered transmission of dengue-a high-burden mosquito-borne disease-via changes in human movement in the Madre de Dios region of Peru.

Aspergillus-mediated allergic airway inflammation is triggered by dendritic cell recognition of a defined spore morphotype.

Background: Exposure to fungi, especially Aspergillus fumigatus, can elicit potent allergic inflammation that triggers and worsens asthmatic disease. Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate allergic inflammatory responses to allergic stimuli. However, it is unclear if Af spores during isotropic growth (early spore swelling) can activate DCs to initiate allergic responses or if germination is required.

The Development of DNA Markers to Resolve Uncertainties of Seabird Bycatch Identification From Longline Fisheries in Australian Waters.

Incidental mortality in fisheries is a major driver of population declines for albatrosses and petrels globally. However, accurate identification of species can be difficult due to the poor condition of bycaught birds and/or visual similarities between closely related species. We assessed three genetic markers for their ability to distinguish the 36 albatross and petrel species listed in Annex 1 to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) and in Australia's Threat Abatement Plan (TAP) for the bycatch of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations.

Women's Experiences of Adult Sexual Assault, by Perpetrator Gender and Participant Sexual Orientation.

The vast majority of theoretical and empirical research assessing sexual assault (SA) focuses on man-against-woman SA (MWSA), leaving other forms such as woman-against-woman SA (WWSA) understudied. Relatively simple questions, such as the relative frequency of WWSA for women of different sexual orientations, the tactics (e.g.

Comparative gut microbiome research through the lens of ecology: theoretical considerations and best practices.

Comparative approaches in animal gut microbiome research have revealed patterns of phylosymbiosis, dietary and physiological convergences, and environment-host interactions. However, most large-scale comparative studies, especially those that are highly cited, have focused on mammals, and efforts to integrate comparative approaches with existing ecological frameworks are lacking. While mammals serve as useful model organisms, developing generalised principles of how animal gut microbiomes are shaped and how these microbiomes interact bidirectionally with host ecology and evolution requires a more complete sampling of the animal kingdom.

Variable orthogonality of serine integrase interactions within the ϕC31 family.

Serine integrases are phage- (or mobile element-) encoded enzymes that catalyse site-specific recombination reactions between a short DNA sequence on the phage genome (attP) and a corresponding host genome sequence (attB), thereby integrating the phage DNA into the host genome. Each integrase has its unique pair of attP and attB sites, a feature that allows them to be used as orthogonal tools for genome modification applications. In the presence of a second protein, the Recombination Directionality Factor (RDF), integrase catalyses the reverse excisive reaction, generating new recombination sites, attR and attL.

A method for estimating maximum safe installable power for groundwater extraction with application to Africa.

New groundwater development is a likely way to meet growing global water demand but needs careful management. To help inform the sustainable development of groundwater resources, a novel method based on the maximum safe installable power for water pumping systems and the maximum safe remaining installable power (considering current abstraction) is developed. The proposed model couples energy, technology and hydrogeological parameters, and is then developed to compute the maximum power that can be safely installed per km without exceeding a maximum annual pumpable volume, calculated through available recharge and storage.

Attenuated kidney oxidative metabolism in young adults with type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUNDIn type 1 diabetes (T1D), impaired insulin sensitivity may contribute to the development of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) through alterations in kidney oxidative metabolism.METHODSYoung adults with T1D (n = 30) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 20) underwent hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies, MRI, 11C-acetate PET, kidney biopsies, single-cell RNA-Seq, and spatial metabolomics to assess this relationship.RESULTSParticipants with T1D had significantly higher glomerular basement membrane (GBM) thickness compared with HCs.

Podium to Publication: An Analysis of Papers Presented at the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS) Congress (2009-19).

Background: The British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS) annual congress is an opportunity to present clinical and scientific data that may influence future practice. The presentation of the Abstract is but the first step towards definitive publication in the medical literature. Our aim was to review what the success rate has been from previous congresses.

Hydrocarbon-degrading microbial populations in permanently cold deep-sea sediments in the NW Atlantic.

Permanently cold deep-sea sediments (2500-3500 m water depth) with and without indications of thermogenic hydrocarbon seepage were exposed to naphtha to examine the presence and potential of cold-adapted aerobic hydrocarbon-degrading microbial populations. Monitoring these microcosms for volatile hydrocarbons by GC-MS revealed sediments without in situ hydrocarbons responded more rapidly to naphtha amendment than hydrocarbon seep sediments overall, but seep sediments removed aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) more readily. Naphtha-driven aerobic respiration was more evident in surface sediment (0-20 cmbsf) than deeper anoxic layers (>130 cmbsf) that responded less rapidly.