A novel proxy for energy flux in multi-era wildfire reconstruction.

Escalations in wildfire activity are of significant global concern, particularly within vulnerable wetland ecosystems integral to natural carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. Our understanding and management of future wildfire activity may be better contextualised through the study of historic and ancient fire records, independent of human influence. Methods of study include 'geothermometry' - approximating ancient fire intensity from temperature-dependent changes in the chemistry of fossil charcoal.

Advances in Raman spectroscopy for characterising oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders.

Oral cancer survival rates have seen little improvement over the past few decades. This is mainly due to late detection and a lack of reliable markers to predict disease progression in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). There is a need for highly specific and sensitive screening tools to enable early detection of malignant transformation.

Tissue response following implantation with the posterior dynamic distraction device (PDDD) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Purpose: The PDDD is a ratchet-based, unidirectional expandable rod to treat adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), primarily by correcting scoliotic deformity without full spinal fusion. We hypothesized that the device will be fully tolerated by the host and, if aseptic screw loosening occurs, it will be unrelated to wear particle formation.

Methods: This study comprised tissue samples from seven patients from a prospective study (NCT04296903) to assess the PDDD's safety and benefits, reoperated due to complications.

Searching for Life in Hot Spring Carbonate Systems: Investigating Raman Spectra of Carotenoid-Bearing Organic Carbonaceous Inclusions from Travertines of Italy.

Carotenoid pigments provide some of the most common exclusively biogenic markers on Earth, and these organic pigments may be present in extraterrestrial life. Raman spectroscopy can be used to identify carotenoids quickly and accurately through the inelastic scattering of laser light. In this study, we show that Raman spectra of organic matter found in hot spring bacterial assemblages exhibit "spectral overprinting" of the carotenoid spectrum by the carbon spectrum as the organic matter progressively breaks down.

Functional neuronal circuits promote disease progression in cancer.

The molecular and functional contributions of intratumoral nerves to disease remain largely unknown. We localized synaptic markers within tumors suggesting that these nerves form functional connections. Consistent with this, electrophysiological analysis shows that malignancies harbor significantly higher electrical activity than benign disease or normal tissues.

Diffuse Ganglioneuromatosis of the Colon in a Patient with Neurofibromatosis 1.

Ganglioneuromas are rare, benign neurogenic tumors characterized by a proliferation of ganglion cells, nerve fibers, and support cells of the nervous system. They have been classified into three groups: solitary, polyposis, and diffuse. The diffuse type has several syndromic associations including multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2B and, less commonly, neurofibromatosis type 1.

Establishment of a whole slide imaging-based frozen section service at a cancer center.

Background: In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in clinical digital pathology (DP). Hardware and software platforms have matured and become more affordable, and advances in artificial intelligence promise to transform the practice of pathology. At our institution, we are launching a stepwise process of DP adoption which will eventually encompass our entire workflow.

Timing and causes of forest fire at the K-Pg boundary.

We report K-Pg-age deposits in Baja California, Mexico, consisting of terrestrial and shallow-marine materials re-sedimented onto the continental slope, including corals, gastropods, bivalves, shocked quartz grains, an andesitic tuff with a SHRIMP U-Pb age (66.12 ± 0.65 Ma) indistinguishable from that of the K-Pg boundary, and charred tree trunks.

Raman spectroscopy: current applications in breast cancer diagnosis, challenges and future prospects.

Despite significant improvements in the way breast cancer is managed and treated, it continues to persist as a leading cause of death worldwide. If detected and diagnosed early, when tumours are small and localised, there is a considerably higher chance of survival. However, current methods for detection and diagnosis lack the required sensitivity and specificity for identifying breast cancer at the asymptomatic or very early stages.

Keeping an eye on eye care: monitoring progress towards effective coverage.

The eye care sector is well positioned to contribute to the advancement of universal health coverage within countries. Given the large unmet need for care associated with cataract and refractive error, coupled with the fact that highly cost-effective interventions exist, we propose that effective cataract surgery coverage (eCSC) and effective refractive error coverage (eREC) serve as ideal indicators to track progress in the uptake and quality of eye care services at the global level, and to monitor progress towards universal health coverage in general. Global targets for 2030 for these two indicators were endorsed by WHO Member States at the 74th World Health Assembly in May, 2021.

Global economic productivity losses from vision impairment and blindness.

Background: In the absence of accessible, good quality eye health services and inclusive environments, vision loss can impact individuals, households and communities in many ways, including through increased poverty, reduced quality of life and reduced employment. We aimed to estimate the annual potential productivity losses associated with reduced employment due to blindness and moderate and severe vision impairment (MSVI) at a regional and global level.

Methods: We constructed a model using the most recent economic, demographic (2018) and prevalence (2020) data.

Dubiofossils from a Mars-analogue subsurface palaeoenvironment: The limits of biogenicity criteria.

The search for a fossil record of Earth's deep biosphere, partly motivated by potential analogies with subsurface habitats on Mars, has uncovered numerous assemblages of inorganic microfilaments and tubules inside ancient pores and fractures. Although these enigmatic objects are morphologically similar to mineralized microorganisms (and some contain organic carbon), they also resemble some abiotic structures. Palaeobiologists have responded to this ambiguity by evaluating problematic filaments against checklists of "biogenicity criteria".

Eye health indicators for universal health coverage: results of a global expert prioritisation process.

Introduction: In its recent , the WHO called for an updated approach to monitor eye health as part of universal health coverage (UHC). This project sought to develop a consensus among eye health experts from all world regions to produce a menu of indicators for countries to monitor eye health within UHC.

Methods: We reviewed the literature to create a long-list of indicators aligned to the conceptual framework for monitoring outlined in WHO's .

An Incidental Finding of Paratesticular Malignant Mesothelioma During Operation for Hydrocelectomy.

Paratesticular malignant mesothelioma is a rare and potentially aggressive malignancy, accounting for approxi- mately 0.3-1.4 percent of all malignant mesotheliomas.

The Apoptotic Crypt Abscess: An Underappreciated Histologic Finding in Gastrointestinal Pathology.

Objectives: To differentiate apoptotic crypt abscesses (ACAs) from neutrophilic crypt abscesses (NCAs).

Methods: Cases with crypt abscesses were classified as containing ACAs, NCAs, or mixed crypt abscesses (MCAs) by H&E staining. Sections were stained with cleaved caspase 3 and myeloperoxidase and recategorized.

Renal Angiomyolipoma With Incidental Oncocytoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

We present a 37-year-old female with a history of tuberous sclerosis. She developed flank pain, hypotension, and a sudden drop in hemoglobin levels which prompted a work-up. A computed tomography scan demonstrated enlarged heterogeneous kidneys and a large complex collection in the right kidney, likely hemorrhagic in nature.

Gastric Zygomycosis in a Previously Healthy 56-Year-Old Male.

Zygomycosis refers to invasive fungal infections caused by fungi belonging to the phylum zygomycota. Infections generally occur in immunocompromised individuals. The following case is of a previously healthy 56 year-oldmale admitted to the hospital following a motor vehicle accident.

Metastatic Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate Diagnosed in a Colon Polyp: A Unique Clinicopathologic Scenario.

Adenocarcinoma of the prostate is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among males in the U.S. Metastatic disease commonly involves the bones, lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and brain.

Endocytic recycling protein EHD1 regulates primary cilia morphogenesis and SHH signaling during neural tube development.

Members of the four-member C-terminal EPS15-Homology Domain-containing (EHD) protein family play crucial roles in endocytic recycling of cell surface receptors from endosomes to the plasma membrane. In this study, we show that Ehd1 gene knockout in mice on a predominantly B6 background is embryonic lethal. Ehd1-null embryos die at mid-gestation with a failure to complete key developmental processes including neural tube closure, axial turning and patterning of the neural tube.

Circulatory changes associated with the closure of the ductus arteriosus in hatching emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae).

In developing avian embryos, the right and left ductus arteriosi (DA) allow for a shunt of systemic venous return away from the lungs to the body and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Unlike in mammals where the transition from placental respiration to lung respiration is instantaneous, in birds the transition from embryonic CAM respiration to lung respiration can take over 24h. To understand the physiological consequences of this long transition we examined circulatory changes and DA morphological changes during hatching in the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), a primitive ratite bird.

The Impact of Company-Level ART Provision to a Mining Workforce in South Africa: A Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Background: HIV impacts heavily on the operating costs of companies in sub-Saharan Africa, with many companies now providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes in the workplace. A full cost-benefit analysis of workplace ART provision has not been conducted using primary data. We developed a dynamic health-state transition model to estimate the economic impact of HIV and the cost-benefit of ART provision in a mining company in South Africa between 2003 and 2022.