Publications by authors named "Ralph P"

Microalgae's adaptability and resilience to Earth's diverse environments have evolved these photosynthetic microorganisms into a biotechnological source of industrially relevant physiological functions and biometabolites. Despite this, microalgae-based industries only exploit a handful of species. This lack of biodiversity hinders the expansion of the microalgal industry.

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Extragonadal choriocarcinoma in men is an extremely rare and highly aggressive malignancy. Inconclusive biopsies due to a high necrotic component often delay diagnosis. Here is such a case, in which suggestive imaging findings on [F]FDG PET/CT, a raised level of serum β-human chorionic gonadotropin, and gynecomastia clinched the diagnosis.

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Multicellular organisms host a rich assemblage of associated microorganisms, collectively known as their "microbiomes". Microbiomes have the capacity to influence their hosts' fitnesses, but the conditions under which such influences contribute to evolution are not clear. This is due in part to a lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework for describing the combined effects of host and associated microbes on phenotypic variation.

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Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) often struggle with recruitment and many need extensions which leads to delayed implementation of effective interventions. Recruitment to complex intervention trials have similar difficulties. Alongside this, the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact upon trial recruitment.

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a profound medical condition that significantly hampers motor function, imposing substantial limitations on daily activities and exerting a considerable financial burden on patients and their families. The constrained regenerative capacity of endogenous spinal cord tissue, exacerbated by the inflammatory response following the initial trauma, poses a formidable obstacle to effective therapy. Recent advancements in the field, stem cells, biomaterials, and molecular therapy, show promising outcomes.

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In this study, pyrolysis was performed at different times to convert Oedogonium biomass into biochar. The physicochemical properties show that the pyrolysis time significantly impacts structural and morphological changes in biochar samples. The influence of pyrolysis time on the removal of multiple heavy metals was investigated.

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Microalgae have emerged as promising photosynthetic microorganisms for biofabricating advanced tissue constructs, with improved oxygenation and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. However, their use in the engineering of human tissues has been limited due to their intrinsic growth requirements, which are not compatible with human cells. In this study, we first formulated alginate-gelatin (AlgGel) hydrogels with increasing densities of.

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A fundamental goal in population genetics is to understand how variation is arrayed over natural landscapes. From first principles we know that common features such as heterogeneous population densities and barriers to dispersal should shape genetic variation over space, however there are few tools currently available that can deal with these ubiquitous complexities. Geographically referenced single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data are increasingly accessible, presenting an opportunity to study genetic variation across geographic space in myriad species.

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Individual-based simulation has become an increasingly crucial tool for many fields of population biology. However, implementing realistic and stable simulations in continuous space presents a variety of difficulties, from modeling choices to computational efficiency. This paper aims to be a practical guide to spatial simulation, helping researchers to implement realistic and efficient spatial, individual-based simulations and avoid common pitfalls.

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Biomining using microalgae has emerged as a sustainable option to extract rare earth elements (REEs). This study aims to (i) explore the capability of REEs recovery from bauxite by microalgae, (ii) assess the change of biochemical function affected by bauxite, and (iii) investigate the effects of operating conditions (i.e.

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This study evaluates the repurposing of expired isopropanol (IPA) COVID-19 disinfectant (64% w/w) to pretreat algal biomass for enhancing methane (CH) yield. The impact of harvesting methods (centrifugation and polymer flocculation) and microwave pretreatment on CH production from Scenedesmus sp. microalgal biomass were also investigated.

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A fundamental goal in population genetics is to understand how variation is arrayed over natural landscapes. From first principles we know that common features such as heterogeneous population densities and barriers to dispersal should shape genetic variation over space, however there are few tools currently available that can deal with these ubiquitous complexities. Geographically referenced single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data are increasingly accessible, presenting an opportunity to study genetic variation across geographic space in myriad species.

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Introduction: Chronic stable angina is common and disabling. Cardiac rehabilitation is routinely offered to people following myocardial infarction or revascularisation procedures and has the potential to help people with chronic stable angina. However, there is insufficient evidence of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for its routine use in this patient group.

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Stretchable and self-adhesive conductive hydrogels hold significant importance across a wide spectrum of applications, including human-machine interfaces, wearable devices, and soft robotics. However, integrating multiple properties, such as high stretchability, strong interfacial adhesion, self-healing capability, and sensitivity, into a single material poses significant technical challenges. Herein, we present a multifunctional conductive hydrogel based on poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), dopamine-functionalized pectin (PT-DA), polydopamine-coated reduction graphene oxide (rGO-PDA), and Fe as an ionic cross-linker.

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The infinitesimal model of quantitative genetics relies on the Central Limit Theorem to stipulate that under additive models of quantitative traits determined by many loci having similar effect size, the difference between an offspring's genetic trait component and the average of their two parents' genetic trait components is Normally distributed and independent of the parents' values. Here, we investigate how the assumption of similar effect sizes affects the model: if, alternatively, the tail of the effect size distribution is polynomial with exponent α<2, then a different Central Limit Theorem implies that sums of effects should be well-approximated by a "stable distribution", for which single large effects are often still important. Empirically, we first find tail exponents between 1 and 2 in effect sizes estimated by genome-wide association studies of many human disease-related traits.

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Background: Plants have complex and dynamic immune systems that have evolved to resist pathogens. Humans have worked to enhance these defenses in crops through breeding. However, many crops harbor only a fraction of the genetic diversity present in wild relatives.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This review analyzes the prevalence and impact of microplastics (MPs) and various organic contaminants (OCs) in biosolids, highlighting that MPs and linear alkylbenzene sulfonate surfactants are the most common pollutants found.
  • - It notes that while dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls are minimally present (<0.01%), OCs are more prevalent in Europe compared to Asia and the Americas, and that Australian biosolids have significantly higher MP concentrations than those in the US and Europe.
  • - The study concludes that anaerobic digestion is the most effective method for treating these contaminants in biosolids, while thermal treatment shows promise but needs further development in terms of infrastructure and
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For at least the past 5 decades, population genetics, as a field, has worked to describe the precise balance of forces that shape patterns of variation in genomes. The problem is challenging because modeling the interactions between evolutionary processes is difficult, and different processes can impact genetic variation in similar ways. In this paper, we describe how diversity and divergence between closely related species change with time, using correlations between landscapes of genetic variation as a tool to understand the interplay between evolutionary processes.

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The often tight association between parasites and their hosts means that under certain scenarios, the evolutionary histories of the two species can become closely coupled both through time and across space. Using spatial genetic inference, we identify a potential signal of common dispersal patterns in the Anopheles gambiae and Plasmodium falciparum host-parasite system as seen through a between-species correlation of the differences between geographic sampling location and geographic location predicted from the genome. This correlation may be due to coupled dispersal dynamics between host and parasite but may also reflect statistical artifacts due to uneven spatial distribution of sampling locations.

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Article Synopsis
  • Co-evolution between species can create varying traits, but the reasons for these differences across different regions are not well understood, particularly in traits controlled by multiple genes.
  • Using simulations based on the newt and garter snake relationship, researchers found that newts have varying levels of toxin depending on the area, while snakes develop resistance, showing a geographic correlation.
  • The study indicated that simple co-evolutionary models don't fully explain the observed levels of toxicity and resistance; ecological factors and genetic makeup play a significant role in shaping these dynamics.
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  • Investigated the effects of UV radiation, ethyl methanosulfonate (EMS), and X-ray as mutagens to increase fucoxanthin content in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum over a 6-month period.
  • Employed advanced methods like fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to isolate pigment mutants and measure pigment stability.
  • Found that both UV and EMS significantly boosted fucoxanthin levels, but mutants ultimately reverted back to wild-type, highlighting challenges for long-term use in microalgal biotechnology.
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Algae-derived protein has immense potential to provide high-quality protein foods for the expanding human population. To meet its potential, a broad range of scientific tools are required to identify optimal algal strains from the hundreds of thousands available and identify ideal growing conditions for strains that produce high-quality protein with functional benefits. A research pipeline that includes proteomics can provide a deeper interpretation of microalgal composition and biochemistry in the pursuit of these goals.

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Summary: It is challenging to simulate realistic tracts of genetic ancestry on a scale suitable for simulation-based inference. We present an algorithm that enables this information to be extracted efficiently from tree sequences produced by simulations run with msprime and SLiM.

Availability And Implementation: A C-based implementation of the link-ancestors algorithm is in tskit (https://tskit.

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Symbiodiniaceae form associations with extra- and intracellular bacterial symbionts, both in culture and in symbiosis with corals. Bacterial associates can regulate Symbiodiniaceae fitness in terms of growth, calcification and photophysiology. However, the influence of these bacteria on interactive stressors, such as temperature and light, which are known to influence Symbiodiniaceae physiology, remains unclear.

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