Gibberellic acid and light effects on seed germination in the seagrass Zostera marina.

Seagrass meadows have been heavily affected by human activities, with Zostera marina L. (Zosteraceae) being one of the most impacted species. Seed-based methods are currently the preferred approach for their restoration, yet low germination rates and poor seedling establishment remain significant challenges.

Genotype-Phenotype Correlations, Treatment, and Prognosis of Children With Early-Onset (Neonatal) Marfan Syndrome.

Early-onset Marfan syndrome (eoMFS) is a severe and rare form of Marfan syndrome characterized by severe atrioventricular valve insufficiency developing before or shortly after birth. It is unclear which factors (interventions and/or genotype) influence survival. Forty-one individuals with eoMFS with a fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) variant in exon 24-32 (CRCh37) were included.

Caregivers and multidisciplinary team members' perspectives on shared decision making in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A qualitative study.

Background: As new therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are entering the market, shared decision making (SDM) will become increasingly important. Therefore, this study aimed to understand (1) Belgian stakeholders' knowledge and perceptions of SDM in DMD treatment decision making, (2) the current state of SDM implementation in DMD in Belgium, examining the role of all involved parties, and (3) the barriers and facilitators for SDM in DMD in the Belgian context.

Methods: In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) of individuals with DMD (n = 18) and caregivers thereof (n = 11) were conducted in Belgium.

Recommendations for management of infants and young children with achondroplasia: Does clinical practice align?

Background: Achondroplasia is one of the most prevalent forms of skeletal dysplasia. Lifelong follow-up by an experienced multidisciplinary team is required, particularly during the first 2 years. In 2021, international consensus recommendations and guiding principles were published by two groups.

Pregnancy-related issues in rare and low-prevalence diseases: results of ERN transversal working group on pregnancy and family planning survey.

Background: Rare and complex diseases can have a significant impact on family life, and managing the reproductive aspects of patients of childbearing age with rare diseases is often difficult and complex. A European Reference Network (ERN) Transversal Working Group (WG) on Pregnancy and Family Planning was created to join forces to promote and address issues on these topics in rare and low-prevalence diseases.

Objective: To outline the challenges and the good practices related to pregnancy and family planning in rare and complex diseases for healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Optimization of screening strategy for chronic kidney disease by urine test strips using the albumin-creatinine read-out.

Introduction: Clinical laboratories play an important role in the diagnosis and monitoring of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our aim was to evaluate the performance of qualitative and semi-quantitative albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and protein-to-creatinine ratio (PCR) test strip results as screening tools for albuminuria in multiple representative patient cohorts.

Materials And Methods: ACR and PCR were evaluated in both cross-sectional (n = 940) and validation (n = 927) patient cohorts.

miR-708-5p is elevated in bipolar patients and can induce mood disorder-associated behavior in mice.

Mood disorders (MDs) are caused by an interplay of genetic and environmental (GxE) risk factors. However, molecular pathways engaged by GxE risk factors are poorly understood. Using small-RNA sequencing in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), we show that the bipolar disorder (BD)-associated microRNA miR-708-5p is upregulated in healthy human subjects with a high genetic or environmental predisposition for MDs.

Towards a universal understanding of sex ratio in termites.

Termites are eusocial cockroaches whose altruist caste is constituted of males and females. While sex ratio theory predicts a balanced investment between sexes in diploid organisms, extreme deviations are observed in termites, both in altruists and alate reproductives. Here, we expand the theoretical framework for the prediction of alate population sex ratio by considering partitioned sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction, and female/male relatedness asymmetries arising from their sex-linked chromosome complexes.

A nationwide comprehensive genomic profiling and molecular tumor board platform for patients with advanced cancer.

The Belgian Approach for Local Laboratory Extensive Tumor Testing (BALLETT) study assessed the feasibility of using comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) in clinical decision-making for patients with advanced cancers. This multi-center study enrolled 872 patients from 12 Belgian hospitals. CGP was performed on tumor tissues using a standardized CGP panel (523 genes) across nine laboratories with success in 93% of patients and a median turnaround time of 29 days.

A functional single-cell metabolic survey identifies Elovl1 as a target to enhance CD8 T cell fitness in solid tumours.

Reprogramming T cell metabolism can improve intratumoural fitness. By performing a CRISPR/Cas9 metabolic survey in CD8 T cells, we identified 83 targets and we applied single-cell RNA sequencing to disclose transcriptome changes associated with each metabolic perturbation in the context of pancreatic cancer. This revealed elongation of very long-chain fatty acids protein 1 (Elovl1) as a metabolic target to sustain effector functions and memory phenotypes in CD8 T cells.

GelMA as scaffold material for epithelial cells to emulate the small intestinal microenvironment.

Host-microbe interactions in the intestine play a significant role in health and disease. Novel scaffolds for host cells, capable of potentially supporting these intricate interactions, are necessary to improve our current systems for mimicking host-microbiota interplay in vitro/ex vivo. In this research paper, we study the application of gelatin methacrylamide (GelMA) as scaffold material for intestinal epithelial cells in terms of permeability, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility.

Bedmap3 updated ice bed, surface and thickness gridded datasets for Antarctica.

We present Bedmap3, the latest suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic south of 60 °S. Bedmap3 incorporates and adds to all post-1950s datasets previously used for Bedmap2, including 84 new aero-geophysical surveys by 15 data providers, an additional 52 million data points and 1.9 million line-kilometres of measurement.

GLEAM4: global land evaporation and soil moisture dataset at 0.1 resolution from 1980 to near present.

Terrestrial evaporation plays a crucial role in modulating climate and water resources. Here, we present a continuous, daily dataset covering 1980-2023 with a 0.1°spatial resolution, produced using the fourth generation of the Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM).

Pharmacokinetics and Target Attainment of Teicoplanin: A Systematic Review.

Background And Objective: Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic used to treat severe Gram-positive infections. This systematic review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on the pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin across the entire population, with the aim to identify gaps in the existing literature, prioritise pharmacokinetic research, and support optimal dosing strategies.

Methods: A systematic literature search of the MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases was conducted.

Insights into fungal diversity and dynamics of vaginal mycobiota.

Although less studied than its bacterial counterpart, the fungal component of the vaginal microbiota plays a critical role in maintaining vaginal homeostasis. Most research on the composition of the vaginal mycobiota has focused on pathological conditions, with relatively few studies involving healthy women. To gain comprehensive insights into the vaginal mycobiota of Algerian women in two different age groups, we performed a targeted metagenomic analysis using ITS2 region sequencing data from 14 vaginal samples collected from healthy women in reproductive and postmenopausal stages.

Full-Length Sequencing of Circular DNA Viruses Using CIDER-Seq.

Full-length viral genome sequencing is key for virus distribution profiling, new virus discovery, and understanding virus populations across different samples. Circular DNA Enrichment Sequencing (CIDER-Seq) allows unbiased enrichment and long-read sequencing of circular DNA viruses. CIDER-Seq produces single-read full-length virus genomes, combining PCR-free enrichment with Single Molecule Real-Time sequencing and de-concatenation algorithm.

Vitamin D levels correlate with exercise capacity in adults with CHD.

Introduction: Vitamin D is crucial for normal organ function, vascular health and exercise performance, yet its deficiency is widespread. Patients with CHD often exhibit reduced exercise capacity. Limited research exists on vitamin D in CHD.

Association of clonal haematopoiesis with heart failure incidence and outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: Clonal haematopoiesis (CH) is recognized as a significant risk factor for various non-haematologic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases. However, recent studies examining its relationship with heart failure (HF) have reported conflicting findings. To address these inconsistencies, the present meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the association of CH with the incidence and clinical outcomes of HF.

Pharmacological Countermeasures for Long-Duration Space Missions: Addressing Cardiovascular Challenges and Advancing Space-Adapted Healthcare.

Future long-duration crewed space missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) will bring new healthcare challenges for astronauts for which pharmacological countermeasures (pharmacological countermeasures) are crucial. This paper highlights current pharmacological countermeasures challenges described in the ESA SciSpacE Roadmap, with a focus on the cardiovascular system as a model to demonstrate the potential implication of the challenges and recommendations. New pharmacological approaches and procedures need to be adapted to spaceflight (spaceflight) conditions, including ethical and reglementary considerations.

Development and validation of an open-source hand laterality judgement task for in-person and online studies.

The Hand Laterality Judgement Task (HLJT) is considered a measure of the ability to manipulate motor images. The 'biomechanical constraints' effect (longer reaction times for hand rotations towards anatomically difficult versus biomechanically easier movements) is considered the behavioural hallmark indicating motor imagery is being used. Previous work has used diverse HLJT paradigms, and there is no standardized procedure for the task.

Longitudinal high-density cortical auditory event-related potentials and speech-sound discrimination in the first two years of life in extremely and very preterm infants without developmental disorders.

Maturation of the auditory system in early childhood significantly influences the development of language-related perceptual and cognitive abilities. This study aims to provide insights into the neurophysiological changes underlying auditory processing and speech-sound discrimination in the first two years of life. We conducted a study using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) to longitudinally record cortical auditory event-related potentials (CAEP) in response to synthesized syllable sounds with pitch/duration change in a cohort of 79 extremely and very preterm-born infants without developmental disorders.

Select for better learning: Identifying high-quality training data for a multimodal cyclic transformer.

Tonic-clonic seizures (TCSs), which present a significant risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), require accurate detection to enable effective long-term monitoring. Previous studies have demonstrated the advantages of multimodal seizure detection systems in reliably detecting TCSs over extended periods. However, the effectiveness of these data-driven systems depends heavily on the availability of reliable training data.