Implementing Mutational Epidemiology on a Global Scale: Lessons from Mutographs.

The Mutographs Cancer Grand Challenge team aimed to discover unknown causes of cancer through mutational epidemiology, an alliance of cancer epidemiology and somatic genomics. By generating whole-genome sequences from thousands of cancers and normal tissues from more than 30 countries on five continents, it discovered unsuspected mutagenic exposures affecting millions of people, raised the possibility that some carcinogens act by altering forces of selection in tissue microenvironments rather than by mutagenesis, and demonstrated changes to the direction of somatic evolution in normal cells of the human body in response to exogenous exposures and noncancer diseases. See related article by Bressan et al.

Implications of Pyrolytic Gas Dynamic Evolution on Dissolved Black Carbon Formed During Production of Biochar from Nitrogen-Rich Feedstock.

Gases and dissolved black carbon (DBC) formed during pyrolysis of nitrogen-rich feedstock would affect atmospheric and aquatic environments. Yet, the mechanisms driving biomass gas evolution and DBC formation are poorly understood. Using thermogravimetric-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy, we correlated the temperature-dependent primary noncondensable gas release sequence (HO → CO → HCN, NH → CH → CO) with specific defunctionalization stages in the order: dehydration, decarboxylation, denitrogenation, demethylation, and decarbonylation.

Individual and Familial Risk and Promotive Factors for Substance Use Among Multiracial American Young Adults.

Background: Multiracial American adults have the highest rates of binge drinking and illicit drug use of all racial groups, yet little is known about the risk and promotive factors that contribute to their substance use.

Objectives: This study examines how individual factors (i.e.

Latest Developments in Targeted Biological Therapies in the Management of Chordoma and Chondrosarcoma.

Study Design: Systematic review.

Objectives: The objective of this review paper was to summarize targeted molecular therapy options for spinal chordoma and chondrosarcoma, and to provide an update on the relevant clinical trials open for recruitment.

Methods: A systematic review of the current literature was performed, according to PRISMA guidelines, to summarize the latest developments in non-surgical molecular treatment options for low grade malignant primary spinal tumours.

gscramble: Simulation of Admixed Individuals Without Reuse of Genetic Material.

While a best practice for evaluating the behaviour of genetic clustering algorithms on empirical data is to conduct parallel analyses on simulated data, these types of simulation techniques often involve sampling genetic data with replacement. In this paper we demonstrate that sampling with replacement, especially with large marker sets, inflates the perceived statistical power to correctly assign individuals (or the alleles that they carry) back to source populations-a phenomenon we refer to as resampling-induced, spurious power inflation (RISPI). To address this issue, we present gscramble, a simulation approach in R for creating biologically informed individual genotypes from empirical data that: (1) samples alleles from populations without replacement and (2) segregates alleles based on species-specific recombination rates.

Distinguishing Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy From Mimic Disorders: The Role of Statistical Modeling.

Background And Aims: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is difficult to distinguish from mimicking disorders, with misdiagnosis resulting in IVIG overutilization. We evaluate a clinical-electrophysiological model to facilitate CIDP versus mimic neuropathy prediction.

Methods: Using the European Academy of Neurology/Peripheral Nerve Society (EAN/PNS) 2021 CIDP guidelines we derived 26 clinical and 144 nerve conduction variables.

Urinary oxidative stress biomarkers in nephrotoxicity induced by PM in a rat model.

Objective: The present study evaluated urinary oxidative stress (OxS) biomarkers to explain the extrapulmonary effect of renal function decline due to subchronic inhalation exposure to particles smaller than 2.5 μm, as well as the correlation of the biomarkers with the particles' endotoxin content.

Materials And Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to subchronic inhalation of particles smaller than 2.

Physical Intimate Partner Violence Among Women Experiencing Homelessness Before and During Pregnancy.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and homelessness can have devastating health consequences for pregnant women. Using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, we assessed differences in the association of physical IPV before and/or during pregnancy with adverse health outcomes between women experiencing homelessness (WEH) and domiciled women. Among 186,891 respondents, representing an estimated 11,489,161 women, 27.

Roadside Dining: The Collective Movement Behavior of Sulawesi Moor Macaques in a Provisioning Context.

How group-living primates come to a consensus about navigating their environment is a result of their decision-making processes. Although decision-making has been examined in several primate taxa, it remains underexplored for primates living in anthropogenic landscapes. To shed light on consensus decision-making and flexibility in this process, we examined collective movement behavior in a group of wild moor macaques (Macaca maura) experiencing a risk-reward tradeoff as a result of roadside provisioning within Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The mental health impact of repeated COVID-19 enforced lockdowns in England: evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study.

Background: Research shows initial COVID-19 lockdowns increased population mental distress. Yet, the mental health impact of repeated lockdowns in England remains unknown.

Aims: To: (a) explore changes in population mental health symptoms over the COVID-19 pandemic period (March 2020 to March 2021) in England, comparing this with trends from a decade before (2009-2019) as well as after (2021-2023); (b) compare the mental health impact of each of the three lockdowns in England with periods of eased restrictions, determining who was most affected; (c) examine the impact of demographics and distinct time periods on the prevalence of mental health symptoms.

Dyadic resilience after postpartum depression: The protective role of mother-infant respiratory sinus arrhythmia synchrony during play for maternal and child mental health across early childhood.

Coordination in mothers' and their infants' parasympathetic nervous system functioning (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA] synchrony) specifically during playful interactions may promote resilience against exposure to postpartum depressive symptoms (PPD), for both members of the dyad.

First-Principles Assessment of ZnTe and CdSe as Prospective Tunnel Barriers at the InAs/Al Interface.

Majorana zero modes are predicted to emerge in semiconductor/superconductor interfaces, such as InAs/Al. Majorana modes could be utilized for fault tolerant topological qubits. However, their realization is hindered by materials challenges.

Apple Bitter Rot: Biology, Ecology, Omics, Virulence Factors, and Management of Causal Colletotrichum Species.

Unlabelled: Apple bitter rot is caused by various Colletotrichum spp. that threaten apple production globally resulting in millions of dollars in damage annually. The fungus causes a decline in fruit quality and yield, eventually rotting the fruit and rendering it inedible.

Insurance gaps at age-19 and age-26 health insurance eligibility thresholds by childhood-onset condition severity, Colorado 2014-2018.

Objective: To characterize health insurance gap patterns related to age-19 Medicaid and age-26 commercial age-eligibility cutoffs.

Study Setting And Design: This descriptive analysis spans 2014-2018, after Affordable Care Act implementation, but before COVID-19 emergency provisions. We defined insurance gaps as ≥3 consecutive months without observed enrollment, preceded and followed by ≥1 month of enrollment and stratified results by insurance source and clinical severity (e.

Human presence shifts the landscape of fear for a free-living mammal.

Humans may play a key role in providing small prey mammals spatial and temporal refuge from predators, but few studies have captured the heterogeneity of these effects across space and time. Global COVID-19 lockdown restrictions offered a unique opportunity to investigate how a sudden change in human presence in a semi-urban park impacted wildlife. Here, we quantify how changes in the spatial distributions of humans and natural predators influenced the landscape of fear for the California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) in a COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and non-COVID (2019) year.

The Puzzle of Food Inflation: Exploring the Asymmetric Nexus Between Economic Policy Uncertainty and Food Prices in the Expanded BRICS Countries.

Fluctuations in economic policy often create ripple effects that can significantly impact commodity prices, including those of essential food items, with potential consequences for food security. The five emerging nations outlined as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have most recently extended by including four new members (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE) on January 1, 2024. Additionally, Argentina and Saudi Arabia are anticipated to join the group soon.

What Matters in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Comparison of Patient and Clinician Perspectives.

Objective: This study aimed to expand the understanding of the patient with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) experience and to compare/contrast patient and clinician prioritization of PsA dimensions.

Methods: We conducted four patients with PsA focus groups across three US rheumatology practices using mixed methods to identify attributes of PsA important to patients. Combination with extant attributes of PsA identified by a steering committee created a comprehensive list of attributes.

Concomitant Waldenström Macroglobulinemia/Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma and Non-Immunoglobulin M Plasma Cell Neoplasm.

Context.—: The co-occurrence of plasma cell neoplasm (PCN) and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) is rare, and their clonal relationship remains unclear.

Objective.

Characteristics and recovery trends of severe TBI patients with a favorable functional outcome at 6-month follow-up.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a devastating cause of death and disability. Outcomes following TBI have been extensively studied; however, less attention has been given to identifying characteristics of individuals who have a favorable outcome following severe TBI. We conducted a retrospective analysis of a database containing information on TBI patients admitted to a level 1 trauma center between 2015 and 2021.

Impact of age-related changes in buccal epithelial cells on pediatric epigenetic biomarker research.

Cheek swabs, heterogeneous samples consisting primarily of buccal epithelial cells, are widely used in pediatric DNA methylation studies and biomarker creation. However, the decrease in buccal proportion with age in adults remains unexamined in childhood. We analyzed cheek swabs from 4626 typically developing children 2-months to 20-years-old.

The evolution of preferred male traits, female preference and the G matrix: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore".

Female preference exerts selection on male traits. How such preferences affect male traits, how female preferences change and the genetic correlation between male traits and female preference were examined by an experiment in which females were either mated to males they preferred (S lines) or to males chosen at random from the population (R lines). Female preference was predicted to increase the time spent calling by males.

Gut dysbiosis was inevitable, but tolerance was not: temporal responses of the murine microbiota that maintain its capacity for butyrate production correlate with sustained antinociception to chronic morphine.

The therapeutic benefits of opioids are compromised by the development of analgesic tolerance, which necessitates higher dosing for pain management thereby increasing the liability for drug dependence and addiction. Rodent models indicate opposing roles of the gut microbiota in tolerance: morphine-induced gut dysbiosis exacerbates tolerance, whereas probiotics ameliorate tolerance. Not all individuals develop tolerance, which could be influenced by differences in microbiota, and yet no study design has capitalized upon this natural variation.

Seroprevalence, incidence estimates, and environmental risk factors for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika infection amongst children living in informal urban settlements in Indonesia and Fiji.

Background: The burden of Aedes aegypti-transmitted viruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are increasing globally, fueled by urbanization and climate change, with some of the highest current rates of transmission in Asia. Local factors in the built environment have the potential to exacerbate or mitigate transmission.

Methods: In 24 informal urban settlements in Makassar, Indonesia and Suva, Fiji, we tested children under 5 years old for evidence of prior infection with dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses by IgG serology.

The Calicophoron daubneyi genome provides new insight into mechanisms of feeding, eggshell synthesis and parasite-microbe interactions.

Background: The rumen fluke, Calicophoron daubneyi, is the major paramphistome species infecting ruminants within Europe. Adult flukes reside within the rumen where they are in direct contact with a unique collection of microorganisms. Here, we report a 1.