Genomic Evidence for the Purging of Deleterious Genetic Variation in the Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.

The reduced genetic diversity and frequent inbreeding associated with small population size may underpin the accumulation and expression of deleterious mutations (mutation load) in some declining populations. However, demographic perturbations and inbreeding coupled with purifying selection can also purge declining populations of deleterious mutations, leading to intriguing recoveries. To better understand the links between deleterious genetic variation and population status, we assess patterns of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and mutation load across the genomes of three species of whale with different demographic histories and recoveries following the end of commercial whaling in the 1980s.

COVID-19 highlights the need to improve resilience and equity in managing small-scale fisheries.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of global and domestic seafood markets. We examined the main impacts and responses of the small-scale fisheries (SSF) sector, and found that mitigation and preparedness strategies should be prioritised to boost resilience in SSF. We provide five policy options and considerations: (1) improving access to insurance and financial services; (2) strengthening local and regional markets and supporting infrastructure; (3) recognising fisheries as an essential service; (4) integrating disaster risk management into fisheries management systems; and (5) investing in Indigenous and locally-led fisheries management.

A survey of quit vaping strategies and relapse triggers for maintaining youth and young adult vaping abstinence in Canada.

Objectives: To examine whether various quit strategies and relapse triggers are associated with maintenance period in a sample of people who quit vaping.

Method: Young Canadians who used to vape ( = 772) completed an online survey on maintenance period, quit strategies, and relapse triggers. Logistic regression was employed to variables associated with maintenance period.

Convenient lanthanum-mediated synthesis of bulky -alkyl amines from nitriles.

-alkyl amines can be conveniently prepared in one step from nitriles by a double addition of ethyl or propyl Grignard reagent mediated by a commercially available lanthanum chloride-lithium chloride complex solution. The reaction operates on a variety of benzonitriles, with several heterocyclic nitriles and an alkyl nitrile also being suitable substrates.

Charting a new course with plasmon-mediated chemistry.

is pleased to introduce a Collection of articles on the topic of plasmon-mediated chemistry. Here, the Guest Editors discuss different themes within and look towards the future of the field.

Formation of a low-mass galaxy from star clusters in a 600-million-year-old Universe.

The most distant galaxies detected were seen when the Universe was a scant 5% of its current age. At these times, progenitors of galaxies such as the Milky Way were about 10,000 times less massive. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) combined with magnification from gravitational lensing, these low-mass galaxies can not only be detected but also be studied in detail.

Identifying the Role of Individual Seal IAPP Amino Acids in Inhibiting the Aggregation of Human IAPP.

Introduction: The progression of type 2 diabetes in humans appears to be linked to the loss of insulin-producing β-cells. One of the major contributors to β-cell loss is the formation of toxic human IAPP amyloid (hIAPP, Islet Amyloid Polypeptide, amylin) in the pancreas. Inhibiting the formation of toxic hIAPP amyloid could slow, if not prevent altogether, the progression of type 2 diabetes.

The point of no return in the Emotional Stop-Signal Task: A matter of affect or method?

An affective variant of the Stop-Signal task was used to study the interaction between emotion and response inhibition (RI) in healthy young participants. The task involved the covert presentation of emotional faces as go stimuli, as well as a manipulation of motivation and affect by inducing a negative mood through the assignment of unfair punishment. In the literature on emotion and RI, there are contrasting findings reflecting the variability in the method used to calculate the RI latency, namely the Stop-Signal Reaction Time (SSRT).

Alternate Level of Care Patients in Canada: a Scoping Review.

Background: There has been increasing concern over the growing number of Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients in Canada who must wait in hospitals for more appropriate settings to meet their needs. ALC patients may have to stay in hospitals for days or months due to a lack of available long-term care capacity, home care services, or other discharge routes.

Method: We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) method to review 35 papers on the topic of ALC patients and delayed discharge in Canada from different perspectives, including (1) the shared characteristics of ALC patients in Canada; and (2) their impact on the Canadian health-care system, medical staff, and family members.

Evaluating Sequence Alignment Tools for Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Detection in Assembly Graphs.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an escalating global health threat, often driven by the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of resistance genes. Detecting AMR genes and understanding their genomic context within bacterial populations is crucial for mitigating the spread of resistance. In this study, we evaluate the performance of three sequence alignment tools-Bandage, SPAligner, and GraphAligner-in identifying AMR gene sequences from assembly and de Bruijn graphs, which are commonly used in microbial genome assembly.

The influence of urbanization and water reclamation plants on fecal indicator bacteria and antibiotic resistance in the Los Angeles River watershed: A case study with complementary monitoring methods.

Urban land use and water reclamation plants (WRPs) can impact fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in coastal watersheds. However, there is a lack of studies exploring these effects on the US West Coast. Additionally, there is limited research using a complementary approach across culture-, qPCR-, and metagenomics-based techniques for characterizing environmental AMR.

Harnessing the resolution power of two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) for the screening of bisphenol contaminants in canned food items.

Overlapping peaks can be difficult to avoid in 1D-LC, which make the identification and quantification of compounds ambiguous, especially if the only available detector is a UV/DAD. To overcome this, a two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) method to monitor Bisphenols (BPs), and particularly the chosen analogues BPA, BPB, BPF, BPS, BPZ, and BPAF, in a complex matrix (canned food) was developed and validated. BPs are endocrine disruptors present in the lining of the can, which may leach into the content of canned food.

Robots in the kitchen: The automation of food preparation in restaurants and the compounding effects of perceived love and disgust on consumer evaluations.

Restaurants are swiftly embracing automation to prepare food, experimenting with innovations from robotic arms for frying foods to pizza-making robots. While these advances promise to enhance efficiency and productivity, their impact on consumer psychology remains largely unexplored. We present four experiments that demonstrate how food service automation leads to negative downstream effects (i.

The continuum of gender-based violence experienced by migrant and refugee women in Canada: perspectives from key informants.

Little research has been done on conceptualizing gender-based violence (GBV) against immigrant and refugee women as a continuum of violence. The objective of the larger study was to understand gender-based violence in migration and analyze the ways in which discriminations and inequalities interact to increase vulnerability and decrease access to supports and services for some women. Using (a) the concept of continuum of [sexual] violence and (b) intersectionality, we demonstrate the need to both document the range of violence in women's lives and the tactics of victimization among immigrant and refugee women and show how they are different than the cumulated literature showing victimization tactics against the Canadian-born population.

Pnictogen Dications Supported by BZIMPY Ligands.

Two homologous series of pnictogen(III) dications, stabilized by 2,6-bis(benzimidazole-2-yl)pyridine ligands have been prepared. Both series contain Pn-X moieties (Pn = P, As, Sb, Bi; X = Cl or Ph) and have been fully characterized using spectroscopic methods including X-ray crystallography. The Lewis acidity of these compounds has also been probed by computational methods; the results suggest that the dictations are strong Lewis acids, with the PnCl compounds being more acidic than the PnPh compounds, and with Lewis acidity increasing from P to Bi, in both series.

Assembling DNA Plasmids with the Multi-Kingdom (MK) Cloning System.

The Golden Gate cloning technique is used to assemble DNA parts into higher-order assemblies. Individual parts containing compatible overhangs generated by type IIS restriction enzymes are joined together using DNA ligase. The technique enables users to assemble custom transcription units (TUs) for a wide array of experimental assays.

Delphi Recommendations for Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexual Interest in Children in Non-Mandated Community Settings.

This study sought to reach an international expert consensus regarding the diagnosis and treatment of adults with a sexual interest in children in cases where treatment is non-mandated. An expert panel of 27 participants (19 professionals and eight individuals with sexual interest in children) completed at least one of three rounds of an online Delphi survey. In the first round, participants responded to open-ended questions about assessment approaches, treatment goals, treatment approaches, and adapting assessment and treatment for sexual exclusivity.

Adiabatic light guide with S-shaped strips.

A light guide is an essential part of many scintillator counters and light collection systems. Our main interest is a light guide for a thin, wide scintillator that has high light transmission while converting the area of the light source to the shape of a photo-detector. We propose a variation of the light guide that avoids a 90° twist of the strips, reduces the length of the light pipe, and reduces the complexity of production.

Changes in roosting decisions and group structure following parturition in little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus).

In many temperate animals, reproductive cycles coincide with seasonal weather changes resulting in behaviour changes such as movement and habitat selection. In social species, these physiological and environmental changes can alter the costs and benefits of social interactions, impacting the structure of animal groups. In little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), a gregarious bat occupying much of North America, the pregnancy and lactation phases present different challenges to energy balance and maternal movement, and reduced forage distance has been observed during the lactation period.

Exploring the Chemical Space of Mycobacterial Oxidative Phosphorylation Inhibitors Using Molecular Modeling.

Mycobacteria are opportunistic intracellular pathogens that have plagued humans and other animals throughout history and still are today. They manipulate and hijack phagocytic cells of immune systems, enabling them to occupy this peculiar infection niche. Mycobacteria exploit a plethora of mechanisms to resist antimicrobials (e.

Global changes and their environmental stressors have a significant impact on soil biodiversity-A meta-analysis.

Identifying the main threats to soil biodiversity is crucial as soils harbor ∼60% of global biodiversity. Many previous meta-analyses investigating the impact of different global changes (GCs) on biodiversity have omitted soil fauna or are limited by the GCs studied. We conducted a broad-scale meta-analysis focused on soil fauna communities, analyzing 3,161 effect sizes from 624 publications studying climate change, land-use intensification, pollution, nutrient enrichment, invasive species and habitat fragmentation.

ALDH1A3 is the switch that determines the balance of ALDH and CD24CD44 cancer stem cells, EMT-MET, and glucose metabolism in breast cancer.

Plasticity is an inherent feature of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and regulates the balance of key processes required at different stages of breast cancer progression, including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) versus mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), and glycolysis versus oxidative phosphorylation. Understanding the key factors that regulate the switch between these processes could lead to novel therapeutic strategies that limit tumor progression. We found that aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A3 (ALDH1A3) regulates these cancer-promoting processes and the abundance of the two distinct breast CSC populations defined by high ALDH activity and CD24CD44 cell surface expression.

Novel 3-substituted coumarins inspire a custom pharmacology prediction pipeline: an anticancer discovery adventure.

This research aims to expand the established pharmacological space of tumor-associated carbonic anhydrases (TACAs) by exploring the synthetically accessible chemical space of 3-substituted coumarins, with the help of pharmacology prediction. 52 novel 3-substituted coumarins were sketched, prioritizing synthetic feasibility. Their pharmacological potentials were estimated using a custom machine-learning approach.