Practitioner perspectives on symptomatic faecal immunochemical testing: a qualitative interview study.

Background: Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) is now core to the management of patients presenting in primary care with symptoms of possible colorectal cancer. Patients with a positive FIT (≥10μg Hb/g faeces) qualify for an urgent suspected cancer referral. FIT negative patients are typically managed in primary care or referred through routine pathways.

Spatial and temporal (annual and decadal) trends of metal(loid) concentrations and loads in an acid mine drainage-affected river.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a worldwide problem that degrades river systems and is difficult and expensive to remediate. To protect affected catchments, it is vital to understand the behaviour of AMD-related metal(loid) contaminants as a function of space and time. To address this, the sources, loads and transport mechanisms of arsenic (As), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and sulfur (S) in a representative AMD-affected catchment (the Carnon River in Cornwall, UK) were determined over a 12-month sampling period and with 22 years of monitoring data collected by the Environment Agency (England) (EA).

Responses of fish to nationwide improvements in the water quality of a densely populated and heavily modified country over four decades.

Globally, fish have been severely affected by the widespread, chronic degradation of fresh waters, with a substantial proportion of species declining in abundance or range in recent decades. This has especially been the case in densely populated countries with an industrial heritage and intensive agriculture, where the majority of river catchments have been affected by deteriorations in water quality and changes in land use. This study used a spatially and temporally extensive dataset, encompassing 16,124 surveys at 1180 sites representing a wide range of river typologies and pressures, to examine changes in the fish populations of England's rivers over four decades (1980s-2010s).

Effects of protection on large-bodied reef fishes in the western Indian Ocean.

Predatory and large-bodied coral reef fishes have fundamental roles in the functioning and biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems, but their populations are declining, largely due to overexploitation in fisheries. These fishes include sharks, groupers, Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), and Green Humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). In the western Indian Ocean, this situation is exacerbated by limited population data on these fishes, including from conventional visual census methods, which limit the surface area surveyed.

Congenital Titinopathy: Comprehensive Characterization of the Most Severe End of the Disease Spectrum.

Unlabelled: Congenital titinopathy has recently emerged as one of the most common congenital muscle disorders.

Objective: To better understand the presentation and clinical needs of the under-characterized extreme end of the congenital titinopathy severity spectrum.

Methods: We comprehensively analyzed the clinical, imaging, pathology, autopsy, and genetic findings in 15 severely affected individuals from 11 families.

Modelling Peroxisomal Disorders in Zebrafish.

Peroxisomes are ubiquitous, dynamic, oxidative organelles with key functions in cellular lipid metabolism and redox homeostasis. They have been linked to healthy ageing, neurodegeneration, cancer, the combat of pathogens and viruses, and infection and immune responses. Their biogenesis relies on several peroxins (encoded by genes), which mediate matrix protein import, membrane assembly, and peroxisome multiplication.

Examining ozone effects on the tropical C crop .

Ozone (O), a major air pollutant, can negatively impact plant growth and yield. While O impacts have been widely documented in crops such as wheat and soybean, few studies have looked at the effects of O on sorghum, a C plant and the fifth most important cereal crop worldwide. We exposed grain sorghum ( cv.

Determination of the zebrafish embryo developmental toxicity assessment (ZEDTA) as an alternative non-mammalian approach for the safety assessment of agrochemicals.

With the US Environment Protection Agency reducing requests for (and funding of) mammalian studies alongside the proposed elimination of requests by 2035, there is an urgent need for fully validated New Approach Methods (NAMs) to fill the resultant gap for safety assessment of agrochemicals. One promising NAM for assessing the potential for human prenatal developmental toxicity potential is the Zebrafish Embryo Developmental Toxicity Assessment, a bioassay that has been used by the pharmaceutical industry for more than a decade in early-stage drug safety assessment. Despite its promise, little data has been generated to assess the validity of ZEDTA for assessing Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity of new agrochemical products.

Supporting parents to reduce children's anxiety: A meta-analysis of interventions and their theoretical components.

Parent-focused interventions hold promise for reducing child anxiety, but their content varies greatly, and little is known on the intervention content. We estimated the effects of parent-focused interventions on child anxiety and the most effective combinations of theoretical components. We searched PsycINFO, Medline, and Web of Science in October 2022 for randomized trials on parent-focused interventions to reduce children's anxiety.

Behaviorally designed training leads to more diverse hiring.

A field experiment provides a promising proof of concept.

Co-selection for antibiotic resistance by environmental contaminants.

The environment is increasingly recognised as a hotspot for the selection and dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. These can be selected for by antibiotics and non-antibiotic agents (such as metals and biocides), with the evidence to support this well established by observational and experimental studies. However, there is emerging evidence to suggest that plant protection products (such as herbicides), and non-antibiotic drugs (such as chemotherapeutic agents), can also co-select for antibiotic resistance.

Mgl2 cDC2s coordinate fungal allergic airway type 2, but not type 17, inflammation in mice.

Fungal spores are abundant in the environment and a major cause of asthma. Originally characterised as a type 2 inflammatory disease, allergic airway inflammation that underpins asthma can also involve type 17 inflammation, which can exacerbate disease causing failure of treatments tailored to inhibit type 2 factors. However, the mechanisms that determine the host response to fungi, which can trigger both type 2 and type 17 inflammation in allergic airway disease, remain unclear.

Transient cortical beta-frequency oscillations associated with contextual novelty in high density mouse EEG.

Beta-frequency oscillations (20-30 Hz) are prominent in both human and rodent electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. Discrete epochs of beta (or Beta2) oscillations are prevalent in the hippocampus and other brain areas during exploration of novel environments. However, little is known about the spatial distribution and temporal relationships of beta oscillations across the cortex in response to novel contexts.

Lactic acid in the vaginal milieu modulates the -host interaction.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is one of the most common infections caused by . VVC is characterized by an inadequate hyperinflammatory response and clinical symptoms associated with colonization of the vaginal mucosa. Compared to other host niches in which can cause infection, the vaginal environment is extremely rich in lactic acid that is produced by the vaginal microbiota.

Implementing recommendations for routine mismatch repair (MMR) immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing of endometrial cancer and subsequent patient management.

Lynch syndrome is associated with an increased risk of cancer, including endometrial cancer. We audited the introduction of a nurse-led testing and management pathway for Lynch syndrome. All 191 patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust between January 2022 and December 2023 were tested for mis-match repair (MMR) protein immunohistochemistry; germline testing was offered to all 13 who were eligible.

Differentially spliced mitochondrial CYP419A1 contributes to ethiprole resistance in Nilaparvata lugens.

The brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens is one of the most economically important pests of cultivated rice in Southeast Asia. Extensive use of insecticide treatments, such as imidacloprid, fipronil and ethiprole, has resulted in the emergence of multiple resistant strains of N. lugens.

Practitioner, patient and public views on the acceptability of mobile stroke units in England and Wales: A mixed methods study.

Background: Evidence for Mobile Stroke Units (MSUs) demonstrates that onset to treatment times for intravenous thrombolysis can be reduced and access to mechanical thrombectomy might be improved. Despite growing use of MSUs internationally, to date there have been no studies in NHS England and NHS Wales exploring the acceptability of MSUs to clinicians, patient and public representatives and other key stakeholders, which are important when considering potential feasibility and implementation.

Methods: This study used a mixed methods design with a cross-sectional survey and qualitative workshops and interviews between October 2023 to May 2024.

Detectability constraints on meso-scale structure in complex networks.

Community, core-periphery, disassortative and other node partitions allow us to understand the organisation and function of large networks. In this work we study common meso-scale structures using the idea of block modularity. We find that the configuration model imposes strong restrictions on core-periphery and related structures in directed and undirected networks.

Revealing the zone of possible agreement between parties in conflict: An application to Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements.

After Hamas' attack on 2023 October 7 and Israel's subsequent war, a pressing question is the nature of a postwar peace agreement. Peace negotiations often become deadlocked due to difficulties in identifying mutually advantageous agreements. A large-scale survey task and method is developed to identify the strength of preference for components of potential peace deals and changes to the status quo.

Data-driven discovery of associations between prescribed drugs and dementia risk: A systematic review.

Abstract: Recent clinical trials on slowing dementia progression have led to renewed focus on finding safer, more effective treatments. One approach to identify plausible candidates is to assess whether existing medications for other conditions may affect dementia risk. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies adopting a data-driven approach to investigate the association between a wide range of prescribed medications and dementia risk.

Neoadjuvant nivolumab and chemotherapy in early estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial.

Patients with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) primary breast cancer (BC) have low pathological complete response (pCR) rates with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A subset of ER+/HER2- BC contains dense lymphocytic infiltration. We hypothesized that addition of an anti-programmed death 1 agent may increase pCR rates in this BC subtype.

Developmental defects in ectodermal appendages caused by missense mutation in edaradd gene in the nfr mangrove killifish kryptolebias marmoratus.

The mangrove killifish, Kryptolebias marmoratus, can reproduce with self-fertilisation, offering a unique and useful genetic tool for generation of genetic mutants and quick identification of mutated genes. From an ENU-mutated mangrove killifish line R228, we have isolated a novel mutant line, no-fin-ray/nfr in which homozygous mutant of adult fish fin ray development is largely reduced. Illumina RNAseq with 3 embryos each from mutants, siblings and the parental WT strain Hon9 (only 9 embryos as total) identified a mutation in the edaradd in a highly conserved C-terminal death domain.

Small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcaemic type causing an acute kidney injury.

SummaryWe report a case of small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcaemic type, a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer, causing an acute kidney injury. A woman in her mid-30s presented with a large pelvic mass and abdominal distention, this was associated with rapidly deteriorating renal function, which did not improve with standardised kidney injury treatment. There was a high suspicion of ovarian cancer.

A novel, dominant disease mechanism of distal renal tubular acidosis with specific variants in ATP6V1B1.

Background And Hypothesis: ATP6V1B1 encodes a subunit of the vacuolar H+-ATPase and pathogenic variants are associated with autosomal recessive distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) with deafness. Heterozygous variants predicted to affect a specific amino acid, Arg394, have been recurrently reported in dRTA but their significance has been unclear. We hypothesised that these variants are associated with a dominant disease mechanism.

Continuous colonization of the Atlantic coastal rain forests of South America from Amazônia.

The two main extensions of rain forest in South America are the Amazon (Amazônia) and the Atlantic rain forest (Mata Atlântica), which are separated by a wide 'dry diagonal' of seasonal vegetation. We used the species-rich tree genus to test if Amazônia-Mata Atlântica dispersals have been clustered during specific time periods corresponding to past, humid climates. We performed hybrid capture DNA sequencing of 810 nuclear loci for 453 accessions representing 164 species that included 62% of Mata Atlântica species and estimated a dated phylogeny for all accessions using maximum likelihood, and a species-level tree using coalescent methods.