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Objective: The majority of high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSC) of the ovary, fallopian tube, and peritoneum arise from the precursor lesion called serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC). It has been postulated that cells from STICs exfoliate into the peritoneal cavity and give rise to peritoneal HGSC several years later. While co-existent STICs and HGSCs have been reported to share similarities in their mutational profiles, clonal relationship between temporally distant STICs and HGSCs have been infrequently studied and the natural history of STICs remains poorly understood. Methods: We performed focused searches in two national databases from the Netherlands and identified a series of BRCA1/2 germline pathogenic variant (GPV) carriers (n = 7) who had STIC, and no detectable invasive carcinoma, at the time of their risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO), and later developed peritoneal HGSC. The clonal relationship between these STICs and HGSCs was investigated by comparing their genetic mutational profile by performing next-generation targeted sequencing. Results: Identical pathogenic mutations and loss of heterozygosity of TP53 were identified in the STICs and HGSCs of five of the seven patients (71%), confirming the clonal relationship of the lesions. Median interval for developing HGSC after RRSO was 59 months (range: 24–118 months). Conclusion: Our results indicate that cells from STIC can shed into the peritoneal cavity and give rise to HGSC after long lag periods in BRCA1/2 GPV carriers, and argues in favor of the hypothesis that STIC lesions may metastasize.

Background: Abnormalities of the hyoid bone are associated with impairment of oropharyngeal functions including feeding, swallowing, and breathing. Few studies have characterized anatomic abnormalities of the hyoid in patients with Robin sequence (RS), e.g. a less mineralized and voluminous hyoid. The purpose of this study was to compare normal hyoid bone morphology and hyoid bone morphology in children with isolated RS. Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of the hyoid bone were obtained from CT-imaging of children with RS and unaffected controls. A 3D morphable model was constructed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Partial least squares – Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to characterize and compare hyoid shape differences between patients with RS and an age-matched control group. Results: The study included 23 subjects with RS (mean age 9.8 ± 10.3 months) and 46 age-matched control samples. A less voluminous hyoid was observed for the RS group with a larger lateral divergence of the greater horns compared to controls (MANOVA, p-value<0.001). The first shape variable from the PLS-DA model showed a significant correlation for the observed variance between the two groups (Spearman R = −0.56, p-value<0.001). The control samples and 151 CT-scans of subjects up to age 4 years were used to create a 3D morphable model of normal hyoid shape variation (n = 197, mean age 22.1 ± 13.1 months). For the normal 3D morphable model, a high degree of allometric shape variation was observed along the first principal component. Conclusions: The 3D morphable models provide a comprehensive and quantitative description of variation in normal hyoid bone morphology, and allow detection of distinct differences between patients with isolated RS and controls.

Rhizosphere microbiome assembly is essential for plant health, but the temporal dimension of this process remains unexplored. We used a chronosequence of 150 years of the retreating Hallstätter glacier (Dachstein, Austria) to disentangle this exemplarily for the rhizosphere of three pioneer alpine plants. Time of deglaciation was an important factor shaping the rhizosphere microbiome. Microbiome functions i.e., nutrient uptake and stress protection were carried out by ubiquitous and cosmopolitan bacteria. The rhizosphere succession along the chronosequence was characterized by decreasing microbial richness but increasing specificity in plant associated bacterial community. Environmental selection is a critical factor in shaping the ecosystem, particularly in terms of plant-driven recruitment from the available edaphic pool. A higher rhizosphere microbial richness during early succession compared to late succession can be explained by the occurrence of cold-acclimated bacteria recruited from the surrounding soils. These taxa might be sensitive to changing habitat conditions that occurred at the later stages. A stronger influence of the plant host on the rhizosphere microbiome assembly was observed with increased time since deglaciation. Overall, this study indicated that well-adapted, ubiquitous microbes potentially support pioneer plants to colonize new ecosystems, while plant-specific microbes may be associated with the long-term establishment of their hosts

Het Actieplan Bodem en Water (ABW) is een gezamenlijk initiatief van LTO Noord, Waterschap Zuiderzeeland en de provincie Flevoland. Elk jaar organiseren zij een kennisdag vol dynamische workshops om informatie te delen en samen te werken aan bodem- en watergerelateerde vraagstukken, zoals met deze workshop 'Wortels maken grond. Wat betekenen wortels voor bodemvorming?'

Background: The common fisheries policy (CFP) of the EU stipulates that the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) is the best possible objective for fisheries and that scientific advice is the basis for good policy making setting fishing opportunities according to the state and productivity f all managed stocks. Nevertheless, a substantial proportion of EU’s marine living resources are data-limited and still lack a quantitative assessment and, therefore, are not managed appropriately. This increases the risk of overfishing and potentially reduces long-term yield. Therefore, robust quantitative methods need to be developed and harvest control rules need to be implemented and tested that are risk-averse while ensuring high yields and that are applicable for stocks with limited data. Aims of the project: The project has four main objectives: (i) developing guidelines and advice on good practices for data-limited assessments and, (ii) to further develop assessment methods and provide alternatives to age-based assessments, (iii) to provide new and improve existing quantitative assessments of selected fish stocks of high commercial and ecological importance, and (iv) to disseminate project results to the international scientific and management advisory community. Results: The RoMA project further developed the surplus production model in continuous time (SPiCT) and facilitated its application for many stocks. Stochastic harvest control rules (HCRs) were introduced to account for uncertainties in maximum sustainable yield (MSY) estimates. These rules, adjusting the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) based on quantified uncertainty, demonstrated robust performance in reducing risk and yield variability across stocks. The approach was implemented in ICES guidelines and applied to multiple stocks. A software tool, SAM2SPICT, was developed that makes a surplus production model assessment for stocks with age-based assessments. This tool provides an alt