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Abstract Background Breeding of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), the most important leafy vegetable worldwide, for enhanced disease resistance and resilience relies on multiple wild relatives to provide the necessary genetic diversity. In this study, we constructed a super-pangenome based on four Lactuca species (representing the primary, secondary and tertiary gene pools) and comprising 474 accessions. We include 68 newly sequenced accessions to improve cultivar coverage and add important foundational breeding lines. Results With the super-pangenome we find substantial presence/absence variation (PAV) and copy-number variation (CNV). Functional enrichment analyses of core and variable genes show that transcriptional regulators are conserved whereas disease resistance genes are variable. PAV-genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and CNV-GWAS are largely congruent with single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-GWAS. Importantly, they also identify several major novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance against Bremia lactucae in variable regions not present in the reference lettuce genome. The usability of the super-pangenome is demonstrated by identifying the likely origin of non-reference resistance loci from the wild relatives Lactuca serriola, Lactuca saligna and Lactuca virosa. Conclusions The super-pangenome offers a broader view on the gene repertoire of lettuce, revealing relevant loci that are not in the reference genome(s). The provided methodology and data provide a strong basis for research into PAVs, CNVs and other variation underlying important biological traits of lettuce and other crops.

Introduction. Serological diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is an additional tool not only for differential diagnosis, but also for individual prediction of the clinical course and long-term outcomes of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).The objective was to assess the occurrence and capabilities of determining antibodies to Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ASCA) and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in predicting the clinical outcomes of IBD.Methods and materials. The study included 71 patients with CD, 26 with UC, and 21 with and 21 with IBD unclassified (IBDU). The comparison group consisted of 35 patients with other gastrointestinal diseases (irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), celiac disease, autoimmune gastritis (AIG)); the control group consisted of 24 apparently healthy individuals. The level of antibodies to ASCA IgA and IgG was measured by the ELISA method (ORGENTEC Diagnostika GmbH, Germany), ANCA IgG was determined by the IIF method of the Granulocyte Mosaic test system (EUROIMMUN AG, Germany).Results. The occurrence of ASCA IgA and IgG in patients with CD was 25 % and 38 %, which is significantly higher compared to patients with UC (0 % and 3.8 %), IBDU (5 % and 5 %), AIG (0 % and 5.3 %) respectively (p

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is registered annually among residents of Khabarovsk city, Russia. The aim of the study was to conduct a genetic analysis of hantaviruses, the causative agents of HFRS, in residents of Khabarovsk city and in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), a natural reservoir of Seoul virus (SEOV), captured in Khabarovsk and its suburbs. Materials and methods. Blood sera samples from 75 patients with HFRS, collected in 2016–2023 (blood plasma – in 2017) and samples from 1468 Norway rats, captured during 2011–2023, were investigated. Results and discussion. We have demonstrated the presence of the Seoul virus (SEOV) in samples of Norway rats from the city of Khabarovsk and the suburban settlement Priamursky, Jewish Autonomous Region; 2 RNA isolates of the SEOV virus, 33 isolates of the Hantaan virus (HTNV), 9 isolates of the Amur virus (AMRV) – in patients with HFRS from Khabarovsk. Phylogenetic analysis of partial S and L segments of the genome has revealed that three RNA isolates of SEOV from Norway rats and two isolates from HFRS patients are most closely related (99 % homology) to strains from China and are different from the variant of SEOV from Vladivostok. It is assumed that the urban focus of the Seoul virus in Khabarovsk and its environs was formed as a result of the importation of virus carriers from China, where this variant of the virus is widespread. The data obtained indicate that the incidence of HFRS in residents of Khabarovsk, caused by infection with the HTNV and AMRV viruses, is associated with visits to various rural areas of the Far East.

In the last decade, pathogenetic methods for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy 5q have been developed. These include increased expression of the SMN2 gene, correction of SMN2 splicing, or reexpression of the SMN1 gene. Despite the comprehension of the genetic causes of the disease and the existence of therapies, it is still not completely known which molecular mechanisms in SMN protein deficiency lead to the degeneration of motor neurons. Understanding the molecular pathways involved in the loss of motor neurons may help develop new therapeutic strategies. The article presents genetic and biochemical data that reveal the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in spinal muscular atrophy 5q.

Given the role of the ocean in mitigating climate change through CO2 absorption, it is important to improve our ability to quantify the historical ocean CO2 uptake, including its natural variability, for carbon budgeting purposes. In this study we present an exhaustive intercomparison between two ocean modeling practices that can be used to reconstruct the historical ocean CO2 uptake. By comparing the simulations to a wide array of ocean physical and biogeochemical observational datasets, we show how constraining the ocean physics towards observed temperature and salinity results in a better representation of global biogeochemistry. We identify the main driver of this improvement to be a more vigorous large-scale meridional overturning circulation together with improvements in mixed-layer depth and sea surface temperature. Nevertheless, surface chlorophyll was rather insensitive to these changes, and in some regions its representation worsened. We identified the causes of this response to be a combination of a lack of robust parameter optimization and limited changes in environmental conditions for phytoplankton. We conclude that although the direct validation of CO2 fluxes is challenging, the pervasive improvement observed in most aspects of biogeochemistry when applying data assimilation of observed temperature and salinity is encouraging; therefore, data assimilation should be included in multi-method international efforts aimed at reconstructing the ocean CO2 uptake.

Abstract A large number of non‐native trees (NNTs) have been introduced globally and widely planted, contributing significantly to the world's economy. Although some of these species present a limited risk of spreading beyond their planting sites, a growing number of NNTs are spreading and becoming invasive leading to diverse negative impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functions and human well‐being. To help minimize the negative impacts and maximize the economic benefits of NNTs, Brundu et al. developed eight guidelines for the sustainable use of NNTs globally—the Global Guidelines for the Use of NNTs (GG‐NNTs). Here, we used an online survey to assess perceptions of key stakeholders towards NNTs, and explore their knowledge of and compliance with the GG‐NNTs. Our results show that stakeholders are generally aware that NNTs can provide benefits and cause negative impacts, often simultaneously and they consider that their organization complies with existing regulations and voluntary agreements concerning NNTs. However, they are not aware of or do not apply most of the eight recommendations included in the GG‐NNTs. We conclude that effectively managing invasions linked to NNTs requires both more communication efforts using an array of channels for improving stakeholder awareness and implementation of simple measures to reduce NNT impacts (e.g. via GG‐NNTs), and a deeper understanding of the barriers and reluctance of stakeholders to manage NNT invasions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The MTIR-SCP reactor is a research reactor with a light-water coolant having a fast neutron spectrum in nominal operation. None of the existing or projected reactors has a set of these features, therefore, special attention should be paid to the choice of the design of control rods and their location. The article considers various designs of control rods characteristic of the VVER-SCP power reactor currently under development, as well as existing research reactors with a liquid metal coolant having a fast neutron spectrum, taking into account the features of the MTIR-SCP: a seven-element control rod assembly design, as well as a ring-type absorbing element. Efficiency calculations are carried out for each of the structures under consideration and it was determined that the design of a control rod with an annular type of absorbing element has the highest specific efficiency. This design is chosen as the main one for the MTIR- SCP reactor. Criteria are proposed and optimization of the placement of control rods in the reactor core is carried out in order to reduce the uncertainty of obtaining neutron-physical characteristics in the central autonomous loop channel and increase the flow density in it. When optimizing the placement of control rods in the research reactor, their influence on the main neutron-physical characteristics, and especially on their distribution during operation under nominal conditions, is taken into account. Emergency protection and compensating rods that compensate for temperature and density effects when the reactor reaches the nominal power level have been removed, therefore their effect on the neutron-physical characteristics of the reactor and the loop channel during operation at power is not significant, and the compensating rods are located in the core and are removed as the fuel burns out, therefore their effect on the spatial The distribution of neutron-physical characteristics will be significant. To reduce this effect, burnout compensators and automatic regulators are proposed to be moved outside the core into the reflector. For various reactor conditions, the efficiency of the control and protection system was evaluated. It is shown that in various states, the control rods transfer the reactor to the required level of subcriticality, in accordance with NP-009-17.

Restoration involves the recovery and repair of environments because environmental damage is not always irreversible, and communities are not infinitely resilient to such harm. When restoration projects are applied to nature, either directly or indirectly these may take the form of ecological, forestry or hydrological restoration, for example. In the current scenario of global climate change and increasing intensity of disturbances the importance of restoration in all types of ecosystems in order to adapt to the new conditions (so called prestoration) is evident. Whatever the objective of the restoration initiative, there is a lack of consensus as regards common indicators to evaluate the success or failure of the different initiatives implemented. In this study, we have carried out an extensive meta-analysis review of scientific papers aiming to evaluate the outcomes of restoration projects. We have done a review and selected 95 studies implemented in Europe. We explored the main pre-restoration land cover in which restoration initiatives have been implemented, the main causes of degradation, the objective of the restoration action and the indicators selected to analyze the success or failure of the action. We identified a total of 84 indicators in the analyzed papers and compared with the ones proposed for forest in the recent Nature Restoration Law. The analysis revealed five indicators commonly used for the evaluation of restoration initiatives (abundance, coverage, density, Ellenberg indicator, and richness), even where the initial objective has not yet been achieved. Our findings underscore both the benefits and challenges associated with a specific set of harmonized indicators for evaluating the success or failure of restoration initiatives.