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Since 2004, marine biodiversity inventory data have been systematically collected with diving, video, and benthic sampling methods in Finland. To date, this collection of data consists of more than 194 000 spatially explicit observations, covering more than 280 aquatic genera, representing mainly macroalgae, vascular plants, water mosses, and invertebrates. We describe the data collection and storage methods, data extraction from national databases, and provide potential users a curated, open-access version of the inventory data. Additionally, examples of data applications and discussion on potential limitations are provided. This extensive dataset can be used in ecological and biogeographical studies to provide general descriptions of biodiversity patterns and species distributions, as well as in more applied studies to support marine management, conservation, and sustainable use of marine areas. The sampling strategy and high spatial and taxonomic resolution allow for statistical modelling, which further increases the usability of the data in research, for instance in identifying key biodiversity areas, estimating biodiversity loss, and assessing efficiency of conservation., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) may cause tumor-like lesions, creating a challenge in distinguishing between CP and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in a patient. Given that invasive surgery is a standard cancer treatment, we aimed to examine whether a noninvasive diagnostic tool utilizing serum cytokines could safely differentiate between PDAC and CP., Methods: A pre-operative serum panel comprising 48 inflammatory cytokines, CA19-9, and C-reactive protein (CRP) was analyzed, consisting of 231 patients, 186 with stage I-III PDAC and 45 with CP. We excluded PDAC patients who underwent neoadjuvant therapy and those CP patients with other active malignancies. The laboratory variables most associated with PDAC diagnosis were assessed using logistic regression and selected using the lasso method., Results: The cytokines CTACK, GRO-α, and β-NGF were selected alongside CA19-9 and CRP for our differential diagnostic model. The area under the curve (AUC) for our differential diagnostic model was 0.809 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.738-0.880), compared with 0.791 (95% CI 0.728-0.854) for CA19-9 alone (not significant)., Conclusions: We found that inflammatory cytokines CTACK, GRO-α, and β-NGF alongside CA19-9 and CRP may help distinguish PDAC from CP., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: For prognostic evaluation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the only well-established serum marker is carbohydrate antigen CA19-9. To improve the accuracy of survival prediction, we tested the efficacy of inflammatory serum markers., Methods: A preoperative serum panel comprising 48 cytokines plus high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) was analyzed in 173 stage I-III PDAC patients. Analysis of the effect of serum markers on survival utilized the Cox regression model, with the most promising cytokines chosen with the aid of the lasso method. We formed a reference model comprising age, gender, tumor stage, adjuvant chemotherapy status, and CA19-9 level. Our prognostic study model incorporated these data plus hs-CRP and the cytokines. We constructed time-dependent ROC curves and calculated an integrated time-averaged area under the curve (iAUC) for both models from 1 to 10 years after surgery., Results: Hs-CRP and the cytokines CTACK, MIF, IL-1β, IL-3, GRO-α, M-CSF, and SCF, were our choices for the prognostic study model, in which the iAUC was 0.837 (95% CI 0.796-0.902), compared to the reference model's 0.759 (95% CI 0.691-0.836, NS). These models divided the patients into two groups based on the maximum value of Youden's index at 7.5 years. In our study model, 60th percentile survival times were 4.5 (95% CI 3.7-NA) years (predicted high-survival group, n = 34) and 1.3 (95% CI 1.0-1.7) years (predicted low-survival group, n = 128), log rank p < 0.001. By the reference model, the 60th percentile survival times were 2.8 (95% CI 2.1-4.4) years (predicted high-survival group, n = 44) and 1.3 (95% CI 1.0-1.7) years (predicted low-survival group, n = 118), log rank p < 0.001., Conclusion: Hs-CRP and the seven cytokines added to the reference model including CA19-9 are potential prognostic factors for improved survival prediction for PDAC patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The link between inflammation and carcinogenesis is indisputable. In trying to understand key factors at play, cancer research has developed an interest in the toll-like receptors (TLRs), which have shown signs of having prognostic value in various adenocarcinomas. We began investigating the expression of toll-like receptors 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 to evaluate their prognostic value of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)., Methods: We collected tumor biopsies from 154 stage I-III PDAC patients surgically treated at Helsinki University Hospital between 2002 and 2011, excluding patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. We used tissue microarray slides and immunohistochemistry to assess expression of TLRs 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 in PDAC tissue. Immunopositivity scores and clinicopathological characteristics were subjected to Fisher's exact test or the linear-by-linear association test. For the survival analysis, we applied the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test, and the Cox regression proportional hazard model served for univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: Strong TLR1 expression was observable in 60 (39%), strong TLR3 in 48 (31%), strong TLR5 in 58 (38%), strong TLR7 in 14 (9%), and strong TLR9 in 22 (14%) patients. The multivariate analysis showed strong TLR1 expression to associate with better survival than moderate, low, or negative expression (HR = 0.68; 95% CI 0.47-0.99; p = 0.044). Additionally, those few patients with tumors negative for TLR1, TLR3, TLR7, or TLR9 fared poorly (HR = 2.41; 95% CI 1.31-4.43; p = 0.005; n = 13)., Conclusion: Strong TLR1 expression suggested better prognosis in PDAC patients, whereas negative expression of TLR1, TLR3, TLR7, or TLR9 was a sign of poor prognosis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Parasite communities of fishes are known to respond directly to the abiotic environment of the host, for example, to water quality and water temperature. Biotic factors are also important as they affect the exposure profile through heterogeneities in parasite distribution in the environment. Parasites in a particular environment may pose a strong selection on fish. For example, ecological differences in selection by parasites have been hypothesized to facilitate evolutionary differentiation of freshwater fish morphs specializing on different food types. However, as parasites may also respond directly to abiotic environment the parasite risk does not depend only on biotic features of the host environment. It is possible that different morphs experience specific selection gradients by parasites but it is not clear how consistent the selection is when abiotic factors change. We examined parasite pressure in sympatric morphs of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) across a temperature gradient in two large Icelandic lakes, Myvatn and Thingvallavatn. Habitat-specific temperature gradients in these lakes are opposite. Myvatn lava rock morph lives in a warm environment, while the mud morph lives in the cold. In Thingvallavatn, the lava rock morph lives in a cold environment and the mud morph in a warm habitat. We found more parasites in fish living in higher temperature in both lakes, independent of the fish morph, and this pattern was similar for the two dominating parasite taxa, trematodes and cestodes. However, at the same time, we also found higher parasite abundance in a third morph living in deep cold-water habitat in Thingvallavatn compared to the cold-water lava morph, indicating strong effect of habitat-specific biotic factors. Our results suggest complex interactions between water temperature and biotic factors in determining the parasite community structure, a pattern that may have implications for differentiation of stickleback morphs.