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Araucaria araucana, a southern South American tree species, is considered a representative symbol of Chilean forest biodiversity due to its endemicity and longevity. An expedition to Chile and its border zone with Argentina was carried out with the aim of determining the current state of this species and to establish a tree network to study its genetic variability. Eight locations were selected across the range of distribution of the species and several experimental plots were established based on the heterogeneity within each location. Field trips revealed a high fragmentation in Araucaria forests showing low or non-existent regeneration in most of its distribution area. Experimental plots allowed the identification of severely altered areas. Moreover, 371 trees were catalogued, 193 males and 178 females. The tree network established will be very useful in future evaluations of both the ecological status of the species and its genetic resources, allowing the development of conservation strategies.

Abstract Background Lowering of blood pressure by antihypertensive drugs reduces the risks of cardiovascular events, stroke, and total mortality. However, poor adherence to antihypertensive medications reduces their effectiveness and increases the risk of adverse events. In terms of relative risk reduction, an improvement in medication adherence could be as effective as the development of a new drug. Methods/Design The proposed randomized controlled trial will include patients with a low adherence to medication and uncontrolled blood pressure. The intervention group will receive a multifactorial intervention during the first, third, and ninth months, to improve adherence. This intervention will include motivational interviews, pill reminders, family support, blood pressure self-recording, and simplification of the dosing regimen. Measurement The primary outcome is systolic blood pressure. The secondary outcomes are diastolic blood pressure, proportion of patients with adequately controlled blood pressure, and total cost. Discussion The trial will evaluate the impact of a multifactorial adherence intervention in routine clinical practice. Ethical approval was given by the Ethical Committee on Human Research of Balearic islands, Spain (approval number IB 969/08 PI). Trial registration Current controlled trials ISRCTN21229328

Background/Objectives: Bladder cancer (BC) is a highly heterogeneous disease, presenting clinical challenges, particularly in predicting patient outcomes and selecting effective treatments. Molecular subtyping has emerged as an essential tool for understanding the biological diversity of BC; however, its implementation in clinical practice remains limited due to the high costs and complexity of genomic techniques. This review examines the role of immunohistochemistry (IHC) as a surrogate marker for molecular subtyping in BC, highlighting its potential to bridge the gap between advanced molecular classifications and routine clinical application; Methods: We explore the evolution of taxonomic classification in BC, with a particular focus on cytokeratin (KRT) expression patterns in normal urothelium, which are key to identifying basal and luminal subtypes. Furthermore, we emphasise the need for consensus on IHC markers to reliably define these subtypes, facilitating wider and standardised clinical use. The review also analyses the application of IHC in both muscle-invasive (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), with particular attention to the less extensively studied NMIBC cases. We discuss the practical advantages of IHC for subtyping, including its cost effectiveness and feasibility in standard pathology laboratories, alongside ongoing challenges such as the requirement for standardised protocols and external validation across diverse clinical settings; Conclusions: While IHC has limitations, it offers a viable alternative for laboratories lacking access to advanced molecular techniques. Further research is required to determine the optimal combination of markers, establish a consensus diagnostic algorithm, and validate IHC through large-scale trials. This will ultimately enhance diagnostic accuracy, guide treatment decisions, and improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to increase scientific competence within the general population, it is important that teachers and educators have a realistic image of science and scientists, leaving aside superstitions and pseudoscientific claims that could be transmitted to their students. A starting point in this strategy is to make a good diagnosis of the future teachers' perceptions of science and technology. To this end, in this paper, we present a survey conducted with 383 Spanish university students, training to become schoolteachers. We focused on their interest in science and technology and their degree of trust in false beliefs and pseudoscience. The results are analysed and compared with those of a group of similar age and educational background that have answered a general population survey. It was found that, although the interest in science and technology and the trust in scientists is higher in pre-service teachers than in the general population, their level of belief in pseudoscientific issues is comparable, or even higher in some cases to those of the general population. The results show that these false beliefs are independent of the interest that future teachers show in science and technology. The presence of such beliefs among pre-service teachers should be a source of reflection, since these may be part of the hidden curriculum that they will transmit to their students.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections are associated with poor outcomes depending on patient's conditions, clinical severity and type of infection, and treatment is challenging given the limited therapeutic options available. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of two outbreaks caused by CRAB in an intensive care unit (ICU). In addition, the mechanisms of resistance detected in these strains and the treatment chosen according to the available therapeutic options were analyzed. Overall, 28 patients were included. Ten patients (35.71%) had ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), ten (35.71%) had a bloodstream infection (BSI), and eight (28.57%) were only colonized. Recurrent infection occurred in 25% (5/20) of infected patients. Two different strains of A. baumannii were isolated from the index patient of the first outbreak. The first strain belonged to the ST85 and carried the blaNDM-1 carbapenemase gene, while the second belonged to the ST2 and carried blaOXA-23, and blaOXA-66 carbapenemase genes. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the ST2 strain was the cause of the major outbreak, and mutations in the AmpC gene were related to progressive increasing minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and finally, cefiderocol-resistance in one strain. The CRAB isolates from the second outbreak were also identified as ST2. Cefiderocol-resistant strains tests identified by the disc diffusion method were involved in 24% (6/25) of nosocomial infections. Using broth microdilution (BMD) ComASP® only, 33.3% (2/6) of these strains were cefiderocol-resistant. All-cause ICU mortality was 21.4%. Conclusions: Cefiderocol is the first approved siderophore cephalosporin for the treatment of CRAB infections. Cefiderocol-resistant strains were related with blaNDM-1 carbapenemase and mutations in the AmpC gene. Cefiderocol-resistant strains or that cannot be properly interpreted by disk diffusion, should be retested using BMD for definitive categorization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aims Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), a mucin produced by serosal cells in response to mechanical and inflammatory stimuli, has emerged as an important biomarker to guide risk stratification in heart failure (HF). The prognostic value of CA125 in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients is less explored. Methods In a cohort of 524 ACS patients (73% males, mean age 67 ± 12 years), we assessed the associations between CA125 and the risk for HF and death during a median follow‐up period of 27.3 months for incident HF and 39.5 months for mortality. Plasma CA125 was measured within 24 h after admission in the entire cohort and after 6 weeks in a subgroup of 115 elderly patients (>75 years of age). We also assessed the relationships between baseline CA125 and echocardiographic parameters of cardiac structure and function at 1 year post‐ACS in this subgroup. Results Baseline CA125 was associated with incident HF in the entire cohort in a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, cardiovascular (CV) risk factors (diabetes, smoking, hypertension, previous HF, previous ACS and previous stroke), renal function and revascularization {hazard ratio [HR] 1.46 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–1.93] per 1‐standard deviation [SD] CA125 increase; P = 0.009}. In the detailed follow‐up subgroup, elevated baseline CA125 predicted subsequent deterioration of left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF), defined as a >5% absolute LVEF decrease in patients with LVEF ≥ 50% at discharge [odds ratio (OR) 3.31 (95% CI 1.15–9.54) per 1‐SD baseline CA125 increase; P = 0.027]. We also found significant correlations between high baseline CA125 and larger LV volumes (LV end‐diastolic volume index, Spearman's r = 0.329, P

Abstract: We investigated the impact of donor characteristics on outcomes in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients using a novel machine learning approach, the Nonparametric Failure Time Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (NFT BART). NFT BART models were trained on data from 10 016 patients who underwent a first HLA-A, B, C, and DRB1 matched unrelated donor (MUD) HCT between 2016 and 2019, reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, then validated on an independent cohort of 1802 patients. The NFT BART models were adjusted based on recipient, disease, and transplant variables. We defined a clinically meaningful impact on overall survival (OS) or event-free survival (EFS; survival without relapse, graft failure, or moderate to severe chronic graft-versus-host disease) as >1% difference in predicted outcome at 3 years. Characteristics with

Abstract We investigated farming practices and grassland plant diversity patterns in the historical regions of Maramureș and Bukovina, located in the central Eastern Carpathians of Romania and Ukraine. We explored the influence of social and historical factors on recent grassland plant diversity, including changes and modifications in land use and grassland management practices. We used stratified random sampling to select 48 grassland parcels in eight villages on the Ukrainian‐Romanian borderlands. We identified the factors that affect the composition and diversity of grassland vascular plants and bryophytes at multiple spatial scales and compared the frequency and timing of historical and recent grassland management practices to distinguish between preserved and modified agricultural traditions. In most of the grassland parcels studied (83% in Romania and 78% in Ukraine), traditional land use persisted. Local plant species richness was primarily influenced by management practices, outweighing the impact of topography and soil factors. Regular mowing at appropriate intensity increased the richness of vascular plants, while grazing promoted the richness of bryophyte species. Modifications to farming systems, observed in all studied villages, were mainly due to declining population and livestock numbers. Although the timing of spring and autumn grazing in hay meadows still adhered to tradition, mowing schedules shifted earlier, especially for the first cut of two‐cut hay meadows. Traditional corralling, fertilization and hayseed application have become rare or discontinued in certain villages, while controlled burning has increased. Past use of mineral fertilizers in Ukrainian villages during the Soviet era influenced the recent diversity and composition of vascular plant species, favouring nutrient‐demanding species. Social factors and agricultural policies indirectly affect biodiversity in semi‐natural grasslands, leaving a tangible footprint even in the most remote areas of the Carpathian Mountains. We provide basic recommendations to preserve the remarkable biodiversity of the region. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Abstract This paper addresses the pressing issue of diabetes, which is a widespread condition affecting a huge population worldwide. As cells become less responsive to insulin or fail to produce it adequately, blood sugar levels rise. This has the potential to cause severe health complications including kidney disease, vision impairment and heart conditions. Early diagnosis is paramount in mitigating the risk and severity of diabetes-related complications. To tackle this, we proposed a robust framework for diabetes prediction using Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) with ensemble machine learning techniques. Our approach incorporates strategies such as imputation of missing values, outlier rejection, feature selection using correlation analysis and class distribution balancing using SMOTE. The extensive experimentation shows that the proposed combination of AdaBoost and XGBoost shows exceptional performance, with an impressive AUC of 0.968+/-0.015. This outperforms not only alternative methodologies presented in our study but also surpasses current state-of-the-art results. We anticipate that our model will significantly improve diabetes prediction, offering a promising avenue for improved healthcare outcomes in diabetes management.

Abstract Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) disease resistance genes typically confer resistance against races of a single pathogen. Here, we report that Yr87/Lr85, an NLR gene from Aegilops sharonensis and Aegilops longissima, confers resistance against both P. striiformis tritici (Pst) and Puccinia triticina (Pt) that cause stripe and leaf rust, respectively. Yr87/Lr85 confers resistance against Pst and Pt in wheat introgression as well as transgenic lines. Comparative analysis of Yr87/Lr85 and the cloned Triticeae NLR disease resistance genes shows that Yr87/Lr85 contains two distinct LRR domains and that the gene is only found in Ae. sharonensis and Ae. longissima. Allele mining and phylogenetic analysis indicate multiple events of Yr87/Lr85 gene flow between the two species and presence/absence variation explaining the majority of resistance to wheat leaf rust in both species. The confinement of Yr87/Lr85 to Ae. sharonensis and Ae. longissima and the resistance in wheat against Pst and Pt highlight the potential of these species as valuable sources of disease resistance genes for wheat improvement.

Abstract This study investigates the prevalence and evaluates the prognostic implications of acute kidney injury (AKI) in COVID-19 patients, with a novel emphasis on the evaluation of serum uromodulin (sUmod) as a potential kidney-specific biomarker. A cohort of hospitalised COVID-19 patients (n = 378) was examined for AKI using standard criteria. In addition to traditional urinary biomarkers, sUmod levels were analysed. Univariable and multivariable regression models were employed to evaluate the association of sUmod and AKI and in-hospital mortality. Levels of sUmod were significantly lower in patients with CKD (91.8 ± 60.7 ng/ml) compared to patients with normal kidney function (204.7 ± 91.7 ng/ml; p

Abstract The intrinsically disordered carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) consists of multiple tandem repeats of the consensus heptapeptide Y1-S2-P3-T4-S5-P6-S7. The CTD promotes liquid-liquid phase-separation (LLPS) of RNAPII in vivo. However, understanding the role of the conserved heptad residues in LLPS is hampered by the lack of direct biochemical characterization of the CTD. Here, we generated a systematic array of CTD variants to unravel the sequence-encoded molecular grammar underlying the LLPS of the human CTD. Using in vitro experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, we report that the aromaticity of tyrosine and cis-trans isomerization of prolines govern CTD phase-separation. The cis conformation of prolines and β-turns in the SPXX motif contribute to a more compact CTD ensemble, enhancing interactions among CTD residues. We further demonstrate that prolines and tyrosine in the CTD consensus sequence are required for phosphorylation by Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7). Under phase-separation conditions, CDK7 associates with the surface of the CTD droplets, drastically accelerating phosphorylation and promoting the release of hyperphosphorylated CTD from the droplets. Our results highlight the importance of conformationally restricted local structures within spacer regions, separating uniformly spaced tyrosine stickers of the CTD heptads, which are required for CTD phase-separation.

Abstract Background We aimed to use open source data to understand the incidence, trends, and regional differences of finger and partial hand amputations on a national level in individuals aged 15 or older in Sweden. Methods We analyzed 6,918 patients aged 15 and older who had experienced finger and partial hand amputations. Incidence rates, trends, and regional disparities were assessed using negative binomial regression models and Student’s t-tests. Future trend prediction was performed using Poisson regression. Results Finger amputations declined most, followed by partial hand and thumb amputations. Regional variations existed, with Stockholm having the lowest and Gotland highest incidence respectively. Overall, the incidence of finger, thumb and partial hand amputations in Sweden decreased slightly. Future trend analysis indicated decreasing incidence. Conclusion Although, lacking in definition, publicly available data can be used for monitoring of finger, thumb, and partial hand amputation incidence on a national level. Sex, age, and regional differences were observed, suggesting the need for targeted interventions to address disparities and mitigate the burden of finger and partial hand amputations on affected individuals.

Abstract Background Questions persist around whether and how to use race or geographic ancestry in biomedical research and medicine, but these forms of self-identification serve as a critical tool to inform matching algorithms for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) of varying levels of resolution for unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplant in large donor registries. Methods Here, we examined multiple self-reported measures of race and ancestry from a survey of a cohort of over 100,000 U.S. volunteer bone marrow donors alongside their high-resolution HLA genotype data. Results We find that these self-report measures are often non-overlapping, and that no single self-reported measure alone provides a better fit to HLA genetic ancestry than a combination including both race and geographic ancestry. We also found that patterns of reporting for race and ancestry appear to be influenced by participation in direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry testing. Conclusions While these data are not used directly in matching for transplant, our results demonstrate that there is a place for the language of both race and geographic ancestry in the critical process of facilitating accurate prediction of HLA in the donor registry context.

This study aimed to assess the present distribution of red wood ant species and changes in their nest density over a period of eight years in the area of Rila Mt, Bulgaria. One of the sampling areas was the Parangalitza Biosphere Reserve, the nation’s second oldest protected area. The other two sites are Rila Monastery region and Samokov region. Field monitoring via transect sampling was conducted in 2014 and 2022. We marked 35 nests along 29 transects in 2014 and 76 nests along 27 transects in 2022 of the red wood ants Formica rufa Linnaeus, 1761, F. lugubris Zetterstedt, 1838, F. pratensis Retzius, 1783, and F. exsecta Nylander, 1846, the latter of which is not a member of the rufa group. The most abundant species was F. rufa, followed by F. lugubris, F. pratensis, and F. exsecta. The nest density of F. rufa and F. pratensis decreased in some of the revisited transects after 8 years, which can be explained by increased shading of their habitats. Monitoring is recommended at least every 5 years to detect trends in red wood ant populations and evaluate the effects of protection measures.