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PubMed2025

The genome sequence of the Camberwell Beauty, Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

We present a genome assembly from a male specimen of Nymphalis antiopa (Camberwell Beauty; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 392.57 megabases and 391.53 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (99.42%) is scaffolded into 31 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 15.26 kilobases.

Camberwell Beauty↗

PubMed2026

Genome-resolved analysis reveals disruption of gut microbial vitamin B and K2 biosynthesis during Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice.

UNLABELLED: Toxoplasma gondii infection remodels the gut microbiome, yet its impact on microbial vitamin biosynthetic potential and host redox metabolism remains unclear. Here, we integrated mouse gut metagenomes with publicly available metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to construct a genome-resolved atlas of B-vitamin and vitamin K2 biosynthesis. From 45,697 MAGs, we curated 4,771 representative genomes, of which 2,682 met high-quality criteria (completeness ≥90%, contamination <5%). Functional annotation identified 229,717 vitamin-related genes corresponding to 177 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthologs across de novo pathways for eight B vitamins, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenate (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate (B9), cobalamin (B12), and vitamin K2. Among the high-quality genomes, 1,665 encoded complete de novo pathways for at least one vitamin, highlighting functional specialization and community-level complementarity. Transcripts per million-normalized metagenomic read counts revealed significant differences in KEGG ortholog abundances across six of the nine vitamin pathways. Reanalysis of metagenomic data from infected mice (acute, chronic, and control; n = 10 per group) revealed a stage-dependent reduction in α-diversity of vitamin biosynthesis pathways during acute infection, and a clear β-diversity separation from chronic and control groups. Core niacin biosynthesis genes (nadB, nadA, nadC) displayed phylum-specific redistribution, indicating selective remodeling of microbial NAD+ precursor production under infection-induced metabolic stress. These results suggest that T. gondii infection disrupts cooperative vitamin biosynthetic networks while specifically modulating niacin pathways linked to host NAD+ metabolism. IMPORTANCE: Gut microbes can synthesize essential vitamins, but how infection alters this function is poorly understood. By integrating mouse gut metagenomes with genome-resolved microbial data, we show that Toxoplasma gondii infection reshapes the vitamin biosynthetic potential of the gut microbiome in a stage-dependent manner. Acute infection reduces the diversity of vitamin biosynthesis pathways and shifts the taxonomic distribution of key niacin biosynthesis genes involved in microbial NAD+ precursor production. These findings identify vitamin metabolism, especially niacin-related pathways, as a sensitive functional axis of microbiome remodeling during infection. Our work links microbial taxonomic changes to functional metabolic consequences and suggests that microbiome-mediated regulation of NAD+-related metabolism may contribute to host redox adaptation during T. gondii infection.

B vitamins↗

PubMed1997

Cognitive testing of elderly Chinese from selected community clubs in Singapore.

The aim of this study was to describe the psychometric performance of cognitively normal elderly Chinese on selected psychological tests. One hundred and fifty-five community-living, cognitively intact elderly Chinese, stratified according to age and gender were administered a selected neuropsychological assessment battery which comprised the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT), the Chinese Mini-Mental Status (CMMS), the Short Blessed Test (SBT), the Word-List Immediate Memory (WL-i), the Word-List Delayed Memory (WL-d), the Word-List Recognition Memory (WL-r), the Set Test (ST), the modified Boston Naming Test (BNT), the Constructional Praxis Test (CPT), the Block Design Test (BDT) and the Object Assembly Test (OAT). The local median scores (ranges) of the above tests were as follows-AMT: 9 (6-10); CMMS: 25 (16-28); SBT: 2 (0-10); WL-i: 17 (8-27); WL-d: 5 (0-10); WL-r: 9 (1-10); ST: 13 (6-25); BNT: 14 (10-15); CPT: 1 (0-3); BDT: 19 (0-42); OAT: 20 (3-33). These results can assist in the clinical identification of cognitive abnormalities amongst the elderly Chinese in Singapore. Future work will attempt to adjust these overall scores for variables such as the subjects' education and age.

Aged↗

PubMed2025

The genome sequence of the Pearly Heath, Coenonympha arcania Linnaeus, 1761 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

We present a genome assembly from a female specimen of Coenonympha arcania (Pearly Heath; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 480.99 megabases and 458.33 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (99.95%) is scaffolded into 29 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 15.28 kilobases.

Coenonympha arcania↗

PubMed2006

Evidence for a clade composed of molluscs with serially repeated structures: monoplacophorans are related to chitons.

Monoplacophorans are among the rarest members of the phylum Mollusca. Previously only known from fossils since the Cambrian, the first living monoplacophoran was discovered during the famous second Galathea deep-sea expedition. The anatomy of these molluscs shocked the zoological community for presenting serially repeated gills, nephridia, and eight sets of dorsoventral pedal retractor muscles. Seriality of organs in supposedly independent molluscan lineages, i.e., in chitons and the deep-sea living fossil monoplacophorans, was assumed to be a relic of ancestral molluscan segmentation and was commonly accepted to support a direct relationship with annelids. We were able to obtain one specimen of a monoplacophoran Antarctic deep-sea species for molecular study. The first molecular data on monoplacophorans, analyzed together with the largest data set of molluscs ever assembled, clearly illustrate that monoplacophorans and chitons form a clade. This "Serialia" concept may revolutionize molluscan systematics and may have important implications for metazoan evolution as it allows for new interpretations for primitive segmentation in molluscs.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Familial inheritance of osteoarthritis: documented family subsets.

Identifying susceptibility genes for a common complex disease is complicated by heterogeneity at several levels including allelic, locus, clinical, and population. The latter two can be alleviated by focusing on particular subsets of families that have well-defined disease. For osteoarthritis it was commonly thought that a generalized disease approach was the wisest ascertainment because this would target a systemic disease that had to have a major genetic component. However, this intuitive idea has not yet provided the breakthroughs many expected and it has become apparent that a joint-specific and gender-specific approach may be more fruitful. Large collections of osteoarthritis cohorts have been assembled either as part of prospective studies or more directly. Some of these collections have targeted specific joints, others have not. The latter are, however, amenable to stratification. Many collectors included the acquisition of DNA as a core study aim. A variety of osteoarthritis subsets are therefore available for genetic analysis. Open accessibility is another matter. Although many collections were funded partly or wholly by public or charitable organizations, they can be jealously guarded or have arcane access rights. Open access, with necessary safeguards, is something the osteoarthritis research community should strive for if progress toward susceptibility gene identification is to be swift.

Gene Library↗

PubMed1996

The legislation of active voluntary euthanasia in Australia: will the slippery slope prove fatal?

At 2.00 am on the morning of May 24, 1995 the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Australia passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act by the narrow margin of 15 votes to 10. The act permits a terminally ill patient of sound mind and over the age of 18 years, and who is either in pain or suffering, or distress, to request a medical practitioner to assist the patient to terminate his or her life. Thus, Australia can lay claim to being the first country in the world to legalise voluntary active euthanasia. The Northern Territory's act has prompted Australia-wide community reaction, particularly in South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory where proposals to legalise euthanasia have already been defeated on the floor of parliament. In New South Wales (NSW) the AIDS Council of NSW has prepared draft euthanasia legislation to be introduced into the Upper House as a Private Member's Bill some time in 1996. In this paper, we focus on a brief description of events as they occurred and on the arguments for and against the legalisation of euthanasia which have appeared in the media.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The promise of PROMIS: using item response theory to improve assessment of patient-reported outcomes.

PROMIS (Patient-Reported-Outcomes Measurement Information System) is an NIH Roadmap network project intended to improve the reliability, validity, and precision of PROs and to provide definitive new instruments that will exceed the capabilities of classic instruments and enable improved outcome measurement for clinical research across all NIH institutes. Item response theory (IRT) measurement models now permit us to transition conventional health status assessment into an era of item banking and computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Item banking uses IRT measurement models and methods to develop item banks from large pools of items from many available questionnaires. IRT allows the reduction and improvement of items and assembles domains of items which are unidimensional and not excessively redundant. CAT provides a model-driven algorithm and software to iteratively select the most informative remaining item in a domain until a desired degree of precision is obtained. Through these approaches the number of patients required for a clinical trial may be reduced while holding statistical power constant. PROMIS tools, expected to improve precision and enable assessment at the individual patient level which should broaden the appeal of PROs, will begin to be available to the general medical community in 2008.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗

PubMed1991

Pregnancy outcomes in women potentially exposed to occupational solvents and women working in the electronics industry.

Associations of occupational solvent exposure and/or work in electronics production with adverse pregnancy outcomes were examined in a large cross-sectional community-based reproductive health study of 1038 California women pregnant between 1980 and 1985. Occupational solvent exposure was determined by two different methods: Bureau of Census codes judged by experts to probably include solvent exposure and self-reported exposure. First trimester solvent exposure classified by either method (n = 52) was significantly associated with spontaneous abortion, adjusted odds ratio 3.34 (95% confidence interval 1.42, 7.81). Among 29 women reporting regular and daily solvent exposure, the adjusted odds ratio increased to 4.44 (95% confidence interval 1.86, 10.58). Work in electronics assembly was significantly associated with delivering a low birth weight infant (adjusted odds ratio 5.38; 95% confidence interval 1.42, 20.46) but was not associated with spontaneous abortions. Further research using biologic monitoring and/or other objective measures of exposure is needed to validate these findings.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMed2003

The Armenian earthquake of 1988: a milestone in the evolution of nephrology.

A dreadful earthquake struck a densely populated region of Armenia on December 7, 1988. All principal determinants of structural damage and crush injury converged to magnify the dreadful outcomes of this otherwise modest earthquake, which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale. Two circumstantial events focused unprecedented world attention on this natural disaster. First, the news media, assembled to cover the historic visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to the United States, were suddenly deprived of the news they had gathered to cover when Gorbachev interrupted his visit to examine the disaster personally. As a result, the world news media channeled their collective force on covering the tragic events in Armenia. Second, an official Soviet request for dialysis assistance was delivered at the opening session of the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in San Antonio on Sunday, December 11, 1988. As a result, the entire nephrology community was suddenly engulfed in the mounting worldwide enthusiasm to provide humanitarian aid. The subsequent efforts of the National Kidney Foundation and the International Society of Nephrology prompted the discipline to examine, evaluate, and establish a role for nephrologists in preparedness and response to natural disasters.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

PubMed2026

Ecological Filtering by Tuber Compartments Shapes Stable Core Microbiomes That Underpin Potato Plant Growth Across Environments.

Harnessing plant microbiomes for sustainable agriculture requires understanding not only whether they can boost crop performance, but also how ecological processes govern their assembly, stability, and functional contributions across environments. While we previously showed that seed tuber microbiomes can predict potato vigour using machine learning, it remained unclear how ecological processes shape tuber microbiome stability and functionality across host genotypes, tuber compartments, soil types, and years. Here, we analyzed the national-scale dataset of 240 field-collected potato seedlots, spanning six genotypes, two soil types, and two growing years, with a focus on the spatially distinct heel and eye compartments of the potato tuber. By profiling over 1200 bacterial and fungal communities and linking microbiome composition to plant performance, we show that plant genotype and tuber compartment are the strongest determinants of microbial diversity and composition. Compartment-specific enrichment of functional traits revealed spatial partitioning of microbial functions, with organic compound conversion and nitrogen cycling dominant in the heel, and energy metabolism enriched in the eye. Applying a macroecological abundance-occupancy framework, we identified a stable core microbiome of bacterial and fungal taxa that persisted across all environments and years. These core members were more strongly associated with plant growth-related traits than non-core taxa, and core taxa in different tuber compartments showed distinct correlations with taxa of potential pathogenic relevance. Together, our findings demonstrate that tuber compartments act as ecological filters that structure persistent, functionally specialised microbiomes linked to plant growth-related traits across environments. By providing an ecological and functional framework for compartment-resolved, stable core microbiomes, this study advances mechanistic understanding of plant-microbe interactions and identifies stable microbial partners as promising targets for improving potato resilience and productivity.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Cattle manure suppresses methane consumption and enhances denitrification-associated nitrous oxide production in farm dams.

BACKGROUND: Farm dams (or agricultural ponds) are often heavily polluted freshwater systems because of nutrient-rich manure entering the water through direct deposition and runoff. Accordingly, these systems have among the highest greenhouse gas emissions per area, accounting for 41% of global freshwater methane emissions. Sustainable management actions, such as limiting livestock access through fencing, can significantly reduce nutrient concentrations and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the microbes, processes, and factors controlling greenhouse gas cycling in these systems have not been described. Here, we systematically compared the composition, functions, and activities of the microbes in paired fenced and unfenced cattle farm dams in southeastern Australia. RESULTS: We found that in situ methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions were strongly reduced in fenced dams. Even though methanogen abundance was higher in fenced dams, fencing increased levels of aerobic methanotrophs, including two previously uncharacterised, metabolically flexible species profiled via metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). In contrast, we provide gene- and genome-centric evidence that N2O emissions are likely higher in unfenced dams due to increased production (via denitrification) rather than decreased consumption. Manure likely increases CH4 and N2O emissions primarily by driving nutrient-induced eutrophication and hypoxia that, respectively, stimulate denitrifiers and inhibit methanotrophs. However, we also provide evidence that manure-associated methanogens and bacteria occur in farm dams, where they potentially enhance emissions. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight how anthropogenic activities such as livestock farming can impact microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling, thereby increasing greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater systems, and how simple management actions like fencing can mitigate such emissions. Video Abstract.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

The genome sequence of the Shepherd's Fritillary, Boloria pales (Denis & Schiffermüller), 1775 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

We present a genome assembly from a female specimen of Boloria pales (Shepherd's Fritillary; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 382.99 megabases and 364.88 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (99.96%) is scaffolded into 30 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 15.17 kilobases. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 12,117 protein-coding genes.

Boloria pales↗

PubMed2004

A high sensitivity amperometric biosensor using a monomolecular layer of laccase as biorecognition element.

Laccases from various sources were tested, and laccase from Rigidoporus lignosus was found to be the most active towards syringaldazine and ABTS, which are typical substrates of this class of enzymes, and towards the phenols found in olive oil mill wastewaters. This laccase was covalently immobilised by carbodiimide chemistry, on a self-assembled monolayer of 3-mercaptopropionic acid deposited on a gold surface. A flow biosensor, using the monolayer of laccase as bioelement and a glassy carbon electrode as amperometric transduction system, was developed. Although the amount of the immobilised enzyme (about 140 ng/cm2 effective surface area) was tiny, the biosensor showed a sensitivity of 3 nA/microM when 1,4-hydroquinone was used as substrate, and a half-life of 35 days. The proposed device permits detection of phenols in aqueous solutions at concentrations in the low micromolar range, i.e. below European Community limits. The biosensor was successfully used to detect phenols in wastewaters from an olive oil mill after minimal sample preparation (incubation of the aqueous sample with sodium borohydride for a few minutes) to suppress the current due to oxidised compounds present in the wastewaters.

Biosensing Techniques↗

PubMed2004

'Harvester': a fast meta search engine of human protein resources.

SUMMARY: We have developed a Web-based tool named 'Harvester' that bulk-collects bioinformatic data on human proteins from various databases and prediction servers. The information on every single protein is assembled on a single HTML page as a combination of database screen-shots and plain text. A full text meta search engine, similar to Google trade mark, allows screening of the whole genome proteome for current protein functions and predictions in a few seconds. With Harvester it is now possible to compare and check the quality of different database entries and prediction algorithms on a single page. A feedback forum allows users to comment on Harvester and to report database inconsistencies. AVAILABILITY: The service is freely available to the academic community at http://harvester.embl.de.

Database Management Systems↗

PubMed2026

Exploring the ecological drivers of bacteriophage diversity and functional viral potential in the skin of the axolotl Ambystoma altamirani.

Bacteriophages play important roles in shaping microbial community dynamics across diverse environments. In the amphibian skin, most microbiome studies have focused on bacteria and their interactions with the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), leaving other microbial components, including viruses, largely unexplored. Here, we present the first characterization of the viral community in the amphibian skin microbiome, focusing on ecological drivers of bacteriophage diversity and functional potential in the axolotl Ambystoma altamirani. Using public shotgun metagenomes, we found that the viral fraction was dominated by bacteriophages of the class Caudoviricetes. Bacteriophage diversity was significantly associated with local physicochemical parameters at the time of sampling, and showed a strong positive correlation with bacterial diversity, whereas no significant associations were detected with the presence of Bd. In addition, seasonality influenced the composition and properties of bacteria-bacteriophage co-abundance networks. Functional annotation of assembled bacteriophage sequences revealed a diverse functional potential, including putative auxiliary metabolic genes, superinfection exclusion, toxin-antitoxin, and virulence factors. Overall, these findings highlight the ecological relevance of bacteriophages in amphibian skin microbiomes and underscore the need for further studies on their role in the amphibian host's health.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Environmental education praxis toward a natural conservation area.

A non-formal Environmental Education (EE) Program has been implemented in the natural conservation area (Ecological Station of Jataí, Luiz Ant nio, São Paulo State), through (EE) paradigms, which consider the objectives of education about, in and for the environment within cultural and natural perspectives. The aim of this Program is to support information and scientific knowledge to provide opportunities to the local population to be aware of environmental impacts and risks resulting from the soil use that threaten the environmental quality and the bio diversity of the Ecological Station of Jataí. The Program understands that the promotion of community empowerment could bring the sense of participation and the directives to management for decision-making for local sustainable. The model was projected on local reality, but considering the global issues of environmental paradigms. The environmental characterization (biophysical components) through a Geographical Information Systems was related to the hydrographic basin analysis. The environmental perception was utilized as a main tool to analyse population understanding of local environment, and (EE) pedagogical tools were produced to promote environmental awareness. Since the ecological dimension of (EE) was the main approach, the programme intends to assemble the cultural perspective, achieving the global view of (EE).

Brazil↗

PubMed1998

The information needs of health agency board members: a health information system challenge.

Most hospitals and health agencies in developed countries, whether in the private or public sector, have 'advisory committees' or 'boards of management'. Members of these bodies have significant responsibilities for the management of their organisations, but usually serve on these bodies on a part-time and voluntary basis. They may or may not have specific expertise in health care or management but are often selected because they are representative of parts of the community, are members of relevant organisations (medical bodies or, perhaps, staff unions) or belong to the correct political party. In previous years the amount of information about the health care agency and health systems in general which was given to the board was usually closely controlled by the senior staff of the agency. While the information often emphasised financial statements or gross usage figures, it seldom included projections of future trends or comparisons with information for other like agencies and was frequently very out-dated by the time that it was assembled. For discussion purposes in this paper all individuals who serve on advisory or management committees as well as members of legally constituted Boards of Directors will be referred to as 'board members'. The responsibilities of these board members differ from the management responsibilities of CEOs and other senior executives, but those involved do require access to some management information if they are to adequately discharge their responsibilities. The role of such 'boards' or 'authorities' is similar to that of a board of trustees or directors in industry with many of the same responsibilities, except that healthcare agencies are 'people' agencies, not producers of 'widgets'. This paper will outline some of the information needs of board members and discuss how these needs may be addressed as part of a total management and health information system.

Australia↗