Minimally Invasive Bowel Cancer Detection through Vibrating Microrobot-Induced Elastography.

Early detection of bowel cancer is crucial for substantially improving patient outcomes, highlighting the need for less invasive diagnostic methods. Herein, an innovative diagnostic application of vibrating microrobots combined with laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to minimally invasively estimate the elasticity of potential tumors and surrounding healthy tissue is proposed. By positioning a vibrating microrobot on tissue surfaces, the resonant frequencies of the resulting vibrations are analyzed to create detailed elasticity maps.

Early Cardiac Dysfunction in Adolescents With Low Vigorous Physical Activity.

Background: Adverse left ventricular diastolic function (LVDF) is an early marker of cardiac dysfunction that worsens with age and can lead to heart failure. It is unclear when this deterioration begins and whether physical activity (PA) influences it. We assessed the independent relationships of adverse LVDF in adolescents with different PA intensities, compared to the association with adiposity.

Adaptive Introgression as an Evolutionary Force: A Meta-Analysis of Knowledge Trends.

There is growing evidence for the role of introgressive hybridization in promoting species adaptation (i.e., adaptive introgression) owing to increasing genomic studies on a diversity of taxa over the past decades.

Thermal Selection Shifts Genetic Diversity and Performance in Blue Mussel Juveniles.

Exploring evolutionary and physiological responses to environmental stress is crucial for assessing the effects of climate change on wild populations. Mussels, key inhabitants of the benthos with high ecological and economic value, are a particularly vulnerable species that may be pushed to their ecological limits as warming threatens their survival and population stability. Species within the complex are commonly found in temperate regions globally; in the Baltic Sea, populations are formed by and hybrids with low levels of introgression.

Developing CAMELOT for assessing methodological limitations of qualitative research for inclusion in qualitative evidence syntheses.

Introduction: Qualitative evidence is increasingly incorporated into decision-making processes. Assessing the methodological limitations of primary studies is critical to making an overall assessment of confidence in findings from qualitative evidence syntheses (QES) using GRADE-CERQual. Current critical appraisal tools were not developed specifically for use in Cochrane reviews or GRADE-CERQual, and few are evidence-based.

What are the methodological characteristics of evidence and gap maps? A systematic review and evidence and gap map.

Introduction: Clarity on the characteristics of methods used to produce evidence and gap maps (EGMs) will highlight areas where method development is needed to ensure these increasingly produced tools are made following best practice to assure their quality and utility. This paper aims to describe the range, nature and variability of key methodological characteristics of studies publishing EGMs.

Methods: We followed a protocol, written a-prior and informed by PRISMA and MECCIR guidelines for undertaking systematic reviews.

Exploring the association between mild behavioral impairment and plasma p-tau217: Implications for early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Mild behavioral impairment (MBI), marked by late-onset persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), may signal early dementia risk. While MBI is linked to previously established amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau biomarkers, its association with plasma p-tau217, a promising blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD), remains unexplored. Here, we investigated the association between MBI and plasma p-tau217 in dementia-free individuals from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

Can Central Place Foraging Theory Predict Material Collection Behaviours of the Eurasian Beaver ()?

Central place foragers (CPF) are animals that return collected resources to their central place. During foraging trips, individuals may exhibit different strategies and either prioritize energy maximizing (EM) during foraging bouts or minimize the time (Time minimising, TM) they spend away from their central place. The exhibited strategy may depend on the composition and distribution of the desired resources and costs of local threats.

On Minimizing Risk and Harm in the Use of Psychedelics.

Objective: This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net.

Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety.

Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors of those harms, and the most effective way to treat those harms.

Somatic cell reprogramming for Parkinson's disease treatment.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by degeneration of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The patient exhibits a series of motor symptoms, such as static tremors, which impair their capacity to take care for themselves in daily life. In the late stage, the patient is unable to walk independently and is bedridden for an extended period of time, reducing their quality of life significantly.

Do we know more about the mechanobiology of the intervertebral disc in space than on Earth?

This work provides a perspective on the loading protocols used in whole-organ interverterbal disc culture studies using bioreactors. We put this in the context of in vivo spinal loading, and we put forward the case that the majority of previous bioreactor studies have more in common with spinal loading in space than on Earth. Finally, we provide an outlook for the future of bioreactor research, to provide data more relevant to spinal loading on Earth, and maximize the translational potential of findings to the clinical setting.

The "Ants of Cyprus" website: a dynamic, online awareness raising and conservation tool.

Ants are an important arthropod group due to their involvement in ecological processes amongst others as ecosystem engineers or predators, but some invasive alien species are also implicated in detrimental environmental, economic and human health effects. Despite recent advancements, the ant biodiversity of Cyprus is still in need of further research with previous online species inventories synthesising a checklist of just 65 native and 10 alien species. The "Ants of Cyprus" website (https://sites.

Data-driven discovery of associations between prescribed drugs and dementia risk: A systematic review.

Abstract: Recent clinical trials on slowing dementia progression have led to renewed focus on finding safer, more effective treatments. One approach to identify plausible candidates is to assess whether existing medications for other conditions may affect dementia risk. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies adopting a data-driven approach to investigate the association between a wide range of prescribed medications and dementia risk.

From schools of thought to an ecology of practices: Categorizing circular economy's futures.

In response to pressing societal challenges, scholars are increasingly focusing on research aimed at fostering sustainable futures. We contribute to that discussion by theorizing the circular economy (CE) as an "ecology of practices." The ecology of practices concept helps to make sense of a developing field that has been heavily practitioner-driven.

Peak Oxygen Consumption Scaled to Body Composition Is Associated With Mortality and Morbidity in People With a Fontan Circulation.

Background: Peak oxygen consumption (peak O) is traditionally scaled by body mass, but it is most appropriately scaled by fat-free mass. However, it is unknown whether peak O scaled by fat-free mass is associated with mortality and morbidity in people with a Fontan circulation. The aim of this study was to assess the associations between different expressions of peak O with mortality and morbidity in people with a Fontan circulation.

Differences in Gut Microbes Across Age and Sex Linked to Metabolism and Microbial Stability in a Hibernating Mammal.

The gut microbiome has a well-documented relationship with host fitness, physiology, and behavior. However, most of what is known comes from captive animals where diets and environments are more homogeneous or controlled. Studies in wild populations that experience dynamic environments and have natural life history variation are less common but are key to understanding the drivers of variation in the gut microbiome.

Early economic evaluation of magnetic resonance imaging for prostate cancer detection in primary care.

Objectives: To explore the potential impacts of incorporating prebiopsy magnetic resonance imaging into primary care as a triage test within the prostate cancer diagnostic pathway.

Subjects And Methods: Decision analytic modelling with decision trees was utilised for this early economic evaluation. A conceptual model was developed reflecting the common primary care routes to diagnosis for prostate cancer: opportunistic, asymptomatic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening or symptomatic presentation.

An underwater imagery identification guide for shallow, mesophotic and deep-sea benthos in Maldives.

Background: During the 2022 Nekton Maldives Mission, we deployed a variety of platforms (snorkelling, remotely-operated vehicles and manned submersibles) to conduct video surveys of the biodiversity and composition of shallow (< 30 m), mesophotic (30-150 m) and deep-sea (> 150 m) benthos found in the Maldives' central and southern atolls. In total, ~ 80 hrs of stereo-video footage were collected during the benthic transect surveys, which were subsequently processed using annotation software in order to evaluate benthic biodiversity and community composition. Here, we present a photographic guide for the visual, identification of reef benthos encountered, including corals, sponges and other invertebrates that inhabit Maldives' nearshore habitats.

Variations of floral temperature in changing weather conditions.

Floral temperature is a flower characteristic that has the potential to impact the fitness of flowering plants and their pollinators. Likewise, the presence of floral temperature patterns, areas of contrasting temperature across the flower, can have similar impacts on the fitness of both mutualists. It is currently poorly understood how floral temperature changes under the influence of different weather conditions, and how floral traits may moderate these changes.

MXene boosted MOF-derived cobalt sulfide/carbon nanocomposites as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for OER and HER.

The development of effective bifunctional electrocatalysts that can realize water splitting to produce oxygen and hydrogen through oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is still a great challenge to be addressed. Herein, we report a simple and versatile approach to fabricate bifunctional OER and HER electrocatalysts derived from ZIF67/MXene hybrids sulfurization of the precursors in hydrogen sulfide gas atmosphere at high temperatures. The as-prepared CoS@C/MXene nanocomposites were characterized using a series of technologies including X-ray diffraction, gas sorption, scanning electronic microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Leopard subspecies conservation under climate and land-use change.

Predicting the effects of global environmental changes on species distribution is a top conservation priority, particularly for large carnivores, that contribute to regulating and maintaining ecosystems. As the most widespread and adaptable large felid, ranging across Africa and Asia, leopards are crucial to many ecosystems as both keystone and umbrella species, yet they are threatened across their ranges. We used intraspecific species distribution models (SDMs) to predict changes in range suitability for leopards under future climate and land-use change and identify conservation gaps and opportunities.

Evaluation of self-regulation by the hunting community: A case study on the voluntary restraint of woodcock hunting in the UK.

Behaviour change through voluntary action can be an important approach to reducing human impacts on biodiversity. One example is self-regulation in hunting, potentially a vital contributory factor in improving the sustainability of wild bird harvest. There has been a growing realisation among woodcock hunters, reinforced by advice from sector organisations, that components of the UK woodcock populations are declining and that some aspects of woodcock hunting, specifically timing of harvest, may contribute to these.