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Extreme Salinity Change Governs Microbial Community Assembly and Interactions
No full textCoastal wetlands are highly vulnerable to climate-driven salinisation, which reshapes critical microbial processes underpinning nutrient cycling and energy flow. We examined how sediment microbial communities vary with salinity across the Coorong Lagoon (South Australia), spanning estuarine (0-40 g L-1), intermediate (40-100 g L-1) and hypersaline (100-150 g L-1) waters. Salinity was found to be the dominant driver of sediment microbial community composition, diversity and assembly. High salinity favoured specialists and homogenous community structures, with generalist bacteria persisting across intermediate salinities and supporting ecosystem resilience. Sulfur and carbon cycling is likely dependent on salinity, as bacterial sulfur-oxidisers were abundant estuarine specialists, whereas methane producers (Archaeal methanogens) and sulfate-reducers were enriched at high salinity. Deterministic microbial community assembly (homogeneous selection) was dominant, increasing at extreme salinity, which acted as a strong environmental filter. Community complexity increased at both high and low salinity ranges, with intermediate salinity exhibiting less complexity, suggesting community reorganisation under osmotic stress. The varied roles of specialists and generalists at different salinities support ecosystem function, where increased heterogeneity and specialisation in hypersaline conditions suggest vulnerability of the community to disturbance. These findings provide insight into how microbially underpinned ecosystems may respond to future climate-driven salinisation, important for making predictions and informing mitigation strategies.Christopher Keneally, Virginie Gaget, Daniel Chilton, Tyler N. Dornan, James Hensel, Ashleigh E. Keneally, Stephen P. Kidd, Justin D. Brooke
Revolutionizing support for hospitalized Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smokers
No full textStewart S, Marlow N, Chong A, Esterman A, Kopsaftis Z, Sharrad K, Crozier A, Gwilt I, Smith R, Veale A, Brinn M, Carson-Chahhoud
Mapping Evidence on Care Interventions for People Living With Motor Neurone Disease: A Protocol for a Living Evidence and Gap Map
No full textObjective To map the available evidence informing the care and management of people living with motor neurone disease (MND), including evidence pertaining to carers, asymptomatic genetic carriers, family, friends and healthcare professionals caring for people with MND. Introduction MND is a devasting neurodegenerative disease that has no cure and eventually leads to paralysis, progressive speech difficulties and respiratory failure. There are a plethora of interventions to support people living with MND, however, information regarding these interventions is often not organised in a manner that best supports the MND community. An evidence and gap map will provide a visual presentation that highlights the existing evidence that is available to support specific interventions, and indicate where there is no evidence. This will help inform future guideline and research efforts. Inclusion Criteria Studies if they describe care interventions for people living with MND, carers, asymptomatic genetic carriers, family, friends and healthcare professionals caring for people with MND. Peer-reviewed randomised controlled trials, and nonrandomised studies of interventions, systematic reviews and qualitative studies describing the experience of an intervention will be included. Methods An evidence and gap map will be conducted according to Campbell guidance and JBI guidance for scoping reviews. A comprehensive search of academic databases and clinical trial registries will be performed to identify eligible studies. An evidence inclusion framework has been developed with members of the MND community. Data screening and extraction will be independently performed by two reviewers. The evidence and gap map will be presented using EPPI Reviewer.Danielle Pollock, Cindy Stern, Melissa Bond, Timothy Hugh Barker, Sabira Hasanoff, Grace Holland, Ines Semendric, Anna Fragkoudi, Nipun Shrestha, Sebastian Cole Facchin-Young, Abigail Molly Day-Sharman, Lemma Negesa Bulto, Lara Stollery, Sitasma Sharma, Camille Schubert, Lynne Giles, Jay Beasley-Hall, Tracy Merlin, Julie Labra, Steve Vucic, Taryn Hunt, Zachary Mun
Poor sleep behaviour from childhood to adolescence is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescence: Findings from the Raine Study
No full textAbstract number 108420N.K. Abdul Jafar, J. McVeigh, C.J. Bennett, P.R. Eastwood, R.J. Hart, D.R. Mansfield, A.E. Joham, C.T. Tay, L.J. Mora
Seminal plasma cytokines in fertile versus infertile men: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
No full textOnlinePublBACKGROUND: Male fertility investigation is currently limited to semen analysis. However, the origins of abnormal sperm parameters are not well-understood, and normal sperm do not assure fertility in men. Improved pathophysiological and prognostic insight might be achieved utilising additional measures of male reproductive tract function. Cytokine and chemokine levels in seminal plasma (SP) may be relevant, but evidence on their clinical significance is unclear. The utility of measuring SP cytokines remains uncertain, and no consensus exists on which cytokines are most informative. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between fertility status and concentration of seminal plasma cytokines in men. The sixth edition of the WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen raises the prospect of evaluating cytokines in SP as part of an extended examination. We performed a systematic search and meta-analysis to assess whether the current literature is sufficient to identify cytokines present in human SP that exhibit a relationship with fertility status in men. SEARCH METHODS: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase from inception until April 2025, using keywords pertaining to seminal fluid and cytokines, restricted to humans and the English language. Original data with values reported as concentration of cytokines in SP of men clearly defined as infertile, compared to a discernible population of fertile/normozoospermic healthy control men, were included. A total of 5737 studies were identified, with 2737 duplicates removed. Title and abstract screening were performed for 3000 studies, then 291 studies underwent full-text screening, and 68 studies progressed to quality assessment using the NHLBI-NIH quality assessment tool and 52 studies underwent data extraction. OUTCOMES: We identified 52 research articles published from 1993 to 2025 that quantified at least one cytokine in the seminal plasma of 8153 men, after 19 studies of poor quality and/or containing serious flaws were excluded. Data on 30 cytokines in the SP of healthy control and infertile men were extracted and included in narrative synthesis. Compared to fertile controls, infertile men had elevated concentrations of IL6 (SMD 0.39, 95% CI; 0.14-0.64, I² = 80.7%), TNFA (SMD 0.13, 95% CI; 0.00-0.25, I² = 4.3%), and CXCL8 (SMD 0.24, 95% CI; 0.06-0.43, I² = 0.0%) in seminal plasma. IL6 reported a high degree of heterogeneity between studies, whilst CXCL8 and TNFA reported low heterogeneity. No significant moderator effects due to study quality or composition of the control cohort were identified. WIDER IMPLICATIONS: With one in six couples experiencing infertility worldwide and a male factor identified as a primary or contributing cause in up to 50% of cases, there is a strong imperative to develop a better understanding of the pathophysiology of male infertility. This analysis identifies an association between infertility and elevated SP IL6, CXCL8, and TNFA, but whether these pro-inflammatory cytokines reflect events affecting fertility or are simply markers of transient inflammation and/or cofactors of fertility status remains to be determined. Greater precision in quantifying seminal plasma cytokines will be attained, and additional informative cytokines may be identified, by utilising standardised technical approaches in future studies.Hannah E Lyons, Cristina N Arriaran Scott, Sarah A Robertson, David J Sharke
Pulsed field ablation's edge: matching efficacy, minimizing hazards
No full textOnlinePublGraphical Abstract - Comparative efficacy, procedural efficiency, and safety outcomes for pulsed field ablation (PFA) versus optimized radiofrequencyablation (RFA) in the BEAT PAROX-AF randomized trial.Rajeev K Pathak, Prashanthan Sander
Evaluating classical time-series models ARIMA, SARIMA, ARIMAX, and VAR for wave height forecasting
No full textThis study evaluates the suitability of classical time-series models for forecasting significant wave heights using real hydrometeorological observations, with the objective of improving data-driven operational decision-making in ship routing. Accurate short-term wave forecasts can enhance navigational safety, reduce fuel consumption, and minimize emissions. However, many existing Decision Support Systems (DSS) lack integrated forecasting capability to incorporate credible environmental datasets. To address this gap, this research develops a time series–based analytical framework employing four classical forecasting models: Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA), ARIMA with Exogenous Variables (ARIMAX), and Vector Autoregressive (VAR). Models were trained and evaluated using observational data from the National Data Buoy Center station 41049 (South Bermuda) under both static and dynamic scenarios. The results indicate limited evidence of stable seasonality in the short-term wave record, and SARIMA showed weaker performance with higher percentage errors. ARIMAX provided comparatively better accuracy due to the influence of exogenous meteorological drivers, while overall findings support the null hypothesis that classical linear models have a restricted capability in capturing rapid wave fluctuations. These insights highlight the practical challenges of applying classical forecasting models to complex sea-state dynamics and underline the need for more advanced or hybrid approaches in DSS development for maritime operations.Ashraf Zaghwan, Hossein Enshaei, Hamed Majidiyan, Yousef Ame
Efficacy of planned overjet, overbite, arch depth and incisor labiolingual changes with the Invisalign Lite appliance: a retrospective analysis
No full textOnlinePublObjectives To compare planned and achieved outcomes for an initial series of Invisalign Lite (Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif) aligners regarding overjet, overbite, arch depth, and incisor labiolingual inclination. Materials and Methods Relevant data from adult patients satisfying inclusion criteria regarding overjet and overbite were obtained from the Align Technology treatment planning application. Metrology software was employed to calculate pretreatment, planned, and achieved arch depth and labiolingual measurements of maxillary and mandibular central incisors. Bland-Altman plots were used to demonstrate findings. Results Most (n = 95; 79.5%) of 122 patients satisfying selection criteria were female. For overjet, mean differences were + 0.183 mm (SD: 0.557). P values (both = 1.000) indicated that differences did not lie outside the clinically acceptable interval ± 0.5 mm. For overbite, with a mean difference of + 0.746 mm (SD: 0.857), Bland-Altman plot showed a potential proportional bias, with discrepancies increasing as initial overbite increased. Across all arch depth subgroups, differences remained within an acceptable range, and no differences (P > .05) were detected between planned and achieved outcomes. Achieved mandibular incisor labiolingual inclination outcomes closely matched those planned with a mean difference of –1.088° (SD = 2.78°), whereas corresponding outcomes in the maxilla (–2.905° [SD = 2.671°]) indicated a consistent tendency for achieved to be lower than planned. Conclusions Although achieved overjet, arch depth and mandibular incisor labiolingual inclination measurements closely matched those planned, there were significant statistical and clinical differences between planned and achieved overbite and maxillary incisor labiolingual inclination measurements.Maurice J. Meade, Haylea Blundell, Caitlin Giulieri, Tony Wei
A mechanism for telomere-specific telomere length regulation
No full textAvailable online 8 January 2026Telomere length is a critical determinant of telomere function and hence chromosome stability. Critically short telomeres induce cellular senescence and division arrest, which eventually may lead to devastating age-related degenerative diseases. Conversely, maintenance of telomere length is a hallmark of cancer. How telomere set-length is established and molecular mechanisms for telomere-specific length regulation remained unknown. Here, we detail a mechanism of a telomere-specific set-length regulation that causes important differences in telomere length between individual telomeres in the same cell. Indeed, the results show that telomerase recruitment is modulated in cis in a telomere-specific way. Increased Sir4 abundance on yeast TEL03L subtelomeric heterochromatin leads to a set-length maintenance that is 1.5 to 2 times higher than on other telomeres. Remarkably, the distal 15 kb of TEL03L are sufficient to transfer this telomere-specific set-length regulation to another chromosome end. Furthermore, a mutation in the telomere boundary element protein Tbf1 allow increased Sir4 binding on telomeres and hence results in longer set-lengths. The results, therefore, will force a rethinking of telomere length regulation away from the generalized view that all telomeres are treated the same, to a more telomere-specific treatment.Gabriela M Teplitz, Emeline Pasquier, Erin Bonnell, Evelina De Laurentiis, Louise Bartle, Jean-François Lucier, Gabriel St-Laurent, Dean S Dawson, Raymund J Wellinge
Super donor assessment tool for oral microbiome transplantation
No full textAims Oral microbiome transplantation (OMT) involves transferring microbiota from donor to recipient. However, selecting suitable donors remains challenging due to a lack of standardised guidelines. This study developed a novel super donor assessment tool (SDAT) combining a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) process and an analytical hierarchical process (AHP) to identify OMT “super donors” for dental caries prevention. Methods This cross-sectional study used four sequential screening phases with data from 93 healthy participants, capturing socio-demographics, lifestyle, dietary and oral health behaviours. The SDAT employed MCDM, AHP, combining criteria with normalised and weighted ranks to establish the top 10 donors for three models: “Optimal donor” (Model 1), “Ideal donor” (Model 2), and “Sub-optimal donor” (Model 3). Donor plaque samples underwent 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing for microbial profiling, examining alpha and betadiversity, differential abundance, and network analysis. Results Alpha diversity analysis showed significant differences among groups (Kruskal-Wallis p < 0.001), with Model 1 showing the lowest diversity and Model 3 the highest. Beta diversity analysis using Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed significant differences in microbial community composition (R² = 0.19, p = 0.001). Differential abundance analysis (False Discovery Rate < 0.05, controlling for age and sex) identified health-associated genera (Neisseria, Lautropia, Streptococcus, Veillonella) in Model 1, whereas Model 3 showed higher levels of disease-associated taxa (Treponema, Capnocytophaga). Network analysis revealed that Model 1 was organised around Actinomyces and Prevotella, Model 2 around Rothia and Haemophilus, and Model 3 was dominated by pathogenic taxa. Conclusion SDAT provides a systematic, transparent framework for super-donor selection, ensuring precision and reproducibility in donor rankings. The scoring system standardises the donor selection process, the effectiveness of donor screening, and reduces the risk of adverse events for OMT.Sonia Nath, Murthy Mittinty, Peter Zilm, Pedro Henrique Ribeiro Santiago, Don Kevin Hashan Ketagoda, Lisa Jamieson and Laura Weyric