Distributions and abundances of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and other pelagic fishes in the California Current Ecosystem during spring 2006, 2008, and 2010, estimated from acoustic–trawl surveys

The abundances and distributions of coastal pelagic fish species in the California Current Ecosystem from San Diego to southern Vancouver Island, were estimated from combined acoustic and trawl surveys conducted in the spring of 2006, 2008, and 2010. Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax), jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus), and Pacific mackerel (Scomber japonicus) were the dominant coastal pelagic fish species, in that order. Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) were sampled only sporadically and therefore estimates for these species were unreliable. The estimates of sardine biomass compared well with those of the annual assessments and confirmed a declining trajectory of the “northern stock” since 2006. During the sampling period, the biomass of jack mackerel was stable or increasing, and that of Pacific mackerel was low and variable. The uncertainties in these estimates are mostly the result of spatial patchiness which increased from sardine to mackerels to anchovy and herring. Future surveys of coastal pelagic fish species in the California Current Ecosystem should benefit from adaptive sampling based on modeled habitat; increased echosounder and trawl sampling, particularly for the most patchy and nearshore species; and directed-trawl sampling for improved species identification and estimations of their acoustic target stre

The C-terminal fragment of the internal 110-kilodalton passenger domain of the Hap protein of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is a potential vaccine candidate

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is a major causative agent of bacterial otitis media in children. H. influenzae Hap autotransporter protein is an adhesin composed of an outer membrane Hapβ region and a moiety of an extracellular internal 110-kDa passenger domain called Hap(S). The Hap(S) moiety promotes adherence to human epithelial cells and extracellular matrix proteins, and it also mediates bacterial aggregation and microcolony formation. A recent work (D. L. Fink, A. Z. Buscher, B. A. Green, P. Fernsten, and J. W. St. Geme, Cell. Microbiol. 5:175-186, 2003) demonstrated that Hap(S) adhesive activity resides within the C-terminal 311 amino acids (the cell binding domain) of the protein. In this study, we immunized mice subcutaneously with recombinant proteins corresponding to the C-terminal region of Hap(S) from H. influenzae strains N187, P860295, and TN106 and examined the resulting immune response. Antisera against the recombinant proteins from all three strains not only recognized native Hap(S) purified from strain P860295 but also inhibited H. influenzae Hap-mediated adherence to Chang epithelial cells. Furthermore, when mice immunized intranasally with recombinant protein plus mutant cholera toxin CT-E29H were challenged with strain TN106, they were protected against nasopharyngeal colonization. These observations demonstrate that the C-terminal region of Hap(S) is capable of eliciting cross-reacting antibodies that reduce nasopharyngeal colonization, suggesting utility as a vaccine antigen for the prevention of nontypeable H. influenzae diseases

A Tribute to Thomas M. Church: Exploring Chemical Oceanography in the Coastal Zone-The History and Future

( First paragraph) One can find different historical perspectives on the development of studying the chemistry of oceans as well as names for this study—marine chemistry, chemistry of the sea, marine aquatic chemistry, marine biogeochemistry, or chemical oceanography. It could be argued that chemical oceanography is the most inclusive for an earth science since oceanography itself is an integrated discipline that links the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics together. Regardless of the name, perhaps the first intensive, modern/post-nineteenth century study of the ocean’s chemistry was the GEOSECS Program from ca. 1970–1978. The significance of GEOSECS was that it examined the chemistry of the world’s oceans from nutrients to radionuclides, and even a few trace elements, but in a physical context of ocean circulation (e.g., Craig 1972). Thomas M. Church (Figs. 1 and 2) was ‘‘born’’ into the GEOSECS world, receiving his Ph.D. in 1970 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the laboratory of Edward Goldberg with the first examination of marine barite in the world’s oceans. GEOSECS was a ‘‘blue water’’ program, but Tom Church decided to take the road less travelled at the time to examine chemical processes in the coastal zone. The coastal zone has been described, both then and now and always somewhat facetiously, as the ‘‘brown ring around the bathtub,’’ but many would argue that this minimizes its importance since it is here where continental weathering products are primarily introduced to the ocean and where many of these same products are also removed. Primary productivity is at a maximum in coastal waters, and human populations and effects are also concentrated here

Risk of heart failure in survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma: Effects of cardiac exposure to radiation and anthracyclines

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors treated with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy are known to have increased risks of heart failure (HF), but a radiation dose-response relationship has not previously been derived. A case-control study, nested in a cohort of 2617 five-year survivors of HL diagnosed before age 51 years during 1965 to 1995, was conducted. Cases (n 5 91) had moderate or severe HF as their first cardiovascular diagnosis. Controls (n 5 278) were matched to cases on age, sex, and HL diagnosis date. Treatment and follow-up information were abstracted from medical records. Mean heart doses and mean left ventricular doses (MLVD) were estimated by reconstruction of individual treatments on representative computed tomography datasets. Average MLVD was 16.7 Gy for cases and 13.8 Gy for controls (Pdifference 5 .003). HF rate increased with MLVD: relative to 0 Gy, HF rates following MVLD of 1-15, 16-20, 21-25, and ≥26 Gy were 1.27, 1.65, 3.84, and 4.39, respectively (Ptrend < .001). Anthracycline-containing chemotherapy increased HF rate by a factor of 2.83 (95% CI: 1.43-5.59), and there was no significant interaction with MLVD (Pinteraction 5 .09). Twenty-five–year cumulative risks of HF following MLVDs of 0-15 Gy, 16-20 Gy, and ≥21 Gy were 4.4%, 6.2%, and 13.3%, respectively, in patients treated without anthracycline-containing chemotherapy, and 11.2%, 15.9%, and 32.9%, respectively, in patients treated with anthracyclines. We have derived quantitative estimates of HF risk in patients treated for HL following radiotherapy with or without anthracycline-containing chemotherapy. Our results enable estimation of HF risk for patients before treatment, during radiotherapy planning, and during follow-up

Inorganic Concentrations in Selected Woods and Charcoals Measured Using NAA

Neutron activation analysis was used to determine the levels of several inorganic elements in seven species of wood- and laboratory-prepared charcoals. The samples were exposed for 1 min to a thermal neutron flux of 1 x 1014 n/cm2-sec. Following a 10-min decay period, sample activity was measured for 500 sec. Concentrations of Al, Ca, Cl, K, Mg, Mn, and Na were measured. Ba, Cu, Sr, and V were also identified in several samples. Matched samples of southern pine earlywood and latewood contained similar amounts of inorganics

The Parental Milieu: Biosocial connections with nonhuman animals, technologies, and the Earth

This article develops the concept of the “parental milieu” as a theoretical tool for biosocial research in environmental education and the emerging field of critical life studies. Using the concept of milieu as a catalyst for theoretical inquiry, we map several movements and variations of the term through the 20th century works of von Uexkull, Simondon, and Deleuze and Guattari. This results in the development of four propositions that connect the parental milieu with the territorial milieu of the animal world; the technical milieu of ubiquitous digital networks; the metabolic milieu of consumption; and the trans-qualitative milieu of fluid relations and queer kinships. We conclude with a call for transgenerational research that addresses the ways that the parental milieu intersects with children's environmental learning and ­ethico-aesthetic sensibilities

Second cancers in 475 000 women with early invasive breast cancer diagnosed in England during 1993-2016: population based observational cohort study

Objective: To describe long term risks of second non-breast primary cancers and contralateral breast cancers among women with early invasive breast cancer after primary surgery. Design: Population based observational cohort study. Setting: Routinely collected data from the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service for England. Participants: All 476 373 women with breast cancer as their first invasive (index) cancer registered in England from January 1993 to December 2016 with follow-up until October 2021. Main outcome measures: Rates and cumulative risks of subsequent primary cancers, compared with those occurring in the general population; associations with characteristics of patients, index tumours, and adjuvant treatments. Results: Although 64 747 women developed a second primary cancer, the absolute excess risks compared with risks in the general population were small. By 20 years, 13.6% (95% confidence interval 13.5% to 13.7%) of women had developed a non-breast cancer, 2.1% (2.0% to 2.3%) more than expected in the general population, and 5.6% (5.5% to 5.6%) had developed a contralateral breast cancer, 3.1% (3.0% to 3.2%) more than expected. The absolute excess risk of contralateral breast cancer was greater in younger than in older women. Among specific types of non-breast cancer, the largest 20 year absolute excess risks were for uterine and lung cancers. Although for cancers of the uterus, soft tissue, bones and joints, and salivary glands, as well as acute leukaemias, standardised incidence ratios exceeded those of the general population by a factor of at least 1.5, absolute excess risks at 20 years were <1% for every individual non-breast cancer type. When patients were categorised according to adjuvant treatment, radiotherapy was associated with increased contralateral breast and lung cancer, endocrine therapy with increased uterine cancer (but reduced contralateral breast cancer), and chemotherapy with increased acute leukaemia. These were consistent with effects reported in randomised trials, but positive associations for soft tissue, head and neck, ovarian, and stomach cancers were also identified, and these have not previously been observed in trials. This suggested that approximately 2% of all the 64 747 second cancers and 7% of the 15 813 excess second cancers in the cohort may be attributable to adjuvant therapies. Conclusions: The risk of a second primary cancer in women treated for early invasive breast cancer is slightly higher than for women in the general population. Contralateral breast cancer accounts for around 60% of the overall increase, with higher risks in younger women. The risk associated with adjuvant therapies is small

Synthesis of Nitrogenated Heterocycles by Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of N-(tert-Butylsulfinyl)haloimines

Highly optically enriched, protected, nitrogenated heterocycles with different ring sizes have been synthesized by a very efficient methodology consisting of the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of N-(tert-butylsulfinyl)haloimines followed by treatment with a base to promote an intramolecular nucleophilic substitution process. N-Protected aziridines, pyrrolidines, piperidines, and azepanes bearing aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic substituents have been obtained in very high yields and diastereomeric ratios up to >99:1. The free heterocycles can be easily obtained by a simple and mild desulfinylation procedure. Both enantiomers of the free heterocycles can be prepared with the same good results by changing the absolute configuration of the sulfur atom of the sulfinyl group.This work was generously supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN; grant no. CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010, CSD2007-00006, CTQ2007-65218 and CTQ2011-24151) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2009/039 and FEDER). O.P. thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educación for a predoctoral fellowship (grant no. AP-2008-00989)

Radiation exposure of breast tissue in lymphoma radiotherapy: a systematic review of breast dose metrics published since 2000.

We present a systematic review of breast dose metrics reported in lymphoma patients receiving radiotherapy and provide reporting recommendations for breast dose in future publications. Studies reporting breast doses in lymphoma radiotherapy published between January 2000 and May 2023 were included. Frequency of reporting factors likely to affect breast dose were calculated. Doses for the most frequently reported metrics (mean breast dose (MBD) (Gy, percentage of prescription), V5Gy and V10Gy (%)) were calculated across articles and compared for target volume approaches, radiotherapy techniques, and inclusion of the axilla. Thirty-four distinct breast dose metrics were found across 57 articles. MBD was the most commonly reported. Axilla irradiation significantly increased MBD, V5Gy and V10Gy, yet 21 articles reported breast doses for a mixed cohort with respect to axillary irradiation. Forty-eight of 57 articles did not report the breast contouring guidelines used. Among articles reporting MBD for proton or butterfly-volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), there was no significant reduction in breast radiation dose for protons compared to butterfly-VMAT. A wide variety of breast dose metrics are reported in the literature, making it challenging to pool breast tissue exposure data in lymphoma radiotherapy. Factors shown in individual studies to affect breast dose should be reported more systematically to enable large scale analysis. Reporting the presence/absence of axillary irradiation is crucial, due to the significant effect on breast dose. We provide reporting recommendations for breast dose metrics to improve research into radiotherapy-induced breast cancer