A manager’s guide to using eDNA metabarcoding in marine ecosystems

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a powerful tool that can enhance marine ecosystem/biodiversity monitoring programs. Here we outline five important steps managers and researchers should consider when developing eDNA monitoring program: (1) select genes and primers to target taxa; (2) assemble or develop comprehensive barcode reference databases; (3) apply rigorous site occupancy based decontamination pipelines; (4) conduct pilot studies to define spatial and temporal variance of eDNA; and (5) archive samples, extracts, and raw sequence data. We demonstrate the importance of each of these considerations using a case study of eDNA metabarcoding in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. eDNA metabarcoding approaches detected 94.1% (16/17) of species observed in paired trawl surveys while identifying an additional 55 native fishes, providing more comprehensive biodiversity inventories. Rigorous benchmarking of eDNA metabarcoding results improved ecological interpretation and confidence in species detections while providing archived genetic resources for future analyses. Well designed and validated eDNA metabarcoding approaches are ideally suited for biomonitoring applications that rely on the detection of species, including mapping invasive species fronts and endangered species habitats as well as tracking range shifts in response to climate change. Incorporating these considerations will enhance the utility and efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding for routine biomonitoring applications

Imprinted Gene Expression and Function of the Dopa Decarboxylase Gene in the Developing Heart

Dopa decarboxylase (DDC) synthesizes serotonin in the developing mouse heart where it is encoded by Ddc_exon1a, a tissue-specific paternally expressed imprinted gene. Ddc_exon1a shares an imprinting control region (ICR) with the imprinted, maternally expressed (outside of the central nervous system) Grb10 gene on mouse chromosome 11, but little else is known about the tissue-specific imprinted expression of Ddc_exon1a. Fluorescent immunostaining localizes DDC to the developing myocardium in the pre-natal mouse heart, in a region susceptible to abnormal development and implicated in congenital heart defects in human. Ddc_exon1a and Grb10 are not co-expressed in heart nor in brain where Grb10 is also paternally expressed, despite sharing an ICR, indicating they are mechanistically linked by their shared ICR but not by Grb10 gene expression. Evidence from a Ddc_exon1a gene knockout mouse model suggests that it mediates the growth of the developing myocardium and a thinning of the myocardium is observed in a small number of mutant mice examined, with changes in gene expression detected by microarray analysis. Comparative studies in the human developing heart reveal a paternal expression bias with polymorphic imprinting patterns between individual human hearts at DDC_EXON1a, a finding consistent with other imprinted genes in human

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

Genomewide and parental allele-specific analysis of CTCF and cohesin DNA binding in mouse brain reveals a tissue-specific binding pattern and an association with imprinted differentially methylated regions

DNA binding factors are essential for regulating gene expression. CTCF and cohesin are DNA binding factors with central roles in chromatin organization and gene expression. We determined the sites of CTCF and cohesin binding to DNA in mouse brain, genome wide and in an allele-specific manner with high read-depth ChIP-seq. By comparing our results with existing data for mouse liver and embryonic stem (ES) cells, we investigated the tissue specificity of CTCF binding sites. ES cells have fewer unique CTCF binding sites occupied than liver and brain, consistent with a ground-state pattern of CTCF binding that is elaborated during differentiation. CTCF binding sites without the canonical consensus motif were highly tissue specific. In brain, a third of CTCF and cohesin binding sites coincide, consistent with the potential for many interactions between cohesin and CTCF but also many instances of independent action. In the context of genomic imprinting, CTCF and/or cohesin bind to a majority but not all differentially methylated regions, with preferential binding to the unmethylated parental allele. Whether the parental allele-specific methylation was established in the parental germlines or post-fertilization in the embryo is not a determinant in CTCF or cohesin binding. These findings link CTCF and cohesin with the control regions of a subset of imprinted genes, supporting the notion that imprinting control is mechanistically diverse

Importance of quick attainment of minimal disease activity for a positive impact on lives of patients with psoriatic arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To compare patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from the first year to the third year between patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who achieved minimal disease activity (MDA) in the first year after diagnosis and those who did not. METHODS: Consecutive, newly diagnosed, patients with DMARD naïve PsA with oligoarthritis or polyarthritis were selected from the Dutch southwest Early PsA cohoRt. Patients were categorised in three groups: (1) Patients who were in MDA at both 9 months and 12 months after diagnosis (sustained MDA); (2) Patients who achieved MDA in the first year but in whom it was not sustained at both 9 months and 12 months (non-sustained MDA); (3) Patients who did not achieve MDA in the first year (no MDA). PROs were compared between groups from the first year to the third year after diagnosis using a linear mixed model. RESULTS: 240 patients were selected; 104 (43%) were classified as sustained MDA, 60 (25%) as non-sustained MDA and 76 (32%) as no MDA. Patients who did not achieve MDA in the first year experienced remarkably lower PROs during follow-up, compared with the sustained MDA group: health status (European Quality of life 5-Dimensions 5-Levels) was 0.23 units lower (95% CI -0.28 to -0.18), functional impairment (Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) was 0.81 units higher (95% CI 0.70 to 0.92), pain (Visual Analogue Scale) was 35.38 mm higher (95% CI 30.57 to 40.18), fatigue (Bristol Rheumatoid Arthritis Fatigue-Multidimensional Questionnaire) was 17.88 units higher (95% CI 14.60 to 21.16), and anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) were, respectively, 3.26 units (95% CI 2.25 to 4.27) and 4.04 units higher (95% CI 3.10 to 4.99). CONCLUSION: Failure to achieve MDA in the first year after PsA diagnosis was associated with worse PROs that persisted over the years