Studies on haemoglobin genotypes in turbot and their relation with growth

Turbot, Scophthalmus maximus, were kept in tanks and weighed every month for about two years. Haemoglobins of 90 untagged and 52 individually Pit tagged fish were analysed by agar gel electrophoresis. A polymorphic system was found in the haemoglobins. The electrophoretic patterns indicated a dimer structure of the proteins. Based on the observations the fish were classified into three phenotypes, supposed to represent three genotypes named; Hb-I(1/1), Hb-I(1/2) and Hb-I(2/2). The phenotype specific growth rate of the fish were analysed using weight data of the individually tagged fish. In addition the final weights and lengths of the untagged fish were analysed for differences in mean size of the phenotype groups

Association of Genetically Predicted Insomnia With Risk of Sepsis: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

IMPORTANCE: Insomnia has been associated with altered inflammatory response as well as increased risk of infections and sepsis in observational studies. However, these studies are prone to bias, such as residual confounding. To further understand the potential causal association between insomnia and sepsis risk, a 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach should be explored. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether genetically predicted insomnia is associated with risk of sepsis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Two-sample MR was performed to estimate the association between genetically predicted insomnia and sepsis risk. Data were obtained from a genome-wide association study identifying 555 independent genetic variants (R2 < 0.01) strongly associated with insomnia (P < 5 × 10-8). Sensitivity analyses were conducted to address bias due to pleiotropy and sample overlap, along with mediation analyses and sex-stratified analyses. The insomnia data set included 2.4 million individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank and 23andMe. For sepsis, 462 918 individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank were included. Data were extracted between February and December 2022 and analyzed between March 2022 and March 2023. EXPOSURE: Genetically predicted insomnia. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE: Sepsis. RESULTS: There were 593 724 individuals with insomnia and 10 154 cases of sepsis. A doubling in the population prevalence of genetically predicted insomnia was associated with an odds ratio of 1.37 (95% CI, 1.19-1.57; P = 7.6 × 10-6) for sepsis. Sensitivity analyses supported this observation. One-third of the association between genetically predicted insomnia and risk of sepsis was mediated through a combination of cardiometabolic risk factors for sepsis (body mass index, type 2 diabetes, smoking, or cardiovascular disease; overall proportion, 35.2%; 95% CI, 5.1-76.9). The association between insomnia and sepsis was more pronounced among women compared with men (women: odds ratio, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.24-1.68; men: OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.86-1.40). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The concordance between these findings and previous observational studies supports that insomnia is potentially causally associated with the risk of sepsis. Thus, insomnia is a potential preventable risk factor of sepsis that should be further investigated, also in non-European populations

Intraosseous conventional central chondrosarcoma does not metastasise irrespective of grade in pelvis, scapula and in long bone locations

Background: Histological grade has been regarded as the most important prognostic factor in conventional central chondrosarcoma. To evaluate whether the presence of an extraosseous tumour component is associated with a decreased metastasis-free survival or disease-specific survival and alternatively to develop a simple prognostic and clinical decision-making tool. Material and methods: We searched two prospectively maintained international sarcoma centre databases for primary non metastatic central conventional chondrosarcomas of all grades in pelvis, scapula or long bone location, undergoing curative treatment, diagnosed between 2000 and 2020. Pre-treatment MRI scans were reviewed for the presence of an extraosseous mass. The metastasis-free survival (MFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method from surgery to event, death or last follow-up. Results: 336 patients were identified between 2000 and 2020, undergoing surgical treatment for conventional central chondrosarcoma. 111 patients (33 %) had grade 1 tumours, 149 patients (44 %) had grade 2, and 76 patient (23 %) had grade 3 chondrosarcomas determined as the highest grade in the final resected specimen. An extraosseous soft tissue component was more frequent in higher grade tumours (p < 0.001) and present in 200 cases (60 %). None of the patients with an intraosseous tumour developed metastases or died of the disease. For patients with extraosseous tumour component, MFS was 92 % (95 % CI, 96–100) at 2-years and 74 % (95 % CI, 67–81) at 10-years and DSS was 91 % (95 % CI, 87–95) at 2-years and 75 % (95 % CI, 68–82) at 10-years. The MFS and DSS was significantly different (p < 0.001) for those patients with or without an extraosseous tumour component, irrespective of grade or anatomical location. Discussion: The results of this study has shown that the metastatic potential of intraosseous conventional central chondrosarcoma is negligible. The presence of an extraosseous soft tissue component may be used for prognostication and to guide treatment pathways for patients with central cartilage tumours.Peer reviewe

A clash of competing necessities: water adequacy and electric reliability in China, India, France, and Texas

This report describes the application of a new mixed-integer linear programming model of the power sector that accounts for water used for thermal cooling. The model is used to explore a series of scenarios for each of four case studies—the North Grid of China, India, France, and the state of Texas in the United States. For each case study we developed a baseline projection, then modeled a number of scenarios, including limits on water availability, reduced power demand from end-use energy efficiency, expansion of renewable energy, and carbon caps. We provide model output, including water withdrawals and consumption; power generation fuel mix; carbon dioxide emissions; and total system, fixed, and variable costs