Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries.

Wetlands have long been drained for human use, thereby strongly affecting greenhouse gas fluxes, flood control, nutrient cycling and biodiversity1,2. Nevertheless, the global extent of natural wetland loss remains remarkably uncertain3. Here, we reconstruct the spatial distribution and timing of wetland loss through conversion to seven human land uses between 1700 and 2020, by combining national and subnational records of drainage and conversion with land-use maps and simulated wetland extents. We estimate that 3.4 million km2 (confidence interval 2.9-3.8) of inland wetlands have been lost since 1700, primarily for conversion to croplands. This net loss of 21% (confidence interval 16-23%) of global wetland area is lower than that suggested previously by extrapolations of data disproportionately from high-loss regions. Wetland loss has been concentrated in Europe, the United States and China, and rapidly expanded during the mid-twentieth century. Our reconstruction elucidates the timing and land-use drivers of global wetland losses, providing an improved historical baseline to guide assessment of wetland loss impact on Earth system processes, conservation planning to protect remaining wetlands and prioritization of sites for wetland restoration4.

A synopsis of global frontiers in fertility preservation.

Since 2007, the Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference has brought together a diverse network of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and professional levels to disseminate emerging basic and clinical research findings in fertility preservation. This network also developed enduring educational materials to accelerate the pace and quality of field-wide scientific communication. Between 2007 and 2019, the Oncofertility Consortium Annual Conference was held as an in-person event in Chicago, IL. The conference attracted approximately 250 attendees each year representing 20 countries around the world. In 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this paradigm and precluded an in-person meeting. Nevertheless, there remained an undeniable demand for the oncofertility community to convene. To maintain the momentum of the field, the Oncofertility Consortium hosted a day-long virtual meeting on March 5, 2021, with the theme of "Oncofertility Around the Globe" to highlight the diversity of clinical care and translational research that is ongoing around the world in this discipline. This virtual meeting was hosted using the vFairs ® conference platform and allowed over 700 people to participate, many of whom were first-time conference attendees. The agenda featured concurrent sessions from presenters in six continents which provided attendees a complete overview of the field and furthered our mission to create a global community of oncofertility practice. This paper provides a synopsis of talks delivered at this event and highlights the new advances and frontiers in the fields of oncofertility and fertility preservation around the globe from clinical practice and patient-centered efforts to translational research.

Global CO2 emissions from dry inland waters share common drivers across ecosystems.

Many inland waters exhibit complete or partial desiccation, or have vanished due to global change, exposing sediments to the atmosphere. Yet, data on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from these sediments are too scarce to upscale emissions for global estimates or to understand their fundamental drivers. Here, we present the results of a global survey covering 196 dry inland waters across diverse ecosystem types and climate zones. We show that their CO2 emissions share fundamental drivers and constitute a substantial fraction of the carbon cycled by inland waters. CO2 emissions were consistent across ecosystem types and climate zones, with local characteristics explaining much of the variability. Accounting for such emissions increases global estimates of carbon emissions from inland waters by 6% (~0.12 Pg C y-1). Our results indicate that emissions from dry inland waters represent a significant and likely increasing component of the inland waters carbon cycle.

Exploring the Multiple Meanings of Adaptive Management: A Case Study of the Lachlan Catchment in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Managing rivers and sharing their benefits is largely dependent on stakeholder values and knowledge, expressed through policy, governance and institutions. Adaptive management is essentially a social learning process, which can provide a tool to navigate the 'wickedness' of contemporary social-ecological challenges. This research applied an interpretive, qualitative approach to examine government intentions for adaptive management, as expressed in water policy documents, and practitioner experiences of learning through adaptive management in a case study of water management in the Lachlan catchment, Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Data were created from content analysis of government water policy documents and interviews with key water managing and policy stakeholders. Interview participants attached divergent meanings to the concept of adaptive management. Five different 'styles' of adaptive management were found to coexist in the Lachlan catchment, which were associated with different levels of learning. While some learning was ad hoc, there was also promising evidence of more active adaptive management of environmental flows, which was resulting in higher-level learning. The findings highlight a disconnect between how adaptive management is understood in the academic literature, by practitioners, and how it is portrayed in Australian water policy, which is restricting opportunities for higher-level learning. Transformative learning was found to occur in response to crisis, rather than being linked to an intentional learning process.

Use of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analogs in Children: Update by an International Consortium.

This update, written by authors designated by multiple pediatric endocrinology societies (see List of Participating Societies) from around the globe, concisely addresses topics related to changes in GnRHa usage in children and adolescents over the last decade. Topics related to the use of GnRHa in precocious puberty include diagnostic criteria, globally available formulations, considerations of benefit of treatment, monitoring of therapy, adverse events, and long-term outcome data. Additional sections review use in transgender individuals and other pediatric endocrine related conditions. Although there have been many significant changes in GnRHa usage, there is a definite paucity of evidence-based publications to support them. Therefore, this paper is explicitly not intended to evaluate what is recommended in terms of the best use of GnRHa, based on evidence and expert opinion, but rather to describe how these drugs are used, irrespective of any qualitative evaluation. Thus, this paper should be considered a narrative review on GnRHa utilization in precocious puberty and other clinical situations. These changes are reviewed not only to point out deficiencies in the literature but also to stimulate future studies and publications in this area.

Attitudes toward 'Disorders of Sex Development' nomenclature among physicians, genetic counselors, and mental health clinicians.

INTRODUCTION: In 2006, nomenclature referencing atypical sex development (i.e., 'intersex') was updated, and the term disorder of sex development (DSD) was formally introduced. Clinicians, patients, and parents, however, have not universally accepted the new terminology, and some continue to use different nomenclature. This inconsistency in terminology can lead to confusion among clinicians and patients, affect clinician-patient relationships, and interfere with the recommended multidisciplinary model for DSD care. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to (1) evaluate frequency of use and comfort with specific DSD terminology, (2) assess why clinicians are not using specific terms, and (3) determine what terms are being heard within the medical community and by the public in a sample of physicians, genetic counselors, and licensed mental health clinicians. STUDY DESIGN: A Web-based survey assessing the use of DSD terminology was distributed to endocrinologists, urologists, genetic counselors, and mental health clinicians. The survey assessed frequency of use and comfort with specific terms, negative experiences related to specific nomenclature use, and the context in which terms are used (e.g. case conference, literature, patient/parents, and media). A qualitative analysis of open-ended responses was conducted to characterize reasons for avoiding specific terms. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 286 clinicians. There were significant differences between specialties in comfort and frequency of use of specific terms, and significant differences were based on clinician gender, patient volume, length of time in practice, and practice setting. The study results also showed a difference in the nomenclature used within the medical community versus the media. DISCUSSION: Study findings are consistent with previous research exploring medical professionals' use of the new term: disorder of sex development. However, there continues to be inconsistency in the uptake of this new terminology. Words that have been purposed in the literature to replace disorder, such as difference and variation, would be accepted by clinicians, and the word divergent would not. This study expands on the existing literature documenting high uptake of disorder of sex development nomenclature among medical professionals. In addition, this study demonstrates that the most common diagnostic terms used by the medical community are not the same terms being presented to the public by the media. CONCLUSION: Medical professionals have varying preferences for terminology use when describing DSD, which can affect patient care. These results can be used in the future to compare with what patients and advocates prefer to develop a more universally accepted approach to nomenclature.

Solvatochromism in perylene diimides; experiment and theory.

We report an experimental and computational investigation into the solvatochromism of a perylene diimide derivative. The alkyl swallowtail substituents allowed solubility in many solvents of widely differing polarity, with a complicated resultant behaviour, illustrating both negative and positive solvatochromism as a function of dielectric constant. Luminescence quantum yield and optical absorption linewidth displayed an inverse correlation, indicating varying degrees of intermolecular aggregation, and a remarkably similar trend was found between the peak absorption wavelength and the solvent boiling point, illustrating the dependency of aggregation on the solvent interactions. These outline trends may be parameterised by an empirically derived dimensionless quantity, as a tool to be used in more sophisticated future models of solvatochromism in small molecule chromophores.

Intra-crystalline protein diagenesis (IcPD) in Patella vulgata. Part I: Isolation and testing of the closed system.

This study successfully isolates a fraction of intra-crystalline proteins from shells of the marine gastropod Patella vulgata and assesses the suitability of these proteins for IcPD (Intra-crystalline Protein Diagenesis) geochronology. We discuss the mineralogical composition of this gastropod, investigated for the first time by X-ray diffraction mapping, and use the results to inform our sampling strategy. The potential of the calcitic rim and of a bulk sample (containing both apex and rim) of the shell to act as stable repositories for the intra-crystalline proteins during diagenesis is examined. The composition and the diagenetic behaviour of the intra-crystalline proteins isolated from different locations within the shell are compared, highlighting the necessity of targeting consistent sampling positions. We induced artificial diagenesis of both intra-crystalline and whole-shell proteins by conducting high-temperature experiments in hydrous environment; this allowed us to quantify the loss of amino acids by leaching and therefore evaluate the open- or closed-system behaviour of the different fractions of proteins. The results obtained provide further confirmation that patterns of diagenesis vary according to the protein sequence, structure, and location within or outside the intra-crystalline fraction. As Patella is frequently found in the fossil record, both in archaeological and geological contexts, the application of IcPD geochronology to this biomineral opens up the possibility to obtain reliable age information from a range of sites in different areas of the world.

Interactions of native and non-native lady beetle species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) with aphid-tending ants in laboratory arenas.

Interactions between lady beetles and the European fire ant (Myrmica rubra L.) tending potato aphids [Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas)] were compared in the laboratory. Lady beetle species native to North America (Coccinella trifasciata perplexa Mulsant, Coleomegilla maculata lengi Timberlake, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville) and non-native species of Palearctic origin [Coccinella septempunctata L., Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), Propylea quatuordecimpunctata L.)] were evaluated. Harmonia axyridis consumed a significantly greater number of aphids compared with all other species but C. septempunctata. Ant stings affected H. variegata and C. septempunctata to a greater extent than other species. Ants showed a significantly greater amount of aggression toward H. convergens and H. variegata compared with P. quatuordecimpunctata. P. quatuordecimpunctata, C. trifasciata, and H. axyridis reacted significantly less to ants compared with H. variegata, H. convergens, C. maculata, and C. septempunctata. Differences in interactions with natural enemies may explain, in part, the successful establishment of some non-native coccinellids in new habitats.

Remote sensing and GIS for wetland inventory, mapping and change analysis.

A multiple purpose wetland inventory is being developed and promoted through partnerships and specific analyses at different scales in response to past uncertainties and gaps in inventory coverage. A partnership approach is being promoted through the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands to enable a global inventory database to be compiled from individual projects and analyses using remote sensing and GIS. Individual projects that are currently part of this global effort are described. They include an analysis of the Ramsar sites' database to map the distribution of Ramsar sites across global ecoregions and to identify regions and wetland types that are under-represented in the database. Given the extent of wetland degradation globally, largely due to agricultural activities, specific attention is directed towards the usefulness of Earth Observation in providing information that can be used to more effectively manage wetlands. As an example, a further project using satellite data and GIS to quantify the condition of wetlands along the western coastline of Sri Lanka is described and trends in land use due to changes in agriculture, sedimentation and settlement patterns are outlined. At a regional scale, a project to map and assess, using remote sensing, individual wetlands used for agriculture in eight countries in southern Africa is also described. Land cover and the extent of inundation at each site is being determined from a multi-temporal data set of images as a base for further assessment of land use change. Integrated fully within these analyses is the development of local capacity to plan and undertake such analyses and in particular to relate the outcomes to wetland management and to compile data on the distribution, extent and condition of wetlands globally.

Extramural vascular invasion is an adverse prognostic indicator of survival in patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Extramural vascular invasion (EVI) in colorectal cancer is reported to be a stage-independent adverse prognostic factor, and is a core item in the Royal College of Pathologists minimum data set for colorectal cancer histopathology reporting. The detection of EVI is also highly variable amongst pathologists. Our aims were to analyse both the frequency of EVI in colorectal cancer resections, and the effect of EVI on survival, in patients operated on over a 5-year period. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of patients having potentially curative surgery for colorectal cancer between January 1999 and December 2004. RESULTS: Over 5 years, 378 patients underwent a potentially curative resection. One-hundred seven (28.3%) cancers exhibited EVI, of which 104 (97%) were T3 and T4 tumours. Survival curves with and without EVI, unadjusted for nodal status and T stage, were significantly different (P = 0.0001) with 5-year survivals of 52% and 73% respectively. Survival curves for T3 and T4 tumours stratified with and without EVI also showed significantly different survival distributions (P = 0.007). A significant difference in frequency of EVI year on year was seen (P < 0.001), ranging from 8.5% to 46.7%, whereas the number of T3 and T4 tumours in each year was not significantly different (P = 0.677). CONCLUSIONS: EVI is an adverse prognostic indicator for survival in patients undergoing potentially curative resection of colorectal cancer, and the routine requirement of EVI in colorectal cancer histopathology reporting is justified. Optimal specimen preparation, meticulous histopathological analysis and regular auditing of EVI detection rates are essential for the accurate staging of colorectal cancer.

The role of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in supporting implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Over one hundred wetland specialists and Earth Observation experts from around the world gathered at the European Space Agency's 'GlobWetland Symposium: Looking at wetlands from space' in Frascati, Italy, from 19 to 20 October, 2006. The aim of the Symposium was to stimulate discussion between the two communities by reviewing the latest developments in Earth Observation (EO) for the inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands and identify key scientific, technical and policy-relevant challenges for the future. The results provide an overview of the key areas of current research in the use of EO for mapping and managing wetlands, while also pointing out gaps that could hinder global inventory, assessment and monitoring of wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the main outputs with a focus on the role of EO technologies in supporting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The summary contains a qualitative analysis of the state of the art and considers possible directions and priorities for future research, development and application of EO-based technologies in wetland management. In this context we: 1) highlight those applications where EO technologies are ready for wider uptake by wetland managers, and provide suggestions for supporting such uptake; 2) indicate where EO technologies and applications currently in the research and development stages could potentially be useful in wetland management; and 3) provide recommendations for new research and development of EO technologies, that can be utilized to address aspects of wetland management not covered by the range of current EO applications.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) reduces crypt cell proliferation and increases apoptosis in normal colonic mucosa in subjects with a history of colorectal adenomas.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil exert a protective effect on the development of colorectal cancer in animal models. Patients with colorectal adenomas have been shown to have increased crypt cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis in macroscopically normal appearing colonic mucosa. We investigated whether dietary supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) could alter crypt cell proliferation and apoptosis in such patients. PATIENTS/METHODS: Thirty subjects were randomised to either 3 months of highly purified EPA in free fatty acid form (2 g/day) or to no treatment. Colonic biopsies were taken at the initial colonoscopy and repeated 3 months later, and analysed for cell proliferation and apoptosis (immunohistochemistry) and mucosal fatty acid content. RESULTS/FINDINGS: Crypt cell proliferation was significantly reduced whilst apoptosis was significantly increased after EPA supplementation. Neither crypt cell proliferation nor apoptosis were altered in the control group. EPA in the mucosa increased significantly after EPA supplementation, whereas there was no significant change in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary supplementation with EPA significantly increases levels of this fatty acid in colonic mucosa, associated with significantly reduced proliferation and increased mucosal apoptosis. Further studies are needed to assess the potential efficacy of EPA supplementation in preventing polyps in the chemoprevention of colorectal cancer.

The correlation between colorectal cancer rates of proliferation and apoptosis and systemic cytokine levels; plus their influence upon survival.

Colorectal cancer development is associated with a shift in host immunity with suppression of the cell-mediated immune system (CMI) and a predominance of humoral immunity (HI). Tumour progression is also associated with increased rates of cell proliferation and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these factors correlate and have an influence upon prognosis. Long-term follow-up was performed on 40 patients with colorectal cancer who had levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-10 measured from stimulated blood cultures before surgery. Their archived tumour specimens were analysed to determine a Ki-67-derived proliferation index (PI) and a M30-derived apoptosis index (AI). Tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels negatively correlated to tumour proliferation (rho=-0.697, P=0.01). Interleukin-10 levels had a positive correlation with tumour proliferation (rho=0.452, P=0.05) and apoptosis (rho=0.587, P=0.01). Patient survival correlates to tumour pathological stage (P=0.0038) and vascular invasion (P=0.0014). An AI< or =0.6% and TNF-alpha levels > or =8148 pg ml(-1) correlate to improved survival (P=0.032, P=0.021). Tumour proliferation and apoptosis correlate to progressive suppression of the CMI-associated cytokine TNF-alpha and to and higher levels of IL-10. Survival is dependent upon the histological stage of the tumour, vascular invasion, rates of apoptosis and proliferation and systemic immunity which are all interconnected.

Slow light and chromatic temporal dispersion in photonic crystal waveguides using femtosecond time of flight.

We report time-of-flight experiments on photonic-crystal waveguide structures using optical Kerr gating of a femtosecond white-light supercontinuum. These photonic-crystal structures, based on engineered silicon-nitride slab waveguides, possess broadband low-loss guiding properties, allowing the group velocity dispersion of optical pulses to be directly tracked as a function of wavelength. This dispersion is shown to be radically disrupted by the spectral band gaps associated with the photonic-crystal periodicity. Increased time-of-flight effects, or "slowed light," are clearly observed at the edges of band gaps in agreement with two-dimensional plane-wave theoretical models of group velocity dispersion. A universal model for slow light in such photonic crystals is proposed, which shows that slow light is controlled predominantly by the detuning from, and the size of, the photonic band gaps. Slowed light observed up to time delays of approximately 1 ps, corresponds to anomalous dispersion of approximately 3.5 ps/nm per mm of the photonic crystal structure. From the decreasing intensity of time-gated slow light as a function of time delay, we estimate the characteristic losses of modes which are guided in the spectral proximity of the photonic band gaps.

Mechanised one-day fat clearance method to increase the lymph node yield in rectal cancer specimens.

The Royal College of Pathologists' guidelines for reporting colorectal cancer state that all lymph nodes in a colorectal cancer specimen should be sampled, regardless of site or size. The only means by which one can be certain that all nodes have been sampled is to clear the fat and visualise the lymph nodes. Methods of fat clearance have been available for many years, but few are acceptable in routine practice. Here, a simple, effective and economical solution to the problem is described, which should be amenable to any laboratory with a spare or back-up tissue-processing machine.

Plant ecology of Australia's tropical floodplain wetlands: a review.

AIMS: Despite the biodiversity values of the freshwater floodplains of northern Australia being widely recognized, there has not been a concomitant investment in developing the extent of knowledge of the basic functions and ecological processes that underpin the ecological character of these habitats. This review addresses the extent of our knowledge on the plant ecology of these wetlands and covers: the relationships between the climate and the hydrological regime on the floodplain; the vegetation patterns, succession and adaptation; and primary production. SCOPE: Information is available on the seasonal, but less regularly on the inter-annual, dynamics of the macrophytic vegetation and its evident inter-relationship with the extent, depth and duration of inundation by seasonal flooding. The available scientifically collected information on plant distribution and relationship with the water regime could be complemented by more attention to traditional knowledge. The productivity of the vegetation is high-the dominant wetland grass species have an annual dry weight production of 0.5-2.1 kg m-2 and the surrounding riparian (Melaleuca) trees contribute litterfall of 0.7-1.5 kg (dry weight) m-2 year-1, approximately 70% due to leaf-fall. The availability of dissolved oxygen in the water is known to vary diurnally and seasonally, at least in some habitats. The importance of seasonal differences in the availability of dissolved oxygen for the growth of micro- and macrophytic vegetation has not been investigated. The seasonal distribution and growth of plant species on a few floodplains have been investigated, and maps at scales of 1:10,000 to 1:100,000 are available for these. However, only on a few occasions have longer term analyses been conducted and long-term changes in the vegetation measured and assessed. Species lists and categorization of growth strategies and forms are available and provide a basis for further ecological investigation. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the large investment in managing the many pressures that have degraded the ecological character of these highly valued wetlands, the fundamental ecological processes that underpin the biodiversity values have not received the same level of attention. Further information on plant growth and the environmental factors that drive seasonal and annual changes in vegetation distribution and productivity is required to assist managers in attending to changes due to increasing invasive species and changes in fire regimes.

Sentinel node biopsy: ALARA and other considerations.

For a majority of solid tumors, the most powerful and predictive prognostic factor is the status of the regional lymph nodes. Sentinel lymph node sampling continues to gain in popularity as patients and their physicians seek to avoid the potential morbidity associated with standard axillary node dissection. Lymphoscintigraphy, one of the recently explored techniques of lymphatic mapping, involves pre-operative intradermal or subcutaneous administration of a radiopharmaceutical. While this approach is gaining widely spread acceptance, there is still a lack of consensus on which radiopharmaceutical agent has the most ideal properties. By far, the most commonly used agents are 99mTc labeled colloids, but other agents are also used clinically and are under investigation or development worldwide. A number of other clinical, technical, dosimetric, and logistical considerations regarding this procedure remain. They include questions such as who should be performing the procedure, what precautions to take during surgery, how to better isolate "hot" nodes and thus improve the efficacy of determining metastases to the draining lymph node, what precautions to take when handling surgical specimens, etc. There is clearly a need to review as low as reasonably achievable considerations and other issues that arise as this technique evolves and finds its role in the evaluation of various types of cancers. This paper, based on our own experiences and those of others, fills this gap.