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Abstract Therapeutic outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) receiving bevacizumab treatment are highly variable, and a reliable predictive factor is not available. Progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were recorded from an observational, prospective study after 5 years of follow‐up, including 46 patients with mCRC receiving bevacizumab treatment. Three vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐A and two intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 genes polymorphisms, age, gender, weight, dosing scheme, and co‐treatments were collected. Given the relatively small number of events (37 [80%] for the PFS and 26 [57%] for the OS), to study the effect of these covariates on PFS and OS, a covariate analysis was performed using statistical and supervised machine learning techniques, including Cox regression, penalized Cox regression techniques (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator [LASSO], ridge regression, and elastic net), survival trees, and survival forest. The predictive performance of each method was evaluated in bootstrapped samples, using prediction error curves and the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic. The LASSO penalized Cox‐regression model showed the best overall performance. Nonlinear mixed effects (NLME) models were developed, and a conventional stepwise covariate search was performed. Then, covariates identified as important by the LASSO model were included in the base NLME models developed for PFS and OS, resulting in improved models as compared to those obtained with the stepwise covariate search. It was shown that having gene polymorphisms in VEGFA (rs699947 and rs1570360) and ICAM1 (rs1799969) are associated with a favorable clinical outcome in patients with mCRC receiving bevacizumab treatment.

Abstract An 8‐year‐old, female‐spayed, Blue Heeler presented with suspected non‐coagulopathic spontaneous, hemothorax with neoplasia as the most likely differential as coagulation parameters were normal and no obvious history of trauma was reported. Computed tomography scan was crucial for diagnosis of a traumatic partial vascular avulsion injury that was successfully managed supportively.

Abstract Urban environments are among the fastest changing habitats on the planet, and this change has evolutionary implications for the organisms inhabiting them. Herein, we demonstrate that natural history collections are critical resources for urban evolution studies. The specimens housed in these collections provide great potential for diverse types of urban evolution research, and strategic deposition of specimens and other materials from contemporary studies will determine the resources and research questions available to future urban evolutionary biologists. As natural history collections are windows into the past, they provide a crucial historical timescale for urban evolution research. While the importance of museum collections for research is generally appreciated, their utility in the study of urban evolution has not been explicitly evaluated. Here, we: (a) demonstrate that museum collections can greatly enhance urban evolution studies, (b) review patterns of specimen use and deposition in the urban evolution literature, (c) analyze how urban versus rural and native versus nonnative vertebrate species are being deposited in museum collections, and (d) make recommendations to researchers, museum professionals, scientific journal editors, funding agencies, permitting agencies, and professional societies to improve archiving policies. Our analyses of recent urban evolution studies reveal that museum specimens can be used for diverse research questions, but they are used infrequently. Further, although nearly all studies we analyzed generated resources that could be deposited in natural history collections (e.g., collected specimens), a minority (12%) of studies actually did so. Depositing such resources in collections is crucial to allow the scientific community to verify, replicate, and/or re‐visit prior research. Therefore, to ensure that adequate museum resources are available for future urban evolutionary biology research, the research community—from practicing biologists to funding agencies and professional societies—must make adjustments that prioritize the collection and deposition of urban specimens.

Abstract Aim To describe the complexity and criticality of neonatal nursing tasks and existing task‐sharing practices to identify tasks that might be safely shared in inpatient neonatal settings. Design We conducted a cross‐sectional study in a large geographically dispersed sample using the STROBE guidelines. Methods We used a task analysis approach to describe the complexity/criticality of neonatal nursing tasks and to explore the nature of task sharing using data from structured, self‐administered questionnaires. Data was collected between 26th April and 22nd August 2017. Results Thirty‐two facilities were surveyed between 26th April and 22nd August, 2017. Nearly half (42%, 6/14) of the “moderately critical” and “not critical” (41%, 5/11) tasks were ranked as consuming most of the nurses' time and reported as shared with mothers respectively. Most tasks were reported as shared in the public sector than in the private‐not‐for‐profit facilities. This may largely be a response to inadequate nurse staffing, as such, there may be space for considering the future role of health care assistants.

Abstract The whale shark Rhincodon typus is found throughout the world's tropical and warm‐temperate ocean basins. Despite their broad physical distribution, research on the species has been concentrated at a few aggregation sites. Comparing DNA sequences from sharks at different sites can provide a demographically neutral understanding of the whale shark's global ecology. Here, we created genetic profiles for 84 whale sharks from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea and 72 individuals from the coast of Tanzania using a combination of microsatellite and mitochondrial sequences. These two sites, separated by approximately 4500 km (shortest over‐water distance), exhibit markedly different population demographics and behavioral ecologies. Eleven microsatellite DNA markers revealed that the two aggregation sites have similar levels of allelic richness and appear to be derived from the same source population. We sequenced the mitochondrial control region to produce multiple global haplotype networks (based on different alignment methodologies) that were broadly similar to each other in terms of population structure but suggested different demographic histories. Data from both microsatellite and mitochondrial markers demonstrated the stability of genetic diversity within the Saudi Arabian aggregation site throughout the sampling period. These results contrast previously measured declines in diversity at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Mapping the geographic distribution of whale shark lineages provides insight into the species’ connectivity and can be used to direct management efforts at both local and global scales. Similarly, understanding historical fluctuations in whale shark abundance provides a baseline by which to assess current trends. Continued development of new sequencing methods and the incorporation of genomic data could lead to considerable advances in the scientific understanding of whale shark population ecology and corresponding improvements to conservation policy.

Background Dispersion and gradients in repolarization have been associated with life‐threatening arrhythmias, but are difficult to quantify precisely from surface electrocardiography. The objective of this study was to evaluate electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) to noninvasively detect repolarization‐based abnormalities. Methods and Results Ex vivo data were obtained from Langendorff‐perfused pig hearts (n=8) and a human donor heart. Unipolar electrograms were recorded simultaneously during sinus rhythm from an epicardial sock and the torso‐shaped tank within which the heart was suspended. Regional repolarization heterogeneities were introduced through perfusion of dofetilide and pinacidil into separate perfusion beds. In vivo data included torso and epicardial potentials recorded simultaneously in anesthetized, closed‐chest pigs (n=5), during sinus rhythm, and ventricular pacing. For both data sets, ECGI accurately reconstructed T‐wave electrogram morphologies when compared with those recorded by the sock (ex vivo: correlation coefficient, 0.85 [0.52–0.96], in vivo: correlation coefficient, 0.86 [0.52–0.96]) and repolarization time maps (ex‐vivo: correlation coefficient, 0.73 [0.63–0.83], in vivo: correlation coefficient, 0.76 [0.67–0.82]). ECGI‐reconstructed repolarization time distributions were strongly correlated to those measured by the sock (both data sets, R2 ≥0.92). Although the position of the gradient was slightly shifted by 8.3 (0–13.9) mm, the mean, max, and SD between ECGI and recorded gradient values were highly correlated (R2=0.87, 0.75, and 0.86 respectively). There was no significant difference in ECGI accuracy between ex vivo and in vivo data. Conclusions ECGI reliably and accurately maps potentially critical repolarization abnormalities. This noninvasive approach allows imaging and quantifying individual parameters of abnormal repolarization‐based substrates in patients with arrhythmogenesis, to improve diagnosis and risk stratification.

Abstract During the worldwide shutdown in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, many reports emerged of urban wildlife sightings. While these images garnered public interest and declarations of wildlife reclaiming cities, it is unclear whether wildlife truly reoccupied urban areas or whether there were simply increased detections of urban wildlife during this time. Here, we detail key questions and needs for monitoring wildlife during the COVID‐19 shutdown and then link these with future needs and actions with the intent of improving conservation within urban ecosystems. We discuss the tools ecologists and conservation scientists can use to safely and effectively study urban wildlife during the shutdown. With a coordinated, multicity effort, researchers and community scientists can rigorously investigate the responses of wildlife to changes in human activities, which can help us address long‐standing questions in urban ecology, inspire conservation of wildlife, and inform the design of sustainable cities.

Abstract Background Cancer‐associated wasting, termed cancer cachexia, has a profound effect on the morbidity and mortality of cancer patients but remains difficult to recognize and diagnose. While increases in circulating levels of a number of inflammatory cytokines have been associated with cancer cachexia, these associations were generally made in patients with advanced disease and thus may be associated with disease progression rather than directly with the cachexia syndrome. Thus, we sought to assess potential biomarkers of cancer‐induced cachexia in patients with earlier stages of disease. Methods A custom multiplex array was used to measure circulating levels of 25 soluble factors from 70 pancreatic cancer patients undergoing attempted tumour resections. A high‐sensitivity multiplex was used for increased sensitivity for nine cytokines. Results Resectable pancreatic cancer patients with cachexia had low levels of canonical pro‐inflammatory cytokines including interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ), and tumour necrosis factor (TNF). Even in our more sensitive analysis, these cytokines were not associated with cancer cachexia. Of the 25 circulating factors tested, only monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) was increased in treatment‐naïve cachectic patients compared with weight stable patients and identified as a potential biomarker for cancer cachexia. Although circulating levels of leptin and granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) were found to be decreased in the same cohort of treatment‐naïve cachectic patients, these factors were closely associated with body mass index, limiting their utility as cancer cachexia biomarkers. Conclusions Unlike in advanced disease, it is possible that cachexia in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer is not associated with high levels of classical markers of systemic inflammation. However, cachectic, treatment‐naïve patients have higher levels of MCP‐1, suggesting that MCP‐1 may be useful as a biomarker of cancer cachexia.

Abstract Virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an important forward and reverse genetics method for the study of gene function in many plant species, especially Nicotiana benthamiana. However, despite the widespread use of VIGS, a searchable database compiling the phenotypes observed with this method is lacking. Such a database would allow researchers to know the phenotype associated with the silencing of a large number of individual genes without experimentation. We have developed a VIGS phenomics and functional genomics database (VPGD) that has DNA sequence information derived from over 4,000 N. benthamiana VIGS clones along with the associated silencing phenotype for approximately 1,300 genes. The VPGD has a built‐in BLAST search feature that provides silencing phenotype information of specific genes. In addition, a keyword‐based search function could be used to find a specific phenotype of interest with the corresponding gene, including its Gene Ontology descriptions. Query gene sequences from other plant species that have not been used for VIGS can also be searched for their homologs and silencing phenotype in N. benthamiana. VPGD is useful for identifying gene function not only in N. benthamiana but also in related Solanaceae plants such as tomato and potato. The database is accessible at http://vigs.noble.org.