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Endangered species laws and the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges and sciences in risk assessmentsNARA Subscribed
Indigenous Peoples actively manage or have tenure rights over lands where many rare and valued species occur. To meet national and global conservation targets, it is important to meaningfully consider Indigenous knowledges and rights in endangered species laws. We examined whether the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) has upheld its commitment to consider Indigenous knowledges in decisions pertaining to endangered species as...
Quantifying the Viscoelastic Properties of Pancreatic Tissue: A Comparative Study of Human, Porcine and Engineered HydrogelNARA Subscribed
Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is among the most complex abdominal procedures, with a leak from the pancreatic anastomosis (postoperative pancreatic fistula, POPF) continuing to be a major source of morbidity and mortality. The mechanical characteristics of the pancreas, particularly tissue texture, are closely linked to POPF risk, yet remain poorly defined, limiting the accuracy of currently available training models. This study...
Interpretable deep learning reveals spatiotemporal MRI features of brain aging that align with neurodegenerationNARA Subscribed
Cortical thinning and atrophy are hallmarks of brain aging that have been characterized using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Brain aging involves many neuroanatomic features whose effects on brain structure remain unexplored. To address this challenge, we trained interpretable deep neural networks (DNNs) to estimate brain age (BA) from T 1 -weighted ( T 1 w) MRI. By identifying MRI features unapparent to humans, DNNs can fi...
Single-cell transcriptomics of acetaminophen-induced responses in human 2D and 3D liver microtissuesNARA Subscribed
Drug-induced liver injury remains a major obstacle in pharmaceutical development and a leading cause of acute liver failure, underscoring the need for predictive and human-relevant in vitro models. Acetaminophen, a widely used analgesic with well-characterized dose-dependent hepatotoxicity, serves as a benchmark compound for evaluating liver toxicity mechanisms. Here, we applied single cell RNA sequencing to characterize cellu...
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disproportionately affects women and carriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE4), yet little is known about how sex and APOE interact to influence white matter (WM) integrity during disease progression. We integrated diffusion MRI and matched blood transcriptomic data to investigate these interactions and their underlying biological mechanisms. WM microstructure was quantified using diffusion te...
Predicting the progression of MCI and Alzheimer’s disease on structural brain integrity and other features with machine learningNARA Subscribed
Machine learning (ML) on structural MRI data shows high potential for classifying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression, but the specific contribution of brain regions, demographics, and proteinopathy remains unclear. Using Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) data, we applied an extreme gradient-boosting algorithm and SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values to classify cognitively normal (CN) older adults, th...
The gut microbiome can modulate systemic inflammation and is therefore target for immunomodulation. Immunomodulating effects of EDP1815, a bacterial commensal strain of Prevotella histicola , were studied in healthy participants. Effects on adaptive immunity were evaluated by a neo-antigen challenge with keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH), while effects on innate immunity were evaluated by topical toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) ago...
Grazing herbivores reduce herbaceous biomass and fire activity across African savannasNARA Subscribed
Fire and herbivory interact to alter ecosystems and carbon cycling. In savannas, herbivores can reduce fire activity by removing grass biomass, but the size of these effects and what regulates them remain uncertain. To examine grazing effects on fuels and fire regimes across African savannas, we combined data from herbivore exclosure experiments with remotely sensed data on fire activity and herbivore density. We show that, br...
The contemporary distribution of grasses in Australia: A process of immigration, dispersal and shifting dominanceNARA Subscribed
Aim Little is known about the distribution of grasses throughout Australia. Using endemism as a basis for understanding biogeographical distributions, we hypothesised that contemporary species richness would be the result of environmental factors and dynamic ecological interactions spanning more than 25 Ma. Location Australia. Taxon Grasses. Methods We mapped the distribution of all Australian grass species and modelled climat...
The impacts of a global pandemic on the efficacy and stability of contemporary wildlife conservation: South Africa as a case studyNARA Subscribed
Conservationists speculated on potential benefits to wildlife of lockdown restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic but voiced concern that restrictions impeded nature conservation. We assessed the effects of lockdown restrictions on biodiversity conservation in South Africa, a biodiverse country with economic inequality and reliance on wildlife resources. We solicited expert opinion using the IUCN’s Threats Classification...