[enter Abstract Body]On multiple fronts, Americans are pursuing President Trump’s tax returns: a senator through legislation, a district attorney and congressional committees through investigation, and voters through protest and persuasion. None have succeeded. Last year, California jumped into the fray. It conditioned a candidate’s placement on its presidential primary ballot on the release of their tax returns. Release laws implicate hefty, unsettled constitutional doctrines, including a candidate’s access to the ballot, the right of informational privacy, the Emoluments Clauses, and state power in electing the president.
Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) is an economically important species, and natural populations provide diverse and productive habitats as well as important ecosystem services. For seaweed aquaculture to be successful in newly emerging industry in Europe and other Western countries, it will have to develop sustainable production management strategies. A key feature in this process is the capacity to conserve genetic diversity for breeding programs aimed at developing seed stock for onward cultivation, as well as in the management of wild populations, as potentially interesting genetic resources are predicted to disappear due to climate change. In this study, the cryopreservation of male and female gametophytes (haploid life stage) of S. latissima by different combinations of two-step cooling methods and cryoprotectants was explored. We report here that cryopreservation constitutes an attractive option for the long-term preservation of S. latissima gametophytes, with viable cells in all treatment combinations. The highest viabilities for both male and female gametophytes were found using controlled-rate cooling methods combined with dimethyl sulfoxide 10% (v/v). Morphological normal sporophytes were observed to develop from cryopreserved vegetative gametophytic cells, independent of treatment. This indicates that cryopreservation is a useful preservation method for male and female S. latissima gametophytes.
Abstract Well-managed genetic resources and associated metadata are essential to underpin research addressing the challenges to food security, healthcare, climate change, biodiversity, environment, education and our bio-based economy. Culture collections have supported microbiology research for over 100 years, whether they are collections belonging to individual scientists or institutional repositories. The 790 collections registered with the World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) together hold over three million strains representing a wide range of microbial diversity. This review provides an overview of the uses and outputs of collections that support work in mycology, agriculture and the environment. Further, it focusses on the advantages of coordinating efforts and establishes recommendations to improve resource provisions for research and the development of the necessary infrastructure. The CABI living resource collection provides an example that holds over 28,000 strains of fungi from 100 years of research in mycology. In the modern era, microbial interventions and solutions require knowledge not only of those microorganisms that can be grown and preserved axenically but also whole microbial communities: i.e. ‘microbiomes’. Current technologies enable us to access this latter, hidden resource, thereby facilitating a better understanding of how to harness and manipulate microbial communities to improve crop yields and allow successful interventions such as biocontrol of pests, diseases and invasive species. The WDCM Analyzer of Bio-resource Citations reports that 79,224 strains from 131 collections from 50 countries have been cited in 145,133 papers published in 50,307 journals from January, 1953 until April, 2020. These organisms have a multitude of uses, for example as sources of antibiotics, therapeutic drugs and other active agents. They have been applied widely including in the biodegradation, bioremediation, biotransformation and biotreatment of wastes. Further uses include interventions in agriculture for soil and plant health or biological control of pests and diseases. All of the above may be achieved by individual institutions but, by working together, collections can form a critical mass to focus on key global issues and can achieve much more. Mechanisms are suggested for coordinating collections in order to deliver a more comprehensive support system in the advancement of science and innovation.
Authentic, well preserved living organisms are basic elements for research in the life sciences and biotechnology. They are grown and utilized in laboratories around the world and are key to many research programmes, industrial processes and training courses. They are vouchers for publications and must be available for confirmation of results, further study or reinvestigation when new technologies become available. These biological resources must be maintained without change in biological resource collections. In order to achieve best practice in the maintenance and provision of biological materials for industry, research and education the appropriate standards must be followed. Cryopreservation is often the best preservation method available to achieve these aims, allowing long term, stable storage of important microorganisms. To promulgate best practice the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD published the best practice guidelines for BRCs. The OECD best practice consolidated the efforts of the UK National Culture Collections, the European Common Access to Biological Resources and Information (CABRI) project consortium and the World Federation for Culture Collections. The paper discusses quality management options and reviews cryopreservation of fungi, describing how the reproducibility and quality of the technique is maintained in order to retain the full potential of fungi.
This report provides an in-depth review of the science and opportunities in microbiome biobanking, inspired by the success of the UK Biobank. It delivers actionable recommendations to establish a world-leading "UK Microbiome Biobank" (UKMB) to support academic and industrial research. The report highlights the importance of microbes in health, agriculture, and the environment, and the need to conserve microbial resources for research and innovation. Key recommendations include establishing the UKMB as a hub-and-spoke model with thematic areas, incorporating existing infrastructure, promoting data and technology exchange, developing standards, and ensuring ethical and regulatory compliance. The UKMB aims to enhance economic competitiveness, support the bioeconomy, and address global challenges.
Background and Aims: Sedation-free transnasal endoscopy (TNE) is a valuable tool for endoscopic evaluation of the upper gastrointestinal tract without the risk of general anesthesia.In pediatrics, bronchoscopes are often used for TNE, which precludes gastroduodenal evaluation.We evaluated the use of a novel ultrathin (3.5 mm) gastroscope.Methods: This is a multicenter retrospective study involving 7 US hospitals from May 2022 to July 2023.Data was collected from the electronic medical record.Primary outcome was the safety and efficacy measured by completion rate and adverse events.Secondary outcomes included procedure and encounter duration and biopsy adequacy.Results: 53 patients were recruited.Indications were eosinophilic esophagitis surveillance (51) and esophageal variceal evaluation (2).Mean age was 15.1 years (6-37 years) with male predominance (84.9%).4 procedures were unable to be completed.The procedure was successful in 92.4% and the device success rate was 94.3%.Extent of intended accessibility was TN-Esophagoscopy in 3, TN-esophagogastroscopy in 42 and TN-esophagogastroduodenoscopy in 4 patients.Almost 40% underwent TNE for the first time.Biopsies obtained were adequate for histopathological analyses.No significant adverse events were observed.Five (9.4%) patients experienced minimal epistaxis, gagging and nasal pain.Conclusion: Sedation-free TNE using the single-use gastroscope was well tolerated and safe in the pediatric and adult age groups with a success rate similar to prior studies.User feedback noted that the single use gastroscopes provided improved visualization, increased length, and larger working channel to allow for diagnostic EGD in an efficient ambulatory setting without general anesthesia.
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