Recognising the importance and impact of Imaging Scientists: Global guidelines for establishing career paths within core facilities.

In the dynamic landscape of scientific research, imaging core facilities are vital hubs propelling collaboration and innovation at the technology development and dissemination frontier. Here, we present a collaborative effort led by Global BioImaging (GBI), introducing international recommendations geared towards elevating the careers of Imaging Scientists in core facilities. Despite the critical role of Imaging Scientists in modern research ecosystems, challenges persist in recognising their value, aligning performance metrics and providing avenues for career progression and job security. The challenges encompass a mismatch between classic academic career paths and service-oriented roles, resulting in a lack of understanding regarding the value and impact of Imaging Scientists and core facilities and how to evaluate them properly. They further include challenges around sustainability, dedicated training opportunities and the recruitment and retention of talent. Structured across these interrelated sections, the recommendations within this publication aim to propose globally applicable solutions to navigate these challenges. These recommendations apply equally to colleagues working in other core facilities and research institutions through which access to technologies is facilitated and supported. This publication emphasises the pivotal role of Imaging Scientists in advancing research programs and presents a blueprint for fostering their career progression within institutions all around the world.

Morpho-Physiochemical Indices and Transcriptome Analysis Reveal the Role of Glucosinolate and Erucic Acid in Response to Drought Stress during Seed Germination of Rapeseed.

The global expansion of rapeseed seed quality has been focused on maintaining glucosinolate (GSL) and erucic acid (EA) contents. However, the influence of seed GSL and EA contents on the germination process under drought stress remains poorly understood. Herein, 114 rapeseed accessions were divided into four groups based on GSL and EA contents to investigate their performance during seed imbibition under drought stress. Our results revealed significant variations in seed germination-related traits, particularly with higher GSL and EA, which exhibited higher germination % (G%) and lower mean germination time (MGT) under drought stress conditions. Moreover, osmoregulation, enzymatic system and hormonal regulation were improved in high GSL and high EA (HGHE) versus low GSL and low EA (LGLE) seeds, indicating the essential protective role of GSL and EA during the germination process in response to drought stress. The transcriptional regulation mechanism for coordinating GSL-EA-related pathways in response to drought stress during seed imbibition was found to involve the differential expression of sugar metabolism-, antioxidant-, and hormone-related genes with higher enrichment in HGHE compared to LGLE seeds. GO enrichment analysis showed higher variations in transcription regulator activity and DNA-binding transcription factors, as well as ATP and microtubule motor activity in GSL-EA-related pathways. Furthermore, KEGG analysis identified cellular processes, environmental information processing, and metabolism categories, with varied gene participation between GSL, EA and GSL-EA-related pathways. For further clarification, QY7 (LGLE) seeds were primed with different concentrations of GSL and EA under drought stress conditions. The results showed that 200 µmol/L of GSL and 400 µmol/L of EA significantly improved G%, MGT, and seedling fresh weight, besides regulating stress and fatty acid responsive genes during the seed germination process under drought stress conditions. Conclusively, exogenous application of GSL and EA is considered a promising method for enhancing the drought tolerance of LGLE seeds. Furthermore, the current investigation could provide a theoretical basis of GSL and EA roles and their underlying mechanisms in stress tolerance during the germination process.

Personal journeys to and in human genetics and dysmorphology.

Genetics has become a critical component of medicine over the past five to six decades. Alongside genetics, a relatively new discipline, dysmorphology, has also begun to play an important role in providing critically important diagnoses to individuals and families. Both have become indispensable to unraveling rare diseases. Almost every medical specialty relies on individuals experienced in these specialties to provide diagnoses for patients who present themselves to other doctors. Additionally, both specialties have become reliant on molecular geneticists to identify genes associated with human disorders. Many of the medical geneticists, dysmorphologists, and molecular geneticists traveled a circuitous route before arriving at the position they occupied. The purpose of collecting the memoirs contained in this article was to convey to the reader that many of the individuals who contributed to the advancement of genetics and dysmorphology since the late 1960s/early 1970s traveled along a journey based on many chances taken, replying to the necessities they faced along the way before finding full enjoyment in the practice of medical and human genetics or dysmorphology. Additionally, and of equal importance, all exhibited an ability to evolve with their field of expertise as human genetics became human genomics with the development of novel technologies.

Transperineal Versus Transrectal Magnetic Resonance Imaging-targeted and Systematic Prostate Biopsy to Prevent Infectious Complications: The PREVENT Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The transrectal biopsy approach is traditionally used to detect prostate cancer. An alternative transperineal approach is historically performed under general anesthesia, but recent advances enable transperineal biopsy to be performed under local anesthesia. We sought to compare infectious complications of transperineal biopsy without antibiotic prophylaxis versus transrectal biopsy with targeted prophylaxis. METHODS: We assigned biopsy-naïve participants to undergo transperineal biopsy without antibiotic prophylaxis versus transrectal biopsy with targeted prophylaxis (rectal culture screening for fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria and antibiotic targeting to culture and sensitivity results) through a multicenter, randomized trial. The primary outcome was post-biopsy infection captured by a prospective medical review and patient report on a 7-d survey. The secondary outcomes included cancer detection, noninfectious complications, and a numerical rating scale (0-10) for biopsy-related pain and discomfort during and 7-d after biopsy. KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS: A total of 658 participants were randomized, with zero transperineal versus four (1.4%) transrectal biopsy infections (difference -1.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI] -3.2%, 0.3%; p = 0.059). The rates of other complications were very low and similar. Importantly, detection of clinically significant cancer was similar (53% transperineal vs 50% transrectal, adjusted difference 2.0%; 95% CI -6.0, 10). Participants in the transperineal arm experienced worse periprocedural pain (0.6 adjusted difference [0-10 scale], 95% CI 0.2, 0.9), but the effect was small and resolved by 7-d. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Office-based transperineal biopsy is tolerable, does not compromise cancer detection, and did not result in infectious complications. Transrectal biopsy with targeted prophylaxis achieved similar infection rates, but requires rectal cultures and careful attention to antibiotic selection and administration. Consideration of these factors and antibiotic stewardship should guide clinical decision-making. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this multicenter randomized trial, we compare prostate biopsy infectious complications for the transperineal versus transrectal approach. The absence of infectious complications with transperineal biopsy without the use of preventative antibiotics is noteworthy, but not significantly different from transrectal biopsy with targeted antibiotic prophylaxis.

Molecular and Phenotypic Characterization of the RORB-Related Disorder.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Heterozygous variants in RAR-related orphan receptor B (RORB) have recently been associated with susceptibility to idiopathic generalized epilepsy. However, few reports have been published so far describing pathogenic variants of this gene in patients with epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID). In this study, we aimed to delineate the epilepsy phenotype associated with RORB pathogenic variants and to provide arguments in favor of the pathogenicity of variants. METHODS: Through an international collaboration, we analyzed seizure characteristics, EEG data, and genotypes of a cohort of patients with heterozygous variants in RORB. To gain insight into disease mechanisms, we performed ex vivo cortical electroporation in mouse embryos of 5 selected variants, 2 truncating and 3 missense, and evaluated on expression and quantified changes in axonal morphology. RESULTS: We identified 35 patients (17 male, median age 10 years, range 2.5-23 years) carrying 32 different heterozygous variants in RORB, including 28 single-nucleotide variants or small insertions/deletions (12 missense, 12 frameshift or nonsense, 2 splice-site variants, and 2 in-frame deletions), and 4 microdeletions; de novo in 18 patients and inherited in 10. Seizures were reported in 31/35 (89%) patients, with a median age at onset of 3 years (range 4 months-12 years). Absence seizures occurred in 25 patients with epilepsy (81%). Nineteen patients experienced a single seizure type: absences, myoclonic absences, or absences with eyelid myoclonia and focal seizures. Nine patients had absence seizures combined with other generalized seizure types. One patient had presented with absences associated with photosensitive occipital seizures. Three other patients had generalized tonic-clonic seizures without absences. ID of variable degree was observed in 85% of the patients. Expression studies in cultured neurons showed shorter axons for the 5 tested variants, both truncating and missense variants, supporting an impaired protein function. DISCUSSION: In most patients, the phenotype of the RORB-related disorder associates absence seizures with mild-to-moderate ID. In silico and in vitro evaluation of the variants in our cohort, including axonal morphogenetic experiments in cultured neurons, supports their pathogenicity, showing a hypomorphic effect.

Evaluating the Proportion of Low-Value Blood Cultures Obtained in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: Existing literature suggests that for some pediatric conditions, blood cultures may be of low value in specific clinical circumstances. The goals of our study were to: 1) identify common pediatric illnesses and define criteria for low-value blood cultures in children aged from 91 days to 19 years, 2) apply these criteria retrospectively to identify the patients in our emergency department (ED) who had low-value blood cultures obtained, and 3) describe this cohort and assess the proportion of true bacteremia in low-value blood cultures. METHOD: The study team reviewed the literature and developed consensus criteria to identify conditions in which blood cultures were of low value for our study population. The criteria were applied retrospectively to well-appearing patients aged from 91 days to 19 years, without a central venous catheter, and evaluated in our ED with a peripheral blood culture from June 2018 to April 2020. Children admitted to the intensive care/hematology-oncology/cardiology/pulmonary units, those transferred from our ED to an outside facility, who transferred to our ED due to a positive blood culture from an outside facility, and repeat visits of a patient within 30 days from a previous visit were excluded from the study. After chart review, children with fever for 7 days or more, who were unvaccinated, immunosuppressed, had implanted devices, had a complex medical history, or had provider concerns for bacteremia/sepsis were excluded. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 1436 children. Children at risk for bacteremia (n = 718) were excluded. Four hundred twenty-four children had discharge diagnoses not included in our study. There were 294 (20.5%) patients who had low-value cultures per our study criteria. Nine children (9/294, 3.1%) had false-positive blood cultures, and three (3/294, 1.0%) had true-positive blood cultures. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a cohort of patients in our ED with blood cultures obtained when available literature indicates they were of low value.

Characterization of the prenatal renal phenotype associated with 17q12, HNF1B, microdeletions.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent deletions involving 17q12 are associated with a variety of clinical phenotypes, including congenital abnormalities of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT), maturity onset diabetes of the young, type 5, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Structural and/or functional renal disease is the most common phenotypic feature, although the prenatal renal phenotypes and the postnatal correlates have not been well characterized. METHOD: We reviewed pre- and postnatal medical records of 26 cases with prenatally or postnatally identified 17q12/HNF1B microdeletions (by chromosomal microarray or targeted gene sequencing), obtained through a multicenter collaboration. We specifically evaluated 17 of these cases (65%) with reported prenatal renal ultrasound findings. RESULTS: Heterogeneous prenatal renal phenotypes were noted, most commonly renal cysts (41%, n = 7/17) and echogenic kidneys (41%), although nonspecific dysplasia, enlarged kidneys, hydronephrosis, pelvic kidney with hydroureter, and lower urinary tract obstruction were also reported. Postnatally, most individuals developed renal cysts (73%, 11/15 live births), and there were no cases of end-stage renal disease during childhood or the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that copy number variant analysis to assess for 17q12 microdeletion should be considered for a variety of prenatally detected renal anomalies. It is important to distinguish 17q12 microdeletion from other etiologies of CAKUT as the prognosis for renal function and presence of associated findings are distinct and may influence pregnancy and postnatal management.

What Social Workers Need to Know about Muslims: An Analysis of the Contemporary Social Work Scholarship.

This article analyzes peer-reviewed English-language social work scholarship on Islam and Muslims published between 2011 and 2021. Of these 127 articles, 70 journal venues are represented, and first authors are primarily American (44 percent), followed by British (15 percent) and Canadian (11 percent). A total of 70 journals published studies analyzing data related to Muslims/Islam and social work, with 46 consisting of only one publication between 2011 and 2021. A total of 13 of these journals had a SCImago Journal Rank indicator of over 0.5, and three with rankings over 1.0. The volume of publications was high in 2015 and 2020, in particular. Major themes include faith-aligned and strengths-based approaches, the importance of mosques in the lives of Muslims, the relevance of the hijab in the lives of Muslim women, and the prevalence and impact of sociopolitical stereotypes. The conclusion calls for still greater culturally respectful approaches to the profession that include Islam and Muslim individuals/communities and ensuring that ethics and practice/research continue to evolve in ways that are culturally relevant to diverse communities.

Evaluation and management of drug-eluting stent in-stent restenosis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In-stent restenosis (ISR) is the most common cause of stent failure. Although the rate of ISR is significantly lower with contemporary drug-eluting stents (DES), it remains a challenging clinical entity to treat. RECENT FINDINGS: In this review, we focus on a practical approach to management of DES ISR with intravascular imaging at its core, as supported by several recently published articles. This facilitates assessment of the underlying mechanism(s) essential to the successful treatment of ISR allowing for a tailored selection of treatment modalities. SUMMARY: The successful treatment of DES ISR requires identification of the causative mechanism(s). Individualized treatment may include high-pressure balloon angioplasty alone, cutting or scoring balloons, intravascular lithotripsy, atheroablative therapies and a selection of either repeat DES implantation or drug-coated balloon treatment.

Genomic analyses in Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and related diagnoses: Novel candidate genes, genotype-phenotype correlations and common mechanisms.

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) is a rare, dominantly inherited multisystem developmental disorder characterized by highly variable manifestations of growth and developmental delays, upper limb involvement, hypertrichosis, cardiac, gastrointestinal, craniofacial, and other systemic features. Pathogenic variants in genes encoding cohesin complex structural subunits and regulatory proteins (NIPBL, SMC1A, SMC3, HDAC8, and RAD21) are the major pathogenic contributors to CdLS. Heterozygous or hemizygous variants in the genes encoding these five proteins have been found to be contributory to CdLS, with variants in NIPBL accounting for the majority (>60%) of cases, and the only gene identified to date that results in the severe or classic form of CdLS when mutated. Pathogenic variants in cohesin genes other than NIPBL tend to result in a less severe phenotype. Causative variants in additional genes, such as ANKRD11, EP300, AFF4, TAF1, and BRD4, can cause a CdLS-like phenotype. The common role that these genes, and others, play as critical regulators of developmental transcriptional control has led to the conditions they cause being referred to as disorders of transcriptional regulation (or "DTRs"). Here, we report the results of a comprehensive molecular analysis in a cohort of 716 probands with typical and atypical CdLS in order to delineate the genetic contribution of causative variants in cohesin complex genes as well as novel candidate genes, genotype-phenotype correlations, and the utility of genome sequencing in understanding the mutational landscape in this population.

Microbiome modulates immunotherapy response in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized to alter cancer risk, progression and response to treatments such as immunotherapy, especially in cutaneous melanoma. However, whether the microbiome influences immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) immunotherapy response to non-melanoma skin cancer has not yet been defined. As squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are in closest proximity to the skin microbiome, we hypothesized that the skin microbiome, which regulates cutaneous immunity, might affect SCC-associated anti-PD1 immunotherapy treatment response. We used ultraviolet radiation to induce SCC in SKH1 hairless mice. We then treated the mice with broad-band antibiotics to deplete the microbiome, followed by colonisation by candidate skin and gut bacteria or persistent antibiotic treatment, all in parallel with ICI treatment. We longitudinally monitored skin and gut microbiome dynamics by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and tumour burden by periodic tumour measurements and histologic assessment. Our study revealed that antibiotics-induced abrogation of the microbiome reduced the tumour burden, suggesting a functional role of the microbiome in non-melanoma skin cancer therapy response.

Protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial assessing transperineal prostate biopsy to reduce infectiouscomplications.

INTRODUCTION: Approximately one million prostate biopsies are performed annually in the USA, and most are performed using a transrectal approach under local anaesthesia. The risk of postbiopsy infection is increasing due to increasing antibiotic resistance of rectal flora. Single-centre studies suggest that a clean, percutaneous transperineal approach to prostate biopsy may have a lower risk of infection. To date, there is no high-level evidence comparing transperineal versus transrectal prostate biopsy. We hypothesise that transperineal versus transrectal prostate biopsy under local anaesthesia has a significantly lower risk of infection, similar pain/discomfort levels and comparable detection of non-low-grade prostate cancer. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will perform a multicentre, prospective randomised clinical trial to compare transperineal versus transrectal prostate biopsy for elevated prostate-specific antigen in the first biopsy, prior negative biopsy and active surveillance biopsy setting. Prostate MRI will be performed prior to biopsy, and targeted biopsy will be conducted for suspicious MRI lesions in addition to systematic biopsy (12 cores). Approximately 1700 men will be recruited and randomised in a 1:1 ratio to transperineal versus transrectal biopsy. A streamlined design to collect data and to determine trial eligibility along with the two-stage consent process will be used to facilitate subject recruitment and retention. The primary outcome is postbiopsy infection, and secondary outcomes include other adverse events (bleeding, urinary retention), pain/discomfort/anxiety and critically, detection of non-low-grade (grade group ≥2) prostate cancer. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Institutional Review Board of the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York approved the research protocol (protocol number #18-02-365, approved 20 April 2020). The results of the trial will be presented at scientific conferences and published in peer-reviewed medical journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04815876.

Mechanism of KMT5B haploinsufficiency in neurodevelopment in humans and mice.

Pathogenic variants in KMT5B, a lysine methyltransferase, are associated with global developmental delay, macrocephaly, autism, and congenital anomalies (OMIM# 617788). Given the relatively recent discovery of this disorder, it has not been fully characterized. Deep phenotyping of the largest (n = 43) patient cohort to date identified that hypotonia and congenital heart defects are prominent features that were previously not associated with this syndrome. Both missense variants and putative loss-of-function variants resulted in slow growth in patient-derived cell lines. KMT5B homozygous knockout mice were smaller in size than their wild-type littermates but did not have significantly smaller brains, suggesting relative macrocephaly, also noted as a prominent clinical feature. RNA sequencing of patient lymphoblasts and Kmt5b haploinsufficient mouse brains identified differentially expressed pathways associated with nervous system development and function including axon guidance signaling. Overall, we identified additional pathogenic variants and clinical features in KMT5B-related neurodevelopmental disorder and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of the disorder using multiple model systems.

Microbiome modulates immunotherapy response in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized to alter cancer risk, progression, and response to treatments such as immunotherapy, especially in cutaneous melanoma. However, whether the microbiome influences immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) immunotherapy response to non-melanoma skin cancer has not yet been defined. As squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are in closest proximity to the skin microbiome, we hypothesized that the skin microbiome, which regulates cutaneous immunity, might affect SCC-associated anti-PD1 immunotherapy treatment response. We used ultraviolet radiation to induce SCC in SKH1 hairless mice. We then treated the mice with broad-band antibiotics to deplete the microbiome, followed by colonization by candidate skin and gut bacteria or persistent antibiotic treatment, all in parallel with ICI treatment. We longitudinally monitored skin and gut microbiome dynamics by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and tumor burden by periodic tumor measurements and histologic assessment. Our study revealed that antibiotics-induced abrogation of the microbiome reduced tumor burden, suggesting a functional role of the microbiome in non-melanoma skin cancer therapy response.

Erratum: Variants in PHF8 cause a spectrum of X-linked neurodevelopmental disorders and facial dysmorphology.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.xhgg.2022.100102.].

Familial Bainbridge-Ropers syndrome: Report of familial ASXL3 inheritance and a milder phenotype.

De novo truncating and splicing pathogenic variants in the Additional Sex Combs-Like 3 (ASXL3) gene are known to cause neurodevelopmental delay, intellectual disability, behavioral difficulties, hypotonia, feeding problems and characteristic facial features. We previously reported 45 patients with ASXL3-related disorder including three individuals with a familial variant. Here we report the detailed clinical and molecular characteristics of these three families with inherited ASXL3-related disorder. First, a father and son with c.2791_2792del p.Gln931fs pathogenic variant. The second, a mother, daughter and son with c.4534C > T, p.Gln1512Ter pathogenic variant. The third, a mother and her daughter with c.4441dup, p.Leu1481fs maternally inherited pathogenic variant. This report demonstrates intrafamilial phenotypic heterogeneity and confirms heritability of ASXL3-related disorder.

Rapid identification of a major locus qPRL-C06 affecting primary root length in Brassica napus by QTL-seq.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Brassica napus is one of the most important oilseed crops worldwide. Seed yield of B. napus significantly correlates with the primary root length (PRL). The aims of this study were to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for PRL in B. napus. METHODS: QTL-seq and conventional QTL mapping were jointly used to detect QTLs associated with PRL in a B. napus double haploid (DH) population derived from a cross between 'Tapidor' and 'Ningyou 7'. The identified major locus was confirmed and resolved by an association panel of B. napus and an advanced backcross population. RNA-seq analysis of two long-PRL lines (Tapidor and TN20) and two short-PRL lines (Ningyou 7 and TN77) was performed to identify differentially expressed genes in the primary root underlying the target QTLs. KEY RESULTS: A total of 20 QTLs impacting PRL in B. napus grown at a low phosphorus (P) supply were found by QTL-seq. Eight out of ten QTLs affecting PRL at a low P supply discovered by conventional QTL mapping could be detected by QTL-seq. The locus qPRL-C06 identified by QTL-seq was repeatedly detected at both an optimal P supply and a low P supply by conventional QTL mapping. This major constitutive QTL was further confirmed by regional association mapping. qPRL-C06 was delimited to a 0.77 Mb genomic region on chromosome C06 using an advanced backcross population. A total of 36 candidate genes within qPRL-C06 were identified that showed variations in coding sequences and/or exhibited significant differences in mRNA abundances in primary root between the long-PRL and short-PRL lines, including five genes involved in phytohormone biosynthesis and signaling. CONCLUSIONS: These results both demonstrate the power of the QTL-seq in rapid QTL detection for root traits and will contribute to marker-assisted selective breeding of B. napus cultivars with increased PRL.