Association between the gut microbiome and carotenoid plumage phenotype in an avian hybrid zone.

Vertebrates host complex microbiomes that impact their physiology. In many taxa, including colourful wood-warblers, gut microbiome similarity decreases with evolutionary distance. This may suggest that as host populations diverge, so do their microbiomes, because of either tight coevolutionary dynamics, or differential environmental influences, or both. Hybridization is common in wood-warblers, but the effects of evolutionary divergence on the microbiome during secondary contact are unclear. Here, we analyse gut microbiomes in two geographically disjunct hybrid zones between blue-winged warblers (Vermivora cyanoptera) and golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera). We performed 16S faecal metabarcoding to identify species-specific bacteria and test the hypothesis that host admixture is associated with gut microbiome disruption. Species identity explained a small amount of variation between microbiomes in only one hybrid zone. Co-occurrence of species-specific bacteria was rare for admixed individuals, yet microbiome richness was similar among admixed and parental individuals. Unexpectedly, we found several bacteria that were more abundant among admixed individuals with a broader deposition of carotenoid-based plumage pigments. These bacteria are predicted to encode carotenoid biosynthesis genes, suggesting birds may take advantage of pigments produced by their gut microbiomes. Thus, host admixture may facilitate beneficial symbiotic interactions which contribute to plumage ornaments that function in sexual selection.

Gut microbiome composition better reflects host phylogeny than diet diversity in breeding wood-warblers.

Understanding the factors that shape microbiomes can provide insight into the importance of host-symbiont interactions and on co-evolutionary dynamics. Unlike for mammals, previous studies have found little or no support for an influence of host evolutionary history on avian gut microbiome diversity and instead have suggested a greater influence of the environment or diet due to fast gut turnover. Because effects of different factors may be conflated by captivity and sampling design, examining natural variation using large sample sizes is important. Our goal was to overcome these limitations by sampling wild birds to compare environmental, dietary and evolutionary influences on gut microbiome structure. We performed faecal metabarcoding to characterize both the gut microbiome and diet of 15 wood-warbler species across a 4-year period and from two geographical localities. We find host taxonomy generally explained ~10% of the variation between individuals, which is ~6-fold more variation of any other factor considered, including diet diversity. Further, gut microbiome similarity was more congruent with the host phylogeny than with host diet similarity and we found little association between diet diversity and microbiome diversity. Together, our results suggest evolutionary history is the strongest predictor of gut microbiome differentiation among wood-warblers. Although the phylogenetic signal of the warbler gut microbiome is not very strong, our data suggest that a stronger influence of diet (as measured by diet diversity) does not account for this pattern. The mechanism underlying this phylogenetic signal is not clear, but we argue host traits may filter colonization and maintenance of microbes.

Tissue Characterization Using Synchrotron Radiation at 0.7 THz to 10.0 THz with Extended ATR Apparatus Techniques.

The attenuated total reflection (ATR) apparatus, with an added partial reflection/partial transmission mode, was used to demonstrate a novel way of characterizing water-based substances at 0.7 to 10.0 THz at the Australian Synchrotron THz-far infrared beamline. The technique utilized a diamond-crystal-equipped ATR to track temperature-dependent changes in reflectance. A "crossover flare" feature in the spectral scan was noted, which appeared to be a characteristic of water and water-dominated compounds. A "quiet zone" feature was also seen, where no temperature-dependent variation in reflectance exists. The variation in these spectral features can be used as a signature for the presence of bound and bulk water. The method can also potentially identify the presence of fats and oils in a biological specimen. The technique requires minimal sample preparation and is non-destructive. The presented method has the promise to provide a novel, real-time, low-preparation, analytical method for investigating biological material, which offers avenues for rapid medical diagnosis and industrial analysis.

Reticulate evolution in Conidae: Evidence of nuclear and mitochondrial introgression.

Conidae is a hyperdiverse family of marine snails that has many hallmarks of adaptive radiation. Hybridization and introgression may contribute to such instances of rapid diversification by generating novel gene combinations that facilitate exploitation of distinct niches. Here we evaluated whether or not these mechanisms may have contributed to the evolutionary history of a subgenus of Conidae (Virroconus). Several observations hint at evidence of past introgression for members of this group, including incongruence between phylogenetic relationships inferred from mitochondrial gene sequences and morphology and widespread sympatry of many Virroconus species in the Indo-West Pacific. We generated and analyzed transcriptome data of Virroconus species to (i) infer a robust nuclear phylogeny, (ii) assess mitochondrial and nuclear gene tree discordance, and (iii) formally test for introgression of nuclear loci. We identified introgression of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear gene regions between ancestors of one pair of Virroconus species, and mitochondrial introgression between another pair. We also found evidence of adaptive introgression of conotoxin venom loci between a third pair of species. Together, our results demonstrate that hybridization and introgression impacted the evolutionary history of Virroconus and hence may have contributed to the adaptive radiation of Conidae.

Computational phantom study of frozen melanoma imaging at 0.45 terahertz.

Terahertz radiation (THz) is highly absorbed by liquid water. This creates the possibility of medical imaging on the basis of the water content difference between normal and diseased tissue. The effective penetration of THz is limited, however, to a tissue depth of 0.2-0.3 mm at body temperature. A unique feature of the 0.1-2.0 THz frequency is that there is a high disparity between liquid water absorption and ice absorption, with ice being 100 times more permeable to the radiation than liquid water. This results in 90% of the radiation surviving to 1.0 mm in ice, permitting the imaging of frozen tissues to a depth of 5.0 mm. This method is practical as an in vivo procedure before or during surgical excision. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) computational modeling of frozen normal skin and frozen melanoma was undertaken using tissue phantoms. The study suggests that sufficient contrast exists to differentiate normal frozen skin and melanoma on the basis of the difference of water content alone. When the melanin pigment in melanomas is modeled as a significant absorber of THz, the contrast changes. Based on the modeling, further exploration of the "THz-skin freeze" imaging technique is justified. In the modeling, the boundary between the frozen tissue and non-frozen tissue is shown to be strongly reflective. If the reflective properties of the boundary are substantiated, the "THz-skin freeze" technique will have applications in other areas of skin diagnostics and therapeutics. Bioelectromagnetics. 40:118-127, 2019. © 2019 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Effect of adverse environmental conditions and protective clothing on temperature rise in a human body exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.

This study considers the computationally determined thermal profile of a finely discretized, heterogeneous human body model, simulating a radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) worker wearing protective clothing subject to RF-EMF exposure, and subject to various environmental conditions including high ambient temperature and high humidity, with full thermoregulatory mechanisms in place. How the human body responds in various scenarios was investigated, and the information was used to consider safety limits in current international RF-EMF safety guidelines and standards. It was found that different environmental conditions had minimal impact on the magnitude of the thermal response due to RF-EMF exposure, and that the current safety factor of 10 applied in international RF-EMF safety guidelines and standards for RF-EMF workers is generally conservative, though it is only narrowly so when workers are subjected to the most adverse environmental conditions. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:356-363, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The influence of stigma on the quality of life for prostate cancer survivors.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of stigma on prostate cancer (PCa) survivors' quality of life. Stigma for lung cancer survivors has been the focus of considerable research (Else-Quest & Jackson, 2014); however, gaps remain in understanding the experience of PCa stigma. A cross-sectional correlational study was designed to assess the incidence of PCa stigma and its influence on the quality of life of survivors. Eighty-five PCa survivors were administered survey packets consisting of a stigma measure, a PCa-specific quality of life measure, and a demographic survey during treatment of their disease. A linear regression analysis was conducted with the data received from PCa survivors. Results indicated that PCa stigma has a significant, negative influence on the quality of life for survivors (R2 = 0.33, F(4, 80) = 11.53, p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in PCa stigma based on demographic variables (e.g., race and age). Implications for physical and mental health practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Projected wetland densities under climate change: habitat loss but little geographic shift in conservation strategy.

Climate change poses major challenges for conservation and management because it alters the area, quality, and spatial distribution of habitat for natural populations. To assess species' vulnerability to climate change and target ongoing conservation investments, researchers and managers often consider the effects of projected changes in climate and land use on future habitat availability and quality and the uncertainty associated with these projections. Here, we draw on tools from hydrology and climate science to project the impact of climate change on the density of wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of the USA, a critical area for breeding waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species. We evaluate the potential for a trade-off in the value of conservation investments under current and future climatic conditions and consider the joint effects of climate and land use. We use an integrated set of hydrological and climatological projections that provide physically based measures of water balance under historical and projected future climatic conditions. In addition, we use historical projections derived from ten general circulation models (GCMs) as a baseline from which to assess climate change impacts, rather than historical climate data. This method isolates the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and ensures that modeling errors are incorporated into the baseline rather than attributed to climate change. Our work shows that, on average, densities of wetlands (here defined as wetland basins holding water) are projected to decline across the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region, but that GCMs differ in both the magnitude and the direction of projected impacts. However, we found little evidence for a shift in the locations expected to provide the highest wetland densities under current vs. projected climatic conditions. This result was robust to the inclusion of projected changes in land use under climate change. We suggest that targeting conservation towards wetland complexes containing both small and relatively large wetland basins, which is an ongoing conservation strategy, may also act to hedge against uncertainty in the effects of climate change.

Estimation of dielectric values for tissue water in the Terahertz range.

As the availability of Terahertz (THz) sources and their application expands, interaction with biological material needs to be well-understood. In order to accurately estimate the energy absorption pattern in skin and other tissues in the THz and far Infrared regions, values of dielectric parameters ϵ and σ are required. We present an approach for tissue water, which uses literature values of complex refractive index for pure water together with some considerations regarding the effects of dissolved salts. The approach also involves modeling of Debye and Lorentz absorption parameters, which provides a method for the estimation of ϵ and σ in other tissues. Bioelectromagnetics. 37:563-567, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mindful caring: using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with caregivers of cancer survivors.

Caregivers of cancer survivors face many burdens that often require treatment by mental health professionals. One intervention, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, aims to help individuals change the ways in which they relate to their thoughts rather than changing their thoughts. In this manuscript, we discuss the use and adaption of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with caregivers of cancer survivors as a way to decrease caregiver burden and increase caregiver quality of life. A session-by-session breakdown of how to tailor mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to caregivers of cancer survivors is provided.

A measurement and modeling study of temperature in living and fixed tissue during and after radiofrequency exposure.

Fluorescent intensity of the dye Rhodamine-B (Rho-B) decreases with increasing temperature. We show that in fresh rat brain tissue samples in a custom-made radiofrequency (RF) tissue exposure device, temperature rise due to RF radiation as measured by absorbed dye correlates well with temperature measured nearby by fiber optic probes. Estimates of rate of initial temperature rise (using both probe measurement and the dye method) accord well with estimates of local specific energy absorption rate (SAR). We also modeled the temperature characteristics of the exposure device using combined electromagnetic and finite-difference thermal modeling. Although there are some differences in the rate of cooling following cessation of RF exposure, there is reasonable agreement between modeling and both probe measurement and dye estimation of temperature. The dye method also permits measurement of regional temperature rise (due to RF). There is no clear evidence of local differential RF absorption, but further refinement of the method may be needed to fully clarify this issue.

Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure on male fertility: A systematic review of experimental studies on non-human mammals and human sperm in vitro.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization is coordinating an international project aimed at systematically reviewing the evidence regarding the association between radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure and adverse health effects. Reproductive health outcomes have been identified among the priority topics to be addressed. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of RF-EMF exposure on male fertility of experimental mammals and on human sperm exposed in vitro. METHODS: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and EMF Portal) were last searched on September 17, 2022. Two independent reviewers screened the studies, which were considered eligible if met the following criteria: 1) Peer-reviewed publications of sham controlled experimental studies, 2) Non-human male mammals exposed at any stage of development or human sperm exposed in vitro, 3) RF-EMF exposure within the frequency range of 100 kHz-300 GHz, including electromagnetic pulses (EMP), 4) one of the following indicators of reproductive system impairment:Two reviewers extracted study characteristics and outcome data. We assessed risk of bias (RoB) using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) guidelines. We categorized studies into 3 levels of overall RoB: low, some or high concern. We pooled study results in a random effects meta-analysis comparing average exposure to no-exposure and in a dose-response meta-analysis using all exposure doses. For experimental animal studies, we conducted subgroup analyses for species, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and temperature increase. We grouped studies on human sperm exposed in vitro by the fertility status of sample donors and SAR. We assessed the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach after excluding studies that were rated as "high concern" for RoB. RESULTS: One-hundred and seventeen papers on animal studies and 10 papers on human sperm exposed in vitro were included in this review. Only few studies were rated as "low concern" because most studies were at RoB for exposure and/or outcome assessment. Subgrouping the experimental animal studies by species, SAR, and temperature increase partly accounted for the heterogeneity of individual studies in about one third of the meta-analyses. In no case was it possible to conduct a subgroup analysis of the few human sperm in vitro studies because there were always 1 or more groups including less than 3 studies. Among all the considered endpoints, the meta-analyses of animal studies provided evidence of adverse effects of RF-EMF exposure in all cases but the rate of infertile males and the size of the sired litters. The assessment of certainty according to the GRADE methodology assigned a moderate certainty to the reduction of pregnancy rate and to the evidence of no-effect on litter size, a low certainty to the reduction of sperm count, and a very low certainty to all the other meta-analysis results. Studies on human sperm exposed in vitro indicated a small detrimental effect of RF-EMF exposure on vitality and no-effect on DNA/chromatin alterations. According to GRADE, a very low certainty was attributed to these results. The few studies that used EMP exposure did not show effects on the outcomes. A low to very low certainty was attributed to these results. DISCUSSION: Many of the studies examined suffered of severe limitations that led to the attribution of uncertainty to the results of the meta-analyses and did not allow to draw firm conclusions on most of the endpoints. Nevertheless, the associations between RF-EMF exposure and decrease of pregnancy rate and sperm count, to which moderate and low certainty were attributed, are not negligible, also in view of the indications that in Western countries human male fertility potential seems to be progressively declining. It was beyond the scope of our systematic review to determine the shape of the dose-response relationship or to identify a minimum effective exposure level. The subgroup and the dose-response fitting analyses did not show a consistent relationship between the exposure levels and the observed effects. Notably, most studies evaluated RF-EMF exposure levels that were higher than the levels to which human populations are typically exposed, and the limits set in international guidelines. For these reasons we cannot provide suggestions to confirm or reconsider current human exposure limits. Considering the outcomes of this systematic review and taking into account the limitations found in several of the studies, we suggest that further investigations with better characterization of exposure and dosimetry including several exposure levels and blinded outcome assessment were conducted. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: Protocols for the systematic reviews of animal studies and of human sperm in vitro studies were published in Pacchierotti et al., 2021. The former was also registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021227729 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID = 227729) and the latter in Open Science Framework (OSF Registration DOI https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/7MUS3).

Incidence of micronuclei in human peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed to modulated and unmodulated 2450 MHz radiofrequency fields.

Peripheral blood samples from four healthy volunteers were collected and aliquots were exposed in vitro for 2 h to either (i) modulated (wideband code division multiple access, WCDMA) or unmodulated continuous wave (CW) 2450 MHz radiofrequency (RF) fields at an average specific absorption rate of 10.9 W/kg or (ii) sham-exposed. Aliquots of the same samples that were exposed in vitro to an acute dose of 1.5 Gy ionizing gamma-radiation (GR) were used as positive controls. Half of the aliquots were treated with melatonin (Mel) to investigate if such treatment offers protection to the cells from the genetic damage, if any, induced by RF and GR. The cells in all samples were cultured for 72 h and the lymphocytes were examined to determine the extent of genetic damage assessed from the incidence of micronuclei (MN). The results indicated the following: (i) the incidence of MN was similar in incubator controls, and those exposed to RF/sham and Mel alone; (ii) there were no significant differences between WCDMA and CW RF exposures; (iii) positive control cells exposed to GR alone exhibited significantly increased MN; and (iv) Mel treatment had no effect on cells exposed to RF and sham, while such treatment significantly reduced the frequency of MN in GR-exposed cells.

Genomes of the extinct Bachman's warbler show high divergence and no evidence of admixture with other extant Vermivora warblers.

Bachman's warbler1 (Vermivora bachmanii)-last sighted in 1988-is one of the only North American passerines to recently go extinct.2,3,4 Given extensive ongoing hybridization of its two extant congeners-the blue-winged warbler (V. cyanoptera) and golden-winged warbler (V. chrysoptera)5,6,7,8-and shared patterns of plumage variation between Bachman's warbler and hybrids between those extant species, it has been suggested that Bachman's warbler might have also had a component of hybrid ancestry. Here, we use historic DNA (hDNA) and whole genomes of Bachman's warblers collected at the turn of the 20th century to address this. We combine these data with the two extant Vermivora species to examine patterns of population differentiation, inbreeding, and gene flow. In contrast to the admixture hypothesis, the genomic evidence is consistent with V. bachmanii having been a highly divergent, reproductively isolated species, with no evidence of introgression. We show that these three species have similar levels of runs of homozygosity (ROH), consistent with effects of a small long-term effective population size or population bottlenecks, with one V. bachmanii outlier showing numerous long ROH and a FROH greater than 5%. We also found-using population branch statistic estimates-previously undocumented evidence of lineage-specific evolution in V. chrysoptera near a pigmentation gene candidate, CORIN, which is a known modifier of ASIP, which is in turn involved in melanic throat and mask coloration in this family of birds. Together, these genomic results also highlight how natural history collections are such invaluable repositories of information about extant and extinct species.

Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) exposure on pregnancy and birth outcomes: A systematic review of experimental studies on non-human mammals.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization is coordinating an international project aimed at systematically reviewing the evidence regarding the association between radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure and adverse health effects. Within the project, 6 topics have been prioritized by an expert group, which include reproductive health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: According to the protocol published in 2021, a systematic review and meta-analyses on the adverse effects of RF-EMF exposure during pregnancy in offspring of experimental animals were conducted. METHODS: Three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and EMF Portal) were last searched on September 8 or 17, 2022. Based on predefined selection criteria, the obtained references were screened by two independent reviewers. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: 1) original, sham controlled experimental study on non-human mammals exposed in utero, published in peer-reviewed journals, 2) the experimental RF-EMF exposure was within the frequency range 100 kHz-300 GHz, 3) the effects of RF-EMF exposure on fecundity (litter size, embryonic/fetal losses), on the offspring health at birth (decrease of weight or length, congenital malformations, changes of sex ratio) or on delayed effects (neurocognitive alterations, female infertility or early-onset cancer) were studied. Study characteristics and outcome data were extracted by two reviewers. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) guidelines. Study results were pooled in a random effects meta-analysis comparing average exposure to no-exposure and in a dose-response meta-analysis using all exposure doses, after exclusion of studies that were rated at "high concern" for RoB. Subgroup analyses were conducted for species, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and temperature increase. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. RESULTS: Eighty-eight papers could be included in this review. Effects on fecundity. The meta-analysis of studies on litter size, conducted at a whole-body average SAR of 4.92 W/kg, did not show an effect of RF-EMF exposure (MD 0.05; 95% CI -0.21 to 0.30). The meta-analysis of studies on resorbed and dead fetuses, conducted at a whole-body average SAR of 20.26 W/kg, showed a significant increase of the incidence in RF-EMF exposed animals (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.66). The results were similar in the dose-response analysis. Effects on the offspring health at birth. The meta-analysis of studies on fetal weight, conducted at a whole-body average SAR of 9.83 W/kg, showed a small decrease in RF-EMF exposed animals (SMD 0.31; 95% CI 0.15 to 0.48). The meta-analysis of studies on fetal length, conducted at a whole-body average SAR of 4.55 W/kg, showed a moderate decrease in length at birth (SMD 0.45; 95% CI 0.07 to 0.83). The meta-analysis of studies on the percentage of fetuses with malformations, conducted at a whole-body average SAR of 6.75 W/kg, showed a moderate increase in RF-EMF exposed animals (SMD -0.45; 95% CI -0.68 to -0.23). The meta-analysis of studies on the incidence of litters with malformed fetuses, conducted at a whole-body average SAR of 16.63 W/kg, showed a statistically significant detrimental RF-EMF effect (OR 3.22; 95% CI 1.9 to 5.46). The results were similar in the dose-response analyses. Delayed effects on the offspring health. RF-EMF exposure was not associated with detrimental effects on brain weight (SMD 0.10; 95% CI -0.09 to 0.29) and on learning and memory functions (SMD -0.54; 95% CI -1.24 to 0.17). RF-EMF exposure was associated with a large detrimental effect on motor activity functions (SMD 0.79; 95% CI 0.21 to 1.38) and a moderate detrimental effect on motor and sensory functions (SMD -0.66; 95% CI -1.18 to -0.14). RF-EMF exposure was not associated with a decrease of the size of litters conceived by F2 female offspring (SMD 0.08; 95% CI -0.39 to 0.55). Notably, meta-analyses of neurobehavioural effects were based on few studies, which suffered of lack of independent replication deriving from only few laboratories. DISCUSSION: There was high certainty in the evidence for a lack of association of RF-EMF exposure with litter size. We attributed a moderate certainty to the evidence of a small detrimental effect on fetal weight. We also attributed a moderate certainty to the evidence of a lack of delayed effects on the offspring brain weight. For most of the other endpoints assessed by the meta-analyses, detrimental RF-EMF effects were shown, however the evidence was attributed a low or very low certainty. The body of evidence had limitations that did not allow an assessment of whether RF-EMF may affect pregnancy outcomes at exposure levels below those eliciting a well-known adverse heating impact. In conclusion, in utero RF-EMF exposure does not have a detrimental effect on fecundity and likely affects offspring health at birth, based on the meta-analysis of studies in experimental mammals on litter size and fetal weight, respectively. Regarding possible delayed effects of in utero exposure, RF-EMF probably does not affect offspring brain weight and may not decrease female offspring fertility; on the other hand, RF-EMF may have a detrimental impact on neurobehavioural functions, varying in magnitude for different endpoints, but these last findings are very uncertain. Further research is needed on the effects at birth and delayed effects with sample sizes adequate for detecting a small effect. Future studies should use standardized endpoints for testing prenatal developmental toxicity and developmental neurotoxicity (OECD TG 414 and 426), improve the description of the exposure system design and exposure conditions, conduct appropriate dosimetry characterization, blind endpoint analysis and include several exposure levels to better enable the assessment of a dose-response relationship. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION AND PUBLICATION: The protocol was published in Pacchierotti et al., 2021 and registered in PROSPERO CRD42021227746 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=227746).

Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) on cancer in laboratory animal studies.

BACKGROUND: The carcinogenicity of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMF) has been evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2011. Based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and in animals, RF EMF were classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). In 2018, based on a survey amongst RF experts, WHO prioritized six major topics of potential RF EMF related human health effects for systematic reviews. In the current manuscript, we present the protocol for the systematic review of experimental laboratory animal studies (cancer bioassays) on exposure to RF fields on the outcome of cancer in laboratory animals. OBJECTIVE: In the framework of WHO's Radiation Program, the aim of this work is to systematically evaluate effects of RF EMF exposure on cancer in laboratory animals. STUDY ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA: WHO's Handbook (2014) for guideline development will be followed with appropriate adaptation. The selection of eligible studies will be based on Population, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes (PECO) criteria. We will include peer-reviewed articles and publicly available reports from government agencies reporting original data about animal cancer bioassays on exposure to RF EMF. The studies are identified by searching the following databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), Science Citation Index Expanded and Emerging Sources Citation Indes (Web of Science), Scopus, and the EMF Portal. No language or year-of-publication restrictions are applied. The methods and results of eligible studies will be presented in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. STUDY APPRAISAL METHOD: Study evaluation of individual studies will be assessed using a risk of bias (RoB) tool developed by the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) with appropriate considerations including sensitivity for evaluating RF EMF exposure in animal cancer bioassays. The final evaluation on the certainty of the evidence on a carcinogenic risk of RF EMF exposure in experimental animals will be performed using the OHAT Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach with appropriate considerations. The protocol has been registered in an open-source repository (PROSPERO). FUNDING: The study is partly financially supported by the World Health Organization. No additional funding was provided outside author salaries through their places of employment.

Genetic confirmation of a hybrid between two highly divergent cardinalid species: A rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) and a scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea).

Using low-coverage whole-genome sequencing, analysis of vocalizations, and inferences from natural history, we document a first-generation hybrid between a rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) and a scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea). These two species occur sympatrically throughout much of eastern North America, although were not previously known to interbreed. Following the field identification of a putative hybrid, we use genetic and bioacoustic data to show that a rose-breasted grosbeak was the maternal parent and a scarlet tanager was the paternal parent of the hybrid, whose song was similar to the latter species. These two species diverged >10 million years ago, and thus it is surprising to find a hybrid formed under natural conditions in the wild. Notably, the hybrid has an exceptionally heterozygous genome, with a conservative estimate of a heterozygous base every 100 bp. The observation that this hybrid of such highly divergent parental taxa has survived until adulthood serves as another example of the capacity for hybrid birds to survive with an exceptionally divergent genomic composition.

Pigmentation Genes Show Evidence of Repeated Divergence and Multiple Bouts of Introgression in Setophaga Warblers.

Species radiations have long served as model systems in evolutionary biology.1,2 However, it has only recently become possible to study the genetic bases of the traits responsible for diversification and only in a small number of model systems.3 Here, we use genomes of 36 species of North, Central, and South American warblers to highlight the role of pigmentation genes-involved in melanin and carotenoid processing-in the diversification of this group. We show that agouti signaling protein (ASIP) and beta-carotene oxygenase 2 (BCO2) are predictably divergent between species that differ in the distribution of melanin and carotenoid in their plumages, respectively. Among species, sequence variation at ASIP broadly mirrors the species' phylogenetic history, consistent with repeated, independent mutations generating melanin-based variation. In contrast, BCO2 variation is highly discordant from the species tree, with evidence of cross-lineage introgression among species like the yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) and magnolia warbler (S. magnolia) with extensive carotenoid-based coloration. We also detect introgression of a small part of the BCO2 coding region (<3 kb) in S. discolor and S. vitellina, including an amino acid substitution that is unique to warblers but otherwise highly conserved across birds. Lateral transfer of carotenoid-processing genes has been documented in arthropods, but introgression of BCO2 as demonstrated here-presumably adaptive-represents the first example of carotenoid gene transfer among vertebrates. These contrasting genomic patterns show that both independent evolution in a common set of genes and past hybridization have fueled plumage diversification in this colorful avian radiation.

Computational absorption and reflection studies of normal human skin at 0.45 THz.

Applications using terahertz (THz) frequency radiation will inevitably lead to increased human exposure. The power density and specific absorption rate (SAR) simulations of thin skin at 0.45 THz show the bulk of the energy being absorbed in the upper stratum spinosum, and the maximal temperature rise is in the lower stratum spinosum. There are regions of SAR increase of 100% above the local average at the stratum spinosum/stratum basale boundary. The dead Stratum Corneum layer protects underlying tissues in thick skin. Reflection studies suggest that acute angles and the use of polarised incident radiation may enhance the assessment of diabetic neuropathy.