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Salinity is a key abiotic property of inland waters; it has a major influence on biotic communities and is affected by many natural and anthropogenic processes. Salinity of inland waters tends to increase with aridity, and biota of inland waters may have evolved greater salt tolerance in more arid regions. Here we compare the sensitivity of stream macroinvertebrate species to salinity from a relatively wet region in France (Lorraine and Brittany) to that in three relatively arid regions eastern Australia (Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania), South Africa (south-east of the Eastern Cape Province) and Israel using the identical experimental method in all locations. The species whose salinity tolerance was tested, were somewhat more salt tolerant in eastern Australia and South Africa than France, with those in Israel being intermediate. However, by far the greatest source of variation in species sensitivity was between taxonomic groups (Order and Class) and not between the regions. We used a bayesian statistical model to estimate the species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) for salinity in eastern Australia and France adjusting for the assemblages of species in these regions. The assemblage in France was slightly more salinity sensitive than that in eastern Australia. We therefore suggest that regional salinity sensitivity is therefore likely to depend most on the taxonomic composition of respective macroinvertebrate assemblages. On this basis it would be possible to screen rivers globally for risk from salinisation.

The rise in the influence of the LGBT community in the West, and specifically in the United States, over the past decade poses a challenge to American Muslims due to the religious taboos regarding LGBT, unlike other severe prohibitions in Islam. As a case study of the issue, the article will focus on the thoughts of Sheikh Yasir Qadhi, one of the most prominent preachers in America, who is identified with Wasatiyyah, considered the middle way between the Salafi and liberal currents. Qadhi is known for addressing current challenges due to his involvement in and knowledge of conservative Islamic and Western intellectual thought. The main argument in the article is that the influence of the LGBT community places Qadhi and his ilk between a rock and a hard place in their attempt to mediate the tension and maneuver between the theological and sociopolitical dimensions of the LGBT community and Muslims in the United States. These preachers try to accommodate the existence of LGBT Muslims and refine the discourse regarding the community as a whole while maintaining their theological positions on these sensitive and explosive issues. The article will address central issues in Qadhi's teachings in which he attempts to navigate and maneuver between his loyalty to fundamental Islamic values and a more pragmatic sociopolitical interpretation, such as his attempt to understand the plight of LGBT Muslims alongside his struggle with progressive Muslim perceptions, his attitude towards collaboration with pro-LGBT Muslim politicians, and his attitude towards the political alliance with Democrats in light of their support for the LGBT agenda and progressive values. The article will show how Qadhi's positions, which reflect other prominent voices in American Islam, indicate that dealing with the influence of the LGBT community has become a weighty religious, social, and political challenge.

sidered one of America’s most famous intellectual enior imams, Sheikh Dr. Yasir Qadhi is among the generation of young America imams to have burst into Western public awareness in the post-9/11 era. In the 1990s, Qadhi was a devoted Salafist. However, the 9/11 attacks, as well as his doctoral studies on Islamic theology at Yale University (2005–2013), influenced and reformed many of his worldviews, causing him to adapt a more moderate and pragmatic stance. This article’s primary argument is that Qadhi represents a case study of the American Islamic reform mindset in the post-9/11 era, which attempted to reconcile the tension between conservative and pragmatic Islamic trends and contemporary American reality. These imams try to maintain Islam’s essential principles while bravely confronting contemporary issues that must be examined afresh. The article explores Islam in America in the post-9/11 era, Qadhi’s complex biography, and a variety of case studies in Qadhi’s doctrine that are relevant to the American Muslim minority. Qadhi’s Islamic rulings manifest his affinity for Wasati scholars such as Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi and shed light on one of Qadhi’s primary goals – the preservation of Islam in America and the West for future generations.

Ricin, a plant-derived toxin originating from the seeds of Ricinus communis (castor bean plant), is one of the most lethal toxins known. To date, there is no approved post-exposure therapy for ricin exposures. This work demonstrates for the first time the therapeutic efficacy of equine-derived anti-ricin F(ab’)2 antibodies against lethal pulmonary and systemic ricin exposures in swine. While administration of the antitoxin at 18 h post-exposure protected more than 80% of both intratracheally and intramuscularly ricin-intoxicated swine, treatment at 24 h post-exposure protected 58% of the intramuscular-exposed swine, as opposed to 26% of the intratracheally exposed animals. Quantitation of the anti-ricin neutralizing units in the anti-toxin preparations confirmed that the disparate protection conferred to swine subjected to the two routes of exposure stems from variance between the two models. Furthermore, dose response experiments showed that approximately 3 times lesser amounts of antibody are needed for high-level protection of the intramuscularly compared to the intratracheally intoxicated swine. This study, which demonstrates the high-level post-exposure efficacy of anti-ricin antitoxin at clinically relevant time-points in a large animal model, can serve as the basis for the formulation of post-exposure countermeasures against ricin poisoning in humans.

Botulism is a paralytic disease caused by botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs). Equine antitoxin is currently the standard therapy for botulism in human. The preparation of equine antitoxin relies on the immunization of horses with botulinum toxoid, which suffers from low yield and safety limitations. The Hc fragment of BoNTs was suggested to be a potent antibotulinum subunit vaccine. The current study presents a comparative evaluation of equine-based toxoid-derived antitoxin (TDA) and subunit-derived antitoxin (SDA). The potency of recombinant Hc/A, Hc/B, and Hc/E in mice was similar to that of toxoids of the corresponding serotypes. A single boost with Hc/E administered to a toxoid E-hyperimmune horse increased the neutralizing antibody concentration (NAC) from 250 to 850 IU/mL. Immunization of naïve horses with the recombinant subunits induced a NAC comparable to that of horses immunized with the toxoid. SDA and TDA bound common epitopes on BoNTs, as demonstrated by an in vitro competition binding assay. In vivo, SDA and TDA showed similar efficacy when administered to guinea pigs postexposure to a lethal dose of botulinum toxins. Collectively, the results of the current study suggest that recombinant BoNT subunits may replace botulinum toxoids as efficient and safe antigens for the preparation of pharmaceutical anti-botulinum equine antitoxins.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to high global demand for vaccines to safeguard public health. To that end, our institute has developed a recombinant viral vector vaccine utilizing a modified vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) construct, wherein the G protein of VSV is replaced with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (rVSV-ΔG-spike). Previous studies have demonstrated the production of a VSV-based vaccine in Vero cells adsorbed on Cytodex 1 microcarriers or in suspension. However, the titers were limited by both the carrier surface area and shear forces. Here, we describe the development of a bioprocess for rVSV-ΔG-spike production in serum-free Vero cells using porous Fibra-Cel ® macrocarriers in fixed-bed BioBLU ® 320 5p bioreactors, leading to high-end titers. We identified core factors that significantly improved virus production, such as the kinetics of virus production, the use of macrospargers for oxygen supply, and medium replenishment. Implementing these parameters, among others, in a series of GMP production processes improved the titer yields by at least two orders of magnitude (2e9 PFU/mL) over previously reported values. The developed process was highly effective, repeatable, and robust, creating potent and genetically stable vaccine viruses and introducing new opportunities for application in other viral vaccine platforms.

Recent advancements in antibody drug conjugate therapies have significantly broadened treatment options for a substantial subgroup of breast cancer patients. However, sensitive, accurate and quantitative evaluation of HER2 expression based on current immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays remain challenging, especially in low and ultra-low HER2 expression ranges. We developed a novel methodology for quantifying HER2 protein expression, targeting breast cancer cases in the HER2 IHC 0 and 1+ categories. We measured HER2 expression using quantitative IHC (qIHC) that enables precise and tunable HER2 detection across different expression levels as demonstrated in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cell lines. Additionally, we developed an AI-based interpretation of HercepTestTM mAb pharmDx (Dako Omnis) (HercepTestTM mAb) using qIHC measurements as the ground truth. Both methodologies allowed spatial resolution and visualization of low and ultra-low levels of HER2 expression across entire tissue sections to demonstrate and enable quantification of heterogeneity of HER2 expression. Serial sections of 82 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of invasive breast carcinoma with HER2 IHC scores 0 or 1+ were stained with H&E, HercepTestTM (mAb), qIHC and p63, then scanned and digitally aligned. Tumor areas were manually selected and reviewed by expert pathologists. HER2 expression was quantitatively evaluated based on the qIHC assay in each 128x128μm2 area within tumor regions. We observed statistically significant differences in HER2 expression between IHC 0, 0

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