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\"Learn all about the highest and lowest places on Earth and find out what it takes for life to survive in these extreme locations.\"-- Provided by publisher.

Background Bartonella quintana is a body louse-borne bacterium causing bacteremia and infective endocarditis. We aimed to describe B. quintana detection among arthropods and their hosts. Methods We searched databases in PubMed Central/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science from January 1, 1915 (the year of B. quintana discovery) to January 1, 2024, to identify publications containing specific search terms relating to B. quintana detection among arthropods. Descriptive statistics and meta-analysis of pooled prevalence using random-effects models were performed for all arthropods and body and head lice. Results Of 1265 records, 62 articles were included, describing 8839 body lice, 4962 head lice, and 1692 other arthropods, such as different species of fleas, bedbugs, mites, and ticks. Arthropods were collected from 37 countries, of which 28 had arthropods with B. quintana DNA. Among articles that reported B. quintana detection among individual arthropods, 1445 of 14,088 (0.1026, 95% CI [0.0976; 0.1077]) arthropods tested positive for B. quintana DNA, generating a random-effects model global prevalence of 0.0666 (95% CI [0.0426; 0.1026]). Fifty-six studies tested 8839 body lice, of which 1679 had B. quintana DNA (0.1899, 95% CI [0.1818; 0.1983]), generating a random-effects model pooled prevalence of 0.2312 (95% CI [0.1784; 0.2843]). Forty-two studies tested 4962 head lice, of which 390 head lice from 20 studies originating from 11 different countries had B. quintana DNA (0.0786, 95% CI [0.0713; 0.0864]). Eight studies detected B. quintana DNA exclusively on head lice. Five studies reported greater B. quintana detection on head lice than body lice; all originated from low-resource environments. Conclusions Bartonella quintana is a vector-borne bacterium with a global distribution, disproportionately affecting marginalized populations. Bartonella quintana DNA has been detected in many different arthropod species, though not all of these arthropods meet criteria to be considered vectors for B. quintana transmission. Body lice have long been known to transmit B. quintana . A limited number of studies suggest that head lice may also act as possible vectors for B. quintana in specific low-resource contexts. Graphical Abstract

Subduction zones are one of the principal drivers of the modern‐day plate tectonics, but the processes that develop as incipient subduction zones mature are yet to be understood. Finding modern analogs for different stages of subduction infancy remains an outstanding challenge to answer questions on how and when an oceanic subduction zone reaches a quasi‐steady state to become long‐lived. Here, we compare the southern Mariana intra‐oceanic arc, in which near‐trench spreading and infant arc magmatism developed ∼3–4 Myr ago, with the Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana (IBM) proto‐arc magmas that formed during subduction infancy ∼52 Myr ago. Building upon this comparison, we propose that the Southern Mariana may be considered as a modern analog to subduction infancy. The similarities between the Southern Mariana arc magmas and the IBM Eocene proto‐arc magmas suggest that the IBM proto‐arc crust might have formed within 80–90 km from the paleo‐trench (slab at < 90 km paleo‐depth), while the Eocene infant arc was likely located at ∼100 km from the paleo‐trench (∼100–125 km slab paleo‐depth). We use our constraints further to propose a new conceptual model of subduction evolution for IBM. In this model, development of the subduction channel during arc infancy facilitated downward slab penetration and intensified corner flow in the sub‐arc asthenosphere of the mantle wedge. As such, cooling and serpentinization of the fore‐arc mantle might be considered as the principal drivers of subduction maturation and stabilization over the IBM lifetime. Key Points We use the Southern Mariana to place constraints onto the petrogenesis of the Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana (IBM) proto‐arc crust The IBM proto‐arc magmas developed within 90 km from the paleo‐trench and overlaid a paleo‐slab within 90 km depth The subduction channel likely played an important role in the evolution and stabilization of the IBM convergent margin

\"Dunes, sandstorms, freezing crags and searing heat; these are not the usual images of World War I. For many men from all over the British Empire, this was the experience of the Great War. Based on soldiers' accounts, this book reveals the hardships and complexity of British Empire soldiers' lives in this oft-forgotten but important campaign\"-- Provided by publisher.

In the past 20 years, the exploration of deep ocean trenches has led to spectacular new insights. Even in the deepest canyons, an unusual variety of life and unexpectedly high benthic oxygen consumption rates have been detected while microbial processes below the surface of the hadal seafloor remains largely unknown. The information that exist comes from geophysical measurements, especially related to seismic research, and specific component analyses to estimate the carbon export. In contrast, no information is available on metabolic activities in deeper buried sediments of hadal environment. Here we present the first pore water profiles from 15 up to 11 m long sediment cores recovered during three expeditions to two hadal zones, the Japan Trench and the Atacama Trench. Despite low levels of organic debris, our data reveal that rates of microbial carbon turnover along the trench axes can be similar to those encountered in much shallower and more productive oceanic regions. The extreme sedimentation dynamics, characterized by frequent mass wasting of slope sediments into the trenches, result in effective burial of reactive, microbially available, organic material. Our results document the fueling of the deep hadal biosphere with bioavailable material and thus provide important understanding on the function of deep‐sea trenches and the hadal carbon cycle. Plain Language Summary For a long time, it was assumed that in water depths below 6,000 m, biological species diversity and microbial activity is very low. Recent studies could already provide clear evidence that significant degradation of organic material occurs even at the seafloor surface in deep‐sea trenches. No comparable information is available yet about the situation below the surface layer. Here, data are presented for the first time that help to close this knowledge gap. Based on geochemical parameters, it can be proven that very active degradation processes also take place in the deeper buried layers in deep‐sea trenches. Rates correspond in magnitude to sediments from shallower water depths with considerably higher contents of organic material. The authors attribute this finding primarily to sedimentation dynamics in deep‐sea trenches. The steep flanks of trenches, sometimes associated with seismic activity, repeatedly favor the sliding of large sediment packages into basins along trench axes. Rapid burial removes less degraded, and thus more microbially available material from oxic surface and preserves it for subsequent processes such as sulfate reduction. The unique results provide important new insights into the function of deep‐sea trenches and the hadal carbon cycle. Key Points Hadal subseafloor pore water profiles from the Japan Trench and Atacama Trench document unexpectedly high microbial turnover rates Frequent alternations between hemipelagic sedimentation and mass wasting lead to high burial efficiency of reactive organic carbon Microbial activities in deep‐sea trenches may be similar to those at the edge of high‐production areas

We report an unexpected case of Bartonella quintana endocarditis and pauci-immune glomerulonephritis in a patient without known risk factors in Los Angeles, California, USA, highlighting that infection can occur in the general population without a history of homelessness. The diagnosis was challenging and made definitively through extensive diagnostic tests and multidisciplinary investigation.

Background:Bartonella quintana is a body-louse-borne bacterium. Canadian B. quintana disease has been reported primarily in populations experiencing homelessness and in Indigenous communities with limited access to water. We sought to understand the epidemiology of B. quintana in Canada. Methods: This study combined an analysis of laboratory data from Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) with a systematic review of the literature. Laboratory data included quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) cycle threshold values and indirect immunofluorescent antibody titers with the year and province of the sample acquisition. For the systematic review, we searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science for articles published before 15 July 2024, with terms related to B. quintana in Canada. Results: Thirty-three individuals with qPCR-positive B. quintana were documented in seven provinces and one territory. The number of cases increased over time (p-value = 0.005), with the greatest number of cases being reported in 2022 and 2023. The percent positivity for the B. quintana qPCR performed at the NML increased over time (p-value = 0.036). The median immunoglobulin G titer demonstrated a sustained increase starting in 2017. The systematic review identified fourteen individuals with qPCR-positive B. quintana (none had a qPCR performed at the NML) and seven probable cases of B. quintana disease. Four of these twenty-one individuals from the systematic review died (19%). All fatalities were attributed to endocarditis. Conclusions: The detection of B. quintana disease in seven provinces and one territory suggests that B. quintana has a national distribution. B. quintana disease is increasingly diagnosed in Canada, indicating ongoing transmission across geographic settings.

During the two World Wars, Bartonella quintana was responsible for trench fever and is now recognised as an agent of re-emerging infection. Many reports have indicated widespread B. quintana exposure since the 1990s. In order to evaluate its prevalence in ancient populations, we used real-time PCR to detect B. quintana DNA in 400 teeth collected from 145 individuals dating from the 1st to 19th centuries in nine archaeological sites, with the presence of negative controls. Fisher's exact test was used to compare the prevalence of B. quintana in civil and military populations. B. quintana DNA was confirmed in a total of 28/145 (19.3%) individuals, comprising 78 citizens and 67 soldiers, 20.1% and 17.9% of which were positive for B. quintana bacteraemia, respectively. This study analysed previous studies on these ancient samples and showed that the presence of B. quintana infection followed the course of time in human history; a total of 14/15 sites from five European countries had a positive prevalence. The positive rate in soldiers was higher than those of civilians, with 20% and 18.8%, respectively, in the 18th and 19th centuries, but the difference in frequency was not significant. These results confirmed the role of dental pulp in diagnosing B. quintana bacteraemia in ancient populations and showed the incidence of B. quintana in both civilians and soldiers.

Bartonella quintana infection can lead to bacillary angiomatosis, peliosis hepatis, chronic bacteremia, and culture-negative endocarditis. Transmitted by the human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus), B. quintana infection has become an emerging disease in recent decades among persons experiencing homelessness. By using retrospective laboratory surveillance, we identified 5 cases of left-sided, culture-negative B. quintana endocarditis among persons in New York, New York, USA, during January 1, 2020-November 23, 2023. Identifications were made by using molecular assays. All patients experienced unsheltered homelessness in the year before hospitalization. Of those patients, 4 experienced heart failure, 3 renal failure, and 2 embolic strokes; 2 died. Aortic valve replacement occurred in 4 cases. A history of possible body louse infestation was found in 4 cases. Clinicians should consider housing status and history of lice exposure in patients with suspected bartonellosis and have a low threshold for diagnostic testing and empiric treatment in patients experiencing homelessness.