Background: Patients who undergo cardiac surgery are at increased risk of stroke, postoperative cognitive decline, and delirium. These neurocognitive complications have led to increased costs, intensive care unit stays, morbidity, and mortality. As a result, there is a significant push to mitigate any neurological complications in cardiac surgery patients. Near-infrared spectroscopy to measure regional cerebral oxygen saturations has gained consideration due to its non-invasive, user-friendly, and relatively inexpensive nature. Aim of Study: To provide a comprehensive summary of cerebral oximetry in cardiac surgery. The review interrogates multiple systematic reviews assessing different outcomes in cardiac surgery to assess if cerebral oximetry is effective. Further, the review analyzes all available interventions for an acute desaturation to determine the efficacy of individual interventions. Methods: A narrative review of randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and systematic reviews with metanalyses were performed through August 2021. Results: There is significant heterogeneity amongst studies regarding the definition of a clinically significant cerebral desaturation. In addition, the assessment of neurocognitive outcomes has large variability, making metanalysis challenging. To date, cerebral oximetry use during cardiac surgery has not been associated with improvements in neurocognitive outcomes, morbidity, or mortality. The evidence to support particular interventions for an acute desaturation is equivocal. Conclusions: Future research is needed to quantify a clinically significant cerebral desaturation and to determine which interventions for an acute desaturation effectively improve clinical outcomes.

Title:Taking the “Pulse” of Pulsed Field Ablation: Real-World Experience

A document by Lynda Rosenfeld. Click on the document to view its contents.

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has emerged as a main stay for management of atrial fibrillation. It has been shown to be clinically effective and cost effective in multiple trials .

This work studies an improved hybrid joining technique combining electromagnetic forming and adhesive joining to create a leak-tight Cu-SS tube-to-tube joint named as electromagnetically assisted adhesive joining (EAAJ). An experimental investigation is performed considering three discharge energy (3.9 kJ, 4.4 kJ and 5.0 kJ), four adhesive application lengths (20 mm, 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm), three adhesives (Loctite 638, Loctite 567, and Loctite SI 596) and four curing times (24 hours, 48 hours, 96 hours and 120 hours) as process parameters. The mechanical properties of the joints are investigated using testing techniques like pull-out, compression, and micro-hardness tests. An increase in joint strength is observed with the decrease in adhesive application length and increase in curing time. Maximum joint strength, 90% of the base copper tube strength, is obtained in the case of Loctite 638, with 5 mm of adhesive application length, 5.0 kJ of discharge energy and 96 hours of curing time. Furthermore, a three-way analysis (3-way ANOVA) of variance technique is implemented to calculate the contribution of the three factors (discharge energy, adhesive application length, type of adhesives) on the joint strength. A cohesive and adhesive failure mode combination leading to sliding failure mode is observed as a joint failure mechanism during pull-out and compression testing. A leak testing setup has been developed to investigate the joint's leak tightness by an air pressure decay test. An increment in leak tightness by 1000 times is observed in 638 EAAJ samples compared to samples joined without adhesives. A 3-way ANOVA analysis is also performed to calculate the contribution of different factors on leak tightness of the joint. Micro-hardness is observed to be increased near the joint interface compared to the base metal. Deformation analysis has highlighted the impact of field shaper slit causing a non-uniformity in radial deformation in the circumferential direction and leading to non-uniform circumferential accumulation of adhesive.

The temporal analysis of products (TAP) reactor provides a route to extract intrinsic kinetics from transient measurements. Current TAP uncertainty quantification only considers the experimental noise present in the outlet flow signal. Additional sources of uncertainty such as initial surface coverages, catalyst zone location, inert void fraction, gas pulse intensity and pulse delay, are not included. For this reason, a framework for quantifying initial state uncertainties present in TAP experiments is presented and applied to a carbon monoxide oxidation case study. Two methods for quantifying these sources of uncertainty are introduced. The first utilizes initial state sensitivities to approximate the parameter variances and provide insights into the structural certainty of the model. The second generates parameter confidence distributions through an ensemble-based sampling algorithm. The initial state covariance matrix can ultimately be merged with the experimental noise covariance matrix, providing a unified description of the parameter uncertainties for a TAP experiment.

The complex composition and molecular structure of biomass lead to more complex and diversified chemical reactions in the pyrolysis. According to the structural characteristics of the reactants, this paper simplifies the pyrolysis process and extends the research focus from the micro-molecular elementary reactions to the macro reaction kinetics. The wheat straw is chosen as the investigated biomass, and the promoted chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) with modified pseudo-grid and chain reaction kinetics (CRK) pyrolysis models were constructed for predicting the pyrolysis characteristics. Compared with the experimental results, the prediction errors of char, oil and gas production are in a reasonable range of < 10 %. Moreover, the reliability of the model is verified by comparing with the experimental thermogravimetric curve, which shows that the model could well predict the mass loss, product distribution and component characteristics, and provides a reasonable prediction for the pyrolysis of biomass.

Eosinophilic airway inflammation in patients with atopic dermatitisTo the Editor,Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder described as the first clinical manifestation of the atopic march leading to allergic asthma (AA) then allergic rhinitis (AR). AD, however, is not limited to childhood onset1, with some patients developing asthma first2. Most AD patients are reported to have airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR)3,4 airway eosinophilia5, and concurrent asthma. The Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board approved this study. In cohort 1 we evaluated AHR and sputum eosinophils in AD patients (6 mild, 6 moderate-severe) but with no history of asthma, to determine if undiagnosed asthma was present in this population. AD patients were characterized using skin prick test (SPT) Eczema Area and Severity Index (EADI), Asthma Control (ACQ-5) and Leicester Cough (LSQ) questionnaires, spirometry, AHR, and sputum eosinophils, and compared to mild AA (n=14) with no history of AD. Refer to supplement for eligibility and methods. Neither group had used parenteral or oral anti-inflammatory therapy for >1 month. Twenty-one of the 26 patients had a history of AR with 9/21 (43%) reporting AR first in a ‘reverse atopic march’ sequence. AD had a significantly higher EASI score and methacholine PC20, and lower ACQ-5 score compared to AA (all p<0.01) (Table 1). Despite having no history or clinical diagnosis of asthma, 3/12 (25%) AD demonstrated AHR defined by methacholine PC20 <16mg/ml, with data from all AD patients showing negative correlations between methacholine PC20 versus blood eosinophils (r = -0.81, p = <0.01), EASI score (r = -0.74, p = <0.01), and a trend versus IgE (r = -0.53, p = 0.07). When AD patients were grouped by AHR present/absent, those with AHR had significantly higher EASI score (p = 0.02) and blood eosinophils (p<0.001) (Table 1). Furthermore, when AD patients were grouped as mild (n=6) or moderate-severe (n=6) by EASI score, those with AHR were all classified as moderate-severe. The difference in AHR was not explained by allergen sensitivity because the number of positive SPT for animal, mould, house dust mite, or pollen was similar between AD subgroups when divided by AHR present/absent, or by AD severity. Nine of 12 (75%) AD patients demonstrated sputum eosinophilia, as defined by ≥3%6, with levels similar to AA. In AD there was no relationship between sputum eosinophils versus methacholine PC20 or EASI score. We measured cough by LCQ to determine if sputum eosinophils in AD could be explained by eosinophilic bronchitis, however we found no relationship between LCQ score versus sputum eosinophils or blood eosinophils, and additionally there was no relationship between LCQ versus methacholine PC20 or EASI score. To further interrogate the concept of reverse atopic march, in cohort 2 we obtained biopsies of unaffected skin from the lower back of patients with moderate to severe AD (n=17), AA with no history of AD (n=14) and healthy controls (HC, n=15) to measure histological features common to AD. Internal controls showed lesional skin of AD had greater lymphocytic infiltration, epidermal thickening (both p<0.01) and spongiosis compared to their unaffected skin (p=0.04). (Table 2). In unaffected skin, lymphocytic infiltrate was significantly higher in AD versus AA (p=0.03) and HC (p = <0.01), with no difference between any groups for spongiosis, neutrophilic infiltration, vacuole numbers, or epidermal thickening. Eosinophils in unaffected skin were too infrequent for analysis. Notably, skin from AA was histologically similar to HC. Taken together, our observations from this small study suggest that allergic disorders can occur independently or in reverse order to that described by the atopic march. Furthermore, a significant proportion of patients with AD have AHR and eosinophilic airway inflammation indicating potential development of airways inflammatory disease including asthma.References1. Burgess JA, Dharmage SC, Byrnes GB, Matheson MC, Gurrin LC, Wharton CL, et al. Childhood eczema and asthma incidence and persistence: a cohort study from childhood to middle age. J Allergy Clin Immunol . 2008;122(2):280-5.2. Barberio G, Pajno G, Vita D, Caminiti L, Canonica G, Passalacqua G. Does a ‘reverse’atopic march exist? Allergy . 2008;63(12):1630-2.3. Corbo G, Ferrante E, Macciocchi B, Foresi A, De Angelis V, Fabrizi G, et al. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in atopic dermatitis.Allergy . 1989;44(8):595-8.4. Barker AF, Hirshman CA, D’Silva R, Hanifin JM. Airway responsiveness in atopic dermatitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol . 1991;87(4):780-3.5. Kyllönen H, Malmberg P, Remitz A, Rytilä P, Metso T, Helenius I, et al. Respiratory symptoms, bronchial hyper‐responsiveness, and eosinophilic airway inflammation in patients with moderate‐to‐severe atopic dermatitis. Clinical & Experimental Allergy . 2006;36(2):192-7.6. Belda J, Leigh R, Parameswaran K, O’Byrne PM, Sears MR, Hargreave FE. Induced sputum cell counts in healthy adults. Am J Resp Crit Care Med . 2000;161(2):475-8.Cusack RP,Whetstone CE,Alsaji N,Howie KJ,Stevens C,Wattie J,Wiltshire L,Howran J,O’Byrne PM,Sehmi R,Lima H,Gauvreau GMDepartment of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaConflict of InterestThe authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.No funding to report* Correspondence: Gail M GauvreauAddress: McMaster University, 1200 Main St W., HSC 3U31E, Hamilton, Ontario Canada L8N 3Z5Phone: 1-905-525-9140 ext 22791Email: gauvreau@mcmaster.caKeywords: asthma, atopic dermatitis, airway hyperresponsiveness, eosinophils, skin, inflammation

Objectives: Rhinitis affects up to 40% of the population worldwide and can significantly reduce quality of life. Some patients remain symptomatic despite maximal medical therapy. In refractory cases, posterior nasal neurectomy (PNN - the division of the intranasal nerve branches containing postganglionic parasympathetic fibres) is postulated to reduce symptom burden. The objectives of this paper were to review the literature to establish whether the procedure is effective and safe in the management of allergic and non-allergic rhinitis. Design: A systematic review of Pubmed, EMBASE and MEDLINE was undertaken. Studies were excluded if not available in English or undertaken in non-human subjects. Participants: Seventeen articles satisfied the inclusion criteria studying in total 2029 patients. Sample size ranged from 8-1056. Main Outcome Measures: Patient-reported objective and subjective outcomes and post-operative complications were reviewed Results: There were two randomised controlled trials, two case control studies, and the remaining thirteen were case series using both objective and subjective outcome measures. All but one study found improved patient reported outcomes following PNN. Complications were reported in 10 studies - haemorrhage was the most common complication and was observed in 28 patients (1.6% of subjects). Conclusions: Endoscopic posterior nasal neurectomy is safe and appears to be effective in the treatment of intractable rhinitis but the level of the available evidence was generally poor. Larger, well designed studies are needed to clarify its role in the management of difficult-to-treat rhinitis.

A 50-year-old woman with adrenal Cushing’s syndrome and chronic hepatitis C developed an acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis C before adrenectomy. After administration of Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir was started, her transaminase levels normalized promptly and a rapid virological response also was achieved. Then laparoscopic left adrenectomy was performed safely.

L'acqua è una risorsa preziosa e limitata che deve essere protetta e gestita in maniera sostenibile. L’aumento della popolazione, il miglioramento degli standard di vita e l'espansione dell'agricoltura irrigua hanno causato un notevole aumento della domanda globale di acqua. In alcune zone del mondo dove scarseggia la risorsa idrica è indispensabile andare a purificare le acque salmastre o marine per colmare il deficit idrico. Motivo per cui è costantemente attiva la ricerca di nuove tecnologie più prestazionali e maggiormente sostenibili per la desalinizzazione dell’acqua salata presente sulla terra. Negli ultimi anni sta ricevendo un significativo interesse scientifico una nuova tecnologia basata su dispositivi elettrochimici (batterie e super condensatori): la deionizzazione capacitiva (CDI). In laboratorio è stato assemblato un prototipo di pila CDI a 9 celle costituito da elettrodi in feltri di grafite e ne sono state analizzate le  prestazioni e l'efficienza energetica.

DNA metabarcoding is used to enumerate and identify taxa in both environmental samples and tissue mixtures. The composition and resolution of metabarcoding data depend on the primer(s) used. Markers that amplify different genes can mitigate biases in primer affinity, amplification efficiency, and reference database resolution, but few empirical studies have evaluated markers for complementary performance. Here, we assess the individual and joint performance of 22 markers for detecting species in a DNA pool of >100 species of primarily marine and freshwater fishes, but also including representatives of elasmobranchs, cephalopods, and crustaceans. Marker performance includes the integrated effect of primer specificity and reference availability. We find that a portfolio of four markers targeting 12S, 16S, and multiple regions of COI identifies 100% of reference taxa to family and nearly 60% to species. We then use the four markers in this portfolio to evaluate metabarcoding of heterogeneous tissue mixtures, using experimental fishmeal to test: 1) the tissue input threshold to ensure detection; 2) how read depth scales with tissue abundance; and 3) the effect of non-target material in the mixture on recovery of target taxa. We consistently detect taxa that make up >1% of fishmeal mixtures and can detect taxa at the lowest input level of 0.01%, but rare taxa (<1%) were detected inconsistently across markers and replicates. Read counts showed weak correlation with tissue input, suggesting they are not a valid proxy for relative abundance. Despite this limitation, our results demonstrate the value of a primer portfolio approach—tailored to the taxa of interest—for detecting and identifying both rare and abundant species in heterogeneous tissue mixtures.

Le molecole odorigene presenti nell’aria stimolano i recettori del nostro naso, generando sensazioni fortemente soggettive, legate alle percezioni del singolo essere umano. Tuttavia, quando si parla di emissioni odorigene legate all’attività di impianti, è importante tenere sotto controllo tali quantità emesse, in quanto possono rappresentare una molestia olfattiva se particolarmente intense, frequenti e durature. Per questo motivo nascono gli IOMS (Instrumental Odour Monitoring System), sistemi di monitoraggio di odori, dispositivi intelligenti progettati per essere in grado di misurare la presenza, la tipologia e i livelli di emissioni odorigene provenienti da impianti, così come l’eventuale impatto negativo sull’ambiente e sulla salute umana che essi possono produrre, sia a livello fisico che psicologico. È importante sottolineare, come nell’applicazione della tecnologia IOMS, sia necessario combinare le giuste tecniche, come ad esempio la ANN (Artificial Neural Network) e la LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis), per ottenere dati il più possibile corretti e affidabili. 

We report a four-month-old girl with a right thigh swelling, an eight-month-old girl with a left thigh swelling, and a five-month-old boy with a left thigh swelling with the final diagnosis of BCG-induced cold abscess as a result of erroneous injection of BCG vaccine into the infants' thigh muscle.

Coexisting gallbladder stones, common bile duct stones and Clonorchis sinensis infection is rare. Most radiologists and surgeons have low awareness and diagnostic suspicion of C. sinensis infection before opting for surgery.

Elementi indesiderati presenti nell'ambiente dovuti all'emissioni di odori, risultano essere difficili da valutare, gestire e prevedere e sono considerati inquinanti atmosferici che possono causare impatti negativi sull'ambiente e sulle persone. Si è passati, quindi,  ad adottare una tecnologia sempre più intelligente (IOMS) per riuscire a valutare gli odori emanati implementando,  sopratutto, tecniche di previsione parametriche e non-parametriche andando ad elaborare un efficace Modello di Quantificazione degli Odori (OQMM). Le tecniche di predizione sono: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN); Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARSPLINE); Partial Least Sqare (PLS); Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) e Response Surface Regression (RSR). A seguito di studi, si nota come l’applicazione ANN, tecnica non-parametrica, ci permette di ottenere i risultati migliori.  

Introduction: Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1) utilized for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, has been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular events. However, it is also associated with increased heart rate and reduced heart rate variability. In this study, we investigate the effect of liraglutide in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: TriNetX global research network provided aggregate data for this retrospective cohort study of AF patients on liraglutide that were matched to AF patients not on liraglutide from January 1, 2016, through November 13, 2021. Primary outcomes were all-cause mortality, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, acute heart failure episode, and acute coronary syndrome episode. Results: 16,214 AF patients on liraglutide were propensity score matched to AF patients not on liraglutide. They were matched for demographics, cardiovascular procedures, cardiovascular medications, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and diabetic medications. AF patients on liraglutide were found to have a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.631 – 0.711, p < 0.001). There was a tendency toward lower risk of stroke, acute heart failure, and acute coronary syndrome but was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Liraglutide is associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality in AF patients. These findings are limited due to the retrospective nature of the study. Further examination is needed of liraglutide effect on mortality in AF patients.

The classical Stefan problem, concerning mere heat-transfer during solid-liquid phase transition, is here enhanced towards mechanical effects. The Eulerian description at large displacements is used with convective and Zaremba-Jaumann corotational time derivatives, linearized by exploiting the additive Green-Naghdi’s decomposition in (objective) rates. In particular, the liquid phase is a viscoelastic fluid while creep and rupture of the solid phase is considered in the Jeffreys viscoelastic rheology exploiting the phase-field model, exploiting a concept of slightly (so-called “semi”) compressible materials. The $L^1$-theory for the heat equation is adopted for the Stefan problem relaxed by allowing for kinetic superheating/supercooling effects during the solid-liquid phase transition. A rigorous proof of existence of week solutions is provided for an incomplete melting, exploiting a time-discretisation approximation.

In this article, the modified simple equation method is proposed to solve nonlinear space-time fractional differential equations. This method is applied to solve space-time fractional modified Benjamin-Bona-Mahony (mBBM) equation, the space-time fractional generalized reaction duffing model and the space-time fractional potential Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (pKP) equation. The solutions found are hyperbolic and trigonometric function solutions. Some of these solutions are new solutions that are not available in the literature.

Descending projections from neurons in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) make synapses within the superficial dorsal horn (SDH) of the spinal cord that are involved in the modulation of acute nociception and the development of chronic pain and itch. This projection is believed to be primarily inhibitory but the relative contribution of GABA and glycine transmission is unknown and there is limited knowledge about the spinal targets of RVM-SDH projections. We address this using ex vivo optogenetic stimulation of RVM descending fibres in conjunction with whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from SDH neurons in spinal cord slices. We demonstrate that SDH target neurons have diverse morphological and electrical properties and that RVM inputs onto these neurons are mediated by two inhibitory neurotransmitters, GABA and glycine. Interestingly, one type of SDH target neuron received glycine dominant inputs. These findings confirm that descending RVM synaptic inputs to spinal pain pathway neurons are largely inhibitory show that they involve not only GABAergic but also glycinergic systems. The present study records descending RVM inputs to SDH in isolation and provides mechanistic information about the neurotransmitter systems this input uses to control spinal pain/itch pathways.

Background: Penicillin allergy delabeling initiatives are now part of antibiotic stewardship programs and include the use of invasive and risky in vivo tests. Instead, the quantification of specific IgE is highly useful to confirm immediate allergy to penicillins. However, discrepant results associated to the low sensitivity of the in vitro tests have limited their routine diagnostic use for delabeling purposes. We aimed to tackle a novel diagnostic strategy for specific IgE testing based on a homologous interpolation scheme, using recombinantly produced standards. Methods: Serum samples from a cohort of allergic patients and controls were analysed by a chemiluminescence-based immunoassay, using a bispecific binanobody as standard. The novel standard targets the major antigenic determinant of penicillin G and the paratope of Omalizumab, acting as human-like specific IgE. Results: Testing a cohort of 65 human serum samples, the method achieved a good agreement and strong positive relationship, reaching a limit of detection below 0.1 IU/mL. The sensitivity of the in vitro test significantly increased (66 %), doubling that of the ImmunoCAP reference in vitro assay with an overall specificity of 100 %. Conclusions: The new diagnostic strategy compares favourably with the results obtained on the ImmunoCAP system, paving the way towards the standardization of penicillin allergy testing. The recombinant standards are potent calibrators, highly stable, easy and inexpensive to produce, and overcome the limitation associated with preparations derived from pooled human serum, expediting the production of next generation standards with different specificities to successfully tackle β-lactam allergy delabeling by in vitro tests.

Targeting cancer metabolism has emerged as an attractive approach to improve therapeutic regimens in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Mitochondrial proteases are closely related to cancer metabolism, but their biological functions have not been well characterized in AML. According to different catogory, we comprehensively reviewed the role of mitochondrial proteases in AML. This review highlights some ‘powerful’ mitochondrial protease targets, including their biological function, chemical modulators, and applicative prospect in AML.

Objective No study ever investigated the long-term risk of stroke in women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. The purpose of this study is to explore long-term stroke risks, differentiating subtypes and their time trends. Design Nationwide population-based cohort study Methods Between 2000 and 2017, 1,384,427 pregnant women were registered in the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. After excluding women with previous stroke history and exact matching with all confounders, 6,053 women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia and 24,212 controls were recruited. Main Outcome Measures Hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes after child-birth Results Over the 17-year follow-up, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for stroke in women with a history of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia was 2.05 (95% confidence interval, CI = 1.67-2.52, p<0.001). The 17 years overall risks of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke were 1.98 and 3.45, respectively (p<0.001). The stroke subtypes, hemorrhagic and ischemic, had different time trend risks, and hemorrhagic stroke risks kept higher than that of ischemic stroke. The ischemic stroke risk peaked during 1-3 years after childbirth (aHR=3.09). The hemorrhagic stroke risk peaked during 3-5 years (aHR=7.49). Conclusions Stroke risk persisted even after decades, for both ischemic and hemorrhagic subtypes. Women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia history should be aware of the long-term risk of stroke. Tweetable abstract Both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke risks persisted high even after decades, while their time trend risks were different. Keywords: pre-eclampsia/eclampsia; ischemic stroke; hemorrhagic stroke

For many species, both local abundance and regional occupancy are highest near the center of their geographic distributions. One hypothesis for this pattern is that niche suitability declines with increasing distance from a species geographic center, such that populations near range margins are characterized by reduced density and increased patchiness. In these smaller edge populations, genetic drift is more powerful, leading to the loss of genetic diversity. This simple verbal model has been formalized as the central-marginal hypothesis, which predicts that core populations should have greater genetic diversity than edge populations. However, demographic shifts over time can generate a similar pattern. For example, in species with expanding ranges, populations at the range edge experience serial founder effects, creating a gradient of declining genetic diversity from the range core to edge. Testing the central-marginal hypothesis properly thus requires us to consider the confounding role of historical demography. Here, we account for the role of history in testing the central-marginal hypothesis using a genomic dataset of 25 species-level taxa of Australian skink lizards (genus: Ctenotus and Lerista). We found support for the central-marginal hypothesis in 16 of our 25 taxa, of which eight taxa recovered significant support. Unexpectedly, species with the strongest evidence for range expansion were the least likely to follow predictions of the central-marginal hypothesis. The majority of these species had range expansions that originated at the range edge, which led to lower genetic diversity at the range edge compared to the core, contrary to the central-marginal hypothesis.