In this article, we elucidate how elective egg freezing (EEF) has been received within the three Abrahamic traditions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-and how these religion-specific standpoints have affected the EEF experiences of women who self-identify as religiously observant. Through an analysis of religious women’s narratives, the study explores the “local moral worlds” of religious women who chose to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons. It draws on ethnographic interviews with 14 women in the United States and Israel who had completed at least one EEF cycle, and who were part of a large, binational study that interviewed, between 2014 and 2016, 150 women who pursued EEF. These religious women, who were all highly educated, faced a particular challenge in finding appropriate marriage partners. Feeling pressured but still hopeful to marry and create large families, the women used EEF to extend their reproductive timelines and reduce their anxieties. As the study showed, the women reinterpreted or reconciled religious restrictions on the use of EEF in various ways, believing that their ultimate pursuit of religiously sanctioned reproduction justified the means. This study, which is the first to compare Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women’s experiences of EEF, illustrates how this novel technology is now shaping the local moral worlds of religious women. Plastic pollution is among the most pervasive stressors currently influencing the marine environment and affecting even the most remote areas. To date, there are still fundamental gaps in our understanding of the major pathways and fate of plastic debris in the oceans. Here we show that oceanic insular environments are important transitory repositories of small plastic items floating in the open ocean. Monthly monitoring of seven beaches over a three-year period demonstrate that beaches of the Azores islands with particular characteristics can capture significant quantities of fragments between 2 and 5 mm in length. The beach with the highest plastic loading rates was found to occasionally accumulate densities exceeding 15,000 fragments m-2 on part of the backshore. However, a large portion of these fragments can be rapidly washed back into the marine environment. Detailed characterization of those plastic items revealed the typology and size distribution to be similar throughout the seven beaches and through the 33 months surveyed, suggesting a same and unique source. Our results show that these oceanic islands of the North-East Atlantic are under pressure of high quantities of fragmented plastic debris that probably entered the ocean many years ago. A safety assessment was conducted for microbial collagenase (COL) enzyme expressed in Streptomyces violaceoruber. The acute oral toxicity of COL was examined in Sprague-Dawley rats and the LD50 of COL via single oral administration to rats was higher than 2000 mg/kg body weight. A 13-week oral gavage study of COL showed no adverse effects due to the enzyme up to a dose of 234.9 mg total organic solids (TOS)/kg body weight per day (NOAEL). A bacterial reverse mutation test showed no mutagenic activity at the highest dose (4698 μg TOS per plate). In the mouse lymphoma TK assay, a positive result was observed at the highest dose of 4698 μg TOS/mL although it had low reproducibility. To confirm the chromosome aberration potential, an in vivo micronucleus test was conducted that demonstrated the lack of mutagenic potential on the bone marrow of rats at doses up to 1879 mg TOS/kg body weight per day. The results of the genotoxicity studies and acute and subchronic rat studies support the safe use in food production of collagenase produced from S. violaceoruber. Retroperitoneal liposarcomas are rare tumours that carry a poorer prognosis than their extremity counterparts. Within their subtypes – well differentiated (WDL), dedifferentiated (DDL), myxoid (MLS) and pleomorphic (PLS) – they exhibit a diverse genomic landscape. selleck inhibitor With recent advances in next generation sequencing, the number of studies exploring this have greatly increased. The recent literature has deepened our understanding of the hallmark MDM2/CDK4 amplification in WDL/DDL and addressed concerns about toxicity and resistance when targeting this. The FUS-DDIT3 fusion gene remains the primary focus of interest in MLS with additional potential targets described. Whole genome sequencing has driven identification of novel genes and pathways implicated in WDL/DDL outside of the classic 12q13-15 amplicon. Due to their rarity; anatomical location and histologic subtype are infrequently mentioned when reporting the results of these studies. Reports can include non-adipogenic or extremity tumours, making it difficult to draw specific retroperitoneal conclusions. This narrative review aims to provide a summary of retroperitoneal liposarcoma genomics and the implications for therapeutic targeting. In colorectal cancer (CRC), imaging is important in determining tumor stage, selecting treatment strategies, and in assessing response to therapy. However, some challenges remain with established imaging techniques, such as computed tomography, and with some commonly used response criteria, such as Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, which measures change in size of several target lesions instead of change in tumor morphology or metabolic function. In addition, these assessments are not typically conducted until after 8 weeks of treatment, meaning that potential non-responders are often not identified in a timely manner. Regorafenib, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of metastatic CRC, blocks the activity of several protein kinases involved in angiogenesis, oncogenesis, metastasis, and tumor immunity. Timely differentiation of regorafenib responders from non-responders using appropriate imaging techniques that recognize not only changes in tumor size but also changes in tumor density or vasculature, may reduce unnecessary drug-related toxicity in patients who are unlikely to respond to treatment. This review discusses the latest developments in computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography tumor imaging modalities, and how these aid in identifying patients with metastatic CRC who are responders or non-responders to regorafenib treatment.