Clozapine is the only effective treatment for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but concerns over blood dyscrasia and need for monitoring limit its use. Evidence suggests many hematological abnormalities may result from surveillance bias, with agranulocytosis being the primary adverse effect directly induced by clozapine. This systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42024487199) investigates non-genetic risk factors associated with blood dyscrasia during clozapine treatment, focusing on neutropenia and agranulocytosis. Random-effect meta-analyses were performed on studies reporting quantitative risk data. Due to inconsistent neutropenia definitions, analyses used absolute neutrophil count (ANC) thresholds of <2000/mm3, <1500/mm3, and <500/mm3. Forty-four studies were included in the systematic review, 15 in meta-analyses. No significant association was found between agranulocytosis and female gender (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 0.92–2.38; p = 0.106) or age (pooled standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.32, 95% CI: –0.26 to 0.90, p = 0.285), whilst a modest inverse association with clozapine dose (SMD = –0.32, 95%CI: –0.50 to –0.14, p < 0.001) and baseline white cell count (SMD = –0.21, 95%CI: –0.40 to –0.03, p = 0.026) was found. Neutropenia (ANC < 2000/mm3) was positively associated with concomitant psychotropic use (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.13–4.07, p = 0.019). Clozapine rechallenge studies revealed no significant associations with gender, age, duration of initial clozapine trial, or length of discontinuation period prior to rechallenge. No strong predictors of clozapine-associated blood dyscrasia were identified. Findings may be limited by study variability, surveillance bias, and lack of consistent differentiation between agranulocytosis and milder neutropenia, highlighting limitations in current evidence.

Soil biodiversity is crucial to the maintenance of multiple critical ecosystem functions and services. However, remarkably little is known about the conservation status of most soil-dependent species. To better understand the current situation, we determined the number of soil-dependent species listed in the various categories of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Firstly, a definition of soil-dependent species was developed for IUCN Red List purposes, and this definition facilitated the identification of 8,653 currently listed soil-dependent species. These species included 503 invertebrate and fungal species assessed during the current study; these species were chosen as they were based on priorities for the Red List Strategic Plan, and IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Specialist Group interests. We discuss progress and constraints on the IUCN Red List assessment of soil-dependent species worldwide. Our recommendations for the IUCN SSC to improve the IUCN Red List as a source of information on conservation of soil-dependent species are: (1) scaling up of SSC assessment processes for soil-dependent invertebrates and fungi, including establishment of a Soil Biota Working Group, in line with the IUCN Red List Strategic Plan; (2) building closer connections with other organizations and agencies researching and monitoring soil biodiversity; and (3) broader engagement with and education of governments, landholders and the public as to the fundamental importance of the conservation of global soil biodiversity.

Glacier mass-balance modelling relies on parameterizations to distribute meteorological variables such as precipitation and air temperature over glacier surfaces. However, meteorological observations at the highest altitudes are sparse, particularly outside of Europe, which presents challenges for glacier modelling in high-altitude regions such as the central Himalaya. This study utilizes a dense network of weather stations in the Khumbu Valley, Nepal, to derive parameterizations for distributing air temperature and precipitation over the Khumbu Glacier. These parameterizations are then compared to those of the GlacierMIP project. This study finds a seasonally varying temperature gradient less negative than those employed by most models, a precipitation gradient which follows an exponential decay and a modelled annual Khumbu Glacier accumulation of 575±24 mm water equivalent, lower than any of the models surveyed, which overestimate accumulation by between 7% and 41%. Physical, process-based interpretations of the parameterizations suggest that these points of difference with GlacierMIP models are likely common across the central Himalaya. Errors in these parameterizations will lead to errors in modelled glacier responses to climate change.