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The literature on cognitive distortions offers insight on why we continue to face reform challenges regarding police use of force- and citizen interaction-related outcomes. We used two studies of police officers to determine the extent to which one cognitive distortion—dichotomous thinking—was associated with problematic orientations about use of force and citizen interactions. In Study 1, we found that dichotomous thinking was associated with weaker support for de-escalation, procedural justice, and maintaining self-control during hypothetical citizen interactions. Dichotomous thinking also was associated with more support for force-related misconduct. Study 2 showed that officers who engaged in dichotomous thinking were more likely to perceive an immediate and serious threat from watching suspects in body-worn camera videos. Also, they were more likely to believe suspects had greater ability, opportunity, and intent to cause harm. We discuss the practical implications of these findings for policing and police reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Heifer development is crucial for the optimization of reproductive efficiency in beef production. Heifer development is largely influenced by nutrition. Nutritional status of these heifers can influence immunological responses that are crucial for reproduction. Commercial Angus heifers (n = 9) were utilized, in a pilot study, to elucidate the effects of sampling time (days 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35), pregnancy status, and type of mating on individual cytokine concentrations and cytokine profiles in the vagina following breeding. Results: Cytokine profiles were analyzed using MetaboAnalyst 5.0 and one-way ANOVAs were performed in R Studio to identify differences in individual cytokines based on sampling time, pregnancy status, and type of mating. Cytokine profiles were different (P = 0.05) 7 days after either mating type. Cytokines, IL-1β, IL-17a, MCP-1, and TNFα were different based on the mating type and pregnancy status. Multiple cytokines, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17a, VEGFa, and MIP1α, were different between days regardless of pregnancy status. In conclusion, vaginal cytokines differ based on pregnancy status, type of mating, and time which may be indicative of vital pathways that need to be activated for pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about excessive use of force by U.S. police have led to calls for agencies to move from 'warrior' to 'guardian' policing. 'Warrior' policing embodies an aggressive or coercive approach to law enforcement, while 'guardian' policing prioritises communication, procedural justice and citizen safety. Associations between guardian and warrior policing orientations and use of force attitudes in the U.S. have been found, however the influence of these orientations on police use of force in Australia has not been examined. This study examined the association of guardian and warrior policing orientations with use of force attitudes, threat perceptions and tactical decision-making among Australian officers, through a survey of 183 police officers in Queensland. Regression analyses indicated that warrior policing was associated with greater support for use of force and greater perceived threat in an ambiguous threat scenario, while guardian policing was associated with more restraint in tactical decision-making among Australian police officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policing in the United States is currently undergoing a serious workforce crisis. Drawing on Van Maanen's police socialization theory, we suggest that police recruiting videos provide an opportunity for departments to send clear signals to recruits about their attitudes and values that will improve recruiting. We employ a randomized vignette survey design to test the effectiveness of recruiting videos. Our findings demonstrate that college students indicate a greater willingness to become a police officer when recruiting videos focus on police officers' service to the community. This effect is particularly strong for students who indicate they desire to make a positive change in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policing research and use of force policies have been guided by the continuum model for the past several decades. The continuum specifies a relationship between the amount of resistance a suspect presents and the amount of force that an officer should use to respond to or overcome a given level of resistance. In this paper, we show that resistance alone is an insufficient indicator of the necessity and level of force to be used both conceptually and empirically. We argue for the inclusion of considerations of perceived threat in the analysis of use of force incidents—both in policy and in research. Our analysis also reiterates the importance of police culture in understanding use of force decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic research aimed at measuring changes in officer behaviour typically focuses on agencies' implementation of new training or modifications to policy. However, programmes to change officer behaviour are more likely to be successful when changes in policies are coupled with effective training. This paper reviews the importance of coupling training and policy changes to maximize the chances of modifying an officer's behaviour. As an example, we present results from a quasi-experimental evaluation of a training programme paired with a policy modification regarding the application of an electronic control weapon (ECW). The evaluation used videos of a use-of-force encounter integrated into a pre- and post-survey asking officers for their recommended levels of force in the encounter. Results demonstrate that officers evaluated the circumstance differently after completing the training component and were less likely to recommend the use of the ECW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable evidence that police legitimacy results in beneficial outcomes like compliance, cooperation, and empowerment, scholars have yet to agree on how to define and operationalize legitimacy. Drawing on Max Weber's facets of legitimacy, we developed and tested a measure of "traditional authority," reflecting the possibility that some people legitimate the police more so based on tradition than normative concerns regarding fairness. Confirmatory factor analysis of survey data from a national sample of 701 US adults revealed that our traditional authority items loaded separately from items commonly used to capture feelings of trust, obligation to obey, and moral alignment. Furthermore, although perceived legitimacy appears to flow from perceptions of procedural and distributive fairness regardless of how it is measured, traditional authority is more strongly associated with empowerment of the police. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and urge researchers to replicate and extend our work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little evidence about "what works" in police training. The good news is that training evaluations are becoming more common. As we build this evidence base, we need to explore the factors that predict whether officers are receptive to the training programs they complete. We advance a theory of officer training motivation and receptivity that provides a useful framework for training evaluation and test it using survey data from a group of officers randomly assigned to a long-term, social interaction training program. The results demonstrate that trainees' internal locus of control was associated with their motivation to train. In turn, training motivation was associated with receptivity to the training (i.e., training satisfaction and perceived skill acquisition). Additionally, officers' evaluations of supervisor organizational justice were positively associated with perceived skill acquisition. We conclude the paper by discussing avenues for future refinement and testing of the theoretical framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article explores the intersection of Fourth Amendment standards of proof and the "clearly established" prong of qualified immunity. It illustrates how the juxtaposition of the Court's insistence on a low level of specificity for the development of suspicion and a high degree of specificity for the imposition of liability makes it exceedingly difficult to hold officers accountable for violating constitutional rights. And it offers both a path for future research into the development of suspicion and suggestions for methods that police agencies can use to improve the development and articulation of suspicion. Ultimately, it contends that policing in the 21st century must take seriously the idea that the Constitution is a floor, not a ceiling, and it calls for the development of more rigorous standards for police actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police departments are consistently challenged to serve their communities by reducing misconduct and being held accountable. In the United States, policing reform is best described as déjà vu or Groundhog Day, with high-profile groups organising every few years to list the same recommendations for improving the police. Additionally, reform suggestions are too often countered by the comment, "we have always done it this way." By stark contrast, through the Fitzgerald Inquiry and the work of scholars such as David Bayley, the Queensland Police Service stands as a model for creating sustainable change in policing. In this paper, we compare the experiences of the Queensland Police Service with attempts at reform in the United States to suggest a path forward for reforming policing in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of police legitimacy evaluations is a core component of the legal socialization process. Research has identified many factors that impact peoples' perceptions of legitimacy such as social and ethnic identity, but the role of American identity has yet to be examined. This study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that impact legal socialization by examining the relationship between American identity and police legitimacy evaluations. Using a sample of 2086 adults from the United States, we found that people with a stronger American identity were more likely to believe the police are a legitimate authority after accounting for other known predictors of legitimacy. The results demonstrate that national identity may be play a key role in the legal socialization process and partially shape peoples' evaluations of police legitimacy regardless of the content and quality of interactions they have with the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to provide a theoretical framework for understanding citizens' decisions to complain about the police, this paper suggests that citizen complaints can be viewed as a justice-restoring response and tests six hypotheses using a factorial vignette experiment. The findings indicate that individuals are more likely to complain when they perceive the interaction as procedurally unfair, distributively unfair, and when the outcome is unfavourable. Positive pre-existing attitudes towards the police result in an increased likelihood of engaging in a justice-restoring response. Despite drawing on Tyler's legitimacy theory, these findings differentiate justice-restoring responses from legitimacy by the comparatively greater impact of outcome favourability and the differing direction of the effect of pre-existing attitudes towards the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesized that maternal nutrition during the first 50 d of gestation would influence the abundance of hexose transporters, SLC2A1, SLC2A3, and SLC2A5, and cationic amino acid transporters, SLC7A1 and SLC7A2, in heifer uteroplacental tissues. Angus-cross heifers (n = 43) were estrus synchronized, bred via artificial insemination, and assigned at breeding to 1 of 2 dietary intake groups (CON = 100% of requirements to achieve 0.45 kg/d of BW gain or RES = 60% of CON intake) and ovariohysterectomized on day 16, 34, or 50 of gestation (n = 6 to 9/d) in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Uterine cross-sections were collected from the horn ipsilateral to the corpus luteum, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, sectioned at 5 µm, and stained via immunofluorescence for transporters. For each image, areas of fetal membrane (FM ; chorioallantois), luminal epithelium (ENDO), superficial glands (SG), deep glands (DG), and myometrium (MYO) were analyzed separately for relative intensity of fluorescence as an indicator of transporter abundance. Analysis of FM was only conducted for days 34 and 50. No transporters in target areas were influenced by a day × treatment interaction (P ≥ 0.06). In ENDO, all transporters were differentially abundant from days 16 to 50 of gestation (P ≤ 0.04), and SLC7A2 was greater (P = 0.05) for RES vs. CON. In SG, SLC7A1 and SLC7A2 were greater (P ≤ 0.04) at day 34 vs. day 16. In DG, SLC2A3 and SLC7A1 were greater (P ≤ 0.05) for CON vs. RES heifers; furthermore, SLC7A1 was greater (P < 0.01) at day 50 vs. days 16 and 34 of gestation. In MYO, SLC7A1 was greater (P < 0.01) for CON vs. RES and was greater (P = 0.02) at days 34 and 50 vs. day 16. There were no differences in FM (P ≥ 0.06). Analysis of all uterine tissues at day 16 determined that SLC2A1, SLC2A3, and SLC7A2 were all differentially abundant across uterine tissue type (P < 0.01), and SLC7A1 was greater (P = 0.02) for CON vs. RES. Analysis of all uteroplacental tissues at days 34 and 50 demonstrated that all transporters differed (P < 0.01) across uteroplacental tissues, and SLC7A1 was greater (P < 0.01) for CON vs. RES. These data are interpreted to imply that transporters are differentially affected by day of gestation, and that hexose and cationic amino acid transporters are differentially abundant across utero-placental tissue types, and that SLC7A1 is responsive to maternal nutritional treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simplification of communities is a common consequence of anthropogenic modification. However, the prevalence and mechanisms of biotic homogenization among wetland systems require further examination. Biota of wetlands in the North American Prairie Pothole Region are adapted to high spatial and temporal variability in ponded-water duration and salinity. Recent climate change, however, has resulted in decreased hydrologic variability. Land-use changes have exacerbated this loss of variability. We used aquatic-macroinvertebrate data from 16 prairie-pothole wetlands sampled between 1992 and 2015 to explore homogenization of wetland communities. Macroinvertebrate communities of small wetlands that continued to cycle between wet and dry phases experienced greater turnover and supported unique taxa compared to larger wetlands that shifted towards less dynamic permanently ponded, lake-like regimes. Temporal turnover in beta-diversity was lowest in these permanently ponded wetlands. Additionally, wetlands that shifted to permanently ponded regimes also experienced a shift from palustrine to lacustrine communities. While increased pond permanence can increase species and overall beta-diversity in local areas previously lacking lake communities, homogenization of wetland communities at a larger, landscape scale can result in an overall loss of biodiversity as the diverse communities of many wetland systems become increasingly similar to those of lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policing experts have suggested that shifting from a warrior mindset – officers viewing themselves as warriors fighting crime – to a guardian mindset – officers valuing working with the public to reduce crime – is a valuable method for improving police-community relations across the United States. However, little empirical evidence has been used to inform this debate. To address this gap, we examined survey data from two U.S. police departments to assess the validity of the Warrior/Guardian framework. Factor analyses suggested that the warrior and guardian mindsets are distinct, but related concepts. Furthermore, these mindsets are associated with different attitudinal outcomes (e.g. the guardian mindset was associated with greater prioritization of communication during citizen encounters). Thus, the Warrior/Guardian framework is supported empirically. Overlap between the Warrior/Guardian framework and existing police culture literature is discussed and police culture is offered as a potential explanation for variation in warrior and guardian orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: We conducted a randomized‐controlled trial (RCT) of a social interaction training program to determine its effectiveness in improving attitudes and behaviors among police officers. Survey data and a series of difference‐in‐difference tests found that participating in the training program improved attitudes with treatment group officers placing higher priorities on procedurally fair communication during a hypothetical officer–citizen encounter. An interrupted time‐series analysis of official use‐of‐force reports provided no evidence that the training program altered officer behavior. Policy Implications: Policing scholars and reformers have increasingly called for improvements to police training that emphasize communication and de‐escalation skills. Although many programs addressing these issues exist, evidence of their effectiveness has been scarce. Our findings provide evidence that such training may improve police officer attitudes but perhaps not behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesized that maternal nutrition and day of gestation would influence the abundance of the neutral amino acid transporters SLC1A1, SLC1A5, SLC7A5, SLC38A2, and SLC38A7 in heifer utero-placental tissues. Angus-cross heifers (n = 43) were estrus synchronized and bred via AI. At breeding, heifers were assigned to one of two dietary intake groups (CON = 100% of requirements to achieve 0.45 kg/d gain or restricted heifers (RES) = 60% of CON intake) and ovariohysterectomized on day 16, 34, or 50 of gestation (n = 6 to 9/d). Thus, the experimental design was a completely randomized design with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Uterine cross sections were taken from the horn ipsilateral to the CL, fixed in 10% NBF, sectioned at 5 µm, and stained for transporters. For each image, the areas of fetal membrane (FM; chorioallantois), endometrium (ENDO), superficial glands (SG), deep glands (DG), and myometrium (MYO) were analyzed separately for relative intensity of fluorescence as an indicator of transporter abundance. Analysis of FM was only conducted on days 34 and 50. In ENDO, SLC7A5 was greater (P < 0.01) in CON compared with RES heifers. In SG, SLC1A1 was greater (P = 0.02) in day 16 RES compared with day 16 CON and days 34 and 50 RES. In DG, SLC1A1 was greater (P = 0.02) on day 16 compared with 50 of gestation. In MYO, SLC1A1 was greater (P = 0.02) in day 50 CON compared with day 16 CON and day 50 RES. Additionally, in MYO SLC38A2 was greater (P = 0.02) in day 16 RES compared with day 16 CON and day 34 RES. In FM, SLC7A5 tended (P = 0.08) to be greater in CON vs RES. Analysis of all uterine tissues on day 16 determined that expression of SLC1A1, SLC1A5, SL38A2, and SL38A7 differed across uterine tissue type (P < 0.01); however, only SLC7A5 tended (P = 0.10) to differ and be greater in CON compared with RES heifers. Analysis of all utero-placental tissues on days 34 and 50 determined that SLC1A1, SLC7A5, SLC38A2, and SLC38A7 were greater (P ≤ 0.03) in CON compared with RES heifers. Furthermore, abundance of all transporters investigated on days 34 and 50 differed across utero-placental tissue types (P < 0.01). These data support our hypothesis that maternal nutrition and day of gestation influence the abundance of neutral amino acid transporters in utero-placental tissues from days 16 to 50 of gestation. Additionally, these data combined with previously published works help further elucidate nutrient supply and demands of the maternal and fetal system during early gestation in beef heifers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared projective mapping (PM) with check‐all‐that apply (CATA) with 24 consumers to traditional preference mapping with 257 consumers for evaluation of drivers of liking for brewed black coffees. For the PM exercise, black coffee consumers (n = 24) evaluated 11 coffees and placed them on a two‐dimensional plane based on similarities and then selected attributes from a provided list (PMCATA) to describe each coffee. These consumers also scored liking of each coffee. PMCATA and liking evaluations were completed in duplicate. A trained descriptive analysis (DA) panel (n = 8) documented properties of the coffees in quadruplicate and black coffee consumers (n = 257) were recruited for traditional consumer acceptance testing. Landscape segmentation analysis (LSA) was applied to trained panel data and consumer acceptance scores. Data from the PMCATA exercise was analyzed using multiple factor analysis (MFA). Consumer groups from the PMCATA exercise were differentiated by preferences for light or dark roast attributes. Similarly, determination of ideal points by LSA revealed that consumer groups were defined primarily by differences in preference for different roast types and roast‐related attributes. Based on the similarities in regard to product characterization and consumer segmentation, these results demonstrate that PMCATA can be an effective preliminary alternative to traditional methods for profiling and consumer preferences of complex products like coffee. Practical application Descriptive analysis (DA) and consumer acceptance testing for preference mapping can be time and cost intensive. This study demonstrates that projective mapping, combined with check‐all‐that‐apply (PMCATA) profiling by consumers, can be used as a rapid method for understanding a product landscape and acceptability of products with particular attributes. It is unlikely that PMCATA will replace preference mapping practices; however, it might serve as an effective alternative for researchers and developers when time or budget is constrained, or as an initial screening step for understanding a product category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A previous study reported that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum enters an altered growth state upon extracellular withdrawal of the essential amino acid isoleucine. Parasites slowed transit through the cell cycle when deprived of isoleucine prior to the onset of S-phase. Methods: This project was undertaken to study at higher resolution, how isoleucine withdrawal affects parasite growth. Parasites were followed at regular intervals across an extended isoleucine deprivation time course across the cell cycle using flow cytometry. Results: These experiments revealed that isoleucine-deprived parasites never exit the cell cycle, but instead continuously grow at a markedly reduced pace. Moreover, slow growth occurs only if isoleucine is removed prior to the onset of schizogony. After S-phase commenced, the parasite is insensitive to isoleucine depletion and transits through the cell cycle at the normal pace. Conclusions: The markedly different response of the parasite to isoleucine withdrawal before or after the onset of DNA replication is reminiscent of the nutrient-dependent G1 cell cycle checkpoints described in other organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A body of literature has demonstrated that the perceived legitimacy of legal authorities is an important predictor of criminal offending. Criminal offending is itself age-graded and good explanations of offending should offer some insight for how it changes as individuals age. This article attempts to address this gap by developing and testing seven hypotheses regarding how legitimacy changes over time. Method: Using panel data from the Pathways to Desistance study, a latent growth model (LGM) for legitimacy examines how evaluations of legitimacy change from adolescence to emerging adulthood as well as what factors influence this change. Results: During the period individuals were involved in the study, the LGM revealed that perceptions of legitimacy increase as individuals progress through adolescence before stabilizing in emerging adulthood. Several theoretical factors were related to individuals' legitimacy evaluations including parental evaluations of legitimacy, family support, emotionality, and self-control. Most importantly, perceptions of procedural justice were found to be related to legitimacy, but this relationship weakened as individuals aged. Conclusions: Evaluations of the legitimacy of legal authorities are, in fact, age-graded. Criminologists should continue to explore the sources of legitimacy evaluations in further developing legitimacy as an important theory of criminal behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the authors' views about police body-worn camera (BWC) programs in America as of 2018, and it mentions the history of BWC usage in the country, as well as the need to identify the measurable goals of BWC programs. BWC video quality and privacy concerns are addressed, along with an effort to reduce police misconduct. It states that reducing the use of force by the police is a key goal of many law enforcement leaders. Police shootings are assessed.

Fall calving (September to October) cows (n = 189 calvings in 5 replications; body weight [BW] = 626 ± 6 kg, body condition score [BCS] = 4.76 ± 0.06) grazing native dormant range were used to determine the effects of protein supplementation on performance and endocrine function of cows and calves. Cows were individually fed either a control (CON; 1.82 kg/d of 38% crude protein [CP]) or restricted (RES; 0.2 kg/d of 8% CP) protein supplement from mid-November to mid-March for 6 consecutive years. During each year, cows were reassigned dietary treatments according to calving date and BCS, and half of the CON and half of the RES cows remained on the same diets as the previous year and the other halves were assigned to the other diet. Statistical analyses were performed with the general linear model procedure utilizing a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement and a complete randomized design. Cows on CON diets lost less BW from November to January compared with RES cows (-25.9 ± 2.6 and -45.0 ± 2.6 kg, respectively; P < 0.001). Protein supplementation increased plasma concentrations of insulin of CON compared with RES cows during treatment (P < 0.05). Calf birth weight did not differ between prenatal supplemention of CON and RES (P = 0.87). A prenatal x postnatal effect was detected for BW of calves; prenatal RES and postnatal CON calves (RES-CON; 189.4 ± 4.2, P = 0.05) had greater 205-d adjusted weaning weights compared with prenatal RES and postnatal RES (RES-RES) and prenatal CON and postnatal RES (CON-RES) calves (163.0 ± 4.2 and 177.8 ± 4.2 kg, respectively). There was a prenatal x postnatal effect on gain of calves from January to weaning (P = 0.05); RES-CON gained more than RES-RES and CON-RES calves. Adjusted yearling 365-d BW was least (P = 0.02) for RES-RES calves. Prenatal protein supplementation of cows decreased (P = 0.03) final BW of calves at harvest (23 mo). Prenatal and postnatal supplementation of cows did not influence carcass characteristics of calves (P > 0.10). In conclusion, increasing protein supplementation of fall calving beef cows from November to March, during breeding and early pregnancy, reduced BW loss of cows, decreased the interval from calving to pregnancy, increased plasma concentrations of insulin in December, January, and March, and increased plasma insulin-like growth factor-I in December without alteration in pregnancy rate. Reduced protein supplementation prenatally increased BW of calves at harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We hypothesize that syncytin-Rum1, bovine endogenous retrovirus-K1 (BERV-K1), pregnancy-specific protein-B (PSP-B), and interferon-τ (IFN-τ) will be influenced by maternal nutrient restriction and be differentially expressed during key stages (day 16, 34, and 50) of the establishment of gestation when fed to meet industry standards. Commercial crossbred heifers (n = 49) were maintained on a total mixed ration and supplemented with dried distillers grains with solubles. All heifers were subjected to 5-d CO-Synch + CIDR estrus synchronization protocol. Non-pregnant, non-bred control (NP-NB) heifers (n = 6) were ovariohysterectomized on day 16, and the remaining heifers were AI to a single Angus sire (day of breeding = day 0). On the day of breeding, heifers were randomly assigned to dietary treatments. One half were assigned to control treatment (CON) targeted to gain 0.45 kg/d, and the remaining half were assigned to restricted treatment (RES), which received 60% of control diets. Heifers were subjected to ovariohysterectomy on day 16, 34, or 50 of gestation. Utero-placental tissues were obtained from the uterine horn ipsilateral (P) and contralateral (NP) to the corpus luteum and separated into maternal caruncle (CAR), maternal endometrium, inter-caruncle, (ICAR), and fetal membrane (FM). There were no interactions between stage of gestation and nutritional treatment for syncytin-Rum1 or PSP-B (P > 0.22). Expression of BERV-K1 was influenced by a treatment x stage of gestation interaction (P = 0.03) in NP-CAR. On day 50, heifers fed the CON diet had greater BERV-K1 expression compared with CON heifers on day 16 and 34 and RES heifers at all sampling time points. There was a treatment x stage of gestation interaction (P < 0.01) for IFN-τ in FM tissue. On 16 d, mRNA expression of IFN-τ was greater (P < 0.01) compared with day 34 and 50 for both CON and RES heifers, but RES FM had greater (P < 0.01) IFN-τ expression compared with CON FM. In P-CAR, PSP-B expression increased (P < 0.01) by 18 000-fold on day 50 compared with NP-NB heifers. In P-ICAR, expression of syncytin-Rum1 in P-ICAR was greater (P = 0.01) on day 16 with a 14.14-fold increase compared with relative expression on day 34 and 50; whereas, PSP-B was increased (P < 0.01) on day 34 and 50 compared with day 16. In conclusion, 40% nutrient restriction had limited influence on mRNA of ERVs, PSP-B, and IFN-τ but stage of gestation differences reinforced the importance of these genes during the establishment of pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent study by Campelo Morillo et al. has shown that one of the small number of non-ApiAP2 DNA-binding proteins in the Plasmodium falciparum genome acts as a transcription factor in the gametocytogenesis cascade and is responsible for the gametocyte's distinctive morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation in risky lifestyles is a well-established predictor of victimization. Several variables have been identified as key predictors of risky activities (e.g., low self-control) but there may be additional sources not considered in the literature to date. We argue that perceptions of procedural unfairness represent a break in social control, thereby opening the door for participation in risky lifestyles that are conducive to victimization. Using three waves of data from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program, we demonstrated that police procedural injustice was positively associated with risky lifestyles, which partially mediated the relationship between procedural injustice and violent victimization. This study advances the literature by demonstrating that our understanding of victimization is enhanced by including procedural injustice into its explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of legal actor legitimacy have important implications for criminal behaviour. While the link between perceptions of legitimacy and legal compliance has been well established, the sources of legitimacy evaluations are less clear. Drawing from the literature on legal socialization, we examined whether parents’ perceptions of the legitimacy of criminal justice authority figures influenced those same attitudes in their children. Using three waves of data from the Pathways to Desistance study, we showed that parents’ perceptions of legitimacy significantly predicted perceptions of legitimacy in their children. These effects remained robust across different model and sample specifications. Our findings have important implications for how we think about legal socialization—namely, the importance of fair and respectful legal actor behaviour across generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal consent decrees have been a method of police reform available to the federal government since the 1990s. The consent decree process has been shrouded in secrecy for many years. Recently, the methods and data have become available allowing for more detailed analyses of the objectives and outcomes of these agreements. As a result, several reviews of consent decrees have been conducted, noting the successes and failures. Overall, consent decrees are successful in the short term but have not been sustainable. With the changing political landscape, consent decrees may not be available in the near future, and efforts will revert back to the individual agencies and their political entities. This special issue provides a window into the inner-workings of consent decrees through the perspectives of individuals who are involved with them. The authors of the articles are all involved with consent decrees and are reporting their experiences and assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategicsupply chain optimization (SCO) problems are often modeledas two-stage optimization problems, in which the first-stage variablesrepresent decisions on the development of the supply chain and thesecond-stage variables represent decisions on the operations of thesupply chain. When uncertainty is explicitly considered, the problembecomes an intractable infinite-dimensional optimization problem,which is usually solved approximately using a scenario or a robustapproach. This article proposes a novel synergy of the scenario androbust approaches for strategic SCO under uncertainty. Two formulationsare developed, namely, naïve robust scenario formulation andaffinely adjustable robust scenario formulation. It is shown thatboth formulations can be reformulated into tractable deterministicoptimization problems if the uncertainty is bounded by the infinitynorm and the uncertain equality constraints can be reformulated intodeterministic constraints without any assumption about the uncertaintyregion. Case studies of a classical farm planning problem and an energyand bioproduct SCO problem demonstrate the advantages of the proposedformulations over the classical scenario formulation. The proposedformulations not only can generate solutions with guaranteed feasibilityor indicate infeasibility of a problem, but also can achieve optimalexpected economic performance with smaller numbers of scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments demonstrating the feasibility of genetically modifying mosquito vectors to impair their ability to transmit the malaria parasite have been known for well over a decade. However, means to spread resistance or population control genes into wild mosquito populations remains an unsolved challenge. Two recent reports give hope that CRISPR technology may allow such challenge to be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The embryo must create an immunotolerant uterine environment via cytokine signaling to prevent rejection and facilitate embryo attachment. Cytokines have a variety of roles in both reproductive and pregnancy-related processes. Cytokines and chemokines are important in inflammatory pathways for uterine remodeling and recruitment of immune cells during pregnancy. Interferon-γ (INFγ) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFα) influence T-helper cell immune responses, which can assist in early pregnancy establishment. Therefore, we hypothesized that INFγ and TNFα concentrations following breeding will be differentially expressed based on mating type, time, and pregnancy outcome. To test this, we completed two experiments in which INFγ and TNFα were quantified in vaginal fluid samples on d 0, d 7, d 14, d 21, d 28, and d 35 following mating. In experiment one, Angus heifers (n = 9) were used to determine cytokine concentrations in the vaginal environment between d 0 to d 35, and between artificial insemination (AI) and natural mating. In experiment 2, lactating dairy cows (n = 88) were used to determine if cytokines could be used as a potential biomarker for successful pregnancy. All vaginal flush samples were collected via Foley catheter in 20 mL of sterile saline. Statistical analysis was completed in SAS 9.4 to determine differences in cytokine concentrations based on day of gestation, mating type, and pregnancy outcome. In experiment 1, vaginal concentrations of TNFα were least (P = 0.05) in AI-bred heifers on d 35 (1.15 ± 2.97 pg/mL) and intermediate in non-pregnant heifers (4.39 ± 2.97 pg/mL) compared with natural service-bred heifers on d 7 (18.09 ± 2.97 pg/mL). INFγ was increased (P = 0.05) on d 7 following natural service (3.86 ± 0.76 pg/mL) compared with AI (0.86 ± 0.76 pg/mL). TNFα was increased (P = 0.02) on d 7 following natural service (18.09 ± 2.89 pg/ mL) compared with AI (1.93 ± 2.89 pg/mL) and was increased (P = 0.02) by d 7 after a natural mating compared with a pregnancy resulting from AI mating. In experiment two, concentrations of IFNγ were greater (P = 0.04) on d 7 (1.36 ± 0.57 pg/mL) compared with d 8 (0.24 ± 0.57 pg/mL) of gestation. There was also a tendency for TNFα concentrations to decrease (P = 0.09) from d 7 (60.06 ± 26.94 pg/mL) to d 8 (19.67 ± 26.94 pg/mL) of gestation. In conclusion, concentrations of INFγ and TNFα may not be indicative of a viable embryo or pregnancy outcome but do differ based on day of gestation and mating type, which may aid in understanding the role these cytokines play during early gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the anticipated population growth by 2050, the demand for high-quality protein for human consumption is set to rise. To enhance the sustainability of U.S. cattle production, producers and researchers have traditionally concentrated on improving the feed efficiency of steers through advancements in genetics, nutrition, and microbiome tools, resulting in a more marketable beef product. However, without successful pregnancies, there would be no marketable animals to feed. Despite extensive research on hormonal impacts on cattle physiology, including nutrition and reproduction, there is limited knowledge about how the rumen microbial environment is impacted by pregnancy and feed efficiency in female beef cattle. Understanding the rumen microbiome's role in feed efficiency and its response to hormonal changes during pregnancy is crucial for advancing sustainable beef cattle production. Therefore, this review highlights the importance of understanding the microbial dynamics in the rumen of pregnant beef females. Although progress has been made, gaps remain in understanding how varying nutritional requirements throughout pregnancy affect the rumen microbiome, highlighting the need for continued research. Addressing these areas will lead to more efficient and sustainable cattle production practices, benefiting beef production and contributing to global food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hydrogeologic setting and climate greatly influence wetland hydrology and community composition. • Aquatic-invertebrate communities shift in response to climate-driven changes in open-water area. • Biotic interactions had minimal effect on aquatic-macroinvertebrate community composition. • Climate change will likely lead to significant shifts in the communities of depressional wetlands. Interactions between climate and hydrogeologic settings contribute to the hydrologic and chemical variability among depressional wetlands, which influences their aquatic communities. These interactions and resulting variability have led to inconsistent results in terms of identifying reliable predictors of aquatic-macroinvertebrate community composition for depressional wetlands. This is especially true in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America where, in addition to pronounced climate variability, studies are often confounded by fish introductions. We used environmental monitoring data collected over a 24-year period from a complex of sixteen depressional wetlands and structural equation modeling techniques that incorporated theoretical and empirical relationships outlined in the Wetland Continuum to identify key environmental (climate and hydrogeologic setting) and biotic (competition and predation) drivers of aquatic-macroinvertebrate community composition for prairie-pothole wetlands. Uplands in the study area were primarily native prairie, thus, embedded wetlands were impacted minimally by agricultural influences. Additionally, study wetlands were predominately fishless. In the absence of the overwhelming influence of fishes, major drivers influencing aquatic-macroinvertebrate communities were revealed through the use of data spanning multidecadal-long climate cycles. We found variables related to the placement of wetlands along axes of the Wetland Continuum, e.g., hydrogeologic setting (relative wetland elevation) and hydroclimatic setting (proportion of wetland ponded), to be influential drivers of within-wetland habitat characteristics, such as the proportion of open-water area, which in turn was the strongest predictor of macroinvertebrate community composition. In contrast, predatory invertebrate and salamander abundance and non-predatory invertebrate biomass (i.e., predation and competition) were found to have minimal influence on community composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria parasites have a complex life cycle that includes specialized stages for transmission between their mosquito and human hosts. These stages are an understudied part of the lifecycle yet targeting them is an essential component of the effort to shrink the malaria map. The human parasite Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the majority of deaths due to malaria. Our goal was to generate transgenic P. falciparum lines that could complete the lifecycle and produce fluorescent transmission stages for more in-depth and high-throughput studies. Using zinc-finger nuclease technology to engineer an integration site, we generated three transgenic P. falciparum lines in which tdtomato or gfp were stably integrated into the genome. Expression was driven by either stage-specific peg4 and csp promoters or the constitutive ef1a promoter. Phenotypic characterization of these lines demonstrates that they complete the life cycle with high infection rates and give rise to fluorescent mosquito stages. The transmission stages are sufficiently bright for intra-vital imaging, flow cytometry and scalable screening of chemical inhibitors and inhibitory antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this review is maternal nutrition during the periconceptual period and offspring developmental outcomes in beef cattle, with an emphasis on the first 50 d of gestation, which represents the embryonic period. Animal agriculture in general, and specifically the beef cattle industry, currently faces immense challenges. The world needs to significantly increase its output of animal food products by 2050 and beyond to meet the food security and agricultural sustainability needs of the rapidly growing human population. Consequently, efficient and sustainable approaches to livestock production are essential. Maternal nutritional status is a major factor that leads to developmental programming of offspring outcomes. Developmental programming refers to the influence of pre-and postnatal factors, such as inappropriate maternal nutrition, that affect growth and development and result in long-term consequences for health and productivity of the offspring. In this review, we discuss recent studies in which we and others have addressed the questions, "Is development programmed periconceptually?" and, if so, "Does it matter practically to the offspring in production settings?" The reviewed studies have demonstrated that the periconceptual period is important not only for pregnancy establishment but also may be a critical period during which fetal, placental, and potentially postnatal development and function are programmed. The evidence for fetal and placental programming during the periconceptual period is strong and implies that research efforts to mitigate the negative and foster the positive benefits of developmental programming need to include robust investigative efforts during the periconceptual period to better understand the implications for life-long health and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative stable states are nontransitory states within which communities can exist. However, even highly dynamic communities can be viewed within the framework of stable‐state theory if an appropriate "ecologically relevant" time scale is identified. The ecologically relevant time scale for dynamic systems needs to conform to the amount of time needed for a system's community to complete an entire cycle through its normal range of variation. For some systems, the ecologically relevant period can be relatively short (eg, tidal systems), for others it can be decadal (eg, prairie wetlands). We explore the concept of alternative stable states in unstable systems using the highly dynamic wetland ecosystems of North America's Prairie Pothole Region. The communities in these wetland ecosystems transition through multiple states in response to decadal‐long climate oscillations that cyclically influence ponded‐water depth, permanence, and chemistry. The perspective gained by considering dynamic systems in the context of stable‐state theory allows for an increased understanding of how these systems respond to changing drivers that can push them past tipping points into alternative states. Incorporation of concepts inherent to stable‐state theory has been suggested as a key scientific element upon which to base sustainable environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the hypothesis that maternal nutrition and day of gestation would affect the concentrations of AAs and hexoses in bovine utero-placental fluids and maternal serum from days 16 to 50 of gestation. Forty-nine cross-bred Angus heifers were bred via artificial insemination and fed a control diet (CON = 100% of requirements for growth) or a restricted diet (RES = 60% of CON) and ovariohysterectomized on days 16, 34, or 50 of gestation; nonpregnant controls were not bred and ovariohysterectomized on day 16 of the synchronized estrous cycle. The resulting design was a completely randomized design with a 2 × 3 factorial + 1 arrangement of treatments. Maternal serum, histotroph, allantoic fluid, and amniotic fluid were collected at time of ovariohysterectomy. Samples were then analyzed for concentrations of AAs and intermediary metabolites: alanine (Ala), arginine, asparagine (Asn), aspartate (Asp), citrulline, cysteine, glutamine, glutamate (Glu), glycine (Gly), histidine, isoleucine, leucine (Leu), lysine, methionine (Met), ornithine, phenylalanine (Phe), proline (Pro), serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), tryptophan, tyrosine (Tyr), and valine (Val). The concentrations of Gly, Ser, and Thr in maternal serum were greater (P ≤ 0.05) in CON compared with RES. Furthermore, day of gestation affected (P ≤ 0.05) concentrations of Asn, Glu, Phe, Thr, and Tyr in maternal serum. Status of maternal nutrition affected the Asp concentration of histotroph where RES was greater (P = 0.02) than CON. In histotroph, Ala, Leu, Met, and Val concentrations were greater (P ≤ 0.05) on day 50 compared with day 16. Additionally, Glu and Pro concentrations in histotroph were greater (P < 0.01) on days 34 and 50 compared with day 16. A day × treatment interaction was observed for the concentration of Val in allantoic fluid where day 34 CON was greater (P = 0.05) than all other days and nutritional treatments. In addition, the concentration of Gln in amniotic fluid experienced a day × treatment interaction where day 34 RES was greater (P ≤ 0.05) than day 34 CON, which was greater (P ≤ 0.05) than day 50 CON and RES. These data support our hypothesis that day of gestation and maternal nutrition affect the concentrations of various neutral and acidic AA in beef heifer utero-placental fluids and maternal serum from days 16 to 50 of gestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating organisms' responses to environmental variables and taxon associations across broad spatial scales is vital for predicting their responses to climate change. Macroinvertebrates play a major role in wetland processes, but studies simultaneously exploring both community structure and community trait responses to environmental gradients are still lacking. We compiled a global dataset (six continents) from 756 depressional wetlands, including the occurrence of 96 macroinvertebrate families, their phylogenetic tree, and 19 biological traits. Using Bayesian hierarchical joint species distribution models (JSDMs), we estimated macroinvertebrate associations and compared the influences of local and climatic predictors on both individual macroinvertebrate families and their traits. While macroinvertebrate families were mainly related to broad‐scale factors (maximum temperature and precipitation seasonality), macroinvertebrate traits were strongly related to local wetland hydroperiod. Interestingly, macroinvertebrate families and traits both showed positive and negative associations to the same environmental variables. As expected, many macroinvertebrate family occurrences were positively associated with temperature, but a few showed the opposite pattern and were found in cooler or montane regions. We also found that wetland macroinvertebrate communities would likely be affected by changing climates through alterations in traits related to precipitation seasonality, temperature seasonality, and wetland area. Temperature increases may negatively affect collector and shredder functional groups. A decrease in precipitation could lead to reductions in wetland area benefiting drought‐tolerant macroinvertebrates, but it may negatively affect macroinvertebrates lacking those adaptations. Wetland processes may be compromised through broad‐scale environmental changes altering macroinvertebrate family distributions and local hydroperiod shifts altering organism traits. Our complementary family‐based and trait‐based approaches elucidate the complex effects that climate change may produce on wetland ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood chemistry may provide indicators to greater feed efficient cattle. As a side objective to previous research, 17 Angus heifers approximately two years old underwent a feed efficiency trial to determine residual feed intake (RFI) and identify variation in blood chemistry in beef cattle divergent in feed efficiency. Heifers were categorized as high- or low-RFI based ± 0.25 standard deviations around mean RFI. Blood samples were analyzed using an i-STAT handheld blood analyzer to measure sodium, potassium, glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, hematocrit, and hemoglobin. BUN was greater in high-RFI heifers (µ = 8.7 mg/dL) contrasted to low-RFI heifers (µ = 6.5 mg/dL; P = 0.01), whereas glucose was greater in low-RFI heifers (µ = 78.1 mg/dL) contrasted to high-RFI heifers (µ = 82.0 mg/dL; P = 0.05). No other blood chemistry parameters differed by RFI. The greater abundance of BUN in high-RFI heifers may indicate inefficient utilization of protein or mobilization of tissue protein for non-protein use. Greater blood glucose concentrations in low-RFI heifers may indicate greater utilization of energy precursors, such as volatile fatty acids, or metabolites. These data suggest there are readily measurable indicators of physiological variation in nutrient utilization; however, this warrants additional studies to explore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Replacement heifer development is a critical component in beef production. The identification of the ideal uterine environment will greatly benefit reproductive efficiency. Additionally, the elucidation of how diet can influence this environment could alter management strategies. Therefore, our hypothesis was that different levels of protein supplementation would affect the uterine environment of beef heifers without inhibiting development or the ability to conceive. Supplemental protein did not greatly affect the uterine environment as it pertained to amino acid concentrations. However, uterine amino acid concentrations did change throughout development, and protein supplementation can influence uterine luminal fluid composition on d 14 post-insemination, which may affect conception rates. Replacement heifer development is one of the most critical components in beef production. The composition of the ideal uterine environment could maximize fertility and reproductive efficiency. Our hypothesis was that protein supplementation would affect the uterine environment of beef heifers without inhibiting development or reproduction. To test the effects of dietary supplementation on these outcomes, a randomized complete block design with repeated measures was implemented. Angus heifers (n = 60) were blocked by body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to one of three supplemental protein treatment groups (10% (CON), 20% (P20), and 40% (P40)). Mixed model ANOVAs were used to determine whether protein supplementation treatments, time, and the interaction or protein supplementation, semen exposure, and the interaction influenced uterine luminal fluid (ULF) and pregnancy outcomes. Amino acids (AAs) were impacted (p < 0.001), specifically, the essential AAs: Arg, Iso, Leu, Val, His, Lys, Met, Phe, Trp. Protein supplementation influenced multiple AAs post-insemination: Arg (p = 0.03), CC (p = 0.05), 1-MH (p = 0.001), and Orn (p = 0.03). In conclusion, protein supplementation did not affect the reproductive development via puberty attainment or the timing of conception even with alterations in growth. However, uterine AA concentrations did change throughout development and protein supplementation influenced ULF d 14 post-insemination, which may affect the conception rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk production has doubled from 1970 to 2009 but has been associated with a decline in fertility. Around 25% of failed pregnancies in dairy cattle are due to embryonic loss. Mineral bioavailability may affect embryonic retention, so we hypothesized that Zn, Cu, and Mn sources will influence systemic immunological status, which affects early embryonic retention. Holstein cows (n = 58) were randomly assigned to one of two daily oral drench trace mineral (Zn, Cu, and Mn) treatments 30 d before breeding (d -30): 1) Inorganic (ITM) or 2) Metal Methionine Hydroxy Analog Chelate (MMHAC). Before treatments began, cows were assigned to a semen type, beef vs. Holstein, equally, across treatments. All cows underwent a double Ovsynch protocol and were artificially inseminated on d 0. Humoral immunological status was assessed in serum samples taken on d 0 and d 7. Immune activity was quantified via a D2Dx systemic immunity score, which assesses samples for the presence of IgG, IgM, cytokines, and complement proteins. Ultrasonography was utilized for pregnancy confirmation on d 35, classifying cows as pregnant (P) or open. Progesterone analysis from d 21 plasma was used to categorize open cows as either non-pregnant (NP) or early embryonic loss (EEL). Statistical analyses in R Studio were completed, in two models based on pregnancy (P vs EEL and NP vs EEL), to determine the effects of mineral treatment, pregnancy status, semen type, and all interactions on humoral immune status. In the P vs EEL model, there were no effects (P > 0.30) of semen type, mineral treatment, pregnancy status, or any interactions on systemic immunity score on the day of breeding (d 0) or d 7. On d 0, cows provided MMHAC had a systemic immunity score of 0.073 ± 0.008 but were not different (P > 0.34) from ITM cows (0.063 ± 0.006). This trend continued on d 7 with systemic immunity scores of MMHAC cows not differing (P > 0.32) from ITM cows (0.055 ± 0.004 and 0.061 ± 0.003; respectively). There was a tendency (P = 0.10) for the three-way interaction of semen type x pregnancy x treatment to influence the immunity score change from d 0 to d 7. Pregnant cows on ITM treatment bred with beef semen had a positive change in immunity score (0.020 ± 0.0085). Whereas ITM cows bred with Holstein semen that underwent EEL had a negative change (-0.015 ± 0.0085); all other means were intermediate. In the NP vs EEL model, there were no effects (P > 0.14) of semen type, treatment, pregnancy status, or any interactions on systemic immunity score on d 0, d 7, or the change between d 0 and d 7. In summary, trace mineral bioavailability tended to affect systemic immunological status in P vs EEL cows but not in NP vs EEL cows, which may allow for the elucidation of immunological status differences during pregnancy establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bull fertility is a major component of reproductive efficiency. One of the many factors influencing reproductive efficiency in bulls is nutrition. Improper nutrition influences physiological features, such as body weight (BW) and body condition scores (BCS), but also increases stress, which can alter the molecular composition of ejaculate. Following a breeding soundness exam and a 21-d dietary adjustment period, mature Angus bulls (n = 6) were randomly assigned to one of two nutritional planes for a 119-d period: 1) restriction (RES; targeted a 1.36 kg/d decrease in BW) or 2) maintenance (MNT; targeted to maintain BW). Body weight and BCS were evaluated every 14 d and feed amounts were adjusted to meet BW targets. On d 73 and 93, scrotal circumference and blood samples were collected for analysis. Serum samples were evaluated for an immunity score using the Nano Discovery D2Dx Immunity Test, that assesses samples for the presence of immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgM, cytokines, and complement. Statistical analyses were conducted using R Studio to determine the effects of day, nutritional plane, and the interaction of day Î nutritional plane on BW, BCS, scrotal circumference, and systemic immunity score. At the onset of treatments, all bulls had a greater (P = 0.008) BW (845.5 ± 17.0 kg) and BCS (6.3 ± 0.15) than on d 73 (BW = 757.2 ± 17.0 kg; BCS = 5.5 ± 0.15, respectively) or 93 (BW = 749.6 ± 17.0 kg; BCS = 5.3 ± 0.15, respectively). According to the experimental model design, the MNT bulls had a greater (P = 0.001) BCS (6.1 ± 0.12) compared with the RES bulls (5.3 ± 0.12) throughout treatment. Body weights were also influenced by treatment with MNT bulls (845.7 ± 13.9 kg) having a greater BW (P > 0.001) compared with RES bulls (714.6 ± 13.9). Immunity scores were greater in the RES bulls (0.03 ± 0.003) compared with MNT bulls (0.003 ± 0.003). However, there was no effect of day or the interaction effect (P > 0.05) on the systemic immunity score. There was also no effect of day, nutritional plane, or interaction on scrotal circumference (P > 0.23). In conclusion, we observed nutritional planes to result in divergent BW and BCS and were influential on systemic immunity scores, which may lead to different seminal plasma compositions and reproductive outcomes. Further analyses are needed to elucidate the effects of paternal nutritional stress on the female uterine response after mating and reproductive efficiency. The authors would like to thank USDA-NIFA-AFRI (#2023-67015-39453) and USDA-NIFA Multi-State Project No. 1019048 for providing funding and support for this research. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extremes in body condition reduce fertility and overall productivity in beef cattle herds, due in part to altered systemic metabolic conditions that influence the intrafollicular and uterine environment. Follicular fluid and serum metabolome profiles are influenced by body composition in women and dairy cattle; however, such information is lacking in beef cattle. We hypothesized that body condition score (BCS)-related alterations in the metabolome of preovulatory follicular fluid and serum may influence oocyte maturation while impacting the oviductal or uterine environment. Therefore, we performed a study with the objective to determine the relationship between BCS and the metabolome of follicular fluid and serum in lactating beef cattle. We synchronized the development of a preovulatory follicle in 130 cows of varying BCS. We collected blood and performed transvaginal follicle aspirations to collect follicular fluid from the preovulatory follicle ~18 h after gonadotropin-releasing hormone administration to stimulate the preovulatory gonadotropin surge. We then selected follicular fluid and serum samples from cows with BCS 4 (Thin; n = 14), BCS 6 (Moderate; n = 18), or BCS >8 (Obese; n = 14) for ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. We identified differences in the follicular fluid or serum of thin, moderate, and obese animals based on multiple linear regression. MetaboAnalyst 5.0 was used for enrichment analysis of significant metabolites. We identified 38 metabolites in follicular fluid and 49 metabolites in serum. There were no significant differences in follicular fluid metabolite content among BCS classifications. There were 5, 22, and 1 serum metabolites differentially abundant between thin-obese, moderate-thin, and moderate-obese classifications, respectively (false discovery rate [ FDR ] < 0.10). These metabolites were enriched in multiple processes including "arginine biosynthesis," "arginine/proline metabolism," and "D-glutamine/D-glutamate metabolism" (FDR < 0.04). Pathways enriched with serum metabolites associated with BCS indicate potentially increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) in serum of thin cows. ROS crossing the blood follicular barrier may negatively impact the oocyte during oocyte maturation and contribute to the reduced pregnancy rates observed in thin beef cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching aim was to examine the relationship of rectal temperature at fixed time artificial insemination (FTAI) on pregnancy outcomes in a typical breeding season with expected pregnancy rates approaching 50% using Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle. This represents a continuum of steps to test the hypothesis that elevated body temperature at or around insemination is functionally important to maximize pregnancy outcomes. Rectal temperature of Bos indicus cattle at FTAI ranged from 37.0 to 40.9 °C; 60.6% were hyperthermic. Positive factors impacting pregnancy outcomes were rectal temperature at FTAI, body condition, and estrus patch scores. Rectal temperature at FTAI was positively associated with pregnancy outcomes (P < 0.0001); per each 1 °C increase pregnancy odds increased 1.9 times (95% CI: 1.4 to 2.6). Highest pregnancy outcomes occurred with rectal temperatures exceeding 40 °C (P = 0.0004). Rectal temperature before FTAI in Bos taurus cattle ranged from 37.8 to 41.8 °C; 43.3% were hyperthermic. Factors impacting pregnancy were rectal temperature at FTAI, estrus activity, parity, and ambient conditions on day of FTAI. Rectal temperature of Bos taurus cattle at FTAI was positively associated with pregnancy (P = 0.0286); odds increased 1.45 times (95% CI: 1.0 to 2.0) per each 1 °C increase. Highest pregnancy outcomes occurred with rectal temperatures at FTAI exceeding 40 °C (P = 0.057). Moreover, positive relationship of rectal temperature at FTAI to pregnancy persisted in estrual females (71.25% of total; P = 0.0408; OR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0 to 2.2). Mindful that 1) elevated temperatures observed in Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle directly promote meiotic resumption of the oocyte in vitro and that 2) in vivo hyperthermia alters intrafollicular components which others have shown to potentiate ovulation and promote meiotic resumption, it is biologically plausible that an acute elevation in body temperature at or around time of insemination is functionally important to maximize pregnancy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leading police scholars and practitioners were asked to reflect on the most urgent issues that need to be addressed on the topic of use of force. Four themes emerged from their contributions: use of force and de‐escalation training needs to improve and be evaluated; new ways of conceptualizing use of force encounters and better use of force response models need to be developed; the inequitable application of force, and how to remediate biases, needs to be more fully understood; and misconceptions about police use of force need to be identified and corrected. The highlighted topics serve as an agenda for future research. Such research should provide greater insight into when, where, and why force is used by police officers, and how it can be applied appropriately. If implemented, the practical recommendations included in the contributions should have a positive impact on police performance, public trust and confidence in the police, and citizen and officer safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of replacement heifers is crucial for breeding success and herd efficiency. Nutritional management can affect not only reproductive development but also the inflammatory status of the uterine environment, which may impact reproductive functions such as pregnancy establishment and development. The study herein evaluated the concentration of cytokines and chemokines in the uterus of heifers supplemented with different levels of protein. Angus heifers (n = 60) were blocked by body weight (BW) and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments based on protein supplementation level: control of 10% crude protein (CON), 20% crude protein (P20), or 40% crude protein (P40). BW, body condition score, and blood samples were taken every 2 wk for 140 d to monitor development. Uterine flushes were performed monthly and concentrations of cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-10, VEGF-α, IL-17A, and IL-36RA) and chemokines (IL-8, MCP-1, MIP-1α, and MIP-1β) were quantified via ELISA multiplex. To test if there were mean differences in cytokines between the treatment groups or over time, PROC GLIMMIX (SAS v 9.4) was utilized. Concentrations of all cytokines and chemokines, except IL-1α, changed throughout heifer development (P < 0.05). Heifers in the P40 treatment group displayed reduced concentrations of MCP-1 (P = 0.007) and tended to have decreased concentrations of IFN-γ (P = 0.06). Cytokine IL-36RA tended (P = 0.06) to be affected by protein level, with the lowest concentrations observed in CON heifers. Most cytokines and chemokines increased following the initial month of supplementation (P < 0.05). The increase in concentrations after 1 mo may indicate an adaptive response in the uterus to diet change. Cytokines and chemokines fluctuated due to physiological changes occurring during development. Further research is needed to determine the influence of nutrition on uterine inflammation and long-term impacts on reproductive function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular basis underlying fetal programming in response to maternal nutrition remains unclear. Herein, we investigated the regulatory relationships between genes in fetal cerebrum, liver, and muscle tissues to shed light on the putative mechanisms that underlie the effects of early maternal nutrient restriction on bovine developmental programming. To this end, cerebrum, liver, and muscle gene expression were measured with RNA-Seq in 14 fetuses collected on day 50 of gestation from dams fed a diet initiated at breeding to either achieve 60% (RES, n = 7) or 100% (CON, n = 7) of energy requirements. To build a tissue-to-tissue gene network, we prioritized tissue-specific genes, transcription factors, and differentially expressed genes. Furthermore, we built condition-specific networks to identify differentially co-expressed or connected genes. Nutrient restriction led to differential tissue regulation between the treatments. Myogenic factors differentially regulated by ZBTB33 and ZNF131 may negatively affect myogenesis. Additionally, nutrient-sensing pathways, such as mTOR and PI3K/Akt, were affected by gene expression changes in response to nutrient restriction. By unveiling the network properties, we identified major regulators driving gene expression. However, further research is still needed to determine the impact of early maternal nutrition and strategic supplementation on pre- and post-natal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of biota at lower latitudes may presage impacts of climate change on biota at higher latitudes. Macroinvertebrate assemblages in depressional wetlands may be especially sensitive to climate change because weather‐related precipitation and evapotranspiration are dominant ecological controls on habitats, and organisms of depressional wetlands are temperature‐sensitive ectotherms. We aimed to better understand how wetland macroinvertebrate assemblages were structured according to geography and climate. To do so, we contrasted aquatic‐macroinvertebrate assemblage structure (family level) between subtropical and temperate depressional wetlands of North and South America using presence–absence data from 264 of these habitats across the continents and more‐detailed relative‐abundance data from 56 depressional wetlands from four case‐study locations (North Dakota and Georgia in North America; southern Brazil and Argentinian Patagonia in South America). Both data sets roughly partitioned wetland numbers equally between the two climatic zones and between the continents. We used ordination methods (PCA and NMDS) and tests of multivariate dispersion (PERMDISP) to assess the distribution and the homogeneity in variation in the composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages across climates and continents, respectively. We found that macroinvertebrate assemblage structures in the subtropical depressional wetlands of North and South America were similar to each other (at the family level), while assemblages in the North and South American temperate wetlands were unique from the subtropics, and from each other. Tests of homogeneity of multivariate dispersion indicated that family‐level assemblage structures were more homogeneous in wetlands from the subtropical than the temperate zones. Our study suggests that ongoing climate change may result in the homogenization of macroinvertebrate assemblage structures in temperate zones of North and South America, with those assemblages becoming enveloped by assemblages from the subtropics. Biotic homogenization, more typically associated with other kinds of anthropogenic factors, may also be affected by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated mock jurors’ (N = 541) perceptions of a hypothetical case of teacher–student sexual contact. Mock jurors read a brief vignette describing an alleged sexual encounter where the gender and age of both the teacher and student were manipulated. Participants rendered legal decisions (i.e., verdict, degree of guilt, and sentence length), as well as culpability judgments pertaining to both the teacher and the student (i.e., blame, cause, and desire for the sexual contact). In addition, the effects of mock juror gender and attitudes regarding both rape myth acceptance and homophobia were investigated. Teacher gender and both teacher and student age predicted mock jurors’ recommended sentences, with male teachers, older teachers, and younger students leading to greater sentences. Overall, student age was most consistently related to multiple culpability judgments, and the culpability judgments regarding the victim were the most consistently predicted by the independent variables. We did not find any evidence of homosexist attitudes, meaning that same-gender teacher–student contact was not judged any differently than opposite-gender contact. Worth noting, we found an interaction such that male students victimized by female teachers were judged to have wanted the contact more than any other gender combination, especially by male participants. The authors discuss these findings in the context of the child sexual abuse (CSA) literature concluding that many of the findings of more prototypical CSA cases extend to the teacher–student context. We also discuss the implications of these findings in terms of gendered judgments of adolescents who are victimized by teachers, possibly decided by legal professionals, school administrators, and jurors themselves. In particular, the three-way gender interaction can be interpreted in the context of stereotypes regarding sexual development marking sexual contact between adolescent males and older females as a “rite of passage” into adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A causative agent of human malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. The malaria parasite is under intensive attack from the mosquito's innate immune system during its sporogonic development. We have used genetic engineering to create immune-enhanced Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes through blood meal-inducible expression of a transgene encoding the IMD pathway-controlled NF-kB Rel2 transcription factor in the midgut and fat-body tissue. Transgenic mosquitoes showed greater resistance to Plasmodium and microbial infection as a result of timely concerted tissue-specific immune attacks involving multiple effectors. The relatively weak impact of this genetic modification on mosquito fitness under laboratory conditions encourages further investigation of this approach for malaria control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]