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Midodrine is an oral vasopressor option that allows for discontinuation of intravenous vasopressors for patients with cardiovascular conditions. It does not have a US Food and Drug Administration-labeled indication for use in children, and there is a paucity of literature in patients ≤6 years of age. This case series describes 2 infants with complex congenital heart diseases initiated on midodrine for augmentation of systolic (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) to increase coronary perfusion. Case 1 was initiated on midodrine on hospital day 19 at a dose of 0.5 mg (0.17 mg/kg) enterally every 8 hours that was eventually increased to 1 mg (0.33 mg/kg) every 8 hours. Case 2 was initiated on midodrine on hospital day 15 at a dose of 2.5 mg (0.49 mg/kg) enterally every 8 hours, and this was decreased to 1.25 mg (0.25 mg/kg) every 8 hours due to high SBP. Both patients were discharged home on midodrine; other than the initially high SBP for Case 2, no other adverse drug events were noted. While midodrine was effective based on clinical response in these two infants, additional studies are needed due to the lack of safety and efficacy in children <6 years of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lyme disease (LD), the most common vector‐borne disease in the United States, typically presents with a localised erythema migrans rash (EM). Left untreated, infection can disseminate to cause severe heart, joint or nervous system manifestations. Summaries of LD surveillance data have been published previously but did not include the frequency, demographic or clinical characteristics of LD cases during pregnancy. Methods: We summarised confirmed and probable LD cases by pregnancy status as reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during 1992–2019. We defined an LD case during pregnancy as one with (1) female sex, (2) age 14–49 years and (3) positive pregnancy indication. We evaluated the frequency, seasonality, age distribution, race and ethnicity, geographic distribution and clinical manifestations of LD cases during pregnancy and cases among non‐pregnant females. We compared proportions using chi‐squared tests. Results: Among 698,876 reported LD cases, 112,002 (16%) were confirmed or probable cases among females aged 14–49 years; 32,301 (29%) were specifically reported as non‐pregnant and 643 (0.6%) (568 confirmed and 75 probable cases) reported as pregnant. Illness onset peaked in June among LD cases during pregnancy, but in July for cases among non‐pregnant females. A higher proportion of confirmed LD cases during pregnancy had only EM rash than did cases among non‐pregnant females (66% vs. 60%, p = 0.019). Conclusions: LD cases during pregnancy are rare. Compared to non‐pregnant females, cases among pregnant females more commonly involve early clinical manifestations. These patterns could suggest earlier detection or more complete reporting of LD cases during pregnancy than their non‐pregnant counterparts. Earlier detection could be due to frequent contact with healthcare or increased self‐advocacy during pregnancy. Prompt antimicrobial treatment is critical for preventing severe disease and reducing risk of adverse pregnancy or birth outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes is among the most prevalent and costly disease states to treat. Many self-insured employers offer employee wellness programs to decrease healthcare expenditures for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes. Existing literature demonstrates that pharmacists can positively impact treatment of patients with diabetes and assist in lowering costs of care, but no current literature examines pharmacist intervention within an employee wellness program over a prolonged period of time. Objectives: To quantify the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) lowering achieved through participation in a pharmacist-led diabetes coaching program within a self-insured company. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted at a self-insured grocery store chain in the Kansas City area with an employee wellness program called Start Now. Patients who enrolled in the Start Now Program for Diabetes Care (SN-DM) between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2021 with at least two documented HbA1c measurements were included in the analysis. Results: A total of 355 charts were included in the analysis. The average HbA1c reduction observed in program patients was 0.61% (P <.001). At baseline, 40% of program patients were considered to have controlled diabetes (A1c <7%) compared with 60% of patients at most recent HbA1c (P <.001). There was no correlation between HbA1c lowering and number of pharmacist coaching visits; however, greater HbA1c lowering was observed in patients with a higher baseline HbA1c. Conclusion: Patients who participated in the SN-DM program achieved a significant decrease in mean HbA1c. More patients were considered controlled at last or most recent HbA1c according to the American Diabetes Association guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV incidence and mortality are increasing in Ukraine despite their reductions globally, in part due to suboptimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage in key populations of people with HIV (PWH) where the epidemic is concentrated. As physicians are gatekeepers to ART prescription, stigma and discrimination barriers are understudied as a key to meeting HIV treatment targets in key populations. Methods: A national sample (N = 204) of ART-prescribing physicians in Ukraine were surveyed between August and November 2019. Participants underwent a series of randomized, hypothetical HIV clinical scenarios and decided whether to initiate or defer (or withhold) ART. Scenarios varied based on 5 distinct CD4 counts (CD4: 17, 176, 305, 470, or 520 cells/mL) and 10 different PWH key populations. Z scores and McNemar's test for paired samples were used to assess differences between key populations and CD4 count. Feeling thermometers were used to assess stigma-related measures toward key populations among physicians. Results: Physicians were highly experienced (mean = 19 years) HIV treaters, female (80.4%), and trained in infectious diseases (76.5%). Patients who drink alcohol (range: 21.6%-23.5%) or use (PWUD range: 16.7%-20.1%) or inject (PWID range: 15.5%-20.1%) drugs were most likely to have ART deferred, even at AIDS-defining CD4 counts. PWID maintained on methadone, however, were significantly (p<0.001) less likely to have ART deferred compared with those who were not (range: 7.8%-12.7%) on methadone. Men who have sex with men (range: 5.4%-10.8%), transgender women (range: 4.9%-11.3%), sex workers (range: 3.9%-10.3%),and having an HIV-uninfected sex partner (range: 3.9%-9.3%) had the lowest likelihood of ART deferral. Increasing levels of stigma (i.e., feeling thermometers) towards a key population was correlated with ART deferral (i.e., discrimination). Conclusions: Despite international and Ukrainian guidelines recommending ART prescription for all PWH, irrespective of risk or CD4 count, ART deferral by experienced HIV experts remains high in certain key populations, especially in PWH and substance use disorders. Strategies that initiate ART immediately after diagnosis (i.e., rapid start antiretroviral therapy), independent of risk group, should be prioritized to truly mitigate the current epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on the impact of the #OrthoTwitter community on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on the careers of orthopaedic surgery professionals and its use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics discussed include the characterization of the extent of the use of the #OrthoTwitter community using Twitter's Academic Research Developer Application Programming Interface, and the opportunity offered by the growth of the community's engagement for orthopaedic surgeons.

In root nodule symbioses (RNS) between nitrogen (N)‐fixing bacteria and plants, bacterial symbionts cycle between nodule‐inhabiting and soil‐inhabiting niches that exert differential selection pressures on bacterial traits. Little is known about how the resulting evolutionary tension between host plants and symbiotic bacteria structures naturally occurring bacterial assemblages in soils. We used DNA cloning to examine soil‐dwelling assemblages of the actinorhizal symbiont Frankia in sites with long‐term stable assemblages in Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia nodules. We compared: (1) phylogenetic diversity of Frankia in soil versus nodules, (2) change in Frankia assemblages in soil versus nodules in response to environmental variation: both across succession, and in response to long‐term fertilization with N and phosphorus, and (3) soil assemblages in the presence and absence of host plants. Phylogenetic diversity was much greater in soil‐dwelling than nodule‐dwelling assemblages and fell into two large clades not previously observed. The presence of host plants was associated with enhanced representation of genotypes specific to A. tenuifolia, and decreased representation of genotypes specific to a second Alnus species. The relative proportion of symbiotic sequence groups across a primary chronosequence was similar in both soil and nodule assemblages. Contrary to expectations, both N and P enhanced symbiotic genotypes relative to non‐symbiotic ones. Our results provide a rare set of field observations against which predictions from theoretical and experimental work in the evolutionary ecology of RNS can be compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between corneal diameter and internal corneal span determined from angle-to-angle distance using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) in an observational cross-sectional patient population comprised of 54 eyes (28 healthy control eyes, ages 0.1 to 11.3 years; 26 eyes with primary congenital glaucoma, ages 0.1 to 3.5 years) from 41 pediatric participants ages 0.1 to 11.3 years (mean age: 3±3 years, median age: 2 years). Methods: Forty cornea photographs with reference ruler and 110 UBM images were obtained. Three observers measured horizontal and vertical corneal diameter and angle-to-angle distance in each cornea photo and UBM image using ImageJ and the average values were used. Main outcome measures were Pearson correlation coefficient, linear regression, mean difference between corneal diameter and angle-to-angle distance, and intra-class correlation coefficients among measurements from all three observers for each parameter. Results: Corneal diameter and angle-to-angle distance had a strong positive correlation horizontally (Pearson r = 0.89, p<0.001) and vertically (r = 0.93, p<0.001). Correlation was consistent regardless of presence of primary congenital glaucoma and participant age. Regression analysis demonstrated a linear relationship between the parameters for horizontal (CD = 0.99*AA+0.28, R2 = 0.81, p<0.001) and vertical (CD = 0.91 *AA+1.32, R2 = 0.85, p<0.001) dimensions. Overall, reliability was good-excellent, ranging from an ICC of 0.76 for vertical corneal diameter to 0.90 for horizontal angle-to-angle distance. Conclusions: Based on the strong positive correlation found between corneal diameter and angle-to-angle distance in our study population, UBM image analysis can be used to accurately estimate corneal diameter from angle-to-angle distance in children with healthy eyes and primary congenital glaucoma. UBM may provide a useful intraocular alternative for estimating corneal diameter and monitoring diseases that affect the cornea in infants and children, such as congenital glaucoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of deposition technique and post deposition treatment can significantly influence the performance of organic electronic devices by altering the complex relationship between film properties and charge transport. Herein, the influence of deposition method and post deposition thermal annealing on the thin‐film properties of an emerging semiconductor, bis(tri‐n‐propylsilyl oxide) SiPc ((3PS)2‐SiPc), is examined by polarized Raman microscopy. Comparing physical vapor deposition (PVD) and spin‐coating, the orientation of (3PS)2‐SiPc molecules in films is determined and further characterized by X‐ray diffraction to assess variations in microstructure and morphology due to thermal annealing. Despite differences in film formation, non‐annealed organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) fabricated by PVD and spin‐coating resulted in similar electron mobilities (μe) on the order of 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1 and threshold voltages (VT) of 10–20 V. Films fabricated by PVD annealed at 175 °C transition to a new polymorphic form with molecules aligned at a higher angle to the substrate and exhibiting reduced device performance. Conversely, spin‐coated films do not undergo any new polymorph formation or structural reorganization with thermal annealing. PVD fabricated films are thus more readily able to undergo transformations to structure and morphology with post deposition processing, while the microstructure of spin‐coated films is established at the time of deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many areas of science and medicine would benefit from selective release of drugs in specific regions. Nanoparticle drug carriers activated by focused ultrasound—remotely applied, depth-penetrating energy—may provide such selective interventions. Here, we developed stable, ultrasound-responsive nanoparticles that can be used to release drugs effectively and safely in non-human primates. The nanoparticles were used to release propofol in deep brain visual regions. The release reversibly modulated the subjects' visual choice behavior and was specific to the targeted region and to the released drug. Gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging suggested an intact blood-brain barrier. Blood draws showed normal clinical chemistry and hematology. In summary, this study provides a safe and effective approach to release drugs on demand in selected deep brain regions at levels sufficient to modulate behavior. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical and horizontal rhythms are crucial aspects of a dynamic golf swing, and the two-step swing drills (TSSD) were specifically designed to promote rhythmic unloading and loading of the legs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a TSSD training session on the swing rhythm and clubhead speed (CHS) among competitive junior golfers (3.1 ± 4.4 hcp). The driver swings (7 swings each) of 10 competitive junior golfers (aged 15–18) were captured before and after a TSSD session consisting of four stages (lasting less than 45 minutes). Post-TSSD training, there were significant increases in CHS (p < .001), maximum unweighting (p = .006), the trail-side push (p = .009), the horizontal motion ranges of the body and pelvis (p = .005–.031), the upward/downward motion range of the body in the backswing (p = .042/.024), and the backswing/downswing angular velocity peaks of the axle-chain system (p < .033). The stepping-like leg actions primarily facilitated horizontal motion rhythm over vertical motion and unweighting over push in terms of ground interaction. These findings suggest that TSSD can serve as an effective method for developing a rhythmic and dynamic motion pattern while increasing CHS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heliotropes are passive solar hot-air balloons that are capable of achieving nearly level flight within the lower stratosphere for several hours. These inexpensive flight platforms enable stratospheric sensing with high cadence enabled by the low cost to manufacture, but their performance has not yet been assessed systematically. During July–September of 2021, 29 heliotropes were successfully launched from Oklahoma and achieved float altitude as part of the Balloon-based Acoustic Seismology Study (BASS). All of the heliotrope envelopes were nearly identical with only minor variations to the flight line throughout the campaign. Flight data collected during this campaign comprise a large sample to characterize the typical heliotrope flight behavior during launch, ascent, float, and descent. Each flight stage is characterized, dependence on various parameters is quantified, and a discussion of nominal and anomalous flights is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Typically, the fitness of UK firefighters is assessed via submaximal estimate methods due to the low demands on time, money, expertise and equipment. However, the firefighter-specific validity of such testing in relation to maximum aerobic capacity (⁠ V ˙ O 2 max ⁠) and particularly muscular strength is not well established. Aims To examine the validity of submaximal methods to estimate V ˙ O 2 max and maximal strength in operational firefighters. Methods Twenty-two full-time operational firefighters (3 female) completed same-day submaximal (Chester Step Test; CST) and maximal (treadmill) assessments of V ˙ O 2 max ⁠ , with a sub-sample of 10 firefighters (1 female) also completing submaximal and maximal back-squat (i.e. one repetition maximum; 1RM) assessments. All participants then completed the Firefighter Simulation Test (FFST) within 2–4 days. Results CST underestimated actual V ˙ O 2 max by 1.4 ml·kg–1·min–1 (~3%), although V ˙ O 2 max values were positively correlated (r  = 0.61, P  < 0.01) and not significantly different. Estimated V ˙ O 2 max values negatively correlated with FFST performance (r  = –0.42). Predicted 1RM underestimated actual 1RM by ~2%, although these values were significantly correlated (r  = 0.99, P  < 0.001) and did not significantly differ. The strongest predictive model of FFST performance included age, body mass index, and direct maximal measures of 1RM and V ˙ O 2 max ⁠. Conclusions Submaximal back-squat testing offers good validity in estimating maximum firefighter strength without exposure to the fatigue associated with maximal methods. The CST provides a reasonably valid and cost-effective V ˙ O 2 max estimate which translates to firefighting task performance, although the error observed means it should be used cautiously when making operational decisions related to V ˙ O 2 max benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Tularemia, a potentially fatal zoonosis caused by Francisella tularensis , has been reported from nearly all US states. Information on relative effectiveness of various antimicrobials for treatment of tularemia is limited, particularly for newer classes such as fluoroquinolones. Methods Data on clinical manifestations, antimicrobial treatment, and illness outcome of patients with tularemia are provided voluntarily through case report forms to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by state and local health departments. We summarized available demographic and clinical information submitted during 2006–2021 and evaluated survival according to antimicrobial treatment. We grouped administered antimicrobials into those considered effective for treatment of tularemia (aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and tetracyclines) and those with limited efficacy. Logistic regression models with a bias-reduced estimation method were used to evaluate associations between antimicrobial treatment and survival. Results Case report forms were available for 1163 US patients with tularemia. Francisella tularensis was cultured from a clinical specimen (eg, blood, pleural fluid) in approximately half of patients (592; 50.9%). Nearly three-quarters (853; 73.3%) of patients were treated with a high-efficacy antimicrobial. A total of 27 patients (2.3%) died. After controlling for positive culture as a proxy for illness severity, use of aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, and tetracyclines was independently associated with increased odds of survival. Conclusions Most US patients with tularemia received high-efficacy antimicrobials; their use was associated with improved odds of survival regardless of antimicrobial class. Our findings provide supportive evidence that fluoroquinolones are an effective option for treatment of tularemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heliotropes are passive solar hot air balloons that are capable of achieving nearly level flight within the lower stratosphere for several hours. These inexpensive flight platforms enable stratospheric sensing with high-cadence enabled by the low cost to manufacture, but their performance has not yet been assessed systematically. During July to September of 2021, 29 heliotropes were successfully launched from Oklahoma and achieved float altitude as part of the Balloon-based Acoustic Seismology Study (BASS). All of the heliotrope envelopes were nearly identical with only minor variations to the flight line throughout the campaign. Flight data collected during this campaign comprise a large sample to characterize the typical heliotrope flight behavior during launch, ascent, float, and descent. Each flight stage is characterized, dependence on various parameters is quantified, and a discussion of nominal and anomalous flights is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photochromic fluorescent proteins (FPs) have proved to be indispensable luminous probes for sophisticated and advanced bioimaging techniques. Among them, an interplay between photoswitching and photoconversion has only been observed in a limited subset of Kaede-like FPs that show potential for discovering the key mechanistic steps during green-to-red photoconversion. Various spectroscopic techniques including femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS), X-ray crystallography, and femtosecond transient absorption were employed on a set of five related FPs with varying photoconversion and photoswitching efficiencies. A 3-methyl-histidine chromophore derivative, incorporated through amber suppression using orthogonal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs, displays more dynamic photoswitching but greatly reduced photoconversion versus the least-evolved ancestor (LEA). Excitation-dependent measurements of the green anionic chromophore reveal that the varying photoswitching efficiencies arise from both the initial transient dynamics of the bright cis state and the final trans-like photoswitched off state, with an exocyclic bridge H-rocking motion playing an active role during the excited-state energy dissipation. This investigation establishes a close-knit feedback loop between spectroscopic characterization and protein engineering, which may be especially beneficial to develop more versatile FPs with targeted mutations and enhanced functionalities, such as photoconvertible FPs that also feature photoswitching properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of pediatric-inspired regimens in the adolescent-young-adult (AYA) and adult populations have resulted improved survival outcomes (Stock et al. Blood 133(14):1548–1559 2019; Dunsmore et al. J Clin Oncol 38(28):3282–3293 2020; DeAngelo et al. Leukemia 29(3):526-534 2015). Nonetheless incorporation of such regimens is limited by increased toxicity to asparaginase. Dosing strategies that reduce the weight-based dose of pegylated-L-asparaginase (PEG-asparaginase) utilizing activity monitoring have been shown to result in better tolerability of these regimens. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of treating adults with Philadelphia chromosome negative (Ph−) ALL with pediatric-inspired regimens that incorporate PEG-asparaginase dose adjustments and asparaginase activity level monitoring. Patients aged 18–65 years initiated on pediatric-inspired regimens utilizing dose-reduced PEG-asparaginase with therapeutic drug monitoring-guided adjustments were included. The screening of 122 patients treated between 2015 and 2021 resulted in the inclusion of 54 patients. The median age of the cohort was 35 years (16–65 years), and median body mass index (BMI) was 30 kg/m2 (18.3–53.4 kg/m2). The 36-month survival estimate was 62.1% (95% CI 48.1–77.7%), and the median overall survival (OS) was 62.2 months (95% CI 35.1–89.3 months). In the AYA cohort, the 36-month survival was 71.2% (95% CI 55.8–91%) and the median overall survival was not reached. Survival was not significantly affected by immunophenotype or BMI. Discontinuation due to toxicity or hypersensitivity reactions was low at 11% and 9% respectively. The encouraging survival outcomes and favorable tolerability of this older population in the real-world setting support the use of individualized PEG-asparaginase dosing with PharmD-guided therapeutic drug monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red fluorescent proteins (RFPs) represent an increasingly popular class of genetically encodable bioprobes and biomarkers that can advance next‐generation breakthroughs across the imaging and life sciences. Since the rational design of RFPs with improved functions or enhanced versatility requires a mechanistic understanding of their working mechanisms, while fluorescence is intrinsically an ultrafast event, a suitable toolset involving steady‐state and time‐resolved spectroscopic techniques has become powerful in delineating key structural features and dynamic steps which govern irreversible photoconverting or reversible photoswitching RFPs, and large Stokes shift (LSS)RFPs. The pertinent cis‐trans isomerization and protonation state change of RFP chromophores in their local environments, involving key residues in protein matrices, lead to rich and complicated spectral features across multiple timescales. In particular, ultrafast excited‐state proton transfer in various LSSRFPs showcases the resolving power of wavelength‐tunable femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) in mapping a photocycle with crucial knowledge about the red‐emitting species. Moreover, recent progress in noncanonical RFPs with a site‐specifically modified chromophore provides an appealing route for efficient engineering of redder and brighter RFPs, highly desirable for bioimaging. Such an effective feedback loop involving physical chemists, protein engineers, and biomedical microscopists will enable future successes to expand fundamental knowledge and improve human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uterine lining (endometrium) regenerates repeatedly over the life span as part of its normal physiology. Substantial portions of the endometrium are shed during childbirth (parturition) and, in some species, menstruation, but the tissue is rapidly rebuilt without scarring, rendering it a powerful model of regeneration in mammals. Nonetheless, following some assaults, including medical procedures and infections, the endometrium fails to regenerate and instead forms scars that may interfere with normal endometrial function and contribute to infertility. Thus, the endometrium provides an exceptional platform to answer a central question of regenerative medicine: Why do some systems regenerate while others scar? Here, we review our current understanding of diverse endometrial disruption events in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents, and the associated mechanisms of regenerative success and failure. Elucidating the determinants of these disparate repair processes promises insights into fundamental mechanisms of mammalian regeneration with substantial implications for reproductive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies the influence of the properties of nanocrystalline -titanium dioxide (ncTiO2) films on the performance of solar cells based on the Organic materials/ncTiO2 multilayer structure. That was investigated using X-ray diffraction, Atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Source-Measure Unit(SMU) under different ambient conditions. The device produced from batch A exhibit better performance compared to the device produced from batch B. The short circuit current, Jsc, increases from 0.03 mA/cm² to 0.22 mA/cm², and the power conversion efficiency, η, from 0.01% to 0.09% in comparison between batches A and B solar cells. That is attributed to the grains of batch A nc-TiO2 having a size of 25 nm and a height of 100 nm, while particles of batch B nc-TiO2 film have a height of 40 nm and a size of 19 nm. These features cause to increase in the resistance and defects throughout the bulk region and interfaces of Batch B solar cells and impact the mechanism processes of charge generation of solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic association studies have identified hundreds of independent signals associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related traits. Despite these successes, the identification of specific causal variants underlying a genetic association signal remains challenging. In this study, we describe a deep learning (DL) method to analyze the impact of sequence variants on enhancers. Focusing on pancreatic islets, a T2D relevant tissue, we show that our model learns islet-specific transcription factor (TF) regulatory patterns and can be used to prioritize candidate causal variants. At 101 genetic signals associated with T2D and related glycemic traits where multiple variants occur in linkage disequilibrium, our method nominates a single causal variant for each association signal, including three variants previously shown to alter reporter activity in islet-relevant cell types. For another signal associated with blood glucose levels, we biochemically test all candidate causal variants from statistical fine-mapping using a pancreatic islet beta cell line and show biochemical evidence of allelic effects on TF binding for the model-prioritized variant. To aid in future research, we publicly distribute our model and islet enhancer perturbation scores across ~67 million genetic variants. We anticipate that DL methods like the one presented in this study will enhance the prioritization of candidate causal variants for functional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methionine is a nutritionally limiting amino acid in poultry diets based on maize (Zea mays L.) grain. Synthetic dietary supplements are available but are costly and not preferred by organic poultry producers. The development of high methionine maize varieties would reduce the need for supplementation. Several approaches have been reported for achieving this goal. Here, we report a novel approach that can produce diverse inbred lines with higher content of methionine than other methods. Inbred lines were developed using doubled haploid technology from a broad‐based synthetic population that has undergone mass selection for grain methionine concentration. Out of 18 randomly selected inbred lines, one was significantly higher in methionine concentration than the high methionine check and 11 were not significantly different from it. The inbred lines developed in this way also exhibited useful genetic diversity for several agronomic and kernel quality traits, including flowering date, and orangeness of the kernel. This approach is an excellent complement to other breeding methods for development of varieties for production of poultry feed. Because the approach does not rely on transgenic technology, the resulting lines are suitable for use by organic producers and are well suited to organic production systems. Core Ideas: Methionine is a limiting nutrient in maize‐based poultry diets and few options exist for organic feed.The high‐grain methionine trait from a selected population was transferred to doubled haploid lines.The lines produced in this study have higher methionine than checks and diversity in other traits.This approach addresses the need of organic poultry producers for diverse high methionine maize germplasm.Breeding populations are more valuable when phenotypic extremes can be readily captured in DH lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Museum funding has become increasingly important as changes in donations and public funding have occurred. Many museums are now relying on admissions fees or other alternative sources of revenue to generate income. Additionally, there has been an extreme makeover of museum restaurants and a proliferation of celebrity chef-owned restaurants housed in museums. These restaurants enhance the visitor’s experience by catering to their social needs, a primary motivation for museum visitation. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature, and in the process, provide a reference for museum operators to consider when establishing museum restaurants and in particular the unique importance of wine programs at museums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is a viral disease that affects horses, cattle, and swine that is transmitted by direct contact and hematophagous insects. In 2023, a multi-state outbreak of vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSNJV) occurred in California, Nevada, and Texas, infecting horses, cattle, and rhinoceros. To identify possible insect vectors, we conducted insect surveillance at various locations in San Diego County, CA, including at a wildlife park. CO2 baited traps set from mid-May to mid-August 2023 collected 2357 Culicoides biting midges and 1215 Simulium black flies, which are insect genera implicated in VSNJV transmission. Insects were pooled by species, location, and date, then tested for viral RNA. Nine RNA-positive pools of Culicoides spp. and sixteen RNA-positive pools of Simulium spp were detected. Infectious virus was detected by cytopathic effect in 96% of the RNA-positive pools. This is the first report of VSNJV in wild-caught C. bergi, C. freeborni, C. occidentalis, S. argus, S. hippovorum, and S. tescorum. The vector competency of these species for VSNJV has yet to be determined but warrants examination. Active vector surveillance and testing during disease outbreaks increases our understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of VS and informs vector control efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer survival has improved for the most common cancers. However, less improvement and lower survival has been observed in some groups perhaps due to differential access to cancer care including prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Methods: To further understand contemporary relative cancer survival (one- and five- year), we used survival data from CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) for cancers diagnosed during 2007–2016. We examined overall relative cancer survival by sex, race and ethnicity, age, and county-level metropolitan and non-metropolitan status. Relative cancer survival by metropolitan and non-metropolitan status was further examined by sex, race and ethnicity, age, and cancer type. Results: Among persons with cancer diagnosed during 2007–2016 the overall one-year and five-year relative survival was 80.6% and 67.4%, respectively. One-year relative survival for persons living in metropolitan counties was 81.1% and 77.8% among persons living in non-metropolitan counties. We found that persons who lived in non-metropolitan counties had lower survival than those who lived in metropolitan counties, and this difference persisted across sex, race and ethnicity, age, and most cancer types. Conclusion: Further examination of the differences in cancer survival by cancer type or other characteristics might be helpful for identifying potential interventions, such as programs that target screening and early detection or strategies to improve access to high quality cancer treatment and follow-up care, that could improve long-term outcomes. Impact: This analysis provided a high-level overview of contemporary cancer survival in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yeast mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathways serve as a model system for understanding how network interactions affect the way in which cells coordinate the response to multiple signals. We have quantitatively compared two yeast strain backgrounds YPH499 and ∑1278b (both of which have previously been used to study these pathways) and found several important differences in how they coordinate the interaction between the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) and mating pathways. In the ∑1278b background, in response to simultaneous stimulus, mating pathway activation is dampened and delayed in a dose‐dependent manner. In the YPH499 background, only dampening is dose‐dependent. Furthermore, leakage from the HOG pathway into the mating pathway (crosstalk) occurs during osmostress alone in the ∑1278b background only. The mitogen‐activated protein kinase Hog1p suppresses crosstalk late in an induction time course in both strains but does not affect the early crosstalk seen in the ∑1278b background. Finally, the kinase Rck2p plays a greater role suppressing late crosstalk in the ∑1278b background than in the YPH499 background. Our results demonstrate that comparisons between laboratory yeast strains provide an important resource for understanding how signalling network interactions are tuned by genetic variation without significant alteration to network structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton transfer processes of organic molecules are key to charge transport and photoprotection in biological systems. Among them, excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reactions are characterized by quick and efficient charge transfer within a molecule, resulting in ultrafast proton motions. The ESIPT-facilitated interconversion between two tautomers (PS and PA) comprising the tree fungal pigment Draconin Red in solution was investigated using a combination of targeted femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) and excited-state femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (ES-FSRS) measurements. Transient intensity (population and polarizability) and frequency (structural and cooling) dynamics of –COH rocking and –C=C, –C=O stretching modes following directed stimulation of each tautomer elucidate the excitation-dependent relaxation pathways, particularly the bidirectional ESIPT progression out of the Franck–Condon region to the lower-lying excited state, of the intrinsically heterogeneous chromophore in dichloromethane solvent. A characteristic overall excited-state PS-to-PA transition on the picosecond timescale leads to a unique "W"-shaped excited-state Raman intensity pattern due to dynamic resonance enhancement with the Raman pump–probe pulse pair. The ability to utilize quantum mechanics calculations in conjunction with steady-state electronic absorption and emission spectra to induce disparate excited-state populations in an inhomogeneous mixture of similar tautomers has broad implications for the modeling of potential energy surfaces and delineation of reaction mechanisms in naturally occurring chromophores. Such fundamental insights afforded by in-depth analysis of ultrafast spectroscopic datasets are also beneficial for future development of sustainable materials and optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a new method for processing single-crystal semiconductors designed by a computational method to lower the process temperature. This research study is based on a CALPHAD approach (ThermoCalc) to theoretically design processing parameters by utilizing theoretical phase diagrams. The targeted material composition consists of Bi–Se2–Te–Sb (BSTS). The semiconductor alloy contains three phases, hexagonal, rhombohedral-1, and rhombohedral-2 crystal structures, that are presented in the phase field of the theoretical pseudo-binary phase diagram. The semiconductor is also evaluated by applying Hume–Rothery rules along with the CALPHAD approach. Thermodynamic modelling suggests that single-crystals of BSTS can be grown at significantly lower temperatures and this is experimentally validated by low-temperature growth of single crystalline samples followed by exfoliation, compositional analysis, and diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germ cell development requires interplay between factors that balance cell fate and division. Early in their development, germ cells in many organisms divide mitotically with incomplete cytokinesis. Key regulatory events then lead to the specification of mature gametes, marked by the switch to a meiotic cell cycle program. Though the regulation of germ cell proliferation and meiosis are well understood, how these events are coordinated during development remains incompletely described. Originally characterized in their role as nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling proteins, β-importins exhibit diverse functions during male and female gametogenesis. Here, we describe novel, distinct roles for the β-importin, Transportin-Serine/Arginine rich (Tnpo-SR), as a regulator of the mitosis to meiosis transition in the Drosophila ovary. We find that Tnpo-SR is necessary for germline stem cell (GSC) establishment and self-renewal, likely by controlling the response of GSCs to bone morphogenetic proteins. Depletion of Tnpo-SR results in germ cell counting defects and loss of oocyte identity. We show that in the absence of Tnpo-SR , proteins typically suppressed in germ cells when they exit mitosis fail to be down-regulated, and oocyte-specific factors fail to accumulate. Together, these findings provide new insight into the balance between germ cell division and differentiation and identify novel roles for β-importins in germ cell development. [Display omitted] • β-importin Tnpo-SR is necessary for Drosophila female germ cell development. • Tnpo-SR localizes to nuclei in germline stem cells and mitotically-dividing cysts. • Loss of Tnpo-SR depletes germline stem cells. • Loss of Tnpo-SR suppresses the mitotic-meiotic transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrophenols are a group of small organic molecules with significant environmental implications from the atmosphere to waterways. In this work, we investigate a series of nitrophenols and nitrophenolates, with the contrasting ortho-, meta-, and para-substituted nitro group to the phenolic hydroxy or phenolate oxygen site (2/3/4NP or NP−), implementing a suite of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques that include UV/Visible spectroscopy, femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) spectroscopy with probe-dependent and global analysis, and femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS), aided by quantum calculations. The excitation-dependent (400 and 267 nm) electronic dynamics in water and methanol, for six protonated or deprotonated nitrophenol molecules (three regioisomers in each set), enable a systematic investigation of the excited-state dynamics of these functional "nanomachines" that can undergo nitro-group twisting (as a rotor), excited-state intramolecular or intermolecular proton transfer (donor–acceptor, ESIPT, or ESPT), solvation, and cooling (chromophore) events on molecular timescales. In particular, the meta-substituted compound 3NP or 3NP− exhibits the strongest charge-transfer character with FSRS signatures (e.g., C–N peak frequency), and thus, does not favor nitroaromatic twist in the excited state, while the ortho-substituted compound 2NP can undergo ESIPT in water and likely generate nitrous acid (HONO) after 267 nm excitation. The delineated mechanistic insights into the nitro-substituent-location-, protonation-, solvent-, and excitation-wavelength-dependent effects on nitrophenols, in conjunction with the ultraviolet-light-induced degradation of 2NP in water, substantiates an appealing discovery loop to characterize and engineer functional molecules for environmental applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women in the United States. Previous analyses show that breast cancer incidence increased from 1999 to 2018. The purpose of this article is to examine trends in breast cancer mortality. Methods: Analysis of 1999 to 2020 mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, among women by race/ethnicity, age, and US Census region. Results: It was found that overall breast cancer mortality is decreasing but varies by race/ethnicity, age group, and US Census region. The largest decrease in mortality was observed among non‐Hispanic White women, women aged 45 to 64 years of age, and women living in the Northeast; whereas the smallest decrease in mortality was observed among non‐Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander women, women aged 65 years or older, and women living in the South. Conclusion: This report provides national estimates of breast cancer mortality from 1999 to 2020 by race/ethnicity, age group, and US Census region. The decline in breast cancer mortality varies by demographic group. Disparities in breast cancer mortality have remained consistent over the past two decades. Using high‐quality cancer surveillance data to estimate trends in breast cancer mortality may help health care professionals and public health prevention programs tailor screening and diagnostic interventions to address these disparities. Overall breast cancer mortality is decreasing but varies by race/ethnicity, age group, and US Census region. Using high‐quality cancer surveillance data to estimate trends in breast cancer mortality may help health care professionals and public health prevention programs tailor screening and diagnostic interventions to address these disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thirty-year anniversary of the Barbara Petchenik Children's Map Competition, created by the International Cartographic Association (ICA) in 1993, will be celebrated at the 31st International Cartographic Conference (ICC 2023) in South Africa. It was initiated under the leadership of Professor D. R. Fraser Taylor, then ICA President, and its aim was to promote creative graphic cartographic representation of the world by children. A commemorative UNICEF poster was produced to support the initiative, and over past decades, Brazil has engaged in intensive school mapping work with children and researchers, some of this presented in commemorate books, including Dra. Carla de Sena's new book "Children's Maps: The History of the Lívia de Oliveira Competition" (2021). From 2005, ICA in collaboration with prestigious publishers (Esri Press, SinoMaps, National Geographic Institute of Spain) produced the "Children Map the World" series, which currently counts with six volumes. Submitted drawings are also used in other periodical publications as journals and books published by international and national organizations in different countries. The competition maps are sent to Carleton University Library where they are processed for digital and physical archiving and all the entries are then made publicly available at - https://childrensmaps.library.carleton.ca/. This special anniversary presents as a pivotal moment to commemorate, advance and expand the reach and import of children mapping their worlds. This presentation will review the developments in the Barbara Petchenik Childrens Map Competition over the years, and discuss some exciting new developments and directions for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on the idea of the 'orders of creation' as developed in Emil Brunner's The Divine Imperative (1932) and shows that Brunner's understanding of the orders provides a fruitful theological foundation for conceptualizing Christian vocation and for framing the process of discernment therein. However, the concept of orders of creation is a mistrusted doctrine with problematic historical baggage. A few attempts have been made to rehabilitate the concept of the orders, but a successful revival requires a more thorough reimagining of the doctrine than has been previously attempted. Examining Christian vocation within the framework of the orders of creation, I undertake to reimagine the doctrine of orders as orders of vocation, supplying a definition of vocation as the unifying principle of those tasks which emerge where the will of God intersects with one's familial, economic, political, cultural and ecclesial responsibilities. The orders of vocation serve as a heuristic device that relativizes vocation in light of the particularities of concrete life. All activity within the orders of vocation is inevitably moral activity. Also, the orders of vocation, as opposed to orders of creation, emphasize the perennial necessity of reformation within the spheres of communal life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual assault continues to be a prevalent and consequential experience for university students. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the literature on the academic consequences of the sexual assault for university students. There is currently no comprehensive review of the literature focusing on the academic consequences for university students who experienced sexual assault. This review was conducted based on searches from five databases including Academic Search Complete, Education Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. We identified 13 articles that examined academic consequences of sexual assault during university. Across all studies, sexual assault was associated with more academic problems including lower grade point average, dropping out of university, and self-regulated learning problems. Although the number of articles is small, the results are consistent. Practically, this means that universities, those providing psychological services, and victims themselves need to understand that the consequences are not just physical and psychological but can also negatively impact academic achievement. Our review also identifies limitations in the literature regarding this topic such as methodological concerns, diversity and inclusion concerns, and the need for future work to investigate mediators of the relationship between sexual assault and academic outcomes. We offer recommendations for future research to combat the concerns identified. Development of interventions to support those who experience sexual assault during university necessitates overcoming the limitations identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With age, susceptibility to osteoarthritis (OA) and OA‐related pain and disability increases. Like in OA patients, gait patterns in rodent OA models shift to protect the injured limb during loading. However, unlike in OA patients, it is unknown how age affects gait changes in rodent OA models. In this study, gait compensations following meniscal injury in 3‐, 6‐, and 9‐month‐old rats were evaluated to examine age‐effects of OA‐related joint dysfunction. Rats 3, 6, and 9 months received medial collateral ligament transection plus medial meniscus transection (MCLT + MMT) surgery (n = 8/age group) or a skin incision (n = 8/age group). Postsurgery, rats underwent gait testing at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks. Postmortem, joints were processed for histology to assess cartilage damage. MCLT + MMT rats walked with reduced vertical loading in their injured limbs immediately after injury and throughout OA progression. Compared to sham‐operated limbs, 6‐ and 9‐month MCLT + MMT animals reduced loading in their injured limbs while 3‐month MCLT + MMT animals did not. MCLT + MMT rats also increased stance time on the injured limb compared to the contralateral limb. Additionally, for the MCLT + MMT animals, 6‐ and 9‐month animals had significantly worse cartilage damage compared to 3‐month animals. These data indicated age at injury onset affects how animals load the OA‐affected joint, with older animals developing gait compensations that more markedly reduce weight on the injured limb during walking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of Background Data: Pedicle screws are commonly placed with lumbar/lumbosacral fusions. Triggered electromyography (tEMG), which employs the application of electrical current between the screw and a complementary anode to determine thresholds of conduction, may be utilized to confirm the safe placement of such implants. While previous research has established clinical thresholds associated with safe screw placement, there is variability in clinical practice of anode placement which could lead to unreliable measurements.Purpose: To determine the variance in pedicle screw stimulation thresholds when using four unique anode locations (ipsilateral/contralateral and paraspinal/gluteal relative to tested pedicle screws).Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Tertiary medical center.Patient Sample: Twenty patients undergoing lumbar/lumbosacral fusion with pedicle screws using tEMG OUTCOME MEASURES: tEMG stimulation return values are used to assess varied anode locations and reproducibility based on anode placement.Methods: Measurements were assessed across node placement in ipsilateral/contralateral and paraspinal/gluteal locations relative to the screw being assessed. R2 coefficients of correlation were determined, and variances were compared with F-tests.Results: A total of 94 lumbosacral pedicle screws from 20 patients were assessed. Repeatability was verified using two stimulations at each location for a subset of the screws with an R2 of 0.96. Comparisons between the four anode locations demonstrated R2 values ranging from 0.76 to 0.87. F-tests comparing thresholds between each anode site demonstrated all groups not to be statistically different.Conclusion: The current study, a first-of-its-kind formal evaluation of anode location for pedicle screw tEMG testing, demonstrated very strong repeatability and strong correlation with different locations of anode placement. These results suggest that there is no need to change the side of the anode for testing of left versus right screws, further supporting that placing an anode electrode into gluteal muscle is sufficient and will avoid a sharp ground needle in the surgical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to investigate velopharyngeal timing in children with and without speech sound disorders (SSDs) of unknown etiology. Six preschool-aged children participated in the investigation. Three of the children had typically developing speech and language and three had SSDs of unknown etiology. Aerodynamic testing of the velopharyngeal mechanism was conducted during repetitions of the word “hamper” for six temporal variables. Two of the six temporal data points achieved statistical significance at the level of p < .05: duration of nasal airflow (p = .024) and start of oral pressure to end of oral pressure (p = .016). Per Cohen’s d, small effect sizes were noted for two variables, medium effect sizes were noted for one variable, and large effect sizes were noted for one variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a group G and $m\ge 1$ , let $G^m$ denote the subgroup generated by the elements $g^m$ , where g runs through G. The subgroups not of the form $G^m$ are the nonpower subgroups of G. We classify the groups with at most nine nonpower subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcranial magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (tcMRgFUS) enables the noninvasive treatment of the deep brain. This capacity relies on the ability to focus acoustic energy through the in-tact skull, a feat that requires accurate estimates of the acoustic velocity in individual patient skulls. In current practice, these estimates are generated using a pretreatment computed tomography (CT) scan and then registered to a magnetic resonance (MR) dataset on the day of the treatment. Treatment safety and efficacy can be improved by eliminating the need to register the CT data to the MR images and by improving the accuracy of acoustic velocity measurements. In this study, we examine the capacity of MR to supplement or replace CT as a means of estimating velocity in the skull. We find that MR can predict velocity with less but comparable accuracy to CT. We then use micro-CT imaging to better understand the limitations of Hounsfield unit (HU)-based estimates of velocity, demonstrating that the macrostructure of pores in the skull contributes to the acoustic velocity of the bone. We find evidence that detailed T2 measurements provide information about pore macrostructure similar to the information obtained with micro-CT, offering a potential clinical mechanism for improving patient-specific estimates of acoustic velocity in the human skull. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stationary training rollers enable wheelchair users to maintain physical health and train as athletes, which serves to treat and prevent immobility-associated chronic disease and improve cardiorespiratory fitness required for sports performance. However, conventional exercise equipment is largely inaccessible for persons with disabilities in low-resource areas, primarily due to cost. The aim of this study was to prototype, develop, and test a portable, cost-efficient stationary training device for wheelchair users in low-resource settings – The EasyRoller. Stakeholder input from wheelchair athletes, trainers, and potential commercial manufacturers was solicited and utilized to conceptualize The EasyRoller design. The device was constructed from easily sourced, low cost components, following which it was user-tested with Para athletes. Feedback was analysed and incorporated into newer versions of the prototype. Results and conclusions: The EasyRoller creatively combines easily-sourced components to significantly cut down cost and ease both manufacture and repair for use in low-resource settings. The device is portable with a total weight of 34 pounds and total size of 42 linear inches while also affordable with a total cost of USD$199. Hereby, The EasyRoller has the potential to increase physical activity participation in populations with impairment who live in socioeconomically deprived world regions. Exercise and physical activity are key aspects of health and quality of life for persons with disabilities Stationary training rollers, devices that enable wheelchair users to train, are often bulky and expensive and therefore inaccessible for populations in socio-economically disadvantaged settings The EasyRoller is a portable and affordable training device that increases access to exercise and physical activity for these populations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chondrosarcoma, although relatively uncommon, represents a significant percentage of primary osseous tumors. Nonetheless, there are few large-cohort, longitudinal studies of long-term survival and treatment outcomes of chondrosarcoma patients and none using the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Methods: Chondrosarcoma patients were identified from the 2004–2015 NCDB datasets and divided on three primary tumor sites: appendicular, axial, and other. Demographic, treatment, and long-term survival data were determined for each group. Multivariate Cox analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated to assess long-term survival over time for each. Results: In total, 5,329 chondrosarcoma patients were identified, of which 2,686 were appendicular and 1,616 were axial. Survival was higher among the appendicular cohort than axial at 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year (89.52%, 75.76%, and 65.24%, respectively). Multivariate Cox analysis identified patients in the appendicular cohort to have significantly greater likelihood of death with increasing age category, distant metastases at presentation, and male sex (p<0.001 for each). Best outcomes for seen for those undergoing surgical treatment (p<0.001). Patients in the axial cohort were with increased likelihood of death with increasing age category and distant metastases (p<0.001), while surgical treatment with or without radiation were associated with a significant decrease (p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed worst survival for the axial cohort (p<0.001) and patients with distant metastases at presentation (p<0.001). Survival was not significantly different between older (2004–2007) and more recent years (2012–2016) (p = 0.742). Conclusions: For both appendicular and axial chondrosarcomas, surgical treatment remains the mainstay of treatment due to its continued superiority for the long-term survival of patients, although advancements in survival over the last decade have been insignificant. Presence of distant metastases and axial involvement are significant, poor prognostic factors perhaps because of difficulty in surgical excision or extent of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mapping sessions, instructors and community members jointly engaged in learning, such that the community learned and contributed their knowledge to the development of thematic maps, while the instructors learned and integrated aspects of community culture, including linguistic and cultural expression. While developments in cartographic methods and spatial representations, such as geospatial data sets available in web server maps, have made it possible to expand current mapping systems and trends, the mapping knowledge of local communities, gleaned from Indigenous roots, is critical for survival in a unique geophysical dune zone with extreme physical, geographic and climatic contrasts, particularly in times of economic diversity, emerging tourism and socio-economic transformation. Indigenous mapping is rapidly entering the domain of cartography, and digital technology is facilitating the engagement of communities, particularly Indigenous communities, in order to map their own locational stories, histories, cultural heritage, and environmental and political priorities. [Extracted from the article]

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) increasingly is being used to support acute respiratory failure and for bridging to lung transplantation. Bleeding and thrombosis are common complications in the acute setting, but the literature describing long-term ECMO complications is limited, and no previous reports have been made of delayed central venous strictures resulting from remote ECMO bridging. Herein, we describe a patient who demonstrated complete inferior vena cava obstruction resulting from venovenous ECMO bridge to lung transplantation 5 years previously. The severe stricture and secondary thrombosis were managed with inferior vena cava angioplasty, stenting, thrombectomy, and thrombolysis, leading to clinical improvement. This case highlights the need for awareness and monitoring for long-term vascular complications in a growing population of patients who have received ECMO support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Context: Prior studies investigating the association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and patient outcomes following spine surgery have had inconsistent conclusions, likely owing to insufficient power, confounding variables, and varying definitions and cutoffs for BMI categories (eg, underweight, overweight, obese, etc.). Further, few studies have considered outcomes among low BMI cohorts.Purpose: The current study analyzes how anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) perioperative outcomes vary along the BMI spectrum, using World Health Organization (WHO) categories of BMI.Study Design/setting: A retrospective cohort study.Patient Sample: Patients undergoing stand-alone one or two-level anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) found in the 2005-2018 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) databases.Outcome Measures: Thirty-day adverse events, hospital readmissions, post-operative infections, and mortality.Methods: Stand-alone one or two-level ALIF surgical cases were identified and extracted from the 2005-2018 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Posterior cases and those primary diagnoses of trauma, tumor, infection, or emergency presentation were excluded. Patients were then binned into WHO guidelines of BMI. The incidence of adverse outcomes within 30-day post-operation was defined. Odds ratios of adverse outcomes, normalized to the average risk of normal-weight subjects (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m3), were calculated. Multivariate analysis was then performed controlling for patient factors.Results: In total, 13,710 ALIF patients were included in the study. Incidence of adverse events was elevated in both the underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m3) and super morbidly obese (>50 kg/m3), however, multivariate risks for adverse events and postoperative infection were elevated for underweight patients beyond those found in any other BMI category. No effect was noted in these identical variables between normal, overweight, obese class 1, or even obese class 2 patients. Multivariate analysis also found overweight patients to show a slightly protective trend against mortality while the super morbidly obese had elevated odds.Conclusions: Underweight patients are at greater odds of experiencing postoperative adverse events than normal, overweight, obese class 1, or even obese class 2 patients. The present study identifies underweight patients as an at-risk population that should be given additional consideration by health systems and physicians, as is already done for those on the other side of the BMI spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Historic and present-day marginalization has resulted in a high burden of disease and worse health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in the United States. Musculoskeletal disease is the leading cause of disability for the general population in the U.S. today. However, few have examined musculoskeletal disease burden and access to orthopaedic surgical care in the AI/AN communities. A high prevalence of hip dysplasia, arthritis, back pain, and diabetes, and a high incidence of trauma and road traffic-related mortality, suggest a disproportionately high burden of musculoskeletal pathology among the AI/AN communities and a substantial need for orthopaedic surgical services. Unfortunately, AI/AN patients face many barriers to receiving specialty care, including long travel distances and limited transportation to health facilities, inadequate staff and resources at Indian Health Service (IHS)-funded facilities, insufficient funding for referral to specialists outside of the IHS network, and sociocultural barriers that complicate health-system navigation and erode trust between patients and providers. For those who manage to access orthopaedic surgery, AI/AN patients face worse outcomes and more complications than White patients. There is an urgent need for orthopaedic surgeons to participate in improving the availability of quality orthopaedic services for AI/AN patients through training and support of local providers, volunteerism, advocating for a greater investment in the IHS Purchased/Referred Care program, expanding telemedicine capabilities, and supporting community-based participatory research activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Oritavancin and dalbavancin had comparable efficacy for complicated infections. • No significant differences were observed in readmissions or mortality. • Both agents were well-tolerated when used as off-label sequential therapy. • Oritavancin trended towards more adverse drug reactions compared to dalbavancin. Oritavancin and dalbavancin are long-acting lipoglycopeptide antibiotics approved for the treatment of skin and skin structure infections. Recently, they have been used for outpatient antimicrobial therapy for complicated infections. No head-to-head studies exist for this purpose. To compare outcomes of patients treated with multiple doses of oritavancin or dalbavancin for complicated infections. This was a single-centre, retrospective cohort study evaluating adult patients who received two or more doses of lipoglycopeptides for complicated infections from February 2019 through December 2022. Patients receiving oritavancin were compared to dalbavancin after propensity score-matching. The primary endpoint was clinical success at 90 days. Other endpoints included: 30-day re-admission, 30-day mortality, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and changes in white blood cell count and inflammatory markers after the first dose. After exclusions and propensity score-matching, 131 matched pairs (N = 262) were included in the analysis. Most patients were receiving lipoglycopeptide therapy for osteomyelitis. There was no significant difference in clinical success at 90 days in patients who received oritavancin compared to those who received dalbavancin (99 [76%] vs. 103 [79%], respectively; P = 0.556). There was no significant difference in secondary endpoints, however, there was a trend towards higher incidence of ADRs oritavancin compared to dalbavancin (9 [7%] vs. 2 [2%], respectively; P = 0.060) which led to more treatment discontinuation. There was no significant difference in efficacy between multi-dose oritavancin and dalbavancin for the treatment of complicated infections. Both agents were generally well tolerated; however, dalbavancin may be better tolerated when long-term treatment is warranted. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mucin-degrading microbes are known to harbor glycosyl hydrolases (GHs) which cleave specific glycan linkages. Although several microbial species have been identified as mucin degraders, there are likely many other members of the healthy gut community with the capacity to degrade mucins. The aim of the present study was to systematically examine the CAZyme mucin-degrading profiles of the human gut microbiota. Within the Verrucomicrobia phylum, all Akkermansia glycaniphila and muciniphila genomes harbored multiple gene copies of mucin-degrading GHs. The only representative of the Lentisphaerae phylum, Victivallales, harbored a GH profile that closely mirrored Akkermansia. In the Actinobacteria phylum, we found several Actinomadura, Actinomyces, Bifidobacterium, Streptacidiphilus and Streptomyces species with mucin-degrading GHs. Within the Bacteroidetes phylum, Alistipes, Alloprevotella, Bacteroides, Fermenitomonas Parabacteroides, Prevotella and Phocaeicola species had mucin degrading GHs. Firmicutes contained Abiotrophia, Blautia, Enterococcus, Paenibacillus, Ruminococcus, Streptococcus, and Viridibacillus species with mucin-degrading GHs. Interestingly, far fewer mucin-degrading GHs were observed in the Proteobacteria phylum and were found in Klebsiella, Mixta, Serratia and Enterobacter species. We confirmed the mucin-degrading capability of 23 representative gut microbes using a chemically defined media lacking glucose supplemented with porcine intestinal mucus. These data greatly expand our knowledge of microbial-mediated mucin degradation within the human gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large collection of element‐wise planar densities for compounds obtained from the Materials Project is calculated using brute force computational geometry methods, where the planar density is given by the total fractional area of atoms intersecting a supercell's crystallographic plane divided by the area of the supercell's crystallographic plane. It is demonstrated that the element‐wise maximum lattice plane densities can be useful as machine learning features. The methods described here are implemented in an open‐source Mathematica package hosted at https://github.com/sgbaird/LatticePlane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Feeling alive and invigorated, or vitality, is examined within the framework of a stress paradigm. The current study investigated whether endocrine and cardiovascular responses to acute psychological stress predict declines in vitality. Methods: A sample of 90 undergraduate students completed an in-lab stressor. We measured anxiety, state vitality, cortisol levels, heart rate, and blood pressure before the task, and measured changes in state vitality, cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure in response to the stressor. We investigated whether pre-task anxiety predicted changes in state vitality, and whether such changes were explained by physiological responses. Results: Results indicate that cognitive and somatic anxiety preceding a stressor predict changes in vitality, which is mediated by the magnitude of diastolic (95% CI [0.017, 0.517]; [0.006, 0.454]) and systolic (95% CI [0.038, 0.705]) blood pressure responses to the task. Cortisol reactivity was associated with somatic anxiety (F(6, 83) = 3.34, p <.01, β = 0.401) but was not related to changes in vitality. Conclusions: Together, these results contribute to the understanding of how physiological reactivity to a stressor can deplete vitality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]