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Life satisfaction is vital for older adults' well‐being, impacting various life aspects. It is dynamic, necessitating nuanced approaches to capture its trajectories accurately. This study aimed to explore the diverse trajectories and predictors of life satisfaction among older adults in China using longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Latent class growth modeling and growth mixture modeling were employed to identify distinct trajectories of life satisfaction. Machine learning (ML) models were developed to predict different trajectories and identify important predictors of different trajectories. Four distinct trajectories of life satisfaction were identified, showcasing nuanced patterns of life satisfaction that changed over time. ML models, especially random forest, effectively predicted these trajectories. Emotional experiences (particularly the frequency of happiness and loneliness), body mass index, and self‐report health emerged as significant predictors of different life satisfaction trajectories. Our finding revealed the importance of focusing on individuals or groups with consistently low life satisfaction and paying more attention to mental and physical health predictors. Our models might guide future targeted preventative treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trajectories of asthma and allergy in children are heterogeneous and commonly derived from parental report of disease or clinical records. This study combined parental‐reported and register‐based dispensed medication data to characterize childhood trajectories of co‐existing asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema. Methods: From a Swedish population‐based birth cohort (N = 5654), survey responses collected at the age of 1, 4.5, 8, and 12 years were linked to dispensed medication register data for the period of 2–13 years. Trajectories were identified with latent class analysis. Statistical metrics and clinical interpretability guided the model selection. Results: Nine distinct trajectories were identified: three asthma‐dominated (early‐onset remitting [n = 189, 3.3%], late‐onset [n = 117, 2.1%], and persistent [n = 149, 2.6%]), two eczema‐dominated (persistent [n = 190, 3.4%] and remitting [n = 432, 7.6%]), one allergic rhinitis‐dominated (late‐onset [n = 259, 4.6%]), two multimorbidity (mid‐childhood asthma and late‐onset allergic rhinitis [n = 144, 2.5%], and persistent eczema and late‐onset allergic rhinitis [n = 90, 1.6%]), and one low‐disease burden trajectory (n = 4084, 72.2%). Differences were seen across the trajectories in the proportion of parental report of disease and dispensed medication as well as by class and quantity of medication dispensed. Conclusion: Combined parental‐reported and dispensed medication data enriches characterization of longitudinal trajectories of asthma and allergy in children by merging subjective experience of disease with healthcare utilization. The identified trajectories were characterized by distinct disease development and prescription patterns suggesting clinically differential morbidity burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between the dynamic changes in insulin resistance (IR) and the prognosis of septic patients remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the correlation between the clinical subphenotype of IR represented by the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index trajectory and the mortality rate among patients with sepsis. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we utilized data from septic patients within the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database version 2.0 to construct trajectories of the TyG index over 72 h. Subsequently, we computed the similarity among various TyG index trajectories with the dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm and utilized the hierarchical clustering (HC) algorithm to demarcate distinct cluster and identified subphenotypes according to the trajectory trend. Subsequently, we assessed the mortality risk between different subphenotypes using analyses such as survival analysis and validated the robustness of the results through propensity score matching (PSM) and various models. Results: A total of 2350 patients were included in the study. Two trajectory trends: TyG index decreasing (n = 926) and TyG index increasing (n = 1424) were identified, which indicated corresponding to the clinical subphenotype of increased and alleviative IR respectively. The 28-day and in-hospital mortality for the increased IR group was 28.51% and 25.49% respectively. In comparison, patients in the alleviative IR group with a 28-day mortality of 23.54% and an in-hospital mortality of 21.60%. These subphenotypes exhibited distinct prognosis, time dependent Cox model showed the increased IR group with a higher 28-day mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02–1.12, P = 0.01] and in-hospital mortality [HR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00–1.11, P = 0.045] compared to the alleviative IR group. Sensitivity analyses with various models further validated the robustness of our findings. Conclusion: Dynamic increase in the TyG index trajectory is associated with elevated mortality risk among patients with sepsis, which suggests that dynamic increased IR exacerbates the risk of poor outcomes in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to measure trajectories of craving for methamphetamine during the course of pharmacotherapy trials for methamphetamine use disorder. Design, setting and participants: Craving trajectories were identified using Group‐Based Trajectory Modeling. The association of craving trajectories with drug use trajectories was examined using a dual trajectory model. Association of craving trajectories with other health and social outcomes was also examined. The study used pooled data from five randomized controlled pharmacotherapy trials for methamphetamine use disorder. A total of 866 adults with methamphetamine use disorder participated in randomized controlled pharmacotherapy trials. Measurement: Craving was assessed weekly using the Brief Substance Craving Scale. Drug use was assessed using urine toxicology. Alcohol‐ and drug‐related problems, as well as psychiatric, medical, legal, employment and relationship problems, were measured using the Addiction Severity Index. Findings: A three‐trajectory model with high, medium and low craving trajectories was selected as the most parsimonious model. Craving trajectories were associated with methamphetamine use trajectories in the course of trial; 88.4% of those in the high craving trajectory group had a consistently high frequency of methamphetamine use compared with 18.7% of those in the low craving group. High craving was also associated with less improvement in most other outcomes and higher rate of dropout from treatment. In turn, low craving was associated with a rapidly decreasing frequency of methamphetamine use, greater improvement in most other outcomes and a lower rate of dropout. Participants on modafinil daily and ondansetron 1 mg twice daily were less likely to be in the high craving group compared with those on placebo. Conclusions: Trajectories of methamphetamine craving in the course of clinical trials for methamphetamine use disorder appear to be both highly variable and strongly associated with greater frequency of drug use, other drug‐related outcomes and dropout from trials. Two medications, modafinil daily and ondansetron at a dose of 1 mg two times daily, appear to be associated with greater reduction in craving in the course of treatment compared with placebo. A decrease in methamphetamine craving shows promise as an early indicator of recovery from methamphetamine use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient PM2.5 samples were collected in Laiwu, a small industrial city in China known for steel production, to measure and evaluate the mass concentrations of PM2.5 and the inorganic water-soluble ions (IWS ions). The highest PM2.5 value recorded was 251.28 μg/m3, which occurred during winter and was lower than other major Chinese cities. The spatial distribution showed that the center of the city, which is connected to the downtown area, was heavily polluted (170 μg/m3 higher) compared to the suburbs. With the exception of winter, the weight of PM2.5 was dominated by IWS ions, with three secondary ions (NO3-, SO42-, and NH4+) accounting for more than 70% of the total ions in mass. This percentage is higher than that of big cities. An increase in sulfur oxidation ratios (SOR), nitrogen oxidation rate (NOR), and anion equivalent/cation equivalent (AE/CE) indicated that the atmosphere in Laiwu was more oxidized than other big cities. The ion analysis revealed that PM2.5 was highly correlated with NO3-, SO42-, and NH4+. The principal component analysis indicated that district heating during winter and industrial output and secondary transformation during summer were the major sources of the water-soluble ions. The backward trajectory study identified the north of Shandong Province as the likely source-area that affected air quality in Laiwu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Key predictors of three trajectory group membership of potentially preventable hospitalisations were age, the number of comorbidities, the presence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure, and frailty risk at the occurrence of hip fracture. These predictors of their trajectory group could be used in targeting prevention strategies. Purpose: Although older adults with hip fracture have a higher risk of multiple readmissions after index hospitalisation, little is known about potentially preventable hospitalisations (PPH) after discharge. This study examined group-based trajectories of PPH during a five-year period after a hip fracture among older adults and identified factors predictive of their trajectory group membership. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using linked hospitalisation and mortality data in New South Wales, Australia, between 2013 and 2021. Patients aged ≥ 65 years who were admitted after a hip fracture and discharged between 2014 and 2016 were identified. Group-based trajectory models were derived based on the number of subsequent PPH following the index hospitalisation. Multinominal logistic regression examined factors predictive of trajectory group membership. Results: Three PPH trajectory groups were revealed among 17,591 patients: no PPH (89.5%), low PPH (10.0%), and high PPH (0.4%). Key predictors of PPH trajectory group membership were age, number of comorbidities, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), frailty risk, place of incident, surgery, rehabilitation, and length of hospital stay. The high PPH had a higher proportion of patients with ≥ 2 comorbidities (OR: 1.86, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04–3.32) and COPD (OR: 2.97, 95%CIs: 1.76–5.04) than the low PPH, and the low and high PPHs were more likely to have CHF and high frailty risk as well as ≥ 2 comorbidities and COPD than the no PPH. Conclusions: Identifying trajectories of PPH after a hip fracture and factors predictive of trajectory group membership could be used to target strategies to reduce multiple readmissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The health effects of Life's Essential 8 (LE8) on chronic diseases have been disclosed, but its association with hypertension remains unknown. The current study aimed to explore the potential link between 10-year LE8 trajectory and the incidence of hypertension. Methods: LE8 was constructed from four behaviors and four metabolic factors, ranging from 0 to 100. Latent mixture models were used to identify trajectories of LE8 scores during 2006 to 2016. Incident hypertension was diagnosed based on self-reported clinical diagnoses and physical examinations from 2016 to 2020. Cox models were employed to assess the association of LE8 trajectories with hypertension. In addition to incorporating the mean hs-CRP levels from 2006 to 2016, age, sex, monthly income, educational level, and occupation at recruitment were adjusted for as confounding factors. Results: 7500 participants aged 40.28 ± 10.35 years were included in the study, of whom 2907 (38.76%) were women. Five LE8 trajectory patterns were identified. After around four-year follow-up, 667 hypertension events were observed. Compared to the Low-Stable trajectory, the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the Moderate-Increasing, Moderate-Decreasing, Moderate-Stable, and High-Stable trajectories were 0.51 (0.40, 0.65), 0.81 (0.64, 1.02), 0.45 (0.36, 0.58), 0.23 (0.16, 0.33), respectively. The risk of incident hypertension decreased as participants improved their LE8 status. The robustness of the primary results was confirmed through several sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: LE8 trajectories were associated with the incident hypertension. People who improved their LE8 scores over time experienced a decreased risk of hypertension, even if they started with lower LE8 scores initially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional support from family members may have an important effect on adolescent health outcomes, and has been identified as a target for policy to protect against the impacts of poverty and other early life adversities. However, few studies have assessed the extent to which poverty and adversity themselves influence the nature of emotional support that parents can provide to adolescents. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the impact of trajectories of income poverty and family adversities, including parental mental ill health, alcohol misuse and domestic violence across childhood developmental stages on young people's relationships with their families and perceived emotional support received. We analysed longitudinal data on 10,976 children from the nationally representative UK Millennium Cohort study. Exposure trajectories of poverty and family adversities were characterised using group-based multi-trajectory models (age 9 months–14 years). The outcomes were perceived emotional support and quality of family relationships, measured by the three-item Short Social Provisions Scale (SPS-3) and levels of parent–adolescent closeness and conflict, measured at age 14. ORs and 95% CIs were estimated using multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for potential confounding factors. At age 14, the overall prevalence of low perceived emotional support was 13% (95% CI: 12, 14). Children of mothers with lower socioeconomic status (SES) were more likely to report low emotional support, with a clear social gradient (education—degree plus: 10.3% vs. no qualifications: 15.4%). Compared with children exposed to low levels of poverty and adversity, children in the persistent adversity trajectory groups experienced higher odds of low emotional support and low-quality parent–adolescent relationship; those exposed to both persistent poverty and poor parental mental health were particularly at increased risk of experiencing poor family relationships and low perceived emotional support (adjusted odds ratio 2·2; 95% CI 1·7–2·9). Low perceived emotional support and poor family relationships in adolescence are more prevalent among socially disadvantaged children and adolescents and those experiencing social adversity. Policies to improve levels of family support for UK adolescents should focus on improving modifiable determinants such as child poverty and family mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autistic adults experience high rates of unemployment, yet research investigating what predicts employment success produces inconsistent results. By utilising longitudinal person-oriented analyses, this study aimed to identify employment trajectories of autistic adults to better understand what may predict stable autistic employment. Participants were 2449 autistic adults (1077 men, 1352 women, 20 non-binary, M = 42.25 years, SD = 14.24), recruited via the Netherlands Autism Register. Latent class analysis utilising employment status across eight annual waves was used to identify longitudinal employment profiles. Fit indices and the interpretability of results indicated a four-class model best fit the data, with profiles reflecting stable unemployment (n = 1189), stable employment (n = 801), early unemployment increasing in probability of employment (n = 183) and high probability of employment reducing across time to low employment (n = 134). Multinominal analyses suggested that compared to the 'stable unemployment' group, membership in the 'stable employment' profile was predicted by fewer autistic traits, lower age, male gender, higher education and diagnosis age, and fewer co-occurring conditions. Higher education predicted both other profiles, with lower age and fewer co-occurring conditions predicting membership in the increasing employment class. Taken together, findings highlight the utility of person-oriented approaches in understanding the longitudinal challenges autistic adults experience maintaining employment and identifies key areas of support. Autistic adults experience difficulties finding and keeping employment. However, research investigating reasons that might explain this difficulty produce mixed results. We gave a survey to 2449 autistic adults and used a statistic method to group them based on their employment status over 8 years. We identified four employment groups that best captured the experiences of autistic adults; this included a group that experienced stable unemployment, a group that experienced stable employment, a group that had high employment that reduced over time, and a group whose employment increased over the 8 years. Further analysis showed that those with fewer autistic traits, younger age, male gender, higher education, later diagnosis age and no co-occurring conditions were more likely to have stable employment. People whose employment changed over time were more likely to have a higher level of education than the stable unemployment group, and those in the increasing employment group were younger age and had no co-occurring conditions. These findings help us better understand that not all autistic adults' experiences of employment are the same, which helps focus where employment programmes and support may be most needed, for example, people who identify as women or have a co-occurring condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effective degradation and state transition prediction of protein molecular simulation trajectories. • Integrate graph convolutional neural networks and physical constraint optimization. • Provides interpretable results on the importance of protein molecules. Molecular dynamics simulation is a crucial research domain within the life sciences, focusing on comprehending the mechanisms of biomolecular interactions at atomic scales. Protein simulation, as a critical subfield, often utilizes MD for implementation, with trajectory data play a pivotal role in drug discovery. The advancement of high-performance computing and deep learning technology becomes popular and critical to predict protein properties from vast trajectory data, posing challenges regarding data features extraction from the complicated simulation data and dimensionality reduction. Simultaneously, it is essential to provide a meaningful explanation of the biological mechanism behind dimensionality. To tackle this challenge, we propose a new unsupervised model named RevGraphVAMP to intelligently analyze the simulation trajectory. This model is based on the variational approach for Markov processes (VAMP) and integrates graph convolutional neural networks and physical constraint optimization to enhance the learning performance. Additionally, we introduce attention mechanism to assess the importance of key interaction region, facilitating the interpretation of molecular mechanism. In comparison to other VAMPNets models, our model showcases competitive performance, improved accuracy in state transition prediction, as demonstrated through its application to two public datasets and the Shank3-Rap1 complex, which is associated with autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, it enhanced dimensionality reduction discrimination across different substates and provides interpretable results for protein structural characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The binary diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome(MetS) fails to accurately evaluate its severity, and the association between MetS severity and frailty progression remains inadequately elucidated. This study aims to clarify the relationship between the severity of MetS and the progression of frailty among the middle-aged and elderly population in China. Method: Participants from the 2011–2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS) were included for a longitudinal analysis. The study employs a frailty index(FI) based on 32 health deficits to diagnose frailty and to assess FI trajectories. An age-sex-ethnicity-specific MetS scoring model (MetS score) was used to assess metabolic syndrome severity in Chinese adults. The Cumulative MetS score from 2012 to 2015 was calculated using the formula: (MetS score in wave 1 + MetS score in wave 3) / 2 × time(2015 - 2012). The association between MetS score, Cumulative MetS score, and the risk and trajectory of frailty were evaluated using Cox regression/logistic regression, and linear mixed models. Restricted Cubic Splines(RCS) models were utilized to detect potential non-linear associations. Results: A higher MetS score was significantly associated with an increased risk of frailty(HR per 1 SD increase = 1.205; 95%CI: 1.14 to 1.273) and an accelerated FI trajectory(β per 1 SD increase = 0.113 per year; 95%CI: 0.075 to 0.15 per year). Evaluating changes in MetS score using a Cumulative MetS score indicated that each 1 SD increase in the Cumulative MetS score increased the risk of frailty by 22.2%(OR = 1.222; 95%CI: 1.133 to 1.319) and accelerated the rate of increase in FI(β = 0.098 per year; 95%CI: 0.058 to 0.138 per year). RCS model results demonstrated a dose-response curve relationship between MetS score and Cumulative MetS score with frailty risk. Stratified analysis showed consistency across subgroups. The interaction results indicate that in males and individuals under aged 60, MetS score may accelerate the increase in FI, a finding consistent across both models. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the positive correlation between the severity of MetS and frailty progression in the middle-aged and elderly, highlighting the urgent need for early identification of MetS and targeted interventions to reduce the risk of frailty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The postpartum period is a critical phase in which postpartum women experience dynamic changes in their physiology, psychology, and family status. Objective: This study investigated the changes in women's quality of life (QoL) during the first, third, and sixth months of the postpartum period and their associated factors. Methods: A single-group repeated-measure design was used to collect data from 282 postpartum women recruited from a regional hospital in Taiwan. We used the brief World Health Organization Quality of Life scale, Social Support Scale, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to assess postpartum women's quality of life, social support, and postpartum depressive symptoms, respectively. The data were analyzed using trajectory analysis and generalized estimating equations. Results: The trajectory analysis indicated that postpartum women could be categorized into low, medium, and high QoL groups. Although the medium and high QoL groups maintained stable QoL levels, the low QoL group experienced a linear decrease in QoL over time. Moreover, the determinants of postpartum women's QoL were immigrant status, employment status, family type, social support, and postpartum depression. Conclusions: Health care providers should assess these determinants of postpartum QoL in perinatal women to identify those at risk of low postpartum quality of life. Early assessment and intervention by health care providers could significantly improve the health status of women after childbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first single-cell penile cancer atlas identified 83 682 single cells within 14 major cell types and 65 cell subpopulations, offering unprecedented insights into penile cancer biology. TP53 mutations might be a driver of worse prognosis, irrespective of human papillomavirus (HPV) status, challenging the currently used stratification by HPV only. Our work reveals key molecular pathways underlying poor prognosis and therapy resistance. These insights might facilitate patient selection for clinical trials and enable development of personalized therapies, sparing patients from the currently used highly toxic chemotherapies. TP53 loss-of-function (TP53LOF) mutations might be a driver of poor prognosis and chemoresistance in both human papillomavirus (HPV)-independent (HPV–) and HPV-associated (HPV+) penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC). Here, we aim to describe transcriptomic differences in the PSCC microenvironment stratified by TP53LOF and HPV status. We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and T-cell receptor sequencing to obtain a comprehensive atlas of the cellular architecture of PSCC. TP53LOF and HPV status were determined by targeted next-generation sequencing and sequencing HPV-DNA reads. Six HPV+ TP53 wild type (WT), six HPV– TP53WT, and four TP53LOF PSCC samples and six controls were included. Immunohistochemistry and hematoxylin-eosin confirmed the morphological context of the observed signatures. Prognostic differences between patient groups were validated in 541 PSCC patients using Kaplan-Meier survival estimates. Patients with aberrant p53 staining fare much worse than patients with either HPV– or HPV+ tumors and WT p53 expression. Using scRNA-seq, we revealed 65 cell subtypes within 83 682 cells. TP53LOF tumors exhibit a partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, immune-excluded, angiogenic, and morphologically invasive environment, underlying their aggressive phenotype. HPV– TP53WT tumors show stemness and immune exhaustion. HPV+ TP53WT tumors mirror normal epithelial maturation with upregulation of antibody-drug-conjugate targets and activation of innate immunity. Inherent to the scRNA-seq analysis, low sample size is a limitation and validation of signatures in large PSCC cohorts is needed. This first scRNA-seq atlas offers unprecedented in-depth insights into PSCC biology underlying prognostic differences based on TP53 and HPV status. Our findings provide clues for testing novel biomarker-driven therapies in PSCC. Here, we analyzed tissues of penile cancer at the level of individual cells, which helps us understand why patients who harbor a deactivating mutation in the TP53 gene do much worse than patients lacking such a mutation. Such an analysis may help us tailor future therapies based on TP53 gene mutations and human papillomavirus status of these tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is typically based on clinical stage, but it can vary for some patients. Transcriptomic analysis is vital for understanding ccRCC progression, though its correlation with the clinical stage in predicting prognosis is uncertain. We aim to employ trajectory inference to study ccRCC's molecular progression and identify potential new markers for judging disease progression and prognosis. Using a trajectory inference approach, we characterize the molecular progression profile of ccRCC based on transcriptome profiling. Additional pathway activity, immune response, and miRNA profiling scoring were integrated to identify possible drivers of trajectory progression. Scoring based on the trajectory demonstrates a significant improvement in patient prognosis prediction and identifies 10 risk factors in patients with low-grade tumors, and nine protective factors in patients with high-grade tumors. Mechanistically, we demonstrate an association between solute light carrier transporters are associated with ccRCC progression, with SLC7A5 expression being validated through immunohistochemistry to increase in metastatic patients. Trajectory analysis of ccRCC transcriptomes can be used to model the molecular progression of disease and may assist in ccRCC prognosis. SLC7A5 is aberrantly expressed in ccRCC and may be a risk factor for poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsupervised feature selection is a critical step for efficient and accurate analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data. Previous benchmarks used two different criteria to compare feature selection methods: (i) proportion of ground-truth marker genes included in the selected features and (ii) accuracy of cell clustering using ground-truth cell types. Here, we systematically compare the performance of 11 feature selection methods for both criteria. We first demonstrate the discordance between these criteria and suggest using the latter. We then compare the distribution of selected genes in their means between feature selection methods. We show that lowly expressed genes exhibit seriously high coefficients of variation and are mostly excluded by high-performance methods. In particular, high-deviation- and high-expression-based methods outperform the widely used in Seurat package in clustering cells and data visualization. We further show they also enable a clear separation of the same cell type from different tissues as well as accurate estimation of cell trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurofilament-light chain (NF-L) and phosphorylated neurofilament-heavy chain (pNF-H) are axonal proteins that have been reported as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, detailed temporal profiles for these proteins in blood, and interrelationships in the acute and chronic time periods post-TBI have not been established. Our objectives were: 1) to characterize acute-to-chronic serum NF-L and pNF-H profiles after moderate-severe TBI, as well as acute cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels; 2) to evaluate CSF and serum NF-L and pNF-H associations with each other; and 3) to assess biomarker associations with global patient outcome using both the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E) and Disability Rating Scale (DRS). In this multi-cohort study, we measured serum and CSF NF-L and pNF-H levels in samples collected from two clinical cohorts (University of Pittsburgh [UPITT] and Baylor College of Medicine [BCM]) of individuals with moderate-severe TBI. The UPITT cohort includes 279 subjects from an observational cohort study; we obtained serum (n = 277 unique subjects) and CSF (n = 95 unique subjects) daily for 1 week, and serum every 2 weeks for 6 months. The BCM cohort included 103 subjects from a previous randomized clinical trial of erythropoietin and blood transfusion threshold after severe TBI, which showed no effect on neurological outcome between treatment arms; serum (n = 99 unique subjects) and CSF (n = 54 unique subjects) NF-L and pNF-H levels were measured at least daily during Days (D) 0-10 post-injury. GOS-E and DRS were assessed at 6 months (both cohorts) and 12 months (UPITT cohort only). Results show serum NF-L and pNF-H gradually rise during the first 10 days and peak at D20-30 post-injury. In the UPITT cohort, acute (D0-6) NF-L and pNF-H levels correlate within CSF and serum (Spearman r = 0.44-0.48; p < 0.05). In the UPITT cohort, acute NF-L CSF and serum levels, as well as chronic (Months [M]2-6) serum NF-L levels, were higher among individuals with unfavorable GOS-E and worse DRS at 12 months (p < 0.05, all comparisons). In the BCM cohort, higher acute serum NF-L levels were also associated with unfavorable GOS-E. Higher pNF-H serum concentrations (D0-6 and M2-6), but not CSF pNF-H, were associated with unfavorable GOS-E and worse DRS (p < 0.05, all comparisons) in the UPITT cohort. Relationships between biomarker levels and favorable outcome persisted after controlling for age, sex, and Glasgow Coma Scale. This study shows for the first time that serum levels of NF-L and pNF-H peak at D20-30 post-TBI. Serum NF-L levels, and to a lesser extent pNF-H levels, are robustly associated with global patient outcomes and disability after moderate-severe TBI. Further studies on clinical utility as prognosis and treatment-response indicators are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is a destructive agricultural pest. Facultative migration usually causes regional catastrophes; therefore, developing a simple and easy new technology for the monitoring and early warning of immigrant populations is urgent. Between 2021 and 2023, we conducted a population-monitoring study on H. armigera immigrants in Xundian County, Yunnan Province, where the migration pathway for pests from southeast Asia extends to southwest China. Based on the differences in the reproductive organ development parameters of H. armigera at different ages, we established an adult age discrimination model. The monitoring results of field populations with semiochemical attractants and sex pheromones between 2021 and 2023 showed that the daily average age of the adult population of H. armigera fluctuated above 6 days, and the trapping dynamics with semiochemical attractants and sex pheromones were the same. Both trapping methods yielded H. armigera males of different ages and had identical age structures, indicating that the H. armigera population primarily migrated from other regions. The trajectory analysis showed that the H. armigera population that migrated to Xundian between May and September was primarily from South Kunming, and after October, it was primarily the southward-migrating population north of Qujing City, Yunnan Province. Based on the relationship between the daily average fecundity and the age of H. armigera, a dynamic prediction model for the fecundity of the immigrant population was established. In this study, the prediction models and methods based on semiochemical attractants could potentially be used in the surveillance and population alerting of H. armigera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that medication adherence is critical to patient outcomes and can decrease patient mortality. The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) has recognized and identified medication adherence as an important indicator of medication‐use quality. Hence, there is a need to use the right methods to assess medication adherence. The PQA has endorsed the proportion of days covered (PDC) as the primary method of measuring adherence. Although easy to calculate, the PDC has however several drawbacks as a method of measuring adherence. PDC is a deterministic approach that cannot capture the complexity of a dynamic phenomenon. Group‐based trajectory modeling (GBTM) is increasingly proposed as an alternative to capture heterogeneity in medication adherence. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate, through a simulation study, the ability of GBTM to capture treatment adherence when compared to its deterministic PDC analogue and to the nonparametric longitudinal K‐means. A time‐varying treatment was generated as a quadratic function of time, baseline, and time‐varying covariates. Three trajectory models are considered combining a cat's cradle effect, and a rainbow effect. The performance of GBTM was compared to the PDC and longitudinal K‐means using the absolute bias, the variance, the c‐statistics, the relative bias, and the relative variance. For all explored scenarios, we find that GBTM performed better in capturing different patterns of medication adherence with lower relative bias and variance even under model misspecification than PDC and longitudinal K‐means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: White blood cells (WBC) play an important role in the inflammatory response of the body. Elevated WBC counts on admission in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) correlate with a poor prognosis. However, the role of longitudinal WBC trajectories based on repeated WBC measurements during hospitalization remains unclear. We explored the association between different WBC trajectory patterns and in-hospital mortality. Methods: We analyzed a cohort of consecutive patients with SAH between 2012 and 2020. Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was used to group the patients according to their white blood cell patterns over the first 4 days. Stabilized inverse probability treatment weighting (sIPTW) was used to balance baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. We analyzed the association between the WBC trajectory groups and in-hospital mortality using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: In total, 506 patients with SAH were included in this retrospective cohort. The final model identified two distinct longitudinal WBC trajectories. After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate regression analysis suggested that an elevated longitudinal WBC trajectory increased the risk of in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 2.476; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.081–5.227; P = 0.024) before sIPTW, and (HR, 2.472; 95%CI 1.489–4.977; P = 0.018) after sIPTW. Conclusion: In patients with SAH, different clinically relevant groups could be identified using WBC trajectory analysis. The WBC count trajectory—initially elevated and then decreased— may lead to an increased risk of in-hospital mortality following SAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the construction industry worldwide has shown significant interest in Building Information Modeling (BIM). This study aims to analyze the dissemination of knowledge about BIM in construction engineering applications using Main Path Analysis (MPA). The research sample comprises 3,761 papers related to BIM's application in the construction industry, sourced from the ISI Web of Science database. Initially, we investigate trends in paper publications, conduct country and journal analyses, and examine author statistics. Subsequently, we calculate traversal counts along the search path links to reveal the development trajectory of BIM. The trajectory of BIM's evolution in the construction industry can be divided into four stages as identified through the global key-route main path analysis: 1) BIM standardization; 2) Integration of completed building projects using BIM; 3) BIM applications in precast construction projects; and 4) BIM applications in land management. These findings provide a clear understanding of how BIM has been applied and evolved within the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the lack of effective analysis and identification of operational area in the traditional battlefield situation awareness process, a method of aerial battlefield target trajectory analysis method for operational area extraction is proposed. Firstly, based on the improved Douglas-Peucker algorithm, the featured trajectory is extracted based on the original target trajectory, thus reducing the trajectory redundant information. Secondly, the clustering by fast search and find of density peaks (CFSFDP) algorithm is used to cluster the featured trajectory, which obtains multiple featured points clusters. Finally, each featured points cluster is scanned based on Graham's convex hull algorithm to obtain closed polygons to characterize the combat areas. The feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm model are verified by several case simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: No study has concentrated on the association of LE8 with cancer risk and death. We aim to examine the association of LE8 with death and cancer. Methods: A total of 94733 adults aged 51.42 ± 12.46 years and 77551 participants aged 54.09±12.06 years were enrolled in longitudinal and trajectory analysis respectively. Baseline LE8 was divided into three groups based on the American Heart Association criteria and three trajectory patterns by latent mixture models. We reviewed medical records and clinical examinations to confirm incident cancer during the period from 2006 to 2020. Death information was collected from provincial vital statistics offices. Cox models were used. Results: 12807 all-cause deaths and 5060 cancers were documented during a 14-year follow-up. Relative to participants with high LE8 at baseline, participants with lower levels of LE8 have a significantly increased risk of mortality and incident cancer. All these risks have an increasing trend with LE8 level decreasing. Meanwhile, the trajectory analysis recorded 7483 all-cause deaths and 3037 incident cancers after approximately 10 years. The associations of LE8 with death and cancer were identical to the longitudinal study. In the subtype cancer analysis, LE8 has a strong effect on colorectal cancer risk. Moreover, the cut point is 56.67 in the association between LE8 and death, while the cut point altered to 64.79 in the association between LE8 and incident cancers. These associations were enhanced among younger adults. Conclusions: There was a significant association of LE8 with death and cancer risk, especially for the young population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting overweight growth development using extended body mass index (BMI) data combined with birth and maternal records from Finnish national registries. Methods: The longitudinal data consist of growth measurements of 7372 from six birth cohorts in Finland: 1974 (n = 1109), 1981 (n = 983), 1991 (n = 607), 1994–1995 (n = 829), 2001 (n = 821), and 2003–2004 (n = 3023). Anthropometric data were collected from birth to age 15 years from the health records. Pregnancy health data were included for the four most recent birth cohorts (n = 2810). A statistical method called trajectory analysis was used to identify different BMI development trajectories. Factors associated with abnormal growth tracks were analysed using logistic regression models. Results: High pre‐pregnancy BMI, gestational diabetes mellitus, maternal smoking, and greater gestational weight gain than the Institute of Medicine (United States) recommendations were associated with the overweight growth track. Two of the trajectories didn't seem to follow the normal growth pattern: overweight growth track appeared to lead to overweight, while low birth BMI track showed accelerating growth after the adiposity rebound point of BMI growth. Conclusion: These findings suggest that maternal overweight before pregnancy, excessive gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, and smoking could potentially be associated with the risk of obesity in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southwest vortices (SWVs) are a unique type of mesoscale vortex that frequently induce torrential rainfall in China. In this study, we focused a long‐lived quasi‐stationary SWV, which was the primary system for producing an extremely heavy rainstorm within/around Sichuan (the maximum hourly precipitation was ~103.8 mm) in Mid July 2021. After reproduced the SWV's formation by using Weather Research and Forecasting model, we conducted trajectory analyses and topography sensitivity simulations to understand the effects of complicated topography on the vortex's formation. It is found that, the regions south and southwest of the SWV acted as the most important source regions for the air clusters that formed the SWV (proportion ≥ 65%), and the air clusters originated from the upper layer contributed the most (≥60%). Of these, the air clusters sourced from the upper layer southwest and south of the SWV played the most important role in the SWV's formation, as their increase in cyclonic vorticity and their contributions to trajectory number and vorticity were all much larger than those of the others. Sensitivity simulations indicated that, detailed topography features around the Sichuan Basin were crucial in determining the structure, intensity and precipitation of the SWV, whereas, the topography features were not a decisive factor for the SWV's formation. In summary, our findings are useful to enrich the current understanding of the SWVs' formation, which would be helpful to improve the related forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grid inhomogeneous solvation theory (GIST) method requires the often time-consuming calculation of water-water and water-solute energy on a grid. Previous efforts to speed up this calculation include using OpenMP, GPUs, and particle mesh Ewald. This article details how the speed of this calculation can be increased by parallelizing it with MPI, where trajectory frames are divided among multiple processors. This requires very little communication between individual processes during trajectory processing, meaning the calculation scales well to large processor counts. This article also details how the entropy calculation, which must happen after trajectory processing since it requires information from all trajectory frames, is parallelized via MPI. This parallelized GIST method has been implemented in the freely-available CPPTRAJ analysis software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of ground-level ozone concentration variability in Crimea at the background environmental monitoring station (BEMS) of the Karadag State Nature Reserve for 2012–2021 with a more detailed analysis of the last 6 years from 2016 to 2021. A significantly high level of air pollution by ground-level ozone in the observation area was revealed, despite the absence of significant sources of anthropogenic pollution in the vicinity of the station. The relationship between the ground-level ozone concentration and meteorological parameters has been studied, and characteristic wind directions leading to increased levels of ground-level ozone pollution have been established. Intra-annual variations are analyzed, and factors causing a local summer minimum of ground-level ozone concentration in individual years are identified. Using the NOAA HYSPLIT model and ERA5 reanalysis meteorological fields, a spatial analysis of the atmospheric circulation pattern in the region has been carried out. The recurrence of episodes in which the permissible 8-h average ozone concentration level of 100 μg/m3, as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), was exceeded has been assessed, and the possible causes of these episodes are identified. Mechanisms of long-range transport and their contribution to the ozone regime in the station area have been established. Annual trends in ground-level ozone concentration between 2012 and 2021 are assessed as statistically insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human movement trajectories can reveal useful insights regarding the underlying mechanisms of human behaviors. Extracting information from movement trajectories, however, can be challenging because of their complex and dynamic nature. The current paper presents a Python toolkit developed to help users analyze and extract meaningful information from the trajectories of discrete rapid aiming movements executed by humans. This toolkit uses various open-source Python libraries, such as NumPy and SciPy, and offers a collection of common functionalities to analyze movement trajectory data. To ensure flexibility and ease of use, the toolkit offers two approaches: an automated approach that processes raw data and generates relevant measures automatically, and a manual approach that allows users to selectively use different functions based on their specific needs. A behavioral experiment based on the spatial cueing paradigm was conducted to illustrate how one can use this toolkit in practice. Readers are encouraged to access the publicly available data and relevant analysis scripts as an opportunity to learn about kinematic analysis for human movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in computational power with the latest supercomputers has enabled atomistic molecular dynamics (MDs) simulations of biomolecules in biological membrane, cytoplasm, and other cellular environments. These environments often contain a million or more atoms to be simulated simultaneously. Therefore, their trajectory analyses involve heavy computations that can become a bottleneck in the computational studies. Spatial decomposition analysis (SPANA) is a set of analysis tools in the Generalized‐Ensemble Simulation System (GENESIS) software package that can carry out MD trajectory analyses of large‐scale biological simulations using multiple CPU cores in parallel. SPANA applies the spatial decomposition of a large biological system to distribute structural and dynamical analyses into individual CPU cores, which reduces the computational time and the memory size, significantly. SPANA opens new possibilities for detailed atomistic analyses of biomacromolecules as well as solvent water molecules, ions, and metabolites in MD simulation trajectories of very large biological systems containing more than millions of atoms in cellular environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the Eastern Barents Sea Basin are up to 2 km thick and represent one of the least studied Arctic intervals. Here, for the first time, we present a detailed analysis of 43,000 km of 2D seismic profiles, as well as well-log and core data from 24 offshore wells with the aim to create a comprehensive sequence stratigraphic framework that can be integrated with the rest of the basin. Results show that (1) seven third-order sequences and five types of clinoforms can be identified based on integrated seismic and well data. The age of each sequence was established based on published biostratigraphic investigations along with new dinocyst interpretations included in this study; (2) the deep marine basin was gradually filled with sediments coming from north, east and south as a response to HALIP, Canada Basin opening and Cimmerian uplift of Novaya Zemlya, and was preserved only in the southwestern part of the Barents Sea Basin at the end of Early Cretaceous and (3) both Eastern Barents Sea and West Siberia Basin share similarities in sedimentary environments and tectonic setting, though the spatial distribution of clastic reservoirs in Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous mega-sequence heavily depends on the source areas that require more provenance focused research. The results presented here can be used in further regional exploration in the area and to better understand the geodynamic evolution of the Greater Barents Sea Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing the path or trajectory of a fired bullet is an often recurring part of shooting incident reconstruction. The current study describes how gravitational pull causes a systemic error on the vertical component of a trajectory reconstruction. Bullet drop, drop angle, and vertical offset are explained and calculated for 10 different handgun/ammunition combinations over a range of distances up to 100 m. The presented results are intended to provide forensic firearm examiners with a reference frame for the magnitude of error introduced on handgun bullet trajectory reconstructions over distance. Threshold values of 20 and 30 m are proposed as conservative distances up to where bullet trajectories can be modeled as straight lines with subsonic/transonic handgun bullets and with supersonic handgun bullets respectively. Both the bullet drop and vertical offset will be below 5 cm at these distances for those categories. The drop angle will be below 0.3°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study compared opioid utilization trajectories of persons initiating tramadol, short-acting hydrocodone, or short-acting oxycodone, and it characterized opioid dose trajectories and type of opioid in persistent opioid therapy subsamples. Methods A retrospective cohort study of adults with chronic non-cancer pain who were initiating opioid therapy was conducted with the IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus for Academics data (2008–2018). Continuous enrollment was required for 6 months before ("baseline") and 12 months after ("follow-up") the first opioid prescription ("index date"). Opioid therapy measures were assessed every 7 days over follow-up. Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was used to identify trajectories for any opioid and total morphine milligram equivalent measures, and longitudinal latent class analysis was used for opioid therapy type. Results A total of 40 276 tramadol, 141 023 hydrocodone, and 45 221 oxycodone initiators were included. GBTM on any opioid therapy identified 3 latent trajectories: early discontinuers (tramadol 39.0%, hydrocodone 54.1%, oxycodone 61.4%), late discontinuers (tramadol 37.9%, hydrocodone 39.4%, oxycodone 33.3%), and persistent therapy (tramadol 6.7%, hydrocodone 6.5%, oxycodone 5.3%). An additional fourth trajectory, intermittent therapy (tramadol 16.4%), was identified for tramadol initiators. Of those on persistent therapy, 2687 individuals were on persistent therapy with tramadol, 9169 with hydrocodone, and 2377 with oxycodone. GBTM on opioid dose resulted in 6 similar trajectory groups in each persistent therapy group. Longitudinal latent class analysis on opioid therapy type identified 6 latent classes for tramadol and oxycodone and 7 classes for hydrocodone. Conclusion Opioid therapy patterns meaningfully differed by the initial opioid prescribed, notably the presence of intermittent therapy among tramadol initiators and higher morphine milligram equivalents and prescribing of long-acting opioids among oxycodone initiators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Functional decline associated with dementia, including in Alzheimer's disease (AD), is not uniform across individuals, and respective heterogeneity is not yet fully explained. Such heterogeneity may in part be related to genetic variability among individuals. In this study, we investigated whether the SNP rs6859 in nectin cell adhesion molecule 2 (NECTIN2) gene (a major risk factor for AD) influences trajectories of cognitive decline in older participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed records on 1310 participants from the ADNI database for the multivariate analysis. We used longitudinal measures of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in participants, who were cognitively normal, or having AD, or other cognitive deficits to investigate the trajectories of cognitive changes. Multiple linear regression, linear mixed models and latent class analyses were conducted to investigate the association of the SNP rs6859 with MMSE. Results: The regression coefficient per one allele dose of the SNP rs6859 was independently associated with MMSE in both cross-sectional (-2.23, p < 0.01) and linear mixed models (-2.26, p < 0.01) analyses. The latent class model with three distinct subgroups (class 1: stable and gradual decline, class 2: intermediate and late decline, and class 3: lowest and irregular) performed best in the posterior classification, 42.67% (n = 559), 21.45% (n = 281), 35.88% (n = 470) were classified as class 1, class 2, and class 3. In the heterogeneous linear mixed model, the regression coefficient per one allele dose of rs6859 – A risk allele was significantly associated with MMSE class 1 and class 2 memberships and related decline; Class 1 (-2.28, 95% CI: -4.05, -0.50, p < 0.05), Class 2 (-5.56, 95% CI: -9.61, -1.51, p < 0.01) and Class 3 (-0.37, 95% CI: -1.62, 0.87, p = 0.55). Conclusions: This study found statistical evidence supporting the classification of three latent subclass groups representing complex MMSE trajectories in the ADNI cohort. The SNP rs6859 can be suggested as a candidate genetic predictor of variation in modeling MMSE trajectory, as well as for identifying latent classes with higher baseline MMSE. Functional studies may help further elucidate this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Functional decline associated with dementia, including in Alzheimer's disease (AD), is not uniform across individuals, and respective heterogeneity is not yet fully explained. Such heterogeneity may in part be related to genetic variability among individuals. In this study, we investigated whether the SNP rs6859 in nectin cell adhesion molecule 2 (NECTIN2) gene (a major risk factor for AD) influences trajectories of cognitive decline in older participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed records on 1310 participants from the ADNI database for the multivariate analysis. We used longitudinal measures of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in participants, who were cognitively normal, or having AD, or other cognitive deficits to investigate the trajectories of cognitive changes. Multiple linear regression, linear mixed models and latent class analyses were conducted to investigate the association of the SNP rs6859 with MMSE. Results: The regression coefficient per one allele dose of the SNP rs6859 was independently associated with MMSE in both cross-sectional (-2.23, p < 0.01) and linear mixed models (-2.26, p < 0.01) analyses. The latent class model with three distinct subgroups (class 1: stable and gradual decline, class 2: intermediate and late decline, and class 3: lowest and irregular) performed best in the posterior classification, 42.67% (n = 559), 21.45% (n = 281), 35.88% (n = 470) were classified as class 1, class 2, and class 3. In the heterogeneous linear mixed model, the regression coefficient per one allele dose of rs6859 – A risk allele was significantly associated with MMSE class 1 and class 2 memberships and related decline; Class 1 (-2.28, 95% CI: -4.05, -0.50, p < 0.05), Class 2 (-5.56, 95% CI: -9.61, -1.51, p < 0.01) and Class 3 (-0.37, 95% CI: -1.62, 0.87, p = 0.55). Conclusions: This study found statistical evidence supporting the classification of three latent subclass groups representing complex MMSE trajectories in the ADNI cohort. The SNP rs6859 can be suggested as a candidate genetic predictor of variation in modeling MMSE trajectory, as well as for identifying latent classes with higher baseline MMSE. Functional studies may help further elucidate this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate various trajectories of physical activity (PA) in a population from the southwestern China and to analyze their associations with the occurrence of carotid plaque as cardiovascular diseases being a leading cause of disability and premature death worldwide. Methods This study utilized data from three surveys conducted in 2018, 2020, and 2023, involving the China Multi - Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) healthy lifestyle promotion sub - cohort participants living in Jianyang and Pidu Districts of Sichuan Province of China. The primary outcome of interest was the occurrence of carotid plaque, measured in 2023. To classify the types of PA trajectories based on metabolic equivalents (METs), a latent class trajectory model was employed. The associations between different PA trajectories and carotid plaque were examined using logistic-regression analysis. Results A total of 373 participants were included in this study, and the types of PA trajectories were classified into four groups: low MET - stable, moderate MET - stable, high MET - declining, and high MET - ascending groups. Compared to the low MET 一 stable group, both moderate MET 一 stable and high MET 一 declining groups showed a protective effect against the occurrence of carotid plaque. Among them, the moderate MET 一 stable group exhibited the strongest protective effect (OR =0.16, 95% CI: 0. 07 - 0. 34), followed by the high MET 一 declining group (OR =0.34, 95%CI: 0. 20 一 0.59). Subgroup analysis revealed that the high MET 一 ascending group demonstrated a stronger protective effect in males (OR =0. 16, 95%CI: 0. 03 一 0. 70) and individuals with an annual household income of $60,000 Chinese yuan, (OR 二0. 09, 95% CI: 0. 01 - 0. 53), with significant interaction effects (P <0. 05). Conclusion Maintaining steady moderate - intensity PA may reduce the risk for carotid plaque, and protective effects are more pronounced in the high MET - ascending group in males and those with a higher annual household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cigarette smoking and physical inactivity are two critical risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and all-cause mortality. However, few studies have compared the long-term trajectories of both behaviors, as well as multilevel factors associated with trajectory patterns. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) Wave I through V survey data, this study characterized distinct subgroups of the population sharing similar behavioral patterns from adolescence to adulthood, as well as predictors of subgroup membership for physical activity (PA) and cigarette smoking behavior respectively. Methods: Using the Add Health Wave I through V survey data, we identified the optimal number of latent classes and class-specific trajectories of PA and cigarette smoking from early adolescence to adulthood, fitting latent growth mixture models with standardized PA score and past 30-day cigarette smoking intensity as outcome measures and age as a continuous time variable. Associations of baseline sociodemographic factors, neighborhood characteristics, and sociopsychological factors with trajectory class membership were assessed using multinomial logistic regression. Results: We identified three distinct subgroups of non-linear PA trajectories in the study population: moderately active group (N = 1067, 5%), persistently inactive group (N = 14,257, 69%) and worsening activity group (N = 5410, 26%). Foror cigarette smoking, we identified three distinct non-linear trajectory subgroups: persistent non-smoker (N = 14,939, 72%), gradual quitter (N = 2357, 11%), and progressing smoker (N = 3393, 16%). Sex, race/ethnicity, neighborhood environment and perceived peer support during adolescence were significant predictors of both physical activity and cigarette smoking trajectory subgroup membership from early adolescence to adulthood. Conclusions: There are three distinct subgroups of individuals sharing similar PA and cigarette smoking behavioral profile respectively from adolescence to adulthood in the Add Health study population. Behavioral interventions that focus on neighborhood environment (e.g. establish community-based activity center) and relationship to peers during adolescence (e.g. peer counseling) could be key to long-term PA promotion and cigarette smoking cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in single-cell sequencing and data analysis have made it possible to infer biological trajectories spanning heterogeneous cell populations based on transcriptome variation. These trajectories yield a wealth of novel insights into dynamic processes such as development and differentiation. However, trajectory analysis relies on an assumption of trajectory continuity, and experimental limitations preclude some real-world scenarios from meeting this condition. The current lack of assessment metrics makes it difficult to ascertain if/when a given trajectory deviates from continuity, and what impact such a divergence would have on inference accuracy is unclear. By analyzing simulated breaks introduced into in silico and real single-cell data, we found that discontinuity caused precipitous drops in the accuracy of trajectory inference. We then generate a simple scoring algorithm for assessing trajectory continuity, and found that continuity assessments in real-world cases of intestinal stem cell development and CD8 + T cells differentiation efficiently identifies trajectories consistent with empirical knowledge. This assessment approach can also be used in cases where a priori knowledge is lacking to screen a pool of inferred lineages for their adherence to presumed continuity, and serve as a means for weighing higher likelihood trajectories for validation via empirical studies, as exemplified by our case studies in psoriatic arthritis and acute kidney injury. This tool is freely available through github at qingshanni/scEGRET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to identify and describe trajectories of change in distress among highly challenging patients who had received long and intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Methods: The longitudinal version of the K‐means algorithm was applied to the outcome measures data of 74 patients treated in four public mental health centers. The patients were measured five times at 6‐month intervals for three outcome measures. Results: For the OQ45 and Symptom Checklist‐90, one trajectory was marked by a lower initial distress level. In this trajectory, the improvement occurred in the first half of the measurements, with a plateau thereafter. A second trajectory was characterized by higher initial severity and an improvement, mainly in the second part of the measurements. For the Beck Depression Inventory, one trajectory was marked by lower initial distress. In this group, the improvement occurred throughout the entire period. The remaining patients were characterized by higher initial distress and a decreased level of distress in the last part of treatment. They began to improve only during the third year of therapy. Conclusion: The response to treatment is not uniform in long‐term treatment for highly challenging patients. A significant number of patients require a longer period of therapy to ignite improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the heterogeneity of negative symptoms of schizophrenia contributes to the identification of available treatment targets. Generally, prior evidence classified three to four symptom treatment response trajectory groups over the course of positive symptoms, yet, no evidence exists regarding the heterogeneity of medium-term response to predominant negative symptoms. The current post-hoc analysis aims to identify the heterogeneity in negative symptom treatment response trajectories among patients with predominant negative symptoms who received either cariprazine or risperidone for 26 weeks. Treatment response was analyzed based on the: the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale Factor Score for Negative Symptoms (PANSS-FSNS), and the Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGI S) and Improvement (CGI I) scales. To identify subgroups of patients with a similar course of treatment response, group-based trajectory modelling was utilized. Results demonstrated that in comparison with competing models, a single trajectory best described the treatment response of patients with predominant negative symptoms. The results indicate that patients with predominant negative symptoms with over ten years of schizophrenia respond rapidly to adequate treatment and follow a course of steady improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a global health threat and has had a profoundly negative impact on the work and lives of healthcare workers. However, few people know how their experiences have evolved over time. Aims: To describe healthcare workers’ experiences during clinical responses to COVID-19 and how they changed over time. Design: A longitudinal qualitative study. Methods: We undertook a series of four semi-structured qualitative interviews of 14 healthcare workers called as 1st responders to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited through purposive snowball sampling. Interviews were undertaken between May 2020 and May 2022 and trajectory approach was used to reveal individual experiences over time. This paper follows the COREQ (Consolidated criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) guidance. Results: Data analysis yielded the following four themes: (1) Changes in emotions; (2) Changes in organization and management of care; (3) Changes in knowledge and capabilities; and (4) Changes in outlook on life and career. Conclusion: Healthcare workers have become stronger in the pandemic and have demonstrated a high degree of professional loyalty and responsibility. However, there is a need to focus on the issue of jealousy and create a harmonious and safe work environment to reduce harm to healthcare workers. Additionally, human resource management strategies must support well-being of healthcare workers and maximize the efficiency of human resource utilization to enable them to respond to current and future needs and emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are rapidly ascending air streams associated with extratropical cyclones. WCBs exert a substantial influence on the evolution of the large‐scale midlatitude flow and have previously been related to increased forecast uncertainty in case studies. This study provides a first systematic investigation of the role of WCBs for errors in medium‐range ensemble forecasts in the Atlantic–European region. The study is enabled through a unique data set, allowing for a Lagrangian detection of WCBs in three years of operational ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts. By analysing the relationship between commonly used error metrics of variables that characterise the large‐scale flow and WCBs, the study aims to shed light on the question of the extent to which WCBs act as a source of forecast errors and as an amplifier of pre‐existing errors in a state‐of‐the‐art global operational numerical weather prediction model. We show that forecasts with high WCB activity are on average characterised by an amplified Rossby‐wave pattern and anticyclonic flow anomalies downstream. We find that the forecast skill is generally reduced when the WCB activity is high, and that WCB activity is particularly increased when the error growth is largest. To establish a causal relationship, we employ two composite approaches. The first focuses on the time of largest error growth and the second calculates normalised forecast error fields centered on WCB objects. Both approaches yield a consistent picture: anomalously high errors are initially associated with misrepresentations of an upstream trough. In regions of WCB ascent and outflow, the errors grow rapidly in terms of magnitude and scale and are projected onto the upper‐level large‐scale circulation. We also find indications that WCBs can cause errors even when the upstream flow is well represented. Notwithstanding, evidence is robust for WCBs acting as an amplifier of forecast uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, women are over-represented in precarious and insecure employment arrangements. Importantly, the high unpaid labour demands women experience over the life course compromise paid labour force participation for women. This study explores the way different trajectories of time spent in unpaid labour throughout women's prime working and child-rearing years (from baseline age of 25–35 yrs to 42–52 yrs) are associated with indicators of precarious employment and labour force detachment later in life. We applied group-based trajectory modelling to 17 waves (2002–2018) of data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey to identify trajectories in unpaid labour. We then examined associations between these estimated trajectories and employment outcomes in wave 19 (2019). Our study shows that chronic exposure to high amounts of unpaid labour over prime working-age years (compared to lower exposure levels) increases women's probability of precarious employment and labour force detachment later in prime working life. This provides evidence that ongoing inequity in the division of unpaid labour has considerable long-term implications for gender inequality in the paid labour force, and underscores the importance of urgently addressing how men and women share and prioritise time across both paid and unpaid labour domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three video analysis-based applications for the study of captive animal behavior are presented. The aim of the first one is to provide certain parameters to assess drug efficiency by analyzing the movement of a rat. The scene is a three-chamber plastic box. First, the rat can move only in the middle room. The rat's head pose is the first parameter needed. Secondly, the rodent could walk in all three compartments. The entry number in each area and visit duration are the other indicators used in the final evaluation. The second application is related to a neuroscience experiment. Besides the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals yielded by a radio frequency link from a headset mounted on a monkey, the head placement is a useful source of information for reliable analysis, as well as its orientation. Finally, a fusion method to construct the displacement of a panda bear in a cage and the corresponding motion analysis to recognize its stress states are shown. The arena is a zoological garden that imitates the native environment of a panda bear. This surrounding is monitored by means of four video cameras. We have applied the following stages: (a) panda detection for every video camera; (b) panda path construction from all routes; and (c) panda way filtering and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the characteristics of azimuthally asymmetric equivalent potential temperature (θe) distributions in the outer core of tropical cyclones (TCs) encountering weak and strong vertical wind shear are examined using a Lagrangian trajectory method. Evaporatively forced downdrafts in the outer rainbands can transport low-entropy air downward, resulting in the lowest θe in the downshear-left boundary layer. Quantitative estimations of θe recovery indicate that air parcels, especially those originating from the downshear-left outer core, can gradually revive from a low entropy state through surface enthalpy fluxes as the parcels move cyclonically. As a result, the maximum θe is observed in the downshear-right quadrant of a highly sheared TC. The trajectory analyses also indicate that parcels that move upward in the outer rainbands and those that travel through the inner core due to shear make a dominant contribution to the midlevel enhancement of θe in the downshear-left outer core. In particular, the former plays a leading role in such θe enhancements, while the latter plays a secondary role. As a result, moist potential stability occurs in the middle-to-lower troposphere in the downshear-left outer core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disc spring system is applied to the vibration screen, which can effectively reduce the exciting force and improve screening capacity. In this work, the dynamic characteristics and screening performance of the disc spring vibration screen are studied. The modal simulation and experimental results show that the model vibration direction at first natural frequency is consistent with the working direction of the vibration screen. Moreover, the trajectory analysis and discrete element screening simulation prove that the disc spring vibration screen has better screening performance than the coil spring vibration screen. Eventually, by comparing required exciting force under the same amplitude, fatigue life of the spindle bearing, and energy consumption between the coil spring and disc spring vibration screen, it can be found that disc spring vibration screen has better mechanical properties, higher reliability, and lower energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the task-specific robot treadmill therapies can improve gait performance of children with cerebral palsy, not all the institutions have the possibility to access to the sensor robot information to obtain quantitative measures related actual progress of the children. The aim of this study is to propose a computer vision system to investigate the effort of children with cerebral palsy during robot treadmill therapy. Ten participants diagnosed with cerebral palsy underwent single robot therapy sessions consisting of a motivated period (active: kicking a ball), followed by an unmotivated period (passive: simple walking). The outcome measure was the ankle trajectory recorded by a video camera. Indexes based on the ankle trajectory between active and passive therapy were computed: (a) the gait analysis based on the difference on a sample-by-sample manner, and b) the step cycles with dynamic time warping (DTW). Inference statistical analysis shows that the robot trajectories for passive and active therapies with the gait analysis presents statistical differences (p- value < 0. 0 1)). Likewise, DTW showed significant differences in robot trajectories related to passive and active therapy (p- value < 0. 0 1)). We found that the statistical differences are independent of the severity of central gait impairment. This suggests that information about patient involvement could be given to the therapist and could be used to assess patient participation. The method showed the potential to be used as a tool for the assessment the improvement progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A resident vascular endothelial stem cell (VESC) population expressing CD157 and CD200 has been identified recently in the adult mouse. However, the origin of this population and how it develops has not been characterized, nor has it been determined whether VESC-like cells are present during the perinatal period. Here, we investigated the presence of perinatal VESC-like cells and their relationship with the adult VESC-like cell population. Methods: We applied single-cell RNA sequencing of endothelial cells (ECs) from embryonic day (E) 14, E18, postnatal day (P) 7, P14, and week (W) 8 liver and investigated transcriptomic changes during liver EC development. We performed flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, colony formation assays, and transplantation assays to validate the presence of and to assess the function of CD157+ and CD200+ ECs in the perinatal period. Results: We identified CD200− expressing VESC-like cells in the perinatal period. These cells formed colonies in vitro and had high proliferative ability. The RNA velocity tool and transplantation assay results indicated that the projected fate of this population was toward adult VESC-like cells expressing CD157 and CD200 1 week after birth. Conclusion: Our study provides a comprehensive atlas of liver EC development and documents VESC-like cell lineage commitment at single-cell resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of human mobility and resulted in unprecedented changes in population dynamics, including lifestyle and mobility. Recognizing the effects of the pandemic is crucial to understand changes and mitigate negative impacts. Spatial data on human activity, including mobile phone data, has the potential to provide movement patterns and identify regularly visited locations. Moreover, crowdsourced geospatial information can explain and characterize the regularly visited locations. The analysis of both mobility and routine locations in the same study has seldom been carried out using mobile phone data and linked to the effects of the pandemic. Therefore, in this article we study human mobility patterns within Portugal, using mobile phone and crowdsourced data to compare the population's mobility and routine locations after the pandemic's peak. We use clustering algorithms to identify citizens' stops and routine locations, at an antenna level, during the following months after the pandemic's first wave and the same period of the following year. Results based on two mobile phone datasets showed a significant difference in mobility in the two periods. Nevertheless, routine locations slightly differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing resilience is a priority in modern pig breeding. Recent research shows that general resilience can be quantified via variability in longitudinal data. The collection of such longitudinal data on weight, feed intake and feeding behaviour in pigs has been facilitated by the development of technologies such as automated feeding stations. The goal of this study was to investigate resilience traits, which were estimated as deviations from longitudinal weight, feed intake and feeding behaviour data during the finishing phase. A dataset with 324,207 records between the age of 95 and 155 days on 5,939 Piétrain pigs with known pedigree and genomic information was used. We provided guidelines for a rigid quality control of longitudinal body weight data, as we found that outliers can significantly affect results. Gompertz growth curve analysis, linear modelling and trajectory analyses were used for quantifying resilience traits. Results: To our knowledge, this is the first study comparing resilience traits from longitudinal body weight, feed intake and feeding behaviour data in pigs. We demonstrated that the resilience traits are lowly to moderately heritable for deviations in body weight (h2 = 2.9%–20.2%), in feed intake (9.4%–23.3%) and in feeding behaviour (16.2%–28.3%). Additionally, these traits have good predictive abilities in cross-validation analyses. Deviations in individual body weight and feed intake trajectories are highly correlated (rg = 0.78) with low to moderate favourable genetic correlations with feed conversion ratio (rg = 0.39–0.49). Lastly, we showed that some resilience traits, such as the natural logarithm of variances of observed versus predicted body weights (lnvarweight), are more robust to lower observation frequencies and are repeatable over three different time periods of the finishing phase. Conclusions: Our results will help future studies investigating resilience traits and resilience-related traits. Moreover, our study provides first results on standardization of quality control and efficient data sampling from automated feeding station data. Our findings will be valuable for breeding organizations as they offer evidence that pigs' general resilience can be selected on with good accuracy. Moreover, this methodology might be extended to other species to quantify resilience based on longitudinal data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the ERA5 reanalysis data and trajectory analysis provided by Hysplit4, a comparative analysis was conducted on the primary pathways of air particles and the dominant weather systems in two distinct cases of equatorward and poleward cyclonic Rossby wave-breaking (CWB) events. Subsequently, the characteristics of mass exchange between the stratosphere and troposphere in both CWBs were estimated and discussed. CWB events are frequently associated with the development of an upper front in subtropics and a ridge or blocking in mid-latitudes, leading to a tropopause anomaly characterized by a downward depression in the subtropics and an upward bulge in the mid-latitudes. High potential vorticity (PV) particles exhibit negligible vertical motion and are instead controlled by the circulation of the ridge or blocking, leading to a significant poleward transport. In contrast, low PV particles display noticeable vertical motion, with approximately one fourth of them ascending on the north side of the upper-level jet exit region. After CWB occurrence, approximately 25% of low PV particles moved southward and sank below 500 hPa with the downstream trough's cold air. Most high PV particles remained in the stratosphere, and low PV particles predominantly remained in the troposphere. Only a small proportion (2% to 6%) of particles underwent stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE). In equatorward CWB, STE manifested as transport from stratosphere to troposphere, occurring mainly in 24–48 h post breaking with a maximum mass transport of approximately 1.54 × 1013 kg. In poleward CWB, STE involved transport from troposphere to stratosphere, occurring mainly within 0–18 h post breaking with a maximum mass transport of approximately 1.48 × 1013 kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition of ecological assemblages has changed rapidly over the past century. Compositional reorganization rates are high relative to rates of alpha diversity change, creating an urgent need to understand how this compositional reorganization is progressing. We developed a quantitative framework for comparing temporal trajectories of compositional reorganization and applied it to two long‐term bird and marine fish datasets. We then evaluated how the number and magnitude of short‐term changes relate to overall rates of change. We found varied trajectories of turnover across birds and fish, with linear directional change predominating in birds and non‐directional change more common in fish. The number of changes away from the baseline was a more consistent correlate of the overall rate of change than the magnitude of such changes, but large unreversed changes were found in both fish and birds, as were time series with accelerating compositional change. Compositional reorganization is progressing through a complex mix of temporal trajectories, including both threshold‐like behaviour and the accumulation of repeated, linear change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]