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Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a prevalent medical problem with limited effective treatment strategies. Although many biological processes contributing to ALD have been elucidated, a complete understanding of the underlying mechanisms is still lacking. The current study employed a proteomic approach to identify hepatic changes resulting from ethanol (EtOH) consumption and the genetic ablation of the formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2), a G-protein coupled receptor known to regulate multiple signaling pathways and biological processes, in a mouse model of ALD. Since previous research from our team demonstrated a notable reduction in hepatic FPR2 protein levels in patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH), the proteomic changes in the livers of Fpr2−/− EtOH mice were compared to those observed in patients with AH in order to identify common hepatic proteomic alterations. Several pathways linked to exacerbated ALD in Fpr2−/− EtOH mice, as well as hepatic protein changes resembling those found in patients suffering from AH, were identified. These alterations included decreased levels of coagulation factors F2 and F9, as well as reduced hepatic levels of glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) and total glutathione in Fpr2−/− EtOH compared to WT EtOH mice. In conclusion, the data suggest that FPR2 may play a regulatory role in hepatic blood coagulation and the antioxidant system, both in a pre-clinical model of ALD and in human AH, however further experiments are required to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is increasingly causing disruptions to ecological communities upon which Natives have relied for millennia. These disruptions raise existential threats not only to ecosystems but to Native communities. Yet no analysis has carefully explored how climate change is affecting the governance of tribal ecological lands. This Article, by examining the current legal adaptive capacity to manage the effects of ecological change on tribal lands, closes this scholarly and policy gap. This Article first considers interventions to date, finding them to be lacking in even assessing--let alone addressing--climate risks to tribal ecosystem governance. It then carefully explores how climate change raises distinctive risks and advantages to tribal governance as compared to federal and state approaches. Relying in part on a review of publicly available tribal plans, this Article details how tribal adaptation planning to date has fared. Focusing on climate change and ecological adaptation, this Article delves into the substantive, procedural, and structural aspects of tribal governance. Substantively, tribal governance often tends to be considerably less wedded to conservation goals and strategies that rely on "natural" preservation, and many tribes focus less on maximizing yield in favor of more flexible objectives that may be more congruent with adaptation. Procedurally, like other authorities, many tribal governments could better integrate adaptive management and meaningful public participation into adaptation processes, yet some tribes serve as exemplars for doing so (as well as for integrating traditional ecological knowledge with Western science). Structurally, tribal ecological land governance should not only continue to tap the advantages of decentralized tribal authority but also complement it through more robust (1) federal roles in funding and information dissemination and (2) intergovernmental coordination, assuming other governments will respect tribal sovereignty. This Article concludes by identifying areas where tribal management practices might serve as valuable exemplars for adaptation governance more generally, as well as areas in which additional work would be helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the influence of specific COVID-19 impacts on college student depression, loneliness, and alcohol and cannabis use, and to investigate if resilience moderates these relationships. Participants: Data were collected from students (N = 1849, 80.9% white, 66.6% female) at a midwestern university during the 2021 winter/spring semester. Methods: Data were gathered cross-sectionally through an online survey platform. COVID-19 impacts and resilience's relationships with mental health variables were analyzed with multiple regression analysis. Moderation analyses were conducted using PROCESS. Results: The COVID-19 impacts measured in this study were significantly related to student depression and cannabis use. Resilience moderated the association between COVID-19 impacts and (a) depression and (b) cannabis use. Conclusion: Resilience may mitigate the effect of pandemic-related impacts on depression and cannabis use in college students, but not loneliness and alcohol use. These findings hold important implications for further research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. There is limited evidence that exposure to current-use pesticides may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk. We examined the association between residential proximity to the application of agricultural pesticides and cardiovascular risk factors among 484 adult women in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) Study, a cohort based in an agricultural region of California. Outcome assessment was completed between 2010 and 2013. Using participant residential addresses and California's Pesticide Use Reporting database, we estimated agricultural pesticide use within 1 km of residences during the 2-year period preceding outcome assessment. We used Bayesian hierarchical modeling to evaluate associations between exposure to 14 agricultural pesticides and continuous measures of waist circumference, body mass index, and blood pressure. Each 10-fold increase in paraquat application around homes was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure (β = 2.60 mm Hg; 95% credible interval [CrI], 0.27-4.89) and each 10-fold increase in glyphosate application was associated with increased pulse pressure (β = 2.26 mm Hg; 95% CrI, 0.09-4.41). No meaningful associations were observed for the other pesticides examined. Our results suggest that paraquat and glyphosate pesticides may affect cardiovascular disease development in women with chronic environmental exposure. This article is part of a Special Collection on Environmental Epidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States is a global leader in estimated rates of civilian gun ownership, and over the past few years—as the country grappled with a struggling economy exacerbated by a global pandemic—gun‐buying surged. We argue that the COVID‐19 pandemic's economic impact has implications for gun purchasing interest, and this intersects with gendered expectations about familial roles. Integrating sociological scholarship on gender and families with consumer behavior research, and using a preregistered online survey of over 8000 American adults collected in the early months of the pandemic's emergence in the United States (May 2020–June 2020), we hypothesize that men in familial roles may express greater gun interest in response to financial instability, and theorize why such a process may also be observed among women. Analyses show that men's gun interest is unaffected by family roles or financial distress. Women in family roles—mothers, in particular—who experience financial stress, however, are significantly more amenable toward guns than other women and express interest at levels approaching those of men. We discuss how such findings increase our understanding of the heterogeneity of gun owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stereotactic MR‐guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy (SMART) dose painting for hypoxia has potential to improve treatment outcomes, but clinical implementation on low‐field MR‐Linac faces substantial challenges due to dramatically lower signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) characteristics. While quantitative MRI and T1 mapping of hypoxia biomarkers show promise, T1‐to‐noise ratio (T1NR) optimization at low fields is paramount, particularly for the clinical implementation of oxygen‐enhanced (OE)‐MRI. The 3D Magnetization Prepared (2) Rapid Gradient Echo (MP2RAGE) sequence stands out for its ability to acquire homogeneous T1‐weighted contrast images with simultaneous T1 mapping. Purpose: To optimize MP2RAGE for low‐field T1 mapping; conduct experimental validation in a ground‐truth phantom; establish feasibility and reproducibility of low‐field MP2RAGE acquisition and T1 mapping in healthy volunteers. Methods: The MP2RAGE optimization was performed to maximize the contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) of T1 values in white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) brain tissues at 0.35T. Low‐field MP2RAGE images were acquired on a 0.35T MR‐Linac (ViewRay MRIdian) using a multi‐channel head coil. Validation of T1 mapping was performed with a ground‐truth Eurospin phantom, containing inserts of known T1 values (400–850 ms), with one and two average (1A and 2A) MP2RAGE scans across four acquisition sessions, resulting in eight T1 maps. Mean (± SD) T1 relative error, T1NR, and intersession coefficient of variation (CV) were determined. Whole‐brain MP2RAGE scans were acquired in 5 healthy volunteers across two sessions (A and B) and T1 maps were generated. Mean (± SD) T1 values for WM and GM were determined. Whole‐brain T1 histogram analysis was performed, and reproducibility was determined with the CV between sessions. Voxel‐by‐voxel T1 difference maps were generated to evaluate 3D spatial variation. Results: Low‐field MP2RAGE optimization resulted in parameters: MP2RAGETR of 3250 ms, inversion times (TI1/TI2) of 500/1200 ms, and flip angles (α1/α2) of 7/5°. Eurospin T1 maps exhibited a mean (± SD) relative error of 3.45% ± 1.30%, T1NR of 20.13 ± 5.31, and CV of 2.22% ± 0.67% across all inserts. Whole‐brain MP2RAGE images showed high anatomical quality with clear tissue differentiation, resulting in mean (± SD) T1 values: 435.36 ± 10.01 ms for WM and 623.29 ± 14.64 ms for GM across subjects, showing excellent concordance with literature. Whole‐brain T1 histograms showed high intrapatient and intersession reproducibility with characteristic intensity peaks consistent with voxel‐level WM and GM T1 values. Reproducibility analysis revealed a CV of 0.46% ± 0.31% and 0.35% ± 0.18% for WM and GM, respectively. Voxel‐by‐voxel T1 difference maps show a normal 3D spatial distribution of noise in WM and GM. Conclusions: Low‐field MP2RAGE proved effective in generating accurate, reliable, and reproducible T1 maps with high T1NR in phantom studies and in vivo feasibility established in healthy volunteers. While current work is focused on refining the MP2RAGE protocol to enable clinically efficient OE‐MRI, this study establishes a foundation for TOLD T1 mapping for hypoxia biomarkers. This advancement holds the potential to facilitate a paradigm shift toward MR‐guided biological adaptation and dose painting by leveraging 3D hypoxic spatial distributions and improving outcomes in conventionally challenging‐to‐treat cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, conducted using a non-experimental and cross-sectional survey, was undertaken to explore distinguishing characteristics between intenders and non-intenders regarding donation behaviors to organizations that work to protect water resources. The case presented here was drawn from the state of Florida, U.S. where many organizations rely on public donations to complete their missions. An electronic, opt-in, nonprobability survey panel design employing a representative quota sample was used to recruit residents for data collection. Three normative lenses were used to compare the two groups. The findings of the study revealed that intenders had greater generalized (injunctive and descriptive), expectancy-based (injunctive and descriptive), and value-expectancy (injunctive and descriptive) normative beliefs compared to non-intenders. Among the three normative types, generalized normative beliefs provided the most robust distinction between the two groups with generalized descriptive norms being the most important distinguishing factor. This finding reveals potential donors' perceptions of whether the important people in their lives are engaged in donating to these organizations are more important than whether they perceive approval or expectation to do so. In terms of personal characteristics, results showed intenders were significantly younger, more likely to hold a professional degree or have a higher income, and more likely to have made a financial donation in the past relative to their counterparts who lacked intent. It is recommended that organizations focus on effectively showcasing donation behaviors of important others and targeting previous and younger donors to enhance public donations for water resources or similar environmental conservation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the decrease in cigarette smoking among American youths, which is considered one of the great public health victories of the century, as of November 2024. Topics include causes of the decrease in youth smoking, public perceptions of tobacco and nicotine, and the legacy of the disappearance of youth smoking.

This study is the first to provide a systematic overview and taxonomy of measures assessing perceived ageism. A systematic review according to PRISMA was conducted with the aim of descriptively presenting the body of existing perceived ageism measures. Of 14,135 identified articles, 95 were included. Our taxonomy sorted perceived ageism instruments according to forms of ageism (personal experience versus others’ experience); age group; context; global/situational; bene-/malevolent. Thirty-four multi-item measures were identified. The majority assessed global, malevolent forms of personally perceived experiences of ageism among older age groups in everyday life. Sufficient indicators of psychometric merit were only reported for few measures, including Nordic Age Discrimination Scale and Perceived Ageism Questionnaire. Despite the number of existing perceived ageism measures, only a few reported sufficient information on psychometric properties. This indicates the possibility of inaccurate prevalence estimates. Future research is needed to validate and diversify the body of perceived ageism measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text features interviews with women practitioners in the film and television industry, who share their experiences, challenges, and achievements in various roles. They discuss issues like gendered job segregation, representation, and work-life balance, while highlighting initiatives like Illuminatrix to promote diversity. The text also explores the experiences of a television crew in Ireland, emphasizing the importance of language skills, particularly in Irish, for those interested in Irish language broadcasting. Additionally, it provides historical information on media-related topics and introduces Dr. Helen Warner, an Associate Professor in Media and Digital Cultures at UEA. [Extracted from the article]

Semiaquatic animals breed in environments with a mix of aquatic and terrestrial features, each requiring appropriate types of locomotion with differential energetic demands and containing different suits of predators. We surveyed calling locations of male Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) at our study pond to assess average composition of land/water substrates available to females during mate choice. We also conducted acoustic playback trials to examine whether the mate choice behavior of females was affected by approach substrate; that is, whether females had to swim or walk towards a potential mate. We found that mate preferences were not strongly affected by the substrate of movement: the preferred call duration ("peak preference") was similar in both treatments, but females showed somewhat stronger discrimination against values deviating from their peak preference (higher "preference selectivity") in the water treatment. By contrast, other aspects of phonotaxis behavior were clearly different and consistent with females perceiving water as a more dangerous environment: in the water treatment, females took longer to leave the dry release point, jumped further when leaving the release point, and took advantage of features of the playback setup (i.e., the aquatic arena was surrounded by walls) to leave the water and approach the speaker "on land". This suggests that females do not compromise mate preferences but adjust associated behaviors to minimize risk, and that environmental heterogeneity has little influence on sexual selection regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), that starts with atrophic lesions in the outer retina that expand to cover the macula and fovea, leading to severe vision loss over time. Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor (PEDF) has a diverse-range of properties, including its ability to promote cell survival, reduce inflammation, inhibit angiogenesis, combat oxidative stress, regulate autophagy, and stimulate anti-apoptotic pathways, making it a promising therapeutic candidate for GA. However, the relatively short half-life of PEDF protein has precluded its potential as a clinical therapy for GA since it would require frequent injections. Therefore, we describe administration of a PEDF gene, comparing and contrasting delivery routes, viral and nonviral vectors, and consider the critical challenges for PEDF as a neuroprotectant for GA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) implemented modifications in 2018 to the adult heart transplant allocation system to better stratify the most medically urgent transplant candidates. We evaluated the impact of these changes on patients supported by a durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Objective: To evaluate the impact of the OPTN policy change on patients supported by durable left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: We performed an analysis of patients from the United Network of Organ Sharing Database supported by durable LVAD listed for a heart transplant (HT) between October 17, 2016 and September 30, 2021. Patients were divided into two groups: pre‐ and postpolicy, depending on whether they were listed on or prior to October 17, 2018. Patients who were on dialysis prior to surgery or discharge were excluded from the analysis. Patients with simultaneous heart and kidney transplants were excluded. Patients who were listed for transplant prepolicy change but transplanted postpolicy change were excluded. This cohort was then subdivided into degrees of CKD based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which resulted in 678 patients (23.7%) in Stage 1 (GFR ≥89.499) (Prepolicy: 345, Postpolicy: 333), 1233 (43.1%) in Stage 2 (89.499 > GFR ≥ 59.499) (Prepolicy: 618, Postpolicy: 615), 613 (21.4%) in Stage 3a (59.499 > GFR ≥ 44.499) (Prepolicy: 291, Postpolicy: 322), 294 (10.3%) in Stage 3b (44.499 > GFR ≥ 29.499) (Prepolicy: 143, Postpolicy: 151), 36 (1.3%) in Stage 4 (29.499 > GFR ≥ 15) (Prepolicy: 21, Postpolicy: 15), and 9 (0.3%) in Stage 5 (15 > GFR) (Prepolicy: 4, Postpolicy: 5). The primary outcome was 1‐year and 2‐year post‐HT survival. Results: There were 2863 patients who met the study criteria (1422 prepolicy, 1441 postpolicy). Overall survival, regardless of CKD stage, was lower following the policy change (p < 0.01). There was a similar risk of primary graft failure (PGF) in the pre‐ and postpolicy period (1.8% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.26). 1‐year overall survival was 93% (91, 94) and 89% (87, 91) in the pre‐ and postpolicy periods, respectively. 2‐year overall survival was 89% (88, 91) and 85% (82, 87) in the pre‐ and postpolicy periods, respectively. For CKD Stages 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, and 5, 1 ‐year survival was 93% (91, 95), 92% (90,93), 89% (86, 91), 89% (86, 93), 80% (68, 94), and 100% (100, 100), respectively. For CKD Stages 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, and 5, 2‐year survival was 91% (88, 93), 88% (86, 90), 84% (81, 88), 84% (80, 89), 73% (59, 90), and 100% (100, 100), respectively. Patients with CKD 1 and 2 had better survival compared to those with CKD 3 (p < 0.01) and CKD 4 and 5 (p = 0.03) in the pre‐ and postpolicy periods. Patients with CKD 3 did not have a survival advantage over those with CKD 4 and 5 (p = 0.25). On cox regression analysis, advancing degrees of CKD were associated with an increased risk of mortality. Conclusions: Patients with LVAD support had decreased overall survival after the OPTN policy change. Patients with more advanced CKD had lower survival than patients without advanced CKD, though they were not impacted by the OPTN policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a wide gap between the first publication of new treatments with efficacy and their successful application in clinical practice. In many respects, the management of allergic diseases is a good exemplar of the knowledge/practice gap. It was assumed that systematic reviews and publication of guidelines would ensure timely delivery of effective care, but this has not proved to be the case. While there are many reasons to explain shortcomings in healthcare delivery, the lack of patient and carer involvement in the planning of research, evidence review, guideline development and guideline implementation is most compelling. To achieve adherence to evidence‐based guidelines consistently across all levels of the health service requires the implementation of integrated care with clear pathways through which patients can navigate. Quality improvement methodology could be employed to plan and implement integrated care pathways (ICPs). There is evidence that ICPs achieve improved outcomes for acute hospital‐based interventions, but less work has focussed on long‐term conditions where more diverse agencies are involved. At all stages, stakeholder representation from the full range of healthcare professionals, patients, their families, social services, education, local government and employers must be involved. In this article we review the step‐wise and iterative process by which knowledge is implemented into practice to improve patient experience and outcomes We argue how this process can benefit from the involvement of patients and their carers as equal partners, and we discuss how different initiatives have involved patients with allergic diseases. There currently is a gap in evidence that links patient involvement to improved outcomes. We recommend the use of the Core Outcome Sets (COS) and Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMS) which have been developed for allergic diseases to monitor the effects of implementation research and the impact of patient and carer involvement on outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK is characterised by spatial inequality between and within regions, alongside an over-centralised asymmetric model of governance. In England especially, these features are stark, and throughout the last decade, politicians have responded by forging a distinctive programme of English devolution focused on city-regions. In this article, we analyse the core drivers of the English devolution agenda to understand its impact on the future trajectory of British politics. We identify the predominance of a narrow economic vision of devolution that systematically negates other agendas. The result is a failure to address the trade-offs inherent in the devolution process, alongside an inadequate engagement with the growing demand for democratic revitalisation. In the long-term, we argue that the empowerment of the largest cities in England and the relative neglect of non-urban areas will exacerbate power asymmetries within the UK political system in both centre-periphery and centre-local relations, a phenomenon we term 'political spatial inequality'. There is a risk of resurgent 'territorially based populism' stemming from this uneven political geography which has the potential to exacerbate political instability and significantly reshape UK politics in the wake of Brexit. English devolution is a prescient example of how policy 'solutions' can in turn create new problems that pose major challenges for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This secondary data analysis of 620 hospitals examined how hospital capabilities and resources (for example, intensive care unit types and bed availability) influenced COVID-19 volume–outcome relationships. The analysis found that, regardless of hospital capability, as patient volumes surged, survival decreased. The article suggests that strategies to balance caseload surges across hospitals may help ensure patient safety. Visual Abstract. Association Between Hospital Type and Resilience During Caseload Stress: A Natural Quality-of-Care Experiment From the COVID-19 Pandemic This secondary data analysis of 620 hospitals examined how hospital capabilities and resources (for example, intensive care unit types and bed availability) influenced COVID-19 volume–outcome relationships. The analysis found that, regardless of hospital capability, as patient volumes surged, survival decreased. The article suggests that strategies to balance caseload surges across hospitals may help ensure patient safety. Background: Imbalances between hospital caseload and care resources that strained U.S. hospitals during the pandemic have persisted after the pandemic amid ongoing staff shortages. Understanding which hospital types were more resilient to pandemic overcrowding-related excess deaths may prioritize patient safety during future crises. Objective: To determine whether hospital type classified by capabilities and resources (that is, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [ECMO] capability, multiplicity of intensive care unit [ICU] types, and large or small hospital) influenced COVID-19 volume–outcome relationships during Delta wave surges. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: 620 U.S. hospitals in the PINC AI Healthcare Database. Participants: Adult inpatients with COVID-19 admitted July to November 2021. Measurements: Hospital-months were ranked by previously validated surge index (severity-weighted COVID-19 inpatient caseload relative to hospital bed capacity) percentiles. Hierarchical models were used to evaluate the effect of log-transformed surge index on the marginally adjusted probability of in-hospital mortality or discharge to hospice. Effect modification was assessed for by 4 mutually exclusive hospital types. Results: Among 620 hospitals recording 223 380 inpatients with COVID-19 during the Delta wave, there were 208 ECMO-capable, 216 multi-ICU, 36 large (≥200 beds) single-ICU, and 160 small (<200 beds) single-ICU hospitals. Overall, 50 752 (23%) patients required admission to the ICU, and 34 274 (15.3%) died. The marginally adjusted probability for mortality was 5.51% (95% CI, 4.53% to 6.50%) per unit increase in the log surge index (strain attributable mortality = 7375 [CI, 5936 to 8813] or 1 in 5 COVID-19 deaths). The test for interaction showed no difference (P  = 0.32) in log surge index–mortality relationship across 4 hospital types. Results were consistent after excluding transferred patients, restricting to patients with acute respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation, and using alternative strain metrics. Limitation: Residual confounding. Conclusion: Comparably detrimental relationships between COVID-19 caseload and survival were seen across all hospital types, including highly advanced centers, and well beyond the pandemic's learning curve. These lessons from the pandemic heighten the need to minimize caseload surges and their effects across all hospital types during public health and staffing crises. Primary Funding Source: Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Motorists preferred when the traditional division between protected and unprotected road users was recreated. • Vehicles' mean maximum speed decreased when the traditional division was recreated within the shared space. • Distribution of vehicles decreased when the traditional division was recreated within the shared space. • Vehicles' mean maximum speed decreased with high pedestrian density. Shared spaces are intended to constitute an attractive urban space for everyone by blending protected and unprotected road users. However, our previous study showed that pedestrians prefer the traditional division between protected and unprotected road users, at the same time as elderly pedestrians focused less on traffic when the division was recreated by large flowerpots. This follow-up study aimed to examine the effects of external factors, such as alternative design and pedestrian density, on motorists' subjective experiences, and the speed and placement of their vehicles within a shared space. To investigate this, Q-methodology was used to examine 32 motorists' subjective experiences, and video recordings were analysed to measure the speed and placement of 150 vehicles on Fisherman's Square in Västervik, Sweden, both without (75 vehicles) and with (75 vehicles) large flowerpots deployed. The motorists preferred when the large flowerpots were deployed to recreate the traditional division. The results also showed that both the large flowerpots and high pedestrian density decreased vehicles' mean maximum speed. The deployment of large flowerpots also decreased the distribution of vehicles over the square. Recreating some type of division between protected and unprotected road users appears to be preferred. Further studies are required to ascertain whether this solution works for all road user groups, including cyclists and e-scooter riders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The proportions of no injuries versus less severe is presented. • Cyclists "head shaking" can predict when unwanted events will occur. • Cyclists tend to adjust their behavior following unwanted events. • Cyclists need to adapt to changes in the "environment" more sufficiently. In collaboration with a bicycle airbag helmet company, data were collected to help explain events where head protections are deployed. The head protection records activations continuously, and when a head protection is deployed, this information is sent to the company. The company invited affected cyclists to (i) participate in a web survey, and (ii) share their data with researchers. The first aim of the study was to investigate the proportions between different severities of crashes, i.e., how many crashes with serious injuries occur for every crash with minor injuries, while the second aim was to predict when bicycle crashes will occur. Method: A total of 196 cyclists completed the web survey. Participants were 20–76 years old (mean age 46 years) and consisted of 125 women and 55 men. The cyclists were highly educated, and 73 percent had completed a university or college education. In addition, head protection data were collected from 355 other cyclists, of which 264 had their helmet deployed. Results: One of the 182 (included events) cyclists ended up in hospital care. The data collected indicated the proportions of cyclists who needed hospital care (1 = severe injuries), cyclists with injuries (15), slight injures (85) and cyclists who could continue as before (81 = no injuries). The head protection data confirmed the web survey findings, but also demonstrated that the head protection, on journeys that ended with head protection deployment, had a higher degree of activations before the event) compared to journeys where it was not deployed. Furthermore, on trips made after deployment, the head protection had lower levels of activations, which can be understood as the cyclists adapting their behavior by, for example, riding more carefully (but not slower). Conclusion: This study highlights the proportions of events leading to minor injuries versus hospitalization. Activation measures (head protection conditions) can predict when events will occur, and cyclists will adjust their behavior accordingly following events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising global temperatures have a wide range of effects at organismal, population, and ecosystem levels. Increased winter temperatures are expected to alter the energetics of species that are dormant during this time. Hatchling painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) spend their first ∼8 months in shallow nests on land, where they putatively rely on residual yolk reserves to fuel energetic demands during this period of inactivity before they emerge in the spring. We performed a laboratory experiment to characterize changes in residual yolk quantity in hatchling C. picta and experimentally tested the effect of temperature on residual yolk, hatchling size, and survival over the winter brumation period. We manipulated winter nest temperature by simulating two natural thermal regimes (“low” vs “high” treatments) and one regime that approximates warmer temperatures expected by 2100 (“future” treatment). Because high temperature increases metabolism, we predicted that the future temperature treatment would decrease the amount of residual yolk remaining by the end of winter and reduce hatchling mass and survival. Residual yolk over winter did not differ from that before winter, and the temperature had no effect on the quantity of residual yolk or hatchling survival by the following spring. However, hatchlings that experienced future temperatures lost more mass over winter than those from the other treatments. These results correspond with previous work indicating that residual yolk does not fuel the energetic needs of hatchlings during winter. The effect of future warming temperatures on body mass may have negative consequences during energetically demanding activities during spring emergence and dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Eric Weiskott's theory that lost prose copies of Langland's poem Piers Plowman existed based on mislineation in manuscripts. Weiskott's argument is tentative and relies on the belief that scribes worked with prose exemplars, but the evidence is inconclusive. The article critiques Weiskott's claims by examining specific instances of mislineation in manuscripts and argues that the evidence does not support the existence of lost prose copies. The article concludes that the traditional approach taken by editors is more supported by the evidence presented in the manuscripts. [Extracted from the article]

Background Shared decision-making (SDM) is increasingly expected in healthcare systems prioritising patient autonomy. Treatment escalation plans (TEPs) outline contingency for medical intervention in the event of patient deterioration. This study aimed to understand clinicians' perspectives on SDM in TEP for older patients in the acute medical setting. Methods This was a qualitative study following a constructivist approach. Semistructured interviews with vignettes were conducted with 26 consultant and registrar doctors working in emergency medicine, general internal medicine, intensive care medicine and palliative care medicine. Reflexive thematic analysis was performed. Results There were three themes: 'An unequal partnership', 'Options without equipoise' and 'Decisions with shared understanding'. Clinicians' expertise in synthesising complex, uncertain clinical information was contrasted with perceived patient unfamiliarity with future health planning and medical intervention. There was a strong sense of morality underpinning decision-making and little equipoise about appropriate TEP decisions. Communication around the TEP was important, and clinicians sought control over the high-stakes decision whilst avoiding conflict and achieving shared understanding. Conclusions Clinicians take responsibility for securing a 'good' TEP decision for older patients in the acute medical setting. They synthesise clinical data with implicit ethical reasoning according to their professional predictions of qualitative and quantitative success following medical intervention. SDM is seldom considered a priority for this context. Nonetheless, avoidance of conflict, preserving the clinical relationship and shared understanding with the patient and family are important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common national identity appeals have been identified as one of the most promising strategies to reduce affective political polarization. However, research on this is concentrated in highly individualistic Western democracies. Because much of the global population lives in more collectivist societies, it is important to conduct comparative tests to see if common national identity appeals operate similarly when considering the increasingly global problem of polarization. In this study, we investigate how the individualism–collectivism dimension of culture interacts with national identity salience as a polarization reduction strategy. Survey experiments were conducted in South Korea and the US. We find that priming national identity increases national pride much more in collectivist societies, but that the depolarizing effect of our national identity prime was only indirect and limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to inform implementation of an animal-assisted intervention (AAI) in an Australian university setting by exploring previously implemented university AAIs. Universities internationally have attempted to address growing concerns around student and staff stress and anxiety by adopting AAIs. However, despite stress and anxiety being common among Australian students and staff, studies are yet to investigate the implementation of an AAI as a strategy to promote health and well-being in this context. Twelve academics who had previously implemented AAIs were recruited via purposeful intensity sampling, with data collected via semistructured interviews. Our findings highlight several facilitators to successful implementation of an AAI, along with strategies used to overcome barriers. Understanding how to amplify strengths and minimize challenges will support Australian universities to implement successful AAIs on campus and, in turn, assist in promoting improved student and staff well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning (ML) applications in medical artificial intelligence (AI) systems have shifted from traditional and statistical methods to increasing application of deep learning models. This survey navigates the current landscape of multimodal ML, focusing on its profound impact on medical image analysis and clinical decision support systems. Emphasizing challenges and innovations in addressing multimodal representation, fusion, translation, alignment, and co-learning, the paper explores the transformative potential of multimodal models for clinical predictions. It also highlights the need for principled assessments and practical implementation of such models, bringing attention to the dynamics between decision support systems and healthcare providers and personnel. Despite advancements, challenges such as data biases and the scarcity of "big data" in many biomedical domains persist. We conclude with a discussion on principled innovation and collaborative efforts to further the mission of seamless integration of multimodal ML models into biomedical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Methods Results Conclusions To investigate: (i) whether mood states associated with bipolar disorder are associated with poorer quality of life in older adults, and (ii) what are some of the predictors of quality of life in older adults with mood states associated with bipolar disorder.The authors completed a cross‐sectional multilevel analysis of panel data from seven waves of The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing dataset. The main analysis included 567 participants who reported experiencing mood states associated with bipolar disorder. Some participants reported this in more than one wave, resulting in 835 observations of mood states associated with bipolar disorder across the seven waves. Quality of life was assessed using the Control, Autonomy, Self‐realization, and Pleasure‐19 (CASP‐19) measure.The presence of mood states associated with bipolar disorder was significantly associated with poorer quality of life, even after controlling for multiple covariates (age, sex, social isolation, loneliness, alcohol use, education level, and economic status). Loneliness significantly predicted poorer quality of life in older adults with mood states associated with bipolar disorder. In contrast, higher educational attainment and being female predicted better quality of life in this group.Older adults with mood states associated with bipolar disorder have potentially worse quality of life compared to the general population, which may be partly driven by loneliness. This has ramifications for the support offered to this population and suggests that treatments should focus on reducing loneliness to improve outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPurposeMaterials and methodsResultsConclusion\nIMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONTo explore the views of healthcare professionals and patients about the advantages and disadvantages of rehabilitation in the home (RITH) for reconditioning, and identify factors that should contribute to the successful implementation of a consensus-based RITH model for reconditioning.Interviews with 24 healthcare professionals and 21 surveys (comprising Likert scale and free text responses) of inpatients undergoing rehabilitation for reconditioning provided study data. Interpretive thematic analysis was used to analyse interview data; descriptive statistics analysed Likert scale responses; patient written responses assisted with the interpretation of themes developed from the interview data.Two major themes were elicited in this study: the home is a physical setting and the home is a lived space. Advantages and disadvantages of RITH for patients, carers and healthcare professionals were identified within these themes. Appropriate patient selection; effective communication with patients and carers, and within RITH teams; adequate patient and carer support; ensuring the safety of patients and staff; and education of patients, carers and healthcare professionals are essential for the satisfactory implementation of RITH.The concept of home shapes the delivery of RITH. Recognising the advantages and disadvantages of RITH highlights important considerations needed to successfully implement RITH for reconditioning.The home setting facilitates a person-centred approach to care, especially when staff consider patients to be equal partners in their care.Home offers an opportunity to negotiate contextually relevant rehabilitation goals with patients.Effective communication between patients, their local doctor, family, and rehabilitation staff is essential for the successful delivery of rehabilitation in the home.Safety concerns (for patients and staff) and the shift in the burden of care from hospital staff to family must be adequately addressed prior to the commencement of rehabilitation in the home.The home setting facilitates a person-centred approach to care, especially when staff consider patients to be equal partners in their care.Home offers an opportunity to negotiate contextually relevant rehabilitation goals with patients.Effective communication between patients, their local doctor, family, and rehabilitation staff is essential for the successful delivery of rehabilitation in the home.Safety concerns (for patients and staff) and the shift in the burden of care from hospital staff to family must be adequately addressed prior to the commencement of rehabilitation in the home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The addition of intravenous (i.v.) chemotherapy to i.v. immunotherapy for patients with lung cancer results in improved overall survival but is limited by synergistic side effects and an unknown, highly variable final cytotoxic dose within the tumor. The synergy between i.v. chemo- and immunotherapies is hypothesized to occur as a result of cell injury caused by chemotherapy, a mechanism demonstrated to drive antigen presentation within the tumor microenvironment. Intratumoral delivery of chemotherapy may thus be optimized to maximize tumor cell injury. To assess the balance between the damage versus the death of tumor cells, we developed a computational model of intratumoral dynamics within a lung cancer tumor for three different chemotherapy agents following direct injection as a function of location and number of injection sites. We based the model on the morphology of a lung tumor obtained from a thoracic CT scan. We found no meaningful difference in the extent of tumor cell damage between a centrally injected versus peripherally injected agent, but there were significant differences between a single injection versus when the total dose was apportioned between multiple injection sites. Importantly, we also found that the standard chemotherapeutic concentrations used for intravenous administration were effective at causing cell death but were too high to generate significant cell injury. This suggests that to induce maximal tumor cell injury, the optimal concentration should be several orders of magnitude lower than those typically used for intravenous therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to describe the beliefs associated with the intention to become licensed to prescribe among psychologists in Pennsylvania using the theory of planned behavior. We conducted a survey (March–May 2023) of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control among members of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, generating a response rate of 24.2% (n = 284). The primary outcome was how likely the respondent was to become licensed to prescribe if authorizing legislation passes in Pennsylvania, followed by an open-ended question about their rationale. The association between the likelihood of becoming a prescriber and the attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control about prescribing was estimated using logistic regression, adjusting for demographic and professional information. Results were calculated as average marginal effects (AME) and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Open-ended responses were assessed using inductive thematic coding. Approximately 35% of psychologists reported being likely to become a prescriber. Direct social norms were associated with a 15.4 percentage-point increase ([0.12, 0.19]) in the probability of becoming a prescriber, and indirect attitudes were associated with a 9.7 percentage-point increase ([0.06, 0.14]). These results were supported by the qualitative themes that emerged: Personal Reasons, Professional Reasons, and Improving Patient Care. These themes included concerns about age, changing professional psychology, medication, increasing access to care, and licensure requirements. Psychologists' attitudes and social norms about prescribing psychology are key indicators of their intention to become licensed to prescribe. These findings could inform interventions to improve licensure rates and policymakers considering the adoption of psychologist prescriptive authority. Public Significance Statement: This study suggests that the intention of psychologists in Pennsylvania to become licensed prescribers is motivated by their attitudes about prescribing and if they believe most people think prescribing would be good. Psychologists were primarily concerned about a mix of personal, professional, and patient issues related to prescribing. These findings could (1) inform the development of an educational intervention to improve prescribing licensure rates and (2) provide additional considerations for policymakers exploring the adoption of prescriptive authority for psychologists in their state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial semiconductor electrodeposition plating cells require recirculation of process chemicals with consistent flow and minimal contaminants to prevent defects from developing during film deposition. This manuscript investigates how recirculation nozzle quality and nozzle machining can affect bath chemical uniformity. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are utilized to visualize bath chemical velocities based on variable nozzle conditions in four case studies. Results show that strict quality control of inlet nozzles, in conjunction with proper mounting angles, induce laminar bath flow. Greater fluid uniformity and laminar flow translate to a reduction of in-line defects and increased wafer yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) is a member of the genus Ebolavirus (Family Filoviridae) and has caused sporadic outbreaks of Ebola disease (EBOD), or more specifically Sudan virus disease (SVD), with high mortality rates in Africa. Current vaccines and therapies that have been developed for filoviruses are almost all specific for Ebola virus (EBOV; of the species Zaire ebolavirus), and there is a current lack of therapeutics specific for SUDV. The recent SUDV outbreak in Uganda, which was distributed across multiple districts, including Kampala, a densely populated urban center, highlights the critical need for the development of novel SUDV-specific or pan-Ebola virus therapeutics. Previous work has characterized two monoclonal antibodies, FVM04 and CA45, which have neutralization capabilities against both EBOV and SUDV and have shown protective efficacy in animal challenge studies. Here, we expand upon this work, showing that treatment with a monoclonal antibody cocktail consisting of FVM04 and CA45 provides full protection against lethal SUDV infection in cynomolgus macaques. Studies that evaluate outcomes at late time points after infection, once clinical signs of illness are apparent, are vital for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of antibody therapeutics. We have shown that when treatment is initiated as late as 5 days after infection, with a second dose given on day 8, that treated groups showed few clinical signs or morbidity, with complete survival. This work provides further evidence that FVM04 and CA45 have strong therapeutic potential against SUDV and their development as a pan-Ebola virus therapeutic should be pursued. IMPORTANCE There are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for Sudan virus, a filovirus which is highly related to Ebola virus and causes similar disease and outbreaks. In this study, a cocktail of two potent monoclonal antibodies that effectively neutralize Sudan virus was tested in a nonhuman primate model of Sudan virus disease. Treatment was highly effective, even when initiated as late as 5 days after infection, when clinical signs of infection were already evident. All treated animals showed complete recovery from infection, with little evidence of disease, while all animals that received a control treatment succumbed to infection within 8 days. The study further demonstrated the strong therapeutic potential of the antibody treatment and supported further development for use in Sudan virus outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study of Wolfville, Nova Scotia, used narrative inquiry to (a) examine the role of cultural ecosystem services (CES) from rural greenspace interaction on the health, wellbeing, and social inclusion of underrepresented populations; (b) identify specific factors that may contribute to CES in rural greenspace; and (c) explore the differences in rural greenspace experiences between the four population groups in this rural, small-town, Canadian context. Although originally part of a larger study on community resilience, this article focuses on the social and equity-related findings that are lacking in the greenspace planning literature and are applicable to other rural Canadian towns. Four participant groups from underrepresented populations in Wolfville (youth, university students, individuals with disabilities, and seniors) participated in a series of focus groups and participant-generated photography and audio-narrative methods. These methods were chosen to increase engagement from groups that are often under-consulted in community planning and decision-making. The findings suggest that although greenspace has important implications for increasing social cohesion, equity, and health and wellbeing in Wolfville and other rural Canadian municipalities, the benefits of CES are not equitably distributed across population groups. Participant interactions in local greenspace varied depending on age and ability, largely due to societal attitudes that impacted whether residents felt welcome or able to access greenspace. Three specific factors were identified which may contribute to CES in rural greenspace: an implicit code of conduct that facilitates positive social encounters, the inclusion of diverse cultural beliefs and worldviews in greenspace infrastructure and available activities, and increasing opportunities for community co-design of local greenspace. Recommendations are provided for rural communities to improve the equitable distribution of CES provided by local greenspace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study examined the mediating role of general negative affect and body‐specific negative affect between the association between negative body talk occurring within the mother–daughter relationship and restrained and disinhibited disordered eating. Methods: Adolescent girls (N = 100; Mage = 14.25; 49.5% White) completed self‐report measures of general negative affect (depression and anxiety), body‐specific negative affect (body dissatisfaction), and perceptions of the frequency that negative body talk occurred in interactions with their mother (initiated by the mother or daughter) as part of a cross‐sectional study. While the same set of questionnaires was administered to both mothers and daughters, only the data reported by the daughters were analyzed and included in this study. Data were gathered in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Michigan, USA, around the year 2015. Results: Path analysis showed that general negative affect, but not body‐specific negative affect, mediated the association from mother–daughter negative body talk to disinhibited eating behaviors (emotional and external eating). Conversely, body‐specific negative affect, but not general negative affect, mediated the association from negative body talk to restrained eating behaviors. Conclusions: Our findings suggest there are distinct affective mechanisms that mediate the relationship between mother–daughter negative body talk and restrained versus disinhibited eating behavior. Future work should continue to explicate the role of general and body‐related negative affect in different eating behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Color aberrations in birds corresponds with important ecological functions, including thermoregulation and physiological impacts, camouflage and increased predation, and social interactions with conspecifics. Color aberrations in birds have been reported frequently in the scientific literature, but aberrations in many species remain undocumented or understudied. We investigated records of leucism in malachite kingfishers (Corythornis cristatus) from observations of community scientists on iNaturalist and eBird in Uganda. Leucistic kingfishers were only observed within the Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP), Uganda. When considering all observations of malachite kingfishers that included photographs within the QENP, leucistic individuals accounted for 13.0% and 10.4% of total malachite kingfisher observations within the study area from iNaturalist and eBird, respectively. Leucistic observations were recorded from September 2015 through February 2017, making up 60.0% and 68.2% of observations of malachite kingfishers within the study area from iNaturalist and eBird during that time, respectively. The localized and short documentation period suggests observations represent a single individual, while the high observation rate likely corresponds with collection bias due to the novelty of the individual. Our findings help to better understand the ecological importance and potential consequences for color‐aberrant individuals, although color aberration did not appear to inhibit our subject's ability to find a mate. Our work also highlights how participatory science can promote the documentation of color‐aberrant individuals in wild populations, although it poses challenges when trying to estimate abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aimof this studywas to project the impact of legislated nurse staffing ratios on patient-, staff-, and system-level outcomes for Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals in Montana. BACKGROUND: In 2023, House Bill 568 was introduced inMontana focused on legislating hospital safe nursing standards. METHODS: A quantitative designwas used for a convenience sample of Montana PPS hospitals. Data were gathered through a newly developed survey and from other publicly available sources for the years 2018 to 2022. Independent t testswere conductedwhen appropriate with the significance threshold set at 0.05. RESULTS: Projections indicate no significant change in patient outcome metrics accompanied by increases in labor requirements, slower emergency department throughput times, and decreases in hospital operating margins. CONCLUSIONS: InMontana, legislating nurse staffing ratios would have downstream implications inconsistent with the intended impact on patient safety, emphasizing the complexity of variables within and external to the healthcare systemthat drive patient-, staff-, and system-level outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in children. We have previously shown that TBI with a concurrent extracranial injury reliably leads to post-injury suppression of the innate and adaptive immune systems. In patients with post-injury immune suppression, if immune function could be preserved, this might represent a therapeutic opportunity. As such, we examined, in an animal injury model, whether systemic administration of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) could reverse post-injury immune suppression and whether treatment was associated with neuroinflammation or functional deficit. Prepubescent male rats were injured using a controlled cortical impact model and then subjected to removal of 25% blood volume (TBI/H). Sham animals underwent surgery without injury induction, and the treatment groups were sham and injured animals treated with either saline vehicle or 50 μg/kg GM-CSF. GM-CSF was administered following injury and then daily until sacrifice at post-injury day (PID) 7. Immune function was measured by assessing tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in whole blood and spleen following ex vivo stimulation with pokeweed mitogen (PWM). Brain samples were assessed by multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for cytokine levels and by immunohistochemistry for microglia and astrocyte proliferation. Neuronal cell count was examined using cresyl violet staining. Motor coordination was evaluated using the Rotarod performance test. Treatment with GM-CSF was associated with a significantly increased response to PWM in both whole blood and spleen. GM-CSF in injured animals did not lead to increases in levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in brain samples but was associated with significant increases in counted astrocytes. Finally, while injured animals treated with saline showed a significant impairment on behavioral testing, injured animals treated with GM-CSF performed similarly to uninjured animals. GM-CSF treatment in animals with combined injury led to increased systemic immune cell response in whole blood and spleen in the acute phase following injury. Improved immune response was not associated with elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in the brain or functional impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) represents a politics of repair for American Federalism. The unprecedented size, scope, and timeliness of ARPA enable local governments to address some of the structural inequities laid bare by the pandemic. U.S. Federalism was broken before the pandemic, with states exerting a triangle of pressures that created a tightening vice on local government through revenue restrictions, downloading expenditure responsibilities, and restricting local policy authority. Recent federal action through ARPA has helped ease the pressure on local revenue, enabling new expenditures and new policy action. ARPA is larger, longer, and more expansive than the American Rescue and Recovery Act passed after the Great Recession. We analyze revenue and expenditure data for all local governments and special districts from 2000 through 2022. ARPA represents a layer in the palimpsest of federalist policy, a politics of repair, that reminds us that more cooperative federal-local relations are possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a court case in which the federal district court for the Northern District of Alabama affirmed the granting of summary judgments for plaintiffs claiming that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional. In National Small Business United, et. al. v. Yellen, the court supported the Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in their enforcement of the CTA.

Inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) are a group of heterogeneous genetic disorders resulting in substrate accumulation, energy deficiency, or complex molecular defects due to the failure of specific molecules to act as enzymes, cofactors, transporters, or receptors in specific metabolic pathways. The pathophysiological changes seen in IMDs are sometimes associated with intellectual disability (ID) or neurocognitive decline, necessitating multidisciplinary input. We here describe our experience at one tertiary metabolic centre in the UK. We reviewed the case prevalence and existing service provision in one adult IMD service covering a multi-ethnic population of 10 million in North England. In our cohort of 2268 IMD patients, 1598 patients had general metabolic conditions (70.5%), and 670 had lysosomal storage disease/disorders (LSD)s (29.5%). The overall prevalence of ID and neurocognitive decline was found to be 15.7% (n = 357), with patients with LSDs accounting for 23.5% (n = 84) of affected patients. Given the prevalence of ID in adults with IMDs, access to multidisciplinary input from neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry services is important. Education of healthcare professionals to diagnose IMDs in patients with ID, in addition to neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric presentations, will avoid missed diagnoses of IMD and will have a positive effect on patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AXL+ Siglec-6+ dendritic cells (ASDC) are novel myeloid DCs which can be subdivided into CD11c+ and CD123+ expressing subsets. We showed for the first time that these two ASDC subsets are present in inflamed human anogenital tissues where HIV transmission occurs. Their presence in inflamed tissues was supported by single cell RNA analysis of public databases of such tissues including psoriasis diseased skin and colorectal cancer. Almost all previous studies have examined ASDCs as a combined population. Our data revealed that the two ASDC subsets differ markedly in their functions when compared with each other and to pDCs. Relative to their cell functions, both subsets of blood ASDCs but not pDCs expressed co-stimulatory and maturation markers which were more prevalent on CD11c+ ASDCs, thus inducing more T cell proliferation and activation than their CD123+ counterparts. There was also a significant polarisation of naïve T cells by both ASDC subsets toward Th2, Th9, Th22, Th17 and Treg but less toward a Th1 phenotype. Furthermore, we investigated the expression of chemokine receptors that facilitate ASDCs and pDCs migration from blood to inflamed tissues, their HIV binding receptors, and their interactions with HIV and CD4 T cells. For HIV infection, within 2 hours of HIV exposure, CD11c+ ASDCs showed a trend in more viral transfer to T cells than CD123+ ASDCs and pDCs for first phase transfer. However, for second phase transfer, CD123+ ASDCs showed a trend in transferring more HIV than CD11c+ ASDCs and there was no viral transfer from pDCs. As anogenital inflammation is a prerequisite for HIV transmission, strategies to inhibit ASDC recruitment into inflamed tissues and their ability to transmit HIV to CD4 T cells should be considered. Author summary: This study highlights the significance of AXL+ Siglec-6+ dendritic cells (ASDC) in HIV transmission, particularly in inflamed peripheral tissues such as anogenital tissues, where HIV transmission is prevalent. It reveals that ASDCs are present in inflamed human tissues, including psoriasis affected skin, colorectal cancer and anogenital tissues. However, they are absent in uninflamed tissues. Furthermore, we investigated the expression of chemokine receptors that facilitate ASDC migration from blood to inflamed tissues, and their interactions with HIV and CD4 T cells. Notably, different subsets of ASDCs exhibit different expression levels of HIV binding receptors and showed trends of different phases of HIV transmission to T cells. Understanding ASDC involvement in HIV transmission could provide valuable insights for developing strategies to inhibit their recruitment to inflamed tissues and their ability to transmit the virus to CD4 T cells, potentially offering new avenues for HIV prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How have local governments incorporated equity into their investments of state and local rescue funds from the American Rescue Plan Act? We explore the multiple mechanisms localities used to incorporate equity approaches through case studies based on a strategic equity framework of redistributional, procedural and conceptual equity. We identify the importance of political will, planning and strategic partnerships with community agencies and businesses to experiment with new initiatives, and feedback loops with higher levels of government for policy change. Equity was often hidden in program design, rather than explicitly articulated. We find that cities are leading with actions, while values still primarily focus on economic development benefits. However, these actions may subtly shift values toward a broader conception of the local government role in advancing equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green chemistry education is a fundamental tool for the achievement of a sustainable future at the molecular level. It allows the development of a scientific workforce and knowledgeable citizenry with the skills to choose, assess, and further design more benign processes for human health and the environment. In 2007, Dr Amy Cannon and Dr John Warner co-founded a non-profit organization known as Beyond Benign to empower educators dedicated to creating a systemic, long-lasting, and meaningful change in education through green chemistry. The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) was launched in 2013 with 13 participating institutions as Beyond Benign's higher education program to support universities, colleges, schools, and centers worldwide to incorporate green chemistry in their curricula. The Commitment is a signal of intent provided by higher institutions to begin, continue, or optimize their unique green chemistry journeys, thus preparing the future workforce to address our societal and environmental challenges. Over 150 institutions in more than 15 countries are now part of this growing program, with the ultimate goal of advocating for a diverse, accessible, inspiring, and empowered green chemistry community capable of providing the transformation needed for a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient-centred measurement (PCM) emphasizes a holistic approach wherein the voices of patients are reflected in the standardized use of patient-reported outcome and experience measures and are represented throughout the continuum of measurement activities. Given the challenges of routinely integrating patient self-reports into clinical care decisions, the perspectives of all healthcare system stakeholders, especially patients, is necessary to advance the science of PCM. The purpose of the analysis we report on here was to identify patient-driven research priorities for advancing the science of PCM. Methods: We analyzed data from seven focus groups that were conducted across British Columbia, Canada and that included a total of 73 patients, using qualitative inductive analysis and constant comparative methods. Results: We found that the patients conveyed a desire for PCM to contribute to healthcare decisions, specifically that their individual healthcare needs and related priorities as they see them are always front and centre, guiding all healthcare interactions. The patients' commentaries highlighted intersecting priorities for research on advancing the science of PCM that would help transform care by (1) enhancing the patient-provider relationship, (2) giving voice to patients' stories, (3) addressing inclusivity, (4) ensuring psychological safety, (5) improving healthcare services and systems to better meet patient needs, and (6) bolstering healthcare system accountability. Conclusions: These priorities provide direction for future research efforts that would be positioned to make progress towards better health, better care, and better use of resources for individuals and for society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study utilized data from a national longitudinal study of 277 early adolescent summer camp participants to examine the iterative links between youths’ experiences in two contexts – summer camp and school – and empathy over two years. Using a cross-lagged panel model, the authors examined how the quality of youths’ developmental experiences within each context, defined as a combination of supportive relationships and engaged learning opportunities, were related to youths’ empathy over time. Results showed that 1) higher quality developmental experiences in each context uniquely predicted improvements in empathy; 2) youths’ developmental experiences at camp and school were mutually reinforcing over time; and 3) school experiences partly mediated the effects of camp experiences and vice versa. Results illustrate the value of out-of-school-time contexts for supporting empathy, the importance of developmental experiences across settings, and the need for researchers and practitioners to attend to the ecosystem of social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I consider the power of "slow archaeology" in a study of the Huntington Anatomical Collection, focusing on Irish immigrants who lived and worked in New York City over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. I argue that normative bioarchaeological categories and methods cannot fully account for the varied life histories of persons in the collection. Instead, I turn to the tenets of slow archaeology to move between scales of analysis and material traces. With a slow approach, embodied experiences of labor are highlighted and discourses about laborers are challenged. A slow approach seeks to recover the lived experiences of individuals exploited in life and made anonymous in death and is one potential way toward a more ethical bioarchaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bonica's (Am J Polit Sci 58(2):367–386, 2014) campaign finance-based ideology scores, or CFscores, create an ideological common space that allows researchers to compare a wide variety of actors. Because relatively few citizens donate to candidates, however, the public is not well represented in this common space. This paper addresses that gap. It uses random forest machine learning on data from the 2012 Cooperative Congressional Election Study to impute CFscores for respondents who did not donate to candidates, based on how their policy views compared to those who did. These new scores are robust to differences in issue importance between donors and non-donors, and they outperform other ideological measures in predicting vote choice. The scores are then applied to a substantive exercise. Past research shows that extreme candidates for governor are penalized more by voters than those in lower-profile races. The implied mechanism—that vote choice for governor is more ideologically-driven—can be directly tested with imputed CFscores, since they uniquely allow comparisons between voters and candidates across races. An analysis of voting behavior in 2012 confounds expectations. Ideology appears to factor no more into vote choice for governor than for US House. These novel findings underscore the value of extending CFscores to non-donating survey respondents, and while current efforts are limited by data availability, this study offers encouragement and a roadmap to that end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the number of refugee youth whom require mental health support, there is a need to provide community-based interventions that can be easily scaled-up at a low cost. Yet, safety procedures associated with community-based intervention require careful consideration. The Cantril Ladder is a visual scale used to assess life satisfaction. It could be a useful tool to track the well-being of participants throughout an intervention. However, concerns have been raised about the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures and it is recommended they are tested when used in specific populations. This is particularly relevant to the refugee youth population who experience ongoing stress due to concern for family, friends, housing, and schooling and whose perceptions of life satisfaction may differ to the cohorts the Cantril Ladder has previously been tested with. The purpose of this study was to explore the validity of the Cantril Ladder as a measure of well-being and life satisfaction in refugee youth experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms by exploring the relationship between how the youth scored on the Cantril Ladder with their scores on measures of depression and self-efficacy. Hierarchical multiple linear regression was applied to self-reported survey data in order to test how refugee youth experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms (n = 51) score on the Cantril Ladder compared with Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and General Self Efficacy Scale (GSE) scores. The mean Cantril Ladder score in the present sample was 5.33 (SD = 2.77). The PHQ-9 and GSE total scores together explained 19.1% of the variability in the Cantril Ladder score. The Cantril Ladder showed moderate concurrent validity with validated measures of depression and self-efficacy. These findings have important implications for intervention programs designed to support refugee youth experiencing post-traumatic stress, as the Cantril Ladder offers a promising way to track well-being throughout the program as part of a wider safety protocol procedure. Additional research is required to not only confirm these findings, but also to test the face validity of the Cantril Ladder for a more complete validation of life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, advocates have sought to combat stereotypes about sexual violence and victims. This effort included replacing the term "victim" with the term "survivor," but researchers have little understanding of how people who have experienced violence understand these terms. Drawing on in-depth interviews of 30 young people marginalized by gender who have experienced sexual violence, I find that few strongly identified with either label. Respondents described victim and survivor in contrast with each other, creating two typologies of response post-violence that exist along a continuum. Respondents described "victim" as an all-encompassing label that communicated overall weakness and passivity. Most distanced themselves from the victim label and aspired to the survivor label. However, most did not identify as survivors. They described being a survivor as the result of a long process toward becoming strong, morally worthy people who had "moved on" and were ready to advocate for others. Respondents' descriptions of survivors constitutes what I theorize as the "perfect survivor narrative," a cultural script that made it difficult for most people in the sample to identify as a survivor, with implications for their racialized and gendered self-perceptions. The findings demonstrate the freedoms and constraints of using new language to combat dominant narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This white paper takes the unknown and the vague and movement towards/in those realms – as frames for a discussion of present practice and emergent potentiality of anthropological engagement with peace (building) studies. Arguably, embracing the unknown or vague as generative constants as well as fundamental elements of non-linear peacebuilding further open collaborative, communicative spaces of possibility. Aspects of this discussion are drawn from broader conceptual/methodological considerations in both peacebuilding and social anthropology so as to contribute to an interdisciplinary alignment. Furthermore, the positions and persuasions in this work are (in)formed by extensive, on-going examinations of research and narratives active in Southeast Europe today. By looking to emergent concepts in peace studies via anthropology while moving with regional-specific ethnographies that speak back against North Atlantic hegemonies, there is offered a discussion that brings local realities into transnational (socio-academic) deliberations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the effects of agreement formalization and partners on cooperation costs in twelve local government services in New York State. Our survey differentiates agreement formalization (informal, memorandum of understanding, joint production, contracting and special districts) and controls for cooperation duration and non-profit partners. Cost data (1996–2016) enable panel models which find agreement formality often has no effect on costs. Non-profit partners typically reduce costs. Formality is associated with higher costs in services where quality improvements are sought, and lower costs where formality shifts budget authority. In general the costs of formality appear to be balanced by savings over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]