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The Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (NGACO) model (active during 2016–21) tested the effects of high financial risk, payment mechanisms, and flexible care delivery on health care spending and value for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. We used quasi-experimental methods to examine the model’s effects on Medicare Parts A and B spending. Sixty-two ACOs with more than 4.2 million beneficiaries and more than 91,000 practitioners participated in the model. The model was associated with a $270 per beneficiary per year, or approximately $1.7 billion, decline in Medicare spending. After shared savings payments to ACOs were included, the model increased net Medicare spending by $56 per beneficiary per year, or $96.7 million. Annual declines in spending for the model grew over time, reflecting exit by poorer-performing NGACOs, improvement among the remaining NGACOs, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Larger declines in spending occurred among physician practice ACOs and ACOs that elected population-based payments and risk caps greater than 5 percent.

The article discusses the need for an alliance of democracies to save the free world from the growing influence of autocratic regimes. It highlights the aggressive actions of countries like Russia, China, and Iran, and emphasizes the importance of strengthening the defenses of front-line democracies. The article suggests rebuilding deterrent strength, engaging in the battle of ideas, and leveraging the resources of the free world to defend against aggression. It also explores the idea of forging an alliance of democracies to promote peace, prosperity, and the advancement of democracy. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the current state of nuclear proliferation around the world. It highlights various countries and their nuclear capabilities, including the United States, Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. The article also mentions the potential for other countries, such as South Korea and Japan, to develop their own nuclear weapons. It emphasizes the need for continued efforts in non-proliferation and arms reduction. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides an overview of the war between Russia and Ukraine, presenting it as a potential example of a great-power war in the 21st century. It highlights the significant losses suffered by Ukraine, including casualties and the destruction of military equipment. The article emphasizes the importance of learning from this conflict to prevent future wars and stresses the need for strong defense and deterrence. It also discusses the role of unmanned systems in modern warfare and the resilience of Ukraine in the face of the Russian onslaught. Additionally, the article addresses the importance of defense strategies and international cooperation in countering nuclear threats from countries like Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, while emphasizing the interconnectedness of global security and the support for free nations. [Extracted from the article]

In Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) and Plasmodium falciparum(Pf), the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway is responsible for isoprene synthesis. This pathway and its products are vital to bacterial/parasitic metabolism and survival, and represent an attractive set of drug targets due to their essentiality in these pathogens but absence in humans. The second step in the MEP pathway is the conversion of 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP) to MEP and is catalyzed by 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR). Natural products fosmidomycin and FR900098 inhibit DXR, but are too polar to reach the desired target inside some cells, such as Mtb. Synthesized FR900098 analogs with lipophilic substitution in the position α to the phosphorous atom showed promise, resulting in increased activity against Mtband Pf. Here, an α substitution, consisting of a 3,4-dichlorophenyl substituent, in combination with various O-linked alkylaryl substituents on the hydroxamate moiety is utilized in the synthesis of a novel series of FR900098 analogs. The purpose of the O-linked alkylaryl substituents is to further enhance DXR inhibition by extending the structure into the adjacent NADPH binding pocket, blocking the binding of both DXP and NADPH. Of the initial O-linked alkylaryl substituted analogs, compound 6eshowed most potent activity against Pfparasites at 3.60 μM. Additional compounds varying the phenyl ring of 6ewere synthesized. The most potent phosphonic acids, 6land 6n, display nM activity against PfDXR and low μM activity against Pfparasites. Prodrugs of these compounds were less effective against Pfparasites but showed modest activity against Mtbcells. Data from this series of compounds suggests that this combination of substituents can be advantageous in designing a new generation of antimicrobials.

BackgroundAntiseizure medications (ASMs) during the first trimester of pregnancy have been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.MethodsWe carried out a population-based cohort study using routinely collected healthcare data from the UK, 1995–2018. Pregnancies were identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and we estimated the HR of miscarriage associated with prescriptions of ASMs during the first trimester of pregnancy, using Cox regression, adjusting for potential confounders, including ASM indications.ResultsASMs were prescribed during the first trimester in 7832 (0.8%) of 1 023 787 included pregnancies. 14.5% of pregnancies with first-trimester exposure to ASMs ended in miscarriage, while 12.2% without ASM exposure in the first trimester ended in miscarriage; after adjustment, there was a 1.06-fold relative hazard of miscarriage (95% CI 1.00 to 1.13) in women with first-trimester ASM use. After restricting to women with specific ASM indications, this association was not evident in women with epilepsy (adjusted HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.08), but was observed in women with bipolar or other psychiatric conditions (1.08, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.16) although CIs overlapped. Compared with discontinuation of ASMs prior to pregnancy, there was no evidence of increased risk of miscarriage for first-trimester ASM use in women with bipolar or other psychiatric conditions (1.02, 95% CI 0.87 to 1.20).ConclusionWe found no clear evidence to suggest that first-trimester ASM use increased the risk of miscarriage. Taken together, our analyses suggest that apparent associations between first-trimester ASM use and miscarriage may be the result of confounding by the presence of a bipolar disorder or associated unmeasured variables.

Background/objectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought the use of telehealth to the fore, as many people have been unable to interact directly with healthcare professionals (HCP). For community palliative care (CPC) services, this has meant a sudden change from a predominantly face-to-face model of care to one that incorporates telehealth. Understanding patient and HCP experiences with telehealth and how telehealth compares to ‘usual’ care will be crucial in planning future CPC services.MethodologyAll patients of the Barwon Health CPC service between 1 April and 31 May 2020 were invited to complete a questionnaire evaluating their interactions with the palliative care service and specifically their involvement with telehealth consultations. Palliative care HCP who provided clinical services during the same time period were also surveyed.Results/conclusionSeventy-four patients (response rate 36%) and 22 HCP returned surveys. Both groups felt comfortable using telehealth, however, also encountered a range of issues when undertaking telehealth consultations. Despite reporting issues, the preference of both groups was for a CPC service model, which combined face-to-face and telehealth consultations. This study is one of the first to directly ask this question and as such provides useful guidance for health services when planning future CPC service models.

BackgroundPediatric spinal arteriovenous shunts (SAVS) are rare lesions with heterogeneous pathogenesis and clinical manifestations.ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical characteristics, angioarchitecture, and technical/clinical outcomes in SAVS through a large single-center cohort analysis and meta-analysis of individual patient data.MethodsA retrospective institutional database identified children (aged 0–21 years) who underwent digital subtraction spinal angiography (DSA) for SAVS between January 1996 and July 2021. Clinical data were recorded to evaluate angioarchitecture, generate modified Aminoff-Logue gait disturbance scores (AL) and McCormick grades (MC), and assess outcomes. We then performed a systematic literature review following PRISMA-IPD (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for individual patient data) guidelines, extracting similar data on individual patients for meta-analysis.ResultsThe cohort consisted of 28 children (M:F=11:17) with 32 SAVS lesions, with a mean age of 12.8±1.1 years at diagnosis. At presentation, SAVS were most highly concentrated in the cervical region (40.6%). Children had a median AL=2 and MC=2, with thoracolumbar AVS carrying the greatest disability. Among treated cases, complete obliteration was achieved in 48% of cases and median AL scores and MC grades both improved by one point. Systematic literature review identified 161 children (M:F=96:65) with 166 SAVS lesions with a mean age of 8.7±0.4 years. Among studies describing symptom chronicity, 37/51 (72.5%) of children presented acutely. At presentation, children had a median AL=4 and MC=3, with thoracolumbar AVS carrying the highest MC grades. After intervention, median AL and MC both improved by one point.ConclusionsThis study provides epidemiologic information on the location, onset, and presentation of the full spectrum of pediatric SAVS, highlighting the role of targeted treatment of high-risk features.

A high seed oil oleate trait identified in wild Gossypium barbadenseL. cotton accession GB713 (PI 608139) was bred into Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL.) cultivar Sure‐Grow 747 (SG747, PVP 9800118). Starting from the F2generation of an initial cross between GB713 and SG747, plants were selected by measuring the seed oil fatty acid distributions by gas chromatography. Selected F3plants were crossed to M Rk‐Rn 6, a line previously created from GB713 and SG747 for improved nematode resistance. High‐oleate plants were selected in the F2population. Selected plants were then crossed to HOa1 (a ∼35% oleate line derived from M Rk‐Rn 1, a sibling line to M Rk‐Rn 6), and high‐oleate plants were again selected in the F2population. F3plants were re‐selected for the high‐oleate trait, and four selected F4lines were evaluated in 2022 field plots. The four lines had oleate levels between 52% and 57%, approximately triple that found in normal cottonseed oil (15%–19%) and higher than in either the high‐oleate wild GB713 parent (∼40%) or in the previously released HOa cotton plant lines (33%–35%). The increased oleate levels occurred with an approximately equal reduction in linoleic acid. Other seed and fiber properties were largely like those of SG747, although some residual GB713 character existed within the lines. The resulting oil composition should be ideal for use in deep fat frying, with the high level of oleic acid improving the oil's oxidative stability but with sufficient linoleic acid to maintain frying flavor. High seed oil oleate levels were bred into Upland cotton from wild Gossypium barbadensegermplasm.Transgressive segregant progeny were produced with higher oleate levels than either parent.The breeding has produced a cottonseed oil composition close to ideal for deep fat frying.

This digest discusses ways in which public libraries deal with latchkey children who spend their after-school hours at public libraries while their parents are at work. Research conducted in 1990 of 110 public libraries revealed that almost all libraries encountered unattended children after school hours, and that most libraries surveyed were not adversely affected by latchkey children. Nine successful or innovative programs in public libraries in the United States and Canada that address the needs of latchkey children are described. These programs often involve transportation of children from schools to the library; using retired senior volunteers; theater presentations; making available arts and crafts, games, computers and typewriters, read-along books, films, and refreshments; activities, including theater presentations, swimming, and field trips; and instruction in etiquette, survival and safety skills. Some programs offer activities designed to foster self-esteem and creativity, child care referral services for parents, and special services for children of immigrants. Recommendations for libraries include interacting with community agencies; conducting research; recruiting children as future library patrons; creating a separate area for children's use; using volunteers; and providing arts and crafts supplies. The digest is adapted from the book, "Latchkey Children in the Library and Community: Issues, Strategies, and Programs" (Oryx Press, 1991). Eight references are cited. (BC)

AbstractThis paper provides a new market consistent approach to the valuation of no negative equity guarantees and equity release mortgages. The paper provides a new approach to the estimation of volatility inputs. The proposed approach to volatility produces a volatility term structure that is dependent on the age and gender of the borrower. Illustrative valuations are provided based on the Black ’76 put pricing formula and mortality projections based on the M5 Cairns–Blake–Dowd mortality model. Results show interesting ramifications for industry practice and prudential regulation.

Blue cone monochromacy (BCM) is a rare X-linked retinal disease characterized by the absence of L- and M-opsin in cone photoreceptors, considered a potential gene therapy candidate. However, most experimental ocular gene therapies utilize subretinal vector injection which would pose a risk to the fragile central retinal structure of BCM patients. Here we describe the use of ADVM-062, a vector optimized for cone-specific expression of human L-opsin and administered using a single intravitreal (IVT) injection. Pharmacological activity of ADVM-062 was established in gerbils, whose cone-rich retina naturally lacks L-opsin. A single IVT administration dose of ADVM-062 effectively transduced gerbil cone photoreceptors and produced a de novoresponse to long-wavelength stimuli. To identify potential first-in-human doses we evaluated ADVM-062 in non-human primates. Cone-specific expression of ADVM-062 in primates was confirmed using ADVM-062.myc, a vector engineered with the same regulatory elements as ADVM-062. Enumeration of human OPN1LW.myc-positive cones demonstrated that doses ≥3 × 1010vg/eye resulted in transduction of 18%–85% of foveal cones. A Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) toxicology study established that IVT administration of ADVM-062 was well tolerated at doses that could potentially achieve clinically meaningful effect, thus supporting the potential of ADVM-062 as a one-time IVT gene therapy for BCM.

Background:According to the Grattan institute in 2014, 70% of Australians indicated a preference to die at home, however, only 14% of all deaths were at home.Aims:To identify how patients can be supported to die at home if that is their preference.Methods:A retrospective medical record audit of eligible Community Palliative Care (CPC) patients who indicated a wish to die at home was undertaken.Findings:Out of a total of 114 patients, 74% indicated a preference to die at home. Of these, 66% achieved a home death, and most lived with a carer. Enablers for home death included family support, regular nursing visits and equipment. People who attended an emergency department in their last month of life, lived alone or were undergoing oncological treatment were more likely to die elsewhere.Conclusion:A range of enablers and barriers to home death were found, with many of the enablers being factors that prevented hospital presentations.

In the field of media studies, Marshall McLuhan has often been celebrated as either a prognosticator of media development and social change or maligned as an interesting but otherwise inconsistent theoretician lacking rigour. However, wherever one falls within this spectrum McLuhan did have practical ideas that can provide insight into contemporary digital environments. This claim itself is unremarkable; however, perhaps more controversial a claim is that he also provides resources for a critical sensibility regarding racial discrimination and social justice. My goals for supporting this contention are threefold: first, I argue that McLuhan’s work might be constructively framed by what I call an ethic of understanding, which both responds to a common critique of McLuhan’s work as moral-neutral but also allows researchers to utilize his keen insights for revealing both overt and tacit modes of discrimination. Second, I unpack McLuhan’s use of the term media to demonstrate how common usage (largely limited to communication technologies) constrains our ability to identify vital connections among other forms of racial discrimination such as infrastructure and urban planning, which are also forms of media as conceptualized by McLuhan. Finally, I argue that to treat infrastructure media as distinct from and unrelated to contemporary digital platforms impedes our awareness of how current discriminatory behaviours are merely extensions of long-existing ideologies and institutional practices of coordinated (and often intentional) racial discrimination.

•Ortho Acting-Intern Coordinated Clinical Education and Surgical Skills provided basic orthopedic knowledge to fourth year medical students.•Ortho Acting-Intern Coordinated Clinical Education and Surgical Skills webinars were useful, well-paced, and level appropriate.•Webinars increased student knowledge and ability to apply knowledge in all topics.•Virtual webinar lectures were effective and accessible across the world.

BackgroundPercutaneous sclerotherapy is an effective treatment for lymphatic malformations (LM) of the head and neck in adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the indications and efficacy of sclerotherapy for head/neck LM in the neonate and infant population.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed patients treated with percutaneous sclerotherapy for LM of the head/neck at age ≤12 months at a single vascular anomalies clinic. The clinical, anatomic, and technical aspects of each treatment, complications, and post-treatment clinical and imaging outcomes were analyzed.Results22 patients underwent 36 treatments during the first year of life. Median age at first treatment was 6.2 months (range 2–320 days). Severe airway compromise was the most frequent indication for treatment (31.8%). Sclerosants included doxycycline (80.5%), sodium tetradecyl sulfate (55.5%), bleomycin (11.1%) and ethanol (2.8%). There were no immediate procedure-related complications; sclerosant-related laboratory complications included transient metabolic acidosis (8.3%) and hemolytic anemia (5.5%). Median follow-up was 3.7 years (IQR 0.6–4.8). 47.6% of patients showed >75% lesion size reduction and 19.0% showed minimal response (<25% improvement). At last follow-up, 71.4% of children were developmentally normal and asymptomatic, 23.8% had recurring symptoms, and 4.8% required permanent tracheostomy. Patients with ongoing symptoms or limited response to percutaneous sclerotherapy (33.3%) were treated with long-term sirolimus.ConclusionsPercutaneous sclerotherapy is a safe and effective treatment for symptomatic LM of the head and neck in neonates and infants. Treatment strategy and management of recurrent symptoms requires consensus from an experienced, multidisciplinary team.

Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is increasingly being utilized to manage complex medication regimens. Older Americans have the highest utilization of prescription medications, which increases adverse event risk and drug interactions.(1) While PGx-aided prescribing aims to reduce these outcomes, it is only one tool, among several, that can reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM).(2) The American Geriatric Society Beers Criteria (AGS Beers) is a widely used guideline that identifies PIM for individuals 65 years (y) of age or older.(3) Combining PGx with AGS Beers guidance can provide a powerful platform to enhance prescribing in geriatric populations. We evaluated medication use in a commercial PGx population (Genomind) for occurrence of AGS Beers drugs. (1)Lavan A et al. Predicting risk of adverse drug reactions in older adults. Ther Adv Drug Saf 2016;7(1):11-22.(2)Swen JJ, van der Wouden CH, Manson LE, et al. A 12-gene pharmacogenetic panel to prevent adverse drug reactions: an open-label, multicentre, controlled, cluster-randomised crossover implementation study [published correction appears in Lancet. 2023 Aug 26;402(10403):692]. Lancet. 2023;401(10374):347-356. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01841-4(3)By the 2023 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria® Update Expert Panel. American Geriatrics Society 2023 updated AGS Beers Criteria® for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023; 71(7): 2052-2081. doi:10.1111/jgs.18372

U.K. equity release actuaries are using a flawed approach to value the no-negative equity guarantees in their equity release mortgages. The approach they use, the discounted projection approach, incorrectly uses projected future house prices as the underlying prices in their put option pricing equations. The correct approach uses forward house prices. The discounted projection approach entails significant undervaluations of no-negative equity guarantees and overvaluations of equity release mortgages and can produce valuations that violate rational pricing principles. The discounted projection approach is also inconsistent with both actuarial and accounting standards. Our results have significant ramifications for equity release industry practice and prudential regulation.

In natural environments, two or more abiotic parameters often vary simultaneously, and interactions between co-varying parameters frequently result in unpredictable, non-additive biological responses. To better understand the mechanisms and consequences of interactions between multiple stressors, it is important to study their effects on not only fitness (survival and reproduction) but also performance and intermediary physiological processes. The splash-pool copepod Tigriopus californicus tolerates extremely variable abiotic conditions and exhibits a non-additive, antagonistic interaction resulting in higher survival when simultaneously exposed to high salinity and acute heat stress. Here, we investigated the response of T. californicus in activity and oxygen consumption under simultaneous manipulation of salinity and temperature to identify whether this interaction also arises in these sublethal measures of performance. Oxygen consumption and activity rates decreased with increasing assay salinity. Oxygen consumption also sharply increased in response to acute transfer to lower salinities, an effect that was absent upon transfer to higher salinities. Elevated temperature led to reduced rates of activity overall, resulting in no discernible impact of increased temperature on routine metabolic rates. This suggests that swimming activity has a non-negligible effect on the metabolic rates of copepods and must be accounted for in metabolic studies. Temperature also interacted with assay salinity to affect activity, and with acclimation salinity to affect routine metabolic rates upon acute salinity transfer, implying that the sublethal impacts of these co-varying factors are also not predictable from experiments that study them in isolation.

Abstract:Early American history and early Southern African history have much to offer one another, but signal debates in one field go unnoticed in the other. Both fields have witnessed strong efforts to reorient scholarship from older vantage points along the colonial coastlines to newer ones in the continental interiors. Both fields have investigated the consolidation of powerful indigenous social formations, and both fields have engaged the concept of settler colonialism. For a generation, however, Southern Africanists have robustly debated a period of great violence, the so-called Mfecane, said to have gripped indigenous peoples at the outer edges of, or even beyond the reach of, colonialism. Here Native North Americanists can learn from their Southern Africanist counterparts. This debate resembles and can contribute to early Americanists' discussion of such matters as the "Iroquois Wars" (also known as the "Beaver Wars") and the southeastern "shatter zone." And exploring Southern Africanist scholarship offers more than new questions for consideration by Americanists. It also reveals a troubling shared backstory to the colonialist theme of indigenous self-vanishing.

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Background The use of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) for trauma patients has been debated since its introduction. We aim to compare outcomes for trauma patients transported by ground EMS (GEMS) vs. HEMS using raw and adjusted mortality in a level 1 trauma center.Methods A 6-year retrospective cohort study utilizing our level 1 trauma center registry for patients transferred by GEMS or HEMS was performed. Demographics and outcome measures were compared. Raw and adjusted mortality was evaluated. Adjusted mortality was determined incorporating confounders, including patient demographics, comorbid conditions, mechanism of injury, injury severity score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale score, and EMS transport time. Chi-square, multivariable logistic regression, and independent sample T-test were utilized with significance, defined as P< .05.Results Of 12 633 patients, 10 656 were transported via GEMS and 1977 with HEMS. Mean age was 55 for GEMS and 40 for HEMS (P< .001). Mean ISS was 9.29 and 11.73 for GEMS and HEMS (P< .001). Mean Revised Trauma Score was higher (less severe) for GEMS vs. HEMS (7.6 vs. 7.12, P< .001). Mean transport times for GEMS and HEMS was 39.45 vs. 47.29 minutes (P= .02). Raw mortality was 2.55% (307/10 656) for GEMS and 6.78% (134/1977) for HEMS. Adjusted mortality revealed a 16.6% increased mortality for GEMS compared to HEMS (adjusted odds ratio = 1.166, 95% CI: .815-1.668).Conclusions Air-lifted trauma patients were younger, more severely injured, and more hemodynamically unstable and required longer transport time but experienced lower adjusted mortality. Future research is needed to investigate whether reducing transport times and augmenting the advanced care already implemented by HEMS crews can improve outcomes.

Closed depressions are scale-invariant landforms that are the most distinctive and characteristic landform in karst terrains at the millimetre-to-kilometre scales. The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first is to raise awareness of the geoheritage and geoeducational asset provided by closed depressions in a high-relief karst massif with the objective of promoting geotourism in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park in Southern Spain, which was declared a national park in 2021. The second is to propose a general, sound methodological approach to achieve the first purpose that can be applied to other national parks and geoparks with karst terrains. This paper identifies the factors that generate geodiversity in closed depressions in karst and, although dissolution is the primary generator in the high relief karst massif analysed, five distinctive types of natural, closed depressions have been recognized and described together with particular cases that deserve consideration. A sixth type of closed depression comprises anthropic closed depressions. Lithology and tectonics are the two main geological factors that determine the different types of natural closed depressions. Closed depressions add value to the geomorphological and hydrogeological diversity of karst terrains, and they can be used at various levels both off-site and on-site for preparing exhibits at a visitor or interpretation centre; as a story resource for guided field tours; and for identifying geosites of special interest for geological itineraries. Generating interpretation methods is an important component of transferring scientific knowledge of, and interest in, karst landscapes to the various types of visitors to the recently declared Sierra de las Nieves National Park in Andalusia, Southern Spain. In addition, an extensive inventory of closed depressions can be used for their identification, mapping, conservation, protection, and management. Such an inventory, which can be obtained efficiently from high spatial resolution digital elevation models, also contributes to the promotion and dissemination of geomorphological science to the general public.

We propose a general framework that can be used to analyse the mortality experience of a large portfolio of lives. The objective of the framework is to provide a firm evidence base to support the setting of future mortality assumptions for the portfolio as a whole or subgroup-by-subgroup. The framework is developed in tandem with an analysis of the mortality of pensioners in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the largest funded pension scheme in the UK and one with a highly educated and very homogeneous membership. The USS experience was compared with English mortality subdivided into deprivation deciles using the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). USS was found to have significantly lower mortality rates than even IMD-10 (the least deprived of the English deciles), but with similar mortality improvement rates to that decile over the period 2005–2016. Higher pensions were found to predict lower mortality, but only weakly so, and only for persons who retired on the first day of a month (mostly from active service). We found that other potential covariates derived from an individual’s post/zip code (geographical region and the IMD associated with their local area) typically had no explanatory power. This lack of dependence is an important conclusion of the USS-specific analysis and contrasts with others that consider the mortality of more heterogeneous scheme memberships. Although the key findings are likely to be particular to USS, we argue that our analytical framework will be useful for other large pension schemes and life annuity providers.

The demand for mint is increasing from year to year, and it is more important than ever to secure a sustainable and robust supply of such an important plant. The USDA mint core collection provides the basis for many researches worldwide regarding, e.g., sequencing, cytology, and disease resistances. A recently developed toolbox enables here for the first time the analysis of such a complex collection in terms of the aroma compound composition and the mapping of flavor alterations depending on taxonomy, environmental conditions, and growing stages by means of comprehensive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Therefore, in this study, not only the aroma compound composition of 153 genotypes was characterized but it was also demonstrated that the composition varies depending on taxonomy and changes during the growth of the plant. Furthermore, it could be shown that greenhouse conditions have an enormous influence on the concentrations of aroma compounds.

The World Health Organization has identified excessive COVID-19 pandemic–related information as a public health crisis, calling it an “infodemic.” Social media allows misinformation to spread quickly and outcompete scientifically grounded information delivered via other methods. Dear Pandemicis an innovative, multidisciplinary, social media–based science communication project whose mission is to educate and empower individuals to successfully navigate the overwhelming amount of information circulating during the pandemic. This mission has 2 primary objectives: (1) to disseminate trustworthy, comprehensive, and timely scientific content about the pandemic to lay audiences via social media and (2) to promote media literacy and information-hygiene practices, equipping readers to better manage the COVID-19 infodemic within their own networks. The volunteer team of scientists publishes 8-16 posts per week on pandemic-relevant topics. Nearly 2 years after it launched in March 2020, the project has a combined monthly reach of more than 4 million unique views across 4 social media channels, an email newsletter, and a website. We describe the project’s guiding principles, lessons learned, challenges, and opportunities. Dear Pandemichas emerged as an example of a promising new paradigm for public health communication and intervention. The contributors deliver content in ways that are personal, practical, actionable, responsive, and native to social media platforms. The project’s guiding principles are a model for public health communication targeting future infodemics and can bridge the chasm between the scientific community and the practical daily decision-making needs of the general public.

Although there is widespread speculation about guns helping people to sleep better, this idea has only recently faced empirical scrutiny. We test whether people who own guns tend to exhibit healthier sleep outcomes than people who do not own guns and whether the association between community stress and sleep is less pronounced for people who own guns.