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• Entotechnologies involve insects to upcycle organic waste. • Frass is an animal manure produced by insects. • 2–4 tonnes of frass are co-generated for each tonne of edible insect produced. • Frass has fertilizing, plant protection and soil health promoting properties. • Frass regulation is developing in Canada, USA and Europe. A range of issues related to sustainability in the agrifood industry have spurred interest in mass production of insects as human food and animal feed alternatives. This rapidly evolving sector addresses several challenges, including the management of food waste or agrifood by-products and the production of alternative animal proteins demonstrating low environmental impacts that improve sector circularity. The mass production of insects on agrifood processing wastes or by-products represents an opportunity to address these challenges. While the production of insects offers prospects for sustainable protein production, a major side stream is the production of frass or larval excrement including uneaten feed and chitin-rich exuviae (derived from multiple larval moults). The production of each tonne of edible insects generates 2 to 4 tonnes of frass with an interesting potential in agriculture versus traditional organic amendments (compost, manure, biochar). This review aims to demonstrate the characteristics of frass, its common harvest and conditioning methods, its optimal application rates for planting crops, the mechanisms by which it can protect plants against biotic and abiotic stresses and demystify the risks and potential associated with its application in agriculture. The characteristics of frass are compared with those of conventional fertilizers or other. This report also compiles the Canadian, US and European regulatory frameworks as a novel plant fertilizer and aims to pave the way for future research necessary for its valorization in plant production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of factors may contribute to disparities in mental health and suicidality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students, including parental abuse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey included a nationally representative sample of US high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current analyses examined experiences of verbal and physical abuse in the home with mental health and suicidality among LGBQ students compared to heterosexual students. The relationship between abuse and mental health and suicidality was significant for all students; however, LGBQ students experienced substantially more abuse and had significantly poorer mental health and greater suicidality than heterosexual students. Experiencing verbal or physical abuse in the home is strongly associated with poor mental health and suicidality among youth, regardless of sexual identity; however, among LGBQ students who experienced abuse, the prevalence of poor mental health and suicidality reached crisis levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is part of a larger evaluation of a multilevel, multistrategy federal program to reduce high school students' risk for HIV/sexually transmitted infection and unintended pregnancy. Local education agencies supported schools in implementing three strategies: delivering exemplary sexual health education, increasing student access to quality sexual health services, and enhancing safe and supportive school environments (SSE). We examined how levels of school implementation of these strategies moderated program effects on targeted student outcomes. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey was implemented in participating local education agencies in 2015 and 2017 to assess student behaviors and experiences, whereas the School Health Profiles surveys assessed school policies and practices in 2014 and 2016. We used these surveys to measure student-level outcomes and school-level program delivery, respectively, which were analyzed using multilevel modeling in a difference-in-differences framework. Levels of SSE implementation significantly moderated program effects on multiple student outcomes, including ever having sex, having four or more lifetime sexual partners, being sexually active, using hormonal birth control, dual use of a condom and hormonal birth control, ever being forced to have sex, missing school because of safety concerns, and lifetime and current marijuana use. However, we found few moderating effects of exemplary sexual health education and sexual health services dosage. We found a significant relationship between incremental increases in implementation of activities to increase the safety and supportiveness of school environments and enhanced program effects in improving multiple student health outcomes. These findings suggest that school implementation of SSE activities contributed to intended program effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2008.04.004 Byline: Jean Ethier (a), Pierre Hadaya (a), Jean Talbot (b), Jean Cadieux (a) Keywords: Interface design; Emotions; Cognitive appraisals; Web site usability Abstract: This paper examines the impact of four Web site interface features on the cognitive process that trigger online shoppers' emotions, operationalized as mental states of readiness that arise from appraisal of events and considered as direct antecedents to approach or avoidance behaviors. A research model was tested with data collected from 215 Web shopping episodes for low-touch merchandise. Results show that shoppers experienced all six emotions posited in the model. The emotions of liking and joy were experienced intensively by a substantial number of shoppers. The results also demonstrate that interface features - key components of the usability of a Web site - influenced the three cognitive appraisals illustrated in the research model. Moreover, the cognitive appraisals of situational state and control potential impacted the six emotions examined. This paper also highlights several theoretical contributions and managerial implications that should help managers and Web site managers improve the interface design of their Web sites in order to facilitate information gathering and better support online shopping processes. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Information Systems and Quantitative Methods, Universite de Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard de l'Universite, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada JIK 2R1 (b) Department of Information Technologies, HEC-Montreal, 3000 CA[acute accent]te Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3T 2A7

A formal structural approach for comparing willingness-to-pay (WTP) for non-market of pre-test-market goods is conveyed. On that basis, an estimation of WTP for the individual models are typical of earlier findings is suggested.

The purpose of the study is to assess associations between exposure to a multilevel, socio-ecological health program administered by local education agencies and changes in health behaviors among high school students. This analysis used a multilevel difference-in-differences approach to compare student health experiences and outcomes between schools selected by local education agencies nationwide to implement the program (exposed schools) and schools that were not (unexposed schools). We measured repeated cross-sectional outcomes using the 2015 and 2017 Youth Risk Behaviors Surveys. The final analytic sample comprised 638 schools in total (N = 64,838 students), with 237 exposed schools (n = 30,336 students) and 401 unexposed schools (n = 34,502 students). Students in exposed schools demonstrated significant reduction in odds compared with those in unexposed schools in ever having sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]:.81–.96), having four or more lifetime sexual partners (aOR =.84, 95% CI:.72–.97), being currently sexually active (aOR =.78, 95% CI:.78–.96), and using effective hormonal birth control (aOR =.7, 95% CI:.56–.88). Exposure to the program was associated with significant reduction in odds of not going to school because of safety concerns (aOR =.87, 95% CI:.78–.97), having experienced forced sex (aOR =.76, 95% CI:.68–.86), ever used marijuana (aOR =.89, 95% CI:.81–.98), and currently using marijuana (aOR =.77, 95% CI:.64–.93). Exposure to the program was associated with significant decreases in sexual risk behaviors, experience of violence, and substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, nearly 93% of U.S. students engaged in some distance learning. These school disruptions may negatively influence adolescent mental health. Protective factors, like feeling connected to family or school may demonstrate a buffering effect, potentially moderating negative mental health outcomes. The purpose of the study is to test our hypothesis that mode of school instruction influences mental health and determine if school and family connectedness attenuates these relationships. The COVID Experiences Survey was administered online or via telephone from October to November 2020 in adolescents ages 13–19 using National Opinion Research Center's AmeriSpeak Panel, a probability-based panel recruited using random address–based sampling with mail and telephone nonresponse follow-up. The final sample included 567 adolescents in grades 7–12 who received virtual, in-person, or combined instruction. Unadjusted and adjusted associations among four mental health outcomes and instruction mode were measured, and associations with school and family connectedness were explored for protective effects. Students attending school virtually reported poorer mental health than students attending in-person. Adolescents receiving virtual instruction reported more mentally unhealthy days, more persistent symptoms of depression, and a greater likelihood of seriously considering attempting suicide than students in other modes of instruction. After demographic adjustments school and family connectedness each mitigated the association between virtual versus in-person instruction for all four mental health indicators. As hypothesized, mode of school instruction was associated with mental health outcomes, with adolescents receiving in-person instruction reporting the lowest prevalence of negative mental health indicators. School and family connectedness may play a critical role in buffering negative mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that molecular elements similar to the telomere enzyme is necessary for maintaining telomere integrity. These molecular elements are capable of forming telomere to telomere connections for TG (telomere generated guanine) tails. This binding of telomeres would result in the formation of single stranded TG tails at the final stages of the S phase. Data also suggest that the cell-controlled deterioration of the cytosine-adenine strand provides a medium for telomere maintenance.

Optic nerve head (ONH) biomechanics is centrally involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, a blinding ocular condition often characterized by elevation and fluctuation of the intraocular pressure and resulting loads on the ONH. Further, tissue viscoelasticity is expected to strongly influence the mechanical response of the ONH to mechanical loading, yet the viscoelastic mechanical properties of the ONH remain unknown. To determine these properties, we conducted micromechanical testing on porcine ONH tissue samples, coupled with finite element modeling based on a mixture model consisting of a biphasic material with a viscoelastic solid matrix. Our results provide a detailed description of the viscoelastic properties of the porcine ONH at each of its four anatomical quadrants (i.e., nasal, superior, temporal, and inferior). We showed that the ONH's viscoelastic mechanical response can be explained by a dual mechanism of fluid flow and solid matrix viscoelasticity, as is common in other soft tissues. We obtained porcine ONH properties as follows: matrix Young's modulus E = 1.895 [ 1.056 , 2.391 ] kPa (median [min., max.]), Poisson's ratio ν = 0.142 [ 0.060 , 0.312 ] , kinetic time-constant τ = 214 [ 89 , 921 ] sec, and hydraulic permeability k = 3.854 × 10 − 1 [ 3.457 × 10 − 2 , 9.994 × 10 − 1 ] mm4/(N.sec). These values can be used to design and fabricate physiologically appropriate ex vivo test environments (e.g., 3D cell culture) to further understand glaucoma pathophysiology. Optic nerve head (ONH) biomechanics is an important aspect of the pathogenesis of glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness. The ONH experiences time-varying loads, yet the viscoelastic behavior of this tissue has not been characterized. Here, we measure the time-dependent response of the ONH in porcine eyes and use mechanical modeling to provide time-dependent mechanical properties of the ONH. This information allows us to identify time-varying stimuli in vivo which have timescales matching the characteristic response times of the ONH, and can also be used to design and fabricate ex vivo 3D cultures to study glaucoma pathophysiology in a physiologically relevant environment, enabling the discovery of new generations of glaucoma medications focusing on neuroprotection. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many women diagnosed with early-stage hormone-sensitive breast cancer die of causes other than their breast cancer. These competing risks can create challenges in analysing and clearly communicating data on risk of breast cancer recurrence or death. Here, we quantify the impact of competing risks on estimates of disease recurrence and benefit from therapy. Using data from the MA.27, MA.17 and MA.17R trials of adjuvant endocrine therapy in early breast cancer, we compared Kaplan-Meier (KM) and competing risk methods for disease-free survival (DFS) and distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS). Each trial was analysed separately. In KM analyses, participants were censored at the time of non-breast cancer death. Competing risk analyses comprised cumulative incidence functions in which non-breast cancer death was a competing risk. Non-breast cancer deaths were observed more often in older participants, in those with lower risk of breast cancer and after longer follow-up. Compared with conventional analyses, estimates of the proportion of participants with DFS or DRFS events were lower in competing risk analyses, with this difference increasing over the course of follow-up. The absolute treatment benefit was similar or modestly lower in competing risk analyses. Compared with KM methods, competing risk analyses result in lower estimates of DFS and DRFS events and similar or modestly lower absolute benefit from experimental endocrine therapy. Over a long time horizon, competing risk methods may be preferable to KM methods when estimating future risk of recurrence in early-stage hormone-sensitive breast cancer. Clinicaltrials.gov ; NCT00003140 , NCT00754845 , NCT00066573. • This is a secondary analysis of large adjuvant endocrine therapy trials (MA.17, MA.17R and MA.27). • Estimates of treatment outcomes were compared using conventional and competing risk methods. • The proportion of patients with recurrence events was lower in competing risk analyses. • Absolute treatment benefit was similar or modestly lower in competing risk analyses. • Competing risk methods may provide an optimal strategy to estimate long-term outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image, graphical abstract Determining tissue biomechanical material properties from mechanical test data is frequently required in a variety of applications. However, the validity of the resulting constitutive model parameters is the subject of debate in the field. Parameter optimization in tissue mechanics often comes down to the "identifiability" or "uniqueness" of constitutive model parameters; however, despite advances in formulating complex constitutive relations and many classic and creative curve-fitting approaches, there is currently no accessible framework to study the identifiability of tissue material parameters. Our objective was to assess the identifiability of material parameters for established constitutive models of fiber-reinforced soft tissues, biomaterials, and tissue-engineered constructs and establish a generalizable procedure for other applications. To do so, we generated synthetic experimental data by simulating uniaxial tension and compression tests, commonly used in biomechanics. We then fit this data using a multi-start optimization technique based on the nonlinear least-squares method with multiple initial parameter guesses. We considered tendon and sclera as example tissues, using constitutive models that describe these fiber-reinforced tissues. We demonstrated that not all the model parameters of these constitutive models were identifiable from uniaxial mechanical tests, despite achieving virtually identical fits to the stress-stretch response. We further show that when the lateral strain was considered as an additional fitting criterion, more parameters are identifiable, but some remain unidentified. This work provides a practical approach for addressing parameter identifiability in tissue mechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Glomerular endothelial cell (GEC) dysfunction occurs in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and generally precedes albuminuria. We recently reported that hedgehog interacting protein (Hhip), highly expressed in GECs, contributes to DKD development in diabetic mice. Here, we hypothesized that urinary Hhip (uHhip) could identify early DKD; we tested uHhip in mice and humans with diabetes (DM). In both type 1 (Akita) and type 2 (db/db) DM mice, uHhip is elevated prior to the development of albuminuria, while non-DM controls excrete minimal amount of uHhip. In 87 type 2 DM patients and 39 healthy controls, the uHhip/creatinine (Cr) ratio provides a significant discrimination between non-DM and DM groups; 0 [0-69.5] in non-DM, 9.9 [1.7-39.5] in normoalbuminuric DM, 167.7 [95.7-558.7] in microalbuminuric DM, and 207.9 [0-957.2] in macroalbuminuric DM (median [IQR] ng/mmol, P < 0.0001). The log-uHhip/Cr is positively correlated with urine albumin/Cr ratio (UACR) (spearman correlation coefficient 0.47, P < 0.0001). The log-uHhip/Cr is also associated with eGFR, pulse pressure, and urinary cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TGFβ1) independent of UACR. By immunostaining, Hhip is localized in glomeruli and tubules, and is increased in human DM kidneys compared with non-DM kidneys. TGFβ1 shares the similar staining pattern as Hhip in human DM kidneys. Thus, uHhip appears to be a novel indicator of diabetic GEC injury and is elevated in early DKD before the development of microalbuminuria in mice and humans. Clinical value for detecting early DKD warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Retrospective data suggest better outcomes for patients with double hormonal receptor (oestrogen [ER] and progesterone receptor [PgR])–positive (dHR+) early breast cancer, compared with single hormonal receptor–positive, sHR+, (ER+/PgR– or ER–/PgR+) disease. Here, we evaluate the classification according to intrinsic subtypes and clinical outcomes of sHR+ versus dHR+ in HER2-negative breast cancer patients enrolled in GEICAM/9906 study ( NCT00129922 ). Methods Archival tumours were retrieved retrospectively for the analysis of ER, PgR and HER2 status and classified into intrinsic subtypes using the PAM50 gene expression assay. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were explored using a Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results Data on intrinsic subtypes were available in 571 (50%) patients with ER+ and/or PR+, and HER2-negative primary tumours. The incidence of luminal A and luminal B subtypes were 52%/36% in dHR+ tumours (ER+/PgR+), and 15%/58% in ER+/PgR–tumours. ER–/PgR+ tumours were mainly luminal A (52%). Compared with ER+/PgR+ patients, DFS was similar in ER–/PgR+ (hazard ratio [HR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57–2.34, p = 0.70) but worse in ER+/PgR– patients (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.12–2.28, p < 0.01). Similar results were observed for OS (HR 1.50, p = 0.30 and HR 1.86, p < 0.01, respectively). Conclusions The ER+/PgR– group is characterised by higher proliferation and worse outcomes. In spite of the ER–/PgR+ subgroup resembles ER+/PgR+ disease in terms of molecular subtypes and outcomes, the small number of patients in this subgroup prevents from drawing any conclusions. Trial registration EudraCT: 2005-003108-12 (retrospectively registered 28/06/2005). Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT00129922 (retrospectively registered 10/08/2005). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between school involvement and connectedness with measures of sexual risk, substance use, and experience of violence among students who had sexual contact with the same sex or with both sexes. Methods A sample of middle school and high school students who participated in a study conducted in a large urban school district were selected based on their reported experience of having initiated sexual activity with same-sex partners. In classroom-based surveys, we assessed self-reported involvement in school-based activities and feelings of school connectedness, as well as self-reported sexual risk, substance use, and experience of violence. Results Significant protective associations were found between school involvement and lifetime alcohol and marijuana use, and between school connectedness and ever having been in a fight, feeling safe at school, and drug use other than marijuana (all p  < .05). Conclusions Findings suggest that efforts to increase school involvement and connectedness provide a starting point for addressing significant health and safety concerns among students with same-sex sexual activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]