Search

Fluent and skillful reading in English requires efficient and automatic letter and word recognition. Dysfluent reading can affect motivation for reading in English language learners, thereby limiting access to a wealth of language input from written texts. Extensive research of repeated reading in first language (L1) settings has been shown to increase reading rate, while comparatively little research has been done on repeated reading in second language (L2) settings. The objective of this eye‐tracking study was to accurately document early and late reading processes in an immediate repeated reading exercise to observe how repeated reading affects reading rate in adult English language learners. In our study, 30 students in an intensive English program in the United States read three short expository texts three times each. Eye‐tracking showed significant increases in reading rate measures in both early and late reading processes. For example, average first fixation duration decreased from the first to the third reading and average late dwell time decreased from the first to third reading. Repeated reading is an exercise that should be considered by educators to help English language learners increase their immediate reading rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homologous to the C‐terminus of E6AP (HECT) and RCC1‐like domain (RLD)‐containing protein 2 (HERC2) is a large, 528 kDa E3 ubiquitin ligase that is associated with cancer, oculocutaneous albanism type 2, Prader‐Willi syndrome, and other neurological diseases. HERC2 has been found to contribute to double‐stranded DNA break repairs, tumor suppression, maintaining centrosome architecture, and ubiquitylation. The C‐terminal portion of the HECT domain (C‐lobe) of HERC2 is responsible for transferring ubiquitin to a substrate but the precise function of the other eight domains in HERC2 are unknown. Interestingly, HERC2 contains a unique and negatively charged C‐terminal tail adjoined to the C‐lobe that is predicted to act as a linker to promote interactions between HERC2 and its binding partners. This study aims to better understand the function and relevance of HERC2 in disease by investigating the structural aspects of the HERC2 C‐lobe and HERC2 C‐terminal tail using AlphaFold followed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and circular dichroism (CD). Secondary structure content analysis from MD simulations and the fully resonance assigned 1H‐15N HSQC spectra of the HERC2 C‐lobe and the isolated C‐terminal tail confirm that the C‐lobe is well‐folded but the C‐terminal tail is disordered. CD melting curves indicate that the flexible C‐terminal tail provides improved stability to the C‐lobe. Additionally, MD simulations have identified that the interaction between residues D4829 and R4728 is prevalent among the non‐bonded contacts between the tail and the C‐lobe. Overall, our results demonstrate that the negatively charged C‐terminal tail is disordered, provides stability to the C‐lobe, and may act as a flexible scaffold for protein–protein interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US operates a system of 160 S‐band Doppler weather radars known as NEXRAD (NEXt generation weather RADar) that continuously monitors the airspace around the majority of the United States and outlying territories. These radars detect and track birds, insects, and bats. Free‐tailed bats (Genus Tadarida) provide considerable ecosystem services through their voracious insect consumption; but their movements and ecosystem service provision have historically been difficult to track/study in space and time.We introduce 'BATS', a Python toolkit that streamlines the process of downloading, classifying, and aggregating time series of free‐tailed bats across large landscapes. BATS retrieves data from NOAA's weather radar data repositories and classifies the processed radar data using a pre‐trained ML trained to detect and classify radar echoes associated with free‐tailed bats.We trained various machine learning approaches at classifying pixels containing free‐tailed bats and compared the effectiveness across approaches. With an AUC of 0.963, the neural network approach is highly effective in identifying free‐tailed bats in NEXRAD data over our study sites in California and Texas. Furthermore, BATS is capable of quickly distilling 6 months of radar data from a single tower (3.5 Tb) into a single 15 Mb‐sized map of bat occurrence, contingent on available computing resources.BATS will help scientists and stakeholders identify areas of high bat occupancy at the landscape level over long periods of time. This ability has the potential to increase our understanding of the economic and agricultural value of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A large body of research investigates the determinants of stunting in young children, but few studies have considered which factors are the most important predictors of stunting. We examined the relative importance of predictors of height‐for‐age z‐scores (HAZ) and stunting among children under 5 years of age in seven of the most food‐insecure districts in South Africa using data from the Grow Great Community Stunting Survey of 2022. We used dominance analysis and variable importance measures from conditional random forest models to assess the relative importance of predictors. We found that intergenerational and socioeconomic factors—specifically maternal height (HAZ: Coef. 0.02, 95% CI 0.01–0.03; stunting: OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.98), birth weight (HAZ: Coef. 0.3, 95% CI 0.16–0.43; stunting: OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.35–0.72) and asset‐based measures of socioeconomic status (HAZ: Coef. 0.17, 95% CI 0.10–0.24; stunting: OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.67–0.89)—were the most important predictors of HAZ and stunting in these districts. We explored whether any other factors moderated (weakened) the relationship between these intergenerational factors and child height using conditional inference trees and moderation analysis. We found that being on track for vitamin A and deworming, adequate sanitation, a diverse diet and good maternal mental health moderated the effect of birth weight or mother's height. Though impacts are likely to be small relative to the impact of intergenerational risk factors, these moderating factors may provide promising avenues for helping to mitigate the intergenerational transmission of stunting risk in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving successful blinding is a persistent challenge for clinical trials involving transcranial direct current stimulation. Studies involving populations with increased sensory sensitivity, such as children, could be at risk for increased bias from inadequate blinding due to unique sensation of stimulation relative to adults. The objectives of this study were 1) To examine differences in transcranial stimulation blinding between children and young adults and its relationship to sensory sensitivity. 2) To test the efficacy of an ActiSham protocol for participant blinding, compared to a traditional sham protocol. Typically developing right‐handed children (N = 12, 5–14 yr) and young adults (N = 15, 15–25 yr) completed a single‐session study to test transcranial stimulation blinding after three conditions counterbalanced across participants: Active, Sham and ActiSham. Stimulation was paired with a motor learning task to simulate a combinatory neurorehabilitation intervention. After each condition, participants reported if they received real or fake stimulation and their response confidence. To quantify sensory sensitivity, participants completed the Sensory Profile (second edition). Compared to a chance level, 1) children and young adults correctly identified Active stimulation, 2) children incorrectly identified Sham and ActiSham stimulation and 3) young adults identified Sham and ActiSham stimulation at chance‐level. Blinding accuracy was not related to sensory sensitivity. Children report stimulation as real stimulation with higher confidence for almost all conditions, indicating unsuccessful blinding compared to young adults. Future studies should consider alternative sham protocols or methods to improve blinding in child participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with myotonia congenita suffer from slowed muscle relaxation caused by hyperexcitability. The diaphragm is only mildly affected in myotonia congenita; discovery of the mechanism underlying its resistance to myotonia could identify novel therapeutic targets. Intracellular recordings from two mouse models of myotonia congenita revealed the diaphragm had less myotonia than either the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) or the soleus muscles. A mechanism contributing to resistance of the diaphragm to myotonia was reduced depolarization of the interspike membrane potential during repetitive firing of action potentials, a process driven by build‐up of K+ in small invaginations of muscle membrane known as t‐tubules. We explored differences between diaphragm and EDL that might underlie reduction of K+ build‐up in diaphragm t‐tubules. Smaller size of diaphragm fibres, which promotes diffusion of K+ out of t‐tubules, was identified as a contributor. Intracellular recording revealed slower repolarization of action potentials in diaphragm suggesting reduced Kv conductance. Higher resting membrane conductance was identified suggesting increased Kir conductance. Computer simulation found that a reduction of Kv conductance had little effect on K+ build‐up whereas increased Kir conductance lessened build‐up, although the effect was modest. Our data and computer simulation suggest opening of K+ channels during action potentials has little effect on K+ build‐up whereas opening of K+ channels during the interspike interval slightly lessens K+ build‐up. We conclude that activation of K+ channels may lessen myotonia by opposing depolarization to action potential threshold without worsening K+ build‐up in t‐tubules. Key points: In mouse models of the muscle disease myotonia congenita, the diaphragm has much less myotonia (muscle stiffness) than the extensor digitorum longus or soleus muscles.Identifying why the diaphragm is resistant to myotonia may help in developing novel therapy.We found the reason the diaphragm has less myotonia is that it is less prone to depolarization caused by K+ build‐up in t‐tubules during repetitive firing of action potentials.Smaller fibre size contributes to resistance to K+ build‐up with differences in K+ currents playing little role.Our data suggest drugs that open K+ channels may be effective in treating myotonia as they may lessen excitability without worsening K+ build‐up in t‐tubules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In groundwater modeling studies, accurate spatial and intensity identification of water sources and sinks is of critical importance. Precise construction data about wells (water sinks) are particularly difficult to obtain. The collection of well log data is expensive and laborious, and government records of historic well log data are often imprecise and incomplete with respect to the precise location or pumping rate. In many groundwater modeling studies, such as groundwater quality assessments, a precise representation of the horizontal and vertical distribution of well screens is required to accurately estimate contaminant breakthrough curves. The number of wells under consideration may be very large, for example, in the assessment of nonpoint source pollution. In this paper, we propose an imputation framework that allows for proper reconstruction of missing well data. Our approach exploits available information and tolerates data gaps and imprecisions. We demonstrate the value of this method for a subregion of the Central Valley aquifer (California, USA). We show that our framework imputes missing values that preserve statistical properties of available data and that remain consistent with the known spatial distribution of well screens and pumping rates in the three‐dimensional aquifer system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(R,S)‐Ketamine (ketamine) is a dissociative anesthetic that also possesses analgesic and antidepressant activity. Undesirable dissociative side effects and misuse potential limit expanded use of ketamine in several mental health disorders despite promising clinical activity and intensifying medical need. (2R,6R)‐Hydroxynorketamine (RR‐HNK) is a metabolite of ketamine that lacks anesthetic and dissociative activity but maintains antidepressant and analgesic activity in multiple preclinical models. To enable future assessments in selected human indications, we report the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of RR‐HNK in a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers (NCT04711005). A six‐level single‐ascending dose (SAD) (0.1–4 mg/kg) and a two‐level multiple ascending dose (MAD) (1 and 2 mg/kg) study was performed using a 40‐minute IV administration emulating the common practice for ketamine administration for depression. Safety assessments showed RR‐HNK possessed a minimal adverse event profile and no serious adverse events at all doses examined. Evaluations of dissociation and sedation demonstrated that RR‐HNK did not possess anesthetic or dissociative characteristics in the doses examined. RR‐HNK PK parameters were measured in both the SAD and MAD studies and exhibited dose‐proportional increases in exposure. Quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) measurements collected as a PD parameter based on preclinical findings and ketamine's established effect on gamma‐power oscillations demonstrated increases of gamma power in some participants at the lower/mid‐range doses examined. Cerebrospinal fluid examination confirmed RR‐HNK exposure within the central nervous system (CNS). Collectively, these data demonstrate RR‐HNK is well tolerated with an acceptable PK profile and promising PD outcomes to support the progression into Phase 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do forms of trust influence South Korean views of North Korean arrivals? While a broad literature addresses the institutional and generalized social trust impacting a range of public perceptions, this has not been extended to views on North Korean arrivals. Meanwhile, research on views of arrivals often relies on only one measure for what are likely complex concerns. Through the use of a 2021 Korean Social Integration Survey, we find evidence of institutional and social trust positively influencing overall views of arrivals, with mixed results on the impact on proximal tolerance of arrivals, suggesting that policy efforts to enhance trust as a means to improve integration efforts may fail to produce substantive improvements for arrivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented health crisis that impacted healthcare systems worldwide. This study explores how Spanish healthcare workers learned, internalised and integrated values and work behaviours during the COVID‐19 pandemic and their impact on the personal sphere. This documentary research, using images, narratives and audiovisual content, was framed within the interpretative hermeneutic paradigm. Categories and subcategories emerged after a final theoretical sampling that focused on the analysis. Data triangulation between researchers favoured theoretical saturation. A total of 117 images and 27 texts were selected. The analysis identified three stages: bewilderment, seeking functionality in the chaos and integrating chaos into care. The data reflects how the need for security and knowledge, and the exhaustion and frustration caused by the initial working conditions, prompted adaptive responses. These responses involved focusing on problem‐solving and strengthening group sentiments and solidarity. Subsequently, the data indicates the acceptance of new structural, organisational and communication aspects. The findings of the analysis will contribute towards finding a framework that can help understand community health crisis events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatially explicit models are an important component of systematic conservation planning, enabling the depiction of biodiversity metrics across landscapes and objective evaluation of candidate sites for conservation delivery. However, sites considered "best" for conservation are typically viewed from the standpoint of biological value and may not be the most effective or efficient when risk of habitat loss, cost of conservation, intended conservation treatments, and overall conservation strategy are considered. We evaluated risk of habitat loss, land cost, and landscape context for geographic areas harboring most‐dense to least‐dense population quartiles for 16 species of grassland birds in the US northern Great Plains. Differences in land cost, risk of grassland conversion, and landscape context among quartiles and species indicated that a minimum‐area strategy may be inefficient and even ineffective. Priority zones for western species were generally associated with lower agricultural land cost, more protected land, and landscape characteristics associated with intact grasslands; eastern species were generally associated with higher agricultural land cost, tillage probability, grass loss, cropland, development, forest, Conservation Reserve Program grasslands, and distance to grass. Our results indicate that addressing areas outside of population cores increases conservation options and may provide substantial benefits to portions of populations that are most vulnerable to habitat loss or other stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to accelerate drug development and avoid unnecessary drug trials in vulnerable pediatric populations, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a general advice letter to sponsors permitting the effectiveness of atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults to be extrapolated to adolescents. Extrapolation is based on the evidence‐based assumptions that (1) disease characteristics and (2) response to therapy, are similar in adults and adolescents. Whereas the FDA validated the extrapolation approach using data from multiple drug development programs, aripiprazole data are the most relevant to confirm the validity of the extrapolation approach for brexpiprazole, since aripiprazole and brexpiprazole both modulate dopaminergic and serotonergic signaling in the brain. The aims of this analysis were (1) to quantitatively assess the aripiprazole exposure (average steady‐state concentration)–response (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score change from baseline) similarity between adults and adolescents with schizophrenia, (2) to extend the aripiprazole exposure–response modeling to brexpiprazole using adult data, and (3) to use the brexpiprazole model to predict schizophrenia symptom response in adolescents. Disease–drug–dropout models were developed using patient‐level data from clinical studies of aripiprazole (1007 adults, 294 adolescents) and brexpiprazole (1235 adults) in schizophrenia. The aripiprazole model demonstrated similar exposure–response between adults and adolescents with schizophrenia, validating the extrapolation approach. Extrapolation of the brexpiprazole adult exposure–response model to adolescents predicted the efficacy of brexpiprazole in adolescents aged 13‐17 years with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study focused on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a group of adult Mixe, an Indigenous population from Oaxaca, Mexico. Mixe comprised an estimated 9.4% (n ≅ 90 000) of the Indigenous population in Oaxaca. Mexico. Objective: This study focused on a group of adult Mixe, an Indigenous population from Oaxaca, Mexico. To compare the prevalence of T2DM, overweight (OW), obesity (OB), and hypertension (HTN) between 2007 and 2017 for a small, isolated Mixe community in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. We test whether or not environmental changes have affected T2DM prevalence. Methods and Materials: Demographic and medical record data were collected in the community in 2007 and 2017 from the medical clinic and the mayor's office. T2DM was medically diagnosed among adults (>34 years old), in 2007 (n = 730) and in 2017 (n = 829). Results: T2DM crude prevalence increased from 6.7% to 12.1% (p <.001) from 2007 to 2017. The mean age of the sample analyzed was 60.6 (SD = 9.7). Age‐adjusted T2DM prevalence increased from 6.7% to 10.8% (p <.002). T2DM was 5.7%–5.5% among males (p <.53) and 7.1%–13.6% among females (p <.001). Sex‐specific OW and OB simulation studies indicate females had 7% less OW in 2007, and males were unchanged compared with 2017. OB among males and females was significantly higher in 2017 compared with 2007 (increased by 15.2% and 8.3%, males and females, respectively). Sexes combined OW + OB increased 12.7% among males but was unchanged in females (−0.5%). In the sexes combined analysis, OW prevalence increased 12.7% to 27.1% (p <.001) and OB prevalence increased 10.7%–27.9% (p <.001) from 2007 to 2017. HTN did not change significantly from 2007 to 2017 (15.4% and 14.6%, respectively) (p =.63) in adults. Among T2DM individuals, the frequency of HTN was not significantly different in 2007 and 2017 (57.1% and 37%, respectively) (p =.65). Transition to a Western diet consisting of high‐carbohydrate foods occurred at the same time as increased T2DM from 2007 to 2017, with a higher prevalence of T2DM noted among females in 2017. Conclusions: An increased prevalence of T2DM, OW, and OB but not HTN was observed in the Mixe community from 2007 to 2017 and was associated with the adoption of a high‐carbohydrate Western diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined the prevalence of headache medicine use among Danish adolescents and explores the link between mental health, frequent headaches, and medicine use for headache. We hypothesized that poor mental health increases headache occurrence, leading to greater medicine use. Methods: The 2022 Danish Health Behaviour in School‐aged Children (HBSC) study surveyed 5292 students aged 11, 13, and 15. Self‐reported data included headache frequency, medicine use for headache, and five mental health indicators: life satisfaction, emotional symptoms, loneliness, self‐efficacy, and self‐esteem. Multivariate logistic regression analyses assessed the association between mental health indicators and headache medicine use, adjusting for headache frequency. Results: Weekly headaches were reported by 33.1%, and 43.6% used headache medicine in the past month. Poor mental health correlated with higher headache and medicine use rates. Analyses adjusted for sex, age group, and occupational social class found significantly increased odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for medicine use for headache among students with low life satisfaction (2.27; 1.88–2.75), among students with 2+ emotional symptoms (2.28; 1.92–2.69), students who often felt lonely (2.08; 1.69–2.55), students with low self‐efficacy (1.37; 1.16–1.61) and students with low self‐esteem (1.59; 1.36–1.85). When accounting for headache frequency, the association between poor mental health and medicine use diminished and became nonsignificant. Conclusions: Poor mental health was linked to increased medicine use for headache. The findings suggest that frequent headaches may explain the association between poor mental health and the use of headache medicine. Promoting rational medicine use and enhancing mental health among adolescents is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Louse‐borne Bartonella quintana infection and flea‐borne murine typhus are two potentially serious vector‐borne diseases that have led to periodic outbreaks among people experiencing homelessness in the United States. Little is known about louse‐ and flea‐borne disease awareness and prevention among staff who provide services to the population. We surveyed staff in seven US states to identify gaps in knowledge and prevention practices for these diseases. Methods and Results: Surveys were administered to 333 staff at 89 homeless shelters and outreach teams in California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and Washington from August 2022 to April 2023. Most participants (>68%) agreed that body lice and fleas are a problem for people experiencing homelessness. About half were aware that diseases could be transmitted by these vectors; however, most could not accurately identify which diseases. Less than a quarter of staff could describe an appropriate protocol for managing body lice or fleas. Misconceptions included that clients must isolate or be denied services until they are medically cleared. Conclusions: Our findings reveal significant knowledge gaps among staff who provide services to people experiencing homelessness in the prevention and control of louse‐ and flea‐borne diseases. This demonstrates an urgent need for staff training to both reduce disease and prevent unnecessary restrictions on services and housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium‐based alloys are excellent materials for temporary medical implants, but understanding and controlling their corrosion performance is crucial. Most nanoscale corrosion studies focus on the surface, providing only 2D information. In contrast, macro‐ and microscale X‐ray tomography offers representative volume information, which is, however, comparatively low in resolution and rather qualitative. Here a new mesoscale approach overcomes these drawbacks and bridges the scale gap by combining 3D measurements using ptychographic X‐ray computed tomography (PXCT) with electron microscopy. This combination allows to observe the corrosion progress non‐destructively in 3D and provides high‐resolution chemical information on the corrosion products. A medical Mg–Zn–Ca alloy is used and compared the same sample in the pristine and corroded states. With PXCT an isotropic resolution of 85 and 123 nm is achieved for the pristine and corroded states respectively, which enables to distinguish nanoscale Mg2Ca precipitates from the matrix. The corroded state in best approximation to the in situ conditions is imaged and reveals the complexity of corrosion products. The results illustrate that the corrosion‐layer is dense and defect‐free, and the corrosion of the material is grain‐orientation sensitive. The developed workflow can advance research on bioactive materials and corrosion‐sensitive functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hiring workers is costly. Firms' costs reduce resources that can go to recruitment and amplify how unemployment responds to changes in productivity. Workers also incur up‐front costs. Examples include moving expenses and regulatory fees. Workers' costs lessen unemployment volatility and leave resources available for recruitment unchanged. Their influence is bounded by the properties of a matching function. Using adjusted data on job finding, I estimate a bound that ascribes limited influence. The results demonstrate that workers' costs affect outcomes (firms threaten workers with paying the fixed costs again if negotiations fail), but their influence on volatility is less than firms' costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexual minority (SM) individuals (e.g., those with same‐sex attractions/partners or who identify as lesbian/gay/bisexual) experience a host of physical and mental health disparities. However, little is known about sexual orientation‐related disparities in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP; gestational hypertension [gHTN] and preeclampsia). Objective: To estimate disparities in GDM, gHTN and preeclampsia by sexual orientation. Methods: We used data from the Nurses' Health Study II—a cohort of nurses across the US enrolled in 1989 at 25–42 years of age—restricted to those with pregnancies ≥20 weeks gestation and non‐missing sexual orientation data (63,518 participants; 146,079 pregnancies). Our primary outcomes were GDM, gHTN and preeclampsia, which participants reported for each of their pregnancies. Participants also reported their sexual orientation identity and same‐sex attractions/partners. We compared the risk of each outcome in pregnancies among heterosexual participants with no same‐sex experience (reference) to those among SM participants overall and within subgroups: (1) heterosexual with same‐sex experience, (2) mostly heterosexual, (3) bisexual and (4) lesbian/gay participants. We used modified Poisson models to estimate risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), fit via weighted generalised estimating equations, to account for multiple pregnancies per person over time and informative cluster sizes. Results: The overall prevalence of each outcome was ≤5%. Mostly heterosexual participants had a 31% higher risk of gHTN (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.03, 1.66), and heterosexual participants with same‐sex experience had a 31% higher risk of GDM (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.13, 1.50), compared to heterosexual participants with no same‐sex experience. The magnitudes of the risk ratios were high among bisexual participants for gHTN and preeclampsia and among lesbian/gay participants for gHTN. Conclusions: Some SM groups may be disparately burdened by GDM and HDP. Elucidating modifiable mechanisms (e.g., structural barriers, discrimination) for reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes among SM populations is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent changes in climate and human land‐use have resulted in alterations of the geographic range of many species, including human pathogens. Geographic range expansion and population growth of human pathogens increase human disease risk. Relatively little empirical work has investigated the impact of range changes on within‐population variability, a contributor to both colonization success and adaptive potential, during the precise time in which populations are colonized. This is likely due to the difficulties of collecting appropriate natural samples during the dynamic phase of migration and colonization. We systematically collected blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) across New York State (NY), USA, between 2006 and 2019, a time period coinciding with a rapid range expansion of ticks and their associated pathogens including Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme disease. These samples provide a unique opportunity to investigate the population dynamics of human pathogens as they expand into novel territory. We observed that founder effects were short‐lived, as gene flow from long‐established populations brought almost all B. burgdorferi lineages to newly colonized populations within just a few years of colonization. By 7 years post‐colonization, B. burgdorferi lineage frequency distributions were indistinguishable from long‐established sites, indicating that local B. burgdorferi populations experience similar selective pressures despite geographic separation. The B. burgdorferi lineage dynamics elucidate the processes underlying the range expansion and demonstrate that migration into, and selection within, newly colonized sites operate on different time scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background/Aims: Patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) are vulnerable to psychological distress given a new cancer diagnosis superimposed on pre‐existing chronic liver disease. We aimed to characterise the psychiatric burden in HCC, risk factors for incident diagnosis and treatment patterns over time. Methods: Using IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus for Academics—a nationally representative claims database of the commercially insured US population—we identified psychiatric diagnoses and treatment among patients with newly diagnosed HCC. Multivariable logistic regression modelling identified factors associated with psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. Results: Of 11,609 patients with HCC, 2166 (18.6%) had a psychiatric diagnosis after cancer diagnosis with depression (58.3%) and anxiety (53.0%) being most common. Women (aOR 1.33, 95% CI [1.19–1.49]), pre‐existing psychiatric diagnoses (aOR 9.12 [8.08–10.3]) and HCC treatment type (transplant: aOR 2.15 [1.66–2.77]; locoregional therapies: aOR 1.74 [1.52–1.99]; hospice: aOR 2.43 [1.79–3.29]) were significantly associated with psychiatric diagnosis. Female sex, ascites, higher comorbidity and treatment type were associated with incident psychiatric diagnosis. Pharmacotherapy was used in 1392 (64.3%) patients with a psychiatric diagnosis, with antidepressants (46.2%) and anxiolytics (32.8%) being most common. Psychiatric diagnoses increased from 14.8% in 2006–2009 to 21.1% in 2018–2021 (p < 0.001). In almost 20% of patients with pre‐existing psychiatric conditions, therapy was discontinued after HCC diagnosis. Conclusions: Nearly 2 of 10 patients with HCC were diagnosed with a psychiatric condition after cancer diagnosis with unique sociodemographic and clinical risk factors identified. This highlights a risk for increased psychological burden in need of early evaluation and treatment among patients with newly diagnosed HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Met Office state‐of‐the‐art, deterministic, convection‐permitting, coupled land‐atmosphere, regional weather forecasting system, known as the UKV or UK Variable resolution model (Tang et al. Meteorological Applications, 2013; 20:417–426), has been operational since 2015. Science updates are regularly made to the UKV land surface data assimilation scheme when those updates improve predictions of screen temperature and humidity, since these quantities have a direct impact on atmospheric states and weather forecasts. Less attention has been paid to whether UKV soil moisture analyses are close to independent, in‐situ soil moisture observations, partly because it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons between 1.5 km2 gridded model outputs and traditional point sensor measurements. Soil moisture is recognized to be important when hydrological forecasts for runoff and rivers are required. This is because soil moisture controls the extent to which rainfall can infiltrate the soil, and the amount of surface runoff affects the timing of peak river flows (Ward & Robinson, Principles of Hydrology. McGraw‐Hill Publishing Company; 2000; Singh et al. Water Resources Research, 2021, 57, e2020WR028827). Gómez et al. (Remote Sensing, 2020; 12:3691) report benefits to river flow forecasts when using soil moisture data assimilation in the UKV system instead of a daily downscaled product from the Met Office global model. The Met Office measures soil temperature and soil moisture at Cardington (Osborne & Weedon, Journal of Hydrometeorology, 2021, 22:279–295); there is no other UK Met Office site at which soil moisture is measured. In this study, we use field‐scale (~200 m radius) soil moisture measurements from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's (UKCEH's) COSMOS‐UK network to provide independent verification and analysis of UKV soil moisture during summer 2018, an unusually dry period in the United Kingdom. We find that the match to COSMOS‐UK soil moisture observations is generally good, and that changes made to the land data assimilation approach during a recent operational upgrade had a generally beneficial impact on UKV soil moisture analyses under very dry conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have recently identified the uncharacterized ZNF555 protein as a component of a productive complex involved in the morbid function of the 4qA locus in facioscapulohumeral dystrophy. Subsequently named DiPRO1 (Death, Differentiation, and PROliferation related PROtein 1), our study provides substantial evidence of its role in the differentiation and proliferation of human myoblasts. DiPRO1 operates through the regulatory binding regions of SIX1, a master regulator of myogenesis. Its relevance extends to mesenchymal tumors, such as rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and Ewing sarcoma, where DiPRO1 acts as a repressor via the epigenetic regulators TIF1B and UHRF1, maintaining methylation of cis-regulatory elements and gene promoters. Loss of DiPRO1 mimics the host defense response to virus, awakening retrotransposable repeats and the ZNF/KZFP gene family. This enables the eradication of cancer cells, reprogramming the cellular decision balance towards inflammation and/or apoptosis by controlling TNF-α via NF-kappaB signaling. Finally, our results highlight the vulnerability of mesenchymal cancer tumors to si/shDiPRO1-based nanomedicines, positioning DiPRO1 as a potential therapeutic target. Synopsis: Inhibiting DiPRO1 promotes myogenesis in myoblasts yet leads to apoptosis in rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma cells. Targeting DiPRO1 with si/shDiPRO1 nanomedicines represent a potential treatment avenue for mesenchymal cancers. DiPRO1, in conjunction with TIF1B and UHRF1, participates in the epigenetic silencing of cellular responses to viruses by maintaining the repression of retrotransposable repeats (RE). DiPRO1 plays a role in cell fate determination as a modulator of TNF-α via NF-kappaB signaling. DiPRO1 myogenic regulatory functions extend to SIX1 binding sites. Inhibiting DiPRO1 promotes myogenesis in myoblasts yet leads to apoptosis in rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma cells. Targeting DiPRO1 with si/shDiPRO1 nanomedicines represent a potential treatment avenue for mesenchymal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) has the potential to decarbonize industrial ammonia production. However, NRR has poor activity and selectivity versus the competing hydrogen evolution reaction for catalysts that adhere to scaling relations. Overcoming the limitations imposed by scaling relations requires more complex catalyst materials, however, evaluating materials beyond simple metal systems is a large combinatorial problem that requires an improved understanding of the electrocatalyst surface to rationally guide the discovery of superior catalysts. The study uses grand canonical density functional theory to uncover NRR trends on a large and disparate set of binary covalent alloys (BCA) with variable compositions and active‐site geometries. The studied BCAs generally follow scaling relations, albeit with larger variance and several systems that significantly break scaling. BCAs with early‐ to mid‐transition metals tend to lie near the volcano peak and activate the N2 triple bond via a side‐on binding configuration. Trends in the BCA space cannot be readily predicted using simple electronic descriptors, which is ascribed to the large geometric variability of the BCA surfaces. It is anticipated that these findings will provide a foundation for the rational design of superior NRR electrocatalysts with increasing material complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microorganisms are pivotal in the global carbon cycle, but the viruses that affect them and their impact on ecosystems are less understood. In this study, we explored the diversity, dynamics, and ecology of soil viruses through 379 metagenomes collected annually from 2010 to 2017. These samples spanned the seasonally thawed active layer of a permafrost thaw gradient, which included palsa, bog, and fen habitats. We identified 5051 virus operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), doubling the known viruses for this site. These vOTUs were largely ephemeral within habitats, suggesting a turnover at the vOTU level from year to year. While the diversity varied by thaw stage and depth‐related patterns were specific to each habitat, the virus communities did not significantly change over time. The abundance ratios of virus to host at the phylum level did not show consistent trends across the thaw gradient, depth, or time. To assess potential ecosystem impacts, we predicted hosts in silico and found viruses linked to microbial lineages involved in the carbon cycle, such as methanotrophy and methanogenesis. This included the identification of viruses of Candidatus Methanoflorens, a significant global methane contributor. We also detected a variety of potential auxiliary metabolic genes, including 24 carbon‐degrading glycoside hydrolases, six of which are uniquely terrestrial. In conclusion, these long‐term observations enhance our understanding of soil viruses in the context of climate‐relevant processes and provide opportunities to explore their role in terrestrial carbon cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iFriend outpatient group therapy program at Bradley Hospital promotes social competence in a school‐age population. The 10‐week‐program helps children ages 8–11 develop and practice social skills in a small group setting. The skills developed include understanding body language, finding shared interests, conversation initiation and closing, perspective taking, equitable communication, and problem solving. iFriend also aims to teach parents/guardians strategies to help their children integrate the targeted skills into daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ulcerative dermatitis (UD) is common in ornamental fish collections and is typically associated with a wide range of bacterial aetiologies. Clinical reports describing Shewanella xiamenensis‐associated UD are limited, however, despite growing attention to pathogenic Shewanella species in fish. Two out of 95 koi carp with UD were presented for clinical assessment by a commercial collection (n = 3000 fish) and subsequently killed on welfare grounds for necropsy. Both specimens exhibited extensive cutaneous ulcers and coelomic fat necrosis with petechial haemorrhages on post‐mortem examination. Shewanella xiamenensis was cultured from ulcerated skin tissues taken from both fish, with consistent intralesional gram‐negative rod‐like bacteria seen on skin scrape cytology. Histology also confirmed intralesional gram‐negative rod‐like bacteria within multiple ulcerative and erosive dermatitis lesions, plus myofibre necrosis and necrotising coelomic steatitis, in both specimens. Features associated with impaired generalised osmoregulation secondary to UD were detected within the striated muscle underlying the ulcers, the gills, and the caudal aspects of the kidneys. Additional histological features suggestive of sepsis were also seen in one of the fish. In the interim period, morbidity had increased from 3.2% to around 30% of the entire stock. Following culture results, increased pond water changes were implemented (q.2‐3d) and the remaining stock was treated with florfenicol, resulting in complete resolution of UD in the collection (as per client). This article highlights the first description of S. xiamenensis‐associated UD in koi carp/diseased ornamental fish in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco smoking is highly prevalent among alcohol and other drugs (AOD) service clients and, despite interest in quitting, abstinence is rarely sustained. Nicotine products may assist after discharge from residential treatment services, but little is known about client receptivity to them. This study examined AOD withdrawal service clients' experiences of two types of nicotine products for smoking cessation post‐discharge, combination nicotine replacement therapy (cNRT) and nicotine vaping products (NVP). Methods: We held semi‐structured telephone interviews with 31 Australian AOD service clients in a clinical trial of a 12‐week smoking cessation intervention using Quitline support plus cNRT or NVP delivered post‐discharge from a smoke‐free residential service. We asked about health and social factors, nicotine cravings, Quitline experience, and barriers and facilitators to cNRT or NVP, then thematically analysed data. Results: cNRT and NVP were described by participants as feasible and acceptable for smoking cessation. For most participants, cost limited cNRT access post study, as did difficulty navigating NVP prescription access. Quitline support was valued, but not consistently used, with participants noting low assistance with NVP‐facilitated cessation. Participants considered both cessation methods acceptable and socially supported, and sought information on decreasing nicotine use via NVP. Discussion and Conclusions: AOD service clients highly valued receiving cNRT or NVP with behavioural support for smoking reduction or abstinence. Both interventions were acceptable to service clients. Findings suggest a potential need to examine both whether NVP use should be permitted in this context, and guidance on the individual suitability of cNRT or NVP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID‐19 pandemic disproportionately affected congregate care (CC) facilities due to communal living, presence of vulnerable populations, inadequate preventive resources, and limited ability to respond to the pandemic's rapidly evolving phases. Most facilities function independently and are not organized for collaborative learning and operations. Methods: We formed a learning health system of CC facilities in our 14‐county metropolitan region, coordinated with public health and health care sectors, to address challenges driven by COVID‐19. A CC steering committee (SC) was formed that represented diverse institutions and viewpoints, including skilled nursing facilities, transitional care facilities, residential facilities, prisons, and shelters. The SC met regularly and was guided by situational awareness and systems thinking. A regional CC COVID‐19 dashboard was developed based on publicly available data and weekly data submitted by participating facilities. Those experiencing outbreaks or supply shortages were quickly identified. As the pandemic progressed, the role of the SC shifted to address new and forecasted needs. Results: Over 60 facilities participated in data sharing. The SC shared new guidelines, regulations, educational material, and best practices with the participating facilities. Information about testing sites, supplies, vaccination rollout, and facilities that had the capacity to accept COVID‐19 patients was regularly disseminated. The SC was able to direct resources to those facilities experiencing outbreaks or supply shortages. Conclusions: A novel learning health system of regional CC facilities enabled preparedness, situational awareness, collaboration, and rapid dissemination of best practices across pandemic phases. Such collaborative efforts can play an important role in addressing other public and preventive health challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloroform is frequently detected in indoor air in vapor intrusion (VI) studies. At many sites, initial screening shows potential indoor air impacts for chloroform at unacceptable levels. During follow‐up site characterization, however, the VI pathway for chloroform is rarely found to be the primary source of chloroform in indoor air. This paper sets forth a conceptual model for understanding these results and summarizes data from 10 field sites from various US Environmental Protection Agency regions to illustrate the concepts. Chloroform is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that is categorized as being a trihalomethane. It is well documented that it can be formed when chlorine is used to disinfect water. Chloroform also may be emitted directly into indoor air from treated water and may be formed and/or emitted from various cleaning products. The typical indoor air background concentration in residential buildings is approximately 0.5–1 µg/m3, but results will vary, and values of 10 µg/m3 or higher have been measured. The indoor air background concentrations presented in the literature are well above typical screening level concentrations for residential buildings. Field data are presented that demonstrate that the attenuation factor for chloroform often differs widely from attenuation factors of other VOCs that may pose a potential risk via the VI pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OCSCCs) are relatively common in multiple non‐human primate species but are poorly documented in Goeldi's monkeys. Methods: Four Goeldi's monkeys with OCSCC, from three zoological collections, underwent necropsy with cytology, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and pan‐herpesvirus PCR analysis. Results: All animals were euthanised and exhibited poor‐to‐emaciated body condition. Three OCSCCs arose from the maxillary oral mucosa and a single OCSCC was primarily mandibular, with bone invasion evident in three cases. Histologically, one OCSCC in situ was diagnosed, whilst the rest were typically invasive OCSCCs. Neoplastic cells were immunopositive for pancytokeratin and E‐cadherin. All examined cases were negative for regional lymph node (RLN) and/or distant metastases, cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) immunoexpression, and panherpesvirus PCR expression. Conclusions: OCSCCs in Goeldi's monkeys may be deeply invasive, but not readily metastatic. No herpesvirus‐association or COX‐2 expression was evident; the latter suggesting that NSAIDs are unlikely to be a viable chemotherapeutic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a novel probabilistic deep learning approach, the "stochastic latent transformer" (SLT), designed for the efficient reduced‐order modeling of stochastic partial differential equations. Stochastically driven flow models are pertinent to a diverse range of natural phenomena, including jets on giant planets, ocean circulation, and the variability of midlatitude weather. However, much of the recent progress in deep learning has predominantly focused on deterministic systems. The SLT comprises a stochastically‐forced transformer paired with a translation‐equivariant autoencoder, trained toward the Continuous Ranked Probability Score. We showcase its effectiveness by applying it to a well‐researched zonal jet system, where the interaction between stochastically forced eddies and the zonal mean flow results in a rich low‐frequency variability. The SLT accurately reproduces system dynamics across various integration periods, validated through quantitative diagnostics that include spectral properties and the rate of transitions between distinct states. The SLT achieves a five‐order‐of‐magnitude speedup in emulating the zonally‐averaged flow compared to direct numerical simulations. This acceleration facilitates the cost‐effective generation of large ensembles, enabling the exploration of statistical questions concerning the probabilities of spontaneous transition events. Plain Language Summary: Stochastically driven systems are widespread in nature, from jets on giant planets to ocean circulation and the variability of weather. We describe a novel machine learning (ML) approach to the time evolving behavior of a well‐studied stochastically‐driven zonal jet system, serving as an analog for mid‐latitude weather. Our approach involves constructing a probabilistic ML model of our stochastic system, in contrast to existing research that predominantly focuses on ML techniques for deterministic systems or apply deterministic models to systems that are inherently probabilistic. The model is evaluated using various metrics, confirming its ability to accurately capture the statistical properties of the original system. Our approach significantly speeds up simulations compared to traditional methods, enabling the creation of large data sets highlighting specific events of interest, such as spontaneous transitions between different states characterized by varying numbers of observed jets, shedding light on aspects of the system's behavior and predictability. We demonstrate advantages of the proposed method over existing techniques and expect that these methods are highly transferable to other systems that exhibit stochasticity and inherent uncertainties. Key Points: We present a probabilistic machine learning approach for modeling the time evolution of stochastically driven systemsApplying this approach to a well‐researched zonal jet system, we achieve a five‐order‐of‐magnitude speedup in emulating the zonally‐averaged flowThis enables us to efficiently generate large ensembles, facilitating the process of establishing accurate probabilities of rare events, such as transition rates between different long‐lived states [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We previously described derivation and validation of the emergency department trigger tool (EDTT) for adverse event (AE) detection. As the first step in our multicenter study of the tool, we validated our computerized screen for triggers against manual review, establishing our use of this automated process for selecting records to review for AEs. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study of visits to three urban, academic EDs over 18 months by patients ≥ 18 years old. We reviewed 912 records: 852 with at least one of 34 triggers found by the query and 60 records with none. Two first‐level reviewers per site each manually screened for triggers. After completion, computerized query results were revealed, and reviewers could revise their findings. Second‐level reviewers arbitrated discrepancies. We compare automated versus manual screening by positive and negative predictive values (PPVs, NPVs), present population trigger frequencies, proportions of records triggered, and how often manual ratings were changed to conform with the query. Results: Trigger frequencies ranged from common (>25%) to rare (1/1000) were comparable at U.S. sites and slightly lower at the Canadian site. Proportions of triggered records ranged from 31% to 49.4%. Overall query PPV was 95.4%; NPV was 99.2%. PPVs for individual trigger queries exceeded 90% for 28–31 triggers/site and NPVs were >90% for all but three triggers at one site. Inter‐rater reliability was excellent, with disagreement on manual screening results less than 5% of the time. Overall, reviewers amended their findings 1.5% of the time when discordant with query findings, more often when the query was positive than when negative (47% vs. 23%). Conclusions: The EDTT trigger query performed very well compared to manual review. With some expected variability, trigger frequencies were similar across sites and proportions of triggered records ranged 31%–49%. This demonstrates the feasibility and generalizability of implementing the EDTT query, providing a solid foundation for testing the triggers' utility in detecting AEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ready‐to‐use (RTU) long‐acting injectable (LAI) formulation of aripiprazole monohydrate for administration once every 2 months, available in 960 mg (Ari 2MRTU 960) or 720 mg doses, has been developed for the treatment of schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder. A previously developed and validated population pharmacokinetic model for characterizing aripiprazole plasma concentrations following administration of oral aripiprazole or aripiprazole once‐monthly (AOM) intramuscular injection was expanded to include the RTU LAI formulation of aripiprazole (Ari RTU LAI). Overall, 8899 aripiprazole pharmacokinetic samples from 1191 adults from 10 clinical trials were included in the final combined analysis data set. Aripiprazole plasma concentration‐time profiles were simulated for various Ari RTU LAI initiation and maintenance scenarios in 1000 virtual patients. Diagnostic plots demonstrated that the final population pharmacokinetic model, which incorporated data for oral aripiprazole, AOM, and Ari RTU LAI, adequately described aripiprazole concentrations following Ari RTU LAI administration. Absorption of Ari RTU LAI was modeled by a parallel zero‐order and lagged first‐order process. Simulations across multiple scenarios were performed to inform dosing recommendations, including various treatment initiation regimens for a 2‐monthly formulation of Ari RTU LAI in patients with or without prior stabilization on oral aripiprazole, and for patients switching from AOM. Additional simulations accounted for missed/delayed doses, cytochrome (CYP) 2D6 metabolizer status, and concomitant use of CYP2D6 or CYP3A4 inhibitors. Overall, simulations across a variety of scenarios demonstrated an Ari RTU LAI pharmacokinetic exposure profile that was comparable to AOM, with a longer dosing interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the Veterinary Record Case Reports, describes a case of cutaneous haemangiosarcoma with ovarian metastases in an aquarium-managed mirror carp. The study highlights the limited scientific literature on neoplasia in common carp and mirror carp, with only a few reported cases of different types of tumors. The case presented in this article is significant because cutaneous haemangiosarcoma has not been previously reported in carp. The study emphasizes the potential for metastasis in fish neoplasia and the importance of local invasion as a determinant feature of malignancy. The authors conclude that further research is needed to understand the behavior and predilections of haemangiosarcoma in carp species. [Extracted from the article]

Doula services represent an underutilized maternal and child health intervention with the potential to improve outcomes through the provision of physical, emotional, and informational support. However, there is limited evidence of the infant health effects of doulas despite well-established connections between maternal and infant health. Moreover, because the availability of doulas is limited and often not covered by insurers, existing evidence leaves unclear if or how doula services should be allocated to achieve the greatest improvements in outcomes. We use unique data and machine learning to develop accurate predictive models of infant health and doula service participation. We then combine these predictive models within the double machine learning method to estimate the effects of doula services. We show that while doula services reduce risk on average, the benefits of doula services increase as the risk of negative infant health outcomes increases. We compare these benefits to the costs of doula services under alternative allocation schemes and show that leveraging the risk predictions dramatically increases the cost effectiveness of doula services. Our results show the potential of big data and novel analytic methods to provide cost-effective support to those at greatest risk of poor outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex interactions among soil, vegetation, and site hydrologic conditions driven by precipitation and tidal cycles control the biogeochemical transformations and bi‐directional exchange of carbon and nutrients across the terrestrial–aquatic interfaces (TAIs) in coastal regions. This study uses a highly mechanistic model, Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS)‐PFLOTRAN, to explore how these interactions affect exchanges of materials and carbon and nitrogen cycling. We used a transect in the Chesapeake Bay region that spans zones of open water, coastal wetland, transition, and upland forest. We designed several simulation scenarios to parse the effects of the individual controlling factors and the sensitivity of carbon cycling to reaction rate parameters derived from laboratory experiments. Our simulations reveal an active zone for carbon cycling under the transition zones between the wetland and the upland. Evapotranspiration is found to enhance the exchange fluxes between the surface and subsurface domains, resulting in a higher dissolved oxygen concentration in the TAIs. The transport of organic carbon derived from plant leaves and roots provide an additional source of organic carbon needed for the aerobic respiration and denitrification processes in the TAIs. The variability in reaction rate parameters associated with microbial activities is also found to play a dominant role in controlling the heterogeneity and dynamics of the simulated redox conditions. This modeling‐focused exploratory study enabled us to better understand the complex interactions among soil, water and microbes that govern the hydro‐biogeochemical processes at the TAIs, which is an important step toward representing coastal ecosystems in larger‐scale Earth system models. Plain Language Summary: The hydrological environment of vegetated coastal ecosystems is directly influenced by precipitation and seawater flooding, which mediates biogeochemical processes within these areas. However, the specific effects of dynamic precipitation and flooding on oxidation‐reduction conditions in these complex terrestrial‐aquatic interfaces (TAIs) are poorly understood, especially when considering the ecological processes of above‐ground plants. To address this gap, this study used integrated process‐based models, the Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) and PFLOTRAN, to examine the effects of hydrological and ecological controls on biogeochemical reactions and exchange fluxes across a TAIs transect spanning from a coastal upland forest and salt marsh to the open seawater. Our numerical experiments showed that the mixing of different waters within the TAIs significantly influenced the spatial and temporal variability in exchange fluxes across this interface along with the spatial extent of oxic subsurface zones. The interface between the oxic and anoxic zones shifts in response to periodic fluctuations in tidal elevations as higher tides drive more oxygenated water toward the TAIs. Meanwhile, vegetation evapotranspiration removes more water from the subsurface during warm summer months, leading to larger exchange fluxes across the TAIs. Reaction rate parameters that depend on the interactions between the soil and microbes have a large effect on carbon and oxygen consumption represented in our models. A higher aerobic respiration rate results in larger hypoxic and anoxic zones because the dissolved oxygen is consumed more quickly. Our modeling‐based study provided insights into the mechanisms that control the exchange fluxes and cycling of carbon and nitrogen at coastal TAIs, which can be used to inform potential management strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change on these ecosystems. Key Points: Tidal elevations, precipitation, and evapotranspiration (ET) interact to control dynamic exchange fluxes across the coastal terrestrial aquatic interfaceIntegrated hydrobiogeochemical modeling reveals variability in redox conditions along gradient of upland, transition, and wetland to oceanThe high uncertainty in microbial‐remediated aerobic respiration rate has significant impact on modeling carbon cycling in coastal regions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses factors that contributed to the resilience of HIV and addiction treatment/care facilities in Ukraine during its war with Russia. Topics discussed include Ukrainian health care workers' dedication and treatment of patients despite the Russian invasion, the presence of a supportive working environment wherein clinical directors recognize the contributions of clinicians and health care staff, and recommendations to improve and maintain the capacity for HIV and addiction care.

Site owners, regulators, and consultants now have decades of experience with vapor intrusion (VI), but guidance for the evaluation of VI continues to vary significantly among states. For those with sites in different regulatory jurisdictions, one challenge is addressing how the requirements or expectations for VI investigation and mitigation differ from one jurisdiction to the next. The overall lack of consensus can make it difficult to manage sites in a consistent manner between jurisdictions. This paper takes into account VI guidance, petroleum hydrocarbon‐specific VI guidance, and/or media‐specific volatilization criteria found in broader regulatory programs. This is an update of the author's previous reviews published in 2007, 2012, and 2018. Since our most recent update, 30 states have revised their guidance, issued new guidance or updated criteria or other VI‐related information. For each State and the District of Columbia, the review includes tabulations of the available types of screening values (e.g., soil, groundwater, soil gas, and indoor air), the screening values for selected chemicals that commonly drive VI investigations (e.g., trichloroethylene [TCE], tetrachloroethylene [PCE], benzene, and other selected volatile organic compounds [VOCs]), and the basis of risk levels used for cancer and non‐cancer risk. Federal values are also included for comparison. In addition, we summarize available key policy criteria for each state including: trigger distances, default subsurface to indoor air attenuation factors, policies for evaluation of petroleum VI, strategies for preferential pathways, and policies for mitigation of VI. The details presented in this paper provide a useful technical reference and regulatory summary for practitioners and the regulated community nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Changes in the brain can affect the flow velocity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In humans, the flow velocity of CSF is not only altered by disease but also by age and sex. Such influences are not known in dogs. Hypothesis: Peak flow velocity of CSF in dogs is associated with body weight, age, and sex. Animals: Peak flow velocity of CSF was measured in 32 client‐owned dogs of different breeds, age, and sex. Methods: Peak flow velocity of CSF was determined by phase‐contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC‐MRI) at the mesencephalic aqueduct, foramen magnum (FM), and second cervical vertebral body (C2). Dogs were grouped according to body weight, age, and sex. Flow velocity of CSF was compared between groups using linear regression models. Results: Dogs with body weight >20 kg had higher CSF peak velocity compared with dogs <10 kg within the ventral and dorsal subarachnoid space (SAS) at the FM (P =.02 and P =.01, respectively), as well as in the ventral and dorsal SAS at C2 (P =.005 and P =.005, respectively). Dogs ≤2 years of age had significantly higher CSF peak flow velocity at the ventral SAS of the FM (P =.05). Females had significantly lower CSF peak flow velocity within the ventral SAS of FM (P =.04). Conclusion: Body weight, age, and sex influence CSF peak flow velocity in dogs. These factors need to be considered in dogs when CSF flow is quantitatively assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID‐19 substantially disrupted daily life globally. Human geography and environmental psychology scholars have argued that dramatic shifts in how people used urban environments during the pandemic could have important implications for those studying human–environment relationships and for planners designing urban spaces. Nevertheless, empirical data that examine shifts in human–environment relationships in urban areas during the pandemic are still limited. We explored how COVID‐19 influenced sense of place and investigated how sense of place and changes to daily life because of the pandemic affected environmentally friendly behaviours. A case study involved working with 10 interview participants and 302 survey respondents in Wuhan, China—the city where the pandemic started, and which experienced very strict lockdowns. Data collection occurred in June 2021. The results reveal three main findings. First, stronger emotions directed towards the pandemic and heightened pandemic responses positively affected sense of place, with response behaviours including taking disease prevention measures, spending more time with families/friends, and helping others during the crisis. Second, sense of place and behavioural response to the pandemic were both associated with environmentally friendly behaviours, but not with environmentally friendly attitudes. Third, the nation and city, rather than the community level, are the geographic scales most consonant with respondent notions of place; sense of place grew most at these scales during the pandemic. We conclude that contrary to some speculation, sense of place was enhanced during the pandemic, at least in Wuhan. The pandemic also provided an opportunity for behaviour transitions, but not necessarily via changes in sense of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GOES‐16 and GOES‐17 are the first of NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)‐R series of satellites. Each GOES‐R satellite has a magnetometer mounted on the end (outboard) and one part‐way down a long boom (inboard). This paper demonstrates the relative accuracy and stability of the measurements on a daily and long‐term basis. The GOES‐16 and GOES‐17 magnetic field observations from 2017 to 2020 have been compared to simultaneous magnetic field observations from each other and from the previous GOES‐NOP series satellites (GOES‐13, GOES‐14 and GOES‐15). These comparisons provide assessments of relative accuracy and stability. We use a field model to facilitate the inter‐satellite comparisons at different longitudes. GOES‐16 inboard and outboard magnetometers data suffer daily variations which cannot be explained by natural phenomena. Long‐term‐averaged GOES‐16 outboard (OB) data has daily variations of ±3 nT from average values with one‐sigma uncertainty of ±1.5 nT. Long‐term averaged GOES‐17OB magnetometer data have minimal daily variations. Daily average of the difference between the GOES‐16 outboard or GOES‐17 outboard measurements and the measurements made by another GOES satellite are computed. The long‐term averaged results show the GOES‐16OB and GOES‐17OB measurements have long‐term stability (±2 nT or less) and match measurements from magnetometers on other GOES within limits stated herein. The GOES‐17OB operational offset (zero field value) was refined using the GOES‐17 satellite rotated 180° about the Earth pointing axis (known as a yaw flip). Plain Language Summary: GOES‐16 and GOES‐17 are the first two of the R‐series of the NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). Like previous GOES satellites, they carry two magnetometers (inboard and outboard on a long boom) to measure the magnetic field at geosynchronous orbit (an altitude of approximately 35,786 km above mean sea level). Because these data are used to provide users of space‐based assets with the knowledge of the space environment and to provide input for research, the accuracy and stability of the new data sets relative to previous data sets are important. There are known variations in the data from the station‐keeping thrusters which are removed from the data studied. Previous studies showed that the GOES‐16 measurements contain artificial diurnal variations. This study shows that the diurnal variations of the outboard magnetometer data are useful and within specified limits. The GOES‐17 measurements do not have significant daily variations. Based on simultaneous measurements from the other GOES satellites, GOES‐16 and GOES‐17 outboard data are stable over a period of years. Key Points: GOES‐16 magnetic field data have artificial diurnal variations which are larger than in other GOES satellites and which change with seasonDaily averages of corrected magnetic field of GOES‐16/17 match simultaneous data from GOES‐13/14/15 nT except for eastward componentThe corrected GOES‐17 data match the GOES‐18 data when GOES‐17 and GOES‐18 are separated by 0.2° of longitude [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test the reliability of Medicare claims in measuring vertical integration. We assess the accuracy of a commonly used measure of integration, primary care physician (PCP) practices billing Medicare as a hospital outpatient department (HOPD) in claims. Data Sources and Study Setting: Medicare fee‐for‐service claims, IQVIA, and CPC+ practice surveys for this study. Study Design: We compare measures of integration from Medicare claims to self‐reported indicators of integration from IQVIA and a survey of CPC+ participating practice sites. Data Collection/Extraction Methods: We measure integration by using site‐of‐service billing in the 100% sample of Medicare Carrier claims from 2017–2020. In the IQVIA SK&A (2017–2018), OneKey (2019–2020), and practice survey data (2017–2019), we use self‐reported responses to measure integration. Principal Findings: We find that currently most PCP practices sites that report themselves as being integrated with a health system do not bill as an HOPD. In 2017, 11% of CPC+ practices were identified as being vertically integrated in claims, while the equivalent numbers in SK&A and surveys were 52% and 54% integration, respectively. A t‐test found that both datasets significantly differed from claims (Survey: 41.3%–45.1%; SK&A: 45.3%–51.1%); this gap persists in 2018–2019. Conclusion: Measuring physician‐hospital vertical integration accurately is integral to determining consolidation. The overwhelming majority of PCP practice sites not billing as an HOPD may reflect Medicare regulatory changes that have reduced the financial incentives for doing so. These findings have implications for researchers that study the growth in PCP‐hospital integration in health care markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe real‐world use/effectiveness of pegcetacoplan (PEG) in paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH). Methods: Data were drawn from the Adelphi PNH Disease Specific Programme™, a cross‐sectional survey conducted in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United States from January to November 2022. Patients had a confirmed PNH diagnosis and received PEG for ≥1 month. Physicians reported patient characteristics, treatment use/satisfaction and their perception of patients' fatigue and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). Patients reported treatment satisfaction and completed questionnaires assessing fatigue, HRQoL and productivity. Descriptive statistics were reported. Results: Overall, 14 physicians provided data for 61 patients who had received 1080 mg/dose PEG for 1.3–14.8 months. At data collection compared to PEG initiation: haemoglobin was 2.5 g/dL higher on average; proportion of patients with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) ≥1.5 × upper limit of normal was reduced by 27.4%; physician‐perceived fatigue was lower and HRQoL better. Physician‐ and patient‐reported treatment satisfaction was high for >90% of patients. Physicians and patients were more satisfied with PEG than previously prescribed C5 complement inhibitors. Mean work impairment and activity impairment in the 7 days prior to data collection were 32.9% and 22.4%, respectively. Conclusions: These real‐world data support the effectiveness of PEG through positive effects on haemoglobin, LDH, fatigue and HRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Introducing peanut products early can prevent peanut allergy (PA). The "Addendum guidelines for the prevention of PA in the United States" (PPA guidelines) recommend early introduction of peanut products to low and moderate risk infants and evaluation prior to starting peanut products for infants at high risk for PA (those with severe eczema and/or egg allergy). Rapid adoption of guidelines could aid in lowering the prevalence of PA. The Intervention to Reduce Early (Peanut) Allergy in Children (iREACH) trial was designed to promote PPA guideline adherence by pediatric clinicians. Methods: A two‐arm, cluster‐randomized, controlled clinical trial was designed to measure the effectiveness of an intervention that included clinician education and accompanying clinical decision support tools integrated in electronic health records (EHR) versus standard care. Randomization was at the practice level (n = 30). Primary aims evaluated over an 18‐month trial period assess adherence to the PPA guidelines using EHR documentation at 4‐ and 6‐month well‐child care visits aided by natural language processing. A secondary aim will evaluate the effectiveness in decreasing the incidence of PA by age 2.5 years using EHR documentation and caregiver surveys. The unit of observation for evaluations are individual children with clustering at the practice level. Conclusion: Application of this intervention has the potential to inform the development of strategies to speed implementation of PPA guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Water Prediction (OWP), in conjunction with the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) implemented version 2.1 of the National Water Model (NWM) into operations in April of 2021. As with the initial version implemented in 2016, NWM v2.1 is an hourly cycling analysis and forecast system that provides streamflow guidance for millions of river reaches and other hydrologic information on high‐resolution grids. The NWM provides complementary hydrologic guidance at current NWS river forecast locations and significantly expands guidance coverage and water budget information in underserved locations. It produces a full range of hydrologic fields, which can be leveraged by a broad cross section of stakeholders ranging from the emergency responder and water resource communities, to transportation, energy, recreation and agriculture interests, to other water‐oriented applications in the government, academic and private sectors. Version 2.1 of the NWM represents the fifth major version upgrade and more than doubles simulation skill with respect to hourly streamflow correlation, Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency, and bias reduction, over its original inception in 2016. This paper will discuss the driving factors underpinning the creation of the NWM, provide a brief overview of the model configuration and performance, and discuss future efforts to improve NWM components and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although many molecules have been investigated as biomarkers for spinal cord injury (SCI) or ischemic stroke, none of them are specifically induced in central nervous system (CNS) neurons following injuries with low baseline expression. However, neuronal injury constitutes a major pathology associated with SCI or stroke and strongly correlates with neurological outcomes. Biomarkers characterized by low baseline expression and specific induction in neurons post‐injury are likely to better correlate with injury severity and recovery, demonstrating higher sensitivity and specificity for CNS injuries compared to non‐neuronal markers or pan‐neuronal markers with constitutive expressions. Methods: In animal studies, young adult wildtype and global Atf3 knockout mice underwent unilateral cervical 5 (C5) SCI or permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Gene expression was assessed using RNA‐sequencing and qRT‐PCR, while protein expression was detected through immunostaining. Serum ATF3 levels in animal models and clinical human samples were measured using commercially available enzyme‐linked immune‐sorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Results: Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), a molecular marker for injured dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons in the peripheral nervous system, was not expressed in spinal cord or cortex of naïve mice but was induced specifically in neurons of the spinal cord or cortex within 1 day after SCI or ischemic stroke, respectively. Additionally, ATF3 protein levels in mouse blood significantly increased 1 day after SCI or ischemic stroke. Importantly, ATF3 protein levels in human serum were elevated in clinical patients within 24 hours after SCI or ischemic stroke. Moreover, Atf3 knockout mice, compared to the wildtype mice, exhibited worse neurological outcomes and larger damage regions after SCI or ischemic stroke, indicating that ATF3 has a neuroprotective function. Conclusions: ATF3 is an easily measurable, neuron‐specific biomarker for clinical SCI and ischemic stroke, with neuroprotective properties. Highlights: ATF3 was induced specifically in neurons of the spinal cord or cortex within 1 day after SCI or ischemic stroke, respectively.Serum ATF3 protein levels are elevated in clinical patients within 24 hours after SCI or ischemic stroke.ATF3 exhibits neuroprotective properties, as evidenced by the worse neurological outcomes and larger damage regions observed in Atf3 knockout mice compared to wildtype mice following SCI or ischemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a case study of an older patient who experienced a rapidly progressive neuropsychiatric syndrome. The patient exhibited symptoms such as apathy, social withdrawal, and anorexia, along with mild memory problems. Autopsy findings revealed the presence of argyrophilic grain disease (AGD), limbic TDP-43 proteinopathy, primary age-related tauopathy (PART), and aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG). The article highlights the complexity of diagnosing and understanding neurodegenerative pathologies in older individuals, where mixed pathologies are common. The case demonstrates the need for further research and diagnostic tools to accurately identify and treat these conditions. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Retinoblastoma is a rare childhood ophthalmic cancer that requires frequent eye examinations under anaesthesia and painful or distressing procedures. This can cause significant anxiety for children and their families. Objective: We evaluated a Starlight Children's Foundation programme, 'Captains on Call', at the Queensland Children's Hospital, which aims to provide positive distraction and reduce stress, anxiety and pain during the perioperative journey for children in the retinoblastoma treatment pathway. This study examined the impact of the programme on the perioperative experience of the children and their families, using a qualitative design. Methods: This study was conducted in a paediatric operating suite at a tertiary‐level children's hospital in Australia. We interviewed a parent from 20 families (from a cohort of 40 families, including 44 children), whose children received treatment or screening for retinoblastoma, focusing on the programme's impact on the child and family at various stages during the perioperative journey. We undertook a thematic analysis of transcribed interviews. Results: We identified two themes, each with two sub‐themes: (1) the programme positively contributed to the overall treatment journey, by addressing different needs at different times, and helping to reframe a traumatic medical experience, and (2), the programme supported the whole family unit by empowering children through play, and adopting a family systems approach which recognised the impact of cancer treatment on the whole family. Conclusion: This study highlights the value of the Captains on Call programme in supporting children with retinoblastoma and their families during perioperative visits. The Captains, particularly as non‐medicalised professionals in a healthcare setting, built trust and rapport with the children through play over repeated episodes of care. The interprofessional collaborative approach with a reflective cycle of practice extended it beyond a programme providing simple distraction. Other retinoblastoma services may benefit from implementing a similar approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]