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Abstract: Inspired by the goal of making marketplaces more inclusive, this research provides a deeper understanding of consumer vulnerability dynamics to develop strategies that help reduce these vulnerabilities. The proposed framework, first, conceptualizes vulnerability states as a function of the breadth and depth of consumers’ vulnerability; then, it sketches a set of vulnerability indicators that illustrate vulnerability breadth and depth. Second, because the breadth and depth of vulnerability vary over time, the framework goes beyond vulnerability states to identify distinct vulnerability-increasing and vulnerability-decreasing pathways, which describe how consumers move between vulnerability states. In a final step, the framework proposes that organizations can (and should) support consumers to mitigate vulnerability by helping consumers build resilience (e.g., via distinct types of resilience-fueling consumer agency). This framework offers novel conceptual insights into consumer vulnerability dynamics as well as resilience and provides avenues for future research on how organizations can better partner with consumers who experience vulnerabilities.

Abstract Background Rhabdomyolysis is frequently associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). Due to the nephrotoxic properties of myoglobin, its rapid removal is relevant. If kidney replacement therapy (KRT) is necessary for AKI, a procedure with effective myoglobin elimination should be preferred. This pilot trial was designed to compare different KRT modes that enable myoglobin elimination. Methods In this prospective randomized single-center study, 15 patients with rhabdomyolysis and severe AKI requiring KRT were randomized 1:1:1 into three groups: continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH), continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD) using a high cut-off dialyzer (CVVHD-HCO), or CVVHD using a high-flux dialyzer in combination with the adsorber CytoSorb (CVVHD-CS). Concentrations of serum myoglobin, urea, creatinine, β2-microglobulin, interleukin-6, and albumin were measured before and after the dialyzer 1, 6, 12, and 24 h after initiating KRT. Results There was no significant difference in the median myoglobin clearance between the KRT modes during the 24-h study period. Nevertheless, the CVVHD-CS group showed a significantly higher myoglobin elimination compared to the other modes in the first hours of treatment. However, as a greater decline in clearance performance was observed over time, no better performance was detected over the whole study period. Simulation of different device combinations showed the highest myoglobin clearance for CVVHD-HCO combined with CS with a 12-hourly adsorber exchange interval. Conclusions All tested modes showed an effective myoglobin elimination capacity. The time-dependent elimination performance could be further increased by combining KRT with more frequent adsorber exchange. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Registry ( DRKS00023998 ); date of registration 03/03/2021.

While some researchers place negative numbers on a so-called extended mental number line to the left of positive numbers, others claim that negative numbers do not have mental representations but are processed through positive numbers combined with transformation rules. We measured spatial associations of negative numbers with a modified implicit association task that avoids spatial confounds present in most previous studies. In two lab-based magnitude classification experiments (each including 24 participants) and two online replications (with 74 and 77 participants, respectively), positive and negative numbers were combined with two spatial contexts: either directional symbols (left- or right-pointing arrows) or rectangles of varying sizes. In all experiments, we found a robust distance effect for negative numbers. However, there were no consistent associations of negative numbers with directional or size contexts. In the context of directional symbols, holistic processing was prevalent only in the small negative number range (-9, -8, -7, -6) when ensured by the stimulus set, supporting an extended mental number line. In the context of rectangles, however, large negative numbers from -4 to -1 were perceived as small, thus supporting rule-based processing. For negative number processing in the context of size, we further suggest the Semantic-Perceptual Size Congruity Cuing model (SPeSiCC model). We show that associations of size with negative numbers underly more complex processing mechanisms than mere recruitment of a transformation rule. In general, we conclude that associations of negative numbers with space and size are situated in the context, as they depend on the presented number range and differ for spatial direction and size.

This study examines how teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted teacher efficacy. The study employed the survey research design, using a sample of 59 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) instructors/teachers. The study seeks to answer the research question: How did teaching during COVID-19 impact teachers' sense of efficacy as measured by the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk? Data was collected through simple random sampling using the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk, (2001) and was analyzed using crosstabulation analysis. The findings from this study differ from the findings of previous studies as it shows no difference between the efficacy of teachers who taught virtually and teachers who used the hybrid mode of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic as they all had low beliefs about their efficacy for student engagement and instructional strategies.

Background The initial colonization of the infant gut is a complex process that defines the foundation for a healthy microbiome development. Bifidobacterium longum is one of the first colonizers of newborns’ gut, playing a crucial role in the healthy development of both the host and its microbiome. However, B. longum exhibits significant genomic diversity, with subspecies (e.g., Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis and subsp. longum) displaying distinct ecological and metabolic strategies including differential capabilities to break down human milk glycans (HMGs). To promote healthy infant microbiome development, a good understanding of the factors governing infant microbiome dynamics is required. Methodology We analyzed newly sequenced gut microbiome samples of mother-infant pairs from the Amsterdam Infant Microbiome Study (AIMS) and four publicly available datasets to identify important environmental and bifidobacterial features associated with the colonization success and succession outcomes of B. longum subspecies. Metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were generated and assessed to identify characteristics of B. longum subspecies in relation to early-life gut colonization. We further implemented machine learning tools to identify significant features associated with B. longum subspecies abundance. Results B. longum subsp. longum was the most abundant and prevalent gut Bifidobacterium at one month, being replaced by B. longum subsp. infantis at six months of age. By utilizing metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), we reveal significant differences between and within B. longum subspecies in their potential to break down HMGs. We further combined strain-tracking, meta-pangenomics and machine learning to understand these abundance dynamics and found an interplay of priority effects, milk-feeding type and HMG-utilization potential to govern them across the first six months of life. We find higher abundances of B. longum subsp. longum in the maternal gut microbiome, vertical transmission, breast milk and a broader range of HMG-utilizing genes to promote its abundance at one month of age. Eventually, we find B. longum subsp. longum to be replaced by B. longum subsp. infantis at six months of age due to a combination of nutritional intake, HMG-utilization potential and a diminishment of priority effects. Discussion Our results establish a strain-level ecological framework explaining early-life abundance dynamics of B. longum subspecies. We highlight the role of priority effects, nutrition and significant variability in HMG-utilization potential in determining the predictable colonization and succession trajectories of B. longum subspecies, with potential implications for promoting infant health and well-being.

This research introduces the prosocial ambassador effect as a novel means to elicit prosocial behavior. Consumers adopt a prosocial ambassador role when they personally commit to engage in a prosocial behavior and interpersonally promote (i.e., encourage another person to engage in) the prosocial behavior. Four experiments, including two studies in the field, investigate prosocial ambassadorship behaviors and their impact on the ambassadors' subsequent prosocial behavior. Results reveal that the ambassador role activates a collective identity, which drives prosocial behavior. Findings also indicate that the ambassador effect endures over time. Furthermore, the ambassador effect replicates via product giveaways and communications (e.g., text messages). This research offers novel implications for marketers on the ambassador role's positive impact on prosociality, providing guidance to firms on how to leverage the ambassador effect in the marketplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NASA Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) was launched in October 2019 and has been observing the upper atmosphere and ionosphere to understand the sources of their strong variability, to understand the energy and momentum transfer, and to determine how the solar wind and magnetospheric effects modify the internally-driven atmosphere-space system. The Far Ultraviolet Instrument (FUV) supports these goals by observing the ultraviolet airglow in day and night, determining the atmospheric and ionospheric composition and density distribution. Based on the combination of ground calibration and flight data, this paper describes how major instrument parameters have been verified or refined since launch, how science data are collected, and how the instrument has performed over the first 3 years of the science mission. It also provides a brief summary of science results obtained so far.

T cell receptors (TCRs) enable T cells to specifically recognize mutations in cancer cells1-3. Here we developed a clinical-grade approach based on CRISPR-Cas9 non-viral precision genome-editing to simultaneously knockout the two endogenous TCR genes TRAC (which encodes TCRα) and TRBC (which encodes TCRβ). We also inserted into the TRAC locus two chains of a neoantigen-specific TCR (neoTCR) isolated from circulating T cells of patients. The neoTCRs were isolated using a personalized library of soluble predicted neoantigen-HLA capture reagents. Sixteen patients with different refractory solid cancers received up to three distinct neoTCR transgenic cell products. Each product expressed a patient-specific neoTCR and was administered in a cell-dose-escalation, first-in-human phase I clinical trial ( NCT03970382 ). One patient had grade 1 cytokine release syndrome and one patient had grade 3 encephalitis. All participants had the expected side effects from the lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Five patients had stable disease and the other eleven had disease progression as the best response on the therapy. neoTCR transgenic T cells were detected in tumour biopsy samples after infusion at frequencies higher than the native TCRs before infusion. This study demonstrates the feasibility of isolating and cloning multiple TCRs that recognize mutational neoantigens. Moreover, simultaneous knockout of the endogenous TCR and knock-in of neoTCRs using single-step, non-viral precision genome-editing are achieved. The manufacture of neoTCR engineered T cells at clinical grade, the safety of infusing up to three gene-edited neoTCR T cell products and the ability of the transgenic T cells to traffic to the tumours of patients are also demonstrated.

Summary: Background: Although dementia incidence has decreased in high-income countries, it is important to monitor the prevalence of dementia and identify potential underdiagnosis in population subgroups. This study provides the most up-to-date prevalence of dementia diagnosis in Sweden, by geographical regions and sociodemographic groups. Methods: We identified all individuals aged ≥62 years, registered and alive in Sweden at the end of 2022 (n = 2.48 million). Dementia diagnoses were identified using ICD-9/10 codes in the National Patient Register since 1987, as well as anti-dementia drug use from the Prescribed Drug Register since 2005. Findings: At the end of 2022, 3.7% (92,293/2,483,798) of people aged ≥62 years in Sweden had a dementia diagnosis from specialist care or drug prescriptions and varied from 0.6% in ages 62–69 to 14.8% in ages ≥90. The prevalence of cognitive impairment diagnosis was 2.5%. There was some geographical variation in the prevalence of dementia diagnosis, with a larger proportion of diagnoses coming from drug prescriptions than from specialist care in northern Sweden. While people born abroad and people without a close relative had a slightly higher prevalence of dementia diagnosis than Swedish born and those with close relatives, the prevalence was substantially lower for people living alone than for cohabiting individuals. Interpretation: Comparing case estimates from previous screening cohorts, our results suggest underdiagnosis of dementia in the general older population, particularly among people who live alone. In more rural areas with lower availability of memory clinics, primary care may play an important role in diagnosing older adults with dementia. Funding: Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare; Swedish Research Council; Region Stockholm.