Objective: Infliximab (IFX) concentrations are a predictive factor (PF) of pharmacokinetic (PK) origin in the treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD). We evaluated clearance, another PF of PK origin, either alone or in combination with concentrations. Methods: PF of PK origin were evaluated from two cohorts, the first received standard dosing (n=37), and the second was designed to proactively target therapeutic IFX concentrations (n=108). Concentrations were measured using homogenous mobility shift assay. Clearance was estimated using nonlinear mixed effects methods with Bayesian priors. C-reactive protein based clinical remission (<3mg/L in the absence of symptoms) was used for the disease control outcome. Longitudinal changes in disease control due to factors including time, IFX concentration, and clearance were analyzed using repeated event analysis. Change in objective function value (∆OFV) was calculated to compare concentration and clearance. Results: Lower baseline clearance and proactive dosing associated with enhanced disease control during induction (p<0.01). Higher IFX concentrations and lower Clearance measured at the second, third and fourth infusion yielded improved disease control during maintenance (p<0.032). During maintenance, the association with disease control was better with clearance than with concentrations (∆OFV= -19.2; p<0.001), and the combination of both further minimized OFV (p<0.001) with markedly improved clinical yield in the presence of both PF of PK origin. Conclusion: PF of PK origin and lower clearance during induction and maintenance yielded enhanced disease control in pediatric CD treated with IFX. The combination of IFX concentration and clearance are better predictors of therapeutic outcome compared to either one alone.

Pathogenic water-borne protozoa and helminths sometimes cause debilitating infections in children and immunocompromised people, and the poorest of the poor communities living adjacent to wildlife protected areas in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk. This study aimed to assess the existence of protozoan cysts/ trophozoites, and helminth eggs in fresh surface and piped tap water utilised by locals and tourists in the Queen Elizabeth Protected Area (QEPA) in western Uganda. Water samples were taken from natural (environmental) sources and domestic water sources (piped tap water). The samples were analysed for helminth eggs, free-living amoeba (FLA) trophozoites, Cryptosporidium oocysts, and Giardia cysts. The parasites were examined under the microscope, after which they were identified, counted, and recorded. The overall prevalence of the protozoan parasites, from highest to lowest, were: FLA (56.6%), Cryptosporidium spp. (38.2%), Giardia spp. (36.5%), Eimeria spp. (20.3%), and Paramecium spp. (2.7%). Similarly, helminth parasite prevalence was: Strongyle (38.2%), Ascaris spp. (33.3%), Trematodes (25%), Strongyloides (10.5), Toxocara spp. (8.3%), and Capillaria spp. (3.2%). Necessary steps should be taken to improve the water quality in QEPA.

Developmental hazard evaluation is an important part of assessing chemical risks during pregnancy. Toxicological outcomes from prenatal testing in pregnant animals result from complex chemical-biological interactions, and while New Approach Methods (NAMs) based on in vitro bioactivity profiles of human cells offer promising alternatives to animal testing, most of these assays lack cellular positional information, physical constraints, and regional organization of the intact embryo. Here, we engineered a fully computable model of the embryonic disc in the compucell3d.org modeling environment to simulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition of epiblast cells and self-organization of mesodermal domains (chordamesoderm, paraxial, lateral plate, posterior/extraembryonic). Cell fate in the model is determined by an autonomous homeobox (HOX) clock driven by morphogenetic signals (e.g., FGF, WNT, ATRA, CDX). Executing the model renders a quantitative cell-level computation of mesodermal subpopulations and consequences of perturbation based on known embryogeny. For example, synthetic perturbation of the control network rendered altered phenotypes (cybermorphs) mirroring experimental mouse embryology, with 50% reductions in FGF4, FGF8 and BMP4 signaling resulting in 86%, 98% and 59% reductions, respectively in the posterior mesodermal population, while ATRA exposure also resulted in a 78% decrease in this population. This model enables integration of in vitro chemical bioactivity data for specific molecular targets with known embryology to test mechanistic veracity and quantitative prediction of altered development.

During the development of new medicines mutually exclusive specificity appears to be required but hitherto is most often included at the late clinical trial stage. Here, I describe the use of Hedgehog signalling in Drosophila as a model to represent a mutually exclusive relationship within the context and report the identification of CG43658, a putative Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor and orthologue of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease associated gene ARHGEF10. Furthermore, a Computer that is able to consider the whole and describe the sum of everything in it absolutely in unambiguous terms is a useful tool. Here I describe such a computer with a suggestion for an application to examine any component in the context where a medicine is sought. Taken, together I would like to propose this method as a fundamental necessity and improvement upon current existing methods related not only to Hedgehog signalling but plausibly to life science research and the search for medicines in general.

Systematic reviews of 591 primary studies of the modes of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 show significant methodological shortcomings and heterogeneity in the design, conduct, testing and reporting of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. While this is partly understandable at the outset of a pandemic, evidence rules of proof for assessing the transmission of this virus are needed for pre-sent and future pandemics of viral respiratory pathogens. We review the history of causality as-sessment related to microbial etiologies with a focus on respiratory viruses and suggest a hierar-chy of evidence to integrate clinical, epidemiologic, molecular and laboratory perspectives on transmission. The hierarchy, if applied to future studies, should narrow the uncertainty over the twin concepts of causality and transmission of human respiratory viruses. We attempt to address the translational gap between the current research evidence and the assessment of causality in the transmission of respiratory viruses with a focus on SARS-CoV-2. Experimentation, consistency and independent replication of research alongside our proposed framework provide a chain of evidence that can reduce the uncertainty over the transmission of respiratory viruses and increase the level of confidence in specific modes of transmission, informing the measures that should be undertaken to prevent transmission.

JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a human-specific polyomavirus that establishes a silent lifelong infection in multiple peripheral organs, predominantly those of the urinary tract, of immunocompetent individuals. In immunocompromised settings, however, JCPyV can infiltrate the central nervous system (CNS), where it causes several encephalopathies of high morbidity and mortality. JCPyV-induced progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a devastating demyelinating brain disease, was an AIDS-defining disease pre-antiretroviral therapy that has “reemerged” as a complication of immunomodulating and chemotherapeutic agents. No effective anti-polyomavirus therapeutics are currently available. How depressed immune status sets the stage for JCPyV resurgence in the urinary tract, how the virus evades pre-existing antiviral antibodies to become viremic, and where/how it enters the CNS are incompletely understood. Addressing these questions requires a tractable animal model of JCPyV CNS infection. Although no animal model can replicate all aspects of any human disease, mouse polyomavirus (MuPyV) in mice and JCPyV in humans share key features of peripheral and CNS infection and antiviral immunity. In this review, we will discuss evidence suggesting how JCPyV migrates from the periphery to the CNS, innate and adaptive immune responses to polyomavirus infection, and how the MuPyV-mouse model is providing insights into the pathogenesis of JCPyV CNS disease.

Objective: Our goal is to develop an online questionnaire to survey the prevalence of suicidal behavior. Methods: We developed a questionnaire with 51 variables and proceeded with validations. Validations were performed using face validity, content validity, and construct validity. Reliability was performed by test-rest. Results: The face validity was 1.0 and the content validity was 0.91. The exploratory factor analysis got KMO = 0.86 and extracted one principal factor. The confirmatory factor analysis demonstrates RMSEA= 0.000 and CFI=1.000. The test-retest had an intraclass correlated coefficient of 0.98. Conclusion: The adequate development questionnaire was validated, and we have an instrument to survey suicide behaviors in the pandemic time.

Aging is accompanied by frontal lobe and non-dominant hemisphere recruitment that supports executive functioning, such as inhibitory control, which is crucial to all cognitive functions. Yet, the spatio-temporal sequence of processing underlying successful inhibition and how it changes with age is understudied. Thus, we assessed N200 (conflict monitoring) and P300 (response inhibition, performance evaluation) event-related potentials (ERPs) in young and healthy older adults during comparably performed successful stop-signal inhibition. We additionally interrogated the continuous spatio-temporal dynamics of N200- and P300-related activation within each group. Young adults had left hemisphere dominant N200, while older adults had overall larger amplitudes and right hemisphere dominance. N200 activation was biphasic in both groups but differed in scalp topography. P300 also differed, with larger right amplitudes in young, but bilateral amplitudes in old, with old larger than young in the left hemisphere. P300 was characterized by an early parieto-occipital peak in both groups, followed by a parietal slow wave only in older adults. A temporally similar but topographically different final wave followed in both groups that showed anterior recruitment in older adults. These findings illuminate differential age-related spatio-temporal recruitment patterns for conflict monitoring and response inhibition that are critically important for understanding age-related compensatory activation.

In this study, the microbiological quality of traditionally made yoghurt from Northern Uganda and Western Kenya were analysed. Six samples of typical traditionally fermented milk were randomly collected from traditional cattle keepers from Karamojong (UG 1) and Acholi (UG 2) in Northern Uganda), and Kalenjin in Western Kenya (KE). Analysis was carried out for microbial quality of the collected samples and was assessed using the conventional methods for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total coliform, lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, yeasts, and mould counts. The results showed that the pH of the samples was low (2.9- 3.6). The mean aerobic mesophilic bacterial counts were 5.14 x 109 cfu/ml. The mean counts for mesophilic lactobacilli ranged from x 106 to x 108, cfu/ml. The mean thermophilic lactobacilli count ranged from x 107, to x 109, cfu/ml. However, the thermophilic lactococci counts ranged from x 106, to x 109, cfu/ml. On the other hand, the Streptococci counts were between x 106 to x 108 cfu/ml. The mean counts for the non-Sorbitol E. coli was 3.87 x 103 cfu/ml. The results suggest that although the pH of the yoghurt made in the Acholi and Karamojong (Northern Uganda) and in Kalenjin (Kenya) areas was low, the level of bacteria, yeast, and mould counts indicated poor microbiological quality control. This poses public health concerns. Therefore, attention of the appropriate government agencies is needed to ensure that environment of yogurt produced in a traditional setting in most appropriate condition to reduce contamination.

Radiological imaging is an essential component of a swallowing assessment. Artificial intelligence (AI), and especially deep learning (DL) models, have enhanced the efficiency and efficacy through which imaging is interpreted, and subsequently have important implications for swallow diagnostics and intervention planning. However, the application of AI for the interpretation of videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) is still emerging. This review showcases recent literature in the use of AI to interpret VFSS and highlights clinical implications for speech pathologists (SPs). With a surge in AI research, there have been advances made in dysphagia assessment. Several studies have demonstrated successful implementation of DL algorithms to analyze VFSS. Notably, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been used to detect pertinent aspects of the swallowing process with high levels of precision. DL algorithms have the potential to streamline VFSS interpretation, improve efficiency and accuracy, and enable precise interpretation of instrumental dysphagia evaluation, which is especially advantageous when access to skilled clinicians is not ubiquitous. By enhancing precision, speed, and depth of VFSS interpretation, SPs can obtain a more comprehensive understanding of swallow physiology and deliver targeted and timely intervention that is tailored towards the individual. This has practical applications for both clinical practice and dysphagia research. As this research area grows and AI technologies progress, the application of DL in the field of VFSS interpretation is clinically beneficial and has the potential to transform dysphagia assessment and management. With broader validation and inter-disciplinary collaborations, AI-augmented VFSS interpretation is likely to transform swallow evaluation and ultimately improve outcomes for individuals with dysphagia.

This paper explores the tuning and results of two-part models on rich datasets provided through the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS). These data sets include BI (bodily injury), PD (property damage) and COLL (collision) coverage, each documenting policy characteristics and claims across a four year period. The datasets are explored, including summaries of all variables, then the methods for modeling are set forth. Models are tuned and the tuning results are displayed, after which we train the final models and seek to explain select predictions. All of the code will be made available on GitHub. Data was provided by a private insurance carrier to the CAS after anonymizing the data set. This data is available to actuarial researchers for well-defined research projects that have universal benefit to the insurance industry and the public. Our hope is that the methods demonstrated here can be a good foundation for future ratemaking models to be developed and tested more efficiently.

Retinoic acid (RA) is the biologically active metabolite of vitamin A and has become a well-established factor that induces neurite outgrowth and regeneration in both vertebrates and invertebrates. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms that may mediate RA-induced neurite sprouting remain unclear. In the past decade, microRNAs have emerged as important regulators of nervous system development and regeneration, and have been shown to contribute to processes such as neurite sprouting. However, few studies have demonstrated the role of miRNAs in RA-induced neurite sprouting. By miRNA-Sequencing analysis, we identify 482 miRNAs in the regenerating CNS of the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis, 219 of which represent potentially novel miRNAs. Of the remaining conserved miRNAs, 38 show a statistically significant up or downregulation in regenerating CNS as a result of RA treatment. We further characterized the expression of one neuronally-enriched miRNA upregulated by RA, miR-124. We demonstrate for the first time that miR-124 is expressed within the cell bodies and neurites of regenerating motorneurons. Moreover, we identify miR-124 expression within the growth cones of cultured ciliary motorneurons (Pedal A), whereas expression in the growth cones of another class of respiratory motorneurons (RPA) was absent in vitro. These findings support our hypothesis that miRNAs are important regulators of retinoic acid-induced neuronal outgrowth and regeneration in regeneration-competent species.

Complex modeling has received significant attention in recent years and is increasingly used to explain the statistical phenomenon with increasing and decreasing fluctuations such as the similarity or difference of spike protein charge patterns of coronaviruses. Different from the existing covariance or correlation coefficient methods in traditional integer dimension construction, this study proposes a simplified novel fractional dimension derivation with the exact Excel tool algorithm. It involves the fractional center moment extension to covariance, which ends up a complex covariance coefficient that is better than the Pearson correlation coefficient, in the sense that the nonlinearity relationship can be further depicted. The spike protein sequences of coronaviruses were obtained from the GenBank and GISAID database, including the coronaviruses from pangolin, bat, canine, swine (three variants), feline, tiger, SARS-CoV-1, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2 (including the strains of Wuhan, Beijing, New York, German, and UK variant B.1.1.7) were used as the representative examples in this study. By examining the values above and below the average/mean based on the positive and negative charge patterns of the amino acid residues of the spike proteins from coronaviruses, the proposed algorithm provides deep insights into the nonlinear evolving trends of spike proteins for understanding the viral evolution and identifying the protein characteristics associated with viral fatality. The calculation results demonstrate that the complex covariance coefficient analyzed by this algorithm is capable of distinguishing the subtle nonlinear differences in the spike protein charge patterns with reference to Wuhan strain SARS-CoV-2 for which the Pearson correlation coefficient may overlook. Our analysis reveals the unique convergent (positive correlative) to divergent (negative correlative) domain center positions of each virus. The convergent or conserved region may be critical to the viral stability or viability; while the divergent region is highly variable between coronaviruses suggesting high frequency of mutations in this region. The analyses show that the conserved center region of SARS-CoV-1 spike protein is located at amino acid residues 900, but shifted to the amino acid residues 700 in MERS spike protein, and then to amino acid residues 600 in SARS-COV-2 spike protein, indicating the evolvement of the coronaviruses. Interestingly, the conserved center region of the spike protein in SARS-COV-2 variant B.1.1.7 shifted back to amino acid residues 700, suggesting this variant is more virulent than the original SARS-COV-2 strain. Another important characteristic our study reveals is that the distance between the divergent mean and the maximal divergent point in each of the viruses (MERS>SARS-CoV-1>SARS-CoV-2) is proportional to viral fatality rate. This algorithm may help to understand and analyze the evolving trends and critical characteristics of SARS-COV-2 variants, other coronaviral proteins and viruses.

Utilising Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) as a case example, this report will provide information about the strategic challenges that many modern universities in the UK face in creating a flexible delivery of education. Using strategic concepts and analysis, the current short report will examine the competitiveness within the higher education sector in the UK and explore key external and internal environmental factors of CCCU, gaining a greater understanding of their current position. From these analyses, strategic recommendations as to how universities such as CCCU can create a competitive advantage through a new form of flexible learning delivery.

Soil-borne Trichoderma spp. have been extensively studied for their biocontrol activities against pathogens and growth promotion ability with plants. However, the beneficial effect of Trichoderma on inducing resistance against insect herbivores has been considered only recently. Among diverse Trichoderma species, consistent with previous reports, we showed that root colonization by T. virens triggered induced systemic resistance (ISR) to leaf-infecting fungal pathogens. Whether T. virens induces ISR to insect pests has not been tested before. In this study, we investigated whether T. virens affects jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and defense against fall armyworm (FAW) and western corn rootworm (WCR). Unexpectedly, the results showed that T. virens colonization of maize seedlings grown in autoclaved soil suppressed wound-induced production of JA, resulting in reduced resistance to FAW. Similarly, the bacterial endophyte Pseudomonas chlororaphis 30-84 suppressed systemic resistance to FAW due to reduced JA. Further comparative analyses of the systemic effects of these endophytes when applied into sterile or non-sterile field soil showed that both T. virens and P. chlororaphis 30-84 triggered ISR against hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola in both soil conditions, but only suppressed resistance to FAW in sterile soil. In contrast to the effect on FAW defense, T. virens colonization of maize roots suppressed WCR larvae survival and weight gain. This is the first report suggesting the potential role of T. virens as a biocontrol agent against WCR.

As a kind of converse of the celebrated Erd˝os-Szekeres theorem, we present a necessary and sufficient condition for a sequence of length n to contain a longest increasing subsequence and a longest decreasing subsequence of given lengths x and y, respectively.

Marginalised families faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores inequalities in Japanese mothers’ and children’s health and wellbeing and family economic stability before and during the pandemic. Data sources were: nationwide surveys in 2019 and 2021 of families with children using medical institutions across Japan; infant mortality and adolescent suicide rates between 2018 and 2021 from publicly available sources. Outcomes by poor and non-poor families were compared for 2019 and 2021 using simple descriptive statistics. Poor mothers' part-time working increased from 41% to 61% and regular employment was reduced by two-thirds. Well-being of poor mothers worsened from 39% to 55%. Employment opportunities and wellbeing did not change for non-poor mothers. School subsidies among poor families increased from 23% to 55%. The infant mortality rate (IMR) among unemployed families increased significantly from 12.9/1,000 to 18.2/1,000 between 2018 and 2021 compared with a decreasing overall IMR from 1.9/1000 to 1.7/1000. Suicide rates in 10-19 year olds increased over the same period although no socio-economic indicators were available. Inequalities in mothers’ and children’s health and well-being indicators and family economics increased between 2019 to 2021 in Japan. This study cannot attribute cause but suggests a possible role of the pandemic.

Retinoic acid (RA) is the biologically active metabolite of vitamin A,and has become a well-established factor that induces neurite outgrowth and regeneration in both vertebrates and invertebrates. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms that may mediate RA-induced neurite sprouting remain unclear. In the past decade, microRNAs have emerged as important regulators of nervous system development and regeneration, and have been shown to contribute to processes such as neurite sprouting. However, few studies have demonstrated the role of miRNAs in RA-induced neurite sprouting. By R-Seq analysis, we identify 482 miRNAs in the regenerating CNS of the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis, 219 of which represent potentially novel miRNAs. Of the remaining conserved miRNAs, 38 show a statistically significant up or downregulation in regenerating CNS as a result of RA treatment. We further characterized the expression of one neuronally-enriched miRNA upregulated by RA, miR-124. We demonstrate for the first time that miR-124 is expressed within the cell bodies and neurites of regenerating motorneurons. Moreover, we identify miR-124 expression within the growth cones of cultured ciliary motorneurons (Pedal A), whereas expression from the growth cones of another class of respiratory motorneurons (RPA) was absent in vitro. These findings support our hypothesis miRNAs are important regulators of retinoic acid induced neuronal outgrowth and regeneration in regeneration-competent species.

Repeated cocaine produces an enhanced locomotor response (sensitization) paralleled by biological adaptations in the brain. Previous studies demonstrated region-specific responsiv-ity of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to repeated cocaine. AMPK maintains cellular energy homeostasis at the organismal and cellular level. Here we first quanti-fied changes in phosphorylated (active) and total AMPK in the cytosol and synaptosome of the medial prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and dorsal striatum following acute or sensitizing cocaine injections. Rats were given cocaine (15 mg/kg, IP) or saline for six days with a challenge injection on day seven resulting in four groups: saline-saline, saline-cocaine, cocaine-saline, and cocaine-cocaine. Brain region and cellular compartment selective changes in AMPK and pAMPK were found with some differences associated with acute withdrawal versus ongoing cocaine treatment. Other rats were pretreated with the indirect AMPK activator metformin. Metformin potentiated the locomotor activating effects of acute cocaine but blocked the development of sensi-tization. Sex differences largely obscured protein level treatment group effects, although pAMPK in the NAc shell cytosol was surprisingly reduced by metformin in rats receiving repeated co-caine. These data inform our understanding of AMPK activation dynamics in subcellular com-partments and provide additional support for repurposing metformin for cocaine use disorder.

Pneumonia is a severe lower respiratory tract infection that is a common complication and a major cause of mortality of the vitamin C-deficiency disease scurvy. This suggests an important link between vitamin C status and lower respiratory tract infections. Due to the paucity of information on the vitamin C status of patients with pneumonia, we assessed the vitamin C status of 50 patients with community-acquired pneumonia and compared these with 50 healthy community controls. The pneumonia cohort comprised 44 patients recruited through the Acute Medical Assessment Unit (AMAU) and 6 patients recruited through the intensive care unit (ICU); mean age 68 ± 17 years, 54% male. Clinical, microbiological and haematological parameters were recorded. Blood samples were tested for vitamin C status using HPLC with electrochemical detection and protein carbonyl concentrations, a marker of oxidative stress, using ELISA. Patients with pneumonia had depleted vitamin C status compared with healthy controls (23 ± 14 µmol/L vs 56 ± 24 µmol/L, P <0.001). The more severe patients in the ICU had significantly lower vitamin C status than those recruited through AMAU (11 ± 3 µmol/L vs 24 ± 14 µmol/L, P = 0.02). The total pneumonia cohort comprised 62% with hypovitaminosis C and 22% with deficiency, compared with only 8% hypovitaminosis C and no cases of deficiency in the healthy controls. The pneumonia cohort also exhibited significantly elevated protein carbonyl concentrations compared with the healthy controls (P < 0.001), indicating enhanced oxidative stress in the patients. We were able to collect subsequent samples form 28% of the cohort (mean 2.7 ± 1.7 days; range 1-7 days). These showed no significant differences in vitamin C status or protein carbonyl concentrations compared with baseline values (P = 0.6). Overall, the depleted vitamin C status and elevated oxidative stress observed in the patients with pneumonia indicates an enhanced requirement for the vitamin during their illness. Due to the important roles that vitamin C plays in the immune system, low vitamin C status is possibly both a cause and a consequence of the disease. Therefore, these patients would likely benefit from additional vitamin C supplementation to restore their blood and tissue levels to optimal. This may decrease oxidative stress and aid in their recovery.

Children with hearing loss have been found to have significantly more behavioral and emotional challenges than their typically hearing peers, though these outcomes are variable at the individual level. Working memory deficits have been found to relate to executive functioning and overall emotion regulation, leading to behavior challenges. Language development is essential for development of social relationships and communicating one’s needs - this may lead to distress when children cannot communicate effectively. Based on prior findings in children with hearing loss and their typically hearing peers, working memory and language skills were hypothesized to be related to parent and teacher report of socioemotional functioning. Participants were 35 children with hearing loss (66% female, M = 5.17 years old, SD = ±1.97) whose language, working memory, and socioemotional functioning were evaluated during the course of treatment and educational planning. Bivariate analyses indicated that working memory was related to a number of socioemotional domains (e.g., functional communication, atypicality, withdrawal), as were language scores (e.g., social skills, inattention). The direction of these associations was such that stronger working memory and language skills were related to more regulated socioemotional functioning. A call to action of the current study includes more education with regard to profiles and presentations of children with hearing loss, and an early focus on socioemotional learning to foster the development of regulatory skills.

Abstract: Background: Cancer and cancer treatments may affect aging processes, altering the trajectory of cognitive aging, but extant studies are limited in interval of assessment (2-5 years). We studied cognitive performance in a cohort of survivors and controls utilizing cross-sectional cognitive performance data from age 60 to 89 years as an indicator of potential aging trajectories and contrasted these trends with longitudinal data collected over two years. Methods: Female breast cancer survivors who had been diagnosed and treated at age 60 or older and were 5– to 15-year survivors (N=328) and non-cancer controls (N=158) were assessed at enrollment and at 8, 16 and 24 months with standard neuropsychological tests and comprehensive geriatric as-sessment. Results: Cross-sectional baseline analysis found the expected inverse association of age with cognition in both groups, with survivors performing lower than controls in learning and memory (LM) but not in attention, processing speed and executive function (APE). Younger survivors, i.e., those under 75 years of age, exhibited early decline in performance in both LM and APE compared to controls, with no differences between older survivors and controls, which tracked with deficit accumulation trends. Conclusion: Differences between survivors and controls were prominent in younger survivors, as was deficit accumulation, suggesting a mediating effect on cognition. Deficit accumulation may represent a modifiable risk factor in cancer survivorship that may be targeted for prevention and intervention.

The Sustainable Development Goals provide a global development agenda that is meant to be inclusive of all people. However, the development needs for vulnerable populations such as youth are not reflected within the policy agenda of some developing countries. One of the reasons for this is that research that explores health and wellbeing concerns for young people are sparse in the region and where they exist, the focus has been on marginalized subgroups. To address this gap, this cross-sectional study explored the health and wellbeing of youth in Kenya. We conducted 10 focus group discussions and 13 in-depth interviews with youth ages 15 to 24 years. A thematic analysis of the data revealed that structural factors are important influencers of youth perceptions and their social constructions of health and wellbeing. Kenyan youth are concerned about the health status and healthcare services in their communities, as well as issues of community trust of youths and perceived risks of political misuse and emotional suffering. Our findings suggest that youth transitioning into adulthood in resource constrained areas experience feelings of being powerless and unable to take charge over their own life. This impacts how they perceive and socially construct health and wellbeing.

Manual visual inspections typically conducted after an earthquake are high-risk, subjective, and time-consuming. Delays from inspections often exacerbate the social and economic impact of the disaster on affected communities. Rapid and autonomous inspection using images acquired from unmanned aerial vehicles offer the potential to reduce such delays. Indeed, a vast amount of re-search has been conducted toward developing automated vision-based methods to assess the health of infrastructure at the component and structure level. Most proposed methods typically rely on images of the damaged structure, but seldom consider how the images were acquired. To achieve autonomous inspections, methods must be evaluated in a comprehensive end-to-end manner, incorporating both data acquisition and data processing. In this paper, we leverage recent advances in computer generated imagery (CGI) to construct a 3D synthetic environment for simulation of post-earthquake inspections that allows for comprehensive evaluation and valida-tion of autonomous inspection strategies. A critical issue is how to simulate and subsequently render the damage in the structure after an earthquake. To this end, a high-fidelity nonlinear finite element model is incorporated in the synthetic environment to provide a representation of earthquake-induced damage; this finite element model, combined with photo-realistic rendering of the damage, is termed herein a physics-based graphics models (PBGM). The 3D synthetic en-vironment with PBGMs provide a comprehensive end-to-end approach for development and validation of autonomous post-earthquake strategies using UAVs, including: (i) simulation of path planning of virtual UAVs and image capture under different environmental conditions; (ii) au-tomatic labeling of captured images, potentially providing an infinite amount of data for training deep neural networks; (iii) availability of the ground truth damage state from the results of the finite-element simulation; and (iv) direct comparison of different approaches to autonomous as-sessments. Moreover, the synthetic data generated has the potential to be used to augment field datasets. To demonstrate the efficacy of PBGMs, models of reinforced concrete moment-frame buildings with masonry infill walls are examined. The 3D synthetic environment employing PBGMs is shown to provide an effective testbed for development and validation of autonomous vision-based post-earthquake inspections that can serve as an important building block for ad-vancing autonomous data to decision frameworks.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the field of biopolymers by providing a range of opportunities to create complex and intricate structures. Here we provide an overview of developments in biopolymer AM, first in the context of how natural systems have impacted the synthetic processes of AM, and secondly in the context of how synthetically derived structures can be used for biomedical applications. In particular, we explore the range of biopolymers developed for AM, AM techniques for biopolymers, and potential biocompatible medical applications with a focus on four categories of tissue in the human body: skin, bone, heart, and nerve. Despite the current challenges of the technology, exciting results in tissue regeneration, synthetic replacements for natural grafts, and complex dynamic organoids have already come to pass - with many more possible in the future.

Parent education programs, offered via family-school partnerships, offer an effective means for promoting the mental health and educational functioning of children and adolescents at a whole-of-school level. However, these programs often have low uptake. This study aimed to identify strategies for increasing the uptake of parent education programs within preschool and school settings. A three-round Delphi procedure was employed to obtain expert consensus on strategies that are important and feasible in educational settings. First, thirty experts rated statements identified from the literature and a stakeholder forum. Next, experts re-appraised statements, including new statements generated from the first round. Ninety statements were endorsed by ≥ 80% of the experts. Primary themes include strategies for program selection, strategies for increasing the accessibility of programs and the understanding of educational staff on parent engagement and child mental health, strategies for program development, promotion, and delivery, as well as strategies for increasing parent and community engagement. This study offers a set of consensus strategies for improving the uptake of parent education programs within family-school partnership.

Enhance®Fitness (EF) is an evidence-based exercise program recommended for management of osteoarthritis (OA). However, access to EF is limited in rural areas. Accordingly, we evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of remotely delivered EF in rural, community-dwelling older adults with symptomatic knee OA. A single arm pilot trial of remotely delivered EF classes was conducted. Videoconferencing was used to livestream the instructor-led, 1-hour EF classes 3 days/week for 12 weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and immediately post-intervention. A total of 15 participants were enrolled with a median age of 70 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 67-75) and 14 (93%) were women. Median EF class attendance rate was 91% (IQR: 85-94%). Knee pain, as measured by the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), improved significantly from baseline to 12-week endpoint (mean difference=-11.4 [95% CI:-20.9, -2.0); P=0.02). In addition, participants’ self-reported knee function improved significantly (mean difference in KOOS Function score=-11.8 [95% CI:-18.4, -5.2]; P&lt;0.01) as well as their physical capacity (mean difference in Timed Up and Go test time=1.8 seconds [95% CI: 0.2, 3.4]; P=0.03). All participants (100%) were very satisfied with remotely delivered EF classes and there were no serious adverse events. Findings from this pilot trial indicate that remotely delivered EF is feasible and acceptable in rural older adults with knee OA.

Back pain is a common symptom that affects all age groups across the globe, when left untreated may eventually lead to disability. A convenient sample selection method was used in this study due to the global Covid-19 pandemic lockdown which was effective in Turkey during the investigation period. Thus, virtual data collection and health education including some health risks were employed. A total population of two hundred adult women was involved in the study but one hundred and twenty-one responses were collected. Findings show that, for socio-demographic characteristics, the pain was found highest in women between the ages of 41-50 and obese/overweight individuals. Although, there was no significant difference recorded in the marital status category. Moreover, statistical mean differences were detected between the scales for ODI (4.18) and BPFS (6.09). Also, p<0.05, paired sample t-test was 0.001 ODI and 0.001 BPFS after the training exercise. This suggests that exercise training is inversely correlated with pain severity which implies that training has a significant influence on pain intensity. Thus, it could be concluded that there is a relationship between the training exercise and ODI/BPFS.

Stroke is a global leading cause of death and disability. Knowledge of related guidelines is crucial for Emergency Department (ED) staff, influencing early diagnosis and timely treatment. We investigated Greek-Cypriot ED healthcare professionals' (nurses and physicians) knowledge in recognizing and managing stroke. A descriptive cross-sectional study spanned November 2019 to April 2020, encompassing four private and seven public EDs in the Republic of Cyprus. The data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire developed by the research team, consisting of 37 questions. Eight questions focused on sociodemographic and employment characteristics, 28 assessed knowledge in stroke recognition and management (each item was equally weighted without deliberate prioritization), and one question addressed self-assessment of knowledge in stroke care. 255 nurses [Response Rate (RR): 74.1%] and 26 physicians (RR: 47.3%) completed the questionnaire. The average correct response rate was 12.9 out of 28 statements (SD: 4.2), with nurses and physicians scoring 12.6 (SD: 4.1) and 15.7 (SD: 4), respectively. Work experience significantly influenced stroke knowledge, with all groups demonstrating superiority over those with less than one year of experience. Participants with previous training scored an average of 1.45 additional correct answers while educational attainment did not significantly influence stroke knowledge. Investigating stroke knowledge among Emergency Department nurses and physicians in the Republic of Cyprus revealed significant deficits. The study stresses targeted interventions, including, education, yearly examinations, workshops with hands-on training, and repeated training, to address these gaps and enhance the overall stroke care capabilities of the healthcare professionals.

The evolution of sentence representation learning, especially with parse tree encoders, has shown remarkable progress. Traditional approaches predominantly rely on recursive encoding of tree structures, which impedes parallel processing capabilities. Additionally, these methods often overlook the significance of dependency tree arc labels. To overcome these limitations, we introduce the Syntax-Enhanced Transformer (SET), incorporating a novel dual-attention mechanism that integrates relation-focused attention alongside traditional self-attention. This design effectively encodes both dependency and spatial positional relationships within sentence dependency trees. Our approach innovatively incorporates syntactic information into the Transformer framework without compromising its inherent parallelizability. The SET demonstrates superior or comparable performance to contemporary methods across various sentence representation tasks, significantly enhancing computational efficiency.

Urination on carpet and subflooring can develop into persistent and challenging to mitigate odor. Very little or no information is published on how these VOCs change over time when urine is deposited on the carpet covering a plywood-type subflooring. This research has investigated the VOCs emitted from carpet+subflooring (control), carpet+subflooring sprayed with water (control with moisture), and cat urine-contaminated carpet+subflooring (treatment) over time (day 0 and 15). In addition, the effect of popular cleaning products on VOCs emitted and evaluated their efficacy in eliminating those indoor odors over time (day 0 and 15). Carpet-subflooring with all treatments were also contaminated with Micrococcus luteus, nonmotile obligate aerobe commonly found in household dust, to observe the impact of the aerobe on carpet-subflooring VOCs emission. VOCs emitted from carpet+subflooring receiving different treatments were collected from headspace using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The VOCs were analyzed using a multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometer attached to an olfactometry (GC-MS-O). Many common VOCs were released from the carpet on day one and day fifteen, specifically from urine contamination. Cleaning products were effective in masking several potent odors of cat urine contaminated carpet VOCs on day one but unable to remove the odor appeared on day 15 in most cases.

Violence against paramedics is widely recognized as a serious, but underreported, problem. While injurious physical attacks on paramedics are generally reported, non-physical violence is less likely to be documented. Verbal abuse can be very distressing, particularly if the harassment targets personal or cultural identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Leveraging a novel, point-of-event reporting process, our objective was to estimate the prevalence of harassment on identity grounds against paramedics in a single paramedic service in Ontario, Canada, and assess its potentially differential impact on emotional distress. In an analysis of 502 reports filed between February 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022, two paramedic-supervisors independently coded the free-text narrative descriptions of violent encounters for themes suggestive of sexism, racism, and homophobia. We achieved high interrater agreement across the dimensions (k=0.73-0.83), and after resolving discrepant cases, we found that 1 in 4 violent reports documented abuse on at least one of the identity grounds. In these cases, paramedics were 60% more likely to indicate being emotionally distressed than for other forms of violence. Our findings offer unique insight into the type of vitriol paramedics experience in the course of their work and its potential for psychological harm.

Through the ACE2, a main enzyme of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), the SARS-CoV2 gains access into the cell, resulting in different complications which may extend beyond the RAS and impact the Arachidonic Acid (ArA) pathway. The contribution of the RAS through ArA pathways metabolites in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is unknown. We investigated whether RAS components and ArA metabolites can be considered biomarkers of COVID-19. We measured the plasma levels of RAS and ArA metabolites using an LC-MS/MS. Results indicate that Ang1-7 levels were significantly lower, whereas Ang II levels were higher in the COVID-19 patients than healthy control individuals. The ratio of Ang1-7/Ang II as an indicator of the RAS classical and protective arms balance was dramatically lower in COVID-19 patients. There was no significant increase in inflammatory 19-HETE and 20-HETE lev-els. The concentration of EETs was significantly increased in COVID-19 patients, whereas the DHETs concentration was repressed. Their plasma levels were correlated with Ang II concentration in COVID-19 patients. In conclusion, evaluating the RAS and ArA pathway biomarkers could provide helpful information for the early detection of high-risk groups, avoid delayed medical attention, facilitate resource allocation and improve patient clinical outcomes to prevent long COVID incidence.

Gut microbiota plays a critical role in physiological regulation throughout life and is specifically modified to meet the demands of individual life stages and during pregnancy. Maternal gut microbiota is uniquely adapted to the pregnancy demands of the mother and the developing fetus. Both animal studies in pregnant germ-free rodents and human studies have supported a critical association between the composition of maternal microbiota during pregnancy and fetal development. Gut microbiota may also contribute to the development of the fetal gut-brain axis (GBA), which is increasingly recognized for its critical role in health and disease. Most studies consider birth as the time of GBA activation and focus on postnatal GBA development. This review focuses on GBA development during the prenatal period and the impact of maternal gut microbiota on fetal GBA development. It is hypothesized that adaptation of maternal gut microbiota to pregnancy is critical for the GBA prenatal development and maturation of GBA postnatally. Consequently, factors affecting maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy, such as maternal obesity, diet, stress and depression, infection, and medication, also affect fetal GBA development and are critical for GBA activity postnatally. Altered maternal gut microbiota during gestation has been shown to have long-term impact postnatally and multigenerational effects. Thus, understanding the impact of maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy on fetal GBA development is crucial for managing fetal, neonatal, and adult health, and should be included among public health priorities.

Little is understood about the impact of nebulisation on the viability of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, a range of nebulisers with differing methods of aerosol generation were evaluated to determine SARS-CoV-2 viability following aerosolisation. The aerosol particle size distribution was assessed using an aerosol particle sizer (APS) and SARS-CoV-2 viability was determined after collection into liquid media using All-Glass Impingers (AGI). Viable particles of SARS-CoV-2 were further characterised using the Collison 6-jet nebuliser in conjunction with novel sample techniques in an Andersen size-fractioning sampler to predict lung deposition profiles. Results demonstrate that all the tested nebulisers can generate stable, polydisperse aerosols (Geometric standard deviation (GSD) circa 1.8) in the respirable range (1.2 to 2.2µm). Viable fractions (PFU/particle, the virus viability as a function of total particles produced) were circa 5x10^-3 and were not significantly affected by relative humidity. The novel Andersen sample collection methods successfully captured viable virus particles across all sizes; with most particle sizes below 3.3µm. MMADs (Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameters) were calculated from linear regression of log10-log10 transformed cumulative PFU data, and calculated MMADs accorded well with APS measurements and did not differ across collection method types. This data will be vital in informing animal aerosol challenge models, and infection prevention and control policies.

An optimal withdrawal strategy beginning at age 65 provides a lifetime income from a portfolio, adjusted annually for inflation, while reducing the probability of living in financial ruin to an ac-ceptable level. This paper analyzes the probability of living in financial ruin, potentially for multiple years, rather than just the event of ruin. A stochastic Excel model was developed to simulate the effect of varying investment returns on a portfolio with two asset classes; large company stocks and long-term government bonds. A stochastic model is also applied to retiree mortality. The following variables were analyzed to determine their relative impact on withdrawal strategies: • Withdrawing a constant percentage of the portfolio, • Gender, • Initial asset allocation, • Asset allocation rebalancing methods, and • Low investment return environments. For both genders and most withdrawal rates, an approximately equal initial asset allocation of stocks and bonds, combined with a level rebalancing function, provided the lowest probability of living in financial ruin. Because each investment return followed its own probability distribution function, some retirees experienced financial ruin even in the most conservative simulations.

Despite the proposal of minimum reporting guidelines for metabolomics over a decade ago, reporting on the data analysis step in metabolomics studies has been shown to be unclear and incomplete. Major omissions and a lack of logical flow render the data analysis’ sections in metabolomics studies impossible to follow, and therefore replicate or even imitate. Here, we propose possible reasons why the original reporting guidelines have had poor adherence and present an approach to improve their uptake. We present in this paper an R markdown reporting template file that guides the production of text and generates workflow diagrams based on user input. This R Markdown template contains, as an example in this instance, a set of minimum information requirements specifically for the data pre-treatment and data analysis section of biomarker discovery metabolomics studies, (gleaned directly from the original proposed guidelines by Goodacre at al.). These minimum requirements are presented in the format of a questionnaire checklist in an R markdown template file. The R Markdown reporting template proposed here can be presented as a starting point to encourage the data analysis section of a metabolomics manuscript to have a more logical presentation and to contain enough information to be understandable and reusable. The idea is that these guidelines would be open to user feedback, modification and updating by the metabolomics community via GitHub.

Introduction: Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease. The objective was to elaborate a cream with natural products and salicylic acid. Hypothesis: ¿Will the topical cream made from natural products reduce the characteristic clinical signs of psoriasis? Methodology: Quasi-experimental clinical trial, in 100 healthy volunteer subjects, five formulations of the new product were prepared and applied to each 20 healthy subjects. The universe was 270 patients with different type of dermatology disease, 120 volunteer patients were selected with Psoriasis, of which he creams was applied to 60 volunteer patients with mild and moderate psoriasis were no randomly administered the full formulation of the new product at TMC Hospital. The database for this study is in the Figshare and Dryad repository. Outcome: In healthy subjects showed that 99% had no side effects. In psoriasis patient mild and moderate psoriasis at TMC Hospital was evaluated the results before and after treatment with the new formulation, Using T Student for paired tests, in the clinical variables, as well as the PASI index and the SBA, the alternative hypothesis was proved, the new formula is effective in the control post treatment of psoriasis (p=0.000). Discussion: The new formulation showed greater efficacy after 10 days treatment. This cream is recommended as an alternative and complementary therapy for psoriasis, since it did not show secondary reactions in healthy subjects, so its effectiveness was demonstrated in this study. A new population study is recommended by regions in Ecuador: coast, highlands, Amazon and Galapagos Island, to evaluate the response to treatment.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to ascertain critical care nurses’ understanding and experiences of patient advocacy in adult critical care settings. The specific objectives were to identify how critical care nurses define patient advocacy, to explore the understanding and experiences of critical care nurses regarding patient advocacy, to explore critical care nurses’ role in patient advocacy, and to ascertain the barriers to encouraging advocacy in the critical care setting. Research design: Systematic literature search of CINAHL and Medline databases, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, as well as grey literature search, was conducted. Search dates were restricted from January 2005 to 2015 in both CINAHL and Medline. Findings: 62 studies were identified, of which 6 qualitative research papers were included. Nurses gave varied definitions of patient advocacy, which were categorized into three themes: communication, protection, and doing. Nurses perceive advocacy as truly listening to patients and their families. Conclusion: For critical care nurses to be effective advocates, there must be support, collaboration, and improved working relationship between professional groups. Moreover, nurses must be empowered to be able to give power to patients and family.

We evaluated progress towards animal biodiversity research in Georgia, a key area in the Caucasus biodiversity hotspot. By reviewing recently (1990-2018) published articles in all areas of animal diversity research, we unmasked the trends in biodiversity inventory, ecological and biogeographical studies, and conservation issues in Georgia. We concluded that species inventory and biodiversity research in Georgia has significantly increased during the last ten years, however the rate and extent of investigation is far from satisfactory. Major gaps remain in all branches of animal diversity research in Georgia, and consequently existing knowledge is inadequate to address modern challenges related to species and ecosystem conservation. We urge local governmental authorities and international scientific societies to support development of stronger research facilities and cultivate interest in biodiversity inventory and research in Georgia as an important step towards maintaining globally important biodiversity in the Caucasus.

Throughout the eukaryotic tree of life, amoeboid organisms have evolved that aggregate upon starvation and form multicellular fruiting bodies, consisting of a ball of spores atop a stalk. This chapter discusses the remarkable convergent evolution of a stalked fruiting body in these different taxa. It then discusses a well-studied group of aggregative fruiters, the cellular slime molds, in more detail. These organisms exhibit substantial variation in their stalk formation and composition, which allows a better understanding of the evolution, maintenance and possible functions of stalked fruiting bodies, but also points to potential costs and benefits of different types of stalks.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a key method for continuous monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence including circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages. WBE addresses limitations of traditional clinical COVID-19 surveillance such as clinical test availability, fluctuating testing rates and increased reliance on rapid antigen tests. Our study in Perth, Western Australia, found a significant positive correlation between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in wastewater and clinical PCR positivity rates (rs = 0.772; p < 0.001) over an 18-month period that included four successive COVID-19 waves. A strong positive correlation was apparent between the proportions of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in wastewater and clinical cases within the same region (rs = 0.728; p < 0.001), including earlier detection of Omicron and recombinant lineages in wastewater before clinical case confirmation. The successful integration of WBE with healthcare data underscores its critical role in enhancing public health decision-making and pandemic management. This approach not only demonstrates the value of WBE in current global health surveillance efforts but also highlights the potential of WBE to address future public health challenges, as a comprehensive disease monitoring and response approach.

Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemics in South Africa have been closely related and persistent, posing a significant burden for healthcare provision. We explored the patients perspectives on challenges and barriers of scaling up TB and HIV integrated services. A descriptive cross-sectional study applying a qualitive research approach was used. Through focus group discusssions (FGDs), we interviewed 29 patients accessing TB and HIV services at the study sites which were selected at primary health care (PHC) clinics in the O.R Tambo district in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Anonymised data was analysed using both content and thematic analysis technique. Challenges and barriers identified included a lack of health education about TB and HIV; an inadequate counselling for antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and HIV; a lack of awareness of the National TB control program; and poor quality of services provided by the health care facilities. These findings suggest that the O.R. Tambo district needs to strengthen its TB-HIV integration immediately. Keywords: TB-HIV integration; Challenges and barriers; Patients; O.R Tambo District; Eastern Cape; South Africa

Conventional models do not fully explain composition of the solar system – for example, the presence of p-nuclei and post-post-Fe-nuclei remains not yet understood (and is one of the great unresolved puzzles of nuclear astrophysics in general); other puzzles exist. We offer a hypothesis which can explain the appearance of non-native elements in the solar system, and a feasible scenario for its implementation. The hypothesis suggests that a nuclear-fission "event" occurred in the inner part of the solar system at the time currently defined as the birth of the system. Conventional models have never considered fission as a contributing nuclei-production mechanism. Upon examination of the existing models and factual data (presented in volumes of publications but never combined into an aggregate), we identified one plausible scenario by which a fission event (not demolishing the entire solar system) could occur: an encounter with a compact super-dense stellar "fragment" (with specific properties) and its "explosion" in fission-cascades. Such scenario also helps resolve other long-standing puzzles of the solar system. For example, it provides that the fission-produced nuclei subsequently transformed into the material that (eventually) accreted into the "rocky" objects in the system (terrestrial planets, asteroids, etc.) and enriched the pre-existed hydrogen-helium objects (the Sun and the gaseous giants) – this offers an explanation for the planets’ inner position and compositional differences within the predominantly hydrogen-helium rest of the solar system. Other implications also follow.

This document aims to adapt the dimension of the Socially Responsible Brand Personality (SRBP), proposed by Mayorga (2017), in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interest of this work is to contribute with the management of the CSR, contributing from a communicational perspective with a tool that optimizes the construction of a socially responsible image by the different stakeholders. The results allow us to conclude that there is a structural modification of the brand personality, which can be presumed to be generated by the current environment and can be established as a pillar of CSR management in the new normality.

Background: As a result of the pandemic, families and children have faced physical, emotional, and mental challenges. However, there has been little attention given to the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and child development. This systematic review aims to identify the impact of the pandemic on child development, globally. Methods: This study follows the PRISMA guidelines for the systematic review of 16 quantitative and qualitative studies conducted between 2020-2023. Results: This systematic review suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic played a crucial role in hindering child development in early childhood. Conclusion: Therefore, it is important to promote and implement the use of policies and strategies to overcome these obstacles.

Knowledge regarding egg morphology can aid the selection of postharvest fumigants for insect control. Accordingly, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine eggs of spotted lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula (White) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a pest recently invasive to the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. As the overwintering life stage of SLF, eggs are deposited on a variety of refugia, including many forestry products that can be distributed geographically via travel, commerce, and/or trade. For fumigation to control SLF, and potentially translate into a viable strategy for limiting the spread of SLF by subject pathways, the fumigant must permeate the chorion to react with biomolecules and/or disrupt cellular processes. SLF chorion was characterized by a porous network of aeropyles localized around the operculum, in cranial and caudal relation to the developing nymph, as well as an interstice between the operculum edge and the opercular rim. The confirmation of chorionic ultrastructure that allows for ready gas exchange warrants further investigation of fumigation efficacy, even for those “non-reactive” fumigants, such as phosphine and hydrogen cyanide, which must overcome the suppression of cellular processes coincident with overwintering.

Jabulile Ndlovu1 and Kebogile Mokwena1, 2 1 Department of Public Health, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa 2 Research Chair in Substance abuse and population Mental Health, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract An estimated 6% of the world population has serious mental illness, with one in four families having a member with some form of psychiatric disorder, who are mostly cared for by their relatives within a family setting. Although caregiving in a home setting is reported to be associated with significant mental distress, the burden of such distress is rarely measured. The purpose of this study was to quantify the burden of care among family caregivers of relatives with serious mental disorders, as well as to explore possible association between the caregiver burden of care and a range of caregiver and Mental Health Care User (MHCU) variables in a rural district in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) scale was used to collect data from 357 caregivers, and STATA 14 was used to analyze data. The ages of the sample ranged from 18 to 65, with a mean of 50.29, and the majority (86%) were female and unemployed (83%). The ZBI scores ranged from 8 to 85, with a mean of 41.59. The majority (91%) tested positive for caregiver burden of care, which ranged from mild to severe. Using the Pearson Chi-square test of association (p=0.05), variables that were significantly associated with the burden of care were clinically related (caregiver self-reported depression, MHCU diagnosis, recent relapse of the MHCU), socio-economic (caregiver family monthly income, MHCU disability grant status and MHCU employment status) and socio-demographic (MHCU gender and MHCU level of education). The prevalence of burden of care is high and severe, and scarcity of resources in families and communities contribute to the high burden of care in these rural communities.

Abstract: This work is part of the interest of solving the problems of water contamination with last generation pollutants, for which a novel and in an aqueous medium FeBTC material incorporated with magnetite nanoparticles was proposed. That material was synthesized by in situ solvothermal method, the Fe3O4 nanoparticles were added during the Fe-BTC MOF synthesis and used in the drug’s adsorption. The materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, and N2-physisorption at 77 K. Fe3O4-FeBTC material showed a maximum adsorption capacity of 357.1 mg g−1 for diclofenac sodium, 70.9 mg g−1 for naproxen sodium, and 122.9 mg g−1 for Ibuprofen. A pseudo-second-order kinetic model can describe the adsorption process, and the thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption of the three drugs was a feasible, spontaneous, and exothermic process. The incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles in the FeBTC considerably increased the adsorption capacity of pristine FeBTC. Also, hybridization of the FeBTC with magnetite nanoparticles reinforced the most vulnerable part of the MOF, increasing its thermal and aqueous media stability. The electrostatic interaction, H-bonding, and interactions in the open-metal sites played a vital role in drug adsorption. The competition of sites in the multicomponent mixture's adsorption showed selective adsorption at diclofenac sodium and naproxen sodium.

Accurate diagnosis for the 400 million people with rare diseases is critical for healthcare decisions, prognosis, understanding disease mechanisms, and identification of treatments. Despite advances in genome sequencing, barriers such as high interpretation costs, diagnostic expertise, throughput associated delays, and uncertain variant classifications persist, with demand exceeding capacity. Many variant classification methods focus narrowly on specific consequences, leading to the use of complex integrative pipelines that often overlook transcript variability and lack prediction transparency. To overcome these limitations, we introduce DITTO. This transparent, transcript-aware machine-learning method demonstrates superior overall performance in accuracy, recall, and precision when compared to existing tools. DITTO is publicly available at https://github.com/uab-cgds-worthey/DITTO

The art of observing and describing behaviors has driven diagnosis and informed basic science in Psychiatry. In recent times, studies of mental illness are focused on understanding the brain’s neurobiology but there is a paucity of information on the potential contributions from peripheral activity to mental health. In Precision Medicine, this common practice leaves a gap between bodily behaviors and genomics that we here propose to address with a new layer of inquiry that includes genes’ expression on tissues inclusive of brain, heart, muscle-skeletal and organs for vital bodily functions. We interrogate genes’ expression on human tissue as a function of disease-associated genes. By removing genes linked to disease from the typical human set, and recomputing the genes’ expressions on the tissues, we can compare the outcomes across mental illnesses, well-known neurological conditions, and non-neurological ones. We find that major neuropsychiatric conditions that are behaviorally defined today (e.g. Autism, Schizophrenia, Depression) through DSM-observation criteria, have strong convergence with well-known neurological ones (e.g. Ataxias, Parkinson), but less overlap with non-neurological ones. Surprisingly, tissues majorly involved in the central control, coordination, adaptation and learning of movements, emotion and memory are maximally affected in psychiatric diagnoses along with peripheral heart and muscle-skeletal tissues. Our results underscore the importance of considering both the brain-body connection and the contributions of the peripheral nervous systems to mental health.

This review investigates the multifaceted role of the p66Shc adaptor protein and the gut microbiota in regulating mitochondrial function and oxidative stress, and their collective impact on the pathogenesis of chronic diseases. The study delves into molecular mechanisms by which p66Shc influences cellular stress responses through Rac1 activation, Forkhead-type transcription factors inactivation, and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, alongside modulatory effects of gut microbiota-derived metabolites and endotoxins. Employing an integrative approach, the review synthesizes findings from a broad array of studies, including molecular biology techniques and analyses of microbial metabolites' impacts on host cellular pathways. The results underscore a complex interplay between microbial metabolites, p66Shc activation, and mitochondrial dysfunction, highlighting the significance of the gut microbiome in influencing disease outcomes through oxidative stress pathways. Conclusively, the review posits that targeting the gut microbiota-p66Shc-mitochondrial axis could offer novel therapeutic strategies for mitigating the development and progression of metabolic diseases. This underscores the potential of dietary interventions and microbiota modulation in managing oxidative stress and inflammation, pivotal factors in chronic disease etiology.

This study examines demographic factors which may influence opinions concerning medical students’ self-care and substance use behaviors as a means of providing insights into how future doctors view these issues compared to Australian doctors and members of the public. We conducted national, multicenter, prospective, on-line cross-sectional surveys using hypothetical scenarios to three cohorts- Australian medical students, medical doctors, and the public. Participants’ responses were compared for the different contextual variables within the scenarios and the participants’ demographic characteristics. In total 2,602 medical students, 809 doctors and 503 members of the public participated. Compared with doctors and the public, medical students were least tolerant of alcohol intoxication, and most tolerant of using stimulants to assist with study, and cannabis for anxiety. Doctor respondents more often aligned with the public’s opinions on the acceptability of the medical students’ behaviors. Although opinions are not equivalent to behaviour, Australian students’ views on the acceptability for cannabis to help manage anxiety, and inappropriate use of prescription-only drugs are concerning; these future doctors will be responsible for prescribing drugs and managing patients with substance abuse problems. However, if current Australian medical student’s opinions on alcohol misuse persist, one of the commonest substance addictions amongst doctors may decrease in future.

Objective: To summarize the prevalence of PASC/Long COVID symptoms among the general population reported in published articles. This narrative review examined 21 PASC symptoms. Methods: A PubMed/manual search returned 114 articles on general PASC/Long COVID symptoms. Manuscripts were excluded if they were not research studies, didn’t report symptom prevalence, or used a pediatric population. Ninety-eight studies were selected for review and 59 met criteria for inclusion. Risk of bias was assessed with the Hoy critical appraisal tool. Results: After excluding studies with high risk of bias, meta-analysis of prevalence for 21 symptom categories ranged from 2.6-28.7% in studies based on surveys to 0.3%-7.1% in studies based on EHR data. Conclusions: PASC symptom studies are limited by variability in study design and representation of the general population. Further research is needed to effectively cluster symptoms in meaningful ways that enable focused treatment.

Study aimed to evaluate the impact of integrating family planning with maternal, newborn, and child health (FP-MNCH) on uptake of modern contraceptive methods and related health outcomes in two districts of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Impact of intervention was evaluated using a quasi-experimental control before-after study design. Intervention included capacity building of healthcare providers and outreach workers, ensuring sustained supplies of family planning commodities, data-driven decision-making, and community engagement activities. Data was collected through household surveys at baseline (December2020) and endline (December 2022). The sample size was estimated as 880 married women of reproductive age (MWRA) in each district. The Difference and Difference(DiD) analytical method was used to estimate the impact of intervention adjusted for potential confounding factors. There was statistically significant increase of 11.3% in the current use of MCM in the intervention group compared to the control group (p value <0.001), with increases observed in the uptake of injection , implants, and condoms. Additionally, there was an increase in the proportion of women who had ANC visits (DiD 10.5% p value 0.003), FP counselling during ANC (DiD 15.6% p value < 0.001), LHW visits during pregnancy (DiD 15.1% p value 0.021), PNC check-ups for mother (DiD 25.2% p value <0.001), LHW visits after delivery (DiD 20.4% p value <0.001), and LHW advised for family planning at PNC visit n (DiD 14.5% p value 0.030). This study provides strong evidence for the scaling-up of integrated interventions through existing health care platforms utilizing human resources deployed by the government. This FP-MNCH model has the potential to be adopted in other provinces and at federally administered areas for both health and population planning. This model should be considered for replication in other districts of Sindh to accelerate current level of integration already existing.

Objective: The influence of gender on the number and pattern of co-morbid psychiatric illness was archivally compared between patients with and without an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) among psychiatrically treated individuals drawn from a large Danish birth cohort. Method: By age 45, fifteen percent of the Copenhagen Perinatal Birth Cohort (N=8,109) had been treated in a Danish psychiatric facility. Of those 1,247 patients, 368 were assigned an AUD diagnosis (29.5%). All psychiatric diagnoses assigned to these patients, over all admissions, were classified into one of 14 broad ICD-10 F categories for comparative purposes. Results: More of the patients with an AUD diagnosis were male. Patients with an AUD diagnosis were significantly more likely to receive two or more non-AUD psychiatric diagnoses than patients without an AUD diagnosis. The number of psychiatric diagnoses was greater for female than male AUD patients, a difference not found among male and female patients without an AUD diagnosis. For patients with no AUD diagnosis, the influence of gender on the pattern of psychiatric disorders was similar to that commonly reported. In contrast, the influence of gender on the number and pattern of psychiatric disorders for patients with an AUD diagnosis indicated fewer gender differences. Several diagnostic categories that discriminated male from female patients without an AUD-related diagnosis, no longer discriminated male from female patients with an AUD-related diagnosis. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that gender differences associated with psychiatric comorbidity that have been reported in large heterogenous study, should not be generalized to specific diagnostic groups without further study.

In recent years, there is a growing concern about the alarming spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in different environments. Increasingly, many species of bacteria, fungi and viruses are becoming immune to the most commonly used pharmaceuticals. One of the causes of the development of the resistance is the persistence of these drugs, excreted by humans, in municipal and hospital wastewater (WW). Consequently, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a primary source of antimicrobial resistance genes as novel pollutants. This systematic review sought to examine the relevant literature on pharmaceutical residues (PRs) responsible for AMR in municipal and hospital WW in order to propose a classification of the PRs of greatest concern and provide an updated source for AMR management in WWTPs. Among 546 studies collected from four databases, 18 were included in the present review. The internal and external validity of each study was assessed, and the risk of bias was evaluated on a 20-parameter basis. Results were combined in a narrative synthesis discussing influents and effluents PR concentrations at 88 WWTPs, seasonal variations, differences between hospital and municipal WW, environmental risk assessment values of antimicrobial substances and treatment facilities removal efficiencies. Among the 45 PRs responsible for AMR evaluated in this study, the antibiotics ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, metronidazole, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim constitute a considerable risk in terms of ubiquitous distribution, worrying concentrations, risk quotients values, and resistance to removal treatments. Gaps in knowledge, data and information reported in this review provide a valuable source for managing AMR in WWTPs.

Structural diversity is a key feature of forest ecosystems that influences ecosystem functions from local to macroscales. The ability to measure structural diversity in forests with varying ecological composition and management history can improve the understanding of linkages between forest structure and ecosystem functioning. Terrestrial LiDAR has often been used to provide a detailed characterization of structural diversity at local scales, but it is largely unknown whether these same structural features are detectable using aerial LiDAR data that are available across larger spatial scales. We used univariate and multivariate analyses to quantify cross-compatibility of structural diversity metrics from terrestrial versus aerial LiDAR in seven National Ecological Observatory Network sites across the eastern USA. We found strong univariate agreement between terrestrial and aerial LiDAR metrics of canopy height, openness, internal heterogeneity, and leaf area, but found marginal agreement between metrics that describe heterogeneity of the outer most layer of the canopy. Terrestrial and aerial LiDAR both demonstrated the ability to distinguish forest sites from structural diversity metrics in multivariate space, but terrestrial LiDAR was able to resolve finer-scale detail within sites. Our findings indicate that aerial LiDAR can be of use in quantifying broad-scale variation in structural diversity across macroscales.

The increasing prevalence of species that are detrimental to biodiversity is a major concern, particularly for managers of National Parks. To develop effective programs for controlling weeds, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the extent and severity of infestations, as well as the contributing factors such as temperature, rainfall, and disturbance. Predicting these factors on a regional scale requires models that can incorporate a wide range of variables in a quantifiable manner, while also assisting with on-ground operations. In this study, we present two Bayesian Network models specifically designed for six significant weed species found along the southern coast of Australia. Our models are based on empirical data collected during a coastal weed survey conducted in 2015 and repeated in 2016. We applied these models to the coastal national parks in the isolated and pristine East Gippsland region. Importantly, the prediction models were developed at two different spatial scales that directly corresponded to the scale of the observations. Our findings indicate that coastal habitats, with their vulnerable environments and prevalence of open dune systems, are particularly susceptible to weed infestations. Moreover, adjacent regions also have the potential for colonization if these infestations are not effectively controlled. Climate-related factors play a role in moderating the potential for colonization, which is a significant concern for weed control efforts in the context of global climate change.

Spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste can be disposed in deep horizontal drillholes in sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous rocks. Horizontal drillhole disposal has safety, operational, and economic benefits: The repository is deep in the brine-saturated zone far below aquifers in a reducing environment of formations that can be shown to have been isolated from the surface for millions of years; its depth provides safety against inadvertent intrusion, earth¬quakes, and near-surface perturbations; it can be placed close to the reactors and interim storage facilities, minimizing transportation; disposal costs per ton of waste can be kept substantially lower than for mined repositories by its smaller size, reduced infrastructure needs, and staged imple¬mentation; and, if desired, the waste could be retrieved using “fishing” technology. In the proposed disposal concept, corrosion-resistant canisters containing unmodified fuel assemblies from commercial reactors would be placed end-to-end in up to 50 cm diameter horizontal drill¬holes, a configuration that reduces mechanical stresses and keeps the temperatures below the boiling point of the brine. Other high-level wastes, such as capsules containing 137Cs and 90Sr, can be disposed in small-diameter drillholes. We provide an overview of this novel disposal concept and its technology, discuss some of its safety aspects, and compare it to mined repositories and the deep vertical borehole disposal concept.

This research work deals with traffic accidents that are very concurrent in several countries, which in turn contribute to the mortality rate from 19 to 25 years of age and up. In the research work, immediate notifications for traffic accidents were carried out through a mobile application (app) where it will have an emergency button which will help the injured a lot, since the nearest help centers such as the police, fire brigades and the nearest hospitals, so that they can provide support to the people who suffered the accident. In the project, the implementation of Scrum Methodology was used since it served us an amount for the development of the prototypes of the App, and in turn with their roles it did not serve much help for the project, however, passers-by are of vital importance already that they will be the ones to make said report when observing a traffic accident and thus notify the nearest aid centers. As data collection for the creation of the software functions, a survey was carried out with more than 30 people, the functions applied in the application were programmed with the Dart language and generated under the flutter tool in order to be able to distribute it on different platforms such as Play Store and AppStore. The results obtained were the most anticipated since the application fulfills its function, thus reducing deaths and improving the speed of attention to traffic accidents and thus saving a life that is in danger.

Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate five glacierized river basins that are global in coverage and vary in climate. The river basins included the Narayani (Nepal), Vakhsh (Central Asia), Rhone (Switzerland), Mendoza (Central Andes, Argentina), and Central Dry Andes (Chile) with a total area of 85,000 km2. A modified SWAT snow algorithm was applied in order to consider spatial variation of associated snow melt /accumulation by elevation band across each subbasin. In the previous studies, melt rates varied as a function of elevation resulting from an air temperature gradient while the snow parameters were constant throughout the entire basin. A major improvement of the new snow algorithm is separating the glaciers from seasonal snow based on their characteristics. Two SWAT snow algorithms were evaluated in simulation of monthly runoff from glaciered watershed: 1) the snow parameters are lumped (i.e. constant throughout the entire basin) and 2) the snow parameters are spatially variable based on elevation band-subbasin (i.e. modified snow algorithm). Applying the distributed SWAT snow algorithm improved the model performance in simulation of monthly runoff with snow-glacial regime, so that mean RSR decreased to 0.49 from 0.55 and NSE increased to 0.75 from 0.69. Improvement of model performance was negligible in simulation of monthly runoff from the basins with monsoon runoff regime.

Extensive genome structure variation, such as copy number variations (CNVs) and presence/absence variations, is the basis for the remarkable maize genetic diversity; however, the effect of CNVs on maize herbivory defense remains largely underexplored. Here, we report that the naturally occurring duplication of the maize 9-lipoxygenase gene, ZmLOX5, leads to increased resistance of maize to herbivory by fall armyworms (FAW). Previously, we showed that ZmLOX5-derived oxylipins are required for defense against chewing insect herbivores and identified several inbred lines, including Yu796, that contained duplicated CNVs of ZmLOX5, referred to as Yu796-2×LOX5. To test whether introgression of the Yu796-2×LOX5 locus into the herbivore-susceptible B73 background that contains a single ZmLOX5 gene is a feasible approach to increase resistance, we generated a series of near-isogenic lines that contained either 2, 1 or 0 copies of the Yu796-2×LOX5 locus in the B73 background by six back crosses (BC6). Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) confirmed the successful introgression of the Yu796-2×LOX5 locus in B73. The resulting B73-2×LOX5 inbred line displayed increased resistance against FAW associated with increased expression of ZmLOX5, increased wound-induced production of its primary oxylipin product, the α-ketol, 9-hydroxy-10-oxo-12(Z),15(Z)-octadecadienoic acid (9,10-KODA), and the downstream defense hormones regulated by this molecule, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (12-OPDA) and abscisic acid (ABA). Surprisingly, wound-induced JA-Ile production was not increased in B73-2×LOX5, resulting from the increased JA catabolism. Furthermore, B73-2×LOX5 displayed enhanced drought tolerance likely due to increased ABA and 12-OPDA content. Taken together, this study revealed that the duplicated CNV of ZmLOX5 quantitively contributes to maize antiherbivore defense and presents proof-of-concept evidence that the introgression of naturally occurring duplicated CNVs of a defensive gene into the productive, but susceptible, crop varieties is a feasible breeding approach for enhancing plant resistance to herbivory and tolerance to abiotic stress.

In this study, we primarily assess the relationship between social safeguards and the living standards of local communities in different ecological zones of Ghana. This research aims to assist policymakers and stakeholders to make informed and appropriate decisions when developing social safeguards for emission reductions projects. Principal component analysis was employed to develop a living condition index, after which we generated a second construct based on the number of factors affecting living conditions. The results showed that access to sharecropping, literacy, extension services, financial institutions, a mobile phone network, and markets have significant positive relationships with the living conditions of local communities in Ghana. In addition, 78% of the social safeguards described in Ghana’s REDD+ Strategy, Forest and Wildlife Policy, Benefits Sharing Mechanism, and Forest Plantation Development Strategy are aligned with the determinants of local communities’ living conditions. The findings suggest a need to enforce benefit-sharing mechanism, better forest governance, and tenancy reforms in order to prevent the overexploitation of landowners and avoid elite capture. Furthermore, farmers must be linked to financial institutions in order to obtain credits. Additionally, we must seek to provide local communities with better access to markets and mobile phone networks in a way that allows them to carry out their livelihood activities effectively and efficiently. These measures help to reduce the risk of REDD+ actions and ensure sustainability.

Given the many approaches to and definitions of gender responsive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for health programs and interventions there is a lack of clarity on how to operationalize it including what to measure and how to measure it. We conducted a scoping review to understand what makes M&E gender responsive. We included 31 studies and conducted two rounds of extraction to delineate ways in which gender was integrated into M&E. Twelve articles described the use of theory to guide M&E though most were not related to gender. Twelve articles employed a gender score in data collection, most of which measured Likert scale responses related to gender equity. Even though most studies did not use a specific gender framework, most incorporated gender domains in their analysis. Seven studies used participatory methods in the design and implementation of M&E. Most studies conducted M&E on programs or interventions that were designed to be gender intentional and related to gender issues. Gender responsive M&E intentionally integrates gender into the M&E process, regardless of how gender-intentional the program or intervention is. Gender dimensions can be identified through gender theories, models, scores, and frameworks to inform tool development, data collection, analysis, and stakeholder engagement processes.

This study aimed to determine the persistence of Salmonella Javiana, Listeria monocytogenes, and Listeria innocua in hydroponic nutrient solution (NS) at 15, 25, 30, and 37°C over a 21-day period to mimic time from seedling to mature lettuce. Bacteria were inoculated in modified Hoagland's NS at 106 CFU/ml and maintained at 15, 25, 30, and 37°C. Samples were collected at various time points and quantified. Data were analyzed using a mixed effect model to compare mean log CFU/ml obtained from each sampling point for all three bacteria at four different temperatures. Least mean squares were calculated to compare mean log CFU/ml. Tukey-Kramer honest significant difference test was used to compare mean values. At all temperatures, S. Javiana persisted in NS throughout the 21-day study period, compared to L. innocua and L. monocytogenes where persistence was limited to d 5 to d 14 and d 1 to d 14, respectively. Similarly, decimal reduction values (D-values) of S. Javiana indicated longer persistence in nutrient solution than L. innocua and L. monocytogenes at most temperatures. For instance, at 15°C and 25°C D-values for S. Javiana were estimated at 82 and 26 d, respectively, compared to D-values of 3.6 and ~3 d for L. monocytogenes. Data indicate that temperature has minimal effect on S. Javiana and thus may pose a greater risk during hydroponic production of leafy greens due to longer survival in NS when compared to Listeria spp. This study furthers the understanding of potential food safety risks associated with hydroponic systems and may aid in developing management strategies to reduce foodborne outbreaks, fresh produce recalls, and economic losses.

Laws and regulations make powerful contribution in addressing multitudes of public health concerns. We examined the Public Health Act (PHA) in Malawi to understand its relevance to the ever-growing and changing threats posed by infectious and non-infectious diseases. The current Public Health Act of Malawi came into effect in 1948 to protect and preserve public health. The Act has undergone several amendments, the last one being in 1975. It draws much of its inspiration and standards from the 19th century British laws on insanitary housing, poor ventilation, and drainage. Such laws are silent on emerging major public health concerns including non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes as well as road traffic injuries. This makes the Act outdated and ill equipped to address the 21st century public health concerns. Although supplementary legislation such as the HIV/AIDS Act and Mental Treatment Act have recently been enacted, they are yet to be consolidated into the Public Health Act. Consequently, existing policies and strategic plans that are meant to address gaps in public health and ensure coordinated effort lack support of laws and regulations. The Act also places great emphasis on mandatory vaccinations, quarantine and isolation against smallpox, a disease that has long been eradicated. Furthermore, although the Public Health Act outlines powers, duties and penalties, it fails to reinforce acceptable behaviour due to the insignificant penalties for noncompliance. There is a need for immediate and prompt revision and restructuring of the Public Health Act based on scientific evidence. Such laws require adequate consultation and interaction with key experts and stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines.

Violence against paramedics has been described as a ‘serious public health problem’ but one that remains ‘vastly underreported’, owing to an organizational culture that stigmatizes reporting – hindering efforts at risk mitigation in addition to creating a gap in research. Leveraging a novel reporting process developed after extensive stakeholder consultation and embedded within the electronic patient care record, our objective was to provide a descriptive profile of violence against paramedics in a single paramedic service in Ontario, Canada. Between February 1, 2021, through January 31, 2023, a total of 374 paramedics in Peel Region (48% of the workforce) generated 941 violence reports, of which 40% documented physical (n=364) or sexual (n=19) assault. The violence was typically perpetrated by patients (78%) and primarily took place at the scene of the 9-1-1 call (47%); however, violent behavior frequently persisted or recurred while in transit to hospital and after arrival. Collectively, mental health, alcohol, or drug use were listed as contributing circumstances in 83% of violence reports. In all, 81 paramedics were physically harmed because of an assault. On average, our data correspond to a paramedic filing a violence report every 18 hours, being physically assaulted every 46 hours, and injured every 9 days.

In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical and microbial qualities of source and stored household waters in some communities in Southwestern Nigeria using standard methods. Compared parameters include physicochemical constituents; Temperature (T), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Magnesium ion (Mg²⁺) and Calcium ion (Ca²⁺) and microbiological parameters included Total Coliform Counts (TC), Faecal Coliform Counts (FC), Fungal Counts (Fung C), Heterotrophic Plate Counts (HPC). Comparing Stored and Source samples, the mean values of some physicochemical parameters of most of the stored water samples significantly (P<0.05) exceeded that of Sources and ranged in the following order: T (15.3±0.3^oC - 28.3±0.5^oC), pH (6.4±0.1 - 7.6±0.1), TDS (192.1±11.1 ppm - 473.7±27.9 ppm), TH (10.6±1.7 mg/L - 248.6±18.6 mg/L), BOD (0.5±0.0 mg/L - 3.2±0.3 mg/L), Mg²⁺ (6.5±2.4 mg/L - 29.1±3.2 mg/L) and Ca²⁺ (6.5±2.4 mg/L - 51.6±4.4 mg/L). The mean microbial counts obtained from microbial comparison of different points (Stored and Source) of collection showed that most of the stored water had counts significantly exceeding (P<0.05) those of the source water samples (cfu/100 mL) which ranged as follows: TC (3.1±1.5 - 156.8±42.9), FC (0.0±0.0 - 64.3±14.2) and HPC (47.8±12.1 - 266.1±12.2) across all sampled communities. Also, the predominant isolates recovered from the samples were identified as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Aspergillus spp, Mucor spp, Rhizopus spp and Candida spp. The presence of these pathogenic and potentially pathogenic organisms in the waters and the high counts of the indicator organisms suggest the waters to be a threat to public health.

Understanding the factors which control endothelial cell (EC) function and angiogenesis is crucial for developing the horse as a disease model, but equine ECs remain poorly studied. In this study we have optimised methods for the isolation and culture of equine aortic endothelial cells (EA-oECs) and characterised their angiogenic functions in vitro. Mechanical dissociation, followed by magnetic purification using an anti-VE-cadherin antibody, resulted in EC-enriched cultures suitable for further study. Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) increased EAoEC proliferation rate and stimulated scratch wound closure and tube formation by EAoECs on extracellular matrix. Pharmacological inhibitors of FGFR1 (SU5402) or MEK (PD184352) blocked FGF2-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation and functional responses, suggesting that these are dependent on FGFR1/MEK-ERK signalling. In marked contrast, VEGF-A had no effect on EAoEC proliferation, migration or tubulogenesis and did not promote ERK1/2 phosphorylation, indicating a lack of sensitivity to this classical pro-angiogenic growth factor. Gene expression analysis showed that, unlike human ECs, FGFR1 is expressed by EAoECs at a much higher level than both VEGFR1 and VEGFR2. These results suggest a predominant role for FGF2 versus VEGF-A in controlling the angiogenic functions of equine ECs. Collectively, our novel data provide a sound basis for stud-ying angiogenic processes in the horse and lay the foundations for comparative studies of EC biology in horses versus humans.

Turkana County's fisheries sector, which is entirely dependent on Lake Turkana, is vital to the county's economy. The Fisheries Sector in the County supports 1,500 households directly and 1,100 households indirectly. Despite its economic and social importance, the sector faces numerous challenges such as high post-harvest fish losses, uncoordinated development approaches, over-exploitation of some lake areas and weak links between research, management, and other sector players. Furthermore, since the start of devolution in 2013, the sector has been operating without an overall policy and legal framework. The primary goal of the study was to identify important challenges in the management of the fisheries sector in Turkana County that would lead the successful and coordinated growth of the fisheries industry. To capture their perspectives on the problems and potential in the usage of Lake Turkana's fisheries resources, semi-structured questionnaires and Key Informants interviews were used to collect primary data from the sector's fisheries actors. A total of 60 people were interviewed, and their responses were recorded in the Kobo Collect toolbox for later analysis. Secondary data was also gathered from numerous national policy declarations, guidelines, and legislation that have been used to manage Lake Turkana's fishery resources. The findings indicate that a policy directing the exploitation and development of fisheries is required in order to fully realize the potential of fisheries and aquaculture in the County. The development of the policy will lay a solid foundation for the creation of a legal framework to strengthen the sector in Turkana County, which is a necessary step toward achieving sustainable development and management of fisheries in accordance with national, regional, and international frameworks. By leveraging the role of the County Directorate of Fisheries and Beach Management Units in the sectors' monitoring, management, and development, the policy will also promote effective coordination of stakeholders at all levels.

Generating long-lived mucosal and systemic antibodies through respiratory immunization with protective antigens encapsulated in nanoscale biodegradable particles could potentially decrease or eliminate the incidence of many infectious diseases but requires incorporation of a suitable mucosal immunostimulant. We previously found that respiratory immunization with a model protein antigen (LPS-free OVA) encapsulated in PLGA 50:50 nanoparticles (~380 nm diameter) surface modified with complement peptide-derived immunostimulant 02 (CPDI-02; formerly EP67) through 2kDa PEG linkers increases mucosal and systemic OVA-specific memory T-cells with long-lived surface phenotypes in young, naïve female C57BL/6 mice. Here, we determined if respiratory immunization with LPS-free OVA encapsulated in similar PLGA 50:50 microparticles (~1 μm diameter) surface modified with CPDI-02 (CPDI-02-MP) increases long-term OVA-specific mucosal and systemic antibodies. We found that, compared to MP surface modified with inactive, scrambled scCPDI-02 (scCPDI-02-MP), intranasal administration of CPDI-02-MP in 50 μL sterile PBS greatly increased titers of short-term (14 days post-immunization) and long-term (90 days post-immunization) antibodies against encapsulated LPS-free OVA in nasal lavage fluids, bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, and sera of young, naïve female C57BL/6 mice. Thus, surface modification of biodegradable microparticles with CPDI-02 is likely to increase long-term mucosal and systemic antibodies against encapsulated protein antigen after respiratory and possibly other routes of mucosal immunization.

We present a very computationally light and fast approximation algorithm and then verify it with genetic algorithm and simulated annealing. We show that our algorithm is on par with GA and SA in terms of output produced while having a tightly bounded time complexity. Our algorithm works best when there is a strong positive correlation between the reliability of a component and its cost. We present two algorithms with the same essence. One of them is system cost bounded and the other is target reliability bounded. Our proposed algorithm works on a subsystem level redundancy instead of component level redundancy.

A hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are the proteinaceous aggregates formed by the amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) that is deposited inside the brain as amyloid plaques. The accumulation of aggregated Aβ may initiate or enhance pathologic processes in AD. According to the amyloid hypothesis any agent that has the capability to inhibit Aβ aggregation and/or destroy amyloid plaques represents a potential disease modifying drug. In 2023, a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody (lecanemab) against the Aβ soluble protofibrils was approved by US FDA for AD therapy thus providing compelling support to the amyloid hypothesis. To acquire a deeper insight on the in vivo Aβ aggregation, various animal models, including aged herbivores and carnivores, non-human primates, transgenic rodents, fish and worms are widely exploited. This review is based on the recent data obtained using transgenic animal AD models and presents experimental verification of the critical role in Aβ aggregation seeding of the interactions between zinc ions, Aβ with the isomerized Asp7 (isoD7- Aβ) and the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a common medical complication of pregnancy, which is associated with increased risk of future diabetes. mHealth (mobile health, in this paper applica-tions abbreviated to apps) can facilitate health modifications to decrease future risks. This study aims to understand mHealth app use and preferences among women with past GDM and healthcare professionals (HCP) in Australia. An explorative cross-sectional online survey was disseminated via social media, a national diabetes registry, and professional networks. Descrip-tive analyses were conducted on valid responses (women with prior GDM: n=1475; HCP: n=75). One third (33%) of women with prior GDM have used health apps, and a further 80% of non-app users were open to using a health app if recommended by their HCP. Over half (53%) of HCPs supported health information delivery via mHealth, although only 14% had recommended a health app to women post-GDM, and lack of knowledge about mHealth apps was common. Health app users reported that they preferred tracking features, while non-users desired credible health and dietary information and plans. Expanding mHealth app use could facilitate healthy behaviours, but endorsement by HCPs is important to women and currently lacking.

Few studies have examined the pros and cons of integrated TB and HIV service delivery in public healthcare facilities, and even fewer have proposed conceptual models for improved integration. This study intends to fill that vacuum by outlining the development of a facility-based paradigm for integrating TB, HIV and patients services. The design of the proposed model were in stages that involved the evaluation of existing TB-HIV integration model and synthesis of both quantitative and qualitative data from the study sites which were selected public healthcare facilities at both rural and peri-urban settings in Oliver Reginald (O.R) Tambo District Municipality in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Secondary data on 2009-2013 TB-HIV clinical outcomes were obtained from multiple sources for quantitative analysis. Qualitative data involved focus group discussions among patient and heath care staff, which was thematically analysed. The development of a possibly better model and validation of this model show that the district's health system was reinforced by the model's guiding principles, which placed a strong emphasis on inputs, processes, outcomes, and integration effects.The model is adaptable to different healthcare delivery systems but will require support from healthcare stakeholders and professionals to be successful.

Forest canopy structure (CS) controls many ecosystem functions and is highly variable across landscapes, but the magnitude and scale of this variation is not well understood. We used a portable canopy lidar system to characterize variation in five categories of CS along N = 3 transects (140–800 m long) at each of six forested landscapes within the eastern USA. The cumulative coefficient of variation was calculated for subsegments of each transect to determine the point of stability for individual CS metrics. We then quantified the scale at which CS is autocorrelated using Moran’s I in an Incremental Autocorrelation analysis. All CS metrics reached stable values within 300 m but varied substantially within and among forested landscapes. A stable point of 300 m for CS metrics corresponds with the spatial extent that many ecosystem functions are measured and modeled. Additionally, CS metrics were spatially autocorrelated at 40 to 88 m, suggesting that patch scale disturbance or environmental factors drive these patterns. Our study shows CS is heterogeneous across temperate forest landscapes at the scale of 10’s of meters, requiring a resolution of this size for upscaling CS with remote sensing to large spatial scales.

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian household’s rice production and trying to determine its main influencing factors using the stochastic frontier production function. The study utilized primary data collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the level of household rice output varied according to differences in the efficiency of production processes. The mean TE is 0.34 which means that famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, indicates that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Furthermore, between 2013-2015 TE of household’s rice production recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015. Moreover, evidence reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of household’s rice production, while disaster, education of household head, family size and other crops’ cultivated area are core influencing factors decreasing TE. Conversely, the main influencing factors increasing TE are irrigated area, number of plot area and sex of household head.

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian household’s rice production and trying to determine its main influencing factors using the stochastic frontier production function. The study utilized primary data collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the level of household rice output varied according to differences in the efficiency of the production processes. The mean TE is 0.34 which means that famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, indicates that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Furthermore, between 2013-2015, TE of household’s rice production recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015. Moreover, evidence reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of household’s rice production, while disaster, education of household head, family size and other crops’ cultivated area are core influencing factors decreasing TE. Conversely, the main influencing factors increasing TE are irrigated area, number of plot area and sex of household head.

The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors effecting rice production in Cambodia. Four-years dataset generated from the central government document “Profile on Economics and Social” of entire 25 provinces between 2012-2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technically fertilizers application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4% implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency by given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production technique and amount of agricultural supporting staffs are being as the most important influencing factors of rice production’s technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring into more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staffs and rural farmers.

The steep decline in the price of wind and solar photovoltaics provides a possibility to decarbonize electricity deeply and affordably. This study uses HOMER Pro energy modeling tool to model an optimized grid-connected renewable energy system for a community in southern Alberta, Canada. The study's goal is to identify the best renewable energy technology combinations that can provide electricity at the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and has lesser greenhouse gas emission as compared to the electricity produced by traditional fossil fuel. Gleichen, is a small town in southern Alberta and is near to numerous commercial wind and solar projects given the region’s high quality renewable resources. “Tri-brid” systems consisting of wind turbines, solar photovoltaics, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are considered and compared based on electricity prices, net present cost, and greenhouse gas emissions savings. This tri-brid system is connected to the grid to sell excess electricity generated or buying electricity when there is less or no availability of solar and wind. The tri-brid energy system has an estimated LCOE of 0.0705 CAD/kWh which is competitive with the price of electricity generated by natural gas and coal which is 0.127 CAD/kWh.

Cotton is the most ubiquitous and profitable fiber with diverse industrial and domestic applications. Grown in over 100 countries, it has a global market value of about $40 billion and employs over 350 million people from fields to textile mills, contributing about 7% of total labor-force recruitment in developing economies. Cotton has an indeterminate growth habit and an extensive tap root system affected by soil physicochemical and environmental conditions. There is a consensus among experts that conventional cotton cultivation still has a long way to attain sustainability, which is essential if cotton will maintain its competitive edge over other natural and synthetic fibers like hemp, polyesters, and rayon. Despite several efforts already committed to growing cotton sustainably, sustainability has eluded cotton cultivation globally because of the intense farm inputs (freshwater, pesticides, and heavy-duty equipment) needs, especially in developing economies. Some of the technological advancements towards achieving the goal of sustainable cotton cultivation include the development of new varieties, improved irrigation and mulching and precision agriculture techniques, application of remote sensing and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) combined with image processing, and the introduction of autonomous and multi-purpose robotic platforms for growing and harvesting cotton. This review attempts to evaluate the successes already achieved by stakeholders in moving cotton towards sustainable production and identify areas where efforts are still needed to reach sustainable production and improved profitability goals for cotton with projections for future research directions.

Introduction: Like other public safety professions, paramedicine has historically been a male-dominated occupation, both in the demography of its workforce and in its organizational culture. Although women are increasingly choosing paramedicine as a career, participation in leadership roles remains limited. Drawing on data from a recent comprehensive mental health survey, we describe the proportion of women in leadership in a single, large, urban paramedic service in Ontario, Canada. Methods: We distributed an in-person, paper-based survey during the fall 2019 - winter 2020 Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions. Participating paramedics completed a demographic questionnaire alongside a battery of mental health screening tools. We assessed the demography of the workforce and explored differences in employment classification, provider level (e.g., primary vs. advanced care), and participation in formal leadership roles along self-reported gender lines. Results: Out of 607 paramedics attending CME, we received 600 completed surveys, with 11 excluded for missing data, leaving 589 for analysis and a 97% response rate. Women comprised 40% of the active-duty paramedic workforce, with an average of 8 years of experience. Compared to men, women were more than twice as likely to have a university degree (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.02), but almost half as likely to practice at the Advanced Care Paramedic level (OR 0.61), and somewhat less likely to be employed full-time (OR 0.77). Women were nearly 70% less likely to hold a leadership role in the service compared to men (OR 0.36), occupying just 20% of leadership positions. Conclusion: Although paramedicine is witnessing an encouraging shift in the demography of its workforce with greater participation from women, there is still work to be done, particularly in leadership. Future research should focus on identifying and ameliorating barriers to career advancement among women and other historically underrepresented people.

This paper draws on data from a representative city-wide household food security survey of Nairobi conducted in 2017 to examine the importance of food remitting to households in contemporary Nairobi. The next section of the paper provides an overview of urbanization and the rapid growth of Nairobi which has led to growing socio-economic inequality, precarious livelihoods for the majority, and growing food insecurity, as context for the more detailed empirical analysis of food security and food remittances that follows. It is followed by a description of the survey methodology and sections analyzing the differences between migrant and non-migrant households in Nairobi. Attention then turns to the phenomenon of food remitting, showing that over 50% of surveyed households in the city had received food remittances in the previous year. The paper then uses multivariate logistic regression to identify the relationship between Nairobi household characteristics and the probability of receiving food remittances from rural areas. The findings suggest that there are exceptions to the standard migration and poverty-driven explanatory model of the drivers of rural-urban food remitting and that greater attention should be paid to other motivations for maintaining rural-urban connectivity in Africa.

Begomoviruses, which belong to the Geminiviridae family, are intracellular parasites transmitted by whiteflies to dicotyledonous plants, significantly damaging agronomically relevant crops. These nucleus-replicating DNA viruses need to move intracellularly from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and then, like other plant viruses, spread systemically throughout the plant to cause dis-ease. The transport proteins of begomoviruses play a crucial role in recruiting host components for the movement of viral DNA within and between cells while exhibiting functions that suppress the host's immune defense. Pioneering studies on species of the Begomovirus genus have identified specific viral transport proteins involved in intracellular transport, cell-to-cell movement, and systemic spread. Recent research has primarily focused on viral movement proteins and their interaction with the cellular host transport machinery, significantly expanding our understanding of viral infection pathways. This review focuses on three main aspects: (i) the role of viral transport proteins, specifically movement proteins (MPs) and nuclear shuttle proteins (NSPs), (ii) their ability to recruit host factors for intra- and intercellular viral movement, and (iii) suppress antiviral immunity, with a particular emphasis on bipartite begomoviral movement proteins.

Keywords: olfactory rehabilitation; chronic pain; fMRI;

The prevalence of autism has been increasing at an alarming rate. Even accounting for the expansion of autism spectrum disorder diagnostic (ASD) criteria throughout the 1990’s, there has been an over 300% increase in ASD prevalence since the year 2000. The often debilitating personal, familial, and societal sequelae of autism are generally believed to be lifelong. However, there have been several encouraging case reports demonstrating reversal of autism diagnoses with a therapeutic focus on addressing the environmental and modifiable lifestyle factors believed to be largely underlying the condition. This case report describes the reversal of autism among dizygotic, female twin toddlers and provides a review of related literature describing associations between modifiable lifestyle factors, environmental exposures, and various clinical approaches to treating autism. The twins were diagnosed with Level 3 severity ASD “requiring very substantial support” at approximately 20 months of age following concerns of limited verbal and non-verbal communication, repetitive behaviors, rigidity around transitions, and extensive gastrointestinal symptoms, among other common symptoms. A parent-driven, multidisciplinary, therapeutic intervention involving a variety of licensed clinicians focusing primarily on addressing environmental and modifiable lifestyle factors was personalized to each of the twin’s symptoms, labs, and other outcome measures. Dramatic improvements were noted within several months in most domains of the twins’ symptoms, which was manifested in reductions of Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) scores from 76 to 32 in one of the twins and from 43 to 4 in the other twin. The improvement in symptoms and ATEC scores has remained relatively stable for six months at last assessment. While prospective studies are required, this case offers further encouraging evidence of ASD reversal through a personalized, multidisciplinary approach focusing predominantly on addressing environmental and lifestyle risk factors.

Background Recent studies indicate that donor innate immune responses participate in initiating and accelerating innate responses and allorecognition in the recipient. These immune responses negatively affect recipient outcomes and predispose recipients to allograft coronary artery vasculopathy (CAV). We hypothesized that donor cause of death (COD) associated with higher levels of innate immune response would predispose recipients to more adverse outcomes post-transplant, including CAV. Methods We performed a single-institution retrospective analysis comparing donor characteristics and COD to recipient adverse cardiovascular outcomes. We analyzed the medical records of local adult donors (age 18-64) in a database of donors where adequate data was available. We linked donor characteristics and COD to recipient adverse cardiac outcomes after transplant, including cardiovascular (CV) death and incidence of significant antibody-mediated rejection (pAMR) after transplant (>2 episodes of pAMR within 90 days post-transplant). The data were analyzed using logistic regression, log-rank test of differences, and Tukey Contrast. Results Donor advanced age, female sex, and CODs of motor vehicle accident and intracranial hemorrhage were significantly associated with a higher incidence of recipient CV death and early pAMR compared to other donor characteristics and CODs. Conclusions In this single institution study, we found that recipients with hearts from donors over 40 years, donors who were female, or donors who died with a COD of motor vehicle accidents or intracranial hemorrhage had a higher frequency of CV related deaths and early pAMR. Donor monitoring and potential treatment of innate immune activation may decrease subsequent recipient innate responses and allorecognition stimulated by donor derived inflammatory signaling which lead to adverse outcomes.

Revealing the spatial distribution mechanism of the coupling effect between soil water and salt is essential for managing saline-alkali farmland. This study utilized the multifractal method to analyze soil water and salt under varying water content levels in arid saline-alkali farmland. Soil samples were collected on the second (S1), fifth (S2), eighth (S3), eleventh (S4), and fourteenth (S5) days after a rainfall event. The findings showed that a significant decrease in soil water content, contrasting with an increase in soil salt content throughout the soil layers post-rainfall. As water content decreased, the spatial variability of soil water initially increased from S1-3 and then decreased, while the spatial variability of soil salt decreased. The spatial distribution between soil water and salt exhibited a high correlation at S3-4 (with relative water content of soil ranging from 0.52 to 0.75) due to their coupling effect. However, soil salt was unevenly leached by rainfall at high water content levels (S1-2) and precipitated at low water content levels (S5), resulting in low spatial variability correlations between soil water and salt. This study elucidated the coupling process of soil water and salt, identifying their spatiotemporal distribution mechanism in dryland agricultural areas.

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a serious condition that significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and the severity of type 2 diabetes, also impacting on the development and evolution of other chronic diseases. Predicting metabolic syndrome is a complex task due to the multifactorial nature of this condition, which involves a combination of various risk factors such as abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The complex interplay of these factors makes it challenging to predict the syndrome. Both genetic predisposition and environmental factors also contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome affects diverse populations with different ethnicities, lifestyles, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Prediction models, in addition, need to account for population heterogeneity and consider variations in risk factors across different groups. The present study analyzed data from participants in a cohort from Mexico City to identify key risk factors in men and women, addressing the presence of unbalanced data. In order to tackle the issues posed by data imbalance data, SMOTE and ADASYN were applied to assess significant differences in the selection of risk factors for MetS prediction. Random Forest and RPART models using ADASYN and SMOTE demonstrated better performance, achieving a balanced accuracy of approximately 87%. In women, they highlighted sleep quality, anxiety factors, tobacco consumption, and nutritional components. In the case of men, stronger associations were identified with the social development index and factors related to gout in parents.

Open campus policies that grant access to the off-campus food environment influence U.S. high school students’ exposure to unhealthy foods, yet predictors of these policies are unknown. Policy holding and built (walkability), food (access to grocery stores), social (school-to-neighborhood demographic similarity), and organizational (policy holding of neighboring schools) environment data were collected for 200 Oregon public high schools. These existing data derived from the Oregon School Board Association, WalkScore.com, 2010 Decennial Census, 2010-2014 American Community Survey, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, TDLinex, Nielson directories, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, and Common Core of Data. Most (67%) of Oregon public high schools had open campus policies. Logistic regression analyses modeled open campus policy holding as a function of built, food, social, and organizational environment influences. With health and policy implications, results indicate that schools’ walkability, food access, and extent of neighboring open campus policy-schools are significantly associated with open campus policy holding in Oregon.

More than 20 years after the discovery of the first anelloviruses (AVs), they still remain a mysterious group of viruses. To date, there is no clear understanding of their impact on the host organism, although information is emerging about their participation in various pathologies. However, it is well known that AVs are an important component of the human virome. In the current study we assessed the abundance of AVs in viromes from four nasal and pharyngeal samples from children with respiratory symptoms using a metagenomic approach. It is worth noting that three patients had known respiratory viruses and one did not have any. Regarding AVs, they were detected in all samples, namely Torque teno mini virus (TTMV). The greatest abundance and diversity of AVs (Torque teno virus (TTV), TTMV and Torque teno midi virus (TTMDV)) were shown in a diseased patient with an absence of respiratory viruses, which may indicate the potential involvement of AVs in the maintenance of respiratory symptoms. An activated immune system to combat the main pathogens, against the background of which the number of AVs decreases, is discussed as a possible reason for the reduced diversity of anellome in other patients. We also compared the results of the metagenomic approach and qPCR for major respiratory viruses, which were in agreement. In addition, metagenomic sequencing made it possible to obtain additional data on viral genomes in order to establish their taxonomic identification and characterize individual viral profiles in patients from the Siberian part of Russia.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other outbreaks such as SARS and Ebola, bats are recognized as a critical species for mediating zoonotic infectious disease spillover events. While there is a growing concern of increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally during this pandemic, knowledge of AMR circulating between bats and humans is limited. In this paper, we have reviewed the evidence of AMR in bats and discussed the planetary health aspect of AMR to elucidate how this is associated with the emergence, spread and persistence of antibiotic resistance at the human-animal interface. The presence of clinically significant resistant bacteria in bats and wild life has reflective and broad impact on zoonotic pandemic surveillance, disease transmission and treatment modalities. We searched MEDLINE through PubMed and Google Scholar to retrieve relevant studies (n=38) that provided data on resistant bacteria in bats till September 30, 2022. There is a substantial variability in the results from studies measuring the prevalence of AMR based on geographic location, bat types and time. We found all major groups of gram positive and gram negative bacteria in bats which are resistant to commonly used antibiotics. The most alarming issue is- recent studies have increasingly identified Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), ESBL producing and Colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae in samples from bats. This evidence of superbugs abundance in both humans and wild mammals like bats, could facilitate a greater understanding of which specific pathways of exposure should be targeted. We believe that these data will also facilitate future pandemic prepareness as well as global AMR containment during the pandemic events and beyond.

Electrospun ultrathin fibers based on binary compositions of polylactide (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with different ratios of polymer components from 0/100 to 100/0 wt. % were studied. Using a combination of thermal (DSC) and relaxation (EPR) measurements, the effect of biopolymers content on the characteristics of the crystal structure of PLA and PCL and the diffusive rotational mobility of the stable TEMPO radical in the amorphous regions of PLA/PCL compositions was shown. It was revealed that after PLA and PCL blending, significant changes in the degree of crystallinity of PLA, PCL segmental mobility, sorption capacity of the radical as well as activation energy of rotational diffusion in the amorphous regions of PLA/PCL composition are observed. The characteristic region of biopolymers’ composition from 50/50 to 30/70 % PLA/PCL blends ratio was found, where the inversion transition of PLA from dispersive medium to dispersive phase where an inversion transition is assumed when the continuous medium of the PLA transforms into a discrete phase. The performed studies made it possible for the first time to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the effect of the system component ratio on the structural and dynamic characteristics of the PLA/PCL film material at the molecular level.

NF-κB is a central mediator of inflammation, response to DNA damage and oxidative stress. As a result of its central role in so many important cellular processes, NF-κB dysregulation has been implicated in the pathology of important human diseases. NF-κB activation causes inappropriate inflammatory responses in diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Thus, modulation of NF-κB signaling is being widely investigated as an approach to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmunity and cancer. The emergence of COVID-19 in late 2019, the subsequent pandemic and the huge clinical burden of patients with life-threatening SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia led to a massive scramble to repurpose existing medicines to treat lung inflammation in a wide range of healthcare systems. These efforts continue and these efforts continue to be con-troversial. Drug repurposing strategies are a promising alternative to de-novo drug development, as they minimize drug development timelines and reduce the risk of failure due to unexpected side effects. Different experimental approaches have been applied to identify existing medicines which inhibit NF-κB that could be repurposed as anti-inflammatory drugs.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 changed the way we interact and engage in commerce at a fundamental level. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders leave businesses and cities wondering what economic activity will look like in the future. Given a likely reduction in face-to-face interactions, it is important to better understand how social interactivity influences economic outcomes. Here we measure the effect of social interactions in the workforce on patent production and economic efficiency. We decompose U.S. occupations into individual work activities, determine which of those activities are associated with face-to-face interactions, and reaggregate the labor force of each U.S. metropolitan statistical area (MSA) into a metric of social interactiveness. We then calculate each MSA’s density of social work activities and find that this measure is more highly correlated with an MSA’s per capita patent production than simple population density. This suggests that density of face-to-face interactions is the important driver of a city’s rate of invention. We close by exploring analogies between the development of cities and the development of stars, suggesting ways these analogies may help frame future research on cities.

The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) is a high mountain protected area in eastern Nepal undergoing socio-economic and environmental changes that are unprecedented in the region’s history. In the following paper, we discuss recent changes involving new road construction, climate change, adventure tourism, and the wildlife/forest cover/medicinal plant sectors. Our assessments are based on the collective results of past and recent field research, remote sensing analysis, oral histories, and literature reviews. While similar changes are occurring in mountain protected areas (MPA) throughout Nepal, it is suggested that the KCA differs from other regions in that it still retains the option of conducting detailed feasibility, environmental, and impact assessments prior to the implementation of major change-associated projects, particularly the construction of roads. In turn, the KCA might avoid many of the environmental, social, and economic problems experienced elsewhere in Nepal, while enhancing its status, income-generating capacities, and sustainability as a global destination for adventure, nature, and cultural tourism.

The ability of S. aureus to infect humans and cause a wide range of infections so efficiently is a consequence of the many variant virulence factors that it can produce. Superantigens (SAgs) make up a group of them and include staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE). The main objective of this study was to detect enterotoxin gene cluster (EGC) in S. aureus isolates that caused infections in Paraguayan children in the year 2017, through an observational and cross-sectional study. The detection of the EGC including the seg, sei, sem, sen, seo, and seu genes, was carried out by end-point PCR. 181 S. aureus isolates were collected, most of them caused skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI, n=140, 77%) and came from children under 6 years 50% (n=90). At least one SE gene was detected in 96% (174/181) of isolates and 24% (44/181) carried the entire EGC. An association between methicillin resistance and seg, sei, seo, and seu gene carriage (p ≤0.05) was observed. A high prevalence of EGC was detected in S. aureus isolates collected from infected children attending the main health care centers in Paraguay, its importance is due to the potential of these toxins to aggravate staphylococcal infections.

Given the financial demands of attending college, the transition to new living situations, abrupt changes in social support, and overall lifestyle adjustments, college students are at an increased risk of food insecurity (FI) compared to the general population. Collegiate athletes experience an even greater risk of FI as a result of greater time commitments and energy demands associated with their sports. This heightened vulnerability poses a tremendous threat to student-athletes’ academic and athletic achievements. This study aims to address the prevalence and primary determinants of FI among collegiate athletes while providing potential solutions to navigate and alleviate the effects of diminished food security among this demographic. To address these aims, a total of 18 articles were selected from both peer-reviewed and gray literature. The U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module (US-HFSSM) survey tools were predominantly utilized across universities throughout the United States to gather data on FI. Student-athletes reported experiencing FI across various regions of the United States, including universities in northeastern states (n=5), the southwest region (n=3), the southeast region (n=3), the northwest (n=1), and the Midwest (n=1). Overall, FI prevalence rates ranged from 9.9% to 65% and the most significant contributors included limited financial resources, time management, meal plans, and housing location/amenities. These findings highlight a need for screening, education, and intervention to address FI among collegiate athletes.

This paper analyses the application of deep learning techniques for predicting wave overtopping events in port environments using sea state and weather forecasts as inputs. The study was conducted in the outer port of Punta Langosteira, A Coruña, Spain. A video recording infrastructure was installed to monitor overtopping events from 2015 to 2022, identifying 3709 overtopping events. The data collected was merged with actual and predicted data for the sea state and weather conditions during the overtopping events, creating three datasets. We used these datasets to create several machine learning models to predict whether an overtopping event would occur based on sea state and weather conditions. The final models achieved a high accuracy level during the training and testing stages: 0.81, 0.73, and 0.84 average accuracy during training and 0.67, 0.48, and 0.86 average accuracy during testing, respectively. The results of this study have significant implications for port safety and efficiency, as wave overtopping events can cause disruptions and potential damage. Using deep learning techniques for overtopping prediction can help port managers take preventative measures and optimize operations, ultimately improving safety and helping to minimize the economic impact that overtopping events have on the port's activities.