Behind the scenes with genomics researchers.

Although lab-coat genomics scientists are highly skilled and involved in pioneering work, few studies have examined their perceptions on what they do, and how they relate with others in interdisciplinary work. Recognizing that gap, we were curious to talk with scientists about their current work and positionalities related to the use of genomics for bioremediation. Using unstructured open-ended interviews and thematic analysis, we interviewed researchers with diverse genomics-related expertise.

Managing false positives during detection of pathogen sequences in shotgun metagenomics datasets.

Background: Culture-independent diagnostic tests are gaining popularity as tools for detecting pathogens in food. Shotgun sequencing holds substantial promise for food testing as it provides abundant information on microbial communities, but the challenge is in analyzing large and complex sequencing datasets with a high degree of both sensitivity and specificity. Falsely classifying sequencing reads as originating from pathogens can lead to unnecessary food recalls or production shutdowns, while low sensitivity resulting in false negatives could lead to preventable illness.

Limit of detection of ser. Enteritidis using culture-based versus culture-independent diagnostic approaches.

Unlabelled: To prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses, the presence of pathogens in the food chain is monitored by government agencies and food producers. The culture-based methods currently employed are sensitive but time- and labor-intensive, leading to increasing interest in exploring culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs) for pathogen detection. However, few studies quantify the relative sensitivity and reliability of these CIDTs compared to current approaches.

High-throughput transcriptomics toxicity assessment of eleven data-poor bisphenol A alternatives.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a widely used chemical in the production of plastics and epoxy resins, has garnered significant attention due to its association with adverse health effects, particularly its endocrine-disrupting properties. Regulatory measures aimed at reducing human exposure to BPA have led to a proliferation of alternative chemicals used in various consumer and industrial products. While these alternatives serve to reduce BPA exposure, concerns have arisen regarding their safety and potential toxicity as regrettable substitutes.

UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings.

Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.

Evaluating a novel high-density EEG sensor net structure for improving inclusivity in infants with curly or tightly coiled hair.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an important tool in the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience for indexing neural activity. However, racial biases persist in EEG research that limit the utility of this tool. One bias comes from the structure of EEG nets/caps that do not facilitate equitable data collection across hair textures and types.

Multi-Institutional Study of Referral Patterns for Gynecologic Oncology Consultation.

Purpose: Evaluation by a gynecologic oncologist (GO) is associated with improved clinical outcomes for patients with gynecologic cancers, yet little is known about health care factors that influence patients' referrals to GO.

Methods: Medical records of 50 consecutive new patients seen in GO clinics at each of six referral centers across the United States were reviewed. Patient and disease characteristics were collected along with referral indication, evaluation and referral dates, diagnostic procedures, provider specialties, and zone improvement plan (ZIP) code of up to three referring providers per patient.

Persistent Impact of Antenatal Maternal Anaemia on Child Brain Structure at 6-7 Years of Age: A South African Child Health Study.

Background: The study aim was to determine whether associations of antenatal maternal anaemia with smaller corpus callosum, putamen, and caudate nucleus volumes previously described in children at age 2-3 years persist to age 6-7 years in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS).

Methods: This neuroimaging sub-study was nested within the DCHS, a South African population-based birth cohort. Pregnant women were enrolled (2012-2015) and mother-child dyads were followed prospectively.

Systematic reanalysis of copy number losses of uncertain clinical significance.

Background: Reanalysis of exome/genome data improves diagnostic yield. However, the value of reanalysis of clinical array comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH) data has never been investigated. Case-by-case reanalysis can be challenging in busy diagnostic laboratories.

The association of histopathologic features after neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy with clinical outcome: Sub-analyses from the randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled, Phase III IMagyn050/GOG3015/ENGOT-ov39 study.

Objective: Histopathologic characteristics after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) may correlate with outcome. This study evaluates histopathologic features after immunotherapy and NACT/bevacizumab, and associated clinical outcomes.

Methods: Evaluable tissue from IMagyn050/GOG3015/ENGOT-ov39 patients from prespecified anatomic sites from interval cytoreductive surgery (ICS) after NACT/bevacizumab plus atezolizumab/placebo underwent central histopathologic scoring and analyzed with clinical outcomes.

Longitudinal effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on visual neurodevelopment over infancy.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affects neurodevelopment in over 59 million individuals globally. Prior studies using dichotomous categorization of alcohol use and comorbid substance exposures provide limited knowledge of how prenatal alcohol specifically impacts early human neurodevelopment. In this longitudinal cohort study from Cape Town, South Africa, PAE is measured continuously-characterizing timing, dose, and drinking patterns (i.

Ovarian Cancer Risk-Reduction and Screening in Mutation Carriers.

To determine the utilization of risk-reducing strategies and screening protocols for ovarian cancer in female carriers. This study was a sub-analysis of female participants from a larger multicenter, cross-sectional survey of mutation carriers unaffected by cancer. The questionnaire was administered electronically email at four institutions located in the northeast United States.

Prenatal alcohol exposure and white matter microstructural changes across the first 6-7 years of life: A longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study of a South African birth cohort.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can affect brain development in early life, but few studies have investigated the effects of PAE on trajectories of white matter tract maturation in young children. Here we used diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) repeated over three time points, to measure the effects of PAE on patterns of white matter microstructural development during the pre-school years. Participants were drawn from the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), an ongoing birth cohort study conducted in a peri-urban community in the Western Cape, South Africa.

H-MRS neurometabolite profiles and motor development in school-aged children who are HIV-exposed uninfected: a birth cohort study.

Objective: Alterations in regional neurometabolite levels as well as impaired neurodevelopmental outcomes have previously been observed in children who are HIV-exposed uninfected (CHEU). However, little is known about how neurometabolite profiles may relate to their developmental impairment. This study aimed to compare neurometabolite concentrations in school-aged CHEU and children who are HIV-unexposed (CHU) and to explore associations of neurometabolite profiles with functional neurodevelopment in the context of perinatal HIV exposure.

Racial Differences in Patient Satisfaction With the Hospital Experience Undergoing Primary Unilateral Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Press Ganey (PG) inpatient survey is widely used to track patient satisfaction with the hospital experience. Our aim was to use the PG survey to determine if there are racial differences in overall hospital experience and perception of nurses and surgeons following hip and knee arthroplasty.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed Black and White patients from hip and knee arthroplasty registries from a single institution between July 2010 and February 2012.

Survey of Postpartum People in the United States During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic to Explore Their Perspective on Support After Discharge.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to capture the experiences of postpartum people during the first wave of COVID-19, specifically their access to contraception and lactation support.

Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed individuals in the United States who used the Ovia Pregnancy and Parenting app. The survey was administered via an email Web link sent to postpartum people who gave birth between March 1, 2020, and June 11, 2020.

Barriers to hormone therapy following prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

Objective: This study aimed to identify barriers to hormone therapy (HT) use among women with BRCA1/2 mutations after prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO).

Methods: A cross-sectional, electronic survey was conducted of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers at Women and Infants Hospital, Yale Medical Center, Hartford Healthcare, and Maine Medical Center. This study was a subanalysis of a subset of female BRCA1/2 mutation carriers who had undergone a prophylactic BSO.

Intervention initiatives to raise young people's interest and participation in STEM.

For nearly a decade, two science interventions anchored in project-based learning (PBL) principles have been shown to increase student science learning in 3 grade and high school physical science classes. Both interventions employed a randomized control trial of several thousand students (N = 3,271 in 3 grade and N = 4,238 in 10, 11, and 12 grades). Incorporating a rich background of research studies and reports, the two interventions are based on the ideas of PBL as well as the National Academies of Science's publications, including how children learn; how science learning and instruction can be transformed; and the performance expectations for science learning articulated in the Next Generation of Science Standards.

Building staff capability, opportunity, and motivation to provide smoking cessation to people with cancer in Australian cancer treatment centres: development of an implementation intervention framework for the Care to Quit cluster randomised controlled trial.

Unlabelled: Few rigorous studies provide a clear description of the methodological approach of developing an evidence-based implementation intervention, prior to implementation at scale. This study describes the development, mapping, rating, and review of the implementation strategies for the Care to Quit smoking cessation trial, prior to application in nine cancer services across Australia. Key stakeholders were engaged in the process from conception through to rating, reviewing and refinement of strategies and principles.

Investigating SARS-CoV-2 Susceptibility in Animal Species: A Scoping Review.

In the early stages of response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it was imperative for researchers to rapidly determine what animal species may be susceptible to the virus, under low knowledge and high uncertainty conditions. In this scoping review, the animal species being evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility, the methods used to evaluate susceptibility, and comparing the evaluations between different studies were conducted. Using the PRISMA-ScR methodology, publications and reports from peer-reviewed and gray literature sources were collected from databases, Google Scholar, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), snowballing, and recommendations from experts.

Key Focus Group Themes to Inform Weight Management Interventions in Deep South African Americans.

Objective: To understand African Americans' perceptions, barriers, and facilitators to recruitment, enrollment, adoption, maintenance, and retention in a nutrition and physical activity promotion program.

Design: Four focus groups were conducted.

Setting: Two community settings located in Jackson and Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Nth Dimensions Evolution, Impact, and Recommendations for Equity Practices in Orthopaedics.

Women and underrepresented medical students are frequently unable to see, identify, or interact with an orthopaedic surgeon who looks like them. Simultaneously, these students are repeatedly challenged about their aspirations and questioned about their ability to become an orthopaedic surgeon. Ultimately, students from marginalized groups are unable to envision any future role as an orthopaedic surgeon and are actively diverted to other medical specialties.