Cross-Cultural Translation of the Adolescent Menstrual Bleeding Questionnaire (AMBQ).

Aim: Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) affects up to 37% of adolescents. Given the paucity of available tools to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescents with HMB, we developed the adolescent menstrual bleeding questionnaire (aMBQ), a valid and reliable measure of bleeding-related quality of life. The aim of this study was cross-cultural translation and adaptation of the English aMBQ into French to ensure accessibility for more Canadian adolescents who menstruate.

Validation of the 11+ Myco MS-PREP® Method for Determination of Aflatoxins, Fumonisins, Deoxynivalenol, Ochratoxin A, Zearalenone, HT-2, and T-2 Toxins in Cereals, Baby Food, Spices, and Animal Feed by Immunoaffinity Column with LC-MS/MS: AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM 112401.

Background: The 11+Myco MS-PREP® Immunoaffinity Column (IAC) contains a gel suspension of monoclonal antibodies specific to the toxins of interest. Following sample extraction, the IAC is used for cleanup and concentration of mycotoxins prior to analysis by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Objective: This study evaluated the IAC with LC-MS/MS method for Performance Tested Methods  SM certification for simultaneous determination and confirmation of Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1; Deoxynivalenol, Fumonisins B1, B2, and B3; Ochratoxin A; T-2; HT-2; and Zearalenone from corn, wheat, cereal-based baby food (with and without dairy ingredients), paprika, chili powder and animal feed.

Rapid detection of enterobacteria in wastewater treated by microalgal consortia using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).

In the present study, nine Enterobacteriaceae species present in wastewater were isolated and identified, and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was developed for the detection of Enterobacteriaceae by designing primers based on the mcr-1, KPC, OXA-23, and VIM genes, which are recognized markers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) transmission during microalgal bioremediation treatment. The developed assays successfully detected four strains positive for mcr-1 gene-asociated resistance (, , , and ), three strains for KPC gene-associated resistance ( sp., 15499, and ), seven strains for OXA-23 gene-associated resistance (, , , 15922, 51446, , and ), and three strains for resistance to the VIM gene-associated resistance (, sp.

Adult Neurogenesis and the Initiation of Social Aggression in Male Mice.

The hippocampus is important for social behavior and exhibits unusual structural plasticity in the form of continued production of new granule neurons throughout adulthood, but it is unclear how adult neurogenesis contributes to social interactions. In the present study, we suppressed neurogenesis using a pharmacogenetic mouse model and examined social investigation and aggression in adult male mice to investigate the role of hippocampal adult-born neurons in the expression of aggressive behavior. In simultaneous choice tests with stimulus mice placed in corrals, mice with complete suppression of adult neurogenesis in adulthood (TK mice) exhibited normal social investigation behaviors, indicating that new neurons are not required for social interest, social memory, or detection of and response to social olfactory signals.

An evidence review and gap analysis for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM) have a substantial humanistic, clinical, and economic burden due to the array of symptoms and complications associated with the disease. The objective of this review was to identify key evidence gaps related to oHCM, specifically in Europe, North America, and Japan.

Methods: A targeted literature review was conducted using PubMed to identify English-language studies published between 2012 and 2022 assessing patients with HCM/oHCM in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), Canada, and Japan.

Exploring the use of Rasch modelling in "common content" items for multi-site and multi-year assessment.

Rasch modelling is a powerful tool for evaluating item performance, measuring drift in difficulty over time, and comparing students who sat assessments at different times or at different sites. Here, we use data from thirty UK medical schools to describe the benefits of Rasch modelling in quality assurance and the barriers to using it. Sixty "common content" multiple choice items were offered to all UK medical schools in 2016-17, and a further sixty in 2017-18, with five available in both years.

On the trail of a critically endangered fungus: A world-first application of wildlife detection dogs to fungal conservation.

Plant and animal conservation have benefited from the assistance of wildlife detection dogs (WDDs) since 1890, but their application to fungal conservation has not been trialed. In a world-first, we tested the effectiveness of WDDs and human surveyors when searching for experimentally outplanted fungi in natural habitat. We focused on a critically endangered fungus from Australia, and showed that a WDD outperformed a human surveyor: our WDD detected a greater proportion of targets, had a faster time to first discovery, and had fewer false negatives.

Facial Skin Microbiome Composition and Functional Shift with Aging.

The change in the skin microbiome as individuals age is only partially known. To provide a better understanding of the impact of aging, whole-genome sequencing analysis was performed on facial skin swabs of 100 healthy female Caucasian volunteers grouped by age and wrinkle grade. Volunteers' metadata were collected through questionnaires and non-invasive biophysical measurements.

Metabolic loads and the costs of metazoan reproduction.

Reproduction includes two energy investments-the energy in the offspring and the energy expended to make them. The former is well understood, whereas the latter is unquantified but often assumed to be small. Without understanding both investments, the true energy costs of reproduction are unknown.

Tunable Approach to Induce the Formation of Flexible Nanofilms from Small (3 nm) Gold Nanoparticles at Oil-Water Interfaces.

The self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into thin films at the liquid-liquid interface has promising applications in industries such as catalysis, optics, and sensors. However, precise control over their formation is complex, influenced by several factors which scale differently with core size. Due to their small free energy of adsorption, there are few examples of AuNPs with core diameters <10 nm.

Functional metabolomics of the human scalp: a metabolic niche for .

Although metabolomics data acquisition and analysis technologies have become increasingly sophisticated over the past 5-10 years, deciphering a metabolite's function from a description of its structure and its abundance in a given experimental setting is still a major scientific and intellectual challenge. To point out ways to address this "data to knowledge" challenge, we developed a functional metabolomics strategy that combines state-of-the-art data analysis tools and applied it to a human scalp metabolomics data set: skin swabs from healthy volunteers with normal or oily scalp (Sebumeter score 60-120, = 33; Sebumeter score > 120, = 41) were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), yielding four metabolomics data sets for reversed phase chromatography (C18) or hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) separation in electrospray ionization (ESI) + or - ionization mode. Following our data analysis strategy, we were able to obtain increasingly comprehensive structural and functional annotations, by applying the Global Natural Product Social Networking (M.

Estimating the relationship between fitness and metabolic rate: which rate should we use?

As physiologists seek to better understand how and why metabolism varies, they have focused on how metabolic rate covaries with fitness-that is, selection. Evolutionary biologists have developed a sophisticated framework for exploring selection, but there are particular challenges associated with estimating selection on metabolic rate owing to its allometric relationship with body mass. Most researchers estimate selection on mass and absolute metabolic rate; or selection on mass and mass-independent metabolic rate (MIMR)-the residuals generated from a nonlinear regression.

Moving From Transactional to Relational: How Funders Can Work in Partnership With Black, Indigenous and People of Color Communities.

Background: The Racial Equity Coalition (REC) formed to address persistent educational disparities. The coalition was composed of 14 Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations that provide culturally integrative youth services.

Objectives: REC, with support from United Way of King County, engaged in participatory research to identify commonalities and shared struggles to inform collective action.

Rewarded Maze Training Increases Approach Behavior in Rats Through Neurogenesis-Dependent Growth of Ventral Hippocampus-Prelimbic Circuits.

Background: Learning complex navigation routes increases hippocampal volume in humans, but it is not clear whether this growth impacts behaviors outside the learning situation or what cellular mechanisms are involved.

Methods: We trained rats with pharmacogenetic suppression of adult neurogenesis and littermate controls in 3 mazes over 3 weeks and tested novelty approach behavior several days after maze exposure. We then measured hippocampus and prelimbic cortex volumes using magnetic resonance imaging and assessed neuronal and astrocyte morphology.

Identification and Characterization of a Novel Microalgal Strain from the Antofagasta Coast AC16-MESO (Chlorophyta) for Biotechnological Applications.

The wide rocky coastline of the Antofagasta hosts an intertidal ecosystem in which the species that inhabit it are routinely exposed to a wide range of physical and chemical conditions and have therefore evolved to tolerate extremes. In the search for new species of potential biotechnological interest with adaptations to a wide range of environmental conditions, the isolation and characterization of microalgae from these ecosystems is of great interest. Here, a new microalgal strain, AC16-MESO, is described, which was isolated from a biofilm collected on the intertidal rocks of the Antofagasta coast (23°36'57.

Identification of a Strain with Algicidal Effects on Red Tide Dinoflagellate in Culture.

The dinoflagellate forms high biomass blooms that discolor the water (red tides), which may pose a serious threat to marine fauna and aquaculture exploitations. In this study, the algicidal effect of a bacterial strain (0YLH) belonging to the genus was identified and evaluated against . The algicidal effects on the dinoflagellate were observed when was exposed to cell-free supernatant (CFS) from stationary-phase cultures of the 0YLH strain.

Assessing reward preference using operant behavior in male and female mice.

Many different solid food pellets are available as reinforcers for rodents in operant behavior tests. Different reward formulations have not been compared, so it is unclear whether mice show strong preferences for different rewards and whether such preferences are consistent within or across sex and background strain. Here we show that mice have strong preferences for two balanced diet food rewards over sucrose pellets, and preference for one balanced diet pellet formulation over another, in a simultaneous choice test using a low effort fixed ratio operant test.

Risk factors for pressure injury development in patients with spinal cord injury beyond index hospitalization: an analysis of violent mechanism of injury and socioeconomic disparity.

Introduction: PIs are very common in those with SCI and pose a significant health and economic burden. Optimal prevention strategies require rapid identification of high-risk populations.

Objective: The authors examined risk factors for PI in persons with traumatic SCI, focusing on mechanism of injury and sociodemographic variables.

Understanding emergency placements for Nova Scotian children in foster care.

To cope with a critical lack of foster families, Nova Scotia's Department of Community Services uses rented private facilities staffed by subcontracted companies, known as "places of safety". Similar models are used across the country, with places of safety intended to be used for emergency placements only. The mean length of stay in a place of safety was 255 nights in 2020.

Sustained Improvements in Readings in-Range Using an Advanced Bluetooth Connected Blood Glucose Meter and a Mobile Diabetes App: Real-World Evidence from more than 55,000 People with Diabetes.

Introduction: The OneTouch Verio Reflect (OTVR) Blood Glucose Meter features a color range indicator and provides on-meter guidance, insights, and encouragement. Diabetes management is enhanced by the OneTouch Reveal (OTR) Mobile App. We sought to provide real-world evidence (RWE) that combining devices improves glycemia.

Connecting Gut Microbial Diversity with Plasma Metabolome and Fecal Bile Acid Changes Induced by the Antibiotics Tobramycin and Colistin Sulfate.

The diversity of microbial species in the gut has a strong influence on health and development of the host. Further, there are indications that the variation in expression of gut bacterial metabolic enzymes is less diverse than the taxonomic profile, underlying the importance of microbiome functionality, particularly from a toxicological perspective. To address these relationships, the gut bacterial composition of Wistar rats was altered by a 28 day oral treatment with the antibiotics tobramycin or colistin sulfate.

Clinical Accuracy of a Glucose Oxidase-Based Blood Glucose Test-Strip Across Extremes of Oxygen Partial Pressure.

Background: Glucose oxidase (GOx)-based blood glucose monitors (BGMs) are influenced by the partial pressure of oxygen (Po) within the applied sample. Limited in-clinic data exists regarding the quantitative effect of Po in unmanipulated capillary fingertip blood samples across physiologically representative glucose and Po ranges.

Method: Clinical accuracy data were collected as part of a BGM manufacturer's ongoing post-market surveillance program for a commercially available GOx-based BGM test-strip.

Gut Microbiota as Well as Metabolomes of Wistar Rats Recover within Two Weeks after Doripenem Antibiotic Treatment.

An understanding of the changes in gut microbiome composition and its associated metabolic functions is important to assess the potential implications thereof on host health. Thus, to elucidate the connection between the gut microbiome and the fecal and plasma metabolomes, two poorly bioavailable carbapenem antibiotics (doripenem and meropenem), were administered in a 28-day oral study to male and female Wistar rats. Additionally, the recovery of the gut microbiome and metabolomes in doripenem-exposed rats were studied one and two weeks after antibiotic treatment (i.