Discovery and fine-mapping of height loci via high-density imputation of GWASs in individuals of African ancestry.

Although many loci have been associated with height in European ancestry populations, very few have been identified in African ancestry individuals. Furthermore, many of the known loci have yet to be generalized to and fine-mapped within a large-scale African ancestry sample. We performed sex-combined and sex-stratified meta-analyses in up to 52,764 individuals with height and genome-wide genotyping data from the African Ancestry Anthropometry Genetics Consortium (AAAGC).

Trained immunity contributes to the prevention of infection, a novel role of autophagy.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis () is the pathogen which causes tuberculosis (TB), a significant human public health threat. Co-infection of and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), emergence of drug resistant , and failure to develop highly effective TB vaccines have limited control of the TB epidemic. Trained immunity is an enhanced innate immune response which functions independently of the adaptive/acquired immune system and responds non-specifically to reinfection with invading agents.

HP1 proteins compact DNA into mechanically and positionally stable phase separated domains.

In mammals, HP1-mediated heterochromatin forms positionally and mechanically stable genomic domains even though the component HP1 paralogs, HP1α, HP1β, and HP1γ, display rapid on-off dynamics. Here, we investigate whether phase-separation by HP1 proteins can explain these biological observations. Using bulk and single-molecule methods, we show that, within phase-separated HP1α-DNA condensates, HP1α acts as a dynamic liquid, while compacted DNA molecules are constrained in local territories.

Testing encoding specificity and the diagnostic feature-detection theory of eyewitness identification, with implications for showups, lineups, and partially disguised perpetrators.

The diagnostic feature-detection theory (DFT) of eyewitness identification is based on facial information that is diagnostic versus non-diagnostic of suspect guilt. It primarily has been tested by discounting non-diagnostic information at retrieval, typically by surrounding a single suspect showup with good fillers to create a lineup. We tested additional DFT predictions by manipulating the presence of facial information (i.

Facilitating Understanding, Modeling and Simulation of Infectious Disease Epidemics in the Age of COVID-19.

Interest in the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many medical students do not have the required background in coding or mathematics to engage optimally in this approach. System dynamics is a methodology for implementing mathematical models as easy-to-understand stock-flow diagrams.

Dietary saturated fatty acid palmitate promotes cartilage lesions and activates the unfolded protein response pathway in mouse knee joints.

Increased intake of dietary saturated fatty acids has been linked to obesity and the development of Osteoarthritis (OA). However, the mechanism by which these fats promote cartilage degradation and the development of OA is not clearly understood. Here, we report the effects of consumption of common dietary saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, palmitate and oleate, respectively, on body weight, metabolic factors, and knee articular cartilage in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity.

Optimization of histologic grading schemes in spontaneous and surgically-induced murine models of osteoarthritis.

Objective: To compare the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) and Articular Cartilage Structure (ACS) grading schemes applied to multiple and single sections, along with additional histologic measures, in two mouse models of Osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: Six coronal histologic stifle joint sections were collected from 40 C57BL/6J mice, including aged mice with spontaneous OA (approximately 18 months of age; n = 15) and young (12-week-old) mice that either underwent destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) surgery (n = 15) or sham surgery (n = 10). Sections were evaluated with the standard OARSI (0-6) scheme, a modified OARSI scheme, the ACS (0-12) scheme, histomorphometry of cartilage and bone, and scoring of osteophytes (0-3) and synovial hyperplasia (0-3).

Sex determination through X-Y heterogamety in Salix nigra.

The development of non-recombining sex chromosomes has radical effects on the evolution of discrete sexes and sexual dimorphism. Although dioecy is rare in plants, sex chromosomes have evolved repeatedly throughout the diversification of angiosperms, and many of these sex chromosomes are relatively young compared to those found in vertebrates. In this study, we designed and used a sequence capture array to identify a novel sex-linked region (SLR) in Salix nigra, a basal species in the willow clade, and demonstrated that this species has XY heterogamety.

School psychology training within a competency framework: Transcending the past, present, and future.

In this special issue, Conoley et al. (2020) repeat the call for a paradigm shift in school psychology graduate education from the individual level to the system level and from secondary and tertiary intervention to primary prevention and implementation science to optimize environments for children's overall health and success. This article describes how school psychology training, as organized by professional standards of practice and credentialing, has evolved to its current status as a recognized specialty of practice within psychology.

Bed-Based Ballistocardiography: Dataset and Ability to Track Cardiovascular Parameters.

Background: The goal of this work was to create a sharable dataset of heart-driven signals, including ballistocardiograms (BCGs) and time-aligned electrocardiograms (ECGs), photoplethysmograms (PPGs), and blood pressure waveforms.

Methods: A custom, bed-based ballistocardiographic system is described in detail. Affiliated cardiopulmonary signals are acquired using a GE Datex CardioCap 5 patient monitor (which collects ECG and PPG data) and a Finapres Medical Systems Finometer PRO (which provides continuous reconstructed brachial artery pressure waveforms and derived cardiovascular parameters).

Student, teacher, and caregiver perceptions on implementing mental health interventions in Ugandan schools.

Background: The vast majority of children and adolescents in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) lack access to interventions for mental health problems. Schools provide a critical platform for evidence-based intervention delivery for young people. However, a significant need exists to understand the implementation context and strategies for delivering school mental health interventions in LMICs.

Kidney Outcomes and Hypertension in Survivors of Wilms Tumor: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of therapy-related kidney outcomes in survivors of Wilms tumor (WT).

Study Design: This prospective cohort study included survivors of WT who were ≥5 years old and ≥1 year from completing therapy, excluding those with preexisting hypertension, prior dialysis, or kidney transplant. Participants completed 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).

Impact of a financial incentive on the completion of educational metrics.

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires all emergency medicine (EM) training programs to evaluate resident performance and also requires core faculty to attend didactic conference. Assuring faculty participation in these activities can be challenging. Previously, our institution did not have a formal tracking program nor financial incentive for participation in these activities.

Phosphoregulation of Phase Separation by the SARS-CoV-2 N Protein Suggests a Biophysical Basis for its Dual Functions.

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of coronaviruses serves two major functions: compaction of the RNA genome in the virion and regulation of viral gene transcription. It is not clear how the N protein mediates such distinct functions. The N protein contains two RNA-binding domains surrounded by regions of intrinsic disorder.

Changes in Matrix Components in the Developing Human Meniscus.

Background: Treatment of meniscal tears is necessary to maintain the long-term health of the knee joint. Morphological elements, particularly vascularity, that play an important role in meniscal healing are known to change during skeletal development.

Purpose: To quantitatively evaluate meniscal vascularity, cellularity, collagen, and proteoglycan content by age and location during skeletal development.

Biomineral armor in leaf-cutter ants.

Although calcareous anatomical structures have evolved in diverse animal groups, such structures have been unknown in insects. Here, we report the discovery of high-magnesium calcite [CaMg(CO)] armor overlaying the exoskeletons of major workers of the leaf-cutter ant Acromyrmex echinatior. Live-rearing and in vitro synthesis experiments indicate that the biomineral layer accumulates rapidly as ant workers mature, that the layer is continuously distributed, covering nearly the entire integument, and that the ant epicuticle catalyzes biomineral nucleation and growth.

A Campus Climate/Violence Survey's Psychometrics and Findings.

Data from a campus climate/violence survey (CCS) include psychometric information for survey items/scales plus findings from a large state university to promote its usefulness for assessment of interpersonal violence/harassment. This CCS can thus be evaluated for its measurement and documented findings, allowing for benchmarking purposes. An innovative measurement strategy is introduced to comprehensively capture incidence of victimization types through streamlined questioning.

What would it take to describe the global diversity of parasites?

How many parasites are there on Earth? Here, we use helminth parasites to highlight how little is known about parasite diversity, and how insufficient our current approach will be to describe the full scope of life on Earth. Using the largest database of host-parasite associations and one of the world's largest parasite collections, we estimate a global total of roughly 100 000-350 000 species of helminth endoparasites of vertebrates, of which 85-95% are unknown to science. The parasites of amphibians and reptiles remain the most poorly described, but the majority of undescribed species are probably parasites of birds and bony fish.

Stable Isotope Probing Identifies Bacterioplankton Lineages Capable of Utilizing Dissolved Organic Matter Across a Range of Bioavailability.

Bacterioplankton consume about half of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) produced by phytoplankton. DOM released from phytoplankton consists of a myriad of compounds that span a range of biological reactivity from labile to recalcitrant. Linking specific bacterioplankton lineages to the incorporation of DOM compounds into biomass is important to understand microbial niche partitioning.

Structural and dynamical features of the 2,2,2-trifluoroethanolammonia complex.

The 1 : 1 adduct of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) with ammonia was investigated using a combination of chirped pulse and cavity-based Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy and computational methods. Rotational spectra of the most stable TFENH3 conformer and seven deuterium and 15N isotopologues were identified, and this led to a determination of partial rs and ro structures. The observed complex exhibits a gauche conformation of TFE with ammonia inserted into the existing intramolecular hydrogen-bonded ring of TFE.