Evolution of dispersal in river networks.

Evolution of dispersal is a fascinating topic at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary dynamics that has generated many challenging problems in the analysis of reaction-diffusion equations. Early results indicated that lower random diffusion rates are generally beneficial. However, in riverine environments with downstream drift, high diffusion may be optimal, depending on downstream boundary conditions.

Health Outcomes of Elder Orphans: An Umbrella and Scoping Review of the Literature.

Objectives: As the population of elder orphans grows, little research has investigated the health outcomes of these socially and physically isolated older adults without caregiving support. Umbrella and scoping reviews were performed for studies examining health outcomes of older adults experiencing elements of elder orphanhood.

Methods: Studies published 2010- June 2021 and indexed on PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Medline, or SocINDEX were eligible.

Inequalities in accelerated cognitive decline: Resolving observational window bias using nested non-linear regression.

Introduction: Limited observational windows lead to conflicting results in studies examining educational differences in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) risk, due to observational window bias relative to onset of accelerated cognitive decline. This study tested a novel model to address observational window bias and tested for the presence and sources of disparities in accelerated cognitive declines due to ADRD.

Methods: The sample examined 167,314 cognitive assessments from 32,441 Health and Retirement Study participants.

The effectiveness of an osteopathic manual technique compared with a breathing exercise on vagal tone as indicated by heart rate variability, a crossover study.

Introduction: Parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) function can be inferred by heart rate variability (HRV) providing indications about an individual's health. Manual therapy may influence PSNS function, however the research outcomes in this regard are equivocal. This study explored the PSNS effect of a measured breathing technique with suboccipital balanced ligamentous tension, an osteopathic manipulative therapy technique.

Methodological approach to sleep state misperception in insomnia disorder: Comparison between multiple nights of actigraphy recordings and a single night of polysomnography recording.

Study Objective: To provide a comprehensive assessment of sleep state misperception in insomnia disorder (INS) and good sleepers (GS) by comparing recordings performed for one night in-lab (PSG and night review) and during several nights at-home (actigraphy and sleep diaries).

Methods: Fifty-seven INS and 29 GS wore an actigraphy device and filled a sleep diary for two weeks at-home. They subsequently completed a PSG recording and filled a night review in-lab.

Temminck pangolins relax the precision of body temperature regulation when resources are scarce in a semi-arid environment.

Climate change is impacting mammals both directly (for example, through increased heat) and indirectly (for example, through altered food resources). Understanding the physiological and behavioural responses of mammals in already hot and dry environments to fluctuations in the climate and food availability allows for a better understanding of how they will cope with a rapidly changing climate. We measured the body temperature of seven Temminck's pangolins () in the semi-arid Kalahari for periods of between 4 months and 2 years.

Gallstone Ileus: A Case Report in a 74-Year-Old Male.

Gallstone ileus is a rare complication of complicated gallbladder disease. Typically the result of a cholecystocholeduodenal fistula, a gallstone enters the small bowel and impacts in the ileum causing an obstruction. In this case study, a 74-year-old male presented to the emergency department with nausea, vomiting, and constipation for 2 weeks.

An α7 nAChR approach for the baseline-dependent modulation of deviance detection in schizophrenia: A pilot study assessing the combined effect of CDP-choline and galantamine.

Background: Cognitive operations including pre-attentive sensory processing are markedly impaired in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) but evidence significant interindividual heterogeneity, which moderates treatment response with nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists. Previous studies in healthy volunteers have shown baseline-dependency effects of the α7 nAChR agonist cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline) administered alone and in combination with a nicotinic allosteric modulator (galantamine) on auditory deviance detection measured with the mismatch negativity (MMN) event-related potential (ERP).

Aim: The objective of this pilot study was to assess the acute effect of this combined α7 nAChR-targeted treatment (CDP-choline/galantamine) on speech MMN in patients with SCZ ( = 24) stratified by baseline MMN responses into low, medium, and high baseline auditory deviance detection subgroups.

Functional differences in cerebral activation between slow wave-coupled and uncoupled sleep spindles.

Spindles are often temporally coupled to slow waves (SW). These SW-spindle complexes have been implicated in memory consolidation that involves transfer of information from the hippocampus to the neocortex. However, spindles and SW, which are characteristic of NREM sleep, can occur as part of this complex, or in isolation.

Sleep strengthens resting-state functional communication between brain areas involved in the consolidation of problem-solving skills.

Sleep consolidates procedural memory for motor skills, and this process is associated with strengthened functional connectivity in hippocampal-striatal-cortical areas. It is unknown whether similar processes occur for procedural memory that requires cognitive strategies needed for problem-solving. It is also unclear whether a full night of sleep is indeed necessary for consolidation to occur, compared with a daytime nap.

Teaching undergraduate physical chemistry lab with kinetic analysis of COVID-19 in the United States.

A physical chemistry lab for undergraduate students described in this report is about applying kinetic models to analyze the spread of COVID-19 in the United States and obtain the reproduction numbers. The susceptible-infectious-recovery (SIR) model and the SIR-vaccinated (SIRV) model are explained to the students and are used to analyze the COVID-19 spread data from U.S.

Inpatient COVID-19 vaccination rollout: Improving access to vaccination.

Background: We were aware of high numbers of inpatients unvaccinated against COVID-19 at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). Due to this, an inpatient vaccination protocol was set up in July 2021, with initially limited uptake.

Methods: From October 2021, a multidisciplinary team worked to improve the protocol for inpatient vaccination, with the development of a system that gave ownership to clinical teams.

Comparing two machine learning approaches in predicting lupus hospitalization using longitudinal data.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by flares ranging from mild to life-threatening. Severe flares and complications can require hospitalizations, which account for most of the direct costs of SLE care. This study investigates two machine learning approaches in predicting SLE hospitalizations using longitudinal data from 925 patients enrolled in a multicenter electronic health record (EHR)-based lupus cohort.

The costs of replacing coal plant jobs with local instead of distant wind and solar jobs across the United States.

To further a just energy transition, jobs lost at retiring coal plants could be replaced by jobs at wind and solar plants. No research quantifies the feasibility and costs of such an undertaking across the United States. Complicating such an undertaking are workers' place-based preferences that could prevent them from moving long distances, e.

Operative Rib Fixation at a Rural Trauma Center.

Introduction: Operative rib fixation is becoming more common in the management of rib fractures, with studies showing benefits of surgery in decreasing time on mechanical ventilation, ICU and total hospital length of stay, and mortality. This paper will review the data from our institution to determine if these benefits were seen in our trauma population.

Methods: A retrospective review of the institution's trauma database was conducted, including operative patients (n = 36), control patients (nonoperative patients from October 2018 to October 2019, n = 207), and selected control patients based on similar injury severity score range as operative patients (n = 181).

Exploration of machine learning methods to predict systemic lupus erythematosus hospitalizations.

Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by disease flares which can require hospitalization. Our objective was to apply machine learning methods to predict hospitalizations for SLE from electronic health record (EHR) data.

Methods: We identified patients with SLE in a longitudinal EHR-based cohort with ≥2 outpatient rheumatology visits between 2012 and 2019.

Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on subjective and objective measures of sleep and cognition.

Study Objectives: To assess the effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBTi) on subjective and objective measures of sleep, sleep-state misperception and cognitive performance.

Methods: We performed a randomized-controlled trial with a treatment group and a wait-list control group to assess changes in insomnia symptoms after CBTi (8 weekly group sessions/3 months) in 62 participants with chronic insomnia. To this end, we conducted a multimodal investigation of sleep and cognition including subjective measures of sleep difficulties (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]; sleep diaries) and cognitive functioning (Sahlgrenska Academy Self-reported Cognitive Impairment Questionnaire), objective assessments of sleep (polysomnography recording), cognition (attention and working memory tasks), and sleep-state misperception measures, collected at baseline and at 3-months post-randomization.

Competing Risk Analysis of Time to Communal Residence for Elder Orphans.

Elder Orphans, socially/physically isolated older adults without caregiving support, are of interest in an aging population. Lack of caregivers for Elder Orphans may influence relocation to residential care facilities, including skilled nursing or assisted living facilities, compared to aging in place. Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), Competing Risk Survival Analyses were performed to determine if Elder Orphans or those At Risk for becoming elder orphans had increased risk for residential care relocation over nine NHATS waves (2011-2019).

Postoperative Fluid Collections in Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Narrative Review.

A post-operative fluid collection (POFC) represents a common finding in both primary and revision total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Fortunately, most resolve on their own, but in instances where they become symptomatic, prompt identification and management are paramount, especially when they occur adjacent to a joint arthroplasty because of the increased the risk of developing a periprosthetic joint infection. A strong clinical suspicion with appropriate clinical exam is required along with select imaging modalities to arrive at a diagnosis.

Analyzing the Role of Gut Microbiota on the Onset of Autoimmune Diseases Using TNF Murine Model.

Very little is known about disease transmission via the gut microbiome. We hypothesized that certain inflammatory features could be transmitted via the gut microbiome and tested this hypothesis using an animal model of inflammatory diseases. Twelve-week-old healthy C57 Bl/6 and Germ-Free (GF) female and male mice were fecal matter transplanted (FMT) under anaerobic conditions with TNF donors exhibiting spontaneous Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or with conventional healthy mice control donors.

Momentary Associations of Osteoarthritis Pain and Affect: Depression as Moderator.

Objectives: This research examined main and moderating effects of global depressive symptoms upon in-the-moment associations of pain and affect among individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Effects of depression on short-term change in pain and affect were also examined.

Method: Older adults with physician-confirmed OA (N = 325) completed a baseline interview tapping global depressive symptoms, followed by an experience sampling protocol that captured momentary pain and affect 4 times daily for 7 days.

Differential Effects of a Nap on Motor Sequence Learning-Related Functional Connectivity Between Young and Older Adults.

In older adults, motor sequence learning (MSL) is largely intact. However, consolidation of newly learned motor sequences is impaired compared to younger adults, and there is evidence that brain areas supporting enhanced consolidation sleep degrade with age. It is known that brain activity in hippocampal-cortical-striatal areas is important for sleep-dependent, off-line consolidation of motor-sequences.