Assessing trends and density of bird species in bottomland hardwood forests and riparian forests using simulation and sample size optimization for surveys.

The decline of neotropical migratory birds in North America is closely tied to habitat loss, including the degradation of bottomland hardwood and riparian forests, which provide essential habitats for numerous species. To address this, the U.S.

Impact of infrapatellar fat pad injury severity on subsequent patellofemoral cartilage degeneration following acute ACL tear.

Objective: The infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) is important in the homeostasis of the knee joint due to its structural and immune-modulating properties. This study investigates the relationship between IFP injury severity during acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears, and the future development of Patellofemoral Compartment (PFC) chondrosis.

Methods: Adult participants aged 18-45 years old who were known to have first-time ACL tears between 01/01/2009 and 10/1/2022 were included.

Benchmarking of proficiency tests for the fingerprint field.

Since 2015, European fingerprint service providers carrying out laboratory activities must be EN ISO/IEC 17025 accredited. Consequently, relevant and reliable proficiency tests are required by those accredited forensic laboratories to regularly assess and certify their analytical capabilities. In this context, Work package #10 of the ENFSI-EU funded project named "Competency, Education, Research, Testing, Accreditation, and Innovation in Forensic Science" (Grant #101051099) aimed at proposing guidance to forensic laboratories for the selection of proficiency tests in the fields of fingermark visualization, imaging, and comparison/identification.

Dynamically changing extracellular matrix stiffness drives Schwann cell phenotype.

Schwann cells (SCs) hold key roles in axonal function and maintenance in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and are a critical component to the regeneration process following trauma. Following PNS trauma, SCs respond to both physical and chemical signals to modify phenotype and assist in the regeneration of damaged axons and extracellular matrix (ECM). There is currently a lack of knowledge regarding the SC response to dynamic, temporal changes in the ECM brought on by swelling and the development of scar tissue as part of the body's wound-healing process.

A framework for assessing reliability of observer annotations of aerial wildlife imagery, with insights for deep learning applications.

There is growing interest in using deep learning models to automate wildlife detection in aerial imaging surveys to increase efficiency, but human-generated annotations remain necessary for model training. However, even skilled observers may diverge in interpreting aerial imagery of complex environments, which may result in downstream instability of models. In this study, we present a framework for assessing annotation reliability by calculating agreement metrics for individual observers against an aggregated set of annotations generated by clustering multiple observers' observations and selecting the mode classification.

A valid novel ground reaction force distribution algorithm to determine midfoot kinetics of gait with a single force plate.

Background: Understanding midfoot joint kinetics is valuable for improved treatment of foot pathologies. Segmental foot kinetics cannot currently be obtained in a standard gait lab without the use of multiple force plates or a pedobarographic plate overlaid with a force plate due to the single ground reaction force (GRF) vector.

Research Question: Can an algorithm be created to distribute the GRF into multiple segmental vectors that will allow for calculation of accurate midfoot and ankle moments?

Methods: 20 pediatric subjects (10 typically developing, 10 with foot pathology) underwent multi-segment foot gait analysis using the Milwaukee Foot Model.

N-mixture models with camera trap imagery produce accurate abundance estimates of ungulates.

Abundance estimates inform ungulate management and recovery efforts. Yet effective and affordable estimation techniques remain absent for most ungulates lacking identifiable marks and inhabiting rugged or highly vegetated terrain. Methods using N-mixture models with camera trap imagery form an appealing solution but remain unvalidated.

UK National Fingerprint Collaborative Exercise 2022-23.

In 2022-2023 the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) designed and conducted a two-part fingerprint Collaborative Exercise (CE). The CE focussed on fingermarks contaminated in blood as they provide a complex scenario for forensic units and it involved both fingermark visualisation and comparison elements. Participants were requested to treat the exercise as a major crime submission following internal protocols and were invited to provide comments relating to how the marks were deposited (if appropriate).

Subperiosteal Abscess of the Orbit: Long-term Trends in Bacteriology and Clinical Outcomes and Current Management Recommendations.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact over time of evolving upper respiratory pathogens, modified microbial terminology, and improved laboratory isolation on the bacteriology and management of sinusitis-related subperiosteal abscess of the orbit.

Methods: Comparative case series of pediatric patients with bacterial sinusitis-related subperiosteal abscess from 2012 to 2022. Outcomes, culture results, age-specific findings, and antibiotic duration were compared with those in 1977 to 1992, 1988 to 1998, 1999 to 2008, and 2002 to 2012 cohorts at the same institution.

Capsular polysaccharide structure of Acinetobacter baumannii K58 from clinical isolate MRSN31468.

Capsular polysaccharides (CPS) of Acinetobacter baumannii is a virulence factor with diverse structures. CPS are produced by the CPS biosynthesis gene cluster in their K locus (KL). However, CPS variations may occur due to insertion of additional genes from external sources, e.

Worms love Coffee too! Characterizing the neural substrates that regulate odor-guided responses to coffee.

The coffee industry reaches over 80 billion US dollars in revenue partially due to the numerous chemicals that allow for coffee's highly attractive aroma and overall flavor. Many people integrate coffee into their everyday routine; therefore, understanding the attraction to coffee can facilitate, 1) the characterization of its attractive nature, and, 2) allow further understanding of how humans interpret taste and smell on a molecular and cellular level, from initial sensation to higher processing of these complex neural signals. We report that the model worm, , can smell and perform strong attraction behavior using chemotaxis towards various types of coffee odors.

Deep Learning Segmentation of Chromogenic Dye RNAscope From Breast Cancer Tissue.

RNAscope staining of breast cancer tissue allows pathologists to deduce genetic characteristics of the cancer by inspection at the microscopic level, which can lead to better diagnosis and treatment. Chromogenic RNAscope staining is easy to fit into existing pathology workflows, but manually analyzing the resulting tissue samples is time consuming. There is also a lack of peer-reviewed, performant solutions for automated analysis of chromogenic RNAscope staining.

A framework for translating tauopathy therapeutics: Drug discovery to clinical trials.

The tauopathies are defined by pathological tau protein aggregates within a spectrum of clinically heterogeneous neurodegenerative diseases. The primary tauopathies meet the definition of rare diseases in the United States. There is no approved treatment for primary tauopathies.

In the presence of death and dying: death attitudes and compassion fatigue among certified nursing assistants in skilled care.

Objectives: Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are responsible for 80-90% of direct-to-resident care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and may develop close, family-like relationships with their residents. With SNFs becoming a common place of death for older adults, CNAs now find themselves engaging in end-of-life caregiving with limited training and institutional support for emotional outcomes. This study aimed to understand and evaluate the relations between bereavement, death exposure, and compassion fatigue among CNAs, hypothesizing that (a) experiential avoidance moderates the relation between death exposure and negative death attitudes and (b) death attitudes moderate the relation between death exposure and compassion fatigue.

Enhanced Piezoelectric Performance of PVDF-TrFE Nanofibers through Annealing for Tissue Engineering Applications.

This study investigates bioelectric stimulation's role in tissue regeneration by enhancing the piezoelectric properties of tissue-engineered grafts using annealed poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) scaffolds. Annealing at temperatures of 80°C, 100°C, 120°C, and 140°C was assessed for its impact on material properties and physiological utility. Analytical techniques such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed increased crystallinity with higher annealing temperatures, peaking in β-phase content and crystallinity at 140°C.

Engineering error correcting dynamics in nanomechanical systems.

Nanomechanical oscillators are an alternative platform for computation in harsh environments. However, external perturbations arising from such environments may hinder information processing by introducing errors into the computing system. Here, we simulate the dynamics of three coupled Duffing oscillators whose multiple equilibrium states can be used for information processing and storage.

Is there reversible dimerization of albumin in blood plasma? And does it matter?

Most albumin in blood plasma is thought to be monomeric with some 5% covalently dimerized. However, many reports in the recent biophysics literature find that albumin is reversibly dimerized or even oligomerized. We review data on this from X-ray crystallography and diverse biophysical techniques.

Emergence of Interfacial Magnetism in Strongly-Correlated Nickelate-Titanate Superlattices.

Strongly-correlated transition-metal oxides are widely known for their various exotic phenomena. This is exemplified by rare-earth nickelates such as LaNiO, which possess intimate interconnections between their electronic, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom. Their properties can be further enhanced by pairing them in hybrid heterostructures, which can lead to hidden phases and emergent phenomena.

Abnormal lateral meniscal signal in MRI after patellar dislocation does not indicate a meniscal tear: MR findings with surgical correlation.

Background: Combined injuries observed with first-time lateral patellar dislocation (LPD) of the knee, particularly significant soft tissue injury, can inform surgical intervention criteria.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare MRI findings in LPD to surgical correlation concerning meniscal pathology as a guide for surgical management.

Study Design: Retrospective case series, Level of evidence, 4.