Species Distribution Models Reveal Varying Degrees of Refugia From the Invasive Asian Needle Ant for Native Ants Versus Ant-Plant Seed Dispersal Mutualisms.

The Asian Needle Ant, (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), has spread throughout a substantial portion of the southeastern United States where it has primarily been restricted to low elevations. We focused on the . invasion in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP).

Aboveground-belowground linkages across vegetation degradation gradients differ among native eucalypt communities.

Native vegetation degradation impacts soil communities and their functions. However, these impacts are often studied by comparing soil biotic attributes across qualitatively defined, discrete degradation levels within a single plant community at a specific location. Direct quantification of the relationships between vegetation and soil attributes across continuous degradation gradients and at larger scales is rare but holds greater potential to reveal robust patterns in aboveground-belowground linkages that may apply across different plant communities.

Access to High-Resolution Anoscopy and Colorectal Surgery Support Identified as Important Facilitators to Successful Veterans Affairs Anal Cancer Screening Programs.

Background: Anal cancer disproportionately affects people living with HIV. The Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest single provider of healthcare to people living with HIV in the U.S.

National Analysis of Over 48,000 Veterans With HIV Demonstrates CD4/CD8 Ratio as a Risk Marker for Anal Intraepithelial Lesions and Anal Cancer.

Background: Anal squamous intraepithelial lesions are identifiable and treatable precancerous lesions that lack defined risk factors determining screening necessity.

Objective: Assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with low- and high-grade anal squamous intraepithelial lesions and anal squamous cell carcinoma.

Design: Retrospective cohort analysis of veterans with HIV between 1999-2023.

Serving Those Who Served: Enhancing Colorectal Surgery Care for Veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the largest provider of integrated health care services in the United States and its mission is to honor veterans by providing timely, effective, and high-quality health care that improves individuals' health and functionality. The VA provides comprehensive primary and specialty care, including colorectal surgery services, to eligible veterans who suffer from a disproportionately high burden of medical comorbidities and often belong to vulnerable populations, including individuals of low socioeconomic status, those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning, racial minorities, and those suffering from severe mental health illness. There are many challenges to caring for a population of veterans with benign and malignant colorectal disease due to both patient and system level factors.

Predictive Power of Polygenic Risk Scores for Intraocular Pressure or Vertical Cup-Disc Ratio.

Importance: Early detection of glaucoma is essential to timely monitoring and treatment, and primary open-angle glaucoma risk can be assessed by measuring intraocular pressure (IOP) or optic nerve head vertical cup-disc ratio (VCDR). Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) could provide a link between genetic effects estimated from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and clinical applications to provide estimates of an individual's genetic risk by combining many identified variants into a score.

Objective: To construct IOP and VCDR PRSs with clinically relevant predictive power.

Biodiversity impacts of the 2019-2020 Australian megafires.

With large wildfires becoming more frequent, we must rapidly learn how megafires impact biodiversity to prioritize mitigation and improve policy. A key challenge is to discover how interactions among fire-regime components, drought and land tenure shape wildfire impacts. The globally unprecedented 2019-2020 Australian megafires burnt more than 10 million hectares, prompting major investment in biodiversity monitoring.

THE FIGHT INHERITED RETINAL BLINDNESS! PROJECT: A NEW TREATMENT OUTCOME AND NATURAL HISTORY REGISTRY FOR INHERITED RETINAL DISEASE.

Purpose: To design and build a new disease registry to track the natural history and outcomes of approved gene therapy in patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).

Methods: A core committee of 6 members was convened to oversee the construction of the FIRB! module. A further 11 experts formed a steering committee, which discussed disease classification and variables to form minimum datasets via a consensus approach.

Improving UASS pesticide application: optimizing and validating drift and deposition simulations.

Background: As unmanned aerial spraying systems (UASS) usage grows rapidly worldwide, a critical research study was conducted to optimize the simulation of UASS applications, aiming to enhance pesticide delivery efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The study examined several key aspects for accurate simulation of UASS application with lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Based on these discussions, the most suitable grid size and simulation parameters were selected to create a robust model for optimizing UASS performance in various pest management scenarios, potentially leading to more targeted and sustainable pest control practices.

Emerging trends in virus and virus-like particle gene therapy delivery to the brain.

Recent advances in gene therapy and gene-editing techniques offer the very real potential for successful treatment of neurological diseases. However, drug delivery constraints continue to impede viable therapeutic interventions targeting the brain due to its anatomical complexity and highly restrictive microvasculature that is impervious to many molecules. Realizing the therapeutic potential of gene-based therapies requires robust encapsulation and safe and efficient delivery to the target cells.

Establishing a Consensus-Based Framework for the Use of Wearable Activity Trackers in Health Care: Delphi Study.

Background: Physical activity (PA) plays a crucial role in health care, providing benefits in the prevention and management of many noncommunicable diseases. Wearable activity trackers (WATs) provide an opportunity to monitor and promote PA in various health care settings.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a consensus-based framework for the optimal use of WATs in health care.

Risk of developing high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or anal cancer after anal condylomata treatment in people living with HIV.

Aim: To assess the risk and natural history of developing advanced anal disease after diagnosis of anal condyloma in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: This was a single-centre retrospective cohort study of PLWH and anal condyloma from 2001 to 2021. Patients who developed advanced anal disease (AAD; anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and/or anal cancer) were compared to those who did not progress (non-AAD).

Investigation of the Thermodynamic and Kinetic Behavior of Acid Dyes in Relation to Wool Fiber Morphology.

Wool fibers from several different sheep breeds in the UK have very limited applications. The main aim of this study was to establish an understanding of the dye sorption properties of different wool fibers through thermodynamics and kinetics of dyeing using Acid Red 1 dye. Wool fibers from Leicester, Ryeland, and Dartmoor sheep breeds were pretreated (to remove impurities) and dyed using Acid Red 1.

Adjuvant use for the management of pesticide drift, leaching and runoff.

Adjuvants are included in many pesticide spray mixtures to enhance the performance of the applied chemical. Many adjuvants which modify the emulsion or extensional viscosity of the tank-mixture have been found to offer benefits in drift management, primarily by eliminating or reducing the 'Fine' droplets included in the spray with diameters <100-200 μm that can move off-target in unfavorable conditions during ground, airblast and aerial pesticide applications. Among wind tunnel and field studies conducted around the world, there is consensus that while some adjuvants are effective for drift management, the performance varies on a case-by-case basis, requiring verification for each adjuvant which could be achieved through a programme such as certification based on showing a reduction in Fine droplets and/or a reduction in airborne drift.

Genome-scale clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats screen identifies nucleotide metabolism as an actionable therapeutic vulnerability in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common malignancy that develops in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia, a cancer-predisposing inherited syndrome characterized by inactivating germline ATM mutations. ATM is also frequently mutated in sporadic DLBCL. To investigate lymphomagenic mechanisms and lymphoma-specific dependencies underlying defective ATM, we applied RNA sequencing and genome-scale loss-of-function clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 screens to systematically interrogate B-cell lymphomas arising in a novel murine model (Atm-/-nu-/-) with constitutional Atm loss, thymic aplasia but residual T-cell populations.

Direct Support Professionals: Diversity, Disparities, and Deepening Crisis.

In the United States, direct support professionals (DSPs) support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) so they can live in the community. Thirty years of deinstitutionalization and the development of community living options would not have been possible without DSPs. Although life for people with IDD improved greatly, working conditions, wages/benefits, demands, stress/burnout, and trauma experienced by DSPs have worsened.