Molnupiravir maintains antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants and exhibits a high barrier to the development of resistance.

Molnupiravir, an oral prodrug of N-hydroxycytidine (NHC), previously demonstrated broad antiviral activity against multiple RNA viruses and has shown a high barrier to the development of resistance. Here, we present the antiviral activity of NHC against recent SARS-CoV-2 variants and the results of resistance selection studies to better understand the potential for viral resistance to NHC. NHC activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants omicron (BA.

Predicting substantive biomedical citations without full text.

Insights from biomedical citation networks can be used to identify promising avenues for accelerating research and its downstream bench-to-bedside translation. Citation analysis generally assumes that each citation documents substantive knowledge transfer that informed the conception, design, or execution of the main experiments. Citations may exist for other reasons.

New species of Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from two Chihuahuan Desert springs.

Two new populations of Pyrgulopsis were found in springs in the Chihuahuan desert region of Texas. Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 are a diverse group of snails occupying freshwater springs, usually narrow-range endemics limited to a single spring. Their small ranges confer substantial conservation concern as the drying or disturbance of a single spring can lead to their extinction.

Robustness of evidence reported in preprints during peer review.

Scientists have expressed concern that the risk of flawed decision making is increased through the use of preprint data that might change after undergoing peer review. This Health Policy paper assesses how COVID-19 evidence presented in preprints changes after review. We quantified attrition dynamics of more than 1000 epidemiological estimates first reported in 100 preprints matched to their subsequent peer-reviewed journal publication.

Two new species of Pyrgulopsis Call amp; Pilsbry, 1886 (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from springs in the Rio Grande watershed in Texas.

Pyrgulopsis Call Pilsbry, 1886 is a genus of small (<5 mm) spring snails, usually endemic to single freshwater springs. Two new populations of Pyrgulopsis found in very small, isolated springs and spring runs in the mainstem Rio Grande watershed of western Texas are distinguished from congeners. Mitochondrial and nuclear sequences, morphometrics, and morphological characteristics support Pyrgulopsis rubra sp.

Emergency risk communication and sensemaking during smoke events: A survey of practitioners.

Emergency risk communication (ERC) for smoke emitted from major fires continues to challenge governments. During these events, practitioners (including scientific, communication, and emergency response government staff) are tasked with quickly making sense of the public health risks and the communication options available. Practitioners' sensemaking-the process of creating meaning from information about an unfolding emergency-is key to effective ERC.

Hyporheic ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Texas (USA) with six new species.

Between 2015 and 2017, 58 ostracod taxa were collected at 30 locations in 111 samples from the hyporheic zone of surface streams in Texas, U.S.A.

A tipping point for open citation data.

Open citation data can improve the transparency and robustness of scientific portfolio analysis, improve science policy decision-making, stimulate downstream commercial activity, and increase the discoverability of scientific articles. Once sparsely populated, public-domain citation databases crossed a threshold of one billion citations in February 2021. Shortly thereafter, the threshold of one billion public-domain citations from the Crossref database alone.

Subterranean freshwater gastropod biodiversity and conservation in the United States and Mexico.

Many taxonomic groups successfully exploit groundwater environments and have adapted to a subterranean (stygobiotic) existence. Among these groups are freshwater gastropods (stygosnails), which represent a widespread and taxonomically diverse component of groundwater ecosystems in North America. However, owing to sampling difficulty and lack of targeted study, stygosnails remain among the most understudied of all subterranean groups.

A T-cell-dependent antibody response study using a murine surrogate anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody as an alternative to a non-human primate model.

The programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) pathway represents a major immune checkpoint which may be engaged by cells in a tumor microenvironment to overcome active T-cell immune surveillance. Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a potent and highly selective humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) of the IgG/κ isotype designed to directly block the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2. The current work was focused on developing a mouse T-Dependent Antibody Response (TDAR) model using a murinized rat anti-mouse PD-1 antibody (muDX400; a rodent surrogate for pembrolizumab) to evaluate the potential impact of treatment with a PD-1 inhibitor on immune responses to an antigen challenge (e.

Patients' attitudes and beliefs to presbyopia and its correction.

Objective: Presbyopia is the gradual inability to focus near objects with age. This study explores patients' attitudes and beliefs towards presbyopia including preferred modes of near refractive correction.

Methods: In the United Kingdom, twenty-four volunteers completed an online questionnaire and attended a structured, recorded focus group.

Biophysical and Immunological Characterization and Pharmacokinetics and Toxicology in Nonhuman Primates of the Anti-PD-1 Antibody Pembrolizumab.

The programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) pathway represents a major immune checkpoint, which may be engaged by cells in the tumor microenvironment to overcome active T-cell immune surveillance. Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, MK-3475) is a potent and highly selective humanized mAb of the IgG4/kappa isotype designed to directly block the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2. This blockade enhances the functional activity of T cells to facilitate tumor regression and ultimately immune rejection.

Topic choice contributes to the lower rate of NIH awards to African-American/black scientists.

Despite efforts to promote diversity in the biomedical workforce, there remains a lower rate of funding of National Institutes of Health R01 applications submitted by African-American/black (AA/B) scientists relative to white scientists. To identify underlying causes of this funding gap, we analyzed six stages of the application process from 2011 to 2015 and found that disparate outcomes arise at three of the six: decision to discuss, impact score assignment, and a previously unstudied stage, topic choice. Notably, AA/B applicants tend to propose research on topics with lower award rates.

The NIH Open Citation Collection: A public access, broad coverage resource.

Citation data have remained hidden behind proprietary, restrictive licensing agreements, which raises barriers to entry for analysts wishing to use the data, increases the expense of performing large-scale analyses, and reduces the robustness and reproducibility of the conclusions. For the past several years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Portfolio Analysis (OPA) has been aggregating and enhancing citation data that can be shared publicly. Here, we describe the NIH Open Citation Collection (NIH-OCC), a public access database for biomedical research that is made freely available to the community.

Predicting translational progress in biomedical research.

Fundamental scientific advances can take decades to translate into improvements in human health. Shortening this interval would increase the rate at which scientific discoveries lead to successful treatment of human disease. One way to accomplish this would be to identify which advances in knowledge are most likely to translate into clinical research.

Cirolanides wassenichae sp. nov., a freshwater, subterranean Cirolanidae (Isopoda, Cymothoida) with additional records of other species from Texas, United States.

Cirolanides wassenichae sp. nov., is described from the phreatic zone of the Edwards Aquifer, Texas, USA where it is sympatric with Cirolanides texensis Benedict, 1896.

Providing End-of-Life Care: Increased Empathy and Self-efficacy Among Student Caregivers in Residential Homes for the Dying.

Background: Health-care providers report a lack of training in end-of-life care and limited opportunities exist to learn about the dying process in home settings where most prefer to die.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Community Action, Research, and Education (CARE) program designed to promote empathy and self-efficacy communicating with and caring for terminally ill patients.

Methods: This mixed-methods study collected pre-post data from 18 undergraduates (7 men≤ 11 women) in a 8-week immersive program where they served as primary caregivers in residential homes for the dying providing 200 hours of bedside care to hospice patients during their final days.

sp. nov. A New Ostracoda (Candonidae, Crustacea) Species from Texas, U.S.A.

A new ostracod species, sp. nov. (Cyclocypridinae) is proposed from an artesian well in Hays County, Texas, U.

Lacrimacandona n. gen. (Crustacea: Ostracoda: Candonidae) from the Edwards Aquifer, Texas (USA).

Lacrimacandona n. gen. with its type species Lacrimacandona wisei n.

Relation of Opportunity to Learn Advanced Math to the Educational Attainment of Rural Youth.

Our study examined the relation of advanced math course-taking to the educational attainment of rural youth. We used data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Regression analyses demonstrated that when previous math achievement was accounted for rural students take advanced math at a significantly lower rate than urban students.

SMI-Ribosome inactivating protein conjugates selectively inhibit tumor cell growth.

Cell-targeting conjugates of Saporin 6, a ribosome inactivating protein (RIP), were prepared using the Saporin Ala 157 Cys mutant, a small molecule inhibitor (SMI) of integrins αβ/αβ, and a potent cytotoxin, auristatin F (AF). The conjugates selectively and potently inhibited proliferation of tumor cells expressing the target integrins. We anticipate that the small molecule-RIP bioconjugate approach can be broadly applied using other small molecule drugs.