Aim: Youth who have not recovered from COVID-19 have been referred to as having Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (PASC). The goal of this study was to better understand which symptoms persisted since onset of infection and how these symptoms compare to symptoms experienced by those with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Method: A sample of 19 parents who had a child with PASC were recruited using social media to fill out a questionnaire detailing symptoms at two time points.
Background: Fine motor skills are heritable and comprise important milestones in development, and some evidence suggests that impairments in fine motor skills are associated with neurodevelopmental conditions, psychiatric disorders, and poor educational outcomes.
Methods: In a preregistered study of 9625 preschool children from TEDS (Twins Early Development Study), fine motor assessments (drawing, block building, folding, and questionnaires) were conducted at 2, 3, and 4 years of age. A cross-age fine motor score was derived using principal component analysis.
J Environ Manage
February 2024
Recent trends in wildfire area burned have been characterized by large patches with high densities of standing dead trees, well outside of historical range of variability in many areas and presenting forest managers with difficult decisions regarding post-fire management. Post-fire tree harvesting, commonly called salvage logging, is a controversial management tactic that is often undertaken to recoup economic loss and, more recently, also to reduce future fuel hazard, especially when coupled with surface fuel reduction. It is unclear, however, whether the reductions in future fuels translate to meaningful changes to reburn fire behavior, particularly in the context of potentially detrimental effects of harvest on other ecosystem services.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe C-C motif chemokine receptor 8 (CCR8) is a class A G-protein coupled receptor that has emerged as a promising therapeutic target in cancer. Targeting CCR8 with an antibody has appeared to be an attractive therapeutic approach, but the molecular basis for chemokine-mediated activation and antibody-mediated inhibition of CCR8 are not fully elucidated. Here, we obtain an antagonist antibody against human CCR8 and determine structures of CCR8 in complex with either the antibody or the endogenous agonist ligand CCL1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To assess the impact of student telephone motivational interviewing intervention on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-receptor blockers (ACEI/ARBs) adherence trajectories and identify predictors of each trajectory.
Methods: The intervention group included continuously enrolled Medicare Advantage Plan patients non-adherent to ACEI/ARBs vs the control group (1:2 ratio). The intervention was tailored by pre-intervention trajectories and included an initial and five follow-up calls.
Chemical contaminants, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and industrial compounds are ubiquitous in surface water and sediment in areas subject to human activity. While targeted chemical analysis is typically used for water and sediment quality monitoring, there is growing interest in applying effect-based methods with in vitro bioassays to capture the effects of all active contaminants in a sample. The current study evaluated the biological effects in surface water and sediment from two contrasting catchments in Aotearoa New Zealand, the highly urbanised Whau River catchment in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and the urban and mixed agricultural Koreti (New River) Estuary catchment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper aims to develop smart hydrogels based on functionalized hyaluronic acid (HA) and PLGA-PEG-PLGA (PLGA,poly-(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid); PEG,polyethylene glycol) for use as intraocular drug-delivery platforms. Anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone-phosphate (0.2 %w/v) was the drug selected to load on the hydrogels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore factors influencing the adoption of direct education programs and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change initiatives focused on physical activity for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-eligible audiences by Virginia Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) staff.
Methods: Online survey with Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and SNAP-Ed peer (paraprofessional) educators (n = 28) and SNAP-Ed agents (master of science level) (n = 9) in Virginia. Descriptive statistics were computed for sociodemographic characteristics and responses to questions on the basis of Likert-type scales.
Background: Accurate assessment of the probability of lung cancer (pCA) is critical in patients with pulmonary nodules (PNs) to help guide decision-making. We sought to validate a clinical-genomic classifier developed using whole-transcriptome sequencing of nasal epithelial cells from patients with a PN ≤ 30 mm who smoke or have previously smoked.
Research Question: Can the pCA in individuals with a PN and a history of smoking be predicted by a classifier that uses clinical factors and genomic data from nasal epithelial cells obtained by cytologic brushing?
Study Design And Methods: Machine learning was used to train a classifier using genomic and clinical features on 1,120 patients with PNs labeled as benign or malignant established by a final diagnosis or a minimum of 12 months of radiographic surveillance.
Substance use disorders (SUDs) have an enormous impact on public health. With classic psychedelic-assisted therapies showing initial promise in treating multiple SUDs, it is possible that these treatments will become legally available options for patients with SUDs in the future. This article highlights how classic psychedelic-assisted therapies might be integrated into current clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs the name of the genus ("of all sorts and sources") suggests, this genus includes bacteria with a wide range of provenances, including plants, animals, soils, components of the water cycle, and humans. Some members of the genus are pathogenic to plants, and some are suspected to be opportunistic human pathogens; while others are used as microbial pesticides or show promise in biotechnological applications. During its taxonomic history, the genus and its species have seen many revisions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe need to reconcile food production, the safeguarding of nature, and the protection of public health is imperative in a world of continuing global change, particularly in the context of risks of emerging zoonotic disease (EZD). In this paper, we explored potential land use strategies to reduce EZD risks using a landscape approach. We focused on strategies for cases where the dynamics of pathogen transmission among species were poorly known and the ideas of "land-use induced spillover" and "landscape immunity" could be used very broadly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPollutant emissions from gas flares in the upstream oil and gas (UOG) industry can be exacerbated by aerosols of coproduced liquid hydrocarbons and formation water that survive separation and enter the flare. Of noteworthy concern is the potential impact of salt-laden aerosols, since the associated chlorine may adversely affect combustion and emissions. Here, we use a novel approach to remotely detect carry-over of salt-laden aerosols into field-operational flares via flame emission spectroscopy targeting two of the most abundant species in produced water samples, sodium and potassium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To characterize how the proximity of deep brain stimulation (DBS) active contact locations relative to the cerebellothalamic tract (CTT) affect clinical outcomes in patients with essential tremor (ET).
Background: DBS is an effective treatment for refractory ET. However, the role of the CTT in mediating the effect of DBS for ET is not well characterized.
Recent field research on the eastern slopes of the Andes resulted in the discovery of a new species of from the Cerro Candelaria Reserve in the Tungurahua province of Ecuador. is the second smallest species in the genus and differs from the smallest by the presence of glutinous trichomes on the ovary, glabrous sepals, and greenish-yellow petals with purple spots. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status is assigned as Vulnerable (VU).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn ovarian cancer, there is no current method to accurately predict recurrence after a complete response to chemotherapy. Here, we develop a machine learning risk score using serum proteomics for the prediction of early recurrence of ovarian cancer after initial treatment. The developed risk score was validated in an independent cohort with serum collected prospectively during the remission period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the association of age at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation with CD4 + : CD8 + T-cell ratio in virally suppressed people with HIV on long-term ART, and to characterize potential CD4 + : CD8 + ratio recovery in this population by age.
Design: A longitudinal study of people attending an HIV clinic at the Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust, London, who initiated ART between 2001 and 2015, and achieved and maintained HIV-1 viral suppression (viral load <1,000 copies/ml). The association of age group at ART initiation with CD4 + : CD8 + ratio at 5 and 10 years was assessed.
Introduction: The handheld fan ('fan') is useful for chronic breathlessness management, however little is known about clinicians' implementation of the fan in clinical practice.
Aim: To explore clinicians' experiences and views of fan implementation.
Methods: A qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews.
CD8+ T cell dysfunction contributes to severe respiratory viral infection outcomes in older adults. CD8+ T cells are the primary cell type responsible for viral clearance. With increasing age, CD8+ T cell function declines in conjunction with an accumulation of cytotoxic tissue-resident memory (TRM) CD8+ T cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPredicting how new mutations alter phenotypes is difficult because mutational effects vary across genotypes and environments. Recently discovered global epistasis, where the fitness effects of mutations scale with the fitness of the background genotype, can improve predictions, but how the environment modulates this scaling is unknown. We measured the fitness effects of ~100 insertion mutations in 42 strains of in six laboratory environments and found that the global-epistasis scaling is nearly invariant across environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis exploratory, post hoc analysis aimed to model circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) dynamics and predict disease progression in patients with treatment-naïve locally advanced/metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor mutation (EGFRm)-positive non-small cell lung cancer, from the FLAURA trial (NCT02296125). Patients were randomized 1:1 and received osimertinib 80 mg once daily (q.d.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To assess the potential of workplace support to protect public health equity workers against job burnout and to identify key workplace support components.
Description: This mixed-methods, explanatory sequential study analyzed survey and interview data collected between August 2020 and June 2021. Participants included governmental and non-governmental public health employees whose programs largely focus on Maternal and Child Health populations and who reported that their jobs involved working to reduce health inequities ("equity work").
Mitochondrial degeneration in various neurodegenerative diseases, specifically in Alzheimer's disease, involves excessive mitochondrial fission and reduced fusion, leading to cell damage. P110 is a seven-amino acid peptide that restores mitochondrial dynamics by acting as an inhibitor of mitochondrial fission. However, the role of P110 as a neuroprotective agent in AD remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn George Wald's Nobel Prize acceptance speech for "discoveries concerning the primary physiological and chemical visual processes in the eye", he noted that events after the activation of rhodopsin to explain visual reception. Photoreceptor membrane phosphoglycerides contain near-saturation amounts of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The visual response to a photon is a retinal isomerization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Smartphone applications (i.e., apps) designed to target mental health symptoms have received increasing public and empirical attention, including in eating disorder|eating disorders (EDs) treatment.
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