The use of ultrasonography in the transition period to estimate adipose tissue depots and their association with risk of early postpartum hyperketonemia in Holstein dairy cattle.

An elevated prepartum BCS is a risk factor for postpartum hyperketonemia (HYK) and elevated nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations in dairy cattle. The association between different adipose tissue depots, such as subcutaneous (SCAT) as well as visceral adipose tissue (VAT) depots, and HYK and elevated NEFA concentrations remains unknown. The objective of this 2-part study was to describe SCAT and VAT depots using ultrasonography during the transition period and to associate them with metabolic markers of negative energy balance in early postpartum dairy cows.

Dynamic Co-Clustering and Self-Sorting in Interactive Protocell Populations.

The design and implementation of collective actions in model protocell communities is an on-going challenge in synthetic protobiology. Herein, we covalently graft alginate or chitosan onto the outer surface of semipermeable enzyme-containing silica colloidosomes to produce hairy catalytic protocells with pH-switchable membrane surface charge. Binary populations of the enzymatically active protocells exhibit self-initiated stimulus-responsive changes in spatial organization such that the mixed community undergoes alternative modes of electrostatically induced self-sorting and reversible co-clustering.

Perspectives of In-Hospital Intramuscular Naltrexone and Oral Medications for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Study of Addiction Clinicians and Hospitalized Patients.

Background: Alcohol-related hospitalizations are rising; however, medications for alcohol use disorder (M-AUD) are underprescribed despite their effectiveness to reduce heavy drinking. In-hospital administration of intramuscular (IM)-naltrexone may reduce negative health outcomes among people with AUD who are unable to take daily MAUD.

Objective: To assess addiction clinicians' perceptions of offering and administering IM-naltrexone and to assess hospitalized patients' perspectives on their alcohol use and acceptance of MAUD.

Chemomechanical Self-Oscillatory Microgel Motility in Stratified Chemical Media.

The design of chemomechanical self-oscillators, which execute oscillations in the presence of constant stimuli lacking periodicity, is a step toward the development of autonomous and interactive soft robotic systems. This work presents a simple design of prolonged chemomechanical oscillatory movement in a microgel system capable of buoyant motility within stratified chemical media containing spatially localized sinking and floating stimuli. Three design elements are developed: a stimuli-responsive membranized calcium alginate microgel, a Percoll density gradient for providing stratified antagonistic chemical media, and transduction of microgel particle size actuation into buoyant motility via membrane-mediated displacement of the Percoll media.

Negative spillover due to constraints on care delivery: a potential source of bias in pragmatic clinical trials.

Background: Pragmatic clinical trials evaluate the effectiveness of health interventions in real-world settings. Negative spillover can arise in a pragmatic trial if the study intervention affects how scarce resources are allocated across patients in the intervention and comparison groups.

Main Body: Negative spillover can lead to overestimation of treatment effect and harm to patients assigned to usual care in trials of diverse health interventions.

Overexpressed Palladin Rescues Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) Pedestal Lengths in ArpC2 Depleted Cells.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) causes diarrheal disease. Once ingested, these extracellular pathogens attach to the intestinal epithelial cells of their host, collapse the localized microvilli, and generate actin-rich structures within the host cells that are located beneath the attached bacteria, called "pedestals." Palladin is an actin-associated protein that cross-links and stabilizes actin filaments.

Bolstering the HIV Surveillance System Through Innovative Methods, Technologic Advances, and Community-Driven Solutions to Inform Intervention Efforts and End the Epidemic.

An accurate and comprehensive HIV surveillance system is critical to understanding the burden of HIV infection. Reliable estimates into the surveillance system serve as the cornerstone for HIV prevention and treatment programs. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In this article, we review the current structure and function of the HIV surveillance system in the US, identify gaps in reporting, and propose multiple potential interventions to augment the HIV surveillance system.

Comparison of radial immunodiffusion, turbidimetric immunoassay, and Brix refractometry for determining bovine colostrum quality.

Determining the concentration of IgG in colostrum is critical for assessment of colostrum quality. On-farm use of a Brix refractometer to estimate colostrum IgG concentration is widespread, whereas radial immunodiffusion (RID) is the laboratory reference method. Turbidimetric immunoassay (TIA) might offer an alternative method to quantify IgG in colostrum, but the agreement with RID, as well as critical thresholds to determine high-quality colostrum, remain uncertain.

Hemoconcentration differs in neonatal dairy calves: Considerations for assessment of transfer of passive immunity.

Assessing transfer of passive immunity (TPI) is a critical management strategy to evaluate colostrum management and feeding; however, variability in hemoconcentration or serum or plasma volume in calves might influence TPI assessment. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the variability in hemoconcentration as well as TPI in Holstein calves in New York State and (2) describe the effect of adjusting total protein (TP) for the degree of hemoconcentration by applying a sample average proportion of plasma in blood (PP) on TPI assessment. Records of TP and PP from 703 Holstein calves 1 to 9 d of age from 19 commercial dairy farms were analyzed.

Digital Doppelgängers and Lifespan Extension: What Matters?

There is an ongoing debate about the ethics of research on lifespan extension: roughly, using medical technologies to extend biological human lives beyond the current "natural" limit of about 120 years. At the same time, there is an exploding interest in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create "digital twins" of persons, for example by fine-tuning large language models on data specific to particular individuals. In this paper, we consider whether digital twins (or digital doppelgängers, as we refer to them) could be a path toward a kind of life extension-or more precisely, a kind of extension-that does not rely on biological continuity.

Enabling Demonstrated Consent for Biobanking with Blockchain and Generative AI.

Participation in research is supposed to be voluntary and informed. Yet it is difficult to ensure people are adequately informed about the potential uses of their biological materials when they donate samples for future research. We propose a novel consent framework which we call "demonstrated consent" that leverages blockchain technology and generative AI to address this problem.

Elective Induction of Labor May Have Negative Effects at the Hospital Level.

Labor induction increased in the United States after the publication of A Randomized Trial of Induction Versus Expectant Management (ARRIVE) in 2018. During this trial, investigators found that elective induction at 39 weeks in low-risk nulliparous women led to similar perinatal outcomes when compared to expectant management. However, other researchers have since linked rising labor induction rates to worse hospital- and population-level outcomes.

Impact of COVID-19 on Confidence and Anxiety in Medical Students Related to Procedural Skills.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for hands-on surgical and procedural skills training and practice were significantly reduced, as many curricular activities were deferred or converted to a virtual format. This study focused on whether these changes contributed to increased anxiety and decreased confidence for medical students performing these skills.

Methods: The Surgical Skills Technology Elective Program (SSTEP) is an annual five-day intensive procedural skills program after second-year medical school.

Room-Temperature Optically Detected Coherent Control of Molecular Spins.

Optically interfaced molecular spins are a promising platform for quantum sensing and imaging. Key for such applications is optically detecting coherent spin manipulation at room temperature. Here, using the photoexcited triplet state of organic chromophores (pentacene doped in p-terphenyl), we optically detect coherent spin manipulation with photoluminescence contrasts exceeding 15% at room temperature, both in a molecular crystal and thin film.

Cryo-PRO facilitates whole blood cryopreservation for single-cell RNA sequencing of immune cells from clinical samples.

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) has enhanced our understanding of host immune mechanisms in small cohorts, particularly in diseases with complex and heterogeneous immune responses such as sepsis. However, PBMC isolation from blood requires technical expertise, training, and approximately two hours of onsite processing using Ficoll density gradient separation ('Ficoll') for scRNA-seq compatibility, precluding large-scale sample collection at most clinical sites. To minimize onsite processing, we developed Cryo-PRO (Cryopreservation with PBMC Recovery Offsite), a method of PBMC isolation from cryopreserved whole blood that allows immediate onsite sample cryopreservation and subsequent PBMC isolation in a central laboratory prior to sequencing.

Twenty Years of Legal Marriage for Same-Sex Couples in the United States: Evidence Review and New Analyse.

Twenty years ago, the United States was divided by heated debates over legalizing marriage for same-sex couples. Those in favor argued that granting same-sex couples access to marriage would strengthen commitment for same-sex couples, extend the financial benefits of marriage to same-sex households, and improve outcomes for children raised by same-sex parents. Those who were opposed argued that granting legal status to marriages between same-sex partners would alter the foundation of marriage and diminish its value for different-sex couples, ultimately harming children by making them less likely to be raised in stable, two-parent families.

Pre- and postpartum metabolizable protein supply: I. Effects on feed intake, lactation performance, and metabolic markers in transition dairy cows.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of increasing MP supply in the prepartum, postpartum, or both diets on intake, performance, and metabolic indicators. Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 96) were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups at 28 d before expected calving following a randomized block design. Prepartum diets were formulated to contain either a control (CON; 85 g of MP/kg DM) or high (HI; 113 g of MP/kg DM) level of estimated MP.

Pre- and postpartum metabolizable protein supply: II. Effects on plasma amino acids and markers of tissue mobilization in transition Holstein dairy cows.

The influence of diet composition on the degree of adipose and lean muscle mobilization and concentrations of circulating AA has been demonstrated during the transition period. Altering the MP supply might offer a strategy to control tissue mobilization and increase circulating AA availability, but the optimum supply of MP fed pre- and postpartum remains unknown. We investigated the effect of increasing the MP supply in the prepartum, postpartum, or both diets on plasma AA concentrations and ultrasound and circulating indicators of tissue mobilization.

Veracity Judgments Based on Complications: A Training Experiment.

Research has shown that complications are more common in truth tellers' accounts than in lie tellers' accounts, but there is currently no experiment that has examined the accuracy of observers' veracity judgments when looking at complications. A total of 87 participants were asked to judge 10 transcripts (five truthful and five false) derived from a set of 59 transcripts generated in a previous experiment by Deeb et al. Approximately half of the participants were trained to detect complications (Trained), and the other half did not receive training (Untrained).

Patient Factors Associated with 10-Year Survival After Arthroplasty for Hip Fracture: A Population-Based Study in Ontario, Canada.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe long-term (10-year) patient survival after arthroplasty for hip fracture and to determine what patient factors are associated with that outcome.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients ≥60 years old who underwent either hemiarthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty for femoral neck fracture between 2002 and 2009. We used routinely collected, validated health-care databases linked through ICES (formerly known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences).

Is the Behavioural Gender Gap Decreasing? Evidence from Food Consumption in Swiss Single-Person Households.

While Switzerland has made some progress over the past few decades in treating men and women more equally, this study intends to find out whether Swiss men and women's food consumption patterns also converged between 1990 and 2017. After analysing 1.8 million observations of one-member households' food baskets, we found that gender gaps are increasing significantly for 16 of 70 studied foods, decreasing significantly for another 16 of 70 studied foods and not changing significantly for more than half of the studied foods.