Selection Over Small and Large Spatial Scales in the Face of High Gene Flow.

Local adaptation represents the balance of selection and gene flow. Increasingly, studies find that adaptation can occur on spatial scales much smaller than the scale of dispersal, resulting in balanced polymorphisms within populations. However, microgeographic adaptation might be facilitated or hindered by large-scale environmental heterogeneity, such as across latitude.

Factors associated with the dietary total antioxidant capacity of pregnant Brazilian women.

Objective: To investigate the sociodemographic, maternal, and gestational factors associated with the dietary total antioxidant capacity in pregnant Brazilian women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with 2,232 pregnant women aged 18 years old or older, in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, from eleven cities in the five Brazilian regions. A semi-structured questionnaire was applied to assess socioeconomic, demographic, and health data, and a 24-hour dietary recall (R24h) was used to assess food consumption and analyze the dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC), estimated using the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) method.

Comparing Traditional and Technology-Based Methods for Executive Function and Attention Training in Moderate Alzheimer's Dementia.

Background: Background: This study investigates the effects of cognitive interventions on executive functions and attention in patients with moderate Alzheimer's, comparing traditional and technology-based methods with a control group.

Method: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 112 participants, divided into three groups: traditional intervention, technology-based intervention, and control group. Sixteen sessions were carried out, assessed using standardized tests and applying hierarchical linear mixed models to adjust for confounding factors and random effects.

Self-collected penile-meatal swabs are suitable for the detection of STIs in Ugandan men with high rates of STI coinfections.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a global health challenge. Testing is not routinely performed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which bear a disproportionate burden of STIs. Self-collected penile-meatal swabs (SCPMS) are an alternative to urine for STI testing, but data from LMICs are limited.

AI-powered detection and quantification of post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) in cassava using YOLO foundation models and K-means clustering.

Background: Post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) poses a significant challenge to the cassava industry, leading to substantial economic losses. This study aims to address this issue by developing a comprehensive framework in collaboration with cassava breeders.

Results: Advanced deep learning (DL) techniques such as Segment Anything Model (SAM) and YOLO foundation models (YOLOv7, YOLOv8, YOLOv9, and YOLO-NAS), were used to accurately categorize PPD severity from RGB images captured by cameras or cell phones.

Local emergence and global evolution of with high-level resistance to azithromycin.

Antimicrobial resistance in (Ng) has severely reduced treatment options, including azithromycin (AZM), which had previously been recommended as dual therapy with ceftriaxone. This study characterizes the emergence of high-level resistance to AZM (HLR-AZM) Ng in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and describes the global evolution of HLR-AZM Ng. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 30 Ng isolates with and without HLR-AZM from Baltimore was used to identify clonality and resistance determinants.

Exploiting β-Lactams-Induced Lysis and DNA Fragmentation for Rapid Molecular Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae via Dual-Digital PCR.

The evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents substantial challenges to global medical health systems. Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae), in particular, has developed resistance to all currently available antimicrobials.

"I Got Laughed at for the Shuffle Noise I Make": Parkinson's Disease and Stigma.

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) are at risk for stigma. The stigma theory suggests four stigma types: public stigma, self-stigma, stigma by association, and structural stigma. The purposes of this study were to understand how people with PD and caregivers perceived and experienced stigma, review the literature and scan social media for evidence of stigma and PD, and examine the interrelationships between stigma types.

Addressing loneliness in older adults: predictors, protective factors, and implications for social work practice.

Loneliness significantly impacts the mental well-being of older adults, prompting an examination of psychological predictors and buffering factors associated with it in this demographic. A cross-sectional study involving 246 community-dwelling older adults was conducted. The UCLA Loneliness Scale identified predictors of loneliness, including negative mood, hopelessness (negative future expectations and loss of motivation), and despair.

An interpretable machine learning-based cerebrospinal fluid proteomics clock for predicting age reveals novel insights into brain aging.

Machine learning can be used to create "biologic clocks" that predict age. However, organs, tissues, and biofluids may age at different rates from the organism as a whole. We sought to understand how cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes with age to inform the development of brain aging-related disease mechanisms and identify potential anti-aging therapeutic targets.

Calcein release from DPPC liposomes by phospholipase A2 activity: Effect of cholesterol and amphipathic copolymers.

In this study, we evaluated the impact of incorporating diblock and triblock amphiphilic copolymers, as well as cholesterol into DPPC liposomes on the release of a model molecule, calcein, mediated by exogenous phospholipase A2 activity. Our findings show that calcein release slows down in the presence of copolymers at low concentration, while at high concentration, the calcein release profile resembles that of the DPPC control. Additionally, calcein release mediated by exogenous PLA2 decreases as the amount of solubilized cholesterol increases, with a maximum between 18 mol% and 20 mol%.

An Evaluation of the Performance, Patient Acceptability, and Feasibility of a Point-of-Care HIV-Syphilis Assay in an Urban Emergency Department.

Background: Point-of-care (POC) tests for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) permit delivery of results during the patient's emergency department (ED) encounter. We evaluated performance, patient acceptability, and feasibility of a new duplex POC test, Chembio Dual Path Platform HIV-Syphilis Assay, in an urban ED setting.

Methods: Convenience sampling approach prioritizing those considered at increased risk for an STI and/or with a history of HIV.

Effect of emotional valence on true and false recognition controlling arousal.

The aim of our experiment was to analyse the effect of the emotional valence (positive, negative, or neutral) on true and false recognition, matching the arousal, frequency, concreteness, and associative strength of the study and recognition words. Fifty younger adults and 46 healthy older adults performed three study tasks (with words of different valence: positive, negative, neutral) and their corresponding recognition tests. Two weeks later, they performed the three recognition tests again.

Erratum: Large-scale kinetic roughening behavior of coffee-ring fronts [Phys. Rev. E 106, 044801 (2022)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.106.

Senescence and fibrosis in salivary gland aging and disease.

Salivary gland hypofunction is highly prevalent in aged and diseased individuals leading to significant discomfort and morbidity. One factor that contributes to salivary gland hypofunction is cellular aging, or senescence. Senescent cells can impair gland function by secreting paracrine-acting growth factors and cytokines, known as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors.

Exploring Epitaxial Structures for Electrically Pumped Perovskite Lasers: A Study of CsPb(Br,I) Based on the Bethe-Salpeter Equation.

Halide perovskites are widely used as components of electronic and optoelectronic devices such as solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), optically pumped lasers, field-effect transistors, photodetectors, and γ-detectors. Despite this wide range of applications, the construction of an electrically pumped perovskite laser remains challenging. In this paper, we numerically justify that mixing two perovskite compounds with different halide elements can lead to optical properties suitable for electrical pumping.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Intervention in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Follow-Up.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) stands as the prevailing type of dementia, marked by gradual memory loss and cognitive decline. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive method used to regulate cortical brain function and has been explored as a potential treatment for cognitive impairment.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of daily home-based active or sham tDCS on cognitive function in patients with early-stage AD and its follow-up after one month.

Universal interface fluctuations in the contact process.

We study the interface representation of the contact process at its directed-percolation critical point, where the scaling properties of the interface can be related to those of the original particle model. Interestingly, such a behavior happens to be intrinsically anomalous and more complex than that described by the standard Family-Vicsek dynamic scaling Ansatz of surface kinetic roughening. We expand on a previous numerical study by Dickman and Muñoz [Phys.

Stress and burnout in nursing home and égida workers during COVID-19.

Aims: Finding out whether there are differences in the levels of stress and burnout between workers providing care to dependent adults and those caring for independent older adults would provide comparative information about two different models of care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, workers caring for older adults were subjected to maladaptive situations that produced stress and burnout.

Design: A cross-sectional survey design using the STROBE checklist.

High level of HIV viral suppression in a cross-sectional study of Ugandan men with urethritis and bacterial STI.

Background: Urethritis associated with non-viral sexually transmitted infections (STI) increases the risk of HIV acquisition and transmission in those living with HIV (LWH) without viral load suppression (VLS). Compared to women, men typically have lower rates of HIV VLS. We assessed the prevalence of VLS and drug resistance mutations in men LWH and urethral discharge syndrome (UDS) in Kampala, Uganda.

Increased delivery and cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in HeLa cells using the synthetic cationic peptide pEM-2 functionalized liposomes.

Hypothesis: Due to the inability of nano-carriers to passively cross the cell membrane, cell penetration enhancers are used to accelerate cytoplasmic delivery of antineoplastic drugs. In this regard, snake venom phospholipase A2 peptides are known for their ability to destabilize natural and artificial membranes. In this context, functionalized liposomes with peptide pEM-2 should favor the incorporation of doxorubicin and increase its cytotoxicity in HeLa cells compared to free doxorubicin, and doxorubicin encapsulated in non-functionalized liposomes.