On the mechanical origins of waving, coiling and skewing in roots.

By masterfully balancing directed growth and passive mechanics, plant roots are remarkably capable of navigating complex heterogeneous environments to find resources. Here, we present a theoretical and numerical framework which allows us to interrogate and simulate the mechanical impact of solid interfaces on the growth pattern of plant organs. We focus on the well-known waving, coiling, and skewing patterns exhibited by roots of when grown on inclined surfaces, serving as a minimal model of the intricate interplay with solid substrates.

A quantitative model for spatio-temporal dynamics of root gravitropism.

Plant organs adapt their morphology according to environmental signals through growth-driven processes called tropisms. While much effort has been directed towards the development of mathematical models describing the tropic dynamics of aerial organs, these cannot provide a good description of roots due to intrinsic physiological differences. Here we present a mathematical model informed by gravitropic experiments on Arabidopsis thaliana roots, assuming a subapical growth profile and apical sensing.

Erythrocytosis in Gender-Affirming Care With Testosterone.

Purpose: Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is safe overall, with few adverse effects. One potential effect from using testosterone for GAHT is an increase in hemoglobin and/or hematocrit, known as secondary erythrocytosis. Current guidelines recommend monitoring hemoglobin or hematocrit routinely in the first year, some as frequently as every 3 months, which can create barriers to care.

Stay-Leave Decision-Making Among Women Victims of Domestic Violence in Israel: Background, Interactional, and Environmental Factors.

The study examined the factors that contribute to stay-leave decision-making of women who are domestic violence victims, focusing on background factors (origin, education, and occupational status); interactional factors (severity of violence, previous separations, and previous stays in a shelter); and social factors (social support and woman's expectations of the shelter). In addition, it examined the contribution of the interaction of woman's expectations of the shelter × psychological violence to the woman's decision to leave/stay with her partner. Six months after returning to the community, 221 women who had stayed in a shelter for at least 3 months were located: 92 were Israeli-born Jews (41.

Mass to voltage ratio index predicts mortality following TAVI.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is commonly performed in elderly patients with aortic stenosis. Better methods of risk stratification are needed in this population with high morbidity. There is a relatively high incidence of cardiac amyloidosis in this population and high LV mass index (LVMI) to QRS voltage may help identify patients with worse prognosis following TAVI.

Contributions of Sex Chromosomes and Gonadal Hormones to the Male Bias in a Maternal Antibody-Induced Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions that is four times more commonly diagnosed in males than females. While susceptibility genes located in the sex chromosomes have been identified in ASD, it is unclear whether they are sufficient to explain the male bias or whether gonadal hormones also play a key role. We evaluated the sex chromosomal and hormonal influences on the male bias in a murine model of ASD, in which mice are exposed to a maternal antibody reactive to contactin-associated protein-like 2 (Caspr2), which was originally cloned from a mother of a child with ASD (termed C6 mice henceforth).

A General 3D Model for Growth Dynamics of Sensory-Growth Systems: From Plants to Robotics.

In recent years, there has been a rise in interest in the development of self-growing robotics inspired by the moving-by-growing paradigm of plants. In particular, climbing plants capitalize on their slender structures to successfully negotiate unstructured environments while employing a combination of two classes of growth-driven movements: tropic responses, growing toward or away from an external stimulus, and inherent nastic movements, such as periodic circumnutations, which promote exploration. In order to emulate these complex growth dynamics in a 3D environment, a general and rigorous mathematical framework is required.

Predicting changes in PTSD and depression among female intimate partner violence survivors during shelter residency: A longitudinal study.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are comorbid consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV), and models explain this comorbidity via an intrinsic relationship between them. The current study posits that changes in both disorders may provide a clearer picture regarding the interrelations between them. We examined mutual contributions of changes in PTSD and depression to each other.

Predicting Depression Among Jewish and Arab Israeli Women Who Are Victims of Intimate Partner Violence.

This study examined whether there were differences in levels of depression between Arab and Jewish Israeli female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and how various personal and environmental variables contributed to depression. A total of 303 women were selected. tests were conducted, and no significant differences were revealed.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Upon Admission to Shelters Among Female Victims of Domestic Violence: An Ecological Model of Trauma.

The study used the ecological model of trauma and recovery (Harvey, 1996) to examine the rates of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among female victims of domestic violence. Five hundred and five participants completed questionnaires upon entering shelters in Israel. Analysis showed that 61% of the participants reported probable PTSD.

The Interrelations of Physical and Mental Health: Self-Rated Health, Depression, and PTSD Among Female IPV Survivors.

Researchers have found that intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with low self-rated health (SRH), which is correlated with increased medication usage, and has tremendous social consequences. IPV and low SRH are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and the current study examined the interrelations between these variables among 505 Israeli women in shelters. To assess mediation, three regressions were designed.

DNA-Mediated Interferon Signature Induction by SLE Serum Occurs in Monocytes Through Two Pathways: A Mechanism to Inhibit Both Pathways.

A primary mechanism for activation of innate immunity is recognition of damage or pathogen associated molecular patterns by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Nucleic acid is a damage associated molecular pattern molecule that when internalized into a monocyte and recognized by intracellular nucleic acid sensing toll like receptors will cause production of type 1 interferon. The process by which DNA or RNA is delivered into the cytosol of monocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus remains incompletely understood, and therapeutic approaches to prevent DNA-mediated monocyte activation are needed.

Length of Women's Stays in Domestic Violence Shelters: Examining the Contribution of Background Variables, Level of Violence, Reasons for Entering Shelters, and Expectations.

Women's shelters are one of the most important services established for women who are victims of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW). Studies indicate that women undergo positive processes in shelters, and the longer the stay in the shelter, the more successful the woman will be in leaving the cycle of violence. However, the literature also reveals a remarkable variance in the length of women's shelter stays, and very little research has been conducted to understand the factors contributing to this variance.

Elastowetting of Soft Hydrogel Spheres.

When a soft hydrogel sphere is placed on a rigid hydrophilic substrate, it undergoes arrested spreading by forming an axisymmetric foot near the contact line, while conserving its global spherical shape. In contrast, liquid water (that constitutes greater than 90% of the hydrogel's volume) spreads into a thin film on the same surface. We study systematically this elastowetting of gel spheres on substrates of different surface energies and find that their contact angle increases as the work of adhesion between the gel and the substrate decreases, as one would observe for drops of pure water-albeit being larger than in the latter case.

Domestic Violence in Arab Society: A Comparison of Arab and Jewish Women in Shelters in Israel.

The aim of the current study was to address a gap in the literature by determining prevalence, specific types of violence, and risk factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) among Israeli born Arab women compared with Israeli born Jewish women. The following measures were compared: demographic and socioeconomic measures; measures relating to the characteristics of the violence, that is, the three types of violence (physical, emotional, and verbally threatening), sense of danger, and history of violence in childhood; family support levels; and perpetrator characteristics. The sample consisted of 154 Israeli born Arab women and 149 Israeli born Jewish women who were staying in shelters for victims of domestic violence in Israel.

Patterns of Service Utilization Among Women Who Are Victims of Domestic Violence: The Contribution of Cultural Background, Characteristics of Violence, and Psychological Distress.

The study examined patterns of utilization of various services among female victims of domestic violence in Israel. The study looked at how cultural background, characteristics of violence, attempts at separation from partner, and women's emotional distress contributed to patterns of service utilization. The sample of participants included 499 women who arrived at 12 shelters in Israel.

Do Emergency Medicine Residents Prefer Resident-initiated or Attending-initiated Feedback?

Background: Real-time feedback is crucial to improving physician performance. Emerging theory suggests that learner-initiated feedback may be more effective in changing performance than attending-initiated feedback, but little is known about how residents perceive resident- versus attending-initiated feedback.

Objectives: The primary aim was to determine whether residents' satisfaction varied by learner-versus attending-initiated feedback encounters.

Elastocapillary bending of microfibers around liquid droplets.

We report on the elastocapillary deformation of flexible microfibers in contact with liquid droplets. A fiber is observed to bend more as the size of the contacting droplet is increased. At a critical droplet size, proportional to the bending elastocapillary length, the fiber is seen to spontaneously wind around the droplet.

C1q and HMGB1 reciprocally regulate human macrophage polarization.

A healthy immune system results from a balance of stimulatory and inhibitory pathways that allow effective responses to acute insults, without descending into chronic inflammation. Failed homeostasis is characteristic of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Although HMGB1 induces proinflammatory M1-like macrophage differentiation, we describe a mechanism by which C1q modulates this activity and collaborates with HMGB1 to induce the differentiation of monocytes to anti-inflammatory M2-like macrophages.

Widefield lensless imaging through a fiber bundle via speckle correlations.

Flexible fiber-optic endoscopes provide a solution for imaging at depths beyond the reach of conventional microscopes. Current endoscopes require focusing and/or scanning mechanisms at the distal end, which limit miniaturization, frame-rate, and field of view. Alternative wavefront-shaping based lensless solutions are extremely sensitive to fiber-bending.

Quantitative Analysis of the Content of EMS Handoff of Critically Ill and Injured Patients to the Emergency Department.

Objectives: Patient handoff occurs when responsibility for patient diagnosis, treatment, or ongoing care is transferred from one healthcare professional to another. Patient handoff is an integral component of quality patient care and is increasingly identified as a potential source of medical error. However, evaluation of handoff from field providers to ED personnel is limited.