5'-Amino-Formyl-Thieno[3,2-]thiophene End-Label for On-Strand Synthesis of Far-Red Fluorescent Molecular Rotors and pH-Responsive Probes.

The ability to label synthetic oligonucleotides with fluorescent probes has greatly expanded their nanotechnological applications. To continue this expansion, it is essential to develop approachable, modular, and tunable fluorescent platforms. In this study, we present the synthesis and incorporation of an amino-formyl-thieno[3,2-]thiophene (AFTh) handle at the 5'-position of DNA oligonucleotides.

digitalMALDI: A Single-Particle-Based Mass Spectrometric Detection System for Biomolecules.

The development of a real-time system for characterizing individual biomolecule-containing aerosol particles presents a transformative opportunity to monitor respiratory conditions, including infections and lung diseases. Existing molecular assay technologies, although effective, rely on costly reagents, are relatively slow, and face challenges in multiplexing, limiting their use for real-time applications. To overcome these challenges, we developed digitalMALDI, a laser-based mass spectrometry system designed for single-particle characterization.

Evaluation and Development of Analytical Procedures to Assess Buffering Capacity of Carbonate Ruminant Feed Buffers.

The inclusion of rumen buffers in ruminant feeds has gained widespread adoption for the prevention of rumen acidosis, thereby avoiding the negative production and health consequences of low rumen pH and resulting in improved feed efficiency. Benchmarking and quality controlling the performance of rumen buffer materials is of significant interest to feed mills and end-user producers. The aim of this study was to evaluate, develop and optimise a laboratory protocol to consistently and robustly evaluate rumen buffering materials in order to predict their in vivo efficacy.

A CAR enhancer increases the activity and persistence of CAR T cells.

Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies have demonstrated promising clinical outcomes, durable remissions remain limited. To extend the efficacy of CAR T cells, we develop a CAR enhancer (CAR-E), comprising a CAR T cell antigen fused to an immunomodulatory molecule. Here we demonstrate this strategy using B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) CAR T cells for the treatment of multiple myeloma, with a CAR-E consisting of the BCMA fused to a low-affinity interleukin 2 (IL-2).

Mapping the strain-stiffening behavior of the lung and lung cancer at microscale resolution using the crystal ribcage.

Lung diseases such as cancer substantially alter the mechanical properties of the organ with direct impact on the development, progression, diagnosis, and treatment response of diseases. Despite significant interest in the lung's material properties, measuring the stiffness of intact lungs at sub-alveolar resolution has not been possible. Recently, we developed the crystal ribcage to image functioning lungs at optical resolution while controlling physiological parameters such as air pressure.

Guide for Combining Primary Tumors for Statistical Analysis in Rodent Carcinogenicity Studies.

The Tumor Combination Guide was created at the request of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a Working Group of biopharmaceutical experts from international societies of toxicologic pathology, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and members of the Standard for Exchange of Nonclinical Data (SEND) initiative, to assist pharmacology/toxicology reviewers and biostatisticians in statistical analysis of nonclinical tumor data.

Seedcorn maggot response to planting date, cover crops, and tillage in organic cropping systems.

Seedcorn maggot, Delia platura (Meigen) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), is an economically important early-season pest of corn and soybean in the United States. Adult seedcorn maggot is attracted to decomposing plant residues for oviposition, creating potential management issues where growers typically use tillage to incorporate fertility amendments and to create a seedbed. The use of growing degree-day models to time planting dates is an important tool for effectively managing this pest, but their use has not been examined in organic crop production.

Multiscale elasticity mapping of biological samples in 3D at optical resolution.

The mechanical properties of biological tissues have emerged as an integral determinant of tissue function in health and disease. Nonetheless, characterizing the elasticity of biological samples in 3D and at high resolution remains challenging. Here, we present a µElastography platform: a scalable elastography system that maps the elastic properties of tissues from cellular to organ scales.

Mercury in Neotropical birds: a synthesis and prospectus on 13 years of exposure data.

Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination of the global tropics outpaces our understanding of its consequences for biodiversity. Knowledge gaps of pollution exposure could obscure conservation threats in the Neotropics: a region that supports over half of the world's species, but faces ongoing land-use change and Hg emission via artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Due to their global distribution and sensitivity to pollution, birds provide a valuable opportunity as bioindicators to assess how accelerating Hg emissions impact an ecosystem's ability to support biodiversity, and ultimately, global health.

Factors influencing mercury exposure in Arctic-breeding shorebirds.

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains a concern to Arctic ecosystems, due to long-range transport from southern industrial regions and melting permafrost and glaciers. The objective of this study was to identify intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal factors influencing Hg concentrations in Arctic-breeding shorebirds and highlight regions and species at greatest risk of Hg exposure. We analyzed 1094 blood and 1384 feather samples from 12 shorebird species breeding at nine sites across the North American Arctic during 2012 and 2013.

Dementia resources for eating, activity, and meaningful inclusion (DREAM) toolkit co-development: process, output, and lessons learned.

Promoting wellbeing of persons with dementia and their families is a priority of research and practice. Engaging diverse partners, including persons with dementia and their families, to co-develop interventions promotes relevant and impactful solutions. We describe the process, output, and lessons learned from the dementia resources for eating, activity, and meaningful inclusion (DREAM) project, which co-developed tools/resources with persons with dementia, care partners, community service providers, health care professionals, and researchers with the aim of increasing supports for physical activity, healthy eating, and wellbeing of persons with dementia.

Isomer-Specific Solvatochromic and Molecular Rotor Properties of ESIPT-Active Push-Pull Fluorescent Chalcone Dyes.

Aromatic chromophores possessing intramolecular hydrogen-bonds that can undergo excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) are critical tools for chemosensing/biosensing applications because they create large Stokes-shifted fluorescence with no overlap with the absorption spectrum to limit back-ground interferences. Classic ESIPT-active fluorophores, such as the 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl) benzazole (HBX) series (X = NH, O, S), favor a ground-state (GS) enol (E) form that undergoes ESIPT to afford an excited-state (ES) keto (K) tautomer that generates red-shifted fluorescence. Herein, we have attached the HBX moiety to 6-methoxy-indanone (6MI) to create isomeric ( and ) ESIPT-active chalcone dyes and have characterized their photophysical properties in polar protic solvents (MeOH and glycerol (Gly)/MeOH mixtures) and a nonpolar aprotic (1,4-dioxane) solvent for comparison.

The dementia-inclusive choices in exercise project: Using participatory action research to improve physical activity supports for persons with dementia.

Persons with dementia have the right to equal inclusion in rehabilitation, including physical activity. However, the perspectives of persons with dementia are rarely integrated into decision-making related to physical activity programming, services, and supports. Here, we describe the participatory action research (PAR) approach used to develop the Dementia-Inclusive Choices for Exercise (DICE) toolkit, which aims to increase the quality and number of physical activity opportunities available to persons with dementia.

Crystal ribcage: a platform for probing real-time lung function at cellular resolution.

Understanding the dynamic pathogenesis and treatment response in pulmonary diseases requires probing the lung at cellular resolution in real time. Despite advances in intravital imaging, optical imaging of the lung during active respiration and circulation has remained challenging. Here, we introduce the crystal ribcage: a transparent ribcage that allows multiscale optical imaging of the functioning lung from whole-organ to single-cell level.

Intravital measurements of solid stresses in tumours reveal length-scale and microenvironmentally dependent force transmission.

In cancer, solid stresses impede the delivery of therapeutics to tumours and the trafficking and tumour infiltration of immune cells. Understanding such consequences and the origin of solid stresses requires their probing in vivo at the cellular scale. Here we report a method for performing volumetric and longitudinal measurements of solid stresses in vivo, and findings from its applicability to tumours.

Adolescent Providers' Experiences of Harassment Related to Delivering Gender-Affirming Care.

Purpose: The politicization of adolescent gender-affirming care has occurred alongside targeted harassment (e.g., threats of violence, doxing, bomb threats) of adolescent gender-affirming care providers across the United States.

Value profile for respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the predominant cause of acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) in young children worldwide, yet no licensed RSV vaccine exists to help prevent the millions of illnesses and hospitalizations and tens of thousands of young lives taken each year. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) prophylaxis exists for prevention of RSV in a small subset of very high-risk infants and young children, but the only currently licensed product is impractical, requiring multiple doses and expensive for the low-income settings where the RSV disease burden is greatest. A robust candidate pipeline exists to one day prevent RSV disease in infant and pediatric populations, and it focuses on two promising passive immunization approaches appropriate for low-income contexts: maternal RSV vaccines and long-acting infant mAbs.

The peritumor microenvironment: physics and immunity.

Cancer initiation and progression drastically alter the microenvironment at the interface between healthy and malignant tissue. This site, termed the peritumor, bears unique physical and immune attributes that together further promote tumor progression through interconnected mechanical signaling and immune activity. In this review, we describe the distinct physical features of the peritumoral microenvironment and link their relationship to immune responses.

An anatomical investigation of the suboccipital- and inferior suboccipital triangles.

The suboccipital triangle (ST) is a clinically relevant landmark in the posterior aspect of the neck and is used to locate and mobilize the horizontal segment of the third part of the vertebral artery before it enters the cranium. Unfortunately, this space is not always a viable option for vertebral artery exposition, and consequently a novel triangle, the inferior suboccipital triangle (IST) has been defined. This alternative triangle will allow surgeons to locate the artery more proximally, where its course is more predictable.

Persistence of immune responses after heterologous and homologous third COVID-19 vaccine dose schedules in the UK: eight-month analyses of the COV-BOOST trial.

Background: COV-BOOST is a multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial of seven COVID-19 vaccines used as a third booster dose in June 2021. Monovalent messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines were subsequently widely used for the third and fourth-dose vaccination campaigns in high-income countries. Real-world vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infections following third doses declined during the Omicron wave.

A Decade of Dietary Assessment Methodology Research at the National Institutes of Health, 2012-2021.

Background: Assessment of individual and population-level dietary intake is critical for public health surveillance, epidemiology, and dietary intervention research. In recognition of that need, the National Insitutes of Health (NIH) has a history of funding research projects designed to support the development, implementation, and refinement of tools to assess dietary intake in humans.

Objectives: This report provides data and information on NIH-funded dietary intake assessment methodological research over the period of 2012-2021.

Perceived Benefits and Barriers of a COVID-19 Test to Stay Program in a School District Serving Black or African American People With Low Income, December 2021.

Objectives: Quarantine after exposure to COVID-19 has resulted in substantial loss of in-person learning in schools from prekindergarten through grade 12. Test to Stay (TTS), a strategy that limits the spread of SARS-CoV-2 while prioritizing in-person learning, requires substantial investment in resources. The objective of this study was to assess the perceived benefits, barriers, and facilitators of implementing TTS in an urban school district in the Midwest serving primarily Black or African American people with low income.

Scientific and Regulatory Policy Committee Best Practices: Recommended ("Best") Practices for Informed (Non-blinded) Versus Masked (Blinded) Microscopic Evaluation in Animal Toxicity Studies.

This article describes the Society of Toxicologic Pathology's (STP) five recommended ("best") practices for appropriate use of informed (non-blinded) versus masked (blinded) microscopic evaluation in animal toxicity studies intended for regulatory review. (1) Informed microscopic evaluation is the default approach for animal toxicity studies. (2) Masked microscopic evaluation has merit for confirming preliminary diagnoses for target organs and/or defining thresholds ("no observed adverse effect level" and similar values) identified during an initial informed evaluation, addressing focused hypotheses, or satisfying guidance or requests from regulatory agencies.