Maternal body size affects sex allocation in a gregarious parasitoid.

In parasitoid wasps, body size is a key predictor of reproductive success, as size is often correlated with increased gamete production. In Hymenoptera, due to haplodiploid sex determination, sperm are required to produce daughters but not sons, so sex allocation relies on a female's ability to obtain and manage a finite supply of sperm. Body size may, therefore, affect sex allocation if smaller males provide fewer sperm, or if larger, more fertile females deplete their sperm supplies by fertilizing more eggs.

Psychosis and the self: How spontaneous discussions of subjective experiences compare in the clinical high-risk and first-episode psychosis populations.

Objective: Prior qualitative studies show that individuals with psychoticlike experiences express difficulties concerning their identity. However, previous work has studied individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) and individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) separately. Here, we compare the experiences of individuals at CHR, individuals with FEP, and healthy individuals.

Stef M. Shuster and Meredithe McNamara reply.

This letter responds to a letter by Moti Gorin in the same issue, September-October 2024, of the Hastings Center Report.

Investigation of Titanium Nitride as an Effective Interphase for Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Silicon Carbide Ceramic Matrix Composites.

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) have played a significant role in increasing the efficiency of gas turbine engines. CMCs combine the high temperature resistance of ceramics with the high mechanical strength of ceramic fibers into a single unit. Interphase layers are a crucial component in CMCs, as they prevent ceramic fibers from oxidation and introduce strengthening mechanisms into the composite.

Optical photothermal infrared imaging using metabolic probes in biological systems.

Infrared spectroscopy is a powerful tool for identifying biomolecules. In biological systems, infrared spectra provide information on structure, reaction mechanisms, and conformational change of biomolecules. However, the promise of applying infrared imaging to biological systems has been hampered by low spatial resolution and the overwhelming water background arising from the aqueous nature of in cell and work.

A pilot study investigating the effect of the BEGIN psychoeducation intervention for people at clinical high risk for psychosis on emotional and stigma-related experiences.

Aim: There is concern that the provision of the clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) label is stigmatizing. Prior research suggests people have nuanced reactions to feedback involving the CHR label, including a positive experience receiving feedback and improvement in negative emotions (e.g.

Neural circuit basis of placebo pain relief.

Placebo effects are notable demonstrations of mind-body interactions. During pain perception, in the absence of any treatment, an expectation of pain relief can reduce the experience of pain-a phenomenon known as placebo analgesia. However, despite the strength of placebo effects and their impact on everyday human experience and the failure of clinical trials for new therapeutics, the neural circuit basis of placebo effects has remained unclear.

Troubling Trends in Health Misinformation Related to Gender-Affirming Care.

Amidst the misinformation climate about trans people and their health care that dominates policy and social discourse, autonomy-based rationales for gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary youth are being called into question. In this commentary, which responds to "What Is the Aim of Pediatric 'Gender-Affirming' Care?," by Moti Gorin, we contextualize the virulent ideas circulating in misinformation campaigns that have become weaponized for unprecedented legal interference into standard health care. We conclude that the current legal justifications for upending gender-affirming care gloss over how this health care field meets conventional evidentiary standards and aligns protocols with most other fields of medicine.

Approach for defining human adenovirus infection and disease for central review adjudication in clinical studies.

Background: Pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT) recipients are at risk for morbidity and mortality from human adenovirus (HAdV). HAdV can be detected in an asymptomatic state, referred to as infection or with signs or symptoms of illness, referred to as disease. Standardized case definitions are needed to distinguish infection from disease and allow for consistent reporting in both observational cohort studies and therapeutic clinical trials.

Who supports Bernie? Analyzing identity and ideological variation on Twitter during the 2020 democratic primaries.

Using a novel dataset of 590M messages by 21M users, we present the first large-scale examination of the behavior of likely Bernie supporters on Twitter during the 2020 U.S. Democratic primaries and presidential election.

A feasibility and pilot trial of the Brief Educational Guide for Individuals in Need (BEGIN): Psychoeducation for individuals at risk for psychosis.

Individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) report a strong desire for psychoeducation, and clinical guidelines recommend psychoeducation in early psychosis care. Although several CHR psychoeducation models have been developed, additional research is needed to establish the effectiveness of these models. The goal of this study was to conduct a pilot trial of the Brief Educational Guide for Individuals in Need (BEGIN).

Oleic acid differentially affects lipid droplet storage of synthesized lipids in hepatocytes and adipocytes.

Lipogenesis is a vital but often dysregulated metabolic pathway. Here we use optical photothermal infrared imaging to quantify lipogenesis rates of isotopically labelled oleic acid and glucose concomitantly in live cells. In hepatocytes, but not adipocytes, we find that oleic acid feeding at 60 μM increases the number and size of lipid droplets (LDs) while simultaneously inhibiting storage of synthesized lipids in LDs.

The Use of Ovarian Vein Sampling to Lateralize a Virilizing Leydig Cell Ovarian Tumor.

Background/objective: Leydig cell tumors are a rare androgen-secreting ovarian tumor. We present a patient with virilization symptoms secondary to a Leydig cell tumor, with nonrevealing imaging studies, that was localized using ovarian vein sampling (OVS).

Case Report: A 56-year-old postmenopausal woman was referred by her gynecologist to the endocrinology clinic for voice-deepening, clitoral enlargement, scalp hair loss, and excessive body hair growth.

Oleic acid differentially affects lipogenesis in adipocytes and hepatocytes.

Lipogenesis is a vital but often dysregulated metabolic pathway. We report super-resolution multiplexed vibrational imaging of lipogenesis rates and pathways using isotopically labelled oleic acid and glucose as probes in live adipocytes and hepatocytes. These findings suggest oleic acid inhibits lipogenesis (DNL), but not total lipogenesis, in hepatocytes.

Site-specific crosslinking reveals Phosphofructokinase-L inhibition drives self-assembly and attenuation of protein interactions.

Phosphofructokinase is the central enzyme in glycolysis and constitutes a highly regulated step. The liver isoform (PFKL) compartmentalizes during activation and inhibition in vitro and in vivo, respectively. Compartmentalized PFKL is hypothesized to modulate metabolic flux consistent with its central role as the rate limiting step in glycolysis.

Site-Specific Crosslinking Reveals Phosphofructokinase-L Inhibition Drives Self-Assembly and Attenuation of Protein Interactions.

Phosphofructokinase is the central enzyme in glycolysis and constitutes a highly regulated step. The liver isoform (PFKL) compartmentalizes during activation and inhibition and respectively. Compartmentalized PFKL is hypothesized to modulate metabolic flux consistent with its central role as the rate limiting step in glycolysis.

Why surface hydrophobicity promotes CO electroreduction: a case study of hydrophobic polymer -heterocyclic carbenes.

We report the use of polymer -heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) to control the microenvironment surrounding metal nanocatalysts, thereby enhancing their catalytic performance in CO electroreduction. Three polymer NHC ligands were designed with different hydrophobicity: hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-NHC), hydrophobic polystyrene (PS-NHC), and amphiphilic block copolymer (BCP) (PEO--PS-NHC). All three polymer NHCs exhibited enhanced reactivity of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) during CO electroreduction by suppressing proton reduction.

Adjunctive Diagnostic Studies Completed Following Detection of Candidemia in Children: Secondary Analysis of Observed Practice From a Multicenter Cohort Study Conducted by the Pediatric Fungal Network.

Background: Adjunctive diagnostic studies (aDS) are recommended to identify occult dissemination in patients with candidemia. Patterns of evaluation with aDS across pediatric settings are unknown.

Methods: Candidemia episodes were included in a secondary analysis of a multicenter comparative effectiveness study that prospectively enrolled participants age 120 days to 17 years with invasive candidiasis (predominantly candidemia) from 2014 to 2017.

ChatGPT and Bard exhibit spontaneous citation fabrication during psychiatry literature search.

ChatGPT (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) is a large language model (LLM), which comprises a neural network that has learned information and patterns of language use from large amounts of text on the internet. ChatGPT, introduced by OpenAI, responds to human queries in a conversational manner. Here, we aimed to assess whether ChatGPT could reliably produce accurate references to supplement the literature search process.

Child and family perceptions of satisfaction with neutropenia management in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia.

Purpose: Chemotherapy for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is very intensive and many, but not all centers, require extended hospitalization until neutrophil recovery. Child and family preferences, beliefs, and experiences around hospitalization have not been systematically assessed.

Patients And Methods: We recruited children with AML and their parents from nine pediatric cancer centers across the United States for a qualitative interview about their experiences of neutropenia management.

Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of De Novo Lipogenesis in Fixed and Living Single Cells.

lipogenesis (DNL) is a critical metabolic process that provides the majority of lipids for adipocyte and liver tissue. In cancer, obesity, type II diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease DNL becomes dysregulated. A deeper understanding of the rates and of subcellular organization of DNL is necessary for identifying how this dysregulation occurs and varies across individuals and diseases.