Systematic review of family-based interventions integrating cultural and family resilience components to improve Black adolescent health outcomes.

Background: Past reviews have shown that culturally salient resilience interventions buffer the negative effects of racial discrimination on psychological and behavioral outcomes among Black youth. However, these prior reviews neglect to integrate trials targeting physical health and/or health-promoting outcomes, synthesize trials based on methodological rigor, or systematically assess efficacy or resilience intervention components.

Purpose: This systematic review expands on past research by (1) providing an up to-date literature review on family-based cultural resilience interventions across a range of health-related outcomes (physical health, health behaviors, health risk-taking behaviors, and psychological), (2) evaluating the rigor of these interventions, (3) analyzing the efficacy of rigorous interventions, and (4) describing the resilience intervention components of rigorous interventions.

First Report of Crown and Root Rot on Eastern Redbud () Caused by in Tennessee.

Eastern redbuds () are the important trees in Tennessee nurseries, known for their vibrant spring blooms, and heart-shaped foliage (Kidwell-Slak and Pooler 2018). In May 2023, container-grown eastern redbuds exhibited crown and root rot symptoms. Disease incidence was 50% of 100 plants and severity was 40% for the affected root area.

First Report of Causing Root Rot on in Tennessee and the United States.

Swamp white oak () is a North American species of medium-sized trees in the beech family. One-year-old swamp white oak seedlings grown in field conditions in a commercial nursery in Warren County, Tennessee exhibited severe root rot in July 2024. Dark brown lesions were observed in the affected roots (Fig.

Targeting CD4+ T cell Exhaustion to Improve Future Immunotherapy Strategies.

As of late, reinvigoration of exhausted T cells as a form of immunotherapy against cancer has been a promising strategy. However, inconsistent results highlight the uncertainties in the current understanding of cellular exhaustion and the need for research and better treatment design. In our previous work, we utilized mathematical modeling and analysis to recapitulate and complement the biological understanding of exhaustion in response to growing tumors.

Label-Free Non-Contact Vascular Imaging using Photon Absorption Remote Sensing.

Objective: Functional vascular imaging is a critical method for early detection and prevention of disease. Established non-contact vascular imaging techniques capture predominantly structural information. In this study, a novel non-contact label-free in vivo Photon Absorption Remote Sensing (PARS) microscope is developed for structural and functional vascular imaging.

Rewiring native post-transcriptional global regulators to achieve designer, multi-layered genetic circuits.

As synthetic biology expands, creating "drag-and-drop" regulatory tools that can achieve diverse regulatory outcomes are paramount. Herein, we develop a approach for engineering complex post-transcriptional control by rewiring the Carbon Storage Regulatory (Csr) Network of Escherichia coli. We co-opt native interactions of the Csr Network to establish post-transcriptional logic gates and achieve complex bacterial regulation.

Teaching troubleshooting skills to graduate students.

Troubleshooting is an important part of experimental research, but graduate students rarely receive formal training in this skill. In this article, we describe an initiative called Pipettes and Problem Solving that we developed to teach troubleshooting skills to graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin. An experienced researcher presents details of a hypothetical experiment that has produced unexpected results, and students have to propose new experiments that will help identify the source of the problem.

Reliable but multi-dimensional cognitive demand in operating partially automated vehicles: implications for real-world automation research.

The reliability of cognitive demand measures in controlled laboratory settings is well-documented; however, limited research has directly established their stability under real-life and high-stakes conditions, such as operating automated technology on actual highways. Partially automated vehicles have advanced to become an everyday mode of transportation, and research on driving these advanced vehicles requires reliable tools for evaluating the cognitive demand on motorists to sustain optimal engagement in the driving process. This study examined the reliability of five cognitive demand measures, while participants operated partially automated vehicles on real roads across four occasions.

Evaluation of Chemical and Biological Products for Control of Crown Gall on Rose.

Crown gall is a soil-borne bacterial disease caused by , leading to significant economic losses in many plant species. For the assessment of the biological and chemical products on crown gall, each plant's crown region and roots were wounded, and then were dipped into their respective treatments. After the treatments, the plants were inoculated with a suspension of pathogenic isolate FBG1034 and maintained in a greenhouse for six months to assess them for gall formation.

Using formative process evaluation to improve program implementation and accessibility of competitive group-based physical activity in the TEAM-PA trial.

Background: This study demonstrates how formative process evaluation was used to assess implementation and improve dose and fidelity in the Together Everyone Achieves More Physical Activity (TEAM-PA) randomized controlled trial. TEAM-PA uses a randomized group cohort design to evaluate the efficacy of a group-based intervention for increasing physical activity among African American women.

Methods: Intervention groups met for 10 weeks and were co-led by female African American facilitators, with intervention sessions consisting of group feedback, a health curriculum, group-based physical activity games, and group-based goal-setting.

Strength-based strategies for addressing racial stressors in African American families: lessons learned from developing the LEADS health promotion intervention.

Recognizing the real-life impact of racial stress on physical and psychological health is vital for creating impactful health promotion interventions among African American families. Despite the known link between racial stress and poor physical health outcomes, no existing intervention to date has targeted stress management strategies to buffer racial stress and build positive health behaviors among African American families. The current study outlines the lessons learned throughout the development of the Linking Exercise for Advancing Daily Stress (LEADS) Management and Resilience program, a 10-week family-based health promotion, stress management, and resilience intervention that aimed to improve physical activity, healthy eating, and well-being among African American adolescents and parents.

Effect of Activated Charcoal on Mavacamten Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Participants.

Objective: To assess the effect of activated charcoal on the single-dose pharmacokinetics of mavacamten when administered 2 h or 6 h after mavacamten dosing.

Methods: In this open-label, randomized, parallel-group study, healthy adults were randomized into three groups to receive mavacamten 15 mg alone or mavacamten 15 mg plus activated charcoal 50 g administered either 2 h or 6 h after mavacamten dosing. Pharmacokinetic parameters were derived from plasma concentration-time data using noncompartmental methods.

Cholesterol inhibits assembly and activation of the EphA2 receptor.

The receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 drives cancer malignancy by facilitating metastasis. EphA2 can be found in different self-assembly states: as a monomer, dimer, and oligomer. However, our understanding remains limited regarding which EphA2 state is responsible for driving pro-metastatic signaling.

Validation of a clinical breast cancer risk assessment tool combining a polygenic score for all ancestries with traditional risk factors.

Purpose: We previously described a combined risk score (CRS) that integrates a multiple-ancestry polygenic risk score (MA-PRS) with the Tyrer-Cuzick (TC) model to assess breast cancer (BC) risk. Here, we present a longitudinal validation of CRS in a real-world cohort.

Methods: This study included 130,058 patients referred for hereditary cancer genetic testing and negative for germline pathogenic variants in BC-associated genes.

Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of a Topical Extended-release Analgesic in Mice.

Mice often undergo painful procedures and surgeries as part of biomedical research protocols. Buprenorphine, a partial μ-opioid receptor agonist and κ receptor antagonist, is commonly used to alleviate the pain associated with such procedures. Due to its pharmacokinetic profile, buprenorphine requires frequent dosing, resulting in handling stress that can impact animal welfare and study data.

Transcriptional regulation of living materials via extracellular electron transfer.

Engineered living materials combine the advantages of biological and synthetic systems by leveraging genetic and metabolic programming to control material-wide properties. Here, we demonstrate that extracellular electron transfer (EET), a microbial respiration process, can serve as a tunable bridge between live cell metabolism and synthetic material properties. In this system, EET flux from Shewanella oneidensis to a copper catalyst controls hydrogel cross-linking via two distinct chemistries to form living synthetic polymer networks.

First Report of Causing Root Rot on Kousa Dogwood in Tennessee and the United States.

Kousa dogwood () is an economically important woody ornamental crop that exhibits creamy, white, pointed bracts in late spring, and reddish to pink drupe fruits in late summer and fall. It bears shiny dark green leaves that become reddish-purple to scarlet in the fall. In August of 2023, 3-year-old container grown var.

Comparison of Rodent Infectious Agent Detection by Exhaust Dust Testing and Traditional Sentinel Testing Using Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Improved diagnostic capabilities and a desire to reduce or refine the use of animals as soiled bedding sentinels (SBS) have driven interest in developing the use of PCR-based testing methods, such as exhaust dust testing (EDT), for routine rodent health surveillance. We compared the absolute and quantitative PCR results from EDT filters with SBS mice by routine screening via a panel of 19 infectious agents including agents known to be excluded or present in the colony. In this study, EDT and SBS were compared at days 0, 90, and 180 in 3 facilities ( = 12 rooms) with animals housed on IVC racks ( = 19 double-sided and 23 single-sided racks).

oleate hydratase produces ligands that activate host PPARα.

Commensal gut bacteria use oleate hydratase to release a spectrum of hydroxylated fatty acids using host-derived unsaturated fatty acids. These compounds are thought to attenuate the immune response, but the underlying signaling mechanism(s) remain to be established. The pathogen also expresses an oleate hydratase and 10-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid (18:0) is the most abundant oleate hydratase metabolite found at Staphylococcal skin infection sites.

Synthesis of bioengineered heparin chemically and biologically similar to porcine-derived products and convertible to low MW heparin.

Heparins have been invaluable therapeutic anticoagulant polysaccharides for over a century, whether used as unfractionated heparin or as low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) derivatives. However, heparin production by extraction from animal tissues presents multiple challenges, including the risk of adulteration, contamination, prion and viral impurities, limited supply, insecure supply chain, and significant batch-to-batch variability. The use of animal-derived heparin also raises ethical and religious concerns, as well as carries the risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases.

Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Identification of as Causative Agent of High Mortality Disease in NOD.Cg-/SzJ (NSG) Mice.

NOD.Cg-/SzJ (NSG) mice, lacking many components of a mature immune system, are at increased risk of disease. General understanding of potential pathogens of these mice is limited.

CsrA selectively modulates sRNA-mRNA regulator outcomes.

Post-transcriptional regulation, by small RNAs (sRNAs) as well as the global Carbon Storage Regulator A (CsrA) protein, play critical roles in bacterial metabolic control and stress responses. The CsrA protein affects selective sRNA-mRNA networks, in addition to regulating transcription factors and sigma factors, providing additional avenues of cross talk between other stress-response regulators. Here, we expand the known set of sRNA-CsrA interactions and study their regulatory effects.

Gastrointestinal Tolerability and Acute Glycemic Response of Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides from Cellulose and Xylan in Healthy Adults: Two Double-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled, Cross-over Trials.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the gastrointestinal tolerability, glycemic and insulinemic responses of Plant Fiber Extract (PFE), a mixture comprising of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides derived from cellulose and xylan.

Methods: Two double-blind, randomized, controlled, cross-over trials were conducted in healthy adults. In the first trial, participants ( = 29) consumed either 25, 35 or 45 g per day of PFE or resistant maltodextrin (Control) for 14 days.

Modeling the Development of Cellular Exhaustion and Tumor-Immune Stalemate.

Cellular exhaustion in various immune cells develops in response to prolonged stimulation and overactivation during chronic infections and in cancer. Marked by an upregulation of inhibitory receptors and diminished effector functions, exhausted immune cells are unable to fully eradicate the antigen responsible for the overexposure. In cancer settings, this results in a relatively small but constant tumor burden known as a localized tumor-immune stalemate.