Hyperbaric effects on cold stored whole blood following a military dive mission profile.

Background: Whole blood (WB) is carried by special operations forces as part of a remote damage control resuscitation strategy. The effects of an underwater mission on the quality and coagulation profile of WB were simulated by exposure to hyperbaric pressures in a chamber.

Methods: WB units collected in CPDA-1 were exposed to three different combinations of hyperbaric pressure and duration of exposure: Group A 153.

Short- and medium-term effect of inhaled corticosteroids on exhaled breath biomarkers in severe asthma.

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the mainstay of therapy in asthma, but benefits vary due to disease heterogeneity. Steroid insensitivity is a particular problem in severe asthma, where patients may require systemic corticosteroids and/or biologics. Biomarkers sensitive to ICS over a short period of time could inform earlier and more personalised treatment choices.

SNPs, short tandem repeats, and structural variants are responsible for differential gene expression across C57BL/6 and C57BL/10 substrains.

Mouse substrains are an invaluable model for understanding disease. We compared C57BL/6J, which is the most commonly used inbred mouse strain, with eight C57BL/6 and five C57BL/10 closely related inbred substrains. Whole-genome sequencing and RNA-sequencing analysis yielded 352,631 SNPs, 109,096 indels, 150,344 short tandem repeats (STRs), 3,425 structural variants (SVs), and 2,826 differentially expressed genes (DE genes) among these 14 strains; 312,981 SNPs (89%) distinguished the B6 and B10 lineages.

Angular Analysis of D^{0}→π^{+}π^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-} and D^{0}→K^{+}K^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-} Decays and Search for CP Violation.

The first full angular analysis and an updated measurement of the decay-rate CP asymmetry of the D^{0}→π^{+}π^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-} and D^{0}→K^{+}K^{-}μ^{+}μ^{-} decays are reported. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1}.

Correcting the reward imbalance in binge eating: A pilot randomized trial of reward re-training treatment.

Behavioral treatments for psychological disorders characterized by reward-driven maladaptive behaviors (e.g., substance use disorder, eating disorders, behavioral addictions) primarily seek to reduce hyper-reward response to disorder-specific stimuli.

Is vertebral shape variability in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) constrained by forces experienced during burrowing?

Caecilians are predominantly burrowing, elongate, limbless amphibians that have been relatively poorly studied. Although it has been suggested that the sturdy and compact skulls of caecilians are an adaptation to their head-first burrowing habits, no clear relationship between skull shape and burrowing performance appears to exist. However, the external forces encountered during burrowing are transmitted by the skull to the vertebral column, and, as such, may impact vertebral shape.

Molecular phylogenies map to biogeography better than morphological ones.

Phylogenetic relationships are inferred principally from two classes of data: morphological and molecular. Currently, most phylogenies of extant taxa are inferred from molecules and when morphological and molecular trees conflict the latter are often preferred. Although supported by simulations, the superiority of molecular trees has rarely been assessed empirically.

Reduced asymmetry of the hand knob area and decreased sensorimotor u-fiber connectivity in middle-aged adults with autism.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently present with impairments in motor skills (e.g., limb coordination, handwriting and balance), which are observed across the lifespan but remain largely untreated.

Nonsense-mediated RNA decay: an emerging modulator of malignancy.

Nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD) is a highly conserved RNA turnover pathway that selectively degrades RNAs harbouring truncating mutations that prematurely terminate translation, including nonsense, frameshift and some splice-site mutations. Recent studies show that NMD shapes the mutational landscape of tumours by selecting for mutations that tend to downregulate the expression of tumour suppressor genes but not oncogenes. This suggests that NMD can benefit tumours, a notion further supported by the finding that mRNAs encoding immunogenic neoantigen peptides are typically targeted for decay by NMD.

Observation of the Decay Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ}.

The first observation of the semileptonic b-baryon decay Λ_{b}^{0}→Λ_{c}^{+}τ^{-}ν[over ¯]_{τ}, with a significance of 6.1σ, is reported using a data sample corresponding to 3  fb^{-1} of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV at the LHC. The τ^{-} lepton is reconstructed in the hadronic decay to three charged pions.

Tests of Lepton Universality Using B^{0}→K_{S}^{0}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} and B^{+}→K^{*+}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} Decays.

Tests of lepton universality in B^{0}→K_{S}^{0}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} and B^{+}→K^{*+}ℓ^{+}ℓ^{-} decays where ℓ is either an electron or a muon are presented. The differential branching fractions of B^{0}→K_{S}^{0}e^{+}e^{-} and B^{+}→K^{*+}e^{+}e^{-} decays are measured in intervals of the dilepton invariant mass squared. The measurements are performed using proton-proton collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9  fb^{-1} .

Observation of Two New Excited Ξ_{b}^{0} States Decaying to Λ_{b}^{0}K^{-}π^{+}.

Two narrow resonant states are observed in the Λ_{b}^{0}K^{-}π^{+} mass spectrum using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the LHCb experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6  fb^{-1}. The minimal quark content of the Λ_{b}^{0}K^{-}π^{+} system indicates that these are excited Ξ_{b}^{0} baryons. The masses of the Ξ_{b}(6327)^{0} and Ξ_{b}(6333)^{0} states are m[Ξ_{b}(6327)^{0}]=6327.

Health Technology Assessment in Support of National Health Insurance in South Africa.

South Africa has embarked on major health policy reform to deliver universal health coverage through the establishment of National Health Insurance (NHI). The aim is to improve access, remove financial barriers to care, and enhance care quality. Health technology assessment (HTA) is explicitly identified in the proposed NHI legislation and will have a prominent role in informing decisions about adoption and access to health interventions and technologies.

Regional differences in vertebral shape along the axial skeleton in caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona).

Caecilians are elongate, limbless and annulated amphibians that, as far as is known, all have an at least partly fossorial lifestyle. It has been suggested that elongate limbless vertebrates show little morphological differentiation throughout the postcranial skeleton. However, relatively few studies have explored the axial skeleton in limbless tetrapods.

Pediatric appendicitis in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective chart review.

Aim: Conduct a time trend analysis that describes 2 groups of patients admitted to a large tertiary children's hospital that presented with appendicitis and determine if there was an increase in complicated appendicitis when compared between 2 time periods before and during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of all children presenting to a single-center site with appendicitis between March 23 and August 31, 2020, in the Central Texas region. We compared 507 patients presenting with appendicitis from the non-COVID-19 era in 2019 with n = 249 to patients presenting during the COVID time period with n = 258.

Changes in orthopaedic operating theatre practice, monitored using settle plates.

Introduction: The importance of ultraclean air in reducing deep infection was studied by Charnley who showed that the rate decreased as the airborne bacterial load was reduced. The effectiveness was shown in a large Medical Research Council (MRC) trial, but registry data have not shown a consistent benefit. Because we treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis, we decided to look at our theatre air quality.

Loss and Restoration of Virulence during In Vitro Culture Follows Flux in Global DNA Methylation.

Pathogenic fungi can lose virulence after protracted periods of culture, but little is known of the underlying mechanisms. Here, we present the first analysis of DNA methylation flux at a single-base resolution for the plant pathogen and identify differentially methylated genes/genomic regions associated with virulence erosion during in vitro culture. Cultures were maintained for eight months, with subcultures and virulence testing every month.

A systematic review of studies investigating the acute effects of -methyl--aspartate receptor antagonists on behavioural despair in normal animals suggests poor predictive validity.

The ability of the -methyl--aspartate receptor antagonist ketamine to induce a rapid and sustained antidepressant effect has led to a surge in pre-clinical studies investigating underlying mechanisms and seeking novel treatments. Animal models are key to this research as they can provide a behavioural readout linking underlying mechanisms to clinical benefits. However, quantifying depression-related behaviours in rodents represents a major challenge with the validity of traditional methods such as models of behavioural despair (forced swim test and tail suspension test) a topic of debate.

Computer-Aided Surgery-Navigated, Functional Alignment Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Surgical Technique.

The decision on which technique to use to perform a total knee arthroplasty has become much more complicated over the last decade. The shortfalls of mechanical alignment and kinematic alignment has led to the development of a new alignment philosophy, functional alignment. Functional alignment uses preoperative radiographic measurements, computer-aided surgery, and intraoperative assessment of balance, to leave the patient with the most "normal" knee kinematics achievable with minimal soft-tissue release.

Semantic modelling of common data elements for rare disease registries, and a prototype workflow for their deployment over registry data.

Background: The European Platform on Rare Disease Registration (EU RD Platform) aims to address the fragmentation of European rare disease (RD) patient data, scattered among hundreds of independent and non-coordinating registries, by establishing standards for integration and interoperability. The first practical output of this effort was a set of 16 Common Data Elements (CDEs) that should be implemented by all RD registries. Interoperability, however, requires decisions beyond data elements - including data models, formats, and semantics.

Active and adaptive plasticity in a changing climate.

Better understanding of the mechanistic basis of plant plasticity will enhance efforts to breed crops resilient to predicted climate change. However, complexity in plasticity's conceptualisation and measurement may hinder fruitful crossover of concepts between disciplines that would enable such advances. We argue active adaptive plasticity is particularly important in shaping the fitness of wild plants, representing the first line of a plant's defence to environmental change.