Comparison of cellular-based therapies following a long-segmental peripheral nerve defect in a rat model.

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is characterized by a loss of cellular and axonal integrity, often leading to limited functional recovery and pain. Many PNIs are not amenable to repair with traditional techniques; however, cell therapies, particularly Schwann cells (SCs), offer the promise of neural tissue replacement and functional improvement. Exosomes, which carry cellular signaling molecules, can be secreted by SCs and have shown promise in PNI.

Racial Disparities in Access to Preventive Dental Services in Pediatric Population: A Secondary Data Analysis.

Background And Objectives: Though preventive measures are available to alleviate the burden of dental caries, there remain racial disparities in the utilization of preventative dental care. Our objectives were to determine whether racial disparities persisted in receiving preventive oral procedures between (1) black children and white children; and (2) Hispanic children and white children.

Methods: We used pooled Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data in the United States from 2018 to 2021.

Outcomes of an Emergency Department opioid alternatives Program implemented within a safety-net hospital system.

Background: The ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States has reinforced the need to provide multimodal and non-opioid pain management interventions. The PAMI-ED ALT program employed a multifaceted approach in the Emergency Department (ED) developing electronic health record (EHR) pain management order panels and discharge panels, as well as educating patients, clinicians, and ED staff on opioid alternatives, including non-pharmacologic interventions. The primary objective of this analysis was to compare changes in opioid and non-opioid analgesic administrations and prescribing in ED patients with select pain conditions (renal colic, headache, low back, and non-low back musculoskeletal pain) before and after implementation of PAMI ED-ALT.

Toward Personalized Digital Experiences to Promote Diabetes Self-Management: Mixed Methods Social Computing Approach.

Background: Type 2 diabetes affects nearly 34.2 million adults and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Digital health communities have emerged as avenues to provide social support to individuals engaging in diabetes self-management (DSM).

Genomic data reveal that the Cuban blue-headed quail-dove () is a biogeographic relict.

Islands are well known for their unique biodiversity and significance in evolutionary and ecological studies. Nevertheless, the extinction of island species accounts for most human-caused extinctions in recent time scales, which have accelerated in recent centuries. Pigeons and doves (Columbidae) are noteworthy for the high number of island endemics, as well as for the risks those species have faced since human arrival.

Ventilatory Long-Term Facilitation at Rest Increases the Feedforward Contribution to Subsequent Exercise Ventilatory Responses.

The respiratory control system exhibits neural plasticity, adjusting future ventilatory responses based on experience. We tested the hypothesis that ventilatory long-term facilitation induced by hypercapnic acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) at rest enhances subsequent ventilatory responses to steady-state exercise. Fourteen healthy adults (age = 27 ± 5 years; 7 males) participated in the study.

Funding rules that promote equity in climate adaptation outcomes.

Many climate policies adopt improving equity as a key objective. A key challenge is that policies often conceive of equity in terms of individuals but introduce strategies that focus on spatially coarse administrative areas. For example, the Justice40 Initiative in the United States requires 518 diverse federal programs to prioritize funds for "disadvantaged" census tracts.

Cognitive Predictors of Perception and Adaption to Dysarthric Speech in Older Adults.

Purpose: In effortful listening conditions, speech perception and adaptation abilities are constrained by aging and often linked to age-related hearing loss and cognitive decline. Given that older adults are frequent communication partners of individuals with dysarthria, the current study examines cognitive-linguistic and hearing predictors of dysarthric speech perception and adaptation in older listeners.

Method: Fifty-eight older adult listeners (aged 55-80 years) completed a battery of hearing and cognitive tasks administered via the National Institutes of Health Toolbox.

Early Childhood Practitioners' Use of Language Facilitation Strategies During Informational Book Reading: Relation to Language Skills of Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose: The primary aim of the study was to examine the association between early childhood practitioners' use of language facilitation strategies during interactive book reading of informational texts related to science and the language skills of preschool children with developmental language disorder (DLD).

Method: Twenty-four practitioners (12 early childhood special education teachers and 12 speech-language pathologists) and 33 preschoolers with DLD participated. Practitioners received training and implemented an informational book-reading intervention for 19 weeks.

Boron-Doped Endohedral Metallofullerenes: Synthesis and Computational Analysis of a Family of Heteroatom-Doped Molecular Carbons.

Gas-phase synthesis and detection of boron-doped nitride clusterfullerenes and a large variety of monometallofullerenes have been achieved using a pulsed laser vaporization cluster source. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the electronic structures of boron-doped endohedral metallofullerenes differ from those of the pristine all-carbon cages due to the lack of one electron upon boron substitution. For monometallofullerenes, this is likely the main reason for the somewhat different abundance distribution observed for boron-doped with respect to all-carbon cages.

Low Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Farmed and Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer in Florida.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been detected in multiple animal species, including white-tailed deer (WTD), raising concerns about zoonotic transmission, particularly in environments with frequent human interactions. To understand how human exposure influences SARS-CoV-2 infection in WTD, we compared infection and exposure prevalence between farmed and free-ranging deer populations in Florida. We also examined the timing and viral variants in WTD relative to those in Florida's human population.

First Report of Influenza D Virus in Dairy Cattle in Pakistan.

Influenza D virus (IDV) is a newly emerged zoonotic virus increasingly reported worldwide. Cattle are considered the main reservoir of IDV, although it was first isolated from pigs. IDV infects multiple animal species and contributes to the bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC).

Maize Streak Virus: Single and Gemini Capsid Architecture.

are ssDNA plant viruses whose control has both economical and agricultural importance. Their capsids assemble into two distinct architectural forms: (i) a T = 1 icosahedral and (ii) a unique twinned quasi-isometric capsid. Described here are the high-resolution structures of both forms of the maize streak virus using cryo-EM.

Computationally Optimized Hemagglutinin Proteins Adjuvanted with Infectimune Generate Broadly Protective Antibody Responses in Mice and Ferrets.

Standard-of-care influenza vaccines contain antigens that are typically derived from components of wild type (WT) influenza viruses. Often, these antigens elicit strain-specific immune responses and are susceptible to mismatch in seasons where antigenic drift is prevalent. Thanks to advances in viral surveillance and sequencing, influenza vaccine antigens can now be optimized using computationally derived methodologies and algorithms to enhance their immunogenicity.

Synthesis of Diazacyclic and Triazacyclic Small-Molecule Libraries Using Vicinal Chiral Diamines Generated from Modified Short Peptides and Their Application for Drug Discovery.

Small-molecule probes are powerful tools for studying biological systems and can serve as lead compounds for developing new therapeutics. Especially, nitrogen heterocycles are of considerable importance in the pharmaceutical field. These compounds are found in numerous bioactive structures.

From Emergence to Evolution: Dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Florida.

The continual evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has significantly influenced the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the emergence of highly transmissible and immune-evasive variants posing persistent challenges. The Omicron variant, first identified in November 2021, rapidly replaced the Delta variant, becoming the predominant strain worldwide. In Florida, Omicron was first detected in December 2021, leading to an unprecedented surge in cases that surpassed all prior waves, despite extensive vaccination efforts.

sp. nov., a New Mite Species Infesting .

, or "mamey sapote", is a tropical fruit tree native to Central America and Southern Mexico, producing sweet, nutrient and vitamin-rich fruit. Several insect pests are known to infest but none have been associated with plant growth alterations. Eriophyoid mites are well known to cause plant malformations, but mites that cause this type of damage to mamey sapote have not been reported.

Association of Computed Tomography Scan-Assessed Body Composition with Immune and PI3K/AKT Pathway Proteins in Distinct Breast Cancer Tumor Components.

This hypothesis-generating study aims to examine the extent to which computed tomography-assessed body composition phenotypes are associated with immune and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathways in breast tumors. A total of 52 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer were classified into four body composition types: adequate (lowest two tertiles of total adipose tissue [TAT]) and highest two tertiles of total skeletal muscle [TSM] areas); high adiposity (highest tertile of TAT and highest two tertiles of TSM); low muscle (lowest tertile of TSM and lowest two tertiles of TAT); and high adiposity with low muscle (highest tertile of TAT and lowest tertile of TSM). Immune and PI3K/AKT pathway proteins were profiled in tumor epithelium and the leukocyte-enriched stromal microenvironment using GeoMx (NanoString).

Comparative Analysis of Infusions and Ethanolic Extracts of Leaves from Colima, Mexico: Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Activity.

Background: L. (guanabana) leaves are rich in bioactive compounds with potential antioxidant properties. In the state of Colima, both ethanolic extracts and infusions are traditionally used in folk medicine to address various ailments.

Disorders: Basics of Biology and Therapeutics in Development.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) presents with a constellation of phenotypes, including trouble regulating emotion and aggressive behaviors, disordered sleep, intellectual impairments, and atypical physical development. Genetic study of the X chromosome revealed that substantial repeat expansion of the 5' end of the gene fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 () promoted DNA methylation and, consequently, silenced expression of . Further analysis proved that shorter repeat expansions in also manifested in disease at later stages in life.

Linking Mechanisms in the Intergenerational Transmission of Mental Health: The Role of Sex in Parent-Adolescent Dynamics.

Background/objectives: This study addresses the significance of mental health concerns by examining the intergenerational transmission of mental health between parents and adolescents. It investigates the serial mediating effects of family resilience, adolescents' adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and their ability to flourish in the transmission of mental health from parents to adolescents, with a focus on sex differences.

Methods: This study used a sample of 54,434 adolescents aged 12-17 from the 2016-2020 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH).

Evaluating the Efficacy of Levetiracetam on Non-Cognitive Symptoms and Pathology in a Tau Mouse Model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is marked by amyloid-β plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), leading to cognitive decline and debilitating non-cognitive symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate compounds from four different classes in a short-term (7-day) study using transgenic tau mice to assess their ability to reduce non-cognitive symptoms. The best candidate was then evaluated for longer exposure to assess non-cognitive symptoms, cognition, and pathology.

The Intersection of Trauma and Immunity: Immune Dysfunction Following Hemorrhage.

Hemorrhagic shock is caused by rapid loss of a significant blood volume, which leads to insufficient blood flow and oxygen delivery to organs and tissues, resulting in severe physiological derangements, organ failure, and death. Physiologic derangements after hemorrhage are due in a large part to the body's strong inflammatory response, which leads to severe immune dysfunction, and secondary complications such as chronic immunosuppression, increased susceptibility to infection, coagulopathy, multiple organ failure, and unregulated inflammation. Immediate management of hemorrhagic shock includes timely control of the source of bleeding, restoring intravascular volume, preferably with whole blood, and prevention of ischemia and organ failure by optimizing tissue oxygenation.

Environmental Exposure to Per- and Polyfluorylalkyl Substances (PFASs) and Reproductive Outcomes in the General Population: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Studies.

This Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) systematic review synthesized effects of background levels of per- and polyfluorylalkyl substance (PFAS) levels on reproductive health outcomes in the general public: fertility, preterm birth, miscarriage, ovarian health, menstruation, menopause, sperm health, and in utero fetal growth. The inclusion criteria included original research (or primary) studies, human subjects, and investigation of outcomes of interest following non-occupational exposures. It drew from four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Embase and Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO)) using a standardized search string for all studies published between 1 January 2017 and 13 April 2022.