Community health promotion and disaster recovery: a PhotoVoice project in Comerío, Puerto Rico.

Background: PhotoVoice - a series of workshops involving participatory photography and narrative-building - was employed in the rural town of Comerío, Puerto Rico (PR) to describe disaster recovery in a rural setting and foster policy dialogue.

Methods: Using PhotoVoice workshops and ethnographic observations, the project describes how women affiliated with a local community-based organization described the priorities for disaster recovery in visual images and narratives. We draw analytically upon theories of intersectionality and coloniality to describe socio-structural and community factors that shape community health in the context of ongoing disasters.

Spatial-temporal analysis of groundwater well features from neural network prediction of hexavalent chromium concentration.

Groundwater monitoring is a crucial part of groundwater remediation that produces data from various strategically placed wells to maintain a water quality standard. Using the United States Department of Energy's Hanford 100-HRD area well data, recurrent neural networks are trained in the form of one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks, and Dual-stage Attention-based LSTM (DA-LSTM) networks to reduce monitoring costs and increase data sampling responsiveness that is subject to laboratory analysis delays, with the best network being DA-LSTM achieving an R score of 0.82.

Substance Use and Mental Health in Emerging Adult University Students Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexico: A Comparative Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted mental health and substance use patterns, particularly among young adults.

Objective: This study aimed to assess changes in anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and substance use among university students in Mexico before, during, and after the pandemic.

Methods: Using a repeated cross-sectional design, this study was conducted with university students in Mexico across three periods: pre-pandemic (2017 and 2019); during the pandemic (2021); and post-pandemic (2023).

PRAME Staining of Adnexal Lesions and Common Skin Cancer Types: Biomarker with Potential Diagnostic Utility.

PRAME (PReferentially expressed Antigen in MElanoma) is a tumor-associated antigen first identified in tumor-reactive T-cell clones derived from a patient with metastatic melanoma. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for PRAME is useful for diagnostic purposes to support a suspected diagnosis of melanoma. Anecdotally, PRAME has been observed to stain sebaceous units in glands in background skin.

An Evidence-Based IT Program With Chatbot to Support Caregiving and Clinical Care for People With Dementia: The CareHeroes Development and Usability Pilot.

Background: There are numerous communication barriers between family caregivers and providers of people living with dementia, which can pose challenges to caregiving and clinical decision-making. To address these barriers, a new web and mobile-enabled app, called CareHeroes, was developed, which promotes the collection and secured sharing of clinical information between caregivers and providers. It also provides caregiver support and education.

Responsible research in health disparities using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.

Purpose: The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is the largest longitudinal study on brain development and adolescent health in the United States. The study includes a sociodemographically diverse cohort of nearly 12,000 youth born 2005-2009, with an open science model of making data rapidly available to the scientific community. The ABCD Study® data has been used in over 1100 peer-reviewed publications since its first data release in 2018.

The effects of prune products consumption on anthropometric measurements and blood pressure in adults: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

Introduction: The positive impact of prunes on body measurements and blood pressure has been suggested in previous research.

Purpose: The purpose of this extensive meta-analysis and systematic review was to examine the effects of adult consumption of prunes on anthropometric parameters and blood pressure.

Methods: To identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (till August 9th, 2024), databases from ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed/Medline were searched.

Sensitivity of contributing factors to heterogeneity corrections in dosimetry of ocular brachytherapy using iodine-125 COMS plaques.

Purpose: To investigate sensitivity of contributing factors to heterogeneity corrections in ocular brachytherapy using iodine-125 (I) Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS) plaques.

Material And Methods: Using egs_brachy, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed for I COMS plaques (model: IsoAid IAI-125A). Homogeneous dose (D) was estimated under the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group-43 assumptions, with 85 Gy prescribed to a 5 mm depth.

The N400 component reflecting semantic and repetition priming of visual scenes is suppressed during the attentional blink.

In the attentional blink paradigm, participants attempt to identify two targets appearing in a rapidly presented stream of distractors. Report accuracy is typically high for the first target (T1) while identification of the second target (T2) is impaired when it follows within about 200-400 ms of T1. An important question is whether T2 is processed to a semantic level even when participants are unaware of its identity.

Transforming Households with Refraction and Innovative Financial Technology (THRIFT): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of vision interventions and online banking among the elderly in Kurigram.

Introduction: Presbyopia, difficulty in seeing close-ups, affects a billion people globally. Mobile financial services (MFS) have been mandated since January 2021 for Bangladesh government social safety net payments, including old age allowance (OAA) and widow allowance (WA). We report the protocol for the Transforming Households with Refraction and Innovative Financial Technology randomised trial assessing the impact on the use of online banking of providing presbyopic safety net beneficiaries with reading glasses, and brief smartphone and mobile banking app training.

Short-Term Effects of Attaching Animal-Borne Devices on the Behavior of Juvenile Green Turtles.

The use of animal-borne devices (= biologgers) has revolutionized the study of marine megafauna, yet there remains a paucity of data concerning the behavioral and physiological impacts of biologger attachment and retention. Here, we used animal-borne cameras to characterize the behavior and dive duration of juvenile green turtles () in The Bahamas for up to 210 min after biologger deployment ( = 58). For a "control," we used unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collect comparable data from nonhandled green turtles ( = 25) in the same habitats.

A comparative study of Venezuelan immigrants' pre- and post-migration concerns for their children in the United States and Colombia.

Research suggests that forced migration may lead to cultural stress and psychological distress. However, little is known about immigrant parents' pre- and post-migration concerns for their children's welfare. The present study examined the concerns of Venezuelan parents who migrated to the United States versus those who migrated to Colombia, and whether post-migration concerns were related to cultural stressors, mental health, and cultural identity.

The Role of Companion Animals in the Transition of Care: A Case Report.

Numerous individuals experiencing homelessness have a pet. When a homeless person is hospitalized for an emergency medical need, discharge planners are sometimes faced with tough options and a lack of resources for safe discharges from the hospital. We detail the case of a 64-year-old female patient who was admitted due to a witnessed syncopal event.

Laparoscopic-Assisted Enterolithotomy for Recurrent Gallstone Ileus: A Case Report.

Gallstone ileus is the mechanical obstruction of the bowel due to gallstone impaction. It forms when a fistula is created between the gallbladder and the gastrointestinal tract, which can result in small bowel obstruction. Its surgical management ranges from enterolithotomy, cholecystectomy, and fistula closure performed together (one-stage) or performed separately (two-stage), while some patients undergo simple enterolithotomy.

A Literature Review on Optimizing Study Strategies in Medical Education: Insights From Exam Scores and Study Resources.

Medical school exams, like those by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), assess essential knowledge and skills for safe patient care, essential for student advancement and securing competitive residencies. Understanding the correlation between exam scores and medical school performance, as well as identifying trends among high scorers, provides valuable insights for both medical students and educators. This review examines the link between study resources and NBME exam scores, as well as psychological factors influencing these outcomes.

Innovative Dual Combination Cospray-Dried Rock Inhibitor/l-Carnitine Inhalable Dry Powder Aerosols.

This study introduces novel cospray-dried (Co-SD) formulations of simvastatin, a Nrf2 activator ROCK inhibitor, with l-carnitine as molecular mixtures in various molar ratios for targeted pulmonary inhalation aerosol delivery in pulmonary hypertension, optimized for excipient-free dry powder inhalers (DPIs). The two components were spray-dried at various molar ratios by using different starting feed solution concentrations and process parameters. In addition to comprehensive physicochemical characterization, in vitro aerosol dispersion performance as DPIs using two FDA-approved DPI devices with different shear stress properties, in vitro viability as a function of dose on 2D human pulmonary cellular monolayers and on 3D small airway epithelia human primary cultures at the air-liquid interface (ALI), and in vitro transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) at the ALI were conducted.

Climate displaces deposition as dominant driver of dissolved organic carbon concentrations in historically acidified lakes.

Unlabelled: Climate and atmospheric deposition interact with watershed properties to drive dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in lakes. Because drivers of DOC concentration are inter-related and interact, it is challenging to assign a single dominant driver to changes in lake DOC concentration across spatiotemporal scales. Leveraging forty years of data across sixteen lakes, we used structural equation modeling to show that the impact of climate, as moderated by watershed characteristics, has become more dominant in recent decades, superseding the influence of sulfate deposition that was observed in the 1980s.

Association between insurance status and prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetes in the United States from 2011 to 2020.

Aim: To determine whether an association exists between health insurance and diabetic retinopathy (DR) prevalence in adults with diabetes.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. 4530 Patients aged ≥ 18 with diabetes from 2011 to 2020 with various insurance types (no insurance, private, Medicare, Medicaid, or other) were evaluated for prevalence of DR, including covariates.

Probing Methylmercury Photodegradation by Different Fractions of Natural Organic Matter in Water: Degradation Kinetics and Mercury Isotope Fractionation Characteristics.

Recent advancements in mercury (Hg) isotopic fractionation research have evolved from conceptual demonstrations to practical applications. However, few studies have focused on revealing fractionation fingerprinting for aqueous methylmercury (MeHg) photodegradation due to its sensitivity to natural organic matter (NOM). Here, the impact of NOM fractions with varying chemical properties on MeHg photodegradation kinetics and Hg isotope fractionation characteristics was investigated.

Leucinostatins target Plasmodium mitochondria to block malaria transmission.

Background: Malaria remains a critical disease. Leucinostatins from the fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum inhibited the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum to mosquitoes via contact.

Methods: Here, we modified the leucinostatin B (LB) C-terminus to make derivatives and examined their inhibition against malaria transmission to mosquitoes.

Proof-of-concept chemometric approach for environmental forensic sourcing of crude oil samples using SPME-GC-MS.

Environmental exposure to crude oil through seepage and spillage poses risks to the immediate environment and the broader ecosystem as areas along the oil distribution path are affected by the influx of crude petroleum as well as the environmental, economic, and civil unrest that accompanies it. There is a large financial burden associated with the lost resources, including the cost of rehabilitation, and the affected sources of revenue for communities affected by oil spills. As such, it is crucial to determine the responsible parties.

What Happens When Undergraduate Biology Students Meet with Professional Scientists to Discuss Research? An Exploratory Investigation into Scientific Discourse, Motivation, and Sense of Belonging.

Engagement in scientific discourse is an essential part of becoming a scientist. In this exploratory study, we aim to examine the scientific discourse (and resulting benefits) between undergraduate biology students and professional scientists. We developed a novel method for engaging in scientific discourse, grounded in the theory of legitimate peripheral participation, where undergraduate biology students participate in communities of practice within their own departments.

Stable isotope tempestology of tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Ocean basins.

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are one of the major natural hazards to island and coastal communities and ecosystems. However, isotopic compositions of TC-derived precipitation (P) in surface water (SW) and groundwater (GW) reservoirs are still lacking. We tested the three main assumptions of the isotope storm "spike" hypothesis (sudden spikes in isotopic ratios).

Transverse Myelitis in a Healthy Adult Female Patient: A Rare Viral Etiology.

Transverse myelitis (TM) is an uncommon but extensively documented neurological disorder marked by acute spinal cord inflammation, resulting in a spectrum of impairments including motor, sensory, and autonomic disturbances. We outline a rare case of viral-induced TM linked to COVID-19 and Coxsackie B viral infections. A 25-year-old healthy female patient presented with acute bilateral upper and lower extremity weakness, paresthesia, and urinary retention.