Maintenance of Genetic Diversity Despite Population Fluctuations in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken ().

Assessments of genetic diversity, structure, history, and effective population size ( ) are critical for the conservation of imperiled populations. The lesser prairie-chicken () has experienced declines due to habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation in addition to substantial population fluctuations with unknown effects on genetic diversity. Our objectives were to: (i) compare genetic diversity across three temporally discrete sampling periods (2002, 2007-2010, and 2013-2014) that are characterized by low or high population abundance; (ii) examine genetic diversity at lek and lek cluster spatial scales; (ii) identify potential bottlenecks and characterize genetic structure and relatedness; and (iii) estimate the regional .

Trochlear Morphological Changes in Skeletally Immature Patients Across Consecutive MRI Studies.

Background: Trochlear dysplasia is a consistent risk factor for recurrent patellofemoral instability (PFI), but there is limited understanding of how the trochlea develops during growth. The aim of this study was to evaluate serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies performed in skeletally immature patients with and without PFI to characterize changes in trochlear anatomy over time.

Hypothesis: PFI leads to progressive worsening of trochlear dysplasia over time.

A case of high tibial osteotomy in a patient with psoriatic arthritis.

Traditionally, patients with rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), were considered off-limits for joint-sparing surgery. In the present study, we report bilateral knee joints of psoriatic arthritis coexisting with osteoarthritis, with good, albeit short-term, results. 62-year-old woman was treated for psoriatic arthritis with a biologic (adalimumab).

Cloud radiative effect dominates variabilities of surface energy budget in the dark Arctic.

Climate models simulate a wide range of temperatures in the Arctic. Here we investigate one of the main drivers of changes in surface temperature: the net surface heat flux in the models. We show that in the winter months of the dark Arctic, there is a more than two-fold difference in the net surface heat fluxes among the models, and this difference is dominated by the downward infrared radiation from clouds.

Minimally important change on the Columbia Impairment Scale and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in youths seeking mental healthcare.

Background: Evidence-based mental health requires patient-relevant outcome data, but many indicators lack clinical meaning and fail to consider youth perceptions. The minimally important change (MIC) indicator designates change as meaningful to patients, yet is rarely reported in youth mental health trials.

Objective: This study aimed to establish MIC thresholds for two patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), using different estimation methods.

Building Spatiotemporal Understanding of -Host Interactions.

Heterogeneity during (Mtb) infection greatly impacts disease outcome and complicates treatment. This heterogeneity encompasses many facets, spanning local differences in the host immune response to Mtb and the environment experienced by the bacterium, to nonuniformity in Mtb replication state. All of these facets are interlinked and each can affect Mtb susceptibility to antibiotic treatment.

Nanobody screening and machine learning guided identification of cross-variant anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing heavy-chain only antibodies.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to persist, demonstrating the risks posed by emerging infectious diseases to national security, public health, and the economy. Development of new vaccines and antibodies for emerging viral threats requires substantial resources and time, and traditional development platforms for vaccines and antibodies are often too slow to combat continuously evolving immunological escape variants, reducing their efficacy over time. Previously, we designed a next-generation synthetic humanized nanobody (Nb) phage display library and demonstrated that this library could be used to rapidly identify highly specific and potent neutralizing heavy chain-only antibodies (HCAbs) with prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy in vivo against the original SARS-CoV-2.

Key Performance Indicators for College American Football Starters: An Exploratory Study.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to profile body composition and physical fitness characteristics of collegiate American football starters and (b) to examine differences in key performance indicators across position groups. These indicators included select measures of body composition, joint kinematics, as well as muscular strength and power.

Methods: Sixteen National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-II American football athletes (age: 22.

Identify biological Alzheimer's disease using a novel nucleic acid-linked protein immunoassay.

Blood-based biomarkers have been revolutionizing the detection, diagnosis and screening of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, phosphorylated-tau variants (p-tau, p-tau and p-tau) are promising biomarkers for identifying Alzheimer's disease pathology. Antibody-based assays such as single molecule arrays immunoassays are powerful tools to investigate pathological changes indicated by blood-based biomarkers and have been studied extensively in the Alzheimer's disease research field.

Investigating the ecological fallacy through sampling distributions constructed from finite populations.

Correlation coefficients and linear regression values computed from group averages can differ from correlation coefficients and linear regression values computed using individual scores. This observation known as the ecological fallacy often assumes that all the individual scores are available from a population. In many situations, one must use a sample from the larger population.

Accelerating computational fluid dynamics simulation of post-combustion carbon capture modeling with MeshGraphNets.

Packed columns are commonly used in post-combustion processes to capture CO emissions by providing enhanced contact area between a CO-laden gas and CO-absorbing solvent. To study and optimize solvent-based post-combustion carbon capture systems (CCSs), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to model the liquid-gas countercurrent flow hydrodynamics in these columns and derive key determinants of CO-capture efficiency. However, the large design space of these systems hinders the application of CFD for design optimization due to its high computational cost.

Salivary testosterone and cortisol responses to seven weeks of practical blood flow restriction training in collegiate American football players.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 7-week supplemental BFR training intervention on both acute and chronic alterations in salivary testosterone (sTes) and cortisol (sCort) in collegiate American football players.

Methods: 58 males were divided into 4 groups: 3 completed an upper- and lower-body split resistance training routine (H, H/S, H/S/R; H = Heavy, S = Supplemental, R = BFR), with H/S/R performing end-of-session practical BFR training, and H/S serving as the volume-matched non-BFR group. The final group (M/S/R) completed modified resistance training programming with the same practical BFR protocol as H/S/R.

Partial Avulsion Patterns in the Pediatric Humeral Medial Epicondyle.

Background: The anterior oblique bundle of the medial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) inserts on the anteroinferior aspect of the humeral medial epicondyle, while the flexor pronator mass (FPM) originates superficial and proximal to the UCL. With valgus stress, these distinct footprints may produce injury patterns that affect only focal areas of the medial epicondyle.

Hypothesis: The proximal UCL can act on the medial epicondyle either in isolation or in conjunction with the FPM to form partial avulsion fracture patterns within the pediatric medial epicondyle, and the predominant pattern involves only the proximal UCL footprint.

Genomics yields biological and phenotypic insights into bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Despite high heritability (60-80%), the majority of the underlying genetic determinants remain unknown. We analysed data from participants of European, East Asian, African American and Latino ancestries (n = 158,036 cases with bipolar disorder, 2.

A map of the rubisco biochemical landscape.

Rubisco is the primary CO-fixing enzyme of the biosphere, yet it has slow kinetics. The roles of evolution and chemical mechanism in constraining its biochemical function remain debated. Engineering efforts aimed at adjusting the biochemical parameters of rubisco have largely failed, although recent results indicate that the functional potential of rubisco has a wider scope than previously known.

Platinum hydride formation during cathodic corrosion in aqueous solutions.

Cathodic corrosion is an electrochemical phenomenon that etches metals at moderately negative potentials. Although cathodic corrosion probably occurs by forming a metal-containing anion, such intermediate species have not yet been observed. Here, aiming to resolve this long-standing debate, our work provides such evidence through X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Biosynthesis of 10-Hydroxy-2-Decenoic Acid in Escherichia coli.

10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), a unique unsaturated fatty acid present in royal jelly, has attracted considerable interest due to its potential medical applications. However, its low concentration in royal jelly and complex conformational structure present challenges for large-scale production. In this study, we designed and constructed a de novo biosynthetic pathway for 10-HDA in Escherichia coli.

Social support and family resources influence workload and capacity in parents of children with medical complexity.

Purpose: Research examining factors that impact parents of children with medical complexity (CMC) who also have critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) is limited. We examined relationships among family resources and social support, and how these influence parents' workload and capacity to care for their CMC with CCHD.

Methods: A non-experimental, cross-sectional design was conducted in a national sample of 106 parents of CMC with CCHD.

Decreased Association Between Patellar Axial Malalignment and Patellar Height and Increased Association Between Patellar Axial Malalignment and Tibial Tubercle-Trochlear Groove During Weightbearing.

Background: Nonweightbearing preoperative assessments avoid quadriceps contraction that tends to affect patellar motion and appear to be inaccurate in quantifying anatomic factors, which can lead to incorrect corrections and postoperative complications.

Questions/purposes: (1) Does the relationship of patellar axial malalignment and other anatomic factors change during weightbearing? (2) What anatomic factor was most strongly correlated with recurrent patellar dislocation during weightbearing?

Methods: This prospective, comparative, observational study recruited participants at our institution between January 2023 and September 2023. During this time, all patients with recurrent patellar dislocations received both weightbearing and nonweightbearing CT scans; control patients who received unilateral CT scans because of injuries or benign tumors received both weightbearing and nonweightbearing CT scans.

Dynamic molecular architecture of the synaptonemal complex.

During meiosis, pairing between homologous chromosomes is stabilized by the assembly of the synaptonemal complex (SC). The SC ensures the formation of crossovers between homologous chromosomes and regulates their distribution. However, how the SC regulates crossover formation remains elusive.

Prefrontal 5α-reductase 2 mediates male-specific acute stress response.

A key response to acute stress is the increased brain synthesis of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (AP). Although the rate-limiting step of this reaction is catalyzed by 5α-reductase (5αR), the role of its two primary isoenzymes, 5αR1 and 5αR2, in stress reactivity remains unclear. Here, we found that acute stress led to increased levels of 5αR2, but not 5αR1, in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of male, but not female, rats.