Gut microbiota profiling in injection drug users with and without HIV-1 infection in Puerto Rico.

Introduction: The full extent of interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, injection drug use, and the human microbiome is unclear. In this study, we examined the microbiomes of HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals, both drug-injecting and non-injecting, to identify bacterial community changes in response to HIV and drug use. We utilized a well-established cohort of people who inject drugs in Puerto Rico, a region with historically high levels of injection drug use and an HIV incidence rate disproportionately associated with drug use.

Independent and Interactive Impacts of Prenatal Exposure to Legal Substances and Childhood Trauma on Emotion Processing in Pre-Adolescents: Preliminary Findings From the ABCD Study.

Objective: This paper investigated the effects of prenatal drug exposure (PDE), childhood trauma (CT), and their interactions on the neurobiological markers for emotion processing.

Method: Here, in a non-clinical sample of pre-adolescents (9-10 years of age) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 6,146), we investigate the impact of PDE to commonly used substances (ie, alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana), CT, and their interaction on emotion processing. From the Emotional N-back functional magnetic resonance imaging task data, we selected 26 regions of interests, previously implicated in emotion processing, and conducted separate linear mixed models (108 total) and accounted for available environmental risk factors.

Burden of invasive pneumococcal disease, non-invasive all-cause pneumonia, and acute otitis media in hospitalized US children: a retrospective multi-center study from 2015 to 2020.

Background: Despite effective pneumococcal vaccines, pneumococcal disease (PD) exerts a substantial burden on children. This study explored the clinical and economic burden of invasive PD (IPD), non-invasive all-cause pneumonia (ACP), and acute otitis media (AOM) in hospitalized children.

Methods: Data from the BD Insights Research Database of hospitalized children (< 18 years, including infants and children) in the US were analyzed retrospectively.

DeepMiRBP: a hybrid model for predicting microRNA-protein interactions based on transfer learning and cosine similarity.

Background: Interactions between microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins are crucial for microRNA-mediated gene regulation and sorting. Despite their significance, the molecular mechanisms governing these interactions remain underexplored, apart from sequence motifs identified on microRNAs. To date, only a limited number of microRNA-binding proteins have been confirmed, typically through labor-intensive experimental procedures.

Health equity innovation in precision medicine: data stewardship and agency to expand representation in clinicogenomics.

Most forms of clinical research examine a very minute cross section of the patient journey. Much of the knowledge and evidence base driving current genomic medicine practice entails blind spots arising from underrepresentation and lack of research participation in clinicogenomic databases. The flaws are perpetuated in AI models and clinical practice guidelines that reflect the lack of diversity in data being used.

Genome-wide identification and diversity of FAD2, FAD3 and FAE1 genes in terms of biotechnological importance in Camelina species.

Background: False flax, or gold-of-pleasure (Camelina sativa) is an oilseed that has received renewed research interest as a promising vegetable oil feedstock for liquid biofuel production and other non-food uses. This species has also emerged as a model for oilseed biotechnology research that aims to enhance seed oil content and fatty acid quality. To date, a number of genetic engineering and gene editing studies on C.

Is it time to Reassess The Role of Preoperative HypoalbuminemiaAmong Geriatric Distal Femur Fracture Patients?

Background: Hypoalbuminemia, blanketly defined as Albumin < 3.5 g/dL, is often utilized as a threshold associated with postoperative complications and mortality among orthopedic and non-orthopedic surgical procedures. Albumin level is influenced by a myriad of factors including liver function, malnutrition, and inflammation.

Integrative species delimitation methods infer species boundaries in the Lomatium foeniculaceum complex and indicate an evolutionary history from the Southwest towards the Northeast in western North America.

Delimiting species boundaries is a perennial challenge in the field of systematics. Resolving whether morphological variation is the result of environmental parameters, incipient speciation, or complete speciation is especially challenging when the variation is subtle. Within the perennial endemic North American clade of Apiaceae (PENA) there are numerous examples in which widespread species have subtle geographically defined morphological variants that have typically been recognized at the subspecific rank.

Effects of total microbiota-containing backslop from 450-day-fermented kimchi on microbe and metabolite dynamics.

This study examines the impact of the complex microbiota from long-term fermented kimchi, used as a backslop, on fermentation dynamics. The fermentation was conducted with autoclaved (group A) and non-autoclaved (NA) starter cultures. Bacterial and fungal communities were analyzed with 16S rRNA gene V4 and ITS2 region, respectively, and metabolites were profiled using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Palmitoylation and regulation of potassium dependent sodium/calcium exchangers (NCKX).

Cellular Ca2+ homeostasis is critical for normal cell physiology and is regulated by several mechanisms. Two major players in intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis in multiple tissues belong to SLC8 (Na+/Ca2+ exchangers (NCXs); NCX1-3) and SLC24 (K+ dependent Na+/Ca2+ exchangers (NCKXs); NCKX1-5) families. It has been established that NCXs and NCKX4 are palmitoylated, and that palmitoylation promotes NCX1 inactivation.

Photosynthetic demands on translational machinery drive retention of redundant tRNA metabolism in plant organelles.

Eukaryotic nuclear genomes often encode distinct sets of translation machinery for function in the cytosol vs. organelles (mitochondria and plastids). This raises questions about why multiple translation systems are maintained even though they are capable of comparable functions and whether they evolve differently depending on the compartment where they operate.

The IPEDs assemblage: Tracing the entanglements of biomedicine, technology, enhancement and anti-doping policies in sport and society.

The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently ended their anti-doping partnership amidst controversy. We treat this decision, and the motivations underpinning it, as a means of exploring the complexities of anti-doping norms and the blurred lines between image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) use in sport and wider society. Drawing ideas from assemblage thinking, we analyse the evolving power dynamics surrounding IPED use, anti-doping policy, and the role of popular athletes in shaping societal perceptions of the use of, and potential harms associated with IPEDs.

Furan- and Furopyrimidine-Based Derivatives: Synthesis, VEGFR-2 Inhibition, and Cytotoxicity.

New derivatives -, , -, -, , , , -, -, and were synthesized and evaluated for their VEGFR-2 inhibition. Compounds , , and showed remarkable enzyme inhibition IC = 57.1, 42.

EXPRESS: COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE PROCESSES IN CHILDREN'S THIRD-PARTY PUNISHMENT.

This study investigated how children's punishment affective states change over time, as well as when children begin to prioritise intentions over outcomes in their punishment decisions. Whereas most prior research sampled children from Anglo-America or Northwestern Europe, we tested 5- to 11-year-old children from Colombia and Spain (N = 123). We focused on punishment behaviour in response to ostensibly real moral transgressions, rather than punishment recommendations for hypothetical moral transgressions.

Face and voice identity matching accuracy is not improved by multimodal identity information.

Identity verification from both faces and voices can be error-prone. Previous research has shown that faces and voices signal concordant information and cross-modal unfamiliar face-to-voice matching is possible, albeit often with low accuracy. In the current study, we ask whether performance on a face or voice identity matching task can be improved by using multimodal stimuli which add a second modality (voice or face).

Mechanochemical topological defects in an active nematic.

We propose a reaction-diffusion system that converts topological information of an active nematic into chemical signals. We show that a curvature-activated reaction dipole is sufficient for creating a system that dynamically senses topology by producing a concentration field possessing local extrema coinciding with ±1/2 defects. The enabling term is analogous to polarization charge density seen in dielectric materials.

Brain endothelial permeability, transport, and flow assessed over 10 orders of magnitude using the in situ brain perfusion technique.

Background: Cerebral blood flow normally places a limit on the magnitude of brain vascular permeability (P) that can be measured in vivo. At normal cerebral blood flow, this limit falls at the lower end of lipophilicity for most FDA-approved CNS drugs. In this study, we report on two methods that can be used to overcome this limitation and measure brain vascular permeability values that are up to ~1000 times higher using the in situ brain perfusion technique.

Regulatory Considerations for Stability Studies of Co-Processed Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient.

A co-processed active pharmaceutical ingredient (CP API) is the combination of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) with non-active component(s). This technology has been demonstrated to offer numerous benefits, including but not limited to improved API properties and stability. The infrastructure requirements are such that the manufacture of a CP API is typically best suited for an API facility.

Enhanced Reader Confidence and Differentiation of Calcification from Cerebral Microbleed Diagnosis Using QSM Relative to SWI.

Purpose: Accurate detection of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) is important for detection of multiple conditions. However, CMBs can be challenging to identify on MR images, especially for distinguishing CMBs from the mimic of calcification. We performed a comparative reader study to assess the diagnostic performance of two primary MR sequences for differentiating CMBs from calcification.

Does mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting program deter corporate greenwashing?

This study examines the impact of the mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting program (GHGRP) on corporate greenwashing behaviour. Utilising the GHGRP in the United States as a quasi-natural experiment, we perform a difference-in-difference analysis to a panel dataset of 2731 publicly listed US firms from 2007 to 2022. The data consist of annual observations of firm-level variables, including ESG performance and disclosure metrics, financial characteristics, and environmental innovation indicators.

Prenatal Hemoglobin Concentration and Long-Term Child Neurocognitive Development.

Anemia in pregnancy, defined by a hemoglobin level (Hb) of less than 110 g/L, contributes to infant mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa. Maternal Hb changes physiologically and pathologically during pregnancy. However, the impact of these changes on long-term child neurocognitive function is unknown.

Association between in situ ventilation and human-generated aerosol exposure in meatpacking plants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, meatpacking workers were disproportionately affected by disease. Large outbreaks at meatpacking facilities resulted in loss of life and threatened the well-being of workers across the globe. Much work was done throughout the pandemic to understand and prevent these outbreaks.

Determination of the decapping efficiency of THIOMAB™ antibodies with the engineered cysteine in the Fc region for making antibody-drug conjugates by specific hinge fragmentation-liquid chromatography.

The site-specific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), particularly those utilizing the engineered cysteine in Fc fragments of mAbs (THIOMAB™ antibodies), have emerged as a novel class of biotherapeutics for cancer treatment. The engineered cysteine residues in these antibodies are capped by cysteine or glutathione through a disulfide bond. Prior to conjugation with linker-payloads, these caps need to be removed through a reduction process.

Adverse Childhood Experiences among Adolescent Girls in Residential Treatment: Relationship with Trauma Symptoms, Substance Use, and Delinquency.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are negative events during childhood or adolescence, including abuse and maltreatment. ACEs are associated with negative life outcomes, and the risk of such outcomes increases when polyvictimization (i.e.

Internet of Things-Based Automated Solutions Utilizing Machine Learning for Smart and Real-Time Irrigation Management: A Review.

This systematic review critically evaluates the current state and future potential of real-time, end-to-end smart, and automated irrigation management systems, focusing on integrating the Internet of Things (IoTs) and machine learning technologies for enhanced agricultural water use efficiency and crop productivity. In this review, the automation of each component is examined in the irrigation management pipeline from data collection to application while analyzing its effectiveness, efficiency, and integration with various precision agriculture technologies. It also investigates the role of the interoperability, standardization, and cybersecurity of IoT-based automated solutions for irrigation applications.