Meta-analysis reveals global variations in plant diversity effects on productivity.

Positive effects of plant diversity on productivity have been globally demonstrated and explained by two main effects: complementarity effects and selection effects. However, plant diversity experiments have shown substantial variation in these effects, with driving factors poorly understood. On the basis of a meta-analysis of 452 experiments across the globe, we show that productivity increases on average by 15.

One-quarter of freshwater fauna threatened with extinction.

Freshwater ecosystems are highly biodiverse and important for livelihoods and economic development, but are under substantial stress. To date, comprehensive global assessments of extinction risk have not included any speciose groups primarily living in freshwaters. Consequently, data from predominantly terrestrial tetrapods are used to guide environmental policy and conservation prioritization, whereas recent proposals for target setting in freshwaters use abiotic factors.

Host metabolism balances microbial regulation of bile acid signalling.

Metabolites derived from the intestinal microbiota, including bile acids (BA), extensively modulate vertebrate physiology, including development, metabolism, immune responses and cognitive function. However, to what extent host responses balance the physiological effects of microbiota-derived metabolites remains unclear. Here, using untargeted metabolomics of mouse tissues, we identified a family of BA-methylcysteamine (BA-MCY) conjugates that are abundant in the intestine and dependent on vanin 1 (VNN1), a pantetheinase highly expressed in intestinal tissues.

A national data set of historical US sundown towns for quantitative analysis.

We present a new national data set of historical sundown towns in the United States linked to contemporary spatial information - i.e., the Historical Sundown Towns Linked to US Census Geographies database.

Multi-site, multi-vendor development and validation of a deep learning model for liver stiffness prediction using abdominal biparametric MRI.

Background: Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Liver stiffness, as measured by MR elastography (MRE), is well-accepted as a surrogate marker of liver fibrosis.

Purpose: To develop and validate deep learning (DL) models for predicting MRE-derived liver stiffness using routine clinical non-contrast abdominal T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) data from multiple institutions/system manufacturers in pediatric and adult patients.

I love you no matter what: Negative relationship quality and daily encounters in the parent-child tie and their implications for daily mood across the lifespan.

Parent-child relationship quality has critical implications for parental emotional well-being across the lifespan. The present study assessed how relationship quality is related to daily encounters between parents and children, how those encounters are linked with parents' mood, and how these associations vary by age. Participants (N = 129, ages 33-91) reported baseline relationship quality with a total of 337 children (ages 1-69).

Quantitative Assessment of Deep Gray Matter Susceptibility and Correlation With Cognition in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis.

Background And Objectives: Accumulation of metals quantified by quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) in deep gray matter (DGM) and their impact on cognition have not been studied in patients with liver cirrhosis. This study aims to use QSM to investigate the association between DGM susceptibility and cognition in cirrhotic patients.

Methods: Thirty cirrhotic patients and 30 age-, gender-, and education-matched controls were imaged using a multiecho gradient-echo sequence for QSM analysis in a 3T scanner.

Analysis of selected nutrients and contaminants in fish oil supplements for dogs.

Fish oil supplements for dogs are used therapeutically for various clinical conditions. However, products may be variable in quality, potency, and stability. The objective of this study was to analyze eleven canine fish oil supplements from two time points (2010 and 2021) for the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) arochlors, minerals, and vitamins A and D, and to compare their compositions to label claims.

Inferring metabolic objectives and trade-offs in single cells during embryogenesis.

While proliferating cells optimize their metabolism to produce biomass, the metabolic objectives of cells that perform non-proliferative tasks are unclear. The opposing requirements for optimizing each objective result in a trade-off that forces single cells to prioritize their metabolic needs and optimally allocate limited resources. Here, we present single-cell optimization objective and trade-off inference (SCOOTI), which infers metabolic objectives and trade-offs in biological systems by integrating bulk and single-cell omics data, using metabolic modeling and machine learning.

Food insecurity and ultra-processed food consumption in the Health and Retirement Study: Cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Higher ultra-processed foods (UPF), attributed to more than half of daily intake in the US, have been associated with impaired health outcomes. Documented evidence highlights disparities in UPF consumption due to food insecurity, which is a public health challenge among older adults in the US.

Objectives: The study examined the link between food insecurity and UPF consumption.

Effect of electrochemical topology on detection sensitivity in MEA assay for drug-induced cardiotoxicity screening.

Cardiotoxicity remains a major challenge in drug development, accounting for 45% of medication withdrawals due to cardiac ischemia and arrhythmogenicity. To overcome the limitations of traditional multielectrode array (MEA)-based cardiotoxicity assays, we developed a Nafion-coated NanoMEA platform with decoupled reference electrodes, offering enhanced sensitivity for electrophysiological measurements. The 'Decoupled' configuration significantly reduced polarization resistance (Rp) from 12.

High-throughput proteomics identifies inflammatory proteins associated with disease severity and genetic ancestry in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.

Background: Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition with a greater prevalence and disease burden in patients who identify as African American and those with a family history of HS, suggesting a strong genetic component to its pathogenesis.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between plasma inflammatory protein expression, HS disease severity, and genetic ancestry in a diverse cohort of patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Methods: We performed a case-control study of patients with HS compared to age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched healthy controls.

Demographic Correlates of Autism: How Do Associations Compare Between Diagnosis and a Quantitative Trait Measure?

Prevalence of autism diagnosis has historically differed by demographic factors. Using data from 8224 participants drawn from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we examined relationships between demographic factors and parent-reported autism-related traits as captured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; T score > 65) and compared these to relations with parent-reported clinician diagnosis of ASD, in generalized linear mixed effects regression analyses. Results suggested lower odds of autism diagnosis, but not of SRS T > 65, for non-Hispanic Black children (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.

Signaling via retinoic acid receptors mediates decidual angiogenesis in mice and human stromal cell decidualization.

At the maternal-fetal interface, tightly regulated levels of retinoic acid (RA), the physiologically active metabolite of vitamin A, are required for embryo implantation and pregnancy success. Herein, we utilize mouse models, primary human cells, and pharmacological tools to demonstrate how depletion of RA signaling via RA receptor (RAR) disrupts implantation and progression of early pregnancy. To inhibit RAR signaling during early pregnancy, BMS493, an inverse pan-RAR agonist that prevents RA-induced differentiation, was administered to pregnant mice during the peri-implantation period.

Early-Life Exposures and Odds of Adenomyosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study.

Background: Adenomyosis can confer life-altering symptoms such as pelvic pain. Yet, the epidemiologic study of this uterine condition lags other gynaecologic conditions. This includes the investigation of intrauterine exposures that could disrupt foetal development and contribute to the presence of adenomyosis in adulthood.

Polariton spectra under the collective coupling regime. I. Efficient simulation of linear spectra and quantum dynamics.

We outline two general theoretical techniques to simulate polariton quantum dynamics and optical spectra under the collective coupling regimes described by a Holstein-Tavis-Cummings (HTC) model Hamiltonian. The first one takes advantage of sparsity of the HTC Hamiltonian, which allows one to reduce the cost of acting polariton Hamiltonian onto a state vector to the linear order of the number of states, instead of the quadratic order. The second one is applying the well-known Chebyshev series expansion approach for quantum dynamics propagation and to simulate the polariton dynamics in the HTC system; this approach allows us to use a much larger time step for propagation and only requires a few recursive operations of the polariton Hamiltonian acting on state vectors.

National Telehealth Contingency Staffing Program and Primary Care Quality in the VHA.

Importance: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) launched the Clinical Resource Hub (CRH), a national telehealth contingency staffing program, to address primary care staffing shortages and improve veteran access to primary care. How this large-scale telehealth intervention affects quality of care is unknown.

Objective: To assess the quality of care for chronic disease management among US veterans receiving high vs low levels of CRH-delivered primary care services and whether racial and ethnic minority veterans experience outcomes similar to those of White veterans when receiving CRH-delivered care.

Data analysis protocol for early autonomic dysfunction characterization after severe traumatic brain injury.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) disrupts normal brain tissue and functions, leading to high mortality and disability. Severe TBI (sTBI) causes prolonged cognitive, functional, and multi-organ dysfunction. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) after sTBI can induce abnormalities in multiple organ systems, contributing to cardiovascular dysregulation and increased mortality.

Endoscopic techniques for the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions.

Pancreatic cysts are mostly incidental findings on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans, with few patients presenting with abdominal pain or other symptoms. The accurate diagnosis of cysts is important as management depends on the type (neoplastic or non-neoplastic). Cross-sectional imaging is fast being replaced with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and various techniques based on that such as EUS-guided fine needle aspiration, EUS-guided needle confocal laser endomicroscopy, EUS-through-the-needle biopsy, and contrast-enhanced EUS.

Interactions between leaf phenological type and functional traits drive variation in isoprene emissions in central Amazon forest trees.

The Amazon forest is the largest source of isoprene emissions, and the seasonal pattern of leaf-out phenology in this forest has been indicated as an important driver of seasonal variation in emissions. Still, it is unclear how emissions vary between different leaf phenological types in this forest. To evaluate the influence of leaf phenological type over isoprene emissions, we measured leaf-level isoprene emission capacity and leaf functional traits for 175 trees from 124 species of angiosperms distributed among brevideciduous and evergreen trees in a central Amazon forest.

Feasibility and preliminary effects of the mindful healthy family project among rural families.

Background/purpose: Rural adults and children are at higher risk for overweight and obesity. However, there are relatively few lifestyle modification programs available for these high-risk families, mainly because of the difficulty in reaching them. This mindfulness-based motivational interviewing (MM-based-MI) pilot aimed to improve parents' healthy eating index (HEI), collective family efficacy, family satisfaction, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms as well as parent-child dyads' eating patterns, physical activity (PA), and body mass index (BMI).

Poly[di-aqua-[μ-1,4-bis-(pyridin-3-ylmeth-yl)piperazine][μ-4-(2-carboxyl-atoeth-yl)benzoato]cobalt(II)].

A layered cobalt coordination polymer containing both 4-(2-carboxyl-atoeth-yl)benzoate (ceb) and 1,4-bis-(3-pyridyl-meth-yl)piperazine (3-bpmp) ligands, [Co(CHO)(CHN)(HO)] or [Co(ceb)(3-bpmp)(HO)] , was isolated and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Chain-like [Co(ceb)(HO)] units are oriented parallel to [101]. These are connected into (4,4)-grid coordination polymer layers by tethering 3-bpmp ligands.

Integrating psychiatry and family medicine in the management of somatic symptom disorders: Diagnosis, collaboration, and communication strategies.

Somatic symptom disorders (SSDs) present a complex interplay of physical and psychological factors, necessitating an integrative approach to diagnosis and management. This article explores the collaborative efforts between family medicine and psychiatry in addressing SSDs, emphasizing the importance of a multidisciplinary strategy for comprehensive patient care. Effective diagnosis involves recognizing the significance of both somatic symptoms and the patient's psychological response, with tools like structured clinical interviews and self-report questionnaires playing crucial roles.

High Anion Gap Metabolic Acidosis and 5-Oxoprolinuria in a Hospital Setting Induced by Acetaminophen, Sepsis, and Malnutrition: A Case Report.

High anion gap metabolic acidosis (HAGMA) is a common biochemical abnormality in hospitalized patients, often linked to conditions such as lactic acidosis, renal failure, or drug toxicity. A rare etiology, 5-oxoprolinuria, resulting from acetaminophen use, malnutrition, and sepsis, is increasingly recognized in critically ill patients. We report a 29-year-old male with a history of intellectual disability and normal baseline kidney function who was admitted with acute necrotizing pancreatitis and developed severe metabolic acidosis and acute kidney injury (AKI).

Continuous Catheter Versus Single-Shot Interscalene Block in Shoulder Surgery: A Review and Recommendations for Postoperative Pain Management.

Shoulder arthroscopic and arthroplastic surgeries are associated with significant postoperative pain, which can delay recovery and increase opioid consumption. Interscalene blocks (ISBs) are a commonly used method to manage this pain, either as single-shot injections or continuous catheter infusions (CISBs). This review synthesizes findings from studies conducted in the past five years, comparing the efficacy, complications, and outcomes of single-shot ISBs versus CISBs for postoperative pain management in shoulder surgeries.