Changes in urinary concentrations of contemporary and emerging chemicals in commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program.

Previous research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed alterations in behaviors that may impact exposures to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals. This includes changes in the use of chemicals found in consumer products, food packaging, and exposure to air pollutants. Within the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, a national consortium initiated to understand the effects of environmental exposures on child health and development, our objective was to assess whether urinary concentrations of a wide range of potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals varied before and during the pandemic.

Ensifentrine in COPD patients taking long-acting bronchodilators: A pooled post-hoc analysis of the ENHANCE-1/2 studies.

Background: The efficacy and safety of ensifentrine, a novel PDE3/PDE4 inhibitor, were previously evaluated in the ENHANCE-1 (NCT04535986) and ENHANCE-2 (NCT04542057) trials. Here, we present a pooled post-hoc subgroup analysis of patients according to background chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) maintenance medication regimens.

Objective: This analysis aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of ensifentrine in patients receiving long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) or long-acting beta-agonists with inhaled corticosteroids (LABA + ICS).

Altered Effective Connectivity Within a Thalamocortical Corollary Discharge Network in Individuals With Schizophrenia.

Background And Hypothesis: Sequential saccade planning requires corollary discharge (CD) signals that provide information about the planned landing location of an eye movement. These CD signals may be altered among individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), providing a potential mechanism to explain passivity and anomalous self-experiences broadly. In healthy controls (HC), a key oculomotor CD network transmits CD signals from the thalamus to the frontal eye fields (FEF) and the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and also remaps signals from FEF to IPS.

Diffuse expression of p16 in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) and the association of morphology variants.

Objective: Distinguishing grade 3 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) from neuroendocrine carcinomas (PanNECs) is sometimes challenging. Recently, a diffuse p16-positive pattern was reported in PanNECs but not in grade 3 PanNETs, suggesting that p16 could help differentiate these entities. This study aimed to investigate p16 expression in PanNETs of various grades and its association with clinicopathologic features.

How Often Is Rifampin Therapy Initiated and Completed in Patients With Periprosthetic Joint Infections?

Background: Rifampin therapy is indicated for the treatment of staphylococcal periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in patients who have undergone debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) or one-stage revision as per the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) guideline. Given the well-established effectiveness of rifampin as adjunctive therapy in staphylococcal PJI, it is crucial to evaluate its utilization in practice and identify factors that contribute to its underuse or incomplete administration, as these deviations may undermine treatment efficacy and patient outcomes.

Questions/purposes: Among patients who met clear indications for rifampin use having undergone DAIR or one-stage revision for staphylococcal PJI, (1) what proportion of patients did not receive it? (2) What proportion of patients started it but did not complete the planned course? (3) Where documented in the medical record, what were the common reasons for not using it or prematurely discontinuing it, and in what percentage of the patients' charts was no reason given? (4) What proportion of patients were taking a medication that put them at risk for a drug-drug interaction (DDI)?

Methods: Using an institutional database, patients who underwent DAIR or revision arthroplasty for PJI from January 2013 to April 2023 were identified (n = 935).

Prediction of Cyclic O Molecules Stabilized by Helium under Pressure.

Oxygen usually exists in the form of diatomic molecules at ambient conditions. At high pressure, it undergoes a series of phase transitions from diatomic O to O cluster and ultimately dissociates into a polymeric O spiral chain structure. Intriguingly, the commonly found cyclic hexameric molecules in other group VIA elements (e.

Modulating Electronic Density of Single-Atom Ni Center by Heteroatoms for Efficient CO Electroreduction.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with unique geometric and electronic configurations have triggered great interest in many important reactions. However, controllably modulating the electronic structure of metal centers to enhance catalytic performance remains a challenge. Here, the electronic structure of Ni centers over Ni-NC SACs by introducing electron-rich phosphorus or electron-deficient boron for electrochemical CO reduction (CORR) is systematically tailored.

Moral Complexity in Traffic: Advancing the ADC Model for Automated Driving Systems.

The incorporation of ethical settings in Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) has been extensively discussed in recent years with the goal of enhancing potential stakeholders' trust in the new technology. However, a comprehensive ethical framework for ADS decision-making, capable of merging multiple ethical considerations and investigating their consistency is currently missing. This paper addresses this gap by providing a taxonomy of ADS decision-making based on the Agent-Deed-Consequences (ADC) model of moral judgment.

Isolation, characterization, and mycostimulation of fungi for the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at a superfund site.

Mycoremediation is a biological treatment approach that relies on fungi to transform environmental pollutants into intermediates with lower environmental burden. Basidiomycetes have commonly been used as the target fungal phylum for bioaugmentation in mycoremediation, however this phylum has been found to be unreliable when used at scale in the field. In this study, we isolated, characterized, and identified potential polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degrading fungal isolates from creosote-contaminated sediment in the Elizabeth River, Virginia.

Influence of Preoperative Depression on Cervical Spine Surgery Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Study Design: Systematic review and Meta-analysis.

Objectives: To quantify the association of preoperative depression on patient reported outcome measures (PROMS) after cervical spine surgery.

Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus, PsychInfo, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.

Single-cell transcriptomics predict novel potential regulators of acute epithelial restitution in the ischemia-injured intestine.

Intestinal ischemic injury damages the epithelial barrier predisposes patients to life-threatening sepsis unless that barrier is rapidly restored. There is an age-dependency of intestinal recovery in that neonates are the most susceptible to succumb to disease of the intestinal barrier versus older patients. We have developed a pig model that demonstrates age-dependent failure of intestinal barrier restitution in neonatal pigs which can be rescued by the direct application of juvenile pig mucosal tissue, but the mechanisms of rescue remain undefined.

Lessons Learned in Virtual Launch of an Antenatal Opioid Exposure Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted researchers to develop new ways to design and launch studies and recruit and retain participants. Pregnant women and infants are considered vulnerable populations in research, and families affected by substance use are particularly difficult to recruit and retain. Recruitment for studies involving medical technologies such as MRI can also be difficult due to misconceptions and fear of the technologies.

Coming Out as LGBTQ+: A Qualitative Study on the Mental Health Impact of Religious Responses to Disclosure.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (LGBTQ+) individuals may experience judgment, exclusion, and rejection by religious environments. This mixed methods study focused on the impact of religion on sexual orientation disclosure/coming out. Through purposeful snowball sampling we had 429 participants.

Closing the Gaps in Understanding PFAS Toxicology and Metabolism.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are nearly ubiquitous and found in rivers, soils, atmosphere, food packaging, clothing, cosmetics, commercial products, homes, drinking water, and humans and other organisms [...

Aflatoxin B1: Challenges and Strategies for the Intestinal Microbiota and Intestinal Health of Monogastric Animals.

The objective of this review is to investigate the impacts of aflatoxins, particularly aflatoxin B1 (AFB), on intestinal microbiota, intestinal health, and growth performance in monogastric animals, primarily chickens and pigs, as well as dietary interventions to mitigate these effects. Aflatoxin B1 contamination in feeds disrupts intestinal microbiota, induces immune responses and oxidative damage, increases antioxidant activity, and impairs jejunal cell viability, barrier function, and morphology in the small intestine. These changes compromise nutrient digestion and reduce growth performance in animals.

Tracking Immunity: An Increased Number of COVID-19 Boosters Increases the Longevity of Anti-RBD and Anti-RBD-Neutralizing Antibodies.

Background/objectives: Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, the virus has caused multiple waves of infection globally. Arizona State University (ASU), the largest four-year university in the United States, offers a uniquely diverse setting for assessing immunity within a large community. This study aimed to test our hypothesis that an increased number of exposures to SARS-CoV-2 RBD through vaccination/boosters/infection will increase SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence by increasing the longevity of anti-RBD and anti-RBD-neutralizing antibodies.

Anisotropic Elasticity, Spin-Orbit Coupling, and Topological Properties of ZrTe and NiTe: A Comparative Study for Spintronic and Nanoscale Applications.

The present work investigates the interfacial and atomic layer-dependent mechanical properties, SOC-entailing phonon band structure, and comprehensive electron-topological-elastic integration of ZrTe and NiTe. The anisotropy of Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and shear modulus are analyzed using density functional theory with the TB-mBJ approximation. NiTe has higher mechanical property values and greater anisotropy than ZrTe.

Mesoporous Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Support from ZIF-8 for Pt Catalysts in Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) has been extensively studied as a precursor for nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) materials due to its high surface area, tunable porosity, and adjustable nitrogen content. However, the intrinsic microporous structure of the ZIF-8 limits mass transport and accessibility of reactants to active sites, reducing its effectiveness in electrochemical applications. In this study, a soft templating approach using a triblock copolymer was used to prepare mesoporous ZIF-8-derived NC (Meso-ZIF-NC) samples.

Cu-Functionalized, ZIF-8-Derived, Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Composites for Efficient Iodine Elimination in Solution.

The development of copper-based materials with a high efficiency and low cost is desirable for use in iodine (I) remediation. Herein, Cu-nanoparticles-functionalized, ZIF-8 (Zeolite Imidazole Framework-8)-derived, nitrogen-doped carbon composites (Cu@Zn-NC) were synthesized by ball milling and pyrolysis processes. The as-prepared composites were characterized using SEM, BET, XRD, XPS, and FT-IR analyses.

Stable Field Emissions from Zirconium Carbide Nanoneedle Electron Source.

In this study, a single zirconium carbide (ZrC) nanoneedle structure oriented in the <100> direction was fabricated by a dual-beam focused ion beam (FIB-SEM) system, and its field emission characteristics and emission current stability were evaluated. Benefiting from controlled fabrication with real-time observation, the ZrC nanoneedle has a smooth surface and a tip with a radius of curvature smaller than 20 nm and a length greater than 2 μm. Due to its low work function and well-controlled morphology, the ZrC nanoneedle emitter, positioned in a high-vacuum chamber, was able to generate a single and collimated electron beam with a current of 1.

Serious Bacterial Infections and Hepatitis C Virus Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Syndemic or Intertwined Epidemics?

Limited research has examined the possible synergistic interrelationships between serious bacterial infections (SBIs) of the heart (i.e., endocarditis), bone, spine, brain, or joints (e.

Characteristics and Functional Properties of Bioactive Oleogels: A Current Review.

Oleogels have been a revolutionary innovation in food science in terms of their health benefits and unique structural properties. They provide a healthier alternative to traditional solid or animal fats. They have improved oxidative stability and nutritional value to maintain the desirable sensory qualities of lipid-based foods.

Pigmented Syringomatous Carcinoma/Sweat Gland Carcinoma of the Vulva With Melanocytic Colonization: An Uncommon Presentation of a Rare Sweat Gland Neoplasm.

Primary vulvar carcinomas are rare and constitute a diverse group of neoplasms. These primary tumors are typically classified based on their presumed tissue of origin or histological characteristics. Among these, carcinomas of sweat gland origin are particularly significant.