Differences in Religious Commitment and Harm Reduction Attitudes Among US Medical Students by Sex Assigned at Birth: A Pilot Study.

Harm reduction emphasizes positive change by working with individuals without judgment, coercion, discrimination, or requiring abstinence from drugs to receive support. This study examines how religious commitment and medical student attitudes toward harm reduction approaches for substance use differ based on sex assigned at birth. Participants from a US osteopathic medical school completed the revised Harm Reduction Acceptability Scale and the Belief into Action Scale.

Data-Driven and Cell-Specific Determination of Nuclei-Associated Actin Structure.

Quantitative and volumetric assessment of filamentous actin fibers (F-actin) remains challenging due to their interconnected nature, leading researchers to utilize threshold based or qualitative measurement methods with poor reproducibility. Here we introduce a novel machine learning based methodology for accurate quantification and reconstruction of nuclei-associated F-actin. Utilizing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), we segment actin filaments and nuclei from 3D confocal microscopy images and then reconstruct each fiber by connecting intersecting contours on cross-sectional slices.

Association of Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity With College Student Success and Retention.

Background: This study examined the relationship between physical activity (PA) and academic performance and retention among college students using accelerometer data while controlling for sex and socioeconomic background.

Methods: Data were collected from 4643 first-year college students at a private university in the south-central United States who began their studies in the Fall semesters between 2015 and 2022. Daily step counts were collected using accelerometers worn as part of the institutions PA requirements.

Within Clinic Reliability and Usability of a Voice-Based Amazon Alexa Administration of the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD 7).

This is the second in a series of studies assessing the usability and reliability of a novel voice-based delivery system of mental health screening assessments. The previous study demonstrated the reliability and patient preference of a voice-based format of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9) for measuring major depression compared to a traditional paper format. Through this study, we further examined the Amazon Alexa tool in the administration of the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD 7).

Data driven and cell specific determination of nuclei-associated actin structure.

Quantitative and volumetric assessment of filamentous actin fibers (F-actin) remains challenging due to their interconnected nature, leading researchers to utilize threshold based or qualitative measurement methods with poor reproducibility. Here we introduce a novel machine learning based methodology for accurate quantification and reconstruction of nuclei-associated F-actin. Utilizing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), we segment actin filaments and nuclei from 3D confocal microscopy images and then reconstruct each fiber by connecting intersecting contours on cross-sectional slices.

HEXACO personality factors as predictors of physical activity, resting heart rate, body mass index, and healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Background: Personality traits are known factors that may influence levels of physical activity and other healthy lifestyle measures and behaviors that ultimately lead to health problems later in life.

Participants And Procedure: The aim of this study was to examine the association between personality traits (HEXACO) and levels of physical activity and resting heart rate (RHR) - measured using Fitbits, BMI, and a self-reported whole-person healthy lifestyle score for = 2580 college students. Data were collected and analyzed for students enrolled in a University Success type course from August 2017 to May 2021.

The effects of conformation and intermolecular hydrogen bonding on the structure and IR spectra of flutamide; a study based on the matrix isolation technique, ab initio and DFT calculations.

In this study, stable conformers of flutamide referred to as an anticancer drug were searched through a relaxed potential energy surface scan carried out at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. This was followed by geometry optimization and thermochemistry calculations performed with the HF-SCF, MP2, B3LYP methods and the 6-31G(d), 6-311++G(d,p), aug-cc-pvTZ basis sets for each of the determined minimum energy conformers. The results revealed that flutamide has at least five stable conformers and two of them provide the major contribution to the observed matrix isolation infrared (IR) spectra of the molecule.

Within Clinic Reliability and Usability of a Voice-Based Amazon Alexa Administration of the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9).

Over the last two decades, metric-based instruments have garnered popularity in mental health. Self-administered surveys, such as the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9), have been leveraged to inform treatment practice of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to measure the reliability and usability of a novel voice-based delivery system of the PHQ 9 using Amazon Alexa within a patient population.

The influence of chronotype on the body mass index of U.S. college students.

Objectives: The relationship between a college student's chronotype and body mass index (BMI) is important to understand for university decision makers who want to build healthy and inclusive academic communities. This study aimed to evaluate how a student's chronotype influences their BMI.

Material And Methods: Participants were college students from Oral Roberts University (n=384) with a mean age of 18.

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on global air quality: A review.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. As a preventive measure, the majority of countries adopted partial or complete lockdown to fight the novel coronavirus. The lockdown was considered the most effective tool to break the spread of the coronavirus infection worldwide.

An investigation on the structure and group vibrations of balenine molecule by matrix isolation IR spectroscopy, DFT and MP2 based calculations.

Stable conformers of neutral balenine were scanned through molecular dynamics simulations and energy minimizations using Allinger's MM2 force field. For each of the found minimum-energy conformers, geometry optimization and thermochemistry calculations were performed by using B3LYP, MP2, G3MP2B3 methods, 6-31G(d), 6-311++G(d,p) and aug-cc-pvTZ basis sets. The calculation results have indicated that balenine has about twenty stable conformers whose relative energies are in the range of 0-9.

Teaching Cheminformatics through a Collaborative Intercollegiate Online Chemistry Course (OLCC).

While cheminformatics skills necessary for dealing with an ever-increasing amount of chemical information are considered important for students pursuing STEM careers in the age of big data, many schools do not offer a cheminformatics course or alternative training opportunities. This paper presents the Cheminformatics Online Chemistry Course (OLCC), which is organized and run by the Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE) of the American Chemical Society (ACS)'s Division of Chemical Education (CHED). The Cheminformatics OLCC is a highly collaborative teaching project involving instructors at multiple schools who teamed up with external chemical information experts recruited across sectors, including government and industry.

Effects of brainstem lesions on amino acid levels in the rat cochlear nucleus.

There is evidence for glutamate, γ-amino butyric acid (GABA), and glycine as neurotransmitters of centrifugal pathways to the cochlear nucleus, but the quantitative extent of their contributions to amino acid neurotransmission in cochlear nucleus regions has not been known. We used microdissection of freeze-dried tissue sections of rat cochlear nucleus, with mapping of sample locations, combined with a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay, to measure amino acid levels in cochlear nucleus subregions of rats with unilateral lesions of centrifugal pathways to the cochlear nucleus. In rats with lesions transecting all or almost all pathways to the cochlear nucleus from brain stem regions, GABA, aspartate, and glutamate levels were reduced, compared to contralateral values, in almost all ipsilateral cochlear nucleus regions.

The Venom Compound N-(3-methylbutyl)acetamide Attracts Several Polistes (Fuscopolistes) Species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

Polistes paper wasps in the Fuscopolistes subgenus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) can be serious pests when they swarm at tall man-made structures. Chemical attractants may be useful to trap such paper wasps when they achieve pest status. Polistes venom has been shown to elicit a variety of behavioral responses in congeneric wasps, making it a source for potential chemical attractants.

ARNS: Adaptive Relay-Node Selection Method for Message Broadcasting in the Internet of Vehicles.

The proper utilization of road information can improve the performance of relay-node selection methods. However, the existing schemes are only applicable to a specific road structure, and this limits their application in real-world scenarios where mostly more than one road structure exists in the Region of Interest (RoI), even in the communication range of a sender. In this paper, we propose an adaptive relay-node selection (ARNS) method based on the exponential partition to implement message broadcasting in complex scenarios.

Theory of Nursing for the Whole Person: A Distinctly Scriptural Framework.

Though unpublished in peer-reviewed literature for more than 40 years, the Theory of Nursing for the Whole Person has been, and remains, a highly useful framework for nursing practice, education, and research. Used by the College of Nursing at Oral Roberts University, the theory was developed by the founding dean, I. Tomine Tjelta.

Musical Tasks and Energetic Arousal.

Background: Music is widely recognized as a motivating stimulus. Investigators have examined the use of music to improve a variety of motivation-related outcomes; however, these studies have focused primarily on passive music listening rather than active participation in musical activities.

Objective: To examine the influence of participation in musical tasks and unique participant characteristics on energetic arousal.

Effects of surgical lesions on choline acetyltransferase activity in the cat cochlea.

Although it is well established that the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT, the enzyme for acetylcholine synthesis) in the mammalian cochlea is associated with its olivocochlear innervation, the distribution of this innervation in the cochlea varies somewhat among mammalian species. The quantitative distribution of ChAT activity in the cochlea has been reported for guinea pigs and rats. The present study reports the distribution of ChAT activity within the organ of Corti among the three turns of the cat cochlea and the effects of removing olivocochlear innervation either by a lateral cut aimed to totally transect the left olivocochlear bundle or a more medial cut additionally damaging the superior olivary complex on the same side.

College and the grieving student: A mixed-methods analysis.

The current mixed-methods study examines how college students negotiate the grief process with the competing demands of college. Data were collected from 950 students at a regional comprehensive university and a research intensive institution. Quantitative findings revealed closeness to the deceased as a key positive predictor of mental health and academic difficulties and positive associations between changes in peer relationships and mental health difficulties.

Using water-solvent systems to estimate in vivo blood-tissue partition coefficients.

Background: Blood-tissue partition coefficients indicate how a chemical will distribute throughout the body and are an important part of any pharmacokinetic study. They can be used to assess potential toxicological effects from exposure to chemicals and the efficacy of potential novel drugs designed to target certain organs or the central nervous system. In vivo measurement of blood-tissue partition coefficients is often complicated, time-consuming, and relatively expensive, so developing in vitro systems that approximate in vivo ones is desirable.

Prediction of 1-octanol solubilities using data from the Open Notebook Science Challenge.

Background: 1-Octanol solubility is important in a variety of applications involving pharmacology and environmental chemistry. Current models are linear in nature and often require foreknowledge of either melting point or aqueous solubility. Here we extend the range of applicability of 1-octanol solubility models by creating a random forest model that can predict 1-octanol solubilities directly from structure.

T24 HRAS transformed NIH/3T3 mouse cells (GhrasT-NIH/3T3) in serial tumorigenic in vitro/in vivo passages give rise to increasingly aggressive tumorigenic cell lines T1-A and T2-A and metastatic cell lines T3-HA and T4-PA.

Cancer cells often arise progressively from "normal" to "pre-cancer" to "transformed" to "local metastasis" to "metastatic disease" to "aggressive metastatic disease". Recent whole genome sequencing (WGS) and spectral karyotyping (SKY) of cancer cells and tumorigenic models have shown this progression involves three major types of genome rearrangements: ordered small step-wise changes, more dramatic "punctuated evolution" (chromoplexy), and large catastrophic steps (chromothripsis) which all occur in random combinations to generate near infinite numbers of stochastically rearranged metastatic cancer cell genomes. This paper describes a series of mouse cell lines developed sequentially to mimic this type of progression.

A vibrational spectroscopy study on anserine and its aqueous solutions.

In this study based on vibrational spectroscopic measurements and Density Functional Theory (DFT), we aimed for a reliable interpretation of the IR and Raman spectra recorded for anserine in the solid phase and water (H2O) and heavy water (D2O) solutions. Initial DFT calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) searched possible conformers of the anserine zwitterion using a systematic conformational search. The corresponding equilibrium geometrical parameters and vibrational spectral data were determined for each of the stable conformers (in water) by the geometry optimization and hessian calculations performed at the same level of theory using the polarized continuum model (PCM).

Predicting Abraham model solvent coefficients.

Background: The Abraham general solvation model can be used in a broad set of scenarios involving partitioning and solubility, yet is limited to a set of solvents with measured Abraham coefficients. Here we extend the range of applicability of Abraham's model by creating open models that can be used to predict the solvent coefficients for all organic solvents.

Results: We created open random forest models for the solvent coefficients e, s, a, b, and v that had out-of-bag R(2) values of 0.