Pangenomics Links Boll Weevil Divergence With Ancient Mesoamerican Cotton Cultivation.

The boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, and thurberia weevil, Anthonomus grandis thurberiae Pierce, together comprise a species complex that ranges throughout Mexico, the southwestern regions of the United States and parts of South America. The boll weevil is a historically damaging and contemporaneously threatening pest to commercial upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvales: Malvaceae), whereas the thurberia weevil is regarded as an innocuous non-pest subspecies that is mostly found on non-cultivated Thurber's or Arizona cotton, Gossypium thurberi L.

Synergistic antibacterial drug elution from UHMWPE for load-bearing implants.

Total joint replacement is a successful procedure for restoring the patient's musculoskeletal mobility and quality of life, but it carries the risk of severe peri-prosthetic joint infections (PJI) and is accompanied by post-operative pain. Cocktails of multiple drugs are often used for prevention/treatment of PJI and for addressing pain. Local drug delivery systems are promising for improving the outcome of the treatment and decreasing the side effects of systemic drugs.

Estimated Factor Scores Are Not True Factor Scores.

In this tutorial, we clarify the distinction between estimated factor scores, which are weighted composites of observed variables, and true factor scores, which are unobservable values of the underlying latent variable. Using an analogy with linear regression, we show how predicted values in linear regression share the properties of the most common type of factor score estimates, regression factor scores, computed from single-indicator and multiple indicator latent variable models. Using simulated data from 1- and 2-factor models, we also show how the amount of measurement error affects the reliability of regression factor scores, and compare the performance of regression factor scores with that of unweighted sum scores.

Utilization of a Joint Point Regression Model for Predicting Mortality Rates of Common Cancers in Babol City.

Background: Cancer is a major cause of mortality. Timely information about cancer mortality trends is essential for prioritizing health programs.

Aims: This study aims to use a Joint point regression model to predict the mortality rates of the top 10 common cancers in Babol City.

Caring for the mental health of Afghan refugee youth through a decolonial paradigm: A qualitative analysis of distress, coping mechanisms, and priorities for treatment.

Despite the compounded adversities that displaced youth must navigate throughout their forced migration, they consistently exhibit steadfastness in caring for themselves and their families. Extant scholarship, however, often frames these individuals as needy and inept at informing the models of mental health care they are offered. In this study, we use semistructured interviews to learn from the experiences of Afghan refugee youth (N = 34; M age = 19; range 18-24) who were resettled in the United States after the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021 and explore their insights that can inform decolonial and equitable mental health services.

Risk of Motor Vehicle Accidents in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Comparative Analysis of CPAP Versus Surgery.

Objective: To compare the incidence of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) undergoing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy and sleep surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX national clinical database.

Setting: Analysis of a nationwide patient cohort.

Feasibility and acceptability of a telephone-based ACT intervention for caregivers (TACTICs) of adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD): a randomized pilot during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the Telephone Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Caregivers (TACTICs) on dementia caregivers' anxiety, depression, caregiver burden, suffering, and anticipatory grief.

Method: A 2-arm pilot randomized trial with dementia caregivers ≥ 21 years old with clinically elevated anxiety or anxiety-related functional interference. Two cohorts were recruited at the beginning and end of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parasitoid avoidance of intraguild predation drives enemy complementarity in a multi-trophic ecological network.

How consumer diversity determines consumption efficiency is a central issue in ecology. In the context of predation and biological control, this relationship concerns predator diversity and predation efficiency. Reduced predation efficiency can result from different predator taxa eating each other in addition to their common prey (interference due to intraguild predation).

The relationship between chronic ankle instability and sleep behaviour.

Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI) is a condition characterized by giving-way episodes, instability and recurrent ankle sprains. Poor sleep can increase the risk of musculoskeletal injury and sleep is known to be an important aspect of injury recovery. However, the effect sleep has on those with CAI as well as its risk for recurrent episodes of giving-way remains unclear.

Update on the treatment navigation for functional cure of chronic hepatitis B: expert consensus 2.0.

As new evidence emerges, treatment strategies toward the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B are evolving. In 2019, a panel of national hepatologists published a Consensus Statement on the functional cure of chronic hepatitis B. Currently, an international group of hepatologists has been assembled to evaluate research since the publication of the original consensus, and to collaboratively develop the updated statements.

Diverse Clinical Presentation of RAC1-Related Intellectual Developmental Disorder.

RAC1 encodes the protein RAS-related C3 Botulinum Toxin Substrate 1 (RAC1), which plays a pivotal role in various cellular functions. Pathogenic variants in RAC1 are linked to the rare intellectual developmental disorder, autosomal-dominant 48 (MRD48). We present one case with typical phenotype and two cases with a mild phenotype.

Oncogenic mutant KRAS inhibition through oxidation at cysteine 118.

Specific reactive oxygen species activate the GTPase Kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) by reacting with cysteine 118 (C118), leading to an electron transfer between C118 and nucleoside guanosine diphosphate (GDP), which causes the release of GDP. Here, we have mimicked permanent oxidation of human KRAS at C118 by replacing C118 with aspartic acid (C118D) in KRAS to show that oncogenic mutant KRAS is selectively inhibited via oxidation at C118, both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, the combined treatment of hydrogen-peroxide-producing pro-oxidant paraquat and nitric-oxide-producing inhibitor N(ω)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester selectively inhibits human mutant KRAS activity by inducing oxidization at C118.

The association between depressive symptoms and lower urinary tract symptoms and impact among women: Investigating behavioural, cognitive and physiological pathways.

Objective: Mechanistic studies are needed to understand why depressive symptoms are associated with poorer physical health. The objective of this study was to examine whether behavioural, cognitive and physiological factors mediated an association between depressive symptoms, measured in early adulthood, and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and their impact, a composite variable measured in mid-life adulthood, among women in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, conducted in four regions of the United States.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

A Bioengineered Model of the Human Cornea for Preclinical Assessment of Human Ocular Exposure to Environmental Toxicants.

Here a bioengineered platform is introduced to investigate adverse effects of environmental materials on the human cornea. Using primary cells, this system is capable of reproducing the differentiated corneal epithelium and its underlying stroma in the human eye, which can then be treated with externally applied solid, liquid, or gaseous substances in a controlled manner and under physiologically relevant conditions. The proof-of-principle of how this system can be used to simulate human ocular exposure to different classes of environmental toxicants for direct visualization and quantitative analysis of their potential to induce acute corneal injury and inflammation is demonstrated.

Administration of non-national immunization program vaccines for children under six in a rural county, Henan Province: Did costs matter?

This study aimed to investigate caregivers' administration of non-National Immunization Program (NIP) vaccines in rural China, and examine health system, individual, and social determinants. A cross-sectional survey ( = 1051) was conducted from July to October in 2022 in a rural county of Henan Province. Caregivers of children under six who came to township health centers for child vaccination were interviewed.

Prognostic Indicators and Comparative Treatment Outcomes in High-Risk Thyroid Cancer with Laryngotracheal Invasion.

Background: Laryngotracheal invasion occurs in a subset of patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) and is associated with a poor prognosis. We aimed to analyze patterns and predictors/outcomes related to this high-risk manifestation.

Methods: This population-based analysis utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry (2000 to 2015) to identify WDTC patients.

Genetic variation in age-dependent attractiveness in a fish with a mixed mating system.

Reproductive senescence is common across taxa and females often show a predictable decline in fecundity after maturity. Attending to these age-dependent cues could help males make optimal mate choice decisions. Here, we examined reproductive senescence and male mate choice in the androdioecious mangrove rivulus (), where self-fertilizing hermaphrodites exist with rare males.

Comparative study of ergosterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol and their endoperoxides: Generation, identification, and impact in phospholipid membranes and melanoma cells.

Melanoma is an aggressive cancer that has attracted attention in recent years due to its high mortality rate of 80%. Damage caused by oxidative stress generated by radical (type I reaction) and singlet oxygen, O (type II reaction) oxidative reactions may induce cancer. Thus, studies that aim to unveil the mechanism that drives these oxidative damage processes become relevant.

Clinical Sensitivity and Specificity of the PROSTest in an American Cohort.

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the United States, following skin cancer, with an incidence rate of 112.7 per 100,000 men per year. The need for a reliable, non-invasive diagnostic tool for early PCa detection (screening, biochemical residual disease) remains unmet due to the limitations of PSA testing, which often leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

Unmet needs and lived experience of patients receiving CAR T-cell therapy.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) therapy is an effective therapy and promising frontier in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. However, this revolutionary treatment has led to new challenges for patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system. In this review article, we discuss the various difficulties patients face both in the acute and long-term period following CAR-T infusion.

Deep Learning-assisted Diagnosis of Extrahepatic Common Bile Duct Obstruction Using MRCP Imaging and Clinical Parameters.

Background: Extrahepatic Common Bile Duct Obstruction (EHBDO) is a serious condition that requires accurate diagnosis for effective treatment. Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a widely used noninvasive imaging technique for visualizing bile ducts, but its interpretation can be complex.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a deep learning-based classification model that integrates MRCP images and clinical parameters to assist radiologists in diagnosing EHBDO more accurately.

Niosomal Encapsulation of Anti-Cancer Peptides: A Revolutionary Strategy in Cancer Therapy.

Cancer treatment has evolved significantly over the years, incorporating a range of modalities including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. However, challenges such as drug resistance, systemic toxicity, and poor targeting necessitate innovative approaches. Peptides have gained attention in cancer therapy due to their specificity, potency, and ability to modulate various biological pathways.

Nanoparticles as Delivery Vehicles for Vaccines: The Use of Gold Nanoparticles.

Since their inception, therapeutic or prophylactic vaccines have emerged as promising candidates for the prevention or treatment of infections and various diseases, including cancer and autoimmune disorders. In recent times, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have acquired active roles in the field of vaccine development due to their intrinsic capacity to adjust and enhance the immune response. Due to their characteristics, GNPs can exert optimal effects as both delivery vehicles and adjuvants.

Comprehensive reanalysis of light fluence distribution in pleural photodynamic therapy using standardized anatomical coordinates.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has shown promise as an adjuvant treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma when combined with surgical resection. Accurate light dosimetry is critical for treatment efficacy. This study presents an improved method for analyzing light fluence distribution in pleural PDT using a standardized anatomical coordinate system and advanced computational modeling.