A data-driven approach to study temporal characteristics of COVID-19 infection and death Time Series for twelve countries across six continents.

Background: In this work, we implement a data-driven approach using an aggregation of several analytical methods to study the characteristics of COVID-19 daily infection and death time series and identify correlations and characteristic trends that can be corroborated to the time evolution of this disease. The datasets cover twelve distinct countries across six continents, from January 22, 2020 till March 1, 2022. This time span is partitioned into three windows: (1) pre-vaccine, (2) post-vaccine and pre-omicron (BA.

The curated Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM genome provides insights into strain specificity and microevolution.

Background: The advent of next generation sequencing technologies has enabled a surge in the number of whole genome sequences in public databases, and our understanding of the composition and evolution of bacterial genomes. Besides model organisms and pathogens, some attention has been dedicated to industrial bacteria, notably members of the Lactobacillaceae family that are commonly studied and formulated as probiotic bacteria. Of particular interest is Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM, an extensively studied strain that has been widely commercialized for decades and is being used for the delivery of vaccines and therapeutics.

GLiDe: a web-based genome-scale CRISPRi sgRNA design tool for prokaryotes.

Background: CRISPRi screening has become a powerful approach for functional genomic research. However, the off-target effects resulting from the mismatch tolerance between sgRNAs and their intended targets is a primary concern in CRISPRi applications.

Results: We introduce Guide Library Designer (GLiDe), a web-based tool specifically created for the genome-scale design of sgRNA libraries tailored for CRISPRi screening in prokaryotic organisms.

Effects of wearable resistance during warm-up on physical fitness measures in young female athletes.

The aim of this study was to quantify the training effects of wearing calf-loaded wearable resistance (WR) during a netball specific warm-up in female netball athletes. Twenty-nine high school female netball athletes were matched for change of direction (COD) speed and randomly allocated to either WR training or an unloaded group. Both groups performed the same warm-up two times per week for 6 weeks, with the WR group wearing 1%-1.

Navigating new threats: Prey naïveté in native mammals.

Invasive predators pose a substantial threat to global biodiversity. Native prey species frequently exhibit naïveté to the cues of invasive predators, and this phenomenon may contribute to the disproportionate impact of invasive predators on prey populations. However, not all species exhibit naïveté, which has led to the generation of many hypotheses to explain patterns in prey responses.

Effect of magnetized water on the fundamental grouting properties of cement grout under varying magnetization conditions.

The development and modification of grouting materials constitute crucial factors influencing the effectiveness of grouting. Given the pivotal role of water in the hydration of cement-based composite materials and construction processes, this study proposes an exploratory approach using green, economical magnetized water technology to enhance the performance of cement grouts. The research systematically investigates the effects of magnetized water on the fundamental grouting properties (stability, rheological behavior, and stone body strength) of cement grouts, prepared under varying magnetization conditions (including magnetic intensity, water flow speed, and cycle times).

Synthesis of tertiary alkyl amines via photoinduced copper-catalysed nucleophilic substitution.

In view of the high propensity of tertiary alkyl amines to be bioactive, the development of new methods for their synthesis is an important challenge. Transition-metal catalysis has the potential to greatly expand the scope of nucleophilic substitution reactions of alkyl electrophiles; unfortunately, in the case of alkyl amines as nucleophiles, only one success has been described so far: the selective mono-alkylation of primary amines to form secondary amines. Here, using photoinduced copper catalysis, we report the synthesis of tertiary alkyl amines from secondary amines and unactivated alkyl electrophiles, two readily available coupling partners.

Stereoselective amino alcohol synthesis via chemoselective electrocatalytic radical cross-couplings.

Amino alcohols are vital in natural products, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, and as key building blocks for various applications. Traditional synthesis methods often rely on polar bond retrosynthetic analysis, requiring extensive protecting group manipulations that complicate direct access. Here we show a streamlined approach using a serine-derived chiral carboxylic acid in stereoselective electrocatalytic decarboxylative transformations, enabling efficient access to enantiopure amino alcohols.

Comparison between AI and human expert performance in acute pain assessment in sheep.

This study explores the question whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) can outperform human experts in animal pain recognition using sheep as a case study. It uses a dataset of N = 48 sheep undergoing surgery with video recordings taken before (no pain) and after (pain) surgery. Four veterinary experts used two types of pain scoring scales: the sheep facial expression scale (SFPES) and the Unesp-Botucatu composite behavioral scale (USAPS), which is the 'golden standard' in sheep pain assessment.

Sex-specific mechanisms in vascular aging: exploring cellular and molecular pathways in the pathogenesis of age-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Aging remains the foremost risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, surpassing traditional factors in epidemiological significance. This review elucidates the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying vascular aging, with an emphasis on sex differences that influence disease progression and clinical outcomes in older adults. We discuss the convergence of aging processes at the macro- and microvascular levels and their contributions to the pathogenesis of vascular diseases.

Neurotheology: Practical Applications with Regard to Integrative Psychiatry.

Purpose Of Review: Neurotheology is a nascent field of research and scholarship that seeks to understand the relationship between the brain and religious and spiritual phenomena. In the context of integrative psychiatry, neurotheology offers an intriguing intermediary between understanding how spirituality and religion affect brain function, and how this might be related to changes in mental health.

Recent Findings: A number of research studies over the years have observed that religious and spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences can have a profound impact on a person's psyche.

Effects of LinTT1-peptide conjugation on the properties of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles prepared by the nanoprecipitation method.

Functionalization of polymer nanoparticles (NPs) with targeting peptides is of interest for drug delivery applications to enhance tumor accumulation and penetration. Herein, we evaluated the feasibility of two different methods for the attachment of a tumor-penetrating peptide LinTT1 (AKRGARSTA) to poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG) NPs: (1) "post-conjugation" onto pre-formed nanoparticles, and (2) "pre-conjugation", the synthesis and purification of peptide-polymer conjugates and subsequent nanoprecipitation of the conjugates diluted with non-functionalized polymers. Conjugation of the labelled peptide via maleimide-thiol chemistry was verified by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and fluorescence measurements.

Guruism and Cultic Social Dynamics in Psychedelic Practices and Organisations.

This chapter explores the risks of guruism and cultic social dynamics in organisations that work with psychedelic drugs, which include therapist offices, clinics, research departments, retreat centres, training programmes, NGOs, underground ceremonies and new religious movements. It has been hypothesised, and argued by experienced practitioners, that psychedelics can increase suggestibility, amplify transference and facilitate an intense form of projective mechanisms in the recipients. They may thereby lead to ego-inflation and feelings of grandiosity and omnipotence in those giving the drugs and intensify cultic social dynamics in psychedelic communities - all of which can create conditions that make cases of harm and misconduct more likely to occur and go unreported.

God Knows Best: Exploring the God Locus of Health Control, Race-Ethnicity, and Risk-Taking and Protective Behaviors Interrelationship in the USA.

The health implications of engaging in risk-taking or protective behaviors can have long-lasting effects on an individual's life. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in how religious attitudes and beliefs influence an individual's health behaviors. However, research on the role of the God Locus of Health Control (GLHC) in the religion-health literature is lacking.

Cardiac conduction system regeneration prevents arrhythmias after myocardial infarction.

Arrhythmias are a hallmark of myocardial infarction (MI) and increase patient mortality. How insult to the cardiac conduction system causes arrhythmias following MI is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate conduction system restoration during neonatal mouse heart regeneration versus pathological remodeling at non-regenerative stages.

Personalized, autologous neoantigen-specific T cell therapy in metastatic melanoma: a phase 1 trial.

New treatment approaches are warranted for patients with advanced melanoma refractory to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) or BRAF-targeted therapy. We designed BNT221, a personalized, neoantigen-specific autologous T cell product derived from peripheral blood, and tested this in a 3 + 3 dose-finding study with two dose levels (DLs) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic melanoma, disease progression after ICB, measurable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1) and, where appropriate, BRAF-targeted therapy.

Clinicogenomic landscape of pancreatic adenocarcinoma identifies KRAS mutant dosage as prognostic of overall survival.

Nearly all pancreatic adenocarcinomas (PDAC) are genomically characterized by KRAS exon 2 mutations. Most patients with PDAC present with advanced disease and are treated with cytotoxic therapy. Genomic biomarkers prognostic of disease outcomes have been challenging to identify.

Evaluating generalizability of oncology trial results to real-world patients using machine learning-based trial emulations.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating anti-cancer agents often lack generalizability to real-world oncology patients. Although restrictive eligibility criteria contribute to this issue, the role of selection bias related to prognostic risk remains unclear. In this study, we developed TrialTranslator, a framework designed to systematically evaluate the generalizability of RCTs for oncology therapies.

Sustained virologic suppression of multidrug-resistant HIV in an individual treated with anti-CD4 domain 1 antibody and lenacapavir.

The clinical management of people with multidrug-resistant (MDR) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains challenging despite continued development of antiretroviral agents. A 58-year-old male individual with MDR HIV and Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was treated with a new antiretroviral regimen consisting of anti-CD4 domain 1 antibody UB-421 and capsid inhibitor lenacapavir. The individual experienced delayed but sustained suppression of plasma viremia and a substantial increase in the CD4 T cell count.

Large floods drive changes in cause-specific mortality in the United States.

Flooding greatly endangers public health and is an urgent concern as rapid population growth in flood-prone regions and more extreme weather events will increase the number of people at risk. However, an exhaustive analysis of mortality following floods has not been conducted. Here we used 35.