Topical review: family psychosocial risk screening and social determinants of health assessment.

Objective: Social-ecological factors are highly congruent with social determinants of health (SDOH): Economic Stability; Educational Access/Quality; Healthcare Access/Quality; Neighborhood/Built Environment; and Social/Community Context. In this topical review, the correspondence of social-ecological theory with SDOH and assessment approaches is reviewed. The Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) is used to show how existing tools may facilitate SDOH screening.

Progesterone induces meiosis through two obligate co-receptors with PLA2 activity.

The steroid hormone progesterone (P4) regulates multiple aspects of reproductive and metabolic physiology. Classical P4 signaling operates through nuclear receptors that regulate transcription. In addition, P4 signals through membrane P4 receptors (mPRs) in a rapid nongenomic modality.

Characterizing Conical Intersections of Nucleobases on Quantum Computers.

Hybrid quantum-classical computing algorithms offer significant potential for accelerating the calculation of the electronic structure of strongly correlated molecules. In this work, we present the first quantum simulation of conical intersections (CIs) in a biomolecule, cytosine, using a superconducting quantum computer. We apply the contracted quantum eigensolver (CQE)─with comparisons to conventional variational quantum deflation (VQD)─to compute the near-degenerate ground and excited states associated with the conical intersection, a key feature governing the photostability of DNA and RNA.

P-P Coupling and Terminal Metal-Phosphorus Intermediates.

Terminal metal-phosphorus (M-P) complexes are of significant contemporary interest as potential platforms for P-atom transfer (PAT) chemistry. Decarbonylation of metal-phosphaethynolate (M-PCO) complexes has emerged as a general synthetic approach to terminal M-P complexes. M-P complexes that are stabilized by strong M-P multiple bonds are kinetically persistent and isolable.

Bisdemethoxycurcumin and Curcumin Alleviate Inflammatory Bowel Disease by Maintaining Intestinal Epithelial Integrity and Regulating Gut Microbiota in Mice.

Curcuminoids, found in turmeric ( L.), include curcumin (CUR), demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC). Although CUR and DMC are well-studied, the anti-inflammatory effects of BDMC remain less explored.

Time dependency for human papillomavirus circulating tumor DNA detection after chemoradiation as a prognostic biomarker for localized anal cancer.

Background: While detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) weeks after surgery is linked to recurrence for other solid tumors, the optimal time point for ctDNA assessment as a prognostic biomarker following chemoradiation for anal cancer is undefined.

Methods: Patients with stages I-III anal cancer treated with chemoradiation between 12/2020-5/2024 were evaluated for HPV ctDNA status at baseline, at the end of chemoradiation, and during surveillance using a droplet digital HPV ctDNA PCR assay targeting HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes for 13 oncogenic HPV types. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) according to HPV ctDNA status was estimated via Kaplan-Meier and compared using a log-rank test.

Exploration of Vitamin D Hydroxy Metabolites C3 Epimers in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: an observational study.

Roughly 90% of the Polish population experiences vitamin D deficiency. The 3-epi-25(OH)D2 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3 are stereoisomers of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3, and they can inadvertently be included in measurements of 25(OH)D levels, potentially leading to its overestimating. We aimed to measure 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3, their epimers 3-epi-25(OH)D2 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3, and biologically active 1,25(OH)2D3 in patients with cardiovascular disease and healthy volunteers.

Emerging trends in managed care pharmacy: A mixed-method study.

Background: Over the past 5 years, managed care pharmacy has been shaped by a global pandemic, advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI), Medicare drug price negotiation policies, and significant therapeutic developments. Collective intelligence methods can be used to anticipate future developments in practice to help organizations plan and develop new strategies around those changes.

Objective: To identify emerging trends in managed care pharmacy.

Development of Potent and Selective CK1α Molecular Glue Degraders.

Molecular glue degraders (MGDs) are small molecules that facilitate proximity between a target protein and an E3 ubiquitin ligase, thereby inducing target protein degradation. Glutarimide-containing compounds are MGDs that bind cereblon (CRBN) and recruit neosubstrates. Through explorative synthesis of a glutarimide-based library, we discovered a series of molecules that induce casein kinase 1 alpha (CK1α) degradation.

A Scalable Calibration Method for Enhanced Accuracy in Dense Air Quality Monitoring Networks.

Deployment of large numbers of low capital cost sensors to increase the spatial density of air quality measurements enables applications that build on mapping air at neighborhood scales. Effective deployment requires not only low capital costs for observations but also a simultaneous reduction in labor costs. The Berkeley Environmental Air Quality and CO Network (BEACON) is a sensor network measuring O, CO, NO, and NO, particulate matter (PM), and CO at dozens of locations in cities where it is deployed.

Global Impact of Mass Vaccination Campaigns on Circulating Type 2 Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Outbreaks: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis.

Background: Between 2016 and 2023, 3248 cases of circulating vaccine-derived type 2 poliomyelitis (cVDPV2) were reported globally and supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) with monovalent type 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (mOPV2) and novel type 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (nOPV2) targeted an estimated 356 and 525 million children, respectively. This analysis estimates the community-level impact of nOPV2 relative to mOPV2 SIAs.

Methods: We fitted interrupted time-series regressions to surveillance data between January 2016 and November 2023 to estimate the impact of nOPV2 and mOPV2 SIAs on cVDPV2 poliomyelitis incidence and prevalence in environmental surveillance across 37 countries, directly comparing the impact of SIAs in 13 countries where both vaccines were used.

Policy Recommendations to Support Equitable Access to Long-Acting Injectables for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention and Treatment: A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association.

Long-acting injectables (LAIs) for HIV prevention and treatment could dramatically improve health outcomes and health equity for people with HIV and those who could benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis. Despite widespread acceptability and demand by providers and potential users of LAIs, implementation has been extremely limited since the introduction of cabotegravir/rilpivirine, the first LAI for HIV treatment, in January 2021, and long-acting cabotegravir, the first LAI for HIV prevention, in December 2021. We report results of a provider survey, conducted by the HIV Medicine Association, which identified LAI implementation barriers related to health insurance processes, staffing and administrative support, drug costs and acquisition, and access for individuals who are uninsured.

Positive feedback regulation between RpoS and BosR in the Lyme disease pathogen.

In , the causative agent of Lyme disease, differential gene expression is primarily governed by the alternative sigma factor RpoS (σ). Understanding the regulation of RpoS is crucial for elucidating how is maintained throughout its enzootic cycle. Our recent studies have shown that the homolog of Fur/PerR repressor/activator BosR functions as an RNA-binding protein that controls the mRNA stability.

Vitamin B2 Operates by Dual Thermodynamic and Kinetic Mechanisms to Selectively Tailor Urate Crystallization.

Here we demonstrate how a biologically relevant molecule, riboflavin (vitamin B2), operates by a dual mode of action to effectively control crystallization of ammonium urate (NHHU), which is associated with cetacean kidney stones. In situ microfluidics and atomic force microscopy experiments confirm a strong interaction between riboflavin and NHHU crystal surfaces that substantially inhibits layer nucleation and spreading by kinetic mechanisms of step pinning and kink blocking. Riboflavin does not alter the distribution of tautomeric urate isomers, but its adsorption on NHHU crystal surfaces does interfere with the effects of minor urate tautomer by limiting its ability to induce NHHU crystal defects while also suppressing NHHU nucleation and inhibiting crystal growth by 80% at an uncharacteristically low modifier concentration.

Epigenetic mechanisms underlying endometrial cancer (EC) outcomes: race-specific patterns of DNA methylation associated with molecular subtypes and survival.

Endometrial cancer [EC] is the fourth most common cancer in women in the United States. Stark racial disparities are present in EC outcomes in which Black women have significantly higher EC-related mortality than White women. The social and biologic factors that contribute to these disparities are complex, and may include racial differences in epigenetic landscapes.

The Influence of Temperature on Courtship and Mate Choice in a Wolf Spider: Implications for Mating Success in Variable Environments.

Selection on animal signal form often changes significantly with the environment, yet signal form may itself be environment dependent. Little is known about how variation in individual responses to changing environments affects the relationship between selection and the subsequent evolution of signal traits. To address this question, we assess the effects of variation in temperature on individual signaling and mating behavior responses across temperatures in the wolf spider Schizocosa floridana.

Photochemistry of Microsolvated Nitrous Acid: Observation of the Water-Separated Complex of Nitric Oxide and Hydroxyl Radical.

The photochemistry of nitrous acid (HONO) plays a crucial role in atmospheric chemistry as it serves as a key source of hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the atmosphere; however, our comprehension of the underlying mechanism for the photochemistry of HONO especially in the presence of water is far from being complete as the transient intermediates in the photoreactions have not been observed. Herein, we report the photochemistry of microsolvated HONO by water in a cryogenic N matrix. Specifically, the 1:1 hydrogen-bonded water complex of HONO was facially prepared in the matrix through stepwise photolytic O oxidation of the water complex of imidogen (NH-HO) via the intermediacy of the elusive water complex of peroxyl isomer HNOO.

Electrocatalysis: From Planar Surfaces to Nanostructured Interfaces.

The reactions critical for the energy transition center on the chemistry of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and the heterogeneous catalyst surfaces that make up electrochemical energy conversion systems. Together, the surface-adsorbate interactions constitute the electrochemical interphase and define reaction kinetics of many clean energy technologies. Practical devices introduce high levels of complexity where surface roughness, structure, composition, and morphology combine with electrolyte, pH, diffusion, and system level limitations to challenge our ability to deconvolute underlying phenomena.

Diet-Microbiome-ENS connection: Impact of the Cafeteria Diet.

The interplay between diet-induced obesity and gastrointestinal dysfunction is an evolving area of research with far-reaching implications for understanding the gutbrain axis interactions. In their study, Ramírez-Maldonado et al. employ a cafeteria (CAF) diet model to investigate the effects on gut microbiota, enteric nervous system (ENS) integrity and function, and gastrointestinal motility in mice.

Care Recipients' Cognitive Trajectories and Caregivers' Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Caregiving Burden.

Background And Objectives: The heterogeneity of population-based trajectories of care recipients' (CRs) cognitive functioning and how they are associated with their caregivers' mental health is less studied in the United States. Informed by the stress process model, this study examines the relationship between care recipients' cognitive trajectories and caregivers' depressive symptoms, and the mediating role of caregiving burden.

Research Design And Methods: Data were from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2011-2020) for 1,086 care recipients and their 1,675 caregivers from the 2021 National Study of Caregiving.

Combining Hyperpolarized Xe MR Imaging and Spectroscopy to Non-Invasively Estimate Pulmonary Vascular Resistance.

Hyperpolarized Xe MRI/MRS enables quantitative mapping of function in lung airspaces, membrane tissue, and red blood cells (RBCs) within the pulmonary capillaries. The RBC signal also exhibits cardiogenic oscillations that are reduced in pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH). This effect is obscured in patients with concomitant defects in transfer from airspaces to RBCs, which increase RBC oscillation amplitudes.

Pediatric Transplant Surgeons' Perspectives on Palliative Care for Children With Chronic Kidney Disease: A National Cross-Sectional Survey.

Background: Some adult transplant surgeons consider transplant to be contraindicated in patients receiving palliative care (PC). Little is known about pediatric transplant surgeons' attitudes toward PC. We sought to ascertain pediatric kidney transplant surgeons' perspectives regarding the routine integration of PC for children with chronic kidney disease.

Bioaerosol Characterization with Vibrational Spectroscopy: Overcoming Fluorescence with Photothermal Infrared (PTIR) Spectroscopy.

Aerosols containing biological material (i.e., bioaerosols) impact public health by transporting toxins, allergens, and diseases and impact the climate by nucleating ice crystals and cloud droplets.

Design for Telecom-Wavelength Quantum Emitters in Silicon Based on Alkali-Metal-Saturated Vacancy Complexes.

Defect emitters in silicon are promising contenders as building blocks of solid-state quantum repeaters and sensor networks. Here, we investigate a family of possible isoelectronic emitter defect complexes from a design standpoint. We show that the identification of key physical effects on quantum defect state localization can guide the search for telecom-wavelength emitters.