Quantifying microplastics concentration of invertebrates from three Antarctic fjords.

Microplastics, small pieces of plastic measuring less than five millimeters, have spread to all ecosystems, even those in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. In particular, microplastics have been found contaminating water in emerging fjords, or inlets created by deglaciation, along the Antarctic Peninsula. Microplastics contamination puts fjord communities, which are unique and dominated by benthic species, at high risk for microplastic exposure leading to issues with feeding, endocrine disruption, and exposure to adsorbed toxins, all of which lower fecundity and survivability.

Student pharmacist counseling performance after hands-on continuous glucose monitoring education: A multi-institutional pragmatic randomized study.

Objective: To assess the impact of wearing a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device on student pharmacist counseling ability (primary), knowledge, confidence, and empathy (secondary).

Methods: Students from two institutions were randomized to wear a CGM device (intervention) vs not (control). All received CGM education via lecture and live demonstration.

A deep neural network model for classifying pharmacy practice publications into research domains.

Background: Pharmacy practice faculty research profiles extend beyond the clinical and social domains, which are core elements of pharmacy practice. But as highlighted by journal editors in the Granada Statements, there is no consensus on these terms. Four domains (clinical, education, social & administrative, and basic & translational) of pharmacy practice faculty research are proposed.

Electrostatically Dominated Pre-Organization in Cyclodextrin Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged entities play a key role in pre-organizing substrates and stabilizing transition states of reactions in enzymes. The use of electrostatic interactions to pre-organize ions in nanoconfined pores, however, has not been investigated to its full potential. Herein, we describe how carboxylate anions can be pre-organized at the behest of their electrostatic interactions with K cations in nanoconfined tunnels present in γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks, i.

Combined Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Pain Neuroscience Education for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Priming the neural circuity likely targeted by pain neuroscience education (PNE), using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may enhance the efficacy of PNE. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of active tDCS + PNE to sham tDCS + PNE on measures of pain, pain behaviors, and cognitive function in participants with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and high pain catastrophizing.

Methods: 20 participants were recruited and randomly allocated into the active tDCS + PNE (n = 10) or sham tDCS + PNE (n = 10) groups.

Clinical trial knowledge among cancer survivors in the United States: the role of health information technology.

Purpose: Clinical trials are essential to the advancement of cancer care. However, clinical trial knowledge and participation remain critically low among adult patients with cancer. Health information technology (HIT) could play an important role in improving clinical trial knowledge and engagement among cancer survivors.

Conceptual masking disrupts change-detection performance.

The present study investigated the effects of long-term knowledge on backward masking interference in visual working memory (VWM) by varying the similarity of mask stimuli along categorical dimensions. To-be-remembered items and masks were taken from categories controlled for perceptual distinctiveness and distinctiveness in kinds (e.g.

Building Confidence, Diminishing Stress: A Clinical Incivility Management Initiative for Nursing Students.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive program designed to reduce nursing students' perceived stress and improve self-efficacy and readiness to professionally address incivility during clinical practice.

Background: Incivility in clinical settings adversely impacts learners, educators, institutions, and healthcare systems, undermining safety and the teaching-learning process. Despite its increasing global prevalence, effective interventions remain largely unexplored.

Rodent competition and fire alter patterns of mound and disk formation of western harvester ants.

Consumers exert top-down controls on dryland ecosystem function, but recent increases in fire activity may alter consumer communities in post-fire environments. Native consumers, including ants and rodents, likely have critical roles in defining post-fire plant community assembly and resilience to biological invasions. This study aimed to understand how western harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) that form mounds and large vegetation-free disks that significantly influence plant community structure in the Great Basin Desert respond to fire and rodent community abundance.

Effects of Macro Fibers on Crack Opening Reduction in Fiber Reinforced Concrete Overlays.

Macro fibers have been extensively used in the construction of various concrete structures, including bridges, dams, tunnels, industrial floors, and pavements. However, their effectiveness in reducing crack opening widths in concrete pavements has not been fully explored. This study aims to delineate the role of fibers by identifying the optimal types and volumes for effectively controlling cracks in concrete pavement structures, particularly in thin overlays.

Robotic-assisted repair of an anterior diaphragmatic hernia secondary to Xiphoidectomy.

Anterior diaphragmatic hernias manifest when a diaphragmatic defect permits abdominal contents to enter the thoracic cavity. They may be congenital or acquired; when acquired, the typical etiology is traumatic injury. Without treatment, they risk incarceration or strangulation.

Pool-Based Surfboard Elicits Activation of Posterior Shoulder Muscles During a Surfing Stroke.

Pexa, BS, Johnston, CD, Elder, EE, Ford, KR, Patterson, MQ, and Myers, JB. Pool-based surfboard elicits activation of posterior shoulder muscles during a surfing stroke. J Strength Cond Res 38(7): 1300-1304, 2024-Surfboard paddling may activate posterior shoulder muscles, which are critical to baseball pitchers' injury risk and performance.

STOCHASTICITY, SCALE, AND REFRACTION: DETERMINANTS OF POPULATION SYNCHRONY IN PARASITES OF CENTRARCHIDS IN J. STROM THURMOND LAKE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

Among-deme asynchrony has the potential to influence community richness and diversity by increasing the likelihood of regional persistence for a species. Parasites of Lepomis spp. collected from 4 localities at J.

Fructose Reduces Mitochondrial Metabolism and Increases Extracellular BCAA during Insulin Resistance in C2C12 Myotubes.

Unlabelled: Fructose is a commonly consumed monosaccharide implicated in developing several metabolic diseases. Previously, elevated branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) have been correlated with the severity of insulin resistance. Most recently, the effect of fructose consumption on the downregulation of BCAA catabolic enzymes was observed.

Genome size and chromosome number are critical metrics for accurate genome assembly assessment in Eukaryota.

The number of genome assemblies has rapidly increased in recent history, with NCBI databases reaching over 41,000 eukaryotic genome assemblies across about 2,300 species. Increases in read length and improvements in assembly algorithms have led to increased contiguity and larger genome assemblies. While this number of assemblies is impressive, only about a third of these assemblies have corresponding genome size estimations for their respective species on publicly available databases.

Effects of burning and photochemical degradation of Macondo surrogate oil on its composition and toxicity.

Petroleum products in the environment can produce significant toxicity through photochemically driven processes. Burning surface oil and photochemical degradation were two mechanisms for oil removal after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. After burning, residual oil remains in the environment and may undergo further weathering, a poorly understood fate.

A Moderating Role of Gender in Online Health Information Seeking Behaviors for Colorectal Cancer Knowledge among Korean Americans Aged 50 to 75 Years.

Korean Americans have consistently reported the underutilization of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, despite their high rates of CRC incidence and mortality. Research has indicated suboptimal CRC knowledge in Korean Americans as one of the main barriers to their recommended CRC screening. Also, research has shown the potential of online health information seeking (OHIS) to improving cancer knowledge and the gender-based differences in the link between OHIS and cancer knowledge.

Leveraging AI to improve evidence synthesis in conservation.

Systematic evidence syntheses (systematic reviews and maps) summarize knowledge and are used to support decisions and policies in a variety of applied fields, from medicine and public health to biodiversity conservation. However, conducting these exercises in conservation is often expensive and slow, which can impede their use and hamper progress in addressing the current biodiversity crisis. With the explosive growth of large language models (LLMs) and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI), we discuss here the promise and perils associated with their use.