Entropic Dynamics on Gibbs Statistical Manifolds.

Entropic dynamics is a framework in which the laws of dynamics are derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. Its successes include the derivation of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory from probabilistic principles. Here, we develop the entropic dynamics of a system, the state of which is described by a probability distribution.

Prediction of eating disorder treatment response trajectories via machine learning does not improve performance versus a simpler regression approach.

Objective: Patterns of response to eating disorder (ED) treatment are heterogeneous. Advance knowledge of a patient's expected course may inform precision medicine for ED treatment. This study explored the feasibility of applying machine learning to generate personalized predictions of symptom trajectories among patients receiving treatment for EDs, and compared model performance to a simpler logistic regression prediction model.

Bis-3-Chloropiperidines Targeting TAR RNA as A Novel Strategy to Impair the HIV-1 Nucleocapsid Protein.

Specific RNA sequences regulate functions essential to life. The Trans-Activation Response element (TAR) is an RNA stem-bulge-loop structure involved in several steps of HIV-1 replication. In this work, we show how RNA targeting can inhibit HIV-1 nucleocapsid (NC), a highly conserved protein known to catalyze nucleic acid melting and strand transfers during reverse transcription.

Empowerment and HIV Risk Behaviors in Couples: Modeling the Theory of Gender and Power in an African Context.

Young women and girls in Eastern and Southern Africa are at elevated risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) compared with men, largely due to power dynamics within heterosexual relationships that contribute to HIV risk behaviors. Few studies employ a comprehensive framework to examine divisions between men and women and HIV risk behaviors in an African context. Thus, we examined associations between levels of women's empowerment and HIV risk behaviors applying the Theory of Gender and Power.

Characteristics of Moderators in Meta-Analyses of Single-Case Experimental Design Studies.

Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) has been recommended as a meta-analytic technique for the quantitative synthesis of single-case experimental design (SCED) studies. The HLM approach is flexible and can model a variety of different SCED data complexities, such as intervention heterogeneity. A major advantage of using HLM is that participant and-or study characteristics can be incorporated in the model in an attempt to explain intervention heterogeneity.

The Impact of Social Support on Treatment Participation and Completion in a Disability Prevention Intervention for Older Adults.

This study evaluates the role of emotional and instrumental social support on treatment participation and completion using the Positive Minds-Strong Bodies (PMSB) disability prevention program. Data from a multisite randomized controlled trial of the PMSB program for older adults (≥60 years) with physical impairment and mild to severe depression and/or anxiety were used. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 10 sessions of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) plus 36 sessions of group exercise or usual care.

Understanding water and energy fluxes in the Amazonia: Lessons from an observation-model intercomparison.

Tropical forests are an important part of global water and energy cycles, but the mechanisms that drive seasonality of their land-atmosphere exchanges have proven challenging to capture in models. Here, we (1) report the seasonality of fluxes of latent heat (LE), sensible heat (H), and outgoing short and longwave radiation at four diverse tropical forest sites across Amazonia-along the equator from the Caxiuanã and Tapajós National Forests in the eastern Amazon to a forest near Manaus, and from the equatorial zone to the southern forest in Reserva Jaru; (2) investigate how vegetation and climate influence these fluxes; and (3) evaluate land surface model performance by comparing simulations to observations. We found that previously identified failure of models to capture observed dry-season increases in evapotranspiration (ET) was associated with model overestimations of (1) magnitude and seasonality of Bowen ratios (relative to aseasonal observations in which sensible was only 20%-30% of the latent heat flux) indicating model exaggerated water limitation, (2) canopy emissivity and reflectance (albedo was only 10%-15% of incoming solar radiation, compared to 0.

Progesterone's Effects on Cognitive Performance of Male Mice Are Independent of Progestin Receptors but Relate to Increases in GABA Activity in the Hippocampus and Cortex.

Progestogens' (e.g., progesterone and its neuroactive metabolite, allopregnanolone), cognitive effects and mechanisms among males are not well-understood.

The Physiatry Workforce in 2019 and Beyond, Part 1: Results From a Cross-sectional Survey.

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the current physiatrist workforce in the United States.

Design: An online, cross-sectional survey of board-certified physiatrists in 2019 (N = 616 completed, 30.1% response) collected information about demographic and practice characteristics, including age, sex, practice area, practice setting, hours worked, patient characteristics, staffing, and work responsibilities.

Comment on "Black Hole Entropy: A Closer Look".

In a recent paper (Entropy 2020, 22(1), 17), Tsallis states that entropy-as in Shannon or Kullback-Leiber's definitions-is inadequate to interpret black hole entropy and suggests that a new non-additive functional should take the role of entropy. Here we counterargue by explaining the important distinction between the properties of extensivity and additivity; the latter is fundamental for entropy, while the former is a property of particular thermodynamical systems that is not expected for black holes. We also point out other debatable statements in his analysis of black hole entropy.

The Physiatry Workforce in 2019 and Beyond, Part 2: Modeling Results.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the current and future adequacy of physiatrist supply in the United States.

Design: A 2019 online survey of board-certified physiatrists (n = 616 completed, 30.1% response) collected information about demographics, practice characteristics, hours worked, and retirement intentions.

Small-Molecule Antibiotics Inhibiting tRNA-Regulated Gene Expression Is a Viable Strategy for Targeting Gram-Positive Bacteria.

Bacterial infections and the rise of antibiotic resistance, especially multidrug resistance, have generated a clear need for discovery of novel therapeutics. We demonstrated that a small-molecule drug, PKZ18, targets the T-box mechanism and inhibits bacterial growth. The T-box is a structurally conserved riboswitch-like gene regulator in the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of numerous essential genes of Gram-positive bacteria.

Adverse childhood experiences and mental and physical health disparities: the moderating effect of race and implications for social work.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to mental and physical health problems, leading to ACEs being viewed as a public health concern. Yet, less research has focused on the prevalence and impact of ACEs among diverse racial and ethnic groups. Given the increasing diversity in the USA, coupled with research that has found certain racial and ethnic groups to experience larger-scale adversity such as poverty or discrimination more frequently than White individuals, it is important to understand how ACEs are experienced by people of color.

Latent trajectories of eating disorder treatment response among female patients in residential care.

Objective: Eating disorder (ED) treatment outcomes are highly variable from beginning to end of treatment; however, little is known about differential trajectories during the course of treatment. This study sought to characterize heterogeneous patterns of ED treatment response during residential care.

Method: Participants were adolescent girls and adult women (N = 360) receiving residential ED treatment for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, other specified feeding or eating disorder, unspecified feeding or eating disorder, or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.

Exploring the formation of treatment program director perceptions on entry-level social workers' substance use treatment capacities in New York.

This article examines how program directors of substance use treatment providers in New York state form their perceptions on the overall substance use treatment service delivery capacities of newly graduated, entry-level social workers. The study discussed consisted of a cross-sectional, quantitative survey of treatment program directors in New York state ( = 245). Program directors were asked to rate entry-level social workers' treatment skills, knowledge of treatment concepts, and overall preparedness to deliver treatment services in the field upon first entering the professional workforce.

Post-transcriptional gene regulation regulates germline stem cell to oocyte transition during Drosophila oogenesis.

During oogenesis, several developmental processes must be traversed to ensure effective completion of gametogenesis including, stem cell maintenance and asymmetric division, differentiation, mitosis and meiosis, and production of maternally contributed mRNAs, making the germline a salient model for understanding how cell fate transitions are mediated. Due to silencing of the genome during meiotic divisions, there is little instructive transcription, barring a few examples, to mediate these critical transitions. In Drosophila, several layers of post-transcriptional regulation ensure that the mRNAs required for these processes are expressed in a timely manner and as needed during germline differentiation.

Depletion of NK Cells Improves Cognitive Function in the Alzheimer Disease Mouse Model.

Despite mounting evidence suggesting the involvement of the immune system in regulating brain function, the specific role of immune and inflammatory cells in neurodegenerative diseases remain poorly understood. In this study, we report that depletion of NK cells, a type of innate lymphocytes, alleviates neuroinflammation, stimulates neurogenesis, and improves cognitive function in a triple-transgenic Alzheimer disease (AD) mouse model. NK cells in the brains of triple-transgenic AD mouse model (3xTg-AD) mice exhibited an enhanced proinflammatory profile.

Hypothesized behavioral host manipulation by SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 infection.

Although not widely studied, behavioral host manipulation by various pathogens has been documented. Host manipulation is the process by which a pathogen evolves adaptations to manipulate the behavior of the host to maximize reproduction (R) of the pathogen. The most notable example is rabies.

Asian Zika Virus Isolate Significantly Changes the Transcriptional Profile and Alternative RNA Splicing Events in a Neuroblastoma Cell Line.

The alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs expands a single genetic blueprint to encode multiple, functionally diverse protein isoforms. Viruses have previously been shown to interact with, depend on, and alter host splicing machinery. The consequences, however, incited by viral infection on the global alternative slicing (AS) landscape are under-appreciated.

Mating Enhances Expression of Hormonal and Trophic Factors in the Midbrain of Female Rats.

Among female rats, mating enhances neurosteroid formation in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA; independent of peripheral steroid-secreting glands, ovaries, and adrenals). The sources/targets for these actions are not well understood. In Experiment 1, proestrous rats engaged in a mating paradigm, or did not, and the midbrains had been assessed the Affymetrix rat genome microarrays.

Tunable Transcriptional Interference at the Endogenous Alcohol Dehydrogenase Gene Locus in .

Neighboring sequences of a gene can influence its expression. In the phenomenon known as transcriptional interference, transcription at one region in the genome can repress transcription at a nearby region in Transcriptional interference occurs at a number of eukaryotic loci, including the alcohol dehydrogenase () gene in is regulated by two promoters, which are distinct in their developmental timing of activation. It has been shown using transgene insertion that when the promoter distal from the start codon is deleted, transcription from the proximal promoter becomes de-regulated.

Development and validation of a progress monitoring tool tailored for use in intensive eating disorder treatment.

Objective: Despite calls for routine use of progress and outcome monitoring in private and intensive treatment centres for eating disorders (EDs), existing measures have limited relevance to these supervised treatment settings. This study sought to develop and validate the progress monitoring tool for eating disorders, a multidimensional measure for progress monitoring in the context of intensive ED treatment.

Method: Thirty-seven items were generated by a team of content experts, clinicians, and administrative staff from the target treatment setting.

Getting to the Heart of Low Sensitivity to Alcohol: Context Moderates Low Cardiovascular Response to Alcohol in Persons With a Family History of Alcohol Use Disorder.

Background: Low sensitivity to alcohol in persons with a family history of alcoholism (FH+), compared to those without (FH-), contributes to risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, sensitivity of FH+ cardiovascular response to alcohol is not well understood. This gap is significant because cardiovascular processes contribute to emotional regulation and stress response problems theorized to be central to the development and persistence of AUD.

A Structural Basis for Restricted Codon Recognition Mediated by 2-thiocytidine in tRNA Containing a Wobble Position Inosine.

Three of six arginine codons (CGU, CGC, and CGA) are decoded by two Escherichia coli tRNA isoacceptors. The anticodon stem and loop (ASL) domains of tRNA and tRNA both contain inosine and 2-methyladenosine modifications at positions 34 (I) and 37 (mA). tRNA is also modified from cytidine to 2-thiocytidine at position 32 (sC).