Differences in tumor size, clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic profiles of central nervous system tumors among a racially diverse cohort: A retrospective case-control study.

Background: One avenue to improve outcomes among brain tumor patients involves the mitigation of healthcare disparities. Investigating clinical differences among brain tumors across socioeconomic and demographic strata, such can aid in healthcare disparity identification and, by extension, outcome improvement.

Methods: Utilizing a racially diverse population from Hawaii, 323 cases of brain tumors (meningiomas, gliomas, schwannomas, pituitary adenomas, and metastases) were matched by age, sex, and race to 651 controls to investigate the associations between tumor type and various demographic, socioeconomic, and medical comorbidities.

Parental effects provide an opportunity for coral resilience following major bleaching events.

Identifying processes that promote coral reef recovery and resilience is crucial as ocean warming becomes more frequent and severe. Sexual reproduction is essential for the replenishment of coral populations and maintenance of genetic diversity; however, the ability for corals to reproduce may be impaired by marine heatwaves that cause coral bleaching. In 2014 and 2015, the Hawaiian Islands experienced coral bleaching with differential bleaching susceptibility in the species Montipora capitata, a dominant reef-building coral in the region.

Advancing Natural Killer Cell Therapy: Genetic Engineering Strategies for Enhanced Cancer Immunotherapy.

Natural killer (NK) cells are pivotal innate immune system components that exhibit spontaneous cytolytic activity against abnormal cells, such as infected and tumor cells. NK cells have shown significant promise in adoptive cell therapy because of their favorable safety profiles and minimal toxicity in clinical settings. Despite their advantages, the therapeutic application of unmodified NK cells faces challenges, including limited in vivo persistence, particularly in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Racial-Ethnic Disparities of Obesity Require Community Context-Specific Biomedical Research for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders.

Compared to the general population of Hawai'i, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHPI) shoulder a disproportionately high risk for obesity-related cardiometabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The gut microbiome is an area of rapid research interest for its role in regulating adjacent metabolic pathways, offering novel opportunities to better understand the etiology of these health disparities. Obesity and the gut microbiome are influenced by regional, racial-ethnic, and community-specific factors, limiting the generalizability of current literature for understudied populations.

Effects of Gut Bacteria on the Fitness of Rice Leaf Folder .

The rice leaf folder is an important migratory pest in Asia. Although this pest possesses diverse bacterial communities in its gut, functions of these bacteria in modulating host fitness, including development durations, pupal weight, adult longevity, and fecundity, remain unknown. We isolated gut bacteria from field-collected larvae using a culture-dependent method and identified 15 bacterial isolates.

AI in Biomedicine-A Forward-Looking Perspective on Health Equity.

As new artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being developed and as AI continues to revolutionize healthcare, its potential to advance health equity is increasingly recognized. The 2024 Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Consortium National Conference session titled "Artificial Intelligence: Safely, Ethically, and Responsibly" brought together experts from diverse institutions to explore AI's role and challenges in advancing health equity. This report summarizes presentations and discussions from the conference focused on AI's potential and its challenges, particularly algorithmic bias, transparency, and the under-representation of minority groups in AI datasets.

Revealing 'Eha: A Qualitative Project on Historical Trauma Experiences Among Wāhine.

Historical trauma has been established as a determinant of health among all Hawaiians, but limited research exists on how Wāhine (Native Hawaiian women) uniquely experience historical trauma. A phenomenological qualitative study was conducted to primarily understand how historical trauma, trauma response, and the transmission and modes of intergenerational trauma intersect with sexism and patriarchy among contemporary Wāhine, as described in the Historical Trauma Conceptual Model. With partnership and approval of the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui, interviews were conducted with 13 Wāhine from various generations in Hawai'i.

Fitness of (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Cultivated Wheat and a Weed, Wild Oat (), and Its Implications for Pest Management.

(Walker), a significant migratory pest in many Asian countries, can cause severe damage to wheat crops. Understanding whether wild oat can serve as an alternate host is important for informing predictive models of infestation levels in wheat fields and can improve pest and weed management strategies. We first conducted both choice and no-choice experiments and found that readily laid eggs on both wheat and wild oat, with no significant oviposition preference.

How does globally accumulated tropical cyclone energy vary in response to a changing climate?

How tropical cyclone (TC) activity varies in response to a changing climate is widely debated. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) is one of the indicators of TC activity and has attracted considerable attention because of its close relationship with the damages caused by TCs. Previous studies have focused on detecting long-term trends in global ACE; however, the results are inconclusive.

Increasing microplastic concentrations have nonlinear impacts on the physiology of reef-building corals.

The pollution of marine environments with plastics, particularly microplastic (MP, i.e., plastic particles <5 mm), is a major threat to marine biota, including corals.

Unintentional exposure to leuprolide acetate during early pregnancy with a huge intramural myoma.

Leuprolide acetate is commonly used to reduce the size of myomas before surgery. Initially, it stimulates pituitary gonadotropin secretion, followed by sustained suppression of gonadal function. However, the impact on pregnancy outcomes from inadvertent exposure remains unclear.

The American Rescue Plan Act and Access to Health Care for Latinos According to Citizenship Status.

Objective: We studied patterns in health care access between Latino and non-Latino White adults according to citizenship status before and after the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was enacted to determine whether inequities changed.

Methods: This study used 2019-2022 National Health Survey Interview data. Differences in predicted probabilities from logistic regression models were used to estimate changes in health care access outcomes (any insurance coverage, private insurance coverage, delaying care due to cost, and having a usual source of care) among Latino citizens, Latino noncitizens, and non-Latino White citizens in periods before and after ARPA's enactment (2019-2020 vs 2021-2022).

Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.

The effects of handling on stress response markers in a reef fish model for aquaculture development, the brassy chub, Kyphosus vaigiensis.

With the expanding global population, interest has increased in the sustainable aquaculture development of indigenous fishes. In Hawai'i, the brassy chub, Kyphosus vaigiensis, has drawn interest as a candidate species for production. However, little is known about its resilience in aquaculture settings where fish are exposed to acute, husbandry-related stressors.

Exposure therapy consortium: Outcomes of the proof-of-principle study.

Background: This paper reports on the outcomes of a proof-of-principle study for the Exposure Therapy Consortium, a global network of researchers and clinicians who work to improve the effectiveness and uptake of exposure therapy. The study aimed to test the feasibility of the consortium's big-team science approach and test the hypothesis that adding post-exposure processing focused on enhancing threat reappraisal would enhance the efficacy of a one-session large-group interoceptive exposure therapy protocol for reducing anxiety sensitivity.

Methods: The study involved a multi-site cluster-randomized controlled trial comparing exposure with post-processing (ENHANCED), exposure without post-processing (STANDARD), and a stress management intervention (CONTROL) in students with elevated anxiety sensitivity.

Clinically feasible dual-task detects residual post-concussion deficits after return-to-play.

Dual-task (DT) has been shown to detect post-concussion deficits even after traditional measures returned to normal. However, previous studies were conducted in laboratory settings that were not feasible in the clinical setting. Prospective Cohort Study.

Untangling the Efficient Boron-Initialized Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene Combustion for High Energetic Solid Propulsion Systems.

Highly energetic boron (B) particles embedded in hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) thermosetting polymers represent stable solid-state fuel. Laser-heating of levitated B/HTPB and pure HTPB particles in a controlled atmosphere revealed spontaneous ignition of B/HTPB in air, allowing for examination of the exclusive roles of boron. These ignition events are probed via simultaneous spectroscopic diagnostics: Raman and infrared spectroscopy, temporally resolved high-speed optical and infrared cameras, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy.

Change in sediment transport regime of the Keelung River in Taiwan induced by the operation of Yuanshantze flood diversion tunnel.

The impact of flood diversion channels on river sediment transport has been rarely reported. This study uses the Yuanshantze flood diversion tunnel (YFDT), which was commissioned in July 2005 in Taiwan, as an example. This study calculates the sediment transport in the Keelung River from 1997 to 2018 by using seasonal rating curves, in the form of aQb.

Macroevolutionary inference of complex modes of chromosomal speciation in a cosmopolitan plant lineage.

The effects of single chromosome number change-dysploidy - mediating diversification remain poorly understood. Dysploidy modifies recombination rates, linkage, or reproductive isolation, especially for one-fifth of all eukaryote lineages with holocentric chromosomes. Dysploidy effects on diversification have not been estimated because modeling chromosome numbers linked to diversification with heterogeneity along phylogenies is quantitatively challenging.

Micro-nano bubble ozonation for effective treatment of ibuprofen-laden wastewater and enhanced anaerobic digestion performance.

The pharmaceutical industry plays a crucial role in driving global economic growth but also poses substantial environmental challenges, particularly in the efficient treatment of production wastewater. This study investigates the efficacy of micro-nano bubble (MNB) ozonation for treating high-strength ibuprofen (IBU)-laden wastewater (49.9 ± 2.

Worldwide comparison of carbon stocks and fluxes between native and non-native forests.

Climate change is one of the main challenges that human societies are currently facing. Given that forests represent major natural carbon sinks in terrestrial ecosystems, administrations worldwide are launching broad-scale programs to promote forests, including stands of non-native trees. Yet, non-native trees may have profound impacts on the functions and services of forest ecosystems, including the carbon cycle, as they may differ widely from native trees in structural and functional characteristics.

Toxin and capsule production by Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis influence pathogenicity in macrophages and animal models.

Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) causes anthrax-like disease in animals, particularly in the non-human primates and great apes of West and Central Africa. Genomic analyses revealed Bcbva as a member of the B. cereus species that carries two plasmids, pBCXO1 and pBCXO2, which have high sequence homology to the B.

Long-sperm precedence and other cryptic female choices in Drosophila melanogaster.

Females that mate multiply make postmating choices about which sperm fertilize their eggs (cryptic female choice); however, the male characteristics they use to make such choices remain unclear. In this study, we sought to understand female sperm use patterns by evaluating whether Drosophila melanogaster females adjust sperm use (second male paternity) in response to four main factors: male genotype, male courtship effort, male pheromone alteration, and male postmating reproductive morphology. Our experiment was replicated across four different D.