A descriptive examination of rurality in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort: Implications, illustrations, and future directions.

Purpose: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort has enrolled over 60,000 children to examine how early environmental factors (broadly defined) are associated with key child health outcomes. The ECHO Cohort may be well-positioned to contribute to our understanding of rural environments and contexts, which has implications for rural health disparities research. The present study examined the outcome of child obesity to not only illustrate the suitability of ECHO Cohort data for these purposes but also determine how various definitions of rural and urban populations impact the presentation of findings and their interpretation.

Geography, Trajectories, and Controls of Coastal Water Quality: More Rapid Improvement in the Shallow Zone of the Chesapeake Bay.

Many coastal ecosystems have suffered from cultural eutrophication and dead zones. In the Chesapeake Bay, water quality degradation is manifested in low dissolved oxygen, poor water clarity, and decreased submerged aquatic vegetation acreage. This research combines long-term monitoring data, science-based assessment methods, and novel data analysis approaches (i.

Effects of PM components on hypertension and diabetes: Assessing the mitigating influence of green spaces.

Background: Particulate matter with diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM) is a significant air pollutant associated with hypertension and diabetes. However, the specific contributions of its components and their joint exposure with green spaces remain poorly understood, especially in developing regions.

Modeling urban pollutant wash-off processes with ecological memory.

Urbanization increases the extent of impervious surfaces, runoff, sediment, and nutrient loadings downstream, leading to the deterioration of urban surface waters. During pollutant wash-off from urban surfaces, the peak concentration of pollutants typically occurs after the rainfall peak. However, current urban wash-off models do not consider this time delay, assuming that the effect of rainfall on the wash-off process is immediate.

Detectable use of ENSO information on crop production in Southern Africa.

People have known that El Niño events are associated with low rainfall in Southern Africa for a century, and seasonal rainfall forecasts are now available in agricultural advisories for farmers. While there is abundant theory as to how farmers might (or should) use seasonal rainfall information on their farms, little is known about whether this information has been widely used or has had widespread benefit. In this study, we use subnational data on cropping area and yield to see if we can detect any macro-level patterns in agricultural choices or outcomes that are related to knowledge of the El Niño Southern Oscillation or seasonal forecast information in Southern Africa.

Identification and Characterization of the Y-Organ of Orange Mud Crab Scylla Olivacea.

The Y-organs (YOs) synthesize and secrete molting hormones, and thus regulate crustacean growth and reproduction. However, the YOs of the orange mud crab Scylla olivacea is yet to be described due to its minute size and ambiguous feature. This study describes the location, morphological characteristics, histology, and the changes of YOs at different molt stages, and examines in vitro ecdysteroid secreted by the YOs of S.

Effects of feeding the medium-chain triacylglycerol on GLP-1 secretion in aged Brd4-heterozygous mice, which are a mouse model of aging.

Objectives: Gastrointestinal hormones, such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), gastric inhibitory polypeptide, and peptide YY (PYY) are important for reducing malnutrition at older ages because they are related to assimilation and feeding behavior. Medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT) ameliorates metabolic symptoms and frailty in adults; however, whether it has the same effect in old age is unknown. To address this, we examined the changes in insulin and gastrointestinal hormones in aged Brd4 (+/-) mice exhibiting symptoms of old age.

The Effect of Heat-treated Poultry Pellets and Composted Poultry Litter on E. coli Survival in Southeastern US Soils: Florida and Georgia.

Biological soil amendments of animal origin (BSAAO) are a source of foodborne pathogens that can contaminate fresh produce. This study evaluated the survival of E. coli over 140 d in agricultural soils amended with composted poultry litter (PL), heat-treated poultry pellets (HTPP), or unamended (UN) in Florida (FL) and Georgia (GA).

Research Progress on the Correlation Between Atmospheric Particulate Matter and Autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the interaction of genetic and complex environmental factors. The prevalence of autism has dramatically increased in countries and regions undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization. Recent studies have shown that particulate matter (PM) in air pollution affects the development of neurons and disrupts the function of the nervous system, leading to behavioral and cognitive problems and increasing the risk of ASD.

Two decades of three-dimensional movement data from adult female northern elephant seals.

Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) have been integral to the development and progress of biologging technology and movement data analysis, which continue to improve our understanding of this and other species. Adult female elephant seals at Año Nuevo Reserve and other colonies along the west coast of North America were tracked annually from 2004 to 2020, resulting in a total of 653 instrument deployments. This paper outlines the compilation and curation process of these high-resolution diving and location data, now accessible in two Dryad repositories.

Meta-analyses uncover the genetic architecture of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies.

Objective: Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (myositis, IIMs) are rare, systemic autoimmune disorders that lead to muscle inflammation, weakness, and extra-muscular manifestations, with a strong genetic component influencing disease development and progression. Previous genome-wide association studies identified loci associated with IIMs. In this study, we imputed data from two prior genome-wide myositis studies and analyzed the largest myositis dataset to date to identify novel risk loci and susceptibility genes associated with IIMs and its clinical subtypes.

State of the science on assessing developmental neurotoxicity using new approach methods.

The workshop titled State of the Science on Assessing Developmental Neurotoxicity Using New Approach Methods was co-organized by University of Maryland's Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN; now called the Human Foods Program), and was hosted by FDA in College Park, MD on November 14-15, 2023.

Association of multiple environmental exposures with rhinitis and asthma symptoms in preschool children: Identifying critical risk factor.

Background: The concept "one airway, one disease" for childhood rhinitis and asthma has been challenged in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate associations of environmental exposures with alone and co-morbid symptoms of rhinitis and asthma and identify critical risk factor.

Methods: 5828 children aged 3-6 years in Shanghai were surveyed in 2019.

Photosynthetic responses to temperature across the tropics: a meta-analytic approach.

Background And Aims: Tropical forests exchange more carbon dioxide (CO2) with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. Yet, uncertainty in the projected carbon balance over the next century is roughly three-times greater for the tropics than other ecosystems. Our limited knowledge of tropical plant physiological responses, including photosynthetic, to climate change is a substantial source of uncertainty in our ability to forecast the global terrestrial carbon sink.

Home Use Therapies for Pain, Disability, and Quality of Life in Military Service Members with a Musculoskeletal Injury: An Updated Systematic Review Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal (MSK) injury can negatively affect service members by compromising job performance and readiness. These injuries can impact the service member's physical health, functional abilities, and quality of life (QoL). Rehabilitation therapies for MSK injuries can reduce these impacts.

MIBiG 4.0: advancing biosynthetic gene cluster curation through global collaboration.

Specialized or secondary metabolites are small molecules of biological origin, often showing potent biological activities with applications in agriculture, engineering and medicine. Usually, the biosynthesis of these natural products is governed by sets of co-regulated and physically clustered genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). To share information about BGCs in a standardized and machine-readable way, the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) data standard and repository was initiated in 2015.

Cyanobacteria as dominant mediator of altitudinal gradient effects on phytoplankton community diversity in freshwater ecosystems: Evidences from the freshwater Lakes along the Hu Line.

Phytoplankton are vital components of freshwater ecosystems, serving as primary producers and ecological indicators of freshwater health. While substantial research has explored the dynamics and potential drivers of phytoplankton communities in freshwater lakes, the influence of altitude-a crucial geographic factor-remains unelucidated. In this study, we investigated 26 lakes located along the eastern section of the Hu Line (Heihe-Tengchong Line) from China, focusing on how altitudinal gradients shape phytoplankton communities.

Associations of chronic liver disease and liver cancer with glyphosate and its metabolites in Thailand.

Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine], a systemic herbicide, is used globally (825 million kg/year) in 750+ formulations. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A), but epidemiological studies have been lacking for its association with liver cancer and chronic liver disease. We analyzed urine specimens from 591 patients with newly diagnosed liver cancer, chronic liver disease (CLD), and healthy individuals from five different medical centers between 2011 to 2016 in Thailand.

Methodology used to develop the minimum common data elements for surveillance and Reporting of Musculoskeletal Injuries in the MILitary (ROMMIL) statement.

Background: The objective was to summarize the methodology used to reach consensus for recommended minimum data elements that should be collected and reported when conducting injury surveillance research in military settings. This paper summarizes the methodology used to develop the international Minimum Data Elements for surveillance and Reporting of Musculoskeletal Injuries in the MILitary (ROMMIL) statement.

Methods: A Delphi methodology was employed to reach consensus for minimum reporting elements.

Long-term changes in riparian connectivity and groundwater chemistry in an urban watershed.

Hydrologic alterations associated with urbanization can weaken connections between riparian zones, streams, and uplands, leading to negative effects on the ability of riparian zones to intercept pollutants carried by surface water runoff and groundwater flow such as nitrate (NO ) and phosphate (PO ). We analyzed the monthly water table as an indicator of riparian connectivity, along with groundwater NO and PO concentrations, at four riparian sites within and near the Gwynns Falls Watershed in Baltimore, MD, from 1998 to 2018. The sites included one forested reference site (Oregon Ridge), two suburban riparian sites (Glyndon and Gwynnbrook), and one urban riparian site (Cahill) with at least two locations and four monitoring wells, located 5 m from the center of the stream, at each site.

Hallmarks of aging: A user's guide for comparative biologists.

Since the first description of a set of characteristics of aging as so-called hallmarks or pillars in 2013/2014, these characteristics have served as guideposts for the research in aging biology. They have been examined in a range of contexts, across tissues, in response to disease conditions or environmental factors, and served as a benchmark for various anti-aging interventions. While the hallmarks of aging were intended to capture generalizable characteristics of aging, they are derived mostly from studies of rodents and humans.