Thrombo-inflammatory biomarkers and D-dimer in a biracial cohort study.

Background: Higher D-dimer is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and venous thromboembolism. In the general population, D-dimer and other thrombo-inflammatory biomarkers are higher among Black individuals, who also have higher risk of these conditions compared to White people.

Objective: To assess whether Black individuals have an exaggerated correlation between D-dimer and thrombo-inflammatory biomarkers characteristic of cardiovascular diseases.

Fatty acid stable isotopes add clarity, but also complexity, to tracing energy pathways in aquatic food webs.

Tracing the flow of dietary energy sources, especially in systems with a high degree of omnivory, is an ongoing challenge in ecology. In aquatic systems, one of the persistent challenges is in differentiating between autochthonous and allochthonous energy sources to top consumers. Bulk carbon stable isotope values of aquatic and terrestrial prey often overlap, making it difficult to delineate dietary energy pathways in food webs with high allochthonous prey subsidies, such as in many northern temperate waterbodies.

Academic mothers with disabilities: Navigating academia and parenthood during COVID-19.

Academic mothers (including nonbinary, trans, and genderqueer parents) have always faced challenges in their profession due to systemic barriers and a "motherhood tax"; however, COVID-19 has exacerbated already existing inequalities (Oleschuk, 2020). This study examines how the pandemic has affected academic mothers with mental health and physical disabilities, as these voices often remain hidden and unheard in academia despite increased awareness of their presence (Brown & Leigh, 2018; Kelly & Senior, 2020). Here, we share the voices of 23 participants using a qualitative methodology drawing from social justice and feminist theories to highlight the lived experience of academic mothers with mental and/or physical disabilities and their experiences as a scholar and parent during COVID-19.

Novel regulatory roles of small leucine-rich proteoglycans in remodeling of the uterine cervix in pregnancy.

The cervix undergoes rapid and dramatic shifts in collagen and elastic fiber structure to achieve its disparate physiological roles of competence during pregnancy and compliance during birth. An understanding of the structure-function relationships of collagen and elastic fibers to maintain extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis requires an understanding of the mechanisms executed by non-structural ECM molecules. Small-leucine rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) play key functions in biology by affecting collagen fibrillogenesis and regulating enzyme and growth factor bioactivities.

Sequence variation and regulatory variation in acetylcholinesterase genes contribute to insecticide resistance in different populations of .

Although insect herbivores are known to evolve resistance to insecticides through multiple genetic mechanisms, resistance in individual species has been assumed to follow the same mechanism. While both mutations in the target site insensitivity and increased amplification are known to contribute to insecticide resistance, little is known about the degree to which geographic populations of the same species differ at the target site in a response to insecticides. We tested structural (e.

Administration of epinephrine by advanced emergency medical technicians for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a rural emergency medical services system.

Objective: Epinephrine in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains controversial and understudied in rural emergency medical services (EMS) systems. We evaluated the effects of allowing advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMTs) to administer epinephrine during OHCA in a rural EMS system.

Methods: An interrupted time series study was conducted using statewide EMS electronic records.

Inpatient Versus Outpatient Acute Venous Thromboembolism Management: Trends and Postacute Healthcare Utilization From 2011 to 2018.

Background Acute outpatient management of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), is perceived to be as safe as inpatient management in some settings. How widely this strategy is used is not well documented. Methods and Results Using MarketScan administrative claims databases for years 2011 through 2018, we identified patients with () codes indicating incident VTE and trends in the use of acute outpatient management.

Peripheral Blood Cytopenia and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality.

Background Individual blood cell count abnormalities have been associated with cardiovascular disease and increased mortality. In this study, we defined a "cytopenia phenotype," reflecting bone marrow hypoproliferation, to determine if peripheral blood cytopenia is associated with increased cardiovascular disease and mortality risk. Methods and Results Study participants were derived from a biracial observational cohort study, REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke), that enrolled 30 239 Black and White participants aged ≥45 years between 2003 and 2007.

Claims-Based Score for the Prediction of Bleeding in a Contemporary Cohort of Patients Receiving Oral Anticoagulation for Venous Thromboembolism.

Background Current scores for bleeding risk assessment in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) undergoing oral anticoagulation have limited predictive capacity. We developed and internally validated a bleeding prediction model using healthcare claims data. Methods and Results We selected patients with incident VTE initiating oral anticoagulation in the 2011 to 2017 MarketScan databases.

Venous thrombosis recurrence risk according to warfarin versus direct oral anticoagulants for the secondary prevention of venous thrombosis.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) affects nearly 1 million Americans annually, and many benefit from continued anticoagulation after the initial 3- to 6-month treatment period (secondary prevention).

Objectives: To determine whether warfarin, apixaban, or rivaroxaban is associated with reduced recurrent VTE hospitalization in the secondary prevention of VTE.

Patients/methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of participants enrolled in the MarketScan Insurance Database between 2013 and 2017 in those with an incident VTE.

Eight cobweb spider species from China building detritus-based, bell-shaped retreats (Araneae, Theridiidae).

Eight cobweb spider species building a detritus-based, bell-shaped retreat from China are reported in the current paper, including five new species and three known species: Li & Liu, , Li & Liu, , Li & Liu, , Li & Liu, , Li & Liu, , (Chen, 1993), (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906), and (Zhu, 1998). Among them, the male of (Zhu, 1998) is described for the first time. We provide photographs of all species and descriptions for new species in the current paper.

Multiple Blood Biomarkers and Stroke Risk in Atrial Fibrillation: The REGARDS Study.

Background Atrial fibrillation is associated with increased stroke risk; available risk prediction tools have modest accuracy. We hypothesized that circulating stroke risk biomarkers may improve stroke risk prediction in atrial fibrillation. Methods and Results The REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke) study is a prospective cohort study of 30 239 Black and White adults age ≥45 years.

Impact of an institutional grant award on early career investigator applicants and peer reviewers.

Background: Obtaining research funding support is integral to a successful career in science. Training and practice in grant writing, as well as engagement in peer review of grant applications may help lead to successful research funding. However, there is little evidence on the impact of institutional programs on the career development of early career investigators (ECIs).

D-dimer, thrombin generation, and risk of a first venous thrombosis in the elderly.

Background: A high D-dimer level and parameters of the thrombin generation (TG) potential are associated with the risk of a first venous thrombosis (VT) in young and middle-aged populations.

Objectives: To investigate whether D-dimer and TG potential (lag-time, time-to-peak [ttPeak], peak thrombin, endogenous thrombin potential [ETP], and velocity index), are associated with the risk of a first VT in those aged 70 years and older.

Methods: We included 215 patients with a first VT and 358 controls, all aged >70 years, from the Age and Thrombosis, Acquired and Genetic Risk Factors in the Elderly (AT-AGE) study.

Ecological genetics of : Differences in early growth patterns of natural populations.

Many boreal and temperate forest tree species distributed across large geographic ranges are composed of populations adapted to the climate they inhabit. Forestry provenance studies and common gardens provide evidence of local adaptation to climate when associations between fitness traits and the populations' home climates are observed. Most studies that evaluate tree height as a fitness trait do so at a specific point in time.

Agriculture is adapting to phenological shifts caused by climate change, but grassland songbirds are not.

Migratory birds time their migration based on cues that signal resource availability for reproduction. However, with climate change, the timing of seasonal events may shift, potentially inhibiting the ability of some species to use them as accurate cues for migration. We studied the relationship between phenological shifts and reproduction by long- and short-distance migratory songbirds-Bobolinks ( and Savannah Sparrows (.

Trophic complexity alters the diversity-multifunctionality relationship in experimental grassland mesocosms.

Plant diversity has a positive influence on the number of ecosystem functions maintained simultaneously by a community, or multifunctionality. While the presence of multiple trophic levels beyond plants, or trophic complexity, affects individual functions, the effect of trophic complexity on the diversity-multifunctionality relationship is less well known. To address this issue, we tested whether the independent or simultaneous manipulation of both plant diversity and trophic complexity impacted multifunctionality using a mesocosm experiment from Cedar Creek, Minnesota, USA.

Treated HIV Infection and Progression of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Rural Uganda: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background Although ≈70% of the world's population of people living with HIV reside in sub-Saharan Africa, there are minimal prospective data on the contributions of HIV infection to atherosclerosis in the region. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective observational cohort study of people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy >40 years of age in rural Uganda, along with population-based comparators not infected with HIV. We collected data on cardiovascular disease risk factors and carotid ultrasound measurements annually.

An oropharyngeal device for airway management of conscious and semiconscious patients: A randomized clinical trial.

Objective: No oropharyngeal devices exist for use in conscious and semiconscious trauma patients during emergency evacuation, transport, or resuscitation. We aimed to test the hypotheses that the ManMaxAirway (MMA) is better tolerated than the standard Guedel-style device in awake volunteers and that it produces a jaw thrust and improves air flow.

Methods: This was a randomized cross-over study of healthy volunteers with either the MMA or standard device.