Identifying Settler Colonial Determinants of Indigenous Health Within the United States: A Discursive Paper.

Aim(s): This discursive article aims to examine how systemic factors (both) reproduce the structure of settler colonialism and influence health outcomes among Indigenous peoples in the United States through settler colonial determinants of Indigenous health (SCDoIH).

Design: Discursive paper.

Methods: This discursive paper demonstrates how settler colonialism and health relate to each other within a nursing context.

Motivations for obtaining advance provision of medication abortion in the United States: a qualitative study.

Background: Advance provision of medication abortion, or the prescription of mifepristone and misoprostol before pregnancy occurs, is an unexplored care model aimed at expanding abortion access. We examine motivations for obtaining advance provision from the online telemedicine service, Aid Access, which supports people in the United States.

Methods: Between May and November 2023, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 39 people who obtained advance provision between January 2022 and April 2023.

Subtypes of brain change in aging and their associations with cognition and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.

Structural brain changes underlie cognitive changes and interindividual variability in cognition in older age. By using structural MRI data-driven clustering, we aimed to identify subgroups of cognitively unimpaired older adults based on brain change patterns and assess how changes in cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume relate to cognitive change. We tested (1) which brain structural changes predict cognitive change (2) whether these are associated with core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, and (3) the degree of overlap between clusters derived from different structural modalities in 1899 cognitively healthy older adults followed up to 16 years.

Correction: Investigating the Best Practices for Engagement in Remote Participatory Design: Mixed Methods Analysis of 4 Remote Studies With Family Caregivers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/60353.].

The dynamics of capillary flow in an open-channel system featuring trigger valves.

Trigger valves are fundamental features in capillary-driven microfluidic systems that stop fluid at an abrupt geometric expansion and release fluid when there is flow in an orthogonal channel connected to the valve. The concept was originally demonstrated in closed-channel capillary circuits. We show here that trigger valves can be successfully implemented in open channels.

Elucidating governing factors of PFAS removal by polyamide membranes using machine learning and molecular simulations.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have recently garnered considerable concerns regarding their impacts on human and ecological health. Despite the important roles of polyamide membranes in remediating PFASs-contaminated water, the governing factors influencing PFAS transport across these membranes remain elusive. In this study, we investigate PFAS rejection by polyamide membranes using two machine learning (ML) models, namely XGBoost and multimodal transformer models.

Bacteroides expand the functional versatility of a conserved transcription factor and transcribed DNA to program capsule diversity.

The genomes of human gut bacteria in the genus Bacteroides include numerous operons for biosynthesis of diverse capsular polysaccharides (CPSs). The first two genes of each CPS operon encode a locus-specific paralog of transcription elongation factor NusG (called UpxY), which enhances transcript elongation, and a UpxZ protein that inhibits noncognate UpxYs. This process, together with promoter inversions, ensures that a single CPS operon is transcribed in most cells.

Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index and Postoperative Outcomes Following Head and Neck Cancer Surgery.

Background: The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) is a tool to assess preoperative nutritional status that can be calculated simply based on height, weight, and serum albumin. This study assesses the utility of GNRI in predicting postoperative complications in patients undergoing major head and neck cancer (HNC) surgery.

Methods: Retrospective review of the 2016-2020 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database.

Guidelines for the standardization of pre-analytical variables for salivary biomarker studies in Alzheimer's disease research: An updated review and consensus of the Salivary Biomarkers for Dementia Research Working Group.

There is a pressing need for accessible biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis to facilitate widespread screening, particularly in underserved groups. Saliva is an emerging specimen for measuring AD biomarkers, with distinct contexts of use that could complement blood and cerebrospinal fluid and detect various analytes. An interdisciplinary, international group of AD and related dementias (ADRD) researchers convened and performed a narrative review of published studies on salivary AD biomarkers.

Upgrades to x-ray microcalorimeter fusion diagnostic to improve calibration, spectral bandwidth selection, and count rate adjustment.

This paper presents progress made toward the overarching goal to adapt single-photon-counting microcalorimeters to magnetic fusion energy research and demonstrate the value of such measurements for fusion. Microcalorimeter spectrometers combine the best characteristics of x-ray instrumentation currently available on fusion devices: high spectral resolution similar to an x-ray crystal spectrometer and broad spectral coverage sufficient to measure impurity species from Be to W. As a proof-of-principle experiment, a NASA-built x-ray microcalorimeter spectrometer has been installed on the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) at the Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory.

Increased cell-free DNA in CSF and serum of hip fracture patients with delirium.

Delirium is a neuropsychiatric syndrome commonly presenting during acute illness. The pathophysiology of delirium is unknown, but neuroinflammation is suggested to play a role. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to investigate whether cell-free DNA and markers of neutrophil extracellular traps in serum and CSF were associated with delirium and neuronal damage, assessed by neurofilament light chain.

Ocular and perineal squamous cell carcinomas in a Holstein Friesian cow.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in domestic cattle is an economically significant malignant neoplasm and has been documented primarily in ocular and periocular tissues, vulva, and perineum. SCCs are often slow-growing and locally invasive, but metastasis is uncommon. Increased risk of developing SCC has been predominantly associated with high levels of sunlight exposure and hypopigmentation (skin and conjunctiva).

Sex differences in the relationships between 24-h rest-activity patterns and plasma markers of Alzheimer's disease pathology.

Background: Although separate lines of research indicated a moderating role of sex in both sleep-wake disruption and in the interindividual vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related processes, the quantification of sex differences in the interplay between sleep-wake dysregulation and AD pathology remains critically overlooked. Here, we examined sex-specific associations between circadian rest-activity patterns and AD-related pathophysiological processes across the adult lifespan.

Methods: Ninety-two cognitively unimpaired adults (mean age = 59.

Predicting kidney graft function and failure among kidney transplant recipients.

Background: Graft loss is a major health concern for kidney transplant (KTx) recipients. It is of clinical interest to develop a prognostic model for both graft function, quantified by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and the risk of graft failure. Additionally, the model should be dynamic in the sense that it adapts to accumulating longitudinal information, including time-varying at-risk population, predictor-outcome association, and clinical history.

ReBandit: Random Effects Based Online RL Algorithm for Reducing Cannabis Use.

The escalating prevalence of cannabis use, and associated cannabis-use disorder (CUD), poses a significant public health challenge globally. With a notably wide treatment gap, especially among emerging adults (EAs; ages 18-25), addressing cannabis use and CUD remains a pivotal objective within the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In this work, we develop an online reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm called reBandit which will be utilized in a mobile health study to deliver personalized mobile health interventions aimed at reducing cannabis use among EAs.

MODALITY-AGNOSTIC LEARNING FOR MEDICAL IMAGE SEGMENTATION USING MULTI-MODALITY SELF-DISTILLATION.

In medical image segmentation, although multi-modality training is possible, clinical translation is challenged by the limited availability of all image types for a given patient. Different from typical segmentation models, modality-agnostic (MAG) learning trains a single model based on all available modalities but remains input-agnostic, allowing a single model to produce accurate segmentation given any modality combinations. In this paper, we propose a novel frame-work, MAG learning through Multi-modality Self-distillation (MAG-MS), for medical image segmentation.

The impacts of 2,4-D herbicide DMA® 4 IVM on reproductive health and gene expression along the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad-liver [HPGL] axis in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas).

Aquatic herbicides are commonly used to control a variety of non-native plants. One common active ingredient used in commercial herbicide formulations globally is 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Though 2,4-D is used in aquatic ecosystems, no studies have investigated cellular, biochemical, and transcriptional effects or mechanisms of 2,4-D exposure on fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) throughout juvenile development.

Plasma phosphorylated tau and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but their neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood.

Methods: NPSs and cognition were assessed annually in participants (DLB n = 222; Alzheimer's disease [AD] n = 125) from the European DLB (E-DLB) Consortium, and plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) and p-tau231 concentrations were measured at baseline.

Results: Hallucinations, delusions, and depression were more common in DLB than in AD and, in a subgroup with longitudinal follow-up, persistent hallucinations and NPSs were associated with lower p-tau181 and p-tau231 in DLB.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and preeclampsia risk: Impaired angiogenesis through suppression of VEGF signaling.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are linked to preeclampsia (PE), a condition involving abnormal angiogenesis. Prior research on this association has been inconclusive. We investigated the relationship between maternal PFAS exposure and PE risk in Wisconsin.

Changes in Patent Ductus Arteriosus Management and Outcomes in Infants Born at 26-28 Weeks' Gestation.

Objective: To investigate the association between the secular decrease in treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and trends in neonatal mortality and morbidity in infants born at 26 0/7-28 6/7 weeks' gestation.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study including infants born between 2012 and 2021 in continually participating hospitals in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. The primary composite outcome was defined as surgical necrotizing enterocolitis, grade 2-3 bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), severe intraventricular hemorrhage, or death.

Testing the generalizability of minimal group attitudes in minority and majority race children.

The minimal group effect, in which people prefer ingroup members to outgroup members even when group membership is trivially constructed, has been studied extensively in psychological science. Despite a large body of literature on this phenomenon, concerns persist regarding previous developmental research populations that are small and lack racial/ethnic diversity. In addition, it remains unclear what role holding membership within and interacting with specific racial/ethnic groups plays in the development of children's group attitudes.

Composition, microstructure, rheology, and meltdown behavior of commercial nondairy frozen desserts.

The demand for nondairy and plant-based products has increased, but there is still a need for more information about and improvement in these products, especially when it comes to frozen desserts. Similar to ice cream, which simultaneously is an emulsion, dispersion, and foam, nondairy frozen desserts also have a complex structure. As a starting point, 15 commercial nondairy frozen desserts, marketed as offering an ice cream-like experience, were purchased and evaluated for compositional, physical, structural, rheological, and meltdown properties.

Discovery of a Chimeric Polyketide Family as Cancer Immunogenic Chemotherapeutic Leads.

Discovery of cancer immunogenic chemotherapeutics represents an emerging, highly promising direction for cancer treatment that uses a chemical drug to achieve the efficacy of both chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Herein, we report a high-throughput screening platform and the subsequent discovery of a new class of cancer immunogenic chemotherapeutic leads. Our platform integrates informatics-based activity metabolomics for the rapid identification of microbial natural products with both novel structures and potent activities.

Model-Informed Once-Daily Dosing Strategy for Bedaquiline and Delamanid in Children, Adolescents and Adults with Tuberculosis.

The complexity of the currently registered dosing schedules for bedaquiline and delamanid is a barrier to uptake in drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment across all ages. A simpler once-daily dosing schedule is critical to ensure patient-friendly regimens with good adherence. We assessed expected drug exposures with proposed once-daily doses for adults and compared novel model-informed once-daily dosing strategies for children with current World Health Organization (WHO) recommended dosing.

Molecular Diversity of Embryonic-Type Neuroectodermal Tumors Arising From Testicular Germ Cell Tumors.

Embryonic-type neuroectodermal tumors (ENTs) arising from testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs) are a relatively common type of somatic transformation in GCTs with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options, particularly when patients develop disease recurrence or metastasis. Knowledge of key events driving this transformation is limited to the paucity of comprehensive genomic data. We performed a retrospective database search in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments- and College of American Pathologists-certified laboratory for testicular GCT-derived ENTs that had previously undergone next-generation sequencing-based comprehensive genomic profiling during the course of clinical care.