Age-Related Changes in Lens Elasticity Contribute More to Accommodative Decline Than Shape Change.

Purpose: To determine whether lens biomechanical or geometric changes contribute to the decline in the accommodative capacity of the human eye, and to examine any differences in zonular function between different age groups.

Methods: Eighteen finite element whole eye models were developed to simulate the accommodative process. Six models were constructed in each of the two age cohorts, from the fourth and the sixth decades of life using data from ex vivo human lenses.

Pervasiveness of Microprotein Function Amongst Small Open Reading Frames (SMORFS).

Small Open Reading Frames (smORFs) of less than 100 codons remain mostly uncharacterised. About a thousand smORFs per genome encode peptides and microproteins about 70-80 aa long, often containing recognisable protein structures and markers of translation, and these are referred to as short Coding Sequences (sCDSs). The characterisation of individual sCDSs has provided examples of smORFs' function and conservation, but we cannot infer the functionality of all other metazoan smORFs from these.

Fusion, fission, and scrambling of the bilaterian genome in Bryozoa.

Groups of orthologous genes are commonly found together on the same chromosome over vast evolutionary distances. This extensive physical gene linkage, known as macrosynteny, is seen between bilaterian phyla as divergent as Chordata, Echinodermata, Mollusca, and Nemertea. Here, we report a unique pattern of genome evolution in Bryozoa, an understudied phylum of colonial invertebrates.

Mapping out a Canadian university's trauma-informed landscape: A preliminary exploration.

Adversity and trauma are commonly misunderstood human experiences affecting most individuals across post-secondary campuses. Depending on contextual factors, they can lead to lifelong challenges or growth. Without an adequate understanding, well-meaning individuals and organisations may unknowingly perpetuate harm.

Ciliary muscle traction during accommodation is able to induce optic nerve head deformation.

Objectives: To use finite element (FE) modeling and in vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging to explore the effect of ciliary muscle traction on optic nerve head (ONH) deformation during accommodation.

Methods: We developed a FE model to mimic the ciliary muscle traction during accommodation, and varied the stiffness of the sclera, choroid, Bruch's membrane (BM), prelaminar neural tissue and lamina cribrosa (LC) to assess their effects on accommodation-induced ONH strains. To validate the FE model, OCT images of the right eyes' ONHs from 20 subjects (25 ± 1.

Land Use Change Consistently Reduces α- But Not β- and γ-Diversity of Bees.

Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination and food production. Reduced taxonomic α-diversity is often reported under land use change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e.

Regional patterns and climatic predictors of viruses in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies over time.

Honey bee viruses are serious pathogens that can cause poor colony health and productivity. We analyzed a multi-year longitudinal dataset of abundances of nine honey bee viruses (deformed wing virus A, deformed wing virus B, black queen cell virus, sacbrood virus, Lake Sinai virus, Kashmir bee virus, acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus, and Israeli acute paralysis virus) in colonies located across Canada to describe broad trends in virus intensity and occurrence among regions and years. We also tested climatic variables (temperature, wind speed, and precipitation) as predictors in an effort to understand possible drivers underlying seasonal patterns in viral prevalence.

Machine learning derived retinal pigment score from ophthalmic imaging shows ethnicity is not biology.

Few metrics exist to describe phenotypic diversity within ophthalmic imaging datasets, with researchers often using ethnicity as a surrogate marker for biological variability. We derived a continuous, measured metric, the retinal pigment score (RPS), that quantifies the degree of pigmentation from a colour fundus photograph of the eye. RPS was validated using two large epidemiological studies with demographic and genetic data (UK Biobank and EPIC-Norfolk Study) and reproduced in a Tanzanian, an Australian, and a Chinese dataset.

Complications in Shoulder Arthroplasty: Why Do They Happen and How to Manage Them.

Complications occur with total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA), and they can be daunting to diagnose and treat. It is important to review common TSA-related complications and to summarize risk factors along with causes of these complications and how to avoid them. The orthopaedic surgeon should be knowledgeable about how to successfully manage complications to achieve good patient outcomes and the etiologies and management of the painful and stiff shoulder arthroplasty, subscapularis failure after anatomic TSA, instability after reverse shoulder arthroplasty, and acromion stress fractures in the setting of reverse TSA.

An analysis of availability and implications of unlabeled retracted articles on Sci-Hub.

Background: Researchers are increasingly accessing scientific articles through unauthorized websites like Sci-Hub. Sci-Hub contains retracted articles, including those which are not labelled as retracted, and this is a potential threat to academic research.

Methods: This study analyses the extent of the availability of retracted articles within the Sci-Hub, particularly focusing on the presence of unlabeled retracted articles (URA) which may inadvertently be used in subsequent research, thus propagating flawed findings.

Assessing the Power of the HEXACO to Predict Professional Burnout Among Catholic Priests in Italy.

This study tests the application of the HEXACO among Catholic priests and the power of this six factor model of personality to predict scores on the Francis Burnout Inventory among priests. Data provided by 264 priests serving in Italy lead to two conclusions. In this population three of the six scales of the HEXACO failed to display adequate levels of internal consistency reliability (emotionality, agreeableness, openness to experience).

A Functional Response in Resource Selection Links Multiscale Responses of a Large Carnivore to Human Mortality Risk.

Theory suggests that animals make hierarchical, multiscale resource selection decisions to address the hierarchy of factors limiting their fitness. Ecologists have developed tools to link population-level resource selection across scales; yet, theoretical expectations about the relationship between coarse- and fine-scale selection decisions at the individual level remain elusive despite their importance to fitness. With GPS-telemetry data collected across California, USA, we evaluated resource selection of mountain lions (Puma concolor; n = 244) relative to spatial variation in human-caused mortality risk.

In silico pace mapping identifies pacing sites more accurately than inverse body surface potential mapping.

Background: Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi) is a noninvasive technique for ventricular tachycardia ablation planning. However, it is limited to reconstructing epicardial surface activation. In silico pace mapping combines a personalized computational model with clinical electrocardiograms (ECGs) to generate a virtual 3-dimensional pace map.

The Effect of Preinduction Cervical Ripening With Synthetic Hygroscopic Dilators on Maternal Outcomes of Women With Previous Caesarean Pregnancy: A Single-Group Clinical Trial.

Preinduction cervical ripening in previous caesarean pregnancy is limited to intracervical Foley catheter. This study is aimed at finding the vaginal birth rates, improvement of Bishop score, and safety of osmotic dilator (Dilapan-S) among women with previous caesarean pregnancy. We conducted this single-group clinical study after the approval of the institute ethics committee, clinical trial registration, and obtaining informed consent.

LGBTQ+ youth policy and mental health: Indirect effects through school experiences.

The link between state policies and LGBTQ+ youth mental health is well-established, yet less well-understood are the mechanisms that drive these associations. We used a sample from the LGBTQ+ National Teen Survey (n = 8368) collected in 2022 to examine whether and to what degree LGBTQ+ inclusive school strategies, student perceptions of school safety, and experiences with bias-based bullying and peer victimization explain the association between state LGBTQ+ youth-focused policies and LGBTQ+ youth mental health symptomology. We observed significant indirect effects between policy and LGBTQ+ youth mental health through all four constructs, suggesting that each of these more proximal school experiences was independently implicated in this association.

Social determinants of contraception use among rural adolescents: Implications for addressing disparities.

Purpose: Few studies have examined disparities in-and social determinants of-contraception use among rural adolescents despite evidence of higher teen birth rates and greater STI risk in rural communities. Guided by a social determinants of health (SDoH) framework, this cross-sectional study aimed to address these gaps.

Methods: Data come from the 2018 Healthy Youth Survey, including N = 3757 sexually active, rural-based adolescents.

Learning everyday multitasking activities-An online survey about people's experiences and opinions.

Multitasking (MT)-performing more than one task at a time-has become ubiquitous in everyday life. Understanding of how MT is learned could enable optimizing learning regimes for tasks and occupations that necessitate frequent MT. Previous research has distinguished between MT learning regimes in which all tasks are learned in parallel, single-task (ST) learning regimes in which all tasks are learned individually, and mixed learning regimes (Mix) in which MT and ST regimes are mixed.

Net Promoter Score as a Reflection of Patients' Opinions About Telemedical Visits: A Mixed Methods Analysis.

In order to assess patient experiences of telemedicine, researchers and administrators use the net promoter score (NPS), based on a likelihood to recommend (LTR) question. However, there is reason to doubt validity of this metric for this purpose. We assessed the degree to which the LTR question reflects actual patient preferences about telemedicine.

Scientific imperialism and the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project, 1935-1942.

Between 1935 and 1942, a total of 130 men, aged seventeen to twenty-four, mostly of indigenous Hawaiian heritage, colonized Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands for the United States, in rotation, over the course of twenty-six expeditions. As part of the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project (AEICP), they compiled meteorological data, observed and recorded the natural life of their surroundings, collected specimens for the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, mapped the islands, and built a landing strip on Howland for Amelia Earhart. In doing so, they confirmed U.

Tumor Lysis Syndrome in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Treated With a Venetoclax Based Regimen.

Venetoclax with hypomethylating agents (HMA) is the standard of care for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy and is associated with tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). TLS prophylaxis and the use of Cairo Bishop versus Howard diagnostic criteria are not standardized. Here we report TLS prophylaxis and incidence in a retrospective cohort of 100 consecutive AML patients treated with venetoclax and HMA.

Models for predicting vaginal birth after cesarean section: scoping review.

Background: Women who are pregnant again after a prior cesarean section are faced with the choice between a vaginal trial and another cesarean section. Vaginal delivery is safer for mothers and babies, but face the risk of trial labor failure. Predictive models can evaluate the success rate of vaginal trial labor after cesarean section, which will help obstetricians and pregnant women choose the appropriate delivery method.

Mifepristone versus Foley balloon catheter for outpatient cervical ripening at term: A non-inferiority randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate whether the success rate of oral mifepristone was not inferior to that of Foley balloon catheter for outpatient cervical ripening of term pregnancies, and whether there were differences in side effects for mothers and newborns.

Design: Open-label, non-inferiority randomised controlled trial.

Setting: A tertiary care European university hospital in an urban setting.

12-Spin-Qubit Arrays Fabricated on a 300 mm Semiconductor Manufacturing Line.

Intel's efforts to build a practical quantum computer are focused on developing a scalable spin-qubit platform leveraging industrial high-volume semiconductor manufacturing expertise and 300 mm fabrication infrastructure. Here, we provide an overview of the design, fabrication, and demonstration of a new customized quantum test chip, which contains 12-quantum-dot spin-qubit linear arrays, code named Tunnel Falls. These devices are fabricated using immersion and extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), along with other standard high-volume manufacturing (HVM) processes as well as production-level process control.