Early Cardiac Dysfunction in Adolescents With Low Vigorous Physical Activity.

Background: Adverse left ventricular diastolic function (LVDF) is an early marker of cardiac dysfunction that worsens with age and can lead to heart failure. It is unclear when this deterioration begins and whether physical activity (PA) influences it. We assessed the independent relationships of adverse LVDF in adolescents with different PA intensities, compared to the association with adiposity.

Gibberellin-deactivating GA2OX enzymes act as a hub for auxin-gibberellin cross talk in root growth regulation.

Plant bodies are built from immobile cells, making the regulation of cell expansion essential for growth, development, and adaptation. In roots, cell elongation executes the movement of the root tips through the soil. This process is tightly controlled by numerous signaling pathways.

Comparing hormone dynamics in cereal crops via transient expression of hormone sensors.

Although hormone biology is critical for plant breeding, complex phenotypic outputs make it difficult to compare across species. We used transient expression of hormone biosensors and transcriptomics to simplify this output and quantify gibberellic acid (GA) and auxin responses across multiple cereal crop genotypes and tissues. We show the GPS2 biosensor detects exogenous GA in maize, barley, sorghum, and wheat.

Increasing Positive Perception of Disability Through Depictions of Animals with Disabilities.

Across the globe, many animals with disabilities live in zoos and aquariums, yet these institutions often face difficult questions about how to share those stories with the public in a way that raises awareness and minimizes concern about the animals' well-being. This study explored whether anthropomorphic narrative signage could help visitors form meaningful emotional connections with these animals and, in doing so, encourage greater understanding and support for people with disabilities. Drawing on ideas from contact and transfer theories, we conducted observational research in zoo settings, comparing visitor reactions to no signage, detailed signage, and simple signage.

Scalable Registration of Single Quantum Emitters within Solid Immersion Lenses through Femtosecond Laser Writing.

The precise registration of solid-state quantum emitters to photonic structures is a major technological challenge for fundamental research (e.g. in cavity quantum electrodynamics) and applications to quantum technology.

Initial Direct Laryngoscopy Versus TORS Alone for Unknown Primary HPV+ Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Objective: This study aims to determine whether initial direct laryngoscopy with biopsy (DLBx) before transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has differences in perioperative outcomes, tumor identification, and oncologic outcomes for unknown primary oropharyngeal human papillomavirus (HPV+) squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).

Study Design: A retrospective cohort.

Setting: A single-institution, tertiary referral center.

The TUITEK patient support program improved caregiver-related behaviors on growth hormone treatment adherence.

Background: Recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) can improve or normalize growth outcomes in pediatric patients with growth hormone deficiency, but poor adherence to the treatment regimen limits treatment effectiveness. TUITEK is a multicomponent patient support program (PSP) designed to deliver support aimed at behavior change that is personalized to the needs of individual caregivers and patients throughout the treatment care pathway. The aim was to assess the impact of the TUITEK PSP on knowledge, beliefs and perceptions of adherence to r-hGH treatment in high-risk caregivers.

Moebius-plus: a severe congenital multiple cranial neuropathy syndrome.

We describe a child with a severe form of Moebius syndrome comprising VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII cranial neuropathies with septo-optic dysplasia, severe hypopituitarism and behavioural features of autism, which we propose to describe as Moebius-plus syndrome. In addition, we illustrate the importance of a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to both diagnosis and management for patient outcomes when such complexity arises.

Enabling electrochemical, decarboxylative C(sp)-C(sp) cross-coupling for parallel medicinal chemistry.

Herein we report the development of an automated protocol for coupling aliphatic carboxylic acids and aryl halides under mild, electrochemical conditions. Carboxylic acids are one of the largest pools of commercially available building blocks utilized in parallel medicinal chemistry to expand structure-activity relationships. However, their usage in decarboxylative cross-coupling reactions to forge C(sp)-C(sp) bonds is low due to challenges associated with direct decarboxylation.

Quantifying Plant Biology with Fluorescent Biosensors.

Plant biology is undergoing a spatial omics revolution, but these approaches are limited to snapshots of a plant's state. Direct, genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors complement the omics approaches, giving researchers tools to assess energetic, metabolic, and signaling molecules at multiple scales, from fast subcellular dynamics to organismal patterns in living plants. This review focuses on how biosensors illuminate plant biology across these scales and the major discoveries to which they have contributed.

ABA importers ABCG17 and ABCG18 redundantly regulate seed size in Arabidopsis.

The stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role in mediating plant responses to the environment and regulating plant development. In this study, we demonstrate that two ABA importers, ABCG17 and ABCG18, control seed size by regulating the ABA levels transported into the embryo. Double knockdown of ABCG17 and ABCG18 resulted in lower ABA accumulation in the embryo, wider siliques, and increased overall seed size.

Biochemical Markers of Sarcopenia as Predictors of Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Laryngectomy.

Background: Sarcopenia, the systemic loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is prevalent and particularly detrimental to head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Cancer-associated sarcopenia involves complex mechanisms of poor nutrition and inflammation, highlighting the necessity for preoperative identification of these high-risk patients.

Methods: A multi-site retrospective chart review (2016-2021) was performed on HNC patients undergoing total laryngectomy with or without reconstruction.

Doxycycline Postexposure Prophylaxis for Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention.

Consider prescribing doxycycline as prophylaxis for bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in certain clinical scenarios. New data suggests that a one-time dose of 200 mg doxycycline taken within 72 hours of an unprotected sexual encounter may reduce transmission of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia by a combined two thirds in a high-risk population.

Beneficial modulation of the gut microbiome by leachates of Penicillium purpurogenum in the presence of clays: A model for the preparation and efficacy of historical Lemnian Earth.

The experiments presented here are based on the reconfiguration of an ancient medicine, Lemnian Earth (LE) (terra sigillata, stamped earth, sphragis), an acclaimed therapeutic clay with a 2500-year history of use. Based on our hypothesis that LE was not a natural material but an artificially modified one involving a clay-fungus interaction, we present results from experiments involving the co-culture of a common fungus, Penicillium purpurogenum (Pp), with two separate clay slurries, smectite and kaolin, which are the principal constituents of LE. Our results show: (a) the leachate of the Pp+smectite co-culture is antibacterial in vitro, inhibiting the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria; (b) in vivo, supplementation of regular mouse diet with leachates of Pp+smectite increases intestinal microbial diversity; (c) Pp+kaolin does not produce similar results; (d) untargeted metabolomics and analysis of bacterial functional pathways indicates that the Pp+smectite-induced microbiome amplifies production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and amino acid biosynthesis, known to modulate intestinal and systemic inflammation.

Topological phase transition and surface states in a non-Abelian charged nodal line photonic crystal.

Topological charges of nodal lines in a multigap system are represented by non-Abelian numbers, and the Euler class, a topological invariant, can be used to explain their topological phase transitions, such as pair-annihilation of nodal lines. Up until now, no discussion of phase transitions of nodal lines in photonic crystals using the Euler class has been reported, despite the fact that the Euler class and topological phase transition have recently been addressed in metallic or acoustic crystals. Here, we show how the deformation of a photonic crystal causes topological phase transitions in the nodal lines, and the Euler class can be used to theoretically predict the nodal lines' stability based on the non-Abelian topological charge theory.

Electrochemical C-O and C-N Arylation using Alternating Polarity in flow for Compound Libraries.

Etherification and amination of aryl halide scaffolds are commonly used reactions in parallel medicinal chemistry to rapidly scan structure-activity relationships with abundant building blocks. Electrochemical methods for aryl etherification and amination demonstrate broad functional group tolerance and extended nucleophile scope compared to traditional methods. Nevertheless, there is a need for robust and scale-transferable workflows for electrochemical compound library synthesis.

Differential growth is an emergent property of mechanochemical feedback mechanisms in curved plant organs.

Differential growth is central to eukaryotic morphogenesis. We showed using cellular imaging, simulations, and perturbations that light-induced differential growth in a curved organ, the Arabidopsis thaliana apical hook, emerges from the longitudinal expansion of subepidermal cells, acting in parallel with a differential in the material properties of epidermal cell walls that resist expansion. The greater expansion of inner hook cells that results in apical hook opening is gated by wall alkalinity and auxin, both of which are depleted upon illumination.

GIBBERELLIN PERCEPTION SENSOR 2 reveals genesis and role of cellular GA dynamics in light-regulated hypocotyl growth.

The phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA) is critical for environmentally sensitive plant development including germination, skotomorphogenesis, and flowering. The Förster resonance energy transfer biosensor GIBBERELLIN PERCEPTION SENSOR1, which permits single-cell GA measurements in vivo, has been used to observe a GA gradient correlated with cell length in dark-grown, but not light-grown, hypocotyls. We sought to understand how light signaling integrates into cellular GA regulation.

Gibberellin dynamics governing nodulation revealed using GIBBERELLIN PERCEPTION SENSOR 2 in Medicago truncatula lateral organs.

During nutrient scarcity, plants can adapt their developmental strategy to maximize their chance of survival. Such plasticity in development is underpinned by hormonal regulation, which mediates the relationship between environmental cues and developmental outputs. In legumes, endosymbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) is a key adaptation for supplying the plant with nitrogen in the form of ammonium.

Rhythmic Temporal Cues Coordinate Cross-frequency Phase-amplitude Coupling during Memory Encoding.

Accumulating evidence suggests that rhythmic temporal cues in the environment influence the encoding of information into long-term memory. Here, we test the hypothesis that these mnemonic effects of rhythm reflect the coupling of high-frequency (gamma) oscillations to entrained lower-frequency oscillations synchronized to the beat of the rhythm. In Study 1, we first test this hypothesis in the context of global effects of rhythm on memory, when memory is superior for visual stimuli presented in rhythmic compared with arrhythmic patterns at encoding [Jones, A.

Cell wall integrity modulates HOOKLESS1 and PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR4 expression controlling apical hook formation.

Formation of the apical hook in etiolated dicot seedlings results from differential growth in the hypocotyl apex and is tightly controlled by environmental cues and hormones, among which auxin and gibberellins (GAs) play an important role. Cell expansion is tightly regulated by the cell wall, but whether and how feedback from this structure contributes to hook development are still unclear. Here, we show that etiolated seedlings of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) quasimodo2-1 (qua2) mutant, defective in pectin biosynthesis, display severe defects in apical hook formation and maintenance, accompanied by loss of asymmetric auxin maxima and differential cell expansion.

Histopathologic Features of Mucosal Head and Neck Cancer Cachexia.

Objective: Determine the histopathologic features that correlate with head and neck cancer (HNC) cachexia.

Methods: A single-institution, retrospective study was performed on adults with HPV-negative, mucosal squamous cell carcinoma of the aerodigestive tract undergoing resection and free flap reconstruction from 2014 to 2019. Patients with distant metastases were excluded.

A cross sectional pilot study utilising STrain Analysis and Mapping of the Plantar Surface (STAMPS) to measure plantar load characteristics within a healthy population.

Background: No in-shoe systems, measuring both components of plantar load (plantar pressure and shear stress) are available for use in patients with diabetes. The STAMPS (STrain Analysis and Mapping of the Plantar Surface) system utilises digital image correlation (DIC) to determine the strain sustained by a deformable insole, providing a more complete understanding of plantar shear load at the foot-surface interface.

Research Questions: What is the normal range and pattern of strain at the foot-surface interface within a healthy population as measured by the STAMPS system? Is STAMPS a valid tool to measure the effects of plantar load?

Methods: A cross-sectional study of healthy participants was undertaken.

Isolation of the left innominate artery: When to operate?

A right aortic arch with an isolated left innominate artery from the pulmonary artery is an exceedingly rare congenital cardiac malformation. We describe the management and complex surgical timing considerations in two such cases, successfully operated on day 4 and 7 months of age, including the use of cranial ultrasound as a helpful tool to guide decision-making. We also describe the first reported association of this defect with a 4q25 deletion encompassing the gene.