Extended urinary opiate detection following ad libitum ingestion of poppy seed pastry.

The interpretation of urine drug test results is complicated by the potential for poppy seed ingestion to yield opiate concentrations above standard cutoffs. U.S.

An improved nuclei isolation protocol from leaf tissue for single-cell transcriptomics.

The study of plant biology has traditionally focused on investigations conducted at the tissue, organ, or whole plant level. However, single-cell transcriptomics has recently emerged as an important tool for plant biology, enabling researchers to uncover the expression profiles of individual cell types within a tissue. The application of this tool has revealed new insights into cell-to-cell gene expression heterogeneity and has opened new avenues for research in plant biology.

Cognitive Impairment and Contexts: Examining the Intersections of Social Activity Participation and Neighborhood Perceptions.

Objectives: In this study, we examined the extent to which older adult social activity participation and perceptions of neighborhoods correspond with risks of cognitive impairment and no dementia (CIND) and dementia.

Methods: We predicted the risk of both CIND and dementia in a series of Cox proportional hazards analyses among older adults across a ten-year period. Utilizing data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, N = 15,020), we examined whether social activity participation corresponded with reduced risk of CIND and dementia, as well as whether perceptions of neighborhood conditions, social cohesion, and neighborhood disorder moderated the effects of social activity participation.

Charity coverage and decreased COVID-19 mortality among uninsured patients in Texas: A retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: Decreased access to care and social drivers of health have been implicated in COVID-19 disparities. The objective of this study was to test the association between county-funded charity coverage (CFCC) and mortality among uninsured patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in a highly uninsured county.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study compared electronic health record (EHR) data among uninsured patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in a high-volume safety-net health system in Dallas County, Texas between June 2020 and December 2021.

Genomic characterization of novel bat kobuviruses in Madagascar: Implications for viral evolution and zoonotic risk.

Kobuviruses (family Picornaviridae, genus Kobuvirus) are enteric viruses that infect a wide range of both human and animal hosts. Much of the evolutionary history of kobuviruses remains elusive, largely due to limited screening in wildlife. Bats have been implicated as major sources of virulent zoonoses, including coronaviruses, henipaviruses, lyssaviruses, and filoviruses, though much of the bat virome still remains uncharacterized.

A protocol to develop a Quality Assessment Tool for Realist Synthesis (QUATRES).

A realist synthesis or review is a theory-driven, realist-informed interpretive approach to synthesizing secondary data, informing evidence-based practice, and explaining social phenomena. Realist syntheses use flexible and iterative methods to achieve this goal, including drawing on stakeholders' knowledge. Thus, realist syntheses require robust planning to be conducted and reported.

The Pandemic Journaling Project: A new dataset of first-person accounts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The rapid global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic affected different regions, communities, and individuals in vastly different ways that interdisciplinary social scientists are well-positioned to document and investigate. This paper describes an innovative mixed-methods dataset generated by a research study that was designed to chronicle and preserve evidence of the pandemic's divergent effects: the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP). The dataset was generated by leveraging digital technology to invite ordinary people around the world to document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their everyday lives over a two-year period (May 2020-May 2022) using text, images, and audio.

Investigating the role of AI explanations in lay individuals' comprehension of radiology reports: A metacognition lens.

While there has been extensive research on techniques for explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) to enhance AI recommendations, the metacognitive processes in interacting with AI explanations remain underexplored. This study examines how AI explanations impact human decision-making by leveraging cognitive mechanisms that evaluate the accuracy of AI recommendations. We conducted a large-scale experiment (N = 4,302) on Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT), where participants classified radiology reports as normal or abnormal.

Age-related change in children's physical activity and sedentary time: The International Children's Accelerometry Database (ICAD).

Background: Many young people fail to achieve the minimum recommended amount of physical activity to benefit their health. Understanding the nature of age-related changes in behaviour and how this varies for population sub-groups is informative for intervention design. The aim of this study was to describe age-related changes in physical activity and sedentary time and examine variability in patterns of change across demographic sub-groups.

High-Dimensional Causal Mediation Analysis by Partial Sum Statistic and Sample Splitting Strategy in Imaging Genetics Application.

Summary: Causal mediation analysis investigates the role of mediators in the relationship between exposure and outcome. In the analysis of omics or imaging data, mediators are often high-dimensional, presenting challenges such as multicollinearity and interpretability. Existing methods either compromise interpretability or fail to effectively prioritize mediators.

Bearing Witness: Témoignage as a Tool for Child Advocacy during Armed Conflict.

Children affected by armed conflict suffer devastating physical, emotional, and social harm. War uproots families, forcing many to flee as refugees or internally displaced persons, while others remain trapped in dangerous environments. In these crises, children face disproportionate risks-violence, exploitation, disrupted education, and collapsed healthcare systems.

How compartments talk: Compartment coupling guides cochlear development.

Morphogens cooperate to guide development of the inner ear cochlea, but how do compartments communicate? A recent study in PLOS Biology reveals how planar cell polarity of individual cells is integrated across distinct regional compartments to ensure proper organ morphogenesis.

Shocked quartz at the Younger Dryas onset (12.8 ka) supports cosmic airbursts/impacts contributing to North American megafaunal extinctions and collapse of the Clovis technocomplex.

Shocked quartz grains are an accepted indicator of crater-forming cosmic impact events, which also typically produce amorphous silica along the fractures. Furthermore, previous research has shown that shocked quartz can form when nuclear detonations, asteroids, and comets produce near-surface or "touch-down" airbursts. When cosmic airbursts detonate with enough energy and at sufficiently low altitude, the resultant relatively small, high-velocity fragments may strike Earth's surface with high enough pressures to generate thermal and mechanical shock that can fracture quartz grains and introduce molten silica into the fractures.

The Impact of a Nationwide Blood Culture Bottle Shortage in 2024 on Healthcare Facilities in the United States.

Background: A shortage of BD BACTECTM blood culture bottles occurred in 2024. We describe the clinical impact of that shortage.

Methods: We conducted a National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) questionnaire and retrospective cohort study using inpatient hospitalization data from the Premier Healthcare Database.

Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness.

This study investigates the "First Settler Wellness Effect," exploring how cultural geography impacts traditional wellness (physical health, social relationships, and financial stability) and existential wellness (purpose, meaning, and community identity) across the United States. Using data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which includes responses from over 325,000 individuals across 110 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) from 2009 to 2016, we analyze wellness outcomes through the lens of the American Nations Model. This model categorizes the United States into distinct cultural regions shaped by early settlement patterns, emphasizing the enduring influence of regional norms and ideologies.

Architecture of systems affecting disease trajectories in a conflict zone: A community-centered systems inquiry in North Gaza.

Humanitarian crises, particularly in conflict zones, create cascading disruptions that impact every aspect of daily life, including health and disease outcomes. While international humanitarian frameworks categorize these crises into discrete operational clusters, affected populations experience them as interwoven, systemic failures. This study examines how conflict-induced disruptions transform a preventable and typically self-limiting disease-Hepatitis A-into a fatal outcome.

An updated vocal repertoire of wild adult bonobos (Pan paniscus).

Research over the last 20 years has shed important light on the vocal behaviour of our closest living relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, but mostly relies on qualitative vocal repertoires, for which quantitative validations are absent. Such data are critical for a holistic understanding of a species` communication system and unpacking how these systems compare more broadly with other primate and non-primate species. Here we make key progress by providing the first quantitative validation of a Pan vocal repertoire, specifically for wild bonobos.

Serotonergic receptor binding in the brainstem in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in a high-risk population.

The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a major global health problem, with increased risk among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. We propose SIDS, or a subset, is due to a defect in the brainstem serotonin system mediating cardiorespiratory integration and arousal. This defect impinges on homeostasis during a critical developmental period in infancy, especially in populations experiencing maternal and infantile stress, resulting in sleep-related sudden death.

A deadly equation: The global toll of US TB funding cuts.

The recent withdrawal of U.S. financial support threatens essential TB service delivery, including diagnostics, treatment, TB-HIV co-infection interventions and research initiatives critical to eradicating TB.

Displacement, personal loss, and psychological strain among physicians and nurses working in Gaza, 2023-2024.

On January 26th 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized plausible grounds for genocide being committed in Gaza by Israel. A hallmark of the violence has been unprecedented attacks on health workers since October 7th, 2023. We use the word "genocide" to refer to this period of accelerated violence and displacement in Gaza, following ICJ findings, detailed reports by human rights organizations, and statements by genocide scholars concluding that Israel is indeed committing genocide.

The effect of face masks on confusion of emotional expressions.

While the use of personal protective equipment protects healthcare workers against transmissible disease, it also obscures the lower facial regions that are vital for transmitting emotion signals. Previous studies have found that face coverings can impair recognition of emotional expressions, particularly those that rely on signals from the lower regions of the face, such as disgust. Recent research on the individual differences that may influence expression recognition, such as emotional intelligence, has shown mixed results.

The functional form of the association between K-12 student performance and household income in U.S. school districts.

It is well-known that income can correlate with the academic performance of K-12 students in the United States (U.S.).

Investigating the role of family members in postnatal care: Evidence from mother-caregiver dyads in India.

Objectives: In this study, we examine the dynamics of birthing women relative to other family members in making caregiving decisions about postpartum maternal and infant care in four states in India. Specifically, we investigate the involvement of the father, maternal grandmother, and paternal grandmother of the newborn in household health decision-making.

Methods: We analyze data from 551 dyads of women with infants under six months and the family caregiver identified as providing the primary support in the postpartum period.

An analysis of behavioral characteristics and enrollment year variability in 47,444 dogs entering the Dog Aging Project from 2020 to 2023.

Understanding dog behavior, especially in the context of the human social environment, is critical to maintaining positive human-dog interactions and relationships. Furthermore, behavior can be an important indicator of health and welfare in companion dogs. Behavioral change can signal transitions in life stages, alert caretakers to potential illnesses or injuries, and is an important factor in understanding and measuring stress.