A novel animal model of symptomatic neuroma for assessing neuropathic pain.

INTRODUCTION: Following amputation, peripheral nerves lack distal targets for regeneration, often resulting in symptomatic neuromas and debilitating neuropathic pain. Animal models can establish a practical method for symptomatic neuroma formation for better understanding of neuropathic pain pathophysiology through behavioral and histological assessments. We created a clinically translatable animal model of symptomatic neuroma to mimic neuropathic pain in patients and assess sexual differences in pain behaviors. METHODS: Twenty-two male and female rats were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups: (1) neuroma surgery, or (2) sham surgery. For the neuroma experimental group, the tibial nerve was transected in the thigh, and the proximal segment was placed under the skin for mechanical testing at the site of neuroma. For the sham surgery, rats underwent tibial nerve isolation without transection. Behavioral testing consisted of neuroma-site pain, mechanical allodynia, cold allodynia, and thermal hyperalgesia at baseline, and then weekly over 8 weeks. RESULTS: Male and female neuroma rats demonstrated significantly higher neuroma-site pain response compared to sham groups starting at weeks 3 and 4, indicating symptomatic neuroma formation. Weekly assessment of mechanical and cold allodynia among neuroma groups showed a significant difference in pain behavior compared to sham groups (p < 0.001). Overall, males and females did not display significant differences in their pain responses. Histology revealed a characteristic neuroma bulb at week 8, including disorganized axons, fibrotic tissue, Schwann cell displacement, and immune cell infiltration. CONCLUSION: This novel animal model is a useful tool to investigate underlying mechanisms of neuroma formation and neuropathic pain.

No improvement in AUDIT-C screening and brief intervention rates among wait-list controls following support of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services: evidence from a cluster randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are less likely to drink any alcohol than other Australians, those who drink are more likely to experience adverse alcohol-related health consequences. In a previous study, providing Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) with training and support increased the odds of clients receiving AUDIT-C alcohol screening. A follow-up study found that these results were maintained for at least two years, but there was large variability in the effectiveness of the intervention between services. In this study, we use services that previously received support as a comparison group to test whether training and support can improve alcohol screening and brief intervention rates among wait-list control ACCHSs. METHODS: Design: Cluster randomised trial using routinely collected health data. SETTING: Australia. CASES: Twenty-two ACCHSs that see at least 1000 clients a year and use Communicare as their practice management software. Intervention and comparator: After initiating support, we compare changes in screening and brief intervention between wait-list control services and services that had previously received support. MEASUREMENT: Records of AUDIT-C screening and brief intervention activity in routinely collected data. RESULTS: During the reference period we observed 357,257 instances where one of 74,568 clients attended services at least once during a two-monthly data extraction period. Following the start of support, the odds of screening (OR = 0.94 [95% CI 0.67, 1.32], p = 0.74, [Formula: see text]≈ 0.002) and brief intervention (OR = 1.43 [95% CI 0.69, 2.95], p = 0.34, [Formula: see text]≈ 0.002) did not improve for the wait-list control group, relative to comparison services. CONCLUSIONS: We did not replicate the finding that support and training improves AUDIT-C screening rates with wait-list control data. The benefits of support are likely context dependent. Coincidental policy changes may have sensitised services to the effects of support in the earlier phase of the study. Then the COVID-19 pandemic may have made services less open to change in this latest phase. Future efforts could include practice software prompts to alcohol screening and brief intervention, which are less reliant on individual staff time or resources. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered on 2018-11-21: ACTRN12618001892202.

High-Intensity Running During International Male Field Hockey Involves Frequent Changes of Direction and Repeated Accelerations but Seldom Reaches Sprint Velocities.

ABSTRACT: Goods, PS, Appleby, B, Scott, BR, Peeling, P, and Galna, B. High-intensity running during international male field hockey involves frequent changes of direction and repeated accelerations but seldom reaches sprint velocities. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-The aim of this investigation was to quantify the characteristics of high-intensity running in international male field hockey. Player movement data were collected through wearable player tracking devices across 3 tournaments (17 matches) from 27 members of the Australian male field hockey team (totaling 266 player matches). Active duration (minute), high-intensity efforts (>2.5 m·s-2 for >1 second), repeated high-intensity efforts (≥3 efforts with ≤45-second recovery between efforts), and sprints (>7 m·s-1) were extracted and aggregated for each player match. The duration, distance, mean and peak speed, mean change of direction and straightness for each high-intensity effort, and peak deceleration at the conclusion of each effort were calculated. Mixed-effects models were used to estimate the mean for each outcome (fixed effect), with random intercepts modeled for player and match. On average, players completed 42.2 high-intensity efforts and 2.1 sprints per match. High-intensity efforts were short (3.61 seconds, 12.9 m), failed to reach high velocities (average peak velocity: 4.8 m·s-1), and involved frequent changes of direction (56% of efforts were not straight). There were 4.7 bouts of repeated high-intensity efforts per player, per match (comprising 3.8 efforts, with 3.53 seconds per effort separated by 16.2-second recovery). Last, we also found that 29% of high-intensity efforts involved a high-speed deceleration (>3.5 m·s-2), and these occurred frequently when in conjunction with a >45° (86%) or >90° (89%) change of direction. We recommend practitioners focus on developing players' ability to repeatedly accelerate, decelerate, and change direction over short distances and adopt testing and monitoring programs that assess these qualities.

The role of collective behaviour in fish response to visual cues.

This study investigated the influence of group size (individual, groups of five, and 20) on the response of common minnow to visual cues created by vertical black and white stripes over time. The stripes were displayed on a monitor either at one end of an experimental tank, while the other was uniform white, or both ends simultaneously. Reponses were compared with a control (stripes absent). Visual cues were pseudo-randomly presented every 15-minutes over six-hours. Three predictions were made: first, due to more efficient flow of information, larger groups would respond more rapidly (Rate of response) to the visual cues. Second, assuming visual cues provide a proxy for structure and larger groups experience greater benefits of group membership due to reduced predatory risk, there will be stronger association (Strength of association and Final association) with stripes for individuals and smaller groups compared with larger groups. Consequently, the association with visual cues exhibited by larger groups would diminish over time compared to smaller, more risk averse groups. As expected, larger groups exhibited a faster Rate of response to visual cues, and individual fish a greater Strength of association compared with the largest group size. Final association, however, was more common for larger groups compared to both smaller groups and individuals. Contrary to the final prediction, responses to visual cues did not decrease over time for any group size, suggesting innate behaviour or an experimental duration insufficient to observe habituation.

To burn or not to burn: similar effects of different types of prenatal tobacco exposure on infant lung function.

The first study to describe the harmful effects of snus on the unborn infant provides evidence to help clinicians and mothers collectively to make an informed choice about quitting the use of snus before planning pregnancies https://bit.ly/3vJnBxW.

CoRAL accurately resolves extrachromosomal DNA genome structures with long-read sequencing.

Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a central mechanism for focal oncogene amplification in cancer, occurring in approximately 15% of early-stage cancers and 30% of late-stage cancers. EcDNAs drive tumor formation, evolution, and drug resistance by dynamically modulating oncogene copy-number and rewiring gene-regulatory networks. Elucidating the genomic architecture of ecDNA amplifications is critical for understanding tumor pathology and developing more effective therapies. Paired-end short-read (Illumina) sequencing and mapping have been utilized to represent ecDNA amplifications using a breakpoint graph, where the inferred architecture of ecDNA is encoded as a cycle in the graph. Traversals of breakpoint graph have been used to successfully predict ecDNA presence in cancer samples. However, short-read technologies are intrinsically limited in the identification of breakpoints, phasing together of complex rearrangements and internal duplications, and deconvolution of cell-to-cell heterogeneity of ecDNA structures. Long-read technologies, such as from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, have the potential to improve inference as the longer reads are better at mapping structural variants and are more likely to span rearranged or duplicated regions. Here, we propose CoRAL (Complete Reconstruction of Amplifications with Long reads), for reconstructing ecDNA architectures using long-read data. CoRAL reconstructs likely cyclic architectures using quadratic programming that simultaneously optimizes parsimony of reconstruction, explained copy number, and consistency of long-read mapping. CoRAL substantially improves reconstructions in extensive simulations and 10 datasets from previously-characterized cell lines as compared to previous short and long-read based tools. As long-read usage becomes wide-spread, we anticipate that CoRAL will be a valuable tool for profiling the landscape and evolution of focal amplifications in tumors.

Multiparametric Ultrasound for Focal Testicular Pathology: A Ten-Year Retrospective Review.

Conventional ultrasonography (US), including greyscale imaging and colour Doppler US (CDUS), is pivotal for diagnosing scrotal pathologies, but it has limited specificity. Historically, solid focal testicular abnormalities often led to radical orchidectomy. This retrospective study evaluated the utilisation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and strain elastography (SE) in investigating intratesticular focal abnormalities. A total of 124 cases were analysed. This study underscored the superior diagnostic capabilities of CEUS in detecting vascular enhancement in all malignant cases, even those with undetectable vascularity by CDUS. It also highlighted the potential of CEUS in identifying distinctive vascular patterns in benign vascular tumours. Definitive confirmation of benignity could be obtained when the absence of enhancement was demonstrated on CEUS. While SE alone offered no distinctive advantage in differentiating between benign and malignant pathologies, we demonstrated that incorporating a combination of CEUS and SE into the evaluation of focal testicular abnormalities could improve diagnostic performance metrics over conventional CDUS. Our findings underscore the role of advanced ultrasound techniques in enhancing the evaluation of focal testicular abnormalities in clinical practice and could aid a shift towards testis-sparing management strategies.

The Progression of Stargardt Disease (ProgStar) as determined by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography over a 24-month period (ProgStar Report No. 19).

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the progression of atrophy as determined by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in patients with molecularly confirmed ABCA4-associated Stargardt disease type 1 (STGD1) over a 24-month period in a multicenter prospective cohort study. METHODS: SD-OCT images from 428 eyes of 236 patients were analyzed. Change of mean thickness (MT) and intact area were estimated after semi-automated segmentation for the following individual layers in the central subfield (CS), inner ring (IR) and outer ring (OR) of the ETDRS grid: retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), outer segments (OS), inner segments (IS), outer nuclear layer (ONL) inner retina (IR) and total retina (TR). RESULTS: Statistically significant decreases of all outer retinal layers (RPE, OS, IS, and ONL) could be observed over a 24-month period both in decline of mean retinal thickness and intact area (p<.0001, respectively); whereas the inner retina showed an increase of retinal thickness in the central subfield and inner ring and remained unchanged in the outer ring. CONCLUSIONS: Significant loss could be detected in outer retinal layers by SD-OCT over a 24-month period in patients with STGD1. Loss of thickness and/or intact area of such layers may serve as potential endpoints for clinical trials that aim to slow down the disease progression of STGD1.

100-kHz carbon monoxide TP-PLIF imaging using ultra-narrow-linewidth burst-mode OPO.

A 100-kHz rate two-photon planar laser-induced fluorescence (TP-PLIF) imaging of carbon monoxide (CO) is successfully demonstrated utilizing a narrow-linewidth optical parametric oscillator (OPO) generating light at ∼230.1 nm. A specially designed injection-seeded burst-mode OPO was constructed and characterized for this purpose. This OPO efficiently converts the 355-nm output of a high-energy nanosecond burst-mode laser to ∼230.1 nm following parametric splitting and mixing processes. Generation of an ultra-narrow-linewidth 230.1 nm laser pulse is crucial for effectively exciting CO via a two-photon process from the ground X1Σ+ to the B1Σ+ electronic state-enabling PLIF imaging over a large area. The experimental setup is capable of tracking high-speed flow structures of a CO/N2 mixture, showcasing detection speeds 100 times greater than those achieved with previous femtosecond laser sources. This substantial increase in repetition rate will allow time-resolved CO-TP-PLIF measurements in highly dynamic hypersonic boundary layers and detonation-driven combustion processes for revealing chemical kinetics and turbulent aerodynamics.

Good Psychiatric Management of Borderline Personality Disorder: Foundations and Future Challenges.

Borderline personality disorder is a common condition characterized by numerous comorbid conditions, frequent use of clinical services, and an elevated lifetime risk for suicide. Good psychiatric management (GPM) was developed for patients with borderline personality disorder with the purpose of supporting wider community adoption and dissemination compared with existing therapies. The authors aimed to review the foundations and development of GPM, in particular the initial Canadian study assessing the therapy. They then reviewed the progress in research arising from the initial study and explored the research and educational opportunities needed to further the development of GPM for patients with borderline personality disorder. Research has indicated that patients with borderline personality disorder with complex comorbid conditions and impulsivity may benefit from GPM. Future research needs include noninferiority and equivalence studies comparing GPM with another evidence-based treatment; studies demonstrating that evidence-based therapies for borderline personality disorder improve functioning; and research on more accessible therapies, mechanisms of action for evidence-based therapies, extending therapies to patients with borderline personality disorder and significant comorbid conditions, and modifying therapies for men with borderline personality disorder. Attention should be directed toward testing stepped care models and integrating therapies such as GPM into psychiatric training programs. GPM is in development but shows promise as a therapy that is effective and accessible and that can be widely disseminated.

Global decarbonization potential of CO2 mineralization in concrete materials.

CO2 mineralization products are often heralded as having outstanding potentials to reduce CO2-eq. emissions. However, these claims are generally undermined by incomplete consideration of the life cycle climate change impacts, material properties, supply and demand constraints, and economic viability of CO2 mineralization products. We investigate these factors in detail for ten concrete-related CO2 mineralization products to quantify their individual and global CO2-eq. emissions reduction potentials. Our results show that in 2020, 3.9 Gt of carbonatable solid materials were generated globally, with the dominant material being end-of-life cement paste in concrete and mortar (1.4 Gt y-1). All ten of the CO2 mineralization technologies investigated here reduce life cycle CO2-eq. emissions when used to substitute comparable conventional products. In 2020, the global CO2-eq. emissions reduction potential of economically competitive CO2 mineralization technologies was 0.39 Gt CO2-eq., i.e., 15% of that from cement production. This level of CO2-eq. emissions reduction is limited by the supply of end-of-life cement paste. The results also show that it is 2 to 5 times cheaper to reduce CO2-eq. emissions by producing cement from carbonated end-of-life cement paste than carbon capture and storage (CCS), demonstrating its superior decarbonization potential. On the other hand, it is currently much more expensive to reduce CO2-eq. emissions using some CO2 mineralization technologies, like carbonated normal weight aggregate production, than CCS. Technologies and policies that increase recovery of end-of-life cement paste from aged infrastructure are key to unlocking the potential of CO2 mineralization in reducing the CO2-eq. footprint of concrete materials.

Actinyl Electronic Structure Probed by XAS: The Role of Many-Body Effects.

A detailed analysis of the wave functions for the M5 to 5f excitations in the linear actinyls, UO22+, NpO22+, and PuO22+, and the theoretical X-ray absorption spectra obtained with these wave functions in comparison with experimental M5-edge high-resolution X-ray absorption near-edge structure (HR-XANES) spectra is presented. The wave functions include full treatment of scalar and spin-orbit relativistic effects through the use of a Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian; many-body effects are included in determining the wave functions. The character of the excited states and of the active spaces to describe the wave functions for these states are investigated and analyzed. It is shown that the excited states cannot, in general, be described with a single configuration but have an essential multiconfiguration character. The characterization of the properties of the excited states and the X-ray absorption spectra was achieved through the use of novel methods.

Microbiome Dynamics and Functional Composition in Coelopa frigida (Diptera, Coelopidae): Insights into Trophic Specialization of Kelp Flies.

Coelopidae (Diptera), known as kelp flies, exhibit an ecological association with beached kelp and other rotting seaweeds. This unique trophic specialization necessitates significant adaptations to overcome the limitations of an algal diet. We aimed to investigate whether the flies' microbiome could be one of these adaptive mechanisms. Our analysis focused on assessing composition and diversity of adult and larval microbiota of the kelp fly Coelopa frigida. Feeding habits of the larvae of this species have been subject of numerous studies, with debates whether they directly consume kelp or primarily feed on associated bacteria. By using a 16S rRNA metabarcoding approach, we found that the larval microbiota displayed considerably less diversity than adults, heavily dominated by only four operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Phylogenetic placement recovered the most dominant OTU of the larval microbiome, which is the source of more than half of all metabarcoding sequence reads, as an undescribed genus of Orbaceae (Gammaproteobacteria). Interestingly, this OTU is barely found among the 15 most abundant taxa of the adult microbiome, where it is responsible for less than 2% of the metabarcoding sequence reads. The other three OTUs dominating the larval microbiome have been assigned as Psychrobacter (Gammaproteobacteria), Wohlfahrtiimonas (Gammaproteobacteria), and Cetobacterium (Fusobacteriota). Moreover, we also uncovered a distinct shift in the functional composition between the larval and adult stages, where our taxonomic profiling suggests a significant decrease in functional diversity in larval samples. Our study offers insights into the microbiome dynamics and functional composition of Coelopa frigida.

Changes in Rates of Suicide by Mass Shooters, 1980-2019.

OBJECTIVE: The rate of worldwide mass shootings increased almost 400% over the last 40 years. About 30% are followed by the perpetrator's fatal or nonfatal suicide attempt. METHOD: We examined the rate of fatal and nonfatal attempts among 528 mass shooters over the last 40 years and their relationship to detected mental illness to better understand this specific context of suicide. We collected information on U.S.-based, personal-cause mass murders that involved one or more firearms, from online sources. RESULTS: A greater proportion of mass shooters from 2000 to 2019 took or attempted to take their own lives (40.5%) compared with those from 1980 to 1999 (23.2%, p < 0.001). More than double the proportion of perpetrators who made a fatal or nonfatal suicide attempt had a history of non-psychotic psychiatric/neurologic symptoms (38.9%), compared with perpetrators who did not make a fatal or nonfatal suicide attempt (18.1%; p < 0.001). Among mass shooters who made fatal or nonfatal suicide attempts, 77 of 175 (44%) did not have any recorded psychiatric, neurologic, or substance use condition. Of the 98 mass shooters who made fatal or non-fatal suicide attempts and had a psychiatric, substance use, or neurologic condition, 41 had depressive disorders. CONCLUSION: It is possible that a lack of information about the perpetrators' mental health or suicidal ideation led to an underestimation of their prevalence. These data suggest that suicide associated with mass shootings may represent a specific context for suicide, and approaches such as psychological autopsy can help to ascertain when psychiatric illness mediates the relationship between mass shootings and suicide.

We examined 528 mass shootings.A greater proportion of mass shooters from 2000-2019 made a fatal or nonfatal suicide attempt (123/304, 40.5%) compared with mass shooters from 1980-1999 (52/224, 23.2%), χ2 = 17.3, p<.001.More than double the proportion of perpetrators who made a fatal or nonfatal suicide attempt had a history of non-psychotic psychiatric/neurologic symptoms (38.9%), compared with those who did not (18.1%; p < 0.001).Among mass shooters who made a fatal or nonfatal suicide attempt, 77 of 175 (44%) did not have any recorded psychiatric, neurologic, or substance use condition. However, it is possible that a lack of information about the perpetrators' mental health or suicidal ideation led to an underestimation of their prevalence.These results suggest that perpetrators may have considered suicide a potential outcome of such an event, and/or that the perpetrators' high levels of aggression and anger, accompanied by an impaired capacity for restraint, resulted in homicide followed by suicidal behavior.Psychological autopsies can clarify the role of psychiatric illness and more extreme aggressive traits in homicide-suicide instances of mass shootings.

Clinician Perspectives on Suicide Safety Planning and Its Implementation.

OBJECTIVE: The safety planning intervention is an evidence-based practice shown to reduce suicide risk, but implementation of high-quality safety planning has proven challenging. We aimed to understand clinician perspectives on the safety planning intervention to inform future implementation efforts. METHOD: This cross-sectional survey of clinicians who care for patients at risk of suicide in an academic medical center asked about comfort levels and fidelity to components of the safety planning intervention and assessed implementation barriers and facilitators. We used exploratory data analysis and regression analysis to explore clinician perspectives and assess the relationship between formal training and implementation. RESULTS: Ninety-two clinicians responded to the survey. Two-thirds of participants (64.9%) endorsed using all six core elements of the safety planning intervention. Participants who reported receiving formal training in safety planning were significantly more likely to report being comfortable completing a safety plan (p < .001); those with higher levels of comfort were significantly more likely to endorse using all of the core elements of the safety planning intervention (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Training in the evidence-based safety planning intervention is associated with clinician comfort and awareness of the core elements of the intervention. Our results suggest that there are gaps in clinician training and that formal safety planning intervention training could have a positive effect on clinician comfort and treatment fidelity.

Examining the feasibility and utility of heart rate variability on intervention outcomes targeting emotion regulation in autism: a brief report.

Autistic youth experience several behavioral and emotional characteristics that can predispose them to emotion dysregulation (ED). Current literature examining ED in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited to parent- and self-reported measures, indicating a need for biological or physiological methods to better assess emotion regulation in ASD. Utilizing the autonomic nervous system, specifically heart rate variability (HRV), may be a promising method to objectively measure ED in ASD, given it is one of the body's primary means of regulating physiological arousal. Our pilot study is one of the first to examine the feasibility, utility, and construct validity of HRV along with clinical measures within an intervention targeting ED-specific symptoms in ASD. Participants included 30 autistic youth ages 8-17 years who participated in the pilot study of Regulating Together, a group-based intervention targeting emotion regulation. We demonstrate HRV is feasible, demonstrates adequate test-retest reliability, and is complimentary to clinician- and parent-reported measures. Our preliminary findings also point to certain HRV profiles being indicative of long-term outcomes after receiving treatment. HRV may be a useful, objective tool in determining differential needs of long-term follow-up care for treatment maintenance at screening or baseline stages.

Social predation by a nudibranch mollusc.

Social predation is a common strategy used by predators to subdue and consume prey. Animals that use this strategy have many ways of finding each other, organizing behaviors and consuming prey. There is wide variation in the extent to which these behaviors are coordinated and the stability of individual roles. This study characterizes social predation by the nudibranch mollusc, Berghia stephanieae , which is a specialist predator that eats only the sea anemone, Exaiptasia diaphana . A combination of experimental and modeling approaches showed that B. stephanieae does predate upon E. diaphana in groups. The extent of social feeding was not altered by length of food deprivation, suggesting that animals are not shifting strategies based on internal state. It was unclear what cues the individual Berghia used to find each other; choice assays testing whether they followed slime trails, were attracted to injured anemones, or preferred conspecifics feeding did not reveal any cues. Individuals did not exhibit stable roles, such as leader or follower, rather the population exhibited fission-fusion dynamics with temporary roles during predation. Thus, the Berghia provides an example of a specialist predator of dangerous prey that loosely organizes social feeding, which persists across hunger states and uses temporary individual roles; however, the cues that it uses for aggregation are unknown. Significance Statement: Social predation is a strategy to hunt dangerous prey and minimize injury. Many nudibranchs specialize as predators of cnidarians, which are dangerous to them. Although nudibranchs are typically characterized as solitary hunters, we provide evidence that social predation strategies may be used by a species that specializes on one species of sea anemone. The study showed that the individual sea slugs assumed temporary roles for establishing groups and that the group dynamics were unstable. However, the cues that the nudibranchs use to aggregate remain elusive.

Using a multi-omics approach to explore potential associations with rumen content and serum of cows with different milk production levels based on genomic predicted transmitting ability for milk and phenotypic milk production.

This study aims to compare rumen microbiome and metabolites between second lactation dairy cows in the 75th percentile (n = 12; 57.2 ± 5.08 kg/d) of production according to genomic predicted transmitting ability for milk (GPTAM) and their counterparts in the 25th percentile (n = 12; 47.2 ± 8.61 kg/d). It was hypothesized that the metagenome and metabolome would differ between production levels. Cows were matched by days in milk (DIM), sire, occurrence of disease, and days open in previous lactation. For an additional comparison, the cows were also divided by phenotype into high (n = 6; 61.3 ± 2.8 kg/d), medium (n = 10; 55 ± 1.2 kg/d), and low (n = 8; 41.9 ± 5.6 kg/d) based on their milk production. Samples were collected 65 ± 14 DIM. Rumen content was collected using an oro-gastric tube and serum samples were collected from the coccygeal vessels. High-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used for rumen and serum metabolite profiling. Shotgun metagenomics was used for rumen microbiome profiling. Microbiome sample richness and diversity were used to determine alpha and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index was used to estimate beta diversity. Differences in metabolites were determined using t-tests or ANOVA. Pearson correlations were used to consider associations between serum metabolites and milk production. There was no evidence of a difference in rumen metabolites or microbial communities by GPTAM or phenotype. Cows in the phenotypic low group had greater serum acetate to propionate ratio and acetate proportion compared to the cows in the phenotypic medium group. Likewise, serum propionate proportion was greater in the medium compared to the low phenotypic group. Serum acetate, butyrate, and propionate concentrations had a weak positive correlation with milk production. When investigating associations between rumen environment and milk production, future studies must consider the impact of the ruminal epithelium absorption and post-absorption processes in relation to milk production.

Intergenerational educational mobility and cognitive trajectories among middle-aged and older Chinese people: An application of growth mixture and mobility contrast models in longitudinal analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Due to statistical challenges in disentangling the mobility effect (i.e., intergenerational educational mobility) from the position effect (i.e., parental and person's own education), the impact of intergenerational educational mobility on cognitive function remains unclear. We employed a novel approach to identify the mobility effect and investigate the net impact of intergenerational educational mobility on heterogeneous patterns of cognition among middle-aged and older adults in China. METHODS: Participants aged 45 and older were recruited from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a population-based prospective cohort study between 2011 and 2018. We identified cognitive trajectories using the growth mixture model (GMM) and subsequently employed the mobility contrast model (MCM) to examine the effects of intergenerational educational mobility on cognitive patterns stratified by gender. RESULTS: Almost two-thirds of respondents experienced intergenerational educational mobility, and 55% experienced upward mobility. Men had a higher rate of upward mobility than women. Three population-based cognitive patterns were identified: the low cognitive function with decline group (28%), the moderate cognitive function group (47%), and the high cognitive function group (26%). MCM analysis revealed that both upward and downward intergenerational educational mobility negatively impacted cognitive trajectory patterns, extending beyond the influence of individuals' current and parental education. DISCUSSION: In future research, the impact of mobility can be studied in longitudinal datasets by combining the GMM and MCM approaches. The net negative effect of intergenerational educational mobility on cognitive trajectory patterns indicates that it should be recognized as an independent predictor of cognitive decline.