A note on dairy cow behavior when measuring enteric methane emissions with the GreenFeed emission monitoring system in tiestalls.

Changes in the environment or novel procedures can result in altered cow behavior during data collection; training is often recommended to ensure accurate data is being recorded. Currently, little is known regarding the habituation of dairy cows during methane emission testing with the GreenFeed emission monitoring system (C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD), or how behavior relates to enteric methane emission measurements. Methane emissions were estimated from a total of 202 Holstein dairy cows (120-150 d in milk) housed in tiestalls as part of a larger project. Cows were tested on d 0 (training day) and d 1-5 (test day) for approximately 10 min, during which behavior was recorded by a trained observer. While cows spent more time with their head outside of the machine on the training day (d 0) than during the test days (d 1-5), the opposite pattern was observed for the number of leg movements. No differences in estimated methane production were found over the different days, though it was negatively correlated with both behaviors. These results highlight the importance of habituation of dairy cows to the GreenFeed system for methane measurements to minimize changes to cow behavior under tiestall conditions, whereas the methane emissions themselves are less affected. However, further research is needed to determine the impact of cow behavior on the reliability and repeatability of methane emission measurements as it may introduce bias in genetic evaluations for methane efficiency.

To eliminate police or redirect police funds? The impact of framing on public support for defunding the police.

Objectives: Previous research and public polls demonstrate the public has varying levels of support for Defund the Police (DTP). However, much of these results assess how individuals feel about DTP rather than how they define it. Additionally, the literature fails to consider the role of these definitions and framing in individuals' assessments of DTP. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodology, the current studies assess the following research questions: (1) How do individuals define DTP and to what extent do individuals support it? and (2) Does framing DTP as either redirecting police funds or eliminating police impact level of support? Method: Participants in both Study 1 (N = 93) and Study 2 (N = 494) were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Study 1 used a nonexperimental design, in which participants provided their definition of DTP and reported their level of support for DTP. Study 2 used a two-group experimental design in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two frames for DTP garnered from Study 1: redirect funds or eliminate police. Subsequently, participants reported their DTP support, DTP definition, familiarity with DTP, political orientation, and alignment with the frame presented. Results: In the absence of a frame (Study 1), more participants opposed DTP than supported DTP. Participants also reported several different definitions of DTP, including decreasing police funds, redirecting police funds to social services, and eliminating police altogether. Notably, how an individual defined DTP was associated with level of support (e.g., defining DTP as redirecting funds was associated with greater support for DTP, compared to this theme being absent in participant definitions). When using the redirect theme and eliminate theme as experimental frames (Study 2), a causal relationship was found between the framing manipulation and support of DTP (i.e., the redirect frame led to greater support than the eliminate theme). Conclusion: The findings from the current studies shed light on how individuals conceptualize DTP, and most importantly, they provide evidence that differential framing can impact support for DTP in the general population. These results have implications for police reform advocates in that the words used to describe DTP can have an impact on public buy-in of policies.

Impact of Workplace Violence Against Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to: (1) understand the personal impact of workplace violence (WPV) on staff within a large multistate emergency medical services (EMS) agency, (2) describe the impact of WPV on subsequent patient interactions, examining how experiences of violence affect the quality of care provided by EMS clinicians, (3) examine the influence of WPV on perceived workplace safety among prehospital personnel and its correlation with retention in the EMS field, and (4) solicit recommendations from staff for the prevention and mitigation of WPV in the future. METHODS: We conducted virtual focus groups and individual interviews with 22 prehospital personnel using a descriptive qualitative design within a large multistate Midwest EMS agency between 4/5/2023-6/20/2023. Data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis to identify common perceptions among and across participants. RESULTS: Major themes of personal impact; impact on patient interactions; influence of WPV on career longevity/sustainability; and relationship between EMS culture and WPV were identified. Overall, participants shared the perception that WPV is "part of the job", and that verbal abuse was so common that they hadn't previously considered it as violence. Participants provided several examples of WPV and described how these experiences impacted them personally (e.g., hypervigilance) and impacted their subsequent interaction with patients (e.g., quicker to use restraints, loss of empathy). Participants shared the perception that EMS is no longer valued or respected by patients or communities. Several voiced concerns for the next generation of colleagues and nearly all participants reported the need for education and training in situational awareness, de-escalation, and self-defense tactics. Participants referenced desire for more coordination and communication with law enforcement, change in culture of abuse from patients without repercussions, and improved agency mental health support and peer support/mentoring following a violent event. Despite experiences with WPV, the majority reported plans to remain in EMS. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency Medical Services personnel are commonly traumatized by violence in their work and nonphysical violence is underappreciated. Despite its impact on staff and subsequent patient interactions, most participants reported plans to remain within EMS. Multi-faceted system-focused efforts are needed to shift toward and support a zero-tolerance culture for WPV.

Total Thickness Bilateral Rupture of the Rectus Abdominis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Rupture of the rectus abdominis is a rare condition. We describe the case of a young male trainee paratrooper who presented with sudden onset severe lower abdominal pain that occurred during military training. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed full-thickness bilateral rupture of the rectus abdominis. Our management involved injecting botulinum toxin into the rectus muscles preoperatively, reconstructing the rectus muscles, and placing a supportive biosynthetic mesh. Postoperatively, our patient could walk pain-free at 3 weeks, jog pain-free at 10 weeks, and run up to 2 miles at 25 weeks. As there is no consensus on the management of this rare injury, we conducted a literature review on all cases reporting rupture of the rectus abdominis from the year 2000. After comparing the outcomes of conservatively versus surgically managed patients, we can conclude that generally, management of such defects is dependent on size, severity, and patient factors; however, surgical treatment yields comparable results to conservative treatment.

Dyslipidemia in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in a Rural Community in Ganadougou, Mali: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Dyslipidemia is a disorder where abnormally lipid concentrations circulate in the bloodstream. The disorder is common in type 2 diabetics (T2D) and is linked with T2D comorbidities, particularly cardiovascular disease. Dyslipidemia in T2D is typically characterized by elevated plasma triglyceride and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. There is a significant gap in the literature regarding dyslipidemia in rural parts of Africa, where lipid profiles may not be captured through routine surveillance. This study aimed to characterize the prevalence and demo-graphic profile of dyslipidemia in T2D in the rural community of Ganadougou, Mali. We performed a cross-sectional study of 104 subjects with T2D in Ganadougou between November 2021 and March 2022. Demographic and lipid profiles were collected through cross-sectional surveys and serological analyses. The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia in T2D patients was 87.5% (91/104), which did not differ by sex (P = .368). High low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was the most common lipid abnormality (78.9%, [82/104]). Dyslipidemia was associated with age and hypertension status (P = .013 and.036, respectively). High total and high LDL-C parameters were significantly associated with hypertension (P = .029 and .006, respectively). In low-resource settings such as rural Mali, there is a critical need to improve infrastructure for routine dyslipidemia screening to guide its prevention and intervention approaches. The high rates of dyslipidemia observed in Gandadougou, consistent with concomitant increases in cardiovascular diseases in Africa suggest that lipid profile assessments should be incorporated into routine medical care for T2D patients in African rural settings.

Out of the loop: Taking a one-week break from social media leads to better self-esteem and body image among young women.

This study experimentally tested the effects of taking a one-week break from social media (SM) on body image and self-esteem among young women. Female undergraduate students (N = 66) were randomly assigned to either take a one-week break from SM or continue their normal use (control condition). State self-esteem and body satisfaction were measured at baseline (Time 1) and one week later (Time 2). As predicted, participants in the break condition reported higher body satisfaction and higher state self-esteem (total, performance, social, and appearance domains) at Time 2 than did those in the control condition, controlling for Time 1 scores. The benefits of taking a break from SM on body satisfaction were especially pronounced for women with higher baseline levels of thin-ideal internalization. The findings demonstrate the short-term benefits of taking a break from SM for one week on self-esteem and body image among young women.

A century of statistical Ecology.

As data and computing power have surged in recent decades, statistical modeling has become an important tool for understanding ecological patterns and processes. Statistical modeling in ecology faces two major challenges. First, ecological data may not conform to traditional methods, and second, professional ecologists often do not receive extensive statistical training. In response to these challenges, the journal Ecology has published many innovative statistical ecology papers that introduced novel modeling methods and provided accessible guides to statistical best practices. In this paper, we reflect on Ecology's history and its role in the emergence of the subdiscipline of statistical ecology, which we define as the study of ecological systems using mathematical equations, probability, and empirical data. We showcase 36 influential statistical ecology papers that have been published in Ecology over the last century and, in so doing, comment on the evolution of the field. As data and computing power continue to increase, we anticipate continued growth in statistical ecology to tackle complex analyses and an expanding role for Ecology to publish innovative and influential papers, advancing the discipline and guiding practicing ecologists.

Comparative analysis of whole cell-derived vesicular delivery systems for photodynamic therapy of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

This first-in-its-class proof-of-concept study explored the use of bionanovesicles for the delivery of photosensitizer into cultured cholangiocarcinoma cells and subsequent treatment by photodynamic therapy (PDT). Two types of bionanovesicles were prepared: cellular vesicles (CVs) were fabricated by sonication-mediated nanosizing of cholangiocarcinoma (TFK-1) cells, whereas cell membrane vesicles (CMVs) were produced by TFK-1 cell and organelle membrane isolation and subsequent nanovesicularization by sonication. The bionanovesicles were loaded with zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPC). The CVs and CMVs were characterized (size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, stability, ZnPC encapsulation efficiency, spectral properties) and assayed for tumor (TFK-1) cell association and uptake (flow cytometry, confocal microscopy), intracellular ZnPC distribution (confocal microscopy), dark toxicity (MTS assay), and PDT efficacy (MTS assay). The mean ±â€¯SD diameter, polydispersity index, and zeta potential were 134 ±â€¯1 nm, -16.1 ±â€¯0.9, and 0.220 ±â€¯0.013, respectively, for CVs and 172 ±â€¯3 nm, -16.4 ±â€¯1.1, and 0.167 ±â€¯0.022, respectively, for CMVs. Cold storage for 1 wk and incorporation of ZnPC increased bionanovesicular diameter slightly but size remained within the recommended range for in vivo application (136-220 nm). ZnPC was incorporated into CVs and CMVs at an optimal photosensitizer:lipid molar ratio of 0.006 and 0.01, respectively. Both bionanovesicles were avidly taken up by TFK-1 cells, resulting in homogenous intracellular ZnPC dispersion. Photosensitization of TFK-1 cells did not cause dark toxicity, while illumination at 671 nm (35.3 J/cm2) produced LC50 values of 1.11 µM (CVs) and 0.51 µM (CMVs) at 24 h post-PDT, which is superior to most LC50 values generated in tumor cells photosensitized with liposomal ZnPC. In conclusion, CVs and CMVs constitute a potent photosensitizer platform with no inherent cytotoxicity and high PDT efficacy in vitro.

Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture.

Agricultural simplification continues to expand at the expense of more diverse forms of agriculture. This simplification, for example, in the form of intensively managed monocultures, poses a risk to keeping the world within safe and just Earth system boundaries. Here, we estimated how agricultural diversification simultaneously affects social and environmental outcomes. Drawing from 24 studies in 11 countries across 2655 farms, we show how five diversification strategies focusing on livestock, crops, soils, noncrop plantings, and water conservation benefit social (e.g., human well-being, yields, and food security) and environmental (e.g., biodiversity, ecosystem services, and reduced environmental externalities) outcomes. We found that applying multiple diversification strategies creates more positive outcomes than individual management strategies alone. To realize these benefits, well-designed policies are needed to incentivize the adoption of multiple diversification strategies in unison.

"I Missed School to Take Care of Someone Else": Middle and High School Students' Caregiving Responsibilities as a Reason for Absenteeism.

BACKGROUND: Middle and high school students who are involved in caregiving for aging, chronically ill, and/or disabled family members report more learning challenges compared to their non-caregiving peers. However, little is known about how many students miss school to take care of someone else, and which students are most likely to have this experience. Such knowledge could reveal an important, largely unrecognized reason for school absences and educational disparities. METHODS: Our research-practice partnership surveyed middle-and-high schoolers across Rhode Island public schools in 2022. RESULTS: Among 55,746 students (45% White non-Latinx; 21% Latinx; 45% girls), 13.80% reported they had missed school to take care of someone else, with up to 35% in some districts. Students who missed school for caregiving were disproportionately girls, non-binary, transgender, or preferred not to report gender, older youth, and from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups, and from urban districts. CONCLUSIONS: Children's experiences caregiving for others may be an important and overlooked contributor to absenteeism and achievement gaps, especially in urban areas. We suggest school policies to better serve these students.

Journals must expand access to peer review data.

Empirical studies on peer review bias are primarily conducted by people from privileged groups and with affiliations with the journals studied. Data access is one major barrier to conducting peer review research. Accordingly, we propose pathways to broaden access to peer review data to people from more diverse backgrounds.

Efferocytosis reprograms the tumor microenvironment to promote pancreatic cancer liver metastasis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a highly metastatic disease and macrophages support liver metastases. Efferocytosis, or engulfment of apoptotic cells by macrophages, is an essential process in tissue homeostasis and wound healing, but its role in metastasis is less well understood. Here, we found that the colonization of the hepatic metastatic site is accompanied by low-grade tissue injury and that efferocytosis-mediated clearance of parenchymal dead cells promotes macrophage reprogramming and liver metastasis. Mechanistically, progranulin expression in macrophages is necessary for efficient efferocytosis by controlling lysosomal acidification via cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator and the degradation of lysosomal cargo, resulting in LXRα/RXRα-mediated macrophage conversion and upregulation of arginase 1. Pharmacological blockade of efferocytosis or macrophage-specific genetic depletion of progranulin impairs macrophage conversion, improves CD8+ T cell functions, and reduces liver metastasis. Our findings reveal how hard-wired functions of macrophages in tissue repair contribute to liver metastasis and identify potential targets for prevention of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma liver metastasis.

Warmer temperatures trigger insecticide-associated pest outbreaks.

BACKGROUND: Rising global temperatures are associated with emerging insect pests, reflecting earlier and longer insect activity, faster development, more generations per year and changing species' ranges. Insecticides are often the first tools available to manage these new threats. In the southeastern US, sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) has recently become the major threat to vegetable production. We used data from a multi-year, regional whitefly monitoring network to search for climate, land use, and management correlates of whitefly activity. RESULTS: Strikingly, whiteflies were detected earlier and grew more abundant in landscapes with greater insecticide use, but only when temperatures were also relatively warm. Whitefly outbreaks in hotter conditions were not associated with specific active ingredients used to suppress whiteflies, which would be consistent with a regional disruption of biocontrol following sprays for other pests. In addition, peak whitefly detections occurred earlier in areas with more vegetable production, but later with more cotton production, consistent with whiteflies moving among crops. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our findings suggest possible links between warmer temperatures, more abundant pests, and frequent insecticide applications disrupting biological control, though this remains to be explicitly demonstrated. Climate-initiated pesticide treadmills of this type may become an increasingly common driver of emerging pest outbreaks as global change accelerates. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Can the Seed Trade Provide a Potential Pathway for the Global Distribution of Foliar Pathogens? An Investigation into the Use of Heat Treatments to Reduce Risk of Dothistroma septosporum Transmission via Seed Stock.

The international plant trade results in the accidental movement of invasive pests and pathogens, and has contributed significantly to recent range expansion of pathogens including Dothistroma septosporum. Seeds are usually thought to present a lower biosecurity risk than plants, but the importation of Pinus contorta seeds from North America to Britain in the mid-1900s, and similarities between British and Canadian D. septosporum populations suggests seeds could be a pathway. Dothistroma septosporum has not been isolated from seeds, but inadequately cleaned seed material could contain infected needle fragments. This case study investigated whether cone kilning, and wet and dry heat treatments could reduce D. septosporum transmission without damaging seed viability. Pinus needles infected with D. septosporum were incubated alongside cones undergoing three commercial seed extraction processes. Additional needles were exposed to temperatures ranging from 10 to 67 °C dry heat for up to 48 h, or incubated in water heated to between 20 and 60 °C for up to one hour. Pinus sylvestris seeds were exposed to 60 and 65 dry heat °C for 48 h, and further seed samples incubated in water heated to between 20 and 60 °C for up to one hour. Dothistroma septosporum survived the three kilning processes and while seeds were not damaged by dry heat exceeding 63.5 °C, at this temperature no D. septosporum survived. Wet heat treatments resulted in less than 10% pathogen survival following incubation at 40 °C, while at this temperature the seeds suffered no significant impacts, even when submerged for one hour. Thus, commercial seed kilning could allow D. septosporum transmission, but elevated wet and dry heat treatments could be applied to seed stock to minimise pathogen risk without significantly damaging seed viability.

Mismatch repair deficiency is not sufficient to elicit tumor immunogenicity.

DNA mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd) is associated with a high tumor mutational burden (TMB) and sensitivity to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Nevertheless, most MMRd tumors do not durably respond to ICB and critical questions remain about immunosurveillance and TMB in these tumors. In the present study, we developed autochthonous mouse models of MMRd lung and colon cancer. Surprisingly, these models did not display increased T cell infiltration or ICB response, which we showed to be the result of substantial intratumor heterogeneity of mutations. Furthermore, we found that immunosurveillance shapes the clonal architecture but not the overall burden of neoantigens, and T cell responses against subclonal neoantigens are blunted. Finally, we showed that clonal, but not subclonal, neoantigen burden predicts ICB response in clinical trials of MMRd gastric and colorectal cancer. These results provide important context for understanding immune evasion in cancers with a high TMB and have major implications for therapies aimed at increasing TMB.

Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1; Nr5a1) regulates the formation of the ovarian reserve.

The ovarian follicle reserve, formed pre- or perinatally, comprises all oocytes for lifetime reproduction. Depletion of this reserve results in infertility. Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1; Nr5a1) and liver receptor homolog 1 (LRH-1; Nr5a2) are two orphan nuclear receptors that regulate adult endocrine function, but their role in follicle formation is unknown. We developed models of conditional depletion of SF-1 or LRH-1 from prenatal ovaries. Depletion of SF-1, but not LRH-1, resulted in dramatically smaller ovaries and fewer primordial follicles. This was mediated by increased oocyte death, resulting from increased ovarian inflammation and increased Notch signaling. Major dysregulated genes were Iroquois homeobox 3 and 5 and their downstream targets involved in the establishment of the ovarian laminin matrix and oocyte-granulosa cell gap junctions. Disruptions of these pathways resulted in follicles with impaired basement membrane formation and compromised oocyte-granulosa communication networks, believed to render them more prone to atresia. This study identifies SF-1 as a key regulator of the formation of the ovarian reserve.

The genetic architecture and evolution of the human skeletal form.

The human skeletal form underlies bipedalism, but the genetic basis of skeletal proportions (SPs) is not well characterized. We applied deep-learning models to 31,221 x-rays from the UK Biobank to extract a comprehensive set of SPs, which were associated with 145 independent loci genome-wide. Structural equation modeling suggested that limb proportions exhibited strong genetic sharing but were independent of width and torso proportions. Polygenic score analysis identified specific associations between osteoarthritis and hip and knee SPs. In contrast to other traits, SP loci were enriched in human accelerated regions and in regulatory elements of genes that are differentially expressed between humans and great apes. Combined, our work identifies specific genetic variants that affect the skeletal form and ties a major evolutionary facet of human anatomical change to pathogenesis.

Chronic antigen in solid tumors drives a distinct program of T cell residence.

Analyses of healthy tissue reveal signatures that identify resident memory CD8+ T cells (TRM), which survey tissues without recirculating. The density of TRM phenotype cells within solid tumors correlates favorably with prognosis, suggesting that intratumoral residents control cancer. However, residence has not been directly tested, and intratumoral TRM phenotype cells could instead reflect aspects of the microenvironment that correlate with prognosis. Using a breast cancer model in mice, we found that conventional TRM markers do not inform the tumor residence of either bystander or tumor-specific cells, which exhibit further distinct phenotypes in the tumor microenvironment and healthy mammary tissue. Rather, tumor-specific, stem progenitor CD8+ T cells migrate to tumors and become resident while acquiring select markers of exhaustion. These data indicate that tonic antigen stimulation and the tumor environment drive distinct programs of residence compared with healthy tissues and that tumor immunity is sustained by continued migration of tumor-specific stem cells.

Temperature Effects on the Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 Accumulation and Recovery within Its Fungal Host, the Chestnut Blight Pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica.

Biological control of Cryphonectria parasitica fungus, the causal agent of chestnut blight, by virus infection (hypovirulence) is an effective control strategy against chestnut blight in Europe and some parts of North America. The most studied mycovirus is the Cryphonectria hypovirus 1 (CHV1) type species of the Hypoviridae family. In this study, the CHV1 virus was studied within some highly infected British isolates of Cryphonectria parasitica, gained in the past through co-culture transmissions. The effects of six temperatures (5-30 °C, in 5 °C steps) on six infected isolates (three with viral strain E-5, and other three with viral strain L-18) and their respective negative non-infected controls, three isogenic virulent fungal isolates, were examined. Experiments were performed with the nine isolate types with three replicates on potato dextrose agar (PDA) with cellophane sheets per isolate and temperature. A recently developed rapid, specific, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) screening method was used. This enabled quantifying the concentration (nanograms per microliter or copy numbers) of the virus within each isolate repetition. The presence of the virus had a significant negative effect between 20 and 25 °C on the C. parasitica growth rate, which was anyway highly influenced by and positively correlated with the temperature. The temperature clearly determined the virus accumulation and its recovery from cold or heat, and the virus optimum temperature was estimated at 15-25 °C.