Psychological predictors of performance-based physical functioning among pediatric pain program participants.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate changes in performance-based physical functioning and investigate psychological predictors of physical functioning over time in pediatric patients with chronic pain who completed an interdisciplinary rehabilitation intensive outpatient program (IOP). METHODS: Participants (N = 55; mean age = 14.92 years; 12.7% male, 87.3% female; 83.6% White, 5.6% African-American/Black; 9.1% Latinx) completed baseline measures assessing pain intensity and modifiable psychological factors (i.e., pain catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, anxiety and depressive symptoms). Participants were administered performance-based assessments of physical functioning (i.e., physical endurance, high-level motor abilities) before and after IOP completion. RESULTS: Pain intensity was not significantly associated with physical functioning at either timepoint. There was significant improvement on measures of physical functioning after completion of the IOP when controlling for the effects of sex, race, and ethnicity. Depressive symptoms were associated with baseline physical endurance, ß = - .28, p = .047, while pain catastrophizing was associated with baseline gross motor abilities, ß = - .28, p = .032. CONCLUSION: Participation in an IOP led to significant improvement in physical endurance and high-level motor ability. Depressive symptoms and pain catastrophizing were associated with physical functioning at baseline but not post-program completion. Integration of pain psychology and physical therapy in an IOP can help address the interrelated psychological and physical factors impacting physical functioning to improve outcomes for children with chronic pain.

Intraprocedural application of a peripheral blood flow monitoring system during endovascular treatment for femoropopliteal disease.

Sensors that implement laser speckle image streaming provide real-time, noninvasive assessment of peripheral blood flow during endovascular revascularization. This single-center feasibility study evaluated a laser speckle-based peripheral blood flow monitoring system in 24 patients with peripheral arterial disease. System-quantified blood flow values showed improvement at the conclusion of the procedure in 20 of 24 patients (83.3%). Of the four patients without improved flow values, waveform morphology improved in three. Waveforms graded as moderate to severe peripheral arterial disease decreased from 71% before the procedure to 25% after the procedure, with improvement in 19 of 24 patients. In this limited population, laser speckle imaging could offer a highly sensitive method of detecting intraprocedural pedal blood flow changes.

Demography of the understory herb Heliconia acuminata (Heliconiaceae) in an experimentally fragmented tropical landscape.

Habitat fragmentation remains a major focus of research by ecologists decades after being put forward as a threat to the integrity of ecosystems. While studies have documented myriad biotic changes in fragmented landscapes, including the local extinction of species from fragments, the demographic mechanisms underlying these extinctions are rarely known. However, many of them-especially in lowland tropical forests-are thought to be driven by one of two mechanisms: (1) reduced recruitment in fragments resulting from changes in the diversity or abundance of pollinators and seed dispersers or (2) increased rates of individual mortality in fragments due to dramatically altered abiotic conditions, especially near fragment edges. Unfortunately, there have been few tests of these potential mechanisms due to the paucity of long-term and comprehensive demographic data collected in both forest fragments and continuous forest sites. Here we report 11 years (1998-2009) of demographic data from populations of the Amazonian understory herb Heliconia acuminata (LC Rich.) found at Brazil's Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). The data set comprises >66,000 plant × year records of 8586 plants, including 3464 seedlings established after the first census. Seven populations were in experimentally isolated fragments (one in each of four 1-ha fragments and one in each of three 10-ha fragments), with the remaining six populations in continuous forest. Each population was in a 50 × 100 m permanent plot, with the distance between plots ranging from 500 m to 60 km. The plants in each plot were censused annually, at which time we recorded, identified, marked, and measured new seedlings, identified any previously marked plants that died, and recorded the size of surviving individuals. Each plot was also surveyed four to five times during the flowering season to identify reproductive plants and record the number of inflorescences each produced. These data have been used to investigate topics ranging from the way fragmentation-related reductions in germination influence population dynamics to statistical methods for analyzing reproductive rates. This breadth of prior use reflects the value of these data to future researchers. In addition to analyses of plant responses to habitat fragmentation, these data can be used to address fundamental questions in plant demography and the evolutionary ecology of tropical plants and to develop and test demographic models and tools. Though we welcome opportunities to collaborate with interested users, there are no restrictions on the use of this data set. However, we do request that those using the data for teaching or research purposes inform us of how they are doing so and cite this paper and the data archive when appropriate. Any publication using the data must also include a BDFFP Technical Series Number in the Acknowledgments. Authors can request this series number upon the acceptance of their article by contacting the BDFFP's Scientific Coordinator or E. M. Bruna.

Use of Biological Feedback as a Health Behavior Change Technique in Adults: Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in personal biosensing technology support the shift from standardized to personalized health interventions, whereby biological data are used to motivate health behavior change. However, the implementation of interventions using biological feedback as a behavior change technique has not been comprehensively explored. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this review was to (1) map the domains of research where biological feedback has been used as a behavior change technique and (2) describe how it is implemented in behavior change interventions for adults. METHODS: A comprehensive systematic search strategy was used to query 5 electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Elsevier Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EBSCOhost PsycINFO, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global) in June 2021. Eligible studies were primary analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in adults that incorporated biological feedback as a behavior change technique. DistillerSR was used to manage the literature search and review. RESULTS: After removing 49,500 duplicates, 50,287 articles were screened and 767 articles were included. The earliest RCT was published in 1972 with a notable increase in publications after 2000. Biological feedback was most used in RCTs aimed at preventing or managing diabetes (n=233, 30.4%), cardiovascular disease (n=175, 22.8%), and obesity (n=115, 15%). Feedback was often given on multiple biomarkers and targeted multiple health behaviors. The most common biomarkers used were anthropometric measures (n=297, 38.7%), blood pressure (n=238, 31%), and glucose (n=227, 29.6%). The most targeted behaviors were diet (n=472, 61.5%), physical activity (n=417, 54.4%), and smoking reduction (n=154, 20.1%). The frequency and type of communication by which biological feedback was provided varied by the method of biomarker measurement. Of the 493 (64.3%) studies where participants self-measured their biomarker, 476 (96.6%) received feedback multiple times over the intervention and 468 (94.9%) received feedback through a biosensing device. CONCLUSIONS: Biological feedback is increasingly being used to motivate behavior change, particularly where relevant biomarkers can be readily assessed. Yet, the methods by which biological feedback is operationalized in intervention research varied, and its effectiveness remains unclear. This scoping review serves as the foundation for developing a guiding framework for effectively implementing biological feedback as a behavior change technique. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework Registries; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YP5WAd. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/32579.

Associations of Co-occurring Symptom Trajectories With Sex, Race, Ethnicity, and Health Care Utilization in Children.

Importance: Co-occurring physical and psychological symptoms during childhood and early adolescence may increase risk of symptom persistence into adulthood. Objective: To describe co-occurring pain, psychological, and sleep disturbance symptom (pain-PSS) trajectories in a diverse cohort of children and the association of symptom trajectory with health care utilization. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was a secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, collected between 2016 and 2022 at 21 research sites across the US. Participants included children with 2 to 4 complete annual symptom assessments. Data were analyzed from November 2022 to March 2023. Main Outcomes and Measures: Four-year symptom trajectories were derived from multivariate latent growth curve analyses. Pain-PSS scores, including depression and anxiety, were measured using subscales from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Sleep Disturbance Scale of Childhood. Nonroutine medical care and mental health care utilization were measured using medical history and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) items. Results: A total of 11 473 children (6018 [52.5%] male; mean [SD] age at baseline, 9.91 [0.63] years) were included in analyses. Four no pain-PSS and 5 pain-PSS trajectories were supported with good or excellent model fit (predicted probabilities, 0.87-0.96). Most children (9327 [81.3%]) had asymptomatic or low, intermittent, or single symptom trajectories. Approximately 1 in 5 children (2146 [18.7%]) had moderate to high co-occurring symptom trajectories that persisted or worsened. Compared with White children, there was a lower relative risk of having moderate to high co-occurring symptom trajectories among Black children (adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR] range, 0.15-0.38), Hispanic children (aRRR range, 0.58-0.67), and children who identified as another race (including American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islader; aRRR range, 0.43-0.59). Less than half of children with moderate to high co-occurring symptom trajectories used nonroutine health care, despite higher utilization compared with asymptomatic children (nonroutine medical care: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.43 [95% CI, 1.97-2.99]; mental health services: aOR, 26.84 [95% CI, 17.89-40.29]). Black children were less likely to report nonroutine medical care (aOR, 0.61 [95% CI, 0.52-0.71]) or mental health care (aOR, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.54-0.87]) than White children, while Hispanic children were less likely to have used mental health care (aOR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.47-0.73]) than non-Hispanic children. Lower household income was associated with lower odds of nonroutine medical care (aOR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.77-0.99]) but not mental health care. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest there is a need for innovative and equitable intervention approaches to decrease the potential for symptom persistence during adolescence.

Biomarkers of Exposure and Potential Harm in Two Weeks of Smoking Abstinence: Changes in Biomarkers of Platelet Function, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation.

: Chronic cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for many serious diseases. While complete cessation of smoking is the best option to reduce harm from smoking, adverse impacts of smoking on health could persist for several years after cessation. Therefore, Biomarkers of Potential Harm (BoPH) are useful in interim evaluations of the beneficial effects of smoking cessation or switching to potentially lower-risk tobacco products. A 14-day smoking abstinence study was conducted under clinical confinement conditions and enrolled 70 subjects into younger (24-34 years, n = 33) and older (35-60 years, n = 37) age cohorts. Biomarkers of Exposure (BoE), which indicate exposure to nicotine and other toxicants, were measured at baseline, 7 and 14 days. Several BoPH including previously identified eicosanoids (leukotriene 4 (LTE4) and 2,3-dinor thromboxane 2 (2,3-d-TXB2) and others were evaluated. Significant declines in BoE, LTE4, 2,3-d-TXB2, neutrophils, WBC and select RBC, and arterial blood gas parameters were observed in both age cohorts at Days 7 and 14 compared to baseline, while other BoPH (e.g., FeNO) showed age-related effects. Rapid and reproducible reductions in LTE4, 2,3-d-TXB2 WBC, and neutrophil counts were consistently detected following smoking abstinence, indicating the value of these markers as useful BoPH.

Pain Widespreadedness, and Not Primary Pain Location, is Associated With Comorbid Symptoms in Children With Chronic Pain.

OBJECTIVES: Pediatric chronic pain represents heterogeneous diagnoses; often, primary pain location informs research classifications and treatment. In contrast, recent research has highlighted the role of widespread pain and this perspective has been adopted in assessments in specialty pediatric pain clinics. The lack of direct comparison between these 2 methods of categorizing pediatric chronic pain may hinder the adoption of evidence-based practices across the spectrum of care. Therefore, this study aimed to compare whether primary pain location or pain widespreadedness is more informative for pain-related symptoms in pediatric chronic pain. METHODS: Youth (n=223) between the ages of 8 to 23 years (M=15.93, SD=2.11, 83% female) completed surveys upon intake at the pediatric chronic pain clinic. Free-text entries of primary pain location were coded into categories: headache, abdominal pain, and musculoskeletal pain. Additional domains assessed included widespread pain, pain interference, kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, anxiety, depression, sleep, and fatigue. RESULTS: Differences based on primary pain location only emerged for kinesiophobia, F(2150)=8.20, P<0.001, with the highest scores among those with musculoskeletal pain. In contrast, controlling for sex, age, and pain intensity, pain widespreadedness was associated with pain interference, pain catastrophizing, fatigue, anxiety, and depression (P<0.05). DISCUSSION: Pain widespreadedness was more consistently associated with pain-related outcomes among pediatric chronic pain patients than primary pain location, and body maps may be useful in determining a nociplastic pain mechanism to inform treatment. Improved assessment of pediatric pain mechanisms may help advance more precise treatment delivery.

A Novel Tissue-Free Method to Estimate Tumor-Derived Cell-Free DNA Quantity Using Tumor Methylation Patterns.

Estimating the abundance of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments shed from a tumor (i.e., circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)) can approximate tumor burden, which has numerous clinical applications. We derived a novel, broadly applicable statistical method to quantify cancer-indicative methylation patterns within cfDNA to estimate ctDNA abundance, even at low levels. Our algorithm identified differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between a reference database of cancer tissue biopsy samples and cfDNA from individuals without cancer. Then, without utilizing matched tissue biopsy, counts of fragments matching the cancer-indicative hyper/hypo-methylated patterns within DMRs were used to determine a tumor methylated fraction (TMeF; a methylation-based quantification of the circulating tumor allele fraction and estimate of ctDNA abundance) for plasma samples. TMeF and small variant allele fraction (SVAF) estimates of the same cancer plasma samples were correlated (Spearman's correlation coefficient: 0.73), and synthetic dilutions to expected TMeF of 10-3 and 10-4 had estimated TMeF within two-fold for 95% and 77% of samples, respectively. TMeF increased with cancer stage and tumor size and inversely correlated with survival probability. Therefore, tumor-derived fragments in the cfDNA of patients with cancer can be leveraged to estimate ctDNA abundance without the need for a tumor biopsy, which may provide non-invasive clinical approximations of tumor burden.

Evaluation of cell-free DNA approaches for multi-cancer early detection.

In the Circulating Cell-free Genome Atlas (NCT02889978) substudy 1, we evaluate several approaches for a circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA)-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test by defining clinical limit of detection (LOD) based on circulating tumor allele fraction (cTAF), enabling performance comparisons. Among 10 machine-learning classifiers trained on the same samples and independently validated, when evaluated at 98% specificity, those using whole-genome (WG) methylation, single nucleotide variants with paired white blood cell background removal, and combined scores from classifiers evaluated in this study show the highest cancer signal detection sensitivities. Compared with clinical stage and tumor type, cTAF is a more significant predictor of classifier performance and may more closely reflect tumor biology. Clinical LODs mirror relative sensitivities for all approaches. The WG methylation feature best predicts cancer signal origin. WG methylation is the most promising technology for MCED and informs development of a targeted methylation MCED test.

Biopsychosocial Attributes of Single-region and Multi-region Body Pain During Early Adolescence: Analysis of the ABCD Cohort.

OBJECTIVES: Multi-region pain during adolescence is associated with a higher symptom burden and lower quality of life. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the biopsychosocial attributes of single-region and multi-region pain among healthy young adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed data from 10,320 children aged 10.6 to 14 years who self-reported pain in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study. Pain was coded as single-region or multi-region based on body map data. RESULTS: One in 5 young adolescents indicated recent multi-region pain. Sequential regression supported improved model fit when psychological and sociocultural factors were added to a biological model of pain; however, these models improved the classification of multi-region but not single-region pain. A significant interaction effect of sex and puberty remained constant across models with increased odds of pain at each advancing pubertal stage for both sexes compared with prepuberty, but no difference between girls and boys at late puberty (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=2.45 [1.72, 3.49] and adjusted OR=1.63 [1.20, 2.23], respectively). Psychological factors improved the classification of multi-region pain with significant effects of anxiety, somatic symptoms, and somnolence. Finally, compared with White and non-Hispanic children, Black and Hispanic children were less likely to report pain (adjusted OR=0.70 [0.61, 0.80]; adjusted OR=0.88 [0.78, 0.99], respectively) but had significantly higher pain interference when pain was present (adjusted OR=1.49 [1.29, 1.73] and adjusted OR=1.20 [1.06, 1.35], respectively). DISCUSSION: Pain is a biopsychosocial phenomenon, but psychological and sociocultural features may be more relevant for multi-region compared with single-region pain during early adolescence.

Evolution of the Family Equidae, Subfamily Equinae, in North, Central and South America, Eurasia and Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene.

Studies of horse evolution arose during the middle of the 19th century, and several hypotheses have been proposed for their taxonomy, paleobiogeography, paleoecology and evolution. The present contribution represents a collaboration of 19 multinational experts with the goal of providing an updated summary of Pliocene and Pleistocene North, Central and South American, Eurasian and African horses. At the present time, we recognize 114 valid species across these continents, plus 4 North African species in need of further investigation. Our biochronology and biogeography sections integrate Equinae taxonomic records with their chronologic and geographic ranges recognizing regional biochronologic frameworks. The paleoecology section provides insights into paleobotany and diet utilizing both the mesowear and light microscopic methods, along with calculation of body masses. We provide a temporal sequence of maps that render paleoclimatic conditions across these continents integrated with Equinae occurrences. These records reveal a succession of extinctions of primitive lineages and the rise and diversification of more modern taxa. Two recent morphological-based cladistic analyses are presented here as competing hypotheses, with reference to molecular-based phylogenies. Our contribution represents a state-of-the art understanding of Plio-Pleistocene Equus evolution, their biochronologic and biogeographic background and paleoecological and paleoclimatic contexts.

Early Pleistocene large mammals from Maka'amitalu, Hadar, lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia.

The Early Pleistocene was a critical time period in the evolution of eastern African mammal faunas, but fossil assemblages sampling this interval are poorly known from Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Field work by the Hadar Research Project in the Busidima Formation exposures (~2.7-0.8 Ma) of Hadar in the lower Awash Valley, resulted in the recovery of an early Homo maxilla (A.L. 666-1) with associated stone tools and fauna from the Maka'amitalu basin in the 1990s. These assemblages are dated to ~2.35 Ma by the Bouroukie Tuff 3 (BKT-3). Continued work by the Hadar Research Project over the last two decades has greatly expanded the faunal collection. Here, we provide a comprehensive account of the Maka'amitalu large mammals (Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Primates, and Proboscidea) and discuss their paleoecological and biochronological significance. The size of the Maka'amitalu assemblage is small compared to those from the Hadar Formation (3.45-2.95 Ma) and Ledi-Geraru (2.8-2.6 Ma) but includes at least 20 taxa. Bovids, suids, and Theropithecus are common in terms of both species richness and abundance, whereas carnivorans, equids, and megaherbivores are rare. While the taxonomic composition of the Maka'amitalu fauna indicates significant species turnover from the Hadar Formation and Ledi-Geraru deposits, turnover seems to have occurred at a constant rate through time as taxonomic dissimilarity between adjacent fossil assemblages is strongly predicted by their age difference. A similar pattern characterizes functional ecological turnover, with only subtle changes in dietary proportions, body size proportions, and bovid abundances across the composite lower Awash sequence. Biochronological comparisons with other sites in eastern Africa suggest that the taxa recovered from the Maka'amitalu are broadly consistent with the reported age of the BKT-3 tuff. Considering the age of BKT-3 and biochronology, a range of 2.4-1.9 Ma is most likely for the faunal assemblage.

Delayed effects of climate on vital rates lead to demographic divergence in Amazonian forest fragments.

Deforestation often results in landscapes where remaining forest habitat is highly fragmented, with remnants of different sizes embedded in an often highly contrasting matrix. Local extinction of species from individual fragments is common, but the demographic mechanisms underlying these extinctions are poorly understood. It is often hypothesized that altered environmental conditions in fragments drive declines in reproduction, recruitment, or survivorship. The Amazon basin, in addition to experiencing continuing fragmentation, is experiencing climate change-related increases in the frequency and intensity of droughts and unusually wet periods. Whether plant populations in tropical forest fragments are particularly susceptible to extremes in precipitation remains unclear. Most studies of plants in fragments are relatively short (1-6 years), focus on a single life-history stage, and often do not compare to populations in continuous forest. Even fewer studies consider delayed effects of climate on demographic vital rates despite the importance of delayed effects in studies that consider them. Using a decade of demographic and climate data from an experimentally fragmented landscape in the Central Amazon, we assess the effects of climate on populations of an understory herb (Heliconia acuminata, Heliconiaceae). We used distributed lag nonlinear models to understand the delayed effects of climate (measured as standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, SPEI) on survival, growth, and flowering. We detected delayed effects of climate up to 36 months. Extremes in SPEI in the previous year reduced survival, drought in the wet season 8-11 months prior to the February census increased growth, and drought two dry seasons prior increased flowering probability. Effects of extremes in precipitation on survival and growth were more pronounced in forest fragments compared to continuous forest. The complex delayed effects of climate and habitat fragmentation in our study point to the importance of long-term demography experiments in understanding the effects of anthropogenic change on plant populations.

Anger as a Mechanism of Injustice Appraisals in Pediatric Chronic Pain.

Mechanisms explaining the relationship between pain-related injustice appraisals and functional outcomes in youth with chronic pain have yet to be examined. In studies of adults, greater pain-related injustice is associated with worse depressive symptoms and greater pain through greater anger. No study to date has examined anger expression as a mediator in the relationships between pain-related injustice appraisals and physical and psychosocial functioning in youth with chronic pain. The current sample consisted of 385 youth with varied pain conditions (75% female, 88% White, Mage=14.4 years) presenting to a university-affiliated pain clinic. Patients completed self-report measures assessing anger expression (anger-out and anger-in), pain-related injustice, pain intensity, functional disability, and emotional, social, and school functioning. Bootstrapped mediation analyses indicated that only anger-out (indirect effect= -.12, 95% CI: -.21, -.05) mediated the relationship between pain-related injustice and emotional functioning, whereas both anger-out (indirect effect= -.17, 95% CI: -.27, -.09) and anger-in (indirect effect= -.13, 95% CI: -.09, -.001) mediated the relationship between pain-related injustice and social functioning. Neither mode of anger expression mediated the relationship between pain-related injustice and pain intensity, functional disability, or school functioning. Collectively, these findings implicate anger as one mechanism by which pain-related injustice impacts psychosocial outcomes for youth with chronic pain. PERSPECTIVE: Anger expression plays a mediating role in the relationship between pain-related injustice appraisals and psychosocial outcomes for youth with chronic pain. Anger represents one target for clinical care to decrease the deleterious impact of pain-related injustice on emotional and social functioning.

Battle of the Appraisals: Pain-Related Injustice Versus Catastrophizing as Mediators in the Relationship Between Pain Intensity and 3-Month Outcomes in Adolescents with Chronic Pain.

Pain appraisals are closely tied to pain and functional outcomes. Pain-related injustice and pain catastrophizing appraisals have both been identified as important cognitive-emotional factors in the pain experience of youth. Although pain-related injustice and catastrophizing have been linked to worse pain outcomes - as primary predictors and intermediary variables - little is known about whether they operate as independent or parallel mediators of the relationship between pain and functioning in youth. We tested pain-related injustice and catastrophizing appraisals as candidate mediators of the relationship between baseline pain intensity and 3-month functional outcomes in adolescents. Youth with chronic pain (N = 89, 76% female, 89% White, average age = 15 years) completed measures assessing pain intensity, pain-related injustice, and catastrophizing at baseline, as well as measures assessing functional disability and overall quality of life 3 months later. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that injustice mediated the relationship between pain intensity and 3 month quality of life. Exploratory analyses of specific quality of life domains indicated that injustice mediated the relationship between pain intensity and 3 month emotional functioning, whereas catastrophizing mediated the relationship between pain intensity and 3 month social functioning. The findings suggest these pain-related appraisals play different intermediary roles in the relationships among pain and future psychosocial outcomes. PERSPECTIVE: Pain-related injustice and catastrophizing appraisals play different intermediary roles in the relationships among pain and future psychosocial outcomes in youth with chronic pain. Treatments targeting pain-related injustice appraisals in pediatric populations are needed to complement existing treatments for catastrophizing.

Cross-Sectional Associations among Components of Injustice Appraisals and Functioning in Adolescents With Chronic Pain.

OBJECTIVE: Pain-related appraisals, including pain-related injustice, impact the development and maintenance of chronic pain. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between the cognitive-emotional components of pain-related injustice-blame/unfairness and severity/irreparability of loss-and functioning in a mixed sample of adolescents with chronic pain. METHODS: Pediatric patients age 11-18 years (N = 408) completed forms assessing pain-related injustice, pain intensity, and physical and psychosocial functioning as part of their routine assessment in a pediatric chronic pain clinic between January 2014 and January 2019. A series of hierarchical regressions were used to evaluate the relationships among the separate components of pain-related injustice appraisals and functioning. RESULTS: Pain intensity and blame/unfairness appraisals were significantly associated with emotional functioning with blame/unfairness being the stronger association (ß = -.27). Blame/unfairness appraisals, severity/irreparability appraisals, and pain intensity were significantly associated with physical functioning with pain intensity being the strongest association (ß = .36). Pain intensity, blame/unfairness appraisals, and severity/irreparability appraisals were significantly associated with social functioning with blame/unfairness being the strongest association (ß = -.34). Pain intensity and severity/irreparability appraisals were significantly associated with school functioning with severity/irreparability being the stronger association (ß = -.19). CONCLUSIONS: These results lend further support to incorporating pain-related injustice appraisals in standard clinical pain assessments. Treatment practices should target the specific injustice appraisals and domains of functioning impacted for each pediatric patient with chronic pain.

Directional atherectomy before paclitaxel coated balloon angioplasty in complex femoropopliteal disease: The VIVA REALITY study.

BACKGROUND: Drug coated balloon (DCB) angioplasty significantly reduces reintervention rates in patients with symptomatic femoropopliteal peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, stand-alone DCB use in long, severely calcified lesions is frequently associated with vessel recoil and/or high-grade dissections necessitating provisional stent implantation. OBJECTIVES: Assess the safety and effectiveness of a vessel preparation strategy with directional atherectomy (DA) prior to DCB angioplasty in patients with symptomatic severely calcified femoropopliteal PAD. METHODS: REALITY (NCT02850107) prospectively enrolled subjects at 13 multinational centers with 8-36 cm femoropopliteal stenoses or occlusions with bilateral vessel wall calcification treated with DA prior to DCB angioplasty. The primary effectiveness endpoint was 12-month primary patency, and the primary safety endpoint was freedom from major adverse events through 30 days. Independent angiographic and duplex core laboratories assessed outcomes and a Clinical Events Committee adjudicated events. RESULTS: A total of 102 subjects were enrolled; one lesion was treated per subject. The mean lesion length was 17.9 ± 8.1 cm, 39.0% were chronic total occlusions (mean lesion length 22.6 ± 8.6 cm); 86.2% of lesions exhibited moderate to severe bilateral calcification. Provisional stents were implanted in 8.8% (9/102) of subjects. Twelve-month primary patency rate was 76.7% (66/86) and freedom from CD-TLR rate was 92.6% (87/94). No device or procedure related deaths and one index-limb major amputation were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Plaque excision with DA in patients with symptomatic severely calcified femoropopliteal arterial disease prior to DCB angioplasty is a safe and effective treatment strategy with a low provisional stent rate.

Foretelling the Flex-Vertebral Shape Predicts Behavior and Ecology of Fishes.

We modeled swimming kinematics and body mechanics of several fish species of varying habitat and body shape based on measurements of internal vertebral morphology. SYNOPSIS: One key evolutionary innovation that separates vertebrates from invertebrates is the notochord, a central element that provides the stiffness needed for powerful movements. Later, the notochord was further stiffened by the vertebrae, cartilaginous, and bony elements, surrounding the notochord. The ancestral notochord is retained in modern vertebrates as intervertebral material, but we know little about its mechanical interactions with surrounding vertebrae. In this study, the internal shape of the vertebrae-where this material is found-was quantified in 16 species of fishes with various body shapes, swimming modes, and habitats. We used micro-computed tomography to measure the internal shape. We then created and mechanically tested physical models of intervertebral joints. We also mechanically tested actual vertebrae of five species. Material testing shows that internal morphology of the centrum significantly affects bending and torsional stiffness. Finally, we performed swimming trials to gather kinematic data. Combining these data, we created a model that uses internal vertebral morphology to make predictions about swimming kinematics and mechanics. We used linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to assess the relationship between vertebral shape and our categorical traits. The analysis revealed that internal vertebral morphology is sufficient to predict habitat, body shape, and swimming mode in our fishes. This model can also be used to make predictions about swimming in fishes not easily studied in the laboratory, such as deep sea and extinct species, allowing the development of hypotheses about their natural behavior.

Ancient horse genomes reveal the timing and extent of dispersals across the Bering Land Bridge.

The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) last connected Eurasia and North America during the Late Pleistocene. Although the BLB would have enabled transfers of terrestrial biota in both directions, it also acted as an ecological filter whose permeability varied considerably over time. Here we explore the possible impacts of this ecological corridor on genetic diversity within, and connectivity among, populations of a once wide-ranging group, the caballine horses (Equus spp.). Using a panel of 187 mitochondrial and eight nuclear genomes recovered from present-day and extinct caballine horses sampled across the Holarctic, we found that Eurasian horse populations initially diverged from those in North America, their ancestral continent, around 1.0-0.8 million years ago. Subsequent to this split our mitochondrial DNA analysis identified two bidirectional long-range dispersals across the BLB ~875-625 and ~200-50 thousand years ago, during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Whole genome analysis indicated low levels of gene flow between North American and Eurasian horse populations, which probably occurred as a result of these inferred dispersals. Nonetheless, mitochondrial and nuclear diversity of caballine horse populations retained strong phylogeographical structuring. Our results suggest that barriers to gene flow, currently unidentified but possibly related to habitat distribution across Beringia or ongoing evolutionary divergence, played an important role in shaping the early genetic history of caballine horses, including the ancestors of living horses within Equus ferus.