Growers' perceptions and attitudes towards fungicide resistance extension services.

Agricultural extension services have been successful in promoting knowledge sharing and innovation in agriculture. However, the adoption of new agricultural practices, particularly in integrated pest management, has been slow. Using a case study with a co-designed survey instrument, this research aimed to understand how growers in the Southwest Western Australian Grainbelt access information and resources to manage fungicide resistance. We found that the growers rely on a combination of paid agronomists, government or research institutes, local grower groups, and field days for fungicide resistance information. Growers seek information from trusted experts who can simplify complex research, value easy-to-understand communication and prefer resources tailored to their local context. Additionally, growers valued information regarding new fungicide developments and having access to rapid fungicide resistance diagnostic services. These findings highlight the importance of providing growers with effective agricultural extension services to manage the risk of fungicide resistance.

Identifying potential high-risk zones for land-derived plastic litter to marine megafauna and key habitats within the North Atlantic.

The pervasive use of plastic in modern society has led to plastic litter becoming ubiquitous within the ocean. Land-based sources of plastic litter are thought to account for the majority of plastic pollution in the marine environment, with plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, food containers and cutlery among the most common items found. In the marine environment, plastic is a transboundary pollutant, with the potential to cause damage far beyond the political borders from where it originated, making the management of this global pollutant particularly complex. In this study, the risks of land-derived plastic litter (LDPL) to major groups of marine megafauna - seabirds, cetaceans, pinnipeds, elasmobranchs, turtles, sirenians, tuna and billfish - and a selection of productive and biodiverse biogenic habitats - coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass, saltmarsh and kelp beds - were analysed using a Spatial Risk Assessment approach. The approach combines metrics for vulnerability (mechanism of harm for megafauna group or habitat), hazard (plastic abundance) and exposure (distribution of group or habitat). Several potential high-risk zones (HRZs) across the North Atlantic were highlighted, including the Azores, the UK, the French and US Atlantic coasts, and the US Gulf of Mexico. Whilst much of the modelled LDPL driving risk in the UK originated from domestic sources, in other HRZs, such as the Azores archipelago and the US Gulf of Mexico, plastic originated almost exclusively from external (non-domestic) sources. LDPL from Caribbean islands - some of the largest generators of marine plastic pollution in the dataset of river plastic emissions used in the study - was noted as a significant input to HRZs across both sides of the Atlantic. These findings highlight the potential of Spatial Risk Assessment analyses to determine the location of HRZs and understand where plastic debris monitoring and management should be prioritised, enabling more efficient deployment of interventions and mitigation measures.

Longitudinal predictors of post-exposure prophylaxis awareness among latino sexual minority men in South Florida.

Biomedical tools for HIV prevention such as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) continue to be underutilized by subgroups experiencing significant HIV inequities. Specifically, factors associated with both PEP awareness and uptake both cross-sectionally and longitudinally are under-researched, despite PEP being a part of the United States' Plan for Ending the HIV Epidemic. The current study examined longitudinal predictors of PEP awareness among Latino sexual minority men (LSMM) living in South Florida. This current study (N = 290) employed hierarchal linear modeling across three timepoints (baseline, 4-months, 8-months) to assess within-person and between-person effects over time for several psychosocial and structural factors. Most participants (67.5%) reported little to no awareness of PEP at baseline with general PEP awareness growing slightly across the study (60.5% reporting little to no awareness of PEP at 8 months). Results of the final conditional model suggest significant within-person effects of PrEP knowledge (p = 0.02) and PrEP self-efficacy (p < 0.001), as well as a significant positive between-person effect of PrEP knowledge (p < 0.01) on PEP awareness. Between-person HIV knowledge was also a significant predictor in this model (p = 0.01). This longitudinal analysis of LSMM's PEP awareness indicates that more must be done to increase PEP awareness among this subgroup. Future studies should explore how to build on existing interventions focused on HIV and PrEP knowledge and PrEP self-efficacy to incorporate information about PEP to increase the reach of this effective biomedical HIV prevention tool.

Testing the effectiveness of interactive training on sexual harassment and assault in field science.

Fieldwork is a critical tool for scientific research, particularly in applied disciplines. Yet fieldwork is often unsafe, especially for members of historically marginalized groups and people whose presence in scientific spaces threatens traditional hierarchies of power, authority, and legitimacy. Research is needed to identify interventions that prevent sexual harassment and assault from occurring in the first place. We conducted a quasi-experiment assessing the impacts of a 90-min interactive training on field-based staff in a United States state government agency. We hypothesized that the knowledge-based interventions, social modeling, and mastery experiences included in the training would increase participants' sexual harassment and assault prevention knowledge, self-efficacy, behavioural intention, and behaviour after the training compared to a control group of their peers. Treatment-control and pre-post training survey data indicate that the training increased participants' sexual harassment and assault prevention knowledge and prevention self-efficacy, and, to a lesser extent, behavioural intention. These increases persisted several months after the training for knowledge and self-efficacy. While we did not detect differences in the effect of the training for different groups, interestingly, post-hoc tests indicated that women and members of underrepresented racial groups generally scored lower compared to male and white respondents, suggesting that these groups self-assess their own capabilities differently. Finally, participants' likelihood to report incidents increased after the training but institutional reports remained low, emphasizing the importance of efforts to transform reporting systems and develop better methods to measure bystander actions. These results support the utility of a peer-led interactive intervention for improving workplace culture and safety in scientific fieldwork settings. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: "The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on August 24, 2022. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21770165 .

Study design features that improve effect sizes in cross-sectional and longitudinal brain-wide association studies.

Brain-wide association studies (BWAS) are a fundamental tool in discovering brain-behavior associations. Several recent studies showed that thousands of study participants are required to improve the replicability of BWAS because actual effect sizes are much smaller than those reported in smaller studies. Here, we perform analyses and meta-analyses of a robust effect size index (RESI) using 63 longitudinal and cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging studies from the Lifespan Brain Chart Consortium (77,695 total scans) to demonstrate that optimizing study design is critical for improving standardized effect sizes and replicability in BWAS. A meta-analysis of brain volume associations with age indicates that BWAS with larger covariate variance have larger effect size estimates and that the longitudinal studies we examined have systematically larger standardized effect sizes than cross-sectional studies. We propose a cross-sectional RESI to adjust for the systematic difference in effect sizes between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that allows investigators to quantify the benefit of conducting their study longitudinally. Analyzing age effects on global and regional brain measures from the United Kingdom Biobank and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, we show that modifying longitudinal study design through sampling schemes to increase between-subject variability and adding a single additional longitudinal measurement per subject can improve effect sizes. However, evaluating these longitudinal sampling schemes on cognitive, psychopathology, and demographic associations with structural and functional brain outcome measures in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development dataset shows that commonly used longitudinal models can, counterintuitively, reduce effect sizes. We demonstrate that the benefit of conducting longitudinal studies depends on the strengths of the between- and within-subject associations of the brain and non-brain measures. Explicitly modeling between- and within-subject effects avoids conflating the effects and allows optimizing effect sizes for them separately. These findings underscore the importance of considering study design features to improve the replicability of BWAS.

Reproductive and whole-body toxicity of Ag-doped and -undoped ZIF-8 nanoparticles and the building blocks: An Artemia-based comparative bioassay.

The present research assessed, for the first time, toxicity of ZIF-8 (1 mg/L) and the building blocks (0.1 mg/L Zn2+ and 0.4 mg/L 2-methylimidazole (2-MIm)), besides that of AgNPs@ZIF-8 (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/L) and AgNO3 (0.1 mg/L) to aquatic organisms. Two consecutive generations (F0 & F1) of Artemia salina were exposed to these chemicals. All of the chemical treatments considerably caused mortality in F0, especially AgNPs@ZIF-8 and AgNO3, whereas F1 displayed notable tolerance and survived comparable to the control group, except in the case of AgNO3 treatment. Similarly, growth indices (weight, mainly in ZIF-8, Zn2+, and 2-MIm; length, in Ag-doped ZIF-8 and AgNO3) were significantly retarded in F0 and especially F1 of all treatments, and 2-MIm caused the greatest length retardation in F0. AgNPs@ZIF-8 (0.5 and 1 mg/L), 2-MIm, and AgNO3 postponed the ovary emergence in about 40%-60% of the exposed F0, and ZIF-8 delayed this phenomenon in some individuals of F0 and F1 up to 6 days. This temporal disturbance was also observed in time to first brood of almost all experimental F0 and F1 groups, with being over 80% of F1 exposed to ZIF-8, 2-MIm, and Zn2+, as well as about 50% of F0 treated with 2-MIm, and Zn2+. The highest neonate number was recorded for F0 and F1 exposed to AgNO3 and Zn2+, while ZIF-8 and, importantly, 2-MIm decreased the reproductivity to the lowest levels in both generations. Generally, the reproductive frequency was significantly decreased in all F0 and F1 treatments, especially 2-MIm, ZIF-8, AgNPs@ZIF-8 (0.25 & 1 mg/L). This study highlighted the neglected importance of 2-MIm in assessing overall toxicity of ZIF-8, and even other organic ligands of MOFs, and also filled a gap in the literature by investigating the potential effect of additives such as AgNPs on the toxicity of ZIF-8 and other MOFs.

The macroevolutionary dynamics of mammalian sexual size dimorphism.

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common phenomenon across the animal kingdom. Mammals are unusual in primarily displaying male-biased SSD, where males of a species are typically larger than females. The driving factors behind the evolution of this SSD have been much debated, with popular hypotheses invoking the influence of mating system and social organization via sexual selection, dietary niche divergence and broad-scale correlations with body size (Rensch's rule). Here, we investigate the macroevolutionary origins and maintenance of SSD among mammals, using phylogenetic general mixed linear models and a comprehensive global dataset to evaluate correlations of diet, body mass, seasonality, social organization and mating system with SSD type. We find that SSD as a whole is lost at a greater rate than it is gained, with female-biased SSD being particularly unstable. Non-monogamous mating systems, vertebrate prey consumption and temperature seasonality correlate with male-biased SSD, while polyandry correlates with female-biased SSD, and both types of SSD are positively correlated with body mass. This is in partial contrast to the predictions of Rensch's rule, which predicts that female-biased SSD would correlate negatively with body size. Taken together, our results highlight the importance of considering multiple ecological and social drivers when evaluating the macroevolutionary trajectory of sex differences in body size.

Recurring Trans-Atlantic Incursion of Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 Viruses by Long Distance Migratory Birds from Northern Europe to Canada in 2022/2023.

In December 2022 and January 2023, we isolated clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 high-pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) viruses from six American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) from Prince Edward Island and a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) from Newfoundland, Canada. Using full-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, these viruses were found to fall into two distinct phylogenetic clusters: one group containing H5N1 viruses that had been circulating in North and South America since late 2021, and the other one containing European H5N1 viruses reported in late 2022. The transatlantic re-introduction for the second time by pelagic/Icelandic bird migration via the same route used during the 2021 incursion of Eurasian origin H5N1 viruses into North America demonstrates that migratory birds continue to be the driving force for transcontinental dissemination of the virus. This new detection further demonstrates the continual long-term threat of H5N1 viruses for poultry and mammals and the subsequent impact on various wild bird populations wherever these viruses emerge. The continual emergence of clade 2.3.4.4b H5Nx viruses requires vigilant surveillance in wild birds, particularly in areas of the Americas, which lie within the migratory corridors for long-distance migratory birds originating from Europe and Asia. Although H5Nx viruses have been detected at higher rates in North America since 2021, a bidirectional flow of H5Nx genes of American origin viruses to Europe has never been reported. In the future, coordinated and systematic surveillance programs for HPAI viruses need to be launched between European and North American agencies.

Structure-Reactivity Studies of 2-Sulfonylpyrimidines Allow Selective Protein Arylation.

Protein arylation has attracted much attention for developing new classes of bioconjugates with improved properties. Here, we have evaluated 2-sulfonylpyrimidines as covalent warheads for the mild, chemoselective, and metal free cysteine S-arylation. 2-Sulfonylpyrimidines react rapidly with cysteine, resulting in stable S-heteroarylated adducts at neutral pH. Fine tuning the heterocyclic core and exocyclic leaving group allowed predictable SNAr reactivity in vitro, covering >9 orders of magnitude. Finally, we achieved fast chemo- and regiospecific arylation of a mutant p53 protein and confirmed arylation sites by protein X-ray crystallography. Hence, we report the first example of a protein site specifically S-arylated with iodo-aromatic motifs. Overall, this study provides the most comprehensive structure-reactivity relationship to date on heteroaryl sulfones and highlights 2-sulfonylpyrimidine as a synthetically tractable and protein compatible covalent motif for targeting reactive cysteines, expanding the arsenal of tunable warheads for modern covalent ligand discovery.

Limited Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Influenza A(H5N1) in Herring Gull Colony, Canada, 2022.

In summer 2022, highly pathogenic influenza A(H5N1) virus reached the herring gull (Larus argentatus subspecies smithsonianus) breeding colony on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada. Real-time monitoring revealed a self-limiting outbreak with low mortality. Proactive seabird surveillance is crucial for monitoring such limited outbreaks, protecting seabirds, and tracing zoonotic transmission routes.

S-acylation of the Wnt receptor Frizzled-5 by zDHHC5 controls its cellular localization and synaptogenic activity in the rodent hippocampus.

Proper localization of receptors for synaptic organizing factors is crucial for synapse formation. Wnt proteins promote synapse assembly through Frizzled (Fz) receptors. In hippocampal neurons, the surface and synaptic localization of Fz5 is regulated by neuronal activity, but the mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Here, we report that all Fz receptors can be post-translationally modified by S-acylation and that Fz5 is S-acylated on three C-terminal cysteines by zDHHC5. S-acylation is essential for Fz5 localization to the cell surface, axons, and presynaptic sites. Notably, S-acylation-deficient Fz5 is internalized faster, affecting its association with signalosome components at the cell surface. S-acylation-deficient Fz5 also fails to activate canonical and divergent canonical Wnt pathways. Fz5 S-acylation levels are regulated by the pattern of neuronal activity. In vivo studies demonstrate that S-acylation-deficient Fz5 expression fails to induce presynaptic assembly. Our studies show that S-acylation of Frizzled receptors is a mechanism controlling their localization and function.

Renal Coccidial Infection in North American Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus).

We identified by light microscopy micro- and macrogametes and oocysts of renal coccidia in 78 of 220 (35.5%) Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus) from the western North Atlantic population. This infection was not considered clinically significant in any of the affected birds, although the potential effect of this parasite in breeding colonies, particularly among nestlings, is unknown. Analysis of the 18S rRNA gene from frozen renal tissue by PCR and subsequent sequencing revealed 95.6% identity with Eimeria auritusi from Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), suggesting a novel Eimeria sp. in the Northern Gannets.

The Benefits of Increased Space and Habitat Complexity for the Welfare of Zoo-Housed King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus).

Zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums embrace animal welfare as a foundational principle of habitat design. Modern habitats are designed to provide animals with choices and agency over their environment, and to encourage species-appropriate behavior and space use. In 2016, the Detroit Zoological Society opened the Polk Penguin Conservation Center, a 3065.80 m2 facility that features a naturalistic design. The building was designed to optimize animal welfare by incorporating various substrates, nesting sites, and a 1234 kL pool with elements of underwater complexity. The facility houses a mixed-species group of penguins that were previously housed in a smaller habitat that opened in 1968. Between 2015 and 2022, we opportunistically monitored the behavior of ten king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) as they moved back and forth between the two buildings while additional modifications were made to the new habitat. We collected 695 h of behavioral observations and 10,416 h of data from flipper-mounted time-depth recorders. We found that the king penguins spent less time engaged in aggression and more time engaged in swimming and positive social behaviors in the redesigned space. They also spent less time in proximity to other species of penguins and more time alone. These behavioral trends suggest that increased space and environmental complexity had positive welfare benefits for these penguins.

Daytime autonomic nervous system functions differ among adults with and without insomnia symptoms.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We gathered data to determine whether daytime assays of the autonomic nervous system would differ between persons with no vs modest insomnia symptoms and would correlate with the severity of insomnia symptoms in patients. METHODS: This report is composed of 2 studies. Study 1 conducted pupillary light reflex (PLR) measurements in community volunteers who were not seeking medical care. Study 2 contrasted PLR and heart rate variability in a different sample of community volunteers and a comparison sample of adults seeking outpatient care for insomnia and psychiatric problems. All measurements were taken between 3 and 5 pm. RESULTS: In Study 1, volunteers with modest insomnia symptom severity had a more rapid PLR average constriction velocity compared with those with no symptoms. In Study 2, lower heart rate variability, indicating higher levels of physiologic arousal, generally were in agreement with faster PLR average constriction velocity, both of which indicate higher levels of arousal. Insomnia symptom severity was highly correlated with faster average constriction velocity in the patient sample. CONCLUSIONS: These studies suggest that (1) daytime measurements of the autonomic nervous system differ between persons with modest vs no insomnia symptoms and (2) insomnia symptom severity is highly correlated with PLR. Daytime measurement of autonomic nervous system activity might allow for daytime point-of-care measurement to characterize the level of physiologic arousal to define a hyperarousal subtype of insomnia disorder. CITATION: McCall WV, Looney SW, Zulfiqar M, et al. Daytime autonomic nervous system functions differ among adults with and without insomnia symptoms. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(11):1885-1893.

A Cost-Effective Microfluidic Device to Teach the Principles of Electrophoresis and Electroosmosis.

Electrophoresis is integral to analytical and biochemistry experiences in undergraduate education; however, fundamental principles of the method are often taught in upper-level laboratories through hands-on experiences. A laboratory activity is reported that teaches the concepts of electrophoretic mobility and electroosmotic flow. A single reuseable instrument, called a mini-E, costs 37 USD and consists of a DC power supply, a voltmeter, platinum electrodes, and a chip cast in polydimethylsiloxane. This activity uses common reagents costing only 0.02 USD per student. Experiments are devised that allow students to investigate the properties of electrophoretic flow and electroosmotic flow by separating the two commonly used food dyeing agents Brilliant Blue FCF and Allura Red AC in vinegar and in a solution of ammonium hydroxide. A dark-purple mixture of these dyes is separated into red and blue bands that are easily visualized. The migration order of the dyes differs when the separation is performed under conditions of reversed polarity and suppressed electroosmotic flow (vinegar) compared to conditions of normal polarity and active electroosmotic flow (ammonium hydroxide). When delivered to chemistry majors, students had a significant gain in their ability to apply the concepts of electroosmosis and electrophoresis to predict analyte migration. Although this activity targets upper-level chemistry content, it can also be adapted for other laboratory experiences.

Differences in Habitual and Maximal Gait Velocity Across Age Groups: A Cross-Sectional Examination.

Prior work, primarily focusing on habitual gait velocity, has demonstrated a cost while walking when coupled with a cognitive task. The cost of dual-task walking is exacerbated with age and complexity of the cognitive or motor task. However, few studies have examined the dual-task cost associated with maximal gait velocity. Thus, this cross-sectional study examined age-related changes in dual-task (serial subtraction) walking at two velocities. Participants were classified by age: young-old (45-64 years), middle-old (65-79 years), and oldest-old (≥80 years). They completed single- and dual-task walking trials for each velocity: habitual (N = 217) and maximal (N = 194). While no significant Group × Condition interactions existed for habitual or maximal gait velocities, the main effects for both condition and age groups were significant (p < .01). Maximal dual-task cost (p = .01) was significantly greater in the oldest-old group. With age, both dual-task velocities decreased. Maximal dual-task cost was greatest for the oldest-old group.

Post-COVID symptom profiles and duration in a global convalescent COVID-19 observational cohort: Correlations with demographics, medical history, acute COVID-19 severity and global region.

Background: Post-COVID conditions are characterised by persistent symptoms that negatively impact quality of life after SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. While post-COVID risk factors and symptoms have been extensively described in localised regions, especially in the global north, post-COVID conditions remain poorly understood globally. The global, observational cohort study HVTN 405/HPTN 1901 characterises the convalescent course of SARS-CoV-2 infection among adults in North and South America and Africa. Methods: We categorised the cohort by infection severity (asymptomatic, symptomatic, no oxygen requirement (NOR), non-invasive oxygen requirement (NIOR), invasive oxygen requirement (IOR)). We applied a regression model to assess correlations of demographics, co-morbidities, disease severity, and concomitant medications with COVID-19 symptom persistence and duration across global regions. Results: We enrolled 759 participants from Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Peru, and the USA a median of 51 (interquartile range (IQR) = 35-66) days post-diagnosis, from May 2020 to March 2021. 53.8% were female, 69.8% were 18-55 years old (median (md) = 44 years old, IQR = 33-58). Comorbidities included obesity (42.8%), hypertension (24%), diabetes (14%), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (11.6%) and lung disease (7.5%). 76.2% were symptomatic (NOR = 47.4%; NIOR = 22.9%; IOR = 5.8%). Median COVID-19 duration among symptomatic participants was 20 days (IQR = 11-35); 43.4% reported symptoms after COVID-19 resolution, 33.6% reported symptoms ≥30 days, 9.9% reported symptoms ≥60 days. Symptom duration correlated with disease severity (P < 0.001, NIOR vs NOR; P = 0.003, IOR vs NOR), lung disease (P = 0.001), race (P < 0.05, non-Hispanic Black vs White), and global region (P < 0.001). Prolonged viral shedding correlated with persistent abdominal pain (odds ratio (OR) = 5.51, P < 0.05) and persistent diarrhoea (OR = 6.64, P < 0.01). Conclusions: Post-COVID duration varied with infection severity, race, lung disease, and region. Better understanding post-COVID conditions, including regionally-diverse symptom profiles, may improve clinical assessment and management globally. Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov (#NCT04403880).

Characterization of neurotropic HPAI H5N1 viruses with novel genome constellations and mammalian adaptive mutations in free-living mesocarnivores in Canada.

The GsGd lineage (A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996) H5N1 virus was introduced to Canada in 2021/2022 through the Atlantic and East Asia-Australasia/Pacific flyways by migratory birds. This was followed by unprecedented outbreaks affecting domestic and wild birds, with spillover into other animals. Here, we report sporadic cases of H5N1 in 40 free-living mesocarnivore species such as red foxes, striped skunks, and mink in Canada. The clinical presentations of the disease in mesocarnivores were consistent with central nervous system infection. This was supported by the presence of microscopic lesions and the presence of abundant IAV antigen by immunohistochemistry. Some red foxes that survived clinical infection developed anti-H5N1 antibodies. Phylogenetically, the H5N1 viruses from the mesocarnivore species belonged to clade 2.3.4.4b and had four different genome constellation patterns. The first group of viruses had wholly Eurasian (EA) genome segments. The other three groups were reassortant viruses containing genome segments derived from both North American (NAm) and EA influenza A viruses. Almost 17 percent of the H5N1 viruses had mammalian adaptive mutations (E627 K, E627V and D701N) in the polymerase basic protein 2 (PB2) subunit of the RNA polymerase complex. Other mutations that may favour adaptation to mammalian hosts were also present in other internal gene segments. The detection of these critical mutations in a large number of mammals within short duration after virus introduction inevitably highlights the need for continually monitoring and assessing mammalian-origin H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses for adaptive mutations, which potentially can facilitate virus replication, horizontal transmission and posing pandemic risks for humans.

The genome of the soybean gall midge (Resseliella maxima).

The cecidomyiid fly, soybean gall midge, Resseliella maxima Gagné, is a recently discovered insect that feeds on soybean plants in the Midwestern United States. R. maxima larvae feed on soybean stems that may induce plant death and can cause considerable yield losses, making it an important agricultural pest. From three pools of 50 adults each, we used long-read nanopore sequencing to assemble a R. maxima reference genome. The final genome assembly is 206 Mb with 64.88× coverage, consisting of 1,009 contigs with an N50 size of 714 kb. The assembly is high quality with a Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Ortholog (BUSCO) score of 87.8%. Genome-wide GC level is 31.60%, and DNA methylation was measured at 1.07%. The R. maxima genome is comprised of 21.73% repetitive DNA, which is in line with other cecidomyiids. Protein prediction annotated 14,798 coding genes with 89.9% protein BUSCO score. Mitogenome analysis indicated that R. maxima assembly is a single circular contig of 15,301 bp and shares highest identity to the mitogenome of the Asian rice gall midge, Orseolia oryzae Wood-Mason. The R. maxima genome has one of the highest completeness levels for a cecidomyiid and will provide a resource for research focused on the biology, genetics, and evolution of cecidomyiids, as well as plant-insect interactions in this important agricultural pest.

Factors Associated with Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among a Community-Based Sample of Sexual Minority Older Adults with HIV.

Older sexual minorities (e.g., gay, bisexual) living with HIV are at risk for poor HIV outcomes due to their frequent experience with both psychosocial challenges and structural barriers to care. This study utilized a stochastic search variable selection (SVSS) approach to explore potential psychosocial and structural factors associated with HIV-related health outcomes among a community-based sample of older sexual minorities (N = 150) in South Florida, an U.S. HIV-epidemic epicenter. After SVSS, a forward entry regression approach suggested unstable housing, illicit substance use, current nicotine use, and depression were all associated with poorer ART adherence among older sexual minority adults living with HIV. No associations between potential correlates and biological measures of HIV disease severity were observed. Findings highlight a need to focus on multiple levels of intervention that target a combination of psychosocial and structural factors to improve HIV-care outcomes among older sexual minorities and achieve Ending the HIV Epidemic goals.

Minorías sexuales mayores (p.ej., gay, bisexual) que viven con VIH están en riesgo de resultados negativos de VIH debido a sus experiencias con desafíos psicosociales y barreras estructurales. Este estudio uso selección de variables de búsqueda estocástica (SVSS) para explorar factores psicosociales y estructurales asociadas con resultados de salud relacionado a VIH entre una muestra comunitaria de minorías sexuales mayores (N = 150) el la Sur de la Florida, un epicentro de la epidemia de VIH en EE. UU. Después de SVSS, una regresión de entrada directa sugirió que vivienda inestable, uso de sustancias ilícitas, consumo actual de nicotina, y depresión eran asociados con menos adherencia de terapias antirretroviral entre adultos mayores de minorías sexuales que viven con el VIH. No se encontraron asociaciones entre correlatos potenciales y medidas biológicas de VIH. Recomendaciones destacan una necesidad de concentrarse en múltiples niveles de intervención que apuntan una combinación de factores psicosociales y estructurales para mejorar resultados de VIH entre las minorías sexuales mayores y lograr las metas de Finalizando la Epidemia del VIH.