Biocompatibility of intraperitoneally implanted TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber hydrogels for antigen delivery in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) vaccines.

Disease outbreaks are a major impediment to aquaculture production, and vaccines are integral for disease management. Vaccines can be expensive, vary in effectiveness, and come with adjuvant-induced adverse effects, causing fish welfare issues and negative economic impacts. Three-dimensional biopolymer hydrogels are an appealing new technology for vaccine delivery in aquaculture, with the potential for controlled release of multiple immunomodulators and antigens simultaneously, action as local depots, and tunable surface properties. This research examined the intraperitoneal implantation of a cross-linked TEMPO cellulose nanofiber (TOCNF) hydrogel formulated with a Vibrio anguillarum bacterin in Atlantic salmon with macroscopic and microscopic monitoring to 600-degree days post-implantation. Results demonstrated a modified passive integrated transponder tagging (PITT) device allowed for implantation of the hydrogel. However, the Atlantic salmon implanted with TOCNF hydrogels exhibited a significant foreign body response (FBR) compared to sham-injected negative controls. The FBR was characterized by gross and microscopic external and visceral proliferative lesions, granulomas, adhesions, and fibrosis surrounding the hydrogel using Speilberg scoring of the peritoneum and histopathology of the body wall and coelom. Acutely, gross monitoring displayed rapid coagulation of blood in response to the implantation wound with development of fibrinous adhesions surrounding the hydrogel by 72 h post-implantation consistent with early stage FBR. While these results were undesirable for aquaculture vaccines, this work informs on the innate immune response to an implanted biopolymer hydrogel in Atlantic salmon and directs future research using cellulose nanomaterial formulations in Atlantic salmon for a new generation of aquaculture vaccine technology.

Overdose from Unintentional Fentanyl Use when Intending to Use a Non-opioid Substance: An Analysis of Medically Attended Opioid Overdose Events.

Fentanyl-mixed and substituted heroin is well-documented, but less is known about unintentional fentanyl use among people using stimulants. To determine the prevalence of and racial and ethnic disparities in unintentional fentanyl use among people experiencing a medically attended opioid overdose, we reviewed 448 suspected non-fatal overdose cases attended by a community paramedic overdose response team in San Francisco from June to September 2022. We applied a case definition for opioid overdose to paramedic records and abstracted data on intended substance use prior to overdose. Among events meeting case criteria with data on intended substance use, intentional opioid use was reported by 57.3%, 98.0% of whom intended to use fentanyl. No intentional opioid use was reported by 42.7%, with most intending to use stimulants (72.6%), including methamphetamine and cocaine. No intentional opioid use was reported by 58.5% of Black, 52.4% of Latinx, and 28.8% of White individuals (p = 0.021), and by 57.6% of women and 39.5% of men (p = 0.061). These findings suggest that unintentional fentanyl use among people without opioid tolerance may cause a significant proportion of opioid overdoses in San Francisco. While intentional fentanyl use might be underreported, the magnitude of self-reported unintentional use merits further investigation to confirm this phenomenon, explore mechanisms of use and disparities by race and ethnicity, and deploy targeted overdose prevention interventions.

(What's the story) morning glory? MRI findings in morning glory disc anomaly.

PURPOSE: Morning glory disc anomaly (MGDA) is a rare congenital ophthalmologic disorder. Historically it has been diagnosed fundoscopically, with little in the literature regarding its imaging findings. The purpose of this study is to further characterize the orbital and associated intracranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of MGDA in our tertiary pediatric center. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of fundoscopically-diagnosed cases of MGDA, that had been referred for MRI. All MRI studies were scrutinized for orbital and other intracranial abnormalities known to occur in association with MGDA. RESULTS: 18 of 19 cases of MGDA showed three characteristic MRI findings: funnel-shaped morphology of the posterior optic disc, abnormal soft tissue associated with the retrobulbar optic nerve, and effacement of adjacent subarachnoid spaces. The ipsilateral (intraorbital) optic nerve was larger in one patient and smaller in six. The ipsilateral optic chiasm was larger in two patients and smaller in one. CONCLUSION: This study represents a comprehensive radiological-led investigation into MGDA. It describes the most frequently-encountered MRI findings in MGDA and emphasizes the importance of MRI in this cohort, i.e., in distinguishing MGDA from other posterior globe abnormalities, in assessing the visual pathway, and in screening for associated intracranial abnormalities - skull base/cerebral, vascular, and facial. It hypothesizes neurocristopathy as an underlying cause of MGDA and its associations. Caliber abnormalities of the ipsilateral optic nerve and chiasm are a frequent finding in MGDA. Optic pathway enlargement should not be labeled "glioma". (239/250).

A low-cost, portable, dual-function readout device for amplification-based point-of-need diagnostics.

IMPORTANCE: The first critical step in timely disease management is rapid disease identification, which is ideally on-site detection. Of all the technologies available for disease identification, nucleic acid amplification-based diagnostics are often used due to their specificity, sensitivity, adaptability, and speed. However, the modules to interpret amplification results rapidly, reliably, and easily in resource-limited settings at point-of-need (PON) are in high demand. Therefore, we developed a portable, low-cost, and easy-to-perform device that can be used for amplification readout at PON to enable rapid yet reliable disease identification by users with minimal training.

Peer Network Counseling Effects on Substance Use: an Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis Integrating Three Randomized Controlled Trials.

The current study describes an individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) testing the efficacy of a peer-network counseling (PNC) intervention for preventing substance use escalation in adolescents and young adults. PNC has shown efficacy in reducing substance use among adolescents and young adults across small-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Identifying expected large-scale effects and moderators is an important next step in guiding use of PNC in practice. To this end, we combine three small-scale RCTs to test PNC intervention effects on substance use change in a combined sample of 421 adolescents and young adults (50% intervention, 55% female, 69% Black/African-American, M age [SD] = 17.3 [2.2] years). Our approach combines latent change score modeling in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework with study-level fixed effects to obtain (a) a more generalizable PNC effect than we could obtain with each constituent sample and (b) greater power and precision for individual-level moderation of treatment effects. We found that although PNC main effects on substance use outcomes (past 30-day cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, and drug use) were not significant, PNC effects were moderated by individual-level pre-intervention substance use frequency. PNC more strongly reduced drug use at the 1-month follow-up and cannabis use at the 3-month follow-up among participants who showed higher baseline use of these substances. Implications of our approach and findings for prevention researchers are discussed.

Further evidence for distinct traits associated with RBM10 missense variants.

A case of a missense RBM10 variant in an adult with mild to moderate intellectual disability.

Responsiveness to mHealth Intervention for Cannabis Use in Young Adults Predicts Improved Outcomes.

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have proliferated rapidly in part because of their advantages in reducing consumer and provider burden, but less attention has been paid to participant responsiveness to mHealth programs and how this may affect outcomes. This study adds to that literature by examining whether participant responsiveness to a text messaging-delivered intervention was predictive of treatment outcomes over baseline levels of the outcome. We analyzed data from a pilot-randomized controlled trial of a text messaging-intervention to treat young adults with cannabis use disorder (treatment arm, N = 47), examining three indicators of responsiveness (two behavioral: treatment completion and booster message participation; and one subjective: perceived helpfulness of treatment) on abstinence from cannabis use and use-related problems measured at 3-month follow-up. With the exception of completion, the indicators were positively correlated with each other. Each of the indicators was predictive of better treatment outcomes above and beyond baseline risk. Treatment completion and booster participation-measured via technical data captured during intervention administration-appeared to be stronger predictors of improved outcomes than self-reported perceived helpfulness. Results suggest that behavioral and subjective responsiveness measures appear to be valid indicators of treatment response to mHealth interventions for substance use. Responsiveness measured via technical data captured during intervention administration may be a stronger and more efficient strategy for monitoring continued engagement. We discuss implications of these findings for deploying mHealth interventions at scale and monitoring responsiveness.

Recommendations for Identifying Valid Wear for Consumer-Level Wrist-Worn Activity Trackers and Acceptability of Extended Device Deployment in Children.

BACKGROUND: Self-reported physical activity is often inaccurate. Wearable devices utilizing multiple sensors are now widespread. The aim of this study was to determine acceptability of Fitbit Charge HR for children and their families, and to determine best practices for processing its objective data. METHODS: Data were collected via Fitbit Charge HR continuously over the course of 3 weeks. Questionnaires were given to each child and their parent/guardian to determine the perceived usability of the device. Patterns of data were evaluated and best practice inclusion criteria recommended. RESULTS: Best practices were established to extract, filter, and process data to evaluate device wear, r and establish minimum wear time to evaluate behavioral patterns. This resulted in usable data available from 137 (89%) of the sample. CONCLUSIONS: Activity trackers are highly acceptable in the target population and can provide objective data over longer periods of wear. Best practice inclusion protocols that reflect physical activity in youth are provided.

Correction: Nucleic acid purification from plants, animals and microbes in under 30 seconds.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2003916.].

Rapid parasite detection utilizing a DNA dipstick.

Molecular diagnostics are powerful tools for disease detection but are typically confined to the laboratory environment due to the cumbersome methods required to extract nucleic acids from biological samples. Accurate diagnosis is essential for early detection of parasitic worm infections and for monitoring control programs, particularly during new transmission outbreaks to limit infection spread. We optimized the recently developed DNA dipstick technology to purify Schistosoma japonicum DNA from different life stages in <60 s. We successfully detected DNA from adult worms, eggs and infected snails. The speed and simplicity of this method enables the point-of-care detection of S. japonicum.