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BACKGROUND: In agricultural pest management, especially in combatting the invasive red imported fire ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta), significant challenges emerge due to the constraints of solely depending on chemical insecticides or entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs). The utilization of chemical insecticides carries environmental and ecological hazards, whereas EPNs, when applied independently, might not offer the immediate effectiveness necessary for adequate RIFA suppression. Acknowledging these hurdles, our study investigates a synergistic method that integrates EPNs with chemical insecticides, aiming to fulfill the urgent demand for more efficient and environmentally friendly pest control solutions...

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent excitotoxicity is one of the most important mechanisms underlying stroke injury and the resulting neuronal death. In the present study, in order to reduce post-stroke brain injury and improve behavioral performance, a new molecule named IC87201, which acts as an inhibitor of PSD95/nNOS interaction in the intracellular signaling pathway of NMDA receptors, was administered. Using the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) technique, 24 adult male rats were subjected to one hour of cerebral ischemia...

How are Asian and Black men and women stereotyped? Research from the gendered race and stereotype content perspectives has produced mixed empirical findings. Using BERT models pre-trained on English language books, news articles, Wikipedia, Reddit and Twitter, with a new method for measuring propositions in natural language (the Fill-Mask Association Test, FMAT), we explored the gender (masculinity-femininity), physical strength, warmth and competence contents of stereotypes about Asian and Black men and women...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the developments in the testing of Kirsten Rat Sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) and v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) mutations across different cancer types and regions in Denmark from 2010 to 2022. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Using comprehensive data from the Danish health registries, we linked molecular test results from the Danish Pathology Registry with cancer diagnoses from the Danish National Patient Registry between 2010 and 2022...

BACKGROUND: The clinical candidate alpibectir augments the activity of, and overcomes resistance to, the anti-TB drug ethionamide in vitro and in vivo. OBJECTIVES: A Phase 1, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and food effect of alpibectir administered as single and multiple oral doses in healthy volunteers (NCT04654143). METHODS: Eighty participants were randomized...

Studies have suggested that microglial IL-6 modulates inflammatory pain; however, the exact mechanism of action remains unclear. We therefore hypothesized that PKCε and MEG2 competitively bind to STAT3 and contribute to IL-6-mediated microglial hyperalgesia during inflammatory pain. Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used to induce hyperalgesia model mice and microglial inflammation. Mechanical allodynia was evaluated using von Frey tests in vivo. The interaction among PKCε, MEG2, and STAT3 was determined using ELISA and immunoprecipitation assay in vitro...

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an idiopathic, relapsing inflammatory disorder of the colonic mucosa. Pyroptosis contributes significantly to UC. However, the molecular mechanisms of UC remain unexplained. Herein, using transcriptome data and animal experimental validation, we sought to explore pyroptosis-related molecular mechanisms, signature genes, and potential drugs in UC. Gene profiles (GSE48959, GSE59071, GSE53306, and GSE94648) were selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, which contained samples derived from patients with active and inactive UC, as well as health controls...

The potential of soil organic carbon fractions for agroforestry systems (AFSs) is not well understood. Five distinct AFSs were tested for its impact on soil organic carbon fractionation, carbon index, and microbial activity in North Eastern Himalayas, India. The mean labile carbon (LC) ranged from 4.55 to 5.43 kg soil-1 across the land use systems. Napier system observed the lowest very labile carbon (VLC) 12.36 kg soil-1 in 60-75-cm depth. The mean non labile carbon (NLC) ranged from 15.67 to 16...

OBJECTIVES: Few cytologically indeterminate thyroid fine-needle aspirations (FNAs) harbor BRAF V600E. Here, we assess interobserver agreement for The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) category III (atypia of undetermined significance [AUS]) FNAs harboring BRAF V600E and contrast their features with those harboring non-BRAF V600E alterations, with attention to cytopathology experience. METHODS: Seven reviewers evaluated 5 AUS thyroid FNAs harboring BRAF V600E...

The search for bacteria-labeling agents that are more efficient and less toxic compared to existing staining dyes is ongoing. Fluorescent quantum dots and carbon dots (CDs) have been extensively researched for various bioimaging applications. Priority is given to CDs due to several advantages, including lower toxicity, versatility in tuning their properties, and better photostability compared to metal-based quantum dots. Although significant progress is still needed to replace existing dyes with CDs for bacteria labeling, they offer promising potential for further improvement in efficiency...

OBJECTIVE: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) professionals increasingly need to assess and mitigate a broad scope of worker safety, health, and well-being concerns that extend beyond traditional OSH training curricula. Work-related and non-work-related psychosocial hazards, chronic physical and mental health conditions, and changing work arrangements call for an integrative, public health approach to occupational risk management; this approach has been called, "Total Worker Health®" by United States public health authorities (Schulte et al...

Quantitative genetic theory on multivariate character evolution predicts that a population's response to directional selection is biased toward the major axis of the genetic covariance matrix G-the so-called genetic line of least resistance. Inferences on the genetic constraints in this sense have traditionally been made by measuring the angle of deviation of evolutionary trajectories from the major axis, or more recently by calculating the amount of genetic variance-the Hansen-Houle evolvability-available along the trajectories...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Falls are the leading reason for injury-related emergency department (ED) visits for older adults. The Geriatric Acute and Post-acute Fall Prevention Intervention (GAPcare), an in-ED intervention combining a medication therapy management session delivered by a pharmacist and a fall risk assessment and plan by a physical therapist, reduced ED revisits at 6 months among older adults presenting after a fall. Our objective was to evaluate the relationship between measures of function obtained in the ED and clinical outcomes...

It is not well understood how neighborhood disadvantage is associated with specific domains of cognitive function and underlying brain health within older adults. Thus, the objective was to examine associations between neighborhood disadvantage, brain health, and cognitive performance, and examine whether associations were more pronounced among women. The study included 136 older adults who underwent cognitive testing and MRI. Neighborhood disadvantage was characterized using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI)...

The organization of nucleosomes into chromatin and their accessibility are shaped by local DNA mechanics. Conversely, nucleosome positions shape genetic variations, which may originate from mismatches during replication and chemical modification of DNA. To investigate how DNA mismatches affect the mechanical stability and the exposure of nucleosomal DNA, we used an optical trap combined with single-molecule FRET and a single-molecule FRET cyclization assay. We found that a single base-pair C-C mismatch enhances DNA bendability and nucleosome mechanical stability for the 601-nucleosome positioning sequence...

The current study shifts the focus of research on media's role in facilitating and inhibiting self-stereotyping among the members of stigmatized groups. More specifically, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model explaining (un)intentional effects of a real-world anti-ageism social media campaign among stereotyped targets: Older workers. Drawing on an experiment among older Dutch adults ( N = 649), we test the effects of two message strategies for reducing prejudice: the media-literacy and the counter stereotypical information strategy...

PURPOSE: To elucidate the induced effects of horizontal strabismus on the Bielschowsky Head Tilt Test (BHTT). DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. METHODS: Prospective analysis of BHTT testing in 85 patients with exotropia and 71 patients with esotropia who were examined in a strabismus clinic. RESULTS: Eighty-four of 85 patients with exotropia (98.82%) showed a positive BHTT with an induced hyperdeviation on the side of the tilt (to both sides in 67% and to one side in 32%)...

UNLABELLED: The identification of pathogens is essential for effective surveillance and outbreak detection, which lately has been facilitated by the decreasing cost of whole-genome sequencing (WGS). However, extracting relevant virulence genes from WGS data remains a challenge. In this study, we developed a web-based tool to predict virulence-associated genes in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), which is a major concern for human and animal health. The database includes genes encoding the heat-labile toxin (LT) ( eltA and eltB ), heat-stable toxin (ST) ( est ), colonization factors CS1 through 30, F4, F5, F6, F17, F18, and F41, as well as toxigenic invasion and adherence loci ( tia , tibAC , etpBAC , eatA , yghJ , and tleA )...

Sarcopenia is a pathology resulting from a progressive and severe loss of muscle mass, strength, and function in the course of aging, which has deleterious consequences on quality of life. Among the most widespread studies on the issue are those focused on the effect of different types of physical exercise on patients with sarcopenia. This randomized controlled study aimed to compare the effects of a whole-body vibration exercise (WBV) session on the inflammatory parameters of non-sarcopenic (NSG, n=22) and sarcopenic elderly (SG, n=22)...

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between the provision of tuberculosis treatment actions and the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Cross-sectional study conducted with data from secondary sources of 134 tuberculosis cases that underwent treatment in 2020 in the city of Pelotas, RS, Brazil. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: The least frequently offered actions in the period were: three or more control smear microscopies (12...