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Objective: To determine the effect of zoledronic acid (ZA) on the risk of total knee replacement (TKR) in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and without severe joint space narrowing (JSN). Methods: We included 222 participants (mean age 62 years, 52% female) from the two‐year Zoledronic Acid for Osteoarthritis Knee Pain trial (113 received 5 mg of ZA annually and 109 received placebo) conducted between November 2013 and October 2017. Primary TKR were identified until February 22, 2022. The effect of ZA on TKR risk was evaluated using Cox proportional hazard regression models. Because the treatment effect failed the proportional hazards assumption, a time‐varying coefficients analysis for treatment was conducted by splitting the study into two periods (ie, within and after two years of randomization). Results: Over a mean follow‐up of seven years, 39% and 30% of participants had any TKR in the ZA and placebo groups, and 28% and 18% had TKR in the study knee, respectively. Use of ZA was associated with a higher risk of TKR in any knee (hazard ratio [HR] 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–14.7) and showed a trend in the study knee (HR 6.8, 95%CI 0.9–53.9) during the trial. In the posttrial period, the risk of TKR was similar in the ZA and the placebo groups for any knee (HR 1.2, 95%CI 0.5–1.8) and the study knee (HR 1.4, 95%CI 0.5–2.2). Conclusion: These results suggest that ZA is not protective against TKR in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and without severe JSN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Understanding factors driving variation in status epilepticus outcomes would be critical to improve care. We evaluated the degree to which patient and hospital characteristics explained hospital‐to‐hospital variability in intubation and postacute outcomes. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries admitted with status epilepticus between 2009 and 2019. Outcomes included intubation, discharge to a facility, and 30‐ and 90‐day readmissions and mortality. Multilevel models calculated percent variation in each outcome due to hospital‐to‐hospital differences. Results: We included 29 150 beneficiaries. The median age was 68 years (interquartile range [IQR] = 57–78), and 18 084 (62%) were eligible for Medicare due to disability. The median (IQR) percentages of each outcome across hospitals were: 30‐day mortality 25% (0%–38%), any 30‐day readmission 14% (0%–25%), 30‐day status epilepticus readmission 0% (0%–3%), 30‐day facility stay 40% (25%–53%), and intubation 46% (20%–61%). However, after accounting for many hospitals with small sample size, hospital‐to‐hospital differences accounted for 2%–6% of variation in all unadjusted outcomes, and approximately 1%–5% (maximally 8% for 30‐day readmission for status epilepticus) after adjusting for patient, hospitalization, and/or hospital characteristics. Although many characteristics significantly predicted outcomes, the largest effect size was cardiac arrest predicting death (odds ratio = 10.1, 95% confidence interval = 8.8–11.7), whereas hospital characteristics (e.g., staffing, accreditation, volume, setting, services) all had lesser effects. Significance: Hospital‐to‐hospital variation explained little variation in studied outcomes. Rather, certain patient characteristics (e.g., cardiac arrest) had greater effects. Interventions to improve outcomes after status epilepticus may be better focused on individual or prehospital factors, rather than at the inpatient systems level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crown rot (CR; Fusarium pseudograminearum) is a serious disease in winter cereals. Soil type, temperature, nutrients, water availability and stubble‐borne inoculum levels play major roles in determining disease severity. This paper reports the impact of two different watering regimes on the disease severity and gas exchange of F. pseudograminearum infected bread wheat for the first time. Fusarium pseudograminearum inoculated and noninoculated genotypes with different susceptibility to CR were watered to either field capacity or a reduced watering regime in three controlled environment experiments. Rate of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, internal CO2 concentration and transpiration rate were measured using a portable photosynthesis system, together with disease severity of leaf sheaths at 28 days after planting. Significant differences in disease severity were reported between watering treatments with reduction in CR symptoms in the partially resistant genotypes in the reduced water treatment. Photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were significantly decreased across most genotypes when inoculated with F. pseudograminearum. Differences in gas exchange between inoculum treatments were more evident in plants watered to field capacity. Water availability has been reported to be one of the crucial factors for initiating F. pseudograminearum infection and subsequent development of CR disease. This research demonstrates significant variation in genotype‐related responses to the complex interactions of F. pseudograminearum infection and water treatment, with a negative impact of both limited soil water availability and CR disease severity on plant gas exchange in bread wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broad geographical distributions that include marked climatic variation may expose populations to distinct selective pressures. Local adaptation to differences in developmental conditions may lead to divergence in embryonic and hatchling traits for populations of oviparous reptiles. Among‐population differences in hatchling size and the duration of development are often observed in lizards with wide and climatically diverse distributions. Variation in hatchling phenotypes can arise from variation in maternal allocation, developmental plasticity or selection acting on embryonic traits. We studied variation in hatchlings of the Australian water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii), comparing traits related to growth and patterns of developmental plasticity. We recorded marked differences in hatchling sizes among populations from different climate types, which did not result from differences in maternal investment or from a plastic response to incubation temperatures. Embryos from southern, temperate populations exhibited shorter incubation times when incubated at cold temperatures but utilized less yolk during development and hatched smaller, with more residual yolk, regardless of incubation treatment. We suggest that these findings represent the first example of among‐population variation in patterns of embryonic resource allocation and a novel mechanism mediating offspring size in reptiles. We further suggest that variation in embryonic resource allocation in I. lesueurii, together with evolutionary changes in reaction norms for developmental rate, evolved as adaptations to seasonal length and conditions associated with a tropical‐temperate gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many biotechnologies require direct contact between biomolecules and (semi)solid substrates. However, little information is available regarding site‐directed covalent surface immobilization of heterodimeric proteins. Integrins are heterodimeric, conformationally dependent membrane adhesion‐receptors, which are important in the (patho)biology of almost all human diseases. In this study, a biomimetic‐platform is developed for covalent and site‐directed immobilization of oriented integrin heterodimers onto most hydroxyl bearing surfaces, herein demonstrated on both glass‐slides and silica‐particles. This platform consists of a self‐assembled monolayer, upon which C‐terminal modified αIIbβ3 integrin extracellular domains are oriented and covalently anchored. As with cell surface integrins, the conformation of immobilized αIIbβ3 is switchable and can be modulated to the active ligand‐binding conformation by divalent cations. Furthermore, the αIIbβ3‐coupled silica particles display platelet‐mimetic hemostat function and co‐aggregate with platelets from both wild‐type and fibrinogen/von Willebrand factor double deficient mice, facilitating αIIbβ3‐non‐classical ligand discoveries. This work provides a biomaterial platform for functional multimeric protein‐substrate coupling, which should have broad impact on multiple fields of biology, biotechnology, and clinical diagnosis/therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the significance of how Christians relate to issues of knowledge, expertise, and authority in the public sphere, particularly in the context of the events of 2020. The symposium explored the historical crises behind the present situation, examining themes such as racial justice, the authority of science, and decolonization in the US and Australian contexts. The symposium aimed to widen and build on previous work by including the Australian context and exploring the racialization of intellectual authority in Christianity. Keynotes and papers discussed the role of popular culture, creationism, and Indigenous religion in shaping intellectual authority. The symposium also considered the ongoing imperative to decolonize knowledge production. Two papers from the symposium, one on the history of missions and colonial theologies in Australia and one on the history of theological education, have been published in the Journal of Religious History. [Extracted from the article]

Australia's freshwater turtles have high endemicity and many are threatened by extinction. Following a symposium held at the 2022 conference of the Australian Society of Herpetologists, we summarized the current status of research and conservation for Australian freshwater turtles and identified opportunities for future research. Eight species (32%) of Australia's 25 native freshwater turtles are listed as threatened by Australia's Federal Government. Symposium discussions on the primary gaps in research identified the lack of baseline data to inform population modelling as a key deficiency. Knowledge of the most effective conservation actions, the effectiveness of attempts to aid population recovery, and whether these actions are required at all, remains lacking for many species. A heavy bias exists between some well‐studied species compared with others for which little or no information is published. Community science, engagement with First Nations people, advances in technology, and recognition of the importance of turtles are contributing to better knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approach based on controlled crazing and post‐polymerization was used to incorporate a nanoscaled conductive co‐continuous network into commercial ENGAGE™ Polyolefin Elastomers (POEs). Three POE films of differing crystallinity and phase morphology were stretched in a reactive mixture of acrylic polymerization precursors that possessed an affinity for the olefinic materials and acted as a surface‐active agent for craze promotion. As a result, a rigid acrylic hydrogel phase was grown in the void space associated with crazing, which prevented the formed channels from collapsing after mechanical stresses were removed. The hydrogel phase offered ion conductivity properties to the POE. Simply replacing the acrylic monomer with an aniline emulsion for polymerization did not lead to the same outcome in terms of a continuous network; the materials became insulative after the removal of mechanical stresses due to fragmentation of the polyaniline channels from the unrestrained elastic relaxation of the POE. This problem was overcome by solution‐casting POE with polycaprolactone (PCL) into films and, subsequently, partially dissolving and leaching PCL from the blend while a sample was stretched in an aniline emulsion medium containing formic acid. The residual PCL left in the crazes reinforced the polyaniline to prevent fragmentation, allowing the formation of a highly electron‐conductive secondary phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superconducting radio‐frequency (SRF) resonators are critical components for particle accelerator applications, such as free‐electron lasers, and for emerging technologies in quantum computing. Developing advanced materials and their deposition processes to produce RF superconductors that yield nΩ surface resistances is a key metric for the wider adoption of SRF technology. Here, ZrNb(CO) RF superconducting films with high critical temperatures (Tc) achieved for the first time under ambient pressure are reported. The attainment of a Tc near the theoretical limit for this material without applied pressure is promising for its use in practical applications. A range of Tc, likely arising from Zr doping variation, may allow a tunable superconducting coherence length that lowers the sensitivity to material defects when an ultra‐low surface resistance is required. The ZrNb(CO) films are synthesized using a low‐temperature (100 – 200 °C) electrochemical recipe combined with thermal annealing. The phase transformation as a function of annealing temperature and time is optimized by the evaporated Zr‐Nb diffusion couples. Through phase control, one avoids hexagonal Zr phases that are equilibrium‐stable but degrade Tc. X‐ray and electron diffraction combined with photoelectron spectroscopy reveal a system containing cubic β‐ZrNb mixed with rocksalt NbC and low‐dielectric‐loss ZrO2. Proof‐of‐concept RF performance of ZrNb(CO) on an SRF sample test system is demonstrated. BCS resistance trends lower than reference Nb, while quench fields occur at approximately 35 mT. The results demonstrate the potential of ZrNb(CO) thin films for particle accelerators and other SRF applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I argue in this paper for a critical social ontology, or an approach to theorizing social reality and social institutions that is more than descriptive of social reality, but is also able to provide practical reasoning with an ontological dimension for judgment. At the heart of this idea is a different take on social metaphysics from most standard current accounts in that it begins with empirical, phylogenetic capacities of human beings for social practices (realizing abstract thought in the world) as well as relationality (the need for attachments to others). The combination of these two essential human capacities, what I call the practical‐relational nexus, is generative of more complex social reality. The ontogeny of any social reality is the result of the ways that this practical‐relational nexus has been organized and shaped by external social structures and systems, themselves the product of certain kinds of social power. I then explore the metaphysics of social power before considering the ways that this approach to social metaphysics can inform practical reasoning with the capacity for social and political criticism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High entropy materials made up of dissimilar elements have enormous potentials in various fields and applications such as catalysis, energy generation and bioengineering. Developments of facile rapid synthesis routes toward functional multicomponent nanoparticles (NPs) of metals and ceramics with control of single/mixed crystalline structure configurations as well as understanding their transformative behaviors to enable unexpected properties, however, has remained challenging. Here a transient laser heating strategy to generate high entropy metal alloy, oxide, and nitride nanoparticles (HE‐A/O/N NPs) is described. Laser irradiation of the identical metal salt mixture under different millisecond heating times provides direct control of cooling rates and thereby results in HEA NPs with tunable single‐ and multiphasic solid solution characteristics, atomic compositions, nanoparticle morphologies, and physicochemical properties. Extending the elemental selection to nitride‐forming precursors enables laser‐induced carbothermal reduction and nitridation of high entropy tetragonal rutile oxide nanoparticlesNPs to the cubic rock salt nitride phase. The combination of laser heating with spatially resolved X‐ray diffraction facilitates combinatorial studies of phase transitions and reaction pathways of multicomponent nanoparticles. These findings provide a general strategy to design nonequilibrium multicomponent metal alloys and ceramic materials amalgamations for fundamental studies and practical applications such as carbon nanotube growth, water splitting, and antimicrobial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a novel modification to the Bell Test (ASTM‐D1693) for minimizing its variability in failure time by the introduction of heat notching. The new notching technique for assessing environmental stress cracking resistance was evaluated with four different grades of polyethylene and compared to results using the ASTM standard for notching. Differences in both the failure time and the associated variability were witnessed with this technique, evaluated at various annealing conditions between the cold crystallization temperature and crystal melting temperature of a polyethylene. Best results were found using the midpoint temperature between these two conditions for the heated blade. Localized elastic moduli for the notched samples were obtained by force mapping via atomic force microscopy, showing decreased crystallinity content at the point of concentrated stress was favored for more consistent failure times. The work highlights the critical nature of local phase morphology at the notch in the assessment of environmental stress cracking resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the paired performance of different signal processing techniques and supervised learning models being capable of identifying subtle differences in otherwise similar acoustic signals related to detecting the fiber orientation of a polymer composite. Projection of Latent Structures models demonstrated poor predictive capabilities of the composite structure based on spectral analysis of the acoustic signal. AI based models showed great improvements to the capabilities, with artificial neural network modeling exceeding Convolutional Neural Networks for correct classification accuracies. The continuous wavelet transfer highlighted the greatest degree of differences in the signal response compared with fast Fourier Transformation or short time Fourier transformation. The use of regression‐based predictions over classification‐based was found to greatly improve the predictive capabilities of the models, especially when multiple fiber orientations were present in a sample. A time‐based analysis of spectral data showed the frequencies of the signal changed based on the orientation of the fibers. The acoustic signals for the samples with multiple fiber orientations contained individual artifacts representing components of each individual orientation. Use of the frequency domain was shown as capable of observing the targeted fiber information within the bulk material in real‐time. This work shows great promise for composite material predictions using active ultrasonics, with the potential to be implemented into in‐line systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect species occupying ecosystems with relatively hard boundaries, such as alpine ecosystems. Wildlife managers must identify actions to conserve and manage alpine species into the future, while considering other issues and uncertainties. Climate change and respiratory pathogens associated with widespread pneumonia epidemics in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) may negatively affect mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) populations. Mountain goat demographic and population data are challenging to collect and sparsely available, making population management decisions difficult. We developed predictive models incorporating these uncertainties and analyzed results within a structured decision making framework to make management recommendations and identify priority information needs in Montana, USA. We built resource selection models to forecast occupied mountain goat habitat and account for uncertainty in effects of climate change, and a Leslie matrix projection model to predict population trends while accounting for uncertainty in population demographics and dynamics. We predicted disease risks while accounting for uncertainty about presence of pneumonia pathogens and risk tolerance for mixing populations during translocations. Our analysis predicted that new introductions would produce more area occupied by mountain goats at mid‐century, regardless of the effects of climate change. Population augmentations, carnivore management, and harvest management may improve population trends, although this was associated with considerable uncertainty. Tolerance for risk of disease transmission affected optimal management choices because translocations are expected to increase disease risks for mountain goats and sympatric bighorn sheep. Expected value of information analyses revealed that reducing uncertainty related to population dynamics would affect the optimal choice among management strategies to improve mountain goat trends. Reducing uncertainty related to the presence of pneumonia‐associated pathogens and consequences of mixing microbial communities should reduce disease risks if translocations are included in future management strategies. We recommend managers determine tolerance for disease risks associated with translocations that they and constituents are willing to accept. From this, an adaptive management program can be constructed wherein a portfolio of management actions are chosen based on risk tolerance in each population range, combined with the amount that uncertainty is reduced when paired with monitoring, to ultimately improve achievement of fundamental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How innovations such as vision, flight and pregnancy evolve is a central question in evolutionary biology. Examination of transitional (intermediate) forms of these traits can help address this question, but these intermediate phenotypes are very rare in extant species. Here we explore the biology and evolution of transitional forms of pregnancy that are midway between the ancestral state of oviparity (egg‐laying) and the derived state, viviparity (live birth). Transitional forms of pregnancy occur in only three vertebrates, all of which are lizard species that also display intraspecific variation in reproductive phenotype. In these lizards (Lerista bougainvillii, Saiphos equalis, and Zootoca vivipara), geographic variation of three reproductive forms occurs within a single species: oviparity, viviparity, and a transitional form of pregnancy. This phenomenon offers the valuable prospect of watching 'evolution in action'. In these species, it is possible to conduct comparative research using different reproductive forms that are not confounded by speciation, and are of relatively recent origin. We identify major proximate and ultimate questions that can be addressed in these species, and the genetic and genomic tools that can help us understand how transitional forms of pregnancy are produced, despite predicted fitness costs. We argue that these taxa represent an excellent prospect for understanding the major evolutionary shift between egg‐laying and live birth, which is a fundamental innovation in the history of animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the absence of effective countermeasures, human convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causative agent of novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19), including among patients with innate or acquired immunosuppression. However, the association between COVID‐19‐associated mortality in patients with immunosuppression and therapeutic use of convalescent plasma is unknown. We review 75 reports, including one large matched‐control registry study of 143 COVID‐19 patients with hematological malignancies, and 51 case reports and 23 case series representing 238 COVID‐19 patients with immunosuppression. We review clinical features and treatment protocols of COVID‐19 patients with immunosuppression after treatment with human convalescent plasma. We also discuss the time course and clinical features of recovery. The available data from case reports and case series provide evidence suggesting a mortality benefit and rapid clinical improvement in patients with several forms of immunosuppression following COVID‐19 convalescent plasma transfusion. The utility of convalescent plasma or other forms of antibody therapy in immune‐deficient and immune‐suppressed patients with COVID‐19 warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future studies should consider reporting 30-d and all-cause mortality and long COVID or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) as outcomes for COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in patients with HM. Keywords: blood cancer; breakthrough infections; leukemia; lymphoma; SARS-CoV-2; vaccine effectiveness EN blood cancer breakthrough infections leukemia lymphoma SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness 1 2 2 12/23/22 20221201 NES 221201 Patients with hematological malignancy (HM), specifically those with B-cell lymphoid malignancies and receipt of anticancer therapies within 12 months prior to coronovirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), are consistently reported to have worse COVID-19 severity, including higher rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, and death, compared to those with solid malignancy.[[1]] Given our prior knowledge about the impact of immunosuppression on response to non-COVID vaccines, it was unsurprising that patients with HM, especially those on lymphocytotoxic therapies, including anti-CD20 mAbs, were significantly less likely to develop adequate seroconversion after two doses of COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination compared to those with solid malignancy.[3] Although patients may be independently protected by cellular immunity, the majority of the seronegative patients with HM did not elicit CD8+/CD4+ T cell responses after two doses.[4] How this blunted vaccine response translates to clinical outcomes following breakthrough infections in this vulnerable population is largely underexamined. Compared to noncancer patients, the vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infections seems lower in patients with HM visiting academic centers (cumulative infection risk: 4.9% vs. 14.9%)[7]; however, epidemiological studies are still needed to understand the effectiveness of mRNA vaccination, especially boosters, against COVID-19 severity in this group. [Extracted from the article]