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Simple Summary: Lameness, an impaired gait, results from the pain dairy cows feel, which impacts their behaviour and performance, and consequently farmer income. Mobility scoring by visual inspection is the current gold standard in the UK for detecting this condition; however, it is prone to scoring biases and can only detect lameness once the cow feels pain, which may come too late for effective action to be taken. Conversely, the early detection of lameness allows for the better management and treatment of lameness cases, which is decisive in minimizing economic losses and animal pain, thereby improving cow welfare and the sustainability of the dairy industry. In a previous study, metabolites predictive of lameness were identified; however, the annotation of these metabolites has not yet been conducted. Although some annotation ambiguity is acceptable when performing untargeted analysis, accurately identifying compounds is crucial to understand which pathways are differentially altered between lame and non-lame cows. This study aimed to annotate the metabolites identified as predictors of lameness in the transition period and understand their biological role in the pathways and processes that lead to lameness. As a result, three metabolites predictive of lameness in dairy cows were identified at the highest confidence level, thus allowing for the understanding of the interactions between metabolism and immunity in lameness to be improved. The aim of this study was to identify with a high level of confidence metabolites previously identified as predictors of lameness and understand their biological relevance by carrying out pathway analyses. For the dairy cattle sector, lameness is a major challenge with a large impact on animal welfare and farm economics. Understanding metabolic alterations during the transition period associated with lameness before the appearance of clinical signs may allow its early detection and risk prevention. The annotation with high confidence of metabolite predictors of lameness and the understanding of interactions between metabolism and immunity are crucial for a better understanding of this condition. Using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with authentic standards to increase confidence in the putative annotations of metabolites previously determined as predictive for lameness in transition dairy cows, it was possible to identify cresol, valproic acid, and gluconolactone as L1, L2, and L1, respectively which are the highest levels of confidence in identification. The metabolite set enrichment analysis of biological pathways in which predictors of lameness are involved identified six significant pathways (p < 0.05). In comparison, over-representation analysis and topology analysis identified two significant pathways (p < 0.05). Overall, our LC-MS/MS analysis proved to be adequate to confidently identify metabolites in urine samples previously found to be predictive of lameness, and understand their potential biological relevance, despite the challenges of metabolite identification and pathway analysis when performing untargeted metabolomics. This approach shows potential as a reliable method to identify biomarkers that can be used in the future to predict the risk of lameness before calving. Validation with a larger cohort is required to assess the generalization of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are vulnerable to HIV infection. Although daily oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prevents HIV among MSM, its usage remains low. We conducted virtual in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus groups (FGs) with Black, Hispanic/Latino, and White MSM consisting of current PrEP users and those aware of but not currently using PrEP. We delved into their preferences regarding six emerging PrEP products: a weekly oral pill, event-driven oral pills, anal douche/enema, anal suppository, long-acting injection, and a skin implant. Our mixed methods analysis involved inductive content analysis of transcripts for thematic identification and calculations of preferences. Among the sample (n = 98), the weekly oral pill emerged as the favored option among both PrEP Users and PrEP Aware IDI participants. Ranking exercises during FGs also corroborated this preference, with the weekly oral pill being most preferred. However, PrEP Users in FGs leaned toward the long-acting injectable. Conversely, the anal suppository and douche/enema were the least preferred products. Overall, participants were open to emerging PrEP products and valued flexibility but expressed concerns about limited protection for products designed solely for receptive sex. Public health practitioners should tailor recommendations based on individuals’ current sexual behaviors and long-term vulnerability to infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]