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Epigenetics is an important source of variation in complex traits that is not due to changes in DNA sequences, and is dependent on the environment the individuals are exposed to. Therefore, we aimed to estimate transgenerational epigenetic heritability, percentage of resetting epigenetic marks, genetic parameters, and predicting breeding values using genetic and epigenetic models for growth, body composition, and reproductive traits in Landrace pigs using routinely recorded datasets. Birth and weaning weight, backfat thickness, total number of piglets born, and number of piglets born alive (BW, WW, BF, TNB, and NBA, respectively) were investigated. Models including epigenetic effects had a similar or better fit than solely genetic models. Including genomic information in epigenetic models resulted in large changes in the variance component estimates. Transgenerational epigenetic heritability estimates ranged between 0.042 (NBA) to 0.336 (BF). The reset coefficient estimates for epigenetic marks were between 80% and 90%. Heritability estimates for the direct additive and maternal genetic effects ranged between 0.040 (BW) to 0.502 (BF) and 0.034 (BF) to 0.134 (BW), respectively. Repeatability of the reproductive traits ranged between 0.098 (NBA) to 0.148 (TNB). Prediction accuracies, bias, and dispersion of breeding values ranged between 0.199 (BW) to 0.443 (BF), −0.080 (WW) to 0.034 (NBA), and −0.134 (WW) to 0.131 (TNB), respectively, with no substantial differences between genetic and epigenetic models. Transgenerational epigenetic heritability estimates are moderate for growth and body composition and low for reproductive traits in North American Landrace pigs. Fitting epigenetic effects in genetic models did not impact the prediction of breeding values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Detecting circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood has emerged as a valuable method for evaluating several different cancers. Most anal cancers are caused by HPV infection, which is typically identified through the examination of tissue specimens. In this study, we describe a novel method for detecting HPV in the ctDNA using next-generation DNA sequencing on blood samples from patients with advanced anal cancer. The assay was able to detect multiple types of HPV, including uncommon variants. Additionally, the assay appeared to correlate with the disease burden and response to treatment. HPV DNA can often integrate into cancer DNA, which was detectable using our assay, and we show that this may prognosticate which patients are more resistant to treatment. Background: To extend the practicality of liquid biopsy beyond the historical HPV circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assays, we evaluated the clinical relevance of a novel next-generation sequencing HPV ctDNA assay in patients with locally advanced and metastatic squamous cell cancer of the anal canal (mSCCA). Methods: ctDNA isolated from the plasma of patients with mSCCA was sequenced using a 1.4 Mb hybrid-capture target-enrichment panel covering the whole genome sequences of all 193 HPV types. The HPV type, copy number (CN), and integration sites were determined using a bioinformatic pipeline. Results: A total of 77 plasma samples from 28 patients with HPV-related SCCA were retrospectively analyzed. HPV ctDNA was detected in 26 cases (93%) (including uncommon subtypes). The median HPV CN was higher in metastatic versus locally recurrent/unresectable SCCA (p = 0.043). Changes in the HPV CN were concordant with the radiographic response (p = 0.027). An integration event was detected in 23 patients (82%), with presumed episomal HPV DNA present in the remaining patients. Higher HPV integration (a mean of ≥1 integration across samples) was associated with a worse overall survival from the start of immunotherapy (13.6 months versus 36.0 months; p = 0.003). Conclusions: Using HPV-informed next-generation sequencing of the ctDNA, we found changes in the HPV CN correlated with the treatment response and that HPV integration detected in the ctDNA is an unfavorable prognostic biomarker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group involving Métis and Indigenous graduate students from the University of Manitoba and inner-city Indigenous youth developed and participated in an outdoor adventure-based canoe trip in Quetico Provincial Park. The five-day trip was steeped in Métis, Voyageur and Indigenous history and ceremony. This ensuing paper focuses on what is at stake when taking a decolonizing approach toward land-based education involving both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants that aspires to (re)introduce Indigenous practices, environments and ceremonies. Inspired by recognizing the complexities involved in creating physical activity and sport programming for Indigenous youth under colonial structures within and outside of the academy, we seek to both illuminate and deconstruct the possibilities of measuring the transformative effects that such a trip has on all those involved, including the youth, mentors, and researchers. Drawing on the results of a qualitative study using both Indigenous and Western approaches, we present community-based research focusing on the impacts these experiences have on community building, identity, and decolonization.

The evolution of the flux tube stability parameters in plasma injections at the Saturnian magnetosphere is reviewed. Plasma injections result from an imbalance in the centrifugal, total pressure gradient, and magnetic tension forces acting on plasma in the magnetosphere. Plasma originating from Enceladus tends to move outward due to centrifugal forces while reconnected flux tubes that are depleted of plasma collapse because of the magnetic tension leading to plasma injections. As the flux tube moves inward and contracts, the ambient density and pressure increase sufficiently to resist further collapse and the injected flux tube brakes. During this process the flux tube may also lose its integrity due to particle drifts, which allow exchange of plasma with adjacent flux tubes so as to bring the flux tube closer to equilibrium and stability so that it is indistinguishable from adjacent plasma. Stability parameters using this energy approach are defined and examined. The results show that the net forces push the plasma moves inward for L > 11 and outward for L < 8.5, while equilibrium is generally reached for 8.5 < L < 11, where L is the equatorial magnetic field crossing measured in Saturnian radii. The evolution of the stability parameters can also apply to Jovian and other fast rotating planetary magnetospheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses a growing threat to the livestock industry, impacting animal productivity, animal welfare, and farm management practices. Thus, enhancing livestock climatic resilience (CR) is becoming a key priority in various breeding programs. CR can be defined as the ability of an animal to be minimally affected or rapidly return to euthermia under thermally stressful conditions. The primary study objectives were to perform genome-wide association studies for 12 CR indicators derived from variability in longitudinal vaginal temperature in lactating sows under heat stress conditions. A total of 31 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on nine chromosomes were considered as significantly associated with nine CR indicators based on different thresholds. Among them, only two SNPs were simultaneously identified for different CR indicators, SSC6:16,449,770 bp and SSC7:39,254,889 bp. These results highlighted the polygenic nature of CR indicators with small effects distributed across different chromosomes. Furthermore, we identified 434 positional genes associated with CR. Key candidate genes include SLC3A2 , STX5 , POLR2G , and GANAB , which were previously related to heat stress responses, protein folding, and cholesterol metabolism. Furthermore, the enriched KEGG pathways and Gene Ontology (GO) terms associated with these candidate genes are linked to stress responses, immune and inflammatory responses, neural system, and DNA damage and repair. The most enriched quantitative trait loci are related to "Meat and Carcass", followed by "Production", "Reproduction", "Health", and "Exterior (conformation and appearance)" traits. Multiple genomic regions were identified associated with different CR indicators, which reveals that CR is a highly polygenic trait with small effect sizes distributed across the genome. Many heat tolerance or HS related genes in our study, such as HSP90AB1 , DMGDH , and HOMER1 , have been identified. The complexity of CR encompasses a range of adaptive responses, from behavioral to cellular. These results highlight the possibility of selecting more heat-tolerant individuals based on the identified SNP for CR indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The San José Bike Party (SJBP) is a diverse collective of cyclists gathering for monthly group rides around the urban centre of San José, California. By leveraging social networking platforms, the SJBP announces a route and theme just prior to the ride each month. We argue that organizing, producing, and participating in these rides constitute a political act which can help to promote civic engagement and collective action. Further, we explored the way in which collective action can be fostered via social media. Through analysis of semi-structured individual interviews, focus-group interviews, moving methodologies and field observations derived from researcher participation in SJBP events, we articulate the complexities of contested and negotiated meanings of the use of technology, social media and activism assigned to the event by participants, yielding these themes: Critical Analysis of Social Media's Influence, Political Expressions in the SJBP and Prefigurative Politics in the SJBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of the ordinary mode (O‐mode) instability is performed to comprehend the nonthermal continuum (NTC) radiation near the plasmapause, taking into account the relativistic wave‐electron resonance effect. The energy source is the anisotropy in the velocity of the minority suprathermal electron population. Numerical solutions demonstrate that the O‐mode can be unstable with multiple narrow frequency bands located close to harmonics of the electron cyclotron frequency above the local electron plasma frequency. These waves have narrow beaming angle bands of nearly 90° $90{}^{\circ}$ relative to the ambient magnetic field. Our findings indicate that NTC radiation generated by this wave‐electron resonance instability near the plasmapause can propagate nearer to the magnetic equator with multiple harmonics, which is in agreement with a recent statistical study using Van Allen Probes. Key Points: The ordinary mode electron anisotropy instability is examined to comprehend the non‐thermal continuum radiation near the plasmapauseResonant ordinary modes are unstable over multiple narrow frequency and wavevector rangesNTC radiation generated by the instability near the plasmapause can propagate nearer to the magnetic equator [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the entry of the cool low‐latitude mantle ions into the tail plasma sheet near the flanks under persistent interplanetary magnetic field By, we evaluate the role of the cross‐field diffusive transport by kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) by investigating two events observed by multiscale (MMS) spacecraft. Around the separatrix between the open and closed field‐line regions, a two‐component mixing of hot plasma sheet ions of a few keV with cool mantle ions of a few hundred eV was observed, indicating transport across the separatrix. The waves observed between 0.01 and 10 Hz around the separatrix had characteristics consistent with those of KAWs. The consistency allowed us to estimate the wave vectors as a function of frequency by fitting KAW dispersion to the observations. Using the observed wave powers, plasma moments, and the estimated wave vectors, we computed the cross‐field diffusion rates associated with KAWs. The diffusion rates were found to be comparable to or larger than the Bohm diffusion rates during the intervals when the two‐component mixing was observed, indicating that the KAW diffusive transport can play a role in the entry of low‐latitude mantle ions into the plasma sheet. Key Points: We investigate cross‐field diffusive transport for the mixing of cold low‐latitude mantle ions and hot plasma sheet ions observed by MMSThe waves around the separatrix between the low‐latitude mantle and plasma sheet show the characteristics of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs)Estimated diffusive transport rates through KAWs are sufficiently large to cause the observed ion mixing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic breeding programs have been paramount in improving the rates of genetic progress of productive efficiency traits in livestock. Such improvement has been accompanied by the intensification of production systems, use of a wider range of precision technologies in routine management practices, and high-throughput phenotyping. Simultaneously, a greater public awareness of animal welfare has influenced livestock producers to place more emphasis on welfare relative to production traits. Therefore, management practices and breeding technologies in livestock have been developed in recent years to enhance animal welfare. In particular, genomic selection can be used to improve livestock social behavior, resilience to disease and other stress factors, and ease habituation to production system changes. The main requirements for including novel behavioral and welfare traits in genomic breeding schemes are: (1) to identify traits that represent the biological mechanisms of the industry breeding goals; (2) the availability of individual phenotypic records measured on a large number of animals (ideally with genomic information); (3) the derived traits are heritable, biologically meaningful, repeatable, and (ideally) not highly correlated with other traits already included in the selection indexes; and (4) genomic information is available for a large number of individuals (or genetically close individuals) with phenotypic records. In this review, we (1) describe a potential route for development of novel welfare indicator traits (using ideal phenotypes) for both genetic and genomic selection schemes; (2) summarize key indicator variables of livestock behavior and welfare, including a detailed assessment of thermal stress in livestock; (3) describe the primary statistical and bioinformatic methods available for large-scale data analyses of animal welfare; and (4) identify major advancements, challenges, and opportunities to generate high-throughput and large-scale datasets to enable genetic and genomic selection for improved welfare in livestock. A wide variety of novel welfare indicator traits can be derived from information captured by modern technology such as sensors, automatic feeding systems, milking robots, activity monitors, video cameras, and indirect biomarkers at the cellular and physiological levels. The development of novel traits coupled with genomic selection schemes for improved welfare in livestock can be feasible and optimized based on recently developed (or developing) technologies. Efficient implementation of genetic and genomic selection for improved animal welfare also requires the integration of a multitude of scientific fields such as cell and molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, stress physiology, computer science, engineering, quantitative genomics, and bioinformatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic improvement of livestock productivity has resulted in greater production of metabolic heat and potentially greater susceptibility to heat stress. Various studies have demonstrated that there is genetic variability for heat tolerance and genetic selection for more heat tolerant individuals is possible. The rate of genetic progress tends to be greater when genomic information is incorporated into the analyses as more accurate breeding values can be obtained for young individuals. Therefore, this study aimed (1) to evaluate the predictive ability of genomic breeding values for heat tolerance based on routinely recorded traits, and (2) to investigate the genetic background of heat tolerance based on single‐step genome‐wide association studies for economically important traits related to body composition, growth and reproduction in Large White pigs. Pedigree information was available for 265,943 animals and genotypes for 8686 animals. The studied traits included ultrasound backfat thickness (BFT), ultrasound muscle depth (MDP), piglet weaning weight (WW), off‐test weight (OTW), interval between farrowing (IBF), total number of piglets born (TNB), number of piglets born alive (NBA), number of piglets born dead (NBD), number of piglets weaned (WN) and weaning‐to‐estrus interval (IWE). The number of phenotypic records ranged from 6059 (WN) to 172,984 (TNB). Single‐step genomic reaction norm predictions were used to calculate the genomic estimated breeding values for each individual. Predictions of breeding values for the validation population individuals were compared between datasets containing phenotypic records measured in the whole range of temperatures (WR) and datasets containing only phenotypic records measured when the weather station temperature was above 10°C (10C) or 15°C (15C), to evaluate the usefulness of these datasets that may better reflect the within‐barn temperature. The use of homogeneous or heterogeneous residual variance was found to be trait‐dependent, where homogeneous variance presented the best fit for MDP, BFT, OTW, TNB, NBA, WN and IBF, while the other traits (WW and IWE) had better fit with heterogeneous variance. The average prediction accuracy, dispersion and bias values considering all traits for WR were 0.36 ± 0.05, −0.07 ± 0.13 and 0.76 ± 0.10, respectively; for 10C were 0.39 ± 0.02, −0.05 ± 0.07 and 0.81 ± 0.05, respectively; and for 15C were 0.32 ± 0.05, −0.05 ± 0.11 and 0.84 ± 0.10, respectively. Based on the studied traits, using phenotypic records collected when the outside temperature (from public weather stations) was above 10°C provided better predictions for most of the traits. Forty‐three and 62 candidate genomic regions were associated with the intercept (overall performance level) and slope term (specific biological mechanisms related to environmental sensitivity), respectively. Our results contribute to improve genomic predictions using existing datasets and better understand the genetic background of heat tolerance in pigs. Furthermore, the genomic regions and candidate genes identified will contribute to future genomic studies and breeding applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a qualitative examination of the experiences and impact of participating in an outdoor-based and adventure education-based orientation as an alternative to traditional forms of sport team initiation. Traditional forms of initiation for the participants in this study had included hazing ceremonies, whereby new team members were forced to engage in degrading, humiliating and abusive activities to secure their place on a team. Following an experiential weekend orientation that incorporated cooperative, team-building and adventure-based challenges, interviews were conducted with male and female varsity athletes from collegiate hockey, volleyball, badminton and basketball teams in Canada. The participants observed how the cooperative, outdoor team activities contributed to an egalitarian, inclusive climate, which promoted team cohesion, communication and support among veteran and rookie athletes. Tackling team challenges that required support and cooperation for success facilitated the restructuring of pre-established hierarchical relationships, which led to changes in the ways athletes perceived and subsequently treated each other throughout the orientation and into their season. This study highlights some of the promising possibilities for creating new welcoming traditions for collegiate athletic teams that draw from experiential outdoor education and adventure-based models.

Non‐invasive smart electronic‐free sampling capsules have revolutionized the exploration of microbiome‐disease interactions in inaccessible regions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, a significant impediment to the broader use of electronic‐free capsules is the challenge of reliably tracking and determining their in vivo location. Variability in patient motility introduces uncertainties in capsule position. Thus, there is a critical need for effective solutions that ensure traceability in microbiome studies employing such capsules. While tracking methods are explored in previous smart ingestible capsule designs, most have relied on RF, imaging, and radiation‐based techniques, limiting sampling volume, increasing costs, complicating design, and raising health concerns due to ionizing radiation exposure. To address these challenges, the design of an electronic‐free smart capsule is introduced that integrates a metal tracer for easy metal detection, serving as a reliable tracking mechanism. The capsule is housed in a 3D‐printed casing and includes a superabsorbent hydrogel serving as both a sampling medium and an actuator within the capsule. The capsule's targeted sampling of the GI tract is accomplished by covering the capsule's sampling port with a pH‐responsive coating. Optimal dimensions and material for the cylindrical shaped metal tracer on the capsule are determined through extensive optimizations, considering factors such as gastric flotation, corrosion resistance, read distance, and omnidirectional detectability. The results of these investigations reveal that a 12 mm stainless steel (SS 316L) cylinder offers the necessary detection and tracing capabilities with minimal toxicity and excellent corrosion resistance under relevant physiological conditions in the GI tract. Validation studies, both in vitro and in vivo, confirmed the capsule's trackability using a handheld metal detector. These findings are further validated by X‐ray imaging and CT scans, demonstrating the metal detector's ability to distinguish approximate GI tract regions and determine the time point of excretion. This innovative approach provides a reliable and cost‐effective solution for tracking electronic‐free smart capsules, enhancing their applicability in microbiome research for both human and animal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With an overarching goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in biomedical sciences, the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) developed a web-based national mentoring platform (MyNRMN) that seeks to connect mentors and mentees to support the persistence of underrepresented minorities in the biomedical sciences. As of May 15, 2024, the MyNRMN platform, which provides mentoring, networking, and professional development tools, has facilitated more than 12,100 unique mentoring connections between faculty, students, and researchers in the biomedical domain. Objective: This study aimed to examine the large-scale mentoring connections facilitated by our web-based platform between students (mentees) and faculty (mentors) across institutional and geographic boundaries. Using an innovative graph database, we analyzed diverse mentoring connections between mentors and mentees across demographic characteristics in the biomedical sciences. Methods: Through the MyNRMN platform, we observed profile data and analyzed mentoring connections made between students and faculty across institutional boundaries by race, ethnicity, gender, institution type, and educational attainment between July 1, 2016, and May 31, 2021. Results: In total, there were 15,024 connections with 2222 mentees and 1652 mentors across 1625 institutions contributing data. Female mentees participated in the highest number of connections (3996/6108, 65%), whereas female mentors participated in 58% (5206/8916) of the connections. Black mentees made up 38% (2297/6108) of the connections, whereas White mentors participated in 56% (5036/8916) of the connections. Mentees were predominately from institutions classified as Research 1 (R1; doctoral universities—very high research activity) and historically Black colleges and universities (556/2222, 25% and 307/2222, 14%, respectively), whereas 31% (504/1652) of mentors were from R1 institutions. Conclusions: To date, the utility of mentoring connections across institutions throughout the United States and how mentors and mentees are connected is unknown. This study examined these connections and the diversity of these connections using an extensive web-based mentoring network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study objective was to investigate the effect of repeated hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis stimulation using synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) intramuscular injections on hair cortisol concentration, growth, and behavior in preweaned dairy calves. Twenty-seven Holstein calves were assigned to nine triads (based on sex and birth order) and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) control (CON ; 2 mL saline weekly); 2) moderate (MOD ; alternating Cosyntropin [2 mcg/kg body weight (BW)] and saline weekly); or 3) frequent (FREQ ; Cosyntropin [2 mcg/kg BW] weekly). Calves received their first injection on study day 0 (7 ± 1 d of age). Hair was collected from the tail switch between days −5 and −3 (baseline), 21, and 49 and analyzed for cortisol concentration. To verify the endogenous cortisol release by Cosyntropin during the treatment period, saliva was collected on days 0, 14, 28, and 42 before injection and every 15 min for 2 h after injection for analysis of salivary cortisol concentration. Calves were fitted with accelerometers to continuously monitor lying time, number of lying bouts, and lying bout duration throughout the study. Growth measures (BW, hip height, hip width) were recorded weekly. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA (SAS, Version 9.4), and models included the fixed effects of treatment, time (min or study day), and interaction between treatment and time. Temperature humidity index was included as a continuous covariate in all models. We observed a treatment × min interaction (P  < 0.0001), whereby salivary cortisol concentration was lower in CON calves compared to MOD and FREQ calves 15 to 120 min postinjection. While hair cortisol concentration was not influenced by treatment, concentration decreased from day 21 (1.28 ± 0.03 ng/mL) to 49 (0.93 ± 0.03 ng/mL). Average BW was similar across treatments (CON [59.4 ± 1.09 kg], MOD [58.6 ± 0.98 kg], and FREQ [57.6 ± 0.96 kg]; P  = 0.50). There was no evidence to suggest a difference in average daily lying time (CON [18.5 ± 0.23 h/d], MOD [18.6 ± 0.23 h/d], and FREQ [18.5 ± 0.23 h/d]; P  = 0.99). These results suggest that repeated HPA axis stimulation through Cosyntropin administration increased salivary cortisol concentration, but did not influence hair cortisol concentration, growth, or behavior in preweaned dairy calves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of 406 subjects completed a questionnaire testing the influence of personal spirituality, education and several other factors on sexual tension in cross-sex friendships (CSF Tension). The subjects included 143 students from a Christian university (CU), 137 from a secular junior college (JC), and 127 non-students (NS). The primary criterion variable was the amount of CSF Tension experienced: Each subject rated to what extent sexual tension made friendship difficult due to different characteristics (e.g., he/she is physically attractive, dressed seductively) of 16 hypothetical friendships. A measure of sexuality--a composite of 12 questions adapted from the Self-Assessment Survey--assessed sexual activity, values, and ideation. Other predictors included neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, and demographics. JC students rated significantly more liberal than CU students on all 12 of the sexuality questions but no CSF-Tension differences were found for 15 of the 16 hypothetical CSF comparisons. JC students also rated two standard deviations lower on spirituality than CU students. Also, NS differed from students by being older, more spiritual, more educated, less involved in sexual activities, and experienced less CSF Tension. For the entire sample, spirituality was associated with sharply lower levels of sexual activities and ideation (r = -0.601) and significantly lower levels of CSF Tension. The influence of education was similar to that of spirituality but not as robust.