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The prevalence and societal impact of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) continue to increase despite years of research in both patient populations and animal models. There remains an urgent need for translational efforts between clinical and preclinical research to (i) identify and evaluate putative causes of NDD, (ii) determine their underlying neurobiological mechanisms, (iii) develop and test novel therapeutic approaches, and (iv) translate basic research into safe and effective clinical practices. Given the complexity behind potential causes and behaviors affected by NDDs, modeling these uniquely human brain disorders in animals will require that we capitalize on unique advantages of a diverse array of species. While much NDD research has been conducted in more traditional animal models such as the mouse, ultimately, we may benefit from creating animal models with species that have a more sophisticated social behavior repertoire such as the rat (Rattus norvegicus) or species that more closely related to humans, such as the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). Here, we highlight the rat and rhesus macaque models for their role in previous psychological research discoveries, current efforts to understand the neurobiology of NDDs, and focus on the convergence of behavior outcome measures that parallel features of human NDDs.

Background Chronic pain is a prevalent and burdensome problem within the Canadian health care system, where the gold standard treatment occurs at multidisciplinary pain facilities. Patient intake questionnaires (PIQs) are standard practice for obtaining health information, with many patients including free-text (e.g., writing in margins of questionnaires) on their PIQs. Aims This study aims to quantitatively examine whether and how patients who include free-text on PIQs differ from those who do not. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 367 PIQs at a Canadian pain facility in Winnipeg, Canada. Patients were categorized into free-text (i.e., any text response not required in responding to questions) or no free-text groups. Groups were compared on sociodemographics, pain, health care utilization, and depressive symptoms with independent samples t-tests and chi-square analyses. Results Patients with free-text compared to those without had more sources of pain (6.66 vs. 4.63), longer duration of pain (123.2 months vs. 68.1 months), and a greater proportion of past pain conditions (66.3% vs. 55.2%). Additionally, they had tried more treatments for their pain, had seen more specialists, had tried more past medications, were currently on more medications, and had undergone more tests. No differences were identified for depressive symptoms across groups. Conclusions This study is the first to examine patient and health-related correlates of free-text on PIQs at a Canadian pain facility. Results indicate that there are significant differences between groups on pain and health care utilization. Thus, patients using free-text may require additional supports and targeted interventions to improve patient–physician communication and patient outcomes.

As a companion piece to Wiechmann et al. (2003), practical guidance regarding how to implement a global staffing system is provided. Best practices were derived from interviews with key informants in six organizations recognized as leading in the area of global staffing. Best practices related to system acceptability, development, and implementation are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of global HR systems remains a real challenge. This article provides an indepth look at six organizations - Agilent Technologies, Dow Chemical Company, IBM, Motorola, Procter and Gamble, and Shell Oil - that have instituted globally standardized staffing tools and systems. The systems they have created and the challenges they have faced are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Pneumocystis jirovecii kills hundreds of thousands of immunocompromised patients each year. Yet many aspects of the biology of this obligate pathogen remain obscure because it is not possible to culture the fungus in vitro independently of its host. Consequently, our understanding of Pneumocystis pathobiology is heavily reliant upon bioinformatic inferences. We have exploited a powerful combination of genomic and phylogenetic approaches to examine the evolution of transcription factors in Pneumocystis species. We selected protein families (Pfam families) that correspond to transcriptional regulators and used bioinformatic approaches to compare these families in the seven Pneumocystis species that have been sequenced to date with those from other yeasts, other human and plant pathogens, and other obligate parasites. Some Pfam families of transcription factors have undergone significant reduction during their evolution in the Pneumocystis genus, and other Pfam families have been lost or appear to be in the process of being lost. Meanwhile, other transcription factor families have been retained in Pneumocystis species, and some even appear to have undergone expansion. On this basis, Pneumocystis species seem to have retained transcriptional regulators that control chromosome maintenance, ribosomal gene regulation, RNA processing and modification, and respiration. Meanwhile, regulators that promote the assimilation of alternative carbon sources, amino acid, lipid, and sterol biosynthesis, and iron sensing and homeostasis appear to have been lost. Our analyses of transcription factor retention, loss, and gain provide important insights into the biology and lifestyle of Pneumocystis. IMPORTANCE Pneumocystis jirovecii is a major fungal pathogen of humans that infects healthy individuals, colonizing the lungs of infants. In immunocompromised and transplant patients, this fungus causes life-threatening pneumonia, and these Pneumocystis infections remain among the most common and serious infections in HIV/AIDS patients. Yet we remain remarkably ignorant about the biology and epidemiology of Pneumocystis due to the inability to culture this fungus in vitro. Our analyses of transcription factor retentions, losses, and gains in sequenced Pneumocystis species provide valuable new views of their specialized biology, suggesting the retention of many metabolic and stress regulators and the loss of others that are essential in free-living fungi. Given the lack of in vitro culture methods for Pneumocystis, this powerful bioinformatic approach has advanced our understanding of the lifestyle of P. jirovecii and the nature of its dependence on the host for survival.

The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) randomized 35,533 healthy men, >55 yr old (>50 yr if African American), with normal digital rectal exams and prostate specific antigens <4 ng/ml to 1) 200 μg/day l-selenomethionine, 2) 400 IU/day all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), 3) both supplements, or 4) placebo for 7 to 12 yr. The hypotheses underlying SELECT, that selenium and vitamin E individually and together decrease prostate cancer incidence, derived from epidemiologic and laboratory evidence and significant secondary endpoints in the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer (selenium) and Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene (vitamin E) trials. In SELECT, prostate cancer incidence did not differ among the 4 arms: hazard ratios [99% confidence intervals (CIs)] for prostate cancer were 1.13 (99% CI = 0.95-1.35, P = 0.06; n = 473) for vitamin E, 1.04 (99% CI = 0.87-1.24, P = 0.62; n = 432) for selenium, and 1.05 (99% CI = 0.88-1.25, P = 0.52; n = 437) for selenium + vitamin E vs. 1.00 (n = 416) for placebo. Statistically nonsignificant increased risks of prostate cancer with vitamin E alone [relative risk (RR) = 1.13, P = 0.06) and newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes mellitus with selenium alone (RR = 1.07, P = 0.16) were observed. SELECT data show that neither selenium nor vitamin E, alone or together, in the doses and formulations used, prevented prostate cancer in this heterogeneous population of healthy men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: Obesity is associated with both an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and increased mortality rates. The mechanism is unclear, and central (visceral) obesity, insulin resistance, altered sex steroids and altered adipokines are mooted as possible factors. These features may cluster in the so-called metabolic syndrome. The relevance of metabolic syndrome to the biology of breast cancer is unknown, and this was the focus of the present study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All postmenopausal women with newly diagnosed breast cancer (n=105) were recruited. A detailed clinical history was carried out, as well as a body composition analysis, metabolic screen and measurement of adipokines and inflammatory markers. RESULTS: The median age was 68 years (40-94 years) and the mean body mass index was 28.3+/-5.2 kg/m2, with 87% of patients centrally obese. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 39% of patients, and was significantly associated with central obesity (P<0.005) and increased inflammation, with C-reactive protein levels doubling in metabolic syndrome patients compared with non-metabolic syndrome patients (10.3 vs 5.8 mg/l; P=0.084). Patients with a later pathological stage (II-IV) were significantly more likely to be obese (P=0.007), centrally obese (P=0.009), hyperglycaemic (P=0.047) and hyperinsulinaemic (P=0.026); 51% had metabolic syndrome compared with 12% for early stage disease. Patients with node-positive disease were significantly more likely to be hyperinsulaemic (P=0.030) and have metabolic syndrome (P=0.028) than patients with node-negative disease. DISCUSSION: The data suggest that metabolic syndrome and central obesity are common in postmenopausal breast cancer patients, and that metabolic syndrome may be associated with a more aggressive tumour biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial, ethnic, (R/E) and gender disparities in access to health services in the United States and their relationship to adverse health outcomes are well established. Despite an increase in evidence-based cardiovascular treatment, gender, racial, and ethnic disparities in coronary artery disease (CAD) treatment persist. There is neither currently a comprehensive framework for understanding why disparities occur in cardiovascular disease care, nor viable solutions for intervention. This article synthesizes the literature on disparities in coronary artery disease with a conceptual model for understanding chronic disease disparities. This article follows the natural history of disease to observe where differences arise, beginning with health risk management, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Racial, ethnic, and gender differences were found at every step of this continuum, including a higher burden of risk factors and a less likelihood of receiving needed lifesaving cardiac procedures. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of intervention strategies to reduce racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in coronary artery disease. Comprehensive solutions will require addressing the barriers at the system, the provider, and the patient level. An early intervention approach that addresses multiple risk factors should be a high priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ensuring the integrity and transferability of digital messages is an important challenge in modern communications. Although purely mathematical approaches exist, they usually rely on the computational complexity of certain functions, in which case there is no guarantee of long-term security. Alternatively, quantum digital signatures offer security guaranteed by the physical laws of quantum mechanics. Prior experimental demonstrations of quantum digital signatures in optical fiber have typically been limited to operation over short distances and/or operated in a laboratory environment. Here we report the experimental transmission of quantum digital signatures over channel losses of up to 42.8 ± 1.2 dB in a link comprised of 90 km of installed fiber with additional optical attenuation introduced to simulate longer distances. The channel loss of 42.8 ± 1.2 dB corresponds to an equivalent distance of 134.2 ± 3.8 km and this represents the longest effective distance and highest channel loss that quantum digital signatures have been shown to operate over to date. Our theoretical model indicates that this represents close to the maximum possible channel attenuation for this quantum digital signature protocol, defined as the loss for which the signal rate is comparable to the dark count rate of the detectors.

Oblivious transfer is an important primitive in modern cryptography. Applications include secure multiparty computation, oblivious sampling, e-voting, and signatures. Information-theoretically secure perfect 1-out-of 2 oblivious transfer is impossible to achieve. Imperfect variants, where both participants’ ability to cheat is still limited, are possible using quantum means while remaining classically impossible. Precisely what security parameters are attainable remains unknown. We introduce a theoretical framework for studying semirandom quantum oblivious transfer, which is shown to be equivalent to regular oblivious transfer in terms of cheating probabilities. We then use it to derive bounds on cheating. We also present a protocol with lower cheating probabilities than previous schemes, together with its optical realization. We show that a lower bound of 2/3 on the minimum achievable cheating probability can be directly derived for semirandom protocols using a different method and definition of cheating than used previously. The lower bound increases from 2/3 to approximately 0.749 if the states output by the protocol are pure and symmetric. The oblivious transfer scheme we present uses unambiguous state elimination measurements and can be implemented with the same technological requirements as standard quantum cryptography. In particular, it does not require honest participants to prepare or measure entangled states. The cheating probabilities are 3/4 and approximately 0.729 for sender and receiver, respectively, which is lower than in existing protocols. Using a photonic testbed, we have implemented the protocol with honest parties, as well as optimal cheating strategies. Because of the asymmetry of the receiver’s and sender’s cheating probabilities, the protocol can be combined with a “trivial” protocol to achieve an overall protocol with lower average cheating probabilities of approximately 0.74 for both sender and receiver. This demonstrates that, interestingly, protocols where the final output states are pure and symmetric are not optimal in terms of average cheating probability.

The implementation of decision support system will be applied to support the regional investment of West Sumatera by providing a feasibility study analysis; exclusively the aspects of economic and financial criteria. This research was carried out in West Sumatera Regional Investment Coordinating Board as the authorities of regional investment licensing and controlling. The first step in designing a decision support system is conducting Pre – Study. It consists of literature study and pre–design study related to the field of study. Next step is using Unified Modeling Language (UML) method to provide, represent and visualize the system. The basic model of the financial feasibility study is implemented by using the predetermined assumption as the scope of the best system performance. The system design which is implemented uses the Web and GIS concept. Otherwise, the expected result from the research is the application is able to calculate the basic data from financial feasibility aspect into needed information in order to analyze the feasibility of any investments. The result should be converted into Net Present Value, Benefit Cost Ratio, Internal Rate of Returns, and Payback Period value. The last step of the research is verification and validation in order to make sure the ability of application accommodating the pre -design system requirements. The result of verification and validation is able to accommodate the pre -design system requirements conclusively.

Signature schemes, proposed in 1976 by Diffie and Hellman, have become ubiquitous across modern communications. They allow for the exchange of messages from one sender to multiple recipients, with the guarantees that messages cannot be forged or tampered with and that messages also can be forwarded from one recipient to another without compromising their validity. Signatures are different from, but no less important than encryption, which ensures the privacy of a message. Commonly used signature protocols—signatures based on the Rivest–Adleman–Shamir (RSA) algorithm, the digital signature algorithm (DSA), and the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA)—are only computationally secure, similar to public key encryption methods. In fact, since these rely on the difficulty of finding discrete logarithms or factoring large primes, it is known that they will become completely insecure with the emergence of quantum computers. We may therefore see a shift towards signature protocols that will remain secure even in a post-quantum world. Ideally, such schemes would provide unconditional or information-theoretic security. In this paper, we aim to provide an accessible and comprehensive review of existing unconditionally securesecure signature schemes for signing classical messages, with a focus on unconditionally secure quantum signature schemes.

Public health education is a key component in the variety of services provided by local health departments, particularly for the low-income demographic. In addition to helping the participants to live a healthier lifestyle, nutrition education sessions are a required component of a specific program for low-income mothers and children, entitled the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). However, some women in the Utah County WIC program were not receiving the sessions because the inconvenient class times and scheduling difficulty. With the increasing availability of the internet access by WIC participants, we can increase the availability and effectiveness of the nutrition education by providing courses online via the Utah County's WIC website. We are designing a system consisting of a web interface and a database backend, where health workers can author and publish interactive content, track users' progress, and evaluate the outcome of the courses taken.

Biological samples present a range of complexities from homogeneous purified protein to multicomponent mixtures. Accurate qualification of such samples is paramount to downstream applications. We describe the development of an MIR spectroscopy-based analytical method offering simultaneous protein quantitation (0.25–5 mg/mL) and analysis of total lipid or detergent species, as well as the identification of other biomolecules present in biological samples. The method utilizes a hydrophilic PTFE membrane engineered for presentation of aqueous samples in a dried format compatible with fast infrared analysis. Unlike classical quantification techniques, the reported method is amino acid sequence independent and thus applicable to complex samples of unknown composition. By comparison to existing platforms, this MIR-based method enables direct quantification using minimal sample volume (2 µL); it is well-suited where repeat access and limited sample size are critical parameters. Further, accurate results can be derived without specialized training or knowledge of IR spectroscopy. Overall, the simplified application and analysis system provides a more cost-effective alternative to high-throughput IR systems for research laboratories with minimal throughput demands. In summary, the MIR-based system provides a viable alternative to current protein quantitation methods; it also uniquely offers simultaneous qualification of other components, notably lipids and detergents.

An abstract of the article "Myopathy as The Presenting Feature of KlineFelter's Syndrome," by A. Merwick, C. Keohane, and B. McNamara is presented.

Background: For men with prostate cancer, there is substantial variation in the use of conservative management, such as active surveillance. Commercial prices, which vary across urology practices, may afford incentives that foster physician behaviors associated with utilization. Such behaviors may "spillover" to the Medicare population and affect quality. This study evaluated the effects of practice-level commercial prices on health care utilization and quality in men with prostate cancer insured by traditional Medicare., Methods: From a 20% Medicare sample, the authors identified men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer between 2014-2019 (n = 44,653). Using commercial payments from the MarketScan database, they developed a practice-level commercial price index (ratio of commercial prices to Medicare prices). They examined the association of the price index with price standardized spending, overtreatment (treatment among those with >50% noncancer mortality within 10 years), and underuse of diagnostic testing in active surveillance (at least one prostate-specific antigen test and one confirmatory test-MRI, prostate biopsy, genomic test-within 12 months of diagnosis)., Results: Practice-level commercial price indices varied from 1.34 (134% of Medicare prices), for practices in the bottom decile, to 3.00, for practices in the top decile. Increasing price index was associated with lower odds of overtreatment (odds ratio, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.76-0.97; p = .01), but not price standardized spending or underuse of diagnostic testing in active surveillance., Conclusions: Commercial prices vary markedly across urology practices. Among newly diagnosed men with traditional Medicare, those managed by practices with higher commercial price indices had lower odds of overtreatment, suggesting improved prostate cancer care quality., (© 2024 American Cancer Society.)

Introduction: Attaining social success is a significant concern during early adolescence. The characteristics that youth believe will bring social success are known to change over time and vary across contexts, especially over the transition to middle school., Methods: The analytic sample included 614 students (52% girls, 48% boys; 53% Black, 47% White) from the Midwestern United States. At yearly intervals during grades 6-8, participants completed self-report surveys assessing their endorsement of five characteristics (sincerity, academic responsibility, dominance, disingenuity, athleticism/attractiveness) that described peers in their grade who have lots of friends and get along well with others (i.e., social success). The sample included students who attended the same school from kindergarten-eighth grade (K8) and students who made a transition from an elementary to a middle school after 6th grade (ESMS)., Results: Multigroup longitudinal growth models revealed some concerning trends over time. For both ESMS and K8 students, their endorsement of sincerity decreased, their endorsement of disingenuity increased, and their endorsement of athleticism/attractiveness was high and stable. ESMS students' endorsement of academic responsibility decreased over time and their endorsement of dominance showed increasing trends. K8 students' endorsements of academic responsibility and dominance were stable. However, across contexts, compared to the other characteristics, sincerity was most often ranked the highest., Conclusions: The findings highlight that some changes in students' beliefs about social success may be unique to students who experience a school transition whereas others may be developmentally normative. Implications for the education of young adolescent students are discussed., (© 2024 Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.)

Converging data show that exposure to maternal immune activation (MIA) in utero alters brain development in animals and increases the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. A recently developed non-human primate MIA model affords opportunities for studies with uniquely strong translational relevance to human neurodevelopment. The current longitudinal study used 1H-MRS to investigate the developmental trajectory of prefrontal cortex metabolites in male rhesus monkey offspring of dams (n = 14) exposed to a modified form of the inflammatory viral mimic, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly IC), in the late first trimester. Brain metabolites in these animals were compared to offspring of dams that received saline (n = 10) or no injection (n = 4). N-acetylaspartate (NAA), glutamate, creatine, choline, myo-inositol, taurine, and glutathione were estimated from PRESS and MEGA-PRESS acquisitions obtained at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 45 months of age. Prior investigations of this cohort reported reduced frontal cortical gray and white matter and subtle cognitive impairments in MIA offspring. We hypothesized that the MIA-induced neurodevelopmental changes would extend to abnormal brain metabolite levels, which would be associated with the observed cognitive impairments. Prefrontal NAA was significantly higher in the MIA offspring across all ages (p < 0.001) and was associated with better performance on the two cognitive measures most sensitive to impairment in the MIA animals (both p < 0.05). Myo-inositol was significantly lower across all ages in MIA offspring but was not associated with cognitive performance. Taurine was elevated in MIA offspring at 36 and 45 months. Glutathione did not differ between groups. MIA exposure in male non-human primates is associated with altered prefrontal cortex metabolites during childhood and adolescence. A positive association between elevated NAA and cognitive performance suggests the hypothesis that elevated NAA throughout these developmental stages reflects a protective or resilience-related process in MIA-exposed offspring. The potential relevance of these findings to human neurodevelopmental disorders is discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

School psychology graduate students experience many risk factors for problems with mental health, including high workloads, financial distress, and challenging relationships with faculty that can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and depression. Although there have been studies that have investigated depression and anxiety amongst graduate students in general (Eisenberg et al., 2007) and health service psychology students in particular (Hobaica et al., 2021), there are reasons to believe that school psychology graduate students may have different experiences. To date, no research has been found investigating the depression and anxiety symptoms of graduate students in school psychology programs. A survey was sent to 194 school psychology training programs, and 291 graduate students completed it. Approximately one in four graduate students reported moderate to severe levels of depressive symptoms, while one in three reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety symptoms. These symptoms were significantly higher in graduate students identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and more identities, women, or reported being from a lower socioeconomic background. There were no differences in depression or anxiety symptoms between the type of program (i.e., doctoral or specialist) or years in program. Implications for trainers of school psychology are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Competing Interests: Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and declare the following. IP has received grants from the Commonwealth Fund and Health Foundation and personal fees from the World Health Organization and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. RM did part of the work related to this piece during her employment at the Universität Hamburg. The opinion expressed and arguments employed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD or of its member states, her current employer. AR has received grants from the National Institutes of Health, Arnold Ventures, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. JF has received grants from the Commonwealth Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Episcopal Health Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and Arnold Ventures as well as personal fees from the InterAmerican Development Bank and Humana for work unrelated to this article. IP, RM, AR, and JF conceived of the study. IP provided a first draft that was reviewed and edited by RM, AR, and JF. All authors contributed to writing and editing, and approval of the final version for publication.

Background: The Arab Teens Lifestyle (ATLS) questionnaire was an initiative to assess the lifestyle habits influencing obesity rates in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including physical activity (PA) patterns, sedentary and eating behaviours. Since its implementation, the ATLS questionnaire has been used in several studies among different age groups and populations. This instrument has not previously been administered among the university students of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, where the obesity rates are the highest in the country. This research was the first that aimed to identify lifestyle habits influencing the rates of obesity among 18-25-year-old university students in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) using the ATLS questionnaire., Methods: Quantitative cross-sectional research among n = 426 students of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia using the ATLS questionnaire., Results: Out of n = 426 participants, n = 200 (47%) were categorised (using body mass index) as normal weight; n = 113 (26.5%) were overweight, and n = 73 (17.1%) were obese. The findings showed that most of the nutritional, PA, and sedentary behavioural factors (e.g., screen time) in the questionnaire were not associated with obesity status amongst the participants. In the obese group, more of the males that consumed fruits, French fries, cakes, sweets and doughnuts more than three times per week were likely to be obese, which was not the case for females., Conclusion: The reported lifestyles of the students could potentially lead to long-term negative health effects, which is of concern given the rising rates of overweight, obesity, and obesity-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the Kingdom's adult and ageing population. Further studies are recommended to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of Saudi students in the Eastern Province in relation to PA, sedentary behaviours, and dietary habits, along with their views on how these can be improved., (© 2024. The Author(s).)