Adapting an evidence-supported optimization program for mental health and sport performance in collegiate athletes to fit youth from ethnic/racial minority and low-income neighborhoods: A National Institutes of Health stage model feasibility study

The current study addresses the need to empirically develop effective mental health interventions for youth from ethnic/racial minority and low-income neighborhoods. Using Stage Model evaluation methods supported by the National Institutes of Health in the US to address underutilization of mental healthcare among racial/ethnic minority youth, this feasibility study demonstrates empirical adaptation of an innovative sport-specific psychological intervention for use in youth from ethnic/racial minority and low-income neighborhoods. An international group of professionals familiar with sport performance and mental health intervention serving the target population experientially examined the adapted intervention protocols in workshops and provided feedback. Survey results indicated the professionals found the intervention components were easy to administer and likely to be safe, enjoyable, engaging and efficacious for youth mental health and sport performance. The protocols were revised based on feedback from these professionals and the intervention was examined in a case trial involving an Asian American youth who evidenced Social Anxiety Disorder. Case study results indicated the intervention could be implemented with integrity, and severity of psychiatric symptoms and factors interfering with sport performance decreased after intervention implementation. The participant’s relationships with family, coaches and teammates were also improved

Serial femtosecond zero dose crystallography captures a water‐free distal heme site in a dye‐decolourising peroxidase to reveal a catalytic role for an arginine in FeIV=O formation

Obtaining structures of intact redox states of metal centres derived from zero dose X‐ray crystallography can advance our mechanistic understanding of metalloenzymes. In dye‐decolourising heme peroxidases (DyPs), controversy exists regarding the mechanistic role of the distal heme residues, aspartate and arginine, in the heterolysis of peroxide to form the catalytic intermediate compound I (Fe IV =O and a porphyrin cation radical). Using serial femtosecond X‐ray (SFX) crystallography, we have determined the pristine structures of the Fe III and Fe IV =O redox states of a B‐type DyP. These structures reveal a water‐free distal heme site, which together with the presence of an asparagine, infer the use of the distal arginine as a catalytic base. A combination of mutagenesis and kinetic studies corroborate such a role. Our SFX approach thus provides unique insight into how the distal heme site of DyPs can be tuned to select aspartate or arginine for the rate enhancement of peroxide heterolysis

The First Definitive Binary Orbit Determined with the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors: Wolf 1062 (Gliese 748)

The M dwarf binary, Wolf 1062 (Gliese 748), has been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Fine Guidance Sensor 3 in the transfer function scan mode to determine the apparent orbit. This is the first orbit defined fully and exclusively with HST, and is the most accurate definitive orbit for any resolved, noneclipsing system. The orbital period is 2.4490 ± 0.0119 yr and the semimajor axis is 01470 ± 00007—both quantities are now known to better than 1%. Using the weighted mean of seven parallax measurements and these HST data, we find the system mass to be 0.543 ± 0.031 M⊙, where the error of 6% is due almost entirely to the parallax error. An estimated fractional mass from the infrared brightness ratio and infrared mass-luminosity relation yields a mass for the primary of 0.37 M⊙, and the secondary falls in the regime of very low mass stars, with a mass of only 0.17 M⊙

Racial, ethnic, and age disparities in the association of mental health symptoms and polysubstance use among persons in HIV care

We characterized polysubstance use burden and associations with mental health problems across demographic subgroups of PWH. In 2018–2020, as part of a primary care-based intervention study, PWH in care at three medical centers in Kaiser Permanente Northern California were screened for depression (PHQ-9≥10), anxiety (GAD-2≥3), and substance use (Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription medication, and other Substance use [TAPS]≥1 per substance). We used Poisson regression to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) comparing polysubstance use prevalence (TAPS≥1 for ≥2 substances) between PWH with positive screens for depression or anxiety vs. neither, among all PWH, and stratified by race/ethnicity and age (restricted to men), adjusting for sociodemographics, CD4, and HIV load. Screened PWH (N = 2865) included 92% men, 56% White, 19% Black, and 15% Hispanic PWH, with a median age of 55 years. Overall, polysubstance use prevalence was 26.4% (95% CI 24.9%-28.1%). PWH with depression or anxiety (n = 515) had an adjusted polysubstance use PR of 1.26 (1.09–1.46) vs. PWH with neither (n = 2350). Adjusted PRs were 1.47 (1.11–1.96), 1.07 (0.74–1.54), and 1.10 (0.85–1.41) among Black, Hispanic, and White men, respectively. Adjusted PRs did not differ by age group. Interventions should consider jointly addressing mental health and substance use problems and potential drivers, e.g. stigma or socioeconomic factors

Aquatic insects dealing with dehydration: do desiccation resistance traits differ in species with contrasting habitat preferences?

Background Desiccation resistance shapes the distribution of terrestrial insects at multiple spatial scales. However, responses to drying stress have been poorly studied in aquatic groups, despite their potential role in constraining their distribution and diversification, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Methods We examined desiccation resistance in adults of four congeneric water beetle species (Enochrus, family Hydrophilidae) with contrasting habitat specificity (lentic vs. lotic systems and different salinity optima from fresh- to hypersaline waters). We measured survival, recovery capacity and key traits related to desiccation resistance (fresh mass, % water content, % cuticle content and water loss rate) under controlled exposure to desiccation, and explored their variability within and between species. Results Meso- and hypersaline species were more resistant to desiccation than freshwater and hyposaline ones, showing significantly lower water loss rates and higher water content. No clear patterns in desiccation resistance traits were observed between lotic and lentic species. Intraspecifically, water loss rate was positively related to specimens’ initial % water content, but not to fresh mass or % cuticle content, suggesting that the dynamic mechanism controlling water loss is mainly regulated by the amount of body water available. Discussion Our results support previous hypotheses suggesting that the evolution of desiccation resistance is associated with the colonization of saline habitats by aquatic beetles. The interespecific patterns observed in Enochrus also suggest that freshwater species may be more vulnerable than saline ones to drought intensification expected under climate change in semi-arid regions such as the Mediterranean Basin

The birth of a human-specific neural gene by incomplete duplication and gene fusion

Background: Gene innovation by duplication is a fundamental evolutionary process but is difficult to study in humans due to the large size, high sequence identity, and mosaic nature of segmental duplication blocks. The human-specific gene hydrocephalus-inducing 2, HYDIN2, was generated by a 364 kbp duplication of 79 internal exons of the large ciliary gene HYDIN from chromosome 16q22.2 to chromosome 1q21.1. Because the HYDIN2 locus lacks the ancestral promoter and seven terminal exons of the progenitor gene, we sought to characterize transcription at this locus by coupling reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and long-read sequencing. Results: 5' RACE indicates a transcription start site for HYDIN2 outside of the duplication and we observe fusion transcripts spanning both the 5' and 3' breakpoints. We observe extensive splicing diversity leading to the formation of altered open reading frames (ORFs) that appear to be under relaxed selection. We show that HYDIN2 adopted a new promoter that drives an altered pattern of expression, with highest levels in neural tissues. We estimate that the HYDIN duplication occurred ~3.2 million years ago and find that it is nearly fixed (99.9%) for diploid copy number in contemporary humans. Examination of 73 chromosome 1q21 rearrangement patients reveals that HYDIN2 is deleted or duplicated in most cases. Conclusions: Together, these data support a model of rapid gene innovation by fusion of incomplete segmental duplications, altered tissue expression, and potential subfunctionalization or neofunctionalization of HYDIN2 early in the evolution of the Homo lineage

Bats in the anthropogenic matrix: Challenges and opportunities for the conservation of chiroptera and their ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes

Intensification in land-use and farming practices has had largely negative effects on bats, leading to population declines and concomitant losses of ecosystem services. Current trends in land-use change suggest that agricultural areas will further expand, while production systems may either experience further intensification (particularly in developing nations) or become more environmentally friendly (especially in Europe). In this chapter, we review the existing literature on how agricultural management affects the bat assemblages and the behavior of individual bat species, as well as the literature on provision of ecosystem services by bats (pest insect suppression and pollination) in agricultural systems. Bats show highly variable responses to habitat conversion, with no significant change in species richness or measures of activity or abundance. In contrast, intensification within agricultural systems (i.e., increased agrochemical inputs, reduction of natural structuring elements such as hedges, woods, and marshes) had more consistently negative effects on abundance and species richness. Agroforestry systems appear to mitigate negative consequences of habitat conversion and intensification, often having higher abundances and activity levels than natural areas. Across biomes, bats play key roles in limiting populations of arthropods by consuming various agricultural pests. In tropical areas, bats are key pollinators of several commercial fruit species. However, these substantial benefits may go unrecognized by farmers, who sometimes associate bats with ecosystem disservices such as crop raiding. Given the importance of bats for global food production, future agricultural management should focus on “wildlife-friendly” farming practices that allow more bats to exploit and persist in the anthropogenic matrix so as to enhance provision of ecosystem services. Pressing research topics include (1) a better understanding of how local-level versus landscape-level management practices interact to structure bat assemblages, (2) the effects of new pesticide classes and GM crops on bat populations, and (3) how increased documentation and valuation of the ecosystem services provided by bats could improve attitudes of producers toward their conservation

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research