Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential locomotor activity responses to day-time light intensity in juvenile and adult solitary Cape mole-rats, Georychus capensis (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)

ABSTRACT The Cape mole-rat (Georychus capensis) is a solitary, strictly subterranean rodent that is responsive to light and entrains to photic cues despite having a reduced visual system. Circadian entrainment is maintained throughout life, but age can alter the amplitude of the response and re-entrainment time. Mole-rats are long-lived for their size which raises questions regarding the robustness of their circadian rhythms and how impacts their locomotor activity rhythms. The locomotor activity rhythms of juvenile and adult Cape mole-rats were investigated. They were exposed to pre-experimental and post-experimental control cycles under fluorescent lights, six 12 h light:12 h dark cycles of decreasing intensities and a constant dark cycle (DD). All animals exhibited more activity during the dark phases of all light regimes. Juveniles were more active than adults and displayed more variable activity during both the light and dark phases. Adults exhibited relatively stable levels of activity under all experimental conditions, whereas juvenile activity decreased as the light intensity was reduced. The amplitude of Cape mole-rat rhythms was consistently low, but similar across light regimes and between adults and juveniles. Cape mole-rats have functional circadian systems, are primarily nocturnal and respond differentially to light intensity depending on their age. Light intensity does not affect the locomotor activity responses of Cape mole-rats in a predictable manner, and could indicate more complex interactions with light wavelengths. The circadian systems of juveniles appear to be more sensitive than those of adults, although the mechanism of the light response remains unclear.
Amyloid‐β exposed astrocytes induce iron transport from endothelial cells at the blood–brain barrier by altering the ratio of apo‐ and holo‐transferrin

Excessive brain iron accumulation is observed early in the onset of Alzheimer's disease, notably prior to widespread proteinopathy. These findings suggest that increases in brain iron levels are due to a dysregulation of the iron transport mechanism at the blood–brain barrier. Astrocytes release signals (apo‐ and holo‐transferrin) that communicate brain iron needs to endothelial cells in order to modulate iron transport. Here we use iPSC‐derived astrocytes and endothelial cells to investigate how early‐disease levels of amyloid‐β disrupt iron transport signals secreted by astrocytes to stimulate iron transport from endothelial cells. We demonstrate that conditioned media from astrocytes treated with amyloid‐β stimulates iron transport from endothelial cells and induces changes in iron transport pathway proteins. The mechanism underlying this response begins with increased iron uptake and mitochondrial activity by the astrocytes, which in turn increases levels of apo‐transferrin in the amyloid‐β conditioned astrocyte media leading to increased iron transport from endothelial cells. These novel findings offer a potential explanation for the initiation of excessive iron accumulation in early stages of Alzheimer's disease. What's more, these data provide the first example of how the mechanism of iron transport regulation by apo‐ and holo‐transferrin becomes misappropriated in disease that can lead to iron accumulation. The clinical benefit from understanding early dysregulation in brain iron transport in AD cannot be understated. If therapeutics can target this early process, they could possibly prevent the detrimental cascade that occurs with excessive iron accumulation.
Efficacy and safety of postoperative levothyroxine sodium tablets for improving serum thyroid hormone levels and tumor marker levels in patients with thyroid tumors

Levothyroxine tablet has been used for improving serum thyroid hormones. Despite its efficacy, there has been a persistent recurrence. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of levothyroxine regimen (administered as sodium tablets or liquid) therapy, including the regime in combination with other thyroxine hormones, to determine its effectiveness and safety regarding thyroid tumor patient outcomes. An electronic search of the online databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science) was performed in duplicate independently to identify any potential studies published in the English language from January 2002 to October 2022. The records were retrieved using keywords and MeSH terms. The Cochrane risk of bias tool in the Review Manager (RevMan software version 5.4.) was used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies. A total of 18 quality studies were reported on levothyroxine tablets. Results showed that liquid levothyroxine was more efficient than tablet levothyroxine. Further results showed that levothyroxine in combination with L-T3 or I-131 was more effective than L-T4 tablet monotherapy for improving thyroid cancer hormones. Levothyroxine tablet monotherapy is less efficient than liquid levothyroxine and/or levothyroxine combined therapy.
The association between red cell distribution width and newly diagnosed hypertension among adults in Northern Sudan: a case-control study

ABSTRACT The existing data have shown inconsistency about the association between red cell distribution width (RDW) and hypertension. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between RDW and newly diagnosed hypertension among adults in Sudan. This was a case-control study conducted in Northern Sudan from July to September 2022. The cases were patients with newly diagnosed hypertension (n = 78), and the controls were healthy participants (n = 78). A questionnaire was used to collect the participants’ sociodemographic, and clinical data. RDW was measured using an automated hematology analyzer. A logistic regression analysis was performed. The univariate analysis revealed no association between sex, educational level, occupational level, RDW, and newly diagnosed hypertension. In the multivariate analysis, increasing age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02‒1.08) and body mass index (AOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05‒1.19) were associated with newly diagnosed hypertension. No association was found between RDW and newly diagnosed hypertension. No correlation was found between RDW and systolic (r = 0.045, P = 0.577) or diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.023, P = 0.772). In conclusion, no association in RDW was found between the patients with newly diagnosed hypertension and the healthy controls.
Emerging Links Between COVID-19 and Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Thromboembolic Events: A Systematic Review

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, initially identified as a respiratory illness, has increasingly been linked to a broader range of organ complications. This systematic review explores the impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, focusing on thromboembolic events in post-COVID patients. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar databases up to July 2023, utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies meeting eligibility criteria were analyzed for outcomes and associations between COVID-19 and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. The review includes 6 studies involving over 12 million patients, demonstrating a strong connection between COVID-19 and elevated risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular thromboembolic events. The risk of these events is evident in conditions such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cardiac arrhythmias. The burden of these events beyond the acute phase of the disease is concerning, warranting further exploration of long-term implications. Variability in event rates among different cohorts and healthcare settings underscores the need for understanding underlying factors influencing these differences. Potential mechanisms behind these events include endothelial dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and viral invasion. Implications for public health policies, clinical guidelines, and future research directions are discussed. This review serves as a valuable resource for healthcare providers, policymakers, and researchers to enhance patient care, outcomes, and preparedness for future waves of COVID-19 infections. However, there remain unexplored aspects of the COVID-19 and thromboembolic events relationship, urging further investigations into mechanistic insights and potential therapeutic interventions.
Application of the D3‐creatine muscle mass assessment tool to a geriatric weight loss trial: A pilot study

Traditionally, weight loss (WL) trials utilize dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) to measure lean mass. This method assumes lean mass, as the sum of all non‐bone and non‐fat tissue, is a reasonable proxy for muscle mass. In contrast, the D3‐creatine (D3Cr) dilution method directly measures whole body skeletal muscle mass, although this method has yet to be applied in the context of a geriatric WL trial. The purpose of this project was to (1) describe estimates of change and variability in D3Cr muscle mass in older adults participating in an intentional WL intervention and (2) relate its change to other measures of body composition as well as muscle function and strength.
Real‐time estimation of nephron activity with a linear measurement system (RENAL‐MS) predicts postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate

To determine whether a simple point‐of‐care measurement system estimating renal parenchymal volume using tools ubiquitously available could be used to replace nuclear medicine renal scintigraphy (NMRS) in current clinical practice to predict estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) after nephrectomy by estimating preoperative split renal function.
Childhood Bullying as a Risk Factor for Late-Life Psychological Distress and Cognitive Impairment

In the United States, non-Hispanic Black (19%) older adults are more likely to develop dementia than White older adults (10%). As genetics alone cannot account for these differences, the impact of historical social factors is considered. This study examined whether childhood and late-life psychological distress associated with dementia risk could explain part of these disparities. Using longitudinal data from 379 White and 141 Black respondents from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we assessed the association between childhood bullying and late-life dementia risk, testing for mediation effects from late-life psychological distress. Mediation analysis was computed via negative binomial regression modeling, stratified by race (White/Black), type of bullying experience (target, bully, and bully-target), and the age range at which the experience occurred (6-12, 13-16). The results indicated that late-life psychological distress fully mediated the association between Black respondents who were bullies and dementia risk. However, no significant association was observed among White respondents. These results suggest that interventions aimed at preventing and treating psychological distress throughout the lifespan could be crucial in mitigating the development and progression of dementia risk.
Lithium: An Old Drug for New Therapeutic Strategy for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia

Background: Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, the effective treatment of AD is not available currently. Multiple trials of drugs, which were developed based on the amyloid hypothesis of AD, have not been highly successful to improve cognitive and other symptoms in AD patients, suggesting that it is necessary to explore additional and alternative approaches for the disease-modifying treatment of AD. The diverse lines of evidence have revealed that lithium reduces amyloid and tau pathology, attenuates neuronal loss, enhances synaptic plasticity, and improves cognitive function. Clinical studies have shown that lithium reduces the risk of AD and deters the progress of mild cognitive impairment and early AD. Summary: Our recent study has revealed that lithium stabilizes disruptive calcium homeostasis, and subsequently, attenuates the downstream neuropathogenic processes of AD. Through these therapeutic actions, lithium produces therapeutic effects on AD with potential to modify the disease process. This review critically analyzed the preclinical and clinical studies for the therapeutic effects of lithium on AD. We suggest that disruptive calcium homeostasis is likely to be the early neuropathological mechanism of AD, and the stabilization of disruptive calcium homeostasis by lithium would be associated with its therapeutic effects on neuropathology and cognitive deficits in AD. Key Messages: Lithium is likely to be efficacious for AD as a disease-modifying drug by acting on multiple neuropathological targets including disruptive calcium homeostasis.
Individual and spatial determinants of mortality during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of Belgium in 2020

Context. The year 2020 was marked by the Covid 19 pandemic. In Belgium, it led to a doubling in deaths, mainly grouped into two periods. This article aims to compare the relative importance of predictors and individual and spatial determinants of mortality during these two waves to an equivalent non-pandemic period and to identify whether and to what extent the pandemic has altered the sociodemographic patterns of conventional mortality. Methods. The analyses relate to all-cause mortality during the two waves of Covid-19 and their equivalent in 2019. They are based on matching individual and exhaustive data from the Belgian National Register with tax and population census data. A multi-level approach was adopted combining individual and spatial determinants. Results. Mortality patterns during the pandemic are very similar to those observed outside the pandemic. As in 2019, age, sex, and household composition significantly determine the individual risk of dying, with a higher risk of death among the oldest people, men, and residents of collective households. However, their risk of death increases during the Covid period, especially in the 65/79 age group. Spatial information is no more significant in 2020 than in 2019. However, a higher risk of death is observed when the local excess mortality index or the proportions of isolated or disadvantaged people increase. Conclusions. While the Covid pandemic did not fundamentally alter conventional mortality patterns, it did amplify some of the pre-existing differences in mortality.
A water mass model of the world ocean circulation

A numerical model of the world ocean is developed to investigate the role of the ocean in the earth's heat balance. Climatological wind stress, temperature, and salinity are imposed as upper boundary conditions. An equilibrium solution is obtained based on an extended numerical integration over the equivalent of 1000 years. Seasonal variations are included. A series of numerical integrations over shorter periods indicate that quantitative aspects, such as the scale depth of the thermocline, are very sensitive to the closure parameterization representing the effect of unresolved scales of motion. The mean depth of the thermocline is found to be in proportion to the global available potential energy. Larger wind driving increases the scale depth of the thermocline, while larger lateral friction or diffusion leads to a shallower thermocline. The model predicts three major meridional cells in the upper thermocline in each hemisphere, corresponding to the three meridional cells of the atmosphere. The tropical and mid-latitude cells are largely wind driven. Thermohaline effects are dominant in the polar meridional cells. Seasonal changes in winds have a profound effect on the meridional circulation in the tropics and cause a flux of surface water from the summer to the winter hemisphere. It is suggested that this mechanism is an important factor in moderating climate by transferring excess heat from the summer hemisphere into the winter hemisphere.
Wastewater-based surveillance of respiratory syncytial virus epidemic at the national level in Finland

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of wastewater-based surveillance in the monitoring of epidemics at the national level in Finland. To discover the correlation of wastewater data and register data, the 2021--2022 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) epidemic in Finland was analyzed from wastewater and the Finnish National Infectious Diseases Register. The study was performed using samples that were collected monthly from May 2021 to July 2022 from ten wastewater treatment plants that cover 40% of the Finnish population. Respiratory syncytial virus detection in 24-h composite samples of influent wastewater was performed using RT-qPCR. Respiratory syncytial virus wastewater data were positively correlated with the National Infectious Diseases Register data for the sampling week (correlation coefficient, CC min = 0.412, max = 0.865). Furthermore, the cumulative incidence of respiratory syncytial virus from the sampling week to three weeks afterward was strongly correlated with the wastewater data (CC min = 0.482, max = 0.814), showing the potential of wastewater-based surveillance for use in estimating the course of the epidemic. When the register-based incidence of RSV was at least four cases/100,000 persons/week in the sampling week, it was detected in all wastewater samples. This study showed that wastewater surveillance is useful in the surveillance of respiratory syncytial virus epidemics, and its potential in the surveillance of other epidemics should be explored further.
Loss of Pla2r1 decreases cellular senescence and age‐related alterations caused by aging and Western diets

Cellular senescence is induced by many stresses including telomere shortening, DNA damage, oxidative, or metabolic stresses. Senescent cells are stably cell cycle arrested and they secrete many factors including cytokines and chemokines. Accumulation of senescent cells promotes many age‐related alterations and diseases. In this study, we investigated the role of the pro‐senescent phospholipase A2 receptor 1 (PLA2R1) in regulating some age‐related alterations in old mice and in mice subjected to a Western diet, whereas aged wild‐type mice displayed a decreased ability to regulate their glycemia during glucose and insulin tolerance tests, aged Pla2r1 knockout (KO) mice efficiently regulated their glycemia and displayed fewer signs of aging. Loss of Pla2r1 was also found protective against the deleterious effects of a Western diet. Moreover, these Pla2r1 KO mice were partially protected from diet‐induced senescent cell accumulation, steatosis, and fibrosis. Together these results support that Pla2r1 drives several age‐related alterations, especially in the liver, arising during aging or through a Western diet.
Biochemical and proteomic insights into sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase complexes in skeletal muscles

ABSTRACT Introduction Skeletal muscles contain large numbers of high-molecular-mass protein complexes in elaborate membrane systems. Integral membrane proteins are involved in diverse cellular functions including the regulation of ion handling, membrane homeostasis, energy metabolism and force transmission. Areas covered The proteomic profiling of membrane proteins and large protein assemblies in skeletal muscles are outlined in this article. This includes a critical overview of the main biochemical separation techniques and the mass spectrometric approaches taken to study membrane proteins. As an illustrative example of an analytically challenging large protein complex, the proteomic detection and characterization of the Ca2+-ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum is discussed. The biological role of this large protein complex during normal muscle functioning, in the context of fiber type diversity and in relation to mechanisms of physiological adaptations and pathophysiological abnormalities is evaluated from a proteomics perspective. Expert opinion Mass spectrometry-based muscle proteomics has decisively advanced the field of basic and applied myology. Although it is technically challenging to study membrane proteins, innovations in protein separation methodology in combination with sensitive mass spectrometry and improved systems bioinformatics has allowed the detailed proteomic detection and characterization of skeletal muscle membrane protein complexes, such as Ca2+-pump proteins of the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
Qualidade e inocuidade do queijo artesanal serrano, do leite e da água utilizados na sua produção, em Santa Catarina

O queijo artesanal serrano e um produto tipico dos campos de altitude dos estados de Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul, tendo como principal caracteristica na fabricacao a utilizacao do leite cru de bovinos. Dessa forma, a qualidade microbiologica fornece informacoes referentes as caracteristicas higienicas de producao e tempo de prateleira do produto. Neste contexto, o presente estudo objetivou diagnosticar a qualidade e inocuidade do queijo artesanal serrano com 14 e 28 dias de maturacao, determinar o efeito da contaminacao microbiologica da agua utilizada nas propriedades e do leite empregado na fabricacao, e caracterizar os componentes e qualidade microbiologica do leite, correspondendo os resultados a fatores de producao de 31 propriedades rurais produtoras do queijo artesanal na serra Catarinense, por meio de analises estatisticas multivariadas e univariadas realizadas no software SAS®. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram heterogeneidade das amostras em relacao a componentes fisico-quimicos e nao conformidades microbiologicas em relacao a micro-organismos indicadores e patogenicos, reiterando que a qualidade da materia prima e essencial para obtencao de um produto em conformidade e que contaminacoes durante o processo de producao e maturacao apresentam efeito direto na qualidade do produto maturado no maior intervalo de tempo. Com isso, a adocao de medidas de 23 boas praticas agropecuarias e de fabricacao, adequacoes ao servico de inspecao, higienizacao adequada em todo o processo de producao sao fundamentais para reduzir as contagens dos micro-organismos com a finalidade de obter alimentos em conformidade e seguros para o consumidor
Modifiable lifestyle risk factors and survival after diagnosis with multiple myeloma

ABSTRACT Background While remaining incurable, median overall survival for MM now exceeds 5 years. Yet few studies have investigated how modifiable lifestyle factors influence survival. We investigate whether adiposity, diet, alcohol, or smoking are associated with MM-related fatality. Research design and methods We recruited 760 incident cases of MM via cancer registries in two Australian states during 2010–2016. Participants returned questionnaires on health and lifestyle. Follow-up ended in 2020. Flexible parametric survival models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for lifestyle exposures and risk of all-cause and MM-specific fatality. Results Higher pre-diagnosis Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) scores were associated with reduced MM-specific fatality (per 10-unit score, HR = 0.84, 95%CI = 0.70–0.99). Pre-diagnosis alcohol consumption was inversely associated with MM-specific fatality, compared with nondrinkers (0.1–20 g per day, HR = 0.59, 95%CI = 0.39–0.90; >20 g per day, HR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.40–1.13). Tobacco smoking was associated with increased all-cause fatality compared with never smoking (former smokers: HR = 1.44, 95%CI = 1.10–1.88; current smokers: HR = 1.30, 95%CI = 0.80–2.10). There was no association between pre-enrollment body mass index (BMI) and MM-specific or all-cause fatality. Conclusions Our findings support established recommendations for healthy diets and against smoking. Higher quality diet, as measured by the AHEI, may improve survival post diagnosis with MM.