bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tai Chi versus conventional exercise for improving cognitive function in older adults: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Authors: Yu Angus P. , Chin Edwin C. , Yu Danny J. , Fong Daniel Y. , Cheng Calvin P. , Hu Xiaoqing , Wei Gao X. , Siu Parco M. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractStudies have shown that Tai Chi and conventional exercise can modify the brain through distinct mechanisms, resulting in different brain adaptations. Therefore, it is conceivable to speculate that these two exercise modalities may have different effects on improving cognitive function. This study was a parallel group, assessor-blinded, pilot randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of Tai Chi and conventional exercise on improving cognitive function in older persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A total of 34 adults aged ≥ 50 years with MCI were randomized (1:1:1) to the Tai Chi group (TC,n = 10, 3 sessions of 60-min Yang-style Tai Chi training per week for 24 weeks), conventional exercise group (EX:n = 12, 3 sessions of 60-min fitness training per week for 24 weeks), or control group (CON:n = 12, no intervention). Global cognitive function assessed by the Hong Kong version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-HK) and performance in various cognitive domains were examined at baseline, and 12 and 24 weeks of the intervention. Both exercise groups showed improved global cognitive function as measured by MoCA-HK compared with the control group after 12 and 24 weeks of the intervention, (allP < 0.001). Only TC achieved clinically relevant improvement on global cognitive function at week 12. Both exercise groups achieved clinically relevant improvements at the end of the interventions at week 24. Compared with EX, TC exhibited greater improvements on global cognitive function indicated by MoCA-HK after 12 weeks of the intervention (P < 0.001) and cognitive flexibility indicated by part B/A ratio score of the Trail Making Test throughout the study (allP < 0.05). Both interventions were equally effective in improving the other examined cognitive domains. Further studies are needed to substantiate the superior long-term benefits of Tai Chi on global cognitive function compared with conventional exercise, and dissect the underlying mechanisms of the two exercises on improving cognitive domains and the corresponding brain adaptations.Trial registration: This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Trial registration number: NCT04248400; first registration date: 30/01/2020).
EF-hand protein, EfhP, specifically binds Ca2+ and mediates Ca2+ regulation of virulence in a human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Kayastha Biraj B. , Kubo Aya , Burch-Konda Jacob , Dohmen Rosalie L. , McCoy Jacee L. , Rogers Rendi R. , Mares Sergio , Bevere Justin , Huckaby Annalisa , Witt William , Peng Shuxia , Chaudhary Bharat , Mohanty Smita , Barbier Mariette , Cook Gabriel , Deng Junpeng , Patrauchan Marianna A. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractCalcium (Ca2+) is well known as a second messenger in eukaryotes, where Ca2+signaling controls life-sustaining cellular processes. Although bacteria produce the components required for Ca2+signaling, little is known about the mechanisms of bacterial Ca2+signaling. Previously, we have identified a putative Ca2+-binding protein EfhP (PA4107) with two canonical EF-hand motifs and reported that EfhP mediates Ca2+regulation of virulence factors production and infectivity inPseudomonas aeruginosa,a human pathogen causing life-threatening infections. Here, we show that EfhP selectively binds Ca2+with 13.7 µM affinity, and that mutations at the +X and −Z positions within each or both EF-hand motifs abolished Ca2+binding. We also show that the hydrophobicity of EfhP increased in a Ca2+-dependent manner, however no such response was detected in the mutated proteins.15 N-NMR showed Ca2+-dependent chemical shifts in EfhP confirming Ca2+-binding triggered structural rearrangements in the protein. Deletion ofefhPimpairedP. aeruginosasurvival in macrophages and virulence in vivo.Disabling EfhP Ca2+binding abolished Ca2+induction of pyocyanin production in vitro. These data confirm that EfhP selectively binds Ca2+, which triggers its structural changes required for the Ca2+regulation ofP. aeruginosavirulence, thus establishing the role of EfhP as a Ca2+sensor.
Theoretically quantifying the direct and indirect benefits of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in terms of avoided deaths
Authors: Scutt Greg , Cross Mike , Waxman David 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID)-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressures on societies around the world. Successful vaccines, developed against the spike protein of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, offer hope that new hospitalisations and new deaths will subside. However, vaccination takes place in a dynamic environment. For example, new variants of the disease may occur where the effectiveness of a vaccine lies below that of the original target of the vaccine, while changes in the behaviour of a population are accompanied by a changed basic reproduction number. Here, we aim to understand how changes in values of basic parameters affect the benefits of vaccination at the direct level, of the individuals vaccinated, and at the indirect level, of the wider, unvaccinated community. We work within the framework of a Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model, and produce a metric for the benefits of vaccination, at both direct and indirect levels, in terms of the number of avoided deaths. Taking into account the initial prevalence of a SARS-CoV-2 infection, the mortality rate of the disease, the basic reproduction number, the vaccination rate, and the effectiveness of a vaccine, we explore how these basic parameters affect the benefits of vaccination. We find a range of situations where indirect benefits of vaccination outweigh direct benefits. This especially occurs at lower rates of vaccination (20% – $$40\%$$

40
%

) and intermediate values of the basic reproduction number (1–1.5). The indirect benefits can be substantial, in some cases being more than 400% of the direct benefits. For an initial prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection of 2%, a basic reproduction number of 1.2, a mortality rate of 2%, and a vaccine effectiveness of 95%, our findings show, for a population of 500,000 people, where 100,000 susceptible individuals are vaccinated, that approximately 2200 deaths are avoided. However, approximately 600 of these deaths are avoided amongst vaccinated individuals, while approximately 1600 deaths are avoided in the wider, unvaccinated community.
NF90–NF45 is essential for β cell compensation under obesity-inducing metabolic stress through suppression of p53 signaling pathway
Authors: Lai Sylvia , Higuchi Takuma , Tsuda Masayuki , Sugiyama Yasunori , Morisawa Keiko , Taniguchi Taketoshi , Sakamoto Shuji 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe Nuclear Factor 90 (NF90)–NF45 complex has been known to regulate the progression of transcription, mRNA stability, translational inhibition, RNA export and microRNA biogenesis. However, the physiological functions of the NF90–NF45 complex remain unclear. We newly discovered that the NF90–NF45 complex was expressed in primary β cells and established cell lines. Therefore, in this study, we focused on the function of the endogenous NF90–NF45 complex in the β cells. To investigate this issue, we generated β-cell-specific NF90–NF45 deficient mice. These mice exhibited hyperglycaemia and lower plasma insulin levels under a high fat diet together with decreased islet mass. To uncover this mechanism, we performed a whole-genome expression microarray of the total RNA prepared from β cell lines treated with siRNAs targeting both NF90 and NF45. In this result, we found an activation of p53 signaling in the NF90–NF45-knockdown cells. This activation was supported by elevation of luciferase activity derived from a reporter plasmid harboring p53 binding sites in the NF90–NF45-knockdown cells. Furthermore, the knockdown of NF90–NF45 resulted in a significant retardation of the β cell line growth rates. Importantly, a dominant negative form of p53 rescues the growth retardation in BTC6 cells depleted of NF90–NF45, suggesting that NF90–NF45 would be positively involved in β cell proliferation through suppression of p53 signal pathway. Taken together, NF90–NF45 is essential for β cell compensation under obesity-inducing metabolic stress via repression of p53 signaling.
Association between depression symptoms and moderately increased levels of the inflammation marker albuminuria is explained by age and comorbidity
Authors: Romundstad Solfrid , Hynnekleiv Torfinn 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe study aimed to examine whether there are associations between depression symptoms and levels of the inflammation marker albuminuria. The 8303 participants in this cross-sectional study were subjects from the second survey of the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT, Norway). Depression symptoms were assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for moderately increased albuminuria (ACR ≥ 3.0 mg/mmol) according to different HADS-depression (D) subgroups and -scores. Unadjusted ORs for moderately increased albuminuria were significantly increased in those with HADS-D ≥ 8 (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.05–1.54, p = 0.013) and HADS-D ≥ 11 (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.19–2.14, p = 0.002). After adjusting for age and sex, only HADS-D ≥ 11 was significantly associated with ACR ≥ 3.0 mg/mmol (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.08–1.98, p = 0.014), and after multivariable adjustments for cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidity, there were no significant associations. However, adjusting for the interaction between age and HADS-D strengthened the association in linear regression models. The positive and significant association between moderately increased albuminuria and symptoms of depression found in unadjusted analyses weakened and disappeared after adjustments. Although individuals with depressive symptoms had albuminuria more often than individuals without such symptoms, and the association seemed to change with age, albuminuria may reflect other comorbidity and inflammation conditions than the depression symptomatology measured in this study.
Neural network-based prediction of the secret-key rate of quantum key distribution
Authors: Zhou Min-Gang , Liu Zhi-Ping , Liu Wen-Bo , Li Chen-Long , Bai Jun-Lin , Xue Yi-Ran , Fu Yao , Yin Hua-Lei , Chen Zeng-Bing 
Published: May 2022

AbstractNumerical methods are widely used to calculate the secure key rate of many quantum key distribution protocols in practice, but they consume many computing resources and are too time-consuming. In this work, we take the homodyne detection discrete-modulated continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) as an example, and construct a neural network that can quickly predict the secure key rate based on the experimental parameters and experimental results. Compared to traditional numerical methods, the speed of the neural network is improved by several orders of magnitude. Importantly, the predicted key rates are not only highly accurate but also highly likely to be secure. This allows the secure key rate of discrete-modulated CV-QKD to be extracted in real time on a low-power platform. Furthermore, our method is versatile and can be extended to quickly calculate the complex secure key rates of various other unstructured quantum key distribution protocols.
Humans utilize sensory evidence of others’ intended action to make online decisions
Authors: Lokesh Rakshith , Sullivan Seth , Calalo Jan A. , Roth Adam , Swanik Brenden , Carter Michael J. , Cashaback Joshua G. A. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractWe often acquire sensory information from another person’s actions to make decisions on how to move, such as when walking through a crowded hallway. Past interactive decision-making research has focused on cognitive tasks that did not allow for sensory information exchange between humans prior to a decision. Here, we test the idea that humans accumulate sensory evidence of another person’s intended action to decide their own movement. In a competitive sensorimotor task, we show that humans exploit time to accumulate sensory evidence of another’s intended action and utilize this information to decide how to move. We captured this continuous interactive decision-making behaviour with a drift-diffusion model. Surprisingly, aligned with a ‘paralysis-by-analysis’ phenomenon, we found that humans often waited too long to accumulate sensory evidence and failed to make a decision. Understanding how humans engage in interactive and online decision-making has broad implications that spans sociology, athletics, interactive technology, and economics.
Remuscularization with triiodothyronine and β1-blocker therapy reverses post-ischemic left ventricular dysfunction and adverse remodeling
Authors: Bogush Nikolay , Tan Lin , Naqvi Emmen , Calvert John W. , Graham Robert M. , Taylor W. Robert , Naqvi Nawazish , Husain Ahsan 
Published: May 2022

AbstractRenewal of the myocardium by preexisting cardiomyocytes is a powerful strategy for restoring the architecture and function of hearts injured by myocardial infarction. To advance this strategy, we show that combining two clinically approved drugs, but neither alone, muscularizes the heart through cardiomyocyte proliferation. Specifically, in adult murine cardiomyocytes, metoprolol, a cardioselective β1-adrenergic receptor blocker, when given with triiodothyronine (T3, a thyroid hormone) accentuates the ability of T3 to stimulate ERK1/2 phosphorylation and proliferative signaling by inhibiting expression of the nuclear phospho-ERK1/2-specific phosphatase, dual-specificity phosphatase-5. While short-duration metoprolol plus T3 therapy generates new heart muscle in healthy mice, in mice with myocardial infarction-induced left ventricular dysfunction and pathological remodeling, it remuscularizes the heart, restores contractile function and reverses chamber dilatation; outcomes that are enduring. If the beneficial effects of metoprolol plus T3 are replicated in humans, this therapeutic strategy has the potential to definitively address ischemic heart failure.
Allele expression biases in mixed-ploid sugarcane accessions
Authors: Correr Fernando Henrique , Furtado Agnelo , Franco Garcia Antonio Augusto , Henry Robert James , Rodrigues Alves Margarido Gabriel 
Published: May 2022

AbstractAllele-specific expression (ASE) represents differences in the magnitude of expression between alleles of the same gene. This is not straightforward for polyploids, especially autopolyploids, as knowledge about the dose of each allele is required for accurate estimation of ASE. This is the case for the genomically complex Saccharum species, characterized by high levels of ploidy and aneuploidy. We used a Beta-Binomial model to test for allelic imbalance in Saccharum, with adaptations for mixed-ploid organisms. The hierarchical Beta-Binomial model was used to test if allele expression followed the expectation based on genomic allele dosage. The highest frequencies of ASE occurred in sugarcane hybrids, suggesting a possible influence of interspecific hybridization in these genotypes. For all accessions, genes showing ASE (ASEGs) were less frequent than those with balanced allelic expression. These genes were related to a broad range of processes, mostly associated with general metabolism, organelles, responses to stress and responses to stimuli. In addition, the frequency of ASEGs in high-level functional terms was similar among the genotypes, with a few genes associated with more specific biological processes. We hypothesize that ASE in Saccharum is largely a genotype-specific phenomenon, as a large number of ASEGs were exclusive to individual accessions.
How social/environmental determinants and inflammation affect salivary telomere length among middle-older adults in the health and retirement study
Authors: Courtney Margaret Gough , Roberts Josephine , Godde Kanya 
Published: May 2022

AbstractSocial epidemiology posits that chronic stress from social determinants will lead to a prolonged inflammatory response that may induce accelerated aging as measured, for example, through telomere length (TL). In this paper, we hypothesize variables across demographic, health-related, and contextual/environmental domains influence the body’s stress response, increase inflammation (as measured through high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)), and thereby lead to shortening of telomeres. This population-based research uses data from the 2008 Health and Retirement Study on participants ages ≤ 54–95 + years, estimating logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models of variables (with and without confounders) across the domains on shortened TL. A mediation analysis is also conducted. Contrary to expectations, hs-CRP is not associated with risk of shortened TL. Rather, factors related to accessing health care, underlying conditions of frailty, and social inequality appear to predict risk of shorter TL, and models demonstrate considerable confounding. Further, hs-CRP is not a mediator for TL. Therefore, the social determinants of health examined do not appear to follow an inflammatory pathway for shortened TL. The finding of a relationship to social determinants affecting access to health care and medical conditions underscores the need to address social determinants alongside primary care when examining health inequities.
Genome-wide identification of copy number variation and association with fat deposition in thin and fat-tailed sheep breeds
Authors: Taghizadeh Shadan , Gholizadeh Mohsen , rahimi-Mianji Ghodrat , Moradi Mohammad Hossein , Costilla Roy , Moore Stephen , Di Gerlando Rosalia 
Published: May 2022

AbstractCopy number variants (CNVs) are a type of genetic polymorphism which contribute to phenotypic variation in several species, including livestock. In this study, we used genomic data of 192 animals from 3 Iranian sheep breeds including 96 Baluchi sheep and 47 Lori-Bakhtiari sheep as fat-tailed breeds and 47 Zel sheep as thin-tailed sheep breed genotyped with Illumina OvineSNP50K Beadchip arrays. Also, for association test, 70 samples of Valle del Belice sheep were added to the association test as thin-tailed sheep breed. PennCNV and CNVRuler software were, respectively, used to study the copy number variation and genomic association analyses. We detected 573 and 242 CNVs in the fat and thin tailed breeds, respectively. In terms of CNV regions (CNVRs), these represented 328 and 187 CNVRs that were within or overlapping with 790 known Ovine genes. The CNVRs covered approximately 73.85 Mb of the sheep genome with average length 146.88 kb, and corresponded to 2.6% of the autosomal genome sequence. Five CNVRs were randomly chosen for validation, of which 4 were experimentally confirmed using Real time qPCR. Functional enrichment analysis showed that genes harbouring CNVs in thin-tailed sheep were involved in the adaptive immune response, regulation of reactive oxygen species biosynthetic process and response to starvation. In fat-tailed breeds these genes were involved in cellular protein modification process, regulation of heart rate, intestinal absorption, olfactory receptor activity and ATP binding. Association test identified one copy gained CNVR on chromosomes 6 harbouring two protein-coding genes HGFAC and LRPAP1. Our findings provide information about genomic structural changes and their association to the interested traits including fat deposition and environmental compatibility in sheep.
Effects of broad-spectrum antibiotics on the colonisation of probiotic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii in the murine gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Hedin Karl Alex , Rees Vanessa Emily , Zhang Hongbin , Kruse Vibeke , Vazquez-Uribe Ruben , Sommer Morten Otto Alexander 
Published: May 2022

AbstractMouse models are commonly used to study the colonisation profiles of microorganisms introduced to the gastrointestinal tract. Three commonly used mouse models include conventional, germ-free, and antibiotic-treated mice. However, colonisation resistance in conventional mice and specialised equipment for germ-free mice are usually limiting factors in their applications. In this study, we sought to establish a robust colonisation model for Saccharomyces boulardii, a probiotic yeast that has caught attention in the field of probiotics and advanced microbiome therapeutics. We characterised the colonisation of S. boulardii in conventional mice and mice treated with a cocktail of broad-spectrum antibiotics, including ampicillin, kanamycin, metronidazole and vancomycin. We found colonisation levels increased up to 10,000-fold in the antibiotic-treated mice compared to nonantibiotic-treated mice. Furthermore, S. boulardii was detected continuously in more than 75% of mice for 10 days after the last administration in antibiotic-treated mice, in contrast to in nonantibiotic-treated mice where S. boulardii was undetectable in less than 2 days. Finally, we demonstrated that this antibiotic cocktail can be used in two commonly used mouse strains, C57BL/6 and ob/ob mice, both achieving ~ 108 CFU/g of S. boulardii in faeces. These findings highlight that the antibiotic cocktail used in this study is an advantageous tool to study S. boulardii based probiotic and advanced microbiome therapeutics.
Heart rate variability comparison between young males after 4–6 weeks from the end of SARS-CoV-2 infection and controls
Authors: Soliński Mateusz , Pawlak Agnieszka , Petelczyc Monika , Buchner Teodor , Aftyka Joanna , Gil Robert , Król Zbigniew J. , Żebrowski Jan J. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractDue to the prolonged inflammatory process induced by infection of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), indices of autonomic nervous system dysfunction may persist long after viral shedding. Previous studies showed significant changes in HRV parameters in severe (including fatal) infection of SARS-CoV-2. However, few studies have comprehensively examined HRV in individuals who previously presented as asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic cases of COVID-19. In this study, we examined HRV in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic individuals 5–7 weeks following positive confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sixty-five ECG Holter recordings from young (mean age 22.6 ± 3.4 years), physically fit male subjects 4–6 weeks after the second negative test (considered to be the start of recovery) and twenty-six control male subjects (mean age 23.2 ± 2.9 years) were considered in the study. Night-time RR time series were extracted from ECG signals. Selected linear as well as nonlinear HRV parameters were calculated. We found significant differences in Porta’s symbolic analysis parameters V0 and V2 (p < 0.001), α2(p < 0.001), very low-frequency component (VLF;p = 0.022) and respiratory peak (from the PRSA method;p = 0.012). These differences may be caused by the changes of activity of the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system as well as by the coupling of respiratory rhythm with heart rate due to an increase in pulmonary arterial vascular resistance. The results suggest that the differences with the control group in the HRV parameters, that reflect the functional state of the autonomic nervous system, are measurable after a few weeks from the beginning of the recovery even in the post-COVID group—a young and physically active population. We indicate HRV sensitive markers which may be used in long-term monitoring of patients after recovery.