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Liver-innervating vagal sensory neurons are indispensable for the development of hepatic steatosis and anxiety-like behavior in diet-induced obese mice

The QUIC-SP: A Spanish language tool assessing unpredictability in early life is linked to physical and mental health

Accumulating evidence indicates that unpredictable signals in early life represent a unique form of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with disrupted neurodevelopmental trajectories in children and adolescents. The Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) was developed to assess early life unpredictability [1], encompassing social, emotional, and physical unpredictability in a child’s environment, and has been validated in three independent cohorts. However, the importance of identifying ACEs in diverse populations, including non-English speaking groups, necessitates translation of the QUIC. The current study aims to translate and validate a Spanish language version of the QUIC (QUIC-SP) and assess its associations with mental and physical health. Spanish-speaking participants (N = 285) were recruited via the online market crowdsourcing platform, Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), and completed an online survey that included the QUIC-SP and validated Spanish language assessments of physical and mental health. The QUIC-SP demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and similar mean scores, endorsement rates, and internal reliability to the English language version, thus establishing its validity among Spanish-speaking adults. Higher QUIC-SP scores, indicating greater unpredictability in early life, predicted increased symptoms of anxiety, anhedonia, depression, and poorer physical health. Given significant racial and ethnic disparities in health, the QUIC-SP may serve as a valuable tool to address the public health consequences of ACEs among Spanish-speaking populations.

Critical mobility in policy making for epidemic containment

Application of machine learning and genomics for orphan crop improvement

Deterministic and stochastic effects drive the gut microbial diversity in cucurbit-feeding fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae)

Insect diversity is closely linked to the evolution of phytophagy, with most phytophagous insects showing a strong degree of specialisation for specific host plants. Recent studies suggest that the insect gut microbiome might be crucial in facilitating the dietary (host plant) range. This requires the formation of stable insect-microbiome associations, but it remains largely unclear which processes govern the assembly of insect microbiomes. In this study, we investigated the role of deterministic and stochastic processes in shaping the assembly of the larval microbiome of three tephritid fruit fly species (Dacus bivittatus, D. ciliatus, Zeugodacus cucurbitae). We found that deterministic and stochastic processes play a considerable role in shaping the larval gut microbiome. We also identified 65 microbial ASVs (Amplicon sequence variants) that were associated with these flies, most belonging to the families Enterobacterales, Sphingobacterales, Pseudomonadales and Betaproteobacterales, and speculate about their relationship with cucurbit specialisation. Our data suggest that the larval gut microbiome assembly fits the “microbiome on a leash” model.

Predicting and synthesizing terahertz spoof surface plasmon polariton devices with a convolutional neural network model

Specific types of male infertility are correlated with T cell exhaustion or senescence signatures

Long-term wage inequality in imperial China: From 202 BCE to 1912 CE

This paper attempts to describe and explain the long-term evolution of wage inequality in imperial China, covering over two millennia from the Han dynasty to the Qing dynasty (202 BCE-1912 CE). Based on historical government records of official salaries, commodity prices, and agricultural productivity, we convert various forms of salaries to equivalent rice volumes and comparable salary benchmarks. Wage inequality is measured by salary ratios and (partial) Gini coefficients between official and peasant classes as well as within the official class. The inter-class wage inequality features an “inverted U-u” pattern—first rose before the Tang dynasty and then declined afterwards (the “inverted U” trends) with “inverted u” dynastic cycles. The intra-class wage inequality has a secular decline trend. We propose a unified framework incorporating technological, institutional, political, and social (TIPS) mechanisms to explain both long-term and short-term patterns. It is concluded that the technological mechanism dominated the rise of wage inequality, while the political mechanism (emperor-bureaucracy power tensions) drove the decline.

Intratympanic administration of dexamethasone attenuates radiation induced damage to middle ear mucosa

Author Correction: An atomically controlled insulator-to-metal transition in iridate/manganite heterostructures

Time efficiency as a mediator between institutional support and higher education student engagement during e-learning

This study examined the relationship between institutional support and student engagement in e-learning, with time efficiency as a potential mediator among Saudi university students. This study employed a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based research design. A sample of 752 Saudi university students from different provinces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completed an online questionnaire. The results of the measurement model showed good reliability and validity for all constructs. The results of the structural model and hypothesis testing showed that this study partially supported the hypotheses. Notably, there was a significant positive relationship between student support during e-learning and student engagement. In addition, student support was found to be a predictor of student’s time efficiency (short-term planning, long-term planning, time attitude). Furthermore, the results revealed that long-term planning and time attitude, both components of time efficiency, act as mediators between support provided to students by a higher education (HE) institution during e-learning and their level of engagement. The findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms that explain students’ e-learning engagement.

Research on restraint strategies for rearward-reclined occupants in a frontal rigid barrier crash

A multiscale functional map of somatic mutations in cancer integrating protein structure and network topology

Validation of the somatic symptom disorder—B Criteria Scale (SSD-12) in Bangladesh

Background The absence of a reliable and valid Bangla instrument for measuring somatic symptom disorder hinders research and clinical activities in Bangladesh. The present study aimed at translating and validating the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B criteria (SSD-12). Method A cross-sectional design was used with purposively selected clinical (n = 100) and non-clinical (n = 100) samples. The clinical sample was collected from psychiatric departments at three hospitals, while the non-clinical sample was drawn from the local community. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted on the SSD-12, along with reliability and validity assessments. Results Results indicated satisfactory internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .94, split-half r = .93); criterion-related validity (r = .86, with Morey’s Somatic Complaints Scale); and construct validity (r = .64 with anxiety subscale and r = .57 with depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) of the translated scale. In contrast to the three-factor structure of the original SSD-12, the Bangla version indicated a single-factor structure (accounting for 61.29% of the total variance). This scale also demonstrates its ability to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical participants (t198 = 16.74, p < .01). Conclusion The Bangla translated SSD-12 has demonstrated strong psychometric properties, indicating its suitability for use in Bangladesh. This tool is expected to aid mental health practitioners in their clinical work by providing them with a quick assessment of their patients having somatic complaints.

Impact of psychostimulants on microbiota and short-chain fatty acids alterations in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Surface-hydrogenated CrMnOx coupled with GaN nanowires for light-driven bioethanol dehydration to ethylene

Unraveling the transcriptomic effects of leucine supplementation on muscle growth and performance in basketball athletes

Leucine has gained recognition as an athletic dietary supplement in recent years due to its various benefits; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, 20 basketball players were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. Baseline exercise performance—assessed through a 282-foot sprint, free throws, three-point field goals, and self-rated practice assessments—was measured prior to leucine supplementation. Participants were then given a functional drink containing either leucine (50 mg/kg body weight) or a placebo for 28 days. After supplementation, the same exercise performance metrics were reassessed. Following leucine supplementation, biceps brachii muscle tissue from both groups was collected for transcriptome sequencing and qPCR verification. Our results suggested that leucine supplementation significantly improved 282-foot sprint performance, reducing times from 17.4 ± 0.9 to 16.2 ± 0.9 seconds in the leucine group, compared to minimal changes in the control group (from 17.3 ± 0.9 to 17.1 ± 0.8 seconds; P = 0.034). For other exercise performance metrics, no significant differences were observed (P > 0.05); however, trends toward improvement were noted. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 3,658 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two groups. These DEGs were enriched in pathways related to immune response (P < 0.0001), positive regulation of cytokine production (P < 0.0001), and neutrophil extracellular trap formation (P < 0.0001), among others. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified a module (turquoise) strongly associated with muscle growth, with DEGs in this module enriched in cytoskeletal pathways in muscle cells. Gene expression changes (α-tubulin, β-tubulin, CK18, CK8, vimentin, cofilin, gelsolin, profilin, MAP1, MAP2, MAP4, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin) were verified by qPCR. In summary, leucine supplementation improved exercise performance, particularly by significantly reducing sprint times and showing trends of improvement in other performance metrics, including three-point field goals, free throws, and self-rated well-being. Identified DEGs enriched in pathways related to immune response, cytokine production, and cell adhesion. WGCNA highlighted a key module associated with muscle growth, enriched in cytoskeletal pathways. qPCR validation confirmed the upregulation of cytoskeleton-related genes, supporting the transcriptomic findings. These results suggest that leucine enhances muscle adaptation by regulating cytoskeletal dynamics, providing molecular insights into its role in improving athletic performance.

In vivo and in silico study of europinidin against streptozotocin-isoproterenol-induced myocardial damage via alteration of hs-CRP/CPK-MB/Caspase-3/Bcl-2 pathways

Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children

Multicenter randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study of the effect of prolonged noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation on posture or gait in vestibulopathy

Objective This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial aimed to evaluate whether prolonged noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation improves body balance in patients with vestibulopathy. Materials and methods This trial was registered in the Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center Clinical Trials Information registry (jRCT1080224083). Subjects were 20- to 85-year-old patients who had been unsteady for more than one year and whose symptoms had persisted despite more than six months of rehabilitation. Enrolled subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups; one group received the optimal intensity of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation first and then the placebo 14 days later, the other was evaluated in the reverse order. The primary outcome was the difference of the mean percent change from the baseline in the velocity of center of pressure during 3 h of stimulation between the noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation and placebo periods. This was analyzed with the mixed effects model. Results Forty-two subjects were enrolled. The mean percent change in the velocity during stimulation for 3 h was -9.3% (SD 19.9%) for noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation and -12.6% (SD 15.0%) for placebo. No significant effects of noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation over placebo were found for velocity in the least-squares means of the difference [3.1% (95% CI -0.2 to 6.4, p = 0.066)]. Conclusion Prolonged noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation did not significantly improve body balance in patients with poorly-compensated vestibulopathy.