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TNF-α inhibits Epstein Barr virus reactivation through the GPX4 mediated glutathione pathway

Impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on perioperative cardiac, pulmonary and neurocognitive complications in older patients: Study protocol for an observative case control study

Background Postoperative delirium is considered a serious complication in older patients. Older patients often suffer from several concomitant diseases. The reduced physical condition can increase the risk of cardiac, pulmonary and neurocognitive complications during and after surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection primarily affects the respiratory tract but can also damage other organ systems such as the heart and brain. Given the wide range of pulmonary, cardiac and neurocognitive complications caused by SARS-CoV-2, these risks must be given special consideration during planned surgical procedures. Both surgical procedures and anesthesia are risk factors for postoperative complications in themselves. The specific impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on perioperative complications in older patients has not been sufficiently researched. The aim of this study is to understand how a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection influences the occurrence of perioperative complications. Methods In this case-control study, the data of patients over 60 years of age undergoing elective surgery are analyzed. Subjects are divided into two groups based on their SARS-CoV-2 infection status: those with a documented previous infection and those without. Confirmation of infection will be based on written evidence and anamnestic information. The primary endpoint of the examination is the occurrence of delirium within the first five postoperative days. In addition, further cardiac, pulmonary and neurocognitive complications are recorded in the perioperative period. The occurrence of postoperative delirium is recorded during the daily ward round in the first five days after surgery. The 3DCAM test and the 4AT are used for this purpose. In addition, the CAM-ICU will be used in the intensive care unit. The recruitment will include 266 patients. Statistical analyses will be performed to determine the correlation between a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the observed clinical outcomes. Discussion The results of this study will provide new insights into the impact of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on perioperative complications in older patients undergoing elective surgery. Trial registration Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien: DRKS00034861.

A cross-sectional investigation on oral health and hygiene among children aged 7–10 years in extremely high altitude areas of China

Retraction: Evaluating the effect of therapeutic stem cells on TRAIL resistant and sensitive medulloblastomas

Application of interpretable machine learning algorithms to predict macroangiopathy risk in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Research analytics on the applications of flexible formwork gob-side entry retention technology in medium-thickness coal seams with large inclination angles

Gob-side entry retention (GER) has been successfully advanced and implemented for several years. Notably, strong economic returns have been realised for different thicknesses of coal seams under near-horizontal and gently inclined conditions. However, implementing gob-side entry retention under the conditions of high dip angle or steeply inclined coal seam has always been difficult. This paper systematically introduces the material and construction processes of flexible formwork GER. Engineering practice, theoretical calculations and indoor test analysis were used to propose an independently designed and developed special-shaped flexible formwork concrete wall with a width of 1.2 m, a strength of C30 and an inclination angle of 20°. This wall was then used to investigate the GER technology in the No. 31342 working face of the Dachiba Coal Mine. The findings reveal that the strength of the developed coal solid waste flexible formwork concrete fulfils the design requirements, and the residual strength and healing capacity are superior to that of ordinary concrete. The design of the supporting parameters of flexible formwork GER was satisfactory in the No. 31342 working face of the Daichiba Coal Mine. The overall deformation of the roadway is small, and a decent effect is obtained with respect to retaining the roadway. Hence, the technical challenge of enacting GER in medium-thick coal seams with a high dip angle under the filling and supporting modes has been resolved successfully.

Author Correction: An improved polar lights optimization algorithm for global optimization and engineering applications

Ubiquitous expression of an activating mutation in the Pik3ca gene reprograms glucose and lipid metabolism in mice

Mutations in PIK3CA, the gene encoding the p110α catalytic subunit of PI3K, are among the most common mutations in human cancers and overgrowth syndromes. The ubiquitous expression of the activating Pik3caH1047R mutation results in reduced survival, organomegaly, hypoglycaemia and hypoinsulinemia in mice. Here we demonstrate that in vivo expression of Pik3caH1047R attenuates the rise in blood glucose in response to oral glucose administration, stimulates glucose uptake in peripheral tissues, inhibits hepatic gluconeogenesis and pancreatic insulin secretion, and increases adipose lipolysis and white adipose tissue browning. Together, our data reveal that the systemic activation of the PI3K pathway in mice disrupts glucose homeostasis through the regulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis, and leads to increased lipolysis of adipose tissue.

Awe reduces depressive symptoms and improves well-being in a randomized-controlled clinical trial

Abstract Emerging evidence suggests that experiences of awe benefit health and well-being. The present investigation examined the efficacy of an awe intervention to improve the psychological health—stress, anxiety, depression, and well-being—of patients living with long COVID. The awe intervention, a Randomized-controlled Clinical Trial, was delivered in synchronous online sessions to patients, across the United States (in April 2023), who met the criteria for long COVID. Results revealed significant improvements in psychological health for those in the awe intervention (N = 30), compared to the control group (N = 38): including decreased stress, decreased depression symptoms, and increased well-being. There were no significant differences between groups in anxiety symptoms. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large (d = 0.78–0.96), demonstrating the robustness of these findings. This work is the first to document that awe can have salutary effects on psychological health, such as reducing symptoms of depression. These findings suggest that a brief awe intervention can improve psychological health in people dealing with chronic stress and physical ailments, as in the case of long COVID. Trial registration. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05676008, 09/01/2023).

Effects of upper-limb aerobic exercise plus general exercise versus general exercise alone among patients with spinal cord injury in northern Nigeria: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Introduction Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating injury often associated with immobility, leading to numerous complications, with cardiovascular disorders being among the major causes of mortality. Upper-limb aerobic exercise (ULAE) may help to retrain and regain some of the abilities lost through SCI and minimize secondary complications. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of ULAE plus general exercise compared to the same general exercise on cardiovascular parameters, functional independence, and quality of life among patients with SCI in northern Nigeria. Method This is a multicenter, assessor-blind, parallel group, randomized controlled superiority trial to be conducted among SCI patients attending three tertiary hospitals in Kano State, northern Nigeria. Participants fulfilling the study criteria will be randomized into either ULAE (arm ergometer and overhead pulley exercises) plus general exercise group or general exercise only group. Both groups will receive their respective interventions three times per week for 8 weeks. The primary outcomes will be rate pressure product (calculated as systolic blood pressure x heart rate) and functional independence. The secondary outcomes will be blood pressure and quality of life. All outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 8 weeks post-intervention, and at 14weeks follow-up. Discussion This study will be the first to determine the effects of ULAE plus general exercise versus general exercise alone among patients with SCI in northern Nigeria. The outcome of this study could provide valuable guidance for rehabilitation professionals in selecting a low-cost and effective intervention for patients with SCI, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Trial registration Pan African Clinical Registry (PACTR202306580460880). Registered on June 12, 2023.

Quantifying the energy and emissions implications of consumption redistribution in the UK through sustainable consumption corridors

Abstract Reducing inequality to ensure decent living standards alongside climate mitigation, are frequently posited as dual goals of a just transition. Energy sufficiency has received attention as a solution to these crises, but there has been limited exploration of the impact sufficiency principles could have on energy and GHG emissions. Addressing this gap, we utilise a consumption-corridor approach to develop three redistributive scenarios of final consumption for the UK. Each scenario ensures all households meet essential needs and facilitates social participation, whilst varying the level of consumption redistribution. These scenarios are modelled using the UK Multi-Regional Input Output model to estimate the impact of redistribution on the consumption-based energy and emissions footprints of 13 household types. We find that reductions in consumption inequality can support reductions in GHG emissions and energy use, but only if the consumption of higher-income consumers is limited to near equality in expenditure. We also find significant shifts in the composition of consumption resulting from redistribution that may support climate mitigation, such as reduced car use and flying, particularly in scenarios where higher household consumption is curtailed. We conclude that economic inequality must be integrated into climate mitigation modelling to develop effective solutions.

Study of the psychometric properties of the HLS-EU-12 questionnaire in rural Bangladesh

Objectives Poorer health literacy leads to limited knowledge of diseases and lower adherence to medication. Several tools are available for measuring health literacy, including the HLS-EU-Q12 questionnaire. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the HLS-EU-Q12 questionnaire using Rasch measurement theory to assess general health literacy among adults in rural Bangladesh. Materials and Methods Baseline data was collected through a cluster randomized control trial (RCT) in the Narail district of Bangladesh from 1 December 2020 to 31 January 2021, involving 307 adults aged 30–75 with hypertension. The HLS-EU-Q12 questionnaire, which has 12 items, was validated using the Rasch measurement model and analyzed using RUMM2030. The analysis was focused on differential item functioning (DIF) across gender and age, targeting, multidimensionality, response dependency, and item categorization. Results The sample consisted of almost equal proportions of females (50.2%) and males (49.8%), and control (50.8%) and intervention participants (49.2%). Initial examination indicated that the tool had a poor overall fit with the Rasch model, shown by a significant item-trait interaction (χ2 = 100.5 df = 48, p < 0.001). The reliability, measured by person separation index (PSI), was 0.746, which was considered satisfactory. The overall item fit residual (IFR) (M = 0.236, SD = 1.318) and the person fit residuals (PFR) (M = -0.186, SD = 1.03) were within the acceptable range of SD ± 1.4. All items were found to have ordered thresholds, suggesting that respondents had no difficulty differentiating between response options on the 4-point Likert-type scale. Only item 12 (“Join a sports club or exercise class if you want to”) had a fit residual value outside the acceptable range. Removing item 12 resulted in a good overall fit (χ2 = 60.35 df = 44, p = 0.05) and a slight improvement to the PSI (0.746 for 12 items vs.0.756 for 11 items). None of the items showed significant DIF for age and gender. Only two items showed residual correlation coefficient 0.20, indicating possible redundancy. The analysis demonstrated the scale’s unidimensionality, as shown by the lower bound of a binomial 95% confidence interval (CI) for the observed proportion (5.2%) being within the 95% confidence limit. Conclusion The study demonstrated the potential effectiveness of the HLS-EU-Q12 as a tool for assessing health literacy among adults in Bangladesh. However, further study is needed to evaluate the tool across different populations, including an in-depth investigation of item 12 to determine its inclusion or removal. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04505150. Registered on 7 August 2020.

Mechanisms of global climate change during the five major mass extinctions

The lncRNA SENCR knockdown alleviates vascular calcification via miR-4731-5p by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress

Background Accumulation of calcium phosphate crystals is associated with vascular calcification (VC); however, the mechanism that promotes VC remains unclear. Accumulating evidence indicates that smooth muscle and endothelial cell-enriched migration/differentiation-associated lncRNA (SENCR) exerts a critical role in VC. This work focuses on the molecules involved in β-glycerophosphate-induced osteogenic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) through SENCR epigenetic modification of Runx2 in an endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-dependent manner. Methods We cultured VSMCs to explore the relationship among β-glycerophosphate, SENCR, and VC and also investigate the function of SENCR in β-glycerophosphate-induced osteogenic differentiation and VC in vitro. Results Our findings indicate that β-glycerophosphate enhanced SENCR, MSH homeobox 2, Runx2, ERS-related markers, alkaline phosphatase activity, and cellular calcium deposition and suppressed the expression of α-SMA, SM 22α, and miR-4731-5p. SENCR silencing increased miR-4731-5p expression, which subsequently inhibited β-glycerophosphate-associated endoplasmic reticulum stress at the post-transcriptional level. Critically, the facts that direct interplay between SENCR and miR-4731-5p, and the downregulation of miR-4731-5p efficiently reversed the suppression of ERS-induced by SENCR silencing were observed. Collectively, the present study clarifies a novel mechanism by which downregulation of SRNRC contributes to the ERS-dependent osteogenic differentiation of VSMCs and VC by sponging miR-4731-5p. This study demonstrates that SENCR/miR-4731-5p axis is involved in β-glycerophosphate-mediated VC in vitro.

FOSL1 promotes keratinocyte migration and wound repair by modulating the IL17 signaling pathway

A transgenic mouse line for rabies virus-mediated trans-synaptic tracing in the postnatal developing brain

Neural circuits are composed of numerous neurons that perform diverse functions. Understanding the mechanisms of neural processing requires elucidating the connections among individual neurons. Rabies virus (RV)-mediated trans-synaptic tracing enables the visualization of direct presynaptic neurons of a defined neural population, facilitating the precise mapping of neural circuits across various brain regions. This method relies on RV mutants that require the expression of the TVA receptor and rabies glycoprotein to infect and spread to presynaptic neurons. Traditionally, adeno-associated virus (AAV) has been used to express these proteins. However, because AAV requires several weeks to achieve sufficient gene expression, it is challenging to use this approach for studying neural connections during postnatal development. To address this limitation, we generated a transgenic mouse line, termed Ai162-nCTG, which expresses nuclear-localized mCherry, the TVA receptor, and rabies glycoprotein in a Cre-dependent manner. As a proof-of-principle, we crossed the Ai162-nCTG line with the vasopressin-Cre line. In the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, where a major cluster of vasopressin neurons exists, mCherry expression was highly specific to vasopressin neurons, although not all vasopressin neurons co-expressed mCherry. We injected RV into the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus and compared the labeling patterns with those of the conventional AAV-based approach. Although both methods labeled input cells in similar brain regions, the AAV-based approach was superior in terms of labeling efficiency. We also demonstrated that the Ai162-nCTG-based method enables rabies virus-mediated trans-synaptic tracing in mice at postnatal day 7 and 30. The distribution of presynaptic neurons was largely similar in the juvenile and adult stages, suggesting that paraventricular vasopressin neurons do not significantly change their presynaptic inputs during post-weaning development. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Ai162-nCTG line can be used for rabies virus-mediated trans-synaptic tracing when AAV administration is challenging. We also acknowledge and discuss the technical constraints associated with this mouse line.

Effects of ChatGPT on students’ academic performance in Pakistan higher education classrooms

Enhanced surveillance for tick-borne rickettsiosis and ehrlichiosis in North Carolina: Protocol and preliminary results

North Carolina (NC) experiences some of the highest incidence rates of spotted fever rickettsiosis (SFR) and ehrlichiosis in the United States (US). Due to the non-specific nature of clinical symptoms, minimal utilization of molecular methods when appropriate, and limitations of sero-diagnostic methods, accurate case identification and subsequent public health reporting is challenging. Herein we detail the protocol and early enrollment results for an enhanced surveillance project aiming to generate more accurate estimates of tick-borne disease incidence in NC. Secondary outcomes of interest include: (i) increasing the obtainment rate of convalescent samples (ii) defining demographic and socioeconomic, behavioral/knowledge, entomologic, and environmental risk factors for disease, and (iii) describing the spectrum and clinical course of disease among cases of SFR and ehrlichiosis up to 90 days after symptom onset. In addition, we will collect remnant serum to establish a biorepository of well characterized samples that we intend to make available to researchers. Of the 150 participants enrolled, highlighted results include 49.5% of participants reported being exposed in their own home compared to 43.2% being exposed due to work or travel showing the importance of tick control and education. We also reported more confirmed cases of SFR and ehrlichiosis (15 and 20 respectively) where the North Carolina State Health Department only reported 14 and 11 confirmed cases in the entire state in 2022. Findings from the project will be reported in subsequent publications.

Predictive modeling of Super El Niño through integrated local and global climate signals

Research on the coupled dynamics and prediction of Macao’s tourism-economy-ecosystem from a policy perspective

A harmonious integration of urban tourism, economy, society, and environmental development is crucial for the sustainable development of urban tourism. This study takes the Macao Special Administrative Region as a case, constructing an evaluation index system and a coordination development model for the tourism industry (TI), regional economy (RE), and ecological environment (EE). The study analyzes the coordinated development of these three systems from 2014 to 2023 and uses the GM(1,1) model to forecast the coordination development trend from 2024 to 2026. The results show that during the observation period, the comprehensive evaluation indices of the TI and EE subsystems exhibited significant growth, particularly in the EE system, which had a marked positive impact on the coupling coordination degree. The RE system, however, experienced a short-term decline due to the impact of the pandemic. Despite that, there is still considerable room for improvement in the coupling and coordination capability between Macao’s TI, RE, and EE. In recent years, the relationship between the three has shifted from an initial stage of gradual imbalance to a primary coordination stage. The forecast indicates that in the next three years, the degree of coupling coordination among Macao’s TI, RE, and EE will increase massively, with the systems becoming more synergistic. By 2026, the coordination is expected to progress from the primary to the intermediate stage. This study reveals the dynamic synergistic relationship among the TI, RE, and EE in Macao through the coupled coordination model, verifies the applicability of the coupled coordination theory in the study of sustainable development of regional tourism, and expands its research connotation in the context of coping with emergencies. At the same time, this paper puts forward three suggestions to promote the multifaceted development of the tourism industry, to promote the optimization of the structure of the regional economy and its multifaceted development, and to build an ecologically civilized city. At the same time, the paper puts forward three suggestions, expecting to provide more in-depth theoretical support and practical guidance for the sustainable development of Macau and other tourist cities.