Obesity is a growing global health epidemic with limited orally administered therapeutics. Serotonin (5-HT) is one neurotransmitter which remains an excellent target for new weight-loss therapies, but a gap remains in understanding the mechanisms involved in 5-HT produced in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN) and its involvement in meal initiation. Using an optogenetic feeding paradigm, we showed that the 5-HT➔arcuate nucleus (ARH) circuit plays a role in meal initiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe major female ovarian hormone, 17β-estradiol (E), can alter neuronal excitability within milliseconds to regulate a variety of physiological processes. Estrogen receptor-α (ERα), classically known as a nuclear receptor, exists as a membrane-bound receptor to mediate this rapid action of E, but the ionic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that a membrane channel protein, chloride intracellular channel protein-1 (Clic1), can physically interact with ERα with a preference to the membrane-bound ERα.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Older adults are at risk of developing new or worsened disability when hospitalized for acute medical illness. This study is a secondary analysis of the STAND-Cph trial on the effect of a simple strength training intervention initiated during hospitalization and continued after discharge. We investigated the between-group difference in change in functional performance outcomes, the characteristics of patients who experienced a relevant effect of the intervention, and the characteristics of those who were compliant with the intervention, using an expanded sample size as protocolized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Phys Med Rehabil
November 2024
Feeding behaviour is influenced by two primary factors: homoeostatic needs driven by hunger and hedonic desires for pleasure even in the absence of hunger. While efficient homoeostatic feeding is vital for survival, excessive hedonic feeding can lead to adverse consequences such as obesity and metabolic dysregulations. However, the neurobiological mechanisms that orchestrate homoeostatic versus hedonic food consumption remain largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds. Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b measured from 5 μm to 12 μm with the JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are an ideal setting to implement the Age-Friendly Health System (AFHS) approach, an initiative by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) centered on the 4Ms: what matters, mobility, mentation, and medication. AFHS implementation has not been well studied in SNFs.
Methods: A 112-bed VA SNF implemented a facility-wide AFHS initiative including the following: (1) participating in a national IHI Age-Friendly Action Community; (2) establishing an AFHS workgroup centered on the 4Ms; (3) identifying meaningful clinical tools and frameworks for capturing each M; and (4) developing sustainment methods.
Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the transition of an outpatient center-based rehabilitation program for middle and older aged Veterans with mobility limitations to a tele-health platform.
Design: Non-randomized non-controlled pilot study including 10 treatment sessions over 8 weeks and assessments at baseline, 8, 16, and 24 weeks.
Setting: VA Boston Healthcare System ambulatory care between August 2020 and March 2021.
Objective: To assess the association between depression symptoms and physical functioning and participation in daily life over 2 years in older adults at risk of mobility decline.
Design: A secondary analysis of 2-year observational data from the Boston Rehabilitative Impairment Study of the Elderly.
Setting: Nine primary care clinics within a single health care system.
Tuberculosis remains a leading cause of death from a single infection worldwide. Drug resistance to existing and even new antimycobacterials calls for research into novel targets and unexplored mechanisms of action. Recently we reported on the development of tight-binding inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lipoamide dehydrogenase (Lpd), which selectively inhibit the bacterial but not the human enzyme based on a differential modality of inhibitor interaction with these targets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypothalamic neural circuits regulate instinctive behaviors such as food seeking, the fight/flight response, socialization, and maternal care. Here, we identified microdeletions on chromosome Xq23 disrupting the brain-expressed transient receptor potential (TRP) channel 5 (TRPC5). This family of channels detects sensory stimuli and converts them into electrical signals interpretable by the brain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLight plays an essential role in a variety of physiological processes, including vision, mood, and glucose homeostasis. However, the intricate relationship between light and an animal's feeding behavior has remained elusive. Here, we found that light exposure suppresses food intake, whereas darkness amplifies it in male mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding past coastal variability is valuable for contextualizing modern changes in coastal settings, yet existing Holocene paleoceanographic records for the North American Pacific Coast commonly originate from offshore marine sediments and may not represent the dynamic coastal environment. A potential archive of eastern Pacific Coast environmental variability is the intertidal mussel species Mytilus californianus. Archaeologists have collected copious stable isotopic (δ18O and δ13C) data from M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLipid biosynthesis in the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis depends on biotin for posttranslational modification of key enzymes. However, the mycobacterial biotin synthetic pathway is not fully understood. Here, we show that rv1590, a gene of previously unknown function, is required by M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a growing global health epidemic with limited effective therapeutics. Serotonin (5-HT) is one major neurotransmitter which remains an excellent target for new weight-loss therapies, but there remains a gap in knowledge on the mechanisms involved in 5-HT produced in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN) and its involvement in meal initiation. Using a closed-loop optogenetic feeding paradigm, we showed that the 5-HT→arcuate nucleus (ARH) circuit plays an important role in regulating meal initiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clinical practice guidelines encourage primary care providers (PCPs) to recommend nonpharmacologic treatment as first-line therapy for low back pain (LBP). However, the determinants of nonpharmacologic treatment use for LBP in primary care remain unclear, particularly in low-income settings.
Objective: To pilot a framework-informed interview guide and codebook to explore determinants of nonpharmacologic treatment use in primary care.
Natural Killer (NK) cells can recognize and kill -infected cells in vitro, however their role after natural human exposure has not been well-studied. To identify -responsive NK cell populations, we analyzed the peripheral blood of healthy household contacts of active Tuberculosis (TB) cases and source community donors in an endemic region of Port-au-Prince, Haiti by flow cytometry. We observed higher CD8α expression on NK cells in putative resistors (IGRA- contacts) with a progressive loss of these circulating cells during household-associated latent infection and disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent inference of sulfur dioxide (SO) in the atmosphere of the hot (approximately 1,100 K), Saturn-mass exoplanet WASP-39b from near-infrared JWST observations suggests that photochemistry is a key process in high-temperature exoplanet atmospheres. This is because of the low (<1 ppb) abundance of SO under thermochemical equilibrium compared with that produced from the photochemistry of HO and HS (1-10 ppm). However, the SO inference was made from a single, small molecular feature in the transmission spectrum of WASP-39b at 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite their therapeutic benefits, antibiotics exert collateral damage on the microbiome and promote antimicrobial resistance. However, the mechanisms governing microbiome recovery from antibiotics are poorly understood. Treatment of , the world's most common infection, represents the longest antimicrobial exposure in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Rehabil Res Clin Transl
December 2023
Ninety-one percent of adults 65 years and older do not perform the recommended levels of physical activity (PA), resulting in increased risk of disability, morbidity, and mortality. Despite knowing the benefits of PA and acknowledging the importance of assessing and addressing inadequate PA levels, 50%-75% of health care providers do not incorporate behavior change techniques into clinical practice. This clinical gap can be explained by a lack of knowledge or confidence in (1) assessing PA levels; (2) addressing inadequate PA levels; and (3) justifying the time needed to use these techniques in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlanets with radii between that of the Earth and Neptune (hereafter referred to as 'sub-Neptunes') are found in close-in orbits around more than half of all Sun-like stars. However, their composition, formation and evolution remain poorly understood. The study of multiplanetary systems offers an opportunity to investigate the outcomes of planet formation and evolution while controlling for initial conditions and environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While nonpharmacologic treatments are increasingly endorsed as first-line therapy for low back pain (LBP) in clinical practice guidelines, it is unclear if use of these treatments is increasing or equitable.
Objective: Examine national trends in chiropractic care and physical rehabilitation (occupational/physical therapy (OT/PT)) use among adults with LBP.
Design/setting: Serial cross-sectional analysis of the National Health Interview Survey, 2002 to 2018.
Objective: To identify clinically meaningful thresholds of leg power impairment identified by the stair climb power test (SCPT).
Design: Cross-sectional analysis using the baseline data from an observational cohort study.
Setting: The Boston Rehabilitative Impairment Study of the Elderly.
In general, COVID-19-related adaptations that transitioned in-person assessments and interventions to a virtual format were not routinely evaluated. We aimed to conduct a process evaluation to examine the impact of COVID-19-related adaptations on a behavior change intervention designed to increase exercise adherence among Veterans with mobility difficulty. We used secondary data from a nonrandomized study to complete a process evaluation examining the intervention's reach, recruitment, fidelity, dose delivered by physical therapists, and the dose received by the 14 participating Veterans.
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