Effect of exogenous β-hydroxybutyrate on BDNF signalling, cognition, and amyloid precursor protein processing in humans with T2D and insulin resistant rodents.

People with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a greater risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease, in later life. Exogenous ketone supplements containing the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) may be a strategy to protect the brain as β-OHB can support cerebral metabolism and promote neuronal plasticity via expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Parallel human (ClinicalTrials.

Oxytocin receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell are necessary for the onset of maternal behavior.

In rodents, oxytocin (Oxt) contributes to the onset of maternal care by shifting the perception of pups from aversive to attractive. Both Oxt receptor knockout (Oxtr -/-) and forebrain-specific Oxtr knockout (FB/FB) dams abandon their first litters, likely due to a failure of the brain to 'switch' to a more maternal state. Whether this behavioral shift is neurochemically similar in virgin females, who can display maternal behaviors when repeatedly exposed to pups, or what neuroanatomical substrate is critical for the onset of maternal care remains unknown.

Evidence for direct CO -mediated alterations in cerebral oxidative metabolism in humans.

Aim: How the cerebral metabolic rates of oxygen and glucose utilization (CMRO and CMR, respectively) are affected by alterations in arterial PCO (PaCO) is equivocal and therefore was the primary question of this study.

Methods: This retrospective analysis involved pooled data from four separate studies, involving 41 healthy adults (35 males/6 females). Participants completed stepwise steady-state alterations in PaCO ranging between 30 and 60 mmHg.

Strategies and indicators to integrate health equity in health service and delivery systems in high-income countries: a scoping review.

Objective: The objective of this review was to describe how health service and delivery systems in high-income countries define and operationalize health equity. A secondary objective was to identify implementation strategies and indicators being used to integrate and measure health equity.

Introduction: To improve the health of populations, a population health and health equity approach is needed.

In need of a specific antibody against the oxytocin receptor for neuropsychiatric research: A KO validation study.

Antibodies are one of the most utilized tools in biomedical research. However, few of them are rigorously evaluated, as there are no accepted guidelines or standardized methods for determining their validity before commercialization. Often, an antibody is considered validated if it detects a band by Western blot of the expected molecular weight and, in some cases, if blocking peptides result in loss of staining.

Development and implementation of a municipal outdoor play policy for children and youth in Nova Scotia, Canada: a community case study.

Children and youth benefit from outdoor play; however, environments and policies to support outdoor play are often limited. The purpose of this paper is to describe a case study of the development of a municipal outdoor play policy in Nova Scotia, Canada. The outdoor play policy was developed by the Town of Truro with support from the UpLift Partnership, a School-Community-University Partnership in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Hemorheological, cardiorespiratory, and cerebrovascular effects of pentoxifylline following acclimatization to 3,800 m.

Pentoxifylline is a nonselective phosphodiesterase inhibitor used for the treatment of peripheral artery disease. Pentoxifylline acts through cyclic adenosine monophosphate, thereby enhancing red blood cell deformability, causing vasodilation and decreasing inflammation, and potentially stimulating ventilation. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, counter-balanced study to test the hypothesis that pentoxifylline could lower blood viscosity, enhance cerebral blood flow, and decrease pulmonary artery pressure in lowlanders following 11-14 days at 3,800 m.

Intense exercise at high altitude causes platelet loss across the brain in humans.

Platelets are known primarily for their role in blood clotting; however, it is becoming clear that they play diverse roles beyond that of haemostasis. Exercise has been shown to activate platelets and stimulate neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and improve cognitive function, highlighting a potentially powerful link between platelet function and brain health. Despite this clear link between platelets and the brain, very little is known about the behaviour of platelets through the cerebral circulation in humans.

Process and experience of youth researchers within a Health Promoting Schools study in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is an approach to research that engages youth across the research process. The peer researcher method is a technique used in YPAR where youth are trained in research and ethics to interview their peers. The purpose of this study was to: (i) describe the process of engaging youth as peer researchers in a Health Promoting Schools (HPS) and student engagement project and (ii) understand the peer researchers' perspectives of their experience throughout the project.

TargeTron inactivation of plasmid-regulated Chlamydia trachomatis CT084 results in a nonlytic phenotype.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterium that causes blinding trachoma and sexually transmitted disease. The chlamydial plasmid is a critical virulence factor in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Plasmid gene protein 4 (Pgp4) plays a major role in chlamydial virulence by regulating the expression of both chromosomal genes and Pgp3.

Maintenance of a host-specific minority mutation in the West Nile virus NS3.

West Nile virus (WNV), the most prevalent arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) in the United States, is maintained in a cycle between spp. mosquitoes and birds. Arboviruses exist within hosts and vectors as a diverse set of closely related genotypes.

Impact of an outdoor loose parts play intervention on Nova Scotian preschoolers' physical literacy: a mixed-methods randomized controlled trial.

Background: Physical activity participation among preschoolers in childcare settings are low, and interventions to increase physical activity levels have produced mixed results. The Physical Literacy in the Early Years (PLEY) project implemented a six-month childcare-based outdoor loose parts play intervention in childcare centres in Nova Scotia, Canada. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the PLEY project on the development of domains of physical literacy (physical activity, physical competence, confidence and motivation, knowledge and understanding) in preschoolers attending childcare centres using mixed-methods.

TargeTron Inactivation of Chlamydia trachomatis Results in a Lipopolysaccharide 3-Deoxy-d-Manno-Oct-2-Ulosonic Acid-Deficient Strain That Is Cytotoxic for Cells.

All members of the family Chlamydiaceae have lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that possess a shared carbohydrate trisaccharide antigen, 3-deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) that is functionally uncharacterized. A single gene, genus-specific epitope (), is responsible for attaching the tri-Kdo to lipid IVA. To investigate the function of Kdo in chlamydial host cell interactions, we made a -null strain (L2Δ) by using TargeTron mutagenesis.

Hemoglobin and cerebral hypoxic vasodilation in humans: Evidence for nitric oxide-dependent and -nitrosothiol mediated signal transduction.

Cerebral hypoxic vasodilation is poorly understood in humans, which undermines the development of therapeutics to optimize cerebral oxygen delivery. Across four investigations (total n = 195) we investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) and hemoglobin-based -nitrosothiol (RSNO) and nitrite () signaling in the regulation of cerebral hypoxic vasodilation. We conducted hemodilution (n = 10) and NO synthase inhibition experiments (n = 11) as well as hemoglobin oxygen desaturation protocols, wherein we measured cerebral blood flow (CBF), intra-arterial blood pressure, and in subsets of participants trans-cerebral release/uptake of RSNO and .

Physical Activity Trajectories in Early Childhood: Investigating Personal, Environmental, and Participation Factors.

Introduction/purpose: To determine personal, environmental, and participation factors that predict children's physical activity (PA) trajectories from preschool through to school years.

Methods: Two hundred seventy-nine children (4.5 ± 0.

They're Dying. Now What? The Impact of a 2-Hour End-of-Life Educational Intervention on Bedside Nurse Self-efficacy, Knowledge, and Clinical Practice.

The palliative care team identified a lack of knowledge and confidence for nurses providing end-of-life care in a hospital. The team completed a quality improvement project establishing significant improvement in knowledge and self-efficacy after a 2-hour educational intervention. The next step was to study the impact on practice.

PTEN Protein Phosphatase Activity Is Not Required for Tumour Suppression in the Mouse Prostate.

Loss PTEN function is one of the most common events driving aggressive prostate cancers and biochemically, PTEN is a lipid phosphatase which opposes the activation of the oncogenic PI3K-AKT signalling network. However, PTEN also has additional potential mechanisms of action, including protein phosphatase activity. Using a mutant enzyme, PTEN Y138L, which selectively lacks protein phosphatase activity, we characterised genetically modified mice lacking either the full function of PTEN in the prostate gland or only lacking protein phosphatase activity.

Brachial artery responses to acute hypercapnia: The roles of shear stress and adrenergic tone.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? What are the contributions of shear stress and adrenergic tone to brachial artery vasodilatation during hypercapnia? What is the main finding and its importance? In healthy young adults, shear-mediated vasodilatation does not occur in the brachial artery during hypercapnia, as elevated α₁-adrenergic activity typically maintains vascular tone and offsets distal vasodilatation controlling flow.

Abstract: We aimed to assess the shear stress dependency of brachial artery (BA) responses to hypercapnia, and the α₁-adrenergic restraint of these responses. We hypothesized that elevated shear stress during hypercapnia would cause BA vasodilatation, but where shear stress was prohibited (via arterial compression), the BA would not vasodilate (study 1); and, in the absence of α₁-adrenergic activity, blood flow, shear stress and BA vasodilatation would increase (study 2).

Measuring Skeletal Muscle Thermogenesis in Mice and Rats.

Skeletal muscle thermogenesis provides a potential avenue for better understanding metabolic homeostasis and the mechanisms underlying energy expenditure. Surprisingly little evidence is available to link the neural, myocellular, and molecular mechanisms of thermogenesis directly to measurable changes in muscle temperature. This paper describes a method in which temperature transponders are utilized to retrieve direct measurements of mouse and rat skeletal muscle temperature.

Sign and Spoken Language Processing Differences in the Brain: A Brief Review of Recent Research.

Background: It is currently accepted that sign languages and spoken languages have significant processing commonalities. The evidence supporting this often merely investigates frontotemporal pathways, perisylvian language areas, hemispheric lateralization, and event-related potentials in typical settings. However, recent evidence has explored beyond this and uncovered numerous modality-dependent processing differences between sign languages and spoken languages by accounting for confounds that previously invalidated processing comparisons and by delving into the specific conditions in which they arise.