Bidirectional Relationships Between Sleep Quality and Cognitive Function in Older Chinese Adults: Observational Analysis of SAWA Trial.

PurposeTo examine the bidirectional relationships between sleep quality and cognitive function in older Chinese, and further examine the sex differences in the relationships using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model.DesignA secondary observational analysis of a physical activity clustered randomized controlled trial (The Stay Active While Aging).SettingEight villages in Sichuan, China.

The association between obstructive sleep apnea and osteoporosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder with well-known metabolic consequences. The relationship between OSA and bone health, especially osteoporosis, remains poorly understood. Given that both OSA and osteoporosis are highly prevalent chronic conditions with significant public health implications, this study aims to investigate the association of OSA with bone health and osteoporosis.

Longer-term effect of physical activity intervention on sleep quality: a secondary analysis of cluster randomized controlled trial.

Study Objectives: To examine the longer-term effect of physical activity (PA) intervention on sleep quality and whether the effect was heterogeneous between daytime nappers and non-nappers.

Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of a cluster randomized controlled trial in China. Eight villages were randomized 1:1 to intervention or control group.

The Relationship between Mentally Active Sedentary Behavior and Cognitive Function across Different Educational Levels.

Introduction: How education affects the relationship between sedentary behavior and cognitive function remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mentally active sedentary behavior and cognitive function in rural older Chinese across different levels of education.

Methods: Data from 517 participants aged 60 years and older in rural China at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months were analyzed.

Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: A 1-Year Follow-up.

Background And Objectives: Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).

Seq' and ARMS shall find: DNA (meta)barcoding of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures across the tree of life uncovers hidden cryptobiome of tropical urban coral reefs.

Coral reefs are among the richest marine ecosystems on Earth, but there remains much diversity hidden within cavities of complex reef structures awaiting discovery. While the abundance of corals and other macroinvertebrates are known to influence the diversity of other reef-associated organisms, much remains unknown on the drivers of cryptobenthic diversity. A combination of standardized sampling with 12 units of the Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structure (ARMS) and high-throughput sequencing was utilized to uncover reef cryptobiome diversity across the equatorial reefs in Singapore.

Coral community composition and carbonate production in an urbanized seascape.

Coastal urbanization causes environmental modifications that directly and indirectly influence the distribution and functioning of coral reefs. However, the capacity of urban infrastructure to support corals and vertically accrete is less understood. Here, we investigated if coral communities on reefs and seawalls in Singapore are distinct, and examined the environmental variables influencing coral carbonate production.

Mitogenomes Reveal Alternative Initiation Codons and Lineage-Specific Gene Order Conservation in Echinoderms.

The mitochondrial genetic code is much more varied than the standard genetic code. The invertebrate mitochondrial code, for instance, comprises six initiation codons, including five alternative start codons. However, only two initiation codons are known in the echinoderm and flatworm mitochondrial code, the canonical ATG and alternative GTG.

Responses of urban reef corals during the 2016 mass bleaching event.

Predicting the bleaching responses of corals is crucial in light of frequent heat stress events to manage further losses of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, especially for reefs impacted by urbanisation. We examined if the coral cover and community at various Singapore sites changed during the 2016 global coral bleaching event. Bleaching prevalence varied widely among sites in June 2016, and was best explained by site and coral species.

Environmental stresses induce karyotypic instability in colorectal cancer cells.

Understanding how cells acquire genetic mutations is a fundamental biological question with implications for many different areas of biomedical research, ranging from tumor evolution to drug resistance. While karyotypic heterogeneity is a hallmark of cancer cells, few mutations causing chromosome instability have been identified in cancer genomes, suggesting a nongenetic origin of this phenomenon. We found that in vitro exposure of karyotypically stable human colorectal cancer cell lines to environmental stress conditions triggered a wide variety of chromosomal changes and karyotypic heterogeneity.

Distinct Size and Distribution Patterns of the Sand-sifting Sea Star, , in an Urbanised Marine Environment.

is a microphagous sea star ubiquitous throughout sandy shoals of the Indo-Pacific. Along highly urbanised coasts, loss of sandy habitats through land reclamation and degradation of adjacent mangrove forests and seagrass meadows, which serve as nurseries for , could lead to local extinction of this species. To determine the population status of in Singapore, we performed belt-transect surveys at three modified shores, then compared size structure, clustering patterns and ontogenetic shifts within the Central Indo-Pacific region.

Mammalian Cells Undergo Endoreduplication in Response to Lactic Acidosis.

Polyploidization, a common event during the evolution of different tumours, has been proposed to confer selective advantages to tumour cells by increasing the occurrence of mutations promoting cancer progression and by conferring chemotherapy resistance. While conditions leading to polyploidy in cancer cells have been described, a general mechanism explaining the incidence of this karyotypic change in tumours is still missing. In this study, we tested whether a widespread tumour microenvironmental condition, low pH, could induce polyploidization in mammalian cells.

Optimization of a photopolymerizable material based on a photocyclic initiating system using holographic recording.

A set of photoinitiating systems (PIS) for free radical photopolymerization was studied using time-resolved spectroscopic experiments, real-time FTIR and holographic recording. It is shown that the efficiency of the photoinitiating system can be drastically increased when a redox additive is added to the conventional dye/coinitiator system by virtue of photocyclic behaviour. The homogeneous photopolymerization process was found to reach a fast vitrification, limiting the conversion at about 55%.

Ibandronate does not reduce the anabolic effects of PTH in ovariectomized rat tibiae: a microarchitectural and mechanical study.

Osteoporosis remains a challenging problem. Understanding the regulation on osteoclast and osteoblast by drugs has been of great interest. Both anabolic and anti-resorptive drugs yield positive results in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Oral p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibition with BIRB 796 for active Crohn's disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background & Aims: The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) regulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, which play a critical role in the pathophysiology of Crohn's disease (CD). This study investigated the efficacy and safety of BIRB 796, a highly potent inhibitor of p38 MAPK, in chronic active CD.

Methods: In a multicenter, multinational trial, 284 patients with moderate to severe CD were randomized to receive placebo, or 10, 20, 30, or 60 mg of BIRB 796 twice daily for 8 weeks.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism and its association with essential hypertension in a Tibetan population.

There is strong evidence to support the idea that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EH) and its complications. However, existing data about the association of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism with blood pressure is conflicting, mainly due to racial differences and environmental exposure status. We therefore conducted a case control study to observe the relationship between ACE I/D polymorphism and EH in a Tibetan population who live in relatively isolated areas and are genetically homogeneous.