Microgravity triggers ferroptosis and accelerates senescence in the MG-63 cell model of osteoblastic cells.

In space, cells sustain strong modifications of their mechanical environment. Mechanosensitive molecules at the cell membrane regulate mechanotransduction pathways that induce adaptive responses through the regulation of gene expression, post-translational modifications, protein interactions or intracellular trafficking, among others. In the current study, human osteoblastic cells were cultured on the ISS in microgravity and at 1 g in a centrifuge, as onboard controls.

A Model for Empowering Rural Solutions for Cervical Cancer Prevention (He Tapu Te Whare Tangata): Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Crossover Trial.

Background: Māori are the Indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Despite global acceptance that cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable through vaccination and screening, wāhine Māori (Māori women) are more likely to have cervical cancer and 2.5 times more likely to die from it than non-Māori women.

Te Ara Waiora-Implementing human papillomavirus (HPV) primary testing to prevent cervical cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand: A protocol for a non-inferiority trial.

Background: Cervical cancer is caused by high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Testing for high-risk HPV is a more sensitive screening method than cervical cytology for detecting cervical changes that may lead to cancer. Consistent with recent evidence of efficacy and acceptability, Aotearoa New Zealand plans to introduce HPV testing as the primary approach to screening, replacing cervical cytology, from mid-2023.

The transcription factor c-Jun inhibits RBM39 to reprogram pre-mRNA splicing during genotoxic stress.

Genotoxic agents, that are used in cancer therapy, elicit the reprogramming of the transcriptome of cancer cells. These changes reflect the cellular response to stress and underlie some of the mechanisms leading to drug resistance. Here, we profiled genome-wide changes in pre-mRNA splicing induced by cisplatin in breast cancer cells.

Objective measurement of adherence to topical steroid medication after penetrating keratoplasty using an electronic monitoring aid: A pilot study.

Objectives: Corneal transplantation is the most common transplant worldwide and its success critically depends on the management of corneal graft rejection through topical steroid therapy during the first 12 months after surgery. There is currently no published data on adherence after keratoplasty. This pilot study aims to explore the adherence to topical steroid after penetrating keratoplasty using a smart electronic device.

A call for action that cannot go to voicemail: Research activism to urgently improve Indigenous perinatal health and wellbeing.

In this call to action, a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, United States and Canada argue for the urgent need for adequately funded Indigenous-led solutions to perinatal health inequities for Indigenous families in well-resourced settler-colonial countries. Authors describe examples of successful community-driven programs making a difference and call on all peoples to support and resource Indigenous-led perinatal health services by providing practical actions for individuals and different groups.

He Korowai Manaaki (Pregnancy Wraparound Care): Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Maternal and infant health inequities between Māori (the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) and New Zealand European women are well documented and cannot be explained solely by socioeconomic status. A research center-iwi (tribal group) partnership aims to address these disparities and improve maternal and infant health outcomes by implementing an augmented maternity care pathway (He Korowai Manaaki) to improve access to services and evidence-informed care.

Objective: The objective of this study is to test whether an augmented maternity care pathway improves Māori infant health outcomes.

Whole Body Fat Free Mass and Vo in Recreationally Active Men and Women.

Vo has traditionally been thought to be regulated by cardiac output and arteriovenous-oxygen difference. A "muscle-centric" view suggests the cardiovascular system is secondarily responsive to the primary driver: active muscle mass. A total of 19 recreationally active men ( = 10) and women ( = 9) performed a Vo test, a Vo verification test on an electrically braked cycle ergometer on the same day, and a hydrostatic weighing test to assess fat free mass after providing written informed consent.

He Korowai Manaaki: mapping assets to inform a strengths-based, Indigenous-led wrap-around maternity pathway.

A research partnership between Iwi (tribal group) Ngāti Pāhauwera and a university-based research centre specialising in Kaupapa Māori (by Māori, for Māori) research was formed in response to an invitation from Ngāti Pāhauwera. The initial partnership goal was to address health inequities experienced by Māori women and infants in Te Wairoa (the home place of the Iwi), a predominantly Māori, rural region in Aotearoa (New Zealand). The research developed by the partnership is an example of a culturally responsive research methodology.

Mechanical strain induces a pro-fibrotic phenotype in human mitral valvular interstitial cells through RhoC/ROCK/MRTF-A and Erk1/2 signaling pathways.

The mitral valve is a complex multilayered structure populated by fibroblast-like cells, valvular interstitial cells (VIC) which are embedded in an extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold and are submitted to the mechanical deformations affecting valve at each heartbeat, for an average of 40 million times per year. Myxomatous mitral valve (MMV) is the most frequent heart valve disease characterized by disruption of several valvular structures due to alterations of their ECM preventing the complete closure of the valve resulting in symptoms of prolapse and regurgitation. VIC and their ECM exhibit reciprocal dynamic processes between the mechanical signals issued from the ECM and the modulation of VIC phenotype responsible for ECM homeostasis of the valve.

Saphenous Vein Graft Pseudoaneurysm Repair with GraftMaster®.

Saphenous vein graft (SVG) pseudoaneurysm is a rare complication of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Despite the high mortality associated with SVG pseudoaneurysm, there is no consensus on the optimal management of these pseudoaneurysms as they are infrequently reported in the literature. We report a case of a 55-year-old man with prior CABG surgery who presented with cough associated with hemoptysis and chest pain, and was found to have SVG pseudoaneurysm.

Methylglyoxal, a glycolysis metabolite, triggers metastasis through MEK/ERK/SMAD1 pathway activation in breast cancer.

Background: Elevated aerobic glycolysis rate is a biochemical alteration associated with malignant transformation and cancer progression. This metabolic shift unavoidably generates methylglyoxal (MG), a potent inducer of dicarbonyl stress through the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). We have previously shown that the silencing of glyoxalase 1 (GLO1), the main MG detoxifying enzyme, generates endogenous dicarbonyl stress resulting in enhanced growth and metastasis in vivo.

Exercise training alters the glycemic response to carbohydrate and is an important consideration when evaluating dietary carbohydrate intake.

Carbohydrates raise insulin concentrations in blood. Exercise decreases the insulin response to carbohydrate infusion and is beneficial in reducing postprandial glucose and insulin concentrations. This is important as there has been recent information suggesting postprandial insulin concentrations are linked to obesity (Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Obesity).

Codon-specific translation reprogramming promotes resistance to targeted therapy.

Reprogramming of mRNA translation has a key role in cancer development and drug resistance . However, the molecular mechanisms that are involved in this process remain poorly understood. Wobble tRNA modifications are required for specific codon decoding during translation.

Smoking abstinence 1 year after acute coronary syndrome: follow-up from a randomized controlled trial of varenicline in patients admitted to hospital.

Background: Patients who continue to smoke after acute coronary syndrome are at increased risk of reinfarction and death. We previously found use of varenicline to increase abstinence 24 weeks after acute coronary syndrome; here we report results through 52 weeks.

Methods: The EVITA trial was a multicentre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of varenicline for smoking cessation in patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndrome.

Chemotherapy induces alternative transcription and splicing: Facts and hopes for cancer treatment.

Alternative promoter usage, alternative splicing and alternative cleavage/polyadenylation (referred here as to alternative transcription and splicing) are main instruments to diversify the transcriptome from a limited set of genes. There is a good deal of evidence that chemotherapeutic drugs affect these processes, but the therapeutic incidence of these effects is poorly documented. The scope of this study is to review the impact of chemotherapy on alternative transcription and splicing and to discuss potential implications in cancer therapy.

Smokers and Postcessation Weight Gain After Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: Smoking cessation and weight management are recommended after acute coronary syndrome (ACS); however, little is known about the effects of smoking cessation on weight change after ACS. We aimed to assess the effect of smoking cessation after ACS on weight over a 12-month follow-up period.

Methods And Results: Data were prospectively collected from the EVITA (Evaluation of Varenicline in Smoking Cessation for Patients Post-Acute Coronary Syndrome) trial.

GOSPEL 3: Management of gout by primary-care physicians and office-based rheumatologists in France in the early 21st century - comparison with 2006 EULAR Recommendations.

Introduction: In 2006, recommendations about the management of gout were issued by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). The objective of this work was to compare these recommendations to practice patterns of physicians working in private practices in France.

Method: In a prospective multicenter nationwide study conducted in France, a random sample of primary-care physicians (PCPs) and private-practice rheumatologists (PPRs) was taken in 2009.

Plant growth in amended molybdenum mine waste rock.

This greenhouse study examined the use of organic and inorganic soil amendments in waste rock material from the former Questa Molybdenum Mine in northern New Mexico to promote beneficial soil properties. Waste rock material was amended with 11 soil amendment treatments that included municipal composted biosolids, Biosol®, inorganic fertilizer, and two controls (pure waste rock and sand). Elymus trachycaulus and Robinia neomexicana growth performance and plant chemistry were assessed across all treatments over a period of 99 and 141 days, respectively.

The Athena trials: Autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells for refractory chronic myocardial ischemia with left ventricular dysfunction.

Objective: To assess safety and feasibility of autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs), for treatment of chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy patients.

Background: Preclinical and early clinical trials suggest ADRCs have excellent potential for ischemic conditions.

Methods: The Athena program consisted of two parallel, prospective, randomized (2:1, active: placebo), double-blind trials assessing intramyocardial (IM) ADRC delivery [40-million, n = 28 (ATHENA) and 80-million (ATHENA II) cells, n = 3]).

GOSPEL 2 - Colchicine for the treatment of gout flares in France - a GOSPEL survey subgroup analysis. Doses used in common practices regardless of renal impairment and age.

Objectives: The objective of this sub-study was to assess the use of colchicine for the treatment of gout flares in real life conditions in the GOSPEL cohort following the 2006 EULAR recommendations for gout management.

Methods: This national cross-sectional epidemiologic survey included outpatients with gout suffering from acute flare followed by randomly selected primary care physicians (n=398) and private practice rheumatologists (n=109) between October 2008 and September 2009 in France. Data regarding patient characteristics and treatment prescription was collected by each physician.