Greater perceived stress and lower cortisol concentration increase the odds of depressive symptoms among adolescents.

Background: Adolescent depression is a major public health concern. Although stress has been linked to more severe depression, its association with mild depression among adolescents is not understood. This study assesses the relationship between perceived stress and cortisol (a physiologic measure of stress) and examines the relationships between these stress measures and depressive symptoms among adolescents 13-19 years of age.

Engaging adolescents in research: Home self-collection of biological samples and health questionnaires.

Adolescent health research with biomarker data collection is limited due to difficulties in recruiting and engaging this age group. Thus, successful recruitment, engagement, and retention of adolescents in translational research are necessary to elucidate factors influencing mental and physical health conditions, uncover novel biomarkers, and expand prevention and treatment options. This paper describes strategies for effective recruitment and retention of adolescents in a research study, using a project examining depressive symptoms and the microbiome to illustrate these approaches.

Exposure to prenatal stressors and infant autonomic nervous system regulation of stress.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between fetal exposure to maternal prenatal stressors and infant parasympathetic (PNS) and sympathetic (SNS) nervous function at 3 timepoints across the first year of life.

Background: Autonomic nervous system impairments may mediate associations between gestational exposure to stressors and later infant health problems. Heart rate variability (HRV) provides a sensitive index of PNS and SNS function.

Infant emotion regulation in the context of stress: Effects of heart rate variability and temperament.

Stressful events are inherently emotional. As a result, the ability to regulate emotions is critical in responding effectively to stressors. Differential abilities in the management of stress appear very early in life, compelling a need to better understand factors that may shape the capacity for emotion regulation (ER).

Associations of iron deficiency and depressive symptoms among young adult males and Females: NHANES 2017 to 2020.

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions throughout the lifespan. Notable differences in the prevalence of depression among females and males arise during adolescence and may peak during young adulthood. Since iron deficiency is a treatable condition that may contribute to depression, this topic among youth (18 to 25 years of age) needs to be further explored.

The gut microbiota, HPA axis, and brain in adolescent-onset depression: Probiotics as a novel treatment.

Stress-associated disruptions in the development of frontolimbic regions may play a critical role in the emergence of adolescent-onset depression. These regions are particularly sensitive to Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis signaling. The HPA axis is hyperactive in adolescent depression, and interventions that attenuate such hyperactivity hold promise as potential treatments.

Osmotic Gradient Is a Factor That Influences the Gill Microbiota Communities in .

The fish gill is the first tissue that is exposed to the external media and undergoes continuous osmotic challenges. Recently, our group published an article entitled "Integrated Omics Approaches Revealed the Osmotic Stress-Responsive Genes and Microbiota in Gill of Marine Medaka" in the journal mSystems (e0004722, 2022), and suggested the possible host-bacterium interaction in the fish gill during osmotic stress. The previous study was performed by the progressive fresh water transfer (i.

Integrated Omics Approaches Revealed the Osmotic Stress-Responsive Genes and Microbiota in Gill of Marine Medaka.

Aquatic fishes face osmotic stress continuously, and the gill is the first tissue that senses and responds to the external osmotic challenges. However, the understandings of how the gill microbiota could respond to osmotic stress and their potential host-bacterium relationships are limited. The objectives of the current study are to identify the hypotonic responsive genes in the gill cells and profile the gill microbiota communities after fresh water transfer experiment via transcriptome sequencing and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Clinical Spectrum and Burden of Influenza-Associated Neurological Complications in Hospitalised Paediatric Patients.

Background: Influenza is one of the most common causes of acute respiratory tract infections around the world. Influenza viruses can cause seasonal epidemics. There remains limited information on the impact of both seasonal influenza A and influenza B related hospitalisations from neurological complications in paediatric populations in Asia.

Depression, Healthcare Utilization, Missed Work, and Health Behaviors Among US Young Workers: Data From the 2015 National Health Interview Survey.

Objective: We examined the prevalence of depression and its impact on healthcare utilization, work absenteeism, and health behaviors among United States (US) young workers.

Methods: Data of 1053 young workers (ages 18 to 25) from the 2015 US National Health Interview Survey were analyzed to examine these associations.

Results: Seven percent of US young workers reported feeling often depressed (daily or weekly).

Maternal depressive symptoms, poverty, and young motherhood increase the odds of early depressive and anxiety disorders for children born prematurely.

Children born preterm, compared to term, are at risk for behavioral problems. However, the prevalence and predictors of internalizing disorders among children born preterm are unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders at 2 years of age among children born preterm and determine the extent to which poverty, maternal depressive symptoms, or young motherhood increase the likelihood of these disorders.

Gender differences in experience and reporting of acute symptoms among cleaning staff.

Background: Cleaning tasks pose risks of hazardous chemical exposure and adverse health effects for cleaning workers. We examined gender differences among cleaning staff in the experience of chemical-related symptoms and in reporting to supervisors.

Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional reports from 171 university hospital or campus cleaning staff on chemical exposures to cleaning products, experience of acute symptoms, reporting of symptoms to supervisors, as well as demographic and psychosocial factors (risk perception, job demand/control, supervisor/co-worker support, and safety climate).

Sleep duration does not mediate the association between screen time and adolescent depression and anxiety: findings from the 2018 National Survey of Children's Health.

Objective/background: Adolescence is a crucial time period in which individuals are at high risk for depression and anxiety. Associations between screen time and adolescent depression and anxiety have been inconclusive. We examined 1) the associations of screen time with adolescent depression and anxiety and 2) whether sleep duration mediates these relationships.

The use of glutathione to reduce oxidative stress status and its potential for modifying the extracellular matrix organization in cleft lip.

Objective: Cleft lip (CL) is a common congenital anomaly that can be syndromic or non-syndromic. It can be triggered by the mutation of gene or environmental factors. The incidence of CL is about 1 out of 700 live births.

Colorectal Cancer Cells Enter a Diapause-like DTP State to Survive Chemotherapy.

Cancer cells enter a reversible drug-tolerant persister (DTP) state to evade death from chemotherapy and targeted agents. It is increasingly appreciated that DTPs are important drivers of therapy failure and tumor relapse. We combined cellular barcoding and mathematical modeling in patient-derived colorectal cancer models to identify and characterize DTPs in response to chemotherapy.

Effects of stanniocalcin-1 overexpressing hepatocellular carcinoma cells on macrophage migration.

Human stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) is a glycoprotein known to participate in inflammation and tumor progression. However, its role in cancer-macrophage interaction at the tumor environment is not known. In this study, the co-culture of the human metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (MHCC97L) stably transfected with a control vector (MHCC97L/P), or STC1-overexpressing vector (MHCC97L/S1) with human leukemia monocytic cell line (THP-1) was conducted.

Characterization of stanniocalcin-1 expression in macrophage differentiation.

Human stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) is a paracrine factor associated with inflammation and carcinogenesis. The role of STC1 in the pro- and anti-inflammatory functions of differentiating macrophage, however, is not clear. In this study, our data showed that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment induced human leukemia monocytic cells (ThP-1) differentiation to M0 macrophages.

Targeting bivalency de-represses Indian Hedgehog and inhibits self-renewal of colorectal cancer-initiating cells.

In embryonic stem cells, promoters of key lineage-specific differentiation genes are found in a bivalent state, having both activating H3K4me3 and repressive H3K27me3 histone marks, making them poised for transcription upon loss of H3K27me3. Whether cancer-initiating cells (C-ICs) have similar epigenetic mechanisms that prevent lineage commitment is unknown. Here we show that colorectal C-ICs (CC-ICs) are maintained in a stem-like state through a bivalent epigenetic mechanism.

Association of Depressive Symptoms with Consumption of Analgesics among Adolescents.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms, pain (headaches and stomachaches), and analgesic consumption in addition to the association between depressive symptoms and analgesic consumption among adolescents.

Design And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in southern Sweden. The survey was distributed among students in grade 8 (aged 13-15 years, n = 878).

Dietary Exposure to the Environmental Chemical, PFOS on the Diversity of Gut Microbiota, Associated With the Development of Metabolic Syndrome.

The gut microbiome is a dynamic ecosystem formed by thousands of diverse bacterial species. This bacterial diversity is acquired early in life and shaped over time by a combination of multiple factors, including dietary exposure to distinct nutrients and xenobiotics. Alterations of the gut microbiota composition and associated metabolic activities in the gut are linked to various immune and metabolic diseases.

Single-cell transcriptomics reveal that PD-1 mediates immune tolerance by regulating proliferation of regulatory T cells.

Background: We have previously reported an antigen-specific protocol to induce transplant tolerance and linked suppression to human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived tissues in immunocompetent mice through coreceptor and costimulation blockade. However, the exact mechanisms of acquired immune tolerance in this model have remained unclear.

Methods: We utilize the NOD.

Ectopic expression of recipient CD47 inhibits mouse macrophage-mediated immune rejection against human stem cell transplants.

Like conventional transplants, immunosuppression is required to facilitate survival and function of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) derivatives after implantation into xenogeneic recipients. We have previously reported that T cells alone are sufficient to reject allogeneic murine ESC derivatives; and strategies that inhibit T-cell activation, including coreceptor and costimulation blockade, prevent hESC derivatives from being rejected. This study aimed to investigate, in addition to T cells, whether macrophages contribute to transplant rejection of hESC xenografts with nonobese diabetic (NOD)/SCID mice that lack functional T and B cells but have macrophages.

Behavioral problem trajectories and self-esteem changes in relation with adolescent depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study.

Purpose: Prospectively childhood behavioral problems and low self-esteem are associated with depression. However, these mental health changes over time have never been examined. This study assessed the association of childhood behavioral trajectories and self-esteem changes over time with adolescent depressive symptoms.

Administration of Hypoxia-Activated Prodrug Evofosfamide after Conventional Adjuvant Therapy Enhances Therapeutic Outcome and Targets Cancer-Initiating Cells in Preclinical Models of Colorectal Cancer.

Cancer-initiating cells (C-IC) have been described in multiple cancer types, including colorectal cancer. C-ICs are defined by their capacity to self-renew, thereby driving tumor growth. C-ICs were initially thought to be static entities; however, recent studies have determined these cells to be dynamic and influenced by microenvironmental cues such as hypoxia.

Effects of STC1 overexpression on tumorigenicity and metabolism of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) is a paracrine factor associated with inflammation and carcinogenesis. Using clinicopathological data, we previously reported that a greater expression of STC1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was significantly correlated with smaller tumor size. The underlying mechanism on the correlation is not known.