Publications by authors named "Davies I"

Dispersal is a fundamental ecological process that influences population dynamics and genetic diversity and is therefore an important component of the models used to simulate population responses to environmental change. We considered informed dispersal in relation to settlement location, where individuals could optimise selection of settlement location with regard to per capita resource availability and investigated the importance of this type of informed dispersal for simulated demography and genetic diversity under different biological and environmental scenarios. We used an individual-based simulation model scaled with reference to the ecology of small mammals in fire prone savanna ecosystems.

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PCSK9 is a serine protease that regulates plasma levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol by mediating the endolysosomal degradation of LDL receptor (LDLR) in the liver. When PCSK9 functions unchecked, it leads to increased degradation of LDLR, resulting in elevated circulatory levels of LDL and cholesterol. This dysregulation contributes to lipid and cholesterol metabolism abnormalities, foam cell formation, and the development of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), viral infections, cancer, and sepsis.

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Objective: Glucagon has long been proposed as a component of multi-agonist obesity therapeutics due to its ability to induce energy expenditure and cause weight loss. However, chronic glucagon-receptor agonism has been associated with a reduction in circulating amino acids and loss of lean mass. Importantly, it is currently not known whether the metabolic benefits of glucagon can be maintained under contexts that allow the defence of lean mass.

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Context: Postprandial lipemia (PPL) is associated with increased risk of endothelial dysfunction (ED), a precursor of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The effects of low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diets on ASCVD risk are uncertain; therefore, gaining a greater understanding of LCHF meals on PPL may provide valuable insights.

Objective: The current systematic review investigated the effects of single LCHF meal consumption on PPL and markers of ED.

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Article Synopsis
  • Preterm rabbits were studied to see how changing expiratory resistance (Re) affects lung aeration during positive pressure ventilation right after birth.
  • Increasing Re slowed down lung deflation and increased functional residual capacity (FRC), indicating that higher resistance may improve lung function during mechanical ventilation.
  • The findings suggest that improving the expiratory phase in ventilation devices could enhance outcomes for preterm infants by preserving more FRC, despite breath-related work reduction efforts.
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Introduction: Glioblastoma (grade IV) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults, representing one of the biggest therapeutic challenges due to its highly aggressive nature. In this study, we investigated the impact of millimeter waves on tridimensional glioblastoma organoids derived directly from patient tumors. Our goal was to explore novel therapeutic possibilities in the fight against this challenging disease.

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Objectives: Co-agonists at the glucagon-like peptide-1 and glucagon receptors (GLP1R/GCGR) show promise as treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Although most co-agonists to date have been heavily GLP1R-biased, glucagon directly acts on the liver to reduce fat content. The aims of this study were to investigate a GCGR-biased co-agonist as treatment for hepatic steatosis in mice.

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We describe a method for defining dynamical black hole entropy in gravitational effective field theories. The entropy is constructed order by order in derivatives. For any fixed number of derivatives, the entropy satisfies a nonperturbative second law of black hole mechanics if the black hole remains within the regime of validity of effective field theories.

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  • Marine renewable energy developments can impact the environment in both direct ways, like collisions, and indirect ways, such as changes in ocean conditions.
  • Current UK guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA) do not adequately address how these changes affect the distribution and movements of top predators, such as seabirds and fish.
  • This study combines different data collection methods to better understand predator-prey relationships and suggests updating regulatory methods to improve assessments of ecosystem impacts related to climate change and renewable energy initiatives.
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Photoautotrophic marine ecosystems can lock up organic carbon in their biomass and the associated organic sediments they trap over millennia and are thus regarded as blue carbon ecosystems. Because of the ability of marine ecosystems to lock up organic carbon for millennia, blue carbon is receiving much attention within the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a nature-based solution (NBS) to climate change, but classically still focuses on seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, and tidal marshes. However, other coastal ecosystems could also be important for blue carbon storage, but remain largely neglected in both carbon cycling budgets and NBS strategic planning.

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Introduction: Recent evidence indicates that respiratory distress (RD) in near-term infants is caused by elevated airway liquid (EL) volume at the beginning of air-breathing after birth. While the adverse effects EL volumes on newborn lung function are known, the effects on respiratory control and breathing patterns shortly after birth (<4 h) are unknown. We investigated the effects of EL volumes on cardiorespiratory function and breathing patterns in spontaneously breathing near-term newborn lambs in the first hours after birth.

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Aims: Reduced muscle mass and reduced strength are frequently associated with both alterations in blood lipids and poorer cardiometabolic outcomes in epidemiological studies; however, a causal association cannot be determined from such observations. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was applied to assess the association of genetically determined appendicular lean mass (ALM) and handgrip strength (HGS) with serum lipid particle diameter.

Methods And Results: Mendelian randomization was implemented using summary-level data from the largest genome-wide association studies on ALM ( = 450 243), HGS ( = 223 315), and lipoprotein [low-density lipoprotein (LDL), very LDL (VLDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)] particle diameters ( = 115 078).

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Airway liquid is cleared into lung tissue after birth, which becomes edematous and forces the chest wall to expand to accommodate both the cleared liquid and incoming air. This study investigated how changing chest wall mechanics affects respiratory function after birth in near-term lambs with different airway liquid volumes. Surgically instrumented near-term lambs (139 ± 2 days) were randomized into Control ( = 7) or Elevated Liquid (EL; = 6) groups.

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Nutritional requirements of individuals vary across the lifecycle, according to activity, age and gender. To optimize human health, consideration of nutritional priorities at each stage is needed. This conference brought together multidisciplinary experts in maternal and child nutrition and health, cardiometabolic and plant-based nutrition and dietitians involved in the care of vulnerable populations, plus nutritional metabolism, health and ageing.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to assess the safety and tolerability of G3215, a GLP-1/GCGR co-agonist, in overweight or obese adults, including those with type 2 diabetes.
  • Conducted as a phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the research involved 26 participants, with 23 completing a 14-day infusion of either G3215 or a placebo.
  • Results showed that G3215 was well-tolerated with mild side effects, led to an average weight loss of 2.39 kg compared to 0.84 kg with placebo, and improved various metabolic markers, encouraging further development of this
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Background: Adolescence is a key time for the development of depression symptoms and the diet quality may be associated with mental health conditions. The present study examined the association between depression and quality of life (QoL) and the global diet quality score (GDQS) as a simple and standardized metric diet quality in Iranian adolescents.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 733 adolescent girls recruited using a random cluster sampling method.

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The review aims to explore the potential benefit and risk of high-protein diets (HPD) regarding the comorbidity of sarcopoenia and CVD in the setting of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). CR is standard care for individuals who have experienced a cardiac event, but the current practice of predominantly aerobic exercise, a lower-fat diet and weight loss poorly addresses the issue of sarcopoenia. HPD, especially when combined with resistance exercise (RE), may be valuable adjuncts to current CR practice and benefit both muscle and cardiovascular health.

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Introduction: The transition to newborn life has typically been studied in intubated and mechanically ventilated newborn lambs delivered via caesarean section (CS) under general anaesthesia. As a result, little is known of the spontaneous breathing patterns in lambs at birth, particularly those at risk of developing respiratory distress (RD). We have developed a method for delivering spontaneously breathing near-term lambs to characterise their breathing patterns in the immediate newborn period.

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Diet can affect the inflammatory state of the body. Accordingly, the dietary inflammatory index (DII) has been developed to quantify the inflammatory properties of food items. This study sought to investigate the association between dietary inflammation index (DII) and the odds ratio of elevated CRP (E-CRP) through a systematic review and meta-analysis study.

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  • Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a combination of health issues like obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and unhealthy cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
  • * The development of MetS is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, with recent studies emphasizing the importance of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in its understanding.
  • * This review explores the genetics of MetS, focusing on diagnostic criteria, SNPs, and how personalized nutrition and multiomics approaches could enhance treatment strategies.
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Aim: Earlier studies have shown that peptide glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists with reduced β-arrestin recruitment show enhanced anti-hyperglycaemic efficacy through avoidance of GLP-1R desensitization. However, the ligand modifications needed to decrease β-arrestin recruitment usually also reduces GLP-1R affinity, therefore higher doses are needed. Here we aimed to develop new, long-acting, G protein-biased GLP-1R agonists with acute signalling potency comparable with semaglutide, to provide insights into specific experimental and therapeutic scenarios.

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