Understanding occult hepatitis C infection.

Background: Occult hepatitis C infection (OCI) is a type of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, defined as the presence of HCV RNA in hepatocytes or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the absence of HCV RNA in serum.

Study Design And Methods: A literature review was conducted to identify articles that characterized OCI as a disease, including its epidemiology, mode of transmission, pattern of infection, progression, and treatment.

Results: OCI patients experience a milder degree of inflammatory and cirrhotic changes than patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Sharing genetic test results with family members of BRCA, PALB2, CHEK2, and ATM carriers.

Objective: This study explored motivators and challenges/barriers to sharing personal genetic test results (GTR) with family members (FM).

Methods: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 62 women who had a pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) variant in aBRCA, PALB2, CHEK2, or ATM gene. Selective qualitative data analysis focused on eliciting motivators and challenges/barriers identified by participants when sharing their GTR with FM.

Genome diversity in Ukraine.

Background: The main goal of this collaborative effort is to provide genome-wide data for the previously underrepresented population in Eastern Europe, and to provide cross-validation of the data from genome sequences and genotypes of the same individuals acquired by different technologies. We collected 97 genome-grade DNA samples from consented individuals representing major regions of Ukraine that were consented for public data release. BGISEQ-500 sequence data and genotypes by an Illumina GWAS chip were cross-validated on multiple samples and additionally referenced to 1 sample that has been resequenced by Illumina NovaSeq6000 S4 at high coverage.

Changes in Consumers' Food Practices during the COVID-19 Lockdown, Implications for Diet Quality and the Food System: A Cross-Continental Comparison.

COVID-19 has led to dramatic societal changes. Differing movement restrictions across countries have affected changes in consumers' food practices, with a potentially detrimental impact on their health and food systems. To investigate this, this research explored changes in consumers' food practices during the initial COVID-19 phase and assessed the impact of location on these changes.

Paraben exposure alters cell cycle progression and survival of spontaneously immortalized secretory murine oviductal epithelial (MOE) cells.

The mammalian oviduct is a central organ for female reproduction as it is the site of fertilization and it actively transports the embryo to the uterus. The oviduct is responsive to ovarian steroids and thus, it is a potential target of endocrine disrupting chemicals. Parabens are antimicrobial compounds that are prevalently found in daily-used products.

Single-cell landscape of the ecosystem in early-relapse hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has high relapse and low 5-year survival rates. Single-cell profiling in relapsed HCC may aid in the design of effective anticancer therapies, including immunotherapies. We profiled the transcriptomes of ∼17,000 cells from 18 primary or early-relapse HCC cases.

Male-derived copulatory plugs enhance implantation success in female Mus musculus.

Among a wide diversity of sexually reproducing species, male ejaculates coagulate to form what has been termed a copulatory plug. A number of functions have been attributed to copulatory plugs, including the inhibition of female remating and the promotion of ejaculate movement. Here we demonstrate that copulatory plugs also influence the likelihood of implantation, which occurs roughly 4 days after copulation in mice.

Mineralization of the Vertebral Column (Holocephali; Chondrichthyes).

Members of the Chondrichthyes (Elasmobranchii and Holocephali) are distinguished by their largely cartilaginous endoskeletons, which comprise an uncalcified core overlain by a mineralized layer; in the Elasmobranchii (sharks, skates, rays) most of this mineralization takes the form of calcified polygonal tiles known as tesserae. In recent years, these skeletal tissues have been described in ever increasing detail in sharks and rays, but those of Holocephali (chimaeroids) have been less well-studied, with conflicting accounts as to whether or not tesserae are present. During embryonic ontogeny in holocephalans, cervical vertebrae fuse to form a structure called the synarcual.

The genetic structure and adaptation of Andean highlanders and Amazonians are influenced by the interplay between geography and culture.

Western South America was one of the worldwide cradles of civilization. The well-known Inca Empire was the tip of the iceberg of an evolutionary process that started 11,000 to 14,000 years ago. Genetic data from 18 Peruvian populations reveal the following: 1) The between-population homogenization of the central southern Andes and its differentiation with respect to Amazonian populations of similar latitudes do not extend northward.

Integrative molecular characterisation of gallbladder cancer reveals micro-environment-associated subtypes.

Background & Aims: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is the most common type of biliary tract cancer, but the molecular mechanisms involved in gallbladder carcinogenesis remain poorly understood. In this study, we applied integrative genomics approaches to characterise GBC and explore molecular subtypes associated with patient survival.

Methods: We profiled the mutational landscape of GBC tumours (whole-exome sequencing on 92, targeted sequencing on 98, in total 190 patients).

Investigating the association between blood transfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a data linkage approach to Patient Blood Management.

Background: The appropriateness of the use of blood transfusion in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) remains contested. In general, studies addressing this issue were based on data from clinical trials, registries, or electronic medical records, and were conducted across different settings. Our study aimed to use a linked patient blood management data system from existing hospital databases to examine the association between blood transfusion and in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS) and readmission rates among patients with ACS, and to investigate this relationship at different haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations.

Impact of preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum culinary nutrition education interventions: a systematic review.

Context: Frequent consumption of home-prepared meals is associated with higher diet quality in children and adults. Therefore, increasing the culinary skills of women and couples during their childbearing years may be an effective strategy for the prevention of overweight and obesity.

Objective: To determine the impact of culinary nutrition-education interventions for women with or without their partners during preconception, pregnancy, or postpartum (PPP) on parental cooking skills, nutrition knowledge, parent/child diet quality, or health outcomes.

Perceptions about home cooking: an integrative review of qualitative studies.

This study aimed to review qualitative studies on perceptions of home cooking. A systematic search was conducted in Scopus and SciELO databases using English and Portuguese terms related to home cooking, without date or language restrictions. Twenty-six articles, published between 2004 and 2017, investigated, whether as a primary objective or as a secondary finding, the perceptions of individuals on home cooking.

Metastatic and recurrent adrenocortical cancer is not defined by its genomic landscape.

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare, often-aggressive neoplasm of the adrenal cortex, with a 14-17 month median overall survival. We asked whether tumors from patients with advanced or metastatic ACC would offer clues as to putative genes that might have critical roles in disease progression or in more aggressive disease biology.

Methods: We conducted comprehensive genomic and expression analyses of ACCs from 43 patients, 30 female, and 42 from metastatic sites, including deep sequencing, copy number analysis, mRNA expression and microRNA arrays.

Embryonic liver developmental trajectory revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing in the Foxa2 mouse.

The liver and gallbladder are among the most important internal organs derived from the endoderm, yet the development of the liver and gallbladder in the early embryonic stages is not fully understood. Using a transgenic Foxa2 reporter mouse line, we performed single-cell full-length mRNA sequencing on endodermal and hepatic cells isolated from ten embryonic stages, ranging from E7.5 to E15.

Public Awareness and Risk Perceptions of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: A Qualitative Study.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous chemicals found in food, consumer products, and the environment. EDCs are ubiquitous in modern life and exposure is associated with many negative health effects, such as reproductive disorders, metabolic disorders, and cancer. Scientists have deemed EDCs as a serious public health risk, yet the public's perceptions of these chemicals is poorly understood.

Intraoperative Cell Salvage as an Alternative to Allogeneic (Donated) Blood Transfusion: A Prospective Observational Evaluation of the Immune Response Profile.

Allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) is associated with transfusion-related immune modulation (TRIM) and subsequent poorer patient outcomes including perioperative infection, multiple organ failure, and mortality. The precise mechanism(s) underlying TRIM remain largely unknown. During intraoperative cell salvage (ICS) a patient's own (autologous) blood is collected, anticoagulated, processed, and reinfused.

A comprehensive survey of Retzius periodicities in fossil hominins and great apes.

Recent studies have provided great insight into hominin life history evolution by utilizing incremental lines found in dental tissues to reconstruct and compare the growth records of extant and extinct humans versus other ape taxa. Among the hominins, studies that have examined Retzius periodicity (RP) variation have come to contradictory conclusions in some instances. To clarify RP variation among hominins and better place this variation in its broader evolutionary context, we conduct the most comprehensive analysis of published RP values for hominins and great apes to date.

Laboratory Maintenance and Propagation of Freshwater Planarians.

Freshwater planarians are a powerful model organism for the study of animal regeneration, stem cell maintenance and differentiation, and the development and functions of several highly conserved complex tissues. At the same time, planarians are easy to maintain, inexpensive to propagate, and reasonably macroscopic (1 mm to 1 cm in length), making them excellent organisms to use in both complex academic research and hands-on teaching laboratories. Here, we provide a detailed description of how to maintain and propagate these incredibly versatile animals in any basic laboratory setting.

Endoskeletal mineralization in chimaera and a comparative guide to tessellated cartilage in chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays and chimaera).

An accepted uniting character of modern cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, chimaera) is the presence of a mineralized, skeletal crust, tiled by numerous minute plates called tesserae. Tesserae have, however, never been demonstrated in modern chimaera and it is debated whether the skeleton mineralizes at all. We show for the first time that tessellated cartilage was not lost in chimaera, as has been previously postulated, and is in many ways similar to that of sharks and rays.

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and social skills groups at school: A randomized trial comparing intervention environment and peer composition.

This study used a randomized controlled trial to compare two distinct models of group social skills interventions with adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants had a confirmed diagnosis of ASD, an IQ greater than or equal to 70, and were educated in the general education setting. Data from 62 adolescent participants who were randomized to one of two treatment conditions (SKILLS vs.

Human Hsp90 cochaperones: perspectives on tissue-specific expression and identification of cochaperones with similar in vivo functions.

The Hsp90 molecular chaperone is required for the function of hundreds of different cellular proteins. Hsp90 and a cohort of interacting proteins called cochaperones interact with clients in an ATP-dependent cycle. Cochaperone functions include targeting clients to Hsp90, regulating Hsp90 ATPase activity, and/or promoting Hsp90 conformational changes as it progresses through the cycle.

Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging of strontium incorporated into the enamel and dentine of wild-shot orangutan canine teeth.

Objectives: Dental hard tissues contain trace elements of both dietary and environmental origin. One objective was to demonstrate that a longitudinal record of synchronous Sr incorporation into enamel and dentine can be retrieved from museum specimens of once-free-living endangered species. Further objectives were to quantify sudden fluctuations in Sr concentration and estimate the extent of Sr overprinting back into dentine and enamel formed prior to the time of Sr ingestion.