Dual inhibition of P38 MAPK and JNK pathways preserves stemness markers and alleviates premature activation of muscle stem cells during isolation.

Background: Adult skeletal muscle contains resident muscle stem cells (MuSC) with high myogenic and engraftment potentials, making them suitable for cell therapy and regenerative medicine approaches. However, purification process of MuSC remains a major hurdle to their use in the clinic. Indeed, muscle tissue enzymatic dissociation triggers a massive activation of stress signaling pathways, among which P38 and JNK MAPK, associated with a premature loss of MuSC quiescence.

Combination Treatment With Varenicline and Nicotine Patch on Smoking Cessation Outcomes in Heavy Drinkers at 26-Week Follow-up.

Purpose/background: People who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol heavily are less likely to quit smoking compared with those who do not drink heavily. The current study examined the effects of a 12-week treatment phase of combination varenicline and nicotine patch compared with placebo and nicotine patch on smoking cessation (primary outcome) and alcohol consumption (secondary outcome) in heavy drinking smokers at 26-week follow-up.

Methods/procedures: Participants were daily smokers who met heavy drinking criteria.

Signal processing and machine learning with transdermal alcohol concentration to predict natural environment alcohol consumption.

Wrist-worn alcohol biosensors continuously and discreetly record transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) and may allow alcohol researchers to monitor alcohol consumption in participants' natural environments. However, the field lacks established methods for signal processing and detecting alcohol events using these devices. We developed software that streamlines analysis of raw data (TAC, temperature, and motion) from a wrist-worn alcohol biosensor (BACtrack Skyn) through a signal processing and machine learning pipeline: biologically implausible skin surface temperature readings (< 28°C) were screened for potential device removal and TAC artifacts were corrected, features that describe TAC (e.

Holding your liquor: Comparison of alcohol-induced psychomotor impairment in drinkers with and without alcohol use disorder.

Background: Behavioral tolerance to alcohol underscores the widely accepted notion that individuals who regularly drink alcohol become less sensitive to its impairing effects. However, previous research assessing alcohol-induced impairment in humans has primarily focused on social drinkers. This has limited our understanding of the nature and extent of behavioral tolerance among heavier drinkers, such as those with alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Hydrogel Based on Polyhydroxyalkanoate Sulfonate: Control of the Swelling Rate by the Ionic Group Content.

Hydrogels based on poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) sulfonate and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, PEGDA, are prepared. First, PHA sulfonate is synthesized from unsaturated PHA by a thiol-ene reaction in the presence of sodium-3-mercapto-1-ethanesulfonate. The hydrophilicity of PHAs is considerably increased by adding sulfonate functions, and three amphiphilic PHAs are synthesized, containing 10, 22, or 29% sulfonate functions.

Biocompatible Semi-Interpenetrating Materials Based on Poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s and Poly(ethyleneglycol) Diacrylate.

Biocompatible gels based on poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s (PHAs) were developed by radical polymerization in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). In order to elaborate cross-linked networks based on PEGDA and PHAs, several PHAs were tested; saturated PHAs, such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx) or poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO), and an unsaturated PHA, poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-3-hydroxyundecenoate) PHOU. The PHAPEGDA networks obtained in this work were studied by FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, DSC, TGA and NMR.

Effects of Visual Exposure to IQOS Use on Smoking Urge and Behavior.

Objectives: In this study, we examined whether visual exposure to the heated tobacco product (HTP) IQOS, which was authorized for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019, acts as a cue to increase cigarette craving and smoking behavior among smokers.

Methods: Young adult smokers (N = 105) were randomly assigned to view a video depicting use of either IQOS or bottled water. Main outcomes were changes in cigarette and e-cigarette desire and latency to smoke between the groups.

Progressive and Coordinated Mobilization of the Skeletal Muscle Niche throughout Tissue Repair Revealed by Single-Cell Proteomic Analysis.

Skeletal muscle is one of the only mammalian tissues capable of rapid and efficient regeneration after trauma or in pathological conditions. Skeletal muscle regeneration is driven by the muscle satellite cells, the stem cell population in interaction with their niche. Upon injury, muscle fibers undergo necrosis and muscle stem cells activate, proliferate and fuse to form new myofibers.

A Major Regional Measles Outbreak: Description of Hospitalized Cases in 2017-2018 at Bordeaux University Hospital, France.

Background: Measles remains endemic worldwide, despite current vaccination recommendations, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. We describe all cases hospitalized in Bordeaux University Hospital (BUH), the starting point of a national significant measles outbreak in 2017-2018.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we included all patients hospitalized in BUH from September 1, 2017, to May 31, 2018.

Distinct Phases of Postnatal Skeletal Muscle Growth Govern the Progressive Establishment of Muscle Stem Cell Quiescence.

Muscle stem cells (or muscle satellite cells [MuSCs]) are required for postnatal growth. Yet, the detailed characterization of myogenic progression and establishment of quiescence during this process remains poorly documented. Here, we provide an overview of myogenic cells heterogeneity and dynamic from birth to adulthood using flow cytometry.

Demonstration of universal parametric entangling gates on a multi-qubit lattice.

We show that parametric coupling techniques can be used to generate selective entangling interactions for multi-qubit processors. By inducing coherent population exchange between adjacent qubits under frequency modulation, we implement a universal gate set for a linear array of four superconducting qubits. An average process fidelity of ℱ = 93% is estimated for three two-qubit gates via quantum process tomography.

Individual and culture-level components of survey response styles: A multi-level analysis using cultural models of selfhood.

Variations in acquiescence and extremity pose substantial threats to the validity of cross-cultural research that relies on survey methods. Individual and cultural correlates of response styles when using 2 contrasting types of response mode were investigated, drawing on data from 55 cultural groups across 33 nations. Using 7 dimensions of self-other relatedness that have often been confounded within the broader distinction between independence and interdependence, our analysis yields more specific understandings of both individual- and culture-level variations in response style.

Enhanced nonlinear interactions in quantum optomechanics via mechanical amplification.

The quantum nonlinear regime of optomechanics is reached when nonlinear effects of the radiation pressure interaction are observed at the single-photon level. This requires couplings larger than the mechanical frequency and cavity-damping rate, and is difficult to achieve experimentally. Here we show how to exponentially enhance the single-photon optomechanical coupling strength using only additional linear resources.

Fast Quantum Nondemolition Readout by Parametric Modulation of Longitudinal Qubit-Oscillator Interaction.

We show how to realize fast and high-fidelity quantum nondemolition qubit readout using longitudinal qubit-oscillator interaction. This is accomplished by modulating the longitudinal coupling at the cavity frequency. The qubit-oscillator interaction then acts as a qubit-state dependent drive on the cavity, a situation that is fundamentally different from the standard dispersive case.

To know you is to love you: Effects of intergroup contact and knowledge on intergroup anxiety and prejudice among indigenous Chileans.

Two surveys were conducted in Chile with indigenous Mapuche participants (N study 1: 573; N study 2: 198). In line with previous theorising, it was predicted that intergroup contact with the non-indigenous majority reduces prejudice. It was expected that this effect would be because of contact leading to more knowledge about the outgroup, which would then lead to less intergroup anxiety.

Heisenberg-Limited Qubit Read-Out with Two-Mode Squeezed Light.

We show how to use two-mode squeezed light to exponentially enhance cavity-based dispersive qubit measurement. Our scheme enables true Heisenberg-limited scaling of the measurement, and crucially, it is not restricted to small dispersive couplings or unrealistically long measurement times. It involves coupling a qubit dispersively to two cavities and making use of a symmetry in the dynamics of joint cavity quadratures (a so-called quantum-mechanics-free subsystem).

N-WASP is required for Amphiphysin-2/BIN1-dependent nuclear positioning and triad organization in skeletal muscle and is involved in the pathophysiology of centronuclear myopathy.

Mutations in amphiphysin-2/BIN1, dynamin 2, and myotubularin are associated with centronuclear myopathy (CNM), a muscle disorder characterized by myofibers with atypical central nuclear positioning and abnormal triads. Mis-splicing of amphiphysin-2/BIN1 is also associated with myotonic dystrophy that shares histopathological hallmarks with CNM. How amphiphysin-2 orchestrates nuclear positioning and triad organization and how CNM-associated mutations lead to muscle dysfunction remains elusive.

Measures of quantum synchronization in continuous variable systems.

We introduce and characterize two different measures which quantify the level of synchronization of coupled continuous variable quantum systems. The two measures allow us to extend to the quantum domain the notions of complete and phase synchronization. The Heisenberg principle sets a universal bound to complete synchronization.

Nonlinear interaction effects in a strongly driven optomechanical cavity.

We consider how nonlinear interaction effects can manifest themselves and even be enhanced in a strongly driven optomechanical system. Using a Keldysh Green's function approach, we calculate modifications to the cavity density of states due to both linear and nonlinear optomechanical interactions, showing that strong modifications can arise even for a weak nonlinear interaction. We show how this quantity can be directly probed in an optomechanically induced transparency-type experiment.

MicroRNA-34a regulates cardiac ageing and function.

Ageing is the predominant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and contributes to a significantly worse outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as crucial regulators of cardiovascular function and some miRNAs have key roles in ageing. We propose that altered expression of miRNAs in the heart during ageing contributes to the age-dependent decline in cardiac function.

Loss of a single allele for Ku80 leads to progenitor dysfunction and accelerated aging in skeletal muscle.

Muscle wasting is a major cause of morbidity in the elderly. Ku80 is required for DNA double strand repair and is implicated in telomere maintenance. Complete loss-of-function leads to reduced post-natal growth and severe progeria in mice.

An unbiased assessment of the role of imprinted genes in an intergenerational model of developmental programming.

Environmental factors during early life are critical for the later metabolic health of the individual and of future progeny. In our obesogenic environment, it is of great socioeconomic importance to investigate the mechanisms that contribute to the risk of metabolic ill health. Imprinted genes, a class of functionally mono-allelic genes critical for early growth and metabolic axis development, have been proposed to be uniquely susceptible to environmental change.

Photon production from the vacuum close to the superradiant transition: linking the dynamical Casimir effect to the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.

The dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) predicts the generation of photons from the vacuum due to the parametric amplification of the quantum fluctuations of an electromagnetic field. The verification of such an effect is still elusive in optical systems due to the very demanding requirements of its experimental implementation. We show that an ensemble of two-level atoms collectively coupled to the electromagnetic field of a cavity, driven at low frequencies and close to a quantum phase transition, stimulates the production of photons from the vacuum.

Quantum dynamics in a camelback potential of a dc SQUID.

We investigate a quadratic-quartic anharmonic oscillator formed by a potential well between two potential barriers. We realize this novel potential with a dc SQUID at near-zero current bias and flux bias near half a flux quantum. Escape out of the central well can occur via tunneling through either of the two barriers.