How Important Is Informed Natal Dispersal for Modelling the Demographic and Genetic Effects of Environmental Variability?

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.

PCSK9 in metabolism and diseases.

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.

Effects of Single Low-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Meal Consumption on Postprandial Lipemia and Markers of Endothelial Dysfunction: A Systematic Review of Current Evidence.

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.

It's time to broaden what we consider a 'blue carbon ecosystem'.

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.

The association of appendicular lean mass and grip strength with low-density lipoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein particle diameter: a Mendelian randomization study of the UK Biobank cohort.

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).

Editorial: nutrition at key stages of the lifecycle.

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.

Higher global diet quality score is related to lower prevalence of depression and poor quality of life among adolescent girls.

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.

Exploring high-protein diets in the context of cardiac rehabilitation.

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.

Dietary inflammatory index and elevated serum C-reactive protein: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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.

The association between ultra-processed foods and conventional markers of cardiovascular risk in an adult Iranian population.

Background And Aims: According to the NOVA classification system, ultra-processed foods result from extensive industrial processing and use ingredients derived from food and non-food products, which can negatively impact on cardiovascular disease risk factors. Despite this, few studies have investigated UPFs in Middle Eastern populations regardless of high consumption in this region.

Methods And Results: This cross-sectional study was conducted on data from the Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in Iran Kharemeh cohort (n = 6611).

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate plant-based omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patient biomarkers and parameters.

Context: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is prevalent in 25-30% of British and European populations, representing a potential global public health crisis. Marine omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids offer well-evidenced benefits to NAFLD biomarkers; however, the effect of plant-based n-3 has not been evaluated with a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The review aimed to systematically evaluate the effect of plant-based n-3 supplementation on NAFLD surrogate biomarkers and parameters.

Acceptability of a high-protein Mediterranean-style diet and resistance exercise protocol for cardiac rehabilitation patients: Involving service users in intervention design using a mixed-methods participatory approach.

Background: Current cardiac rehabilitation (CR) practices focus on aerobic-style exercise with minimal nutrition advice. This approach may not be optimal for CR patients with reduced muscle mass and elevated fat mass. Higher protein, Mediterranean-style diets combined with resistance exercise (RE) may improve muscle mass and reduce the risk of future cardiovascular events, although such an approach is yet to be trialed in a CR population.

Dietary habits are associated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes: a study among a middle eastern population.

Worldwide type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence is increasing dramatically. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary habits and T2D in an Iranian adult population using a cross-sectional analysis of the Shahedieh cohort study. Participants were adults aged 35-70 years ( 9261) from Zarch and Shahedieh, Yazd, Iran, who attended the baseline phase of the Shahedieh cohort study.

The Effect of Dietary Carbohydrate and Fat Manipulation on the Metabolome and Markers of Glucose and Insulin Metabolism: A Randomised Parallel Trial.

High carbohydrate, lower fat (HCLF) diets are recommended to reduce cardiometabolic disease (CMD) but low carbohydrate high fat (LCHF) diets can be just as effective. The effect of LCHF on novel insulin resistance biomarkers and the metabolome has not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of an ad libitum 8-week LCHF diet compared with a HCLF diet on CMD markers, the metabolome, and insulin resistance markers.

Relationship between Renal Function, Fibrin Clot Properties and Lipoproteins in Anticoagulated Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

: Mechanisms by which chronic kidney disease (CKD) influences fibrin clot properties in atrial fibrillation (AF) remain ill-defined. We aimed to investigate the effects of AF and CKD on fibrin clot properties and lipoproteins, and determine the relationship between these factors. : Prospective cross-sectional study of patients recruited from cardiology services in Liverpool between September 2019 and October 2021.

The association between dietary insulin index and load with mental health.

Background: Depression, anxiety, and stress are common mental problems. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between two indexes that measure postprandial insulin response to different food, dietary insulin index (DII) and insulin load (DIL), with psychological disorders.

Method: Participants (n = 10,000) aged 20-69 were randomly selected from 200 clusters in Yazd from the recruitment phase of the Yazd Health Study.

A systematic analysis of splicing variants identifies new diagnoses in the 100,000 Genomes Project.

Background: Genomic variants which disrupt splicing are a major cause of rare genetic diseases. However, variants which lie outside of the canonical splice sites are difficult to interpret clinically. Improving the clinical interpretation of non-canonical splicing variants offers a major opportunity to uplift diagnostic yields from whole genome sequencing data.

Dietary phytochemical consumption is inversely associated with liver alkaline phosphatase in Middle Eastern adults.

Background: The hepatoprotective effects of phytochemicals are controversial. A dietary phytochemical index (DPI) has been suggested as an alternative method for quantifying the phytochemical content of foods.

Aim: To assess the DPI in relation to liver function tests among a representative sample of Iranian adults.

The Association between Ultra-Processed Foods, Quality of Life and Insomnia among Adolescent Girls in Northeastern Iran.

Ultra-processed foods have been associated with increased risk of chronic disease, poor overall health and psychological outcomes. This study explored the association of ultra-processed foods with quality of life in adolescent girls from northeastern Iran. In an interdisciplinary cross-sectional study, = 733 adolescent girls were recruited by random cluster sampling.

Higher dietary glycemic load is inversely associated with stress prevalence among Iranian adults.

Background: Psychological disorders including depression, anxiety, and stress comprise a huge public health problem. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the relationship between dietary glycemic index (DGI) and glycemic load (DGL) and mental disorders.

Method: Participants (n = 10,000) aged 20-69 were randomly selected from 200 clusters in Yazd from the recruitment phase of Yazd Health Study.

Short amplicon reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction detects aberrant splicing in genes with low expression in blood missed by ribonucleic acid sequencing analysis for clinical diagnosis.

Use of blood RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) as a splicing analysis tool for clinical interpretation of variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) found via whole-genome and exome sequencing can be difficult for genes that have low expression in the blood due to insufficient read count coverage aligned to specific genes of interest. Here, we present a short amplicon reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) for the detection of genes with low blood expression. Short amplicon RT-PCR, is designed to span three exons where an exon harboring a variant is flanked by one upstream and one downstream exon.