Eating disorders (EDs) are highly prevalent among transgender and nonbinary (TNB) adults, and internalized transnegativity is a key risk factor for ED symptomatology. Although extant literature has established that self-compassion protects against EDs among the cisgender population, research among TNB adults is nascent. The current study sought to identify whether internalized transnegativity and components of self-compassion (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe gut microbiota-brain axis has been associated with the pathogenesis of numerous disorders, but the mechanism(s) underlying these links are generally poorly understood. Accumulating evidence indicates the involvement of gut microbe-derived metabolites. Circulating levels of the gut microbe/host co-metabolite -cresol sulfate (pCS) correlate with cerebrovascular event risk in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but whether this relationship is mechanistic is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis perspective article is a product of the work of an expert group within the Prebiotic Task Force convened by the International Life Sciences Institute Europe, a non-profit organization that brings together experts from academia, industry, and public service to catalyze nutrition science for public benefit. An expert group was conceived in October 2023 to discuss the evidence base on the use of prebiotics to promote cognitive functioning, with a focus on highlighting knowledge gaps and proposing a list of recommendations to guide this specific area of research forward. To address this, we evaluated existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses of human intervention studies that examine the effects of prebiotics on cognitive functioning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: High-grade gliomas including glioblastoma (GBM) and diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) represent the most lethal and aggressive brain cancers where current treatment modalities offer limited efficacy. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies have emerged as a promising strategy, boasting tumor-specific targeting and the unique ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. However, the effective clinical application hinges on the optimal choice of antigen, with a limited number, currently under investigation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs the population ages, the incidence of age-related neurodegenerative diseases is rapidly increasing, and novel approaches to mitigate this soaring prevalence are sorely needed. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of gut microbial homeostasis and its impact on brain functions, commonly referred to as the gut-brain axis, in maintaining overall health and wellbeing. Nonetheless, the mechanisms by which this system acts remains poorly defined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranslocation programmes are increasingly being informed by genetic data to monitor and enhance conservation outcomes for both natural and established populations. These data provide a window into contemporary patterns of genetic diversity, structure and relatedness that can guide managers in how to best source animals for their translocation programmes. The inclusion of historical samples, where possible, strengthens monitoring by allowing assessment of changes in genetic diversity over time and by providing a benchmark for future improvements in diversity via management practices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA fundamental characteristic of living organisms is their ability to separate the internal and external environments, a function achieved in large part through the different physiological barrier systems and their component junctional molecules. Barrier integrity is subject to multiple influences, but one that has received comparatively little attention to date is the role of the commensal microbiota. These microbes, which represent approximately 50% of the cells in the human body, are increasingly recognized as powerful physiological modulators in other systems, but their role in regulating barrier function is only beginning to be addressed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is a unique approach that allows direct real-time visualization of biological macromolecules in action under near-physiological conditions, without any chemical labeling. Typically, the temporal resolution is sub-100 ms, and the spatial resolution is 2-3 nm in the lateral direction and ∼0.1 nm in the vertical direction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFormyl peptide receptors, abbreviated as FPRs in humans, are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) mainly found in mammalian leukocytes. However, they are also expressed in cell types crucial for homeostatic brain regulation, including microglia and blood-brain barrier endothelial cells. Thus, the roles of these immune-associated receptors are extensive, from governing cellular adhesion and directed migration through chemotaxis, to granule release and superoxide formation, to phagocytosis and efferocytosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrecontoured olecranon plates are frequently used in the management of proximal ulna fractures. Occasionally, in comminuted proximal ulna fractures or segmental ulna fractures, available precontoured olecranon plates are too short for the management of these fractures. The authors have utilized posterolateral distal humerus plates in these instances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUltrafast-laser-induced selective chemical etching is an enabling microfabrication technology compatible with optical materials such as fused silica. The technique offers unparalleled three-dimensional manufacturing freedom and feature resolution but can be limited by long laser inscription times and widely varying etching selectivity depending on the laser irradiation parameters used. In this paper, we aim to overcome these limitations by employing beam shaping via a spatial light modulator to generate a vortex laser focus with controllable depth-of-focus (DOF), from diffraction limited to several hundreds of microns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Understanding how genetic diversity is distributed and maintained within species is a central tenet of evolutionary and conservation biology, yet is understudied in arid regions of the globe. In temperate, glaciated environments, high genetic diversity in plant species is frequently found in refugial areas, which are often associated with southern non-glaciated landscapes. In arid, unglaciated environments, landscape features providing mesic conditions are likely to be refugia, although our understanding needs more refinement in these biomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiscovered by Knöth in 1964, the 10-vertex -carborane anion [HCBH] is a classical bicapped square antiprism that contains an unusual pentacoordinate carbon center. Compared to its larger icosahedral cousin [HCBH], few investigations have been made into its use as a weakly coordinating anion or as a ligand substituent. Here we show that it is possible to prepare both a dianionic N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) Li adduct as well as a trianionic C-2, C-5 dilithio species featuring two 10-vertex carborane anion substituents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWidespread plant species are expected to maintain genetic diversity and gene flow via pollen and seed dispersal. Stature is a key life history trait that affects seed and potentially pollen dispersal, with limited stature associated with limited dispersal and greater genetic differentiation. We sampled Hill's tabletop wattle () and curry wattle (), two co-distributed, widespread, shrubs of low stature, across the arid Pilbara region of north-western Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sequential activity of gut microbial and host processes can exert a powerful modulatory influence on dietary components, as exemplified by the metabolism of the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine to -cresol by gut microbes, and then to -cresol glucuronide (pCG) by host enzymes. Although such glucuronide conjugates are classically thought to be biologically inert, there is accumulating evidence that this may not always be the case. We investigated the activity of pCG, studying its interactions with the cerebral vasculature and the brain and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Does re-biopsy of blastocysts classified as abnormal (ABN) due to segmental aneuploidy (SA) have clinical utility?
Methods: The live birth (LB) outcomes of mosaic SAs, compared to other categories, were determined after transfer of 3084 PGT-A tested blastocysts. An initial 12-month trial thawed 111 blastocysts classified as ABN due to a SA for clinical re-biopsy, with an additional 58 from a subsequent 16-month revised protocol. Where re-biopsy failed to corroborate the original classification, blastocysts were reported as mosaic and suitable for clinical use.
The past decade has seen an increasing demand for more complex, reproducible and physiologically relevant tissue cultures that can mimic the structural and biological features of living tissues. Monitoring the viability, development and responses of such tissues in real-time are challenging due to the complexities of cell culture physical characteristics and the environments in which these cultures need to be maintained in. Significant developments in optics, such as optical manipulation, improved detection and data analysis, have made optical imaging a preferred choice for many three-dimensional (3D) cell culture monitoring applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMounting evidence has linked the metabolic disease to neurovascular disorders and cognitive decline. Using a murine model of a high-fat high-sugar diet mimicking obesity-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in humans, we show that pro-inflammatory mediators and altered immune responses damage the blood-brain barrier (BBB) structure, triggering a proinflammatory metabolic phenotype. We find that disruption to tight junctions and basal lamina due to loss of control in the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs) causes BBB impairment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Communication between the gut microbiota and the brain is primarily mediated via soluble microbe-derived metabolites, but the details of this pathway remain poorly defined. Methylamines produced by microbial metabolism of dietary choline and L-carnitine have received attention due to their proposed association with vascular disease, but their effects upon the cerebrovascular circulation have hitherto not been studied.
Results: Here, we use an integrated in vitro/in vivo approach to show that physiologically relevant concentrations of the dietary methylamine trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) enhanced blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity and protected it from inflammatory insult, acting through the tight junction regulator annexin A1.
[This corrects the article on p. 303 in vol. 12, PMID: 33520386.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlasma-polymerised tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDSO) films are frequently applied as coatings for their abrasion resistance and barrier properties. By manipulating the deposition parameters, the chemical structure and thus mechanical properties of the films can also be controlled. These mechanical properties make them attractive as energy adsorbing layers for a range of applications, including carbon fibre composites.
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