Genetic characterization of paternal lineages by Y-STR in three sample populations in Northeastern Brazil.

Genetic markers of the Y chromosome are powerful tools for investigating paternal ancestry and are widely used in population and forensic genetics. However, in order to obtain statistics with a higher degree of certainty using these markers, it is necessary to obtain haplotypic frequencies from a representative database, as well as knowing the diversity and structure of the population. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of a sample of 1114 unrelated men from three states in the Northeast of Brazil: Paraíba, Pernambuco and Ceará, through the analysis of 23 Y-STRs and to contribute to the expansion of the Brazilian database on these markers.

Effectiveness and Safety of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor Continuation in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Late-Stage Chronic Kidney Disease.

Expansion of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use in chronic kidney disease (CKD) prompted a pragmatic study of their safety and effectiveness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and late-stage CKD. The primary clinical endpoint was change in HbA. Secondary clinical endpoints included change in body weight and blood pressure.

Dysregulated mTOR networks in experimental sporadic Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Beyond the signature amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been shown to exhibit dysregulated metabolic signaling through insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) networks that crosstalk with the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). Its broad impact on brain structure and function suggests that mTOR is likely an important therapeutic target for AD.

Objective: This study characterizes temporal lobe (TL) mTOR signaling abnormalities in a rat model of sporadic AD neurodegeneration.

Early-Stage Moderate Alcohol Feeding Dysregulates Insulin-Related Metabolic Hormone Expression in the Brain: Potential Links to Neurodegeneration Including Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most prevalent causes of dementia, is mainly sporadic in occurrence but driven by aging and other cofactors. Studies suggest that excessive alcohol consumption may increase AD risk.

Objective: Our study examined the degree to which short-term moderate ethanol exposure leads to molecular pathological changes of AD-type neurodegeneration.

Theoretical Study of an Authentic Hydrocarbon Ion Pair.

For many years researchers believed that hydrocarbons only contain covalent bonds. However, since 1985 Okamoto et al. demonstrated the formation of hydrocarbon salts in several systems, demolishing the structural principle that hydrocarbons only contain covalent bonds.

Differential effects of moderate chronic ethanol consumption on neurobehavior, white matter glial protein expression, and mTOR pathway signaling with adolescent brain maturation.

Adolescent brains are highly vulnerable to heavy alcohol exposure. Increased understanding of how alcohol adversely impacts brain maturation may improve treatment outcomes. This study characterizes short-term versus long-term effects of ethanol feeding on behavior, frontal lobe glial proteins, and mTOR signaling.

Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and its associations with metabolic risk in healthy young adults with early life stress.

Objectives: We aimed to characterize the interplay between early life stress (ELS), metabolic syndrome (MetS), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a major inhibitor of the fibrinolytic system implicated in cardiometabolic diseases. We also examined the understudied intersection of ELS, physical activity and PAI-1.

Methods: Healthy young adults ages 18-40 (N=200; 68% female) were recruited from the community.

Chaotic turnover of rare and abundant species in a strongly interacting model community.

The composition of ecological communities varies not only between different locations but also in time. Understanding the fundamental processes that drive species toward rarity or abundance is crucial to assessing ecosystem resilience and adaptation to changing environmental conditions. In plankton communities in particular, large temporal fluctuations in species abundances have been associated with chaotic dynamics.

Tissue Microarray Lipidomic Imaging Mass Spectrometry Method: Application to the Study of Alcohol-Related White Matter Neurodegeneration.

Central nervous system (CNS) white matter pathologies accompany many diseases across the lifespan, yet their biochemical bases, mechanisms, and consequences have remained poorly understood due to the complexity of myelin lipid-based research. However, recent advances in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) have minimized or eliminated many technical challenges that previously limited progress in CNS disease-based lipidomic research. MALDI-IMS can be used for lipid identification, semi-quantification, and the refined interpretation of histopathology.

Agent Orange Herbicidal Toxin-Initiation of Alzheimer-Type Neurodegeneration.

Background: Agent Orange (AO) is a Vietnam War-era herbicide that contains a 1 : 1 ratio of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). Emerging evidence suggests that AO exposures cause toxic and degenerative pathologies that may increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Objective: This study investigates the effects of the two main AO constituents on key molecular and biochemical indices of AD-type neurodegeneration.

Photodissociation and formation of an ion-pair in CH FCl (HCFC-31).

Although CH FCl (HCFC-31) recently became of great atmospheric importance, studies concerning its excited states are almost nonexistent. Several excited singlet states were studied (valence nσ* and Rydberg n3s, n3p, σ3s, and σ3p) through highly correlated multireference configuration interaction with singles and doubles, including extensivity correction. Comparison with the states of CH Cl indicates a strong influence of the F atom.

Quantification of the Ionic Character of Multiconfigurational Wave Functions: The Diagnostic.

The complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) method is a cornerstone in modern excited-state quantum chemistry providing the starting point for most common multireference computations. However, CASSCF, when used with a minimal active space, can produce significant errors (>2 eV) even for the excitation energies of simple hydrocarbons if the states of interest possess ionic character. After illustrating this problem in some detail, we present a diagnostic for ionic character, denoted as  , that is readily computed from the transition density.

Concordant and Discordant Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma Cytokine and Chemokine Responses in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease.

Neuroinflammation may be a pathogenic mediator and biomarker of neurodegeneration at the boundary between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether neuroinflammatory processes are endogenous to the central nervous system (CNS) or originate from systemic (peripheral blood) sources could impact strategies for therapeutic intervention. To address this issue, we measured cytokine and chemokine immunoreactivities in simultaneously obtained lumbar puncture cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples from 39 patients including 18 with MCI or early AD and 21 normal controls using a 27-plex XMAP bead-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Malignant Brain Aging: The Formidable Link Between Dysregulated Signaling Through Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Pathways and Alzheimer's Disease (Type 3 Diabetes).

Malignant brain aging corresponds to accelerated age-related declines in brain functions eventually derailing the self-sustaining forces that govern independent vitality. Malignant brain aging establishes the path toward dementing neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). The full spectrum of AD includes progressive dysfunction of neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, microglia, and the microvascular systems, and is mechanistically driven by insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) deficiencies and resistances with accompanying deficits in energy balance, increased cellular stress, inflammation, and impaired perfusion, mimicking the core features of diabetes mellitus.

Agent Orange Causes Metabolic Dysfunction and Molecular Pathology Reminiscent of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Agent Orange, an herbicide used during the Vietnam War, contains 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). Agent Orange has teratogenic and carcinogenic effects, and population-based studies suggest Agent Orange exposures lead to higher rates of toxic and degenerative pathologies in the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS).

Objective: This study examines the potential contribution of Agent Orange exposures to neurodegeneration.

Artificial selection of communities drives the emergence of structured interactions.

Species-rich communities, such as the microbiota or microbial ecosystems, provide key functions for human health and climatic resilience. Increasing effort is being dedicated to design experimental protocols for selecting community-level functions of interest. These experiments typically involve selection acting on populations of communities, each of which is composed of multiple species.

Single-cell phenotypic plasticity modulates social behavior in .

In chimeras, "cheaters" are strains that positively bias their contribution to the pool of spores, the reproductive cells resulting from development. On evolutionary time scales, the selective advantage; thus, gained by cheaters is predicted to undermine collective functions whenever social behaviors are genetically determined. Genotypes; however, are not the sole determinant of spore bias, but the relative role of genetic and plastic differences in evolutionary success is unclear.

Differential Early Mechanistic Frontal Lobe Responses to Choline Chloride and Soy Isoflavones in an Experimental Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the most common preventable cause of neurodevelopmental defects, and white matter is a major target of ethanol neurotoxicity. Therapeutic interventions with choline or dietary soy could potentially supplement public health preventive measures. However, since soy contains abundant choline, it would be important to know if its benefits are mediated by choline or isoflavones.

High Fat Diet Mediated Alterations in Serum Sphingolipid Profiles in An Experimental Mouse Model Measured by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with hepatic steatosis, a benign condition caused by accumulation of lipids in hepatocytes, which may progress to steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. Recent studies suggest that sphingolipids are involved in the development and severity of NAFLD. The goal of this study is to identify the circulating sphingolipid species that are altered by chronic high fat diet (HFD) feeding and correlate these abnormalities with hepatic sphingolipids.