Promoting Healthy Aging for Older People Living with Chronic Disease by Implementing Community Health Programs: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study.

The rising prevalence of chronic diseases could be mitigated by expanding community programs. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of delivering a community wellness program for older adults living with chronic disease. A two-group randomized controlled study, with blinded assessments, enrolling adults (≥50 years) with chronic disease, was conducted at a Western Australian community hub.

Wellness Influencer Responses to COVID-19 Vaccines on Social Media: A Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background: Online wellness influencers (individuals dispensing unregulated health and wellness advice over social media) may have incentives to oppose traditional medical authorities. Their messaging may decrease the overall effectiveness of public health campaigns during global health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: This study aimed to probe how wellness influencers respond to a public health campaign; we examined how a sample of wellness influencers on Twitter (rebranded as X in 2023) identified before the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter took stances on the COVID-19 vaccine during 2020-2022.

Detailed phenotyping of Tbr1-2A-CreER knock-in mice demonstrates significant impacts on TBR1 protein levels and axon development.

Cre recombinase knock-in mouse lines have served as invaluable genetic tools for understanding key developmental processes altered in autism. However, insertion of exogenous DNA into the genome can have unintended effects on local gene regulation or protein function that must be carefully considered. Here, we analyze a recently generated Tbr1-2A-CreER knock-in mouse line, where a 2A-CreER cassette was inserted in-frame before the stop codon of the transcription factor gene Tbr1.

Discovery and Optimization of First-in-Class Molecular Glue Degraders of the WIZ Transcription Factor for Fetal Hemoglobin Induction to Treat Sickle Cell Disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a prevalent, life-threatening condition with few treatment options, attributed to a heritable mutation in β-hemoglobin. Therapeutic induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) with small molecules has been pursued as a treatment to ameliorate many disease complications but with limited success. Herein, we report the discovery of , a novel, potent, and selective molecular glue degrader of the transcription factor WIZ that robustly induces HbF expression as a potential treatment for SCD.

Calibration curve for radiation dose estimation using FDXR gene expression biodosimetry - premises and pitfalls.

Purpose: Radiation-induced alterations in gene expression show great promise for dose reconstruction and for severity prediction of acute health effects. Among several genes explored as potential biomarkers, FDXR is widely used due to high upregulation in white blood cells following radiation exposure. Nonetheless, the absence of a standardized protocols for gene expression-based biodosimetry is a notable gap that warrants attention to enhance the accuracy, reproducibility and reliability.

A Picture May Be Worth 1,000 Words, but Is It Worth a Letter? Examining Whether the Choice of Label Affects the Perception of Speech Sounds.

Purpose: Researchers often use identification or goodness rating tasks to assess speech perception for different populations. These tasks provide useful information about a listener's willingness to accept a range of acoustically variable stimuli as belonging to the same category and also about assessing how stimuli that are labeled the same may not be perceived as equally good versions of a particular speech sound. Many methodological aspects of these simple tasks have been tested, but one aspect that has not is the choice of label.

Reading instruction causes changes in category-selective visual cortex.

Education sculpts specialized neural circuits for skills like reading that are critical to success in modern society but were not anticipated by the selective pressures of evolution. Does the emergence of brain regions that selectively process novel visual stimuli like words occur at the expense of cortical representations of other stimuli like faces and objects? "Neuronal Recycling" predicts that learning to read should enhance the response to words in ventral occipitotemporal cortex (VOTC) and decrease the response to other visual categories such as faces and objects. To test this hypothesis, and more broadly to understand the changes that are induced by the early stages of literacy instruction, we conducted a randomized controlled trial with pre-school children (five years of age).

Detailed phenotyping of knock-in mice demonstrates significant impacts on TBR1 protein levels and axon development.

Spatiotemporal control of Cre-mediated recombination has been an invaluable tool for understanding key developmental processes. For example, knock-in of into cell type marker gene loci drives expression under endogenous promoter and enhancer sequences, greatly facilitating the study of diverse neuronal subtypes in the cerebral cortex. However, insertion of exogenous DNA into the genome can have unintended effects on local gene regulation or protein function that must be carefully considered.

Anxiety and depression among adults with haemophilia A: Patient and physician reported symptoms from the real-world European CHESS II study.

Introduction: The physical pain and disability affecting many people with haemophilia A (PwHA) are known detractors from psychological wellbeing. While psychosocial support is considered a core tenet of the haemophilia comprehensive care structure, the extent to which mental health challenges are detected and monitored by the individuals treating haematologist remains relatively unexplored.

Aim: To describe prevalence of anxiety and depression in a real-world cohort of adult PwHA and evaluate the congruence in reporting of anxiety or depression (A/D) between PwHA and their treating physicians.

Impact of the design of adult mental health inpatient facilities on healthcare staff: a mixed methods systematic review.

Objectives: Mental health inpatient facilities are increasingly focusing on creating therapeutic, person-centred care environments. However, research shows that this focus may have unintended consequences for healthcare staff. Designs that do not pay attention to staff needs may risk contributing to stress, burnout, job dissatisfaction and mental exhaustion in the work environment.

The Role of the Built Environment as a Therapeutic Intervention in Mental Health Facilities: A Systematic Literature Review.

Objectives: This systematic literature review synthesizes and assesses empirical research concerning the use of the built environment as a therapeutic intervention in adult mental health inpatient facilities. The review explores the impact of facility design on patient outcomes.

Background: There is a growing recognition that the built environment in mental health facilities must strike a balance between ensuring safety and providing a therapeutic atmosphere.

Transcriptional Inflammatory Signature in Healthy Donors and Different Radiotherapy Cancer Patients.

Cancer and ionizing radiation exposure are associated with inflammation. To identify a set of radiation-specific signatures of inflammation-associated genes in the blood of partially exposed radiotherapy patients, differential expression of 249 inflammatory genes was analyzed in blood samples from cancer patients and healthy individuals. The gene expression analysis on a cohort of 63 cancer patients (endometrial, head and neck, and prostate cancer) before and during radiotherapy (24 h, 48 h, ~1 week, ~4-8 weeks, and 1 month after the last fraction) identified 31 genes and 15 up- and 16 down-regulated genes.

Epigenetic signature of ionizing radiation in therapy-related AML patients.

Therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia (t-AML) is a late side effect of previous chemotherapy (ct-AML) and/or radiotherapy (rt-AML) or immunosuppressive treatment. t-AMLs, which account for ∼10-20 % of all AML cases, are extremely aggressive and have a poor prognosis compared to AML. Our hypothesis is that exposure to radiation causes genome-wide epigenetic changes in rt-AML.

Carrot intake is consistently negatively associated with cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies.

Carrots are main dietary sources of several potential anti-cancer compounds, including polyacetylenes, while β-carotene has shown no benefits in controlled cancer trials. Accordingly, associations between carrot intake and cancer incidence were quantified, where necessary using α-carotene as a non-causal biomarker of carrot consumption, by searching for studies published before June 2022 reporting risk estimates for relationships of cancer incidence with carrot intake or α-carotene intake or α-carotene plasma concentration, supplemented with hand searches of included studies and reviews. Meta-analyses comparing highest and lowest reported intakes in prospective studies using a random-effects model estimated summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately for carrot intake or α-carotene plasma concentration, and the corresponding dose-responses.

R235C point mutation confers hypersensitivity to radiation-induced acute myeloid leukemia in mice.

Ionizing radiation (IR) is a risk factor for acute myeloid leukemia (rAML). Murine rAMLs feature both hemizygous chromosome 2 deletions (Del2) and point mutations (R235) within the hematopoietic regulatory gene . We generated a heterozygous CBA R235 mouse (CBA) which develops AML with 100% incidence by ∼12 months old and shows a dose-dependent reduction in latency following X-irradiation.

Peptide delivery of a multivalent mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) have been instrumental in the success of mRNA vaccines and have opened up the field to a new wave of therapeutics. However, what is ahead beyond the LNP? The approach herein used a nanoparticle containing a blend of Spike, Membrane and Envelope antigens complexed for the first time with the RALA peptide (RALA-SME). The physicochemical characteristics and functionality of RALA-SME were assessed.

Sensor-Based Quantification of Peanut Disease Defoliation Using an Unmanned Aircraft System and Multispectral Imagery.

Early leaf spot () and late leaf spot () are two of the most economically important foliar fungal diseases of peanut, often requiring seven to eight fungicide applications to protect against defoliation and yield loss. Rust () may also cause significant defoliation depending on season and location. Sensor technologies are increasingly being utilized to objectively monitor plant disease epidemics for research and supporting integrated management decisions.

Chemical Shifts of Artificial Monomers Used to Construct Heterogeneous-Backbone Protein Mimetics in Random Coil and Folded States.

The construction of protein-sized synthetic chains that blend natural amino acids with artificial monomers to create so-called heterogeneous-backbones is a powerful approach to generate complex folds and functions from bio-inspired agents. A variety of techniques from structural biology commonly used to study natural proteins have been adapted to investigate folding in these entities. In NMR characterization of proteins, proton chemical shift is a straightforward to acquire, information-rich metric that bears directly on a variety of properties related to folding.

RENEB Inter-Laboratory Comparison 2021: Inter-Assay Comparison of Eight Dosimetry Assays.

Tools for radiation exposure reconstruction are required to support the medical management of radiation victims in radiological or nuclear incidents. Different biological and physical dosimetry assays can be used for various exposure scenarios to estimate the dose of ionizing radiation a person has absorbed. Regular validation of the techniques through inter-laboratory comparisons (ILC) is essential to guarantee high quality results.

Preparing for the next pandemic: lessons learnt from the implementation of point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 testing in an emergency department.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) provides rapid, accurate results that facilitate diagnosis and patient management. POCT for infectious agents allows timely infection prevention and control interventions and informs decisions around safe patient placement. However, POCT implementation requires careful governance as they are primarily operated by staff with limited prior education on laboratory quality control and assurance processes.

Deficient Radiation Transcription Response in COVID-19 Patients.

Purpose: The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has resulted in over 6.3 million deaths and 560 million COVID-19 cases worldwide. Clinical management of hospitalized patients is complex due to the heterogeneous course of COVID-19.

RENEB Inter-Laboratory Comparison 2021: The Gene Expression Assay.

Early and high-throughput individual dose estimates are essential following large-scale radiation exposure events. In the context of the Running the European Network for Biodosimetry and Physical Dosimetry (RENEB) 2021 exercise, gene expression assays were conducted and their corresponding performance for dose-assessment is presented in this publication. Three blinded, coded whole blood samples from healthy donors were exposed to 0, 1.

Moderate doses of dietary nitrate elicit greater effects on blood pressure and endothelial function than a high dose: A 13-week pilot study.

Background & Aims: Few studies have explored the prolonged effects of dietary nitrate on vascular health. This pilot study tested the effects of prolonged consumption (13 weeks) of a range of doses of dietary nitrate (NO), provided as beetroot juice (BJ), on blood pressure (BP) and endothelial function in overweight and obese older participants.

Methods And Results: Sixty-two overweight or obese older participants (60-75 years) were randomized to the following interventions: (1) high NO (2) medium NO, (3) low NO, or (4) placebo.

Imaging and seismic modelling inside volcanoes using machine learning.

Despite advances in seismology and computing, the ability to image subsurface volcanic environments is poor, limiting our understanding of the overall workings of volcanic systems. This is related to substantive structural heterogeneities which strongly scatters seismic waves obscuring the ballistic arrivals normally used in seismology for wave velocity determination. Here we address this constraint by, using a deep learning approach, a Fourier neural operator (FNO), to model and invert seismic signals in volcanic settings.

Reevaluation of Piezo1 as a gut RNA sensor.

Piezo1 is a stretch-gated ion channel required for mechanosensation in many organ systems. Recent findings point to a new role for Piezo1 in the gut, suggesting that it is a sensor of microbial single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) rather than mechanical force. If true, this would redefine the scope of Piezo biology.