Attitudes toward and preparedness for lung transplantation among individuals with cystic fibrosis in the era of highly effective modulators.

Background: Outcomes for individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) have improved due to highly effective modulator therapy (HEMT). However, lung transplant (LTx) remains an important treatment for people with advanced lung disease. This study assessed attitudes and knowledge about LTx in the HEMT era.

Is mitochondrial morphology important for cellular physiology?

Mitochondria are double membrane-bound organelles the network morphology of which in cells is shaped by opposing events of fusion and fission executed by dynamin-like GTPases. Mutations in these genes can perturb the form and functions of mitochondria in cell and animal models of mitochondrial diseases. An expanding array of chemical, mechanical, and genetic stressors can converge on mitochondrial-shaping proteins and disrupt mitochondrial morphology.

Dynamic label-free analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infection reveals virus-induced subcellular remodeling.

Assessing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on organelle dynamics allows a better understanding of the mechanisms of viral replication. We combine label-free holotomographic microscopy with Artificial Intelligence to visualize and quantify the subcellular changes triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection. We study the dynamics of shape, position and dry mass of nucleoli, nuclei, lipid droplets and mitochondria within hundreds of single cells from early infection to syncytia formation and death.

Global richness patterns of alpine genus depend on multiple factors.

Environmental factors impact species richness differently across taxonomic groups, and understanding the geographic patterns and drivers influencing alpine plant richness remains limited. This study compiled global distribution data of 404 species of , an alpine genus, and analyzed the relative effects of different environmental factors and several previously proposed models on the variation of richness. By evaluating the effects of range size and regions on the relationships between richness and environmental factors, we found that all tested environmental factors had weak effects on richness variation for all species and wide-ranging species, while habitat heterogeneity was the best predictor for narrow-ranging species.

Mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic regulation control T cell fate in the thymus.

Several studies demonstrated that mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic pathways control T cell fate in the periphery. However, little is known about their implication in thymocyte development. Our results showed that thymic progenitors (CD3CD4CD8 triple negative, TN), in active division, have essentially a fused mitochondrial morphology and rely on high glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).

Mtfp1 ablation enhances mitochondrial respiration and protects against hepatic steatosis.

Hepatic steatosis is the result of imbalanced nutrient delivery and metabolism in the liver and is the first hallmark of Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). MASLD is the most common chronic liver disease and involves the accumulation of excess lipids in hepatocytes, inflammation, and cancer. Mitochondria play central roles in liver metabolism yet the specific mitochondrial functions causally linked to MASLD remain unclear.

Protocol for a pragmatic trial testing a self-directed lifestyle program targeting weight loss among patients with obstructive sleep apnea (POWER Trial).

Background: Obesity comprises the single greatest reversible risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Despite the potential of lifestyle-based weight loss services to improve OSA severity and symptoms, these programs have limited reach. POWER is a pragmatic trial of a remote self-directed weight loss care among patients with OSA.

Bird diversity along an urban to rural gradient in large tropical cities peaks in mid-level urbanization.

The gradient from natural to urban areas strongly associates with the structure of avian communities over that gradient. Most research on urban birds is from temperate areas and knowledge from tropical Southeast Asia is lacking. We examined bird species diversity, relative abundance, and species composition along an urban to rural gradient in three Myanmar cities, and assessed potential environmental factors responsible for the changes.

Lifestyle Intervention and Excess Weight in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): INSIGHT COPD Randomized Clinical Trial.

Being overweight or obese is common among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but whether interventions targeted at weight loss improve functional impairments is unknown. INSIGHT (Intervention Study in Overweight Patients with COPD) tested whether a pragmatic low-intensity lifestyle intervention would lead to better physical functional status among overweight or obese participants with COPD. The trial was a 12-month, multicenter, patient-level pragmatic clinical trial.

Sleep Testing and Mortality in a Propensity-matched Cohort of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Many advocate the application of propensity-matching methods to real-world data to answer key questions around obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management. One such question is whether identifying undiagnosed OSA impacts mortality in high-risk populations, such as those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Assess the association of sleep testing with mortality among patients with COPD and a high likelihood of undiagnosed OSA.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Airborne Transmission: Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better?

This is an account that should be heard of an important struggle: the struggle of a large group of experts who came together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to warn the world about the risk of airborne transmission and the consequences of ignoring it. We alerted the World Health Organization about the potential significance of the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the urgent need to control it, but our concerns were dismissed. Here we describe how this happened and the consequences.

In vitro production of infectious Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites.

An effective vaccine is needed for the prevention and elimination of malaria. The only immunogens that have been shown to have a protective efficacy of more than 90% against human malaria are Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) sporozoites (PfSPZ) manufactured in mosquitoes (mPfSPZ). The ability to produce PfSPZ in vitro (iPfSPZ) without mosquitoes would substantially enhance the production of PfSPZ vaccines and mosquito-stage malaria research, but this ability is lacking.

MPC2 variants disrupt mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism and cause an early-onset mitochondriopathy.

Pyruvate is an essential metabolite produced by glycolysis in the cytosol and must be transported across the inner mitochondrial membrane into the mitochondrial matrix, where it is oxidized to fuel mitochondrial respiration. Pyruvate import is performed by the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC), a hetero-oligomeric complex composed by interdependent subunits MPC1 and MPC2. Pathogenic variants in the MPC1 gene disrupt mitochondrial pyruvate uptake and oxidation and cause autosomal-recessive early-onset neurological dysfunction in humans.

Mitochondrial Fission Process 1 controls inner membrane integrity and protects against heart failure.

Mitochondria are paramount to the metabolism and survival of cardiomyocytes. Here we show that Mitochondrial Fission Process 1 (MTFP1) is an inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) protein that is dispensable for mitochondrial division yet essential for cardiac structure and function. Constitutive knockout of cardiomyocyte MTFP1 in mice resulted in a fatal, adult-onset dilated cardiomyopathy accompanied by extensive mitochondrial and cardiac remodeling during the transition to heart failure.

Understanding the tonifying and the detoxifying properties of Chinese medicines from their impacts on gut microbiota and host metabolism: a case study with four medicinal herbs in experimental colitis rat model.

Background: Chinese medicines (CMs) have emerged as an alternative therapy for ulcerative colitis through reinforcing the vital qi and/or eliminating the pathogenic factors according to the traditional Chinese medicinal theory. Presystemic interactions of CMs with gut microbiota and the associated metabolic network shift are believed to be essential to achieve their holistic health benefits in traditional oral application.

Methods: This study first employed 16S rDNA-based microbial profiling and mass spectrometry-based urinary metabolomics to simultaneously evaluate four single CMs frequently prescribed as main constituent herbs for alleviating UC, the tonic ginseng and Astragali Radix (AR) and the detoxifying Scutellaria Radix (SR) and Rhubarb, on a dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis rat model, with aims to understanding the tonifying or detoxifying properties of CMs through clinical phenotypes, the common features and herb-specific signatures in gut microbial alterations and the associated host metabolic shifts.

CHCHD10 and SLP2 control the stability of the PHB complex: a key factor for motor neuron viability.

CHCHD10 is an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/frontotemporal dementia gene that encodes a mitochondrial protein whose precise function is unclear. Here we show that Coiled-Coil-Helix-Coiled-Coil-Helix Domain Containing protein 10 interacts with the Stomatin-Like Protein 2 and participates in the stability of the prohibitin complex in the inner mitochondrial membrane. By using patient fibroblasts and mouse models expressing the same CHCHD10 variant (p.

Use of elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor among cystic fibrosis lung transplant recipients.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung transplant (LT) recipients may warrant treatment with elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI) to improve extrapulmonary manifestations of CF. Our objectives were to identify reasons for prescribing ETI after LT and evaluate changes in body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin A1c, hemoglobin, and liver enzymes.

Methods: This was an electronic health record-based cohort study, October 2019-September 2020, at 14 CF LT Consortium sites in North America.

Insights from Application of a Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Model to an Intensive Urban Black Carbon Monitoring Dataset.

Existing regulatory pollutant monitoring networks rely on a small number of centrally located measurement sites that are purposefully sited away from major emission sources. While informative of general air quality trends regionally, these networks often do not fully capture the local variability of air pollution exposure within a community. Recent technological advancements have reduced the cost of sensors, allowing air quality monitoring campaigns with high spatial resolution.

Emerging inflammatory bowel disease demographics, phenotype, and treatment in South Asia, South-East Asia, and Middle East: Preliminary findings from the Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Emerging Nations' Consortium.

Background And Aim: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is emerging in the newly industrialized countries of South Asia, South-East Asia, and the Middle East, yet epidemiological data are scarce.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of IBD demographics, disease phenotype, and treatment across 38 centers in 15 countries of South Asia, South-East Asia, and Middle East. Intergroup comparisons included gross national income (GNI) per capita.

The anti-tumoral effects of the oxygen carrier YQ23 in a triple-negative breast cancer syngeneic model.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive breast cancer subtype, is associated with poor prognosis and high mortality rate. In the search for effective therapeutic options, preclinical studies have suggested using systemic oxygenation to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in various cancer models, including TNBC, by weakening the hypoxia-A2A adenosine receptors (A2AR)-driven immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME). In our present study, a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) "YQ23" was tested for its role in modulating the TME and tumor inhibition.

Body Mass Index Recovery after Lung Transplant for Cystic Fibrosis.

Many lung transplant recipients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have low preoperative body mass index (BMI); however, post-transplant BMI recovery is not well understood. To evaluate BMI recovery (⩾18.5 kg/m) among CF lung transplant recipients with low preoperative BMI and to investigate the association of survival with BMI recovery.

Littoral Water in Hong Kong as a Potential Transient Habitat for Juveniles of a Temperate Deepwater Gnomefish, (Acropomatiformes: Scombropidae).

A total of 40 juveniles belonging to a temperate deepwater gnomefish species, , were sampled from littoral habitats (2-5 m depth) of eastern Hong Kong waters in April and May 2017 and March 2019. The presence of gnomefish juveniles in subtropical southern China is reported for the first time at a record low latitude of 22°11'-22°21'N. The specimens were identified based on the gene sequence.

Low body mass index as a barrier to lung transplant in cystic fibrosis.

Rationale: Low body mass index (BMI) may influence lung transplant decisions for patients with advanced cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease.

Objective: Determine whether patients with advanced CF lung disease and BMI ≤17 kg/m are less likely to be listed for lung transplant or have a higher risk of death without listing compared to those with higher BMI.

Methods: Using merged United Network for Organ Sharing and CF Foundation Patient Registries, we identified adults with onset of advanced lung disease (FEV ≤ 40% predicted) between May-2005 and December-2016.