Endothelial Autophagy-related gene 7 Contributes to High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity.

Objective: Obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction is a major public health concern worldwide. Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of metabolic dysfunction, and endothelial cells affect metabolic functions. Because autophagy-related gene 7 (ATG7) is involved in various cellular physiology, we investigated the roles of endothelial cell-ATG7 (EC-ATG7) on high-fat diet-induced obesity and its related metabolic dysfunction.

14-3-3θ phosphorylation exacerbates alpha-synuclein aggregation and toxicity.

Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (αsyn) plays an integral role in Parkinson's disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). 14-3-3θ is a highly expressed brain protein with chaperone-like activity that regulates αsyn folding. 14-3-3θ overexpression reduces αsyn aggregation, transmission between cells, and neuronal loss, while 14-3-3 inhibition promotes αsyn pathology.

Exercise intensity and training alter the innate immune cell type and chromosomal origins of circulating cell-free DNA in humans.

Exercising regularly promotes health, but these benefits are complicated by acute inflammation induced by exercise. A potential source of inflammation is cell-free DNA (cfDNA), yet the cellular origins, molecular causes, and immune system interactions of exercise-induced cfDNA are unclear. To study these, 10 healthy individuals were randomized to a 12-wk exercise program of either high-intensity tactical training (HITT) or traditional moderate-intensity training (TRAD).

The effect of a combined mHealth and community health worker intervention on HIV self-management.

Objective: To identify demographic, social, and clinical factors associated with HIV self-management and evaluate whether the CHAMPS intervention is associated with changes in an individual's HIV self-management.

Method: This study was a secondary data analysis from a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of the CHAMPS, a mHealth intervention with community health worker sessions, on HIV self-management in New York City (NYC) and Birmingham. Group comparisons and linear regression analyses identified demographic, social, and clinical factors associated with HIV self-management.

Impact of COVID-19 Public Health Measures on Antiretroviral Therapy Use Among Ugandans Living with HIV in Sero-Different Couples.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) use and HIV suppression among people living with HIV (PLHIV) are critical for HIV control and prevention. Extreme restrictions on movement early during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda may have impeded the ability to initiate and sustain access to and use of ART. From our stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial of an integrated PrEP and ART intervention for HIV-serodifferent couples at 12 ART clinics in Uganda, we identified participants who enrolled and had a 6-month post-ART initiation viral load measured before the beginning of the first COVID-19 lockdown (Period 1), participants whose enrollment and 6-month viral load measurement straddled pre-COVID and COVID lockdown times (Period 2), and participants whose enrollment and 6-month viral load were quantified entirely during COVID-19 (Period 3).

Social Determinants of Health and Cross-Sectional Cognitive Intra-Individual Variability in Adults from the Deep South Living with HIV.

Cognitive intra-individual variability (IIV) is a sensitive marker of neuropathology and is increased in people with HIV (PWH). In a sample of PWH from the United States Deep South, we examined the relationship of cognitive IIV with cognitive impairment and social determinants of health (SDoH). This secondary analysis included 131 PWH from a larger cognitive training protocol.

Microbiome Structures and Beneficial Bacteria in Soybean Roots Under Field Conditions of Prolonged High Temperatures and Drought Stress.

Drought stress has a significant impact on agricultural productivity, affecting key crops such as soybeans, the second most widely cultivated crop in the United States. Endophytic and rhizospheric microbial diversity analyses were conducted with soybean plants cultivated during the 2023 growing season amid extreme weather conditions of prolonged high temperatures and drought in Louisiana. Specifically, surviving and non-surviving soybean plants were collected from two plots of a Louisiana soybean field severely damaged by extreme heat and drought conditions in 2023.

Dysregulated miRNA Expression and Androgen Receptor Loss in Racially Distinct Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Androgen receptor (AR)-negative triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), often termed quadruple-negative breast cancer (QNBC), disproportionately impacts women of African descent, leading to poorer overall survival (OS). MiRNAs regulate the expression of gene drivers involved in critical signaling pathways in TNBC, such as the gene, and their expression varies across races and breast cancer subtypes. This study investigates whether differentially expressed miRNAs influence AR transcription, potentially contributing to the observed disparities between African American (AA) and European American (EA) QNBC patients.

Molecular Mechanisms of Rett Syndrome: Emphasizing the Roles of Monoamine, Immunity, and Mitochondrial Dysfunction.

Rett syndrome (RTT), which predominantly affects females, arises in most cases from mutations in the () gene. When MeCP2 is impaired, it disrupts the regulation of numerous genes, causing the production of dysfunctional proteins associated with various multi-systemic issues in RTT. In this review, we explore the current insights into molecular signaling related to monoamines, immune response, and mitochondrial function, and their implications for the pathophysiology of RTT.

Late-Life Alcohol Exposure Does Not Exacerbate Age-Dependent Reductions in Mouse Spatial Memory and Brain TFEB Activity.

Alcohol consumption is believed to affect Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk, but the contributing mechanisms are not well understood. A potential mediator of the proposed alcohol-AD connection is autophagy, a degradation pathway that maintains organelle and protein homeostasis. Autophagy is regulated through the activity of Transcription factor EB (TFEB), which promotes lysosome and autophagy-related gene expression.

Coevolution of marine phytoplankton and Alteromonas bacteria in response to pCO2 and coculture.

As a result of human activity, Earth's atmosphere and climate are changing at an unprecedented pace. Models based on short-term experiments predict major changes will occur in marine phytoplankton communities in the future ocean, but rarely consider how evolution or interactions with other microbes may influence these changes. Here, we experimentally evolved several phytoplankton in coculture with a heterotrophic bacterium, Alteromonas sp.

Structure of the bacteriophage 80α neck shows the interactions between DNA, tail completion protein and tape measure protein.

Tailed bacteriophages with double-stranded DNA genomes (class ) play an important role in the evolution of bacterial pathogenicity, both as carriers of genes encoding virulence factors and as the main means of horizontal transfer of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in many bacteria, such as . The pathogenicity islands (SaPIs), including SaPI1, are a type of MGEs are that carry a variable complement of genes encoding virulence factors. SaPI1 is mobilized at high frequency by "helper" bacteriophages, such as 80α, leading to packaging of the SaPI1 genome into virions made from structural proteins supplied by the helper.

CAFE: An Integrated Web App for High-Dimensional Analysis and Visualization in Spectral Flow Cytometry.

Spectral flow cytometry provides greater insights into cellular heterogeneity by simultaneous measurement of up to 50 markers. However, analyzing such high-dimensional (HD) data is complex through traditional manual gating strategy. To address this gap, we developed CAFE as an open-source Python-based web application with a graphical user interface.

Facing stress and inflammation: From the cell to the planet.

As identified in 1936 by Hans Selye, stress is shaping diseases through the induction of inflammation. But inflammation display some yin yang properties. On one hand inflammation is merging with the innate immune response aimed to fight infectious or sterile insults, on the other hand inflammation favors chronic physical or psychological disorders.

Comprehensive adolescent healthcare transition program for congenital adrenal hyperplasia: A quality improvement initiative.

Background And Significance: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a genetic condition impairing adrenal steroid production, requiring lifelong steroid replacement, leading to decreased quality of life and a shortened lifespan. Preparing and supporting adolescents with CAH to develop health-related knowledge, skills, and decision-making during the pediatric-to-adult healthcare transition (HCT) is a priority. Many adolescents with CAH do not receive adequate HCT and do not attend follow-up care after transfer to an adult setting.

Employment outcomes among clients with stroke utilizing public vocational rehabilitation services in the United States.

Objective: To examine the correlations between individual characteristics among clients with stroke within public vocational rehabilitation (VR) and the employment outcome, as well as the utilization of VR services and their employment outcomes after VR services.

Design: Observational cohort study SETTING: Nationwide vocational rehabilitation data from the Rehabilitation Service Administration Case Service Report (RSA-911) for fiscal year 2022.

Participants: Individuals with stroke as primary cause of disability MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: employment status and VR service types RESULTS: Of those with stroke who received VR services (n = 1,793), 653 (36.

Combinatorial phenethyl isothiocyanate and withaferin A targets multiple epigenetics pathways to inhibit MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells.

Background: Epigenetic phytochemicals are considered as an efficacious and safe alternative to synthetic drugs in drug discovery. In this regard, combinatorial interventions enable simultaneously targeting various neoplastic pathways to eradicate multiple tumorigenic clones. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of the epigenetic-modifying compounds phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) and withaferin A (WA) alone and in combination on cancer hallmarks and miRNome profiles of breast cancer (BC) cells in addition to their impact on multiple epigenetic regulatory pathways.

Polyphenols as Immunomodulators and Epigenetic Modulators: An Analysis of Their Role in the Treatment and Prevention of Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer poses a substantial health challenge for women globally. Recently, there has been a notable increase in scholarly attention regarding polyphenols, primarily attributed to not only the adverse effects associated with conventional treatments but also their immune-preventive impacts. Polyphenols, nature-derived substances present in vegetation, including fruits and vegetables, have received considerable attention in various fields of science due to their probable wellness merits, particularly in the treatment and hindrance of cancer.

FAK activity exacerbates disturbed flow-mediated atherosclerosis via VEGFR2-Cbl-NF-κB signaling.

Atherosclerosis develops at predictable sites in the vasculature where branch points and curvatures create non-laminar disturbed flow. This disturbed flow causes vascular inflammation by increased endothelial cell (EC) barrier permeability and the expression of inflammatory genes such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) is important for flow-induced EC inflammation; however, there are still some gaps in the signaling pathway.

Accurate sample deconvolution of pooled snRNA-seq using sex-dependent gene expression patterns.

Single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) technology offers unprecedented resolution for studying cell type-specific gene expression patterns. However, snRNA-seq poses high costs and technical limitations, often requiring the pooling of independent biological samples and loss of individual sample-level data. Deconvolution of sample identity using inherent features would enable the incorporation of pooled barcoding and sequencing protocols, thereby increasing data throughput and analytical sample size without requiring increases in experimental sample size and sequencing costs.

Heterogeneous depressive symptom trajectories among women with type 2 diabetes: findings from the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Background: Depression affects 33% of women with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and leads to increased risks of premature mortality. Fluctuation and variation of depressive presentations can hinder clinical identification.

Purpose: We aimed to identify and examine subgroups characterized by distinct depressive symptom trajectories among women with T2D.

S-PLM: Structure-Aware Protein Language Model via Contrastive Learning Between Sequence and Structure.

Proteins play an essential role in various biological and engineering processes. Large protein language models (PLMs) present excellent potential to reshape protein research by accelerating the determination of protein functions and the design of proteins with the desired functions. The prediction and design capacity of PLMs relies on the representation gained from the protein sequences.

Impact of syndemic heavy drinking, smoking, and depression on mortality among MSM with and without HIV: A longitudinal study.

Background: Heavy drinking, smoking, and depression are common among men who have sex with men (MSM). The association of co-occurring longitudinal patterns of these conditions and mortality among MSM were tested, applying a syndemic framework - the interaction of two or more conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes.

Methods: Longitudinal data from 1999 to 2018 from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study of 3046 MSM were analyzed.

Exploring Spiritual Concerns, Needs, and Resources in Outpatient Healthcare Facilities Serving Under-Resourced Black Patients: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Acknowledging patients' spiritual concerns can enhance well-being and is essential to patient-centered chronic illness care. However, unmet spiritual care needs remain a major area of suffering, particularly among under-resourced populations. Limited research exists on how spiritual concerns are acknowledged and integrated into the care of chronically ill older Black patients in these settings.