Minimum acceptable diet and contributing factors among children aged 6-23 months in Afghanistan: insights from the 2022-2023 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey.

Background: Undernutrition among children is a public health concern in most low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and is associated with poor child growth and development. Knowledge about child feeding practices is needed for nutritional policies and programs. Hence, this study assessed the status of minimum acceptable diet (MAD) and its associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Afghanistan.

The status of care for youth with type 1 diabetes within and coming from humanitarian crises settings: a narrative review.

Background: Humanitarian crises bring unique, and potentially growing challenges to people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). We aimed to determine, in youth with T1D (mean age (± 1SD) 0-17.9 years) within and coming from humanitarian crises settings (HCS), the reported prevalence that meet international consensus targets for glycaemic, blood pressure and lipid management, and incidence of severe hypoglycaemia or diabetic ketoacidosis.

Machine learning and multi-omics in precision medicine for ME/CFS.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex and multifaceted disorder that defies simplistic characterisation. Traditional approaches to diagnosing and treating ME/CFS have often fallen short due to the condition's heterogeneity and the lack of validated biomarkers. The growing field of precision medicine offers a promising approach which focuses on the genetic and molecular underpinnings of individual patients.

Eating disorders in minority ethnic populations in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and the UK: a scoping review.

Background: Historically, eating disorder (ED) research has largely focused on White girls and women, with minority ethnic populations underrepresented. Most research exploring EDs in minority ethnic populations has been conducted in the United States (US). The aim of this scoping review, the first of its kind, was to systematically examine research on disordered eating and EDs among minority ethnic populations in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and the United Kingdom (UK), four countries with shared sociocultural and healthcare characteristics.

'Which treatment do you believe you received?' A randomised blinding feasibility trial of spinal manual therapy.

Background: Blinding is essential for mitigating biases in trials of low back pain (LBP). Our main objectives were to assess the feasibility of blinding: (1) participants randomly allocated to active or placebo spinal manual therapy (SMT), and (2) outcome assessors. We also explored blinding by levels of SMT lifetime experience and recent LBP, and factors contributing to beliefs about the assigned intervention.

Cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and subarachnoid space occlusion following traumatic spinal cord injury in the pig: an investigation using magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes spinal cord swelling and occlusion of the subarachnoid space (SAS). SAS occlusion can change pulsatile cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics, which could have acute clinical management implications. This study aimed to characterise SAS occlusion and investigate CSF dynamics over 14 days post-SCI in the pig.

Exploring the contribution of integrated healthcare practices to malaria control in Ghana: perspectives of medical herbalists.

Background: The integration of herbal and orthodox medicines has gained momentum in global health, ensuring improved management of infectious diseases like malaria. This study explored the experiences of medical herbalists working in Ghana's diverse ecological zones to understand the contributions of integrated healthcare to malaria control.

Methods: A phenomenological design was employed to conduct in-depth interviews with 19 purposively sampled medical herbalists.

The value-for-money assessment and funding arrangements for high-priced drugs in an era of uncertainty: a comparative analysis of national health technology assessment agencies in South Korea, England, Australia, and Canada.

Background: Innovative health technologies have increasingly emerged as a promising solution for patients with untreatable or challenging conditions. However, these technologies often come with expensive costs and limited evidence at the time of launch. This study assessed how these high-priced drugs with limited evidence were appraised and introduced in South Korea, England, Australia, and Canada, where cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) generally plays a central role in pricing and reimbursement decisions.

Association between Mediterranean diet and metabolic health status among adults was not mediated through serum adropin levels.

Background: Prevalence of metabolic disorders has been increased in recent years around the world. The relationship between Mediterranean diet (MD) with metabolic health status and serum adropin levels has been less examined in Iranian adults. We investigated the association between MD compliance with metabolic health status and adropin hormone in Iranian adults.

Motivations and perceptions for physical activity in women living with metastatic breast cancer: a qualitative interview study.

Background: The beneficial role of physical activity for people living with cancer is well established. However, the importance of physical activity to women living with metastatic breast cancer is not known. As motivations and perceptions around physical activity influence behavioural uptake, a qualitative study was undertaken to explore the motivations and perceptions towards physical activity of this group.

Structural changes of muscle spindles in the multifidus muscle after intervertebral disk injury are resolved by targeted muscle activation.

Purpose: Fibrosis of muscle spindles (sensory organs) in back muscles induced by intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration could limit transmission of muscle stretch to the sensory receptor and explain the proprioceptive deficits common in back pain. Exercise reduces back muscles fibrosis. This study investigated whether targeted muscle activation via neurostimulation reverses or resolves muscle spindle fibrosis in a model of IVD injury.

Multiplex genome editing eliminates lactate production without impacting growth rate in mammalian cells.

The Warburg effect, which describes the fermentation of glucose to lactate even in the presence of oxygen, is ubiquitous in proliferative mammalian cells, including cancer cells, but poses challenges for biopharmaceutical production as lactate accumulation inhibits cell growth and protein production. Previous efforts to eliminate lactate production in cells for bioprocessing have failed as lactate dehydrogenase is essential for cell growth. Here, we effectively eliminate lactate production in Chinese hamster ovary and in the human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293 by simultaneous knockout of lactate dehydrogenases and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases, thereby removing a negative feedback loop that typically inhibits pyruvate conversion to acetyl-CoA.

Exploring the plant-growth promoting bacterium Herbaspirillum seropedicae as catalyst of microbiome remodeling and metabolic changes in wheat plants.

Inoculation with the PGPB Herbaspirillum seropedicae shapes both the structure and putative functions of the wheat microbiome and causes changes in the levels of various plant metabolites described to be involved in plant growth and health. Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) can establish metabolic imprints in their hosts, contributing to the improvement of plant health in different ways. However, while PGPB imprints on plant metabolism have been extensively characterized, much less is known regarding those affecting plant indigenous microbiomes, and hence it remains unknown whether both processes occur simultaneously.

A synthetic cyclic peptide for promoting antigen presentation and immune activation.

Cyclic peptides are often used as scaffolds for the multivalent presentation of drug molecules due to their structural stability and constrained conformation. We identified a cyclic deca-peptide incorporating lipoamino acids for delivering T helper and B cell epitopes against group A Streptococcus (GAS), eliciting robust humoral immune responses. In this study, we assessed the function-immunogenicity relationship of the multi-component vaccine candidate (referred to as VC-13) to elucidate a mechanism of action.

Catalytic-independent functions of the Integrator-PP2A complex (INTAC) confer sensitivity to BET inhibition.

Chromatin and transcription regulators are critical to defining cell identity through shaping epigenetic and transcriptional landscapes, with their misregulation being closely linked to oncogenesis. Pharmacologically targeting these regulators, particularly the transcription-activating BET proteins, has emerged as a promising approach in cancer therapy, yet intrinsic or acquired resistance frequently occurs, with poorly understood mechanisms. Here, using genome-wide CRISPR screens, we find that BET inhibitor efficacy in mediating transcriptional silencing and growth inhibition depends on the auxiliary/arm/tail module of the Integrator-PP2A complex (INTAC), a global regulator of RNA polymerase II pause-release dynamics.

Deep learning empowered sensor fusion boosts infant movement classification.

Background: To assess the integrity of the developing nervous system, the Prechtl general movement assessment (GMA) is recognized for its clinical value in diagnosing neurological impairments in early infancy. GMA has been increasingly augmented through machine learning approaches intending to scale-up its application, circumvent costs in the training of human assessors and further standardize classification of spontaneous motor patterns. Available deep learning tools, all of which are based on single sensor modalities, are however still considerably inferior to that of well-trained human assessors.

Myristoylated Eepd1 Enhances Lipolysis and Thermogenesis through PKA Activation to Combat Obesity.

Middle-aged obesity, characterized by excessive fat accumulation and systemic energy imbalance, often precedes various health complications. Recent research has unveiled a surprising link between DNA damage response and energy metabolism. Here, we explore the role of Eepd1, a DNA repair enzyme, in regulating adipose tissue function and obesity onset.

Lattice defect engineering advances n-type PbSe thermoelectrics.

Te-free thermoelectrics have garnered significant interest due to their immense thermoelectric potential and low cost. However, most Te-free thermoelectrics have relatively low performance because of the strong electrical and thermal transport conflicts and unsatisfactory compatibility of interfaces between device materials. Here, we develop lattice defect engineering through Cu doping to realize a record-high figure of merit of ~1.

Metagenome-guided culturomics for the targeted enrichment of gut microbes.

The gut microbiome significantly impacts human health, yet cultivation challenges hinder its exploration. Here, we combine deep whole-metagenome sequencing with culturomics to selectively enrich for taxa and functional capabilities of interest. Using a modified commercial base medium, 50 growth modifications were evaluated, spanning antibiotics, physico-chemical conditions, and bioactive compounds.

DNA replication stress underpins the vulnerability to oxidative phosphorylation inhibition in colorectal cancer.

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is a therapeutic vulnerability in glycolysis-deficient cancers. Here we show that inhibiting OXPHOS similarly suppresses the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glycolytically competent colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in vitro and in patient-derived CRC xenografts. While the increased glycolytic activity rapidly replenished the ATP pool, it did not restore the reduced production of aspartate upon OXPHOS inhibition.

Patient reported tools for assessing potential medicine-related symptoms: A systematic review.

Background: Medicine-related symptom assessment tools have been developed to assist healthcare professionals in detecting potential medicine-related symptoms. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate the measurement properties of medicine-related symptom assessment tools.

Method: A systematic search was conducted in Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsychInfo, and SCOPUS databases up to March 16, 2024.

The metabolic costs of cognition.

Cognition and behavior are emergent properties of brain systems that seek to maximize complex and adaptive behaviors while minimizing energy utilization. Different species reconcile this trade-off in different ways, but in humans the outcome is biased towards complex behaviors and hence relatively high energy use. However, even in energy-intensive brains, numerous parsimonious processes operate to optimize energy use.

A review of imaging in the diagnosis and management of complicated paediatric pneumonia.

Paediatric pneumonia and its complications present substantial health and economic challenges. While chest radiographs are commonly used as the initial imaging modality for diagnosing uncomplicated pneumonia, they are less effective for complicated cases. In response, various imaging techniques, such as lung ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), and chest MRI, have been integrated into clinical practice to enhance diagnosis and guide management decisions.