Epigenome-wide association study of objectively measured physical activity in peripheral blood leukocytes.

Background: Few studies have explored the association between DNA methylation and physical activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of objectively measured hours of sedentary behavior (SB) and moderate physical activity (MPA) with DNA methylation. We further aimed to explore the association between SB or MPA related CpG sites and cardiometabolic traits, gene expression, and genetic variation.

Long-term Metabolic Outcomes Post-Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation in Recipients With Type 1 Diabetes.

Background: Simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation is an effective treatment option for type 1 diabetes mellitus and concurrent end-stage kidney disease. However, the diabetogenic effects of immunosuppression can counteract the beneficial effects of sustained normoglycemia. Long-term metabolic trends that reflect cardiovascular risk are reported poorly in the literature.

Can a brief guided nature walk reduce distress and improve resilience, mindful attention, and sleep quality? Evidence from a pilot study with two-week follow-up.

Despite trends of deteriorating mental health globally, help-seeking remains suboptimal. Identifying less stigmatising, low-cost, and scalable approaches to mental health care is critical. We investigated the acceptability and psychological benefits of a 30-minute guided nature walk programme in an accessible country park in Hong Kong among 100 community members.

Impact of COVID-19 on Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities in Hospitalised Children: A Scoping Review.

Aim: COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the healthcare system. The rapid spread of the virus, laboratory burn-out, exhausted staff, diagnostic uncertainty and lack of guidelines cumulatively disrupted hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs. This scoping review evaluated how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the implementation of AMS, particularly within the context of clinical audits.

Antimicrobial stewardship: a definition with a One Health perspective.

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is a commonly advocated approach to address antimicrobial resistance. However, AMS is often defined in different ways depending on where it is applied, such that a range of definitions is now in use. These definitions may be functional and well-structured for a given context but are often ill-adapted for collaborative work, creating difficulties for intersectoral communication on AMS and complicating the design, implementation, and evaluation of AMS interventions from a One Health perspective.

Synthetic Browsing Histories for 50 Countries Worldwide: Datasets for Research, Development, and Education.

Browsing histories can be a valuable resource for cybersecurity, research, and testing. Individuals are often reluctant to share their browsing histories online, and the use of personal data requires obtaining signed informed consent. Research shows that anonymized histories can lead to re-identification, nullifying the anonymity promised by informed consent.

A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps.

Antarctica, Earth's least understood and most remote continent, is threatened by human disturbances and climate-related changes, underscoring the imperative for biodiversity inventories to inform conservation. Antarctic ecosystems support unique species and genetic diversity, deliver essential ecosystem services and contribute to planetary stability. We present Antarctica's first comprehensive ecosystem classification and map of ice-free lands, which host most of the continent's biodiversity.

Unveiling the genetic architecture of barley embryo: QTL mapping, candidate genes identification and its relationship with kernel size and early vigour.

In this first QTL mapping study of embryo size in barley, novel and stable QTL were identified and candidate genes underlying a significant locus independent of kernel size were identified based on orthologous analysis and comparison of the whole-genome assemblies for both parental genotypes of the mapping population. Embryo, also known as germ, in cereal grains plays a crucial role in plant development. The embryo accounts for only a small portion of grain weight but it is rich in nutrients.

Cut from the Same Cloth? Comparing the Sexuality of Male Cross-Dressers and Transfeminine Individuals Through the Conceptual Framework of Autogynephilia.

Autogynephilia is a natal male's propensity to be sexually aroused by the thought or fantasy of being a woman. Both male cross-dressers and transfeminine individuals (a broad range of individuals born male with a feminine gender identity; e.g.

The Contribution of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Neighborhood Characteristics on Outcomes Experienced by Urban Dwelling Black Men After Serious Traumatic Injury.

Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are serious consequences of physical injuries. Stress associated with living in urban neighborhoods with socioecological disadvantages and the cumulative burdens of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can lead to poorer psychological outcomes. Limited research has explored how ACEs and socioecological environmental exposures in childhood and adulthood, together, impact post-injury outcomes.

Targeting HER2 in Gastroesophageal Cancer: A New Appetite for an Old Plight.

The incidence of gastroesophageal cancers is rising, driven, in part, by an increasing burden of risk factors of obesity and gastroesophageal reflux. Despite efforts to address these risk factors, and a growing interest in methods of population screening, the bulk of these tumours are unresectable at diagnosis. In this setting, effective systemic treatments are paramount to improve survival and quality of life.

Genomics yields biological and phenotypic insights into bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Despite high heritability (60-80%), the majority of the underlying genetic determinants remain unknown. We analysed data from participants of European, East Asian, African American and Latino ancestries (n = 158,036 cases with bipolar disorder, 2.

Regional and institutional trends in assessment for academic promotion.

The assessment of research performance is widely seen as a vital tool in upholding the highest standards of quality, with selection and competition believed to drive progress. Academic institutions need to take critical decisions on hiring and promotion, while facing external pressure by also being subject to research assessment. Here we present an outlook on research assessment for career progression with specific focus on promotion to full professorship, based on 314 policies from 190 academic institutions and 218 policies from 58 government agencies, covering 32 countries in the Global North and 89 countries in the Global South.

Biologic Therapy and Cardiometabolic Risk in Psoriasis: A Retrospective Review.

Introduction: Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disease with increased cardiometabolic risk including dyslipidaemia and diabetes. Biologic therapy effectively treats the cutaneous inflammatory burden of psoriasis and evolving evidence suggests potential to reduce systemic inflammatory sequalae that can elevate cardiovascular risk. This study aimed to assess the change in cardiometabolic risk markers in a cohort of patients with psoriasis treated with 1 year of continuous biologic treatment.

Bibliometric and visual analysis of chronic stress in cancer research from 2014 to 2024.

Objective: In today's fast-paced society, stress has become a widespread phenomenon, garnering increasing attention for its impact on cancer. This study aims to investigate the current status and research hotspots of chronic stress in cancer research from 2014 to 2024, with the goal of providing valuable insights for future studies.

Methods: We retrieved 618 articles published between 2014 and 2024 from the Web of Science database and analyzed them using R software, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.

Are associations of adulthood overweight and obesity with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and obesity-related cancer modified by comparative body weight at age 10 years in the UK Biobank study?

Objective: Adults living with overweight or obesity do not represent a single homogenous group in terms of mortality and disease risks. The aim of our study was to evaluate how the associations of adulthood overweight and obesity with mortality and incident disease are modified by (i.e.

Predicting changes in agricultural yields under climate change scenarios and their implications for global food security.

Climate change has direct impacts on current and future agricultural productivity. Statistical meta-analysis models can be used to generate expectations of crop yield responses to climatic factors by pooling data from controlled experiments. However, methodological challenges in performing these meta-analyses, together with combined uncertainty from various sources, make it difficult to validate model results.

Criterion validity of five open-source app-based cognitive and sensory tasks in an Australian adult life course sample aged 18 to 82: Labs without walls.

With recent technical advances, many cognitive and sensory tasks have been adapted for smartphone testing. This study aimed to assess the criterion validity of a subset of self-administered, open-source app-based cognitive and sensory tasks by comparing test performance to lab-based alternatives. An in-person baseline was completed by 43 participants (aged 21 to 82) from the larger Labs without Walls project (Brady et al.

Examining the role of Acinetobacter baumannii plasmid types in disseminating antimicrobial resistance.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative pathogen responsible for hospital-acquired infections with high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The spread of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains has become a global concern.

Evaluating the efficiency of 16S-ITS-23S operon sequencing for species level resolution in microbial communities.

Rapid advancements in long-read sequencing have facilitated species-level microbial profiling through full-length 16S rRNA sequencing (~ 1500 bp), and more notably, by the newer 16S-ITS-23S ribosomal RNA operon (RRN) sequencing (~ 4500 bp). RRN sequencing is emerging as a superior method for species resolution, exceeding the capabilities of short-read and full-length 16S rRNA sequencing. However, being in its early stages of development, RRN sequencing has several underexplored or understudied elements, highlighting the need for a critical and thorough examination of its methodologies.

Longitudinal evolution of the transdiagnostic prodrome to severe mental disorders: a dynamic temporal network analysis informed by natural language processing and electronic health records.

Modelling the prodrome to severe mental disorders (SMD), including unipolar mood disorders (UMD), bipolar mood disorders (BMD) and psychotic disorders (PSY), should consider both the evolution and interactions of symptoms and substance use (prodromal features) over time. Temporal network analysis can detect causal dependence between and within prodromal features by representing prodromal features as nodes, with their connections (edges) indicating the likelihood of one feature preceding the other. In SMD, node centrality could reveal insights into important prodromal features and potential intervention targets.

Phage therapy could be key to conquering persistent bacterial lung infections in children.

Persistent bacterial lung infections in children lead to significant morbidity and mortality due to antibiotic resistance. In this paper, we describe how phage therapy has shown remarkable efficacy in preclinical and clinical studies, demonstrating significant therapeutic benefits through various administration routes. Ongoing trials are evaluating its safety and effectiveness against different pathogens.

A lightweight prosthetic hand with 19-DOF dexterity and human-level functions.

A human hand has 23-degree-of-freedom (DOF) dexterity for managing activities of daily living (ADLs). Current prosthetic hands, primarily driven by motors or pneumatic actuators, fall short in replicating human-level functions, primarily due to limited DOF. Here, we develop a lightweight prosthetic hand that possesses biomimetic 19-DOF dexterity by integrating 38 shape-memory alloy (SMA) actuators to precisely control five fingers and the wrist.