Role of Advanced Glycation End Products in Mediating Glycated Haemoglobin and Pulse Wave Velocity in Healthy Adults.

: Poor metabolic control is associated with increased levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which in turn may lead to increased arterial stiffness. The aim of this study was to estimate the association between glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and aortic pulse wave velocity (a-PWV) in healthy subjects and to analyse the mediating effect of AGEs measured by skin autofluorescence (SAF) on this association. : HbA1c, a-PWV and SAF were analysed in 390 healthy Spanish subjects from the EVasCu study (42.

Recent Advances in Vaginal Atresia: A Literature Review.

Vaginal atresia is a rare anomaly of the female reproductive tract that significantly impacts women's reproductive health and quality of life. Although there has been relatively extensive research on the clinical manifestations and differential diagnosis of vaginal atresia, there is a paucity of literature specifically addressing the genetic background, treatment protocols, and psychological status of patients with vaginal atresia, indicating a need for further investigation. In this context, this article systematically reviews the epidemiological characteristics of vaginal atresia and explores its etiology from multiple perspectives, including developmental processes, genetic factors, and environmental factors, emphasizing the importance of genetic susceptibility and environmental interactions in the pathogenesis of the condition.

Oncolytic Viruses and Immunotherapy for the Treatment of Uveal Melanoma and Retinoblastoma: The Current Landscape and Novel Advances.

Intraocular malignant tumors are rare; however, they can cause serious life-threatening complications. Uveal melanoma (UM) and retinoblastoma (RB) are the most common intraocular tumors in adults and children, respectively, and come with a great disease burden. For many years, several different treatment modalities for UM and RB have been proposed, with chemotherapy for RB cases and plaque radiation therapy for localized UM as first-line treatment options.

Regional Variations in the Prevalence of Risk Factors and Non-Communicable Diseases in Papua New Guinea: A Scoping Review.

Often referred to as 'the last unknown', Papua New Guinea's largely unexplored environments across its four distinct regions, the Highlands, New Guinea Islands, Momase, and Southern, exhibit remarkable diversity. Understanding this diversity is significant in contextualising the risk factors associated with developing non-communicable diseases. This review aims to map and summarise the literature to provide region-specific prevalence data for risk factors and non-communicable diseases.

Workplace Health and Wellbeing in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs): A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Provision and Support Uptake.

Today's challenging times highlight the need for workplaces to support employee wellbeing. Workplaces can offer a means to improve employee wellbeing and promote health initiatives. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are less likely than larger organizations to engage with workplace wellbeing initiatives or offer wellbeing provision.

Community Training Institute for Health Disparities: Outcomes of a Formal Opportunity for Community Capacity Building to Increase Health Equity in Southern Puerto Rico.

Integration of the community into health research through community-engaged research has proven to be an essential strategy for reducing health inequities. It brings significant benefits by addressing community health concerns and promoting active community participation in research. The Community Training Institute for Health Disparities (CTIHD) was established to support this integration based on Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles.

The Unseen Aftermath: Associations Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Shifts in Mortality Trends in Japan.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare systems globally, potentially altering mortality trends for non-COVID-19 diseases, particularly in aging populations like Japan's. Assessing these impacts is essential for responsive healthcare planning. We analyzed Japanese vital registration mortality records from January 2018 to December 2021 for adults aged 25 and older, excluding COVID-19-related deaths.

Supporting Holistic Health and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Risk Reduction Among Young Native Females Prior to Pregnancy: A Qualitative Exploration.

AI/AN communities are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Decreasing the risk of GDM can interrupt the intergenerational cycle of diabetes in AI/AN families, and can decrease diabetes-related health disparities. The goal of this study was to explore ways of supporting holistic health and reducing the risk of GDM among young American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) females prior to pregnancy.

Relationship Among Body Mass Index, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Blood Pressure in Portuguese Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study examined the associations between age, adiposity, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and elevated blood pressure (BP) in 2901 Portuguese children and adolescents aged 2-18. BP, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), physical activity, and sedentary behavior were measured. Elevated BP was defined as a BP above the 90th percentile for age, sex, and height.

Oxidative Stress and Cardiovascular Complications in Type 2 Diabetes: From Pathophysiology to Lifestyle Modifications.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients. A central pathophysiological mechanism linking T2DM to cardiovascular complications is oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the body's antioxidant defenses. Hyperglycemia in T2DM promotes oxidative stress through various pathways, including the formation of advanced glycation end products, the activation of protein kinase C, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the polyol pathway.

Lactoferrin Modulates Radiation Response Under Hypoxic Conditions, Possibly Through the Regulation of ROS Production in a Cell Type-Specific Manner.

Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein of the transferrin family and has been suggested to have a variety of biological functions, including anticancer activity. However, the effects of LF and its mechanisms in anticancer therapies, especially in radiotherapy against cancer cells under hypoxic conditions, are not well-determined. In this study, we focused on the molecular mechanisms of LF functions in cells under hypoxic conditions.

Do Academic Libraries Contribute to Students' and Communities' Wellbeing?: A Scoping Review.

: Academic libraries offer a range of activities and initiatives for their students and community users. However, wellbeing, as a concept in academic libraries, is not very well defined and is poorly understood. The objective of this scoping review was to examine the role of academic libraries in student and community wellbeing, identify the various kinds of activities and initiatives that they carry out to address their wellbeing, and uncover gaps that might require further research.

Osteoprotegerin as an Emerging Biomarker of Carotid Artery Stenosis? A Scoping Review with Meta-Analysis.

: In developed countries, stroke is the fifth cause of death, with a high mortality rate, and with recovery to normal neurological function in one-third of survivors. Atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the extracranial part of the internal carotid artery and related embolic complications are common preventable causes of ischemic stroke (IS), attributable to 7-18% of all first-time cases. Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a soluble member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily, is considered a modulator of vascular calcification linked to vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and collagen production in atherosclerotic plaques.

Advances in Cardiovascular Multimodality Imaging in Patients with Marfan Syndrome.

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a genetic disorder affecting connective tissue, often leading to cardiovascular complications such as aortic aneurysms and mitral valve prolapse. Cardiovascular multimodality imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of MFS patients. This review explores the advancements in echocardiography, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), cardiac computed tomography (CCT), and nuclear medicine techniques in MFS.

The Impact of Ageing on Diaphragm Function and Maximal Inspiratory Pressure: A Cross-Sectional Ultrasound Study.

: The effects of ageing on the diaphragm are unclear. This study examined the association between ageing and diaphragm thickness, thickening fraction (TF), and diaphragm excursion (DE) as assessed by ultrasonography after adjusting for other factors. The relationship between these parameters and maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) was also investigated.

Assessment of Protein Quality and Nutritional Characteristics of Commonly Consumed Pulses in the Caribbean Diet by Different In Vitro Assays.

Pulses, the dried seeds of leguminous plants, form an important part of the diets of many cultures, including Caribbean cuisine, and are a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, and antioxidants while being low in fats. This study examined the effect of a traditional home-cooking method on the nutritional characteristics of pulses commonly consumed in the Caribbean: red kidney beans and cranberry beans ( L.), cowpeas ( L.

Identifying competency development needs of hospital managers in Iran: a national survey.

Background: A competent management workforce is crucial to achieve the effectiveness and efficiency of health service provision and to lead and manage the health system reform agenda. However, the traditional recruitment and promotion approach of relying on clinical performance and seniority provides limited incentives for competency development and improvement among hospital managers in Iran. There is limited evidence on the competency development needs of hospital managers in Iran that can guide setting training and development direction.

Pediatric COVID-19 severity by SARS-CoV-2 lineage and vaccine status in Canada: an IMPACT study.

Background: Interpretations of pediatric COVID-19 severity are complicated by novel lineages and COVID-19 vaccine introduction. We estimated the risk of severe COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 lineage and vaccination status among hospitalized Canadian children.

Methods: Data were collected through the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (April 2020-May 2021) and Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program, ACTive (June 2021-December 2022).

Integrative proteogenomic analysis identifies COL6A3-derived endotrophin as a mediator of the effect of obesity on coronary artery disease.

Obesity strongly increases the risk of cardiometabolic diseases, yet the underlying mediators of this relationship are not fully understood. Given that obesity strongly influences circulating protein levels, we investigated proteins mediating the effects of obesity on coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. By integrating two-step proteome-wide Mendelian randomization, colocalization, epigenomics and single-cell RNA sequencing, we identified five mediators and prioritized collagen type VI α3 (COL6A3).

Chemical catalyst manipulating cancer epigenome and transcription.

The number and variety of identified histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) are continually increasing. However, the specific consequences of each histone PTM remain largely unclear, primarily due to the lack of methods for selectively and rapidly introducing a desired histone PTM in living cells without genetic engineering. Here, we report the development of a cell-permeable histone acetylation catalyst, BAHA-LANA-PEG-CPP44, which selectively enters leukemia cells, binds to chromatin, and acetylates H2BK120 of endogenous histones in a short reaction time.

Patient-reported outcomes in sarcopenia: An ICFSR task force report.

The International Conference on Frailty and Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR) Task Force convened in March 2024 to address patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) in the field of sarcopenia. PROMs are crucial to enhance healthcare services at both individual and societal levels. PROMs complement objective outcome measures by capturing insights that patients are best suited to judge.

Resting-state electroencephalographic rhythms depend on sex in patients with dementia due to Parkinson's and Lewy Body diseases: An exploratory study.

Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are more prevalent in males than females. Furthermore, they typically showed abnormally high delta (< 4 Hz) and low alpha (8-10 Hz) rhythms from resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) activity. Here, we hypothesized that those abnormalities may depend on the patient's sex.

Novel anionic functionalized magnetic β-cyclodextrin composites with excellent adsorption capacity for moxifloxacin and wide pH adaptive adsorption capability for copper ion.

Antibiotics and heavy metals pose severe risks to human health and ecological environment. Therefore, developing a multifunctional adsorbent to remove these contaminants from wastewater is an urgent need. Herein, novel anionic sulfonic acid groups functionalized magnetic β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) composites (FCD@AA) were synthesized by coating poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (AMPS)) on the surface of magnetic β-CD particles (FCD).

Positive mental health interventions for people with schizophrenia: A scoping review.

Background: Promoting positive mental health is crucial for maintaining a healthy balance of mental well-being, both for individuals with and without mental health conditions, including schizophrenia.

Objective: To map interventions that promote positive mental health in individuals with schizophrenia.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute recommendations.

Effects of changes in body composition on cardiometabolic diseases by sex and presence of sarcopenia.

Background: Muscle mass loss and fat mass increase are risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. We evaluated the effect of changes in body composition on the incidence of cardiometabolic diseases in older adults with or without sarcopenia, over two-year follow-up.

Materials And Methods: Changes in body composition and the development of cardiometabolic diseases over 2 years were measured in community-dwelling older adults recruited from the Korean Frailty Aging Cohort Study.