SERT-Deficient Mice Fed Western Diet Reveal Altered Metabolic and Pro-Inflammatory Responses of the Liver: A Link to Abnormal Behaviors.

Background: The inheritance of the short allele, encoding the serotonin transporter (SERT) in humans, increases susceptibility to neuropsychiatric and metabolic disorders, with aging and female sex further exacerbating these conditions. Both central and peripheral mechanisms of the compromised serotonin (5-HT) system play crucial roles in this context. Previous studies on SERT-deficient (Sert) mice, which model human SERT deficiency, have demonstrated emotional and metabolic disturbances, exacerbated by exposure to a high-fat Western diet (WD).

HP1 Promotes the Centromeric Localization of ATRX and Protects Cohesion by Interfering Wapl Activity in Mitosis.

Background: α thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) serves as a part of the sucrose nonfermenting 2 (SNF2) chromatin-remodeling complex. In interphase, ATRX localizes to pericentromeric heterochromatin, contributing to DNA double-strand break repair, DNA replication, and telomere maintenance. During mitosis, most ATRX proteins are removed from chromosomal arms, leaving a pool near the centromere region in mammalian cells, which is critical for accurate chromosome congression and sister chromatid cohesion protection.

Chemical composition and anticancer potential of water extracts derived from ground powder of Thai germinated brown rice ().

Powdered germinated Thai rice () is widely utilised as a dietary supplement to support health and prevent diseases. This study investigated the bioactive compound profile of water extracts from beverage powder made from Thai germinated brown rice (GBRE) and assessed its anticancer effects on cholangiocarcinoma, lung cancer, and liver cancer cell lines. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) revealed 23 metabolites, including amino acids, sugar, phenolic compounds and nitrogenous compounds.

Once-Weekly Insulin: A Breakthrough in Diabetes Management or an Unresolved Challenge?

The advent of once-weekly insulin icodec is a promising development in the care of individuals with diabetes. These once-weekly formulations aimed to improve patient adherence and quality of life for patients who find daily injection administration challenging. Insulin icodec has demonstrated comparable glycemic control to conventionally used daily basal insulins, such as insulin glargine and degludec, in the ONWARDS clinical trials.

Effects of Dual-Site Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Attention, Decision-Making, and Working Memory during Sports Fatigue in Elite Soccer Athletes.

Background: Sports fatigue in soccer athletes has been shown to decrease neural activity, impairing cognitive function and negatively affecting motor performance. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter cortical excitability, augment synaptic plasticity, and enhance cognitive function. However, its potential to ameliorate cognitive impairment during sports fatigue remains largely unexplored.

The Impact of Optical Undersampling on the Ca Signal Resolution in Ca Imaging of Spontaneous Neuronal Activity.

Background: In neuroscience, Ca imaging is a prevalent technique used to infer neuronal electrical activity, often relying on optical signals recorded at low sampling rates (3 to 30 Hz) across multiple neurons simultaneously. This study investigated whether increasing the sampling rate preserves critical information that may be missed at slower acquisition speeds.

Methods: Primary neuronal cultures were prepared from the cortex of newborn pups.

Neural Correlates of Social Touch Processing: An fMRI Study on Brain Functional Connectivity.

Background: The significance of tactile stimulation in human social development and personal interaction is well documented; however, the underlying cerebral processes remain under-researched. This study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of social touch processing, with a particular focus on the functional connectivity associated with the aftereffects of touch.

Methods: A total of 27 experimental subjects were recruited for the study, all of whom underwent a 5-minute calf and foot massage prior to undergoing resting-state fMRI.

Melanoma-derived versican reactivates tumor-associated macrophages by upregulating pyruvate carboxylase through TLR2-MyD88-RelB axis under normoxia.

Relieving hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment (TME) promotes innate and adaptive immunity. Our previous research demonstrated that reoxygenation of the TME promotes the phagocytosis and tumor-killing functions of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) by upregulating pyruvate carboxylase (PCB). However, the mechanism remains obscure.

Mechanism evaluation of a digitally enabled rehabilitation intervention for people in aged care and neurological rehabilitation: mediation analysis of the AMOUNT trial.

Purpose: To investigate potential mechanisms of a digital rehabilitation intervention associated with improved mobility among adults undertaking rehabilitation.

Materials And Methods: Causal mediation analysis of the AMOUNT trial (ACTRN12614000936628). Participants were randomised to digitally-enabled rehabilitation (virtual reality video games, activity monitors, and handheld computer devices prescribed by a physiotherapist) and usual care or usual care alone.

Oral Functions and Various Cooking Methods Associated With Chewing-To-Swallowing Time in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Background: Oral frailty in older adults can affect their eating efficiency, prolonging meal times, which can compromise food flavour.

Objective: This study explored the association between cooking methods and chewing-to-swallowing time on the basis of different oral functions in older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 65 community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 65 years.

Socio-economic inequalities in second primary cancer incidence: A competing risks analysis of women with breast cancer in England between 2000 and 2018.

We aimed to investigate socio-economic inequalities in second primary cancer (SPC) incidence among breast cancer survivors. Using Data from cancer registries in England, we included all women diagnosed with a first primary breast cancer (PBC) between 2000 and 2018 and aged between 18 and 99 years and followed them up from 6 months after the PBC diagnosis until a SPC event, death, or right censoring, whichever came first. We used flexible parametric survival models adjusting for age and year of PBC diagnosis, ethnicity, PBC tumour stage, comorbidity, and PBC treatments to model the cause-specific hazards of SPC incidence and death according to income deprivation, and then estimated standardised cumulative incidences of SPC by deprivation, taking death as the competing event.

Efficacy of Orthognathic Surgery in OSAS Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a prevalent condition characterised by repeated episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, leading to disrupted sleep and associated morbidities. Orthognathic surgery (OGS) has been proposed as a treatment option for OSAS, aimed at anatomically repositioning the maxillofacial structures to alleviate airway obstruction. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy of OGS in reducing apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores among OSAS patients.

Real-World Impact of Olaparib Exposure in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Patients Harboring Germline BRCA1-2 Pathogenic Variants.

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer arising in the context of BRCA predisposition may benefit from poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors. We analyzed real-world data on the impact of olaparib on survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients harboring germline BRCA mutations in Italy, where olaparib is not reimbursed for this indication.

Methods: Clinico/pathological data of pancreatic cancer patients with documented BRCA1-2 germline pathogenic variants who had received first-line chemotherapy for metastatic disease were collected from 23 Italian oncology departments and the impact of olaparib exposure on overall survival (OS) was analyzed.

Pediatric, adult, and late onset multiple sclerosis: Cognitive phenotypes and gray matter atrophy.

Objectives: We aim to investigate cognitive phenotype distribution and MRI correlates across pediatric-, elderly-, and adult-onset MS patients as a function of disease duration.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 1262 MS patients and 238 healthy controls, with neurological and cognitive assessments. A subset of 222 MS patients and 92 controls underwent 3T-MRI scan for brain atrophy and lesion analysis.

Caution when using network partners for target identification in drug discovery.

Identifying novel, high-yield drug targets is challenging and often results in a high failure rate. However, recent data indicates that leveraging human genetic evidence to identify and validate these targets significantly increases the likelihood of success in drug development. Two recent papers from Open Targets claimed that around half of FDA-approved drugs had targets with direct human genetic evidence.

Beyond Survival: Unveiling Psychological and Social Adaptation After Visceral Transplantation.

Aim: To explore the meaning of adaptation after visceral transplantation in terms of patient experiences, symptoms, self-efficacy, transplant-specific and mental well-being.

Design: A convergent parallel mixed-methods study, consisting of interviews and generic as well as transplant-specific questionnaires. Results were integrated using meta-inference.

The experiences of speech-language pathologists when collaborating with spoken language interpreters, multilingual families, and their children with hearing loss.

Purpose: The parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may require a spoken language interpreter to access early-intervention services. This research sought to describe speech-language pathologists' perspectives regarding collaboration with interpreters in this space.

Method: Twenty-seven speech-language pathologists working in Australia completed a cross-sectional mixed-method online survey.

Flunarizine as a Candidate for Drug Repurposing Against Human Pathogenic Mammarenaviruses.

Lassa fever (LF), a viral hemorrhagic fever disease with a case fatality rate that can be over 20% among hospitalized LF patients, is endemic to many West African countries. Currently, no vaccines or therapies are specifically licensed to prevent or treat LF, hence the significance of developing therapeutics against the mammarenavirus Lassa virus (LASV), the causative agent of LF. We used in silico docking approaches to investigate the binding affinities of 2015 existing drugs to LASV proteins known to play critical roles in the formation and activity of the virus ribonucleoprotein complex (vRNP) responsible for directing replication and transcription of the viral genome.

Recent Advances in Our Understanding of Human Inflammatory Dendritic Cells in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.

Anogenital inflammation is a critical risk factor for HIV acquisition. The primary preventative HIV intervention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is ineffective in blocking transmission in anogenital inflammation. Pre-existing sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and anogenital microbiota dysbiosis are the leading causes of inflammation, where inflammation is extensive and often asymptomatic and undiagnosed.

Animal Models for Human-Pathogenic Coronavirus and Animal Coronavirus Research.

Coronavirus epidemics have posed a serious threat to both human and animal health. To combat emerging infectious diseases caused by coronaviruses, various animal infection models have been developed and applied in research, including non-human primate models, ferret models, hamster models, mouse models, and others. Moreover, new approaches have been utilized to develop animal models that are more susceptible to infection.

Impact of COVID-19 on Ocular Surface Health: Infection Mechanisms, Immune Modulation, and Inflammatory Responses.

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has presented formidable challenges to global health since its emergence in late 2019. While primarily known for respiratory symptoms, it can also affect the ocular surface. This review summarizes the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on ocular surface immunity and inflammation, focusing on infection mechanisms, immune responses, and clinical manifestations.

Serosurvey of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Cattle in Southern Japan and Estimation of Its Transmissibility by Transient Infection in Nonvaccinated Cattle.

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is caused by the BVD virus (BVDV) and has been reported worldwide in cattle. To estimate BVDV circulation among cattle where few BVD cases were reported in southern Japan, 1910 serum samples collected from 35 cattle farms without a BVD outbreak were investigated to detect antibodies against BVDV-1 and BVDV-2 using an indicator virus with a cytopathogenic effect and the luciferase gene, respectively. Neutralizing antibodies against BVDV-1 and BVDV-2 were detected more frequently in 18 vaccinated farms than in 17 nonvaccinated farms.

Feline Papillomatosis.

Different types of feline papillomaviruses (PVs) are associated with a variety of skin lesions and neoplasia, such as papillomas and cell carcinomas, but the virus can also be found in healthy skin. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), a scientifically independent board of veterinary experts on feline infectious diseases from 11 European Countries, discusses the current knowledge of feline PV infections. Cats most likely become infected through lesions or abrasions of the skin.

Plant Compounds Inhibit the Growth of W12 Cervical Precancer Cells Containing Episomal or Integrant HPV DNA; Tanshinone IIA Synergizes with Curcumin in Cervical Cancer Cells.

This study explores the effects of plant compounds on human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced W12 cervical precancer cells and bioelectric signaling. The aim is to identify effective phytochemicals, both individually and in combination, that can prevent and treat HPV infection and HPV associated cervical cancer. Phytochemicals were tested using growth inhibition, combination, gene expression, RT PCR, and molecular docking assays.