Mechanotransduction pathways regulating YAP nuclear translocation under Yoda1 and vibration in osteocytes.

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a mechanosensitive protein crucial for bone remodeling. Although research has identified pathways and components involved in YAP regulation, the precise mechanisms of its localization during Piezo1 activation or vibration remain unclear. Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel, allows calcium ions to flow into cells upon activation.

A multiscale inflammatory map: linking individual stress to societal dysfunction.

As populations worldwide show increasing levels of stress, understanding emerging links among stress, inflammation, cognition, and behavior is vital to human and planetary health. We hypothesize that inflammation is a multiscale driver connecting stressors that affect individuals to large-scale societal dysfunction and, ultimately, to planetary-scale environmental impacts. We propose a 'central inflammation map' hypothesis to explain how the brain regulates inflammation and how inflammation impairs cognition, emotion, and action.

Conductance fluctuations in cobalt valence tautomer molecular thin films.

The conductivity changes associated with optical excitations and changing temperature in cobalt valence tautomer molecular thin films were investigated. Conductance switching in the presence of illumination is observed, with occasional locking in a higher conductance state, depending on the temperature, the photon energy of the illumination, and the bias voltage. Light of sufficiently short wavelengths is needed to ensure the light enhanced conductance switching, consistent with the optical absorption, but bias voltage clearly plays a role as well.

Factors associated with early sexual onset and delaying sex in rural middle school youth.

Purpose: Early sexual onset contributes to poor health outcomes through the life course. We use the social behavioral model to examine the behaviors and attitudes associated with early sexual onset and the intention to delay sex in middle school youth.

Methods: Youth in rural communities with high rates of hepatitis C and HIV filled out a survey prior to implementation of an evidence-based sex education program.

Acceptability and feasibility of a group-based intervention to improve outcomes for children at risk for developmental delays in Kenya: A piloted randomized trial.

The Care for Child Development (CCD) program may improve child development outcomes in resource-limited settings, but has not yet been adapted to group-based settings to facilitate sustainable dissemination. In this study, we determined the acceptability and feasibility of a group-based CCD program, with evaluation of program outcomes for child development, home environment, and symptoms of maternal depression as secondary outcomes. We evaluated this adapted program using a 2 × 2 crossover-designed pilot study administered over 10 bi-weekly sessions.

Dysregulation of miRNA expression and excitation in MEF2C autism patient hiPSC-neurons and cerebral organoids.

MEF2C is a critical transcription factor in neurodevelopment, whose loss-of-function mutation in humans results in MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome (MHS), a severe form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)/intellectual disability (ID). Despite prior animal studies of MEF2C heterozygosity to mimic MHS, MHS-specific mutations have not been investigated previously, particularly in a human context as hiPSCs afford. Here, for the first time, we use patient hiPSC-derived cerebrocortical neurons and cerebral organoids to characterize MHS deficits.

Dementia risk prediction using decision-focused content selection from medical notes.

Several general-purpose language model (LM) architectures have been proposed with demonstrated improvement in text summarization and classification. Adapting these architectures to the medical domain requires additional considerations. For instance, the medical history of the patient is documented in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) which includes many medical notes drafted by healthcare providers.

Examining how a documentary film can serve as an intervention to shift attitudes and behaviours around sexism in STEM.

"Picture a Scientist," a documentary featuring stories and research about bias in STEM, reached a large international audience. Yet, the extent to which this type of engaging media can impact gender bias remains unclear. In a unique collaboration between film creators and researchers, the current large-scale field studies explored whether "Picture a Scientist" functioned as an intervention and persuasive message targeting sexism in STEM.

RAD51 regulates eukaryotic chromatin motions in the absence of DNA damage.

In yeasts and higher eukaryotes, chromatin motions may be tuned to genomic functions, with transcriptional activation and the DNA damage response both leading to profound changes in chromatin dynamics. The RAD51 recombinase is a key mediator of chromatin mobility following DNA damage. As functions of RAD51 beyond DNA repair are being discovered, we asked whether RAD51 modulates chromatin dynamics in the absence of DNA damage and found that inhibition or depletion of RAD51 alters chromatin motions in undamaged cells.

Functional cardiac consequences of β-adrenergic stress-induced injury in a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); however, in the mdx mouse model of DMD, the cardiac phenotype differs from that seen in DMD-associated cardiomyopathy. Although some have used pharmacologic stress to stimulate injury and enhance cardiac pathology in the mdx model, many methods lead to high mortality with variable cardiac outcomes, and do not recapitulate the structural and functional cardiac changes seen in human disease. Here, we describe a simple and effective method to enhance the cardiac phenotype model in mdx mice using advanced 2D and 4D high-frequency ultrasound to monitor cardiac dysfunction progression in vivo.

CTAB-crafted ZnO nanostructures for environmental remediation and pathogen control.

This study addresses the critical need for efficient and sustainable methods to tackle organic pollutants and microbial contamination in water. The present work aim was to investigate the potential of multi-structured zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) for the combined photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and antimicrobial activity. A unique fusion of precipitation-cum-hydrothermal approaches was precisely employed to synthesize the ZnO NPs, resulting in remarkable outcomes.

SCAT Symptom Evolution in the Acute Concussion Phase: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium.

The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) is the most widely used tool following sport-related concussion (SRC). Initial SCAT symptom burden is a strong predictor of recovery in collegiate athletes; however, it is unknown if symptom presentation varies within the acute (<48 h) post-SRC phase. The purpose of this cohort study was to examine acute SRC symptom presentation among the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes.

Motor Learning in a Complex Motor Task Is Unaffected by Three Consecutive Days of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation.

Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) delivered to the primary motor cortex (M1) can increase cortical excitability, entrain neuronal firing patterns, and increase motor skill acquisition in simple motor tasks. The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of tACS applied to M1 over three consecutive days of practice on the motor learning of a challenging overhand throwing task in young adults. The secondary aim was to examine the influence of tACS on M1 excitability.

Rapid discrimination between deleterious and benign missense mutations in the CAGI 6 experiment.

We describe the machine learning tool that we applied in the CAGI 6 experiment to predict whether single residue mutations in proteins are deleterious or benign. This tool was trained using only single sequences, i.e.

Establishing Healthy Breath Baselines With Tin Oxide Sensors: Fundamental Building Blocks for Noninvasive Health Monitoring.

Introduction: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath serve as a source of biomarkers for medical conditions relevant to warfighter health including Corona Virus Disease and other potential biological threats. Electronic noses are integrated arrays of gas sensors that are cost-effective and miniaturized devices that rapidly respond to VOCs in exhaled breath. The current study seeks to qualify healthy breath baselines of exhaled VOC profiles through analysis using a commercialized array of metal oxide (MOX) sensors.

Depressive symptom clusters and biomarkers of monocyte activation, inflammation, and coagulation in people with HIV and depression.

We assess associations of somatic and cognitive/affective depressive symptom clusters with monocyte activation (soluble (s)CD14, sCD163), systemic inflammation (interleukin-6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)), and coagulation (D-dimer, fibrinogen) in people with HIV (PWH) on suppressive antiretroviral therapy with depression. Utilizing baseline data from a randomized controlled trial, we found no significant associations in linear regression models examining individual depressive symptom clusters; however, models examining both clusters simultaneously showed that the somatic cluster was positively associated with inflammation biomarkers, while the cognitive/affective cluster was negatively associated with inflammation and coagulation biomarkers (suggesting a cooperative suppression effect). Our findings indicate a differential association with depressive symptom clusters and biological mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD) in HIV, which may be driven by unique components of each depressive symptom cluster.

Deciphering the Complexities of Pulmonary Hypertension: The Emergent Role of Single-Cell Omics.

Expanding upon the critical advancements brought forth by single-cell omics in pulmonary hypertension (PH) research, this review delves deep into how these technologies have been piloted in a new era of understanding this complex disease. By leveraging the power of single cell transcriptomics (scRNA-seq), researchers can now dissect the complicated cellular ecosystem of the lungs, examining the key players such as endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, pericytes, and immune cells, and their unique roles in the pathogenesis of PH. This more granular view is beyond the limitations of traditional bulk analysis, allowing for the identification of novel therapeutic targets previously obscured in the aggregated data.