MRI tracking of human Wharton's jelly stem cells seeded onto acellular dermal matrix labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in burn wounds.

Background: cell tracking after transplantation in regenerative medicine remains an unmet challenge and limits current understanding of the wound healing mechanism through cell-based therapies. This study investigated tracking of human Wharton's jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) seeded onto an acellular dermal matrix (ADM) and labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in burn injury.

Method: The hWJSCs were characterized and assessed for growth kinetics.

Mechanisms governing target search and binding dynamics of hypoxia-inducible factors.

Transcription factors (TFs) are classically attributed a modular construction, containing well-structured sequence-specific DNA-binding domains (DBDs) paired with disordered activation domains (ADs) responsible for protein-protein interactions targeting co-factors or the core transcription initiation machinery. However, this simple division of labor model struggles to explain why TFs with identical DNA-binding sequence specificity determined in vitro exhibit distinct binding profiles in vivo. The family of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) offer a stark example: aberrantly expressed in several cancer types, HIF-1α and HIF-2α subunit isoforms recognize the same DNA motif in vitro - the hypoxia response element (HRE) - but only share a subset of their target genes in vivo, while eliciting contrasting effects on cancer development and progression under certain circumstances.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran: A review of epidemiological aspects, with emphasis on molecular findings.

Leishmania parasites can cause zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) by circulating between humans, rodents, and sandflies in Iran. In this study, published data were collected from scientific sources such as Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Springer, ResearchGate, Wiley Online, Ovid, Ebsco, Cochrane Library, Google scholar, and SID. Keywords searched in the articles, theses, and abstracts from 1983 to 2021 were cutaneous leishmaniasis, epidemiology, reservoir, vector, climatic factors, identification, and Iran.

Molecular Characterization and In Silico Analyses of Maurolipin Structure as a Secretory Phospholipase (sPLA) from Venom Glands of Iranian (Arachnida: Scorpionida).

The venom is a mixture of various compounds with specific biological activities, such as the phospholipase   (PLA) enzyme present in scorpion venom. PLA plays a key role in inhibiting ryanodine receptor channels and has neurotoxic activity. This study is the first investigation of molecular characterization, cloning, and in silico analyses of PLA from Iranian named Maurolipin.

Single cell RNA sequencing reveals hemocyte heterogeneity in : Plasticity over diversity.

The freshwater snail is an intermediate host of , the agent of human intestinal schistosomiasis. However, much is to be discovered about its innate immune system that appears as a complex black box, in which the immune cells (called hemocytes) play a major role in both cellular and humoral response towards pathogens. Until now, hemocyte classification has been based exclusively on cell morphology and ultrastructural description and depending on the authors considered from 2 to 5 hemocyte populations have been described.

The evolutionary dynamics of extrachromosomal DNA in human cancers.

Oncogene amplification on extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a common event, driving aggressive tumor growth, drug resistance and shorter survival. Currently, the impact of nonchromosomal oncogene inheritance-random identity by descent-is poorly understood. Also unclear is the impact of ecDNA on somatic variation and selection.

Recovering mixtures of fast-diffusing states from short single-particle trajectories.

Single-particle tracking (SPT) directly measures the dynamics of proteins in living cells and is a powerful tool to dissect molecular mechanisms of cellular regulation. Interpretation of SPT with fast-diffusing proteins in mammalian cells, however, is complicated by technical limitations imposed by fast image acquisition. These limitations include short trajectory length due to photobleaching and shallow depth of field, high localization error due to the low photon budget imposed by short integration times, and cell-to-cell variability.

Sarcopenic obesity diagnosis by different criteria mid-to long-term post-bariatric surgery.

Background/aims: The aim of this study was to apply the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism/European Association for the Study of Obesity (ESPEN/EASO) consensus to identify sarcopenic obesity (SO) in adults mid to long-term post-Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) using both dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Further, this approach was compared to accepted sarcopenia diagnostic criteria (Revised European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People [EWGSOP2] and Sarcopenia Definition and Outcomes Consortium [SDOC]).

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adults ≥2 years post-RYGB surgery.

Therapeutic Potential of Bee and Scorpion Venom Phospholipase A2 (PLA2): A Narrative Review.

Venomous arthropods such as scorpions and bees form one of the important groups with an essential role in medical entomology. Their venom possesses a mixture of diverse compounds, such as peptides, some of which have toxic effects, and enzymatic peptide Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) with a pharmacological potential in the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Bee and scorpion venom PLA2 group III has been used in immunotherapy, the treatment of neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.

The Impact of Long COVID-19 on Muscle Health.

COVID-19 negatively impacts several organs and systems weeks or months after initial diagnosis. Skeletal muscle can be affected, leading to fatigue, lower mobility, weakness, and poor physical performance. Older adults are at increased risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms during long COVID.

Measuring Cytological Proximity of Chromosomal Loci to Defined Nuclear Compartments with TSA-seq.

Distinct nuclear structures and bodies are involved in genome intranuclear positioning. Measuring proximity and relative distances of genomic loci to these nuclear compartments, and correlating this chromosome intranuclear positioning with epigenetic marks and functional readouts genome-wide, will be required to appreciate the true extent to which this nuclear compartmentalization contributes to regulation of genome functions. Here we present detailed protocols for TSA-seq, the first sequencing-based method for estimation of cytological proximity of chromosomal loci to spatially discrete nuclear structures, such as nuclear bodies or the nuclear lamina.

Mapping Mammalian 3D Genomes by Micro-C.

3D genome mapping aims at connecting the physics of chromatin folding to the underlying biological events, and applications of various chromosomal conformation capture (3C) assays continue to discover critical roles of genome folding in regulating nuclear functions. To interrogate the full spectrum of chromatin folding ranging from the level of nucleosomes to full chromosomes in mammals, we developed an enhanced 3C-based method called Micro-C. The protocol employs Micrococcal nuclease (MNase) to fragment the genome, which overcomes the resolution limit of restriction enzyme-based methods, enabling the estimation of contact frequencies between proximal nucleosomes.

Macaques preferentially attend to intermediately surprising information.

Normative learning theories dictate that we should preferentially attend to informative sources, but only up to the point that our limited learning systems can process their content. Humans, including infants, show this predicted strategic deployment of attention. Here, we demonstrate that rhesus monkeys, much like humans, attend to events of moderate surprisingness over both more and less surprising events.

Exhaled SARS-CoV-2 RNA viral load kinetics measured by facemask sampling associates with household transmission.

Objectives: No studies have examined longitudinal patterns of naturally exhaled SARS-CoV-2 RNA viral load (VL) during acute infection. We report this using facemask sampling (FMS) and assessed the relationship between emitted RNA VL and household transmission.

Methods: Between December 2020 and February 2021, we recruited participants within 24 hours of a positive RT-qPCR on upper respiratory tract sampling (URTS) (day 0).

Coevolution of motor cortex and behavioral specializations associated with flight and echolocation in bats.

Bats have evolved behavioral specializations that are unique among mammals, including self-propelled flight and echolocation. However, areas of motor cortex that are critical in the generation and fine control of these unique behaviors have never been fully characterized in any bat species, despite the fact that bats compose ∼25% of extant mammalian species. Using intracortical microstimulation, we examined the organization of motor cortex in Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), a species that has evolved a novel form of tongue-based echolocation.

Sulcal depth in prefrontal cortex: a novel predictor of working memory performance.

The neuroanatomical changes that underpin cognitive development are of major interest in neuroscience. Of the many aspects of neuroanatomy to consider, tertiary sulci are particularly attractive as they emerge last in gestation, show a protracted development after birth, and are either human- or hominoid-specific. Thus, they are ideal targets for exploring morphological-cognitive relationships with cognitive skills that also show protracted development such as working memory (WM).

Reinforcement learning and Bayesian inference provide complementary models for the unique advantage of adolescents in stochastic reversal.

During adolescence, youth venture out, explore the wider world, and are challenged to learn how to navigate novel and uncertain environments. We investigated how performance changes across adolescent development in a stochastic, volatile reversal-learning task that uniquely taxes the balance of persistence and flexibility. In a sample of 291 participants aged 8-30, we found that in the mid-teen years, adolescents outperformed both younger and older participants.

Tuning levels of low-complexity domain interactions to modulate endogenous oncogenic transcription.

Gene activation by mammalian transcription factors (TFs) requires multivalent interactions of their low-complexity domains (LCDs), but how such interactions regulate transcription remains unclear. It has been proposed that extensive LCD-LCD interactions culminating in liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of TFs is the dominant mechanism underlying transactivation. Here, we investigated how tuning the amount and localization of LCD-LCD interactions in vivo affects transcription of endogenous human genes.

Deep-sequence phylogenetics to quantify patterns of HIV transmission in the context of a universal testing and treatment trial - BCPP/Ya Tsie trial.

Background: Mathematical models predict that community-wide access to HIV testing-and-treatment can rapidly and substantially reduce new HIV infections. Yet several large universal test-and-treat HIV prevention trials in high-prevalence epidemics demonstrated variable reduction in population-level incidence.

Methods: To elucidate patterns of HIV spread in universal test-and-treat trials, we quantified the contribution of geographic-location, gender, age, and randomized-HIV-intervention to HIV transmissions in the 30-community Ya Tsie trial in Botswana.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of gestational diabetes mellitus highlights genetic links with type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased risk of pregnancy complications and adverse perinatal outcomes. GDM often reoccurs and is associated with increased risk of subsequent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). To improve our understanding of the aetiological factors and molecular processes driving the occurrence of GDM, including the extent to which these overlap with T2D pathophysiology, the GENetics of Diabetes In Pregnancy Consortium assembled genome-wide association studies of diverse ancestry in a total of 5485 women with GDM and 347 856 without GDM.

What do Reinforcement Learning Models Measure? Interpreting Model Parameters in Cognition and Neuroscience.

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a concept that has been invaluable to fields including machine learning, neuroscience, and cognitive science. However, what RL entails differs between fields, leading to difficulties when interpreting and translating findings. After laying out these differences, this paper focuses on cognitive (neuro)science to discuss how we as a field might over-interpret RL modeling results.

Predicting 30-Day Readmissions in Patients With Heart Failure Using Administrative Data: A Machine Learning Approach.

Background: We sought to develop machine learning (ML) models trained on administrative data which predict risk of readmission in patients with heart failure and to evaluate and compare the ML model with the currently used LaCE score using clinically informative metrics.

Methods And Results: This prognostic study was conducted in Alberta, Canada, on 9845 patients with confirmed heart failure admitted to hospital between 2012 and 2019. The outcome was unplanned all-cause hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge.

Head and Neck Restoration in Scar Alopecia: Hair Transplantation in Scalp, Eyebrows, Beard and Mustache.

Background: Surgical management of hair loss has become an increasingly challenging procedure, when dealing with scar alopecia. We investigated the efficacy of hair transplantation in patients with head and neck scar alopecia.

Methods: From 2016 to 2018 in Shiraz, Iran, all patients with scar alopecia in head and neck were evaluated for efficacy of follicular unit extraction (FUE), follicular unit transplantation (FUT) or a combination of two methods from donor sites in scalp and beard various hair-grafts were compared.