Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics illuminate bat immunity and barrier tissue evolution.

Bats have adapted to pathogens through diverse mechanisms, including increased resistance - rapid pathogen elimination, and tolerance - limiting tissue damage following infection. In the Egyptian fruit bat (an important model in comparative immunology) several mechanisms conferring disease tolerance were discovered, but mechanisms underpinning resistance remain poorly understood. Previous studies on other species suggested that elevated basal expression of innate immune genes may lead to increased resistance to infection.

Drug use Risks in Portuguese Rural vs Urban Environments: Harm Reduction Challenges in a Progressive Drug Policy Setting.

Portugal is commonly recognized as one of the best drug policy examples in the world. Nonetheless, contrasts between drug use risks in rural vs urban settings in the country is an understudied topic, even if its specific challenges are commonly affirmed, both by professionals and people who use drugs (PWUD). The aim of this study was to compare rural and urban environments concerning socio-sanitary services availability; illegal drugs availability; risk behaviors related to drug use; stigma associated with illicit drug use; and social support.

Clinical and analytical monitoring of patients with multiple sclerosis on anti-CD20 therapeutics: a real-world safety profile study.

Background: Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies are a class of immunosuppressive drugs widely used in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory diseases, with well-established efficacy and safety. Although rare, these therapies can be associated with serious adverse events including hematological and infectious complications. This study aims to evaluate their safety and tolerability profile in real-world clinical practice.

Physical fitness assessment tools for children with developmental coordination disorder and their feasibility for low-income settings: A systematic review.

Background: This study systematically reviewed the literature on physical fitness assessment tools for children with developmental coordination disorder compared with typically developing children aged 7 to 10 and analyzed the feasibility of these tools for use in low-income settings.

Methods: Searches were conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCO/RIC databases. The Newcastle - Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale assessed the methodological quality of the studies, and a checklist adapted from COSMIN assessed the feasibility of the instruments.

Psychometric proprieties analyses of psychological vulnerability scale for secondary school students.

Background: The concept of psychological vulnerability is associated with the individual's maladaptive cognitive beliefs, such as self-criticism, perfectionism, and the need for external validation and approval, reducing the individual's ability to cope with negative life experiences. This study aimed to explore psychometric proprieties of the Psychological Vulnerability Scale in secondary school students.

Methods: A psychometric study was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 1,875 secondary school students (55.

Corrigendum: Medical residency in Portugal: a cross-sectional study on the working conditions.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/frhs.2023.

Improving protein hydrolysis and digestibility in biomass through recombinant peptidases (EC 3.4): Opportunities for monogastric animal diets.

This study investigates the use of recombinant peptidases (EC 3.4) to improve protein hydrolysis and digestibility in , with a focus on addressing the challenge of reduced protein bioavailability for monogastric animals due to resistant protein-pigment formations, such as phycocyanin, and increased digesta viscosity caused by jellification properties. A library of 192 peptidases was generated, from which 142 soluble peptidases were expressed in and subsequently screened for activity against an suspension .

Long-term mindfulness meditation increases occurrence of sensory and attention brain states.

Interest has been growing in the use of mindfulness meditation (MM) as a therapeutic practice, as accumulating evidence highlights its potential to effectively address a range of mental conditions. While many fMRI studies focused on neural activation and functional connectivity during meditation, the impact of long-term MM practice on spontaneous brain activity, and on the expression of resting state networks over time, remains unclear. Here, intrinsic functional network dynamics were compared between experienced meditators and meditation-naïve participants during rest.

Self-Efficacy Throughout Higher Education: A Latent Growth Analysis.

As students progress through university, they are simultaneously preparing for their professional lives alongside their academic learning. The transition from university studies to the labour market is a process that begins in education and continues after graduation until graduates have adapted to their working roles. Preparing to work requires that students conclude their studies and face several challenges posed by job searching and adaptation to the role of a worker.

The effects of warming on loggerhead turtle nesting counts.

Global trends in marine turtle nesting numbers vary by region, influenced by environmental or anthropogenic factors. Our study investigates the potential role of past temperature fluctuations on these trends, particularly whether warmer beaches are linked to increased nesting due to higher female production (since sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination). We selected the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) due to its wide distribution, strong philopatry and vulnerability to environmental changes.

Circulating growth differentiation factor-15 levels are associated with early echocardiographic signs of diastolic function impairment in the STANISLAS cohort: A 20-year follow-up study.

Aims: Early identification of healthy subjects prone to develop cardiac dysfunction may be instrumental to prevention strategies. Our study aimed to evaluate whether circulating levels of growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) could predict adverse changes in echocardiographic indexes of cardiac structure and function in an initially healthy populational familial cohort with a long follow-up (STANISLAS cohort).

Methods And Results: We evaluated 1679 participants (49 ± 14 years, 48% males) included in the fourth visit (V4) of the STANISLAS cohort with available GDF-15 measurements (Olink proteomic analysis) and echocardiographic parameters.

Oral lesions and disorders and their prevalence arising from the use of illicit drugs in a prison population.

Background: The dependence on the illicit drugs has been proven to be harmful to the oral cavity and may lead to a series of abnormal manifestations. The main objective of this study was to observe the effects caused by the consumption of illicit drugs in the oral cavity, in a prison population in the North of Portugal.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving 91 male inmates aged 25-75 years (mean age 41.

The Outsider Within. Anticolonial Critiques of Humanity and the Cosmopolitan Vision.

This article re-examines the anticolonial critique of the concept of 'humanity'. It uses the example of Leopold Senghor to show the extent to which this critique is shaped by their sociological marginality. Drawing on Georg Simmel's discussion of the 'stranger' and Patricia Hill Collins's discussion of the 'outsider within', the study rethinks the production of knowledge in racially structured societies.

Chronic Offending and Its Relation to Homicide in a Large, Prospective Brazilian Birth Cohort.

Background: Many studies have found that a small group of chronic offenders is responsible for the majority of crimes and tend to be particularly violent. However, there is a major lack of evidence on chronic offending in low- and middle-income countries; understanding these patterns is especially important in settings with very high levels of serious violence, such as Brazil.

Aims: To identify the extent that crime is concentrated in chronic offenders and linked to violence and homicide in a Brazilian cohort.

Together throughout the year: seasonal patterns of bacterial and eukaryotic microbial communities in a macrotidal estuary.

Background: Estuaries are complex ecosystems linking river and marine environments, where microorganisms play a key role in maintaining ecosystem functions. In the present study, we investigated monthly 8 sites at two depth layers and over a one-year period the bacterial and eukaryotic community dynamics along the Seine macrotidal estuary (Normandy, France). To date, the taxonomy of the microbial diversity present in this anthropized estuary remains elusive and the drivers of the microbial community structure are still unknown.

Overexpression of IL-6 and STAT3 may provide new insights into ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma development.

Background: Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) is caused by Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and is considered an important potential animal model for human lung cancer. The precise mechanisms of OPA oncogenesis are still uncertain. The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is activated by interleukin-6 (IL-6) in many cancers, but this aspect is unknown in OPA.

Features of intermediate and late dry age-related macular degeneration on adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy: Pinnacle Study Report 8.

Background/objectives: Adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy (AOO) has the potential to provide insights into AMD pathology and to assess the risk of progression. We aim to utilise AOO to describe detailed features of intermediate AMD and to characterise microscopic changes during atrophy development.

Subjects/methods: Patients with intermediate AMD were recruited into PINNACLE, a prospective observational cohort study.

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries.

Science is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. Public trust in scientists can help decision makers act on the basis of the best available evidence, especially during crises. However, in recent years the epistemic authority of science has been challenged, causing concerns about low public trust in scientists.

Machine learning validation of the AVAS classification compared to ultrasound mapping in a multicentre study.

The Arteriovenous Access Stage (AVAS) classification simplifies information about suitability of vessels for vascular access (VA). It's been previously validated in a clinical study. Here, AVAS performance was tested against multiple ultrasound mapping measurements using machine learning.

Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries - the TISP dataset.

Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries.

The impact of parameter variation in the quantification of forensic genetic evidence.

Technological advancements have allowed the detection of increasingly complex forensic genetics samples, as minimum amounts of DNA can now be detected in crime scenes or other settings of interest. The weight of the evidence depends on several parameters regarding the population and sample-related analytical factors, the latter in a greater number when the DNA amount is considered. This led to the development of probabilistic genotyping software (PGS), able to deal with the associated complexities.

Plasma transfusions in neonatal intensive care units: a prospective observational study.

Objective: Despite lack of evidence supporting efficacy, prophylactic fresh frozen plasma and Octaplas transfusions may be administered to very preterm infants to reduce bleeding risk. International variation in plasma transfusion practices in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is poorly understood, therefore, we aimed to describe neonatal plasma transfusion practice in Europe.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Rigour of Development of European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines over a 12-year period (2013-2024): a systematic review of guidelines.

Introduction: The ESC and ACC/AHA regularly publish guidelines for the management of cardiovascular disease. By definition, a guideline should follow strict methodological criteria, and have a transparent, traceable and reproducible development process. We aimed to assess the overall strength of the recommendations and rigour of methodological development in ESC and ACC/AHA guidelines.