HSP90 Family Members, Their Regulators and Ischemic Stroke Risk: A Comprehensive Molecular-Genetics and Bioinformatics Analysis.

Background: Disruptions in proteostasis are recognized as key drivers in cerebro- and cardiovascular disease progression. Heat shock proteins (HSPs), essential for maintaining protein stability and cellular homeostasis, are pivotal in neuroperotection. Consequently, deepening the understanding the role of HSPs in ischemic stroke (IS) risk is crucial for identifying novel therapeutic targets and advancing neuroprotective strategies.

GWAS-Significant Loci and Uterine Fibroids Risk: Analysis of Associations, Gene-Gene and Gene-Environmental Interactions.

Background: Uterine fibroids (UF) is the most common benign tumour of the female reproductive system. We investigated the joint contribution of genome-wide association studies (GWAS)-significant loci and environment-associated risk factors to the UF risk, along with epistatic interactions between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Methods: DNA samples from 737 hospitalised patients with UF and 451 controls were genotyped using probe-based PCR for seven common GWAS SNPs: rs117245733 , rs547025 rs2456181 , rs7907606 , , rs58415480 , rs7986407 , and rs72709458 .

Evaluation of Reference Gene Stability for Investigations of Intracellular Signalling in Human Cancer and Non-Malignant Mesenchymal Stromal Cells.

Background: Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a powerful tool for analysing target gene expression in biological samples. To achieve reliable results by RT-qPCR, the most stable reference genes must be selected for proper data normalisation, particularly when comparing cells of different types. We aimed to choose the least variable candidate reference genes among eight housekeeping genes tested within a set of human cancer cell lines (HeLa, MCF-7, SK-UT-1B, A549, A431, SK-BR-3), as well as four lines of normal, non-malignant mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) of different origins.

Conservation Genetics and Breeding using Molecular Genetic Markers in Japanese Quail ().

Background: The Japanese quail () is a small migratory bird whose main habitats are located in East Asia, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, and India. The Japanese quail was first introduced into the Iraqi research sector in the early 1980s. This investigation aimed to identify the genetic divergence between the available genetic lines of the Japanese quail in Iraq as a first step to conducting further conservation and breeding, benefiting from studying the genetic diversity related to productivity, adaptation, and immune susceptibility.

Amalgamation of Metal Tolerant PGPR sp. EA20 with Birch Wood Biochar Enhanced Growth and Biofortification of Rapeseed under Copper Action.

Background: Amalgamation of metal-tolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with biochar is a promising direction for the development of chemical-free biofertilizers that can mitigate environmental risks, enhance crop productivity and their biological value. The main objective of the work includes the evaluation of the influence of prepared bacterial biofertilizer (BF) on biometric growth parameters as well as physiological and biochemical characteristics of rapeseed ( L.) at copper action.

Bacterial Communities and Their Role in Bacterial Infections.

Since infections associated with microbial communities threaten human health, research is increasingly focusing on the development of biofilms and strategies to combat them. Bacterial communities may include bacteria of one or several species. Therefore, examining all the microbes and identifying individual community bacteria responsible for the infectious process is important.

Effect of 2-Aminoethoxydiphenyl Borate on the State of Skeletal Muscles in Dystrophin-Deficient Mice.

Objective: Ca overload of muscle fibers is one of the factors that secondarily aggravate the development of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the Ca channel modulator 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (APB) on skeletal muscle pathology in dystrophin-deficient mice.

Methods: Mice were randomly divided into six groups: wild type (WT), WT+3 mg/kg APB, WT+10 mg/kg APB, , +3 mg/kg APB, +10 mg/kg APB.

The Putative Antilipogenic Role of NRG4 and ERBB4: First Expression Study on Human Liver Samples.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor 4 (ERBB4) and neuregulin 4 (NRG4) have been shown to reduce steatosis and prevent the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in mouse models, but little to nothing is known about their role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in humans. This study is the first to investigate the expression of and mRNAs and their role in lipid metabolism in the livers of individuals with obesity, type 2 diabetes and biopsy-proven NAFLD.

Methods: Liver biospecimens were obtained intraoperatively from 80 individuals.

Circadian Disruption in Glaucoma: Causes, Consequences, and Countermeasures.

This review explores the intricate relationship between glaucoma and circadian rhythm disturbances. As a principal organ for photic signal reception and transduction, the eye plays a pivotal role in coordinating the body's circadian rhythms through specialized retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), particularly intrinsically photosensitive RGCs (ipRGCs). These cells are critical in transmitting light signals to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the central circadian clock that synchronizes physiological processes to the 24-hour light-dark cycle.

Cytoprotective Effects and Intranuclear Localization of Sulfur-Containing Derivative of Buckminsterfullerene.

Background: There is a growing interest in exploring the biological characteristics of nanoparticles and exploring their potential applications. However, there is still a lack of research into the potential genotoxicity of fullerene derivatives and their impact on gene expression in human cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of a water-soluble fullerene derivative, C60[C6H4SCH2COOK]5H (F1), on human embryonic lung fibroblasts (HELF).

Coherent Changes in Neural Motor Network Activity during Levodopa-Induced Dyskinesia in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Long-term use of levodopa, a metabolic precursor of dopamine (DA) for alleviation of motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), can cause a serious side effect known as levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID). With the development of LID, high-frequency gamma oscillations (~100 Hz) are registered in the motor cortex (MCx) in patients with PD and rats with experimental PD. Studying alterations in the activity within major components of motor networks during transition from levodopa-off state to dyskinesia can provide useful information about their contribution to the development of abnormal gamma oscillations and LID.

Polymorphism in Genes Encoding HSP40 Family Proteins is Associated with Ischemic Stroke Risk and Brain Infarct Size: A Pilot Study.

Background: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) play a critical role in the molecular mechanisms of ischemic stroke (IS). A possible role for HSP40 family proteins in atherosclerosis progression has already been revealed; however, to date, molecular genetic studies on the involvement of genes encoding proteins of the HSP40 family in IS have not yet been carried out.

Aim: We sought to determine whether nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding HSP40 family proteins (, , , , and ) are associated with the risk and clinical features of IS.

Transient destabilization of interhemispheric functional connectivity induced by spreading depolarization.

Cortical spreading depolarization (CSD), a slowly propagating wave of transient cellular depolarization, is a reliable cortical response to various brain insults (stroke, trauma, seizures) and underlying mechanism of migraine aura. Little is known about CSD effects on brain network activity. Using undirected (mutual information, MI) and directed (transfer entropy, TE) measures, we studied the dynamics of cross-hemispheric connectivity associated with the development of unilateral CSD in freely behaving rats and the involvement of inhibitory transmission in mechanisms of the coupling changes.

Sulfur-modified tea-waste biochar improves rice growth in arsenic contaminated soil and reduces arsenic accumulation.

Arsenic (As) is a non-essential carcinogenic metalloid and an issue of concern for rice crops. This study investigated the effects of sulfur-loaded tea waste biochar (TWB) due to modification with sodium sulfide (SSTWB) or thiourea (TUTWB) on As stress and accumulation in rice plants. The results showed that sulfur-modified TWB improved plant morphology compared to plants grown in As-contaminated soil alone.

A novel ensemble ARIMA-LSTM approach for evaluating COVID-19 cases and future outbreak preparedness.

Background: The global impact of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus has created unprecedented challenges, significantly impacting public health and economies worldwide. This research article conducts a time series analysis of COVID-19 data across various countries, including India, Brazil, Russia, and the United States, with a particular emphasis on total confirmed cases.

Methods: The proposed approach combines auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA)'s ability to capture linear trends and seasonality with long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, which are designed to learn complex nonlinear dependencies in the data.

Association between atherosclerosis and the development of multi-organ pathologies.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the vascular system, characterised by the accumulation of modified lipoproteins, immune cell aggregation and the development of fibrous tissue within blood vessel walls. As atherosclerosis impacts blood vessels, its adverse effects may manifest across various tissues and organs. In this review, we examine the association of atherosclerosis with Alzheimer's disease, stroke, pancreatic and thyroid dysfunction, kidney stones and chronic kidney diseases.

Africa and Arabia encompass a much greater species diversity in the aggregate (Amaranthaceae, achyranthoid clade): Evidence from morphological and chorological data.

in its traditional sense (excluding that phylogenetically falls into ) has been considered to contain a restricted (three to four) number of species in Africa and one or two species in the Arabian Peninsula. The morphology of the type species of the genus, , has been treated as highly polymorphic, with several varieties recognised by various authors. Not surprisingly, a recent extended phylogeny revealed a non-monophyly of .

Prospects for Use of Botulinum Toxin Type A for Prevention of Hypertrophic and Keloid Scars after Surgeries.

 To evaluate the possibility of improving and preventing the formation of postoperative hypertrophic and keloid scars using botulinum toxin type A (BTA).  Scientific articles published in English have been systematically screened in PubMed/MEDLINE database over the entire period. The following information about the studies was analyzed: first author surname; year of publication; number of patients; average age; scar location; dosage of the drug administered; follow-up duration; scar assessment methods; results, incidence of hypertrophic and keloid scars formation.

Polygenic score distribution differences across European ancestry populations: implications for breast cancer risk prediction.

Background: The 313-variant polygenic risk score (PRS) provides a promising tool for clinical breast cancer risk prediction. However, evaluation of the PRS across different European populations which could influence risk estimation has not been performed.

Methods: We explored the distribution of PRS across European populations using genotype data from 94,072 females without breast cancer diagnosis, of European-ancestry from 21 countries participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) and 223,316 females without breast cancer diagnosis from the UK Biobank.

Pear-Shaped Eggs Evolved to Maximize the Surface Area-to-Volume Ratio, Increase Metabolism, and Shorten Incubation Time in Birds.

Bird eggs can be spherical, ellipsoid, ovoid, or pear-shaped (pyriform), the latter being the most complex. There is however no unambiguous evolutionary/adaptive explanation for this final, exotic shape. We hypothesized that pyriform eggs have a larger surface area-to-volume ratio (S/V) that may be a criterion for increased embryo metabolism.

Novel Insights on the Biology and Immunological Effects of Histamine: A Road Map for Allergists and Mast Cell Biologists.

Histamine (CHN, molecular weight 111.15 g/mol) is a well-studied endogenous biogenic amine composed of an imidazole ring attached to an ethylamine side chain. It has a limited half-life of a few minutes within tissues and in circulation.

The lawc gene emerged de novo from conserved genomic elements and acquired a broad expression pattern in Drosophila.

It has recently become evident that the de novo emergence of genes is widespread and documented for a variety of organisms. De novo genes frequently emerge in proximity to existing genes, forming gene overlaps. Here, we present an analysis of the evolutionary history of a putative de novo gene, lawc, which overlaps with the conserved Trf2 gene, which encodes a general transcription factor in Drosophila melanogaster.

The Mucosal Protection in the Treatment of Erosive Reflux Esophagitis: Mechanisms for Restoring Epithelial Permeability. A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background And Aims: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is widespread in the population and is characterized by the risk of developing Barrett's esophagus and associated adenocarcinoma. Key factors in the progression of the disease are not only the frequency and duration of reflux episodes, but also the resistance of the esophageal mucosa to aggressive reflux molecules. Assessment of the state of tight junction proteins, the rate of their recovery under the influence of various treatment regimens is an urgent task for choosing optimal approaches to curing patients with GERD.

Ultrastructural disturbances in microglia-neuron interactions in the head of the caudate nucleus in schizophrenia.

Previously we found altered microglia-neuron interactions in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that microglia-neuron interactions may be dysregulated in the caudate nucleus in schizophrenia. A postmortem ultrastructural morphometric study was performed to investigate satellite microglia (SatMg) and adjacent neurons in the head of the caudate nucleus in 21 cases of schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls.

Microbial diversity of hot springs of the Kuril Islands.

The Kuril Islands are located in the Far-East of Russia and enriched with shallow and terrestrial hot springs. Prokaryotic diversity of Kuril geothermal environments has been studied fragmentarily and mainly by culture-dependent methods. We performed the first large-scale investigation of microbial communities, inhabited more than 30 terrestrial hot springs of Kunashir and Iturup Islands, analyzed by 16S rRNA gene fragment amplicon sequencing, together with chemical analysis of thermal waters and sediments.