GLP-1 and its analogues: Does sex matter?

While obesity and diabetes are prevalent in both men and women, some aspects of these diseases differ by sex. New blockbuster class of therapeutics, Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues (e.g.

Classical Reaction Barriers in DFT: An Adiabatic-Connection Perspective.

Classical reaction barriers in density-functional theory are considered from the perspective of the density-fixed adiabatic connection. A 'reaction adiabatic-connection integrand', , is introduced, where λ is the electron-electron interaction strength, for which equals the barrier, meaning the barrier can be easily visualized as the area under a plot of vs λ. For five chemical reactions, plots of reference , calculated from Lieb maximizations at the coupled-cluster level of theory, are compared with approximate , calculated from common exchange-correlation functionals using coordinate scaling, for coupled-cluster densities.

Photoelectric Feedback Mechanism for Acceleration of Runaway Electrons in Gas Discharges at High Overvoltages.

Energy conservation dictates that an electron with elementary charge e traversing a vacuum gap formed by electrodes maintained at potential difference U volts acquires maximum energy of eU. In many experiments electrons with energies as high as 3eU have been observed. The experimental discovery of this effect was made over 50 years ago and is still a subject of significant controversy in applications related to x-ray generation from high voltage discharges.

Complementary Reducing Agents are Responsible for Temporally Distinct Nucleation and Growth Phases During the Polyol Synthesis of Ag Nanocubes.

Ethylene glycol or one of its oxidation products are believed to serve as reducing agents in the shape-controlled synthesis of Ag nanocubes (NCs) by the polyol process. The identity of end-groups of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) impacts shape control with alcohol and aldehyde moieties serving as a primary Ag reducing agent. We explored the role of PVP end-groups in the polyol process by measuring the dependence of particle number density of Ag NCs produced on the initial concentration(s) of Ag and PVP using small angle x-ray scattering and statistically large particle size distributions analyzed by scanning electron microscopy.

Experience of Intimate Partner Violence-Related Head Trauma and Its Association With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Symptoms Among Community Dwelling Women and Men.

Individuals who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) often report posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depressive symptoms and IPV-related head trauma (IPV-HT), which can also affect mental health. We aimed to estimate rates of IPV-HT and examine the unique associations of IPV, HT, and IPV-HT with PTSD and depression symptom severity in a community-based sample of cohabitating couples. A total of 413 participants (216 women, 1 non-binary) self-reported lifetime history of HT and physical IPV.

Hi-C Calibration by Chemically Induced Chromosomal Interactions.

The genome-wide chromosome conformation capture method, Hi-C, has greatly advanced our understanding of genome organization. However, its quantitative properties, including sensitivity, bias, and linearity, remain challenging to assess. Measuring these properties is difficult due to the heterogenous and dynamic nature of chromosomal interactions.

Non-canonical DNA in human and other ape telomere-to-telomere genomes.

Non-canonical (non-B) DNA structures-e.g., bent DNA, hairpins, G-quadruplexes, Z-DNA, etc.

Mitochondrial DNA mutations in human oocytes undergo frequency-dependent selection but do not increase with age.

Mitochondria, cellular powerhouses, harbor DNA (mtDNA) inherited from the mothers. MtDNA mutations can cause diseases, yet whether they increase with age in human germline cells-oocytes-remains understudied. Here, using highly accurate duplex sequencing of full-length mtDNA, we detected mutations in single oocytes, blood, and saliva in women between 20 and 42 years of age.

Maladaptation in cereal crop landraces following a soot-producing climate catastrophe.

Aerosol-producing global catastrophes such as nuclear war, super-volcano eruption, or asteroid strike, although rare, pose a serious threat to human survival. Light-absorbing aerosols would sharply reduce temperature and solar radiation reaching the earth's surface, decreasing crop productivity including for locally adapted traditional crop varieties, i.e.

Structural Evidence for DUF512 as a Radical -Adenosylmethionine Cobalamin-Binding Domain.

Cobalamin (Cbl)-dependent radical -adenosylmethionine (SAM) enzymes constitute a large subclass of radical SAM (RS) enzymes that use Cbl to catalyze various types of reactions, the most common of which are methylations. Most Cbl-dependent RS enzymes contain an N-terminal Rossmann fold that aids Cbl binding. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the methanogenesis marker protein 10 (Mmp10) requires Cbl to methylate an arginine residue in the α-subunit of methyl coenzyme M reductase.

Depression is Associated with Treatment Response Trajectories in Adults with Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Machine Learning Analysis.

Unlabelled: Although evidence-based treatments for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) exist, pretreatment characteristics associated with differential improvement trajectories have not been identified. To identify clinical factors relevant to optimizing PGD treatment outcomes, we used unsupervised and supervised machine learning to study treatment effects from a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Participants were randomized into four treatment groups for 20 weeks: citalopram with grief-informed clinical management, citalopram with prolonged grief disorder therapy (PGDT), pill placebo with PGDT, or pill placebo with clinical management.

Thermodynamics and transport in molten chloride salts and their mixtures.

Molten salts are important in a number of energy applications, but the fundamental mechanisms operating in ionic liquids are poorly understood, particularly at higher temperatures. This is despite their candidacy for deployment in solar cells, next-generation nuclear reactors, and nuclear pyroprocessing. We perform extensive molecular dynamics simulations over a variety of molten chloride salt compositions at varying temperature and pressures to calculate the thermodynamic and transport properties of these liquids.

Randomized Trial of Pulsatile and Nonpulsatile Flow in Cyanotic and Acyanotic Congenital Heart Surgery.

Background: The study objective was to determine the impact of cardiopulmonary bypass perfusion modalities on cerebral hemodynamics and clinical outcomes in congenital cardiac surgery patients stratified by acyanotic versus cyanotic heart disease.

Methods: A total of 159 pediatric (age <18 years) cardiac surgery patients were prospectively randomized to pulsatile or nonpulsatile cardiopulmonary bypass and stratified by type of congenital heart disease: acyanotic versus cyanotic. Intraoperative cerebral gaseous microemboli counts and middle cerebral artery pulsatility index were assessed.

Delirium-like symptomatology in community-dwelling older adults with dementia.

Background: Delirium, a sudden and acute state of confusion, is known to be more prevalent in hospitalised older adults with dementia and is associated with lower levels of functioning after the delirium episode; yet, the literature on estimates of delirium prevalence in community-dwelling older adults with dementia is scarce. The aim of this study was to define and determine the frequency of delirium-like symptoms in two different samples of community-dwelling persons living with dementia, as reported by their family caregivers. 'Delirium-like symptoms' is a concept that specifies an occurrence of cognitive and behavioural symptoms, provoking suspicion of delirium, that represent a sudden and unusual deleterious change in a community-dwelling person living with dementia that can be identified by family caregivers and prompt healthcare seeking behaviours.

Serious harm reduction protective behavioral strategies reduce consequences associated with alcohol-induced blackouts in college students.

Objective: Alcohol-induced blackouts (AIBs) have been associated with increased alcohol-related consequences. Serious harm reduction (SHR) protective behavioral strategies may reduce consequences when students are drinking heavily. We examined whether SHR weakened the relationship between AIBs and a) total consequences and b) serious consequences (e.

Linking metabolic syndrome, cerebral small vessel disease, and cognitive health: insights from a subclinical population study using TriNetX.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been linked to accelerated cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) via cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD); however, this relation in MetS without overt cardiometabolic disease comorbidities is unknown and may represent a population amenable to preventative strategies. Our study aimed to determine risk profiles for neurocognitive decline and ADRDs in early-stage MetS with evidence of CSVD using the TriNetX electronic health records (EHR) research network. Patients aged 50 to 80 years old meeting MetS criteria were identified utilizing TriNetX data from 76 healthcare organizations.

High-Throughput Microarray Approaches for Predicting the Stability of Drug-Polymer Solid Dispersions.

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) offer a well-recognized strategy to improve the effective solubility and, hence, bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. In this study, we developed an extensive library of a significant number of solid dispersion formulations using a library of chemically diverse drugs combined with a water-soluble polymer (polyvinylpyrrolidone vinyl acetate, PVPVA) at different loadings. These formulations were printed as microarrays of solid dispersion formulations, utilizing minimal material amounts (nanograms).

In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy of Electrocatalyst Materials: Proposed Workflows, Technical Advances, Challenges, and Lessons Learned.

In situ electrochemical liquid phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM) measurements utilize micro-chip three-electrode cells with electron transparent silicon nitride windows that confine the liquid electrolyte. By imaging electrocatalysts deposited on micro-patterned electrodes, LP-TEM provides insight into morphological, phase structure, and compositional changes within electrocatalyst materials under electrochemical reaction conditions, which have practical implications on activity, selectivity, and durability. Despite LP-TEM capabilities becoming more accessible, in situ measurements under electrochemical reaction conditions remain non-trivial, with challenges including electron beam interactions with the electrolyte and electrode, the lack of well-defined experimental workflows, and difficulty interpreting particle behavior within a liquid.

Two-dimensional Nanosheets by Liquid Metal Exfoliation.

Liquid exfoliation is a scalable and effective method for synthesizing 2D nanosheets (NSs) but often induces contamination and defects. Here, liquid metal gallium (Ga) is used to exfoliate bulk layered materials into 2D NSs at near room temperature, utilizing the liquid surface tension and Ga intercalation to disrupt Van der Waals (vdW) forces. In addition, the process can transform the 2H-phase of transition metal dichalcogenides into the 1T'-phase under ambient conditions.

Predicting the replicability of social and behavioural science claims in COVID-19 preprints.

Replications are important for assessing the reliability of published findings. However, they are costly, and it is infeasible to replicate everything. Accurate, fast, lower-cost alternatives such as eliciting predictions could accelerate assessment for rapid policy implementation in a crisis and help guide a more efficient allocation of scarce replication resources.

Useful and Useless Misnomers in Motor Control.

This article addresses the issue of using terms and concepts in motor control that are ill-defined, undefined, and/or imported from nonbiological fields. In many of such cases, the discourse turns nonscientific and unproductive. Some of such terms are potentially useful but need to be properly and exactly defined.

Diaci v3.0: chromosome-level assembly, de novo transcriptome, and manual annotation of Diaphorina citri, insect vector of Huanglongbing.

Background: Diaphorina citri is an insect vector of "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" (CLas), the gram-negative bacterial pathogen associated with citrus greening disease. Control measures rely on pesticides with negative impacts on the environment, natural ecosystems, and human and animal health. In contrast, gene-targeting methods have the potential to specifically target the vector species and/or reduce pathogen transmission.

Suboxides and subselenides: intermediate reaction products to form GaO, GaSe, InO, InSe, SnO, and SnSe during molecular-beam epitaxy.

The molecular-beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of III-O and IV-O materials (, GaO, InO, and SnO) is known to be reaction-limited by complex 2-step kinetics and the desorption of volatile suboxides (, GaO, InO, SnO). We find that the different surface reactivities of suboxides and respective elements (, Ga, In, Sn) with active oxygen define the film-growth-windows (FGWs) and suboxide-formation-windows (SFWs) of III-O and IV-O materials, respectively. To generalize, we provide elementary reaction pathways and respective Gibbs energies to form binary III-O, III-Se, IV-O, and IV-Se ground-states as well as their subcompounds during their MBE growth.