Fear extinction requires coordinated neural activity within the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Any behavior has a transcriptomic signature that is modified by environmental experiences, and specific genes are involved in functional plasticity and synaptic wiring during fear extinction. Here, we investigated the effects of optogenetic manipulations of prelimbic (PrL) pyramidal neurons on amygdala gene expression to analyze the specific transcriptional pathways involved in adaptive and maladaptive fear extinction. To this aim, transgenic mice were (or not) fear-conditioned and during the extinction phase they received optogenetic (or sham) stimulations over PrL pyramidal neurons. At the end of behavioral testing, electrophysiological (neural cellular excitability and Excitatory Post-Synaptic Currents) and morphological (spinogenesis) correlates were evaluated in the PrL pyramidal neurons. Furthermore, transcriptomic cell-specific RNA-analyses (differential gene expression profiling and functional enrichment analyses) were performed in amygdala pyramidal neurons. Our results show that the optogenetic activation of PrL pyramidal neurons in fear-conditioned mice induces fear extinction deficits, reflected in an increase of cellular excitability, excitatory neurotransmission, and spinogenesis of PrL pyramidal neurons, and in strong modifications of the transcriptome of amygdala pyramidal neurons. Understanding the electrophysiological, morphological and transcriptomic architecture of fear extinction may facilitate the comprehension of fear-related disorders.

The Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) mediates the actions of vitamin D, which has important roles in bone homeostasis, growth/differentiation of cells, immune functions and reduction of inflammation. Emerging evidences suggest that epigenetic modifications of the VDR gene, particularly DNA methylation, may contribute to the onset and progression of many human disorders. This review aims to summarize the available information on the role of VDR methylation signatures in different pathological contexts, including autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, cancer and others. The reversible nature of DNA methylation could enable the development of therapeutic strategies, offering new avenues for the management of these worldwide diseases.

Apathy is a fundamental neuropsychiatric symptom of Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS) and has also been reported in patients with alcohol use disorder with no (AUD) or less severe cognitive disorders (ALC). However, research on the nature of apathy is limited in these groups. Aim of this study was to examine the multidimensional nature of apathy in patients with KS, ALC and AUD. Moreover, we examined differences between apathy ratings by patients and their professional caregivers, and related apathy to everyday functioning and overall cognition. Twenty-four patients with KS, 24 patients with ALC and 21 patients with AUD participated in this study. Apathy was measured using the Apathy Motivation Index (AMI), which distinguishes behavioral, emotional and social apathy. Both patients and professional caregivers reported social apathy as most prominent symptom, compared to behavioral and emotional apathy. Apathy ratings did not differ across the three patient groups. Discrepancies between patient and caregiver ratings were observed in patients with KS and ALC, with more severe apathy reported by caregivers. Caregiver-reported behavioral and social, but not emotional, apathy was related to everyday functioning. These results show that apathy is present in a substantial proportion of patients with alcohol addiction with or without cognitive impairments.

Biological, environmental, behavioral, and social factors can influence sleep and lead to sleep disorders or diseases. Sleep disorders are common, numerous and heterogeneous in terms of their etiology, pathogenesis, and symptomatology. Management of sleep-wake circadian disorders (SWCD) includes education to sleep hygiene, behavioral strategies, psychotherapy (cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), particularly), instrument-based treatments (i.e. positive airway pressure therapy, hypoglossal nerve stimulation), and pharmacotherapy. Depending on the disease, therapy varies and is executed sequentially, or can be a combination of several forms of therapy. Drugs used for SWCD include traditional sleep or wake-promoting agents, chronotherapeutic agents. Recently, novel medications, which are more precisely acting on specific neurochemical systems (i.e. orexin system) important for sleep and wake, are also increasingly being used. In this review, the pharmacotherapy of common sleep disorders (insomnia, sleep-related breathing disorder, central disorders of hypersomnolence, circadian rhythm sleep wake disorders, parasomnias, and sleep-related movement disorders) embedded in the overall therapeutic concept of each disorder is presented. There is also an outlook on possible future pharmacotherapies.

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) belongs to a heterogeneous group of highly complex neurodegenerative diseases and represents the second cause of presenile dementia in individuals under 65. Frontotemporal-TDP is a subgroup of frontotemporal dementia characterized by the aggregation of abnormal protein deposits, predominantly transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), in the frontal and temporal brain regions. These deposits lead to progressive degeneration of neurons resulting in cognitive and behavioral impairments. Limbic age-related encephalopathy (LATE) pertains to age-related cognitive decline primarily affecting the limbic system which is crucial for memory, emotions, and learning. Though distinct, emerging research suggests a potential overlap in pathogenic processes, with some cases of limbic encephalopathy displaying TDP-43 pathology. Genetic factors play a pivotal role in both disorders. Mutations in various genes, such as progranulin (GRN) and chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72), have been identified as causative in frontotemporal-TDP. Similarly, specific genetic variants have been associated with an increased risk of developing LATE. Understanding these genetic links provides crucial insights into disease mechanisms and the potential for targeted therapies.

Chromothripsis is a mutational mechanism leading to complex and relatively clustered chromosomal rearrangements resulting in diverse phenotypic outcomes depending on the involved genomic landscapes. It may occur both in the germ and the somatic cells resulting in congenital and developmental disorders and cancer, respectively. Asymptomatic individuals may be carriers of chromotriptic rearrangements and experience recurrent reproductive failures when two or more chromosomes are involved. Several mechanisms are postulated to underly chromothripsis. The most attractive hypothesis involves chromosome pulverization in micronuclei followed by incorrect reassembly of fragments through DNA repair to explain the clustered nature of the observed complex rearrangements. Moreover, exogenous or endogenous DNA damage induction and dicentric bridge formation may be involved. Chromosome instability is commonly observed in the cells of patients with DNA-repair disorders, such as ataxia telangiectasia, Nijmegen breakage syndrome and Bloom syndrome. In addition, germline variations of TP53 have been associated with chromothripsis in Sonic-Hedgehog medulloblastoma and acute myeloid leukemia. In the present review, we focus on the underlying mechanisms of chromothripsis and the involvement of defective DNA-repair genes resulting in chromosome instability and chromothripsis-like rearrangements.

Recent research has highlighted associations between sleep and microbial taxa and pathways. However, the causal effect of these associations remains unknown. To investigate this, we performed a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using summary statistics of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) from 412 gut microbiome traits (N = 7,738) and GWAS studies from seven sleep-associated traits (N = 345,552 to 386577). We employed multiple MR methods to assess causality, with Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW) as the primary method. We further applied Cochran’s Q statistical analysis, MR-Egger intercept, and MR-PRESSO for heterogeneity and pleiotropy assessment, alongside a Bonferroni correction ((P

Balanced fear supports human rational decision making and useful behavioral responses. In contrast, overwhelming, persistent, and unbalanced fear can paralyze the individual and result in heightened anxiety, lack of cognitive flexibility, fear-based public compliance and serious mental health issues. Psychobiotics research has established that a healthy microbiome is required for balanced fear and mental health protection via control of fear extinction. The recent Covid-19 pandemic featured daily, persistent, fear-of-a single contagion conditioning on a global scale paired with various behavioral mandates (e.g., lockdowns of the healthy, masks, isolation from environmental microbes and each other) that degraded the human microbiome and isolated us from each other and useful environmental microbes. It also ignored the historic role of secondary bacterial pathobionts, in pandemic deaths. This narrative review examines how institutional promotion of fear-of-a single contagion, lack of balanced risk communication, and appalling disregard of our fundamental nature (as majority-microbial human superorganisms) resulted in problems rather than solutions. This review concludes that government-public health-media promotion of pervasive fear and microbiome-degrading behaviors: 1) increased public compliance, 2) reduced cognitive flexibility, and 3) increased risk of mental health conditions. It further argues that microbiome-first public health should be embraced to ensure that human freedom, rather than paralyzing fear, dominates our future.

The frequency of selected polymorphisms, one in each gene coding for proteins with antioxidative properties (CAT, SOD2, GPX1, NQO1) was compared between patients suffering from pain-related temporomandibular disorders (TMDp;n=85) and control subjects (CTR;n=85). According to the Oral Behaviours Checklist score participants were divided into high-frequency parafunction (HFP;n=98) and low-frequency parafunction (LFP;n=72) groups. In addition, we have investigated the association of selected polymorphisms with participants' psychological (anxiety, depression) and psychosomatic (hypervigilance, somatosensory amplification) characteristics. Polymorphisms rs1001179, rs4880, rs1050450, rs689452 were genotyped using the genomic DNA extracted from buccal mucosa swabs and real-time TaqMan genotyping assays. No differences in genotype distribution between TMDp patients and control subjects were found. Still, TMDp patients who were homozygous for minor allele A, related to the GPX1 polymorphism rs1050450 reported significantly more waking-state oral behaviours compared to GA+GG genotype carriers (score: 30 vs. 23, p=0.019). Frequency of genotype AA for rs1050450 polymorphism was higher in HFP compared to LFP participants (14.3% vs. 4.2%, p =0.030). Most important predictors of waking-state oral behaviours were depression, anxiety, AA genotype (rs1050450) and female sex. Explored genetic factors were not found to be significant risk factors for either TMDp or sleep-related oral behaviours. The association of waking-state oral behaviours with selected gene polymorphisms additionally supports previous assumptions that the daytime bruxism is more closely linked to various stress manifestations, which might also be reflected through the variability related to cellular antioxidative activity.

PurposeThis study was designed to characterize the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Fear of Hospitalization Scale (P-FHS).Design and methodsIn order to evaluate the validity and reliability of the translated scale, a cross-sectional design was employed. Ten experts evaluated the content validity of the Fear of Hospitalization Scale (FHS) after it had been back-translated into Persian. With 612 patients having emergency surgery, construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies was followed.FindingsThe results of EFA (n = 306) showed that the fear of hospitalization had three factors. These three factors accounted for 45.28% of the total variance. Also, these factors were confirmed by CFA (n = 306) (root-mean-square error of approximation = (90%. confidence interval) = 0.050 [0.041, 0.058], goodness-of-fit index = 0.945, comparative fit index = 0.968, Non-Normal Fit Index = 0.948, incremental fit index = 0.968, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.959). The coefficients of Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, composite reliability, and maximum reliability for all three factors were greater than 0.7, demonstrating satisfied internal consistency.Practice implicationAccording to the published results, the P-FHS is effective at measuring hospitalization anxiety in patients undergoing emergency surgery. It is advised that nurses in Iranian culture use a legitimate and trustworthy technique to pinpoint the causes of hospitalization anxiety in patients undergoing emergency surgery to give optimal care.

Social media addiction has attracted the attention of researchers especially during the COVID era because negative emotions generated from the pandemic may have increased social media addiction. The present study aimed to investigate the role of negative emotions and social media addiction on health problems during and after the COVID lockdown. A survey was conducted with 2926 participants aged between 25 and 45 years. The data collection period was between 2nd September and 13th October 2020. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling was conducted for data analysis by controlling the respondents' working time, leisure time, gender, education, and age. Our study showed that social media addiction and time spent on social media impact health. Interestingly, while anxiety about COVID increased social media addiction, fear about COIVD reduced social media addiction. Also, long working hours contributed most to people’s health issues, and its impact on social media addiction and hours was much higher than negative emotions, where males faced more health challenges than females. The impacts of negative emotions generated by the COVID on social media addiction and health issues should be reconsidered. Government and employers' control of people's working time stress should prioritize solving social media addiction-related issues.

Fear can sometimes paralyze us, and it can sometimes be exciting; for some people, fear is so crippling it can significantly mix up their lifes! We understand a little bit about how the brain acts when we are afraid, mainly by studying the brains of animals. Recently, surprising findings were made using a humble animal, the zebrafish – a small aquarium fish that in the past has helped scientists figure out how our organs develop. Zebrafish are useful because they develop quickly, reproduce richly, and have brains which are similar to ours. They also produce what we call an “alarm substance” that alerts shoalmates when one of them has been injured; when they smell this substance in the water they act as if they are very scared. When this happens, they release serotonin in their brains, a neurotransmitter that acts as a light switch, making them less afraid but more cautious – as if trying to figure out if a predator is there or not. Hopefully, finding more about how the zebrafish brains process this serotonin signal can help scientists develop better treatments for mental disorders that are associated with fear.

While the majority of previous studies assessing pain-related variables in psychopaths used electric shocks, little is known about the effectiveness of alternative pain-inducing methods to increase emotional responses such as fear and anxiety. A small sample of healthy undergraduate men (N = 15) was recruited to assess the effectiveness of a heat stimulus to induce pain in an immediate versus delayed punishment paradigm. Although pain catastrophizing, anxiety, and threat of pain did not increase throughout the experiment, participants experienced a significant increase of fear of pain and pain intensity, indicating that the heat stimulus was effective in inducing pain. Furthermore, subjects were slower in initiating the pain stimulus during the first five trials, but no time difference was found during the 15 remaining trials. No correlation was found between psychopathic traits and pain-related variables, with the exception of inconsistent results within the Fearless Dominance factor. Findings are discussed in terms of improvement for a larger scale study involving psychopathic individuals.

Dental anxiety (DA) negatively affects patients’ oral and overall health. This study explored attitudes and clinical practices of licensed Ohio general dentists who treat patients with DA. Methods: An anonymous self-administered mail survey was sent to 500 general dentists licensed and practicing in Ohio. Responses to 21 pre-coded questions were analyzed. Frequencies were examined; cross-tabs, Chi-Square, and Fischer’s Exact Test were calculated for statements according to dentists’ gender. Alpha was set at p = 0.05. Results: Nearly all respondents treated anxious patients; males were more likely to find it challenging than females. Dentists were most familiar with distraction, although half found nitrous oxide to be an effective tool. Female dentists were more likely than males to be familiar with anxiolytics and find them effective. Conclusion: Overall, Ohio general dentists are most familiar with using distraction and nitrous oxide during appointments for anxious patients. Gender differences exist in attitudes towards anxiolytic use for patients with DA. Practice Implications: By identifying techniques that are comfortable for patient and practitioner, oral health disparities associated with DA may be reduced.

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanized and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the “Child Medical Fear Scale” in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases, first of cross-cultural adaptation and second of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.

This study investigated the associations of imageability with fear reactivity. Imageability ratings of four word classes: positive and negative (i) emotional and (ii) propriosensitive, neutral and negative (iii) theoretical and (iv) neutral concrete filler, and fear reactivity scores – degree of fearfulness towards different situations (TF score) and total number of extreme fears and phobias (EF score), were obtained from 171 participants. Correlations between imageability, TF and EF scores were tested to analyze how word categories and their valence were associated with fear reactivity. Imageability ratings were submitted to recursive partitioning. Participants with high TF and EF scores had higher imageability for negative emotional and negative theoretical words. The correlations between imageability of negative emotional words and negative theoretical words for EF score were significant. Males showed stronger correlations for imageability of negative emotional words for EF and TF scores. High imageability for positive emotional words was associated with lower fear reactivity in females. These findings were discussed with regard to negative attentional bias theory of anxiety, influence on emotional systems, and gender-specific coping styles. This study provides insight into cognitive functions involved in mental imagery, semantic competence for mental imagery in relation to fear reactivity, and a potential psycholinguistic instrument assessing fear tendency.

Defensive behavior is a function of specific survival circuits, the “aversive brain system”, that are thought to be conserved across vertebrates, and involve threat detection and the organization of defensive responses to reduce or eliminate threat. In mammals, these circuits involve amygdalar and hypothalamic subnuclei and midbrain circuits. The increased interest in teleost fishes as model organisms in neuroscience created a demand to understand which brain circuits are involved in defensive behavior. Telencephalic and habenular circuits represent a “forebrain circuit” for threat processing and organization of responses, being important to mounting appropriate coping responses. Specific hypothalamic circuits organize neuroendocrine and neurovegetative outputs, but are the less well-studied in fish. A “midbrain circuit” is represented by projections to interneurons in the optic tectum which mediate fast escape responses via projections to the central gray and/or the brainstem escape network. Threatening stimuli (especially visual stimuli) can bypass the “high road” and directly activate this system, initiating escape responses. Increased attention to these circuits in an evolutionary framework is still needed.

Zn is an essential element for children related to optimal growth, development and nutritional metabolism. We measured Zn bioaccesibility (Zn-BA) levels of foods by Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after in vitro digestion-fermentation method from children with gluten related disorders (GRD-CH), obesity (OB-CH) and allergy/intolerance to cow’s milk proteins (AICM-CH). Zn-BA levels in sick children (34.7 ± 28.8, 29.6 ± 30.1 and 26.7 ± 30.4%, respectively) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than in healthy norm-weight children (HE-CH). For AICM-CH, Zn-BA in animal foods was significantly lower than in plant foods, and in both plant and animal foods from sick and healthy children (p < 0.05). In foods of animal origin in sick and healthy children, Zn-BA in foods heated in liquid media (frying and boiling) was significantly higher than in foods heated by hot air (roasting and grilling). In conclusion, in children the studied diseases diminished the Zn-BA, probably by the alteration of the gut microbiota which could negatively affect their appropriate long-term development. In AICM-CH, the allergy to cow's milk proteins could induce intestinal dysbiosis and inflammatory processes, leading to allergies to other animal food proteins, and to a more pronounced decrease of Zn-BA.

With the rapid development of society and the deteriorating natural environment, there has been an increase in public events. This study aimed to explore how sadness and fear in the context of public emergency influence moral judgments. This research first induced feelings of sadness and fear by videos about public events and music, and then used moral scenarios from the CNI model to assess participants’ moral thinking. In Study 1, participants were divided into sadness group and neutral group, while in Study 2, participants were divided into fear group and neutral group. During the experiment, participants were exposed to different videos related to public events to induce the corresponding emotions, and emotional music was continuously played throughout the entire experiment. Participants were then asked to answer questions regarding moral judgments. The results showed that based on CNI model, sadness induced in the context of public events significantly increased C parameter, without affecting N or I parameter. Fear increased I parameter, without affecting C or I parameter. That is, sadness and fear induced in the context of public events can influence moral judgments. Specifically, sadness increases individuals’ sensitivity to consequence, and fear increases the general preference for inaction in moral judgments.

This study mainly explores the effect of policy formalism, equipment insufficiency, covid-19 fear and job insecurity on construction workers’ insomnia during the epidemic. The main contribution of this article is to introduce policy formalism into the exploration of the causes of insomnia among construction site workers during the epidemic. This study collected 733 valid samples of construction site workers. We tested the established hypotheses using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The research results found that equipment insufficiency positively affects Covid-19 fear. Policy formalism and Covid-19 fear positively affect job burnout. Social support negatively affects job burnout. Job burnout and job insecurity positively affect insomnia.

Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the lives of populations across the world. Since the first reported case of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the world faced a situation of dealing with a novel virus. While the physical health effects of the coronavirus was the center of focus for much of the pandemic, Covid-19 was accompanied with significant social and psychological consequences on the world populations. In this review, we aim to assess how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the African continent at large, highlighting the socio-psychological consequences. Through citing some examples of a few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the review will detail the experiences of the populations within this region which remain plagued with economic and health vulnerabilities that were further exposed by the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health, adjustment, and psychological well-being of young adults. Despite extensive research conducted in this area, eudaimonic well-being, one specific form of psychological well-being focusing on self-knowledge and self-realization within existential challenges, has received comparatively less attention. The current study aimed to investigate the potential linkages between two key psychological factors, psychological inflexibility and fear of death, with eudaimonic well-being among young adults in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. One year after the outbreak, 317 young Italian adults (18-34 yrs.) participated in an online survey, including measures of psychological inflexibility (AAQ-II), fear of death (CL-FODS), and eudaimonic well-being (PWB). Results showed that psychological inflexibility was negatively associated with all the dimensions of Ryff’s model of eudaimonic well-being, while fear of death of others was found to be associated with three of these dimensions (autonomy, environmental mastery, and self-acceptance). Results also indicated a mediation role of psychological inflexibility in the association between fear of death and eudaimonic well-being. These findings expand our knowledge of the potential factors that may influence eudaimonic well-being and provide insights for clinical work with young adults challenged by uncertain times.

Wind energy in Europe is aimed to grow at a steady, high pace, but opposition from residents to local wind farm plans is one of the obstacles to further growth. A large body of evidence shows that local populations want to be involved and respected for their concerns, but in practice this is a complex process that cannot be solved with simple measures such as financial compensation. The visual presence and the acoustic impact of a wind farm is an important concern for residents. Generally environmental noise management aims to reduce the exposure of the population, usually based on acoustics and restricted to a limited number of sources (such as transportation or industry) and sound descriptors (such as Lden). Individual perceptions are taken into account only at an aggregate, statistical level (such as percentage of exposed, annoyed or sleep-disturbed persons in the population). Individual perceptions and reactions to sound vary in intensity and over different dimensions (such as pleasure/fear or distraction). Sound level is in fact a weak predictor of the perceived health effects of sound. The positive or negative perception of and attitude to the source of the sound is a better predictor of its effects. This article aims to show how the two perspectives (based on acoustics and on perception) can lead to a combined approach in the management of a wind farm aimed to reduce annoyance, not primarily of sound level. An important aspect in this approach is what the sound means to people: is it associated with the experience of having no say in plans, does it lead to anxiety or worry, is it appropriate? The available knowledge will be applied to wind farm management: planning as well as operation.

Background: Psychological sufferings are observed among dental students during their academic years, which had been intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: This study assessed the levels and identified factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping experienced by dental undergraduate students in Bangladesh. Methods: A cross sectional online survey was conducted during October-November, 2021. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) were used in order to assess psychological distress, fear and coping strategies respectively. Results: A total of 327 students participated; the majority (72%) were 19-23 years old and females (75%). One in five participants were infected with COVID-19 and 15% reported contact with COVID-19 cases. Negative financial impact (AOR 3.72, 95%CIs 1.28-10.8), recent or past COVID-19 infection, contact with COVID-19 cases were associated with higher levels of psychological distress; but being a 3rd year student (0.14, 0.04-0.55) and being satisfied about current social life (0.11, 0.03-0.33) were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Being a 3rd year (0.17, 0.08-0.39) and a 4th year student (0.29, 0.12-0.71) were associated with lower levels of fear. Health care service use and feeling positive about life were associated with medium to high resilience coping. Conclusions: This study iden-tified dental students in Bangladesh who were at higher risk of psychological distress, fear and coping during the ongoing pandemic. Development of mental health support system within dental institution should be considered in addition to the academic and clinical teaching.

The evolutionary theory of aging, particularly antagonistic pleiotropy (AP), provides an account of the ultimate origins of aging. What remains unclear is the nature of the proximate mechanisms by which AP gives rise to diseases of aging, like cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Damage-centric theories focusing on loss of genetic and cellular function have been proposed, as well as programmatic theories focusing on unwanted gene and cellular function. The latter include the hyperfunction and developmental theory that view aging as the futile continuation, or run-on, of growth and developmental programmes into later life. Yet neither type of theory has performed well in explaining late-life disease aetiology, particularly with respect to disease onset, presentation and progression. What is proposed here in this review is a new programmatic theory of aging. We argue that the emergence of many specific diseases may involve quasi-programmes that are not the result of run-on, but rather are triggered by other factors in late life. Such triggers may be non-programmatic (e.g. infection, mechanical injury) or programmatic. Moreover, the consequent pre-pathological and pathological changes may in some cases trigger further changes, leading to futile and destructive cascades of quasi-programmes and pathology. The origins of triggered quasi-programmes can be traced to biological constraint i.e. the inability of organisms to optimise all functions at once. And, to some extent, the new theory presented here revises the understanding of AP. That is, because any gene can be triggered in an erroneous manner, every gene is potentially an AP gene that risks pathology, though level of risk varies according to constraint. To help validate the theory, we test it against several complex diseases of aging. The new model in this review attempts to provide a blueprint understanding that, to a certain extent, closes the gap in the causal chain of events between evolutionary causes of aging and the aetiology of age-related diseases. It also helps to explain why certain disorders mimic accelerated aging and how interventions, such as the suppression of IIS and mTOR retard many aspects of aging; notably, though, unlike prior programmatic theories, the new theory is not mTOR-centric. Finally, it provides new perspectives on possible treatment of aging.

Disruptive selection arises when extreme phenotypes have a fitness advantage compared to more intermediate phenotypes. Theory and evidence suggest that intraspecific resource competition is a key driver of disruptive selection. However, while competition can be indirect (exploitative) or direct (interference), the role of interference competition in disruptive selection has not been tested, and most models of disruptive selection assume exploitative competition. We experimentally investigated whether the type of competition affects the outcome of competitive interactions using a system where disruptive selection is common: Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata). Spea tadpoles develop into alternative resource-use phenotypes: carnivores, which consume fairy shrimp and other tadpoles, and omnivores, which feed on algae and detritus. Tadpoles intermediate in phenotype have low fitness when competition is intense, as they are outcompeted by the specialized tadpoles. Our experiments revealed that the presence of carnivores significantly decreased foraging behavior in intermediate tadpoles, and that intermediate tadpoles had significantly lower growth rates in interference competition treatments with carnivores but not with omnivores. Interference competition may therefore be important in driving disruptive selection. As carnivore tadpoles are also cannibalistic, the ‘fear’ effect may have a greater impact on intermediate tadpoles than exploitative competition alone, similarly to non-consumptive effects in predator-prey or intraguild relationships.

The aim of this study was to estimate the association between fear of COVID-19 and risk perception with preventive behavior in health professionals from three Latin American countries. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted. Health professionals with on-site care in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru were surveyed. Information was collected through an online self-report questionnaire. The main variables were preventive behavior as the dependent variable and fear of COVID-19 and risk perception as independent variables. Linear regression was used, and Beta coefficients and p-values were calculated. 435 health professionals were included, the majority were aged 42 years or older (45.29%, 95%CI: 40.65%-50.01%) and female (67.82%, 95%CI: 63.27%-72.05%). It was shown that the greater the fear of COVID-19, the greater the preventive behavior of COVID-19 infection (B=2.21, p=0.002 for total behavior; B=1.12, p=0.037 for additional protection at work; B=1.11, p<0.010 for hand washing). The risk perception of COVID-19 infection had a slight direct relationship with preventive behaviors (B=0.28, p=0.021 for total behavior; B=0.13, p=0.015 for hand washing), with the exception of the preventive behavior of using additional protection at work (p=0.339). We found that fear and risk perception are associated with increased practice of hand washing and use of additional protection at work. Further studies are required on the influence of working conditions, job performance and the occurrence of mental health problems in frontline personnel with regard to COVID-19.

Background: Perinatal anxiety and related disorders are common (20%), distressing and impairing. Fear of childbirth (FoB) is a common type of perinatal anxiety associated with negative mental health, obstetrical, childbirth and child outcomes. Screening can facilitate treatment access for those most in need. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the accuracy of the Childbirth Fear Questionnaire (CFQ) and the Wijma Delivery Expectations Questionnaire (W-DEQ) of FoB as screening tools for specific phobia, FoB. Methods: A total of 659 English-speaking pregnant women living in Canada and over the age of 18 were recruited to the study. Participants completed an online survey of demographic, current pregnancy, and reproductive history information, as well as the CFQ and the W-DEQ, and a telephone interview to assess specific phobia FoB. Results: Symptoms meeting full and subclinical diagnostic criteria for specific phobia, FoB were reported by 3.3% and 7.1% of participants, respectively. The W-DEQ met or exceeded the criteria for a “good enough” screening tool across several analyses, whereas the CFQ only met these criteria in one analysis, and came close in three others. Conclusions: The W-DEQ demonstrated high performance as a screening tool for specific phobia, FoB, with accuracy superior to that of the CFQ. Additional research, to ensure the stability of these findings, is needed.

Abstract: This study evaluates the effect of paravertebral spinal injection (PSI), utilizing both subjective and objective assessments in chronic low back pain (LBP) associated with facet joint arthrosis over a one-month duration. Subjective questionnaires included the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, Oswestry Disability Index, Health Survey SF-12, and the short Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I). Objective assessments included in-clinic gait and timed-up-and-go (TUG) tests using wearable sensors, as well as 48-hour daily physical activity (DPA) monitored using a chest-worn tri-axial accelerometer. Subjective and objective measures were performed prior to treatment, immediately after the treatment, and one-month afterthe treatment. Eight LBP patients were recruited for this study (mean age = 54±13 years, body mass index = 31.41±6.52 kg/m2, 50% males). Results show significant decrease in pain (~55%, p<0.05) and disability (Oswestry scores, ~21%, p<0.05). In-clinic gait and TUG were also significantly improved (~16% and ~18% faster walking and shorter TUG, p<0.05); however, DPA (including percentage of physical activities (walking and standing) and the number of steps) showed no significant change after PSI (p>0.25; effect size≤0.44). We hypothesize that DPA may continue to be truncated by conditioned fear-avoidance, a psychological state that may prevent increase in daily physical activity to avoid pain.

Streets are primary elements through which the character of urban neighborhoods are experienced and expressed. The “sense of safety” in neighborhood streets is paramount to social and psychological wellbeing of its residents and visitors. The intention of this study was to explore environmental and social cues of a neighborhood, which evoke fear of crime, which will help designers to prevent the generation of such negative feelings and promote more safe and comfortable spaces in our cities. This study used interviews, group discussions and observations to identify fear-generating factors with a sample of participants in the multi ethnic neighborhood of Kotahena in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Field data was analyzed through visual documentation and photographic surveys. Moreover, group discussions, interviews and personal observations were used to synergize the study objectives. The findings inform that fear of crime on streets is influenced by both environmental and social cues to varying degrees. Feelings of fear were associated with gender, ethnicity and less familiarity with the place as participants were from an ethnic minority within the community. Literature has emphasized that fear of crime has a connection to actual crime locations. The research findings, however, indicate that fear of crime spots identified by the residents do not have a direct relationship to the actual crime locations.

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common debilitating psychiatric condition for which pharmacological therapy is not always solvable. Various treatments have been suggested for these patients. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently under investigation for patients affected by PTSD. 2) Methods: We review the neurocircuitry and up to date clinical concepts that may be of relevance for the implementation of DBS in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 3) Results: The role of DBS in treatment-refractory PTSD patients has been investigated relying on both preclinical and clinical studies. 4) Conclusions: DBS for PTSD is in its preliminary phases and likely to provide hope to patients with medical refractory PTSD following the results of randomized controlled studies.

Background: Patients with infectious complications related to the presence of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) constitute a heterogeneous group, including local pocket infection (PI) and lead related infectious endocarditis (LRIE). The diagnosis of CIED-related infection is often difficult and requires complex imaging and microbiological tests. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the usefulness of new simple hematological parameters in detecting infectious complications in patients with CIED and assessing their extent. Methods: The retrospective analysis of clinical data of 2909 patients (36.37% with CIED-related infections), undergoing transvenous lead extraction (TLE) procedures in three high-volume centres in the years 2006-2020, was conducted. The sensitivity and specificity of new hematological markers were evaluated: the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), neutrophil to platelet ratio (NPR), and lymphocyte to platelet ratio (LPR) in the diagnosis of infectious complications, assessment of the spread of the infectious process and differentiation of additional structures related to the presence of leads. Results: In patients with CIED infections, compared to the non-infectious group, high inflammatory parameters were confirmed, and the highest specificity of the new markers in detecting the infectious process was demonstrated. (79.47% for NPR and 72.82% for NLR). Analysis of laboratory parameters in infectious and non-infectious patients with the presence of additional lead-related masses showed the highest specificity of NPR (82,78%) in predicting the diagnosis of vegetation. Comparison of laboratory parameters in patients with LRIE and PI showed higher NLR % (4.24 vs 2.56; p<0.001, area under curve (AUC) in a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve: 0.67 and 0.78 respectively) and higher NPR (0.03 vs 0.02; p<0.001; AUC: 0,51 and 0,55) in patients with LRIE. The highest sensitivity in the detection of coexistence LRIE with PI has been demonstrated for NLR (87.33%). Conclusions: Novel hematological markers may be helpful in the recognition of the inflammatory process in patients with CIED, differentiation of vegetation and vegetation-like masses, and the extent of infection in patients with PI.

This study aims to understand Filipino rice farmers’ aspirations, both farming and non-farming-related. Understanding aspirations can help the government and interested third-party entities to provide impactful initiatives to farmers. The Role Identity Theory guided our analysis in this study. This study is predominantly qualitative, with focus group discussion as the main method of collecting data. The research sites were in Kalinga, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Quezon, Northern Samar, Zamboanga del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and Agusan del Norte. Among the farming-related aspirations noted in this study relate to property, fair price, infrastructure, government support, and good governance. The non-farming related aspirations relate to infrastructure development; progress; government support and governance; love, passion, peace, and unity; wellness and long life.

Research indicates that painful experiences can significantly affect the fear of cancer recurrence among cancer survivors, which is a distressing concern that influences both physiological and psychological recovery. Yet, the role of potential factors and mechanisms in these relationships is not fully known. This cross-sectional study aimed to advance our comprehension of the associa-tions between total pain and the fear of recurrence in post-treatment cancer patients by examining two potential mediators: psychological flexibility and mentalization. Three hundred and thirty-five participants (aged 22 to 88, 49.1% female) who had finished their cancer treatment completed self-report assessments of total pain, fear of recurrence, psychological flexibility, and mentalization. The serial mediation analysis showed that all dimensions of total pain were positively related to the fear of recurrence indirectly through psychological flexibility and mentalization, in serial. Additionally, gender moderated these serial mediational effects. In line with the psychological flexibility model, personal capacities to face difficult internal/external problems and interpret one’s behaviour in motivational terms can counterbalance patients’ negative emotions and feelings related to the illness.

Background: Retinal diseases such as neovascular age related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) or branch-/central retinal vein occlusion (B/CRVO) have significant implications for patients' social and psychological well-being. To gain a comprehensive understanding of patients' backgrounds and attitudes, we developed an exploratory questionnaire, the Basic Care and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (BPZ-9). Methods: The ALBATROS study aimed to assess the care situation of treatment-naïve patients diagnosed with either nAMD, DME or B/CRVO. The data collection took place at the beginning of treatment and after twelve months of anti-VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) therapy. The BPZ-9 instrument comprises nine questions to evaluate patients’ psychological and social situation and their satisfaction with treatment. Results: Data were collected from 1.478 nAMD (mean 78 years), 445 DME (67 years), 233 BRVO (70 years) and 144 CRVO (71 years) patients at 102 study centers throughout Germany. Approximately one third of the patients was living alone and six percent were in organized care. One in four patients had difficulties to walk and one in five needed accompany for treatment. Anxiety to lose vision was present in three out of four patients at the beginning and slightly decreased to two out of three over the 12-month treatment preriod. The distress of having a retinal disease was generally higher than the distress related to treatment. Most patients reported high treatment satisfaction (73%) and felt well informed (81%). Conclusion: Patients receiving anti-VEGF therapy commonly experience impaired mobility, dependency on others, distress and the fear of vision loss.

Emojis are colorful ideograms resembling stylized faces commonly used for expressing emotions in instant messaging, in social network sites and in email communication. Notwithstanding their increasing and pervasive use in electronic communication, they are not much investigated in terms of their psychological properties and communicative efficacy. Here we presented 112 different human facial expressions and emojis (expressing neutrality, joy, surprise, sadness, anger, fear and disgust) to a group of 96 female and male university students engaged in the recognition of their emotional meaning. Both Analysis of Variance and Wilcoxon tests showed that men were significantly better than women at recognizing emojis (especially negative ones) while women were better than men at recognizing human facial expressions. Quite interestingly, men were better at recognizing emojis than human facial expressions per se. These findings are in line with more recent evidences suggesting how men may be more competent and inclined to use emojis to express their emotions in messaging (especially sarcasm, tease and love) than previously thought. Finally, the data indicate how emojis are less ambiguous than facial expressions (except for neutral and surprise emotions), possibly because of the limited number of fine-grained details, and the lack of morphological features conveying facial identity.

A good management of diabetes requires at the same time self-regulation behaviour and a balanced involvement of family components. This study’s aims were: understanding fear of injections and perceptions of family conflicts in preadolescents and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus and their mothers, comparing their perceptions, and identifying the risk factors impacting patients’ quality of life. Participants were one hundred and two patients (Mean age = 14.63, SD = 2.43; age range = 10-19 years; Females = 52) and their mothers (Mean age = 46.94, SD = 6.2, age range = 27-63 years), who filled in self and proxy-report questionnaires. Twenty % of patients and 14.7% of their mothers reported clinical score for fear of self-injection and blood testing. Mothers reported higher fear of injecting and family conflicts compared with the patients. Age, fear of injecting and family conflicts impacted significantly on patients’ quality of life perceptions. Clinical consideration and recommendations are given basing on the empirical results.

Around one billion people live in informal settlements, globally, including over half of Nairobi, Kenya’s three million residents. The purpose of this study was to explore women’s fear of victimization within Mathare, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya and how fear of victimization influences behavior. Fifty-five in-depth interviews were conducted with women in 2016. A modified grounded theory approach guided data collection and analysis. Findings suggest fear of victimization is a serious concern in informal settlements. Women have found ways to adopt their behaviors that allow them to continue to function and protect their children despite fearing victimization, but at a potential cost to their health and well-being. Thus, there is a critical need for more research focused on social, economic, structural, community, infrastructure, technological, and individual strategies to prevent violence, enhance residents’ sense of safety, and, subsequently, minimize women’s fear of victimization in informal settlements.

The aim of the article is to determine the predictors of mental health among Polish society. Research was conducted after the first wave of the pandemic. Due to such an approach, it was possible to determine whether secondary effects of the pandemic have impact on mental health, apart from socio-demographic and psychological factors. In order to gather the research material, the CAWI on-line survey method was applied and carried out within the framework of the Ariadna Research Panel on the sample of 1079 Poles aged 15 and over. The FCV-19S scale, which is used to measure the fear of COVID-19 was applied in the measurement. It is a verified diagnostic instrument used to measure mental health in a lot of countries. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis have shown that the factors which increase the level of fear of COVID-19 are demographic, social and psychological features as well as attitudes towards the pandemic. The results of research indicate the significance of social context in the analysis and explanation of the effects of disasters and cataclysms.

As the necessity for safety and aesthetic of nightscape have arisen, the importance of nightscapes (i.e., nighttime landscape) planning has garnered the attention of mainstream consciousness. Therefore, this study is to suggest the guideline for nightscape planning using electroencephalography (EEG) technology and survey for recognizing the characteristics of a nightscape. Furthermore, we verified the EEG method as a tool for landscape evaluation. This study analyzed the change of relative alpha power and relative beta power and self-reporting of participants in order to investigate the correlation between EEG and fear according to twelve nightscape settings. Our findings indicated the corresponding measures of fear vary accordance with whether there was people or not, and the environmental settings (Built Nightscape Images; BNI vs Natural Nightscape Images; NNI). Based on our physiological EEG experiment, we provided a new analytic view of the nightscape. The approach we utilized enables a deeper understanding of emotional perception and fear among human subjects by identifying the physical environment which impacts how they experience nightscapes.

The present research aimed at understanding individuals’ vaccination intentions and behaviours against COVID-19 through two different studies. In Study 1 (N = 213, 73% women; mean age = 24.03) the PMT model was tested considering the fear of COVID-19 as a possible mediator between threat appraisal (in terms of both health and social life) and intentions to get vaccinated when vaccination was not already available. In Study 2 (N = 1111, 68.9% women; mean age = 38.33), we aimed to understand how people who got vaccinated and the ones who did not differed, considering fear of vaccination, personality and vaccination hesitancy, which is determined not only by strictly individual but also by social factors. In study 1, contrary to what we expected, fear of Covid-19 was not a significant predictor of vaccination intention, which was predicted by both response efficacy and self-efficacy. In Study 2, in line with previous studies, vaccine hesitancy was negatively related to vaccination. More specifically, the social-oriented dimension of collective responsibility was the strongest predictor of effective behaviour. Our findings provide insights into the complexity of vaccine acceptance and emphasise the need for targeted interventions to promote vaccination and mitigate the spread of infectious diseases.

The orexin/hypocretin neuropeptide family has emerged as a focal point of neuroscientific research following the discovery that this family plays a crucial role in a variety of physiological and behavioral processes. These neuropeptides serve as powerful neuromodulators, intricately shaping autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral responses across species. Notably, they serve as master regulators of vigilance and stress responses; however, their role in complex processes such as food intake, metabolism, and thermoregulation warrant further investigation. This narrative review provides a journey through the evolution of our understanding of the orexin system, from its initial discovery to the promising progress made in developing orexin derivatives. It goes beyond conventional boundaries, striving to synthesize the multifaceted activities of orexins. Special emphasis is placed on domains such as stress response, fear, anxiety, and learning, in which the authors contributed to the literature with original publications. This article demonstrates the orchestrating role of the orexins in several intricate and integrative physiological processes. It also overviews the advancement of orexin pharmacology, which has already yielded some promising successes, particularly in the treatment of sleep disorders. This interdisciplinary approach to studying neuropeptides unveils their significance as vital connectors between transient functional changes and lasting structural adaptations. Ultimately, it advances our understanding of the intricate physiological and behavioral contributions of the orexin/hypocretin neuropeptide family.

Until recently, no disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument existed for pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this revalidation study, the psychometric properties and the validity of the final German version of the 35-item QOLIBRI-KID/ADO questionnaire were examined in 300 children and adolescents. It is the first self-reported TBI-specific instrument for measuring pediatric HRQoL in individuals aged 8–17 years. The six-factor model fits the data adequately. Internal consistencies were excellent for the total score and satisfactory to excellent for the scale scores. Intraclass correlations indicated good test-retest reliability. Construct validity was supported by overlaps between the QOLBRI-KID/ADO and the PedsQL, which measures generic HRQoL. Discriminant validity indicated that HRQoL was significantly lower in older children and girls, and in those with anxiety, depression, and post-concussion symptoms than in comparison groups, replicating the results of the questionnaire’s first development study. Our results suggest that the QOLIBRI-KID/ADO is a valid and reliable multidimensional instrument for assessing disease-specific HRQoL after pediatric TBI in clinical and research settings, which can additionally be used across the lifespan in combination with the adult version. This may help to improve care, treatment, daily functioning and HRQoL after TBI.

The combined ecological, geophysical, climatic, and social factors of the Northeast of Russia influence the organism from the early childhood being too intense for the functional systems. The purpose of the research is to study the emotional characteristics of adolescents of different ethnic groups in the northeast of Russia. Presented in the paper are results of the study that covered 826 adolescents (445 females and 381 males) at the age of 15–17, different by ethnic origin. We used standard methods of psycho-diagnostics. Our study has showed that the formation of the adolescents’ emotional sphere in the North is undoubtedly influenced not only by the climatic and socio-economic environmental factors but also by ethnic features. There are intergroup differences in the aggressiveness profile of older adolescents living in the remote settlement vs. the regional center. It is shown that high school students in the remote settlement of Evensk, compared to their peers in Magadan, regardless of gender and ethnicity, are characterized by more pronounced hostile and auto-aggressive reactions. In adolescents of the Aboriginal population, as compared with their age mate Caucasians, the indicators of impairment in the field of Neuro Psychic Adaptation, Situational and Personal Anxiety, and Social Frustration are significantly more pronounced.

The fear of missing out (FoMO) is characterized in the literature as a fear that others are having rewarding experiences while one is missing out, and a constant need to keep connected with one’s social network. Driven by Social Determination Theory (SDT) FoMO has been linked with Problematic Social Networking Sites use (PSNSU), negative affectivity (NA), self-esteem (SE) and sleep disturbances. The present study reports findings from 512 individuals (79.1% women, mean age 30.5 years, SD= 8.61). Structural equation modelling (SEM) suggests that the duration of SNSs use and the numbers of SNSs platforms actively used partially mediated the relationship between FoMO and PSNSU. In turns, PSNSU partially mediated the relationship between FoMO and NA. Furthermore, the present study has extended the literature by incorporating the Vulnerability Model in the FoMO concept, identifying that SE partially mediated the relationship between FoMO and NA, while NA fully mediated the relationship between FoMO and sleeping disturbances. Accordingly, the present has extended previous research findings in showing exercise as a potential protective factor to prevent against FoMO. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Currently, hepatitis B virus (HBV) core antibody (anti-HBc antibody) and HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg) are widely used as serum markers for diagnosis based on the HBV core region. While anti-HBc is very significant for clinical diagnosis, the clinical significance of quantitative assay of anti-HBc antibody has been reevaluated with improvements in diagnostic performance, including its association with clinical stage and prediction of carcinogenesis and reactivation. In addition, concerning the new HBcrAg, a high-sensitivity assay method has recently been established, and its diagnostic significance, including the prediction of reactivation, is being reevaluated. On the other hand, the quantitative level of anti-HBc antibody expressed in different units among assay systems, complicating the interpretation of the results. However, it is difficult to standardize assay systems as they vary in advantages, and caution is needed in interpreting the assay results. In this review, the clinical usefulness and remaining problems of anti-HBc antibody and HBcrAg were summarized.

This study investigated gender differences in exposure to hazardous factors, health problems, and work environment satisfaction and identified the effects of such differences on farmworkers in Korea. Through the 6th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute (OSHRI), the raw data on 2,347 farm-workers were analyzed to present descriptive statistics for demographic characteristics, exposure to hazardous factors, health problems, and work environment satisfaction. We compared be-tween genders using chi-squared tests and investigated the effects of gender-specific working conditions on work-related health problems and work environment satisfaction using multi-variate logistic analysis. The results were presented as an odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval. Job position predicted work-related health problems in male farmworkers and work environment satisfaction in female farmworkers. Furthermore, female farmworkers perceived themselves to have more health problems than male farmworkers. Nevertheless, female farm-workers received less health and safety information and had lower work environment satisfac-tion compared to male farmworkers. The findings may improve the occupational welfare of farmworkers through continuous enhancement of the agricultural labor environment. Keywords: work-related; working condition; farmworker; agriculture; musculoskeletal; KWCS

Background and Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the impact of fasciotomy on mortality and morbidity in children and adults with crush-related AKI following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes. Materials and Methods: The study included individuals who had suffered crush injuries after the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes and were identified as having acute kidney injury (AKI). Patients with AKI were divided into two groups based on age: those under 18 years and those over 18 years. A comparative analysis was conducted between the mortality and morbidity rates of patients who underwent fasciotomy and those who did not. Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), sepsis, and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have all been identified as contributors to morbidity. Results: The study was conducted with a total of 40 patients (21 males and 19 females) aged between four and 83 years. A total of 21 patients underwent fasciotomy and the patients underwent varying numbers of fasciotomy, ranging from zero to 11. The mortality rate was 12.5%, corresponding to five adult patients. No instances of mortality were reported in the paediatric cohort. The application of fasciotomy in instances of crush-induced AKI did not result in elevated levels of mortality in either the paediatric or adult demographic. Within the adult population, a substantial difference in the duration of dialysis was observed between individuals who underwent fasciotomy and those who did not. A statistically significant increase in the number of fasciotomy incisions was observed in patients diagnosed with sepsis compared with those without sepsis. The study found a significant positive correlation between the number of fasciotomy incisions and dialysis days. Conclusions: Neither adult nor paediatric patients with crush-induced AKI showed an increased risk of death after fasciotomy. The number of fasciotomy incisions significantly correlated with the development of sepsis. Despite experiencing delays in hospital admission for paediatric patients, the incidence of both crush syndrome and mortality rates among children remained relatively low.

Background: Epileptic patients frequently encounter cognitive impairment. Functions that are mostly affected involve memory, attention and executive function; however this is mainly dependant on the location of the epileptic activity. The aim of the study is to assess cognitive functions in MRI-negative epilepsy patients by means of neurophysiological and neuropsychological measures. Methods: The patients were enrolled from the outpatient Epilepsy/Clinical Neurophysiology clinic over a time period of 6 months. The study sample comprised 20 MRI negative epilepsy patients [mean age ± standard deviation (SD), 30.3 ± 12.56 years; age range 16-60 years; average disease duration, 13.95 years) and 10 age-matched controls (mean age ± SD, 24.22 ± 15.39 years), that were also education-matched (p>0.05) Patients with epileptogenic lesions were excluded from the study. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Auditory ERPs and the cognitive screening tool EpiTrack, were administered to all subjects. Results: Latencies of P300 and slow waves were prolonged in patients compared to controls (p<0.05). ASM load and the patients’ performance in the EpiTrack maze subtest were the most significant predictors of P300 latency. A decline in memory, attention, and speed of information processing has been observed in patients with cryptogenic epilepsy compared to age-matched controls, as reflected by P300 latency and EpiTrack scores.

Previous research on video game player aggression has focused on violent content, while recent studies have examined competitive factors. Few research has examined the solely impacts of competitive factors in video games without violent content on aggression, and it is still unknown what neurological processes of these effects. The present study is the first to examine the the electrophysiological characteristics of short-term competitive video game exposure and aggression. Thirty-five participants played a video game in either competitive or solo mode for 15 minutes, followed by an ERP experiment based on the Oddball paradigm and the hot sauce paradigm to measure aggressive behavior. Results showed that playing competitive game mode was associated with faster judgment to aggressive words, larger P300 amplitudes, and selection of more chili powder. The P300 amplitude partially mediated the relationship between competitive game exposure and aggressive behavior. These findings support the general aggression model.

As the world's population ages and the resulting health problems become more serious, medical and health policies in developed countries are focused on how to prevent and treat the diseases of the aging population and how to maintain their quality of life. Typical age-related diseases include deafness, cataracts, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, and dementia. Although the mechanisms by which these diseases develop differ, they are all caused by the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage over time. In addition, age-related diseases can cause a decline in physical and mental functions and the ability to perform activities of daily living, as well as the loss of roles in society and a sense of fulfillment in life. Therefore, there is a need for treatment and measures to accurately grasp and maintain their quality of life.

In this study was found that these cancers were attributable to risk factors such as cigarette smoking, second-hand smoke, alcohol intake, excess body weight, diet, and six cancer-associated infections. Several databases were reviewed including PUBMED, Google scholar, and Web of Science. The facts suggest that a number of individuals present risk factors for cancer, which can be modifiable.

Abstract: (1) Background: tuberculosis presents an epidemiological trend towards inequality, especially among people in social exclusion and situations of vulnerability. To analyze territories where there is a concentration of people diagnosed with tuberculosis, in a street situation, and who make chronic use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. We will also analyze trends in this health condition in southern Brazil; (2) Methods: Ecological study, developed in the 399 municipalities of Paraná, Southern Brazil, with all tuberculosis cases in the homeless population registered in the Information System of Notifiable Diseases between 2014 to 2018. For data analysis, we used descriptive statistics, for the time series, the Prais-Winsten autoregression method, whereas for spatial analysis, we used the Getis-Ord Gi technique*; (3) Results: in total, 560 cases were reported. We found a predominance of alcohol, smoking, and illicit drugs users, with an increasing trend in the state and clusters of spatial risk in the East health macro-region; (4) Conclusions: We observed territories with critical levels of highly vulnerable people who use psychoactive substances and are in a street situation. The results highlight the importance of incorporating public policies of social protection to these individuals and resolutive health services that receive and assist in eradicating TB.

Accumulating evidences demonstrate that the host genome's epigenetic modificationsare essential for living organisms to adapt extreme conditions.DNA methylation, covalent modifications of histone, andinter-association of non-coding RNAs facilitate the cellular manifestation ofepigenetic changes in the genome. Out of various factors involved in the epigenetic programming of the host, miRNA (microRNA) and LncRNA (Long non-coding RNA) are new generationnon-coding molecules that influence a variety of cellular processes like immunity, cellular differentiation, and tumor development. During tumor development, temporal changes in miRNA/LncRNA rheostat influence sterile inflammatory responses accompanied by the changes in the carcinogenic signalling in the host. At the cellular level, this is manifested by the up-regulation of Inflammasome and inflammatory pathways, which promotes cancer-related inflammation. In view of this, we discuss the potential of lncRNA and miRNA directed interventions in regulating inflammation and tumor development in the host.

Fire-related deaths are issues for forensic pathologists particularly in ascertaining if death occurred before or during fire. The authors highlight a unique bronchiolar epithelial cytological clue (nuclear heat-induced elongation) determined by active inhalation of hot gases and fumes, not yet described in the literature at distal small airways level.

Mastocytosis is characterized by pathological accumulation of mast cells (MC) in various organs. In these patients, MC may degranulate and thereby contribute to clinical symptoms, especially when a concomitant allergy is present. However, MC activation can not only be induced by high-affinity receptors for IgE, but also by anaphylatoxins, neuropeptides, IgG immune complexes, complement-components, drugs, products of bacteria or parasites, as well as physical factors such as heat, cold, vibration, stress, sun, or physical effort. Symptoms due to mediators released by activated MC may develop in adults suffering from systemic mastocytosis, but also evolve in children who usually have cutaneous mastocytosis (CM). Clinically, CM is otherwise characterized by typical brown, maculopapular skin lesions or mastocytoma associated with a positive Darier’s sign. Pruritus and flushing are common and blistering may also be recorded, especially in diffuse CM (DCM). Pediatric patients with mastocytosis may also have gastrointestinal, respiratory, and neurologic complaints. Although anaphylaxis is not a typical finding, pediatric patients with massive skin involvement and high tryptase levels have a relatively high risk to develop anaphylaxis. This paper reviews MC mediator-related symptoms and anaphylaxis in children with mastocytosis, with special emphasis on risk factors, triggers, and management.

This study presents a meta-analysis of studies that investigate the effectiveness of chitosan administration on lifestyle-related disease in murine models. A total of 34 published studies were used to evaluate the effect of chitosan supplementation. The effect sizes for various items after chitosan administration were evaluated using the standardized mean difference. Using Cochran’s Q test, the heterogeneity of effect sizes was assessed, after which a meta-ANOVA and –regression test was conducted to explain the heterogeneity of effect sizes using the mixed-effect model. Publication bias was performed using Egger’s linear regression test. Among the items evaluated, blood triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol showed the highest Q statistics and I2 values, respectively. Other than blood HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride in feces, most items evaluated showed a negative effect size with high significance in the fixed- and random-effect model (p<0.0001). In the meta-ANOVA and -regression test, administering chitosan and resistant starch was revealed to be most effective in lowering body weight. In addition, chitosan supplementation proved to be an effective solution for TNF-α inhibition. In conclusion, chitosan has been shown to be somewhat useful in improving symptoms of lifestyle-related disease. Although there are some limitations in the results of this meta-analysis due to the limited number of animal experiments conducted, chitosan administration nevertheless shows promise in enhancing the quality of human life.

This study was designed to assess variation of possible phytochemical compounds in the ethanolic extracts of Gigantochloa scortechinii rhizome. Destructive sampling was done by using selective random sampling method on four consecutive rhizomes from healthy clumps and was conducted at two natural forests and one secondary forest (planted). Homogenized sample were extracted using solvent extraction (70% ethanol) method. Ethanolic extracts of G. scortechinii rhizome were qualitatively analyzed using GC/MS GC2010 Plus, Shimadzu to determine the composition of phytochemical compounds and identified using FFNSC 1.3, NIST11, PMW_tox2, and Wiley229 spectral library. A qualitative variation was observed with a total of 56 compounds were identified and differentiated between study site and rhizome age. Results revealed that G. scortechinii rhizome contains various phytochemical compounds with potential as a plant of phytopharmaceutical importance. This is the first finding on the spatial and age-related effects of phytochemical compounds in a consecutive rhizome and of G. scortechinii rhizome specifically.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the perceived medication-related burden among patients with multiple non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and to investigate the association between perceived burden and adherence to medication therapy. Medication-related burden was measured in three primary care clinics in Qatar using the Living with Medicines Questionnaire (LMQ) among adults with diabetes, with or without other comorbidities. Adherence was measured using the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS). Two hundred ninety-three eligible patients participated in the study. Majority of participants reported experiencing minimum (66.6%) to moderate (24.1%) medication-related burden. There was a significant positive correlation between the medication-related burden (measured by the LWQ) and medication adherence (measured by ARMS) (rs (253) = 0.317, p <0.0005). The duration of diabetes diagnosis, adherence score, marital status, employment status, and presence diagnosis of hypertension were significant predictors of medication burden. A considerable proportion of the patients in this study have reported experiencing medication-related burden. Healthcare providers should seek strategies to address this burden especially among patients with risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, non-adherent to their medication therapy, living alone, or non-employed.

A brand-new approach to the understanding of breast cancer (BC) is urgently needed. In this contribution, the etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of this disease is approached from the new pH-centric anticancer paradigm. Only this Unitarian perspective based upon that the hydrogen ion (H+) dynamics of cancer, allows understanding and integrating the many dualisms, confusions, and paradoxes of the disease. The new H+-related wide range model can embrace under a unique frame of mind the many aspects of the disease and at the same time therapeutically interfere with most, if not with all, the hallmarks of cancer known to date. The pH-related armamentarium available for the treatment of BC here reviewed may be beneficial for all types and stages of the disease. In this vein, we have attempted a mega synthesis of traditional and new knowledge in the different areas of breast cancer research and treatment based upon the wide range approach afforded by the hydrogen ion dynamics of cancer. The concerted utilization of a pH-related drugs nowadays available for the treatment of breast cancer is advanced.

Globally, habitat fragmentation has increased the proximity between wildlife, humans, and emerging predators such as free-ranging dogs. In these fragmented landscapes, encounters between primates and dogs are escalating, with primates often falling victim to dog attacks while navigating patchy landscapes and fragmented forests. We aim to investigate how these primates deal with the simultaneous threats posed by humans and predators, specifically focusing on the adaptive strategies of Central Himalayan Langur (CHL) in the landscape of fear. To address this, we conducted a behavioral study on the CHL in an agro-forest landscape, studying them for a total of 3912 hours over two consecutive years. Our results indicate that, compared to their most common resting behavior, CHL allocate more time to feeding and locomotion, and less time to socializing in the presence of humans and predatory dogs. Additionally, they exhibit increased feeding and locomotion and reduced social behavior in agro-forest or open habitats. These behavioral patterns reflect adaptive responses to the landscape of fear, where the presence of predators significantly influences their behavior and resource utilization. This study suggests measures to promote coexistence between humans and wildlife through the integration of effective management strategies that incorporate both ecological and social dimensions of human-wildlife interactions.

E-commerce platforms created to meet the needs of digital consumers, who are the leading actors of digital-oriented consumption, are increasing rapidly. Revolutionizing our daily lives by offering the digital equivalent of real-world experiences, e-commerce now offers a comfortable shopping experience that transcends the limitations of time and space. This phenomenon has been embraced by individuals spanning all age groups, from young children to the elderly. Structural equation modeling was used in this study, in which the factors affecting online shopping addiction were determined. In this direction, the causal and correlational relationships between the variables of fear of missing out (FoMO), cognitive load, personality types, some socio-demographic characteristics (gender and monthly shopping amount) and online shopping addiction in online shopping were revealed structurally. Since the purposive sampling was used, the study was carried out on 488 people. The goodness-of-fit indices included in the created model were found at an “acceptable” level (χ2/df= 2.248, p=0.000; RMSEA=0.051; GFI=0.878; AGFI=0.856; CFI=0.950; NFI=0.914). These results show that the final version of the model meets the necessary criteria for a good fit, its validity and accuracy. The study revealed the causal and correlational relationship between online shopping addiction and cognitive load, personality types, FoMO, gender, and monthly online shopping amount.

The COVID-19 appears as a catastrophic health risk with psychological, emotional, social and relational implications. From the early stages of the virus spread, the elderly population was identified as the most vulnerable and the health authorities have rightly focused on such frailest population. Conversely, less attention was paid to emotional and psychological dimension of children and adolescents. Actually, they were less at risk quoad vitam or quoad valetudinem, nevertheless they had to face a reality of anxiety, fears and uncertainties. The current study investigated state anxiety and emotion awareness in a healthy sample of older adolescents, 84 females and 64 males, aged 17 to 19, during the pandemic lockdown, using Self-rating Anxiety Scale and the Italian Emotion Awareness Questionnaire. An unexpected anxious phenomenology, impacting the anxiety ideo-affective domain, was found, while the somatic symptomatology appeared to be less severe. The highest anxiety symptom were the breathing difficulties. These findings supported the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic may be a risk condition for an increased state anxiety in older adolescents and suggest the need to provide 1. an effective, empathic communication system with the direct participation of older adolescents, 2. a psychological counseling service for stress management of adolescents.

Tritordeum is an amphiploides species resulting from the hybridization between durum wheat (T. durum) and wild barley (H. chilense). This new cereal is considered a natural crop as it is obtained by traditional breeding techniques. Given its appreciable organoleptic characteristics, agronomic features, presence of interesting components, and good technological properties, tritordeum is of promising interest for the development of health-oriented foods. In this study, we evaluated two registered tritordeum cultivars, Bulel and Aucan. T. durum (Provenzal) was employed as the positive control. The extracted proteins were digested by gastric /pancreatic proteases and their biological effects on Caco-2 differentiated on transwell inserts were determined. Changes in cell viability, monolayer permeability, organization of F-actin microfilaments, and ER stress, triggered by protein-digested samples (DPs) were inspected. Our results showed that exposure to Provenzal-DPs promptly disrupted the tight junction barrier. Conversely, Aucan-DPs did not enhance monolayer permeability; whereas, Bulel-DPs exerted only slight effects. Provental-DPs-induced toxicity was also confirmed by changes in cell viability and by the deep reorganization of the enterocyte cytoskeleton. In contrast, Aucan-DPs and Bulel-DPs did not affect monolayer viability and cytoskeleton structure. Overall, our findings suggest that both tritordeum cultivars could be potential candidates for mitigating the toxicity of wheat flour.

Aging is a major risk factor for the higher incidence and prevalence of chronic conditions, such as cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Closely linked with the onset of all these age-related diseases is immunosenescence, a condition defined as progressive reconfiguration of the immune functions leading to an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, poorer response to vaccination, increased prevalence of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic diseases characterized by a pro-inflammatory state named inflammaging. Given that immunosenescence frames age-related diseases, it is natural to ask how these illnesses are related under the context of innate and adaptative components of the immune system. Knowledge processing by Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) of age-related diseases framed in an immunosenescence multivalued context shows that a hierarchy among these diseases emerges with a subconcept-superconcept nested structure, with two clusters, first made of metabolic diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Second metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. Metabolic diseases seem to be a pivot illness and they must be a primary target given their global incidence and prevalence and their cost-effective treatments like regular physical activity, weight loss, healthy diet, stopping smoking, and reducing or managing stress. Another implication of the ontological analysis of age-related diseases is about the nature of immunosenescence, suggesting that initial symptoms of age-related diseases are mainly related to innate immune mechanisms, and developing of severe symptoms of age-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases depends on the activation of acquired immunity processes.

Akebia trifoliata is an economically important self-incompatible fruit tree in the family Lardiza-balaceae. Asexual propagation is the main strategy used to maintain excellent agronomic traits. However, the generation of adventitious roots during asexual propagation is very difficult. To study the important role of the WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) transcription factor in fruit and adventitious root growth and development, we characterized this transcription factor family in the whole genome of A. trifoliata. A total of 10 AktWOXs were identified, with the fol-lowing characteristics: length (657~11328 bp), exon number (2~5), isoelectric point (5.65~9.03), amino acid number (176~361 AA), and molecular weight (20.500~40.173 kDa). 10 AktWOXs were classified into modern (6), intermediate (2), and ancient clades (2) and that all AktWOXs had undergone strong purifying selection during evolution. The expression profile of AktWOXs dur-ing A. trifoliata fruit development and adventitious root formation indicated that AktWOXs are widely involved in the development of the three fruit tissues, flesh, seeds and rind, and play an important role in the regulation of adventitious root development. Overall, this is the first study to identify and characterize the WOX family in A. trifoliata and will be helpful for further re-search on A. trifoliata fruit development and adventitious root formation.

Assessment of renal function is critical to diagnose and manage renal age-related decline, disease (KD), and failure, which are prevalent in the elderly population. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is widely used as an indicator of kidney function, but its direct measurement is challenging, as are its age and gender caveats. This makes difficult the differential diagnosis, between age-related physiological decline and KD and/or failure. Currently, the inflammation-based modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) is emerging as promising biomarker of several inflammatory acute/chronic diseases. In this study, the large variability of eGFR with age and gender was evaluated, as the association of eGFR values with mGPS levels. A population of 57449 adult participants (age ≥18 years) was enrolled. Appropriate circulating biomarkers were measured to detect eGFR and mGPS values. The data obtained demonstrated a significant decrease of eGFR in men vs. women across the four selected age classes (18-40, 40-60, 60-80, 80-100 years), eGFR classes were significantly associated with mGPS (p<0.001), as age-classes and gender with mGPS categories. Accordingly, the percentage of people having a mGPS score= 2 significantly increased across the eGFR classes: with a 11% in the G1/eGFR class to achieve the 44% in G5/eGFR. Thus, the combination of mGPS with eGFR could represent the best benchmark risk model for differentiating age-related renal decline from a very KD, and for a better identification of different degrees of KD severity.

The advent of immunotherapy and specifically of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for the treatment of solid tumors has deeply transformed therapeutic algorithms in medical oncology. Approximately one third of patients treated with ICIs may develop immune-related adverse events, being the gastrointestinal tract often affected with different grades of mucosal inflammation. Checkpoint inhibitors colitis (CIC) presents with watery or bloody diarrhoea and in case of severe activity requires ICIs discontinuation. The pathogenesis of CIC is multifactorial and still partially unknow: anti-tumor activity that collaterally effects the colonic tissue and the upregulation of specific systemic inflammatory pathways (i.e., CD8+ cytotoxic and CD4+ T lymphocytes) are mainly involved. Many open issues remain on treatment timing and options, and biological treatment, above all with anti-TNF alpha, can be offered to these patients aiming to rapidly resume the oncological therapies. This review aims to summarize the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying CIC and to discuss evidenced-based management including the role of biological therapy.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common ocular disease characterized by the de-generation of the central area of the retina in elderly population. Progression and response to treatment is influenced by genetic and non-genetic factors. Proteomics is a powerful tool to study, at the molecular level, the mechanisms underlaying the progression of the diseases, to identify new therapeutical targets and to establish biomarkers to monitor progression and treatment ef-fectiveness. In this work we pursue to systematically review the use of proteomic-based ap-proaches for the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of AMD, as well as the progression of the disease and the on-treatment patient monitoring. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines were followed. Proteomic approaches have identified key players on the onset of the disease, such as proteins involved in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress, but also in the progression to advanced stages, including factors related to extracellular matrix integrity and angiogenesis. Although an-ti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF)-based therapy has been crucial in the treatment of neovascular AMD it is necessary to get deeper into the underlying disease mechanisms to move forward to next-generation therapies of the later-stage forms of this multifactorial disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on all facets of life and has exacerbated many challenges faced by people living with tuberculosis (TB). This study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of TB patients in Guinea during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-methods study was conducted using two validated psychometric tools to assess HRQoL and qualitative interviews among TB patients enrolled in treatment at three centers in Conakry, Guinea. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the deterioration of HRQoL. We included 439 participants in the study, among whom 44% and 31% experienced pain and anxiety, respectively. We found that an increase in the number of household members and the distance from participants’ residence to the health centre were significantly associated with lower HRQoL. Qualitative interviews highlighted nutritional and financial concerns which were exacerbated during COVID-19 pandemic and beliefs that the Guinean Government’s assistance plan was insufficient. This study supports the implementation of specific relief plans for TB patients which includes nutritional and psychological support, especially those whose movements are limited by travel restrictions, impeding access to TB care, reducing work opportunities and exacerbating financial needs and stress.

Antibiotics have been used in various fields such as livestock farm and fish farm as well as hospital in order to treat diseases caused by bacteria. However, the antibiotics that are not completely decomposed, but remains as residue and discharge to aquatic environment, can cause an imbalance in the gut flora of host, as well as regulate abnormal host gene regulatory system. We investigated the effects of chronic exposure with the low concentrations of erythromycin and ampicillin on gut microbiome and immune and stress-related gene expression using Korea native ricefish (Oryzias latipes). As a result of microbiome analysis, the proportion of Proteobacteria was increased in the ricefish when exposed to erythromycin and ampicillin chronically, whereas the proportion of other bacterial phyla decreased. In addition, the immune and stress-related genes were significantly influenced in the ricefish under the chronic antibiotics exposure. These results show that the internal microbial flora and the host gene expression are susceptible even in the low concentration of chronic antibiotic existing environments. This study provides the importance of the appropriate use of antibiotics dose to maintain the sustainable and healthy aquaculture industry and water ecosystem.

The importance of diet and the gut-brain axis for brain health and cognitive function is increasingly acknowledged. Dietary interventions are tested for their potential to prevent and/or treat brain disorders. Intermittent fasting (IF), the abstinence or strong limitation of calories for 12 to 48 hours, alternated with periods of regular food intake, has shown promising results on neurobiological health in animal models. In this review article, we discuss the potential benefits of IF on cognitive function and the possible effects on the prevention and progress of brain-related disorders in animals and humans. We do so by summarizing the effects of IF which - through metabolic, cellular and circadian mechanisms - lead to anatomical and functional changes in the brain. Our review shows that there is no clear evidence of a positive short-term effect of IF on cognition in healthy subjects. Clinical studies show benefits of IF for epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis on disease symptoms and progress. Findings from animal studies show mechanisms by which Parkinson’s disease, ischaemic stroke, autism spectrum disorder and mood- and anxiety disorders could benefit from IF. Future research should disentangle whether positive effects of IF hold true regardless of age or the presence of obesity. Also, variations in fasting patterns, total caloric intake and intake of specific nutrients may be relevant components of IF success. Longitudinal studies and Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) will provide a window into the long-term effects of IF on the development and progress of brain-related diseases.

This study presents an in–depth analysis and strategic planning techniques for approaching a situation or achieving progress related to information technology services of Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, particularly the San Isidro Campus. As an educational organization and one in the region excellence providers in education, the University has so much vital information to manage and services to offer to provide the student's needs through the Management Information System department, application of IT services as a competing instrument to combat tedious tasks such as online admission, grade release, enrollment information, and online learning, university announcement, and possible students’ internship. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of information technology in day–to–day activities of the organization and strategy applied to streamline processes more conveniently. The researchers develop a conceptual model that would analyze the IT services' impact by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and cleverly act on it using the TOWS Matrix in generating strategic decisions. The overall results were beneficial to the University and MIS as a basis for formulating competitive strategies and integrating it in an extended development plan.

Music and language are hypothesized to share neural resources, particularly at the level of syntax processing. Recent reports suggest that attention modulates this sharing of neural resources, but the time-course of the effects of attention, and the degree to which attention operates similarly on music and language, are yet unclear. In this EEG study we manipulate the syntactic structure of simultaneously presented musical chord progressions and garden-path sentences in a modified rapid serial visual presentation paradigm, while varying top-down attentional demands to the two modalities. The Early Right Anterior Negativity (ERAN) was observed in response to both attended and unattended musical syntax violations. In contrast, an N400 was only observed in response to attended linguistic syntax violations, and a P3 only in response to attended musical syntax violations. Results show that top-down allocation of attention indeed affects the processing of syntax in both music and language, with different neural resources acting upon the two modalities particularly at later stages of cognitive processing. However, the processing of musical syntax at an earlier stage of the perceptual-cognitive pathway, as indexed by the ERAN, is partially automatic, and is strongly indicative of separate neural resources for music and language.

IgE-mediated wheat allergy is a gluten-related disorder. Wheat is one of the five most common food allergens in children. However, the natural history of IgE-mediated wheat allergy has seldom been described in the research literature. This study presents the current state of knowledge about the IgE-mediated wheat allergy in children.

This study examines the relationship of fear of missing out (FOMO) with heavy social networking among Turkish university students (aged 17 - 55). The perception of the possible role of parental supervision on online activities is also investigated. Factor analysis of FOMO scale led us to evaluate the construct under two dimensions as (1) fear of missing experience and (2) fear of missing activity. The results revealed that fear of missing activity increases social media intrusion while fear of missing experience is found to have no significant effect. The reverse relationship is also valid: an urge to use social media predicts fear of missing out (activity and experience). Fear of missing experience is associated with problematic social media use (PSMU) and a high desire to use social media. The results additionally demonstrate that students aged 30 and older believe more in the requirement of parental control than those aged 17-22.

Abstract: Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are one of the evolutionarily oldest forms of animal communication. In order to study the communication architecture in an aversive social situation, we used a behavioral model in which one animal, the observer, is witnessing as his cagemate, the demonstrator, is experiencing a series of mild electrical foot-shocks (aversive stimuli). We studied the effect of foot-shocks experience in the observer and the influence of a warning sound (emit-ted shortly before the shock is applied) on USVs communication. These experiments revealed that such a warning seems to increase the arousal level, which differentiates the responses depending on previous experience. It can be identified by the emission of characteristic, short 22-kHz calls, of a duration below 100 ms. Furthermore, by analyzing temporally overlapping USVs, we found that in ‘Warned’ pairs with a naive observer, 22-kHz were mixed with 50-kHz calls. This fact, combined with a high fraction of very high-pitched 50-kHz calls (over 75-kHz), suggests the presence of the phenomenon of social buffering. On the other hand, in ‘Warned’ pairs with an experienced observer, pure 22-kHz overlaps were mostly found, signifying possible fear contagion with dis-tress sharing. Hence the importance of differentiating 22-kHz calls to long and short.

A high proportion of dogs and cats are fearful during veterinary visits, which in some cases may escalate into aggression. Here, we discuss factors that contribute to negative emotions in a veterinary setting and how these can be addressed. The set-up of the waiting area (e.g. spatial dividers; elevated places for cat carriers), tailoring the examination and the treatment to the individual, considerate handling (minimal restraint when possible, avoiding leaning over or cornering animals) and offering high-value food or toys throughout the visit can promote security and, ideally, positive associations. Desensitisation and counterconditioning are highly recommended both to prevent and address existing negative emotions. Some negative experiences such as short-term pain from injections can be minimised by using tactile and cognitive distractions. Preemptive analgesia is recommended for known painful procedures. Recommendations for handling fearful animals to minimise aggressive responses are discussed. However, anxiolytics or sedation should be used whenever there is a risk of traumatising an animal or for safety reasons. Stress-reducing measures can decrease stress and fear in patients and consequently their owners – thus strengthening the relationship with the clients as well as increasing the professional satisfaction of veterinary staff.

Although migraine belongs to the main causes of disability worldwide the mechanisms of its pathogenesis are poorly known, which is among the reasons that this disease is underdiagnosed and undertreated. As migraine diagnosis is based on the subjective assessment of symptoms, there is a need to establish objective markers of its occurrence and severity. Tryptophan (TRP) metabolism has been associated with the pathogenesis of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In the present work, we investigated an association between migraine and the urine concentration of TRP and its metabolites 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), kynurenine (KYN), kynurenic acid (KYNA) and quinolinic acid (QA) in 21 low-frequency episodic migraine patients and 32 controls. Migraine patients displayed lower urinary levels of 5-HIAA and KYNA, but KYN and QA were enhanced as compared with the controls. Consequently, the patients were characterized by different values of the 5-HIAA/TRP, KYN/TRP, KYNA/KYN, and KYNA/QA ratios. Furthermore, urinary concentration of 5-HIAA was negatively correlated with Migraine Disability Assessment score, monthly migraine, and monthly headache days. A negative correlation between Patient Health Questionnaire 9 scores assessing depression. In conclusion, the urinary 5-HIAA level may be an easy-to-determine marker of migraine occurrence and severity and may contribute to the identification of migraine patients with depression.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that is commonly considered to be a potent driver of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development and related mortality. A growing body of evidence supports the role of the immune system, mainly played by alveolar macrophages (AMs), as key axes regulating the development of COPD or NSCLC phenotypes in response to harmful agents. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that influence most biological processes and interfere with several regulatory pathways. The purpose of this study was to assess miRNA expression patterns in patients with COPD, NSCLC, and ever- or never-smoker controls to explore theirinvolvment in smoking-related diseases. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens were collected from a prospective cohort of 43 sex-matched subjects to determine expression of hsa-miR-223-5p, 16-5p, 20a-5p, -17-5p, 34a-5p and 106a-5p by RT-PCR. In addition, bioinformatic analysis of miRNA target genes linked to cancer was performed. Distinct and common miRNA expression levels were identified in each pathological group suggesting their possible role as an index of NSCLC or COPD microenvironment. Moreover, we identified miRNA targets linked to carcinogenesis using in silico analysis. In conclusion, this study identified miRNA signatures in AMs, allowing us to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying smoking-related conditions and potentially providing new insight for diagnosis or pharmacological treatment.

Abstract: Exercise has been repeatedly shown to be safe and beneficial for cancer survivors. However, there is no normative guideline for exercise prescription, and it is under exploration. Therefore, this literature review aims to provide some advice for the formulation of exercise prescriptions for patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) from the perspective of reducing lymphedema severity. A review of relevant studies published before November 2023 was conducted using three scientific databases PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. A total of 2696 articles were found. Eventually, 13 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in this literature review. We concluded daily, or nearly daily exercise at home can be recommended. Moreover, reduced lymphedema severity may not be maintained after ceasing the exercise program, so exercise should be a lifelong practice.

To investigate the associated mechanisms concerning collagen and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins in porcine skin injuries induced by laser exposure, pig skin was treated with a 1064 nm laser. The healing process of the laser-treated areas, alterations in collagen structure, and changes in apoptosis were continuously observed and analyzed from 6 hours to 28 days post-irradiation. On the 28th day following exposure, wound contraction and recovery were notably sluggish in the medium-high dose groups, displaying more premature and delicate type III collagen within the newly regenerated tissues. The collagen density in these groups was roughly 37-58% of that in the normal group. Between days 14 and 28 after irradiation, there was a substantial rise in apoptotic cell count in the forming epidermis and granulation tissue of the medium-high dose group, in contrast to the normal group. Notably, the expression of proapoptotic proteins bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 surged significantly 14 days after irradiation in the medium-high dose groups and persisted at elevated levels on the 28th day. During the later stage of wound healing, the augmented apoptotic cell population and insufficient collagen generation in the newborn skin tissue of the medium-high dose groups were closely associated with delayed wound recovery.

Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) affects approximately 20% of women after breast cancer therapy. Advances in treatment have increased life expectancy, thus the prevalence of BCRL will continue to rise with the number of cancer survivors. Hence the need to develop strategies to prevent this condition. We provide a systematic review of the literature on primary prevention of BCRL by prophylactic lymphatic surgery (PLS). Between June and August 2022, we conducted a search of PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane. In the end a total of eighteen papers were selected. The eleven studies without a control group reported only 15 of 342 patients who developed lymphedema at least six months after PLS (4.59%). The seven studies with a control group included 569 patients, 328 cases and 241 controls. Among the cases, 36 (10%) developed lymphedema. In contrast, the incidence of lymphedema in controls was 40% (98 of 241 patients). Formulation of definite recommendations in favour of PLS is hindered by low-quality studies. There is no consensus on which technique should be preferred, nor on whether adjuvant radiotherapy might affect the efficacy of PLS. Randomized controlled trials are mandatory to conceive evidence-based recommendations.

Online transportation services, initially presented as an innovative employment approach by categorizing workers as 'independent contractors', have come to be recognized for their exploitative nature. The notion of 'flexibility' suggests that workers have the autonomy to tailor their hours and location according to their income goals. However, this disguises the true situation for informal workers who lack rights and protections. This study delves into these issues from a psychological standpoint to uncover the mental and emotional interplay between the motivations and exploitation experienced by online drivers affiliated with multiple platforms. The study adopts a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological lens. Data was gathered through thorough interviews, observations, and document analysis, with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) employed as the data analysis technique. The study's participants were five male multi-platform online drivers from the Special Region of Yogyakarta, ranging in age from 18 to 64, and had been associated with at least two platforms for more than a year. The findings highlight two primary themes: firstly, the decision to join multiple platforms is chiefly driven by economic reasons, including a decline in orders, daily earnings, bonus incomes, and the conclusion of the initial profitable phase. Secondly, the exploitative conditions are linked to the platforms' algorithms, which exert control and influence the psychological state of the drivers. Nonetheless, the participants have developed effective strategies to manage fatigue, anxiety, and stress.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a prevalent condition affecting women worldwide. This study aimed to develop a rapid qPCR assay for accurate identification of VVC etiological agents and reduced azole susceptibility. One hundred and twenty nine vaginal samples from an outpatient clinic (Bilbao-Spain) were analyzed using culture-based methods and multiplex qPCR targeting fungal species, Candida albicans being the predominant species. Antifungal susceptibility tests revealed reduced azole susceptibility in three (3,48%) isolates. Molecular analysis identified several mutations in genes associated with azole resistance and novel mutations in TAC1 and MRR1 genes were also identified, which could contribute to drug resistance.

Introduction: congenital ureteral stenosis is one of the leading causes of impaired urinary drainage and subsequent dilatation of urinary collecting system, known as hydronephrosis or ureterohy-dronephrosis. Mechanism that leads to obstruction is not clearly known. Multiple studies in rat models have shown increased angiotensin 11 and TGFβ levels in obstructed ureteral tissue. The aim of the study is to investigate expression of fibrosis related genes in obstructive and normal ureteral tissue. Material and methods: it is a monocentric study in which nineteen patients were selected prospec-tively. 17 patients of which underwent Hynes-Anderson pyeloplasty due to the PUJO, 2 patients underwent ureteroneocystostomy due to ureterovesical junction obstruction (UVJO) and 6 patients were chosen for control group: 5 underwent nephrectomies due to the kidney tumor and 1- upper pole heminephrectomy due to the duplex kidney with normal pyeloureteric junctions in all. Tissue RNA was chemically extracted after freezing the biopsy samples in liquid nitrogen, with cDNA synthesis performed immediately after nucleic acid isolation. qPCR to evaluate the relative expres-sion of Tgfb1, Mmp1, Timp1, Pai1, Ctgf and Vegfa was performed. Expression levels of Gapdh and Gpi genes (geometric average) were used to calculate the relative expression of the investigated genes. Outliers were removed prior to calculating confidence intervals for the experimental groups, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test was performed to determine statistical significance of the differences. Results: significant differences between healthy and stenotic tissue samples in Ctgf gene expression levels were observed, with the samples from afflicted tissue showing lower expression. No statistical difference in expression levels of Tgfb1, Timp1, Vegfa, Mmp1, Pai1 was found. Discussion and conclusions: These findings suggest that tissue fibrosis similar to other tissues and organs is not the leading cause of stenosis, at least at the moment of surgery. Decreased CTGF ex-pression is indicative of developmental origin of obstruction.

The vacuolar H+-ATPase is a multisubunit enzyme which plays an essential role in the acidification and functions of lysosomes, endosomes, and synaptic vesicles. Many genes encoding subunits of V-ATPases, namely ATP6V0C, ATP6V1A, ATP6V0A1 and ATP6V1B2, have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy. The autosomal dominant ATP6V1B2 p.Arg506* variant can cause both deafness, congenital, with onychodystrophy, autosomal dominant (DDOD) and deafness, onychodystrophy, osteodystrophy, mental retardation, and seizures syndromes (DOORS). Some but not all individuals with this truncating variant have intellectual disability and/or epilepsy, suggesting incomplete penetrance and/or variable expressivity. To further explore the impact of the p.Arg506* variant in neurodevelopment and epilepsy, we generated Atp6v1b2emR506* mutant mice and performed standardized phenotyping using the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) pipeline. In addition, we assessed the EEG profile and seizure susceptibility of Atp6v1b2emR506* mice. Behavioral tests revealed that the mice present locomotor hyperactivity and show less anxiety-associated behaviors. Moreover, EEG analyses indicate that Atp6v1b2emR506* mutant mice have interictal epileptic activity and that both heterozygous (like patients) and homozygous mice have reduced seizure thresholds to pentylenetetrazol. Our results confirm that variants in ATP6V1B2 can cause seizures and that the Atp6v1b2emR506* heterozygous mouse model is a valuable tool to further explore the pathophysiology and potential treatments for vacuolar ATPases-associated epilepsy and disorders.

In this study, we de novo assembled whole genomes of two small body-sized West Pacific sciaenids (Larimichthys polyactis and Collichthys lucidus) and compared them with published genome data of two closely-related, large body-sized species (Larimichthys crocea and Miichthys miiuy) and one distantly-related, large body-sized outgroup species (Dicentrarchus labrax). The phylogeny constructed using 7,403 single-copy orthologs shared among the five species indicated that L. crocea and L. polyactis diverged about 42 MYA. The two sibling taxa are more closely-related to C. lucidus than M. miiuy. We further identified four growth-related genes (CDHR2, PGC, PTN and PDGFA) that host five diagnostic amino acid variants on body size traits in the fishes, splitting small-body sized L. polyactis and C. lucidus from large-body sized L. crocea, M. miiuy and D. labrax. The results provide new genomic resources and guidelines to facilitate future endeavors in studying functional genomics and developing selective breeding programs for desirable growth traits in sciaenids.

Exposure to extreme heat is a known risk factor that is associated with increased heat-related illness (HRI) outcomes. The relevance of heat wave definitions could change across the health conditions and geographies due to the heterogenous climate profile. This study compared the sensitivity of 28 heat wave definitions associated with HRI emergency department visits over five summer seasons (2011-2016), stratified by two physiographic regions (Coastal and Piedmont) in North Carolina. The HRI rate ratios associated with heat waves were estimated using the generalized linear regression framework assuming a negative binomial distribution. We compared the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values across the heat wave definitions to identify an optimal heat wave definition. In the Coastal region, heat wave definition based on daily maximum temperature with a threshold >90^th percentile for two or more consecutive days had the optimal model fit. In the Piedmont region, heat wave definition based on the daily minimum temperature with a threshold value >90^th percentile for two or more consecutive days was optimal. Additionally, we observed that the optimal heat wave definitions from this study captured moderate and frequent heat episodes than the national weather service (NWS) heat products that worked best for extreme heat episodes. This study compared the HRI morbidity risk associated with epidemiologic-based heat wave definitions and with NWS heat products. Our findings could be used for public health education and suggest recalibrating NWS heat products.

Abstract: Windtech device is a novel tool for measuring the sensation of the ‘cold’. Cold poses numerous challenges for industrial operations, human survival, and living convenience. The impact of the cold is not possible to be quantified just based on temperatures; however other factors such as wind speed, humidity, irradiance have to be taken into consideration. Efforts have been made to develop combined indices such as wind chill temperature (WCT), AccuWeather RealFeel®, and others. The presented article discusses these along with the industrial standards that emphasize on the quantification of the ‘cold’. The following article introduces the Windtech device and its operating principle involving ‘heated temperature’, where the ‘heated temperature’ is affected by environmental parameters including ambient temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and irradiance. The discussed Windtech device is calibrated for operation according to the ISO 11079:2007 standard.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted from January 2017 to June 2018. One-hundred and four consecutive patients with DM2 were given lateral lumbar X-rays in order to quantify aortic abdominal calcification AAC. Circulating levels of AGEs and classical cardiovascular risk factors were determined. Clinical history was also registered. Patients with higher AGEs values had higher grades of aortic calcification and higher number of diabetic related complications. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that being older, male and having high levels of AGEs and triglycerides were the independent risk factors associated to moderate-severe AAC when compared to no-mild AAC. Our results suggest that AGEs plays a role in the pathogenesis of aortic calcifications. In addition, the measurement of AGEs levels may be useful for assessing the severity of AAC in the setting of diabetic complications.

Objective: To examine the associations between menstruation features and symptoms and hormone-immune-metabolic biomarkers. Methods: Forty-one women completed questionnaires assessing characteristic menstruation symptoms, duration of menstrual cycle and number of pads used/day and completed the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) during the consecutive days of their menstrual cycle. Menses-related symptoms (MsRS) were computed from the sum of 10 pre- and post-menses symptoms and the menstruation blood and duration index (MBDI) was computed based on the daily number of pads and duration of menses. We assayed serum levels of various biomarkers at days 7, 14, 21, and 28 of the subjects’ menstrual cycle. Results: MBDI was significantly associated with a) MsRS including low abdominal cramps, and gastro-intestinal (GI) and pain symptoms (positively); b) plasma levels of haptoglobin (Hp), CCL5, insulin growth factor (IGF)-1, and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)1 (all positively); and c) estradiol and paraoxonase (PON)1 arylesterase activity (both inversely). MsRS were significantly predicted by CCL5 and IGF-1 (both positively) and progesterone (inversely). Low-abdominal cramps, and gastro-intestinal and pain symptoms were associated with lower progesterone levels. The MBDI+MsRS score was significantly predicted by the cumulative effects of (in descending order of importance): Hp, IGF-1, PON1 arylesterase, estradiol and PAI. Conclusion: Menstruation-related features including estimated blood loss, duration of menses, cramps, pain and GI symptoms are associated with hormone-immune-metabolic biomarkers, which mechanistically may explain those features. Women with an increased MBDI+MsRS index ≥ 0.666 percentile may be considered to have menstruation-related distress, including dysmenorrhea symptoms.

Disease related malnutrition (DRM) is prevalent in hospitals and is associated with increased care needs, prolonged hospital stay, delayed rehabilitation and death. Nutrition care process related activities such as screening, assessment and treatment has been advocated by scientific societies and patient organizations but implementation is variable. We analyzed the cross-sectional nutritionDay database for prevalence of nutrition risk factors, care processes and outcome for medical patients. In 59126 medical patients included between 2006-2015 the prevalence of recent weight loss (45%), history of decreased eating (48%) and low actual eating (53%) was more prevalent than low BMI (8%). Each of these risk factors was associated with a large increase in 30 days hospital mortality. Nutrition care processes increases slightly with presence of risk factors but never done in more than 50% of patients. Only a third of patients not eating in hospital receive oral nutritional supplements or artificial nutrition. We suggest that political action should be taken to raise awareness and formal education on all aspects related to DRM for all stakeholders, to create and support responsibilities within hospitals, and to create adequate reimbursement schemes. Collection of routine and benchmarking data is crucial to tackle DRM.

Background: Antibiotic lock therapy is an interventional modality used for treatment and prevention of central-line associated bloodstream infections. Stability and compatibility data for combinations are lacking, limiting clinical use. Objective: Compatibility and stability of daptomycin lock solutions in combination with azithromycin, gentamicin, and heparin or sodium citrate were evaluated up to 96 hours. Methods: Eight candidate lock solutions were prepared for compatibility and stability testing. All solutions were prepared in glass vials, and included daptomycin 1mg/mL in varying combinations with heparin 100 – 1,000 units/mL, trisodium citrate, azithromycin and/or gentamicin. Lactated Ringer’s solution was added as a diluent in a sufficient quantity to bring the total volume up to 5mL. Drug stability in the admixture was determined by the degradation of the components. The quantification of drugs was performed using Waters Alliance HPLC using Phenomenex Luna C8 (2), 150*2.6mm, 5µ column. A gradient run was executed for 20 minutes with 0.45% ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 3.25 as eluent A and acetonitrile as eluent B at a flow rate of 1.0mL/min. Each solution was visually inspected for particulates and color change. Lock solutions were tested in triplicate. Results: Daptomycin degradation was <10% for all solutions at 48 hours, and for 7 of the 8 solutions at 72 hours. Gentamicin degradation was <5% for solutions in combination with daptomycin and trisodium citrate. No physical incompatibilities were detected. Conclusion: Study data support the stability and compatibility of daptomycin with additives in solution, allowing for fewer exchanges and longer dwell times for a lock solution. The addition of azithromycin or gentamicin may offer synergy and/or extended spectrum of activity. Daptomycin bioactivity with trisodium citrate needs confirmation.

The link between language processing and motor systems has been the focus of increasing interest to Cognitive Neuroscience. Some classical papers studying Event Related Potentials (ERPs) induced by linguistic stimuli have found differences in electrophysiological activity when comparing action and non-action words; more specifically, a bigger p200 for action words. On the other hand, a series of studies have validated the use of a grip force sensor (GFS) to measure language-induced motor activity during both isolated words and sentence listening, finding that action words induce an augmentation in the grip force around 250-300 ms after the onset of the stimulus. The purpose of the present study is to combine both techniques to assess if the p200 is related to the augmentation of the grip force measured by a GFS. We measured ERP and GFS changes elicited by listening to action and non-action words while maintaining an active grasping task in 10 healthy subjects. Our results show that the amplitude of the p200 in central electrodes is correlated to the augmentation in the GFS around 300 ms induced by linguistic stimuli. To our knowledge, this is the first study where the electrophysiological activity and the changes in the grip force induced by auditory language processing are put together, opening new venues of interpretation for the sensorimotor interaction in language processing.

The mechanization of agricultural activities has led to indiscriminate deposition of toxic xenobiotics, including organophosphates in the biomes, and this has led to intoxication characterized with deleterious oxidative and neuronal changes. This study investigated the consequences of oxidative and neurogenic disruptions that follow exposure to two organophosphates, chlorpyrifos (CPF) and dichlorvos (DDVP) on neuro-cognitive performance and anxiety-like behaviors in rats Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats (150 – 170g) were randomly divided into 4 groups, orally exposed to normal saline (NS), DDVP (8.8mg/kg), CPF (14.9mg/kg) and DDVP+CPF for 14 consecutive days. On day 10 of exposures, anxiety-like behaviors and amygdala dependent fear learning were assessed using Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze paradigms respectively, while spatial working memory was assessed on day 14 in the Morris water maze paradigm, following 3 training trials each on days 11, 12 and 13. On day 15, the rats were euthanized, and their brains excised, hippocampus and amygdala removed, 5 of which were homogenized and centrifuged to analyze nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, total reactive oxygen species (ROS), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and the other three processed for histology (cresyl violet stain) and proliferative marker (Ki67 immunohistochemistry). Marked (p≤0.05) loss in body weight, AChE depletion, and overproduction of both NO and ROS were observed after repeated exposure to individual and combined doses of CPF and DDVP. Insults from DDVP exposure appeared more severe owing to the observed greater losses in the body weights of exposed rats. There was also a significant (p≤0.05) effect on the cognitive behaviors recorded from the exposed rats, and these deficits were related to the oxidative damage and neurogenic cell loss in the hippocampus and the amygdala of the exposed rats. Taken together, these results provided an insight that oxidative and neurogenic damages are central to the severity of neuro-cognitive dysfunction and increased anxiety-like behaviors that follow organophosphate poisoning.

The growth of the wind power sector has been marked by environmental, economic, and political drivers. Its starring role is also visible in the emergence of the so-called “green jobs”. Notwithstanding, its evolution ought not to compromise issues related to occupational risks. This exploratory study examines psychosocial risks in the operation and maintenance of onshore wind turbines in a leading Portuguese company. We conducted interviews with main stakeholders (Human Resources, OHS professionals, and team leaders); developed an “activity diary” for the operation and maintenance technicians to describe their activity and perceived impacts on health, complemented with collective interviews; and applied the Work and Health Survey. The results revealed particular risks and health impacts: working under adverse weather conditions; working at heights and in confined spaces; spending long work hours inside of the nacelles to achieve an optimum balance between favorable wind slots to intervene and avoiding additional trips up and down the wind turbines without lifts (70m-120m); and the feeling of early ageing. At a time when these workers are striving for recognition of their profession as a “rapid wear profession”, it is a key moment to discuss these results to guarantee sustainable conditions for future generations of workers.

Electroencephalography (EEG) enabled earbuds represent a promising frontier in evaluating brain activity beyond traditional laboratory settings. However, these devices need more comprehensive characterization before widespread health related usage. A toolbox was developed to facilitate and expand the assessment of ear-EEG devices. The first component of this toolbox is a desktop application (“EaR-P Lab”) that integrates EEG validation paradigms. This application is designed to be used with EEG amplifiers compatible with the Lab Streaming Layer (LSL) protocol. The second element of the toolbox introduces an adaptation of the phantom testing concept, to the domain of ear-EEG by using 3D ear scans of the tested individuals, allowing controlled assessment of ear-EEG devices. The EEG paradigms were validated for scalp acquisitions and applied on ear-EEG measurements, under wet ear electrode conditions. The ear-EEG phantom was successful in measuring useful metrics in EEG system characterization, highlighting performance differences within the electrodes on the tested earpieces. This knowledge was factored in to select an optimal electrode reference which resulted in increased response power on the auditory steady-state response (ASSR). Through this work, an ear-EEG evaluation toolkit is made available with the intention to enable future and systematic assessment of novel ear-EEG devices from the hardware to the neural signals.

Better understanding of the quality of life among nursing home residents with dementia is im-portant for developing interventions. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to examine factors associated with poor health-related quality of life in older adults with dementia living in nursing homes in Hanoi, Vietnam. In-person interviews were conducted with 140 adults 60 years and older with dementia and information about their quality of life was obtained using the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease scale (QOL-AD). A number of sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (lowest tertile) were assessed through the results of physical tests, interviews with nursing home staff, and review of medical records. The average age of the study sample was 78.3 years, 65% were women, and their av-erage QOL-AD total score was 27.3 (SD = 4.4). Malnutrition, total dependence in activities of daily living, and urinary incontinence were associated with poor quality of life after controlling for multiple potentially confounding factors. Our findings show that Vietnamese nursing home residents with dementia have a moderate quality of life and interventions based on comprehen-sive geriatric assessment remain needed to modify risk factors associated with poor health-related quality of life.

The world is facing an energy crisis. Governments are seeking to provide universal energy access and guarantee energy security while trying to mitigate climate change. One possible solution is energy transitions towards low carbon energy systems. Among other things (physical infrastructure, public policy and regulatory enablers and knowledge and capacities) changes in the energy systems require a well informed and participative citizenship. Within this context the concept of energy literacy appears. Energy literacy is the understanding of how energy is generated, transported, stored, distributed and used, awareness about its environmental and social impacts and the knowledge to use it efficiently in the different sectors of the economy. This paper provides a systematic literature review in the Web of Science’s Core Collection. Most of the work done around energy literacy addresses its evaluation among different groups, particularly students at different levels, and the construction, application and evaluation of tools for improving energy literacy. Other frequently studied issues are the influence of energy literacy in decision making, its drivers and conceptual research about the topic. Energy enables citizens to effectively contribute to energy efficiency and sustainable development, nevertheless energy literacy is not strongly correlated to energy consumption habits.