Evodiamine is a bioactive alkaloid that is specified as a biomarker for the quality assessment of Evodia rutaecarpa and for traditional Chinese medicines containing this plant. We previously reported that quantitative structure-activity modeling indicated that evodiamine may cause cardiotoxicity. However, previous investigations have indicated that evodiamine has beneficial effects in patients with cardiovascular diseases and there are no previous in vitro or in vivo reports of evodiamine-induced cardiotoxicity. The present study investigated the effects of evodiamine on primary cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in vitro, and on zebrafish in vivo. Cell viability was reduced in vitro, where evodiamine had a 24-h 50% inhibitory concentration of 28.44 µg/mL. Cells exposed to evodiamine also showed increased lactate dehydrogenase release and maleic dialdehyde levels, and reduced superoxide dismutase activity. In vivo, evodiamine had a 10% lethal concentration of 354 ng/mL and induced cardiac malfunction, as evidenced by changes in heart rate and circulation, and pericardial malformations. This study indicated that evodiamine could cause cardiovascular side effects involving oxidative stress. These findings suggest that cardiac function should be monitored in patients receiving preparations containing evodiamine.

This paper studies the combined effect of corrosion and fatigue on the growth of cracks in aircraft and on the effect of skin corrosion and stress corrosion cracking on the load bearing capacity of rib stiffened aircraft wings. In this context it is shown that the growth of cracks from surface pitting, and also from intergranular cracking at a fastener hole, can be accurately computed using the Hartman-Schijve variant of the NASGRO crack growth equation. The examples studied support the lead crack approach, that has been independently developed by the USAF and the Australian Defence Science Technology Group, in which the growth of lead cracks is often exponential. In the case of skin corrosion it is shown that to be consistent with the US Joint Service Structural Guidelines (JSSG2006) assessment of its effect on the load bearing capacity of the wing should involve an assessment of whether at 115% DLL the remaining material exceeds the yield stress of the material.

Optical and mechanical properties of multilayer coatings depend on the selected layer materials and the deposition technology; therefore, knowledge of the performances of thin films is essential. In the present work, titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) thin films have been prepared by plasma ion-assisted deposition (PIAD). The optical, structural, and mechanical properties of thin films have been investigated using spectrometer/ellipsometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and laser interferometer. The results show that TiO2 film fabricated by PIAD induces a high refractive index, wide optical band gap, amorphous structure, smooth surface, and tensile stress. In the case of SiO2 film, high bias voltage leads to dense structure and compressive stress. As an application, a three-wavelength high reflectance at 632.8, 808, and 1550nm is optimized and deposited. The dependence of total stress in the multilayer on the substrate temperature is studied as well. In conclusion, it is demonstrated that PIAD is an effective method for the preparation of ultralow stress TiO2/SiO2 multilayer films. The achieved stress is as low as 1.4Mpa. The result could provide guidance to the stress optimization of most optical components without prefiguring, backside coating, and post-deposition treatments.

BACKGROUND: Stable-phase schizophrenia may comprise two distinct nosological entities namely Major Neuro-Cognitive Psychosis (MNP, largely overlapping with the deficit syndrome) and simple NP (SNP), which are defined by neuroimmune and neurocognitive abnormalities. Furthermore, cognitive impairments and PHEM (psychotic, hostility, excitation, mannerism) and negative symptoms load on the same dimension.METHODS: The current study aimed to investigate associations of psychomotor retardation (PMR) and clinical as well as biomarker characteristics of schizophrenia. We recruited 40 healthy controls and 79 schizophrenia patients and measured IgA responses to tryptophan catabolites (TRYCATs), IgM to malondialdehyde and nitroso (NO)-cysteinyl, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 (MIP-1), soluble interleukin (IL)-1 receptor antagonist (sIL-1RA), IL-10, CCL-11 as well as PMR items of different rating scales and motor screening task (MOT). RESULTS: PMR differentiated schizophrenia from controls and MNP from SNP. In addition, PMR was strongly associated with executive functions, deficits in episodic and semantic memory, PHEM and negative (PHEMN) symptoms. Around 50% of the variance in PMR was predicted by the cumulative effects of immune activation, CCL-11, TRYCATs and NO-Cysteinyl levels, and lowered natural IgM. PRM may be reliably combined with PHEMN symptoms and memory and executive impairments into one latent vector reflecting overall psychopathology.CONCLUSIONS: Current findings indicate that PMR may be a key psychopathological feature of schizophrenia and mainly MNP. In addition, PMR and associated impairments in memory and executive functions, and PHEMN symptoms may be driven by deficits in the compensatory immune regulatory system (natural IgM) combined with increased production of neurotoxic immune products, namely TRYCATs and IgM to NO-cysteinyl, and an endogenous cognition deteriorating chemokine, namely CCL-11.

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.

Using hierarchical regression analysis within a mediation model framework, the present study explores direct and indirect (through life satisfaction) causal impacts of commuting stress on turnover intention of employees from 29 business organizations in six populous cities of Turkey. A semi-random heterogeneous sample of 214 employees with different demographics was surveyed in winter and summer times for also capturing seasonal variations of variables. The results supporting the partial mediating role of life satisfaction in the positive relationship between commuting stress and turnover intention infer that commuting stress induces turnover intention directly and indirectly (by reducing life satisfaction). The analysis of variance reveals that demographic characteristics of employees such as gender, marital status, age, and family size together with commuting type and commuting duration matter for their perceived commuting stress, life satisfaction, and turnover intention levels. Commuting stress perception is relatively higher in summer time whereas the other magnitudes are consistently and significantly invariant between two survey implementations. The study concludes with a call for the consideration of commuting stress and life satisfaction together with environmental and demographic factors when analyzing the antecedents and consequences of employee turnover intention.

This review describes the positive effects of growth hormone on the cardiovascular system. We analyze why the vascular endothelium is a real internal secretion gland, whose inflammation is the first step for developing atherosclerosis, as well as the mechanisms by which GH acts on the vascular endothelium improving its dysfunction. We also report how GH acts on coronary arterial disease and heart failure, and on peripheral arterial disease inducing the generation of new collateral vessels able to bypass a major artery occlusion. We include some preliminary data from a trial in which GH or placebo is given to elder people suffering from critical limb ischemia, showing the effects of the hormone on plasma markers of inflammation, and stating that the administration of GH in short periods of time is safe and effective even in diabetic patients. We also analyze how Klotho may have strong relationships with GH, inducing, after being released from the damaged vascular endothelium, the pituitary secretion of GH to repair the damaged tissue. Lastly, we show how GH induces wound healing by increasing the blood flow to the ischemic tissue. In summary, we postulate that short-time GH administration is useful for treating cardiovascular diseases.

Our previous in vitro reports showed that crude extract prepared with 50% ethanol (ethanol crude extract, ECE) from Mongolian oak cups possessed excellent antioxidant capacities as well as inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase, α-amylase and protein glycation caused by its enrichment in phenolics, including mainly ellagic acid, kaempferol and their derivatives. Nevertheless, few in vivo studies on antidiabetic activities of these phenolics were conducted. The present study investigated hypoglycemic effects with normal and diabetic rats being administrated orally without or with ECE at 200 and 800 mg/kg for 15 days. In normal rats, no significant differences were exhibited after ECE administration in body weight, fasting blood glucose level, levels of chelesterol, triglyceride, LDL and AST in serum, organ indexes, and levels of GSH and MDA in organs. In diabetic rats, the fasting blood glucose level, indexes of heart and liver, and levels of chelesterol and triglyceride in serum and MDA in heart tissue were significantly decreased. Moreover, HDL levels in serum and SOD activities in the four organs of diabetic rats were significantly improved after ECE administration at 800 mg/kg. Thus, in addition to inhibiting α-glucosidase, α-amylase and protein glycation reported previously, oak cups might contain novel dietary phytonutrients in preventing abnormal changes in blood glucose and lipid profile and attenuating oxidant stress in vivo. The results also implied that it is ellagic acid, kaempferol and their derivatives enriched in ECE that might play vital roles in managing type 1 as well as type 2 diabetes.

Many studies were done in the development of drought stress-tolerant transgenic plants, including crop plants. Rice is considered to be a vital crop target for improving drought stress tolerance. Much transgenic rice showed improved drought stress tolerance was reported to date. They are genetically engineered plants that are developed by using genes that encode proteins involved in drought stress regulatory networks. These proteins include protein kinases, transcription factors, enzymes related to osmoprotectant or plant hormone synthesis, receptor-like kinase. Of the drought stress-tolerant transgenic rice plants described in this review, most of them display retarded plant growth. In crop crops, plant health is a fundamental agronomic trait that can directly affect yield. By understanding the regulatory mechanisms of retarded plant growth under drought stress, conditions are necessary precursors to developing genetically modified plants that result in high yields.

Different organisms, cell types, and even similar cell lines can dramatically differ in resistance to genotoxic stress. This testifies to the wide opportunities for genetic and epigenetic regulation of stress resistance. These opportunities could be used to increas the effectiveness of cancer therapy, develop new varieties of plants and animals, and search for new pharmacological targets to enhance human radioresistance, for example, for -manned deep space expeditions. Based on the comparison of transcriptomic studies in cancer cells, in this review we propose that there is a high diversity of genetic mechanisms of development of genotoxic stress resistance. This review focused onpossibilities and limitations of the proposed regulation of the resistance of normal cells whole organisms to genotoxic and oxidative stress by overexpressing of stress-response genes. Moreover, the existing experimental data on the effect of such overexpression on the resistance of cells and organisms to various genotoxic agents has been analyzed and systematized. We suggest that the recent advances in the development of multiplex and highly customizable gene overexpression technology that utilizes the mutant Cas9 protein and the wealth of available data on gene functions and their signal networks open new opportunities for research in this field.

The burdens of malnutrition, protein and micronutrient deficiency, and obesity cause enormous costs to society. Crop nutritional quality has been compromised by the emphasis on edible yield and through the loss of biodiversity due to the introduction of high-yielding uniform cultivars. Heirloom crop cultivars are traditional cultivars grown for a long time (> 50 years), and whose heritage has been preserved by regional, ethnic or family groups. Heirlooms are recognized for their unique appearance, names, uses and historical significance. They are gaining in popularity because of their unique flavors and cultural significance to local cuisine, and their role in sustainable food production for small-scale farmers. As a contrast to modern cultivars, heirlooms may offer a welcome alternative in certain markets. Recently, market channels have emerged for heirloom cultivars in the form of farmer-breeder-chef collaborations and seed savers organizations. There is therefore urgent need to know more about the traits available in heirloom cultivars, particularly for productivity, stress tolerance, proximate composition, sensory quality and flavor. This information is scattered and the intention of this review is to document some of the unique characteristics of heirloom cultivars that may be channeled into breeding programs for developing locally adapted high value cultivars.

The GAI‐RGA ‐ and ‐SCR (GRAS) proteins belong to the plant-specific transcription factor gene family and involved in several developmental processes, phytohormone and phytochrome signaling, symbiosis, stress responses etc. GRAS proteins have a conserved GRAS domain at C-terminal and hypervariable N-terminal. The C-terminal conserved domain directly affects the function of the GRAS proteins. For instance, in Arabidopsis, mutations in this domain in Slender rice 1 (SLR1) and Repressor of GA (RGA) proteins cause significant phenotypic changes. GRAS proteins have been reported in more than 30 plant species and till now it has been divided into 17 subfamilies. This review highlighted GRAS protein's importance during several biological processes in plants, structural features of GRAS proteins, their expansion and diversification in the plants, GRAS-interacting proteins complexes and their role in biological processes. We also summarized available recent research that utilized CRISPR-Cas9 technology to manipulate GRAS genes in a plant for different traits. Further, the exploitation of GRAS genes in crop improvement programs has also been discussed

To understand great disparities in disease outcomes between CIVID-19 patients, we explore infection and host responses in kinetics. From existing data, we deduced a model that the lungs are damaged by rapidly rising flow resistance as a result of retaining white blood cells in lung tissues. The retention of white blood cells is initially triggered by viral infection but aggravated by injuries caused by low temperature. Lungs are initially damaged by fluid leakage, rapidly followed by extruding blood into alveolar spaces. The step of blood extruding is predicted to take place in a very short time. Our simulations show that as little as 0.1% retention of white blood cells in the lungs can lead to their failure in 5 to 10 days. The small degrees of imbalance implies that this imbalance could be corrected by a large number of factors that are known to reduce flow resistance. The model implies that the top priority is maintaining blood micro-circulation and preserving organ functions in the entire disease course, especially after the virus has spread the whole lungs. From exploring a large number of hypothetical infection modes, we propose preventive, mitigating and treatment strategies for ultimately ending the pandemic. The first strategy is avoiding exposures that could result in widespread damages to lungs and taking post exposure mitigating measures that would reduce disease severity. The second strategy is reducing death rate and disability rate from the current levels to one tenth for infected patients by using multiple factors health optimization method. The double reduction strategies are expected to generate a series of chain reactions that favor mitigating or ending the pandemic. Some reactions include a big reduction of the amount of viral discharges from infected patients into the air, the avoidance of panic, chronic stress and emotional distress, and cross-infections which are expected in quarantines. The double reductions would have a final effect of ending the pandemic.

The purpose of the present study was to examine if 14 days of supplementation with a pine bark extract leading up to and following an exercise test would increase performance and reduce biomarkers associated with muscle damage, inflammation and oxidative stress. The study used a double-blind, placebo controlled, cross-over design. Participants ingested either 800mg pine bark extract or placebo for 14 days prior to the first exercise trial and for 2 days post-exercise. On the exercise day, participants submitted a pre-exercise blood sample, then completed a VO₂ peak test until volitional failure. A post-blood sample was collected 1 hour after completion of exercise. Participants returned at 24 & 48 hours after the exercise testing for measures of muscle pain in the lower body using an algometer. Participants then had a 7-day washout period before beginning to crossing over to the alternate treatment. Analysis via ordinal regression demonstrated a significant difference in oxidative stress in the pine bark extract group compared to placebo (ChiSq = 2.63; p = 0.05). The pine bark extract was effective at affording protection from oxidative stress post exercise. Further work should be undertaken to evaluate the findings with other exercise modes or in participants with known metabolic syndrome.

Traditional winglets are designed as fixed devices attached at the tips of the wings. The primary purpose of the winglets is to reduce the lift-induced drag, therefore improving aircraft performance and fuel efficiency. However, because winglets are fixed surfaces, they cannot be used to control lift-induced drag reductions or to obtain the largest lift-induced drag reductions at different flight conditions (take-off, climb, cruise, loitering, descent, approach, landing, and so on). In this work, we propose the use of variable cant angle winglets which could potentially allow aircraft to get the best all-around performance (in terms of lift-induced drag reduction), at different flight phases. By using computational fluid dynamics, we study the influence of the winglet cant angle and sweep angle on the performance of a benchmark wing at Mach numbers of 0.3 and 0.8395. The results obtained demonstrate that by adjusting the cant angle, the aerodynamic performance can be improved at different flight conditions.

Since January, the disease caused by the Sars Cov-2 virus has spread and following pandemic. In a few months, the virus is seriously affecting the health systems of the various countries of the world and placing people in difficult psychological conditions. Few scientific resources on mental health have been published but still no one has proposed an action plan to cope the future psychological problems.This manuscript provides a plan to easily frame the priorities of mental health area related to COVID-19 to be taken into consideration which should be disseminated and that should be known by all health professionals and also by the major administrators of public health.

It is important to distinguish between natural earthquakes and those induced by CO2 injection at carbon capture and storage sites. For example, the 2004 Mw 6.8 Chuetsu earthquake occurred close to the Nagaoka CO2 storage site during gas injection, but we could not quantify whether the earthquake was due to CO2 injection or not. Here we simulated changes of pore pressure during CO2 injection at the Nagaoka site and compared them with estimated natural seasonal fluctuations of pore pressure due to rainfall and snowmelt as well as estimated pore pressure increases related to remote earthquakes. We clearly distinguished changes of pore pressure due to CO2 injection from those due to rainfall and snowmelt. The simulated local increase in pore pressure at seismogenic fault area was much less than the seasonal fluctuations related to precipitation and increases caused by remote earthquakes, and the lateral extent of pore pressure increase was insufficient to influence seismogenic faults. We also demonstrated that pore pressure changes due to distant earthquakes are capable of triggering slip on seismogenic faults. The approach we developed could be used to distinguish natural from injection-induced earthquakes and will be useful for that purpose at other CO2 sequestration sites.

Ionizing radiation-induced bystander effects (RIBE) encompass a number of effects with potential for a plethora of damages in adjacent non-irradiated tissue. The cascade of molecular events is initiated in response to the exposure to ionizing radiation (IR), something that may occur during diagnostic or therapeutic medical applications. In order to better investigate these complex response mechanisms, we employed a unified framework integrating statistical microarray analysis, signal normalization and translational bioinformatics functional analysis techniques. This approach was applied to several microarray datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) related to RIBE. The analysis produced lists of differentially expressed genes, contrasting bystander and irradiated samples versus sham-irradiated controls. Furthermore, comparative molecular analysis through BioInfoMiner, which integrates advanced statistical enrichment and prioritization methodologies, revealed discrete biological processes, at the cellular level. For example, negative regulation of growth, cellular response to Zn2+- Cd2+, Wnt and NIK/NF-kappaB signalling, which refine the description of the phenotypic landscape of RIBE. Our results provide a more solid understanding of RIBE cell-specific response patterns, especially in the case of high-LET radiations like α-particles and carbon-ions.

The approach towards myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) remains in a permanent state of crisis with fierce competition between the psychosocial school, which attributes ME/CFS to the perception of effort, and the medical approach (Maes and Twisk, BMC Med, 2010,8,35). The aim of this paper is to review how to construct a nomothetic model of ME/CFS using Partial Least Squares (PLS) path analysis and ensembling causome (bacterial translocation as assessed with IgM/IgA responses to LPS), protectome (lowered coenzyme Q10), adverse outcome pathways (AOP) including increased lysozyme, CD38+ T cell activation, cell-mediated immune activation (CMI), and IgM responses to oxidative specific epitopes and NO-adducts (IgM OSENO). Using PLS, we trained, tested and validated this knowledge- and data-driven causal ME/CFS model, which showed adequate convergence, construct and replicability validity. This bottom-up explicit data model of ME/CFS objectivates the descriptive narratives of the ME/CFS phenome, using causome-protectome-AOP data, whereby the abstract concept ME/CFS is translated into pathways, thereby securing the reification of the ME/CFS phenome. We found that 31.6% of the variance in the physiosomatic symptom dimension of ME/CFS was explained by the cumulative effects of CMI and CD38+ activation, IgM OSENO, IgA LPS, lysozyme (all positive) and coenzyme Q10 (inversely). Cluster analysis performed on the PLS-generated latent vector scores of all feature sets exposed three distinct immune groups of ME/CFS, namely one with increased lysozyme, one with increased CMI + CD38 activation + depressive symptoms, and another with increased bacterial translocation + autoimmune responses to OSENO.

An astonishing increase in temperature is posing several harmful impacts on crop plants. Heat stress is an abiotic environmental phenomenon that causes limits, inhibits plant growth, metabolism, and productivity worldwide, resulting in losses in production yields. Heat stress is caused by human activities and global warming,s such as greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapour. There are many pieces of evidence to support that heat stress reduces the crop plants yield worldwide, and the effects of heat stress are challenging to meet nutritional security and global food security for human beings. Heat stress has negative impacts on each developmental stage, including from germination to harvesting. Prevalent approaches for heat adaption is inadequate management that is unable either to increase the crop productivity or sustain ld. Several responses to dissect the relevant knowledge about heat stress mechanism involving morphological phenomena, physiological phenomena, reproductive replies, and molecular responses such as heat shock proteins act as mRNA synthesis, mRNA control (effects of genes during heat stress), the translation process, heat response element. There are such phenomena involving disseminating the knowledge concerning heat stress. In this review, we summarise the effect of heat stress on plant mechanisms, including morphological, biochemical and molecular responses.

Small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) are ubiquitously found in the three domains of life playing large-scale roles in gene regulation, transposable element silencing, and defense against foreign elements. While a substantial body of experimental work has been done to uncover function of sRNAs in Bacteria and Eukarya, the functional roles of sRNAs in Archaea are still poorly understood. Recently, high throughput studies using RNA-sequencing revealed that sRNAs are broadly expressed in the Archaea, comprising thousands of transcripts within the transcriptome during non-challenged and stressed conditions. Antisense sRNAs, which overlap a portion of a gene on the opposite strand (cis-acting), are the most abundantly expressed non-coding RNAs and they can be classified based on their binding patterns to mRNAs (3’ UTR, 5’ UTR, CDS-binding). These antisense sRNAs target many genes and pathways, suggesting extensive roles in gene regulation. Intergenic sRNAs are less abundantly expressed and their targets are difficult to find because of a lack of complete overlap between sRNAs and target mRNAs (trans-acting). While many sRNAs have been validated experimentally, a regulatory role has only been reported for very few of them. Further work is needed to elucidate sRNA-RNA binding mechanisms, the molecular determinants of sRNA-mediated regulation, whether protein components are involved, and how sRNAs integrate with complex regulatory networks.

In this paper, we proposed a novel saddle type FinFET (S-FinFET) to effectively solve problems occurring under the capacitor node of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) cell and showed how its structure was superior to conventional S-FinFETs in terms of short channel effect (SCE), subthreshold slope (SS), and gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL). The proposed FinFET exhibited 4 times lower Ioff than modified S-FinFET called RFinFET with more improved DIBL characteristics while minimizing Ion reduction compared to RFinFET. Our results also confirmed that the proposed device showed improved DIBL and Ioff characteristics as gate channel length decreased.

In this paper Brinkman type fluid over an infinite plate between side walls is being investigated. The flow is generated by oscillating shear stress of the bottom plate and the solutions are obtained by using Fourier integral transformation. The obtained results are presented in steady and transient states for both sin and cos shear stresses. The general solutions are reduced to some special cases corresponding, namely to the Brinkman type fluid over an infinite plate and flow of a Newtonian viscous fluid. Graphical illustrations are carried out to have in depth analysis of the involved physical parameters

Some management practices, such as maintaining birds under high group density, used in the poultry industry may cause birds stress, leading to injurious behaviors, such as injurious pecking, aggression, and cannibalism. In addition, some management practices used to prevent severe injuries in birds may cause pain. Beak trimming (BT), removal of 1/3 to 1/2 of a beak, is a routine husbandry procedure practiced in laying hens to prevent or reduce injurious behaviors. However, BT causes tissue damage, which may increase somatosensory sensitization of the damaged nerve tissues, resulting in pain (acute, chronic or both) in the treated birds because the beak is a complex, functional organ with an extensive nerve supply. BT has already been heavily regulated or prohibited in several European countries and, in time, this trend will impact the practice used in the United States poultry industry. With the growing public concern for poultry welfare there is a pressing need to identify and develop alternatives to BT. Probiotics defined “as a source of live (viable) naturally occurring microorganisms (direct-fed microbials)” have been used as dietary supplements or functional foods to target gut microbiota (microbiome) for prevention or therapeutic treatment of mental diseases including social stress-induced psychiatric disorders in humans and various experimental animals. In our studies, chickens were used as an animal model to assess if dietary supplementation of probiotic, Bacillus subtilis, reduces injurious behaviors following social challenge. Hens of Dekalb XL strain, an aggressive line, were used in the studies. Our results indicate that dietary supplementation of the Bacillus subtilis based probiotic reduces aggressive behaviors in chickens. These results suggest dietary probiotics could be a suitable strategy for increasing hosts’ health status and welfare conditions.

To date, soil salinity becomes a huge obstacle for food production worldwide since salt stress in plants is one of the major factors limiting agricultural productivity. It is estimated that a significant loss of crops (20%–50%) would be due to drought and salinity. To embark upon this harsh situation, numerous strategies such as plant breeding, plant genetic engineering, and a large variety of agricultural practices including the applications of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and seed biopriming technique have been developed to improve plant defense system against salt stress, resulting in higher crop yields to meet human’s increasing food demand in the future. In the present review, we update and discuss the advantageous roles of beneficial PGPR as green bioinoculants in mitigating the burden of high saline conditions on morphological parameters and on physio-biochemical attributes of plant crops via diverse mechanisms. In addition, the applications of PGPR as a useful tool in seed biopriming technique are also updated and discussed since this approach exhibits promising potentials in improving seed vigor, rapid seed germination, and seedling growth uniformity, Furthermore, the controversial findings regarding the fluctuation of antioxidants and osmolytes in PGPR-treated plants are also pointed out and discussed.

Plant diseases cause losses of approximately 16% globally. Thus, management measures must be implemented to mitigate losses and guarantee food production. In addition to traditional management measures, resistance induction and biological control have gained ground in agriculture due to their enormous potential. Endophytic fungi colonize plant tissues internally and have the potential to act as biological control agents, as elicitors in the process of resistance induction and in attenuating abiotic stresses. In this review, we list the action of this group of microorganisms as potential agents which can act in controlling plant diseases and describe several examples in which endophytes were able to reduce the damage caused by pathogens and adverse conditions. This is due to their arsenal of molecules generated during the interaction by which they form a kind of biological shield in the plant. Studies on these microorganisms have grown due to the existing diversity and the multiple benefits they can offer. Finally, considering that endophytic fungi can be an important tool in managing diseases due to the large amount of biologically active substances produced, bioprospecting this class of microorganisms is tending to increase and generate valuable products.

The leading cause of illness in aging is a group known as Noncommunicable Diseases. There should be some meeting points that modify the cells homeostasis and impaired the cell physiology developing different diseases. Quantum physics studied the atomic and subatomic particles and revolutionized the reality perception with paradoxical and weird concepts. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle established that it is not possible to determine the two characteristic properties of particles with accuracy. Subatomic particles have a wave-particle duality. Two subatomic particles are entangled, something happening over here can have an instantaneous effect over there, no matter how far away there are. All these concepts have tried to apply to biology and life sciences, quantum biology is behind photosynthesis, mitochondrial respiration, enzyme activity, the sense of smell, animal migration, heredity's fidelity, and consciousness. We can apply all these concepts to diseases pathogeny. So, we describe quantum phenomena in oxidative stress, calcification, signal transduction, vitamin D production and cancer mutations. Aging diseases also could be explained by applying quantum physics concepts. It is a new, hard to believe, and an incredible path to be built, but we need to open the treatment options to our patients with new perspectives.

(1) Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a crucial role in the preparation of the normal wound healing response. Therefore, a correct balance between low or high levels of ROS is essential. Antioxidant dressings that regulate this balance is a target for new therapies. The purpose of this review is to identify the compounds with antioxidant properties that have been tested for wound healing and to summarize the available evidence on their effects. (2) Methods: A literature search was conducted and included any study that evaluated the effects or mechanisms of antioxidants in the healing process (in vitro, animal models, or human studies). (3) Results: Seven compounds with antioxidant activity were identified (Curcumin, N-acetyl cysteine, Chitosan, Gallic Acid, Edaravone, Crocin, Safranal, and Quercetin) and 46 studies reporting the effects on the healing process of these antioxidants compounds were included. (4) Conclusions: These results highlight that numerous novel investigations are being conducted to develop more efficient systems for wound healing activity. The application of antioxidants is useful against oxidative damage and accelerates wound healing. Designing biomaterials that can scavenge excess reactive oxygen species requires new technologies and further research, especially human studies.

The SARS-Cov-2 virus, which causes COVID 19, uses the cell surface protein ACE2 as receptor for entry into cells. Critically ill COVID-19 patients often require prolonged mechanical ventilation which can cause mechanical stress to lung tissue. In vitro studies have shown that expression of ACE2 in alveolar cells is increased following mechanical stretch and inflammation. Therefore, we analyzed transcriptome datasets of 480 (non-COVID-19) lung tissues in the GTex tissue gene expression database. We found that mechanical ventilation of the tissue donors increased the expression of ACE2 by more than two-fold (p<10^-6). Analyses of transcriptomes of mechanically ventilated mice in the GEO database indicate that this alveolar cell response to stretch and inflammation is mediated by the chemokine midkine. Using a novel big knowledge network approach (SPOKE) we also found in transcriptomes of pharmacological perturbations (LINCS) that corticosteroids down-regulate midkine in pulmonal cells, and confirmed this in GEO transcriptomes of animal studies. Thus, mechanical ventilation of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia may eo ipso facilitate viral propagation in the lung, further accelerating the pulmonal pathology that has necessitated mechanical ventilation in the first place. This vicious cycle presents a rationale for the temporary treatment with corticosteroids to modulate the midkine-ACE2 axis in ventilated COVID19 patients and for gentler ventilation protocols.

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.

In this study, the model proposed by Yang et al. to generalize the stress–strain model for unconfined concrete with consideration of the size effect is expanded. Sim et al.’s compressive strength model that is based on the function of specimen width and aspect ratio was used for the maximum stress. In addition, a strain at the maximum stress was formulated as a function of compressive strength by considering the size effect using the regression analysis of datasets compiled from a wide variety of specimens. The descending branch after the peak stress was formulated with consideration of less dissipated area of fracture energy with the increase in specimen width and aspect ratio in the compression damage zone (CDZ) model. The key parameter for the slope of the descending branch was formulated as a function of specimen width and aspect ratio, concrete density, and compressive strength of concrete considering the size effect. Consequently, a rational stress–strain model for unconfined concrete was proposed. This model explains the trends of the peak stress and strain at the peak stress to decrease and the slope of the descending branch to increase, as the specimen width and aspect ratio increase. The proposed model agrees well with the test results, irrespective of the compressive strength of concrete, concrete type, specimen width and aspect ratio. In particular, the proposed model for the stress–strain curve rationally considered the effect of decreasing peak stress and increasing the descending branch slope, with the increase in specimen width and aspect ratio.

Chronic unpredictable environmental stress (CUES) may induce predisposition to diabetes mellitus. This study investigates the role of CUES on impaired homeostasis. Stressed group mice (n = 20) were exposed to CUES for 16 weeks. Weekly body weight, feed consumption, feed efficiency ratio, fasting blood glucose were monitored. Plasma HbA1c, plasma cortisol, plasma epinephrine and plasma insulin, serum lipids, antioxidants and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes activity were assessed along with DNA damage and histopathological examination of liver, kidney, pancreas, spleen and skeletal muscles. Fasting blood glucose levels & HbA1c in the stressed were significantly higher compared to control (p < 0.001). Serum lipids were found insignificantly higher in stressed mice compared to control. Body weights of the stressed mice and feed efficiency ratio were found significant (p < 0.001). Plasma corticosterone, plasma epinephrine, HOMA-IR was found to be significantly higher in the stressed group (p < 0.001). Plasma insulin level was found to be significantly lower in the stressed group (p < 0.001). Significant changes were observed in antioxidants level, carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes activity, peripheral tissues and DNA integrity. CUES initiates pathogenesis of diabetes.

(1) This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression and its correlation with acculturative Stress and Social Connectedness among domestic and overseas students in Japan International University. (2) Methods: A Web-based survey was distributed among students of International University, which resulted in 263 responses. On the survey together with socio-demographic data, a nine-item tool from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), was used to measure the prevalence of Depression and its relationship with socio-demographic data, Social Connectedness Scale was used to measure Social Connectedness, and Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) was used to measured acculturative stress. (3) Results: Depression was significantly high in international and domestic students (37.81% and 29.85% respectively). English language proficiency and students age (20 years old) showed a significant correlation with depression among domestic students (β=-1.63, p=0.038 and β=2.24, p=0.048). Stay length (third year) also displayed a significant correlation with depression among international students (β=1.08, p=0.032). Among international and domestic students statistically significant positive correlation between depression and acculturative stress, negative associations of social connectedness with depression and acculturative stress were also found. Suicidal or self-hurting ideation thoughts are found among around 20% of all students. (4) Conclusions: These findings indicate a relatively high prevalence of depression among students of International University, and overseas students are more affected. Depression, Acculturation stress and Social Connectedness show statistically strong intercorrelation, which highlights the need of host University to recognise the role of Acculturation and Social Connectedness in the development of Depression among students.

The antioxidant activity of molecules constitutes an important factor for the regulation of redox homeostasis and reduction of oxidative stress. Cells affected by oxidative stress can undergo genetic alteration, causing structural changes and promoting the onset of chronic diseases, such as cancer. The in silico study performed here was developed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of two molecules, ZINC08706191 (Z91) and ZINC08992920 (Z20), with recognized epithelial anticancer potential. Molecular docking, chemical-quantum calculations and Pearson's correlation were performed. The Z91 and Z20 molecules showed lower binding free energy (ΔG) values for the receptor-ligand interaction than the reference molecules (caffeine – CAF and ascorbic acid – AA), and better results for values of molecular descriptors correlated with ΔG, resulting in a decrease of ΔG. Strong correlations were observed between ΔG values for the five receptors evaluated and ΔG values of the potential epithelial anticancer activity available in literature. These results attest to the significant antioxidant potential of the Z91 and Z20 molecules and their strong relation with the potential epithelial anticancer activity and may be indicated for further analysis in relation to the control of oxidative stress and epithelial anticancer activity.

Education outside the classroom (EOtC) can be beneficial for students. The relationship between biological stress markers and sedentary behavior (SB) plus physical activity (PA) is insufficiently evaluated in school settings. This exploratory study aims to evaluate the association between students’ cortisol, plus circulating cell-free deoxyribonucleic acid (cfDNA) levels, and their SB, light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) during outdoor and indoor classes in different seasons. We assessed data from an education outside the classroom (EOtC) program (n = 48; intervention group [IG], n = 37; control group [CG], n = 11). We sampled data on 3 school-days in three seasons (fall, spring, and summer) in normal teaching indoors (CG) and outdoor lessons (IG) in the forest. SB and PA were evaluated by accelerometry, and cortisol and cfDNA levels by saliva samples. The compositional data analysis approach analyzed SB and PA. Fitted Bayesian hierarchical linear models evaluated the association between cortisol and cfDNA, and SB/LPA/MVPA. A steady decline of cortisol in the outdoor setting is associated with relatively high levels of LPA. SB and MVPA tended to exhibit a similar effect in the indoor setting. CfDNA is positively associated with a relatively high amount of SB in the IG, the same association is likely for LPA and MVPA in both groups. LPA seems to support a healthy cortisol decrease in children during outdoor lessons. The relevance of SB/PA as a composition in relation to students stress response in school should be emphasized. This study facilitates the formulation of straightforward and directed hypotheses for further research.

The world is currently, subjected to the worst health crisis documented in modern history; an epidemic led by the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). At the epicenter of this crisis, healthcare professionals continue working to safeguard our well-being. To the regular high levels of stress, COVID new heights even more to healthcare professionals so depending on the area, specialty, and type of work. Here we investigated what are the tendencies, or areas most affected. Through an adaptation of the original COVID-stress scale, we developed a remote, fast test designed for healthcare professionals of the Northeastern part of Mexico, an important part of the country with economic and cultural ties to the US. Our results showed 4 key correlations as highly dependent: Work area – Xenophobia (p &lt; 0.045), Work with COVID patients - Traumatic stress (p &lt; 0.001) and Total number of COVID patients per day – Traumatic stress (p &lt; 0.027), and Total number of COVID patients - Compulsive checking and reassurance. Overall concluding that normal levels of stress have increased (mild – moderate). Additionally, we further determine that the fear of being an asymptomatic patient (potential to spread without knowing) continues being a concern.

Various tissue resident stem cells are receiving attention from basic scientists and clinicians as they hold certain promise for regenerative medicine. This paper is intended to clarify and facilitate the understanding, development and adoption of regenerative medicine in general and specifically of therapies based on unmodified, autologous adipose-derived regenerative cells (UA-ADRCs). To this end, results of landmark experiments on stem cells and stem cell therapy performed in the labs of the authors are summarized, the most intriguing of which are the following: (i) vascular associated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from different organs (adipose tissue, heart, skin, bone marrow and skeletal muscle) and differentiated into ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, providing significant support for the hypothesis of the existence of a small, ubiquitously distributed, universal vascular associated stem cell with full pluripotency; (ii) the orientation and differentiation of MSCs are driven by signals of the respective microenvironment; and (iii) these stem cells irrespective of the tissue origin exhibit full pluripotent differentiation potential without any prior genetic modification or the need for culturing. They can be obtained from a small amount of adipose tissue when using the appropriate technology for isolating the cells, and can be harvested from and re-applied to the same patient at the point of care without the need for complicated processing, manipulation, culturing, expensive equipment, or repeat interventions. These findings demonstrate the potential of UA-ADRCs for triggering the development of an entire new generation of medicine for the benefit of patients and of healthcare systems.

French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) a member of family Leguminosae is a useful source of protein (∼22%), minerals (folate), vitamins and fibre. Abiotic and biotic stresses are the constraints to high yield and production of French bean. Varieties reluctant to diseases as well as abiotic stresses is among the top breeding objectives for the French bean. Mendelian ratios could know the genetically reliable forms of resistance, whereas it's more robust to understand the intricate kinds, often referred to as quantitative trait loci (QTL). Here, we review and compile the information from the studies related to the identification of QTLs for critical biofortification traits, biotic and abiotic stresses in French bean. Successful map-based cloning requires QTLs represent single genes which could be isolated in near-isogenic lines, and also the genotypes could be unambiguously inferred by progeny testing. Overall, this information will be useful for directing the French bean breeders to select a suitable method for the inheritance evaluation of quantitative traits and determining the novel genes in germplasm resources to ensure that much more potential of genetic information may be uncovered.

In 2011, it was reviewed that there is a strong co-occurrence between major depression and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), with fatigue and physio-somatic symptoms being key symptoms of depression, and depressive symptoms appearing during the course of CFS. Moreover, the comorbidity between both conditions may in part be explained by activated immune-inflammatory pathways, including increased translocation of Gram-negative bacteria and increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1. Nevertheless, the possible involvement of activated microglia in this comorbidity has remained unclear. This paper aims to review microglial disturbances in major depression, CFS and their comorbidity. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the PubMed / MEDLINE database to identify studies that are relevant to this current review. Depressed patients present neuroinflammatory alterations, probably related to microglial activation, while animal models show that a microglial response to immune challenges including lipopolysaccharides is accompanied by depressive-like behaviors. Recent evidence from preclinical studies indicate that activated microglia have a key role in the onset of fatigue. In chronic inflammatory conditions, such as infections and senescence, microglia orchestrate an inflammatory microenvironment thereby causing fatigue. In conclusion, based on our review we may posit that shared immune-inflammatory pathways and activated microglia underpin comorbid depression and CFS and that activated microglia are the main orchestrators of this comorbidity. As such, microglial activation and neuro-inflammation may be promising targets to treat the overlapping manifestations of both depression and CFS.

In the last three decades, the robust scientific data emerged, demonstrating that the immune-inflammatory response is a fundamental component of the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Psychological stress and various inflammatory comorbidities contribute to such immune activation. Still, this is not uncommon that patients with depression do not have defined inflammatory comorbidities, and alternative mechanisms of immune activation need to take place. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract, along with gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), constitutes the largest lymphatic organ in the human body and forms the biggest surface of contact with the external environment. It is also the most significant source of bacterial and food-derived antigenic material. There is a broad range of reciprocal interactions between the GI tract, intestinal microbiota, increased intestinal permeability, activation of immune-inflammatory response, and the CNS that has crucial implications in brain function and mental health. This intercommunication takes place within the microbiota-gut-immune-glia (MGIG) axis, and glial cells are the main orchestrator of this communication. A broad range of factors, including psychological stress, inflammation, dysbiosis and other, may compromise the permeability of this barrier. This leads to excessive bacterial translocation and the excessive influx of food-derived antigenic material that contributes to activation of the immune-inflammatory response and depressive psychopathology. This chapter summarizes the role of increased intestinal permeability in MDD and mechanisms of how the "leaky gut" may contribute to immune-inflammatory response in this disorder.

This study measures the noise levels in a baseball stadium and analyzes baseball fans’ attitude of effect of recreational noise exposure on their hearing. In the baseball stadium, noise levels were measured in four seating sections using a sound level meter during the games. The LAeq average of the 16 measures produced 91.7 dBA, showing a significantly high noise level in the red and navy sections. As a function of frequency by LZeq analysis, the noise levels were significantly higher in low frequencies than other frequencies. For the survey sample, 688 randomly selected participants completed a 16-question survey on their noise exposure during the game and on the potential risk of hearing loss. Despite the very high noise levels, 70% of the respondents preferred sitting in either the red or the navy section to be closer to the cheerleaders and to obtain a good view. Most respondents reported that they did not consider wearing earplugs, and one-third experienced hearing muffled speech after the game. We conclude that the noise levels in baseball stadiums are high enough to cause hearing damage and/or tinnitus later, but expect these results to improve public education regarding safe noise exposure during popular sports activities.

After reviewing cancer theories, cancer treatment development histories, randomized clinical trial's performance, cancer treatment strategy, trial follow-up times, and conducting numerous simulations using existing data, the authors found: (1) medical treatments come with three to four lethal factors: treatment side-effects, emotional distress and chronic dress, lack of exercises or physical inactivity, and excessive nutrition in some cases; (2) clinical trial exaggerates the benefits of fast-acting treatments and underestimates the slow-delivering adverse side effects as a result of statistical averaging, interfering effects of personal lifestyle factors, and insufficient follow-up times; (3) the benefits of medical treatments are limited by chain comparison, where surgery sets up a negative standard relative to the best way for resolving cancer; (4) the strategy of destroying the tumor is unworkable; (5) medical treatments can turn natural cancer growth curve into approximately doubly exponential curve; (6) multiple factor non-medical measures are much more powerful than medical treatments in controlling cancer growth and metastasis rates; and (7) cancer early diagnosis and over treatments are bad strategies that have great adverse impacts on cancer patients. Based on huge increases in cancer growth rate constants, substantial of loss of organ functional capacity, and severe systemic aging-like cellular damages, the authors concluded that medical treatments promote cancer growth and metastasis rates and shorten patient lives in most cases, and the claimed benefits are caused by triple biases of clinical trials. The authors believe that the better strategy for ending the global cancer epidemic is abandoning clinical trails as the research model, changing caner treatment strategy from killing cancer cells to slowing down cancer growth rates by using multiple factors optimization approach in personalized medicine.

We have developed an unsteady and non-linear wind synopsis simulator called RIAM-COMPACT (Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, COMputational Prediction of Airflow over Complex Terrain) in order to simulate the airflow on a microscale, i.e., a few tens of km or less. In RIAM-COMPACT, the large-eddy simulation (LES) has been adopted for turbulence modeling. LES is a technique in which the structures of relatively large eddies are directly simulated and smaller eddies are modeled using a sub-grid scale model. In the present study, we have conducted the numerical wind diagnoses for Taikoyama Wind Farm nacelle separation accident in Japan. The simulation results suggest that all six wind turbines at the Taikoyama Wind Farm are subject to significant influence from separated flow (terrain-induced turbulence) which is generated due to the topographic irregularities in the vicinity of the wind turbines. A proposal has been also made on reconstruction of the wind farm.

Complex proteomic and physiological approaches to study cold and heat stress responses in plant mitochondria are still limited. Variations in the mitochondrial proteome of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) curds after cold and heat and after stress recovery were assayed by 2D PAGE in relation to respiratory parameters. Quantitative analysis of the mitochondrial proteome revealed numerous stress-affected protein spots. In cold alternative oxidase isoforms were extensively upregulated; major downregulations in the level of photorespiratory enzymes, porine isoforms, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and some low-abundant proteins were observed. On the contrary, distinct proteins, including carbohydrate metabolism enzymes, heat-shock proteins, translation, protein import, and OXPHOS components were involved in heat response and recovery. Few metabolic regulations were suggested. Cauliflower plants appeared less susceptible to heat; closed stomata in heat stress resulted in moderate photosynthetic, but only minor respiratory impairments, however photosystem II performance was unaffected. Decreased photorespiration corresponded with proteomic alterations in cold. Our results show that cold and heat stress not only operate in diverse mode (exemplified by cold-specific accumulation of some heat shock proteins), but exert some associations on molecular and physiological levels. This implies more complex model of action of investigated stresses on plant mitochondria.

Coral reefs are critical ecosystems globally for marine fauna, biodiversity and through the services they provide to humanity. However, they are significantly threatened by anthropogenic stressors, such as climate change. By combining 9 environmental variables and ecological and health-based thresholds obtained from the available literature, we develop, using fuzzy logic (discontinuous functions), a Coral Reef Stress Exposure Index (CRSEI) for remotely monitoring coral reef exposure to environmental stressors. Our approach capitalises on the abundance of readily available satellite Earth Observation (EO) data available in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based geospatial processing platform. CRSEI values from 3157 distinct reefs were generated and mapped across 12 important coral reef ecosystem regions. Quantitative analyses indicated that the index detected significant temporal differences in stress and was, therefore, able to capture historic change at a global scale. We also applied the CRSEI to three case-study reef ecosystems, previously well-monitored for stress and disturbance using other methods. PCA analysis indicated that depth, current, sea surface temperature (SST) and SST anomaly accounted for the greatest contribution to the variance in stress in these three regions. The CRSEI corroborated temporal and spatial differences in stress exposure from known disturbances within these reference regions, in addition to identifying the potential drivers of inter- and intra-region differences in stress, namely depth, degree heating weeks and SST anomaly. We discuss how the index can be further improved in future with site-specific thresholds for each stress variable, and the incorporation of additional variables not currently available in GEE. This index provides an open access tool, built around a free and powerful processing platform, that has broad potential to assist in the regular monitoring of our increasingly imperilled coral reef ecosystems, and, in particular, those that are remote or inaccessible.

Water stress (drought and waterlogging) is drastic abiotic stress to plant growth and development. Melatonin, bioactive plant hormone, has been widely tested in drought situations in diverse plant species, while a few studies on the role of melatonin in waterlogging stress conditions have been published. In the current review, we analyze the bio-stimulatory functions of melatonin on plants under both drought and waterlogging stress. Melatonin controls the levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and positively changes the molecular defense to improve plant tolerance against drought and waterlogging stress. Moreover, the crosstalk of melatonin and other phytohormones is a key element on plant survival under drought stress, while this relationship needs further investigation under waterlogging stress. In this review, we draw the complete story of water stress on both sides: drought and waterlogging through discussing the previous critical studies under both conditions. Moreover, we suggest several research directions, especially for waterlogging, which remains a big vague piece of melatonin and water stress puzzle.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is the global public health emergency concern and had an impact on the day to day life of individuals. Its effect on an individual’s mental health is significant to the extent of suicide. Objective: This study aimed to assess the magnitude of psychological problems and their associated factor among communities living in Dilla town in response to the pandemic. Methods: From Apr 1- Apr 15, 2020, a community-based cross-sectional study was conducted using multi-stage sampling techniques. Self-administered the questioner, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and logistic regression analysis (95% CI, p-value <0.05) was used. Results: This study included 445 respondents with a 94% non- response rate who was living in Dilla town. In total, 34.4% of respondents had a psychological problem (11.4 % mild and 23% moderate level of the psychological problem). Female, Greater secondary level of education, monthly income below 500 ETB, more than three family size, and wearing face mask were variables associated with the outcome variable (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Nearly one-third of the respondents had mild to moderate psychological among communities living in Dilla town. There is a need for mental health support on those identified groups of peoples to enhance their resilience in response to the pandemic.

Stress relaxation tests in cantilever bending were performed on the C7025 and C7035 alloys at 298K and 393K，respectively. The effect of stress-relief treatments on stress relaxation properties was investigated. The structural changes associated with the stress relaxation process were examined using transmission electron microscope. The stress relaxation curve fits well to empirical formula σ*=[Kˊln(t+α₀)+C]^-n for stress relaxation. The curves can be split into two stages. The stress relax quickly in the first stage, slows down in the second stage, and tends to be a certain limit value after a long time. The curve and microstructure reveals that the C7035 alloy has a lower rate of stress relaxation and a higher anti-stress relaxation capacity than the C7025. The first reason is that the movement of vacancies required by spinodal decomposition is inhibited, and the quantity of cobalt -containing vacancies decreases dramatically in the C7035 alloy. The other reason is that the precipitated phases became uniformly diffused in the C7035 alloy. The precipitate phase uniformly distributes in the grain boundaries and the matrix, during the relaxed condition, and thus the dislocations moving is blocked by the precipitates.

Flying-fox populations are increasingly threatened by heat events, starvation events and other stressors due to habitat clearing and human/flying-fox conflict.These factors are unlikely to resolve, meaning that a well-coordinated and timely approach to flying-fox disasters is imperative for the mitigation of further flying-fox population impacts.

Objective: To examine whether 1) immune and nitro-oxidative stress (IO&NS) biomarkers are associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS); and 2) changes in IO&NS biomarkers during the menstrual cycle (MC) are associated with PMS symptoms and plasma estradiol and progesterone. Methods: Forty-one women completed the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) rating scale during 28 consecutive days and MC Associated Syndrome (MCAS) was diagnosed when the summed DRSP score during the MC is > 0.666 percentile. We assayed plasma levels of complement C3 and C4, highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), haptoglobin (Hp), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP), sulfhydryl (-SH) groups and the activity of paraoxonase (PON)1 at days 7 (D7), 14 (D14), 21 (D21) and 28 (D28) of the MC. Results: All biomarkers, except hsCRP, showed significant alterations during the MC. Arylesterase (AREase) was lowered at D28, while LOOH increased at D14 and C4 at D21 in women with MCAS. The total DRSP score was predicted by the combined effects of C4 (positively) and AREase and malondialdehyde (MDA) (both inversely associated). Progesterone lowered levels of LOOH, AOPP and C3 and estradiol lowered levels of Hp while both sex hormones increased 4-(chloromethyl)phenyl acetate (CMPA)ase and AREase activities and levels of -SH groups. Conclusion: PMS/MCAS is not accompanied by a peripheral inflammatory response. Lowered MDA and antioxidant defenses and increased C4 may play a role in MC-associated symptoms while sex hormones may have a protective effect against oxidative stress toxicity.

Sleep disorders (SD) have a complex aetiology, and socioeconomic status (SES) as determined by social class, household income, ethnicity and education plays an important role in their development. As SD are associated with cognitive impairment and mood disorders, they in turn impact SES. Socioeconomic status also influences allostatic load caused by chronic accumulation of stress throughout life. Environmental and psychological stressors have a direct effect on SD, and they are modulated by SES, in combination with comorbidities like obesity and cardiovascular disease. This review explores the recent theories about the influence of SES on the development of SD in the general population, whether or not occurring with comorbidities, and also focusses on the interplay between socioeconomic status, circadian rhythms, aging and clinical outcomes like metabolic diseases and cancer.

In the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the use of surgical masks has become the new normal. The use of these devices in exercise and medical situations has been advocated with the purpose of reducing contagions, but some concerns exist regarding its safety. We performed maximal treadmill stress tests in 12 healthy young subjects, with and without surgical mask use, and measured exercise capacity, oxygen saturation (rest, peak exercise and post-exercise) and electrocardiographic changes. Exercise capacity and Oxygen saturation levels decreased in peak exercise vs rest in a statistically significant manner when mask was used. ECG changes, although not significant, were present in 3 subjects when mask was used and disappeared when the test was made unmasked. We conclude that masked exercise has the potential to cause decreased exercise load and oxygen saturation and potentially cause diagnostic errors in medical exams.

Flavonoids are major secondary metabolites in plants, which play important roles in maintaining the cellular redox balance in cells. Chalcone synthase (CHS) is the key enzyme in the flavonoids biosynthesis pathway, and has been proved to monitor the changes to drought stress tolerance. In this work, we overexpressed a CHS gene in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The transgenic tobacco plants were more tolerant than the control plants to drought stress. The transcription levels of the key genes involved in the flavonoids pathway and the contents of seven flavonoids were also significantly raised in the transgenic tobacco plants. In addition, overexpression of the CHS gene lead to a lower concentration of the oxidative stress product malondialdehyde. Overall, the NtCHS gene studied in this work was considered as a candidate gene for genetic engineering to enhance drought tolerance of plants and improve response to oxidative stress.

Pneumonia is a severe lower respiratory tract infection that is a common complication and a major cause of mortality of the vitamin C-deficiency disease scurvy. This suggests an important link between vitamin C status and lower respiratory tract infections. Due to the paucity of information on the vitamin C status of patients with pneumonia, we assessed the vitamin C status of 50 patients with community-acquired pneumonia and compared these with 50 healthy community controls. The pneumonia cohort comprised 44 patients recruited through the Acute Medical Assessment Unit (AMAU) and 6 patients recruited through the intensive care unit (ICU); mean age 68 ± 17 years, 54% male. Clinical, microbiological and haematological parameters were recorded. Blood samples were tested for vitamin C status using HPLC with electrochemical detection and protein carbonyl concentrations, a marker of oxidative stress, using ELISA. Patients with pneumonia had depleted vitamin C status compared with healthy controls (23 ± 14 µmol/L vs 56 ± 24 µmol/L, P <0.001). The more severe patients in the ICU had significantly lower vitamin C status than those recruited through AMAU (11 ± 3 µmol/L vs 24 ± 14 µmol/L, P = 0.02). The total pneumonia cohort comprised 62% with hypovitaminosis C and 22% with deficiency, compared with only 8% hypovitaminosis C and no cases of deficiency in the healthy controls. The pneumonia cohort also exhibited significantly elevated protein carbonyl concentrations compared with the healthy controls (P < 0.001), indicating enhanced oxidative stress in the patients. We were able to collect subsequent samples form 28% of the cohort (mean 2.7 ± 1.7 days; range 1-7 days). These showed no significant differences in vitamin C status or protein carbonyl concentrations compared with baseline values (P = 0.6). Overall, the depleted vitamin C status and elevated oxidative stress observed in the patients with pneumonia indicates an enhanced requirement for the vitamin during their illness. Due to the important roles that vitamin C plays in the immune system, low vitamin C status is possibly both a cause and a consequence of the disease. Therefore, these patients would likely benefit from additional vitamin C supplementation to restore their blood and tissue levels to optimal. This may decrease oxidative stress and aid in their recovery.

Owing to the complexity of neurodegenerative diseases, multiple cellular types need to be targeted simultaneously in order for a given therapy to demonstrate any major effectiveness. Ultrasound-sensitive coated microbubbles (in a targeted nanoemulsion) are available. Versatile small-molecule drug(s) targeting multiple pathways of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis are known. By incorporating such drug(s) into the targeted LCM/ND lipid nanoemulsion type, one obtains a multitasking combination therapeutic for translational medicine. This multitasking therapeutic targets cell-surface scavenger receptors (mainly SR-BI), making possible for various Alzheimer's-related cell types to be simultaneously searched out for localized drug treatment in vivo. Besides targeting cell-surface SR-BI, the proposed LCM/ND-nanoemulsion combination therapeutic(s) include a characteristic lipid-coated microbubble [LCM] subpopulation (i.e., a stable LCM suspension); such LCM substantially reduce the acoustic power levels needed for accomplishing temporary noninvasive (transcranial) ultrasound treatment, or sonoporation, if additionally desired for the Alzheimer's patient.

Rapid and accurate prediction of residual stress in metal additive manufacturing processes is of great importance to guarantee the quality of the fabricated part to be used in a mission-critical application in the aerospace and automotive industries. Experimentation and numerical modeling are valuable tools for measuring and predicting the residual stress; however, to-date conducting experimentation and numerical modeling is expensive and time-consuming. Thus, herein, a physics-based thermomechanical analytical model is proposed to predict the residual stress of the additively manufactured part rapidly and accurately. A moving point heat source approach is used to predict the temperature field by considering the effects of scan strategies, heat loss, and energy needed for solid-state phase transformation. Due to the high temperature gradient in this process, part experiences a high amount of thermal stress following solidification which may exceed the yield strength of the material. The thermal stress is obtained using Green’s function of stresses due to the point body load. The Johnson-Cook flow stress model is used to predict the yield surface of the part under repeated heating and cooling. As a result of the cyclic heating and cooling and the fact that the material is yielded, the residual stress build-up is predicted based on incremental plasticity and kinematic hardening behavior of the metal according to the property of volume invariance in plastic deformation in coupling with the equilibrium and compatibility conditions. The computational methodology is realized with the laser powder fusion of maraging steel 350 as a material of example. The validation of the predictive models has been presented in terms of the comparison of predicted and measured scan-direction and build-direction residual stress distributions along depth of build under various process parameter combinations. Moreover, for the first time, the Jonson-Cook parameters of maraging steel 350 are predicted using analytical modeling of machining forces and non-linear optimization techniques.

The objective of the study was to examine the effects of perceived stress on depression and subsequently to examine the effects of depression on alcohol use disorders. The data were obtained by an electronic questionnaire survey during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (n=1523 Slovak college students). Descriptive, regression and correlation analysis were used in the analytical processing, while the analyses included students' scores in three diagnostic tools (Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (PHQ 9) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)), as well as gender and income characteristics. The PSS identified an increased level of perceived stress in female students, in contrast, the AUDIT showed an increased level of alcohol use disorders in male students. Differences in mental and behavioural disorders between the gender and income categories were significant in most of the analysed cases. In terms of gender-income characteristics, it was possible to confirm a significant positive effect of the PSS score on the PHQ 9 score, as well as a significant positive effect of the PHQ 9 score on the AUDIT score. As a result, efforts to reduce stress will be reflected in a reduction of depressive disorders as well as a reduction of excessive alcohol consumption among students.

The role of epigenetic alterations in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has been pending so far. Our study investigated the effect of oxidative stress and inflammation on DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) functions, as well as on long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) methylation, in human retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells. Therefore, we evaluated whether treatment with resveratrol may restore changes in LINE-1 methylation by modulating DNMTs and SIRT1 functions. Cells were treated with 25 mU/ml glucose oxidase (GOx) or 10 µg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to mimic oxidative or inflammatory conditions, respectively. Oxidative stress decreased DNMT1, DNMT3a, DNMT3b and SIRT1 expression (p-values <0.05), as well as total DNMTs (-28.5%; p<0.0001) and SIRT1 (-29.0%;p<0.0001) activities. Similarly, inflammatory condition decreased DNMT1 and SIRT1 expression (p-values<0.05), as well as total DNMTs (-14.9%;p=0.007) and SIRT1 (-20.1%;p<0.002) activities. Interestingly, GOx- and LPS-treated cells exhibited lower LINE-1 methylation compared to controls (p-values<0.0001). We also demonstrated that treatment with 10 μM resveratrol for 24 hours counteracted the detrimental effect on LINE-1 methylation via increasing DNMTs and SIRT1 functions in cells upon oxidative and inflammatory conditions. However, further studies should explore the perspectives of resveratrol as a suitable strategy for the prevention and/or treatment of AMD.

Electrically conductive polymer composites are in high demand for modern technologies, however, the intrinsic brittleness of conducting conjugated polymers and the moderate electrical conductivity of engineering polymer/carbon composites have highly constrained their applications. In this work, super high electrical conductive polymer composites were produced by a novel hot embossing design. The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites containing short carbon fiber (SCF) exhibited an electrical percolation threshold at 0.45 wt%, and reached a saturated electrical conductivity of 49 S/m at 8 wt% of SCF. When reduced the sample thickness from 1.0 mm to 0.1 mm by the hot embossing process, a compression-induced percolation threshold occurred at 0.3 wt%, while the electrical conductivity was further enhanced to 378 S/m at 8 wt% SCF. Furthermore, the additional of a second nanofiller of 1 wt%, such as carbon nanotube or conducting carbon black further increased the electrical conductivity of the PDMS/SCF (8 wt%) composites to 909 S/m and 657 S/m, respectively. The synergy of the densified conducting filler network by the mechanical compression and the hierarchical micro-/nanoscale filler approach has realize super high electrical conductive yet mechanical flexible polymer composites for modern flexible electronics applications.

The Ramazzottius varieornatus tardigrade is an extremotolerant terrestrial invertebrate belonging to the phylum of Tardigrada. At a length of 0.1-1.0 mm, tardigrades are small animals with an exceptional tolerance to extreme conditions such as high pressure, chemicals and irradia-tion. These properties have been attributed to the recently-discovered Dsup protein. Dsup is a nucleosome-binding protein that prevents DNA damage against X-ray and oxidative stress without impairing cell life, also in Dsup-transfected animal and plant cells. However, the precise “protective” role of this protein is still under study. We performed experiments on human cells and shows that, as compared to control cells, Dsup+ cells are more resistant to UV-C exposure and H2O2. Real-time PCR identified different expression patterns of endogenous genes involved in apoptosis, cell survival and DNA damage repair in Dsup+ cells in response to H2O2 and UV-C. While H2O2 treatment in Dsup+ cells only marginally involved the activation of pathways responsible for DNA repair reinforcing the idea of a direct protective effect of the protein on DNA, in UV-C exposed cells, Dsup efficiently upregulates DNA damage repair genes. In conclusion, our data may help to delineate the different mechanisms by which the Dsup protein operates in response to different insults.

Increased gut permeability (leaky gut) with increased translocation of Gram-negative bacteria plays a role in the gut-brain axis through effects on systemic immune-inflammatory processes. Deficit schizophrenia is characterized by an immune-inflammatory response combined with a deficit in natural IgM antibodies to oxidative specific epitopes (OSEs), which are a first line defense against bacterial infections. This study measured plasma IgA/IgM responses to 5 Gram-negative bacteria in association with IgM responses to malondialdehyde (MDA) and azelaic acid in 80 schizophrenia patients (40 with the deficit syndrome and 40 without) and in 38 healthy controls.Deficit schizophrenia was characterized by significantly increased IgA responses to Hafnei alvei, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Morganella morganii and Klebsiella pneumoniae as compared with non-deficit schizophrenia. The presence of deficit schizophrenia was highly predicted by increased IgA responses to Pseudomonas putida and IgM responses to all 5 Gram-negative bacteria and lowered natural IgM to MDA and azelaic acid with a bootstrap area under the ROC curve of 0.960 (2000 random curves). A large proportion of the variance (41.5%) in the PANSS negative score was explained by the regression on IgA responses to K. pneumoniae and IgM responses to the 5 enterobacteria coupled with lowered IgM antibodies to azelaic acid. There were significant associations between IgA levels to Gram-negative bacteria and Mini Mental State Examination, Boston naming test, Verbal Fluency and Word List Memory test scores.These findings provide further evidence that deficit schizophrenia is a distinct phenotype of schizophrenia, which is characterized by an increased impact of Gram-negative commensal bacteria coupled with a deficit in natural IgM, pointing to aberrations in B1 cells. It is concluded that increased bacterial translocation and deficits in the compensatory immune-regulatory system (CIRS) may drive negative symptoms and neurocognitive impairments, which are hallmarks of deficit schizophrenia.

Background and objectives: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), is an acute renal damage due to contrast agents. This study is conducted to determine the potential diagnostic value of hypoxia-inducible factor 2-alpha (HIF2-α) and to evaluate the renal protective effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and sildenafil in a rat CIN model. Material/Methods: This randomized, controlled, interventional animal study was conducted on Wistar rats. Totally, rats (n = 36) were randomly assigned to four groups: control (n = 9), CIN group (n = 9), CIN+NAC group (n = 9), and sildenafil (n = 9). The rat model was used to form iohexol-originated CIN. During the modelling, prophylactic treatment was performed at 24th and 48th hours. After 48 hours of the modelling; blood, urine, tissue samples were obtained for biochemical analyses. HIF-2-α levels were measured in renal tissue, serum and urine samples. Renal sections were performed in order for histopathologic and immunohistochemical evaluations. Results: In the CIN model, HIF-2α levels and other biochemical parameters were significantly increased (p < 0.01). Both sildenafil and NAC, efficiently decreased the renal damage due to contrast agents (p < 0.05). Similarly, after treatment with sildenafil and NAC, HIF-2α levels were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The current study constructs an experimental base for the use of HIF-2α for clinical prevention and treatment of CIN. Several mechanisms may be postulated for the changes in HIF-2α levels. Besides, the increased HIF-2α levels with CIN and decreased HIF-2α levels after treatment may be used for the treatment and follow-up of patients with CIN.

Understanding the evolutionary role of environmentally-induced phenotypic variation (i.e., environmental plasticity) is an important issue in developmental evolution. One of the major physiological responses to environmental changes is cellular stress, which is counteracted by a generic stress reaction that detoxifies the cell, refolds proteins, and repairs DNA damage. In this paper, we elaborate on a previous finding suggesting that the cell differentiation cascade of human decidual stromal cells, a cell type critical for embryo implantation and the maintenance of pregnancy, evolved from a cellular stress reaction. We hypothesize that the stress reaction in these cells was elicited ancestrally through the inflammation caused by embryo attachment and invasion. We describe a model, Stress-Induced Evolutionary Innovation (SIEI), whereby ancestral stress reactions and their corresponding pathways can be transformed into novel structural components of body plans, such as new cell types. After reviewing similarities and differences between SIEI and the “plasticity first hypothesis” (PFH) of evolution, we argue that SIEI is a distinct form of plasticity-based evolutionary change because it leads to the origin of novel structures rather than the adaptive transformation of a pre-existing character.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are thought to be relevant to the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Glutathione (GSH) homeostasis fulfills a number of important roles in mitochondria, such as maintenance of mitochondrial DNA and respiratory competency of cells. Although the transport of mitochondrial GSH (mGSH) is not fully understood, increasing evidence from non-ocular tissues suggests that OGC (2-oxoglutarate carrier, SLC25A11) and DIC (dicarboxylate carrier, SLC25A10) are involved in mGSH transport. However, whether OGC and DIC mediate the transfer of GSH into the mitochondria of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) remains unknown. Thus, we investigated the expression, localization, and function of OGC and DIC in human RPE (hRPE) in relation to oxidative stress and GSH. Both OGC and DIC are expressed in hRPE and are localized in mitochondria. We also found a dose and time-dependent decrease of OGC and DIC expression under oxidative stress and increased expression in polarized RPE. Our data show that the downregulation of OGC and DIC resulted in increased apoptosis and mGSH depletion which can be overcome by co-treatment with GSH-MEE. These findings suggest that overexpression of OGC and DIC may be an effective strategy to decrease susceptibility to mitochondrial toxicants by elevation of mGSH.

The development of 3D cerebral brain organoids which accurately resemble aspects of the human brain permits a more accurate characterization of physiological processes and neurological diseases. Cerebral organoids can be grown from stem cell lines with various genetic backgrounds allowing multiple neurodegenerative diseases to be modeled. While dysfunction in neurotransmission of patients with neurodegenerative diseases is expected, the impact of chronic neurodegeneration on the response to viral infection of the CNS is poorly understood. For instance, several mosquito-borne viruses like Dengue virus and West Nile Virus cause post-viral parkinsonism. How CNS infection might impact a host with inherent CNS dysfunction such as Parkinson’s Disease in poorly understood. This preliminary, observational study aimed to understand dysfunction in intrinsic and innate expression of a patient with a neurodegenerative disease and a non-affected individual in relation to potential viral infection in the CNS. Cerebral organoids were generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells with a normal genetic background or with idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease. After differentiation and maturation, organoid size, gene expression and immunofluorescence were evaluated to assess neurotransmission and innate immunity. While there was no significant difference in size of the organoids with a normal or Parkinson’s genetic background, gene expression studies identified multiple differences in innate immunity and neurotransmission. Immunofluorescence also identified differences in protein expression related to neurotransmission and innate immunity. Of note, organoids derived from a Parkinson’s patient exhibited endogenous up-regulation of dopamine and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, GABA, glycine, and glutamate targets, and the majority of cytokines. This expression pattern suggests a chronic state of neuroexcitation and neuroinflammation in this population of organoids.

Shiga toxin (Stx) produced by Escherichia coli is the main pathogenic factor of diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is characterized by obstruction of renal microvasculature by platelet-fibrin thrombi. It is well known that the oxidative imbalance generated by Stx induces platelet activation, contributing to thrombus formation. Moreover, activated platelets release soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) which in turn contributes to oxidative imbalance, triggering the release of reactive oxidative species (ROS) on various cellular types. The aim of this work was to determine if the interaction between the oxidative response and platelet-derived sCD40L participates in the pathogenic mechanism during HUS. Activated human glomerular endothelial cells (HGEC) by Stx2 induced platelets to adhere to them. Although platelet adhesion did not contribute to endothelial damage, high levels of sCD40L were released to the medium. The release of sCD40L by activated platelets was inhibited by antioxidant treatment. Furthermore, we found increased levels of sCD40L in plasma from HUS patients, which were also able to trigger the respiratory burst in monocytes, in a sCD40L-dependent manner. Thus, we concluded that platelet-derived sCD40L and the oxidative response are reciprocally stimulated during Stx2-associated HUS. This process may contribute to the evolution of glomerular occlusion and the microangiopathic lesions.

Fibrillin (FBN) is a plastid lipid-associated protein found in photosynthetic organisms from cyanobacteria to plants. In this study, 10 CsaFBN genes were identified in genomic DNA sequences of cucumber (Chinese long and Gy14) through database searches using the conserved domain of FBN and the 14 FBN genes of Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis of CsaFBN protein sequences showed that there was no counterpart of Arabidopsis and rice FBN5 in the cucumber genome. FBN5 is essential for growth in Arabidopsis and rice; its absence in cucumber may be because of incomplete genome sequences or that another FBN carries out its functions. Among the 10 CsaFBN genes, CsaFBN1 and CsaFBN9 were the most divergent in terms of nucleotide sequences. Most of the CsaFBN genes were expressed in the leaf, stem, and fruit. CsaFBN4 showed the highest mRNA expression levels in various tissues, followed by CsaFBN6, CsaFBN1, and CsaFBN9. High-light stress combined with low temperature decreased photosynthetic efficiency and highly induced transcript levels of CsaFBN1, CsaFBN6, and CsaFBN11, which decreased after 24 h treatment. Transcript levels of the other seven genes were changed only slightly. This result suggests that CsaFBN1, CsaFBN6, and CsaFBN11 may be involved in photoprotection under high-light conditions at low temperature.

The cellular stress response corresponds to the molecular changes that cell undergoes in response to various environmental stimuli. It induces drastic changes in the regulation of gene expression, at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Actually, translation is strongly affected with a blockade of the classical cap-dependent mechanism, whereas alternative mechanisms are activated to support translation of specific mRNAs. One of the major mechanisms involved in stress-activated translation is the internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-driven initiation. IRESs, first discovered in viral mRNAs, are present in cellular mRNAs coding for master regulators of cell responses, whose expression must be tightly controlled. IRESs allow translation of these mRNAs in response to different stresses, including DNA damage, amino-acid starvation, hypoxia or endoplasmic reticulum stress, as well as to physiological stimuli such as cell differentiation or synapse network formation. Importantly, cellular mRNA IRESs are regulated by IRES trans-acting factor (ITAFs), exerting their action by at least nine different mechanisms. This review presents an update of the reported ITAFs regulating cellular mRNA translation and of the different mechanisms allowing them to control translation initiation in specific conditions. The impact of ITAFs on coordinated expression of mRNA families and consequences in cell physiology and diseases are also highlighted.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal X-linked recessive neuromuscular disease prevalent in 1 in 3500 to 5000 males worldwide. As a result of mutations that interrupt the reading frame of the dystrophin gene (DMD), DMD is characterized by a loss of dystrophin protein which leads to decreased muscle membrane integrity, which increases susceptibility to degeneration. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has garnered interest as an avenue for DMD therapy due to its potential for permanent exon skipping, which can restore the disrupted DMD reading frame in DMD and lead to dystrophin restoration. An RNA-guided DNA endonuclease system, CRISPR/Cas9 allows for the targeted editing of specific sequences in the genome. The efficacy and safety of CRISPR/Cas9 as a therapy for DMD has been evaluated by numerous studies in vitro and in vivo, with varying rates of success. Despite the potential of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing for the long-term treatment of DMD, its translation into the clinic is currently challenged by issues such as off-targeting, immune response activation, and sub-optimal in vivo delivery. Its nature as being mostly a personalized form of therapy also limits applicability to DMD patients, who exhibit a wide spectrum of mutations. This review summarizes the various CRISPR/Cas9 strategies that have been tested in vitro and in vivo for the treatment of DMD. Perspectives on the approach will be provided, and the challenges faced by CRISPR/Cas9 in its road to the clinic will be briefly discussed.

Biostimulants are materials that when applied in small amounts are capable of promoting plant growth. Nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials (NMs) can be considered as biostimulants since, in specific ranges of concentration, generally in small levels, they increase the plant growth. Pristine NPs and NMS have a high density of surface charges capable of unspecific interactions with the surface charges of the cell walls and membranes of plant cells. In the same way, the functionalized NPs and NMS, and the NPs and NMs with a corona formed after the exposition to natural fluids such as water, soil solution, or the interior of organisms, presents a high density of surface charges that interact with specific charged groups in cell surfaces. The magnitude of the interaction will depend on the materials adhered to the corona, but the high-density charges located in a small volume causes an intense interaction capable of disturbing the density of surface charges of cell walls and membranes. The electrostatic disturbance can have an impact on the electrical potentials of the outer and inner surfaces, as well as on the transmembrane electrical potential, modifying the activity of the integral proteins of the membranes. The extension of the cellular response can range from biostimulation to cell death and will depend on the concentration, size, and the characteristics of the corona.

The calcium-sensing receptor (CAS), as a chloroplast thylakoid membrane protein, involved in the process of [Ca2+] ext-induced [Ca2+]cyt increase (CICI) in the plant. However, the underlying mechanism regulating this process is lacking. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that CAS may perform additional roles in the plant. Here, we provide an update covering the multiple roles of CAS in stomatal movement regulation and calcium signaling in the plant. We also analysis the possible phosphorylation mechanism of CAS by light and discuss the role of CAS in abiotic stress (drought, salt stress) and biotic stresses (plant immune signaling). Finally, we provide a perspective for future experiments which are required to fill gaps in our understanding of the biological function of CAS in the plant.

This paper attempts to clarify an issue regarding the lasting unsolved problem of turbulence, namely the closure problem. This study shows that all perspectives regarding the numbers of un- known quantities in the Reynolds turbulence equations stem from the misunderstandings of physics of the Reynolds stress tensor. The current literatures have a consensus that the Reynolds stress tensor has six unknowns; however, this study shows that the Reynolds stress tensor actually has only three ones, namely the three components of fluctuation velocity. With this new understanding, the closed turbulence equations for incompressible flows are proposed.

Due to their unique properties, perfluorinated substances (PFAS) are widely used in multiple industrial and commercial applications, but they are toxic for animals, humans included. This review presents some available data on the PFAS environmental distribution in the world, and in particular in Europe and in Veneto region of Italy, where it has become a serious problem for human health. The consumption of contaminated food and drinking water is considered one of the major source of exposure for humans. Worldwide epidemiological studies report the negative effects that PFAS have on human health, due to environmental pollution, including infertility, steroid hormone perturbation, thyroid, liver and kidney disorders and metabolic disfunctions. In vitro and in vivo researches correlated PFAS exposure to oxidative stress effects (in mammals as well as in other vertebrates of human interest), produced by a PFAS-induced increase of reactive oxygen species formation. The cellular antioxidant defense system is activated by PFAS, but it is only partially able to avoid the oxidative damage to biomolecules.

Failure characteristics induced by unloading disturbance and the corresponding mechanical mechanism of the coal seam floor are important theoretical bases for water-bursting prevention from the floor of the coal seam and rock burst alarm in deep mining. However, the existing two-dimensional ground-pressure-control theory based on shallow mining cannot sufficiently guide deep-mining practices. In this study, the redistribution of mining-induced stress field in rocks surrounding the longwall face and mechanical behaviors of strata in deep mining are investigated through a combination of numerical simulation, physical simulation, and field measurement. Results demonstrate that mining-induced stress fields in the floor of the longwall face differ in space and time. Vertical stress unloading from top to bottom of the floor and horizontal stress unloading are relatively low. A concentration zone of high horizontal stress exists at stope boundaries. The critical yield load of rock stratum in the floor is determined through thin plate yield theory. Under the combined effect of concentrated high horizontal and vertical resilience stresses, strata in the floor fracture from seam to seam if the load increases to the minimum critical buckling value. Fractured strata slide along the fracture surface, which leads to floor heave. The stope floor shows evident time-delay progressive failure characteristics. The stress shell in the stope floor in deep mining is found to be a sensitive mechanical parameter that produces three-dimensional ground-pressure behavior in the floor. This ground-pressure behavior in the stope floor is controlled by the existence of the corresponding stress shell and effects induced by its space–time evolution. This study provides theoretical basis for the dynamic control of a hazard-inducing environment in engineering and minimizing or altering disaster-occurrence conditions during the construction engineering of the coal seam floor.

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely tested the mental health of frontline health care workers. A repeated cross-sectional study can provide information on how their mental health evolved during the various phases of the pandemic. The intensivists of a COVID-19 hub hospital in Rome were investigated with a baseline survey during the first wave of the pandemic in April 2020 and were contacted again in December 2020, during the second wave. 152 of the 205 eligible workers responded to an online questionnaire designed to measure procedural justice, occupational stress (effort/reward imbalance), sleep quality, anxiety, depression, burnout, job satisfaction, happiness, and turnover intention. Workers reported a further increase in workload and compassion fatigue, which had already risen during the first wave, and a marked reduction in the time devoted to meditation and mental activities. A low level of confidence in the adequacy of safety procedures and the need to work in isolation, together with an increased workload and lack of time for meditation were the most significant predictors of occupational stress in a stepwise linear regression model. Occupational stress was, in turn, a significant predictor of insomnia, anxiety, low job satisfaction, burnout, and intention to leave the hospital. The number of workers manifesting symptoms of depression increased significantly to exceed 60%. Action to prevent occupational risks and enhance individual resilience cannot be postponed.

The workplace is an ideal setting for health promotion. The regular medical examination of workers enables us to screen for numerous diseases, spread good practices and correct lifestyles, and obtain a favourable risk/benefit ratio. The continuous monitoring of the level of workers' wellbeing using a holistic approach that goes beyond the simple prevention of occupational risks enables us to promptly identify problems in work organization and the company climate. Problems of this kind can be adequately managed by using a participatory approach. In this study participatory ergonomics groups were used to improve occupational life in a small company. After intervention we observed a reduction in levels of perceived occupational stress measured with the effort / reward imbalance model, and an improvement in psychological wellbeing assessed by means of the Goldberg anxiety / depression scale. Although the limited size of the sample calls for a cautious evaluation of this study, the GEP© strategy proved to be a useful tool due to its cost-effectiveness.

A study on the selection of hyperelastic constitutive model for polymeric materials is performed using a hybrid experimental-computational approach. Bis-GMA polymer is used as a case study of hyperelastic material to describe the polymer characteristics by determining its Poisson’s ratio and its valid range of the hyperelastic stress-strain curves. These two parameters are then used to determine the hyperelastic constitutive model by using the hybrid approach. Several uniaxial compression tests along with their finite element simulations are implemented in a systematic way, to identify the polymer behavior under the compressive loading conditions. Nano-indentation experiments are conducted to verify the hyperelastic behavior of the polymer. The experimental and computational evidences confirm that the Poisson’s ratio of Bis-GMA is 0.40 and the appropriate hyperelastic constitutive model for this polymer is of a second order polynomial. It is shown that, the results can be used to determine the true stress-strain curve of hyperelastic materials.

The expanding use of devices emitting Pulsed Telecommunication Signals (PTS) has launched a serious debate over the possible effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) on living organisms. Our previous work has indicated that PTS exposure alters Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) and alpha-synuclein (α-syn) metabolism in human cells of neural origin, providing a possible connection between exposure and neurodegeneration. This investigation aimed to reveal, in vitro in human non-neural cells (HEK293), the aftermath of the same exposure on the processing of APP and α-syn. Data presented here, indicate changes in APP metabolism, acquisition of different cellular topologies of the newly generated APP fragments, changes in monomeric α-syn accumulation and multimerization, indicating that APP and α-syn processing is possibly altered in the periphery by EMR. These effects are accompanied by a substantial increase in the levels of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Further investigation is required in order to provide insights into the interaction of PTS with non-neural cells affecting the peripheral systemic functional stability. This is necessary because nowadays whole body human exposure from various EMR sources is a fact in normal life with the valid estimation that they may be increased in view of the forthcoming 5G telecommunications network implementation.

Crop plants should be resilient to climatic factors in order to feed ever-increasing populations. Plants have developed stress-responsive mechanisms by changing their metabolic pathways and switching the stress-responsive genes. The discovery of plant transcriptional factors (TFs) as key regulators of different biotic and abiotic stresses have opened up new horizons for plant scientists. TFs perceive the signal and switch certain stress-responsive genes on and off by binding to different cis-regulatory elements. The above 50 species of plant TFs have been reported in nature. DREB, bZIP, MYB, NAC, Zinc-finger, HSF, Dof, WRKY, and NF-Y are important with respect to biotic and abiotic stresses whereas the role of many TFs is yet to explore. In this review, we summarize the role of different stress-responsive TFs with respect to biotic and abiotic stresses. Further, challenges and future opportunities linked with TFs for developing climate-resilient crops are also elaborated.

This work examines atomic and molecular signatures in laser-induced plasma in standard ambient temperature and pressure environments, including background contributions to the spectra that depend on the laser pulse-width. Investigations include solids, gases, and nano-particles. Abel inversions of measured line-of-sight data reveal insight into the radial plasma distribution. For nominal 6 nanosecond laser pulses and for pulse-energies in the range of 100 to 800 milli-Joules, expansion dynamics and turbulence due to shock phenomena are elucidated to address local equilibrium details that are frequently assumed in spatially averaged emission spectroscopy. Chemical equilibrium computations reveal temperature dependence of selected plasma species. Specific interests include atomic hydrogen (H) and cyanide (CN). The atomic H spectra, collected following optical breakdown in ultra-high-pure hydrogen and 9:1 mixtures of ultra-pure hydrogen and nitrogen gases, indicate spherical shell structures and isentropic expansion of the plasma kernel over and above the usual shockwave. The recombination radiation of CN emanates within the first 100 nanoseconds for laser-induced breakdown in a 1:1 CO₂:N₂ gas mixture when using nanosecond laser pulses to create the micro-plasma. The micro-plasma is generated using 1064 nm, 150 mJ, 6 ns Q-switched Nd:YAG laser radiation. Measurements of the optical emission spectra utilize a 0.64 m Czerny-Turner type spectrometer and an intensified charge-coupled device.

Measurements of copper and zinc in transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) show contradictory results.Aim of the study: To examine serum levels of these minerals in TDT in relation to iron overload indices and erythron variables. Methods: This study recruited 60 children with TDT and 30 healthy children aged 3-12 years old.Results: Zinc was significantly higher in TDT children than in control children, whilst copper and the copper to zinc ratio were significantly lowered in TDT. Serum zinc was significantly associated with the number of blood transfusions and iron overload variables (including serum iron and TS%) and negatively with erythron variables (including hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin). Serum copper was significantly and negatively associated with the same iron overload and erythron variables. The copper to zinc ratio was significantly correlated with iron, TS%, ferritin, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. Albumin levels were significantly higher in TDT children than in control children. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the increase in zinc in children with TDT may be explained by iron loading anemia and hemolysis and the consequent shedding of high amounts of intracellular zinc into the plasma. Increased albumin levels and treatment with Desferral may further contribute towards higher zinc levels in TDT. We suggest that the elevations in zinc in TDT are a compensatory mechanism protecting against infection, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Previous proposals for prophylactic use of zinc supplements in TDT may not be warranted.

In this work, the parameters of plasma (electron temperature (T_e), electron density n_e, plasma frequency (f_p) , Debye length (λ_D) and Debye number (N_D)) have been studied by using the spectrometer that collect the spectrum of Laser produce Cadmium telluride plasma at different energies. The results of electron temperature for CdTe range 0.93-1.18 eV also the electron density 5 × 10¹⁰ – 3.8 × 10¹¹ cm^-3 have been measured under vacuum reaching 2.5 × 10^-2 mbar .Optical properties of CdTe were determined through the optical transmission method using ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer within the range 190 – 1100 nm.

Compressive residual stresses in thin films can inhibit crack propagation under normal or sliding contact loading, with associated enhancement of the coating apparent toughness, load bearing capacity and wear resistance. This study investigates the influence of residual stress distributions on the thin film/substrate adhesion using a nanoindenter coupled with scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations of indentation induced failure modes. Reactive and un-reactive magnetron sputtering with ion plating was used to coat a (100) silicon substrate with aluminum nitride (AlN) with and without an aluminum (Al) adhesion layer. The presence of an Al bond layer gives additional interfacial tensile stress because of the difference in thermal expansion coefficient. Additionally, a different magnitude of residual stresses in the AlN coating was achieved by changing the applied bias voltage onto the substrate. Wafer curvature method and incremental focused ion beam (FIB) milling, combined with high-resolution in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and full field strain analysis by digital image correlation (DIC), were used to measure the average and in-depth stress residual stress distribution in the produced coatings. The adhesion energy was then quantified by using a nanoindentation based model. Results demonstrate that the additional tensile residual stress in the aluminum adhesion layer decrease significantly the coating adhesion, even in presence of a higher compressive stress state in the AlN top-layer. Therefore, the coatings without Al-layer showed better adhesion because of a more homogeneous compressive residual stress in comparison with the coating having Al layer, even though both groups of coatings are produced under same bias voltage. Results are discussed, and some general suggestions are made on the correlation between coating/substrate property combination and the adhesion energy of multilayer stacks. The results suggested that Al bond-layer and inhomogeneous residual stresses affected the adhesion of AlN negatively to a substrate like silicon.

Shale gas reservoirs (SGR) are important replacements for conventional energy resources and have been widely exploited by hydraulic fracturing technologies. On the one hand, due to the inherent ultra-low permeability and porosity, there is stress sensitivity in the reservoirs generally. On the other hand, hydraulic fractures and the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) generated by the massive hydraulic fracturing operation have contrast properties with the original reservoirs. These two phenomena bring huge challenges in SGR transient pressure analysis. Although some works in the literatures have been done on the transient pressure analysis of multi-fractured horizontal wells in SGR, unfortunately, none of them has taken the stress sensitivity and spatially varying permeability of SRV zone into consideration simultaneously. To fill this gap, this paper first idealizes the SGR to be four linear composite regions. What’s more, SRV zone is further divided into sub-sections on the basis of non-uniform distribution of proppant within SRV zone which easily yields spatially varying permeability away from the main hydraulic fracture. The stress sensitivity is characterized by the varying permeability depended on the pore pressure. By means of perturbation transformation and Laplace transformation, an analytical multi-linear flow model (MLFM) is obtained and validated by the comparison with the previous model. On the basis of our model, the flow regimes are identified and the sensitivity analysis of critical parameters are conducted to further understand the transient pressure behaviors. The research results provided by this work are of significance for well test interpretation and production performance analysis of SGR.

This work communicates a review on Balmer series hydrogen beta line measurements and applications for analysis of white dwarf stars. Laser-induced plasma investigations explore electron density and temperature ranges comparable to white dwarf star signatures such as Sirius B, the companion to the brightest star observable from the earth. Spectral line shape characteristics of the hydrogen beta line include width, peak separation, and central dip-shift, thereby providing three indicators for electron density measurements. The hydrogen alpha line shows two primary line-profile parameters for electron density determination, namely, width and shift. Both Boltzmann plot and line-to-continuum ratios yield temperature. The line-shifts recorded with temporally- and spatially- resolved optical emission spectroscopy of hydrogen plasma in laboratory settings can be larger than gravitational redshifts that occur in absorption spectra from radiating white dwarfs. Published astrophysical spectra display significantly diminished Stark or pressure broadening contributions to red-shifted atomic lines. Gravitational redshifts allow one to assess the ratio of mass and radius of these stars, and subsequently, the mass from cooling models.

Based on author's previous work [Sun, B. The Reynolds Navier-Stokes Turbulence Equations of Incompressible Flow Are Closed Rather Than Unclosed. Preprints 2018, 2018060461 (doi: 10.20944/preprints201806.0461.v1)], this paper proposed an explicit representation of velocity fluctuation and formulated the Reynolds stress tensor in terms of the mean velocity field. The proposed closed Reynolds Navier-Stokes turbulence formulations reveal that the mean vorticity is the key source of producing turbulence.

The tremendous diversity and complexity of proteins invariably results in protein misfolding, to which cells have evolved numerous mechanisms of mitigating. Degrading misfolded proteins is perhaps the most intuitive strategy, but also critical to managing proteostasis are the elaborate mechanisms of translational control. Attenuated rates of translation ameliorate protein misfolding by downregulating the flux of new protein and conserving ATP. Loss of translational control, particularly in neurons, constitutes a major proteostatic dysfunction capable of causing or exacerbating neurodegeneration, while interventions aimed at downregulating protein synthesis are generally neuroprotective. In this review, I examine the critical neuronal signaling networks employed to control translation with an emphasis on current research. This includes the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR), the mitochondrial UPR (mtUPR), mTORC1 signaling, and stress granule formation.

The human degenerative cartilage has low regenerative potential. Chondrocyte transplantation offers a promising strategy for cartilage treatment and regeneration. Currently chondrogenesis using human pluripotent stem cells are accomplished using human recombinant growth factors. Here, we differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into chondrocytes and cartilage pellet using minicircle vectors. Minicircles are used as a non-viral gene delivery system for gene therapy in various diseases. Non-viral gene delivery can produce growth factors without integrating into the host genome. Minicircle vectors containing bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) and transforming growth factor, beta 3 (TGFβ3) were successfully generated and delivered to hiPSC-derived outgrowth (OG) cells. Cell pellets generated using minicircle-transfected OG cells successfully differentiated into chondrogenic lineage. Chondrogenic pellets transfected with growth factor-encoding minicircles effectively recovered osteochondral defect in rat models. Taken together, this work shows the potential application of minicircles in cartilage regeneration using hiPSCs.

Type 1 diabetes affects millions of people globally and requires careful management to avoid serious long-term complications, including heart and kidney disease, stroke, and loss of sight. The present standard-of-care for type 1 diabetes is exogenic insulin substitutional therapy. The most advanced stretegies in this area is the development of hybrid-closed loop system and the producing of long-acting insulins. Progresses in stem cell therapies have started to revolutionize the care of patients with type 1 diabetes; however, significant challenges remain including the limited islets availability, difficulties in maintaining the viability, the heterogeneity within a complex pathology and in patients’ responses to treatment. On the way, a considerable amount of efforts in maximizing the islet transplantation effectiveness by controlling the advantageous of different stem cell approaches. With the availability and the use of big data, the concept of precision medicine is gaining wide attention worldwide and could bring the dream of “presonlaized” therapies as a reality in the near future. Here we review the current range of treatments available as well as recent pre-clinical breakthroughs in the field of personlaized medicine for type 1 diabetes.

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.

Over the last decade, there has been a growing interest in the use of a wide range of phytoadditives to counteract the harmful effects of heat stress in poultry. Willow (Salix spp.) is a tree with a long history. Among various forms, willow bark is an important natural source of salicin, β-O-glucoside of saligenin, but also of polyphenols (flavonoids and condensed tannins) with antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. In light of this, the current review presents some literature data aiming to: (1) describe the relationship between heat stress and oxidative stress in broilers, (2) present or summarize literature data on the chemical composition of Salix species, (3) summarize the mechanisms of action of willow bark in heat-stressed broilers, (4) present different biological effects of the extract of Salix species in different experimental models.

An emerging picture in cancer biology is that, paradoxically, chemotherapy can actively induce changes that favor cancer progression. These pro-cancer changes can be either inside (intrinsic) or outside (extrinsic) the cancer cells. In this review, we will discuss the extrinsic pro-cancer effect of chemotherapy; that is, the effect of chemotherapy on the non-cancer host cells to promote cancer progression. We will focus on metastasis, and will first discuss recent data from mouse models of breast cancer. Intriguingly, despite reducing the size of primary tumors, chemotherapy changes the tumor microenvironment, resulting in an increased escape of cancer cells into the blood stream. Furthermore, chemotherapry changes the tissue microenvironment at the distant sites, making it more hospitable to cancer cells upon their arrival. We will then discuss the idea and evidence that these devastating pro-metastatic effects of chemotherapy can be explained in the context of stress response. At the end, we will discuss the potential relevance of these mouse data to human breast cancer and their implication on chemotherapy in the clinic.

There is evidence that behavioral risk factors such as western type diet, and life style can predispose to oxidative stress, deficiency in antioxidant status, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and increase in inflammation in tissues of various organs: beta cells of the pancreas, LDL receptors in the hepatocytes, endothelium, neurons, osteocytes and gut. Further studies indicate that diets rich in antioxidant flavonoids, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber in foods were inversely associated whereas western-type foods were positively associated with risk of mortality due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). One important cause for beneficial effects of diet may be certain foods and nutrients such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains that are rich in fiber and flavonoids, known to produce liters og molecular hydrogen in the gut. It seems that, high-fiber diets, prebiotic and probiotics can produce greater hydrogen, which acts as an antioxidant and may inhibit free radical generation. Recent studies indicate that molecular hydrogen can inhibit hydroxyl and nitrosyl radicals and can directly act as antioxidant in the cells and tissues, which can cause marked decline in oxidative stress and inflammation leading to significant decline in CVDs and metabolic diseases. Clinical and experimental studies indicate that hydrogen therapy such as hydrogen rich water can provide benefits in the management of CVDs and metabolic diseases. Larger studies are necessary to verify the role of hydrogen administration in CVDs.

Pre-existing fracture and secondary cracks in rock mass are formed by natural power, such as magma condensed to igneous rocks and tectonic movement. The orientation and inclination of these fractures obey certain laws relating to the stress, temperature, minerals, water and so on. Therefore, cracks react differently under the same external loading on the condition of various inclination, fissure apertures, stiffness and joint roughness. To simulate the crack propagation, experiments on hollow cylinder cut by one oblique interface mimicking single fracture accumulated numerous data discovering the failure criterion in accordance with the Mohr-Coulomb criterion. And theory on the Terzaghi’s effective principle take an essential role in controlling the behavior of triggering fault. This paper introduced a series of oblique plane cutting the cylinder regarded as fractures at different inclination to concentrate on how the fracture characteristics effect the stress and strain distribution inside the specimen, especially, the relationship between displacement and water head. The key point of this numerical simulation is coupling the solid phase and the fluid phase, specifically, the mechanic and seepage field. According to the statics, curves referring to deformation and water head could be described as increasing lines. Besides, simulation on coupling solid phase and fluid phase can supply crucial evaluation on activating existing fault, and thus predicting induced seismicity in reservoirs or estimating damage in shale gas exploration.

Background University students’ psychological health is linked to their academic satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate students’ psychological health and academic satisfaction in the context of COVID-19 and academic year-end stress. Methods Standardized self-filled scales for anxiety, depression, stress, psychological well-being, and an ad-hoc COVID-19 stress scale were used in this cross-sectional study. Participants were first- to third-year students of eight different health-related tracks in Geneva, Switzerland. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analyses were applied. Results In June 2020, out of 2835 invited students, 433 (15%) completed the survey. Academic satisfaction was a stronger mental health predictor than COVID-19, which mainly predicted stress and anxiety. Lower academic satisfaction scores were significantly associated with stress (β = -.53, p < .001), depression (β = -.26, p < .001), anxiety (β = -.20, p < .001), while higher scores with psychological well-being (β = .48, p < .001). Being female was strongly associated with anxiety and stress but not with depression or psychological well-being. Lower age was associated with stress only. The nature of the academic training had a lesser impact on mental health and the academic year none. Compared to students starting the academic year, year-end students reported significantly lower academic satisfaction, higher depression, and particularly higher anxiety and stress. There was, however, no difference in psychological well-being. Conclusion Students suffer more from anxiety, stress, depression, and lower satisfaction with studies at the end of the academic year than at the beginning. Academic satisfaction plays a more substantial role than COVID-19 in predicting students’ overall mental health status. Training institutions should address the underlying factors that can enhance students’ academic satisfaction, especially during the COVID-19 period, in addition to ensuring that they have a continuous and adequate learning experience, as well as access to psychosocial services that help them cope with mental distress and enhance their psychological well-being.

Rigid-hulled inflatable boats are extremely practical and popular nowadays. They offer a effective conciliation among usability and costs. Their stable and seaworthy behaviour is guaranteed by performing hydroplaning hulls coupled with unsinkable inflated tubes. At the same time, their design is often based on tradition and preconceptions. Rarely, the design assumptions are validated by the reality or, even, by deeper investigations. In this article, both numerical methods and experimental mechanics techniques are proposed as an essential way for supporting the designers in their decisive tasks. Three different situations are detailed where a numerical or an experimental approach shows its benefit inside the engineering design process: firstly permitting to investigate the behaviour of materials driving the fiberglass selection; then measuring the levels of stress and strain in the hull during sailing; finally, using all available information as a base for developing numerical models of the hull slamming in waves. Even if the discussion is focused on a rigid inflatable boat, large part of its considerations is relevant beyond this special case.

Pteridophytes, represented by ferns and allies, are an important phytogenetic bridge between lower and higher plants (gymnosperms and angiosperms). Ferns have evolved independently of any other species in the plant kingdom being its secondary metabolism a reservoir of phytoconstituents characteristic of this taxon. The study of the possible medicinal uses of Polypodium vulgare L. (Polypodiaceae), PV, has increased particularly when in 2008 the European Medicines Agency published a monograph about the rhizome of this species. Thus, our objective is to provide scientific knowledge on the methanolic extract from the fronds of P. vulgare L., one of the main ferns described in the Prades Mountains, to contribute to the validation of certain traditional uses. Specifically, we have characterized the methanolic extract of PV fronds (PVM) by HPLC-DAD and investigated its potential cytotoxicity, phototoxicity, ROS production and protective effects against oxidative stress by using in vitro methods. Our results show that PVM is not cytotoxic against the different cell lines assessed, but we found potential cytoprotective and cellular repair activity in 3T3 fibroblast cells. This biological activity could be attributed to the high content of polyphenolic compounds; thus, this extract is positioned as a potential candidate for pharmaceutical uses.

Beta-thalassemia major (β-TM) patients are treated with repeated blood transfusions, which may cause iron overload (IO), which in turn may induce immune aberrations. Patients with β-TM have an increased risk of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aims of the present study are to examine whether repeated blood transfusions, IO and immune-inflammatory responses are associated with MDD in children (6-12 years) with β-TM. The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), iron status (serum iron, ferritin, transferrin, TS%) and serum levels of CCL11, IL-1β, IL-10, and TNF-α were measured in β-TM with (n=54) and without (n=57) MDD and in healthy children (n=55). The results show that MDD in β-TM is associated with a greater number of blood transfusions, increased IO and IL-1β levels. Partial Least Squares path analysis shows that 68.8% of the variance in the CDI score is explained by the number of blood transfusions, IO, and increased levels of IL-1β and TNF-α. The latter two cytokines partly mediate the effects of IO on the CDI score, while the effects of blood transfusions on the CDI score are partly mediated by IO and the path from IO to immune activation. IO is also associated with increased IL-10 and lower CCL11 levels but these alterations are not significantly associated with MDD. In conclusion, blood transfusions may be causally related to MDD in β-TM children and their effects are in part mediated by increased IO and the consequent immune-inflammatory response. The results suggest that not only IO and its consequences including inflammation and ferroptosis, but also other factors related to the number of transfusions may cause MDD including psychosocial stressors. Current treatment modalities with folic acid and vitamin C are insufficient to attenuate IO and immune-inflammatory responses and to prevent MDD is children with β-TM undergoing blood transfusions.

Despite extensive investigations of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) since its development in 1995, its factor structure and other psychometric properties still need to be firmly established, with several calls for revising its item structure. Employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), this study examined the factor structure of the DASS-21 and five shortened versions of the DASS-21 among psychiatric patients (N = 168) and the general public (N = 992) during the COVID-19 confinement period in Saudi Arabia. Multigroup CFA, Mann Whitney W test, Spearman’s correlation, and coefficient alpha were used to examine the shortened versions of the DASS-21 (DASS-13, DASS-12, DASS-9 (two versions), and DASS-8) for invariance across age and gender groups, discriminant validity, predictive validity, item coverage, and internal consistency, respectively. Compared with the DASS-21, all three-factor structures of the shortened versions expressed good fit, with the DASS-8 demonstrating the best fit and highest item loadings on the corresponding factors in both samples (χ2(16, 15) = 16.5, 67.0; p = 0.420, 0.000; CFI= 1.000, 0.998; TLI = 0.999, 0.997; RMSEA = 0.013, 0.059, SRMR = 0.0186, 0.0203). It expressed configural, metric, and scalar invariance across age and gender groups. Its internal consistency was comparable to other versions (α = 0.94). Strong positive correlations of the DASS-8 and its subscales with the DASS-21 and its subscales (r = 0.97 to 0.81) suggest adequate item coverage and good predictive validity of this version. The DASS-8 and its subscales distinguished the clinical sample from the general public at the same level of significance expressed by the DASS-21 and other shortened versions, supporting its discriminant validity. Neither the DASS-21 nor the shortened versions distinguished patients diagnosed with depression and anxiety from other conditions. The DASS-8 represents a valid short version of the DASS-21, which may be useful in research and clinical practice for quick identification of individuals with potential psychopathologies. Diagnosing depression/anxiety disorders may be further confirmed in a next step by clinician-facilitated examinations. Brevity of the DASS-21 would save time and effort used for filling the questionnaire and support comprehensive assessments by allowing the inclusion of more measures on test batteries.

The fatigue life of welded joints under cyclic loading is a complex process that can be roughly divided into fatigue crack initiation, crack propagation and final fracture. Usually, these phases are evaluated separately. Several methods are available to estimate the extent of the different phases in welded components, such as stress-based fatigue concepts for crack initiation or linear elastic fracture mechanics for crack propagation; however, distinguishing these phases in welded components is a complex procedure and often relies on assumptions such as transition crack sizes. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between fatigue crack initiation and propagation in welded joints using artificially notched specimens with welded joints characteristics of different notch acuity (different radii and opening angle). The experiments show that the investigated relationship basically depends on the notch acuity, the load level and the stress ratio.