Tinnitus is a phantom sound perception in the ears or head and can arise from many different medical disorders. Currently, there is no standard treatment for tinnitus that reliably reduces tinnitus. Individual patients reported that acupressure at various points around the ear can help to reduce tinnitus, which was investigated here. With this longitudinal observational study, we report a systematic evaluation of auricular acupressure on 39 tinnitus sufferers, combined with a self-help smartphone app. The participants were asked to report about tinnitus, stress, mood, neck and jaw muscle tensions twice a day using an ecological momentary assessment study design for six weeks. On average, 123.6 questionnaires per person were provided and used for statistical analysis. The treatment responses of the participants were heterogeneous. On average, we ob-served significant negative trends for tinnitus loudness (Cohen’s d effect size: -.861), tinnitus dis-tress (d = -.478), stress (d = -.675), and tensions in the neck muscles (d = -.356). Comparison with a matched control group revealed significant improvements for tinnitus loudness (p = .027) and self-reported stress level (p = .003). The positive results of the observational study motivate fur-ther research including a randomized clinical trial and long-term assessment of the clinical im-provement.

We aimed to evaluate the protective effects of acetyl-xylogalactan on the activity of RAW264.7 macrophages against heat stress. To this end, we assessed cell survival, phagocytic activity, in-tracellular Ca2+ level, mitochondria potential exchange, apoptotic assay findings, galactosidase activity and the RNA-seq by NGS and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) expression. In our evaluation of macrophage morphology at 37°C and 41°C, the macrophages showed an oval shape at 41°C , unlike the spindle shape at 37°C. Therefore, 41°C was chosen as the heat stress condition. Subsequently, we designed an experiment to evaluate changes in the RAW264.7 macrophages after acetyl-xylogalactan treatment under heat stress. The survival of RAW264.7 macrophages treated with acetyl-xylogalactan was higher than that of controls that were not treated with acetyl-xylogalactan. Moreover, on the basis of the results of the annexin-V detection assay, the apoptotic activity of macrophages appeared to have reduced after treatment with ac-etyl-xylogalactan. Moreover, treatment with acetyl-xylogalactan resulted in a stronger recovery trend in the intracellular Ca2+ and mitochondrial membrane potential after heat stress. RNA sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) illustrated that Sarcodia suieae acetyl-xylogalactan could upregulate the expression of the anti-apoptosis Cflar gene and down-regulate the expression of the apoptosis factors Ddit3, and Hyou1 to protect macrophages under heat stress.

Mulberry is an economically significant crop for the sericulture industry worldwide. Stresses such as drought exposure have a significant influence on plant survival. Metabolome directly reflects plant physiological status; thus, a way to assess this impact is to perform a global metabolomic analysis. This study investigated the effect of drought stress on mulberry Yu-711 metabolic balance using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based on an untargeted metabolomic approach. For this objective, Yu-711 leaves were subjected to two weeks of drought stress treatment and control without drought stress. Multivariate and univariate statistical analyses highlighted numerous differentially-accumulated metabolic elements as a function of time and treatment. Drought stress led to a more differentiated metabolites response than the control. We found that the levels of total lipids and galactolipids, and phospholipids (PC, PA, PE) were significantly altered, producing 48% of the total differentially expressed metabolites. Fatty acyls were the most abundant lipids expressed and decreased considerably by 73.6%. Prenol lipids class of lipids increased in drought leaves. Other classes of metabolites, including polyphenols( flavonoids and cinnamic acid), organic acid (amino acids), carbohydrates, benzenoids, and organoheterocyclic, all had a dynamic trend in response to the drought stress. However, their levels under drought stress generally decreased significantly compared to the control. These results provide an overview of the metabolic profile of the mulberry plant through differentially-accumulated compounds and provide a better understanding of global plant metabolic changes in defense mechanisms.

Background: No studies have examined whether interactions between the apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) allele and peripheral biomarkers, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may impact the neurocognitive, behavioral and social dysfunctions in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD). Aims: To clinically define and biologically validate a subgroup of aMCI subjects that take up an intermediate position between controls and AD patients. Methods: In 61 healthy controls, 60 subjects with aMCI, and 60 AD patients we measured the features of aMCI/AD using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD). A composite BIORISK score was computed using the ApoE4 allele, serum folate, albumin, white blood cells, fasting blood glucose (FBG), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), T2DM and hypertension. Results: Clustering and nearest neighbour analyses were unable to validate the aMCI subgroup. We constructed two z unit-based composite scores, the first indicating overall burden of cognitive, social, and behavioural deterioration (OBD), and a second reflecting the interactions between ApoE4, all other biomarkers, hypertension and T2DM (BIORISK). We found that 40.2% of the variance in the OBD score was explained by BIORISK, ApoE4, age and education. The OBD index was used to construct three subgroups (normal, medium, and high OBD) with the medium group (n=45) showing mild cognitive dysfunctions (MCD) in memory, language, orientation, and ADL. People with MCD show OBD and BIORISK scores that are significantly different from controls and AD.Conclusions: Petersen’s aMCI criteria cannot be validated and should be replaced by the more restrictive, biologically validated MCD class.

Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBL)-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) by interacting with CBLs regulate developmental processes, hormone signalling transduction and mediate stress responses in plants. Although the genome of chickpea is available, information of CIPK gene family has been missing in chickpea. Here, a total of 22 CIPK encoding genes were identified in chickpea and characterized by in silico methods. We found a high structural conservation in chickpea CIPK family. Our analysis showed that chickpea CIPKs have evolved with dicots from common ancestors, and extensive gene duplication events have played an important role in evolution and expansion of CIPK family in chickpea. Most chickpea CIPK proteins localize in cytoplasm and nucleus. Promoter analysis revealed various cis-regulatory elements related to plant development, hormone signaling and abiotic stresses. Expression analysis indicated that CIPKs are significantly expressed in a spectrum of developmental stages, tissue/organs that hinted their important role in plant development. Several CIPK genes had specific and overlapping expressions in different abiotic stresses and seed development stages, suggesting the important role of CIPK family in abiotic stress signaling, and seed development in chickpea. Thus, this study provides the avenue for detailed functional characterization of CIPK family in chickpea and other legume crops.

Polyphenols represent a group of secondary metabolites of plants which have been analyzed as potent regulators of multiple biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis and autophagy, among others. These natural compounds exhibit beneficial effects and protection against inflammation, oxidative stress and related injuries including metabolic diseases, such as cardiovascular damage, obesity and diabetes and neurodegeneration. In the present review, we report the main biological effects in relationship to autophagy regulation in response to different dietary polyphenols and its impact on metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases

Early detection of stress can prevent us from suffering from a long-term illness such as depression and anxiety. This article presents a scoping review of stress detection based on electrodermal activity (EDA) and machine learning (ML). From an initial set of 395 articles searched in six scientific databases, 58 were finally selected according to various criteria established. The scoping review has made it possible to analyse all the steps to which the EDA signals are subjected: acquisition, preprocessing, processing and feature extraction. Finally, all the ML techniques applied to the features of this signal have been studied for stress detection. It has been found that support vector machines and artificial neural networks stand out within the supervised learning methods given their high performance values. On the contrary, it has been evidenced that unsupervised learning is not very common in the detection of stress through EDA. This scoping review concludes that the use of EDA for the detection of arousal variation (and stress detection) is widely spread, with very good results in its prediction with the ML methods found during this review.

The majority of cellular responses to external stimuli are mediated by receptors such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and systems including endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress). Since GPCR signalling is pivotal in numerous malignancies, they are widely targeted by a number of clinical drugs. Cancer cells often negatively modulate GPCRs in order to survive, proliferate and to disseminate. Similarly, numerous branches of the unfolded protein response (UPR) act as pro-survival mediators and are involved in promoting cancer progression via mechanisms such as epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, there are a few proteins among these groups which impede deleterious effects by orchestrating the pro-apoptotic phenomenon and paving a therapeutic pathway. The present review exposes and discusses such critical mechanisms and some of the key processes involved in carcinogenesis.

Alzheimer’s disease is a prominent neurological disorder, which leads to progressive dementia. The microtubule-associated protein Tau is been considered as one of the major causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Physiologically Tau assists in the stabilization of microtubules, contrary to this the pathological state of Tau results in the formation of neurotoxic tangles of Tau. The posttranslational modifications, such as GSK-3β-mediated Tau phosphorylation results in the generation of Tau pathology. Neuroinflammation generated in Alzheimer’s disease, contributes to elevated body temperature. The aim of present work is to study the effect of high temperature on Tau phosphorylation. The neuroblastoma cells were exposed to heat stress for 40 minutes. The immunofluorescence and western blot studies suggested that high temperature increases the levels of GSK-3β in cells. Heat stressed cells was also observed to have elevated levels of phosphorylated Tau. Additionally, heat stressed cells found to have modulated nuclear transport as the level of Ran was reduced. The results of present work suggested that increased temperature could be considered as a risk factor in Alzheimer’s disease as it elevated the GSK-3β levels in cells thus, resulting in increased Tau phosphorylation.

Patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) show disorders in calcium metabolism. The α-klotho protein is predominantly expressed in tissues that are involved in calcium homeostasis, and lowered levels are associated with bone disease. Aim of the study. To study the associations between low α-klotho status and calcium metabolism in relation to iron status in children with TDT. Methods. α-klotho, calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcyphosin, vitamin D3, phosphorous, fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), as well as iron and erythron biomarkers were measured in 60 children with TDT and 30 healthy control children. Results. A meaningful part of TDT patients showed lowered α-klotho levels, and those children also showed low serum total and ionized calcium concentrations. TDT patients showed increased PTH, FGFR2, and calcyphosin and lowered vitamin D3 as compared with healthy children. The α-klotho levels were significantly correlated with total and ionized calcium (positively) and with iron overload biomarkers and the number of blood transfusions (inversely). Partial Least Squares path analysis showed that 40.1% of the variance in serum total calcium could be explained by the regression on α-klotho, vitamin D3 (both positively), and calcyphosin (inversely) and that the effects of the latter are mediated by iron overload and the number of blood transfusions. Conclusion. In TDT, iron overload and its consequences may induce lowered levels of α-klotho which in turn may lead to lower calcium thereby explaining at least in part the effects of TDT on bone metabolism including spontaneous pathological fractures, osteoporosis, osteopenia, and skeletal deformities.

We aimed to test the hypothesis that serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D] concentration is associated with mental health and life stress measures in young adults, and investigate sex and racial disparities in these associations. This study comprised 327 black and white participants. Depression, trait anxiety, perceived stress, and hostility were measured by validated instruments: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (CMHS). Linear regression was used to estimate correlations between serum 25(OH)D concentration and mental health measurements in total population and in subgroups stratified by sex and race. In this sample (28.2 ± 3.1 years, 48% male, 53% black), serum 25(OH)D concentration was negatively related to BDI, STAI, PSS, total CMHS score and the majority of CMHS subscale scores (p-values < 0.05). Stratified by sex, most of these associations remained significant only in women (p-values < 0.05). Stratified by race, higher 25(OH)D concentrations in the whites were significantly related to lower BDI, STAI, PSS, and CMHS-cynicism subscale (p-values < 0.05); 25(OH)D concentrations in the blacks were only inversely associated with CMHS and most CMHS subscales (p-values < 0.05), but not with BDI, STAI and PSS. We present novel findings of consistent inverse relationships between serum 25(OH)D concentration and various measures of mental health and life stress. Long-term interventional studies are warranted to investigate the roles of vitamin D supplementation in prevention and mitigation of depression, anxiety and psychological stress in young adults.

There is robust evidence that major depression (MDD) is accompanied by a low-grade activation of the immune-inflammatory response system, which is involved in the pathophysiology of this disorder. It is also becoming apparent that glia cells are in reciprocal communication with neurons and orchestrate various neuromodulatory, homeostatic, metabolic, and immune mechanisms and have a crucial role in neuroinflammatory mechanisms in MDD. Those cells mediate the central nervous system (CNS) response to systemic inflammation and psychological stress, but at the same time, they may be an origin of the inflammatory response in the CNS. The sources of activation of the inflammatory response in MDD are immense, however, in recent years, it is becoming increasingly evident that the gastrointestinal tract with gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and increased intestinal permeability to bacterial LPS and food-derived antigens contribute to activation of low-grade inflammatory response with subsequent psychiatric manifestations. Furthermore, an excessive permeability to gut-derived antigenic material may lead to subsequent autoimmunities which are also known to be comorbid with MDD. In this chapter, we discuss fascinating interactions between the gastrointestinal tract, increased intestinal permeability, intestinal microbiota, and glia-neuron crosstalk, and their roles in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory hypothesis of MDD. To emphasize those crucial intercommunications for the brain functions, we propose the term of microbiota-gut-immune-glia (MGIG) axis.

Oxidative stress toxicity (OSTOX), as well as lowered antioxidant defenses (ANTIOX), play a role in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Nevertheless, the associations between OSTOX/ANTIOX and psychiatric comorbidities in TLE are largely unknown.Thus, this study examines plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), total radical trapping antioxidant parameter (TRAP) and sulfhydryl (-SH) groups in Depression due to TLE (n=25); Anxiety Disorders due to TLE (n=27); Psychotic Disorder due to TLE (n=25); “pure TLE” (n=27); and healthy controls (n=40).TLE and mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) were characterized by significant increases in OSTOX (MDA, AOPP, LOOH) and lowered ANTIOX (-SH groups, TRAP). The discrimination of pure TLE from controls yielded a significant area under the ROC curve for MDA (0.999), AOPP (0.851), -SH groups (0.899) and the OSTOX/ANTIOX ratio (0.996). Seizure frequency is significantly associated with increased MDA and lowered LOOH and NOx levels. Increased MDA was associated with the severity of depressive and physiosomatic symptoms, whilst increased AOPP levels predicted suicidal ideation. Depression and anxiety disorders co-occurring with TLE showed significantly lower MDA levels than TLE without any comorbidities. The psychotic and negative symptoms of TLE are associated with increased MDA levels and excitation with increased LOOH and lowered TRAP levels.These results indicate that oxidative stress toxicity especially protein oxidation and aldehyde formation coupled with lowered -SH groups play a key role in the pathophysiology of TLE/MTS. Increased aldehyde formation also impacts psychopathology, psychosis, as well as negative and depressive symptoms.

Flaviviruses replicate in membranous factories associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The replication rate generates a high polyprotein integration that can contribute to ER stress. Therefore, the host cell can develop an Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) to this protein accumulation which will stimulate appropriate cellular responses in the infectious context (Adaptation, autophagy or cell death). These different stress responses can help to overcome the virus and usually support antiviral strategies initiated by infected cells. In the present study, we investigated the capacity of ZIKA virus (ZIKV) to induce ER stress in epithelial A549 cells with a special focus on the causal factors behind it. We observed that the cells respond to ZIKV infection by implementing an UPR through activation of the IRE1 and PERK pathway but surprisingly without activation of the ATF6 branch. When we examined the effects of modulating the ER stress response we found that UPR inducers significantly inhibit ZIKV replication. Interestingly, our findings provide evidence that ZIKV can altered the UPR in order to escape to the host cell defense system.

This paper attempts to clarify an long-standing issue about the number of unknowns in the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS). This study shows that all perspectives regarding the numbers of unknowns in the RANS stem from the misinterpretation of the Reynolds stress tensor. The current literature consider that the Reynolds stress tensor has six unknown components; however, this study shows that the Reynolds stress tensor actually has only three unknown components, namely the three components of fluctuation velocity. This understanding might shed a light to understand the well-known closure problem of turbulence.

Hesperidin is a major flavonoid isolated from citrus fruits that exhibits several biological activities. This study aims to evaluate the effect of hesperidin on cardiovascular remodeling induced by N-nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with L-NAME (40 mg/kg); L-NAME plus hesperidin (15 mg/kg), or hesperidin (30 mg/kg), or captopril (2.5 mg/kg) for five weeks (n = 8/group). Hesperidin or captopril significantly prevented the development of hypertension in L-NAME rats. Moreover, hesperidin or captopril alleviated L-NAME-induced cardiac remodeling; increases in wall thickness, cross sectional area (CSA) and fibrosis of left ventricular (LV), and vascular remodeling; increases in wall thickness, CSA, vascular smooth muscle cells and collagen deposition in the aorta. These were associated with reduced oxidative stress markers, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) and enhancing plasma nitric oxide metabolite (NOx) in L-NAME treated groups. Furthermore, up-regulation of tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 (TNF-R1) and TGF-β1 protein expression and the over-expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were suppressed in L-NAME rats treated with hesperidin or captopril. These data suggested that hesperidin had cardioprotective effects in L-NAME hypertensive rats. The possible mechanism may involve its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

As professionals, social workers have a special position in relation to considering the needs of children with cancer and their families. Hence, it is important to recognize the experiences and challenges of social workers to improve care of their clients. This study was a qualitative content analysis that aimed to determine a comprehensive understanding of 19 pediatric oncology social workers’ experiences in Iran. Data were collected using semi structured interviews and field observations, analyzed through face content analysis. Concepts extracted from social workers’ experiences consisted of the nature of oncology work, lack of professional competence, low organizational support and professional inferiority that were related to main concept of "exhausting and stressful service". The results indicated that social workers' involvement in stressful and emotionally demanding situations and professional and organizational challenges caused personal exhaustion. In addition to explaining the social workers’ experiences and related factors, the results emphasize the importance of taking care of service providers to prevent them becoming stressed and exhausted. It is also important to protect patients from the consequences of stressed and exhausted care providers so further research is recommended to develop specific intervention.

Background: Caring for individuals with mental disorders poses significant challenges for caregivers, often leading to compromised quality of life and mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression. This study aims to assess the extent of these challenges among caregivers in Greece, identifying which demographic factors influence their well-being. Method: A total of 157 caregivers were surveyed using the SF-12 Health Survey for quality of life assessment and the DASS-21 questionnaire for evaluating stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. T-tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, Pearson correlation coefficients, and regression analyses were applied to understand the associations between demographics, quality of life, and mental health outcomes. Results: The study found that caregivers, especially women and younger individuals, faced high levels of mental health challenges. Marital status, educational level, and employment status also significantly influenced caregivers' well-being. Depression was the most significant factor negatively correlating with the mental component of quality of life. The magnitude of burden experienced by caregivers highlighted the urgency for targeted social and financial support, as well as strategic treatment programs that consider caregiver well-being. Conclusions: Caregivers of individuals with mental disorders endure significant stress, anxiety, and depression, influencing their quality of life. Demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status, education, and employment status have notable impacts. Findings emphasize the need for society-wide recognition of caregivers' roles and the creation of comprehensive support and intervention programs to alleviate their burden, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) served as covalently closed single-stranded RNAs have been proposed to influence plant development and stress resistance. Grapevine is the most economically valuable fruit crops cultivated worldwide and threaten by various abiotic stresses. Herein, we reported that a circRNA (Vv-circPTCD1) processed from the second exon of a pentatricopeptide repeat family gene PTCD1 was preferentially expressed in leaves and responded to salt and drought but not heat stress in grapevine. Additionally, the second exon sequence of PTCD1 was highly conserved but the biogenesis of Vv-circPTCD1 is species-dependent in plants. It was further found that the overexpressed Vv-circPTCD1 can slightly decreased abundance of the cognate host gene and the neighboring genes were barely affected in grapevine callus. Furthermore, we also successfully overexpressed the Vv-circPTCD1, and found that the Vv-circPTCD1 deteriorated the growth during heat, salt, and drought stresses in Arabidopsis. However, the biological effects on grapevine callus were not always consistent with that of Arabidopsis. Interestingly, we found that the transgenic plants of linear counterpart sequence also conferred the same phenotypes as that of circRNA during the three stress conditions, no matter what species. Those results imply that although the sequences are conserved, the biogenesis and functions of Vv-circPTCD1 are species-dependent. Our results indicate that the plant circRNA function investigation should be conducted in homologous species, which support valuable reference for further plant circRNA studies.

Epidemiological and clinical evidence have extensively documented the role of obesity in the develop-ment of endometrial cancer. However, the effect of fatty acids on cell growth in endometrial cancer has not been widely studied. Here we reported that palmitic acid significantly inhibited cell proliferation of endometrial cancer cells and primary cultures of endometrial cancer, and reduced tumor growth in a transgenic mouse model of endometrial cancer, in parallel with increased cellular stress and apoptosis and decreased cellular adhesion and invasion. Inhibition of cellular stress by N-acetyl-L-cysteine effec-tively reversed the effects of palmitic acid on cell proliferation, apoptosis and invasive capacity in the endometrial cancer cells. Palmitic acid increased the intracellular formation of lipid droplets in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Depletion of lipid droplets by blocking DGAT1 and DGAT2 effectively increased the ability of palmitic acid to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cleaved caspase 3 activity. Collectively, this study provides new insight into the effect of palmitic acid on cell proliferation, inva-sion and the formation of lipid droplets that may have potential clinical relevance in the treatment of obesity-driven endometrial cancer

HAX1 is a multifunctional protein involved in the antagonism of apoptosis in cellular response to oxidative stress. In the present study we identified HAX1 as novel binding partner for Che-1/AATF, a pro-survival factor which plays a crucial role in fundamental processes, including response to multiple stresses and apoptosis. HAX1 and Che-1 proteins show extensive colocalization in mitochondria and we demonstrated that their association is strengthened after oxidative stress stimuli. Interestingly, in MCF-7 cells, resembling luminal estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, we found that Che-1 depletion correlates with decreased HAX1 mRNA and protein levels, and this event is not significantly affected by oxidative stress induction. Furthermore, we observed an enhancement of the previously reported interaction between HAX1 and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) upon H2O2 treatment. These results indicate the two anti-apoptotic proteins HAX1 and Che-1 as coordinated players in cellular response to oxidative stress with a potential role in estrogen sensitive breast cancer cells.

Background: Hypertension, atherogenicity and insulin resistance are major risk factors of cardiovascular disorder (CVD), which shows a strong comorbidity with major depression (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). Activated oxidative and nitrosative stress (O&NS), inflammatory pathways, and increased atherogenicity are shared pathways underpinning CVD and mood disorders. Methods: The current study examined the effects of lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), and malondialdehyde (MDA) on systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure in 96 mood disordered patients and 60 healthy controls. Results: A large part of the variance in SBP (31.6%) was explained by the regression on a z unit-weighted composite score (based on LOOH, AOPP, SOD, NOx) reflecting nitro-oxidative stress toxicity (NOSTOX), coupled with highly sensitive C-reactive protein, body weight and use of antihypertensives. Increased DBP was best predicted (23.8%) by body mass index and NOSTOX. The most important O&NS biomarkers predicting an increased SBP were in descending order of significance: LOOH, AOPP and SOD. Higher levels of the atherogenic index of plasma, HOMA2 insulin resistance index and basal thyroid-stimulating hormone also contributed to increased SBP independently from NOSTOX. Although there were no significant changes in SBP/DBP in mood disorders, the associations between NOSTOX and blood pressure were significant in patients with mood disorders but not in healthy controls. Conclusions: Activated O&NS pathways including increased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, which indicates hypochlorous stress, are the most important predictors of an increased BP, especially in patients with mood disorders.

The variations in socioeconomic status (SES) between different social classes of a population correspond to differences in accessibility to all resources available and able to improve global health. While SES is now known as one of the main determinants for a good health and a good aging, its influence on sleep disorders (SD) is not well understood. SES is a concept, not directly observable but estimated using indicators like income, education, occupational status and area of living. This theoretical review explores some theories linking environment of people with occurrence of SD, with different patterns associated to SES. A model of interaction is proposed to summarize and conceptualizes these interactions and to promote more research on the topic.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a term that covers a range of hepatic disorders involving fat deposits in the liver. NAFLD begins with simple steatosis and progresses into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) characterised by inflammation, fibrosis, apoptosis, oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction and release of adipokines and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Oxidative stress and antioxidants are known to play a vital role in the pathogenesis and severity of NAFLD/NASH. A number of oxidative stress and antioxidant markers are employed in the assessment of the pathological state and progression of the disease. In this article, we review several biomarkers of oxidative stress and antioxidants that have been measured at clinical and experimental levels. The levels/ activity in various models reviewed are also included. Also included is a comprehensive description of oxidative stress, sources and contribution to the pathogenesis of NAFLD/NASH

This paper presents an analytical method for determining the bending stresses and deformations in prismatic noncircular profile shafts with trochoidal cross sections. The so-called higher trochoids can be used as form-fit shaft–hub connections. Hybrid (mixed) higher trochoids (M-profiles) were proposed in [1] and adapted to a practical industrial application in [2]. M-profiles combine the advantages of standardised polygon (DIN 32711 [3]) and spline (DIN 5486 [4]) contours used as shaft–hub connections for the transmission of torsional loads. In this study, the geometric and mechanical properties of the higher hybrid trochoids were investigated using complex functions to simplify the calculations. The pure bending stress and shaft deflection were determined for M-profiles using the bending theory formulated by Muskhelishvili [5]. The loading cases consisted of static and rotating bends. Analytical, numerical, and experimental results agreed well.

There are many ‘faces’ of early life adversity (ELA), such as childhood trauma, institutionalization, abuse or exposure to environmental toxins. These have been implicated in the onset and severity of a wide range of chronic non-communicable diseases later in life. The later-life disease risk has a well-established immunological component. This raises the question as to whether accelerated immune-ageing mechanistically links early-life adversity to the lifelong health trajectory resulting in either ‘poor’ or ‘healthy’ ageing. Here we examine observational and mechanistic studies of ELA and inflammageing, highlighting common and distinct features in these two life stages. Many biological processes appear in common including reduction in telomere length, increased immuno-senescence, metabolic distortions and chronic (viral) infections. We propose that ELA shapes the developing immune, endocrine and nervous system in a non-reversible way, creating a distinct phenotype with accelerated immuno-senescence and systemic inflammation. We believe that ELA acts as an accelerator for inflammageing and age-related diseases. Furthermore, we now have the tools and cohorts to be able to dissect the interaction between early life adversity and later life phenotype. This should, in the near future, allow us to identify the ecological and mechanistic processes that are involved in ‘healthy’ or accelerated immune-ageing.

GCN1 is recognized as a factor that is essential for the activation of GCN2, which is a sensor of amino acid starvation. This function is evolutionarily conserved from yeast to higher eukaryotes. However, recent studies have revealed non-canonical functions of GCN1 that are independent of GCN2, such as its participation in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and the immune response, beyond the borders of species. Although it is known that GCN1 and GCN2 interact with ribosomes to accomplish amino acid starvation sensing, recent studies have reported that GCN1 binds to disomes (i.e. ribosomes that collide each other), thereby regulating both the co-translational quality control and stress response. We propose that GCN1 regulates ribosome-mediated signaling by dynamically changing its partners among RWD domain-possessing proteins via unknown mechanisms. We recently demonstrated that GCN1 is essential for cell proliferation and whole-body energy regulation in mice. However, the manner in which ribosome-initiated signaling via GCN1 is related to various physiological functions warrants clarification. GCN1-mediated mechanisms and its interaction with other quality control and stress response signals should be important for proteostasis during aging and neurodegenerative diseases, and may be targeted for drug development.

Avenanthramides (Avns) and its derivatives, a group of polyphenolic compounds found abundantly in Oats (Avena sativa Linn.) have emerged as a promising candidate for neuroprotection due to their immense anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties. Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), characterized by progressive degeneration of neurons, present a significant global health burden with limited therapeutic options. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathway plays a crucial role in cell survival, growth, and metabolism, making it an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. Dysregulation of PI3K signalling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various NDDs including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Avns has been shown to modulate PI3K/AKT signalling, leading to increased neuronal survival, reduced oxidative stress, and improved cognitive function. This review explores the potential of Avns polyphenols, as modulators of the PI3K signalling pathway focusing on their beneficial effects against NDDs. Further, we outlined the need for clinical exploration to elucidate the specific mechanisms of Avns action on the PI3K/AKT pathway and its potential interactions with other signalling cascades involved in neurodegeneration. Based on the available literature using relevant keywords from Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science, our review emphasizes the potential of Avns as a therapeutic strategy for NDDs and warrants further investigation and clinical exploration.

Point defect-based single-photon emitters (SPEs) in GaN have aroused a great deal of interest due to their room-temperature operation, narrow line width and high emission rate. The room-temperature SPEs at the telecommunication bands have also been realized recently by localized defects in GaN in experiments, which are highly desired for the practical applications of SPEs in quantum communication with fiber compatibility. However, the origin and underlying mechanism of the SPEs remain unclear to date. Herein, our first-principle calculations predict and identify an intrinsic point defect NGa in GaN that owns a zero-phonon line (ZPL) at telecommunication windows. By tuning the triaxial compressive strain of the crystal structure, the ZPL of NGa can be modulated from 0.849 eV to 0.984 eV, covering the fiber telecommunication windows from the O band to the E band. Besides the ZPL, the formation energy, band structure, transition process and lifetime of the SPEs under different strains are investigated systematically. Our work gives insight into the emission mechanism of the defect SPEs in GaN and also provides effective guidance for achieving wavelength-tunable SPEs working in fiber telecommunication windows.

This study investigated the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress and determined the association between various factors, social support, and depression and anxiety among university healthcare workers in Malaysia after the government lifted the movement control order (MCO) put in place to curb the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This online, cross-sectional survey recruited 399 participants from two university hospitals, and they were administered a self-reported questionnaire on demographic, personal, and clinical characteristics; COVID-19-related stressors; and coping. In addition, they completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to measure perceived social support, as well as the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess depression, anxiety, and stress. We found that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress were 21.8%, 31.6%, and 29.1%, respectively. Participants with moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress made up 13.3%, 25.8%, and 8.1% of the sample, respectively. Being single or divorced, fear of frequent exposure to COVID-19 patients, those who agreed that their area of living had a high prevalence of COVID-19 cases, and uncertainty regarding the prevalence of COVID-19 cases in the area of living were associated with higher odds of depression and anxiety. Conversely, having more than three children and greater perceived friend support were associated with lower odds of depression and anxiety. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress remained elevated even after the MCO was lifted.

Background: Oenothera biennis (evening primrose) produces bioactive substances with a diverse range of pharmacological functions. However, it is currently unknown whether extract prepared from the aerial parts of O. biennis (APOB) can protect the skin against oxidative stress. To investigate the protective effects of APOB against oxidative stress-induced damage in human skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: We pretreated HaCaT cells with various concentrations of APOB or the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine before applying H2O2. We then compared the cell viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and DNA and mitochondrial damage between pretreated and untreated control cells using a range of assays, flow cytometry, and Western blot analysis and also examined the reducing power and DPPH free radical-scavenging activity of APOB. Results: APOB pretreatment significantly increased cell viability, effectively attenuated H2O2-induced comet tail formation, and inhibited H2O2-induced phosphorylation of the histone γH2AX, as well as the number of apoptotic bodies and Annexin V-positive cells. APOB was found to have a high reducing power and DPPH radical-scavenging activity and also exhibited scavenging activity against intracellular ROS accumulation and restored the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential caused by H2O2. APOB pretreatment almost totally reversed the enhanced cleavage of caspase-3, the degradation of poly (ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP), DNA fragmentation that usually occurs in the presence of H2O2 and increased the levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a potent antioxidant enzyme that is associated with the induction of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Conclusions: APOB can protect HaCaT cells from H2O2-induced DNA damage and cell death by blocking cellular damage related to oxidative stress via a mechanism that affects ROS elimination and by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Our goal in this paper is to study the relationship between the linear approximation of Einstein's equations to the Klein-Gordon’s equation. The part one presents what the Klein-Gordon’s equation and the integration of the theory of quantum information in it. The Part two deals with the Stress Energy tensor quantum, wherein the detail I linearized gravity of Einstein equation, and wherein I develop the tensor quantum energy pulse from the equivalence of equation einstein the linearized gravity and the Schrödinger equation relativistic described by Klein-Gordon’s equation.

Heat stress is a serious threat to tomato production. The ultrastructure and element mapping of tomato chloroplast were investigated under different nitrogen levels to explore the regulatory effect of nitrogen on tomato chloroplast under heat stress. Experiments design two temperature treatments (25°C/15°C, as control, 40°C/30°C, as severe high-temperature, SHT ) and four nitrogen levels (0.0 kg hm-2, N1; 187.5 kg hm-2, N2; 250 kg hm-2, N3, as recommended nitrogen-application; 312.5kg hm-2 , N4) for a duration of 5 days in artificial climate chamber. The results showed that heat stress led to obvious damage to the ultrastructure of tomato chloroplast, including thylakoid stacking disorder, granum destruction, and starch grain aggregation and degradation. With the increase of nitrogen level, the ratio of long and short axes of tomato chloroplasts increased, the differentiation of chloroplasts was strengthened, the number of plastoglobuli was increased and aggregated, and the degree of damage to the ultrastructure of chloroplasts was reduced. The regulatory effect of nitrogen on the ultrastructure of tomato chloroplasts under heat stress was mainly reflected in the phosphorylation degradation process of starch granules in chloroplasts. There are obvious segmentation lines of Ca, P and Cl on both sides of the inner and outer chloroplasts, and enriched in the chloroplasts, which can outline the boundary of the chloroplasts. Element mapping analysis revealed that heat stress significantly increased the contents of calcium, phosphorus and chlorine in the chloroplast of tomato leaves, while the contents of potassium was decreased. The application of nitrogen fertilizer could significantly regulate the element distribution of tomato chloroplast under heat stress, especially the regulation of phosphorus, chlorine, calcium, magnesium. These results provide new insight into the role of nitrogen using TEM-EDX mapping in the protection of tomato chloroplast under heat stress and the mechanism of heat stress tolerance in plants.

(1) Background: The literature has demonstrated several pathways which links obesity and stress. Thus, new approaches of weight management programs must also integrate health coach-ing and telemonitoring for overall health and wellbeing. The aim of the study is to measure stress, anxiety, and depression scales (DASS-21) in overweight and obese participants who joined a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) and the association between changes in DASS-21 scores and changes in anthropometric measures.; (2) Methods: 50 participants have been enrolled in a ran-domized controlled trial and divided in two groups; Intervention group who received a hy-pocaloric diet remotely, weekly telemonitoring and monthly health coaching; Control group who only followed a the hypocaloric diet without any support. The Arabic version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress scales; (3) Results: Data revealed that participants from the intervention group had a significant decrease in anxiety scales after 3months when compared to the control group. In addition, correlation be-tween depression, anxiety, stress, and all anthropometric measures in the intervention group showed a moderate significant positive correlation between changes in waist circumference and depression. (4) Conclusions: Findings confirms that integrating health coaching and telemonitor-ing have a strong potential in improving wellbeing and weight loss.

Arthroplasty is commonly performed to treat advanced osteoarthritis or other degenerative joint conditions, but it can also be considered for young patients with severe joint damage that significantly limits their functionality and quality of life. Young patients are still at risk of aseptic mobilization and bone resorption due to the phenomenon of stress-shielding that causes an uneven distribution of tensions along the femoral contact surface prosthesis. This phenomenon can be limited by appropriately choosing the material of the prosthesis or by varying its stiffness, making sure that its mechanical behavior simulates that of the femur as much as possible. The aim of this study is to evaluate the mechanical behavior of a prosthesis optimized both in shape and material and in comparing the results with a standard titanium prosthesis. Methods: Through three-dimensional modeling and the use of software finite element method (FEM) such as ANSYS we simulate the mechanical behavior of traditional prosthesis and prosthesis optimized topologically respecting the ASTM F2996-13 standard Results: With topological optimization there is a stress reduction from 987 Mpa to 810 Mpa with a mass reduction of 30%. With the use of carbon fiber, it is possible to further reduce stress to 509 Mpa. Conclusions: The reduction of stress on the femoral stem allows an optimal distribution of the load on the cortical bone thus decreasing the problem of stress-shielding.

Immunity has become an important aspect of concern, as the spread of corona virus, is on the rise. The strategies to boost and modulate the immunity have therefore become need of the hour. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Charak immunity Tablets (CIT) on innate and adaptive immune response in healthy individuals. It was a single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, exploratory study. After obtaining Ethics Committee permission, 36 healthy individuals of either sex aged 18-35 years with prior consent were recruited in the study. They were randomly divided into 2 groups to receive either CIT or Placebo in 2:1 ratio. Both the interventions were given in a dose of 1 tab (500 mg) twice daily. The assessment variables were vitals [temperature, pulse, and blood pressure], respiratory health [respiratory rate, oxygen saturation and peak expiratory flow rate], questionnaire based assessment of immune status, perceived stress and quality of life along with objective assessment of immunity [CD4+, CD8+ counts, Interferon gamma (IFN γ), Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and Interleukin 10 (IL-10)] as well as oxidative stress; [Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Glutathione peroxidase], which were assessed at fixed time points. Of 36 recruited participants, only 18 participants completed the study. CIT treated individuals showed a statistically significant improvement in respiratory health, quality of life, perceived stress and subjective immune status. There was a decrease in the levels of serum IFN γ on day 60 compared to baseline. TNF-α and IL-10, both estimated from supernatant of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), showed a decrease and a significant increase respectively on day 60 compared to baseline in CIT group. Further, CIT significantly decreased MDA levels.The present study indicates that CIT is an effective and safe drug to boost immunity. However, our findings need to be confirmed in larger sample size using more specific immune parameters.

The intricacies of translational strategies make this stage of the implementation of genetic information one of the most difficult to understand and, at the same time, perhaps the most interesting. It also becomes clear that all this variety of strategies is not just a consequence of a long evolutionary history but is of paramount importance for fine-tuning gene expression and metabolic modulation. This is especially true for those organisms that demonstrate predominantly biochemical and physiological reactions with a lack of behavioural ones. Plants are just such a group of organisms. Overcoming unfavourable environmental conditions occupies a key place in plant physiology. This is especially true with the changing conditions of global warming and the irretrievable loss or depletion of natural ecosystems. Conceptually, the response of plants to abiotic stress is a set of complex and intricate strategies. This is dictated both by a variety of abiotic factors that provoke stressful conditions and by a variety of molecular genetic mechanisms that make it possible to fine-tune the metabolic pathways through which the plant organism overcomes non-standard and non-optimal conditions. In the presented review, we tried to focus on the state-of-the-art in the field of translational regulation in plants under abiotic stress conditions. Various regulatory elements and patterns are considered in relative chronological order. We also considered it necessary to pay attention to key high-performance methods for studying the dynamics of genetic information at the stage of translation.

Photosynthesis response curves were carried out using different light intensities in 14 olive cultivars subjected to moderate and severe water deficits. For each cultivar, the electronic transfer ratio in response to light was also obtained. The mathematical adjustment of these response curves allowed calculating, with a correlation coefficient above 0.95, parameters such as photosynthetic efficiency, the slope of the curves, the number of electrons required to fix a CO2 molecule, and the number of photons to assimilate a molecule of CO2, among others, as well as their variation with the lack of water. This work represents the first contribution of the response of photosynthesis in olive cultivars to different light intensities in moderate and severe drought conditions for a considerable number of cultivars. The parameters described, and the results provided, pave the road for subsequent work related to plant physiology and other areas of science and technology, and allow the tolerance to water stress to be objectively compared in these fourteen olive cultivars.

Pigs are susceptible to cold stress due to the absence of brown fat caused by the partial deletion of uncoupling protein 1 during their evolution. Some local pig breeds in China, exhibit potential cold adaptability, but research has primarily focused on fat and intestinal tissues. Skeletal muscle plays a key role in adaptive thermogenesis in mammals, yet the molecular mechanism of cold adaptation in porcine skeletal muscle remains poorly understood. This study investigated the cold adaptability of two pig breeds, Mashen pigs (MS) and Large White pigs (LW), in a 4-day cold (4°C) or room temperature (25°C) environment. We recorded phenotypic changes and collected blood, and longissimus dorsi muscle for transcriptome sequencing. Finally, a candidate gene was randomly selected for functional exploration in porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells. A decrease in body temperature and body weight in both LW and MS pigs under cold stress, accompanied by increased shivering frequency and respiratory frequency. However, MS pigs demonstrated stable physiological homeostasis, indicating a certain level of cold adaptability. LW pigs primarily responded to cold stress by regulating heat production and Glycolipid energy metabolism. MS pigs exhibited a distinct response to cold stress, involving regulation of heat production, energy metabolism pathways, robust fatty acid oxidation ability, and stronger immune response. Furthermore, the functional exploration of PRSS8 in porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells revealed it affected cellular energy metabolism and thermogenesis by regulating ERK phosphorylation. These findings shed light on the diverse transcriptional responses of skeletal muscle in LW and MS pigs under cold stress, offering valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying cold adaptation in pigs.

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of trauma-focused group psychotherapy in adolescents who experienced traumatic events in Korea. Participants were assigned and recruited from two sites in Korea. Children in Disaster: Evaluation and Recovery (CIDER) V1.0 is a trauma-focused group psychotherapy approach consisting of psychoeducation, normalization, stabilization, and techniques of managing the traumatic memory. The CIDER intervention consists of eight 50-minute-long sessions. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using the Korean version of the Children’s Response to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised (K-CRTES-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State Anxiety Inventory for Children (SAIC), and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedQL). Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. We recruited 22 traumatized adolescents (mean age 16 years; SD 1.43; range 13–18 years old; 71.4% boys) in this pilot study. The K-CRTES-R scores were significantly improved (Z = −2.85, p < 0.01). The BDI demonstrated the effectiveness of the therapy (Z = −2.35, p < 0.05). The assessment of the PedQL supported the effect of CIDER (Z = −3.08, p < 0.01). However, there was no statistically significant differences in the SAIC scores (Z = −1.90, p > 0.05). The results show that there is preliminary evidence that CIDER intervention reduces post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms and improves quality of life. Our findings indicate that CIDER is feasible for treating adolescents exposed to traumatic events. Larger controlled trials are needed to establish the efficacy of this trauma-focused group psychotherapy and examine its impact on post-traumatic stress disorder.

Purpose: This paper extends previous works to include the role of therapeutic gardens in the healing environment as an intervention for bettering the clinical outcomes of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, the positive impact of healing gardens and the innovative application of technologies with nature, for promoting cognitive rehabilitation in this particular patient population.Methods: Using ISI Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest Central, MEDLIN, Scopus and Google Scholar, a relevant literature search on the positive health implications of therapeutic gardens on Alzheimer’s and dementia patients’ in the healthcare milieu was conducted.Results: Health implication of therapeutic gardens on Alzheimer’s and dementia patients’ spans across physical, social, psychological and cognitive effects. Virtual reality (VR) technologies offer positive cognitive outcomes to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia patients.Conclusion: Therapeutic gardens should be extended for speedier recovery of other patient populations. Future directions in the design of healthcare gardens with a focus on patient experience are inferred.

In this paper, the quality change of scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) in the process of anhydrous storage and transportation after cold-acclimation and induced dormancy was studied, and the regulation mechanism of quality degradation in the storage and transportation in the process of gradient chilling stress and drying exposure was further explored. The results show that while being transferred from anhydrous storage and transportation from hydrous storage and transportation, the breathing pattern of scallops were changed from aerobic to anaerobic. Their gill filaments were altered, and the apparent vitality was constantly declining, which was reflected by the edge shrinkage of pallium and the direct proportion between the edge reduction rate and the stimulus response period. After being in the anhydrous state for 4d, the AEC value dropped to 67.59%. At this time, if they were under hydration again, they would resume a nice growth state. By virtue of proteomics, it was revealed from the analysis that cold acclimation and dry exposure mainly led to changes in biological functions and pathways such as mitochondrial inner membrane and ATP hydrolysis activity. In addition, it can be seen from the functional annotation and enrichment analysis of the metabolite KEGG that cold acclimation promoted the purine metabolism of scallops, while dry exposure inhibited the metabolism of saturated fatty acids. Besides, in this study, the infrared sensing mode was used for the first time to record the heart rate changes of the scallops during circulation, which provides feasibility for the nondestructive vitality monitoring of Lamellibranchia.

Drought stress is a major production constraint in crops globally. Crop wild relatives are important source of resistance and tolerance for both biotic and abiotic stresses, respectively. A breeding program was initiated to introgress drought tolerance in sunflower through hybridization between the wild species Helianthus argophyllus and the cultigen pool of H. annuus. Selection was carried out in the F2 to F5 segregating populations for high cuticular waxes, smaller leaf area, single heading and high oil content. The selected F5 breeding lines were compared with non-adapted elite sunflower germplasm in a replicated randomized complete block research project using different water treatments comparing fully irrigated (T0), with 75 (T1), 50 (T2) and 25% (T3) irrigation treatments. The comparison between the two types of germplasm showed that drought tolerant breeding lines had comparatively lesser decreases in leaf area, shoot weight and root shoot ratio 10 under the various drought treatments. Leaf area of the drought selected F5 lines were smaller than that of the elite germplasm under controlled irrigated treatments, but they maintained their leaf area under the drought treatments. Several drought resistant promising lines D-2, D-5, and D-27 were identified and showed high leaf area, great root length and increase root to shoot ratio under the highest stressed treatments (T3). Some of the lines could be directly used for the development of drought tolerant hybrids. Combining ability test indicated D-27 (F7) as good general combiner for seed yield plant−1 and oil contents when mated with male line RSIN.82. These hybrids could help to minimize seed yield losses due to water stress and to achieve profitable cultivation of sunflower in 18 arid regions of Pakistan.

Prestrained at 5% and 15% duplex stainless steel UNS S32750 specimens have been subjected to electropulsing treatments with current density of 100 A/mm2 and 200 A/mm2 and 100 and 500 pulses for each current density value. Corrosion tests, X-ray diffraction, microhardness and residual stresses were collected before and after the electropulsing treatments. Tensile tests were performed after the electropulsing treatments in order to compare the mechanical response to the reference tensile tests performed before the pulsing treatments. Increase in fracture strain was observed after the pulsing treatment in comparison to the reference tensile tests. A decrease in microhardness was also observed after the electropulsing treatments for both degrees of prestrain. Electropulsing treatment almost eliminates the work-hardened state in the 5% prestrained specimens while partially recovered the 15% prestrained material increasing both uniform and fracture strain. The bulk temperature of the samples remained the same for all the duration of the treatments. The effect are to be addressed to a combined effect of the increase in atomic flux due to the electrical current and local joule heating in correspondence of crystal defects. Electropulsing treatment applied to metallic alloys is a promising technique to reduce the work hardening state without the need of annealing treatments in a dedicated furnace.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a high suicide-risk mental disorder. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between temperament and character traits with suicide probability, suicide attempt and perceived stress level in patients with BD. A total of 39 euthymic patients with bipolar disorder who had a history of suicide attempt and 39 euthymic patients without a history of suicide attempt were included in this study. Sociodemographic and clinical data form, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5-Clinician Version (SCID-5/CV), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Suicide Probability Scale were used for obtaining the data. HDRS, PSS and SPS scores of the group comprised of patients who attempted suicide were higher than the other group. There was no significant difference between the group of patients who had attempted suicide and the other group in terms of temperament characteristics. In the group of patients who had attempted suicide, self-directedness (SD) and cooperativeness (CO) scores were lower and self-transcendence (ST) score was higher than the other group. HA and ST were positively and SD negatively associated with SPS scores. In the regression analysis for suicide risk, the factors most associated with suicide risk were high HDRS and low CO score. Low SD in BD, high ST with CO may be associated with suicide attempt. Alongside low SD, high HA and ST may be associated with suicidal ideation. Treating residual depressive symptoms can reduce the risk of suicide.

The COVID-19 Pandemic generated, in addition to severe symptoms, hospitalizations, and deaths worldwide, stress from the fear of the disease and social uncertainties, from restriction measures and social isolation. Stress from social isolation impacts mental health, aggravating conditions, and triggering neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals with biopsychosocial vulnerability. During and immediately after the period of social restriction imposed by the Pandemic, the scientific community carried out several research protocols. It revealed results that relevantly demonstrate the harmful effect of the stress induced by the Pandemic situation. This review reports and discusses research results demonstrating impairments in neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, dementia, eating disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. In addition to studies showing the effect of social isolation on disorders, research results are reported and discussed that evaluated protocols with some possible therapeutic intervention strategies during times of social restriction.

During embryo development, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) acts as an important site for protein biosynthesis, however, in vitro culture (IVC) can negatively affect ER homeostasis. Thereby, the aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), an ER stress inhibitor, in the IVC of bovine embryos. Two experiments were carried out: Exp. 1: evaluation of blastocyst rate, hatching kinetics and gene expression of hatched embryos after being treated with different concentrations of TUDCA (50, 200 or 1,000 μM) in the IVC; Exp. 2: evaluation of the re-expansion, hatching, and gene expression of hatched embryos previously treated with 200 µM of TUDCA at IVC and submitted to vitrification. There was no increase in the blastocyst and hatched blastocyst rates treated with TUDCA in the IVC. However, embryos submitted to vitrification after treatment with 200 µM of TUDCA, increased hatching rate post-warming, together with a down-regulation in the expression of ER stress-related genes and the accumulation of lipids. In conclusion, this work showed that the addition of TUDCA during in vitro culture can improve the cryotolerance of the bovine blastocyst through the putative modulation of ER and oxidative stress.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a peptidase that is involved in the synthesis of Angiotensin II, the bioactive component of the renin-angiotensin system. A growing body of literature argues for a beneficial impact of ACE inhibitors (ACEi) on age-associated metabolic disorders, mediated by cellular changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that improve mitochondrial function. Yet, our understanding of the relationship between ACEi therapy and metabolic parameters is limited. Here, we used three genetically diverse strains of Drosophila melanogaster to show that Lisinopril treatment reduces thoracic ROS levels and mitochondrial respiration in young flies, and increases mitochondrial content in middle-aged flies. Using untargeted metabolomics analysis, we also showed that Lisinopril perturbs the thoracic metabolic network structure by affecting metabolic pathways involved in glycogen degradation, glycolysis, and mevalonate metabolism. The Lisinopril-induced effects on mitochondrial and metabolic parameters, however, are genotype-specific and likely reflect the drug’s impact on nutrient-dependent fitness traits. Accordingly, we found that Lisinopril negatively affects survival under nutrient starvation, an effect that can be blunted by genotype and age in a manner that partially mirrors the drug-induced changes in mitochondrial respiration. In conclusion, our results provide novel and important insights into the role of ACEi in cellular metabolism.

Variations in liver metabolism as a result of hepatitis C virus have been established by numerous clinical trials. The use of antioxidants supplements has been reported to minimize the implication of this disease. In this regard, we examined the suitability of Solanum fruit juice, a natural source of vitamin C and citrus flavoniod as a precursor for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C. Forty adult patients who were diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C and were under antiviral therapy were divided into two equal groups. Group 1 patients received their antiviral therapy with normal food and water and served as the control group while patients in group 2 were supplemented with Solanum fruit juice for eight consecutive weeks. Measurements for Anthropometric data, C reactive protein (CRP), atherogenic indices, biochemical parameters and activities of liver marker enzymes were recorded before and after eight weeks. No alterations were found in waist circumference, body mass and body fat following regular use of Solanum fruit juice. The serum levels of oxidative stress markers, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, CRP and atherogenic indices decreased in the Solanum fruit juice group when compared to the control group. Moreover, the activities of the liver marker enzyme AST decreased in those who had high levels before the intervention. These results underscore the benefits of Solanum fruit juice in the diet of patients with HCV as a result of decreased cholesterol in blood serum, decreased inflammation, and increase in antioxidant capacity as well as maintaining body mass index. This clinical trial is registered at Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (www.pactr.org) with unique identification number PACTR201802003092138.

Drought stress imposes substantial constraints on the growth and production of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a globally important cereal crop that is essential for food security. To mitigate these adverse effects, researchers are intensifying their efforts to comprehend how different genotypes respond to drought stress, aiding in the development of sustainable breeding and management strategies. This review summarized past and recent research on genotype-dependent responses of wheat to drought stress, encompassing morphological, physiological, biochemical, molecular, genetic, and epigenetic reactions in plants. Screening of drought-affected features at early developmental stages can provide valuable insights into the adult growth stages that are closely linked to plant productivity. The review underscores the importance of identifying key traits associated with drought resistance, and the potential of leveraging wheat diversity to select cultivars with desirable agronomic characteristics. It also highlights recent advancements in investigating Bulgarian wheat genotypes with varying levels of drought tolerance, specifically in detecting essential features contributing to drought tolerance. Cultivating drought-resistant wheat genotypes and understanding stress stability determinants could markedly contribute to enhancing wheat production and ensuring stable yields under changing climate conditions.

Microalgae have gained attention as alternative food sources due to their nutritional value and biological effects. This study investigated the effect of salt stress on the antioxidant activity, phenolic profile, bioa-vailability of bioactive compounds, and microbial counts in the blue-green algae Spirulina platensis and di-atom species Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Culturing these microalgae in different salt concentrations (15 35‰), we observed the highest antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds in the control groups. S. platensis (20‰) exhibited higher antioxidant activity compared to P. tricornutum (30‰), which decreased with in-creasing salt stress. Using HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS, we identified and quantified 20 phenolic compounds in P. tricornutum and 24 in S. platensis. The bioavailability of these compounds was assessed through in vitro di-gestion, with the highest amounts observed in the intestinal phase. Salt stress negatively affected the syn-thesis of bioactive substances. Microbial counts ranged from 300 to 2.78x104 cfu/g for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria and from 10 to 1.35x104cfu/g for yeast/mold in P. tricornutum samples, while S. platensis samples ranged from 300 to 1.9x104cfu/g and 10 to 104 cfu/g, respectively. This study suggests that adding salt at different ratios to the nutrient media during the production of P. tricornutum and S. platensis can impact phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, microbial load evaluation, and in vitro bioaccessibility of the studied microalgae.

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.

Increasing wind speed alleviates physiological heat strain, however, health policies have advised against using ventilators or fans under heat wave conditions with air temperatures above the typical skin temperature of 35 °C. Recent research, mostly with sedentary participants, suggests mitigating effects of wind at even higher temperatures depending on the humidity level. Our study aimed at exploring and quantifying, whether such results are transferable to moderate exercise levels, and whether the Universal Thermal Climate Index UTCI reproduces those effects. We measured heart rates, core and skin temperatures and sweat rates in 198 laboratory experiments completed by five young, semi-nude, heat-acclimated, moderately exercising males walking the treadmill with 4 km/h on the level for three hours under widely varying temperature-humidity combinations and two wind conditions. We quantified the cooling effect of increasing wind speed from 0.3 to 2 m/s by fitting generalized additive models predicting the physiological heat stress responses depending on ambient temperature, humidity and wind speed. We then compared the observed wind effects to the assessment performed by UTCI. Increasing wind speed lowered physiological heat strain for air temperatures below 35 °C, but also for higher temperatures with humidity levels above 2 kPa water vapour pressure concerning heart rate and core temperature, and 3 kPa concerning skin temperature and sweat rate, respectively. UTCI assessment of wind effects correlated positively with the observed changes in physiological responses, showing the closest agreement (r=0.9) for skin temperature and sweat rate, where wind is known for elevating the relevant convective and evaporative heat transfer. These results demonstrate the potential of UTCI for adequately assessing sustainable strategies for heat stress mitigation involving fans or ventilators depending on temperature and humidity for moderately exercising individuals.

Incident rates of neurodegenerative diseases have steadily increased globally, but there is no therapeutic access available. We newly prescribed medicinal herbal remedy including five different herbal plants called, Chen-Ma-Dan-Sam-Ga-Mi-Bang (CMST), purposed to prove for pharmacological properties and corresponded actions on hippocampus neuronal cell injury by hypoxia-induced mice model. Mice were adapted to normoxia or hypoxia with or without CMST for 5 days. We gathered pharmacological effects of CMST on cell injury by enhancement of dihydroethidium and 4-hydroxynonenal signals which were correlated with abnormal redox status in the protein or gene expression levels (abnormal elevations of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation and deteriorations of total glutathione, total antioxidant capacity, and activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase) due to hypoxia. CMST also notably exerted to attenuates molecules for neuronal cell injury markers such as p-tau, cleaved caspase-3 due to DNA oxidations (53bp1and phosphor-histone H2AX), inflammatory cytokines, and hemeoxigenase-1. We further figured out the underlying actions of CMST by in vitro experiment through inactivation of microglial cell which can mediate neuronal cell injury. Collectively, CMST prevented from hippocampal neuronal cells via inactivation of microglial cell with normalization of redox status on hypoxia-induced hippocampus neuronal cell injury.

The current work investigates the auxetic tensile deformation behavior of the inversehoneycomb structure with 5 × 5 cells made of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-coterephthalate) (PBAT). Fused deposition modeling, an additive manufacturing method, produced such specimens. Residual stress (RS) and warpage, more or less, always exist in such specimens due to layer-by-layer fabrication, i.e., repeated heating and cooling. The RS influences the auxetic deformation behavior, but its measurement is challenging due to the very fine structure. Instead, the finite-element(FE)-based process simulation realized by an ABAQUS plug-in numerically predicts the RS and warpage. The predicted warpage shows a negligible slight deviation compared to the design topology. This process simulation also delivers the temperature evolution of a small volume material, revealing the local cyclic heating and cooling. The achieved RS serves as the initial condition for the FE model used to investigate the auxetic tensile behavior. With the outcomes from FE calculation without considering RS at hand, the effect of the RS on the deformation behavior is discussed for the global force-displacement curve, the structural Poisson’s ratio evolution, the deformed structural status, the stress distribution, and evolution, where the first three and the warpage are also compared with experimental results. Furthermore, the FE simulation can easily provide the global stress-strain flow curve with the total stress calculated from the elemental ones.

Heat stress affects the yield of medicinal plants and can reduce biomass and/or metabolite production. In order to evaluate the effect of heat-induced stress on the essential oil production in Mentha x piperita L. var. Mitcham (Mitcham mint) and Mentha x arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey (Japanese mint), we studied the chemical composition of the oils of the two mint species under different heat shock stress in growth chambers. The antibacterial activity of the essential oils was also evaluated; microscopic observation (fluorescence and electron transmission) was used to assess the effect of the tested samples on bacterial growth. The results obtained shed light on the mint essential oils composition and biological activity in relation to heat stress.

The glucocorticoid receptor alpha (GRα), a pivotal component of the ancient glucocorticoid (GC) signaling system that emerged nearly 450 million years ago, has been instrumental in directing vertebrate evolution and is essential for survival, regulating fertility and fetal development, the function of every organ and circulating cells, metabolism, immune responses, and adaptation to stress. While its anti-inflammatory properties have been recognized since the mid-20th century, GRα’s broader role as the master regulator of homeostatic corrections, particularly in health and critical illness, has only recently been fully appreciated.GRα orchestrates three key phases of homeostatic correction: the Priming Phase, where it rapidly activates early immune responses, mobilizes energy reserves, and prepares the body to mount an immediate defense against various physiological stressors, including infection and injury. During this phase, GRα enhances glucose metabolism, supports mitochondrial function, and facilitates the release of key immune cells to the site of damage, ensuring the body is equipped to handle the initial assault. The Modulatory Phase follows, in which GRα fine-tunes the inflammatory response to prevent excessive tissue damage. By balancing pro- and anti-inflammatory signals, GRα helps contain the immune response, preventing the harmful effects of prolonged inflammation while maintaining immune surveillance. This phase also involves the regulation of oxidative stress, vascular tone, and the preservation of cellular integrity to protect vital organs from injury. Finally, in the Restorative Phase, GRα plays a critical role in resolving inflammation and initiating tissue repair. During this phase, GRα supports cellular regeneration, promotes the clearance of apoptotic cells and debris, and restores anatomical and physiological balance. It aids in rebuilding tissue architecture and returning the neuroendocrine-immune system to its baseline state, ensuring long-term recovery and stability.Throughout these phases, GRα manages complex interactions, including recently discovered co-regulation with pro-inflammatory transcription factors, while also regulating mitochondrial function to ensure bioenergetic and metabolic stability during stress. In critically ill patients, depletion of bioenergetic and micronutrient reserves severely impairs GRα’s capacity to regulate immune responses, heightening the risk of morbidity and mortality.This review, in light of this new understanding, underscores the need to re-evaluate current glucocorticoid (GC) treatment strategies, emphasizing the incorporation of micronutrient support to optimize GRα function across all phases of homeostatic correction. This integrated therapeutic approach has the potential to enhance both immediate immune responses and long-term recovery in critically ill patients, offering a more comprehensive strategy for managing the complex pathobiology of critical illness. Furthermore, this integrative approach could decrease glucocorticoid dose and duration requirements and potential side effects.

Contamination of the environment with nano- and microplastic particles exerts a threatened impact on the aquatic ecosystems and sustainable catfish aquaculture. The presence of nanoplastics has been found to have a detrimental impact on both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The present study examines the effect of polystyrene nanoplastics on DNA, erythrocytes, oxidative status and renal of catfish in addition to the potential protective effects of Chlorella vulgaris bioremeditation and selenium to hinder this effect. Six equal groups of fish were used as follows: Group 1: served as a control group and received water free from PS NPs; Group 2: was exposed to PS NPs at a concentration of 5mg/L; Group 3: was exposed to PS NPs (5mg/L) + selenium (1mg/kg diet); Group 4: was exposed to PS NPs (5mg/L) + C. vulgaris (25g/kg diet); Group 5: was supplemented with C. vulgaris (25g/kg diet); and Group 6: was supplemented with selenium (1mg/kg diet). The results indicated that PS NPs induced oxidative stress by significantly elevating MDA activities and slightly reducing antioxidant biomarkers, resulting in DNA damage, increased frequency of micronuclei, erythrocyte alterations, and numerous histopathological alterations in kidney tissue. Selenium and C. vulgaris significantly ameliorated the oxidative/antioxidant status, reduced DNA damage, micronucleus frequency, erythrocyte alterations, and morphology of kidney tissue. Nevertheless, further research is needed to evaluate in detail the mechanism behind the toxicity with nano-microplatics in aquatic system.

Coptisine (Cop) exerts a neuroprotective effect in central nervous system disease, particularly ischemic stroke. However, its protective mechanism is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Cop on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (IR) rats with a middle cerebral artery occlusion model by integrating a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) based metabolomics approach with biochemical assessment. Our results showed that Cop could improve neurobehavioral function and decrease the ischemia size in IR rats. In addition, Cop was found to decrease inflammatory mediators (e.g., prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and attenuate oxidative stress response (e.g., increase the superoxide dismutase (SOD) expression and decrease 8-iso-PGF2α level). Furthermore, GC-MS based cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolomics analysis indicated that Cop influenced the level of glycine, 2,3,4-trihydroxybutyric acid, oleic acid, glycerol, and ribose during IR injury. Cop exhibited a good neuroprotective effect against cerebral IR injury and metabolic alterations which might be mediated through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory property.

Background and Aim: Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and invasion of tissues. It seems that personality differences and psychological factors are important factors that lead to different reactions to cancer. Therefore, the main purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between type D, stress level of life events, personality traits, and anxiety sensitivity in people with breast cancer attending to Tehran Bu-ali Hospital. Methods: The study was a correlational study in which 100 cancer patients referred to Bu-ali Hospital in Tehran, selected by the available sampling method from April to June 2018. The tools used included the Denollet DS-14 Type D Questionnaire, the Paykel Life events Questionnaire, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the ASI Anxiety Scale, Floyd et al., Data analysis in this study is taken place by using SPSS software, two descriptive levels (percentage, frequency, etc.) and regression. Results: The study results showed that there is a relationship between type D personality with stress of life events, neurosis, extraversion, and psychopath dimensions of personality and anxiety sensitivity in breast cancer patients. Conclusion: Psychological factors play a role in the incidence and exacerbation of breast cancer, and ultimately patients with personality type D and personality traits such as psychosis and high anxiety sensitivity and more stress of life events show more symptoms.

The environment is seldom optimal for plant growth and changes in abiotic and biotic signals, including temperature, water availability, radiation and pests, induce plant responses to optimise survival. The New Zealand native plant species and close relative to Arabidopsis thaliana, Pachycladon cheesemanii grows under environmental conditions that are unsustainable for many plant species. Here we compare the responses of both plant species to different stressors (low temperature, salt and UV-B radiation) to help understand how P. cheesemanii can grow in such harsh environments. The stress transcriptomes were then determined and comparative transcriptome and network analyses discovered similar and unique responses within species between different stresses, and between the two plant species. A number of widely studied plant stress processes were highly conserved in A. thaliana and P. cheesemanii. However, in response to cold stress, Gene Ontology terms related to glycosinolate metabolism were only enriched in P. cheesemanii. Salt stress was associated with alteration of the cuticle and proline biosynthesis in A. thaliana and P. cheesemanii, respectively. Anthocyanin production may be a strategy to cope with UV-B radiation stress in P. cheesemanii only. These results allowed us to construct broad stress response pathways in A. thaliana and P. cheesemanii and identify possible novel plant strategies that help mitigate environmental stress.

Nucleoli are emerging as key sensors of cellular stress and regulators of the downstream consequences on proliferation, metabolism, senescence and apoptosis. NF-kB signalling is activated in response to a similar plethora of stresses, which leads to modulation of cell growth and death programs. Although these pathways are distinct, it is increasingly apparent that they converge at multiple levels. Exposure of cells to certain insults causes a specific type of nucleolar stress that is characterised by degradation of the PolI complex component, TIF-IA, and increased nucleolar size. Recent studies have shown that this atypical nucleolar stress lies upstream of cytosolic IkB degradation and NF-kB nuclear translocation. Under these stress conditions, the RelA component of NF-kB accumulates within functionally altered nucleoli to trigger a nucleophosmin dependent, apoptotic pathway. In this review, we will discuss these points of crosstalk and their relevance to the anti-tumour mechanism of aspirin and small molecule CDK4 inhibitors. We will also briefly discuss how NF-kB-nucleoli crosstalk may be more broadly relevant to the regulation of cellular homeostasis and how it may be exploited for therapeutic purpose.

High salinity in soil affects the normal growth and development of crop. MicroRNA171 (miR171) plays a momentous role in plant resistance to adversity stress. The functions of Sly-miR171d and Sly-miR171e on growth of tomato and fruit nutritional quality under salt stress were studied. The results showed that the seed germination and seedling growth of tomato that silencing of Sly-miR171d/e by short tandem target mimic (STTM) were better than those of wild-type (WT). Silencing of Sly-miR171d/e seeds maintained a high germination rate, while WT tomato seeds barely germinated under 50 mM NaCl stress. Under 100 mM NaCl stress, silencing of Sly-miR171d/e increased the expression of their target gene SlGRAS24 with increasing duration of salt stress, while they enhanced the antioxidant activity, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and enhanced the salt tolerance of tomato plant by regulating gibberellin (GA) level. Moreover, the preharvest and postharvest fruit nutritional quality under salt stress was also studied, and the results showed that silencing of Sly-miR171d/e increased soluble solids, lycopene, total carotenoids, Vitamin C, organic acids and phenolic substances in tomato fruit. The present study demonstrated that silencing of Sly-miR171d/e enhanced plant salt tolerance through the GA pathway, and improved fruit nutritional quality under salt stress.

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.

This study investigated how broader parental factors including parental happiness, parental play engagement, and parenting stress are related to Korean children’s happiness and weight status across three years via indirect pathways through the children’s energy-related behaviors of healthy and unhealthy food intake, physical activity, and screen time. Data from 1551 Korean parent pairs and 7-yaer-old children in the Panel Study on Korean Children were analyzed. Path analysis and gender-based structural equation modeling were conducted. Maternal happiness was negatively related to child screen time. Maternal play engagement showed positive concurrent associations with child healthy food intake and physical activity and negative associations with screen time. Maternal parenting stress was negatively related to child healthy eating. There was one significant finding related to fathers’ role on children’s energy-related behaviors, happiness, and weight status: the positive association between parental happiness and boys’ unhealthy food intake. Child screen time was positively related to child weight status and negatively to child happiness at each age. Broader maternal parenting factors can serve as a protective factor for childhood happiness and weight status in 7-to 9-year-olds through being associated with a reduction in child screen time.

The growth of plant and process of yield formation in crops are moderated by surrounding conditions as well as interaction of genetic background of plants and environment. In the last two decades significant changes in climate can be observed generating unfavorable and harmful impact on plant development. Drought stress can be considered as one of the most dangerous environmental factor influencing plant life cycle and decreasing production of biomass and finally the yield. Plants can react to water deficit in a wide degree what is dependent on the species, the genetic variability within the species, the phase of the plant ontogenesis, the intensity of stress, and other potential stress factors. In plants there can be observed hybrids between distinct taxa which exhibit certain traits adopted to tolerate stress conditions better than parental plants. Oat × maize addition (OMA) plants are good example of fertile hybrids with retained maize chromosomes as addition to complete oat genome. Hybrids generated via wide crossing can exhibit morphological, physiological and biochemical variations implemented by the occurrence of extra chromosomes of maize, as well as interaction of maize and oat chromatin. The molecular analysis indicated 12.5% OMA lines among all tested descendants of wide oat-maize crossing. On the fourteenth day of the drought, a significant effect of stress on the content of soluble sugars and phenolic compounds was observed, soil drought significantly reduced plant biomass above ground and several yield components. Less water lost revealed by results of the excised leaf water loss test was correlated with high yield of OMA lines. Phenolic compounds content might be used as biochemical indicator of plant drought tolerance since there were significant correlation with high kernel yields of plants subjected to drought stress.

Youth mental health interventions incorporating trained therapy animals are increasingly popular, but more research is needed to understand the specific interactive behaviors between participants and therapy dogs. Understanding the role of these interactive behaviors is important for supporting both intervention efficacy and animal welfare and well-being. The goal of this study was to develop ethograms to assess interactive behaviors (including both affiliative and stress-related behaviors) of participants and therapy dogs during a social stress task, explore the relationship between human and dog behaviors, and assess how these behaviors may vary between experimental conditions with varying levels of physical contact with the therapy dog. Using video data from a previous experimental study (n = 50 human-therapy dog interactions, n = 25 control group), we successfully developed behavioral ethograms that could be used with a high degree of interrater reliability. Results indicated differences between experimental condition in dog and human behaviors based on whether participants were interacting with a live or a stuffed dog, and whether they were allowed to touch the dog. These findings suggest that physically interacting with a live dog may be an important feature of these interventions, with participants demonstrating increased positive behaviors such as laughing and smiling in these conditions. Dog behaviors also varied based on whether they were in the touching/petting condition of the study. Future research should focus on identifying specific patterns of interactive behaviors between dogs and humans that predict anxiolytic outcomes.

Salinity is one of the major factors responsible for the deterioration of soils, making them unsuitable for agriculture. The application of halotolerant and halophilic plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR: Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) with biological control activities as an inoculant of cultivated plants offers a biological alternative to the use of agrochemicals, particularly when subjected to salt stress. In this perspective, 70 bacterial strains were isolated from saline soils (sebkha) in arid and semi-arid areas of eastern Algeria. Three isolates were selected based on their ability to produce bioactive molecules allowing them to promote plant growth, such as hydrolytic enzymes, indole acetic acid, HCN, NH3, etc. Two of these isolates belong to the genus Serratia and the third is a halophilic Halomonas bacteria. These bacteria were identified based on the 16S rDNA sequence. Antagonism tests against phytopathogenic fungi were carried out. The identification of the antifungal molecules produced by these bacteria was done by high performance liquid chromatography. These bacteria are capable of inhibiting mycelial development against phytopathogenic fungi with rates reaching 80.67% against Botrytis cinerea, 76.22% against Aspergillus niger and 66.67% against Fusarium culmorum for Serratia sp. The strain Halomonas sp. inhibited mycelial growth by production of volatile substances of Aspergillus niger at 71.29%, Aspergillus flavus at 75.49% and Penicillium glabrum at a rate of 72.22%. The identification by HPLC of the antifungal molecules produced by these three bacteria reveals that they are polyphenols, which makes these strains the first rhizobacteria capable of producing phenolic compounds. Finally, pot tests to determine the effectiveness of these strains in promoting wheat growth under salinity stress (125 mM, 150 mM and 200 mM) were carried out. The results revealed that a consortium of two isolates (Serratia sp. and Halomonas sp.) performed best at 125 mM. But, at higher concentrations it was the halophilic bacteria Halomonas sp which gave the best result. In all cases, there was a significant improvement in the growth of wheat seedlings inoculated with the bacteria, compared to non-inoculated controls.

Bronchial asthma (BA) is considered a chronic inflammatory disorder associated with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Increased oxidative stress (OS) is a clinical feature of BA, which promotes the inflammatory responses in bronchial/airway epithelial cells. Smokers and nonsmokers with asthma have been shown to have increases in several OS and inflammatory biomarkers. A few studies suggest a relationship between antioxidant intake from diet/supplements and BA in smoking and nonsmoking asthmatics. Dietary carotenoids and vitamin C (VC) intake might reduce BA risk in smokers and/or non-smokers. Evidence is lacking on the protective role of antioxidant vitamin and/or mineral consumption against BA in smokers and nonsmokers with respect to inflammation and OS biomarkers. Therefore, the aim of this review is to highlight current knowledge regarding the relations between antioxidant intake, BA and its associated biomarkers in smokers and nonsmokers.

Exposure to metals is known to generate oxidative stress in living organisms, which are able to respond with the induction of antioxidant defenses, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic. The aim of this work is to study the correlation among several non-enzymatic component of the antioxidant system, that are physiologically related to both metal sequestration and defense against metal-induced oxidative stress, using the blue mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) as model organism. Specimens of this marine bivalve were experimentally exposed to cadmium (Cd), used as oxidative stress risk inducer. Cd, metallothionein (MT), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, and glutathione reductase (GR) activity in gills and in digestive glands were assessed at 0, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. The obtained results provide new data about the relationships among the non-enzymatic antioxidant cellular components considered in this study. These constitute the prompt physiological responses to the risk of oxidative stress in blue mussels exposed to Cd in controlled laboratory conditions.

It was of great practical significance to repair the toxicity of salt stress environment to soybean seedlings and maintain the balance between agricultural production and ecological environment in the Yellow River valley of China. ‘Xudou 20’ was used as the experimental material, a large-scale planting variety in the old Yellow River basin. Endophytes 131 and 137 isolated from soybean root nodule were taken as the research objects, and the soybean plants were cultivated by pot culture in intelligent artificial incubator. Salt stress group, bacteria suspension group and control group were set up to study the effects of inoculation treatments on the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) of soybean seedlings under different NaCl stress. The results showed that when inoculated with endophyte 131 bacterial suspension and cultured for 14 days, the SOD activity was the highest (14.89 U•g−1•FW) at the salt concentration 50 mmol•L-1. When inoculated with 131 bacterial suspension (2:1) and cultured for 28 days, the SOD activity reached the highest (0.94 ug-1FW) at the salt concentration of 50 mmol•L-1, and the CAT activity amounted to the highest (1910 U•g−1•min−1). The 16S rDNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that the most similar strain of strain 137 was Bacillus cereus, and the most similar strain of strain 131 was Enterobacter ludwigii. Therefore, the activities of SOD and CAT in soybean seedlings inoculated with endophytes 131 and 137 increased at different degrees under salt stress, which could effectively alleviate the damage of salt stress environment to plants, and thus improve the stress resistance of plants.

Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) participate in regulating many environmental stress responses and biological processes in plants. Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major cash crop that is grown worldwide. However, the growth and yield of maize are affected by several adverse environmental inputs. Therefore, investigating the factors that regulate maize growth and development and resistance to abiotic stress is an essential task for developing stress-resilient maize varieties. Thus, a comprehensive genome-wide identification analysis was performed to identify HSFs in the maize genome. The current study identified 25 ZmHSFs, randomly distributed throughout the maize genome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ZmHSFs are divided into three classes and 13 sub-classes. Gene structure and protein motif analysis supported the results obtained through the phylogenetic analysis. Domain analysis showed the DNA-binding domain to be the most conserved region of ZmHSFs. Segmental duplication is shown to be responsible for the expansion of ZmHSFs. Most of the ZmHSFs are localized inside the nucleus, and the ZmHSFs which belong to the same group show similar physio-chemical properties. The 3D structures revealed comparable conserved ZmHSFs protein structures. RNA-seq analysis revealed a major role of class A HSFs including, ZmHSFA-1a and ZmHSFA-2a in all the maize growth stages, i.e., seed, vegetative, and reproductive development. Furthermore, ZmHSFs displayed an obvious spatiotemporal expression. Under abiotic stress conditions (heat, drought, cold, UV, and salinity), members of class A and B ZmHSFs are induced. Gene ontology (GO) annotation analysis indicated a major role of ZmHSFs in resistance to environmental stress and regulation of primary metabolism. Further, the protein-protein interaction analysis showed that ZmHSFs interact with several molecular chaperons and major stress-responsive proteins. To summarize, this study provides novel insights for functional studies on the ZmHSFs in maize breeding programs.

The potato is the most important non-cereal food crop, and thus improving potato growth and yield is in the focus of agricultural researchers and practitioners worldwide. Several studies reported beneficial effects of silicon (Si) fertilization on potato performance, although plant species from the family Solanaceae are generally considered as non-Si-accumulating. We used results from two field experiments in the temperate zone to gain insight into silica accumulation in potato plants as well as corresponding long-term potato yield performance. We found relatively low Si contents in potato leaves and roots (up to 0.08% and 0.3% in the dry mass, respectively) and negligible Si contents in potato tuber skin and tuber flesh for plants grown in soils with different concentrations of plant available Si (field experiment 1). Moreover, potato yield was not correlated to plant available Si concentrations in soils in the long-term (1965-2015, field experiment 2). Based on our results we ascribe the beneficial effects of Si fertilization on potato growth and yield performance reported in previous studies mainly to antifungal/osmotic effects of foliar-applied Si fertilizers and to changes in physicochemical soil properties (e.g., enhanced phosphorus availability and water holding capacity) caused by soil-applied Si fertilizers.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disease in which fatigue that interferes with daily life persists for six months or longer. The number of patients with CFS is increasing, as CFS-like symptoms have been reported to occur in the sequelae of both COVID-19 infection and the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, both of which have become significant issues in recent years. While the pathogenesis mechanism is not yet fully understood, research suggests that oxidative stress (OS) may play a role in the development of CFS. In this paper, we discuss the antioxidant potential of the antioxidant formulation Twendee M® (TwM) and the results of a questionnaire that monitored changes in symptoms before and after TwM in a total of 23 men and women diagnosed with CFS. TwM is a supplement containing 15 different ingredients, and has a strong antioxidant capacity that cannot be achieved with a single antioxidant ingredient. The results of the questionnaire showed that TwM significantly improved all of the major symptoms of CFS, including fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, sleep disturbance, decreased memory and concentration, and headache. TwM was shown to alleviate various symptoms of CFS and improve quality of life.

Plant protein phosphatase 2Cs (PP2Cs) serve as negative regulators of protein kinase cascades activated in different processes and play important roles in plant development and abiotic-stress-mediated signaling pathways. In this study, a genome-wide study was conducted on the CqPP2C gene family. A total of putative 117 CqPP2C genes were identified. Comprehensive analyses of physical and chemical feature, chromosome localization and subcellular localization were conducted. According to phylogenetic analysis, CqPP2Cs were divided into 13 subfamilies. CqPP2Cs in the same subfamily had similar gene structure, conserved motif and all the CqPP2C proteins had the type 2C phosphatase domains. Gene duplication revealed that segmental duplication was the major driving force for CqPP2Cs expansion and all duplicated CqPP2Cs evolved from purifying selection. The expression of CqPP2Cs in various tissues under different abiotic stresses was analyzed using RNA-seq data. The results revealed that CqPP2C genes were involved in regulating development and stress responses of quinoa. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of six CqPP2C genes in subfamily A revealed that they were up-regulated or down-regulated under salt and drought treatments. Furthermore, the results of yeast two-hybrid assays revealed that subfamily A CqPP2Cs interacted not only with subclass III CqSnRK2s, but also with subclass II CqSnRK2s. Subfamily A CqPP2Cs could interact with CqSnRK2s in different combinations and intensities to respond to various biological processes and stresses. Overall, our results will be useful for understanding the functions of CqPP2C in regulating ABA signals and responding to abiotic stress.

Two austenitic stainless steel (ASS) plates, 304L and 316L, were cold-rolled (304R and 316R) with a 10 % reduction in thickness then subjected to laser welding. Cold-rolling caused a slight surface hardening and introduced residual tensile stress into the ASS plates. The susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of the welds (304RW and 316RW) was determined using the U-bend test pieces in a salt spray. To highlight the stress concentration at the weld’s fusion boundary (FB), the top weld reinforcement was not ground off before bending. Moreover, micro-shot peening (MSP) was performed to mitigate the SCC of the welds by imposing high residual compressive stress and forming a fine-grained structure. Cold-rolling increased the susceptibility of the 304R specimen to pitting corrosion (PTC) and intergranular (IG) microcracking. Moreover, PTC and SCC were found more often at the FBs of the 304RW. The corrosion pits of the peened 304RW (304RWSP) were finer but greater in amount than the un-peened one. The results also indicated that the 316L ASS welds with MSP was resistant to the incidence of PTC and SCC in a salt spray. The better reliability and longer service life of dry storage canister could be achieved by using 316L ASS for construction and application of MSP on it.

Hemoglobin is one of the proteins that are more susceptible to S-glutathionylation and the levels of its modified form, glutathionyl hemoglobin, increase in several human pathological conditions. The scope of the present review is to provide knowledge about how hemoglobin is subjected to be S-glutathionylated and how this modification affects its functionality. The different diseases that showed increased levels of glutathionyl hemoglobin and the methods used for its quantification in clinical investigations will be also outlined. Since there is a growing need for precise and reliable methods of markers of oxidative stress in human blood, this review highlights how glutathionyl hemoglobin is more and more emerging as a good indicator of severe oxidative stress but also as a key pathogenic factor in several diseases.

The basic (region) leucine zippers (bZIPs) are evolutionarily conserved transcription factors widely distributed in eukaryotic organisms. In plants, they are not only involved in growth and development, defense and stress responses, and regulation of physiological processes, but also play a pivotal role in regulating secondary metabolism. To explore the function related to the bZIP gene family in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, we identified 105 SrbZIP genes at the genome-wide level and classified into 12 subfamilies using bioinformation methods. Analysis of physicochemical properties showed that the amino acid length readings ranged from 96 aa (SrbZIP13) to 704 aa (SrbZIP17), and the isoelectric point ranged from 4.64 (SrbZIP21) to 10.08 (SrbZIP101). The majority of these proteins (94.29%) were localized in the nucleus. Three main classes of cis-acting elements found in the SrbZIP promoter regions, including development-related elements (CAT-box), defense and stress-responsive elements (LTR/ARE/MBS), and phytohormone respon- sive elements (ABRE/TGACG-mitif/TCA-element). Through protein-protein interac- tion network of 105 SrbZIP proteins, SrbZIP proteins were mainly classified into four major categories: ABF2/ABF4/ABI5 (SrbZIP51/SrbZIP38/SrbZIP7), involved in phy- tohormone signaling, GBF1/GBF3/GBF4 (SrbZIP29/SrbZIP63/SrbZIP60) involved in environmental signaling, AREB3 (SrbZIP88), PAN (SrbZIP12), TGA1 (SrbZIP69), TGA4 (SrbZIP82), TGA7 (SrbZIP31), TGA9 (SrbZIP95), TGA10 (SrbZIP79) and HY5 (SrbZIP96) involved in cryptochrome signaling, and FD (SrbZIP23, SrbZIP24, SrbZIP47, SrbZIP67, SrbZIP68, SrbZIP71, SrbZIP72) promoted flowering. The transcriptomic data showed that SrbZIP genes differentially expressed in six S. rebaudiana cultivars (‘023’, ‘110’, ‘1188’, ‘11-14’, ‘GP’ and ‘GX’). Moreover, the expression levels of selected 15 SrbZIP genes in response to light, abiotic stress (low temperature, salt and drought), phytohormones (methyl jasmonate, gibberellic acid and salicylic acid) treatment and in different tissues were analyzed utilizing qRT-PCR. Six SrbZIP (SrbZIP54, SrbZIP63, SrbZIP32, SrbZIP45, SrbZIP60 and SrbZIP9) genes were further identified to be highly induced by factors affecting glycoside synthesis. Among them, three SrbZIP genes (SrbZIP54, SrbZIP63 and SrbZIP32) were predicted to be related to stress-responsive terpenoid synthesis in S. rebaudiana. The protein-protein interaction network expanded the potential functions of SrbZIP genes. This study firstly provided the comprehensive genome-wide report of the SrbZIP gene family, laying a foundation for further research on evolution, function and regulatory role of bZIP gene family in terpenoid synthesis in S. rebaudiana.

In the construction of shield crossing existing mined tunnel without load, it is imperative to develop corresponding design standards that reflect actual engineering force characteristics to ensure the successful completion of tunnel construction. This research uses The MIDAS-GTS finite element software to facilitate the creation of a numerical model of the shield structure for an air-push-over mine tunnel project in Changsha, China, investigating the stress field’s evolution during shield construction, and calculating the maximum positive and negative bending moments and maximum axial forces for different structures and other force states under various construction conditions. This study's findings informed the design and construction optimisation of the shield tunnelling empty-push method. The outcomes of this numerical simulation led to several key findings: (1) The soil density exerted a significantly greater impact on the internal forces of the initial support structure than both the tunnel depth and soil Poisson's ratio. Additionally, a sudden shift in internal forces occurred within the 300-350 mm range when the lining thickness was altered. (2) Factors such as the tunnel depth, soil density, soil Poisson's ratio μ, and lining thickness have a similarly influenced internal forces of the segment and the initial support. Notably, the backfill layer thickness significantly affected the segment’s maximum axial force causing an abrupt change of approximately 300 mm. (3) Under the shield machine equipment’s weight constraint, it is essential to control the guide rail’s thickness, to prevent it from becoming overly large.

Arbutus unedo L. is a small Ericaceae tree with a circum-Mediterranean distribution. It has a huge ecological impact on southern Europe forests and a great economic importance, as a source of phytochemicals with bioactive properties and for fruit production. On the foreseen climate change context, breeding towards drought tolerance is necessary in order to ameliorate plant performance. The aim of this work was therefore to study the reproduction mechanisms of strawberry tree, obtain new genetic combinations by hybridization and select genotypes more tolerant to drought stress. A morphological analysis of flowers and pollen was carried out, and controlled pollinations performed both in vitro and ex vitro. The very first approach on strawberry tree breeding by means of hybridization is also presented. Several physiological parameters were evaluated on 26 genotypes submitted to a water deficit regime. Plant behavior under drought greatly varied among genotypes, which showed a high phenotype plasticity. Three genotypes that were able to cope with water restriction without compromising net CO2 assimilation were identified as highly tolerant to drought stress. The results obtained elucidate the reproduction mechanisms of strawberry tree and open the way for a long-term breeding program based on the selection of drought tolerant plants.

Fatigue loading is critical to fibre reinforced polymer composites due to their anisotropic and heterogenous nature. This study investigated the tensile fatigue behaviour of polyester and vinyl ester based GFRP laminates to understand the critical aspects of failure mode and fatigue life under cyclic loading. GFRP laminates with two different resin systems (polyester and vinyl ester), two different stress ratios (0.1 and 0.5) and two different environmental conditions (air and water) were investigated at an applied stress of 80%, 60% and 40% of the ultimate capacity. Based on the investigated parameters (i.e., resin types, stress ratio, environmental conditioning and maximum applied stress), a fatigue model was proposed. Results show that the resin system plays a great role in fatigue failure mode while the stress ratio and environmental condition significantly affect the tensile fatigue life of GFRP laminates. The types of resin used in GFRP laminates and environmental conditions as input parameter in the proposed fatigue model is a unique contribution.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that develops as a consequence of different factors such as oxidative stress and accumulation of the protein amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain, resulting in apoptosis of neuronal cells. The search for a treatment for this disorder is essential as current medications are limited to alleviating symptoms and palliative effects. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of mint extracts on selected mechanisms implicated in the development of AD. To enable a thorough investigation of mechanisms, including effects on -secretase (the enzyme the leads to the formation of A), on Aβ aggregation, and on oxidative stress and apoptosis pathways, a neuronal cell model, SH-SY5Y cells was selected. Six Mentha taxa were investigated for their in vitro β-secretase (BACE) and Aβ-aggregation inhibition activities. Also, their neuroprotective effects on H2O2-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells were evaluated through caspase activity. Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were carried out for the two most promising extracts to determine their effects on signalling pathways in SH-SY5Y cells. All mint extracts had strong BACE inhibition activity. M. requienii extracts showed excellent inhibition of Aβ-aggregation, while other extracts showed moderate inhibition. M. diemenica and M. requienii extracts lowered caspase activity. Exposure of SH-SY5Y cells to M. diemenica extracts resulted in a decrease in the expression of pro-apoptotic protein, Bax, and an elevation in the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-xL, potentially mediated by down-regulation of ASK1-JNK pathway. These results indicate that mint extracts could prevent the formation of Aβ and also could prevent their aggregation if they had already formed. M. diemenica and M. requienii extracts have potential to suppress apoptosis at the cellular level. Hence, mint extracts could provide a source of efficacious compounds for a therapeutic approach for AD.

Salinity can negatively impact crop growth and yield. Changes in DNA methylation are known to occur when plants are challenged by stress and have been associated with the regulation of stress-response genes. However, the role of DNA-methylation in moderating gene expression in response to salt stress has been relatively poorly studied among crops such as barley. Here, we assessed the extent of salt-induced alterations of DNA methylation in barley and their putative role in perturbed gene expression. Using Next Generation Sequencing, we screened the leaf and root methylomes of five divergent barley varieties grown under control and three salt concentrations, to seek genotype independent salt-induced changes in DNA methylation. Salt stress caused increased methylation in leaves but diminished methylation in roots with a higher number of changes in leaves than in roots, indicating that salt induced changes to global methylation are organ specific. Differentially Methylated Markers (DMMs) were mostly located in close proximity to repeat elements, but also in 1094 genes, of which many possessed gene ontology (GO) terms associated with plant responses to stress. Identified markers have potential value as sentinels of salt stress and provide a starting point to allow understanding of the functional role of DNA methylation in facilitating barley’s response to this stressor.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a disorder that impairs the formation of the relationship between mother and child, and reduces the quality of life for affected women to a functionally significant degree. Studying markers associated with PPD can help in early detection, prevention, or monitoring treatment. The purpose of this paper is to review biomarkers linked to PPD and to present selected theories on the pathogenesis of the disease based on data from biomarker studies. The complex etiology of the disorder reduces the specificity and sensitivity of markers, but they remain a valuable source of information to help clinicians. The biggest challenge of the future will be to translate high-tech methods for detecting markers associated with postpartum depression into more readily available and less costly ones. Population-based studies are needed to test the utility of potential PPD markers.

Genome-wide epigenetic changes in plants are being reported during the development and environmental stresses, which are often correlated with gene expression at the transcriptional level. Sum total of the biochemical changes in nuclear DNA, post-translational modifications in histone proteins and variations in the biogenesis of non-coding RNAs in a cell is known as epigenome. These changes are often responsible for variation in expression of the gene without any change in the underlying nucleotide sequence. The changes might also cause variation in chromatin structure resulting into the changes in function/activity of the genome. The epigenomic changes are dynamic with respect to the endogenous and/or environmental stimuli which affect phenotypic plasticity of the organism. Both, the epigenetic changes and variation in gene expression might return to the pre-stress state soon after withdrawal of the stress. However, a part of the epigenetic changes may be retained which is reported to play role in acclimatization, adaptation as well as in the evolutionary processes. Understanding epigenome-engineering for improved stress tolerance in plants has become essential for better utilization of the genetic factors. This review delineates the importance of epigenomics towards possible improvement of plant’s responses to environmental stresses for climate resilient agriculture.

Cells form a bipolar spindle during mitosis to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. Proper spindle architecture is established by a set of kinesin motors and microtubule-associated proteins. In most eukaryotes, kinesin-5 motors are essential for this process, and genetic or chemical inhibition of their activity leads to the emergence of monopolar spindles and cell death. However, these deficiencies can be rescued by simultaneous inactivation of kinesin-14 motors, as they counteract kinesin-5. We conducted detailed genetic analyses in fission yeast to understand the mechanisms driving spindle assembly in the absence of kinesin-5. Here we show that deletion of the nrp1 gene, which encodes a putative RNA-binding protein with unknown function, can rescue temperature sensitivity caused by cut7-22, a fission yeast kinesin-5 mutant. Interestingly, kinesin-14/Klp2 levels on the spindles in the cut7 mutants were significantly reduced by the nrp1 deletion, although the total levels of Klp2 and the stability of spindle microtubules remained unaffected. Moreover, RNA-binding motifs of Nrp1 are essential for its cytoplasmic localization and function. We have also found that a portion of Nrp1 is spatially and functionally sequestered by chaperone-based protein aggregates upon mild heat stress and limits cell division at high temperatures. We propose that Nrp1 might be involved in post-transcriptional regulation through its RNA-binding ability to promote the loading of Klp2 on the spindle microtubules.

Abstract Sickle cell anaemia (SCD) is a life-threatening haematological disorder which is predominant in sub-Saharan Africa and is triggered by a genetic mutation of the β-chain haemoglobin gene resulting in the substitution of glutamic acid with valine. This mutation leads to the production of an abnormal haemoglobin molecule called haemoglobin S (HbS). When deoxygenated, haemoglobin S (HbS) polymerizes and results in a sickle-shaped red blood cell which is rigid and has a significantly shortened life span. Various reports have shown a strong link between oxidative stress, inflammation, the immune response, and the pathogenesis of sickle cell disease. The consequence of these processes lead to the development of vasculopathy (disease of the blood vessels) and several other complications. The role of the immune system, particularly the innate immune system, in the pathogenesis of SCD has become increasingly clear in recent years of research, However, little is known about the roles of the adaptive immune system in this disease. This review examines the interaction between the immune system, inflammation, oxidative stress, blood transfusion, and their effects on the pathogenesis of sickle cell anaemia

This study investigates the Hagen–Poiseuille pipe flow of viscoplastic fluids, focusing on analytical predictions of concrete pumping using the shear-stress-dependent parabolic model. Research highlights encompass solving the steady laminar pipe flow for viscoplastic fluids described by the parabolic model, extending analytical studies to a nonlinear rheological model with easily accessible experimental parameters, presenting detailed results for the two-fluid parabolic model, and introducing computational apps implementing theoretical findings. The parabolic model outperforms linear models, such as the Bingham model, in accuracy by accounting for the nonlinearity in the shear stress and shear rate relations. The influence of rheological parameters on these relations is analyzed, and their versatility is demonstrated by a Wolfram Mathematica-based application program. This approach is adaptable for other models with shear stress as the independent variable, offering valuable insights into viscoplastic fluid flows.

The present paper presents findings from the follow-up of 185 of these nurses who had been involved in the front-line care of COVID-19 patients in urban centres in Northern England, during and after the “second wave” of COVID patients in November, 2020. Measures of adjustment, stress (including PTSD), and Maslowian self-actualization were added to earlier measures of personality, adjustment, work-life stress, and career intention. Cluster analysis identified three types in the 2020-2023 cohort: I ‘Actualizing Professionals’; (N=62); II ‘Strong Professionals’ (N=56); III ‘Highly Stressed Nurses’ (N=45). These latter very stressed nurses included all nurses (N=16) identified as having PTSD symptoms.

Collaborative robots (cobots) have largely replaced conventional industrial robots in today’s workplaces, particularly in manufacturing setups due to their improved performance and intelligent design. In the framework of Industry 5.0, humans are working alongside cobots to accomplish the required level of automation. However, human-robot interaction has brought up concerns regarding human factors (HF) and ergonomics. A human worker may experience cognitive stress as a result of cobots' irresponsive nature in unpredictably occurring situations, which adversely affects productivity. Therefore, there is a necessity to measure stress to enhance a human worker’s performance in a human-robot collaborative environment. In this study, factory workers’ mental workload has been assessed using physiological, behavioural, and subjective measures. Electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals have been collected to acquire brain signals and track hemodynamic activity, respectively. The effect of task complexity, cobot’s movement speed, and cobot’s payload capacity on the mental stress of a human worker have been observed, for a task designed in the context of a smart factory. Task complexity and cobot’s speed have proved to be more impactful. As physiological measures are unbiased and more authentic means to estimate stress, eventually, they may replace the other conventional measures if they prove to correlate with the results of traditional ones. Here, regression and artificial neural networks (ANN) have been utilised to determine the correlation between physiological data and subjective and behavioural measures. Regression has performed better for most of the targets and the best correlation (rsq-adj = 0.654146) has been achieved for predicting missed beeps, behavioural measure, using a combination of multiple EEG and fNIRS predictors. The k-nearest neighbours (KNN) algorithm has been used to evaluate the accuracy of correlation between traditional measures and physiological variables, with highest accuracy of 77.8% achieved for missed beeps as the target. Results show that physiological measures can be more insightful and have the tendency to replace other biased parameters.

In recent years, many studies have reported that several distinct families of transcription factor (TF) genes play crucial roles in the response of plants to abiotic stress. Although some of these families got systematically studied in many species, little knowledge exists about these genes in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). In this study, 20 genes differentially expressed in the leaves of oil palm plants subjected to salinity or drought stress and encoding TFs belonging to four families of TFs - MYB, HD-ZIP, NF-Y, and HSFF - got selected for further characterization. The genes underwent a structural and functional annotation, besides having their RNA-Seq expression profile validated by the qPCR technique, and a correlation analysis of their response under both stresses got performed. The annotation analysis of the promoter region showed the presence of seven cis-acting elements, all already reported to be involved in plants' response to abiotic stress. The structural and functional characterization of the proteins encoded by the selected genes showed that some groups present patterns of conserved regions and are orthologs to genes already linked to salinity or drought resistance in other plant species. It was possible to confirm the RNA-Seq expression profile of 19 genes, only gene 4 showed the opposite response when using qPCR. Through correlation analysis, it was possible to observe a high level of similarity in the behavior of the 20 genes in response to drought or salinity stress, a behavior already reported in other species. The results presented here shed light on the role of 20 TFs in the leaves of young oil palm plants under severe levels of soil salinity or water deprivation. The high level of similarity in the molecular response to both stresses allowed the identification of genes that might grant strategies aiming to develop oil palm plants with a tolerance to both salinity and drought at once.

Salt stress is one of the most severe environmental stresses limiting the productivity of crops, including rice. However, there is a lack of information on how salt-stress sensitivity varies across different developmental stages in rice. In view of this, a comparative evaluation of contrasting rice varieties CSR36 (salt tolerant) and Jaya (salt sensitive) was conducted, wherein NaCl stress (50 mM) was independently given either at seedling (S-stage), tillering (T-stage), flowering (F-stage), seed-setting (SS-stage) or throughout the plant growth, from seedling till maturity. Except for S-stage, CSR36 exhibited improved NaCl stress tolerance than Jaya, at all other tested stages. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the improved NaCl stress tolerance in CSR36 coincided with enhanced activities/levels of enzymatic/non-enzymatic antioxidants (root ascorbate peroxidase for T- and S+T stages and root catalase for F-, S+T and S+T+F-stages) and higher accumulation of osmolytes (shoot proline for F-stage and S+T+F-stage), indicating better antioxidant capacitance and osmotic adjustment, respectively. In contrast, higher shoot accumulation of Na+ and consequent increase in Na+/K+, Na+/Ca+2 and Na+/Mg+2 ratio in root and shoot, were identified as major variables associated with NaCl stress induced growth reduction in Jaya. In addition, CSR36 exhibited higher levels of Fe3+, Mn2+ and Co3+ and lower Cl- and SO42-, suggesting its potential to discriminate essential and non-essential nutrients, which might contribute to NaCl stress tolerance. Taken together, the findings provided the frame-work for stage-specific salinity responses in rice, which will facilitate crop-improvement programs for specific ecological niches including the coastal regions. Rice, salt stress, stage-specific salinity, antioxidant defense, ionic homeostasis, salt tolerance

To study the anti-cracking performance of cast-in-place concrete inner shaft lining structure under the combined effects of temperature and constraint, this paper first developed a novel temperature stress test machine suitable for the shape of the inner shaft lining structure and with adjustable endpoint constraint, providing specialized experimental equipment for subsequent cast-in-place concrete inner shaft lining temperature stress simulation experiments. Then, this paper preliminarily studied the temperature, strain, and stress changes of the cast-in-place inner shaft lining under the condition of 100% endpoint constraint by simulating the internal hydration heating and cooling process of the cast-in-place inner shaft lining and using the temperature stress test machine to accurately control the endpoint constraint conditions of the inner shaft lining scaled model.

With the rapid development of industry, Cr has become one of the major heavy metal pollutants in soil, which has caused serious effects on the soil's ecological environment. However, the effects of Cr stress on bacterial communities in plant rhizosphere soils remain unclear. In this study, I. tectorum was selected as the research object, and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the effects of Cr stress on the structure and diversity of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere soil of I. tectorum. The results showed that I. tectorum had strong tolerance and enrichment to Cr. However, under Cr stress, the diversity and abundance index of rhizosphere bacteria decreased by 8.5% and 6.8% on average, and the Sobs index decreased by 7.6%. Moreover, the bacterial community changed by 20.1% due to the addition of Cr, further leading to a 15.9% decrease in the common species of the bacterial community, among which Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteriota accounted for more than 74.8% of the total sequence. According to the symbiosis network diagram, it was found that under a two-cultivated pattern, the synergizing effect between dominant bacteria was significantly enhanced, and the soil microenvironment was improved. Redundancy analysis showed that C, N, and P nutrient elements and Cr contents in uncontaminated and contaminated soils were the primary driving factors for the succession of I. tectorum rhizosphere bacterial community, and the response was stronger after Cr(Ⅵ) was added. In conclusion, the results of this study will provide insights into the response of rhizosphere bacterial communities to heavy metal Cr and the interactions between wetland plants and rhizosphere bacteria in wetland phytoremediation.Keywords: Cr stress; rhizosphere bacterial community; Iris tectorum; 16S rRNA sequencing technology; Phytoremediation

Insects quickly develop resistance to conventional chemical insecticides. The use of silica nanoparticles (SiO₂NPs) is a promising new approach for managing insect pests. The insects that have been studied are, in most cases, external feeders and internal leaf feeders have not been well studied. Here, we investigate the efficiency of SiO₂NPs in controlling the American serpentine leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae), a devastating insect pest of a wide range of crops. SiO₂NPs at concentrations of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/L compared to a control of distilled water were applied to intact Phaseolus vulgaris leaves by spraying to evaluate their effects, via the plant, on the number, survival, developmental/feeding speed, body mass/size and sex ratio of L. trifolii released after spraying. A qRT-PCR analysis was conducted to assess oxidative stress in L. trifolii based on the gene expression level of the two major antioxidant enzymes; catalase and superoxide dismutase. The number of mines, survival rate and puparia weight were lower than the control at the highest concentration of SiO₂NPs, while pupariation was delayed at most of the concentrations studied and puparium weight/size decreased at low concentrations. Sex ratio was not affected by SiO₂NPs. Gene expression levels of the antioxidant enzymes at the pupal stage were not significantly affected by SiO₂NPs at any concentration but some individuals showed up-regulation at low SiO₂NP concentrations, inferring development of resistance. This study demonstrated that a priori application of the highest concentration of SiO₂NPs to plants effectively reduces a leafminer population but that application of even the lowest concentration can decrease the life history trait values of surviving leafminers.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most dangerous metabolic diseases with high rate of mortality worldwide. It is well known that insulin resistance and deficiency in insulin production from pancreatic β-cells are the main characteristic of DM. Due to the detrimental side effects of the current treatment, there is a considerable need to develop new effective antidiabetic drugs, especially alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase inhibitors with lesser adverse effects. These inhibitors are known to be directly involved in the delay of carbohydrate digestion, resulting in a reduction of glucose absorption rate and consequently reduce the post-prandial raise of plasma glucose, which can reduce the risk of long-term diabetes complications. Hence, natural products are well-known sources for the discovery of new scaffold for drugs discovery, including new antidiabetic drugs. The phytochemical investigation of Salvia aurita collected from Hogobach pass, Eastern Cape, South Africa (SA), yielded four known abietane diterpenes namely carnosol (1), rosmanol (2), 7-methoxyrosmanol (3), 12-methoxycarnosic acid (4) and one flavonoid named 4,7-dimethylapigenin (5). Structural characterization of these isolated compounds was conducted using 1 and 2D NMR, in comparison with reported spectroscopic data. These compounds are reported for the first time from S. aurita. The biological evaluation of the isolated compound against alpha-glucosidase exhibited strong inhibitory activities for 3 and 2 with IC50 values of 4.2 ± 0.7 and 16.4 ± 1.1 µg/mL respectively, while 4 and 1 demonstrated strong alpha-amylase inhibitory activity amongst the isolated compounds with IC50 of 16.2 ± 0.3 and 19.8 ± 1.4 µg/mL. Molecular docking analysis confirms strong inhibitory activity of 3 against alpha-glucosidase. Additionally, excellent antioxidant capacities were displayed by 2, 1 and 3 respectively as ORAC (25789.9 ± 10.5; 23961.8 ± 14.1; 23939.3 ± 2.4) µM TE/g; 1 and 2 as FRAP (3917.8 ± 2.1; 1522.3 ± 0.9) µM AAE/g; 5 and 2 as TEAC (3190.4 ± 2.8; 2055.0 ± 2.6) µM TE/g. The methanolic extract of S. aurita is a rich source of abietane diterpenes with excellent antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities that can be useful to modulate oxidative stress, and might possibly be excellent candidates for the management of diabetes. This is the first scientific report on the phytochemical isolation and biological evaluation of alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase inhibitory activities of Salvia aurita.

Lead (Pb) is a toxic environmental heavy metal that induces serious clinical defect on all organs with the nervous system being the primary target. Curcumin is the main active constituent of turmeric rhizome (Curcuma longa) with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study is aimed at evaluating the therapeutic potentials of curcumin on Pb-induced neurotoxicity. Thirty six male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned into five (5) groups with 12 rats in the control (normal saline) and 6 rats for the lead treated group (LTG) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks), recovery group (RC) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks), treatment group 1 (Cur100) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks, followed by 100 mg/kg curcumin for 4 weeks) and treatment group 2 (Cur200) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks, followed by 200 mg/kg curcumin for 4 weeks) groups each. All experimental groups received the oral treatments through orogastric-tube on alternate days. Motor function was assessed using horizontal bar method while Pb concentration in the cerebellum of the rats were evaluated using ICP-MS techniques. Pb-administered rats showed significant decrease in motor scores, SOD activity with increase MDA levels and Pb concentration in their cerebellum with marked alterations in the histological architecture of the cerebellar cortex layers. However, treatment with curcumin improved the motor score, reduced Pb concentration in the cerebellum and ameliorates the markers of oxidative stress as well as restored the histological architecture of the cerebellum. The results this in study suggested that curcumin attenuates Pb-induced neurotoxicity via inhibition of oxidative stress and chelating activity.

Lead (Pb) is a toxic environmental heavy metal that induces serious clinical defect on all organs with the nervous system being the primary target. Curcumin is the main active constituent of turmeric rhizome (Curcuma longa) with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study is aimed at evaluating the therapeutic potentials of curcumin on Pb-induced neurotoxicity. Thirty six male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned into five (5) groups with 12 rats in the control (normal saline) and 6 rats for the lead treated group (LTG) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks), recovery group (RC) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks), treatment group 1 (Cur100) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks, followed by 100 mg/kg curcumin for 4 weeks) and treatment group 2 (Cur200) (50 mg/kg lead acetate for 4 weeks, followed by 200 mg/kg curcumin for 4 weeks) groups each. All experimental groups received the oral treatments through orogastric-tube on alternate days. Motor function was assessed using horizontal bar method while Pb concentration in the cerebellum of the rats were evaluated using ICP-MS techniques. Pb-administered rats showed significant decrease in motor scores, SOD activity with increase MDA levels and Pb concentration in their cerebellum with marked alterations in the histological architecture of the cerebellar cortex layers. However, treatment with curcumin improved the motor score, reduced Pb concentration in the cerebellum and ameliorates the markers of oxidative stress as well as restored the histological architecture of the cerebellum. The results this in study suggested that curcumin attenuates Pb-induced neurotoxicity via inhibition of oxidative stress and chelating activity.

Murine herpesvirus-68 (MHV-68) productively infects the mouse lungs, exhibiting a complex pathology characteristic of both acute viral infections and chronic respiratory diseases. We sought to discover proteins differentially expressed in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from mice infected with MHV-68. Mice were infected intranasally with MHV-68. After 9 days, as the lytic phase of infection resolved, differential BAL proteins were identified by 2D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Of 23 unique proteins, acute phase proteins, vitamin A transport, and oxidative stress response factors Pdx6 and EC-SOD (Sod3) were enriched. Correspondingly, iNOS2 was induced in lung tissue by 7 days post infection. Oxidative stress was partly a direct result of MHV-68 infection, as reactive oxygen species (ROS) were induced in cultured murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts and human lung A549 cells infected with MHV-68. Finally, mice were infected with a recombinant MHV-68 co-expressing inflammatory cytokine murine interleukin 6 (IL6) showed exacerbated oxidative stress and soluble type I collagen characteristic of tissue recovery. Thus, oxidative stress appears to be a salient feature of MHV-68 pathogenesis, in part caused by lytic replication of virus and IL6. Proteins and small molecules in lung oxidative stress networks therefore may provide new therapeutic targets to ameliorate respiratory virus infections.

Creep is a fundamental property naturally exists in some types of rock, which is significant for the long-term stability of roadways during the mining process. In this paper, the long-term strength of coal and rock were obtained via laboratory experiments, and a Cvisc elasto-viscoplastic model was adopted and introduced in FLAC3D, based on the 3101 transport roadway in Hongqinghe Coal Mine, to investigate the influence of creep on the stability of deep-high stress roadway. The test results show that the long-term strength of 3-1 coal and sandy mudstone, respectively, is 18.65 MPa, 39.95 MPa. The plastic zone, the deformation, and the damage of roadway surrounding rock behave an obvious increase after being excavated for 720d as the creep model was chosen. The plastic zone failure with models shear-p (1090.7 m3), shear-n (381.7 m3), tension-n (98.4 m3), and tension-p (30.8 m3), the damage value has an obvious increment of increased 21.2% (0.053), the deformation increases in the order is two-sidewalls (1978 mm), roof (907 mm), floor (101 mm). The creep of the roadway can be divided into three stages: the accelerating stage, the decaying stage, and the stable stage. The creep speed of each stage is greatly affected by the presence or absence of anchor spray support: the creep speed of the bare roadway roof, roadway side, and floor stability, respectively, is 1.01, 1.02, and 0.12 mm/d; After anchor spray support, the creep velocity, correspondingly, decreased to 0.69, 0.37, and 0.12 mm/d, and the amount of surrounding rock damage decreased from 0.302 to 0.243. This indicates that the anchor spray support can significantly reduce the creep effect of the roadway. The Cvisc creep model was verified reliable and can provide guidance for deep high-stress coal roadway support.