This study aims to develop a clinical trial to test the efficacy of a Mindfulness Based Stress Re-duction (MBSR) and Self Compassion (SC) Program on self-reported values of anxiety, depres-sion, and stress in parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in primary school, in order to assess their integration into the framework of community intervention programs in Spain. Methods: A brief 8-week training program using Mindfulness based intervention (MBSR) and self-compassion (SC) has been applied to ten parents from the Valencian ASD parents’. Partici-pants were assigned to two groups, both groups received the same treatment but at two different measurement moments. Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Satisfaction with Life and Mindful Atten-tion Awareness measurements were assessed, in all participants, in three testing moments. Results: Analysis of Variance results suggested that MBSR and SC training reduces stress and anxiety and increases Mindful Attention Awareness. No significant changes were found in Life Satisfaction measurements. Conclusions: The small number of participants prevents us from generalising the results found. More MBSR and SC clinical trials are needed in parents of ASD with results on anxiety, depression and stress in order to demonstrate the relevance of the inclusion of these programmes in community-based early intervention services.

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a significant player in the pathophysiology of various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite the established link between ER stress and inflammatory pathways, there remains a need for deeper exploration of the specific cellular mechanisms underlying ER stress-mediated neuroinflammation. Methods: This study aimed to investigate how severity of ER stress can impact the release of proinflammatory cyto-kines IL-6 and IL-8 from astrocytes and microglia, comparing the effects with those induced by well-known immunostimulants - tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Results: Mild ER stress has a distinct effect on the cytokine release compared to more intense stress levels, i.e. diminished IL-6 production was accompanied by an increase in IL-8 level, which was significantly more pronounced in astrocytes than in microglia. On the contrary, prolonged or more severe ER stress induced inflammation in glial cells, leading to a time- and concentration-dependent buildup of pro-inflammatory IL-6 but unlike inflammatory agents, ER stress inducer diminished IL-8 secretions by glial cells. Conclusion: The differences could hold importance in identifying ER stress markers as potential drug targets for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases or mood disorders, yet it requires confirmation in more complex animal studies.

Maternal obesity and gestational diabetes predispose to metabolic disturbances in the next generation. Moreover, the lactation phase also stands as critical for metabolic programming. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms originating these changes remain unclear. Here we investigate the consequences of maternal diet lipid-rich diet during gestation and lactation, and its impact on metabolism and behavior in the offspring. Two experimental groups of Wistar female rats were used: a control group (NC) that fed a standard diet during gestation and lactation periods and an overnutrition group that fed a high-fat diet (HF, 60% lipid-rich) during the same phases. Offspring were analyzed at postnatal days 21, 28, and 2 months-old (PD21, PD28, PD60) for metabolic profile (weight, fasting glycemia insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance) and euthanized for brain collection to evaluate by western blot markers of synaptic dynamics, metabolism and inflammation in the hypothalamus, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. At 2 months-old, behavioral tests for anxiety, stress, cognition, and food habits were conducted. We observe that female offspring born from HF mothers exhibited increased weight gain and decreased glucose tolerance that attenuates with age. In offspring males, weight gain increased at P21 and worsened with age, while glucose tolerance remained unchanged. Offspring of HF mothers exhibited elevated levels of anxiety and stress during behavioral tests, displaying decreased predisposition for curiosity compared to the NC group. In addition, offspring from mothers with HF showed increased food consumption and a lower tendency towards food-related aggression. We conclude that exposure to HF diet during pregnancy and lactation induces dysmetabolism in the offspring accompanied by heightened stress and anxiety. There was sexual dimorphism in metabolic traits but not behavioral phenotypes.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a primary energy food for Asian population. One of the most constraints in rice production is soil salinity because of the rice is very susceptible to salt. Meanwhile, many agricultural land in Asia are in the saline area. It is important to identify and develop salt-tolerant rice varieties that can adapt in Asian climate. By combining morphological, physiological, and biochemical assessments for screening the salt tolerant of 116 Asian rice cultivars was able to classify into tolerant, moderate, and sensitive rice cultivars under salinity stress condition, and also for understanding the salt tolerance mechanisms. The rice cultivars which belong to salt-tolerant including Pokkali from India, TCCP 266 from Philippines, IR 45427 also from Philippines, and Namyang 7 from Korea. Whereas, salt-sensitive rice varieties like IR29 from Philippines, IR58 also from Philippines, Daegudo from Korea, and Guweoldo also from Korea. The salt-tolerant varieties showed signs of tolerance, including lower percent reduction of percentage germination, root length, root fresh weight, shoot length, plant biomass, and chlorophyll content. In order to maintain the cellular osmotic balance under saline condition, the salt-tolerant ones exhibited less membrane damage, lower Na/K ratio, high proline and sugar accumulation, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Pokkali from India, TCCP 266 from Philippines, IR 45427 also from Philippines, and Namyang 7 from Korea are recommended as valuable germplasm resource for Asian rice breeding program in saline agricultural area.

Natural astaxanthin is a precious substance obtained from some organisms such as microalgae. This plant has many benefits for humans, so research into its cost-effective and economical production has recently increased. For this purpose, some methods such as the use of different culture media, gene engineering, different stresses, nanoparticles, bio acids, and phytohormones are important. Accordingly, this review study was conducted to demonstrate the effect of the factors mentioned above for the high production of astaxanthin in microalgae, especially Haematococcus pluvialis (H.p).

Silicon is an essential trace nutrient for plant growth and is frequently employed to remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals in agriculture. However, silicon’s role and mechanism in reducing heavy metal toxicity have not been well understood, especially for multi-heavy metals. In this study, the effects of silicon-rich materials (silicate, rice husk biochar (RHB), and bentonite) on growth trait, antioxidant response, and heavy metal accumulation and distribution of wheat grown in two soils polluted by multiple heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Pb, and As) were investigated. The results revealed that the addition of silicon-rich materials enhanced plant growth, improved the photosynthetic attributes in leaf tissues, and decreased the contents of Cd, Zn, Pb, and As in wheat shoots and grains. The examination of the subcellular distribution of heavy metals in plants implied that silicon-rich materials transferred heavy metals as intracellular soluble fractions to the cell walls, indicating the reduction of mobility and toxicity of heavy metals in the plants. In addition, the application of the silicon-rich materials reduced oxidative damage in plants by downregulating plant antioxidant response systems and decreasing the production of malondialdehyde (MDA), ascorbic acid (AsA), and glutathione (GSH). Moreover, fractionation analysis of soil heavy metals showed that silicon-rich amendments could convert bioavailable heavy metals into immobilized forms. The results indicated that silicon-rich materials could remediate multi-heavy metal-polluted soils and promote wheat production.

Exploring the growth and physiological response mechanisms of rice under continuous drought stress circumstances can provide a significant scientific foundation and technological assistance for meeting drought difficulties, improving drought resistance and rice (Oryza sativa L.) output, and ensuring food security. In this study, a rice field experiment was conducted under a rain shelter with five different treatments set up: P1 (drought stress from tillering stage), P2 (drought stress from jointing-booting stage), P3 (drought stress from heading-flowering stage), P4 (drought stress from grain filling stage), and CK (adequate water management throughout the growth stage). Continuous drought stress from different growth stages with four levels (mild, medium, serious, and extreme). The results showed that the effects of different drought stress treatments on rice growth varied significantly. Compared with the CK treatment, plant height was reduced by 12.10%, 8.14%, 3.83%, and 1.06% in the P1, P2, P3, and P4 treatments, respectively; and the number of tillers was reduced by 23.83%, 18.91%, 13.47%, and 8.68%, respectively. With the increase in drought stress levels, SPAD values and Rubisco activity of rice leaf continued to decrease; SOD activity showed a decreasing trend, but the decreasing trend of POD and CAT activities was not significant, while MDA content showed an increasing trend. For yield components, continuous drought stress significantly reduced spike length, effective number of spikes, thousand grain weight, grain number per spike, and fruiting rate of rice compared to CK treatments during the growth period. In general, continuous drought stress during the early growth period affected the effective spike number and the grain number per spike. Continuous drought stress after the grain filling stage had the least effect on yield and water use efficiency was much higher than other treatments. The results of these studies reveal the response of rice growth and physiology to continuous drought stress, which is important for agricultural practices.

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are one of Australia's most charismatic native small marsupial species. Unfortunately, populations of koalas are rapidly declining throughout Australia and they continue to face increasing pressure from a changing ecosystem. Negative stimulants in the environment can elicit stress responses through activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Depending on the duration of the negative stimulant, the stress response can lead to either acute or chronic side effects, and is shown through the activation of the neuroendocrine stress system and the release of glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol). Wild koalas entering clinical care face novel stressors that can be out of a wildlife carer's control. In this pilot study, we monitored physiological stress in three wild koalas at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in New South Wales, Australia. Acute and chronic stress was indexed non-invasively, with faecal samples taken to evaluate acute stress, and fur samples taken to evaluate chronic stress. Sampling occurred sporadically over four months, from the start of September 2018 to the end of December 2018. Results attempt to understand the stress response of koalas to negative stimulants in the environment by comparing faecal glucocorticoids on days where a known stressor was recorded with days where no known stressor was recorded. Furthermore, variations in faecal and fur glucocorticoids were compared between the three koalas in this study. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of stress tracking of wild rescued koalas in a sanctuary. We suggest that further monitoring of baseline, acute and chronic stress will be needed to better understand how koalas respond to negative stimulants associated with clinical care.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a class of cognitive and motor disorders that include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and others. They are caused by lesions in cells and tissues of the central nervous system, resulting in corresponding dysfunctions and consequent decline in cognitive and motor functions. Neural tissues are extremely vulnerable to oxidative stress, which plays critical biological roles in NDDs. Aromatic compounds are found extensively in natural plants and have substantial effects of anti-oxidative stress damage, which not only have a wide range of research applications in cosmetics, foods, etc., but are also frequently utilized in the treatment of various central nervous system diseases. This review summarizes the relevant oxidative stress mechanisms in NDDs (AD, PD, HD, and ALS) and reviews aromatic compounds such as polyphenols, terpenoids, and flavonoids that can be used in the management of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as their specific mechanisms of antioxidant action. This review will serve as a reference for future experimental studies on neurodegenerative illnesses while also offering fresh insights into clinical therapy.

Oxidative neurodegeneration causes various neuronal diseases including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. This study aimed to demonstrate the protective effect of leaf extracts of Allium senescens on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-stressed SH-SY5Y cells, known as an optimal cell for neurotoxic research. Levels of apoptotic markers were evaluated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and flow cytometry. The localization of apoptotic cells in vivo was analyzed using whole-mount immunochemistry and the terminal deoxynucleo-tidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) pro-duction was estimated using flow cytometry. 6-OHDA induced ROS production in neuroblast cells and in vivo, but treatment with the extract protected against the 6-OHDA-induced increase in ROS levels. Under oxidative stress, the extract performs three protective functions: decreases ROS production, prevents mitochondrial apoptosis, and protects the central and ventral nervous systems. These results also suggest that the extract can be useful for the development of functional foods for the prevention of neural damage due to oxidative stress.

This study examined the prevalence of illegal drug use in UK students and motivators behind such behaviour. Additionally, we explored possible relationships between substance use, psychosocial motivators, and psychiatric distress. N=543 students completed online measures of substance use, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, insomnia. A series of reasons behind their use were ranked based on importance. Reported cannabis, cocaine, nitrous oxide, ketamine and MDMA use were most prevalent based on lifetime, past year, and month assessments. The experience of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and insomnia were related to increased reports of substance use. Poor self-confidence and self-medication were key motivators of illicit drug use in those presenting greater psychiatric distress. These outcomes add to the sparse body of literature concerning illicit substance use in relation to psychiatric distress amongst UK students. Furthermore, we provided novel insight into the psychosocial motivators of such use.

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.

The present study investigated the effect of different ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) but equal temperature-humidity index (THI) on laying performance, egg quality, heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H/L ratio), corticosterone (CORT) concentration in blood, yolk and albumen, and plasma biochemical parameters in laying hens. One hundred and twenty commercial hens (Hy-Line Brown) aged 60 weeks were allocated into 2 environmental chambers. Laying hens were subjected to either one of two thermal treatments, i.e., 26ºC and 70% RH (LH75) and 30ºC and 30% RH (HL75) for 28 days. Both thermal treatments had equal THI being 75. Neither LH75 nor HL75 affected (P > 0.05) laying performance including egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio. Plasma biochemical parameters such as total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus was not altered (P > 0.05) by thermal treatments. As to the stress indicators, both environment regimes failed (P > 0.05) to affect blood H/L ratio and CORT levels in plasma, yolk and albumen although albumen CORT levels were elevated (P < 0.05) in LH75 vs. HL75 at days 3, 7, and 28. In conclusion, our study suggests that laying hens performed and responded equally when they were exposed to equal THI environment conditioned from either 26ºC and 70% RH or 30ºC and 30% RH. The results of this study will be served as a scientific basis for management decisions and handling under thermally challenging conditions.

In order to assess the impact of nitrogen availability on lipid metabolism of Streptomyces coelicolor, we first assessed the global lipid content of 21 strains derived from S. coelicolor M145 deleted for at least one gene involved in nitrogen metabolism. This study revealed that only 7 strains deleted either for genes encoding, proteins involved in polyamine (GlnA2/SCO2241, GlnA3/SCO6962, GlnA4/SCO1613) or protein (Pup/SCO1646) degradation, for the global regulator DasR/SCO5231 that controls negatively the degradation of N acetylglucosamine, a constituant of peptidoglycan, or for two proteins involved in the regulation of nitrogen metabolism, GlnE/SCO2234 and GlnK/SCO5584, had a higher triacylglycerol content than the original strain whereas 5 of these strains (with the exception of glnA2 and pup mutant strains) had a lower cardiolipin content than the original strain. Furthermore, the determination of the level of production of the blue polyketide, actinorhodin (ACT), of these 7 strains grown either in phosphate (Pi) limitation or proficiency, revealed that ACT production was totally abolished in the dasR mutant in both Pi conditions whereas the deletion of pup, glnA2, glnA3 and glnA4 was correlated with a significant increase of total ACT production, in Pi limitation. However, in Pi proficiency, ACT production was only slightly enhanced in the pup, glnA2 and glnA4 mutants and was strongly reduced in the glnA3 mutant. Altogether our data suggest that high TAG and ACT biosynthesis and low cardiolipin biosynthesis might all contribute to the lowering of oxidative stress resulting from nitrogen limitation or from other causes.

The flavonoid silymarin (SMN) has been widely used in preclinical and clinical studies to treat various types of cancer, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy agents. Herein, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of SMN and its combination with capecitabine (CAP) and irinotecan (IRI) in a mouse model of colon cancer. A modified diet supplemented with SMN (2500 ppm) with mono- and combined therapy of CAP and IRI were used following 1, 2 dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer. The lipid profile, liver function tests, and cytokine levels were measured. Additionally, the lipid peroxidation and inflammation indices as well as the antioxidant activities were examined. Eventually, western blotting analysis for colonic BAX and Bcl-2 levels and histopathological examination of colon sections were carried out. SMN alone and in combination with the chemotherapeutic agents could attenuate the DMH-induced hyperlipidemia and elevated liver function enzyme levels. SMN supplementation with chemotherapy agents could also improve antioxidant activity and reverse the elevated levels of lipid peroxidation and inflammatory markers. Furthermore, significant upregulation of BAX and downregulation of Bcl-2 were observed. Besides, carcinogen-induced polyp multiplicity, dysplastic, and inflammatory changes were ameliorated considerably by treatment regimens. Our results showed that the potential anticancer properties of SMN could enhance the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents and reduce hepatotoxicity.

Dioclea apurensis Kunth is native to ferruginous rocky outcrops (known as canga) in the eastern Amazon. Native cangas are considered hotspots of biological diversity and have one of the largest iron ore deposits in the world. There, D. apurensis can grow in post-mining areas where molecular mechanisms and rhizospheric interactions with soil microorganisms are expected to contribute to their establishment in rehabilitating minelands. In this study, we compare the root proteomic profile and rhizosphere-associated bacterial and fungal communities of D. apurensis growing in canga and a rehabilitating mineland to characterize the main mechanisms that allow the growth and establishment in post-mining areas. The results showed that proteins involved in response to oxidative stress, drought, excess of iron, and phosphorus deficiency were more accumulated in canga and, therefore, helped explain its high establishment rates in rehabilitating minelands. Rhizospheric selectivity of microorganisms was more evident in canga. The microbial community structure was mostly different between the two habitats, denoting that despite having its preferences, D. apurensis can associate with beneficial soil microorganisms without specificity. Therefore, its good performance in rehabilitating minelands can also be improved or attributed to its ability to cope with beneficial soil-borne microorganisms. Native plants with such adaptations must be used to enhance the rehabilitation process.

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

Obesity and metabolic syndrome involve chronic low-grade inflammation called metabolic inflammation as well as metabolic derangements from increased endotoxin and free fatty acids. It is debated whether the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in monocytic cells can contribute to amplify metabolic inflammation; if so, by which mechanism(s). To test this, metabolic stress was induced in THP-1 monocytic cells by treatments with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), palmitic acid (PA), or oleic acid (OA), in the presence or absence of ER stressor thapsigargin (TG). Gene expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and markers of ER/oxidative stress was determined by qRT-PCR, TNF-α protein by ELISA, ROS by DCFH-DA assay, HIF-1α/p38/ERK-1,2/NF-κB phosphorylation by immunoblotting, and insulin sensitivity by glucose-uptake assay. Regarding clinical analyses, adipose TNF-α was assessed by qRT-PCR/IHC and plasma TNF-α/hs-CRP/MDA/OX-LDL by ELISA. We found that the cooperative interaction between metabolic and ER stresses promoted TNF-α, ROS, CHOP, ATF6, SOD2, and NRF2 expression (P≤0.0183),. However, glucose uptake was not impaired. TNF-α amplification was dependent on HIF-1α/p38/NF-κB phosphorylation, while MAPK/NF-κB inhibitors and antioxidants/ROS scavengers attenuated TNF-α production (P≤0.05). Individuals with obesity displayed increased adipose TNF-α gene/protein expression as well as elevated plasma levels of TNF-α, CRP, MDA, and OX-LDL (P≤0.05). Our findings support a cooperative interaction between metabolic and ER stresses, favoring inflammation by triggering TNF-α production via the ROS/CHOP/HIF-1α and MAPK/NF-κB dependent mechanisms. This study also shows the therapeutic potential of ROS scavengers/anti-oxidants in inflammatory conditions involving metabolic/ER stresses.

Cuticular waxes are a mixture of hydrophobic very-long-chain fatty acids and their derivatives accumulated in the plant cuticle. Most studies define the role of cuticular wax largely based on reducing non-stomatal water loss. The present study investigated the role of cuticular wax in reducing both low-temperature and dehydration stress in plants using Arabidopsis thaliana mutants and transgenic genotypes altered in the formation of cuticular wax. cer3-6, a known Arabidopsis wax-deficient mutant (with distinct reduction in aldehydes, n-alkanes, secondary n-alcohols, and ketones compared to wild type (WT)), was most sensitive to water loss; while dewax, a known wax overproducer (greater alkanes and ketones compared to WT), was more resistant to dehydration compared to WT. Furthermore, cold-acclimated cer3-6 froze at warmer temperatures, while cold-acclimated dewax displayed freezing exotherms at colder temperatures compared to WT. GC-MS analysis identified a characteristic decrease in the accumulation of certain waxes (e.g. alkanes, alcohols) in Arabidopsis cuticles under cold acclimation, which was additionally reduced in cer3-6. Conversely, the dewax mutant showed a greater ability to accumulate waxes under cold acclimation. FTIR spectroscopy also supported observations in cuticular wax deposition under cold acclimation. Our data indicate cuticular alkane waxes along with alcohols and fatty acids can facilitate avoidance of both ice formation and leaf water loss under dehydration stress, and are promising genetic targets of interest.

The CYSTM (cysteine-rich transmembrane module) protein family comprises small molecular cysteine-rich tail-anchored membrane proteins found in many eukaryotes. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains carrying the CYSTM genes YDRO34W-B and YBR056W-A (MNC1) fused with GFP were used to test expression of these genes under different stresses. The YBR056W-A (MNC1) and YDR034W-B genes are expressed under stress conditions caused by the toxic concentrations of heavy metal ions such as manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc, cuprum, and 2.4-dinitrophenol uncoupler. YDR034W-B but not YBR056W-A is expressed under alkali and cadmium stresses. YBR056W-A is localized in intracellular membranes, while YDR034W-B is localized in the cytoplasmic membrane. The null-mutants in both genes demonstrated both decreased cell concentration and lytic phenotype when cultivated in the presence of excess manganese. This indicates the involvement of Mnc1 and YDR034W-B proteins in manganese detoxification, probably by complexation of its ion.

Photosynthesis is a pivotal process that determines the synthesis of carbohydrates required for sustaining growth under normal or stress situation. Stress exposure reduces the photosynthetic potential owing to the excess synthesis of reactive oxygen species that disturb the proper functioning of photosynthetic apparatus. This decreased photosynthesis is associated with disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism resulting in reduced growth under stress. We evaluated the importance of melatonin in reducing heat stress-induced severity in wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.). The plants were subjected to 25 ˚C (optimum temperature) or 40 ˚C (heat stress) for 15 days at 6 hours time duration and then developed the plants for 30 days. Heat stress led to oxidative stress with increased production of TBARS and H2O2 content and reduced accrual of total soluble sugars, starch and carbohydrate metabolism enzymes which are reflected in reduced photosynthesis. Application of melatonin not only reduced oxidative stress through lowering TBARS and H2O2 content, through augmenting the activity of antioxidative enzymes but also increased the photosynthesis in plant and carbohydrate metabolism that is needed to provide energy and carbon skeleton to the developing plant under stress. However, the increase in these parameters with melatonin was mediated via hydrogen sulfide (H2S), as the inhibition of H2S by hypotaurine (HT; H2S inhibitor) reversed the ameliorative effect of melatonin. This suggests a crosstalk of melatonin and H2S in protecting heat stress-induced photosynthetic inhibition via regulation of carbohydrate metabolism.

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

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

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

Progress in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is based on the recognition of the primary causes of the disease, which can be deduced from the knowledge of risk factors and biomarkers measurable in the early stages of the disease. Insights into risk factors and the time course of biomarker abnormalities point to a role for mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the onset and development of AD. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a lipid antioxidant and electron transporter in the mitochondrial electron transport system. The availability and activity of CoQ10 is crucial for proper mitochondrial function and cellular bioenergetics. Based on the mitochondrial hypothesis of AD and the hypothesis of oxidative stress, the regulation of the efficiency of the oxidative phosphorylation system by means of CoQ10 can be considered promising in restoring the mitochondrial function impaired in AD, or in preventing the onset of mitochondrial dysfunction and the development of amyloid and tau pathology in AD.

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

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease that currently has no cure. There are numerous studies showing that carnosine and hyaluronic acid (HA) have a positive pharmacological action during joint inflammation. For this reason, the goal of this research was to discover the protective effect of a new HA+Carnosine formulation (FidHycarn) on the inflammatory response and on the cartilage degradation in in vivo experimental model of OA. This model was induced by a single intra-articular (i.ar.) injection of 25µl normal saline having 1mg of monosodium iodoacetate solution (MIA) in the knee joint. MIA injection caused histological alterations and degradation of cartilage as well as behavioral changes. Oral treatment with FidHycarn ameliorated the macroscopic signs, improved thermal hyperalgesia and weight distribution of hind paw as well as decreased histological and radiographic alterations. The oxidative damage was analyzed by evaluating the levels of nitrotyrosine and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) that were significantly reduced in FidHycarn rats. Moreover, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were also significantly reduced by FidHycarn. However, interestingly, in more cases, the effects of FidHycarn were not statistically different to Naproxen used as positive control. Thus, the new formulation containing Carnosine and HA could represent an interesting therapeutic strategy to combat osteoarthritis.

Chronic stress in dairy cattle industry has negative impacts on animal health, productivity, and welfare. It has been confirmed that cortisol transfers to milk and resists the high temperature during milk processing. This study evaluated the relationship between milk cortisol concentration (MCC) in commercial milk products and the temperature-humidity index (THI) at time of milk production. Eleven commercially produced pasteurized and sterilized milk products, purchased in Chuncheon, Korea, with production dates ranging from July to October 2021 were analyzed. The MCC was extracted using diethyl ether and analyzed using enzyme immunoassay. Average THI values based on microclimate data provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration were 77±0.8, 75±1.4, 69±1.4, and 58±1.8, in July, August, September, and October, respectively. The average MCC levels were 211.9±95.1, 173.5±63.8, 109.6±53.2, and 106.7±33.7 pg/mL in July, August, September, and October, respectively. MCC in July was higher than in August, September and October (p<0.05), while it was lower in September and October than in August (p<0.05). Significant variations in MCC were observed in commercial milk products across the four production months (p<0.05), except for two milk products. Overall, monitoring cortisol residue in commercial dairy milk products can be an alternative indicator of stress in dairy cattle of farms.

Plants have acquired sets of highly regulated and complex signaling pathways to respond to unfavorable environmental conditions during evolution. Calcium signaling, as a vital mechanism, enables plants to respond to external stimuli, including abiotic and biotic stresses, and coordinate the basic processes of the growth and development. In the present study, the calcium sensor families, including CBL and CIPK, were investigated in the halophyte plant, Aeluropus littoralis, with a comprehensive analysis. Here, six AlCBL genes, and twenty AlCIPK genes were presented. The analysis of the gene structure and conserved motifs, as well as physicochemical properties, showed that these genes are highly conserved during evolution. The expression levels of AlCBL genes and AlCIPK genes were evaluated under salt stress in leaf and root tissue. Based on the real-time RT-PCR results, AlCIPK gene family had a higher variation in mRNA abundance compared to the AlCBL gene family. The AlCIPKs were found to have a higher abundance in leaves than in roots. The results suggest that the interaction pattern of AlCBL genes with AlCIPK is tissue-specific, and different interactions can be expected in leaves and roots. Based on these patterns AlCIPK3.1 - AlCBL4.1 and AlCIPK1.2 - AlCBL4.4 can interact in root tissue, while the AlCBL10 has the potential to interact with the AlCIPK5, AlCIPK26 and AlCIPK12.3 in the leaf tissue. These findings provide valuable information on the structure and function of calcium sensor families in Aeluropus littoralis a halophyte plant, for future research on the biological function of CBLs and CIPKs on salt stress resistance.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant macronutrient; however, its availability is often limited in soils. Plants have evolved complex mechanisms for efficient phosphate (Pi) absorption, which are responsive to changes in external and internal Pi concentration, and orchestrated through local and systemic responses. To explore these systemic Pi responses, here, we identified AtMYB44 as a phloem-mobile mRNA, an Arabidopsis homolog of Cucumis sativus MYB44, that is responsive to the Pi-starvation stress. qRT-PCR assays revealed that AtMYB44 was up-regulated and expressed in both shoot and root in response to Pi-starvation stress. The atmyb44 mutant displayed higher shoot and root biomass, compared to wild-type plants, under Pi-starvation conditions. Interestingly, the expression of PHOSPHATE TRANSPORTER1;2 (PHT1;2) and PHT1;4 was enhanced in atmyb44 in response to a Pi-starvation treatment. A split-root assay showed that AtMYB44 expression was systemically regulated, under Pi-starvation conditions and, in atmyb44, systemic controls on PHT1;2 and PHT1;4 expression were moderately disrupted. Heterografting assays confirmed graft transmission of AtMYB44 transcripts, and PHT1;2 and PHT1;4 expression was decreased in heterografted atmyb44 rootstocks. Taken together, our findings support the hypothesis that mobile AtMYB44 mRNA serves as a long-distance Pi response signal, which negatively regulates Pi transport and utilization in Arabidopsis.

Background: As the impacts of diabetes-induced reproductive damage are now evident in young people, we are now in an urgent need to devise new ways to protect and enhance the reproductive health of diabetic people. The purpose of this study was to assess the protective impact of enalapril (an ACE inhibitor) and paricalcitol (a vitamin D analogue) alone and in combination, on streptozotocin (STZ) diabetes-induced testicular dysfunction in rats. Material and methods: This study was carried on 50 male Sprague-Dawley rats; 10 normal rats were allocated as non-diabetic control group. 40 rats developed diabetes after receiving a single dose of STZ, then the diabetic rats were divided into four groups of equivalent number assigned as diabetic control, enalapril treated, paricalcitol treated, in addition to combined enalapril and paricalcitol treated groups. The effects of mono and combined therapy with paricalcitol and enalapril on testicular functions, sperm activity, glycemic state oxidative stress and inflammatory parameters as well as histopathological examination were assessed when compared to the normal and diabetic control rats. Results: As a result of diabetes induction, epididymal sperm count, sperm motility, serum levels of testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) as well as luteinizing hormone (LH) and the antioxidant enzyme activities were significantly decreased, while abnormal sperm (%), insulin resistance, nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were significantly increased, along with sever distortion of testicular structure. Interestingly, treatment with paricalcitol and enalapril either alone or in combination significantly improved the sperm parameters, increased antioxidant enzyme activities in addition to serum levels of testosterone, FSH and LH, reduced insulin resistance, IL-6 and TNF-α levels and finally ameliorated the diabetes-induced testicular oxidative stress and histopathological damage with somewhat superior effect for paricalcitol monotherapy and combined therapy with both drugs than monotherapy with enalapril alone. Conclusion: Monotherapy with paricalcitol and its combination therapy with enalapril has a somewhat superior effect in improving the diabetes-induced testicular dysfunction (most probably as a result of their hypoglycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties), than monotherapy with enalapril alone in male rats, recommending a synergistic impact of both drugs.

The hemodynamic activity of Melipona flavolineata workers was evaluated during restraint stress for a period of 30 minutes. The observed parameters were power variation in the elapsed time, and subsequently six periods of one second were divided and called: A, B, C, D, E and F; in each period the electrocardiographic parameters were evaluated: Heart rate, Amplitude, R-R Interval, Duration of QRS and Q-T interval. The experiment was carried out with 8 worker bees of M. flavolineata, for which electrodes with nickel-chromium alloy were made. The bees were previously anesthetized with isoflurane and properly contained and fixed in a base for stereotaxis in which the electrode was implanted. All these procedures were performed inside a Faraday cage. The results showed power oscillations during the recording with the highest energy level between 300 and 600 s. Heart rate, QRS amplitude and QRS duration parameters underwent changes recorded during the restraint stress period. However, for the Q-T interval there was no difference during the recordings. Thus, the cardiac activity of M. flavolineata can be used as a biomarker and being used to clarify physiological issues or alterations caused by toxic agents and indicate risk factors for these animals.

Galanthus elwesii Hook is an important plant species of the Amaryllidaceae family and is used for medicinal purposes with its valuable bioactive compounds. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of foliar salicylic acid (SA) and zinc (Zn) treatments on proline, carotenoid, chlorophyll content and anti-oxidant enzyme activity in G. elwesii. The ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) enzyme activity, and protein contents were determined with ascorbate oxidation, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and Bradford experiments, respectively. The plants were treated with three different concentrations of SA (0.5, 1, and 2 mM) and, and Zn (40, 80, and 120 mM) were compared with the control. Fresh leaves were harvested in the study. APX (3.99 ± 0.58 EU/mg protein) and CAT (154.64 ± 4.10 EU/mg protein) were obtained from Zn 80 and 120 mM treatments at the highest level, respectively. Proline, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid content increased 12.4, 1.54 and 3.95-fold, respectively, in 0.5 mM SA treatments when matched with control group. It was found that increasing doses of SA and Zn increased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), but this was not at a significant level. The total chlorophyll content increased 2.27-fold in Zn 120 mM + SA 2 mM treatment and the chlorophyll content increased 2.41-fold in Zn 40 mM + SA 1 mM treatment.

Background Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex condition that represents a significant burden in terms of individual disability and societal costs. Despite decades of research investigating treatment options, PTSD remains a major cause of quality-of-life impairment. We hypothesized that patients with PTSD might benefit from peripheral somatosensory stimulation (PSS) therapy. Methods Six adult patients with clinically diagnosed PTSD were enrolled to undergo daily PSS therapy over a 4-week period. Patients completed two surveys evaluating satisfaction with treatment and overall well-being (Survey 1) and severity of PTSD symptoms (Survey 2). Survey 1 was completed weekly during the course of the study. Survey 2 was based on the 9-question National Stressful Events Survey PTSD Short Scale (NSESSS) and was completed as a baseline prior to initiation of therapy and then at the conclusion of the trial. All data were analyzed by an independent statistician. Results Six male patients were enrolled in the study; all completed the trial. All patients demonstrated a decrease in symptoms within one week of initiation of therapy. This benefit was sustained and appeared to further improve over the course of the trial. For Survey 1, the overall median scores demonstrated a significant time-dependent improvement across measurement times (p < 0.001). For Survey 2, patients had statistically significant improvements from baseline regarding feelings of being emotionally upset and being overly alert. Results from a cumulative link mixed model demonstrated that treatment yielded a 38.2-fold higher likelihood of transitioning from a higher PTSD score at baseline to a lower (improved) score at week 4. No adverse events were described by the patients. Conclusions PSS stimulation appeared to improve symptoms in all six patients with PTSD symptoms in this trial. Patients had unanimous and clinically meaningful improvement in overall PTSD symptoms with treatment. By week 4, all patients responded that they enjoyed the treatment and would like to keep their device. We suggest that further investigation into the potential usefulness of PSS therapy in patients with PTSD is warranted.

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

Objectives To delineate the features of ischemic stroke patients and their caregivers that may predict distress, depression, and anxiety symptoms in the caregivers. Methods The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS), Zarit Burden Interview (22 item-ZBI), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were used to assess caregivers' burden, stress, depressive, and anxiety symptoms. We performed partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in order to delineate a multi-step mediation model.Results In this study, 97 stroke patients and their caregivers were included. Multiple regression analysis revealed that ZBI-personal strain and stroke of other determined etiology explained 15.0 percent of the variance in the HADS depression score (p=0.001). We discovered that the caregiver's underlying disease and the National Institute Stroke Score (NIHSS) of the patients explained 13.6 percent of the variance in the total ZBI score of the caregivers (p=0.001). The total ZBI score, the presence of lacunar circulation infarction in the patients, and the caregiver's underlying disease explained 40.9 percent of the variance in the total PSS score of the caregivers (p <0.001). Moreover, PLS analysis showed that the NIHSS and the caregiver's underlying disease had significant indirect effects on the HADS score which were mediated by the ZBI score. Conclusions A large part of the variance in stress and depressive scores in caregivers of ischemic stroke patients is determined by the patient's disability, dependency, cognition, and stroke phenotypes, as well as the caregiver's health status and burden. Screening for the aforementioned factors in ischemic stroke caregivers is critical.

This paper aims to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social workers and the social work profession in Romania. Research has shown that social work is a profession at high risk for developing the burnout syndrome, which has many detrimental effects on both social workers and the clients that they serve. Two conceptual models are used to frame the discussion: the theoretical framework of VUCA (volatility, uncer-tainty, complexity, and ambiguity) to discuss the challenges of the unprecedented context the COVID-19 pandemic has created for social workers; stress and burnout to explain the negative impact of this period of time. Based on convergent mixt methods, the study sample consisted of 83 social workers employed in statutory and private social services in Romania, from different fields of intervention. Results show that 25,3% of respondents suffer from a high level of burnout and 44.6% scored in a range that indicate a medium level of burnout. A group of 31.1% have managed to handle stress factors in a healthy manner. Main stressors found are especially personal (fear of contamination, personal and family) and work-related factors (workload, new legislative rules and decisions, inconsistency, instability, ambiguity of managerial decisions, or even their absence or non-assumption, lack of clarity of working procedures, limited managerial and supervisory support, limited financial resources), less than client related factors (lack of direct contact, risk of contami-nation in two ways, managing beneficiaries fears, difficulties related to technology and digital skills). Study results point to the importance of organizational support and developing a self-care plan that help protect against occupational stress and burnout. Recommendations are made putting forward the voice of fieldworkers and managers fostering initiatives and applications of sustainability-based measures and activities designed to deal with the challenges of the VUCA environment.

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

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is an important factor of stress tolerance in microbial cells. In yeast, the major enzyme of polyP biosynthesis is Vtc4, a subunit of the vacuole transporter chaperone (VTC) complex. In this study, we demonstrated that Vtc4 knockout in Saccharomyces cerevisiae not only decreased polyP content but also caused shifts in the composition of the intracellular polyP pool and changed the stress tolerance profile. In the mutant S. cerevisiae, the level of short-chain acid-soluble polyPs was decreased nearly 10-fold, whereas that of longer acid-insoluble polyPs was decreased only 2-fold, suggesting the existence of other enzymes compensating the production of long-chain polyPs. The Δvtc4 mutant showed inhibition of Mg2+-dependent phosphate uptake and decreased resistance to alkaline stress but increased tolerance to oxidation and heavy metal ions, especially Mn2+. Quantitative PCR revealed the upregulation of the DDR2 gene implicated in multiple stress responses and downregulation of PHO84 encoding a phosphate and Mn2+ transporter, which could account for the effects on phosphate uptake and Mn2+-related stress response in the Δvtc4 mutant. Our study indicates that short-chain polyPs, plays an important role in the regulation of stress response in yeast.

The study aimed to determine the effect of heat stress (HS) on reproductive parameters [calving to first service (CTFS) and first service conception rate (FSCR)] and general physiological responses [rectal temperature (RT) and respiratory rate (RR)] in tropical Holstein Friesian dairy cows raised in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Cows were divided into a moderate HS (n = 22) and a mild HS (n = 22) group. Cycling cows were detected and injected with PGF2α at the beginning of the experimental period. Reproductive and physiological parameters were recorded. The average temperature humidity indices experienced by the cows were 80.67 ± 0.79 and 77.81 ± 1.09 for the moderate and mild HS groups, respectively. Cows showed significantly lower RT and RR in the mild (38.47 ± 0.21°C and 41.04 ± 4.55 bpm, respectively) than in the moderate HS group (38.87 ± 0.15°C and 51.17 ± 10.52 bpm). Under mild HS, cows showed a better response to injection of PGF2α than those under moderate HS. The percentage of cows that ovulated after being induced by PGF2α and showed estrus signs was higher in the mild than the moderate HS groups (54.55% versus 18.18%). Furthermore, the FSCR of cows under mild HS tended to be higher than in the moderate HS group (54.55 % and 42.11%, respectively), while the average CTFS interval was significantly shorter under mild than moderate HS (69.47 ± 18.18 and 84.60 ± 27.68, respectively). These results indicate that HS impairs reproductive performance in cross-bred Holstein cows, especially in moderate HS conditions.

Consumption of poultry meat is higher than red meat due to easy availability, good taste, low cost and palatability. Significant improvement in meat yield and growth rate of broiler chicken has been brought about with the help of genetic selection of desirable traits. The present study was conducted to comparatively evaluate the chronic effect of domestic and broiler chicken meat consumption on male hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis, lipid profile and oxidative stress on postnatal male rats. Rats were divided into five groups: control, B1, B2, D1 and D2 groups and were fed with 0.17g and 0.34g of broiler and domestic chicken meat from postnatal day 21 to PND90.The significant elevated body weight and weight gain in B2 group (P<0.01), minor change in B1 and D40 group (P<0.05) were detected. In gonadosomatic index absolute and relative epididymis weight, weight of seminal vesical and Prostate weight was significantly augmented in B2 compared to control and D2. Kidney and liver weight in B1, B2 was markedly elevated and minor change in D2 groups. ROS level in B2 was significantly higher than other experimental groups. Serum level of FSH, LH, testosterone, estradiol and low density lipoprotein was significantly elevated in B2 compared to control and D2. In B2 rats fed with 0.34g broiler meat exhibited a marked decreased seminiferous tubule diameter, epithelial height and increased lumen diameter changes that were more prominent compared to rats fed with 0.34g domestic chicken meat. Conclusively chronic administration of broiler meat induces marked alteration in reproductive system, testicular morphology, sexual hormones and oxidative stress in postnatal Sprague Dawley male rats compared to domestic chicken meat.

We conducted this study to determine the potential cryopreservative effects of different hesperidin (vitamin P; HSP) doses on ram semen after freeze-thawing. Semen samples were obtained from Sönmez rams by an artificial vagina. The samples were divided into six groups: control, 10, 50, 100, 250, and 500 µg/mL HSP (C, HSP10, HSP50, HSP100, HSP250, and HSP500, respectively). At the end of the study, sperm motility and kinetic parameters, plasma membrane acrosome integrity (PMAI), high mitochondrial membrane potential (HMMP), viability, lipid peroxidation levels (LPL), chromatin damage, oxidant parameters, and antioxidant parameters were assayed. None of the doses of HSP added to the semen extender showed any enhancing effect on progressive motility compared to C (p>0.05). In fact, HSP500 had negative effects (p<0.05). Moreover, PMI activities were the highest at the HSP10 dose, while LPL values were the lowest (p<0.05). The doses of HSP10 and HSP50 added to the Tris extender medium showed positive effects on spermatozoon chromatin damage. Consequently, we can say that HSP doses used in this study are not effective on semen progressive motility, but the HSP10 dose is effective on PMAI and chromatin damage by reducing LPL.

Formidable and often seemingly insurmountable conceptual, technical, and methodological challenges hamper the measurement of oxidative stress in humans. For instance, fraught and flawed methods, such as the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay kits for lipid peroxidation, rate-limit progress. To advance translational redox research, we present ten comprehensive “cheat codes” for measuring oxidative stress in humans. The cheat codes include analytical approaches to assess reactive oxygen species, antioxidants, biomarkers of oxidative damage and redox regulation. They provide essential conceptual, technical, and methodological information inclusive of curated “do” and “don’t” guidelines. Given the biochemical complexity of oxidative stress, we present a research question-grounded decision tree guide for selecting the most appropriate cheat code (s) to implement in a prospective human experiment. Worked examples demonstrate the benefits of the decision tree-based cheat code selection tool. The ten cheat codes define an invaluable resource for measuring oxidative stress in humans.

Cold stress is a major environmental factor affecting the growth, development, and productivity of various crop species. With the current trajectory of global climate change, low temperatures are becoming more frequent and can significantly decrease crop yield. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the first crop to be domesticated and is the most popular cereal crop in the world. Due to a lack of systematic research on cold response pathways and gene regulatory networks, the underlying molecular mechanisms of cold signal transduction in wheat are poorly understood. This study reviews recent progress in wheat, including the ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathway in cold stress and the effects of cold stress on hormonal pathways, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and epigenetic regulation. This review also highlights outstanding issues that are crucial for understanding the interactions between wheat and low-temperature conditions.

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factors (MIF) are pivotal cytokines/chemokines for vertebrate immune systems. MIFs are typically soluble single-domain proteins that are conserved across plant, fungal, protist, and metazoan kingdoms but their functions have not been determined in most phylogenetic groups. Here we describe an atypical multidomain MIF protein. The marine dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedra produces a transmembrane protein with an extra-cytoplasmic MIF domain, which localizes to cell wall-associated membranes and vesicular bodies. This protein is also present in the membranes of extracellular vesicles accumulating at the secretory pores of the cells. Upon exposure to biotic stress, L. polyedra exhibits reduced expression of the MIF gene and reduced abundance of the surface-associated protein. These findings indicate that the transmembrane MIF may contribute to intercellular communication and/or interactions between free-living organisms in multispecies planktonic communities and raise the question of possible analogies in MIF functions between cells of metazoan organisms and protist communities.

For crystal periodic structure prediction, a new and concise approach based on the principles of statistical physics was employed to derive a new form of the equation to determine their period vectors (cell edge vectors), under general external stress. Then the new form is applicable to both classical physics and quantum physics. It also turned out to be the equation of state and the mechanical equilibrium condition for crystals under external stress and temperature. It should be helpful in piezoelectric and piezomagnetic studies, as the period vectors were changed by the external stress. For linear elastic crystals, it is actually also the microscopic but temperature-dependent form of the generalized Hooke's law, then can be used to calculate the corresponding elastic constants of the law, for given temperatures.

Oxidative stress, characterized by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the body's antioxidant defenses, significantly affects cellular function and viability. It plays a pivotal role in modulating action potentials (APs), essential for properly functioning excitable cells such as neurons, smooth muscles, pancreatic beta cells, and myocytes. The interaction between oxidative stress and AP dynamics is crucial for understanding the pathophysiology of various conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiac arrhythmias, and ischemia-reperfusion injuries. This review explores how oxidative stress influences APs, focusing on alterations in ion channel functionality, signaling pathways, and membrane properties. By integrating current research, we aim to elucidate how oxidative stress contributes to disease progression and discuss potential therapeutic interventions targeting this interaction.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder influenced by genetic and environmental factors, including diet. Oxidative stress and inflammation play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Nutritional deficiencies, such as lack of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and B vitamins, during prenatal and postnatal periods can nega-tively impact neurodevelopment and increase the risk of schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia show imbalances in antioxidant enzymes such as: glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and reduced levels of antioxidants (vitamin E, vitamin C), leading to increased oxidative stress markers such as malondialdehyde (MDA). Cytokine-mediated inflammation, microglial activation, and gut dysbiosis are associated with schizophrenia onset and symptom severity. There is no clear and universally accepted diet for the treatment of schizophrenia, which is considered the most popular. However, various diets and nutritional methods are being researched and applied to alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia and improve the general health of patients, including the mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, gluten-free diet and DASH diet. A healthy diet rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients can help manage schizophrenia by reducing oxidative stress, preventing complications, and improving quality of life. Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B vitamins are par-ticularly important for brain development and function. In this review we will focus on the influence of diet on schizophrenia. Additional research is needed to develop per-sonalized dietary recommendations for patients with schizophrenia.

In obesity, white adipose tissue expresses inflammatory cytokines leading to insulin resistance. Non-physiological meta-tyrosine and ortho-tyrosine (meta-Tyr and ortho-Tyr), produced from phenylalanine by free radicals, may contribute to the development of insulin resistance. The resulting insulin resistance may have a significant impact on macrophage function. In this study we aim to investigate microscopically the effect of meta- and ortho-Tyr on insulin sensitivity and M1/M2 polarization of macrophages using Akt phosphorylation and the arginase 1/iNOS ratio. Macrophage cell lines were cultured in media containing para-, meta- or ortho-Tyr, 5 mmol/L or 25 mmol/L glucose (para25-Tyr group) and treated with insulin. Para25, meta- and ortho-Tyr increased pAkt levels and decreased the arginase 1/iNOS ratio in macrophages in the absence of insulin. In the case of physiological para-tyrosine treatment, insulin increased the amount of pAkt and decreased the arginase 1/iNOS ratio. Both meta- and ortho-Tyr treatment were able to abolish or reverse the insulin’s increasing effect on pAkt and the decreasing effect on arginase 1/iNOS ratio. Our results suggest that non-physiological tyrosine isomers may affect the insulin signaling of macrophages and influence their M1/M2 polarization.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a progressive blinding disease that affects vision and quality of life of patients and severely impacts society. This complication, caused by abnormal glucose metabolism, leads to structural, functional, molecular, and biochemical abnormalities in the retina. Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation also play pivotal roles in the pathogenic process of DR, leading to mitochondrial damage and decrease in the mitochondrial function. DR causes retinal degeneration in glial and neural cells, while the disappearance of pericytes in retinal blood vessels leads to modifications in vascular regulation and stability. Clinical changes include dilatation and blood flow alterations in response to the reduce in retinal perfusion in retinal blood vessels, leading to vascular leakage, neovascularization and neurodegeneration. Thus, DR is a highly complex disease with various biological factors that contribute to its pathogenesis. The interplay between biochemical pathways and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is essential for understanding the development and progression of DR. Abnormal expression of ncRNAs has been confirmed to promote the development of DR, suggesting that ncRNAs such as miRNAs, lnc-RNAs and circ-RNAs have potential as diagnostic biomarkers and theranostic targets in DR. This review provides an overview of interactions between abnormal biochemical pathways and dysregulated expression of ncRNAs under the influence of hyperglycemic environment in DR.

The sustainable development goals(SDG) of the UNO would be difficult to achieve without prevention of metabolic diseases and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Western diet and lifestyle, which are major risk factors of NCDs, are known to cause oxidative stress and decrease in production of molecular hydrogen in the intestines which leads to a decline in endogenous antioxidant status in the body, leading to increase in systemic inflammation. Many experts consider molecular hydrogen as a potential nutrient, which may be administered as gas in the body. There are gaps in the knowledge about the role molecular hydrogen plays, in the treatment of metabolic diseases and other NCDs This review aims to discuss the role of hydrogen in the pathogenesis and prevention of NCDs. Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been studied extensively as a therapeutic gas, with an estimated 2000 publications to date, exploring its potential therapeutic use in 170 disease models across every organ in the mammalian body. Hydrogen therapy can be administered through several methods, such as H2 inhalation, dissolving H2 gas in water to make hydrogen-rich water (HRW) for oral consumption or topical application, or hydrogen-rich saline. The exact mechanism of action of molecular hydrogen is not known but it is in itself a potential antioxidant that can also inhibit hydroxyl and nitrosyl radicals in the cells and tissues. Hydrogen is known to cause a marked decline in oxidative stress, and inflammation that are crucial in the pathogenesis of NCDs. Hydrogen therapy has been found protective against NCDs, including, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), neurodegenerative diseases, chronic kidney disease, cancer and chronic lung diseases.

The significance of diversity, composition, and functional attributes of the gut microbiota is recognized in human health and disease. Studies have also shown that the gut microbiota is related to human aging, and a causal relationship between gut microflora dysbiosis and chronic age-related disorders is also becoming apparent. Further, emerging evidence indicates that age-associated changes in the gut microbiome are predictors of human survival and longevity. Recent advances in our understanding of the cellular and molecular aspects of biological aging have revealed a cellular senescence-centric view of the aging process. However, the association between gut microbiome and cellular senescence is only beginning to be understood. The present review provides an integrative view of the emerging relationship between the gut microbiome and cellular senescence in aging and disease. Evidence relating to microbiome-mediated modulation of senescent cells, as well as senescent cells-mediated changes in intestinal homeostasis have been discussed. Unanswered questions and future research directions have also been deliberated to truly ascertain the relationship of the gut microbiome and cellular senescence for developing microbiome-based age-delaying and longevity promoting therapies.

The objective of this study was to evaluate biomarkers of heat stress (HS) from automatic milking system (AMS), the relationships between measurements of temperature-humidity index (THI) and reticulorumen ph and temperature and some automatic milking systems parameters in dairy cows (rumination time (RT), milk traits, body weight (BW) and consumption of concentrate (CC)) during summer period. The experiment was carried out on a dairy farm at 54.9587408, 23.784146. Lithuanian Black and White dairy cows (n=365) were selected. The cows were milked with Lely Astronaut® A3 milking robots with free traffic. The rations were calculated to meet physiological requirements of the animals. Daily milk yield, rumination time, body weight, milk fat and protein ratio were collected from the Lely T4C management program for analysis. The pH and temperature of the contents of cow reticulorumen were measured using specific smaX-tec boluses manufactured for animal care. The daily humidity and air temperature in the farm zone were obtained from the adjacent weather station (2 km away). According this study during HS, the higher THI had positive correlation with ML, which show tendencies to increase risk of mastitis, and decrease CC, RT, BW, MY, reticulorumen ph and F/P. Some biomarkers of HS can be milk yield, milk lactose, somatic cell count, concentrate conception, rumination time, body weight, reticulorumen ph and milk fat – protein ratio. We can recommend to monitoring these parameters in the herd management program to identify possibility of heat stress.

There is growing evidence on the relevance of self-efficacy for well-being and functioning among individuals with psychotic disorders, but specific self-efficacy for coping with stress has rarely been investigated. This study explored the outcomes of an intervention for the improvement of coping resources based on a training in coping skills and coping with stress self-efficacy (CSSE). Fourteen adult volunteers who were diagnosed with schizophrenia (n=12) or schizoaffective disorder (n=2) were matched in clinical and sociodemographic characteristics and randomly assigned to the study groups. The intervention group received the training along with their pharmacological therapy; the control group received their prescribed drug therapy. Participants completed self-reports on CSSE, perceived successful daily functioning based on coping skills, and clinical status (BPRS-E). Trained patients showed a significant increase in CSSE and reported greater successful functioning status, and significant improvements in their clinical status were also observed. All these enhancements remained at 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. Control participants showed no significant changes. Moreover, the intervention condition interacted with CSSE and perceived coping functioning in explaining improvements in clinical status: in the treatment group, greater CSSE translated into enhanced daily functioning, and this improvement predicted better clinical status. These findings stress the relevance of promoting coping resources in psychotic disorders and provide preliminary evidence for the potential benefits of CSSE.

The heavy-metal-associated (HMA) proteins are a class of PB1-Type ATPases related to the intracellular transport and detoxification of metals. However, due to a lack of information regarding the HMA gene family in the Cucurbitaceae family, a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of the HMA family was performed in ten Cucurbitaceae species: Citrullus amarus, Citrullus colocynthis, Citrullus lanatus, Citrullus mucosospermus, Cucumis melo, Cucumis sativus, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita pepo, and Legenaria siceraria. We identified 103 Cucurbit HMA proteins with various members, ranging from 8 (Legenaria siceraria) to 14 (Cucurbita pepo) across species. The phylogenetic and structural analysis confirmed that the Cucurbitaceae HMA protein family could be further classified into two major clades: Zn/Co/Cd/Pb and Cu/Ag. GO annotation-based subcellular localization analysis predicted that all HMA gene family members were localized on membranes. Moreover, the analysis of conserved motifs and gene structure (intron/exon) revealed the functional divergence between clades. Interspecies microsynteny analysis demonstrated that maximum orthologous genes were found between species of the Citrullus genera. Finally, nine candidates HMA genes were selected, and their expression analysis was carried out via qRT-PCR in root, leaf, flower, and fruit tissues of C. pepo under arsenic stress. The expression pattern of the CpeHMA genes showed a distinct pattern of expression in root and shoot tissues, with a remarkable expression of CpeHMA6 and CpeHMA3 genes from the Cu/Ag clade. Overall, this study provides insights into the functional analysis of the HMA gene family in Cucurbitaceae species and lays down the basic knowledge to explore the role and mechanism of the HMA gene family to cope with arsenic stress conditions.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most cultivated forage legume around the world. Under a variety of growing conditions, forage yield in alfalfa is stymied by biotic and abiotic stresses including heat, salt, drought, and disease. Given the sessile nature of plants, they use strategies such as differential gene expression to respond to environmental cues. Transcription factors control the expression of genes that contribute to or enable tolerance and survival during periods of stress. Basic-leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors have been demonstrated to play a critical role in regulating plant growth and development as well as mediate the responses to abiotic stress in several species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, Lotus japonicus, and Medicago truncatula. However, there is little information about bZIP transcription factors in cultivated alfalfa. In the present study, 237 bZIP genes were identified in alfalfa from publicly available sequencing data. Multiple sequence alignments showed the presence of intact bZIP motifs in the identified sequences. Based on previous phylogenetic analyses in Arabidopsis thaliana, alfalfa bZIPs were similarly divided and fell into 10 groups. The physicochemical properties, motif analysis, and phylogenetic study of the alfalfa bZIPs revealed high specificity within groups. The differential expression of alfalfa bZIPs in a suite of tissues indicates that particular bZIP genes are specifically expressed at different developmental stages in alfalfa. Similarly, expression analysis in response to ABA, cold, drought, and salt stresses, indicates that a subset of bZIP genes are also differentially expressed and likely play a role in abiotic stress signaling and/or tolerance. These expression patterns were further verified by qRT-PCR. However, further functional characterization of bZIP transcription factors in alfalfa will help illuminate the role they play in stress tolerance mechanisms in legumes and facilitate the molecular breeding of stress tolerance in alfalfa.

Teaching is considered a multifarious task. Teachers, in the pursuit of educational success, are burdened with numerous teaching workloads and dilemmas causing them stress. This study endeavored to determine the influence of stress on professional satisfaction of multigrade teachers. It employed correlation research design involving thirty (30) purposively selected multigrade teachers in the Schools Division of General Santos City (GSC), Southern Philippines. Employing the survey method, tailored questionnaires were utilized to gather the needed data. The statistical tools employed in the analysis were weighted mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Moderate level of stress and high level of professional satisfaction are gained among the multigrade teachers surveyed. It was further found out that there is no significant relationship between stress and professional satisfaction, providing evidence that stress may not necessarily influence satisfaction. This result offers unique implications in theory, practice, and research which are discussed in the study.

Human exposure to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can cause health issues due to their chemical–physical features and biological interactions. These nanostructures cause oxidative stress, also due to endogenous ROS production, which increases following mitochondrial impairment. The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the health effects, due to mitochondrial dysfunction, caused by a sub-chronic exposure to a non-acutely toxic dose of multi walled CNTs (raw and functionalised). The A549 cells were exposed to MWCNTs (2 µg mL^-1) for 36 days. Periodically, cellular dehydrogenases, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1), cytochrome c release, permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening, transmembrane potential (Δψ m), apoptotic cells, and intracellular ROS were measured. The results, compared to untreated cells and to positive control formed by cells treated with MWCNTs (20 µg mL^-1), highlighted the efficiency of homeostasis to counteract ROS overproduction, but a restitutio ad integrum of mitochondrial functionality was not observed. Despite the tendency to restore, the mitochondrial impairment persisted. Overall, the results underlined the tissue damage that can arise following sub-chronic exposure to MWCNTs.

A metastable β-Ti alloy, Ti–10V–3Fe–3Al (wt.%), was subjected to thermos-mechanical processing including the compression test at 725°C, which is below the β transus temperature (780°C), and at strain rate of 10-3s-1. The presence of phases was determined using transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Although the dynamic recovery took place together with slip, both deformation-induced α˝ martensite and ω were detected as other operating mechanisms for the first time in metastable-β Ti alloys deformed in α+β region. The volume fraction of stress-induced α˝ was higher than that of the same alloy deformed at room temperature due to higher strain applied. Stress-induced twinning was not operational, which could be related to the priority of slip mechanism at high temperature resulted from thermally-assisted nucleation and lateral migration of kink-pairs.

Objective: This research was aimed to estimate the anti-fatigue effects of arecoline and elucidate its underlying mechanisms using a murine model of central fatigue precipitated by sleep deprivation (SD). Methods: Seventy-two male C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated into six groups: a control group, a SD-induced fatigue model group, a group receiving Rhodiola Rosea capsules (2.5 mg/kg), and arecoline groups administered low, medium, and high doses (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg, respectively). Following 28 days of continuous administrations, the effects of arecoline on the mouse fatigue-related behaviors was assessed by the behavioral tests, including grip strength, rotarod performance, and weight-bearing swimming endurance. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were utilized to measure the levels of the relevant biochemical markers. Western blotting was employed to quantify the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), sequestosome-1 (p62), and NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in the gastrocnemius muscle. Results: Arecoline administration notably enhanced grip strength, delayed the onset of fatigue as evidenced by extended latencies in rotarod tests, and increased the duration of weight-bearing swimming in mice. In the elevated plus maze, arecoline significantly reduced both the number of entries and the total distance traveled in the open arms. Arecoline markedly decreased serum levels of creatine kinase, blood urea nitrogen, lactate dehydrogenase, triglycerides, and cholesterol, while elevated total testosterone, lactate dehydrogenase, and immunoglobulin G levels. Furthermore, it significantly increased superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase(CAT), and glutathione peroxidase activity in the gastrocnemius muscle, reduced malondialdehyde levels, augmented hippocampal SOD and CAT activity, and elevated glycogen stores in both liver and muscle tissues. Neurotransmitter levels were significantly increased, cytokine levels were markedly reduced, and the expression of Nrf2, Keap1, NQO1, p62, and HO-1 in brain tissue was significantly upregulated. Conclusion: The current study for the first time demonstrated that arecoline has significant anti-fatigue activity, and its mechanism of action is related to elevate the levels of glucose and lipid metabolism, relieve oxidative stress damage, inhibit neuroinflammatory response, regulate neurotransmitter levels and Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway. The current study provides a new insight into the potential of arecoline in prevention and improvement of fatigue.

Introduction: Lack of certainty or knowledge in health professions generates uncertainty, affecting clinical practice in decision-making (diagnostic or therapeutic), intervention design and therapeutic communication. In nursing, the lack of information to predict prognosis and outcome of interventions generates uncertainty: recognizing and managing it is essential for individualized, safe, and effective care. Objective: to assess uncertainty and the perception of a debriefing within the same shift ("intrathoracic pass") as a proposal for improvement. Method: ad-hoc survey of nursing professionals and Auxiliary Nursing Care Technicians (ANC). Variables: age, work experience, PRU scale (Physisicians' Reactions to Uncertainty) and additional question on intrathoracic pass. Results: Sample: 61 nurses and 10 TCAE (90.14 % female, 9.86 % male; mean age 35.18, standard deviation SD=13.04). Mean professional experience 11.74 years (SD=12.21); 56.33% had ≤4 years of experience. Origin: 49.30% Intensive Care Units (ICU), 11.27% Hospitalization, 7.04% Emergency, 1.41% Primary Care and 30.99% Other Services. The mean level of uncertainty was 27.99 points (max. possible 75; SD=7.50), with stress (mean=25.55, max. possible: 40; SD=5.24) and anxiety (mean=15.80, max. possible: 25; SD=3.05) as major manifestations. The association uncertainty-age (r=0.339; p=0.004) and uncertainty-experience (r=0.391; p=0.001) correlated negatively (the older and more experienced, the less uncertainty), with no significant differences between degrees or services. 91.55% stated that the intra-day pass was useful to reduce uncertainty during the working day. Conclusion: Uncertainty is frequent in nursing, and implementing the intrashift pass is perceived as a competent strategy.

The TGACG motif-binding factor1 (TGA1) transcription factor, a significant protein in the bZIP transcription factor family, exhibits a myriad of functions, contributes to numerous biological events, and holds substantial application potential. In this study, our analysis revealed a diverse range of photoregulatory and hormone regulatory elements within the MtTGA1 promoter region. The expression profile of MtTGA1 indicated its highest expression in the root, with its regulation influenced by SA, ABA, BR, and GA. Under salt stress conditions, transgenic plants demonstrated significantly longer root lengths and heightened activities of antioxidant enzymes such as ascorbic acid catalase (APX), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in their roots and leaves compared to control plants. Simultaneously, the levels of endogenous hormones ABA and BR escalated in transgenic plants, with a marked change in the morphology of their leaf cells. Transcriptome analysis identified a total of 193 differentially expressed genes, implicating a wide array of biological processes. Furthermore, we found that MtTGA1 is able to interact with Medicago truncatula SPX domain containing protein 1 (SPX1). In conclusion, the MtTGA1 transcription factor plays a crucial role in enhancing salt tolerance, which provides new insights for improving plant survival under salt stress conditions.

Our understanding of the long-term consequences of chronic ionising radiation for living organisms remains scarce. Modern molecular biology techniques are helpful tools for researching pollutant effects on biota. To reveal the molecular phenotype of plants growing under chronic radiation exposure, we sampled Vicia cracca L. plants in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and in areas with normal radiation backgrounds. We performed a detailed analysis of soil and gene expression patterns, and made coordinated multi-omics analyses of plant samples, including transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Chronic exposure to ionising radiation induced complex and multidirectional changes, including significant alterations in the metabolism and gene expression patterns of irradiated plants. We revealed profound changes in carbon metabolism, nitrogen reallocation, and photosynthesis. These plants were characterised by increased DNA damage, redox imbalance, and stress response reactions. The upregulation of histones, chaperones, peroxidases, and secondary metabolism were noted.

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.

Iris laevigata Fisch. is a perennial aquatic plant with strong cold resistance and showy flowers. However, the flowering period of a single flower is only two days, greatly limiting its potential use in landscaping and the cutting-flower industry. In addition, I. laevigata is often challenged with various abiotic stresses including high salinity and drought in its native habitat. Thus, breeding novel cultivars with prolonged flowering time and higher resistance to abiotic stress is of high importance. In this study, we first performed genome-wide identification of WRKYs, key transcription factors in modulating flowering time and abiotic stress responses. We overexpressed IlWRKY22 in Arabidopsis thaliana and found the flowering time was delayed in the transgenic plants. Molecular characterization further revealed that IlWRKY22 promotes the expression of CO and GA20OX genes in the photoperiod and gibberellin pathways, respectively, and inhibits the expression of SPL3 in the aging pathway. We also created transgenic Nicotiana tabacum overexpressing IlWRKY22, which showed significantly improved resistance to both salt and drought compared to control plants. Specifically, the photosynthetic rate, maximum potential quantum efficiency of Photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and chlorophyll content were higher in the transgenic plants, which was accompanied with higher antioxidant enzyme activity and lower levels of reactive oxygen species. Thus, our study revealed a unique dual function of IlWRKY22, an excellent candidate gene for breeding novel I. laevigata cultivars of desirable traits.

Testicular heat stress is a well described phenomenon that occurs in mammals that possess a scrotum. Different models to induce testicular hyperthermia, such as surgical cryptorchidism, hot water bath, scrotal insulation or increased environmental temperature have all shown that spermatocytes and spermatids are unambiguously affected by high temperature, resulting in poor sperm production weeks later. Furthermore, a body of evidence suggest the involvement of oxidative stress is either a major or contributory pathway, which gives rise to the potential to overcome this condition. Whilst experimental models conclusively show the deleterious effect of testicular heat on sperm quality, the physiological relevance of the work is still debated. Herein we summarise a cohort of studies that report the effect of “season” on sperm quality. The data show season can affect sperm production, motility and morphology depending on where the work was performed. In countries where temperatures drop below zero, there is evidence showing summer conditions tend to improve semen quality. However, in sub-tropical countries, some studies show a decrease in summer, whilst others show no change. Herein we offer a reasonable explanation for this apparent controversy and present a range of antioxidant supplements that may offer some protection against testicular hyperthermia.

Large aluminum alloy ring forgings are the core components of heavy-duty rocket fuel storage tanks, and the large residual stress inside the rings leads to poor shape accuracy of large thin-walled parts. The initial stress of the 2219 aluminum alloy ring blank was tested using the drilling method, and the creep constitutive coefficient of the 2219 aluminum alloy was determined through stress relaxation tests. The numerical simulation processes of thermal stress relief (TSR), vibration stress relief (VSR), and thermal-vibration stress relief (TVSR) were compared and established. Through the correlation analysis between the actual measurement results of residual stress and the simulation results, it can be seen that the strong correlation in three directions at each measurement point accounts for over 37.5%, and the moderate correlation accounts for over 62.5%. This indicates that the numerical simulation model of 2219 aluminum alloy ring containing initial residual stress can accurately reflect the size and distribution of residual stress inside the actual ring. The simulation results show that the derived constitutive model can describe the stress relaxation process of TVSR by combining a single thermal time effect stress relaxation constitutive theory with a VSR plastic deformation material model. The simulation models established above were used to calculate the residual stress homogenization ability of three types of aging. The results showed that VSR, TSR, and TVSR can homogenize and reduce the residual stress field inside the ring, improve the distribution of residual stress inside the ring, and have a better overall homogenization ability of TVSR. The VSR control has a certain effect on reducing and homogenizing residual stress, but compared with TSR and TVSR, the reduction and homogenization ability of residual stress control is limited. The homogenization control effect TVSR>TSR>VSR, and the maximum equivalent stress homogenization rates of VSR, TSR, and TVSR are 52.8%, 80.6%, and 82.2%, respectively. Then, numerical simulation technology is used to study how the initial residual stress in the blank will cause the deformation of the ring during the thin-walled machining process. The roundness error theory of the minimum containment area method is applied to evaluate the deformation degree during the thin-walled numerical machining process, and the TVSR method is used for stress regulation. The deformation law of the thin-walled machining of the ring under different aging parameters is studied.

Climate change poses a serious threat to global agricultural activity and food production. To address this issue, plant genome editing technologies have been developed to provide an alternative solution for crop improvement. Unlike conventional breeding techniques (e.g., selective breeding and mutation breeding), modern genome editing tools offer more targeted and specific alterations of the plant genome to produce crops with desired traits, such as higher yield and/or stronger resilience to the changing environment. In this review, we discuss the current development and future applications of genome editing technologies in mitigating the impacts of biotic and abiotic stresses on agriculture. We focus specifically on the CRISPR/Cas system, which has been the center of attention in the last few years as a revolutionary genome-editing tool in various species. We also conducted a bibliographic analysis on CRISPR-related papers published from 2012 to 2021 (10 years) to identify trends and possible gaps in the CRISPR/Cas-related plant research. In addition, this review article outlines the current shortcomings and challenges of employing genome editing technologies in agriculture with notes on future prospective. We believe combining conventional and more innovative technologies in agriculture would be the key to optimizing crop improvement beyond the limitations of traditional agricultural practices.

The circumstances arising from the exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected all socioeconomic areas in the last two years. The field of Education has not been an exception and the management of the situation seems to have caused an increase in the level of perceived stress of university students. On this basis, this research that aims, first, to analyze the student’s level of perceived stress during the de-escalation and return to normality period, secondly, to evaluate its relationship with life satisfaction and, finally, to detect the students' needs in stress management, has been developed. An exploratory-descriptive study of quantitative and cross-sectional nature has been carried out. 222 university students of the Childhood and Primary Education Degrees of the University of Jaén (Spain) have participated. The instruments, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) have been used. The results show a moderate and partial relationship among the dimensions of the used instruments. The obtained coefficients of determination are, Academic Performance (r² = .019) and Life Satisfaction (r² = .402), with a mean square error (SRMR) of .079. These findings show the need to develop actions within the university training program in effective stress management strategies.

Farmers and seed companies constantly require high-quality seeds with excellent agronomic performance. However, faced with environmental adversity, limited natural resources and increasing food demand around the globe, more attention has turned to improving crop plant production by implementing efficient strategies. Seed priming technology has shown promising biological improvements leading to suitable agronomic performance in crop plants under adverse environmental conditions. Seeds are subjected to controlled conditions that are conducive to complex physiological, biochemical, and molecular changes, conferring specific stress tolerance to subsequent germination and growth conditions. In this review paper, we aimed to study the recent approaches in the efficiency of hydropriming, osmopriming, chemopriming, hormopriming, nanopriming, matrix priming, biopriming, physical priming and hybrid priming procedures in the production of crop plants under environmental adversity, as well as their biological mechanism changes. All priming methods demonstrated relevant changes in the biological mechanism related to crop plant production by mitigating salinity effects, heavy metals, and flooding stress and enhancing chilling, heat, drought and phytopathogen tolerance. We strongly recommend that researchers combine multiple priming methods, known as hybrid priming, in their investigations to provide novel technologies and additional biological approaches to enhance the knowledge of crop plant science. Thus, the findings shed light on the use of seed priming technology as a key strategy to increase crop plant production under environmental adversity by acquiring stress tolerance and enhancing agronomic traits to meet the global food demand.

Laser shock peening is a process which can reduce stress corrosion cracking and improve fatigue life by forming compressive residual stress on the surface of the material. In a computational FE simulation of laser shock peening, during applying the pressure load generated by the laser pulse to the surface of simulation geometry, the peening is simulated by explicit analysis and then convert to implicit analysis to dissipate the dynamic energy remaining in the geometry. In this study, static damping is applied to dissipate residual dynamic energy without converting it into an implicit analysis. The compressive residual stress distribution is compared between the simulation results for the stainless steel 304 material and the same material subjected to actual laser shock peening. The laser shock peening parameters were 4.2J laser pulse energy, 50% overlap of 3mm diameter of the laser beam and water as a confinement layer. As a result, the compressive residual stress from the surface to the depth direction is similar to both the simulation and the experimental result measured by the hole drilling method.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is frequently accompanied by affective disorders with a prevalence of comorbid depression of around 25%. Nevertheless, the biomarkers of affective symptoms including depression and anxiety due to T2DM are not well established.Aims: This study was conducted to delineate the serum biomarkers predicting affective symptoms due to T2DM above and beyond the effects of insulin resistance and atherogenicity. Methods: The present study delineated the effects of serum levels of copper, zinc, β-arrestin-1, FBXW7, lactosylceramide (LacCer), serotonin, albumin, calcium, magnesium, IR and atherogenicity on severity of depression and anxiety in 58 men with T2DM and 30 healthy male controls. Severity of affective symptoms was assessed using the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety rating scales.Results: We found that 61.7% of the variance in affective symptoms was explained by the multivariate regression on copper, β-arrestin-1, calcium, and insulin resistance coupled with atherogenicity, while 44.4% of the variance in the latter was explained by copper, β-arrestin-1, LacCer (all positively) and calcium and FBXW7 (both negatively). Copper and LacCer (positive) and calcium and BXW7 (inverse) had significant specific indirect effects on affective symptoms which were mediated by insulin resistance and atherogenicity. Copper, β-arrestin-1, and calcium were associated with affective symptoms above and beyond the effects of insulin resistance and atherogenicity.Discussion: T2DM and affective symptoms share common pathways namely increased atherogenicity, insulin resistance, copper, and β-arrestin-1, and lowered calcium, whereas copper, β-arrestin-1, calcium, LacCer, and FBXW7 may modulate depression and anxiety symptoms by affecting T2DM.

Current diagnoses of mood disorders are not cross validated. The aim of the current paper is to explain how machine learning techniques can be used to a) construct a model which ensembles risk/resilience (R/R), adverse outcome pathways (AOPs), staging, and the phenome of mood disorders, and b) disclose new classes based on these feature sets. This study was conducted using data of 67 healthy controls and 105 mood disordered patients. The R/R ratio, assessed as a combination of the paraoxonase 1 (PON1) gene, PON1 enzymatic activity, and early life time trauma (ELT), predicted the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol – paraoxonase 1 complex (HDL-PON1), reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), nitro-oxidative stress toxicity (NOSTOX), staging (number of depression and hypomanic episodes and suicidal attempts), and phenome (the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety scores and the Clinical Global Impression; current suicidal ideation; quality of life and disability measurements) scores. Partial Least Squares pathway analysis showed that 44.2% of the variance in the phenome was explained by ELT, RONS/NOSTOX, and staging scores. Cluster analysis conducted on all those feature sets discovered two distinct patient clusters, namely 69.5% of the patients were allocated to a class with high R/R, RONS/NOSTOX, staging, and phenome scores, and 30.5% to a class with increased staging and phenome scores. This classification cut across the bipolar (BP1/BP2) and major depression disorder classification and was more distinctive than the latter classifications. We constructed a nomothetic network model which reunited all features of mood disorders into a mechanistically transdiagnostic model.

Faba bean is grown globally for human consumption and animal feed and is a significant rotation crop in cereal dominant areas in many countries including Australia. It is sensitive to several abiotic stresses, such as drought, frost and high temperatures, especially at the reproductive stage. However, little is known of the upper and lower temperature limits for successful podding. Experiments were conducted over two years at Breeza and Narrabri in north-western New South Wales to assess the impact of temperature on flowering and pod set of three genotypes; Doza, Cairo and IX1148f under field conditions. Flowering nodes were tagged from designated plants in the field and scored for podding, field temperatures were recorded. Optimum maximum temperature for podset ranged from 23.7-26.1 °C and the equivalent minimum temperature was 3.2-3.8 °C. Optimum average daily temperature for podset ranged from 12.7-13.9 °C. The strongest correlations between temperature and podding were observed at minimum temperatures, indicating that low temperatures are more important than high temperatures in determining yield in faba bean.

Endocrine and nervous systems reciprocally interact to manage physiological individual functions and homeostasis. The nervous system modulates hormone release through the hypothalamus, the main cerebrally specialized structure of the neuroendocrine system. Indeed, it is involved in various metabolic processes, administering hormone and neuropeptide release at different levels. This complex activity is affected by neurons of various cerebral areas, environmental factors, peripheral organs, and mediators through feedback mechanisms. Therefore, neuroendocrine pathways have a key role in metabolic homeostasis control, and their abnormalities have been associated with the development of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in children. The impaired functioning of genes, hormones, and neuropeptides of various neuroendocrine pathways involved in several metabolic processes has been related to an increased risk of dyslipidaemia, visceral obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. This review examines the neuroendocrine effects on the risk of MetS in children, identifying and underlying the several conditions associated with neuroendocrine pathway disruption. Neuroendocrine systems should be considered in the complex pathophysiology of MetS, and, when genetic or epigenetic mutations in "hot" pathways occur, they could be studied for new potential target therapies in severe and drug-resistant paediatric forms of MetS.

Keywords: free radicals; oxidative stress; hepatocellular carcinoma; anti-oxidants; kaempferol

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. Oxidative stress and inflammation are pathophysiological processes involved in the development of cardiovascular diseases, so anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents that modulate redox balance have become the targets of research to evaluate their molecular mechanisms and therapeutic properties. Astaxanthin, a carotenoid of the xanthophyll group, has potent antioxidant effects due to its molecular structure and its arrangement in the plasma membrane, factors that favor the neutralization of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. This carotenoid also stands out for its anti-inflammatory activity, possibly interrelated with its antioxidant effect, as well as for its modulation of lipid and glucose metabolism. Considering the potential positive effects of astaxanthin on cardiovascular health evidenced by preclinical and clinical studies, this paper describes the molecular and cellular mechanisms related to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of this carotenoid in cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis.

This study investigates stress perceptions, somatization, and coping strategies among 271 nursing and dentistry (n=126 and n=145, respectively), undergraduate and postgraduate students. For the study, an e-questionnaire was designed in a two-step process, uploaded in Google Forms and staying open for submissions during February 2024 in the School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In our sample, predominantly female (68.60%), the majority were undergraduates (80.10%). Females reported higher stress somatization (M=10.22, SD=5.23) compared to males (M=7.94, SD=6.14), with a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d=0.412, p

The breeding of stress-tolerant cultivated plants that would allow for a reduction in harvest losses and undesirable decrease in quality attributes requires a new quality of knowledge on molecular markers associated with relevant agronomic traits, on quantitative metabolic responses of plants on stress challenges, and on the mechanisms controlling the biosynthesis of these molecules. By combining metabolomics with genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics datasets a more comprehensive knowledge of the composition of crop plants used for food or animal feed is possible. In order to optimize crop trait developments, to enhance crop yields and quality, as well as to guarantee nutritional and health factors, that provides the possibility to create functional food or feedstuffs, the knowledge about the plants’ metabolome is crucial. Next to classical metabolomics studies, this review focusses on several metabolomics based working techniques, such as sensomics, lipidomics, hormonomics and phytometabolomics, which were used to characterize metabolome alterations during abiotic and biotic stress, to find resistant food crops with a preferred quality or at least to produce functional food crops are highlighted.

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.

The increasing prevalence of spinal disorders and the subsequent rise in spinal fusion surgeries stress the necessity for optimizing spinal fusion cages, crucial for stabilizing the spine and supporting osseointegration. Despite the widespread attempts at material modifications and surface enhancements to improve these devices, failure rates and complications remain significant. This research explores an imaginitive approach to enhancing spinal fusion cages through the application of geometric tiling designs, a method scarcely employed . The study systematically investigates the potential of triangular, diamond, and hexagonal tiling patterns to improve the structural integrity and capability for osseointegration of spinal fusion cages. Through a finite element analysis simulation, each design's ability to withstand multi-directional loads and effectively distribute stress was tested under simulated conditions that mimic the complexities of spinal motion. Preliminary findings in fields of engineering indicate that geometric tiling can significantly enhance the load-bearing capabilities and stress distribution of spinal fusion cages, potentially reducing the likelihood of implant subsidence and failure. The triangular and hexagonal designs, in particular, demonstrate superior performance in maintaining structural stability under axial and anterior compressive forces compared to traditional cage designs. This research opens a new pathway for the development of more durable and efficient spinal fusion cages. By leveraging the structural advantages of geometric tiling, future spinal implants could achieve better clinical outcomes, leading to improved patient recovery and reduced rates of complications.

Keywords: apoptosis; arbutus unedo L; formaldehyde; hippocampus; oxidative stress

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health disorder that causes significant dysfunction in individuals. Currently, there are many approved Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy treatment options for PTSD, but unfortunately, half of the patients do not respond to traditional therapies. In this article, we reviewed clinical trials and research on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) assisted Psychotherapy in PTSD patients, its pharmacokinetics and current treatment guidelines for PTSD. Based on the results of the efficacy of MDMA assisted Psychotherapy from six phases II Randomized controlled trials. MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD has received the “Breakthrough Therapy” designation from the FDA. MDMA can potentially reduce PTSD symptoms even in treatment-resistant cases by increasing certain neurohormones, i.e. dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and oxytocin. It also modulates activities in the brain regions involved in fear and anxiety. Future research is needed to show whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and whether its use can be integrated into available treatment options for PTSD.

Growth-regulating factor (GRF) is a plant-specific transcription factor family, which is involved in nearly all of the central developmental processes in plants. However, little is known about GRF family genes in cultivated sunflower. In this study, 17 GRF genes were identified and characterized from sunflower genome. Their gene structures, conserved motifs, chromosomal distributions and phylogenetic relationships were analyzed. The expression patterns of these genes were detected in various tissues of sunflower inbred line SK02R, which revealed that the 10 seed-specific GRF genes may play important roles during seed development in sunflower. Additionally, transcripts changes of the GRFs under two major abiotic stresses and phytohormones showed that most of the detected GRFs were reduced significantly by GA3 treatment, and other treatments(ABA, NaCl and PEG6000) differently regulated various sunflower growth-regulating factors at different time points. MiR396 target analysis indicated that there may exist a complicated homeostasis between miR396 and its targets GRF and WRKY transcription factor genes in cultivated sunflower. The phylogenetic and expression analyses of the GRF gene family in sunflower would be useful for further cloning and function exploration of the HaGRF genes.

Hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (HDP) represent a global clinical challenge, affecting 5-10% of women and leading to complications for both maternal well-being and fetal development. At the heart of these complications is endothelial dysfunction, with oxidative stress emerging as a pivotal causative factor. The reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is a vital indicator of this dysfunction, culminating in blood pressure dysregulation. In the therapeutic context, although antihypertensive medications are commonly used, they come with inherent concerns related to maternal-fetal safety, and a percentage of women do not respond to these therapies. Therefore, alternative strategies that directly address the pathophysiology of HDP are required. This article focuses on the potential of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, abundantly present in dark leafy greens and beetroot, as an alternative approach to treating HDP. The objective of this review is to discuss the prospective antioxidant role of nitrate. We hope our discussion paves the way for using nitrate to improve endothelial dysfunction and control oxidative stress, offering a potential therapy for managing HDP.

Deficit schizophrenia is characterized by leaky tight and adherens junctions and bacterial translocation. Here we examine whether (deficit) schizophrenia is accompanied by leaky paracellular, transcellular and vascular barriers in the gut and blood brain barriers. We measured IgA responses to occludin, claudin-5, E-cadherin and β-catenin (paracellular pathway, PARA), talin, actin, vinculin and epithelial intermediate filament (transcellular pathway, TRANS) and plasmalemma vesicle-associated protein (PLVAP, vascular pathway) in 78 schizophrenia patients and 40 controls. IgA responses to claudin-5, E-cadherin and β-catenin, the sum of the four PARA proteins and the ratio PARA/TRANS were significantly higher in deficit schizophrenia than in non-deficit schizophrenia and controls. A large part of the variance in PHEMN (psychosis, hostility, excitation, mannerism and negative) symptoms, psychomotor retardation, formal thought disorders, verbal fluency, word list memory, word list recall and executive functions was explained by the PARA/TRANS ratio coupled with plasma IgA responses to Gram-negative bacteria, IgM to malondialdehyde, CCL-11 (eotaxin), IgA levels of the ratio of noxious to more protective tryptophan catabolites (NOX/PRO TRYCATs) and a plasma immune activation index. Moreover, IgA levels to Gram-negative bacteria were significantly associated with IgA to E-cadherin, β-catenin and PLVAP, while IgA levels to claudin-5 were significantly predicted by IgA to E-cadherin, NOX/PRO TRYCAT ratio, Gram-negative bacteria and CCL11. The phenomenology of the deficit syndrome is to a large extent explained by the cumulative effects of lowered natural IgM, breakdown of the paracellular and vascular pathways, increased bacterial translocation, peripheral immune-inflammatory responses and indices of BBB breakdown.

Salinity stress affect plant growth and development by causing osmotic stress, and nutrient imbalances through excess Na+, K+ and Cl- ion accumulations that induce toxic effects during germination, seedling development, vegetative growth, flowering, and fruit set. However, the effects of salt stress on such processes, especially in polyploidised leguminous plants remains unexplored and scantly reported compared to their diploid counterparts. This paper discusses the physiological and molecular response of legumes towards salinity stress based osmotic and ionic imbalances in plant cells. A multigenic response involving various compatible solutes, osmolytes, ROS, polyamines and antioxidant activity, together with genes encoding proteins involved in the signal transduction, regulation and response mechanisms to this stress were identified and discussed. This discussion reaffirms polyploidisation as the driving force in plant evolution and adaptation to environmental stress constraints such as drought, feverish temperatures, and in particular, salt stress. As a result, thorough physiological and molecular elucidation of the role of gene duplication through induced autopolyploidisation and possible mechanisms regulating salinity stress tolerance in grain legumes must be further studied.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely used in food and nonfood industries. During industrial fermentations yeast are exposed to fluctuations in oxygen concentration, osmotic pressure, pH, ethanol concentration, nutrient availability and temperature. Fermentation performance depends on the ability of different yeast strains to adapt to these changes. Suboptimal growth conditions trigger responses to these external stimuli to allow cellular homeostasis to be maintained. Stress-specific signaling pathways are activated to coordinate changes in tran-scription, translation, protein function, and metabolic fluxes while a transient arrest of growth and cell cycle progression occur. cAMP-PKA, HOG-MAPK and CWI signalling pathways are signal transduction pathways turned on during stress re-sponse. Comprehension of the mechanisms involved in the responses and in the adaptation to these stresses during fermentation is key to improving this industrial process. The scope of this review is to outline the advancement of knowledge about the cAMP-PKA signalling and the crosstalk of this pathway with the CWI and HOG-MAPK cascades in response to the environmental challenges heat and hy-perosmotic stress.

Purpose Violence against paramedics is a complex – but underreported – problem. Extant research suggests organizational culture may play a role in sustaining cultural norms that downplay the significance and limit reporting. Our objective was to qualitatively explore paramedics’ experience with violence, with particular emphasis on understanding how organizational culture contributes to under-reporting. Approach We surveyed paramedics from a single, large, urban service in Ontario, Canada, asking participants to describe their experiences with violence, including whether – and why or why not – the incidents were reported. Within a constructivist epistemology, we used inductive thematic analysis with successive rounds of coding to identify and then define features of organizational culture that limit reporting. Findings A total of 196 (33% of eligible) paramedics completed the survey. Fully 98% of participants disclosed having experienced some form of violence; however only a minority (40%) reported the incidents to management, or the police (21%). We defined a framework within which a lack of support from management, and consequences for offenders, implicitly positions the ability of paramedics to “brush off” violent encounters as an expected professional competency. Disclosing emotional or psychological distress in response to violent encounters invited questions as to whether the individual is personally suited to paramedic work. Originality While the extant research has indicated that underreporting is a problem, our findings shed light on why – a critical first step in addressing what has been described as a serious public health problem.

The problem of simulating wakes in a stratified oceanic environment with active background turbulence is considered. Anisotropic RANS turbulence models are tested against laboratory and eddy-resolving models of the problem. An important aspect of our work is to acknowledge that the environment is not quiescent; therefore, additional sources are included in the models to provide a non-zero background turbulence. The RANS models are found to reproduce some key features from the eddy-resolving and laboratory descriptions of the problem. Tests using the freestream sources show the intuitive result that background turbulence causes more rapid wake growth and decay.

Heart failure (HF) is a disease state which has been shown to affect 1-2% of the global population, being often associated with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity or hyperlipidaemia which increase the prevalence of the disease, the rate of hospitalization and the mortality. Although recent advances in both pharmacological and non pharmacological approaches have led to significant improvements in clinical outcomes in patients affected by HF, residual unmet needs remain. Treatment of the disease remains unclear particularly related to poorly defined strategies in the early stages of myocardial dysfunction. Nutritional support in patients developing HF and nutraceutical supplementation have recently been shown to may contribute in the protection of the failing myocardium, though their place in the treatment of HF still needs to be better clarified. In this context, the ONUS-HF working group aimed to assess the optimal nutraceutical approach to HF in the early phases of the disease in order to counteract selected pathways which are imbalanced in the failing myocardium. In particular, we reviewed several of the most relevant pathophysiological and molecular changes occurring druing the early stages of myocardial dysfunction. These include mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic reticulum stress, insufficient nitric oxide (NO) release, cardiac stem cell mobilization and imbalanced regulation of metalloproteinases. Several candidates for nutraceutical supplementation in HF, such as CoQ10, grape seed extract, Olea Europea L- related antioxidants, SGLT2 inhibitors-rich apple extract and bergamot polyphenolic fraction have been assessed for their potential contribution to cardiomyocyte prottection. This approach should define the optimal approach for more targeted and successful strategies based on the use of nutraceuticals in HF to be confirmed by means of clinical trials exploring efficacy and safety of these compounds.

In various models of chronic kidney disease, the amount and localization of Cx43 in the nephron is known to increase, but the intracellular pathways that regulate these changes have not been identified. Therefore, we proposed that: "In the model of renal damage induced by infusion of angiotensin II (AngII), a RhoA/ROCK-dependent pathway, is activated and regulates the abundance of renal Cx43”. In rats, we evaluated: 1) the time-point where the renal damage induced by AngII is no longer reversible; and 2) the involvement of a RhoA/ROCK-dependent pathway and its relationship with the amount of Cx43 in this irreversible stage. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and renal function (urinary protein/urinary creatinine: Uprot/UCrea) were evaluated as systemic and organ outcomes, respectively. In kidney tissue, we also evaluated: 1) oxidative stress (amount of thiobarbituric acid reactive species), 2) inflammation (immunoperoxidase detection of the inflammatory markers ED-1 and IL-1β), 3) fibrosis (immune detection of type III collagen; Col III) and 4) activity of RhoA/ROCK (amount of phosphorylated MYPT1; p-MYPT1). The ratio Uprot/UCrea, SBP, oxidative stress, inflammation, amount of Cx43 and p-MYPT1 remained high 2 weeks after suspending AngII treatment in rats treated for 4 weeks with AngII. These responses were not observed in rats treated with AngII for less than 4 weeks, in which all measurements returned spontaneously close to the control values after suspending AngII treatment. Rats treated with AngII for 6 weeks and co-treated for the last 4 weeks with Fasudil, an inhibitor of ROCK, showed high SBP but did not present renal damage or increased amount of renal Cx43. Therefore, renal damage induced by AngII correlates with the activation of RhoA/ROCK and the increase in Cx43 amounts and can be prevented by inhibitors of this pathway.

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.

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.

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

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of three warm-up durations on post-exercise oxidative stress biomarkers, as well as recovery from the Wingate test in 14 amateur handball players. These players completed the Wingate test three times: after 5-min, after 10-min, and then after 15-min of warm-up, spread over two weeks with an interval of one week between each session. At the end of each session of the Wingate test, blood samples were taken: at rest (PR), after warming up (PWU) and immediately at the end of the test (P0), then after 10-min (P10) and after 20-min (P20) of recovery. The measured parameters are the total antioxidant status (TAS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein-bound-carbonyls (PC) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). The main findings revealed that anaerobic exercise induces oxidative stress, as evidenced by changes in antioxidant status and significant increases in concentrations of the majority of oxidative stress indicators (p < 0.05). At P20, plasma GPx, SOD, GR, TBARS, and PC contents, are lower and significantly different after a 15-min warm-up than after a 10-min or 5-min warm-up. ANOVA showed a significant ‘‘warm-up×recovery’’ effect on plasma GPx, SOD, GR, TBARS, and PC contents [F(8.104)=3.61; p<0.001; η2p=0.22, F(8.104): from 1.88 to 19.97; η2p: from 0.19 to 0.61: 0.05<p<0.001], respectively. We concluded that a 15-min warm-up was more efficient than the other duration in reducing free radical rise, emphasizing the importance of warm-up length on plasma oxidative stress biomarkers.

Carotenoids are essential pigments that play a vital role in the photosynthetic process of algae and are important for human health and nutrition. Despite their potential value, algal carotenoids are being neglected by biofuel industries. Recent research is aimed at producing microalgal lipids and carotenoids simultaneously under abiotic stresses. In this study, the effect of different abiotic stress factors such as Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), Phosphorous (P), Sulphur (S), light intensity, and photoperiod on biomass, lipid, and carotenoids synthesis in Monoraphidium sp. (MP) were explored utilizing a statistical method. In addition, 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCF-DA) mediated spectrofluorimetry was employed to detect the ele-vation in ROS level. The results revealed that variations in nutrients and light con-ditions are the key factors in the up-regulation of biomolecules lipids and carote-noids in the algae. The carotenoids profiling was done by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectroscopy (UPLC-Q-ToF-MS). Among consisting carotenoids violaxanthin, astaxanthin, and beta-carotene were enhanced by 1.3 folds, 1.19 folds, 1.08 folds, while lutein was declined by 1.32 folds under stressed condition compared to control. The identified carotenoids are rec-ognized for their importance in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, highlighting the significant role of MP in these sectors.

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.

The objective of this study was to investigate age-related changes in cashmere production and the population of active secondary hair follicles in cashmere goats across different age groups, as well as to explore the association between secondary hair follicle activity and oxidative stress. A total of 104 adult Inner Mongolian ewe goats, aged between 2 and 7 years old, were randomly selected as experimental subjects. Skin samples were collected in August 2020 and cashmere samples were collected in April 2021. The cashmere fiber yield, staple length, and diameter showed age-related variations in cashmere goats aged 2 to 7 years (P < 0.05). Cashmere production was higher in goats aged 2-4 years compared to those aged 5-7 years (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the population of primary and secondary hair follicles among goats aged 2 to 7 years. However, the population of active secondary hair follicles varied significantly with age, with the younger group (aged 2-4 years) having a higher population than those aged 5 – 7 years (P < 0.05). A moderate negative correlation was observed between cashmere fiber diameter and the population of active secondary hair follicles (P < 0.05). Age-related variations in skin antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage were observed among cashmere goats aged 2 to 7 years old (P < 0.05). Goats aged 2 to 4 years exhibited higher antioxidant capacity and lower oxidative damage (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the skin antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage exhibited significant positive and negative correlations, respectively, with the population of active secondary hair follicles (P < 0.05). This study presents a novel approach to enhance the activity of secondary hair follicles and improve cashmere production performance through the regulation of oxidative stress.

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