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Lymph node metastasis (LNM) significantly affects the prognosis and clinical management of breast cancer (BC) patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with LNM in BC and evaluate their potential diagnostic and prognostic value. Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases, to assess the role of miRNAs in LNM BC. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool was used to evaluate the quality of included studies. A total of 84 miRNAs were identified as differentially expressed in BC patients with LNM. Of these, a meta-analysis was performed in two microRNAs that were present in at least 3 different articles with a coherent expression direction: miR-155 and miR-34a. The meta-analysis returned a pooled a Log2 fold change of 1.50 for miR-155 (upregulated) and -0.53 for miR-34a (downregulated) with no evidence of publication bias, and a low risk of bias and applicability concerns. To conclude, this study names miR-155 and miR-34a as potential diagnostic biomarkers for LNM in BC, although further experimental validation is necessary to confirm these findings and develop non-invasive diagnostic tools for clinical use., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Authors declare no conflict of interests and did not receive any fund for this manuscript., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate self-reported physical activity (PA) levels as well as the relationship between PA, anxiety, depression, quality of life, pain, fatigue, disease activity, and organ damage in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM)., Methods: All adult patients registered at the rheumatology clinic at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden (2019-2022) were eligible to participate. Questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression (HADS), and PA (IPAQ) were provided during yearly check-up or by mail, due to reduced in-person visits amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Additional data was obtained from the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Registry., Results: Of 488 invited patients, 336 agreed to participate, and 246 completed the questionnaires. Median (range) age was 64 (20-88) years, median disease duration five (0.3-61) years and two-thirds were women. Notably, 82% reported moderate/high level of PA. Probable anxiety and depression were experienced by 25% and 14%, respectively. The findings indicated a potential protective effect of PA against depression (OR 0.23, CI 0.06-0.95). Conversely, patients who were physically inactive had poorer mental health, reduced muscle function, increased organ damage, and fatigue. Fatigue demonstrated a progressive link to heightened risks of anxiety (2%, 2-4%) or depression (3%, 1-6%)., Conclusions: Most patients with IIM reported being physically active. The study highlights the potential influence of PA on mental health and its role in mitigating risks associated with depression and fatigue among IIM-patients. It also underscores the importance of patient-reported outcomes, and their role in understanding and improving healthcare interventions. Further research is needed to uncover causes and confirm these associations.

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), which have been classically viewed as involved in CNS responses to damage and tissue repair. However, microglia are constantly sensing neuronal network activity and changes in the CNS milieu, establishing complex state-dependent microglia-neuron interactions that impact their functions. By doing so, microglia perform a wide range of physiological roles, including brain homeostasis maintenance, control of neural connectivity, network function modulation, as well as functional and morphological plasticity regulation in health and disease. Here, the author reviews recent evidence of the modulations induced by microglia, a highly heterogeneous cell type, on synaptic and intrinsic neuronal properties, and on neuronal network patterns during perinatal development and adulthood. The reviewed evidence clearly indicates that microglia are important, if not essential, for brain function and plasticity in both health and disease.

This study examines the adsorption and bulk assembly behaviour of quaternized hydroxyethylcellulose ethoxylate (QHECE)-sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) complexes on negatively charged substrates. Due to its quaternized structure, QHECE, which is used in several industries, including cosmetics, exhibits enhanced electrostatic interactions. The phase behaviour and adsorption mechanisms of QHECE-SDS complexes are investigated using model substrates that mimic the wettability and surface charge of damaged hair fibres. Two preparation methodologies, high-concentration mixing and gradient-free mixing , were employed to examine their impact on the complex equilibrium, phase behaviour, and adsorption properties of the complexes. The measurements of turbidity, electrophoretic mobility, and conductivity demonstrate the existence of nonequilibrium dynamics during the mixing process, which exert a significant influence on the structural and functional characteristics of the complexes. The quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) was employed to investigate the adsorption of the complexes onto the substrates. The results demonstrated the critical role of intermediate SDS concentrations in enhancing deposition. The findings emphasise the importance of formulation and preparation protocols in designing stable, high-performance cosmetic products. This research advances our understanding of polyelectrolyte-surfactant interactions and provides insights into optimising QHECE-based formulations.

Background: Alpha-synuclein (ASyn), a marker of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative processes, plays pivotal roles in neuronal nuclei and synapses. ASyn and its phosphorylated form at Serine 129 (p-ASyn) are involved in DNA protection and repair, processes altered in aging, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Objective: To analyze the localization of p-ASyn in skin biopsies of PD patients and melanoma. Methods: Biopsies from 26 PD patients, 20 melanoma patients, and 31 control subjects were probed and analyzed with a p-ASyn antibody by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Nuclear positivity was quantified by image analysis. Results: Peripheral nerve endings from healthy subjects show little p-ASyn immunopositivity but notable axonal presence in PD. Control subjects show immunopositivity to p-ASyn along all epidermic strata and scarce presence in their cytoplasm. In contrast, its nuclear presence in PD is weaker, with a higher cytoplasmic and intercellular presence. Nuclear p-ASyn in melanoma varied from similar to control skin in early stage melanoma to a higher rate of empty nuclei in the intermediate stage and total absence of nuclear p-ASyn in severe cases. Interpretation: These findings support the nuclear localization of p-ASyn in skin cells and show that its presence decreases PD and almost disappears in the malignant transformation of melanocytes, redistributing to the cytoplasm and intercellular spaces. This confirms the association between PD and melanoma, providing crucial insights into the role of p-ASyn in both diseases. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01380899., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025 María E. Jimenez-Capdeville et al. Neurology Research International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Alcohol consumption among Spanish undergraduates during their university time has increased exponentially in recent years. In addition, this lifestyle change is associated with abandoning the Mediterranean diet, increasing the risk of suffering some kind of injury and affecting their quality of life. The study was carried out with a sample of 1,057 Spanish university students, 12.1% (n = 127) of them women and 87.9% (n= 930) men. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to measure health-related quality of life, the MEDAS test to check adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and the AUDIT test to measure alcohol consumption. The results show an inverse relationship between injury and quality of life (β= -0.020) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (β= -0.042) among students who have suffered some kind of injury. On the other hand, there was a positive relationship with alcohol consumption (β= -0.046). The main conclusion is that lower alcohol consumption and higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a better quality of life and a reduced risk of injury in undergraduates in southern Spain.

Objectives: Empty Nose Syndrome (ENS) is a debilitating condition which usually arises after aggressive turbinate reduction. However, objective tests to help in the diagnosis of this condition are lacking. Accurate diagnosis of ENS patients is critical for effective diagnosis and treatment. The article's objectives are to utilize computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to analyze nasal airflow resistance and symmetry in suspected ENS patients, classify them into distinct groups based on CFD data, and demonstrate the potential of CFD analysis in refining ENS diagnosis and guiding individualized treatment strategies., Methods: This study involved 48 patients diagnosed of ENS. However, we only considered those patients with documented prior turbinate surgery (eventually plus septal surgery), CT scan with signs of prior surgery, and a history of ENS with symptoms included in the ENS Q6. We employed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to analyze nasal airflow resistance and symmetry. Patients were classified into three groups based on their CFD data: low resistance and normal symmetry, evident asymmetry, and normal CFD parameters., Results: Half of patients (24 out of 48) were found in the low resistance and normal symmetry group, indicating 'typical' ENS. A smaller group (8) exhibited evident asymmetry, suggesting unilateral ENS or failure of previous surgery. Finally, 16 patients whose CFD parameters are inside the normal range of flow and resistance were classified in the normal breathing group., Conclusions: Our findings highlight the value of CFD analysis in classifying ENS patients based on airflow characteristics, as CFD analysis seems helpful in refining the diagnosis of ENS. This classification system can potentially aid in tailoring individual treatment strategies and improving patient outcomes. Further research is necessary to validate these results and explore the clinical implications of different ENS subgroups., Level of Evidence: Level 4 [1]., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is one of the most frequently electrophysical agents employed in reducing the impact of FMS. This meta-analysis intended to determine the effectiveness of TENS on pain, disability, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with FMS., Methods: According to PRISMA, we performed a meta-analysis (CRD42023456439), searching in PubMed Medline, PEDro, CINAHL Complete, Web of Science, and Scopus, since inception up to October 2023. This review focused on controlled clinical trials evaluating the effect of TENS on pain, disability, and QoL in patients with FMS. The pooled effect was estimated using Cohen's standardized mean difference (SMD) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI)., Results: Twelve studies, providing data from 944 patients, were included (PEDro score of 5.6 points). Meta-analyses showed that TENS interventions are effective in improving pain (SMD = -0.61; 95%CI -1 to -0.16); disability (SMD = -0.27; 95%CI -0.41 to -0.12); and physical dimension of QoL (SMD = 0.26; 95%CI 0.08 to 0.44). Additionally, when TENS is used as a unique therapy, it represents the best therapeutic option for improving pain, disability, and QoL., Conclusions: This meta-analysis, including the largest number of studies, showed that TENS intervention is an effective therapy to reduce pain and disability and increase QoL in FMS patients.

Background: Both cigarette smoking (CGS), through its role as a benzene source, and some metabolic detoxyfiying enzymes (EDTOX) polymorphisms that hamper its inactivation, are considered as risk factors for the development of myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) and related disorders. This study aims to confirm such associations., Patients and Methods: We recruited 61 patients diagnosed with MDS following FAB Group criteria and 180 adults without peripheral blood cytopenia, and we analyzed: i) the crude odds-ratio (OR) for MDS between smokers and non-smokers, ii) the crude OR for MDS between homozygous individuals for the mutation NQO1 609 C-T, or harboring deletions in the genes codyfing for GSTM1 y GSTT1, and those who did not show such genotypes, and iii) the OR for MDS between smokers and non-smokers, adjusted for other potential risk factors., Results: Our data confirm the association between MDS with a 28 pack-year or greater CGS history (OR 3.10; IC 95% 1.38-6.96). Conversely, we did not observe any association between MDS diagnosis and the EDTOX genotypes analyzed., Conclusions: Cigarette smoking history is more relevant than EDTOX genotype in MDS etiopathogenesis., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

This study investigates the effect of agmatine on reducing mortality, neurobehavioral alterations, infarct size, and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in mice subjected to bilateral carotid thrombosis. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, the left common carotid artery was exposed to 6% FeCl 3 . Thirty-two days later, the same procedure was performed on the right common carotid artery. Subsequently, Agmatine (100 mg/kg) was administered 15 min after the second procedure, and in another experimental group, the dose of Agmatine was repeated at 72 h. Administration of agmatine extended survival in ischemic animals up to 72 h for the single-dose group and up to 96 h for the repeated-dose group, without significant increases in neurological deficits or infarct area size. This neurobehavioral effect was also observed in sham animals treated with agmatine. In ischemic animals, agmatine administration improved digging behavior and reduced recovery times, consistently shorter in those animals treated with repeated doses. RT-PCR analyses revealed a positive regulation of the cytokine IL-1β in agmatine-treated animals, which has been associated with recovery stages. The results suggest that the observed effect may be attributed to the multiple interactions of agmatine with ischemic cascade events, highlighting its anti-inflammatory role., (© 2024 The Author(s). Drug Development Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: To study the trajectories of changes in damage over time and explore associations with autoantibody defined subgroups using a large international cohort of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM)., Methods: Data from the MYONET registry, including patients who were tested for autoantibodies and had at least one assessment of damage using the Myositis Damage Index (MDI), were analyzed. Patients were sub-grouped according to their autoantibody profiles (myositis-specific, myositis-associated, or seronegative). The index date was defined as the time point for the first registered MDI assessment. The longitudinal trajectories of damage with autoantibody status as the main predictor were analyzed using linear mixed models., Results: A total of 757 adult patients were included in this study. Each year of disease duration since diagnosis had an estimated MDI score increase of 0.16 units for the seronegative group (reference). Compared with the seronegative group as reference, patients with dermatomyositis-specific autoantibodies developed less damage per year of follow-up since diagnosis (average 0.08 less score, P = 0.04), whereas patients with anti-PM/Scl autoantibodies developed more damage per year of follow-up since diagnosis (average 0.28 higher score, P = 0.03) independent of sex and age at diagnosis. The seronegative subgroup and the immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy autoantibody subgroup had the strongest correlation between severity of muscle damage and HAQ-DI scores at five years of follow-up, rho=0.84, P < 0.001 and rho=0.72, P < 0.001, respectively., Conclusion: Our study is the first to describe patterns and trajectories of change in damage over time in relation to autoantibody defined subgroups in a large international multicenter cohort of patients with IIM. Patients with anti-PM/Scl scored a greater extent of damage, whereas patients with dermatomyositis-specific antibodies had less damage than seronegative patients. Severity in muscle damage had moderate to strong correlation with functional disability among the IMNM and seronegative subgroups with lower correlations for the other subgroups. These findings suggest that autoantibodies may be useful predictors of long-term damage., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Ingrid E Lundberg, Louise Diederichsen reports a relationship with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc that includes: consulting or advisory. Ingrid E Lundberg reports a relationship with Astra Zeneca that includes: board membership. Ingrid E Lundberg, Jiri Vencovsky, reports a relationship with EMD Serono Inc that includes: funding grants. Ingrid E Lundberg, Marianne de Visser reports a relationship with Novartis that includes: consulting or advisory. Ingrid E Lundberg reports a relationship with Pfizer that includes: consulting or advisory. Ingrid E Lundberg reports a relationship with Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc that includes: consulting or advisory. Hector Chinoy reports a relationship with UCB Inc that includes: speaking and lecture fees. Hector Chinoy reports a relationship with GlaxoSmithKline Inc that includes: speaking and lecture fees. Ingrid E Lundberg, Louise Diederichsen reports a relationship with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc that includes: speaking and lecture fees. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

This work investigated the gelation kinetics and mechanical properties of agarose hydrogels studied at different concentrations (in the range 1-5 g/L) and temperatures. Rheological measurements were performed by diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS) using polystyrene and titanium dioxide particles as probes. The study emphasized the influence of gelation kinetics on the mechanical behavior of the hydrogels. The results showed that the gel properties were closely related to the thermal history and aging time of the samples. The insights gained from this study are critical for optimizing the performance of agarose hydrogels in specific applications and highlight the importance of controlling the concentration and thermal conditions during hydrogel preparation.

This study examines the potential of fungal chitosan derived from Aspergillus niger as a sustainable alternative to traditional petrochemical-based ingredients in cosmetic products. Specifically, the research examines the solubility of fungal chitosan in aqueous solutions of varying ionic strength and its adsorption onto negatively charged surfaces that mimic human hair keratin. The adsorption behavior, water content, and frictional properties of chitosan films were evaluated using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and a surface force apparatus (SFA). The findings indicated that fungal chitosan exhibits good solubility at a pH of 4.5. Conversely, the adsorption of chitosan is subject to the influence of both polymer concentration and ionic strength. At the lowest ionic strengths, a screening-enhanced adsorption process occurs as a consequence of the reduction in chitosan solubility in the presence of salt. This results in the depletion of polymer chains from the solution and their subsequent deposition. An increase in ionic strength above 15-20 mM results in a worsening of the chitosan-surface interaction, due to the simultaneous screening of both the chitosan and the surface charges. This results in a hindrance to the adsorption process. The deposited films are highly hydrated, and this hydration increases with both polymer concentration and ionic strength. Furthermore, the films exhibit a predominantly elastic behavior, and the response of the films under shear deformations shows a strong dependence on the polymer concentration. These findings contribute to the development of environmentally friendly cosmetic formulations that meet consumer demands for sustainability.

A new lithostrotian titanosaur, Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single partial skeleton from the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian fossil-site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain). This new taxon is supported by an exclusive combination of characters that highlights strong convergences with members of the South American Aeolosaurini. Qunkasaura allows to reorganise the complex phylogenetic relationships of the increasingly diverse finicretaceous sauropods of Europe. Phylogenetic analyses places Qunkasaura within Saltasauridae and possibly Opisthocoelicaudiinae, together with Abditosaurus. A new clade is established, Lohuecosauria, including Saltasaurus, Lohuecotitan, their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants. Two distinct Ibero-Armorican Campanian-Maastrichtian saltasauroid lineages are recognised: (i) Lirainosaurinae that is exclusive from Europe, and (ii) a saltasaurid lineage with possible opisthocoelicaudiine affinities, with a Laurasian distribution. Lirainosaurinae was a relict lineage including possible dwarf forms that evolved in isolation after reaching Europe before the Late Cretaceous through the Apulian route. The occurrence of opisthocoelicaudiines in Europe may be the result of a Late Cretaceous interchange between Europe and Asia. No evidence of insular dwarfism is found in the Ibero-Armorican opisthocoelicaudiines suggesting that they may have been newcomers to the area that arrived before the 'Maastrichtian Dinosaur Turnover' in southwestern Europe., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The introduction of mental health collaborative care (MHCC) is one of the strategies to scale up access to mental health care in primary health care in Brazil. This article investigates an experience of mental health collaborative care in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a qualitative study involving interviews with physicians and mental health professionals working in primary health care units located in the northern part of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The aim is to examine the various strategies and negotiations that primary health care professionals deploy to identify mental distress and plan health care interventions. We discuss the results within the economy of attention framework. We argue that divergences in diagnostic design and therapeutic planning carried out by professionals and users or observed in MHCC meetings illustrate the health-disease-care seeking phenomenon as a negotiated process, entangled in complex interactions. Our results evince that those interactions are not always evident and configure 'what is at stake' in mental suffering. The incorporation of cultural and structural determinants in collaborative care may enable the expansion of mental health initiatives sensitive to local needs and realities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Loneliness among young people has been increasing in recent years and is considered a major public health problem. This article delves into the sociocultural dynamics that favour the experiences of loneliness. For this purpose, 40 students between 19 and 24 years of age were interviewed using the photo elicitation interview (PEI) strategy. The results show a gradual normalization of the experience of loneliness and an effort to become accustomed to it. Virtual relationships and isolation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic are considered the two factors that have most enabled a climate prone to loneliness. Young people identify a few elements that feed social loneliness, such as an understanding of instrumental relationships, a scarcity of intimate relationships, a demand for hyperconnectivity, a fantasy of independence and a culture of positivity that hinders the establishment of quality social ties. Faced with hostile relational conditions, youth are sent into a cycle of loneliness. The greater the distrust of the environment is, the greater the defensive reactions and social distancing, and the greater the search for nearby spaces of refuge, security and shelter. Social withdrawal makes in-person relationships difficult and strengthens the need to isolate and become accustomed to loneliness., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Therapeutic exercise has an important role in the population living with cancer as it improves function and quality of life and reduces the symptoms of cancer treatment. There is little clinical evidence on the effects of hypopressive exercise in women with gynecological cancer., Objective: Evaluate the effects of 4 weeks of hypopressive exercise associated with muscle strength training and aerobic exercises on fatigue, urinary incontinence symptoms, sexual function, and quality of life in women treated for gynecological cancer compared to a group that will perform conventional training., Methods: This randomized, single-blinded clinical trial study is set in the Clinical Research Laboratory, Department of Kinesiotherapy, at a Chilean University. Patients will be randomly assigned to an experimental group of hypopressive exercises associated with muscle strength training and aerobic exercises or a control group of muscle strength training and aerobic exercises. Twelve tele-rehabilitation sessions will be performed. Women over 18 years of age with gynecologic cancer who have been prescribed radiotherapy or chemotherapy will participate. Fatigue, quality of life, urinary incontinence symptoms, and sexual function will be assessed before and after the intervention., Expected Results: The results of this clinical trial have important implications for specific treatment for the cancer population and generate new techniques in the practice of oncology-specialized kinesiologists. Hypopressive exercise is expected to reduce incontinence symptoms due to neuromuscular activation of the pelvic floor muscles. However, more studies are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of hypopressive exercises in face-to-face or remote rehabilitation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.)

Searching for positive selection signals across genomes has identified functional genetic variants responding to environmental change. In Native Americans of Mexico, we used the fixation index (F st ) and population branch statistic (PBS) to identify SNPs suggesting positive selection. The 103 most differentiated SNPs were tested for associations with metabolic traits, the most significant association was FADS2 /rs174616 with body mass index (BMI). This variant lies within a linkage disequilibrium (LD) block independent of previously reported FADS selection signals and has not been clearly associated with metabolic phenotypes. We tested this variant in two independent cohorts with cardiometabolic data. In the Genetics of Atherosclerotic Disease (GEA) cohort, the derived allele (T) was associated with increased BMI, lower LDL-C levels and a decreased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis in women. Significant gene-diet interactions affected lipid, apolipoprotein and adiponectin levels with differences according to sex, involving mainly total and complex dietary carbohydrate%. In the Genotype-related Effects of PUFA trial, the derived allele was associated with lower Δ-6 desaturase activity and erythrocyte membrane dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) levels, and with increased Δ-5 desaturase activity and eicosapentaenoic acid levels. This variant interacted with dietary carbohydrate% affecting Δ-6 desaturase activity. Notably, the relationship of DGLA and other erythrocyte membrane LC-PUFA indices with HOMA-IR differed according to rs174616 genotype, which has implications regarding how these indices should be interpreted. In conclusion, this observational study identified rs174616 as a signal suggesting selection in an independent linkage disequilibrium block, was associated with cardiometabolic and erythrocyte measurements of LC-PUFA in two independent Mexican cohorts and showed significant gene-diet interactions., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Maria Elizabeth Tejero reports financial support was provided by Nestec Ltd. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Examination and understanding of neural hyperactivity are some of the greatest scientific challenges faced in the present day. For this reason, the present study aimed to examine this phenomenon in the context of higher education., Method: Likewise, this work will enable an instrument to be created to appropriately and reliably estimate neural hyperactivity associated with chronic stress in university students undertaking a Physiotherapy degree., Results: Analysis of content validity was carried out according to agreement and consensus between nineteen experts with Education Science or Psychology degrees, via the Delphi method. On the other hand, face validity was established by administering the questionnaire to a sample of 194 university students aged between 18 and 45 years (M = 30.48%; SD = 13.152)., Conclusion: The final self-report measure, denominated mental hyperactivity, was composed of 10 items which showed adequate fit with regards to face and content validity (α = 0.775). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the questionnaire was unidimensional., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Domestic production of pepper (Capsicum spp.) is shrinking while demand within the US is growing. Lack of availability and cost of labor often present an obstacle for domestic producers both practically and economically. As a result, switching to harvesting peppers mechanically is anticipated as a key strategy to help domestic producers compete in the international market. Mechanical harvest efficiency can be improved through breeding. One important trait that mechanical harvest compatible material should have is an easy destemming trait: low force separation of the pedicel and calyx from the fruit., Methods: To detect the genetic sources underlying a novel easy destemming trait for the purpose of future breeding efforts in New Mexico pod-type green chile, we performed QTL analysis on three F2:F3 populations, coming from three New Mexico pod-type varieties: 'NuMex Odyssey,' 'NuMex Iliad,' and 'NuMex Joe E. Parker,' each crossed with a parent with an easy destemming trait: MUC14. Genotyping was done through genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and phenotyping was done for destemming and fruit trait measurements. Correlations between measurements were found through the R package hmisc and QTL analysis was done through R/qtl., Results: A strong relationship was seen between destemming and aspects of fruit morphology, particularly, destemming force and fruit width (Pearson's correlation coefficient r=0.75). Major QTLs for destemming and fruit size were discovered. Of these, the largest destemming force QTLs for all populations (PVE=34.5-69.9%) were on chromosome 10, and in two populations QTLs for destemming force were found on chromosome 3 (Percent Variance Explained (PVE)=10.7-18.8%). Fruit size-related QTLs in all populations colocalized in these same areas on chromosomes 3 and 10., Discussion: This suggests that fruit shape may be genetically linked to destemming, and breeders interested in selecting for easy destemming pepper will also have to pay attention to fruit size and shape., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ortega, Hill, Van Deynze, Garcia-Llanos and Walker.)

This study aimed to explore the variability in nasal airflow patterns among different sexes and populations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We focused on evaluating the universality and applicability of dimensionless parameters R (bilateral nasal resistance) and ϕ (nasal flow asymmetry), initially established in a Caucasian Spanish cohort, across a broader spectrum of human populations to assess normal breathing function in healthy airways. In this retrospective study, CT scans from Cambodia (20 males, 20 females), Russia (20 males, 18 females), and Spain (19 males, 19 females) were analyzed. A standardized CFD workflow was implemented to calculate R-ϕ parameters from these scans. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess and compare these parameters across different sexes and populations, emphasizing their distribution and variances. Our results indicated no significant sex-based differences in the R parameter across the populations. However, moderate sexual dimorphism in the ϕ parameter was observed in the Cambodian group. Notably, no geographical differences were found in either R or ϕ parameters, suggesting consistent nasal airflow characteristics across the diverse human groups studied. The study also emphasized the importance of using dimensionless variables to effectively analyze the relationships between form and function in nasal airflow. The observed consistency of R-ϕ parameters across various populations highlights their potential as reliable indicators in both medical practice and further CFD research, particularly in diverse human populations. Our findings suggest the potential applicability of dimensionless CFD parameters in analyzing nasal airflow, highlighting their utility across diverse demographic and geographic contexts. This research advances our understanding of nasal airflow dynamics and underscores the need for additional studies to validate these parameters in broader population cohorts. The approach of employing dimensionless parameters paves the way for future research that eliminates confounding size effects, enabling more accurate comparisons across different populations and sexes. The implications of this study are significant for the advancement of personalized medicine and the development of diagnostic tools that accommodate individual variations in nasal airflow., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Brazilian Primary Health Care (PHC) is responsible for all-sanitary actions for a community-based population, including health promotion and mental health care. Mindfulness Based Health Promotion (MBHP) is an intervention that can promote self-care and psychosocial support in PHC., Objective: To discuss the effects of mindfulness based psychosocial group interventions for health promotion in primary care units in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., Methods: The intervention was based on the MBHP model adapted for SUS. Nine groups were held in Rio de Janeiro. A quali-quanti research was held with two parts: (a) quantitative study, pre and after the 8 weeks intervention, evaluating the effect on mindfulness and self-compassion and their association with levels of anxiety, depression, and quality of life. (b) Qualitative research using Focus Groups with the participants to investigate their experience at the end of the mindfulness groups., Results and Discussion: Sixty-two participants finished the 9 groups where 86% were women, mostly between 30 and 59 years of age and low income, and around 80% under regular medical care in PHC in SUS. In the studied sample 80% had at least one chronic health condition under treatment, including 42% with anxiety and 35% with depression. The effects included significant improvement in Anxiety and Depression and in Quality of Life, mainly in the psychological but also in the physical and interrelation domains. The qualitative study showed that most patients joined the group on the recommendation of health professionals for managing physical and mental health symptoms. Patients reported being able to use the practices taught in the sessions to manage symptoms such as insomnia and emotionally distressing situations in their daily lives. Including family members in mindfulness practices was a strategy to negotiate not only a space at home to meditate, but also to obtain a different approach to health problems. Participants pointed to mindfulness as a complementary therapeutic option to medication and psychotherapy., Conclusion: Mindfulness-Based Intervention have shown to be a feasible, well-accepted and efficacious method of offering psychosocial support and promoting well-being for low-income patients in primary care in LAMIC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Teixeira, Fortes, Kestenberg, Alves, Campos, Neto, Ortega, García-Campayo and Demarzo.)

Violent behaviour in the secondary education stage is a serious concern that comes from low emotional control. Judo is a sport that requires self-control and high emotional competence to mitigate aggressive behaviours. This research presents the objectives of analysing the correlations of different types of aggressive behaviours before an intervention program with those after said program, as well as study the effect of emotions on aggressive behaviours before and after the intervention program through multigroup structural equation modelling. A quasi-experimental study was planned. It used a pre-test-post-test design in a population of 139 secondary school students (M = 15.76; SD = 1.066). The instruments were an ad hoc questionnaire, the Schutte Self-Report Inventory and the Violent Behaviour at School Scale. The data show that the intervention decreased the correlations between different types of violent behaviours. The results show an increase in the effect of emotional intelligence on mitigating aggressive attitudes. The promotion and use of contact sports is necessary to prevent the emergence of aggressive behaviours within a school environment.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) impact all aspects of health, physiological, physical, and psychological. Hallmark symptoms of IIM are muscle weakness, reduced muscle endurance and aerobic capacity. Recently, pain and fatigue as well as anxiety and depression have emerged as common and debilitating symptoms in patients with IIM. The aim of this scoping review is to, in a holistic way, describe how IIM impact patients' physiological, physical, and psychological health and how exercise has a role to treat as well as potentially counteract the effects of the disease. Inflammation induces non-immune response and organ damage. These changes with additional impact of physical inactivity lead to muscle impairment and reduced aerobic capacity. Pain, fatigue and low psychological well-being and overall quality of life are also common health aspects of IIM. Medical treatment can reduce inflammation but has in turn serious side effects such as muscle atrophy, type-II diabetes, and hypertension, which exercise has the potential to treat, and perhaps also counteract. In addition, exercise improves muscle function, aerobic capacity and might also reduce fatigue and pain. New evidence shows that reducing systemic inflammation may also improve patient-reported subjective health, quality of life and psychological well-being. Exercise in combination with medical treatment is becoming an important part of the treatment for patients with IIM as exercise has the potential to promote health aspects of various dimensions in patients with IIM., Competing Interests: Karin Lodin and Fabricio Espinosa-Ortega are co-first authors for this study. Professor Ingrid Lundberg reports grants from Swedish Research Council, during the conduct of the study; personal fees from EMD Serono, Research & Development Institute, Argenx; consulting fees paid to her institution from Pfizer; stock shares in Roche and Novartis; speaker fee from Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Lodin et al.)

Objectives: Ecogeographic variation in human nasal anatomy has historically been analyzed on skeletal morphology and interpreted in the context of climatic adaptations to respiratory air-conditioning. Only a few studies have analyzed nasal soft tissue morphology, actively involved in air-conditioning physiology., Materials and Methods: We used in vivo computer tomographic scans of (N = 146) adult individuals from Cambodia, Chile, Russia, and Spain. We conducted (N = 438) airflow simulations during inspiration using computational fluid dynamics to analyze the air-conditioning capacities of the nasal soft tissue in the inflow, functional, and outflow tract, under three different environmental conditions: cold-dry; hot-dry; and hot-humid. We performed statistical comparisons between populations and sexes., Results: Subjects from hot-humid regions showed significantly lower air-conditioning capacities than subjects from colder regions in all the three conditions, specifically within the isthmus region in the inflow tract, and the anterior part of the internal functional tract. Posterior to the functional tract, no differences were detected. No differences between sexes were found in any of the tracts and under any of the conditions., Discussion: Our statistical analyses support models of climatic adaptations of anterior nasal soft tissue morphology that fit with, and complement, previous research on dry skulls. However, our results challenge a morpho-functional model that attributes air-conditioning capacities exclusively to the functional tract located within the nasal cavity. Instead, our findings support studies that have suggested that both, the external nose and the intra-facial soft tissue airways contribute to efficiently warming and humidifying air during inspiration. This supports functional interpretations in modern midfacial variation and evolution., (© 2024 The Authors. American Journal of Biological Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of maternal cardiometabolic markers trajectories (glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) with estimated fetal weight trajectories and birth weight in Mexican pregnant women without medical complications. Cardiometabolic marker trajectories were characterized using group-based trajectory models. Mixed-effect and linear regression models were estimated to assess the association of maternal trajectories with estimated fetal weight and birth weight. The final sample comprised 606 mother-child dyads. Two trajectory groups of maternal cardiometabolic risk indicators during pregnancy were identified (high and low). Fetuses from women with higher values of TG had higher weight gain during pregnancy ( β ^  = 24.00 g; 95%CI: 12.9, 35.3), were heavier at the sixth month ( β ^ =48.24 g; 95%CI: 7.2, 89.7) and had higher birth weight ( β ^ = 89.08 g; 95%CI: 20.8, 157.4) than fetuses in the low values trajectory. Fetuses from mothers with high SBP and DBP had less weight in the sixth month of pregnancy ( β ^ = - 42.4 g; 95%CI: - 82.7, - 2.1 and β ^ = - 50.35 g; 95%CI: - 94.2, - 6.4), and a higher DBP trajectory was associated with lower birth weight ( β ^ = - 101.48 g; 95%CI: - 176.5, - 26.4). In conclusion, a longitudinal exposition to high values of TG and BP was associated with potentially adverse effects on fetal growth. These findings support the potential modulation of children's phenotype by maternal cardiometabolic conditions in pregnancies without medical complications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Testudines are one of the best-represented taxonomic groups among the Paleogene taxa of the Duero Basin (Castile and Leon Autonomous Community, central Spain). Among them, Neochelys (Podocnemidide) and Allaeochelys (Carettochelyidae) are most abundant, allowing the population to be assessed for osteological anomalies. The abundance of postcranial remains of both taxa allows us to identify several individuals with potential anomalies, mostly in their shells. Some of them have already been described in previous studies, but most of them are still unpublished. The objective of this study is to analyze in detail the anomalous Neochelys and Allaeochelys remains. As a result, different categories of causal agents (such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, or trauma) have been identified as potential producers of the anomalies in these freshwater turtles. Information regarding the pathogenesis and healing stages of some of these anomalies is provided., (© 2024 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Anatomy.)

Over the last few years, the inclusion of psychosocial factors in the teaching and learning processes has become increasingly important due to their proven influence on students' academic performance, especially at the university stage. In this regard, the aim of this study is to analyse the impact of emotional intelligence and academic self-concept on the students' academic achievement. The results obtained revealed some differences according to gender in all the variables considered. Specifically, women presented higher levels of emotional attention, academic self-concept and performance, while men stood out in emotional clarity and emotional repair. The findings obtained show the importance of including psychosocial factors in university training plans., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Jose Luis Ubago-Jimenez reports financial support was provided by 10.13039/501100006393University of Granada. Jose Luis Ubago Jimenez reports a relationship with University of Granada that includes: employment. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The state of confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the quality of life of the general population. This study aims to define and contrast an explanatory model of the quality of life in adults and to analyze the relationships between these variables based on the state of confinement and sex. A total of 872 people from Chile aged between 17 and 50 (M = 21.70 years; SD= 3.272), of both sexes (60.90% male and 39.1% female) participated in this research, of whom 46.6% were not confined when tested and 53.4% were confined, analyzing the quality of life. A model of multi-group structural equations was performed, which adjusted very well (χ 2 = 559.577; DF = 38; p < 0.001; IFC = 0.934; NFI = 0.916; IFI = 0.934; RMSEA = 0.061). The results show a positive and direct relationship among all the variables studied and the structural equation model proposed according to confinement and sex reveals a good fit in all the evaluation indexes. Stress and sleep, personality, and introspection were the indicators with the greatest influence in the four models, followed by the family and friends indicator with a medium correlation strength, such as the health monitoring dimension, although this was not as influential in confined individuals. The main conclusions are that the best adjustments are obtained in confined adults and females, and the data show that the psychological indicators obtained (stress and sleep, personality, and introspection) have the greatest influence on adults in the four models proposed with regard to their quality of life.

The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) stands out within the purinergic family as it has exclusive pharmacological and regulatory features, and it fulfills distinct roles depending on the type of stimulation and cellular environment. Tonic activation of P2X7R promotes cell proliferation, whereas sustained activation is associated with cell death. Yet strikingly, prolonged P2X7R activation in rat cerebellar granule neurons and astrocytes does not affect cell survival. The intracellular pathways activated by P2X7Rs involve proteins like MAPKs, ERK1/2 and p38, and interactions with growth factor receptors could explain their behavior in populations of rat cerebellar cells. In this study, we set out to characterize the intracellular mechanisms through which P2X7Rs and Trk receptors, EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and BDNFR (brain-derived neurotrophic factor receptor), regulate the dual-specificity phosphatase DUSP1. In cerebellar astrocytes, the regulation of DUSP1 expression by P2X7R depends on ERK and p38 activation. EGFR stimulation can also induce DUSP1 expression, albeit less strongly than P2X7R. Conversely, EGF was virtually ineffective in regulating DUSP1 in granule neurons, a cell type in which BDNF is the main regulator of DUSP1 expression and P2X7R only induces a mild response. Indeed, the regulation of DUSP1 elicited by BDNF reflects the balance between both transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Importantly, when the regulation of DUSP1 expression is compromised, the viability of both astrocytes and neurons is impaired, suggesting this phosphatase is essential to maintain proper cell cytoarchitecture and functioning., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aim: To explore if patient global assessment (PGA) is associated with inflammation over time and if associations are explained by other measures of disease activity and function in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM)., Methods: PGA and systemic inflammatory markers prospectively collected over five years were retrieved from the International MyoNet registry for 1200 patients with IIM. Associations between PGA, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and creatine kinase (CK) were analyzed using mixed models. Mediation analysis was used to test if the association between PGA and inflammatory markers during the first year of observation could be explained by measures of disease activity and function., Results: PGA improved, and inflammatory markers decreased during the first year of observation. In the mixed models, high levels of inflammatory markers were associated with worse PGA in both men and women across time points during five years of observation. In men, but not in women, the association between elevated ESR, CRP and poorer PGA was explained by measures of function and disease activity. With a few exceptions, the association between improved PGA and reduced inflammatory markers was partially mediated by improvements in all measures of function and disease activity., Conclusion: Increased levels of systemic inflammation are associated with poorer PGA in patients with IIM. In addition to known benefits of lowered inflammation, these findings emphasize the need to reduce systemic inflammation to improve subjective health in patients with IIM. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the importance of incorporating PGA as an outcome measure in clinical practice and clinical trials., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest B.M: Consultancies with Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen-Cilag, GSK, grant/research support from AbbVie, Protagen, Novartis Biomedical; speaker fees from Boehringer-Ingelheim, GSK, Novartis as well as congress support from Medtalk, Pfizer, Roche, Actelion, Mepha, and MSD. In addition, patent mir-29 for the treatment of systemic sclerosis issued (US8247389, EP2331143). I.E.L: Consulting fees from Corbus Pharmaceuticals Inc and research grants from Astra Zeneca and has been serving on the advisory board for Corbus Pharmaceutical, EMD Serono. Research & Development Institute, Argenx, Octapharma, Kezaar, Orphazyme, Chugai, Bristol Myers Squibb, Galapagos, Pfizer and Janssen and has stock shares in Roche and Novartis. J.V: Consulting fees from Argenx; payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus from Werfen and Octapharma; Participation on Advisory Board for Horizon, Boehringer, and Octapharma. H.C: Consulting fees as a speaker for GSK, UCB; Advisory Board member for Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Argenx, Galapagos; Data and Science Monitoring Board chair for Horizon Therapeutics. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) is a rare haematological disorder characterized by monocytosis and dysplastic changes in myeloid cell lineages. Accurate risk stratification is essential for guiding treatment decisions and assessing prognosis. This study aimed to validate the Artificial Intelligence Prognostic Scoring System for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (AIPSS-MDS) in CMML and to assess its performance compared with traditional scores using data from a Spanish registry (n = 1343) and a Taiwanese hospital (n = 75). In the Spanish cohort, the AIPSS-MDS accurately predicted overall survival (OS) and leukaemia-free survival (LFS), outperforming the Revised-IPSS score. Similarly, in the Taiwanese cohort, the AIPSS-MDS demonstrated accurate predictions for OS and LFS, showing superiority over the IPSS score and performing better than the CPSS and molecular CPSS scores in differentiating patient outcomes. The consistent performance of the AIPSS-MDS across both cohorts highlights its generalizability. Its adoption as a valuable tool for personalized treatment decision-making in CMML enables clinicians to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from different therapeutic interventions. Future studies should explore the integration of genetic information into the AIPSS-MDS to further refine risk stratification in CMML and improve patient outcomes., (© 2024 British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is an essential component in hydrological and ecological processes. The objective of this research is to develop an explicit model to estimate ETo only using commonly measurable meteorological parameters such as relative humidity, air temperature, and wind speed, where the measurements corresponding to solar radiation are omitted. The model was generated using Genetic Programming (GP), evaluated, and validated with reference data ETo using FAO56-PM. This reference data was obtained from different climates (warm-temperate and arid-warm) and latitudes, acquired from CIMIS stations in the state of California, United States, and the El Porvenir station in the state of Coahuila, located in north-central Mexico. After applying the proposed methodology, a total of 3754 results were generated, demonstrating a significant improvement in the estimation of ETo compared to the Hargreaves-Samani model. A particularly noteworthy result revealed that our approach outperformed the Hargreaves-Samani model in the training phase by 27%, and in the testing phase by 16%, on average. In order to achieve a generalized model, a dataset encompassing meteorological stations in two different climates (warm-temperate and arid-warm) and various latitudes was utilized. The obtained outcome unveiled a highly effective model for estimating ETo in diverse climatic contexts, eliminating the need for local adjustments. This model significantly surpassed the Hargreaves-Samani model, exhibiting superior performance by 17% during the training phase and 18% during the testing phase. These results conclusively underscore the capability of our approach to provide more accurate and reliable ETo estimates. These results conclusively underscore the capability of our approach to provide more accurate and reliable ETo estimates. Finally, to validate the model, four different datasets with climates similar to those used for model creation (warm-temperate, warm-arid) and different latitudes were employed. The validation stage results clearly indicate the superiority of our reference evapotranspiration ETo11 model over the Hargreaves-Samani model by 51% in warm-temperate climates. For the dataset with arid-warm climate, our model continued to show satisfactory results, surpassing the Hargreaves-Samani model by 8%. GP emerges as an innovative and effective alternative for simplified model development. This approach introduces a novel paradigm that facilitates the efficient development of models, standing out for its simplicity and effectiveness in generating solutions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The Peritumoral Brain Zone (PBZ) contributes to Glioblastoma (GBM) relapse months after the resection of the original tumor, which is influenced by a variety of pathological factors. Among those, microglia are recognized as one of the main regulators of GBM progression and probably relapse. Although microglial morphology has been analyzed inside GBM and its immediate surroundings, it has not been objectively characterized throughout the PBZ. Thus, we aimed to perform a thorough characterization of microglial morphology in the PBZ and its likely differentiation not just from the tumor-associated microglia but from control tissue microglia. For this purpose, Sprague Dawley rats were intrastriatally implanted with C6 cells to induce a GBM formation. Gadolinium-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to locate the tumor and to define the PBZ (2 mm beyond the tumor border), thus delimitating the different regions of interest (ROIs: core tumoral zone and immediate interface; contralateral striatum as control). Brain slices were obtained and immunolabeled with the microglia marker Iba-1. Sixteen morphological parameters were measured for each cell, significative differences were found in all parameters when comparing the four ROIs. To determine if PBZ microglia could be morphologically differentiated from microglia in other ROIs, hierarchical clustering analysis was performed, revealing that microglia can be separated into four morphologically differentiated clusters, each of them mostly integrated by cells sampled in each ROI. Furthermore, a classifier based on linear discriminant analysis, including only three morphological parameters, categorized microglial cells across the studied ROIs and showed a gradual transition between them. The robustness of this classification was assessed through principal component analysis with the remaining 13 morphological parameters, corroborating the obtained results. Thus, in this study we provided objective and quantitative evidence that PBZ microglia represent a differentiable microglial morphotype that could contribute to the recurrence of GBM in this area., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Salas-Gallardo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The eusuchian crocodyliforms recorded in the Eocene levels of the Spanish Duero Basin belong to three lineages: Planocraniidae, with the species Duerosuchus piscator; Alligatoroidea, represented by several specimens of the genus Diplocynodon; and Crocodyloidea, which includes several specimens traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus. The genus Asiatosuchus, established in 1940 based on a middle Eocene species from Mongolia, has subsequently served as a wastebasket taxon for Paleogene remains belonging to several species, not only from Asia but also belonging to the European and North American records. Many of these species are known by highly fragmentary remains, sharing the presence of characters such as a flat and triangular skull, and long symphyses in the lower jaw, recognized as characteristic for the crocodyloids. In addition to isolated cranial remains, among the material traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus at the Duero Basin stands out a nearly complete skull and a left mandible, from the middle Eocene area of Casaseca de Campeán (Zamora Province). The present study analyses in detail these specimens, previously reported during the 1980s, but analyzed in a very preliminary way. They are included for the first time in a phylogenetic analysis to establish the systematic position of this Spanish form. The results confirm that it corresponds to a new species of basal crocodyloid, defined here as Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov., (© 2024 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Anatomy.)

Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated that particulate matter (PM) in air pollution can be involved in the genesis or aggravation of different cardiovascular, respiratory, perinatal, and cancer diseases. This study assessed the in vitro effects of PM 10 on the secretion of cytokines by a human monocytic cell line (THP-1). We compared the chemotactic, pro-inflammatory, and anti-inflammatory cytokines induced by PM 10 collected for two years during three different seasons in five different Mexico City locations. MIP-1α, IP-10, MCP-1, TNF-α, and VEGF were the main secretion products after stimulation with 80 μg/mL of PM 10 for 24 h. The THP-1 cells showed a differential response to PM 10 obtained in the different sites of Mexico City. The PM 10 from the north and the central city areas induced a higher pro-inflammatory cytokine response than those from the south. Seasonal pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion always exceeded anti-inflammatory secretion. The rainy-season-derived particles caused the lowest pro-inflammatory effects. We concluded that toxicological assessment of airborne particles provides evidence supporting their potential role in the chronic exacerbation of local or systemic inflammatory responses that may worsen the evolution of some chronic diseases.

Social network use has increased in recent years. Social networks are fast-changing and may cause negative effects such as dependence and addiction. Hence, it was decided to establish two research aims: (1) to identify the social network used by university students and their use levels according to their sex and (2) to analyse how age, body mass index, physical activity, emotional intelligence and social network type affect addiction to social networks according to young people's sex. A cross-sectional study was designed involving Spanish university students from Education Degrees. The mean age of the participants was 20.84 years (±2.90). Females made up 69.8% of the sample and males 30.2%. An online questionnaire was administered that included sociodemographic questions, IPAQ-SF and TMMS-24. This study found that all students use WhatsApp and more than 97% have YouTube and Instagram accounts. The linear regression model obtained was as follows: social network addiction = 3.355 + 0.336*emotional attention - 0.263*emotional clarity. There is a positive relationship between social network addiction and emotional attention (r = 0.25; p < 0.001) and negative relationships between social network addiction and emotional clarity (r = -0.16; p = 0.002) and between social network addiction and age (r = -0.17; p = 0.001). University students report lower levels of social network addiction and slightly higher levels of social network addiction among females. In addition, there are significant differences between the average social network addiction scores of university students in terms of their use of Telegram, TikTok and Twitch.

In the study of liver cancer, invasive techniques such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used. In the present work, an in vivo 3D study will be carried out using MRI and CT images, using scaling dynamics, that is, calculating critical exponents of local roughness and fractal dimension. The results obtained for stages IA, IIA, and IIIA in liver cancer correspond to what was proposed by F. Family and T. Vicsek (1991)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Since its origin in the surgical medicine of the 17th century, trauma research has had multiple interpretations and has been associated either with visible injuries to organs and tissues, or with the influence of pathogenic psychic agents on memory, consciousness and personality. With the intensification of the role of classification systems since DSM-III, the phenomenon of trauma came to be incorporated into the psychiatric realm through Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and destined finally to the constraints of neuroscientific research. Based on a narrative review, this article will address one of the fundamental epistemological premises for this transition, which informs how psychological trauma gained autonomy over anatomical descriptions to be reclassified, around a century later, as an essentially bodily phenomenon and incorporated into the jargon of neurosciences.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with significant public health and economic impact worldwide. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is essential for effective prevention and treatment. This study optimized a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay using BFo isothermal DNA polymerase with different colorimetric indicators. LAMP was able to detect DNA from pathogenic and intermediate leptospires, while non-pathogenic leptospires and other non-leptospiral microorganisms were negative. LAMP assay combined with calcein showed a tenfold higher limit of detection (1 ng of leptospiral DNA per reaction) than LAMP combined with hydroxynaphthol blue or end-point PCR lipL32 (10 ng of DNA per reaction). Animal samples were collected from infected and non-infected Golden Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) to evaluate and compare the performance of LAMP and PCR. These techniques showed a substantial agreement according to Cohen's kappa statistic, being both useful techniques for detecting leptospiral DNA in clinical samples. Overall, this study demonstrates that the LAMP assay is a sensitive, specific, rapid, and simple tool for the detection of leptospiral DNA. It has the potential to facilitate the diagnosis of leptospirosis, particularly in low-income regions with limited diagnosis resources., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in men. This pathology is complex and heterogeneous; therefore, elucidating the molecular mechanisms that lead to its origin and progression is imperative. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are part of the epigenetic machinery that regulates the expression of human genes, therefore, mutations in the genes that encode them can lead to a dysregulation in their expression, which directly impacts their target genes, which could be oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. In PCa several dysregulated expression levels of miRNAs are associated with perturbed cellular processes. A differential expression of miRNAs such as miR-145-5p and miR-148-3p has been observed in PCa, possibly due to mutations in regions near the miRNAs. However, the molecular mechanisms that lead to the dysregulation of these miRNAs still need to be clarified. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the expression of miRNAs and their relationship with mutations in patients with and without PCa. In total, 71 patients were analyzed: 41 of whom had PCa (CAP group) and 30 with benign pathology (BPD group). Underexpression was observed in miR-145-5p and miR-148b-3p in PCa patients (P=0.03 and P=0.001, respectively). In miR-145-5p, no mutations related to its expression were identified. For miR-148b-3p, a set of mutations were identified in the chr12:54337042/54337043 region, which were grouped into the mutation named DelsAAG. Although this mutation's abnormal allele is related to PCa (P=0.017), a statistically significant difference was observed in the expression of miR-148b-3p between carriers and non-carriers of the mutated allele, identifying a mechanism likely to be involved in the miR-148b-3p dysregulation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Bergez-Hernández et al.)

Student lifestyles change during university. This research aimed to classify university students according to their levels of physical activity, alcohol consumption, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and anxiety and studied the relationships between the variables using a multigroup equation model according to gender. The sample was composed of 549 participants (M = 23.06; S.D. = 6.22), of whom 409 were women and 140 were men. Validated and adapted instruments such as the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the PREDIMED Questionnaire, and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test were used. The data revealed four clusters through Ward's method and the k-means method. Regarding the exploratory model, differences were found in the effects of the variables according to sex. In conclusion, alcohol consumption was positively associated with the Mediterranean diet, and physical activity was negatively associated with the Mediterranean diet and anxiety.

Although adult subependymal zone (SEZ) neural stem cells mostly generate GABAergic interneurons, a small progenitor population expresses the proneural gene Neurog2 and produces glutamatergic neurons. Here, we determined whether Neurog2 could respecify SEZ neural stem cells and their progeny toward a glutamatergic fate. Retrovirus-mediated expression of Neurog2 induced the glutamatergic lineage markers TBR2 and TBR1 in cultured SEZ progenitors, which differentiated into functional glutamatergic neurons. Likewise, Neurog2-transduced SEZ progenitors acquired glutamatergic neuron hallmarks in vivo. Intriguingly, they failed to migrate toward the olfactory bulb and instead differentiated within the SEZ or the adjacent striatum, where they received connections from local neurons, as indicated by rabies virus-mediated monosynaptic tracing. In contrast, lentivirus-mediated expression of Neurog2 failed to reprogram early SEZ neurons, which maintained GABAergic identity and migrated to the olfactory bulb. Our data show that NEUROG2 can program SEZ progenitors toward a glutamatergic identity but fails to reprogram their neuronal progeny., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Previous research on the stigma associated with cutaneous leishmaniasis, a vector-transmitted parasitic disease, focuses on aesthetic appearance affectation as the leading cause of stigmatisation. However, Indigenous populations in the hinterland of Amazonian Ecuador trigger stigma expressions by recognising (muco)cutaneous leishmaniasis, primarily through atypical smell, followed by the odd voice sound, appearance and taste. This empirical way of recognising symptoms relies on embodied forms of identifying a disease, contrasting the Western supremacy of visuality and demanding to be understood via multi-sensorial anthropology. Through ethnographic research and data retrieved from eighty-three semistructured interviews and fifteen focus groups in seven Ecuadorian ethnic groups - including six Indigenous groups in the Amazon region - this paper analyses how the sensorium is a health thermometer. Findings reveal that differentiated cultural responses to a sense of peril, contagion and social (self)rejection, understood as stigma expressions, are linked to the holistic approach to health (or well-being) shared by Indigenous populations. In forest societies, well-being is explained through successful (non-)human relationships, and disease permeates through bodies that lack balanced relations.

Competing Interests: None to declare.

Background: Adolescence is a key life stage in human development. It is during this stage of development that healthy and physical behaviors are acquired that will last into adulthood. Gender differences in the acquisition of these behaviors have been observed. This research aims to (a) study the levels of Mediterranean diet adherence, quality of life and alcohol and tobacco consumption as regarding the gender of the participants and (b) study the effects of the variable adherence to the Mediterranean diet, alcohol consumption and tobacco consumption on quality of life as a function of the gender of the participants., Methods: A non-experimental, cross-sectional, exploratory study was carried out in a sample of 1,057 Spanish adolescents (Average Age = 14.19; Standard Deviation = 2.87)., Results: The comparative analysis shows that the male teenagers shows a higher Mediterranean diet adherence compared to the male adolescents ( p  ≤ 0.05) and a higher consumption of alcoholic beverages ( p  ≤ 0.05). On the contrary, adolescent girls show a higher consumption of alcoholic beverages than male participants ( p  ≤ 0.05). The exploratory analysis indicates that for boys, alcohol consumption has a beneficial effect on the quality of life of adolescents ( β  = 0.904; p  ≤ 0.001)., Conclusion: In this case, participants show differences in the levels of Mediterranean diet adherence, consumption of harmful substances and quality of life according to gender. Likewise, there are different effects between the variables according to gender. Therefore, gender is a key factor to consider during adolescence., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2023 Melguizo-Ibáñez, Zurita-Ortega, Ubago-Jiménez, Badicu, Yagin, González-Valero, Ardigò and Puertas-Molero.)

Since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, extensive quantities of face masks have been used and discarded. Most of these masks end up in landfills, causing a high environmental impact and no benefits. However, there are alternative ways to deal with this waste in a more sustainable way. For example, valorisation of face masks through pyrolysis has received special attention because it offers efficient application to produce a liquid oil that can be used as a diesel substitute and a solid char that can be used as an activated carbon substitute after activation. In this context, this study applies the Life-Cycle Assessment methodology to quantify and analyse the environmental impacts of different treatment scenarios based on the pyrolysis of surgical masks and FFP2 masks. It also compares their environmental performance with the conventional practice of landfilling. The scenarios studied include both thermal and catalytic pyrolysis by using sepiolite, a low-cost material abundant in Spain. Data on the pyrolysis process were obtained from laboratory experiments. It was found that the use of the produced oil as a diesel substitute very significantly reduces the environmental impact in all pyrolysis scenarios. Consequently, the pyrolysis of face masks can reduce the environmental impact caused by the treatment of this waste material. Furthermore, the thermal pyrolysis performs environmentally better than the catalytic pyrolysis. In all scenarios, freshwater ecotoxicity and marine ecotoxicity are the environmental impact categories that cause the highest environmental impact overall., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)