Search

Sepsis, a disease caused by severe infection, has a high mortality rate. At present, there is a lack of reliable algorithmic models for biomarker mining and diagnostic model construction for sepsis. Programmed cell death (PCD) has been shown to play a vital role in disease occurrence and progression, and different PCD-related genes have the potential to be targeted for the treatment of sepsis. In this paper, we analyzed PCD-related genes in sepsis. Implicated PCD processes include apoptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, netotic cell death, entotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, parthanatos, autophagy-dependent cell death, oxeiptosis, and alkaliptosis. We screened for diagnostic-related genes and constructed models for diagnosing sepsis using multiple machine-learning models. In addition, the immune landscape of sepsis was analyzed based on the diagnosis-related genes that were obtained. In this paper, 10 diagnosis-related genes were screened for using machine learning algorithms, and diagnostic models were constructed. The diagnostic model was validated in the internal and external test sets, and the Area Under Curve (AUC) reached 0.7951 in the internal test set and 0.9627 in the external test set. Furthermore, we verified the diagnostic gene via a qPCR experiment. The diagnostic-related genes and diagnostic genes obtained in this paper can be utilized as a reference for clinical sepsis diagnosis. The results of this study can act as a reference for the clinical diagnosis of sepsis and for target discovery for potential therapeutic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Over recent decades, the rapid growth in the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry worldwide has increased awareness of their adverse effects, which pose high risks to public health. The fungus Poria cocos is commonly used as both a traditional Chinese medicine and has a broad range of effects, e.g., strengthening body resistance. Polysaccharides are the main bioactive components of Poria cocos. In this paper, we assessed the potential of Poria cocos polysaccharides (PCPs) as a feed additive for animal production and found that PCP treatment positively influenced the growth performance, immunity, and cecal microbiota composition in weaned piglets. This paper aims to identify Poria cocos polysaccharides (PCPs) as a potential feed additive used for swine production; thus, we explored the effects of different dietary inclusion levels of PCP on growth performance, immunity, and cecal microflora composition in weaned piglets. For this, a total of 120 28-day-old Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weaned piglets (8.51 ± 0.19 kg; 28 ± 1 days of age) were randomly allocated to five groups that were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% PCP, respectively, for 42 days. The results indicated that the average daily gain (ADG) and gain/feed ratio were higher in the PCP treatment groups than in the control group, with a linear effect. The serum concentrations of IgG, IgA, IL-2, IFN-γ, the number of CD4+ T cells, and the CD4+-to-CD8+ T-cell ratio (CD4+/CD8+) were increased, while the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were decreased in the PCP supplementation groups compared with those in the control group. Furthermore, the cytokine mRNA expression levels exhibited a similar trend in the spleen. PCP supplementation also reduced the abundance of Escherichia coli and Salmonella and enhanced that of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in the cecum. In summary, dietary PCP inclusion exerted positive effects on the growth performance, immunity, and cecal microbiota of piglets and showed potential for use as a feed additive for improving the health of weaned piglets, with 0.1% being the optimal dosage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a cancer treatment that uses photogenerated reactive oxygen species (ROS) to damage target cells. The unique mechanism of action of PDT involves the systemic or local administration of a photosensitizing compound (photosensitizer), which is then activated by light of a specific energy. PDT induces a very strong local inflammatory response. A number of adaptive mechanisms are induced within the tumor, related to increased amino acid metabolism and damage to lymphatic vessels. In this review, we are describing the adaptive immune response induced by ROS and generated by PDT. Cancer is one of the most significant causes of death worldwide. Despite the rapid development of modern forms of therapy, results are still unsatisfactory. The prognosis is further worsened by the ability of cancer cells to metastasize. Thus, more effective forms of therapy, such as photodynamic therapy, are constantly being developed. The photodynamic therapeutic regimen involves administering a photosensitizer that selectively accumulates in tumor cells or is present in tumor vasculature prior to irradiation with light at a wavelength corresponding to the photosensitizer absorbance, leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species are responsible for the direct and indirect destruction of cancer cells. Photodynamically induced local inflammation has been shown to have the ability to activate an adaptive immune system response resulting in the destruction of tumor lesions and the creation of an immune memory. This paper focuses on presenting the latest scientific reports on the specific immune response activated by photodynamic therapy. We present newly discovered mechanisms for the induction of the adaptive response by analyzing its various stages, and the possible difficulties in generating it. We also present the results of research over the past 10 years that have focused on improving the immunological efficacy of photodynamic therapy for improved cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is aimed at making new proposals for developing future Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) standards tailored to DC microgrids in a frequency range between 9 and 500 kHz. In particular, new EMC proposals are made to reduce Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) with arc hazard detection and narrowband power line communication (PLC). To achieve this, first, arc detection requirements, PLC standards and existing EMC standards are reviewed. Next, new proposals are made to specify EMC requirements for equipment in DC microgrids in terms of conducted emission, immunity (9–500 kHz) and minimum impedance requirement (>40 kHz). The minimum impedance requirement is a new type of requirement and the relevant compliance testing method is developed. The new EMC proposals also distribute frequency bands to support arc detection and narrowband PLC. Then, to show the feasibility and advantage of proposed EMC codes, this paper develops a new arc detection method, which relies on only measuring the arc noise voltage (40–100 kHz) in a single point of the grid and does not need one or more current measurements. A total of three test cases are presented to show the feasibility of the arc detection method and the significance of having an EMC minimum impedance requirement. The executed tests for this paper also show that new EMC proposals are feasible and promising for DC microgrids. This concept and approach are the major novelties of this paper. The specific EMC threshold levels for conducted noise, immunity, and impedance within a frequency range between 9 and 500 kHz will need to be further fine-tuned based on the microgrid application parameters and further gathering of experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a high-speed level shifter with about 500 V/ns power supply slew immunity. In this designed structure, a narrow pulse-controlled current source is adapted to accelerate the voltage conversion and reduce the power consumption. A Fast-Slewing Circuit speeds up the operation of the level shifter based on the current comparison principle. Edge detection technology is used to filter the generated voltage noise and achieve high dV/dt immunity. The proposed level shifter simulated with the 0.18 μm BCD (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) process shows fast responses with a typical delay of 1.49 ns and 500 V/ns dV/dt immunity in the 200 V high-voltage application, which only occupies a 0.022 mm2 active area with the 0.18 μm BCD process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an all-digital and configurable resolution time-to-digital converter (TDC) with low process–voltage–temperature (PVT) sensitivity for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications. The proposed TDC offers configurable resolution, allowing it to provide an appropriate conversion resolution according to the system's requirements, thereby optimizing overall system performance. In addition, because the proposed TDC has high immunity to process–voltage–temperature (PVT) variations, it provides more stable time-converting results. The proposed design uses 0.18 μm CMOS technology, and the measurement results demonstrate a resolution ranging from 36 ps to 1193 ps, with a conversion range from 0.1 ns to 36 ns and an average error of 20.59 ps. Furthermore, the proposed TDC is implemented in an all-digital manner, making it highly suitable for system integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A severe condition of sepsis can be a complication of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which can occur in premature infants and becomes a medical challenge in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It is a multifactorial intestinal disease (can affect both the small and large intestine) that can lead to ischemia of the intestinal tissues that evolves into acute organ necrosis. One of these factors is that different types of nutrition can influence the onset or the progression of the disease. Cow-milk-based infant formulas have been shown to cause it in premature infants more frequently than human milk. Recently, nutrition has been shown to be beneficial after surgery. Several issues still under study, such as the pathogenesis and the insufficient and often difficult therapeutic approach, as well as the lack of a common and effective prevention strategy, make this disease an enigma in daily clinical practice. Recent studies outlined the emerging role of the host immune system and resident gut microbiota, showing their close connection in NEC pathophysiology. In its initial stages, broad-spectrum antibiotics, bowel rest, and breastfeeding are currently used, as well as probiotics to help the development of the intestinal microbiota and its eubiosis. This paper aims to present the current knowledge and potential fields of research in NEC pathophysiology and therapeutic assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Immunotherapeutic synergy represents the cornerstone of the treatment intended for patients with clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma. In most cases, this type of cancer manifests its first symptoms at an advanced stage, thus compromising the use of local therapies such as surgery. This paper aims to describe immune checkpoint proteins, known to suppress an anti-cancer immune response, as well as their inhibitors. Interleukin-2, a cytokine used as a therapeutic option and implicated in the activation of the immune cells, is also discussed. This review further emphasizes the role of the immunotherapeutic combination, not only as an alternative to current treatments devised to counteract the progression and metastasis of ccRCC but also as a valid solution aimed at alleviating the limitations resulting from immune-based monotherapies. Clear-cell Renal-Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common type of renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). In many cases, RCC patients manifest the first symptoms during the advanced stage of the disease. For this reason, immunotherapy appears to be one of the dominant treatments to achieve a resolution. In this review, we focus on the presentation of the main immune checkpoint proteins that act as negative regulators of immune responses, such as PD-1, CTLA-4, LAG-3, TIGIT, and TIM-3, and their respective inhibitors. Interleukin-2, another potential component of the treatment of ccRCC patients, has also been covered. The synergy between several immunotherapies is one of the main aspects that unites the conclusions of research in recent years. To date, the combination of several immunotherapies enhances the efficacy of a monotherapy, which often manifests important limitations. Immunotherapy aimed at restoring the anti-cancer immune response in ccRCC, involved in the recognition and elimination of cancer cells, may also be a valid solution for many other types of immunogenic tumors that are diagnosed in the final stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multitude of biotic and abiotic stress factors do harm to plants by bringing about diseases and inhibiting normal growth and development. As a pivotal signaling molecule, salicylic acid (SA) plays crucial roles in plant tolerance responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses, thereby maintaining plant normal growth and improving yields under stress. In view of this, this paper mainly discusses the role of SA in both biotic and abiotic stresses of plants. SA regulates the expression of genes involved in defense signaling pathways, thus enhancing plant immunity. In addition, SA mitigates the negative effects of abiotic stresses, and acts as a signaling molecule to induce the expression of stress-responsive genes and the synthesis of stress-related proteins. In addition, SA also improves certain yield-related photosynthetic indexes, thereby enhancing crop yield under stress. On the other hand, SA acts with other signaling molecules, such as jasmonic acid (JA), auxin, ethylene (ETH), and so on, in regulating plant growth and improving tolerance under stress. This paper reviews recent advances in SA's roles in plant stress tolerance, so as to provide theoretical references for further studies concerning the decryption of molecular mechanisms for SA's roles and the improvement of crop management under stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual increasing of the transmission voltage level, the situation of interference on secondary side equipment in smart substations is becoming more serious. The authors tested the interference waveforms caused by the circuit breaker's operation at the smart substation, which showed the severity of the electromagnetic (EM) environment. This paper takes the electronic current transformer acquisition card as an example. The influence of EM interference sources on the reliability of the acquisition card is analyzed. Then, standardized electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) immunity tests of the international electrotechnical commission (IEC) for different interferences are implemented. Typical output characteristics of acquisition cards for different tests are analyzed. Innovatively, this paper proposes a quantitative evaluation method of output waveform disturbance to evaluate the acquisition card's performance. This disturbance distortion is of great significance to the EM environment estimation of the acquisition card. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During circuit conduction immunity simulation assessments, the existing black-box modeling methods for chips generally involve the use of time-domain-based modeling methods or ICIM-CI binary decision models, which can provide approximate immunity assessments but require a high number of tests to be performed when carrying out broadband immunity assessments, as well as having a long modeling time and demonstrating poor reproducibility and insufficient accuracy in capturing the complex electromagnetic response in the frequency domain. To address these issues, in this paper, we propose a novel frequency-domain broadband model (Sensi-Freq-Model) of IC conduction susceptibility that accurately quantifies the conduction immunity of components in the frequency domain and builds a model of the IC based on the quantized data. The method provides high fitting accuracy in the frequency domain, which significantly improves the accuracy of circuit broadband design. The generated model retains as much information within the frequency-domain broadband as possible and reduces the need to rebuild the model under changing electromagnetic environments, thereby enhancing the portability and repeatability of the model. The ability to reduce the modeling time of the chip greatly improves modeling efficiency and circuit design. The results of this study show that the "Sensi-Freq-Model" reduces the broadband modeling time by about 90% compared to the traditional ICIM-CI method and improves the normalized mean square error (NMSE) by 18.5 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic HIV-1 infection can cause neurological illness, also known as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The elevated level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as C-C Chemokine Ligand 5 (CCL5/RANTES), is one of the ways of causing HIV-1-mediated neuroinflammation. C-C Chemokine Receptor 5 (CCR5) is the main coreceptor for viral entry into host cells and for mediating induction of CCL5/RANTES. CCR5 and CCL5 are part of a correlated axis of immune pathways used for effective protection against the HIV-1 virus. The purpose of this paper was to review the literary knowledge about the immunopathological relationship between this immune complex and neuroAIDS. A systematic review of the literature was conducted based on the selection and search of articles, available in English, Spanish, or Portuguese in the time frame of 1990–2022, of primary and secondary types in the PUBMED, Science Direct, SciELO, and LILACS databases through descriptors (MeSH) together with "AND": "CCR5"; "CCL5"; "neurological manifestations"; or "HIV". The methodological quality of the articles was assessed using the JBI Checklists and the PRISMA 2020 writing guidelines were followed. A total of 36 articles were included in the final composition of the review. The main cells of the CNS affected by neuroAIDS are: neurons; microglia; astrocytes; and oligodendrocytes. Molecular devices and their associations with cellular injuries have been described from the entry of the virus into the host's CNS cell to the generation of mental disorders. Furthermore, divergent results were found about the levels of CCL5/RANTES secretion and the generation of immunopathogenesis, while all condensed research for CCR5 indicated that elevation of this receptor causes more neurodegenerative manifestations. Therefore, new therapeutic and interventional strategies can be conditioned on the immunological direction proposed in this review for the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent events highlighted that, despite decades of studying vaccine immunogenicity and efforts toward finding correlates of protection, evaluating real-world vaccine efficacy as well as establishing meaningful licensing criteria still represents a significant challenge. In this paper, we review all aspects of influenza vaccine immunogenicity, including animal and human challenge studies, humoral and cellular immunity parameters, and their potential correlation with real-life protection from disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative made immense progress after its establishment in 1988 as a consequence of high coverage with various poliovirus vaccines in all populations of the world. Problems have arisen in recent years, however, related to security issues in some countries, to the circulation of vaccine-derived polioviruses, and to the recognition that individuals with certain immune deficiencies can remain infected and infectious for many months or years. As natural infection and different vaccines have different effects on the immune system, the patterns of humoral and mucosal immunity to polioviruses in the world today are complex but are crucial to the ultimate success of the eradication initiative. This paper describes the background of the current situation and current immunological patterns and discusses their implications for managing population immunity to polioviruses in the years ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The dairy industry in Australia and New Zealand is pasture-based, therefore, monitoring failed transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) is challenging. This study involved a systematic literature search and meta-analysis of papers reporting FTPI data from dairy calves within eight days of birth in Australia and New Zealand, until the end of 2022. An overall prevalence of 33% of FTPI in dairy calves in Australasia and a prevalence of 38% at the farm level were calculated from the meta-analysis, comparable to rates observed elsewhere. Factors, such as the frequency of calf removal from the calving area, time of the first colostrum feed after birth, colostrum volume and quality, and other management practices, were found to play a significant role in FTPI in Australasia. Monitoring and minimizing the prevalence of failed transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in dairy replacement calves within the first week of life is crucial for calf health and farm profitability. In this study, a systematic literature search and meta-analysis were conducted on papers reporting the prevalence of FTPI in calves from pasture-based dairy farms in Australia and New Zealand. Two search methods, a "traditional method" and a "search engine method", were conducted to identify published studies on FTPI in Australia and New Zealand. Data from a total of 13,430 calves from eight studies in Australasia were included in the analysis for FTPI within 8 days of birth. The meta-analysis revealed that the average prevalence of FTPI was 33% across the two countries, with the lowest FTPI (9%) in Western Australia and the highest FTPI (59%) in New Zealand. Using farm data from three studies, the average prevalence of FTPI at the farm level in Australasia was 38%, with the lowest prevalence found in a farm in South Australia (6%). In conclusion, the meta-analysis confirmed the need for good management of cows and newborn calves after birth in pasture-based systems to reduce FTPI in calves. Collecting newborn calves from pasture at least twice per day after birth and providing colostrum of sufficient quantity and quality as soon as possible were the best practices for preventing FTPI in Australasian dairy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, even if the emergency is over, and we now have enough data to analyze the outbreak over a long timeline. There is evidence that the outbreak alternates periods of high and low infections. Retrospectively, this can help in understanding the nature of an appropriate mathematical model for this dramatic infection. The periodic behavior may be the consequence of time-dependent coefficients related to seasonal effects and specific political actions, or an intrinsic feature of the model. The present paper relies on the assumption that the periodic spikes are an intrinsic feature of the disease, and, as such, it should be properly reflected in the mathematical model. Based on the concept of waning immunity proposed for other pathologies, we introduce a new model with (i) a compartment for weakly immune people subject to immunity booster, represented by a non-linear term; (ii) discrimination between individuals infected/vaccinated for the first time, and individuals already infected/vaccinated, undergoing to new infections/doses. We analyze some preliminary properties of our model, called SIRW2, and provide a proof-of-concept that it is capable of reproducing qualitatively the long-term oscillatory behavior of COVID-19 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platinum (Pt) drugs have developed rapidly in clinical applications because of their broad and highly effective antitumor effects. In recent years, with the rapid development of immunotherapy, Pt-based antitumor agents have gained new challenges and opportunities. Since the discovery of their pharmacological effects in immunotherapy and tumor microenvironment regulation, research into Pt drugs has progressed to multi-ligand and multi-functional Pt precursors and their own shortcomings have been further highlighted. With the development of antitumor immunotherapy and the rise of combination therapy, the development of Pt-based drugs has started to move in the direction of multi-targeting, nanocarrier modification, immunotherapy and photodynamic therapy. In this paper, we first overview the recent applications of Pt-based drugs in antitumor inorganic chemistry, with a focus on summarizing the application of Pt-based drugs and their precursors in the anticancer immune response. The paper also provides a reasonable outlook on the future development of Pt-based drugs from the chemical and immunological perspectives, relying on the existing content and problems of Pt-based drug development. On the basis of the gathered information, joint multidisciplinary programs on implementing comprehensive immune analyses for the future development of novel anticancer metal compounds should be initiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This review focuses on two crucial aspects of cattle breeding: the reproduction of dairy cows and the health status and body condition of cows during the periparturient period, as well as the immunity of newborn calves. The energetic importance of fat in ruminant nutrition and lipids metabolism in the rumen, the regulatory role of n-3 fatty acids in the reproduction of ruminants, their importance in fetus developmental programming and embryo development, as well as the role of n-3 fatty acids a key component in the building of the immunity of newborn calves, are discussed. This paper focuses on the role of n-3 fatty acids as a nutrient crucial to the proper functioning of reproductive and immune systems in cattle. Emphasis was placed on the connection between maternal and offspring immunity. The summarized results confirm the importance and beneficial effect of n-3 family fatty acids on ruminant organisms. Meanwhile, dietary n-3 fatty acids supplementation, especially during the critical first week for dairy cows experiencing their peripartum period, in general, is expected to enhance reproductive performance, and the impact of its supplementation appears to be dependent on body condition scores of cows during the drying period, the severity of the negative energy balance, and the amount of fat in the basic feed ration. An unbalanced, insufficient, or excessive fatty acid supplementation of cows' diets in the early stages of pregnancy (during fetus development) may affect both the metabolic and nutritional programming of the offspring. The presence of the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 family in the calves' ration affects not only the performance of calves but also the immune response, antioxidant status, and overall metabolism of the future adult cow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of estimating the deterministic susceptibility coefficient of electronic components to standardised types of electromagnetic disturbance has been presented in this paper. From a theoretical point of view, the problem of damage to electronic elements is presented with the impact of disturbances of critical values on them and the potential impact of this effect on the reliability of the element and ultimately the system or electronic device. For a selected exemplary electronic component, a method for estimating the susceptibility coefficient according to the developed methodology is discussed. Experimental tests were carried out by exposing the test component to a standardised surge of 1.2/50 μs which was observed in an electrical grid. In order to illustrate the developed method, aimed at describing the immunity of an electronic component to a standardised type of disturbance, a signal diode was selected for testing. Using this element as an example, it is shown how, using statistical techniques, the coefficient of its susceptibility to a specific type of disturbance can be estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bone age assessment (BAA) is an important indicator of child maturity. Generally, a person is evaluated for bone age mostly during puberty stage; compared to toddlers and post-puberty stages, the data of bone age at puberty stage are much easier to obtain. As a result, the amount of bone age data collected at the toddler and post-puberty stages are often much fewer than the amount of bone age data collected at the puberty stage. This so-called data imbalance problem affects the prediction accuracy. To deal with this problem, in this paper, a data imbalance immunity bone age assessment (DIIBAA) system is proposed. It consists of two branches, the first branch consists of a CNN-based autoencoder and a CNN-based scoring network. This branch builds three autoencoders for the bone age data of toddlers, puberty, and post-puberty stages, respectively. Since the three types of autoencoders do not interfere with each other, there is no data imbalance problem in the first branch. After that, the outputs of the three autoencoders are input into the scoring network, and the autoencoder which produces the image with the highest score is regarded as the final prediction result. In the experiments, imbalanced training data with a positive and negative sample ratio of 1:2 are used, which has been alleviated compared to the original highly imbalanced data. In addition, since the scoring network converts the classification problem into an image quality scoring problem, it does not use the classification features of the image. Therefore, in the second branch, we also add the classification features to the DIIBAA system. At this time, DIIBAA considers both image quality features and classification features. Finally, the DenseNet169-based autoencoders are employed in the experiments, and the obtained evaluation accuracies are improved compared to the baseline network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasingly recognized as a serious, worldwide public health concern. It is generally acknowledged that a variety of factors play a role in the pathogenesis of this group of chronic inflammatory diseases. The diversity of molecular actors involved in IBD does not allow us to fully assess the causal relationships existing in such interactions. Given the high immunomodulatory activity of histamine and the complex immune-mediated nature of inflammatory bowel disease, the role of histamine and its receptors in the gut may be significant. This paper has been prepared to provide a schematic of the most important and possible molecular signaling pathways related to histamine and its receptors and to assess their relevance for the development of therapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important barriers in the body, the intestinal barrier is a key factor in maintaining human health. Ageing of the intestine is a degenerative process that is closely associated with a variety of poor health conditions in the elderly. Inflammation and the immune system are anti-ageing targets that can regulate the function of the intestine. Nucleotides (NTs) are involved in important physiological and biochemical reactions in the body, but there are few studies about their effect on the ageing intestine. This paper examines the role of exogenous NTs in the ageing intestine. For this purpose, we used senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAMP8) mice and senescence-accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) mice for the experiment, and randomly divided the mice into NTs-free, Normal Control, NTs-low, NTs-medium, NTs-high, and SAMR1 groups. After 9 months of intervention, we collected the colon tissue of mice for testing. In our study, exogenous NTs could increase bodyweight of mice during ageing and improve the morphological structure of the intestine, and we found that NTs could promote the secretion of intestinal protective factors, such as TFF3 and TE. Furthermore, supplementation with NTs suppressed intestinal inflammation and improved intestinal immunity, possibly by activating the p38 signaling pathway. These results suggest that exogenous NTs are able to maintain the health condition of the ageing intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term, high-intensity exercise can trigger stress response pathways in multiple organs, including the heart and lungs, gastrointestinal tract, skeletal muscle, and neuroendocrine system, thus affecting their material and energy metabolism, immunity, oxidative stress, and endocrine function, and reducing exercise function. As a natural, safe, and convenient nutritional supplement, probiotics have been a hot research topic in the field of biomedical health in recent years. Numerous studies have shown that probiotic supplementation improves the health of the body through the gut–brain axis and the gut–muscle axis, and probiotic supplementation may also improve the stress response and motor function of the body. This paper reviews the progress of research on the role of probiotic supplementation in material and energy metabolism, intestinal barrier function, immunity, oxidative stress, neuroendocrine function, and the health status of the body, as well as the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns regarding the ecological and health risks posed by synthetic insecticides have instigated the exploration of alternative methods for controlling insects, such as entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) as biocontrol agents. Therefore, this review discusses their use as a potential alternative to chemical insecticides and especially focuses on the two major ones, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, as examples. First, this review exemplifies how B. bassiana- and M. anisopliae-based biopesticides are used in the world. Then, we discuss the mechanism of action by which EPF interacts with insects, focusing on the penetration of the cuticle and the subsequent death of the host. The interactions between EPF and the insect microbiome, as well as the enhancement of the insect immune response, are also summarized. Finally, this review presents recent research that N-glycans may play a role in eliciting an immune response in insects, resulting in the increased expression of immune-related genes and smaller peritrophic matrix pores, reducing insect midgut permeability. Overall, this paper provides an overview of the EPF in insect control and highlights the latest developments relating to the interaction between fungi and insect immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Hematological malignancies are characterized by an immortalization, uncontrolled proliferation of blood cells and their differentiation block, followed by the loss of function. The primary goal in the treatment of leukemias is the elimination of rapidly proliferating leukemic cells (named blasts). However, chemotherapy, which removes proliferating blasts, also prevents the remaining immune cells from being activated. Acute leukemias affect elderly people, who are often not fit to survive aggressive chemotherapy. Therefore, there is a need of milder treatment, named differentiation therapy, which might simulate the immune system of the patient. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D, or low-calcemic analogs of this compound, were proposed as supporting therapy in acute leukemias. (2) Bone marrow blasts from patients with hematological malignancies, and leukocytes from healthy volunteers were ex vivo exposed to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and then their genomes and transcriptomes were investigated. (3) Our analysis indicates that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D regulates in blood cells predominantly genes involved in immune response, such as CAMP (cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide), CP (ceruloplasmin), CXCL9 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9), CD14 (CD14 molecule) or VMO1 (vitelline membrane outer layer 1 homolog). This concerns blood cells from healthy people, as well as blasts from patients with hematological malignancies. In addition, in one patient, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D significantly downregulated transcription of genes responsible for cell division and immortalization. (4) In conclusion, the data presented in this paper suggest that addition of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D to the currently available treatments would stimulate immune system, inhibit proliferation and reduce immortal potential of blasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss the effect of alkyl glycerol ethers (AGs) from the squid Berryteuthis magister on a chronic stress model in rats. The study was performed on 32 male Wistar rats. Animals received AGs at a dose of 200 mg/kg through a gavage for six weeks (1.5 months), and were divided into four groups: group 1 (control), group 2 (animals received AGs), group 3 (stress control), group 4 (animals received AGs and were subjected to stress). Chronic immobilization stress was induced by placing each rat into an individual plexiglass cages for 2 h daily for 15 days. The serum lipid spectrum was evaluated by the content of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low lipoprotein cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The atherogenic coefficient was calculated. The hematological parameters of peripheral blood were evaluated. The neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio was counted. The levels of cortisol and testosterone in blood plasma were determined. AGs at the selected dose did not have a significant effect on the body weight of rats in the preliminary period of the experiment. Under stress, the body weight gain, the concentrations of very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood triglycerides decreased significantly. The neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio in animals treated with AGs shifted towards lymphocytes. A favorable increase in the percentage of lymphocytes was found in the stressed group of animals treated with AGs. So, for the first time, it was found that AGs prevent stress-induced suppression of the immune system. This confirms the benefit of AGs for the immune system under chronic stress. Our results prove the efficiency of the use of AGs for treating chronic stress, a serious social problem in modern society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of the DC components in the grid voltage adversely affects the performance of the synchronization unit, causing oscillatory and offset errors in the estimated grid information. Several approaches were proposed to address the DC offset problem by incorporating an additional filtering stage to the synchronous reference frame phase-locked loop (SRF-PLL). Removing the DC offset using the modified delayed signal cancelation (MDSC) operator in the inner loop of the SRF-PLL shows a good DC offset elimination with a fast-dynamic response. However, neither a straightforward selection procedure for the MDSC parameters nor a general estimation technique for the grid information is provided. Hence, a generalization for the MDSC is proposed in this paper based on general mathematical expressions to cancel out the DC offset, while meanwhile estimating the grid parameters precisely and rapidly against any delay factor selection. Finally, comprehensive simulation and experimental results compared with other related PLLs are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an old infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent and control TB. However, there is relatively little literature that systematically analyzes the progress of new TB vaccine research from a bibliometric perspective. This study was conducted to examine the development of TB vaccines over the past 20 years and to identify research priorities and directions for the future. Methods: The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) of the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database was selected to search the literature related to TB vaccines. The countries, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords of each publication were analyzed and visualized using the VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix software. Furthermore, GraphPad Prism and Microsoft Excel 365 were also used for statistical analysis. Results: As of 20 October 2022, 7960 publications related to TB vaccines were identified with 288,478 citations. The United States of America (USA) accounted for the largest share (2658, 33.40%), followed by the United Kingdom (UK, 1301, 16.34%), and China (685, 8.6%). Regarding affiliations, the University of London had the most publications (427) and shared the highest H-index (76) with the Statens Serum Institut of Denmark. In terms of the number of articles for the journals and authors, the journal Vaccine ranked first with 629 articles. Professor Peter Anderssen has published the highest number of papers (160). The burst keywords and thematic maps analysis showed that future trends in TB vaccine development would focus on exploring the interaction mechanisms between M. tuberculosis and the host. Conclusion: The number of publications on TB vaccines has grown over the past two decades. Developed countries play a significant role in TB vaccine research, and developing countries are fast catching up. We believe that future research will be aimed at understanding the fine molecular mechanisms of host–pathogen interaction, leading to the development of better TB vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Climate change-induced trophic mismatch poses a challenge to nestling survival. This paper presents a physiological adaptation of nestlings to poor food conditions. Some indicators related to the immunity (IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-1β) and growth (IGF-1, body mass growth rate) of wild Asian short-toed lark nestlings were studied. The relationships between these indicators and food abundance are analyzed. The results indicate that the plasticity of immunity and growth in nestlings may buffer the challenge of trophic mismatch in birds. Passerine nestlings frequently suffer from sub-optimal food conditions due to climate change-induced trophic mismatch between the nestlings and their optimal food resources. The ability of nestlings to buffer this challenge is less well understood. We hypothesized that poor food conditions might induce a higher immune response and lower growth rate of nestlings, and such physiological plasticity is conducive to nestling survival. To test this, we examined how food (grasshopper nymphs) abundance affects the expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) genes, plasma IGF-1 levels, body mass, and fledging rates in wild Asian short-toed lark (Alaudala cheleensis) nestlings. Linear mixed models revealed that nymph biomass significantly influenced the expression of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-1β genes, and the level of plasma IGF-1. The expressions of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-1β genes were negatively correlated with nymph biomass and plasma IGF-1 level. Plasma IGF-1 level, nestling body mass growth rate, was positively correlated with nymph biomass. Despite a positive correlation between the nestling fledge rate and nymph biomass, more than 60% of nestlings fledged when nymph biomass was at the lowest level. These results suggest that immunity and growth plasticity of nestlings may be an adaptation for birds to buffer the negative effects of trophic mismatch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Every year, cervical cancer affects more than 500,000 women worldwide. The persistent infection caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main risk factor for the development of this type of cancer. Conventional treatments for cervical cancer are often associated with resistance and side effects. Therefore, it is necessary to find new targets for the development of more effective therapeutic approaches. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have been concerned with developing immunotherapeutic strategies for treating cancer. Thus, it is important to investigate new targets, such as the various molecules and cells that are involved in the cancer-immunity cycle (CIC). This process consists of the release of cancer antigens and their destruction by cytotoxic T-cells. Hence, in this review, we discuss the molecular changes that occur at each stage of the CIC for cervical cancer, including the impact of variables such as histological subtype and HPV infection. Moreover, we explore the latest immunotherapeutic approaches that have been adopted, together with their benefits and limitations. In this scenario, current studies are opening up new horizons in clinical practice for a personalized treatment of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with more than 500,000 new cases each year and a mortality rate of around 55%. Over 80% of these deaths occur in developing countries. The most important risk factor for CC is persistent infection by a sexually transmitted virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV). Conventional treatments to eradicate this type of cancer are accompanied by high rates of resistance and a large number of side effects. Hence, it is crucial to devise novel effective therapeutic strategies. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have aimed to develop immunotherapeutic methods for treating cancer. However, these strategies have not proven to be effective enough to combat CC. This means there is a need to investigate immune molecular targets. An adaptive immune response against cancer has been described in seven key stages or steps defined as the cancer-immunity cycle (CIC). The CIC begins with the release of antigens by tumor cells and ends with their destruction by cytotoxic T-cells. In this paper, we discuss several molecular alterations found in each stage of the CIC of CC. In addition, we analyze the evidence discovered, the molecular mechanisms and their relationship with variables such as histological subtype and HPV infection, as well as their potential impact for adopting novel immunotherapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, we report that the combination of existing therapeutic agents and hemagglutinating virus of Japan envelope (HVJ-E), a virus-inactivating agent, may be a more effective treatment agent for pleural mesothelioma, a refractory cancer for which no effective treatment has been established. We have already reported that HVJ-E, which activates antitumor immunity and induces apoptosis in cancer, can provide a different mechanism for effective treatment. In this report, the antitumor effect of HVJ-E in combination with chemotherapy or immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) activated antitumor immunity in a mouse model of malignant pleural mesothelioma-bearing tumor and significantly enhanced antitumor efficacy compared to single-agent therapy. We report that the use of HVJ-E in combination with chemotherapy or ICIs, which are already used in clinical practice, may be more effective than single-agent therapy. However, further clinical studies are needed before the combination therapy can be used in clinical practice. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a refractory tumor because most of the lesions are already disseminated at diagnosis. Previously, the main treatment for MPM was combination chemotherapy. However, recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are also used. For better efficacy of MPM treatment, we focused on hemagglutinating virus of Japan envelope (HVJ-E), which activates antitumor immunity and induces tumor-specific cell death. In this paper, we aimed to determine whether HVJ-E as a single agent therapy or in combination with chemotherapy or ICIs is effective in MPM bearing mouse. We confirmed its antitumor efficacy in MPM-bearing mouse. HVJ-E significantly prolonged the survival of human MPM-bearing mouse compared to that of control mouse and when combined with CDDP. This efficacy was lost in NOD-SCID mouse, suggesting that activation of innate immunity by HVJ-E was related to the survival rate. HVJ-E also showed antitumor efficacy in murine MPM-bearing mouse. The combination of chemotherapy and HVJ-E caused a significant increase in cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) compared to chemotherapy alone, suggesting that not only innate immunity activated by HVJ-E but also the increase in CTLs contributed to improved survival. The combination of anti-PD-1 antibody and HVJ-E significantly prolonged the survival rate of murine MPM-bearing mouse. Further, HVJ-E might have exhibited antitumor effects by maintaining immunogenicity against tumors. We believe that HVJ-E may be a beneficial therapy to improve MPM treatment in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its emergence, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected the entire world and all commerce and industries, including healthcare systems. COVID-19 adversely affects cancer patients because they are immunocompromised. Increased COVID-19 infection and shortage of medical supplies, beds and healthcare workers in hospitals affect cancer care. This paper includes a description of the existing research that shows the impact of COVID-19 on the management of cancer patients. Aged people with various chronic conditions such as cancer and comorbidities face more challenges as they have a greater risk of disease severity. COVID-19 has affected care delivery, including patient management, and has been responsible for increased mortality among cancer patients. Cancer patients with severe symptoms require regular therapies and treatment; therefore, they have a higher risk of exposure. Due to the risk of transmission, various steps were taken to combat this disease; however, they have affected the existing operational efficiency. Herein, we present the changing priorities during COVID-19, which also affected cancer care, including delayed diagnosis, treatment, and surgeries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Heat stress (HS) is a complex phenomenon which triggers a variety of animal response mechanisms that have negative impact on livestock welfare and their production. While these negative effects are well established and known to be associated with production responses, growing body of evidence suggests that HS leads to negative effects on the immune response of dairy cattle. The stress response primarily modulates the immune response via the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis but is also likely to shift the adaptive immune function from cell mediated to humoral immunity and thus weakens the animal immune function. While the various management strategies such as providing shade and sprinklers for cows, and nutritional supplementation could be adopted to ameliorate some of the negative effects, further research is required to better understand the impact on production responses because of altered immune status of dairy cattle during HS. Heat stress (HS) is well known to influence animal health and livestock productivity negatively. Heat stress is a multi-billion-dollar global problem. It impairs animal performance during summer when animals are exposed to high ambient temperatures, direct and indirect solar radiations, and humidity. While significant developments have been achieved over the last few decades to mitigate the negative impact of HS, such as physical modification of the environment to protect the animals from direct heat, HS remains a significant challenge for the dairy industry compromising dairy cattle health and welfare. In such a scenario, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of how the immune system of dairy cattle responds to HS and identify the variable responses among the animals. This understanding could help to identify heat-resilient dairy animals for breeding and may lead to the development of climate resilient breeds in the future to support sustainable dairy cattle production. There are sufficient data demonstrating the impact of increased temperature and humidity on endocrine responses to HS in dairy cattle, especially changes in concentration of hormones like prolactin and cortisol, which also provide an indication of the likely im-pact on the immune system. In this paper, we review the recent research on the impact of HS on immunity of calves during early life to adult lactating and dry cows. Additionally, different strategies for amelioration of negative effects of HS have been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers with a high degree of immune tolerance. Galectins induce induction of immune evasion behavior in tumor cells. Galectins each play a role in promoting PDAC progression during PDAC immune evasion by coordinating the function and number of immune cells, especially galectin-1. In this paper. we review the involvement of galectins in the construction of PDAC privileged zones by regulating relevant immune cells, establishing fibrotic barriers, and promoting cellular metabolism. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers and is highly immune tolerant. Although there is immune cell infiltration in PDAC tissues, most of the immune cells do not function properly and, therefore, the prognosis of PDAC is very poor. Galectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are intimately involved in the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells and, in particular, play a crucial role in the immune evasion of tumor cells. Galectins induce abnormal functions and reduce numbers of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), natural killer cells (NK), T cells and B cells. It further promotes fibrosis of tissues surrounding PDAC, enhances local cellular metabolism, and ultimately constructs tumor immune privileged areas to induce immune evasion behavior of tumor cells. Here, we summarize the respective mechanisms of action played by different Galectins in the process of immune escape from PDAC, focusing on the mechanism of action of Galectin-1. Galectins cause imbalance between tumor immunity and anti-tumor immunity by coordinating the function and number of immune cells, which leads to the development and progression of PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Supplementation with trace minerals (TM) is a husbandry strategy to improve cattle health. There is solid evidence of the beneficial effects of TM supplementation on the immune system. The concentration of TM in the soil is variable across the USA, with several regions having deficient levels in forages. Therefore, TM supplementation is highly recommended especially in areas where forages do not supply the mineral requirements. Before starting TM supplementation, it is important to evaluate the herd's mineral profile, and the amount of TM the animals are consuming. Oral free-choice TM may not be sufficient to satisfy the requirements in certain situations, and could lead to TM deficiencies. This is due to a high variability in TM composition and intake, binding to undigested feed particles, reduced absorption, and antagonisms. Single, oral pulse-dose supplementation provides a controlled and homogeneous amount of TM intended to remove such a variation. However, this strategy does not efficiently increase circulating and hepatic TM levels. Parenteral TM supplementation has resulted in a more efficient increase in TM concentration. The strategic supplementation combining injectable TM during critical times of cattle management (e.g., vaccination) in conjunction with oral free-choice supplements has shown significant benefits for the immune response and protection against respiratory disease in beef cattle, reducing morbidity and treatment costs. Trace minerals (TM) play an important role in cattle immunity, health and performance. Although TM are needed in small quantities, they are fundamental for enzymes involved in antioxidant protection against cellular damage and several pathways of the immune response. Cattle TM status results from the balance between TM dietary intake and their requirements. Free-choice oral TM supplementation is a common practice in beef cattle production systems. However, there is a high variation in TM intake and thus TM status and bioavailability in animals receiving free-choice oral TM supplements. Strategic pulse-dose supplementation during critical points of beef cattle management provides a controlled amount of TM intended to remove such a variation. Adequate TM supplementation should not only satisfy the basal requirements but also provide a source of TM when there is a higher demand of the antioxidant systems or during the development of the immune response. This paper reviews the research-based evidence of the effects of TM supplementation on immunity and its impact on beef cattle health. This review highlights the benefits of a novel approach of strategic administration of injectable trace minerals (Se, Zn, Cu and Mn) during critical episodes of cattle management (e.g., around weaning or at vaccination) in combination with free-choice oral supplementation to maintain adequate TM and oxidative status, enhanced immunity and overall cattle health. This strategy has proven to decrease morbidity, which would positively impact the productivity of the beef cattle systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis has recently been associated with immunological changes in sepsis. However, the clinical significance of ferroptosis-associated genes (FAGs) remains unknown. In this paper, a FAG-based prognostic model was constructed for sepsis patients using an integrated machine learning approach. The prognosis model was composed of 14 FAGs that classify the patients as high or low risk. Based on immunological study, it was found that the immune status differed between the high-risk and low-risk clusters. Cox regression analysis revealed that FAGs were independent risk factors for the overall survival of sepsis patients. ROC curves and nomograms revealed that the FAG-based model was robust for prognosis prediction. Lastly, NEDD4L was identified from the 14 FAGs as a potential hub gene for sepsis prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breathing is crucial in life; nevertheless, the healthcare community often overlooks the health potential of breathing techniques. Conscious manipulation of breathing to achieve specific health goals is found in yoga, Qigong and Tai Chi. This paper reviews the value of breathing exercises as a foremost mechanism for promoting, recuperating and maintaining health. Practices involving breathing techniques are described, and their prophylactic or therapeutic characteristics are explored. The main goals of this review are: (i) to summarize the evidence supporting the hypothesis that breathing practices have a significant beneficial impact on human health; (ii) to provide a deeper understanding of traditional biofeedback practices, particularly yoga, Qigong and Tai Chi, and outline their focus on breathing techniques; (iii) to outline specific immune-related responses, relevant for COVID-19 disorders; and (iv) to call for committed attention and action from the scientific community and health agencies in promoting the implementation of a practical and costless health program based on breathing techniques. This review shows the health potentials of breathing practices and exercises, which, by having a high benefit–cost ratio, could be selected and implemented as a primary standard routine in public health programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite controversy over the protective effect of the BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine in preventing pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in adults, it has been used worldwide since 1921. Although the first reports in the 1930s had noted a remarkable decrease in child mortality after BCG immunization, this could not be explained solely by a decrease in mortality from TB. These observations gave rise to the suggestion of nonspecific beneficial effects of BCG vaccination, beyond the desired protection against M. tuberculosis. The existence of an innate immunity-training mechanism based on epigenetic changes was demonstrated several years ago. The emergence of the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 revived the debate about whether the BCG vaccine can affect the immune response against the virus or other unrelated pathogens. Due to the mortality of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it is important to verify each factor that may have a potential protective value against the severe course of COVID-19, complications, and death. This paper reviews the results of numerous retrospective studies and prospective trials which shed light on the potential of a century-old vaccine to mitigate the pandemic impact of the new virus. It should be noted, however, that although there are numerous studies intending to verify the hypothesis that the BCG vaccine may have a beneficial effect on COVID-19, there is no definitive evidence on the efficacy of the BCG vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Poor fertility is the main reason for premature culling of cattle. Dam factors and external variables can both influence how the calf fetus develops, known as fetal programming. Dam factors include age, parity, body condition, health and milk yield. External variables include nutrition and the environment during pregnancy. These all affect placental growth and the nutrient supply to the fetus, which in turn influence the size, shape and body composition of the calf. Postnatal growth rates, organ structure and immunity can all be affected. The impact on organs such as ovaries, liver, pancreas, lungs, spleen and thymus is dependent on the stage of pregnancy during which the fetal environment is sub-optimal. Regulatory systems which influence growth, metabolism and fertility can be permanently reprogrammed. Most changes affecting fertility are probably indirect. For example, calf health, the timing of puberty, age and size at first calving, and the ability to adapt to lactation after calving can all alter future reproductive potential. The size of these effects is hard to quantify due to practical difficulties in obtaining data over a sufficient time period. Nevertheless, there is compelling evidence that the fertility of some cows is compromised by events happening before their birth. Cattle fertility remains sub-optimal despite recent improvements in genetic selection. The extent to which an individual heifer fulfils her genetic potential can be influenced by fetal programming during pregnancy. This paper reviews the evidence that a dam's age, milk yield, health, nutrition and environment during pregnancy may programme permanent structural and physiological modifications in the fetus. These can alter the morphology and body composition of the calf, postnatal growth rates, organ structure, metabolic function, endocrine function and immunity. Potentially important organs which can be affected include the ovaries, liver, pancreas, lungs, spleen and thymus. Insulin/glucose homeostasis, the somatotropic axis and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis can all be permanently reprogrammed by the pre-natal environment. These changes may act directly at the level of the ovary to influence fertility, but most actions are indirect. For example, calf health, the timing of puberty, the age and body structure at first calving, and the ability to balance milk production with metabolic health and fertility after calving can all have an impact on reproductive potential. Definitive experiments to quantify the extent to which any of these effects do alter fertility are particularly challenging in cattle, as individual animals and their management are both very variable and lifetime fertility takes many years to assess. Nevertheless, the evidence is compelling that the fertility of some animals is compromised by events happening before they are born. Calf phenotype at birth and their conception data as a nulliparous heifer should therefore both be assessed to avoid such animals being used as herd replacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral papilloma lesions may appear as a result of HPV infection, or not, and only special molecular methods could differentiate them. Low-risk and high-risk HPV types could induce oral HPV papillomatosis with different natural evolution, clearance and persistence mechanisms. The pathogenic mechanisms are based on the crosstalk between the oral epithelial and immune cells and this very efficient virus. HPV acts as a direct inducer in the process of transforming a benign lesion into a malignant one, the cancerization process being also debated in this paper. According to the degree of malignity, three types of papillomatous lesions can be described in the oral cavity: benign lesions, potential malign disorders and malignant lesions. The precise molecular diagnostic is important to identify the presence of various virus types and also the virus products responsible for its oncogenicity. An accurate diagnostic of oral papilloma can be established through a good knowledge of etiological and epidemiological factors, clinical examination and laboratory tests. This review intends to update the pathogenic mechanisms driving the macroscopic and histological features of oral papillomatosis having HPV infection as the main etiological factor, focusing on its interreference in the local immunity. In the absence of an accurate molecular diagnostic and knowledge of local immunological conditions, the therapeutic strategy could be difficult to decide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International technical committees put considerable efforts into the writing process of standards. They always try to find a tradeoff between the rigorous scientific requirements and the practical needs of manufacturers and final users. In addition, researchers keep investigating to improve the existing standards with new procedures, achievements, and findings. The purpose of this work is to contribute to that direction. It introduces a simplified and low-cost procedure to test low-power voltage transformers (LPVTs). The procedure is designed to assess the immunity of LPVTs when subjected to external electric fields. The need for this procedure comes from the existing immunity test, which is efficient but sometimes difficult to implement. The proposed one, instead, is simpler, cheaper, does not require the application of the rated voltage, and can be replicated at all voltage levels. In the paper, the procedure is described and demonstrated with experimental tests. From the results, it is possible to appreciate the validity of the proposed solution and the different ways it could be developed, implemented, and improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atherosclerosis is a major risk factor for myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, which are the leading cause of death worldwide. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a natural derivative of essential vitamin A. Numerous studies have shown that ATRA plays an important role in cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, cell differentiation, and embryonic development. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a ligand of retinoic acid receptors that regulates various biological processes by activating retinoic acid signals. In this paper, the metabolic processes of ATRA were reviewed, with emphasis on the effects of ATRA on inflammatory cells involved in the process of atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder in modern society. One of the major unmet challenges is that current antiseizure medications are basically not disease-modifying. Among the multifaceted etiologies of epilepsy, the role of the immune system has attracted considerable attention in recent years. It is known that both innate and adaptive immunity can be activated in response to insults to the central nervous system, leading to seizures. Moreover, the interaction between ion channels, which have a well-established role in epileptogenesis and epilepsy, and the immune system is complex and is being actively investigated. Some examples, including the interaction between ion channels and mTOR pathways, will be discussed in this paper. Furthermore, there has been substantial progress in our understanding of the pathophysiology of epilepsy associated with autoimmune encephalitis, and numerous neural-specific autoantibodies have been found and documented. Early recognition of immune-mediated epilepsy is important, especially in cases of pharmacoresistant epilepsy and in the presence of signs of autoimmune encephalitis, as early intervention with immunotherapy shows promise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of vaccination in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of natural immunity in contributing to the decrease in infections and mortality rates. It highlights the similarities and differences between immunity after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, with infection providing higher protection against reinfection and severe disease. The article also explores the concept of hybrid immunity, obtained through a combination of vaccination and previous infection, which is shown to be more robust and durable. Additionally, the article addresses the challenges faced by immunocompromised individuals in mounting an effective immune response to the virus and the need for an individualized approach to vaccination in these populations. Overall, the article emphasizes the need for further research to better understand COVID-19 immunity and vaccine response, especially in light of emerging variants. [Extracted from the article]

With outbreaks of epidemics, an enormous loss of life and property has been caused. Based on the influence of disease transmission and information propagation on the transmission characteristics of infectious diseases, in this paper, a fractional-order SIR epidemic model is put forward on a two-layer weighted network. The local stability of the disease-free equilibrium is investigated. Moreover, a conclusion is obtained that there is no endemic equilibrium. Since the elderly and the children have fewer social tiers, a targeted immunity control that is based on age structure is proposed. Finally, an example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. These studies contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the epidemic transmission mechanism and play a positive guiding role in the prevention and control of some epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a voltage-controlled delay unit (VCDU) with a novel architecture allowing for a wide input range of linearity and an improved immunity to electromagnetic interferences. The circuit is based on a current-starved inverter with a biasing technique to extend the input voltage range of linearity near to the rail-to-rail linearity range. The proposed scheme was designed by UMC 180 nm standard CMOS process and works without power-hungry amplifiers or comparators. It has a voltage supply of 1.8 V and exhibits a rail-to-rail linearity range (0–1.8 V) with an average EMI-induced jitter of only 1% of the nominal delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper presents an extended version of the Cox regression model to examine heterogeneous effects of risk factors on disease subtypes defined by a continuous biomarker. This approach can be easily applied to cancer studies and is accessible to researchers via user-friendly R scripts. Molecular pathologic diagnosis is important in clinical (oncology) practice. Integration of molecular pathology into epidemiological methods (i.e., molecular pathological epidemiology) allows for investigating the distinct etiology of disease subtypes based on biomarker analyses, thereby contributing to precision medicine and prevention. However, existing approaches for investigating etiological heterogeneity deal with categorical subtypes. We aimed to fully leverage continuous measures available in most biomarker readouts (gene/protein expression levels, signaling pathway activation, immune cell counts, microbiome/microbial abundance in tumor microenvironment, etc.). We present a cause-specific Cox proportional hazards regression model for evaluating how the exposure–disease subtype association changes across continuous subtyping biomarker levels. Utilizing two longitudinal observational prospective cohort studies, we investigated how the association of alcohol intake (a risk factor) with colorectal cancer incidence differed across the continuous values of tumor epigenetic DNA methylation at long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1). The heterogeneous alcohol effect was modeled using different functions of the LINE-1 marker to demonstrate the method's flexibility. This real-world proof-of-principle computational application demonstrates how the new method enables visualizing the trend of the exposure effect over continuous marker levels. The utilization of continuous biomarker data without categorization for investigating etiological heterogeneity can advance our understanding of biological and pathogenic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social stress can affect the ability of fish to respond to various stressors, such as pathogens or environmental variations. In this paper, the effects of social stress on gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata) were investigated. To study the effects of physiological stress, we evaluated biochemical and cellular parameters, such as cortisol, glucose, lactate, osmolarity, and phagocytosis, 24 h after the establishment of social hierarchy in a group of three fish. Social hierarchy was determined and characterized by behavioral observation (aggressive acts and feeding order) of the specimens (dominant: "α"; subordinate: "β" and "γ"). After the establishment of social hierarchy, we observed that, overall, levels of plasma cortisol and other biochemical plasmatic stress markers (glucose and lactate) were higher in subordinate individuals than in dominant individuals. In addition, the modulation of phagocytic activity of the peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) demonstrated that social stress appeared to affect immune response. Finally, principal component analysis clearly separated the subordinate fish groups from the dominant groups, based on stress markers and the phagocytic activity of peritoneal exudate cells. This study contributes to current knowledge on gilt-head sea bream, helping to understand the link between social stress, behavior, and physiology of this species, relevant in the aquaculture sector, where fish are subjected to several kinds of stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, various joint efforts have been made to support the creation of vaccines. Different projects have been under development, of which some are in the clinical evaluation stage and others in are in phase III with positive results. The aim of this paper was to describe the current situation of the development and production of vaccines available to the population to facilitate future research and continue developing and proposing ideas for the benefit of the population. So, we carried out a systematic review using databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, SciELO, and MEDLINE, including keywords such as "vaccines," "COVID-19," and "SARS-CoV-2". We reviewed the development and production of the anti-COVID vaccine and its different platforms, the background leading to the massive development of these substances, and the most basic immune aspects for a better understanding of their physiological activity and the immune response in those who receive the vaccine. We also analyzed immunization effects in populations with any medical or physiological conditions (such as immunosuppression, people with comorbidities, and pregnancy), as well as the response to immunization with heterologous vaccines and the hybrid immunity (the combination of natural immunity to SARS-CoV-2 with immunity generated by the vaccine). Likewise, we address the current situation in Mexico and its role in managing the vaccination process against SARS-CoV-2 at the national and international levels. There are still many clinical and molecular aspects to be described, such as the duration of active immunity and the development of immunological memory, to mention some of the most important ones. However, due to the short time since the global vaccination roll-out and that it has been progressive (not counting children and people with medical conditions), it is premature to say whether a second vaccination schedule will be necessary for the near future. Thus, it is essential to continue with health measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriophages are natural biological entities that limit the growth and amplification of bacteria. They are important stimulators of evolutionary variability in bacteria, and currently are considered a weapon against antibiotic resistance of bacteria. Nevertheless, apart from their antibacterial activity, phages may act as modulators of mammalian immune responses. In this paper, we focus on temperate phages able to execute the lysogenic development, which may shape animal or human immune response by influencing various processes, including phagocytosis of bacterial invaders and immune modulation of mammalian host cells.