Protecting older adults during social distancing Jawaid, Ali
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
2020-Apr-10, 2020-04-10, 20200410, Letnik:
368, Številka:
6487
Journal Article
Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) are potential vectors at the interface between genes and environment. We found that traumatic stress in early life altered mouse microRNA (miRNA) expression, and ...behavioral and metabolic responses in the progeny. Injection of sperm RNAs from traumatized males into fertilized wild-type oocytes reproduced the behavioral and metabolic alterations in the resulting offspring.
Microglia coordinate various functions in the central nervous system ranging from removing synaptic connections, to maintaining brain homeostasis by monitoring neuronal function, and clearing protein ...aggregates across the lifespan. Here we investigated whether increased microglial phagocytic activity that clears amyloid can also cause pathological synapse loss. We identified TDP-43, a DNA-RNA binding protein encoded by the Tardbp gene, as a strong regulator of microglial phagocytosis. Mice lacking TDP-43 in microglia exhibit reduced amyloid load in a model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but at the same time display drastic synapse loss, even in the absence of amyloid. Clinical examination from TDP-43 pathology cases reveal a considerably reduced prevalence of AD and decreased amyloid pathology compared to age-matched healthy controls, confirming our experimental results. Overall, our data suggest that dysfunctional microglia might play a causative role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders, critically modulating the early stages of cognitive decline.
•TDP-43 regulates microglial phagocytosis and clearance of Aβ•Depletion of microglial TDP-43 results in enhanced synapse loss•Depletion of microglial TDP-43 promotes amyloid clearance in a mouse model of AD•TDP-43 pathology is associated with lower amyloid deposition in post-mortem brains
Paolicelli et al. show that TDP-43 is a regulator of microglial phagocytosis. They found that mice lacking microglial TDP-43 display enhanced amyloid clearance but also significant synapse loss. They also show that TDP-43 pathology is associated with reduced amyloid burden in human brains.
The growing prevalence of human monkeypox infection has developed an alarming situation worldwide. Monkeypox virus was first time found in 1958 in monkeys and later spread to humans. The first case ...of human monkeypox was reported in September 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Human monkeypox was found outside Africa in the year 2003 in United States. More recently, from May 7 2022 to June 29, 2022, the monkeypox cases are swiftly spread worldwide, involving over 50 countries, and affecting 5115 people in Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, and South America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. The confirmed monkeypox cases in the United Kingdom from May 7, 2022 to June 29, 2022, are 1076 (21.03%); Germany 874 (17.08%); Spain 800 (15.64%); France 440 (8.60%); Portugal 391 (7.62%); United States 350 (6.84); Canada 276 (5.39%); Netherlands 257 (5.02%); Italy 159 (3.10); Belgium 117 (1.59%); Switzerland 81 (1.58%); Israel 33 (0.64%), Ireland, and 31 (0.64%). However, in about 35 countries, the cases are less than 20 in each country. The epidemiological trends of the human monkeypox infection are swiftly shifting from endemic regions to non-endemic countries. The global health authorities must take priority-based preventive measures to stop the outbreaks of monkeypox disease across the globe.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.6.6775
How to cite this:Meo SA, Jawaid SA. Human Monkeypox: Fifty-Two Years based analysis and Updates. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(6):---. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.6.6775
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Liquid processing of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (LTMDs) is enabling a variety of applications, ranging from catalysts and coatings, to electronics, flexible sensors, and optical ...filters. Current strategies, such as sonication or shear mixing, are challenged by small yields (<1%), low production rates (<mg/min), short-term oxidative stability, and low dispersion concentration in a limited number of solvents. These factors inhibit the transition from lab to bulk production. Here, we establish the mechanism for the liquid processing route of Redox Exfoliation and establish the roles that chemical species formed in situ play in the exfoliation process of LTMDs. The mechanism proceeds via surface adsorption of polyoxometalate macroanions (POMs) and can be optimized by controlling the formation rate and size of these POMs through reagent level stoichiometric parametrization. Based on this mechanism, few-to-monolayer yields for MoX2 (X = S, Se, Te) may exceed 10% of the starting LTMD powder, and delamination may be reinitiated after reagent depletion, minimizing the starting LTMD waste.
The COVID‐19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the world and inevitably influenced people's behaviors including the likelihood of crime and deviance. Emerging empirical evidence suggests a decline ...in certain crimes (e.g., theft, robbery, and assault) but also proliferation of different violent behaviors and cybercriminal activity during the pandemic. To explain those trends, we draw on existent theories and elaborate on how crime and violence have been affected by the changes in people's daily routines and accumulated stressful conditions. However, as recent crime trends appear to be largely inconsistent and vary across social groups and contexts, we argue that social scientists need to pay particular attention to the differential experiences related to crime and violence during this global crisis. Specifically, because of the disproportionate experience of violence by vulnerable groups including minorities and women as well as the unique cross‐national variations in deviance, more nuanced approaches to understanding causes of crime are warranted. We also discuss the limitations of present research and provide recommendations for the development of comparative and multi‐disciplinary studies on criminal and deviant behaviors that are influenced by human crisis situations.
Background: Despite an alarming rise in the global prevalence of dementia, the available modalities for improving cognition and mental wellbeing of dementia patients remain limited. Environmental ...enrichment is an experimental paradigm that has shown promising anti-depressive and memory-enhancing effects in pre-clinical studies. However, its clinical utility has remained limited due to the lack of effective implementation strategies. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the usability (tolerability and interactivity) of a long-term virtual reality (VR)- based environmental enrichment training program in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia. A secondary objective was to assess the effect of VR-based environmental enrichment on stabilization of cognitive functioning and improvement of mental wellbeing in older adults with MCI and mild dementia. Methods: A total of seven participants (four patients with MCI and three with mild dementia) received biweekly VR-based environmental enrichment over a course of 6 months. The tolerability and interactivity of the participants in the VR training was serially assessed via virtual reality sickness questionnaire (VRSQ) and recording of input-error ratio. Cognitive functioning was assessed through Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) before and after the study. Mental wellbeing was assessed through Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (WEMWBS). Results: VR-based environmental enrichment was well-tolerated by the patients with significant decrease in VRSQ scores (p < 0.01) and input-error ratio (p < 0.001) overtime. VR training was also effective in stabilization of MoCA scores over the course of therapy (non-significant difference in the MoCA scores before and after the therapy) and was associated with a trend (p < 0.1) towards improvement in WEMWBS scores between the first and the last assessments. Qualitative observations by the care-givers further corroborated a noticeable improvement in mental wellbeing of patients. Conclusions: This pilot study shows that VR can be a feasible, tolerable, and potentially effective tool in long-term support of older adults with MCI and mild dementia.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.4.9408
How to cite this: Jawaid SA. Some essential pre-requisites and requirements to establish and run a successful Journal. Pak J Med Sci. 2024;40(4):555-556. ...doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.40.4.9408
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted considerable attention in a diverse array of applications due to the breadth of possible property suites relative to other low-dimensional ...nanomaterials (e.g., graphene, aluminosilicates). Here, we demonstrate an alternative methodology for the exfoliation of bulk crystallites of group V–VII layered TMDs under quiescent, benchtop conditions using mild redox chemistry. Anionic polyoxometalate species generated from edge sites adsorb to the TMD surface and create Coulombic repulsion that drives layer separation without the use of shear forces. This method is generalizable (MS2, MSe2, and MTe2) and effective in preparing high-concentration (>1 mg/mL) dispersions with narrow layer thickness distributions more rapidly and with safer reagents than alternative solution-based approaches. Finally, exfoliation of these TMDs is demonstrated in a range of solvent systems that were previously inaccessible due to large surface energy differences. These characteristics could be beneficial in the preparation of high-quality films and monoliths.
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