•Green anole lizards exposed to artificial light at night (ALAN) were awake at night.•At night, ALAN lizards used light to explore, forage, and display to conspecifics.•In daytime, ALAN lizards were ...more asleep, slower to move, and displayed less.•ALAN lizards had heavier testes and more fat accumulation than controls.•ALAN appears to produce shifts in behavior and energy allocation.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts biological rhythms across widely diverse organisms. To determine how energy is allocated by animals in different light environments, we investigated the impacts of ALAN on behavior and physiology of diurnal green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis). Two groups of 24 adult lizards (half males, half females) were maintained in a controlled lab setting for six weeks. One group was exposed to a simulated natural summer light-dark cycle; the other was exposed to ALAN that simulated urban, nocturnal light exposure. After an acclimation period, we conducted four behavioral trials. One trial examined behavioral time allocation over two 24 h periods, and three others were conducted during mid-day and mid-night: open field tests, to examine exploratory behavior; foraging trials, to examine prey consumption; and social interaction trials, to examine same-sex interactions. We then measured each lizard's snout-vent length and mass of its body, abdominal fat pads, liver, and, for males, testes. Lizards exposed to ALAN were more likely to be awake at night, using nocturnal light to explore, forage, and display to conspecifics. However, during the day, ALAN lizards were less likely to be awake, slower to move, and females displayed less frequently. ALAN lizards had heavier fat pads and testes, but ALAN did not impact body mass, liver mass, or snout-vent length. In sum, ALAN appears to cause a broad shift towards increased nocturnal activity and may alter metabolic and reproductive processes. Future work should examine the fitness consequences of these behavioral and physiological changes.
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We aimed to describe and characterize the gut microbiota composition and diversity in children with obesity according to their metabolic health status.
Anthropometry, Triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, ...HOMA-IR, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were evaluated (and z-score calculated) and faecal samples were collected from 191 children with obesity aged from 8 to 14. All children were classified depending on their cardiometabolic status in either a “metabolically healthy” (MHO; n = 106) or “metabolically unhealthy” (MUO; n = 85) group. Differences in gut microbiota taxonomies and diversity between groups (MUO vs MHO) were analysed. Alpha diversity index was calculated as Chao1 and Simpson’s index, and β-diversity was calculated as Adonis Bray–Curtis index. Spearman’s correlations and logistic regressions were performed to study the association between cardiometabolic health and the microbiota.
Children in the MUO presented significantly lower alpha diversity and richness than those in the MHO group (Chao1 index p = 0.021, Simpson’s index p = 0.045, respectively), whereas microbiota β-diversity did not differ by the cardiometabolic health status (Adonis Bray–Curtis, R2 = 0.006; p = 0.155). The MUO group was characterized by lower relative abundances of the genera Christensenellaceae R7 group (MHO:1.42% 0.21–2.94; MUO:0.47% 0.02–1.60, p < 0.004), and Akkermansia (MHO:0.26% 0.01–2.19; MUO:0.01% 0.00–0.36, p < 0.001) and higher relative abundances of Bacteroides (MHO:10.6% 4.64–18.5; MUO:17.0% 7.18–27.4, p = 0.012) genus. After the adjustment by sex, age, and BMI, higher Akkermansia (OR: 0.86, CI: 0.75–0.97; p = 0.033), Christensenellaceae R7 group (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 075–0.98; p = 0.031) and Chao1 index (OR: 0.86, CI: 0.96–1.00; p = 0.023) represented a lower risk of the presence of one or more altered cardiovascular risk factors.
Lower proportions of Christensenellaceae and Akkermansia and lower diversity and richness seem to be indicators of a metabolic unhealthy status in children with obesity.
COVID-19 has affected millions of people worldwide, causing illness and death, and disrupting daily life while imposing a significant social and economic burden. Vaccination is an important control ...measure that significantly reduces mortality if properly and efficiently distributed. In this work, an age-structured model of COVID-19 transmission, incorporating an unreported infectious compartment, is developed. Three age groups are considered: young (0–19 years), adult (20–64 years), and elderly (65+ years). The transmission rate and reporting rate are determined for each group by utilizing the number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region in the Philippines. Optimal control theory is employed to identify the best vaccine allocation to different age groups. Further, three different vaccination periods are considered to reflect phases of vaccination priority groups: the first, second, and third account for the inoculation of the elderly, adult and elderly, and all three age groups, respectively. This study could guide in making informed decisions in mitigating a population-structured disease transmission under limited resources.
•Age-structured model plays a crucial role in identifying effective interventions.•Population and social structure influence the transmission of COVID-19.•Reporting of probable cases aids in controlling the spread of the disease.•Optimal control theory guides in vaccine allocation strategy given limited resources.
The accumulation of space debris in low Earth orbits poses an increasing threat of collisions and damage to spacecraft. As a low-cost solution to the space debris problem the Gossamer Deorbiter ...proposed herein is designed as a scalable stand-alone system that can be attached to a low-to-medium mass host satellite for end-of-life disposal from low Earth orbit. It consists of a 5m by 5m square solar/drag sail that uses four bistable carbon fiber booms for deployment and support. Prior to deployment of the gossamer structure, a telescopic enclosure system is used to displace the sail from the host craft in order to extend the sail without hindrance from the host peripherals, and also provide passive stabilization. The principal advantage of an entirely passive operational mode allows the drag augmentation system to act as a “fail-safe” device that would activate if the spacecraft suffers a catastrophic failure. Several scenarios are analyzed to study the potential application and performance of the system to current and future missions. A detailed breakdown of the mechanical subsystems of the Gossamer Deorbiter is presented, as well as the characterization process of the deployable booms and sail membrane and the full qualification testing campaign at component and system levels. Finally, the performance scalability of the concept is analyzed.
•We present a detailed overview of the ESA funded project “Deployable Gossamer Sail for Deorbiting” with the purpose of assisting development efforts of similar programs aimed at tackling the problem of space debris in LEO using gossamer sails. The objective has been to give an overall picture of the usefulness and needs of these gossamer structures, show some of the different analyses carried out to established mission requirements, and present the system design, characterization of structural components and qualification testing process to comply with these requirements.•To identify specific use cases for orbit type and host craft, a number of reference mission scenarios were selected. These include the Orbcomm and Iridium replacement constellation satellites and Vega׳s AVUM upper stage.•Deorbiting under drag conditions using a gossamer sail is effective in raising the ceiling altitude from which objects would naturally decay in 25 years. The addition of a large gossamer sail can also decrease the risk of in-orbit debris generating collisions.•Preliminary analysis showed that the sail system is not expected to increase the ground casualty risk of any mission. However, as this system does provide a parachute-like effect, future fragmentation analysis needs to investigate whether there is any risk of the sail system providing enough deceleration to allow the satellite to survive to the ground. As a safety measure, the booms are not designed to withstand the structural loads at altitudes below 300km.•The static and dynamic structural characterization of the CFRP booms demonstrated the complexity of modeling and testing these slender open-section structures, which are very imperfection sensitive as well as dependent on boundary conditions. Nonetheless, reliable FEA models of the booms were built and these were used to correlate with full-scale modal tests and gravity compensated boom loading tests under flight-like conditions.•The scalability analysis showed that system performance in terms of mass saving with respect to a chemical propulsion deorbiting option can be maintained, as the gossamer sail is scaled to achieve more surface area demanding targets.
This paper proposes the use of solar-sail technology currently under development at NASA Langley Research Center for a CubeSat rendezvous mission with asteroid 2016 HO
3
, a quasi-satellite of Earth. ...Time-optimal trajectories are sought for within a 2022–2023 launch window, starting from an assumed launcher ejection condition in the Earth-Moon system. The optimal control problem is solved through a particular implementation of a direct pseudo-spectral method for which initial guesses are generated through a relatively simple and straightforward genetic algorithm search on the optimal launch date and sail attitude. The results show that the trajectories take 2.16–4.21 years to complete, depending on the assumed solar-sail reflectance model and solar-sail technology. To assess the performance of solar-sail propulsion for this mission, the trajectory is also designed assuming the use of solar electric propulsion. The resulting fuel-optimal trajectories take longer to complete than the solar-sail trajectories and require a propellant consumption that exceeds the expected propellant capacity onboard the CubeSat. This comparison demonstrates the superior performance of solar-sail technology for this mission.
Introduction:
Arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is common in patients with ACL injuries. To enhance recovery after surgery, various nutritional supplements have been ...proposed as adjuvant treatments to physical therapy.
Objectives:
Efficacy and tolerability of a nutritional supplement containing hydrolyzed collagen, a complex of HA and CS (HC-15), and a plasma protein concentrate as adjuvant treatment to physical therapy in healing augmentation after ACL reconstruction.
Methods:
Prospective, multicenter, randomized, open-label trial including patients who underwent arthroscopic ACL reconstruction after injury. 80 patients were randomized into two groups to receive physical therapy only (control group) or combined with a nutritional supplement (composed of hydrolyzed collagen, a complex of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate, and plasma proteins) (Progen group). Efficacy assessments included a pain VAS score and the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) index. Indirect measures of efficacy included analgesic consumption, the number of days to return to pre-injury activities, the number of rehabilitation sessions needed, and MRI graft maturation. The perceived efficacy and tolerability were assessed by patients and physicians.
Results:
At baseline, the demographic and clinical characteristics of both groups showed no significant differences. Both interventions showed efficacy in reducing the VAS and IKDC scores, with no significant differences between groups. Compared with patients in the control group, those in the Progen group required fewer rehabilitation sessions (mean SD of 48.4 11.3 sessions vs. 38.0 9.3 sessions; p < 0.001), thus returning earlier to their pre-injury activities. At the end of the follow-up, analgesic consumption was lower in the Progen group (8.6% of patients vs. 50.0%). According to the MRI findings, 61.8% and 38.2% of patients showed a high or complete maturation of the graft in the Progen and control groups, respectively. No serious adverse events were recorded. Both physicians and patients showed a trend towards a better perceived efficacy and tolerability in the Progen group.
Conclusion:
Adjuvant oral supplementation may increase the efficacy of physical therapy by shortening the time needed to return to pre-injury activity and the analgesic consumption. Also, MRI assessment revealed that more patients in the Progen group experienced a high or complete maturation of the graft, in line with the consistent trend observed in indirect measures of efficacy and patients’ quality of life at three months of treatment.
Summary
Background and Objective
The aim was assessing a short training for healthcare providers on patient‐focused counselling to treat childhood obesity in primary care, along with dietitian‐led ...workshops and educational materials.
Methods
Randomized clustered trial conducted with paediatrician‐nurse pairs (Basic Care Units BCU) in primary care centres from Tarragona (Spain). BCUs were randomized to intervention (MI) (motivational interview, dietitian‐led education, and educational materials) or control group (SC, standard care). Participants were 8–14‐year‐old children with obesity, undergoing 1–11 monthly treatment visits during 1 year at primary care centres. The primary outcome was BMI z‐score reduction.
Results
The study included 44 clusters (23 MI). Out of 303 allocated children, 201 (n = 106 MI) completed baseline, final visits, and at least one treatment visit and were included in the analysis. BMI z‐score reduction was −0.27 (±0.31) in SC, versus −0.36 (±0.35) in MI (p = 0.036).
Mixed models with centres as random effects showed greater reductions in BMI in MI than SC; differences were B = −0.11 (95% CI: −0.20, −0.01, p = 0.025) for BMI z‐score, and B = −2.06 (95% CI: −3.89, −0.23, p = 0.028) for BMI %. No severe adverse events related to the study were notified.
Conclusion
Training primary care professionals on motivational interviewing supported by dietitians and educational materials, enhanced the efficacy of childhood obesity therapy.
HIF-2α, a member of the HIF family of transcription factors, is a key oncogenic driver in cancers such as clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). A signature feature of these cancers is the ...overaccumulation of HIF-2α protein, often by inactivation of the E3 ligase VHL (von Hippel-Lindau). Herein we disclose our structure based drug design (SBDD) approach that culminated in the identification of PT2385, the first HIF-2α antagonist to enter clinical trials. Highlights include the use of a putative n → π*
interaction to guide early analog design, the conformational restriction of an essential hydroxyl moiety, and the remarkable impact of fluorination near the hydroxyl group. Evaluation of select compounds from two structural classes in a sequence of PK/PD, efficacy, PK, and metabolite profiling identified 10i (PT2385, luciferase EC
= 27 nM) as the clinical candidate. Finally, a retrospective crystallographic analysis describes the structural perturbations necessary for efficient antagonism.
HIF-2α, a member of the HIF family of transcription factors, is a key oncogenic driver in cancers such as clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). A signature feature of these cancers is the ...overaccumulation of HIF-2α protein, often by inactivation of the E3 ligase VHL (von Hippel–Lindau). Herein we disclose our structure based drug design (SBDD) approach that culminated in the identification of PT2385, the first HIF-2α antagonist to enter clinical trials. Highlights include the use of a putative n → π*Ar interaction to guide early analog design, the conformational restriction of an essential hydroxyl moiety, and the remarkable impact of fluorination near the hydroxyl group. Evaluation of select compounds from two structural classes in a sequence of PK/PD, efficacy, PK, and metabolite profiling identified 10i (PT2385, luciferase EC50 = 27 nM) as the clinical candidate. Finally, a retrospective crystallographic analysis describes the structural perturbations necessary for efficient antagonism.
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