Differential expression of villin and advillin by neuroendocrine and tuft cells in the murine lower airways.

Previous studies identified a rare cell type in the mouse tracheal epithelium with immunoreactivity to the microvillus protein villin (Vil1), which persisted in mice lacking tuft cells due to deletion of the transcription factor Pou2f3. This study aimed to clarify the identity of this ill-defined cell type. Ultrastructurally, all cells with tightly packed microvilli observed in the tracheal epithelium of Pou2f3-mice contained basally located dense core vesicles, a characteristic feature of neuroendocrine cells (NEC).

A non-randomized study of sexual health education on the sexual function of primigravid women.

Background: Sexual function is a particularly important aspect of pregnant women's lives that can affect mental health and family cohesion.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effect of sexual health education on sexual function in primigravida women.

Methods: In a non-randomized study, primigravida women were divided into an intervention group (n = 43) and a control group (n = 43).

The effect of post discharge Kangaroo mother care with and without telephone advice on anthropometric indexes of preterm newborns: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is recommended as a beneficial intervention to promote the wellbeing of preterm infants. This study evaluated the effect of KMC on anthropometric indexes in preterm newborns, with and without telephone advice (TA).

Methods: At a tertiary center, in a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT), one hundred and five discharged preterm infants from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were randomly allocated into two experimental groups: KMC, KMC with telephone advice (KMC-TA), and conventional care (CC) (35 birthing parent-infant pairs in each group).

Bitter tastants relax the mouse gallbladder smooth muscle independent of signaling through tuft cells and bitter taste receptors.

Disorders of gallbladder motility can lead to serious pathology. Bitter tastants acting upon bitter taste receptors (TAS2R family) have been proposed as a novel class of smooth muscle relaxants to combat excessive contraction in the airways and other organs. To explore whether this might also emerge as an option for gallbladder diseases, we here tested bitter tastants for relaxant properties and profiled Tas2r expression in the mouse gallbladder.

Effect of Companion Presence during Skin-to-Skin Contact on Maternal Anxiety: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: To compare the effect of companion presence versus midwife presence during skin-to-skin contact (SSC) at birth on maternal anxiety and satisfaction, and neonatal physiological parameters.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 92 pregnant women who were randomized to provide SSC to their newly borns for one hour postpartum, in the presence of a companion (study group) or a midwife (control group). Maternal anxiety (using the Visual Analogue Scale) and the neonatal physiological parameters (including temperature, heart rate, and oxygen saturation) were assessed in four stages viz.

A succinate/SUCNR1-brush cell defense program in the tracheal epithelium.

Host-derived succinate accumulates in the airways during bacterial infection. Here, we show that luminal succinate activates murine tracheal brush (tuft) cells through a signaling cascade involving the succinate receptor 1 (SUCNR1), phospholipase Cβ2, and the cation channel transient receptor potential channel subfamily M member 5 (TRPM5). Stimulated brush cells then trigger a long-range Ca wave spreading radially over the tracheal epithelium through a sequential signaling process.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Religious Attitude and Postpartum Physical and Perineal Pain in Iran.

Postpartum pain is one of the most important and common problems of postpartum mothers who resort to non-pharmacological strategies to relieve it due to the side effects of painkillers. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between religiosity and postpartum physical and perineal pain. The sample size in this cross-sectional study was 101 women giving birth in educational and medical centers of Shiraz, Iran, that was selected by purposive-convenience sampling.

Aging - What it is and how to measure it.

The current understanding of the biology of aging is largely based on research aimed at identifying factors that influence lifespan. However, lifespan as a sole proxy measure of aging has limitations because it can be influenced by specific pathologies (not generalized physiological deterioration in old age). Hence, there is a great need to discuss and design experimental approaches that are well-suited for studies targeting the biology of aging, rather than the biology of specific pathologies that restrict the lifespan of a given species.

The effect of Pilates exercises on sleep quality and fatigue among female students dormitory residents.

Background: This study aims to investigate the effect of Pilates exercises on sleep and fatigue among female college students residing in the dormitory.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study, two parallel groups was performed on 80 single female college students (40 per group), between 18 to 26 years old who lived in the two dormitories. One dormitory was considered as the intervention group and another as the control group.

The effect of combined knockdowns of Attacins on survival and bacterial load in .

Introduction: Upon infection, insect hosts simultaneously express a cocktail of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) which can impede pathogen colonization and increase host fitness. It has been proposed that such a cocktail might be adaptive if the effects of co-expressed AMPs are greater than the sum of individual activities. This could potentially prevent the evolution of bacterial resistance.

Abortion services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.

Evidence suggests that COVID-19 may impair access to sexual and reproductive health services and safe abortion. The purpose of this systematic review was investigating the changes of abortion services in the COVID-19 pandemic era. We searched PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus for relevant studies published as of August 2021, using relevant keywords.

The effect of vitamin D on the severity of dysmenorrhea and menstrual blood loss: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is considered as one of the women's main problems during reproductive age. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D on the severity of dysmenorrhea and menstrual blood loss.

Methods: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, was performed on 84 single female college students between 18 and 25 years old who living in dormitories.

The relationship between sex steroids (E2, progesterone, and AMH) levels and severity and fatality of COVID-19: A systematic review.

Sex steroids are powerful modulators of the immune system and they may affect the immune response and inflammatory consequences of COVID-19. This systematic review aims to explore the impact of sex steroids on COVID-19 mortality and complications. We looked up the keywords of the study in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science.

Tachykinin-related peptides modulate immune-gene expression in the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor L.

Tachykinins (TKs) are a group of conserved neuropeptides. In insects, tachykinin-related peptides (TRPs) are important modulators of several functions such as nociception and lipid metabolism. Recently, it has become clear that TRPs also play a role in regulating the insect immune system.

Targeting the "hallmarks of aging" to slow aging and treat age-related disease: fact or fiction?

Aging is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disorders. Aging processes have therefore been discussed as potential targets for the development of novel and broadly effective preventatives or therapeutics for age-related diseases, including those affecting the brain. Mechanisms thought to contribute to aging have been summarized under the term the "hallmarks of aging" and include a loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, altered nutrient sensing, telomere attrition, genomic instability, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, epigenetic alterations and altered intercellular communication.

Cysteinyl leukotrienes and acetylcholine are biliary tuft cell cotransmitters.

The gallbladder stores bile between meals and empties into the duodenum upon demand and is thereby exposed to the intestinal microbiome. This exposure raises the need for antimicrobial factors, among them, mucins produced by cholangiocytes, the dominant epithelial cell type in the gallbladder. The role of the much less frequent biliary tuft cells is still unknown.

Evolution of a New Testis-Specific Functional Promoter Within the Highly Conserved Gene of the Mouse.

(synonym ) is a conserved regulatory kinase gene and a central component of the JNK signaling cascade with key functions during cellular differentiation. It shows complex transcription patterns, and different transcript isoforms are known in the mouse (). We have previously identified a newly evolved testis-specific transcript for the gene in the subspecies .

Critical Roles of Spätzle5 in Antimicrobial Peptide Production Against in Malpighian Tubules.

The dimeric cytokine ligand Spätzle (Spz) is responsible for Toll pathway activation and antimicrobial peptide (AMP) production upon pathogen challenge in . Here, we indicated that Spz5 has a functional role in response to bacterial infections. We showed that the highest expression of is induced by .

Spätzle 1b Is Required to Confer Antibacterial Defense Against Gram-Negative Bacteria by Regulation of Antimicrobial Peptides.

Innate immunity is the ultimate line of defense against invading pathogens in insects. Unlike in the mammalian model, in the insect model, invading pathogens are recognized by extracellular receptors, which activate the Toll signaling pathway through an extracellular serine protease cascade. In the Toll-NF-κB pathway, the extracellular spätzle protein acts as a downstream ligand for Toll receptors in insects.

Novel implications of a strictly monomorphic (GCC) repeat in the human PRKACB gene.

PRKACB (Protein Kinase CAMP-Activated Catalytic Subunit Beta) is predominantly expressed in the brain, and regulation of this gene links to neuroprotective effects against tau and Aβ-induced toxicity. Here we studied a (GCC)-repeat spanning the core promoter and 5' UTR of this gene in 300 human subjects, consisting of late-onset neurocognitive disorder (NCD) (N = 150) and controls (N = 150). We also implemented several models to study the impact of this repeat on the three-dimensional (3D) structure of DNA.

Natural copy number variation of tandemly repeated regulatory SNORD RNAs leads to individual phenotypic differences in mice.

Genic copy number differences can have phenotypic consequences, but so far this has not been studied in detail in natural populations. Here, we analysed the natural variation of two families of tandemly repeated regulatory small nucleolar RNAs (SNORD115 and SNORD116) in the house mouse (Mus musculus). They are encoded within the Prader-Willi Syndrome gene region, known to be involved in behavioural, metabolic, and osteogenic functions in mammals.

The imprinted lncRNA regulates sexual preference and the sex-specific brain transcriptome in mice.

Mammalian genomes include many maternally and paternally imprinted genes. Most of these are also expressed in the brain, and several have been implicated in regulating specific behavioral traits. Here, we have used a knockout approach to study the function of , a gene that codes for a fast-evolving lncRNA (long noncoding RNA) and is part of a complex of imprinted genes on chromosome 15 in mice and chromosome 8 in humans.

Dedicated transcriptomics combined with power analysis lead to functional understanding of genes with weak phenotypic changes in knockout lines.

Systematic knockout studies in mice have shown that a large fraction of the gene replacements show no lethal or other overt phenotypes. This has led to the development of more refined analysis schemes, including physiological, behavioral, developmental and cytological tests. However, transcriptomic analyses have not yet been systematically evaluated for non-lethal knockouts.

IKKγ/NEMO Is Required to Confer Antimicrobial Innate Immune Responses in the Yellow Mealworm, .

IKK/NEMO is the regulatory subunit of the IκB kinase (IKK) complex, which regulates the NF-κB signaling pathway. Within the IKK complex, IKK/NEMO is the non-catalytic subunit, whereas IKK and IKK are the structurally related catalytic subunits. In this study, was screened from the RNA-Seq database and functionally characterized using RNAi screening for its role in regulating antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes after microbial challenges.