SARS-CoV-2 infection of substantia nigra pars compacta induces expression of miR-330-5p at 10 days post-infection.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been linked to several neurological symptoms in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying virus-induced neuroinflammation are not well identified. For example, the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of the midbrain has not been addressed, in spite of its importance in dopaminergic signalling and neurodegenerative abnormalities. The purpose of this study was to understand the SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammatory response in the SNpc region of the brain.

Variable selection for doubly robust causal inference.

Confounding control is crucial and yet challenging for causal inference based on observational studies. Under the typical unconfoundness assumption, augmented inverse probability weighting (AIPW) has been popular for estimating the average causal effect (ACE) due to its double robustness in the sense it relies on either the propensity score model or the outcome mean model to be correctly specified. To ensure the key assumption holds, the effort is often made to collect a sufficiently rich set of pretreatment variables, rendering variable selection imperative.

Metabolic reset purification program improves antioxidant balance and gut microbiome in individuals transitioning to a healthier diet.

Unlabelled: A healthy diet helps transition individuals towards numerous long-term metabolic benefits but is challenging to maintain. Supplementation with additional whole food-based concentrates and herbs may support this shift by enhancing metabolic resilience. This randomized, controlled, crossover study evaluated a 21-day purification program emphasizing plant foods and whole food supplementation on metabolic detoxification, oxidative stress, and gut microbiota composition.

Combined participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Head Start is associated with healthy household dietary environments for young children in low-income families.

Objective: To compare the association of participation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) alone . in combination with Head Start (HS), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or both on household dietary environment (HDE) indicators: food security, nutrition security, healthfulness choice, dietary choice, perceived food store availability, utilisation barriers and healthy food access barriers in families with young children.

Design: This study, part of SNAP-Ed Nebraska's Needs and Assets Assessment 'Healthy People, Healthy State', utilised a cross-sectional design.

Retrospective Analysis of Cases of Probable Canine Cutaneous Toxic Shock Syndrome for Clues to Facilitate an Early Diagnosis.

Background: Cutaneous toxic shock syndrome (CTSS), attributed to staphylococcal and streptococcal exotoxins, causes diffuse erythroderma and peripheral oedema with fatal systemic complications. In human medicine, a published list of scoring criteria exists where higher scores correlate with an increased likelihood of CTSS.

Objectives: To describe clinical and clinicopathological findings in canine CTSS and to determine the validity of the human TSS criteria score in dogs.

Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancer Screening Among New Jersey Medicaid Enrollees: 2017-2022.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted cancer screenings in the United States, with disproportionate impact on health disparity populations. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the pandemic on routine screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer among Medicaid enrollees.

Materials And Methods: This study is a retrospective, descriptive analysis to estimate the rate of breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer screenings among Medicaid enrollees age 50-75 years in New Jersey.

Targeted Delivery of Exosome-Derived miRNA-185-5p Inhibitor via Liposomes Alleviates Apoptosis and Cuproptosis in Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Purpose: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a prevalent form of heart failure with limited therapeutic options. This study explores a novel treatment strategy involving the delivery of exosome-derived miRNA-185-5p inhibitors encapsulated in liposomes, aiming to target cardiac tissue and alleviate myocardial apoptosis and cuproptosis in DCM.

Methods: The miRNA-185-5p inhibitor, identified in our previous study and extracted from exosomes, was encapsulated in liposomes functionalized with a cardiac-targeting peptide.

Geospatial risk-based survey model for Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) detection in residential citrus populations in California.

Citrus huanglongbing (HLB), associated with the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and spread by the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri, ACP), poses a significant threat to California's citrus industry. First identified in Los Angeles in 2012, HLB has since spread through residential areas across Southern California. A risk-based survey (RBS) model has been developed to improve HLB surveillance and intervention.

Micheliolide mitigates diabetic nephropathy by modulating oxidative stress and inflammation in rats.

Background: Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is a serious problem caused by diabetes mellitus (DM), and there are few effective treatments available.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the potential therapeutic effects of micheliolide in a rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) induced by a high-fat diet and streptozotocin.

Study Design: Rats were fed a high-fat diet and received an injection of 30 mg/kg streptozotocin to induce T2DM.

Indirect Zero-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

This study develops the two-field correlation spectroscopy (COSY) in zero to ultralow field (ZULF) liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We demonstrated the successful integration of signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) hyperpolarization with two-dimensional (2D) NMR spectroscopy, enabling the detection of ZULF COSY spectra with increased sensitivity. Field cycling allowed the acquisition of two-field COSY spectra at varying magnetic field strengths, including zero-field conditions.

Stromal-platelet membrane-inspired nanoparticles (SPIN) for targeted heart repair.

Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Standard treatments, such as coronary stent placement or coronary artery bypass graft surgery, aim to restore blood flow to ischemic myocardial tissue. However, a significant complication of these procedures is ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, which occurs when blood flow is restored, triggering oxidative stress, inflammation, and calcium overload that can further damage the heart.

Image-guided embolization using Ta@Ca-Alg microspheres with optimized mechanical performance.

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) is a minimally invasive technique used to treat hypervascular tumors, hemorrhage, and vascular abnormalities. Though microspheres (MSs) have achieved widespread clinical use as embolic agents, they often lack imaging opacity, optimal morphology and mechanical properties which can lead to unpredictable trajectories, non-target delivery, and suboptimal embolization. This study developed tantalum-loaded calcium alginate (Ta@Ca-Alg) MSs with intrinsic radiopacity, tunable density, and mechanical properties.

Propulsion without penalty: greater soleus force with stiffer footwear does not necessarily increase estimated soleus metabolic cost across walking speeds.

Numerous assistive devices have been designed to improve mobility by improving propulsion and reducing the metabolic cost of walking. Stiff carbon fiber insoles integrated into footwear have emerged as a potentially viable option by increasing longitudinal bending stiffness, providing additional leverage for the ankle joint musculature, and increasing soleus force output. However, it remains unknown whether this increased leverage comes with a metabolic penalty at the individual muscle level, which would create a translational barrier for prescribing carbon fiber insoles as targeted interventions.

The Geometric Dependence of Wave Velocity in Carotid Arteries: Phantom and Finite Element Study and Implications for Vascular "Shear Wave" Elastography.

Objective: The intrinsic elasticity and the structural stiffness of blood vessels are widely regarded as important biomarkers for prediction of cardiovascular disease risk, the leading cause of death worldwide. Ultrasound-based shear wave elastography (SWE) has been used to measure these properties in several clinical studies. However, the geometric properties of blood vessels complicate the relationship between wave speed and elasticity in blood vessels compared to bulk tissue.

ANALYSIS OF A MULTISCALE INTERFACE PROBLEM BASED ON THE COUPLING OF PARTIAL AND ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS TO MODEL TISSUE PERFUSION.

In biomechanics, local phenomena, such as tissue perfusion, are strictly related to the global features of the surrounding blood circulation. In this paper, we propose a heterogeneous model where a local, accurate, 3D description of tissue perfusion by means of fluid flows through deformable porous media equations is coupled with a systemic, 0D, lumped model of the remainder of the circulation, where the fluid flow through a vascular network is described via its analog with a current flowing through an electric circuit. This represents a multiscale strategy, which couples an initial boundary value problem to be used in a specific tissue region with an initial value problem in the surrounding circulatory system.

A Reference-Quality NLRome for the Hexaploid Sweetpotato and Diploid Wild Relatives.

Breeding for sweetpotato () resistance requires accelerating our understanding of genomic sources of resistance. Nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) proteins represent a key component of the plant immune system that mediate plant immune responses. We cataloged the NLR diversity in 32 hexaploid sweetpotato genotypes and three diploid wild relatives using resistance gene enrichment sequencing (RenSeq) to capture and sequence full NLRs.

Generation and characterization of novel transcriptome-derived SSR markers for genetic applications in blueberry.

Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are small fruit crops native to North America but grown commercially in several countries. There has been a steady increase in consumer demand for blueberries, owing to their numerous health benefits attributable to the high content of antioxidant compounds.

Application of Antioxidant Mixture Prevents Cutaneous "Oxinflammaging" in Subjects Exposed to Particulate Matter.

Background: Premature skin aging and the growing incidence of skin conditions are closely linked to daily exposure to environmental agents. Among all air pollutants, particulate matter (PM) is regarded as one of the most aggressive in terms of skin damage, promoting degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components and depletion of the cutaneous antioxidant defense via initiation of oxinflammatory reactions. Moreover, PM can penetrate damaged skin, exacerbating the effect of other pollutants and worsening the symptoms of existing skin conditions.

Understanding the mechanism involved in lung epithelial potassium current modulation by ozone.

Given that the ionic balance of the pulmonary alveolar lining fluid is essential for correct gas exchange, our previous studies analyzed the effects of ozone (O), one of the most harmful pollutants for the respiratory system, on K current (I)in human cultured lung epithelial cells (A549). O exposure significantly alters the flow of K ions, reducing the outward rectifier current component. O does not act directly, but through its byproducts, among which the main ones are 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4HNE) and hydrogen peroxide (HO).

Intravenous Ampicillin/Sulbactam in Critically Ill Dogs has Variable Pharmacokinetics.

Achieving therapeutic plasma concentrations is essential for effective antimicrobial drug (AMD) treatment. Critical illness alters drug distribution and clearance, potentially impacting AMD effectiveness. We conducted a prospective observational study in 25 critically ill dogs to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PK) of intravenous (IV) ampicillin/sulbactam and achievement of the efficacy target of ≥ 50% of the dosing interval with unbound plasma drug concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration (fT > MIC).

The Molecular and Cellular Basis of Regional Itch Differences.

Itch is a complex, noxious sensation associated with many skin and systemic conditions, which varies in intensity and quality across different body regions. Despite its prevalence, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying regional itch differences remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the neural basis of regional itch differences, focusing on the role of neuropeptides and histamine receptors expression.

HIV disclosure in the social networks of adolescents with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Little is known about HIV status disclosure within the social networks of adolescents with perinatally-acquired HIV (APHIV) in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV prevalence is high and stigma surrounding HIV is pervasive. This study employed egocentric network analysis to characterize HIV disclosure in the social networks of APHIV in Cape Town South Africa. Associations between HIV disclosure and characteristics of APHIV (egos), their relationship to network members (alters), and features of the social network, including ego's network size and alter's centrality within the network, were also examined.

Eco-anxiety, climate concern, and fatalistic outlooks: Insights from U.S. crisis text conversations on climate distress.

Introduction: Ecologic anxiety and climate distress describe psychological and emotional responses to the uncertain future of our planet amid climate change. Crisis hotlines and text-based counseling services may address mental health concerns linked to climate anxiety, yet limited research explores these responses through digital crisis text lines. This study presents results from a qualitative thematic analysis of U.

Alleviating the Concerns About Pollen-Based Assisted Migration.

Our recent publication on pollen‐based assisted migration has prompted concerns about its feasibility and effectiveness. In this response article, we address those concerns by presenting large‐scale examples of supplemental and controlled pollination from Sweden and the United States, demonstrating its practical application. We also highlight the existence of an extensive global network of seed orchards and expand on the benefits of pollen‐based assisted migration, further reinforcing its potential and addressing the raised concerns.

The American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia Small Animal Anesthesia and Sedation Monitoring Guidelines 2025.

The American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia (ACVAA) in collaboration with the North American Veterinary Anesthesia Society and the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia have revised and expanded the 2009 guidelines. The 2025 guidelines include updated recommendations for monitoring circulation, oxygenation, ventilation, body temperature, neuromuscular blockade, and anesthetic depth in feline and canine patients. Monitoring during sedation (sedation-specific guidelines are in the Monitoring During Sedation Section), recommendations for personnel managing the patient, and the use of cognitive aids have been incorporated.