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  • Payne Storm posted an update 1 day, 1 hour ago

    Obesity is a major public health problem that continues to be one of the leading risk factors for premature death. Early life is a critical period of time when the gut microbiota and host metabolism are developing in tandem and significantly contribute to long-term health outcomes. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota, particularly in early life, can have detrimental effects on host health and increase the susceptibility of developing obesity later in life. Antibiotics are an essential lifesaving treatment; however, their use in early life may not be without risk. Antibiotics are a leading cause of intestinal dysbiosis, and early life administration is associated with obesity risk. The following review explores the relevant literature that simultaneously examines antibiotic-induced dysbiosis and obesity risk. Current evidence suggests that disruptions to the composition and maturation of the gut microbiota caused by antibiotic use in early life are a key mechanism linking the association between antibiotics and obesity. Without compromising clinical practice, increased consideration of the long-term adverse effects of antibiotic treatment on host health, particularly when used in early life is warranted. Novel adjunct interventions should be investigated (e.g., prebiotics) to help mitigate metabolic risk when antibiotic treatment is clinically necessary.(1) Background The ability of cancer cells to evade the immune system is due in part to their capacity to induce and recruit T regulatory cells (Tregs) to the tumor microenvironment. Strategies proposed to improve antitumor immunity by depleting Tregs generally lack specificity and raise the possibility of autoimmunity. Therefore, we propose to control Tregs by their functional inactivation rather than depletion. Tregs are characterized by the expression of the Forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) transcription factor, which is considered their “master regulator”. Its interaction with DNA is assisted primarily by its interaction with other proteins in the so-called “Foxp3 interactome”, which elicits much of the characteristic Treg cell transcriptional signature. We speculated that the disruption of such a protein complex by using synthetic peptides able to bind Foxp3 might have an impact on the functionality of Treg cells and thus have a therapeutic potential in cancer treatment. (2) Methods By using a phage-displaainst cancer.Cut-Like Homeobox 2 (Cux2) is a transcription factor involved in dendrite and spine development, and synapse formation of projection neurons placed in mouse upper neocortical layers. Therefore, Cux2 is often used as an upper layer marker in the mouse brain. However, expression of its orthologue CUX2 remains unexplored in the human fetal neocortex. Here, we show that CUX2 protein is expressed in transient compartments of developing neocortical anlage during the main fetal phases of neocortical laminar development in human brain. VX-11e ERK inhibitor During the early fetal phase when neurons of the upper cortical layers are still radially migrating to reach their final place in the cortical anlage, CUX2 was expressed in the marginal zone (MZ), deep cortical plate, and pre-subplate. During midgestation, CUX2 was still expressed in the migrating upper cortical neurons as well as in the subplate (SP) and MZ neurons. At the term age, CUX2 was expressed in the gyral white matter along with its expected expression in the upper layer neurons. In sum, CUX2 was expressed in migratory neurons of prospective superficial layers and in the diverse subpopulation of transient postmigratory SP and MZ neurons. Therefore, our findings indicate that CUX2 is a novel marker of distinct transient, but critical histogenetic events during corticogenesis. Given the Cux2 functions reported in animal models, our data further suggest that the expression of CUX2 in postmigratory SP and MZ neurons is associated with their unique dendritic and synaptogenesis characteristics.Some aphid species are important agricultural pests, sometimes also found on plants growing in urban areas. In this work, we set out to identify the plant species, communities or habitats that are more attractive to aphids in order to limit their spread into new green areas. The aim of the study was to determine and compare plant communities and the assemblages of aphids associated with them in different urban park habitats. The research hypothesis assumed that the differences between aphid assemblages depend on plant diversity and hence reflect urban park habitat environmental conditions, in particular the plant communities and the floral structure. The study was carried out in Bydgoszcz (northern Poland), and four parks were taken into consideration. Herein, floristic lists were used to calculate ecological indicator values for each park. The aphid species richness was determined, as well as the relative abundance and dominance structure similarities of the aphid assemblages. Our results demonstrated that Prunus spp. were strongly infested by Hyalopterus pruni, similarly as Philadelphus inodorus by Aphis fabae, Sambucus nigra by Aphis sambuci, and Acerplatanoides and A. pseudoplatanus by Periphyllus testudinaceus. Park plantations of Robinia pseudoacacia were not very attractive to aphids. The most attractive plant communities to aphids were syntaxonomically identifiable as alluvial alder forests in the layer of trees and Cornus sanguinea in the layer of shrubs.School burnout is linked to relevant adverse consequences for students’ academic careers. Thus, several authors have focused on the internal and external factors that reduce burnout, highlighting the role of teachers’ support. Nonetheless, few studies addressed how students’ perception of teachers’ emotional support protects them from school maladaptive behaviors. The present study aimed to longitudinally investigate in a final sample of 295 Italian high school students (F = 78.6%; M = 15.78, SD = 1.48) the protective role of students’ perception of teachers’ emotional support dimensions on school burnout across a school year. We expected that teachers’ emotional support dimensions had a significant inverse effect on students’ burnout. We preliminarily investigated the study variables’ associations and whether the mean levels of burnout dimensions increased throughout the school year. Correlation analysis supported the associations among the study variables, and repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses highlighted that the mean levels of school burnout dimensions increased over time.