Work physiology

While adeno-associated virus is a leading vector for gene therapy, significant gaps remain in understanding AAV degradation and stability. In this work, we study the degradation of an engineered AAV serotype at physiological pH and ionic strength. Viral particles of varying fractions of encapsulated DNA were incubated between 30 and 60 °C, with changes in molecular weight measured by changes in total light scattering intensity at 90° over time. Mostly full vectors demonstrated a rapid decrease in molecular weight corresponding to the release of capsid DNA, followed by slow aggregation...

The search for melatonin receptor agonists formed the main part of melatonin medicinal chemistry programs for the last three decades. In this short review, we summarize the two main aspects of these programs: the development of all the necessary tools to characterize the newly synthesized ligands at the two melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2 , and the medicinal chemist's approaches to find chemically diverse ligands at these receptors. Both strategies are described. It turns out that the main source of tools were industrial laboratories, while the medicinal chemistry was mainly carried out in academia...

California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) is a candidate species for aquaculture and stock enhancement. These applications rely on sex control, either to maximize the production of faster growing females or to match sex ratios in the wild. Other paralichthids exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), but the presence and pattern of TSD is not well defined in California halibut. Juvenile California halibut were cultured at three distinct temperatures (15°C, 19°C, and 23°C) through the developmental period presumed to be thermosensitive based on findings from congeners...

BACKGROUND: To enhance the information transfer rate (ITR) of a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based speller, more characters with flickering symbols should be used. Increasing the number of symbols might reduce the classification accuracy. A hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI) improves the overall performance of a BCI system by taking advantage of two or more control signals. In a simultaneous hybrid BCI, various modalities work with each other simultaneously, which enhances the ITR...

The study analyzes with priority the bioclimatic conditions for tourist activities in two famous tourist areas in western Romania [(Băile Felix-Băile 1 Mai (BF_1 M) - Stâna de Vale - Vlădeasa and, respectively Băile Herculane (BH) - Semenic], from the perspective of the potential of health tourism and in the subsidiary of sports and camping tourism. Such researches are missing for western Romania. The main working tools in the evaluation of the tourist valences of the bioclimate include: the spatio-temporal analysis of the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) bioclimatic index, of the TCI climate-tourism index and of the climate-tourism schemes (CTIS)...

Tobacco is a valuable crop, but its disease identification is rarely involved in existing works. In this work, we use few-shot learning (FSL) to identify abnormalities in tobacco. FSL is a solution for the data deficiency that has been an obstacle to using deep learning. However, weak feature representation caused by limited data is still a challenging issue in FSL. The weak feature representation leads to weak generalization and troubles in cross-domain. In this work, we propose a feature representation enhancement network (FREN) that enhances the feature representation through instance embedding and task adaptation...

OBJECTIVE: The experiment evaluated how Aloe vera gel (AVG) extract supplementation affected immune responses and physiological performances in broiler chickens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 90-day-old Cobb 500 broiler chicks were reared for 38 days without the addition of antibiotics, either through feed or water. At 10 days, chicks were allocated into three groups: A, B, and C ( n = 30). Group A served as non-supplemented control. Groups B and C were administered aqueous extracts of AVG at 1...

A 64-year-old obese gentleman attended for further evaluation of ongoing dyspnoea in the context of a previous diagnosis of moderate COPD treated with dual long-acting bronchodilators. A cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) was performed, which demonstrated reduced peak work and oxygen consumption with evidence of dynamic hyperinflation, abnormal gas exchange and ventilatory limitation despite cardiac reserve. The CPET clarified the physiological process underpinning the patient's dyspnoea and limiting the patient's activities...

INTRODUCTION: In-silico simulations are a powerful tool in modern neuroscience for enhancing our understanding of complex brain systems at various physiological levels. To model biologically realistic and detailed systems, an ideal simulation platform must possess: (1) high performance and performance scalability, (2) flexibility, and (3) ease of use for non-technical users. However, most existing platforms and libraries do not meet all three criteria, particularly for complex models such as the Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) model or for complex neuron-connectivity modeling such as gap junctions...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Kathmandu is a densely populated metropolitan city in Nepal. In recent years, however, the metropolis has been ranked as one of the most polluted cities worldwide. Both humans and animals are susceptible to various respiratory diseases due to chronic exposure to polluted air. Due to the relative similarities in the anatomical structure and physiological functions of the respiratory system between humans and dogs, polluted environments may lead to respiratory illness in similar ways in both species living in the valley...

Schooling is a collective behavior that relies on a fish's ability to sense and respond to the other fish around it. Previous work has identified "rules" of schooling - attraction to neighbors that are far away, repulsion from neighbors that are too close, and alignment with neighbors at the correct distance - but we do not understand well how these rules emerge from the sensory physiology and behavior of individual fish. In particular, fish use both vision and their lateral lines to sense each other, but it is unclear how much they rely on information from these sensory modalities to coordinate schooling behavior...

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the food environment of Dutch small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), encompassing physical, sociocultural, economic and policy features, and to explore variations within SMEs according to company characteristics (number of employees, location of work, presence of worksite cafeteria). DESIGN: Online cross-sectional survey study of a representative Dutch SME sample by a panel agency. SETTING: Dutch SMEs. PARTICIPANTS: 315 employees of Dutch SMEs responsible for food and drink in their company...

Posterior eye disorders, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma, have a significant impact on human quality of life and are the primary cause of age-related retinal diseases among adults. There is a pressing need for innovative topical approaches to treat posterior eye disorders, as current methods often rely on invasive procedures with inherent risks. Limited success was attained in the realm of topical ophthalmic delivery through non-invasive means. Additionally, there exists a dearth of literature that delves into the potential of this approach for drug delivery and theranostic purposes, or that offers comprehensive design strategies for nanocarrier developers to surmount the significant physiological ocular barriers...

Acute kidney injury and other renal disorders are thought to be primarily caused by renal ischemia-reperfusion (RIR). Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) has plenty of physiological pleiotropic effects and preserves tissue integrity and functions. This research aimed to examine the potential protective effects of the β3 -adrenergic receptors agonist mirabegron in a rat model of RIR and its underlying mechanisms. Male rats enrolled in this work were given an oral dose of 30 mg/kg mirabegron for two days before surgical induction of RIR...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the most common form of atraumatic spinal cord injury globally. Degeneration of spinal discs, bony osteophyte growth and ligament pathology results in physical compression of the spinal cord contributing to damage of white matter tracts and grey matter cellular populations. This results in an insidious neurological and functional decline in patients which can lead to paralysis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirms the diagnosis of DCM and is a prerequisite to surgical intervention, the only known treatment for this disorder...

OBJECTIVES: Nutritional recommendations, a core component of cardiovascular rehabilitation, play a vital role in managing cardiovascular diseases. However, adherence to these recommendations is complex, particularly in low-resource settings. This study explored the barriers and facilitators influencing adherence to nutritional recommendations among participants in a low-resource cardiovascular rehabilitation program in Brazil. METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was employed...

Sarcopenia may increase non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk, but prevalence likely varies with different diagnostic criteria. This study examined the prevalence of sarcopenia and its defining components in adults with and without NAFLD and whether it varied by the method of muscle mass assessment [bioelectrical impedance (BIA) versus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)] and adjustment (height2 versus BMI). Adults (n = 7266) in the UK Biobank study (45-79 years) with and without NAFLD diagnosed by MRI, were included...

The occupational health issues of shift workers has received increasing attention in the field of occupational health, and discussed in this article through literature review on the health risks and management of shift work both domestically and internationally. Based on this, a series of impacts of shift work on the physiological and psychological health of workers, as well as their family and social life, are revealed. Combined with relatively mature regulations and policies in foreign countries, it is proposed that China should fully learn from the relevant experience of health management in shift work abroad, Strengthen research and explore effective management intervention measures to provide ideas for accelerating the development of scientifically feasible regulations and policies related to occupational health in shift work in China...

Organophosphorus nerve agents, such as soman (GD), produce excitotoxic effects resulting in sustained status epilepticus (SSE) and brain damage. Previous work shows that neuronal inhibitory effects of A1 adenosine receptor (A1 AR) agonists, such as N6 - Bicyclo(2.2.1)-hept-2-yl-5'-chloro-5'-deoxyadenosine (Cl-ENBA), suppresses GD-induced SSE and improves neuropathology. Some other physiologic effects of these agonists are hypothermia, hypotension, and sedation. Hypothermia may also shield the brain from injury by slowing down chemical insults, lessening inflammation, and contributing to improved neurological outcomes...

One of the serious challenges facing modern point-of-care (PoC) molecular diagnostic platforms relate to reliable detection of low concentration biomarkers such as nucleic acids or proteins in biological samples. Non-specific analyte-receptor interactions due to competitive binding in the presence of abundant molecules, inefficient mass transport and very low number of analyte molecules in sample volume, in general pose critical hurdles for successful implementation of such PoC platforms for clinical use. Focusing on these specific challenges, this work reports a unique PoC biosensor that combines the advantages of nanoscale biologically-sensitive field-effect transistor arrays (BioFET-arrays) realized in a wafer-scale top-down nanofabrication as high sensitivity electrical transducers with that of sophisticated molecular programs (MPs) customized for selective recognition of analyte miRNAs and amplification resulting in an overall augmentation of signal transduction strategy...