Corticosteroids are the primary treatment for Bell's palsy, but use in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is often limited by hyperglycemia concerns. This study assessed steroid-associated glycemic outcomes in diabetic Bell's palsy patients. This retrospective cohort study used the TriNetX Research Network to identify patients diagnosed with Bell's palsy from 2010 to 2024. Patients were stratified by T2DM status and receipt of systemic corticosteroids within 10 days of diagnosis. Propensity score matching was performed on age, sex, race, ethnicity, diabetes medications, and comorbidities. The primary outcome was the most recent glucose within 1-30 days post-diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were the most recent HbA1c within 1-6 months post-diagnosis and rates of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) within 3 months. Among 6268 patients with Bell's palsy and T2DM, steroid-treated patients had higher glucose within 1-30 days post-diagnosis (162.4 vs. 152.4 mg/dL; P < 0.001). HbA1c within 1-6 months did not differ significantly (7.24% vs. 7.20%; P = 0.43). DKA rates did not differ significantly (1.10% vs. 0.84%; P = 0.32), and HHS occurred at a higher rate in steroid-treated T2DM patients (1.82% vs. 0.57%; P < 0.001; number needed to harm = 80). Corticosteroids for Bell's palsy in T2DM are associated with a small absolute increase in acute glucose and HHS risk, while HbA1c and DKA rates were not significantly different. As a hypothesis-generating study, prospective data are needed before definitive recommendations can be made; however, these results may support emergency clinicians in initiating timely steroid therapy with appropriate glucose monitoring at discharge.
Pulsed electric field (PEF) pre-treatment (1.07 kV/cm, 1, 5.5, 10 kJ/kg) was combined with lactic fermentation using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum to modulate red bell pepper matrix structure and subsequent in vitro bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds. Although PEF-assisted fermentation has gained increasing attention, its influence on post-digestion recovery of carotenoids and phenolics remains insufficiently characterized. Fermentation day 5 was identified as the, most favorable processing stage for preserving antioxidant capacity and bioactive compound stability. Moderate PEF (5.5 kJ/kg) enhanced carotenoid accumulation (>220 mg/100 g d.m.) and induced structural reorganization, confirmed by FTIR analysis. Following INFOGEST digestion, samples treated at 5.5 kJ/kg exhibited the highest apparent intestinal bioaccessibility (∼78% polyphenols; ∼39% carotenoids), whereas higher energy input (10 kJ/kg) reduced carotenoid recovery (∼22-24%), demonstrating a non-linear, energy-dependent response. Fermentation after moderate PEF shifted the relative amino acid profile toward a pattern closer to the reference protein, as reflected by higher EAAI values (1.26-1.36 vs 0.84 in the control), despite the decrease in total protein content and total essential amino acid content. These findings reveal intensity-dependent modulation of apparent bioactive release during digestion and provide mechanistic insight into structure-function interactions in fermented vegetable matrices.
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Expanding a genomics-guided assessment of butterfly taxonomy, we integrate phylogenetic evidence from all protein-coding genes with morphological considerations to refine our understanding of butterfly systematics and discover new taxa. As a result, 2 subgenera, 39 species, and 5 subspecies are proposed as new (type species in original combinations or type localities are listed in parentheses): Erebia (Magda) magdalena uintana Grishin, ssp. n. (USA: Utah, Uintah Co.) in Nymphalidae Rafinesque, 1815; Myselasia rondea Grishin, sp. n. (Brazil: Rondônia), Myselasia pseudocrinon Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Pastaza), Myselasia paramatuta Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Morona-Santiago), Euselasia anapellos Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Loreto), Ectosemia lavanda Grishin, sp. n. (Brazil: Amazonas), Ectosemia dira Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Ectosemia attavus cyanea Grishin, ssp. n. (Ecuador: Tungurahua), Mesosemia tinypuncta Grishin, sp. n. (Panama: Chiriquí), Mesosemia parabanda Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Napaea extraperlata Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Morona-Santiago), Ithomiola (Ithomiola) cuscola Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Ithomiola (Ithomiola) bolitanos Grishin, sp. n. (Bolivia: La Paz), Ithomiola (Ithomiola) ecuatanos Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Tungurahua), Ithomiola (Ithomiola) tanos cuscanos Grishin, ssp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Ithomiola (Ithomiola) manchola Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Madre de Dios), Ithomiola (Ithomiola) triola Grishin, sp. n. (Bolivia: Santa Cruz), Apodemia (Apodemia) estrellada Grishin, sp. n. (Mexico: Sonora), and Synargis corta Grishin, sp. n. (French Guiana: Roura) in Riodinidae Grote, 1895 (1827); Idiospilix Grishin, subgen. n. (Rapala subguttata Elwes, [1893]) in Lycaenidae [Leach], [1815]; and Drephalys (Paradrephalys) cremoreus Grishin, sp. n. (Bolivia: Santa Cruz), Dyscophellus megaporsena Grishin, sp. n. (Northern Argentina), Cecropterus (Murgaria) perichales Grishin, sp. n. (Peru), Cecropterus (Murgaria) guatemalensis Grishin, sp. n. (Guatemala: Petén), Charidia paronia Grishin, sp. n. (Brazil: Rondônia), Quadrus (Quadrus) teelatus Grishin, sp. n. (Venezuela: Aragua), Quadrus (Quadrus) truncatina Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Junín), Gindanes vittatus Grishin, sp. n. (Brazil: Rondônia), Arteurotia artistella sinalima Grishin, ssp. n. (Mexico: Sinaloa), Bolla (Sebia) azora Grishin, sp. n. (Mexico: Oaxaca), Bolla (Sebia) brennatus Grishin, sp. n. (Panama: Darién), Bolla (Sebia) zuelisa Grishin, sp. n. (Venezuela: Trujillo), Bolla (Uniphylus) martea Grishin, sp. n. (Colombia: Magdalena), Staphylus (Capilla) lemesi Grishin, sp. n. (Venezuela: La Guaira), Anisochoria minorella hermieri Grishin, ssp. n. (Argentina: Salta), Justa Grishin, subgen. n. (Thoressa justini Inoué & Kawazoé, 1969), Isma bulaga Grishin, sp. n. (Philippines: Mindanao), Isma leytatus Grishin, sp. n. (Philippines: Leyte), Decinea buenia Grishin, sp. n. (Bolivia: Santa Cruz), Decinea brocki Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Zenis parlatus Grishin, sp. n. (Brazil: Rondônia), Zenis doris Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Morona-Santiago), Mucia rustana Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Mucia castanuza Grishin, sp. n. (Peru: Cuzco), Alerema uniplex Grishin, sp. n. (Bolivia: La Paz), and Racta racteca Grishin, sp. n. (Ecuador: Tungurahua), in Hesperiidae Latreille, 1809. Lacturnea Nazari & Fric, 2025, stat. nov., Huegelia Nazari & Fric, 2025, stat. nov., and Everes Hübner, [1819], stat. rev. are subgenera of Cupido Schrank, 1801 (not genera). The following are new combinations: Ajenorix subguttata (Elwes, [1893]), comb. nov. (not Virachola F. Moore, 1881) and Halpe justini (Inoué & Kawazoé, 1969), comb. nov. (not Thoressa Swinhoe, 1913). The following taxa are species (not subspecies or synonyms of the taxa given in parentheses): Erebia (Magda) avinoffi W. Holland, 1930, stat. rest. (not Erebia (Magda) fasciata Butler, 1868), Myselasia gonzaloi (Salazar & Henao, 2019), stat. nov. (not Myselasia gradata (Stichel, 1927)), Ectosemia attalus (Seitz, 1913), stat. nov. (not Ectosemia eumene (Cramer, 1776)), Ectosemia furia (Stichel, 1910), stat. nov. (not Ectosemia erinnya (Stichel, 1910)), Cupido (Sinocupido) korlana Staudinger, 1901, stat. nov. (not Cupido (Everes) prosecusa duplex (Alphéraky, 1887)), Plebejus (Lycaeides) scudderii (W. H. Edwards, 1861), stat. rest. (not Plebejus (Lycaeides) idas (Linnaeus, 1760); consequently, all North American subspecies formerly assigned to P. idas are treated here as subspecies of P. scudderii), Cecropterus (Cecropterus) capys Godman & Salvin, 1894, stat. rest. (not Cecropterus (Cecropterus) longipennis Plötz, 1882), Cogia terranea (Butler, 1874), stat. rest. (not Cogia calchas (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)), Halpe raphaeli (Nuyda & Kitamura, 1994), comb. et stat. nov. (not Halpe justini (Inoué & Kawazoé, 1969), comb. nov.), and Potanthus (Potanthus) pavor (De Niceville, 1894), stat. rest. (not Potanthus (Potanthus) euria (Plötz, 1883)). The following taxa are valid subspecies, not species or synonyms: Erebia (Magda) avinoffi semo Grum-Grshimailo, 1899, stat. rev., Satyrium californica helenae M. Fisher, 2009, stat. rest., Cecropterus (Cecropterus) longipennis punctisignatus Bryk, 1953, stat. rest., Bolla (Bolla) nigerrima banosa (Bell, 1937), stat. nov., Staphylus (Capilla) azteca machuca (Schaus, 1913), stat. nov., and Staphylus (Capilla) tyro nicoleae Lemes, 2026, stat. nov. The following taxa are confirmed as valid: Erebia (Magda) mackinleyensis Gunder, 1932, Satyrium californica wapiti M. Fisher, 2006, and Isma bipunctata Elwes & Edwards, 1897. The following taxa are new junior subjective synonyms: Lethina Reuter, 1896 of Parargina Tutt, 1896, Euselasia ella terrea Stichel, 1924 of Myselasia eulione (Hewitson, 1856), Euselasia gradata Stichel, 1927 of Myselasia cucuta (Schaus, 1902), Euselasia pseudomys Callaghan, 1999 of Myselasia rhodon (Seitz, 1913), Euselasia crotopus form. mutator Seitz, 1916 of Erythia micaela (Schaus, 1902), Mesosemia meyi Brévignon, 1997 of Ectosemia eumene (Cramer, 1776), Lycaena gisela Püngeler, 1901 of Cupido (Sinocupido) korlana Staudinger, 1901, stat. nov., and Pamphila orfitus Mabille, 1883 of Potanthus (Potanthus) euria (Plötz, 1883); and the following are revised junior subjective synonyms: Sinocupido lokiangensis Lee, 1963 of Cupido (Sinocupido) korlana Staudinger, 1901 and Staphylus inconstans Bell, 1932 of Staphylus (Capilla) azteca machuca (Schaus, 1913), stat. nov. A confidently resolved phylogeny suggests partitioning the tribe Satyrini Boisduval, 1833 into 13 subtribes and places Llorenteana Viloria & Luis-Martínez, [2019] in Euptychiina Reuter, 1896 (not Ypthimina Reuter, 1896). The following species described from a single specimen are confirmed by genomic sequencing of additional specimens: Phanus centralis Grishin, 2025 (known from El Salvador), Phanus ecutinus Grishin, 2025 (range extended from northwestern Ecuador to Panama), Telegonus (Rhabdoides) elorianus Grishin, 2025 (recorded from southern Brazil and Argentina), and Rhomba pulla Grishin, 2023. Furthermore, we clarify the type locality of Apodemia (Apodemia) apache Grishin, 2026 as USA: Arizona, Apache Co., US-60, 8 mi west of Greens Peak Road, elevation 7000 ft; provide additional evidence for the distinction of Satyrium dryope (W. H. Edwards, 1870) as a species-level taxon that possibly does not form a monophyletic group with Satyrium sylvinus Boisduval, 1852, and demonstrate that both Arteurotia artistella Grishin, 2023 and Arteurotia tractipennis A. Butler & H. Druce, 1872 occur in eastern Chiapas (Mexico) and Guatemala. Lectotypes are designated for 18 taxa: Erebia magdalena Strecker, 1880 (USA: Colorado, Clear Creek Co.), Erebia fasciata Butler, 1868 (Canada: Nunavut, Victoria Is.), Euselasia ella Seitz, 1916 (Bolivia: La Paz, Río Zongo), Euselasia ella terrea Stichel, 1924 (Brazil: Pará, Río Moju), Eurygona cucuta Schaus, 1902 (Venezuela: Táchira, vic. Cúcuta), Eurygona matuta Schaus, 1913 (Costa Rica: Cartago, Juan Viñas), Eurygona micaela Schaus, 1902 (Peru), Euselasia crotopus form. mutator Seitz, 1916 (Peru), Mesosemia eumene form. attalus Seitz, 1913 (French Guiana: Nouveau Chantier), Mesosemia albipuncta Schaus, 1913 (Costa Rica: Limón, Guápiles, La Esperanza), Apodemia multiplaga Schaus, 1902 (Mexico: Veracruz, Rinconada), Lycaena gisela Püngeler, 1901 (China: Xinjiang, Tarim River area vic. Aksu), Lycaena prosecusa v. korlana Staudinger, 1901 (China: Xinjiang, Korla), Eudamus calchas Herrich-Schäffer, 1869 (Brazil: Rio de Janeiro), Nisoniades braco Herrich-Schäffer, 1865 (Cuba), Bolla nigerrima Mabille & Boullet, 1917 (Peru: Puno, Chaquimayo), Anisochoria minorella Mabille, 1898 (Bolivia: La Paz, Río Tanampaya), and Hesperia euria Plötz, 1883 (Java). Neotypes are designated for Papilio eumene Cramer, 1776 (Suriname) and Nisoniades undulatus Herrich-Schäffer, 1865 (Cuba: Matanzas). A full-length COI barcode sequence is provided for every designated lectotype and neotype.
Hairy Root Disease (HRD) is a significant threat to hydroponic crops such as tomato, cucumber, melon, eggplant, and bell pepper. Rhizogenic agrobacteria are the primary causative agents of HRD and infection of host plants results in excessive root growth, which leads to substantial yield losses. This study investigated infection efficiency and symptom severity across 24 rhizogenic Agrobacterium strains and explored potential correlations with specific genomospecies, opine types or host of isolation. This was done using a laboratory-scale assay, i.e. an in vitro carrot disk bioassay, and a soil-based tomato bioassay. In the carrot disk assay, substantial variation was observed in infection efficiency and symptom severity, in particular excessive root development, across strains. While infection efficiency showed no clear correlation with genomospecies, opine types or host of origin, the carrot disk assay showed that hairy root biomass as a measure for symptom severity varied depending on genomospecies, opine type, and plant host from where the isolates are originally isolated. Based on the outcomes of this carrot disk assay, six strains were selected for additional assessment under greenhouse conditions in the soil-based tomato bioassay. Similar to the carrot disk assay, large variations were observed between strains regarding infection efficiency and symptom severity. The use of these complementary bioassays not only allowed identification of strain-specific differences in virulence, but also provided valuable insight into the diversity of rhizogenic Agrobacterium and its interaction with different host plants.
Crystallization can be exploited as an architecture-forming step for polymer membranes because it builds a load-bearing semicrystalline scaffold while simultaneously defining amorphous regions that later become transport pathways. Herein, we quantify how thermal history programs isotactic polystyrene (iPS) crystallization and translate the resulting microstructures into membrane-relevant design rules. Lux-calibrated digitally extracted pixel intensity (DPI) from polarized optical microscopy provides a quantitative, spatially resolved crystallinity proxy; benchmarking against differential scanning calorimetry confirms that the DPI proxy exhibits the same onset, peak, and completion signatures under matched temperature programs. The DPI-DSC agreement yielded R2 = 0.98 under matched programs. We compared crystallization initiated from molten and glassy states across a wide range of melt pretreatments and crystallization temperatures. Molten-state pathways display pronounced melt-memory behavior: modest changes in melt pretreatment shift induction time and half-time and drive textures from dense, fine spherulitic fields to sparse, coarser morphologies. In contrast, glassy-state crystallization largely suppresses melt history, yielding overlapping sigmoidal crystallinity curves and stable kinetic parameters consistent with relaxation-mediated nucleation. Avrami analyses indicate three-dimensional growth in both routes but highlight the strong melt-history sensitivity of apparent rate constants in the molten state. The crystallization rate and half-life show bell-shaped temperature dependence. Finally, saturated nucleation density correlates with the melting response, providing a practical link between kinetic observables and morphology. The processing-morphology map provides membrane-relevant design rules by linking thermal history to nucleation density and scaffold texture, which are expected to influence transport and mechanical stability in downstream membrane fabrication. In this study, "membrane architecture" is used in a pre-fabrication sense to denote the crystallization-programmed semicrystalline scaffold expected to govern subsequent pore-generation behavior and mechanical stability. Accordingly, the present work establishes a quantitative process-structure map for iPS scaffold design.
Microplastic (MP) bioaccumulation and biomagnification in marine food webs remains poorly understood, specifically trophic transfer from primary consumers to higher trophic levels. Although MP transfer has been studied in various organisms including fish, crustaceans, and gelatinous zooplankton, most existing research relies on short-term laboratory studies or simple field investigations lacking data on seasonal variations. This study fills that gap by tracking MP ingestion and transfer over time, across spatial gradients, and among developmental stages in Matagorda Bay, Texas. Field-collected samples of the copepod Acartia tonsa and the jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris were examined and laboratory exposures to assess MP body burden, survival, and morphological effects were conducted. Seasonal differences in MP concentrations and ingestion patterns were observed, with higher MP burdens correlating with rainfall and runoff. Laboratory exposures revealed increased MP accumulation in both copepods and jellyfish, along with a significant reduction in jellyfish bell diameter over time. The findings revealed notable trends in seasonal variation, species-specific MP uptake, and potential sublethal impacts on zooplankton and gelatinous predators. This study advances overall understanding of MP trophic dynamics in estuarine food webs and verifies the need for temporally resolved multi-trophic assessments. The findings contribute to and necessitate further long-term, multi-trophic monitoring to inform mitigation strategies for MP contamination in coastal ecosystems.
The sinoatrial node (SAN) is the primary pacemaker of the heart. Recent high-resolution imaging showed that synchronized action potentials exiting the SAN emerge from heterogeneous signals, including subthreshold signals in nonfiring (dormant) cells. This raises a new question in cardiac biology: how do these signals contribute to heartbeat generation? Here, we tested the hypothesis that pacemaker cells harness stochastic resonance to ensure fail-safe operation, especially at low rates bordering on sinus arrest. Membrane potential and Ca signals were measured using perforated-patch recordings in rabbit SAN cells exposed to sine-wave or white-noise currents. In addition, we imaged Ca signals in intact mouse SAN tissue and performed multiscale model simulations at the subcellular, cellular, and tissue levels. In addition to synchronized Ca transients, SAN tissue exhibited heterogeneous local Ca signals with different kinetics. Noise currents, mimicking the heterogeneous natural cellular environment, restored action potential firing in dormant cells and substantially improved the rate and rhythm of cells firing infrequently and irregularly. Performance followed a bell-shaped curve, peaking and then declining, demonstrating a hallmark of stochastic resonance. Rhythmic action potential generation in response to sine-wave currents of different frequencies defined a resonance spectrum in SAN cells, reflecting their ability to respond via stochastic resonance to specific frequency components embedded in noise. Cholinergic stimulation shifted the resonance spectrum and responses to noise toward lower frequencies across all amplitudes tested, rendering cells unresponsive to higher-frequency signals while enabling more effective processing of slower signals. Both the numerical models and simultaneous recordings of membrane potential and Ca dynamics demonstrated that stochastic resonance is amplified by coupled electrical and Ca signaling, enhancing action potential generation at low noise levels. Adding noise currents to the cell and tissue numerical models allowed firing under conditions in which they otherwise would have stopped. SAN cells harness stochastic resonance amplified by coupled membrane-Ca signaling to ensure rhythmic heartbeat initiation, especially at low rates. This new signaling mechanism may help avoid sinus arrest when the heart slows and biological noise increases, such as during parasympathetic stimulation, bradyarrhythmia, or aging.
In the electromagnetic detection of shallow subsurface metal snaring traps in forested areas, conventional transmission schemes such as square waves, PRBS and PSO waveforms inevitably excite severe clutter in soils exhibiting viscous remanent magnetization (VRM), which drastically degrades the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR). To resolve this issue, this paper proposes a spectrum modification method for the transmitting scheme based on an Interval Robust hybrid RIME and Sequential Quadratic Programming (IR-RIME-SQP) algorithm. By coupling the Debye relaxation characteristics of ferromagnetic targets with the soil VRM model, the proposed method concentrates limited transmission energy into a bell-shaped frequency window near the target's characteristic frequency. Furthermore, interval analysis is introduced to ensure robust performance against the dynamic drift of coil parameters. The feasibility of this novel transmitting scheme is validated through ablation experiments and comparative simulations. Finally, laboratory measurements demonstrate that IR-RIME-SQP provides a more rational and efficient energy allocation strategy, improving the targeted frequency energy retention (TFER) by approximately 16.4% and thereby enhancing both detection efficiency and precision.
Eating school breakfast has benefits for students, yet participation remains lower than that of school lunch. This study examined associations between school breakfast service models, self-reported participation, and perceived participation barriers, and whether these associations differed by school level (middle vs. high) and universal school meals policy (with vs. without). One thousand ninety-seven middle and high school students were surveyed. Data were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression. Most students (67%) reported access only to traditional before-school breakfast. Higher odds of participation and lower odds of time-related barriers were found for breakfast in the classroom (OR 3.88; 95% CI 2.49, 6.03) and "second chance" breakfast (OR 2.07; 95% CI 1.43, 3.00) compared to traditional before-school breakfast only. Grab-and-go options were associated with modestly higher odds of participation (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.01, 1.67) and fewer barriers among high school students. Breakfast after the bell approaches is associated with higher participation and fewer barriers. These strategies can help ensure more students have reliable access to school breakfast. Alternative school breakfast service models, particularly breakfast in the classroom and "second chance" breakfast, may increase participation and support student nutrition, health, and academic performance.
When coordinating decisions in latency-sensitive 6G networks, distributed agents must act without exchanging messages at runtime. A well-known obstacle arises from the CHSH (Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt) inequality, which caps classical coordination accuracy at [Formula: see text] for the standard non-local game under a strict no-signaling protocol. We introduce eMARL (entanglement-assisted Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning), a learning framework in which agents share pre-distributed Bell pairs and learn measurement policies to surpass this classical ceiling. Across [Formula: see text] independent training runs, eMARL reaches a win rate of [Formula: see text] and a CHSH parameter [Formula: see text], while transmitting zero bits during execution. Meanwhile, bandwidth-limited learned-communication baselines such as CommNet ([Formula: see text]) and TarMAC ([Formula: see text]) suffer from training instability and fall short of even the classical optimum. We characterize performance under both depolarizing and photon-loss channels. The depolarizing analysis fixes a fidelity threshold for automatically falling back to classical policies; the loss analysis distinguishes the two operating regimes of photonic networks (heralded post-selection and unheralded amplitude damping), the former preserving the conditional quantum advantage but paying a [Formula: see text] throughput penalty per round. We close the loop with a simplified Cell-Free MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output)-inspired beamforming task, where eMARL recovers [Formula: see text] of centralized throughput with zero runtime signaling. Taken together, these findings position entanglement as a promising coordination resource for CHSH-type distributed problems in principle.
Quantum networking enables the exchange of quantum information between physically separated quantum systems, which has applications ranging from quantum computing to unconditionally secure communication. These quantum information is generally represented by two-level quantum systems or qubits. Here, we demonstrate a quantum network of high-dimensional (HD) quantum memories or "qudits" stored in individual atoms. The interference and detection of HD time-bin-encoded single photons emitted from atomic qudit memories herald maximally entangled Bell states across pairs of atomic qudit levels. This approach expands the quantum information capacity of a quantum network while improving the entanglement success fraction beyond the standard 50% limit of qubit-based measurement protocols.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important molecule in cellular metabolism given its merits as an antioxidant, a substrate for the mitochondrial electron transport chain and as a signaling molecule via promotion of cysteine persulfidation in peptides and proteins. Studies in cell culture, animal models, and humans have supported a central role of H2S in the control of aging and age-related metabolic diseases. Enhanced intracellular H2S production has been associated with extended survival in several experimental models, while decreased H2S production or levels have been linked to pathological processes including diabetes, glioblastoma, and cardiovascular disease. In this review, we describe the latest findings related to the biological actions of H2S and the implications for aging and metabolic diseases, with a special focus on diabetes and its related complications. While aging studies convincingly support that several interventions that enhance H2S generation promote healthy aging and extend life expectancy, the effects are highly context-dependent and reflect a bell-shaped dose-response profile, requiring tight regulation of H2S production and signaling. In this context, H2S modulates important metabolic processes that need to be finely coordinated to promote these benefits, including its essential role in controlling insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in insulin-target tissues. We support that interventions based on the use of enzymatic and non-enzymatic production of H2S may have therapeutic potential to promote healthy aging and to treat age-related metabolic diseases.
Human movements often follow smooth trajectories predicted by the minimum-jerk trajectory (MJT) model, suggesting that the motor system optimizes motion smoothness during planning. While MJT-like behavior has been extensively studied in reaching movements, it remains unclear whether these trajectory properties are preserved across different control modalities, visual feedback conditions, and limb status.
Approach: We examined the effects of control modality (reaching versus muscle-based control), visual feedback (present versus absent), and limb status (intact limb versus limb difference) on movement trajectory generation. Thirteen participants, including three individuals with upper-limb difference, performed virtual cursor movements to varying target distances. Peak velocity, movement time, position error, and adherence to MJT-like trajectory structure were analyzed.
Main results: Across all experimental conditions, movements exhibited bell-shaped velocity profiles and amplitude-dependent scaling of peak velocity and movement time. These features persisted in the absence of visual feedback and in participants with limb difference. Position error increased when visual feedback was removed, but the overall smoothness and structure of the trajectories remained consistent with MJT predictions.
Significance: These findings suggest that MJT-like movement structure is robust across variations in control modality, visual feedback availability, and limb status. The results support the idea that smooth movement planning reflects a generalized property of motor control and provide insight for the development of biologically inspired assistive and human-machine interface systems.
Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) or gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) is an essential tool for determining the molecular weight and polydispersity of water-soluble polymers, including biopolymers used in hydrogels, sealants, bioinks, and other biomedical materials. However, aqueous SEC of polyelectrolytes, i.e., charged polymers, is often complicated by non-size interactions among polymer chains, porous column beads, pore surfaces, frits, tubing, and mobile phase. Salt addition to eluent is commonly used to screen these interactions, but the minimum salt concentration required to restore reliable SEC behavior remains poorly defined, and excessive salt may introduce tailing, refractive-index artifacts, deposits, or instrument concerns. In this study, aqueous SEC with refractive index (RI) and right-angle light scattering (RALS) detection was used to evaluate the effect of salt (Na2SO4) concentration on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), a nominally neutral reference standard polymer, and sodium alginate as a model anionic biopolymer. PEO retained a single bell-shaped peak across the tested salt range, but its elution volume and SEC/RALS-derived molecular weights varied slightly with salt concentration, showing that even a nominally neutral reference polymer is affected by mobile-phase conditions. Alginate showed much stronger salt dependence: eluent at very low salt concentration produced broad, noisy, and convoluted chromatograms, whereas increasing salt concentration progressively narrowed the main peak. The first condition that produced a clear, approximately symmetric RI/RALS main peak was 6.25×10-3 M Na2SO4, identifying it as the minimum effective salt concentration for this alginate/column/instrument system. To rigorously validate these observations, we propose a set of both qualitative and quantitative peak analyses that objectively confirm the optimal mobile-phase conditions. Ultimately, these results provide a practical workflow for identifying the minimum effective salt concentration required for reliable SEC analysis of water-soluble polymers.
The expansion of peer recovery support services has not only rapidly integrated peers across service systems but also threatens to drift peer roles toward clinical duties and erode values that gave rise to the peer support movement. The earliest peer professional roles emerged from social advocacy efforts that rejected clinical, hierarchical, and coercive models of care, instead advancing nonclinical, mutual, and person-centered recovery support. As the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy calls to strengthen the peer workforce, it offers an opportunity to revisit the social movements that built peer support, clarify why these founding values were considered essential, and use these principles to guide contemporary policy and funding decisions. In this commentary, we provide historical context for the intention of professional peer support roles and articulate how federal and state policy can resist the force of role drift by grounding future workforce development in the movement's original values.
The spinal dorsal horn contains numerous excitatory interneurons, which can be assigned to functional classes based on morphological, electrophysiological and neurochemical criteria. One population consists of neurons that express neurotensin, and these belong to a larger group defined by the presence of protein kinase Cγ (PKCγ). It has been proposed that PKCγ neurons form part of a circuit that can convey low-threshold mechanoreceptive information to nociceptive projection neurons in lamina I, forming a pathway that could underlie mechanical allodynia in pathological pain states. However, despite their potential importance, relatively little is known about the properties of the neurotensin-expressing cells. Here we have used a neurotensin-Cre line, together with intraspinal injection of AAVs coding for Cre-dependent constructs, to characterise the morphological and electrophysiological properties of these cells. Reconstruction of their dendritic trees revealed that they were morphologically diverse, although many could be assigned to a class known as central cells. All cells examined received synaptic contacts from putative A- and C-low-threshold mechanoreceptors (identified by expression of VGLUT1 and VGLUT3, respectively). However, these only accounted for a minority of their excitatory synapses. Around 40% of their synapses were from VGLUT2-immunoreactive boutons, which are likely to have originated mainly from local excitatory interneurons. Electrophysiological analysis revealed similarities to, and differences, from other neurochemically-defined excitatory interneuron populations. Our findings are compatible with the proposed role of neurotensin cells in mechanical allodynia, but suggest additional functions for these cells.
In the Pleistocene, climatic changes resulted in cycles of sea-level fluctuation that periodically fragmented islands into aggregate island complexes. These temporary saltwater barriers between islands within an island bank had the potential to decrease migration between populations on separate islands, resulting in increased genetic divergence and potentially speciation. In the Lesser Antilles, Anolis lizards (anoles) are distributed across island banks that vary in distance and water depth between islands, making them excellent candidates for studying how different barriers shape patterns of genetic diversity. Here, we focused on anoles found across the St. Kitts Bank (A. bimaculatus, A. schwartzi), Anguilla Bank (A. gingivinus), and Barbuda Bank (A. leachii, A. wattsi) to test the hypothesis that populations separated by narrower and shallower marine barriers are more genetically similar to one another than populations on more distant islands or those separated by deeper water. Using a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear genomic DNA, we found a spectrum of population genetic structure ranging from weak but detectable structure (A. gingivinus, Anguilla Bank and A. leachii, Barbuda Bank) to pronounced (A. bimaculatus and A. schwartzi, St. Kitts Bank) and even species divergence (A. wattsi complex, Barbuda Bank). The extent of genetic divergence, however, did not consistently correspond to island bathymetry. Our demographic analyses for each currently recognized species supported a model of divergence with gene flow, consistent with a history of intermittent migration between present-day islands. Collectively, these results support a partial role for sea-level fluctuations in the Pleistocene structuring current patterns of genetic diversity in Lesser Antillean anoles.
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