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Archaeological and Anthropological... 2024Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has become one of the standard applications in the field of paleogenomics in recent years. It has been used for paleoenvironmental...
Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has become one of the standard applications in the field of paleogenomics in recent years. It has been used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, detecting the presence of prehistoric species in the absence of macro remains and even investigating the evolutionary history of a few species. However, its application in archaeology has been limited and primarily focused on humans. This article argues that sedaDNA holds significant potential in addressing key archaeological questions concerning the origins, lifestyles, and environments of past human populations. Our aim is to facilitate the integration of sedaDNA into the standard workflows in archaeology as a transformative tool, thereby unleashing its full potential for studying the human past. Ultimately, we not only underscore the challenges inherent in the sedaDNA field but also provide a research agenda for essential enhancements needed for implementing sedaDNA into the archaeological workflow.
PubMed: 38948161
DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-01999-2 -
IScience Jun 2024Comparisons of molecular phenotypes across primates provide unique information to understand human biology and evolution, and single-cell RNA-seq CRISPR interference...
Comparisons of molecular phenotypes across primates provide unique information to understand human biology and evolution, and single-cell RNA-seq CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) screens are a powerful approach to analyze them. Here, we generate and validate three human, three gorilla, and two cynomolgus iPS cell lines that carry a dox-inducible KRAB-dCas9 construct at the AAVS1 locus. We show that despite variable expression levels of KRAB-dCas9 among lines, comparable downregulation of target genes and comparable phenotypic effects are observed in a single-cell RNA-seq CRISPRi screen. Hence, we provide valuable resources for performing and further extending CRISPRi in human and non-human primates.
PubMed: 38947524
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110090 -
IScience Jun 2024The constrained energy model posits that the increased total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in response to exercise is often less than the energy cost of the exercise...
The constrained energy model posits that the increased total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in response to exercise is often less than the energy cost of the exercise prescribed. The mechanisms behind this phenomenon, coined "exercise-related energy compensation" (ExEC), are poorly understood, and it is unknown if ExEC is coupled with metabolic adaptation. Using a randomized controlled 24-week exercise intervention, individuals who demonstrated ExEC were identified. Changes to all components of TDEE and metabolic adaptation were assessed using doubly labeled water over 14 days and room calorimetry over 24-h 48% of individuals exhibited ExEC (-308 ± 158 kcals/day). There were no statistically significant differences in sex, age, or BMI between ExEC and non-ExEC. ExEC was associated with baseline TDEE (r = -0.50, = 0.006). There were no statistically significant differences in metabolic adaptations for 24 h, sleep, or resting expenditures. These findings reveal that ExEC occurs independent of metabolic adaptation in sedentary components of EE.
PubMed: 38947494
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109842 -
Social History of Medicine : the... Feb 2024Medical schools rely on a wide range of tools, technologies and materials for their teaching, on books, and bodies, and on the buildings which house them. This article...
Medical schools rely on a wide range of tools, technologies and materials for their teaching, on books, and bodies, and on the buildings which house them. This article considers the histories of this material culture in the three oldest medical schools operating in Ghana today. Borrowing theoretical concepts from Science and Technology Studies, medical anthropology and postcolonial political economy, this article takes that the material culture of modern medical education often binds contemporary pedagogy to outdated ideas and faraway places. The agential, proselytising nature of these historied materials agitates against the localisation of biomedicine and contributes to a distracting scientific imaginary which remains centred around historical, often imperial centres of knowledge production in Europe and North America.
PubMed: 38947279
DOI: 10.1093/shm/hkad039 -
Progress in Community Health... 2024Drawing from collective experiences in our capacity building project: Health Equity Activation Research Team for Inclusion Health, we argue that while community-engaged...
Drawing from collective experiences in our capacity building project: Health Equity Activation Research Team for Inclusion Health, we argue that while community-engaged partnerships tend to focus on understanding health inequities and developing solutions, they can be healing spaces for health professionals and researchers. Data were obtained from a 15-month participatory ethnography, including focus groups and interviews. Ethnographic notes and transcripts were coded and analyzed using both deductive and inductive coding. Practices of radical welcome, vulnerability, valuing the whole person, acknowledging how partnerships can cause harm, and centering lived experience expertise in knowledge creation processes were identified as key characteristics of healing spaces. Ultimately, health professionals and researchers work within the same social, political and economic contexts of populations with the worst health outcomes. Their own healing is critical for tackling larger systemic changes aimed at improving the well-being of communities harmed by legacies of exclusion.
Topics: Humans; Community-Based Participatory Research; Research Personnel; Focus Groups; Health Personnel; Anthropology, Cultural; Capacity Building; Health Equity
PubMed: 38946573
DOI: No ID Found -
Molecular Ecology Jul 2024We present palaeogenomes of three morphologically unidentified Anatolian equids dating to the first millennium BCE, sequenced to a coverage of 0.6-6.4×. Mitochondrial...
We present palaeogenomes of three morphologically unidentified Anatolian equids dating to the first millennium BCE, sequenced to a coverage of 0.6-6.4×. Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of the Anatolian individuals clustered with those of Equus hydruntinus (or Equus hemionus hydruntinus), the extinct European wild ass, secular name 'hydruntine'. Further, the Anatolian wild ass whole genome profiles fell outside the genomic diversity of other extant and past Asiatic wild ass (E. hemionus) lineages. These observations suggest that the three Anatolian wild asses represent hydruntines, making them the latest recorded survivors of this lineage, about a millennium later than the latest observations in the zooarchaeological record. Our mitogenomic and genomic analyses indicate that E. h. hydruntinus was a clade belonging to ancient and present-day E. hemionus lineages that radiated possibly between 0.6 and 0.8 Mya. We also find evidence consistent with recent gene flow between hydruntines and Middle Eastern wild asses. Analyses of genome-wide heterozygosity and runs of homozygosity suggest that the Anatolian wild ass population may have lost genetic diversity by the mid-first millennium BCE, a possible sign of its eventual demise.
PubMed: 38946459
DOI: 10.1111/mec.17440 -
Pharmaceutical Biology Dec 2024Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) results in an enormous burden and reduces the quality of life for patients. Considering there is no specific drug for the management... (Review)
Review
CONTEXT
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) results in an enormous burden and reduces the quality of life for patients. Considering there is no specific drug for the management of DPN, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has increasingly drawn attention of clinicians and researchers around the world due to its characteristics of multiple targets, active components, and exemplary safety.
OBJECTIVE
To summarize the current status of TCM in the treatment of DPN and provide directions for novel drug development, the clinical effects and potential mechanisms of TCM used in treating DPN were comprehensively reviewed.
METHODS
Existing evidence on TCM interventions for DPN was screened from databases such as PubMed, the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register (CENTRAL), and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI). The focus was on summarizing and analyzing representative preclinical and clinical TCM studies published before 2023.
RESULTS
This review identified the ameliorative effects of about 22 single herbal extracts, more than 30 herbal compound prescriptions, and four Chinese patent medicines on DPN in preclinical and clinical research. The latest advances in the mechanism highlight that TCM exerts its beneficial effects on DPN by inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis, endoplasmic reticulum stress and improving mitochondrial function.
CONCLUSIONS
TCM has shown the power latent capacity in treating DPN. It is proposed that more large-scale and multi-center randomized controlled clinical trials and fundamental experiments should be conducted to further verify these findings.
Topics: Humans; Diabetic Neuropathies; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Animals; Quality of Life; Oxidative Stress; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
PubMed: 38946248
DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2024.2369301 -
Journal of Nutritional Science and... 2024Excessive immune response and inflammation are associated with an increased risk of various diseases. In particular, excessive myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Excessive immune response and inflammation are associated with an increased risk of various diseases. In particular, excessive myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in neutrophils causes inflammatory reactions and lifestyle-related diseases. Adlay has a long history of being used as a traditional Chinese medicine. Polyphenols present in adlay seeds are expected to have the effect of suppressing excessive immune and inflammatory responses. Here, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the suppressing effects of adlay seeds extract on excessive immune responses. One hundred and twenty adults participated in the study and they were equally divided into an adlay tea intake group and a placebo group. MPO activity was significantly elevated in the placebo group after 8-wk ingestion, while no significant change was observed in the adlay group. Vascular endothelial functions improved in the adlay group, especially in subjects over 40 y old. These results indicate that adlay tea intake may suppress an excessive immune and inflammatory responses, and improve arterial stiffness. Since caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, and ferulic acid detected in adlay tea are known to inhibit MPO activity, these polyphenols may be the major functional molecules. Collectively, adlay tea is considered to have a preventative effect against lifestyle-related diseases through improving vascular endothelial function by effects to maintain immune homeostasis of the contained polyphenols. This trial was registered at University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000032263).
Topics: Humans; Double-Blind Method; Male; Female; Adult; Tea; Homeostasis; Middle Aged; Endothelium, Vascular; Polyphenols; Peroxidase; Seeds; Plant Extracts; Inflammation; Caffeic Acids; Medicine, Chinese Traditional
PubMed: 38945894
DOI: 10.3177/jnsv.70.280 -
Soins. Pediatrie, Puericulture 2024A qualitative study was carried out with five professionals in a pediatric intensive care unit in 2022. Semi-structured interviews were used to find out how they felt... (Review)
Review
A qualitative study was carried out with five professionals in a pediatric intensive care unit in 2022. Semi-structured interviews were used to find out how they felt about patients from their own culture, and about the role of their mother tongue in hospital care. Caregivers find it difficult to bring their own culture to the fore when caring for their patients. A description of the obstacles they encounter, as well as the advantages, is included.
Topics: Humans; Cultural Diversity; Transients and Migrants; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; Attitude of Health Personnel
PubMed: 38945680
DOI: 10.1016/j.spp.2024.05.008 -
Psychiatry Research Jun 2024On October 7, 2023, a war erupted in Israel following a mass terror attack including mass shootings, violent events, civilian abductions, and numerous fatalities,...
Mental Health Outcomes of Arab and Jewish Populations in Israel a Month after the Mass Trauma Events of October 7, 2023: A Cross-Sectional Survey of a Representative Sample.
On October 7, 2023, a war erupted in Israel following a mass terror attack including mass shootings, violent events, civilian abductions, and numerous fatalities, ranking as the third most deadliest terror attack. This cross-sectional, population-based study evaluated the impact on the mental health and utilization of mental health services in the Arab and Jewish populations. Conducted through a virtual platform, the study compared demographic factors, exposure to war-related events, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms among 517 participants in a representative sample of the adult population in Israel (79.1% Jewish, 20.9% Arab). Jews reported higher exposure to war-related events, but a majority expressed a lack of interest in mental help. In contrast, more Arabs desired mental help but faced barriers like stigma and scarce resources. Arabs showed a greater preference for group therapy and medical treatment. Trust in official bodies was consistently higher among Jews. Both populations exhibited similar levels (12-15.4%) of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study equips clinicians, researchers and policymakers with real-time insights into improving mental health support for the culturally diverse needs of Jewish and Arab communities following exposure to mass trauma.
PubMed: 38945101
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.116042