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Life Sciences in Space Research May 2024The space environment poses substantial challenges to human physiology, including potential disruptions in gastrointestinal health. Gut permeability has only recently... (Review)
Review
The space environment poses substantial challenges to human physiology, including potential disruptions in gastrointestinal health. Gut permeability has only recently become widely acknowledged for its potential to cause adverse effects on a systemic level, rendering it a critical factor to investigate in the context of spaceflight. Here, we propose that astronauts experience the onset of leaky gut during space missions supported by transcriptomic and metagenomic analysis of human and murine samples. A genetic map contributing to intestinal permeability was constructed from a systematic review of current literature. This was referenced against our re-analysis of three independent transcriptomic datasets which revealed significant changes in gene expression patterns associated with the gut barrier. Specifically, in astronauts during flight, we observed a substantial reduction in the expression genes that are crucial for intestinal barrier function, goblet cell development, gut microbiota modulation, and immune responses. Among rodent spaceflight studies, differential expression of cytokines, chemokines, and genes which regulate mucin production and post-translational modifications suggest a similar dysfunction of intestinal permeability. Metagenomic analysis of feces from two murine studies revealed a notable reduction probiotic, short chain fatty acid-producing bacteria and an increase in the Gram-negative pathogens, including Citrobacter rodentium, Enterobacter cloacea, Klebsiella aerogenes, and Proteus hauseri which promote LPS circulation, a recipe for barrier disruption and systemic inflammatory activation. These findings emphasize the critical need to understand the underlying mechanisms and develop interventions to maintain gastrointestinal health in space.
Topics: Space Flight; Astronauts; Humans; Animals; Permeability; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Mice; Transcriptome; Gastrointestinal Tract
PubMed: 38670644
DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2024.03.003 -
Cureus Mar 2024Advanced pancreatic cancer is one of the prominent contributors to cancer-related mortality globally. Chemotherapy, especially gemcitabine, is generally used for the... (Review)
Review
Advanced pancreatic cancer is one of the prominent contributors to cancer-related mortality globally. Chemotherapy, especially gemcitabine, is generally used for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. Despite the treatment, the fatality rate for advanced pancreatic cancer is alarmingly high. Thus, the dire need for better treatment alternatives has drawn focus to cancer vaccinations. The Wilms tumor gene (WT1), typically associated with Wilms tumor, is found to be excessively expressed in some cancers, such as pancreatic cancer. This characteristic feature is harvested to develop cancer vaccines against WT1. This review aims to systematically summarize the clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of WT1 vaccines in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. An extensive literature search was conducted on databases Medline, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar using the keywords "Advanced pancreatic cancer," "Cancer vaccines," "WT1 vaccines," and "Pulsed DC vaccines," and the results were exclusively studied to construct this review. WT1 vaccines work by introducing peptides from the WT1 protein to trigger an immune response involving cytotoxic T lymphocytes via antigen-presenting cells. Upon activation, these lymphocytes induce apoptosis in cancer cells by specifically targeting those with increased WT1 levels. WT1 vaccinations, which are usually given in addition to chemotherapy, have demonstrated clinically positive results and minimal side effects. However, there are several challenges to their widespread use, such as the immunosuppressive nature of tumors and heterogeneity in expression. Despite these limitations, the risk-benefit profile of cancer vaccines is encouraging, especially for the WT1 vaccine in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. Considering the fledgling status of their development, large multicentric, variables-matched, extensive analysis across diverse demographics is considered essential.
PubMed: 38665761
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.56934 -
Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2024Our study aims to head to head compare the application of gallium-68-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (Ga-FAPI) positron emission tomography/computed tomography... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Comparative Study
OBJECTIVE
Our study aims to head to head compare the application of gallium-68-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (Ga-FAPI) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/CT in primary and metastatic lesions of gastric tumor to determine the superior diagnostic tool.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A systematic search, up to March 31, 2023, across PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases utilized a data-specific Boolean logic strategy. Sensitivity (SEN) and specificity (SPE) evaluations of Ga-FAPI and F-FDG PET/CT in gastric cancer lesions were conducted. The quality of the studies was assessed using QUADAS-2, and publication bias was examined through Begg and Egger tests.
RESULTS
Analysis involved 141 gastric tumor patients and 2753 metastatic lesions in five studies, with overall satisfactory study quality and no apparent publication bias. Patient-level data showed a combined SEN of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.90-0.98) for Ga-FAPI and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.77-0.89) for F-FDG. At the lesion level, combined SEN were 0.91 (95% CI: 0.84-0.96) for Ga-FAPI and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.63-0.80) for F-FDG. The pooled SEN for detecting lymph node metastases was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.74-0.82) for Ga-FAPI and 0.35 (95% CI: 0.30-0.39) for F-FDG, with pooled SPE values of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.98-0.99) and 0.97 (95% CI: 0.96-0.98), respectively. For detecting distant metastases, pooled SEN values were 0.97 (95% CI: 0.96-0.98) and 0.69 (95% CI: 0.66-0.72) for Ga-FAPI and F-FDG, with pooled SPE values of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.82-0.89) and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.59-0.68), respectively.
CONCLUSION
This meta-analysis concluded that Ga-FAPI PET/CT was significantly more sensitive than F-FDG PET/CT in assessing primary gastric tumors, lymph nodes, and distant metastases, but the difference in the specificity of lymph node metastasis was not significant.
Topics: Stomach Neoplasms; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Neoplasm Metastasis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Quinolines
PubMed: 38629816
DOI: 10.1967/s002449912703 -
Sports Medicine - Open Apr 2024Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is manifested by sensorimotor impairments in the sprained ankle, including deficits in sensation, motor function, and central integration...
BACKGROUND
Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is manifested by sensorimotor impairments in the sprained ankle, including deficits in sensation, motor function, and central integration or processing. These impairments have a significant impact on physical activities and daily life. Recently, some studies have suggested that bilateral deficits were observed in unilateral CAI, but contradictory evidence disputes this finding. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether bilateral sensorimotor deficits presented in individuals with unilateral CAI.
METHODS
Without language restriction, the following databases were retrieved from database inception up until 3 November 2023, including PubMed, WOS, EMBASE, Cochrane, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL. Case-control and cross-sectional studies that investigated bilateral sensorimotor functions in individuals with unilateral CAI were included. Sensorimotor functions contained static and dynamic balance, functional performance, muscle strength and activation, as well as sensation. Outcome measures contained centre-of-pressure parameters, normalised reach distance, activation time and magnitude of muscle, sensory errors and threshold. The risk of bias and quality assessment of included studies were evaluated using a standardised tool recommended by the Cochrane Collaboration and the Epidemiological Appraisal Instrument, respectively. To explore the potential bilateral deficits associated with unilateral CAI, a comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager version 5.4. The analysis compared the injured limb of unilateral CAI with healthy controls and the uninjured limb with healthy controls. The main focus of this study was to investigate the differences between the uninjured limb and healthy controls. A random-effects model was employed and effect sizes were estimated using the standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Effect sizes were deemed as weak (0.2-0.5), moderate (0.5-0.8), or large (> 0.8).
RESULTS
A total of 11,442 studies were found; 30 studies were contained in the systematic review and 20 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with healthy controls, those with unilateral CAI presented weak to moderate impairments in their uninjured limbs in static balance with eyes open (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.56), functional performance (SMD = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.67), kinesthesia (SMD = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.95) and tibialis anterior activation (SMD = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.19 to 1.01). There were no significant differences in other comparisons between the uninjured limb and healthy controls.
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with unilateral CAI may present bilateral deficits in static balance with eyes open, functional performance and kinaesthesia. However, further evidence is required to confirm this point due to limited studies included in some analyses and small effect size.
REGISTRATION
The protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews platform (CRD: 42,022,375,855).
PubMed: 38589676
DOI: 10.1186/s40798-024-00702-y -
World Journal of Gastroenterology Mar 2024As a critical early event in hepatocellular carcinogenesis, telomerase activation might be a promising and critical biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)...
BACKGROUND
As a critical early event in hepatocellular carcinogenesis, telomerase activation might be a promising and critical biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and its function in the genesis and treatment of HCC has gained much attention over the past two decades.
AIM
To perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically assess the current state of research on HCC-related telomerase.
METHODS
The Web of Science Core Collection and PubMed were systematically searched to retrieve publications pertaining to HCC/telomerase limited to "articles" and "reviews" published in English. A total of 873 relevant publications related to HCC and telomerase were identified. We employed the Bibliometrix package in R to extract and analyze the fundamental information of the publications, such as the trends in the publications, citation counts, most prolific or influential writers, and most popular journals; to screen for keywords occurring at high frequency; and to draw collaboration and cluster analysis charts on the basis of coauthorship and co-occurrences. VOSviewer was utilized to compile and visualize the bibliometric data.
RESULTS
A surge of 51 publications on HCC/telomerase research occurred in 2016, the most productive year from 1996 to 2023, accompanied by the peak citation count recorded in 2016. Up to December 2023, 35226 citations were made to all publications, an average of 46.6 citations to each paper. The United States received the most citations ( = 13531), followed by China ( = 7427) and Japan ( = 5754). In terms of national cooperation, China presented the highest centrality, its strongest bonds being to the United States and Japan. Among the 20 academic institutions with the most publications, ten came from China and the rest of Asia, though the University of Paris Cité, Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris, and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) were the most prolific. As for individual contributions, Hisatomi H, Kaneko S, and Ide T were the three most prolific authors. Kaneko S ranked first by H-index, G-index, and overall publication count, while Zucman-Rossi J ranked first in citation count. The five most popular journals were the , , , , and , while , , and had the most citations. We extracted 2293 keywords from the publications, 120 of which appeared more than ten times. The most frequent were HCC, telomerase and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). Keywords such as mutational landscape, TERT promoter mutations, landscape, risk, and prognosis were among the most common issues in this field in the last three years and may be topics for research in the coming years.
CONCLUSION
Our bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of HCC/telomerase research and insights into promising upcoming research.
Topics: Humans; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Liver Neoplasms; Telomerase; Oncogenes; Bibliometrics
PubMed: 38577190
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i9.1224 -
Medycyna Pracy Apr 2024The phenomenon of the population's gradual global ageing means that an increasing proportion of research is concerned with the space in which seniors function on a daily... (Review)
Review
The phenomenon of the population's gradual global ageing means that an increasing proportion of research is concerned with the space in which seniors function on a daily basis. They are primarily aimed at identifying elements of the built environment that need updating in the new social context. The purpose of the analyses presented in this article is to review the current scientific literature on various aspects of physical activity of people outdoors in an urbanized environment. The scope review was based on the resources of 3 scientific databases (Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed). The analyses concerned articles published in the last decade (2013-2023). The collected material was subjected to the PRISMA procedure (), and 29 articles were extracted for analysis. The conducted research indicated thematic scopes that are undertaken in contemporary research on physical activities of a rehabilitation nature undertaken in public space by older people (>65 years of age). The research topics described in the articles analysed dealt with elements defining the characteristics of public space that mobilise older people to be active, identified barriers preventing its use and factors popularising it. The studies analysed also identified the characteristics of public spaces according to the type of activity used by seniors for rehabilitation. The result of the review is the separation of the thematic scope of research on the activation of the elderly in the open air towards rehabilitation. The information provided may be useful for architects, urban planners and people managing urban spaces to determine design solutions that meet the needs of older people.
PubMed: 38576347
DOI: 10.13075/mp.5893.01514 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Previous studies have a lack of meta-analytic studies comparing the trait (personality) envy, social comparison envy, and love-envy, and the understanding of the...
Previous studies have a lack of meta-analytic studies comparing the trait (personality) envy, social comparison envy, and love-envy, and the understanding of the similarities and differences in the neural mechanisms behind them is relatively unclear. A meta-analysis of activation likelihood estimates was conducted using 13 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Studies first used single meta-analyses to identify brain activation areas for the three envy types. Further, joint and comparative analyses were followed to assess the common and unique neural activities among the three envy types. A single meta-analysis showed that the critical brain regions activated by trait (personality) envy included the inferior frontal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, lentiform nucleus and so on. The critical brain regions activated by social comparison envy included the middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, precuneus and so on. The critical brain regions activated by love-envy included the inferior frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, insula and so on. In terms of the mechanisms that generate the three types of envy, each of them is unique when it comes to the perception of stimuli in a context; in terms of the emotion regulation mechanisms of envy, the three types of envy share very similar neural mechanisms. Both their generation and regulation mechanisms are largely consistent with the cognitive control model of emotion regulation. The results of the joint analysis showed that the brain areas co-activated by trait (personality) envy and social comparison envy were frontal sub-Gyral, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, precuneus and so on; the brain areas co-activated by trait (personality) envy and love-envy were extra-nuclear lobule, lentiform nucleus, paracentral lobule, cingulate gyrus and so on; the brain regions that are co-activated by social comparison envy and love-envy are anterior cingulate gyrus, insula, supramarginal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus and so on. The results of the comparative analysis showed no activation clusters in the comparisons of the three types of envy.
PubMed: 38566953
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1335548 -
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders Apr 2024Chronic neck pain (CNP) is a common public health problem that affects daily living activities and quality of life. There is biomechanical interdependence between the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Chronic neck pain (CNP) is a common public health problem that affects daily living activities and quality of life. There is biomechanical interdependence between the neck and scapula. Studies have shown that shoulder blade function might be related to chronic neck pain. We therefore evaluated the effects of scapular targeted therapy on neck pain and function in patients with CNP.
METHODS
Databases, including MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE (via Ovid), Ovid, Web of Science, and Scopus, were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials published in English investigating treatment of the scapula for CNP before July 16, 2023.
RESULTS
A total of 313 participants were included from 8 RCTs. Compared with those in the control group, the intervention in the scapular treatment group exhibited greater improvement in pain intensity (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 2.55; 95% CI = 0.97 to 4.13; P = 0.002), with moderate evidence. Subgroup analysis for pain intensity revealed a significant difference between the sexes, with only the female population (SMD = 6.23, 95% CI = 4.80 to 7.65) showing better outcomes than those with both sexes (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.57 to 1.56) (p < 0.00001). However, moderate evidence demonstrated no improvement in neck disability after scapular treatment (SMD of 0.24[-0.14, 0.62] of Neck Disability Index or Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire). No effect of scapular treatment was shown on the pressure pain threshold (PPT). The cervical range of motion (CROM) and electromyographic activity of neck muscles could not be conclusively evaluated due to limited support in the articles, and further study was needed. However, the patient's head forward posture appeared to be corrected after scapular treatment.
CONCLUSION
Scapular therapy was beneficial for relieving pain intensity in patients with CNP, especially in women. Head forward posture might also be corrected with scapular therapy. However, scapular therapy may have no effect on the PPT or neck disability. However, whether scapular therapy could improve CROM and cervical muscle activation in patients with CNPs had not been determined and needed further study.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Neck Pain; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Neck; Chronic Pain; Scapula
PubMed: 38561733
DOI: 10.1186/s12891-024-07220-8 -
Clinical and Experimental Dental... Apr 2024Orthodontic treatment is often accompanied by discomfort and pain in patients, which are believed to be a result of orthodontic tooth displacement caused by the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Orthodontic treatment is often accompanied by discomfort and pain in patients, which are believed to be a result of orthodontic tooth displacement caused by the mechanical forces exerted by the orthodontic appliances on the periodontal tissues. These lead to change blood oxygen level dependent response in related brain regions.
OBJECTIVE
This systematic review aims to assess the impact of experimental orthodontic tooth displacement on alterations in central nervous system activation assessed by tasked based and resting state fMRI.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A literature search was conducted using online databases, following PRISMA guidelines and the PICO framework. Selected studies utilized magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brain activity changes in healthy participants after the insertion of orthodontic appliances.
RESULTS
The initial database screening resulted in 791 studies. Of these, 234 were duplicates and 547 were deemed irrelevant considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the ten remaining potential relevant studies, two were excluded during full-text screening. Eight prospective articles were eligible for further analysis. The included studies provided evidence of the intricate interplay between orthodontic treatment, pain perception, and brain function. All of the participants in the included studies employed orthodontic separators in short-term experiments to induce tooth displacement during the early stage of orthodontic treatment. Alterations in brain activation were observed in brain regions, functional connectivity and brain networks, predominantly affecting regions implicated in nociception (thalamus, insula), emotion (insula, frontal areas), and cognition (frontal areas, cerebellum, default mode network).
CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that orthodontic treatment influences beyond the pain matrix and affects other brain regions including the limbic system. Furthermore, understanding the orthodontically induced brain activation can aid in development of targeted pain management strategies that do not adversely affect orthodontic tooth movement. Due to the moderate to serious risk of bias and the heterogeneity among the included studies, further clinical trials on this subject are recommended.
Topics: Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Prospective Studies; Tooth Movement Techniques; Pain; Brain; Malocclusion
PubMed: 38558512
DOI: 10.1002/cre2.879 -
Biomedicines Feb 2024Brown adipose tissue (BAT), specialized in thermoregulation in mammals, has been linked to improved glucose and lipid homeostasis when activated by cold exposure (CE).... (Review)
Review
Brown adipose tissue (BAT), specialized in thermoregulation in mammals, has been linked to improved glucose and lipid homeostasis when activated by cold exposure (CE). This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the metabolic effects of CE-induced BAT activation in healthy humans, examining changes in glucose and lipid metabolism compared to thermoneutrality (TN). A literature search was conducted, identifying relevant human studies, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs, based on predefined inclusion criteria. Seven studies (a total of 85 participants) fully met the criteria. Data on plasma glucose, insulin, triglycerides (TGs), and free fatty acids (FFAs) were extracted for meta-analysis. When comparing TN and CE under fasting conditions, there were no significant changes in glucose, insulin, or TG concentrations (all > 0.36). In contrast, CE significantly increased FFA concentrations ( = 0.002; n = 38). Bias was absent for all parameters, but heterogeneity was observed for insulin (I = 74.8%). CE primarily affects FFA concentration, likely reflecting cold-induced BAT activity. This suggests that circulating FFAs, serving as the primary fuel for thermogenesis, could indicate BAT activation. However, understanding the effects of BAT activation on overall metabolism requires a broader approach beyond fasting glucose and lipid concentration measurements.
PubMed: 38540150
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12030537