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Circulating angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8) and steatotic liver disease related to metabolic dysfunction: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
Get PDFBackground: Steatotic liver disease related to metabolic dysfunction is the most common cause of chronic liver disease globally. The spectrum of this condition includes steatosis and steatohepatitis and was previously referred to as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) but has been renamed as metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and more recently as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8), also known as betatrophin or lipasin, regulates triglycerides and has emerged as a potential novel biomarker for steatosis/steatohepatitis. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to identify and synthesize the evidence on the possible association of circulating ANGPTL8 concentrations with NAFLD, MAFLD or MASLD.
Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched for studies published in English reporting circulating ANGPTL8 concentrations in adults with NAFLD or MAFLD or MASLD and controls. A meta-analysis was performed, reporting the standardized mean difference (SMD) of circulating ANGPTL8 concentrations between these two groups. Study quality and risk of bias were assessed using the NIH quality assessment tool and RoBANS 2, respectively.
Results: Of the 104 identified publications, eight studies were eligible for this systematic review, whilst seven were also eligible for meta-analysis (543 NAFLD or MAFLD cases vs. 352 controls). Circulating ANGPTL8 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with NAFLD or MAFLD compared with controls (SMD: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.28-0.97; p<0.001). Considerable heterogeneity was noted among these studies, with six studies having high risk of bias in at least one RoBANS 2 domain.
Conclusion: These findings present up-to-date comprehensive evidence indicating that adults with steatotic liver disease related to metabolic dysfunction exhibit higher circulating ANGPTL8 concentrations compared with controls. Given the need for novel screening/diagnostic biomarkers for steatosis/steatohepatitis, as well for additional drug targets, large and prospective studies are required to confirm this association and explore its temporal direction, particularly under the new MASLD diagnosis/term
The impact of whole-molecule disorder on spin-crossover in a family of isomorphous molecular crystals
Get PDFTreatment of 2-(pyrazol-1-yl)-6-fluoropyridine with one equiv of the appropriate 4-substituted 1H-pyrazole in the presence of sodium hydride gives moderate yields of 2-(pyrazol-1-yl)-6-(4-methylpyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (LMe), 2-(pyrazol-1-yl)-6-(4-fluoropyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (LF), 2-(pyrazol-1-yl)-6-(4-chloropyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (LCl) and 2-(pyrazol-1-yl)-6-(4-bromopyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (LBr). Single crystals of [Fe(LR)2]Z2 (R = Me, F or Br; Z− = BF4− or ClO4−) are often well-formed, but are poor diffractors of X-rays. An analysis of [Fe(LMe)2][ClO4]2 showed non-statistical positional disorder of the methyl substituents, leading to whole molecule disorder in each residue of the asymmetric unit. Single crystals of [Fe(LBr)2][BF4]2 are isomorphous with the LMe complex, and but less substituent disorder. All the complex salts are isomorphous by powder diffraction, and show thermal spin-transitions whose cooperativity differs from gradual (R = Me) to abrupt and hysteretic (R = Br). Some of the cooperative transitions exhibit irregular, closely spaced discontinuities which do not appear to be caused by crystallographic phase changes, and may reflect local heterogeneities caused by the cation disorder. No aspect of their crystal packing appears to correlate with their spin-transition cooperativity. However, weaker cooperativity may correlate with increased cation disorder in this system, which merits further investigation
Harnessing Virtualization to Transpose Place-Based Music
Get PDFThe project Nightports at Hull Minster originally aimed to create a 30-minute musical composition intended for live performance across a loudspeaker orchestra in situ. As the project evolved, new dissemination opportunities emerged, leading to adaptations in spatialization techniques and approaches to performance. These opportunities, such as a live radio broadcast, prompted considerations about how a site-specific work tied to the unique acoustics of Hull Minster could be transposed to other formats and spaces. The capture of spatial room impulse responses (SRIRs) became key to transferring the work’s spatial qualities as both a novel hybrid acousmonium/virtualmonium and a full virtualmonium, offering a way to reframe the performance while retaining the acoustic essence of the Minster. This article outlines both the technical and artistic approaches behind Nightports at Hull Minster, exploring the relationships between performance and technological mediation within each transposition. Through its multiple iterations, the project reveals how site-specific music can be adapted and transformed while maintaining an intimate connection to its originating place
Connectivity benefits most woodland invertebrate species but only in landscapes with low woodland cover
Get PDFAround the EQUATOR With Clin-STAR: Systematic Reviews of Intervention Effectiveness; Challenges and Opportunities
Get PDFSystematic reviews offer clarity about the effectiveness of interventions based on the best available evidence. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement updated previous guidance to ensure transparency in the reporting of systematic reviews of intervention effectiveness. To adhere to the 27 items of PRISMA 2020, aging-focused researchers must specify the choice of age-based criteria for the review, comprehensively identify studies, select the most important outcomes that will therefore be collected, define the effect measures (e.g., odds ratio), describe investigations of the causes of heterogeneity (e.g., different settings), assess and report the risk of bias including blinding of participants and missing outcome data for results that contribute to each meta-analysis, and discuss the implications of the findings for practice, which will often include some uncertainty. This article provides guidance on overcoming the specific challenges faced by aging-focused researchers in transparently reporting a systematic review
Exciton-diffusion enhanced energy capture in an integrated nanoscale platform
Get PDFHarnessing solar energy through biologically inspired nanoscale platforms presents a promising route for sustainable energy conversion. Biohybrid systems take advantage of the design and performance of natural systems while also enabling the optimized organization of the protein components. Until now, such systems have usually been made from components of the same species, limiting the range of properties and interactions that can be generated. Here, we introduce a nanoscale platform of biomolecular films containing cross-species antenna/reaction center proteins. We demonstrated a long-range exciton diffusion of ∼200 nm through the antenna light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) from green plants and quantified the underlying diffusivity at 3 × 10–2 μm2 ns–1 using complementary simulations. The LHCII micropattern also induced directional exciton diffusion as a crucial mechanism for enhanced energy capture, yielding a ∼30% energy transfer efficiency to the reaction center-light-harvesting complex 1 complex from purple bacteria. This platform provides a proof-of-concept for an operation-ready, hybrid energy harvesting system capable of spanning the entire visible spectrum. The integration of diverse photosynthetic proteins into biofilm platforms offers new potential for solar energy capture and conversion
The importance of tropical tree-ring chronologies for global change research
Get PDFTropical forests and woodlands are key components of the global carbon and water cycles. Yet, how climate change affects these biogeochemical cycles is poorly understood because of scarce long-term observations of tropical tree growth. The recent rise in tropical tree-ring studies may help to fill this gap, but a large-scale quantitative analysis of their potential in global change research is missing.
We compiled a list of all tropical tree species known to form annual tree rings and built a network encompassing 492 tropical ring-width chronologies to evaluate the potential to generate insights on climate sensitivity of woody productivity and to build centuries-long reconstructions of climate variability. We assess chronology quality, length, and climatic representativeness and explore how these change along climatic gradients. Finally, we applied species-distribution modeling to identify regions with potential for tree-ring studies in ecological and climatic studies.
The number of tropical chronologies has rapidly increased, with ∼400 added over the past two decades. Yet, tree-ring studies are biased towards high-elevation locations, with gaps in warmer and wetter climates, on the African continent, and for angiosperm species. The longest chronologies with strongest climate signals (i.e., synchronous growth variations among trees) are from cool regions. In wet regions, climate signals and precipitation sensitivity decrease. Most tropical regions harbor 5–15 (and up to 80) species with proven potential to generate chronologies. The potential for long climate reconstructions is particularly high in drier high elevation sites. Our findings support strategies to effectively expand tree-ring research in the tropics, by targeting specific species and regions. Tropical dendrochronology can importantly contribute to global change research by generating historical context of climate extremes, quantifying climate sensitivity of woody productivity and benchmarking vegetation models
Does circular economy mitigate environmental emissions among European Union (EU) countries?
No full textGiven the growing concern about the circular economy as a strategy for combating carbon emissions, it is critical to understand its impact on other environmental gases. Hence, this study aims to examine the impact of the circular economy on three main gases that contribute to climate change and global warming, namely carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions. Further, the current study explores the mitigating effect of the circular economy on the Environmental Kuznets Curve for environmental emissions to provide strong evidence for its existence. This study employs a panel data technique, specifically panel ARDL, for the period spanning from 2000 to 2020 across 27 European Union countries. The empirical results suggest that circular economy practices have a negative impact on carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions, signifying their role in emissions reduction and confirming the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Meanwhile, robustness checks with the addition of control variables and alternative estimation techniques also confirmed that the circular economy addresses environmental emissions. Therefore, the governments of other nations, as well as those of the European Union, should implement or expand fiscal incentives to encourage sectors to adopt circular economy strategies, and environmental regulations should incorporate circular economy principles to ensure sustainability and emission reduction
The Oral Microbiome and Us
No full textOral and systemic human health depend on the symbiotic relationship between the human host and its microbiome. As the second most diverse site of the human microbiome, the oral cavity is instrumental in symbiotic relationships, transforming nutrients and acting as the human body’s initial barrier against pathogens. However, under certain conditions, the typically beneficial oral microbiome can become harmful. Systemic inflammatory diseases can send signals through the oral–gut axis, such as cytokines and host defensins, altering gene expression and, consequently, the composition of the oral microbiome. These changes can be responsible for causing oral diseases, such as periodontitis and candidiasis. Evidence of metabolic syndrome, including obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia, exacerbates oral microbiome dysbiosis. On the other hand, the oral microbiota can also influence systemic health. Inflammatory processes in the gingival structures caused by a dysbiotic oral microbiome are linked to worsen glycemic levels in diabetics, premature birth, and rheumatoid arthritis, among others. The idea for this book emerged from the need to explore the multifaceted nature of this relationship in its various dimensions. We discuss multispecies characteristics from an ecological perspective, focusing on how the host affects the microbiome and vice versa. Understanding how the oral microbiome influences human health will guide tailored strategies for disease prevention and treatment, which is discussed in the last section of the book. Looking ahead, predictive health and disease models will enable personalized therapies centered on restoring the healthy human microbiome
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