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Pre-Lessepsian isotopic niche spaces:using paleoecological proxies to assess the impact of ongoing bioinvasions on fishes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Get PDFOngoing bioinvasions of Lessepsian species via the Suez Canal have profoundly altered marine coastal ecosystems in the eastern Mediterranean. In response to these Lessepsian migrations, some indigenous fishes have been observed to have widened their trophic niches and diversified their foraging strategies. Effects of invasive taxa are further compounded by modern anthropogenic drivers such as overfishing, habitat degradation, and pollution. The scale and characteristics of these recent changes in trophodynamics for broader ichthyofaunal communities are poorly understood due to a lack of data predating Lessepsian migrations; paleoecological data is, therefore, essential. Here, we present a substantial body of new carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic data from Middle to Late Holocene archaeological fish collagen (n=137), combined with previously published results (n=44) to establish paleoecological baselines for the region. An emphasis is placed on groupers (Epinephelidae) due to their high ubiquity in Mediterranean archaeological contexts and importance to rocky reef ecosystems today. We demonstrate that modern, indigenous Mediterranean fish have expanded their trophic niches beyond their pre-Lessepsian migrations baseline foraging ecology. Paleo data further show that fishes in middle and lower trophic levels have the highest degree of overlap in isotopic niche spaces, suggesting greater levels of competition for trophic resources. Our study highlights the importance of integrating data from historical ecological baselines into our assessments of bioinvasions and, more broadly, anthropogenically driven ecosystem alterations
Understanding the physiological behavior of disc cells in an in vitro imitation of the healthy and degenerated disc niche
Get PDFIntroduction
The natural environment within the nucleus pulposus (NP) is hypoxic, acidic, low in nutrition, and exerts a high osmotic pressure. NP cells have adapted to this harsh environment; however, in vitro conditions often fail to recapitulate this environment. Hence, this study aimed to develop media to mimic the conditions of the native NP, with regards to pH, osmolality, glucose, combined with culture in physioxia (5% O2), and determine their effects upon human NP cells and tissue.
Methods
All media utilized low glucose DMEM/serum free conditions with supplements supporting matrix synthesis, based on media recommended for alginate culture (standard media). Healthy media modulated osmolarity (425 mOsm/kg) and pH 7.2; degenerate media consisted of 325 mOsm/kg and pH 6.8. The latter was further supplemented with 100 pg/mL IL-1β (degenerate+IL-1β media). NP cells in 3D alginate and NP tissue explants were cultured in these media for up to 2 weeks in physioxia (5% O2) to determine effects on viability, mitochondrial activity, protein expression, and secretome.
Results
Media osmolarity and pH remained stable and cell viability was not altered by any media composition. Mitochondrial activity was increased during short-term cultures, whilst a decrease was seen following 14 days in degenerate media. The secretome of NP cells was differentially affected in healthy or degenerate media, with most increases in catabolic cytokines observed following the addition of IL-1β. Tissue explants showed stability of protein expression of matrix components in both healthy and degenerate+IL-1β media, with limited effects seen on the secretome.
Discussion
The media formulations developed here can provide more appropriate environmental conditions in vitro, mimicking more closely the in vivo conditions observed within healthy and degenerate IVDs. The application of which can provide more appropriate culture conditions to test potential therapeutic approaches and understand more fully the pathogenesis of disease using in vitro and ex vivo models
Understanding the Thoughts and Preferences for Technologies Designed to Detect Feelings of Loneliness: Interview Study Among Older Adults
Get PDFBackground:
Loneliness is a negative emotional state that is common in later life. The accumulative effects of loneliness have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of older adults. Automatic methods for detection and prediction are an emerging field to support early identification of loneliness.
Objective:
This study aimed to qualitatively explore the thoughts and preferences of people aged 65 years and older regarding technologies to detect feelings of loneliness in later life.
Methods:
We conducted 60 semistructured interviews with people aged 65 years and older between September 2022 and August 2023. Data were analyzed using a reflective thematic approach on NVivo software (Lumivero).
Results:
In total, three themes were identified representing what older adults considered important in a system able to detect loneliness: (1) interest and control of data, which was a priority for older adults; (2) perceived usefulness to address loneliness, which related to the importance of providing recommendations to reduce feelings of loneliness after detection; and (3) personalization as a priority, which included the level of loneliness for which an alert was sent and selection of relevant individuals who would be sent a loneliness alert.
Conclusions:
Findings from this in-depth qualitative study provide important perspectives from people with lived experience of loneliness on the context in which a sensor-based loneliness detection system would be most useful and acceptable to older adults. Future research will include such perspectives in the design of innovative technologies enabling the early detection of loneliness and access to timely interventions to tackle loneliness in later life
BS12 The impact of maternal diabetes on endothelial to mesenchymal transition (ENDMT) in the fetoplacental macro- and micro-vasculature
No full textWang Baochuan Beyond Traditional Theatre: Feminist Discourse, Digital Fluidity and Transmedia Character Network
Get PDFThis article explores the evolving figure of Wang Baochuan, a traditional Chinese traditional theatre character, as a “transmedia character network” within contemporary digital culture. Once celebrated in theatrical form for her loyalty and virtue, Wang Baochuan has recently re-emerged across digital platforms through feminist reinterpretations and creative remixes. Drawing on Thon and Pearson’s theory of transmedia character networks and Ashley Hinck’s concept of digital fluidity, the article examines how her image is reshaped through three case studies: 武家坡2021( Wujiapo 2021), the feminist slogan Wang Baochuan Wa Yecai (王宝钏挖野菜 ) or Wang Baochuan Collecting Wild Vegetables, and the mobile-first short video drama Hunchuan Kuqing Nvzhu Wobuzuo Lianai Nao (魂穿苦情女主我不做恋爱脑) or Soul-Traveling to a Miserable Heroine, I Refuse to Be Blinded by Love. The article argues that digital fluidity operates as a social affordance, enabling feminist critique to emerge through the distributed reanimation of transmedia characters in China’s commercially mediated and gendered digital environment
Unraveling atomistic heating behavior of vacancy induced 3C-SiC during microwave exposure
Get PDFThis study explores the impact of pre-existing silicon and carbon vacancies on the microwave heating of 3C-SiC at an atomistic level using molecular dynamics simulations. Microwaves were introduced at different electric field strengths (0.1 and 0.5 V/Å) and different frequencies (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 GHz) to the vacancy-induced 3C-SiC crystal to understand its heating characteristics. During microwave exposure, the temperature of the 3C-SiC crystal increased rapidly with increasing Si vacancies, electric field strength, and frequency. The results revealed that 3C-SiC crystals having 1.5 % and 2.0 % Si vacancies undergo 40–50 % physical and structural change with the application of microwave for 4.985 ns and 4.49 ns, respectively, at 0.5 V/Å and 300 GHz. Additionally, a comparative analysis was performed to study the microwave heating rate of 3C-SiC with Si and C vacancies (1.5 and 2.0 %). C vacancies at 1.5 % and 2.0 % showed 95.5 % and 142.2 % higher heating rates, respectively, than Si vacancies. Additionally, beyond 1000 K, microwave heating is driven by structural changes induced by vacancies as compared to the thermal conductivity of the 3C-SiC crystal
The Association Between Affect and Adiposity in Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review
Get PDFBackground
The relationship between adiposity and psychological health is complex, with much of the current research focused on adult or adolescent psychopathology. Affect, a facet of psychological well-being observable from infancy, appears to influence energy balance behaviors, but relationships with adiposity are not fully understood. This review examined the association between affect and adiposity across childhood and adolescence to further understand the nature of these relationships.
Methods
Six electronic databases were searched in February 2024. Studies that reported an association between measures of adiposity and affect were included and synthesized narratively. Study quality was assessed using an adapted version of the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.
Results
One hundred and sixty-seven studies were retrieved from the search. Studies overwhelmingly focused on negative affect (n = 75) rather than positive affect (n = 14) or both (n = 21). Thirty-three studies focused on adiposity and emotional functioning, and 24 on emotional regulation. Negative affect was more consistently associated with adiposity in adolescence. There was little evidence of bidirectionality, whereby higher adiposity generally preceded negative affect. Positive affect was also related to adiposity, although these relationships were mixed, with prospective associations found with higher and lower adiposity across development. Mechanisms of associations were infrequently examined but varied when reported.
Conclusions
Positive and negative affect both appear to be associated with adiposity, and these relationships may be dynamic across development. Longitudinal research to elucidate these associations across development is necessary to confirm whether these trends are a true developmental phenomenon or a function of sample differences in baseline affect
P 086: Investigating axonal transport in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2A using a pluripotent stem cell-based model
Get PDFOverview of the Chemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols (CHACHA) Field Campaign
Get PDFThe Chemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols (CHACHA) field project aimed to advance the understanding of coupled meteorological and chemical processes in the atmospheric boundary layer during the seasonal increase in sea ice fracturing in spring. CHACHA sought to understand the interactions between this changing snow-covered surface, surface-coupled clouds, sea spray aerosols, multiphase halogen chemistry, and impacts of emissions from oil and gas extraction on atmospheric chemistry. The project measured greenhouse gases, reactive gases, size-resolved aerosol number concentrations, cloud microphysical properties, and meteorological conditions in real time, while also collecting particles for offline analysis. Two instrumented aircraft were deployed: the Purdue University Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research and the University of Wyoming King Air. Flights were conducted out of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, between 21 February and 16 April 2022, sampling air over snow-covered and newly frozen sea ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, over open leads, and over the snow-covered tundra of the North Slope of Alaska, including the oil and gas extraction region near Prudhoe Bay. Observations showed that reactive bromine gases generally peaked near the snow-covered surface and decayed rapidly within the lowest few hundred meters where ozone was depleted, with concentrations reduced by nitrogen oxides emitted from oil fields. Cloud microphysical measurements revealed that thin clouds over and downwind of leads grew in vertical extent after contact with open water. Results from dropsondes indicated that convective boundary layers developed over leads, with depths ranging from 250 to 850 m depending on the fetch.
Significance Statement
Given the rapid pace of physical and chemical changes occurring in the Arctic, and the critical yet insufficiently understood roles of atmospheric turbulence, chemistry, and aerosol-cloud feedbacks, the Chemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols (CHACHA) project aimed to enhance the understanding of the processes governing vertical variability of halogens and aerosols and, in turn, improve predictive capabilities for the Arctic’s physical and chemical state, both now and in the future
Computer Vision-Driven Digitalization of the Nine Hole Peg Test Assessment Method: A Pilot Study
No full textPurpose: This study aimed to develop and validate a computer vision-driven Digitalized Nine Hole Peg Test (D-NHPT) to assess hand function in stroke patients, examining the reliability and validity of extracted hand features and their ability to distinguish stroke patients from healthy subjects. Methods: A customized data collection system and an improved test device using LMC2 captured hand-motion data. The study recruited 10 stroke patients and 5 healthy subjects. Statistical analyses included intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for reliability, p-values for discriminant validity (Mann-Whitney U test), and |r-scores| for convergent validity. Results: The D-NHPT demonstrated high reliability (patient group ICC = 0.818–0.946; healthy group ICC = 0.785–0.904), significant discriminant validity (p < 0.019), and strong convergent validity (|r-score|=0.671–0.909). Key features included motion speed, coordination, and task completion metrics, which effectively distinguished stroke patients from healthy subjects. Conclusion: The D-NHPT provides a reliable, valid, and multidimensional assessment of hand function in stroke patients. Specific hand features are sensitive metrics for clinical evaluation, advancing digitalization of rehabilitation scales, and supporting personalized rehabilitation strategies
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