Predictors of adolescent depressive symptoms

The present study expands the existing literature and supplements today’s knowledge on the relationship between personal, psychosocial and lifestyle factors and depressive symptoms among adolescents. The study aimed to investigate the variety of depressive symptoms predictors—personal resources, adverse school and family, health, lifestyle-related (sense of coherence, self-esteem, school involvement, negative acts at school, family stress and violence, psychosomatic health complaints, physical activity, smoking, alcohol) as well as gender, employing hierarchical linear regression analysis in a large representative sample of adolescents (N = 2212) in Kaunas, Lithuania. Four blocks of predictors were employed in hierarchical linear regression analysis. In the final model 64.9% of depressive symptoms were explained by all the predictors. Sense of coherence was the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms (standardized regression coefficient β = −605, p < 0.001 in the first model and β = −263, p < 0.001 in the final model after adjustment for all other independent variables) and accounted for 36.6% of variance. In conclusion, this study supports the notion that depressive symptoms among adolescents have multifactorial origins with many predictors showing significant effect seizes. Therefore, high sense of coherence and self-esteem, school involvement, higher levels of physical activity would be protective and influence lower levels of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Exposure to negative acts at school and negative experiences in the family, psychosomatic health complaints, smoking would increase the probability of depressive symptoms. Girls are more prone to depression as compared to boys

Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Sleep Duration of Children Aged 6-9 Years in 25 Countries: An Analysis within the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) 2015-2017

BACKGROUND: Children are becoming less physically active as opportunities for safe active play, recreational activities, and active transport decrease. At the same time, sedentary screen-based activities both during school and leisure time are increasing. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate physical activity (PA), screen time, and sleep duration of girls and boys aged 6-9 years in Europe using data from the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI). METHOD: The fourth COSI data collection round was conducted in 2015-2017, using a standardized protocol that included a family form completed by parents with specific questions about their children's PA, screen time, and sleep duration. RESULTS: Nationally representative data from 25 countries was included and information on the PA behaviour, screen time, and sleep duration of 150,651 children was analysed. Pooled analysis showed that: 79.4% were actively playing for >1 h each day, 53.9% were not members of a sport or dancing club, 50.0% walked or cycled to school each day, 60.2% engaged in screen time for 1 h/day, 8.2-85.6% were not members of a sport or dancing club, 17.7-94.0% walked or cycled to school each day, 32.3-80.0% engaged in screen time for <2 h/day, and 50.0-95.8% slept for 9-11 h/night. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of engagement in PA and the achievement of healthy screen time and sleep duration are heterogenous across the region. Policymakers and other stakeholders, including school administrators and parents, should increase opportunities for young people to participate in daily PA as well as explore solutions to address excessive screen time and short sleep duration to improve the overall physical and mental health and well-being of children

Understanding the relationship between cognitive performance and function in daily life after traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive impairment is a key cause of disability after traumatic brain injury (TBI) but relationships with overall functioning in daily life are often modest. The aim is to examine cognition at different levels of function and identify domains associated with disability. METHODS: 1554 patients with mild-to-severe TBI were assessed at 6 months post injury on the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE), the Short Form-12v2 and a battery of cognitive tests. Outcomes across GOSE categories were compared using analysis of covariance adjusting for age, sex and education. RESULTS: Overall effect sizes were small to medium, and greatest for tests involving processing speed (ηp2 0.057-0.067) and learning and memory (ηp2 0.048-0.052). Deficits in cognitive performance were particularly evident in patients who were dependent (GOSE 3 or 4) or who were unable to participate in one or more major life activities (GOSE 5). At higher levels of function (GOSE 6-8), cognitive performance was surprisingly similar across categories. There were decreases in performance even in patients reporting complete recovery without significant symptoms. Medium to large effect sizes were present for summary measures of cognition (ηp2 0.111), mental health (ηp2 0.131) and physical health (ηp2 0.252). CONCLUSIONS: This large-scale study provides novel insights into cognitive performance at different levels of disability and highlights the importance of processing speed in function in daily life. At upper levels of outcome, any influence of cognition on overall function is markedly attenuated and differences in mental health are salient

Molecular characterization and seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus in inflammatory Bowel disease patients and solid organ transplant recipients

Seroprevalence rates and molecular characterization of hepatitis E virus (HEV) prevalent in the Lithuanian human population has not yet been evaluated. Immunosuppressed individuals have been recognized as a risk group for chronic hepatitis due to HEV genotype 3 (HEV-3) infections. The objectives of the present study were to determine prevalence rates of anti-HEV antibodies among inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, to isolate and characterize HEV strain present in the Lithuanian human population, and to investigate its capacity to infect non-human primate (MARC-145 and Vero), swine (PK-15) and murine (Neuro-2a) cells in vitro. In the present study, the significant difference of anti-HEV IgG prevalence between healthy (3.0% (95% CI 0-6.3)) and immunosuppressed individuals (12.0% [95% CI 8.1-15.9]) was described. Moreover, our findings showed that anti-HEV IgG seropositivity can be significantly predicted by increasing age (OR = 1.032, p < 0.01), diagnosis of IBD (OR = 4.541, p < 0.01) and reception of SOT (OR = 4.042, <0.05). Locally isolated HEV strain clustered within genotype 3i subtype of genotype 3 and was capable of infecting MARC-145 cells. This study demonstrates higher HEV seroprevalence in the risk group compared to healthy control individuals without confidence interval overlap. The high level of genetic homology between human and animal strains in Lithuania and the capacity of locally isolated strains to infect cells of non-human origin suggests its potential for zoonotic transmission

Pandemic coronavirus pneumonia diagnostics: clinical features, laboratory tests and radiology examination

Human coronaviruses are positive chain RNR viruses and belong to Coronaviridae family. Three types of coronaviruses were transmitted from animals to humans resulting in epidemic and global pandemic in the last twenty years. The clinical course of these infections vary from completely asymptomatic or mild respiratory symptoms to severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. The main diagnostic method for all 3 types of viruses is Reverse transcriptase - Polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Other laboratory tests and imaging methods are helpful for following clinical course of infection and diagnosing complications caused by it but are not necessary for the initial diagnosis. Aim: The purpose of this analysis is to discuss the main clinical findings, laboratory and radiological diagnostic methods for SARS-CoV-1, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2. Methods: the review of literature was managed by using “PubMed” medical database, selecting publications which investigated coronavirus pneumonia clinical features, laboratory and radiology diagnostics. Conclusion: after review of the literature clinical symptoms, laboratory and radiology examination are presented

Integration of ultrasound into the development of plant-based protein hydrolysate and its bio-stimulatory effect for growth of wheat grain seedlings In vivo

This study was dedicated to increasing the efficiency of producing plant-based protein hydrolysate using traditional and non-traditional treatments. Low- and high frequency ultrasound (US) at different intensities were applied to corn steep liquor (CSL) at 50 °C for 30 min, and enzymatic hydrolysis was performed using industrially produced alkaline protease. The efficiency of US and enzymatic treatments was characterized by protein solubility (soluble protein (SP) content, hydrolyzed protein (HP) concentration, and free amino acid (FAA) profile) and kinetic parameters: Michaelis–Menten constant (KM) and apparent breakdown rate constant (kA). A significant effect of 37 kHz US pre-treatment for CSL enzymatic hydrolysis was found and resulted in the highest HP concentration (17.5 g/L) using the lowest enzyme concentration (2.1 g/L) and the shortest hydrolysis time (60 min). By using US pre-treatment, on average, a 2.2 times higher FAA content could be achieved compared to traditional hydrolysis. Additionally, results for the kinetic parameters kM and kA confirmed the potential of applying US treatment before hydrolysis. The effect of CSL protein hydrolysate on plant growth was tested in vivo on wheat grain seed germination and resulted in the significant increase in germination parameters compared to the control treatment. These findings indicate that by-products of starch industry could be a promising source for the production of low-cost sustainable biostimulants

Detection of ischemic episodes based on two consecutive declines in the JT/ST algebraic relationship

The main objective of this paper is to explore if the JT/ST algebraic relationship could be helpful for the identification of ischemic changes in the human cardiovascular system. The suggested visualization technique highlights the specifics of complex dynamical processes in the self-organization of the heart system during the load and recovery processes. It is demonstrated that the nonlinear algebraic relationship between the duration of the JT interval and the ST amplitude can be beneficial for a deeper interpretation of dynamical processes in the human cardiovascular system. The JT/ST relationship is used for the identification of the ischemic changes and for the characterization of individual performance of the person during the load and recovery processes

Microbial and antimicrobial resistance profiles of microbiota in common carps (Cyprinus carpio) from aquacultured and wild fish population

In this study we analyzed differences in microbial composition and antimicrobial resistance profiles in common carp living in two different environments: fish ponds, where carp have been kept under the same growing conditions over the last 50 years, and from the wild. The results demonstrated that wild fish carry a great variety of bacterial species (448 species with a prevalence of at least 0.01% from the total number of reads). Aquacultured individuals harbored 2.56 times fewer species in their gut. Significant microbial differences were observed in all taxonomic ranks, including bacterial classes and phyla. Besides bacterial variety, it was determined that aquacultured fish harbored more bacteria that are considered pathogens or opportunistic pathogens, such as Moraxellaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, and Staphylococcaceae. The frequency of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial indicators was more common in aquacultured fish than in wild fish, therefore fish farming may be a potential source of environmental contamination with antimicrobial resistant bacteria

Age-related morphological peculiarities of human testes

This study aimed the comparison of the isolated testes size, volume, weight and density changes with age and establishing the suitability of three formulas of testicular volume calculation for 18-50 and 51-70-year-old men groups. 206 testes of 103 men (59 of 18-50-year-old and 44 of 51-70-year-old men) were weighed and their size was measured by the sliding calliper. The accurate volume was determined by water displacement and compared with volume calculated using three formulas, and the density of testicular tissues was calculated. The mean length and height of both testes and length and height of right and left testes decreased significantly with age. The mean width of both testes and width of right and left testes decreased with age insignificantly. The mean of water displacement volume and weight and volume and weight of right and left testes decreased with age significantly. The mean density of testicular tissues and the density of the right and left testes increased significantly with age. In the same age group, the size, water displacement volume and weight of right testes was insignificantly major than the left, and the density of testicular tissues was similar in the right and left testes. The prolate spheroid formula was most suitable for calculation of testes volume for 18-50-year-old men and prolate ellipsoid formula was most suitable for calculation of 51-70-year-old men testes volume

Carbohydrate restriction following strenuous glycogen-depleting exercise does not potentiate the acute molecular response associated with mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle

Purpose: Carbohydrate (CHO) restriction could be a potent metabolic regulator of endurance exercise-induced muscle adaptations. Here, we determined whether post-exercise CHO restriction following strenuous exercise combining continuous cycling exercise (CCE) and sprint interval exercise could affect the gene expression related to mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism in human skeletal muscle. Methods: In a randomized cross-over design, 8 recreationally active males performed two cycling exercise sessions separated by 4 weeks. Each session consisted of 60-min CCE and six 30-s all-out sprints, which was followed by ingestion of either a CHO or placebo beverage in the post-exercise recovery period. Muscle glycogen concentration and the mRNA levels of several genes related to mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism were determined before, immediately after, and at 3 h after exercise. Results: Compared to pre-exercise, strenuous cycling led to a severe muscle glycogen depletion (> 90%) and induced a large increase in PGC1A and PDK4 mRNA levels (~ 20-fold and ~ 10-fold, respectively) during the acute recovery period in both trials. The abundance of the other transcripts was not changed or was only moderately increased during this period. CHO restriction during the 3-h post-exercise period blunted muscle glycogen resynthesis but did not increase the mRNA levels of genes associated with muscle adaptation to endurance exercise, as compared with abundant post-exercise CHO consumption. Conclusion: CHO restriction after a glycogen-depleting and metabolically-demanding cycling session is not effective for increasing the acute mRNA levels of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism in human skeletal muscle