206 research outputs found

    Data review for 3LN redfish in preparation for an updated management strategy evaluation

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    Data review for 3LN redfish in preparation for an updated management strategy evaluationVersión del editor

    Searching for maintenance in exercise interventions for cancer survivors

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    Translating evidence-based exercise interventions into practice is important for expanding the capacity to support cancer survivors. Using the reach, efficacy/effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) framework and scoping study methodology, we addressed the research question, “What is known about the maintenance of exercise interventions for cancer survivors that would inform translation from research to practice and community settings?” Maintenance was investigated at the individual and setting level

    A 1.8 million year history of Amazon vegetation

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    During the Pleistocene, long-term trends in global climate were controlled by orbital cycles leading to high amplitude glacial-interglacial variability. The history of Amazonian vegetation during this period is largely unknown since no continuous record from the lowland basin extends significantly beyond the last glacial stage. Here we present a paleoenvironmental record spanning the last 1800 kyr based on palynological data, biome reconstructions, and biodiversity metrics from a marine sediment core that preserves a continuous archive of sediments from the Amazon River. Tropical rainforests dominated the Amazonian lowlands during the last 1800 ka interchanging with surrounding warm-temperate rainforests and tropical seasonal forests. Between 1800 and 1000 ka, rainforest biomes were present in the Amazon drainage basin, along with extensive riparian wetland vegetation. Tropical rainforest expansion occurred during the relatively warm Marine Isotope Stages 33 and 31 (ca. 1110 to 1060 ka), followed by a contraction of both forests and wetlands until ca. 800 ka. Between 800 and 400 ka, low pollen concentration and low diversity of palynological assemblages renders difficult the interpretation of Amazonian vegetation. A strong synchronicity between vegetation changes and glacial-interglacial global climate cycles was established around 400 ka. After 400 ka, interglacial vegetation was dominated by lowland tropical rainforest in association with warmer temperatures and higher CO2. During cooler temperatures and lower CO2 of glacial stages, tropical seasonal forests expanded, presumably towards eastern Amazonia. While this study provides no evidence supporting a significant expansion of savanna or steppe vegetation within the Amazonian lowlands during glacial periods, there were changes in the rainforest composition in some parts of the basin towards a higher proportion of deciduous elements, pointing to less humid conditions and/or greater seasonality of precipitation. Nevertheless, rainforest persisted during both glacial and interglacial periods. These findings confirm the sensitivity of tropical lowland vegetation to changes in CO2, temperature, and moisture availability and the most suitable conditions for tropical rainforests occurred during the warmest stages of the Mid Pleistocene Transition and during the interglacial stages of the past 400 kyr

    Analytical Challenges and Metrological Approaches to Ensuring Dietary Supplement Quality: International Perspectives

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    The increased utilization of metrology resources and expanded application of its’ approaches in the development of internationally agreed upon measurements can lay the basis for regulatory harmonization, support reproducible research, and advance scientific understanding, especially of dietary supplements and herbal medicines. Yet, metrology is often underappreciated and underutilized in dealing with the many challenges presented by these chemically complex preparations. This article discusses the utility of applying rigorous analytical techniques and adopting metrological principles more widely in studying dietary supplement products and ingredients, particularly medicinal plants and other botanicals. An assessment of current and emerging dietary supplement characterization methods is provided, including targeted and non-targeted techniques, as well as data analysis and evaluation approaches, with a focus on chemometrics, toxicity, dosage form performance, and data management. Quality assessment, statistical methods, and optimized methods for data management are also discussed. Case studies provide examples of applying metrological principles in thorough analytical characterization of supplement composition to clarify their health effects. A new frontier for metrology in dietary supplement science is described, including opportunities to improve methods for analysis and data management, development of relevant standards and good practices, and communication of these developments to researchers and analysts, as well as to regulatory and policy decision makers in the public and private sectors. The promotion of closer interactions between analytical, clinical, and pharmaceutical scientists who are involved in research and product development with metrologists who develop standards and methodological guidelines is critical to advance research on dietary supplement characterization and health effects

    Neuron-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Is Mutated in Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism

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    Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by infertility and the absence of puberty. Defects in GnRH neuron migration or altered GnRH secretion and/or action lead to a severe gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency. Given the close developmental association of GnRH neurons with the olfactory primary axons, CHH is often associated with anosmia or hyposmia, in which case it is defined as Kallmann syndrome (KS). The genetics of CHH are heterogeneous, and >40 genes are involved either alone or in combination. Several CHH-related genes controlling GnRH ontogeny encode proteins containing fibronectin-3 (FN3) domains, which are important for brain and neural development. Therefore, we hypothesized that defects in other FN3-superfamily genes would underlie CHH. Next-generation sequencing was performed for 240 CHH unrelated probands and filtered for rare, protein-truncating variants (PTVs) in FN3-superfamily genes. Compared to gnomAD controls the CHH cohort was statistically enriched for PTVs in neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF) (p = 1.40 x 10(-6)). Three heterozygous PTVs (p.Lys62*, p.Tyr128Thrfs*55, and p.Trp469*, all absent from the gnomAD database) and an additional heterozygous missense mutation (p.Thr201Ser) were found in four KS probands. Notably, NDNF is expressed along the GnRH neuron migratory route in both mouse embryos and human fetuses and enhances GnRH neuron migration. Further, knock down of the zebrafish ortholog of NDNF resulted in altered GnRH migration. Finally, mice lacking Ndnf showed delayed GnRH neuron migration and altered olfactory axonal projections to the olfactory bulb; both results are consistent with a role of NDNF in GnRH neuron development. Altogether, our results highlight NDNF as a gene involved in the GnRH neuron migration implicated in KS.Peer reviewe

    KLB , encoding β‐Klotho, is mutated in patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

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    Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare genetic form of isolated gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency caused by mutations in > 30 genes. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) is the most frequently mutated gene in CHH and is implicated in GnRH neuron development and maintenance. We note that a CHH FGFR1 mutation (p.L342S) decreases signaling of the metabolic regulator FGF21 by impairing the association of FGFR1 with β‐Klotho (KLB), the obligate co‐receptor for FGF21. We thus hypothesized that the metabolic FGF21/KLB/FGFR1 pathway is involved in CHH. Genetic screening of 334 CHH patients identified seven heterozygous loss‐of‐function KLB mutations in 13 patients (4%). Most patients with KLB mutations (9/13) exhibited metabolic defects. In mice, lack of Klb led to delayed puberty, altered estrous cyclicity, and subfertility due to a hypothalamic defect associated with inability of GnRH neurons to release GnRH in response to FGF21. Peripheral FGF21 administration could indeed reach GnRH neurons through circumventricular organs in the hypothalamus. We conclude that FGF21/KLB/FGFR1 signaling plays an essential role in GnRH biology, potentially linking metabolism with reproduction

    Hematopoiesis under telomere attrition at the single-cell resolution

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    The molecular mechanisms that drive hematopoietic stem cell functional decline under conditions of telomere shortening are not completely understood. In light of recent advances in single-cell technologies, we sought to redefine the transcriptional and epigenetic landscape of mouse and human hematopoietic stem cells under telomere attrition, as induced by pathogenic germline variants in telomerase complex genes. Here, we show that telomere attrition maintains hematopoietic stem cells under persistent metabolic activation and differentiation towards the megakaryocytic lineage through the cell-intrinsic upregulation of the innate immune signaling response, which directly compromises hematopoietic stem cells’ self-renewal capabilities and eventually leads to their exhaustion. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that targeting members of the Ifi20x/IFI16 family of cytosolic DNA sensors using the oligodeoxynucleotide A151, which comprises four repeats of the TTAGGG motif of the telomeric DNA, overcomes interferon signaling activation in telomere-dysfunctional hematopoietic stem cells and these cells’ skewed differentiation towards the megakaryocytic lineage. This study challenges the historical hypothesis that telomere attrition limits the proliferative potential of hematopoietic stem cells by inducing apoptosis, autophagy, or senescence, and suggests that targeting IFI16 signaling axis might prevent hematopoietic stem cell functional decline in conditions affecting telomere maintenance
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