Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Arm Activity Measure in people with chronic stroke

IntroductionThe Arm Activity Measure was developed to assess active and passive functions of the upper limb in people with unilateral paresis, but a Chinese version is not available and its psychometric properties have not been specifically tested in people with stroke. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Chinese version of the Arm Activity Measure (ArmA-C) and establish its psychometric properties in people with chronic stroke.MethodsThe psychometric properties of ArmA-C were determined in 100 people with chronic stroke.ResultsThe ArmA-C had good test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC] = 0.87–0.93; quadratic weighted Kappa coefficients = 0.53–1.00). A floor effect was identified in section A of the ArmA-C. The content validity and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficients = 0.75–0.95) were good. The construct validity of the ArmA-C was supported by acceptable fit to the two-factor structure model and significant correlations with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Upper Extremity score, grip strength, the Wolf Motor Function Test score, the Trail Walking Test completion time, and the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire scores.ConclusionsThe ArmA-C is reliable and valid for assessing active and passive functions in people with chronic stroke

A review of the MSCA ITN ECOSTORE - Novel complex metal hydrides for efficient and compact storage of renewable energy as hydrogen and electricity

Hydrogen as an energy carrier is very versatile in energy storage applications. Developments in novel, sustainable technologies towards a CO2-free society are needed and the exploration of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) as well as solid-state hydrogen storage applications based on metal hydrides can provide solutions for such technologies. However, there are still many technical challenges for both hydrogen storage material and ASSBs related to designing low-cost materials with low-environmental impact. The current materials considered for all-solid-state batteries should have high conductivities for Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+, while Al3+-based compounds are often marginalised due to the lack of suitable electrode and electrolyte materials. In hydrogen storage materials, the sluggish kinetic behaviour of solid-state hydride materials is one of the key constraints that limit their practical uses. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome the kinetic issues of hydride materials before discussing and considering them on the system level. This review summarizes the achievements of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) innovative training network (ITN) ECOSTORE, the aim of which was the investigation of different aspects of (complex) metal hydride materials. Advances in battery and hydrogen storage materials for the efficient and compact storage of renewable energy production are discussed

Epigenome-wide association study and epigenetic age acceleration associated with cigarette smoking among Costa Rican adults

Smoking-associated DNA methylation (DNAm) signatures are reproducible among studies of mostly European descent, with mixed evidence if smoking accelerates epigenetic aging and its relationship to longevity. We evaluated smoking-associated DNAm signatures in the Costa Rican Study on Longevity and Healthy Aging (CRELES), including participants from the high longevity region of Nicoya. We measured genome-wide DNAm in leukocytes, tested Epigenetic Age Acceleration (EAA) from five clocks and estimates of telomere length (DNAmTL), and examined effect modification by the high longevity region. 489 participants had a mean (SD) age of 79.4 (10.8) years, and 18% were from Nicoya. Overall, 7.6% reported currently smoking, 35% were former smokers, and 57.4% never smoked. 46 CpGs and five regions (e.g. AHRR, SCARNA6/SNORD39, SNORA20, and F2RL3) were differentially methylated for current smokers. Former smokers had increased Horvath’s EAA (1.69-years; 95% CI 0.72, 2.67), Hannum’s EAA (0.77-years; 95% CI 0.01, 1.52), GrimAge (2.34-years; 95% CI1.66, 3.02), extrinsic EAA (1.27-years; 95% CI 0.34, 2.21), intrinsic EAA (1.03-years; 95% CI 0.12, 1.94) and shorter DNAmTL (− 0.04-kb; 95% CI − 0.08, − 0.01) relative to non-smokers. There was no evidence of effect modification among residents of Nicoya. Our findings recapitulate previously reported and novel smoking-associated DNAm changes in a Latino cohort

Epigenome-wide association study and epigenetic age acceleration associated with cigarette smoking among Costa Rican adults

Smoking-associated DNA methylation (DNAm) signatures are reproducible among studies of mostly European descent, with mixed evidence if smoking accelerates epigenetic aging and its relationship to longevity. We evaluated smoking-associated DNAm signatures in the Costa Rican Study on Longevity and Healthy Aging (CRELES), including participants from the high longevity region of Nicoya. We measured genome-wide DNAm in leukocytes, tested Epigenetic Age Acceleration (EAA) from five clocks and estimates of telomere length (DNAmTL), and examined effect modification by the high longevity region. 489 participants had a mean (SD) age of 79.4 (10.8) years, and 18% were from Nicoya. Overall, 7.6% reported currently smoking, 35% were former smokers, and 57.4% never smoked. 46 CpGs and five regions (e.g. AHRR, SCARNA6/SNORD39, SNORA20, and F2RL3) were differentially methylated for current smokers. Former smokers had increased Horvath's EAA (1.69-years; 95% CI 0.72, 2.67), Hannum's EAA (0.77-years; 95% CI 0.01, 1.52), GrimAge (2.34-years; 95% CI1.66, 3.02), extrinsic EAA (1.27-years; 95% CI 0.34, 2.21), intrinsic EAA (1.03-years; 95% CI 0.12, 1.94) and shorter DNAmTL (- 0.04-kb; 95% CI - 0.08, - 0.01) relative to non-smokers. There was no evidence of effect modification among residents of Nicoya. Our findings recapitulate previously reported and novel smoking-associated DNAm changes in a Latino cohort

Malten, a new synthetic molecule showing in vitro antiproliferative activity against tumour cells and induction of complex DNA structural alterations

Background: Hydroxypyrones represent several classes of molecules known for their high synthetic versatility. This family of molecules shows several interesting pharmaceutical activities and is considered as a promising source of new anti neoplastic compounds. Methods: In the quest to identify new potential anti cancer agents, a new maltol (3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone)-derived molecule, named malten (N,N′-bis((3-hydroxy-4-pyron-2-yl)methyl)-N,N′-dimethylethylendiamine), has been synthesised and analysed at both biological and molecular levels for its antiproliferative activity in eight tumour cell lines. Results: Malten exposure led to a dose-dependent reduction in cell survival in all the neoplastic models studied. Sublethal concentrations of malten induce profound cell cycle changes, particularly affecting the S and/or G2-M phases, whereas exposure to lethal doses causes the induction of programmed cell death (apopotosis). The molecular response to malten was also investigated in two biological models: JURKAT and U937 cells. It showed the modulation of genes having key roles in cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Finally, as part of the effort to clarify the action mechanism, we showed that malten is able to impair DNA electrophoretic mobility and drastically reduce both PCR amplificability and fragmentation susceptibility of DNA. Conclusion: Taken together, these results show that malten may exert its antiproliferative activity through the induction of complex DNA structural modifications. This evidence, together with the high synthetic versatility of maltol-derived compounds, makes malten an interesting molecular scaffold for the future design of new potential anticancer agents

The Pan-STARRS 1 discoveries of five new neptune trojans

In this work we report the detection of seven Neptune Trojans (NTs) in the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) survey. Five of these are new discoveries, consisting of four L4 Trojans and one L5 Trojan. Our orbital simulations show that the L5 Trojan stably librates for only several million years. This suggests that the L5 Trojan must be of recent capture origin. On the other hand, all four new L4 Trojans stably occupy the 1:1 resonance with Neptune for more than 1 Gyr. They can, therefore, be of primordial origin. Our survey simulation results show that the inclination width of the Neptune Trojan population should be between $7^{\circ}$ and $27^{\circ}$ at $>$ 95% confidence, and most likely $\sim 11^{\circ}$. In this paper, we describe the PS1 survey, the Outer Solar System pipeline, the confirming observations, and the orbital/physical properties of the new Neptune Trojans.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, AJ accepte

Histone H2A and H2B Are Monoubiquitinated at AID-Targeted Loci

Background: Somatic hypermutation introduces base substitutions into the rearranged and expressed immunoglobulin (Ig) variable regions to promote immunity. This pathway requires and is initiated by the Activation Induced Deaminase (AID) protein, which deaminates cytidine to produce uracils and UG mismatches at the Ig genes. Subsequent processing of uracil by mismatch repair and base excision repair factors contributes to mutagenesis. While selective for certain genomic targets, the chromatin modifications which distinguish hypermutating from non-hypermutating loci are not defined. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we show that AID-targeted loci in mammalian B cells contain ubiquitinated chromatin. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis of a constitutively hypermutating Burkitt\u27s B cell line, Ramos, revealed the presence of monoubiquitinated forms of both histone H2A and H2B at two AID-associated loci, but not at control loci which are expressed but not hypermutated. Similar analysis using LPS activated primary murine splenocytes showed enrichment of the expressed V(H) and S gamma 3 switch regions upon ChIP with antibody specific to AID and to monoubiquitinated H2A and H2B. In the mechanism of mammalian hypermutation, AID may interact with ubiquitinated chromatin because confocal immunofluorescence microscopy visualized AID colocalized with monoubiquitinated H2B within discrete nuclear foci. Conclusions/Significance: Our results indicate that monoubiquitinated histones accompany active somatic hypermutation, revealing part of the histone code marking AID-targeted loci. This expands the current view of the chromatin state during hypermutation by identifying a specific nucleosome architecture associated with somatic hypermutation