Comment

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 16, 2022 at 9:52am

Latest recommendations on how waist-to-height ratio can impact your health

New health guidance on the need to keep your waist size to half your height to ensure healthy living was recommended by Bayes Business School eight years ago.

In 2014, research from Bayes Business School showed that the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is a better predictor of mortality risk than the commonly used BMI.

Today, draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has stated that an adult's waist should be less than half their height to reduce health risks, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The guidance, published ahead of the release of a full report in September, also says that while measuring body mass index (BMI) is useful it doesn't consider excess weight around the abdomen—scientifically termed "central adiposity."

These new recommendations come after researchers at Bayes Business School and Ashwell Associates called for the measurement—waist circumference divided by height—to replace BMI in primary public health screening.

The study found that as many as 20 years of life for men can be lost by failing to sustain your waistline. The figure is approximately 10 years for women.

Margaret Ashwell et al, Waist-to-Height Ratio Is More Predictive of Years of Life Lost than Body Mass Index, PLoS ONE (2014). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103483

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-latest-waist-to-height-ratio...

**

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 16, 2022 at 9:31am

Injectable stem cell assembly for cartilage regeneration

A new study  has established an injectable hybrid inorganic (IHI) nanoscaffold-templated stem cell assembly and applied it to the regeneration of critically-sized cartilage defects.

Cartilage injuries are often devastating and most of them have no cures due to the intrinsically low regeneration capacity of cartilage tissues. The rise of 3D stem cell culture systems has led to breakthroughs in developmental biology, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine. For example, stem cells, once transplanted successfully, could initially secret trophic factors for reducing inflammation at sites of cartilage injuries and then differentiate into cartilage cells (e.g., chondrocytes) for functional restoration. Nevertheless, there are critical barriers remaining to be overcome before the therapeutic potential of stem cell therapies can be realized. The limited control over the chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells in vivo has often resulted in compromised regenerative outcomes. Moreover, due to the prevalence of oxidative stress and inflammation in the microenvironment of injury sites, stem cells frequently undergo apoptosis after injection. To address these challenges, the researchers demonstrated the development of a 3D IHI nanoscaffold-templated stem cell assembly system for advanced 3D stem cell culture and implantation. 3D-IHI nanoscaffold rapidly assembles stem cells into injectable tissue constructs through tailored 3D cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, deeply and homogeneously delivers chondrogenic proteins in the assembled 3D culture systems, and controllably induces chondrogenesis through nanotopographical effects.

Once implanted in vivo in a rabbit cartilage injury model, 3D-IHI nanoscaffold effectively modulates dynamic microenvironment after cartilage injury through the integration of the aforementioned regenerative cues, and simultaneously scavenges reactive oxygen species using a manganese dioxide-based composition. In this way, accelerated repair of cartilage defects with rapid tissue reconstruction and functional recovery is realized both in the short term and long term. Given the excellent versatility and therapeutic outcome of 3D-IHI nanoscaffold-based cartilage regeneration, it may provide promising means to advance a variety of tissue engineering applications.

Shenqiang Wang et al, Injectable hybrid inorganic nanoscaffold as rapid stem cell assembly template for cartilage repair, National Science Review (2022). DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac037

https://phys.org/news/2022-04-stem-cell-cartilage-regeneration.html...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 16, 2022 at 9:08am

Gut bacterium supports growth in infants with severe acute malnutrition

About 18 million children under age five suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and more than 3 million children die from it each year. Treatment with high-calorie supplemental foods and antibiotics can prevent deaths, but these interventions often have limited impact on the long-term effects of severe acute malnutrition, such as persistent stunted growth, disrupted immune function and impaired brain development. Even when treated with standard therapeutic foods, many children continue to have moderate forms of the disease and are at risk of falling back into severe acute malnutrition.

A new study, published April 13 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh (icddr,b), shows that a standard milk-based therapy plus treatment with a specific strain of gut bacteria known as Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infantis) for four weeks promotes weight gain in infants with severe acute malnutrition, with accompanying reductions in gut inflammation. 

The B. infantis strain was chosen for the trial because it has been shown to be safe to give to infants as a probiotic and is known to thrive on specific carbohydrates present in human breast milk. Importantly, the investigators found that B. infantis was either undetectable or present in markedly reduced amounts in infants with severe acute malnutrition compared to those with healthy growth.

 Michael J. Barratt et al, Bifidobacterium infantis treatment promotes weight gain in Bangladeshi infants with severe acute malnutrition, Science Translational Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abk1107

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-gut-bacterium-growth-infants...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 15, 2022 at 12:47pm

The time-of-flight neutron spectrometer Pelican at ANSTO's Center for Neutron Scattering has been used to measure the vibrational densities of states for several liquid systems including water, liquid metal, and polymer liquids. The Pelican instrument has the extreme sensitivity to measure rotational and translational vibrations over short time intervals and at low energies.

The experiments at ANSTO confirmed the linear relationship of the vibrational density of states with frequency at low energies as predicted earlier.

Caleb Stamper et al, Experimental Confirmation of the Universal Law for the Vibrational Density of States of Liquids, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c00297

Alessio Zaccone et al, Universal law for the vibrational density of states of liquids, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022303118

https://phys.org/news/2022-04-surfing-atomic-scale-scientists-exper...

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 15, 2022 at 12:46pm

Scientists experimentally confirm new fundamental law for liquids

The first experimental evidence to validate a newly published universal law that provides insights into the complex energy states for liquids has been found using an advanced nuclear technique.

 

The equation for the vibrational density of states formulated by Alessio Zaccone and Matteo Bagglioli was published in a paper in PNAS in 2021, providing an answer to a question that has been elusive for at least a century.

The elegant mathematical theory has solved the problem of obtaining the distribution of these complex energy states for liquids.

"One of the most important quantities in the physics of matter is the distribution of the frequencies or vibrational energies of the waves that propagate in the material. It is particularly important as it is the starting point for calculating and understanding some fundamental properties of matter, such as specific heat and thermal conductivity, and the light-matter interaction.

The big problem with liquids is that, in addition to acoustic waves, there are other types of vibrational excitations related to low energies of the disordered motion of atoms and molecules— excitations that are almost absent in solids. These excitations are typically short-lived and are linked to the dynamic chaos of molecular motions but are nevertheless very numerous and important, especially at low energies. Mathematically, these excitations, known as 'instantaneous normal modes' or INMs in the specialized literature are very difficult to deal with as they correspond to energy states described by imaginary numbers.

Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 15, 2022 at 11:47am

 Declining nitrogen availability in a nitrogen rich world

Research and discussion in recent times  has focused on the negative effects of excess nitrogen on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, new evidence indicates that the world is now experiencing a dual trajectory in nitrogen availability with many areas experiencing a hockey-stick shaped decline in the availability of nitrogen. In a new review paper in the journal Science, researchers have described the causes for these declines and the consequences on how ecosystems function.

There is both too much nitrogen and too little nitrogen on Earth at the same time now. 

Over the last century, humans have more than doubled the total global supply of reactive nitrogen through industrial and agricultural activities. This nitrogen becomes concentrated in streams, inland lakes, and coastal bodies of water, sometimes resulting in eutrophication, low-oxygen dead-zones, and harmful algal blooms. These negative impacts of excess nitrogen have led scientists to study nitrogen as a pollutant. However, rising CO2 and other global changes have increased demand for nitrogen by plants and microbes. In many areas of the world that are not subject to excessive inputs of nitrogen from people, long-term records demonstrate that nitrogen availability is declining, with important consequences for plant and animal growth.

Nitrogen is an essential element in proteins and as such its availability is critical to the growth of plants and the animals that eat them. Gardens, forests, and fisheries are almost all more productive when they are fertilized with moderate amounts of nitrogen. If plant nitrogen becomes less available, plants grow more slowly and their leaves are less nutritious to insects, potentially reducing growth and reproduction, not only of insects, but also the birds and bats that feed on them.

When nitrogen is less available, every living thing holds on to the element for longer, slowing the flow of nitrogen from one organism to another through the food chain. This is why we can say that the nitrogen cycle is slowing down.

Researchers reviewed long-term, global and regional studies and found evidence of declining nitrogen availability. 

These declines are likely caused by multiple environmental changes, one being elevated atmospheric CO2 changes. Atmospheric carbon dioxide has reached its highest level in millions of years, and terrestrial plants are exposed to about 50% more of this essential resource than just 150 years ago. Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide fertilizes plants, allowing faster growth, but diluting plant nitrogen in the process, leading to a cascade of effects that lower the availability of nitrogen. On top of increasing atmospheric CO2, warming and disturbances, including wildfire, can also reduce availability over time.

Declining nitrogen availability is also likely constraining the ability of plants to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Rachel E. Mason et al, Evidence, Causes, and Consequences of Declining Nitrogen Availability in Terrestrial Ecosystems, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3767. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh3767

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 14, 2022 at 8:57am

The lifespan secret

Ageing is linked to accumulated mutations - according to new research.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 14, 2022 at 8:09am

Keeping web-like NETs from clogging blood vessels could improve stroke outcomes

Preventing the formation of a sticky, web-like substance that can form in blood vessels after a stroke could protect the brain and lead to better outcomes for patients, studies in mice suggest.

Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the world. The most common form, ischemic stroke, occurs when a vessel-blocking clot impedes the flow of blood to the brain. Quick treatment to break up or remove the clot can restore blood flow and limit damage to the brain.

But according to the new study, the blood that comes rushing back carries cells with the potential to cause further harm. Brain damage can worsen even after a clot has been eliminated when immune cells in the blood release sticky webs, known as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), that further clog vessels.

Those NETs can gum up the vessels [in the brain] by trapping other cells and reducing the amount of blood flow, causing more brain injury. Markers of NETs correlated with poorer stroke outcomes in patients.

Researchers now found they could prevent these effects in a mouse model of stroke by treating animals with a NET-blocking compound.

Frederik Denorme et al, Neutrophil extracellular traps regulate ischemic stroke brain injury, Journal of Clinical Investigation (2022). DOI: 10.1172/JCI154225

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-web-like-nets-clogging-blood...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 13, 2022 at 8:31am

New study reveals how to rejuvenate the immune system of elderly people and reduce their risk of infectious disease

A new study identifies a reason for why older adults are significantly more susceptible to infectious diseases than younger people. Study results also pave the way for new potential therapeutic targets to rejuvenate the immune system in older adults and thereby reduce their risk of infectious disease.

T cell immunity declines with aging, thereby increasing severity and mortality from infectious disease. T cells are the quarterback of the immune system and coordinate immune responses to fight off infections. The addition of complex and branched carbohydrate chains ('glycans') to proteins suppresses T cells function.

In this study, researchers show that the branched glycans increase with age in T cells from females more than in males due to age-associated increases in an important sugar metabolite (N-acetylglucosamine) and signaling by the T cell cytokine interleukin-7.

This research reveals that reversing the elevation in branched glycans rejuvenates human and mouse T cell function and reduces severity of Salmonella infection in old female mice.

This suggests several potential novel therapeutic targets to revitalize old T cells, such as altering branched glycans or the age-triggered elevation in serum N-acetylglucosamine and IL-7 signaling.

Haik Mkhikian et al, Age-associated impairment of T cell immunity is linked to sex-dimorphic elevation of N-glycan branching, Nature Aging (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00187-y

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-reveals-rejuvenate-immune-el...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on April 12, 2022 at 10:52am

Reductions in PFAS levels from blood or plasma donations may be because PFAS are bound to proteins primarily found in the serum; many other organic pollutants are bound to fats.

The finding that plasma was more effective than blood donation might be because firefighters in the plasma donation group donated blood every six weeks, whereas those in the blood donation group donated every 12 weeks.

In addition, each plasma donation can amount to as much as 800mL compared with 470mL for whole blood.

Plasma PFAS concentrations are also about two times higher than blood PFAS concentrations, which could make plasma donation more efficient at reducing the body burden of PFAS chemicals.

This study provides the first avenue for affected individuals to remove PFAS from their bodies and redress the effects of their PFAS exposure.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2790905

https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-dona...

part 2

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 493
• 494
• 495
• 496
• 497
• …
• 1070
• Next ›
• Page