Valentinerye8122

The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of an environmental volunteering program involving park restoration and social activities for older people. Older people face a series of challenges, ranging from social isolation and depression to a lack of exercise, as well as the difficult task of creating new meaning to deal with a decrease in vitality and new social relationships, interests, and commitments. From this perspective, this pilot study aimed to contribute to highlighting if or how these aspects can be positively correlated with organized activities associated with caring for public green spaces. A single-group, pre-test/post-test design was used, and baseline and post-participation measurements were recorded. The data were collected using a questionnaire aimed at evaluating variations in physical activity, positive and negative emotions, life satisfaction, and perceived social support. Through focus group interviews with participants at the baseline and after one year of participating in the program, the participants' motivations and experienced effects were explored. The sample was composed of a group of 19 healthy people who joined the program. The quantitative results showed that the participants' level of physical activity, subjective life satisfaction, and positive feelings were significantly increased at the follow-up. Positive correlations were found between increasing moderate physical activities, walking, and The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) positive feelings. A pro-environmental attitude of the elderly emerged from the qualitative data. The results, limitations, and improvements of the study are discussed.Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Queensland fruit fly, or "Qfly") is a highly polyphagous tephritid fruit fly and a serious economic pest in Australia. Qfly biology is intimately linked to the bacteria and fungi of its microbiome. While there are numerous studies of the microbiome in larvae and adults, the transition of the microbiome through the pupal stage remains unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we used high-throughput Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to examine microbial communities at each developmental stage in the Qfly life cycle, targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS regions. We found that microbial communities were similar at the larval and pupal stage and were also similar between adult males and females, yet there were marked differences between the larval and adult stages. Specific bacterial and fungal taxa are present in the larvae and adults (fed hydrolyzed yeast with sugar) which is likely related to differences in nutritional biology of these life stages. We observed a significant abundance of the Acetobacteraceae at the family level, both in the larval and pupal stages. Conversely, Enterobacteriaceae was highly abundant (> 80%) only in the adults. The majority of fungal taxa present in Qfly were yeasts or yeast-like fungi. In addition to elucidating changes in the microbiome through developmental stages, this study characterizes the Qfly microbiome present at the establishment of laboratory colonies as they enter the domestication process.Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. After diagnosis, cancer treatment may involve radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Several of the approaches used to treat cancer also attack normal cells and, thus, there is the need for more effective treatments that decrease the toxicity to normal cells and increase the success rates of treatment. The use of beta-blockers in cancer has been studied for their antagonist action on the adrenergic system through inhibition of beta-adrenergic receptors. Besides regulating processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, and airway strength or reactivity, beta-blockers block mechanisms that trigger tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. This study presents a literature review of the available studies addressing cancer treatments and beta-blockers. Overall, data suggest that propranolol may be used as a complement for the treatment of several types of cancer due to its ability to improve cancer outcomes by decreasing cancer cell proliferation rates. Nonetheless, additional in vitro studies should be performed to fully understand the protective role of BBs in cancer patients.Epilepsy is a serious neurological disorder affecting around 70 million people globally and is characterized by spontaneous recurrent seizures. Recent evidence indicates that dysfunction in metabolic processes can lead to the alteration of neuronal and network excitability, thereby contributing to epileptogenesis. Developing a suitable animal model that can recapitulate all the clinical phenotypes of human metabolic epilepsy (ME) is crucial yet challenging. The specific environment of many symptoms as well as the primary state of the applicable neurobiology, genetics, and lack of valid biomarkers/diagnostic tests are the key factors that hinder the process of developing a suitable animal model. The present systematic review summarizes the current state of available animal models of metabolic dysfunction associated with epileptic disorders. A systematic search was performed by using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model. A range of electronic databases, includingA CASC2). Finally, the review highlights certain focus areas that may increase the possibilities of developing more suitable animal models and underscores the importance of the rationalization of animal models and evaluation methods for studying ME. The review also suggests the pressing need of developing precise robust animal models and evaluation methods for investigating ME.Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) is a commercially important biennial root crop, providing about 20% of the world's annual sugar production. Seed quality is crucial for adequate plant growth and production. The productivity of sugar beet is often limited by heterogeneous germination in the field. In order to improve the sugar beet germination process, the effect of different concentrations of microalgal extracts from Chlorella vulgaris or Scenedesmus quadricauda was investigated by calculating several indices useful to evaluate the germination performance. Moreover, root morphological analysis was performed by using WinRHIZO software. B. vulgaris seeds were soaked with five different concentrations (from 0.1 to 10 mg Corg/L) of the microalgal extracts, considering the amount of organic carbon (Corg) in each extract. Our results show that these microalgal extracts exert a positive effect on sugar beet germination, by increasing efficiency and regularity of this critical process for B. vulgaris seeds. The best results, in terms of germination indices as well as root morphological traits, were reached by using C. vulgaris extract at the concentrations C2 (1 mg Corg/L) and C3 (2 mg Corg/L).This study aims to analyze the effect of two dance-focused and choreographic fitness classes on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in sedentary worker women. Methods 65 sedentary middle-aged worker women (38 ± 7.3 years old) completed a 16-week intervention randomly assigned to (1) dance fitness group based on Zumba Fitness classes (DF group, n = 25)], (2) dance fitness + functional strength training group (DFFT group, n = 20), and (3) control group (n = 20). HRQoL was assessed by the 36-Item Short-Form Health-Survey (SF-36), which evaluates 8 dimensions of health [General Health (GH), Physical Functioning (PF), Social Functioning (SF), Physical Role (PR), Emotional Role (ER), Bodily Pain (BP), Vitality (V), and Mental Health (MH)] scored from 0 (worst) to 100 (best health status). Results The control group statistically differed from both exercise groups in PF and PR, and from the DF group in SF and MH showing a lower score. No statistical differences were observed between exercise groups post-intervention, except in V. DF group showed increases in GH, PF, SF, V, PR, and MH post-intervention. Conclusion A 16-week dance fitness intervention based on Zumba Fitness classes generates notable improvements in a wide range of HRQoL dimensions in sedentary middle-aged worker women, especially in V, PR and MH dimensions.Exogenous hormones play an important role in plant growth regulation and stress tolerance. However, little is known about the effect of exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) on wheat seedlings under salt and alkali stresses. Here, a pot experiment of saline and alkaline stresses (0 and 100 mmol/L) in which ABA water solution (0, 50 and 100 μmol/L) was sprayed on wheat seedlings was conducted to study the alleviative effectiveness of ABA on salt and alkali stresses. After spraying ABA (50 μmol·L-1), shoot biomass increased 19.0% and 26.7%, respectively. The Na+ content in shoots reduced from 15-fold and 61.5-fold to 10-fold and 37.3-fold in salt and alkali stresses, compared to controls. In addition, proline and organic acid synthesis in shoots also reduced significantly, but the soluble sugar content increased under alkali stress. A high concentration of ABA (100 μmol·L-1) had no significant effects on biomass and ion content in wheat seedlings under both stresses. In conclusion, foliar application of ABA with moderate concentration could effectively accelerate shoot growth of salt-induced wheat seedlings by adjusting the levels of ions and organic solutes.Despite numerous available resources of evidence, the results about the frequency of pregnancy-associated cancer (PAC) still show poor comparability due to dissimilarities in the study design and methodology, inclusion criteria, incoherent duration of follow-up and a heterogeneous reference population. We conducted a systematic review of population-based studies on PAC published up to December 2019, to provide updated research on this topic, highlighting strengths and limitations. Of the 24 papers included, 11 considered all types of tumors and 13 dealt with specific types of cancer. STC-15 order Differences in the procedures for estimating the frequency of PAC emerged even among population studies. However, we found consistent results for overall frequency of PAC- around 1/1000 pregnancies. Our review suggests that about 25% of PAC cases are diagnosed during pregnancy, confirming the hypothesis of an excess of diagnosis in the postpregnancy period. Sparse and inconsistent results were found regarding a potential increase in the frequency of PAC over calendar years. Alignments in the strategy to identify PAC are needed to overcome methodological weaknesses.Natural rubber is the main component of latex obtained from laticifer cells of Hevea brasiliensis. For improving rubber yield, it is essential to understand the genetic molecular mechanisms responsible for laticifer differentiation and rubber biosynthesis. Jasmonate enhances both secondary laticifer differentiation and rubber biosynthesis. Here, we carried out time-course RNA-seq analysis in suspension-cultured cells treated with methyljasmonic acid (MeJA) to characterize the gene expression profile. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that the term "cell differentiation" was enriched in upregulated genes at 24 hours after treatment, but inversely, the term was enriched in downregulated genes at 5 days, indicating that MeJA could induce cell differentiation at an early stage of the response. Jasmonate signaling is activated by MYC2, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH)-type transcription factor (TF). The aim of this work was to find any links between transcriptomic changes after MeJA application and regulation by TFs.