Haaningallen9467

Obese patientss with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are particularly prone to developing severe forms of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). The gut-to-lung axis is critical during viral infections of the respiratory tract, and a change in the gut microbiota's composition might have a critical role in disease severity. Here, we investigated the consequences of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the gut microbiota in the context of obesity and NASH. To this end, we set up a nutritional model of obesity with dyslipidemia and NASH in the golden hamster, a relevant preclinical model of COVID-19. Relative to lean non-NASH controls, obese NASH hamsters develop severe inflammation of the lungs and liver. 16S rRNA gene profiling showed that depending on the diet, SARS-CoV-2 infection induced various changes in the gut microbiota's composition. Changes were more prominent and transient at day 4 post-infection in lean animals, alterations still persisted at day 10 in obese NASH animals. A targeted, quantitative metabolomic analysis revealed changes in the gut microbiota's metabolic output, some of which were diet-specific and regulated over time. Our results showed that specifically diet-associated taxa are correlated with disease parameters. Correlations between infection variables and diet-associated taxa highlighted a number of potentially protective or harmful bacteria in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters. In particular, some taxa in obese NASH hamsters (e.g. Blautia and Peptococcus) were associated with pro-inflammatory parameters in both the lungs and the liver. These taxon profiles and their association with specific disease markers suggest that microbial patterns might influence COVID-19 outcomes.The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 triggered a global pandemic where control is needed through therapeutic and preventive interventions. This study aims to identify natural compounds that could affect the fusion between the viral membrane (receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein) and the human cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Accordingly, we performed the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based screening of 10 phytochemicals that already showed numerous positive effects on human health in several epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Among these phytochemicals, epigallocatechin gallate, a polyphenol and a major component of green tea, could effectively inhibit the interaction between the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein and the human cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Alternately, in silico molecular docking studies of epigallocatechin gallate and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 indicated a binding score of -7.8 kcal/mol and identified a hydrogen bond between R393 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, which is considered as a key interacting residue involved in binding with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein receptor-binding domain, suggesting the possible blocking of interaction between receptor-binding domain and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Furthermore, epigallocatechin gallate could attenuate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and replication in Caco-2 cells. These results shed insight into identification and validation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 entry inhibitors.

Very few comparative studies have focused on the differences in the causes of ischemic stroke between young adults and non-young adults. This study was performed to determine what causes of ischemic stroke are more important in young adults than in non-young adults using a large-scale multicenter hospital-based stroke registry in Fukuoka, Japan.

We investigated data on 15,860 consecutive patients aged ≥18 years with acute ischemic stroke (mean age 73.5 ± 12.4 years, 58.2% men) who were hospitalized between 2007 and 2019. In total, 779 patients were categorized as young adults (≤50 years of age). Although vascular risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, were less frequent in young adults than in non-young adults, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia in young adults aged >40 years were comparable to those of non-young adults. Lifestyle-related risk factors such as smoking, drinking, and obesity were more frequent in young adults than in non-young adults.igible with advancing age, even in young adults.

Certain embolic sources and uncommon causes may be etiologically important causes of ischemic stroke in young adults. However, the contribution of conventional vascular risk factors and lifestyle-related risk factors is not negligible with advancing age, even in young adults.Isotope analysis has proven useful for understanding diets of animals that are difficult to track for extended periods. Bees are small yet highly mobile and often forage from multiple habitats. However, current methods of assessing diet are limited in scope. Efficient methods of tracking bee diets that integrate across life stages, distinguish habitat use, and are sensitive to taxonomic differences will inform conservation strategies. We evaluated the utility of stable isotope analysis for estimating contributions of adjacent habitats to bees' diets. We also investigated taxonomic variation in bee and flower isotope composition. We measured natural abundance of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in two body regions from three wild bee genera, as well as in 25 species of flowers that likely comprised their diets. Bee ∂13C and ∂15N varied with habitat and taxonomic groups (conflated with month), but did not match spatial or seasonal trends in their food plants. Flower ∂13C was lowest in the forest and in April-June, as expected if driven by water availability. However, bee ∂13C was elevated in the spring, likely from overwintering nutritional stress or unpredictable food availability. Bumble bees (Bombus) were enriched in ∂15N compared to others, possibly reflecting differences in larval feeding. Bee diet mixing models had high variation and should be interpreted with caution. Models estimated similar habitat contributions to diets of spring Andrena and overwintered Bombus queens. Summer Bombus queens and workers were indistinguishable. Sweat bees (Halictus) were estimated to use comparatively more field flowers than others. Overall, taxon more strongly influenced isotope composition than either foraging habitat or month, likely because of associated differences in sociality and timing of annual activity. Future studies seeking to reveal bee diets by isotope analysis may gain better resolution in more isotopically distinct habitats, in conjunction with controlled feeding or isotope labeling experiments.Cave-dwelling bats widely use anthropogenic structures such as temples in south Asia as roosting and nursery sites. Such roosts are constantly under threat, even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the importance of such roosts, there is no detailed understanding of what makes temples favorable for bats and the critical factors for their persistence. Here we relate temple microhabitat characteristics and land use around ancient temples (>400 years) to bat species richness and abundance in the Tamiraparani river basin of south India. Temples were selected for sampling along the river basin based on logistics and permission to access them. We counted bats at the roost in the mornings and late afternoons from inside the temples. Temple characteristics such as dark rooms, walkways, crevices, towers, and disturbances to the roosts were recorded. Based on European Space Agency land use classifications, we recorded land use such as crops, trees, scrub, grassland, urban areas, and water availability within a 5 km radius of the temple. Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to relate the counts in temples with microhabitats and land use. We sampled 59 temples repeatedly across 5 years which yielded a sample of 246 survey events. The total number of bats counted was 20,211, of which Hipposideros speoris was the most common (9,715), followed by Rousettus leschenaultii (5,306), Taphozous melanopogon (3,196), Megaderma lyra (1,497), Tadarida aegyptiaca (303), Pipistrellus sp. (144) and Rhinopoma hardwickii (50). About 39% of the total bats occurred in dark rooms and 51% along walkways. Species richness and total abundance were related to the availability of dark rooms and the number of buildings in the temple. Land use elements only had a weak effect, but scrub and grassland, even though they were few, are critical for bats. We conclude that retaining undisturbed dark rooms with small exits in temples and other dimly lit areas and having natural areas around temples are vital for bat conservation.Field hockey is a high-intensity intermittent team sport that has recently undergone a series of rule changes that have resulted in a greater demand for repeated high-intensity movements. see more Coaches and practitioners now require a reliable assessment of repeated accelerations, decelerations and changes of direction to assess these important match qualities. This investigation assessed the test-retest reliability of a novel 6x40m repeated shuttle sprint test (20m + 20m with a 180° turn) and its association with 40m straight line sprint and YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test performance in 28 International field hockey players (n = 14 females and n = 14 males). The sum of 6 sprint times (SUM) demonstrated 'excellent' (ICC = 0.94 and CV = 0.59%) and 'good' (ICC = 0.84 and CV = 0.75%) reliability in females and males, respectively. Best sprint time during the repeated shuttle sprint test also demonstrated suitable reliability to evaluate field hockey physical performance (ICC = 0.92 & 0.76, CV = 0.76% & 1.00% in females and males, respectively). SUM was significantly associated with 40 m straight line sprint performance in females (r = 0.90; p less then 0.001) and males (r = 0.92; p less then 0.001), but only a weak association was found with YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test performance for either group (r = 0.20; p = 0.495 & r = -0.19; p = 0.525 in females and males, respectively). In summary, field hockey testing batteries that include a repeated shuttle sprint test should consider including a test of intermittent endurance. Further, changes in SUM greater than 1.0% can be confidently interpreted by coaches and practitioners as a real change for both female and male elite field hockey players.Next generation sequencing has become essential for pathogen characterization and typing. The most popular second generation sequencing technique produces data of high quality with very low error rates and high depths. One major drawback of this technique is the short reads. Indeed, short-read sequencing data of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are difficult to assemble because of the presence of numerous mobile genetic elements (MGEs), which contain repeated elements. The resulting draft assemblies are often highly fragmented, which results in a loss of information, especially concerning MGEs or large structural variations. The use of long-read sequencing can circumvent these problems and produce complete or nearly complete genomes. The ONT MinION, for its small size and minimal investment requirements, is particularly popular. The ultra-long reads generated with the MinION can easily span prophages and repeat regions. In order to take full advantage of this technology it requires High Molecular Weight (HMW) DNA of high quality in high quantity.