Operation early‐bird: Investigating altered light exposure in military barracks on sleep and performance—a placebo‐controlled study

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Operation early‐bird: Investigating altered light exposure in military barracks on sleep and performance—a placebo‐controlled study via Journal of Sleep Research Summary The manipulation of light exposure in the evening has been shown to modulate sleep, and may be beneficial in a military setting where sleep is reported to be problematic. This study investigated the efficacy of low-temperature lighting on objective sleep measures and physical performance in military trainees. Sixty-four officer-trainees (52 male/12 female, mean ± SD age: 25 ± 5 years) wore wrist-actigraphs for 6 weeks during military training to quantify sleep metrics. Trainee 2.4-km run time and upper-body muscular-endurance were assessed before and after the training course. Participants were randomly assigned to either: low-temperature lighting (LOW, n = 19), standard-temperature lighting with a placebo "sleep-enhancing" device (PLA, n = 17), or standard-temperature lighting (CON, n = 28) groups in their military barracks for the duration of the course. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were run to identify significant differences with post hoc ana lyses and effect size calculations performed where indicated. No significant interaction effect was observed for the sleep metrics; however, there was a significant effect of time for average sleep duration, and small benefits of LOW when compared with CON (d = 0.41–0.44). A significant interaction was observed for the 2.4-km run, with the improvement in LOW (Δ92.3 s) associated with a large improvement when compared with CON (Δ35.9 s; p = 0.003; d = 0.95 ± 0.60), but not PLA (Δ68.6 s). Similarly, curl-up improvement resulted in a moderate effect in favour of LOW (Δ14 repetitions) compared with CON (Δ6; p = 0.063; d = 0.68 ± 0.72). Chronic exposure to low-temperature lighting was associated with benefits to aerobic fitness across a 6-week training period, with minimal effects on sleep measures. View on Web

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The Efficacy of Implant Surface Decontamination Using Chemicals during Surgical Treatment of Peri‐implantitis: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader The Efficacy of Implant Surface Decontamination Using Chemicals during Surgical Treatment of Peri‐implantitis: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis via Journal of Clinical Periodontology ABSTRACT Aim To answer the following PICOS question: in adult patients with peri-implantitis, what is the efficacy of surgical therapy with chemical surface decontamination of implant surfaces in comparison with surgical therapy alone or surgery with placebo decontamination, on probing pocket depth (PD) reduction and bleeding on probing (BoP)/suppuration on probing (SoP), in randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs with at least 6 months of follow-up? Materials and Methods Six databases were searched from their inception up to May 20, 2022. Data on clinical outcome variables were pooled and analyzed using mean differences (MDs), Risk Ratios (RR) or Risk Differences (RD) as appropriate, 95% confidence intervals (CI), and prediction intervals (PIs) in the case of significant heterogeneity. Primary outcomes were determined as changes in PD and BoP/SoP. Secondary outcomes were detrmined as radiographic marginal bone loss (MBL), implant loss, and disease resolution. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022325603. Results Six RCTs - two moderate, three high, and one low risk of bias (RoB) studies - were included. These studies test the adjunctive effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT), chlorhexidine (CHX), and administration of local antibiotics (LAbs) during surgery on the clinical outcome. In a single 12-month study, the adjunctive use of local antibiotics showed a clinically relevant reduction of PD )MD= 1.44; 95% CI [0.40; -2.48] and MBL (MD= 1.21; 95% CI [0.44; 1.98]; one trial, 32 participant). PDT showed a small but significant reduction in BoP (MD= 7.41%; 95% CI [0.81; 14.00]; P=0.028; two trials; 42 participants). Treatment with CHX resulted in no significant changes in PD, BoP, or MBL compared to placebo saline solution. None of the interventions affected disease resolution and implant loss. Certainty of the evidence was very low for all outcome measures assessed. Conclusions Within the limitations of this systematic review and the meta-analysis, adjunctive use of chemicals such as PDT, CHX, LAbs for surface decontamination during surgery of peri-implantitis cannot be recommended as superior to standard debridement procedures (mechanical debridement +/- saline). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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Autophagy and its role in osteosarcoma

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Autophagy and its role in osteosarcoma via Cancer Medicine In this review, we summarized the role of autophagy in OS proliferation, metastasis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy. And we think that autophagy-related genes and pathways could serve as potential targets for OS therapy. Abstract Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common bone malignancy and preferably occurs in children and adolescents. Despite significant advances in surgery and chemotherapy for OS over the past few years, overall survival rates of OS have reached a bottleneck. Thus, extensive researches aimed at developing new therapeutic targets for OS are urgently needed. Autophagy, a conserved process which allows cells to recycle altered or unused organelles and cellular components, has been proven to play a critical role in multiple biological processes in OS. In this article, we summarized the association between autophagy and proliferation, metastasis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy of OS, revealing that autophagy-related genes and pathways could serve as potential targets for OS therapy. View on Web

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Onychomycosis associated with diabetic foot syndrome: a systematic review

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Onychomycosis associated with diabetic foot syndrome: a systematic review via Mycoses Abstract Background A systematic review was conducted to investigate the prevalence of onychomycosis in patients with diabetes. The association of onychomycosis with risk factors in patients with diabetic foot syndrome was also examined. Methods The recommendations in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist were applied, and the included studies were assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) method. Searches were conducted in October 2022 using PubMed (Medline) and Scopus for clinical studies, clinical trials, comparative studies, observational studies, and randomised clinical trials or controlled clinical trials addressing the prevalence and consequences of onychomycosis in patients with diabetes, diagnoses, or treatments. Two authors performed the study selection and data extraction, and any discrepancies between the two reviewers were resolved through discussion with a third reviewer. Results The systematic review included nine studies that met the inclusion criteria, and these studies enrolled 5426 patients with diabetes. Among these patients, 28.55% had onychomycosis that was mainly caused by Trichophyton rubrum. A significant association was found between the occurrence of onychomycosis and the presence of diabetic neuropathy (p=0.012) and elevated glycosylated haemoglobin values (p=0.039). There was no significant association between onychomycosis and ulceration (p=0.185). Eight studies had a grade 4 level of evidence and a grade C recommendation, and one study had a grade 1b level of evidence and a grade A recommendation. Conclusion The information described in the literature is insufficient and heterogeneous regarding the association of risk factors and ulceration in patients with diabetic foot compared with developing onychomycosis. There is also a need to implement onychomycosis diagnostic testing instead of relying only on a clinical diagnosis. Additional prospective, randomised, comparative studies are needed to increase the quality of studies in the literature. View on Web

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Risky business: Understanding the association between objective COVID‐19 occupational risk features and worker subjective risk perceptions

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Risky business: Understanding the association between objective COVID‐19 occupational risk features and worker subjective risk perceptions via Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology Abstract Many workers are at risk of contracting COVID-19 through work, and subjective perceptions of COVID-19 risk are important predictors of worker attitudes and behaviours. However, little to no research provides comprehensive examination of objective COVID-19 occupational risk factors and how, or under what conditions, these factors relate to subjective risk perceptions. Using two wave survey data matched with archival data from the Occupational Information Network (O*Net) and county-level COVID-19 case data (N = 295), we examine how objective COVID-19 occupational risk relates to workers' subjective risk of contracting COVID-19 at work. We also examine the moderating roles of financial frailty, adherence to governmental workplace safety recommendations, and local COVID-19 threat. Results indicate that objective COVID-19 occupational risk significantly predicts subjective risk of contracting COVID-19 at work. Moreover, factors representing in-person work conducted in close proximity to others accounted for a large proportion of explained variance in subjective risk. There was no support for moderation; however, financial frailty and workplace safety had independent main effects on subjective risk perceptions. Our results have theoretical implications for the Economic Stress and COVID-19 Occupational Risk model (Sinclair et al., Appl. Psychol., 70, 2021, 85), individual models of subjective risk perceptions, and practical implications for mitigating occupational risk at work. View on Web

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RNA:RNA interaction in ternary complexes resolved by chemical probing [ARTICLE]

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader RNA:RNA interaction in ternary complexes resolved by chemical probing [ARTICLE] via RNA current issue RNA regulation can be performed by a second targeting RNA molecule, such as in the microRNA regulation mechanism. Selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE) probes the structure of RNA molecules and can resolve RNA:protein interactions, but RNA:RNA interactions have not yet been addressed with this technique. Here, we apply SHAPE to investigate RNA-mediated binding processes in RNA:RNA and RNA:RNA-RBP complexes. We use RNA:RNA binding by SHAPE (RABS) to investigate microRNA-34a (miR-34a) binding its mRNA target, the silent information regulator 1 (mSIRT1), both with and without the Argonaute protein, constituting the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). We show that the seed of the mRNA target must be bound to the microRNA loaded into RISC to enable further binding of the compensatory region by RISC, while the naked miR-34a is able to bind the compensatory region without seed interaction. The method presented here provi des complementary structural evidence for the commonly performed luciferase-assay-based evaluation of microRNA binding-site efficiency and specificity on the mRNA target site and could therefore be used in conjunction with it. The method can be applied to any nucleic acid-mediated RNA- or RBP-binding process, such as splicing, antisense RNA binding, or regulation by RISC, providing important insight into the targeted RNA structure. View on Web

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Z-RNA biology: a central role in the innate immune response? [MINI-REVIEW]

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Z-RNA biology: a central role in the innate immune response? [MINI-REVIEW] via RNA current issue Z-RNA is a higher-energy, left-handed conformation of RNA, whose function has remained elusive. A growing body of work alludes to regulatory roles for Z-RNA in the immune response. Here, we review how Z-RNA features present in cellular RNAs—especially containing retroelements—could be recognized by a family of winged helix proteins, with an impact on host defense. We also discuss how mutations to specific Z-contacting amino acids disrupt their ability to stabilize Z-RNA, resulting in functional losses. We end by highlighting knowledge gaps in the field, which, if addressed, would significantly advance this active area of research. View on Web

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Designing a Prolonged Method of Therapeutic Delivery to Support Rehabilitation From Ototoxic Damage in a Schwann Cell Model

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Designing a Prolonged Method of Therapeutic Delivery to Support Rehabilitation From Ototoxic Damage in a Schwann Cell Model via Otology & Neurotology - Published Ahead-of-Print Hypothesis The ototoxicity of gentamicin and cisplatin can be evaluated with a Schwann cell model to screen for otoprotective agents that can be encapsulated into poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles for drug delivery to the inner ear. Background Aminoglycosides and cisplatin are widely prescribed but known to cause ototoxicity. There is strong evidence that compromise to Schwann cells ensheathing inner ear afferent neurons results in inner ear dysfunction mimicking drug-induced ototoxicity. There is a need for a model for ototoxic demyelination to screen medications for protective potential and to subsequently target and tune the delivery of any promising agents. Methods RT4-D6P2T rat schwannoma cells were used as a Schwann cell model to assess gentamicin and cisplatin toxicity and to screen for protective agents. Cell viability was evaluated with the MTT cell proliferation assay. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was encapsulated into a PLGA microparticle, and its elution profile was determined. Results The estimated 50% lethal concentration dose for gentamicin was 805.6 μM, which was 46-fold higher than that for cisplatin (17.5 μM). In several trials, cells dosed with NAC and cisplatin demonstrated a 22.6% (p View on Web

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Incidence of Postoperative CSF Leaks in Class III Obese Patients Undergoing Middle Cranial Fossa Approach for Spontaneous CSF Leak Repair

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Incidence of Postoperative CSF Leaks in Class III Obese Patients Undergoing Middle Cranial Fossa Approach for Spontaneous CSF Leak Repair via Otology & Neurotology - Published Ahead-of-Print Objective To determine the safety and effectiveness of the middle cranial fossa (MCF) approach for spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid leak (sCSF-L) repair in class III obese patients. To also assess the need for prophylactic lumbar drain (LD) placement in this patient population. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary Academic Center. Patients All patients older than 18 years undergoing sCSF-L repair with an MCF approach. Intervention An MCF craniotomy for sCSF-L repair. Main outcome measure Rate of complications and postoperative leaks. Results There were no perioperative complications in 78.9% (56/71) of cases. The surgical complication rate was 12.5% (2/16), 10% (2/20), and 22.2% (6/27) in class I, class II, and class III obese patients. There was no statistically significant difference in complications among these three groups. The most common postoperative complication was a persistent CSF leak in the acute postoperative period with an overall rate of 9.9% (7/71) with six of the seven patients requiring postoperative LD placement. The percentage of postoperative CSF leaks in nonobese, class I, class II, and class III patients were 25% (2/8), 12.5% (2/16), 0% (0/20), and 11.1% (3/27), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of postoperative CSF leaks among the four groups (chi-square, p = 0.48). In all cases, the acute postoperative CSF leaks resolved in the long term and did not require further surgical repair. Conclusions We determine that MCF craniotomy repair for sCSF-Ls is safe in patients with class III obesity, and the incidence of postoperative CSF leaks did not vary among other obesity classes. We also find that prophylactic placement of LDs is not routinely needed in this population. View on Web

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Looking for Synergies in Healthy Upper Limb Motion: A Focus on the Wrist

AlexandrosSfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Looking for Synergies in Healthy Upper Limb Motion: A Focus on the Wrist via Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, IEEE Transactions on - new TOC Recent studies on human upper limb motion highlighted the benefit of dimensionality reduction techniques to extrapolate informative joint patterns. These techniques can simplify the description of upper limb kinematics in physiological conditions, serving as a baseline for the objective assessment of movement alterations, or to be imple mented in a robotic joint. However, the successful description of kinematic data requires a proper alignment of the acquisitions to correctly estimate kinematic patterns and their motion variability. Here, we propose a structured methodology to process and analyze upper limb kinematic data, considering time warping and task segmentation to register task execution on a common normalized completion time axis. Functional principal component analysis (fPCA) was used to extract patterns of motion of the wrist joint from the data collected by healthy participants performing activities of daily living. Our results suggest that wrist trajectories can be described as a linear combination of few functional principal components (fPCs). In fact, three fPCs explained more than 85% of the variance of any task. Wrist trajectories in the reaching phase of movement were highly correlated among participants and significantly more than trajectories in the manipulation phase ( $text{p}< 0.01$ ). The se findings may be useful in simplifying the control and design of robotic wrists, and could aid the development of therapies for the early detection of pathological conditions. View on Web

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