Do social support and community engagement act as mechanisms in the association between neighbourhood income inequality and the mental health of mothers in Calgary,Canada? A mediation analysis

PurposeAccording to the social determinants of health framework, income inequality is a potential risk factor for adverse mental health. However, few studies have explored the mechanisms suspected to mediate this relationship. The current study addresses this gap through a mediation analysis to determine if social support and community engagement act as mediators linking neighbourhood income inequality to maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms within a cohort of new mothers living in the City of Calgary, Canada.MethodsData collected at three years postpartum from mothers belonging to the All Our Families (AOF) cohort were used in the current study. Maternal data were collected between 2012 and 2015 and linked to neighbourhood socioeconomic data from the 2006 Canadian Census. Income inequality was measured using Gini coefficients derived from 2006 after-tax census data. Generalized structural equation models were used to quantify the associations between income inequality and mental health symptoms, and to assess the potential direct and indirect mediating effects of maternal social support and community engagement.ResultsIncome inequality was not significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms (β = 0.32, 95%CI = −0.067, 0.70), anxiety symptoms (β = 0.11, 95%CI = −0.39, 0.60), or lower social support. Income inequality was not associated with community engagement. For the depression models, higher social support was significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms (β = −0.13, 95%CI = −0.15, −0.097), while community engagement was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.059, 95%CI = −0.15, 0.27). Similarly, for the anxiety models, lower anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with higher levels of social support (β = −0.17, 95%CI = −0.20, −0.13) but not with higher levels of community engagement (β = 0.14, 95%CI = −0.14, 0.41).ConclusionThe current study did not find clear evidence for social support or community engagement mediating the relationship between neighbourhood income inequality and maternal mental health. Future investigations should employ a broader longitudinal approach to capture changes in income inequality, potential mediators, and mental health symptomatology over time.     

Effect of gender on the reliability of COVID-19 rapid antigen test among elderly

Defining con-founders that affect the reliability of diagnostic tests for coronavirus disease 2019 is vital to breaking the chain of infection. The elderly population is a higher risk group for the emerging virus. However, gender seems to exert a critical role in modifying the infection risk among women owing to hormonal changes. The menopause transition is an exceptional period for older women where the protective and immunomodulatory effects of the estrogen hormone are lost. Accordingly, attention should be given to postmenopausal women since they will have an increased risk compared to their pre-menopausal peers.     

Evaluation of unsupervised 30-second chair stand test performance assessed by wearable sensors to predict fall status in multiple sclerosis

BackgroundOne in two people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) will fall in a three-month period. Predicting which patients will fall remains a challenge for clinicians. Standardized functional assessments provide insight into balance deficits and fall risk but their use has been limited to supervised visits.Research questionThe study aim was to characterize unsupervised 30-second chair stand test (30CST) performance using accelerometer-derived metrics and assess its ability to classify fall status in PwMS compared to supervised 30CST.MethodsThirty-seven PwMS (21 fallers) performed instrumented supervised and unsupervised 30CSTs with a single wearable sensor on the thigh. In unsupervised conditions, participants performed bi-hourly 30CSTs and rated their balance confidence and fatigue over 48-hours. ROC analysis was used to classify fall status for 30CST performance.ResultsNon-fallers (p = 0.02) but not fallers (p = 0.23) differed in their average unsupervised 30CST performance (repetitions) compared to their supervised performance. The unsupervised maximum number of 30CST repetitions performed optimized ROC classification AUC (0.79), accuracy (78.4%) and specificity (90.0%) for fall status with an optimal cutoff of 17 repetitions.SignificanceBrief durations of instrumented unsupervised monitoring as an adjunct to routine clinical assessments could improve the ability for predicting fall risk and fluctuations in functional mobility in PwMS.     

基于网络药理学和分子对接技术研究黄芪-赤芍治疗COPD的作用机制＊

目的 基于网络药理学和分子对接技术探究黄芪-赤芍配伍对治疗慢性阻塞性肺疾病（chronic obstructive pulmonary disease，COPD）的作用机制。方法 利用TCMSP，Pharmmaper数据库，筛选黄芪-赤芍治疗COPD的活性成分和潜在靶点；结合Genecards数据库挖掘的COPD相关靶点，对黄芪-赤芍药对与COPD靶点进行PPI网络构建，交互处理得到黄芪-赤芍药对治疗COPD的关键靶点，并进行GO分析和KEGG通路富集分析；并采用分子对接技术将主要活性成分与TNF-α（肿瘤坏死因子），IL-6（白细胞介素6）等进行分子对接；最后利用A549炎症细胞与人脐静脉内皮细胞缺氧损伤模型进行体外细胞实验对结果加以验证。结果 黄芪-赤芍药对中44个有效成分作用于COPD，核心成分为：槲皮素、山奈酚、丁子香萜、芍药苷、（2R，3R）-4-methoxyl-distylin、二氢异黄酮；黄芪-赤芍药对通过IL6、PTGS2、TNF等113个靶蛋白，调控Ras、PI3KAkt、IL-17等多条信号通路治疗COPD，且分子对接结果显示槲皮素、山奈酚、丁子香萜、芍药苷与IL-6、PTGS2、TNF大分子蛋白有良好的结合性，体外细胞试验证实，槲皮素与山奈酚均能减少IL-8，MMP-9炎症因子的分泌，具有不同程度的抗炎效果；芍药苷有明显的扩血管、抗血栓之效。结论 黄芪-赤芍药对治疗COPD具有多成分、多靶点、多通路、整体调节的作用特点。初步揭示了黄芪-赤芍药对通过抑制炎症反应、调节上皮细胞生长增强保护屏障等预测出黄芪-赤芍药对治疗COPD的潜在作用机制，以期为其活性成分的药效物质基础提供理论研究和思路。     

PARP7 negatively regulates the type I interferon response in cancer cells and its inhibition triggers antitumor immunity

1. Download : Download high-res image (204KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Fluoxetine-induced hepatic lipid accumulation is mediated by prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 1 and is linked to elevated 15-deoxy-Δ12,14PGJ2

Major depressive disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders are often managed with long-term use of antidepressant medication. Fluoxetine, an SSRI antidepressant, is widely used as a first-line treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders. However, fluoxetine has also been shown to increase the risk of metabolic diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Fluoxetine has been shown to increase hepatic lipid accumulation in vivo and in vitro. In addition, fluoxetine has been shown to alter the production of prostaglandins which have also been implicated in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of fluoxetine exposure on the prostaglandin biosynthetic pathway and lipid accumulation in a hepatic cell line (H4-II-E-C3 cells). Fluoxetine treatment increased mRNA expression of prostaglandin biosynthetic enzymes (Ptgs1, Ptgs2, and Ptgds), PPAR gamma (Pparg), and PPAR gamma downstream targets involved in fatty acid uptake (Cd36, Fatp2, and Fatp5) as well as production of 15-deoxy-Δ^12,14PGJ₂ a PPAR gamma ligand. The effects of fluoxetine to induce lipid accumulation were attenuated with a PTGS1 specific inhibitor (SC-560), whereas inhibition of PTGS2 had no effect. Moreover, SC-560 attenuated 15-deoxy-Δ^12,14PGJ₂ production and expression of PPAR gamma downstream target genes. Taken together these results suggest that fluoxetine-induced lipid abnormalities appear to be mediated via PTGS1 and its downstream product 15d-PGJ₂ and suggest a novel therapeutic target to prevent some of the adverse effects of fluoxetine treatment.     

Deepm5C: A deep-learning-based hybrid framework for identifying human RNA N5-methylcytosine sites using a stacking strategy

1. Download : Download high-res image (173KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image