Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Rafael Genario, Jose Cipolla-Neto, Allain A. Bueno, Heitor O. Santos
Summary: Melatonin supplementation could be an effective therapeutic approach for obesity, impacting neuroendocrine systems, cardiometabolic biomarkers, and body composition. Studies show that melatonin plays a key role in glycaemic homeostasis, white adipose tissue activity, lipid metabolism, and mitochondrial activity.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biology
Jens Lund, Christoffer Clemmensen
Summary: Body weight is regulated by physiological mechanisms that counteract both weight loss and weight gain. There are known signals, such as low blood leptin, that defend against weight loss, but the signals opposing overfeeding-induced weight gain are still unidentified. This article discusses insights gained from overfeeding studies and explores the relative contributions of energy intake, expenditure, and excretion in defending against weight gain. It also delves into the existence of unknown pathways that protect against weight gain and proposes the study of individuals with constitutional thinness as a gateway to understanding weight gain resistance in humans. Experimental overfeeding, coupled with multi-omics techniques, has the potential to uncover the signalling pathways that protect against weight gain and lead to new obesity treatments.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Surgery
Daunia Verdi, Linda Ferrari, Giulia Capelli, Valentina Mari, Sara Parini, Giovanna Tacconi, Antonella Chessa, Gabriella De Santi, Isabella Frigerio, Marina Kurian, Gaya Spolverato
Summary: The history of women in surgery has been challenging, but there have been significant advancements in the past few decades. The presence of women in medicine increased during the 19th century, and pioneer women surgeons in the 20th century paved the way for greater involvement of women in surgical specialties. In the last 20 years, awareness of barriers limiting women's progression in surgical careers has led to the establishment of women's surgical societies to share experiences and find solutions to common issues.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Shuying Li, Li Feng, Xiaoxiao Sun, Jie Ding, Weihong Zhou
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and visceral fat area (VFA) and body fat percentage (BFP), and build non-invasive diagnosis models for hyperuricaemia by combining obesity-related indicators, age, and sex. The results showed a positive association between SUA and VFA, BFP, and BMI, and this association persisted after stratification by gender.
Article
Pediatrics
Anne-Lise Goddings, Russell M. Viner, Lisa Mundy, Helena Romaniuk, Charlotte Molesworth, John B. Carlin, Nicholas B. Allen, George C. Patton
Summary: The study reveals that anthropometric measures are positively associated with salivary androgen concentrations in pre-adolescent children, with overweight or obese individuals showing higher testosterone and DHEA concentrations. Obese individuals are more likely to have higher androgen levels compared to normal weight individuals of the same age group.
ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Andreas N. Angelakis, Andrea G. Capodaglio, Emmanuel G. Dialynas
Summary: Current wastewater management paradigms tend to favor centralized solutions despite the advantages of small decentralized systems, such as lower capital costs and more sustainable water cycles. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of the history of wastewater systems and analyzes the evolution of natural and physical systems into modern technology. It also discusses future trends, with a focus on technological adaptation and sustainability of decentralized systems, drawing lessons from history and past practices. The manuscript aims to offer a critical overview of water and wastewater management in preparation for the challenges in this sector.
Article
Pediatrics
Niamh Callanan, Neil Wright
Summary: This study examines the additional risk for insulin resistance conferred by the presence of acanthosis nigricans, beyond obesity alone, in a young and overweight UK population. Results show that individuals with both acanthosis nigricans and obesity had significantly greater degrees of insulin resistance compared to those with obesity alone, indicating the potential of acanthosis nigricans as a visible marker of type 2 diabetes in young people.
BMJ PAEDIATRICS OPEN
(2022)
Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Joseph J. Matthews, Eimear Dolan, Paul A. Swinton, Livia Santos, Guilherme G. Artioli, Mark D. Turner, Kirsty J. Elliott-Sale, Craig Sale
Summary: Supplementation with carnosine or beta-alanine shows potential to improve metabolic dysregulation in diabetes and related conditions, with significant effects on markers of glycemic control and insulin resistance. The systematic review and meta-analysis reveal that these supplements can reduce fasting glucose, HbA1c, and insulin resistance in both humans and rodents, suggesting their therapeutic potential for enhancing glycemic control. However, certainty in the effects varies between human and rodent studies, with moderate certainty in human outcomes and very low certainty in rodent outcomes.
ADVANCES IN NUTRITION
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Julia Beckhaus, Carsten Friedrich, Svenja Boekhoff, Gabriele Calaminus, Brigitte Bison, Maria Eveslage, Beate Timmermann, Joerg Flitsch, Hermann L. Mueller
Summary: This cohort study aimed to investigate the clinical presentation and outcome of pediatric patients with craniopharyngiomas (CP) in relation to age at diagnosis. The results showed that children diagnosed with CP before the age of 6 had lower event-free survival but better quality of life. Posterior hypothalamic involvement and hypothalamic lesion were independent risk factors for reduced survival and obesity. Age at diagnosis did not contribute to obesity and reduced quality of life.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Telecommunications
Liang Qiao, Shuping Dang, Basem Shihada, Mohamed-Slim Alouini, Robert Nowak, Zhihan Lv
Summary: This article introduces the latest advancements in blockchain technology and its potential applications in various fields. It covers topics such as blockchain systems, consensus algorithms, smart contracts, and scalability. The article also analyzes the current challenges and limitations of blockchain, and explores its integration into mobile communication and other areas. Additionally, it discusses the potential use of blockchain in areas like intellectual property protection, the Internet of Things, and epidemic prevention and control.
DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKS
(2022)
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Margherita Gnocchi, Tiziana D'Alvano, Claudia Lattanzi, Giulia Messina, Maddalena Petraroli, Viviana D. D. Patianna, Susanna Esposito, Maria E. E. Street
Summary: Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can directly affect endocrine function by interacting with host cells through its spike protein. Obesity and changes in thyroid function may increase the risk and severity of infection. Vitamin D deficiency has negative effects on the immune system. Adrenal insufficiency and excess glucocorticoids also affect immune function and metabolism. Currently, there is limited research data in this field.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
John MacNeill
Summary: There is a distinction between what can be designed and built, and what is actually meaningful. History serves as a lesson with its unmatched record-setting behemoths.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anders Bergstrom, Chris Stringer, Mateja Hajdinjak, Eleanor M. L. Scerri, Pontus Skoglund
Summary: New findings in palaeoanthropological and genomic records have reshaped our understanding of the origins of modern human ancestry. The article outlines three key phases in the evolution of modern human ancestry, from the global expansion of modern humans to their interactions with Neanderthals and Denisovans, the African origin of modern human diversity, and the complex separation of modern human ancestors from archaic human groups. It argues that there is no single point in time when modern human ancestry was limited to a specific birthplace, and that the appearances of defining traits of Homo sapiens align with a variety of evolutionary histories.
Article
Polymer Science
Xiaodong Wang, Zhenghong Li
Summary: The study investigates the effect of local vibration and structural rearrangement of macromolecular chains on the shape memory behavior of SMPs using the extended free volume theory. The dependences of glass transition, thermomechanical behavior, and triple-shape recovery behavior of SMPs on thermal history are discussed by introducing the phase transition theory. The accumulation of remote free volume upon heating is identified as the driving force for the shape memory effect in SMPs.
Article
Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Ola Michalec, Sveta Milyaeva, Awais Rashid
Summary: This article discusses the application of big data technologies in critical infrastructures, focusing on the intersection of cyber security and traditional engineering requirements. The research finds that the implementation of the Network and Information Systems Security Directive is the first step in legitimising the modernisation of critical infrastructures, but security risk management practices cannot be directly transferred from the safety realm.
BIG DATA & SOCIETY
(2022)
