UNASSIGNED: Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that occurs as harmless commensals in the intestine, urogenital tract, and skin. It has been influenced by a variety of host conditions and has now evolved as a resistant strain. The aim of this study was thus detect the fluconazole resistant C. albicans from the root caries specimens and to computationally evaluate the interactions of an opaque-phase ABC transporter protein with the Psidium guajava bio-active compounds.
UNASSIGNED: 20 carious scrapings were collected from patients with root caries and processed for the isolation of C. albicans and was screened for fluconazole resistance. Genomic DNA was extracted and molecular characterization of Cdrp1 and Cdrp2 was done by PCR amplification. P. guajava methanolic extract was checked for the antifungal efficacy against the resistant strain of C. albicans. Further in-silico docking involves retrieval of ABC transporter protein and ligand optimization, molinspiration assessment on drug likeness, docking simulations and visualizations.
UNASSIGNED: 65% of the samples showed the presence of C.albicans and 2 strains were fluconazole resistant. Crude methanolic extract of P. guajava was found to be promising against the fluconazole resistant strains of C. albicans. In-silico docking analysis showed that Myricetin was a promising candidate with a high docking score and other drug ligand interaction scores.
UNASSIGNED: The current study emphasizes that bioactive compounds from Psidium guajava to be a promising candidate for treating candidiasis in fluconazole resistant strains of C. albicans However, further in-vivo studies have to be implemented for the experimental validation of the same in improving the oral health and hygiene.

UNASSIGNED: We evaluated the long-term effects of air pollution controls on health and health inequity among Chinese >45 years of age.
UNASSIGNED: Data were derived from the China Health Aging and Retirement Longitudinal Survey and the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre. Decreases in PM2.5 and PM10 were scaled to measure air quality controls. We used a quasi-experimental design to estimate the impact of air quality controls on self-reported health and health inequity. Health disparities were estimated using the concentration index and the horizontal index.
UNASSIGNED: Air pollution controls significantly improved self-reported health by 20% (OR 1.20, 95% CI, 1.02-1.42). The poorest group had a 40% (OR 1.41, 95% CI, 0.96-2.08) higher probability of having excellent self-reported health after air pollution controls. A pro-rich health inequity was observed, and the horizontal index decreased after air pollution controls.
UNASSIGNED: Air pollution controls have a long-term positive effect on health and health equity. The poorest population are the main beneficiaries of air pollution controls, which suggests policymakers should make efforts to reduce health inequity in air pollution controls.

UNASSIGNED: Diarrheal disease is a global public health concern, particularly in low-income countries. In Ghana, widespread issues like inadequate sanitation, unsafe drinking water, malnutrition, and poor hygiene practices contribute to the high incidence of diarrhea. Climate change exacerbates these challenges by increasing the frequency and severity of conditions that spread diarrheal diseases. This study explores households\' knowledge, understanding, and management practices for diarrhea in climate change-vulnerable coastal communities.
UNASSIGNED: The study is set in Ghana\'s central (Mumford, Opetekwei) and eastern (Anyako, Anyanui-Atiteti) coastlines. Using a cross-sectional study design, a structured questionnaire was administered to randomly sampled households (n = 419) to collect quantitative data. The study collected qualitative data from focus group discussions (n = 8), with groups separated into men and women, key informant interviews, and observations of food, water, and sanitation conditions across the studied communities.
UNASSIGNED: The study found significant variations between the studied communities and socio-demographic variables except for the respondents\' gender. Multivariate regression analyses identified significant associations between socio-demographic variables (especially gender and educational status) and perceptions of diarrhea causes. The most used first management action against diarrhea is \'over-the-counter drugs\', followed by home-made traditional remedies. Significant differences were observed in the usage of management practices across the studied communities. Trust, affordability, and availability were identified as the main factors influencing households\' use of approved pharmaceutical drugs and traditional herbal remedies for managing behavior, with significant differences being observed across communities. The study recommends a multi-sectoral approach, including improved access to regularly flowing, safe water and sanitation facilities, education on preventing diarrhea, and adequate healthcare services. Community-based interventions such as promoting good hygiene practices at homes and community settings such as schools, lorry parks, funeral grounds, and recreational areas can also effectively reduce the burden of diarrhea.

Using the journal of the Dutch Diabetics Association (Nederlandse Vereniging van Suikerzieken), the article provides insight into the role of an early patient organisation in conceptualising the chronic disease diabetes and its management in the Netherlands between 1945 and 1970. The dual aims of discipline (steered by health professionals) and independence (steered by diabetics) were reconciled through the concept of balance during the 1940s and 1950s. Organised diabetics played a particularly large role, and independence got particular emphasis as a consequence. This made it possible for organised patients to reconfigure their disease and identity in terms of social health in relation to labour, family and society in the post-war reconstruction period. In the late 1960s, this social concept transformed into a personal concept of health in which the concept of balance lost its prominence, despite a short intermezzo of medicalisation in the early 1960s.

UNASSIGNED: Exercise intolerance is an independent predictor of poor prognosis in diabetes. The underlying mechanism of the association between hyperglycemia and exercise intolerance remains undefined. We recently demonstrated that the interaction between ARRDC4 (arrestin domain-containing protein 4) and GLUT1 (glucose transporter 1) regulates cardiac metabolism.
UNASSIGNED: To determine whether this mechanism broadly impacts diabetic complications, we investigated the role of ARRDC4 in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiac and skeletal myopathy.
UNASSIGNED: High glucose promoted translocation of MondoA into the nucleus, which upregulated Arrdc4 transcriptional expression, increased lysosomal GLUT1 trafficking, and blocked glucose transport in cardiomyocytes, forming a feedback mechanism. This role of ARRDC4 was confirmed in human muscular cells from type 2 diabetic patients. Prolonged hyperglycemia upregulated myocardial Arrdc4 expression in multiple types of mouse models of diabetes. We then analyzed hyperglycemia-induced cardiac and skeletal muscle abnormalities in insulin-deficient mice. Hyperglycemia increased advanced glycation end-products and elicited oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress leading to apoptosis in the heart and peripheral muscle. However, deletion of Arrdc4 augmented tissue glucose transport and mitochondrial respiration, protecting the heart and muscle from tissue damage. Stress hemodynamic analysis and treadmill exhaustion test uncovered that Arrdc4-knockout mice had greater cardiac inotropic/chronotropic reserve with higher exercise endurance than wild-type (WT) animals under diabetes. While multiple organs were involved in the mechanism, cardiac-specific overexpression (beyond levels observed during diabetes) using adenoassociated virus suggests that high levels of myocardial ARRDC4 have the potential to contribute to exercise intolerance by interfering with cardiac metabolism through its interaction with GLUT1 in diabetes. Importantly, the ARRDC4 mutation mouse line exhibited greater exercise tolerance, showing the potential therapeutic impact on diabetic cardiomyopathy by disrupting the interaction between ARRDC4 and GLUT1.
UNASSIGNED: ARRDC4 serves as a regulator of hyperglycemia-induced toxicities toward cardiac and skeletal muscle, revealing a new molecular framework that connects hyperglycemia to cardiac/skeletal myopathy to exercise intolerance.

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials in older adults are increasingly focused on functional outcomes, and the composite outcome of dementia, disability, and death is gaining pivotal importance. Genetic variation, particularly the APOE epsilon(ε) variants, may modify responses to new treatments. Although APOE ε4 is known to influence these outcomes separately, the magnitude of its effect on this composite outcome remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that APOE ε4 increases, whereas APOE ε2 decreases, the risk of a composite outcome of dementia, disability, and death.
METHODS: We evaluated clinical and genomic data from the Health and Retirement Study collected from 1992 to 2020. We used variants rs429358 and rs7412 to determine APOE genotypes, modeled dominantly (carriers/noncarriers). We conducted survival analysis, using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models with a composite endpoint of dementia, disability, and death. Our primary analysis evaluated participants with genetic data and no previous dementia or disability. In secondary analyses, we focused on persons aged > = 75 years without heart disease or stroke, a subpopulation increasingly important in clinical trials of older adults.
RESULTS: We included 14,527 participants in the primary analysis. Over a median of 18 (Interquartile Range [IQR] 12-24) years, 6711 (46%) participants developed the composite outcome. In Cox analyses, APOE ε4 associated with higher risk (HR:1.15, 95%CI:1.09-1.22) of the composite outcome, whereas APOE ε2 associated with lower risk (HR:0.92, 95%CI:0.86-0.99). In the secondary analysis, we included 3174 participants. Over a median of 7 (IQR 4-11) years, 1326 participants (42%) developed the composite outcome. In Cox analyses, APOE ε4 associated with higher risk (HR:1.25, 95%CI:1.10-1.41) of the composite outcome, whereas APOE ε2 associated with lower risk (HR:0.84, 95%CI:0.71-0.98).
CONCLUSIONS: APOE ε variants are linked to the risk of dementia, disability, and death in older adults. By examining these variants in clinical trials, we can better elucidate how they might alter the effectiveness of tested interventions. Importantly, this genetic information could help identify participants who may have greater absolute benefit from such interventions.

Tea is widely consumed in both beverages and food. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most crucial active ingredient in tea. Currently, knowledges on transformation processes of EGCG during tea processing are lacking. Understanding the chemical reactions of EGCG and its products during tea processing is important for assessing the safety of tea-containing food. Here, we revealed the formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) from EGCG under the influence of heating and light irradiation, which was substantiated with evidence. These PFRs exhibited stability for >30 min in simulated gastric fluid. Furthermore, we observed potential effects of these PFRs on DNA damage and cell cytotoxicity in vitro. By combining electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, we elucidated the pathways involved in free radical formation. These findings are expected to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of free radical chemistry in tea-containing food.

Cardiothoracic surgeons work in high-intensity environments starting in surgical training and throughout their careers. They deal with critical patients. Their routine procedures are delicate, require extensive attention to detail, and can have detrimental effects on patients\' lives. Cardiothoracic surgeons are required to perform at their best capacity incessantly. To do this, they must safeguard their mental and physical well-being. Preserving health through sleep, nutrition, exercise, and routine medical checkups ensures a cardiothoracic surgeon\'s well-being. Great personal effort and discipline is required to maintain health in a busy schedule. We offer our best recommendations from expert peers in the field.

Melatonin (MLT) is a hormone that exists in all living organisms, including bacteria, yeast, fungi, animals, and plants, many of which are ingested daily in the diet. However, the exact concentrations of melatonin in each of the foods and the effect on health of the intake of foods rich in MLT are not known. Therefore, the aim of this review was to gather the available information on the melatonin content of different foods and to evaluate the effect that this hormone has on different pathologies. The amount of MLT may vary depending on the variety, origin, heat treatment, processing, and analysis technique, among other factors. Dietary interventions with foods rich in MLT report health benefits, but there is no evidence that hormone is partially responsible for the clinical improvement. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the MLT content in more foods, as well as the effect that cooking/processing has on the amount of MLT, to estimate its total intake in a typical diet and better explore its potential impact on the health.

BACKGROUND: Self-rated health (SRH) is the perception of an individual regarding their health and an indicator of health status. Identifying predictors of SRH allows the selection of evidence-based interventions that mitigate factors leading to poor SRH and the identification of individuals at risk of worse SRH.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the acute predictors of general and time-comparative SRH of individuals with stroke at 3 and 12 months after hospital discharge, considering personal, physical, and mental functions.
METHODS: A prospective study was developed to assess general and time-comparative SRH at 3 and 12 months after hospital discharge according to 2 questions (\"In general, how would you say your health is?\" and \"Compared to a year ago, how would you rate your general health now?\"). Potential acute predictors analyzed were personal (age, sex, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, and family arrangement), physical (stroke severity, motor impairment, and independence for basic activities of daily living [ADLs]), and mental (cognitive) functions.
RESULTS: Age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.10) and independence in basic ADLs (aOR=0.29) were significant predictors of SRH at 3 months; at 12 months, no significant predictor was found. Motor impairment (aOR=3.90) was a significant predictor of time-comparative SRH at 3 months; at 12 months, sex (aOR=0.36) and independence in basic ADLs (aOR=0.32) were significant predictors.
CONCLUSIONS: At 3 months, individuals with stroke who were ≥65 years old and dependent on basic ADLs were more likely to have worse general SRH, while those with higher motor impairments were more likely to have worse time-comparative SRH. At 12 months, women and individuals dependent on basic ADLs were more likely to have worse time-comparative SRH.