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Dysfunction of the serotoninergic and glutamatergic systems is implicated in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) together with various neuroinflammatory mediators. As the kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan degradation is activated in neuroinflammatory states, we hypothesized that there may be a link between inflammation in ASD and enhanced KP activation resulting in reduced serotonin synthesis from tryptophan and production of KP metabolites capable of modulating glutamatergic activity. A cross-sectional study of 15 different Omani families with newly diagnosed children with ASD ( n = 15) and their age-matched healthy siblings ( n = 12) was designed. Immunological profile and the KP metabolic signature were characterized in the study participants. Our data indicated that there were alterations to the KP in ASD. Specifically, increased production of the downstream metabolite, quinolinic acid, which is capable of enhancing glutamatergic neurotransmission was noted. Correlation studies also demonstrated that the presence of inflammation induced KP activation in ASD. Until now, previous studies have failed to establish a link between inflammation, glutamatergic activity, and the KP. Our findings also suggest that increased quinolinic acid may be linked to 16p11.2 mutations leading to abnormal glutamatergic activity associated with ASD pathogenesis and may help rationalize the efficacy of sulforaphane treatment in ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 621-631. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The consumption of foods rich in carotenoids that possess significant antioxidant and inflammatory modulating properties has been linked to reduced risk of neuropathology. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between plasma carotenoid concentrations and plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers of inflammation, oxidative stress and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in an essentially healthy human cohort. Methods Thirty-eight matched CSF and plasma samples were collected from consenting participants who required a spinal tap for the administration of anaesthetic. Plasma concentrations of carotenoids and both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of NAD(H) and markers of inflammation (IL-6, TNF-α) and oxidative stress (F2-isoprostanes, 8-OHdG and total antioxidant capacity) were quantified. Results The average age of participants was 53 years (SD = 20, interquartile range = 38). Both α- carotene (P = 0.01) and β-carotene (P < 0.001) correlated positively with plasma total antioxidant capacity. A positive correlation was observed between α-carotene and CSF TNF- α levels (P = 0.02). β-cryptoxanthin (P = 0.04) and lycopene (P = 0.02) inversely correlated with CSF and plasma IL-6 respectively. A positive correlation was also observed between lycopene and both plasma (P < 0.001) and CSF (P < 0.01) [NAD(H)]. Surprisingly no statistically significant associations were found between the most abundant carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin and either plasma or CSF markers of oxidative stress. Conclusion Together these findings suggest that consumption of carotenoids may modulate inflammation and enhance antioxidant defences within both the central nervous system (CNS) and systemic circulation. Increased levels of lycopene also appear to moderate decline in the essential pyridine nucleotide [NAD(H)] in both the plasma and the CSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood obesity is a widespread health problem in Australia. Overweight in childhood can lead to adult overweight and the development of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Effective strategies for reducing childhood obesity are urgently required. A vegetarian diet has been shown to be an effective prophylactic to many lifestyle diseases in the adult population and may therefore be beneficial in children. However the metabolic demands of adolescents are different to adults and the impact of a vegetarian diet on CVD markers in this demographic is not certain. We compared key physiological and biochemical markers of health against responses to a modified, Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) using one-way and two-way Analysis of Variance. 215 adolescents (14-15yrs) from 5 Adventist secondary schools in the Sydney and Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia, participated in this study. Adolescents consuming predominantly vegetarian foods showed significantly better scores on markers of cardiovascular health, including, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, Cholesterol/High density lipoprotein ratio and low density lipoprotein. Adolescents consuming nuts more than once per week, also showed lower scores for BMI and serum glucose irrespective of their vegetarian status. Markers of general health including haemoglobin and average height were not different between groups; however a lower serum level of vitamin B12 was apparent in the vegetarian cohort. Surprisingly, exercise on its own was not statistically associated with any of the risk factors tested suggesting that diet may be the most significant factor in promoting health in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the unification of Vietnam in 1975 there has been a concerted effort to raise the literacy rate throughout the country. This paper reports on the overall literacy rate in Vietnam and in subsets within the country, using data from the Census of 1999. It looks at differences within each of the provinces due to gender, area of residence and ethnicity. It pays particular attention to subgroups within provinces that are most disadvantaged. The greatest differences were defined by area of residence and ethnicity. The analysis makes much use of odds ratios, logistic regression and the visual display of data in map form, techniques not widely used in educational research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The consumption of foods rich in carotenoids that possess significant antioxidant and inflammatory modulating properties has been linked to reduced risk of neuropathology. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between plasma carotenoid concentrations and plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers of inflammation, oxidative stress and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) in an essentially healthy human cohort.Methods: Thirty-eight matched CSF and plasma samples were collected from consenting participants who required a spinal tap for the administration of anaesthetic. Plasma concentrations of carotenoids and both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of NAD(H) and markers of inflammation (IL-6, TNF-α) and oxidative stress (F2-isoprostanes, 8-OHdG and total antioxidant capacity) were quantified.Results: The average age of participants was 53 years (SD=20, interquartile range=38). Both α-carotene (P=0.01) and β-carotene (P<0.001) correlated positively with plasma total antioxidant capacity. A positive correlation was observed between α-carotene and CSF TNF-α levels (P=0.02). β-cryptoxanthin (P=0.04) and lycopene (P=0.02) inversely correlated with CSF and plasma IL-6 respectively. A positive correlation was also observed between lycopene and both plasma (P<0.001) and CSF (P<0.01) [NAD(H)]. Surprisingly no statistically significant associations were found between the most abundant carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin and either plasma or CSF markers of oxidative stress.Conclusion: Together these findings suggest that consumption of carotenoids may modulate inflammation and enhance antioxidant defences within both the central nervous system (CNS) and systemic circulation. Increased levels of lycopene also appear to moderate decline in the essential pyridine nucleotide [NAD(H)] in both the plasma and the CSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Metastasis remains the major cause of death in breast cancer (BrCa) and lacks specific treatment strategies. The kynurenine pathway (KP) has been suggested as a key mechanism facilitating progression of BrCa. While KP activity has been explored in primary BrCa, its role in metastasis remains unclear. To better understand this, we examined changes in the KP of BrCa with no metastasis compared to BCa that produced local or distant metastases. Given that the cancer cell secretome plays a role in metastasis, we also investigated the relationship between changes in KP activity and serum proteins of patients with local or distant metastases., Methods: To investigate changes in the KP in BrCa, with and without metastasis, we quantified KP metabolites in blood sera collected from patients with stage 1 BrCa (n = 34), BrCa with local metastases (n = 46), BrCa with distant metastases (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 39). The serum protein profile of the BrCa patients with local or distant metastasis was determined before correlation analyses were carried out to examine the relationship between changes in the KP and cancer serum proteins using SPSS., Results: We found that the KP was elevated in BrCa patients with local and distant metastasis compared to healthy controls and stage 1 BrCa patients. The activity of kynurenine monooxygenase (KMO) and kynureninase (KYNU) A was positively associated with disease stage and was higher compared to healthy controls. Proteome analysis in patients with local or distant metastasis revealed the dysregulation of 14 proteins, 9 of which were up-regulated and 5 down-regulated at the distant metastasis stage. Importantly, three of these proteins have not been previously linked to BrCa metastasis. In the correlation studies between the KP profile, cancer serum proteins and metastasis status, KYNU A had the greatest number of significant associations with cancer serum protein, followed by KMO., Conclusion: Our findings reveal that the KP was regulated differently at various stages of BrCa and was more dysregulated in patients with local or distant metastasis. These KP activity changes showed a significant association with cancer serum proteins in BrCa patients with local or distant metastasis, highlighting the potential role of KP in BrCa metastasis., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: The study was approved by the Macquarie University Ethics Committee (Ref: 5201600401). All analyses were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Goiter, abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland, is a significant worldwide public health problem. Iodine deficiency is known as the most common cause. Iodine is actively transported as iodide ion (I - ) using Sodium Iodide Symporter (NIS) and sufficient blocking of I - transportation prevents the synthesis of thyroid hormones. The transportation can be blocked by some polyatomic anions known as I - uptake inhibitors. Perchlorate (ClO 4 - ), thiocyanate (SCN - ) and nitrate (NO 3 - ) are reported as the major I - uptake inhibitors and exposure could be through various routes. Drinking water is an important exposure route. Since water is essential to sustain life, drinking water safety is very important for the protection of public health. However, as a result of natural and human-based processes, water can be contaminated and contamination of drinking water is a global food safety problem due to causing significant health and environmental problemsIn that context, this study aims to determine exposure levels to I - uptake inhibitors that arise from drinking waters at five different districts in Antalya, Turkey. Collected water samples contained NO 3 - and ClO 4 - in the range of 0.86-47.42 mg/L and - levels were 3 - and ClO 4 - exposure levels were in the range of 115.89-375.06 and 0.07-0.22 μg/kg bw/d, respectively. Exposure levels were decreased with increasing age and the highest exposure levels were calculated for children due to their lower body weight. Although no risk was determined for the I - uptake inhibitors in tested locations based on the guideline values recommended by EPA and WHO, there has been a need for more exposure assessment studies in the areas where the high prevalence of goiter is observed all over the world., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Virtual advisors (VAs) are being utilised almost in every service nowadays from entertainment to healthcare. To increase the user's trust in these VAs and encourage the users to follow their advice, they should have the capability of explaining their decisions, particularly, when the decision is vital such as health advice. However, the role of an explainable VA in health behaviour change is understudied. There is evidence that people tend to change their intentions towards health behaviour when the persuasion message is linked to their mental state. Thus, this study explores this link by introducing an explainable VA that provides explanation according to the user's mental state (beliefs and goals) rather than the agent's mental state as commonly utilised in explainable agents. It further explores the influence of different explanation patterns that refer to beliefs, goals, or beliefs&goals on the user's behaviour change. An explainable VA was designed to advise undergraduate students how to manage their study-related stress by motivating them to change certain behaviours. With 91 participants, the VA was evaluated and the results revealed that user-specific explanation could significantly encourage behaviour change intentions and build good user-agent relationship. Small differences were found between the three types of explanation patterns., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Dysfunction of the serotoninergic and glutamatergic systems is implicated in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) together with various neuroinflammatory mediators. As the kynurenine pathway (KP) of tryptophan degradation is activated in neuroinflammatory states, we hypothesized that there may be a link between inflammation in ASD and enhanced KP activation resulting in reduced serotonin synthesis from tryptophan and production of KP metabolites capable of modulating glutamatergic activity. A cross-sectional study of 15 different Omani families with newly diagnosed children with ASD (n = 15) and their age-matched healthy siblings (n = 12) was designed. Immunological profile and the KP metabolic signature were characterized in the study participants. Our data indicated that there were alterations to the KP in ASD. Specifically, increased production of the downstream metabolite, quinolinic acid, which is capable of enhancing glutamatergic neurotransmission was noted. Correlation studies also demonstrated that the presence of inflammation induced KP activation in ASD. Until now, previous studies have failed to establish a link between inflammation, glutamatergic activity, and the KP. Our findings also suggest that increased quinolinic acid may be linked to 16p11.2 mutations leading to abnormal glutamatergic activity associated with ASD pathogenesis and may help rationalize the efficacy of sulforaphane treatment in ASD. Autism Res 2016, 9: 621-631. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (© 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)