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The field of evolutionary health is relatively new, and over the last several decades, has come to signify the interest in the extent of mismatch between factors common in our modern world, and our evolutionary milieu, which is a combination of genetic and environmental interactions that have influenced our development over the course of many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years.We have covered a wide variety of topics during our conferences; this includes, brain function, sleep and light, various components of the diet, aging, cardiovascular disease, human brain development, exercise, bone health, obesity, vitamin levels, hormonal regulation, inflammation and cancer, with the emphasis on the degree of mismatch between our hominid ancestors and modern humans today. With this most recent conference, we have added topics such as psychological and physical stress, the gut microbiome and the potential role of biomimetics in environmental stressors.We’d like to thank the Journal of Evolutionary Health for allowing us to publish some of the abstracts from our most recent conference.

In this qualitative study, we intend to discuss how adolescent students in a Brazilian public school classroom define their body image and personalize the themes "beauty standards" and "fatness." Grounded on a critical approach to language teaching, these two social themes were problematized in eight lessons of "Ensino Médio" (secondary education). The discussion of the empirical material suggests that (1) body image is strongly connected to gendered relations, making life experiences of men and women different based on the bodies they have, and (2) beauty standard and fatness are strongly related to students' lives since twelve out of nineteen students personalized the themes by telling oppressive stories they went through because of their bodies.

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a noninvasive real-time imaging technique that has been widely used for the diagnosis of skin cancer. More recently, it has been reported as a useful tool for the diagnosis and management of several inflammatory and infectious skin disorders. This article provides an overview of the current available applications of RCM use in cutaneous infections and infestations. PubMed was used to search the following terms in various combinations: reflectance confocal microscopy, skin, hair, nail, infection, parasitosis, mycosis, virus, bacteria. All papers were accordingly reviewed. In most cutaneous infections or infestations, the main alterations are found in the epidermis and upper dermis, where the accuracy of confocal microscopy is nearly similar to that of histopathology. The high resolution of this technique allows the visualization of most skin parasites, fungi, and a few bacteria. Although viruses cannot be identified because of their small size, viral cytopathic effects can be observed on keratinocytes. In addition, RCM can be used to monitor the response to treatment, thereby reducing unnecessary treatments.

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin disease characterized by intense itch and eczematous skin lesions. Some patients with AD continue to experience flares and substantial clinical burden, despite ongoing systemic treatment. Objectives To assess the efficacy and safety of once-daily upadacitinib (UPA), initiated at 15 mg and dose-escalated to 30 mg based on clinical response, compared with dupilumab (DUPI) as per its label, and present the week 16 primary analysis results. Methods Level Up is a phase IIIb/IV global randomized open-label efficacy assessor-blinded study evaluating UPA vs. DUPI in adolescents and adults with moderate-to-severe AD who had an inadequate response to systemic therapy or when use was inadvisable. Patients were randomized to UPA or DUPI for 16 weeks of treatment (period 1). Patients on UPA were started on 15 mg and dose-escalated to 30 mg if they did not achieve an Eczema Area and Severity Index reduction of at least 50% (EASI 50) or a ≥ 4-point Worst Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (WP-NRS) improvement on or after week 4, or an EASI reduction of at least 75% (EASI 75) on or after week 8. The primary endpoint was simultaneous achievement of an EASI reduction of at least 90% (EASI 90) and WP-NRS 0/1 at week 16. Ranked secondary endpoints included skin and itch responses at varying response levels and timepoints. Safety measures were assessed throughout the study. Results Superior efficacy in achieving simultaneous EASI 90 and WP-NRS 0/1 response at week 16 was demonstrated with UPA vs. DUPI (19.9% vs 8.9%, respectively; P < 0.001). UPA showed superiority over DUPI for all ranked secondary endpoints, with post hoc analyses exhibiting higher itch response rates as early as day 2. No new safety signals were identified in this period. Conclusions Treatment of moderate-to-severe AD with UPA, initiated at 15 mg and dose-escalated based on clinical response, demonstrated superiority over DUPI per its label for the primary endpoint of simultaneous achievement of near-complete skin clearance (EASI 90) and little-to-no itch (WP-NRS 0/1) at week 16, with all ranked secondary endpoints demonstrating superiority at varying skin and itch response levels and timepoints. No new safety signals were identified vs. the previously reported safety profiles of UPA and DUPI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a phylogeny-aware framework for predicting linear B-cell epitope (LBCE)-containing regions within proteins. Our approach leverages evolutionary information by using a taxonomic scaffold to build models trained on hierarchically structured data. The resulting models present performance equivalent or superior to generalist methods, despite using simpler features and a fraction of the data volume required by current state-of-the-art predictors. This allows the utilization of available data for major pathogen lineages to facilitate the prediction of LBCEs for emerging infectious agents. We demonstrate the efficacy of our approach by predicting new LBCEs in the monkeypox (MPXV) and vaccinia viruses. Experimental validation of selected targets using sera from infected patients confirms the presence of LBCEs, including candidates for the differential serodiagnosis of recent MPXV infections. These results point to the use of phylogeny-aware predictors as a useful strategy to facilitate the targeted development of immunodiagnostic tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify potential predictors of prolonged length of hospital stay in patients submitted to lung resection surgery. Materials and methods: This is a cohort study, carried out in 105 patients with lung cancer, submitted to posterolateral thoracotomy pulmonary resection. Data collection included preoperative assessment of demographic, clinical, pulmonary function, respiratory muscle function, physical fitness, and behavioral habits. After surgery, length of hospital stay was documented, and the sample was divided into two groups according to the length of hospital stay (LOS): the normal hospital stay group (NLOS) until 8 days, and the prolonged hospital stay group (PLOS) with more than 8 days of hospital stay. Multiple linear regressions were performed between length of hospital stay and the studied variables, for the total sample and, specifically, for the PLOS group. Results: The multiple linear regression for the total sample, the most explanatory power variables were TLC, MIP, PEF, and BMI. When considering only the PLOS, the variables that mostly explained were the MIP%, MEP and TLC%. Conclusion: Besides the classic outcomes used to calculate surgical risk, the body mass index, respiratory muscle strength, peak expiratory flow, and total lung capacity are predictors of the variation on length of hospital stay in patients submitted to lung resection. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: The addition of the respiratory muscles function in the preoperative assessment, might contribute to predict prolonged hospital stay in patients submitted to lung resection surgery. Respiratory muscle strength might be included in a prehabilitation program for patients selected to lung resection surgery. The preoperative respiratory muscle strength increment might contribute to reduce economic cost related to prolonged hospital stay after pulmonary resection surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Experimental and small human studies have indicated that high total adiponectin levels have beneficial cardiometabolic effects. In contrast, however, high total adiponectin levels are also associated with higher all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality in thoroughly adjusted epidemiological studies. To gain further insight into these seemingly contradictory results, we report results on total adiponectin from the indigenous Melanesian population of Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, where an apparent absence of cardiometabolic disease has been previously reported. Methods: Fasting levels of serum total adiponectin were measured cross‐sectionally in ≥40‐year‐old Kitavans (n = 102) and Swedish controls matched for age and sex (n = 108). Multivariable linear regression was used for the analysis of associations with total adiponectin when controlled for group, sex, smoking, hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes, age, and body mass index. Results: Total adiponectin was lower for Kitavans compared to Swedish controls (Median [Mdn] 4.6 μg/mL, range 1.0–206 μg/mL and Mdn 9.7 μg/mL, range 3.1–104 μg/mL, respectively, r =.64, p <.001). Lower total adiponectin was associated with Kitavan group, male sex (only in Swedish controls), smoking (only in Kitavans and Swedish controls combined), younger age (not in Swedish controls), higher BMI, lower total, low‐density lipoprotein, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) (only in Kitavans and Swedish controls combined), and non‐HDL cholesterol, and higher anti‐PC IgG (only in Kitavans and Swedish controls combined). Conclusion: Total adiponectin in Kitavans was significantly lower than in Swedish controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]