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Cis‐regulatory elements (CREs), or enhancers, are segments of noncoding DNA that regulate the spatial and temporal expression of nearby genes. Sometimes, genes are expressed in more than one tissue, and this can be driven by two main types of CREs: tissue‐specific "modular" CREs, where different CREs drive expression of the gene in the different tissues, or by "pleiotropic" CREs, where the same CRE drives expression in the different tissues. In this perspective, we will discuss some of the ways (i) modular and pleiotropic CREs might originate; (ii) propose that modular CREs might derive from pleiotropic CREs via a process of duplication, degeneration, and complementation (the CRE‐DDC model); and (iii) propose that hotspot loci of evolution are associated with the origin of modular CREs belonging to any gene in a regulatory network. Research Highlights: Here we discuss some of the ways (i) modular and pleiotropic Cis‐regulatory elements (CREs) might originate; (ii) propose that many modular CREs might derive from pleiotropic CREs via a process of duplication, degeneration, and complementation (the CRE‐DDC model); and (iii) propose that hotspot loci of evolution are associated with the origin of modular CREs belonging to any gene in a regulatory network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors determining individuality are still poorly understood. Rodents are excellent model organisms to study individuality, due to a rich behavioral repertoire and the availability of well-characterized isogenic populations. However, most current behavioral assays for rodents have short test duration in novel test environments and require human interference, which introduce coercion, thereby limiting the assessment of naturally occurring individuality. Thus, we developed an automated behavior system to longitudinally monitor conditioned fear for assessing PTSD-like behavior in individual mice. The system consists of a safe home compartment connected to a risk-prone test compartment (TC). Entry and exploration of the TC is solely based on deliberate choice determined by individual fear responsiveness and fear extinction. In this novel ethological assay, C57BL/6J mice show homogeneous responses after shock exposure (innate fear), but striking variation in long-lasting fear responses based on avoidance and risk assessment (learned fear), including automated stretch-attend posture quantification. TC entry (retention) latencies after foot shock differed >24 h and the re-explored TC area differed >50% among inbred mice. Next, we compared two closely related C57BL/6 substrains. Despite substantial individual differences, previously observed higher fear of C57BL/6N versus C57BL/6J mice was reconfirmed, whereas fear extinction was fast and did not differ. The observed variation in fear expression in isogenic mice suggests individual differences in coping style with PTSD-like avoidance. Investigating the assumed epigenetic mechanisms, with reduced interpretational ambiguity and enhanced translational value in this assay, may help improve understanding of personality type-dependent susceptibility and resilience to neuropsychiatric disorders such as PTSD.

Introduction: Asthma control is the extent of observed asthma symptoms in patients and reduction in symptoms after treatment. Simple screening tools are available to assess asthma control. Asthma control test is a simple numerical scoring system that can be easily used on a routine basis. Latest Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines stress that asthma control is the main objective of asthma treatment. In this COVID pandemic situation, there is an hesitancy in performing and undergoing pulmonary function tests among physicians and the patients. Hence, in this study was planned to correlate the asthma control test values with FEV1 and other parameters like Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), Absolute Eosinophil Count (AEC) and serum magnesium. Aim: To study the correlation between asthma control test and FEV1; To study the correlation between asthma control test and other parameters like PEFR, AEC and Serum magnesium. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at Department of Pulmonary Medicine. It is a cross-sectional observational study done from February 2019 to January 2020. Sample size was 55. Patients of Bronchial Asthma in line with GINA Guidelines were included in the study. Results: Asthma control test had positive correlation with FEV1 with a spearman’s correlation of 0.2758 and p-value of 0.0414 which was statistically significant. The spearman’s correlation between Asthma control test and AEC was -0.4583 with a p-value of <0.001, which was significant. The correlation of asthma control test with serum magnesium was 0.3414 with a p-value of 0.010. Conclusion: Asthma control test score had a significant positive correlation with FEV1 and serum magnesium levels. It also had significant negative correlation with AEC (inflammatory marker). Hence, Asthma control test can be used as tool for treatment response in the current COVID pandemic situation and also in resource limited settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foamed fluids with carbon dioxide in the gas phase have been recently studied as fracturing fluids to develop unconventional resources. This type of fracturing fluid is superior to water- or oil-based fracturing fluids for unconventional reservoirs, which are prone to damage by clay swelling and blocking of pore throats in water- or oil-rich environments. Conventional CO2 foams with surfactants have low durability under high temperature and high pressure, which limit their application. Nanoparticles provide a new technique to stabilize CO2 foams under harsh reservoir conditions. As CO2 foams will be applied as carrier fluids for proppant transport, it is essential to determine the in situ rheology of CO2 foams stabilized by nanoparticles under reservoir conditions in order to predict proppant transport and effective microchannels in reservoir fractures for improving oil production. This work studied the in situ shear viscosity and foam stability of supercritical CO2 foams stabilized by nanosilica (SiO2) in the flow loop apparatus with shear rates of 5950-17850 s-1 at a pressure of 1140 ± 20 psig and a temperature of 40 °C. Supercritical CO2 with density of 0.2-0.4 g/mL and viscosity of 0.02-0.04 cP under typical reservoir conditions was applied to generate foams. The foams were tested with high foam qualities up to 80% to minimize the usage of water. The effects of shear rates, surfactant, foam quality, salinity, and nanoparticle size on the rheology of gas foams were experimentally investigated. The foam texture and stability were observed through an in-line sapphire tube after generation under reservoir conditions. Finely textured and stable foams with high foam quality were generated. CO2 foams generated by different systems and gas qualities showed complex rheology and stability. The rheology of the foams demonstrated both shear-thinning and shear-thickening behaviors. The salinity significantly affects the foam behaviors by greatly decreasing foam stability, resulting in foam rheology in two ways depending on components, foam quality, and shear rates. While the viscosities and interfacial affinity of CO2 foams stabilized by nanoparticles under atmospheric pressure have been widely studied recently, no work has been reported to study the dynamic rheological behaviors of CO2 foams stabilized by nanoparticles and their stability/morphology after shearing under high pressure and elevated temperature. This research provides a pioneering insight into the rheology of viscous supercritical CO2 foams stabilized by nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed: The proactive strategy of village health volunteers could help decrease the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Thailand. This research aimed to study the factors that influence the operation of the COVID-19 Control Centre in the village health volunteer communities in Thailand. Thai village health volunteers are trained in infection control education, so they could help control the spread of COVID-19 in the country. This questionnaire study examined factors related to the work of volunteers who could influence the outcomes of initiatives of the COVID-19 Control Centre in Thailand., Method: A questionnaire was used that gathered demographic data about the volunteers in section 1, assessed the factors influencing the operation of the control centre in section 2, and evaluated the operation of the control centre in section 3. A predictive correlational design was conducted with 10 400 village health volunteers nationwide. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the reliability of the instrument, with a score range of .773 to .917. The data were analysed using multiple regression analysis., Results: Factors associated with the volunteers that could influence their implementation of the initiatives of the Thai COVID-19 Control Centre were disease severity awareness (β = .196), preventive health behaviours (β = .159), organisational support awareness (β = .167), motivation (β = .120), and work duration (β = .036). These five factors yielded 26% variance (adj. R 2  = .260, p < .001)., Conclusion: The village health volunteers have an important role in implementing the initiatives of the Thai COVID-19 Control Centre. The key findings suggest that disease severity awareness, preventive health behaviour, and organisational support awareness are critical factors influencing the operation of the COVID-19 Control Centre by village health volunteers in Thailand. Understanding and addressing these factors could contribute to early and effective interventions in managing the spread of COVID-19 and potentially future other epidermics. SO WHAT?: These outcomes may positively contribute to effective early interventions as well as appropriate responses to the spread of COVID-19 and to be better prepared to tackle future infectious threats. Further support for the village health volunteers is warranted to determine their efficacy., (© 2023 Australian Health Promotion Association.)

(1) Objectives : The primary objective is to compare the rate of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) between women with diet-controlled gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and those with non-GDM, and to assess whether or not diet-controlled GDM is an independent factor of LGA fetuses. The secondary objectives are to compare the rates of other common adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia, cesarean section rate, preterm birth, and low Apgar score, between pregnancies with diet-controlled GDM and non-GDM pregnancies. (2) Methods : A retrospective cohort study was conducted on singleton pregnancies, diagnosed with GDM and non-GDM between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation, based on a two-step screening test. The prospective database of the obstetric department was accessed to retrieve the records meeting the inclusion criteria, and full medical records were comprehensively reviewed. The patients were categorized into two groups, GDM (study group) and non-GDM (control group). The main outcome was the rate of LGA newborns, and the secondary outcomes included pregnancy-induced hypertension, preterm birth, cesarean rate, low Apgar scores, etc. (3) Results : Of 1364 recruited women, 1342 met the inclusion criteria, including 1177 cases in the non-GDM group and 165 (12.3%) in the GDM group. Maternal age and pre-pregnancy BMI were significantly higher in the GDM group. The rates of LGA newborns, PIH, and cesarean section were significantly higher in the GDM group (15.1% vs. 7.1%, p -value < 0.001; 7.8% vs. 2.6%, p -value = 0.004; and 54.5% vs. 41.5%, p -value = 0.002; respectively). On logistic regression analysis, GDM was not significantly associated with LGA (odds ratio 1.64, 95% CI: 0.97-2.77), while BMI and gender were still significantly associated with LGA. Likewise, GDM was not significantly associated with the rate of PIH (odds ratio: 1.7, 95% CI: 0.825-3.504), while BMI and maternal age were significantly associated with PIH, after controlling confounding factors. (4) Conclusions : The rates of LGA newborns, PIH, and cesarean section are significantly higher in women with diet-controlled GDM than those with non-GDM. Nevertheless, the rates of LGA newborns and PIH are not directly caused by GDM but mainly caused high pre-pregnancy BMI and advanced maternal age, which are more commonly encountered among women with GDM.