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Weight and skin-fold measurements were made at five-day intervals during a 47-day expedition by six men and three women from the edge of the sea ice to the South Pole. From these, together with detailed manual records of the nutrition for individual participants, the average daily energy expenditure was determined before and after a resupply at approximately mid-point of the expedition. For all participants body weight fell during the expedition with the overall loss being much smaller for the three female participants (-4.0, -4.0, -4.4kg) than for the male participants, (mean±sd) -8.6±2.0kg. Fat weight fell approximately linearly during the expedition with a total loss of (-4.1, -6.5 and -2.5kg) for the three female participants and -6.8±1.7kg for the male participants. Individual fat-free weight changed by a smaller amount overall: (0.13, 2.5 and -1.8kg) for the three female participants; -1.8±2.0kg for the male participants who, with one exception, lost fat-free tissue All participants showed a substantial variation in fat-free tissue weight during the expedition. Analysis of the daily energy expenditure showed adequate nutrition but the intake fell for the second part of the expedition although the reasons for this are unclear, but adaptation to the cold, altitude and workload are possible explanations. The validity of this time-averaged measurement for individual participants was determined from analysing moments about the mean of time-series actigraphy data from wrist worn devices. The mean and autocorrelation function of the actigraphy data across subjects were analysed to determine whether measures could be compared between participants. The first, second and third moment about the mean of the day-to-day activity was found to be time-invariant for individual subjects (χ2, p>0.05) and the normalized mean and autocorrelation measured over a day for each participant indistinguishable from the mean of the group (χ2, p>0.05) allowing both longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionThere are numerous findings over the past decade have indicated that Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) may have two pathways of pathogenesis: one related to ultraviolet irradiation and the other to the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). However, the predictive and clinicopathological value of MCPyV positivity in MCC patients is still debatable. This article aims to examine the most recent data regarding this issue.MethodsThe thorough literature searches were conducted in the Medline Ovid, PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane CENTRAL Databases, and Embase Databases until December 31, 2021. The associations between overall survival (OS), Merkel cell carcinoma-specific survival (MSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), clinicopathologic features, and MCPyV positivity were examined in our meta-analysis.ResultsThis meta-analysis included a total of 14 studies involving 1595 patients. Our findings demonstrated a significant correlation between MCPyV positivity and improved OS (HR=0.61, 95%CI:0.39-0.94, P=0.026) and improved PFS (HR=0.61, 95% CI: 0.45-0.83, P=0.002). MCPyV positivity did not, however, appear to be associated with either MSS (HR=0.61, 95%CI: 0.28-1.32, P=0.209) or RFS (HR= 0.93, 95%CI: 0.37-2.34, P=0.873). Pooled results revealed a correlation between MCPyV positivity with gender (male vs. female, OR=0.606, 95%CI: 0.449-0.817, P=0.001), histopathological stage (AJCC I-II vs. III-IV, OR=1.636, 95%CI: 1.126-2.378, P=0.010) and primary site (head and neck vs. other sites, OR=0.409, 95%CI: 0.221-0.757, P=0.004).ConclusionThese results imply that MCPyV positivity may present a promising predictive biomarker for human MCC and call for further study.

Parasympathetic nerves are a vital component of the progenitor cell niche during development, maintaining a pool of progenitors for organogenesis. Injured adult organs do not regenerate after parasympathectomy, and there are few treatments to improve organ regeneration, particularly after damage by therapeutic irradiation. Here we show that restoring parasympathetic function with the neurotrophic factor neurturin increases epithelial organ regeneration after damage. We use mouse salivary gland explant culture containing fluorescently labelled progenitors, and injure the tissue with irradiation. The progenitors survive, parasympathetic function is diminished and epithelial apoptosis reduces the expression of neurturin, which increases neuronal apoptosis. Treatment with neurturin reduces neuronal apoptosis, restores parasympathetic function and increases epithelial regeneration. Furthermore, adult human salivary glands damaged by irradiation also have reduced parasympathetic innervation. We propose that neurturin will protect the parasympathetic nerves from damage and improve organ regeneration. This concept may be applicable for other organs where parasympathetic innervation influences their function.