Title: Want to Maintain Muscle? Frequency of Workouts Is Key
Category: Health News
Created: 8/22/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/22/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Want That Pill to Work Fast? Your Body Position Matters
Category: Health News
Created: 8/17/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/17/2022 12:00:00 AM

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies have been instrumental in investigating biological questions at the bulk and single-cell levels. Comparative analysis of two HTS data sets often relies on testing the statistical significance for the difference of two negative binomial distributions (DOTNB). Although negative binomial distributions are well studied, the theoretical results for DOTNB remain largely unexplored. Here, we derive basic analytical results for DOTNB and examine its asymptotic properties. As a state-of-the-art application of DOTNB, we introduce DEGage, a computational method for detecting differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in scRNA-seq data. DEGage calculates the mean of the sample-wise differences of gene expression levels as the test statistic and determines significant differential expression by computing the P-value with DOTNB. Extensive validation using simulated and real scRNA-seq data sets demonstrates that DEGage outperforms five popular DEG analysis tools: DEGseq2, DEsingle, edgeR, Monocle3, and scDD. DEGage is robust against high dropout levels and exhibits superior sensitivity when applied to balanced and imbalanced data sets, even with small sample sizes. We utilize DEGage to analyze prostate cancer scRNA-seq data sets and identify marker genes for 17 cell types. Furthermore, we apply DEGage to scRNA-seq data sets of mouse neurons with and without fear memory and reveal eight potential memory-related genes overlooked in previous analyses. The theoretical results and supporting software for DOTNB can be widely applied to comparative analyses of dispersed count data in HTS and broad research questions.

Most studies of genome organization have focused on intrachromosomal (cis) contacts because they harbor key features such as DNA loops and topologically associating domains. Interchromosomal (trans) contacts have received much less attention, and tools for interrogating potential biologically relevant trans structures are lacking. Here, we develop a computational framework that uses Hi-C data to identify sets of loci that jointly interact in trans. This method, trans-C, initiates probabilistic random walks with restarts from a set of seed loci to traverse an input Hi-C contact network, thereby identifying sets of trans-contacting loci. We validate trans-C in three increasingly complex models of established trans contacts: the Plasmodium falciparum var genes, the mouse olfactory receptor "Greek islands," and the human RBM20 cardiac splicing factory. We then apply trans-C to systematically test the hypothesis that genes coregulated by the same trans-acting element (i.e., a transcription or splicing factor) colocalize in three dimensions to form "RNA factories" that maximize the efficiency and accuracy of RNA biogenesis. We find that many loci with multiple binding sites of the same DNA-binding proteins interact with one another in trans, especially those bound by factors with intrinsically disordered domains. Similarly, clustered binding of a subset of RNA-binding proteins correlates with trans interaction of the encoding loci. We observe that these trans-interacting loci are close to nuclear speckles. These findings support the existence of trans-interacting chromatin domains (TIDs) driven by RNA biogenesis. Trans-C provides an efficient computational framework for studying these and other types of trans interactions, empowering studies of a poorly understood aspect of genome architecture.

The neuronal nucleus houses a meticulously organized genome. Within this structure, genetic material is not simply compacted but arranged into a precise and functional 3D chromatin landscape essential for cellular regulation. This mini-review highlights the importance of this chromatin landscape in healthy neurodevelopment, as well as the diseases that occur with aberrant chromatin architecture. We discuss insights into the fundamental mechanistic relationship between histone modifications, DNA methylation, and genome organization. We then discuss findings that reveal how these epigenetic features change throughout normal neurodevelopment. Finally, we highlight single-gene neurodevelopmental disorders that illustrate the interdependence of epigenetic features, showing how disruptions in DNA methylation or genome architecture can ripple across the entire epigenome. As such, we emphasize the importance of measuring multiple chromatin architectural aspects, as the disruption of one mechanism can likely impact others in the intricate epigenetic network. This mini-review underscores the vast gaps in our understanding of chromatin structure in neurodevelopmental diseases and the substantial research needed to understand the interplay between chromatin features and neurodevelopment.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has developed a robust CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls) Framework to enhance the likelihood of successful vaccine development. This Framework serves as a comprehensive guide, aiding developers in building effective strategies to overcome the challenges posed by the different phases of vaccine development, including the ones often referred to as the "valleys of death". The Framework lists stage-appropriate deliverables, categorized and refined, spanning five key areas: manufacturing process, formulation and stability, analytics, supply chain, and compliance. By emphasizing the critical aspects of CMC development, CEPI's objective is to expedite the progression of vaccine candidates from research to deployment, reducing delays, mitigating risks, and optimizing the overall development process, all while upholding uncompromising quality standards, ultimately increasing the probability of success.

Neural reflexes occupy a central role in physiological homeostasis. The vagus nerve is a major conduit for transmitting afferent and efferent signals in homeostatic reflex arcs between the body and the brain. Recent advances in neuroscience, immunology, and physiology have revealed important vagus nerve mechanisms in suppressing inflammation and treating rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions. Numerous clinical trials indicate that there is significant benefit to vagus nerve stimulation therapy. Although many questions are still unanswered, it will be important, even necessary, to pursue answers that will be useful in guiding interventions to modulate immunological and physiological homeostasis.

ABSTRACTThe private health care sector is an important source of service delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet, the private sector remains fragmented, making it difficult for health system actors to support and ensure the availability of quality health care services. In global health programs, social franchising is one model used to engage and organize the private health care sector. Two social franchise networks, ProFam in West Africa and Tunza in East and Central Africa, provide health care through branded networks of facilities. However, these social franchise networks include a limited number of private health care facilities, and in fragile contexts, like Burundi and Mali, they have faced challenges in integrating with national health systems. The MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery (MPHD) project in Burundi and Mali sought to expand the number of health facilities it engaged beyond the existing ProFam and Tunza networks. The expansion aimed to help improve service quality in more private facilities while advancing localization and reducing fragmentation for improved stewardship by health system actors. MPHD achieved this expansion by removing barriers for private health facilities to join inclusive, nonbranded networks and engaging local partners to build and maintain these networks. We share lessons learned regarding the growing role of local organizations as actors within mixed health systems and provide insights on strengthening stewardship of the increasingly heterogeneous private health care delivery sector in LMICs, particularly in fragile settings.

ABSTRACTWe describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a novel twinning approach: the Twinning Partnership Network (TPN). Twinning is a well-known approach to peer learning that has been used in a variety of settings to build organizational capacity. Although twinning takes many forms, the heart of the approach is that institutions with shared characteristics collaborate via sharing information and experiences to achieve a specific goal. We adapted a twinning partnership strategy developed by the World Health Organization to create a network of like-minded health institutions. The key innovation of the TPN is the network, which ensures that an institution always has a high-performing peer with whom to partner on a specific topic area of interest. We identified 10 hospitals and 30 districts in Rwanda to participate in the TPN. These districts and hospitals participated in a kickoff workshop in which they identified capacity gaps, clarified goals, and selected twinning partners. After the workshop, districts and hospitals participated in exchange visits, coaching visits, and virtual and in-person learning events. We found that districts and hospitals that selected specific areas and worked on them throughout the duration of the TPN with their peers improved their performance significantly when compared with those that selected and worked on other areas. Accreditation scores improved by 5.6% more in hospitals selecting accreditation than those that did not. Districts that selected improving community-based health insurance coverage improved by 4.8% more than districts that did not select this topic area. We hypothesize that these results are due to senior management’s interest and motivation to improve in these specific areas, the motivation gained by learning from high-performing peers with similar resources, and context-specific knowledge sharing from peer hospitals and districts.

BackgroundLong-term health conditions are major challenges for care systems. Social prescribing link workers have been introduced via primary care networks (PCNs) across England since 2019 to address the wider determinants of health by connecting individuals to activities, groups, or services within their local community.AimTo assess whether the rollout of social prescribing link workers was in areas with the highest need.Design and settingA retrospective study of social prescribing link workers in England from 2019 to 2023.MethodWorkforce, population, survey, and area-level data at the PCN-level from April 2020 to October 2023 were combined. Population need before the rollout of link workers was measured using reported lack of support from local services in the 2019 General Practice Patient Survey. To assess if rollout reflected need, linear regression was used to relate provision of link workers (measured by full-time equivalent [FTE] per 10 000 patients) in each quarter to population need for support.ResultsPopulations in urban, more deprived areas and with higher proportions of people from minority ethnic groups had the highest reported lack of support. Geographically these were in the North West and London. Initially, there was no association between need and provision; then from July 2022, this became negative and significant. By October 2023, a 10-percentage point higher need for support was associated with a 0.035 (95% confidence interval = −0.634 to −0.066) lower FTE per 10 000 patients.ConclusionRollout of link workers has not been sufficiently targeted at areas with the highest need. Future deployments should be targeted at those areas.

Practicing family medicine is really hard; the emotional toll of sharing patients’ distress, vulnerability, and trauma can build up and become overwhelming. A family physician experienced such a moment during one particularly complex morning. Feeling nearly ready to walk out of patient care, she reached out to the team nurse, who helped her get through the moment and re-engage with the waiting patients. Sharing vulnerability in the moment, and later reflecting and deciding to write about it shows the power of prioritizing teamwork in practice.

HBO's Casey Bloys was asked about the Game of Thrones author's spicy take on House of the Dragon season two.

It will likely release in 2026 and feature Apple Intelligence, according to a reliable analyst.

Video game workers face challenges from employers in their efforts to unionize in Canada.

The post Dual boss battle: video game workers face-off multiple employers at once appeared first on rabble.ca.

With 420,000 Quebec public sector workers on strike on Monday, and with little progress in negotiations, the Front Commun promises further strike action.

The post Hundreds of thousands of Quebec public sector workers vow further strike action appeared first on rabble.ca.

The City of Vancouver council has reneged on a previous commitment to a living wage for its employees.

The post City of Vancouver to lowest paid workers: Let them eat cuts! appeared first on rabble.ca.

A national review of social work in Scotland has been launched in a bid to address ‘systemic racism’ within the sector.

Sir Keir Starmer's beleaguered former chief of staff will no longer take up the position of “envoy to the nations and regions.”

Robert wants to be Tuxedo Mask, but with food and goggles. Kelley plays Find the Smell every day. Chris longs for freedom from his loot torture.

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Computer code dating back to the 1960s is still vital to banks, airlines and governments, but programmers familiar with the language are in short supply. Now AI models are being trained to fill the skills gap

A new design for a nuclear battery that generates electricity from the radioactive decay of americium is unprecedentedly efficient

It is thought that humans can only maintain relationships with around 150 people, a figure known as Dunbar's number, but it seems that AI models can outstrip this and reach consensus in far bigger groups

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If rumours are true and this one should be, I started it, we have a special edition of the Weekend show where we talk about the evolution of the role of the CIO with two incredible CIOs as the CIO Association of Canada turns 20. Don’t miss it.  MUSIC UP Can HP make you love […]

Artificial intelligence can be the key to unlocking better relationships with work, HP revealed in its new Work Relationship Index (WRI) report. “AI represents a significant opportunity to transform our work dynamics and unlock a more positive and productive environment for all,” stated Dave Shull, president of HP Workforce Solutions at HP Inc.. “To foster […]

Two pioneers of artificial intelligence have won the Nobel Prize in physics for discoveries and inventions that formed the building blocks of machine learning.

Featuring the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5750G, this case=heatsink PC costs from $2,179.

DNA methylation is one of several epigenetic mechanisms crucial for regulating gene expression in eukaryotic organisms.

The post Scientists Investigate Inner Workings of DNA Methylation in Plants appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Jay-yi Nah is an underwater archaeological site dating to the Early Classic Maya period (250-600 CE) that focused on salt production for local use or perhaps local production for down-the-line trading.

The post Earliest-Known Maya Salt Works Discovered in Belize appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Blood tests have shown that about 7 per cent of workers on dairy farms that had H5N1 outbreaks had antibodies against the disease

“I used to be proud of my work and excited about my future here. I don't feel that anymore."

The reboot will be a darker version of the '90s sitcom.

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"If we hold strong together, we will come through this."

One of the leading contenders to be Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary cut his teeth in the belly of the beast: George Soros's hedge fund.

The post How Scott Bessent Fought The Left While Working in George Soros’s Hedge Fund appeared first on Breitbart.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisor fired for telling workers to avoid homes with Trump signs or flags said in an interview Tuesday that "senior leadership" at FEMA was well-aware of this guidance and it was not an isolated incident.

The post Ex-FEMA Worker Claims Leadership Knew Workers Were Avoiding Homes with Trump Signs appeared first on Breitbart.

Susan Holt, who repeatedly emphasized her differences with the prime minister leading up to last month’s election, was on more welcoming terms Tuesday after their first official meeting in Fredericton.

With a macrotrend/backdrop of platformization and convergence, the industry is exploring places where identity security, endpoint security, and network security naturally meet.

The post Identity, Endpoint, and Network Security Walk into a Bar appeared first on Gigaom.

A federal administrative law judge says Amazon interfered in the last election on unionization at its warehouse in Bessemer, Ala.

While initial rumors suggested that Kinberg’s trilogy might continue the iconic Skywalker Saga, insiders have clarified that the upcoming series will chart new territory within the ‘Star Wars’ universe

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Continue reading "Exclusive: Dinosaur Polo Club Interview – CEO Amie Wolken on Mini Metro, Mini Motorways, the Team, Free DLC, Working With Apple, Ports, and More"

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home has been a very interesting game to follow pre-release. I say this not only because …

Continue reading "‘Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home’ iOS Review – A Great Start, but Needs More Work"

President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations, including workplace raids like those that took place during his first term at chicken processing plants in rural Mississippi.

The grant program provides hardware startups with reimbursement for working with local manufacturers.

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Actor recalled angry phone call with Murphy in which she claims he ‘ripped’ into her

Bill MacDonnell's paintings are on display at the Military Museums in Calgary through Remembrance Day and into 2025.

The union representing Canada Post workers said it will be in a legal strike position on Friday, exactly one year after talks on a new contract began. But the union is holding back on deciding whether a job action will take place immediately.