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to examine firstly whether CLOCK exhibits a circadian expression in human visceral (V) and subcutaneous (S) adipose tissue (AT) in vitro as compared with BMAL1 and PER2, and secondly to investigate the possible effect of the glucocorticoid analogue dexamethasone (DEX) on positive and negative clock genes expression. VAT and SAT biopsies were obtained from morbid obese women (body mass index≥40 kg/m 2) (n = 6). In order to investigate rhythmic expression pattern of clock genes and the effect of DEX on CLOCK , PER2 and BMAL1 expression, control AT (without DEX) and AT explants treated with DEX (2 hours) were cultured during 24 h and gene expression was analyzed at the following times: 10:00 h, 14:00 h, 18:00 h, 22:00 h, 02:00 h and 06:00 h, using qRT-PCR. CLOCK , BMAL1 and PER2 expression exhibited circadian patterns in both VAT and SAT explants that were adjusted to a typical 24 h sinusoidal curve. PER2 expression (negative element) was in antiphase with respect to CLOCK and in phase with BMAL1 expression (both positive elements) in the SAT (situation not present in VAT). A marked effect of DEX exposure on both positive and negative clock genes expression patterns was observed. Indeed, DEX treatment modified the rhythmicity pattern towards altered patterns with a period lower than 24 hours in all genes and in both tissues. 24 h patterns in CLOCK and BMAL1 (positive clock elements) and PER2 (negative element) mRNA levels were observed in human adipose explants. These patterns were altered by dexamethasone exposure.

Time of day modulates our cognitive functions, especially those related to executive control, such as the ability to inhibit inappropriate responses. However, the impact of individual differences in time of day preferences (i.e. morning vs. evening chronotype) had not been considered by most studies. It was also unclear whether the vigilance decrement (impaired performance with time on task) depends on both time of day and chronotype. In this study, morning-type and evening-type participants performed a task measuring vigilance and response inhibition (the Sustained Attention to Response Task, SART) in morning and evening sessions. The results showed that the vigilance decrement in inhibitory performance was accentuated at non-optimal as compared to optimal times of day. In the morning-type group, inhibition performance decreased linearly with time on task only in the evening session, whereas in the morning session it remained more accurate and stable over time. In contrast, inhibition performance in the evening-type group showed a linear vigilance decrement in the morning session, whereas in the evening session the vigilance decrement was attenuated, following a quadratic trend. Our findings imply that the negative effects of time on task in executive control can be prevented by scheduling cognitive tasks at the optimal time of day according to specific circadian profiles of individuals. Therefore, time of day and chronotype influences should be considered in research and clinical studies as well as real-word situations demanding executive control for response inhibition.

This study aimed to explore the association between sleep quality and its components and both dimensions of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of young adults. The sample comprised 337 participants with a mean age of 19.6 y (SD = 2.22). Sleep quality and HRQoL were measured through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the SF-12, respectively. Regression analyses were used to investigate the association between sleep quality and HRQoL. Our results confirm the significant association between sleep quality and both physical (p = 0.015; β = −0.138; R2 = 0.07) and mental (p < 0.001; β = −0.348; R2 = 0.22) HRQoL in the adjusted models. However, our results also highlight the differential association between sleep quality and mental and physical HRQoL. Whereas all the sleep quality components (except sleep latency; p = 0.349) were significantly associated with mental HRQoL (p < 0.05), just two subscales (subjective sleep quality; p = 0.021; β = −0.143 and sleep disturbances p = 0.002; β = −0.165) showed a significant association. This study showed that there is a stronger association between sleep quality and mental health than sleep quality and physical health in young adults.

Cervical cancer (CC) is caused by high-risk human papillomavirus persistence due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment mediated by cytokines. Vaginal microbiota determines the presence of certain cytokines locally. We assessed the association between cervical microbiota diversity and the histopathological diagnosis of each stage of CC, and we evaluated mRNA cervical expression levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TGF-β1, TNF-α and IFN-γ across the histopathological diagnosis and specific bacterial clusters. We determined the cervical microbiota by high throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons and classified it in community state types (CST). Mean difference analyses between alpha-diversity and histopathological diagnosis were carried out, as well as a β-diversity analysis within the histological diagnosis. Cervical cytokine mRNA expression was analyzed across the CSTs and the histopathological diagnoses. We found a significant difference in microbiota's diversity in NCL-HPV negative women vs those with squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and CC(p = 0.006, p = 0.036).When β-diversity was evaluated, the CC samples showed the highest variation within groups (p<0.0006) and the largest distance compared to NCL-HPV negative ones (p<0.00001). The predominant bacteria in women with normal cytology were L. crispatus and L. iners, whereas for SIL, it was Sneathia spp. and for CC, Fusobacterium spp. We found higher median cervical levels of IL-4 and TGF-β1 mRNA in the CST dominated by Fusobacterium spp. These results suggest that the cervical microbiota may be implicated in cervical cancer pathology. Further cohort studies are needed to validate these findings.

This study aims to identify government influence in the adoption of e-government by citizens (AEC) through a case study analyzing actions in Antioquia, Colombia, to increase AEC in annual vehicle tax filing and payment services. We classified these actions employing institutional theory, institutional interventions, and legitimation strategies. An analysis correlating AEC actions (including the COVID-19 containment measures) with over 16 million transactions in these two services during 2015–2020 found a strong government influence on AEC. We established coercive pressure and conformance to the environment as important predictors of AEC, but the COVID-19 containment measures only influenced electronic tax payments. Service type was also an essential predictor for these services; however, mobilization was not. Increasing AEC should be considered a necessary objective for public administrations, especially in developing countries that face shortages of resources and facilities.

ObjectivesTo describe patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD) who had COVID-19 disease; to compare patients who required hospital admission with those who did not and assess risk factors for hospital admission related to COVID-19.MethodsAn observational longitudinal study was conducted during the pandemic peak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (1 March 2020 to 24 April). All patients attended at the rheumatology outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in Madrid, Spain with a medical diagnosis of AIRD and with symptomatic COVID-19 were included. The main outcome was hospital admission related to COVID-19. The covariates were sociodemographic, clinical and treatments. We ran a multivariable logistic regression model to assess risk factors for the hospital admission.ResultsThe study population included 123 patients with AIRD and COVID-19. Of these, 54 patients required hospital admission related to COVID-19. The mean age on admission was 69.7 (15.7) years, and the median time from onset of symptoms to hospital admission was 5 (3–10) days. The median length of stay was 9 (6–14) days. A total of 12 patients died (22%) during admission. Compared with outpatients, the factors independently associated with hospital admission were older age (OR: 1.08; p=0.00) and autoimmune systemic condition (vs chronic inflammatory arthritis) (OR: 3.55; p=0.01). No statistically significant findings for exposure to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were found in the final model.ConclusionOur results suggest that age and having a systemic autoimmune condition increased the risk of hospital admission, whereas disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs were not associated with hospital admission.

This study examined relations between sleep, reading and mathematics, and inattention/hyperactivity in childhood and adolescence in a sample of Australian twins (maximum n = 5524; 51% female; 95% European ancestry; M age 8.6–14.6 years). Between and within models were used to assess if (a) differences between twins, or (b) differences between families, in five facets of sleep habits were associated with academic and behavioral measures. Some sleep measures uniquely predicted reading and mathematics in some grades, but overall, sleep quality, duration, bedtime regularity, daytime sleepiness, and snoring accounted for only ~1% of the academic variance. However, sleep measures accounted for up to 7% of the variance in inattention/hyperactivity. Post hoc analyses showed that inattention mediated most of the associations between sleep and reading and mathematics outcomes that were detected. This study adds to the literature showing small and inconsistent relations between sleep and academic performance in normative samples of children and adolescents.

The genetic and environmental underpinnings of sleep quality have been widely investigated. However, less is known about the etiology of the different sleep quality components and their associations. Subjective sleep quality has been studied most commonly using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Therefore, this work aimed to study the structure of sleep quality dimensions in a population-based twin sample by examining the etiology of the associations among the PSQI components themselves and between them. The sample comprised 2129 participants from the Murcia Twin Registry. In order to study the phenotypic, genetic and environmental structure of the PSQI we used three alternative multivariate twin models including all seven sub-scales of the PSQI (subjective sleep quality, latency, duration, efficiency, disturbances, use of sleeping medication and daytime dysfunction): a multivariate model (with seven separate correlated factors), a common pathway model and an independent pathway model. The multivariate correlated factors model showed the best fit to the data. All twin models indicated significant genetic overlap among most of the PSQI components, except daytime dysfunction and use of sleep medication. Bivariate heritability explained between 25 and 50% of the covariance for most associations between dimensions. Furthermore, the common pathway model showed that around one third of the variance (0.32; CI 95% 0.18.0.43) of a latent factor common to all questionnaire dimensions is explained by genetic factors. Genetic influences on a latent factor common to all questionnaire dimensions produced the same heritability estimates as the PSQI global score. However, sleep quality dimensions showed considerable specificity regarding its genetic-environmental structure.

An appropriate exposure to the light-dark cycle, with high irradiances during the day and darkness during the night is essential to keep our physiology on time. However, considering the increasing exposure to artificial light at night and its potential harmful effects on health (i.e. chronodisruption and associated health conditions), it is essential to understand the non-visual effects of light in humans. Melatonin suppression is considered the gold standard for nocturnal light effects, and the activation of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) through the assessment of pupillary light reflex (PLR) has been recently gaining attention. Also, some theoretical models for melatonin suppression and retinal photoreceptors activation have been proposed. Our aim in this study was to determine the influence of correlated color temperature (CCT) on melatonin suppression and PLR, considering two commercial light sources, as well as to explore the possible correlation between both processes. Also, the contribution of irradiance (associated to CCT) was explored through mathematical modelling on a wider range of light sources. For that, melatonin suppression and PLR were experimentally assessed on 16 healthy and young volunteers under two light conditions (warmer, CCT 3000 K; and cooler, CCT 5700 K, at ~5·10 18 photons/cm 2 /sec). Our experimental results yielded greater post-stimulus constriction under the cooler (5700 K, 13.3 ± 1.9%) than under the warmer light (3000 K, 8.7 ± 1.2%) (p < 0.01), although no significant differences were found between both conditions in terms of melatonin suppression. Interestingly, we failed to demonstrate correlation between PLR and melatonin suppression. Although methodological limitations cannot be discarded, this could be due to the existence of different subpopulations of Type 1 ipRGCs differentially contributing to PLR and melatonin suppression, which opens the way for further research on ipRGCs projection in humans. The application of theoretical modelling suggested that CCT should not be considered separately from irradiance when designing nocturnal/diurnal illumination systems. Further experimental studies on wider ranges of CCTs and light intensities are needed to confirm these conclusions.