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IntroductionObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) represents a sleep-related impairment linked to upper airway function. The question of whether OSA drives obesity or if shared underlying factors contribute to both conditions remains unresolved. Hence, this present study aims to understand the interplay between obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and obesity through in-depth analysis of anthropometric data within control subjects and OSA patients.MethodologyA case-control study was conducted, which included 40 cases and 40 matched healthy controls. Study participants with reported symptoms of snoring, daytime drowsiness, or both were included in the study. All the study participants underwent comprehensive anthropometric assessments such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, skin-fold thickness, and thickness measurements of biceps, triceps, suprailiac, and subscapular muscles.ResultsWithin the OSA group, significant disparities emerged in mean age, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and diverse fat accumulations encompassing visceral, subcutaneous, trunk, and subcutaneous leg fat. Notably, skin-fold thickness at specific sites - biceps, triceps, subscapula, and suprailiac - demonstrated considerable augmentation relative to the control group. Furthermore, mean values associated with height, weight, BMI, neck circumference, fat percentage, subcutaneous arm fat, entire arm composition, and trunk skeletal muscle either equaled or exceeded those in the control group. However, statistical significance was not attained in these comparisons.ConclusionThis investigation underscored a pronounced correlation between numerous endpoints characterizing OSA patients and markers of obesity. Consequently, addressing altered levels of obesity-linked anthropometric variables through pharmacological interventions might hold promise as a pivotal strategy for improving symptoms associated with OSA.

As the world's population exceeds an incredible 6 billion people, governments-and scientists-everywhere are concerned about the prospects for sustainable development. The science academies of the three most populous countries have joined forces in an unprecedented effort to understand the linkage between population growth and land-use change, and its implications for the future. By examining six sites ranging from agricultural to intensely urban to areas in transition, the multinational study panel asks how population growth and consumption directly cause land-use change, and explore the general nature of the forces driving the transformations. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes explains how disparate government policies with unintended consequences and globalization effects that link local land-use changes to consumption patterns and labor policies in distant countries can be far more influential than simple numerical population increases. Recognizing the importance of these linkages can be a significant step toward more effective environmental management.

Sikkim is a mountainous state situated in the Eastern Himalaya region of India, which constitutes an area with rich cultural diversity, having different traditional healthcare practices and rituals. Traditional formulations for treating bone fractures are prevalent in rural areas of Sikkim. The present study was designed to document and analyse the traditional knowledge, practices, and medicinal plants used by traditional healers of Sikkim for the treatment of Bone fractures. And network pharmacological perspectives on the bone-mending properties of the medicinal plants used by the traditional healers of Sikkim. Semi-structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and guided field walks were used in this explorative study for four years in all six districts of Sikkim, India. The quantity indices frequency of citation (FoC) and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) are used to authenticate the most important medicinal plant species. Further, to examine the intricate relationships among drugs, targets, and diseases, we conducted network pharmacological annotations using several advanced tools, including Swiss Target Prediction, STRING, STITCH, DAVID, GeneCodis, and SwissADME. The study documented 18 distinct traditional polyherbal formulations that incorporate 32 medicinal plant species native to Sikkim and are utilised for the therapeutic management of bone fractures. Notably, several plant species identified in this investigation, particularly those exhibiting high Frequency of Citation (FoC) values, represent promising candidates for further pharmacological evaluation targeting osteoregenerative properties. Additionally, four plant species, Urtica parviflora Roxb., Saurauia napaulensis DC., Rubus calycinus Wall. ex D.Don, and Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth., employed by traditional healers in this study, warrant prioritised phytochemical investigation due to their limited scientific exploration in existing literature. The network pharmacological annotations revealed several pathways that are directly or indirectly affecting bone development, biomineralisation, calcium signalling, endochondral ossification with skeletal dysplasia, RANK signalling, RUNX2 regulation, and Vitamin D-sensitive Ca signalling. This study systematically documents traditional treatments for bone fractures in Sikkim, highlighting 32 medicinal plants with therapeutic potential. The findings of this study will provide baseline data to address an immediate need to preserve and scientifically validate (in vivo and in vitro) indigenous ethnomedicinal knowledge. Furthermore, provide valuable insights into the development of safe and effective lead compounds by considering the biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components involved in bone mending from natural formulations.

Ribosome hibernation is a key survival strategy bacteria adopt under environmental stress, where a protein, hibernation promotion factor (HPF), transitorily inactivates the ribosome. Mycobacterium tuberculosis encounters hypoxia (low oxygen) as a major stress in the host macrophages, and upregulates the expression of RafH protein, which is crucial for its survival. The RafH, a dual domain HPF, an orthologue of bacterial long HPF (HPF long ), hibernates ribosome in 70S monosome form, whereas in other bacteria, the HPF long induces 70S ribosome dimerization and hibernates its ribosome in 100S disome form. Here, we report the cryo- EM structure of M. smegmatis , a close homolog of M. tuberculosis , 70S ribosome in complex with the RafH factor at an overall 2.8 Å resolution. The N- terminus domain (NTD) of RafH binds to the decoding center, similarly to HPF long NTD. In contrast, the C- terminus domain (CTD) of RafH, which is larger than the HPF long CTD, binds to a distinct site at the platform binding center of the ribosomal small subunit. The two domain-connecting linker regions, which remain mostly disordered in earlier reported HPF long structures, interact mainly with the anti-Shine Dalgarno sequence of the 16S rRNA. Ribosome hibernation is a key survival strategy bacteria adapt under stress. Here, cryo- EM structure of mycobacterial 70S ribosome with hypoxia stress-induced factor RafH suggests the molecular mechanism of RafH-induced ribosome hibernation.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly destructive polyphagous pest that primarily damages maize. Maize is considered a most versatile crop for growing intercrops due to the wide row it needs. Maize–pea intercropping is preferred by small and marginal farmers worldwide due to various advantages including higher yield and improved economic benefits. However, the success of this intercropping system may be hampered if pea could sustain the FAW population. Thus, to clarify the fitness and potential effect of S. frugiperda on pea, we analysed the survival and development of S. frugiperda fed on pea leaves in the laboratory and constructed age-stage and two-sex life tables. Results showed that FAW successfully completed its life cycle when fed on pea and produced fertile offspring. The pre-adult duration was significantly higher on pea than maize. The net reproductive rate, intrinsic and finite rate of population increase on pea (135.06 offspring per individual, 0.12 offspring per individual per day and 1.13 times per day) were all significantly different from those on maize (417.64 offspring per individual, 0.19 offspring per individual per day and 1.21 times per day). The probability of survival of S. frugiperda at each stage was lower when fed on pea leaves than that of maize-fed larvae. Due to the overlapping growth periods of the maize and pea, S. frugiperda can easily proliferate throughout the year by shifting between adjacent crops. Thus, this study revealed the adaptability of S. frugiperda for pea and provides the foundation for further assessment of FAW risk to other inter-crops.

•OH radicals are the main cause of chemical degradation of Nafion membranes in fuel cell operation. Although the cerium ion (Ce3+/4+, Ce) is reported as an effective •OH radical quencher, its membrane application has critical limitations associated with the reduction of membrane proton conductivity and its leaking. In this study, the Ce-grafted graphitic carbon nitrides (g-C3N4) (CNCe) nano-particles are synthesized and embedded in Nafion membranes to prolong the •OH radical scavenging effect. The synthesis of CNCe nano-particles is evaluated by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. Compared with the pristine and Ce-blended Nafion membranes, the CNCe imbedded ones show tremendous improvement in long-term anti-oxidation stability. While the fluoride emission rates of Nafion are 0.0062 mg·cm−2·h−1 at the anode and 0.0034 mg·cm−2·h−1 at the cathode, those of Nafion/CNCe membranes are 0.0037 mg·cm−2·h−1 at the anode and 0.0023 mg·cm−2·h−1 at the cathode. The single cell test for Nafion/CNCe membranes at 80 °C and 50% relative humidity illustrates much better durability than those for Nafion and Nafion/Ce, indicating its superior scavenging effect on •OH radicals.

Alkaline stable anion exchange membranes based on the cross-linked poly(arylene ether sulfone) grafted with dual quaternary piperidine (XPAES-DP) units were synthesized. The chemical structure of the synthesized PAES-DP was validated using 1H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. The physicochemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of XPAES-DP membranes were compared with those of two linear PAES based membranes grafted with single piperidine (PAES-P) unit and conventional trimethyl amine (PAES-TM). XPAES-DP membrane showed the ionic conductivity of 0.021 S cm−1 at 40 °C which was much higher than that of PAES-P and PAES-TM because of the possession of more quaternary ammonium groups in the cross-linked structure. This cross-linked structure of the XPAES-DP membrane resulted in a higher tensile strength of 18.11 MPa than that of PAES-P, 17.09 MPa. In addition, as the XPAES-DP membrane shows consistency in the ionic conductivity even after 96 h in 3 M KOH solution with a minor change, its chemical stability was assured for the application of anion exchange membrane fuel cell. The single-cell assembled with XPAES-DP membrane displayed a power density of 109 mWcm−2 at 80 °C under 100% relative humidity.

Entamoeba histolytica , an anaerobic protozoan parasite, is the causative agent of amoebiasis, bloody diarrhea, and liver abscesses in humans. Amoebiasis is more predominant in tropical areas with poor sanitation conditions, and it remains the fourth leading cause of death due to a protozoan infection. E. histolytica life cycle spans between an infective ‘cyst stage’ and an active disease-causing ‘trophozoite stage’. We have isolated ribosomes from the trophozoite stage of E. histolytica . Here, we report single particle cryo-EM structures of the 53S ribosome large subunit (LSU), and 75S associated ribosomes, with P-tRNA, A/P and P/E tRNAs, and with paromomycin antibiotic, at 2.8 Å to 3.4 Å resolution. The E. histolytica possesses a reduced ribosome with a conserved core, and the periphery evolved with species-specific unique features. The most notable features are the presence of the rRNA triple helix near the peptide exit tunnel, the expansion segment H88ES102 near the exit site on LSU, and unique insertions in r-proteins. Furthermore, the 75S ribosome paromomycin complex structure provides the atomic details of its interactions. These structures provide insights into the evolutionary adaptation of the E. histolytica translational machinery and may be explored further for amoebicidal therapeutic intervention. Entamoeba histolytica causes bloody diarrhea and liver abscesses in humans. Here, the authors report the cryo-EM structure of E. histolytica ribosomes from its disease-causing, trophozoite state and reveal several unique features, such as the rRNA triple helix motif.