Nanoencapsulation of hybrid crude palm oil Unaué HIE OxG with jackfruit by-products as encapsulants: A study of cellular antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity in Caco-2 cells.

Hybrid crude palm oil (HCPO) HIE OxG is notable for its abundance of carotenoids, tocopherols, and tocotrienols. Investigating cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) and the non-cytotoxicity of oil nanoparticles is crucial for understanding the behavior of these phytochemicals in biological systems and ensuring the safety of products. Nanoparticles of HCPO, encapsulated with jackfruit by-products were produced and characterized for CAA and cytotoxicity in Caco-2 cells. The nanoparticles exhibited nanoscale diameters (<250 nm), uniform distribution and stability (polydispersity index < 0.25; zeta potential JSF-NP -12.46 ± 0.15 mV and JAF-NP -13.73 ± 1.28 mV). JSF-NP and JAF-NP demonstrated superior CAA compared to the free HCPO across all concentrations, without inducing cytotoxic effects on differentiated Caco-2 cells. This study underscores the importance of investigating the CAA of edible oil nanoparticles, with non-cytotoxicity indicating biological safety and the potential to safeguard intestinal epithelial cells. Thus, JSF-NP and JAF-NP emerge as promising delivery systems for future HCPO applications.

Association between Residential Greenness and Allostatic Load: A Cohort Study.

The association between residential greenness and allostatic load (AL), a marker of composite physiological burden and predictor of chronic disease, remains understudied. This study comprised 212,600 UK Biobank participants recruited over 2007 and 2010 at the baseline. Residential greenness was modeled as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from high spatial resolution (0.50 m) color infrared imagery and measured within a 0.5 km radial catchment. AL was measured as a composite index from 13 biomarkers comprising three physiological systems (metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory systems) and two organ systems (liver and kidney). Multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear models with a random intercept for UK Biobank assessment centers were employed to examine the association between residential greenness and AL. Each interquartile range (IQR = 0.24) increment in NDVI greenness was associated with lower AL (beta (ß) = -0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.55, -0.01). Consistently, relative to the lowest NDVI greenness quintile, participants in the highest quintile had lower AL (ß = -0.64, 95% CI = -1.02, -0.26). The proportion of the association between greenness and AL mediated by the physical activity was 3.2%. In conclusion, residential greenness was protectively associated with AL, a composite marker of wear and tear and general health.

Plant hormones and secondary metabolites under environmental stresses: Enlightening defense molecules.

The climatic changes have great threats to sustainable agriculture and require efforts to ensure global food and nutritional security. In this regard, the plant strategic responses, including the induction of plant hormones/plant growth regulators (PGRs), play a substantial role in boosting plant immunity against environmental stress-induced adversities. In addition, secondary metabolites (SMs) have emerged as potential 'stress alleviators' that help plants to adapt against environmental stressors imposing detrimental impacts on plant health and survival. The introduction of SMs in plant biology has shed light on their beneficial effects in mitigating environmental crises. This review explores SMs-mediated plant defense responses and highlights the crosstalk between PGRs and SMs under diverse environmental stressors. In addition, genetic engineering approaches are discussed as a potential revenue to enhance plant hormone-mediated SM production in response to environmental cues. Thus, the present review aims to emphasize the significance of SMs implications with PGRs association and genetic approachability, which could aid in shaping the future strategies that favor agro-ecosystem compatibility under unpredictable environmental conditions.

Brassinosteroid modulates ethylene synthesis and antioxidant metabolism to protect rice (Oryza sativa) against heat stress-induced inhibition of source‒sink capacity and photosynthetic and growth attributes.

This study presents an exploration of the efficacy of brassinosteroids (BRs) and ethylene in mediating heat stress tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa). Heat is one of the major abiotic factors that prominently deteriorates rice production by influencing photosynthetic efficiency, source‒sink capacity, and growth traits. The application of BR (0.5 mM) and ethylene (200 µl l-1) either individually and/or in combination was found to alleviate heat stress-induced toxicity by significantly improving photosynthesis, source‒sink capacity and defense systems; additionally, it reduced the levels of oxidative stress markers and ethylene formation. The study revealed the positive influence of BR in promoting plant growth responses under heat stress through its interplay with ethylene biosynthesis and enhanced plant defense systems. Interestingly, treatment with the ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) substantiated that BR application to heat-stressed rice plants enhanced ethylene-dependent pathways to counteract the underlying adversities. Thus, BR action was found to be mediated by ethylene to promote heat tolerance in rice. The present study sheds light on the potential tolerance mechanisms which can ensure rice sustainability under heat stress conditions.

Sex-Based Outcomes in Patients Undergoing WATCHMAN Device Implantation.

Sex-based disparities in outcomes are reported for various cardiovascular procedures. This study aimed to assess the difference in outcomes in patients who underwent WATCHMAN device implant based on sex. Patients who underwent WATCHMAN device placement, from 2016 to 2018, were identified from the National Inpatient Sample database. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality, and the secondary outcomes were the length of stay (LOS), hospitalization cost (HOC), and periprocedural complications. A logistic regression model was built to perform an adjusted analysis for the outcomes. A total of 12,327 patients underwent WATCHMAN device placement. Female patients were older and more likely to have hypertension (p <0.01) and less likely to have peripheral arterial disease (5.6 vs 7.2, p <0.01), chronic kidney disease (21% vs 26%, p <0.01), and diabetes (18% vs 20%, p = 0.03) and were also at a higher risk for certain periprocedural complications, including pericardiocentesis and anemia requiring blood transfusion (p <0.01 for all). In the unadjusted analysis, the female sex was associated with longer LOS (1.5 vs 1.3 days, p <0.01) and inpatient mortality (0.23 vs 0.10, p = 0.05). The HOC was numerically higher in women but statistically nonsignificant ($120,791 vs $118,554, p = 0.1). In the stepwise, backward, multivariate regression analysis, the female sex  was an independent risk factor for higher LOS (1.5 vs 1.3 days, p <0.01, 95% confidence interval 1.3 to 1.4) after adjusting for potential confounders. The inpatient mortality and HOC were similar between 2 groups after adjusting for potential cofounders in the multivariate regression analysis. Our study suggests that the female sex is an independent risk factor for longer LOS among patients hospitalized for WATCHMAN device placement.

The associations of socioeconomic status with incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease are modified by leucocyte telomere length: a population-based cohort study.

Socio-economic status (SES) and biological aging are risk factors for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, however, it is less clear if the associations with SES vary sufficiently across different biological age strata. We used data from 331,066 UK Biobank participants aged 38-73 with mean follow-up of 12 years to examine if associations between SES (assessed by educational attainment, employment status and household income) and dementia and Alzheimer's disease are modified by biological age (assessed by leucocyte telomere length: LTL). Diagnosis of events was ascertained through hospital admissions data. Cox regressions were used to estimate hazard ratios [HRs]. A consistent dose-response relationship was found, with participants in low SES and shorter LTL strata (double-exposed group) reporting 3.28 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.57-4.20) and 3.44 (95% CI 2.35-5.04) times higher risks of incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease respectively, compared to those of high SES and longer LTL (least-exposed group). Of interest is a synergistic interaction between SES and LTL to increase risk of dementia (RERI 0.57, 95% CI 0.07-1.06) and Alzheimer's disease (RERI 0.79, 95% CI 0.02-1.56). Our findings that SES and biological age (LTL) are synergistic risk factors of dementia and Alzheimer's disease may suggest the need to target interventions among vulnerable sub-groups.

Neighbourhood residential density, urbanicity and incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease: A 12-year prospective cohort study from the UK Biobank.

INTRODUCTION: An increasing proportion of global population is exposed to urban densification in an aging society. However, little is known of the role of residential density and urbanicity on the risk of developing dementia including Alzheimer's disease. We examined long-term associations between residential density and urbanicity and risks of incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included participants from the UK Biobank who lived at the same residential address, had no self-reported neurological conditions and without dementia at baseline. Residential density was measured as the number of dwelling units within 1-km street neighbourhood of participant's home address. A composite index of urbanicity was developed from neighbourhood-level z-standardized densities of housing, retail, public transport and street centrality. Hazard ratios were derived from Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for known risk factors. RESULTS: The analytic sample included 239,629 participants aged 38-72 years. During a median follow-up of 12.3 years (interquartile range 11.5-13.0 years), 2,176 participants developed dementia and 1,004 Alzheimer's disease. After adjustments for potential risk factors, each 1,000 units/Km2 increment in residential density was associated with higher risks of dementia (hazard ratio [HR]=1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-1.15) and Alzheimer's disease (HR=1.10, 95% CI: 1.04-1.16). Consistently, categorical models showed that living in neighbourhoods of higher residential density and urbanicity were associated with higher risks of dementia (HR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.12-1.51 for the highest density quintile compared to the lowest and HR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.05-1.39 for the highest urbanicity quintile relative to the lowest). The associations were more pronounced in female, age >65 years, and among participants of the low income and those being frail and having shorter leucocyte telomere length (LTL). CONCLUSIONS: Higher residential density and urbanicity was found to be positively associated with elevated risks of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Optimizing neighbourhood residential density maybe one of the upstream considerations for mitigating against neurodegenerative diseases.

Role of lipopolysaccharide in antimicrobial and cell penetrating peptide membrane interactions probed by deuterium NMR of whole cells.

Understanding how non-lipid components of bacteria affect antimicrobial peptide (AMP)-induced membrane disruption is important for a comprehensive understanding of AMP mechanisms and informing AMP-based drug development. This study investigates how lipopolysaccharide (LPS) affects membrane disruption by the AMP MSI-78 and compares the results to the effect of TP2, a cell-penetrating peptide that crosses membrane bilayers without permeabilizing them. We destabilize the LPS layer of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells via chelation of the stabilizing divalent cations. 2H NMR spectra of E. coli demonstrate that EDTA concentrations of 2.5 mM and 9.0 mM alone have very minor effects on lipid acyl chain order. Interestingly, we find that E. coli pre-treated with 9.0 mM EDTA before treatment with MSI-78 are more sensitive to AMP-induced acyl chain disruption, indicating that intact LPS reduces MSI-78-induced membrane disruption in E. coli. Surprisingly, we also found that at the level of 2H NMR, the peptide-induced acyl chain disruption is similar for MSI-78 and TP2, although MSI-78 permeabilizes the bilayer and TP2 does not. Furthermore, LPS disruption appears to protect the bacteria from TP2, although it sensitizes them to MSI-78.

Bio-Synthesized Nanoparticles in Developing Plant Abiotic Stress Resilience: A New Boon for Sustainable Approach.

Agriculture crop development and production may be hampered in the modern era because of the increasing prevalence of ecological problems around the world. In the last few centuries, plant and agrarian scientific experts have shown significant progress in promoting efficient and eco-friendly approaches for the green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs), which are noteworthy due to their unique physio-biochemical features as well as their possible role and applications. They are thought to be powerful sensing molecules that regulate a wide range of significant physiological and biochemical processes in plants, from germination to senescence, as well as unique strategies for coping with changing environmental circumstances. This review highlights current knowledge on the plant extract-mediated synthesis of NPs, as well as their significance in reprogramming plant traits and ameliorating abiotic stresses. Nano particles-mediated modulation of phytohormone content in response to abiotic stress is also displayed. Additionally, the applications and limitations of green synthesized NPs in various scientific regimes have also been highlighted.

Antimicrobial Peptide Mechanisms Studied by Whole-Cell Deuterium NMR.

Much of the work probing antimicrobial peptide (AMP) mechanisms has focussed on how these molecules permeabilize lipid bilayers. However, AMPs must also traverse a variety of non-lipid cell envelope components before they reach the lipid bilayer. Additionally, there is a growing list of AMPs with non-lipid targets inside the cell. It is thus useful to extend the biophysical methods that have been traditionally applied to study AMP mechanisms in liposomes to the full bacteria, where the lipids are present along with the full complexity of the rest of the bacterium. This review focusses on what can be learned about AMP mechanisms from solid-state NMR of AMP-treated intact bacteria. It also touches on flow cytometry as a complementary method for measuring permeabilization of bacterial lipid membranes in whole bacteria.

Conjugates for use in peptide therapeutics: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

While peptides can be excellent therapeutics for several conditions, their limited in vivo half-lives have been a major bottleneck in the development of therapeutic peptides. Conjugating the peptide to an inert chemical moiety is a strategy that has repeatedly proven to be successful in extending the half-life of some therapeutics. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the available literature and assess it in an unbiased manner to determine which conjugates, both biological and synthetic, provide the greatest increase in therapeutic peptide half-life. Systematic searches run on PubMed, Scopus and SciFinder databases resulted in 845 studies pertaining to the topic, 16 of these were included in this review after assessment against pre-specified inclusion criteria registered on PROSPERO (#CRD42020222579). The most common reasons for exclusion were non-IV administration and large peptide size. Of the 16 studies that were included, a diverse suite of conjugates that increased half-life from 0.1 h to 33.57 h was identified. Amongst these peptides, the largest increase in half-life was seen when conjugated with glycosaminoglycans. A meta-analysis of studies that contained fatty acid conjugates indicated that acylation contributed to a statistically significant extension of half-life. Additionally, another meta-analysis followed by a sensitivity analysis suggested that conjugation with specifically engineered recombinant peptides might contribute to a more efficient extension of peptide half-life as compared to PEGylation. Moreover, we confirmed that while polyethylene glycol is a good synthetic conjugate, its chain length likely has an impact on its effectiveness in extending half-life. Furthermore, we found that most animal studies do not include as much detail when reporting findings as compared to human studies. Inclusion of additional experimental detail on aspects such as independent assessment and randomization may be an easily accomplished strategy to drive more conjugated peptides towards clinical studies.

Associations of residential walkability and greenness with arterial stiffness in the UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness is a key non-invasive marker of early vascular ageing, however, little is known of its associations with urban built environment. We examined the associations of objectively-measured residential walkability and greenness with arterial stiffness in a large UK-wide population cohort. METHODS: We employed data from the baseline UK Biobank cohort comprising adult participants recruited over the period of 2006 to 2010. Residential walkability index, defined as a function of density (residential, retail and public transit), street-level design, and destination accessibility was measured using a 1-Km dwelling catchment, while greenness was modelled as the mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of 0.5-metre resolution assessed within a 0.5-Km catchment. Arterial stiffness index (ASI) was measured non-invasively from the pulse waveform. Linear regression models were developed to examine associations of walkability and greenness with arterial stiffness. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were developed to examine dose-response relationships. We also examined effect modifications by sex and age, as well as the interaction effect of greenness and walkability. RESULTS: This cross-sectional study used a target sample of 169,704 UK Biobank participants aged ≥ 39 years. After full adjustments, in reference to the lowest walkability exposure quartile, those in the highest were associated with lower ASI (ß = -0.083 m/s, 95% CI: -0.14 to -0.03, p = 0.005). Participants in the third and fourth NDVI greenness exposure quartiles were also associated with lower ASI (ß = -0.074 m/s, -0.14 to -0.01, p < 0.020 for the third and ß = -0.293 m/s, -0.36 to -0.23, p < 0.001 for the fourth quartiles in reference to the first). The inverse association between NDVI greenness and ASI was more pronounced among women (p < 0.001), older adults (p = 0.011) and among participants in the highest walkability quartile (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Designing more walkable and greener residential environments can be a preventive intervention aimed at lowering the population distribution of vascular ageing and associated cardiovascular risks.

Biosynthesized gold nanoparticles maintained nitrogen metabolism, nitric oxide synthesis, ions balance, and stabilizes the defense systems to improve salt stress tolerance in wheat.

Green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is competent in inducing physiological responses in plants for combating the abiotic stresses. Considering this, salt stress is one of the most alarming conditions that exerts complex and polygenic impacts on morph-physiological functioning of plants; resulting in reduced crop productivity and yield. Therefore, understanding the salt responses and tolerance mechanisms are important for sustaining crop productivity. In the current study, we have examined the effects of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants under salt stress. Green-synthesized AuNPs were found beneficial in modulating the K+/Na+ ratio, chlorophyll concentration, defense systems, nitrogen assimilation, stomatal dynamics and growth traits under salt stress condition. Furthermore, the excessive accumulation of oxidative stress markers including reactive oxygen/nitrogen species was controlled in response of AuNPs treatment under salt stress. Overall, modulation of these traits commanded to induce salt stress tolerance in wheat plants.

Role of lipopolysaccharide in antimicrobial and cell penetrating peptide membrane interactions probed by deuterium NMR of whole cells.

Understanding how non-lipid components of bacteria affect antimicrobial peptide (AMP)-induced membrane disruption is important for a comprehensive understanding of AMP mechanisms and informing AMP-based drug development. This study investigates how lipopolysaccharide (LPS) affects membrane disruption by the AMP MSI-78 and compares the results to the effect of TP2, a cell-penetrating peptide that crosses membrane bilayers without permeabilizing them. We destabilize the LPS layer of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells via chelation of the stabilizing divalent cations. 2H NMR spectra of E. coli demonstrate that EDTA concentrations of 2.5 mM and 9.0 mM alone have very minor effects on lipid acyl chain order. Interestingly, we find that E. coli pre-treated with 9.0 mM EDTA before treatment with MSI-78 are more sensitive to AMP-induced acyl chain disruption, indicating that intact LPS reduces MSI-78-induced membrane disruption in E. coli. Surprisingly, we also found that at the level of 2H_NMR, the peptide-induced acyl chain disruption is similar for MSI-78 and TP2, although MSI-78 permeabilizes the bilayer and TP2 does not. Furthermore, LPS disruption appears to protect the bacteria from TP2, although it sensitizes them to MSI-78.

Liveable residential space, residential density, and hypertension in Hong Kong: A population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a leading preventable risk factor of chronic disease and all-cause mortality. Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health. Yet, little is known about the impacts of liveable residential space and density on hypertension. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This retrospective observational study (median follow-up of 2.2 years) leveraged the FAMILY Cohort, a large territory-wide cohort in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China to quantify associations of objectively measured liveable space and residential density with blood pressure outcomes among adults aged ≥16 years. Blood pressure outcomes comprised diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and hypertension. Liveable space was measured as residential floor area, and density was assessed using the number of residential units per building block and neighborhood residential unit density within predefined catchments. Multivariable regression models examined associations of liveable floor area and residential density with prevalent and incident hypertension. We investigated effect modifications by age, sex, income, employment status, and housing type. Propensity score matching was further employed to match a subset of participants who moved to smaller residences at follow-up with equivalent controls who did not move, and generalized linear models examined the impact of moving to smaller residences upon blood pressure outcomes. Our fully adjusted models of prevalent hypertension outcomes comprised 30,439 participants at baseline, while 13,895 participants were available for incident models at follow-up. We found that each interquartile range (IQR) increment in liveable floor area was associated with lower DBP (beta [ß] = -0.269 mm Hg, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.419 to -0.118, p < 0.001), SBP (ß = -0.317 mm Hg, -0.551 to -0.084, p = 0.008), MAP (ß = -0.285 mm Hg, -0.451 to -0.119 with p < 0.001), and prevalent hypertension (odds ratio [OR] = 0.955, 0.918 to 0.993, p = 0.022) at baseline. Each IQR increment in residential units per building block was associated with higher DBP (ß = 0.477 mm Hg, 0.212 to 0.742, p = <0.001), SBP (ß = 0.750 mm Hg, 0.322 to 1.177, p = <0.001), MAP (ß = 0.568 mm Hg, 0.269 to 0.866, p < 0.001), and prevalent hypertension (OR = 1.091, 1.024 to 1.162, p = 0.007). Each IQR increase in neighborhood residential density within 0.5-mi street catchment was associated with lower DBP (ß = -0.289 mm Hg, -0.441 to -0.137, p = <0.001), SBP (ß = -0.411 mm Hg, -0.655 to -0.168, p < 0.001), MAP (ß = -0.330 mm Hg, -0.501 to -0.159, p = <0.001), and lower prevalent hypertension (OR = 0.933, 0.899 to 0.969, p < 0.001). In the longitudinal analyses, each IQR increment in liveable floor area was associated with lower DBP (ß = -0.237 mm Hg, -0.431 to -0.043, p = 0.016), MAP (ß = -0.244 mm Hg, -0.444 to -0.043, p = 0.017), and incident hypertension (adjusted OR = 0.909, 0.836 to 0.988, p = 0.025). The inverse associations between larger liveable area and blood pressure outcomes were more pronounced among women and those residing in public housing. In the propensity-matched analysis, participants moving to residences of lower liveable floor area were associated with higher odds of incident hypertension in reference to those who did not move (OR = 1.623, 1.173 to 2.199, p = 0.002). The major limitations of the study are unmeasured residual confounding and loss to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: We disentangled the association of micro-, meso-, and macrolevel residential densities with hypertension and found that higher liveable floor area and neighborhood scale residential density were associated with lower odds of hypertension. These findings suggest adequate housing in the form of provisioning of sufficient liveable space and optimizing residential density at the building block, and neighborhood levels should be investigated as a potential population-wide preventive strategy for lowering hypertension and associated chronic diseases.

Potassium: A track to develop salinity tolerant plants.

Salinity is one of the major constraints to plant growth and development across the globe that leads to the huge crop productivity loss. Salinity stress causes impairment in plant's metabolic and cellular processes including disruption in ionic homeostasis due to excess of sodium (Na+) ion influx and potassium (K+) efflux. This condition subsequently results in a significant reduction of the cytosolic K+ levels, eventually inhibiting plant growth attributes. K+ plays a crucial role in alleviating salinity stress by recasting key processes of plants. In addition, K+ acquisition and retention also serve as the perquisite trait to establish salt tolerant mechanism. In addition, an intricate network of genes and their regulatory elements are involved in coordinating salinity stress responses. Furthermore, plant growth regulators (PGRs) and other signalling molecules influence K+-mediated salinity tolerance in plants. Recently, nanoparticles (NPs) have also been found several implications in plants with respect to their roles in mediating K+ homoeostasis during salinity stress in plants. The present review describes salinity-induced adversities in plants and role of K+ in mitigating salinity-induced damages. The review also highlights the efficacy of PGRs and other signalling molecules in regulating K+ mediated salinity tolerance along with nano-technological perspective for improving K+ mediated salinity tolerance in plants.

Characteristics of the Residential Environment and Their Association With Depression in Hong Kong.

Importance: With rapid urbanization, understanding the role of residential environments in the development of depression has gained importance. However, the potential associations of residential space and density with depression have been understudied. Objective: To investigate longitudinal associations of residential livable space and density with depression. Design, Setting, and Participants: This longitudinal cohort study used data from 2 waves of the FAMILY Cohort, a population-based cohort in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, recruited between February 28, 2009, and March 28, 2011, at baseline and followed up between August 3, 2011, and June 19, 2013, at wave 2. Data were analyzed from September 1, 2020, through August 10, 2021. A total of 16 968 participants aged 16 years or older underwent assessment using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and had complete data across all variables. Exposures: Residential density was objectively assessed at 3 scales (within apartment, building block, and at neighborhood level) at baseline and follow-up. Main Outcomes and Measures: Depressive symptoms were defined in terms of a PHQ-9 threshold greater than or equal to 5 and probable major depression with a cutoff value greater than or equal to 10. A continuous PHQ-9 score was used as a secondary outcome. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to examine associations of the residential density with probable major depression and depressive symptoms adjusted for time-varying sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and other environment variables. Results: Of the 16 968 participants with complete data, the mean (SD) age was 45.5 (16.7) years, and 9328 participants (55.0%) were women at baseline. The mean follow-up was 2.2 years (range, 1.3-3.6 years). At the household level, after full adjustments, each IQR increment in residential livable area was associated with lower odds of probable major depression (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98; P = .03) and depressive symptoms (aOR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.86-1.00; P = .04). At the building-block level, each IQR increment in block density was associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms (aOR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01-1.22; P = .03), but only in single-housing environment models. The results remained consistent in models with continuous PHQ-9 evaluation. Conclusions and Relevance: This study's findings suggest that residential livable space and block density may play a role in the development of depression. Integrated mental health and housing policies promoting mental capital in cities, such as health-optimized density at the household and building-block levels, might serve as a population approach to reduce the burden of depression.

Silver Nanoparticle Regulates Salt Tolerance in Wheat Through Changes in ABA Concentration, Ion Homeostasis, and Defense Systems.

Salinity is major abiotic stress affecting crop yield, productivity and reduces the land-usage area for agricultural practices. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of green-synthesized silver nanoparticle (AgNP) on physiological traits of wheat (Triticum aestivum) under salinity stress. Using augmented and high-throughput characterization of synthesized AgNPs, this study investigated the proximity of AgNPs-induced coping effects under stressful cues by measuring the germination efficiency, oxidative-biomarkers, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, proline and nitrogen metabolism, stomatal dynamics, and ABA content. Taken together, the study shows a promising approach in salt tolerance and suggests that mechanisms of inducing the salt tolerance depend on proline metabolism, ions accumulation, and defense mechanisms. This study ascertains the queries regarding the correlation between nanoparticles use and traditional agriculture methodology; also significantly facilitates to reach the goal of sustainable developments for increasing crop productivity via much safer and greener approachability.

The nature of cities and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The virtual issue will only include the main essay.

Air pollution associated respiratory mortality risk alleviated by residential greenness in the Chinese Elderly Health Service Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Although residing in lower surrounding greenness and transient exposure to air pollution are independently associated with higher risk of adverse health outcomes, little is known about their interactions. OBJECTIVES: We examine whether residential neighborhood greenness modifies the short-term association between air pollution and respiratory mortality among the participants of Chinese Elderly Health Service Cohort in Hong Kong. METHODS: We estimated residential surrounding greenness by measuring satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from Landsat within catchments of residential addresses of participants who died of respiratory diseases between 1998 and 2011. We first dichotomized NDVI into low and high greenness and used a time-stratified case-crossover approach to estimate the percent excess risk of respiratory mortality associated with fine particulate matter (PM2.5), respirable particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3). We further classified NDVI into greenness quartiles and introduced an interaction term between air pollution and the assigned median values of the NDVI quartiles into the models to assess the trend of greenness modification on the air pollution and respiratory mortality associations. RESULTS: Among 3159 respiratory deaths during the follow-up, 2058 were from pneumonia and 947 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Elders living in the low greenness areas were associated with a higher risk of pneumonia mortality attributed to NO2 (p = 0.049) and O3 (p = 0.025). The mortality risk of pneumonia showed a decreasing trend for NO2 (p for trend = 0.041), O3 (p for trend = 0.006), and PM2.5 (p for trend = 0.034) with greenness quartiles increasing from Quartile 1 (lowest) to Quartile 4 (highest). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that elders living in higher greenness areas are less susceptible to pneumonia mortality associated with air pollution, which provides evidence for optimizing allocation, siting, and quality of urban green space to minimize detrimental health effects of air pollution.