The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (Norwegian: Norges idrettshøgskole, NIH) is a public university located at Sognsvann in Oslo, Norway. It has the national responsibility for education and research related within sport sciences. It provides education at the Bachelor, Master and Doctorate levels.
INTRODUCTION: Hypertension represents a worldwide public health challenge related to chronic illnesses. This study set out to examine gender-based variations in prevalence and associated factors of hypertension in Malaysia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a secondary data analysis based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, which was a nationwide cross-sectional study employing a two-stage stratified random sampling approach. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP >= 140 or diastolic BP? 90 mm Hg, told to have hypertension by medical personal previously. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension among adults in Malaysia was 30.0% (95% CI: 28.57, 31.50), men 30.3% (95% CI: 28.2, 32.5), and women 29.7% (95% CI: 28.0, 31.5). For both genders, increasing age, adults with higher BMI, other Bumiputras, unemployed and those with diabetes and high cholesterol had higher odds of hypertension. Among men, alcohol consumption showed higher odds [AOR: 1.31 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.68)], meanwhile, active smokers [AOR: 0.74 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.86)] and married men [AOR: 0.74 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.94)] showed lower odds of hypertension. Among women, Chinese [AOR: 0.62 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.77)], Indian [AOR: 0.65 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.86)], and tertiary education [AOR: 0.49 (95% CI: 0.35, 0.69)] showed lower odds and physically inactive women [AOR: 1.31 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.55)] showed higher odds of hypertension. CONCLUSION: Prevalence and the factors associated with hypertension differ between the two genders. Intervention strategies related to hypertension should consider the gender differences particularly among young men and elderly women.
The mycobacterial membrane exporter MmpL3 transports trehalose monomycolates (TMM) from the cytosol to the outer membrane of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, making it a potential drug target. Proton influx is believed to drive TMM efflux, suggesting that disrupting proton transfer (PT) could be therapeutic. However, the PT mechanism and its relation to function remain unclear. Recent MmpL3 structures reveal a potential proton channel in its hydrophobic core, which also binds potential antituberculosis compounds. We investigated the PT process using hybrid quantum-mechanical/molecular-mechanical and classical molecular dynamics simulations. We show that transient water chains form in two connected transmembrane cavities that act as proton conduits. Four consecutive PT events are necessary to alter the protonation states of acidic residues in the protein core, triggering conformational changes that affect the TMM binding site. The process begins with the tandem movement of two protons through an upper cavity, protonating two aspartate residues via a classical hydronium migration. After conformational shifts, PT proceeds through a lower cavity, protonating two glutamate residues near the cytosolic opening and inducing further conformational shifts; here, PT occurs sequentially via hydronium and proton-hole migration. The cycle ends with the release of protons into the cytosol. Based on the observed conformational changes, we propose a mechanism for TMM efflux.
Causal inference from a randomized trial becomes challenging when interest focuses on a specific subpopulation and when the causal effect involves both the randomized binary treatment and a non-randomized continuous exposure. This study is motivated by a clinical trial conducted among women of childbearing potential to evaluate the effectiveness of a malaria vaccine during pregnancy within the subpopulation of women who would have become pregnant under placebo conditions. Although the primary policy-relevant contrast concerns the binary randomized treatment-vaccine versus placebo-there also exists a continuous post-randomization exposure-exposure to pregnancy-characterized by the timing of conception. Given the seasonality of malaria transmission and waning of vaccine-induced immunity, vaccine effectiveness during pregnancy may vary with conception timing, motivating causal evaluations that consider both exposures. We propose methodological approaches for causal inference in this setting, study their large-sample and finite-sample properties, and apply them to the malaria vaccine trial to provide a comprehensive assessment of vaccine effectiveness against pregnancy malaria in the target subpopulation while accounting for temporal variation in disease transmission.
Background and ObjectivesKnown pathogenic variants (PVs) in Parkinson disease (PD) contribute to disease development but have yet to be fully explored by arrays on a large scale. This study evaluated genotyping success of the NeuroBooster array (NBA) and determined the frequencies of PVs across ancestries.MethodsWe analyzed the presence and allele frequency of PVs in 28,710 PD cases, 9,614 other neurodegenerative disorder cases, and 15,821 controls across 11 ancestries within the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2) data set. Cluster plots were used to assess the quality of PVs genotyped on NBA.ResultsGenes previously predicted to have high or very high confidence of causing PD tend to have more PVs and are present across ancestry groups. Of 34 known PD gene PVs assessed, 25 were typed by NBA and classified as "good" (n = 12), "medium" (n = 4), or "bad" (n = 9) quality variants.DiscussionOur results confirm the likelihood that established PD genes are pathogenic and highlight the importance of ancestrally diverse research in PD. We also show the usefulness of the NBA as a reliable tool for the genotyping of rare variants of PD.
With over 5 million attributed deaths per year, physical inactivity is a major global public health issue. Although the importance of physical activity is well recognized within the scope of obesity and cardiometabolic disease prevention and control, its broader benefits for the health of individuals and societies are yet to be fully harnessed. Furthermore, the role of active leisure, active transport and active labor-primary domains of physical activity-in supporting or hindering social and health equity has been largely overlooked. Here we (1) used a health equity lens to describe global domain-specific physical activity inequalities through an analysis of World Health Organization STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance (WHO STEPS) data from 68 countries; (2) summarized evidence linking physical activity with health outcomes beyond cardiometabolic disease, including immunity and infectious disease, depression and cancer; and (3) developed a new model reconceptualizing physical activity to better respond to 21st-century public health challenges. Our global, intersectional analysis of gender and socioeconomic physical activity inequalities revealed a 40-percentage-point gap in active leisure-the only domain consistently driven by choice-between historically privileged groups (wealthy men in high-income countries) and historically disadvantaged ones (poor women in low-income countries). Robust evidence supports the benefits of physical activity for immunity and infectious disease, depression and cancer. Our reconceptualized model recognizes the influence of social identities, norms, policies and structures on physical activity for health and wellbeing and emphasizes the urgent need to develop and roll out policies and programs that disseminate and harness the full benefits of physical activity for human, societal and planetary health.
