e used to infer other biologically relevant networks to formulate new biological hypotheses.BACKGROUND High-throughput omics technologies have enabled the comprehensive reconstructions of genome-scale metabolic networks for many organisms. However, only a subset of reactions is active in each cell which differs from tissue to tissue or from patient to patient. Reconstructing a subnetwork of the generic metabolic network from a provided set of context-specific active reactions is a demanding computational task. RESULTS We propose SWIFTCC and SWIFTCORE as effective methods for flux consistency checking and the context-specific reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic networks which consistently outperform the previous approaches. CONCLUSIONS We have derived an approximate greedy algorithm which efficiently scales to increasingly large metabolic networks. SWIFTCORE is freely available for non-commercial use in the GitHub repository at https//mtefagh.github.io/swiftcore/.BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE "Take Charge" is a novel, community-based self-directed rehabilitation intervention which helps a person with stroke take charge of their own recovery. In a previous randomized controlled trial, a single Take Charge session improved independence and health-related quality of life 12 months following stroke in Māori and Pacific New Zealanders. We tested the same intervention in three doses (zero, one, or two sessions) in a larger study and in a broader non-Māori and non-Pacific population with stroke. We aimed to confirm whether the Take Charge intervention improved quality of life at 12 months after stroke in a different population and whether two sessions were more effective than one. METHODS We randomized 400 people within 16 weeks of acute stroke who had been discharged to institution-free community living at seven centers in New Zealand to a single Take Charge session (TC1, n = 132), two Take Charge sessions six weeks apart (TC2, n = 138), or a control intervention (n = 130). Take Cwas associated with reduced odds of being dependent (modified Rankin Scale 3 to 5) at 12 months (TC1 + TC2 12% versus control 19.5%, odds ratio 0.55, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.99, p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS Confirming the previous randomized controlled trial outcome, Take Charge-a low-cost, person-centered, self-directed rehabilitation intervention after stroke-improved health-related quality of life and independence. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL http//www.anzctr.org.au . Unique identifier ACTRN12615001163594.This study aims to investigate the current prevalence of smoking, socioeconomic inequality, and main determinants of it among Iranian ≥60 years in 2017. The data of Iranian Rural and Urban Income-Expenditure Survey for 2017 have been obtained from Statistical Center of Iran. The prevalence rate of current smoking, inequality of current smoking through calculating the Concentration Index, and the main socioeconomic determinants of it have been investigated. The current prevalence of tobacco use in the elderly in Iran was about 11%; of which, 9% belonged to men and 2% to women. The most prevalent current tobacco uses in the elderly belonged to the age group of 70-79 years. This rate was lower in the two other borderline groups (under 70 and over 80 years of age). Furthermore, its prevalence was higher in the unemployed and married elderly, compared to their counterparts within each subgroup. Current cigarette smoking is among health problems, especially among the elderly, and its prevalence is significant in Iran.Muscle has conventionally been viewed as a motor that converts chemical to kinetic energy in series with a passive spring, but new insights emerge when muscle is viewed as a composite material whose elastic elements are tuned by activation. New evidence demonstrates that calcium-dependent binding of N2A titin to actin increases titin stiffness in active skeletal muscles, which explains many long-standing enigmas of muscle physiology.Species preservation depends on the success of fertilization. Sperm are uniquely equipped to fulfill this task, and, although several mechanisms are conserved among species, striking functional differences have evolved to contend with particular sperm-egg environmental characteristics. This review highlights similarities and differences in sperm strategies, with examples within internal and external fertilizers, pointing out unresolved issues.Parental care has evolved convergently an extraordinary number of times among tetrapods that reproduce terrestrially, suggesting strong positive selection for this behavior in the terrestrial environment. This review speculates that destabilizing selection on parental care, and especially embryo incubation, drove the convergent evolution of many tetrapod traits, including endothermy.Intermittent fasting (IF) is a widely practiced dietary method that encompasses periodic restriction of food consumption. Due to its protective benefits against metabolic diseases, aging, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, IF continues to gain attention as a preventative and therapeutic intervention to counteract these chronic diseases. Although numerous animal studies have reported positive health benefits of IF, its feasibility and efficacy in clinical settings remain controversial. Importantly, since dietary interventions such as IF have systemic effects, thoroughly investigating the tissue-specific changes in animal models is crucial to identify IF's mechanism and evaluate its potential adverse effects in humans. As such, we will review and compare the outcomes and underlying mechanisms of IF in both animal and human studies. Moreover, the limitations of IF and inconsistencies between preclinical and clinical studies will be discussed to provide insight into the gaps between translating research from bench to bedside.The participation of women in physically strenuous athletic and occupational tasks has increased substantially in the past decade.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mitomycin-c.html  Female sex steroids have influences on thermoregulatory processes that could impact physical performance in the heat. Here, we summarize and evaluate the current literature regarding sex differences in thermoregulation and provide recommendations for heat-illness risk-mitigation strategies.