Laura McCall
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equibotanica.bsky.social
Laura McCall
@equibotanica.bsky.social
850 followers 1.2K following 30 posts
Motto should be: 'No post without a typo'. 'Like' =|= agree. Vaccine equity is in everyone's interest.
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@BruegelBot from the other place

Not super active here ... yet
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equibotanica.bsky.social


Good news, everybody!

Avian influenza has been detected again in the Netherlands but don't worry:

"[Humans] who do get infected with the bird flu virus do not get very sick from it."

www.l1nieuws.nl/nieuws/27963...
Screenshot of auto translation Dutch to English from https://www.l1nieuws.nl/nieuws/2796375/vogelgriep-duikt-weer-op-kunnen-mensen-ziek-worden-en-is-een-ei-eten-nog-veilig Can humans get sick from bird flu? Bird flu is rare in humans. Only in rare cases can bird flu be transmitted from animals to humans. This is done through intensive contact with infected animals. Those who do get infected with the bird flu virus do not get very sick from it. The symptoms in humans correspond to 'normal' flu symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches and cough. Sometimes people get an eye infection from bird flu. The risk of someone with bird flu infecting other people is negligible. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) advises people who have been in contact with a sick bird to contact their GP.
November 25, 2024 at 3:20 PM
equibotanica.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Fig. 2. Sexually dimorphic factors can regulate the immune response, affecting tolerance and activation of inflammatory processes. These factors include greater adaptive immune responses to sensed threats by X-chromosome factors (e.g., CD40L), greater TLR and innate immune responses through increased X-chromosome dosing, incomplete X-chromosomal inactivation, which may lead to immune complexes that persist as autoantigens, and androgen concentrations driving a pro–adaptive immune inflammatory state that increases effector T cell responses, B cell antibody responses, and the likelihood of viral reactivation. Female factors are shown on the top. Male factors are shown on the bottom. Shared factors are shown in the center. ssRNA, single-stranded RNA; IRFs, interferon regulatory factors; DHT, dihydrotestosterone; AR, androgen receptor; MyD88, myeloid differentiation primary response 88; FOXP3, forkhead box P3 gene. CREDIT: A. FISHER/SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
November 14, 2024 at 2:18 PM
equibotanica.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Fig. 1. PAIS initiation requires a sustained or renewed sensing of continued immune stimuli. The factors required to initiate or continue PAISs include (1) a persistent viral reservoir, (2) persistent viral antigen (proteins, RNA, or both), (3) persistent autoantigen, or (4) reactivation of latent viruses that the immune system senses as a recall threat (which may, in turn, lead to persisting viral antigens or autoantigens). PRF, perforin; GrB, granzyme B; EBV, Epstein-Barr virus. CREDIT: A. FISHER/SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
November 14, 2024 at 2:18 PM
equibotanica.bsky.social

In which the authors propose a hypothetical framework for understanding postacute infection syndromes, taking into account sexually dimorphic factors which affect immune response (and likely lead to higher risk of developing PAIS among females).

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Titie page of: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.ado2102 "Sex differences in postacute infection syndromes" Science Translational Medicine 13 Nov 2024 Vol.16 Issue 773 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.ado2102 Abstract Postacute infection syndromes like Long Covid disproportionately affect females, differing in prevalence, symptoms, and potential causes from males. This Viewpoint highlights these sex differences, gaps in current understanding, and the critical need for sex-based research.
November 14, 2024 at 2:18 PM
equibotanica.bsky.social
This is the banner photo from my account at the other place
Blue text bubble with white text: (*taps the sign*) We are SO fucked.
November 10, 2024 at 9:32 PM
equibotanica.bsky.social


www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Figure 1 from the linked piece The nervous system communicates with every physiological system in the body through multiple interconnected levels. These levels form control loops, with higher levels regulating lower ones to achieve adaptive bodily control. Top: central, adaptive regulation, and immunoception involve higher-order brain structures integrating interoceptive information with external sensory data, past experiences, motivational drives, and emotions to form a complex representation. This integration allows adaptive modulation of the internal physiological state, including of the immune system, across different contexts and timescales, enabling prospective and goal-directed regulation of physiology. This regulation includes adjusting the homeostatic set points and modulating body phyisiology directly and indirectly through adjustments in motivation and behavior. Adaptive control is guided by cortical regions (darker blue) such as the aIC, ACC, vmPFC, and OFC, while subcortical regions (lighter blue) like the CeA, BNST, hypothalamus, VS, PAG, and PBN implement the integrated adjustments in physiology, motivation, and behavior. Middle: reflexive control is a quick, reactive system that integrates at subcortical sites (green), such as the hypothalamus or the NTS and AP in the brainstem. Here, current bodily state information is compared to predefined homeostatic set points, and if a deviation is sensed, hard-wired responses regulate physiology to return to its set point, such as during inflammation. The autonomic nerves, including the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, carry instructions from the brain and exert differential effects on inflammation. Bottom: local modulation occurs in a bidirectional manner between sensory neurons innervating peripheral sites and local cells, including immune cells. These interactions influence inflammation by modulating cytokine or neuropeptide secretion (right side). aIC, anterior insular cortex; ACC, anterior cingu… https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00979-6 Brain-body physiology: Local, reflex, and central communication
October 18, 2024 at 4:15 PM
equibotanica.bsky.social
Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #1,145,642!
A virtual certificate with text "Celebrating 10M users on Bluesky, #1,145,642, Laura McCall ‪@equibotanica.bsky.social‬, joined on Sep 21, 2023"
September 23, 2024 at 9:55 PM