Telocytes (TCs) expressed CD34, CD117, VEGF, and MMP-9. In conclusion, telocytes established direct contact with the stem and rodlet cells in various differential stages. Telocytes may vitally influence stem/progenitor cell differentiation, regulate rodlet cell function, and express MPP-9 that may regulate immune cells functions especially, including movement and migration ability.Microneedles (MNs) allow transdermal delivery of skin-impermeable drugs by creating transient epidermal micropores, and micropore lifetime directly affects drug diffusion timeframes. Healthy subjects (n = 111) completed the study, self-identifying as Asian (n = 32), Bi-/multi-racial (n = 10), Black (n = 22), White (n = 23), Latino (n = 23), and Native American/Hawaiian (n = 1). L* was measured with tristimulus colorimetry to objectively describe skin lightness/darkness. MNs were applied to the upper arm; impedance and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were measured at baseline and post-MN to confirm micropore formation. Impedance was repeated for 4 days to determine micropore lifetime. Post-MN changes in TEWL and impedance were significant in all groups (p  less then  0.05), confirming micropore formation regardless of skin type. Micropore lifetime was significantly longer in Blacks (66.5 ± 19.5 h) versus Asians (44.1 ± 14.0 h), Bi-/multi-racial (48.0 ± 16.0 h), and Whites (50.2 ± 2.6 h). Latinos (61.1 ± 16.1 h) had significantly longer micropore closure time versus Asians (44.1 ± 14.0 h). When categorizing data according to L*, micropore lifetime was significantly longer in darker skin. We report for the first time that micropore lifetime differences are present in human subjects of different ethnic/racial backgrounds, with longer micropore lifetime in skin of color. These results also suggest that objectively measured skin color is a better predictor of micropore lifetime than self-identified race/ethnicity.While the epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide, there is much concern over the mortality rate that the infection induces. Available data suggest that COVID-19 case fatality rate had varied temporally (as the epidemic has progressed) and spatially (among countries). Here, we attempted to identify key factors possibly explaining the variability in case fatality rate across countries. We used data on the temporal trajectory of case fatality rate provided by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and country-specific data on different metrics describing the incidence of known comorbidity factors associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 mortality at the individual level. We also compiled data on demography, economy and political regimes for each country. We found that temporal trajectories of case fatality rate greatly vary among countries. We found several factors associated with temporal changes in case fatality rate both among variables describing comorbidity risk and demographic, economic and political variables. In particular, countries with the highest values of DALYs lost to cardiovascular, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases had the highest values of COVID-19 CFR. CFR was also positively associated with the death rate due to smoking in people over 70 years. Interestingly, CFR was negatively associated with share of death due to lower respiratory infections. Among the demographic, economic and political variables, CFR was positively associated with share of the population over 70, GDP per capita, and level of democracy, while it was negatively associated with number of hospital beds ×1000. Overall, these results emphasize the role of comorbidity and socio-economic factors as possible drivers of COVID-19 case fatality rate at the population level.The mechanisms underlying the emergence of leadership in multi-agent systems are under investigation in many areas of research where group coordination is involved. Nonverbal leadership has been mostly investigated in the case of animal groups, and only a few works address the problem in human ensembles, e.g. pedestrian walking, group dance. In this paper we study the emergence of leadership in the specific scenario of a small walking group. Our aim is to propose a rigorous mathematical methodology capable of unveiling the mechanisms of leadership emergence in a human group when leader or follower roles are not designated a priori. Two groups of participants were asked to walk together and turn or change speed at self-selected times. Data were analysed using time-dependent cross correlation to infer leader-follower interactions between each pair of group members. The results indicate that leadership emergence is due both to contextual factors, such as an individual's position in the group, and to personal factors, such as an individual's characteristic locomotor behaviour. Our approach can easily be extended to larger groups and other scenarios such as team sports and emergency evacuations.The Human Silencing Hub (HUSH) complex is necessary for epigenetic repression of LINE-1 elements.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/pepstatin-a.html  We show that HUSH-depletion in human cell lines and primary fibroblasts leads to induction of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) through JAK/STAT signaling. This effect is mainly attributed to MDA5 and RIG-I sensing of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). This coincides with upregulation of primate-conserved LINE-1s, as well as increased expression of full-length hominid-specific LINE-1s that produce bidirectional RNAs, which may form dsRNA. Notably, LTRs nearby ISGs are derepressed likely rendering these genes more responsive to interferon. LINE-1 shRNAs can abrogate the HUSH-dependent response, while overexpression of an engineered LINE-1 construct activates interferon signaling. Finally, we show that the HUSH component, MPP8 is frequently downregulated in diverse cancers and that its depletion leads to DNA damage. These results suggest that LINE-1s may drive physiological or autoinflammatory responses through dsRNA sensing and gene-regulatory roles and are controlled by the HUSH complex.Field pea is important to agriculture as a nutritionally dense legume, able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and supply it back to the soil. However, field pea requires more phosphorus (P) than other crops. Identifying field pea cultivars with high phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) is highly desirable for organic pulse crop biofortification. This study identified field pea accessions with high PUE by determining (1) the variation in P remobilization rate, (2) correlations between P and phytic acid (PA), and (3) broad-sense heritability estimates of P concentrations. Fifty field pea accessions were grown in a completely randomized design in a greenhouse with two replicates under normal (7551 ppm) and reduced (4459 ppm) P fertilizer conditions and harvested at two time points (mid-pod and full-pod). P concentrations ranged from 332 to 9520 ppm under normal P and from 83 to 8473 ppm under reduced P conditions across all tissues and both time points. Field pea accessions showed variation in remobilization rates, with PI 125840 and PI 137119 increasing remobilization of P under normal P conditions.