PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Biological resilience”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Brain donation in normal aging: procedures, motivations, and donor characteristics from the Biologically Resilient Adults in Neurological Studies (BRAiNS) Project.

Medical autopsy rates have been declining for the past several decades, yet, for more than a decade, the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Research Center has been recruiting healthy older adults into a program involving annual assessments of mental status, biannual medical and neurological exams, and prearranged postmortem brain examination. The present article focuses on the characteristics of these donors to explore potential factors that contribute to the decision to donate. The motivations of this unique group of individuals could serve to inform physicians who request autopsies for medical and research purposes. Over 500 volunteers who have enrolled in this program are well-educated community-dwelling adults over the age of 60. They are generally motivated by personal experiences with Alzheimer's disease, referral by someone already enrolled, and a desire to promote scientific knowledge. These volunteers' reasons suggest that rates of tissue donation or autopsy for basic research and investigations of causes of death might be increased by providing individuals and families with information concerning the medical and scientific value of the procedure. Within research settings, encouraging participant recruitment of friends or family members would likely increase tissue acquisition rates.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Moving research on resilience into the 21st century: theoretical and methodological considerations in examining the biological contributors to resilience.

Empirical investigations of resilience over the past 30 years have examined a wide range of psychosocial correlates of, and contributors to, this phenomenon. Thus far, theoretical treatments of resilience have focused almost exclusively on psychosocial levels of analysis to derive explanatory models. However, there have been no formal discussions of either theory or research that have examined the biological contributors to, or correlates of, competent functioning despite the experience of adversity. This paper seeks to fill this gap and sets forth a preliminary theoretical framework and outline of empirical strategies for studying the biological underpinnings of resilience. The initial sections of the paper discuss the particular suitability of a transactional organizational theoretical perspective as a conceptual foundation for including a biological level of analysis within the extant theoretical framework of resilience. Subsequently, other important theoretical considerations for the inclusion of a biological perspective on resilience are discussed, including the avoidance of an approach that would reduce resilience to merely a biological process, the application of the constructs of multifinality and equifinality to a biological perspective on resilience, as well as a general discussion of the potential for utilization of brain imaging and other technologies in the study of resilience. The possible relation between the mechanisms of neural plasticity and resilience are examined in some detail, with specific suggestions concerning research questions needed to examine this association. Sections of the paper discuss the likely relation of several areas of brain and biological functioning with resilience, including emotion, cognition, neuroendocrine and immune functioning, and genetics. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of a biological perspective on resilience for preventive interventions.

Affect↗
PubMed1979

Chemical and physical microenvironments at the Viking landing sites.

Physical and chemical considerations permit the division of the near-surface regolith on Mars into at least six zones of distinct microenvironments. The zones are euphotic, duricrust/peds, tempofrost, permafrost, endolithic, and interfacial/transitional. Microenvironments vary significantly in temperature extremes, mean temperature, salt content, relative pressure of water vapor, UV and visible light irradiance, and exposure to ionizing radiation events (100 Mrad) and oxidative molecular species. From what is known of the chemistry of the atmosphere and regolith fines (soil), limits upon the aqueous chemistry of soil pastes may be estimated. Heat of wetting could reach 45 cal/g dry soil; initial pH is indeterminate between 1 and 10; ionic strength and salinity are predicted to be extremely high; freezing point depression is inadequate to provide quantities of liquid water except in special cases. The prospects for biotic survival are grim by terrestrial standards, but the extremes of biological resiliency are inaccessible to evaluation. Second-generation in situ experiments which will better define Martian microenvironments are clearly possible. Antarctic dry valleys are approximations to Martian conditions, but deviate significantly by at least half-a-dozen criteria.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Valiant neurons and inexorable aging.

Despite an enormous number of variables, both genetic and epigenetic, most neuronal systems eventually show age-related changes. Although no simple description is possible because of the age, species, locus and state specificities of these alterations, the robust metabolic-synthetic load carried by most neurons is eventually reflected in the regressive changes shown by increasing numbers of them. Nonetheless, their remarkable capacity for selective dendritic and spine growth into the period of advanced old age underlines the biological resiliency built into these post-mitotic elements.

Aging↗
PubMed1997

Silicone rubber-hydrogel composites as polymeric biomaterials. IX. Composites containing powdery polyacrylamide hydrogel.

A composite material has been prepared consisting of a silicone rubber matrix and particulate lightly cross-linked polyacrylamide hydrogel. The material, resembling common silicone rubber, is hydrophilic and swells in water like hydrogels. The polyacrylamide has a high specific surface area, a relatively low content of water-soluble low-molecular-weight compounds and, owing to its non-ionogenic character, a pH-independent swelling degree. For the composite material consisting of the silicone rubber and very fine powdery cross-linked polyacrylamide, we have measured the rate of swelling in water, the mechanical properties (tensile strength, break elongation, hardness, resilience), biological properties (implantation test, cytotoxicity, cell cultivation) and UV absorption of its water extracts. The polyacrylamide and polysiloxane purity, as the composite material starting components, has been determined to be satisfactory. As a result, a high swelling rate of the prepared composite material has been observed, resulting in reaching more than 70% wt of water of the equilibrium swelling. The results show that the composite material is suitable for biological and medical use.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2026

Pan-genomics and multi-omics for deciphering genetic variation and accelerating genetic improvement in ruminant livestock.

Livestock reference genomes have transformed the discovery of variants associated with production, reproduction, health, and environmental adaptation. Nevertheless, a single linear reference represents only one mosaic haplotype and incompletely captures sequence diversity within a species, particularly structural variants, copy-number changes, repeat-rich regions, and breed-specific sequences. Pangenomes address this limitation by integrating multiple high-quality assemblies or population-scale variants into a unified sequence or graph representation. Concurrently, multi-omics approaches connect genomic variation with transcriptomic, epigenomic, manuscriptproteomic, metabolomic, and microbiome responses, thereby improving biological interpretation of genotype-phenotype relationships. This review synthesizes recent progress in livestock pangenomics and multi-omics, with emphasis on cattle, goats, sheep, water buffalo, and chickens. It describes advances in long-read and haplotype-resolved sequencing, graph construction, structural-variant discovery and genotyping, functional annotation, and integrative analysis. Recent pangenome studies have uncovered substantial non-reference sequence, reduced reference bias, identified breed- and population-specific structural variants, and resolved candidate variants underlying pigmentation, body size, tail morphology, cashmere production, altitude adaptation, and other economically relevant traits. However, translation into routine breeding remains constrained by uneven population representation, inconsistent structural-variant definitions, limited functional annotation, computational demands, and insufficient validation across environments. Future progress will depend on diverse near-complete assemblies, graph-aware imputation and genomic prediction, long-read transcriptomics, single-cell and spatial omics, rigorous causal validation, and open, interoperable resources. Together, these developments can support more accurate, resilient, and biologically informed livestock improvement. Importantly, current dairy-cattle evidence indicates that pangenome-derived structural variants can substantially improve variant discovery and functional interpretation while yielding only marginal average gains in routine genomic prediction, favoring targeted augmentation rather than wholesale replacement of established SNP-based evaluations.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Elevated mitochondrial superoxide promotes longevity through a mitochondria-to-nucleus kinase signaling pathway.

The reactive oxygen species superoxide is generated by mitochondria during the process of producing energy. While superoxide can cause oxidative damage to the cell, we and others have shown that a mild increase in mitochondrial superoxide extends longevity in multiple model organisms. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved, we identified transcriptional changes in mitochondrial superoxide dismutase deletion mutants (sod-2 worms) using RNA sequencing. sod-2 mutants exhibit a number of changes in nuclear gene expression resulting from elevated mitochondrial superoxide suggesting that mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling is contributing to their longevity. Gene ontology enrichment analysis demonstrated that genes involved in innate immunity and cuticle formation are significantly upregulated in sod-2 worms. To identify kinases involved in this lifespan-extending pathway, we completed a targeted RNA interference screen to examine the contribution of selected kinases to sod-2 longevity. From this screen, we found 25 kinases which are required for the long lifespan of sod-2 mutants including mak-2, which has a role in a kinase signaling pathway involved in axon regeneration. Disruption of mak-2 specifically reduces sod-2 lifespan but not wild-type longevity and also decreases resistance to multiple exogenous stressors. In examining other genes that act with mak-2 in established signaling pathways, we identified a SEK-3/PMK-3/MAK-2/CEBP-1 signaling pathway that is specifically required for sod-2 longevity but not wild-type lifespan. Combined these results suggest a novel role for kinases with established roles in axon regeneration in promoting longevity through a mitochondria-to-nucleus signaling pathway.

Aging↗
PubMed2002

Elastic fibres.

Elastic fibres are essential extracellular matrix macromolecules comprising an elastin core surrounded by a mantle of fibrillin-rich microfibrils. They endow connective tissues such as blood vessels, lungs and skin with the critical properties of elasticity and resilience. The biology of elastic fibres is complex because they have multiple components, a tightly regulated developmental deposition, a multi-step hierarchical assembly and unique biomechanical functions. However, their molecular complexity is at last being unravelled by progress in identifying interactions between component molecules, ultrastructural analyses and studies of informative mouse models.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Resilience: research evidence and conceptual considerations for posttraumatic stress disorder.

The growing recognition and occurrence of traumatic exposure in the general population has given increased salience to the need to understand the concept of resilience. More than just the "flip side" of a risk factor, the notion of resilience encompasses psychological and biological characteristics, intrinsic to an individual, that might be modifiable and that confer protection against the development of psychopathology in the face of stress. In this review, we provide some perspective on the concept of "resilience" by examining early use of the term in research on "children at risk" and discuss the relationship between risk and resilience factors. We then review psychological and biological factors that may confer resilience to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma, examine how resilience has been assessed and measured, and discuss issues to be addressed in furthering our understanding of this critical concept going forward.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Plasma neuropeptide Y concentrations in combat exposed veterans: relationship to trauma exposure, recovery from PTSD, and coping.

BACKGROUND: There is emerging interest in examining the role of plasma neuropeptide Y (NPY) as a protective stress factor. METHODS: To further investigate this possibility, plasma NPY was measured in 11 nonexposed veterans, 11 combat-exposed veterans without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 12 veterans with current PTSD. RESULTS: A significant group difference in plasma NPY (F(2,31) = 5.16, p = .012) was observed, reflecting higher NPY levels in exposed veterans without PTSD than in nonexposed but comparable levels in veterans with current PTSD. Among those without current PTSD, veterans with past PTSD had higher NPY levels than those without past PTSD (t(9) = 2.71, p = .024). After controlling for all other variables, NPY levels were significantly predicted by extent of symptom improvement and lower combat exposure and significant at a trend level with positive coping. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma NPY levels may represent a biologic correlate of resilience to or recovery from the adverse effects of stress.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Does mutual interference always stabilize predator-prey dynamics? A comparison of models.

Based on a qualitative analysis of ODE systems, the dynamic properties of alternative predator-prey models with predator-dependent functional response have been compared in order to study the role that predator interference plays in the stabilisation of trophic systems. The models considered for interference have different mathematical expressions and different conceptual foundations. Despite these differences, they give essentially the same qualitative results: when interference is low, increasing it has a positive effect on asymptotic stability and thus on the resilience of the biological system. When it is high, it is the contrary (with logistic prey growth, increasing the interference parameter ensures stability but leads to very small predator densities). Possible consequences on the evolution of the interference level in real ecosystems are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2025

Relationships between childhood adversity, resilience, and inflammatory profiles in Taiwanese young adults.

Psychological resilience is the capacity to withstand and bounce back from stressors, trauma, and negative life events, such as childhood adverse experiences (ACEs). Yet, little is known about the biological mechanisms by which resilience mitigates the psychological effects of ACEs. We aimed to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) that reflect the combined effects of early life stress and psychological resilience by using an inflammatory proteomics panel. Three different resilience and ACE questionnaires were employed to classify participants into four groups according to high vs. low levels of resilience and ACEs. Forty-five age-matched and sex-matched participants were selected for proteomics profiling with Olink's 92-protein inflammatory panel. Of these, only 32 passed quality control filtering for analysis. Results showed that CD274 emerged as a protein hub in resilient profiles, while CXCL5 was central to ACE-related profiles. Network co-expression analysis revealed group-specific protein rewiring, suggesting dysregulated inflammation in individuals with high ACE. In contrast, high-resilience profiles showed stronger immune checkpoint co-expression, indicating more effective inflammatory resolution as a key trait of resilience. These findings suggest that resilience maintains an adaptive immune network architecture that may be leveraged to promote resilience after early adversity.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Modelling in tumour biology part 1: modelling concepts and structures.

Our strategies for the treatment of cancer are constrained by our incomplete understanding of tumour biology and behaviour, and by the enormous complexity and resilience to therapeutic perturbation found in the biological world. We are obliged to simplify this complexity through the use of models and mechanistic explanations. In the first of these papers, we consider the nature of modelling mechanisms available to clinical researchers and the extent to which we rely upon them in our understanding of the nature and behaviour of tumours. In the second part, we will consider specifically how models help us to develop more effective strategies for cancer therapy.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2000

How soft is a protein? A protein dynamics force constant measured by neutron scattering.

An effective environmental force constant is introduced to quantify the molecular resilience (or its opposite, "softness") of a protein structure and relate it to biological function and activity. Specific resilience-function relations were found in neutron-scattering experiments on purple membranes containing bacteriorhodopsin, the light-activated proton pump of halobacteria; the connection between resilience and stability is illustrated by a study of myoglobin in different environments. Important advantages of the neutron method are that it can characterize the dynamics of any type of biological sample-which need not be crystalline or monodisperse-and that it enables researchers to focus on the dynamics of specific parts of a complex structure with deuterium labeling.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗
PubMed2026

Hope is linked with more favorable tumor molecular signatures in serous ovarian cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Hope has been associated with improved quality of life and lower mortality in cancer, but the underlying biological mechanisms are poorly characterized. We previously reported that hope was associated with less inflammation and more normalized diurnal cortisol pre-treatment among women with ovarian cancer. We also reported associations of socio-environmental factors with pro-metastatic processes. Here, we used genome-wide transcriptional profiling to quantify associations between hope and tumor molecular signatures reflecting invasiveness, inflammation, and cellular immunity. METHOD: Participants were 74 women with serous ovarian cancer who provided demographic information and completed surveys pre-surgery. Hope was assessed using a face-valid item from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Depression was assessed using the full CES-D without the hope item. Illumina HT12 microarrays were used to assay tumor RNA, and associations between hope and tumor gene expression were quantified, adjusting for depression, age, BMI, grade, and stage. RESULTS: Adjusting for covariates, hope was associated with multiple favorable differences in RNA expression, including lower levels of mesenchymal differentiation (p&#x202f;=&#x202f;0.008) and pro-inflammatory gene regulation (NF-&#x3ba;B: p&#x202f;<&#x202f;0.001; IRF1: p&#x202f;=&#x202f;0.024; STAT: p&#x202f;=&#x202f;0.018), elevated epithelial differentiation (p&#x202f;=&#x202f;0.011), and elevated activity of the IRF7 transcription factor which promotes cellular immunity (p&#x202f;=&#x202f;0.016). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that hope is associated with an ovarian tumor gene expression profile characterized by reduced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inflammatory activity, and increased activity of a transcription factor promoting cellular immunity. These findings highlight potential biological implications of a resilience factor such as hope, but need replication with more robust assessments of hope.

Epithelial mesenchymal transition↗
PubMed1989

Denture soft lining materials: clinical indications.

The success or failure of a soft lining in a denture is dependent not only upon the physical properties of the material employed, but also on an understanding of the intended function of this group of products, and the physiological and biological properties of the resilient oral tissues upon which the denture rests. This paper identifies the clinical factors that must be reviewed in order to assess the need for and likely success of a denture soft lining material.

Alveolar Process↗
PubMed2001

Removal of organics from wastewater using a novel biological hybrid system.

This paper summarizes the results obtained using the hybrid aerated submerged fixed-film (HASFF) process. HASFF is an innovative system comprising a four-compartment reactor having an array of fixed ceramic plates maintained under diffused aeration to support attached biomass, with activated sludge recycle to promote suspended growth in the reactor. Wastewater from a municipal treatment plant was fed to the reactor and its activated sludge was used for recycling in the hybrid system. Four pilot units were operated in the plant at various hydraulic retention times, HRTs (2, 4, 6 and 8 h), using primary-settled wastewater under organic loading rates up to 0.7 g BOD/gMLTVS. d. Data obtained showed that the overall BOD percentage removal efficiencies were consistently above 94.0% at all HRTs including the 2 hours while the COD percentage removal efficiencies ranged between 65.7-76%. The effluent's mean filtered BOD concentration ranged between 4.5-7.5 mg/l whereas the mean filtered COD concentration ranged between 70.0-89.6 mg/l. Increasing the hydraulic loading rate by four-folds from 0.08 to 0.32 m3/m2.d had a minor effect on the unit's BOD and COD percentage removal efficiencies indicating a robust biological process that is resilient to hydraulic shock loads, thereby offering a viable upgrading option.

Biofilms↗