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Frontiers Dec 4 2024

The prevalence of MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease) is exploding in most regions of the world, boosted by increased obesity and sedentary lifestyles. MASLD (formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) is already the most common liver disorder: it affects 30% of adults and between 7% and 14% of children and adolescents, and this prevalence is predicted to rise to more than 55% of adults by 2040. People with MASLD run a heightened risk of diabetes, hepatocellular carcinoma, non-liver cancers, chronic kidney disease, age-related muscle loss, and cardiovascular disease.

Earlier studies have implicated disturbances in the circadian clock and in the sleep cycle in the development of MASLD. But the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that objective measures – rather than subjective ones such as sleep questionnaires – be used to prove this hypothetical link between disorders of sleep and the circadian rhythm, MASLD, and MASH. MASH is a more severe form of MASLD, where the liver suffers damage from inflammation and tissue scarring, caused by abnormal accumulation of fat.

"Here we show for the first time with an objective method, 24/7 actigraphy, that the sleep-wake rhythm in patients with MASLD does indeed differ from that in healthy individuals: those with MASLD demonstrated significant fragmentation of their nightly sleep due to frequent awakenings and increased wakefulness," said Dr Sofia Schaeffer, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Basel and Basel's University Center for Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, and the corresponding author of a new study in Frontiers in Network Physiology.

Actigraphy involves tracking gross motor activity with a sensor worn on the wrist. Don't lose any sleep

Between 2019 and 2021, Schaeffer and colleagues recruited 46 adult women and men diagnosed with either MASLD, MASH, or MASH with cirrhosis. A further eight patients with non-MASH-related liver cirrhosis served as comparisons, while a second comparator group consisted of 16 age-matched healthy volunteers. Each study participant was equipped with an actigraph, to be worn at all times, which tracked light, physical activity, and body temperature.

Participants visited the clinic as outpatients at the start, midpoint, and end of the four-week follow-up. Both at the start and end of this period, they underwent clinical investigation, were interviewed through sleep questionnaires about their sleep habits. They also kept a sleep diary.

All patients with MASLD were obese, and 80% had metabolic syndrome. Patients with MASLD further had significantly higher levels of triglycerides, fasting glucose, and insulin in their blood than healthy participants, but lower levels of total cholesterol, 'bad' LDL cholesterol, and 'good' HDL cholesterol. Rude awakening

Actigraph measurements didn't reveal any differences between patients with MASLD and healthy participants when it came to things such as sleep duration or the amount of time spent in bed.

But importantly, the actigraphs showed that patients with MASLD woke 55% more often at night, and lay 113% longer awake after having first fallen asleep, compared to healthy volunteers. Patients with MASLD also slept more often and longer during the day. Sleep patterns and quality as measured by actigraph were similarly impaired in patients with MASH, MASH with cirrhosis, and non-MASH-related cirrhosis.

Subjectively, patients with MASLD self-reported their disrupted and inefficient sleep as shorter sleep with a delayed onset. In their sleep diaries, 32% of patients with MASLD reported experiencing sleep disturbances caused by psychological stress, compared to only 6% of healthy participants. We concluded from our data that sleep fragmentation plays a role in the pathogenesis of human MASLD. Whether MASLD cause sleep disorders or vice versa remains unknown."

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"The underlying mechanism presumably involves genetics, environmental factors, and the activation of immune responses – ultimately driven by obesity and metabolic syndrome."

Schaeffer and colleagues also tried to improve the sleep of participants with a single sleep hygiene education session, performed at the study's midpoint. Here, they were taught practical measures to improve their sleep habits. However, the results showed that the session didn't improve the actigraphy or self-reported measures of sleep quality and quantity.

"A single sleep hygiene education session didn't suffice to sustainably impact on the circadian rhythm in either patients with MASLD or healthy controls. Future studies should explore perpetual sleep counselling sessions or interventions such as light therapy in combination with other lifestyle changes to improve the sleep-wake cycle in patients with MASLD," recommended Dr Christine Bernsmeier, a professor at the University of Basel and the study's senior author. Source:

FrontiersJournal reference:

Schaeffer, S., et al. (2024) Significant nocturnal wakefulness after sleep onset in metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease. Frontiers in Network Physiology. doi.org/10.3389/fnetp.2024.1458665.

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Musk appears with black eye at White House farewell – as Trump says he’s ‘not really leaving’

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Musk appears with black eye at White House farewell - as Trump says he's 'not really leaving'

Elon Musk has formally left his role in Donald Trump’s administration.

Mr Musk sported a black eye at a press conference with Mr Trump in which the president confirmed the tech billionaire’s expected departure on Friday.

The billionaire owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X said his five-year-old son X Æ A-12, or X for short, was responsible for the bruising.

“I was horsing around with my son… I said ‘go ahead and punch me in the face’, and he did,” Mr Musk told reporters in the Oval Office.

“It turns out a five-year-old can punch, actually. I didn’t really feel much at the time.”

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Musk sported a black eye

At the press conference, Mr Trump thanked Mr Musk “for his incredible service” with his work for his help setting up and running the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and suggested he would continue to be “back and forth”.

The US president handed Mr Musk a golden key in a White House-branded box, which he described as a “special present”.

“Elon gave an incredible service. [There is] nobody like him. And he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame, because he is an incredible patriot,” Mr Trump said.

“Some of the media organisations in this room are the slingers,” Mr Musk said when asked about the “slings and arrows” in an apparent dig at The New York Times.

The US president praised Mr Musk as “one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced”, commending him for “stepping forward to put his talents into our nation” by leading DOGE.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk, who was wearing a DOGE-branded baseball cap and a T-shirt with “The Dogefather” written on it, said it was “not the end of DOGE, but the beginning” and that the DOGE team would “only grow stronger”.

The 53-year-old added that he would continue to visit the White House and would still be an adviser to Mr Trump.

Mr Musk wore a T-shirt with "The Dogefather" written on it. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Mr Musk wore a T-shirt with “The Dogefather” written on it. Pic: Reuters

During the press conference, Mr Trump also turned to various conflicts around the globe, telling reporters that Israel and Hamas are “very close to an agreement” for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The president said an agreement with Iran to stop it from developing nuclear weapons was also “very close”.

Meanwhile, following recent tensions between India and Pakistan, Mr Trump took credit for de-escalating the situation between the two countries.

Read more from Sky News:
How USAID cuts are affecting the world
‘Harvard isn’t Harvard anymore’

The US president had handed Mr Musk the task of cutting government spending by sacking federal workers and eliminating bureaucratic waste as head of the newly formed DOGE department.

Mr Musk oversaw drastic cuts to America’s humanitarian efforts, leading to criticism that the US was relinquishing some of its global influence.

Despite promising to save taxpayers as much as $2trn (£1.5trn), DOGE currently estimates its efforts have saved $175bn (£130bn).

Mr Musk claimed the savings could be even higher, saying in the Oval Office on Friday: “We do expect over time a trillion dollars in savings. Say by the middle of next year, with presidential support, we can do it.”

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The moment took place before his interview with Rob Schmitt in front of the Republican crowd.

Mr Trump read out a list of savings DOGE has allegedly made, including cutting $101m spent on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies in the Department of Education, $59m on hotel rooms for migrants in New York, $42m on a project for social and behavioural change in Uganda, £24m “for an Arab Sesame Street” and $8m “for making mice transgender”.

But questions have been raised about whether the department has actually saved taxpayers as much money as suggested.

Meanwhile, Mr Musk – who famously brought his son X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office – has expressed frustration about resistance to his ideas, and clashed with other senior members of the Trump administration.

He claimed DOGE had been blamed for cuts that had nothing to do with his department.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Elon Musk carries X Æ A-12 on his shoulders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025.   REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Elon Musk carries X Æ A-12 on his shoulders in the Oval Office. File pic: Reuters

“What we found was happening was if there were any cuts anywhere, people would assume that was done by DOGE,” he explained.

“We essentially became the ‘DOGE’ boogie man.”

It comes after Mr Musk’s father, Errol Musk, speaking to Gillian Joseph on The World earlier this week, insisted there had been “no rift between Elon and Donald Trump”.

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Errol Musk says his son isn’t a very good politician

As a “special government employee”, US law allowed Mr Musk to serve for 130 days, which would have ended around Friday.

He announced he was leaving in a post on X, in which he said: “I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.”

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Environment

Podcast: new Tesla Model S/X, robotaxi service is coming, new EV price war, and more

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Podcast: new Tesla Model S/X, robotaxi service is coming, new EV price war, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the new Tesla Model S/X “refresh”, robotaxi service is coming, a new EV price war in China, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:

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Environment

Kia hits a milestone as the EV5 launches in Singapore

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Kia hits a milestone as the EV5 launches in Singapore

Kia’s electric SUV has already become a hit in several overseas markets. The EV5 is now arriving as the first electric Kia to be assembled in Singapore, as it rolls out to new global markets.

Kia EV5 arrives as its first locally made EV in Singapore

Shortly after its introduction at the 2023 Chengdu Motor Show, Kia launched the EV5 in China, with prices starting at about 20,000 (149,800 yuan).

Kia is now seeing a full-on recovery in China, largely thanks to the new electric SUV. Its joint venture partner in China, Yueda Kia, ranked first in sales growth among JV brands.

In China, Kia sold over 248,000 vehicles last year, the first time it has crossed the 200,000 mark since 2020. The EV5 is made at Yueda Kia’s manufacturing plant in China and exported to overseas markets like Australia and Thailand.

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In fact, the EV5 is currently the fourth best-selling EV in Australia this year through April, ahead of every BYD vehicle.

The EV5 is slightly smaller than the Tesla Model Y at 4,615 mm in length, 1,875 mm in width, and 1,715 mm in height.

Kia-EV5-singapore
Kia EV5 (Source: Kia Singapore)

After launching the EV5 in Singapore on May 28, Kia hit a milestone. The electric SUV arrives as Kia’s first locally assembled EV in the region.

The EV5 was officially launched during an event at Hyundai Motor Innovation Groupe Centre Singapore, where it will be made. It will join other Hyundai Motor electric cars, including the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6. Hyundai also builds the IONIQ 5 robotaxi here and exports it to the US.

Kia-EV5-Singapore
Kia EV5 (Source: Kia)

Kia’s distributor, Cycle and Carriage, will sell the EV5 in three variants: Air, Earth, and a sporty GT-line. Two battery sizes will be available, 64.2 kWh and 88.1 kWh, providing range of 400 km and 540 km, respectively.

Prices for the base Air trim start at $194,000 (SDG), including COE. The Earth and GT-Line models start at $210,500 (SDG) and $260,000 (SDG) with COE.

Kia-EV5-interior
Kia EV5 interior (Source: Kia)

Later this year, Kia will launch the global version of the EV5, which will be made at its Autoland Gwangju manufacturing plant in South Korea. It will be sold in overseas markets, including Europe and Canada, but not the US.

Kia confirmed the EV5 will be “exclusively for the Canadian market” in North America. It will be available in FWD and AWD powertrains. Two battery sizes will be offered: 60.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh, providing a range of up to 500 km (310 miles).

Source: Cycle & Carriage Kia Pte Ltd, The Straits Times

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