Interpolyelectrolyte complexes of in vivo produced dsRNA with chitosan and alginate for enhanced plant protection against tobacco mosaic virus.

We developed a formulation of long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) using interpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPECs) composed of the biopolymers chitosan and alginate, in order to protect the dsRNA from biotic and abiotic factors. Our primary objectives were to enhance stability of dsRNA against environmental nucleases and, secondarily, to mitigate the negative charge of the dsRNA, which may promote foliar uptake. Our approach relies on submicron particles with adjustable surface charge being either positive or negative.

Balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube for obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction in adults.

Background: Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) causes symptoms and signs of pressure dysregulation in the middle ear, and is associated with tympanic membrane retraction, otitis media with effusion, and chronic otitis media. Interventions aiming to improve symptoms can be non-surgical or surgical, including balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube, also known as balloon eustachian tuboplasty (BET) for obstructive ETD. However, existing published evidence for the effectiveness and safety of BET remains unclear.

synergistically supports systemic plant defense response in against .

The network of antagonistic, neutral, and synergistic interactions between (micro)organisms has moved into the focus of current research, since in agriculture, this knowledge can help to develop efficient biocontrol strategies. Applying the nematophagous fungus as biocontrol agent to manage the root-knot nematode is a highly promising strategy. To gain new insight into the systemic response of plants to a plant-parasitic nematode and a nematophagous fungus, was inoculated with and/or and subjected to transcriptome and metabolome analysis of leaves.

Exogenous dsRNA triggers sequence-specific RNAi and fungal stress responses to control Magnaporthe oryzae in Brachypodium distachyon.

In vertebrates and plants, dsRNA plays crucial roles as PAMP and as a mediator of RNAi. How higher fungi respond to dsRNA is not known. We demonstrate that Magnaporthe oryzae (Mo), a globally significant crop pathogen, internalizes dsRNA across a broad size range of 21 to about 3000 bp.

Immobilization of Paenibacillus polymyxa with biopolymers to enhance the production of 2,3-butanediol.

Background: Paenibacillus polymyxa, is a Gram-positive, plant growth promoting bacterium, known for producing 98% optically pure 2,3-butanediol, an industrially valuable chemical for solvents, plasticizers and resins. Immobilization of Paenibacillus polymyxa has been proposed to improve the cell stability and efficiency of the fermentation process, reduce contamination and provide easy separation of butanediol in the culture broth as compared to conventional bioprocesses. This research aimed to explore the potential of Paenibacillus polymyxa with immobilization technique to produce 2,3-butanediol.

Encapsulation, Shelf Life, and Virulence of sp. Against .

is a genus of entomophthoralean fungi often associated with insect epizootics, particularly in phytophagous hemipterans. Encapsulation has become a promising strategy for improving the shelf life and sporulation of these fungi post-application. This study aims to (i) compare the virulence of the submerged propagules and primary conidia of sp.

The patient perspective on the environmental impact of inhalers.

Introduction: Increasing the proportion of low-carbon inhalers prescribed within the NHS forms a central part of net-zero policy. Yet, the patients' perspective on this strategy has not been determined. We aimed to establish if environmental issues are important to respiratory patients and whether this may influence inhaler choice.

Calibration estimation of population total using multi-auxiliary information in the presence of non-response.

This paper considers the problem of estimation of the population total under probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling scheme when complete data is not available due to the presence of missing observations or non-response. The suggested estimators are developed based on available multi-auxiliary information for the response group and non-response group utilizing the calibration approach. The variances of the suggested estimators have been derived up to the first order of approximation.

NMR-based comparative metabolomics of quiescent muscle cells.

Adult muscle tissue largely comprised of differentiated myofibers also harbors quiescent muscle-resident stem cells (MuSCs) that are responsible for its maintenance, repair and regeneration. Emerging evidence suggests that quiescent MuSCs exhibit a specific metabolic state, which is regulated during physiological and pathological alterations. However, a detailed understanding of the metabolic state of quiescent MuSCs and its alteration during activation and repair is lacking.

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in primary human nasal cultures demonstrates Delta as most cytopathic and Omicron as fastest replicating.

Unlabelled: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was marked with emerging viral variants, some of which were designated as variants of concern (VOCs) due to selection and rapid circulation in the human population. Here, we elucidate functional features of each VOC linked to variations in replication rate. Patient-derived primary nasal cultures grown at air-liquid interface were used to model upper respiratory infection and compared to cell lines derived from human lung epithelia.

Release Kinetics of Potassium, Calcium, and Iron Cations from Carboxymethyl Cellulose Hydrogels at Different pH Values.

In an in-depth study of the mechanism of cation release from carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels synthesized through Schiff base reaction, we analyze the differences in the release kinetics of potassium, calcium, and iron cations with Peleg model at pH values of pH 3.5 and pH 8.5 using ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy) technique.

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in primary human nasal cultures demonstrates Delta as most cytopathic and Omicron as fastest replicating.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was marked with emerging viral variants, some of which were designated as variants of concern (VOCs) due to selection and rapid circulation in the human population. Here we elucidate functional features of each VOC linked to variations in replication rate. Patient-derived primary nasal cultures grown at air-liquid-interface (ALI) were used to model upper-respiratory infection and human lung epithelial cell lines used to model lower-respiratory infection.

Pathomechanistic Networks of Motor System Injury in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is the most common, adult-onset, progressive motor neurodegenerative disorder that results in death within 3 years of the clinical diagnosis. Due to the clinicopathological heterogeneity, any reliable biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis of ALS have not been identified till date. Moreover, the only three clinically approved treatments are not uniformly effective in slowing the disease progression.

Polyvinyl alcohol coating releasing fungal blastospores improves kill effect of attract-and-kill beads.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a biodegradable, water-soluble polymer with excellent film forming properties, commonly studied or used as tablet coating, food packaging or controlled release fertilizers. Attract-and-kill (AK) beads are sustainable, microbial alternatives to synthetic soil insecticides, whose onset of lethal effect largely depend on how fast the encapsulated entomopathogenic fungus forms virulent conidia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a water-soluble coating accelerating the kill effect of AK beads by immediately releasing virulent Metarhizium brunneum CB15-III blastospores.

Pandora cacopsyllae Eilenberg, Keller & Humber (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae), a new species infecting pear psyllid Cacopsylla pyri L. (Hemiptera: Psyllidae).

The new species Pandora cacopsyllae Eilenberg, Keller & Humber (Entomophthorales) is described. The fungus was found on infected pear psyllids Cacopsylla pyri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in a pear orchard in Zealand, Denmark. Morphological structures (conidia, rhizoids, cystidia) were described on the designated type host C.

Acan downregulation in parvalbumin GABAergic cells reduces spontaneous recovery of fear memories.

While persistence of fear memories is essential for survival, a failure to inhibit fear in response to harmless stimuli is a feature of anxiety disorders. Extinction training only temporarily suppresses fear memory recovery in adults, but it is highly effective in juvenile rodents. Maturation of GABAergic circuits, in particular of parvalbumin-positive (PV) cells, restricts plasticity in the adult brain, thus reducing PV cell maturation could promote the suppression of fear memories following extinction training in adults.

Differential Effects of Chronic Ethanol Use on Mouse Neuronal and Astroglial Metabolic Activity.

Chronic alcohol use disorder, a major risk factor for the development of neuropsychiatric disorders including addiction to other substances, is associated with several neuropathology including perturbed neuronal and glial activities in the brain. It affects carbon metabolism in specific brain regions, and perturbs neuro-metabolite homeostasis in neuronal and glial cells. Alcohol induced changes in the brain neurochemical profile accompany the negative emotional state associated with dysregulated reward and sensitized stress response to withdrawal.

A comparative study of antibody response, virus neutralization efficiency & metabolites in SARS-CoV-2-infected adults & children.

Background & Objectives: COVID-19 has been a global pandemic since early 2020. It has diverse clinical manifestations, but consistent immunological and metabolic correlates of disease severity and protection are not clear. This study was undertaken to compare seropositivity rate, antibody levels against nucleocapsid and spike proteins, virus neutralization and metabolites between adult and child COVID-19 patients.

Chronic lead exposure disrupts neurometabolic activity in mouse brain: An ex vivoH-[C]-NMR study.

Lead poisoning has been identified as a problem in adults as well as in children. Chronic exposure to lead has been implicated in neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of chronic lead exposure on cerebral glutamatergic and GABAergic metabolic activity in mice.

Diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia (DIPNECH): Prevalence, clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcome in a cohort of 311 patients with well-differentiated lung neuroendocrine tumours.

Introduction: Diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia (DIPNECH) is considered to be a rare condition associated with lung neuroendocrine tumours (NET), and its natural history is poorly described. We aimed to assess the prevalence and clinicopathologic characteristics of DIPNECH in the lung NET population, and to investigate predictors of time-to-progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS).

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients diagnosed with DIPNECH between April 2005 and December 2020.

Impact of society and national guidelines on patient selection for lung cancer surgery in the United Kingdom.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the impact of different national clinical guidelines (with consistent and conflicting recommendations) on clinician's practice in the UK.

Methods: In this cohort study, we analysed data from National Lung Cancer Audit comprising all patients diagnosed with lung cancer between 2008 and 2013 within England and Wales for consistent (British Thoracic Society and National Institute of Clinical Excellence) recommendations for lower/more permissive lung function but opposing stage (N2) selection parameters for surgery.

Results: From 2008 to 2013, data from 167 192 patients with primary lung cancers were included.

Riluzole restores memory and brain energy metabolism in AβPP-PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to memory loss and impaired cognition. Despite several decades of research, AD therapeutic is not available. In this study, we have investigated the impact of a chronic intervention of riluzole on memory and neurometabolism in the AβPP-PS1 mouse model of AD.

Silica Hydrogels as Entrapment Material for Microalgae.

Despite being a promising feedstock for food, feed, chemicals, and biofuels, microalgal production processes are still uneconomical due to slow growth rates, costly media, problematic downstreaming processes, and rather low cell densities. Immobilization via entrapment constitutes a promising tool to overcome these drawbacks of microalgal production and enables continuous processes with protection against shear forces and contaminations. In contrast to biopolymer gels, inorganic silica hydrogels are highly transparent and chemically, mechanically, thermally, and biologically stable.

Enhanced Cortical Metabolic Activity in Females and Males of a Slow Progressing Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with selective degeneration of motor neurons in the central nervous system. The pathophysiology of ALS is not well understood. We have used H-[C]-NMR spectroscopy together with an administration of [1,6-C]glucose and [2-C]acetate in female and male SOD1 mice to assess neuronal and astroglial metabolic activity, respectively, in the central nervous system in ALS condition.