Resident microbial communities inhibit growth and antibiotic-resistance evolution of Escherichia coli in human gut microbiome samples.

Countering the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens requires improved understanding of how resistance emerges and spreads in individual species, which are often embedded in complex microbial communities such as the human gut microbiome. Interactions with other microorganisms in such communities might suppress growth and resistance evolution of individual species (e.g.

Author Correction: Baleen whale acoustic presence and behaviour at a Mid-Atlantic migratory habitat, the Azores Archipelago.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Author Correction: Impaired mitophagy links mitochondrial disease to epithelial stress in methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficiency.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Baleen whale acoustic presence and behaviour at a Mid-Atlantic migratory habitat, the Azores Archipelago.

The identification of important areas during the annual life cycle of migratory animals, such as baleen whales, is vital for their conservation. In boreal springtime, fin and blue whales feed in the Azores on their way to northern latitudes while sei whales migrate through the archipelago with only occasional feeding. Little is known about their autumn or winter presence or their acoustic behaviour in temperate migratory habitats.

Associations between sensitivity to antibiotics, disinfectants and heavy metals in natural, clinical and laboratory isolates of Escherichia coli.

Bacteria in nature often encounter non-antibiotic antibacterials (NAAs), such as disinfectants and heavy metals, and they can evolve resistance via mechanisms that are also involved in antibiotic resistance. Understanding whether susceptibility to different types of antibacterials is non-randomly associated across natural and clinical bacteria is therefore important for predicting the spread of resistance, yet there is no consensus about the extent of such associations or underlying mechanisms. We tested for associations between susceptibility phenotypes of 93 natural and clinical Escherichia coli isolates to various NAAs and antibiotics.

A Lesson from Plants: High-Speed Soft Robotic Actuators.

Rapid energy-efficient movements are one of nature's greatest developments. Mechanisms like snap-buckling allow plants like the Venus flytrap to close the terminal lobes of their leaves at barely perceptible speed. Here, a soft balloon actuator is presented, which is inspired by such mechanical instabilities and creates safe, giant, and fast deformations.

Common Feeding Practices Pose A Risk to the Welfare of Horses When Kept on Non-Edible Bedding.

During the evolution of the horse, an extended period of feed intake, spread over the entire 24-h period, determined the horses' behaviour and physiology. Horses will not interrupt their feed intake for more than 4 hours, if they have a choice. The aim of the present study was to investigate in what way restrictive feeding practices ( ) affect the horses' natural feed intake behaviour.

Improving Pain Reassessment and Documentation Rates: A Quality Improvement Project in a Teaching Hospital's Emergency Department.

Introduction: ED pain score reassessment and documentation rates were drastically low according to sampled data from the St. Margaret Hospital Emergency Department, leading to difficult pain management encounters for clinicians. The purpose of this project was to improve pain score reassessment rates in ED patients who were discharged with extremity pain.

Large scale consumption monitoring of benzodiazepines and z-drugs by hair analysis.

Benzodiazepines (BDZ) and z-drugs belong to the most frequently prescribed medicines worldwide used for anxiety, epilepsy and sleeping disorders. Due to their pharmacology, they have a high potential for misuse. Hair analysis is being performed for the retrospective monitoring of drug exposure.

Impaired mitophagy links mitochondrial disease to epithelial stress in methylmalonyl-CoA mutase deficiency.

Deregulation of mitochondrial network in terminally differentiated cells contributes to a broad spectrum of disorders. Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is one of the most common inherited metabolic disorders, due to deficiency of the mitochondrial methylmalonyl-coenzyme A mutase (MMUT). How MMUT deficiency triggers cell damage remains unknown, preventing the development of disease-modifying therapies.

Analysis of fibroblasts from patients with cblC and cblG genetic defects of cobalamin metabolism reveals global dysregulation of alternative splicing.

Vitamin B12 or cobalamin (Cbl) metabolism can be affected by genetic defects leading to defective activity of either methylmalonyl-CoA mutase or methionine synthase or both enzymes. Patients usually present with a wide spectrum of pathologies suggesting that various cellular processes could be affected by modifications in gene expression. We have previously demonstrated that these genetic defects are associated with subcellular mislocalization of RNA-binding proteins (RBP) and subsequent altered nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of mRNAs.

[CME Sonography 89: Differential Diagnosis of Kidney Masses].

CME Sonography 89: Differential Diagnosis of Kidney Masses Cystic and solid renal lesions are common in ultrasound diagnostics. The solid pseudotumor of the kidney, the so-called renal parenchymal cone, is found in up to 50 % of patients. Pathologically-anatomically it is either a hypertrophy of the column of Bertini or the entire renal lobus, which is located in the renal sinus.

Interstitial Lung Disease in Relatives of Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Although relatives of patients with familial pulmonary fibrosis (FPF) are at an increased risk for interstitial lung disease (ILD), the risk among relatives of sporadic idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is not known. To identify the prevalence of interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and ILD among relatives of patients with FPF and sporadic IPF. Undiagnosed first-degree relatives of patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) consented to participate in a screening study that included the completion of questionnaires, pulmonary function testing, chest computed tomography, a blood sample collection for immunophenotyping, telomere length assessments, and genetic testing.

Endoplasmic Reticulum and Lysosomal Quality Control of Four Nonsense Mutants of Iduronate 2-Sulfatase Linked to Hunter's Syndrome.

Hunter's syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type II) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS) gene. Motivated by the case of a child affected by this syndrome, we compared the intracellular fate of wild-type IDS (IDS) and four nonsense mutations of IDS (IDS, IDS, IDS, and IDS) generating progressively shorter forms of IDS associated with mild to severe forms of the disease. Our analyses revealed formylation of all forms of IDS at cysteine 84, which is a prerequisite for enzymatic activity.

Storage or Run-of-river Reservoirs: Exploring the Ecological Effects of Dam Operation on Stability and Species Interactions of Fish Assemblages.

Water level variation has an important role in the biology of fish species, driving behavior, feeding, and reproduction both in natural and modified environments. In reservoirs, different dam operation schemes result in alternative patterns of water level fluctuations. Storage (STR) reservoirs accumulate water and can vary the water level unpredictably, whereas this variation is more discrete in run-of-river (ROR) reservoirs.

Comparison of the population structure of Streptococcus uberis mastitis isolates from Austrian small-scale dairy farms and a Slovakian large-scale farm.

Streptococcus uberis, a major mastitis pathogen associated with intramammary infections (IMI), can be found ubiquitously in the cow's environment. Although Strep. uberis is reported to be susceptible to most antimicrobials, in practice poor responses to treatment and recurrent mastitis are observed.

Crosstalk between SHH and FGFR Signaling Pathways Controls Tissue Invasion in Medulloblastoma.

In the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) subgroup of medulloblastoma (MB), tumor initiation and progression are in part driven by smoothened (SMO) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-receptor (FGFR) signaling, respectively. We investigated the impact of the SMO-FGFR crosstalk on tumor growth and invasiveness in MB. We found that FGFR signaling represses GLI1 expression downstream of activated SMO in the SHH MB line DAOY and induces , , and in DAOY and in the group 3 MB line HD-MBO3.

Psychiatric symptoms and expression of glucocorticoid receptor gene in cocaine users: A longitudinal study.

Background: Chronic cocaine users (CU) display reduced peripheral expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1), which is potentially involved in stress-related psychiatric symptoms frequently occurring in CU. However, it is unknown whether psychiatric symptoms and lower NR3C1 expression are related to each other and whether reduction of drug consumption reverse them.

Method: At baseline, NR3C1 mRNA expression was measured in 68 recreational CU, 30 dependent CU, and 68 stimulant-naïve controls.

Endogenous steroid hormones in hair: Investigations on different hair types, pigmentation effects and correlation to nails.

Steroid hormone analysis is widely used in health- and stress-related research to get insights into various diseases and the adaption to stress. Hair analysis has been used as a tool for the long-term monitoring of these steroid hormones. In this study, a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous identification and quantification of seven steroid hormones (cortisone, cortisol, 11-deoxycortisol, androstenedione, 11-deoxycorticosterone, testosterone, progesterone) in hair.

An Integrated Model of Minor Intron Emergence and Conservation.

Minor introns constitute <0.5% of the introns in the human genome and have remained an enigma since their discovery. These introns are removed by a distinct splicing complex, the minor spliceosome.

Sensitivity to gains during risky decision-making differentiates chronic cocaine users from stimulant-naïve controls.

Background: Chronic cocaine use has been consistently associated with decision-making impairments that contribute to the development and maintenance of drug-taking. However, the underlying cognitive processes of risk-seeking behaviours observed in chronic cocaine users (CU) have so far remained unclear. Here we therefore tested whether CU differ from stimulant-naïve controls in their sensitivity to gain, loss, and probability of loss information when making decisions under risk.