Polyphenol-Rich Fruit Beneficially Impact Cholesterol, Glucose, and Serum and Gut Metabolites: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Polyphenol-rich Aronia fruits have great potential as a functional food with anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and hypoglycemic biologic activities. However, clinical intervention trials investigating the impact of Aronia fruit consumption on human health are limited. A randomized, controlled, double-blinded, parallel intervention trial was conducted using 14 human subjects who ingested either 0 mL or 100 mL of Aronia juice daily for 30 days.

Rapid GIT transit time in volant vertebrates, with implications for convergence in microbiome composition.

Flying birds and bats have simplified gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) and low intestinal mass to facilitate flight. Previous work showed reduced GIT transit times in birds relative to other vertebrates-but GIT transit has never been collectively quantified for bats. Unique among mammals, bat GIT microbiomes are dominated by Pseudomonadota bacteria (previously Proteobacteria), which also dominate the microbiomes of flying birds - we hypothesized this convergence to result from rapid GIT transit times for both volant taxa.

Metabolic impact of polyphenol-rich aronia fruit juice mediated by inflammation status of gut microbiome donors in humanized mouse model.

Background: The fruit is emerging as a health food owing to its high polyphenolic content and associated antioxidant activity. Antioxidant-rich foods, such as Aronia fruit, may counter inflammatory stimuli and positively modulate the gut microbiome. However, a comprehensive study characterizing the impact of Aronia fruit supplementation has not been completed.

Investigating the impact of condomless vaginal intercourse and lubricant use on the vaginal metabolome: a pre-post observational study.

Objective: The vaginal metabolome is a significant factor in the vaginal microenvironment, and data are emerging on its independent role in urogenital health. Condomless vaginal intercourse and personal lubricant use are common practices that may affect the vaginal metabolome. The aim of the present study is to describe the associations between condomless intercourse and lubricant use on the vaginal metabolome.

Bacterial Vaginosis Monitoring with Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistors.

The ability to rapidly and reliably screen for bacterial vaginosis (BV) during pregnancy is of great significance for maternal health and pregnancy outcomes. In this proof-of-concept study, we demonstrated the potential of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (NTFET) in the rapid diagnostics of BV with the sensing of BV-related factors such as pH and biogenic amines. The fabricated sensors showed good linearity to pH changes with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.