Transgenic black soldier flies for production of carotenoids.

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has gained traction recently as a means to achieve closed-loop production cycles. BSF can subsist off mammalian waste products and their consumption of such waste in turn generates compost that can be used in agricultural operations. Their environmental impact is minimal and BSF larvae are edible, with a nutritional profile high in protein and other essential vitamins.

Utilizing Cyclic Voltammetry to Understand the Energy Storage Mechanisms for Copper Oxide and its Graphene Oxide Hybrids as Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Robert A. W. Dryfe at the University of Manchester in collaboration with William Blythe Ltd.

Utilizing Cyclic Voltammetry to Understand the Energy Storage Mechanisms for Copper Oxide and its Graphene Oxide Hybrids as Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes.

Graphene-based materials have been extensively researched as a means improve the electrochemical performance of transition metal oxides in Li-ion battery applications, however an understanding of the effect of the different synthesis routes, and the factors underlying the oft-stated better performance of the hybrid materials (compared to the pure metal oxides) is not always demonstrated. For the first time, we report a range of synthetic routes to produce graphene oxide (GO)-coated CuO, micro-particle/GO "bundles" as well as nano-particulates decorated on GO sheets to enable a comparison with CuO and its carbon-coated analogue, as confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and Raman spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry was utilized to probe the lithiation/delithiation mechanism of CuO by scanning at successively decreasing vertex potentials, uncovering the importance of a full reduction to Cu metal on the reduction step.

Identifying Chicago's High Users of Police-Involved Emergency Services.

Objectives: To identify individuals at risk for behavioral health (BH)-involved encounters with police in Chicago, Illinois.

Methods: We linked Chicago Police Department (CPD) arrest and Fire Department (CFD) BH-involved ambulance event data. We identified at-risk individuals who accumulated at least 1 BH-involved ambulance and at least 1 arrest event between May 2016 and April 2017.

The Neuronal Gene Arc Encodes a Repurposed Retrotransposon Gag Protein that Mediates Intercellular RNA Transfer.

The neuronal gene Arc is essential for long-lasting information storage in the mammalian brain, mediates various forms of synaptic plasticity, and has been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. However, little is known about Arc's molecular function and evolutionary origins. Here, we show that Arc self-assembles into virus-like capsids that encapsulate RNA.

Arc: building a bridge from viruses to memory.

Arc (activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein) is a neuron-specific immediate early gene that is required for enduring forms of synaptic plasticity and memory in the mammalian brain. Arc expression is highly dynamic, and tightly regulated by neuronal activity and experience. Local translation of Arc protein at synapses is critical for synaptic plasticity, which is mediated by Arc-dependent trafficking of AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid)-type glutamate receptors.

TDP-43 identified from a genome wide RNAi screen for SOD1 regulators.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a late-onset, progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord leading to loss of voluntary muscular function and ultimately, death due to respiratory failure. A subset of ALS cases are familial and associated with mutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) that destabilize the protein and predispose it to aggregation. In spite of the fact that sporadic and familial forms of ALS share many common patho-physiological features, the mechanistic relationship between SOD1-associated and sporadic forms of the disease if any, is not well understood.

Influence of prenatal stress on behavioral, endocrine, and cytokine responses to adulthood bacterial endotoxin exposure.

Prior research suggests that prenatal stress, among other effects, can lead to hyper-reactivity of the offspring's hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and alterations in immune function. These stress-induced changes have been linked to a greater propensity to develop depression or anxiety disorders. Furthermore, prenatally stressed offspring may be more susceptible to certain diseases.