Nonindustrial pretreatment and enzymes can yield sufficient calories from lignocellulosic biomass for human survival.

Following a global catastrophe causing reduced sunlight, the environment would become unfavorable for crop growth. Under such conditions, people might need to convert inedible plant biomass into food to meet their daily nutritional requirements. However, the possibility of converting biomass into food under low-resource conditions has not been thoroughly studied.

Cell-type-specific enhancement of deviance detection by synaptic zinc in the mouse auditory cortex.

Stimulus-specific adaptation is a hallmark of sensory processing in which a repeated stimulus results in diminished successive neuronal responses, but a deviant stimulus will still elicit robust responses from the same neurons. Recent work has established that synaptically released zinc is an endogenous mechanism that shapes neuronal responses to sounds in the auditory cortex. Here, to understand the contributions of synaptic zinc to deviance detection of specific neurons, we performed wide-field and 2-photon calcium imaging of multiple classes of cortical neurons.

Development of an affordable light emitting diode spectrophotometer paired with a Python program for calibration and linearity testing and the measurement of uranium(VI).

Uranium (U) is a radiologically and chemically toxic element that occurs naturally in water, soil, and rock at generally low levels. However, anthropogenic uranium can also leach into groundwater sources due to mining, ore refining, and improper nuclear waste management. Over the last few decades, various methods for measuring uranium have emerged; however, most of these techniques require skilled scientists to run samples on expensive instrumentation for detection or require the pretreatment of samples in complex procedures.

TUBB4B is essential for the cytoskeletal architecture of cochlear supporting cells and motile cilia development.

Microtubules are essential for various cellular processes. The functional diversity of microtubules is attributed to the incorporation of various α- and β-tubulin isotypes encoded by different genes. In this work, we investigated the functional role of β4B-tubulin isotype (TUBB4B) in hearing and vision as mutations in TUBB4B are associated with sensorineural disease.

NST3 induces ectopic transdifferentiation, forming secondary walls with diverse patterns and composition in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background And Aims: The master transcription factor NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR3 (NST3), also known as SND1, plays a pivotal role in regulating secondary cell wall (SCW) development in interfascicular and xylary fibers in Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite progress in understanding SCW assembly in xylem vessel-like cells, the mechanisms behind its assembly across different cell types remain unclear. Overexpressing NST3 or its homolog NST1 leads to reduced fertility, posing challenges for studying their impact on secondary wall formation.

Nutritional Composition of Post-Catastrophic Foods.

In addition to current challenges in food production arising from climate change, soil salinization, drought, flooding, and human-caused disruption, abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios (ASRS), e.g., a nuclear winter, supervolcano eruption, or large asteroid or comet strike, are catastrophes that would severely disrupt the global food supply and decimate normal agricultural practices.

Phenylboronic acid interacts with pectic rhamnogalacturonan-II and displays anti-auxinic effects during Arabidopsis thaliana root growth and development.

Boron dimerizes RG-II in the plant cell wall and is crucial for plant cell elongation. However, studying RG-II dimerization in plants is challenging because of the severe phenotypes or lethality of RG-II mutants. Boron deprivation abrogates both RG-II dimerization and plant growth, but whether or how these phenotypes are functionally linked has remained unclear.

Preparation and Compositional Analysis of Lignocellulosic Plant Biomass as a Precursor for Food Production During Food Crises.

In the event of a sunlight-blocking, temperature-lowering global catastrophe, such as a global nuclear war, super-volcano eruption or large asteroid strike, normal agricultural practices would be severely disrupted with a devastating impact on the global food supply. Despite the improbability of such an occurrence, it is prudent to consider how to sustain the surviving population following a global catastrophe until normal weather and climate patterns resume. Additionally, the ongoing challenges posed by climate change, droughts, flooding, soil salinization, and famine highlight the importance of developing food systems with resilient inputs such as lignocellulosic biomass.

Trans-synaptic Association of Vesicular Zinc Transporter 3 and Shank3 Supports Synapse-Specific Dendritic Spine Structure and Function in the Mouse Auditory Cortex.

Shank3 is a synaptic scaffolding protein that assists in tethering and organizing structural proteins and glutamatergic receptors in the postsynaptic density of excitatory synapses. The localization of Shank3 at excitatory synapses and the formation of stable Shank3 complexes is regulated by the binding of zinc to the C-terminal sterile-alpha-motif (SAM) domain of Shank3. Mutations in the SAM domain of Shank3 result in altered synaptic function and morphology, and disruption of zinc in synapses that express Shank3 leads to a reduction of postsynaptic proteins important for synaptic structure and function.

Testing the structural disconnection hypothesis: Myelin content correlates with memory in healthy aging.

Introduction: The "structural disconnection" hypothesis of cognitive aging suggests that deterioration of white matter (WM), especially myelin, results in cognitive decline, yet in vivo evidence is inconclusive.

Methods: We examined age differences in WM microstructure using Myelin Water Imaging and Diffusion Tensor Imaging in 141 healthy participants (age 20-79). We used the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project and the NIH Toolbox® to generate composites for memory, processing speed, and executive function.

Architecture and functions of stomatal cell walls in eudicots and grasses.

Background: Like all plant cells, the guard cells of stomatal complexes are encased in cell walls that are composed of diverse, interacting networks of polysaccharide polymers. The properties of these cell walls underpin the dynamic deformations that occur in guard cells as they expand and contract to drive the opening and closing of the stomatal pore, the regulation of which is crucial for photosynthesis and water transport in plants.

Scope: Our understanding of how cell wall mechanics are influenced by the nanoscale assembly of cell wall polymers in guard cell walls, how this architecture changes over stomatal development, maturation and ageing and how the cell walls of stomatal guard cells might be tuned to optimize stomatal responses to dynamic environmental stimuli is still in its infancy.

Single-molecule tracking reveals dual front door/back door inhibition of Cel7A cellulase by its product cellobiose.

Degrading cellulose is a key step in the processing of lignocellulosic biomass into bioethanol. Cellobiose, the disaccharide product of cellulose degradation, has been shown to inhibit cellulase activity, but the mechanisms underlying product inhibition are not clear. We combined single-molecule imaging and biochemical investigations with the goal of revealing the mechanism by which cellobiose inhibits the activity of Cel7A, a well-characterized exo-cellulase.

A core of cell wall proteins functions in wall integrity responses in .

Cell walls surround all plant cells, and their composition and structure are tightly regulated to maintain cellular and organismal homeostasis. In response to wall damage, the cell wall integrity (CWI) system is engaged to ameliorate effects on plant growth. Despite the central role CWI plays in plant development, our current understanding of how this system functions at the molecular level is limited.

Young guard cells function dynamically despite low mechanical anisotropy but gain efficiency during stomatal maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Stomata are pores at the leaf surface that enable gas exchange and transpiration. The signaling pathways that regulate the differentiation of stomatal guard cells and the mechanisms of stomatal pore formation have been characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the process by which stomatal complexes develop after pore formation into fully mature complexes is poorly understood.

Altering the substitution and cross-linking of glucuronoarabinoxylans affects cell wall architecture in Brachypodium distachyon.

The Poaceae family of plants provides cereal crops that are critical for human and animal nutrition, and also, they are an important source of biomass. Interacting plant cell wall components give rise to recalcitrance to digestion; thus, understanding the wall molecular architecture is important to improve biomass properties. Xylan is the main hemicellulose in grass cell walls.

Correlates of axonal content in healthy adult span: Age, sex, myelin, and metabolic health.

As the emerging treatments that target grey matter pathology in Alzheimer's Disease have limited effectiveness, there is a critical need to identify new neural targets for treatments. White matter's (WM) metabolic vulnerability makes it a promising candidate for new interventions. This study examined the age and sex differences in estimates of axonal content, as well the associations of with highly prevalent modifiable health risk factors such as metabolic syndrome and adiposity.

Flexible Pectin Nanopatterning Drives Cell Wall Organization in Plants.

Plant cell walls are abundant sources of materials and energy. Nevertheless, cell wall nanostructure, specifically how pectins interact with cellulose and hemicelluloses to construct a robust and flexible biomaterial, is poorly understood. X-ray scattering measurements are minimally invasive and can reveal ultrastructural, compositional, and physical properties of materials.

Lignin impairs Cel7A degradation of in vitro lignified cellulose by impeding enzyme movement and not by acting as a sink.

Background: Cellulose degradation by cellulases has been studied for decades due to the potential of using lignocellulosic biomass as a sustainable source of bioethanol. In plant cell walls, cellulose is bonded together and strengthened by the polyphenolic polymer, lignin. Because lignin is tightly linked to cellulose and is not digestible by cellulases, is thought to play a dominant role in limiting the efficient enzymatic degradation of plant biomass.

Metabolic syndrome and adiposity: Risk factors for decreased myelin in cognitively healthy adults.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions that affects ∼25% of the global population, including excess adiposity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and elevated blood pressure. MetS is one of major risk factors not only for chronic diseases, but also for dementia and cognitive dysfunction, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. White matter is of particular interest in the context of MetS due to the metabolic vulnerability of myelin maintenance, and the accumulating evidence for the importance of the white matter in the pathophysiology of dementia.

Aotus nancymaae model predicts human immune response to the placental malaria vaccine candidate VAR2CSA.

Placental malaria vaccines (PMVs) are being developed to prevent severe sequelae of placental malaria (PM) in pregnant women and their offspring. The leading candidate vaccine antigen VAR2CSA mediates parasite binding to placental receptor chondroitin sulfate A (CSA). Despite promising results in small animal studies, recent human trials of the first two PMV candidates (PAMVAC and PRIMVAC) generated limited cross-reactivity and cross-inhibitory activity to heterologous parasites.

Developing an Edema Clinician-Reported Outcome Measure for Nephrotic Syndrome.

Introduction: Edema is a common manifestation of proteinuric kidney diseases, but there is no consensus approach for reliably evaluating edema. The objective of this study was to develop an edema clinician-reported outcome measure for use in patients with nephrotic syndrome.

Methods: A literature review was conducted to assess existing clinician-rated measures of edema.

Assessing lignocellulosic biomass as a source of emergency foods.

Catastrophes such as a nuclear war would generate atmospheric soot and reduce sunlight, making it difficult to grow crops. Under such conditions, people might turn to inedible plant biomass for nutrition, but the convertibility and nutritional content of this biomass have not been rigorously analyzed. We found that if plant biomass were converted into food at 30% efficiency, 6.

Stomatal opening efficiency is controlled by cell wall organization in .

Stomatal function in plants is regulated by the nanoscale architecture of the cell wall and turgor pressure, which together control stomatal pore size to facilitate gas exchange and photosynthesis. The mechanical properties of the cell wall and cell geometry are critical determinants of stomatal dynamics. However, the specific biomechanical functions of wall constituents, for example, cellulose and pectins, and their impact on the work required to open or close the stomatal pore are unclear.

Measuring calcium content in plants using NEXAFS spectroscopy.

Calcium is important for the growth and development of plants. It serves crucial functions in cell wall and cell membrane structure and serves as a secondary messenger in signaling pathways relevant to nutrient and immunity responses. Thus, measuring calcium levels in plants is important for studies of plant biology and for technology development in food, agriculture, energy, and forest industries.