Teaching old dogs new tricks: genetic engineering methanogens.

Methanogenic archaea, which are integral to global carbon and nitrogen cycling, currently face challenges in genetic manipulation due to unique physiology and limited genetic tools. This review provides a survey of current and past developments in the genetic engineering of methanogens, including selection and counterselection markers, reporter systems, shuttle vectors, mutagenesis methods, markerless genetic exchange, and gene expression control. This review discusses genetic tools and emphasizes challenges tied to tool scarcity for specific methanogenic species.

Excited-State Identification of a Nickel-Bipyridine Photocatalyst by Time-Resolved X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

Photoassisted catalysis using Ni complexes is an emerging field for cross-coupling reactions in organic synthesis. However, the mechanism by which light enables and enhances the reactivity of these complexes often remains elusive. Although optical techniques have been widely used to study the ground and excited states of photocatalysts, they lack the specificity to interrogate the electronic and structural changes at specific atoms.

Enhancing Uterine Fibroid Care: Clinician Perspectives on Diagnosis, Disparities, and Strategies for Improving Health Care.

Objective: To explore clinicians' perspectives on diagnosing, treating, and managing uterine fibroids, identifying gaps and challenges in health care delivery, and offering recommendations for improving care.

Materials And Methods: A qualitative design was used to conduct 14 semistructured interviews with clinicians who treat fibroid patients in central Indiana. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques.

Do standard behavioral assays predict foraging behavior of individual Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) in response to a predator model or calls?

Black-capped chickadees () and other species that feed at bird feeders balance the benefit of easy foraging with the added risk of predation. Individual birds respond differently to risky situations, and these differences have been attributed to the birds' personalities, which researchers commonly assess with an "open-field" behavioral assay. However, these behavioral assays in birds have not been compared to behavior in the wild in the context of foraging in the presence of a predator (i.

CRAPS: Chromosomal-Repair-Assisted Pathway Shuffling in Yeast.

A fundamental challenge of metabolic engineering involves assembling and screening vast combinations of orthologous enzymes across a multistep biochemical pathway. Current pathway assembly workflows involve combining genetic parts and assembling one pathway configuration per tube or well. Here, we present CRAPS, hromosomal-epair-ssisted athway huffling, an pathway engineering technique that enables the self-assembly of one pathway configuration per cell.

Extracranial hypoglossal neurofibroma with a variant ansa cervicalis: a case report.

Purpose: This case report aims to explore a rare combination of findings in a cadaver donor: variant ansa cervicalis, vagus (CN X) and hypoglossal (CN XII) nerve fusion, and extracranial hypoglossal neurofibroma.

Background: The type of ansa cervicalis variation presented in this report has been documented in less than 1% of described cases. The CN X-CN XII fusion has been reported in one prior study.

"I think people should be more aware:" Uterine fibroid experiences among women living in Indiana, USA.

Objective: To understand healthcare experiences among patients with uterine fibroids (fibroids) across the continuum of care, from early symptoms through diagnosis, treatment, and management, while also investigating health disparities.

Methods: We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with patients with fibroids. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis.

ADRA1A-Gα signalling potentiates adipocyte thermogenesis through CKB and TNAP.

Noradrenaline (NA) regulates cold-stimulated adipocyte thermogenesis. Aside from cAMP signalling downstream of β-adrenergic receptor activation, how NA promotes thermogenic output is still not fully understood. Here, we show that coordinated α-adrenergic receptor (AR) and β-AR signalling induces the expression of thermogenic genes of the futile creatine cycle, and that early B cell factors, oestrogen-related receptors and PGC1α are required for this response in vivo.

Synovex ONE Grower improves growth performance for at least 200 days in growing beef steers and heifers fed in confinement for slaughter.

Growth-promoting implants are broadly used in the feedlot industry to improve growth performance and to increase production efficiencies. With cattle being fed longer and to heavier weights, there is demand for extended-release implants that payout for at least 200 d. Our objective was to evaluate feedlot growth of Synovex ONE Grower, a moderate potency (150 mg trenbolone acetate [TBA] and 21 mg estradiol benzoate [EB]), extended-release, growth-promoting implant for 200 d.

Genital Self-Image, Sexual Function, and Quality of Life Among Individuals with Vulvar and Non-Vulvar Inflammatory Dermatoses.

Vulvar inflammatory dermatoses (VID; e.g., lichen sclerosus, lichen planus, vulvar dermatitis) can significantly impact sexual function.

Raptor research during the COVID-19 pandemic provides invaluable opportunities for conservation biology.

Research is underway to examine how a wide range of animal species have responded to reduced levels of human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this perspective article, we argue that raptors (i.e.

"Worse Than Disappointing": Prediagnostic Health Care Challenges of Women With Inflammatory Vulvar Dermatoses.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges women face before inflammatory vulvar dermatosis diagnosis to guide interventions for improving time to diagnosis and health care experiences.

Materials And Methods: The present analysis was part of a larger study exploring sexual health and quality of life of women with vulvar and nonvulvar inflammatory dermatoses, evaluated via a 20-minute web-based survey. One open-response item asked participants to "briefly describe any challenges you faced with regards to health care or health care providers in the time when you were seeking a diagnosis"; this item informed the present study.

Charge Carrier Screening in Photoexcited Epitaxial Semiconductor Nanorods Revealed by Transient X-ray Absorption Linear Dichroism.

Understanding the electronic structure and dynamics of semiconducting nanomaterials at the atomic level is crucial for the realization and optimization of devices in solar energy, catalysis, and optoelectronic applications. We report here on the use of ultrafast X-ray linear dichroism spectroscopy to monitor the carrier dynamics in epitaxial ZnO nanorods after band gap photoexcitation. By rigorously subtracting out thermal contributions and conducting calculations, we reveal an overall depletion of absorption cross sections in the transient X-ray spectra caused by photogenerated charge carriers screening the core-hole potential of the X-ray absorbing atom.

Individual variation in Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) foraging behavior in response to a predator model.

Birds that forage at feeders must balance the risk of predation with the benefit of food acquisition. We color-banded black-capped chickadees () in a wild population and investigated their responses to a predator (Cooper's hawk, ) model placed 1 m or 5 m from a feeding platform. Over 40 trials, we recorded a total of 3,576 chickadee visits to a feeder.

Hydrogen sulfide affects the performance of a methanogenic bioelectrochemical system used for biogas upgrading.

Methanogenic bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) can convert carbon dioxide (CO) to methane (CH) and may be used for anaerobic digester biogas upgrading. However, the effect of hydrogen sulfide (HS), a common biogas component, on BES performance is unknown. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of HS addition to the cathode headspace on BES performance at a range of initial gas-phase HS concentrations (0-6% v/v), as well as its effect on the anode and cathode microbial communities.

Patterns and Trends of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Bald Eagle Nestlings in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA.

We measured concentrations of up to 17 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in plasma of 492 bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nestlings between 1995 and 2017 from 12 study areas in Wisconsin and Minnesota, USA. Geometric mean concentrations of the sum of 9 PBDE congeners (∑PBDE) measured across all years ranged from 2.88 to 10.

Creatine-mediated crosstalk between adipocytes and cancer cells regulates obesity-driven breast cancer.

Obesity is a major risk factor for adverse outcomes in breast cancer; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated. To investigate the role of crosstalk between mammary adipocytes and neoplastic cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME), we performed transcriptomic analysis of cancer cells and adjacent adipose tissue in a murine model of obesity-accelerated breast cancer and identified glycine amidinotransferase (Gatm) in adipocytes and Acsbg1 in cancer cells as required for obesity-driven tumor progression. Gatm is the rate-limiting enzyme in creatine biosynthesis, and deletion in adipocytes attenuated obesity-driven tumor growth.

Mobile low field magnetic resonance hardware development.

Typically, NMR systems are bulky and expensive laboratory based equipment. For half a century after its scientific discovery taking NMR outside of a laboratory environment is still not a common practice due to the complexity of the underlining physical phenomena and its low sensitivity, to the myriad of technical challenges when integrating a complete system. The scarcity of compact and mobile NMR systems has prevented its proliferation into many other areas and applications.

Trends and Patterns of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Blood Plasma Samples of Bald Eagle Nestlings in Wisconsin and Minnesota, USA.

We analyzed concentrations and trends of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood plasma samples of bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nestlings at 6 study areas in the upper Midwest of the United States, 2006 to 2015, and long-term trends at 2 Lake Superior (USA/Canada) sites, 1995 to 2015. Nestling blood plasma concentrations of the sum of 15 PFAS analytes (∑PFAS) differed among study areas and were highest at the 3 industrialized river sites: pools 3 and 4 of the Mississippi River (pools 3 + 4; geometric mean [GM] = 754 μg/L; range = 633-2930), the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (GM = 687 μg/L; range = 24-7371), and the lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (GM = 546 μg/L; range = 20-2400).

Comparison of Carbon Dioxide with Anaerobic Digester Biogas as a Methanogenic Biocathode Feedstock.

BES biogas upgrading studies have typically used bicarbonate or commercial gas mixtures as a biocathode substrate instead of anaerobic digester biogas. Therefore, the objective of this study was to (i) compare the performance of a methanogenic BES between CO-fed and biogas-fed cycles; (ii) investigate possible factors that may account for observed performance differences; and (iii) assess the performance of a biogas-fed biocathode at various applied cathode potentials. The maximum 1-d CH production rate in a biogas-fed biocathode (3003 mmol/m-d) was 350% higher than in a CO-fed biocathode (666 mmol/m-d), and the biogas-fed biocathode was capable of maintaining high performance despite a variable biogas feed composition.

Tactical and strategic driving behaviour in older drivers: The importance of readiness to change.

The aim of this study was to explore the way in which reports of strategic and tactical driving self-regulation are influenced by readiness to change driving behaviour in older men and women, either reporting or not reporting modification of driving behaviour for health-related reasons, and/or increased driving difficulty. Current Australian drivers aged over 60 years (N = 258) responded to a self-report questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated increased use of tactical behaviours were associated with greater driving difficulty, more readiness to change and male gender (R = 23.

Contextualising challenges of reproduction and motherhood in Florence, Italy: a qualitative study.

This study sought to understand attitudes, behaviours and expectations regarding reproductive planning, infertility and motherhood among women living in Italy. Researchers conducted 55 in-depth interviews among 46 reproductive-aged women living in or around Florence, Italy, currently using the Italian health care system, and nine Italian health care professionals. Researchers used an expanded grounded theory approach to understand women's reproductive experiences, with the social-ecological model serving as a conceptual lens for data analyses.