Trimethylamine N-oxide: a meta-organismal axis linking the gut and fibrosis.

Background: Tissue fibrosis is a common pathway to failure in many organ systems and is the cellular and molecular driver of myriad chronic diseases that are incompletely understood and lack effective treatment. Recent studies suggest that gut microbe-dependent metabolites might be involved in the initiation and progression of fibrosis in multiple organ systems.

Main Body Of The Manuscript: In a meta-organismal pathway that begins in the gut, gut microbiota convert dietary precursors such as choline, phosphatidylcholine, and L-carnitine into trimethylamine (TMA), which is absorbed and subsequently converted to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) via the host enzyme flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) in the liver.

A low-cost wireless extension for object detection and data logging for educational robotics using the ESP-NOW protocol.

In recent years, inexpensive and easy to use robotics platforms have been incorporated into middle school, high school, and college educational curricula and competitions all over the world. Students have access to advanced microprocessors and sensor systems that engage, educate, and encourage their creativity. In this study, the capabilities of the widely available VEX Robotics System are extended using the wireless ESP-NOW protocol to allow for real-time data logging and to extend the computational capabilities of the system.

Methodology for Single Bee and Bee Brain H-NMR Metabolomics.

The feasibility of metabolomic H NMR spectroscopy is demonstrated for its potential to help unravel the complex factors that are impacting honeybee health and behavior. Targeted and non-targeted H NMR metabolic profiles of liquid and tissue samples of organisms could provide information on the pathology of infections and on environmentally induced stresses. This work reports on establishing extraction methods for NMR metabolic characterization of , the European honeybee, describes the currently assignable aqueous metabolome, and gives examples of diverse samples (brain, head, body, whole bee) and biologically meaningful metabolic variation (drone, forager, day old, deformed wing virus).

Transcriptomic Responses of the Honey Bee Brain to Infection with Deformed Wing Virus.

Managed colonies of European honey bees () are under threat from mite infestation and infection with viruses vectored by mites. In particular, deformed wing virus (DWV) is a common viral pathogen infecting honey bees worldwide that has been shown to induce behavioral changes including precocious foraging and reduced associative learning. We investigated how DWV infection of bees affects the transcriptomic response of the brain.

Harmonic radar tracking reveals random dispersal pattern of bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) queens after hibernation.

The dispersal of animals from their birth place has profound effects on the immediate survival and longer-term persistence of populations. Molecular studies have estimated that bumblebee colonies can be established many kilometers from their queens' natal nest site. However, little is known about when and how queens disperse during their lifespan.