Conjoint specification of action by neocortex and striatum.

The interplay between two major forebrain structures-cortex and subcortical striatum-is critical for flexible, goal-directed action. Traditionally, it has been proposed that striatum is critical for selecting what type of action is initiated, while the primary motor cortex is involved in specifying the continuous parameters of an upcoming/ongoing movement. Recent data indicate that striatum may also be involved in specification.

Ultraviolet-fluorescence detection of E. Coli using threshold-comparison electronics.

We describe an optical system that detects the presence of E. coli bacteria, making use of the bacteria's natural fluorescence properties. The system provides an excitation signal at 365 nm and detects the emission signal, from the bacteria, at approximately 445 nm.

Vaccine-preventable diseases: Immune response in a large population of healthcare students.

Background: Students in medicine and other health professions are exposed to numerous occupational hazards, primarily biological hazards, during their academic careers at university. The aim of the present study was to investigate the seroprevalence characteristics of anti-HBsAg, anti-Measles, anti-Mumps, anti-Rubella and anti-Varicella IgG antibodies in healthcare students of a large teaching hospital in Rome.

Methods: To accomplish the study's aims, antibody serology data were gathered from students of Medicine and Surgery, Dentistry, and Health Professions at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Rome Campus) during their first Health Surveillance visit, that took place from 2013 to 2023.

Shear modulus reduction and damping ratios curves joined with engineering geological units in Italy.

Numerical simulations of seismic site response require the characterization of the nonlinear behaviour of shallow subsoil. When extensive evaluations are of concern, as in the case of seismic microzonation studies, funding problems prevent from the systematic use of laboratory tests to provide detailed evaluations. For this purpose, 485 shear modulus reduction, G\G(γ) and damping ratio, D(γ) curves were collected from multiple literature sources available in Italy.

Point prevalence survey of antibiotic use and healthcare-associated infections in acute care hospitals: a comprehensive report from the Marche Region of Italy.

Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are serious health challenges. Point prevalence surveys (PPSs) are valuable tools for monitoring HAIs and AMR.

Aim: To describe results of the ECDC PPS 2022 dealing with the prevalence of HAIs, antimicrobial consumption, and associated factors, in acute care hospitals.

Nonlinear manifolds underlie neural population activity during behaviour.

There is rich variety in the activity of single neurons recorded during behaviour. Yet, these diverse single neuron responses can be well described by relatively few patterns of neural co-modulation. The study of such low-dimensional structure of neural population activity has provided important insights into how the brain generates behaviour.

Sulfur cycling connects microbiomes and biogeochemistry in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes.

In globally distributed deep-sea hydrothermal vent plumes, microbiomes are shaped by the redox energy landscapes created by reduced hydrothermal vent fluids mixing with oxidized seawater. Plumes can disperse over thousands of kilometers and their characteristics are determined by geochemical sources from vents, e.g.

A Versatile Continuous Fluorometric Enzymatic Assay for Targeting Nicotinate Phosphoribosyltransferase.

The maintenance of a proper NAD pool is essential for cell survival, and tumor cells are particularly sensitive to changes in coenzyme levels. In this view, the inhibition of NAD biosynthesis is considered a promising therapeutic approach. Current research is mostly focused on targeting the enzymes nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) and nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase (NAPRT), which regulate NAD biosynthesis from nicotinamide and nicotinic acid, respectively.

Globally-distributed microbial eukaryotes exhibit endemism at deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Single-celled microbial eukaryotes inhabit deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments and play critical ecological roles in the vent-associated microbial food web. 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing of diffuse venting fluids from four geographically- and geochemically-distinct hydrothermal vent fields was applied to investigate community diversity patterns among protistan assemblages. The four vent fields include Axial Seamount at the Juan de Fuca Ridge, Sea Cliff and Apollo at the Gorda Ridge, all in the NE Pacific Ocean, and Piccard and Von Damm at the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean Sea.

Molecular insights into the interaction between human nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase and Toll-like receptor 4.

The secreted form of the enzyme nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), which catalyzes a key reaction in intracellular NAD biosynthesis, acts as a damage-associated molecular pattern triggering Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated inflammatory responses. However, the precise mechanism of interaction is unclear. Using an integrated approach combining bioinformatics and functional and structural analyses, we investigated the interaction between NAMPT and TLR4 at the molecular level.

Leveraging Research Synthesis Methods to Support Evidence-Based Policy- and Decision-Making.

This commentary discusses the potential utility of research syntheses for evidence-based policy- and decision-making, examining the papers that comprise the special issue on modern meta-analytic methods. Evidence and data have the potential to play a critical role in the development of policies and in the administration of programs that meet the social and economic needs of children and families. Novel, innovative, and methodologically rigorous methods that allow for comprehensive and systematic research synthesis, such as those disseminated in this special issue, can help inform the work of the federal government and the prevention science field at large.

The key role of the NAD biosynthetic enzyme nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase in regulating cell functions.

The enzyme nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNAT) catalyzes a reaction central to all known NAD biosynthetic routes. In mammals, three isoforms with distinct molecular and catalytic properties, different subcellular and tissue distribution have been characterized. Each isoform is essential for cell survival, with a critical role in modulating NAD levels in a compartment-specific manner.

Seafloor Incubation Experiment with Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Fluid Reveals Effect of Pressure and Lag Time on Autotrophic Microbial Communities.

Depressurization and sample processing delays may impact the outcome of shipboard microbial incubations of samples collected from the deep sea. To address this knowledge gap, we developed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV)-powered incubator instrument to carry out and compare results from and shipboard RNA stable isotope probing (RNA-SIP) experiments to identify the key chemolithoautotrophic microbes and metabolisms in diffuse, low-temperature venting fluids from Axial Seamount. All the incubations showed microbial uptake of labeled bicarbonate primarily by thermophilic autotrophic that oxidized hydrogen coupled with nitrate reduction.

Biseugenol Exhibited Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Asthmatic Effects in an Asthma Mouse Model of Mixed-Granulocytic Asthma.

In the present work, the anti-inflammatory and antiasthmatic potential of biseugenol, isolated as the main component from -hexane extract from leaves of and chemically prepared using oxidative coupling from eugenol, was evaluated in an experimental model of mixed-granulocytic asthma. Initially, in silico studies of biseugenol showed good predictions for drug-likeness, with adherence to Lipinski's rules of five (RO5), good Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) properties and no alerts for Pan-Assay Interference Compounds (PAINS), indicating adequate adherence to perform in vivo assays. Biseugenol (20 mg·kg) was thus administered intraperitoneally (four days of treatment) and resulted in a significant reduction in both eosinophils and neutrophils of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in ovalbumin-sensitized mice with no statistical difference from dexamethasone (5 mg·kg).

Selection Is a Significant Driver of Gene Gain and Loss in the Pangenome of the Bacterial Genus in Geographically Distinct Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents.

Microbial genomes have highly variable gene content, and the evolutionary history of microbial populations is shaped by gene gain and loss mediated by horizontal gene transfer and selection. To evaluate the influence of selection on gene content variation in hydrothermal vent microbial populations, we examined 22 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) (70 to 97% complete) from the ubiquitous vent Epsilonbacteraeota genus that were recovered from two deep-sea hydrothermal vent regions, Axial Seamount in the northeastern Pacific Ocean (13 MAGs) and the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean Sea (9 MAGs). Genes involved in housekeeping functions were highly conserved across lineages.

Fluid geochemistry, local hydrology, and metabolic activity define methanogen community size and composition in deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

The size and biogeochemical impact of the subseafloor biosphere in oceanic crust remain largely unknown due to sampling limitations. We used reactive transport modeling to estimate the size of the subseafloor methanogen population, volume of crust occupied, fluid residence time, and nature of the subsurface mixing zone for two low-temperature hydrothermal vents at Axial Seamount. Monod CH production kinetics based on chemostat H availability and batch-culture Arrhenius growth kinetics for the hyperthermophile Methanocaldococcus jannaschii and thermophile Methanothermococcus thermolithotrophicus were used to develop and parameterize a reactive transport model, which was constrained by field measurements of H, CH, and metagenome methanogen concentration estimates in 20-40 °C hydrothermal fluids.

Laparoendoscopic Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy in Adults.

Background: Since its introduction, the placement of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) has been increasing in the Western countries. Nevertheless, it is not always possible to perform this operation. Laparoscopic-assisted endoscopic gastrostomy (LAPEG) is an effective alternative solution.

Spatially distinct, temporally stable microbial populations mediate biogeochemical cycling at and below the seafloor in hydrothermal vent fluids.

At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, microbial communities thrive across geochemical gradients above, at, and below the seafloor. In this study, we determined the gene content and transcription patterns of microbial communities and specific populations to understand the taxonomy and metabolism both spatially and temporally across geochemically different diffuse fluid hydrothermal vents. Vent fluids were examined via metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, genomic binning, and geochemical analyses from Axial Seamount, an active submarine volcano on the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the NE Pacific Ocean, from 2013 to 2015 at three different vents: Anemone, Marker 33, and Marker 113.

Factors affecting the bacterial community composition and heterotrophic production of Columbia River estuarine turbidity maxima.

Estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM) function as hotspots of microbial activity and diversity in estuaries, yet, little is known about the temporal and spatial variability in ETM bacterial community composition. To determine which environmental factors affect ETM bacterial populations in the Columbia River estuary, we analyzed ETM bacterial community composition (Sanger sequencing and amplicon pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene) and bulk heterotrophic production ( H-leucine incorporation rates). We collected water 20 times to cover five ETM events and obtained 42 samples characterized by different salinities, turbidities, seasons, coastal regimes (upwelling vs.

Microbial players and processes involved in phytoplankton bloom utilization in the water column of a fast-flowing, river-dominated estuary.

Fueled by seasonal phytoplankton blooms, the Columbia River estuary is a natural bioreactor for organic matter transformations. Prior metagenome analyses indicated high abundances of diverse Bacteroidetes taxa in estuarine samples containing phytoplankton. To examine the hypothesis that Bacteroidetes taxa have important roles in phytoplankton turnover, we further analyzed metagenomes from water collected along a salinity gradient at 0, 5, 15, 25, and 33 PSU during bloom events.

A comparison between Pap and HPV screening tests and screening methods.

The present study assesses the results of cervical cancer (CC) screening over two 3-year periods (2008-2010 and 2011-2013) by comparing two screening tests [Papanicolaou (Pap) and human papillomavirus (HPV) tests] and two screening methods (organized and spontaneous). The study population includes women aged 25-64 years who underwent CC screening between 2008 and 2010 and/or 2011 and 2013, divided into those who responded to an invitation letter (organized screening) and those who spontaneously underwent testing at a public or private facility (non-programmed screening). Between 2008 and 2010, the response rates increased from 27.

Microbial Gene Abundance and Expression Patterns across a River to Ocean Salinity Gradient.

Microbial communities mediate the biogeochemical cycles that drive ecosystems, and it is important to understand how these communities are affected by changing environmental conditions, especially in complex coastal zones. As fresh and marine waters mix in estuaries and river plumes, the salinity, temperature, and nutrient gradients that are generated strongly influence bacterioplankton community structure, yet, a parallel change in functional diversity has not been described. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses were conducted on five water samples spanning the salinity gradient of the Columbia River coastal margin, including river, estuary, plume, and ocean, in August 2010.