Increasing Phylogenetic Clustering of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Roots Explains Enhanced Plant Growth and Phosphorus Uptake.

Temporal variation during the assembly of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities within plant roots have been posited as critical drivers of the plant-fungal symbiotic outcomes. However, functional implications of these dynamics for the host plant remain poorly understood. We conducted a controlled pot experiment with Sorghum bicolor to investigate how temporal shifts in AM fungal community composition and phylogenetic diversity influence plant growth and phosphorus responses to the symbiosis.

Upgrade from aerated static pile to agitated bed systems promotes lignocellulose degradation in large-scale composting through enhanced microbial functional diversity.

Composting presents a viable management solution for lignocellulose-rich municipal solid waste. However, our understanding about the microbial metabolic mechanisms involved in the biodegradation of lignocellulose, particularly in industrial-scale composting plants, remains limited. This study employed metaproteomics to compare the impact of upgrading from aerated static pile (ASP) to agitated bed (AB) systems on physicochemical parameters, lignocellulose biodegradation, and microbial metabolic pathways during large-scale biowaste composting process, marking the first investigation of its kind.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as adjunct for planning laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) near eloquent structures.

LITT is a minimally-invasive laser ablation technique used to treat a wide variety of intracranial lesions. Difficulties performing intraoperative mapping have limited its adoption for lesions in/near eloquent regions. In this institutional case series, we demonstrate the utility of fMRI-adjunct planning for LITT near language or motor areas.

Fire shapes fungal guild diversity and composition through direct and indirect pathways.

Fire has shaped global ecosystems for millennia by directly killing organisms and indirectly altering habitats and resources. All terrestrial ecosystems, including fire-prone ecosystems, rely on soil-inhabiting fungi, where they play vital roles in ecological processes. Yet our understanding of how fire regimes influence soil fungi remains limited and our knowledge of these interactions in semiarid landscapes is virtually absent.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT compared with positron emission tomography CT to characterise solitary pulmonary nodules: the SPUtNIk diagnostic accuracy study and economic modelling.

Background: Current pathways recommend positron emission tomography-computerised tomography for the characterisation of solitary pulmonary nodules. Dynamic contrast-enhanced computerised tomography may be a more cost-effective approach.

Objectives: To determine the diagnostic performances of dynamic contrast-enhanced computerised tomography and positron emission tomography-computerised tomography in the NHS for solitary pulmonary nodules.

Comparative accuracy and cost-effectiveness of dynamic contrast-enhanced CT and positron emission tomography in the characterisation of solitary pulmonary nodules.

Introduction: Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT) and positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT) have a high reported accuracy for the diagnosis of malignancy in solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs). The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of these.

Methods: In this prospective multicentre trial, 380 participants with an SPN (8-30 mm) and no recent history of malignancy underwent DCE-CT and PET/CT.

Understanding the sodium cation conductivity of human epileptic brain tissue.

Transient and frequency-dependent conductivity measurements on excised brain-tissue lesions from epilepsy patients indicate that sodium cations are the predominant charge carriers. The transient conductivity ultimately vanishes as ions encounter blockages. The initial and final values of the transient conductivity correspond to the high-frequency and low-frequency limits of the frequency-dependent conductivity, respectively.

Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their role in moderating plant allometric partitioning.

Elevated atmospheric CO concentration (eCO) effects on plants depend on several factors including plant photosynthetic physiology (e.g. C, C), soil nutrient availability and plants' co-evolved soil-dwelling fungal symbionts, namely arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi.

Targeted plant defense: silicon conserves hormonal defense signaling impacting chewing but not fluid-feeding herbivores.

Plants deploy an arsenal of chemical and physical defenses against arthropod herbivores, but it may be most cost efficient to produce these only when attacked. Herbivory activates complex signaling pathways involving several phytohormones, including jasmonic acid (JA), which regulate production of defensive compounds. The Poaceae also have the capacity to take up large amounts of silicon (Si), which accumulates in plant tissues.

Placebo effects in allergen immunotherapy-An EAACI Task Force Position Paper.

The placebo (Latin "I will please") effect commonly occurs in clinical trials. The psychological and physiological factors associated with patients' expectations about a treatment's positive and negative effects have yet to be well characterized, although a functional prefrontal cortex and intense bidirectional communication between the central nervous system and the immune system appear to be prerequisites for a placebo effect. The use of placebo raises certain ethical issues, especially if patients in a placebo group are denied an effective treatment for a long period of time.

Factors associated with prelacteal feeding practices in Debre Berhan district, North Shoa, Central Ethiopia: a cross-sectional, community-based study.

Background: Prelacteal feeding is one of the major harmful newborn feeding practices and is top on the list of global public health concerns. The practice deprives newborns of valuable nutrients and protection of colostrum and exposes them to preventable morbidity and mortality. Studying the prevalence and factors influencing the prelacteal feeding practice of mothers will help program managers and implementers to properly address broad major public health problems.

Placebo effects in allergen immunotherapy: an experts' opinion.

Placebo effects are common in medicine. Randomised clinical trials help us to understand their magnitude in different therapies. There are particular problems with placebo effects in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) as it is difficult to blind the active treatment and the endpoints are largely subjective.

Allergy in the elderly: A case note review of referrals to an adult allergy clinic.

The UK population is ageing and we can expect more referrals to allergy clinics for this age group. 16% of patients to our clinic are aged >60. Compared to younger patients, 3 times as many referrals were for angioedema.

Benefits from Below: Silicon Supplementation Maintains Legume Productivity under Predicted Climate Change Scenarios.

Many studies demonstrate that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO) can promote root nodulation and biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) in legumes such as lucerne (). But when elevated temperature (eT) conditions are applied in tandem with eCO, a more realistic scenario for future climate change, the positive effects of eCO on nodulation and BNF in are often much reduced. Silicon (Si) supplementation of has also been reported to promote root nodulation and BNF, so could potentially restore the positive effects of eCO under eT.

The role of silicon in plant biology: a paradigm shift in research approach.

Background: Silicon (Si) is known to have numerous beneficial effects on plants, alleviating diverse forms of abiotic and biotic stress. Research on this topic has accelerated in recent years and revealed multiple effects of Si in a range of plant species. Available information regarding the impact of Si on plant defence, growth and development is fragmented, discipline-specific, and usually focused on downstream, distal phenomena rather than underlying effects.

Sex-Specific Life Course Changes in the Neuro-Metabolic Phenotype of Glut3 Null Heterozygous Mice: Ketogenic Diet Ameliorates Electroencephalographic Seizures and Improves Sociability.

We tested the hypothesis that exposure of glut3+/- mice to a ketogenic diet ameliorates autism-like features, which include aberrant behavior and electrographic seizures. We first investigated the life course sex-specific changes in basal plasma-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-brain metabolic profile, brain glucose transport/uptake, glucose and monocarboxylate transporter proteins, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the presence or absence of systemic insulin administration. Glut3+/- male but not female mice (5 months of age) displayed reduced CSF glucose/lactate concentrations with no change in brain Glut1, Mct2, glucose uptake or ATP.

Validity of three asthma-specific quality of life questionnaires: the patients' perspective.

Objectives: It is not known which of the many asthma-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaires best capture the lived experience of people with asthma. The objective of this study was to explore patients' views of three commonly used asthma-specific QoL questionnaires.

Design: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews.

Accuracy and cost-effectiveness of dynamic contrast-enhanced CT in the characterisation of solitary pulmonary nodules-the SPUtNIk study.

Introduction: Solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) are common on CT. The most cost-effective investigation algorithm is still to be determined. Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT) is an established diagnostic test not widely available in the UK currently.