Autoregulation of the glial gene reversed polarity in Drosophila.

During development, cells of the nervous system begin as unspecified precursors and proceed along one of two developmental paths to become either neurons or glia. Work in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has established the role of the transcription factor Glial cells missing (Gcm) in directing neuronal precursor cells to assume a glial cell fate. Gcm acts on many target genes, one of which is reversed polarity (repo).

An elastic siderophore synthetase and rubbery substrates assemble multimeric linear and macrocyclic hydroxamic acid metal chelators.

The trihydroxamic acid bacterial siderophore desferrioxamine B (DFOB, 1) produced by the DesABCD biosynthetic cluster coordinates metals beyond Fe(iii), which identifies potential to modify this chelator type to broaden metal sequestration and/or delivery applications. Rather than producing discrete chelators by total chemical synthesis from native monomers including -hydroxy--succinyl-cadaverine (HSC, 2), the recombinant siderophore synthetase from CNB-440 (DesD) was used with different substrate combinations to produce biocombinatorial mixtures of hydroxamic acid chelators. The mixtures were screened with Ga(iii) or Zr(iv) as surrogates of immunological positron emission tomography (PET) imaging radiometals Ga(iii) or Zr(iv) to inform known or new coordination chemistry.

The future of scientific labs: how we are making our research more sustainable.

The need for climate action is becoming increasingly urgent, and research labs need to be part of the solution. Scientific labs consume large amounts of energy and water and produce significant waste. Globally, scientific research generates over 5.

Ecological and Reproductive Cycles Drive Henipavirus Seroprevalence in the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat ().

Bats are known to host zoonotic viruses, including henipaviruses that cause high fatality rates in humans (Nipah virus and Hendra virus). However, the determinants of zoonotic spillover are generally unknown, as the ecological and demographic drivers of viral circulation in bats are difficult to ascertain without longitudinal data. Here we analyse serological data collected from African straw-coloured fruit bats () in Ghana over the course of 2 years and across four sites, comprising three wild roosts and one captive colony.

An oral non-covalent non-peptidic inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro ameliorates viral replication and pathogenesis in vivo.

Safe, effective, and low-cost oral antiviral therapies are needed to treat those at high risk for developing severe COVID-19. To that end, we performed a high-throughput screen to identify non-peptidic, non-covalent inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), an essential enzyme in viral replication. NZ-804 was developed from a screening hit through iterative rounds of structure-guided medicinal chemistry.

The role of syndromic knowledge in Ethiopian veterinarians' treatment of cattle.

Veterinarians play a significant role in the treatment and prevention of livestock diseases at the farm level, safeguarding public health and ensuring food safety. In sub-Saharan Africa, access to quality veterinary services is a major challenge for livestock farmers due to the low number of publicly employed veterinarians, underfunding and privatisation of veterinary services. Low investment in veterinary services and infrastructure, including a lack of laboratories for diagnosis, has made veterinarians rely on their experience and knowledge of cattle disease symptoms developed over years of practice to diagnose and treat cattle diseases.

Elemental composition and potential toxicity of the riverine macrophyte Podostemum ceratophyllum Michx. reflects land use in eastern North America.

Land use influences surface water quality, often alleviating stoichiometric constraints on primary production and altering biogeochemical cycling. However, land use effects on nutrient content and potential trace metal accumulation in aquatic plants remain unclear, and high concentrations of metals and altered nutrient ratios could impact the health of herbivores and detritivores. We tested for land use effects on nutrient and trace metal accumulation in a widespread riverine macrophyte, Podostemum ceratophyllum, collected from 91 locations from Georgia to Maine, USA in 2014-2016.

Total Synthesis of (-)-Flueggeacosine C.

Herein we describe a total synthesis of the heterodimeric securinega alkaloid (-)-flueggeacosine C (). The convergent synthetic strategy is based on a Liebeskind-Srogl cross-coupling reaction that combines a benzoquinolizidine fragment with a securinine-type alkaloid. An acyloxy nitroso ring-expansion was employed as the key step in accessing benzoquinolizidine , and a novel intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of an allenic acid-containing pyridone expeditiously delivers the skeleton of the securinine-type fragment ().

Targeting high-affinity nicotinic receptors protects against the functional consequences of β-amyloid in mouse hippocampus.

The accumulation of β-amyloid oligomers is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, inducing neural and network dysfunction in the early stages of pathology. The hippocampus is affected early in the pathogenesis of AD, however the impact of soluble β-amyloid on the dentate gyrus (DG) subregion of the hippocampus and its interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) within this region are not known. Using a localized model of over-expression, we show that β-amyloid induces early-onset neuronal hyperactivity and hippocampal-dependent memory deficits in mice.

A first-in-class dual-chelator theranostic agent designed for use with imaging-therapy radiometal pairs of different elements.

A covalent adduct of DFOB and DOTA separated by a l-lysine residue (DFOB-l-Lys- -DOTA) exhibited remarkable regioselective metal binding, with {H}-C NMR spectral shifts supporting Zr(iv) coordinating to the DFOB unit, and Lu(iii) coordinating to the DOTA unit. This first-in-class, dual-chelator theranostic design could enable the use of imaging-therapy radiometal pairs of different elements, such as Zr for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and Lu for low-energy β-particle radiation therapy. DFOB-l-Lys- -DOTA was elaborated with an amine-terminated polyethylene glycol extender unit (PEG4) to give DFOB- -(PEG4)-l-Lys- -DOTA (compound D2) to enable installation of a phenyl-isothiocyanate group (Ph-NCS) for subsequent monoclonal antibody (mAb) conjugation (mAb = HuJ591).

Exploring veterinary students' awareness and perception of zoonoses risks, infection control practices, and biosecurity measures in Ethiopia.

Universities and colleges are often regarded as playing a key role in educating veterinarians and animal health workers who advise farmers on herd health and animal husbandry. However, to date, studies examining veterinary students' knowledge of zoonotic diseases of public health importance and the source of this knowledge, as well as their preparedness to respond to these diseases, have focused on the Global North rather than the Global South. This study takes Ethiopia as a case study in exploring veterinary medicine students' knowledge of zoonosis risks, infection control practices and biosecurity measures, recognizing that it is imperative to reconcile national-level veterinary education curricula with emerging global trends, such as One Health-focused training.

Trade-offs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable.

Farming externalities are believed to co-vary negatively, yet trade-offs have rarely been quantified systematically. Here we present data from UK and Brazilian pig production systems representative of most commercial systems across the world ranging from 'intensive' indoor systems through to extensive free range, Organic and woodland systems to explore co-variation among four major externality costs. We found that no specific farming type was consistently associated with good performance across all domains.

Bacterial community shifts occur primarily through rhizosphere expansion in response to subsoil amendments.

To comprehensively evaluate the impact of agricultural management practices on soil productivity, it is imperative to conduct a thorough analysis of soil bacterial ecology. Deep-banding nutrient-rich amendments is a soil management practice that aims to improve plant growth and soil structure by addressing the plant-growth constraints posed by dense-clay subsoils. However, the response of bacterial communities to deep-banded amendments has not been thoroughly studied.

Universal pictures: A lithophane codex helps teenagers with blindness visualize nanoscopic systems.

People with blindness have limited access to the high-resolution graphical data and imagery of science. Here, a lithophane codex is reported. Its pages display tactile and optical readouts for universal visualization of data by persons with or without eyesight.

Ineffective responses to unlikely outbreaks: Hypothesis building in newly-emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

Over the last 30 years, there has been significant investment in research and infrastructure aimed at mitigating the threat of newly emerging infectious diseases (NEID). Core epidemiological processes, such as outbreak investigations, however, have received little attention and have proceeded largely unchecked and unimproved. Using ethnographic material from an investigation into a cryptic encephalitis outbreak in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana in 2010-2013, in this paper we trace processes of hypothesis building and their relationship to the organizational structures of the response.

Hyperimmune bovine colostrum containing lipopolysaccharide antibodies (IMM124-E) has a nondetrimental effect on gut microbial communities in unchallenged mice.

Enterotoxigenic (ETEC) is a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea with the potential to cause long-term gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction. Preventative treatments for ETEC-induced diarrhea exist, yet the effects of these treatments on GI commensals in healthy individuals are unclear. Whether administration of a prophylactic preventative treatment for ETEC-induced diarrhea causes specific shifts in gut microbial populations in controlled environments is also unknown.

Zoonotic tuberculosis in a high bovine tuberculosis burden area of Ethiopia.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of ill health and one of the leading causes of death worldwide, caused by species of the complex (MTBC), with being the dominant pathogen in humans and in cattle. Zoonotic transmission of TB (zTB) to humans is frequent particularly where TB prevalence is high in cattle. In this study, we explored the prevalence of zTB in central Ethiopia, an area highly affected by bovine TB (bTB) in cattle.

Uncovering the endemic circulation of rabies in Cambodia.

In epidemiology, endemicity characterizes sustained pathogen circulation in a geographical area, which involves a circulation that is not being maintained by external introductions. Because it could potentially shape the design of public health interventions, there is an interest in fully uncovering the endemic pattern of a disease. Here, we use a phylogeographic approach to investigate the endemic signature of rabies virus (RABV) circulation in Cambodia.

Microsecond Isomer at the N=20 Island of Shape Inversion Observed at FRIB.

Excited-state spectroscopy from the first experiment at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is reported. A 24(2)-μs isomer was observed with the FRIB Decay Station initiator (FDSi) through a cascade of 224- and 401-keV γ rays in coincidence with ^{32}Na nuclei. This is the only known microsecond isomer (1  μs≤T_{1/2}<1  ms) in the region.

Spoligotype analysis of isolates from cattle and assessment of zoonotic TB transmission among individuals working in bovine TB-infected dairy farms in Ethiopia.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a disease with impact on dairy productivity, as well as having the potential for zoonotic transmission. Understanding the genetic diversity of the disease agent is important for identifying its routes of transmission. Here we investigated the level of genetic diversity of isolates and assessed the zoonotic potential in risk groups of people working in bTB-infected dairy farms in central Ethiopia.