Genetic and neuro-epigenetic effects of divergent artificial selection for feather pecking behaviour in chickens.

Feather pecking (FP) is a repetitive behaviour in chickens, influenced by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors, similar to behaviours seen in human developmental disorders (e.g., hyperactivity, autism).

Soil microbiome interventions for carbon sequestration and climate mitigation.

Mitigating climate change in soil ecosystems involves complex plant and microbial processes regulating carbon pools and flows. Here, we advocate for the use of soil microbiome interventions to help increase soil carbon stocks and curb greenhouse gas emissions from managed soils. Direct interventions include the introduction of microbial strains, consortia, phage, and soil transplants, whereas indirect interventions include managing soil conditions or additives to modulate community composition or its activities.

The pneumococcal bacteriocin streptococcin B is produced as part of the early competence cascade and promotes intraspecies competition.

Unlabelled: is an important human pathogen that normally resides in the human nasopharynx. Competence-mediated bacteriocin expression by plays a major role in both the establishment and persistence of colonization on this polymicrobial surface. Over 20 distinct bacteriocin loci have been identified in pneumococcal genomes, but only a small number have been characterized phenotypically.

Optimizing nurse practitioner productivity within the Veterans Health Administration.

Background: Nurse practitioners (NPs) provide high-quality, comprehensive health care at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers in various practice settings. Accurately determining the productivity of NPs is essential to understanding their overall contribution to veteran care. There is a lack of understanding of the contributors to the variability among VHA medical centers regarding their processes for capturing these data.

Daily Diagnostic Quality Computed Tomography-on-Rails (CTOR) Image Guidance for Abdominal Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT).

Background/objectives: Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for abdominal targets faces a variety of challenges, including motion caused by the respiration and digestion and a relatively poor level of contrast between the tumor and the surrounding tissues. Breath-hold treatments with computed tomography-on-rails (CTOR) image guidance is one way of addressing these challenges, allowing for both the tumor and normal tissues to be well-visualized. Using isodose lines (IDLs) from CT simulations as a guide, the anatomical information can be used to shift the alignment or trigger a replan, such that normal tissues receive acceptable doses of radiation.

Assessing the impact of bacterial blends, crosslinking enzyme and storage times on volatile and non-volatile compound production in fermented pea protein emulsion gels.

Pea protein is a promising ingredient for plant-based cheese production but has poor consumer acceptance due to intrinsic beany flavors. Fermentation could potentially decrease these off-flavors while also producing desirable cheese-like aromas. Pea protein emulsion gels were fermented using four different bacterial blends for 16 weeks with and without the crosslinking enzyme transglutaminase.

Neurofilament light in serum: Reference values and effect of risk factors for multiple sclerosis.

Background: The measurement of neurofilament light (NFL) in blood samples has been established as a sensitive measure of neuroaxonal damage in a wide range of diseases in the peripheral and central nervous system, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous studies have identified confounding factors that may influence the serum concentration of NFL.

Aim: We aimed at investigating the relationship between known confounders (age, body mass index, blood volume) and risk factors for MS (smoking and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)) on serum concentrations of NFL in control subjects.

The contact system in chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis - A cross-sectional study.

Background And Hypothesis: The contact system (CAS) is a part of both the immune system and the coagulation system. The involvement of the CAS in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) has been documented, yet conflicting findings have hindered a comprehensive understanding. This study aimed to investigate whether CAS activation occurs in patients with chronic kidney failure undergoing HD compared with those undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD), patients with CKD not receiving replacement therapy, or healthy controls and to assess the impact of HD on CAS from pre- to post-dialysis during a single session of HD.

Pattern-Based Genome Mining Guides Discovery of the Antibiotic Indanopyrrole A from a Marine Streptomycete.

Terrestrial actinomycetes in the genus have long been recognized as prolific producers of small-molecule natural products, including many clinically important antibiotics and cytotoxic agents. Although can also be isolated from marine environments, their potential for natural product biosynthesis remains underexplored. The MAR4 clade of largely marine-derived has been a rich source of novel halogenated natural products of diverse structural classes.

Pattern-based genome mining guides discovery of the antibiotic indanopyrrole A from a marine streptomycetef.

Terrestrial actinomycetes in the genus have long been recognized as prolific producers of small molecule natural products, including many clinically important antibiotics and cytotoxic agents. Although can also be isolated from marine environments, their potential for natural product biosynthesis remains underexplored. The MAR4 clade of largely marine-derived has been a rich source of novel halogenated natural products of diverse structural classes.

Structure elucidation, biosynthetic gene cluster distribution, and biological activities of ketomemicin analogs in .

We report three new ketomemicin pseudopeptides (-) from extracts of the marine actinomycete strain CNY-498. Their constitution and relative configuration were elucidated using NMR, mass spectrometry, and quantum chemical calculations. Using GNPS molecular networking and publicly available LCMS datasets, five additional ketomemicin analogs (-) were identified with ketomemicin production detected broadly across species.

Analytical interference on measurement of immunoglobulins in monoclonal gammopathy.

Monoclonal gammopathy has been reported to interfere with several laboratory measurement results. We investigated potential interference in monoclonal gammopathy on immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), and immunoglobulin M (IgM) concentrations using three different routine chemistry instruments: Alinity (Abbott Laboratories), Cobas 8000 (Roche Diagnostics) and Optilite (Binding Site) at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark. Blood samples collected from 216 patients with known monoclonal gammopathy were analyzed on Alinity, Cobas and Optilite.

Harnessing Oxidative Stress to Obtain Natural Riboflavin Secreting Lactic Acid Bacteria for Use in Biofortification.

suffers from oxidative stress and riboflavin starvation at elevated temperatures due to dissolved oxygen, which can be relieved partially by exogenously supplied riboflavin. Here we explore whether this phenomenon can be harnessed to obtain riboflavin overproducing mutants. Using a riboflavin auxotrophic strain as a riboflavin biosensor, we screened cultures that had been exposed to temperature induced oxidative stress for up to one year.

The impact of curative cancer treatment on sexual health - clinical results from the EORTC QLQ-SH22 validation study.

Background: The European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) has recently developed and validated a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for sexual health (SH) in cancer patients. Here, we present results from a secondary analysis of the EORTC QLQ-SH22 validation study. The objective was to investigate the impact of cancer treatment on SH over the disease trajectory into survivorship in patients who underwent curative treatment.

Novel tools to quantify total, phospho-Ser129 and aggregated alpha-synuclein in the mouse brain.

Assays for quantifying aggregated and phosphorylated (S129) human α-synuclein protein are widely used to evaluate pathological burden in patients suffering from synucleinopathy disorders. Many of these assays, however, do not cross-react with mouse α-synuclein or exhibit poor sensitivity for this target, which is problematic considering the preponderance of mouse models at the forefront of pre-clinical α-synuclein research. In this project, we addressed this unmet need by reformulating two existing AlphaLISA SureFire Ultra™ total and pS129 α-synuclein assay kits to yield robust and ultrasensitive (LLoQ ≤ 0.

α-Synuclein plastic antibody applied to monitor monomeric structures and discriminate aggregated forms in human CSF.

Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (aSyn) occurs in presynaptic neurons and constitutes a key factor for the progression of Parkinson's disease, emphasising the urgency of early detection to support effective treatment. Unfortunately, a reliable, sensitive and cost-effective diagnostic tool has so far been lacking. Thus, this work presents a novel biosensor for detecting aSyn using plastic antibodies coupled to electrochemical detection.

Biologics Used for Psoriasis: A Drug Utilization Study Based on Two Nationwide Danish Data Sources.

Purpose: Biological treatment has been a game changer in the management of moderate-to-severe psoriasis. In Denmark, biological treatment for psoriasis is registered in two data sources. We aimed to describe the utilization of biologics for psoriasis in Denmark using data from both data sources separately.

Implementation of an automated transition readiness assessment in a pediatric rheumatology clinic.

Background: Failure of successful transition to adult care for adolescents and young adults with chronic rheumatic diseases negatively impacts their health and wellbeing. Transition of care is a vital and complex process within pediatric rheumatology that can be difficult to execute. Use of quality improvement (QI) and clinical informatics (CI) can help implement transition programs.

Structural basis of epitope recognition by anti-alpha-synuclein antibodies MJFR14-6-4-2.

Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) inclusions in the brain are hallmarks of so-called Lewy body diseases. Lewy bodies contain mainly aggregated α-syn together with some other proteins. Monomeric α-syn lacks a well-defined three-dimensional structure, but it can aggregate into oligomeric and fibrillar amyloid species, which can be detected using specific antibodies.

Characteristics and Predictors of Fluctuating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) Study.

Recent studies report a fluctuating course of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across development characterized by intermittent periods of remission and recurrence. In the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) study, we investigated fluctuating ADHD including clinical expression over time, childhood predictors, and between- and within-person associations with factors hypothesized as relevant to remission and recurrence. Children with ADHD, combined type (N 483), participating in the MTA adult follow-up were assessed 9 times from baseline (mean age = 8.

Water Uptake of Airborne Cells of Measured with a Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer.

Airborne microorganisms impact cloud formation and are involved in disease spreading. The ability of airborne cells to survive and express genes may be limited by reduced water availability in the atmosphere and depend on the ability of the cells to attract water vapor at subsaturated conditions, i.e.