Closed-Loop Systems and Real-Time Neurofeedback in Mindfulness Meditation Research.

Mindfulness meditation has numerous purported benefits to psychological wellbeing, however, problems such as adherence to mindfulness tasks, quality of mindfulness sessions, or dosage of mindfulness interventions may hinder individuals from accessing the purported benefits of mindfulness. Methodologies including closed-loop systems and real-time neurofeedback may provide tools to help bolster success in mindfulness task performance, titrate the exposure to mindfulness interventions, or improve engagement with mindfulness sessions. This review explores the use of closed-loop systems and real-time neurofeedback to influence, augment, or promote mindfulness interventions.

BR-bodies promote fitness during host colonization.

Biomolecular condensates, such as the nucleoli or P-bodies, are non-membrane-bound assemblies of proteins and nucleic acids that facilitate specific cellular processes. Like eukaryotic P-bodies, the recently discovered bacterial ribonucleoprotein bodies (BR-bodies) organize the mRNA decay machinery, yet the similarities in molecular and cellular functions across species have been poorly explored. Here, we examine the functions of BR-bodies in the nitrogen-fixing endosymbiont , which colonizes the roots of compatible legume plants.

A protease and a lipoprotein jointly modulate the conserved ExoR-ExoS-ChvI signaling pathway critical in Sinorhizobium meliloti for symbiosis with legume hosts.

Sinorhizobium meliloti is a model alpha-proteobacterium for investigating microbe-host interactions, in particular nitrogen-fixing rhizobium-legume symbioses. Successful infection requires complex coordination between compatible host and endosymbiont, including bacterial production of succinoglycan, also known as exopolysaccharide-I (EPS-I). In S.

Artificial intelligence deep learning model assessment of leukocyte counts and proliferation in endometrium from women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: To study whether artificial intelligence (AI) technology can be used to discern quantitative differences in endometrial immune cells between cycle phases and between samples from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and non-PCOS controls. Only a few studies have analyzed endometrial histology using AI technology, and especially, studies of the PCOS endometrium are lacking, partly because of the technically challenging analysis and unavailability of well-phenotyped samples. Novel AI technologies can overcome this problem.

Student-Authored Scientist Spotlights: Investigating the Impacts of Engaging Undergraduates as Developers of Inclusive Curriculum through a Service-Learning Course.

Scientist Spotlights-curricular materials that employ the personal and professional stories of scientists from diverse backgrounds-have previously been shown to positively influence undergraduate students' relatability to and perceptions of scientists. We hypothesized that engaging students in authoring Scientist Spotlights might produce curricular materials of similar impact, as well as provide a mechanism for student involvement as partners in science education reform. To test this idea and investigate the impact of student-authored Scientist Spotlights, we developed a service-learning course in which teams of biology students partnered with an instructor to develop and implement Scientist Spotlights in a biology course.

Iron Supplementation Eliminates Antagonistic Interactions Between Root-Associated Bacteria.

The rhizosphere microbiome (rhizobiome) plays a critical role in plant health and development. However, the processes by which the constituent microbes interact to form and maintain a community are not well understood. To investigate these molecular processes, we examined pairwise interactions between 11 different microbial isolates under select nutrient-rich and nutrient-limited conditions.

Progestins Related to Progesterone and Testosterone Elicit Divergent Human Endometrial Transcriptomes and Biofunctions.

Progestins are widely used for the treatment of gynecologic disorders and alone, or combined with an estrogen, are used as contraceptives. While their potencies, efficacies and side effects vary due to differences in structures, doses and routes of administration, little is known about their effects on the endometrial transcriptome in the presence or absence of estrogen. Herein, we assessed the transcriptome and pathways induced by progesterone (P) and the three most commonly used synthetic progestins, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), levonorgestrel (LNG), and norethindrone acetate (NETA), on human endometrial stromal fibroblasts (eSF), key players in endometrial physiology and reproductive success.

Seminal plasma promotes decidualization of endometrial stromal fibroblasts in vitro from women with and without inflammatory disorders in a manner dependent on interleukin-11 signaling.

Study Question: Do seminal plasma (SP) and its constituents affect the decidualization capacity and transcriptome of human primary endometrial stromal fibroblasts (eSFs)?

Summary Answer: SP promotes decidualization of eSFs from women with and without inflammatory disorders (polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis) in a manner that is not mediated through semen amyloids and that is associated with a potent transcriptional response, including the induction of interleukin (IL)-11, a cytokine important for SP-induced decidualization.

What Is Known Already: Clinical studies have suggested that SP can promote implantation, and studies in vitro have demonstrated that SP can promote decidualization, a steroid hormone-driven program of eSF differentiation that is essential for embryo implantation and that is compromised in women with the inflammatory disorders PCOS and endometriosis.

Study Design, Size, Duration: This is a cross-sectional study involving samples treated with vehicle alone versus treatment with SP or SP constituents.

Intracerebroventricular enzyme replacement therapy with β-galactosidase reverses brain pathologies due to GM1 gangliosidosis in mice.

Autosomal recessive mutations in the galactosidase β1 () gene cause lysosomal β-gal deficiency, resulting in accumulation of galactose-containing substrates and onset of the progressive and fatal neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease, GM1 gangliosidosis. Here, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) approach in fibroblasts from GM1 gangliosidosis patients with recombinant human β-gal (rhβ-gal) produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells enabled direct and precise rhβ-gal delivery to acidified lysosomes. A single, low dose (3 nm) of rhβ-gal was sufficient for normalizing β-gal activity and mediating substrate clearance for several weeks.

Rhizobacteria Mediate the Phytotoxicity of a Range of Biorefinery-Relevant Compounds.

Advances in engineering biology have expanded the list of renewable compounds that can be produced at scale via biological routes from plant biomass. In most cases, these chemical products have not been evaluated for effects on biological systems, defined in the present study as bioactivity, that may be relevant to their manufacture. For sustainable chemical and fuel production, the industry needs to transition from fossil to renewable carbon sources, resulting in unprecedented expansion in the production and environmental distribution of chemicals used in biomanufacturing.

Long-Term Outcomes of Newly Diagnosed Resected Atypical Meningiomas and the Role of Adjuvant Radiotherapy.

Objective: The role of adjuvant radiotherapy (ART) in patients with World Health Organization Grade II atypical meningiomas (AMs) remains controversial.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 149 patients with newly diagnosed resected AMs from 2000 to 2012. Gross total resection (GTR) was defined as Simpson Grades I-III and subtotal resection (STR) as Grades IV and V.

Author Correction: Jungle Express is a versatile repressor system for tight transcriptional control.

In the original version of this Article, an incorrect URL was provided in the Data Availability Statement regarding the deposition of plasmids listed in Supplementary Table 4. The correct URL is https://public-registry.jbei.

Jungle Express is a versatile repressor system for tight transcriptional control.

Tightly regulated promoters are essential for numerous biological applications, where strong inducibility, portability, and scalability are desirable. Current systems are often incompatible with large-scale fermentations due to high inducer costs and strict media requirements. Here, we describe the bottom-up engineering of 'Jungle Express', an expression system that enables efficient gene regulation in diverse proteobacteria.

Potent and rapid activation of tropomyosin-receptor kinase A in endometrial stromal fibroblasts by seminal plasma.

Seminal plasma (SP), the liquid fraction of semen, is not mandatory for conception, but clinical studies suggest that SP improves implantation rates. Prior in vitro studies examining the effects of SP on the endometrium, the site of implantation, surprisingly revealed that SP induces transcriptional profiles associated with neurogenesis. We investigated the presence and activity of neurogenesis pathways in the endometrium, focusing on TrkA, one of the canonical receptors associated with neurotrophic signaling.

Collectively Improving Our Teaching: Attempting Biology Department-wide Professional Development in Scientific Teaching.

Many efforts to improve science teaching in higher education focus on a few faculty members at an institution at a time, with limited published evidence on attempts to engage faculty across entire departments. We created a long-term, department-wide collaborative professional development program, Biology Faculty Explorations in Scientific Teaching (Biology FEST). Across 3 years of Biology FEST, 89% of the department's faculty completed a weeklong scientific teaching institute, and 83% of eligible instructors participated in additional semester-long follow-up programs.

Stromal fibroblasts from perimenopausal endometrium exhibit a different transcriptome than those from the premenopausal endometrium.

Human endometrium undergoes extensive regeneration on a cyclic basis in premenopausal women and likely occurs through the contribution of stem/progenitor cells. Menopause results in the permanent cessation of menstrual cycles and is preceded by perimenopause, a period of several years in which endocrine and biological changes occur and is a period of risk for endometrial proliferative disorders. The objectives of this study were to identify endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSC) and endometrial stromal fibroblasts (eSF) in endometrium of perimenopausal women and perform expression profile analysis of perimenopausal eMSC and eSF to gain insight into the biology of stem/progenitor and lineage cell populations during the transition to menopause.

Niche matters: The comparison between bone marrow stem cells and endometrial stem cells and stromal fibroblasts reveal distinct migration and cytokine profiles in response to inflammatory stimulus.

Objective: Intrinsic inflammatory characteristics play a pivotal role in stem cell recruitment and homing through migration where the subsequent change in niche has been shown to alter these characteristics. The bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs) have been demonstrated to migrate to the endometrium contributing to the stem cell reservoir and regeneration of endometrial tissue. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare the inflammation-driven migration and cytokine secretion profile of human bmMSCs to endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSCs) and endometrial fibroblasts (eSFs).

Mucosal stromal fibroblasts markedly enhance HIV infection of CD4+ T cells.

Understanding early events of HIV transmission within mucosal tissues is vital for developing effective prevention strategies. Here, we report that primary stromal fibroblasts isolated from endometrium, cervix, foreskin, male urethra, and intestines significantly increase HIV infection of CD4+ T cells-by up to 37-fold for R5-tropic HIV and 100-fold for X4-tropic HIV-without themselves becoming infected. Fibroblasts were more efficient than dendritic cells at trans-infection and mediate this response in the absence of the DC-SIGN and Siglec-1 receptors.

De novo superior cerebellar artery aneurysm following radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia.

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a commonly used method for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Radiation has been known to be a factor in the later development of aneurysms. Aneurysms have been reported to occur after radiation delivered in a variety of methods including both externally delivered radiation radiosurgery and brachytherapy.

Optical disassembly of cellular clusters by tunable 'tug-of-war' tweezers.

Bacterial biofilms underlie many persistent infections, posing major hurdles in antibiotic treatment. Here we design and demonstrate 'tug-of-war' optical tweezers that can facilitate the assessment of cell-cell adhesion-a key contributing factor to biofilm development, thanks to the combined actions of optical scattering and gradient forces. With a customized optical landscape distinct from that of conventional tweezers, not only can such 'tug-of-war' tweezers stably trap and stretch a rod-shaped bacterium in the observing plane, but, more importantly, they can also impose a tunable lateral force that pulls apart cellular clusters without any tethering or mechanical movement.

Isolation and Culture of Human Endometrial Epithelial Cells and Stromal Fibroblasts.

Purification and culture of endometrial epithelial cells (eEC) and stromal fibroblasts (eSF) from endometrial biopsies allows for downstream cell-specific studies. The utility of this protocol is the ease with which cells are purified without contamination from unwanted cell types, and the ability to use patient-paired eEC and eSF in experiments. These methods have been previously published, but here the protocol has been updated for maximum efficiency.

Human Endometrial Fibroblasts Derived from Mesenchymal Progenitors Inherit Progesterone Resistance and Acquire an Inflammatory Phenotype in the Endometrial Niche in Endometriosis.

Human endometrium undergoes cyclic regeneration involving stem/progenitor cells, but the role of resident endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (eMSC) as progenitors of endometrial stromal fibroblasts (eSF) has not been definitively demonstrated. In endometriosis, eSF display progesterone (P4) resistance with impaired decidualization in vivo and in vitro. To investigate eMSC as precursors of eSF and whether endometriosis P4 resistance is inherited from eMSC, we analyzed transcriptomes of eutopic endometrium eMSC and eSF isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) from endometriosis (eMSCendo, eSFendo) and controls (eMSCcontrol, eSFcontrol) and their derived primary cultures.

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery for treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations: outcome analysis with use of the modified arteriovenous malformation scoring system.

Radiosurgery has long been an accepted modality for definitive treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM). Efforts to improve the therapeutic ratio for this indication include use of staged volume procedures and hypofractionation. This study reviews our experience with a cohort of patients treated with hypofractionated radiosurgery.

Integral Whole Brain Dose from Stereotactic Radiosurgery of 47 Metastatic Lesions: A Dosimetric Case Study.

This report describes the case of a 15-year-old male diagnosed with primary ALK-positive adenocarcinoma of the lung metastatic to the brain. He was treated with surgical resection for a single lesion followed by whole brain radiotherapy and subsequently underwent 10 courses of stereotactic radiosurgery for 47 lesions delivered over a four-year period. Currently, all metastatic lesions in the brain are completely resolved or locally controlled.