Development and Evaluation of a Sensitive Approach for Detection and Recovery of Third-generation Cephalosporin- and Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales from Ready-to-Eat Frozen Stone Fruit.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat, but the role of foods in its dissemination is poorly understood. We examined the incidence of foodborne bacteria carrying AMR genes considered high-priority research targets by the World Health Organization. Frozen, ready-to-eat, avocado, coconut, mango, and peach (n=161) were tested for bacteria encoding extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemases.

Bacterial microbiota associated with raw plant-based meat analogue products and their influences on selective enrichment for O157:H7.

Towards fostering a more sustainable food production system in face of the climate change challenge, alternative protein meat-substitute products that are plant-based and free of animal by-products have been gaining attractions from both food manufacturers and consumers. With these so-called plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) becoming increasingly available at supermarkets, there is very little known about their microbial properties. In this short report, we characterized the bacterial composition of raw plant-based ground meat imitation retail products using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.

The Role of Angiopoietins in Cardiovascular Outcomes of Kidney Transplant Recipients: An Ancillary Study from the FAVORIT.

Introduction: Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. We investigated vascular biomarkers, angiopoietin-1, and angiopoietin-2 (angpt-1, -2), in CVD development in KTRs.

Methods: This ancillary study from the FAVORIT evaluates the associations of baseline plasma angpt-1, -2 levels in CVD development (primary outcome) and graft failure (GF) and death (secondary outcomes) in 2000 deceased donor KTRs.

Delta-6 desaturase (Fads2) deficiency alters triacylglycerol/fatty acid cycling in murine white adipose tissue.

The Δ-6 desaturase (D6D) enzyme is not only critical for the synthesis of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) from α-linolenic acid (ALA), but recent evidence suggests that it also plays a role in adipocyte lipid metabolism and body weight; however, the mechanisms remain largely unexplored. The goal of this study was to investigate if a D6D deficiency would inhibit triacylglycerol storage and alter lipolytic and lipogenic pathways in mouse white adipose tissue (WAT) depots due to a disruption in EPA and DHA production. Male C57BL/6J D6D knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were fed either a 7% w/w lard or flax (ALA rich) diet for 21 weeks.

De-risking clinical trial failure through mechanistic simulation.

Drug development typically comprises a combination of pre-clinical experimentation, clinical trials, and statistical data-driven analyses. Therapeutic failure in late-stage clinical development costs the pharmaceutical industry billions of USD per year. Clinical trial simulation represents a key derisking strategy and combining them with mechanistic models allows one to test hypotheses for mechanisms of failure and to improve trial designs.

Analysis of cellular kinetic models suggest that physiologically based model parameters may be inherently, practically unidentifiable.

Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic and cellular kinetic models are used extensively to predict concentration profiles of drugs or adoptively transferred cells in patients and laboratory animals. Models are fit to data by the numerical optimisation of appropriate parameter values. When quantities such as the area under the curve are all that is desired, only a close qualitative fit to data is required.

Responses of the Soil Bacterial Community, Resistome, and Mobilome to a Decade of Annual Exposure to Macrolide Antibiotics.

Biosolids that are applied to agricultural soil as an organic fertilizer are frequently contaminated with pharmaceutical residues that have persisted during wastewater treatment and partitioned into the organic phase. Macrolide antibiotics, which serve as a critically important human medicine, have been detected within biosolids. To determine the impacts of macrolide antibiotics on soil bacteria, every year for a decade, a series of replicated field plots received an application of a mixture of erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin at a realistic (0.

Plant and marine N3-PUFA regulation of fatty acid trafficking along the adipose tissue-liver axis varies according to nutritional state.

Marine sourced N3-PUFA regulate lipid metabolism in adipose tissue and liver; however, less is known about plant sourced N3-PUFA. The goal of this study was to investigate plant and marine N3-PUFA regulation of fatty acid trafficking along the adipose tissue-liver axis according to nutritional state. Mice were fed low-fat diets (7% w/w) containing either lard, flaxseed, or menhaden oils for 8 weeks, and were euthanized in either fed or fasted states.

Predicted limited redistribution of T cells to secondary lymphoid tissue correlates with increased risk of haematological malignancies in asplenic patients.

The spleen, a secondary lymphoid tissue (SLT), has an important role in generation of adaptive immune responses. Although splenectomy remains a common procedure, recent studies reported poor prognosis and increased risk of haematological malignancies in asplenic patients. The high baseline trafficking of T lymphocytes to splenic tissue suggests splenectomy may lead to loss of blood-borne malignant immunosurveillance that is not compensated for by the remaining SLT.

Quantifying the limits of CAR T-cell delivery in mice and men.

CAR (Chimeric Antigen Receptor) T cells have demonstrated clinical success for the treatment of multiple lymphomas and leukaemias, but not for various solid tumours, despite promising data from murine models. Lower effective CAR T-cell delivery rates to human solid tumours compared to haematological malignancies in humans and solid tumours in mice might partially explain these divergent outcomes. We used anatomical and physiological data for human and rodent circulatory systems to calculate the typical perfusion of healthy and tumour tissues, and estimated the upper limits of immune cell delivery rates across different organs, tumour types and species.

CLR01 protects dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in mouse models of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects millions of patients worldwide and is characterized by alpha-synuclein aggregation in dopamine neurons. Molecular tweezers have shown high potential as anti-aggregation agents targeting positively charged residues of proteins undergoing amyloidogenic processes. Here we report that the molecular tweezer CLR01 decreased aggregation and toxicity in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived dopaminergic cultures treated with PD brain protein extracts.

Abnormal Social Interactions in a Mutant of an Autism Candidate Gene: .

Social interactions are typically impaired in neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, for which the genetic underpinnings are very complex. Social interactions can be modeled by analysis of behaviors, including social spacing, sociability, and aggression, in simpler organisms such as . Here, we examined the effects of mutants of the autism-related gene () on fly social and non-social behaviors.

Mechanisms underlying N3-PUFA regulation of white adipose tissue endocrine function.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (N3-PUFA) are widely reported to improve obesity-associated metabolic impairments, in part, through the regulation of adipokine and cytokine secretion from white adipose tissue (WAT). However, the precise underlying molecular mechanisms by which N3-PUFA influence WAT endocrine function remain poorly described. Available evidence supports that N3-PUFA and related bioactive lipid mediators regulate several intracellular pathways that converge on two important transcription factors: PPAR-γ and NF-κB.

Development and Validation of a Path Length Calculation for Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity Measurement: A TASCFORCE, SUMMIT, and Caerphilly Collaborative Venture.

Current distance measurement techniques for pulse wave velocity (PWV) calculation are susceptible to intercenter variability. The aim of this study was to derive and validate a formula for this distance measurement. Based on carotid femoral distance in 1183 whole-body magnetic resonance angiograms, a formula was derived for calculating distance.

An model of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activation in the lymph node following short peptide vaccination.

Tumour immunotherapy is dependent upon activation and expansion of tumour-targetting immune cells, known as cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs). Cancer vaccines developed in the past have had limited success and the mechanisms resulting in failure are not well characterized. To elucidate these mechanisms, we developed a human-parametrized, , agent-based model of vaccination-driven CTL activation within a clinical short-peptide vaccination context.

Catholics and the Clandestine Marriages Act of 1753.

Rebecca Probert is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Warwick. She specialises in family law and is currently writing a book on the law of marriage in the eighteenth century. Liam D'Arcy Brown is her husband and chief research assistant.