Chloroplast alchemy: rewriting the chloroplast genome with high precision.

In the past decade, precise genome editing has transitioned from theory to practical application. Yet, plastid genomes have largely remained impervious to these advances. A recent breakthrough by Mok et al.

Towards sustainable spirulina farming: Enhancing productivity and biosafety with a salinity-biostimulants strategy.

Arthrospira platensis (spirulina) is pivotal to the global microalgae industry, valued for its nutritional and bioactive properties. However, its sustainable production is challenged by freshwater scarcity and biological contaminants. This study introduces a salinity-biostimulants strategy to adapt a freshwater spirulina strain, CBD05, to near-seawater salinity (3 %).

Does injection of botulinum toxin to salivary glands require ultrasound guidance?

Introduction: Injection of botulinum toxin into salivary glands is a well-established treatment for sialorrhea in children, but the absolute need for radiological guidance has not been tested.

Methods: Single-centre study in which clinicians of varying seniority attempted blind injection of salivary glands, after which their position within or outside the gland was confirmed by ultrasound guidance before the injection is administered.

Results: 117 patients underwent botulinum toxin of salivary glands between November 2008 and August 2023, with 459 glands injected in total.

Investigating the effectiveness of commercially available mouthwash on SARS-CoV-2 in vivo using viable virus titre as the primary outcome. A randomised controlled trial.

This multi-arm, parallel group, single-blinded randomised controlled trial aimed to assess three commercially available mouthwashes effectiveness against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This manuscript has been written in accordance with the CONSORT statement. Eligible participants were SARS-CoV-2 positive with a positive test in the last 72 h.

Combining Enhanced Resolving Power with Duty Cycle Improvements on a Multi-Reflecting Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer.

The combination of enhanced resolving power and improved duty cycle on a multireflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometer is described. Resolving power increases are achieved by extending the effective ion path length from 47 m to greater than 200 m. Path length increases are achieved through containment of ions within the analyzer for up to = 5 passes using a pulsed deflection electrode.

Synthetic, marine, light-driven, autotroph-heterotroph co-culture system for sustainable β-caryophyllene production.

Applying low-cost substrate is critical for sustainable bioproduction. Co-culture of phototrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms can be a promising solution as they can use CO and light as feedstock. This study aimed to create a light-driven consortium using a marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp.

Healthcare social network research and the ECHO model™: Exploring a community of practice to support cultural brokers and transfer cultural knowledge.

Background: Project ECHO networks at Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CHQHHS) are communities of practice designed to mitigate services and systems fragmentation by building collaborative partnerships addressing priority child and youth health needs. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience the negative impacts of fragmentation in addition to historical challenges of absent or culturally inappropriate health services. Access to culturally safe and responsive services can be improved by engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and similar roles in an online community of practice, supporting the integration of cultural and clinical knowledge and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers in decisions affecting their health.

The biogenesis and maintenance of PSII: Recent advances and current challenges.

The growth of plants, algae, and cyanobacteria relies on the catalytic activity of the oxygen-evolving PSII complex, which uses solar energy to extract electrons from water to feed into the photosynthetic electron transport chain. PSII is proving to be an excellent system to study how large multi-subunit membrane-protein complexes are assembled in the thylakoid membrane and subsequently repaired in response to photooxidative damage. Here we summarize recent developments in understanding the biogenesis of PSII, with an emphasis on recent insights obtained from biochemical and structural analysis of cyanobacterial PSII assembly/repair intermediates.

A Randomised Controlled Trial of Postoperative Sensitivity after Class II Restoration with Bulk-Fill vs Conventional Composites.

Introduction: Bulk-fill composites may simplify posterior restorations, saving time and reducing technical complexity. Post-operative sensitivity is a risk of posterior composites; bulk-fill composites could mitigate this. This single centre, double-blinded, parallel groups randomised controlled trial compared postoperative sensitivity following restoration of class II carious lesions with bulk-fill or conventional, layered composite.

Are web-based stress management interventions effective as an indirect treatment for depression? An individual participant data meta-analysis of six randomised trials.

Question: Depression is highly prevalent and associated with numerous adverse consequences for both individuals and society. Due to low uptake of direct treatment, interventions that target related, but less stigmatising problems, such as perceived stress, have emerged as a new research paradigm.This individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis examines if a web-based stress management intervention can be used as an 'indirect' treatment of depression.

Pre-hospital ECPR in an Australian metropolitan setting: a single-arm feasibility assessment-The CPR, pre-hospital ECPR and early reperfusion (CHEER3) study.

Introduction: Survival from refractory out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) without timely return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) utilising conventional advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) therapies is dismal. CHEER3 was a safety and feasibility study of pre-hospital deployed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for refractory OHCA in metropolitan Australia.

Methods: This was a single jurisdiction, single-arm feasibility study.

The Ycf48 accessory factor occupies the site of the oxygen-evolving manganese cluster during photosystem II biogenesis.

Robust oxygenic photosynthesis requires a suite of accessory factors to ensure efficient assembly and repair of the oxygen-evolving photosystem two (PSII) complex. The highly conserved Ycf48 assembly factor binds to the newly synthesized D1 reaction center polypeptide and promotes the initial steps of PSII assembly, but its binding site is unclear. Here we use cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of a cyanobacterial PSII D1/D2 reaction center assembly complex with Ycf48 attached.

Turning Strategy into Action - Using the ECHO Model to Empower the Australian Workforce to Integrate Care.

Introduction: Children's Health Queensland (CHQ) established a telementoring hub in Queensland, using the Project ECHO® model, to pilot and scale a range of virtual communities of practice (CoP) to empower the Australian workforce to integrate care.

Description: The establishment of the first Project ECHO hub in Queensland facilitated the implementation of a variety of child and youth health CoP that strategically aligned to the organisation's approach to integrate care through workforce development. Subsequently, other organisations nationally have also been trained to implement and replicate the ECHO model to effect more integrated care through CoPs in other priority areas.

Engineering α-carboxysomes into plant chloroplasts to support autotrophic photosynthesis.

The growth in world population, climate change, and resource scarcity necessitate a sustainable increase in crop productivity. Photosynthesis in major crops is limited by the inefficiency of the key CO-fixing enzyme Rubisco, owing to its low carboxylation rate and poor ability to discriminate between CO and O. In cyanobacteria and proteobacteria, carboxysomes function as the central CO-fixing organelles that elevate CO levels around encapsulated Rubisco to enhance carboxylation.

Accumulation of Cyanobacterial Photosystem II Containing the 'Rogue' D1 Subunit Is Controlled by FtsH Protease and Synthesis of the Standard D1 Protein.

Unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria contribute significantly to the photosynthetic productivity of the ocean and the fixation of molecular nitrogen, with photosynthesis occurring during the day and nitrogen fixation during the night. In species like Crocosphaera watsonii WH8501, the decline in photosynthetic activity in the night is accompanied by the disassembly of oxygen-evolving photosystem II (PSII) complexes. Moreover, in the second half of the night phase, a small amount of rogue D1 (rD1), which is related to the standard form of the D1 subunit found in oxygen-evolving PSII, but of unknown function, accumulates but is quickly degraded at the start of the light phase.

Impact of engineering the ATP synthase rotor ring on photosynthesis in tobacco chloroplasts.

The chloroplast ATP synthase produces the ATP needed for photosynthesis and plant growth. The trans-membrane flow of protons through the ATP synthase rotates an oligomeric assembly of c subunits, the c-ring. The ion-to-ATP ratio in rotary F1F0-ATP synthases is defined by the number of c-subunits in the rotor c-ring.

Novel Hybrid Quadrupole-Multireflecting Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry System.

A novel mass spectrometry system is described here comprising a quadrupole-multireflecting time-of-flight design. The new multireflecting time-of-flight analyzer has an effective path length of 48 m and employs planar, gridless ion mirrors providing fourth-order energy focusing resulting in resolving power over 200 000 fwhm and sub-ppm mass accuracy. We show how these attributes are maintained with relatively fast acquisition speeds, setting the system apart from other high resolution mass spectrometers.

FtsH4 protease controls biogenesis of the PSII complex by dual regulation of high light-inducible proteins.

FtsH proteases are membrane-embedded proteolytic complexes important for protein quality control and regulation of various physiological processes in bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. Like most cyanobacteria, the model species Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 contains four FtsH homologs, FtsH1-FtsH4.

The Efficacy of a Web-Based Stress Management Intervention for Employees Experiencing Adverse Working Conditions and Occupational Self-efficacy as a Mediator: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Work stress is highly prevalent and puts employees at risk for adverse health consequences. Web-based stress management interventions (SMIs) promoting occupational self-efficacy might be a feasible approach to aid employees to alleviate this burden and to enable them to improve an unbalanced situation between efforts and rewards at work.

Objective: The first aim of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate the efficacy of a web-based SMI for employees perceiving elevated stress levels and an effort-reward imbalance in comparison to a waitlist control (WLC) group.

Supporting GPs in the Management of Children and Young People with ADHD Through Project ECHO: Results from a Self-Efficacy Survey.

Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) accounts for a high proportion of paediatric outpatient visits in Australia. Shared care by general practitioners (GPs) would deliver more timely care, closer to home, however GPs indicated the need for interprofessional training support. This study describes the use of Project ECHO, a guided practice model, to support GPs with ADHD management, by connecting them virtually with an interprofessional team of paediatric specialists using a structured methodology.

Remembering James Barber (1940-2020).

James Barber, known to colleagues and friends as Jim, passed away in January 2020 after a long battle against cancer. During his long and distinguished career in photosynthesis research, Jim made many outstanding contributions with the pinnacle achieving his dream of determining the first detailed structure of the Mn cluster involved in photosynthetic water oxidation. Here, colleagues and friends remember Jim and reflect upon his scientific career and the impact he had on their lives and the scientific community.

Recent Advances in Understanding the Structural and Functional Evolution of FtsH Proteases.

The FtsH family of proteases are membrane-anchored, ATP-dependent, zinc metalloproteases. They are universally present in prokaryotes and the mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells. Most bacteria bear a single gene that produces hexameric homocomplexes with diverse house-keeping roles.

Assembly of D1/D2 complexes of photosystem II: Binding of pigments and a network of auxiliary proteins.

Photosystem II (PSII) is the multi-subunit light-driven oxidoreductase that drives photosynthetic electron transport using electrons extracted from water. To investigate the initial steps of PSII assembly, we used strains of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 arrested at early stages of PSII biogenesis and expressing affinity-tagged PSII subunits to isolate PSII reaction center assembly (RCII) complexes and their precursor D1 and D2 modules (D1mod and D2mod).