Histological assessment of thermal damage in porcine muscle induced by monopolar electrosurgical cutting devices during manual and robotic testing.

Surgical cutting with electrosurgical tools facilitates tissue dissection and vessel sealing, preventing blood loss. The extent of tissue necrosis due to temperature elevations is dependent on the cutting technique, device design, coating properties and power settings, but the influence of these parameters is not fully understood. Here we conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of thermal damage comparing (1) manual user-controlled and robotic electrosurgical cutting approaches for (2) varying electrodes and coatings, and power settings.

Bacterial population-level trade-offs between drought tolerance and resource acquisition traits impact decomposition.

Microbes drive fundamental ecosystem processes, such as decomposition. Environmental stressors are known to affect microbes, their fitness, and the ecosystem functions that they perform; yet, understanding the causal mechanisms behind this influence has been difficult. We used leaf litter on soil surface as a model in situ system to assess changes in bacterial genomic traits and decomposition rates for 18 months with drought as a stressor.

Laboratory based correlative cryo-soft X-ray tomography and cryo-fluorescence microscopy.

Cryo-soft X-ray tomography is the unique technology that can image whole intact cells in 3D under normal and pathological conditions without labelling or fixation, at high throughput and spatial resolution. The sample preparation is relatively straightforward; requiring just fast freezing of the specimen before transfer to the microscope for imaging. It is also possible to image chemically fixed samples where necessary.

Establishing genetic manipulation for novel strains of human gut bacteria.

Recent years have seen the development of high-accuracy and high-throughput genetic manipulation techniques, which have greatly improved our understanding of genetically tractable microbes. However, challenges remain in establishing genetic manipulation techniques in novel organisms, owing largely to exogenous DNA defence mechanisms, lack of selectable markers, lack of efficient methods to introduce exogenous DNA and an inability of genetic vectors to replicate in their new host. In this review, we describe some of the techniques that are available for genetic manipulation of novel microorganisms.

Genomics of soil depth niche partitioning in the Thaumarchaeota family Gagatemarchaeaceae.

Knowledge of deeply-rooted non-ammonia oxidising Thaumarchaeota lineages from terrestrial environments is scarce, despite their abundance in acidic soils. Here, 15 new deeply-rooted thaumarchaeotal genomes were assembled from acidic topsoils (0-15 cm) and subsoils (30-60 cm), corresponding to two genera of terrestrially prevalent Gagatemarchaeaceae (previously known as thaumarchaeotal Group I.1c) and to a novel genus of heterotrophic terrestrial Thaumarchaeota.

Dehydration as alternative sample preparation for soft X-ray tomography.

Soft X-ray tomography (SXT) is an imaging technique to visualise whole cells without fixation, staining, and sectioning. For SXT imaging, cells are cryopreserved and imaged at cryogenic conditions. Such 'near-to-native' state imaging is in high demand and initiated the development of the laboratory table-top SXT microscope.

Bromodomain protein BRD8 regulates cell cycle progression in colorectal cancer cells through a TIP60-independent regulation of the pre-RC complex.

Bromodomain-containing protein 8 (BRD8) is a subunit of the NuA4/TIP60-histone acetyltransferase complex. Although BRD8 has been considered to act as a co-activator of the complex, its biological role remains to be elucidated. Here, we uncovered that BRD8 accumulates in colorectal cancer cells through the inhibition of ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation by the interaction with MRG domain binding protein.

Rooting Species Trees Using Gene Tree-Species Tree Reconciliation.

Interpreting phylogenetic trees requires a root, which provides the direction of evolution and polarizes ancestor-descendant relationships. But inferring the root using genetic data is difficult, particularly in cases where the closest available outgroup is only distantly related, which are common for microbes. In this chapter, we present a workflow for estimating rooted species trees and the evolutionary history of the gene families that evolve within them using probabilistic gene tree-species tree reconciliation.

Recovery of Lutacidiplasmatales archaeal order genomes suggests convergent evolution in Thermoplasmatota.

The Terrestrial Miscellaneous Euryarchaeota Group has been identified in various environments, and the single genome investigated thus far suggests that these archaea are anaerobic sulfite reducers. We assemble 35 new genomes from this group that, based on genome analysis, appear to possess aerobic and facultative anaerobic lifestyles and may oxidise rather than reduce sulfite. We propose naming this order (representing 16 genera) "Lutacidiplasmatales" due to their occurrence in various acidic environments and placement within the phylum Thermoplasmatota.

Microbial lactate utilisation and the stability of the gut microbiome.

The human large intestinal microbiota thrives on dietary carbohydrates that are converted to a range of fermentation products. Short-chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate and butyrate) are the dominant fermentation acids that accumulate to high concentrations in the colon and they have health-promoting effects on the host. Although many gut microbes can also produce lactate, it usually does not accumulate in the healthy gut lumen.

Distribution, organization and expression of genes concerned with anaerobic lactate utilization in human intestinal bacteria.

Lactate accumulation in the human gut is linked to a range of deleterious health impacts. However, lactate is consumed and converted to the beneficial short-chain fatty acids butyrate and propionate by indigenous lactate-utilizing bacteria. To better understand the underlying genetic basis for lactate utilization, transcriptomic analyses were performed for two prominent lactate-utilizing species from the human gut, and , during growth on lactate, hexose sugar or hexose plus lactate.

Conjugation Protocol Optimised for and .

and species of the human gut microbiota play an important role in the maintaince of human health, partly by producing butyrate, the main energy source of our colonic epithelial cells. However, our knowledge of the biochemistry and physiology of these bacteria has been limited by a lack of genetic manipulation techniques. Conjugative transposons previously introduced into species could not be easily modified, greatly limiting their applicability as genetic modification platforms.

Influence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy on cardiac repolarisation during incremental adrenaline infusion in type 1 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: We examined the effect of a standardised sympathetic stimulus, incremental adrenaline (epinephrine) infusion on cardiac repolarisation in individuals with type 1 diabetes with normal autonomic function, subclinical autonomic neuropathy and established autonomic neuropathy.

Methods: Ten individuals with normal autonomic function and baroreceptor sensitivity tests (NAF), seven with subclinical autonomic neuropathy (SAN; normal standard autonomic function tests and abnormal baroreceptor sensitivity tests); and five with established cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN; abnormal standard autonomic function and baroreceptor tests) underwent an incremental adrenaline infusion. Saline (0.

Heterologous gene expression in the human gut bacteria Eubacterium rectale and Roseburia inulinivorans by means of conjugative plasmids.

Commensal butyrate-producing bacteria in the Firmicutes phylum are abundant in the human intestine and are important for maintaining health. However, understanding of the metabolism and host interaction of these bacteria is limited by the lack of genetic modification techniques. Here we establish a protocol enabling the transfer of autonomously-replicating shuttle vectors by conjugative plasmid transfer from an Escherichia coli donor into representatives of an important sub-group of strictly anaerobic human colonic Firmicutes.

Impact of carbohydrate substrate complexity on the diversity of the human colonic microbiota.

The diversity of the colonic microbial community has been linked with health in adults and diet composition is one possible determinant of diversity. We used carefully controlled conditions in vitro to determine how the complexity and multiplicity of growth substrates influence species diversity of the human colonic microbiota. In each experiment, five parallel anaerobic fermenters that received identical faecal inocula were supplied continuously with single carbohydrates (either arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (AXOS), pectin or inulin) or with a '3-mix' of all three carbohydrates, or with a '6-mix' that additionally contained resistant starch, β-glucan and galactomannan as energy sources.

A novel ASXL1-OGT axis plays roles in H3K4 methylation and tumor suppression in myeloid malignancies.

ASXL1 plays key roles in epigenetic regulation of gene expression through methylation of histone H3K27, and disruption of ASXL1 drives myeloid malignancies, at least in part, via derepression of posterior HOXA loci. However, little is known about the identity of proteins that interact with ASXL1 and about the functions of ASXL1 in modulation of the active histone mark, such as H3K4 methylation. In this study, we demonstrate that ASXL1 is a part of a protein complex containing HCFC1 and OGT; OGT directly stabilizes ASXL1 by O-GlcNAcylation.

A Preferential Attachment Paradox: How Preferential Attachment Combines with Growth to Produce Networks with Log-normal In-degree Distributions.

Every network scientist knows that preferential attachment combines with growth to produce networks with power-law in-degree distributions. How, then, is it possible for the network of American Physical Society journal collection citations to enjoy a log-normal citation distribution when it was found to have grown in accordance with preferential attachment? This anomalous result, which we exalt as the preferential attachment paradox, has remained unexplained since the physicist Sidney Redner first made light of it over a decade ago. Here we propose a resolution.

Sporulation capability and amylosome conservation among diverse human colonic and rumen isolates of the keystone starch-degrader Ruminococcus bromii.

Ruminococcus bromii is a dominant member of the human colonic microbiota that plays a 'keystone' role in degrading dietary resistant starch. Recent evidence from one strain has uncovered a unique cell surface 'amylosome' complex that organizes starch-degrading enzymes. New genome analysis presented here reveals further features of this complex and shows remarkable conservation of amylosome components between human colonic strains from three different continents and a R.

Large-scale DNA Barcode Library Generation for Biomolecule Identification in High-throughput Screens.

High-throughput screens allow for the identification of specific biomolecules with characteristics of interest. In barcoded screens, DNA barcodes are linked to target biomolecules in a manner allowing for the target molecules making up a library to be identified by sequencing the DNA barcodes using Next Generation Sequencing. To be useful in experimental settings, the DNA barcodes in a library must satisfy certain constraints related to GC content, homopolymer length, Hamming distance, and blacklisted subsequences.

Diurnal Differences in Risk of Cardiac Arrhythmias During Spontaneous Hypoglycemia in Young People With Type 1 Diabetes.

Objective: Hypoglycemia may exert proarrhythmogenic effects on the heart via sympathoadrenal stimulation and hypokalemia. Hypoglycemia-induced cardiac dysrhythmias are linked to the "dead-in-bed syndrome," a rare but devastating condition. We examined the effect of nocturnal and daytime clinical hypoglycemia on electrocardiogram (ECG) in young people with type 1 diabetes.

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Leads to Improvements in Handgrip Strength.

Background: A reduction in skeletal muscle performance measured by handgrip strength is common in heart failure. No trial has investigated the role of cardiac resynchronization therapy, which leads to improvements in cardiac performance, on the function of skeletal muscle in patients with heart failure.

Methods: Nineteen patients were recruited, 18 male, age 69 ± 8 years, New York Heart Association class II-IV, QRS duration 173 ± 21 ms and left ventricular ejection fraction 26±8%.

Cardiac Autonomic Regulation and Repolarization During Acute Experimental Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes.

Hypoglycemia is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality in trials of intensive therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We previously observed an increase in arrhythmias during spontaneous prolonged hypoglycemia in patients with T2DM. We examined changes in cardiac autonomic function and repolarization during sustained experimental hypoglycemia.