Dissecting the biophysical mechanisms of oleate hydratase association with membranes.

This study investigates the dynamics of oleate hydratase (OhyA), a bacterial flavoenzyme from , and its interactions with lipid membranes, focusing on the factors influencing membrane binding and oligomerization. OhyA catalyzes the hydration of unsaturated fatty acids, playing a key role in bacterial pathogenesis by neutralizing host antimicrobial fatty acids. OhyA binds the membrane bilayer to access membrane-embedded substrates for catalysis, and structural studies have revealed that OhyA forms oligomers on membrane surfaces, stabilized by both protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions.

U.S. State-Level Containment Policies Not Associated with Food Insecurity Changes During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-level Analysis.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between United States (US) containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and household food insecurity.

Design: To investigate these relationships, we developed a framework linking COVID-related containment policies with different domains of food security, then used multilevel random effects models to examine associations between state-level containment policies and household food security. Our framework depicts theorized linkages between stringency policies and five domains of food security (availability, physical access, economic access, acceptability in meeting preferences, and agency, which includes both self-efficacy and infrastructure).

Advanced tissue technologies of blood-brain barrier organoids as high throughput toxicity readouts in drug development.

Recent advancements in engineering Complex models (CIVMs) such as Blood-brain barrier (BBB) organoids offer promising platforms for preclinical drug testing. However, their application in drug development, and especially for the regulatory purposes of toxicity assessment, requires robust and reproducible techniques. Here, we developed an adapted set of orthogonal image-based tissue methods including hematoxylin and eosin staining (HE), immunohistochemistry (IHC), multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF), and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI-MSI) to validate CIVMs for drug toxicity assessments.

Independent evolution of oleate hydratase clades in Bacillales reflects molecular convergence.

Oleate hydratase (OhyA), a flavoenzyme that catalyzes the hydration of unsaturated fatty acids, has been identified in various Bacillales organisms, including those in the , , , and genera. In this study, we combine structural biology with molecular and phylogenetic analyses to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of the OhyA protein family within the Bacillales order. Our evolutionary analysis reveals two distinct OhyA clades (clade I and clade II) within Bacillales that, while sharing catalytic function, exhibit significant genomic and structural differences.

Geospatial Food Environment Exposure and Obesity Among Low Income Baltimore City Children: Associations Differ by Data Source and Processing Method.

Due to the high prevalence of childhood obesity, it is imperative to assess the relationship children's access to food retailers and obesity. However, the influence of methodological decisions on these associations has been understudied. We examined relationships between different measures of geospatial food environment (using 4 data sources, and 2 data processing methods), and BMI in a sample of low-income children in Baltimore, Maryland.