Dynamics of Bacterial and Viral Transmission in Experimental Microbiota Transplantation.

Mouse models are vital tools for discerning the relative contributions of host and microbial genetics to disease, often requiring the transplantation of microbiota between different mouse strains. Transfer methods include antibiotic treatment of recipients and colonization using either co-housing with donors or the transplantation of fecal or cecal donor material. However, the efficiency and dynamics of these methods in reconstituting recipients with donor microbes is not well understood.

Low-Cost Open-Source Melt Flow Index System for Distributed Recycling and Additive Manufacturing.

The increasing adoption of distributed recycling via additive manufacturing (DRAM) has facilitated the revalorization of materials derived from waste streams for additive manufacturing. Recycled materials frequently contain impurities and mixed polymers, which can degrade their properties over multiple cycles. This degradation, particularly in rheological properties, limits their applicability in 3D printing.

Overview of resveratrol properties, applications, and advances in microbial precision fermentation.

Resveratrol is an antioxidant abundant in plants like grapes and peanuts and has garnered significant attention for its potential therapeutic applications. This review explores its chemical attributes, stability, and solubility, influencing its diverse applications and bioavailability. Resveratrol's multifaceted therapeutic roles encompass: antioxidant, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anti-aging, and anticancer properties.

Community-based reconstruction and simulation of a full-scale model of the rat hippocampus CA1 region.

The CA1 region of the hippocampus is one of the most studied regions of the rodent brain, thought to play an important role in cognitive functions such as memory and spatial navigation. Despite a wealth of experimental data on its structure and function, it has been challenging to integrate information obtained from diverse experimental approaches. To address this challenge, we present a community-based, full-scale in silico model of the rat CA1 that integrates a broad range of experimental data, from synapse to network, including the reconstruction of its principal afferents, the Schaffer collaterals, and a model of the effects that acetylcholine has on the system.

Cholenamide-based, antiviral fluorescent probes targeting oxysterol-binding protein.

Oxysterols (OSs) represent a large family of cholesterol-derived molecules, involved in several physiological and pathological processes. Recently, we reported the remarkable antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infection of three cholenamide or homocholenamide derivatives, namely PFM067, PFM064, and PFM069, identified by the screening of an in-house library of OS derivatives. With the aim to shed light on the antiviral mechanism of action of this class of molecules, we assumed to exploit the use of cholenamide-based fluorescent probes.

Enhanced Anti-Melanoma Activity of Nutlin-3a Delivered via Ethosomes: Targeting p53-Mediated Apoptosis in HT144 Cells.

This study evaluated ethosomes as a novel nanodelivery system for nutlin-3a, a known MDM2 inhibitor and activator of the p53 pathway, to improve nutlin-3a's poor solubility, limiting its bio-distribution and therapeutic efficacy. The potential of nutlin-3a-loaded ethosomes was investigated on two in vitro models of melanoma: the HT144 cell line p53 and the SK-MEL-28 cell line p53. Nutlin-3a-loaded ethosomes were characterized for their physicochemical properties and used to treat melanoma cells at different concentrations, considering nutlin-3a solution and empty ethosomes as controls.

Large-Scale Mechanistic Models of Brain Circuits with Biophysically and Morphologically Detailed Neurons.

Understanding the brain requires studying its multiscale interactions from molecules to networks. The increasing availability of large-scale datasets detailing brain circuit composition, connectivity, and activity is transforming neuroscience. However, integrating and interpreting this data remains challenging.

Sexual dimorphism in the structural colours of the wings of the black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

The black soldier fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) plays a significant role at the larval stage in the circular economy due to its ability to convert organic waste into valuable products for energy, food, feed, and agricultural applications. Many data are available on larval development and biomass generation, but basic research on this species is lacking and little is known about adult biology, in particular about the cues involved in sexual recognition. In the present study, using various instruments (stereomicroscope, scanning and transmission electron microscope, hyperspectral camera and spectrophotometer), wing ultrastructure of both sexes was analysed, reflectance and transmission spectra of the wings were measured and behavioural bioassays were carried out to measure male response to specific visual stimuli.

Unfolding the dynamics of ecosystems undergoing alternating wet-dry transitional states.

A significant fraction of Earth's ecosystems undergoes periodic wet-dry alternating transitional states. These globally distributed water-driven transitional ecosystems, such as intermittent rivers and coastal shorelines, have traditionally been studied as two distinct entities, whereas they constitute a single, interconnected meta-ecosystem. This has resulted in a poor conceptual and empirical understanding of water-driven transitional ecosystems.

Differential response of bacteria and fungi to drought on the decomposition of Sarcocornia fruticosa woody stems in a saline stream.

Inland saline ecosystems suffer multiple stresses (e.g., high radiation, salinity, water scarcity) that may compromise essential ecosystem functions such as organic matter decomposition.

Characterization Methods for Nanoparticle-Skin Interactions: An Overview.

Research progresses have led to the development of different kinds of nanoplatforms to deliver drugs through different biological membranes. Particularly, nanocarriers represent a precious means to treat skin pathologies, due to their capability to solubilize lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs, to control their release, and to promote their permeation through the stratum corneum barrier. A crucial point in the development of nano-delivery systems relies on their characterization, as well as in the assessment of their interaction with tissues, in order to predict their fate under in vivo administration.

Sociodemographic profile, health-related behaviours and experiences of healthcare access in Italian transgender and gender diverse adult population.

Purpose: Information on the general health of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals continues to be lacking. To bridge this gap, the National Institute of Health in Italy together with the National Office against Racial Discriminations, clinical centres, and TGD organizations carried out a cross-sectional study to define the sociodemographic profile, health-related behaviours, and experiences of healthcare access in Italian TGD adult population.

Methods: A national survey was conducted by Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) technique.

Computational aptamer design for spike glycoprotein (S) (SARS CoV-2) detection with an electrochemical aptasensor.

A new bioinformatic platform (APTERION) was used to design in a short time and with high specificity an aptamer for the detection of the spike protein, a structural protein of SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The aptamer concentration on the carbon electrode surface was optimized using static contact angle and fluorescence method, while specificity was tested using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) associated to carbon screen-printed electrodes. The data obtained demonstrated the good features of the aptamer which could be used to create a rapid method for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

A European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence in adolescents.

Background: Knowledge regarding the effects and side effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) in adults is rapidly growing, partly through international research networks such as the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI). However, data on the effects of puberty suppression (PS) and GAHT in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth are limited, although these data are of crucial importance, given the controversies surrounding this treatment.

Aim: We sought to present a detailed overview of the design of the ENIGI Adolescents study protocol, including the first baseline data.

Estimate and needs of the transgender adult population: the SPoT study.

Background: Despite the increasing interest in transgender health research, to date little is known about the size of the transgender and gender diverse (TGD) population.

Methods: A web-based questionnaire survey was developed, including a collection of socio-demographic characteristics and disseminated online through social media. Gender incongruence was evaluated by using a 2-item approach assessing gender recorded at birth and gender identity.

PLA Feedstock Filled with Spent Coffee Grounds for New Product Applications with Large-Format Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing.

Food waste and loss generate significant waste such as spent coffee grounds (SCGs) from coffee consumption. These byproducts can be valorized by following circular economy and bioeconomy principles, e.g.

Position of the international forum of internal medicine on habits, lifestyle changes and a healthy environment for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), mainly ischemic heart disease and stroke, is the main cause of death worldwide and each year more people die from CVD than from any other cause. These data call for a paradigm shift, where health promotion and cardiovascular prevention will acquire a central role in health policies. From this perspective, dedicating time during the consultation to promoting the acquisition of heart-healthy habits would be indicated in all individuals, regardless of cardiovascular risk classification, the role of the internist being fundamental.

Comparative analysis of fasting effects on the cecum microbiome in three guinea pig breeds: Andina, Inti, and Peru.

Guinea pigs have historically been used as a food source and are also an important model for studying the human intestines. Fasting is the act of temporarily stopping the intake of food. This process can alter the microbiota of various animals.

Signature of paraoxonases in the altered redox homeostasis in Alzheimer's disease.

Paraoxonase (PON) enzymes (PON1, PON2 and PON3) exert antioxidant properties through arylesterase, lactonase and paraoxonase activities. Increasing findings suggested their potential involvement, particularly PON1 and PON2, in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative pathology characterized by early oxidative stress. Specifically, decreased serum PON1-arylesterase and lactonase activities seem to be associated with an increased brain oxidative damage in early AD, leading to hypothesize that PON activity alterations might be an early event in AD.

Different responses of mice and rats hippocampus CA1 pyramidal neurons to and -like inputs.

The fundamental role of any neuron within a network is to transform complex spatiotemporal synaptic input patterns into individual output spikes. These spikes, in turn, act as inputs for other neurons in the network. Neurons must execute this function across a diverse range of physiological conditions, often based on species-specific traits.

Online interoperable resources for building hippocampal neuron models via the Hippocampus Hub.

To build biophysically detailed models of brain cells, circuits, and regions, a data-driven approach is increasingly being adopted. This helps to obtain a simulated activity that reproduces the experimentally recorded neural dynamics as faithfully as possible, and to turn the model into a useful framework for making predictions based on the principles governing the nature of neural cells. In such a context, the access to existing neural models and data outstandingly facilitates the work of computational neuroscientists and fosters its novelty, as the scientific community grows wider and neural models progressively increase in type, size, and number.

Recent advances in biorefineries based on lignin extraction using deep eutectic solvents: A review.

Considering the urgent need for alternative biorefinery schemes based on sustainable development, this review aims to summarize the state-of-the-art in the use of deep eutectic solvent pretreatment to fractionate lignocellulose, with a focus on lignin recovery. For that, the key parameters influencing the process are discussed, as well as various strategies to enhance this pretreatment efficiency are explored. Moreover, this review describes the challenges and opportunities associated with the valorization of extraction-derived streams and highlights recent advancements in solvent recovery techniques.