Using sensory and instrumental analysis to assess the impact of grape smoke exposure on different red wine varietals in California.

This study is an investigation of the impact of volatile phenols (VPs) released from burning wood during wildfires on grape composition and the resulting wines. Baseline levels of VPs in grapes and sensory differences between smoke-impacted wines and non-smoke-impacted wines were determined. The differences were related to different levels of smoke taint marker compounds in different wine matrices, using modified descriptive analysis (DA), multivariate statistics, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QqQ-MS) of the free and total VPs, and individual bound glycosides, respectively.

Initial Validation of a Survey Instrument to Evaluate Veterinary Student Self-Efficacy for Antimicrobial Selection in the United States.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to human and animal health, and antimicrobial use selects for AMR. Appropriate selection of antimicrobial drugs is an important part of veterinary education, but many veterinary students report that they have knowledge gaps in this area. Students with greater self-efficacy, the belief that one can perform the individual steps that comprise a task, tend to expend more effort and motivation in learning new skills.

Recollection and familiarity support auditory working memory in a manner analogous to visual working memory.

Prior work has suggested that visual working memory as measured in change detection tasks can be based on recollection, whereby participants consciously identify a specific feature of a stimulus that has changed, or on familiarity, whereby participants sense that a change has occurred but are unable to consciously access what has changed. Whether recollection and familiarity also contribute to auditory working memory is unclear. The present study aims to address that gap in knowledge by having participants make confidence judgments in change detection tests for speech sounds and pure tones.

Effects of systemic oxytocin and beta-3 receptor agonist (CL 316243) treatment on body weight and adiposity in male diet-induced obese rats.

Previous studies have implicated hindbrain oxytocin (OT) receptors in the control of food intake and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. We recently demonstrated that hindbrain [fourth ventricle (4V)] administration of oxytocin (OT) could be used as an adjunct to drugs that directly target beta-3 adrenergic receptors (β3-AR) to elicit weight loss in diet-induced obese (DIO) rodents. What remains unclear is whether systemic OT can be used as an adjunct with the β3-AR agonist, CL 316243, to increase BAT thermogenesis and elicit weight loss in DIO rats.

Sharing sleeping sites disrupts sleep but catalyses social tolerance and coordination between groups.

Sleeping refuges-like other important, scarce and shareable resources-can serve as hotspots for animal interaction, shaping patterns of attraction and avoidance. Where sleeping sites are shared, individuals balance the opportunity for interaction with new social partners against their need for sleep. By expanding the network of connections within animal populations, such night-time social interactions may have important, yet largely unexplored, impacts on critical behavioural and ecological processes.

Paclitaxel loaded Capmul MCM and tristearin based nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for glioblastoma treatment: screening of formulation components by quality by design (QbD) approach.

Paclitaxel (PTX), a naturally occurring diterpenoid isolated from Taxus brevifolia, is a first-line drug for the treatment of glioblastoma; however, it suffers from the disadvantages of poor water solubility and nonspecific biodistribution, which cause serious side effects in the human body. The marketed formulation suffers from serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, neutropenia, and neuropathy, which require safe and effective formulations of PTX. In the present study, PTX was entrapped in a solid-liquid lipid mixture with the aid of a surfactant using a modified solvent evaporation technique.

Shifts in the spatiotemporal profile of inflammatory phenotypes of innate immune cells in the rat brain following acute intoxication with the organophosphate diisopropylfluorophosphate.

Acute intoxication with cholinesterase inhibiting organophosphates (OP) can produce life-threatening cholinergic crisis and status epilepticus (SE). Survivors often develop long-term neurological consequences, including spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) and impaired cognition. Numerous studies implicate OP-induced neuroinflammation as a pathogenic mechanism contributing to these chronic sequelae; however, little is known about the inflammatory phenotype of innate immune cells in the brain following acute OP intoxication.

Multiplatform metabolomic interlaboratory study of a whole human stool candidate reference material from omnivore and vegan donors.

Introduction: Human metabolomics has made significant strides in understanding metabolic changes and their implications for human health, with promising applications in diagnostics and treatment, particularly regarding the gut microbiome. However, progress is hampered by issues with data comparability and reproducibility across studies, limiting the translation of these discoveries into practical applications.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the fit-for-purpose of a suite of human stool samples as potential candidate reference materials (RMs) and assess the state of the field regarding harmonizing gut metabolomics measurements.

PD-1CD8 T Cell-Mediated Hepatocyte Pyroptosis Promotes Progression of Murine Autoimmune Liver Disease.

The specific mechanisms underlying effector pathways in autoimmune liver disease remain enigmatic and therefore constructing appropriate murine models to investigate disease pathogenesis becomes critical. A spontaneous severe murine model of autoimmune liver disease has been previously established in dnTGFβRII Aire mice, exhibiting disease phenotypes that resemble both human primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The data suggests that auto-reactive liver-specific CD8 T cells are the primary pathogenic cells in liver injury.

Semi-Supervised Clustering of Sparse Graphs: Crossing the Information-Theoretic Threshold.

The stochastic block model is a canonical random graph model for clustering and community detection on network-structured data. Decades of extensive study on the problem have established many profound results, among which the phase transition at the Kesten-Stigum threshold is particularly interesting both from a mathematical and an applied standpoint. It states that no estimator based on the network topology can perform substantially better than chance on sparse graphs if the model parameter is below a certain threshold.

ZeroCAL: Eliminating Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Limestone's Decomposition to Decarbonize Cement Production.

Limestone (calcite, CaCO) is an abundant and cost-effective source of calcium oxide (CaO) for cement and lime production. However, the thermochemical decomposition of limestone (∼800 °C, 1 bar) to produce lime (CaO) results in substantial carbon dioxide (CO) emissions and energy use, i.e.

Host dependent specialized metabolism of nitrogen export in actinorhizal nodules induced by Frankia cluster-2.

Frankia cluster-2 strains are diazotrophs that engage in root nodule symbiosis with actinorhizal plants of the Cucurbitales and the Rosales. Previous studies have shown that an assimilated nitrogen source, presumably arginine, is exported to the host in nodules of Datisca glomerata (Cucurbitales), while a different metabolite is exported in the nodules of Ceanothus thyrsiflorus (Rosales). To investigate if an assimilated nitrogen form is commonly exported to the host by cluster-2 strains, and which metabolite would be exported in Ceanothus, we analysed gene expression levels, metabolite profiles, and enzyme activities in nodules.

Enhancing the specific activity of 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase through cross-regional combinatorial mutagenesis.

3α-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3α-HSD) from Comamonas testosteroni is widely used in clinical settings to measure serum total bile acid levels. However, its low enzymatic activity leads to high operational costs. In this study, we employed a combinatorial mutagenesis approach to systematically identify potential key mutation sites within the enzyme.

The transcription factor MfbHLH104 from Myrothamnus flabellifolia promotes drought tolerance of Arabidopsis thaliana by enhancing stability of the photosynthesis system.

The resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia can survive extreme drought and desiccation conditions, and quickly recover after rewatering. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the drought tolerance of M. flabellifolia.

Genome-wide profiling of soybean WRINKLED1 transcription factor binding sites provides insight into seed storage lipid biosynthesis.

Understanding the regulatory mechanisms controlling storage lipid accumulation will inform strategies to enhance seed oil quality and quantity in crop plants. The WRINKLED1 transcription factor (WRI1 TF) is a central regulator of lipid biosynthesis. We characterized the genome-wide binding profile of soybean (Gm)WRI1 and show that the TF directly regulates genes encoding numerous enzymes and proteins in the fatty acid and triacylglycerol biosynthetic pathways.

Defensive polyketides produced by an abundant gastropod are candidate keystone molecules in estuarine ecology.

Secondary metabolites often function as antipredator defenses, but when bioactive at low concentrations, their off-target effects on other organisms may be overlooked. Candidate "keystone molecules" are proposed to affect community structure and ecosystem functions, generally originating as defenses of primary producers; the broader effects of animal chemistry remain largely unexplored, however. Here, we characterize five previously unreported polyketides (alderenes A to E) biosynthesized by sea slugs reaching exceptional densities (up to 9000 slugs per square meter) in Northern Hemisphere estuaries.

Defining VOC signatures of airway epithelial cells with PM2.5 exposure.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by the lung in response to exposure to environmental pollutants can be utilized to study their impact on lung health and function. Previously, we developed a method to measure VOCs emitted from well-differentiated tracheobronchial epithelial cells in vitro. Using this method, we exposed well-differentiated proximal (PECs) and distal airway epithelial cells (DECs) to varying doses of traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) and wildfire particulates to determine specific VOC signatures after exposure.

Development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for flunixin in cattle and swine following dermal exposure.

Flunixin meglumine is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Banamine Transdermal is a pour-on formulation of flunixin approved for pain control in beef and dairy cattle, but not for calves and some classes of dairy cattle or swine. Violative flunixin residues in edible tissues in cattle and swine have been reported and are usually attributed to non-compliant drug use or failure to observe an appropriate withdrawal time.