Spatio-Temporal Change of Skin and Oral Microbiota: A Longitudinal Study of Microbial Diversity and Stability.

The human skin and oral cavity harbor complex microbial communities, which exist in dynamic equilibrium with the host's physiological state and the external environment. This study investigates the microbial atlas of human skin and oral cavities using samples collected over a 10-month period, aiming to assess how both internal and external factors influence the human microbiome. We examined bacterial community diversity and stability across various body sites, including palm and nasal skin, saliva, and oral epithelial cells, during environmental changes and a COVID-19 pandemic.

Pacific Northwest native plants and native cultivars, part I: pollinator visitation.

Planting native flora is a popular conservation strategy for pollinators. When searching for native plants, consumers may encounter cultivars of native plants, which can have different phenotypic traits than plants found in wild populations ("wild-type native plants"). Previous research evaluating pollinator visitation to wild-type native plants and native cultivars has yielded mixed results, in terms of whether their visitation rates are similar or distinct.

Assessing the distribution pattern of Saussurea medusa under climate change using an optimized MaxEnt model in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

Saussurea medusa is a rare alpine plant with significant medicinal value. To better understand the changes in its habitat in the context of climate change, this study used an optimized MaxEnt model to predict the current and future habitat of S. medusa under four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) across three time periods (current, mid-century, and end-century) based on three climate system models.

Evaluation of Enrichment Approaches for the Study of the Viromes in Mollusk Species.

Invasive alien species such as freshwater snails have significantly affected the food, environment, and the health of humans and animals, which have unfortunately received insufficient attention. To facilitate the study of viromes in snail species, we compared the enrichment effect of cesium chloride (CsCl) and sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugations in the recovery of diverse viruses in Pomacea canaliculata and Achatina fulica. First, we showed that CsCl-based ultracentrifugation enriched more virus contigs and reduced the nucleic acid background of the Pomacea canaliculata and was thus beneficial for virus recovery.

Enhanced post-thaw functional characteristics of cryopreserved caprine dermal fibroblasts through adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins.

Background: Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins play a crucial role in regulating the biological properties of adherent cells. For cryopreserved fibroblasts, a favourable ECM environment can help restore their natural morphology and function more rapidly, minimizing post-thaw stress responses.

Methods And Results: This study explored the functional responses of cryopreserved enriched caprine adult dermal fibroblast (cadFibroblast) cells to structural [collagen-IV and rat tail collagen (RTC)] and adhesion ECM proteins (laminin, fibronectin, and vitronectin) under in vitro culture conditions.

The hidden language of plant-beneficial microbes: chemo-signaling dynamics in plant microenvironments.

Plants and microorganisms coexist within complex ecosystems, significantly influencing agricultural productivity. Depending on the interaction between the plant and microbes, this interaction can either help or harm plant health. Microbes interact with plants by secreting proteins that influence plant cells, producing bioactive compounds like antibiotics or toxins, and releasing molecules such as N-acyl homoserine lactones to coordinate their behaviour.

Impact of Tafamidis on [Tc]Tc-pyrophosphate Scintigraphy in Ala97Ser Hereditary Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy: significant initial reduction with stable Long-Term effects.

Objective: Tafamidis has shown potential in slowing disease progression in patients with transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). This study aimed to evaluate serial changes on [Tc]Tc-pyrophosphate (PYP) scintigraphy during tafamidis treatment for hereditary ATTR-CM.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively collected cohort of Ala97Ser (A97S) hereditary ATTR-CM patients treated with tafamidis (61 mg/day) and a control group comprising A97S hereditary ATTR-CM patients who had not received disease-modifying medications.

Asymptomatic carriage and molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus in pre-clinical and clinical medical students.

Medical students are exposed to the hospital environment and patients during their studies, increasing the risk of exposure to virulent and antibiotic-resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus among medical students who have varying levels of exposure to the hospital environment to provide valuable insights into the risk of colonization and transmission. Nasal swabs and fingerprints were obtained and cultured on a selective medium for staphylococci.

Life stage impact on the human skin ecosystem: lipids and the microbial community.

Sebaceous free fatty acids are metabolized by multiple skin microbes into bioactive lipid mediators termed oxylipins. This study investigated correlations between skin oxylipins and microbes on the superficial skin of pre-pubescent children (N = 36) and adults (N = 100), including pre- (N = 25) and post-menopausal females (N = 25). Lipidomics and metagenomics revealed that Malassezia restricta positively correlated with the oxylipin 9,10-DiHOME on adult skin and negatively correlated with its precursor, 9,10-EpOME, on pre-pubescent skin.

Lipid metabolism and microbial regulation analyses provide insights into the energy-saving strategies of hibernating snakes.

Hibernation is a necessary means for animals to maintain survival while coping with low temperatures and food shortages. While most studies have largely focused on mammalian hibernation, its reptilian equivalent has been less studied. In order to provide insights into the energy metabolism and potential microbial regulatory mechanisms in hibernating snakes, the serum, liver, gut content samples were measured by multi-omic methods.

The Bacterial and pathogenic landscape of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) whole blood and serum from Kenya.

Background: African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a significant reservoir host for many zoonotic and parasitic infections in Africa. These include a range of viruses and pathogenic bacteria, such as tick-borne rickettsial organisms. Despite the considerations of mammalian blood as a sterile environment, blood microbiome sequencing could become crucial for agnostic biosurveillance.

Occupational exposure and sarcoidosis: a case-control study in three countries.

Background: Preceding studies of environmental and occupational risk factors of sarcoidosis yielded inconsistent findings.

Aims: We aimed to ascertain the occupational risk factors for sarcoidosis in a case-control study.

Methods: A total of 237 sarcoidosis patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis were matched with 474 controls for sex and age (median 49, interquartile range 37; 60 years) recruited from the university hospitals and outpatient centres in Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

Seed banking impacts native Acacia ulicifolia seed microbiome composition and function.

Background: Seed banks are a vital resource for preserving plant species diversity globally. However, seedling establishment and survival rates from banked seeds can be poor. Despite a growing appreciation for the role of seed-associated microbiota in supporting seed quality and plant health, our understanding of the effects of conventional seed banking processes on seed microbiomes remains limited.

Tracking hydrothermal infiltration within light oil reservoirs using organic geochemical proxies in the Shunbei area of Tarim Basin in China.

Deep oil reservoirs are becoming increasingly significant fields of hydrocarbon exploration in recent decades. Hydrothermal fluid flow is deemed as a potentially crucial factor affecting the occurrence of deep oil reservoirs, such as enhancing porosity/permeability of reservoirs, accelerating oil generation and thermal cracking, and modifying organic properties of crude oils. Understanding the interplay between hydrothermal fluids and crude oils would provide useful constraints for reconstructing hydrocarbon accumulation processes and predicting the distribution patterns of crude oils.

Nasal food challenge with hen's egg white allergen.

Background: Nasal allergen provocation tests are an important part of the diagnostics of allergic diseases triggered by environmental factors. Recently, increased attention has been paid to the potential use of this method in the diagnosis of food allergy. The objective of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of the nasal allergen provocation test in a group of subjects allergic to hen's egg white allergens.

Deformed wing virus coopts the host arginine kinase to enhance its fitness in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Background: Deformed wing virus (DWV) is a major honey bee pathogen that is actively transmitted by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor and plays a primary role in Apis mellifera winter colony losses. Despite intense investigation on this pollinator, which has a unique environmental and economic importance, the mechanisms underlying the molecular interactions between DWV and honey bees are still poorly understood. Here, we report on a group of honey bee proteins, identified by mass spectrometry, that specifically co-immunoprecipitate with DWV virus particles.

Usefulness of body composition assessment by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis in subacute post-stroke patients in rehabilitation.

Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA) is a valuable tool for evaluating hydration and body composition, but its application in subacute post-stroke patients remains unexplored. This study aimed to fill this gap by analyzing BIVA in a cohort of 87 subacute post-stroke patients (42 women, mean age 69 ± 12) undergoing rehabilitation. At admission (T0), diagnosis of malnutrition with GLIM criteria and of sarcopenia with EWGSOP2 was done, and patients were analyzed with BIVA.

Gut dysbiosis was inevitable, but tolerance was not: temporal responses of the murine microbiota that maintain its capacity for butyrate production correlate with sustained antinociception to chronic morphine.

The therapeutic benefits of opioids are compromised by the development of analgesic tolerance, which necessitates higher dosing for pain management thereby increasing the liability for drug dependence and addiction. Rodent models indicate opposing roles of the gut microbiota in tolerance: morphine-induced gut dysbiosis exacerbates tolerance, whereas probiotics ameliorate tolerance. Not all individuals develop tolerance, which could be influenced by differences in microbiota, and yet no study design has capitalized upon this natural variation.

Gibberellin-3 induced dormancy and suppression of flower bud formation in pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus).

Background: Flowering is a complex, finely regulated process involving multiple phytohormones and transcription factors. However, flowering regulation in pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) remains largely unexamined. This study addresses this gap by investigating gibberellin-3 (GA3) effects on flower bud (FB) development in pitaya.

Understanding and measuring workplace violence in healthcare: a Canadian systematic framework to address a global healthcare phenomenon.

Background: Globally, healthcare institutions have seen a marked rise in workplace violence (WPV), especially since the Covid-19 pandemic began, affecting primarily acute care and emergency departments (EDs). At the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada, WPV incidents in EDs jumped 169% from 0.43 to 1.

Evaluation of the relationship between nutrition literacy, Mediterranean diet compliance, ecological footprint and sustainable environmental attitudes in adolescents.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between nutrition literacy, Mediterranean diet compliance, ecological footprint and sustainable environmental attitudes in adolescents.

Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 673 adolescents aged 14-18 years. The individuals' general characteristics were questioned.

Seroprevalence, incidence estimates, and environmental risk factors for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika infection amongst children living in informal urban settlements in Indonesia and Fiji.

Background: The burden of Aedes aegypti-transmitted viruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika are increasing globally, fueled by urbanization and climate change, with some of the highest current rates of transmission in Asia. Local factors in the built environment have the potential to exacerbate or mitigate transmission.

Methods: In 24 informal urban settlements in Makassar, Indonesia and Suva, Fiji, we tested children under 5 years old for evidence of prior infection with dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses by IgG serology.

Effect of crude extract and polysaccharides derived from Fucus spiralis on radish plants Raphanus sativus L. agrophysiological traits under drought stress.

Drought is a significant environmental stressor that induces changes in the physiological, morphological, biochemical, and molecular traits of plants, ultimately resulting in reduced plant growth and crop productivity. Seaweed extracts are thought to be effective in mitigating the effects of drought stress on plants. In this study, we investigated the impact of crude extract (CE), and polysaccharides (PS) derived from the brown macroalgae Fucus spiralis (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae) applied at 5% (v/v) and 0.

The Calicophoron daubneyi genome provides new insight into mechanisms of feeding, eggshell synthesis and parasite-microbe interactions.

Background: The rumen fluke, Calicophoron daubneyi, is the major paramphistome species infecting ruminants within Europe. Adult flukes reside within the rumen where they are in direct contact with a unique collection of microorganisms. Here, we report a 1.

The world's most venomous spider is a species complex: systematics of the Sydney funnel-web spider (Atracidae: Atrax robustus).

The Sydney funnel-web spider Atrax robustus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1877 is an iconic Australian species and considered among the most dangerously venomous spiders for humans. Originally described in 1877 from a single specimen collected in "New Holland", this spider has a complex taxonomic history.