The underappreciated roles of aboveground vertebrates on belowground communities.

In recent decades, evidence of interactions between aboveground and belowground (i.e., soil) subsystems has accumulated.

Viscoelastic Behavior of Aqueous Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Solutions Due to Entanglements.

Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HpC) forms a liquid crystalline phase and is thought to have a rod-like shape in aqueous solution. The viscoelastic behaviors of aqueous solutions of HpC samples with average molar substitution numbers ( ∼ 3.8) and weight-average molar masses ( = 36-740 kg mol) were examined over a wide concentration () range, and the results were discussed based on a concept of rod particle suspension rheology.

Effect of microemulsion system on water dispersibility and bioavailability of γ-oryzanol.

This study developed water-dispersible γ-oryzanol (WD-OZ) using microemulsion system and assessed their absorption in rats. While γ-oryzanol itself is hardly soluble in water, WD-OZ exhibited high water dispersibility, and γ-oryzanol, along with its metabolites, was detected in rat plasma. These findings provide a solid basis for future application of the microemulsion-based approach to enhance the bioavailability of γ-oryzanol in food.

Retrospective detection of ITGB7 gene mutation in a Holstein calf with chronic diarrhea that was suspected of hereditary cholesterol deficiency.

A homozygous individual for ITGB7 gene mutation, an autosomal recessive congenital disorder in Holstein cattle, was retrospectively identified by genotyping of 195 stored blood from patients less than 12 months of age. Other 24 patients (12.3%) showed heterozygous.

Ni-induced selective precipitation of His-tagged recombinant proteins shortens purification time while maintaining high yield.

Nickel-NTA affinity chromatography is the current standard method for purifying Histagged recombinant proteins. However, this process involves repetitive tasks, can be time-consuming, and reduces protein yield. Here, we present a simple, fast, and handy method for purifying His-tagged proteins using free Ni²⁺.

Quantitative Lipidomics of Biological Samples Using Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry.

Lipidomics has attracted attention in the discovery of unknown biomolecules and for capturing the changes in metabolism caused by genetic and environmental factors in an unbiased manner. However, obtaining reliable lipidomics data, including structural diversity and quantification data, is still challenging. Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is a suitable technique for separating lipid molecules with high throughput and separation efficiency.

Nisin A Treatment to Protect Honey Bee Larvae from European Foulbrood Disease.

European foulbrood (EFB) is a bee larvae-specific infectious disease and the causative pathogen is Melissococcus plutonius. Broad-spectrum antibiotics have classically been used in many countries to control the pathogens; however, their use in apiaries was discontinued in several countries due to concerns regarding the health of bees and humans. Therefore, the development of alternative treatments for use in apiaries that are safe for bees and humans is essential.

Ligand Design with Accelerated Disulfide Formation with Serum Albumin to Extend Blood Retention.

We proposed a novel ligand for the interaction with human serum albumin (HSA) to extend the blood half-life of small molecular weight therapeutics. The ligand features an alkyl chain and an activated disulfide to allow binding to the hydrophobic pockets of HSA and the formation of disulfide to Cys34 of HSA, thereby minimizing the initial renal clearance. The dual nature of the ligand-HSA bonding was expected to give the ligand long blood retention.

Quantifying crowding perception at large events using beacons and surveys.

Given the increasing urban population and frenetic mobility, understanding how individuals perceive crowding at large-scale events is crucial for effective crowd management and safety. This study focuses on Tokyo Big Sight in Japan exhibitions to examine participants' perceptions of peak crowding times, locations, and local density, and compare them with the actual measurements. Our methodology integrated questionnaires with beacon tag data.

Dorsoventral comparison of intraspecific variation in the butterfly wing pattern using a convolutional neural network.

Butterfly wing patterns exhibit notable differences between the dorsal and ventral surfaces, and morphological analyses of them have provided insights into the ecological and behavioural characteristics of wing patterns. Conventional methods for dorsoventral comparisons are constrained by the need for homologous patches or shared features between two surfaces, limiting their applicability across species. We used a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based analysis, which can compare images of the two surfaces without focusing on homologous patches or features, to detect dorsoventral bias in two types of intraspecific variation: sexual dimorphism and mimetic polymorphism.

Multi-Scale Pyramid Squeeze Attention Similarity Optimization Classification Neural Network for ERP Detection.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) can reveal brain activity elicited by external stimuli. Innovative methods to decode ERPs could enhance the accuracy of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology and promote the understanding of cognitive processes. This paper proposes a novel Multi-Scale Pyramid Squeeze Attention Similarity Optimization Classification Neural Network (MS-PSA-SOC) for ERP Detection.

Morphology and functionality in biomimetic cultured meat produced from various cellular origins.

Alternative meat production technologies offer the potential to alleviate many of the ethical, environmental, and public health concerns associated with conventional meat production. Cultured meat produced using cell culture technology promises to become a viable alternative to animal-raised meat for the future of the food industry. The process of cultured meat production relies on cell sources harvested from livestock such as bovine, swine, and chicken.

The mosquito evolves two types of prophenoloxidases with diversified functions.

Insect phenoloxidase, presented as an inactive precursor prophenoloxidase (PPO) in hemolymph, catalyzes melanin formation, which is involved in wound healing, pathogen killing, reversible oxygen collection during insect respiration, and cuticle and eggshell formation. Mosquitoes possess 9 to 16 PPO members across different genera, a number that is more than that found in other dipteran insects. However, the reasons for the redundancy of these PPOs and whether they have distinct biochemical properties and physiological functions remain unclear.

Characterization of the Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase complex expressed in Escherichia coli toward further activity improvement.

We previously constructed an Escherichia coli strain expressing 16 nitrogen fixation (nif) and 2 nif-related genes from Azotobacter vinelandii and improved nitrogenase activity to some extent by enhancing NifH-related functions. In the present study, we analyzed the formation of dinitrogenase, a heterotetrameric NifDK, produced in E. coli, using gel-filtration chromatography and blue native PAGE to gain insight into further increases in nitrogenase activity.

MALDI-TOF MS analysis for detection of bovine coronavirus with tryptic peptides from viral proteins.

Bovine coronavirus (BCoV）, a significant cattle pathogen causing enteric and respiratory diseases, is primarily detected using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Our objective was to develop a novel detection method for BCoV by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization‒time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS）. Peptide mass fingerprint analysis revealed that nucleocapsid (N）, membrane (M）, and hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) were three main BCoV proteins.

sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov. and gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from human faeces.

Small, obligately anaerobic strains 13CB8C, 13CB11C, 13CB18C and 13GAM1G were isolated from a faecal sample in a patient with Parkinson's disease with a history of duodenal resection. After conducting a comprehensive polyphasic taxonomic analysis including genomic analysis, we propose the establishment of one new genus and four new species. The novel bacteria are sp.

Genetic Diversity on Farm in Japanese Paper Mulberry.

Paper mulberry is a fiber resource for paper making. Washi, a traditional paper in Japan, has been produced from × , a hybrid between and . Elite strains have been vegetatively propagated and distributed within Japan.

Functional conservation and divergence of arabidopsis VENOSA4 and human SAMHD1 in DNA repair.

The human deoxyribonucleoside triphosphatase (dNTPase) Sterile alpha motif and histidine-aspartate domain containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) has a dNTPase-independent role in repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination (HR). Here, we show that VENOSA4 (VEN4), the probable ortholog of SAMHD1, also functions in DSB repair by HR. The loss-of-function mutants showed increased DNA ploidy and deregulated DNA repair genes, suggesting DNA damage accumulation.

Molecular characterization and zoonotic risk assessment of spp. in Philippine bats.

is a genus of parasitic protozoa known to cause diarrheal disease that impacts both humans and animals through infection of various vertebrate species. Bats are recognized as reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens, including . The Philippines, renowned for its rich biodiversity, is home to diverse bat species, providing a unique ecological setting to investigate infection dynamics.

Evolution and divergence of the role of plant ethylene receptor-related histidine kinases in abscisic acid signaling.

Plant responses to the water environment are mediated by ethylene (submergence response) and abscisic acid (ABA, drought response). Ethylene is perceived by a family of histidine kinase receptors (ETR-HKs), which regulate the activity of the downstream B3 Raf-like (RAF) kinase CONSTITUTIVE TRIPLE RESPONSE1 (CTR1) in an ethylene-dependent manner. We previously demonstrated in the moss Physcomitrium patens that SNF1-related protein kinase 2 (SnRK2), an essential kinase in osmostress responses in land plants, is activated by the B3-RAF kinase ARK, which is also regulated by ETR-HKs in an ABA- and osmostress-dependent manner.

A Native LH1-RC-HiPIP Supercomplex from an Extremophilic Phototroph.

Halorhodospira (Hlr.) halophila strain BN9622 is an extremely halophilic and alkaliphilic purple phototrophic bacterium and has been widely used as a model for exploring the osmoadaptive and photosynthetic strategies employed by phototrophic extreme halophiles that enable them to thrive in hypersaline environments. Here we present the cryo-EM structures of (1) a unique native Hlr.

A pilot study on the effects of olfactory stimulation with white musk aromatic oil on psychophysiological activity: a crossover study.

Studies on the compounds of aromatic oils and their effects on psychophysiological changes in humans are often conducted separately. To obtain better validation, a suitable protocol is needed that can be extrapolated to large-scale olfactory stimulation experiments. Unfortunately, this type of study is still rarely performed.

Photocatalytic production and biological activity of D-arabino-1,4-lactone from D-fructose.

Lactones play crucial roles in various fields, such as pharmaceuticals, food, and materials science, due to their unique structures and diverse biological activities. However, certain lactones are difficult to obtain in large quantities from natural sources, necessitating their synthesis to study their properties and potential. In this study, we investigated the photocatalytic conversion of D-fructose, a biomass-derived and naturally abundant sugar, using a TiO photocatalyst under light irradiation in ambient conditions.

DAG-MAG-ΒHB: A Novel Ketone Diester Modulates NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Microglial Cells in Response to Beta-Amyloid and Low Glucose AD-like Conditions.

Background: A neuroinflammatory disease such as Alzheimer's disease, presents a significant challenge in neurotherapeutics, particularly due to the complex etiology and allostatic factors, referred to as CNS stressors, that accelerate the development and progression of the disease. These CNS stressors include cerebral hypo-glucose metabolism, hyperinsulinemia, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, impairment of neuronal autophagy, hypoxic insults and neuroinflammation. This study aims to explore the efficacy and safety of DAG-MAG-ΒHB, a novel ketone diester, in mitigating these risk factors by sustaining therapeutic ketosis, independent of conventional metabolic pathways.

Effects of Rice Husk Ash Particle Size and Luxan Value Influence on Mortar Properties and Proposal of Hydration Ratio Measurement Method.

A fundamental study has been conducted on the effective utilization of rice husk ash (RHA) in concrete. RHA is an agricultural byproduct characterized by silicon dioxide as its main component, with a content of 90% or more and a porous structure that absorbs water during mixing, thereby reducing fluidity. The quality of RHA varies depending on the calcination environment; however, the effect is not consistent.