Microbiome transplants may not improve health and longevity in Drosophila melanogaster.

The gut microbiome, which is composed of bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and is involved in multiple essential physiological processes, changes measurably as a person ages, and can be associated with negative health outcomes. Microbiome transplants have been proposed as a method to improve gut function and reduce or reverse multiple disorders, including age-related diseases. Here, we take advantage of the laboratory model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, to test the effects of transplanting the microbiome of a young fly into middle-aged flies, across multiple genetic backgrounds and both sexes, to test whether age-related lifespan could be increased, and late-life physical health declines mitigated.

Range and accuracy of in-plane anisotropic thermal conductivity measurement using the laser-based Ångstrom method.

High heat fluxes in electronic devices must be effectively dissipated to prevent local hotspots, which are critical for long-term device reliability. In particular, advanced semiconductor packaging trends toward thin form factor products increase the need for understanding and improving in-plane conduction heat spreading in anisotropic materials. The 2D laser-based Ångstrom method, an extension of traditional Ångstrom and lock-in thermography techniques, measures in-plane thermal properties of anisotropic sheet-like materials.

Sexual dimorphic effects of a keystone predator on prey communities.

The importance of trait variation has long been recognized in ecological and evolutionary research. The divergence of sexually dimorphic traits (e.g.

Geometrically constrained cytoskeletal reorganisation modulates DNA nanostructures uptake.

DNA nanostructures (DNs) have gained popularity in various biomedical applications due to their unique properties, including structural programmability, ease of synthesis and functionalization, and low cytotoxicity. Effective utilization of DNs in biomedical applications requires a fundamental understanding of their interactions with living cells and the mechanics of cellular uptake. Current knowledge primarily focuses on how the physicochemical properties of DNs, such as mass, shape, size, and surface functionalization, affect uptake efficacy.

Post-exercise neural plasticity is augmented by adding blood flow restriction during low work rate arm cycling.

Blood flow restriction (BFR) combined with low work rate exercise can enhance muscular and cardiovascular fitness. However, whether neural mechanisms mediate these enhancements remains unknown. This study examined changes in corticospinal excitability and motor cortical inhibition following arm cycle ergometry with and without BFR.

Are we maintaining minimal residual disease in myeloma?

Minimal residual disease (MRD) has emerged as an important prognostic maker in patients with multiple myeloma at different stages of their treatment. Moreover, it is being increasingly incorporated as an endpoint in various clinical trials. Since maintenance therapy is an integral part of myeloma treatment, especially in the upfront setting post autologous transplantation, it is imperative to understand the role of MRD testing in the maintenance stetting.

Differentiating aspects of oral and long-acting injectable antipsychotic drugs for tailoring the therapy of schizophrenia in clinical practice: a narrative review.

Schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric condition requiring continuous treatment with antipsychotic medications available in different formulations, including oral antipsychotics (OAPs) and long-acting injectables (LAIs). This narrative review aims to comprehensively outline the advantages and disadvantages of OAPs and LAIs to support clinicians in choosing different formulations based on the presentation of clinical symptoms. An electronic search of the PubMed database was performed in June 2024, and additional articles were retrieved from the references or personal knowledge of the authors.

SLO co-opts host cell glycosphingolipids to access cholesterol-rich lipid rafts for enhanced pore formation and cytotoxicity.

Unlabelled: Streptolysin O (SLO) is a virulence determinant of group A (), the agent of streptococcal sore throat and severe invasive infections. SLO is a member of a family of bacterial pore-forming toxins known as cholesterol-dependent cytolysins, which require cell membrane cholesterol for pore formation. While cholesterol is essential for cytolytic activity, accumulating data suggest that cell surface glycans may also participate in the binding of SLO and other cholesterol-dependent cytolysins to host cells.

Sublethal changes to coral metabolism in response to deoxygenation.

Coastal deoxygenation poses a critical threat to tropical coral reefs. Dissolved oxygen (DO) depletion can cause hypoxia-induced stress and mortality for scleractinian corals. Coral hypoxic responses are species-specific and likely modulated by the duration and severity of low-DO conditions, although the physiological mechanisms driving hypoxia tolerance are not fully understood.

Fatal interactions: pneumonia in bighorn lambs following experimental exposure to carriers of .

We hypothesized that bighorn sheep ewes with chronic nasal carriage are the source of infection that results in fatal lamb pneumonia. We tested this hypothesis in captive bighorn ewes at two study facilities over a 5-year period, by identifying carrier ewes and then comparing lamb fates in groups that did (exposed pens) or did not (non-exposed pens) include one or more carrier ewes. Most (23 of 30) lambs born in exposed pens, but none of 11 lambs born in non-exposed pens, contracted fatal pneumonia.

Precision and accuracy of the dynamic endocast method for measuring volume changes in XROMM studies.

The X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) workflow enables precise and accurate measurement of the 3D skeletal kinematics underlying animal behaviors. The dynamic endocast method built upon that workflow to measure the rate of volume change within a bounded region of interest. We measured the precision and accuracy of the dynamic endocast method, using a fish oropharyngeal cavity as a case study.

Safety and Tolerability of Pivmecillinam During More Than Four Decades of Clinical Experience: A Systematic Review.

The recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of pivmecillinam-an oral prodrug of the amidinopenicillin antibiotic mecillinam-presents a valuable opportunity to address the need for new treatments for uncomplicated urinary tract infection (uUTI). We report findings of a systematic literature review of the safety profile of pivmecillinam/mecillinam based on more than 40 years' experience, mainly in Europe and Canada, to describe its tolerability profile and identify any important safety signals. In total, 110 eligible publications were identified describing use of pivmecillinam/mecillinam as monotherapy or in combination, for treatment of uUTI or other infectious conditions.

Generation of chimeric forms of rhesus macaque rhadinovirus expressing KSHV envelope glycoproteins gH and gL for utilization in an NHP model of infection.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human gammaherpesvirus associated with Kaposi's sarcoma and B cell malignancies. Like all herpesviruses, KSHV contains conserved envelope glycoproteins (gps) involved in virus binding, entry, assembly, and release from infected cells, which are also targets of the immune response. Due to the lack of a reproducible animal model of KSHV infection, the precise functions of the KSHV gps during infection are not completely known.

The Story behind the Science: On the discovery of respiratory syncytial virus.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was discovered in 1956 by the laboratory of Robert Chanock after its isolation from children with upper respiratory infections. Here, we review the events leading to its discovery including its prior isolation as chimpanzee coryza virus and its subsequent association with human disease.

Optimized machine learning approaches to combine surface-enhanced Raman scattering and infrared data for trace detection of xylazine in illicit opioids.

Infrared absorption spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy were integrated into three data fusion strategies-hybrid (concatenated spectra), mid-level (extracted features from both datasets) and high-level (fusion of predictions from both models)-to enhance the predictive accuracy for xylazine detection in illicit opioid samples. Three chemometric approaches-random forest, support vector machine, and -nearest neighbor algorithms-were employed and optimized using a 5-fold cross-validation grid search for all fusion strategies. Validation results identified the random forest classifier as the optimal model for all fusion strategies, achieving high sensitivity (88% for hybrid, 92% for mid-level, and 96% for high-level) and specificity (88% for hybrid, mid-level, and high-level).

Genome sequences of and isolates from Cd-contaminated soils in the Tar Creek Superfund site.

Soil bacteria were isolated from the Tar Creek Superfund site in the presence of cadmium. Eight of these strains belong to the genus , whereas one strain belongs to the genus . Here, we report drafts of their genome sequences and highlight cadmium-resistance genes required in an exceptionally contaminated environment.

Multi-omic signatures of host response associated with presence, type, and outcome of enterococcal bacteremia.

Unlabelled: Despite the prevalence and severity of enterococcal bacteremia (EcB), the mechanisms underlying systemic host responses to the disease remain unclear. Here, we present an extensive study that profiles molecular differences in plasma from EcB patients using an unbiased multi-omics approach. We performed shotgun proteomics and metabolomics on 105 plasma samples, including those from EcB patients and healthy volunteers.

Haploid like spermatid generation by transplantation of neonatal mouse testicular tissue into the epididymal fat of castrated adult mouse.

Objective: Many cancer survivors may experience irreversible infertility due to chemotherapy treatment for childhood cancer. In this study, spermatogenesis development was evaluated following the grafting of fresh and frozen-thawed testicular tissue from neonatal mice to the epididymal fat of adult mice.

Methods: After bilateral castration of recipient mice, fresh or frozen-thawed neonatal testis tissues were grafted into the epididymal fat of the mice.

High unmet needs for cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV in six African countries: A population-based study.

Background: Cisgender women living with HIV (WLWH) are disproportionately impacted by cervical cancer. Nevertheless, disparities in uptake and implementation of cervical cancer services persist in sub-Saharan Africa, where population-level estimates of screening coverage remain scarce.

Methods: We pooled data from nationally representative Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) surveys conducted in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (2015-2019).

C-Reactive Protein Changes in Adult and Pediatric People With Cystic Fibrosis During Treatment of Pulmonary Exacerbations.

Objective: Although studies have examined changes in C-reactive protein (CRP) during pulmonary exacerbations (PEX) in people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF), few have evaluated CRP profiles across age groups. Here, we characterize age-related CRP responses to PEX treatment.

Methods: We measured CRP concentrations at the beginning and end of intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy for PEX in 100 pediatric and 147 adult PwCF at 10 US CF Centers.

The Melanocyte and Nerve Fiber Cross-Talk, Facilitated Also by Semaphorin-4A, Enhances UV-B-Induced Melanogenesis.

Epidermal melanocytes form synaptic-like contacts with cutaneous nerve fibers, but the functional outcome of these connections remains elusive. In this pilot study we used our fully humanized re-innervated skin organ culture model to investigate melanocyte-nerve fiber interactions in UV-B-induced melanogenesis. UV-B-irradiation significantly enhanced melanin content and tyrosinase activity in re-innervated skin compared to non-innervated controls, indicating that neuronal presence is essential for exacerbating pigmentation upon UV-B irradiation in long-term culture.

Using Multiple Anthropomorphic Measures to Estimate Height in Muscular Dystrophies and Its Impact on Lung Function.

Background: An accurate height estimate is important for assessing pulmonary function, and body mass index. If a patient cannot stand, an accurate standing height cannot be directly measured. Knee-heel length, arm span, ulnar length, and tibial length have been studied in otherwise healthy populations as single measurements for height estimation.