Exploring the effects of gut microbiota on cholangiocarcinoma progression by patient-derived organoids.

Background: Recent research indicates a role of gut microbiota in development and progression of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Carcinomas of the biliary ducts, the so-called cholangiocarcinomas, are known for their aggressive tumor biology, implying poor prognosis of affected patients. An impact of the gut microbiota on cholangiocarcinoma development and progression is plausible due to the enterohepatic circulation and is therefore the subject of scientific debate, however evidence is still lacking.

Selenium Disulfide from Sustainable Resources: An Example of "Redneck" Chemistry with a Pinch of Salt.

Selenium disulfide (often referred to as SeS) encompasses a family of mixed selenium-sulfide eight-membered rings, traditionally used as an anti-dandruff agent in shampoos. SeS can be produced by reacting hydrogen sulfide (HS) with selenite (SeO) under acidic conditions. This chemistry is also possible with natural spring waters that are rich in HS, thus providing an avenue for the more sustainable, green production of high-quality SeS particles from an abundant natural source.

Hard shell, soft blue-green core: Ecology, processes, and modern applications of calcification in terrestrial cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria are the oldest photoautotrophic lineage that release oxygen during photosynthesis, an ability that possibly evolved as far as 3.5 billion years ago and changed the Earth's environment-both in water and on land. Linked to the mechanism of carbon accumulation by cyanobacteria during photosynthesis are their calcifying properties, a process of biologically mediated mineralization of CO by precipitation with calcium to CaCO.

High-quality genome of a novel Thermosynechococcaceae species from Namibia and characterization of its protein expression patterns at elevated temperatures.

Thermophilic cyanobacteria thrive in extreme environments, making their thermoresistant enzymes valuable for industrial applications. Common habitats include hot springs, which act as evolutionary accelerators for speciation due to geographical isolation. The family Thermosynechococcaceae comprises thermophilic cyanobacteria known for their ability to thrive in high-temperature environments.

Role of Inflammation and the NF-κB Signaling Pathway in Hirschsprung's Disease.

Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR, incidence 1/5000 live births) is caused by the failure of neural crest-derived precursors to migrate, survive, proliferate, or differentiate during the embryonic development of the Enteric Nervous System (ENS), which could be disrupted by many factors, including inflammatory processes. The NF-κB family controls several biological processes, including inflammation, neurogenesis, and cell migration. With the aim of studying the potential role of NF-κB in HSCR, we have analyzed the expression of the NF-κB main subunits and other NF-κB-related genes by RT-qPCR in HSCR tissue samples (sub-divided into ganglionic and aganglionic segments).

Use of Cosmetics in Pregnancy and Neurotoxicity: Can It Increase the Risk of Congenital Enteric Neuropathies?

Pregnancy is a particularly vulnerable period for the growing fetus, when exposure to toxic agents, especially in the early phases, can decisively harm embryo development and compromise the future health of the newborn. The inclusion of various chemical substances in personal care products (PCPs) and cosmetic formulations can be associated with disruption and damage to the nervous system. Microplastics, benzophenones, parabens, phthalates and metals are among the most common chemical substances found in cosmetics that have been shown to induce neurotoxic mechanisms.

The symbiotic alga Trebouxia fuels a coherent soil ecosystem on the landscape scale in the Atacama Desert.

Biocrusts represent associations of lichens, green algae, cyanobacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, colonizing soils in varying proportions of principally arid biomes. The so-called grit crust represents a recently discovered type of biocrust situated in the Coastal Range of the Atacama Desert (Chile) made of microorganisms growing on and in granitoid pebbles, resulting in a checkerboard pattern visible to the naked eye on the landscape scale. This specific microbiome fulfills a broad range of ecosystem services, all probably driven by fog and dew-induced photosynthetic activity of mainly micro-lichens.

Circadian rhythm of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in serum and plasma.

The neurotrophic growth factor brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in various neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and depression. BDNF has been proposed as a potential biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring therapy. Understanding the factors influencing BDNF levels and whether they follow a circadian rhythm is essential for interpreting fluctuations in BDNF measurements.

The underestimated fraction: diversity, challenges and novel insights into unicellular cyanobionts of lichens.

Lichens are remarkable and classic examples of symbiotic organisms that have fascinated scientists for centuries. Yet, it has only been for a couple of decades that significant advances have focused on the diversity of their green algal and/or cyanobacterial photobionts. Cyanolichens, which contain cyanobacteria as their photosynthetic partner, include up to 10% of all known lichens and, as such, studies on their cyanobionts are much rarer compared to their green algal counterparts.

Calorie restriction and life-extending mutation downregulate miR-34a to facilitate lipid metabolism in the liver.

Ames dwarf mice (df/df) display delayed aging relative to their normal (N) siblings, living approximately 40-60 % longer. As such, investigating the mechanisms that enable these organisms to have extended lifespan is useful for the development of interventions to slow aging and deter age-related disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition that is characterized by the accumulation of excess adipose tissue in the liver.

Characterization and Metabolism of Drug Products Containing the Cocaine-Like New Psychoactive Substances Indatraline and Troparil.

With a rising demand of cocaine over the last years, it is likely that unregulated new psychoactive substances with similar effects such as indatraline ((1,3)-3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)--methyl-2,3-dihydro-1-inden-1-amine) and troparil (Methyl (1,2,3,5)-8-methyl-3-phenyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-2-carboxylate) become popular as well.

Structure, gene composition, divergence time and phylogeny analysis of the woody desert species Neltuma alba, Neltuma chilensis and Strombocarpa strombulifera.

Neltuma alba (Algarrobo blanco), Neltuma chilensis (Algarrobo Chileno) and Strombocarpa strombulifera (Fortuna) are some of the few drought resistant trees and shrubs found in small highly fragmented populations, throughout the Atacama Desert. We reconstructed their plastid genomes using de novo assembly of paired-end reads from total genomic DNA. We found that the complete plastid genomes of N.

Influence of Potential Alcohol in Grapes on Phenolic and Sensory Characteristics of Red Wine.

Potential alcohol, as obtained by grape maturity, affects the extraction of phenolics during winemaking. The extent to which potential alcohol is correlated to phenolic and sensory characteristics of red wine was investigated. Decoupling of the ripening kinetics of grape constituents due to climate change emphasizes this question.

Intra-arterial delivery of neurospheres into isolated perfused porcine colons: a proof of concept.

Cell replacement in aganglionic intestines is a promising, yet merely experimental tool for the therapy of congenital dysganglionosis of the enteric nervous system like Hirschsprung disease. While the injection of single cells or neurospheres to a defined and very restricted location is trivial, the translation to the clinical application, where large aganglionic or hypoganglionic areas need to be colonized (hundreds of square centimetres), afford a homogeneous distribution of multiple neurospheres all over the affected tissue areas. Reaching the entire aganglionic area is critical for the restoration of peristaltic function.

Serum Amyloid A3 Fuels a Feed-Forward Inflammatory Response to the Bacterial Amyloid Curli in the Enteric Nervous System.

Background & Aims: Mounting evidence suggests the gastrointestinal microbiome is a determinant of peripheral immunity and central neurodegeneration, but the local disease mechanisms remain unknown. Given its potential relevance for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention, we set out to map the pathogenic changes induced by bacterial amyloids in the gastrointestinal tract and its enteric nervous system.

Methods: To examine the early response, we challenged primary murine myenteric networks with curli, the prototypical bacterial amyloid, and performed shotgun RNA sequencing and multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

A direct PCR approach with low-biomass insert opens new horizons for molecular sciences on cryptogam communities.

Molecular sequence data have transformed research on cryptogams (e.g., lichens, microalgae, fungi, and symbionts thereof) but methods are still strongly hampered by the small size and intermingled growth of the target organisms, poor cultivability and detrimental effects of their secondary metabolites.

Symposium Introduction: Recent Progress and Current Challenges in Wine Analytical Sciences.

Oenology, behind the more visible social and convivial aspects associated with the consumption of wine and spirits, has great complexity due to the coexistence of countless different styles of artisanal products, linked to the diversity of places grapes are grown and wine is produced, and its global distribution. Premium wine is not a commodity. To scientifically support such complexity requires an extremely rigorous and diversified scientific expertise, capable of supporting the continuous improvement of processes and products that are developed, evaluated, and offered on international markets.

Akkermansia muciniphila improves chronic colitis-induced enteric neuroinflammation in mice.

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic diseases that are not fully understood. Drugs in use can only be applied for a short time due to their side effects. Therefore, research is needed to develop new treatment approaches.

Brain-Derived neurotrophic factor and inflammatory biomarkers are unaffected by acute and chronic intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic exposure in geriatric patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Animal and human studies have shown that exposure to hypoxia can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein transcription and reduce systematic inflammatory cytokine response. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the acute and chronic effects of intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic exposure (IHHE) prior to aerobic exercise on BDNF, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) blood levels in geriatric patients.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-five geriatric patients (83.

Improving morphological and functional properties of enteric neuronal networks in vitro using a novel upside-down culture approach.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) comprises millions of neurons and glia embedded in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. It not only controls important functions of the gut but also interacts with the immune system, gut microbiota, and the gut-brain axis, thereby playing a key role in the health and disease of the whole organism. Any disturbance of this intricate system is mirrored in an alteration of electrical functionality, making electrophysiological methods important tools for investigating ENS-related disorders.

Stripped: contribution of cyanobacterial extracellular polymeric substances to the adsorption of rare earth elements from aqueous solutions.

The transformation of modern industries towards enhanced sustainability is facilitated by green technologies that rely extensively on rare earth elements (REEs) such as cerium (Ce), neodymium (Nd), terbium (Tb), and lanthanum (La). The occurrence of productive mining sites, e.g.

Designing for passengers' information needs on fellow travelers: A comparison of day and night rides in shared automated vehicles.

Shared automated mobility-on-demand promises efficient, sustainable, and flexible transportation. Nevertheless, security concerns, resilience, and their mutual influence - especially at night - will likely be the most critical barriers to public adoption since passengers have to share rides with strangers without a human driver on board. Prior research points out that having information about fellow travelers could alleviate the concerns of passengers and we designed two user interface variants to investigate the role of this information in an exploratory within-subjects user study (N=24).

The dark side of orange: Multiorganismic continuum dynamics within a lichen of the Atacama Desert.

Over the decades our understanding of lichens has shifted to the fact that they are multiorganismic, symbiotic microecosystems, with their complex interactions coming to the fore due to recent advances in microbiomics. Here, we present a mutualistic-parasitic continuum dynamics scenario between an orange lichen and a lichenicolous fungus from the Atacama Desert leading to the decay of the lichen's photobiont and leaving behind a black lichen thallus. Based on isolation, sequencing, and ecophysiological approaches including metabolic screenings of the symbionts, we depict consequences upon infection with the lichenicolous fungus.

Analytical toxicology of the semi-synthetic cannabinoid hexahydrocannabinol studied in human samples, pooled human liver S9 fraction, rat samples and drug products using HPLC-HRMS-MS.

Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is an emerging semi-synthetic cannabinoid, which is obtained from cyclization of cannabidiol and subsequent hydrogenation. As a potentially legal alternative of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC), it is increasingly seized in the USA and Europe. The aims of this study were to investigate the metabolism of HHC in pooled human liver S9 fraction (pHLS9), rat and human samples.

Common loss of far-red light photoacclimation in cyanobacteria from hot and cold deserts: a case study in the Chroococcidiopsidales.

Deserts represent an extreme challenge for photosynthetic life. Despite their aridity, they are often inhabited by diverse microscopic communities of cyanobacteria. These organisms are commonly found in lithic habitats, where they are partially sheltered from extremes of temperature and UV radiation.