DEP-1 is a brain insulin receptor phosphatase that prevents the simultaneous activation of counteracting metabolic pathways.

A healthy metabolism relies on precise regulation of anabolic and catabolic pathways. While insulin deficiency impairs anabolism, insulin resistance in obesity causes metabolic dysfunction, especially via altered brain insulin receptor (IR) activity. Density-enhanced phosphatase 1 (DEP-1) negatively modulates the IR in peripheral tissues.

Effects of Physical Exercise Breaks on Executive Function in a Simulated Classroom Setting: Uncovering a Window into the Brain.

Acknowledging the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting, this study examined the effects of an acute exercise break during prolonged sitting on executive function, cortical hemodynamics, and microvascular status. In this randomized crossover study, 71 college students completed three conditions: (i) uninterrupted sitting (SIT); (ii) SIT with a 15 min moderate-intensity cycling break (MIC); and (iii) SIT with a 15 min vigorous-intensity cycling break (VIC). Behavioral outcomes, retinal vessel diameters (central retinal artery equivalents [CRAE], retinal vein equivalents [CRVE], arteriovenous ratio [AVR]), cortical activation, and effective connectivity were evaluated.

Integrating gene expression analysis and ecophysiological responses to water deficit in leaves of tomato plants.

Soil water deficit (WD) significantly impacts plant survival and crop yields. Many gaps remain in our understanding of the synergistic coordination between molecular and ecophysiological responses delaying substantial drought-induced effects on plant growth. To investigate this synergism in tomato leaves, we combined molecular, ecophysiological, and anatomical methods to examine gene expression patterns and physio-anatomical characteristics during a progressing WD experiment.

Metatranscriptomics of microbial biofilm succession on HDPE foil: uncovering plastic-degrading potential in soil communities.

Background: Although plastic pollution is increasing worldwide, very little is known about the microbial processes that take place once plastic debris is incorporated into the soil matrix. In this study, we conducted the first metatranscriptome analysis of polyethylene (PE)-associated biofilm communities in highly polluted landfill soil and compared their gene expression to that of a forest soil community within a 53-day period.

Results: Our findings indicate that the microbial population present in soil contaminated with plastic debris is predisposed to both inhabit and degrade plastic surfaces.

Sequential decline in cyanobacterial, total prokaryotic, and eukaryotic responses to backward flow in a river connected to Lake Taihu.

River ecosystems face escalating challenges due to altered flow regimes from human activities, such as urbanization with hydrological modifications. Understanding the role of microbial communities for ecosystems with changing flow regimes is still incomplete and remains at the frontier of aquatic microbial ecology. In particular, influences of riverine backward flow on the aquatic biota remain largely unknown.

Glucosinolate profile and specifier protein activity determine the glucosinolate hydrolysis product formation in kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes) in a tissue-specific way.

Glucosinolates, commonly found in Brassica vegetables, are hydrolyzed by myrosinase to form bioactive isothiocyanates, unless specifier proteins redirect the degradation to less bioactive nitriles and epithionitriles. Here, the tissue-specific impact of specifier proteins on the outcome of glucosinolate hydrolysis in nine kohlrabi tissues was investigated. Glucosinolates and their hydrolysis product profiles, epithiospecifier protein and myrosinase activity, and protein abundance patterns of key glucosinolate biosynthesis, transport and hydrolysis enzymes were determined and correlated to the metabolites in the kohlrabi tissues.

Contents and structures of branched and linear maltodextrins, malto-oligosaccharides, and sugars in the early developmental stage of phosphorylase1 mutant endosperm of rice.

Biochemical analysis of plastidial phosphorylase (Pho1)-deficient mutants of rice strongly suggests that Pho1 plays an important role in the initiation of starch biosynthesis in the endosperm. The present study examined structures and amounts of maltodextrins, malto-oligosaccharides (MOS) as well as sugars in maturing rice endosperm and compared between a pho1-mutant line EM633 and its wild-type cultivar Taichung-65 (TC65). By using a gel permeation HPLC from developing rice endosperm of both lines, branched maltodextrins (BMD) with distinct fine structure could be isolated for the first time, a possible intermediate in the initiation process of starch biosynthesis, whereas its amount was much lower than starch content in both endosperms.

2D-IR spectroscopy of azide-labeled carbohydrates in H2O.

Carbohydrates constitute one of the key classes of biomacromolecules, yet vibrational spectroscopic studies involving carbohydrates remain scarce as spectra are highly congested and lack significant marker vibrations. Recently, we introduced and characterized a thiocyanate-labeled glucose [Gasse et al., J.

Anomalous diffusion of active Brownian particles in responsive elastic gels: Nonergodicity, non-Gaussianity, and distributions of trapping times.

Understanding actual transport mechanisms of self-propelled particles (SPPs) in complex elastic gels-such as in the cell cytoplasm, in in vitro networks of chromatin or of F-actin fibers, or in mucus gels-has far-reaching consequences. Implications beyond biology/biophysics are in engineering and medicine, with a particular focus on microrheology and on targeted drug delivery. Here, we examine via extensive computer simulations the dynamics of SPPs in deformable gellike structures responsive to thermal fluctuations.

One-year ecological momentary assessment of alcohol use, mood, and stress among individuals with alcohol use disorder during SARS-CoV-2 pandemics: a gender-specific reflection.

Alcohol consumption (AC) is a leading risk factor for death, morbidity, and disability worldwide. Gender-specific differences in AC and its moderators, which may serve as markers for preventing severe alcohol use disorders (AUD), showed inconsistent results. Additionally, the impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns on these differences remains unclear.

The Doctors, Their Patients, and the Symptom Checker App: Qualitative Interview Study With General Practitioners in Germany.

Background: Symptom checkers are designed for laypeople and promise to provide a preliminary diagnosis, a sense of urgency, and a suggested course of action.

Objective: We used the international symptom checker app (SCA) Ada App as an example to answer the following question: How do general practitioners (GPs) experience the SCA in relation to the macro, meso, and micro level of their daily work, and how does this interact with work-related psychosocial resources and demands?

Methods: We conducted 8 semistructured interviews with GPs in Germany between December 2020 and February 2022. We analyzed the data using the integrative basic method, an interpretative-reconstructive method, to identify core themes and modes of thematization.

Point-of-Care Diagnostics Using Self-heating Elements from Smart Food Packaging: Moving Towards Instrument-Free Nucleic Acid-Based Detection.

Compromising between accuracy and rapidity is an important issue in analytics and diagnostics, often preventing timely and appropriate reactions to disease. This issue is particularly critical for infectious diseases, where reliable and rapid diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and easier containment, thereby reducing economic and societal impacts. Diagnostic technologies are vital in disease modeling, tracking, treatment decision making, and epidemic containment.

Wild again: recovery of a beneficial Cannabis seed endophyte from low domestication genotypes.

Background: Beyond carrying the plant embryo, seeds harbour intricate microbial communities whose transmission across successive plant generations can significantly influence the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant-microbe symbioses. The process of plant domestication has potential repercussions in genes involved in plant-microbiome interactions. However, the extent to which breeding can impact the seed microbiome is sparsely explored.

Biochemical and proteomic approaches to investigating effects of IAA-aspartate in pea (Pisum sativum L.) seedlings during osmotic shock.

Osmotic shock is the first step of high salt or drought action that involves biochemical and molecular changes during plant response to these unfavorable conditions. Indole-3-acetyl-aspartate (IAA-aspartate, IAA-Asp) is the main amide conjugate of auxin in pea (Pisum sativum L.) tissues.

Inside the Atacama Desert: uncovering the living microbiome of an extreme environment.

The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest and most inhospitable places on Earth. To analyze the diversity and distribution of microbial communities in such an environment, one of the most important and challenging steps is DNA extraction. Using commercial environmental DNA extraction protocols, a mixture of living, dormant, and dead cells of microorganisms is extracted, but separation of the different DNA pools is almost impossible.

Positive cognitive reappraisal flexibility is associated with lower levels of perceived stress.

This study investigates the role of positive cognitive reappraisal (PCR) flexibility and variability in mental health in response to real-life stressors among college students. We employed ecological momentary assessment and intervention through ReApp, a mobile app designed to train and promote PCR. We analyzed data from the intervention group of a randomized controlled trial with a total of 100 participants who used ReApp for three weeks.