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  • Friedrichsen Bork posted an update 2 weeks, 1 day ago

    We succeeded in monitoring the membrane order in the Golgi apparatus, Mitochondria, and plasma membrane in the samein-vivocell and quantitatively comparing them. The phasor-based multi-harmonic unmixing method can help expand the outreach of HSI and democratize its use by the community for it does not require specialized knowledge.To predict the impact of climate change on our beef animals and systems, we need a better understanding of how beef cattle traits are affected by varying weather and frequency of extreme events. We analysed the effect of minimum and maximum temperatures and average daily precipitation on a range of important carcass traits, including age at slaughter, cold carcass weight, carcass growth rate and conformation and fat score (N = >1.6 million), as well as calf 200-day live weight and growth rate (N = >270 000), using data from abattoirs across Britain (carcass traits) and calves in Scottish suckler beef herds (live weights and growth). Animals which experienced higher daily maximum and minimum temperatures had slower carcass and calf growth rates. Increased precipitation also led to poorer cold carcass weights, conformation scores, calf 200-day weights and calf growth. We also analysed the effect of frequency of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, cold waves, and dry and wet days. The frequency of heatwaves, dry and wet days were shown to have significant negative effects on almost all traits considered, for example, predicting that an increase in the frequency of heatwaves by 1 day per 100 days of life would reduce cold carcass weights by about 200 g and increase age at slaughter by about 3 days. Results show that varying weather and frequency of extreme weather, across the lifetime of a beef animal, influences traits which affect the potential profit for a beef farmer. These effects may be due to several factors, including direct effects on the animal, as well as feed availability and management decisions made by the farmer. However, there is potential to mitigate negative effects through a range of animal management strategies.In the available literature, there are limited data about the energetic value of insect-derived products. In particular, insect fat cannot be used in practical broiler nutrition due to the lack of precise apparent metabolisable energy (AME) value. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the AME and apparent metabolisable energy corrected to zero nitrogen balance (AMEN) levels of Hermetia illucens larvae fat for broiler chickens of various ages. A total of 400 1-day-old male Ross 308 chicks were randomly allotted to four dietary groups (10 replicate pens per treatment; 10 birds per pen). The following treatments were applied HI0 – basal diet without dietary fat inclusion, HI03 – basal diet enriched with 30 g/kg H. illucens larvae fat, HI06 – basal diet enriched with 60 g/kg H. illucens larvae fat, and HI09 – basal diet enriched with 90 g/kg H. illucens larvae fat. Broilers had ad libitum access to mash form feed and water. Excreta samples were collected on d 14, d 28, and d 35. To determine the AME and AMEN values of H. illucens larvae fat, the simple linear regression method was used. The results show that the AME and AMEN values of H. illucens larvae fat for broiler chickens are 9 049 kcal/kg (37.86 MJ/kg) and 9 019 kcal/kg (37.74 MJ/kg), respectively. Additionally, because the birds’ age significantly (P  less then  0.001) affected the AME and AMEN levels, the implementation of H. illucens larvae fat to broiler diets should be considered in each nutritional period using the recommended regression model AME = 2 559.758 + 62.989 × fat inclusion (%) + 7.405 × day of age and AMEN = 2 543.2663 + 62.8649 × fat inclusion (%) + 7.3777 × day of age. The present data emphasised that the H. illucens larvae fat metabolisable energy is similar to that of soybean oil.With the evolution of modern warfare and the increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), there has been an increase in blast-induced traumatic brain injuries (bTBI) among military personnel and civilians. The increased prevalence of bTBI necessitates bTBI models that result in a properly scaled injury for the model organism being used. The primary laboratory model for bTBI is the shock tube, wherein a compressed gas ruptures a thin membrane, generating a shockwave. To generate a shock wave that is properly scaled from human to rodent subjects many pre-clinical models strive for a short duration and high peak overpressure while fitting a Friedlander waveform, the ideal representation of a blast wave. A large variety of factors have been experimentally characterized in attempts to create an ideal waveform, however we found current research on the gas composition being used to drive shock wave formation to be lacking. To better understand the effect the driver gas has on the waveform being produced, we utilized a previously established murine shock tube bTBI model in conjunction with several distinct driver gasses. In agreement with previous findings, helium produced a shock wave most closely fitting the Friedlander waveform in contrast to the plateau-like waveforms produced by some other gases. The peak static pressure at the exit of the shock tube and total pressure 5 cm from the exit have a strong negative correlation with the density of the gas being used helium the least dense gas used produces the highest peak overpressure. Density of the driver gas also exerts a strong positive effect on the duration of the shock wave, with helium producing the shortest duration wave. Due to its ability to produce a Friedlander waveform and produce a waveform following proper injury scaling guidelines, helium is an ideal gas for use in shock tube models for bTBI.

    We aimed to assess the association of physical activity (PA) with retinal thickness and vascular structure in an elderly Chinese population.

    This study enrolled 220 retirees aged 50 years and above from Tianjin University of Sport, China. PA data gathered through the International Physical Activity Questionnaires were computed for metabolic equivalent of task-minutes per week. All participants underwent full ophthalmic examination including optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of PA with retinal thickness and vascular structure.

    A high amount of total PA was associated with smaller size of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) (high vs. low area, β=-0.04; circumference β=-0.14) and greater central vessel (VD) (β=1.04) and perfusion densities (PD) (β=0.02). For domain-specific PA, participants with high and moderate recreational PA levels were found to have greater central VDs and PDs. Non-leisure activities demonstrated negative relationship with FAZ perimeter ratio (moderate vs. low β=-0.08; high vs. low β=-0.13) and, counter-intuitively, negative relation with VDs measured at the inner (high vs. low β=-0.98) and outer retinal layers (high vs. low β=-0.38). Additionally, higher levels of total PA were related to increased macular fovea thickness and average thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer.

    High PA level, particularly recreational PA, was associated with smaller FAZ and greater VD and PD in senior adults. Chlorogenic Acid datasheet Non-leisure time PA might not confer the same health benefits as leisure time PA. Our data supports a possible protective role of recreational PA in the retina against microvascular changes.

    High PA level, particularly recreational PA, was associated with smaller FAZ and greater VD and PD in senior adults. Non-leisure time PA might not confer the same health benefits as leisure time PA. Our data supports a possible protective role of recreational PA in the retina against microvascular changes.Brain morphology has been suggested to be predictive of drug treatment outcome in major depressive disorders (MDD). The current study aims at evaluating the performance of pretreatment structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures in predicting the outcome of a drug treatment of MDD in a large single-site cohort, and, importantly, to assess the generalizability of these findings in an independent cohort. The random forest, boosted trees, support vector machines and elastic net classifiers were evaluated in predicting treatment response and remission following an eight week drug treatment of MDD using structural brain measures derived with FastSurfer (FreeSurfer). Models were trained and tested within a nested cross-validation framework using the NeuroPharm dataset (n = 79, treatment escitalopram); their generalizability was assessed using an independent clinical dataset, EMBARC (n = 64, treatment sertraline). Prediction of antidepressant treatment response in the Neuropharm cohort was statistically significant for the random forest (p = 0.048), whereas none of the models could significantly predict remission. Furthermore, none of the models trained using the entire NeuroPharm dataset could significantly predict treatment outcome in the EMBARC dataset. Although our primary findings in the NeuroPharm cohort support some, but limited value in using pretreatment structural brain MRI to predict drug treatment outcome in MDD, the models did not generalize to an independent cohort suggesting limited clinical applicability. This study emphasizes the importance of assessing model generalizability for establishing clinical utility.

    Small vessel disease (SVD) is highly prevalent in the elderly and associated with an increased risk of dementia and stroke. SVD may have disturbed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow, which can compromise waste clearance and accelerate disease progression.

    We retrospectively included 146 SVD patients from a prospectively collected dataset, with one- or two-year follow-up data in 61 patients. The coupling strength between the global blood-oxygen-level-dependent (gBOLD) signal and CSF inflow was used to reflect CSF dynamics. We performed regression analyses to investigate the association between the gBOLD-CSF coupling index and the severity of SVD and vascular risk factors. Longitudinal analysis was carried out to investigate causal relationships.

    Patients with severe SVD had significantly decreased gBOLD-CSF coupling (β=-0.180, p=0.032). Dilation of perivascular spaces in the basal ganglia area (β=-0.172, p=0.033) and diabetes (β=-0.204, p=0.014) were associated with reduced gBOLD-CSF coupling. In longitudinal analyses, diabetes was associated with faster decline in gBOLD-CSF coupling (β=0.20, p=0.039), while perivascular space (PVS) dilation in the centrum semiovale showed a opposite relationship (β=-0.20, p=0.041). The gBOLD-CSF coupling could not predict SVD progression.

    Altered CSF flow is associated with the severity of SVD.

    Altered CSF flow is associated with the severity of SVD.Nearly localized moiré flat bands in momentum space, arising at particular twist angles, are the key to achieve correlated effects in transition-metal dichalcogenides. Here, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to visualize the presence of a flat band near the Fermi level of van der Waals WSe2/MoSe2heterobilayer grown by molecular beam epitaxy. This flat band is localized near the Fermi level and has a width of several hundred meVs. By combining ARPES measurements with density functional theory calculations, we confirm the coexistence of different domains, namely the reference 2H stacking without layer misorientation and regions with arbitrary twist angles. For the 2H-stacked heterobilayer, our ARPES results show strong interlayer hybridization effects, further confirmed by complementary micro- Raman spectroscopy measurements. The spin-splitting of the valence band atKis determined to be 470 meV. The valence band maximum (VBM) position of the heterobilayer is located at the Γ point. The energy difference between the VBM at Γ and theKpoint is of -60 meV, which is a stark difference compared to individual single monolayer WSe2and monolayer WSe2, showing both a VBM atK.