Glucose-stimulated calcium dynamics in beta cells from C57BL/6J, C57BL/6N, and NMRI mice: A systematic comparison of activation, activity, and deactivation properties in tissue slices

Although mice are a very instrumental model in islet beta cell research, possible phenotypic differences between strains and substrains are largely neglected in the scientific community. In this study, we show important phenotypic differences in beta cell responses to glucose between NMRI, C57BL/6J, and C57BL/6N mice, i.e., the three most commonly used strains. High-resolution multicellular confocal imaging of beta cells in acute pancreas tissue slices was used to measure and quantitatively compare the calcium dynamics in response to a wide range of glucose concentrations. Strain- and substrain-specific features were found in all three phases of beta cell responses to glucose: a shift in the dose-response curve characterizing the delay to activation and deactivation in response to stimulus onset and termination, respectively, and distinct concentration-encoding principles during the plateau phase in terms of frequency, duration, and active time changes with increasing glucose concentrations. Our results underline the significance of carefully choosing and reporting the strain to enable comparison and increase reproducibility, emphasize the importance of analyzing a number of different beta cell physiological parameters characterizing the response to glucose, and provide a valuable standard for future studies on beta cell calcium dynamics in health and disease.

Microscopic Fractional Anisotropy Detects Cognitive Training-Induced Microstructural Brain Changes

Cognitive training-induced neuroplastic brain changes have been reported. This prospective study evaluated whether microscopic fractional anisotropy (μFA) derived from double diffusion encoding (DDE) MRI could detect brain changes following a 4 week cognitive training. Twenty-nine healthy volunteers were recruited and randomly assigned into the training (n = 21) and control (n = 8) groups. Both groups underwent brain MRI including DDE MRI and 3D-T1-weighted imaging twice at an interval of 4–6 weeks, during which the former underwent the training. The training consisted of hour-long dual N-back and attention network tasks conducted five days per week. Training and time-related changes of DDE MRI indices (μFA, fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD)) and the gray and white matter volume were evaluated using mixed-design analysis of variance. In addition, any significant imaging indices were tested for correlation with cognitive training-induced task performance changes, using partial correlation analyses. μFA in the left middle frontal gyrus decreased upon the training (53 voxels, uncorrected p < 0.001), which correlated moderately with response time changes in the orienting component of attention (r = −0.521, uncorrected p = 0.032). No significant training and time-related changes were observed for other imaging indices. Thus, μFA can become a sensitive index to detect cognitive training-induced neuroplastic changes.

Fish Skin and Gill Mucus: A Source of Metabolites for Non-Invasive Health Monitoring and Research

Mucous membranes such as the gill and skin mucosa in fish protect them against a multitude of environmental factors. At the same time, changes in the molecular composition of mucus may provide valuable information about the interaction of the fish with their environment, as well as their health and welfare. In this study, the metabolite profiles of the plasma, skin and gill mucus of freshwater Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) were compared using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Several normalization procedures aimed to reduce unwanted variation in the untargeted data were tested. In addition, the basal metabolism of skin and gills, and the impact of the anesthetic benzocaine for euthanisation were studied. For targeted metabolomics, the commercial AbsoluteIDQ p400 HR kit was used to evaluate the potential differences in metabolic composition in epidermal mucus as compared to the plasma. The targeted metabolomics data showed a high level of correlation between different types of biological fluids from the same individual, indicating that mucus metabolite composition could be used for fish health monitoring and research.

A Method for Predicting Efficiency of Perforated Muzzle Brakes

This paper presents a method for predicting a value of a gasdynamic efficiency coefficient for perforated muzzle brakes. The method is based on the interior ballistics modelling for determining gasdynamic flow parameters at the brake inlet and 2D modelling the processes inside the brake with treating vents as circumferential slots. The modelling provides information about the mass flux time changes at the inlet and at the outlet of the brake. Using this information, the mass partition coefficient values and the gasdynamic efficiency coefficient values are calculated. It has been shown that the mass partition coefficient establishes very quickly and it is determined only by the geometry of the brake. The gasdynamic efficiency coefficient establishes after a relatively long time, what demands carrying out calculations for a relatively long time period. However, it has been shown that this problem can be solved by making use of the established ratio of mass fluxes at the outlet and the inlet. So, flow parameters’ values at the inlet are sufficient for determining the gasdynamic efficiency coefficient to the moment of attaining the final value. It has been shown that this value depends on the ballistics and on the vents inclination angle.

Land and Water Systems: Looking to the future and a more resilient and sustainable society and environment

Food, land, and water systems are facing unprecedented change. The world’s population is projected to grow to approximately 10 billion people by 2050, while aging and declining in some regions. Global average incomes are expected to keep increasing at a slow but steady pace. With increasing incomes and the ability of consumers to purchase more and better food in combination with population growth, food demand is projected to grow substantially over the next three decades. Meanwhile, demographic changes and economic development also drive urbanization, migration, and structural transformation of rural communities. At the same time changes to precipitation and temperature as well as the occurrence of extreme events driven by climate change are becoming more prevalent and impacting society and the environment. Currently, humanity is approaching or exceeding planetary boundaries in some areas, with over-use of limited productive natural resources such as water and phosphate, net emissions of greenhouse gases, and decreases in biodiversityMuch is published about food and agriculture and the supporting/underpinning land and water systems, but no single source focuses regularly and systematically on the future of agriculture and food systems, particularly on the challenges and opportunities faced by developing countries. This working paper is part of an effort by the CGIAR foresight team to help fill that gap. The effort recognizes that there is much to learn from past experience, and there are clearly many urgent and immediate challenges, but given the pace and complexity of change we are currently experiencing, there is also an increasing need to look carefully into the future of food, land, and water systems to inform decision making today.

ADAPTOGENIC EFFECT OF APISIL AND TOS-BIO PREPARATIONS ON A HONEY BEE UNDER CONDITIONS OF HYPERTHERMIA

The temperature factor has a huge impact on bees and their development. In a complex complex of adaptation, not only a perfect system of collective thermoregulation of the family is important, but also such individual adaptations as resistance to freezing and tolerance to high temperatures. The deviation of the ambient temperature from the optimal one increases the energy consumption of bees for the regulation of the microclimate in the family. This means that it enhances metabolic processes, which affects the state of the body and the life expectancy of insects. In addition, sometimes the use of high temperatures is a necessary condition for their maintenance, for example, in the fight against the parasite of the bee mite varroa. At the same time, the effect of high temperatures can have a negative effect not only on the mite, but also on the bees. In laboratory conditions, the effect of Apisil and TOS-BIO preparations containing 9-oxoand 10-hydroxy-2E-decenoic acids as a base - the most important components of the «queen substance» and royal jelly of the honey bee Apis mellifera L., respectively - on the survival rate and biochemical parameters was studied. adult worker bees exposed to extremely high (50oC) temperatures. The dynamics of the activity of phenoloxidase and catalase as biochemical indicators of the stress response of a honey bee under high temperature load has been studied. It was shown that the insects' resistance to hyperthermia increased with the content of these preparations in the feed. Experimental results indicate that under extreme (50oC) temperature conditions Apisil and TOS-BIO preparations have an adaptogenic effect on worker bees, increasing their resistance to hyperthermia. At the same time, changes in the initial level and dynamics of biochemical parameters indicate that these compositions in the most economical way contribute to the restructuring of metabolism in the mode of optimal functioning, which affects the level of changes in enzyme activity (with less pronounced changes in activity). and also on the survival rate of bees at the end of the experiment.

Changes in Crystal Structure and Accelerated Hydrolytic Degradation of Polylactic Acid in High Humidity

Highly crystallized polylactic acid (PLA) is suitable for industrial applications due to its stiffness, heat resistance, and dimensional stability. However, crystal lamellae in PLA products might delay PLA decomposition in the environment. This study clarifies how the initial crystal structure influences the hydrolytic degradation of PLA under accelerated conditions. Crystallized PLA was prepared by annealing amorphous PLA at a specific temperature under reduced pressure. Specimens with varied crystal structure were kept at 70 °C and in a relative humidity (RH) of 95% for a specific time. Changes in crystal structure were analyzed using differential calorimetry and wide-angle X-lay diffraction. The molecular weight (MW) was measured with gel permeation chromatography. The crystallinity of the amorphous PLA became the same as that of the initially annealed PLA within one hour at 70 °C and 95% RH. The MW of the amorphous PLA decreased faster even though the crystallinity was similar during the accelerated degradation. The low MW chains of the amorphous PLA tended to decrease faster, although changes in the MW distribution suggested random scission of the molecular chains for initially crystallized PLA. The concentrations of chain ends and impurities, which catalyze hydrolysis, in the amorphous region were considered to be different in the initial crystallization. The crystallinity alone does not determine the speed of hydrolysis.

Random Times for Markov Processes with Killing

We consider random time changes in Markov processes with killing potentials. We study how random time changes may be introduced in these Markov processes with killing potential and how these changes may influence their time behavior. As applications, we study the parabolic Anderson problem, the non-local Schrödinger operators as well as the generalized Anderson problem.

Different, Yet the Same: Three Decades of Family Policy Change in Hungary, Lithuania and Romania

The article analyses over-time changes in family transfers in Hungary, Lithuania and Romania from 1990-2018 to seek evidence of similarity in the ethos of policy adaptation. Informed by recent scholarship signalling growing disparities in social entitlements along socio-economic lines in Hungary and Romania, the analysis assesses whether three decades of change in family transfers in three different policy contexts might exhibit the selective, pro-wealthy ethos of social policy transformation described. Using data from an original dataset drawing on exhaustive social legislation pertaining to family allowances, family tax breaks and paid parental leave-related transfers, the article shows that, for most of the last three decades, institutional dualisms in the protection of families with dependent children have grown. Policy drift undercuts the rights of the neediest and policy layering leads to programme expansion targeting dual-earner, high-income families especially. This trend has intensified over the last fifteen years and is most evident in paid leave schemes.

Comparing Cortical Demyelination in Geriatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Alzheimer’s Disease

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accelerates the rate of age-associated brain atrophy, whose pattern resembles the cortical neurodegeneration pattern observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Because the ratio R of T1-to-T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) intensities is a surrogate measure of cortical myelin concentration, mapping and quantifying changes in this ratio can improve our understanding of demyelination after geriatric mTBI and AD. T1- and T2-weighted MRIs were acquired acutely and ~6 months post-injury from 68 healthy controls (HCs, age (years, y): μ = 76 y, σ = 4 y), 19 mTBIs (age μ = 70 y, σ = 5 y), and 33 ADs (age μ = 77, σ = 6). Volumes were co-registered using 3D Slicer’s BRAINSFit module, and T2-constrained segmentations of T1 volumes were obtained using FreeSurfer. R and its time changes were computed at each cortical location. When comparing mTBI and AD patients to HCs, significant differences in R were found across ~10% and ~23% of the cortex, respectively (p &lt; 0.05). When comparing mTBI to AD, the former exhibited significantly less myelin content in the lateral, medial, and ventral temporal lobes (p &lt; 0.05), on the medial aspects of superior parietal lobules and superior frontal gyri (p &lt; 0.05), and in orbital gyri (p &lt; 0.05), whereas AD subjects had less myelin content on lateral aspect of the parietal lobe (p &lt; 0.05). These results highlight demyelination differences in mTBI and AD. Future studies should examine the long-term trajectories to quantify the risk of neurodegenerative disease after mTBI.