CARD9 in Neutrophils Protects from Colitis and Controls Mitochondrial Metabolism and Cell Survival

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) results from a combination of genetic predisposition, dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and environmental factors, leading to alterations in the gastrointestinal immune response and chronic inflammation. Caspase recruitment domain 9 (Card9), one of the IBD susceptibility genes, has been shown to protect against intestinal inflammation and fungal infection. However, the cell types and mechanisms involved in the CARD9 protective role against inflammation remain unknown. Design: We used dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced and adoptive transfer colitis models in total and conditional CARD9 knock-out mice to uncover which cell types play a role in the CARD9 protective phenotype. The impact of Card9 deletion on neutrophil function was assessed by an in vivo model of fungal infection and various functional assays, including endpoint dilution assay, apoptosis assay by flow cytometry, proteomics and real time bioenergetic profile analysis (Seahorse). Results: Lymphocytes are not intrinsically involved in the CARD9 protective role against colitis. CARD9 expression in neutrophils, but not in epithelial or CD11c+ cells, protects against DSS-induced colitis. In the absence of CARD9, mitochondrial dysfunction in neutrophils leads to their premature death through apoptosis, especially in oxidative environment. The decrease of fonctional neutrophils in tissues could explain the impaired containment of fungi and increased susceptibility to intestinal inflammation. Conclusion: These results provide new insight into the role of CARD9 in neutrophil mitochondrial function and its involvement in intestinal inflammation, paving the way for new therapeutic strategies targeting neutrophils.

Teachers’ Work Engagement and Burnout Profiles: Associations With a Sense of Efficacy and Interprofessional Collaboration at School

This study provides new insights into the work-related well-being of teachers, defined here as engagement and burnout, by investigating their associations with the teachers’ sense of efficacy and interprofessional collaboration in schools. Using a person-oriented approach and latent profile analysis, a sample of Finnish comprehensive school teachers (N = 355) were classified based on their work engagement and burnout. Three profiles were identified: engaged, engaged-exhausted, and burned-out. Teachers with distinct profiles differed from each other in terms of their sense of efficacy and experiences of interprofessional collaboration, suggesting that both might have an important role in enhancing work engagement and preventing burnout.

Comparison of oral metabolome profiles of stimulated saliva, unstimulated saliva, and mouth-rinsed water

Saliva includes a substantial amount of biological information, which has enabled us to understand the relationship between oral metabolites and various oral and systemic disorders. However, collecting saliva using a controlled protocol is time-consuming, making saliva an unsuitable analyte in large cohort studies. Mouth-rinsed water (MW), the water used to rinse the mouth, can be collected easily in less time with less difference between subjects than saliva and could be used as an alternative in oral metabolome analyses. In this study, we investigated the potential of MW collection as an efficient alternative to saliva sample collection for oral metabolome profiling. MW, stimulated saliva, and unstimulated saliva were collected from 10 systemically healthy participants. The samples were subjected to metabolome analysis using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the types and amounts of metabolites in the samples were compared. Qualitatively, MW contained the same metabolites as unstimulated and stimulated saliva. While the quantity of the metabolites did not drastically change between the sampling methods, all three reflected individual differences, and the features of MW were the same as those of the unstimulated saliva. Overall, these results suggest that MW may be an appropriate alternative to saliva in oral metabolome profile analysis.

Neglected Very Long-Chain Hydrocarbons and the Incorporation of Body Surface Area Metrics Reveal Novel Perspectives for Cuticular Profile Analysis in Insects

Most of our knowledge on insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) stems from analytical techniques based on gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). However, this method has its limits under standard conditions, particularly in detecting compounds beyond a chain length of around C40. Here, we compare the CHC chain length range detectable by GC-MS with the range assessed by silver-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (Ag-LDI-MS), a novel and rarely applied technique on insect CHCs, in seven species of the order Blattodea. For all tested species, we unveiled a considerable range of very long-chain CHCs up to C58, which are not detectable by standard GC-MS technology. This indicates that general studies on insect CHCs may frequently miss compounds in this range, and we encourage future studies to implement analytical techniques extending the conventionally accessed chain length range. Furthermore, we incorporate 3D scanned insect body surface areas as an additional factor for the comparative quantification of extracted CHC amounts between our study species. CHC quantity distributions differed considerably when adjusted for body surface areas as opposed to directly assessing extracted CHC amounts, suggesting that a more accurate evaluation of relative CHC quantities can be achieved by taking body surface areas into account.

Risky Sexual Behavior Profiles in Youth: Associations With Borderline Personality Features

Adolescence and young adulthood are peak periods for risky sexual behaviors (RSB) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. RSB is a major public health concern and adolescents with BPD may be particularly vulnerable to RSB, but this is understudied. The aim of this study was to identify distinct RSB profiles in youth and determine whether a specific profile was associated with BPD features. Participants were 220 adolescents and young adults (age 14–21) recruited from the community. To identify groups of adolescents and young adults who engage in similar RSB, a latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted on sexually active youth (57%). Next ANOVA was used to identify how profiles differed in terms RSB dimensions and BPD features. We identified three distinct RSB profiles: (1) a Low RSB profile that was manifested by the majority (77.7%) of youth; (2) an Unprotected Sex in Relationships profile (13.3%) and; (3) an Impulsive Sex Outside Relationships profile (12%) which was manifested by youth with significantly higher BPD features. The findings shed light on the difficulties youth with BPD manifest around integrating sexuality, intimacy, fidelity, and love. This contrasts with the majority of youth who are sexually active in the context of relationships and engage in little or no RSB. The findings have important clinical implications. Adolescent sexuality is frequently in the blind spot of clinicians. To address the elevated risk of RSB in adolescents with BPD, interventions are needed to help adolescents navigate this period and improve their understanding of the reasons for RSB while addressing difficulties in establishing sexual and attachment relationships.

Who Makes an Effort? A Person-Centered Examination of Motivation and Beliefs as Predictors of Students’ Effort and Performance on the PISA 2015 Science Assessment

Each time new PISA results are presented, they gain a lot of attention. However, there are many factors that lie behind the results, and they get less attention. In this study, we take a person-centered approach and focus on students’ motivation and beliefs, and how these predict students’ effort and performance on the PISA 2015 assessment of scientific literacy. Moreover, we use both subjective (self-report) and objective (time-based) measures of effort, which allows us to compare these different types of measures. Latent profile analysis was used to group students in profiles based on their instrumental motivation, enjoyment, interest, self-efficacy, and epistemic beliefs (all with regard to science). A solution with four profiles proved to be best. When comparing the effort and performance of these four profiles, we saw several significant differences, but many of these differences disappeared when we added gender and the PISA index of economic, social, and cultural status (ESCS) as control variables. The main difference between the profiles, after adding control variables, was that the students in the profile with most positive motivation and sophisticated epistemic beliefs performed best and put in the most effort. Students in the profile with unsophisticated epistemic beliefs and low intrinsic values (enjoyment and interest) were most likely to be classified as low-effort responders. We conclude that strong motivation and sophisticated epistemic beliefs are important for both the effort students put into the PISA assessment and their performance, but also that ESCS had an unexpectedly large impact on the results.

Present Conservation Status and Carcass and Meat Characteristics of Lithuanian Vištinės Goose Breed

The aim of the present study was to identify the conservation status of Lithuanian local Vištinės goose breed and evaluate the carcass and meat quality characteristics in the breast and thigh depending on the sex. The status of the Lithuanian Vištinės goose breed was evaluated by monitoring of the birds, which are included in the breeding system. Twenty geese from the nucleus flock at the age of 10 weeks and reared using a commercial concentrate diet ad libitum were used for the carcass and meat quality evaluation. Due to fluctuations in the numbers of geese and reproduction of purebred birds on a largest scale from the nucleus flock, the status of Vištinės goose population remains critical-maintained. The difference in the live body weight between males and females was insignificant, whereas males showed higher carcass weight (p < 0.05), including the weight of breast, wings, thighs and neck. The sex did not affect the meat quality parameters, but the anatomical location of muscles has appeared to show a high effect. Thigh muscles had lower (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) protein and cholesterol, and higher (p < 0.001) intramuscular fat contents compared with the breast. Thigh muscles also showed higher (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively) pH and EZ drip loss, but lower (p < 0.001) cooking loss compared with the breast. The breast was characterized by a higher (p < 0.001) shear of force and toughness with Warner–Bratzler test and higher (p < 0.001) hardness detected by texture profile analysis (TPA) compared with the thigh. Breast lipids had higher (p < 0.001) proportion of total saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, whereas the thigh was characterized by a higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids. Atherogenic (AI) and thrombogenic (TI) indexes were higher (p < 0.001) and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic (h/H) ratio was lower (p < 0.001) and less favourable in the breast compared with the thigh. Despite the muscle type differences, goose meat of the local conserved breed exhibited good quality and expected enhancing impact on consumer health.