Free and Modified Mycotoxins in Organic and Conventional Oats (Avena sativa L.) Grown in Scotland

Funding This study has received funding from the Interface Multiparty Fund; the Rowett Institute and Biomathematics & Statistics Scotland receives funding from the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS). Acknowledgments Authors acknowledge the involvement of Hamlyns, WN Lindsay and all farmers in contributing to sample collection. Susan McCormick and Mark Busman at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, IL, USA, are acknowledged for providing the standard solutions of DAS-Glc, T-2-Glc and HT-2-Glc used in this study. The ZEN-Glc standard used in this study was previously synthesised as part of the FSA-funded project FS102101.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Loss of Population Levels of Immunity to Malaria as a Result of Exposure-Reducing Interventions: Consequences for Interpretation of Disease Trends

BACKGROUND: The persistence of malaria as an endemic infection and one of the major causes of childhood death in most parts of Africa has lead to a radical new call for a global effort towards eradication. With the deployment of a highly effective vaccine still some years away, there has been an increased focus on interventions which reduce exposure to infection in the individual and -by reducing onward transmission-at the population level. The development of appropriate monitoring of these interventions requires an understanding of the timescales of their effect. METHODS & FINDINGS: Using a mathematical model for malaria transmission which incorporates the acquisition and loss of both clinical and parasite immunity, we explore the impact of the trade-off between reduction in exposure and decreased development of immunity on the dynamics of disease following a transmission-reducing intervention such as insecticide-treated nets. Our model predicts that initially rapid reductions in clinical disease incidence will be observed as transmission is reduced in a highly immune population. However, these benefits in the first 5-10 years after the intervention may be offset by a greater burden of disease decades later as immunity at the population level is gradually lost. The negative impact of having fewer immune individuals in the population can be counterbalanced either by the implementation of highly-effective transmission-reducing interventions (such as the combined use of insecticide-treated nets and insecticide residual sprays) for an indefinite period or the concurrent use of a pre-erythrocytic stage vaccine or prophylactic therapy in children to protect those at risk from disease as immunity is lost in the population. CONCLUSIONS: Effective interventions will result in rapid decreases in clinical disease across all transmission settings while population-level immunity is maintained but may subsequently result in increases in clinical disease many years later as population-level immunity is lost. A dynamic, evolving intervention programme will therefore be necessary to secure substantial, stable reductions in malaria transmission

Timing of daily calorie loading affects appetite and hunger responses without changes in energy metabolism in healthy subjects with obesity

Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge Sylvia Stephen, Jean Bryce, Nina Lamza, Karen Taylor, Melanie Hudson, Kat Niblock, Ewa Wojtaczka, Aimee Sutherland, David Bremner, Claire Kidd, and Alicia Bryce at the Human Nutrition Unit of the Rowett Institute for their support in meal preparation and participant assessment. The authors acknowledge the contribution of NIHR Core Biochemistry Assay Laboratory, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (gut hormone analysis), and Loek Wouters at Maastricht University, Netherlands (DLW analysis). The authors also gratefully acknowledge Claus-Dieter Mayer for statistical analysis and modeling of the gastric emptying data. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Medical Research Council (grant MR/P012205/1, The Big Breakfast study). A.M.J., P.J.M., G.W.H., and J.A.N.F. also acknowledge funding support from the Scottish Government, Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division. Author contributions Conceptualization, design, and funding acquisition, A.M.J., P.J.M., and J.D.J.; investigation, L.C.R.-C. and C.L.F.; DLW analysis and modeling, K.R.W.; statistical analysis, G.W.H. and J.A.N.F.; writing – original draft, L.C.R.-C. and A.M.J.; writing – review & editing, all authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Timing of daily calorie loading affects appetite and hunger responses without changes in energy metabolism in healthy subjects with obesity

Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge Sylvia Stephen, Jean Bryce, Nina Lamza, Karen Taylor, Melanie Hudson, Kat Niblock, Ewa Wojtaczka, Aimee Sutherland, David Bremner, Claire Kidd, and Alicia Bryce at the Human Nutrition Unit of the Rowett Institute for their support in meal preparation and participant assessment. The authors acknowledge the contribution of NIHR Core Biochemistry Assay Laboratory, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (gut hormone analysis), and Loek Wouters at Maastricht University, Netherlands (DLW analysis). The authors also gratefully acknowledge Claus-Dieter Mayer for statistical analysis and modeling of the gastric emptying data. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Medical Research Council (grant MR/P012205/1, The Big Breakfast study). A.M.J., P.J.M., G.W.H., and J.A.N.F. also acknowledge funding support from the Scottish Government, Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

The ABC130 barrel module prototyping programme for the ATLAS strip tracker

For the Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Detector, its Inner Detector, consisting of silicon pixel, silicon strip and transition radiation sub-detectors, will be replaced with an all new 100 % silicon tracker, composed of a pixel tracker at inner radii and a strip tracker at outer radii. The future ATLAS strip tracker will include 11,000 silicon sensor modules in the central region (barrel) and 7,000 modules in the forward region (end-caps), which are foreseen to be constructed over a period of 3.5 years. The construction of each module consists of a series of assembly and quality control steps, which were engineered to be identical for all production sites. In order to develop the tooling and procedures for assembly and testing of these modules, two series of major prototyping programs were conducted: an early program using readout chips designed using a 250 nm fabrication process (ABCN-25) and a subsequent program using a follow-up chip set made using 130 nm processing (ABC130 and HCC130 chips). This second generation of readout chips was used for an extensive prototyping program that produced around 100 barrel-type modules and contributed significantly to the development of the final module layout. This paper gives an overview of the components used in ABC130 barrel modules, their assembly procedure and findings resulting from their tests.Comment: 82 pages, 66 figure

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection