LSST Science Book, Version 2.0

A survey that can cover the sky in optical bands over wide fields to faint magnitudes with a fast cadence will enable many of the exciting science opportunities of the next decade. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will have an effective aperture of 6.7 meters and an imaging camera with field of view of 9.6 deg^2, and will be devoted to a ten-year imaging survey over 20,000 deg^2 south of +15 deg. Each pointing will be imaged 2000 times with fifteen second exposures in six broad bands from 0.35 to 1.1 microns, to a total point-source depth of r~27.5. The LSST Science Book describes the basic parameters of the LSST hardware, software, and observing plans. The book discusses educational and outreach opportunities, then goes on to describe a broad range of science that LSST will revolutionize: mapping the inner and outer Solar System, stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, the structure of the Milky Way disk and halo and other objects in the Local Volume, transient and variable objects both at low and high redshift, and the properties of normal and active galaxies at low and high redshift. It then turns to far-field cosmological topics, exploring properties of supernovae to z~1, strong and weak lensing, the large-scale distribution of galaxies and baryon oscillations, and how these different probes may be combined to constrain cosmological models and the physics of dark energy.Comment: 596 pages. Also available at full resolution at http://www.lsst.org/lsst/sciboo

Persistence within dendritic cells marks an antifungal evasion and dissemination strategy of Aspergillus terreus

Aspergillus terreus is an airborne human fungal pathogen causing life-threatening invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. In contrast to Aspergillus fumigatus, A. terreus infections are associated with high dissemination rates and poor response to antifungal treatment. Here, we compared the interaction of conidia from both fungal species with MUTZ-3-derived dendritic cells (DCs). After phagocytosis, A. fumigatus conidia rapidly escaped from DCs, whereas A. terreus conidia remained persisting with long-term survival. Escape from DCs was independent from DHN-melanin, as A. terreus conidia expressing wA showed no increased intracellular germination. Within DCs A. terreus conidia were protected from antifungals, whereas A. fumigatus conidia were efficiently cleared. Furthermore, while A. fumigatus conidia triggered expression of DC activation markers such as CD80, CD83, CD54, MHCII and CCR7, persistent A. terreus conidia were significantly less immunogenic. Moreover, DCs confronted with A. terreus conidia neither produced pro-inflammatory nor T-cell stimulating cytokines. However, TNF-α addition resulted in activation of DCs and provoked the expression of migration markers without inactivating intracellular A. terreus conidia. Therefore, persistence within DCs and possibly within other immune cells might contribute to the low response of A. terreus infections to antifungal treatment and could be responsible for its high dissemination rates

Phycoremediation of ten sulfonamide antibiotics in swine wastewater: Microalgal tolerance, toxicity, and carbohydrate-rich biomass production.

This study investigates the removal of ten sulfonamide antibiotic residues from swine wastewater using Chlorella spp. in a phycoremediation process. The effects of sulfonamides on microalgal biomass production, pigment content (chlorophyll α, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids), and the genotoxicity of treated water were evaluated. Sulfonamides were tested at concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, 10, 50, and/or 100 mg L⁻¹ , with the antibiotic removal specifically assessed at 10 mg L⁻¹ . Results showed that Chlorella spp. exhibited robust biomass growth and maintained stable pigment production, even at the highest concentrations, indicating the microalgae's tolerance to antibiotic exposure. The removal efficiency for sulfonamides was notably high, particularly for sulfamethoxazole (70 %), sulfachlorpyridazine (55 %), and sulfamerazine and sulfamethizole (50 %) at the 10 mg L⁻¹ concentration. Genotoxicity assays with Allium cepa revealed minimal chromosomal aberrations, suggesting that the treated wastewater posed a low genotoxic risk. The microalgal biomass, characterized by high carbohydrate content, also holds promise for biofuel production. These findings highlight Chlorella spp. as an effective and sustainable solution for mitigating antibiotic pollution in agricultural wastewater, while simultaneously providing valuable biomass for renewable energy applications

Establishment of chicken muscle and adipogenic cell cultures for cultivated meat production.

There is a discrepancy regarding the nutritional requirements of laying hens, making it difficult to prepare and establish adequate nutritional programs. The objective of this study was to compare two tables of nutritional requirements for laying hens and two sources of limestone on performance, egg quality, and digestibility of calcium and phosphorus. Ninety-six laying hens of the Hy-Line W36 lineage were used in five production cycles of 21 days each, randomly assigned in a 2x2 factorial design with four treatments and eight replications. Hens fed with limestone A showed higher production in the 2nd and 5th cycles. Eggshell breaking strength was greater in laying hens that received the diet suggested by the Hy-Line Guidelines between 33 and 35 weeks, regardless of the limestone type. The Haugh unit increased in eggs from the third cycle of the Hy-Line/B group compared to those fed with limestone A. The percentage of calcium in the excreta was higher in hens that received limestone A. Laying hens fed according to the lineage manual excreted less phosphorus, even though they ingested higher daily amounts. It is concluded that both nutritional programs and limestone sources promoted good productive performance and internal and external egg quality

Regulatory challenges and risk assessment of graphene-enabled products: insights for safe commercialisation in Europe

The development of graphene-enabled products in a variety of industrial sectors like medical devices, textiles, aerospace, or food contact materials has raised significant regulatory challenges with regards to risk assessment. The work performed under the Graphene Flagship Work Package SH11 termed SafeGraph, aimed to identify challenges while implementing regulation as well as to develop a regulatory roadmap addressing these issues. This study explores and discusses the regulatory gaps and safety assessment challenges associated with graphene-enabled products and based on regulatory requirements with a particular focus on risk assessment, exposure concerns, and potential environmental impacts. Through case studies involving skin sensors, drinking water filters, wearable electronics, and de-icing systems for aircrafts, we identified critical safety and compliance issues across various sectors. The work used four Graphene Flagship case studies as showcases to address the above markets (CHEMsens, GRAPHIL, WEARgraph and GICE). These case studies underscore the need for updated regulatory guidelines tailored to graphene’s unique properties. This study provides insights into current challenges of assessing risks and proposes steps to ensure safe and sustainable commercialisation of graphene-based products, advocating for harmonised regulatory frameworks

Bioconversão de coprodutos agroindustriais utilizando fungos Pleurotus ostreatus e Pleurotus sajor-caju para alimentação de ruminantes

The use of co-products for feeding ruminants, combined with biotechnologies, presents itself as a solution to environmental, social and economic obstacles. The objective of this work was to evaluate the nutritional enrichment of agro-industrial by-products (radish cake, TN; soybean meal, FS; and sugarcane bagasse, BC), bioconverted by Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus sajor-caju fungi in ruminant feeding. Dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, ash and in vitro digestibility of dry matter (IVDDM) analyzes were performed before and after food bioconversion by the fungi P. ostreatus and P. sajor-caju. The substrates were used in the following proportions: 100% and in the associations TN+FS (50:50), TN+BC (70:30), TN+FS (70:30), and TN+FS+BC (40:40:20). The bioconversion altered the ash, crude protein contents and IVDMD of the co-products used, providing a nutritional enrichment of these substrates to be used in ruminant feed. The cellulose and hemicellulose contents were not reduced in most of the evaluated substrates, however there was a decrease in the levels of ether extract and lignin. The results obtained in this study showed that biotechnological treatments of agroindustrial by-products by fungi become an environmentally correct solution, due to reuse, transforming them into products with greater added value for feeding ruminants.O uso de coprodutos para a alimentação de ruminantes, aliado a biotecnologias, apresenta-se como solução paraentraves ambientais, sociais e econômicos. Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o enriquecimento nutri-cional de coprodutos agroindustriais (torta de nabo forrageiro, TN; farelo de soja, FS; e bagaço-de-cana-de açúcar, BC), bioconvertidos por fungos Pleurotus ostreatus e Pleurotus sajor-caju, na alimentação de ruminantes. Foram realizadas análises de matéria seca, proteína bruta, extrato etéreo, cinzas e digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca (DIVMS) antes e após a bioconversão dos alimentos pelos fungos P. ostreatus e P. sajor-caju. Foram utilizados os três substratos nas seguintes proporções: 100% e nas associações TN+FS (50:50), TN+BC (70:30), TN+FS (70:30) e TN+FS+BC (40:40:20). A bioconversãosão alterou os teores de proteína bruta, cinzas e DIVMS dos coprodutos utilizados, propor-cionando um enriquecimento nutricional desses substratos para serem utilizados na alimentação de ruminantes. Os teores de celulose e hemicelulose não foram reduzidos na maioria dos substratos avaliados, no entanto houve diminuição dos níveis de extrato etéreo e lignina. Os resultados obtidos nesse estudo demons-tram que tratamentos biotecnológicos de coprodutos agroindustriais por fungos se tornam uma solução ambientalmente correta devido ao reaproveitamento, transformando-os em produtos com maior valor agregado para a alimentação de ruminantes

Data sources and applied methods for paclitaxel safety signal discernment

BackgroundFollowing the identification of a late mortality signal, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened an advisory panel that concluded that additional clinical study data are needed to comprehensively evaluate the late mortality signal observed with the use of drug-coated balloons (DCB) and drug-eluting stent (DES). The objective of this review is to (1) identify and summarize the existing clinical and cohort studies assessing paclitaxel-coated DCBs and DESs, (2) describe and determine the quality of the available data sources for the evaluation of these devices, and (3) present methodologies that can be leveraged for proper signal discernment within available data sources.MethodsStudies and data sources were identified through comprehensive searches. original research studies, clinical trials, comparative studies, multicenter studies, and observational cohort studies written in the English language and published from January 2007 to November 2021, with a follow-up longer than 36 months, were included in the review. Data quality of available data sources identified was assessed in three groupings. Moreover, accepted data-driven methodologies that may help circumvent the limitations of the extracted studies and data sources were extracted and described.ResultsThere were 39 studies and data sources identified. This included 19 randomized clinical trials, nine single-arm studies, eight registries, three administrative claims, and electronic health records. Methodologies focusing on the use of existing premarket clinical data, the incorporation of all contributed patient time, the use of aggregated data, approaches for individual-level data, machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches, Bayesian approaches, and the combination of various datasets were summarized.ConclusionDespite the multitude of available studies over the course of eleven years following the first clinical trial, the FDA-convened advisory panel found them insufficient for comprehensively assessing the late-mortality signal. High-quality data sources with the capabilities of employing advanced statistical methodologies are needed to detect potential safety signals in a timely manner and allow regulatory bodies to act quickly when a safety signal is detected

Lippia alba essential oil promotes survival of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) infected with Aeromonassp.

In vitro and in vivo activity of the Lippia alba essential oil (EO) against Aeromonas sp. was evaluated. In the in vitro assay the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of EO for Aeromonas cells were determined using the microdilution method. Twenty five strains of Aeromonassp. isolated from infected fish obtained from local fish farms were used. MIC and MBC values were 2862 and 5998 µg mL-1 for L. alba EO and 0.5 and 1.2 µg mL-1for gentamicin, respectively. In the in vivo assay silver catfish juveniles (Rhamdia quelen) (7.50 ± 1.85 g and 10.0 ± 1.0 cm) with typical injuries associated to Aeromonas infection were divided into four treatments (in triplicate n=10): untreated fish (negative control), 10 mg L-1 of gentamicin, and 20 or 50 µL L-1 of EO. Fish were maintained in aerated 20 L plastic boxes. After 10 days survival of silver catfish infected with Aermonas sp. and treated with essential oil (50 µL L-1) was greater than 90%.</jats:p