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Obesity and systemic inflammation are associated with breast cancer (BC) outcomes. Systemic inflammation is increased in obesity. We examined the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) overall, and according to body mass index (BMI). We assembled a cohort of women with BC (stage I–III) seen at Aarhus University Hospital between 2010 and 2020 who donated blood at BC diagnosis (N = 2673). CRP levels were measured and divided into quartiles. We followed patients from surgery to recurrence, contralateral BC, other malignancy, death, emigration, or end-of-follow-up. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to compare outcomes across CRP quartiles, overall and stratified by BMI (normal-weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m 2 ), and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 )). During follow-up, 368 events (212 recurrences, 38 contralateral BCs, and 118 deaths) occurred (median follow-up 5.55 years). For DFS, high CRP (CRP ≥ 3.19 mg/L) was associated with an increased risk of events (HR adj :1.62 [95% CI = 1.14–2.28]). In BMI-stratified analyses, high CRP was associated with elevated risk of events in normal-weight and overweight (HR adj :1.70 [95% CI = 1.09–2.66]; HR adj :1.75 [95% CI = 1.08–2.86]), but in obesity, the estimate was less precise (HR adj :1.73 [95% CI = 0.78–3.83]). For OS, high CRP was associated with increased risk of death (HR adj :2.47 [95% CI = 1.62–3.76]). The association was strong in normal-weight and overweight (HR adj :3.66 [95% CI = 1.95–6.87]; HR adj :1.92 [95% CI = 1.06–3.46]), but less clear in obesity (HR adj :1.40 [95% CI = 0.64–3.09]). To sum up, high CRP levels at BC diagnosis were associated with inferior prognosis in early BC irrespective of BMI, although less clear in patients with obesity.

Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) plays an inevitable role across the world. WECS consist of many components and equipment’s such as turbines, hub assembly, yaw mechanism, electrical machines; power electronics based power conditioning units, protection devices, rotor, blades, main shaft, gear-box, mainframe, transmission systems and etc. These machinery and devices technologies have been developed on gradually and steadily. The electrical machine used to convert mechanical rotational energy into electrical energy is the core of any WECS. Many electrical machines (generator) has been used in WECS, among the generators the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generators (PMSGs) have gained special focus, been connected with wind farms to become the most desirable due to its enhanced efficiency in power conversion from wind energy turbine. This article provides a review of literatures and highlights the updates, progresses, and revolutionary trends observed in WECS-based PMSGs. The study also compares the geared and direct-driven conversion systems. Further, the classifications of electrical machines that are utilized in WECS are also discussed. The literature review covers the analysis of design aspects by taking various topologies of PMSGs into consideration. In the final sections, the PMSGs are reviewed and compared for further investigations. This review article predominantly emphasizes the conceptual framework that shed insights on the research challenges present in conducting the proposed works such as analysis, suitability, design, and control of PMSGs for WECS.

Topical microbicides are being explored as an HIV prevention method for individuals who practice receptive anal intercourse. In vivo studies of these microbicides are critical to confirm safety. Here, we evaluated the impact of a rectal microbicide containing the antiviral lectin, Griffithsin (GRFT), on the rectal mucosal proteome and microbiome. Using a randomized, crossover placebo-controlled design, six rhesus macaques received applications of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC)- or carbopol-formulated 0.1% GRFT gels. Rectal mucosal samples were then evaluated by label-free tandem MS/MS and 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, for proteomics and microbiome analyses, respectively. Compared to placebo, GRFT gels were not associated with any significant changes to protein levels at any time point (FDR < 5%), but increased abundances of two common and beneficial microbial taxa after 24 hours were observed in HEC-GRFT gel (p < 2E-09). Compared to baseline, both placebo formulations were associated with alterations to proteins involved in proteolysis, activation of the immune response and inflammation after 2 hours (p < 0.0001), and increases in beneficial Faecalibacterium spp. after 24 hours in HEC placebo gel (p = 4.21E-15). This study supports the safety profile of 0.1% GRFT gel as an anti-HIV microbicide and demonstrates that current placebo formulations may associate with changes to rectal proteome and microbiota.

To have all-year-round available feedstock, whole-crop maize is harvested premature, when it still contains enough moisture for the anaerobic ensiling process. Silage preparation is a well-known procedure for preserving plant material. At first, this method was applied to obtain high-quality animal feed. However, it was found that such ensiled crops are very suitable for bioenergy production. Maize silage, which consists of hardly degradable lignocellulosic material, hemicellulosic material, and starch, was evaluated for its potential as a feedstock in the production of bioethanol. It was pretreated at low severity (185 °C, 15 min) giving very high glucan (∼100%) and hemicellulose recoveries (<80%)—as well as very high ethanol yield in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation experiments (98% of the theoretical production based on available glucan in the medium). The theoretical ethanol production of maize silage pretreated at 185 °C for 15 min without oxygen or catalyst was 392 kg ethanol per ton of dry maize silage.

Background/objectivesIndividuals with high pre-treatment bacterial Prevotella-to-Bacteroides (P/B) ratio have been reported to lose more body weight on diets high in fiber than subjects with a low P/B ratio. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine potential differences in dietary weight loss responses between participants with low and high P/B.Subjects/methodsEighty overweight participants were randomized (52 completed) to a 500 kcal/d energy deficit diet with a macronutrient composition of 30 energy percentage (E%) fat, 52 E% carbohydrate and 18 E% protein either high (≈1500 mg calcium/day) or low ( ≤ 600 mg calcium/day) in dairy products for 24 weeks. Body weight, body fat, and dietary intake (by 7-day dietary records) were determined. Individuals were dichotomized according to their pre-treatment P/B ratio derived from 16S rRNA gene sequencing of collected fecal samples to test the potential modification of dietary effects using linear mixed models.ResultsIndependent of the randomized diets, individuals with high P/B lost 3.8 kg (95%CI, 1.8,5.8; P < 0.001) more body weight and 3.8 kg (95% CI, 1.1, 6.5; P = 0.005) more body fat compared to individuals with low P/B. After adjustment for multiple covariates, individuals with high P/B ratio lost 8.3 kg (95% CI, 5.8;10.9, P < 0.001) more body weight when consuming above compared to below 30 g fiber/10MJ whereas this weight loss was 3.2 kg (95% CI, 0.8;5.5, P = 0.008) among individuals with low P/B ratio [Mean difference: 5.1 kg (95% CI, 1.7;8.6, P = 0.003)]. Partial correlation coefficients between fiber intake and weight change was 0.90 (P < 0.001) among individuals with high P/B ratio and 0.25 (P = 0.29) among individuals with low P/B ratio.ConclusionsIndividuals with high P/B lost more body weight and body fat compared to individuals with low P/B, confirming that individuals with a high P/B are more susceptible to weight loss on a diet rich in fiber.

Despite the importance of the cervicovaginal microbiome, the mechanisms that govern its composition and drive its impact on host physiology remain poorly understood. This study expands our understanding of the function and ecology of the vaginal microbiome using VIRGO2, an enhanced non-redundant gene catalog comprising over 1.7 million well-annotated genes from body-site specific microbes and viruses. Analyses using VIRGO2 revealed novel insights, including the identification of previously uncharacterized vaginal bacteria, features of the vaginal mycobiome and phageome, and differential expression of bacterial carbohydrate catabolic genes. Constructed from over 2,500 metagenomes and 4,000 bacterial genomes, VIRGO2 broadens geographic representation and microbial diversity compared to its predecessor. This updated catalog enables more precise profiling of taxonomic and functional composition from metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets. VIRGO2 is a critical resource for integrative analyses of vaginal microbial communities and their interactions with host tissues, thereby enhancing our mechanistic understanding of vaginal health and disease.

Studying carbon dynamics in the coral holobiont provides essential knowledge of nutritional strategies and is thus central to understanding coral ecophysiology. In this study, we assessed the carbon budget in Pocillopora damicornis (using H13CO₃) as a function of feeding status and temperature stress. We also compared dissolved oxygen (O₂) fluxes measured at the colony scale and at the polyp scale. At both scales, O₂ production rates were enhanced for fed vs. unfed corals, and unfed corals exhibited higher bleaching and reduced photosynthetic activity at high temperature. Unfed corals exclusively respired autotrophically acquired carbon, while fed corals mostly respired heterotrophically acquired carbon. As a consequence, fed corals excreted on average >5 times more organic carbon than unfed corals. Photosynthate translocation was higher under thermal stress, but most of the carbon was lost via respiration and/or mucus release (42–46% and 57–75% of the fixed carbon for unfed and fed corals, respectively). Such high loss of translocated carbon, coupled to low assimilation rates in the coral tissue and symbionts, suggests that P. damicornis was nitrogen and/or phosphorus limited. Heterotrophy might thus cover a larger portion of the nutritional demand for P. damicornis than previously assumed. Our results suggest that active feeding plays a fundamental role in metabolic dynamics and bleaching susceptibility of corals.

Corals live in symbiosis with algal dinoflagellates, which can achieve outstanding photosynthetic energy efficiencies in hospite approaching theo retical limits. However, how such photosynthetic efficiency varies with environmental stress remains poorly known. Using fiber-optic and electrochemical microsensors in combination with variable chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, we investigated the combined effects of thermal stress and active feeding on the radiative energy budget and photosynthetic efficiency of the symbiotic coral Pocillopora sp. At ambient temperature (25°C), the percentage of ab sorbed light energy used for photosynthesis under low irradiance was higher for fed (~5–6%) compared to unfed corals (4%). Corals from both feeding treatments responded equally to stress from high light exposure (2400 μmol photons m−2 s−1), exhibiting a de crease in photosynthetic efficiency, down to 0.5–0.6%. Fed corals showed increased resilience to thermal-induced bleaching (loss of symbionts) compared to unfed corals. In addition, while unfed corals decreased their photosynthetic efficiency almost immediately when exposed to thermal stress, fed corals maintained a constant and high photosynthetic efficiency for 5 more days after onset of thermal stress. We conclude that active feeding is beneficial to corals by prolonging coral health and resilience during thermal stress as a result of an overall healthier symbiont population.

Background There is mounting evidence supporting the role of the microbiota in hypertension from experimental studies and population-based studies. We aimed to investigate the relationship between specific characteristics of the gut microbiome and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurements. Methods The association of gut microbial species and microbial functions, determined by shotgun metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples, with 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurements in 3695 participants and office blood pressure was assessed in multivariable-adjusted models in 2770 participants without antihypertensive medication from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study. Results Gut microbiome alpha diversity was negatively associated with diastolic blood pressure variability. Additionally, four microbial species were associated with at least one of the 24-h blood pressure traits. Streptococcus sp001556435 was associated with higher systolic blood pressure, Intestinimonas massiliensis and Dysosmobacter sp001916835 with lower systolic blood pressure, Dysosmobacter sp001916835 with lower diastolic blood pressure, and ER4 sp900317525 with lower systolic blood pressure variability. Moreover, office blood pressure data from a subsample without ambulatory blood pressure measurements replicated the association of Intestinimonas massiliensis with systolic blood pressure and Dysosmobacter sp001916835 with diastolic blood pressure. Species associated with 24-h blood pressure were linked to a similar pattern of metabolites. Conclusions In this large cross-sectional analysis, gut microbiome alpha diversity negatively associates with diastolic blood pressure variability, and four gut microbial species associate with 24-h blood pressure traits. Plain language summary High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Recent research suggests that bacteria in the gut may influence blood pressure, but more studies are needed. In this study, we analyzed data from 3695 people in Sweden who wore a 24-h blood pressure monitor and provided stool samples for gut microbiome analysis—a method that identifies the types and abundance of microorganisms in the sample. We found that people with greater gut bacteria diversity had more stable blood pressure. Additionally, four specific bacterial species were linked to blood pressure levels; three were associated with lower blood pressure, while one was linked to higher levels. These findings suggest that gut bacteria may play a role in regulating blood pressure. Future research could explore whether changing the gut microbiome might help prevent or treat high blood pressure. Lin et al. investigate the relationship between specific characteristics of the gut microbiome and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurements. Four gut microbial species and microbial diversity associate with 24-h blood pressure traits, supporting a potential role for the gut microbiome in blood pressure regulation and variability.

IntroductionThe vaginal microbiota is thought to play a protective role against STIs. While urine has long been used for detection of genital STIs, there have been few studies evaluating the use of urine samples in vaginal microbiome studies. We hypothesise that urine samples could serve as a surrogate for vaginal swab collection. We sought to compare mid-vaginal swabs and random catch urine samples.MethodsMid-vaginal swabs and random catch urine samples were collected in one sitting from 75 reproductive-age women. Microbiota composition was characterised by sequencing the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina platform. Vaginal microbiota were targeted for classification using PECAN, a rapid and accurate taxonomic classifier designed for the vaginal environment. Hierarchical clustering was used to assign community state type (CST) to each sample. CST-I, -II, -III, and -V are dominated by L. crispatus, L. gasseri, L. iners and L. jensenni, respectively, while CSTs IV-A and IV-B represent low-Lactobacillus states with an array of strict and facultative anaerobes. Kappa statistics and Jensen-Shannon distances were used to evaluate the concordance of urine and vaginal samples. ResultsA 77% concordance and a 0.70 kappa value were observed for CST assignments, indicating substantial agreement in microbiota structure and composition between vaginal and urine samples within a woman. Out of 17 discordant pairs, 10 pairs had one sample assigned to CST-IV and the other to CST-III. These two CSTs are known to be associated with rapidly fluctuating dysbiotic states. When comparing the population structure of all urine and vaginal samples, no statistical differences were observed (PERMANOVA: F1,148=1.0815, p=0.31). ConclusionVaginal and random catch urine samples from the same participant showed substantial agreement on bacterial composition. Random catch urine samples could present another sampling option to assess the vaginal and urogenital microbiota.