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The inclusion of carbohydrate-rich ingredients in aquafeeds has resulted in an increased fraction of undigested material, culminating in faecal waste enriched in unutilized nutrients containing carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. This study explored the impact of faecal composition, as influenced by diet, on the products of anaerobic digestion with a focus on organic acids (OAs). The aim was to in vitro assess the potential of faeces as internal carbon for denitrification, promoting circularity in recirculating aquaculture systems. In this regard, settleable faeces originating from six diets (DDGS, Dried distillers' grains with solubles; HFM, Hydrolyzed feather meal; IM, Insect meal; SCP, Single-cell protein; SSM, Shrimp shell meal; SWP, Seaweed protein) fed to European seabass, were incubated for a 14-day period in anoxic batch reactors. Nutrient solubilization (chemical oxygen demand, total Kjeldhal nitrogen, total phosphorus) was measured over time, and the final yield of OA was studied in relation to prokaryotic community composition. Results showed that digestion of faecal waste with a high crude-protein-to-carbohydrate ratio leads to an increased amount of OA which is greatly dominated by acetate. Among them, SSM faeces exhibited the highest final OA yield, resulting from a continuous increase over time. Despite variations in OA quantity and profile, prokaryotic composition did not substantially differ among treatments at the end of the trial, with only the relative abundance of three genera varying significantly (Anaerostignum, Bythopirellula, Mycobacterium). Yet, lactate concentration positively correlated with several taxa (Trichococcus, Oleispira, Defluviitaleaceae, Anaerocolumna, and Carboxyliverga) and butyrate with Anaerostignum. Alongside, ammonia release was minimal for all treatments, while phosphorus dissolution did not correlate to the faecal phosphorus content but was rather a result of acidification due to OA production. Overall, considering that an optimal carbon source for denitrification should produce a high amount of end OAs (i.e. acetate) along with low dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus, this research suggests that faecal waste originating from certain carbohydrate-rich aquafeed ingredients can be suitable as internal carbon source for denitrification., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Diabetic patients develop ischemic heart disease and strokes more readily. Following an ischemic event, restoration of blood flow increases oxidative stress resulting in myocardial damage, termed ischemia/reperfusion injury. Aspalathus linearis (rooibos), rich in the antioxidant phenolic compound aspalathin, has been implicated as cardioprotective against ischemia/reperfusion injury with undefined mechanism in control rats. Primarily, the therapeutic potential of Afriplex green rooibos extract to prevent ischemia/reperfusion injury in cardiovascular disease-compromised rats was investigated. Additionally, Afriplex Green rooibos extract's cardioprotective signaling on metabolic markers and stress markers was determined using western blotting. Three hundred male Wistar rats received either 16-wk standard diet or high-caloric diet. During the final 6 wk, half received 60 mg/kg/day Afriplex green rooibos extract, containing 12.48% aspalathin. High-caloric diet increased body weight, body fat, fasting serum triglycerides, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance - indicative of prediabetes. High-caloric diet rats had increased heart mass, infarct size, and decreased heart function. Afriplex green rooibos extract treatment for 6 wk lowered pre-ischemic heart rate, reduced infarct size, and improved heart function pre- and post-ischemia, without significantly affecting biometric parameters. Stabilized high-caloric diet hearts had decreased insulin independence via adenosine monophosphate activated kinase and increased inflammation (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase), whereas Afriplex green rooibos extract treatment decreased insulin dependence (protein kinase B) and conferred anti-inflammatory effect. After 20 min ischemia, high-caloric diet hearts had upregulated ataxia-telangiectasia mutated kinase decreased insulin independence, and downregulated insulin dependence and glycogen synthase kinase 3 β inhibition. In contrast, Afriplex green rooibos extract supplementation downregulated insulin independence and inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2. During reperfusion, all protective signaling was decreased in high-caloric diet, while Afriplex green rooibos extract supplementation reduced oxidative stress (c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1 and 2) and inflammation. Taken together, Afriplex green rooibos extract supplementation for 6 wk preconditioned cardiovascular disease-compromised rat hearts against ischemia/reperfusion injury by lowering inflammation, oxidative stress, and heart rate., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Impact-driven research is a EU priority and, increasingly, for universities around Europe. Still, there is need for specific strategies to improve the societal impact of scientific knowledge and therewith improve the uptake of scientific results. Co-creation deeply evolves the role of scientific knowledge and increases its impact. Albeit there is much research on the conceptualization and contextualization of co-creation, research on the microlevel dynamics of co-creation is less common. This article aims to understand the dynamics of and clarify the role of co-creation within and between quadruple helix actors (academia, government, industry and societal partners). Here, co-creation refers to the collaboration, where such actors actively join forces to address challenges. This paper revolves around insights from the European Commission Horizon 2020-project- Accomplissh (www.accomplissh.eu) which stands for "Accelerate co-creation by setting up a multi-actor platform for impact from Social Sciences and Humanities". The results lay bare a set of obstacles, areas of consideration and enablers in co-creation. This said, it is argued that scientific knowledge is optimally utilized when a set of guidelines or recommendations are followed and carried out by all involved actors., Competing Interests: Competing interestsNot applicable., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Rooibos, an indigenous South African plant ingested as herbal tea, is well known for its antioxidant effects. This in vitro study investigated aspalathin (C 21 H 24 O 11 ), a dihydrochalcone unique to rooibos, for hypoglycemic effects in the context of age- and obesity-induced insulin resistance and the mechanisms involved. Male Wistar rats were allocated into three groups: 16 - 30 weeks feeding with either standard rat chow or a high-caloric diet, or 6 - 10 weeks feeding with standard rat chow. Ventricular cardiomyocytes were isolated by collagenase perfusion digestion, and glucose uptake was determined by 2-[ 3 H]-deoxyglucose accumulation. Viability was tested by trypan blue exclusion or propidium iodide staining. The high-caloric diet significantly increased body weight gain (508.5 ± 50.0 vs. 417.3 ± 40.0 g), visceral adiposity (42.30 ± 10.1 vs. 21.75 ± 7.0 g), and fasting blood glucose (5.7 ± 0.4 vs. 4.7 ± 0.1 mM). Aspalathin (10 µM for 90 min) induced 2-[ 3 H]-deoxyglucose uptake in young cardiomyocytes (37.2 ± 13.9 vs. 25.7 ± 2.5 pmol 2-[ 3 H]-deoxyglucose/mg protein) and enhanced insulin-mediated 2-[ 3 H]-deoxyglucose uptake in control cells (32.4 ± 6.4 vs. 23.5 ± 10.0 pmol 2-[ 3 H]-deoxyglucose/mg protein), but failed to induce 2-[ 3 H]-deoxyglucose uptake in high-caloric diet cells. Aspalathin induced glucose uptake in insulin-sensitive cardiomyocytes from young and aged rats, but not in high-caloric diet animals and enhanced the actions of insulin through a PI3K-dependent mechanism, resulting in an additive response., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) activates the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) on melanocytes to promote a switch from red/yellow pheomelanin synthesis to darker eumelanins via positive coupling to adenylate cyclase. The human MC1R locus is highly polymorphic with the specific variants associated with red hair and fair skin (RHC phenotype) postulated to be loss-of-function receptors. We have examined the ability of MC1R variants to activate the cAMP pathway in stably transfected HEK293 cells. The RHC associated variants, Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp and Asp294His, demonstrated agonist-mediated increases in cAMP and phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB). Whereas the Asp294His variant showed severely impaired functional responses, the Arg151Cys and Arg160Trp variants retained considerable signaling capacity. Melanoma cells homozygous for either the Arg151Cys variant or consensus sequence both elicited CREB phosphorylation in response to alpha-MSH in the presence of IBMX. The common RHC alleles, Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp and Asp294His, are neither complete loss-of-function receptors nor are they functionally equivalent.

Reversible oxidation sensitivity of N-Oct-3 DNA binding activity was seen when melanoma extracts and recombinant Brn-2 protein were treated with a variety of metals, hydrogen peroxide and the cysteine disulphide bond forming agent diamide. Western blot analysis of diamide-oxidized N-Oct-3 protein indicated that this was likely to be due to intramolecular disulphide bonding. The potential role of oxidative loss of N-Oct-3 DNA binding activity is discussed in relation to redox changes that may occur during the early phase of apoptosis in neuronal cell lines and tissues. Brn-2 C-terminal antibody Western blot analysis of melanoma cell line nuclear extracts prepared using a combination of sodium dodecyl sulphate and NP-40 detergent cell lysis procedures demonstrated the formation of N-Oct-5 DNA binding activity via N-terminal proteolytic clipping of Brn-2/N-Oct-3.

The structures of the human tyrosinase-related protein genes TYRP1 and TYRP2 have been determined and compared with that of the tyrosinase gene (TYR). The TYRP1 protein is encoded in 7 exons spread over 24 kb of genomic DNA. Characterization of a 55-kb contig encompassing the human TYRP2 locus reveals that the protein coding region is divided into 8 exons. All three members of the TYRP gene family share a common C-terminal membrane spanning exon. Examination of the position of other intron junctions suggests that TYRP1 was derived from a TYR duplication and then was itself duplicated to give rise to the TYRP2 gene. The evidence also suggests that at least some of the introns within the TYR, TYRP1, and TYRP2 coding regions were gained after duplication and that intron slippage is unlikely to have occurred.