Conformational and rheological behavior of kappa carrageenan in glycerol: Effects of sodium salts and preparation temperature.

Kappa carrageenan (KC), a sulfated polysaccharide derived from red seaweed, exhibits distinct gelation properties that are influenced by ionic strength and thermal conditions. While its behavior in aqueous media is well-established, understanding KC's gelation mechanisms in non-aqueous solvents (like glycerol) remains limited. This study investigates the conformational and rheological properties of kappa carrageenan in glycerol, focusing on the effects of sodium salts (NaCl, NaHPO, NaPO) at varying concentrations and preparation temperatures (60 °C and 80 °C).

Pangeneric analyses reveal the divergent genome evolution and ecologies between morels and truffles in the Morchellaceae.

Morels are iconic macrofungi known for their culinary value and spring emergence. Molecular phylogenetic studies have hitherto failed to elucidate the evolution of the ecological lifestyles of true and false morels, impeding their capacity to resolve longstanding debates regarding the extent of their saprotrophy and the potential for biotrophic associations with plants. In this study, we examined the evolutionary history and molecular innovations of Morchellaceae by generating high-quality genomes from species encompassing all the major clades within this family.

Hydrophobins from Mediate Fungal Interactions with Microplastics.

Microplastics cause negative environmental consequences such as the release of toxic additive leachates, increased greenhouse gas emissions during degradation, and threaten food chains. Microplastic particles are known to serve as a vector for the transport of microbes (fungi and bacteria) to new environments, threatening biodiversity. Robust biofilm formation makes fungi candidates for collecting and remediating environmental microplastics.

Corrigendum to 'Intravascular Coronary Imaging' Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions 3;12 (2024) 102399.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.jscai.

A Comparison of the Biotechnological Potential of Marine and Terrestrial Species of Two Orders of Sordariomycete Fungi.

Marine fungi have been receiving increasing interest, especially with respect to their potential for biotechnological applications. Carbon sources in marine environments, such as seaweeds, have cell walls that are structurally different from the cell walls of terrestrial plants, which implies that marine fungi likely possess a specific set of extracellular enzymes to enable them to use these marine substrates as carbon and energy source. In addition, marine fungi have been implicated as good sources of secondary metabolites with bioactive functions, as e.

Consecutive low-frequency shifts in A/T content denote nucleosome positions across microeukaryotes.

Nucleosomes are the basic repeating unit, each spanning ≈150bp, that structures DNA in the nucleus and their positions have major consequences on gene activity. Here, through analyzing DNA signatures across 1117 microeukaryote genomes, we discovered ≈150bp shifts in A/T content associated with nucleosome organization. Often consecutively arrayed across the genome, A/T peaks were enriched surrounding transcriptional start sites in specific clades.

Mitral Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair and Mandatory Mechanical Circulatory Support in Patients With Structural Shock.

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) may be a cause or contributor to cardiogenic shock (CS). The roles of mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) and mechanical circulatory support (MCS) have not been fully delineated. This prospective registry of patients with significant MR and CS was designed to determine procedural success and survival with M-TEER performed with mandatory MCS.

Comparative effectiveness of the EggNest complete shielding system to standard shielding in the Cath lab.

Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of scatter radiation reduction with the EggNest Complete shielding system compared to standard catheterization laboratory shielding.

Methods: Vertical poles with mounted radiation survey meters were positioned at six points around a catheterization laboratory imaging table where procedural staff usually stand. Meters were mounted on vertical tracks where the sensor could be raised on the track with stops every 20 cm (up to 200 cm).

Morphogenesis, starvation, and light responses in a mushroom-forming fungus revealed by long-read sequencing and extensive expression profiling.

Mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes) are emerging as pivotal players in several fields of science and industry. Genomic data for Agaricomycetes are accumulating rapidly; however, this is not paralleled by improvements of gene annotations, which leave gene function notoriously poorly understood. We set out to improve our functional understanding of the model mushroom Coprinopsis cinerea by integrating a new, chromosome-level assembly, high-quality gene predictions, and functional information derived from broad gene-expression profiling data.

Size-fractionated metagenomic depth profiles from two sulfidic stations in the Chesapeake Bay.

We present 45 size-fractionated metagenomes collected from two stratified Chesapeake Bay mainstem stations during bottom water sulfidic conditions. This data set enables investigations into shifts in community structure and genomic potential across redox gradients and particle associations (free-living [0.2-3 µm], small [3-30 µm], medium [30-180 µm], and large [>180 µm] fractions).

GenomeOcean: An Efficient Genome Foundation Model Trained on Large-Scale Metagenomic Assemblies.

Genome foundation models hold transformative potential for precision medicine, drug discovery, and understanding complex biological systems. However, existing models are often inefficient, constrained by suboptimal tokenization and architectural design, and biased toward reference genomes, limiting their representation of low-abundance, uncultured microbes in the rare biosphere. To address these challenges, we developed , a 4-billion-parameter generative genome foundation model trained on over 600 Gbp of high-quality contigs derived from 220 TB of metagenomic datasets collected from diverse habitats across Earth's ecosystems.

Metagenome-assembled-genomes recovered from the Arctic drift expedition MOSAiC.

The Multidisciplinary Observatory for Study of the Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition consisted of a year-long drifting survey of the Central Arctic Ocean. The ecosystems component of MOSAiC included the sampling of molecular data, with metagenomes collected from a diverse range of environments. The generation of metagenome-assembled-genomes (MAGs) from metagenomes are a starting point for genome-resolved analyses.

Comparative genomics of and section .

is an important model organism for eukaryotic biology and the reference for the section in comparative studies. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of 25 species of this section. Whole-genome phylogeny of 34 species and clarifies the position of clades inside section .

Improving Sternal Closure Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery: Polyethylene Suture Tapes vs. Steel Wires.

Steel wires are often inadequate for sternal closure for patients at high risk of sternal complications. This study compares a novel sternal closure system to conventional steel wires to assess its potential to reduce sternal complication rates and improve clinical outcomes. A retrospective study was conducted on 300 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery via median sternotomy.

Phylogenomic insights into the taxonomy, ecology, and mating systems of the lorchel family Discinaceae (Pezizales, Ascomycota).

Lorchels, also known as false morels (Gyromitra sensu lato), are iconic due to their brain-shaped mushrooms and production of gyromitrin, a deadly mycotoxin. Molecular phylogenetic studies have hitherto failed to resolve deep-branching relationships in the lorchel family, Discinaceae, hampering our ability to settle longstanding taxonomic debates and to reconstruct the evolution of toxin production. We generated 75 draft genomes from cultures and ascomata (some collected as early as 1960), conducted phylogenomic analyses using 1542 single-copy orthologs to infer the early evolutionary history of lorchels, and identified genomic signatures of trophic mode and mating-type loci to better understand lorchel ecology and reproductive biology.

Future Training Pathways in Percutaneous Coronary Interventions: Interventional Critical Care, Complex Coronary Interventions, and Interventional Heart Failure.

While there has been a proliferation of training and practice paradigms in the realm of noncoronary interventions, coronary disease remains the predominant pathology necessitating interventional cardiology expertise. The landscape of coronary disease has also experienced a significant transformation due to rapidly evolving technologies, clinical application of mechanical circulatory support and other device innovations, and increasing acuity and complexity of patients. The modern interventional cardiologist is subject to challenges including decreasing coronary procedural volume, need to maintain clinical and financial productivity, and often also requirements of continued scholastic pursuit.

Hydrophobins from mediate fungal interactions with microplastics.

Microplastics present myriad ecological and human health risks including serving as a vector for pathogens in human and animal food chains. However, the specific mechanisms by which pathogenic fungi colonize these microplastics have yet to be explored. In this work, we examine the opportunistic fungal pathogen, and other common soil and marine , which we found bind microplastics tightly.