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High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective alternative to moderate intensity continuous training for improvements in body composition and aerobic capacity; however, there is little work comparing different modalities of HIIT. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of plyometric- (PLYO) and cycle-oriented (CYC) HIIT on body composition, aerobic capacity, and skeletal muscle size, quality, and function in recreationally trained females. Young (21.7 ± 3.1 yrs), recreationally active females were quasi-randomized (1:1 ratio) to 8 weeks of twice weekly PLYO (n = 15) or CYC (n = 15) HIIT. Body composition (four-compartment model), VO2peak, countermovement jump performance, muscle size, and echo intensity (muscle quality), as well as strength and power of the knee extensors and plantar flexors were measured before and after training. Both groups showed a similar decrease in body fat percentage (p < 0.001; η p 2 = 0.409) and echo intensity (p < 0.001; η p 2 = 0.558), and an increase in fat-free mass (p < 0.001; η p 2 = 0.367) and VO2peak (p = 0.001; η p 2 = 0.318). Muscle size was unaffected (p > 0.05), whereas peak torque was reduced similarly in both groups (p = 0.017; η p 2 = 0.188) and rapid torque capacity was diminished only for the knee extensors after CYC (p = 0.022; d = −0.67). These results suggest that PLYO and CYC HIIT are similarly effective for improving body composition, aerobic capacity, and muscle quality, whereas muscle function may express moderate decrements in recreationally active females. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05821504) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The fermentation of sugars to alcohols by microbial systems underpins many biofuel initiatives. Short chain alcohols, like n-butanol, isobutanol and isopropanol, offer significant advantages over ethanol in terms of fuel attributes. However, production of ethanol from resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains is significantly less complicated than for these alternative alcohols. Results: In this study, we have transplanted an n-butanol synthesis pathway largely from Clostridial sp. to the genome of an S. cerevisiae strain. Production of n-butanol is only observed when additional genetic manipulations are made to restore any redox imbalance and to drive acetyl-CoA production. We have used this butanol production strain to address a key question regarding the sensitivity of cells to short chain alcohols. In the past, we have defined specific point mutations in the translation initiation factor eIF2B based upon phenotypic resistance/sensitivity to high concentrations of exogenously added n-butanol. Here, we show that even during endogenous butanol production, a butanol resistant strain generates more butanol than a butanol sensitive strain. Conclusion: These studies demonstrate that appreciable levels of n-butanol can be achieved in S. cerevisiae but that significant metabolic manipulation is required outside of the pathway converting acetyl-CoA to butanol. Furthermore, this work shows that the regulation of protein synthesis by short chain alcohols in yeast is a critical consideration if higher yields of these alcohols are to be attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological olfaction outperforms chemical instrumentation in specificity, response time, detection limit, coding capacity, time stability, robustness, size, power consumption, and portability. This biological function provides outstanding performance due, in a large extent, to the unique architecture of the olfactory pathway, which combines a high degree of redundancy and efficient combinatorial coding, with unmatched chemical information processing mechanisms. The last decade has seen important advances in the understanding of the computational primitives underlying the functioning of the olfactory system. The EU-funded Project NEUROCHEM (Bio-ICT-FET- 216916) developed novel computing paradigms and biologically motivated artefacts for chemical sensing, taking its inspiration from the biological olfactory pathway. To demonstrate this approach, a biomimetic demonstrator has been built that features a very large-scale sensor array (65,536 elements) using conducting polymer technology which mimics the olfactory receptor neuron layer. It implements derived computational neuroscience algorithms in an embedded system that interfaces the chemical sensors and processes their signals in real-time. This embedded system integrates abstracted computational models of the main anatomic building blocks in the olfactory pathway: the olfactory bulb, and olfactory cortex in vertebrates (respectively, antennal lobe and mushroom bodies in the insect). For implementation in the embedded processor, an abstraction phase has been carried out in which their processing capabilities are captured by algorithmic solutions implemented in software. Finally, the algorithmic models are tested in mixed chemical plumes with an odour robot having navigation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The AromaScan system was used to analyse vaginal swabs from 68 women attending a genitourinary clinic. Using clinical criteria, subjects were assessed for bacterial vaginosis. After training the AromaScan system to recognise patterns generated from four patients with and four patients without bacterial vaginosis, 16 of the 17 (94%) remaining subjects were correctly identified as having the condition. The positive predictive value of the test was 61.5%. These results indicate that the AromaScan technology may be of value as a screening test for bacterial vaginosis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]