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The decision of the UK to leave the EU has far‐reaching, and often shared, implications for agriculture and fisheries. To ensure the future sustainability of the UK's agricultural and fisheries systems, we argue that it is essential to grasp the opportunity that Brexit is providing to develop integrated policies that improve the management and protection of the natural environments, upon which these industries rely.This article advances a stakeholder informed vision of the future design of UK agriculture and fisheries policies. We assess how currently emerging UK policy will need to be adapted in order to implement this vision. Our starting point is that Brexit provides the opportunity to redesign current unsustainable practices and can, in principle, deliver a sustainable future for agriculture and fisheries.Underpinning policies with an ecosystem approach, explicit inclusion of public goods provision and social welfare equity were found to be key provisions for environmental, agricultural and fishery sustainability. Recognition of the needs of, and innovative practices in, the devolved UK nations is also required as the new policy and regulatory landscape is established.Achieving the proposed vision will necessitate drawing on best practice and creating more coherent and integrated food, environment and rural and coastal economic policies. Our findings demonstrate that "bottom‐up" and co‐production approaches will be key to the development of more environmentally sustainable agriculture and fisheries policies to underpin prosperous livelihoods.However, delivering this vision will involve overcoming significant challenges. The current uncertainty over the nature and timing of the UK's Brexit agreement hinders forward planning and investment while diverting attention away from further in‐depth consideration of environmental sustainability. In the face of this uncertainty, much of the UK's new policy on the environment, agriculture and fisheries is therefore ambitious in vision but light on detail. Full commitment to co‐production of policy with devolved nations and stakeholders also appears to be lacking, but will be essential for effective policy development and implementation. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunolocalization was used to investigate the cellular expression of TWIK-1, a new inward rectifying K+ channel, within the kidney cells of rats. Results show that TWIK-1 has the same properties with the low-conductance apical K+ channel of the collecting duct. These properties suggest that TWIK-1 has a function in K+ secretion, similar to other K+ channels that are found in the kidney tubular cells.

Rat upper airway epithelial cells were analyzed by in sifu hybridization to determine the prevalence of rat epithelial Na2+ channel (rENaC) alpha-, beta- and gamma-subunit messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression. Analysis of amiloride-sensitive ENaC mRNA expression in rat epithelial cells indicated the presence of high levels of ENaC alpha-subunits. Rat superficial epithelium from the nose and trachea also expressed ENaC gamma-subunits with little beta-subunit mRNA expression.

Abstract: Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen associated with fresh produce vectors such as leafy greens. Recent outbreaks and recalls associated with red cabbage-containing salads have brought attention to this food commodity. Although data on the proliferation of L. monocytogenes are available for different varieties of whole and cut white cabbage, no information is available on the fate of this pathogen on red cabbage. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the survival of L. monocytogenes on cut red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata f. rubra) during storage at different temperatures. Red cabbage was cut into pieces (5 by 4 cm) and spot inoculated with a six-strain cocktail of rifampin-resistant L. monocytogenes, resulting in an initial inoculation level of 4 log CFU/g. Samples were stored at 5 or 10°C for 14 days or at 25°C for 7 days. At intervals during storage, L. monocytogenes was enumerated by homogenization of cabbage with Butterfield's phosphate buffer, and serial dilutions were plated onto brain heart infusion agar supplemented with rifampin. No growth of L. monocytogenes was observed on cut red cabbage during storage at 5°C, and only minimal proliferation was observed at the higher temperatures. Significant population increases of 0.58 and 1.07 log CFU/g were determined after 3 days of storage at 10 and 25°C, respectively; however, a significant decrease of 0.77 log CFU/g from 3 to 14 days was also observed at 10°C. The modeled growth rates for L. monocytogenes on cut red cabbage stored at 5 and 10°C were 0.11 ± 0.03 and 0.27 ± 0.07 log CFU/g/day, with calculated times to a 1-log CFU/g increase of 9.51 and 3.70 days, respectively; however, L. monocytogenes did not achieve a 1-log increase at either temperature in this study. At 25°C, the modeled growth rate of L. monocytogenes on cut red cabbage was 1.15 ± 0.36 log CFU/g, leading to a calculated and an observed 1-log increase in 0.87 and 3.00 days, respectively. Results from this study aid in understanding the fate of L. monocytogenes on cut red cabbage during storage at different temperatures., (Published 2022 by the International Association for Food Protection. Not subject to U.S. Copyright.)

SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve and the vaccine efficacy against variants is challenging to estimate. It is now common in phase III vaccine trials to provide vaccine to those randomized to placebo once efficacy has been demonstrated, precluding a direct assessment of placebo controlled vaccine efficacy after placebo vaccination. In this work, we extend methods developed for estimating vaccine efficacy post placebo vaccination to allow variant specific time varying vaccine efficacy, where time is measured since vaccination. The key idea is to infer counterfactual strain specific placebo case counts by using surveillance data that provide the proportions of the different strains. This blending of clinical trial and observational data allows estimation of strain-specific time varying vaccine efficacy, or sieve effects, including for strains that emerge after placebo vaccination. The key requirements are that the surveillance strain distribution accurately reflects the strain distribution for a placebo group throughout follow-up after placebo group vaccination, and that at least one strain is present before and after placebo vaccination. For illustration, we develop a Poisson approach for an idealized design under a rare disease assumption and then use a proportional hazards model to address staggered entry, staggered crossover, and smoothly varying strain specific vaccine efficacy. We evaluate these methods by theoretical work and simulations, and demonstrate that useful estimation of the efficacy profile is possible for strains that emerge after vaccination of the placebo group. An important principle is to incorporate sensitivity analyses to guard against misspecification of the strain distribution., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

In this study, graphene oxide-carbon nanotubes nanostructures decorated with nickel nanoparticles (NiGNT) were prepared through the molecular-level-mixing method, followed by a reduction process, and then applied as reinforcements to enhance the epoxy resin matrix. The ferromagnetism of the Ni nanoparticles allowed NiGNT nanostructures to be vertically aligned within the composite with the assistance of a magnetic field. Due to the alignment distribution of the NiGNT, the composites demonstrated enhanced anisotropic thermal and electrical conduction performances, compared with pure epoxy and randomly distributed composites. The aligned distribution of NiGNT-epoxy composites displayed 2.7 times higher thermal conductivity and around 10 4 times better electrical conduction performance, compared with pure epoxy. The thermal expansion of NiGNT-epoxy composite was also restricted in the aligned direction of NiGNT nanostructures. Thus, NiGNT-epoxy composites show great potential as future aerospace, aviation, and automobile materials.

Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive, invasive and treatment-resistant tumour. The DNA damage response (DDR) provides tumour cells with enhanced ability to activate cell cycle arrest and repair treatment-induced DNA damage. We studied the expression of DDR, its relationship with standard treatment response and patient survival, and its activation after treatment. The transcriptomic profile of DDR pathways was characterised within a cohort of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type glioblastoma from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and 12 patient-derived glioblastoma cell lines. The relationship between DDR expression and patient survival and cell line response to temozolomide (TMZ) or radiation therapy (RT) was assessed. Finally, the expression of 84 DDR genes was examined in glioblastoma cells treated with TMZ and/or RT. Although distinct DDR cluster groups were apparent in the TCGA cohort and cell lines, no significant differences in OS and treatment response were observed. At the gene level, the high expression of ATP23 , RAD51C and RPA3 independently associated with poor prognosis in glioblastoma patients. Finally, we observed a substantial upregulation of DDR genes after treatment with TMZ and/or RT, particularly in RT-treated glioblastoma cells, peaking within 24 h after treatment. Our results confirm the potential influence of DDR genes in patient outcome. The observation of DDR genes in response to TMZ and RT gives insight into the global response of DDR pathways after adjuvant treatment in glioblastoma, which may have utility in determining DDR targets for inhibition.

Abstract: Salmonella enterica is well known for its ability to survive and persist in low-moisture environments. Previous studies have indicated a link between the initial cell level and the population of Salmonella that survives after desiccation and subsequent storage; however, how the initial cell concentration affects survival is unknown. This study was conducted to examine this phenomenon and to determine whether it occurs in other microorganisms, specifically Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and Enterococcus faecium. Salmonella, STEC, and E. faecium were grown as sessile cells on Trypticase soy agar with yeast extract (TSAYE) and harvested in buffered peptone water (BPW). To determine recovery at different initial cell levels, cultures were diluted to 9, 7, and 5 log CFU/mL and applied to filters. Filters were dried for 24 h and then stored for 28 days at 25°C and 33% relative humidity. During storage, cells were recovered from filters with BPW and cultivated on TSAYE. Recovery of both Salmonella and E. coli, but not E. faecium, was nonproportional. Lower initial populations were less viable after 24 h of desiccation; ≥10 log CFU/mL was recovered when 11 log CFU/mL was desiccated, but <3 log CFU/mL was recovered when 5 log CFU/mL was desiccated. Once dried, persistence did not appear affected by initial cell concentration. When inactivated (heat-treated) cells were added to the diluent, recovery of Salmonella was proportional with respect to the initial cell level. To further examine the response to desiccation, Salmonella was diluted in BPW containing 1 of 11 test cell components related to quorum sensing or known to affect desiccation resistance to assess recovery and persistence. Of the 11 additions, only cell debris fractions, cell-free extract, and peptidoglycan improved recovery of Salmonella. Desiccation survival appears related to cell wall components; however, the exact mechanism affecting survival remains unknown., (Published 2022 by the International Association for Food Protection. Not subject to U.S. Copyright.)

Background: Multicentre clinical trials evaluating the role of 18 F-Fluoroethyl-L-tyrosine ( 18 F-FET) PET as a diagnostic biomarker in glioma management have highlighted a need for standardised methods of data analysis. 18 F-FET uptake normalised against background in the contralateral brain is a standard imaging technique to delineate the biological tumour volume (BTV). Quantitative analysis of 18 F-FET PET images requires a consistent and robust background activity. Currently, defining background activity involves the manual selection of an arbitrary region of interest, a process that is subject to large variability. This study aims to eliminate methodological errors in background activity definition through the introduction of a semiautomated method for region of interest selection. A new method for background activity definition, involving the semiautomated generation of mirror-image (MI) reference regions, was compared with the current state-of-the-art method, involving manually drawing crescent-shape (gCS) reference regions. The MI and gCS methods were tested by measuring values of background activity and resulting BTV of 18 F-FET PET scans of ten patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme generated from inputs provided by seven readers. To assess intra-reader variability, each scan was evaluated six times by each reader. Intra- and inter-reader variability in background activity and BTV definition was assessed by means of coefficient of variation., Results: Compared to the gCS method, the MI method showed significantly lower intra- and inter-reader variability both in background activity and in BTV definition., Conclusions: The proposed semiautomated MI method minimises intra- and inter-reader variability, providing a valuable approach for standardisation of 18 F-FET PET quantitative parameters. Trial registration ANZCTR, ACTRN12618001346268. Registered 9 August 2018, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=374253., (© 2022. The Author(s).)