The present study investigated the effects of overripe pulp and green peel extract and powder of banana fruit (Musa. cavendish) on haematological, biochemical, immunological, health, and performance of Holstein dairy calves. In all, 40 newborn calves were randomly divided into four groups of 10 animals. In the control group, animals received no banana meal. In group 1, calves were supplemented with 2 g (dry matter)/kg body weight/day of overripe banana pulp extract. The calves in group 2 were supplemented with 1 g (dry matter) of overripe banana pulp extract/kg body weight/day and 1 g (dry matter) of green banana peel extract/kg body weight/day. The animals in group 3 were supplemented with 2 g/kg body weight/day of green banana peel powder. The feeding period of calves on the tested supplements was 5 days. Blood samples and other evaluations were taken on day 0 (at birth, before supplementation) and on days 7, 15 and 30. Just a trend towards better average daily weight gain was seen in groups 2 and 3 than others (p = 0.073). Significant group and sampling time interactions were seen for the quantities of RBC (group 1 was lower than other groups at day 30), MCV (group 3 was lower than other groups at day 30) and MCH (group 1 was higher than other groups at day 30) (p less then 0.05). A trend towards significance in values of IgG (group 1 was lower than other groups at days 15 and 30) and bilirubin (higher values at day 7 in groups 1 and 2 than control, higher amounts at days 15 and 30 in groups 3 and 2 than control, respectively) was also observed. In conclusion, banana supplementation in neonatal calves had beneficial effects on the values of RBC, MCV, MCH, bilirubin, IgG and average daily weight gain in dairy calves.The growth of human cancer cells is driven by aberrant enhancer and gene transcription activity. Here, we use transient transcriptome sequencing (TT-seq) to map thousands of transcriptionally active putative enhancers in fourteen human cancer cell lines covering seven types of cancer. These enhancers were associated with cell type-specific gene expression, enriched for genetic variants that predispose to cancer, and included functionally verified enhancers. Enhancer-promoter (E-P) pairing by correlation of transcription activity revealed ~ 40,000 putative E-P pairs, which were depleted for housekeeping genes and enriched for transcription factors, cancer-associated genes, and 3D conformational proximity. The cell type specificity and transcription activity of target genes increased with the number of paired putative enhancers. Our results represent a rich resource for future studies of gene regulation by enhancers and their role in driving cancerous cell growth.The biomarker detection in human body fluids is crucial as biomarkers are important in diagnosing diseases. Conventional invasive techniques for biomarker detection are associated with infection, tissue damage, and discomfort. Non-invasive devices are an attractive alternative. Here, metal oxide (oxygen-deficient zinc oxide, ZnO) based conductometric sensors with two-terminal electrodes for rapid detection of biomarkers in real-time, are presented. This platform can be engineered for non-invasive, sensitive, and on-demand selective detection of biomarkers based on surface functionalization. The three novelties in this biosensing technique include an on-demand target selection device platform, short ( less then 10 min) incubation times, and real-time monitoring of the biomarker of interest by electrical (resistance change) measurements. Cardiac inflammatory biomarkers interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are used as the model antigens. The devices can detect 100× lower concentration of IL-6 than healthy levels in human saliva and sweat and 1000× and ≈50× lower CRP concentrations than healthy levels in human saliva and sweat, respectively. The devices show high selectivity for IL-6 and CRP antigens when tested with a mixture of biomarkers. This sensor platform can be extended to selective measurements for viruses or DNA screening, which enables a new category of compact and rapid point-of-care medical devices.
  Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is associated with elevated cardiovascular (CV) risk and obesity is a common, modifiable risk factor. Our aims were 1) to assess the relationship of BMI with disease activity in AS patients, and 2) to assess the extent to which the effect is mediated through exercise.
 
  We used data from a prospective AS cohort with a median follow-up of 7 years. To determine the association of BMI (kg/m
  ) with disease activity as measured by the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), we used generalized estimating equations with inverse probability weighting to account for repeated measures per subject and time-varying confounding. To estimate the direct effect of overweight/obese BMI on disease activity, and the indirect effect through exercise, we performed a mediation analysis.
 
  There were 183 subjects with available BMI and disease activity data (77% male, 70% white, mean age 40.8 ± 13.3 years). Higher BMI was significantly associated with higher disease activity over time; on average, for a 1 kg/m
  higher BMI, the ASDAS was 0.06 units higher (95% CI 0.04 - 0.08) after adjustment for important confounders. The direct effect of an overweight/obese BMI accounted for most of the total effect on disease activity, with a smaller indirect effect mediated by exercise (7%).
 
  Higher BMI was associated with higher disease activity in a prospective AS cohort. We found that being overweight/obese largely influenced disease activity directly, rather than indirectly through exercise. Other mechanisms such as increased inflammation may better explain the obesity-disease activity association.
 Higher BMI was associated with higher disease activity in a prospective AS cohort. We found that being overweight/obese largely influenced disease activity directly, rather than indirectly through exercise. Other mechanisms such as increased inflammation may better explain the obesity-disease activity association.Despite several decades of research into encapsulation of bacteria, most of the proposed technologies are in the form of immobilized cultures. In this work, sporopollenin exine capsules (SECs) opened, using silica particles which act as pressing micro-probes, and loaded with Lactobacillus casei (L. casei) cells, are described for the first time. The proposed encapsulation provided ≈30× higher encapsulation yield (30.87%), compared to direct compression of SECs (0.99%). Encapsulated L.  https://www.selleckchem.com/screening-libraries.html  casei cells show 1.21- and 2.25-folds higher viability compared to free cells, in in vitro simulated fasted and fed media representing the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract, respectively. Encapsulated L. casei can proliferate inside the SECs, generating enough pressure to cause the SECs to burst and release the viable and metabolically active cells. The noticeable difference with the application of the SECs as a means of encapsulation is that the SECs may act as a bioreactor and provide time for the encapsulated cells to multiply thousands of times before being released, following the SEC's burst.