” Using comparative whole-genome sequencing, RNA-seq, and carbohydrate-active enzyme fingerprinting, we could elucidate the strain-level variability in carbohydrate utilization systems of the two foraging behaviors to help predict individual strategies of nutrient acquisition. Here, we present a multi-faceted study using complimentary next-generation physiology and “omics” approaches to characterize microbial adaptation to a prebiotic in the rumen ecosystem. Video abstract.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent psychiatric condition associated with significant disability, mortality and economic burden. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT) are found to be equally effective for patients with depression. However, many patients do not respond sufficiently to either treatment. To offer individualized treatment, we need to know if some patients benefit more from one of the two therapies. At present little is known about what patient characteristics (moderators) may be associated with differential outcomes of CBT and PDT, and through what therapeutic processes and mechanisms (mediators) improvements occur in each therapy mode. Presently only theoretical assumptions, sparsely supported by research findings, describe what potentially moderates and mediates the treatment effects of CBT and PDT. The overall aim of this study is to examine theoretically derived putative moderators and mediators in CBT and PDT and strengthen the evidence base about for whom and how these treatments works in a representative sample of patients with MDD.

One hundred patients with a diagnosis of MDD will be randomized to either CBT or PDT. Patients will be treated over 28weeks with either CBT (one weekly session over 16weeks and three monthly booster sessions) or PDT (one weekly session over 28weeks). The patients will be evaluated at baseline, during the course of therapy, at the end of therapy, and at follow-up investigations 1 and 3years post treatment. A large range of patient and observer rated questionnaires (specific preselected putative moderators and mediators) are included.

The clinical outcome of this study may better guide clinicians when deciding what kind of treatment any individual patient should be offered. Moreover, the study aims to further our knowledge of what mechanisms lead to symptom improvement and increased psychosocial functioning.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03022071.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03022071.

Soil methanogens participate in complex interactions, which determine the community structures and functions. Studies continue to seek the coexistence patterns of soil methanogens, influencing factors and the contribution to methane (CH

) production, which are regulated primarily by species interactions, and the functional significance of these interactions. Here, methane emissions were measured in rice paddies across the Asian continent, and the complex interactions involved in coexistence patterns of methanogenic archaeal communities were represented as pairwise links in co-occurrence networks.

The network topological properties, which were positively correlated with mean annual temperature, were the most important predictor of CH

emissions among all the biotic and abiotic factors. check details The methanogenic groups involved in commonly co-occurring links among the 39 local networks contributed most to CH

emission (53.3%), much higher than the contribution of methanogenic groups with endemic links (36.8%). Thns. Video abstract.

Individuals tend to avoid effortful tasks, regardless of whether they are physical or mental in nature. Recent experimental evidence is suggestive of individual differences in the dispositional willingness to invest cognitive effort in goal-directed behavior. The traits need for cognition (NFC) and self-control are related to behavioral measures of cognitive effort discounting and demand avoidance, respectively. Given that these traits are only moderately related, the question arises whether they reflect a common core factor underlying cognitive effort investment. If so, the common core of both traits might be related to behavioral measures of effort discounting in a more systematic fashion. To address this question, we aimed at specifying a core construct of cognitive effort investment that reflects dispositional differences in the willingness and tendency to exert effortful control.

We conducted two studies (N = 613 and N = 244) with questionnaires related to cognitive motivation and effort investment ihe shared variance of the first-order factors by a second-order factor of cognitive effort investment.

Taken together, our results integrate disparate literatures on cognitive motivation and self-control and provide a basis for further experimental research on the role of dispositional individual differences in goal-directed behavior and cost-benefit-models.

Taken together, our results integrate disparate literatures on cognitive motivation and self-control and provide a basis for further experimental research on the role of dispositional individual differences in goal-directed behavior and cost-benefit-models.

Reconstruction of complex critical-size defects (CSD) in the craniofacial region is a major challenge, and soft tissue regeneration is crucial in determining the therapeutic outcomes of craniofacial CSD. Stem cells from apical papilla (SCAP) are neural crest-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are homologous to cells in craniofacial tissue and represent a promising source for craniofacial tissue regeneration. Exosomes, which contain compound bioactive compounds, are the key factors in stem cell paracrine action. However, the roles of exosomes derived from SCAP (SCAP-Exo) in tissue regeneration are not fully understood. Here, we explored the effects and underlying mechanisms of SCAP-Exo on CSD in maxillofacial soft tissue.

SCAP-Exo were isolated and identified by transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. The effects of SCAP-Exo on wound healing and vascularization were detected by measuring the wound area and performing histological and immunofluorescence analysis on the palatal gingival CSD of mice.