Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mitophagy and Mitochondria Biogenesis Are Differentially Induced in Rat Skeletal Muscles during Immobilization and/or Remobilization

Mitochondria alterations are a classical feature of muscle immobilization, and autophagy is required for the elimination of deficient mitochondria (mitophagy) and the maintenance of muscle mass. We focused on the regulation of mitochondrial quality control during immobilization and remobilization in rat gastrocnemius (GA) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles, which have very different atrophy and recovery kinetics. We studied mitochondrial biogenesis, dynamic, movement along microtubules, and addressing to autophagy. Our data indicated that mitochondria quality control adapted differently to immobilization and remobilization in GA and TA muscles. Data showed i) a disruption of mitochondria dynamic that occurred earlier in the immobilized TA, ii) an overriding role of mitophagy that involved Parkin-dependent and/or independent processes during immobilization in the GA and during remobilization in the TA, and iii) increased mitochondria biogenesis during remobilization in both muscles. This strongly emphasized the need to consider several muscle groups to study the mechanisms involved in muscle atrophy and their ability to recover, in order to provide broad and/or specific clues for the development of strategies to maintain muscle mass and improve the health and quality of life of patients.
γδ T Cells: The Ideal Tool for Cancer Immunotherapy

γδ T cells have recently gained considerable attention as an attractive tool for cancer adoptive immunotherapy due to their potent anti-tumor activity and unique role in immunosurveillance. The remarkable success of engineered T cells for the treatment of hematological malignancies has revolutionized the field of adoptive cell immunotherapy. Accordingly, major efforts are underway to translate this exciting technology to the treatment of solid tumors and the development of allogeneic therapies. The unique features of γδ T cells, including their major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-independent anti-cancer activity, tissue tropism, and multivalent response against a broad spectrum of the tumors, render them ideal for designing universal ‘third-party’ cell products, with the potential to overcome the challenges of allogeneic cell therapy. In this review, we describe the crucial role of γδ T cells in anti-tumor immunosurveillance and we summarize the different approaches used for the ex vivo and in vivo expansion of γδ T cells suitable for the development of novel strategies for cancer therapy. We further discuss the different transduction strategies aiming at redirecting or improving the function of γδ T cells, as well as, the considerations for the clinical applications.
Effect of Winning Experience on Aggression Involving Dangerous Fighting Behavior in Anastatus disparis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae)

Abstract Aggressive behavior is widely observed in animal species for acquiring important resources and usually includes both dangerous and nondangerous fighting patterns. Only a few species show dangerous fighting patterns that are defined by fights ending with contestants being severely injured or killed. Prior experience, an important factor in many species, has been demonstrated to affect a contestant’s subsequent fighting behavior. Few studies have focused on the effect of experience on aggression involving dangerous fighting patterns. Here, an egg parasitoid wasp, Anastatus disparis, which shows extreme and dangerous fighting behavior to acquire mating opportunities, was used as an experimental model. Our results showed that the fighting intensity of the winning males significantly decreased subsequent fighting behavior, which was inconsistent with general predictions. Transcriptomic analyses showed that many genes related to energy metabolism were downregulated in winners, and winners increased their fighting intensity after dietary supplementation. Our study suggested that fighting in A. disparis is a tremendous drain on energy. Thus, although males won at combat, significant reductions in available energy constrained the intensity of subsequent fights and influenced strategic decisions. In addition, winners might improve their fighting skills and abilities from previous contests, and their fighting intensity after dietary supplementation was significantly higher than that of males without any fighting experience. Generally, in A. disparis, although winners increased their fighting ability with previous experience, the available energy in winners was likely to be a crucial factor affecting the intensity and strategic decisions in subsequent fights.
A 2020 update of anal cancer: the increasing problem in women and expanding treatment landscape

ABSTRACT Introduction Anal cancer is a rare malignancy with increasing incidence, notably in women. This disease is highly associated with HPV infection and its incidence and mortality are currently rising. Most patients present with localized disease which has a high survival after definitive treatment with chemoradiation. For patients who develop metastatic disease or present with this de novo, survival is poor. Areas covered This review provides a summary of current literature on anal cancer. With a focus on women, this includes current epidemiological trends, role of HPV, and the current and future treatment landscape, including HPV vaccination and immunotherapy. Screening currently focusses on HIV-positive men, missing most female cases. In curative disease, trials are investigating treatment de-intensification in good prognostic groups. Immunotherapy is showing early promise in the advanced disease setting. Expert opinion Similar to cervical cancer, anal cancer is strongly associated with HPV, and therefore, broader implementation of screening programs may reduce its incidence. HPV vaccination is expected to reduce the development of (pre)malignant anal lesions. The emergence of biomarkers will assist patient treatment selection, allowing optimal balance of treatment efficacy and morbidity. It is hoped that new treatment approaches, including immunotherapy, will improve outcomes. International collaboration is needed.
Characterization of the kinetic cycle of an ABC transporter by single-molecule and cryo-EM analyses

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are molecular pumps ubiquitous across all kingdoms of life. While their structures have been widely reported, the kinetics governing their transport cycles remain largely unexplored. Multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) is an ABC exporter that extrudes a variety of chemotherapeutic agents and native substrates. Previously, the structures of MRP1 were determined in an inward-facing (IF) or outward-facing (OF) conformation. Here, we used single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy to track the conformational changes of bovine MRP1 (bMRP1) in real time. We also determined the structure of bMRP1 under active turnover conditions. Our results show that substrate stimulates ATP hydrolysis by accelerating the IF-to-OF transition. The rate-limiting step of the transport cycle is the dissociation of the nucleotide-binding-domain dimer, while ATP hydrolysis per se does not reset MRP1 to the resting state. The combination of structural and kinetic data illustrates how different conformations of MRP1 are temporally linked and how substrate and ATP alter protein dynamics to achieve active transport.
Meat Consumption, Cognitive Function and Disorders: A Systematic Review with Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of dementia are increasing in prevalence worldwide, while global dietary patterns are transitioning to a ‘western type’ with increasing meat consumption. Studies which have explored the associations between cognitive function and meat intakes have produced inconsistent findings. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the evidence linking meat intake with cognitive disorders. Twenty-nine studies were retrieved, including twelve cohort, three case-control, thirteen cross-sectional studies, and one intervention study. The majority (21/29) showed that meat consumption was not significantly associated with cognitive function or disorders. Meta-analysis of five studies showed no significant differences in meat consumption between cases with cognitive disorders and controls (standardized mean difference = −0.32, 95% CI: −1.01, 0.36); however, there was considerable heterogeneity. In contrast, a meta-analysis of five studies showed reduced odds of cognitive disorders by consuming meat weekly or more (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.57, 0.88); however, potential publication bias was noted in relation to this finding. Overall, there was no strong association between meat intake and cognitive disorders. However, the evidence base was limited, requiring more studies of high quality to isolate the specific effect of meat consumption from dietary patterns to confirm these associations.
High-Throughput Analysis of Fluorescently Labeled N-Glycans Derived from Biotherapeutics Using an Automated LC-MS-Based Solution

Protein glycosylation can impact the efficacy and safety of biotherapeutics and therefore needs to be well characterized and monitored throughout the drug product life cycle. Glycosylation is commonly assessed by fluorescent labeling of released glycans, which provides comprehensive information of the glycoprofile but can be resource-intensive regarding sample preparation, data acquisition, and data analysis. In this work, we evaluate a comprehensive solution from sample preparation to data reporting using a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based analytical platform for increased productivity in released glycan analysis. To minimize user intervention and improve assay robustness, a robotic liquid handling platform was used to automate the release and labeling of N-glycans within 2 h. To further increase the throughput, a 5 min method was developed on a liquid chromatography–fluorescence–mass spectrometry (LC-FLR-MS) system using an integrated glycan library based on retention time and accurate mass. The optimized method was then applied to 48 released glycan samples derived from six batches of infliximab to mimic comparability testing encountered in the development of biopharmaceuticals. Consistent relative abundance of critical species such as high mannose and sialylated glycans was obtained for samples within the same batch (mean percent relative standard deviation [RSD] = 5.3%) with data being acquired, processed, and reported in an automated manner. The data acquisition and analysis of the 48 samples were completed within 6 h, which represents a 90% improvement in throughput compared with conventional LC-FLR-based methods. Together, this workflow facilitates the rapid screening of glycans, which can be deployed at various stages of drug development such as process optimization, bioreactor monitoring, and clone selections, where high-throughput and improved productivity are particularly desired.
Modeling Mating Patterns Given Mutual Mate Choice: The Importance of Individual Mating Preferences and Mating System

When we consider structured populations with sexual reproduction, the distribution of characters among mating pairs may influence the population biology, namely its dynamics and genetics. In the present paper, we propose a general framework to estimate the population mating patterns taking into account individual mating preferences and mating system, thus taking into account the inter- and intra-sexual interactions such as mate competition and mate choice. According to our results, mating patterns are not a direct reflection of mating preferences, but also depend upon the average sex ratio between individuals that are ready to mate at any given time (i.e., the Operational Sex Ratio, OSR). Therefore, mating patterns should be assessed not only in function of preferences, but also of OSR. It is then possible to distinguish three OSR regions: (1) the equilibrium OSR, where there is a predominance of assortative mating patterns due to differential access to mates (inter-sexual interactions); (2) the slightly biased OSR, where there is a high diversity of mating patterns and no clear predominance of inter- or intra-sexual interactions; and (3) the highly biased OSR where there is a predominance of mating patterns corresponding to single-sex uniform preferences and an increased influence of intra-sexual interactions. We hope that this approach may allow to further explore the interaction between OSR and mate choice, namely how such interaction may affect sexual selection and mate choice tactics.
Hospital Nurses’ Perception of Death and Self-Reported Performance of End-of-Life Care: Mediating Role of Attitude towards End-of-Life Care

Few studies have explored how nurses in acute care hospitals perceive and perform end-of-life care in Korea. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of nurses’ perceptions of death on end-of-life care performance and analyze the mediating role of attitude towards end-of-life care among hospital nurses. This cross-sectional study included a total of 250 nurses who have had experience with end-of-life care from four general hospitals in Korea. We used the Korean validated tools with the View of Life and Death Scale, the Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) scale, and the performance of end-of-life care. Hierarchical linear regression and mediation analysis, applying the bootstrapping method. The results of hierarchical linear regression showed that nurses’ positive perceptions of death and attitude towards end-of-life care were significantly associated with their performance of end-of-life care. A mediation analysis further revealed that nurses’ attitude towards end-of-life care mediates the relationship between the perceptions of death and performance of end-of-life care. Our findings suggest that supportive and practical death educational programs should be designed, based on nurses’ professional experience and work environment, which will enable them to provide better end-of-life care.
Potential of Several Protein Sources as Fish Meal Substitutes in Diets for Large Yellow Croaker, Pseudosciaena crocea R

A feeding experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential of replacing fish meal (FM, Diet 1) with soybean meal (SBM, Diet 2), meat and bone meal (MBM, Diet 3), poultry by-product meal (PBM, Diet 4), and peanut meal (PM, Diet 5) in practical diets of juvenile large yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena crocea. Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets (43% crude protein and 20 kJ/g gross energy on dry matter basis) were formulated. Diet containing FM as the main protein source was used as a control (Diet 1). Diets 2–5 had 30% of the FM protein replaced with SBM, MBM, PBM, or PM protein. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 25 fish per cage (initial body weight 23.3 ± 0.96 g). Fish were maintained in sea floating cages (1.5 × 1.5 × 2.0 m), water temperature ranged from 27 to 30 C, salinity from 25 to 28‰ and dissolved oxygen content was more than 7 mg/L. Fish were hand-fed twice daily to apparently satiation for 8 wk. Fish fed Diets 1–4 showed no significant difference in survival, weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR), while fish fed Diet 5 showed significant inferior WG and SGR (P < 0.01). Carcass crude protein and crude lipid of the fish fed Diet 5 were significantly lower than those of the fish fed the other diets (P < 0.05). Carcass lysine content of the of fish fed Diet 5 showed slight, yet significantly decrease (P < 0.05), compared with those of the fish fed Diets 1–4, while other essential amino acids (EAAs) content showed no significant differences among the different treatments. Results of the present study indicate that about 30% of FM protein can be replaced by SBM, MBM, or PBM protein in large yellow croaker diets without adversely effecting growth.
Network effects govern the evolution of maritime trade

Significance Over 70% of the total value of international trade is carried by sea, accounting for 80% of all cargo volumes. Maritime trade flows impact both the economic development of the concerned regions and their ecosystems. Shipping routes are constantly evolving and likely to be affected by the consequences of climate change, while, at the same time, ships are a considerable source of pollution. This work performs a rigorous and comprehensive analysis of maritime trade flows on a global scale over a long period, taking into account aspects of evolution, reactions to shocks, and discovering predictive models. We use machine learning methods to uncover the single dominant dynamics that govern the evolution of the structure and the intensity of maritime trade. Maritime transport accounts for over 80% of the world trade volume and is the backbone of the global economy. Global supply chains create a complex network of trade flows. The structure of this network impacts not only the socioeconomic development of the concerned regions but also their ecosystems. The movements of ships are a considerable source of CO2 emissions and contribute to climate change. In the wake of the announced development of Arctic shipping, the need to understand the behavior of the maritime trade network and to predict future trade flows becomes pressing. We use a unique database of daily movements of the world fleet over the period 1977–2008 and apply machine learning techniques on network data to develop models for predicting the opening of new shipping lines and for forecasting trade volume on links. We find that the evolution of this system is governed by a simple rule from network science, relying on the number of common neighbors between pairs of ports. This finding is consistent over all three decades of temporal data. We further confirm it with a natural experiment, involving traffic redirection from the port of Kobe after the 1995 earthquake. Our forecasting method enables researchers and industry to easily model effects of potential future scenarios at the level of ports, regions, and the world. Our results also indicate that maritime trade flows follow a form of random walk on the underlying network structure of sea connections, highlighting its pivotal role in the development of maritime trade.
Comparison of Different Cell-cluster Models for Cell-level Dosimetry

An important factor in dose calculations for targeted radionuclide therapy is the cell-cluster model used. We developed a cell-cluster model based on optimization through mechanical hard-sphere collisions. The geometrical properties and the dosimetric effects of the new model were compared with those of two previous models, i.e. the traditional lattice model and our CellPacker model in which the cells are individually and systematically piled as a cluster. The choice of the cell-cluster model has an effect on the calculated mean absorbed doses in the cells. While CellPacker produces clusters with distinct tumour-healthy tissue interface, our new model is able to make the interface diffuse. Outside the interface the new model is capable to pack cells tighter than CellPacker enabling the description of tissues of higher cellular density. Our two cluster models make it possible to construct the cluster model according to the tissue in question.
Time of infection of Gloeodes pomigena and Schizothyrium pomi on apple in North Carolina and potential control by an eradicant spray program

Infection of apples (Malus × domestica) by Gloeodes pomigena (cause of sooty blotch) occurred by mid-May, 10-21 days after petal fall. Infection by Schizothyrium pomi (cause of flyspeck) occurred by late May or early June. Infection by both pathogens was extensive by the first week of June. The time that sooty blotch and flyspeck symptoms became visible was related to the frequency of rainfall in June. Benomyl combined with captan or mancozeb applied when sooty blotch first was observed in the orchard demonstrated eradicant activity in 1987 but not in 1989 or 1990. At harvest, coverage of the fruit surface with sooty blotch and flyspeck (severity) in eradicant treatments which included benomyl was not significantly different from the standard protectant treatments (.)
How reliable are Malaise traps for biomonitoring? – A bivariate species abundance model evaluation using alpine Chironomidae (Diptera)

In this study, the potential of Malaise traps to collect representative portions of an insect community was investigated. To do so, the complete catch (nearly 22 000 specimens) of male Chironomidae (Diptera) from five parallel Malaise traps along an alpine stream was identified and assigned to 108 different species. The traps were run for 4 weeks in June and July, 2008. The similarity in community composition between parallel samples, that is, from different traps the same week, was evaluated by fitting a bivariate Poisson‐lognormal species abundance model. The estimated correlation in this bivariate distribution was used as a measure of similarity since this approach is utilising all the available species abundance information and accounts for the sampling process. Estimated similarities showed non‐significant differences in chironomid community structure between parallel samples. The five Malaise traps sampled equally representative portions of the Chironomidae community present at the site, so the traps were found to be very reliable in the monitoring of Chironomidae community structure. Application of the bivariate correlation as a similarity measure offers advantages over traditional measures because it takes account of the complete species abundance distributions. This approach provides an approximately unbiased estimate of similarity despite varying sample sizes and detection/non‐detection of species that are present, but rare.
Timing of Gene Expression and Oolemma Localization of Mouse α6and β1Integrin Subunits during Oogenesis

Abstract The sperm antigen fertilin α/β and the integrin complex α6β1present on the oolemma are two of the most promising candidates to mediate gamete interaction. During growth, the plasma membrane of both hamster and mouse zona-free oocytes acquires the capacity to fuse with acrosome-reacted sperm when oocytes reach the size of 25–30 μm in diameter, suggesting changes in the membrane molecular composition. The present study has two aims: to determine the timing of (1) gene expression of α6and β1integrins and (2) localization of these integrin subunits on the plasma membrane in primordial germ cells and in oocytes during oogenesis. We found that both α6and β1genes are expressed in female germ cells during all the stages of development analyzed, from 10.5 to 18.5 d.p.c. , during oocyte growth, and in ovulated eggs. The alternatively spliced isoform α6Bis expressed from 10.5 d.p.c. , whereas α6Abegins to be expressed at 12.5 d.p.c. , suggesting a different role for the two variants.In situimmunodetection of α6or β1shows a ring of fluorescence on the female germ cell plasma membrane for both integrins at 10.5 d.p.c. , then the fluorescent signal becomes undetectable at 12.5 d.p.c. to reappear again, this time with a patchy distribution, at 18.5 d.p.c. This pattern of localization is maintained in oocytes isolated from newborn individuals and only when oocytes during growth reach the size of about 25–30 μm in diameter does the fluorescence become homogenous all around the whole oocyte surface. These data, although not conclusive, support the hypothesis of an involvement of α6and β1integrins in sperm–egg fusion.