bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Does the Unique Space‐Time Sampling of the SWOT Mission Influence River Discharge Series Characteristics?
Authors: Nickles Cassandra , Beighley Edward , Zhao Yuanhao , Durand Michael , David Cedric , Lee Hyongki
Published: July 2019

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission will, for the first time, provide simultaneous, high‐resolution measurements of water surface elevation and extent. Here we explore the applicability of SWOT's unique sampling to capture discharge frequency behavior throughout the Mississippi River Basin. Our findings suggest the mission may capture key variability in river discharge series. SWOT orbit specifications, US Geological Survey (USGS) discharge measurements, and potential uncertainty estimates are used to generate SWOT‐like river discharges. Frequency distributions and specific quantiles derived from synthetic SWOT discharge series are compared to those derived from daily USGS discharge series. Based on the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov test, SWOT temporal sampling has essentially no impact on derived frequency distributions. When including potential uncertainty, 78% of derived distributions are statistically identical. The combined effects of temporal sampling and discharge uncertainty mitigates the negative bias used for SWOT discharge uncertainty at larger discharge quantiles (i.e., ≥75% quantiles).
Modeling Stable Auroral Red (SAR) Arcs at Geomagnetic Conjugate Points: Implications for Hemispheric Asymmetries in Heat Fluxes
Authors: Mendillo Michael , Wroten Joei
Published: July 2019

Stable auroral red (SAR) arcs provide opportunities to study inner magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling at midlatitudes. An imaging system at a single‐site obtains evidence of seasonal variations in SAR arc brightness and occurrence rates using events widely separated in time, as observed during different geomagnetic storms. The first SAR arc observed using two all‐sky imagers at geomagnetic conjugate points described seasonal effects at the same time for the same storm (Martinis, Mendillo, et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA026018). Here we report on modeling studies that enable specification of the roles of local “receptor conditions” in each hemisphere, plus the division of driving energy from a single source region into conjugate ionospheres. The geomagnetic storm of 1 June 2013 produced SAR arcs observed by conjugate all‐sky imagers yielding 73 Rayleighs (R) at Millstone Hill (L = 2.64) in the summer hemisphere, and 300 R during local winter at Rothera (L = 2.92). With incoherent scatter radar data not available to specify input conditions, we offer a new simulation approach using non‐incoherent scatter radar observations to specify local receptor conditions. These include a combination of semiempirical models (International Reference Ionosphere and MSIS) calibrated by local ionosonde and DMSP satellite data. We find that the driving mechanism (heat conduction entering the ionosphere) is not an equal partition of energy from the ring current source region, but one that is weaker in the summer hemisphere where the local receptor conditions are poised to produce fainter SAR arcs. The relationship between SAR arcs and recently discovered STEVE events are discussed and require further study.
Decelerated Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Driven by Positive Summer North Atlantic Oscillation
Authors: Ruan Ruomei , Chen Xianyao , Zhao Jinping , Perrie William , Mottram Ruth , Zhang Minghong , Diao Yina , Du Ling , Wu Lixin
Published: July 2019

The abrupt deceleration of accelerated Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melting since 2013, after a period of acceleration previously noted, is studied here. It is shown that the deceleration of GrIS melting since 2013 is due to the reduction in short‐wave solar radiation in the presence of increasing total cloud cover, which is driven by a more persistent positive summer North Atlantic Oscillation on the decadal time scale. By presenting the coherence with the temperature variability at the weather stations in Greenland, which have century‐long records, we deduce that the acceleration of GrIS melting during the early 2000s and the subsequent deceleration since 2013 will reoccur frequently on decadal time scales, with the amplitude nearly half of the multidecadal warming trend of the GrIS melt. It can reduce the mass loss from the GrIS on short to medium time scales but is unlikely to halt mass loss related to climate change in the future. This finding highlights the importance of internal climate variability on the mass budget of the GrIS and therefore on predictions of future global sea level change and may help to assist planning for associated social and economic consequences.
Tracing Snowmelt Paths in an Integrated Hydrological Model for Understanding Seasonal Snowmelt Contribution at Basin Scale
Authors: Li Hongyi , Li Xin , Yang Dawen , Wang Jian , Gao Bing , Pan Xiaoduo , Zhang Yanlin , Hao Xiaohua
Published: July 2019

Snowmelt contributions to water resources in cold regions are receiving increasing attention. However, there are clear challenges to accurately distinguish the snowmelt contributions to different hydrological processes in seasonal snow regions. Here, we present an improved method to evaluate snowmelt contributions by tracing the snowmelt flow paths in different media based on a distributed geomorphology‐based ecohydrological model coupled with a physically based snow module. The calculated snowmelt contribution is not limited to river discharge but is also applicable to evaporation and soil storage. The study region, the upstream Heihe River (UHR) basin, is located in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate that snowmelt can continuously contribute to hydrological processes throughout the year because most of the snowmelt remains in soil voids, even on snow‐free days. In UHR, the snowmelt contribution to total runoff on snow days accounts for a minor part of the total snowmelt contribution, and the snowmelt contribution on snow‐free days accounts for a major part of the total. There is notable snowmelt retention in the soil in each year, which continues to supply discharge into next year. Our results also indicate that the role of snowmelt contribution to annual discharge could be gradually weakened if rainfall more greatly increases the summer discharge in the UHR basin. The improved evaluation method will contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of snowmelt contributions to hydrological processes in seasonal snow regions.
DNA expression microarrays may be the wrong tool to identify biological pathways
Authors: Mondry Adrian , Loh Marie , Giuliani Alessandro
Published: July 2019

DNA microarray expression signatures are expected to provide new insights into patho- physiological pathways. Numerous variant statistical methods have been described for each step of the signal analysis. We employed five similar statistical tests on the same data set at the level of gene selection. Inter-test agreement for the identification of biological pathways in BioCarta, KEGG and Reactome was calculated using Cohen’s k- score. The identification of specific biological pathways showed only moderate agreement (0.30 < k < 0.79) between the analysis methods used. Pathways identified by microarrays must be treated cautiously as they vary according to the statistical method used.
Workshop report: 1st INCF Workshop on Mouse and Rat Brain Digital Atlasing Systems
Authors: Boline Jyl , Hawrylycz Michael , Williams Robert
Published: July 2019

The goal of this workshop was to survey current activities and plans related to development of mouse and rat brain digital atlasing systems. The workshop discussed needs for and types of coordinated action that will ensure rapid progress, compatibility, and dissemination with use of novel technological approaches. The report summarizes the state-of-the-art in the field and provides recommendations for actions.
Understanding and mapping water resources by multidimensional statistics and fuzzy logic: Missouri River basin case
Authors: Shmagin Boris , Chen Din
Published: July 2019

Time series from 46 gauging station with drainage areas from 113 to 398 sq mi in the Upper Missouri River basin with mutual period of observation from 1963 to 1991 were used for analysis. Factor analysis of average annual flow revealed five patterns of river runoff within four distinct subregions of the territory (east, two carbonate karsts areas, uplands). This factor model reflected 62% variance of initial matrix. Each of four groups of watersheds obtained as a factor was presented by one gauging station with time series of annual and monthly discharges (I- 06218500, II- 06478690, III- 06412500, and IV- 06323000). Streams represented by patterns I, II and IV have increase of values and those represented by III have a decrease. The positive trend for pattern II is statistically significant. For four typical flow records, monthly average values were obtained from three to four seasons composed of different ensembles of months. The trends for seasonal components were analyzed for four typical watersheds and a significant increase was obtained for fall-winter season for type IV. Stream runoff is the most appropriate regional indicator for hydroclimatological processes. With multidimensional statistics this process can be considered as spatiotemporal structure of different scale of landscape properties and dynamics. Uncertainties of process originating stream runoff based on dynamic of regional meteorological system and diversity of local landscapes. Boundaries for domains with different annul and seasonal regimes of stream runoff were defined with factor loadings and fuzzy logic rules. With case of Missouri River basin presented that more complete decryption of real events in nature requires use probability and fuzzy logic together.
Open Chemistry
Authors: Murray-Rust Peter
Published: July 2019

An invited article on Open Chemistry discussing the importance of Open Access and Open Data and stressing the emerging role of the blogosphere
Proapoptotic Bid Association with Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 Complex is Indispensable for Checkpoint Activation after DNA Damage
Authors: Ta Van B. T. , Bezstarosti Karel , Demmers Jeroen A. A. , Maculins Timurs , Schellekens Karlyn , van Gent Dik C. , Persengiev Stephan P.
Published: July 2019

The proapoptotic protein Bid is phosphorylated by ATM after double strand breaks (DSBs) induction and induces S-phase arrest by a mechanism that remains to be elucidated. Here we show that in mammalian cells, Bid is associated with Mre11, a subunit of the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex. We demonstrate that Bid activation is abrogated in Mre11 and Nbs1 deficient primary mouse fibroblasts and cells from patients with ataxia talangiectasia-like disorder. Bid depletion by RNA interference inhibited the S-phase checkpoint activation and G2/M arrest after genotoxic insult, but had no effect on MRN complex formation. Our results explain the mechanism of Bid phosphorylation by ATM in response to DNA damage and suggest that Bid functions as a link between the MRN complex and S-phase regulatory proteins.
Cell-free Embryonic Stem Cell Extract-mediated Derivation of Multi-potent Stem Cells from NIH3T3 Fibroblasts for Functional and Anatomical Ischemic Tissue Repair
Authors: Rajasingh Johnson , Hamada Hiromichi , Bord Evelyn , Thorne Tina , Goukassian Ilona , Lambers Erin , Krishnamurthy Prasanna , Qin Gangjian , Schlauch Karen , Rosen Kenneth , Ahluwalia Deepali , Zhu Yan , Losordo Douglas , Kishore Raj
Published: July 2019

The oocyte-independent generation of multipotent stem cells is one of the goals in regenerative medicine. We report that upon exposure to mouse ES cell (ESC) extracts, reversibly permeabilized NIH3T3 cells undergo de-differentiation followed by stimulus-induced re-differentiation into multiple lineage cell types. Genome-wide expression profiling revealed significant differences between NIH3T3 and ESC-extract treated NIH3T3 cells including re-activation of ESC specific transcripts. Epigenetically, ESC extracts induced CpG de-methylation of Oct4 promoter, hyper-acetylation of histones 3 and 4 and decreased lysine 9 (K-9) dimethylation of histone 3. In mouse models of surgically-induced hind limb ischemia (HLI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI) transplantation of reprogrammed NIH3T3 cells significantly improved post-injury physiological functions and showed antomical evidence of engraftment and trans-differentiation into skeletal muscle, endothelial cell and cardiomyocytes. These data provide evidence for the generation of functional multi-potent stem like cells from terminally differentiated somatic cells without the introduction of trans-genes or ESC fusion.
The sound of concepts: The link between auditory and conceptual brain systems
Authors: Kiefer Markus , Sim Eun-Jin , Herrnberger Bärbel , Grothe Jo , Hoenig Klaus
Published: July 2019

Concepts in long-term memory are important building blocks of human cognition and are the basis for object recognition, language and thought. While it is well accepted that concepts are comprised of features related to sensory object attributes, it is still unclear how these features are represented in the brain. Of central interest is whether concepts are essentially grounded in perception. This would imply a common neuroanatomical substrate for perceptual and conceptual processing. Here we show using functional magnetic resonance imaging and recordings of event-related potentials that acoustic conceptual features rapidly recruit auditory areas even when implicitly presented through visual words. Recognizing words denoting objects for which acoustic features are highly relevant (e.g. "telephone") suffices to ignite cell assemblies in the posterior superior and middle temporal gyrus (pSTG/MTG) that were also activated by listening to real sounds. Activity in pSTG/MTG had an onset of 150 ms and increased parametrically as a function of acoustic feature relevance. Both findings suggest a conceptual origin of this effect rather than post-conceptual strategies such as imagery. The presently demonstrated link between auditory and conceptual brain systems parallels observations in other memory systems suggesting that modality-specificity represents a general organizational principle in cortical memory representation. The understanding of concepts as a partial reinstatement of brain activity during perception stresses the necessity of rich sensory experiences for concept acquisition. The modality-specific nature of concepts could also explain the difficulties in achieving a consensus about overall definitions of abstract concepts such as freedom or justice unless embedded in a concrete, experienced situation.
A database of naturally occurring human urinary peptides and proteins for use in clinical applications
Authors: Zürbig Petra , Coon Joshua , Bauer Hartwig , Behrens Georg , Dakna Mohammed , Dominiczak Anna , Decramer Stephane , Ehrich Jochen , Fliser Danilo , Frommberger Moritz , Ganser Arnold , Giolami Mark , Golovko Igor , Good David , Gwinner Wilfried , Haubitz Marion , Herget-Rosenthal Stefan , Jahn Holger , Jerums George , Julian Bruce , Kellmann Markus , Kliem Volker , Kolch Walter , Krolewski Andrzej , Luppi Mario , Massy Ziad , Melter Michael , Neusüss Christian , Novak Jan , Peter Karlheinz , Rossing Kasper , Rupprecht Harald , Schanstra Joost , Schiffer Eric , Stolzenburg Jens-Uwe , Tarnow Lise , Theodorescu Dan , Thongboonkerd Visith , Vanholder Raymond , Weissinger Eva , Mischak Harald , Schmitt-Kopplin Philippe
Published: July 2019

Owing to its availability, ease of collection and correlation with (patho-) physiology, urine is an attractive source for clinical proteomics. However, the lack of comparable datasets from large cohorts has greatly hindered development in this field. Here we report the establishment of a high resolution proteome database of naturally occurring human urinary peptides and proteins - ranging from 800-17,000 Da - from over 3,600 individual samples using capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry, yielding an average of 1,500 peptides per sample. All processed data were deposited in an SQL database, currently containing 5,010 relevant unique urinary peptides that serve as classifiers for diagnosis and monitoring of diseases, including kidney and vascular diseases. Of these, 352 have been sequenced to date. To demonstrate the applicability of this database, two examples of disease diagnosis were provided: For renal damage diagnosis, patients with a specific renal disease were identified with high specificity and sensitivity in a blinded cohort of 131 individuals. We further show definition of biomarkers specific for immunosuppression and complications after transplantation (Kaposi’s sarcoma). Due to its high information content, this database will be a powerful tool for the validation of biomarkers for both renal and non-renal diseases.
An intelligent liposome that may deliver drug molecules in a well controlled fashion
Authors: Popescu Dumitru , Popescu Alin Gabriel
Published: July 2019

The passage of molecules, especially large ones, through the cellular membrane is a very important problem for some biotechnological applications, such as drug delivery. The appearance of pores in the lipid bilayer following some controlled mechanisms may be an adequate and interesting way. Some pores, named stochastic pores, can appear due to structural and dynamic properties of lipid bilayer, but others may be favored by mechanical tension induced by different ways. Recently, a sequence of 30-40 pores was observed in the same vesicle, a pore at a time, which can appear in vesicles stretched by optical induced mechanical tension. There are two very interesting biotechnological applications that require the increase of membrane permeability: gene therapy and targeted drug delivery. In the first one, the transport of DNA fragments through cellular and nuclear membranes is required. The second application uses drug molecules encapsulated in vesicles, which have to be transported to a target place. Having reached that point, one supposes that the liposome discharges its content by its breakdown. In this paper, we will write about how a lipid vesicle has to release the drug molecules in a well-controlled fashion. Such liposomes are named pulsatory liposomes and they induce cyclic activity. We will demonstrate that this liposome may be programmed to work a certain number of cycles, settled in advance. Also, we will calculate the amount of drug delivered during each cycle. In fact, a pulsatory liposome may be conceived as a drug dose micro device, which works according to a medical prescription established a priori.
Semiotic Dynamics Solves the Symbol Grounding Problem
Authors: Steels Luc , Loetzsch Martin , Spranger Michael
Published: July 2019

Language requires the capacity to link symbols (words, sentences) through the intermediary of internal representations to the physical world, a process known as symbol grounding. One of the biggest debates in the cognitive sciences concerns the question how human brains are able to do this. Do we need a material explanation or a system explanation? John Searle’s well known Chinese Room thought experiment, which continues to generate a vast polemic literature of arguments and counter-arguments, has argued that autonomously establishing internal representations of the world (called ’intentionality’ in philosophical parlance) is based on special properties of human neural tissue and that consequently an artificial system, such as an autonomous physical robot, can never achieve this. Here we study the Grounded Naming Game as a particular example of symbolic interaction and investigate a dynamical system that autonomously builds up and uses the semiotic networks necessary for performance in the game. We demonstrate in real experiments with physical robots that such a dynamical system indeed leads to a successful emergent communication system and hence that symbol grounding and intentionality can be explained in terms of a particular kind of system dynamics. The human brain has obviously the right mechanisms to participate in this kind of dynamics but the same dynamics can also be embodied in other types of physical systems.
On Real-Time Synthetic Primate Vision
Authors: Dankers Andrew , Barnes Nick , Bischof Walter , Zelinsky Alex
Published: July 2019

The primate vision system exhibits numerous capabilities. Some important basic visual competencies include: 1) a consistent representation of visual space across eye movements; 2) egocentric spatial perception; 3) coordinated stereo fixation upon and pursuit of dynamic objects; and 4) attentional gaze deployment. We present a synthetic vision system that incorporates these competencies.We hypothesize that similarities between the underlying synthetic system model and that of the primate vision system elicit accordingly similar gaze behaviors. Psychophysical trials were conducted to record human gaze behavior when free-viewing a reproducible, dynamic, 3D scene. Identical trials were conducted with the synthetic system. A statistical comparison of synthetic and human gaze behavior has shown that the two are remarkably similar.
Artificial Antigen Presenting Cells With Preclustered anti-CD28/-CD3/-LFA-1 Monoclonal Antibodies Are Highly Effective To Induce The Ex-Vivo Expansion Of Functional Human Antitumor T Cells
Authors: Zappasodi Roberta , Di Nicola Massimo , Carlo-Stella Carmelo , Mortarini Roberta , Molla Alessandra , Vegetti Claudia , Passoni Lorena , Albani Salvatore , Anichini Andrea , Gianni Alessandro
Published: July 2019

Effective adoptive T cell therapy requires the ex vivo generation of functional T lymphocytes with a long lifespan in vivo. We evaluated in vitro T cell expansion by artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPC) generated with activating (human anti-CD3), co-stimulating (human anti-CD28) and adhesion (human anti-LFA-1) monoclonal antibodies pre-clustered in microdomains (MDs) held by a liposome scaffold. The co-localization of T cell ligands in MDs and the targeting of an adhesion protein, increasing the efficiency of immunological synapse formations, represent the novelties of our system. These aAPCs allowed increased expansion of polyclonal CD4^+^ and CD8^+^ T cells and of tumor antigen-specific CD8^+^ T cells compared to anti-CD28- and anti-CD3-coated microbeads and to immobilized anti-CD3. These aAPCs allowed the generation of T cells displaying an immunophenotype consistent with long-term in vivo persistence, without increasing the frequency of regulatory T cells. Finally, our aAPCs proved to be suitable for large scale T cell expansion required in immunotherapy trials.
Neural activity dissociation between thought-based and perception-based response conflict
Authors: Chen Antao , Lei Xu , Huang Xiting , Zhang Qinglin , Liu Qiang , Lai Yongxiu , Yao Dezhong , Li Hong
Published: July 2019

Based on the idea that intentions have different penetrability to perception and thought (Fodor, 1983), four Stroop-like tasks, AA, AW, WA, and WW are used, where the A represents an arrow and the CPPR (closest processing prior to response) is perception, and the W represents a word and the CPPR is thought. Event-related brain potentials were recorded as participants completed these tasks, and sLORETA (standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography) was used to localize the sources at specific time points. These results showed that there is an interference effect in the AA and WA tasks, but not in the AW or WW tasks. The activated brain areas related to the interference effect in the AA task were the PFC and ACC, and PFC activation took place prior to ACC activation; but only PFC in WA task. Combined with previous results, a new neural mechanism of cognitive control is proposed.
Age and origin of enigmatic megaherbs from the subantarctic islands
Authors: Wagstaff Steven J. , Breitwieser Ilse , Quinn Christopher , Ito Motomi
Published: July 2019

Biogeographic relationships in the southern hemisphere have puzzled biologists for the last two centuries. Once joined to form the supercontinent Gondwana, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand and South America are widely separated by the Pacific and Indian oceans. Sir Joseph Hooker was the first to suggest that Antarctica served as a corridor for plant migration not unlike the land-bridges in the northern hemisphere. While the Antarctic flora was largely erased by glaciation during the Pleistocene, at least some of these Antarctic plant communities found refuge on the subantarctic islands. Here we provide support for the hypothesis that giant herbs persisted in the subantactic islands prior to the onset of Pleistocene glaciation, then dispersed northward in response to glacial advance. Our findings provide further evidence that Antarctica has played a pivotal role in shaping southern hemisphere biogeography.
French birds lag behind climate warming
Authors: Devictor Vincent , Julliard Romain , Couvet Denis , Jiguet Frédéric
Published: July 2019

Biodiversity responses to climate warming have been documented through the study of changes in distributions, abundances or phenologies of individual species or in more integrated measures such as species community richness and composition. However, whether these observed population and community changes are occurring fast enough to cope with new climatic conditions remain uncertain and hardly quantifiable. Here, using spatial and temporal trends from the French breeding bird survey, we show that although bird assemblages are strongly responding to climate warming, this response is slower than expected for catching up with the current temperature increase. During the last two decades, French birds have only achieved 54% of the response required to follow temperature increase, and have accumulated, in 18 years, a 97 km delay in their northward shift. We thus developed a framework to measure both the observed and predicted response of species assemblage to climate change, an approach which is flexible enough to be applicable to any taxa with large-scale survey data, using either abundance or distribution data. For example, it can be further used to test if different delays are found across groups or if, for a given group, the delay depends on the land-use contexts.
Discovery of the Principal Cystic Fibrosis Mutation (F508del) in Ancient DNA from Iron Age Europeans
Authors: Farrell Philip , Le Marechal Cedric , Ferec Claude , Siker Malika , Teschler-Nicola Maria
Published: July 2019

The most common, life-threatening autosomal recessive disease of Europeans and Euro-Americans, cystic fibrosis (CF), occurs predominately in patients with the F508del mutation.1 Although F508del is currently detectable as a single allele in 1/30-1/40 Europeans2-4 and Euro-Americans,5 it has not been determined what heterozygote selective advantage(s) might account for its relatively high prevalence. Indirect evidence6 suggests that this mutation was present in Brittany at least 3000 years ago, but no direct analyses of ancient DNA have been reported to identify F508del and clarify its frequency in prehistoric inhabitants of Europe. Here we show that F508del was present in 3 of 32 Iron Age inhabitants of Austria from whom DNA could be recovered from molar teeth using procedures that fulfill authenticity criteria.7 Because these individuals, who were buried in cemeteries along the Danube river, were shown by radiocarbon dating of isolated bone collagen to have lived there during 544-255 BC, this indicates that the F508del mutation is definitely more than 2000 years old and that CF (the disease) was present among them. More generally, the apparent enrichment of this Iron Age population in F508del suggests an evolutionary advantage in their environment that can be investigated by interdisciplinary strategies of paleoepidemiology.
The oldest amputation on a Neolithic human skeleton in France
Authors: Buquet-Marcon Cecile , Philippe Charlier , Anaick Samzun
Published: July 2019

While 'surgical' practices such as trepanations are well attested since the first stages of the European Neolithic, the amputation of limbs in Prehistoric periods has not been well-documented until the case presented here. The particularly well-preserved remains of an aged male were recently uncovered in the Neolithic site (4900-4700 BC) of Buthiers-Boulancourt in the vicinity of Paris, France. It was already noticed in situ that the distal part of the left humerus was abnormal and this led us to the hypothesis of a partially healed 'surgical' amputation.The further investigations reported here confirm a traumatic origin and a partial cicatrisation after surgery, indicating that the patient survived. It also proves the remarkable medical skills developed during Prehistorical times. In addition, the associated grave goods are original, including the skeleton of an animal, a polished schist axe and a massive 30 cm long flint pick. Despite the serious handicap from which he suffered in this pastoral-agricultural community, the buried man obviously enjoyed some particular social status, as suggested by the remarkable and 'prestigious' accompanying grave-goods. If indeed this man benefited from some form of community care, this would indicate the level of social solidarity in Western Europe almost 7000 years ago.
What is the function of the C1-C3 adrenergic group in the medulla?
Authors: Smythies John
Published: July 2019

This brief communication discusses a much neglected topic in functional neuroanatomy-the possible function(s) of the adrenergic system in the brain.
IQ variations across time and race are explained by literacy differences
Authors: Marks David
Published: July 2019

Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are intended to assess the cognitive competences of individuals, groups and populations. A body of data collected during the last 50 years has revealed that IQ average population scores vary significantly over time, nationality, and race. The causes of these variations remain a mystery. Theories focusing on nutrition, brain size, dysgenic factors, social class and education have proved inexact or unsatisfactory. Here I describe a new explanation based on the fact that intelligence test performance requires a level of literacy not present in all people to the same degree. I show that literacy variations across time, place and race are highly associated with changes in IQ scores. These findings have widespread implications. Contemporary IQ test score differences between populations and racial groups are predicted to diminish with rises in universal literacy in the 21st century.
Bumblebees gain fitness through learning
Authors: Raine Nigel , Chittka Lars
Published: July 2019

Despite the widespread assumption that the learning abilities of animals are adapted to the particular environments in which they operate, the quantitative effects of learning performance on fitness remain virtually unknown. Here we evaluate the learning performance of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) from multiple colonies in an ecologically relevant associative learning task under laboratory conditions, before testing the foraging performance of the same colonies under the field conditions. We demonstrate that variation in learning speed among bumblebee colonies is directly correlated with foraging performance, a robust fitness measure, under natural conditions. Colonies vary in learning speed by a factor of nearly 5, with the slowest learning colonies collecting 40% less nectar than the fastest learning colonies. Such a steep fitness function suggests strong selection for higher learning speed in bumblebees. Demonstrating the adaptive value of differences in learning performance under the real conditions in which animals function represents a major step towards understanding how cognitive abilities of animals are tuned to their environment.
A potential role for Dkk-1 in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma predicts novel diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Authors: Gregory Carl , Lee Narae , Smolarz Angela , Olson Scott , David Odile , Reiser Jacob , Kutner Robert , Daw Najat , Prockop Darwin , Horwitz Edwin
Published: July 2019

Canonical Wnt signaling is an osteo-inductive signal that promotes bone repair through acceleration of osteogenic differentiation by progenitors. Dkk-1 is a secreted inhibitor of canonical Wnt signaling and thus inhibits osteogenesis. To examine a potential osteo-inhibitory role of Dkk-1 in osteosarcoma (OS), we measured serum Dkk-1 in pediatric patients with OS (median age, 13.4 years) and found it to be significantly elevated. We also found that Dkk-1 was maximally expressed by the OS cells at the tumor periphery and in vitro Dkk-1 and RANKL are co-expressed by rapidly proliferating OS cells. Both Dkk-1 and conditioned media from OS cells reduces osteogenesis by human mesenchymal cells and by immuno-depletion of Dkk-1, or by adding a GSK3[beta] inhibitor, the effects of Dkk-1 were attenuated. In mice, we found that the expression of Dkk-1 from implanted tumors was similar to the human tumor biopsies in that human Dkk-1 was present in the serum of recipient animals. These data demonstrate that systemic levels of Dkk-1 are elevated in osteosarcoma. Furthermore, the expression of Dkk-1 by the OS cells at the periphery of the tumor probably contributes to its expansion by inhibiting repair of the surrounding bone. These data demonstrate that Dkk-1 may serve as a prognostic or diagnostic marker for evaluation of OS and furthermore, immuno-depletion of Dkk-1 or administration of GSK3[beta] inhibitors could represent an adjunct therapy for this disease.
Photoelectrochemical properties of melanin
Authors: Solis Arturo , Lara Maria , Rendon Luis
Published: July 2019

Melanin is to the animal kingdom like chlorophyll to the vegetal kingdom(1). Melanin collects energy from lower-energy radiation sources, kicks electrons into excited states, initiating a process that would end up producing chemical energy, similar to the way in which photosynthesis supplies energy to plants. However, the precise roles of melanin during this process are unknown. Here we show that the increase in the electron-transfer properties of melanin is independent of the energy of the incident photons. We found in controlled in vivo assays that melanin has the remarkable capability of converting lower-energy radiation towards a more useful form of energy. Furthermore, we found that melanin can break up water molecules and giving up energy suggesting an additional behavior mode for melanin. Our results demonstrate how members of the melanin family are likely to function as transducers, oxidizing water, pushing apart water molecules, as well as recruiting back ions into molecules that are subsequently polarized again. Melanin drives the photon energy of lower-energy radiation sources by quenching electrons and initiating an ionic event independently of their relative energy contention. We anticipate our assay to be a starting point for more sophisticated photoelectrochemical applications. For example, the individual and combined action of multiple photovoltaic applications could be tested, including conducting polymers, for example poly-(phenylenevinylene) (PPV) derivatives or C60 particles. Furthermore, melanin's energy conversion ability is a major target of solar energy conversion development, and an organic-semiconductor way for photoelectrochemical applications will be relevant for such developments.
Correlation between Pineal Activation and Religious Meditation Observed by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Liou Chien-Hui , Hsieh Chang-Wei , Hsieh Chao-Hsien , Lee Si-Chen , Chen Jyh-Horng , Wang Chi-Hong
Published: July 2019

The human brain possesses plenty of functions but little is known about its scientific relationship with mind and spirit. Conferences^1,2^ focused on the connection between science and religion were held very recently in which neuroscientists, Buddhist scholars and Dalai Lama discussed attention, mental imagery, emotion, mind, brain functions and meditation, suggesting religious meditation offers an effective means to investigate the mystery of mind and spirit. In the past decade, scientists struggled to obtain brain mappings for various meditation styles using different brain imaging techniques and stimulating results have been observed^3-17^. In this letter we report that, together with other brain regions, pineal body exhibit significant activation during meditation process, supporting the long lasting speculation that pineal plays an important role in the intrinsic awareness which might concern spirit or soul. Pineal is known as an endocrine organ which produces substrates including melatonin and has been ascribed numerous even mysterious functions but its activation during meditation has never been observed by brain imaging technique. In seventeenth century, based on anatomic observation, Descartes ventured to suggest that pineal serves as the principal seat of the soul^18-20^. Inspired by its geometric center in the brain, physiologists, psychologists, philosophers and religionists have been speculating for centuries about pineal's function relevant to spirit and soul. In this study, we chose Chinese Original Quiet Sitting, one style of meditation, to explore this long lasting speculation by functional magnetic resonance imaging technique. Our results demonstrate a correlation between pineal activation and religious meditation which might have profound implications in physiological understanding of the intrinsic awareness.
Dissecting the mechanisms of learning-by-doing in Drosophila
Authors: Brembs Björn , Plendl Wolfgang
Published: July 2019

At the heart of learning-by-doing lies a well-known psychological phenomenon: information will be remembered better if it is actively generated rather than passively read or heard. First described in humans, this generation effect can also be observed in various animal models. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the generation effect are unknown. Here we show that two reciprocal interactions between its active and passive components contribute to the generation effect in flies. One interaction consists of the active (skill-learning) component facilitating the passive (fact-learning) component. Fact-learning, on the other hand, inhibits skill-learning. Experiments with adenylyl cyclase I deficient rutabaga mutant flies revealed that the fact- but not the skill-learning component requires this evolutionarily conserved learning gene. Using mushroom-body deficient transgenic flies we observed that the mushroom-bodies mediate the inhibition of skill-learning. This inhibition also enables generalization and prevents premature habit formation. Extended training in wildtype flies produced a phenocopy of mushroom-body impaired flies, such that generalization was abolished and goal-directed actions were transformed into habitual responses. Thus, our results identify various neural processes underlying learning-by-doing, delineate some of their synergisms and provide a framework for further dissecting them in a genetically tractable model system.
Vocal Bursts Communicate Discrete Emotions: Evidence for New Displays
Authors: Simon-Thomas Emiliana , Sauter Disa , Sinicropi-Yao Lara , Abramson Anna , Keltner Dacher
Published: July 2019

Studies of emotion signaling have proven critical to scientific advances in understanding emotion, informing claims about the evolutionary origins of different emotions1, the central and peripheral nervous system correlates of emotion 2 3 and even which states warrant consideration in emotion taxonomies 4. An initial wave of empirical studies of emotion-related facial expression5 and vocalization 6 7 has concentrated almost exclusively on a limited set of emotions - anger, disgust, fear, sadness, surprise, happiness, and tenderness. More recent work on emotional facial expressions has expanded this framework, documenting reliable displays of other emotions like embarrassment and shame 8, pride 9, and love and desire 10 . Here, we present two studies that evaluate the voice's ability to communicate 22 different emotions, including positive emotions like awe, love and sensory pleasure as well as self-conscious emotions like embarassment and guilt. These studies show that vocal bursts signal a greater number of discrete emotions than has been previously documented and that some emotions are better identified within families of related emotions.
ChIP-on-chip significance analysis reveals large-scale binding and regulation by human transcription factor oncogenes
Authors: Margolin Adam , Palomero Teresa , Sumazin Pavel , Califano Andrea , Ferrando Adolfo , Stolovitzky Gustavo
Published: July 2019

ChIP-on-chip has emerged as a powerful tool to dissect the complex network of regulatory interactions between transcription factors and their targets. However, most ChIP-on-chip analysis methods use conservative approaches aimed to minimize false-positive transcription factor targets. We present a model with improved sensitivity in detecting binding events from ChIP-on-chip data. Biochemically validated analysis in human T-cells reveals that three transcription factor oncogenes, NOTCH1, MYC, and HES1, bind one order of magnitude more promoters than previously thought. Gene expression profiling upon NOTCH1 inhibition shows broad-scale functional regulation across the entire range of predicted target genes, establishing a closer link between occupancy and regulation. Finally, the resolution of a more complete map of transcriptional targets reveals that MYC binds nearly all promoters bound by NOTCH1. Overall, these results suggest an unappreciated complexity of transcriptional regulatory networks and highlight the fundamental importance of genome-scale analysis to represent transcriptional programs.
To every man his own language: Are we all Darwin’s children?
Authors: Ghosh Shantanu
Published: July 2019

Although current theories of language evolution have examined both molecular evolution as well as functional connectivity of the cortex in humans as well as other primates, a description of language as pre-adaptation open to natural selection has eluded us so far. Here I review the evidence in favor of natural selection that trigger growth and plasticity of the prefrontal cortex in humans and its links to the mirror neuron system. Evolvability of recursive mechanisms as the hallmark of evolution of symbolic communication in humans is also investigated. The polymorphism of genes like ASPM, Microcephalin and FOXP2 in the evolution of language as an emergent property has also been examined.
Face Cognition: A Set of Distinct Mental Abilities
Authors: Wilhelm Oliver , Herzmann Grit , Kunina Olga , Sommer Werner
Published: July 2019

Perceiving, learning, and recognizing faces swiftly and accurately is of paramount importance to humans as a social species. Though established functional models of face cognition1,2 suggest the existence of multiple abilities in face cognition, the number of such abilities and the relationships among them and to other cognitive abilities can only be determined by studying individual differences. Here we investigated individual differences in a broad variety of indicators of face cognition and identified for the first time three component abilities: face perception, face memory, and the speed of face cognition. These component abilities were replicated in an independent study and were found to be robustly separable from established cognitive abilities, specifically immediate and delayed memory, mental speed, general cognitive ability, and object cognition. The analysis of individual differences goes beyond functional and neurological models of face cognition by demonstrating the difference between face perception and face learning, and by making evident the distinction between speed and accuracy of face cognition. Our indicators also provide a means to develop tests and training programs for face cognition that are broader and more precise than those currently available).3,4
Statistical Modeling of Epistasis and Linkage Decay using Logic Regression
Authors: Parker Thomas , Szűcs P , Mahaffee W , Henning John
Published: July 2019

Logic regression has been recognized as a tool that can identify and model non-additive genetic interactions using Boolean logic groups. Logic regression, TASSEL-GLM and SAS-GLM were compared for analytical precision using a previously characterized model system to identify the best genetic model explaining epistatic interaction for vernalization-sensitivity in barley. A genetic model containing two molecular markers identified in vernalization response in barley was selected using logic regression while both TASSEL-GLM and SAS-GLM included spurious associations in their models. The results also suggest the logic regression can be used to identify dominant/recessive relationships between epistatic alleles through its use of conjugate operators.
Interleukin-10 containing normal human serum inhibits granzyme B release but not perforin release from alloreactive and EBV-specific T cell clones
Authors: Nishimura Motoko , Sato Hideya , Okazaki Hitoshi , Satake Masahiro , Tadokoro Kenji
Published: July 2019

Interleukin-10 (IL-10), also known as cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor, has pleiotropic effects in immunoregulation and inflammation. It is capable of inhibiting synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines like interferon [gamma] (IFN[gamma]), IL-2, IL-3, tumor necrosis factor [alpha] (TNF[alpha]) and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) made by cells such as macrophages and T helper Type 1 cells. We observed that normal human serum, derived from a healthy individual but containing large amounts of IL-10 (arbitrarily designated as "IL-10 serum"), inhibited cytotoxic activity and interfered with granzyme B release from alloreactive cytotoxic T cell clones in vitro, but did not affect perforin release. The addition of normal human serum containing high levels of anti-IL-10 IgG (arbitrarily designated as "anti-IL-10 IgG serum") neutralized the inhibitory effects of IL-10 serum. Moreover, we have identified that cytotoxic activity and granzyme B release from an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific cytotoxic T cell clone was similarly inhibited in the presence of IL-10 serum, while perforin release was unaffected. Anti-IL-10 IgG serum also appeared to neutralize the inhibitory effect of IL-10 serum on an EBV-specific T cell clone. When anti-IL-10 IgG was depleted from anti-IL-10 IgG containing serum (arbitrarily designated as "anti-IL10 IgG free serum"), the neutralizing effect disappeared for both alloreactive and an EBV-specific T cell clone.
Molecular mechanisms of the regulation of ATPase cycle in striated muscle
Authors: Borovikov Yuri , Karpicheva Olga , Redwood Charles
Published: July 2019

New data on the molecular mechanism of the regulation of ATPase cycle by troponin-tropomyosin system have been obtained in reconstructed muscle fibers by using the polarized fluorescence technique, which allowed us following the azimuthal movements of tropomyosin, actin subdomain-1 and myosin SH1 helix motor domain during the sequential steps of ATPase cycle. We found that tropomyosin strands "rolling" on thin filament surface from periphery to center at ATPase cycle increases the amplitudes of multistep changes in special arrangement of SH1 helix and subdomain-1 at force generation states. These changes seem to convey to actin monomers and to myosin "lever arm", resulting in enhance of the effectiveness of each cross-bridge work. At high-Ca^2+^ troponin, a shift of tropomyosin strands further to center at strong-binding states increases this effect. At low-Ca^2+^ troponin "freezes" tropomyosin and actin in states typical for weak-binding states, resulting in disturbing the teamwork of actin and myosin.