bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The open field assay is influenced by room temperature and by drugs that affect core body temperature
Authors: Jiménez Jessica A. , McCoy Eric S. , Lee David F. , Zylka Mark J.
Published: October 2022

The open field assay is used to study anxiety-related traits and anxiolytic drugs in rodents. This assay entails measuring locomotor activity and time spent in the center of a chamber that is maintained at ambient room temperature. However, the ambient temperature in most laboratories varies daily and seasonally and can differ substantially between buildings. Here, we sought to evaluate how varying ambient temperature and core body temperature (CBT) affected open field locomotor activity and center time of wild-type (WT) andTrpm8knock-out (Trpm8-/-) mice. TRPM8 is an ion channel that detects cool temperatures and is activated by cooling agents, including icilin and menthol. We found that the cooling agent icilin increased CBT and profoundly reduced distance traveled and center time of WT mice relative to vehicle controls. Likewise, cooling the ambient temperature to 4°C reduced distance traveled and center time of WT mice relative toTrpm8-/-mice. Conversely, the TRPM8 antagonist (M8-B) reduced CBT and increased distance traveled and center time of WT mice when tested at 4°C. Predictably, the TRPM8 antagonist (M8-B) had no effect on CBT or open field behavior ofTrpm8-/-mice. The anxiolytic diazepam reduced CBT in both WT andTrpm8-/-mice. When tested at 4°C, diazepam increased distance traveled and center time in WT mice but did not alter open field behavior ofTrpm8-/-mice. Our study shows that environmental temperature and drugs that affect CBT can influence locomotor behavior and center time in the open field assay, highlighting temperature (ambient and core) as sources of environmental and physiologic variability in this commonly used behavioral assay.
Damage dynamics in singleE. coliand the role of chance in the timing of cell death
Authors: Yang Yifan , Karin Omer , Mayo Avi , Bar Alon , Song Xiaohu , Chen Peipei , Santos Ana L. , Lindner Ariel B. , Alon Uri
Published: October 2022

Genetically identical cells in the same stressful condition die at different times. The origin of this stochasticity is unclear; it may arise from different initial conditions that affect the time of demise, or from a stochastic damage accumulation mechanism that erases the initial conditions and instead amplifies noise to generate different lifespans. To address this requires measuring damage dynamics in individual cells over the lifespan, but this has rarely been achieved. Here, we used a microfluidic device to measure membrane damage in 648 carbon-starvedE. colicells at high temporal resolution. We find that initial conditions of damage, size or cell-cycle phase do not explain most of the lifespan variation. Instead, the data points to a stochastic mechanism in which noise is amplified by a rising production of damage that saturates its own removal. Surprisingly, the relative variation in damage drops with age: cells become more similar to each other in terms of relative damage, indicating increasing determinism with age. Thus, chance erases initial conditions and then gives way to increasingly deterministic dynamics that dominate the lifespan distribution.
Functionally annotating cysteine disulfides and metal binding sites in the plant kingdom using AlphaFold2 predicted structures
Authors: Willems Patrick , Huang Jingjing , Messens Joris , Van Breusegem Frank
Published: October 2022

Deep learning algorithms such as AlphaFold2 predict three-dimensional protein structure with high confidence. The recent release of more than 200 million structural models provides an unprecedented resource for functional protein annotation. Here, we used AlphaFold2 predicted structures of fifteen plant proteomes to functionally and evolutionary analyze cysteine residues in the plant kingdom. In addition to identification of metal ligands coordinated by cysteine residues, we systematically analyzed cysteine disulfides present in these structural predictions. Our analysis demonstrates most of these predicted disulfides are trustworthy due their high agreement (~96%) with those present in X-ray and NMR protein structures, their characteristic disulfide stereochemistry, the biased subcellular distribution of their proteins and a higher degree of oxidation of their respective cysteines as measured by proteomics. Adopting an evolutionary perspective, zinc binding sites are increasingly present at the expense of iron-sulfur clusters in plants. Interestingly, disulfide formation is increased in secreted proteins of land plants, likely promoting sequence evolution to adapt to changing environments encountered by plants. In summary, Alphafold2 predicted structural models are a rich source of information for studying the role of cysteines residues in proteins of interest and for protein redox biology in general.
Phospholipids are imported into mitochondria by VDAC, a dimeric beta barrel scramblase
Authors: Jahn Helene , Bartoš Ladislav , Dearden Grace I. , Dittman Jeremy S. , Holthuis Joost C. M. , Vácha Robert , Menon Anant K.
Published: October 2022

Mitochondria are double-membrane-bounded organelles that depend critically on phospholipids supplied by the endoplasmic reticulum. These lipids must cross the outer membrane to support mitochondrial function, but how they do this is unclear. We identified the voltage-dependent ion channel (VDAC), an abundant outer membrane protein, as a scramblase-type lipid transporter that catalyzes lipid entry. On reconstitution into membrane vesicles, dimers of human VDAC1 and VDAC2 catalyze rapid transbilayer translocation of phospholipids by a mechanism that is unrelated to their channel activity. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of VDAC1 reveal that lipid scrambling occurs at a specific dimer interface where polar residues induce large water defects and bilayer thinning. The rate of phospholipid import into yeast mitochondria is an order of magnitude lower in the absence of VDAC homologs, indicating that VDACs provide the main pathway for lipid entry. Thus, VDAC isoforms, members of a superfamily of beta barrel proteins, moonlight as a new class of phospholipid scramblases - distinct from alpha-helical scramblase proteins - that act by an unprecedented mechanism to import lipids into mitochondria.
Foxp1 acts upstream of Vegfa, suppresses cortical angiogenesis, and promotes hypoxia in radial glia
Authors: Pearson Caroline A. , Buth Jessie E. , Harrison Michael R.M. , Ross M. Elizabeth , Novitch Bennett G.
Published: October 2022

Radial glia progenitors within the cerebral cortex undergo a characteristic switch between symmetric self-renewing cell divisions early in development and asymmetric neurogenic divisions at later times, yet the mechanisms controlling this transition remain unclear. Previous work has shown that the autism-linked transcription factor Foxp1 is endogenously expressed by early but not late radial glia, and both loss and gain of Foxp1 can alter their neural progenitor activities and fate choices. Here, we show that premature loss of Foxp1 leads to an increase in transcriptional programs regulating angiogenesis, glycolysis, and cellular responses to hypoxia. These changes coincide with an elevation in Vegfa expression in radial glia and precocious vascular network development. Thus, the endogenous decline in Foxp1 expression appears to orchestrate changes in the tissue environment adjacent to radial glia that influence their metabolic state which in turn can alter their self-renewal and neurogenic capacities.
A programmed response precedes cell lysis and death in a mat-forming cyanobacterium
Authors: Zorz Jackie , Paquette Alexandre J. , Gillis Timber , Kouris Angela , Khot Varada , Demirkaya Cigdem , De La Hoz Siegler Hector , Strous Marc , Vadlamani Agasteswar
Published: October 2022

Cyanobacteria form dense multicellular communities that experience transient conditions in terms of access to light and oxygen. These systems are productive but also undergo substantial biomass turnover, supplementing heightened heterotrophic respiration and oxygen drawdown. Here we use metagenomics and metaproteomics to survey the cellular response of a mat-forming cyanobacterium undergoing mass cell lysis after exposure to dark and anoxic conditions. A lack of evidence for visral, bacterial, or eukaryotic antagonism contradicts commonly held beliefs on the causative agent for cyanobacterial death during dense growth. Instead, proteogenomics data indicated that lysis resulted from a genetically programmed response triggered by a failure to maintain osmotic pressure in the wake of severe energy limitation. Cyanobacterial DNA was rapidly degraded, yet cyanobacterial proteins remained abundant. A subset of proteins, including enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism, peptidases, toxin-antitoxin systems, and a potentially self-targeting CRISPR-Cas system, were upregulated upon lysis, indicating involvement in the programmed cell death response. We propose this natural form of programmed cell death could provide new pathways for controlling harmful algal blooms and for sustainable bioproduct production.
Flexible client-dependent cages in the assembly landscape of the periplasmic protease-chaperone DegP
Authors: Harkness Robert W. , Ripstein Zev A. , Di Trani Justin M. , Kay Lewis E.
Published: October 2022

The periplasmic protein DegP, that is implicated in virulence factor transport leading to pathogenicity, is a bi-functional protease and chaperone that maintains protein homeostasis in gram-negative bacteria. To perform these functions, DegP captures clients inside cage-like structures, which we have recently shown to form through the reorganization of high-order preformed apo-oligomers, consisting of trimeric building blocks, that are structurally distinct from client-bound cages. Our previous studies suggested that these apo oligomers may allow DegP to encapsulate clients of various sizes under protein folding stresses by forming cage ensembles that can include extremely large cage particles. To explore the relation between cage and substrate sizes, we engineered a series of DegP clients of increasing hydrodynamic radii and analyzed their influence on DegP cage formation. We used dynamic light scattering and cryogenic electron microscopy to characterize the hydrodynamic properties and structures of the DegP cages that are adopted in response to each client. We present a series of flexible cage structures including novel 30mer and 60mer particles. Key interactions between DegP trimers and the bound clients that stabilize the cage assemblies and prime the clients for catalysis are revealed. We also provide evidence that DegP can form cages which approach subcellular organelles in terms of size.

Significance statement

Gram-negative pathogens export virulence factors that interfere with the function of host cells. This process is mediated by DegP, a protein which controls protein homeostasis in the periplasm of these bacteria and thus is a target for the development of novel antibiotics. DegP operates by incorporating client proteins inside cage-like structures to either recycle them or protect them from aggregation. Using a combination of dynamic light scattering measurements and cryogenic electron microscopy, we have shown that DegP can adopt many types of cages, some as large as subcellular organelles, depending on the size of the engaged client. This property likely enables DegP to capture different sized clients in response to protein misfolding stresses.
An Abundance of Free Proteasomal Regulatory (19S) Particles Regulate Neuronal Synapses Independent of the Proteasome
Authors: Sun Chao , Desch Kristina , Nassim-Assir Belquis , Giandomenico Stefano L. , Nemcova Paulina , Langer Julian D. , Schuman Erin M.
Published: October 2022

The major protein-degradation machine, the proteasome, functions at brain synapses and regulates long-term information storage. Here we found that the two essential subcomplexes of the proteasome, the regulatory (19S) and catalytic (20S) particles that recognize and degrade substrates, are differentially distributed within individual rat cortical neurons. Using superresolution microscopy, we discovered a surprising abundance of free particles (19S) near synapses. The free neuronal 19S particles bind and deubiquitylate Lys63-ubiquitin, a non-proteasome targeting ub-linkage. Pull-down assays revealed a significant over-representation of synaptic molecules as Lys63 interactors. Inhibition of 19S deubiquitylase activity significantly altered excitatory synaptic transmission and reduced the synaptic availability of AMPA receptors at multiple trafficking points in a proteasome-independent manner. Together, these results reveal a moonlighting function of the regulatory proteasomal subcomplex near synapses.

One-Sentence Summary

The 19S subcomplex of the major protein-degradation machine, the proteasome, functions without its 20S partner to populate and regulate synapses.
Prediction of multiple conformational states by combining sequence clustering with AlphaFold2
Authors: Wayment-Steele Hannah K. , Ovchinnikov Sergey , Colwell Lucy , Kern Dorothee
Published: October 2022

AlphaFold2 (AF2) has revolutionized structural biology by accurately predicting single structures of proteins and protein-protein complexes. However, biological function is rooted in a protein’s ability to sample different conformational substates, and disease-causing point mutations are often due to population changes of these substates. This has sparked immense interest in expanding AF2’s capability to predict conformational substates. We demonstrate that clustering an input multiple sequence alignment (MSA) by sequence similarity enables AF2 to sample alternate states of known metamorphic proteins, including the circadian rhythm protein KaiB, the transcription factor RfaH, and the spindle checkpoint protein Mad2, and score these states with high confidence. Moreover, we use AF2 to identify a minimal set of two point mutations predicted to switch KaiB between its two states. Finally, we used our clustering method, AF-cluster, to screen for alternate states in protein families without known fold-switching, and identified a putative alternate state for the oxidoreductase DsbE. Similarly to KaiB, DsbE is predicted to switch between a thioredoxin-like fold and a novel fold. This prediction is the subject of future experimental testing. Further development of such bioinformatic methods in tandem with experiments will likely have profound impact on predicting protein energy landscapes, essential for shedding light into biological function.
Autism-associated transcriptional regulators target shared loci proximal to brain-expressed genes
Authors: Fazel Darbandi Siavash , An Joon-Yong , Lim Kenneth , Page Nicholas F. , Liang Lindsay , Ypsilanti Athena R. , Markenscoff-Papadimitriou Eirene , State Matthew W. , Nord Alex S. , Sanders Stephan J. , Rubenstein John L. R.
Published: October 2022

Many autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-associated genes act as transcriptional regulators (TRs). ChIP-seq was used to identify the regulatory targets of ARID1B, BCL11A, FOXP1, TBR1, and TCF7L2, ASD-associated TRs in the developing human and mouse cortex. These TRs shared substantial overlap in the binding sites, especially within open chromatin. The overlap within a promoter region, 1-2,000bp upstream of transcription start site, was highly predictive of brain expressed genes. This signature was observed at 96 out of 102 ASD-associated genes. In vitro CRISPRi against ARID1B and TBR1 delineated downstream convergent biology in mouse cortical cultures. After eight days, NeuN+ and CALB+ cells were decreased, GFAP+ cells were increased, and transcriptomic signatures correlated with the postmortem brain samples from individuals with ASD. We suggest functional convergence across five ASD-associated TRs leads to shared neurodevelopmental outcomes of haploinsufficient disruption.
Ploidy modulates cell size and metabolic rate inXenopusembryos
Authors: Cadart Clotilde , Bartz Julianne , Oaks Gillian , Liu Martin , Heald Rebecca
Published: October 2022

A positive correlation between genome size and cell size is well documented, but impacts on animal physiology are poorly understood. InXenopusfrogs, the number of genome copies (ploidy) varies across species and can be manipulated within a species. Here we show that triploid tadpoles contain fewer, larger cells than diploids and consume oxygen at a lower rate. Treatments that altered cell membrane stability or electrical potential abolished this difference, suggesting that a decrease in total cell surface area reduces basal energy consumption in triploids. Comparison ofXenopusspecies that evolved through polyploidization revealed that metabolic differences emerged during development when cell size scaled with genome size. Thus, ploidy affects metabolism by altering the cell surface area to volume ratio in a multicellular organism.

One-Sentence Summary

The amount of DNA per cell in a vertebrate modulates basal metabolism by altering cell size and plasma membrane energetics.
Investigating users' sustained information seeking on academic social networking sites
Authors: Chen Xiaoyu
Published: October 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate motivators, mediator and moderator of users' sustained information seeking on academic social networking sites (ASNSs).

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon the expectancy–value theory and related information-seeking literature, the study developed a theoretical model to explain why and how users intend to continue seeking information on ASNSs. Thereafter, a field survey with 385 participants was conducted to test the model. Finally, a content analysis of participants' post-survey feedback was performed to complement the model test results by showing more fine-grained findings.

Findings

Results suggest that information usefulness and information adoption (IA) are significant to users' sustained information seeking on ASNSs, while users' satisfaction with ASNSs may play a mediating role in the relationship between information usefulness and sustained information seeking. Additionally, self-efficacy for critical thinking (SCT) weakens the impact of IA on users' satisfaction with ASNSs. The post-survey feedback analysis indicates that information usefulness is more critical to sustained information seeking for users with high SCT, whereas IA becomes more crucial to users' satisfaction with ASNSs and sustained information seeking for users with low SCT.

Originality/value

Although the extant literature has distinguished between information seeking and sustained information seeking, empirical research into users' sustained information seeking on ASNSs is limited. The study fills this gap by proposing and validating relevant factors and the boundary condition of users' sustained information seeking.
Work–life balance and work values as antecedents of job embeddedness: the case of Generation Y
Authors: Fuchs Rosa María , Morales Oswaldo , Timana Juan
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The objective of this research is to study work–life balance and intrinsic and extrinsic work values as antecedents of job embeddedness. Likewise, the conservation of resources (COR) theory is used as a framework of the study and the research contributes to expanding its field of action.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative study was designed, following the guidelines of the hypothetical-deductive method. The model is validated in a sample of 211 members of Generation Y with work experience. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Models (PLS-SEM).

Findings

Research has shown that work–life balance is an antecedent of job embeddedness for each dimension (links, fit and sacrifice). Regarding work values, the research results allow us to appreciate that for Generation Y; it is the intrinsic work values that are significant.

Originality/value

Job embeddedness has been studied under the framework of the COR theory. The study contributes to expanding the field of action of this theory in terms of voluntary turnover and the tangible or intangible resources that influence it. The literature presents differing opinions about what members of Generation Y value in the workplace and results show that work–life balance and intrinsic work values are appreciated by them. The sample is made up of people with working experience while research on Generation Y often uses students. Companies will be able to offer more precise benefits to retain Generation Y based on this research.
Open educational practices in a Cultural Capability unit: learning at the cultural interface
Authors: Lambert Sarah , Funk Johanna
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The authors respond to the special edition call for papers which explore the intersection between equity pedagogy and open educational practices (OEPs). The purpose of this study is to address the question “In what ways are educators ensuring equity in open educational practices (OEP)?” by investigating the use of OEPs in a first-year Cultural Capability unit at an Australian University. The Cultural Capability unit and this study are underpinned by concepts of border crossings (Aikenhead, 1996) across the cultural interface (Nakata, 2007) enabled by modelling and practicing collaborative power relations (Cummins, 2000).

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a qualitative content analysis method to analyse three textual data sets from students (interviews, writing samples and unit evaluation comments), for insights into students’ learning experiences and outcomes related to OEPs used in the unit.

Findings

The OEPs used in the unit support working across multiple knowledge systems, disciplines and conceptual boundaries. The unit’s OEPs facilitate border crossings amongst multiple subcultures and share power to induce participation and give students language to discuss how they might cross borders in the wider cultural interfaces they are learning and working in.

Originality/value

This study extends the theorising of OEP to introduce cultural border crossings and collaborative relations of power as examples of values-centred OEPs in the service of emancipatory learning in multi-cultural contexts. This study extends the practical applications of OEPs to making space for Indigenous and global students’ perspectives as valuable in the development of cultural capabilities.
Does financial inclusion spur carbon emissions in India: an ARDL approach
Authors: Singh Anurag Bhadur , Tandon Priyanka , Jasuja Deepmala
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The present study tries to examine the relationship between financial inclusion and environmental quality as proxied by carbon emissions in India covering the period from 2008 to 2018.

Design/methodology/approach

A financial inclusion index has been composed using principal component analysis (PCA) based on three dimensions: access, penetration and usage. After testing for stationarity of the data, the authors adopted the autoregressive distributive lag model (ARDL) methodology.

Findings

The study found that financial inclusion and growth lead to increased carbon emissions in India and the government must resort to greener policies, whereas empirical results support that globalization reduced the pollutants emissions in both the long term and short period in India.

Practical implications

Based on the results, several policy prescriptions are rendered for policymakers: (1) need to move toward greener energy policies and (2) enhance the awareness of green financing instruments such as green bonds in India. Therefore, policymakers should be more proactive in accepting green and sustainable financial alternatives.

Originality/value

The present study contributes to the scant literature on the financial inclusion–emission nexus in India. This study considers three inclusion parameters that are not present in previous studies.
Towards effectively restoring agricultural landscapes in East African drylands: Linking plant functional traits with soil hydrology
Authors: Mens Lotte Patty , Bargués‐Tobella Aida , Sterck Frank , Vågen Tor‐Gunnar , Winowiecki Leigh Ann , Lohbeck Madelon
Published: October 2022

Land degradation is a major threat to food security in Sub Saharan Africa. Low infiltration rates in degraded soils increase the risk of surface runoff and decrease soil and groundwater recharge, resulting in further loss of soil fertility, water scarcity and crop failure. Increasing woody vegetation typically enhances soil infiltrability but little is known about how species may have differential effects on the soil hydrological properties. The aim of this study is to understand how woody vegetation and its functional properties affect soil fertility and infiltrability.

We measured field‐saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) and soil organic carbon (SOC) in 38 plots across agricultural landscapes in Muminji, Kenya. Woody vegetation and land use inventories took place and species functional traits were measured on the 63 most abundant species. We systematically tested the effects of vegetation quantity (aboveground woody biomass and vegetation cover) and quality (functional properties and diversity) on soil health (Kfs as a proxy for soil infiltrability and SOC for soil fertility).

We found that both vegetation quantity and quality affected soil health. Aboveground woody biomass increased the Kfs and we found a nearly significant positive effect of vegetation cover on SOC. Woody plants with a low leaf thickness positively affected Kfs and a nearly significant negative effect of wood moisture content on SOC was found.

Synthesis and applications. This study demonstrates that the systematic assessment of vegetation can lead to evidence‐based recommendations to guide land restoration. We found that avoiding bare soil and promoting woody plants, while favouring species with thin leaves and avoiding species with a very low wood density and water storage strategy, is beneficial for soil health across agricultural landscapes in East African drylands.
Sub‐Saharan Africa's debt‐financed growth: How sustainable and inclusive?
Authors: Olaoye Olumide Olusegun
Published: October 2022

Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries recorded impressive economic growth in the last two decades. The question however is, how inclusive and sustainable is this growth? With this in mind, this study examined the sustainability and inclusiveness of economic growth in a panel of 44 SSA countries, over a period of 38 years, while taking into account the diversity of the continent's institutional quality, income growth and resource endowment. The study adopts the innovative nonlinear fiscal reaction function and the dynamic panel threshold model to account for potential asymmetric phenomena in public debt series. The study also adopts Driscoll and Kraay's estimator to account for cross‐section dependency and cross‐country heterogeneity. The result shows that the recent increase in the economic growth rate in SSA is not sustainable and inclusive. This is tenable since if economic growth is debt induced, more money will be spent on servicing public debt, thus depriving governments of funds for critical intervention programs. Lastly, the study found a public debt/gross domestic product ratio threshold of 34% beyond which public debt impairs growth inclusiveness across SSA. The research and policy implications are discussed.
Complicating cure: How Australian criminal law shapes imagined post‐hepatitis C futures
Authors: Seear Kate , Mulcahy Sean , Kagan Dion , Lenton Emily , Fraser Suzanne , Valentine Kylie , Farrugia Adrian
Published: October 2022

In recent years, highly tolerable and effective drugs have emerged promising a radical new ‘post‐hepatitis C’ world. Optimism about medical cure potentially overlooks discrimination and stigma associated with hepatitis C and injecting drug use. Legal frameworks are especially relevant to hepatitis futures, since the law has the potential to reinforce or alleviate stigma and discrimination. This article explores how hepatitis C figures in Australian criminal law and with what potential effects. Drawing on Bruno Latour’s work on legal veridiction, Alison Kafer’s work on futurity and disability and case law data collected for a major study on hepatitis C and post‐cure lives, we explore how the criminal law handles hepatitis C in the age of cure. We find that law complicates cure, constituting hepatitis C as disabling despite the advent of effective cures. The law steadfastly maintains its own approach to disease, disability and illness, untouched by medical and scientific developments, in ways that might complicate straightforwardly linear imaginaries of cure, transformation and progress of the kind that dominate biomedicine. We explore the implications of these tensions between law and medicine.
Prevention of microbes‐induced spoilage in sodium chloride–free cucumber fermentations employing preservatives
Authors: Pérez‐Díaz Ilenys M. , Medina Eduardo. , Page Clinton A. , Johanningsmeier Suzanne D. , Daughtry Katheryne V. , Moeller Lisa
Published: October 2022

This study evaluated preservatives to stabilize sodium chloride (NaCl)–free‐cucumber fermentations. The brining of air‐purged laboratory cucumber fermentations with 100.0 mM calcium chloride (CaCl2) and 25.0 mM acetic acid resulted in immediate rises in pH, the chemical reduction of the medium, and malodors. Supplementation with 3.0 mM sodium benzoate or 3.0 mM potassium sorbate enabled a decline in pH, a continuous oxidative state of the medium, and delayed rising pH spoilage. However, lactic and acetic acids eventually disappeared in fermentations supplemented with preservatives. The amount of preservatives needed to suppress growth of brined‐cucumber‐spoilage microbes was determined in Fermented Cucumber Juice Medium (FCJM). Supplementation of FCJM with 10.0 mM sodium benzoate was inhibitory for the spoilage yeasts, Issatchenkia occidentalis and Pichia manshurica, and the lactobacilli, Lentilactobacillus buchneri and Lentilactobacillus parafarraginis, but not of Zygosaccharomyces globiformis. Potassium sorbate inhibited the spoilage yeasts at 15.0 mM in FCJM but not the lactobacilli. Supplementation of FCJM with 20.0 mM fumaric acid had a bactericidal effect on the spoilage‐associated lactobacilli. As expected, NaCl‐free‐commercial cucumber fermentations brined with 100 mM CaCl2, no acetic acid, and 6 mM potassium sorbate resulted in complete fermentations, but supported rising pH, microbially induced spoilage during long‐term storage. Post‐fermentation supplementation with 12 mM sodium benzoate, 10 mM fumaric acid, a combination of the two, or 10 mM fumaric acid and 2 mM AITC prevented microbial activity during long‐term bulk storage.

Practical Application

Several preservative‐based strategies for stabilizing NaCl‐free cucumber fermentation in a commercial production setting were developed, enabling the implementation of a processing technology that reduces wastewater volumes and environmental impact.
Development and validation of the Alcoholic Beverage Identification Deep Learning Algorithm version 2 for quantifying alcohol exposure in electronic images
Authors: Bonela Abraham Albert , He Zhen , Norman Thomas , Kuntsche Emmanuel
Published: October 2022

Background

Seeing alcohol in media has been demonstrated to increase alcohol craving, impulsive decision‐making, and hazardous drinking. Due to the exponential growth of (social) media use it is important to develop algorithms to quantify alcohol exposure efficiently in electronic images. In this article, we describe the development of an improved version of the Alcoholic Beverage Identification Deep Learning Algorithm (ABIDLA), called ABIDLA2.

Methods

ABIDLA2 was trained on 191,286 images downloaded from Google Image Search results (based on search terms) and Bing Image Search results. In Task‐1, ABIDLA2 identified images as containing one of eight beverage categories (beer/cider cup, beer/cider bottle, beer/cider can, wine, champagne, cocktails, whiskey/cognac/brandy, other images). In Task‐2, ABIDLA2 made a binary classification between images containing an “alcoholic beverage” or “other”. An ablation study was performed to determine which techniques improved algorithm performance.

Results

ABIDLA2 was most accurate in identifying Whiskey/Cognac/Brandy (88.1%) followed by Beer/Cider Can (80.5%), Beer/Cider Bottle (78.3%), and Wine (77.8%). Its overall accuracy was 77.0% (Task‐1) and 87.7% (Task‐2). Even the identification of the least accurate beverage category (Champagne, 64.5%) was more than five times higher than random chance (12.5% = 1/8 categories). The implementation of balanced data sampler to address class skewness and the use of self‐training to make use of a large, secondary, weakly labeled dataset particularly improved overall algorithm performance.

Conclusion

With extended capabilities and a higher accuracy, ABIDLA2 outperforms its predecessor and enables the screening of any kind of electronic media rapidly to estimate the quantity of alcohol exposure. Quantifying alcohol exposure automatically through algorithms like ABIDLA2 is important because viewing images of alcoholic beverages in media tends to increase alcohol consumption and related harms.
Prognostic factors for low‐risk drinking and relapse in alcohol use disorder: A multimodal analysis
Authors: Maillard Angéline , Laniepce Alice , Segobin Shailendra , Lahbairi Najlaa , Boudehent Céline , Vabret François , Cabé Nicolas , Pitel Anne‐Lise
Published: October 2022

This study aims to specify the determinants of low‐risk alcohol drinking and relapse at different time points after detoxification in patients with severe alcohol use disorder (AUD). Fifty‐four patients with AUD and 36 healthy controls (HC) were evaluated early in abstinence (T1). They underwent clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging (structural MRI and 18FDG‐PET) investigations. Patients with AUD were subsequently classified as “low‐risk drinkers” (LR) or “relapsers” (R) based on their alcohol drinking at 6 months (T2) and 1 year (T3) after discharge, using their medical record or self‐reported drinking estimation at follow‐up. Based on the alcohol status at T2 and compared with HC, only R had alexithymia, lower grey matter volume in the midbrain and hypermetabolism in the cerebellum and hippocampi. Based on the alcohol status at T3 and compared with HC, only R had more severe nicotinic dependence, lower episodic and working memory performance, lower grey matter volume in the amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus and hypermetabolism in cerebellum, hippocampi and anterior cingulate gyrus. Moreover, R had bilateral frontal hypometabolism, whereas LR only presented right frontal hypometabolism. Nicotine dependence, memory impairments and structural brain abnormalities in regions involved in impulsivity and decision‐making might contribute to a 1‐year relapse. Treatment outcome at 1 year may also be associated with an imbalance between a hypermetabolism of the limbic system and a hypometabolism of the frontal executive system. Finally, cerebellar hypermetabolism and alexithymia may be determinants of relapse at both 6 months and 1 year.
Furan fatty acid metabolite in newborns predicts risk of asthma
Authors: Gürdeniz Gözde , Kim Min , Brustad Nicklas , Ernst Madeleine , Russo Francesco , Stokholm Jakob , Bønnelykke Klaus , Hougaard David , Rasmussen Morten , Cohen Arieh , Chawes Bo
Published: October 2022

Background

Intake of fish‐oil and fatty fish during pregnancy has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood asthma but biomarkers of such intake are lacking.

Objective

To establish biomarkers of prenatal fish‐oil exposure from newborn dry blood spot metabolomics profiles and assess their relevance for childhood asthma risk stratification.

Methods

The Danish COPSAC2010 mother–child cohort was utilized to investigate the effect of a double‐blinded randomized controlled trial of fish‐oil supplementation during pregnancy on dry blood spot liquid‐chromatography mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics profiles of 677 newborns. We thereafter investigated the association between fish‐oil associated biomarkers in the newborn and development of asthma‐related outcomes. Replication was sought in the independent observational COPSAC2000 cohort with 387 newborn metabolomics profiles.

Results

The newborn metabolomics profiles differed between children in the fish‐oil vs. placebo group in COPSAC2010 (area under the receiver operator curve = 0.94 ± 0.03, p < .001). The fish‐oil metabolomics profile and the top biomarker, 3‐carboxy‐4‐methyl‐5‐propyl‐2‐furan propanoic acid (CMPF) were both associated with a decreased risk of asthma by age 6 years (HR = 0.89, p = .002 and HR = 0.67, p = .005, respectively). In COPSAC2000, newborn CMPF level was also inversely associated with asthma risk by age 6 years (HR = 0.69, p = .01). Troublesome lung symptoms and common infections in the first 3 years were also inversely associated with newborn CMPF levels in both cohorts.

Conclusions

Newborn children's blood levels of the furan fatty acid metabolite CMPF reflect fish‐oil and fatty fish intake during pregnancy and are associated with a lower risk of asthma across two cohorts, which could aid newborn screening for childhood asthma.
Addressing exploitation and inequities in open science: A relational perspective
Authors: Ewuoso Cornelius , Cordeiro‐Rodrigues Luís , Wonkam Ambroise , de Vries Jantina
Published: October 2022

There are concerns that participation in open science will lead to various forms of exploitation – of researchers and scholars in low‐income countries and under‐resourced institutions. This article defends a contrary thesis and demonstrates the exact ways the underexplored notions of communal relationships, human dignity and social justice – and the normative principles to which they give rise – grounded in African philosophy can usefully address critical concerns regarding exploitation in the sharing of research resources to facilitate open partnership/collaboration and reuse. Further research is required to study the specific roles different institutions can play in facilitating open practice and contribute towards establishing effective structures that can enhance equity and balance unfavourable power asymmetries.
The many faces of globular glial tauopathy: A clinical and imaging study
Authors: Buciuc Marina , Koga Shunsuke , Pham Nha Trang Thu , Duffy Joseph R. , Knopman David S. , Ali Farwa , Boeve Bradley F. , Graff‐Radford Jon , Botha Hugo , Lowe Val J. , Nguyen Aivi , Reichard Ross R. , Dickson Dennis W. , Petersen Ronald C. , Whitwell Jennifer L. , Josephs Keith A.
Published: October 2022

Background

Globular glial tauopathy (GGT) has been associated with frontotemporal dementia syndromes; little is known about the clinical and imaging characteristics of GGT and how they differ from other non‐globular glial 4‐repeat tauopathies (N4GT) such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or corticobasal degeneration (CBD).

Methods

For this case–control study the Mayo Clinic brain banks were queried for all cases with an autopsy‐confirmed diagnosis of GGT between 1 January 2011 and 31 October 2021. Fifty patients with N4GT (30 PSP, 20 CBD) were prospectively recruited and followed by the Neurodegenerative Research Group at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to characterize patterns of gray/white matter atrophy, MR‐parkinsonism index, midbrain volume, and white matter hyperintensities.18F‐Fluorodeoxyglucose‐, 11C Pittsburg compound‐, and 18F‐flortaucipir‐positron emission tomography scans were reviewed.

Results

Twelve patients with GGT were identified: 83% were women compared to 42% in NG4T (p = 0.02) with median age at death 76.5 years (range: 55–87). The most frequent clinical features were eye movement abnormalities, parkinsonism, behavioral changes followed by pyramidal tract signs and motor speech abnormalities. Lower motor neuron involvement was present in 17% and distinguished GGT from NG4T (p = 0.035). Primary progressive apraxia of speech was the most frequent initial diagnosis (25%); 50% had a Parkinson‐plus syndrome before death. Most GGT patients had asymmetric frontotemporal atrophy with matching hypometabolism. GGT patients had more gray matter atrophy in temporal lobes, normal MR‐parkinsonism index, and larger midbrain volumes.

Conclusions

Female sex, lower motor neuron involvement in the context of a frontotemporal dementia syndrome, and asymmetric brain atrophy with preserved midbrain might be suggestive of underlying GGT.
Visual portrayals of fun in the sun in European news outlets misrepresent heatwave risks
Authors: O'Neill Saffron , Hayes Sylvia , Strauβ Nadine , Doutreix Marie‐Noëlle , Steentjes Katharine , Ettinger Joshua , Westwood Ned , Painter James
Published: October 2022

The ways in which news media communicate about heatwaves can influence how society conceptualises and addresses heatwave risks. We examined visual news coverage of the 2019 heatwaves in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, using content and visual critical discourse analyses. Many visuals were positively valenced (in contrast to article texts), framing heatwaves as ‘fun in the sun’. The most prevalent type of images in all countries were photographs of people having fun in or by water. When images did depict the danger of heat extremes, people were largely absent. We conclude that this visual framing of heatwaves is problematic: first, by displacing concerns of vulnerability, it marginalises the experiences of those vulnerable to heatwaves; and second, it excludes opportunities for imagining a more resilient future. We conclude with suggestions to diversify the visual discourse on climate change and heatwaves in the news media.
“Flying under the radar”: Postfeminism and teaching in academic science
Authors: Doerr Katherine
Published: October 2022

Neoliberal academia is marked by vertical and horizontal gender segregation, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a particularly concerning case. Women with PhDs are underrepresented, and when they do participate, they are more likely than men to be in teaching‐intensive roles. Beyond equality concerns, this is problematic because when women are interpreters rather than producers of disciplinary knowledge, the STEM enterprise remains gender‐biased. Using data from a 2‐year ethnography with physical science faculty in teaching‐intensive roles, this paper argues that gender inequity is reproduced through postfeminist discourses of work‐life balance. Participants who are mothers say they are flying under the radar at work. They self‐surveille as they engage in both paid labor as university educators and unpaid carework at home. Importantly, when participants challenge hegemonic gender norms, they attract the radar's attention and are sanctioned. This study contributes to a growing understanding of how and why women are marginalized in STEM careers. Women with science PhDs fulfill their university's teaching mission with minimal support for the implied compensation of work‐life balance, leaving the institutional structures which privilege men's participation in STEM research intact.
Design of a superb Eu2+–Mn2+ co‐doped narrow‐band green phosphor via nearly 100% energy transfer efficiency
Authors: Lu Guangtao , Wang Yichao , Piao Siqi , Zhang Jinsu , Zhang Xizhen , Zhou Xufeng , Cao Yongze , Li Xiangping , Chen Baojiu
Published: October 2022

The excellent narrow‐band emitters, especially the green ones, are regarded as a pivotal research direction for light‐emitting diodes (LED) backlights in liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs). A nearly single‐peak green emission centered at 513 nm with a full width at half maximum of 28 nm is reached in KAl11O17:0.1Eu2+, 0.15Mn2+ phosphor via nearly 100% energy transfer (ET) efficiency, and the extended X‐ray absorption fine structure analysis elucidates its mechanism, which is that Eu2+ and Mn2+ are constrained to form Eu2+–Mn2+ pairs with a small distance 3.7 Å caused by the local environment relaxation inducement. Meanwhile, by creating an unhindered energy flow between Eu2+, Mn2+ and K+/O2− defect levels through ET and multilevel electron trapped and recombination process, the KAO:Eu2+, Mn2+ phosphors perform superb photoluminescence property with a high color purity of 83%, an excellent thermal stability (94%@200°C), and unexceptionable internal and external quantum efficiencies of 91.7% and 66.4%, which all are superior to characteristics of commercial β‐SiAlON:Eu2+ phosphor. Moreover, the white LED fabricated using KAO:Eu2+, Mn2+ to provide green component shows a wide color gamut of 105% National Television System Committee. These results indicate a potential for an application of our material in LCD–LED backlights, and the design of such local relaxation‐induced structure provides a significative reference to develop the new narrow‐band emitters.
Social support at work and job satisfaction among midwives: The mediating role of positive affect and work engagement
Authors: Jasiński Arkadiusz M. , Derbis Romuald
Published: October 2022

Aims

This study examined whether social support at work from superiors and colleagues is associated with positive affect at work, and whether work engagement creates a positive relationship with job satisfaction among midwives. We also investigated whether a positive affect and work engagement mediate the relationship between social support at work and job satisfaction.

Design

This was a quantitative cross‐sectional study.

Methods

Data were collected from 163 midwives working in the Polish public healthcare system between June 2019 and December 2019.

Results

There was a direct relationship between support from superiors and colleagues, positive affect at work, work engagement and job satisfaction. The relationship between support from superiors and job satisfaction was mediated partially by positive affect at work and work engagement. In contrast, the relationship between support from colleagues and job satisfaction was mediated entirely by positive affect at work and work engagement.

Conclusion

Support from colleagues, compared to support from superiors, was a stronger predictor of positive affect at work and job satisfaction among midwives. Support at work is a resource that leads to higher job satisfaction by generating positive feelings and increasing work engagement.

Impact

We recommend paying particular attention to the role of inter‐personal relationships and positive feelings at work in shaping the level of satisfaction with work among midwives. The personnel management policy at healthcare institutions should be oriented towards strengthening supportive attitudes in the workplace.
The antimicrobial effect of Melissa officinalis L. essential oil to Shewanella putrefaciens: Insights based on the cell membrane and biofilm
Authors: Yu Huijie , Bian Chuhan , Cheng Hao , Mei Jun , Xie Jing
Published: October 2022

This research was to study the effect of Melissa officinalis L. essential oil (MOEO) against Shewanella putrefaciens. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the growth curve indicated that MOEO could inhibit the growth of S. putrefaciens at a relatively low concentration (1 μl·ml−1). The increased values of glucose content, nucleic acid and protein showed that MOEO destroyed the S. putrefaciens cell membrane. Besides, the morphological and ultrastructural changes observed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the S. putrefaciens cell membrane was destroyed irreversibly by MOEO. Meanwhile, the 0.5 μl·ml−1 MOEO could inhibit the formation and motility of biofilm as well as the production of extracellular polysaccharide. In general, MOEO destroyed the cell membrane to inhibit the growth of S. putrefaciens, which indicated MOEO had great potential to be used as a natural bacteriostat.