bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Study on the Utilization of Inorganic Salts as Catalyst for the Conversion of Xylose to Furfural
Authors: Soetedjo Jenny N M , Rasrendra Carolus B , Heeres Hero J
Published: March 2020

The utilization of biomass-waste such as sugar-bagasse,water-hyacynth and palm-oil-fiber as alternative sources for transportation fuels and platform-chemicals is a very active research field. Furfural(FF) is one-of-the-13top platform-chemicals that may be converted to derivatives such as furfuryl-alcohol,furoic-acid and furan with wide applications in the gasoline,diesel and jet-fuel blending-pool. Many studies have been conducted in the mechanism and the kinetics of FF-formation from xylose since the 1940s to maximize FF-yield and to reduce FF-decomposition to undesired-products. Previous studies showed that inorganic-salt gives positive effects on the FF-yield but systematic studies are lacking. Based on it, 60salts were screened in the hydrolysis of 0.1M xylose-aqueous-solution (T=180°C,90minutes,batch). The maximum FF-yield was 53mol% using 5mM-Fe2(SO4)3. The highest FF-selectivity was at 84mol% using 5mM-NaCl, though at low xylose-conversion(35 mol%-FF-yield). Some transition metal-chloride i.e.FeCl2,CuCl2,SnCl2 showed interesting FF-yields(48-50%) and selectivity(58-65%) indicating interesting roles of ion Fe3+ and Cl−. Subsequent studies of two salts i.e.Fe2(SO4)3 and FeCl3(5mM) in combination with HCl and H2SO4(0.1M) were investigated(0.1M-xylose,T=150°C,0-270 min). The result shows that salts increase no FF-yields for H2SO4 but increase the reaction-rate. In contrast, Fe2(SO4)3 increase no yield nor reaction-rate for HCl-catalyzed-system. In conclusion, the inorganic-salts catalyse xylose-conversion to furfural but best results were obtained using HCl without additional salts.
Changes in Job Security and Mental Health: An Analysis of 14 Annual Waves of an Australian Working-Population Panel Survey
Authors: LaMontagne Anthony Daniel , Too Lay San , Punnett Laura , Milner Allison Joy
Published: March 2020

We examined whether job security improvements were associated with improvements in mental health in a large, nationally representative panel study in Australia. We used both within-person fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) regression to analyze data from 14 annual waves covering the calendar period of 2002–2015 (19,169 persons; 106,942 observations). Mental Health Inventory–5 scores were modeled in relation to self-reported job security (categorical, quintiles), adjusting for age, year, education, and job change in the past year. Both FE and RE models showed stepwise improvements in Mental Health Inventory–5 scores with improving job security, with stronger exposure-outcome relationships in the RE models and for men compared with women. The RE coefficients for improvements in job security in men were 2.06 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.67, 2.46) for 1 quintile, steadily increasing for 2- (3.94 (95% CI: 3.54, 4.34)), 3- (5.82 (95% CI: 5.40, 6.24)), and 4-quintile (7.18 (95% CI: 6.71, 7.64)) improvements. The FE model for men produced slightly smaller coefficients, reaching a maximum of 5.55 (95% CI: 5.06, 6.05). This analysis, with improved causal inference over previous observational research, showed that improving job security is strongly associated with decreasing depression and anxiety symptoms. Policy and practice intervention to improve job security could benefit population mental health.
The Piedra Chamana fossil woods and leaves: a record of the vegetation and palaeoenvironment of the Neotropics during the late middle Eocene
Authors: Woodcock Deborah W , Meyer Herbert W
Published: March 2020

Background and Aims

The Piedra Chamana fossil forest in northern Peru is an assemblage of angiosperm woods and leaves preserved in volcaniclastic rocks dated to 39 Mya (late Middle Eocene). We analysed the anatomical and morphological features of the fossils to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment during this time of global warmth, taking advantage of the co-occurrence of woods and leaves to compare different proxies and analytical approaches.

Methods

Wood characters analysed include vessel-related functional traits, traits linked to Baileyan trends, and quantitative features such as vessel diameter and density. Diameter-distribution and diameter and position plots are used to represent vessel diameter and arrangement. Leaf margin and area analysis provides additional climate estimates.

Key Results

The fossil woods show many similarities with modern tropical-forest woods and tropical fossil-wood assemblages; closest correspondence within the Neotropics is to semi-deciduous lowland tropical forest with moderate precipitation (~1000–1200 mm). Features unusual for the modern South American tropics are mainly vessel-related characters (semi-ring porosity, grouped vessels, helical vessel thickenings, short vessel elements) linked to water stress or seasonal water availability. Leaf analysis indicates mean annual temperature of 31 °C (n = 19, 100 % entire-margined) and mean annual precipitation of 1290 mm (n = 22, predominantly microphylls and notophylls).

Conclusions

The palaeovegetation was clearly lowland tropical forest with a dry aspect, but anomalous aspects of the wood anatomy are consistent with the high temperatures indicated by the leaves and are probably explained by differences in seasonality and water stress compared to the present-day Neotropics. A close modern analogue may be in very seasonal regions of Asia. Pronounced monsoonal (summer-rain) conditions may relate to a location (palaeolatitude of 13°S) outside the near-equatorial tropics.
Biochemical and mesophyll diffusional limits to photosynthesis are determined by prey and root nutrient uptake in the carnivorous pitcher plant Nepenthes × ventrata
Authors: Capó-Bauçà Sebastià , Font-Carrascosa Marcel , Ribas-Carbó Miquel , Pavlovič Andrej , Galmés Jeroni
Published: March 2020

Background and Aims

Carnivorous plants can enhance photosynthetic efficiency in response to prey nutrient uptake, but the underlying mechanisms of increased photosynthesis are largely unknown. Here we investigated photosynthesis in the pitcher plant Nepenthes × ventrata in response to different prey-derived and root mineral nutrition to reveal photosynthetic constrains.

Methods

Nutrient-stressed plants were irrigated with full inorganic solution or fed with four different insects: wasps, ants, beetles or flies. Full dissection of photosynthetic traits was achieved by means of gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and immunodetection of photosynthesis-related proteins. Leaf biochemical and anatomical parameters together with mineral composition, nitrogen and carbon isotopic discrimination of leaves and insects were also analysed.

Key Results

Mesophyll diffusion was the major photosynthetic limitation for nutrient-stressed Nepenthes × ventrata, while biochemistry was the major photosynthetic limitation after nutrient application. The better nutrient status of insect-fed and root-fertilized treatments increased chlorophyll, pigment–protein complexes and Rubisco content. As a result, both photochemical and carboxylation potential were enhanced, increasing carbon assimilation. Different nutrient application affected growth, and root-fertilized treatment led to the investment of more biomass in leaves instead of pitchers.

Conclusions

The study resolved a 35-year-old hypothesis that carnivorous plants increase photosynthetic assimilation via the investment of prey-derived nitrogen in the photosynthetic apparatus. The equilibrium between biochemical and mesophyll limitations of photosynthesis is strongly affected by the nutrient treatment.
GraphBin: refined binning of metagenomic contigs using assembly graphs
Authors: Mallawaarachchi Vijini , Wickramarachchi Anuradha , Lin Yu
Published: March 2020

Motivation

The field of metagenomics has provided valuable insights into the structure, diversity and ecology within microbial communities. One key step in metagenomics analysis is to assemble reads into longer contigs which are then binned into groups of contigs that belong to different species present in the metagenomic sample. Binning of contigs plays an important role in metagenomics and most available binning algorithms bin contigs using genomic features such as oligonucleotide/k-mer composition and contig coverage. As metagenomic contigs are derived from the assembly process, they are output from the underlying assembly graph which contains valuable connectivity information between contigs that can be used for binning.

Results

We propose GraphBin, a new binning method that makes use of the assembly graph and applies a label propagation algorithm to refine the binning result of existing tools. We show that GraphBin can make use of the assembly graphs constructed from both the de Bruijn graph and the overlap-layout-consensus approach. Moreover, we demonstrate improved experimental results from GraphBin in terms of identifying mis-binned contigs and binning of contigs discarded by existing binning tools. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the information from the assembly graph has been used in a tool for the binning of metagenomic contigs.

Availability and implementation

The source code of GraphBin is available at https://github.com/Vini2/GraphBin.

Contact

vijini.mallawaarachchi@anu.edu.au or yu.lin@anu.edu.au

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Role of the Thalamus in Basal Forebrain Regulation of Neural Activity in the Primary Auditory Cortex
Authors: Azimi H , Klaassen A-L , Thomas K , Harvey M A , Rainer G
Published: March 2020

Many studies have implicated the basal forebrain (BF) as a potent regulator of sensory encoding even at the earliest stages of or cortical processing. The source of this regulation involves the well-documented corticopetal cholinergic projections from BF to primary cortical areas. However, the BF also projects to subcortical structures, including the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), which has abundant reciprocal connections with sensory thalamus. Here we present naturalistic auditory stimuli to the anesthetized rat while making simultaneous single-unit recordings from the ventral medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) and primary auditory cortex (A1) during electrical stimulation of the BF. Like primary visual cortex, we find that BF stimulation increases the trial-to-trial reliability of A1 neurons, and we relate these results to change in the response properties of MGN neurons. We discuss several lines of evidence that implicate the BF to thalamus pathway in the manifestation of BF-induced changes to cortical sensory processing and support our conclusions with supplementary TRN recordings, as well as studies in awake animals showing a strong relationship between endogenous BF activity and A1 reliability. Our findings suggest that the BF subcortical projections that modulate MGN play an important role in auditory processing.
A Tale of 2 Pneumos: The Impact of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Exposure or Infection Status on Pediatric Nasopharyngeal Carriage ofStreptococcus pneumoniaeandPneumocystis jiroveci: A Nested Case Control Analysis From the Pneumonia Etiology Research In Child Health Study
Authors: Camelo Ingrid Y , Mwananyanda Lawrence M , Thea Donald M , Seidenberg Philip , Gill Christopher J , Weinstein John R
Published: March 2020

Background

The majority of pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in Africa reflect maternal-to-child transmission. HIV exposed but uninfected (HEU) children have increased rates of morbidity and mortality when compared to HIV unexposed and uninfected (HUU) children. The mechanisms behind these unexpected trends are only partially understood but could be explained by the differences in the immune response to infections triggered by an altered immune system state.

Methods

Using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, we compared the nasopharyngeal carriage prevalence and density of Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) and Pneumocystis jirovecii (PJ) between children living with HIV and HEU or HUU cases (pneumonia) and controls (without pneumonia).

Results

The cohort included 1154 children (555 cases and 599 matched controls). The SP carriage prevalence rates were similar between cases and controls. Among SP carriers with pneumonia, carriage density was increased among children living with HIV, versus HEU or HUU children (15.8, 4.7, and 3.6 × 105 copies/mL, respectively). The rate of PJ carriage was significantly higher among children living with HIV than among HEU and HUU children (31%, 15%, and 10%, respectively; P < .05), as was carriage density (63.9, 20.9, and 4.8 × 103 copies/mL, respectively; P < .05).

Conclusions

Carriage prevalences and densities for SP and PJ show different kinetics in terms of their relationship with HIV exposure and clinical status, particularly for Pneumocystis jirovecii. This supports the theory that the increased morbidity and mortality observed among HEU children may reflect deficits not just in humoral immunity but in cell-mediated immunity as well.
Reduction in Baseline CD4 Count Testing Following Human Immunodeficiency Virus “Treat All” Adoption in Uganda
Authors: Nasuuna Esther , Tenforde Mark W , Muganzi Alex , Jarvis Joseph N , Manabe Yukari C , Kigozi Joanita
Published: March 2020

Baseline CD4 testing rates declined from 73% to 21% between 2013 and 2018 with adoption of “Treat All” in Uganda. Advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease (CD4 count < 200 cells/µL) remained common (24% of those tested in 2018, 83% of whom had World Health Organization stage I/II disease). Despite frequent presentation with advanced HIV disease, CD4 testing has declined dramatically.
Rider-Rank Algorithm-Based Feature Extraction for Re-ranking the Webpages in the Search Engine
Authors: Sankpal Lata Jaywant , Patil Suhas H
Published: March 2020

The webpage re-ranking is a challenging task while retrieving the webpages based on the query of the user. Even though the webpages in the search engines are ordered depends on the importance of the content, retrieving the necessary documents based on the input query is quite difficult. Hence, it is required to re-rank the webpages available in the websites based on the features of the pages in the search engines, like Google and Bing. Thus, an effective Rider-Rank algorithm is proposed to re-rank the webpages based on the Rider Optimization Algorithm (ROA). The input queries are forwarded to different search engines, and the webpages generated from the search engines with respect to the input query are gathered. Initially, the keywords are generated for the webpages. Then, the top keyword is selected, and the features are extracted from the top keyword using factor-based, text-based and rank-based features of the webpage. Finally, the webpages are re-ranked using the Rider-Rank algorithm. The performance of the proposed approach is analyzed based on the metrics, such as F-measure, recall and precision. From the analysis, it can be shown that the proposed algorithm obtains the F-measure, recall and precision of 0.90, 0.98 and 0.84, respectively.
Warmer temperature and provision of natural substrate enable earlier metamorphosis in the critically endangered Baw Baw frog
Authors: Gilbert Deon J , Magrath Michael J L , Byrne Phillip G
Published: March 2020

Temperature and food availability are known to independently trigger phenotypic change in ectotherms, but the interactive effects between these factors have rarely been considered. This study investigates the independent and interactive effects of water temperature and food availability on larval growth and development of the critically endangered Baw Baw frog, Philoria frosti. Larvae were reared at low (12°C) or high (17°C) water temperature in the absence or presence of substrate that controlled food availability, and body size and time to metamorphosis were quantified. Growth and development of larvae was influenced by the individual effects of temperature and food availability; time to metamorphosis was shorter in warm water treatment groups and in the presence of substrate and increased food. Unexpectedly, however, water temperature and food availability did not have an interactive effect on either time to metamorphose or body size at metamorphosis. Under all treatment groups, metamorphic onset occurred once a developmental size threshold was reached, indicating that growth rate and body size are key factors controlling the metamorphic process in Baw Baw frogs (consistent with the Wilbur–Collins model for ectotherm development). From an applied perspective, our findings have implications for amphibian conservation because they indicate that simple manipulations of temperature and food availability can be used to increase the rate of frog production in conservation breeding programs.
Cervical spinal cord injury by a low-impact trauma as an unnoticed cause of cardiorespiratory arrest
Authors: Mayà-Casalprim Gerard , Ortiz Jose , Tercero Ana , Reyes David , Iranzo Álex , Santamaria Joan , Bosch Xavier , Gaig Carles
Published: March 2020

Background

Cardiorespiratory arrest (CA) secondary to traumatic cervical spinal cord injury can occur in minor accidents with low-impact trauma and may be overlooked as the cause of CA in patients admitted in the coronary care unit.

Case summary

We present two patients admitted to the coronary care unit because of suspected CA of cardiac origin. Both patients were found in CA with asystole, one after collapsing in a shopping mall and falling down a few steps and the other in the street next to his bicycle. They underwent early pharmacologically induced coma and hypothermia precluding neurological examination. Both patients remained in coma after rewarming, with preserved brainstem reflexes but absent motor response to pain. One patient had post-anoxic myoclonus in the face without limb involvement. In both patients, median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials demonstrated bilateral absence of thalamocortical N19 responses and abnormal cervicomedullary junction potentials (N13 wave). Extensive diagnostic work-up did not find a cardiac cause of the CA, pulmonary thromboembolism, or intracranial haemorrhage. In both patients, cervical spinal cord injury was diagnosed incidentally 5 and 6 days after CA, when a brain magnetic resonance imaging performed to assess post-anoxic brain injuries detected spinal cord hyperintensities with fracture and luxation of the odontoid. Both patients died 11 and 8 days after CA.

Discussion

Low-impact traumatic cervical spinal cord injury should be considered in the diagnostic work-up of patients with CA of unknown cause.
Socio-Economic Standing and Social Status in Contemporary Japan: Scale Constructions and Their Applications
Authors: Fujihara Sho
Published: March 2020

Current debates on the conceptualization and measurement of social stratification are finding increasing value in Weber’s distinction between class and status for empirical analysis. However, aspects of Weber’s theory have yet to be sufficiently investigated. Indeed, it remains unclear whether Weber’s theory can be applied to temporally and culturally different circumstances, or whether social status is preferred to other occupational scales such as prestige or socio-economic standing. To address this gap, this study constructed a Japanese Socio-Economic Index (JSEI) and a Japanese Social Status Index (JSSI), using data from the Employment Status Survey conducted in 2007 and 2012. We applied these two indexes to analyses of social stratification in Japan, finding that the JSEI and JSSI worked better in the intergenerational inheritance of occupational status than the Japanese occupational prestige scale. We also found that the JSSI was useful for predicting the cultural activities of individuals—as Weber predicted. The JSEI and JSSI showed results similar to those found in European societies and so demonstrated their validity and usefulness for investigating social stratification in Japan, thereby extending European findings on social stratification into an Asian society.
Oral caffeine intake amplifies the effect of isoproterenol in patients with frequent premature ventricular contractions
Authors: Hasebe Hideyuki , Yoshida Kentaro , Furuyashiki Yoshitaka , Nogami Akihiko , Ieda Masaki
Published: March 2020

Aims

Infrequent appearance and failed induction of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) at catheter ablation make their localization difficult and are associated with a poor procedural outcome. This study aimed to assess the effect of preprocedural oral caffeine intake on induction of PVCs during catheter ablation.

Methods and results

Seventy patients (age: 54 ± 14 years, 37 men) undergoing catheter ablation for monofocal PVCs were randomized to receive oral caffeine (5 mg/kg) or placebo. Before ablation, PVC counts for 5 min were performed at baseline and during isoproterenol infusion and the isoproterenol washout period. PVC count fluctuation was defined as the difference between the highest and lowest 5-min count among the three-time periods. The 5-min PVC counts during baseline and isoproterenol infusion were equivalent between the groups. However, those during the isoproterenol washout period and PVC count fluctuation were significantly higher in the caffeine group than the control group (73.1 ± 73.2 vs. 38.9 ± 28.9 beats/5 min, P = 0.012 and 69.3 ± 61.3 vs. 37.7 ± 30.9 beats/5 min, P = 0.008, respectively). The procedure and ablation times were significantly shorter in the caffeine group than the control group (105.0 ± 23.4 vs. 136.9 ± 43.2 min, P < 0.01 and 219.1 ± 104.7 vs. 283.5 ± 136.0 sec, P < 0.01, respectively).

Conclusion 

Oral caffeine intake amplified the effect of isoproterenol infusion on PVC induction during catheter ablation. The combined use of oral caffeine intake and isoproterenol infusion can be an option to increase intraprocedural PVCs.
Assessing guideline-concordant care for patients with multimorbidity treated in a care management setting
Authors: Cohen-Stavi Chandra J , Key Calanit , Giveon Shmuel , Molcho Tchiya , Balicer Ran D , Shadmi Efrat
Published: March 2020

Background

Disease-specific guidelines are not aligned with multimorbidity care complexity. Meeting all guideline-recommended care for multimorbid patients has been estimated but not demonstrated across multiple guidelines.

Objective

Measure guideline-concordant care for patients with multimorbidity; assess in what types of care and by whom (clinician or patient) deviation from guidelines occurs and evaluate whether patient characteristics are associated with concordance.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of care received over 1 year, conducted across 11 primary care clinics within the context of multimorbidity-focused care management program. Patients were aged 45+ years with more than two common chronic conditions and were sampled based on either being new (≤6 months) or veteran to the program (≥1 year).

Measures

Three guideline concordance measures were calculated for each patient out of 44 potential guideline-recommended care processes for nine chronic conditions: overall score; referral score (proportion of guideline-recommended care referred) and patient-only score (proportion of referred care completed by patients). Guideline concordance was stratified by care type.

Results

4386 care processes evaluated among 204 patients, mean age = 72.3 years (standard deviation = 9.7). Overall, 79.2% of care was guideline concordant, 87.6% was referred according to guidelines and patients followed 91.4% of referred care. Guideline-concordant care varied across care types. Age, morbidity burden and whether patients were new or veteran to the program were associated with guideline concordance.

Conclusions

Patients with multimorbidity do not receive ~20% of guideline recommendations, mostly due to clinicians not referring care. Determining the types of care for which the greatest deviation from guidelines exists can inform the tailoring of care for multimorbidity patients.
Characterization of a butyrate kinase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris str. Hildenborough
Authors: Bachochin Maxwell J , Venegas Jessica Castillo , Singh Gundeep , Zhang Liyang , Barber Robert D
Published: March 2020

Short and branched chain fatty acid kinases participate in both bacterial anabolic and catabolic processes, including fermentation, through the reversible, ATP-dependent synthesis of acyl phosphates. This study reports biochemical properties of a predicted butyrate kinase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris str. Hildenborough (DvBuk) expressed heterologously and purified from Escherichia coli. Gel filtration chromatography indicates purified DvBuk is active as a dimer. The optimum temperature and pH for DvBuk activity is 44°C and 7.5, respectively. The enzyme displays enhanced thermal stability in the presence of substrates as observed for similar enzymes. Measurement of kcat and KM for various substrates reveals DvBuk exhibits the highest catalytic efficiencies for butyrate, valerate and isobutyrate. In particular, these measurements reveal this enzyme's apparent high affinity for C4 fatty acids relative to other butyrate kinases. These results have implications on structure and function relationships within the ASKHA superfamily of phosphotransferases, particularly regarding the acyl binding pocket, as well as potential physiological roles for this enzyme in Desulfovibrio vulgaris str. Hildenborough.
Effect of post-ruminal guanidinoacetic acid supplementation on creatine synthesis and plasma homocysteine concentrations in cattle
Authors: Ardalan Mehrnaz , Batista Erick D , Titgemeyer Evan C
Published: March 2020

Creatine stores high-energy phosphate bonds in muscle, which is critical for muscle activity. In animals, creatine is synthesized in the liver from guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) with methylation by S-adenosylmethionine. Because methyl groups are used for the conversion of GAA to creatine, methyl group deficiency may occur as a result of GAA supplementation. With this study, the metabolic responses of cattle to post-ruminal supplementation of GAA were evaluated with and without methionine (Met) supplementation as a source of methyl groups. Six ruminally cannulated Holstein heifers (520 kg) were used in a split-plot design with treatments arranged as a 2 × 5 factorial. The main plot treatments were 0 or 12 g/d of l-Met arranged in a completely randomized design; three heifers received each main plot treatment throughout the entire experiment. Subplot treatments were 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 g/d of GAA, with GAA treatments provided in sequence from lowest to highest over five 6-d periods. Treatments were infused continuously to the abomasum. Heifers were limit-fed twice daily a diet consisting of (dry matter basis) 5.3 kg/d rolled corn, 3.6 kg/d alfalfa hay, and 50 g/d trace-mineralized salt. Plasma Met increased (P < 0.01) when Met was supplemented, but it was not affected by supplemental GAA. Supplementing GAA linearly increased plasma arginine (% of total amino acids) and plasma concentrations of GAA and creatinine (P < 0.001). Plasma creatine was increased at all levels of GAA except when 40 g/d of GAA was supplemented with no Met (GAA-quadratic × Met, P = 0.07). Plasma homocysteine was not affected by GAA supplementation when heifers received 12 g/d Met, but it was increased when 30 or 40 g/d of GAA was supplemented without Met (GAA-linear × Met, P = 0.003); increases were modest and did not suggest a dangerous hyperhomocysteinemia. Urinary concentrations of GAA and creatine were increased by all levels of GAA when 12 g/d Met was supplemented; increasing GAA supplementation up to 30 g/d without Met increased urinary GAA and creatine concentrations, but 40 g/d GAA did not affect urine concentrations of GAA and creatine when no Met was supplemented. Overall, post-ruminal GAA supplementation increased creatine supply to cattle. A methyl group deficiency, demonstrated by modest increases in plasma homocysteine, became apparent when 30 or 40 g/d of GAA was supplemented, but it was ameliorated by 12 g/d Met.
Noblemen, Spies, and a Hindu Monk Going to War: Notes on Swami B. H. Bon in New York, 1940–41
Authors: Broo Måns
Published: March 2020

Based on previously classified material from the India Office, London, this article looks at the wartime correspondence generated by the offer of Gaudiya Vaishnava missionary Swami B. H. Bon (1901–82), at this time working in New York, to volunteer as a ‘Hindu chaplain’ in the fight against Nazi Germany. Combining this material with media reports and reminiscences, this article not only sheds light on a period in the life on Swami Bon that is little known, but also illuminates some of the hopes and anxieties of the last years of British colonial rule over India.
Potential female mate choice in a male dominated system: the female capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Authors: Bedoya-Pérez Miguel A , Herrera Emilio A , Congdon Elizabeth R
Published: March 2020

Capybaras, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Rodentia: Caviidae: Hydrochoerinae), show a strict social hierarchy among males, wherein the top-ranking male gains preferential access to females. Despite minimal sexual size dimorphism, males have a prominent scent gland on their snouts that is greatly reduced in the females. Top-ranking males have a larger gland and mark more frequently than subordinate males. This species also shows a moderately complex courtship that seems to be modulated by female behavior. In this study, we evaluated several components of courtship, as well as the females’ interactions with males during and outside courtship, in relation to the hierarchy rank of males. We found that subordinate males engaged in longer courtships than top-ranking males. However, there was no difference in the number of mount attempts or the success rate of these mounts as a function of the social status of the male, despite the longer courtship performed by subordinate males in comparison to top-ranking males. Outside courtship, females directed the same number of social interactions to males regardless of status. However, during courtship, females avoided copulation by subordinate males both directly and indirectly by encouraging courtship disruption by higher-ranking males. Females’ avoidance of subordinates may force these males to invest a higher amount of effort in courtships, thus engaging in longer courtships, yet achieving similar mount success as top-ranking males. We show that the original assumption of male hierarchy as the main mechanism of reproductive distribution is incomplete, and female mate choice plays an important role in determining which males reproduce.
High-resolution spectroscopy of red giants and ‘yellow stragglers’ in the southern open cluster NGC 2539
Authors: Martinez Cintia F , Holanda N , Pereira C B , Drake N A
Published: March 2020

We present a detailed high-resolution spectroscopic analysis of 12 red giant stars, in single and binaries or multiples systems, classified as members of the intermediate-age (631 Myr) open cluster NGC 2539. We used FEROS echelle spectra and the standard LTE analysis to derive the atmospheric parameters for the stars and the abundance ratios of light elements (Li, C, N), light odd-Z elements (Na, Al), α-elements (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti), Fe-group elements (Cr, Fe, Ni), and n-capture elements (Y, Zr, Ce, Nd, Eu). Our results show that the sample star of NGC 2539 has low projected rotational velocities and an almost solar metallicity, with a mean of [Fe/H] = −0.03 ± 0.07 dex. The abundance pattern displays for the analyzed stars are, in general, similar to those presented by solar neighborhood stars, including giant members of others open clusters. In particular, light elements and Na abundance pattern shows anomalies resulting from the appearance of enriched material on the stellar surface, produced by mechanisms like the first dredge-up and/or thermohaline and rotation-induced mixing. We also identified two of the spectroscopic binaries of our sample as ‘yellow stragglers’ and we determined the nature of their companions.
RNAi pathways repress reprogramming of C. elegans germ cells during heat stress
Authors: Rogers Alicia K , Phillips Carolyn M
Published: March 2020

Repression of cellular reprogramming in germ cells is critical to maintaining cell fate and fertility. When germ cells mis-express somatic genes they can be directly converted into other cell types, resulting in loss of totipotency and reproductive potential. Identifying the molecular mechanisms that coordinate these cell fate decisions is an active area of investigation. Here we show that RNAi pathways play a key role in maintaining germline gene expression and totipotency after heat stress. By examining transcriptional changes that occur in mut-16 mutants, lacking a key protein in the RNAi pathway, at elevated temperature we found that genes normally expressed in the soma are mis-expressed in germ cells. Furthermore, these genes displayed increased chromatin accessibility in the germlines of mut-16 mutants at elevated temperature. These findings indicate that the RNAi pathway plays a key role in preventing aberrant expression of somatic genes in the germline during heat stress. This regulation occurs in part through the maintenance of germline chromatin, likely acting through the nuclear RNAi pathway. Identification of new pathways governing germ cell reprogramming is critical to understanding how cells maintain proper gene expression and may provide key insights into how cell identity is lost in some germ cell tumors.
Pharmacologic inhibition of lysine-specific demethylase 1 as a therapeutic and immune-sensitization strategy in pediatric high-grade glioma
Authors: Bailey Cavan P , Figueroa Mary , Gangadharan Achintyan , Yang Yanwen , Romero Megan M , Kennis Bridget A , Yadavilli Sridevi , Henry Verlene , Collier Tiara , Monje Michelle , Lee Dean A , Wang Linghua , Nazarian Javad , Gopalakrishnan Vidya , Zaky Wafik , Becher Oren J , Chandra Joya
Published: March 2020

Background

Diffuse midline gliomas (DMG), including brainstem diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), are incurable pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGG). Mutations in the H3 histone tail (H3.1/3.3-K27M) are a feature of DIPG, rendering them therapeutically sensitive to small-molecule inhibition of chromatin modifiers. Pharmacological inhibition of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is clinically relevant but has not been carefully investigated in pHGG or DIPG.

Methods

Patient-derived DIPG cell lines, orthotopic mouse models, and pHGG datasets were used to evaluate effects of LSD1 inhibitors on cytotoxicity and immune gene expression. Immune cell cytotoxicity was assessed in DIPG cells pretreated with LSD1 inhibitors, and informatics platforms were used to determine immune infiltration of pHGG.

Results

Selective cytotoxicity and an immunogenic gene signature were established in DIPG cell lines using clinically relevant LSD1 inhibitors. Pediatric HGG patient sequencing data demonstrated survival benefit of this LSD1-dependent gene signature. Pretreatment of DIPG with these inhibitors increased lysis by natural killer (NK) cells. Catalytic LSD1 inhibitors induced tumor regression and augmented NK cell infusion in vivo to reduce tumor burden. CIBERSORT analysis of patient data confirmed NK infiltration is beneficial to patient survival, while CD8 T cells are negatively prognostic. Catalytic LSD1 inhibitors are nonperturbing to NK cells, while scaffolding LSD1 inhibitors are toxic to NK cells and do not induce the gene signature in DIPG cells.

Conclusions

LSD1 inhibition using catalytic inhibitors is selectively cytotoxic and promotes an immune gene signature that increases NK cell killing in vitro and in vivo, representing a therapeutic opportunity for pHGG.

Key Points

1. LSD1 inhibition using several clinically relevant compounds is selectively cytotoxic in DIPG and shows in vivo efficacy as a single agent.

2. An LSD1-controlled gene signature predicts survival in pHGG patients and is seen in neural tissue from LSD1 inhibitor–treated mice.

3. LSD1 inhibition enhances NK cell cytotoxicity against DIPG in vivo and in vitro with correlative genetic biomarkers.
Perceived Injustice Helps Explain the Association Between Chronic Pain Stigma and Movement-Evoked Pain in Adults with Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain
Authors: Penn Terence M , Overstreet Demario S , Aroke Edwin N , Rumble Deanna D , Sims Andrew M , Kehrer Caroline V , Michl Ava N , Hasan Fariha N , Quinn Tammie L , Long D Leann , Trost Zina , Morris Matthew C , Goodin Burel R
Published: March 2020

Objective

For most patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), the cause is “nonspecific,” meaning there is no clear association between pain and identifiable pathology of the spine or associated tissues. Laypersons and providers alike are less inclined to help, feel less sympathy, dislike patients more, suspect deception, and attribute lower pain severity to patients whose pain does not have an objective basis in tissue pathology. Because of these stigmatizing responses from others, patients with cLBP may feel that their pain is particularly unjust and unfair. These pain-related injustice perceptions may subsequently contribute to greater cLBP severity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether perceived injustice helps explain the relationship between chronic pain stigma and movement-evoked pain severity among individuals with cLBP.

Methods

Participants included 105 patients with cLBP who completed questionnaires assessing chronic pain stigma and pain-related injustice perception, as well as a short physical performance battery for the assessment of movement-evoked pain and physical function.

Results

Findings revealed that perceived injustice significantly mediated the association between chronic pain stigma and cLBP severity (indirect effect = 6.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.041 to 14.913) and physical function (indirect effect = −0.401, 95% CI = −1.029 to −0.052). Greater chronic pain stigma was associated with greater perceived injustice (P = 0.001), which in turn was associated with greater movement-evoked pain severity (P = 0.003).

Conclusions

These results suggest that perceived injustice may be a means through which chronic pain stigma impacts nonspecific cLBP severity and physical function.
A Risk-Centric Model of Demand Recessions and Speculation*
Authors: Caballero Ricardo J , Simsek Alp
Published: March 2020

We provide a continuous-time “risk-centric” representation of the New Keynesian model, which we use to analyze the interactions between asset prices, financial speculation, and macroeconomic outcomes when output is determined by aggregate demand. In principle, interest rate policy is highly effective in dealing with shocks to asset valuations. However, in practice monetary policy faces a wide range of constraints. If these constraints are severe, a decline in risky asset valuations generates a demand recession. This reduces earnings and generates a negative feedback loop between asset prices and aggregate demand. In the recession phase, average beliefs matter because they not only affect asset valuations but also determine the strength of the amplification mechanism. In the ex ante boom phase, belief disagreements (or heterogeneous asset valuations) matter because they induce investors to speculate. This speculation exacerbates the crash by reducing high-valuation investors’ wealth when the economy transitions to recession, which depresses (wealth-weighted) average beliefs. Macroprudential policy that restricts speculation in the boom can Pareto improve welfare by increasing asset prices and aggregate demand in the recession.
Stock Price Movements: Business-Cycle and Low-Frequency Perspectives
Authors: Lan Chunhua
Published: March 2020

We find that a business-cycle component of the aggregate dividend yield strongly predicts short-term aggregate dividend growth and consumption growth, whereas its low-frequency counterpart significantly forecasts long-horizon market returns. The dividend yield—the sum of these two components—has difficulty revealing variations in expected cash flow growth, because its low-frequency component tends to disguise such variations. Yet the low-frequency component has significant forecasting power for multiperiod returns at horizons of several years to as long as around 20 years, which is longer than the horizons typically exploited in prior studies that provide weak statistical evidence to challenge multiperiod return predictability. (JEL G12, G17)

Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.
Characterization of overnight slow-wave slope changes across development in an age-, amplitude-, and region-dependent manner
Authors: Jaramillo Valeria , Volk Carina , Maric Angelina , Furrer Melanie , Fattinger Sara , Kurth Salome , Lustenberger Caroline , Huber Reto
Published: March 2020

Study Objectives

The restorative function of sleep has been linked to a net reduction in synaptic strength. The slope of slow-waves, a major characteristic of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, has been shown to directly reflect synaptic strength, when accounting for amplitude changes across the night. In this study, we aimed to investigate overnight slope changes in the course of development in an age-, amplitude-, and region-dependent manner.

Methods

All-night high-density electroencephalography data were analyzed in a cross-sectional population of 60 healthy participants in the age range of 8–29 years. To control for amplitude changes across the night, we matched slow-waves from the first and the last hour of NREM sleep according to their amplitude.

Results

We found a reduction of slow-wave slopes from the first to the last hour of NREM sleep across all investigated ages, amplitudes, and most brain regions. The overnight slope change was largest in children and decreased toward early adulthood. A topographical analysis revealed regional differences in slope change. Specifically, for small amplitude waves the decrease was smallest in an occipital area, whereas for large amplitude waves, the decrease was smallest in a central area.

Conclusions

The larger slope decrease in children might be indicative of a boosted renormalization of synapses during sleep in childhood, which, in turn, might be related to increased plasticity during brain maturation. Regional differences in the extent of slow-wave slope reduction may reflect a “smart” down-selection process or, alternatively, indicate amplitude-dependent differences in the generation of slow-waves.
Evidence for a biological source of widespread, reproducible nighttime oxygen spikes in tropical reef ecosystems has implications for coral health
Authors: Calhoun S.K. , Haas A.F. , Takeshita Y. , Johnson M.D. , Fox M.D. , Kelly E.L.A. , Mueller B. , Vermeij M.J.A. , Kelly L.W. , Nelson C.E. , Price N. N. , Roach T.N.F. , Rohwer F.L. , Smith J.E.
Published: March 2020

Primary producers release oxygen as the by-product of photosynthetic light reactions during the day. However, a prevalent, globally-occurring nighttime spike in dissolved oxygen in the absence of light challenges the traditional assumption that biological oxygen production is limited to daylight hours, particularly in tropical coral reefs. Here we show: 1) the widespread nature of this phenomenon, 2) its reproducibility across tropical marine ecosystems, 3) the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on this phenomenon across numerous datasets, and 4) the observation of nighttime oxygen spikesin vitrofrom incubations of coral reef benthic organisms. The data from this study demonstrate that in addition to physical forcing, biological processes are likely responsible for increasing dissolved oxygen at night. Additionally, we demonstrate an association between these nighttime oxygen spikes and measures of both net community calcification and net community production. These results suggest that nighttime oxygen spikes are likely a biological response associated with increased respiration and are most prominent in communities dominated by calcifying organisms.
Human Mammary Cells in a Mature, Stratified Epithelial Layer Flatten and Stiffen Compared to Confluent and Single Cells
Authors: Lee Hyunsu , Bonin Keith , Guthold Martin
Published: March 2020

The epithelium forms a protective barrier against external biological, chemical and physical insults. So far, AFM-based, micro-mechanical measurements have only been performed on single cells and confluent cells, but not yet on cells in the physiologically relevant, mature epithelial layer.

Using a combination of atomic force, fluorescence and confocal microscopy, we determined the changes in stiffness, morphology and actin distribution of human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) as they transition from single cells to confluency to a mature epithelial layer.

Single cells have a tall, round (planoconvex) morphology, have actin stress fibers at the base, have diffuse cortical actin, and have a stiffness of 1 kPa. Confluent cells become flatter, basal actin stress fibers start to disappear, and actin accumulates laterally where cells abut. Overall stiffness is still 1 kPa with two-fold higher stiffness in the abutting regions. Cells in an epithelial layer are flat on top and seven times stiffer (average, 7 kPa) than single and confluent cells. Epithelial layer cells show strong actin accumulation in the regions where cells adjoin and in the apical regions. Stiffness is significantly enhanced in the regions of adjoining cells, compared to the central regions of cells.

Physiologically, this previously unrecognized, drastic stiffness increase may be important to the protective function of the epithelium.
Naringenin as an antibacterial reagent controlling of biofilm formation and fatty acid metabolism in MRSA
Authors: Song Hun-Suk , Bhatia Shashi Kant , Gurav Ranjit , Choi Tae-Rim , Kim Hyun Joong , Park Ye-Lim , Han Yeong-Hoon , Park Jun Young , Lee Sun Mi , Park Sol Lee , Lee Hye Soo , Kim Wooseong , Kim Yun-Gon , Yang Yung-Hun
Published: March 2020

MRSA is Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusand they are widespread and making trouble in treatment in communities and surgical areas. MRSA have been adapted to antibiotics so that they can block the access of antibiotics physically or chemically deactivate it or modify the precursor of the target. Flavonoids are secondary metabolites which are naturally produced by plant or fungus and they are acting generally as pigment, quorum sensing molecules, antibiotics to other competitive microorganisms. Their natural origins and multiple activities have drawn much attention to be developed as the potential drugs since flavonoids could be a good candidate to overcome antibiotic resistant bacteria. Among various flavonoids, we found out naringenin has antibacterial activity on MRSA and Δagrmutants which are more resistance than MRSA to beta-lactam antibiotics by decreasing biofilm formation dramatically and decreasing the secretion of fatty acid. It also showed high synergetic activity with oxacillin to both antibacterial activity and biofilm inhibition. Considering the number of flavonoids, our experiments expand the possibility of the use of flavonoids to MRSA.