bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Gene capture by transposable elements leads to epigenetic conflict in maize
Authors: Muyle Aline , Seymour Danelle , Darzentas Nikos , Primetis Elias , Gaut Brandon S. , Bousios Alexandros
Published: September 2019

Plant transposable elements (TEs) regularly capture fragments of genes. When the host silences these TEs, siRNAs homologous to the captured regions may also target the genes. This epigenetic cross-talk establishes an intragenomic conflict: silencing the TEs has the cost of silencing the genes. If genes are important, however, natural selection may maintain function by moderating the silencing response, which may also advantage the TEs. Here, we examined this model by focusing on three TE families in maize: Helitrons, Pack-MULEs and Sirevirus LTR retrotransposons. We documented 1,263 TEs containing exon fragments from 1,629 donor genes. Consistent with epigenetic conflict, donor genes mapped more siRNAs and were more methylated than genes with no evidence of capture. However, these patterns differed between syntelog vs. translocated donor genes. Syntelogs appeared to maintain function, as measured by gene expression, consistent with moderation of silencing for functionally important genes. Epigenetic marks did not spread beyond their captured regions and 24nt cross-talk siRNAs were linked with CHH methylation. Translocated genes, in contrast, bore the signature of silencing by being highly methylated and less expressed. They were also overrepresented among donor genes, suggesting a link between capture and gene movement. The evidence for an advantage to TEs was less obvious. TEs with captured fragments were older, mapped fewer siRNAs and were slightly less methylated than TEs without captured fragments but showed no evidence of increased copy numbers. Altogether, our results demonstrate that TE capture triggers an epigenetic conflict for important genes, but it may lead to pseudogenization for less constrained genes.
Cis-regulatory differences in isoform expression associate with life history strategy variation in Atlantic salmon
Authors: Verta Jukka-Pekka , Debes Paul Vincent , Piavchenko Nikolai , Ruokolainen Annukka , Ovaskainen Outi , Moustakas-Verho Jacqueline Emmanuel , Tillanen Seija , Parre Noora , Aykanat Tutku , Erkinaro Jaakko , Primmer Craig Robert
Published: September 2019

A major goal in biology is to understand how evolution shapes variation in individual life histories. Genome-wide association studies have been successful in uncovering genome regions linked with traits underlying life history variation in a range of species. However, lack of functional studies of the discovered genotype-phenotype associations severely restrains our understanding how alternative life history traits evolved and are mediated at the molecular level. Here, we report a cis-regulatory mechanism whereby expression of alternative isoforms of the transcription co-factor vestigial-like 3 (vgll3) associate with variation in a key life history trait, age at maturity, in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Using a common-garden experiment, we first show that vgll3 genotype associates with puberty timing in one-year-old salmon males. By way of temporal sampling of vgll3 expression in ten tissues across the first year of salmon development, we identify a pubertal transition in vgll3 expression where maturation coincided with a 66% reduction in testicular vgll3 expression. The late maturation allele was not only associated with a tendency to delay puberty, but also with expression of a rare transcript isoform of vgll3 pre-puberty. By comparing absolute vgll3 mRNA copies in heterozygotes we show that the expression difference between the early and late maturity alleles is largely cis-regulatory. We propose a model whereby expression of a rare isoform from the late allele shifts the liability of its carriers towards delaying puberty. These results reveal how regulatory differences can be a central mechanism for the evolution of life history traits.

Author summary

Alternative life history strategies are an important source of diversity within populations and promote the maintenance of adaptive capacity and population resilience. However, in many cases the molecular basis of different life history strategies remains elusive. Age at maturity is a key adaptive life history trait in Atlantic salmon and has a relatively simple genetic basis. Using salmon age at maturity as a model, we report a mechanism whereby different transcript isoforms of the key age at maturity gene, vestigial-like 3 (vgll3), associate with variation in the timing of male puberty. Our results show how gene regulatory differences in conjunction with variation in gene transcript structure can encode for complex alternative life histories.
Manipulation of plant primary metabolism by leaf-mining larvae in the race against leaf senescence
Authors: Body Mélanie J.A. , Casas Jérôme , Giron David
Published: September 2019

Plants are often considered as suboptimal food for phytophagous insects, requiring them to employ various adaptive mechanisms to overcome food nutritional imbalances. This could include host-plant manipulation and/or symbiotic associations. The extensive reconfiguration of plant primary metabolism upon herbivory, as well as its impact on herbivores, have been largely overlooked, while studies investigating secondary metabolites is extensive. Here, we document how the apple leaf-mining caterpillarPhyllonorycter blancardella, a highly-specialized insect which completes development within a restricted area of a singleMalus domesticaleaf over successive different larval feeding modes, maintains nutrient-rich green tissues in its feeding area on green and senescent leaves. For this purpose, we quantified a large number of compounds involved in plant primary metabolism: starch, total soluble sugars, five individual sugars, twenty protein-bound amino acids and twenty free amino acids. Plant alteration can be observed not only on senescing (photosynthetically inactive) but also normal (photosynthetically active) leaf tissues of its host-plant to compensate for detrimental environmental variations. Our results show a differential control of the primary metabolism depending on the larva developmental stage, itself correlated to the fluid-feeding and tissue-feeding modes. Our results also suggest that leaf amino acid alterations favor a faster insect development. Finally, chemical scores indicate that the most growth-limiting essential amino acids are also common to other phytophagous insects and large herbivores, suggesting that these limitations are a general consequence of using plants as food source. We discuss the possible mechanisms responsible for these different manipulative capacities, as well as their ecological implications.
Endosome-Mediated Epithelial Remodeling Downstream of Hedgehog/Gli Is Required for Tracheoesophageal Separation
Authors: Nasr Talia , Mancini Pamela , Rankin Scott A. , Edwards Nicole A. , Agricola Zachary N. , Kenny Alan P. , Kinney Jessica L. , Daniels Keziah , Vardanyan Jon , Han Lu , Trisno Stephen L. , Cha Sang-Wook , Wells James M. , Kofron Matthew J. , Zorn Aaron M.
Published: September 2019

The trachea and esophagus arise from the separation of a common foregut tube during early fetal development. Mutations in key signaling pathways such as Hedgehog (HH)/Gli can disrupt tracheoesophageal (TE) morphogenesis and cause life-threatening birth defects (TEDs), however the underlying cellular mechanisms are unknown. Here we use mouse andXenopusto define the HH/Gli-dependent processes orchestrating TE morphogenesis. We show that downstream of Gli the Foxf1+ splanchnic mesenchyme promotes medial constriction of the foregut at the boundary between the presumptive Sox2+ esophageal and Nkx2-1+ tracheal epithelium. We identify a unique boundary epithelium co-expressing Sox2 and Nkx2-1 that fuses to form a transient septum. Septum formation and resolution into distinct trachea and esophagus requires endosome-mediated epithelial remodeling involving the small GTPase Rab11, and localized extracellular matrix degradation. These are disrupted in Gli-deficient embryos. This work provides a new mechanistic framework for TE morphogenesis and informs the cellular basis of human TEDs.

Highlight bullet points

The Sox2+ esophagus and Nkx2-1+ trachea arise from the separation of a single foregut tube through a series of cellular events conserved in mouse andXenopus

Tracheoesophageal morphogenesis initiates with HH/Gli-dependent medial constriction of the gut tube mesenchyme at the Sox2-Nkx2-1 border

The foregut epithelial walls fuse forming a transient septum co-expressing Sox2 and Nkx2-1

Downstream of HH/Gli Rab11-dependent endosome-mediated epithelial remodeling and localized extracellular matrix degradation separate the esophagus and trachea

HH/Gli mutations reveal the cellular basis of tracheoesophageal birth defects
A distinct population of L6 neurons in mouse V1 mediate cross-callosal communication
Authors: Liang Yajie , Sun Wenzhi , Lu Rongwen , Chen Ming , Ji Na
Published: September 2019

Through the corpus callosum, interhemispheric communication is mediated by callosal projection (CP) neurons. Using retrograde labeling, we identified a population of layer 6 (L6) excitatory neurons as the main conveyer of transcallosal information in the monocular zone of the mouse primary visual cortex (V1). Distinct from L6 corticothalamic (CT) population, V1 L6 CP neurons contribute to an extensive reciprocal network across multiple sensory cortices over two hemispheres. Receiving both local and long-range cortical inputs, they encode orientation, direction, and receptive field information, while are also highly spontaneous active. The spontaneous activity of L6 CP neurons exhibits complex relationships with brain states and stimulus presentation, distinct from the spontaneous activity patterns of the CT population. The anatomical and functional properties of these L6 CP neurons enable them to broadcast visual and nonvisual information across two hemispheres, and thus play a major role in regulating and coordinating brain-wide activity events.
Genome-wide synthetic lethal CRISPR screen identifies FIS1 as a genetic interactor of ALS-linked C9ORF72
Authors: Chai Noori , Haney Michael S. , Couthouis Julien , Morgens David W. , Benjamin Alyssa , Wu Kathryn , Ousey James , Fang Shirleen , Finer Sarah , Bassik Michael C. , Gitler Aaron D.
Published: September 2019

Mutations in the C9ORF72 gene are the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Both toxic gain of function and loss of function pathogenic mechanisms have been proposed. Accruing evidence from mouse knockout studies point to a role for C9ORF72 as a regulator of immune function. To provide further insight into its cellular function, we performed a genome-wide synthetic lethal CRISPR screen in human myeloid cells lacking C9ORF72. We discovered a strong synthetic lethal genetic interaction between C9ORF72 and FIS1, which encodes a mitochondrial membrane protein involved in mitochondrial fission and mitophagy. Mass spectrometry experiments revealed that in C9ORF72 knockout cells, FIS1 strongly bound to a class of immune regulators that activate the receptor for advanced glycation end (RAGE) products and trigger inflammatory cascades. These findings present a novel genetic interactor for C9ORF72 and suggest a compensatory role for FIS1 in suppressing inflammatory signaling in the absence of C9ORF72.
Discovery of genes required for body axis and limb formation by global identification of retinoic acid regulated epigenetic marks
Authors: Berenguer Marie , Meyer Karolin F. , Yin Jun , Duester Gregg
Published: September 2019

Identification of target genes that mediate required functions downstream of transcription factors is hampered by the large number of genes whose expression changes when the factor is removed from a specific tissue and the numerous binding sites for the factor in the genome. Retinoic acid (RA) regulates transcription via RA receptors bound to RA response elements (RAREs) of which there are thousands in vertebrate genomes. Here, we combined ChIP-seq for epigenetic marks and RNA-seq on trunk tissue from wild-type andAldh1a2-/-embryos lacking RA synthesis that exhibit body axis and forelimb defects. We identified a relatively small number of genes with altered expression when RA is missing that also have nearby RA-regulated deposition of H3K27ac (gene activation mark) or H3K27me3 (gene repression mark) associated with conserved RAREs, suggesting they have important downstream functions. RA-regulated epigenetic marks were identified near RA target genes already known to be required for body axis and limb formation, thus validating our approach, plus many other candidate RA target genes were found.Nr2f1,Nr2f2,Meis1, andMeis2gene family members were identified by our approach, and double knockouts of each family demonstrated previously unknown requirements for body axis and/or limb formation. These findings demonstrate that our method for identifying RA-regulated epigenetic marks can be used to discover genes important for development.
A post-ER degradation pathway that relies on protease-dependent internalization from the vacuolar membrane
Authors: Lemus Leticia , Matić Zrinka , Goder Veit
Published: September 2019

Newly synthesized proteins of the secretory pathway are quality-controlled inside the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and, if not properly folded, are retained. An exception are glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) which can leave the ER even when misfolded and are routed to the vacuole/lysosome for degradation by largely unknown mechanisms linked to post-ER quality control. Using yeast as model organism, we show that Gas1*, an ER-exported misfolded GPI-AP, is diverted from the secretory pathway to endosomes for transport to the vacuole. However, Gas1* is not sorted into endosomal intraluminal vesicles but internalizes directly from the vacuolar membrane. There, the vacuolar protease Pep4, but not any other known vacuolar protease, is required for Gas1* internalization. Our data reveal novel and unexpected mechanisms for invaginations from the vacuolar membrane.

Highlights

ER-exited misfolded GPI-anchored proteins are routed to the vacuole via endosomes but do not internalize into intraluminal vesicles

Internalization occurs directly from the vacuolar membrane into intravacuolar mobile structures

Internalization from the vacuolar membrane depends on the proteolytic activity of the vacuolar protease Pep4
Personality predicts foraging site fidelity and trip repeatability in a marine predator
Authors: Harris Stephanie M. , Descamps Sébastien , Sneddon Lynne U. , Bertrand Philip , Chastel Olivier , Patrick Samantha C.
Published: September 2019

Animal populations are often comprised of both foraging specialists and generalists. For instance, some individuals show higher foraging site fidelity (spatial specialization) than others. Such individual differences in degree of specialization can persist over time‐scales of months or even years in long‐lived animals, but the mechanisms leading to these different individual strategies are not fully understood.

There is accumulating evidence that individual variation in foraging behaviour is shaped by animal personality traits, such as boldness. Despite this, the potential for boldness to drive differences in the degree of specialization is unknown.

In this study, we used novel object tests to measure boldness in black‐legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) breeding at four colonies in Svalbard and deployed GPS loggers to examine their at‐sea foraging behaviour. We estimated the repeatability of foraging trips and used a hidden Markov model to identify locations of foraging sites in order to quantify individual foraging site fidelity.

Across the breeding season, bolder birds were more repeatable than shy individuals in the distance and range of their foraging trips, and during the incubation period (but not chick rearing), bolder individuals were more site‐faithful. Birds exhibited these differences while showing high spatial similarity in foraging areas, indicating that site selection was not driven by personality‐dependent spatial partitioning.

We instead suggest that a relationship between boldness and site fidelity may be driven by differences in behavioural flexibility between bold and shy individuals. Together, these results provide a potential mechanism by which widely reported individual differences in foraging specialization may emerge.
The impact of elevated temperature and drought on the ecology and evolution of plant–soil microbe interactions
Authors: Rasmussen Pil U. , Bennett Alison E. , Tack Ayco J. M.
Published: September 2019

Climate change is shifting the distribution of species, and may have a profound impact on the ecology and evolution of species interactions. However, we know little about the impact of increasing temperature and changing rainfall patterns on the interactions between plants and their beneficial and antagonistic root symbionts.

Here, we used a reciprocal multifactorial growth chamber experiment with seeds and soil microbial communities from three origins to investigate the impact of temperature and soil moisture on the growth, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonization and root‐associated fungal community of a perennial herb. Moreover, we tested whether plants and AM fungi performed better or worse when plants were grown with their local soil biota, for example, due to plant adaptation or changes in the genetic or species composition of the soil microbial community.

Temperature and soil moisture generally increased plant growth, whereas temperature but not soil moisture increased AM fungal colonization. The strength and direction of the plants' response to temperature were dependent on soil moisture and differed among plant populations, and AM fungal colonization was further affected by the origin of the soil microbial community. The root‐associated fungal community structure was impacted by temperature, soil moisture and the soil microbial origin, with interactive effects between the microbial origin and the abiotic environment. Plant biomass was lower when plants were grown with their local soil microbes, potentially due to intraspecific negative plant–soil feedbacks.

Synthesis. Our findings indicate that, beyond a relatively uniform increase of plant growth and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonization with increasing temperature, plants and root‐associated fungi of different origins will vary in their response to climate change (i.e. elevated temperature and shifts in rainfall). This may create pronounced, but difficult to predict, spatial and temporal variation in the ecology and evolution of plant–microbe interactions with a changing climate.
Art and anthropology for a sustainable world
Authors: Ingold Tim
Published: September 2019

Both art and anthropology, this article proposes, are future‐oriented disciplines, united in the common task of fashioning a world fit for coming generations to inhabit. The first step in establishing this proposition is to show how the objectives of anthropology differ from those of ethnography. Anthropology, it is argued, establishes a relation with the world that is correspondent rather than tangential, that prioritizes difference over alterity, and that places presence before interpretative contextualization. The second step is to rethink the idea of research – to show how, as an open‐ended search for truth and a practice of correspondence, research necessarily overflows the bounds of objectivity. Art and anthropology, then, and not natural science, are exemplary in the pursuit of truth as a way of knowing‐in‐being. The third step is to show that only if it is conceived in this way can research be conducive to the processes of renewal on which our collective futures depend. Thus research as correspondence is a condition for sustainability. But sustainability is nothing if it is not of everything. We have to begin, therefore, with the idea of everything as a plenum, in which each apparent addition is really a reworking. The article concludes with some reflections on the proposed synergy of art and anthropology for education, democracy, and citizenship.
Life, unlimited: Russian archives of the digital and the human
Authors: Bernstein Anya
Published: September 2019

Since the end of the Soviet Union, questions of memory and history have been at the centre of public debates, often focused on the institutions of archives and libraries. This article considers a particular incarnation ofarkhivnaia bolezn’(archival disease, roughly archival fever) with genealogies going back to the pre‐revolutionary writings of the visionary nineteenth‐century philosopher‐librarian Nikolai Fedorov. Specifically, I examine practices among contemporary techno‐futurists seeking to combine Fedorov's ideas with modern information technologies – both existing and speculative – with the aim of overcoming death and, for some, of surviving posthumously in virtual spaces for now. Based on original ethnographic fieldwork in Russia, the article chronicles immortalists’ efforts to overcome ‘the violence of the archive’ by envisioning and producing a utopian version that is as totalizing as it is personal, designed to satisfy both Orthodox Christian and secular desires for eternal life. In this archive, old and new media like oral histories and genomic data exist alongside each other, both material and virtual, frozen in a vial or uploaded into cyberspace. I interpret the Russian episodes recounted here, attending to the ways in which new archival imaginaries and technologies reconfigure notions of the human self and embodiment.
The spirit of the gift, the price of potency: a Maussian model of the Southeast Asian state of Luwu
Authors: Schrauwers Albert
Published: September 2019

This rereading of Mauss's The gift shifts the focus of discussion from the Maori hau to another example: tanoana (potency) among the Toraja (To Pamona) of Central Sulawesi. This potency animates an exchange with (human) gods that is at once gift and purchase (maoli). By tracing the intersection of this Maussian literature with that on the animist foundation of the Southeast Asian state, I analyse the nature of potent gifts that serve as a form of social currency in a ‘spiritual economy’ tying centre with (Toraja) periphery in the kingdom of Luwu. This ‘money’, imbued with royal potency, is a medium for the payment of debt only and not a medium of exchange, which gives ‘purchases’ made with it the characteristics of a ‘gift’ and also an opportunity to extract tribute. The Maussian analysis of the blurring of person and thing, and of persons and spirits, thus offers new insight into the nature of political power in the Southeast Asian state.
‘Unpittyed by any’? Royalist widows and the Crown, 1660–70
Authors: Beale Stewart
Published: September 2019

This article examines petitions for relief submitted by royalist war widows to Charles II during the first decade of the Restoration. While provincial magistrates were reluctant to award pensions to humble female war victims after 1660, the article demonstrates that numerous women were granted welfare by the Crown. The fact that many of these women were officers' widows raises significant questions regarding the impact of military rank and social status on the distribution of military welfare after 1660, as well as the contrasting attitude of the royalist regime towards the officer corps and the rank-and-file.
The hope and faith of Armistice Day during the Second World War: remembering the lost generation
Authors: Tranter Samuel
Published: September 2019

Although the First World War did not fundamentally alter the British population, casualty figures were sufficiently large to engender post-war ideas about a lost generation. Closely linked to this popular myth was the commemorative ritual of Armistice Day. Using radio broadcasts, newsreels, Mass Observation reports and newspapers, this article provides a detailed examination of the language surrounding Armistice Day during the Second World War, revealing how it was used not only to frame loss but also to understand and explain the renewal of international conflict at a time when it is frequently assumed that commemoration ground to a halt.
‘We could not answer to ourselves not doing it’: maternal obligations and knowledge of smallpox inoculation in eighteenth-century elite society
Authors: Esfandiary Helen
Published: September 2019

Most often depicted as the precursor to the much simpler and safer practice of Jennerian cowpox vaccination, the eighteenth-century practice of inoculating against smallpox with the live virus reveals much about the way in which pre-modern mothers and medics understood and made decisions about disease management in children. Examined from the perspective of those mothers who ultimately sanctioned its use and helped to advance the practice on English soil, despite a complex set of possible eventualities - from uncertain conferral of immunity to death - this article argues that provided an ‘English’ version of it was carried out in strict accordance with the age-old doctrines of humoral medicine, mothers deemed it an entirely rational act devoid of ‘risk’ in our modern sense. These findings run counter to established narratives asserting blanket professionalization and medicalization of childcare during this period, and they nuance the role Lady Mary Wortley Montagu played in introducing the practice she had encountered in Turkey.
gllvm: Fast analysis of multivariate abundance data with generalized linear latent variable models in r
Authors: Niku Jenni , Hui Francis K. C. , Taskinen Sara , Warton David I.
Published: September 2019

There has been rapid development in tools for multivariate analysis based on fully specified statistical models or ‘joint models’. One approach attracting a lot of attention is generalized linear latent variable models (GLLVMs). However, software for fitting these models is typically slow and not practical for large datasets.

The r package gllvm offers relatively fast methods to fit GLLVMs via maximum likelihood, along with tools for model checking, visualization and inference.

The main advantage of the package over other implementations is speed, for example, being two orders of magnitude faster, and capable of handling thousands of response variables. These advances come from using variational approximations to simplify the likelihood expression to be maximized, automatic differentiation software for model‐fitting (via the TMB package) and careful choice of initial values for parameters.

Examples are used to illustrate the main features and functionality of the package, such as constrained or unconstrained ordination, including functional traits in ‘fourth corner’ models, and (if the number of environmental coefficients is not large) make inferences about environmental associations.
The effect of idiopathic premature ventricular complexes on left ventricular ejection fraction
Authors: Altıntaş Bernas , Özkalaycı Flora , Çinier Göksel , Kaya İlyas , Aktan Adem , Küp Ayhan , Onuk Raşit , Özcan Sevgi , Uslu Abdulkadir , Akyüz Abdurrahman , Atıcı Adem , Ekinci Selim , Akın Halil , Yılmaz Mehmet Fatih , Koç Şahbender , Tanık Veysel Ozan , Harbalıoğlu Hazar , Barman Hasan Ali , Afşin Abdülmecit , Gümüşdağ Ayça , Alibaşiç Hayrudin , Karabağ Yavuz , Cap Murat , Baysal Erkan , Tanboğa İbrahim Halil
Published: September 2019

Aim

Current literature lacks a definitive threshold of idiopathic premature ventricular complex (PVC) burden for predicting cardiomyopathy (CMP). The main objective of the present study was to evaluate relationship between the PVC burden and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

Method

This multicenter, cross‐sectional study included 341 consecutive patients with more than 1,000 idiopathic PVC in 24 hr of Holter monitoring admitted to the cardiology clinics between January 2019 and May 2019 in the nineteen different centers. The primary outcome was the LVEF measured during the echocardiographic examination.

Result

Overall, the median age was 50 (38–60) and 139 (49.4%) were female. Percentage of median PVC burden was 9% (IQR: 4%–17.4%). Median LVEF was found 60% (55–65). We used proportional odds logistic regression method to examine the relationship between continuous LVEF and candidate predictors. Increase in PVC burden (%) (regression coefficient (RE) −0.644 and 95% CI −1.063, –0.225, p < .001), PVC QRS duration (RE‐0.191 and 95% CI −0.529, 0.148, p = .049), and age (RE‐0.249 and 95% CI −0.442, −0.056, p = .018) were associated with decrease in LVEF. This inverse relationship between the PVC burden and LVEF become more prominent when PVC burden was above 5%. A nomogram developed to estimate the individual risk for decrease in LVEF.

Conclusion

Our study showed that increase in PVC burden %, age, and PVC QRS duration were independently associated with decrease in LVEF in patients with idiopathic PVC. Also, inverse relationship between PVC burden and LVEF was observed in lower PVC burden than previously known.
Decolonising the spaces of geographical knowledge production: The RGS‐IBG at Kensington Gore
Authors: Griffiths Mark , Baker Kate
Published: September 2019

In this commentary we draw focus on the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) at Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore, to discuss the prospect of decolonising in the spaces geographical knowledge production. We propose a focus on the spaces of geography that can exclude and marginalise, and serious engagement with the discomfiting question of whether violent colonial histories should be both so prominent and silent in the spaces of geographical knowledge production.
Lateral line system of flatfishes (Pleuronectiformes): Diversity and taxonomic distribution of its characters
Authors: Voronina Elena P. , Sideleva Valentina G. , Hughes Dianne R.
Published: September 2019

An analysis of lateral line system (LLS) morphology in 304 species (39% of those presently known) from 121 (92%) genera belonging to all 14 families of Pleuronectiformes is presented. The main feature of the LLS of flatfishes is bilateral asymmetry in the course of the cranial lateral line canals, but also in the reduction of canals or portions of canals, which occurs independently on the eyed and blind sides. The number of reductions is used to define two patterns for comparative analysis. A complete pattern is defined by the presence of all main canals, connected with each other, and the canaliculi that end in pores are usually highly branched. The reduced pattern is defined by the presence of more than two reductions. Each family is characterized by the occurrence of a complete pattern, a reduced pattern or both patterns. The combination of reductions varies considerably and characterizes taxa at the generic level. A reduced pattern appears independently several times and has a complex evolutionary history with reversals to a complete pattern. This study has shown that LLS characters are very informative for phylogeny and taxonomy and should be an important component of the description and revision of pleuronectiform taxa and their relationships.
Longitudinal analysis of cognitive performances in recent‐onset and late‐life Bipolar Disorder: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Szmulewicz Alejandro , Valerio Marina P. , Martino Diego J.
Published: September 2019

Objectives

Neurocognitive deficits have been widely reported in euthymic Bipolar Disorder (BD) patients and contribute to functional disability. However, the longitudinal trajectory of these deficits remains a subject of debate. Although most research to this date shows that neurocognitive deficits tend to be stable among middle‐age BD patients, it remains plausible that deterioration occurs at either early or late stages of this condition.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive meta‐analysis of studies that reported longitudinal neurocognitive performance among individuals with BD either within the year of their diagnosis or among late‐life BD patients. Pooled effects of standardized mean differences (SMDs) for changes in neuropsychological scores over follow‐up were estimated using random effects model. We also examined effect moderators, such as length of follow‐up, mood state, or pharmacological load.

Results

Eight studies met inclusion criteria for recent‐onset and four studies for late‐life BD analysis. No evidence for a deterioration in neurocognitive functioning was observed among recent‐onset BD patients (8 studies, 284 patients, SMD: 0.12, 95% CI −0.06 to 0.30, mean follow‐up: 17 months) nor for late‐life BD patients (4 studies, 153 patients, SMD: −0.35, 95% CI −0.84 to 0.15, mean follow‐up: 33 months). None of the moderators were shown to be significant.

Conclusions

These results, when appraised together with the findings in middle‐life BD patients and individuals at genetic risk for BD, suggest that neurodevelopmental factors might play a significant role in cognitive deficits in BD and do not support the notion of progressive cognitive decline in most patients with BD.
The risk factors and prognosis of delayed perihematomal edema in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage
Authors: Peng Wen‐jie , Li Qian , Tang Jin‐hua , Reis Cesar , Araujo Camila , Feng Rui , Yuan Ming‐hao , Jin Lin‐yan , Cheng Ya‐li , Jia Yan‐jie , Luo Ye‐tao , Zhang John , Yang Jun
Published: September 2019

Purpose

We hypothesize delayed perihematomal edema (DHE) leads to secondary injury after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) with a poor prognosis. Hence, we need to investigate the risk factors of DHE and identify whether DHE will predict the poor outcome of sICH.

Methods

We retrospectively recruited 121 patients with sICH admitted to the Department of Neurology from January 2014 to August 2018. After dividing all these patients into DHE group and non‐DHE group, we analyzed the potential risk factors and outcome of DHE using a multivariate logistic regression model.

Results

We conclude DHE after sICH associates with age, hospitalization time, hematoma shape, blood pressure upon admission, alcohol consumption, blood sodium level, and baseline hematoma volume within 24 hours after symptom onset, among which differences were statistically significant (P < .05). Logistic regression analysis finally identified that age (OR = 0.958, 95% CI = 0.923‐0.995) and the baseline hematoma volume (OR = 1.161, 95% CI = 1.089‐1.238) were the most significant risk factors for DHE, and moreover, the DHE (OR = 3.062, 95% CI = 1.196‐7.839) was also a risk factor for poor prognosis in sICH patients.

Conclusion

We suggest DHE is a clinical predictor of secondary injury following sICH and poor prognosis. In addition, age and baseline hematoma volume are considered significant high‐risk factors for DHE in patients with sICH.
Effect of lutein on the acute inflammation‐induced c‐Fos expression of rat trigeminal spinal nucleus caudalis and C1 dorsal horn neurons
Authors: Shimazu Yoshihito , Kobayashi Ayumu , Endo Shiori , Takemura Jin , Takeda Mamoru
Published: September 2019

Although lutein is known to inhibit chronic inflammation, its effect on acute inflammation‐induced nociceptive processing in the trigeminal system remains to be determined. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether pretreatment with lutein attenuates acute inflammation‐induced sensitization of nociceptive processing in rat spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (SpVc) and upper cervical (C1) dorsal horn neurons, via c‐Fos immunoreactivity. Mustard oil, a transient receptor potential ankyrin‐1 channel agonist, was injected into the whisker pads to induce inflammation. Pretreatment of rats with lutein resulted in significant decreases in the inflammation‐induced mean times of face grooming and the thickness of inflammation‐induced edema in whisker pads relative to those features in inflamed rats (i.e., rats with no lutein pretreatment). In both the ipsilateral superficial and deep laminae of the SpVc and C1 dorsal horn, there were significantly larger numbers of c‐Fos‐positive neurons in inflamed rats than in naïve rats, and lutein pretreatment significantly decreased that number relative to inflamed rats. These results suggest that systemic administration of lutein attenuates acute inflammation‐induced nocifensive behavior and augmented nociceptive processing of SpVc and C1 neurons that send stimulus localization and intensity information to higher pain centers. These findings support lutein as a potential therapeutic agent for use as an alternative, complementary medicine to attenuate, or even prevent, acute inflammatory pain.
Epilepsy occurrence after neonatal morbidities in very preterm infants
Authors: Tu Yi‐Fang , Wang Shan‐Tair , Shih Hsin‐I , Wu Po‐Ming , Yu Wen‐Hao , Huang Chao‐Ching
Published: September 2019

Objective

This study investigated the incidence of epilepsy and identified neonatal risk morbidities for epilepsy in children born extremely preterm.

Methods

Of the 806 very preterm infants (birth weight < 1500 g, gestational age < 32 weeks) who survived and were discharged from the four neonatal intensive care units in southern Taiwan between 2003 and 2012, 686 (85.1%) had longitudinal neurodevelopmental follow‐up assessments up to 5 years of age.

Results

Among the 686 very preterm children, 19 (2.8%) exhibited epilepsy at a mean age of 19 ± 14 months. The incidence of epilepsy was highest among infants with neonatal seizure (33%), followed by cystic periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL, 27%), high‐grade intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH, 21%), and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) stage III (20%). NEC stage III, neonatal seizure, high‐grade IVH, and cPVL were also independent neonatal risk morbidities for epilepsy. Furthermore, the incidence of epilepsy was 21.6% in preterm children with significant neonatal brain injury (SNBI; ie, high‐grade IVH and cPVL), but only 1% in preterm children without SNBI. Among preterm children with SNBI, neonatal seizure was higher in preterm children with epilepsy than in those without epilepsy (23.1% vs 2.1%, P = .03). Among preterm children without SNBI, NEC stage III was higher in preterm children with epilepsy than in those without epilepsy (33.3% vs 1.8%, P < .01). The preterm children with epilepsy were prone to have neurodevelopmental disability regardless of whether they had neonatal brain injury, and drug‐resistant epilepsy (42%), particularly those with neonatal high‐grade IVH.

Significance

There is an elevated incidence of epilepsy among very preterm children, and particularly those with significant brain injury and/or severe NEC during the neonatal period. Very preterm children with epilepsy are prone to have neurodevelopmental disability and drug‐resistant epilepsy.
Effect of antidepressant medications on semen parameters and male fertility
Authors: Beeder Lauren A , Samplaski Mary K
Published: September 2019

Antidepressant medications are commonly used in males of reproductive age for long‐term treatment of depression, as well as other disorders. Although antidepressants are known to be associated with sexual side‐effects, their effects on semen parameters and other markers of male fertility have been less thoroughly described. The majority of available studies have focused on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which have been shown to negatively impact semen quality in in vitro, animal and human studies. Fluoxetine, in particular, has been the subject of multiple studies and has been associated with gonadotoxic effects, including decreased sperm concentration and motility, increased deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation, and decreased reproductive organ weights. Studies of several other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have yielded similar results. Reassuringly, this effect does seem to be reversible. The data regarding serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and atypical antidepressants are sparse, varied and conflicting. Given the widespread and often long‐term use of antidepressant medications, there is a clear need for further data regarding their impact on semen quality and male fertility.
Clinical characteristics and useful signs to differentiate detrusor underactivity from bladder outlet obstruction in men with non‐neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms
Authors: Matsukawa Yoshihisa , Yoshida Masaki , Yamaguchi Osamu , Takai Shun , Majima Tsuyoshi , Funahashi Yasuhito , Yono Makoto , Sekido Noritoshi , Gotoh Momokazu
Published: September 2019

Objective

To investigate the clinical characteristics and useful signs to differentiate detrusor underactivity from bladder outlet obstruction in men with non‐neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms.

Methods

A total of 638 treatment‐naive men with non‐neurogenic lower urinary tract symptoms who underwent subjective and objective evaluations were reviewed retrospectively. We divided the patients into detrusor underactivity and bladder outlet obstruction groups based on urodynamic findings, and compared parameters obtained from questionnaires and non‐invasive tests. Detrusor underactivity was defined as bladder contractility index ≤100 and bladder outlet obstruction index ≤40, whereas bladder outlet obstruction was defined as bladder contractility index >100 and bladder outlet obstruction index >40.

Results

Of 638 patients, 145 (22.7%) had detrusor underactivity and 273 (42.8%) had bladder outlet obstruction. Total international prostate symptom score and international prostate symptom score‐voiding subscore were significantly higher in the detrusor underactivity group. There were significant differences in prostate volume, intravesical prostatic protrusion, and all uroflowmetry parameters between the two groups. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, lower intravesical prostatic protrusion (cut‐off value 8.2 mm), lower bladder voiding efficiency (cut‐off value 70%), and the presence of sawtooth and interrupted waveform on uroflowmetry were significant predictive factors for detrusor underactivity. In particular, the incidence of sawtooth and interrupted waveform was significantly higher in the detrusor underactivity group (80%) than in the bladder outlet obstruction group (12.8%), which showed both high sensitivity (80%) and specificity (87.2%) in differentiating detrusor underactivity from bladder outlet obstruction.

Conclusions

Sawtooth and interrupted waveform on uroflowmetry can be a useful predictive factor for detrusor underactivity. In addition, lower intravesical prostatic protrusion and bladder voiding efficiency can be of supplementary use.
STEM‐EELS analysis of the interface structures of composite ASS‐LIB electrodes fabricated via aerosol deposition
Authors: Yamamoto Yuta , Iriyama Yasutoshi , Muto Shunsuke
Published: September 2019

All‐solid‐state (ASS) lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are conventionally fabricated by sintering the component materials at high temperatures. However, interdiffusion between the two phases can give rise to problematic interfacial chemical compounds; therefore, an alternative fabrication method such as aerosol deposition (AD), which works near room temperature, is highly desirable in the ASS‐LIB research field. Herein, we examined the nanometric interface structures of composite ASS‐LIB electrodes fabricated using an AD method, with a particular focus on the structures of Li+‐conductive glass‐ceramic solid electrolyte Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP), which we analyzed using a non‐negative matrix factorization technique. We applied this technique to datasets obtained by combined scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The interface structure of a nonannealed composite could not be explained by the main crystal phase of pristine LATP particles or their surface structure, which should reflect a deposition process specific to the AD method. A composite annealed at 400°C exhibited an LATP/LCO interface structure, providing superior contact and possibly improving the electrochemical properties of the ASS‐LIB composite accordingly.
Immunohistochemical expression of tumor necrosis factor‐like weak inducer of apoptosis and fibroblast growth factor‐inducible immediate early response protein 14 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its implications
Authors: Acharya Swetha , Prabhu Prashant , Patil Vidya S. , Acharya Anirudh B. , Nikhil Krithi
Published: September 2019

Aim

To study the expression of tumor necrosis factor‐like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and fibroblast growth factor‐inducible immediate early response protein 14 (Fn14) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), to elucidate the possible role of TWEAK‐Fn14 in OSCC development.

Methods

Immunohistochemistry for TWEAK‐Fn14 was performed on 61 oral mucosal samples: healthy oral mucosa (HOM; N = 15); oral dysplastic lesions (ODL; N = 15); and OSCC (N = 31). Extent of staining (ES) and immunoreactive score (IRS) were assessed. The data was statistically analyzed.

Results

All OSCC expressed TWEAK, and the Fn14 expression was noted in 90% of OSCC. A significant difference in the TWEAK and Fn14 expression was noted among the groups. ES and IRS of TWEAK‐Fn14 significantly increased in OSCC compared with ODL and HOM. ES of TWEAK was significantly higher than Fn14 in all 3 groups. ES of TWEAK‐Fn14 was significantly higher at the invasive tumor front (ITF) than in the whole tumor. TWEAK‐Fn14 showed a significant association with clinicopathological parameters of prognostic significance.

Conclusion

Findings suggest that TWEAK and Fn14 may participate in the growth and progression of OSCC. Increased expression of TWEAK‐Fn14 at the ITF may facilitate increased proliferation, altered differentiation and invasion.
Comparative landscape genetics reveals the evolution of viviparity reduces genetic connectivity in fire salamanders
Authors: Lourenço André , Gonçalves João , Carvalho Filipe , Wang Ian J. , Velo‐Antón Guillermo
Published: September 2019

Evolutionary changes in reproductive mode may affect co‐evolving traits, such as dispersal, although this subject remains largely underexplored. The shift from aquatic oviparous or larviparous reproduction to terrestrial viviparous reproduction in some amphibians entails skipping the aquatic larval stage and, thus, greater independence from water. Accordingly, amphibians exhibiting terrestrial viviparous reproduction may potentially disperse across a wider variety of suboptimal habitats and increase population connectivity in fragmented landscapes compared to aquatic‐breeding species. We investigated this hypothesis in the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra), which exhibits both aquatic‐ (larviparity) and terrestrial‐breeding (viviparity) strategies. We genotyped 426 larviparous and 360 viviparous adult salamanders for 13 microsatellite loci and sequenced a mitochondrial marker for 133 larviparous and 119 viviparous individuals to compare population connectivity and landscape resistance to gene flow within a landscape genetics framework. Contrary to our predictions, viviparous populations exhibited greater differentiation and reduced genetic connectivity compared to larviparous populations. Landscape genetic analyses indicate viviparity may be partially responsible for this pattern, as water courses comprised a significant barrier only in viviparous salamanders, probably due to their fully terrestrial life cycle. Agricultural areas and, to a lesser extent, topography also decreased genetic connectivity in both larviparous and viviparous populations. This study is one of very few to explicitly demonstrate the evolution of a derived reproductive mode affects patterns of genetic connectivity. Our findings open avenues for future research to better understand the eco‐evolutionary implications underlying the emergence of terrestrial reproduction in amphibians.