bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Manipulation of ZDS in tomato exposes carotenoid‐ and ABA‐specific effects on fruit development and ripening
Authors: McQuinn Ryan P. , Gapper Nigel E. , Gray Amanda G. , Zhong Silin , Tohge Takayuki , Fei Zhangjun , Fernie Alisdair R. , Giovannoni James J.
Published: March 2020

Spontaneous mutations in fruit‐specific carotenoid biosynthetic genes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) have led to improved understanding of ripening‐associated carotenogenesis. Here, we confirm that ZDS is encoded by a single gene in tomato transcriptionally regulated by ripening transcription factors RIN, NOR and ethylene. Manipulation of ZDS was achieved through transgenic repression and heterologous over‐expression in tomato. CaMV 35S‐driven RNAi repression inhibited carotenoid biosynthesis in all aerial tissues examined resulting in elevated levels of ζ‐carotene isomers and upstream carotenoids, while downstream all trans‐lycopene and subsequent photoprotective carotenes and xanthophylls were diminished. Consequently, immature fruit displayed photo‐bleaching consistent with reduced levels of the photoprotective carotenes and developmental phenotypes related to a reduction in the carotenoid‐derived phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). ZDS‐repressed ripe fruit was devoid of the characteristic red carotenoid, all trans‐lycopene and displayed brilliant yellow pigmentation due to elevated 9,9′ di‐cis‐ζ‐carotene. Over‐expression of the Arabidopsis thaliana ZDS (AtZDS) gene bypassed endogenous co‐suppression and revealed ZDS as an additional bottleneck in ripening‐associated carotenogenesis of tomato. Quantitation of carotenoids in addition to multiple ripening parameters in ZDS‐altered lines and ABA‐deficient fruit‐specific carotenoid mutants was used to separate phenotypic consequences of ABA from other effects of ZDS manipulation and reveal a unique and dynamic ζ‐carotene isomer profile in ripe fruit.
Host plants alter their volatiles to help a solitary egg parasitoid distinguish habitats with parasitized hosts from those without
Authors: Li Cheng‐Zhe , Sun Hao , Gao Qing , Bian Fang‐Yuan , Noman Ali , Xiao Wen‐Han , Zhou Guo‐Xin , Lou Yong‐Gen
Published: March 2020

When attacked by herbivores, plants emit volatiles to attract parasitoids and predators of herbivores. However, our understanding of the effect of plant volatiles on the subsequent behaviour of conspecific parasitoids when herbivores on plants are parasitized is limited. In this study, rice plants were infested with gravid females of the brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens for 24 hr followed by another 24 hr in which the BPH eggs on plants were permitted to be parasitized by their egg parasitoid, Anagrus nilaparvatae; volatiles from rice plants that underwent such treatment were less attractive to subsequent conspecific parasitoids compared to the volatiles from plants infested with gravid BPH females alone. Chemical analysis revealed that levels of JA and JA‐Ile as well as of four volatile compounds—linalool, MeSA, α‐zingiberene and an unknown compound—from plants infested with BPH and parasitized by wasps were significantly higher than levels of these compounds from BPH‐infested plants. Laboratory and field bioassays revealed that one of the four increased chemicals—α‐zingiberene—reduced the plant's attractiveness to the parasitoid. These results suggest that host plants can fine‐tune their volatiles to help egg parasitoids distinguish host habitats with parasitized hosts from those without.
M2b macrophage subset decrement as an indicator of cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Hsieh Sun‐Wung , Huang Ling‐Chun , Chang Yang‐Pei , Hung Chih‐Hsing , Yang Yuan‐Han
Published: March 2020

Aim

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease. Various inflammatory processes account for the pathology of AD, and macrophages in particular have a distinct polarization phenotype related to M1/M2 classification. We aimed to investigate macrophage polarization patterns as an indicator of cognitive function in AD.

Methods

We recruited 54 non‐demented individuals as control and 105 AD patients as experimental groups respectively. Percentages of macrophage (PM2K+CD14+ and PM2K+CD14−) and macrophage polarization subsets (M1, M2a, M2b, and M2c) were assessed using flow cytometry. All AD patients were classified by dementia severity using clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) as CDR 0.5, 1 and ≧2. AD patients had cognitive function evaluation using Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Cognitive Assessment Screening Instrument (CASI). We compared the macrophage polarization patterns between control and patient groups. Cognitive function was evaluated in association with macrophage polarization patterns in AD patients.

Results

The percentages of PM2K+CD14+ and PM2K+CD14− macrophages were higher in AD patients than in controls. M2b macrophage subset decrement and M1 macrophage subset increment of PM2K+CD14+ and PM2K+CD14− macrophages were observed in AD patients compared with controls. Although percentages of macrophage subsets were not consistent with CDR staging, PM2K+CD14+M2b macrophage subset decrement was correlated with worse cognitive functioning by MMSE and CASI in AD patients.

Conclusion

M2b macrophage subset decrement and M1 macrophage subset increment were noted in AD patients, while PM2K+CD14+M2b macrophage subset decrement indicated worse cognitive function in such patients.
Acute liver failure associated with metabolic diseases: A 10‐year single‐center experience
Authors: Güven Burcu , Sağ Elif , Karagüzel Gülay , Çakır Murat
Published: March 2020

Background

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare multisystemic disease occurring in individuals with no history of liver disease, characterized by coagulopathy and / or hepatic encephalopathy secondary to acute liver injury. It is mostly caused by viral infections, drug intoxication, and metabolic diseases (MD), and can also have an indeterminate etiology. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics and clinical outcomes of the patients that presented to our clinic with MD‐associated ALF.

Methods

This retrospective study reviewed age, gender, parental consanguinity, family history, presence of encephalopathy, laboratory parameters, and clinical outcomes of the patients that presented to our clinic between January 2009 and January 2019. Patients with MD‐associated ALF were compared with patients in whom ALF was associated with other etiologies.

Results

The study included 39 patients (53.8% boys; mean age + SD 6.13 ± 1.43 years). The total and direct bilirubin, international normalized ratio, and ammoniac levels were significantly higher in patients with MD than in the others (P < 0.05). Moreover, the incidences of hypoglycemia, death of a sibling and / or a family history of liver disease were also higher in patients with MD than in the others (P < 0.05). On the other hand, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were significantly higher in patients with other etiologies.

Conclusions

Metabolic diseases should be kept in mind in patients with a history of parental consanguinity and a positive family history of liver disease along with less increased alanine aminotransferase than expected, and increased bilirubin, international normalized ratio, and ammoniac levels and hypoglycemia. As the number of these parameters increases, the chance of diagnosis increases.
Anomalies in Probability Estimates for Event Forecasting on Prediction Markets
Authors: Lee Ho Cheung Brian , Stallaert Jan , Fan Ming
Published: March 2020

Innovative forecasting methods using new data sources have been developed to address various problems in operations management, such as demand, sales, and event forecasts. One of the methods for forecasting events consists of prediction markets where participants can take financial positions that may generate returns depending on whether certain events occur or not. Results in experimental psychology and behavioral economics have shown that individuals, including experts, can be subject to judgment bias when making probability estimates for future events. We examine, in this study, whether prediction markets are immune to such bias in estimating event probability. We find that even when there are large numbers of transactions and high volumes of trades, probabilistic fallacies still occur. Moreover, when they occur, they tend to be persistent over a certain period of time, and they tend to happen in situations similar to the ones where individual probabilistic fallacies are reported to occur. Our results have implications for the design of prediction markets and at the same time call for caution when using forecasts generated this way.
High‐throughput screening reveals small molecule modulators inhibitory toAcidovorax citrulli
Authors: Lu Yu , Deblais Loïc , Rajashekara Gireesh , Miller Sally A. , Helmy Yorsa A. , Zhang Haijun , Wu Ping , Qiu Yanhong , Xu Xiulan
Published: March 2020

Acidovorax citrulliis a seed‐transmitted gram‐negative bacterium that can cause substantial economic yield loss in watermelon and melon production worldwide. Four small‐molecule libraries containing 4,952 compounds were selected for high‐throughput screening againstA. citrulliwild‐type strain Xu3‐14 by evaluation of growth inhibition. One hundred and twenty‐seven molecules (2.5% hit rate) were identified as bactericidal or bacteriostatic againstA. citrulliat 100 μM. Secondary screens indicated that 27 candidate compounds were more effective againstA. citrulliGroup II strains than Group I strains (classified using repetitive element PCR). Several compounds were inhibitory to other pathogenic bacteria, includingClavibacter michiganensissubsp.michiganensisandXanthomonas campestrispv.campestris, but did not affect the growth of plant beneficial bacteriaPseudomonas fluorescensandBacillus subtilis. More than half of the compounds did not inhibit germination ofArabidopsisor watermelon seeds. The effect of small molecules onA. citrulliseed‐to‐seedling transmission was evaluated by applying each compound to inoculated watermelon seeds and assessing seedling infection. Nine compounds were chosen for further investigation based on their reduction of percentage seedling infection and compiling scores on their specificity, sensitivity, and phytotoxicity obtained in the secondary screens. The five best compounds were selected (thiamphenicol, nadifloxacin, pipemidic acid, ciclopirox, and zinc pyrithione) for greenhouse tests and were found to effectively reduce the seed‐to‐seedling transmission ofA. citrulliin both artificially and naturally infested seeds. These top five compounds provide a basis for future development of anA. citrulli‐specific bactericide.
Global stakeholder vision for ecosystem‐based marine aquaculture expansion from coastal to offshore areas
Authors: Galparsoro Ibon , Murillas Arantza , Pinarbasi Kemal , Sequeira Ana M.M. , Stelzenmüller Vanessa , Borja Ángel , O´Hagan Anne Marie , Boyd Adele , Bricker Suzanne , Garmendia Joxe Mikel , Gimpel Antje , Gangnery Aline , Billing Suzannah‐Lynn , Bergh Øivind , Strand Øivind , Hiu Liu , Fragoso Bruno , Icely John , Ren Jeffrey , Papageorgiou Nafsika , Grant Jon , Brigolin Daniele , Pastres Roberto , Tett Paul
Published: March 2020

Marine aquaculture is the most promising industry for ensuring future provision of seafood. Yet, the worldwide growth and expansion of this industry have been slower than expected, calling for the identification of environmentally suitable sites while accounting for all factors that could constrain or benefit its establishment. Here, we determine the main obstacles and risks hindering the growth and expansion of marine aquaculture, as well as the needs and recommendations to overcome such constraints. Our analysis is based on results obtained from a consultation process held in 16 study sites located around the world with the participation of 614 stakeholders representing the research community, aquaculture industry, government, conservation groups, and education and fishermen associations. A high level of commonality exists in the main issues hindering aquaculture growth and expansion in coastal, off‐the‐coast and offshore aquaculture with most being attributed to interactions with other maritime activities, including conflicts with other users and administrative procedures, including licensing. Critical needs for improved management and expansion of the aquaculture industry are related to planning and management of developments and technological advances, with economic and market needs featuring to a lesser extent. Key procedures recommended to assist further aquaculture growth are the standardisation and simplification of regulatory frameworks, improvement of governance, and the adoption of participatory processes to facilitate meaningful and productive stakeholder engagement. We strongly recommend stakeholder participation to enhance insights on the full environmental and human dimensions of marine management and for implementation of ecosystem‐based marine spatial planning.
Unusually high‐quality soil seed banks in a Midwestern U.S. oak savanna region: variation with land use history, habitat restoration, and soil properties
Authors: Abella Scott R. , Hodel Jenella L. , Schetter Timothy A.
Published: March 2020

An overarching conclusion in the literature is that soil seed banks rarely contain many restoration‐target species and are often liabilities rather than assets to restoration. Our objective was to evaluate composition and spatial variation of seed banks and their potential contributions to restoration, including restoration‐target species such as rare species and those characterizing historical habitats. On 64 sites in a Midwestern U.S. oak savanna landscape, we sampled soil seed banks in seven habitat types (restored oak savannas, oak woodlands, and mesic prairies; unmanaged upland oak and mesic forests; and unmanaged and managed pine plantations). The germinable seed bank was exceptionally rich in restoration‐target species. In total for the 64 sites, seedlings of 127 species emerged from seed bank samples. Of the 101 native species, 56 were restoration‐target species, an unusually high number among seed bank studies. Restoration‐target species in seed banks included 13 threatened or endangered species, in addition to 43 other specialist species associated with high‐quality native habitats or on a floral list thought to characterize historical ecosystems. When analyzed across the 64‐site gradient, seed banks differed among the seven habitat types and varied with historical (1939) land use, recent management activities that restored open‐structured habitats, and biophysical gradients of tree density, soil drainage, and soil texture. While not all restoration‐target species were detected in the seed bank, the unusually high‐quality seed bank is a potential asset to restoration and was partly structured along environmental gradients across the landscape.
Simulating the Linkages Between Economy and Armed Conflict in India With a Long Short‐Term Memory Algorithm
Authors: Hao Mengmeng , Fu Jingying , Jiang Dong , Ding Fangyu , Chen Shuai
Published: March 2020

This article analyzes the linkages between the economy and armed conflict in India using annual frequency data for the period 1989–2016, the maximum time period for which consistent data are available for the country. An adequate set of economic indicators was established to fully reflect the economic condition. Long short‐term memory (LSTM), which is a machine‐learning algorithm for time series, was employed to simulate the relationship between the economy and armed conflict events. In addition, LSTM was applied to predict the trend of armed conflict with two strategies: multiyear predictions and yearly predictions. The results show that both strategies can adequately simulate the relationship between the economy and armed conflict, with all simulation accuracies above 90%. The accuracy of the yearly prediction is higher than that of the multiyear prediction. Theoretically, the future state and trend of armed conflict can be predicted with LSTM and future economic data if future economic data can be predicted.
The Future as Perceived by Soviet Schoolchildren of the 1930s
Authors: VOLKOVA IRINA V.
Published: March 2020

This article reconstructs the views of Soviet schoolchildren of the 1930s about the future, which they nearly always identified with communism. The attitudes to this this perspective among the pre‐war school students are quite remarkable taking into account that they were the first generation of the Soviet citizens molded in accordance with the USSR’s ideological matrix, within the school system of the 1930s that had been remodeled to meet the communist ideological priorities. The texts created by individuals belonging that age group, provide a fairly clear picture of the hierarchy, combinations, and depth of grasping the messages of the program to form a communist consciousness. Based on the analysis of children’s essays, statements, and ego documents of high school students, the article shows group differences in how the Communist ideal was perceived. For younger adolescents, this ideal did not penetrate deeply into their consciousness. Rather, it provided an external framework for technogenic fantasies and adventurous escapades. Thus transformed, these fantasies in fact demonstrate typical reactions to problematic areas of communication with the outside world, peculiar to age‐related psychology. For older adolescents enduring hardships and loneliness, this ideal was a model for the relationships between people and between a person and society–which promised to solve their problems. Creative and socially active youngsters were inspired by a communist outbreak of discoveries, radically changing the conditions of human existence, and were looking for a way to apply their personal resources to it. One of the results of this search and hence the product of communist education was an unofficial rating of professions and professionals widely adopted by young people. At the top were the intellectual activities involving a good education, opportunities for creative achievement, and the people representing these qualities. The lowest were non‐creative mass professions without heuristic potential and those involved in them. These hierarchies of people and occupations led to the increased heterogeneity and inequality in society, in other words, they worked in the opposite direction to the building of a homogeneous communist society of equal subjects.
Chekhov and Zola's Naturalism
Authors: MILLER MELISSA
Published: March 2020

It is a critical commonplace that the young Chekhov owed a substantial debt to the French author Emile Zola, who was famous throughout European letters, many would say notorious, for his forthright, oftentimes graphic depictions of sexuality and the human body. However, this commonplace is a shallow one: most parallels between Chekhov and Zola in contemporary criticism are made in passing and a full‐length study on the two authors has yet to be undertaken. In this connection, my article explores how those very features found in Zola that so infuriated critics of his day, including his graphic sexuality, his love of raw detail, and his oftentimes haphazard blend of in vogue scientific theories and imaginative literature, shaped Chekhov’s own work. More specifically, I focus on Chekhov’s relationship to one of Zola’s most intriguing scandals, the publication of his novel Therese Raquin. In his scandalous introduction to this work, Zola laid out his Naturalist method of writing imaginative literature. In his view, an author must be a “surgeon” who performs analysis on his characters, in particular his female characters, in the same way a doctor does an autopsy on a corpse. My article examines the implications such an artistic orientation had for the young Anton Chekhov, who as both a professional physician and a professional artist, responded particularly to Zola’s dual self‐posturing and its resulting implications for describing complex female characters in Russian literature.
Order of diagenetic events controls evolution of porosity and permeability in carbonates
Authors: Hosa Aleksandra , Wood Rachel
Published: March 2020

The properties of carbonate rocks are often the result of multiple, diagenetic events that involve phases of cementation (porosity occlusion) and dissolution (porosity enhancement). This study tests the hypothesis that the order of these events is a major control on final porosity and permeability. A three‐dimensional synthetic model of grainstone is used to quantify trends that show the effect of early cementation, non‐fabric selective dissolution, and then a second‐generation of (post‐dissolution) cement. Models are 3 mm3 with a resolution of 10 μm. Six simple paragenetic sequences are modelled from an identical starting sediment (without accounting for compaction) where the same diagenetic events are placed in different sequences, allowing for quantification of relative changes in the resultant porosity and permeability for each diagenetic event, the trajectory through time, as well as for each final rock. All modelled paragenetic sequences result in reductions in porosity and permeability, but the order of diagenetic events controls the trajectory and final rock properties. Differences in the order of early cement precipitation alone produce variable final values, but all follow the porosity–permeability relationship as expressed by the Kozeny‐Carman equation. However, final values for the sequences which include a phase of dissolution fall on a new curve, which departs from that predicted by the Kozeny‐Carman relationship. This allows an alternative form of porosity–permeability relationship to be proposed: κ = 2280ϕ–30,400, where ϕ is porosity (%) and κ is permeability (mD). Hence while the Kozeny‐Carman relationship predicts porosity–permeability changes that occur with cementation, it is unable to capture accurately changes within the pore network as a result of dissolution. Although the results may be dependent on the properties of the initial carbonate sediment and simplified diagenetic scenarios, it is suggested that this new porosity–permeability relationship may capture some generalized behaviour, which can be tested by modelling further sediment types and diagenetic scenarios.
The moral compass and life skills in navigating radicalization processes: Examining the interplay among life skills, moral disengagement, and extremism
Authors: Ozer Simon , Bertelsen Preben
Published: March 2020

The present study investigated the interplay among deficient life skills, moral disengagement, and extremist attitude across two national contexts. Using a sample of young students in high school or college (N = 686), the present study found significant indirect effects between deficient life skills (agency and structure) and various aspects of an extremist mindset through moral disengagement. These findings suggest that these two psychological concepts of life skills and moral disengagement are relevant for understanding and countering violent radicalization processes; that is to say that morality can direct the life skills toward either violent extremism or nonviolent, legal civil participation. Furthermore, the development and empowerment of life skills could enhance individual resilience to morally disengaging narratives and radicalized ideologies.
Wide availability of HLA‐matched or a few loci‐mismatched donors in the graft‐vs‐host direction among nonsibling first‐degree relatives
Authors: Watanabe Mizuki , Kanda Junya , Kojima Hiroto , Ikeda Nami , Fuji Shigeo , Kanda Yoshinobu , Saji Hiroh , Tanaka Hidenori
Published: March 2020

Although outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from alternative donors have been improved, it has not yet challenged the precedence of HLA‐matched or a few loci‐mismatched donors. Because the availabilities of these donors among nonsibling relatives have been scarcely discussed, we analyzed them using a large Japanese dataset of HLA typing. Data set included HLA data from 2838 patients and their relatives, distributed in all parts of Japan. Antigen mismatches at the HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐DR loci and allele mismatches at the HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐C, ‐DRB1 loci were examined. The availabilities of 0 to 1/6 antigen‐mismatched donors among one parent‐candidate and one sibling‐candidate were 24.3% and 33.9%, and those of 0 to 2/8 allele‐mismatched donors were 18.6% and 32.1%, respectively. Additional HLA‐C antigen mismatches (18.1% vs 0.0%) along with the possession of 1 to 3/8 allele mismatches (31.3% vs 3.0%) were more frequently observed in parent‐candidates than in sibling‐candidate. Most multiple allele‐mismatched pairs had HLA‐B allele mismatches. In conclusion, expanding donor searches to include nonsibling relatives could widen the availability of conventional relative donors with 0 to 1/6 antigen mismatches or 0 to 2/8 allele mismatch to 20% to 30%. High‐resolution typing including HLA‐C locus examination should be performed, because additional mismatches at HLA‐C loci along with multiple allele mismatches were often observed, especially among nonsibling pairs.
Rapid identification of an Arabidopsis NLR gene as a candidate conferring susceptibility to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum using time‐resolved automated phenotyping
Authors: Barbacci Adelin , Navaud Olivier , Mbengue Malick , Barascud Marielle , Godiard Laurence , Khafif Mehdi , Lacaze Aline , Raffaele Sylvain
Published: March 2020

The broad host range necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a devastating pathogen of many oil and vegetable crops. Plant genes conferring complete resistance against S. sclerotiorum have not been reported. Instead, plant populations challenged by S. sclerotiorum exhibit a continuum of partial resistance designated as quantitative disease resistance (QDR). Because of their complex interplay and their small phenotypic effect, the functional characterization of QDR genes remains limited. How broad host range necrotrophic fungi manipulate plant programmed cell death is for instance largely unknown. Here, we designed a time‐resolved automated disease phenotyping pipeline enabling high‐throughput disease lesion measurement with high resolution, low footprint at low cost. We could accurately recover contrasted disease responses in several pathosystems using this system. We used our phenotyping pipeline to assess the kinetics of disease symptoms caused by seven S. sclerotiorum isolates on six A. thaliana natural accessions with unprecedented resolution. Large effect polymorphisms common to the most resistant A. thaliana accessions identified highly divergent alleles of the nucleotide‐binding site leucine‐rich repeat gene LAZ5 in the resistant accessions Rubezhnoe and Lip‐0. We show that impaired LAZ5 expression in laz5.1 mutant lines and in A. thaliana Rub natural accession correlate with enhanced QDR to S. sclerotiorum. These findings illustrate the value of time‐resolved image‐based phenotyping for unravelling the genetic bases of complex traits such as QDR. Our results suggest that S. sclerotiorum manipulates plant sphingolipid pathways guarded by LAZ5 to trigger programmed cell death and cause disease.
OsMFT2 is involved in the regulation of ABA signaling‐mediated seed germination through interacting with OsbZIP23/66/72 in rice
Authors: Song Song , Wang Guanfeng , Wu Hong , Fan Xiaowei , Liang Liwen , Zhao Hu , Li Shuangle , Hu Yong , Liu Haiyang , Ayaad Mohammed , Xing Yongzhong
Published: March 2020

Seed germination is a complex process involving various physical and biochemical cues, determined by exogenous and endogenous factors. Here, we identified a gene,OsMFT2, that negatively regulates seed germination in rice.OsMFT2knock‐out lines exhibited pre‐harvest sprouting, whereasOsMFT2overexpression lines showed delayed germination. RNA expression profiling showed thatOsMFT2was specifically expressed in seeds. Subcellular localization indicated that OsMFT2 was a nuclear protein. Exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatment of imbibed seeds and seedlings indicated thatOsMFT2altered ABA sensitivity during seed germination and post‐germination growth.In vivoandin vitroassays showed that three bZIP transcription factors, OsbZIP23, OsbZIP66 and OsbZIP72, interacted with OsMFT2. OsbZIP23/66/72 bound to the promoter ofRab16A, a typical gene containing the ABA‐responsive element, and OsMFT2 enhanced the binding to theRab16Apromoter. Moreover, several ABA‐responsive genes were differentially expressed in the imbibed seeds ofOsMFT2transgenic lines and the wild type. The performance of the transgenic plants demonstrated that overexpressingOsbZIP23rescued the pre‐harvest sprouting phenotype and the decrease in ABA‐signaling genes expression caused byOsMFT2knock‐out. All of these results demonstrate that OsMFT2 positively regulates ABA‐responsive genes through interacting with OsbZIP23/66/72 and functions in seed germination.
Thrombocyte apheresis cassettes as a novel source of viable peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Authors: Cunningham Sarah , Buchele Vera , Brox Regine , Strasser Erwin , Hackstein Holger
Published: March 2020

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, white blood cells (WBCs) are collected from buffy coats or freshly drawn blood. However, the increasing demand for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the research phases of immunological therapy development makes it necessary to identify alternative sources of these cells.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Leukapheresis products are cost intensive and not offered by all blood banks. Therefore, thrombocyte apheresis cassettes (TACs), plateletpheresis waste products, were investigated as a possible low‐cost and easily accessible blood source for research laboratories. The recovery rate, phenotype, and functionality of WBC subsets from TAC are unknown and were investigated in comparison to frequently used blood resources via flow cytometry.

RESULTS

On average, TACs provide 30.3 × 106/mL PBMCs, situating themselves between peripheral whole blood (WB; 5.35 × 106/mL) and leukoreduction system chamber (LRSC; 163.9 × 106/mL) yields. Frequencies of CD14, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD56, CD19, and CD11c positive cells in TACs correlate with normal proportions of WBC populations. Stimulation of TAC‐derived PBMCs by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and resiquimod (R848) showed no significant differences in expression levels of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐DR, DQ, DP, and CD86 or cytokine secretion compared to other blood source derived PBMC. Following stimulation with LPS or R848, comparable levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐10, and interleukin‐1β could be measured between TAC, LRSC, and WB. Additionally, TAC‐derived T cells retained their proliferation capability and were able to produce interferon‐γ following T‐cell receptor stimulation.

CONCLUSION

TACs provide a cost‐effective source of viable and functional human blood cells that can readily be used for clinical and laboratory investigations after plateletpheresis preparation.
Mensuration of the rabbit pituitary gland from computed tomography
Authors: Kwan Vionna , Quesenberry Katherine , Le Roux Alexandre B.
Published: March 2020

The aim of this retrospective reference interval observational study was to determine the mensuration of the pituitary gland (hypophysis cerebri) by analyzing CT studies in rabbits without clinical evidence of pituitary disease or central neurologic signs. Though diseases of the rabbit pituitary gland are uncommon, the pituitary gland is essential in regulation of the rabbit's endocrine system, as in other species. Currently, there are minimal published studies that detail the rabbit head anatomy on cross‐sectional imaging, and even less specifically examining the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland was measured by one observer at a single time point from transverse and reconstructed sagittal CT images in a soft‐tissue algorithm in 62 rabbits for a total of 66 rabbit head CT studies. The rabbits ranged from 0.84 to 14 years in age (mean ± SD: 5.46 ± 3.05 years) and 0.92 to 4.95 kg in weight (2.21 ± 0.83 kg). Linear pituitary measurements were performed using electronic calipers. The mean ± SD pituitary height was 4.22 ± 0.57 mm, width was 4.48 ± 0.71 mm, and length was 6.02 ± 0.70 mm. The pituitary gland height‐to‐brain area ratio was 1.10 ± 0.16 mm−1, which is much higher than the values reported in normal dogs and cats. The age, weight, and sex of the rabbits were not found to have a significant impact on pituitary gland mensuration. These measurements could be useful as a reference range for future rabbit head CT studies and to rule out pituitary enlargement or disease when evaluating rabbit pituitary glands.
Leisure‐Time Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms Among Patients With Coronary Heart Disease: The Mediating Role of Physical Activity Self‐Efficacy
Authors: Chair Sek Ying , Cheng Ho Yu , Chew Han Shi Jocelyn , Zang Yu Li , Siow Elaine K.C. , Cao Xi
Published: March 2020

Background

Despite the positive effect of physical activity on reducing depressive symptoms among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), the effect of physical activity on depressive symptoms is poorly understood.

Aims

To examine the mediating role of physical activity self‐efficacy in the relationship between leisure‐time physical activity and depressive symptoms in CHD patients.

Methods

This was a secondary data analysis study. A total of 593 CHD patients were included. Data on leisure‐time physical activity, physical activity self‐efficacy, and depressive symptoms were collected by validated questionnaires. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected via patient interviews and medical records reviewing. The approach of Baron and Kenny was adopted to examine the mediating effect of physical activity self‐efficacy on the association between leisure‐time physical activity and depressive symptoms.

Results

On average, participants aged 56.9 (± 12.5) years old, with 66% male. Statistical analyses showed that leisure‐time physical activity was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (β = −0.041, p = .040) and physical activity self‐efficacy (β = 0.197, p = .001), and physical activity self‐efficacy was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (β = −0.223, p = .001) after adjusting for leisure‐time physical activity. The indirect effect of leisure‐time physical activity on depressive symptoms through physical activity self‐efficacy was also significant (β = −0.044, 95% confidence interval: −0.064, −0.027), suggesting a mediating role of physical activity self‐efficacy on the relationship between leisure‐time physical activity and depressive symptoms.

Linking Evidence to Action

Leisure‐time physical activity is associated with reduced depressive symptoms among CHD patients, and this association is mediated by physical activity self‐efficacy. This mediating model has important clinical implications, where integrating physical activity that is enjoyable and pleasant, and self‐efficacy building elements in physical activity regimens should be considered, so as to improve psychological outcomes among CHD patients.
A pilot study to investigate the associations of urinary concentrations of NO, ATP and derivatives with overactive bladder symptom severity
Authors: Firouzmand Sepinoud , Young John S.
Published: March 2020

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

Are the urinary concentrations of NO and ATP, and their metabolites, associated with the severity of symptoms of overactive bladder?

What is the main finding and its importance?

The urinary ratios of [ATP/NO], [ADP/NO] and a combination of these, [ATP/Cr*ADP/Cr]/[NO/Cr], were correlated with overall OAB symptom severity, with the latter combination also being correlated with the severity of urinary frequency and urgency symptoms individually. Together, these data reveal changes in urothelial signalling that accompany the transition from physiology to pathology.

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a highly prevalent symptom complex characterized by symptoms of urinary urgency and increased frequency and waking to void (nocturia), with or without urge incontinence and in the absence of proven infection or other obvious pathology. The underlying pathophysiology of idiopathic OAB is not clearly known, and the existence of several phenotypes has been proposed. Current diagnostic approaches are based on discordant measures, suffer from subjectivity and are incapable of detecting the proposed OAB phenotypes. Nitric oxide, ATP and their metabolites have previously been shown to underlie the perception of bladder fullness, with their release modifying the pathological perception of urgency. Therefore, in this study we assessed the concentrations of NO, ATP and associated metabolites in the urine of 113 consenting participants recruited from the general population. Recruited participants completed a questionnaire to measure the severity of OAB‐associated urinary symptoms and provided a mid‐stream urine sample. After identification of infection and haematuria using microbiology and microscopy, 95 samples were subjected to assays to measure NO, NO2−, NO3−, ATP, ADP and creatinine (Cr). There was no correlation between [NO/Cr], [NO2−/Cr] or [NO3−/Cr] and overall OAB symptom severity. In contrast, [ATP/NO], [ADP/NO] and a combination of these, [ATP/Cr*ADP/Cr]/[NO/Cr], were correlated with OAB symptom severity, and [ATP/Cr*ADP/Cr]/[NO/Cr] was also correlated with the severity of urinary frequency and urgency. This study adds to a growing literature that demonstrates the potential of urinary biomarkers and provides a foundation for a larger, longitudinal study.
Regulation of glutamate receptors by striatal‐enriched tyrosine phosphatase 61 (STEP61)
Authors: Won Sehoon , Roche Katherine W.
Published: March 2020

Phosphorylation regulates glutamate receptor trafficking. The cytosolic C‐terminal domains of both NMDA receptors (NMDARs) and AMPA receptors (AMPARs) have distinct motifs, which are substrates for serine/threonine and tyrosine phosphorylation. Decades of research have shown how phosphorylation of glutamate receptors mediates protein binding and receptor trafficking, ultimately controlling synaptic transmission and plasticity. STEP is a protein tyrosine phosphatase (also known as PTPN5), with several isoforms resulting from alternative splicing. Targets of STEP include a variety of important synaptic substrates, among which are the tyrosine kinase Fyn and glutamate receptors. In particular, STEP61, the longest isoform, dephosphorylates the NMDAR subunit GluN2B and strongly regulates the expression of NMDARs at synapses. This interplay between STEP, Fyn and GluN2B‐containing NMDARs has been characterized by multiple groups. More recently, STEP61 was shown to bind to AMPARs in a subunit‐specific manner and differentially regulate synaptic NMDARs and AMPARs. Because of its many effects on synaptic proteins, STEP has been implicated in regulating excitatory synapses during plasticity and playing a role in synaptic dysfunction in a variety of neurological disorders. In this review, we will highlight the ways in which STEP61 differentially regulates NMDARs and AMPARs, as well as its role in plasticity and disease.

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Ultraendurance Exercise in a Renal Transplant Recipient: A Case Study
Authors: Hernández-Sánchez Sonsoles , Valenzuela Pedro L. , Morales Javier S. , Carrero Juan J. , Lucia Alejandro , Ruiz Jonatan R.
Published: March 2020

Context: Exercise improves the commonly impaired physical fitness and cardiovascular health of transplant recipients. However, concerns remain about the safety of strenuous physical exercise in this population. Purpose: To describe the physiological effects of ultraendurance exercise in a renal transplant recipient. Methods: After a 25-week training program, a 31-year-old male with stage 3 chronic kidney disease who had undergone 2 kidney transplants participated in a 62-km (5600 m of positive altitude change) trail-running race. Blood and urine analyses were performed at baseline (24 h before the race), 4 days after the race, and at different time points up to 16 weeks postexercise. Results: The participant completed the race in 12 hours 18 minutes. No noticeable side effects were recorded during the whole study period, including the prerace training program. No major urine or blood alterations were observed after ultraendurance exercise, with glomerular filtration rate remaining steady during the study period. Conclusions: Ultraendurance exercise induced no adverse physiological effects in a well-trained young renal transplant recipient.
Multiple Bactericidal Mechanisms of the Zinc Ionophore PBT2
Authors: Harbison-Price Nichaela , Ferguson Scott A. , Heikal Adam , Taiaroa George , Hards Kiel , Nakatani Yoshio , Rennison David , Brimble Margaret A. , El-Deeb Ibrahim M. , Bohlmann Lisa , McDevitt Christopher A. , von Itzstein Mark , Walker Mark J. , Cook Gregory M.
Published: March 2020

More antimicrobials are used in food-producing animals than in humans, and the extensive use of medically important human antimicrobials poses a significant public health threat in the face of rising antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, the elimination of antimicrobial crossover between human and veterinary medicine is of great interest. Unfortunately, the development of new antimicrobials is an expensive high-risk process fraught with difficulties. The repurposing of chemical agents provides a solution to this problem, and while many have not been originally developed as antimicrobials, they have been proven safe in clinical trials. PBT2, a zinc ionophore, is an experimental therapeutic that met safety criteria but failed efficacy checkpoints against both Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases. It was recently found that PBT2 possessed potent antimicrobial activity, although the mechanism of bacterial cell death is unresolved. In this body of work, we show that PBT2 has multiple mechanisms of antimicrobial action, making the development of PBT2 resistance unlikely.
In Support of Simian Polyomavirus 40 VP4 as a Later Expressed Viroporin
Authors: Daniels Robert , Hebert Daniel N.
Published: March 2020

Simian virus 40 VP4 was discovered in 2007 as a later expressed viral protein initiated from a downstream Met on the VP2/VP3 transcript. VP4’s role as a viroporin involved in viral release was supported in a series of additional articles that characterized the ability of VP4 to associate with and permeabilize biological membranes. This commentary is our response to the perspective from Henriksen and Rinaldo (mSphere 5:e00019-20, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00019-20
) that challenges the existence of SV40 VP4.
High-derivatives and massive electromagnetic models in the Lemaître–Tolman–Bondi spacetime
Authors: Fernandes Rafael L. , Abreu Everton M. C. , Ribeiro Marcelo B.
Published: March 2020

The Maxwell electromagnetic theory embedded in an inhomogeneous Lemaître–Tolman–Bondi (LTB) spacetime background was described a few years back in the literature. However, terms concerning the mass or high-derivatives were not explored. In this work we studied the inhomogeneous spacetime effects on high-derivatives and massive electromagnetic models. We used the LTB metric and calculated the physical quantities of interest, namely the scale factor, density of the eletromagnetic field and Hubble constant, for the Proca and higher-derivative Podolsky models. We found a new singularity in both models, and that the magnetic field must be zero in the Proca model.
Scattering of particles bounded to an infinite planar curve
Authors: Dittrich J.
Published: March 2020

Non-relativistic quantum particles bounded to a curve in [Formula: see text] by attractive contact [Formula: see text]-interaction are considered. The interval between the energy of the transversal bound state and zero is shown to belong to the absolutely continuous spectrum, with possible embedded eigenvalues. The existence of the wave operators is proved for the mentioned energy interval using the Hamiltonians with the interaction supported by the straight lines as the free ones. Their completeness is not proved. The curve is assumed [Formula: see text]-smooth, non-intersecting, unbounded, asymptotically approaching two different half-lines (non-parallel or parallel but excluding the “U-case”). Physically, the system can be considered as a model of long nanostructural channel.
Nonspecific Visuospatial Imagery as a Novel Mental Task for Online EEG-Based BCI Control
Authors: Stojic Filip , Chau Tom
Published: March 2020

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) can provide a means of communication to individuals with severe motor disorders, such as those presenting as locked-in. Many BCI paradigms rely on motor neural pathways, which are often impaired in these individuals. However, recent findings suggest that visuospatial function may remain intact. This study aimed to determine whether visuospatial imagery, a previously unexplored task, could be used to signify intent in an online electroencephalography (EEG)-based BCI. Eighteen typically developed participants imagined checkerboard arrow stimuli in four quadrants of the visual field in 5-s trials, while signals were collected using 16 dry electrodes over the visual cortex. In online blocks, participants received graded visual feedback based on their performance. An initial BCI pipeline (visuospatial imagery classifier I) attained a mean accuracy of [Formula: see text]% classifying rest against visuospatial imagery in online trials. This BCI pipeline was further improved using restriction to alpha band features (visuospatial imagery classifier II), resulting in a mean pseudo-online accuracy of [Formula: see text]%. Accuracies exceeded the threshold for practical BCIs in 12 participants. This study supports the use of visuospatial imagery as a real-time, binary EEG-BCI control paradigm.
IncNSA: Detecting communities incrementally from time-evolving networks based on node similarity
Authors: Su Xing , Cheng Jianjun , Yang Haijuan , Leng Mingwei , Zhang Wenbo , Chen Xiaoyun
Published: March 2020

Many real-world systems can be abstracted as networks. As those systems always change dynamically in nature, the corresponding networks also evolve over time in general, and detecting communities from such time-evolving networks has become a critical task. In this paper, we propose an incremental detection method, which can stably detect high-quality community structures from time-evolving networks. When the network evolves from the previous snapshot to the current one, the proposed method only considers the community affiliations of partial nodes efficiently, which are either newborn nodes or some active nodes from the previous snapshot. Thus, the first phase of our method is determining active nodes that should be reassigned due to the change of their community affiliations in the evolution. Then, we construct subgraphs for these nodes to obtain the preliminary communities in the second phase. Finally, the final result can be obtained through optimizing the primary communities in the third phase. To test its performance, extensive experiments are conducted on both some synthetic networks and some real-world dynamic networks, the results show that our method can detect satisfactory community structure from each of snapshot graphs efficiently and steadily, and outperforms the competitors significantly.
A Short Note of Strong Matching Preclusion for a Class of Arrangement Graphs
Authors: Zhang Shuangshuang , Xiao Yuzhi , Liu Xia , Yin Jun
Published: March 2020

The strong matching preclusion number of a graph is the minimum number of vertices and edges whose deletion results in a graph that has neither perfect matchings nor almost perfect matchings. The strong matching preclusion is a well-studied measure for the network invulnerability in the event of edge failure. In this paper, we obtain the strong matching preclusion number for a class of arrangement graphs and categorize their the strong matching preclusion set, which are a supplement of known results.