bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Dual Plane Gluteal Augmentation. An Anatomical Demonstration of a New Pocket Design
Authors: Aslani Alexander , del Vecchio Daniel , Bravo Miguel G. , Zholtikov Vitaly , Palhazi Peter
Published: October 2022

Background:

Fat grafting is the favored option for buttock augmentation by most surgeons and buttock implants are mostly regarded second choice. Accepted options for buttock implant pocket dissection are subfascial, intramuscular and submuscular. To overcome the limitations of both intramuscular and submuscular pockets, and combine the benefits that both of them have, we present a novel dual-plane pocket dissection. The dual plane pocket means a submuscular plane in the cranial half of the pocket and switching to an intramuscular plane in the caudal half. With this study we want to describe our experience with this technique and analyze the dissection of the pocket on human cadavers.

Methods:

We have reviewed 82 consecutive composite gluteal augmentation cases from March 2019 to November 2019. In all cases the implant has been placed “dual plane”. The clinical study has been supplemented by 10 hemigluteal dissections in 5 cadavers following the surgical technique, assessing afterwards the anatomical components of the implant pocket created.

Results:

Patients who underwent this technique showed excellent soft tissue coverage over the implants. Main complications observed were seroma formation (5 out of 82 patients) and temporary sciatic pain in 4 of the patients. The anatomical study confirmed double muscle coverage of both gluteus maximus and partial medius in the upper pocket pole, and intramuscular gluteus maximus implant position in the lower pole.

Conclusion:

We present the dual-plane dissection technique as a valuable innovation to improve soft tissue cover for the upper implant pole in buttock implant surgery.
Identifying Public Perceptions, Attitudes, and Concerns About Breast Implants and Their Complications: A National Survey with Implications for Practice
Authors: Lee Erica , Khavanin Nima , Xun Helen , Abousy Mya , Darrach Halley , Kraenzlin Franca , Jenny Hillary , Yang Robin , Sacks Justin M
Published: October 2022

Background:

Aesthetic and reconstructive implant-based breast surgeries are among the most common plastic surgery procedures. Our study assessed the baseline knowledge of common breast implant-associated complications, and their influence on consideration of breast implants among adult laywomen within the United States.

Methods:

500 women were recruited through Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk. Respondents self-reported demographics and experience with breast implants. Questions were asked addressing respondents’ understanding of complications and concerns regarding breast implants.

Results:

Of our cohort (average age 37.8±11.7 years), 12.0% had received breast implants, 72.8% knew someone with implants, and nearly 50% would consider receiving implants in the future. 82.2% reported at least one concern influencing their consideration of implants: safety (75.2%), cost (70.0%), unnatural shape (43.3%), and feel (45.2%). Respondents not considering implants were significantly concerned by foreign body implantation (p<0.001). Almost 75% believe implants last longer than 10 years. Following education about risks of capsular contracture and implant rupture, one-third of respondents considering implants and half of those unsure were “Less Likely” to receive implants. The majority were unchanged in their likelihood after learning about infection (74.4%) and implant migration (69.2%). Respondents with a history of implants were significantly less likely to believe there is strong evidence supporting the aforementioned complications (p<0.001).

Discussion:

The rising awareness surrounding breast implant safety has the potential to significantly impact perceptions and receptivity. Our study identifies public perceptions of common breast implant-associated complications and primary long-term concerns – highlighting the importance of education on post-operative complications in informed consent and surgical decision making.
A Pictorial Review of Pelvic Pain—Beyond the Genitourinary System
Authors: Kyrazis Crysta Iv , Rajderkar Dhanashree
Published: October 2022

Pelvic pain may be caused by disorders of the reproductive, urinary, or gastrointestinal systems. In the pediatric population, pelvic pain is often first evaluated with ultrasonography, with other imaging modalities reserved for further workup or specific indications. Radiologists must be aware of the findings associated with common pelvic emergencies to allow prompt diagnosis and prevention of life-threatening complications. Although the range of pelvic pathology is extensive, this pictorial review presents ultrasound examples of common nontraumatic causes of pelvic pain encountered in the pediatric population, with a brief discussion about multimodality imaging features.
Curation of the Deep Green list of unannotated green lineage proteins to enable structural and functional characterization
Authors: Knoshaug Eric P. , Sun Peipei , Nag Ambarish , Nguyen Huong , Mattoon Erin M. , Zhang Ningning , Liu Jian , Chen Chen , Cheng Jianlin , Zhang Ru , St. John Peter , Umen James
Published: October 2022

An explosion of sequenced genomes and predicted proteomes enabled by low cost deep sequencing has revolutionized biology. Unfortunately, protein functional annotation is more complex, and has not kept pace with the sequencing revolution. We identified unannotated proteins in three model organisms representing distinct parts of the green lineage (Viridiplantae); Arabidopsis thaliana (dicot), Setaria viridis (monocot), and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlorophyte alga). Using similarity searching we found the subset of unannotated proteins that were conserved between these species and defined them as Deep Green proteins. Informatic, genomic, and structural predictions were leveraged to begin inferring functional information about Deep Green genes and proteins. The Deep Green set was enriched for proteins with predicted chloroplast targeting signals that are predictive of photosynthetic or plastid functions. Strikingly, structural predictions using AlphaFold and comparisons to known structures show that a significant proportion of Deep Green proteins may possess novel protein tertiary structures. The Deep Green genes and proteins provide a starting resource of high value targets for further investigation of potentially new protein structures and functions that are conserved in the green lineage.
Investigation of neuromodulatory effect of anodal cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation on the primary motor cortex using functional near-infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Shoaib Zeshan , Chang Won Kee , Lee Jongseung , Lee Stephanie Hyeyoung , Zephaniah Phillips V , Lee Seung Hyun , Paik Nam-Jong , Hwang Han-Jeong , Kim Won-Seok
Published: October 2022

Background

Cerebellar brain inhibition (CBI), a neural connection between the cerebellum and primary motor cortex (M1), has been researched as a target pathway for neuromodulation to improve clinical outcomes in various neurological diseases. However, conflicting results of anodal cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (acb-tDCS) on M1 excitability indicate that additional investigation is required to examine its precise effect.

Objective/Hypothesis

This study aimed to gather evidence of the neuromodulatory effect of acb-tDCS on the M1 using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Methods

Sixteen healthy participants were included in this cross-over study. Participants received real and sham acb-tDCS in a random order, with a minimum one-week washout period between them. The anode and cathode were placed on the right cerebellum and the right buccinator muscle, respectively. Stimulation lasted 20 min at an intensity of 2 mA, and fNIRS data were recorded for 42 min (including a 4 min baseline before stimulation and an 18 min post-stimulation duration) using eight channels attached bilaterally on the M1.

Results

acb-tDCS induced a significant decrease in oxyhemoglobin (HbO) concentration (inhibitory effect) in the left (contralateral) M1, whereas it induced a significant increase in HbO concentration (excitatory effect) in the right (ipsilateral) M1 compared to sham tDCS during (p < 0.05) and after stimulation (p < 0.01) in a group level analysis. At the individual level, variations in the response to acb-tDCS were observed.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate the neuromodulatory effects of acb-tDCS on the bilateral M1 in terms of neuronal hemodynamics.
Spatial summation of pain is associated with pain expectations: Results from a home-based paradigm
Authors: Nastaj Jakub , Skalski Jacek , Budzisz Aleksandra , Szikszay Tibor M. , Swoboda Sylwia , Kowalska Weronika , Nowak Daria , Zbroja Edyta , Kruszyna Natalia , Jakubińska Marta , Grygny Dominika , Polczyk Romuald , Małecki Andrzej , Luedtke Kerstin , Adamczyk Wacław M.
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this study was to reproduce the previously observed spatial summation of pain effect (SSp) using non-laboratory procedures and commercial equipment. An additional aim was to explore the association between expectations and SSp. The Cold Pressor Task (CPT) was used to induce SSp. Healthy participants (N=68) immersed their non-dominant hands (divided into 5 segments) into cold water (CPT). Two conditions were used 1) gradual hand immersion (ascending condition) and 2) gradual hand withdrawal (descending condition). Pain intensity was measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Psychological factors, such as the participants’ expectations of pain intensity were also measured on a VAS. Results showed significant SSp (Χ2(4)= 116.90,p< 0.001), reproduced with non-laboratory equipment in a home-based set-up. Furthermore, two novel findings were observed: i) there was a significant correlation between expectations and perceived pain, indicating a link between pain expectations and SSp, ii) spatial summation increased with the increase in duration exposure to the noxious stimulus (WaldΧ2(8)= 80.80,p< 0.001). This study suggests that SSp is associated with pain expectations and can be formed by a mixture of excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms potentially driven by temporal characteristics of neural excitation. Moreover, this study proposes a new feasible way to induce SSp using a home-based set-up.
Cell type deconvolution of methylated cell-free DNA at the resolution of individual reads
Authors: Keukeleire Pia , Makrodimitris Stavros , Reinders Marcel
Published: October 2022

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) are DNA fragments originating from dying cells that are detectable in bodily fluids, such as the plasma. Accelerated cell death, for example caused by disease, induces an elevated concentration of cfDNA. As a result, determining the cell type origins of cfDNA molecules can provide information about an individual’s health. In this work, we aim to increase the sensitivity of methylation-based cell type deconvolution by adapting an existing method, CelFiE, which uses the methylation beta values of individual CpG sites to estimate cell type proportions. Our new method, CelFEER, instead differentiates cell types by the average methylation values within individual reads. We additionally improved the originally reported performance of CelFiE by using a new approach for finding marker regions that are differentially methylated between cell types. This approach compares the methylation values over 500 bp regions instead of at single CpG sites and solely takes hypomethylated regions into account. We show that CelFEER estimates cell type proportions with a higher correlation (r2 = 0.94±0.04) than CelFiE (r2 = 0.86± 0.09) on simulated mixtures of cell types. Moreover, we found that it can find a significant difference between the skeletal muscle cfDNA fraction in four ALS patients and four healthy controls.
What causes bird-building collision risk? Seasonal dynamics and weather drivers
Authors: Scott Kara M. , Danko Attilla ,   Paloma Plant, Dakin Roslyn
Published: October 2022

Bird-building collisions are a major source of wild bird mortality, with hundreds of millions of fatalities each year in the United States and Canada alone. Here, we use two decades of daily citizen-science monitoring to characterize day-to-day variation in building collisions and determine the factors that predict the highest risk times in two North American cities. We use these analyses to evaluate three potential causes of increased collision risk: heightened migration traffic during benign weather, increased navigational and flight errors during inclement weather, and increased errors in response to highly directional sunlight that enhances reflected images. The seasonal phenology of collisions was consistent across sites and years, with daily collision rates approximately two-fold higher in autumn as compared to spring. During both migration seasons, collision risk was best predicted by the weather conditions at dawn. In spring, peak collision risk occurs on days with warm temperatures, south winds, and a lack of precipitation at dawn. In autumn, peak collision occurs on days with cool temperatures, north winds, high atmospheric pressure, a lack of precipitation, and clear conditions with high visibility. Based on these results, we hypothesize that collisions are influenced by two main weather-driven mechanisms. First, benign weather at dawn with winds that are favorable for migration flight causes an increase in migration traffic in both spring and autumn, creating greater opportunity for collisions to occur. Second, for autumnal migrants, cold clear conditions may cause an additional increase in collision risk. We propose that these conditions may be particularly hazardous in autumn because of the high abundance of naïve and diurnal migrants at that time of year. Our analysis also establishes that a relatively small proportion of days (15%) are responsible for 50% of the total collision mortality within a season, highlighting the importance of targeting mitigation strategies to the most hazardous times.
Pneumatic Controlled Nano-Sieve for Efficient Capture and Release of Nanoparticles
Authors: Nanaware Animesh , Kranbuhl Taylor , Ching Jesus , Chen Janice S. , Chen Xinye , Tu Qingsong , Du Ke
Published: October 2022

A pneumatic controlled nano-sieve device is demonstrated for the efficient capture and release of 15 nm quantum dots. This device consists of a 200 nm deep glass channel and a PDMS-based pneumatic pressure layer to enhance target capture. The fluid motion inside the nano-sieve is studied by computational fluidic dynamics (CFD) and microfluidic experiments, enabling efficient target capture with a flow rate as high as 100 μL/min. In addition, micro-grooves are fabricated inside the nano-sieve to create low flow rate regions, which further improves the target capture efficiency. A velocity contour plot is constructed with CFD, revealing the flow rate is lowest at the top and bottom of the micro-grooves. This phenomenon is supported by the observed nanoparticle clusters surrounding the micro-grooves. By changing the morphology and pneumatic pressure, this device will also facilitate rapid capture and release of various biomolecules.
Mechanisms of adjustments to different types of uncertainty in the reward environment across mice and monkeys
Authors: Woo Jae Hyung , Aguirre Claudia G. , Bari Bilal A. , Tsutsui Ken-Ichiro , Grabenhorst Fabian , Cohen Jeremiah Y. , Schultz Wolfram , Izquierdo Alicia , Soltani Alireza
Published: October 2022

Despite being unpredictable and uncertain, reward environments often exhibit certain regularities, and animals navigating these environments try to detect and utilize such regularities to adapt their behavior. However, successful learning requires that animals also adjust to uncertainty associated with those regularities. Here, we analyzed choice data from two comparable dynamic foraging tasks in mice and monkeys to investigate mechanisms underlying adjustments to different types of uncertainty. In these tasks, animals selected between two choice options that delivered reward probabilistically, while baseline reward probabilities changed after a variable number (block) of trials without any cues to the animals. To measure adjustments in behavior, we applied multiple metrics based on information theory that quantify consistency in behavior, and fit choice data using reinforcement learning models. We found that in both species, learning and choice were affected by uncertainty about reward outcomes (in terms of determining the better option) and by expectation about when the environment may change. However, these effects were mediated through different mechanisms. First, more uncertainty about the better option resulted in slower learning and forgetting in mice, whereas it had no significant effect in monkeys. Second, expectation of block switches accompanied slower learning, faster forgetting, and increased stochasticity in choice in mice, whereas it only reduced learning rates in monkeys. Overall, while demonstrating the usefulness of entropy-based metrics in studying adaptive behavior, our study provides evidence for multiple types of adjustments in learning and choice behavior according to uncertainty in the reward environment.
Molecular insights into the Darwin paradox of coral reefs from the sea anemone Aiptasia
Authors: Cui Guoxin , Konciute Migle K. , Ling Lorraine , Esau Luke , Raina Jean-Baptiste , Han Baoda , Salazar Octavio R. , Presnell Jason S. , Rädecker Nils , Zhong Huawen , Menzies Jessica , Cleves Phillip A. , Liew Yi Jin , Krediet Cory J. , Sawiccy Val , Cziesielski Maha J. , Guagliardo Paul , Bougoure Jeremy , Pernice Mathieu , Hirt Heribert , Voolstra Christian R. , Weis Virginia M. , Pringle John R. , Aranda Manuel
Published: October 2022

Symbiotic cnidarians such as corals and anemones form highly productive and biodiverse coral-reef ecosystems in nutrient-poor ocean environments, a phenomenon known as Darwin’s Paradox. Resolving this paradox requires elucidating the molecular bases of efficient nutrient distribution and recycling in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis. Using the sea anemone Aiptasia, we show that during symbiosis, the increased availability of glucose and the presence of the algae jointly induce the coordinated upregulation and re-localization of glucose and ammonium transporters. These molecular responses are critical to support symbiont functioning and organism-wide nitrogen assimilation through GS/GOGAT-mediated amino-acid biosynthesis. Our results reveal crucial aspects of the molecular mechanisms underlying nitrogen conservation and recycling in these organisms that allow them to thrive in the nitrogen-poor ocean environments.

One-sentence summary

Whole-organism nitrogen assimilation fueled by glucose from symbiotic algae enables corals to flourish in oligotrophic waters.
Cytomegalovirus infection in newborn mice alters cerebellar development by lengthening G1/S phases of cerebellar granule cell precursors during postnatal cerebellar development
Authors: Sung Cathy Yea Won , Li Mao , Jonjic Stipan , Sanchez Veronica , Britt William J
Published: October 2022

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection of the developing central nervous system (CNS) in infants infected in utero can lead to a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. Although the link between HCMV infection and neurodevelopmental deficits is widely recognized, underlying mechanisms leading to altered neurodevelopment remain poorly understood. We have previously described a murine model of congenital HCMV infection in which murine CMV (MCMV) spreads hematogenously and establishes a focal infection in the brain of newborn mice. Infection results in the disruption of cerebellar cortical development characterized by reduced cerebellar size, but paradoxically, an increase in the number of cerebellar granule cell precursors (GCPs) in the external granular layer (EGL) of the cerebellar cortex. This increased number of GCPs in the EGL is associated with abnormal cell cycle progression and decreased GCP migration from EGL and IGL. In the current study, we demonstrated that MCMV infection led to prolonged G1- and S-phases of the GCP cell cycle and increased cell cycle exit. Treatment with TNFα neutralizing antibody partially normalized the cell cycle progression of GCPs. Collectively, our results argue that inflammation can alter GCP proliferation and lead to premature exit from the cell cycle resulting in reduced cerebellar size in MCMV-infected mice. These findings provide insight into mechanisms of altered brain development of fetuses infected with HCMV and possibly, other infectious agents that induce inflammation during neurodevelopment.
A method to assess the mitochondrial respiratory capacity of complexes I and II from frozen tissue using the Oroboros O2k-FluoRespirometer
Authors: Ebanks Brad , Moisoi Nicoleta , Chakrabarti Lisa
Published: October 2022

High-resolution respirometry methods allow for the assessment of oxygen consumption by the electron transfer systems within cells, tissue samples, and isolated mitochondrial preparations. As mitochondrial integrity is compromised by the process of cryopreservation, these methods have been limited to fresh samples. Here we present a simple method to assess the activity of mitochondria respiratory complexes I and II in previously cryopreserved murine skeletal muscle tissue homogenates, as well as previously frozen D. melanogaster, as a function of oxygen consumption.
Impact of long-term storage on mid-infrared spectral patterns of serum and synovial fluid samples of dogs with osteoarthritis
Authors: Malek Sarah , Marini Federico , McClure J T.
Published: October 2022

Objective

To evaluate impact of long-term storage on mid-infrared (MIR) spectral patterns of serum and synovial fluid (SF) of dogs with knee OA and controls.

Design

Serum (52 OA and 49 control) and SF (51 OA and 51 control) samples from dogs that had been in short-term (<3 years) frozen state (−80°C) had their MIR spectra obtained. The remaining aliquots were maintained in long-term (>5 years) frozen state before having MIR spectra acquired under the same testing conditions. Multi-level simultaneous component analysis was used to evaluate the effect of time. Partial least squares discriminant analysis was used to compare performance of predictive models built for discriminating OA from control spectra from each time point.

Results

Median interval of storage between sample measurements was 5.7 years. Spectra obtained at two time points were significantly different (P <0.0001), however, contribution of sample aging accounted for only 1.61% and 2.98% of serum and SF profiles’ variability, respectively. Predictive models for discriminating serum of OA from controls for short-term storage showed 87.3±3.7% sensitivity, 88.9±2.4% specificity and 88.1±2.3% accuracy, while, for long-term storage, values of the same figures of merit were 92.5±2.6%, 97.1±1.7% and 94.8±1.4%, respectively. Predictive models based on short-term stored SF spectra had 97.3±1.6% sensitivity, 89.4±2.6% specificity and 93.4±1.6% accuracy, while the values for long-term storage 95.7±2.1%, 95.7±0.8% and 95.8±1.1%, respectively.

Conclusions

Long-term storage of serum and SF results in significant differences in spectral variables, however, these changes do not significantly alter the performance of predictive algorithms for discriminating OA samples from controls.
Human adenovirus infection induces the overexpression of CLOCK protein in human lymphoblast cells
Authors: Ding Hui , Chen Chin-Fu
Published: October 2022

Circadian rhythms are biological processes that regulate metabolism, the immune system, hormones, behaviors, and other various biological processes in organisms. The molecular underpinning of circadian rhythms is a group of genes which regulate each other in transcription-translation feedback loops as an internal molecular clock in cells. Many factors can affect the circadian clock. Viruses, such as hepatitis virus, influenza virus, human immunodeficiency virus were reported to interplay with circadian rhythms in the host or cell level. Up to date, the relationship between viruses and circadian rhythms and its significance in biology, pharmacology and clinic are not entirely understood. We here report that human adenovirus infection could regulate circadian rhythms in cells. We found that human adenovirus infection induced protein overexpression of a core circadian gene CLOCK in human lymphoblast cells. The conditioned medium collected from the infected lymphoblast cell culture was able to infect other lymphoblast cell lines and induced CLOCK overexpression in them. In contrast to the previous studies that showed viral infections dampened the circadian oscillation, we found that the human adenovirus infection increased the amplitude of the circadian oscillation in U2OS cells. To our knowledge, this is the first time that adenovirus infection was found to regulate circadian rhythms in cells.
Structure and assembly of an extremely long bacteriophage tail tube
Authors: Agnello Emily , Pajak Joshua , Liu Xingchen , Kelch Brian A
Published: October 2022

Tail tube assembly is an essential step in the assembly of long-tailed bacteriophages. Limited structural and biophysical information has impeded an understanding of assembly and stability of their long, flexible tail tubes. The hyperthermophilic phage P74-26 is particularly intriguing as it has the longest tail of any known virus (nearly 1 μm) and is the most stable known phage. Here, we present the structure of the P74-26 tail tube and introduce an in vitro system for studying the kinetics of tube assembly. Our high resolution cryo-EM structure provides insight into how the P74-26 phage achieves its flexibility and thermostability through assembly of flexible loops into neighboring rings through tight “ball-and-socket”-like interactions. Guided by this structure, and in combination with mutational, light scattering, and molecular dynamics simulations data, we propose a model for the assembly of conserved tube-like structures across phage and other entities possessing Tail Tube-like proteins. Our model proposes that formation of a full ring licenses the adoption of a tube elongation-competent conformation among the flexible loops and their corresponding sockets, which is further stabilized by an adjacent ring. Tail assembly is controlled by the cooperative interaction of dynamic intra- and inter-ring contacts. Given the structural conservation among tail tube proteins and tail-like structures, our model can explain the mechanism of high-fidelity assembly of long, stable tubes.
Genome-wide analysis and characterization of the LRR-RLK gene family provides insights into anthracnose resistance in common bean
Authors: Dambroz Caroline Marcela da Silva , Aono Alexandre Hild , Silva Edson Mario de Andrade , Pereira Welison Andrade
Published: October 2022

Anthracnose, caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, is a damaging disease of common beans that can drastically reduce crop yield. The most effective strategy to manage anthracnose is the use of resistant cultivars. There are many resistance loci that have been identified, mapped and associated with markers in common bean chromosomes. The Leucine-rich repeat kinase receptor protein (LRR-RLK) family is a diverse group of transmembrane receptors, which potentially recognizes pathogen-associated molecular patterns and activates an immune response. In this study, we performed in silico analyses to identify, classify, and characterize common bean LRR-RLKs, also evaluating their expression profile in response to the infection by C. lindemuthianum. By analyzing the entire genome of Phaseolus vulgaris, we could identify and classify 230 LRR-RLKs into 15 different subfamilies. The analyses of gene structures, conserved domains and motifs suggest that LRR-RLKs from the same subfamily are consistent in their exon/intron organization and composition. LRR-RLK genes were found along the 11 chromosomes of the species, including regions of proximity with anthracnose resistance markers. By investigating the duplication events within the LRR-RLK family, we associated the importance of such a family with an expansion resulting from a strong stabilizing selection. Promoter analysis was also performed, highlighting cis elements associated with the plant response to biotic stress. With regard to the expression pattern of LRR-RLKs in response to the infection by C. lindemuthianum, we could point out several differentially expressed genes in this subfamily, which were associated to specific molecular patterns of LRR-RLKs. Our work provides a broad analysis of the LRR-RLK family in P. vulgaris, allowing an in-depth structural and functional characterization of genes and proteins of this family. From specific expression patterns related to anthracnose response, we could infer a direct participation of RLK-LRR genes in the mechanisms of resistance to anthracnose, highlighting important subfamilies for further investigations.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is Associated with Increased Electroencephalographic (EEG) Delta and Theta Oscillatory Power but Reduced Delta Connectivity
Authors: Perera M. Prabhavi N. , Mallawaarachchi Sudaraka , Bailey Neil W. , Murphy Oscar W. , Fitzgerald Paul B.
Published: October 2022

Background

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition causing significant decline in the quality of life of sufferers and the limited knowledge on the pathophysiology hinders successful treatment. The aim of the current study was to examine electroencephalographic (EEG) findings of OCD to broaden our understanding of the disease.

Methods

Resting-state eyes-closed EEG data was recorded from 25 individuals with OCD and 27 healthy controls (HC). The 1/f arrhythmic activity was removed prior to computing oscillatory powers of all frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma). Cluster-based permutation was used for between-group statistical analyses, and comparisons were performed for the 1/f slope and intercept parameters. Functional connectivity (FC) was measured using coherence and debiased weighted phase lag index (d-wPLI), and statistically analysed using the Network Based Statistic method.

Results

Compared to HC, the OCD group showed increased oscillatory power in the delta and theta bands in the fronto-temporal and parietal brain regions. However, there were no significant between-group findings in other bands or 1/f parameters. The coherence measure showed significantly reduced FC in the delta band in OCD compared to HC but the d-wPLI analysis showed no significant differences.

Conclusions

OCD is associated with raised oscillatory power in slow frequency bands in the fronto-temporal brain regions, which agrees with the previous literature and therefore is a potential biomarker. Although delta coherence was found to be lower in OCD, due to inconsistencies found between measures and the previous literature, further research is required to ascertain definitive conclusions.
Validating MEG source imaging of resting state oscillatory patterns with an intracranial EEG atlas
Authors: Afnan Jawata , Ellenrieder Nicolás von , Lina Jean-Marc , Pellegrino Giovanni , Arcara Giorgio , Cai Zhengchen , Hedrich Tanguy , Abdallah Chifaou , Khajehpour Hassan , Frauscher Birgit , Gotman Jean , Grova Christophe
Published: October 2022

Background

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a widely used non-invasive tool to estimate brain activity with high temporal resolution. However, due to the ill-posed nature of the MEG source imaging (MSI) problem, the ability of MSI to identify accurately underlying brain sources along the cortical surface is still uncertain and requires validation.

Method

We validated the ability of MSI to estimate the background resting state activity of 45 healthy participants by comparing it to the intracranial EEG (IEEG) atlas (https://mni-open-ieegatlas.research.mcgill.ca/). First, we applied wavelet-based Maximum Entropy on the Mean (wMEM) as an MSI technique. Next, we converted MEG source maps into intracranial space, by applying a forward model to the MEG reconstructed source maps and estimated virtual IEEG (VIEEG) potentials on each IEEG channel location and quantitatively compared those with actual IEEG signals from the atlas for 38 regions of interest in the canonical frequency bands.

Results

The MEG spectra were more accurately estimated in the lateral regions compared to the medial regions. The regions with higher amplitude in the VIEEG than in the IEEG were more accurately recovered. In the deep regions, MEG estimated amplitudes were largely underestimated and the spectra were poorly recovered. Moreover, the MEG largely overestimated oscillatory peaks in the alpha band, especially in the anterior and deep regions. This is possibly due to higher phase synchronization of alpha oscillations over extended regions, exceeding the spatial sensitivity of IEEG but detected by MEG. Importantly, we found that MEG estimated spectra were more comparable to spectra from the IEEG atlas after the aperiodic components were removed.

Conclusion

This study identifies brain regions and frequencies for which MEG source analysis is likely to be reliable, a promising step towards resolving the uncertainty in recovering intracerebral activity from non-invasive MEG studies.

Highlights

Validation of MEG source imaging with intracranial EEE atlas

Assessment of resting state human brain oscillations from healthy brain

Adapted source imaging method, wMEM, to localize resting state oscillations

Identified brain regions with oscillations accurately estimated by MEG

MEG estimated spectra dominated by oscillations in the alpha band
Evolutionary and biomedical implications of sex differences in the primate brain transcriptome
Authors: DeCasien Alex R. , Chiou Kenneth L. , Testard Camille , Mercer Arianne , Negrón-Del Valle Josué E. , Bauman Surratt Samuel E. , González Olga , Stock Michala K. , Ruiz-Lambides Angelina V. , Martinez Melween I. ,   Cayo Biobank Research Unit, Antón Susan C. , Walker Christopher S. , Sallet Jérôme , Wilson Melissa A. , Brent Lauren J. N. , Montague Michael J. , Sherwood Chet C. , Platt Michael L. , Higham James P. , Snyder-Mackler Noah
Published: October 2022

Humans exhibit sex differences in the prevalence of many neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions. To better understand the translatability of a critical nonhuman primate model, the rhesus macaque, we generated one of the largest multibrain region bulk transcriptional datasets for this species and characterized sex-biased gene expression patterns. We demonstrate that these patterns are similar to those in humans and are associated with overlapping regulatory mechanisms, biological processes, and genes implicated in sex-biased human disorders, including autism. We also show that sex-biased genes exhibit greater genetic variance for expression and more tissue-specific expression patterns, which may facilitate the rapid evolution of sex-biased genes. Our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms underlying sex-biased disease and validate the rhesus macaque model for the study of these conditions.
A conserved metabolic signature associated with response to fast-acting antimalarial agents
Authors: Simwela Nelson V. , Guiguemde W. Armand , Straimer Judith , Regnault Clement , Yokokawa Fumiaki , Taft Benjamin , Diagana Thierry T. , Barrett Michael P. , Waters Andrew P.
Published: October 2022

Characterizing the mode of action of antimalarial compounds that emerge from high-throughput phenotypic screens is central to understanding how parasite resistance to these drugs can emerge. Here, we have employed untargeted metabolomics to inform on the mechanism of action of antimalarial leads with different speed of kill profiles being developed by the Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases (NITD). Time-resolved global changes in malaria parasite metabolite profiles upon drug treatment were quantified using liquid chromatography-based mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and compared to untreated controls. Using this approach, we confirmed previously reported metabolomics profiles of the fast-killing (2.5h) drug dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and the slower killing atovaquone (ATQ). A slow acting antimalarial lead from NITD of imidazolopiperazine (IZP) class, GNF179, elicited little or no discernable metabolic change in malaria parasites in the same 2.5h window of drug exposure. In contrast, fast killing drugs, DHA and the spiroindolone (NITD246) elicited similar metabolomic profiles both in terms of kinetics and content. DHA and NITD246 induced peptide losses consistent with disruption of haemoglobin catabolism and also interfered with the pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. Two members of the recently described novel class of antimalarial agents of the 5-aryl-2-amino-imidazothiadiazole (ITD) class also exhibited a fast-acting profile that also featured peptide losses indicative of disrupted haemoglobin catabolism. Our screen demonstrates that structurally unrelated, fast acting antimalarial compounds generate similar biochemical signatures in Plasmodium pointing to a common mechanism associated with rapid parasite death. Our study describes a potential biochemical signature that may serve to identify other fast acting drug candidates.

Importance

In malaria drug discovery, understanding the mode of action of lead compounds is important as it helps in predicting the potential emergence of drug resistance in the field when these drugs are eventually deployed. In this study, we have employed metabolomics technologies to characterize the potential targets of antimalarial drug candidates in the developmental pipeline at NITD. We show that NITD fast acting leads belonging to spiroindolone and imidazothiadiazole class induce a common biochemical theme in drug exposed malaria parasites which is similar to another fast acting, clinically available drug, DHA. These biochemical features which are absent in a slower acting NITD lead (GNF17) point to haemoglobin digestion and inhibition of the pyrimidine pathway as potential action points for these drugs. These biochemical themes can be used to identify fast drug candidates of similar profiles in future drug discovery programs.
CD95/Fas ligand mRNA is toxic to cells through more than one mechanism
Authors: Haluck-Kangas Ashley , Fink Madelaine , Bartom Elizabeth T. , Peter Marcus E.
Published: October 2022

CD95/Fas ligand induces apoptosis through binding of the protein to the CD95 receptor. However, CD95L mRNA also induces toxicity in the absence of CD95. Dying cells exhibit features of DISE (Death Induced by Survival Gene Elimination), a form of cell death mediated by RNA interference (RNAi). DISE relies on targeting mediated by six nucleotides of complementarity between positions 2-7, the 6mer seed sequence of a RISC-bound (R-sRNA), and the 3’UTR of an mRNA, a feature that allows to predict the effect of 6mer seed sequences on cell viability. We now report that CD95L mRNA processing generates an sRNA nearly identical to shL3, a commercial CD95L-targeting shRNA that led to the discovery of DISE. Neither of the miRNA biogenesis proteins Drosha or Dicer are required for CD95L mRNA processing. Interestingly, CD95L toxicity depends on the core component of the RISC, Ago 2, in some cell lines, but not in others. In the HCT116 colon cancer cell line, Ago 1-4 appear to function redundantly in RNAi. In fact, Ago 1/2/3 knockout cells retained sensitivity to CD95L mRNA toxicity. Toxicity was only blocked by mutation of all in-frame start codons in the CD95L ORF. Expression of a toxic CD95L mRNA caused an enrichment for R-sRNAs with toxic 6mer seed sequences, while expression of the nontoxic CD95L mutant enriched for loading of R-sRNAs with nontoxic 6mer seeds. However, CD95L was not the only source of these R-sRNAs. We found that CD95L mRNA may induce DISE directly and indirectly, and that alternate mechanisms may underlie CD95L mRNA processing and toxicity.
Synthesis, crystal structures, and Hirshfeld analysis of three hexahydroquinoline derivatives
Authors: Steiger Scott A. , Li Chun , Oliver Allen G. , Natale Nicholas R.
Published: October 2022

Three hexahydroquinoline derivatives were synthesized and crystallized in an effort to study the structure–activity relationships of these calcium-channel antagonists. The derivatives are ethyl 4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-2,7,7-trimethyl-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylate, C22H27NO4, (I), ethyl 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,7,7-trimethyl-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylate, C22H27NO4, (II), and ethyl 4-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2,7,7-trimethyl-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-3-carboxylate, C21H24NO5, (III). In these hexahydroquinoline derivatives, common structural features such as a flat-boat conformation of the 1,4-dihydropyridine (1,4-DHP) ring, an envelope conformation of the fused cyclohexanone ring, and a substituted phenyl group at the pseudo-axial position are retained. Hydrogen bonds are the main contributors to the packing of the molecules in these crystals.
Synthesis, spectroscopic and crystal structure studies of N-{3-cyano-1-[2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4-(ethylsulfanyl)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl}-2,2,2-trifluoroacetamide
Authors: Priyanka Prabhakar , Jayanna Bidarur K. , Sunil Kumar Yelekere C. , Shreenivas Mellekatte T. , Srinivasa Gejjelegere R. , Divakara Thayamma R. , Yathirajan Hemmige S. , Parkin Sean
Published: October 2022

The structure of the title compound, C15H8N4Cl2F6OS, a phenylpyrazole-based insecticide related to ethiprole, fipronil, and derivatives thereof is presented. The pyrazole ring has four chemically diverse substituents, namely a nitrogen-bound 2,6-dichloro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl and carbon-bound cyano, ethylsulfanyl, and 2,2,2-trifluoroacetamide groups. The pyrazole and phenyl rings are perpendicular, subtending a dihedral angle of 89.80 (5)°. In the crystal, strong N—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into chains that extend parallel to the a-axis.
3-(3-Nitrophenyl)-1-[4-(prop-2-ynyloxy)phenyl]prop-2-en-1-one
Authors: Vinaya  , Basavaraju Yeriyur B. , Nagma Banu Holalagudu A. , Kalluraya Balakrishna , Yathirajan Hemmige S. , Balerao Rishik , Butcher Ray J.
Published: October 2022

The structure of the title compound, C18H13NO4, shows that the whole molecule is almost planar but with a dihedral angle between the two phenyl rings of 19.22 (5)°. The molecules are linked by C—H...O interactions, forming sheets in the (21\overline{1}) plane.
Did the Arab Spring change female emancipation perceptions?
Authors: Hussain M. Azhar , Haj-Salem Narjes
Published: October 2022

Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether perceptions about female workplace participation in a number of Arab countries has changed during or after the Arab Spring.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are from the representative harmonized cross-sectional World Values Survey. Descriptive measures and regression approaches are applied. Different dimensions of perceptions about female emancipation are presented, while also a composite index derived from these dimensions is analysed.

Findings

There was some change for the better (job and education gender equality), but not uniformly across countries, e.g. generally good development in Egypt and Iraq, but a standstill in Jordan, and backsliding was seen in Morocco. Applying the composite index of female emancipation using regressions confirm these results – even when male and female respondents are analysed separately.

Research limitations/implications

More Arab nations in the study would have been good such that the extent and consequences for an even larger part of the Arab world could be presented. Unfortunately, these data are not available. This implies that the representativeness of the results for the whole of the Arab world is perhaps reduced.

Practical implications

The results can inform policymakers and non-governmental organizations, etc., regarding areas where more focus is needed such that women’s rights will not merely be statements on paper but also mean that females are also emancipated in practice.

Originality/value

New evidence is presented based on comparable data for Arab nations analysing the possible effects of the Arab Spring on perceptions about female emancipation.
Development finance, institutional quality and human development in the MENA region
Authors: Awdeh Ali , Jomaa Zouhour
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The majority of MENA countries suffer low levels of human development, coupled with scarcity of funding resources, low level of governance, and poor institutional environment. Consequently, this research aims at detecting the impact of development finance resources and institutional quality on the human development in the MENA region, in order to examine if/why the MENA countries fail to efficiently exploit all the available financial inflows to promote human development and boost living standards.

Design/methodology/approach

This study tests the short- and long-run impact of six financing resources representing injections in the economy and four institutional quality variables on the human development index in the MENA region. It adopts co-integration analysis, vector error correction model, and Granger causality test on a sample of 13 MENA countries over the period 1996–2019.

Findings

This research finds that domestic credit to private sector and exports of goods and services do not have any significant added value for human development in the MENA region. In contrast, government expenditures and migrant remittances are found to be crucial in promoting human development in both the short- and long-run. FDI and ODA do enhance human development, but only in the short-run. In parallel, control of corruption, government effectiveness and regulation quality are essential boosters of human development in the MENA region, but with different importance, while political stability was found to be irrelevant.

Originality/value

To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of financial inflows and institutional quality on the overall human development index in the MENA region. The contribution of this paper lies in unlocking for policymakers the potential impactful financing resources to serve national developmental plans, in an endeavour to catch up to the SDGs amid the additional challenges imposed by governance and institutional environment.