bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of roads on the fine-scale population genetic structure of the dengue vectorAedes aegypti(Linnaeus)
Authors: Regilme Maria Angenica Fulo , Carvajal Thaddeus , Honnen Ann –Christin , Amalin Divina , Watanabe Kozo 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDengue is endemic in tropical and subtropical countries and is transmitted mainly byAedes aegypti. Mosquito movement can be affected by human-made structures such as roads that can act as a barrier. Roads can influence the population genetic structure ofAe. aegypti. We investigated the genetic structure and gene flow ofAe. aegyptias influenced by a primary road, España Boulevard (EB) with 2000-meter-long stretch and 24-meters-wide in a very fine spatial scale. We hypothesized thatAe. aegyptipopulations separated by EB will be different due to the limited gene flow as caused by the barrier effect of the road. A total of 376 adults and larvalAe. aegyptiwere collected from June to September 2017 in 21 sites across EB. North (N1-N11) and South (S1-S10) comprised of 211 and 165 individuals, respectively. All mosquitoes were genotyped at 11 microsatellite loci. AMOVAFSTindicated significant genetic differentiation across the road. The constructed UPGMA dendrogram found 4 genetic groups revealing the clear separation between North and South sites across the road. On the other hand, Bayesian cluster analysis showed four genetic clusters (K = 4) wherein each individual samples have no distinct genetic cluster thus genetic admixture. Moreover, significant positive spatial autocorrelation was observed at 100 - 200 m distance class, suggesting dispersal potential of the adult mosquitoes within a 200 m spatial scale. Our results suggest that human-made landscape features such as primary roads are potential barriers to mosquito movement thereby limiting its gene flow across the road. This information is valuable in designing an effective mosquito control program in a very fine spatial scale.Author SummaryDengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection is a serious health problem in tropical and subtropical countries such as Philippines. Most dengue prevention programs aim to eradicate its mosquito vector,Aedes aegypti.A successful population control program is reliant in understanding the mosquito behavior and ecology including how human-made structures such as roads influence its expansion and movement. Previous studies have discovered the barrier effect of roads in the movement of mosquitoes. In this study, we examined the influence of roads in the population genetic structure ofAe. aegyptiin a fine spatial scale using 11 microsatellite markers. We found significant genetic differentiation of mosquito populations across the road. Our results suggest limited gene flow across the road and supports our hypothesis that roads are potential barriers to mosquito dispersal. This information can be used in designing an effective mosquito population control zones in perceived barrier to mosquito dispersal such as roads.
Rapid Evolution of Plastic-degrading Enzymes Prevalent in the Global Ocean
Authors: Alam Intikhab , Aalismail Nojood , Martin Cecilia , Kamau Allan , Guzmán-Vega Francisco J. , Jamil Tahira , Momin Afaque A. , Acinas Silvia G. , Gasol Josep M. , Arold Stefan T. , Gojobori Takashi , Agusti Susana , Duarte Carlos M. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractEstimates of marine plastic stocks, a major threat to marine life (1), are far lower than expected from exponentially-increasing litter inputs, suggesting important loss factors (2, 3). These may involve microbial degradation, as the plastic-degrading polyethylene terephthalate enzyme (PETase) has been reported in marine microbial communities (4). An assessment of 416 metagenomes of planktonic communities across the global ocean identifies 68 oceanic PETase variants (oPETase) that evolved from ancestral enzymes degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Twenty oPETases show predicted efficiencies comparable to those of laboratory-optimized PETases, suggesting strong selective pressures directing the evolution of these enzymes. We found oPETases in 90.1% of samples across all oceans and depths, particularly abundant at 1,000 m depth, with a strong dominance ofPseudomonadalescontaining putative highly-efficient oPETase variants in the dark ocean. Enzymatic degradation may be removing plastic from the marine environment while providing a carbon source for bathypelagic microbial communities.
Variable bites and dynamic populations; new insights inLeishmaniatransmission
Authors: Carmichael Samuel , Powell Ben , Hoare Thomas , Walrad Pegine , Pitchford Jon 
Published: September 2020

AbstractLeishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease which kills an estimated 50000 people each year, with its deadly impact confined mainly to lower to middle income countries.Leishmaniaparasites are transmitted to human hosts by sand fly vectors during blood feeding. Recent experimental work shows that transmission is modulated by the patchy landscape of infection in the host’s skin, and the parasite population dynamics within the vector. Here we assimilate these new findings into a simple probabilistic model for disease transmission which replicates recent experimental results, and assesses their relative importance. The results of subsequent simulations, describing random parasite uptake and dynamics across multiple blood meals, show that skin heterogeneity is important for transmission by short-lived flies, but that for longer-lived flies with multiple bites the population dynamics within the vector dominate transmission probability. Our results indicate that efforts to reduce fly lifespan beneath a threshold of around two weeks may be especially helpful in reducing disease transmission.
Longitudinal immune profiling of mild and severe COVID-19 reveals innate and adaptive immune dysfunction and provides an early prediction tool for clinical progression
Authors: Rendeiro André F. , Casano Joseph , Vorkas Charles Kyriakos , Singh Harjot , Morales Ayana , DeSimone Robert A. , Ellsworth Grant B. , Soave Rosemary , Kapadia Shashi N. , Saito Kohta , Brown Christopher D. , Hsu JingMei , Kyriakides Christopher , Chiu Steven , Cappelli Luca , Cacciapuoti Maria Teresa , Tam Wayne , Galluzzi Lorenzo , Simonson Paul D. , Elemento Olivier , Salvatore Mirella , Inghirami Giorgio 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWith a rising incidence of COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality worldwide, it is critical to elucidate the innate and adaptive immune responses that drive disease severity. We performed longitudinal immune profiling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 45 patients and healthy donors. We observed a dynamic immune landscape of innate and adaptive immune cells in disease progression and absolute changes of lymphocyte and myeloid cells in severe versus mild cases or healthy controls. Intubation and death were coupled with selected natural killer cell KIR receptor usage and IgM+ B cells and associated with profound CD4 and CD8 T cell exhaustion. Pseudo-temporal reconstruction of the hierarchy of disease progression revealed dynamic time changes in the global population recapitulating individual patients and the development of an eight-marker classifier of disease severity. Estimating the effect of clinical progression on the immune response and early assessment of disease progression risks may allow implementation of tailored therapies.
Modelling the epidemic growth of preprints on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Vasconcelos Giovani L. , Cordeiro Luan P. , Duarte-Filho Gerson C. , Brum Arthur A. 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTThe response of the scientific community to the global health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has produced an unprecedented number of manuscripts in a short period of time, the vast majority of which have been shared in the form of preprints posted on online preprint repositories before peer review. This surge in preprint publications has in itself attracted considerable attention, although mostly in the bibliometrics literature. In the present study we apply a mathematical growth model, known as the generalized Richards model, to describe the time evolution of the cumulative number of COVID-19 related preprints. This mathematical approach allows us to infer several important aspects concerning the underlying growth dynamics, such as its current stage and its possible evolution in the near future. We also analyze the rank-frequency distribution of preprints servers, ordered by the number of COVID-19 preprints they host, and find that it follows a power law in the low rank (high frequency) region, with the high rank (low frequency) tail being better described by a q-exponential function. The Zipf-like law in the high frequency regime indicates the presence of a cumulative advantage effect, whereby servers that already have more preprints receive more submissions.
A systematic review on improving implementation of the revitalised integrated disease surveillance and response system in the African region: a health workers’ perspective
Authors: Ng’etich Arthur K. S. , Voyi Kuku , Kirinyet Ruth C. , Mutero Clifford M. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe revised integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) guidelines adopted by African member states in 2010 aimed at strengthening surveillance systems critical capacities. Milestones achieved through IDSR strategy implementation prior to adopting the revised guidelines are well documented; however, there is a dearth of knowledge on the progress made post-adoption. This study aimed to review key recommendations resulting from surveillance assessment studies to improve implementation of the revitalised IDSR system in the African region based on health workers’ perspectives. The review focused on literature published between 2010 and 2019 post-adopting the revised IDSR guidelines in the African region.MethodsA systematic literature search in PubMed, Web of Science and Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature was conducted. In addition, manual reference searches and grey literature searches using World Health Organisation Library and Information Networks for Knowledge databases were undertaken. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement checklist for systematic reviews was utilised for the review process.ResultsThirty assessment studies met the inclusion criteria. IDSR implementation under the revised guidelines could be improved considerably bearing in mind critical findings and recommendations emanating from the reviewed surveillance assessment studies. Key recommendations alluded to provision of laboratory facilities and improved specimen handling, provision of reporting forms and improved reporting quality, surveillance data accuracy and quality, improved knowledge and surveillance system performance, utilisation of up-to-date information and surveillance system strengthening, provision of resources, enhanced reporting timeliness and completeness, adopting alternative surveillance strategies and conducting further research.ConclusionRecommendations on strengthening IDSR implementation in the African region post-adopting the revised guidelines mainly identify surveillance functions focused on reporting, feedback, training, supervision, timeliness and completeness of the surveillance system as aspects requiring policy refinement.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO registration number CRD42019124108.
Analysis of internet trends related to medications for COVID-19 in ten countries with the highest number of cases
Authors: Chire Saire Josimar E. , Lemus-Martin Roselyn 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDuring the last months, the pandemic generated by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 moved governments, research groups and health organizations to plan, test and execute health policies. At the beginning, the treatment was not clear but in the next months, research groups have conducted studies to recommend or ban some medicines. At the same time, countries with most cases were changing from Asia, Europe to America. Different treatments and medications have been tested and recommended in many countries, such as Hydroxycloroquine, Ivermectin, Azithromycin, Dexamethasone, Prednisone, Remdesivir. This paper is a preliminary study about which medications people are searching on the Internet, considering ten countries with most cases in the world such as Chile, Spain, United Kingdom, Brazil, United States, India, Russia, South Africa, Peru and Mexico.
Is zebrafish heart regeneration “complete”? Lineage-restricted cardiomyocytes proliferate to pre-injury numbers but some fail to differentiate in fibrotic hearts
Authors: Bertozzi Alberto , Wu Chi-Chung , Nguyen Phong D. , Vasudevarao Mohankrishna Dalvoy , Mulaw Medhanie A. , Koopman Charlotte D. , de Boer Teun P. , Bakkers Jeroen , Weidinger Gilbert 
Published: September 2020

AbstractAdult zebrafish are frequently described to be able to “completely” regenerate the heart. Yet, the extent to which cardiomyocytes lost to injury are replaced is unknown, since only indirect or non-quantitative evidence for cardiomyocyte proliferation exists. We established stereological methods to quantify the number of cardiomyocytes at several time-points post cryoinjury. Intriguingly, after cryoinjuries that killed about 1/3 of the ventricular cardiomyocytes, pre-injury cardiomyocyte numbers were restored already within 30 days. Yet, many hearts retained small residual scars, and a subset of cardiomyocytes bordering these fibrotic areas remained smaller, lacked differentiated sarcomeric structures, and displayed defective calcium signaling. Thus, a subset of regenerated cardiomyocytes failed to fully mature. While lineage-tracing experiments have shown that regenerating cardiomyocytes are derived from differentiated cardiomyocytes, technical limitations have previously made it impossible to test whether cardiomyocyte trans-differentiation contributes to regeneration of non-myocyte cell lineages. Using Cre responder lines that are expressed in all major cell types of the heart, we found no evidence for cardiomyocyte transdifferentiation into endothelial, epicardial, fibroblast or immune cell lineages. Overall, our results imply a refined answer to the question whether zebrafish can completely regenerate the heart: in response to cryoinjury, preinjury cardiomyocyte numbers are indeed completely regenerated, while restoration of cardiomyocyte differentiation and function, as well as resorption of scar tissue, is less robustly achieved.
Many bat species are not potential hosts of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2: Evidence from ACE2 receptor usage
Authors: Yan Huan , Jiao Hengwu , Liu Qianyun , Zhang Zhen , Wang Xin , Guo Ming , Wang Bing-Jun , Lan Ke , Chen Yu , Zhao Huabin 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBats are the suggested natural hosts for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2, the latter of which caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The interaction of viral Spike proteins with their host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a critical determinant of potential hosts and cross-species transmission. Here we use virus-host receptor binding and infection assays to show that ACE2 orthologs from 24, 21, and 16 of 46 phylogenetically diverse bat species – including those in close and distant contact with humans – do not support entry of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and both of these coronaviruses, respectively. Furthermore, we used genetic and functional analyses to identify genetic changes in bat ACE2 receptors associated with viral entry restrictions. Our study demonstrates that many – if not most – bat species are not potential hosts of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, and provides important insights into pandemic control and wildlife conservation.
Can MRI measure myelin? Systematic review, qualitative assessment, and meta-analysis of studies validating microstructural imaging with myelin histology
Authors: Lazari Alberto , Lipp Ilona 
Published: September 2020

AbstractRecent years have seen an increased understanding of the importance of myelination in healthy brain function and neuropsychiatric diseases. Non-invasive microstructural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) holds the potential to expand and translate these insights to basic and clinical human research, but the sensitivity and specificity of different MR markers to myelination is a subject of debate.To consolidate current knowledge on the topic, we perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that validate microstructural imaging by combining it with myelin histology.We find meta-analytic evidence for correlations between myelin histology and markers from different MRI modalities, including fractional anisotropy, radial diffusivity, macromolecular pool, magnetization transfer ratio, susceptibility and longitudinal relaxation rate, but not mean diffusivity. Meta-analytic correlation effect sizes range widely, betweenR2= 0.26 andR2= 0.82. However, formal comparisons between MRI-based myelin markers are limited by methodological variability, inconsistent reporting and potential for publication bias, thus preventing the establishment of a single most sensitive strategy to measure myelin with MRI.To facilitate further progress, we provide a detailed characterisation of the evaluated studies as an online resource. We also share a set of 12 recommendations for future studies validating putative MR-based myelin markers and deploying themin vivoin humans.HighlightsSystematic review and meta-analysis of studies validating microstructural imaging with myelin histologyWe find many MR markers are sensitive to myelin, including FA, RD, MP, MTR, Susceptibility, R1, but not MDFormal comparisons between MRI-based myelin markers are limited by methodological variability, inconsistent reporting and potential for publication biasResults emphasize the advantage of using multimodal imaging when testing hypotheses related to myelin in vivo in humans.
Hepatoprotective Activity of Melittin on Isoniazid and Rifampicin Induced Liver Damage in Male Albino Rats
Authors: Naji Khalid M. , Al-Khatib Bushra Y. , Al-Haj Nora Saif , D’souza Myrene R. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractObjectiveThe present study aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect of melittin, a major polypeptide in the venom of honeybee (Apis mellifera) on isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) induced hepatotoxicity in male albino rats.Method: The rats (140-200g) were divided into five groups (n=6): normal control (NC); toxic (T) group treated with INH+RIF (100 mg/kg, p.o.); melittin-treated (Mel15, Mel30) group (15 or 30 µg/kg s.c); and normal recovery (NR) group. Blood and liver samples were collected for biochemical, hematological and histopathological studies respectively.ResultsThe administration of melittin was found to prevent the antitubercular drug-induced alterations in the diagnostic markers; reduced glutathione (GSH), direct bilirubin (DB), total bilirubin (TB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total serum protein (TSP). Besides, hematological alterations were significantly high (P<0.0001) in Mel-treated groups when compared to the toxic control. The NR group exhibited lower levels of DB, TB, ALP, LDH and TSP. In addition, treatment with melittin offered protection in the NR group with respect to MDA levels.ConclusionEvidence from this study indicate that melittin is beneficial for the prevention of acute hepatic failure in antitubercular drug-induced hepatoxicity.
The Arf-GEF Steppke promotes F-actin accumulation, cell protrusions and tissue sealing during Drosophila dorsal closure
Authors: West Junior J. , Harris Tony J. C. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractCytohesin Arf-GEFs promote actin polymerization and protrusions of cultured cells, whereas the Drosophila cytohesin, Steppke, antagonizes actomyosin networks in several developmental contexts. To reconcile these findings, we analyzed epidermal leading edge actin networks during Drosophila embryo dorsal closure. Here, Steppke is required for F-actin of the actomyosin cable and for actin-based protrusions.steppkemutant defects in the leading edge actin networks are associated with improper sealing of the dorsal midline, but are distinguishable from effects of myosin mis-regulation. Steppke localizes to leading edge cell-cell junctions with accumulations of the F-actin regulator Enabled emanating from either side. Enabled requires Steppke for full leading edge recruitment, and genetic interaction shows the proteins cooperate for dorsal closure. Steppke over-expression induces ectopic, actin-rich, lamellar cell protrusions, an effect dependent on the Arf-GEF activity and PH domain of Steppke, but independent of Steppke recruitment to myosin-rich AJs via its coiled-coil domain. Thus, Steppke promotes actin polymerization and cell protrusions, effects that occur in conjunction with Steppke’s previously reported regulation of myosin contractility during dorsal closure.
AnnapuRNA: a scoring function for predicting RNA-small molecule interactions
Authors: Stefaniak Filip , Bujnicki Janusz M. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractRNA is considered as an attractive target for new small molecule drugs. Designing active compounds can be facilitated by computational modeling. Most of the available tools developed for these prediction purposes, such as molecular docking or scoring functions, are parametrized for protein targets. The performance of these methods, when applied to RNA-ligand systems, is insufficient. To overcome these problems, we developed AnnapuRNA, a new knowledge-based scoring function designed to evaluate RNA-ligand complex structures, generated by any computational docking method. We also evaluated three main factors that may influence the structure prediction, i.e., starting conformer of a ligand, the docking program, and the scoring function used. We applied the AnnapuRNA method for apost-hocstudy of the recently published structures of the FMN riboswitch. Software is available athttps://github.com/filipspl/AnnapuRNAAuthor SummaryDrug development is a lengthy and complicated process, which requires costly experiments on a very large number of chemical compounds. The identification of chemical molecules with desired properties can be facilitated by computational methods. A number of methods were developed for computer-aided design of drugs that target protein molecules. However, recently the ribonucleic acid (RNA) emerged as an attractive target for the development of new drugs. Unfortunately, the portfolio of the computer methods that can be applied to study RNA and its interactions with small chemical molecules is very limited. This situation motivated us to develop a new computational method, with which to predict RNA-small molecule interactions. To this end, we collected the information on the statistics of interactions in experimentally determined structures of complexes formed by RNA with small molecules. We then used the statistical data to train machine learning methods aiming to distinguish between RNA-ligand interactions observed experimentally and other interactions that can be observed in theoretical analyses, but are not observed in nature. The resulting method called AnnapuRNA is superior to other similar tools and can be used to predict preferred ligands of RNA molecules and how RNA and small molecules interact with each other.