bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gene expression changes of seven stonefly species in responses to a latitudinal-environmental gradient
Authors: Gamboa Maribet , Gotoh Yusuke , Doloiras-Laraño Arnelyn D. , Watanabe Kozo 
Published: September 2020

AbstractLatitudinal variation has been known to create strong selection pressure for genomic variation that enables the adaptation and survival of organisms. By altering gene expression patterns, organisms can modify their adaptive potential to heterogeneous environmental conditions along a latitudinal gradient; however, there is a gap in our understanding of how physiological consequences in wild species are affected and how changing environmental conditions act on multiple species. Here, we investigated how seven stream stonefly species sampled from four geographical regions in Japan differ in their responses to latitudinal variations by measuring gene expression (RNA-sequencing) differences within species and gene co-expression among species. We found that a large number of genes (622) were differentially expressed along the latitudinal gradient. The high species-specific gene expression diversity found at higher latitude regions was probably associated with low temperatures and high water discharge, which suggests the adaptive potential of stonefly specie. In contrast, similar gene expression patterns among species was observed at lower latitudes, which suggests that strong environmental stress occurs in warmer regions. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified 22 genes with similar expression patterns among species along the latitudinal gradient. Among the four geographical regions, high differential expression patterns in the co-expressed genes from two regions were found, suggesting that the local environment strongly affects gene expression patterns among species in these regions. Respiration, metabolism, and developmental co-expressed genes exhibited a latitudinal cline, showing clear evidence of divergent adaptive responses to latitude. Our findings demonstrate that stonefly species are differentially adapted to local environmental conditions, and imply that adaptation in gene expression could be shared by multiple species under environmental stress conditions. This study highlights the importance of considering multiple species when evaluating the consequences of environmental changes on aquatic insect communities, and possible mechanisms to cope with environmental changes.
Reduction of visual stimulus artifacts using a spherical tank for small, aquatic animals
Authors: Wang Kun , Arrenberg Burkhard , Hinz Julian , Arrenberg Aristides B 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDelivering appropriate stimuli remains a challenge in vision research, particularly for aquatic animals such as zebrafish. Due to the shape of the water tank and the associated optical paths of light rays, the stimulus can be subject to unwanted refraction or reflection artifacts, which may spoil the experiment and result in wrong conclusions. Here, we employ computer graphics simulations and calcium imaging in the zebrafish optic tectum to show, how a spherical glass container optically outperforms many previously used water containers, including Petri dish lids. We demonstrate that aquatic vision experiments suffering from total internal reflection artifacts at the water surface or at the flat container bottom may result in the erroneous detection of visual neurons with bipartite receptive fields and in the apparent absence of neurons selective for vertical motion. Our results and demonstrations will help aquatic vision neuroscientists on optimizing their stimulation setups.
Short-term Neuropsychiatric Outcomes and Quality of Life in COVID-19 Survivors
Authors: Méndez Raúl , Balanzá-Martínez Vicent , Luperdi Sussy C. , Estrada Itziar , Latorre Ana , González-Jiménez Paula , Feced Laura , Bouzas Leyre , Yépez Katheryn , Ferrando Ana , Hervás David , Zaldívar Enrique , Reyes Soledad , Berk Michael , Menéndez Rosario 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe general medical impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) are increasingly appreciated. However, its impact on neurocognitive, psychiatric health and quality of life (QoL) in survivors after the acute phase is poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate neurocognitive function, psychiatric symptoms, and QoL in COVID-19 survivors shortly after hospital discharge.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional analysis of a prospective study of hospitalized COVID-19 survivors followed-up for 2 months after discharge. A battery of standardized instruments evaluating neurocognitive function, psychiatric morbidity, and QoL (mental and physical components) was administered by telephone.FindingsOf the 229 screened patients, 179 were included in the final analysis. Among survivors, the prevalence of moderately impaired immediate verbal memory and learning was 38%, delayed verbal memory (11.8%), verbal fluency (34.6%), and working memory (executive function) (6.1%), respectively. Moreover, 58.7% of patients had neurocognitive impairment in at least one function. Rates of positive screening for anxiety were 29.6%, depression (26.8%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (25.1%) respectively. In addition, 39.1% of the patients had psychiatric morbidity. Low QoL for physical and mental components was detected in 44.1% and 39.1% of patients, respectively. Delirium and stress-related symptoms increased approximately 4-fold the odds of developing neurocognitive impairment. Female gender and neurocognitive impairment diagnosis were related with an increase of 2.5 and 4.56- fold odds respectively of psychiatric morbidity.InterpretationHospitalized COVID-19 survivors showed a high prevalence of neurocognitive impairment, psychiatric morbidity, and poor QoL in the short-term. It is uncertain if these impacts persist over the long-term.
Challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic for perinatal mental health care: a mixed methods study of mental health care staff
Authors: Wilson CA , Dalton-Locke C , Johnson S , Simpson A , Oram S , Howard LM 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPurposethe aim of this study was to explore staff perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health service delivery and outcomes for women who were pregnant or in the first year after birth (‘perinatal’ women).Methodssecondary analysis of an online mixed-methods survey open to all mental health care staff in the UK involving 363 staff working with women in the perinatal period.Resultsstaff perceived the mental health of perinatal women to be particularly vulnerable to the impact of stressors associated with the pandemic such as social isolation (rated by 79.3% as relevant or extremely relevant; 288/363) and domestic violence and abuse (53.3%; 192/360). As a result of changes to mental health and other health and social care services, staff reported feeling less able to assess women, particularly their relationship with their baby (43.3%; 90/208), and to mobilise safeguarding procedures (29.4%; 62/211). While 42% of staff reported that some women engaged poorly with virtual appointments, they also found flexible remote consulting to be beneficial for some women and helped time management due to reductions in travel time.Conclusionsdelivery of perinatal care needs to be tailored to the needs of women; virtual appointments are perceived not to be appropriate for assessments but may be helpful for some women in subsequent interactions. Safeguarding and other risk assessment procedures must remain robust in spite of modifications made to service delivery during pandemics.
Delaying or Delivering: Identification of novel NAM-1 alleles which delay senescence to extend grain fill duration of wheat
Authors: Chapman Elizabeth A. , Orford Simon , Lage Jacob , Griffiths Simon 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSenescence is a complex quantitative trait under genetic and environmental control, involving the remobilisation of resources from vegetative tissue into grain. Delayed senescence, or ‘staygreen’ traits, are associated with conferring stress tolerance, with extended photosynthetic activity hypothesised to sustain grain filling. The genetics of senescence regulation are largely unknown, with senescence variation often correlated with phenological traits. Here, we confirm staygreen phenotypes of twoTriticum aestivumcv. Paragon EMS mutants previously identified during a forward genetic screen and selected for their agronomic performance, similar phenology and differential senescence phenotypes. Through grain filling experiments, we confirm a positive relationship between onset of senescence and grain fill duration, reporting an associated ∼14 % increase in final dry grain weight for one mutant,P< 0.05. Recombinant Inbred Line (RIL) populations segregating for senescence were developed for trait mapping purposes, and phenotyped over multiple years under field conditions. Staygreen traits were mapped using exome-capture enabled bulk segregant analysis (BSA), whereupon senescence was quantified, and metrics compared to qualify senescence traits and aid RIL selection. Using BSA we mapped our two staygreen traits to two independent, dominant, loci of 4.8 and 16.7 Mb in size encompassing 56 and 142 genes. Combining single marker association analysis with variant effect prediction, we identified SNPs encoding self-validating mutations located inNAM-1homoeologues and propose these as gene candidates.SummaryApplying an exome-capture enabled Bulk Segregant Analysis, we identified novelNAM-1alleles underpinning two staygreen traits associated with enhancing grain fill duration and grain weight
Dual symbiosis in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent snailGigantopelta aegisrevealed by its hologenome
Authors: Lan Yi , Sun Jin , Chen Chong , Sun Yanan , Zhou Yadong , Yang Yi , Zhang Weipeng , Li Runsheng , Zhou Kun , Wong Wai Chuen , Kwan Yick Hang , Cheng Aifang , Bougouffa Salim , Van Dover Cindy Lee , Qiu Jian-Wen , Qian Pei-Yuan 
Published: September 2020

AbstractAnimals endemic to deep-sea hydrothermal vents often form obligatory relationships with bacterial symbionts, maintained by intricate host-symbiont interactions. Endosymbiosis with more than one symbiont is uncommon, and most genomic studies focusing on such ‘dual symbiosis’ systems have not investigated the host and the symbionts to a similar depth simultaneously. Here, we report a novel dual symbiosis among the peltospirid snailGigantopelta aegisand its two Gammaproteobacteria endosymbionts – one being a sulphur oxidiser and the other a methane oxidiser. We assembled high-quality genomes for all three parties of this holobiont, with a chromosome-level assembly for the snail host (1.15 Gb, N50 = 82 Mb, 15 pseudo-chromosomes). In-depth analyses of these genomes reveal an intimate mutualistic relationship with complementarity in nutrition and metabolic codependency, resulting in a system highly versatile in transportation and utilisation of chemical energy. Moreover,G. aegishas an enhanced immune capability that likely facilitates the possession of more than one type of symbiont. Comparisons withChrysomallon squamiferum, another chemosymbiotic snail in the same family but only with one sulphur-oxidising endosymbiont, show that the two snails’ sulphur-oxidising endosymbionts are phylogenetically distant, agreeing with previous results that the two snails have evolved endosymbiosis independently and convergently. Notably, the same capabilities of biosynthesis of specific nutrition lacking in the host genome are shared by the two sulphur-oxidising endosymbionts of the two snail genera, which may be a key criterion in the selection of symbionts by the hosts.
Curcumin promotes progression of AApoAII amyloidosis and peroxisome proliferation in mice by activating the PPARα signaling pathway
Authors: Dai Jian , Li Ying , Kametani Fuyuki , Cui Xiaoran , Igarashi Yuichi , Huo Jia , Miyahara Hiroki , Mori Masayuki , Higuchi Keiichi 
Published: September 2020

AbstractCurcumin is a polyphenol compound that exhibits multiple physiological activities. To elucidate the mechanisms by which curcumin affects systemic amyloidosis, we investigated amyloid deposition and molecular changes in a mouse model of amyloid apolipoprotein A-II (AApoAII) amyloidosis, in which mice were fed a curcumin-supplemented diet. Curcumin supplementation for 12 weeks significantly increased AApoAII amyloid deposition relative to controls, especially in the liver and spleen. Liver weights and plasma ApoA-II and high-density lipoprotein concentrations were significantly elevated in curcumin-supplemented groups. RNA-sequence analysis revealed that curcumin intake affected hepatic lipid metabolism via the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) pathway, especially PPARα activation, resulting in increasedApoa2mRNA expression. The increase in liver weights was due to activation of PPARα and peroxisome proliferation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that curcumin is a PPARα activator and may affect expression levels of proteins involved in amyloid deposition to influence amyloidosis and metabolism in a complex manner.
Attention affects overall gain but not selective contrast at meter frequencies in the neural processing of rhythm
Authors: Lenc Tomas , Keller Peter E. , Varlet Manuel , Nozaradan Sylvie 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWhen listening to music, humans spontaneously perceive and synchronize movement to periodic pulses of meter. A growing body of evidence suggests that this widespread ability is related to neural processes that selectively enhance meter periodicities. However, to what extent these neural processes are affected by the attentional state of the listener remains largely unknown. Here, we recorded EEG while participants listened to auditory rhythms and detected small changes in tempo or pitch of the stimulus, or performed a visual task. The overall neural response to the auditory input decreased when participants attended the visual modality, indicating generally lower sensitivity to acoustic information. However, the selective contrast at meter periodicities did not differ across the three tasks. Moreover, this selective contrast could be trivially accounted for by biologically-plausible models of subcortical auditory processing, but only when meter periodicities were already prominent in the acoustic input. However, when meter periodicities were not prominent in the auditory input, the EEG responses could not be explained by low-level processing. This was also confirmed by early auditory responses that originate predominantly in early auditory areas and were recorded in the same EEG. The contrast at meter periodicities in these early responses was consistently smaller than in the EEG responses originating mainly from higher-level processing stages. Together, these results demonstrate that selective contrast at meter periodicities involves higher-level neural processes that may be engaged automatically, irrespective of behavioral context. This robust shaping of the neural representation of rhythm might thus contribute to spontaneous and effortless synchronization to musical meter in humans across cultures.
A second PI(4,5)P2binding site determines PI(4,5)P2sensitivity of the tubby domain
Authors: Thallmair Veronika , Schultz Lea , Marrink Siewert J. , Oliver Dominik , Thallmair Sebastian 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTPhosphosinositides (PIs) are lipid signaling molecules that operate by recruiting proteins to cellular membranes via PI recognition domains. Such domains are also used widely as fluorescence-coupled biosensors for cellular PIs. For PI(4,5)P2, the dominant PI of the plasma membrane (PM), only two recognition domains have been characterized in detail and used as sensors. One of them, the tubby domain, which is conserved in the tubby-like protein (TULP) family, is essential for targeting proteins into cilia in a process involving reversible membrane association. However, the PI(4,5)P2binding properties of tubby domains have remained enigmatic.Here we used coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore PI(4,5)P2binding by the prototypic tubby domain (tubbyCT). While the MD simulations showed a comparatively low PI(4,5)P2affinity of the previously described canonical binding site, they unexpectedly revealed an adjacent second binding site, consisting of a conserved cationic cluster at the protein-membrane interface. Population of this second site dramatically increased membrane association of tubbyCT. Although less specific than the canonical binding pocket, this second site preferred binding of PI(4,5)P2over PI(4)P and phosphatidyl serine. Mutations in this site impaired PI(4,5)P2-dependent PM localization in living cells and PI(4,5)P2interactionin silico.Thus, the second binding site essentially contributes to the effective affinity and hence PM association of the tubby domain. The two-ligand binding mode may serve to sharpen the membrane association-dissociation cycle of TULPs that underlies delivery of ciliary cargo.
Dorsal-to-ventral imbalance in the superior longitudinal fasciculus mediates methylphenidate’s effect on beta oscillations in ADHD
Authors: Mazzetti C. , Damatac C. G. , Sprooten E. , ter Huurne N. , Buitelaar J.K. , Jensen O. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackgroundWhile pharmacological treatment with Methylphenidate (MPH) is a first line intervention for ADHD, its mechanisms of action have yet to be elucidated. In a previous MEG study, we demonstrated that MPH in ADHD normalizes beta depression in preparation to motor responses (1). We here seek to identify the white matter tracts that mediate MPH’s effect on beta oscillations.MethodsWe implemented a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design, where boys diagnosed with ADHD underwent behavioral and MEG measurements during a spatial attention task while on and off MPH. Results were compared with an age/IQ-matched typically developing (TD) group performing the same task. Estimates of white matter tracts were obtained through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Based on aprioristic selection model criteria, we sought to determine the fiber tracts associated with electrophysiological, behavioral and clinical features of attentional functions.ResultsWe identified three main tracts: the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (‘parietal endings’) (SLFp) and Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus (‘temporal endings’) (SLFt). ADHD symptoms severity was associated with lower fractional anisotropy (FA) within the ATR. In addition, individuals with relatively higher FA in SLFp compared to SLFt showed faster and more accurate behavioral responses to MPH. Furthermore, the same parieto-temporal FA gradient explained the effects of MPH on beta modulation: subjects with ADHD exhibiting higher FA in SLFp compared to SLFt also displayed greater effects of MPH on beta power during response preparation.ConclusionsBased on MPH’s modulatory effects on striatal dopamine levels, our data suggest that the behavioral deficits and aberrant oscillatory modulations observed in ADHD depend on a structural connectivity imbalance within the SLF, caused by a diffusivity gradient in favor of temporal rather than parietal, fiber tracts.
Maturation of the matrix and viral membrane of HIV-1
Authors: Qu Kun , Ke Zunlong , Zila Vojtech , Anders-Össwein Maria , Glass Bärbel , Müller Barbara , Kräusslich Hans-Georg , Briggs John A. G. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractGag – the main structural protein of HIV-1 – is recruited to the plasma membrane for virus assembly by its matrix (MA) domain. Gag is subsequently cleaved into its component domains, causing structural maturation to repurpose the virion for cell entry. We determined the structure and arrangement of MA within immature and mature HIV-1, providing a basis to understand MA’s role in virus assembly. Unexpectedly, we found that MA rearranges during maturation, to form a new, hexameric lattice in which the acyl chain of a phospholipid extends out of the membrane to bind a pocket in MA. Our data suggest that proteolytic maturation of HIV-1 not only achieves assembly of the viral capsid surrounding the genome, but extends to repurpose the membrane-bound MA lattice for an entry or post-entry function, and causes partial removal of 2,500 acyl chains from the viral membrane.
MNCs’ open international strategy–local dynamics: transfer of German “vocational education and training” to emerging economies
Authors: Fuchs Martina 
Published: September 2020

PurposeThis paper aims to examine multinational companies’ (MNCs) international transfer strategies of German vocational education and training (VET) and examines the dynamics in the subsidiaries.Design/methodology/approachMethodologically, the study is based on expert interviews conducted in German headquarters. To complete the picture, the study also includes insights from expert interviews in subsidiaries in Mexico, India and China.FindingsThere is a mix of country-of-origin and geocentric strategic orientation. VET is “boiled down” and adapted in its contents, but headquarters and expats maintain the spirit of VET, i.e. its national agenda of technical hands-on competencies and pedagogical competencies. To achieve this MNCs introduce general guidelines. Convincing takes place by means of role models.Research limitations/implicationsThe effects in the emerging economies differ regionally; these regional differences are not the subject of this contribution.Practical implicationsVET transfer comprises the implementation of its core spirit which produces participatory and emancipatory dynamics.Social implicationsIntercultural learning has to be sensitive to such dynamics.Originality/valueThe study contributes to research on international strategies of MNCs, focussing on skill development of the blue-collar study.
Life outside the garment factories: the lived experiences of Cambodian women garment factory workers
Authors: McKay Fiona Helen , McKenzie Hayley Jane 
Published: September 2020

Purpose
Cambodia’s workforce has shifted over time, with internal migration increasing as more people are forced to the cities to find employment. This paper aims to change in workforce participation has led to a number of challenges for people moving into urban areas, particularly women as their role in the household and workforce is changing.

Design/methodology/approach
This research used qualitative research to explore the experiences of 20 Cambodian women working in garment factories. Interviews were conducted in Khmer by a bilingual research assistant. Interviews were recorded and then translated into English. Data were thematically analysed following a constant comparative method.

Findings
Findings indicate that women experience social isolation, job stress and are vulnerable to a variety of health and well-being problems. When moving into the city for work, many rural women leave their children in the care of other family members, including grandparents and other extended families, without a network, they experience isolation and loneliness.

Originality/value
This is the first qualitative work of its kind to investigate the experiences of Cambodian women factory workers and their experiences of moving to urban areas for work.