bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Differences in antibody kinetics and functionality between severe and mild SARS-CoV-2 infections
Authors: Rijkers Ger , Murk Jean-Luc , Wintermans Bas , Looy Bieke van , van den Berge Marcel , Veenemans Jacobien , Stohr Joep , Reusken Chantal , van der Pol Pieter , Reimerink Johan 
Published: June 2020

AbstractWe determined and compared the humoral immune response in severe, hospitalized and mild, non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Severe patients (n=38) develop a robust antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, including IgG and IgA antibodies. The geometric mean 50% virus neutralization titer is 1:240. SARS-CoV-2 infected hospital personnel (n=24), who developed mild symptoms necessitating leave of absence, self-isolation, but not hospitalization, 75 % develop antibodies, but with low/absent virus neutralization (60% < 1:20).While severe COVID-19 patients develop a strong antibody response, mild SARS-CoV-2 infections induce a modest antibody response. Long term monitoring will show whether these responses predict protection against future infections.
Serial Interval Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Brazil
Authors: Prete Carlos A. , Buss Lewis , Dighe Amy , Porto Victor Bertollo , Candido Darlan da Silva , Ghilardi Fábio , Pybus Oliver G. , de Oliveira Wanderson K. , Croda Júlio H. R. , Sabino Ester C. , Faria Nuno Rodrigues , Donnelly Christl A. , Nascimento Vítor H. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractUsing 65 transmission pairs of SARS-CoV-2 reported to the Brazilian Ministry of Health we estimate the mean and standard deviation for the serial interval to be 2.97 and 3.29 days respectively. We also present a model for the serial interval probability distribution using only two parameters.
A systematic review on the levels of antibodies in COVID-19 virus exposed but negative newborns: a possible vertical transmission of IgG/ IgM
Authors: Bwire George M. , Njiro Belinda J. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundCurrently, there is no doubt on human-to-human transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Now, the debates remain on whether, vertical transmission of Severe Respiratory Syndrome Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and antibodies against the virus do exist. We therefore, conducted a systematic review to determine the immunoglobulin G and M (IgG/IgM) levels among infants born to mothers with COVID-19.MethodsThe systematic search was done using PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar database. The research included studies on IgG/ IgM against SARS-CoV-2 among infants born to mother with COVID-19 published in English from December 1, 2019 onwards. Data were extracted by two independent authors in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA-P) guidelines. We synthesized a narrative from eligible studies and performed two tailed non-parametric Mann-Whitney test to determine and compare the median IgG/IgM levels.ResultsIn total, 486 abstracts were screened and 63 full-text articles were assessed. Of 63 articles, 6 met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis. Two articles were included in quantitative analysis of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/ IgM levels. The median antibody levels was 75.49AU/mL (range: 7.25AU/mL-140.32AU/mL) and for 3.79AU/mL (range: 0.16AU/mL-45.83AU/mL) (P = 0.0041) for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM, respectively.ConclusionThere were high levels of IgG but low IgM against SARS-CoV-2 (using <10 AU/mL as a reference range) among COVID-19 virus exposed but negative newborns. This review suggest a possible natural passive immunity (IgG/ IgM) against COVID-19 virus.ImpactA systematic review of infants born to mothers with COVID-19 was conducted to characterize the magnitude of antibodies generated against SARS-CoV-2 among infants who were vertically exposed to the virus. These findings were necessary to inform the ongoing vaccine development and research on the background natural passive immunity among COVID-19 exposed newborns. Furthermore, evidence are revealing the possibility of vertical transmission of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG/ IgM among the exposed newborns who tested negative for the virus.
Macrophage-mediated antibody dependent effector function in aggressive B-cell lymphoma treatment is enhanced by Ibrutinib via inhibition of JAK2
Authors: Barbarino Verena , Henschke Sinika , Blakemore Stuart James , Izquierdo Elena , Michalik Michael , Nickel Nadine , Möllenkotte Indra , Vorholt Daniela , Brinker Reinhild , Fedorchenko Oleg , Mikhael Nelly , Seeger-Nukpezah Tamina , Hallek Michael , Pallasch Christian P. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractTargeted inhibition of Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) with ibrutinib and other agents has become important treatment options in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia, Mantle cell lymphoma and non-GCB DLBCL. Clinical trials combining small molecule inhibitors with monoclonal antibodies have been initiated at rapid pace, with the biological understanding between their synergistic interactions lagging behind. Here, we have evaluated the synergy between BTK inhibitors and monoclonal antibody therapy via macrophage mediated antibody dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP). Initially, we observed increased ADCP with ibrutinib, whilst second generation BTK inhibitors failed to synergistically interact with monoclonal antibody treatment. Kinase activity profiling under BTK inhibition identified significant loss of Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2) only under ibrutinib treatment. We validated this potential off-target effect via JAK inhibitionin vitroas well as with CRISPR/Cas9 JAK2−/−experimentsin vivo, showing increased ADCP and prolonged survival, respectively. This data supports inhibition of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway in B-cell malignancies in combination with monoclonal antibody therapy to increase macrophage mediated immune responses.
Inhibition underlies fast undulatory locomotion inC. elegans
Authors: Deng Lan , Denham Jack , Arya Charu , Yuval Omer , Cohen Netta , Haspel Gal 
Published: June 2020

AbstractInhibition plays important roles in modulating the neural activities of sensory and motor systems at different levels from synapses to brain regions. To achieve coordinated movement, motor systems produce alternating contraction of antagonist muscles, whether along the body axis or within and among limbs. In the nematodeC. elegans, a small network involving excitatory cholinergic and inhibitory GABAergic motoneurons generates the dorsoventral alternation of body-wall muscles that supports undulatory locomotion. Inhibition has been suggested to be necessary for backward undulation because mutants that are defective in GABA transmission exhibit a shrinking phenotype in response to a harsh touch to the head, whereas wild-type animals produce a backward escape response. Here, we demonstrate that the shrinking phenotype is exhibited by wild-type as well as mutant animals in response to harsh touch to the head or tail, but only GABA transmission mutants show slow locomotion after stimulation. Impairment of GABA transmission, either genetically or optogenetically, induces lower undulation frequency and lower translocation speed during crawling and swimming in both directions. The activity patterns of GABAergic motoneurons are different during low and high undulation frequencies. During low undulation frequency, GABAergic VD and DD motoneurons show similar activity patterns, while during high undulation frequency, their activity alternates. The experimental results suggest at least three non-mutually exclusive roles for inhibition that could underlie fast undulatory locomotion inC. elegans, which we tested with computational models: cross-inhibition or disinhibition of body-wall muscles, or inhibitory reset.Significance StatementInhibition serves multiple roles in the generation, maintenance, and modulation of the locomotive program and supports the alternating activation of antagonistic muscles. When the locomotor frequency increases, more inhibition is required. To better understand the role of inhibition in locomotion, we usedC. elegansas an animal model, and challenged a prevalent hypothesis that cross-inhibition supports the dorsoventral alternation. We find that inhibition is related to the speed rather than the direction of locomotion and demonstrate that inhibition is unnecessary for muscle alternation during slow undulation in either direction but crucial to sustain rapid dorsoventral alternation. We combined calcium imaging of motoneurons and muscle with computational models to test hypotheses for the role of inhibition in locomotion.
High resilience of the mycorrhizal community to prescribed seasonal burnings in a Mediterranean woodland
Authors: Livne-Luzon Stav , Shemesh Hagai , Osem Yagil , Carmel Yohay , Migael Hen , Avidan Yael , Tsafrir Anat , Glassman Sydney I. , Bruns Thomas D. , Ovadia Ofer 
Published: June 2020

AbstractFire effects on ecosystems range from destruction of aboveground vegetation to direct and indirect effects on belowground microorganisms. Although variation in such effects is expected to be related to fire severity, another potentially important and poorly understood factor is the effects of fire seasonality on soil microorganisms. We carried out a large-scale field experiment examining the effects of spring versus autumn burns on the community composition of soil fungi in a typical Mediterranean woodland. Although the intensity and severity of our prescribed burns were largely consistent between the two burning seasons, we detected differential fire season effects on the composition of the soil fungal community, driven by changes in the saprotrophic fungal guild. The community composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi, assayed both in pine seedling bioassays and from soil sequencing, appeared to be resilient to the variation inflicted by seasonal fires. Since changes in the soil saprotrophic fungal community can directly influence carbon emission and decomposition rates, we suggest that regardless of their intensity and severity, seasonal fires may cause changes in ecosystem functioning.DeclarationsFundingThis research was co-supported by the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF Grant 2012081) and Tel-Hai College.Conflicts of interest/Competing interestsWe declare no conflicts of interest and that this material has not been submitted for publication elsewhere.Ethics approvalNot applicableConsent to participateNot applicableConsent for publicationNot applicableAvailability of data and materialSequences were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information Sequence Read Archive under accession numbers SRRXXX◻SRRXXX.Code availabilityNot applicableAuthors’ contributionsOO HS TB YO YC conceived and designed the experiment. SSL YA HM AT performed the experiment. SIG provided the pipeline scripts, and guidance in bioinformatics work and analyses. SLL OO HS wrote the paper and analyzed the data, and all authors contributed substantially to revisions.
Deep sequencing revealsCampylobacterin commercial meat chickens less than 8 days old
Authors: Colles F.M. , Hedges S.J. , Dixon R. , Preston S.G. , Thornhill P. , Barfod K.K. , Gebhardt-Henrich S.G. , Creach P. , Maiden M.C.J. , Dawkins M.S. , Smith A.L. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractCampylobacterfrom contaminated poultry meat is a major source of human gastroenteritis worldwide. To date, attempts to control this zoonotic infection with on-farm biosecurity measures have been inconsistent. A cornerstone of these efforts has been the detection of chicken infection with microbiological culture, which typically does not occur until birds are at least 21 days old. Using molecular methods for detectingCampylobacterpresence, 16S microbiome analysis and deep sequencing of theCampylobacter porA gene,Campylobactercan be identified at very low levels in most or all flocks fewer than 8 days old. These young chicks exhibit a much greater diversity ofporAtypes than older birds testing positive forCampylobacterby culture or qPCR. This suggests that, as the bacteria multiply sufficiently to be detected by culture methods, one or two strains, as indicated byporAtype, dominate the infection. The findings that (i) most young chicks carry someCampylobacterand (ii) not all flocks becomeCampylobacterpositive by culture, suggests that efforts to control infection should concentrate on how to maintainCampylobacterat low levels by the prevention of the overgrowth of single strains, which ultimately leads to the contamination of food.
Mechanistic insights into volatile anesthetic modulation of K2P channels
Authors: Wague Aboubacar , Joseph Thomas T. , Woll Kellie A. , Bu Weiming , Vaidya Kiran A. , Bhanu Natarajan V. , Garcia Benjamin A. , Nimigean Crina M. , Eckenhoff Roderic G. , Riegelhaupt Paul M. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractK2P potassium channels are known to be modulated by volatile anesthetic (VA) drugs and play important roles in clinically relevant effects that accompany general anesthesia. Here, we utilize a photoaffinity analog of the VA isoflurane to identify a VA binding site in the TREK1 K2P channel. The functional importance of the identified site was validated by mutagenesis and biochemical modification. Molecular dynamic simulations of TREK1 in the presence of VA found multiple neighboring residues on TREK1 TM2, TM3 and TM4 that contribute to anesthetic binding. The identified VA binding region contains residues that play roles in the mechanisms by which heat, mechanical stretch, and pharmacological modulators alter TREK1 channel activity and overlaps with positions found to modulate TASK K2P channel VA sensitivity. Our findings define molecular contacts that mediate VA binding to TREK1 channels and suggest a mechanistic basis to explain how K2P channels are modulated by VAs.
Tirant stealthily invaded naturalDrosophila melanogasterpopulations during the last century
Authors: Schwarz Florian , Wierzbicki Filip , Senti Kirsten-André , Kofler Robert 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIt was long thought that solely three different transposable elements - the I-element, the P-element and hobo - invaded naturalD. melanogasterpopulations within the last century. By sequencing the ‘living fossils’ ofDrosophilaresearch, i.e.D. melanogasterstrains sampled from natural populations at different time points, we show that a fourth TE, Tirant, invadedD. melanogasterpopulations during the past century. Tirant likely spread inD. melanogasterpopulations around 1938, followed by the I-element, hobo, and, lastly, the P-element. In addition to the recent insertions of the canonical Tirant,D. melanogasterstrains harbour degraded Tirant sequences in the heterochromatin which are likely due to an ancient invasion, possibly predating the split ofD. melanogasterandD. simulans. In contrast to the I-element, P-element and hobo, we did not find that Tirant induces any hybrid dysgenesis symptoms. This absence of apparent phenotypic effects may explain the late discovery of the Tirant invasion. Recent Tirant insertions were found in all investigated natural populations. Populations from Tasmania carry distinct Tirant sequences, likely due to a founder effect. By investigating the TE composition of natural populations and strains sampled at different time points, insertion site polymorphisms, piRNAs and phenotypic effects, we provide a comprehensive study of a natural TE invasion.
Sex-dependent effects of chronic exercise on cognitive flexibility in aging mice
Authors: Short Annabel K. , Bui Viet , Zbukvic Isabel C. , Hannan Anthony J. , Pang Terence Y. , Kim Jee Hyun 
Published: June 2020

AbstractCognitive impairments associated with advanced age are a growing concern in our aging society. Such impairments are associated with alterations in brain structure and function, especially in the hippocampus, which changes to experience throughout life. It is well-known that regular exercise can maintain hippocampus volume. The hippocampus is critical for cognitive flexibility involved with extinction and reinstatement of conditioned fear. Therefore, we asked whether voluntary chronic exercise in middle-aged mice can improve extinction and/or reinstatement of conditioned fear compared to standard housing. Eight-month-old male and female C57Bl/6J mice had access to a running wheel or remained in standard housing until 11 months of age. Alongside control standard-housed young adult (3-month-old) mice, they received tone-footshock pairings, which were subsequently extinguished with tone-alone presentations the next day. Half of the mice then received a reminder treatment in the form of a single footshock. Both male and female 11-month-old mice housed in standard conditions exhibited impaired reinstatement compared to young adult mice. However, for males that had access to a running wheel from 8 months of age, the reminder treatment rescued reinstatement ability. This was not observed in females. Additionally, exercise during middle age in both sexes increased expression ofBdnfmRNA in the hippocampus, specifically exon 4 mRNA. These results show that, at least for males, physical exercise is beneficial for reducing age-related decline in cognitive abilities. Despite not rescuing their impaired reinstatement, exercise also increasedBdnfgene expression in the female hippocampus, which could potentially benefit other forms of hippocampal-dependent cognition.
Assessment ofLIN28Avariants in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Diez-Fairen Monica , Makarious Mary B. , Bandres-Ciga Sara , Blauwendraat Cornelis 
Published: June 2020

AbstractParkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with a strong genetic component in which both rare and common genetic variants contribute to disease risk, onset and progression. Despite that several genes have been associated with familial forms of disease, validation of novel genes associated with PD remains extremely challenging. Recently, a heterozygous loss-of-function variant in LIN28A was associated with PD pathogenesis in the Asian population. Here, we comprehensively assess the role of LIN28A variants in PD susceptibility using individual-level genotyping data from 14,671 PD cases and 17,667 controls, as well as whole-genome sequencing data from 1,647 PD patients and 1,050 controls. Additionally, we further assessed the summary statistics from the most recent GWAS meta-analyses to date for PD risk and age at onset. After evaluating these data, we did not find evidence to support a role for LIN28A as a major causal gene for PD. However, additional large-scale familial and case-control studies in non-European ancestry populations are necessary to further evaluate the role of LIN28A in PD etiology.
Evaluation of Sample Pooling for Screening of SARS CoV-2
Authors: Mulu Andargachew , Alemayehu Dawit Hailu , Alemu Fekadu , Tefera Dessalegn Abeje , Wolde Sinknesh , Aseffa Gebeyehu , Seyoum Tamrayehu , Habtamu Meseret , Abdissa Alemseged , Bayih Abebe Genetu , Beyene Getachew Tesfaye 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed the global public health importance of robust diagnostic testing. To overcome the challenge of nucleic acid (NA) extraction and testing kit availability efficient method is urgently needed.ObjectivesTo establish an efficient, time and resource-saving and cost-effective methods, and to propose an ad hoc pooling approach for mass screening of SARS-CoV-2MethodsDirect clinical sample and NA pooling approach was used for the standard reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test of the SARS CoV-2 targeting the envelop (E) and open reading frame (ORF1ab) genomic region of the virus. In this approach, experimental pools were created using SARS CoV-2 positive clinical samples spiked with up to 9 negative samples prior to NA extraction step to have a final extraction volume of 200 μL (maximum dilution factor of 10). Viral NA was also subsequently extracted from each pool and tested using the SARS CoV-2 RT-PCR assay.ResultsWe found that a single positive sample can be amplified and detected in pools of up to 7 samples depending on the ct value of the original sample, corresponding to high, medium, and low SARS CoV-2 viral copies/reaction. However, to minimize false negativity of the assay with pooling strategies and with unknown false negativity rate of the assay under validation, we recommend poling of 4 in 1 using the standard protocols of the assay, reagents and equipment. The predictive algorithm indicated a pooling ratio of 4 in 1 was expected to retain accuracy of the test irrespective of the ct value (relative RNA copy number) of the sample spiked and result in a 237% increase in testing efficiency.ConclusionsThe approaches showed its concept in easily customized and resource-saving manner and would allow expanding of current screening capacities and enable the expansion of detection in the community.
The role of remdesivir in South Africa: preventing COVID-19 deaths through increasing ICU capacity
Authors: Nichols Brooke E , Jamieson Lise , Zhang Sabrina RC , Silal Sheetal , Pulliam Juliet R.C. , Sanne Ian , Meyer-Rath Gesine 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTCountries such as South Africa have limited intensive care unit (ICU) capacity to handle the expected number of COVID-19 patients requiring ICU care. Remdesivir can prevent deaths in countries such as South Africa by decreasing the number of days people spend in ICU, therefore freeing up ICU bed capacity.
INTRAREGIONAL PROPAGATION OF COVID-19 CASES IN PARÁ, BRAZIL. ASSESSMENT OF ISOLATION REGIME TO LOCKDOWN
Authors: da Silva Félix Lélis , Pita Javier Dias , Gomes Maryjane Diniz A. , da Silva Andréa P. Lélis , da Silva Gabriel Lélis P. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractDue to the high incidence of COVID-19 case numbers internationally, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of global relevance, advising countries to follow protocols to combat pandemic advance through actions that can reduce spread and consequently avoid a collapse in the local health system. On March 18, 2020, Pará notified the first case of COVID-19. After seven weeks, the number of confirmed cases reached 4,756 with 375 deaths. Knowing that infected people may be asymptomatic, the disease symptomatology absence and the population’s neglect of isolation influence the spread, and factors such as chronic pneumonia, high age, obesity, chronic kidney diseases and other comorbidities favor the mortality rate. On the other hand, social isolation, quarantine and lockdown seek to contain the intraregional contagion advance. This study analyzes the dynamics of COVID-19 new cases advance among municipalities in the state of Pará, Brazil. The results show it took 49 days for 81% of the state’s municipalities to register COVID-19 cases. The association between social isolation, quarantine and lockdown as an action to contain the infection was effective in reducing the region’s new cases registration of COVID-19 in the short-term.