bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
microRNA seedless sites attenuate strong-seed-site-mediated target repression
Authors: Wang Xujun , Tian Jingru , Cui Peng , Mastriano Stephen , Zhang Dingyao , Zhao Hongyu , Lu Hui , Ding Ye , Lu Jun 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate protein-coding gene expression primarily through cognitive binding sites in the 3’ untranslated regions (3′ UTRs). Seed sites are sequences in messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that form perfect Watson-Crick base-paring with a miRNA’s seed region, which can effectively reduce mRNA abundance and/or repress protein translation. Some seedless sites, which do no form perfect seed-pairing with a miRNA, can also lead to target repression, often with lower efficacy. Here we report the surprising finding that when seedless sites and seed sites are co-present in the same 3’UTR, seedless sites attenuate strong-seed-site-mediated target suppression, independent of 3′ UTR length. This attenuation effect is detectable in >70% of transcriptomic datasets examined, in which specific miRNAs are experimentally increased or decreased. The attenuation effect is confirmed by 3’UTR reporter assays and mediated through base-pairing between miRNA and seedless sites. Furthermore, this seedless-site-based attenuation effect could affect seed sites of the same miRNA or another miRNA, thus partially explaining the variability in target suppression and miRNA-mediated gene upregulation. Our findings reveal an unexpected principle of miRNA-mediated gene regulation, and could impact the understanding of many miRNA-regulated biological processes.
Simultaneous assessment of P50, MMN, ERN and P300 event-related potentials among patients with Schizophrenia – an exploratory study
Authors: Sasidharan Arun , Nair Ajay Kumar , Marigowda Vrinda , Lukose Ammu , John John P , Kutty Bindu M 
Published: November 2019

AbstractPurposeP50 suppression (sensory gating or inhibition), MMN (mismatch negativity; bottom-up detection of change), ERN (error related negativity; conflict monitoring) and P300 (attention allocation and memory updating for salient events) are event related potentials (ERPs) widely reported to show abnormal cognitive functioning among patients with schizophrenia. In real-life scenarios the brain processing underlying these ERPs occur simultaneously, and yet prior ERP studies have evaluated them in isolation. The current study uses a novel paradigm that can examine these multiple ERPs simultaneously, and explore if the reported ERP deficits would hold true during a more realistic setting.MethodData from 21 patients with schizophrenia and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were used, who underwent ERP recordings during the Assessing Neurocognition via Gamified Experimental Logic (ANGEL) paradigm. This is a gamified visual odd-ball paradigm that generates P300, the error responses generate ERN, and paired-tone audio distractors generate P50 and MMN. Peak-peak amplitude, mean amplitude and area-under-curve measures of ERP were measured at electrodes reflecting best morphology.ResultsThough patients showed apparent ERP morphology differences relative to the controls, the standard ERP measures were comparable between groups, except for reduced ERN among patients. Interestingly, significant group differences were seen in N1-P2 complex suppression, despite comparable P50 suppression.Contribution of the researchThe current study is the first to report multiple ERP component measures simultaneously evoked among patients with schizophrenia, and shows greater signs for impaired prediction mechanism. The findings of the study would provide a more ecologically valid evaluation of ERP-based cognitive functioning, and need to be replicated in a larger sample as well as other mental disorders.
Stress-induced myonectin improves glucose homeostasis by inhibiting glycemic response to HPA axis
Authors: Qi Zhengtang , Xia Jie , Xue Xiangli , Liu Jiatong , Zhang Xue , Li Xingtian , Liu Wenbin , Cao Lu , Li Lingxia , Cui Zhiming , Huang Zhuochun , Ji Benlong , Zhang Qiang , Ding Shuzhe , Liu Weina 
Published: November 2019

AbstractInhibiting glycemic response to HPA axis contributes to glycemic control for diabetic patients. Here, mice were subjected to high-fat diet and intermittent chronic stress, and glucose homeostasis and lipolysis were determined during the intervention. Firstly, we found that glucose intolerance appears at the earliest, followed by reduced insulin sensitivity and increased epinephrine (EPI) sensitivity in the early stage of diet-induced obesity. Next we investigated whether chronic stress impairs glycemic control and which mediates its effects. Short-term stress training raises serum and skeletal muscle myonectin (Myn) levels and improves glucose intolerance. Stress attenuates blood glucose and glycerol responses to EPI, but enhances lipolytic response to EPI in adipose tissues. Myn overexpression in vivo improves glucose tolerance and enhances insulin sensitivity at the cost of blunting glycemic responses to EPI. Myn knockdown reduces beneficial effects of stress or exercise on glucose homeostasis. Together, myonectin is a stress-induced myokine that readjusts glycemic and metabolic responses to HPA axis, and thus prevent the progression of glucose intolerance and obesity.Graphical AbstractOne Sentence SummaryChronic stress breaks glucose intolerance cycle to resist diet-induced obesity, through myonectin-mediated inhibition of glycemic response to epinephrine (EPI) and activation of insulin signaling in adipose tissues.HighlightsEPI sensitivity increases after glucose intolerance and with reduced insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obesityChronic stress blunts glycemic responses to EPI and increases myonectin levels in serum and skeletal muscleMyonectin attenuates glycemic response to EPI and improves metabolic profile in HFD-fed miceReducing myonectin reverses beneficial effects of stress on glucose homeostasis
Disrupting HIV-1 capsid formation causes cGAS sensing of viral DNA
Authors: Sumner Rebecca P. , Harrison Lauren , Touizer Emma , Peacock Thomas P. , Spencer Matthew , Zuliani-Alvarez Lorena , Towers Greg J. 
Published: November 2019

SummaryDetection of viral DNA by cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is a first line of defence leading to the production of type-I interferon (IFN). As HIV-1 is not a strong inducer of IFN we have hypothesised that its capsid cloaks viral DNA from cGAS. To test this we generated defective viral particles by treatment with HIV-1 protease inhibitors or by genetic manipulation ofgag. These viruses had defective Gag cleavage, reduced infectivity and diminished capacity to saturate TRIM5α. Importantly, unlike wild-type HIV-1, infection with cleavage defective HIV-1 triggered an IFN response in THP-1 cells and primary human macrophages that was dependent on viral DNA and cGAS. Infection in the presence of the capsid destabilising small molecule PF-74 also induced a cGAS-dependent IFN response. These data demonstrate a protective role for capsid and suggest that antiviral activity of capsid- and protease-targeting antivirals may benefit from enhanced innate and adaptive immunityin vivo.
Expecting social punishment facilitates control over a decision under uncertainty by recruiting medial prefrontal cortex
Authors: Kim Jaejoong , Jeong Bumseok 
Published: November 2019

AbstractIn many decision-making situations, uncertainty facilitates suboptimal choices. However, when individuals are in a socially dangerous situation such that wrong choice would lead to a social punishment such as blame of the supervisor, they might try to minimize suboptimal choices to avoid it. In this functional MRI study, 46 participants performed a choice task in which the probability of a correct choice with a given cue and the conditional probability of blame feedback (by making an incorrect choice) changed continuously. Using computational models of behavior, we found that participants optimized their decision by suppressing the decision noise induced by uncertainty. Simultaneously, expecting blame significantly deteriorated participants’ mood. Model-based fMRI analyses and dynamic causal modeling revealed that the optimization mechanism based on the expectation of being blamed was controlled by a neural circuit centered on right medial prefrontal cortex. These results show novel behavioral and neural mechanisms regarding how humans optimize uncertain decisions under the expectation of being blamed that negatively influences mood.Significance StatementPeople occasionally encounter a situation that forces us to make an optimal decision under uncertainty, which is difficult, and a failure to make a good choice might be blamed by their supervisor. Although it might be hard to make right decision, they make more effort to make a good decision, which might help them to escape from the aversive outcome. However, such kind of stressful situation influences our mood to be negative. Using the computational modelling, we showed that participants computed how it is likely to be blamed and this computation motivated people to control uncertainty-induced decision noise by recruiting a neural circuit centered on the medial prefrontal cortex. However, an expectation of being blamed significantly deteriorated participants’ mood.
Transposon expression in theDrosophilabrain is driven by neighboring genes and diversifies the neural transcriptome
Authors: Treiber Christoph D. , Waddell Scott 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSomatic transposition in neural tissue could contribute to neuropathology and individuality, but its prevalence is debated. We used single-cell mRNA sequencing to map transposon expression in theDrosophilamidbrain. We found that neural transposon expression is driven by cellular genes. Every expressed transposon is resident in at least one cellular gene with a matching expression pattern. A new long-read RNA sequencing approach revealed that coexpression is a physical link in the form of abundant chimeric transposon-gene mRNAs. We identified 148 genes where transposons introduce cryptic splice sites into the nascent transcript and thereby produce many additional mRNAs. Some genes exclusively produce chimeric mRNAs with transposon sequence and on average transposon-gene chimeras account for 20% of the mRNAs produced from a given gene. Transposons therefore significantly expand the neural transcriptome. We propose that chimeric mRNAs produced by splicing into polymorphic transposons may contribute to functional differences between individual cells and animals.
Diverse Species-Specific Phenotypic Consequences of Loss of Function Sorting Nexin 14 Mutations
Authors: Bryant Dale , Seda Marian , Peskett Emma , Maurer Constance , Pomeranz Gideon , Ghosh Marcus , Hawkins Thomas , Cleak James , Datta Sanchari , Hariri Hanaa , Eckert Kaitlyn M. , Jafree Daniyal J. , Walsh Claire , Demetriou Charalambos , Ishida Miho , Alemán-Charlet Cristina , Vestito Letizia , Seselgyte Rimante , McDonald Jeffrey G. , Bitner-Glindzicz Maria , Hemberger Myriam , Rihel Jason , Teboul Lydia , Henne Mike , Jenkins Dagan , Moore Gudrun E. , Stanier Philip 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMutations in the SNX14 gene cause spinocerebellar ataxia, autosomal recessive 20 (SCAR20) in both humans and dogs. SCAR20 is understood to involve subcellular disruption to autophagy and lipid metabolism. Previously reported studies on the phenotypic consequences of SNX14 mutations have been limited to in vitro investigation of patient-derived dermal fibroblasts, laboratory engineered cell lines and developmental analysis of zebrafish morphants. In addition, studies have investigated the biochemical roles of SNX14 homologues Snz (Drosophila) and Mdm1 (yeast) which have demonstrated an important role during lipid biogenesis. This study investigates the impact of constitutive Snx14 mutations in laboratory species: mice and zebrafish. Loss of SNX14 in mice was found to be embryonic lethal around mid-gestation. This is due to placental pathology that involves severe disruption to syncytiotrophoblast cell differentiation. Zebrafish carrying a homozygous, maternal zygotic snx14 genetic loss-of-function mutation contrasts with other vertebrates, being both viable and anatomically normal. Whilst no obvious behavioural effects were observed, elevated levels of neutral lipids and phospholipids resemble previously reported effects on lipid homeostasis in other species. The biochemical role of SNX14 therefore appears largely conserved through evolution while the overall consequences of loss of function varies considerably between species. New mouse and zebrafish models therefore provide valuable insights into the functional importance of SNX14 with distinct opportunities for investigating its cellular and metabolic function in vivo.
The use of high throughput phenotyping for assessment of heat stress-induced changes in Arabidopsis
Authors: Gao Ge , Tester Mark A. , Julkowska Magdalena M. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe worldwide rise in heatwave frequency poses a threat to plant survival and productivity. Determining the new marker phenotypes that show reproducible response to heat stress and contribute to heat stress tolerance is becoming a priority. In this study, we describe a protocol focusing on the daily changes in plant morphology and photosynthetic performance after exposure to heat stress using an automated non-invasive phenotyping system. Heat stress exposure resulted in an acute reduction of quantum yield of photosystem II and increased leaf angle. In the longer term, exposure to heat also affected plant growth and morphology. By tracking the recovery period of WT and mutants impaired in thermotolerance (hsp101), we observed that the difference in maximum quantum yield, quenching, rosette size, and morphology. By examining the correlation across the traits throughout time, we observed that early changes in photochemical quenching corresponded with the rosette size at later stages, which suggests the contribution of quenching to overall heat tolerance. We also determined that 6h of heat stress provides the most informative insight in plant responses to heat, as it shows a clear separation between treated and non-treated plants as well as WT and hsp101. Our work streamlines future discoveries by providing an experimental protocol, data analysis pipeline and new phenotypes that could be used as targets in thermotolerance screenings.
Natural slab photonic crystals in centric diatoms
Authors: Goessling Johannes W. , Wardley William P. , Garcia Martin Lopez 
Published: November 2019

AbstractNatural photonic crystals can serve in mating strategies or as aposematism for animals, but they also exist in some photosynthetic organisms, with potential implications for their light regulation. Some of the most abundant microalgae, named diatoms, evolved a silicate exoskeleton, the frustule, perforated with ordered pores resembling photonic crystals. Here we present the first combined experimental and theoretical characterization of the photonic properties of the diatom girdle, i.e. one of two structures assembling the frustule. We show that the girdle of the centric diatom Coscinodiscus granii is a well-defined slab photonic crystal, causing, under more natural conditions when immersed in water, a pseudogap for modes in the near infrared. The pseudogap disperses towards the visible spectral range when light incides at larger angles. The girdle crystal structure facilitates in-plane propagation for modes in the green spectral range. We demonstrate that the period of the unit cell is one of the most critical factors for causing these properties. The period is shown to be similar within individuals of a long-term cultivated inbred line and between 4 different C. granii cell culture strains. In contrast, the pore diameter had negligible effects upon the photonic properties. We hence propose that critical parameters defining the photonic response of the girdle are highly preserved. Other centric diatom species, i.e. Thalasiosira pseudonana, C. radiatus and C. wailesii, present similar unit cell morphologies with various periods in their girdles. We speculate that evolution has preserved the photonic crystal character of the centric girdle, indicating an important biological functionality for this clade of diatoms.
Cytochromecas a facultative enzyme – lipoperoxidase and it’s inhibition by antioxidants
Authors: Romodin L. A. , Vladimirov Y. A. , Lysenko N. P. , Chernetsov V. B. , Antonova Y. V. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMany researchers consider a key role in initiation of apoptosis along the mitochondrial pathway to be enhanced by cytochrome c, one of the components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which acquires peroxidase activity by forming a complex with phospholipids. Mitochondrial membranes are destroyed affected by the peroxidase reaction catalyzed by this supramolecular nanoparticle, resulting in the release of various proapoptotic factors into the cellular cytoplasm, ultimately leading to the development of an apoptosis pathway. The study of lipoperoxidase activity of the cytochrome c with cardiolipin complex is conducted via activated chemiluminescence. However, prior to this study, no assessment of the potential contribution of free non-heme iron, which can be inserted into the sample, into chemiluminescence of the system of cytochrome c complex with cardiolipin– hydrogen peroxide. It was found during the study process, that chemiluminescence of this system is indeed generated by the activity of the cytochrome c with cardiolipin complex, and the method of activated chemiluminescence is actually suitable for its study. The effect of trolox and dihydroquercetin (taxifolin) as synthetic and natural antioxidants on lipoperoxidase activity of the cytochrome c with cardiolipin complex was as well assessed via application of chemiluminescence activator specific for lipid peroxidation reactions – coumarin-334. A complete inhibition of lipoperoxidase activity for a few minutes with its subsequent full development under the trolox response and its dose-dependent uniform decrease under dihydroquercetin effect was obtained. These findings are promising for the future studies on inhibition of lipoperoxidase activity of this nanoparticle by antioxidants in order to inhibit the inappropriate apoptosis. Peroxidase activity of intact mitochondria in the comparative application of two chemiluminescence activators: coumarin-334 and coumarin-525, was also featured.Significance of the studyThis study proves that the method of activated chemiluminescence is adequate to study the processes occurring in the early stages of apoptosis. Inhibition of lipoperoxidase activity of the cytochrome c with cardiolipin complex by antioxidants was demonstrated. These findings prove that studies on the effect of antioxidants on this supramolecular nanoparticle will eventually lead to discovery of the news means to prevent and treat diseases caused by apoptosis: myocardial infarction, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, etc.
Always negotiate, sometimes cooperate: an agent-based model
Authors: Mozahem Najib Ali 
Published: November 2019

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use agent-based modeling to simulate the negotiation and cooperation between agents working on tasks in an organization and to study the effects that gender differences might have on the outcome of the process.Design/methodology/approachThe model used herein allows for idiosyncratic differences in terms of the propensity to negotiate/cooperate. The model also allows for multi-round negotiations/cooperation and incorporates subjective value into the negotiation process. The model is implemented in NetLogo.FindingsThe results clearly show that it is always beneficial to negotiate, even when backlash might result from the request. The study then extends this analysis by allowing for gender differences in both negotiation and cooperation. The results provide strong support for the hypothesis that agentic characteristics are beneficial for negotiators, while communal characteristics can be detrimental.Research limitations/implicationsLike all models, the model used herein made some simplifying assumptions about the negotiation and cooperation processes. In addition, the utilized model assumes that agents work individually on tasks and that negotiation takes place between two individual agents, even though negotiation can be a team-based endeavor in many cases.Practical implicationsThe results of this study indicate that individuals need to adopt characteristics that are more agentic; this finding is particularly true for females who aim to be on a level playing field with their male counterparts. The results also indicate that negotiation is beneficial whether there is an abundance of resources or not, while cooperation is only beneficial when resources are abundant.Originality/valueWhile past negotiation research has used simple choice games, laboratory studies and field studies, this study provides computational support for the hypothesis that higher levels of negotiation are beneficial to individuals. Additionally, unlike recent agent-based studies that have studied negotiation as a taken-for-granted automated computational process that is done by software on behalf of individuals, the present study simulates agents that have yet to decide whether they will engage in negotiation or not.
How to fight public corruption? Capturing evidence from a fixed effects model for Western European countries
Authors: Manna Rosalba , Palumbo Rocco 
Published: November 2019

PurposeCorruption is a wicked issue affecting public sector organizations across the world. Even though research in this field is blooming, little is known about the strategies that could be implemented to prevent and/or fight the occurrence of public corruption. The purpose of this paper is to fill the extant gaps in the scientific knowledge, providing insights into the strategies that can be use to fight public corruption.Design/methodology/approachUsing a longitudinal approach, the paper points out some evidence on the perceived effectiveness of different public governance initiatives in reducing the risks of public corruption in Europe. More specifically, 31 Western European countries were involved in this analysis. The research covered a seven years’ time-span, ranging from January 2010 to December 2016.FindingsRule of law (RL) was found to be an important ingredient of the recipe for successful anti-corruption policies. Conversely, political stability (PS) turned out to entail greater incentives to public corruption. Whilst voice and accountability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality and control of corruption were correlates of perceived anti-corruption performance, they were not found to act as relevant regressors in the panel model.Research limitations/implicationsThe generalizability of the research results is limited by the geographical boundaries of this study; besides, there is the risk that the study findings were affected by the consequences of the recent financial turbulences concerning Western European countries.Practical implicationsRL is momentous to realize the full potential of anti-corruption policies: in fact, it contributes in reducing the incentives to improperly use public assets, enhancing the proper functioning of public sector organizations. Alternatively, PS may induce public officials and citizens to collude in order to capture public resources.Originality/valueThe paper contributes in shedding light on the perceived effectiveness of anti-corruption initiatives, paving the way for further conceptual and practical developments.