bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Do Coalition Governments with Populist Parties Attempt to Rationalise Law-Making in Parliaments? Evidence from the Czech Chamber of Deputies
Authors: Zbíral Robert 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Populism might be a threat to parliamentary democracy but does not automatically signal its demise. First, not all populist parties seek illiberal goals. Second, in Europe most populist parties entering governments have done so as coalitions with mainstream parties. Yet, almost all populists, including the non-extremist and ‘integrated’ ones, call for more efficient governance. We assume that once in the executive, that objective will also manifest itself in the rationalisation of law-making in legislatures. By applying a more assertive strategy and exploiting existing rules, cabinets will attempt to streamline their legislative agendas. We test this theoretical framework on empirical evidence from the Czech Chamber of Deputies, which can serve as prototypical case. Since 2010, three coalition governments have ruled. In the last two, the influence of populist parties (represented by ANO under the leadership of Andrej Babiš) gradually increased. By tracking the legislative performance of cabinets in the Chamber, we found that executives with a populist presence actually fared worse than their non-populist predecessor (baseline) in almost all proceedings and outcomes of law-making. The bills submitted by the last government, where ANO dominated, even suffered the most. Contrary to our assumption, a strategy of rationalisation has therefore not succeeded. The findings open interesting questions about how effective cabinets with populists are in law-making in parliaments, and about the future of legislatures as resilient safeguards against the populist challenge.
Tomato roots secrete tomatine to modulate the bacterial assemblage of the rhizosphere
Authors: Nakayasu Masaru , Ohno Kohei , Takamatsu Kyoko , Aoki Yuichi , Yamazaki Shinichi , Takase Hisabumi , Shoji Tsubasa , Yazaki Kazufumi , Sugiyama Akifumi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSaponins are the group of plant specialized metabolites which are widely distributed in angiosperm plants and have various biological activities. The present study focused on α-tomatine, a major saponin present in tissues of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants. α-Tomatine is responsible for defense against plant pathogens and herbivores, but its biological function in the rhizosphere remains unknown. Secretion of tomatine was higher at the early growth than the green-fruit stage in hydroponically grown plants, and the concentration of tomatine in the rhizosphere of field-grown plants was higher than that of the bulk soil at all growth stages. The effects of tomatine and its aglycone tomatidine on the bacterial communities in the soil were evaluated in vitro, revealing that both compounds influenced the microbiome in a concentration-dependent manner. Numerous bacterial families were influenced in tomatine/tomatidine-treated soil as well as in the tomato rhizosphere. Sphingomonadaceae species, which are commonly observed and enriched in tomato rhizospheres in the fields, were also enriched in tomatine- and tomatidine-treated soils. Moreover, a jasmonate-responsive ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR 4 mutant associated with low tomatine production caused the root-associated bacterial communities to change with a reduced abundance of Sphingomonadaceae. Taken together, our results highlight the role of tomatine in shaping the bacterial communities of the rhizosphere and suggest additional functions of tomatine in belowground biological communication.
Definable Regularity Lemmas for Nip Hypergraphs
Authors: Chernikov Artem , Starchenko Sergei 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWe present a systematic study of the regularity phenomena for NIP hypergraphs and connections to the theory of (locally) generically stable measures, providing a model-theoretic hypergraph version of the results of Alon-Fischer-Newman and Lov\'asz-Szegedy for graphs of bounded VC-dimension. We also consider the two extremal cases of regularity for stable and distal hypergraphs, improving and generalizing the corresponding results for graphs in the literature. Finally, we consider a related question of the existence of large (approximately) homogeneous definable subsets of NIP hypergraphs and provide some positive results and counterexamples, in particular for graphs definable in the p-adics.
The ‘Guinea Pigs’ of Tristan da Cunha and the Ethics of Medical Research in Britain and the Empire, 1961–1973
Authors: Maternowski Christopher L 
Published: February 2021

Summary
This article relates the history and explores the ethical issues that gathered around the decade of studies that researchers collaborating with the Medical Research Council (MRC) undertook on the islanders from Tristan da Cunha. In 1961, the volcanic island in the southern Atlantic erupted and the community took refuge in Britain. Believing that the islanders held the secret to good health, the MRC coordinated a research programme through a specially formed Working Party. But as the investigations grew more numerous, so too did the ethical questions. Some doctors, administrators, reporters and the public wondered about the propriety of exposing this community to medical scrutiny. In 1963, the islanders returned home. Investigators, along with ethical issues, followed. Long hidden, these persistent discussions made visible the ethics of medical research on a colonial population. The Working Party’s story thus inserts an imperial dimension into the historiography of post-war British medical ethics.
Leaf water relations reflect canopy phenology rather than leaf life span in Sonoran Desert trees
Authors: González-Rebeles Georgina , Terrazas Teresa , Méndez-Alonzo Rodrigo , Paz Horacio , Brodribb Tim J , Tinoco-Ojanguren Clara 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Plants from arid environments display covarying traits to survive or resist drought. Plant drought resistance and ability to survive long periods of low soil water availability should involve leaf phenology coordination with leaf and stem functional traits related to water status. This study tested correlations between phenology and functional traits involved in plant water status regulation in 10 Sonoran Desert tree species with contrasting phenology. Species seasonal variation in plant water status was defined by calculating their relative positions along the iso/anisohydric regulation continuum based on their hydroscape areas (HA)—a metric derived from the relationship between predawn and midday water potentials—and stomatal and hydraulic traits. Additionally, functional traits associated with plant water status regulation, including lamina vessel hydraulic diameter (DHL), stem-specific density (SSD) and leaf mass per area (LMA) were quantified per species. To characterize leaf phenology, leaf longevity (LL) and canopy foliage duration (FD) were determined. Hydroscape area was strongly correlated with FD but not with leaf longevity (LL); HA was significantly associated with SSD and leaf hydraulic traits (DHL, LMA) but not with stem hydraulic traits (vulnerability index, relative conductivity); and FD was strongly correlated with LMA and SSD. Leaf physiological characteristics affected leaf phenology when it was described as canopy FD better than when described as LL. Stem and leaf structure and hydraulic functions were not only relevant for categorizing species along the iso/anisohydric continuum but also allowed identifying different strategies of desert trees within the ‘fast–slow’ plant economics spectrum. The results in this study pinpoint the set of evolutionary pressures that shape the Sonoran Desert Scrub physiognomy.
Seasonal changes in carbohydrates and water content predict dynamics of frost hardiness in various temperate tree species
Authors: Baffoin Romain , Charrier Guillaume , Bouchardon Anne-Emilie , Bonhomme Marc , Améglio Thierry , Lacointe André 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Predicting tree frost tolerance is critical to select adapted species according to both the current and predicted future climate. The relative change in water to carbohydrate ratio is a relevant trait to predict frost acclimation in branches from many tree species. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the interspecific genericity of this approach across nine tree species. In the studied angiosperm species, frost hardiness dynamics were best correlated to a decrease in water content at the early stage of acclimation (summer and early autumn). Subsequently, frost hardiness dynamics were more tightly correlated to soluble carbohydrate contents until spring growth resumption. Based on different model formalisms, we predicted frost hardiness at different clade levels (angiosperms, family, genus and species) with high to moderate accuracy (1.5–6.0 °C root mean squared error (RMSE)) and robustness (2.8–6.1 °C prediction RMSE). The TOT model, taking all soluble carbohydrate and polyols into account, was more effective and adapted for large scale studies aiming to explore frost hardiness across a wide range of species. The ISC model taking the individual contribution of each soluble carbohydrate molecule into account was more efficient at finer scale such as family or species. The ISC model performance also suggests that the role of solutes cannot be reduced to a ‘bulk’ osmotic effect as could be computed if all of them were located in a single, common, compartment. This study provides sets of parameters to predict frost hardiness in a wide range of species, and clues for targeting specific carbohydrate molecules to improve frost hardiness.
Hexosylceramides and glycerophosphatidylcholine GPC(36:1) increase in Multi-Organ Dysfunction Syndrome patients with Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Admission over 8-day hospitalization
Authors: Leimanis-Laurens Mara L. , Wolfrum Emily , Ferguson Karen , Grunwell Jocelyn R. , Sanfilippo Dominic , Prokop Jeremy W , Lydic Todd A. , Rajasekaran Surender 
Published: February 2021

AbstractGlycero- and sphingo-lipids are important in plasma membrane structure, caloric storage and signaling. An un-targeted lipidomics approach for a cohort of critically ill pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients, undergoing multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) was compared to sedation controls. After IRB approval, patients meeting criteria for MODS were screened, consented (n=24), and blood samples were collected from the PICU at HDVCH, Michigan; eight patients needed veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO). Sedation controls were presenting for routine sedation (n=4). Plasma lipid profiles were determined by nano-electrospray (nESI) direct infusion high resolution/accurate mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Biostatistics analysis was performed using R v 3.6.0. 61 patient samples over 3 time points revealed a ceramide metabolite, hexosylceramide (Hex-Cer) was high across all time points (mean 1.63% - 3.19%; vs. controls 0.22%). Fourteen species statistically differentiated from sedation controls (P-value ≤0.05); sphingomyelin (SM) [SM(d18:1/23:0), SM(d18:1/22:0), SM(d18:1/23:1), SM(d18:1/21:0), SM(d18:1/24:0)]; and glycerophosphotidylcholine (GPC) [GPC(36:01), GPC(18:00), GPC(O:34:02), GPC(18:02), GPC(38:05), GPC(O:34:03), GPC(16:00), GPC(40:05), GPC(O:36:03)]. Hex-Cer has been shown to be involved in viral infection and may be at play during acute illness. GPC(36:01) was elevated in all MODS patients at all time points and is associated with inflammation and brain injury.
A disproportionate epidemic: COVID-19 cases and deaths among essential workers in Toronto, Canada
Authors: Rao Amrita , Ma Huiting , Moloney Gary , Kwong Jeffrey C , Jüni Peter , Sander Beate , Kustra Rafal , Baral Stefan D , Mishra Sharmistha 
Published: February 2021

AbstractShelter-in-place mandates and closure of non-essential businesses have been central to COVID-19 response strategies including in Toronto, Canada. Approximately half of the working population in Canada are employed in occupations that do not allow for remote work suggesting potentially limited impact of some of the strategies proposed to mitigate COVID-19 acquisition and onward transmission risks and associated morbidity and mortality. We compared per-capita rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths from January 23, 2020 to January 24, 2021, across neighborhoods in Toronto by proportion of the population working in essential services. We used person-level data on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 community cases (N=74,477) and deaths (N=2319), and census data for neighborhood-level attributes. Cumulative per-capita rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths were 3-fold and 2.5-fold higher, respectively, in neighborhoods with the highest versus lowest concentration of essential workers. Findings suggest that the population who continued to serve the essential needs of society throughout COVID-19 shouldered a disproportionate burden of transmission and deaths. Taken together, results signal the need for active intervention strategies to complement restrictive measures to optimize both the equity and effectiveness of COVID-19 responses.
Similar neural and perceptual masking effects of low-power optogenetic stimulation in primate V1
Authors: Chen Spencer , Benvenuti Giacomo , Chen Yuzhi , Kumar Satwant , Ramakrishnan Charu , Deisseroth Karl , Geisler Wilson S. , Seidemann Eyal 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCan direct stimulation of primate V1 substitute for a visual stimulus and mimic its perceptual effect? To address this question, we developed an optical-genetic toolkit to “read” neural population responses using widefield calcium imaging, while simultaneously using optogenetics to “write” neural responses into V1 of behaving macaques. We focused on the phenomenon of visual masking, where detection of a dim target is significantly reduced by a co-localized medium-brightness pedestal. Using our toolkit, we tested whether V1 optogenetic stimulation can recapitulate the perceptual masking effect of a visual pedestal. We find that, similar to a visual pedestal, low-power optostimulation can significantly reduce visual detection sensitivity, that a sublinear interaction between visual and optogenetic evoked V1 responses could account for this perceptual effect, and that these neural and behavioral effects are spatially selective. Our toolkit and results open the door for further exploration of perceptual substitutions by direct stimulation of sensory cortex.
Affinity requirements for control of synaptic targeting and neuronal cell survival by heterophilic IgSF cell adhesion molecules
Authors: Xu Shuwa , Sergeeva Alina P , Katsamba Phinikoula S. , Mannepalli Seetha , Bahna Fabiana , Bimela Jude , Zipursky S. L , Shapiro Lawrence , Honig Barry , Zinn Kai 
Published: February 2021

SUMMARYNeurons in the developing brain express many different cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) on their surfaces, and CAM interactions are essential for the determination of synaptic connectivity patterns. CAM binding affinities can vary by more than 200-fold, but the significance of affinity differences among CAMs is unknown. Here we provide a systematic characterization of thein vivoconsequences of altering CAM affinity. Interactions between DIP-α and its binding partners Dpr6 and Dpr10 control synaptic targeting and cell survival forDrosophilaoptic lobe neurons. We generated mutations that change DIP-α::Dpr10 binding affinity and introduced these into the endogenous loci. We show that cell survival and synaptic targeting have different affinity requirements, and that there is a threshold affinity required for targeting. Reducing affinity causes graded loss-of-function phenotypes, while increasing affinity rescues cells that would normally die. Affinity reduction can be compensated for by increasing gene copy number.
MK-801-induced behavioral and dopaminergic responses in the shell part of the nucleus accumbens in adult rats are disrupted after neonatal blockade of the ventral subiculum
Authors: Saoud Hana , Kereselidze Elora , Eybrard Séverine , Louilot Alain 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe present study was conducted in the context of animal modeling of schizophrenia. It investigated in adult rats, after transient neonatal blockade of the ventral subiculum (VSub), the impact of a very specific non-competitive antagonist of NMDA receptors (MK-801) on locomotor activity and dopaminergic (DAergic) responses in the dorsomedialshellpart of the nucleus accumbens (Nacc), a striatal subregion described as the common target region for antipsychotics.The functional neonatal inactivation of the VSub was achieved by local microinjection of tetrodotoxin (TTX) at postnatal day 8 (PND8). Control pups were microinjected with the solvent phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Locomotor responses and DAergic variations in the dorsomedialshellpart of the Nacc were measured simultaneously usingin vivovoltammetry in awake, freely moving animals after sc administration of MK-801. The following results were obtained: 1) a dose-dependent increase in locomotor activity in PBS and TTX animals, greater in TTX rats/PBS rats; and 2) divergent DAergic responses for PBS and TTX animals. A decrease in DA levels with a return to around basal values was observed in PBS animals. An increase in DA levels was obtained in TTX animals. The present data suggest that neonatal blockade of the VSub results in disruption in NMDA glutamatergic transmission, causing a disturbance in DA release in the dorsomedialshellin adults rats. In the context of animal modeling of schizophrenia using the same approach it would be interesting to investigate possible changes in postsynaptic NMDA receptors-related proteins in the dorsomedialshellregion in the Nacc.
Regulation of ribosomal protein synthesis in mycobacteria: autogenous control ofrpsO
Authors: Aseev Leonid V , Koledinskaya Ludmila S , Bychenko Oksana S , Boni Irina V 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACTAutogenous regulation of ribosomal protein (r-protein) synthesis plays a key role in maintaining the stoichiometry of ribosomal components in bacteria. Our main goal was to develop techniques for investigating the r-protein synthesis regulation in mycobacteria, Gram-positive organisms with a high GC-content, which has never been addressed. We started with therpsOgene known to be autoregulated by its product, r-protein S15, in a broad range of bacterial species. To study the in vivo regulation ofrpsOfromMycobacterium smegmatis(Msm), we first applied an approach based on chromosomally integratedMsm rpsO’-’lacZreporters by usingE. colias a surrogate host. The β-galactosidase assay has shown that mycobacterialrpsOexpression is feedback regulated at the translation level in the presence ofMsmS15 in trans, like inE. coli. Next, to overcome difficulties caused by the inefficiency of mycobacterial gene expression inE. coli, we created a fluorescent reporter system based onM. smegmatis. To this end, the integrative shuttle plasmid pMV306 was modified to provide insertion of theMsmorMtb(M. tuberculosis)rpsO-egfpreporters into theMsmchromosome, and a novelE. coli-mycobacteria replicative shuttle vector, pAMYC, a derivative of pACYC184, was built. Analysis of the eGFP expression in the presence of the pAMYC derivative expressingMsm rpsO vsan empty vector confirms the autogenous regulation of therpsOgene in mycobacteria. Additionally, we have revealed that the mycobacterialrpsOcore promoters are rather weak and require upstream activating elements to enhance their strength.IMPORTANCEBacterial ribosomes are targets for a majority of as-yet reported antibiotics, hence ribosome biogenesis and its regulation are central for development of new antimicrobials. One of the key mechanisms regulating ribosome biogenesis in bacteria is the autogenous control of r-protein synthesis, which has been so far explored forE. coliandBacillus spp. but not yet for mycobacteria. Here, we describe experimental approaches for in vivo analysis of mechanisms regulating r-protein synthesis in mycobacteria, includingM. tuberculosis, and show, for the first time, that the autogenous control at the translation level is really functioning in these microorganisms. The developed system paves the way for studying various regulatory circuits involving proteins or sRNAs as mRNA- targetingtrans-regulators in mycobacteria as well as in other actinobacterial species.
Tax induces the recruitment of NF-kB to unintegrated HIV-1 DNA to rescue viral gene expression and replication
Authors: Irwan Ishak D. , Cullen Bryan R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWe have previously reported that the normally essential step of integration of the HIV-1 proviral DNA intermediate into the host cell genome becomes dispensable in T cells that express the Human T cell leukemia virus 1 (HTLV-1) Tax protein. The rescue of integrase (IN) deficient HIV-1 replication by Tax results from the strong activation of transcription from the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter on episomal HIV-1 DNA, an effect that is closely correlated with the recruitment of activating epigenetic marks, such as H3Ac, and depletion of repressive epigenetic marks, such as H3K9me3, from chromatinized unintegrated proviruses. In addition, activation of transcription from unintegrated HIV-1 DNA coincides with the recruitment of NF-kB to the two NF-kB binding sites found in the HIV-1 LTR enhancer. Here we report that the recruitment of NF-kB to unintegrated viral DNA precedes, and is a prerequisite for, Tax-induced changes in epigenetic marks, so that an IN-HIV-1 mutant lacking both LTR NF-kB sites is entirely non-responsive to Tax and fails to undergo the epigenetic changes listed above. We also report that heterologous promoters introduced into IN-HIV-1-based vectors are transcriptionally active even in the absence of Tax. Finally, we failed to reproduce a recent report arguing that heterologous promoters introduced into IN-vectors based on HIV-1 are more active if the HIV-1 promoter and enhancer, located in the LTR U3 region, are deleted, in a so-called self inactivating or SIN lentivector design.ImportanceIntegrase-deficient expression vectors based on HIV-1 are becoming increasingly popular as tools for gene therapyin vivodue to their inability to cause insertional mutagenesis. However, many IN-lentiviral vectors are able to achieve only low levels of gene expression and methods to increase this low level have not been extensively explored. Here we analyze how the HTLV-1 Tax protein is able to rescue the replication of IN-HIV-1 in T cells and describe IN-lentiviral vectors that are able to express a heterologous gene effectively.
A transient postnatal quiescent period precedes emergence of mature cortical dynamics
Authors: Domínguez Soledad , Ma Liang , Yu Han , Pouchelon Gabrielle , Mayer Christian , Spyropoulos George D. , Cea Claudia , Buzsáki György , Fishell Gord , Khodagholy Dion , Gelinas Jennifer N. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMature neural networks synchronize and integrate spatiotemporal activity patterns to support cognition. Emergence of these activity patterns and functions is believed to be developmentally regulated, but the postnatal time course for neural networks to perform complex computations remains unknown. We investigate the progression of large-scale synaptic and cellular activity patterns across development using high spatiotemporal resolutionin vivoelectrophysiology in immature mice. We reveal that mature cortical processes emerge rapidly and simultaneously after a discrete but volatile transition period at the beginning of the second postnatal week of rodent development. The transition is characterized by relative neural quiescence, after which spatially distributed, temporally precise, and internally organized activity occurs. We demonstrate a similar developmental trajectory in humans, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to transition network operation. We hypothesize that this transient quiescent period is a requisite for the subsequent emergence of coordinated cortical networks.