bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“My Favorite One Is the One Who Is There Right Now”: Socioeconomic Differences in Support Exchanges within Stepfamilies
Authors: Amorim Mariana 
Published: September 2021

AbstractFamily scholars have raised concerns that the reshaping of American families over the last decades might have changed kin support networks and resource sharing within families. Much of this concern stems from documented socioeconomic inequalities in exposure to divorce and separation, formation of new marital or cohabiting unions, and multiple-partner fertility. There is a dearth of research, however, on whether and how the experience of different family structures is shaped by socioeconomic status. This study draws on in-depth interviews with 47 older stepparents in order to investigate exchanges of support with biological and stepchildren in different socioeconomic contexts. Results suggest that scarcity of resources among socioeconomically disadvantaged stepparents and the instability of their (and their children’s) social and economic environments promote a specific type of supportive tie—contingent ties. This study shows that ambiguity and contingency in the establishment of supportive relationships with children may represent an adaptive, healthy, and reasonable strategy among older stepparents with scarce resources.
How to Render Species Comparable Taxonomic Units Through Deep Time: A Case Study on Intraspecific Osteological Variability in Extant and Extinct Lacertid Lizards
Authors: Tschopp Emanuel , Napoli James G , Wencker Lukardis C M , Delfino Massimo , Upchurch Paul 
Published: September 2021

AbstractGenerally, the species is considered to be the only naturally occurring taxon. However, species recognized and defined using different species delimitation criteria cannot readily be compared, impacting studies of biodiversity through Deep Time. This comparability issue is particularly marked when comparing extant with extinct species because the only available data for species delimitation in fossils are derived from their preserved morphology, which is generally restricted to osteology in vertebrates. Here, we quantify intraspecific, intrageneric, and intergeneric osteological variability in extant species of lacertid lizards using pairwise dissimilarity scores based on a data set of 253 discrete osteological characters for 99 specimens referred to 24 species. Variability is always significantly lower intraspecifically than between individuals belonging to distinct species of a single genus, which is in turn significantly lower than intergeneric variability. Average values of intraspecific variability and associated standard deviations are consistent (with few exceptions), with an overall average within a species of 0.208 changes per character scored. Application of the same methods to six extinct lacertid species (represented by 40 fossil specimens) revealed that intraspecific osteological variability is inconsistent, which can at least in part be attributed to different researchers having unequal expectations of the skeletal dissimilarity within species units. Such a divergent interpretation of intraspecific and interspecific variability among extant and extinct species reinforces the incomparability of the species unit. Lacertidae is an example where extant species recognized and defined based on a number of delimitation criteria show comparable and consistent intraspecific osteological variability. Here, as well as in equivalent cases, application of those skeletal dissimilarity values to paleontological species delimitation potentially provides a way to ameliorate inconsistencies created by the use of morphology to define species. [Intraspecific variation; Lacertidae; morphological disparity; osteology; species delimitation; taxonomic bias.]
Maximum Parsimony Inference of Phylogenetic Networks in the Presence of Polyploid Complexes
Authors: Yan Zhi , Cao Zhen , Liu Yushu , Ogilvie Huw A , Nakhleh Luay 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Phylogenetic networks provide a powerful framework for modeling and analyzing reticulate evolutionary histories. While polyploidy has been shown to be prevalent not only in plants but also in other groups of eukaryotic species, most work done thus far on phylogenetic network inference assumes diploid hybridization. These inference methods have been applied, with varying degrees of success, to data sets with polyploid species, even though polyploidy violates the mathematical assumptions underlying these methods. Statistical methods were developed recently for handling specific types of polyploids and so were parsimony methods that could handle polyploidy more generally yet while excluding processes such as incomplete lineage sorting. In this article, we introduce a new method for inferring most parsimonious phylogenetic networks on data that include polyploid species. Taking gene tree topologies as input, the method seeks a phylogenetic network that minimizes deep coalescences while accounting for polyploidy. We demonstrate the performance of the method on both simulated and biological data. The inference method as well as a method for evaluating evolutionary hypotheses in the form of phylogenetic networks are implemented and publicly available in the PhyloNet software package. [Incomplete lineage sorting; minimizing deep coalescences; multilabeled trees; multispecies network coalescent; phylogenetic networks; polyploidy.]
Air Pollution as a Determinant of Undernutrition Prevalence among Under-Five Children in India: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Bora Kaustubh 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

Aim
The association of air pollution with prevalence of undernutrition indices (namely, anaemia, stunting, wasting and underweight) among under-five children in India was investigated.

Methods
Estimates of population weighted annual average gridded PM2.5 concentrations and proportion of households using solid cooking fuel (HSCF usage percent) during 2017 in India, reflecting the magnitude of ambient and household air pollution respectively, were extracted in a state-wise manner from India State Level Disease Burden Initiative (ISLDBI) reports. Their relationships with the corresponding prevalence of anaemia, underweight, wasting and stunting in under-five children were analysed.

Results
The state-level PM2.5 concentrations (mean: 65.5 µg/m3; median: 49.2 µg/m3; range: 17.3–209.0 µg/m3) correlated significantly (P &lt; 0.01) with anaemia (r = 0.65), stunting (r = 0.58) and underweight (r = 0.50) prevalence; while HSCF usage (mean: 49.3%; median: 46.0%; range: 1.9–81.5%) correlated significantly (P &lt; 0.01) with stunting (r = 0.69) and underweight (r = 0.58) prevalence. When examined across median cut-offs and after adjusting for socio-demographic index, the association of anaemia prevalence with PM2.5 concentrations persisted. This association was maintained even after controlling for the coverage of anaemia-specific interventions (namely, iron supplements and deworming medications). The mean difference in PM2.5 concentrations between the high and low PM2.5 states was 58.6 µg/m3, which accounted for 11.8% higher anaemia prevalence in the former as compared to the latter.

Conclusion
The burden of childhood undernutrition, particularly anaemia, in India may be linked to PM2.5 levels. To mitigate this burden, it may be necessary to complement the ongoing nutritional interventions with air pollution control measures.
The Potential Biocontrol Agent Paenibacillus polymyxa TP3 Produces Fusaricidin-Type Compounds Involved in the Antagonism Against Gray Mold Pathogen Botrytis cinerea
Authors: Tsai Shuen-Huang , Chen Yu-Ting , Yang Yu-Liang , Lee Bo-Yi , Huang Chien-Jui , Chen Chao-Ying 
Published: September 2021

Paenibacillus polymyxa is a beneficial bacterium for plant health. P. polymyxa TP3 exhibits antagonistic activity toward Botrytis cinerea and alleviates gray mold symptoms on the leaves of strawberry plants. Moreover, suppression of gray mold on the flowers and fruits of strawberry plants in field trials, including vegetative cells and endospores, was demonstrated, indicating the potential of strain TP3 as a biological control agent. To examine the anti-B. cinerea compounds produced by P. polymyxa TP3, we performed matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry, and fusaricidin-corresponding mass spectra were detected. Moreover, fusaricidin-related signals appeared in imaging mass spectrometry of TP3 when confronted with B. cinerea. By using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-based molecular networking approach, we identified several fusaricidins including a new variant of mass/charge ratio 917.5455 with serine in the first position of the hexapeptide. Via advanced mass spectrometry and network analysis, fusaricidin-type compounds produced by P. polymyxa TP3 were efficiently disclosed and were presumed to play roles in the antagonism against gray mold pathogen B. cinerea.
Normalizing Service Learning in Medical Education to Sustain Medical Student-Led Initiatives
Authors: Nguemeni Tiako Max Jordan , Johnson Shawn F. , Nkinsi Naomi Tweyo , Landry Adaira 
Published: September 2021

Medical students demonstrate their passion for participating in and improving health care both within and outside the classroom. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, medical students in the United States engaged in student-led service-learning initiatives to contribute to medicine and their local communities, including collecting and distributing personal protective equipment, creating and translating pandemic-related educational materials, and providing childcare for frontline workers. Their impact was recognized and appreciated.
Service learning is an education method that incorporates community outreach with didactic coursework and student reflection. In this commentary, the authors argue for including service learning as a required component in the medical school curriculum to provide students with the tools and support to be advocates and leaders within society, as no such curriculum currently exists. The authors also discuss the history of medical student-led service-learning efforts through to the present day, barriers to implementing and sustaining student-led service-learning initiatives, and solutions to prepare students for service-learning initiatives.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence host infection during epidemics in a wild plant pathosystem
Authors: Eck Jenalle L. , Kytöviita Minna-Maarit , Laine Anna-Liisa 
Published: September 2021

SummaryWhile pathogenic and mutualistic microbes are ubiquitous across ecosystems and often co-occur within hosts, how they interact to determine patterns of disease in genetically diverse wild populations is unknown.To test whether microbial mutualists provide protection against pathogens, and whether this varies among host genotypes, we conducted a field experiment in three naturally-occurring epidemics of a fungal pathogen,Podosphaera plantaginis, infecting a host plant,Plantago lanceolata, in the Åland Islands, Finland. In each population, we collected epidemiological data on experimental plants from six allopatric populations that had been inoculated with a mixture of mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi or a non-mycorrhizal control.Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased growth in plants from every population, but also increased host infection rate. Mycorrhizal effects on disease severity varied among host genotypes and strengthened over time during the epidemic. Host genotypes that were more susceptible to the pathogen received stronger protective effects from inoculation.Our results show that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi introduce both benefits and risks to host plants, and shift patterns of infection in host populations under pathogen attack. Understanding how mutualists alter host susceptibility to disease will be important for predicting infection outcomes in ecological communities and in agriculture.Plain Language SummaryBeneficial, ‘mycorrhizal’ fungi in roots help plants grow and may protect them from diseases caused by pathogenic microbes. This study shows that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can influence patterns of plant disease during pathogen outbreaks in a natural landscape.
Identification of novel chemical scaffolds that inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in macrophages
Authors: Ahmed Sara , Manning Alyssa , Flint Lindsay , Awasthi Divya , Parish Tanya 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMycobacterium tuberculosis is an important global pathogen for which new drugs are urgently required. The ability of the organism to survive and multiply within macrophages may contribute to the lengthy treatment regimen with multiple drugs that are required to cure the infection. We screened the MyriaScreen II diversity library of 10,000 compounds to identify novel inhibitors of M. tuberculosis growth within macrophage-like cells using high content analysis. Hits were selected which inhibited the intramacrophage growth of M. tuberculosis without significant cytotoxicity to infected macrophages. We selected and prioritized compound series based on their biological and physicochemical properties and the novelty of the chemotypes. We identified five chemical classes of interest and conducted limited catalog structure-activity relationship studies to determine their tractability. We tested activity against intracellular and extracellular M. tuberculosis, as well as cytoxicity against murine RAW264.7 and human HepG2 cells. Benzene amide ethers, thiophene carboxamides and thienopyridines were only active against intracellular bacteria, whereas the phenylthiourea series was also active against extracellular bacteria. One member of a phenyl pyrazole series was moderately active against extracellular bacteria. We identified the benzene amide ethers as an interesting series for further work. These new compound classes serve as starting points for the development of novel drugs to target intracellular M. tuberculosis.
Assessing the role of fungal diversity in decomposition: A meta-analysis
Authors: Drost Sytske M. , van der Wal Annemieke , de Boer Wietse , Bodelier Paul. L.E. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractFungi play an important role in carbon - and nutrient cycling. It is, however, unclear if diversity of fungi is essential to fulfill this role. With this meta-analysis, we aim to understand the relationship between fungal diversity and decomposition of plant materials (leaf litter and wood) in terrestrial and aquatic environments. The selection criteria for papers were the presence of a fungal diversity gradient and quantification of decomposition as mass loss. In total 40 papers met the selection criteria. We hypothesized that increase of fungal species will result in stronger decomposition, especially in species poor communities. Both artificial inoculated and naturally assembled fungal communities were included in the analysis in order to assess whether manipulated experiments are representative for field situations. We found a significant positive effect of increased fungal diversity on decomposition. However, in manipulated experiments this relationship was only positive when a control treatment of one fungus was compared with multispecies communities. This relationship became negative when comparisons of higher initial richness (at least two fungal species as “control”) were included. In contrast, under natural field conditions increased fungal diversity coincided with increased decomposition. This suggests that manipulated experiments are not representative for field situations. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Yet, both in manipulated and field experiments, environmental factors can influence diversity – decomposition relationships as indicated by a negative relationship of increasing C:N ratio on the effect of fungal diversity on decomposition. Overall, our results show that fungal diversity can have an important role in decomposition, but that design of experiments (manipulated or field) and quality of the plant material should be taken into account for interpretation of this diversity-functioning relationship.
Infectivity of three Mayaro Virus (Genus Alphavirus, Family Togaviridae) geographic isolates in human cell lines
Authors: Patel Aum R. , Dulcey Melissa , Abid Nabil , Cash Melanie N. , Dailey Jordan , Salemi Marco , Mavian Carla , Vittor Amy Y. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMayaro virus (MAYV) is an emergent arthropod-borne virus that causes an acute febrile illness accompanied by arthralgia, similar to chikungunya virus. Increasing urbanization of MAYV outbreaks in the Americas has led to concerns that this virus could further expand its geographic range. Given the potential importance of this pathogen, we sought to fill some critical gaps in knowledge regarding MAYV infectivity and geographic variation. This study describes the cytopathogenicity of MAYV in human dermal fibroblasts, human skeletal muscle satellite cells, human embryonic kidney cells (HEK), peripherally derived human macrophages, and Vero cells. MAYV strain isolated from Bolivia (MAYV-U) infected cells more rapidly compared to MAYV strains isolated in Peru and Brazil (MAYV-P; MAYV-B), with high titers (1×108 pfu/ml) peaking at 37 hours post infection. MAYV-U also caused the most cytopathic effect in a time dependent manner. Furthermore, differently from the other two prototypic strains, MAYV-U harbors unique mutations in the E2 protein, D60G and S205F, likely to interact with the host cell receptor, which may explain the observed differences in infectivity. We further demonstrate that pre-treatment of cells with interferon-β inhibited viral replication in a dose-dependent manner. Together, these findings advance our understanding of MAYV infection of human target cells and provide initial data regarding MAYV phenotypic variation according to geography.Author SummaryArthropod-borne viruses are of great public health concern, causing epidemics worldwide due to climate change, changes in land use, rapid urbanization, and the expanding geographic ranges of suitable vectors. Among these viruses, Mayaro is an emerging virus for which little is currently known. This study aims to answer fundamental questions of Mayaro virus biology using three geographically distinct viral strains to examine variability in infection kinetics and infectivity in susceptible cell types. We found one geographic isolate to have accelerated infection kinetics and increased cell damage because of infection. To better understand what was unique about this isolate, we compared their envelope protein, which is critical for entry into a cell. We found that the isolate with increased replication kinetics possessed mutations at sites that may promote viral entry, which could explain these findings. Together, these findings further our understanding of Mayaro virus biology and provide insight into factors that contribute to Mayaro transmission and infectivity.
Nucleolar translocation of human DNA topoisomerase II by ATP depletion and its disruption by the RNA polymerase I inhibitor BMH-21
Authors: Morotomi-Yano Keiko , Yano Ken-ichi 
Published: September 2021

AbstractDNA topoisomerase II (Top2) is a nuclear protein that resolves DNA topological problems and plays critical roles in multiple nuclear processes. Human cells have two Top2 proteins, Top2A and Top2B, that are localized in both the nucleoplasm and nucleolus. Previously, ATP depletion was shown to augment the nucleolar localization of Top2B, but the molecular details of subnuclear distributions, particularly of Top2A, remained to be fully elucidated in relation to the status of cellular ATP. Here, we analyzed the nuclear dynamics of human Top2A and Top2B in ATP-depleted cells. Both proteins rapidly translocated from the nucleoplasm to the nucleolus in response to ATP depletion. FRAP analysis demonstrated that they were highly mobile in the nucleoplasm and nucleolus. The nucleolar retention of both proteins was sensitive to the RNA polymerase I inhibitor BMH-21, and the Top2 proteins in the nucleolus were immediately dispersed into the nucleoplasm by BMH-21. Under ATP-depleted conditions, the Top2 poison etoposide was less effective, indicating the therapeutic relevance of Top2 subnuclear distributions. These results give novel insights into the subnuclear dynamics of Top2 in relation to cellular ATP levels and also provide discussions about its possible mechanisms and biological significance.
The Bartonella autotransporter CFA is a protective antigen and hypervariable target of neutralizing antibodies blocking erythrocyte infection
Authors: Siewert Lena K. , Korotaev Aleksandr , Sedzicki Jaroslaw , Fromm Katja , Pinschewer Daniel D. , Dehio Christoph 
Published: September 2021

SummaryAntibodies are key to the clearance of Bartonella bacteremia, but the mechanisms and targets of protective antibodies are unknown and bacterial evasion strategies remain elusive. We studied experimental Bartonella taylorii infection of mice, its natural host, and investigated protective immune responses. Clearance of bacteremia depended on specific antibodies that interfere with bacterial attachment to erythrocytes. Accordingly, antibodies were effective in the absence of complement and Fc-receptors. Moreover, they formed independently of B-cell hypermutation and isotype class switch. The cloning of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) led to the identification of the bacterial autotransporter CFA as a protective antibody target, and vaccination against CFA protected against Bartonella bacteremia. MAb binding mapped to a region of CFA that is hypervariable in both human- and mouse-pathogenic Bartonella strains, suggesting mutational antibody evasion. These insights further our understanding of Bartonella immunity and immune evasion and elucidate mechanisms driving high Bartonella prevalence in the wild.
Klebsiella pneumoniaehijacks the Toll-IL-1R protein SARM1 in a type I IFN-dependent manner to antagonize host immunity
Authors: Feriotti Claudia , Sa-Pessoa Joana , Calderón-González Ricardo , Gu Lili , Morris Brenda , Sugisawa Ryoichi , Insua Jose L. , Carty Michael , Dumigan Amy , Ingram Rebecca J. , Kisenpfening Adrien , Bowie Andrew G. , Bengoechea José A. 
Published: September 2021

SUMMARYMany bacterial pathogens antagonize host defence responses by translocating effector proteins into cells. It remains an open question how those pathogens not encoding effectors counteract anti-bacterial immunity. Here, we show thatKlebsiella pneumoniaehijacks the evolutionary conserved innate immune protein SARM1 to control cell intrinsic immunity.Klebsiellaexploits SARM1 to regulate negatively MyD88 and TRIF-governed inflammation, and the activation of the MAP kinases ERK and JNK. SARM1 is required forKlebsiellainduction of IL10 by fine-tuning the p38-type I IFN axis. SARM1 inhibits the activation ofKlebsiella-induced absent in melanoma 2 inflammasome to limit IL1β production, suppressing further inflammation.Klebsiellaexploits type I IFNs to induce SARM1 in a capsule and LPS O-polysaccharide-dependent manner via TLR4-TRAM-TRIF-IRF3-IFNAR1 pathway. Absence of SARM1 reduces the intracellular survival ofK. pneumonaiein macrophages whereassarm1deficient mice control the infection. Altogether, our results illustrate a hitherto unknown anti-immunology strategy deployed by a human pathogen.