bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Conserved role of spike S2 domain N-glycosylation across beta-coronavirus family
Authors: Yang Qi , Kelkar Anju , Manicassamy Balaji , Neelamegham Sriram 
Published: September 2024

AbstractBesides acting as an immunological shield, the N-glycans of SARS-CoV-2 are also critical for viral life cycle. As the S2 subunit of spike is highly conserved across beta-coronaviruses, we determined the functional significance of the five ‘stem N-glycans’ located in S2 between N1098-N1194. Studies were performed with 31 Asn-to-Gln mutants, beta-coronavirus virus-like particles and single-cycle viral replicons. Deletions of stem N-glycans enhanced S1 shedding from trimeric spike, reduced ACE2 binding and abolished syncytia formation. When three or more N-glycans were deleted, spike expression on cell surface and incorporation into virions was both reduced. Viral entry function was progressively lost upon deleting the N1098 glycan in combination with additional glycosite modifications. In addition to SARS-CoV-2, deleting stem N-glycans in SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV spike also prevented viral entry into target cells. These data suggest multiple functional roles for the stem N-glycans, and evolutionarily conserved properties for these complex carbohydrates across human beta-coronaviruses.Author SummaryPrevious work shows that the N-linked glycans of SARS-CoV-2 are essential for viral life cycle. Few natural mutations have been observed in the S2-subunit of the viral spike glycoprotein in GISAID data, and mutations are absent in the five ‘stem N-glycans’ located between N1098-N1194. In the post-fusion spike structure these glycans lie equidistant, ~4 nm apart, suggesting functional significance. Upon testing the hypothesis that these glycans are critical for SARS-CoV-2 function, we noted multiple roles for the complex carbohydrates including regulation of S1-subunit shedding, spike expression on cells and virions, syncytial formation/cell-cell fusion and viral entry. Besides SARS-CoV-2, these glycans were also critical for other human beta-coronaviruses. Thus, these carbohydrates represent targets for the development of countermeasures against future outbreaks.
The Social and Nutritional Factors Controlling the Growth of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queens
Authors: Kama Omer , Shpigler Hagai Y. 
Published: September 2024

AbstractThe honey bee queen is essential for colony function, laying thousands of eggs daily and determining the colony’s genetic composition. Beekeepers cultivate and trade queens to enhance colony health and productivity. Despite its significance, artificial queen rearing in foster queenless colonies has remained largely unchanged for over a century, offering limited control over the environmental conditions influencing larval development. In this study, we developed a laboratory-based method for queen bee rearing, establishing a protocol for rearing queens in cages in the lab under controlled environmental conditions. We first investigated the minimal number of worker bees required to rear a single queen and found that groups of 200 workers raise queens with comparable success and weight to those reared in colonies. As a proof of concept, we examined the impact of larval age on rearing success in our new system. We found that the age of the larvae affects the success rate of queen development and that younger larvae developed into heavier queens than older larvae, as published in the past using the traditional queen-rearing method. Additionally, we assessed the influence of pollen nutrition on queen-rearing success, finding that a high pollen concentration is crucial for queen development. These findings and the new method provide a foundation for studying queen bee development in a controlled environment and offer potential applications for improving queen-rearing practices.
Complete Genome Sequence of SixPseudomonas aeruginosaBacteriophages aim for research and treatments
Authors: Rimon Amit , Yerushalmy Ortal , Belin Jonathan , Alkalay-Oren Sivan , Coppenhagen-Glazer Shunit , Hazan Ronen 
Published: September 2024

AbstractIntroductionPseudomonas aeruginosais a major opportunistic pathogen associated with healthcare-associated infections. The rise of antibiotic-resistant strains necessitates alternative treatment strategies, with bacteriophage therapy being a promising approach.MethodsSix bacteriophages were isolated from sewage samples. Phage isolation involved centrifugation, filtration, and plaque assays. The morphology of each was examined using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Genomic DNA was sequenced analyzed and compared. Phages lytic activity was assessed using growth curve analysis.ResultsThe six phages displayed distinct genomic and morphological characteristics, in three genomic clusters. No known virulence or antibiotic resistance genes were detected, indicating their safety for therapeutic use. TEM analysis revealed diverse morphologies, with some phages belonging to the Siphoviridae family and others to the Myoviridae family. Lysogenic phages demonstrated less effective lytic activity.ConclusionSome of these phages are promising candidates for the research of phage therapy efficacy, and the lytic phages can be used againstP. aeruginosainfections.
Enhancing efficacy of the MEK inhibitor trametinib with paclitaxel inKRAS-mutated colorectal cancer
Authors: Ghosh Susmita , Fan Fan , Powell Reid , Park Yong , Stephan Clifford , Kopetz E. Scott , Ellis Lee M. , Bhattacharya Rajat 
Published: September 2024

ABSTRACTBackgroundKRASis frequently mutated in the tumors of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and thus represents a valid target for therapy. However, the strategies of targeting KRAS directly and targeting the downstream effector mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) via monotherapies have shown limited efficacy. Thus, there is a strong need for novel, effective combination therapies to improve MEK-inhibitor efficacy in patients withKRAS-mutated mCRC.ObjectiveOur objective was to identify novel drug combinations that enhance MEK-inhibitor efficacy in patients withKRAS-mutated mCRC.DesignIn this study, we performed unbiased high-throughput screening (HTS) to identify drugs that enhance the efficacy of MEK inhibitorsin vitro, and we validated the efficacy of the drugsin vivo.MethodsHTS was performed using 3-dimensional CRC spheroids. Trametinib, the anchor drug, was probed with 2 clinically ready libraries of 252 drugs to identify effective drug combinations. The effects of the drug combinations on CRC cell proliferation and apoptosis were further validated using cell growth assays, flow cytometry, and biochemical assays. Proteomic and immunostaining studies were performed to determine the effects of the drugs on molecular signaling and cell division. The effects of the drug combinations were examinedin vivousing CRC patient-derived xenografts.ResultsHTS identified paclitaxel as being synergistic with trametinib.In vitrovalidation showed that, compared with monotherapies, this drug combination demonstrated strong inhibition of cell growth, reduced colony formation, and enhanced apoptosis in multipleKRAS-mutated CRC cell lines. Mechanistically, combining trametinib with paclitaxel led to alterations in signaling mediators that block cell cycle progression and increases in microtubule stability that resulted in significantly higher defects in the mitosis. Finally, the combination of trametinib with paclitaxel exhibited significant inhibition of tumor growth in severalKRAS-mutant patient-derived xenograft mouse models.ConclusionOur data provide evidence supporting clinical trials of trametinib with paclitaxel as a novel therapeutic option for patients withKRAS-mutated, metastatic CRC.
NIRSTORM: a Brainstorm extension dedicated to functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) data analysis, advanced 3D reconstructions, and optimal probe design
Authors: Delaire Édouard , Vincent Thomas , Cai Zhengchen , Machado Alexis , Hugueville Laurent , Schwartz Denis , Tadel Francois , Cassani Raymundo , Bherer Louis , Lina Jean-Marc , Pélégrini-Issac Mélanie , Grova Christophe 
Published: September 2024

AbstractSignificanceWe propose NIRSTORM, a software package built within Brainstorm environment, enabling full data analysis of functional Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (fNIRS) data from experiment planning to 3D reconstruction of hemodynamic fluctuations on the cortical surface using optical tomographic approaches. NIRSTORM enables the integration of fNIRS analysis within a multimodal setup making it easy to study fNIRS in combination with other multimodal data such as electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).AimNIRSTORM aims to provide an easy-to-use and fully modular toolbox for fNIRS analysis from experimental planning to optical tomography 3D reconstruction extending Brainstorm capacity for multimodal analysis.ApproachNIRSTORM was developed in MATLAB® and integrated as a plugin of the software Brainstorm. Brainstorm is a GUI-oriented, widely used software originally dedicated to statistical analysis and source imaging of EEG and magnetoencephalography (MEG) data.ResultsIn addition to conventional fNIRS preprocessing steps, including standard channel space and statistical analyses, NIRSTORM provides advanced methods dedicated to optimal probe placement, allowing personalized fNIRS study designs and accurate near-infrared optical tomography within the Maximum Entropy on the Mean (MEM) framework.ConclusionNIRSTORM is an open-access, user-friendly plugin extending the capacity of Brainstorm, for fNIRS analysis, therefore narrowing the gap between EEG/MEG and hemodynamics.
Inactivation of necroptosis-promoting protein MLKL creates a therapeutic vulnerability in colorectal cancer cells
Authors: Jiang Peijia , Chipurupalli Sandhya , Yoo Byong Hoon , Liu Xiaoyang , Rosen Kirill V. 
Published: September 2024

AbstractMortality from colorectal cancer (CRC) is significant, and novel CRC therapies are needed. A pseudokinase MLKL typically executes necroptotic cell death, and MLKL inactivation protects cells from such death. However, we found unexpectedly that MLKL gene knockout enhanced CRC cell death caused by a protein synthesis inhibitor homoharringtonine used for chronic myeloid leukemia treatment. In an effort to explain this finding, we observed that MLKL gene knockout reduced CRC cell autophagy and rendered such autophagy critically dependent on the presence of VPS37A, a component of the ESCRT-I complex. Moreover, homoharringtonine-induced activation of p38 MAP kinase (p38MAPK) prevented VPS37A from supporting autophagy in MLKL-deficient cells and triggered their parthanatos, a cell death type driven by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase hyperactivation. Finally, a pharmacological MLKL inhibitor necrosulfonamide strongly cooperated with homoharringtonine in suppressing CRC cell tumorigenicity in mice. Thus, while MLKL mediates necroptosis, MLKL protects CRC cells from death caused by drugs blocking basal autophagy, e.g., homoharringtonine, and MLKL inhibition creates a therapeutic vulnerability that could be utilized for CRC treatment.
Adiponectin signaling modulates fat taste responsiveness in mice
Authors: Lin Fangjun , Masterson Emeline , Gilbertson Timothy A. 
Published: September 2024

AbstractWe previously reported that the adiponectin receptor agonist AdipoRon selectively enhances cellular responses to fatty acids in a human taste cell line. The enhancement role of AdipoRon on fatty acid-induced cell responses is mediated by the activation of AMPK and translocation of CD36 on human taste cells. It has also been shown that adiponectin selectively increases taste behavioral responses to intralipid in mice. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the physiological effects of adiponectin on fat taste in mice remains unclear. Here we define AdipoR1 as the mediator responsible for the enhancement role of adiponectin/AdipoRon on fatty acid-induced responses in mouse taste bud cells. Calcium imaging data demonstrate that AdipoRon enhances linoleic acid-induced calcium responses in a dose-dependent fashion in mouse taste cells isolated from circumvallate and fungiform papillae. Similar to the human taste cells, the enhancement role of AdipoRon on fatty acid-induced responses was impaired by the co-administration of an AMPK inhibitor (Compound C) or a CD36 inhibitor (SSO). Utilizing Adipor1-deficient animals we determined the enhancement role of AdipoRon/adiponectin is dependent on AdipoR1 since AdipoRon/adiponectin failed to increase fatty acid-induced calcium responses in taste bud cells isolated from these mice. Brief-access taste tests were performed to determine whether AdipoRon’s enhancement role was correlated with any differences in taste behavioral responses to fat. Although AdipoRon enhances the cellular responses of taste bud cells to fatty acids, it does not appear to alter fat taste behavior in mice. However, fat naïveAdipor1−/−animals were indifferent to increasing concentrations of intralipid, suggesting that adiponectin signaling may have profound effects on the ability of mice to detect fatty acids in the absence of previous exposure to fatty acids and fat-containing diets.
Hippocampal neuronal activity is aligned with action plans
Authors: Zutshi Ipshita , Apostolelli Athina , Yang Wannan , Zheng Zheyang (Sam) , Dohi Tora , Balzani Edoardo , Williams Alex H , Savin Cristina , Buzsáki György 
Published: September 2024

ABSTRACTNeurons in the hippocampus are correlated with different variables, including space, time, sensory cues, rewards, and actions, where the extent of tuning depends on ongoing task demands. However, it remains uncertain whether such diverse tuning corresponds to distinct functions within the hippocampal network or if a more generic computation can account for these observations. To disentangle the contribution of externally driven cues versus internal computation, we developed a task in mice where space, auditory tones, rewards, and context were juxtaposed with changing relevance. High-density electrophysiological recordings revealed that neurons were tuned to each of these modalities. By comparing movement paths and action sequences, we observed that external variables had limited direct influence on hippocampal firing. Instead, spiking was influenced by online action plans modulated by goal uncertainty. Our results suggest that internally generated cell assembly sequences are selected and updated by action plans toward deliberate goals. The apparent tuning of hippocampal neuronal spiking to different sensory modalities might emerge due to alignment to the afforded action progression within a task rather than representation of external cues.
Study of the measurement of the
τ
lepton anomalous magnetic moment in high energy lead-lead collisions at the LHC
Authors: Verducci Monica , Roda Chiara , Cavasinni Vincenzo , Vignaroli Natascia 
Published: September 2024

The τ lepton anomalous magnetic moment aτ=gτ−22 was measured, so far, with a precision of only several percents, despite its high sensitivity to physics beyond the Standard Model such as compositeness or supersymmetry. A new study is presented to improve the sensitivity of the aτ measurement with photon-photon interactions from ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at the LHC. The theoretical approach used in this work is based on an effective Lagrangian and on a photon flux implemented in the adraph5 Monte Carlo simulation. Using a multivariate analysis to discriminate the signal from the background processes, a sensitivity to the anomalous magnetic moment aτ=0+0.015−0.019 is obtained at 95% confidence level with a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2  nb−1 of lead-lead collisions and assuming a conservative 10% systematic uncorrelated uncertainty for signal and background. The present results using multivariate analysis are compared to similar results obtained using sequential cuts, as done in previous measurements, showing an improvement of about 35% in the sensitivity to aτ.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Hele-Shaw flow of a nematic liquid crystal
Authors: Cousins Joseph R. L. , Mottram Nigel J. , Wilson Stephen K. 
Published: September 2024

Motivated by the variety of applications in which nematic Hele-Shaw flow occurs, a theoretical model for Hele-Shaw flow of a nematic liquid crystal is formulated and analyzed. We derive the thin-film Ericksen-Leslie equations that govern nematic Hele-Shaw flow, and consider two important limiting cases in which we can make significant analytical progress. First, we consider the leading-order problem in the limiting case in which elasticity effects dominate viscous effects, and find that the nematic liquid crystal anchoring on the plates leads to a fixed director field and an anisotropic patterned viscosity that can be used to guide the flow of the nematic. Second, we consider the leading-order problem in the opposite limiting case in which viscous effects dominate elasticity effects, and find that the flow is identical to that of an isotropic fluid and the behavior of the director is determined by the flow. As an example of the insight which can be gained by using the present approach, we then consider the flow of nematic according to a simple model for the squeezing stage of the one-drop-filling method, an important method for the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, in these two limiting cases.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Linking network- and neuron-level correlations by renormalized field theory
Authors: Dick Michael , van Meegen Alexander , Helias Moritz 
Published: September 2024

It is frequently hypothesized that cortical networks operate close to a critical point. Advantages of criticality include rich dynamics well suited for computation and critical slowing down, which may offer a mechanism for dynamic memory. However, mean-field approximations, while versatile and popular, inherently neglect the fluctuations responsible for such critical dynamics. Thus, a renormalized theory is necessary. We consider the Sompolinsky-Crisanti-Sommers model which displays a well studied chaotic as well as a magnetic transition. Based on the analog of a quantum effective action, we derive self-consistency equations for the first two renormalized Greens functions. Their self-consistent solution reveals a coupling between the population level activity and single neuron heterogeneity. The quantitative theory explains the population autocorrelation function, the single-unit autocorrelation function with its multiple temporal scales, and cross correlations.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Board gender diversity and financial stability COVID-19 vs pre-COVID-19 era
Authors: Khanchel Imen , Massoudi Amal , Lassoued Naima , Kharrat Achraf 
Published: September 2024

Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of board gender diversity (BGD) on firm financial stability during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Design/methodology/approach
Difference-in-differences method was used for a sample of 891 US companies observed from 2018 to 2021.

Findings
The results indicate significant negative relationships between BGD and financial stability. The authors put in evidence a nonlinear relationship between BGD and financial stability. Also, the authors found that internal women directors as well as external ones decrease financial stability.

Practical implications
The results emphasize the beneficial effect of having more women on corporate boards during health crises and suggest that policymakers should take measures to promote BGD.

Originality/value
This paper highlights the impact of BGD on financial stability and provides additional evidence on the usefulness of BGD as an effective tool for crisis management.
Impact of service quality, relational trust and attitude on the intention to pursue higher education within a country, than abroad
Authors: Singh Sonali , Manohar Sridhar 
Published: September 2024

PurposeEducation is one among the major service sectors which is continuously growing and contributing significantly to a country’s economy. Students’ positive feedback through word-of-mouth (WOM) is one of the key influences attracting new admissions thereby providing competitive advantage for a university to sustain. There are numerous antecedents identified and implemented to enhance positive WOM and increase intakes in higher education however the students’ choice is still being unpredicted. This study attempts to develop a framework that exemplifies the links between service quality (SQ), relational trust (RT) and students' attitudes toward institutions.Design/methodology/approachA correlational research design was adopted with a non-probability convenience sampling technique, the data were collected from students in public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) across India. Multivariate regression was the statistical tool used to estimate the path model. SmartPLS 3.0 software performing structural equation modelling (SEM) helped in determining the coefficient values.FindingsThe result of the study indicated the magnitude and directional relationship between SQ and trust and justified that they are the key determinants of building a positive attitude towards the institution, enhancing the intention to recommend it among peer groups.Research limitations/implicationsAcademic institutions and their public relations departments must prioritize reducing SQ gaps and create strategies to build strong RT among all institution stakeholders to gain a competitive advantage. Socially, this study aims in assisting universities in establishing high-quality education.Originality/valueThe empirical estimation of the relationships between trust, attitude, quality and intention provides the reasons for incorporating and building positive WOM among students’ benefit institutions over the long run.
MFLD: lightweight object detection with multi-receptive field and long-range dependency in remote sensing images
Authors: Wang Weixing , Chen Yixia , Lin Mingwei 
Published: September 2024

PurposeBased on the strong feature representation ability of the convolutional neural network (CNN), generous object detection methods in remote sensing (RS) have been proposed one after another. However, due to the large variation in scale and the omission of relevant relationships between objects, there are still great challenges for object detection in RS. Most object detection methods fail to take the difficulties of detecting small and medium-sized objects and global context into account. Moreover, inference time and lightness are also major pain points in the field of RS.Design/methodology/approachTo alleviate the aforementioned problems, this study proposes a novel method for object detection in RS, which is called lightweight object detection with a multi-receptive field and long-range dependency in RS images (MFLD). The multi-receptive field extraction (MRFE) and long-range dependency information extraction (LDIE) modules are put forward.FindingsTo concentrate on the variability of objects in RS, MRFE effectively expands the receptive field by a combination of atrous separable convolutions with different dilated rates. Considering the shortcomings of CNN in extracting global information, LDIE is designed to capture the relationships between objects. Extensive experiments over public datasets in RS images demonstrate that our MFLD method surpasses the state-of-the-art methods. Most of all, on the NWPU VHR-10 dataset, our MFLD method achieves 94.6% mean average precision with 4.08 M model volume.Originality/valueThis paper proposed a method called lightweight object detection with multi-receptive field and long-range dependency in RS images.