bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bacterial family-specific enrichment and functions of secretion systems in the rhizosphere
Authors: Fourie A. , Lopez J.L. , Sánchez-Gil J.J. , Poppeliers S.W.M. , de Jonge R. , Dutilh B.E. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe plant rhizosphere is a highly selective environment where bacteria have developed traits to establish themselves or outcompete other microbes. These traits include bacterial secretion systems (SS’s) that range from Type I (T1SS) to Type IX (T9SS) and can play diverse roles. The best known functions are to secrete various proteins or other compounds into the extracellular space or into neighbouring cells, including toxins to attack other microbes or effectors to suppress plant host immune responses. Here, we aimed to determine which bacterial SS’s were associated with the plant rhizosphere. We utilised paired metagenomic datasets of rhizosphere and bulk soil samples from five different plant species grown in a wide variety of soil types, amounting to ten different studies. The T3SS and T6SS were generally enriched in the rhizosphere, as observed in studies of individual plant-associated genera. We also identified additional SS’s that have received less attention thus far, such as the T2SS, T5SS andBacteroidetes-specific T6SSiii and T9SS. The predicted secreted proteins of some of these systems (T3SS, T5SS and T6SS) could be linked to functions such as toxin secretion, adhesion to the host and facilitation of plant-host interactions (such as root penetration). The most prominent bacterial taxa with rhizosphere- or soil-enriched SS’s includedXanthomonadaceae,Oxalobacteraceae,Comamonadaceae,Caulobacteraceae, andChitinophagaceae,broadening the scope of known plant-associated taxa that use these systems. We anticipate that the SS’s and taxa identified in this study may be utilised for the optimisation of bioinoculants to improve plant productivity.
Novel plant-derived bioactive compounds shape the human gut microbiomein vitro
Authors: Flores Martinez Karla E , Bloszies Clay S. , Henrick Bethany M. , Frese Steven A 
Published: May 2024

AbstractMounting evidence supports the potential of dietary bioactive compounds to reduce chronic disease risk. Recently, the biological activity of N-trans-caffeoyltyramine (NCT) and N-trans-feruloyltyramine (NFT) has been hypothesized to drive regulation of gut permeability,but the impact of these components on the human gut microbiome composition has not been studied. The aim of this work is to determine whether purified NCT and NFT, or a hemp hull product containing NCT and NFT (Brightseed® Bio Gut Fiber), can impact the gut microbiome using anin vitrofermentation assay. To address this question, we treated three fecal inocula, representative of the human gut microbiome, with Bio Gut Fiber™ and NCT/NFT and evaluated their respective impact against starch and methylcellulose as controls. We found strong changes exerted by Bio Gut Fiber™ and NCT/NFT on the gut microbiome relative to starch and methylcellulose, with distinct responses across all microbial communities. Among communities treated with Bio Gut Fiber™, we saw increased community productivity and increased community diversity. Further, to determine whether changes found in gut microbiome profiles were dose-dependent, we tested different concentrations of NCT/NFT and found a dose-dependent impact on the resulting microbial compositions. Through this work, we provide novel insight into the potential of bioactive components to shape the gut microbiome, highlighting the potential for plant-derived bioactives to improve the human gut microbiome and host health.
A type II secreted subtilase from commensal rhizobacteria disarms the immune elicitor peptide flg22
Authors: Eastman Samuel , Jiang Ting , Ficco Kaeli , Liao Chao , Jones Britley , Wen Sarina , Olivas Biddle Yvette , Eyceoz Aya , Yatsishin Ilya , Naumann Todd A. , Conway Jonathan M. 
Published: May 2024

SUMMARYPlant roots grow in association with a community of microorganisms collectively known as the rhizosphere microbiome. Immune activation in response to elicitors like the flagellin-derived epitope flg22 restricts bacteria on plant roots but also inhibits plant growth. Some commensal root-associated bacteria are capable of suppressing the plant immune response to elicitors. In this study, we investigated the ability of 165 root-associated bacteria to suppress flg22-induced immune activation and growth restriction. We demonstrate that a type II secreted subtilase, which we term Immunosuppressive Subtilase A (IssA), fromDyella japonicastrain MF79 cleaves the immune eliciting peptide flg22 and contributes to immune suppression. IssA homologs are found in other plant-associated commensals, with particularly high conservation in the order Xanthomonadales. This represents a novel mechanism by which commensal microbes modulate flg22-induced immunity in the rhizosphere microbiome.
MoLst8 regulates autophagy and lipid homeostasis inMagnaporthe oryzae
Authors: Cao Xingwei , Li Lin , Bao Jiandong , Wang Jiaoyu , Liu Xiaohong , Zhu Xueming , Lin Fucheng 
Published: May 2024

ABSTRACTTOR, a widely conserved eukaryotic protein kinase, forms TORC1 and TORC2 to regulate diverse cell signaling. TORC1 controls protein synthesis, cell cycle, and autophagy, whereas TORC2 manages cell polarity, cytoskeleton, and membrane structure. Our previous research found that MoVast2, along with MoVast1, regulates TOR in rice blast fungusMagnaporthe oryzae, maintaining lipid and autophagy balance. Lst8, a key TOR complex component in yeast and mammalian cells. However, the precise role of MoLst8 inM. oryzaeis still unclear. In this study, we obtained the ΔMolst8mutant through high-through gene knockout strategies. The results showed that loss ofMoLST8leading to a series of defects, such as growth and sporulation reduction, abnormal conidia, and loss of virulence. In addition, this mutant is highly sensitive to rapamycin, leading to growth arrest and autophagy impairment, indicated that MoLst8 positively regulates TORC1 for cellular growth, metabolism, and autophagy. Lipidomics analysis in the mutant revealed lipid metabolism dysregulation, sphingolipid reduction, disrupting membrane tension and homeostasis, suggested that TORC2 mediated lipid regulation is disordered in ΔMolst8mutant. Additionally, the study explored TOR-MAPK crosstalk, finding that the mutant shows heightened cell wall stress sensitivity but fails to restore integrity despite MAPK activation. These findings offer insights into MoLst8’s role in fungal pathogenesis, contributing to an understanding of fungal biology and disease control strategies.
Influence of environmental and biological factors on functional connectivity of the superior temporal sulcus in neonates scanned at term age
Authors: Mancuso Charlotte , Bacquet Maxime , Benjamin Lucas , Leroy François , Dehaene-Lambertz Ghislaine 
Published: May 2024

AbstractThe superior temporal sulcus (STS), one of the first sulci visible during brain development, is a key region for human communication, notably hosting linguistic functions in the left hemisphere. Fetuses and premature newborns already process external sound, but the auditory environment is vastly differentin-uteroandex-utero.Does this have an impact on the development of the auditory and linguistic networks? To answer this question, we studied the functional connectivity of regions bordering the STS, delimited in each individual including full-term and preterm male and female neonates born at different gestational ages but all scanned at term. We found that in addition to the expected contralateral connectivity, various STS parts were more strongly connected to specific distant regions, revealing the typical auditory/linguistic division across the two banks of the STS reported in adults. Furthermore, the right posterior STS was more connected to the contralateral hemisphere than the left. Finally, sex and premature birth had effects on both STS volume and connectivity. Female neonates displayed a lesser left-right asymmetry in STS depth, and heightened connectivity from the left posterior STS compared to males. Most importantly, despite equivalent scan age, full-term newborns had deeper sulci compared with preterms, and local connectivity in the right temporal region increased linearly with gestation length. These results emphasize the impact of both sex and early auditory environment on the setting up of the cerebral networks that might contribute to explain the milder impact of premature birth on language in females.
Viroporin activity from rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 induces intercellular calcium waves that contribute to pathogenesis
Authors: Gebert J. Thomas , Scribano Francesca J. , Engevik Kristen A. , Philip Asha A. , Kawagishi Takahiro , Greenberg Harry B. , Patton John T. , Hyser Joseph M. 
Published: May 2024

AbstractAcute gastroenteritis remains the second leading cause of death among children under the age of 5 worldwide. While enteric viruses are the most common etiology, the drivers of their virulence remain incompletely understood. We recently found that cells infected with rotavirus, the most prevalent enteric virus in infants and young children, initiate hundreds of intercellular calcium waves that enhance both fluid secretion and viral spread. Understanding how rotavirus triggers intercellular calcium waves may allow us to design safer, more effective vaccines and therapeutics, but we still lack a mechanistic understanding of this process. In this study, we used existing virulent and attenuated rotavirus strains, as well as reverse engineered recombinants, to investigate the role of rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) in intercellular calcium wave induction usingin vitro, organoid, andin vivomodel systems. We found that the capacity to induce purinergic intercellular calcium waves (ICWs) segregated with NSP4 in both simian and murine-like rotavirus backgrounds, and NSP4 expression alone was sufficient to induce ICWs. NSP4’s ability to function as a viroporin, which conducts calcium out of the endoplasmic reticulum, was necessary for ICW induction. Furthermore, viroporin activity and the resulting ICWs drove transcriptional changes indicative of innate immune activation, which were lost upon attenuation of viroporin function. Multiple aspects of RV disease severityin vivocorrelated with the generation of ICWs, identifying a critical link between viroporin function, intercellular calcium waves, and enteric viral virulence.
Positional13C Enrichment Analysis of Aspartate by GC-MS to Determine PEPC ActivityIn Vivo
Authors: Wittemeier Luisa , Rajarathinam Yogeswari , Erban Alexander , Hagemann Martin , Kopka Joachim 
Published: May 2024

AbstractPhotoautotrophic organisms fix inorganic carbon (Ci) by two enzymes, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RUBISCO) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC). RUBISCO assimilates Ci (CO2) into the 1-C position of 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA). The Calvin-Benson-Basham (CBB) cycle redistributes fixed carbon atoms into 2,3-C2of the same molecule. PEPC uses phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) derived from 3PGA and assimilates Ci (HCO3-) into 4-C of oxaloacetate (OAA). 1,2,3-C3of OAA and of its transaminase product aspartate originate directly from 1,2,3-C3of 3PGA. Positional isotopologue analysis of aspartate, the main downstream metabolite of OAA in the model cyanobacteriumSynechocystissp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis), allows differentiation between PEPC, RUBISCO, and CBB cycle activities within one molecule. We exploredin sourcefragmentation of gas chromatography-electron impact ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS) at nominal mass resolution and GC-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-MS (GC-APCI-MS) at high mass resolution. This enabled the determination of fractional13C enrichment (E13C) at each carbon position of aspartate. Two prevailing GC-MS derivatization methods, i.e. trimethylsilylation and tert-butyldimethylsilylation, were evaluated. The method was validated by13C-isotopomer mixtures of positional labeled aspartic acid. Combination with dynamic13CO2labeling ofSynechocystiscultures allowed direct measurements of PEPC activityin vivoalongside analyses of RUBISCO and CBB cycle activities. Accurate quantification of aspartate concentration and positional E13C provided molar Ci assimilation rates during the day and night phases of photoautotrophicSynechocystiscultures. The validated method offers several applications to characterize the photosynthetic Ci fixation in different organisms.
Persistent Decision-Making in Mice, Monkeys, and Humans
Authors: Laurie Veldon-James , Shourkeshti Akram , Chen Cathy S. , Herman Alexander B. , Grissom Nicola M. , Ebitz R. Becket 
Published: May 2024

AbstractHumans have the capacity to persist in behavioural policies, even in challenging environments that lack immediate reward. Our persistence is the scaffold on which many higher executive functions are built. However, it remains unclear whether humans are uniquely persistent or, instead, if this capacity is widely conserved across species. To address this question, we compared humans with mice and monkeys in harmonised versions of an uncertain decision-making task. The task encouraged all species to strike a balance between persistently exploiting one policy and exploring alternative policies that could become better at any moment. Although all three species had similar strategies, we found that both primate species—humans and monkeys—were able to persist in exploitation for much longer than the mice. We speculate that the similarities in persistence patterns in humans and monkeys, as opposed to mice, may be linked to ecological, neurobiological, or cognitive factors that differ systematically between these species.TeaserHumans, monkeys and mice use similar decision-making strategies, but exploit valuable options for different lengths of time.
Concurrent maintenance of visual imagery and short-term memory provides evidence for their distinct representations
Authors: Saad Elyana , Silvanto Juha 
Published: May 2024

AbstractRecent research indicates there is overlap in the neural resources used during imagery and visual short-term memory. But do visual short-term memory and visual imagery operate on similar representations during recall? Here we investigated this question by asking participants to perform a delayed match to sample task for the contrast of visual gratings as cues. In the “Imagery” condition, participants were asked to form an accurate mental image of the visual cue, and at the end of the trial, perform a matching task on the mental image contrast. In the “Memory” condition, participants were not required to perform visual imagery but merely instructed to perform the delayed contrast-matching task. In Experiment 1, participants were told at the beginning of each block whether to engage in memory or imagery. The results showed that for the relevant contrast feature, matching judgments were more accurately in the “Memory” than in the “Imagery” condition. Thus imagery did not maintain an accurate representation of the encoded image, even when the visual features could still be maintained in visual short-term memory. In Experiment 2, participants were required to engage in memory and imagery simultaneously, and were told which to base their judgment on after each trial. The key finding was that the superior accuracy for memory over imagery remained, indicating that the contents of VSTM and imagery are based on distinct representations.
The impacts of the Ethiopian developmental state model on the competition, efficiency and profitability of banks
Authors: Hamza Abdulmenan 
Published: May 2024

PurposeThis study examines the impacts of the Ethiopian developmental state model on the competition, efficiency and profitability of banks.Design/methodology/approachThe competition, efficiency and profitability of the Ethiopian bank are measured using Panzar Rose, data envelopment analysis and financial ratio. Fixed-effect panel regression methods are applied to test the direction and strength of association between the Ethiopian developmental state model and the competition, efficiency and profitability of the country's banks while controlling bank-specific market structure and macroeconomic factors.FindingsThe Ethiopian developmental state model embeds the state-directed financial system, which affects the banking industry using a range of credit allocation instruments. Of which, directed credit schemes, interest rate control and the lack of financial freedom reduce the competition and efficiency of banks. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) advances to the government and the sale of Treasury bills to a captive market enhances banking competition while negatively affecting banking efficiency. Interest rate control and the lack of financial freedom lower banking profitability. Unexpectedly, directed credit schemes improve banking profitability.Research limitations/implicationsAs with any study, this one has limitations. The intra-period comparison of efficiency is based on balanced data. Future studies can use methods that can measure the efficiency of banks using unbalanced data. The computation of the yearly H-statistic is constrained by the small sample size. The use of high-frequency data for measuring competition can provide us with better insights into banking competition in Ethiopia. Furthermore, there are a number of methods for measuring banking competition, efficiency and profitability with different assumptions. Approaching the subject of this study by applying different methods will offer different insights.Practical implicationsThe contributions of this study to practice are at two levels. First, at the policy level, it enhances our understanding of the impacts of developmental state model policies, as implemented in Ethiopia, on the banking industry and therefore provides suggestions to policymakers to reform the sector's policies. Second, it offers input to the management of banks regarding the factors that impact the industry.Originality/valueThe banking industry is often studied in the context of financial liberalisation. The originality of this study lies in investigating how the competition, efficiency and profitability of banks are affected when operating in the context of significant state interventions in the industry.
A model of barriers, drivers, government responses, recovery expectations and expected future changes in SME performance: digitalisation as a moderator
Authors: Al-Ajlouni Mohammed Iqbal , Hijazi Rawa , Nawafleh Sahem 
Published: May 2024

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to examine a model that combines barriers, drivers, government responses, recovery expectations, expected future changes in performance and the extent of digitalisation as a moderator in SMEs.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses exploratory causal methodologies. The study employs a quantitative methodology based on utilising an electronic questionnaire to gather the opinions of home workers and entrepreneurs in Jordan. The cross-sectional data collection approach was conducted in a single time frame, and a total of 1,179 valid questionnaires were analysed using Smart PLS along with SPSS.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that the barriers lower the expectations of recovering performance, whilst the drivers and government responses raise the expectations of both performance recovery and change in performance. Concerning digitalisation, this study discovered that firms going digital had a significant positive direct impact on expectations of performance change. This paper also found that expectations of performance change are significantly positively impacted by the interaction between drivers and digitalisation. However, the moderating influence of digitalisation on the positive impact of government responses on expectations of performance change was not verified.Practical implicationsThe study's conclusions led to the formulation of several policy recommendations aimed at easing the burden on SMEs.Originality/valueThis study adds something new to the body of knowledge on SMEs by investigating the effects of barriers, drivers and government responses on expectations of performance recovery and the expected future change in performance moderated by digitalisation.
Improving care pathways through BPM and telemedicine: an Italian study
Authors: Rocco Claudio , Mitrano Gianvito , Corallo Angelo , Pontrandolfo Pierpaolo , Guerri Davide 
Published: May 2024

PurposeThe future increase of chronic diseases in the world requires new challenges in the health domain to improve patients' care from the point of view of the organizational processes, clinical pathways and technological solutions of digital health. For this reason, the present paper aims to focus on the study and application of well-known clinical practices and efficient organizational approaches through an innovative model (TALIsMAn) to support new care process redesign and digitalization for chronic patients.Design/methodology/approachIn addition to specific clinical models employed to manage chronic conditions such as the Population Health Management and Chronic Care Model, we introduce a Business Process Management methodology implementation supported by a set of e-health technologies, in order to manage Care Pathways (CPs) digitalization and procedures improvement.FindingsThis study shows that telemedicine services with advanced devices and technologies are not enough to provide significant changes in the healthcare sector if other key aspects such as health processes, organizational systems, interactions between actors and responsibilities are not considered and improved. Therefore, new clinical models and organizational approaches are necessary together with a deep technological change, otherwise, theoretical benefits given by telemedicine services, which often employ advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems and devices, may not be translated into effective enhancements. They are obtained not only through the implementation of single telemedicine services, but integrating them in a wider digital ecosystem, where clinicians are supported in different clinical steps they have to perform.Originality/valueThe present work defines a novel methodological framework based on organizational, clinical and technological innovation, in order to redesign the territorial care for people with chronic diseases. This innovative ecosystem applied in the Italian research project TALIsMAn is based on the concept of a continuum of care and digitalization of CPs supported by Business Process Management System and telemedicine services. The main goal is to organize the different socio-medical activities in a unique and integrated IT system that should be sustainable, scalable and replicable.