bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High measles and rubella vaccine coverage and seroprevalence among Zambian children participating in a measles and rubella supplementary immunization activity
Authors: Prosperi Christine , Truelove Shaun A. , Carcelen Andrea C. , Chongwe Gershom , Mwansa Francis D. , Ndubani Phillimon , Simulundu Edgar , Bwalya Innocent C. , Hamahuwa Mutinta , Kapungu Kelvin , Matakala Kalumbu H. , Musukwa Gloria , Mutale Irene , Betha Evans , Chaavwa Nchimunya , Kampamba Lombe , Matoba Japhet , Munachoonga Passwell , Mufwambi Webster , Situtu Ken , Thuma Phillip E. , Sakala Constance , Kayeye Princess , Winter Amy K. , Ferrari Matthew J , Moss William J. , Mutembo Simon 
Published: April 2024

AbstractPost-campaign coverage surveys estimate the number and proportion of previously unvaccinated children vaccinated during a supplementary immunization activity (SIA) but cannot address whether susceptible children seronegative to measles and rubella viruses were vaccinated during the SIA.We conducted a cross-sectional serosurvey nested within the November 2020 measles-rubella SIA in Zambia. Children aged 9 months to 5 years were systematically sampled at 30 SIA sites in Choma and Ndola Districts. A questionnaire was administered to the caregiver to collect the child’s demographic information and history of routine measles-rubella (MR) vaccination, and dried blood spot specimens were collected from the child. Specimens were tested for Immunoglobulin-G antibodies to measles and rubella viruses by enzyme immunoassay.Among children enrolled with MR vaccination data (N=2,364), 2,214 (94%) reported at least one routine MR dose before the SIA. We estimate 5.0% (118/2364) of children would not have otherwise received routine MR dose 1 without the SIA and 23.4% (553/2364) would not have otherwise received routine MR dose 2. Thus, 1 in 3.5 doses were given to an MR un- or under-vaccinated child who may not have received that dose in the absence of an SIA. Eighty-six percent of children were measles seropositive and 90% were rubella seropositive before vaccination during the SIA. Thirty-six percent of children with no prior routine MR dose were measles seropositive while nine percent of children with two prior routine MR doses were measles seronegative.Although children vaccinated during this SIA were highly likely to already have received routine vaccinations, the SIA reached a considerable number of susceptible children. Monitoring SIA effectiveness and efficiency is important to understand the benefits of vaccine delivery strategies in reaching un- and under-vaccinated children and may guide alternative strategies.
CerebellarEx VivoMagnetic Resonance Imaging at its Feasibility Limit: Up to 77-Microns Isotropic Resolution using Low-Bandwidth Balanced Steady State Free Precession (LoBa-bSSFP) Sequences and 3T Standard Equipment
Authors: Weigel Matthias , Dechent Peter , Galbusera Riccardo , Bahn Erik , Lu Po-Jui , Kappos Ludwig , Brück Wolfgang , Stadelmann Christine , Granziera Cristina 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackgroundUltra-high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the ex vivo brain is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool for studying the morphology and potential pathology of the brain. Despite the important role of the cerebellum in nervous system functions and motor control, as well as its potential damage in neurological diseases, it remains relatively understudied compared to other brain regions. One major reason is the even finer structures.MethodsA balanced steady state free precession approach with receiver bandwidths as low as 50Hz/pixel and long repetition times of 36ms is suggested and optimized, called “LoBa-bSSFP”, which enhances the signal-to-noise ratio and alleviates strain on the gradient system for the ultra-high spatial resolutions. A radiofrequency phase cycle scheme is used to reduce potential artifacts. Only 3T MRI standard equipment is utilized for acquisition and basic image reconstruction of the ex vivo brain immersed in perfluoropolyether.ResultsThe presented LoBa-bSSFP approach provides images with very good soft tissue contrast and a detailed visualization of cerebellar morphology. It enables isotropic resolutions of 98-microns for the entire cerebellum, a further refinement allows even up to 77-microns isotropic on a purely clinical MR system. The acquisitions preserved the integrity of the ex vivo cerebellum, so maintaining its connection to the cerebrum and brainstem.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate the feasibility of employing 3T based LoBa-bSSFP for true ultra-high-resolution ex vivo imaging of the cerebellum, reaching resolutions up to 77-microns isotropic and the potential to reveal subtle microscopic abnormalities of the cerebellar cortex. LoBa-bSSFP may be superior to conventional FLASH sequences in terms of acquisition efficiency and - in some cases - even contrast.
Arabidopsis produces distinct subpopulations of extracellular vesicles that respond differentially to biotic stress
Authors: Koch Benjamin L. , Rutter Brian D. , Innes Roger W. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractExtracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by mammalian cells are highly heterogenous in contents and function. Whether this is also true for EVs secreted by plant cells is not yet known. To address this knowledge gap, we used high-resolution density gradient ultracentrifugation to separate distinct subpopulations of Arabidopsis EVs. We analyzed the protein content, morphology, and purity of these subpopulations, confirming the presence of three distinct EV subpopulations. The EV marker protein TETRASPANIN 8 (TET8) was detected only in medium-density EVs and was not associated with cell wall nanofilaments, which was unique among EV proteins. TET8 and PENETRATION 1 (PEN1) were confirmed to be secreted on mostly separate EV populations using total internal fluorescence microscopy. We found that EV marker proteins are differentially secreted in response to phytohormones, changes in growth temperature, and infection with fungal pathogensColletotrichumandGolovinomyces cichoracearum. EV subpopulations marked by TET8, PEN1, and RPM1-INTERACTING PROTEIN 4 (RIN4) were highly increased as soon as one day after fungal infection, while other EV populations remained unaffected. Together these data indicate that Arabidopsis EVs are highly heterogenous and suggest that specific EV subpopulations may contribute to plant immunity.
SLC17 transporters mediate renal excretion of Lac-Phe in mice and humans
Authors: Li Veronica L. , Xiao Shuke , Schlosser Pascal , Scherer Nora , Wiggenhorn Amanda L. , Spaas Jan , Tung Alan Sheng-Hwa , Karoly Edward D. , Köttgen Anna , Long Jonathan Z. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractN-lactoyl-phenylalanine (Lac-Phe) is a lactate-derived metabolite that suppresses food intake and body weight. Little is known about the mechanisms that mediate Lac-Phe transport across cell membranes. Here we identify SLC17A1 and SLC17A3, two kidney-restricted plasma membrane-localized solute carriers, as physiologic urine Lac-Phe transporters. In cell culture, SLC17A1/3 exhibit high Lac-Phe efflux activity. In humans, levels of Lac-Phe in urine exhibit a strong genetic association with theSLC17A1-4locus. Urine Lac-Phe levels are also increased following a Wingate sprint test. In mice, genetic ablation of either SLC17A1 or SLC17A3 reduces urine Lac-Phe levels. Despite these differences, both knockout strains have normal blood Lac-Phe and body weights, demonstrating that urine and plasma Lac-Phe pools are functionally and biochemically de-coupled. Together, these data establish SLC17 family members as the physiologic urine transporters for Lac-Phe and uncover a biochemical pathway for the renal excretion of this signaling metabolite.
Evolution engineering of methylotrophic E. coli enables faster growth than native methylotrophs
Authors: Nieh Liang-Yu , Chen Frederic Y.-H. , Jung Hsin-Wei , Su Kuan-Yu , Tsuei Chao-Yin , Lin Chun-Ting , Lee Yue-Qi , Liao James C. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAs methanol can be derived from either CO2or methane, methanol economy may play a role in combating climate change. In this scenario, rapid utilization of methanol by an industrial microorganism is the first and crucial step for efficient utilization of the C1 feedstock chemical. Here, we report the development of a methylotrophic E. coli strain (SM6) with a doubling time of 3.5 hours, outpacing that of common native methylotrophs. We accomplish this using evolution engineering with dynamic copy number variation (CNV). We developed a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) with dynamic CNV to facilitate overcoming the formaldehyde-induced DNA-protein cross-linking (DPC) problem in the evolution process. The growth rate of the organism in methanol minimal medium improved significantly after it acquired a loss-of-function mutation inmutS. We tracked the genome variations of 72 cultures along the evolution process by next-generation sequencing, and identified the metabolic features of the fast-growing strain. This study illustrates the potential of dynamic CNV as an evolution tool and synthetic methylotrophs as a platform for sustainable biotechnological applications.
nP-collabs: Investigating counterion mediated bridges in the multiply phosphorylated tau-R2 repeat
Authors: Marien Jules , Prévost Chantal , Sacquin-Mora Sophie 
Published: April 2024

AbstractTau is an instrinsically disordered (IDP), microtubule-associated protein (MAP) that plays a key part in microtubule assembly and organization. The function of tau can be regulated via multiple phosphorylation sites. These post-translational modifications are known to decrease the binding affinity of tau for microtubules, and abnormal tau phosphorylation patterns are involved in Alzheimer’s disease. Using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we compared the conformational landscapes explored by the tau R2 repeat domain (which comprises a strong tubulin binding site) in its native state and with multiple phosphorylations on the S285, S289 and S293 residues, with four different standard force field (FF)/water model combinations. We find that the different parameters used for the phosphate groups (which can be more or less flexible) in these FFs, and the specific interactions between bulk cations and water lead to the formation of a specific type of counterion bridge, termednP-collab(for nPhosphate collaboration, withnbeing an integer), where counterions form stable structures binding with two or three phosphate groups simultaneously. The resulting effect of nP-collabs on the tau-R2 conformational space differs when using sodium or potassium cations, and is likely to impact the peptide overall dynamics, and how this MAP interacts with tubulins. We also investigated the effect of phosphoresidues spacing and ionic concentration by modeling polyalanine peptides containing two phosphoserines located one to six residues apart. Three new metrics specifically tailored for IDPs (Proteic Menger Curvature, Local Curvature and Local Flexibility) were introduced, which allow us to fully characterize the impact of nP-collabs on the dynamics of disordered peptides at the residue level.Abstract Figure
ACE2-independent sarbecovirus cell entry is supported by TMPRSS2-related enzymes and reduces sensitivity to antibody-mediated neutralization
Authors: Zhang Lu , Cheng Hsiu-Hsin , Krüger Nadine , Hörnich Bojan , Graichen Luise , Hahn Alexander S. , Schulz Sebastian R. , Jäck Hans-Martin , Stankov Metodi V. , Behrens Georg M.N. , Müller Marcel A. , Drosten Christian , Mörer Onnen , Winkler Martin Sebastian , Qian ZhaoHui , Pöhlmann Stefan , Hoffmann Markus 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, demonstrated that zoonotic transmission of animal sarbecoviruses threatens human health but the determinants of transmission are incompletely understood. Here, we show that most spike (S) proteins of horseshoe bat and Malayan pangolin sarbecoviruses employ ACE2 for entry, with human and raccoon dog ACE2 exhibiting broad receptor activity. The insertion of a multibasic cleavage site into the S proteins increased entry into human lung cells driven by most S proteins tested, suggesting that acquisition of a multibasic cleavage site might increase infectivity of diverse animal sarbecoviruses for the human respiratory tract. In contrast, two bat sarbecovirus S proteins drove cell entry in an ACE2-independent, trypsin-dependent fashion and several ACE2-dependent S proteins could switch to the ACE2-independent entry pathway when exposed to trypsin. Several TMPRSS2-related cellular proteases but not the insertion of a multibasic cleavage site into the S protein allowed for ACE2-independent entry in the absence of trypsin and may support viral spread in the respiratory tract. Finally, the pan-sarbecovirus antibody S2H97 enhanced cell entry driven by two S proteins and this effect was reversed by trypsin. Similarly, plasma from quadruple vaccinated individuals neutralized entry driven by all S proteins studied, and use of the ACE2-independent, trypsin-dependent pathway reduced neutralization sensitivity. In sum, our study reports a pathway for entry into human cells that is ACE2-independent, supported by TMPRSS2-related proteases and associated with antibody evasion.
Proteomic Insights into Circadian Transcription Regulation: Novel E-box Interactors Revealed by Proximity Labeling
Authors: Torres Manon , Kramer Achim 
Published: April 2024

AbstractCircadian clocks (∼24h) are responsible for daily physiological, metabolic and behavioral changes. Central to these oscillations is the regulation of gene transcription. Previous research has identified clock protein complexes that interact with the transcriptional machinery to orchestrate circadian transcription, but technological constraints have limited the identification of de novo proteins. Here we use a novel genomic locus-specific quantitative proteomics approach to provide a new perspective on time-of-day-dependent protein binding at a critical chromatin locus involved in circadian transcription - the E-box. Using proximity labeling proteomics at the E-box of the clock-controlledDbpgene in mouse fibroblasts, we identified 69 proteins at this locus at the time of BMAL1 binding. This method successfully enriched BMAL1 as well as HDAC3 and HISTONE H2A.V/Z, known circadian regulators. New E-box proteins include the MINK1 kinase and the XPO7 transporter, whose depletion in human U-2 OS cells results in disrupted circadian rhythms suggesting a role in the circadian transcriptional machinery. Overall, our approach uncovers novel circadian modulators and provides a new strategy to obtain a complete temporal picture of circadian transcriptional regulation.
Anchoring functional connectivity to individual sulcal morphology yields insights in a pediatric study of reasoning
Authors: Häkkinen Suvi , Voorhies Willa I. , Willbrand Ethan H. , Tsai Yi-Heng , Gagnant Thomas , Yao Jewelia K. , Weiner Kevin S. , Bunge Silvia A. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractA salient neuroanatomical feature of the human brain is its pronounced cortical folding, and there is mounting evidence that sulcal morphology is relevant to functional brain architecture and cognition. However, our understanding of the relationships between sulcal anatomy, brain activity, and behavior is still in its infancy. We previously found the depth of three small, shallow sulci in lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) was linked to reasoning performance in childhood and adolescence (Voorhies et al., 2021). These findings beg the question: what is the linking mechanism between sulcal morphology and cognition? To shed light on this question, we investigated functional connectivity among sulci in LPFC and lateral parietal cortex (LPC). We leveraged manual parcellations (21 sulci/hemisphere, total of 1806) and functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data from a reasoning task from 43 participants aged 7–18 years (20 female). We conducted clustering and classification analyses of individual- level functional connectivity among sulci. Broadly, we found that 1) the connectivity patterns of individual sulci could be differentiated – and more accurately than rotated sulcal labels equated for size and shape; 2) sulcal connectivity did not consistently correspond with that of probabilistic labels or large-scale networks; 3) sulci clustered together into groups with similar patterns, not dictated by spatial proximity; and 4) across individuals, greater depth was associated with higher network centrality for several sulci under investigation. These results highlight that functional connectivity can be meaningfully anchored to individual sulcal anatomy, and demonstrate that functional network centrality can vary as a function of sulcal depth.Significance StatementA salient, and behaviorally relevant, feature of the human brain is its pronounced cortical folding. However, the links between sulcal anatomy and brain function are still poorly understood – particularly for small, shallow, individually variable sulci in association cortices. Here, focusing on individually defined sulci in lateral prefrontal and parietal regions, we offer a novel, anatomically informed approach to defining functional connectomes. Further, we demonstrate, for the first time, a link between functional network centrality and sulcal morphology.
Muon
g−2
and proton lifetime in SUSY SU(5) GUTs with split superpartners
Authors: Kim Seong-Sik , Lee Hyun Min , Sim Sung-Bo 
Published: April 2024

We consider the interplay of the muon g−2 anomaly and the proton decay in the supersymmetry (SUSY) SU(5) grand unified theories (GUTs) with generation-independent scalar soft masses. In these scenarios, we introduce a number of 5+5¯ messenger fields with doublet-triplet splitting in general gauge mediation to transmit SUSY breaking to the visible sector by gauge loops. As a result, squarks and sleptons receive generation-independent soft SUSY breaking masses, which are split already at the messenger scale. Taking into account the perturbative unification of gauge couplings as well as the bounds from electroweak precision and vacuum stability bounds, we showed the parameter space in general gauge mediation to explain the muon g−2 anomaly with smuon and sneutrino loops while evading the strong bounds on squarks and gluinos from the Large Hadron Collider. We also obtained the dominant Higgsino contributions to the proton decay mode, p→K+ν¯, with general generation-independent sparticle masses for squarks and sleptons. Even for split scalar soft masses in our model, however, we found that the bounds from the proton decay are satisfied only if the effective Yukawa couplings of the colored Higgsinos are suppressed further by a factor of order 10−4–10−3. We illustrated how such a suppression factor is realized in orbifold GUTs in the extra dimension where the colored Higgsinos in the bulk are not coupled to the matter fields localized at the orbifold fixed points at the leading order.

Published by the American Physical Society
2024
Adaptation, compensation and disengagement: how ICT competences influence nascent entrepreneurs' strategies in a global crisis environment
Authors: Estrada-Cruz Marina , Mira-Solves Ignacio , Martínez-Mateo Jesús 
Published: April 2024

PurposeA global crisis like that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the survival of any business, but especially of nascent entrepreneurs, due to their vulnerable situation. At this stage of entrepreneurship, information and communication technology capabilities (ICTCs) are critical skills that help entrepreneurs develop their new businesses, fostering economic adaptability to counteract adverse effects. This study advances knowledge of how nascent entrepreneurs react in an environment of global crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes a sample of 331 Spanish nascent entrepreneurs to determine the mediating effect of ICTCs on the relationship between the impact of a global crisis (e.g. COVID-19) and the firm’s strategic response.FindingsThe results suggest that crises influence adaptation and compensation strategies significantly and that ICTCs exert a total mediating effect on this relationship. The results do not, however, establish a clear relationship between the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and disengagement response, but rather a negative relationship, possibly influenced by government attempts to mitigate the pandemic’s economic consequences (economic aid to maintain the workforce, financial support for business model survival).Originality/valueThe COVID-19 crisis revealed ICT as a key technology for continuing business operations. This study analyzes how ICTCs affect nascent entrepreneurs’ strategies in crisis environments. Our analysis is important because these entrepreneurs have invested resources in their new project. We must determine their strategic response to crisis environments: adaptation, compensation or disengagement. The sample itself, collected during the pandemic, provides unique insights into the impact of the crisis on nascent business decisions.
Bond yield spreads and exchange market pressure in emerging countries
Authors: Ozcelebi Oguzhan , Perez-Montiel Jose , Manera Carles 
Published: April 2024

PurposeMight the impact of the financial stress on exchange markets be asymmetric and exposed to regime changes? Departing from the existing literature, highlighting that the domestic and foreign financial stress in terms of money market have substantial effects on exchange market, this paper aims to investigate the impacts of the bond yield spreads of three emerging countries (Mexico, Russia, and South Korea) on their exchange market pressure indices using monthly observations for the period 2010:01–2019:12. Additionally, the paper analyses the impact of bond yield spread of the US on the exchange market pressure indices of the three mentioned emerging countries. The authors hypothesized whether the negative and positive changes in the bond yield spreads have varying effects on exchange market pressure indices.Design/methodology/approachTo address the research question, we measure the bond yield spread of the selected countries by using the interest rate spread between 10-year and 3-month treasury bills. At the same time, the exchange market pressure index is proxied by the index introduced by Desai et al. (2017). We base the empirical analysis on nonlinear vector autoregression (VAR) models and an asymmetric quantile-based approach.FindingsThe results of the impulse response functions indicate that increases/decreases in the bond yield spreads of Mexico, Russia and South Korea raise/lower their exchange market pressure, and the effects of shocks in the bond yield spreads of the US also lead to depreciation/appreciation pressures in the local currencies of the emerging countries. The quantile connectedness analysis, which allows for the role of regimes, reveals that the weights of the domestic and foreign bond yield spread in explaining variations of exchange market pressure indices are higher when exchange market pressure indices are not in a normal regime, indicating the role of extreme development conditions in the exchange market. The quantile regression model underlines that an increase in the domestic bond yield spread leads to a rise in its exchange market pressure index during all exchange market pressure periods in Mexico, and the relevant effects are valid during periods of high exchange market pressure in Russia. Our results also show that Russia differs from Mexico and South Korea in terms of the factors influencing the demand for domestic currency, and we have demonstrated the role of domestic macroeconomic and financial conditions in surpassing the effects of US financial stress. More specifically, the impacts of the domestic and foreign financial stress vary across regimes and are asymmetric.Originality/valueThis study enriches the literature on factors affecting the exchange market pressure of emerging countries. The results have significant economic implications for policymakers, indicating that the exchange market pressure index may trigger a financial crisis and economic recession.