bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The delayed impact of informed versus blind interviewing on eyewitness memory
Authors: Rivard Jillian , Carlson Victoria , LaBat Devon E. , Compo Nadja Schreiber 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackgroundPrevious research has highlighted the potentially detrimental effects of pre‐interview preparation on witness memory within an interview context (Rivard et al., 2016). The present study examined the effect of an interviewer's pre‐interview knowledge on eyewitness memory beyond the initial interview.MethodStudent witnesses were interviewed one week after viewing a mock crime event by a student interviewer who was either correctly informed, incorrectly informed, or uninformed (blind) to case details and who was either told to avoid suggestions or was not given cautionary instructions.ResultsAnalyses of the witnesses' recall quantity and quality one week after the interview revealed that witnesses of blind interviewers recalled more details than witnesses of incorrectly informed interviewers. Witnesses of blind interviewers were also more accurate than witnesses of incorrectly informed interviewers, but only when interviewers were warned not to ask suggestive questions.ImplicationsFindings suggest that interviewer training and pre‐interview knowledge may play an important role in witness recall.
FLZ13 interacts with FLC and ABI5 to negatively regulate flowering time in Arabidopsis
Authors: Li Xibao , Lai Minyi , Li Kailin , Yang Lianming , Liao Jun , Gao Yingmiao , Wang Ying , Gao Caiji , Shen Wenjin , Luo Ming , Yang Chao 
Published: December 2023

Summary

The transition from vegetative to reproductive growth, known as flowering, is a critical developmental process in flowering plants to ensure reproductive success. This process is strictly controlled by various internal and external cues; however, the underlying molecular regulatory mechanisms need to be further characterized.

Here, we report a plant‐specific protein, FCS‐LIKE ZINC FINGER PROTEIN 13 (FLZ13), which functions as a hitherto unknown negative modulator of flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Biochemical analysis showed that FLZ13 directly interacts with FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), a major flowering repressor, and that FLZ13 largely depends on FLC to repress the transcription of two core flowering integrators: FLOWERING LOCUS T and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1. In addition, FLZ13 works together with ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 5 to activate FLC expression to delay flowering.

Taken together, our findings suggest that FLZ13 is an important component of the gene regulatory network for flowering time control in plants.
Photocatalytic fixation and oxygenation of NAD+/NADP+ and sulfides using solar light: Exploring mechanistic investigations and their impact on synthetic applications
Authors: Shukla Ravindra K. , Yadav Rajesh K. , Gole Vittal L. , Singh Satyam , Gupta Navneet Kumar , Baeg Jin‐Ook 
Published: December 2023

AbstractSulfur‐doped Eosin‐B (SDE‐B) photocatalysts were synthesized for the first time utilizing sublimed sulfur (S8) as a dopant in an in situ thermal copolymerization technique. Sulfur doping not only increased Eosin‐B (E‐B) absorption range for solar radiation but also improved fixation and oxygenation capabilities. The doped sulfur bridges the S‐S bond by substituting for the edge bromine of the E‐B bond. The improved photocatalytic activity of SDE‐B in the fixation and oxygenation of NAD+/NADP+ and sulfides using solar light is attributed to the photo‐induced hole of SDE‐B's high fixation and oxygenation capacity, as well as an efficient suppression of electron and hole recombination. The powerful light‐harvesting bridge system created using SDE‐B as a photocatalyst works extremely well, resulting in high NADH/NADPH regeneration (79.58/76.36%) and good sulfoxide yields (98.9%) under solar light. This study focuses on the creation and implementation of a sulfur‐doped photocatalyst for direct fine chemical regeneration and organic transformation.
Approximating Botswana's financial cycle: Expanding the macroprudential toolkit
Authors: Setshegetso Leonard Nnete , Mado Mogakolodi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis study estimates the financial cycle for Botswana using the Christiano–Fitzgerald band‐pass filter, unobserved components approach and a Markov switching dynamic factor model. Using real credit and equity prices, together with several macroeconomic variables from 2001Q1 to 2021Q4, we find that the domestic financial cycle generally captures movements along the business cycle, with peaks reflecting the cumulative build‐up of risks during the boom that ultimately burst, coinciding with periods of financial distress. These findings shed light on the implications of financial fluctuations on domestic financial stability, hence, inform effective calibration of macroprudential tools, while also providing traction for implementation of the recently approved macroprudential policy framework for Botswana.
Access to Higher Education and Adolescent Fertility in Chile
Authors: Salinas Viviana , Jorquera‐Samter Valentina , Wiegand‐Cruz Pilar 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis study investigates gender differences in the association between adolescent fertility and the likelihood of initiating higher education among young Chilean men and women. We adopt an entropy balancing strategy to estimate the association between adolescent fertility and the likelihood of starting higher education while accounting for potential selection into early childbearing due to socioeconomic status and prior academic achievement. We use data from official national registers that cover a cohort of Chilean students who attended publicly funded schools and who successfully completed secondary schooling between 2011 and 2022. Our results indicate that adolescent mothers are 15 percentage points less likely to initiate higher education than their peers who did not give birth during adolescence. In comparison, teenage fathers are 20 percentage points less likely to do so than their childless counterparts. Our findings stand in contrast to previously identified disadvantage patterns for secondary school completion, whereby adolescent fertility more significantly hinders schooling completion for women relative to men. We contend that this reversal may be related to traditional gender‐role expectations in Chile, which encourage young fathers to act as providers and, therefore, may be prevented from continuing on their education path into tertiary studies.
From healthcare professional to degree apprentice
Authors: Picts Alexandra , Russell Anne‐Marie 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackgroundIn the UK, new degree apprenticeship opportunities are enabling non‐medical practitioners to develop advanced roles. Frameworks to structure and standardise this development are also becoming more common. Knowing that historically healthcare professionals moving into advanced roles have experienced a transition period, we undertook a qualitative study to explore how this role transition – from healthcare professional to Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) – was experienced in a degree apprentice programme.MethodsFirst year ACP degree apprentices were purposively selected from a cohort of 28 enrolled on a 3‐year Masters programme at a UK University in 2021/22. Consenting participants took part in in‐depth qualitative online semi‐structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.FindingsThe five participants were in their first year of ACP training and represented core professional groups and primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare sectors. Five themes were identified: 1. what ACP apprentices bring; 2. reflections on how they see themselves; 3. how others see them; 4. effects of employing organisation's support; and 5. experience of Masters level learning.ConclusionACP apprentices experienced a strong and often difficult transition period at the beginning of their training. The themes identified as influencing this could be used by higher education providers and clinical workplaces to better understand this period in training. Specifically, having a clear transition point to a defined role; a reduced workload during the transition period; and improved information sharing to better prepare workplaces for trainees, could all improve the experience.
A CRISPRi-based genetic resource to study essential
Staphylococcus aureus
genes
Authors: Reed Patricia , Sorg Moritz , Alwardt Dominik , Serra Lúcia , Veiga Helena , Schäper Simon , Pinho Mariana G. 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

We have optimized a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) interference system to facilitate gene knockdown in the Gram-positive bacterial pathogen
Staphylococcus aureus
. Our approach used a CRISPRi system derived from
Streptococcus pyogenes,
which involves the co-expression of the
dcas9
gene encoding a catalytically inactive Cas9 protein and a customizable single guide RNA (sgRNA). In our system,
dcas9
is expressed from a single copy in the chromosome of methicillin-resistant
S. aureus
strains COL or JE2, under the control of a tightly regulated promoter, inducible by anhydrotetracycline. The sgRNAs are expressed from a replicative plasmid under the control of a constitutively active promoter. This system enables efficient, inducible, knockdown of both essential and non-essential genes. Using this approach, we constructed the Lisbon CRISPRi Mutant Library comprising 261 strains, in the JE2 background, containing sgRNAs targeting 200 essential genes/operons. This library facilitates the study of the function of essential
S. aureus
genes and is complementary to the Nebraska Transposon Mutant Library, which consists of nearly 2,000 strains, each carrying a transposon insertion within a non-essential gene. The availability of these two libraries will facilitate the study of
S. aureus
pathogenesis and biology.

IMPORTANCE

Staphylococcus aureus
is an important clinical pathogen that causes a high number of antibiotic-resistant infections. The study of
S. aureus
biology, and particularly of the function of essential proteins, is of particular importance to develop new approaches to combat this pathogen. We have optimized a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat interference (CRISPRi) system that allows efficient targeting of essential
S. aureus
genes. Furthermore, we have used that system to construct a library comprising 261 strains, which allows the depletion of essential proteins encoded by 200 genes/operons. This library, which we have named Lisbon CRISPRi Mutant Library, should facilitate the study of
S. aureus
pathogenesis and biology.
A singular PpaA/AerR-like protein in
Rhodospirillum rubrum
rules beyond the boundaries of photosynthesis in response to the intracellular redox state
Authors: Godoy Manuel S. , de Miguel Santiago R. , Prieto M. Auxiliadora 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

Photosynthesis (PS) in purple non-Sulfur bacteria (PNSB) is strictly controlled to avoid energy consumption and to prevent oxidative stress when oxygen is present. PpsR, a transcriptional repressor encoded in the photosynthesis gene cluster (PGC), is one of the main players in the regulation of PS-related genes. In some cases, PpsR does not sense the environmental cue by itself but delegates this task to other proteins like PpaA/AerR anti-repressors, which can ultimately affect PpsR affinity to some promoter regions. In this work, the effects of locus Rru_A0625 product (HP1) on PS regulation of
Rhodospirillum rubrum
were studied by mutation/complementation and transcriptomic strategies. Rru_A0625 is located next to
ppsR
gene, just like other PpaA/AerR members, and its deletion annuls pigment synthesis in dark micro/anaerobic growth conditions. HP1 shows similarity to PpaA/AerR anti-repressors family, although it does not possess their typical cobalamin binding domain. A transcriptomic analysis of Rru_A0625 deletion mutant showed that HP1 not only has effects on bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis, but also many other biological processes in the cell. The most notorious is the impact on the transcription of the nitrogenase complex components and accessory proteins. Our results suggest that this new member of the PpaA/AerR family has evolved losing the canonical cobalamin binding domain, but not the redox sensing capability, conserving a not fully understood mechanism of PS regulation.

IMPORTANCE

Rhodospirillum rubrum
vast metabolic versatility places it as a remarkable model bacterium and an excellent biotechnological chassis. The key component of photosynthesis (PS) studied in this work (HP1) stands out among the other members of PpaA/AerR anti-repressor family since it lacks the motif they all share: the cobalamin B-12 binding motif. Despite being reduced and poorly conserved, HP1 stills controls PS as the other members of the family, allowing a fast response to changes in the redox state of the cell. This work also shows that HP1 absence affects genes from relevant biological processes other than PS, including nitrogen fixation and stress response. From a biotechnological perspective, HP1 could be manipulated in approaches where PS is not necessary, such as hydrogen or polyhydroxyalkanoates production, to save energy.
Genome-wide screen reveals cellular functions that counteract rifampicin lethality in
Escherichia coli
Authors: Wang Yu , Fu Han , Shi Xiao-Jie , Zhao Guo-Ping , Lyu Liang-Dong 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

The antibacterial activity of rifamycins specifically relies on the inhibition of transcription by directly binding to the β-subunit of bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP). However, its killing efficacy is substantially diminished in most gram-negative bacteria. To systematically reveal the cellular functions that counteract rifamycin-mediated killing in the gram-negative model organism
Escherichia coli
, we performed a genome-wide Tn5 transposon-mediated screen to identify mutants with altered susceptibility to rifampicin. Combined with targeted gene knockouts, our results showed that the β-barrel assembly machinery plays a crucial role in restricting rifampicin from entering the cell, whereas mutants deficient in other cellular permeability barriers, such as lipopolysaccharide and enterobacterial common antigen, had no such effect. At bactericidal concentrations, the killing efficacy of rifampicin was strongly influenced by cellular functions, including iron acquisition, DNA repair, aerobic respiration, and carbon metabolism. Although iron acquisition
de facto
has a strong impact or dependence on cellular redox, our results suggest that their effects on rifampicin efficacy do not rely on hydroxyl radical formation. We provide evidence that maintenance of DNA replication and transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair protects
E. coli
cells against rifampicin killing. Moreover, our results showed that sustained aerobic respiration and carbon catabolism diminish rifampicin’s killing efficacy, and this effect relies on the inhibition of transcription but not on translation. These findings suggest that the killing efficacy of rifamycins is largely determined by cellular responses upon the inhibition of RNAP and may expand our knowledge of the action mechanisms of rifamycins.

IMPORTANCE

Rifamycins are a group of antibiotics with a wide antibacterial spectrum. Although the binding target of rifamycin has been well characterized, the mechanisms underlying the discrepant killing efficacy between gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria remain poorly understood. Using a high-throughput screen combined with targeted gene knockouts in the gram-negative model organism
Escherichia coli
, we established that rifampicin efficacy is strongly dependent on several cellular pathways, including iron acquisition, DNA repair, aerobic respiration, and carbon metabolism. In addition, we provide evidence that these pathways modulate rifampicin efficacy in a manner distinct from redox-related killing. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of rifamycin efficacy and may aid in the development of new antimicrobial adjuvants.
Trends in the prevalence and social determinants of stunting in India, 2005–2021: findings from three rounds of the National Family Health Survey
Authors: Rao Nirmala , Bala Manya , Ranganathan Namita , Anand Utkarsh , Dhingra Sunaina , Costa Janaina Calu , Weber Ann M 
Published: December 2023

ObjectivesTo assess social determinants of stunting and the shifts in contributions of socio-demographic factors to national prevalence trends in India between 2005 and 2021.MethodsWe leveraged data from three rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3: 2005–2006, NFHS-4: 2015–2016, NFHS-5: 2019–2021) for 443 038 children under 5 years. Adjusted logistic regression models and a Kitigawa-Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition were deployed to examine how wealth, residence, belonging to a marginalised social group, maternal education and child sex contributed to changes in stunting prevalence.ResultsThe decrease in stunting prevalence was notably slower between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 (annual average rate of reduction (AARR): 1.33%) than between NFHS-3 and NFHS-4 (AARR: 2.20%). The protective effect of high wealth diminished from 2015 onwards but persisted for high maternal education. However, an intersection of higher household wealth and maternal education mitigated stunting to a greater extent than either factor in isolation. Residence only predicted stunting in 2005–2006 with an urban disadvantage (adjusted OR: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.29). Children from marginalised social groups displayed increased likelihoods of stunting, from 6–16% in 2005–2006 to 11–21% in 2015–2016 and 2020–2021. Being male was associated with 6% and 7% increased odds of stunting in 2015–2016 and 2019–2021, respectively. Increased household wealth (45%) and maternal education (14%) contributed to decreased stunting prevalence between 2005 and 2021.ConclusionsStunting prevalence in India has decreased across social groups. However, social disparities in stunting persist and are exacerbated by intersections of low household wealth, maternal education and being from a marginalised social group. Increased survival must be accompanied by needs-based interventions to support children and mitigate mutually reinforcing sources of inequality.
First-in-human study of SBRT and adenosine pathway blockade to potentiate the benefit of immunochemotherapy in early-stage luminal B breast cancer: results of the safety run-in phase of the Neo-CheckRay trial
Authors: De Caluwe Alex , Romano Emanuela , Poortmans Philip , Gombos Andrea , Agostinetto Elisa , Marta Guilherme Nader , Denis Zoe , Drisis Stylianos , Vandekerkhove Christophe , Desmet Antoine , Philippson Catherine , Craciun Ligia , Veys Isabelle , Larsimont Denis , Paesmans Marianne , Van Gestel Dirk , Salgado Roberto , Sotiriou Christos , Piccart-Gebhart Martine , Ignatiadis Michail , Buisseret Laurence 
Published: December 2023

BackgroundLuminal B breast cancer (BC) presents a worse prognosis when compared with luminal A BC and exhibits a lower sensitivity to chemotherapy and a lower immunogenicity in contrast to non-luminal BC subtypes. The Neo-CheckRay clinical trial investigates the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) directed to the primary tumor in combination with the adenosine pathway inhibitor oleclumab to improve the response to neo-adjuvant immuno-chemotherapy in luminal B BC. The trial consists of a safety run-in followed by a randomized phase II trial. Here, we present the results of the first-in-human safety run-in.MethodsThe safety run-in was an open-label, single-arm trial in which six patients with early-stage luminal B BC received the following neo-adjuvant regimen: paclitaxel q1w×12 → doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide q2w×4; durvalumab (anti-programmed cell death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1)) q4w×5; oleclumab (anti-CD73) q2w×4 → q4w×3 and 3×8 Gy SBRT to the primary tumor at week 5. Surgery must be performed 2–6 weeks after primary systemic treatment and adjuvant therapy was given per local guidelines, RT boost to the tumor bed was not allowed. Key inclusion criteria were: luminal BC, Ki67≥15% or histological grade 3, MammaPrint high risk, tumor size≥1.5 cm. Primary tumor tissue samples were collected at three timepoints: baseline, 1 week after SBRT and at surgery. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, PD-L1 and CD73 were evaluated at each timepoint, and residual cancer burden (RCB) was calculated at surgery.ResultsSix patients were included between November 2019 and March 2020. Median age was 53 years, range 37–69. All patients received SBRT and underwent surgery 2–4 weeks after the last treatment. After a median follow-up time of 2 years after surgery, one grade 3 adverse event (AE) was reported: pericarditis with rapid resolution under corticosteroids. No grade 4–5 AE were documented. Overall cosmetical breast evaluation after surgery was ‘excellent’ in four patients and ‘good’ in two patients. RCB results were 2/6 RCB 0; 2/6 RCB 1; 1/6 RCB 2 and 1/6 RCB 3.ConclusionsThis novel treatment combination was considered safe and is worth further investigation in a randomized phase II trial.Trial registration numberNCT03875573.
Genotypic markers associated with cold storage survival of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
Authors: Ogaya Christopher , Moges Yohannes , Dörfler Verena , Barg Mike , Ehlers Ralf-Udo , Molina Carlos 
Published: December 2023

Summary
Limited shelf life is a major constraint to successful commercialisation of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN), and to extend shelf life, dauer juveniles (DJ) are formulated and stored at low temperatures (4-8°C). We evaluated the cold storage potential of strains of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora formulated in diatomaceous earth at storage temperatures between 5 and 9°C. When assessing DJ decline to reach 75% survival (MT75) in the formulation for the respective temperatures, H. bacteriophora strain HB4 had the highest survival of 25 days at 9°C, while strain D2D6 survived longest at 8°C for 28 days. A set of 22 H. bacteriophora wild type inbred lines was then phenotyped for cold tolerance in water under oxidative stress in 70 mM H2O2 at 2°C. The MT50 (time to 50% survival) ranged from 11 to 23 days. The phenotypic data were correlated with the respective genotypic data, identifying four single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers associated with cold tolerance. The survival of two lines (PT11 and IR11) with opposite extreme cold tolerance pheno- and genotypes was evaluated in diatomaceous earth formulation at 2°C with the cold tolerant IR11 surviving 3 days longer than PT11. Our study yields a set of valuable SNP markers employable in rapid genotyping of cold tolerance and tracking this trait during the breeding process.