bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Needlestick Injuries in Healthcare, Research and Veterinary Environments in a Sample Population in British Columbia and their Economic, Psychological and Workplace Impacts
Authors: Magrill Jamie , Low Sharon Yuen Sa , Na Ina 
Published: May 2023

AbstractIntroductionNeedle-stick injuries (NSIs) are defined as the sharp point of a needle puncturing human skin. This article examines the risk and illustrates the burden of NSIs for workers in the healthcare, veterinary and research industries, and includes a sample survey population of workers in workplaces using needles.MethodsFor the review component of this article, PubMed and Google Scholar were queried within the date range of 1998-2022, retrieving 1,437 results. A publicly available sample population dataset was and analyzed from British Columbia (n=30) on workplace needlestick injuries. The OSHA, WHO, and NIEHS guidelines were reviewed, and the WorkSafe BC injury database was searched using FIPPA requests.DiscussionRecapping remains a common practice despite decades of guidelines recommending against recapping. NSI research is underpowered and underrepresented in non-healthcare settings. NSIs lead to heightened anxiety, depression, and PTSD in workers and exposure to pathogens, toxic chemicals and permanent tissue damage. NSI annual reporting is likely an underestimate due to chronic underreporting, and the financial impact including work-loss and healthcare costs continues to rise. Current NSI prevention devices have limited uptake and thus, more affordable, versatile and efficient NSI-prevention devices are needed.RelevanceDue to COVID-19, healthcare workers are at a higher risk of receiving NSIs. Emphasis on safe needle handling practices is necessary to maintain workers physical and psychological safety, to protect workers using COVID-19 PPE on long shifts, and to deliver the high volume of vaccinations required to inoculate the global population.ConclusionNSIs are detrimental to healthcare workers wellbeing, chronically underreported, and poorly surveyed. Areas of future research include determining more effective solutions to reduce NSIs, assessing the validity of NSI reporting systems, and integrating solutions with COVID-19 prevention and vaccination protocols.
Characterising subgroups of people with severe COVID anxiety by latent profile analysis
Authors: King Jacob D , McQuaid Aisling , Leeson Verity C , Tella Oluwaseun , Crawford Mike J 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBackgroundSevere COVID anxiety describes people whose experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic are overwhelming, and have lead to patterns of behaviours that add little protective benefit but are at the expense of other priorities in life. It appears to be a complex social and psychological phenomenon, influenced by demographic and social factors. Identifying subgroups of people with severe COVID anxiety would better place clinicians to assess and support this distress where indicated.MethodsMeasurement tools assessing depression, generalised and health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, personality difficulty and alcohol use from 284 people living in United Kingdom with severe COVID anxiety were explored with latent profile analysis. Further analyses examined the associations of identified clusters with demographic and social factors and daily functioning, quality of life and protective behaviours.ResultsA model with 4 classes provided the best fit. Distinct patterns of psychopathology emerged which were variably associated with demographic factors and COVID behaviours.LimitationsGiven the complex aetiology of COVID anxiety a number of factors which might better cluster subgroups are likely to have gone uncollected. Moreover, using data collected at a single time-point limits these results’ ability to conclude whether observed relationships were the product of the pandemic or longstanding.ConclusionsPeople living with severe COVID anxiety are a heterogenous group. This analysis adds to evidence that certain health behaviours and demographic factors are inextricably linked to poor mental health in people with COVID anxiety, and that targeting health behaviours with specific intervention might be beneficial.
Lack of detection of SARS-CoV-2 in British wildlife 2020-21 and first description of a stoat (Mustela erminea) Minacovirus
Authors: Apaa Ternenge , Withers Amy J. , MacKenzie Laura , Staley Ceri , Dessi Nicola , Blanchard Adam , Bennett Malcolm , Bremner-Harrison Samantha , Chadwick Elizabeth A. , Hailer Frank , Harrison Stephen W.R. , Lambin Xavier , Loose Matthew , Mathews Fiona , Tarlinton Rachael 
Published: May 2023

2.AbstractRepeat spillover of SARS-CoV-2 into new hosts has highlighted the critical role of cross species transmission of coronaviruses and establishment of new reservoirs of virus in pandemic and epizootic spread of coronaviruses. Species particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 spill-over include Mustelidae (mink, ferrets and related animals), cricetid rodents (hamsters and related animals), felids domestic cats and related animals) and white tailed deer. These predispositions led us to screen British wildlife with sarbecovirus specific qPCR and pan coronavirus PCR assays for SARS-CoV-2 using samples collected during the human pandemic to establish if widespread spill-over was occurring. Fourteen wildlife species (n=402) were tested, including : 2 Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 101 Badgers (Meles meles), 2 wild American Mink (Neogale vison), 41 Pine Marten (Martes martes), 2 Weasels (Mustela nivalis), 7 Stoats (Mustela erminea), 108 Water Voles (Arvicola amphibius), 39 Bank voles (Myodes glareolous), 10 Field Voles (Microtus agrestis), 15 Wood Mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), 1 Common Shrew (Sorex aranaeus), 2 Pygmy Shrews (Sorex minutus), 2 Hedgehogs(Erinaceus europaeus) and 75 Eurasian Otters (Lutra lutra). No cases of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in any animals, however a novel minacovirus related to mink and ferret alphacoronaviruses was detected in stoats recently introduced to the Orkney Islands. This group of viruses is of interest due to pathogenicity in ferrets. The impact of this virus on the health of stoat populations remains to be established.
Rapid Peripheral Disintegration of Planaria in the Presence of Barium
Authors: Molano Alberto 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBioelectric signalling has been implicated in planaria regeneration and anatomical homeostasis. Previous reports demonstrated that barium chloride (1 mM), a potassium channel blocker, produced slow disintegration of the head (in 72 hours) in a clonal strain ofDugesia japonica. To investigate whether the effects of barium were similar in all planaria species, I tested its effects in wildGirardia sp. collected from a stream. The results were significantly different from those seen inDugesia japonica: At 1 mM, these worms underwent complete peripheral disintegration within thirty minutes.
Lunulite bryozoan biogeography – a convergent global success with a distinct Western Australian twist
Authors: Håkansson Eckart , O’Dea Aaron , Rosso Antonietta 
Published: May 2023

AbstractLunulites are a polyphyletic group of marine bryozoans that have been a conspicuous element of marine shelf faunas since the Late Cretaceous into the present day. They are easily recognizable by their domed colony form and free-living mode of life on sea floor sediments. Here we explore the waxing and waning of the major lunulitiform groups and their unique morphology and mode of life from the Cretaceous to the present day. Because relatively few and simple modifications are needed to transition from an encrusting form into this highly specialized lifestyle, shared colonial features are rampant and we find examples of both convergent and iterative evolution across several unrelated clades, although detailed phylogenetic relationship remain largely unresolved. The early chapter of the ‘lunulite story’ is focused on the Late Cretaceous European Chalk Sea, which appears to have been a crucible for the evolution of ‘lunulites’. At least six, and likely more, cheilostome groups independently evolved the free-living mode of life in this tropical shelf area. To what extent any of these free-living clades gave rise to post-Cretaceous groups remains unclear. The Cenozoic chapter is more complex, comprising at least three independently evolved major clades, two of which are extant; (1) the Lunulitidae s. str., a North American/European cluster, comprising the classicLunulites, which became extinct in the late Neogene, (2) the Cupuladriidae, which reached circum-global tropical and sub-tropical distribution in the Miocene, and (3) the ‘Austral lunulite’ cluster, which is almost certainly polyphyletic and through most of its history confined to Australia and New Zealand, bar a comparatively brief colonization of the southern part of South America, with the earliest representatives from NW Western Australia.
Multiplexed effector screening for recognition by endogenous resistance genes using positive defense reporters in wheat protoplasts
Authors: Wilson Salome , Dagvadorj Bayantes , Tam Rita , Murphy Lydia , Schulz-Kroenert Sven , Heng Nigel , Crean Emma , Greenwood Julian , Rathjen John P. , Schwessinger Benjamin 
Published: May 2023

SummaryPlant resistance (R) and pathogen avirulence (Avr) gene interactions play a vital role in pathogen resistance. Efficient molecular screening tools for crops lack far behind their model organism counterparts, yet they are essential to rapidly identify agriculturally important molecular interactions that trigger host resistance.Here, we have developed a novel wheat protoplast assay that enables efficient screening of Avr/R interactions at scale. Our assay allows access to the extensive gene pool of phenotypically describedRgenes because it does not require the overexpression of clonedRgenes. It is suitable for multiplexedAvrscreening, with interactions tested in pools of up to fiftyAvrcandidates.We identified Avr/R-induced defense genes to create promoter-luciferase reporter. Then, we combined this with a dual-color ratiometric reporter system that normalizes read-outs accounting for experimental variability and Avr/R-induced cell-death. Moreover, we introduced a self-replicative plasmid reducing the amount of plasmid used in the assay.Our assay increases the throughput ofAvrcandidate screening, accelerating the study of cellular defense signaling and resistance gene identification in wheat. We anticipate that our assay will significantly accelerateAvridentification for many wheat pathogens, leading to improved genome-guided pathogen surveillance and breeding of disease-resistant crops.
Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with brucellosis in goats in Nyagatare district, Rwanda
Authors: Habimana Jean Paul , Ntivuguruzwa Jean Bosco , Uwimana Aime lambert , Ugirabe Aurore , Gasana Eric , van Heerden Henriette 
Published: May 2023

AbstractCaprine brucellosis, normally caused byBrucella melitensisin goats, is endemic in Rwanda. However, reliable data on caprine brucellosis in Rwanda is insufficient and data on the prevalence and risk factors linked with goats’ brucellosis in the district of Nyagatare is unknown. A cross-sectional study was conducted among herds of goats in six sectors of Nyagatare district (n=102), to characterise factors at herd level associated with brucellosis seroprevalence in goats. Serum from goats was screened using both the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) and the Rose Bengal test (RBT). A tested systematic questionnaire was used to obtain data about major risk factors for brucellosis. Brucellosis seroprevalence was 6.8% and 10.7% on RBT and iELISA respectively. The overall seroprevalence was 6.8% on animal level and 16.6% on the herd level in series with RBT and iELISA. Mixing a herd of cattle and goats and history of abortions were the risk factors identified to be considerably linked withBrucellaseropositive herd (p< 0.05). This study confirmed that brucellosis is endemic in the area, and a one-health strategy for controlling and preventing brucellosis in the Nyagatare district is strongly recommended. The study recommends an awareness campaign to educate all livestock farmers on brucellosis, further studies are recommended to characterize theBrucellaspp. in small ruminants in Rwanda and recommend appropriate control measures.
Statistical power and false positive rates for interdependent outcomes are strongly influenced by test type: Implications for behavioral neuroscience
Authors: Frankot Michelle , Mueller Peyton M. , Young Michael E. , Haar Cole Vonder 
Published: May 2023

AbstractStatistical errors in preclinical science are a barrier to reproducibility and translation. For instance, linear models (e.g., ANOVA, linear regression) may be misapplied to data that violate assumptions. In behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology, linear models are frequently applied to interdependent or compositional data, which includes behavioral assessments where animals concurrently choose between chambers, objects, outcomes, or types of behavior (e.g., forced swim, novel object, place/social preference). The current study simulated behavioral data for a task with four interdependent choices (i.e., increased choice of a given outcome decreases others) using Monte Carlo methods. 16,000 datasets were simulated (1,000 each of 4 effect sizes by 4 sample sizes) and statistical approaches evaluated for accuracy. Linear regression and linear mixed effects regression (LMER) with a single random intercept resulted in high false positives (>60%). Elevated false positives were attenuated in an LMER with random effects for all choice-levels and a binomial logistic mixed effects regression. However, these models were underpowered to reliably detect effects at common preclinical sample sizes. A Bayesian method using prior knowledge for control subjects increased power by up to 30%. These results were confirmed in a second simulation (8,000 datasets). These data suggest that statistical analyses may often be misapplied in preclinical paradigms, with common linear methods increasing false positives, but potential alternatives lacking power. Ultimately, using informed priors may balance statistical requirements with ethical imperatives to minimize the number of animals used. These findings highlight the importance of considering statistical assumptions and limitations when designing research studies.
Electron microscopy mapping of the DNA-binding sites of monomeric, dimeric, and multimeric KSHV RTA protein
Authors: Calhoun Jayla C. , Damania Blossom , Griffith Jack D. , Costantini Lindsey M. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractMolecular interactions between viral DNA and viral-encoded protein are a prerequisite for successful herpesvirus replication and production of new infectious virions. Here, we examined how the essential Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) protein, RTA, binds to viral DNA using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Previous studies using gel-based approaches to characterize RTA binding are important for studying the predominant form(s) of RTA within a population and identifying the DNA sequences that RTA binds with high affinity. However, using TEM we were able to examine individual protein-DNA complexes and capture the various oligomeric states of RTA when bound to DNA. Hundreds of images of individual DNA and protein molecules were collected and then quantified to map the DNA binding positions of RTA bound to the two KSHV lytic origins of replication encoded within the KSHV genome. The relative size of RTA or RTA bound to DNA were then compared to protein standards to determine whether RTA complexed with DNA was monomeric, dimeric, or formed larger oligomeric structures. We successfully analyzed a highly heterogenous dataset and identified new binding sites for RTA. This provides direct evidence that RTA forms dimers and high order multimers when bound to KSHV origin of replication DNA sequences. This work expands our understanding of RTA binding, and demonstrates the importance of employing methodologies that can characterize highly heterogenic populations of proteins.ImportanceKaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human herpesvirus associated with several human cancers, typically in patients with compromised immune systems. Herpesviruses establish lifelong infections in hosts in part due to the two phases of infection: the dormant and active phases. Effective antiviral treatments to prevent the production of new viruses are needed to treat KSHV. A detailed microscopy-based investigation of the molecular interactions between viral protein and viral DNA revealed how protein-protein interactions play a role in DNA binding specificity. This analysis will lead to a more in depth understanding of KSHV DNA replication and serve as the basis for anti-viral therapies that disrupt and prevent the protein-DNA interactions, thereby decreasing spread to new hosts.
Sex differences in socioemotional behavior and changes in ventral hippocampal transcription across aging in C57Bl/6J mice
Authors: Baumgartner Nina E. , Biraud Mandy C. , Lucas Elizabeth K. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractSocioemotional health is positively correlated with improved cognitive and physical aging. Despite known sex differences in socioemotional behaviors and trajectory of aging, the interactive effects between sex and aging on socioemotional outcomes are poorly understood. We performed the first comprehensive assessment of sex differences in socioemotional behaviors in C57Bl/6J mice across aging. Compared to males, females exhibited decreased anxiety-like behavior and social preference, but increased social recognition. With age, anxiety-like behavior, cued threat memory generalization, and social preference increased in both sexes. To investigate potential neural mechanisms underlying these behavioral changes, we analyzed transcriptional neuropathology markers in ventral hippocampus and found age-related changes in genes related to activated microglia, angiogenesis, and cytokines. Sex differences emerged in timing, direction, and magnitude of these changes, independent of reproductive senescence in aged females. Interestingly, female-specific upregulation of autophagy-related genes correlated with age-related behavioral changes selectively in females. These novel findings reveal critical sex differences in trajectories of ventral hippocampal aging that may contribute to sex- and age-related differences in socioemotional outcomes.
Preservation of ∼12-hour ultradian rhythms of gene expression of mRNA and protein metabolism in the absence of canonical circadian clock
Authors: Zhu Bokai , Liu Silvia 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBesides the ∼24-hour circadian rhythms, ∼12-hour ultradian rhythms of gene expression, metabolism and behaviors exist in animals ranging from crustaceans to mammals. Three major hypotheses were proposed on the origin and mechanisms of regulation of ∼12-hour rhythms, namely that they are not cell-autonomous and controlled by a combination of the circadian clock and environmental cues, that they are regulated by two anti-phase circadian transcriptional factors in a cell-autonomous manner, or that they are established by a cell-autonomous ∼12-hour oscillator. To distinguish among these possibilities, we performed apost-hocanalysis of two high temporal resolution transcriptome dataset in animals and cells lacking the canonical circadian clock. In both the liver of BMAL1 knockout mice andDrosophilaS2 cells, we observed robust and prevalent ∼12-hour rhythms of gene expression enriched in fundamental processes of mRNA and protein metabolism that show large convergence with those identified in wild-type mice liver. Bioinformatics analysis further predicted ELF1 and ATF6B as putative transcription factors regulating the ∼12-hour rhythms of gene expression independently of the circadian clock in both fly and mice. These findings provide additional evidence to support the existence of an evolutionarily conserved 12-hour oscillator that controls ∼12-hour rhythms of gene expression of protein and mRNA metabolism in multiple species.
Widespread Receptive Field Remapping in Early Visual Cortex
Authors: Denagamage Sachira , Morton Mitchell P. , Hudson Nyomi V. , Nandy Anirvan S. 
Published: May 2023

ABSTRACTOur eyes are in constant motion, yet we perceive the visual world as stable. Predictive remapping of receptive fields is thought to be one of the critical mechanisms for enforcing perceptual stability during eye movements. While receptive field remapping has been identified in several cortical areas, the spatiotemporal dynamics of remapping, and its consequences on the tuning properties of neurons, remain poorly understood. Here, we tracked remapping receptive fields in hundreds of neurons from visual Area V2 while subjects performed a cued saccade task. We found that remapping was far more widespread in Area V2 than previously reported and can be found in neurons from all recorded cortical layers and cell types. Surprisingly, neurons undergoing remapping exhibit sensitivity to two punctate locations in visual space. Furthermore, we found that feature selectivity is not only maintained during remapping but transiently increases due to untuned suppression. Taken together, these results shed light on the spatiotemporal dynamics of remapping and its ubiquitous prevalence in the early visual cortex, and force us to revise current models of perceptual stability.
Amyloid pathology reduces ELP3 expression and tRNA modifications leading to impaired proteostasis in Alzheimer’s disease models
Authors: Pereira Marisa , Ribeiro Diana R. , Berg Maximilian , Tsai Andy P. , Nho Kwangsik , Kaiser Stefanie , Moutinho Miguel , Soares Ana R. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the accumulation of abeta-amyloid aggregates, which triggers tau hyperphosphorylation and neuronal loss. While the precise mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in AD are not entirely understood, it is known that loss of proteostasis is implicated in this process. Maintaining neuronal proteostasis requires proper transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications, which are crucial for optimal translation. However, research into tRNA epitranscriptome in AD is limited, and it is not yet clear how alterations in tRNA modifying enzymes and tRNA modifications might contribute to disease progression. Here, we report that expression of the tRNA modifying enzyme ELP3 is reduced in the brain of AD patients and amyloid AD mouse models, suggesting ELP3 is implicated in proteostasis dysregulation observed in AD. To investigate the role of ELP3 specifically in neuronal proteostasis impairments in the context of amyloid pathology, we analyzed SH-SY5Y neuronal cells carrying the amyloidogenic Swedish familial AD mutation in the APP gene (SH-SWE) or the wild-type gene (SH-WT). Similarly to the amyloid mouse models, SH-SWE exhibited reduced levels of ELP3 which was associated with tRNA hypomodifications and reduced abundance, as well as proteostasis impairments. Furthermore, the knock-down of ELP3 in SH-WT recapitulated the proteostasis impairments observed in SH-SWE cells. Importantly, the correction of tRNA deficits due to ELP3 reduction rescued and reverted proteostasis impairments of SH-SWE and SH-WT knock-down for ELP3, respectively. Additionally, SH-WT exposed to the secretome of SH-SWE or synthetic amyloid aggregates recapitulate the SH-SWE phenotype, characterized by reduced ELP3 expression, tRNA hypomodification and increased protein aggregation. Taken together, our data suggest that amyloid pathology dysregulates neuronal proteostasis through the reduction of ELP3 and tRNA modifications. This study highlights the modulation of tRNA modifications as a potential therapeutic avenue to restore neuronal proteostasis in AD and preserve neuronal function.Graphical Abstract