bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Faces capture spatial attention only when we want them to: an inattentional blindness EEG study
Authors: Qiu Zeguo , Lei Xue , Becker Stefanie I. , Pegna Alan J. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractPrevious research on emotional face processing has shown that emotional faces such as fearful faces may be processed without visual awareness. However, evidence for nonconscious attention capture by fearful faces is limited. In fact, studies using sensory manipulation of awareness (e.g., backward masking paradigms) have shown that fearful faces do not attract attention during subliminal viewings nor when they were task-irrelevant. Here, we used a three-phase inattentional blindness paradigm and electroencephalography to examine whether faces (fearful and neutral) capture attention under different conditions of awareness and task-relevancy. We found that the electrophysiological marker for attention capture, the N2-posterior-contralateral (N2pc), was elicited by face stimuli only when participants were aware of the faces and when they were task-relevant (phase 3). When participants were unaware of the presence of faces (phase 1) or when the faces were irrelevant to the task (phase 2), no N2pc was observed. Together with our previous work, we concluded that fearful faces, or faces in general, do not attract attention unless we want them to.
The small acid-soluble proteins ofClostridioides difficileregulate sporulation in a SpoIVB2-dependent manner
Authors: Nerber Hailee N. , Baloh Marko , Brehm Joshua N. , Sorg Joseph A. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractClostridioides difficileis a pathogen whose transmission relies on the formation of dormant endospores. Spores are highly resilient forms of bacteria that resist environmental and chemical insults. In recent work, we found thatC. difficileSspA and SspB, two small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs), protect spores from UV damage and, interestingly, are necessary for the formation of mature spores. Here, we build upon this finding and show thatC. difficile sspAandsspBare required for the formation of the spore cortex layer. Moreover, using an EMS mutagenesis selection strategy, we identified mutations that suppressed the defect in sporulation ofC. difficileSASP mutants. Many of these strains contained mutations inCDR20291_0714(spoIVB2) revealing a connection between the SpoIVB2 protease and the SASPs in the sporulation pathway. This work builds upon the hypothesis that the small acid-soluble proteins can regulate gene expression.ImportanceC. difficileis easily spread through the production of highly resistant spores. Understanding how spores are formed could yield valuable insight into how the sporulation process can be halted to render spores that are sensitive to cleaning methods. Here, we identify another protein involved in the sporulation process that is seemingly controlled by the small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs). This discovery allows us to better understand how theC. difficileSASPs may bind to specific sites on the genome to regulate gene expression.
Measuring changes inPlasmodium falciparumcensus population size in response to sequential malaria control interventions
Authors: Tiedje Kathryn E. , Zhan Qi , Ruybal-Pésantez Shazia , Tonkin-Hill Gerry , He Qixin , Tan Mun Hua , Argyropoulos Dionne C. , Deed Samantha L. , Ghansah Anita , Bangre Oscar , Oduro Abraham R. , Koram Kwadwo A. , Pascual Mercedes , Day Karen P. 
Published: May 2023

ABSTRACTHere we introduce a new endpoint “census population size” to evaluate the epidemiology and control ofPlasmodium falciparuminfections, where the parasite, rather than the infected human host, is the unit of measurement. To calculate census population size, we rely on a definition of parasite variation known as multiplicity of infection (MOIvar), based on the hyper-diversity of thevarmultigene family. We present a Bayesian approach to estimate MOIvarfrom sequencing and counting the number of unique DBLα tags (or DBLα types) ofvargenes, and derive from it census population size by summation of MOIvarin the human population. We track changes in this parasite population size and structure through sequential malaria interventions by indoor residual spraying (IRS) and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) from 2012 to 2017 in an area of high-seasonal malaria transmission in northern Ghana. Following IRS, which reduced transmission intensity by > 90% and decreased parasite prevalence by ∼40-50%, significant reductions invardiversity, MOIvar, and population size were observed in ∼2,000 humans across all ages. These changes, consistent with the loss of diverse parasite genomes, were short lived and 32-months after IRS was discontinued and SMC was introduced,vardiversity and population size rebounded in all age groups except for the younger children (1-5 years) targeted by SMC. Despite major perturbations from IRS and SMC interventions, the parasite population remained very large and retained thevarpopulation genetic characteristics of a high-transmission system (highvardiversity; lowvarrepertoire similarity) demonstrating the resilience ofP. falciparumto short-term interventions in high-burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
A Scoping Review of Published and Ongoing Prospective Meta-Analyses in Health Research: Study Protocol
Authors: Love Thomas , Li Xiang , Sotiropoulos James X. , Williams Jonathan G. , Libesman Sol , Hunter Kylie E. , Seidler Anna Lene 
Published: May 2023

AbstractBackgroundProspective meta-analysis (PMA) is an emerging evidence synthesis methodology, in which the study selection criteria, hypotheses and analyses are finalised prior to the knowledge of included study results. This has numerous benefits over retrospective meta-analysis, including a reduction in selection bias, selective outcome reporting and publication bias and improved data harmonisation. Yet, common misunderstandings of the PMA methodology remain, leading to inappropriate and/or suboptimal implementation by researchers.ObjectivesTo investigate the landscape of the published and ongoing prospective meta-analyses.MethodsWe will systematically search the International prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) for PMAs from inception to January 2023 and screen these studies in COVIDENCE. The results of this search will be combined with a search of medical databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) up to 2018, to capture PMA that started prior to the launch and subsequently increasingly wide implementation of PROSPERO in February 2011. All PMAs conducted in human health research will be eligible for inclusion. All records will be double-screened, and data will be double extracted, with conflicts resolved through consensus.DisseminationInsights from this scoping review will inform adaptions to current PMA guidelines and thus assist researchers in planning future PMAs in their fields.
PCBP1 regulates alternative splicing of AARS2 in congenital cardiomyopathy
Authors: Lu Yao Wei , Liang Zhuomin , Guo Haipeng , Fernandes Tiago , Espinoza-Lewis Ramon A , Wang Tingting , Li Kathryn , Li Xue , Singh Gurinder Bir , Wang Yi , Cowan Douglas , Mably John D , Philpott Caroline C. , Chen Hong , Wang Da-Zhi 
Published: May 2023

SUMMARYAlanyl-transfer RNA synthetase 2 (AARS2) is a nuclear encoded mitochondrial tRNA synthetase that is responsible for charging of tRNA-Ala with alanine during mitochondrial translation. Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the Aars2 gene, including those affecting its splicing, are linked to infantile cardiomyopathy in humans. However, how Aars2 regulates heart development, and the underlying molecular mechanism of heart disease remains unknown. Here, we found that poly(rC) binding protein 1 (PCBP1) interacts with the Aars2 transcript to mediate its alternative splicing and is critical for the expression and function of Aars2. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Pcbp1 in mice resulted in defects in heart development that are reminiscent of human congenital cardiac defects, including noncompaction cardiomyopathy and a disruption of the cardiomyocyte maturation trajectory. Loss of Pcbp1 led to an aberrant alternative splicing and a premature termination of Aars2 in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, Aars2 mutant mice with exon-16 skipping recapitulated heart developmental defects observed in Pcbp1 mutant mice. Mechanistically, we found dysregulated gene and protein expression of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway in both Pcbp1 and Aars2 mutant hearts; these date provide further evidence that the infantile hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with the disorder oxidative phosphorylation defect type 8 (COXPD8) is mediated by Aars2. Our study therefore identifies Pcbp1 and Aars2 as critical regulators of heart development and provides important molecular insights into the role of disruptions in metabolism on congenital heart defects.
p300 Is an Obligate Integrator of Combinatorial Transcription Factor Inputs
Authors: Ferrie John J. , Karr Jonathan P. , Graham Thomas G.W. , Dailey Gina M. , Zhang Gloria , Tjian Robert , Darzacq Xavier 
Published: May 2023

SummaryTranscription coactivators are proteins or protein complexes that mediate transcription factor (TF) function. However, they lack DNA binding capacity, prompting the question of how they engage target loci. Three non-exclusive hypotheses have been posited: coactivators are recruited by complexing with TFs, by binding histones through epigenetic reader domains, or by partitioning into phase-separated compartments through their extensive intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). Using p300 as a prototypical coactivator, we systematically mutated its annotated domains and show by single-molecule tracking in live cells that coactivator– chromatin binding depends entirely on combinatorial binding of multiple TF-interaction domains. Furthermore, we demonstrate that acetyltransferase activity negatively impacts p300–chromatin association and that the N-terminal TF-interaction domains regulate that activity. Single TF-interaction domains are insufficient for both chromatin binding and regulation of catalytic activity, implying a principle that could broadly inform eukaryotic gene regulation: a TF must act in coordination with other TFs to recruit coactivator activity.
Anxious about rejection, avoidant of neglect: Infant marmosets tune their attachment based on individual caregiver’s parenting style
Authors: Yano-Nashimoto Saori , Truzzi Anna , Shinozuka Kazutaka , Murayama Ayako , Kurachi Takuma , Moriya-Ito Keiko , Tokuno Hironobu , Miyazawa Eri , Esposito Gianluca , Okano Hideyuki , Nakamura Katsuki , Saito Atsuko , Kuroda Kumi O. 
Published: May 2023

AbstractChildren’s physical, cognitive, and emotional maturation require adequate interactions and secure attachment with their primary caregivers. However, the causal relationships between parenting components and infant attachment behaviors remain unclear. New World monkey common marmosets provide an ideal model of human parent-infant relations because, like humans, infant attachment is shared among family caregivers, including parents and older siblings using intricate vocal communications. Combining the natural variations in parenting styles and subsecond-scale microanalyses of dyadic vocal and physical interactions, we demonstrate that marmoset infants signal their need by context-dependent call use and selectively maintain proximity with familiar caregivers. The infant attachment behaviors are individually tuned according to the caregiver’s parenting style; infants keep producing isolation calls when they are carried by rejecting caregivers and exhibit avoidance toward neglectful and rejecting caregivers. Family-deprived infants failed to develop such adaptive uses of attachment behaviors or age-appropriate autonomy and exhibited disorganized attachment behaviors. Thus, marmoset infants shape their ability to modulate their intricate attachment system depending on the caregiver’s attitude through early social interactions with their family caregivers. Demonstrating the significant similarity of the infant attachment system between marmosets and humans, these findings will pave a path to elucidating the neural mechanisms of the infant attachment system.
Rotten to the core – a neurofunctional signature of subjective core disgust generalizes to oral distaste and socio-moral contexts
Authors: Gan Xianyang , Zhou Feng , Xu Ting , Liu Xiaobo , Zhang Ran , Zheng Zihao , Yang Xi , Zhou Xinqi , Yu Fangwen , Li Jialin , Cui Ruifang , Wang Lan , Yuan Jiajin , Yao Dezhong , Becker Benjamin 
Published: May 2023

AbstractWhile disgust originates in the hard-wired mammalian distaste response, the conscious experience of disgust in humans strongly depends on subjective appraisal and may even extend to sociomoral contexts. In a series of studies, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with machine-learning based predictive modeling to establish a comprehensive neurobiological model of subjective disgust. The developed neurofunctional signature accurately predicted momentary self-reported subjective disgust across discovery (n=78) and pre-registered validation (n=30) cohorts and generalized across core disgust (n=34 andn=26), gustatory distaste (n=30), and sociomoral (unfair offers;n=43) contexts. Disgust experience was encoded in distributed cortical and subcortical systems, and exhibited distinct and shared neural representations with subjective fear or negative affect in interoceptive-emotional awareness and conscious appraisal systems while the signatures most accurately predicted the respective target experience. We provide an accurate fMRI-signature for disgust with a high potential to resolve ongoing evolutionary debates.
Evolution towards simplicity in bacterial small heat shock protein system
Authors: Karaś Piotr , Kochanowicz Klaudia , Pitek Marcin , Domanski Przemyslaw , Obuchowski Igor , Tomiczek Bartlomiej , Liberek Krzysztof 
Published: May 2023

AbstractEvolution can tinker with multi-protein machines and replace them with simpler single-protein systems performing equivalent functions in equally efficient manner. It is unclear how, on a molecular level, such simplification can arise. With ancestral reconstruction and biochemical analysis we have traced the evolution of bacterial small heat shock proteins (sHsp), which help to refold proteins from aggregates using either two proteins with different functions (IbpA and IbpB) or a secondarily single sHsp that performs both functions in an equally efficient way. Secondarily single sHsp evolved from IbpA, an ancestor specialized in strong substrate binding. Evolution of an intermolecular binding site drove the alteration of substrate binding properties, as well as formation of higher-order oligomers. Upon two mutations in the α-crystallin domain, secondarily single sHsp interacts with aggregated substrates less tightly. Paradoxically, less efficient binding positively influences the ability of sHsp to stimulate substrate refolding, since the dissociation of sHps from aggregates is required to initiate Hsp70-Hsp100-dependent substrate refolding. After the loss of a partner, IbpA took over its role in facilitating the sHsp dissociation from an aggregate by weakening the interaction with the substrate, which became beneficial for the refolding process. We show that the same two amino acids introduced in modern-day system define whether the IbpA acts as a single sHsp or obligatorily cooperates with an IbpB partner. Our discoveries illuminate how one sequence has evolved to encode functions previously performed by two distinct proteins.
Improved detection and consistency of RNA-interacting proteomes using DIA SILAC
Authors: Tan Thomas , Spanos Christos , Tollervey David 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe RNA-interacting proteome is commonly characterized by UV-crosslinking followed by RNA purification, with protein recovery quantified using SILAC labeling followed by data-dependent acquisition (DDA) of proteomic data. However, the low efficiency of UV-crosslinking, combined with limited sensitivity of the DDA approach often restricts detection to relatively abundant proteins, necessitating multiple mass spec injections of fractionated peptides for each biological sample. Here we report an application of data-independent acquisition (DIA) with SILAC in a total RNA-associated protein purification (TRAPP) UV-crosslinking experiment. This gave 15% greater protein detection and lower inter-replicate variation relative to the same biological materials analyzed using DDA, while allowing single-shot analysis of the sample. As proof of concept, we determined the effects of arsenite treatment on the RNA-bound proteome of HEK293T cells. The DIA dataset yielded similar GO term enrichment for RNA-binding proteins involved in cellular stress responses to the DDA dataset while detecting extra proteins unseen by DDA. Overall, the DIA SILAC approach improved detection of proteins over conventional DDA SILAC for generating RNA-interactome datasets, at a lower cost due to reduced machine time.
The Preoptic Area and Dorsal Habenula Jointly Support Homeostatic Navigation in Larval Zebrafish
Authors: Palieri Virginia , Paoli Emanuele , Grunwald Kadow Ilona C , Portugues Ruben 
Published: May 2023

AbstractAnimals must maintain physiological processes within an optimal temperature range despite changes in their environment. While the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (PoA) acts as a thermostat in mammals through autonomic and behavioral adaptations, its role in temperature regulation of animals lacking internal homeostatic mechanisms is not known. Through novel behavioral assays, wholebrain functional imaging and neural ablations, we show that larval zebrafish achieve thermoregulation through movement and a neural network connecting the PoA to brain areas enabling spatial navigation. PoA drives reorientation when thermal conditions are worsening and conveys this information for instructing future motor actions to the navigation-controlling habenula (Hb) - interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) circuit. These results suggest a conserved function of the PoA in thermoregulation acting through species- specific neural networks. We propose that homeostatic navigation arose from an ancient chemotaxis navigation circuit that was subsequently extended to serve in other sensory modalities.
Primary production dynamics during the decline phase of the North Atlantic annual spring bloom
Authors: Meyer Meredith G. , Brzezinski Mark A. , Cohn Melanie R. , Kramer Sasha J. , Paul Nicola , Sharpe Garrett , Niebergall Alexandria K. , Gifford Scott , Cassar Nicolas , Marchetti Adrian 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe second field campaign of the NASA EXport Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing (EXPORTS) program was conducted in the late spring of 2021 within the vicinity of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (49.0°N, 16.5°W) in the North Atlantic Ocean. Observations from EXPORTS support previous characterizations of this system as highly productive and organic matter rich, with the majority of primary production occurring in large cells (≥ 5 µm) such as diatoms that are primarily utilizing nitrate. Rates of total euphotic zone depth-integrated net primary production ranged from 36.4 to 146.6 mmol C m−2d−1, with an observational period average f-ratio of 0.74, indicating predominantly new production. Substantial variability in the contribution of small (<5 µm) and large cells occurred over the observation period, coinciding with the end of the annual spring phytoplankton bloom. Physical changes associated with storms appear to have impacted the integrated production rates substantially, enhancing rates by ∼10%. These disturbances altered the balance between contributions of the different phytoplankton size fractions, thus highlighting the important role of mixed layer variability in nutrient entrainment into the upper water column and production dynamics. In diatoms, inputs of silicic acid related to deepening of the mixed layer increased silicic acid uptake rates yet concomitant increases in NPP in large cells was not observed. This campaign serves as the high productivity endmember within the EXPORTS program and as such, elucidates how nutrient concentrations and size class play key roles in both low and high productivity systems, but in differing ways.
Transient targeting of hypothalamic orexin neurons alleviates seizures in a mouse model of epilepsy
Authors: Li Han-Tao , Viskaitis Paulius , Bracey Ed , Peleg-Raibstein Daria , Burdakov Denis 
Published: May 2023

ABSTRACTLateral hypothalamic (LH) hypocretin/orexin neurons (HONs) control brain-wide electrical excitation. Abnormally high excitation produces epileptic seizures, which affect millions of people and need better treatments. HON population activity spikes from minute to minute, but the role of this in seizures is unknown. Here, we describe correlative and causal links between HON activity spikes and seizures. Applying temporally-targeted HON recordings and optogenetic silencing to a mouse model of acute epilepsy, we found that pre-seizure HON activity predicts and controls the electrophysiology and behavioral pathology of subsequent seizures. No such links were detected for HON activity during seizures. Having thus defined the time window where HONs influence seizures, we targeted it with LH deep brain stimulation (DBS), which inhibited HON population activity, and produced seizure protection. Collectively, these results uncover a new feature of brain activity linked to seizures, and demonstrate a proof-of-concept treatment that controls this feature and alleviates epilepsy.
Organization of pRF size along the AP axis of the hippocampus is related to specialization for scenes
Authors: Leferink Charlotte , DeKraker Jordan , Brunec Iva , Köhler Stefan , Moscovitch Morris , Walther Dirk B 
Published: May 2023

AbstractThe hippocampus is largely recognized for its integral contributions to memory processing. By contrast, its role in perceptual processing remains less clear. Hippocampal properties differ along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis. Based on past research suggesting a gradient in the scale of features processed along the anterior-posterior extent of the hippocampus, the representations have been proposed to differ as a function of granularity along this axis. One way to quantify such granularity is with population receptive field (pRF) size measured during visual processing, which has so far received little attention. In this study, we compare the pRF sizes within the hippocampus to its activation for images of scenes versus faces. We also measure these functional properties in surrounding medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures. Consistent with past research, we find pRFs to be larger in anterior than in the posterior hippocampus. Critically, our analysis of surrounding MTL regions, such as the perirhinal cortex, entorhinal cortex and parahippocampal cortex, shows a similar relationship between scene sensitivity and larger pRF size. These findings provide conclusive evidence for a tight relationship between pRF size and the sensitivity to image content in the hippocampus.