bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Shifting effects of host physiological condition following pathogen establishment
Authors: Langwig Kate E. , Kilpatrick A. Marm , Kailing Macy J. , Laggan Nichole , White J. Paul , Kaarakka Heather M. , Redell Jennifer A. , DePue John E. , Parise Katy L. , Foster Jeffrey T. , Hoyt Joseph R. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractUnderstanding host persistence with emerging pathogens is essential for conserving populations. Hosts may initially survive pathogen invasions through pre-adaptive mechanisms. However, whether pre-adaptive traits are directionally selected to increase in frequency depends on the heritability and environmental dependence of the trait and the costs of trait maintenance. Body condition is likely an important pre-adaptive mechanism aiding in host survival, although can be seasonally variable in wildlife hosts. We used data collected over seven years on bat body mass, infection, and survival to determine the role of host body condition during the invasion and establishment of the emerging disease, white-nose syndrome. We found that when the pathogen first invaded, bats with higher body mass were more likely to survive, but this effect dissipated following the initial epizootic. We also found that heavier bats lost more weight overwinter, but fat budgeting depended on infection severity. Lastly, we found little support that bat mass increased in the population after pathogen arrival, and there was high annual plasticity in individual bat masses. Overall, our results suggest that factors that contribute to host survival during pathogen invasion may diminish over time, and are potentially replaced by other host adaptations.
Weakly electric fish use self-generated motion to discriminate object shape
Authors: Skeels Sarah , von der Emde Gerhard , de Perera Theresa Burt 
Published: December 2022

ABSTRACTBody movements are known to play an active role in sensing. However, it is not fully understood what information is provided by these movements. The Peter’s elephantnose fish,Gnathonemus petersiisense their environment through active electrolocation during which they use epidermal electroreceptors to perceive object-induced distortions of a self-produced electric field. The analysis of electric images projected on their skin enables them to discriminate between three-dimensional objects. While we know the electric image parameters used to encode numerous object properties, we don’t understand how these images encode object shape. We hypothesise that ‘movement-induced modulations’ (MIMs) evoked by body movements might be involved in shape discrimination during active electrolocation. To test this, we trained fish to complete a shape discrimination task in a two-alternative forced-choice setup, and then manipulated the space available to individuals for scanning movements to see if this led to a change in their discrimination performance. We found that if enough space was available, fish were very good at discriminating objects of different shapes. However, performance decreased strongly when the space was reduced so that scanning movements were impaired. Our study demonstrates the importance of body movements for gaining complex environmental information such as object shape through active electrolocation. Movement can enhance perception by allowing the extraction of certain kinds of information. Similar observations have been made in other animals using different senses, suggesting that the core principles of sensory-motor integration might be valid for various sensory modalities.
The python-derived 16α-hydroxylated bile acid, pythocholic acid decreases food intake and increases jejunal fatty acid ethanolamides in mice
Authors: Higuchi Sei , Wood Courtney , DiPatrizio Nicholas V. , Kawamura Akira , Haeusler Rebecca A. 
Published: December 2022

ABSTRACTObjectiveModulation of bile acid (BA) structure is a potential strategy for obesity and metabolic disease treatment. BAs act not only as signaling molecules involved in energy expenditure and glucose homeostasis, but also as regulators of food intake. The structure of BAs, particularly the position of the hydroxyl groups of BAs impacts food intake partly by intestinal effects: (1) modulating the activity of N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD), which produces the anorexigenic bioactive lipid oleoylethanolamide (OEA), or (2) regulating lipid absorption and the gastric emptying-satiation pathway. We hypothesized that 16α-hydroxylated BAs uniquely regulate food intake, because of the long intermeal intervals in snake species in which these BAs are abundant. However, the effects of 16α-hydroxylated BAs in mammals are completely unknown, because 16α-hydroxylated BAs are not naturally found in mammals. To test the effect of 16α-hydroxylated BAs on food intake, we isolated the 16α-hydroxylated BA pythocholic acid from ball pythons (Python regius).MethodsPythocholic acid or deoxycholic acid (DCA) were given by oral gavage in mice. DCA is known to increase NAPE-PLD activity better than other mammalian BAs. We evaluated food intake, OEA levels and gastric emptying in mice.ResultsWe successfully isolated pythocholic acid from ball pythons for experimental use. Pythocholic treatment significantly decreased food intake compared with DCA treatment, and this was associated with increased jejunal OEA, but no change in gastric emptying or lipid absorption.ConclusionThe exogenous bile acid pythocholic acid is a novel regulator of food intake and the satiety signal OEA in the mouse intestine.HighlightsPythocholic acid decreases food intake.Pythocholic acid increases intestinal OEA and other fatty acid ethanolamides.The effects of pythocholic acid on OEA and hypophagia are greater than the effects of DCA.Pythocholic acid does not affect lipid absorption or gastric emptying.
Assessing risks and mechanisms of idiosyncratic drug toxicity by fingerprints of cell signaling responses
Authors: Medvedev Alexander V. , Makarov Sergei , Medvedeva Lyubov A. , Martsen Elena , Gorman Kristen L. , Lin Benjamin , Makarov Sergei S. 
Published: December 2022

ABSTRACTIdiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is the leading cause of post-marketing drug withdrawal. Here, we describe a straightforward DILI liability assessment approach based on fingerprinting cell signaling responses. The readout is the activity of transcription factors (TF) that link signaling pathways to genes. Using a multiplex reporter assay for 45 TFs in hepatocytic cells, we assessed TF activity profiles (TFAP) for 13 pharmacological classes. The TFAP signatures were consistent with primary drug activity but transformed into different, ‘off-target’ signatures at certain concentrations (COFF). We show that the off-target signatures pertained to DILI-relevant mechanisms, including mitochondria malfunction, proteotoxicity, and lipid peroxidation. Based on reported plasma concentrations in humans (CMAX), drugs do not reach the off-target thresholds in vivo, consistent with the lack of overt toxicity in the population. However, DILI liability drugs were dangerously close to the off-target thresholds. We characterized this closeness by the COFF/CMAXratio termed the ‘safety margin’ (SM). Most-DILI-concern drugs invariably showed smaller safety margins than their less-concern counterparts in each pharmacological class and across classes (median SM values of 6.4 and 212.7, respectively (P<0.00015)). Therefore, the TFAP approach helps to explain idiosyncratic drug toxicity and provides clear quantitative metrics for its probability and the underlying mechanisms.
Multisite Thalamic Recordings to Characterize Seizure Propagation in the Human Brain
Authors: Wu Teresa Q. , Kaboodvand Neda , Veit Mike , McGinn Ryan J. , Davey Zachary , Datta Anjali , Graber Kevin D. , Meador Kimford J. , Fisher Robert , Buch Vivek , Parvizi Josef 
Published: December 2022

ABSTRACTNeuromodulation of the anterior nuclei of the thalamus (ANT) has shown to be efficacious in patients with refractory focal epilepsy, but it is not uniformly effective. One important uncertainty is to what extent thalamic subregions other than the ANT are recruited earlier and more prominently in the propagation of seizures in patients with presumed temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). To address this unknown, we studied 11 patients with clinical manifestations of TLE planned to undergo invasive stereo-encephalography (sEEG) monitoring. We extended cortical electrodes to reach thalamic nuclear subdivisions in the anterior (ANT), middle (mediodorsal) and or posterior (pulvinar) sites. This multisite thalamic sampling was without any adverse events. Intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings confirmed seizure-onset in medial temporal lobe, insula, orbitofrontal and temporal neocortical sites – highlighting the importance of iEEG for more accurate localization of seizure foci. Visual review of EEGs documented early and prominent involvement of specific thalamic sites. Seizures originating from the same brain origin produced a stereotyped thalamic EEG signature. Visual review of EEGs, validated with singlepulse corticothalamic evoked potentials, documented early and prominent involvement of thalamic sites that would have not been predicted given the anatomy of seizure onset zones. Pulvinar was involved earlier and more prominently than other sampled nuclear subgroups in 60% of patients, even though all patients had a presumed diagnosis of TLE prior to invasive monitoring. Our findings document the feasibility and safety of multisite sampling from the human thalamus and suggest that the anatomy of thalamic involvement may not be entirely predictable on the basis of clinical information or lobar localization of seizures. Future clinical trials can establish whether offering more personalized targets for thalamic neuromodulation will lead to greater meaningful improvements in outcome.
The interplay of uncertainty, relevance and learning influences auditory categorization
Authors: Sheth Janaki , Collina Jared S. , Piasini Eugenio , Kording Konrad P. , Cohen Yale E. , Geffen Maria N. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractAuditory perception requires categorizing sound sequences, such as speech or music, into classes, such as syllables or notes. Auditory categorization depends not only on the acoustic waveform, but also on variability and uncertainty in how the listener perceives the sound – including sensory and stimulus uncertainty, the listener’s estimated relevance of the particular sound to the task, and their ability to learn the past statistics of the acoustic environment. Whereas these factors have been studied in isolation, whether and how these factorsinteractto shape categorization remains unknown. Here, we measured human participants’ performance on a multi-tone categorization task and modeled each participant’s behavior using a Bayesian framework. Task-relevant tones contributed more to category choice than task-irrelevant tones, confirming that participants combined information about sensory features with task relevance. Conversely, participants’ poor estimates of task-relevant tones or high-sensory uncertainty adversely impacted category choice. Learning the statistics of sound category over both short and long timescales also affected decisions, biasing the decisions toward the overrepresented category. The magnitude of this effect correlated inversely with participants’ relevance estimates. Our results demonstrate that individual participants idiosyncratically weigh sensory uncertainty, task relevance, and statistics over both short and long timescales, providing a novel understanding of and a computational framework for how sensory decisions are made under several simultaneous behavioral demands.
Anemonefish have finer color discrimination in the ultraviolet
Authors: Mitchell Laurie J. , Phelan Amelia , Cortesi Fabio , Marshall N. Justin , Chung Wen-sung , Osorio Daniel C. , Cheney Karen L. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractIn many animals, ultraviolet (UV) vision guides navigation, foraging, and communication, but few studies have addressed the contribution of UV vision to color discrimination, or behaviorally assessed UV discrimination thresholds. Here, we tested UV-color vision in an anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) using a novel five-channel (RGB-V-UV) LED display designed to test UV perception. We first determined that the maximal sensitivity of theA. ocellarisUV cone was at ∼386 nm using microspectrophotometry. Three additional cone spectral sensitivities had maxima at ∼497, 515, and ∼535 nm, which together informed the modelling of the fish’s color vision. Anemonefish behavioral discrimination thresholds for nine sets of colors were determined from their ability to distinguish a colored target pixel from grey distractor pixels of varying intensity. We found thatA. ocellarisused all four cones to process color information and is therefore tetrachromatic, and fish were better at discriminating colors (i.e., color discrimination thresholds were lower, or more acute) when targets had UV chromatic contrast elicited by greater stimulation of the UV cone relative to other cone types. These findings imply that a UV component of color signals and cues improves their detectability, that likely increases the salience of anemonefish body patterns used in communication and the silhouette of zooplankton prey.
Using TCR and BCR sequencing to unravel the role of T and B cells in abdominal aortic aneurysm
Authors: Elster Christin , Ommer-Bläsius Miriam , Lang Alexander , Vajen Tanja , Pfeiler Susanne , Feige Milena , Quý Khang Lê , Chernigovskaya Maria , Kelm Malte , Winkels Holger , Schmidt Susanne , Greiff Victor , Gerdes Norbert 
Published: December 2022

AbstractBackgroundAbdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a life-threatening cardiovascular disease, and the pathogenesis is still poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that AAA displays characteristics of an autoimmune disease and it gained increasing prominence that specific antigen-driven T cells in the aortic tissue may contribute to the initial immune response. Single-cell RNA T- and B cell receptor (TCR and BCR) sequencing is a powerful tool to investigate TCR and BCR clonality and thus to further test this hypothesis. However, difficulties such as very limited numbers of isolated cells must be considered during implementation and data analysis making biological interpretation of the data challenging. Here, we perform a representative analysis of scRNA TCR and BCR sequencing data of experimental murine AAA and show a reliable and streamlined bioinformatic processing pipeline highlighting opportunities and limitations of this approach.MethodsWe performed single-cell RNA TCR and BCR sequencing of isolated lymphocytes from the infrarenal aortic segment of male C57BL/6J mice 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after AAA induction via elastase perfusion of the aorta. Sham operated mice at day 3 and 28 as well as non-operated mice served as controls.ResultsComparison of complementarity-determining region (CDR3) length distribution of 179 B cells and 796 T cells revealed no differences between AAA and control nor between the disease stages. We found no clonal expansion of B cells in AAA. For T cells, we identified multiple clones in 11 of 16 AAA samples and in 1 of 8 control samples. Comparison of the immune receptor repertoires indicated that only few clones were shared between the individual AAA samples. The most frequently used V-genes in the TCR beta chain in AAA were TRBV3, TRBV19, and TRBV12-2+TRBV13-2.ConclusionIn summary, we found no clonal expansion of TCRs or BCRs in elastase-induced AAA in mice. Our findings imply that a more precise characterization of TCR and BCR distribution requires a more extensive amount of T and B cells to prevent undersampling and to enable detection of potential rare clones. Using this current scSeq-based approach we did not identify clonal enrichment of T or B cells in experimental AAA.
Color and Spatial Frequency Provide Functional Signatures of Retinotopic Visual Areas
Authors: Loggia Spencer R. , Duffield Stuart J. , Braunlich Kurt , Conway Bevil R. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractPrimate vision relies on retinotopically organized cortex defined by representations of hemifield (upper versus lower visual field), eccentricity (fovea versus periphery), and area (V1, V2, V3, V4). To test for the functional signatures of these organizing principles, we used fMRI to measure responses to colored gratings with varying spatial frequency, color, and saturation across rentinotopically defined parcels in macaque monkeys. Using an approach we call Sparse Supervised Embedding (SSE), we identified stimulus features that differed most across the cortical parcels. Constraining the model according to each voxel’s eccentricity revealed the expected variation of spatial frequency and S-cone modulation with eccentricity. Constraining according to voxel dorsal-ventral location and retinotopic area, revealed two additional components which together provide unexpected functional signatures. First earlier visual areas were more sensitive to contrast and saturation compared to later areas. Second, ventral parcels responded less to luminance contrast and more to color, particularly along the orange-blue intermediate axis in cone-opponent color space. This dorsal-ventral asymmetry resembles differences between candidate dorsal and ventral subdivisions of human V4 but extends to include all retinotopic visual areas, with a magnitude that increased from V1 to V4. Overall, our study demonstrates SSE as a data-driven tool for generating hypotheses about cortical function and behavior, and provides insight into the functional roles of different retinotopic areas.Significance StatementThis study explores the functional roles of visual areas (V1, V2, V3, V4, V3a, MT) parceled by eccentricity preference and visual hemifield. We employ a new approach called Sparse Supervised Embedding (SSE), a promising technique for visualizing and understanding complex neuroimaging datasets. Analyzing fMRI responses to different color grating stimuli, we uncover a functional organization across these parcels, shedding light on their roles in visual computation. This study enhances our knowledge of processing in early visual cortex and how it varies across the retinotopic map. It also aids in resolving apparent differences between prior human and macaque studies.
Understanding the impact of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperdaJ. E. Smith) leaf damage on maize yields
Authors: Chisonga Chipo , Chipabika Gilson , Sohati Philemon H. , Harrison Rhett D. 
Published: December 2022

AbstractFall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperdaJ. E. Smith), a serious pest of maize and other cereals, recently invaded the Old World potentially threatening the food security and incomes of millions of smallholder farmers. Being able to assess the impacts of a pest on yields is fundamental to developing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches. Hence, working with an early maturing, medium maturing and late maturing variety, we inoculated maize plants with 2ndinstarS. frugiperdalarvae at V5, V8, V12, VT and R1 growth stages. Different plants were inoculated 1-3 times and larvae were removed after 1 or 2 weeks to generate a wide range of leaf damage profiles. We scored plants for leaf damage at 3, 5 and 7 weeks after emergence (WAE) using the Davis scale, and at harvest plant height, ear damage and grain yield per plant were recorded. We used Structural Equation Models to assess the direct effects of leaf damage on yield and indirect effects via plant height. For the early and medium maturing varieties leaf damage at 3 and 5 WAE, respectively, had significant negative linear effects on grain yield. In the late maturing variety, leaf damage at 7 WAE had an indirect effect on yield through a significant negative linear effect on plant height. However, despite the controlled screenhouse conditions, in all three varieties leaf damage explained less than 3% of the variation in yield at the plant level. Overall, these results indicate thatS. frugiperdainduced leaf damage has a slight but detectable impact on yield at a specific plant developmental stage, and our models will contribute to the development of decision-support tools for IPM. However, given the low average yields obtained by smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa and the relatively low levels of FAW induced leaf damage recorded in most areas, IPM strategies should focus on interventions aimed at improving plant vigour (e.g. through integrated soil fertility management) and the role of natural enemies, as these are likely to result in greater yield gains at lower cost than alternatives.
Behavioral Characteristics, Academic Performance, and School Enrichment for Searching Giftedness: The Case of Ambo University, Non-Boarding Special Secondary School, Ethiopia
Authors: Gerbi Mengistu Debele 
Published: December 2022

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate relationship between behavioral characteristics, academic performance, and school enrichment of Ambo University non-boarding special secondary school students. To this end, correlational research was employed. Latest version of scale for rating behavioral characteristics of superior students and Purdue academic rating scale were used to generate data. 100 Ambo University Non-boarding Special Secondary School students (Male = 56, Female = 44) were selected through simple random sampling from grade 9-11. Students’ academic performances and behavioral characteristics were rated by subject teachers, homeroom teachers, and principals. Results of rating students’ academic performances revealed that students were at excellent levels in academic performance in English, mathematics, and science whereas at strong average in social studies. Results of correlation analysis showed that there was positive and significant relationship between Mathematics and English language academic performances (r = 0.332, r 2 = 0.11%, p < 0.01, df = n – 2 = 98). Mathematics performance was leading academic performance and in no subject Ambo University Non-boarding Special Secondary School students fell under average performance. 1% of students were self-nominated as gifted. Enrichment services such as health care, science technology engineering and mathematics, and instructional technologies are under satisfactory levels that need attention. Teachers and students should give emphasis to social studies as equal as other subjects.