julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Differential Regulation of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells by Candida Species
2016-10-12

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are innate immune cells characterized by their ability to suppress T-cell responses. Recently, we demonstrated that the human-pathogenic fungi <i>Candida albicans</i> and <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> induced a distinct subset of neutrophilic MDSCs. To dissect <i>Candida</i>-mediated MDSC induction in more depth, we studied the relative efficacy of different pathogenic non-<i>albicans Candida</i> species to induce and functionally modulate neutrophilic MDSCs, including <i>C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. dubliniensis</i>, and <i>C. krusei</i>. Our data demonstrate that the extent of MDSC generation is largely dependent on the <i>Candida</i> species with MDSCs induced by <i>C. krusei</i> and <i>C. glabrata</i> showing a higher suppressive activity compared to MDSCs induced by <i>C. albicans.</i> In summary, these studies show that fungal MDSC induction is differentially regulated at the species level and differentially affects effector T-cell responses.
Hydrometeorological Characterization of a Flash Flood Associated with Major Geomorphic Effects: Assessment of Peak Discharge Uncertainties and Analysis of the Runoff Response
2016-10-13

Abstract Postflood indirect peak flow estimates provide key information to advance understanding of flash flood hydrometeorological processes, particularly when peak observations are combined with flood simulations from a hydrological model. However, indirect peak flow estimates are affected by significant uncertainties, which are magnified when floods are associated with important geomorphic processes. The main objective of this work is to advance the integrated use of indirect peak flood estimates and hydrological model simulations by developing and testing a procedure for the assessment of the geomorphic impacts–related uncertainties. The methodology is applied to the analysis of an extreme flash flood that occurred on the Magra River system in Italy on 25 October 2011. The event produced major geomorphic effects and peak discharges close to the maxima observed for high-magnitude rainstorm events in Europe at basin scales ranging from 30 to 1000 km2. Results show that the intensity of geomorphic impacts has a significant effect on the accuracy of postflood peak discharge estimation and model-based flood response analysis. It is shown that the comparison between rainfall–runoff model simulations and indirect peak flow estimates, accounting for uncertainties, may be used to identify erroneous field-derived estimates and isolate consistent hydrological simulations. Comparison with peak discharges obtained for other Mediterranean flash floods allows the scale-dependent flood response of the Magra River system to be placed within a broader hydroclimatological context. Model analyses of the hydrologic response illustrate the role of storm structure and evolution for scale-dependent flood response.
What Turns Assistive into Restorative Brain-Machine Interfaces?
2016-10-13

Brain-machine interfaces (BMI) may support motor impaired patients during activities of daily living by controlling external devices such as prostheses (assistive BMI). Moreover, BMIs are applied in conjunction with robotic orthoses for rehabilitation of lost motor function via neurofeedback training (restorative BMI). Using assistive BMI in a rehabilitation context does not automatically turn them into restorative devices. This perspective article suggests key features of restorative BMI and provides the supporting evidence: In summary, BMI may be referred to as restorative tools when demonstrating subsequently (i) operant learning and progressive evolution of specific brain states/dynamics, (ii) correlated modulations of functional networks related to the therapeutic goal, (iii) subsequent improvement in a specific task, and (iv) an explicit correlation between the modulated brain dynamics and the achieved behavioral gains. Such findings would provide the rationale for translating BMI-based interventions into clinical settings for reinforcement learning and motor rehabilitation following stroke.
Utilization of glycerophosphodiesters by Staphylococcus aureus
2016-10-13

Summary The facultative pathogen Staphylococcus aureus colonizes the human anterior nares and causes infections of various organ systems. Which carbon, energy, and phosphate sources can be utilized by S. aureus in nutrient‐poor habitats has remained largely unknown. We describe that S. aureus secretes a glycerophosphodiesterase (glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase, EC 3.1.4.46), GlpQ, degrading the glycerophosphodiester (GPD) head groups of phospholipids such as human phosphatidylcholine (GroPC). Deletion of glpQ completely abolished the GroPC‐degrading activity in S. aureus culture supernatants. GroPC has been detected in human tissues and body fluids probably as a result of phospholipid remodelling and degradation. Notably, GroPC promoted S. aureus growth under carbon‐ and phosphate‐limiting conditions in a GlpQ‐dependent manner indicating that GlpQ permits S. aureus to utilize GPD‐derived glycerol‐3‐phosphate as a carbon and phosphate sources. Thus, S. aureus can use a broader spectrum of nutrients than previously thought which underscores its capacity to adapt to the highly variable and nutrient‐poor surroundings.
Dual Tasking for the Differentiation between Depression and Mild Cognitive Impairment
2016-10-13

DT parameters are simply and comfortably measureable, and DTC can easily be determined. The combination of these parameters allows a differentiation of depressed and cognitively mildly impaired elderly adults.
4-Dimensional MRI and Attenuation Map Generation in PET/MRI with 4-Dimensional PET-Derived Deformation Matrices: Study of Feasibility for Lung Cancer Applications
2016-10-13

Respiratory motion may reduce accuracy in the fusion of functional and anatomic images from combined PET/MRI systems. Methodologies for the correction of respiratory motion in PET acquisitions with such systems are mostly based on the use of respiration-synchronized MRI acquisitions to derive motion fields. Existing approaches based on tagging acquisitions may introduce artifacts in MR images, whereas motion model approaches require the acquisition of training datasets. The objective of this work was to investigate the possibility of generating 4-dimensional (4D) MR images and associated attenuation maps (AMs) from the combination of a single static MR image and motion fields obtained from simultaneously acquired 4D non-attenuation-corrected (NAC) PET images. <b>Methods:</b> Four-dimensional PET/MRI datasets were acquired for 11 patients on a simultaneous PET/MRI system. The 4D PET datasets were retrospectively binned into 4 motion amplitude frames corresponding to the simultaneously acquired T1-weighted 4D MR images. A T1-weighted 3-dimensional MRI sequence with Dixon-based fat and water separation was also acquired at the end of expiration for PET attenuation correction purposes. All reconstructed 4D NAC PET images were then elastically registered to the single end-of-expiration NAC PET image. The derived motion fields were subsequently applied to the end-of-expiration frame of the acquired 4D MRI volume and the AM derived from the Dixon MR image to generate respiration-synchronized MR images and corresponding AMs. <b>Results:</b> The accuracy of the proposed method was assessed by comparing the generated and acquired images according to metrics such as overall correlation coefficients and differences in distances of anatomic landmarks on the generated and acquired MRI datasets. High correlation coefficients (mean ± SD: 0.93 ± 0.03) and small differences (2.69 ± 0.5 mm) were obtained. Moreover, small tissue classification differences (2.23% ± 0.68%) between generated and 4D MRI-extracted AMs were observed. <b>Conclusion:</b> Our results confirm the feasibility of using 4D NAC PET images for accurate PET attenuation correction and respiratory motion correction in PET/MRI, without the need for patient-specific 4D MRI acquisitions.
The role of action coordination for prospective memory: Task-interruption demands affect intention realization.
2016-10-13

Event-based prospective memory (PM) is the ability to remember to perform an intention in response to an environmental cue. Recent microstructure models postulate four distinguishable stages of successful event-based PM fulfillment. That is, (a) the event must be noticed, (b) the intention must be retrieved, (c) the context must be verified, and (d) the intended action must be coordinated with the demands of any currently ongoing task (e.g., Marsh, Hicks, & Watson, 2002b). Whereas the cognitive processes of Stages 1, 2, and 3 have been studied more or less extensively, little is known about the processes of Stage 4 so far. To fill this gap, the authors manipulated the magnitude of response overlap between the ongoing task and the PM task to isolate Stage-4 processes. Results demonstrate that PM performance improves in the presence versus absence of a response overlap, independent of cue saliency (Experiment 1) and of demands from currently ongoing tasks (Experiment 2). Furthermore, working-memory capacity is associated with PM performance, especially when there is little response overlap (Experiments 2 and 3). Finally, PM performance benefits only from strong response overlap, that is, only when the appropriate ongoing-task and PM response keys were identical (Experiment 4). They conclude that coordinating ongoing-task and PM actions puts cognitive demands on the individual which are distinguishable from the demands imposed by cue-detection and intention-retrieval processes. (PsycINFO Database Record
Encoding of global visual motion in the nidopallium caudolaterale of behaving crows
2016-10-13

Abstract Songbirds possess acute vision. How higher brain centres represent basic and parameterised visual stimuli to process sensory signals according to their behavioural importance has not been studied in a systematic way. We therefore examined how carrion crows ( Corvus corone ) and their nidopallial visual neurons process global visual motion information in dynamic random‐dot displays during a delayed match‐to‐sample ( DMS ) task. The behavioural data show that moderately fast motion speeds (16° of visual angle/s) result in superior direction discrimination performance. To characterise how neurons encode and maintain task‐relevant visual motion information, we recorded the single‐unit activity in the telencephalic association area ‘nidopallium caudolaterale’ ( NCL ) of behaving crows. The NCL is considered to be the avian analogue of the mammalian prefrontal cortex. Almost a third (28%) of randomly selected NCL neurons responded selectively to the motion direction of the sample stimulus, mostly to downward motions. Only few NCL neurons (7.5%) responded consistently to specific motion directions during the delay period. In error trials, when the crows chose the wrong motion direction, the encoding of motion direction was significantly reduced. This indicates that sensory representations of NCL neurons are relevant to the birds’ behaviour. These data suggest that the corvid NCL , even though operating at the apex of the telencephalic processing hierarchy, constitutes a telencephalic site for global motion integration.
Evidence for Migration Influx into the Ancient Greek Colony of Metaponto: A Population Genetics Approach Using Dental Nonmetric Traits
2016-10-13

Abstract Ancient Greek colonies were founded by Greek seafarers all along the Mediterranean coast as early as the eighth century bc . Despite extensive archaeological and historical research, the population structure of the inhabitants of Greek colonies and their relationship to indigenous populations are still debated. Here, we perform a biodistance analysis to reconstruct migration and gene flow between the ancient Greek colony of Metaponto (southern Italy) and indigenous groups in the surrounding hinterland (900–250 bc ). We collected dental nonmetric trait data of 355 human skeletons from the indigenous Italic sites of Santa Maria d'Anglona, Incoronata and Passo di Giacobbe. This data set is compared with an urban and rural sample of the Greek colony of Metaponto comprising 351 individual dentitions. The R‐matrix approach is used to estimate inter‐population relationships and F ST . The resulting kinship coefficients indicate that the three indigenous groups exhibit greater similarity to each other and possess lesser similarity to the two Metapontian samples. Interestingly, the two samples of Metaponto are least similar to each other, although they are geographically very close. The F ST estimates confirm this pattern and reveal greater biological variation between the two nearby Metaponto samples ( F ST = 0.0603) than between the three geographically fairly distant indigenous groups ( F ST = 0.0389). We conclude that the Greek colony of Metaponto included large numbers of people with diverse geographical origins, whereas the indigenous Italic communities of the surrounding hinterland exhibited high levels of homogeneity and cohesion. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.
Age‐related prenatal maternal effects and postnatal breeding experience have different influences on nestling development in an altricial passerine
2016-10-13

Reproductive success and nestling performance are related to the age of parents across several vertebrate taxa. However, because breeding experience and prenatal maternal investment in reproduction often covary, the source of these age‐related differences can be difficult to determine. In this study, we evaluated the influence of prenatal maternal effects and postnatal breeding experience on the performance of nestling tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor by conducting a carefully controlled partial cross‐fostering experiment. We swapped half‐broods of nestlings between the nest of a young first‐time breeding female and the nest of a female known to have previously raised and fledged young. Our manipulation did not influence the within‐brood nestling hierarchies, and controlled for the effects of egg laying order. We found that nestlings of older females were heavier just prior to fledging regardless of the breeding experience of the attending female. In addition, fledglings raised by experienced females grew their flight feathers faster, and had greater probability of fledging. Our study demonstrates that prenatal investment in reproduction by older females can have long‐term consequences on nestling mass, and suggests limited potential for compensatory mass gains prior to fledging. Because our analyses controlled for feeding rates, our results also suggest that foraging quantity and quality are not the only benefits nestlings gain by being raised by an experienced female.
Using an integrated hydrological model to estimate the usefulness ofmeteorological drought indices in a changing climate
2016-10-13

Abstract. Droughts are serious natural hazards, especially in semi-arid regions. They are also difficult to characterize. Various summary metrics representing the dryness level, denoted drought indices, have been developed to quantify droughts. They typically lump meteorological variables and can thus directly be computed from the outputs of regional climate models in climate-change assessments. While it is generally accepted that drought risks in semi-arid climates will increase in the future, quantifying this increase using climate model outputs is a complex process that depends on the choice and the accuracy of the drought indices, among other factors. In this study, we compare seven meteorological drought indices that are commonly used to predict future droughts. Our goal is to assess the reliability of these indices to predict hydrological impacts of droughts under changing climatic conditions at the annual timescale. We simulate the hydrological responses of a small catchment in northern Spain to droughts in present and future climate, using an integrated hydrological model calibrated for different irrigation scenarios. We compute the correlation of meteorological drought indices with the simulated hydrological time series (discharge, groundwater levels, and water deficit) and compare changes in the relationships between hydrological variables and drought indices. While correlation coefficients linked with a specific drought index are similar for all tested land uses and climates, the relationship between drought indices and hydrological variables often differs between present and future climate. Drought indices based solely on precipitation often underestimate the hydrological impacts of future droughts, while drought indices that additionally include potential evapotranspiration sometimes overestimate the drought effects. In this study, the drought indices with the smallest bias were the rainfall anomaly index, the reconnaissance drought index, and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index. However, the efficiency of these drought indices depends on the hydrological variable of interest and the irrigation scenario. We conclude that meteorological drought indices are able to identify years with restricted water availability in present and future climate. However, these indices are not capable of estimating the severity of hydrological impacts of droughts in future climate. A well-calibrated hydrological model is necessary in this respect.
Does the metabolic pattern during “Menopausal Transit” in Chinese women differ from Western population?
2016-10-13

Objectives: The “German-Chinese Society of Obstetrics & Gynecology (affiliated to DGGG)” recently was founded. Regarding menopause one aim is to investigate the "Transit" from peri- to postmenopause. In the present study the changes of the metabolic patterns of Chinese women were assessed in a large population.
African trypanosomes and brain infection – the unsolved question
2016-10-14

ABSTRACT African trypanosomes induce sleeping sickness. The parasites are transmitted during the blood meal of a tsetse fly and appear primarily in blood and lymph vessels, before they enter the central nervous system. During the latter stage, trypanosomes induce a deregulation of sleep–wake cycles and some additional neurological disorders. Historically, it was assumed that trypanosomes cross the blood–brain barrier and settle somewhere between the brain cells. The brain, however, is a strictly controlled and immune‐privileged area that is completely surrounded by a dense barrier that covers the blood vessels: this is the blood–brain barrier. It is known that some immune cells are able to cross this barrier, but this requires a sophisticated mechanism and highly specific cell–cell interactions that have not been observed for trypanosomes within the mammalian host. Interestingly, trypanosomes injected directly into the brain parenchyma did not induce an infection. Likewise, after an intraperitoneal infection of rats, T rypanosoma brucei brucei was not observed within the brain, but appeared readily within the cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF ) and the meninges. Therefore, the parasite did not cross the blood–brain barrier, but the blood– CSF barrier, which is formed by the choroid plexus, i.e. the part of the ventricles where CSF is produced from blood. While there is no question that trypanosomes are able to invade the brain to induce a deadly encephalopathy, controversy exists about the pathway involved. This review lists experimental results that support crossing of the blood–brain barrier and of the blood– CSF barrier and discuss the implications that either pathway would have on infection progress and on the survival strategy of the parasite. For reasons discussed below, we prefer the latter pathway and suggest the existence of an additional distinct meningeal stage, from which trypanosomes could invade the brain via the V irchow– R obin space thereby bypassing the blood–brain barrier. We also consider healthy carriers, i.e. people living symptomless with the disease for up to several decades, and discuss implications the proposed meningeal stage would have for new anti‐trypanosomal drug development. Considering the re‐infection of blood, a process called relapse, we discuss the likely involvement of the newly described glymphatic connection between the meningeal space and the lymphatic system, that seems also be important for other infectious diseases.
Prevention of tau increase in cerebrospinal fluid of APP transgenic mice suggests downstream effect of BACE1 inhibition
2016-10-14

Abstract Introduction The inhibition of the β‐site amyloid precursor protein‐cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is a main therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously reported an age‐related increase of tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of amyloid β (Aβ) precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice. Methods APP transgenic mice were treated with a potent BACE1 inhibitor. CSF tau and CSF Aβ levels were assessed. A novel high‐sensitivity tau sandwich immunoassay was developed. Results We demonstrate that long‐term BACE1 inhibition prevents CSF tau increase both in early‐depositing APP transgenic mice and APP transgenic mice with moderate Aβ pathology. Discussion Our results demonstrate that BACE1 inhibition not only reduces Aβ generation but also downstream AD pathophysiology. The tight correlation between Aβ aggregation in brain and CSF tau levels renders CSF tau a valuable marker to predict the effectiveness of BACE1 inhibitors in current clinical trials.
Perception of Emotional Facial Expressions in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at Behavioural and Brain Metabolic Level
2016-10-14

ALS patients showed decreased brain and behavioural responses in processing of disgust and fear and an altered brain response pattern for sadness. The negative consequences of neurodegenerative processes in the course of ALS might be counteracted by positive emotional activity and positive social interactions.
Dorsal root ganglion axon bifurcation tolerates increased cyclic GMP levels: the role of phosphodiesterase 2A and scavenger receptor Npr3
2016-10-14

Abstract A cyclic GMP ( cGMP ) signaling pathway, comprising C‐type natriuretic peptide ( CNP ), its guanylate cyclase receptor Npr2, and cGMP ‐dependent protein kinase I, is critical for the bifurcation of dorsal root ganglion ( DRG ) and cranial sensory ganglion axons when entering the mouse spinal cord and the hindbrain respectively. However, the identity and functional relevance of phosphodiesterases ( PDE s) that degrade cGMP in DRG neurons are not completely understood. Here, we asked whether regulation of the intracellular cGMP concentration by PDE s modulates the branching of sensory axons. Real‐time imaging of cGMP with a genetically encoded fluorescent cGMP sensor, RT ‐ PCR screens, in situ hybridization, and immunohistology combined with the analysis of mutant mice identified PDE 2A as the major enzyme for the degradation of CNP ‐induced cGMP in embryonic DRG neurons. Tracking of PDE 2A‐deficient DRG sensory axons in conjunction with cGMP measurements indicated that axon bifurcation tolerates increased cGMP concentrations. As we found that the natriuretic peptide scavenger receptor Npr3 is expressed by cells associated with dorsal roots but not in DRG neurons itself at early developmental stages, we analyzed axonal branching in the absence of Npr3. In Npr3‐deficient mice, the majority of sensory axons showed normal bifurcation, but a small population of axons (13%) was unable to form T‐like branches and generated turns in rostral or caudal directions only. Taken together, this study shows that sensory axon bifurcation is insensitive to increases of CNP ‐induced cGMP levels and Npr3 does not have an important scavenging function in this axonal system.