Differential expression and alternative splicing analyses of multiple tissues reveal albinism-associated genes in the Wels catfish (Silurus glanis).

Albinism is a widespread departure from a typical body colouration due to altered melanin production. The Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) is among the largest freshwater fish species in the world, and albino individuals occur both in the wild and in aquaculture. Here, we performed transcriptome-wide analysis of albino and normally pigmented S. glanis using four tissues (skin, dorsal fin, whole eye and liver) to identify genes associated with albinism by exploring patterns of differential expression (DE) and differential alternative splicing (DAS). Multi-tissue analyses revealed a large number of genes in skin (n = 1355) and fin (n = 614) tissue associated with the albino phenotype in S. glanis, while the number of DE genes in eye and liver tissues was lower (n = 188, n = 189, respectively). Several DE genes across multiple tissues were detected as the most promising candidates (e.g., hsp4, hsp90b1, raph1, uqcrfs1, adcy-family and wnt-family) potentially causally linked to the albino phenotype in Wels catfish. Moreover, our findings supported earlier observations of physiological differences between albino and normally pigmented individuals, particularly in energy metabolism and immune response. In contrast, there were only a few pigmentation-related genes observed among DAS genes (4 in skin, 2 in fin), the overlap between DAS and DE genes was low (n = 25) and did not include known pigmentation-related genes. This suggests that DAS and DE in Wels catfish are, to a large extent, independent processes, and the observed alternative splicing cases are probably not causally linked with albinism in S. glanis. This work provides the first transcriptome-wide multi-tissue insights into the albinism of Wels catfish and serves as a valuable resource for further understanding the genetic mechanisms of pigmentation in fish.

High-Q Magnetic Levitation and Control of Superconducting Microspheres at Millikelvin Temperatures.

We report the levitation of a superconducting lead-tin sphere with 100 µm diameter (corresponding to a mass of 5.6 µg) in a static magnetic trap formed by two coils in an anti-Helmholtz configuration, with adjustable resonance frequencies up to 240 Hz. The center-of-mass motion of the sphere is monitored magnetically using a dc superconducting quantum interference device as well as optically and exhibits quality factors of up to 2.6×10^{7}. We also demonstrate 3D magnetic feedback control of the motion of the sphere. The setup is housed in a dilution refrigerator operating at 15 mK. By implementing a cryogenic vibration isolation system, we can attenuate environmental vibrations at 200 Hz by approximately 7 orders of magnitude. The combination of low temperature, large mass, and high quality factor provides a promising platform for testing quantum physics in previously unexplored regimes with high mass and long coherence times.

Multisystemic Resilience and Psychosocial Wellbeing among Older Refugees: A Systematic Review with Implications for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).

Older refugees experience poor mental and emotional health outcomes compared to younger counterparts. Although older adults are instrumental in family/community adjustment in postmigration settings, little is known about how to enhance psychosocial resilience in this population. The aim of this systematic review is to glean deeper insight into the protective factors and processes associated with older refugees' resilience and positive psychosocial health in postmigration settings. We searched eight electronic health and social science databases. Twenty-three articles met the criteria for inclusion; we analyzed these using a multisystemic resilience lens. Studies spanned 1991 to 2022; importantly, 15 of the 23 articles were published in the past decade, indicating growing attention to the mental and psychosocial health of older refugees. Only six of the included articles focused on older refugees living in low- and middle-income countries, revealing a contrast between where most of the world's refugees reside and where the majority of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) research is conducted. We found tremendous variation in determinants of psychosocial resilience based on the politico-historical contexts of migration; sociocultural backgrounds of refugees; and distinct postmigration needs, resources, and settings. Broadly, macrosystem determinants of resilience included security, access to basic services, and maintenance of culture and spirituality. Mesosystem factors were related to social support from families, ethnic communities, religious networks, and host country nationals. Finally, microsystem determinants of older refugees' resilience included language acquisition, cognitive reappraisal, and sense of optimism. Our findings suggest the importance of interdisciplinary, multilevel research designs to highlight how multiple ecosystems interact to promote psychosocial resilience among older refugees. Taken together, this systematic review offers important insight into multilevel protective factors and processes to enhance culturally and contextually meaningful MHPSS for older refugees.

Spinal cord injury: A multisystem physiological impairment/dysfunction.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a complex disease that affects not only sensory and motor pathways below the neurological level of injury (NLI) but also all the organs and systems situated below this NLI. This multisystem impairment implies comprehensive management in dedicated SCI specialized centers, by interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams, able to treat not only the neurological impairment, but also all the systems and organs affected. After a brief history of the Spinal Cord Medicine, the author describes how to determine the level and severity of a SCI based on the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury and the prognosis factors of recovery. This article provides also a review of the numerous SCI-related impairments (except for urinary, sexual problems and pain treated separately in this issue), their principles of management and related complications.

Temperature-Dependent Spin Transport and Current-Induced Torques in Superconductor-Ferromagnet Heterostructures.

We investigate the injection of quasiparticle spin currents into a superconductor via spin pumping from an adjacent ferromagnetic metal layer. To this end, we use NbN-Ni_{80}Fe_{20}(Py) heterostructures with a Pt spin sink layer and excite ferromagnetic resonance in the Permalloy layer by placing the samples onto a coplanar waveguide. A phase sensitive detection of the microwave transmission signal is used to quantitatively extract the inductive coupling strength between the sample and the coplanar waveguide, interpreted in terms of inverse current-induced torques, in our heterostructures as a function of temperature. Below the superconducting transition temperature T_{c}, we observe a suppression of the dampinglike torque generated in the Pt layer by the inverse spin Hall effect, which can be understood by the changes in spin current transport in the superconducting NbN layer. Moreover, below T_{c} we find a large fieldlike current-induced torque.

Association among income loss, financial strain and depressive symptoms during COVID-19: evidence from two longitudinal studies.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has major ramifications for global health and the economy, with growing concerns about economic recession and implications for mental health. Here we investigated the associations between COVID-19 pandemic-related income loss with financial strain and mental health trajectories over a 1-month course. METHODS: Two independent studies were conducted in the U.S and in Israel at the beginning of the outbreak (March-April 2020, T1; N = 4 171) and at a 1-month follow-up (T2; N = 1 559). Mixed-effects models were applied to assess associations among COVID-19-related income loss, financial strain, and pandemic-related worries about health, with anxiety and depression, controlling for multiple covariates including pre-COVID-19 income. FINDINGS: In both studies, income loss and financial strain were associated with greater depressive symptoms at T1, above and beyond T1 anxiety, worries about health, and pre-COVID-19 income. Worsening of income loss was associated with exacerbation of depression at T2 in both studies. Worsening of subjective financial strain was associated with exacerbation of depression at T2 in one study (US). INTERPRETATION: Income loss and financial strain were uniquely associated with depressive symptoms and the exacerbation of symptoms over time, above and beyond pandemic-related anxiety. Considering the painful dilemma of lockdown versus reopening, with the tradeoff between public health and economic wellbeing, our findings provide evidence that the economic impact of COVID-19 has negative implications for mental health. FUNDING: This study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Foundation Dora and Kirsh Foundation.

Head mounted telemetry system for seizures monitoring and sleep scoring on non-human primate.

Radio telemetry systems are a useful way to continuously monitor broad electrical neuronal activity in behaving animals. It can also be used to study sleep disturbances or monitor seizure activity. Many different telemeter styles are available, but the more versatile and cost-efficient ones are the head mounted systems. They permit long-term recordings and allow more flexibility in the recordings. However, there are currently no such system available for non-human primate (NHP). In fact, the choices for NHP telemetry solutions are very limited. Here, we present a chronically implantable 3D printed chamber specifically designed to accommodate a rodent head-mounted system (RodentPACK) onto a NHP's head. We recorded EEG signal for more than a year, confirmed quality of the signal, and the ability to use the data to monitor sleep activity. We also used two of our epileptic animals to validate the embedded alarm system for real time seizure monitoring. While initially not designed for NHP, but with a minimum number of adaptions, this telemeter is in fact perfectly suitable for NHP experiments. Since early medical intervention during seizures is critical to avoid status epilepticus and to save the animal's life, real time seizures monitoring is becoming a safety requirement in many NHP studies. This method refines the current seizure monitoring methods for NHP and creates a flexible telemetry solution.

Observation of Antiferromagnetic Magnon Pseudospin Dynamics and the Hanle Effect.

We report on experiments demonstrating coherent control of magnon spin transport and pseudospin dynamics in a thin film of the antiferromagnetic insulator hematite utilizing two Pt strips for all-electrical magnon injection and detection. The measured magnon spin signal at the detector reveals an oscillation of its polarity as a function of the externally applied magnetic field. We quantitatively explain our experiments in terms of diffusive magnon transport and a coherent precession of the magnon pseudospin caused by the easy-plane anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. This experimental observation can be viewed as the magnonic analog of the electronic Hanle effect and the Datta-Das transistor, unlocking the high potential of antiferromagnetic magnonics toward the realization of rich electronics-inspired phenomena.

Matrix regeneration proteins in the hypoxia-triggered exosomes of shoulder tenocytes and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Regenerative functions of exosomes rely on their contents which are influenced by pathological stimuli, including hypoxia, in rotator cuff tendon injuries (RCTI). The hypoxic environment triggers tenocytes and adjacent adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) to release regenerative mediators to the ECM via the exosomes which elicit autocrine/paracrine responses to protect the tendon matrix from injury. We investigated the exosomal protein contents from tenocytes and subcutaneous ADMSCs from the shoulder of Yucatan microswine cultured under hypoxic conditions (2% O2). The exosomal proteins were detected using high-resolution mass spectrometry nano-LC-MS/MS Tribrid system and were compiled using 'Scaffold' software. Hypoxic exosomes from tenocytes and ADMSCs carried 199 and 65 proteins, respectively. The key proteins identified by mass spectrometry and associated with ECM homeostasis from hypoxic ADMSCs included MMP2, COL6A, CTSD and TN-C and those from hypoxic tenocytes were THSB1, NSEP1, ITIH4 and TN-C. These findings were confirmed at the mRNA and protein level in the hypoxic ADMSCs and tenocytes. These proteins are involved in multiple signaling pathways of ECM repair/regeneration. This warrants further investigations for their translational significance in the management of RCTI.

Secure quantum remote state preparation of squeezed microwave states.

Quantum communication protocols based on nonclassical correlations can be more efficient than known classical methods and offer intrinsic security over direct state transfer. In particular, remote state preparation aims at the creation of a desired and known quantum state at a remote location using classical communication and quantum entanglement. We present an experimental realization of deterministic continuous-variable remote state preparation in the microwave regime over a distance of 35 cm. By employing propagating two-mode squeezed microwave states and feedforward, we achieve the remote preparation of squeezed states with up to 1.6 dB of squeezing below the vacuum level. Finally, security of remote state preparation is investigated by using the concept of the one-time pad and measuring the von Neumann entropies. We find nearly identical values for the entropy of the remotely prepared state and the respective conditional entropy given the classically communicated information and, thus, demonstrate close-to-perfect security.

Therapeutic potential of exosomes in rotator cuff tendon healing.

Rotator cuff tears are common musculoskeletal injuries that can cause significant pain and disability. While the clinical results of rotator cuff repair can be good, failure of tendon healing remains a significant problem. Molecular mechanisms underlying structural failure following surgical repair remain unclear. Histologically, enhanced inflammation, disorganization of the collagen fibers, calcification, apoptosis and tissue necrosis affect the normal healing process. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to provide improved healing following rotator cuff repair via the release of mediators from secreted 30-100 nm extracellular vesicles called exosomes. They carry regulatory proteins, mRNA and miRNA and have the ability to increase collagen synthesis and angiogenesis through increased expression of mRNA and release of proangiogenic factors and regulatory proteins that play a major role in proper tissue remodeling and preventing extracellular matrix degradation. Various studies have shown the effect of exosomes on improving outcome of cutaneous wound healing, scar tissue formation, degenerative bone disease and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In this article, we critically reviewed the potential role of exosomes in tendon regeneration and propose the novel use of exosomes alone or seeded onto biomaterial matrices to stimulate secretion of favorable cellular factors in accelerating the healing response following rotator cuff repair.

The Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score: fluctuations and prognostic ability in a longitudinal cohort of patients with MS.

BACKGROUND: The Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS), combining the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and disease duration, attempts to stratify multiple sclerosis (MS) patients based on their rate of progression. Its prognostic ability in the individual patient remains unproven. OBJECTIVES: To assess the stability of MSSS within individual persons with MS in a longitudinal cohort, to evaluate whether certain factors influence MSSS variability, and to explore the ability of MSSS to predict future ambulatory function. METHODS: A single-center retrospective review was performed of patients following a single provider for at least 8 years. Mixed model regression modeled MSSS over time. A Kaplan-Meier survival plot was fitted, using change of baseline MSSS by at least one decile as the event. Cox modeling assessed the influence of baseline clinical and demographic factors on the hazard of changing MSSS by at least one decile. Linear models evaluated the impact of baseline EDSS, baseline MSSS, and other factors on the Timed 25-Foot Walk (T25FW). RESULTS: Out of 122 patients, 68 (55.7%) deviated from baseline MSSS by at least one decile. Final T25FW had slightly weaker correlation to baseline MSSS than to baseline EDSS, which was moderately strongly correlated with future log T25FW. CONCLUSION: Individual MSSS scores often vary over time. Clinicians should exercise caution when using MSSS to prognosticate.

Early Evidence for Northern Salmonid Fisheries Discovered using Novel Mineral Proxies.

Salmonid resources currently foster socioeconomic prosperity in several nations, yet their importance to many ancient circumpolar societies is poorly understood due to insufficient fish bone preservation at archaeological sites. As a result, there are serious gaps in our knowledge concerning the antiquity of northern salmonid fisheries and their impacts on shaping biodiversity, hunter-gatherer adaptations, and human-ecological networks. The interdisciplinary study presented here demonstrates that calcium-magnesium phosphate minerals formed in burned salmonid bones can preserve at ancient northern sites, thus informing on the early utilization of these resources despite the absence of morphologically classifiable bones. The minerals whitlockite and beta magnesium tricalcium phosphate were identified in rare morphologically classifiable Atlantic salmonid bones from three Mid-Holocene sites in Finland. Large amounts of beta magnesium tricalcium phosphate were also experimentally formed by burning modern Atlantic salmonid and brown trout bones. Our results demonstrate the value of these minerals as proxies for ancient northern salmonid fishing. Specifically, the whitlockite mineral was discovered in hearth sediments from the 5,600 year old Yli-Ii Kierikinkangas site on the Iijoki River in northern Finland. Our fine sieving and mineralogical analyses of these sediments, along with zooarchaeological identification of recovered bone fragments, have confirmed for the first time that the people living at this village did incorporate salmonids into their economies, thus providing new evidence for early estuary/riverine fisheries in northern Finland.

Genes interconnecting AMPK and TREM-1 and associated microRNAs in rotator cuff tendon injury.

Fatty infiltration and inflammation delay the healing responses and raise major concerns in the therapeutic management of rotator cuff tendon injuries (RCTI). Our evaluations showed the upregulation of 'metabolic check point' AMPK and inflammatory molecule, TREM-1 from shoulder biceps tendons collected from RCTI subjects. However, the epigenetic regulation of these biomolecules by miRNAs is largely unknown and it is likely that a deeper understanding of the mechanism of action can have therapeutic potential for RCTI. Based on this background, we have evaluated the miRNAs from RCTI patients with fatty infiltration and inflammation (FI group) and compared with RCTI patients without fatty infiltration and inflammation (No-FI group). NetworkAnalyst was employed to evaluate the genes interconnecting AMPK and TREM-1 pathway, using PRKAA1 (AMPK), TREM-1, HIF1α, HMGB1, and AGER as input genes. The most relevant miRNAs were screened by considering the fold change below - 7.5 and the number of target genes 10 and more which showed 13 miRNAs and 216 target genes. The exact role of these miRNAs in the fatty infiltration and inflammation associated with RCTI is still unknown and the understanding of biological activity of these miRNAs can pave ways to develop miRNA-based therapeutics in the management of RCTI.

Spin Transport in a Magnetic Insulator with Zero Effective Damping.

Applications based on spin currents strongly rely on the control and reduction of their effective damping and their transport properties. We here experimentally observe magnon mediated transport of spin (angular) momentum through a 13.4-nm thin yttrium iron garnet film with full control of the magnetic damping via spin-orbit torque. Above a critical spin-orbit torque, the fully compensated damping manifests itself as an increase of magnon conductivity by almost 2 orders of magnitude. We compare our results to theoretical expectations based on recently predicted current induced magnon condensates and discuss other possible origins of the observed critical behavior.

Amplification of Mitochondrial Activity in the Healing Response Following Rotator Cuff Tendon Injury.

Mitochondrial function following rotator cuff tendon injury (RCI) influences the tendon healing. We examined the mitochondrial morphology and function under hypoxia in the shoulder tendon tissue from surgically-induced tenotomy-RCI rat model and cultured swine tenocytes. The tendon tissue was collected post-injury on 3-5 (Group-A), 10-12 (Group-B), and 22-24 (Group-C), days and the corresponding contralateral tendons were used as control for each group. There was higher protein expression of citrate synthase (P < 0.0001) [10.22 MFI (mean fluorescent intensity)] and complex-1 (P = 0.0008) (7.86 MFI) in Group-A and Group-B that decreased in Group-C [(P = 0.0201) (5.78 MFI and (P = 0.7915) (2.32 MFI), respectively] compared to control tendons. The ratio of BAX:Bcl2 (Bcl2 associated x protein:B cell lymphoma 2) in RCI tendons increased by 50.5% (Group-A) and 68.4% (Group-B) and decreased by 25.8% (Group-C) compared to normoxic controls. Hypoxia increased ß-tubulin expression (P = 0067) and reduced PGC1-α (P = 0412) expression in the isolated swine tenocytes with no effect on the protein expression of Complex-1 (P = 7409) and citrate synthase (P = 0.3290). Also, the hypoxic tenocytes exhibited about 4-fold increase in mitochondrial superoxide (P < 0.0001), altered morphology and mitochondrial pore integrity, and increase in mitochondrial density compared to normoxic controls. These findings suggest the critical role of mitochondria in the RCI healing response.

Medial temporal lobe functional connectivity predicts stimulation-induced theta power.

Focal electrical stimulation of the brain incites a cascade of neural activity that propagates from the stimulated region to both nearby and remote areas, offering the potential to control the activity of brain networks. Understanding how exogenous electrical signals perturb such networks in humans is key to its clinical translation. To investigate this, we applied electrical stimulation to subregions of the medial temporal lobe in 26 neurosurgical patients fitted with indwelling electrodes. Networks of low-frequency (5-13 Hz) spectral coherence predicted stimulation-evoked increases in theta (5-8 Hz) power, particularly when stimulation was applied in or adjacent to white matter. Stimulation tended to decrease power in the high-frequency broadband (HFB; 50-200 Hz) range, and these modulations were correlated with HFB-based networks in a subset of subjects. Our results demonstrate that functional connectivity is predictive of causal changes in the brain, capturing evoked activity across brain regions and frequency bands.

Parity-Engineered Light-Matter Interaction.

The concept of parity describes the inversion symmetry of a system and is of fundamental relevance in the standard model, quantum information processing, and field theory. In quantum electrodynamics, parity is conserved and large field gradients are required to engineer the parity of the light-matter interaction operator. In this work, we engineer a potassiumlike artificial atom represented by a specifically designed superconducting flux qubit. We control the wave function parity of the artificial atom with an effective orbital momentum provided by a resonator. By irradiating the artificial atom with spatially shaped microwave fields, we select the interaction parity in situ. In this way, we observe dipole and quadrupole selection rules for single state transitions and induce transparency via longitudinal coupling. Our work advances the design of tunable artificial multilevel atoms to a new level, which is particularly promising with respect to quantum chemistry simulations with near-term superconducting circuits.