Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas?

Oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface and house a dizzying array of organisms. Mammals, birds, and all manner of fish can be commonly sighted at sea, but insects, the world's most common animals, seem to be completely absent. Appearances can deceive, however, as 5 species of the ocean skater Halobates live exclusively at the ocean surface. Discovered 200 years ago, these peppercorn-sized insects remain rather mysterious. How do they cope with life at the ocean surface, and why are they the only genus of insects to have taken to the high seas?

Molecular Identification of Fonsecaea monophora, Novel Agent of Fungal Brain Abscess.

A 3-year-old patient in India experiencing headaches and seizures was diagnosed with a fungal infection, initially misidentified as Cladophialophora bantiana. Follow-up sequencing identified the isolate to be Fonsecaea monophora fungus. This case demonstrates the use of molecular methods for the correct identification of F. monophora, an agent of fungal brain abscess.

Comparative analysis of simultaneous integrated boost and sequential boost radiotherapy in node-positive cervical cancer: dosimetric and radiobiological considerations.

For locally advanced cervical cancer, the standard therapeutic approach involves concomitant chemoradiation therapy, supplemented by a brachytherapy boost. Moreover, an external beam radiotherapy (RT) boost should be considered for treating gross lymph node (LN) volumes. Two boost approaches exist with Volumetric Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT): Sequential (SEQ) and Simultaneous Integrated Boost (SIB). This study undertakes a comprehensive dosimetric and radiobiological comparison between these two boost strategies. The study encompassed ten patients who underwent RT for cervical cancer with node-positive disease. Two sets of treatment plans were generated for each patient: SIB-VMAT and SEQ-VMAT. Dosimetric as well as radiobiological parameters including tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were compared. Both techniques were analyzed for two different levels of LN involvement - only pelvic LNs and pelvic with para-aortic LNs. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 25.0. SIB-VMAT exhibited superior target coverage, yielding improved doses to the planning target volume (PTV) and gross tumour volume (GTV). Notably, SIB-VMAT plans displayed markedly superior dose conformity. While SEQ-VMAT displayed favorable organ sparing for femoral heads, SIB-VMAT appeared as the more efficient approach for mitigating bladder and bowel doses. TCP was significantly higher with SIB-VMAT, suggesting a higher likelihood of successful tumour control. Conversely, no statistically significant difference in NTCP was observed between the two techniques. This study's findings underscore the advantages of SIB-VMAT over SEQ-VMAT in terms of improved target coverage, dose conformity, and tumour control probability. In particular, SIB-VMAT demonstrated potential benefits for cases involving para-aortic nodes. It is concluded that SIB-VMAT should be the preferred approach in all cases of locally advanced cervical cancer.

The Utility of Galactomannan and Polymerase Chain Reaction Assays in Bronchoalveolar Lavage for Diagnosis of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis.

The diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is established by combined clinic-radio-microbiological criteria. Out of the different microbiological criteria, a positive serology for Aspergillus-specific IgG levels is the cornerstone of diagnosis. Alternatively, other microbiological evidence are sometimes sought viz., positive Aspergillus antigen (broncho-alveolar lavage fluid, i.e., BALF galactomannan ≥ 1.0), histopathological demonstration of the fungi following lung biopsy or resection, demonstration of hyaline septate hyphae in direct microscopy resembling Aspergillus spp. or its growth on a respiratory specimen. However, the exact roles of BALF- GM and the newer BALF-PCR have not been confirmed by studies till date. This study enrolled 210 patients with suspected CPA. Of the participants, 88 patients met the criteria for CPA, whereas 122 patients had an alternative diagnosis. The sensitivity-specificity of AsperGenius® PCR and "in-house" PCR were 52.27(36.69-67.54) %-33.78 (23.19-45.72) % and 36.36 (22.41-52.23) %-39.19 (28.04-51.23) % respectively. The sensitivity/specificity of BALF (> 1.0) and serum galactomannan (> 1.0) were 46.55% (33.34-60.13)/64.08% (54.03-73.3) and 29.82% (22.05-37.6)/86.84% (81.1-92.59) respectively. The optimal cut-off values for BALF-Galactomannan and serum galactomannan in diagnosing CPA were found to be 0.69 (sensitivity: 64%; specificity: 53%) and 0.458 (sensitivity: 67%; specificity: 64%) respectively. This results of this study suggests that Aspergillus PCR from BAL may not be a good "rule-in" test for diagnosing CPA. While the performances of GM in BAL and serum may be better than PCR, it should be best used in conjunction with other clinical, radiological, and other microbiological characteristics.

Circadian rhythms in bipolar disorder patient-derived neurons predict lithium response: preliminary studies.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a neuropsychiatric illness defined by recurrent episodes of mania/hypomania, depression and circadian rhythm abnormalities. Lithium is an effective drug for BD, but 30-40% of patients fail to respond adequately to treatment. Previous work has demonstrated that lithium affects the expression of "clock genes" and that lithium responders (Li-R) can be distinguished from non-responders (Li-NR) by differences in circadian rhythms. However, circadian rhythms have not been evaluated in BD patient neurons from Li-R and Li-NR. We used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to culture neuronal precursor cells (NPC) and glutamatergic neurons from BD patients characterized for lithium responsiveness and matched controls. We identified strong circadian rhythms in Per2-luc expression in NPCs and neurons from controls and Li-R, but NPC rhythms in Li-R had a shorter circadian period. Li-NR rhythms were low amplitude and profoundly weakened. In NPCs and neurons, expression of PER2 was higher in both BD groups compared to controls. In neurons, PER2 protein levels were higher in BD than controls, especially in Li-NR samples. In single cells, NPC and neuron rhythms in both BD groups were desynchronized compared to controls. Lithium lengthened period in Li-R and control neurons but failed to alter rhythms in Li-NR. In contrast, temperature entrainment increased amplitude across all groups, and partly restored rhythms in Li-NR neurons. We conclude that neuronal circadian rhythm abnormalities are present in BD and most pronounced in Li-NR. Rhythm deficits in BD may be partly reversible through stimulation of entrainment pathways.

Direct imaging of polymer filaments pulled from rebounding drops.

Polymer filaments form the foundation of biology from cell scaffolding to DNA. Their study and fabrication play an important role in a wide range of processes from tissue engineering to molecular machines. We present a simple method to deposit stretched polymer fibers between micro-pillars. This occurs when a polymeric drop impacts on and rebounds from an inclined superhydrophobic substrate. It wets the top of the pillars and pulls out liquid filaments which are stretched and can attach to adjacent pillars leaving minuscule threads, with the solvent evaporating to leave the exposed polymers. We use high-speed video at the microscale to characterize the most robust filament-forming configurations, by varying the impact velocity, substrate structure and inclination angle, as well as the PEO-polymer concentration. Impacts onto plant leaves or a randomized nano-structured surface leads to the formation of a branched structure, through filament mergers at the free surface of the drop. SEM shows the deposition of filament bundles which are thinner than those formed by evaporation or rolling drops. Raman spectroscopy identifies the native mode B stretched DNA filaments from aqueous-solution droplets.

Human SPG11 cerebral organoids reveal cortical neurogenesis impairment.

Spastic paraplegia gene 11(SPG11)-linked hereditary spastic paraplegia is a complex monogenic neurodegenerative disease that in addition to spastic paraplegia is characterized by childhood onset cognitive impairment, thin corpus callosum and enlarged ventricles. We have previously shown impaired proliferation of SPG11 neural progenitor cells (NPCs). For the delineation of potential defect in SPG11 brain development we employ 2D culture systems and 3D human brain organoids derived from SPG11 patients' iPSC and controls. We reveal that an increased rate of asymmetric divisions of NPCs leads to proliferation defect, causing premature neurogenesis. Correspondingly, SPG11 organoids appeared smaller than controls and had larger ventricles as well as thinner germinal wall. Premature neurogenesis and organoid size were rescued by GSK3 inhibititors including the Food and Drug Administration-approved tideglusib. These findings shed light on the neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying disease pathology.

The Perils of Leading a Democracy.

Environmental characteristics can influence aging. Democracy results in higher life expectancy for its members. However, there is a lack of research that indicates the influence of democracy on its leaders. Specifically, we examine how the nature of democracy affects the perceived aging of its leaders. In this paper, we capture perceived aging via face perception. We suggest that leaders in a democracy are perceived to age more compared to those in an autocracy. Counter to the common belief that democracies are less stressful, we find that the stress of being a leader in a democracy can have adverse effects. Study 1 uses picture pairs of 268 leaders from across the world, and participants judge age difference in years between the pictures. Study 2, a controlled study, examines downstream influences on the leader's specific attributes. Results indicate that leaders appearing to age more are more likely to avoid complex decisions, to be less charismatic, and to be less inspiring.

MoS2-Modified Curcumin Nanostructures: The Novel Theranostic Hybrid Having Potent Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activities against Multidrug-Resistant Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The recent emergence of hypervirulent clinical variants of Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) causing community-acquired, invasive, metastatic, life-threatening infections of lungs, pleura, prostate, bones, joints, kidneys, spleen, muscles, soft-tissues, skin, eyes, central nervous system (CNS) including extrahepatic abscesses, and primary bacteremia even in healthy individuals has posed stern challenges before the existing treatment modalities. There is therefore an urgent need to look for specific and effective therapeutic alternatives against the said bacterial infection or recurrence. A new type of MoS2-modified curcumin nanostructure has been developed and evaluated as a potential alternative for the treatment of multidrug-resistant isolates. The curcumin quantum particles have been fabricated with MoS2 via a seed-mediated hydrothermal method, and the resulting MoS2-modified curcumin nanostructures (MQCs) have been subsequently tested for their antibacterial and antibiofilm properties against hypervirulent multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. In the present study, we found MQCs inhibiting the bacterial growth at a minimal concentration of 0.0156 µg/mL, while complete inhibition of bacterial growth was evinced at concentration 0.125 µg/mL. Besides, we also investigated their biocompatibility both in vitro and in vivo. MQCs were found to be nontoxic to the SiHa cells at a dose as high as 1024 µg/mL on the basis of the tested adhesion, spreading of the cells, and also on the various serological, biochemical, and histological investigations of the vital organs and blood of the Charles Foster Rat. These results suggest that MQCs have potent antimicrobial activities against hvKP and other drug resistant isolates and therefore may be used as broad spectrum antibacterial and antibiofilm agents.

Disruption of homeobox containing gene, hbx9 results in the deregulation of prestalk cell patterning in Dictyostelium discoideum.

We have earlier classified the homeobox containing genes from Dictyostelium discoideum and identified 5 genes belonging to the TALE class. Here, we have characterized hbx9, a member of TALE class. In situ hybridization results show it to be preferentially expressed in the prestalkA (pstA) cells but not in the prestalkO (pstO) cells. Disruption of the hbx9 gene in Ax2 cells delay initiation of development and also slows cell proliferation. There was decreased cadA expression during the development of hbx9- cells, which results in inappropriate cell contacts, altered cell motility and patterning properties. ecmA and ecmB were mis-expressed in the pstO and pstA regions resulting in an effectively smaller pstO region. Surprisingly, the total ecmAO expression in pstAO cells was comparable to the wild type, suggesting that in hbx9- cells, ecmA was expressed in the pstO region. In hbx9-, proportioning and patterning was altered in favour of pstA cell-type. Moreover, precocious expression of ecmB and pspA was also observed in the vegetative cells. Expression profiling of components of cAMP signalling suggest that Hbx9 controls cell proportioning of prestalk cells by modulating cAMP signalling during growth-to-development transition.

GSK3ß-dependent dysregulation of neurodevelopment in SPG11-patient induced pluripotent stem cell model.

OBJECTIVE: Mutations in the spastic paraplegia gene 11 (SPG11), encoding spatacsin, cause the most frequent form of autosomal-recessive complex hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and juvenile-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS5). When SPG11 is mutated, patients frequently present with spastic paraparesis, a thin corpus callosum, and cognitive impairment. We previously delineated a neurodegenerative phenotype in neurons of these patients. In the current study, we recapitulated early developmental phenotypes of SPG11 and outlined their cellular and molecular mechanisms in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cortical neural progenitor cells (NPCs). METHODS: We generated and characterized iPSC-derived NPCs and neurons from 3 SPG11 patients and 2 age-matched controls. RESULTS: Gene expression profiling of SPG11-NPCs revealed widespread transcriptional alterations in neurodevelopmental pathways. These include changes in cell-cycle, neurogenesis, cortical development pathways, in addition to autophagic deficits. More important, the GSK3ß-signaling pathway was found to be dysregulated in SPG11-NPCs. Impaired proliferation of SPG11-NPCs resulted in a significant diminution in the number of neural cells. The decrease in mitotically active SPG11-NPCs was rescued by GSK3 modulation. INTERPRETATION: This iPSC-derived NPC model provides the first evidence for an early neurodevelopmental phenotype in SPG11, with GSK3ß as a potential novel target to reverse the disease phenotype. Ann Neurol 2016;79:826-840.

Dysfunction of spatacsin leads to axonal pathology in SPG11-linked hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Hereditary spastic paraplegias are a group of inherited motor neuron diseases characterized by progressive paraparesis and spasticity. Mutations in the spastic paraplegia gene SPG11, encoding spatacsin, cause an autosomal-recessive disease trait; however, the precise knowledge about the role of spatacsin in neurons is very limited. We for the first time analyzed the expression and function of spatacsin in human forebrain neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells including lines from two SPG11 patients and two controls. SPG11 patients'-derived neurons exhibited downregulation of specific axonal-related genes, decreased neurite complexity and accumulation of membranous bodies within axonal processes. Altogether, these data point towards axonal pathologies in human neurons with SPG11 mutations. To further corroborate spatacsin function, we investigated human pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons and mouse cortical neurons. In these cells, spatacsin was located in axons and dendrites. It colocalized with cytoskeletal and synaptic vesicle (SV) markers and was present in synaptosomes. Knockdown of spatacsin in mouse cortical neurons evidenced that the loss of function of spatacsin leads to axonal instability by downregulation of acetylated tubulin. Finally, time-lapse assays performed in SPG11 patients'-derived neurons and spatacsin-silenced mouse neurons highlighted a reduction in the anterograde vesicle trafficking indicative of impaired axonal transport. By employing SPG11 patient-derived forebrain neurons and mouse cortical neurons, this study provides the first evidence that SPG11 is implicated in axonal maintenance and cargo trafficking. Understanding the cellular functions of spatacsin will allow deciphering mechanisms of motor cortex dysfunction in autosomal-recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia.

Gene dosage-dependent rescue of HSP neurite defects in SPG4 patients' neurons.

The hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a heterogeneous group of motorneuron diseases characterized by progressive spasticity and paresis of the lower limbs. Mutations in Spastic Gait 4 (SPG4), encoding spastin, are the most frequent cause of HSP. To understand how mutations in SPG4 affect human neurons, we generated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from fibroblasts of two patients carrying a c.1684C>T nonsense mutation and from two controls. These SPG4 and control hiPSCs were able to differentiate into neurons and glia at comparable efficiency. All known spastin isoforms were reduced in SPG4 neuronal cells. The complexity of SPG4 neurites was decreased, which was paralleled by an imbalance of axonal transport with less retrograde movement. Prominent neurite swellings with disrupted microtubules were present in SPG4 neurons at an ultrastructural level. While some of these swellings contain acetylated and detyrosinated tubulin, these tubulin modifications were unchanged in total cell lysates of SPG4 neurons. Upregulation of another microtubule-severing protein, p60 katanin, may partially compensate for microtubuli dynamics in SPG4 neurons. Overexpression of the M1 or M87 spastin isoforms restored neurite length, branching, numbers of primary neurites and reduced swellings in SPG4 neuronal cells. We conclude that neurite complexity and maintenance in HSP patient-derived neurons are critically sensitive to spastin gene dosage. Our data show that elevation of single spastin isoform levels is sufficient to restore neurite complexity and reduce neurite swellings in patient cells. Furthermore, our human model offers an ideal platform for pharmacological screenings with the goal to restore physiological spastin levels in SPG4 patients.

Overexpression of TOR (target of rapamycin) inhibits cell proliferation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

TOR (target of rapamycin) protein kinase acts as a central controller of cell growth and development of an organism. Present study was undertaken to find the expression pattern and role of TOR during growth and development of Dictyostelium discoideum. Failures to generate either knockout and/or knockdown mutants indicate that interference with its levels led to cellular defects. Thus, the effects of TOR (DDB_G0281569) overexpression specifically, cells expressing Dd(Δ211-TOR)-Eyfp mutant was analyzed. Elevated expression of (Δ211-TOR)-Eyfp reduced both cell size and cell proliferation. DdTOR was found to be closer to fungus. mRNA level of TOR was found maximally in the freshly starved/aggregate cells that gradually declined. This was also strengthened by the expression patterns observed by in situ and the analysis of ß-galactosidase reporter driven by the putative TOR promoter. The TOR protein was found to be highest at the aggregate stage. The fusion protein, (Δ211-TOR)-Eyfp was localized to the cell membrane, cytosol, and the nucleus. We suggest, DdTOR to be an essential protein and high TOR expression inhibits cell proliferation.

Anions dramatically enhance proton transfer through aqueous interfaces.

Proton transfer (PT) through and across aqueous interfaces is a fundamental process in chemistry and biology. Notwithstanding its importance, it is not generally realized that interfacial PT is quite different from conventional PT in bulk water. Here we show that, in contrast with the behavior of strong nitric acid in aqueous solution, gas-phase HNO(3) does not dissociate upon collision with the surface of water unless a few ions (> 1 per 10(6) H(2)O) are present. By applying online electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to monitor in situ the surface of aqueous jets exposed to HNO(3(g)) beams we found that NO(3)(-) production increases dramatically on > 30-µM inert electrolyte solutions. We also performed quantum mechanical calculations confirming that the sizable barrier hindering HNO(3) dissociation on the surface of small water clusters is drastically lowered in the presence of anions. Anions electrostatically assist in drawing the proton away from NO(3)(-) lingering outside the cluster, whose incorporation is hampered by the energetic cost of opening a cavity therein. Present results provide both direct experimental evidence and mechanistic insights on the counterintuitive slowness of PT at water-hydrophobe boundaries and its remarkable sensitivity to electrostatic effects.

Brønsted basicity of the air-water interface.

Differences in the extent of protonation of functional groups lying on either side of water-hydrophobe interfaces are deemed essential to enzymatic catalysis, molecular recognition, bioenergetic transduction, and atmospheric aerosol-gas exchanges. The sign and range of such differences, however, remain conjectural. Herein we report experiments showing that gaseous carboxylic acids RCOOH(g) begin to deprotonate on the surface of water significantly more acidic than that supporting the dissociation of dissolved acids RCOOH(aq). Thermodynamic analysis indicates that > 6 H(2)O molecules must participate in the deprotonation of RCOOH(g) on water, but quantum mechanical calculations on a model air-water interface predict that such event is hindered by a significant kinetic barrier unless OH(-) ions are present therein. Thus, by detecting RCOO(-) we demonstrate the presence of OH(-) on the aerial side of on pH > 2 water exposed to RCOOH(g). Furthermore, because in similar experiments the base (Me)(3)N(g) is protonated only on pH < 4 water, we infer that the outer surface of water is Brønsted neutral at pH ∼3 (rather than at pH 7 as bulk water), a value that matches the isoelectric point of bubbles and oil droplets in independent electrophoretic experiments. The OH(-) densities sensed by RCOOH(g) on the aerial surface of water, however, are considerably smaller than those at the (>1 nm) deeper shear planes probed in electrophoresis, thereby implying the existence of OH(-) gradients in the interfacial region. This fact could account for the weak OH(-) signals detected by surface-specific spectroscopies.

Busting the myth of spontaneous formation of H2O2 at the air-water interface: contributions of the liquid-solid interface and dissolved oxygen exposed.

Recent reports on the spontaneous formation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at the air-water and solid-water interfaces challenge our current understanding of aquatic chemistry and have ramifications on atmosphere chemistry models, surface science, and green chemistry. Suggested mechanisms underlying this chemical transformation include ultrahigh instantaneous electric fields at the air-water interface and the oxidation of water and reduction of the solid at the solid-water interface. Here, we revisit this curious problem with NMR spectroscopy (with an H2O2 detection limit ≥50 nM) and pay special attention to the effects of nebulizing gas, dissolved oxygen content, and the solid-water interface on this chemical transformation in condensed and sprayed water microdroplets. Experiments reveal that the reduction of dissolved oxygen at the solid-water interface predominantly contributes to the H2O2 formation (not the oxidation of hydroxyl ions at the air-water interface or the oxidation of water at the solid-water interface). We find that the H2O2 formation is accompanied by the consumption (i.e., reduction) of dissolved oxygen and the oxidation of the solid surface, i.e., in the absence of dissolved oxygen, the formation of H2O2(aq) is not observed within the detection limit of ≥50 nM. Remarkably, the tendency of the solids investigated in this work towards forming H2O2 in water followed the same order as their positions in the classic Galvanic series. These findings bust the prevailing myths surrounding H2O2 formation due to the air-water interface, the ultrahigh electric fields therein, or the micro-scale of droplets. The hitherto unrealized role of the oxidation of the solid surface due to dissolved oxygen in the formation of H2O2 is exposed. These findings are especially relevant to corrosion science, surface science, and electrochemistry, among others.

Vetiver grass cleans up arsenic contaminated field for subsequent safe cultivation of rice with low arsenic in grains: A two year field study.

The presence of high concentrations of arsenic (As) in agricultural soils and its subsequent accumulation in rice crop is a serious issue threatening sustainability of agriculture and human health. In the present work, remediation of As contaminated field in Nadia, West Bengal, India was done through the cultivation of Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides L. Nash) and the same field was subsequently used for rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation. The results showed that V. zizanoides could reduce As concentrations in the field to bring it lower than the maximum permissible limit (20 mg kg-1) in 11 months' time. The rice plants grown in remediated field showed improvement in growth and photosynthesis parameters as compared to that of contaminated field. Importantly, yield related parameters (filled seed, 1000 grain weight, number of panicles etc.) were also significantly higher in remediated field than that in contaminated field. Arsenic concentration in roots, shoot, husk and grains of rice was found to be significantly lower in remediated field than in contaminated field. Grain As decreased from 0.75 to 0.77 µg g-1 dw in contaminated field to 0.15-0.18 µg g-1 dw. In conclusion, replacing rice for single year with V. zizanoides crop can significantly remediate the field and can be a viable option.