Structure-activity relationship studies of anti-bunyaviral cap-dependent endonuclease inhibitors

Bunyaviruses, including the Lassa virus (LASV), are known to cause hemorrhagic fever and have a high fatality rate among hospitalized patients, as there are few effective treatments. We focused on the fact that bunyaviruses use cap-dependent endonuclease (CEN) for viral replication, which is similar to influenza viruses. This led us to screen carbamoyl pyridone bicycle (CAB) compounds, which compose a series of baloxavir acid (BXA) derivatives, against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and Junin virus (JUNV) among the bunyaviruses. This led to the discovery of 1c, which has potent anti-bunyaviral activities. In SAR studies, we found that a large lipophilic side chain is preferred for the 1-position of the CAB scaffold, similar to the influenza CEN inhibitor, and that a small alkyl group for the 3-position shows high activity. Moreover, the 7‑carboxyl group of the scaffold is essential for anti-bunyaviral activities, and the antiviral activity is reduced by conversion to various carboxylic acid bioisosteres. The SAR results are discussed using a binding model of 9d in the active center of the known LCMV CEN crystal structure. These compounds show promise as broad-spectrum anti-bunyavirus therapeutics, given their relatively favorable metabolic stability and PK profiles.

Beyond the veil of duality-topographic reorganization model of meditation

Meditation can exert a profound impact on our mental life, with proficient practitioners often reporting an experience free of boundaries between a separate self and the environment, suggesting an explicit experience of "nondual awareness." What are the neural correlates of such experiences and how do they relate to the idea of nondual awareness itself? In order to unravel the effects that meditation has on the brain's spatial topography, we review functional magnetic resonance imaging brain findings from studies specific to an array of meditation types and meditator experience levels. We also review findings from studies that directly probe the interaction between meditation and the experience of the self. The main results are (i) decreased posterior default mode network (DMN) activity, (ii) increased central executive network (CEN) activity, (iii) decreased connectivity within posterior DMN as well as between posterior and anterior DMN, (iv) increased connectivity within the anterior DMN and CEN, and (v) significantly impacted connectivity between the DMN and CEN (likely a nonlinear phenomenon). Together, these suggest a profound organizational shift of the brain's spatial topography in advanced meditators-we therefore propose a topographic reorganization model of meditation (TRoM). One core component of the TRoM is that the topographic reorganization of DMN and CEN is related to a decrease in the mental-self-processing along with a synchronization with the more nondual layers of self-processing, notably interoceptive and exteroceptive-self-processing. This reorganization of the functionality of both brain and self-processing can result in the explicit experience of nondual awareness. In conclusion, this review provides insight into the profound neural effects of advanced meditation and proposes a result-driven unifying model (TRoM) aimed at identifying the inextricably tied objective (neural) and subjective (experiential) effects of meditation.

Characterization of Individual Projections Reveal That Neuromasts of the Zebrafish Lateral Line are Innervated by Multiple Inhibitory Efferent Cells

The zebrafish lateral line is a sensory system used to detect changes in water flow. It is comprized of clusters of superficial hair cells called neuromasts. Modulation occurs via excitatory and inhibitory efferent neurons located in the brain. Using mosaic transgenic labeling we provide an anatomical overview of the lateral line projections made by individual inhibitory efferent neurons in 5-day old zebrafish larvae. For each hemisphere we estimate there to be six inhibitory efferent neurons located in two different nuclei. Three distinct cell types were classified based on their projections; to the anterior lateral line around the head, to the posterior lateral line along the body, or to both. Our analyses corroborate previous studies employing back-fills, but our transgenic labeling allowed a more thorough characterization of their morphology. We found that individual inhibitory efferent cells connect to multiple neuromasts and that a single neuromast is connected by multiple inhibitory efferent cells. The efferent axons project to the sensory ganglia and follow the sensory axon tract along the lateral line. Time-lapse imaging revealed that inhibitory efferent axons do not migrate with the primordium as the primary sensory afferent does, but follow with an 8–14 h lag. These data bring new insights into the formation of a sensory circuit and support the hypothesis that different classes of inhibitory efferent cells have different functions. Our findings provide a foundation for future studies focussed toward unraveling how and when sensory perception is modulated by different efferent cells.

CENTRORADIALIS maintains shoot meristem indeterminacy by antagonizing THORN IDENTITY1 in Citrus

Differential regulation of stem cell activity in shoot meristems contributes to the wide variation in shoot architecture.^1-3 In most Citrus species, a thorn meristem and a dormant axillary meristem co-localize at each leaf base, offset from each other in a spiral phyllotactic pattern. We recently identified THORN IDENTITY1 (TI1) and THORN IDENTITY2 (TI2), encoding TEOSINTE BRANCHED1/CYCLOIDEA/PCF (TCP) transcription factors, as necessary for the termination of meristem proliferation and concomitant thorn production in Citrus.⁴ However, how the dormant axillary meristem at the same leaf axil maintains stem cell activity is still unknown. The phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP)-type transcription factors CENTRORADIALIS (CEN) and TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) maintain inflorescence meristem indeterminacy in many plant species by antagonizing floral meristem identity regulators.^5-9 Here, we show that, in Citrus, Citrus CEN (CsCEN) maintains vegetative axillary meristem indeterminacy by antagonizing TI1. CsCEN is expressed in the axillary meristem, but not in the thorn meristem. Disruption of CsCEN function results in termination of the stem cell activity and conversion of dormant axillary meristems into thorns, although ectopic overexpression of CsCEN represses TI1 expression and converts thorns into dormant buds, a phenotype similar to the ti1 mutant. We further show that CsCEN interacts with Citrus FD (CsFD) to repress TI1 expression. CsCEN activity depends on the function of TI1 and TI2, as mutations in TI1 and TI2 rescue the cscen mutant phenotype. We suggest that the antagonistic roles of CsCEN and TI1 define the pattern of axillary meristem determinacy, which shapes vegetative Citrus tree shoot architecture.

Interlaboratory validation of an LC-MS/MS method for the determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed

Melamine and cyanuric acid have been mixed illegally into food and feed to increase the nitrogen content, which results in deceptively high protein contents. As a consequence, a maximum level for melamine of 2.5 mg kg-1 feed was established by the European Union under Directive 2002/32/EC. The Technical Committee (TC) 327 of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) commissioned the standardisation of a method for the analysis of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed. One main task in the standardisation process is the performance of a full international collaborative trial, which is described in this paper. After performing a pre-trial study, in the main study eight different feed samples with different concentration levels of melamine and/or cyanuric acid were distributed as double-blind samples to 13 participants. The minimum criterion of eight laboratories submitting results per sample is fulfilled for melamine but only partly for cyanuric acid. The evaluation showed for both analytes a Horwitz ratio (HorRat) well below 2, and meets the requirements stated in the appropriate international protocols. The results demonstrated that the method seems to be suitable for the analysis of melamine and cyanuric acid in animal feed.

Three FT and multiple CEN and BFT genes regulate maturity, flowering, and vegetative phenology in kiwifruit

Kiwifruit is a woody perennial horticultural crop, characterized by excessive vegetative vigor, prolonged juvenility, and low productivity. To understand the molecular factors controlling flowering and winter dormancy, here we identify and characterize the kiwifruit PEBP (phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein) gene family. Five CEN-like and three BFT-like genes are differentially expressed and act as functionally conserved floral repressors, while two MFT-like genes have no impact on flowering time. FT-like genes are differentially expressed, with AcFT1 confined to shoot tip and AcFT2 to mature leaves. Both act as potent activators of flowering, but expression of AcFT2 in Arabidopsis resulted in a greater impact on plant morphology than that of AcFT1. Constitutive expression of either construct in kiwifruit promoted in vitro flowering, but AcFT2 displayed a greater flowering activation efficiency than AcFT1, leading to immediate floral transition and restriction of leaf development. Both leaf and flower differentiation were observed in AcFT1 kiwifruit lines. Sequential activation of specific PEBP genes in axillary shoot buds during growth and dormancy cycles indicated specific roles in regulation of kiwifruit vegetative and reproductive phenologies. AcCEN and AcCEN4 marked active growth, AcBFT2 was associated with suppression of latent bud growth during winter, and only AcFT was activated after cold accumulation and dormancy release.

Development of a Candida glabrata dominant nutritional transformation marker utilizing the Aspergillus nidulans acetamidase gene (amdS)

The gene encoding Aspergillus nidulans acetamidase (amdS) was placed under control of Candida albicans ACT1 promoter and terminator sequences and then cloned into a plasmid containing C. glabrata ARS10,CEN8 or ARS10+CEN8 sequences. All plasmids transformed C. glabrata wild-type cells to acetamide+, with the ARS-only containing plasmid transforming cells at the highest frequencies (>1.0 × 10(4) transformants μg(-1)). Plasmids were rapidly lost under non-selective conditions with the frequency dependent on chromosomal element, thus recycling the acetamide- phenotype. The amdS plasmid was used to transform a set of clinical isolates resistant to a variety of antifungal drugs. All strains were successfully transformed to the acetamide+ phenotype at high frequency, confirming that this plasmid construct could be used as a simple dominant marker on virtually any strain. Gap repair experiments demonstrated that just as in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, gap repair functions efficiently inC. glabrata, suggesting that C. glabrata has numerous similarities toS. cerevisiae with regard to ease of molecular manipulation. The amdS system is inexpensive and efficient, and combined with existing C. glabrata plasmid elements, confers a high transformation frequency for C. glabrata with a phenotype that can be easily recycled.

Standardising Responsibility? The Significance of Interstitial Spaces

Modern society is characterised by rapid technological development that is often socially controversial and plagued by extensive scientific uncertainty concerning its socio-ecological impacts. Within this context, the concept of 'responsible research and innovation' (RRI) is currently rising to prominence in international discourse concerning science and technology governance. As this emerging concept of RRI begins to be enacted through instruments, approaches, and initiatives, it is valuable to explore what it is coming to mean for and in practice. In this paper we draw attention to a realm that is often backgrounded in the current discussions of RRI but which has a highly significant impact on scientific research, innovation and policy-namely, the interstitial space of international standardization. Drawing on the case of nanoscale sciences and technologies to make our argument, we present examples of how international standards are already entangled in the development of RRI and yet, how the process of international standardization itself largely fails to embody the norms proposed as characterizing RRI. We suggest that although current models for RRI provide a promising attempt to make research and innovation more responsive to societal needs, ethical values and environmental challenges, such approaches will need to encompass and address a greater diversity of innovation system agents and spaces if they are to prove successful in their aims.

A series of conditional shuttle vectors for targeted genomic integration in budding yeast

The capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to repair exposed DNA ends by homologous recombination has long been used by experimentalists to assemble plasmids from DNA fragments in vivo. While this approach works well for engineering extrachromosomal vectors, it is not well suited to the generation, recovery and reuse of integrative vectors. Here, we describe the creation of a series of conditional centromeric shuttle vectors, termed pXR vectors, that can be used for both plasmid assembly in vivo and targeted genomic integration. The defining feature of pXR vectors is that the DNA segment bearing the centromere and origin of replication, termed CEN/ARS, is flanked by a pair of loxP sites. Passaging the vectors through bacteria that express Cre recombinase reduces the loxP-CEN/ARS-loxP module to a single loxP site, thereby eliminating the ability to replicate autonomously in yeast. Each vector also contains a selectable marker gene, as well as a fragment of the HO locus, which permits targeted integration at a neutral genomic site. The pXR vectors provide a convenient and robust method to assemble DNAs for targeted genomic modifications.

Central executive network in young people with familial risk for psychosis--the Oulu Brain and Mind Study

OBJECTIVE

The central executive network controls and manages high-level cognitive functions. Abnormal activation in the central executive network has been related to psychosis and schizophrenia but it is not established how this applies to people with familial risk for psychosis (FR).

METHODS

We conducted a resting-state functional MRI (R-fMRI) in 72 (29 males) young adults with a history of psychosis in one or both parents (FR) but without psychosis themselves, and 72 (29 males) similarly healthy control subjects without parental psychosis. Both groups in the Oulu Brain and Mind Study were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986. Participants were 20-25years old. Parental psychosis was established using the Care Register for Health Care. R-fMRI data pre-processing was conducted using independent component analysis with 30 and 70 components. A dual regression technique was used to detect between-group differences in the central executive network with p<0.05 threshold corrected for multiple comparisons.

RESULTS

FR participants demonstrated statistically significantly lower activity compared to control subjects in the right inferior frontal gyrus, a key area of central executive network corresponding to Brodmann areas 44 and 45, known as Broca's area. The volume of the lower activation area with 30 components was 896mm(3) and with 70 components was 1151mm(3).

CONCLUSION

The activity of the central executive network differed in the right inferior frontal gyrus between FR and control groups. This suggests that abnormality of the right inferior frontal gyrus may be a central part of vulnerability for psychosis.

Altered intrinsic functional coupling between core neurocognitive networks in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is largely attributed to disruptions in the nigrostriatal dopamine system. These neurodegenerative changes may also have a more global effect on intrinsic brain organization at the cortical level. Functional brain connectivity between neurocognitive systems related to cognitive processing is critical for effective neural communication, and is disrupted across neurological disorders. Three core neurocognitive networks have been established as playing a critical role in the pathophysiology of many neurological disorders: the default-mode network (DMN), the salience network (SN), and the central executive network (CEN). In healthy adults, DMN–CEN interactions are anti-correlated while SN–CEN interactions are strongly positively correlated even at rest, when individuals are not engaging in any task. These intrinsic between-network interactions at rest are necessary for efficient suppression of the DMN and activation of the CEN during a range of cognitive tasks. To identify whether these network interactions are disrupted in individuals with PD, we used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to compare between-network connectivity between 24 PD participants and 20 age-matched controls (MC). In comparison to the MC, individuals with PD showed significantly less SN–CEN coupling and greater DMN–CEN coupling during rest. Disease severity, an index of striatal dysfunction, was related to reduced functional coupling between the striatum and SN. These results demonstrate that individuals with PD have a dysfunctional pattern of interaction between core neurocognitive networks compared to what is found in healthy individuals, and that interaction between the SN and the striatum is even more profoundly disrupted in those with greater disease severity.

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Functional coupling is altered between the default-mode network and the salience and central executive networks in PD.

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Functional coupling between the striatum and the salience network diminishes as disease severity increases in PD.

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These disruptions to intrinsic functional coupling provide a framework for PD disease progression at the cortical level.

Inferior frontal and insular cortical thinning is related to dysfunctional brain activation/deactivation during working memory task in schizophrenic patients

Although working memory is known to be impaired in schizophrenia the anatomical and functional relationships underlying this deficit remain to be elucidated. A combined imaging approach involving functional and structural magnetic resonance techniques was used, applying independent component analysis and surface-based morphometry to 14 patients with schizophrenia and 14 healthy controls. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed by a neuropsychological test battery that measured executive function. It was hypothesized that working memory dysfunctional connectivity in schizophrenia is related to underlying anatomical abnormalities. Patients with schizophrenia showed cortical thinning in the left inferior frontal gyrus and insula, which explained 57% of blood oxygenation level-dependent signal magnitude in functional magnetic resonance imaging in the central executive network (lateral prefrontal and parietal cortex) over-activation and default mode network (anterior and posterior cingulate) deactivation. No structure-function relationship emerged in the healthy control group. The study provides evidence to suggest that dysfunctional activation/deactivation patterns in schizophrenia may be explained in terms of underlying gray matter deficits.

Synergistic relationships between Analytical Chemistry and written standards

This paper describes the mutual impact of Analytical Chemistry and several international written standards (norms and guides) related to knowledge management (CEN-CWA 14924:2004), social responsibility (ISO 26000:2010), management of occupational health and safety (OHSAS 18001/2), environmental management (ISO 14001:2004), quality management systems (ISO 9001:2008) and requirements of the competence of testing and calibration laboratories (ISO 17025:2004). The intensity of this impact, based on a two-way influence, is quite different depending on the standard considered. In any case, a new and fruitful approach to Analytical Chemistry based on these relationships can be derived.

Global medical device nomenclature: the concept for reducing device-related medical errors

In the medical device field, there are a number of players, having quite different responsibilities and levels of understanding of the processes, but all with one common interest, that of ensuring the availability of sound medical devices to the general public. To assist in this very important process, there is a need for a common method for describing and identifying these medical devices in an unambiguous manner. The Global Medical Device Nomenclature (GMDN) now provides, for the first time, an international tool for identifying all medical devices, at the generic level, in a meaningful manner that can be understood by all users. Prior to the GMDN, many nomenclature systems existed, all built upon different structures, and used locally or nationally for special purposes, with unusual approaches. These diverse systems, although often workable in their own right, have had no impact on improving the overall situation of providing a common platform, whereby, medical devices could be correctly identified and the related data safely exchanged between the involved parties. Work by standard organizations such as, CEN (European Committee for Standardization) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization), from 1993 to 1996, resulted in a standard that specified a structure for a new nomenclature, for medical devices. In this article we are trying to explain GMDN as the prime method to reduce medical device errors, and to understand the concept of GMDN, to regulate the medical device throughout the globe. Here we also make an attempt to explain various aspects of the GMDN system, such as, the process of development of the GMDN-CEN report, purpose, benefits, and their structural considerations. In addition, there will be an explanation of the coding system, role of the GMDN agency, and their utilization in the unique device identification (UDI) System. Finally, the current area of focus and vision for the future are also mentioned.