Identification of attractive odorants released by preferred bacterial food found in the natural habitats of C. elegans

Food choice is critical for survival because organisms must choose food that is edible and nutritious and avoid pathogenic food. Many organisms, including the nematode C. elegans, use olfaction to detect and distinguish among food sources. C. elegans exhibits innate preferences for the odors of different bacterial species. However, little is known about the preferences of C. elegans for bacterial strains isolated from their natural environment as well as the attractive volatile compounds released by preferred natural bacteria isolates. We tested food odor preferences of C. elegans for non-pathogenic bacteria found in their natural habitats. We found that C. elegans showed a preference for the odor of six of the eight tested bacterial isolates over its standard food source, E. coli HB101. Using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, we found that four of six attractive bacterial isolates (Alcaligenes sp. JUb4, Providenica sp. JUb5, Providencia sp. JUb39, and Flavobacteria sp. JUb43) released isoamyl alcohol, a well-studied C. elegans attractant, while both non-attractive isolates (Raoultella sp. JUb38 and Acinetobacter sp. JUb68) released very low or non-detectable amounts of isoamyl alcohol. In conclusion, we find that isoamyl alcohol is likely an ethologically relevant odor that is released by some attractive bacterial isolates in the natural environment of C. elegans.

A new hurdiid radiodont from the Burgess Shale evinces the exploitation of Cambrian infaunal food sources

Radiodonts, a clade of Cambro-Devonian stem group euarthropods, have classically been regarded as nektonic apex predators. However, many aspects of radiodont morphology and ecology have remained unclear because of the typically fragmentary nature of fossil material. Here, we describe a new hurdiid radiodont based on abundant and exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Burgess Shale (Marble Canyon area, British Columbia, Canada). Cambroraster falcatus gen. et sp. nov. is characterized by an extra-large horseshoe-shaped head carapace, bearing conspicuous posterolateral spinous processes, and partially covering a short trunk with eight pairs of lateral flaps. Each of the pair of frontal appendages possess five mesially curving rake-like endites equipped with a series of anteriorly directed hooked spines, altogether surrounding the oral cone. This feeding apparatus suggests a micro to macrophagous sediment-sifting feeding ecology. Cambroraster illuminates the evolution of Hurdiidae and evinces the exploitation of the diversifying infauna by these large and specialized nektobenthic carnivores in the aftermath of the Cambrian explosion.

Sulfur(VI) fluorides as tools in biomolecular and medicinal chemistry

Recent advances in the synthesis of sulfur(VI)-fluorides has enabled incredible growth in their application in biomolecular chemistry. This review aims to serve as a primer highlighting synthetic strategies toward a diversity of S(VI) fluorides and their application in chemical biology, bioconjugation, and medicinal chemistry.

Undoing mothers' avoidant coping with children's negative emotion: A randomized controlled trial of relational savoring

Some mothers report using avoidant coping strategies (minimizing, punishing) in response to their young children's negative emotion, an aspect of insensitive parenting that places children at risk for emotional or behavioral dysregulation (Fabes et al., 2001) and insecure attachment (De Wolff & van Ijzendoorn, 1997). In prior work, an in-home attachment-based relational savoring (RS) intervention, administered over a month's time, positively affected maternal emotion and sensitive behavior with young children (Borelli et al., 2023); further, a one-time online RS protocol had greater impacts on emotion and relationship satisfaction for mothers with greater attachment avoidance (Burkhart et al., 2015). However, we do not yet know whether a brief, laboratory intervention impacts highly avoidant mothers' behavior with their children and not just their self-reports of satisfaction. Here, we examine whether mothers' endorsement of avoidant coping strategies moderates the effect of an RS versus active control intervention on mothers' use of emotion-coaching during an emotionally charged conversation with their child. Mothers (N = 122; Mage = 33.42, SD = 5.40) and their preschoolers (Mage = 41.80 months, SD = 4.65; 48.4% female) from diverse backgrounds (41% Latina, 40% White [non-Latina]; 42% under $60,000 annual income) participated. The interaction between condition and level of avoidant coping on mothers' emotion-coaching behaviors was significant. Mothers high in avoidant coping (top quartile) displayed better emotion-coaching during the emotion conversation if they had been in the RS condition. Savoring may be a valuable tool to promote effective emotion-coaching among parents most prone to avoid their children's negative emotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Identifying the Knowledge and Capacity Gaps in Southeast Asian Insect Conservation

Insects represent most of terrestrial animal biodiversity, and multiple reports suggest that their populations are declining globally due to anthropogenic impacts. Yet, a high proportion of insect species remain undescribed and limited data on their population dynamics hamper insect conservation efforts. This is particularly critical in tropical biodiversity hotspots such as Southeast Asia. To identify knowledge and capacity gaps in Southeast Asian insect conservation, we performed a quantitative review of insect occurrence records, studies for the region and global '#conservation' posts from Twitter. We found that occurrence records increased over time, and were dominated by butterflies. Overall, studies were largely focused on pest and vector groups, and insect conservation and ecology studies were lacking in many countries. Despite an increase in local authorships and funding sources over time, the majority of these were still located outside of Southeast Asia. In '#conservation' posts, insects were highly under-represented and insect-related content was biased towards popular groups such as bees and butterflies. We suggest potential solutions to address these gaps, such as integrative taxonomic approaches, and increasing regional collaborations and public engagements. Crucially, we stress the need for political will and funding to overcome the impediments towards insect conservation efforts in Southeast Asia.

Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Sulfur Fluoride Exchange

A new method uses metal Lewis acids as catalysts to convert sulfonyl fluorides, fluorosulfates, and sulfamoyl fluorides with silyl amines into S-N bond-containing compounds via sulfur fluoride exchange. The reaction successfully employs Ca(NTf2)2 as a catalyst to form sulfonamides, sulfamates, and sulfamides using in situ-generated or commercially available silyl amines in 35-99% yields. Other metal Lewis acids are also demonstrated to be catalysts in SuFEx, forming sulfonamides and sulfamates in yields comparable to those of Ca(NTf2)2.

Do pictures' emotional valence and arousal affect younger and older adults' narratives?

Emotional content, specifically negative valence, can differentially influence speech production in younger and older adults' autobiographical narratives, which have been interpreted as reflecting age differences in emotion regulation. However, age differences in emotional reactivity are another possible explanation, as younger and older adults frequently differ in their affective responses to negative and positive pictures. The present experiment investigated whether a picture's valence (pleasantness) and arousal (intensity) influenced older adults' production of narratives about those pictures. Thirty younger and 30 older participants produced narratives about pictures that varied in valence (positive, negative, and neutral) and arousal (high, low). Narratives were recorded via Zoom, transcribed, and analyzed with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count-22 to get measures of emotional word use, disfluencies, and linguistic distance. Results showed that negative valence increased age differences in speech production independent of picture arousal: Relative to younger adults, older adults used more positive words, fewer negative words, and had more silent pauses when telling narratives about negative pictures. In contrast, high arousal decreased age differences such that older adults used fewer positive words in narratives about positive pictures and more linguistically distant words evidenced by fewer present-tense verbs, relative to narratives about low-arousal pictures. Contrary to an explanation of enhanced regulation or control over emotions in older adulthood, these findings support the idea that older adults' speech production is influenced by their reactivity or affective response to emotional stimuli even when the task is not to communicate one's emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Acetonyl Peroxy and Hydroperoxy Self- and Cross-Reactions: Temperature-Dependent Kinetic Parameters, Branching Fractions, and Chaperone Effects

The temperature-dependent kinetic parameters, branching fractions, and chaperone effects of the self- and cross-reactions between acetonyl peroxy (CH3C(O)CH2O2) and hydro peroxy (HO2) have been studied using pulsed laser photolysis coupled with infrared (IR) wavelength-modulation spectroscopy and ultraviolet absorption (UVA) spectroscopy. Two IR lasers simultaneously monitored HO2 and hydroxyl (OH), while UVA measurements monitored CH3C(O)CH2O2. For the CH3C(O)CH2O2 self-reaction (T = 270-330 K), the rate parameters were determined to be A = (1.5-0.3+0.4) × 10-13 and Ea/R = -996 ± 334 K and the branching fraction to the alkoxy channel, k2b/k2, showed an inverse temperature dependence following the expression, k2b/k2 = (2.27 ± 0.62) - [(6.35 ± 2.06) × 10-3] T(K). For the reaction between CH3C(O)CH2O2 and HO2 (T = 270-330 K), the rate parameters were determined to be A = (3.4-1.5+2.5) × 10-13 and Ea/R = -547 ± 415 K for the hydroperoxide product channel and A = (6.23-4.4+15.3) × 10-17 and Ea/R = -3100 ± 870 K for the OH product channel. The branching fraction for the OH channel, k1b /k1, follows the temperature-dependent expression, k1b/k1 = (3.27 ± 0.51) - [(9.6 ± 1.7) × 10-3] T(K). Determination of these parameters required an extensive reaction kinetics model which included a re-evaluation of the temperature dependence of the HO2 self-reaction chaperone enhancement parameters due to the methanol-hydroperoxy complex. The second-law thermodynamic parameters for KP,M for the formation of the complex were found to be ΔrH250K° = -38.6 ± 3.3 kJ mol-1 and ΔrS250K° = -110.5 ± 13.2 J mol-1 K-1, with the third-law analysis yielding ΔrH250K° = -37.5 ± 0.25 kJ mol-1. The HO2 self-reaction rate coefficient was determined to be k4 = (3.34-0.80+1.04) × 10-13 exp [(507 ± 76)/T]cm3 molecule-1 s-1 with the enhancement term k4,M″ = (2.7-1.7+4.7) × 10-36 exp [(4700 ± 255)/T]cm6 molecule-2 s-1, proportional to [CH3OH], over T = 220-280 K. The equivalent chaperone enhancement parameter for the acetone-hydroperoxy complex was also required and determined to be k4,A″ = (5.0 × 10-38 - 1.4 × 10-41) exp[(7396 ± 1172)/T] cm6 molecule-2 s-1, proportional to [CH3C(O)CH3], over T = 270-296 K. From these parameters, the rate coefficients for the reactions between HO2 and the respective complexes over the given temperature ranges can be estimated: for HO2·CH3OH, k12 = [(1.72 ± 0.050) × 10-11] exp [(314 ± 7.2)/T] cm3 molecule-1 s-1 and for HO2·CH3C(O)CH3, k15 = [(7.9 ± 0.72) × 10-17] exp [(3881 ± 25)/T] cm3 molecule-1 s-1. Lastly, an estimate of the rate coefficient for the HO2·CH3OH self-reaction was also determined to be k13 = (1.3 ± 0.45) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1.

Age-related differences in the evaluation of highly arousing language

Emotional properties of words can profoundly affect their processing, depending on both the valence (pleasantness) and the degree of arousal (excitation) that the word elicits. Words that are strongly emotionally arousing (such as taboo words) can interfere with subsequent language processing (White & Abrams, 2021). However, little is known about whether or how aging affects the processing of highly arousing language. The present study provides a characterization of how adults across the lifespan evaluate highly arousing language with a simple rating task that included taboo words, which have previously been used to examine lexical interference caused by arousal, and humorous words, which are also highly arousing without being negatively valenced. While arousal ratings were strongly positively correlated with both tabooness and humor ratings for young adults, these relationships weakened with age and overall arousal ratings were lower for middle-aged and older adults compared to young adults. Age effects cannot be readily accounted for by age-related differences in psychosocial variables such as self-reported profanity avoidance or religiosity. The effect of age on arousal should be considered in the design of studies examining age-related changes in emotional language processing. Furthermore, age differences in arousal should be considered as a potential mechanism in studies exploring emotional language processing across adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).