Significantly reduced inflammatory foreign-body-response to neuroimplants and improved recording performance in young compared to adult rats.

The multicellular inflammatory encapsulation of implanted intracortical multielectrode arrays (MEA) is associated with severe deterioration of their field potentials' (FP) recording performance, which thus limits the use of brain implants in basic research and clinical applications. Therefore, extensive efforts have been made to identify the conditions in which the inflammatory foreign body response (FBR) is alleviated, or to develop methods to mitigate the formation of the inflammatory barrier. Here, for the first time, we show that (1) in young rats (74±8 gr, 4 weeks old at the onset of the experiments), cortical tissue recovery following MEA implantation proceeds with ameliorated inflammatory scar as compared to adult rats (242 ± 18 gr, 9 weeks old at the experimental onset); (2) in contrast to adult rats in which the Colony Stimulating factor 1 Receptor (CSF1R) antagonist chow eliminated ∼95% of the cortical microglia but not microglia adhering to the implant surfaces, in young rats the microglia adhering to the implant were eliminated along with the parenchymal microglia population.

The metabolic and proteomic repertoires of periderm tissue in skin of the reticulated Sikkim cucumber fruit.

Suberized and/or lignified (i.e. lignosuberized) periderm tissue appears often on surface of fleshy fruit skin by mechanical damage caused following environmental cues or developmental programs.

Significant Sex Differences in the Efficacy of the CSF1R Inhibitor-PLX5622 on Rat Brain Microglia Elimination.

Microglia play pivotal roles in central nervous system development, homeostasis, responses to trauma, and neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders with significant sex-bias in their symptoms and prevalence. Survival of the microglia in adult brains depends on the expression of the colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R). The inhibition of CSF1R by brain-permeant PLX5622 in the chow eliminates, within 5-10 days, ~90% of the microglia in female and male mice, thereby enabling the investigation of the roles of the microglia in health and pathological mice models.

Assessing the Feasibility of Developing Neuroprobes for Parallel Intracellular Recording and Stimulation: A Perspective.

Developing novel neuroprobes that enable parallel multisite, long-term intracellular recording and stimulation of neurons in freely behaving animals is a neuroscientist's dream. When fulfilled, it is expected to significantly enhance brain research at fundamental mechanistic levels including that of subthreshold signaling and computations. Here we assess the feasibility of merging the advantages of vertical nanopillar technologies that support intracellular recordings with contemporary concepts of extracellular field potential recordings to generate the dream neuroprobes that read the entire electrophysiological signaling repertoire.

Mathematical media literacy in the COVID-19 pandemic and its relation to school mathematics education.

Unlabelled: In the first months of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic became a top concern worldwide, media coverage became full of information that demands mathematical literacy, or numeracy, to interpret. In this study, we examine the public's understanding of mathematical notions that are required for understanding the pandemic and predicting its spread. We also explore its correlations with several variables: age group and gender, educational attainment in mathematics, and mathematics identity.

Ultrastructural Analysis of Neuroimplant-Parenchyma Interfaces Uncover Remarkable Neuroregeneration Along-With Barriers That Limit the Implant Electrophysiological Functions.

Despite increasing use of multielectrode array (MEA) implants for basic research and medical applications, the critical structural interfaces formed between the implants and the brain parenchyma, remain elusive. Prevailing view assumes that formation of multicellular inflammatory encapsulating-scar around the implants [the foreign body response (FBR)] degrades the implant electrophysiological functions. Using gold mushroom shaped microelectrodes (gMμEs) based perforated polyimide MEA platforms (PPMPs) that in contrast to standard probes can be thin sectioned along with the interfacing parenchyma; we examined here for the first time the interfaces formed between brains parenchyma and implanted 3D vertical microelectrode platforms at the ultrastructural level.

Variations in the tropospheric concentration of NO in the central west of Brazil, MS, and their relationship with the COVID-19.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) started in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. Subsequently, the disease was disseminated in several cities around the world, where measures were taken to control the spread of the virus through the adoption of quarantine (social isolation and closure of commercial sectors). This article analyzed the environmental impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, regarding the variations of nitrogen dioxide (NO) in the atmosphere.

Science, Maddá, and 'Ilm: The language divide in scientific information available to Internet users.

The Internet has potential to alleviate inequality in general and specifically with respect to science literacy. Nevertheless, digital divides persist in online access and use, as well as in subsequent social outcomes. Among these, the "language divide" partly determines how successful users are in their Internet use depending on their proficiency in languages, and especially in English.

Inflammatory Foreign Body Response Induced by Neuro-Implants in Rat Cortices Depleted of Resident Microglia by a CSF1R Inhibitor and Its Implications.

Inflammatory encapsulation of implanted cortical-neuro-probes [the foreign body response (FBR)] severely limits their use in basic brain research and in clinical applications. A better understanding of the inflammatory FBR is needed to effectively mitigate these critical limitations. Combining the use of the brain permeant colony stimulating factor 1 receptor inhibitor PLX5622 and a perforated polyimide-based multielectrode array platform (PPMP) that can be sectioned along with the surrounding tissue, we examined the contribution of microglia to the formation of inflammatory FBR.

Immunohistological and Ultrastructural Study of the Inflammatory Response to Perforated Polyimide Cortical Implants: Mechanisms Underlying Deterioration of Electrophysiological Recording Quality.

The deterioration of field potential (FP) recording quality and yield by multielectrode arrays (MEA) within days to weeks of implantation severely limits progress in basic and applied brain research. The prevailing hypothesis is that implantation of MEA platforms initiate and perpetuate inflammatory processes which culminate in the formation of scar tissue (the foreign body response, FBR) around the implant. The FBR leads to progressive degradation of the recording qualities by displacing neurons away from the electrode surfaces, increasing the resistance between neurons (current source) and the sensing pads and by reducing the neurons' excitable membrane properties and functional synaptic connectivity through the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Generalized logistic growth modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.

Several months into the ongoing novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this work provides a simple and direct projection of the outbreak spreading potential and the pandemic cessation dates in Chinese mainland, Iran, the Philippines and Chinese Taiwan, using the generalized logistic model (GLM). The short-term predicted number of cumulative COVID-19 cases matched the confirmed reports of those who were infected across the four countries and regions, and the long-term forecasts were capable to accurately evaluate the spread of the pandemic in Chinese mainland and Chinese Taiwan, where control measures such as social distancing were fully implemented and sustained, suggesting GLM as a valuable tool for characterizing the transmission dynamics process and the trajectory of COVID-19 pandemic along with the impact of interventions.

Vaccine information seeking on social Q&A services.

Experts are concerned about the spread and recalcitrance of vaccine misinformation and its contribution to vaccine hesitancy. Despite this risk, little research attention has been paid to understanding how individuals seek vaccine information online and evaluate its trustworthiness. Here, we hypothesized that when vaccine-hesitant parents seek information about vaccines, they prefer trustworthy sources based on their competence, integrity and benevolence.

The experts' perspective of "ask-an-expert": An interview-based study of online nutrition and vaccination outreach.

Social media allow experts to form communities and engage in direct dialogue with publics, which can promote mutual understanding between sciences and publics. However, little is known about experts' participation in online communities, or effective ways to prepare them for public engagement. Here, we explored these issues with experts who voluntarily engage with publics on social media, to understand their public engagement practices.

Sodium hydrosulfide priming improves the response of photosynthesis to overnight frost and day high light in avocado (Persea americana Mill, cv. 'Hass').

Radiation frost events, which have become more common in the Mediterranean Basin in recent years, inflict extensive damage to tropical/subtropical fruit crops. During radiation frost, sub-zero temperatures are encountered in the dark, followed by high light during the subsequent clear-sky day. One of the key processes affected by these conditions is photosynthesis, which, when significantly inhibited, leads to the enhanced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and damage.

The Chloroplast Envelope Protease FTSH11 - Interaction With CPN60 and Identification of Potential Substrates.

FTSH proteases are membrane-bound, ATP-dependent metalloproteases found in bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts. The product of one of the 12 genes encoding FTSH proteases in Arabidopsis, FTSH11, has been previously shown to be essential for acquired thermotolerance. However, the substrates of this protease, as well as the mechanism linking it to thermotolerance are largely unknown.

Footprints of Fascination: Digital Traces of Public Engagement with Particle Physics on CERN's Social Media Platforms.

Although the scientific community increasingly recognizes that its communication with the public may shape civic engagement with science, few studies have characterized how this communication occurs online. Social media plays a growing role in this engagement, yet it is not known if or how different platforms support different types of engagement. This study sets out to explore how users engage with science communication items on different platforms of social media, and what are the characteristics of the items that tend to attract large numbers of user interactions.

Temporal patterns of scientific information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia.

In response to the news coverage of scientific events and to science education, people increasingly go online to get more information. This study investigates how patterns of science and technology information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia change over time, in ways that differ between "ad hoc" terms that correspond to news coverage and "cyclic" terms that correspond to the academic period. Findings show that the science and technology activity in Google and Wikipedia was significantly associated with ad hoc and cyclic patterns.

Measuring mumbo jumbo: A preliminary quantification of the use of jargon in science communication.

Leaders of the scientific community encourage scientists to learn effective science communication, including honing the skill to discuss science with little professional jargon. However, avoiding jargon is not trivial for scientists for several reasons, and this demands special attention in teaching and evaluation. Despite this, no standard measurement for the use of scientific jargon in speech has been developed to date.