Provenance of late Pleistocene loess in central and eastern Europe: isotopic evidence for dominant local sediment sources.

Loess profiles along the Danube River provide a record of long-term Quaternary dust (loess) deposition in central-eastern Europe. Here, Sr-Nd isotopic data from four loess-palaeosol profiles (47 samples) spanning the last two-glacial-interglacial cycles are presented. The isotopic compositions generated by this study are compared with bedrock and sedimentary samples from Europe and North Africa to decipher the sources of sediment.

Outer membrane protein assembly mediated by BAM-SurA complexes.

The outer membrane is a formidable barrier that protects Gram-negative bacteria against environmental threats. Its integrity requires the correct folding and insertion of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) by the membrane-embedded β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM). Unfolded OMPs are delivered to BAM by the periplasmic chaperone SurA, but how SurA and BAM work together to ensure successful OMP delivery and folding remains unclear.

Darobactin B Stabilises a Lateral-Closed Conformation of the BAM Complex in Cells.

The β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM complex) is essential for outer membrane protein (OMP) folding in Gram-negative bacteria, and represents a promising antimicrobial target. Several conformational states of BAM have been reported, but all have been obtained under conditions which lack the unique features and complexity of the outer membrane (OM). Here, we use Pulsed Electron-Electron Double Resonance (PELDOR, or DEER) spectroscopy distance measurements to interrogate the conformational ensemble of the BAM complex in cells.

How Prior Knowledge, Gesture Instruction, and Interference After Instruction Interact to Influence Learning of Mathematical Equivalence.

Although children learn more when teachers gesture, it is not clear how gesture supports learning. Here, we sought to investigate the nature of the memory processes that underlie the observed benefits of gesture on lasting learning. We hypothesized that instruction with gesture might create memory representations that are particularly resistant to interference.

Factors influencing sleep-dependent consolidation: Sleep strengths memory based on encoding depth but not repetition.

Sleep consolidates declarative memory after deep but not shallow incidental encoding, but little is known about this form of consolidation. One unexplored area is the extent to which the amount of exposure to incidentally encoded information affects consolidation processes. In two experiments, we manipulated the number of times information was presented.

Age-depth model for uppermost Ndutu Beds constrains Middle Stone Age technology and climate-induced paleoenvironmental changes at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania).

Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania is part of a globally important archeological and paleoanthropological World Heritage Site location critical to our understanding of modern human evolution. The Ndutu Beds in the upper part of the geological sequence at Olduvai Gorge represent the oldest unit to yield modern Homo sapiens skeletal material and Middle Stone Age technology. However, the timing of the deposition of the Ndutu Beds is poorly constrained at present, which limits our understanding of the paleoenvironments critical for contextualizing H.

Darobactin B Stabilises a Lateral-Closed Conformation of the BAM Complex in E. coli Cells.

The β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM complex) is essential for outer membrane protein (OMP) folding in Gram-negative bacteria, and represents a promising antimicrobial target. Several conformational states of BAM have been reported, but all have been obtained under conditions which lack the unique features and complexity of the outer membrane (OM). Here, we use Pulsed Electron-Electron Double Resonance (PELDOR, or DEER) spectroscopy distance measurements to interrogate the conformational ensemble of the BAM complex in E.

Consolidation without intention: Sleep strengthens veridical and gist representations of information after incidental encoding.

Sleep strengthens declarative memory, but research investigating the effect of sleep on memory for information that is not explicitly studied for a test is sparse. In two experiments, we investigated the effect of sleep on gist-based and veridical representations of incidentally encoded information. Participants rated words from Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) lists in either a deep or shallow encoding task and completed a surprise memory test after either sleep or wake.

The ACT Predicts Academic Performance-But Why?

Scores on the ACT college entrance exam predict college grades to a statistically and practically significant degree, but what explains this predictive validity? The most obvious possibility is general intelligence-or psychometric "". However, inconsistent with this hypothesis, even when independent measures of are statistically controlled, ACT scores still positively predict college grades. Here, in a study of 182 students enrolled in two Introductory Psychology courses, we tested whether pre-course knowledge, motivation, interest, and/or personality characteristics such as grit and self-control could explain the relationship between ACT and course performance after controlling for .

Network-based assessment of HDAC6 activity predicts preclinical and clinical responses to the HDAC6 inhibitor ricolinostat in breast cancer.

Inhibiting individual histone deacetylase (HDAC) is emerging as well-tolerated anticancer strategy compared with pan-HDAC inhibitors. Through preclinical studies, we demonstrated that the sensitivity to the leading HDAC6 inhibitor (HDAC6i) ricolinstat can be predicted by a computational network-based algorithm (HDAC6 score). Analysis of ~3,000 human breast cancers (BCs) showed that ~30% of them could benefice from HDAC6i therapy.

'Standing up for Myself' (STORM): Development and qualitative evaluation of a psychosocial group intervention designed to increase the capacity of people with intellectual disabilities to manage and resist stigma.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities are at risk of experiencing stigma and require the skills and confidence to deal with stigma in their daily lives.

Method: Development and piloting of a 5-session manualised psychosocial group intervention designed to increase the capacity of people with intellectual disabilities aged 16+ to manage and resist stigma. Ten pre-existing groups (N = 67) in third sector and education settings participated.

Physical activity and sleep moderate the relationship between stress and screen time in college-aged adults.

For undergraduate students, excessive screen time is associated with poorer mental health and greater perceived stress. : The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the potential moderating influence of physical activity and sleep on the relationship between screen time and stress. : A cross-sectional sample of 513 undergraduate students between Fall 2017 & Spring 2020 were given a questionnaire to assess perceived stress level, physical activity engagement, screen time, and sleep.

Tumor Immune Microenvironment and Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Hormone Receptor/HER2+ Early Stage Breast Cancer.

Background: Pathologic response at the time of surgery after neoadjuvant therapy for HER2 positive early breast cancer impacts both prognosis and subsequent adjuvant therapy. Comprehensive descriptions of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in patients with HER2 positive early breast cancer is not well described. We utilized standard stromal pathologist-assessed tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) quantification, quantitative multiplex immunofluorescence, and RNA-based gene pathway signatures to assess pretreatment TME characteristics associated pathologic complete response in patients with hormone receptor positive, HER2 positive early breast cancer treated in the neoadjuvant setting.

Molecular and cellular insight into Escherichia coli SslE and its role during biofilm maturation.

Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonises the human intestine and virulent strains can cause severe diarrhoeal and extraintestinal diseases. The protein SslE is secreted by a range of pathogenic and commensal E. coli strains.

Diagnosis of Leptomeningeal Metastasis in Women With Breast Cancer Through Identification of Tumor Cells in Cerebrospinal Fluid Using the CNSide™ Assay.

Introduction: Diagnosis of LM is limited by low sensitivity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytopathology. Detecting tumor cells in CSF (CSF-TCs) might be more sensitive. We evaluated if CNSide (CNSide), a novel assay for tumor cell detection in CSF, can detect CSF-TCs better than conventional CSF cytology.

Epistaxis in people with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia: surgical management and psychological impact.

From the emergency management of acute epistaxis to the surgical procedures for chronic epistaxis, this article covers the options available to control the archetypal symptom of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia while exploring the psychological effect such a disease has on the patient.

Eyewitness confidence may not be ready for the courts: a reply to Wixted et al.

Wixted et al. (in press. Doing right by the eyewitness evidence: A response to Berkowitz et al.

Slow-wave sleep during a brief nap is related to reduced cognitive deficits during sleep deprivation.

Sleeping for a short period (i.e. napping) may help mitigate impairments in cognitive processing caused by sleep deprivation, but there is limited research on effects of brief naps in particular.

Is it worth it? The costs and benefits of bringing a laptop to a university class.

Students often bring laptops to university classes, however, they do not limit their laptop use to class-related activity. Off-task laptop use occurs frequently in university classrooms and this use negatively impacts learning. The present study addresses whether potential benefits of class-related laptop use might mitigate the costs of off-task laptop activity.

Caffeine selectively mitigates cognitive deficits caused by sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation impairs a wide range of cognitive processes, but the precise mechanism underlying these deficits is unclear. One prominent proposal is that sleep deprivation impairs vigilant attention, and that impairments in vigilant attention cause impairments in cognitive tasks that require attention. Here, we test this theory by studying the effects of caffeine on visual vigilant attention and on placekeeping, a cognitive control process that plays a role in procedural performance, problem solving, and other higher order tasks.

Convicting with confidence? Why we should not over-rely on eyewitness confidence.

Eyewitness memory researchers have recently devoted considerable attention to eyewitness confidence. While there is strong consensus that courtroom confidence is problematic, we now recognise that an eyewitness's initial confidence in their first identification - in certain contexts - can be of value. A few psychological scientists, however, have confidently, but erroneously claimed that in real-world cases, eyewitness initial confidence is the most important indicator of eyewitness accuracy, trumping all other factors that might exist in a case.

Diet posttranslationally modifies the mouse gut microbial proteome to modulate renal function.

Associations between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the gut microbiota have been postulated, yet questions remain about the underlying mechanisms. In humans, dietary protein increases gut bacterial production of hydrogen sulfide (HS), indole, and indoxyl sulfate. The latter are uremic toxins, and HS has diverse physiological functions, some of which are mediated by posttranslational modification.

Gesture during math instruction specifically benefits learners with high visuospatial working memory capacity.

Background: Characteristics of both teachers and learners influence mathematical learning. For example, when teachers use hand gestures to support instruction, students learn more than others who learn the same concept with only speech, and students with higher working memory capacity (WMC) learn more rapidly than those with lower WMC. One hypothesis for the effect of gesture on math learning is that gestures provide a signal to learners that can reduce demand on working memory resources during learning.

Shaping perceptual learning of synthetic speech through feedback.

Listeners exposed to accented speech must adjust how they map between acoustic features and lexical representations such as phonetic categories. A robust form of this adaptive perceptual learning is learning to perceive synthetic speech where the connections between acoustic features and phonetic categories must be updated. Both implicit learning through mere exposure and explicit learning through directed feedback have previously been shown to produce this type of adaptive learning.

Uses Mce Proteins to Interfere With Host Cell Signaling.

Tuberculosis continues to be the main cause for mortality by an infectious agent, making of the most successful pathogens to survive for long durations within human cells. In order to survive against host defenses, modulates host cell signaling. It employs many proteins to achieve this and the Mce proteins are emerging as one group that play a role in host cell signaling in addition to their primary role as lipid/sterol transporters.