The GPCR adaptor protein norbin suppresses the neutrophil-mediated immunity of mice to pneumococcal infection.

Streptococcal pneumonia is a worldwide health problem that kills ∼2 million people each year, particularly young children, the elderly, and immunosuppressed individuals. Alveolar macrophages and neutrophils provide the early innate immune response to clear pneumococcus from infected lungs. However, the level of neutrophil involvement is context dependent, both in humans and in mouse models of the disease, influenced by factors such as bacterial load, age, and coinfections.

A kiosk survey of perception, attitudes and knowledge (PAK) of Australians concerning microbes, antibiotics, probiotics and hygiene.

Issues Addressed: To obtain a baseline of public perception, attitudes and knowledge (PAK) of Australians about microbes, antibiotics and hygiene like hand washing and use of probiotics.

Methods: Using a kiosk-based survey method at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), we remotely assayed PAK of Australians through their interaction with the kiosk. The surveys we used had five and seven multiple answer questions and were analysed using standard comparative approaches.

Jumping a Moving Train: SARS-CoV-2 Evolution in Real Time.

The field of molecular epidemiology responded to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with an unrivaled amount of whole viral genome sequencing. By the time this sentence is published we will have well surpassed 1.5 million whole genomes, more than 4 times the number of all microbial whole genomes deposited in GenBank and 35 times the total number of viral genomes.

The Monash Autism-ADHD genetics and neurodevelopment (MAGNET) project design and methodologies: a dimensional approach to understanding neurobiological and genetic aetiology.

Background: ASD and ADHD are prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders that frequently co-occur and have strong evidence for a degree of shared genetic aetiology. Behavioural and neurocognitive heterogeneity in ASD and ADHD has hampered attempts to map the underlying genetics and neurobiology, predict intervention response, and improve diagnostic accuracy. Moving away from categorical conceptualisations of psychopathology to a dimensional approach is anticipated to facilitate discovery of data-driven clusters and enhance our understanding of the neurobiological and genetic aetiology of these conditions.

Region-specific elevations of glutamate + glutamine correlate with the sensory symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.

Individuals on the autism spectrum are often reported as being hyper- and/or hyporeactive to sensory input. These sensory symptoms were one of the key observations that led to the development of the altered excitation-inhibition (E-I) model of autism, which posits that an increase ratio of excitatory to inhibitory signaling may explain certain phenotypical expressions of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). While there has been strong support for the altered E-I model of autism, much of the evidence has come from animal models.

Inter-individual performance differences in the stop-signal task are associated with fibre-specific microstructure of the fronto-basal-ganglia circuit in healthy children.

Previous Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies in children suggest that developmental improvements in inhibitory control is largely mediated by the degree of white matter organisation within a right-lateralised network of fronto-basal-ganglia regions. Recent advances in diffusion imaging analysis now permit greater biological specificity, both in identifying specific fibre populations within a voxel, as well as in the underlying microstructural properties of that white matter. In the present work, employing a novel fixel-based analysis (FBA) framework, we aimed to comprehensively investigate microstructure within the fronto-basal-ganglia circuit in childhood, and its contribution to inhibition performance.

Frequency drift in MR spectroscopy at 3T.

Purpose: Heating of gradient coils and passive shim components is a common cause of instability in the B field, especially when gradient intensive sequences are used. The aim of the study was to set a benchmark for typical drift encountered during MR spectroscopy (MRS) to assess the need for real-time field-frequency locking on MRI scanners by comparing field drift data from a large number of sites.

Method: A standardized protocol was developed for 80 participating sites using 99 3T MR scanners from 3 major vendors.

Breaking up classroom sitting time with cognitively engaging physical activity: Behavioural and brain responses.

Introduction: Classroom-based active breaks are a feasible and effective way to reduce and break up sitting time, and to potentially benefit physical health in school children. However, the effect of active breaks on children's cognitive functions and brain activity remains unclear.

Objective: We investigated the impact of an active break intervention on typically developing children's cognitive functions and brain activity, sitting/standing/stepping, on-task behaviour, and enjoyment.

Resting posterior alpha power and adolescent major depressive disorder.

For several decades, resting electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha oscillations have been used to characterize neurophysiological alterations related to major depressive disorder. Prior research has generally focused on frontal alpha power and asymmetry despite resting alpha being maximal over posterior electrode sites. Research in depressed adults has shown evidence of hemispheric asymmetry for posterior alpha power, however, the resting posterior alpha-depression link among adolescents remains unclear.

Comparative Analysis of Emerging B.1.1.7+E484K SARS-CoV-2 Isolates.

We report the genome of a B.1.1.

Novel pharmacological therapies for the treatment of bronchial asthma.

Asthma has long been recognized as a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, often in response to inhaled allergens prompting inappropriate activation of the immune response involving a range of cells including mast cells, Th2 lymphocytes and eosinophils alongside a wide range of inflammatory mediators. First-line therapy for treatment of persistent asthma involves the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in combination with inhaled β2-agonists enabling both the control of the underlying airways inflammation and a reduction of airway hyperresponsiveness. However, many patients remain symptomatic despite high-dose therapy.

Molecular diet analysis of neotropical bats based on fecal DNA metabarcoding.

Bat communities in the Neotropics are some of the most speciose assemblages of mammals on Earth, with regions supporting more than 100 sympatric species with diverse feeding ecologies. Because bats are small, nocturnal, and volant, it is difficult to directly observe their feeding habits, which has resulted in their classification into broadly defined dietary guilds (e.g.

Increased GABA+ in People With Migraine, Headache, and Pain Conditions- A Potential Marker of Pain.

Treatment outcomes for migraine and other chronic headache and pain conditions typically demonstrate modest results. A greater understanding of underlying pain mechanisms may better inform treatments and improve outcomes. Increased GABA+ has been identified in recent studies of migraine, however, it is unclear if this is present in other headache, and pain conditions.

Scn2a severe hypomorphic mutation decreases excitatory synaptic input and causes autism-associated behaviors.

SCN2A, encoding the neuronal voltage-gated Na+ channel NaV1.2, is one of the most commonly affected loci linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Most ASD-associated mutations in SCN2A are loss-of-function mutations, but studies examining how such mutations affect neuronal function and whether Scn2a mutant mice display ASD endophenotypes have been inconsistent.

Genomic signatures of spatially divergent selection at clownfish range margins.

Understanding how evolutionary forces interact to drive patterns of selection and distribute genetic variation across a species' range is of great interest in ecology and evolution, especially in an era of global change. While theory predicts how and when populations at range margins are likely to undergo local adaptation, empirical evidence testing these models remains sparse. Here, we address this knowledge gap by investigating the relationship between selection, gene flow and genetic drift in the yellowtail clownfish, from the core to the northern periphery of the species range.

The anti-inflammatory effects of cannabidiol and cannabigerol alone, and in combination.

Introduction/background And Purpose: Studies with Cannabis Sativa plant extracts and endogenous agonists of cannabinoid receptors have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, bronchodilator, and antitussive properties in the airways of allergic and non-allergic animals. However, the potential therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids for the treatment of respiratory diseases has not been widely investigated, in part because of local irritation of airways by needing to smoke the cannabis, poor bioavailability when administered orally due to the lipophilic nature of cannabinoids, and the psychoactive effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) found in cannabis. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of two of the non-psychotropic cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) alone and in combination, in a model of pulmonary inflammation induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

The trajectory of cortical GABA across the lifespan, an individual participant data meta-analysis of edited MRS studies.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human brain and can be measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Conflicting accounts report decreases and increases in cortical GABA levels across the lifespan. This incompatibility may be an artifact of the size and age range of the samples utilized in these studies.

Maternal depression during pregnancy alters infant subcortical and midbrain volumes.

Background: Maternal depression in pregnancy increases the risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in the offspring. The reason for this is unknown, however, one plausible mechanism may include the impact of maternal antenatal depression on infant brain. Nevertheless, relatively few studies have examined the brain anatomy of infants born to clinically diagnosed mothers.

Mother-infant interaction in women with depression in pregnancy and in women with a history of depression: the Psychiatry Research and Motherhood - Depression (PRAM-D) study.

Background: Little is known about the effects of depression before birth on the quality of the mother-infant interaction.

Aims: To understand whether depression, either in pregnancy or in lifetime before pregnancy, disrupts postnatal mother-infant interactions.

Method: We recruited 131 pregnant women (51 healthy, 52 with major depressive disorder (MDD) in pregnancy, 28 with a history of MDD but healthy pregnancy), at 25 weeks' gestation.

The urban-adapted underground mosquito Culex pipiens form molestus maintains exogenously influenceable circadian rhythms.

Genes known to affect circadian rhythms (i.e. 'clock genes') also influence the photoperiodic induction of overwintering reproductive diapause in the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens f.

GABA, Glutamate, and NAA Levels in the Deep Cerebellar Nuclei of Essential Tremor Patients.

Essential tremor is among the commonly observed movement disorders in clinical practice, however the exact pathophysiological mechanisms underlying tremor are unknown. It has been suggested that Purkinje cell alterations play a causal factor in tremorgenesis. Altered levels of inhibitory (GABA) and excitatory (glutamate+glutamine, Glx) neurotransmitters could be markers for Purkinje cell alterations.

Neural Biomarkers Distinguish Severe From Mild Autism Spectrum Disorder Among High-Functioning Individuals.

Several previous studies have reported atypicality in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet the relatively small effect sizes prevent us from using these characteristics for diagnostic purposes. Here, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and hierarchical clustering were used to partition the high-functioning ASD group (i.e.

Protein Composition and Associated Material Properties of Cobweb Spiders' Gumfoot Glue Droplets.

The origin of aggregate silk glands and their production of wet adhesive silks is considered a key innovation of the Araneoidea, a superfamily of spiders that build orb-webs and cobwebs. Orb-web weavers place aggregate glue on an extensible capture spiral, whereas cobweb weavers add it to the ends of strong, stiff fibers, called gumfoot lines. Here we describe the material behavior and quantitative proteomics of the aggregate glues of two cobweb weaving species, the western black widow, Latrodectus hesperus, and the common house spider, Parasteatoda tepidariorum.