Smartphones have allowed for the development and use of apps. There is now a proliferation of mobile health interventions for physical activity, healthy eating, smoking and alcohol cessation or reduction, and improved mental well-being. However, the strength or potential of these apps to lead to behavior change remains uncertain.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) currently account for more than two-thirds of new HIV diagnoses in the United States and, among young MSM (YMSM) aged 20 to 29 years, as many as 79% to 84% of new infections occur between primary partners. Contributing to HIV risk, YMSM use drugs at comparatively high rates. To date, no interventions have been developed that specifically address the unique needs of partnered YMSM or incorporate a focus on relationship factors in addressing personal motivation for change.

Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are important effectors of Xanthomonas spp. that manipulate the transcriptome of the host plant, conferring susceptibility or resistance to bacterial infection. Xanthomonas citri ssp. citri variant AT (X. citri AT ) triggers a host-specific hypersensitive response (HR) that suppresses citrus canker development. However, the bacterial effector that elicits this process is unknown. In this study, we show that a 7.5-repeat TALE is responsible for triggering the HR. PthA4AT was identified within the pthA repertoire of X. citri AT followed by assay of the effects on different hosts. The mode of action of PthA4AT was characterized using protein-binding microarrays and testing the effects of deletion of the nuclear localization signals and activation domain on plant responses. PthA4AT is able to bind DNA and activate transcription in an effector binding element-dependent manner. Moreover, HR requires PthA4AT nuclear localization, suggesting the activation of executor resistance (R) genes in host and non-host plants. This is the first case where a TALE of unusually short length performs a biological function by means of its repeat domain, indicating that the action of these effectors to reprogramme the host transcriptome following nuclear localization is not limited to 'classical' TALEs.

Arsenic (As) is a well-known environmental contaminant. Chronic exposure to As is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke. However, the detailed mechanisms by which As causes vascular dysfunction involving endothelial integrity and permeability is unclear.

The aim of this study was to describe growth during puberty in young people with vertically acquired HIV.

The consumers interest in organic food and farmers' search for cultivars with increased usefulness for organic farming have contributed to the revival of ancient cereal species and their launch onto the food market. In view of the above, the aim of this study was to determine the physicochemical properties, antioxidant potential and baking quality of grain and flour of primitive rye (Secale cereale var. Multicaule Polish: Krzyca), and to compare these parameters with open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars of common rye. The following determinations were made: the morphological and mechanical properties of grain, milling energy and the protein, starch, ash and free phenolic content of the analyzed flours, their amylograph characteristics and antioxidant potential. It was found that primitive rye has shorter kernels, lower thousand-kernel weight and a higher contribution of redness in color compared with common rye. In primitive rye grain rupture force was determined at 68.9 N and rupture energy at 35.6 mJ. Flours made from primitive rye grain have a higher content of ash and free phenolic compounds, lower starch content and similar antioxidant potential relative to common rye flours. The results of the amylograph test revealed that primitive rye flours were characterized by high baking quality. The primitive rye flours can be alternative ingredients for bread making and provide health advantage such as higher content of phenolic compounds. However, further research is needed to analyze variations in the properties of primitive rye grain and flour resulting from changes in environmental and climatic conditions.

Elbamycellarosea sp. nov., introduced in the new genus Elbamycella, was collected in the Mediterranean Sea in association with the seagrass Posidoniaoceanica and with the brown alga Padinapavonica. The affiliation of the new taxon to the family Juncigenaceae is supported by both morphology and phylogenetic inference based on a combined nrSSU and nrLSU sequence dataset. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogeny proved Elbamycella gen. nov. as a distinct genus within Juncigenaceae. The new genus has been compared with closely related genera and is characterised by a unique suite of characters, such as ascospores with polar appendages and peculiar shape and dimension of ascomata and asci.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exert powerful immunosuppression in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Macrophages are the dominant inflammatory cells in enteritis regulated via MSCs. However, the roles of macrophages in the process of MSCs attenuating IBD and the mechanisms of MSCs regulating macrophages are largely unknown. In this study, DSS- (dextran sulfate sodium salt-) induced IBD in macrophage-depleted models of CD11b-DTR mice was used to study the relationship between hucMSCs (human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells) and macrophage. Body weights, disease activities, and pathological changes were documented to assess the therapeutic effects of hucMSCs. Furthermore, hucMSCs transfected with miR148b-5p mimics and miR148b-5p inhibitors were cocultured with LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells to investigate the role of miR148b-5p in hucMSC-regulated colitis. The outcome indicated that hucMSCs attenuated the IBD by downregulating 15-lox-1 expression in macrophages. Further findings pointed out that hucMSCs transfected with miR148b-5p mimics could be elevated to promote the tissue repair and inhibit the expression of 15-lox-1 but failed to perform the function of easing enteritis when treated with miR148b-5p inhibitors. In conclusions, we propose that hucMSCs attenuate IBD by releasing miR148b-5p to inhibit the expression of 15-lox-1 in macrophages.

There is growing interest in the use of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding approaches to aid biological assessments and monitoring of waterbodies. While biodiversity measured by morphology and by DNA often has been found correlated, few studies have compared DNA data to established measures of impairment such as multimetric pollution tolerance indices used by many bioassessment programs. We incorporated environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of seston into a rigorous watershed-scale biological assessment of an urban stream to examine the extent to which eDNA richness and diversity patterns were correlated with multimetric indices and ecological impairment status designations. We also evaluated different filtering approaches and taxonomic classifications to identify best practices for environmental assessments. Seston eDNA revealed a wide diversity of eukaryotic taxa but was dominated by diatoms (36%). Differentiation among sites in alpha and beta diversity was greater when operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were classified taxonomically, but coarse resolution taxonomy (kingdom) was more informative than finer resolution taxonomy (family, genus). Correlations of DNA richness and diversity with multimetric indices for fish and macroinvertebrates were generally weak, possibly because Metazoa were not highly represented in our DNA dataset. Nonetheless, sites could be differentiated based on ecological impairment status, with more impaired sites having lower eDNA diversity as measured by the Shannon index, but higher taxonomic richness. Significant environmental drivers of community structure, as inferred from constrained ordination analyses, differed among kingdoms within the eDNA dataset, as well as from fish and macrobenthos, suggesting that eDNA provides novel environmental information. These results suggest that even a simple seston eDNA filtering protocol can provide biodiversity information of value to stream bioassessment programs. The approach bears further investigation as a potentially useful rapid assessment protocol to supplement more intensive field sampling efforts.

The pantropical Picrodendraceae produce mostly spheroidal to slightly oblate, echinate pollen grains equipped with narrow circular to elliptic pori that can be hard to identify to family level in both extant and fossil material using light microscopy only. Fossil pollen of the family have been described from the Paleogene of America, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, but until now none have been reported from Afro-India. Extant pollen described here include representatives from all recent Picrodendraceae genera naturally occurring in Africa and/or Madagascar and south India and selected closely related tropical American taxa. Our analyses, using combined light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, show that pollen of the Afro-Indian genera encompass three morphological types: Type 1, comprising only Hyaenanche; Type 2, including Aristogeitonia, Mischodon, Oldfieldia and Voatamalo; Type 3, comprising the remaining two genera, Androstachys and Stachyandra. Based on the pollen morphology presented here it is evident that some previous light microscopic accounts of spherical and echinate fossil pollen affiliated with Arecaceae, Asteraceae, Malvaceae, and Myristicaceae from the African continent could belong to Picrodendraceae. The pollen morphology of Picrodendraceae, fossil pollen records, a dated intra-familial phylogeny, seed dispersal modes, and the regional Late Cretaceous to early Cenozoic paleogeography, together suggest the family originated in the Americas and dispersed from southern America across Antarctica and into Australasia. A second dispersal route is believed to have occurred from the Americas into continental Africa via the North Atlantic Land Bridge and Europe.

Morphine- and ethanol-induced stimulation of neuronal firing of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons and of dopamine (DA) transmission in the shell of the nucleus accumbens (AcbSh) represents a crucial electrophysiological and neurochemical response underlying the ability of these compounds to elicit motivated behaviors and trigger a cascade of plasticity-related biochemical events. Previous studies indicate that the standardized methanolic extract of Withania somnifera roots (WSE) prevents morphine- and ethanol-elicited conditioned place preference and oral ethanol self-administration. Aim of the present research was to investigate whether WSE may also interfere with the ability of morphine and ethanol to stimulate VTA dopaminergic neurons and thus AcbSh DA transmission as assessed in male Sprague-Dawley rats by means of patch-clamp recordings in mesencephalic slices and in vivo brain microdialysis, respectively. Morphine and ethanol significantly stimulated spontaneous firing rate of VTA neurons and DA transmission in the AcbSh. WSE, at concentrations (200-400 μg/ml) that significantly reduce spontaneous neuronal firing of VTA DA neurons via a GABAA- but not GABAB-mediated mechanism, suppressed the stimulatory actions of both morphine and ethanol. Moreover, in vivo administration of WSE at a dose (75 mg/kg) that fails to affect basal DA transmission, significantly prevented both morphine- and ethanol-elicited increases of DA in the AcbSh. Overall, these results highlight the ability of WSE to interfere with morphine- and ethanol-mediated central effects and suggest a mechanistic interpretation of the efficacy of this extract to prevent the motivational properties of these compounds.

The braided multielectrode probe (BMEP) is an ultrafine microwire bundle interwoven into a precise tubular braided structure, which is designed to be used as an invasive neural probe consisting of multiple microelectrodes for electrophysiological neural recording and stimulation. Significant advantages of BMEPs include highly flexible mechanical properties leading to decreased immune responses after chronic implantation in neural tissue and dense recording/stimulation sites (24 channels) within the 100-200 μm diameter. In addition, because BMEPs can be manufactured using various materials in any size and shape without length limitations, they could be expanded to applications in deep central nervous system (CNS) regions as well as peripheral nervous system (PNS) in larger animals and humans. Finally, the 3D topology of wires supports combinatoric rearrangements of wires within braids, and potential neural yield increases. With the newly developed next generation micro braiding machine, we can manufacture more precise and complex microbraid structures. In this article, we describe the new machine and methods, and tests of simulated combinatoric separation methods. We propose various promising BMEP designs and the potential modifications to these designs to create probes suitable for various applications for future neuroprostheses.

The prosomeric brain model contemplates progressive regionalization of the central nervous system (CNS) from a molecular and morphological ontogenetic perspective. It defines the forebrain axis relative to the notochord, and contemplates intersecting longitudinal (zonal, columnar) and transversal (neuromeric) patterning mechanisms. A checkboard pattern of histogenetic units of the neural wall results, where each unit is differentially fated by an unique profile of active genes. These natural neural units later expand their radial dimension during neurogenesis, histogenesis, and correlative differential morphogenesis. This fundamental topologic framework is shared by all vertebrates, as a Bauplan, each lineage varying in some subtle aspects. So far the prosomeric model has been applied only to neural structures, but we attempt here a prosomeric analysis of the hypothesis that major vessels invade the brain wall in patterns that are congruent with its intrinsic natural developmental units, as postulated in the prosomeric model. Anatomic and embryologic studies of brain blood vessels have classically recorded a conserved pattern of branches (thus the conventional terminology), and clinical experience has discovered a standard topography of many brain arterial terminal fields. Such results were described under assumptions of the columnar model of the forebrain, prevalent during the last century, but this is found insufficient in depth and explanatory power in the modern molecular scenario. We have thus explored the possibility that brain vascularization in rodents and humans may relate systematically to genoarchitectonic forebrain subdivisions contemplated in the prosomeric model. Specifically, we examined first whether early vascular invasion of some molecularly characterized prosomeric domains shows heterochrony. We indeed found a heterochronic pattern of vascular invasion that distinguishes between adjacent brain areas with differential molecular profiles. We next mapped topologically on the prosomeric model the major arterial branches serving the human brain. The results of this approach bear on the possibility of a developmentally-based modern arterial terminology.

The claustrum (CLA) is a subcortical structure, present only in mammals, whose function remains uncertain. Previously, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) in awake head-fixed rats, we found evidence that the CLA is part of the rodent homolog of the default mode network (DMN; Smith et al., 2017). This network emerged as strong functional connections between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), mediodorsal (MD) thalamus, and CLA in the awake state, which was not present following administration of isoflurane anesthesia. In the present report, we review evidence indicating that the rodent CLA also has connections with structures identified in the rodent homolog of the salience network (SN), a circuit that directs attention towards the most relevant stimuli among a multitude of sensory inputs (Seeley et al., 2007; Menon and Uddin, 2010). In humans, this circuit consists of functional connections between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and a region that encompasses both the CLA and insular cortex. We further go on to review the similarities and differences between the functional and anatomical connections of the CLA and insula in rodents using both rs-fMRI and neuroanatomical tracing, respectively. We analyze in detail the connectivity of the CLA with the cingulate cortex, which is a major node in the SN and has been shown to modulate attention. When considered with other recent behavior and physiology studies, the data reveal a role for the CLA in salience-guided orienting. More specifically, we hypothesize that limbic information from mPFC, MD thalamus, and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) are integrated by the CLA to guide modality-related regions of motor and sensory cortex in directing attention towards relevant (i.e., salient) sensory events.

Stress disturbs the balance of the gut microbiota and stimulates inflammation-to-brain mechanisms. Moreover, stress leads to anxiety and depressive disorders. Bifidobacterium adolescentis displays distinct anti-inflammatory effects. However, no report has focused on the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of B. adolescentis related to the gut microbiome and the inflammation on chronic restraint stress (CRS) in mice. We found that pretreatment with B. adolescentis increased the time spent in the center of the open field apparatus, increased the percentage of entries into the open arms of the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and the percentage of time spent in the open arms of the EPM, and decreased the immobility duration in the tail suspension test as well as the forced swimming test (FST). Moreover, B. adolescentis increased the sequence proportion of Lactobacillus and reduced the sequence proportion of Bacteroides in feces. Furthermore, B. adolescentis markedly reduced the protein expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), p-nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65 and Iba1 and elevated brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the hippocampus. We conclude that the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of B. adolescentis are related to reducing inflammatory cytokines and rebalancing the gut microbiota.

Rehabilitation for stroke patients with severe motor impairments (e.g., inability to perform wrist or finger extension on the affected side) is burdensome and difficult because most current rehabilitation options require some volitional movement to retrain the affected side. However, although these patients participate in therapy requiring volitional movement, previous research has shown that they may receive modest benefits from action observation, virtual reality (VR), and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). These approaches have shown some success in strengthening key motor pathways thought to support motor recovery after stroke, in the absence of volitional movement. The purpose of this study was to combine the principles of VR and BCI in a platform called REINVENT and assess its effects on four chronic stroke patients across different levels of motor impairment. REINVENT acquires post-stroke EEG signals that indicate an attempt to move and drives the movement of a virtual avatar arm, allowing patient-driven action observation neurofeedback in VR. In addition, synchronous electromyography (EMG) data were also captured to monitor overt muscle activity. Here we tested four chronic stroke survivors and show that this EEG-based BCI can be safely used over repeated sessions by stroke survivors across a wide range of motor disabilities. Finally, individual results suggest that patients with more severe motor impairments may benefit the most from EEG-based neurofeedback, while patients with more mild impairments may benefit more from EMG-based feedback, harnessing existing sensorimotor pathways. We note that although this work is promising, due to the small sample size, these results are preliminary. Future research is needed to confirm these findings in a larger and more diverse population.

The molecular bases of the host-parasitoid interactions in the biological system Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Homoptera, Aphididae) and Aphidius ervi (Haliday) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) have been elucidated allowing the identification of a gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, the active component of maternal venom secretion, and teratocytes, the embryonic parasitic factors responsible for host physiology regulation after parasitization. Teratocytes, cells deriving from the dissociation of the serosa, the parasitoid embryonic membrane, are responsible for extra-oral digestion of host tissues in order to provide a suitable nutritional environment for the development of parasitoid larvae. Teratocytes rapidly grow in size without undergoing any cell division, synthesize, and release in the host hemolymph two proteins: a fatty acid binding protein (Ae-FABP) and an enolase (Ae-ENO). Ae-FABP is involved in transport of fatty acids deriving from host tissues to the parasitoid larva. Ae-ENO is an extracellular glycolytic enzyme that functions as a plasminogen like receptor inducing its activation to plasmin. Both Ae-FABP and Ae-ENO lack their signal peptides, and they are released in the extracellular environment through an unknown secretion pathway. Here, we investigated the unconventional mechanism by which teratocytes release Ae-FABP and Ae-ENO in the extracellular space. Our results, obtained using immunogold staining coupled with TEM and western blot analyses, show that these two proteins are localized in vesicles released by teratocytes. The specific dimension of these vesicles and the immunodetection of ALIX and HSP70, two exosome markers, strongly support the hypothesis that these vesicles are exosomes.

Vaccination is a widely used therapeutical strategy in aquaculture, but whether vaccination elicits stress responses in the central neuroendocrine system and enhances the crosstalk between the immune and endocrine systems in the brain or pituitary after vaccination is unclear. To answer this question two experiments using two different vaccine exposure routes, i.e., bath or intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection, were carried out on gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.). In the first one, the stress responses of fish subjected to waterborne Vibrio anguillarum bacterin were compared with responses after air exposure or their combination. In the second experiment, fish were subjected to an intraperitoneal injection of Lactococcus garvieae bacterin and we assessed the central stress response and also whether or not a significant immune response was induced in brain and pituitary. In both experiments, blood, brain and pituitary tissues were collected at 1, 6, and 24 h post stress for plasma hormone determination and gene expression analysis, respectively. Results indicated that bath vaccination induced a decreased central stress response compared to air exposure which stimulated both brain and pituitary stress genes. In the second experiment, injection vaccination kept unchanged plasma stress hormones except cortisol that raised at 6 and 24 h. In agreement, non-significant or slight changes on the transcription of stress-related genes were recorded, including the hormone genes of the hypothalamic pituitary interrenal (HPI) axis and other stress markers such as hsp70, hsp90, and mt genes in either brain or pituitary. Significant changes were observed, however, in crhbp and gr. In this second experiment the immune genes il1β, cox2, and lys, showed a strong expression in both brain and pituitary after vaccination, notably il1β which showed more than 10 fold raise. Overall, vaccination procedures, although showing a cortisol response, did not induce other major stress response in brain or pituitary, regardless the administration route. Other than main changes, the alteration of crhbp and gr suggests that these genes could play a relevant role in the feedback regulation of HPI axis after vaccination. In addition, from the results obtained in this work, it is also demonstrated that the immune system maintains a high activity in both brain and pituitary after vaccine injection.

Elevated plasma triglyceride (TG) concentrations are an important contributor to deleterious metabolic alterations. Evidence in animals suggest that acute exposure to an environment with reduced oxygen inhibits plasma TG clearance and causes important rise in plasma TG, especially in the postprandial state. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of an acute exposure to normobaric hypoxia on prandial TG levels in 2 distinct lipoprotein subtypes in healthy humans: chylomicrons which are secreted by the intestine and carry dietary lipids, and denser TG carriers (mainly VLDL), which are secreted by the liver and carry endogenous lipids. Plasma lipolytic activity was also assessed. It was hypothesized that hypoxia would reduce prandial plasma lipolytic activity and raise prandial TG levels in both lipoprotein subtypes.

Wooden Breast Disease (WBD) is a novel myopathy affecting the pectoralis major muscle of modern broiler chickens. The etiology of WBD is not currently known, but has been linked to increased feed efficiency, growth rate, and muscle yield in broiler chickens. Differential effect of WBD has been detected between regions of the P. major and between sexes of broilers-male birds and the cranial aspect of the muscle tend to be more severely affected by the disease than females and the caudal aspect. This study aimed to characterize biological differences in the P. major between regions of the muscle and sexes of birds. Samples were taken from the cranial and caudal aspects of P. major muscles of 3-week-old, unaffected male and female birds for RNA sequencing. RNA was extracted and used for preparation of cDNA libraries, which were sequenced by the Delaware Biotechnology Institute (DBI) using HiSeq2500. Sequence reads were aligned to the chicken reference genome with HISAT, and genes were analyzed for differential expression between regions of the breast muscle and sexes of birds using CuffDiff. Functional analysis was performed on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between sex groups using DAVID and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). There were 12 DEGs between cranial and caudal samples, and 260 between male and female birds. Out of the 260 genes differentially expressed between sexes, 189 were upregulated in males. Of this subset, 103 genes (55%) were located on the Z-chromosome. There was increased expression of genes involved in fat metabolism and oxidative stress responses in the cranial region of the P. major muscle, as well as increased expression of fat metabolism, oxidative stress response, antiangiogenesis, and connective tissue proliferation genes in male broilers. These results support the hypothesis that there are biological characteristics in male broilers and the cranial region of the breast muscle that may make them more susceptible to WBD, as well as raising the possibility of a metabolic switch in modern broiler chickens that may be more prominent in males.