Insight from Molecular, Pathological, and Immunohistochemical Studies on Cellular and Humoral Mechanisms Responsible for Vaccine-Induced Protection of Rainbow Trout against <em>Yersinia ruckeri</em>

The immunological mechanisms associated with protection of vaccinated rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, against enteric redmouth disease (ERM), caused by Yersinia ruckeri, were previously elucidated by the use of gene expression methodology and immunochemical methods. That approach pointed indirectly to both humoral and cellular elements being involved in protection. The present study correlates the level of protection in rainbow trout to cellular reactions in spleen and head kidney and visualizes the processes by applying histopathological, immunohistochemical, and in situ hybridization techniques. It was shown that these cellular reactions, which were more prominent in spleen than in head kidney, were associated with the expression of immune-related genes, suggesting a Th2-like response. Y. ruckeri, as shown by in situ hybridization (ISH), was eliminated within a few days in vaccinated fish, whereas nonprotected fish still harbored bacteria for a week after infection. Vaccinated fish reestablished normal organ structure within a few days, whereas nonprotected fish showed abnormalities up to 1 month postinfection. Protection in the early phase of infection was mainly associated with the expression of genes encoding innate factors (complement factors, lysozyme, and acute phase proteins), but in the later phase of infection, increased expression of adaptive immune genes dominated. The histological approach used has shown that the cellular changes correlated with protection of vaccinated fish. They comprised transformation of resident cells into macrophage-like cells and increased occurrence of CD8α and IgM cells, suggesting these cells as main players in protection. Future studies should investigate the causality between these factors and protection

Bis[2-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)-4-nitro-phenolato]copper(II) dihydrate: crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis

The crystal and molecular structures of the title CuII complex, isolated as a dihydrate, [Cu(C21H14N3O3)2]2H2O, reveals a highly distorted coordination geometry intermediate between square-planar and tetrahedral defined by an N2O2 donor set derived from two mono-anionic bidentate ligands. Furthermore, each six-membered chelate ring adopts an envelope conformation with the Cu atom being the flap. In the crystal, imidazolyl-amine-N—HO(water), waterO—HO(coordinated, nitro and water), phenyl-C—HO(nitro) and (imidazolyl)–(nitrobenzene) [inter-centroid distances = 3.7452 (14) and 3.6647 (13) A˚ ] contacts link the components into a supramolecular layer lying parallel to (101). The connections between layers forming a three-dimensional architecture are of the types nitrobenzene-C—HO(nitro) and phenyl-C—H(phenyl). The distorted coordination geometry for the CuII atom is highlighted in an analysis of the Hirshfeld surface calculated for the metal centre alone. The significance of the intermolecular contacts is also revealed in a study of the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces; the dominant contacts in the crystal are HH (41.0%), OH/HO (27.1%) and CH/HC (19.6%)

Whole-Body Hypothermia, Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Biomarkers, and Outcomes in Neonates With Moderate or Severe Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Born at Tertiary Care Centers vs Other Facilities: A Nested Study Within a Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE: The association between place of birth and hypothermic neuroprotection after hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the association between place of birth and the efficacy of whole-body hypothermia for protection against brain injury measured by magnetic resonance (MR) biomarkers among neonates born at a tertiary care center (inborn) or other facilities (outborn). Design, Setting, and PARTICIPANTS: This nested cohort study within a randomized clinical trial involved neonates at 7 tertiary neonatal intensive care units in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh between August 15, 2015, and February 15, 2019. A total of 408 neonates born at or after 36 weeks' gestation with moderate or severe HIE were randomized to receive whole-body hypothermia (reduction of rectal temperatures to between 33.0 °C and 34.0 °C; hypothermia group) for 72 hours or no whole-body hypothermia (rectal temperatures maintained between 36.0 °C and 37.0 °C; control group) within 6 hours of birth, with follow-up until September 27, 2020. Exposure: 3T MR imaging, MR spectroscopy, and diffusion tensor imaging. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Thalamic N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) mmol/kg wet weight, thalamic lactate to NAA peak area ratios, brain injury scores, and white matter fractional anisotropy at 1 to 2 weeks and death or moderate or severe disability at 18 to 22 months. RESULTS: Among 408 neonates, the mean (SD) gestational age was 38.7 (1.3) weeks; 267 (65.4%) were male. A total of 123 neonates were inborn and 285 were outborn. Inborn neonates were smaller (mean [SD], 2.8 [0.5] kg vs 2.9 [0.4] kg; P = .02), more likely to have instrumental or cesarean deliveries (43.1% vs 24.7%; P = .01), and more likely to be intubated at birth (78.9% vs 29.1%; P = .001) than outborn neonates, although the rate of severe HIE was not different (23.6% vs 17.9%; P = .22). Magnetic resonance data from 267 neonates (80 inborn and 187 outborn) were analyzed. In the hypothermia vs control groups, the mean (SD) thalamic NAA levels were 8.04 (1.98) vs 8.31 (1.13) among inborn neonates (odds ratio [OR], -0.28; 95% CI, -1.62 to 1.07; P = .68) and 8.03 (1.89) vs 7.99 (1.72) among outborn neonates (OR, 0.05; 95% CI, -0.62 to 0.71; P = .89); the median (IQR) thalamic lactate to NAA peak area ratios were 0.13 (0.10-0.20) vs 0.12 (0.09-0.18) among inborn neonates (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.96-1.08; P = .59) and 0.14 (0.11-0.20) vs 0.14 (0.10-0.17) among outborn neonates (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.98-1.09; P = .18). There was no difference in brain injury scores or white matter fractional anisotropy between the hypothermia and control groups among inborn or outborn neonates. Whole-body hypothermia was not associated with reductions in death or disability, either among 123 inborn neonates (hypothermia vs control group: 34 neonates [58.6%] vs 34 [56.7%]; risk ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.76-1.41), or 285 outborn neonates (hypothermia vs control group: 64 neonates [46.7%] vs 60 [43.2%]; risk ratio, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.83-1.41). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this nested cohort study, whole-body hypothermia was not associated with reductions in brain injury after HIE among neonates in South Asia, irrespective of place of birth. These findings do not support the use of whole-body hypothermia for HIE among neonates in LMICs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02387385

Ensemble Models for Spoofing Detection in Automatic Speaker Verification

Detecting spoofing attempts of automatic speaker verification (ASV) systems is challenging, especially when using only one modelling approach. For robustness, we use both deep neural networks and traditional machine learning models and combine them as ensemble models through logistic regression. They are trained to detect logical access (LA) and physical access (PA) attacks on the dataset released as part of the ASV Spoofing and Countermeasures Challenge 2019. We propose dataset partitions that ensure different attack types are present during training and validation to improve system robustness. Our ensemble model outperforms all our single models and the baselines from the challenge for both attack types. We investigate why some models on the PA dataset strongly outperform others and find that spoofed recordings in the dataset tend to have longer silences at the end than genuine ones. By removing them, the PA task becomes much more challenging, with the tandem detection cost function (t-DCF) of our best single model rising from 0.1672 to 0.5018 and equal error rate (EER) increasing from 5.98% to 19.8% on the development set

Developing multiscale and integrative nature–people scenarios using the Nature Futures Framework

1. Scientists have repeatedly argued that transformative, multiscale global scenarios are needed as tools in the quest to halt the decline of biodiversity and achieve sustainability goals. 2. As a first step towards achieving this, the researchers who participated in the scenarios and models expert group of the Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) entered into an iterative, participatory process that led to the development of the Nature Futures Framework (NFF). 3. The NFF is a heuristic tool that captures diverse, positive relationships of humans with nature in the form of a triangle. It can be used both as a boundary object for continuously opening up more plural perspectives in the creation of desirable nature scenarios and as an actionable framework for developing consistent nature scenarios across multiple scales. 4. Here we describe the methods employed to develop the NFF and how it fits into a longer term process to create transformative, multiscale scenarios for nature. We argue that the contribution of the NFF is twofold: (a) its ability to hold a plurality of perspectives on what is desirable, which enables the development of joint goals and visions and recognizes the possible convergence and synergies of measures to achieve these visions and (b), its multiscale functionality for elaborating scenarios and models that can inform decision‐making at relevant levels, making it applicable across specific places and perspectives on nature. 5. If humanity is to achieve its goal of a more sustainable and prosperous future rooted in a flourishing nature, it is critical to open up a space for more plural perspectives of human–nature relationships. As the global community sets out to develop new goals for biodiversity, the NFF can be used as a navigation tool helping to make diverse, desirable futures possible