How did the beginnings of the global COVID-19 pandemic affect mental well-being?

The present study aims to investigate longitudinal changes in mental well-being as well as the role of individual differences in personality traits (Big Five) and the level of Personality Organisation during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Overall, 272 adults (Mage= 36.94, SDage= 16.46; 68.62% female, 23.45% male, 0.69% non-binary) took part in our study with four weekly surveys during the lockdown as well as a follow-up one month after restrictions were lifted. To analyse the development of mental well-being during and shortly after the first lockdown in Germany latent growth curve models (LGCM) were calculated. The considered facets of well-being differ by their trajectory. Additionally, results suggest that the lockdown did not affect all facets to the same extent. While Life Satisfaction decreases in the short term as a reaction to the lockdown, Stress and Psychological Strain were reduced after the second week of contact restrictions. When adding personality characteristics, our results showed that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were the two dimensions associated most strongly with SWB during the first month of the pandemic. Thus, our research suggests that personality traits should be considered when analysing mental well-being

Nucleation and growth behavior of multicomponent secondary phases in entropy-stabilized oxides

The rocksalt structured (Co,Cu,Mg,Ni,Zn)O entropy-stabilized oxide (ESO) exhibits a reversible phase transformation that leads to the formation of Cu-rich tenorite and Co-rich spinel secondary phases. Using atom probe tomography, kinetic analysis, and thermodynamic modeling, we uncover the nucleation and growth mechanisms governing the formation of these two secondary phases. We find that these phases do not nucleate directly, but rather they first form Cu-rich and Co-rich precursor phases, which nucleate in regions rich in Cu and cation vacancies, respectively. These precursor phases then grow through cation diffusion and exhibit a rocksalt-like crystal structure. The Cu-rich precursor phase subsequently transforms into the Cu-rich tenorite phase through a structural distortion-based transformation, while the Co-rich precursor phase transforms into the Co-rich spinel phase through a defect-mediated transformation. Further growth of the secondary phases is controlled by cation diffusion within the primary rocksalt phase, whose diffusion behavior resembles other common rocksalt oxides

A Comparison of Measured Creatinine Clearance versus Calculated Glomerular Filtration Rate for Assessment of Renal Function before Autologous and Allogeneic BMT

AbstractCommon blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) eligibility criteria include a minimum glomerular filtration rate (GFR) that may vary by regimen intensity. GFR is often estimated by measurement of creatinine clearance in a 24-hour urine collection (24-hr CrCl), an inconvenient and error-prone method that overestimates GFR. The study objectives were to determine which of 6 GFR calculations: Cockroft-Gault (CG), modified CG (mCG), Modification of Diet in Renal Disease 1 (MDRD1), MDRD2, Jelliffe, and Wright, consistently underestimated measured 24-hr CrCl pre-BMT. We retrospectively analyzed 98 consecutive allogeneic (n = 48) or autologous (n = 50) adult BMT patients from January 2006 to April 2007. All 6 formulas were significantly (P < .001) correlated with 24-hr CrCl with R = 0.64 (Wright), 0.63 (CG), 0.61 (mCG), 0.61 (Jelliffe), 0.54 (MDRD2), and 0.50 (MDRD1). When compared to the measured 24-hr CrCl, MDRD2 consistently underestimated it in the highest proportion of patients (66%, P < .001), compared with MDRD1 (65%, P < .001), Jelliffe (61%, P = NS), mCG (55%, P = NS), Wright (34%, P < .001), and CG (34%, P = .001). Measured 24-hr CrCl, pre-BMT serum Cr, and all 6 equations were not predictive of renal regimen-related toxicity (RRT) post-BMT. The Wright and CG formulas are closest to, but overestimate 24-hr CrCl in 66% of patients. In comparison, MDRD2 consistently underestimates 24-hr CrCl in 66%. Although MDRD2 is the most conservative formula, all 6 formulas gave reasonable estimates of GFR and any of the 6 equations can replace the measured 24-hr CrCl. Larger analyses and transplantation of patients with GFR <50 mL/min may better define subgroups at risk for renal RRT

Effects of cell tension on the small GTPase Rac

Cells in the body are subjected to mechanical stresses such as tension, compression, and shear stress. These mechanical stresses play important roles in both physiological and pathological processes; however, mechanisms transducing mechanical stresses into biochemical signals remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that equibiaxial stretch inhibited lamellipodia formation through deactivation of Rac. Nearly maximal effects on Rac activity were obtained with 10% strain. GAP-resistant, constitutively active V12Rac reversed this inhibition, supporting a critical role for Rac inhibition in the response to stretch. In contrast, activation of endogenous Rac with a constitutively active nucleotide exchange factor did not, suggesting that regulation of GAP activity most likely mediates the inhibition. Uniaxial stretch suppressed lamellipodia along the sides lengthened by stretch and increased it at the adjacent ends. A fluorescence assay for localized Rac showed comparable changes in activity along the sides versus the ends after uniaxial stretch. Blocking polarization of Rac activity by expressing V12Rac prevented subsequent alignment of actin stress fibers. Treatment with Y-27632 or ML-7 that inhibits myosin phosphorylation and contractility increased lamellipodia through Rac activation and decreased cell polarization. We hypothesize that regulation of Rac activity by tension may be important for motility, polarization, and directionality of cell movement

Origin and Biology of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus in Wild-Living Western Gorillas

Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are infected with a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVgor) that is closely related to chimpanzee and human immunodeficiency viruses (SIVcpz and HIV-1, respectively) in west central Africa. Although existing data suggest a chimpanzee origin for SIVgor, a paucity of available sequences has precluded definitive conclusions. Here, we report the molecular characterization of one partial (BQ664) and three full-length (CP684, CP2135, and CP2139) SIVgor genomes amplified from fecal RNAs of wild-living gorillas at two field sites in Cameroon. Phylogenetic analyses showed that all SIVgor strains clustered together, forming a monophyletic lineage throughout their genomes. Interestingly, the closest relatives of SIVgor were not SIVcpzPtt strains from west central African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) but human viruses belonging to HIV-1 group O. In trees derived from most genomic regions, SIVgor and HIV-1 group O formed a sister clade to the SIVcpzPtt lineage. However, in a tree derived from 5' pol sequences (similar to 900 bp), SIVgor and HIV-1 group O fell within the SIVcpzPtt radiation. The latter was due to two SIVcpzPtt strains that contained mosaic pol sequences, pointing to the existence of a divergent SIVcpzPtt lineage that gave rise to SIVgor and HIV-1 group O. Gorillas appear to have acquired this lineage at least 100 to 200 years ago. To examine the biological properties of SIVgor, we synthesized a full-length provirus from fecal consensus sequences. Transfection of the resulting clone (CP2139.287) into 293T cells yielded infectious virus that replicated efficiently in both human and chimpanzee CD4(+) T cells and used CCR5 as the coreceptor for viral entry. Together, these results provide strong evidence that P. t. troglodytes apes were the source of SIVgor. These same apes may also have spawned the group O epidemic; however, the possibility that gorillas served as an intermediary host cannot be excluded

Genome analysis of the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are closely related necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungi notable for their wide host ranges and environmental persistence. These attributes have made these species models for understanding the complexity of necrotrophic, broad host-range pathogenicity. Despite their similarities, the two species differ in mating behaviour and the ability to produce asexual spores. We have sequenced the genomes of one strain of S. sclerotiorum and two strains of B. cinerea. The comparative analysis of these genomes relative to one another and to other sequenced fungal genomes is provided here. Their 38–39 Mb genomes include 11,860–14,270 predicted genes, which share 83% amino acid identity on average between the two species. We have mapped the S. sclerotiorum assembly to 16 chromosomes and found large-scale co-linearity with the B. cinerea genomes. Seven percent of the S. sclerotiorum genome comprises transposable elements compared t

The challenge of measuring intra-individual change in fatigue during cancer treatment

Evaluate how well three different patient-reported outcomes (PROs) measure individual change

A Group M Consensus Envelope Glycoprotein Induces Antibodies That Neutralize Subsets of Subtype B and C HIV-1 Primary Viruses

HIV-1 subtype C is the most common HIV-1 group M subtype in Africa and many parts of Asia. However, to date HIV-1 vaccine candidate immunogens have not induced potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies against subtype C primary isolates. We have used a centralized gene strategy to address HIV-1 diversity, and generated a group M consensus envelope gene with shortened consensus variable loops (CON-S) for comparative studies with wildtype (WT) Env immunogens. Our results indicate that the consensus HIV-1 group M CON-S Env elicited cross-subtype neutralizing antibodies of similar or greater breadth and titer than the WT Envs tested, indicating the utility of a centralized gene strategy. Our study also shows the feasibility of iterative improvements in Env immunogenicity by rational design of centralized genes

Antigenic conservation and immunogenicity of the HIV coreceptor binding site

Immunogenic, broadly reactive epitopes of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein could serve as important targets of the adaptive humoral immune response in natural infection and, potentially, as components of an acquired immune deficiency syndrome vaccine. However, variability in exposed epitopes and a combination of highly effective envelope-cloaking strategies have made the identification of such epitopes problematic. Here, we show that the chemokine coreceptor binding site of HIV-1 from clade A, B, C, D, F, G, and H and circulating recombinant form (CRF)01, CRF02, and CRF11, elicits high titers of CD4-induced (CD4i) antibody during natural human infection and that these antibodies bind and neutralize viruses as divergent as HIV-2 in the presence of soluble CD4 (sCD4). 178 out of 189 (94%) HIV-1–infected patients had CD4i antibodies that neutralized sCD4-pretreated HIV-2 in titers (50% inhibitory concentration) as high as 1:143,000. CD4i monoclonal antibodies elicited by HIV-1 infection also neutralized HIV-2 pretreated with sCD4, and polyclonal antibodies from HIV-1–infected humans competed specifically with such monoclonal antibodies for binding. In vivo, variants of HIV-1 with spontaneously exposed coreceptor binding surfaces were detected in human plasma; these viruses were neutralized directly by CD4i antibodies. Despite remarkable evolutionary diversity among primate lentiviruses, functional constraints on receptor binding create opportunities for broad humoral immune recognition, which in turn serves to constrain the viral quasispecies