Some aspects of the iodine metabolism of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera (phaeophyceae)

We are grateful to the Total Foundation (Paris) and to the MASTS pooling initiative (Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland, funded by the Scottish Funding Council and contributing institutions; grant reference HR09011), both for their funding support to FCK. We thank Prof. Matt Edwards (SDSU department of Biology) and his students for help in collecting specimens and for the use of equipment.Peer reviewedPostprin

Surmising synchrony of sound and sight:Factors explaining variance of audiovisual integration in hurdling, tap dancing and drumming

Auditory and visual percepts are integrated even when they are not perfectly temporally aligned with each other, especially when the visual signal precedes the auditory signal. This window of temporal integration for asynchronous audiovisual stimuli is relatively well examined in the case of speech, while other natural action-induced sounds have been widely neglected. Here, we studied the detection of audiovisual asynchrony in three different whole-body actions with natural action-induced sounds–hurdling, tap dancing and drumming. In Study 1, we examined whether audiovisual asynchrony detection, assessed by a simultaneity judgment task, differs as a function of sound production intentionality. Based on previous findings, we expected that auditory and visual signals should be integrated over a wider temporal window for actions creating sounds intentionally (tap dancing), compared to actions creating sounds incidentally (hurdling). While percentages of perceived synchrony differed in the expected way, we identified two further factors, namely high event density and low rhythmicity, to induce higher synchrony ratings as well. Therefore, we systematically varied event density and rhythmicity in Study 2, this time using drumming stimuli to exert full control over these variables, and the same simultaneity judgment tasks. Results suggest that high event density leads to a bias to integrate rather than segregate auditory and visual signals, even at relatively large asynchronies. Rhythmicity had a similar, albeit weaker effect, when event density was low. Our findings demonstrate that shorter asynchronies and visual-first asynchronies lead to higher synchrony ratings of whole-body action, pointing to clear parallels with audiovisual integration in speech perception. Overconfidence in the naturally expected, that is, synchrony of sound and sight, was stronger for intentional (vs. incidental) sound production and for movements with high (vs. low) rhythmicity, presumably because both encourage predictive processes. In contrast, high event density appears to increase synchronicity judgments simply because it makes the detection of audiovisual asynchrony more difficult. More studies using real-life audiovisual stimuli with varying event densities and rhythmicities are needed to fully uncover the general mechanisms of audiovisual integration

INTERNAS: Wissenstransferprozess zur Übertragung internationaler Umweltberichte in die deutsche Politik und Praxis

[Hintergrund] Der aktuelle globale Bericht des Weltbiodiversitätsrats (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; IPBES) (IPBES 2019) ist einer der hoch-rangigen internationalen Berichte zu wichtigen Erd- und Umweltfragen, die im UN-Kontext erstellt werden und einen konkreten Bezug zu den UN-Nachhaltigkeitszielen (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs) haben. Er zeigt, wie stark der Rückgang von Ökosystemleistungen die Lebensgrundlage der Menschen auf der Erde gefährdet: So sind bis zu eine Million Tier- und Pflanzenarten vom Aussterben bedroht. Die IPBES Autor*innen lassen keinen Zweifel daran, dass es einer tiefgreifenden Veränderung unserer Lebens- und Wirtschaftsweise bedarf, um diesem Massensterben Einhalt zu gebieten. Nur durch eine nachhaltige Nutzung ökologischer Ressourcen können wir den Hauptursachen des Biodiversitätsverlusts, der Reduktion von Ökosystemleistungen und der Zerstörung von Lebensräumen, entgegenwirken (IPBES 2019). Die Schlussfolgerungen des globalen IPBES Berichts und anderer IPBES Berichte sind von großer politischer Relevanz. Dadurch, dass die Berichte von 131 nationalen Regierungen mit-getragen werden und die Staaten entlang des gesamten Erstellungsprozesses an den Berichten beteiligt sind (z.B. bei der Auswahl von Themen und Expert*innen, der Einbindung von Stakeholder*innen oder der Zusammenfassung für Entscheidungsträger*innen (IPBES 2012)), erhalten ihre Ergebnisse politisches Gewicht. Dabei ist das nationale Engagement für globale Umweltpolitik und Forschung im Umweltbereich nicht auf IPBES beschränkt. Zwischenstaatliche Organisationen wie der IPCC (Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change), ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) oder IPBES spielen eine immer größer werdende Rolle in der globalen Umweltpolitik; sie alle besitzen eine zunehmende Deutungs-hoheit sowie politische und gesellschaftliche Autorität (Beck et al. 2014). Die Verleihung des Friedensnobelpreises an den IPCC im Jahr 2007 ist dafür ein deutliches Zeichen (Beck et al. 2014). Während die Berichte dieser Organisationen in globalen Politikprozessen eine wichtige Rolle spielen (z.B. für die Konvention zur Biologischen Vielfalt - CBD), fließen ihre Ergebnisse trotz der Beteiligung nationaler Politikakteur*innen selten in nationale politische Diskurse ein und finden in vielen Bereichen, zum Beispiel der Wirtschaftspolitik, bislang wenig Beachtung. Ein möglicher Grund dafür kann eine unzureichende wissenschaftliche Kontextualisierung auf Basis des nationalen politischen Bedarfes sein. Wir gehen davon aus, dass internationale Umweltberichte und ihre wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse durch einen partizipativen, dialogorientierten Beratungsansatz für die nationale Politik-beratung aufbereitet werden können, um die Relevanz und die Anwendbarkeit der Ergebnisse zu steigern. Idealerweise mündet ein solcher Beratungsansatz in einen standardisierten Prozess, der nicht nur für einen konkreten Umweltbericht, sondern für eine Vielzahl von Um-weltberichten und Themen angewendet werden kann. Im vorliegenden Diskussionspapier stellen wir zunächst das INTERNAS-Projekt vor, das einen solchen Beratungsansatz entwickelt hat. Der INTERNAS-Prozess wird im Folgenden erläutert und reflektiert. Zusätzlich werden verschiedene in INTERNAS angewandte Einzel-methoden, wie beispielsweise Stakeholderdialoge und digitale Wissens-Repräsentationen (Ontologien) vorgestellt

Lack of Association of Type 2 Diabetes Susceptibility Genotypes and Body Weight on the Development of Islet Autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes

AIM: To investigate whether type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes and body weight influence the development of islet autoantibodies and the rate of progression to type 1 diabetes. METHODS: Genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes CDKAL1, CDKN2A/2B, FTO, HHEX-IDE, HMGA2, IGF2BP2, KCNJ11, KCNQ1, MTNR1B, PPARG, SLC30A8 and TCF7L2 was obtained in 1350 children from parents with type 1 diabetes participating in the BABYDIAB study. Children were prospectively followed from birth for islet autoantibodies and type 1 diabetes. Data on weight and height were obtained at 9 months, 2, 5, 8, 11, and 14 years of age. RESULTS: None of type 2 diabetes risk alleles at the CDKAL1, CDKN2A/2B, FTO, HHEX-IDE, HMGA2, IGF2BP2, KCNJ11, KCNQ1, MTNR1B, PPARG and SLC30A8 loci were associated with the development of islet autoantibodies or diabetes. The type 2 diabetes susceptible genotype of TCF7L2 was associated with a lower risk of islet autoantibodies (7% vs. 12% by age of 10 years, P = 0.015, P(corrected) = 0.18). Overweight children at seroconversion did not progress to diabetes faster than non-overweight children (HR: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.48-2.45, P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings do not support an association of type 2 diabetes risk factors with islet autoimmunity or acceleration of diabetes in children with a family history of type 1 diabetes

A regulatory motif in nonmuscle myosin II-B regulates its role in migratory front-back polarity

In this study, we show that the role of nonmuscle myosin II (NMII)-B in front–back migratory cell polarity is controlled by a short stretch of amino acids containing five serines (1935–1941). This motif resides near the junction between the C terminus helical and nonhelical tail domains. Removal of this motif inhibited NMII-B assembly, whereas its insertion into NMII-A endowed an NMII-B–like ability to generate large actomyosin bundles that determine the rear of the cell. Phosphomimetic mutation of the five serines also inhibited NMII-B assembly, rendering it unable to support front–back polarization. Mass spectrometric analysis showed that several of these serines are phosphorylated in live cells. Single-site mutagenesis showed that serine 1935 is a major regulatory site of NMII-B function. These data reveal a novel regulatory mechanism of NMII in polarized migrating cells by identifying a key molecular determinant that confers NMII isoform functional specificityThis work is supported by grants SAF2011-24953 from MINECO, FP7 Marie Curie CIG-293719 from the EU, CIVP16A1831 from the Ramon Areces Foundation (M. Vicente-Manzanares), GM 23244 (A.R. Horwitz), GM037537 (D.F. Hunt), and the Cell Migration Consortium U54 GM64346 (A.R. Horwitz and D.F. Hunt). M. Vicente-Manzanares is an investigator from the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2010-06094)

Altered Germination and Subcellular Localization Patterns for PUB44/SAUL1 in Response to Stress and Phytohormone Treatments

BACKGROUND: In plants, the ubiquitin-proteasome system is emerging as a significant regulatory system throughout the plant lifecycle. The ubiquitination of a target protein requires the sequential actions of the E1, E2 and E3 enzymes, with the latter E3 enzyme conferring target selection in this process. There are a large number of predicted E3 enzymes in plant genomes, and very little is known about the functions of many of these predicted genes. Here we report here an analysis of two closely-related members of the Arabidopsis Plant U-box (PUB) family of E3 ubiquitin ligases, PUB43 and PUB44. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Homozygous pub44/pub44 mutant seedlings were found displayed a seedling lethal phenotype and this corresponded with widespread cell death lesions throughout the cotyledons and roots. Interestingly, heterozygous PUB44/pub44 seedlings were wild-type in appearance yet displayed intermediate levels of cell death lesions in comparison to pub44/pub44 seedlings. In contrast, homozygous pub43/pub43 mutants were viable and did not show any signs of cell death despite the PUB43 gene being more highly expressed than PUB44. The PUB44 mutants are not classical lesion mimic mutants as they did not have increased resistance to plant pathogens. We also observed increased germination rates in mutant seeds for both PUB44 and PUB43 under inhibitory concentrations of abscisic acid. Finally, the subcellular localization of PUB44 was investigated with transient expression assays in BY-2 cells. Under varying conditions, PUB44 was observed to be localized to the cytoplasm, plasma membrane, or nucleus. CONCLUSIONS: Based on mutant plant analyses, the Arabidopsis PUB43 and PUB44 genes are proposed to function during seed germination and early seedling growth. Given PUB44's ability to shuttle from the nucleus to the plasma membrane, PUB44 may be active in different subcellular compartments as part of these biological functions

Segmented flow generator for serial crystallography at the European X-ray free electron laser

Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) with X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) allows structure determination of membrane proteins and time-resolved crystallography. Common liquid sample delivery continuously jets the protein crystal suspension into the path of the XFEL, wasting a vast amount of sample due to the pulsed nature of all current XFEL sources. The European XFEL (EuXFEL) delivers femtosecond (fs) X-ray pulses in trains spaced 100 ms apart whereas pulses within trains are currently separated by 889 ns. Therefore, continuous sample delivery via fast jets wastes >99% of sample. Here, we introduce a microfluidic device delivering crystal laden droplets segmented with an immiscible oil reducing sample waste and demonstrate droplet injection at the EuXFEL compatible with high pressure liquid delivery of an SFX experiment. While achieving ~60% reduction in sample waste, we determine the structure of the enzyme 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate-8-phosphate synthase from microcrystals delivered in droplets revealing distinct structural features not previously reported

Effective cataract surgical coverage in adults aged 50 years and older: estimates from population-based surveys in 55 countries.

BACKGROUND: Cataract is the leading cause of blindness globally. Effective cataract surgical coverage (eCSC) measures the number of people in a population who have been operated on for cataract, and had a good outcome, as a proportion of all people operated on or requiring surgery. Therefore, eCSC describes service access (ie, cataract surgical coverage, [CSC]) adjusted for quality. The 74th World Health Assembly endorsed a global target for eCSC of a 30-percentage point increase by 2030. To enable monitoring of progress towards this target, we analysed Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) survey data to establish baseline estimates of eCSC and CSC. METHODS: In this secondary analysis, we used data from 148 RAAB surveys undertaken in 55 countries (2003-21) to calculate eCSC, CSC, and the relative quality gap (% difference between eCSC and CSC). Eligible studies were any version of the RAAB survey conducted since 2000 with individual participant survey data and census population data for people aged 50 years or older in the sampling area and permission from the study's principal investigator for use of data. We compared median eCSC between WHO regions and World Bank income strata and calculated the pooled risk difference and risk ratio comparing eCSC in men and women. FINDINGS: Country eCSC estimates ranged from 3·8% (95% CI 2·1-5·5) in Guinea Bissau, 2010, to 70·3% (95% CI 65·8-74·9) in Hungary, 2015, and the relative quality gap from 10·8% (CSC: 65·7%, eCSC: 58·6%) in Argentina, 2013, to 73·4% (CSC: 14·3%, eCSC: 3·8%) in Guinea Bissau, 2010. Median eCSC was highest among high-income countries (60·5% [IQR 55·6-65·4]; n=2 surveys; 2011-15) and lowest among low-income countries (14·8%; [IQR 8·3-20·7]; n=14 surveys; 2005-21). eCSC was higher in men than women (148 studies pooled risk difference 3·2% [95% CI 2·3-4·1] and pooled risk ratio of 1·20 [95% CI 1·15-1·25]). INTERPRETATION: eCSC varies widely between countries, increases with greater income level, and is higher in men. In pursuit of 2030 targets, many countries, particularly in lower-resource settings, should emphasise quality improvement before increasing access to surgery. Equity must be embedded in efforts to improve access to surgery, with a focus on underserved groups. FUNDING: Indigo Trust, Peek Vision, and Wellcome Trust