Modeling Denitrification : Can We Report What We Don't Know?

Funding Information: This study is the products of a workshop funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the research unit DFG‐FOR 2337: Denitrification in Agricultural Soils: Integrated Control and Modelling at Various Scales (DASIM), and by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the “Make our Planet Great Again—German Research Initiative”, Grant 306060, implemented by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme project VERIFY (grant agreement no. 776810). We would like to thank the contribution of all workshop participants of the II. DASIM Modeler Workshop. Publisher Copyright: © 2023. The Authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Desert Ants Learn Vibration and Magnetic Landmarks

The desert ants Cataglyphis navigate not only by path integration but also by using visual and olfactory landmarks to pinpoint the nest entrance. Here we show that Cataglyphis noda can additionally use magnetic and vibrational landmarks as nest-defining cues. The magnetic field may typically provide directional rather than positional information, and vibrational signals so far have been shown to be involved in social behavior. Thus it remains questionable if magnetic and vibration landmarks are usually provided by the ants' habitat as nest-defining cues. However, our results point to the flexibility of the ants' navigational system, which even makes use of cues that are probably most often sensed in a different context

Dietary patterns are related to cognitive functioning in elderly enriched with individuals at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease

PURPOSE: To investigate cross-sectional associations between dietary patterns and cognitive functioning in elderly free of dementia. METHODS: Data of 389 participants from the German DELCODE study (52% female, 69 ± 6 years, mean Mini Mental State Score 29 ± 1) were included. The sample was enriched with elderly at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) by including participants with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and siblings of AD patients. Mediterranean and MIND diets were derived from 148 Food Frequency Questionnaire items, and data-driven patterns by principal component analysis (PCA) of 39 food groups. Associations between dietary patterns and five cognitive domain scores were analyzed with linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics (model 1), and additionally for energy intake, BMI, other lifestyle variables and APOe4-status (model 2). For PCA-derived dietary components, final model 3 included all other dietary components. RESULTS: In fully adjusted models, adherence to Mediterranean and MIND diet was associated with better memory. The 'alcoholic beverages' PCA component was positively associated with most cognitive domains. Exclusion of MCI subjects (n = 60) revealed that Mediterranean and MIND diet were also related to language functions; associations with the alcoholic beverages component were attenuated, but most remained significant. CONCLUSION: In line with data from elderly population samples, Mediterranean and MIND diet and some data-derived dietary patterns were related to memory and language function. Longitudinal data are needed to draw conclusions on the putative effect of nutrition on the rate of cognitive decline, and on the potential of dietary interventions in groups at increased risk for AD

Arterial hypertension and β-amyloid accumulation have spatially overlapping effects on posterior white matter hyperintensity volume: a cross-sectional study

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) in subjects across the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) spectrum with minimal vascular pathology suggests that amyloid pathology—not just arterial hypertension—impacts WMH, which in turn adversely influences cognition. Here we seek to determine the effect of both hypertension and Aβ positivity on WMH, and their impact on cognition. Methods: We analysed data from subjects with a low vascular profile and normal cognition (NC), subjective cognitive decline (SCD), and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) enrolled in the ongoing observational multicentre DZNE Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study (n = 375, median age 70.0 [IQR 66.0, 74.4] years; 178 female; NC/SCD/MCI 127/162/86). All subjects underwent a rich neuropsychological assessment. We focused on baseline memory and executive function—derived from multiple neuropsychological tests using confirmatory factor analysis—, baseline preclinical Alzheimer’s cognitive composite 5 (PACC5) scores, and changes in PACC5 scores over the course of three years (ΔPACC5). Results: Subjects with hypertension or Aβ positivity presented the largest WMH volumes (pFDR < 0.05), with spatial overlap in the frontal (hypertension: 0.42 ± 0.17; Aβ: 0.46 ± 0.18), occipital (hypertension: 0.50 ± 0.16; Aβ: 0.50 ± 0.16), parietal lobes (hypertension: 0.57 ± 0.18; Aβ: 0.56 ± 0.20), corona radiata (hypertension: 0.45 ± 0.17; Aβ: 0.40 ± 0.13), optic radiation (hypertension: 0.39 ± 0.18; Aβ: 0.74 ± 0.19), and splenium of the corpus callosum (hypertension: 0.36 ± 0.12; Aβ: 0.28 ± 0.12). Elevated global and regional WMH volumes coincided with worse cognitive performance at baseline and over 3 years (pFDR < 0.05). Aβ positivity was negatively associated with cognitive performance (direct effect—memory: − 0.33 ± 0.08, pFDR < 0.001; executive: − 0.21 ± 0.08, pFDR < 0.001; PACC5: − 0.29 ± 0.09, pFDR = 0.006; ΔPACC5: − 0.34 ± 0.04, pFDR < 0.05). Splenial WMH mediated the relationship between hypertension and cognitive performance (indirect-only effect—memory: − 0.05 ± 0.02, pFDR = 0.029; executive: − 0.04 ± 0.02, pFDR = 0.067; PACC5: − 0.05 ± 0.02, pFDR = 0.030; ΔPACC5: − 0.09 ± 0.03, pFDR = 0.043) and WMH in the optic radiation partially mediated that between Aβ positivity and memory (indirect effect—memory: − 0.05 ± 0.02, pFDR = 0.029). Conclusions: Posterior white matter is susceptible to hypertension and Aβ accumulation. Posterior WMH mediate the association between these pathologies and cognitive dysfunction, making them a promising target to tackle the downstream damage related to the potentially interacting and potentiating effects of the two pathologies. Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00007966, 04/05/2015)

Gaussian Process-based prediction of memory performance and biomarker status in ageing and Alzheimer's disease-A systematic model evaluation

Neuroimaging markers based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) combined with various other measures (such as genetic covariates, biomarkers, vascular risk factors, neuropsychological tests etc.) might provide useful predictions of clinical outcomes during the progression towards Alzheimer's disease (AD). The use of multiple features in predictive frameworks for clinical outcomes has become increasingly prevalent in AD research. However, many studies do not focus on systematically and accurately evaluating combinations of multiple input features. Hence, the aim of the present work is to explore and assess optimal combinations of various features for MR-based prediction of (1) cognitive status and (2) biomarker positivity with a multi kernel learning Gaussian process framework. The explored features and parameters included (A) combinations of brain tissues, modulation, smoothing, and image resolution;(B) incorporating demographics & clinical covariates;(C) the impact of the size of the training data set;(D) the influence of dimensionality reduction and the choice of kernel types. The approach was tested in a large German cohort including 959 subjects from the multicentric longitudinal study of cognitive impairment and dementia (DELCODE). Our evaluation suggests the best prediction of memory performance was obtained for a combination of neuroimaging markers, demographics, genetic information (ApoE4) and CSF biomarkers explaining 57% of outcome variance in out-of sample predictions. The highest performance for A 42/40 status classification was achieved for a combination of demographics, ApoE4, and a memory score while usage of structural MRI further improved the classification of individual patient's pTau status

Lifetime and current depression in the German National Cohort (NAKO)

OBJECTIVES: The present study introduces the assessment of depression and depressive symptoms in the German National Cohort (NAKO), a population-based mega cohort. Distribution of core measures, and associations with sociodemographic factors are examined. METHODS: The current analysis includes data from the first 101,667 participants (NAKO data freeze 100,000). Depression and depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified version of the depression section of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), self-reported physician's diagnosis of depression, and the depression scale of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). RESULTS: A lifetime physician's diagnosis of depression was reported by 15.0% of participants. Of those, 47.6% reported having received treatment for depression within the last 12 months. Of the subset of 26,342 participants undergoing the full depression section of the modified MINI, 15.9% were classified by the MINI with a lifetime depressive episode. Based on the PHQ-9, 5.8% of the participants were classified as currently having a major or other depression by the diagnostic algorithm, and 7.8% according to the dimensional assessment (score = 10). Increased frequency of depression measures and higher depression scores were observed in women and participants with lower education level or a family history of depression. CONCLUSIONS: The observed distributions of all depression measures and their associations with sociodemographic variables are consistent with the literature on depression. The NAKO represents a valuable epidemiologic resource to investigate depression, and the range of measures for lifetime and current depression allows users to select the most suitable instrument for their specific research question

Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) Among Mammals: Increased Taxon Sampling Alters Interpretations of Key Fossils and Character Evolution

BACKGROUND: Integration of diverse data (molecules, fossils) provides the most robust test of the phylogeny of cetaceans. Positioning key fossils is critical for reconstructing the character change from life on land to life in the water. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We reexamine relationships of critical extinct taxa that impact our understanding of the origin of Cetacea. We do this in the context of the largest total evidence analysis of morphological and molecular information for Artiodactyla (661 phenotypic characters and 46,587 molecular characters, coded for 33 extant and 48 extinct taxa). We score morphological data for Carnivoramorpha, Creodonta, Lipotyphla, and the raoellid artiodactylan Indohyus and concentrate on determining which fossils are positioned along stem lineages to major artiodactylan crown clades. Shortest trees place Cetacea within Artiodactyla and close to Indohyus, with Mesonychia outside of Artiodactyla. The relationships of Mesonychia and Indohyus are highly unstable, however--in trees only two steps longer than minimum length, Mesonychia falls inside Artiodactyla and displaces Indohyus from a position close to Cetacea. Trees based only on data that fossilize continue to show the classic arrangement of relationships within Artiodactyla with Cetacea grouping outside the clade, a signal incongruent with the molecular data that dominate the total evidence result. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Integration of new fossil material of Indohyus impacts placement of another extinct clade Mesonychia, pushing it much farther down the tree. The phylogenetic position of Indohyus suggests that the cetacean stem lineage included herbivorous and carnivorous aquatic species. We also conclude that extinct members of Cetancodonta (whales+hippopotamids) shared a derived ability to hear underwater sounds, even though several cetancodontans lack a pachyostotic auditory bulla. We revise the taxonomy of living and extinct artiodactylans and propose explicit node and stem-based definitions for the ingroup

Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning

Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during working memory task. Finally, we showed genetic correlations of these memory traits with several neurocognitive and health outcomes. Our findings suggest a role of several genomic loci in verbal memory processes

Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning

Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during working memory task. Finally, we showed genetic correlations of these memory traits with several neurocognitive and health outcomes. Our findings suggest a role of several genomic loci in verbal memory processes