Modification of a commercial dna extraction kit to simultaneously recover rna, safely and rapidly, and to assess molecular biomass of the total and the active part of microbial communities, from soils with diverse mineralogy and carbon content : S11.04-P -15

We have modified a commercial DNA extraction kit for soil to simultaneously co-extract RNA. In this new procedure RNA and DNA are separated by two selective purifications in cascade without the need of DNAase or RNAse digestion. Consequently DNA and RNA are respectively purified from the whole co-extraction solution. Nucleic acids extraction is based on the action of SDS coupled with an efficient bead-beating step, but it does not require any solvent. Avoiding the use of solvents, which are damaging for human health and environmental quality, was one of our most important motivations to develop this protocol. In a second time, we have optimized this protocol to improve the DNA and RNA yield, but kipping those yields below the saturation limit of the kit to assess and quantify the variations of molecular biomass of the total (DNA) and the active (RNA) part of microbial communities in natural samples. We have also introduced a first step of homogenization of soil sample in liquid nitrogen to improve the reliability of the fungal 18S gene sequence quantification. Finally, we have shown that this protocol can be applied to a wide diversity of soils whatever their mineralogy and metal content (2 Ferralsols, 1 Vertisol, 2 Andosols from Madagascar), texture or biomass content (1 poor sandy soil from Congo and one carbon rich temperate soil sample submitted or not to a 1 month cold stress). * E Tournier, L. Amenc and AL. Pablo contributed equally to this study. (Texte intégral

Capuchin monkeys do not show human-like pricing effects

Recent work in judgment and decision-making has shown that a good’s price can have irrational effects on people’s preferences. People tend to prefer goods that cost more money and assume that such expensive goods will be more effective, even in cases where the price of the good is itself arbitrary. Although much work has documented the existence of these pricing effects, unfortunately little work has addressed where these price effects come from in the first place. Here we use a comparative approach to distinguish between different accounts of this bias and to explore the origins of these effects. Specifically, we test whether brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are also susceptible to pricing effects within the context of an experimentally trained token economy. Using a capuchin population previously trained in a token market, we explored whether monkeys used price as an indicator of value across four experiments. Although monkeys demonstrated an understanding of which goods had which prices (consistently shifting preferences to cheaper goods when prices were increased), we observed no evidence that such price information affected their valuation of different kinds of goods. These results suggest that human price effects may involve more sophisticated human-unique cognitive capacities, such as an understanding of market forces and signaling

Lessons Learned from IEP Meeting Experiences of Parents and School Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams to hold virtual IEP meetings for students with disabilities instead of conducting them in person. Prior to the pandemic, research explored school professionals’ and parents’ perceptions of the IEP meeting experience in the context of in-person meetings. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how IEP meeting experiences changed for parents and school professionals as a result of the transition to virtual meeting collaboration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten school professionals and nine parents from two public school districts in the United States participated in semi-structured interviews about their perceptions of the IEP meeting experience before and after this transition. Six themes emerged from the analysis: (a) prioritizing preparedness, (b) conquering technology, (c) negotiating new communication norms, (d) building rapport, (e) adapting to a new kind of collaboration, and (f) harnessing flexibility. Findings identified challenges faced while preparing for and conducting virtual IEP meetings as well as opportunities to leverage virtual collaboration to improve the IEP meeting experience for school professionals and families of students with disabilities

Glutamatergic synaptic currents of nigral dopaminergic neurons follow a postnatal developmental sequence

International audienceThe spontaneous activity pattern of adult dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) results from interactions between intrinsic membrane conductances and afferent inputs. In adult SNc DA neurons, low-frequency tonic background activity is generated by intrinsic pacemaker mechanisms, whereas burst generation depends on intact synaptic inputs in particular the glutamatergic ones. Tonic DA release in the striatum during pacemaking is required to maintain motor activity, and burst firing evokes phasic DA release, necessary for cue-dependent learning tasks. However, it is still unknown how the firing properties of SNc DA neurons mature during postnatal development before reaching the adult state. We studied the postnatal developmental profile of spontaneous and evoked AMPA and NMDA (N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid) receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in SNc DA neurons in brain slices from immature (postnatal days P4-P10) and young adult (P30-P50) tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-green fluorescent protein mice. We found that somato-dendritic fields of SNc DA neurons are already mature at P4-P10. In contrast, spontaneous glutamatergic EPSCs show a developmental sequence. Spontaneous NMDA EPSCs in particular are larger and more frequent in immature SNc DA neurons than in young adult ones and have a bursty pattern. They are mediated by GluN2B and GluN2D subunit-containing NMDA receptors. The latter generate long-lasting, DQP 1105-sensitive, spontaneous EPSCs, which are transiently recorded during this early period. Due to high NMDA activity, immature SNc DA neurons generate large and long lasting NMDA receptor-dependent (APV-sensitive) bursts in response to the stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus. We conclude that the transient high NMDA activity allows calcium influx into the dendrites of developing SNc DA neurons

Does believing something to be fiction allow a form of moral licencing or a 'fictive pass' in understanding others' actions?

Introduction: The human capacity to engage with fictional worlds raises important psychological questions about the mechanisms that make this possible. Of particular interest is whether people respond differently to fictional stories compared to factual ones in terms of how immersed they become and how they view the characters involved and their actions. It has been suggested that fiction provides us with a ‘fictive pass’ that allows us to evaluate in a more balanced, detached way the morality of a character’s behaviour. Methods: We use a randomised controlled experimental design to test this. Results and discussion: We show that, although knowing whether a substantial film clip is fact or fiction does not affect how engaged with (‘transported’ by) a troubling story an observer becomes, it does grant them a ‘fictive pass’ to empathise with a moral transgressor. However, a fictive pass does not override the capacity to judge the causes of a character’s moral transgression (at least as indexed by a causal attribution task)

Cervical dystonia incidence and diagnostic delay in a multiethnic population.

BackgroundCurrent cervical dystonia (CD) incidence estimates are based on small numbers in relatively ethnically homogenous populations. The frequency and consequences of delayed CD diagnosis is poorly characterized.ObjectivesTo determine CD incidence and characterize CD diagnostic delay within a large, multiethnic integrated health maintenance organization.MethodsWe identified incident CD cases using electronic medical records and multistage screening of more than 3 million Kaiser Permanente Northern California members from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2007. A final diagnosis was made by movement disorders specialist consensus. Diagnostic delay was measured by questionnaire and health utilization data. Incidence rates were estimated assuming a Poisson distribution of cases and directly standardized to the 2000 U.S. census. Multivariate logistic regression models were employed to assess diagnoses and behaviors preceding CD compared with matched controls, adjusting for age, sex, and membership duration.ResultsCD incidence was 1.18/100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35-2.0; women, 1.81; men, 0.52) based on 200 cases over 15.4 million person-years. Incidence increased with age. Half of the CD patients interviewed reported diagnostic delay. Diagnoses more common in CD patients before the index date included essential tremor (odds ratio [OR] 68.1; 95% CI, 28.2-164.5), cervical disc disease (OR 3.83; 95% CI, 2.8-5.2), neck sprain/strain (OR 2.77; 95% CI, 1.99-3.62), anxiety (OR 2.24; 95% CI, 1.63-3.11) and depression (OR 1.94; 95% CI, 1.4-2.68).ConclusionsCD incidence is greater in women and increases with age. Diagnostic delay is common and associated with adverse effects. © 2019 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Fine structure, microstructure, and vertical mixing processes in the upper ocean in the western Weddell Sea

The upward flux of heat from the subsurface core of Warm Deep Water (WDW) to the perennially ice-covered sea surface over the continental slope in the western Weddell Sea is estimated using data obtained during February-June 1992 from a drifting ice station. Through the permanent pycnocline the diapycnal heat flux is estimated to be about 3 W m⁻², predominantly because of double-diffusive convection. There is no evidence that shear-driven mixing is important in the pycnocline. The estimated mean rate of heat transfer from the mixed layer to the ice is 1.7 W m⁻², although peak heat fluxes of up to 15 W m⁻² are found during storms. It is hypothesized that isopycnal mixing along sloping intrusions also contributes to the loss of heat from the WDW in this region; however, we are unable to quantify the fluxes associated with this process. Intrusions occur intermittently throughout this experiment but are most commonly found near the boundary of the warm-core current and the shelf-modified water to the east. These heat fluxes are significantly lower than the basin-averaged value of 19 W m⁻² (Fahrbach et al., 1994) that is required to balance the heat budget of the Weddell Gyre. Other studies suggest that shelf processes to the west of the ice station drift track and more energetic double-diffusive convection in the midgyre to the east could account for the difference between our flux estimates for this region and those based on the basin-scale heat budget

The Effects of Old Age on Hepatic Stellate Cells

Aging is associated with marked changes in the hepatic sinusoid, yet the effect of old age on hepatic stellate cells (HSC) has not been well described. Transmission electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry were used to study the effects of aging on HSC in livers from rats (3-4 mths versus 24–27 mths) and mice (2-3 mths versus 20–22 mths). Desmin-positive HSC doubled in old age in both mice and rats. Alpha-smooth muscle actin- (αSMA-) positive cells did not increase significantly and remained only a small percentage of desmin-positive cells. Electron microscopy revealed that old age is associated with HSC that have a substantial increase in the number of lipid droplets which are larger in diameter. There was also a marked increase of HSC that protruded into the sinusoidal lumen in old mice. In conclusion, old age is associated with hyperplasia of HSC that are not activated and are engorged with lipid droplets