Erratum: >A comparative study of the Si+O2\SiO+O reaction dynamics from quasiclassical trajectory and statistical based methods> [J. Chem. Phys. 128, 174307 (2008)]

Peer Reviewe

Bacteria and the evolution of honest signals. The case of ornamental throat feathers in spotless starlings

1. Mechanisms guaranteeing reliability of messages are essential in understanding the underlying information and evolution of signals. Micro-organisms may degrade signalling traits and therefore influence the transmitted information and evolution of these characters. The role of micro-organisms in animal signalling has, however, rarely been investigated. 2. Here, we explore a possible role for feather-degrading bacteria driving the design of ornamental throat feathers in male spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor). We estimated length, bacterial load, degradation status and susceptibility to degradation by keratinolytic bacteria in those feathers, compared with non-ornamental adjacent feathers in males, as well as to throat feathers in females. In addition, the volume of the uropygial gland and its secretion was measured and the secretion extracted. We also experimentally evaluated the capacity of each secretion to inhibit growth of a keratinolytic bacterium. 3. The apical part of male ornamental throat feathers harboured more bacteria and degraded more quickly than the basal part; these patterns were not detected in female throat feathers or in non-ornamental male feathers. Moreover, degradation status of male and female throat feathers did not differ, but was positively associated with feather bacterial density. Finally, the size of the uropygial gland in both males and females predicted volume and the inhibitory capacity of secretion against feather-degrading bacteria. Only in males was uropygial gland size negatively associated with the level of feather degradation. 4. All results indicate differential susceptibility of different parts of throat feathers to keratinolytic bacterial attack, which supports the possibility that throat feathers in starlings reflect individual ability to combat feather-degrading bacteria honestly. This is further supported by the relationship detected between antimicrobial properties of uropygial secretion and the level of feather degradation. 5. Our results suggest that selection pressures exerted by feather-degrading bacteria on hosts may promote evolution of particular morphologies of secondary sexual traits with different susceptibility to bacterial degradation that reliably inform of their bacterial load. Those results will help to understand the evolution of ornamental signals.This work was financed by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci on, European funds (FEDER) (CGL2010-19233-C03-01, CGL2013-48193-C3-1-P). MRR and DMG received a postdoc from the program “JAE-Doc”, GT from the “Juan de la Cierva”, and CRC had a predoctoral fellowship, all from the Spanish Government.Peer reviewe

Distributed model predictive control of linear systems with coupled constraints based on collective neurodynamic optimization

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018. Distributed model predictive control explores an array of local predictive controllers that synthesize the control of subsystems independently yet they communicate to efficiently cooperate in achieving the closed-loop control performance. Distributed model predictive control problems naturally result in sequential distributed optimization problems that require real-time solution. This paper presents a collective neurodynamic approach to design and implement the distributed model predictive control of linear systems in the presence of globally coupled constraints. For each subsystem, a neurodynamic model minimizes its cost function using local information only. According to the communication topology of the network, neurodynamic models share information to their neighbours to reach consensus on the optimal control actions to be carried out. The collective neurodynamic models are proven to guarantee the global optimality of the model predictive control system

Mechanism of KMT5B haploinsufficiency in neurodevelopment in humans and mice.

Pathogenic variants in KMT5B, a lysine methyltransferase, are associated with global developmental delay, macrocephaly, autism, and congenital anomalies (OMIM# 617788). Given the relatively recent discovery of this disorder, it has not been fully characterized. Deep phenotyping of the largest (n = 43) patient cohort to date identified that hypotonia and congenital heart defects are prominent features that were previously not associated with this syndrome. Both missense variants and putative loss-of-function variants resulted in slow growth in patient-derived cell lines. KMT5B homozygous knockout mice were smaller in size than their wild-type littermates but did not have significantly smaller brains, suggesting relative macrocephaly, also noted as a prominent clinical feature. RNA sequencing of patient lymphoblasts and Kmt5b haploinsufficient mouse brains identified differentially expressed pathways associated with nervous system development and function including axon guidance signaling. Overall, we identified additional pathogenic variants and clinical features in KMT5B-related neurodevelopmental disorder and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of the disorder using multiple model systems

Mechanism of KMT5B haploinsufficiency in neurodevelopment in humans and mice.

Pathogenic variants in KMT5B, a lysine methyltransferase, are associated with global developmental delay, macrocephaly, autism, and congenital anomalies (OMIM# 617788). Given the relatively recent discovery of this disorder, it has not been fully characterized. Deep phenotyping of the largest (n = 43) patient cohort to date identified that hypotonia and congenital heart defects are prominent features that were previously not associated with this syndrome. Both missense variants and putative loss-of-function variants resulted in slow growth in patient-derived cell lines. KMT5B homozygous knockout mice were smaller in size than their wild-type littermates but did not have significantly smaller brains, suggesting relative macrocephaly, also noted as a prominent clinical feature. RNA sequencing of patient lymphoblasts and Kmt5b haploinsufficient mouse brains identified differentially expressed pathways associated with nervous system development and function including axon guidance signaling. Overall, we identified additional pathogenic variants and clinical features in KMT5B-related neurodevelopmental disorder and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of the disorder using multiple model systems

Key lifestyles and health outcomes across 16 prevalent chronic diseases: a network analysis of an international observational study

Background: Central and bridge nodes can drive significant overall improvements within their respective networks. We aimed to identify them in 16 prevalent chronic diseases during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to guide effective intervention strategies and appropriate resource allocation for most significant holistic lifestyle and health improvements. Methods: We surveyed 16 512 adults from July 2020 to August 2021 in 30 territories. Participants self-reported their medical histories and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on 18 lifestyle factors and 13 health outcomes. For each disease subgroup, we generated lifestyle, health outcome, and bridge networks. Variables with the highest centrality indices in each were identified central or bridge. We validated these networks using nonparametric and case-dropping subset bootstrapping and confirmed central and bridge variables' significantly higher indices through a centrality difference test. Findings: Among the 48 networks, 44 were validated (all correlation-stability coefficients >0.25). Six central lifestyle factors were identified: less consumption of snacks (for the chronic disease: anxiety), less sugary drinks (cancer, gastric ulcer, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes), less smoking tobacco (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), frequency of exercise (depression and fatty liver disease), duration of exercise (irritable bowel syndrome), and overall amount of exercise (autoimmune disease, diabetes, eczema, heart attack, and high cholesterol). Two central health outcomes emerged: less emotional distress (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eczema, fatty liver disease, gastric ulcer, heart attack, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes) and quality of life (anxiety, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome). Four bridge lifestyles were identified: consumption of fruits and vegetables (diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and insomnia), less duration of sitting (eczema, fatty liver disease, and heart attack), frequency of exercise (autoimmune disease, depression, and heart attack), and overall amount of exercise (anxiety, gastric ulcer, and insomnia). The centrality difference test showed the central and bridge variables had significantly higher centrality indices than others in their networks (P < 0.05). Conclusion: To effectively manage chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, enhanced interventions and optimised resource allocation toward central lifestyle factors, health outcomes, and bridge lifestyles are paramount. The key variables shared across chronic diseases emphasise the importance of coordinated intervention strategies