Regular and problematic leisure-time Internet use in the community: results from a German population-based survey

In our study, we attempted to identify systematically the use of Internet applications in the German population in order to derive risk factors for problematic use. In a representative survey of the German population, we queried 1,401 women and 1,111 men between the ages of 14 and 94 years by specific questions and standardized questionnaires on depression, anxiety (HADS), and depersonalization (CDS-2). The majority of the German population (55%) used the Internet in their leisure time. Users were younger and had a higher socioeconomic status (education, employment, income). Leisure-time use included e-mail and information search, as well as shopping. Chatting, online communities, games and sex were domains of young, mostly male adults. Overall, 9.3% reported at least one negative consequence of Internet use, especially neglect of recreational activities and problems with family/partner, work or education, and health. Problematic use was associated with longer average daily online times, avoidance of negative emotions, preference for certain applications (gaming, gam- bling, online sex) and an increased rate of depersonalization. The extent of Internet use per se is not sufficient as an addiction criterion and other negative consequences; rather, specific adverse consequences need to be identified. If the Internet is used excessively to cope with negative affect states and alternative means of coping (e.g., social support, health-promoting behavior) are diminished, a vicious cycle may ensue with increasing stress and reliance on the reinforcing properties of certain online activities that may finally lead to addictive behaviour

Woe from stones: commemoration, identity politics and Estonia's 'War of Monuments'

No abstract available

Measuring the evolution of contemporary western popular music

Popular music is a key cultural expression that has captured listeners' attention for ages. Many of the structural regularities underlying musical discourse are yet to be discovered and, accordingly, their historical evolution remains formally unknown. Here we unveil a number of patterns and metrics characterizing the generic usage of primary musical facets such as pitch, timbre, and loudness in contemporary western popular music. Many of these patterns and metrics have been consistently stable for a period of more than fifty years, thus pointing towards a great degree of conventionalism. Nonetheless, we prove important changes or trends related to the restriction of pitch transitions, the homogenization of the timbral palette, and the growing loudness levels. This suggests that our perception of the new would be rooted on these changing characteristics. Hence, an old tune could perfectly sound novel and fashionable, provided that it consisted of common harmonic progressions, changed the instrumentation, and increased the average loudness.Comment: Supplementary materials not included. Please see the journal reference or contact the author

Insights into the evolutionary origins of clostridial neurotoxins from analysis of the Clostridium botulinum strain A neurotoxin gene cluster

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clostridial neurotoxins (CNTs) are the most deadly toxins known and causal agents of botulism and tetanus neuroparalytic diseases. Despite considerable progress in understanding CNT structure and function, the evolutionary origins of CNTs remain a mystery as they are unique to <it>Clostridium </it>and possess a sequence and structural architecture distinct from other protein families. Uncovering the origins of CNTs would be a significant contribution to our understanding of how pathogens evolve and generate novel toxin families.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>C. botulinum </it>strain A genome was examined for potential homologues of CNTs. A key link was identified between the neurotoxin and the flagellin gene (CBO0798) located immediately upstream of the BoNT/A neurotoxin gene cluster. This flagellin sequence displayed the strongest sequence similarity to the neurotoxin and NTNH homologue out of all proteins encoded within <it>C. botulinum </it>strain A. The CBO0798 gene contains a unique hypervariable region, which in closely related flagellins encodes a collagenase-like domain. Remarkably, these collagenase-containing flagellins were found to possess the characteristic HEXXH zinc-protease motif responsible for the neurotoxin's endopeptidase activity. Additional links to collagenase-related sequences and functions were detected by further analysis of CNTs and surrounding genes, including sequence similarities to collagen-adhesion domains and collagenases. Furthermore, the neurotoxin's HCRn domain was found to exhibit both structural and sequence similarity to eukaryotic collagen jelly-roll domains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Multiple lines of evidence suggest that the neurotoxin and adjacent genes evolved from an ancestral collagenase-like gene cluster, linking CNTs to another major family of clostridial proteolytic toxins. Duplication, reshuffling and assembly of neighboring genes within the BoNT/A neurotoxin gene cluster may have lead to the neurotoxin's unique architecture. This work provides new insights into the evolution of <it>C. botulinum </it>neurotoxins and the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the origins of virulent genes.</p

Efficient unfolding pattern recognition in single molecule force spectroscopy data

BackgroundSingle-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is a technique that measures the force necessary to unfold a protein. SMFS experiments generate Force-Distance (F-D) curves. A statistical analysis of a set of F-D curves reveals different unfolding pathways. Information on protein structure, conformation, functional states, and inter- and intra-molecular interactions can be derived.ResultsIn the present work, we propose a pattern recognition algorithm and apply our algorithm to datasets from SMFS experiments on the membrane protein bacterioRhodopsin (bR). We discuss the unfolding pathways found in bR, which are characterised by main peaks and side peaks. A main peak is the result of the pairwise unfolding of the transmembrane helices. In contrast, a side peak is an unfolding event in the alpha-helix or other secondary structural element. The algorithm is capable of detecting side peaks along with main peaks.Therefore, we can detect the individual unfolding pathway as the sequence of events labeled with their occurrences and co-occurrences special to bR\u27s unfolding pathway. We find that side peaks do not co-occur with one another in curves as frequently as main peaks do, which may imply a synergistic effect occurring between helices. While main peaks co-occur as pairs in at least 50% of curves, the side peaks co-occur with one another in less than 10% of curves. Moreover, the algorithm runtime scales well as the dataset size increases.ConclusionsOur algorithm satisfies the requirements of an automated methodology that combines high accuracy with efficiency in analyzing SMFS datasets. The algorithm tackles the force spectroscopy analysis bottleneck leading to more consistent and reproducible results

The emerging structure of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: where does Evo-Devo fit in?

The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) debate is gaining ground in contemporary evolutionary biology. In parallel, a number of philosophical standpoints have emerged in an attempt to clarify what exactly is represented by the EES. For Massimo Pigliucci, we are in the wake of the newest instantiation of a persisting Kuhnian paradigm; in contrast, Telmo Pievani has contended that the transition to an EES could be best represented as a progressive reformation of a prior Lakatosian scientific research program, with the extension of its Neo-Darwinian core and the addition of a brand-new protective belt of assumptions and auxiliary hypotheses. Here, we argue that those philosophical vantage points are not the only ways to interpret what current proposals to ‘extend’ the Modern Synthesis-derived ‘standard evolutionary theory’ (SET) entail in terms of theoretical change in evolutionary biology. We specifically propose the image of the emergent EES as a vast network of models and interweaved representations that, instantiated in diverse practices, are connected and related in multiple ways. Under that assumption, the EES could be articulated around a paraconsistent network of evolutionary theories (including some elements of the SET), as well as models, practices and representation systems of contemporary evolutionary biology, with edges and nodes that change their position and centrality as a consequence of the co-construction and stabilization of facts and historical discussions revolving around the epistemic goals of this area of the life sciences. We then critically examine the purported structure of the EES—published by Laland and collaborators in 2015—in light of our own network-based proposal. Finally, we consider which epistemic units of Evo-Devo are present or still missing from the EES, in preparation for further analyses of the topic of explanatory integration in this conceptual framework

Assessing Internet addiction using the parsimonious Internet addiction components model - a preliminary study [forthcoming]

Internet usage has grown exponentially over the last decade. Research indicates that excessive Internet use can lead to symptoms associated with addiction. To date, assessment of potential Internet addiction has varied regarding populations studied and instruments used, making reliable prevalence estimations difficult. To overcome the present problems a preliminary study was conducted testing a parsimonious Internet addiction components model based on Griffiths’ addiction components (2005), including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. Two validated measures of Internet addiction were used (Compulsive Internet Use Scale [CIUS], Meerkerk et al., 2009, and Assessment for Internet and Computer Game Addiction Scale [AICA-S], Beutel et al., 2010) in two independent samples (ns = 3,105 and 2,257). The fit of the model was analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Results indicate that the Internet addiction components model fits the data in both samples well. The two sample/two instrument approach provides converging evidence concerning the degree to which the components model can organize the self-reported behavioural components of Internet addiction. Recommendations for future research include a more detailed assessment of tolerance as addiction component

Production of a recombinant polyester-cleaving hydrolase from Thermobifida fusca in Escherichia coli

The hydrolase (Thermobifida fusca hydrolase; TfH) from T. fusca was produced in Escherichia coli as fusion protein using the OmpA leader sequence and a His(6) tag. Productivity could be raised more than 100-fold. Both batch and fed-batch cultivations yield comparable cell specific productivities whereas volumetric productivities differ largely. In the fed-batch cultivations final rTfH concentrations of 0.5 g L(−1) could be achieved. In batch cultivations the generated rTfH is translocated to the periplasm wherefrom it is completely released into the extracellular medium. In fed-batch runs most of the produced rTfH remains as soluble protein in the cytoplasm and only a fraction of about 35% is translocated to the periplasm. Migration of periplasmic proteins in the medium is obviously coupled with growth rate and this final transport step possibly plays an important role in product localization and efficacy of the Sec translocation process

The effect of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on whole-brain functional and effective connectivity

Psychedelics have emerged as promising candidate treatments for various psychiatric conditions, and given their clinical potential, there is a need to identify biomarkers that underlie their effects. Here, we investigate the neural mechanisms of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) using regression dynamic causal modelling (rDCM), a novel technique that assesses whole-brain effective connectivity (EC) during resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We modelled data from two randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trials, in which 45 participants were administered 100 μg LSD and placebo in two resting-state fMRI sessions. We compared EC against whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) using classical statistics and machine learning methods. Multivariate analyses of EC parameters revealed predominantly stronger interregional connectivity and reduced self-inhibition under LSD compared to placebo, with the notable exception of weakened interregional connectivity and increased self-inhibition in occipital brain regions as well as subcortical regions. Together, these findings suggests that LSD perturbs the Excitation/Inhibition balance of the brain. Notably, whole-brain EC did not only provide additional mechanistic insight into the effects of LSD on the Excitation/Inhibition balance of the brain, but EC also correlated with global subjective effects of LSD and discriminated experimental conditions in a machine learning-based analysis with high accuracy (91.11%), highlighting the potential of using whole-brain EC to decode or predict subjective effects of LSD in the future