Have female twisted-wing parasites (Insecta: Strepsiptera) evolved tolerance traits as response to traumatic penetration?

Traumatic insemination describes an unusual form of mating during which a male penetrates the body wall of its female partner to inject sperm. Females unable to prevent traumatic insemination have been predicted to develop either traits of tolerance or of resistance, both reducing the fitness costs associated with the male-inflicted injury. The evolution of tolerance traits has previously been suggested for the bed bug. Here we present data suggesting that tolerance traits also evolved in females of the twisted-wing parasite species $\textit{Stylops ovinae}$ and $\textit{Xenos vesparum}$. Using micro-indentation experiments and confocal laser scanning microscopy, we found that females of both investigated species possess a uniform resilin-rich integument that is notably thicker at penetration sites than at control sites. As the thickened cuticle does not seem to hamper penetration by males, we hypothesise that thickening of the cuticle resulted in reduced penetration damage and loss of haemolymph and in improved wound sealing. To evaluate the evolutionary relevance of the $\textit{Stylops}$-specific paragenital organ and penis shape variation in the context of inter- and intraspecific competition, we conducted attraction and interspecific mating experiments, as well as a geometric-morphometric analysis of $\textit{S ovinae}$ and $\textit{X vesparum}$ penises. We found that $\textit{S ovinae}$ females indeed attract sympatrically distributed congeneric males. However, only conspecific males were able to mate. In contrast, we did not observe any heterospecific male attraction by $\textit{Xenos}$ females. We therefore hypothesise that the paragenital organ in the genus $\textit{Stylops}$ represents a prezygotic mating barrier that prevents heterospecific matings

Functions of BCL-X L at the Interface between Cell Death and Metabolism

The BCL-2 homolog BCL-X L , one of the two protein products of BCL2L1, has originally been characterized for its prominent prosurvival functions. Similar to BCL-2, BCL-X L binds to its multidomain proapoptotic counterparts BAX and BAK, hence preventing the formation of lethal pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane, as well as to multiple BH3-only proteins, thus interrupting apical proapoptotic signals. In addition, BCL-X L has been suggested to exert cytoprotective functions by sequestering a cytosolic pool of the pro-apoptotic transcription factor p53 and by binding to the voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1), thereby inhibiting the so-called mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). Thus, BCL-X L appears to play a prominent role in the regulation of multiple distinct types of cell death, including apoptosis and regulated necrosis. More recently, great attention has been given to the cell death-unrelated functions of BCL-2-like proteins. In particular, BCL-X L has been shown to modulate a number of pathophysiological processes, including-but not limited to-mitochondrial ATP synthesis, protein acetylation, autophagy and mitosis. In this short review article, we will discuss the functions of BCL-X L at the interface between cell death and metabolism

Functions of BCL-X L

The BCL-2 homolog BCL-XL, one of the two protein products of BCL2L1, has originally been characterized for its prominent prosurvival functions. Similar to BCL-2, BCL-XL binds to its multidomain proapoptotic counterparts BAX and BAK, hence preventing the formation of lethal pores in the mitochondrial outer membrane, as well as to multiple BH3-only proteins, thus interrupting apical proapoptotic signals. In addition, BCL-XL has been suggested to exert cytoprotective functions by sequestering a cytosolic pool of the pro-apoptotic transcription factor p53 and by binding to the voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1), thereby inhibiting the so-called mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT). Thus, BCL-XL appears to play a prominent role in the regulation of multiple distinct types of cell death, including apoptosis and regulated necrosis. More recently, great attention has been given to the cell death-unrelated functions of BCL-2-like proteins. In particular, BCL-XL has been shown to modulate a number of pathophysiological processes, including—but not limited to—mitochondrial ATP synthesis, protein acetylation, autophagy and mitosis. In this short review article, we will discuss the functions of BCL-XL at the interface between cell death and metabolism

Effectiveness of the 2014 European Society of Cardiology guideline on sudden cardiac death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective In 2014, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommended the use of a novel risk prediction model (HCM Risk-SCD) to guide use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We sought to determine the performance of HCM Risk-SCD by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles reporting on the prevalence of SCD within 5 years of evaluation in low, intermediate and high-risk patients as defined by the 2014 guidelines (predicted risk <4%, 4%–<6% and ≥6%, respectively). Methods The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42017064203). MEDLINE and manual searches for papers published from October 2014 to December 2017 were performed. Longitudinal, observational cohorts of unselected adult patients, without history of cardiac arrest were considered. The original HCM Risk-SCD development study was included a priori. Data were pooled using a random effects model. Results Six (0.9%) out of 653 independent publications identified by the initial search were included. The calculated 5-year risk of SCD was reported in 7291 individuals (70% low, 15% intermediate; 15% high risk) with 184 (2.5%) SCD endpoints within 5 years of baseline evaluation. Most SCD endpoints (68%) occurred in patients with an estimated 5-year risk of ≥4% who formed 30% of the total study cohort. Using the random effects method, the pooled prevalence of SCD endpoints was 1.01% (95% CI 0.52 to 1.61) in low-risk patients, 2.43% (95% CI 1.23 to 3.92) in intermediate and 8.4% (95% CI 6.68 to 10.25) in high-risk patients. Conclusions This meta-analysis demonstrates that HCM Risk-SCD provides accurate risk estimations that can be used to guide ICD therapy in accordance with the 2014 ESC guidelines. Registration number PROSPERO CRD42017064203;Pre-results.pre-print379 K

Harmonized gap-filled datasets from 20 urban flux tower sites

A total of 20 urban neighbourhood-scale eddy covariance flux tower datasets are made openly available after being harmonized to create a 50 site-year collection with broad diversity in climate and urban surface characteristics. Variables needed as inputs for land surface models (incoming radiation, temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind and precipitation) are quality controlled, gap-filled and prepended with 10 years of reanalysis-derived local data, enabling an extended spin up to equilibrate models with local climate conditions. For both gap filling and spin up, ERA5 reanalysis meteorological data are bias corrected using tower-based observations, accounting for diurnal, seasonal and local urban effects not modelled in ERA5. The bias correction methods developed perform well compared to methods used in other datasets (e.g. WFDE5 or FLUXNET2015). Other variables (turbulent and upwelling radiation fluxes) are harmonized and quality controlled without gap filling Site description metadata include local land cover fractions (buildings, roads, trees, grass etc.), building height and morphology, aerodynamic roughness estimates, population density and satellite imagery. This open collection can help extend our understanding of urban environmental processes through observational synthesis studies or in the evaluation of land surface environmental models in a wide range of urban settings. These data can be accessed from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7104984 (Lipson et al., 2022).Peer reviewe

Relevance to Psychology of Beliefs About Socialism: Some New Research Questions

This article aims to stimulate discussion about the potential relevance of the concept of socialism for what we study and the questions we ask. The economic systems of capitalism and socialism are seldom considered subjects of interest in psychology. At this particular time, however, especially in the United States, the relevance of these systems for our theories and research on human behavior, health, and human welfare seem particularly relevant and potentially significant. I argue that discussions of socialism should be helpful in expanding the context of our concerns in psychology and the identification of important new variables. The growing crisis of inequality in the United States is the major impetus for this argument

Frontal GABA Levels Change during Working Memory

Functional neuroimaging metrics are thought to reflect changes in neurotransmitter flux, but changes in neurotransmitter levels have not been demonstrated in humans during a cognitive task, and the relationship between neurotransmitter dynamics and hemodynamic activity during cognition has not yet been established. We evaluate the concentration of the major inhibitory (GABA) and excitatory (glutamate + glutamine: Glx) neurotransmitters and the cerebral perfusion at rest and during a prolonged delayed match-to-sample working memory task. Resting GABA levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex correlated positively with the resting perfusion and inversely with the change in perfusion during the task. Further, only GABA increased significantly during the first working memory run and then decreased continuously across subsequent task runs. The decrease of GABA over time was paralleled by a trend towards decreased reaction times and higher task accuracy. These results demonstrate a link between neurotransmitter dynamics and hemodynamic activity during working memory, indicating that functional neuroimaging metrics depend on the balance of excitation and inhibition required for cognitive processing

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012