Time-resolved classification of dog brain signals reveals early processing of faces, species and emotion

Dogs process faces and emotional expressions much like humans, but the time windows important for face processing in dogs are largely unknown. By combining our non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) protocol on dogs with machine-learning algorithms, we show category-specific dog brain responses to pictures of human and dog facial expressions, objects, and phase-scrambled faces. We trained a support vector machine classifier with spatiotemporal EEG data to discriminate between responses to pairs of images. The classification accuracy was highest for humans or dogs vs. scrambled images, with most informative time intervals of 100-140 ms and 240-280 ms. We also detected a response sensitive to threatening dog faces at 30-40 ms; generally, responses differentiating emotional expressions were found at 130-170 ms, and differentiation of faces from objects occurred at 120-130 ms. The cortical sources underlying the highest-amplitude EEG signals were localized to the dog visual cortex.Peer reviewe

Sunday Driver links axonal transport to damage signaling

Neurons transmit long-range biochemical signals between cell bodies and distant axonal sites or termini. To test the hypothesis that signaling molecules are hitchhikers on axonal vesicles, we focused on the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) scaffolding protein Sunday Driver (syd), which has been proposed to link the molecular motor protein kinesin-1 to axonal vesicles. We found that syd and JNK3 are present on vesicular structures in axons, are transported in both the anterograde and retrograde axonal transport pathways, and interact with kinesin-I and the dynactin complex. Nerve injury induces local activation of JNK, primarily within axons, and activated JNK and syd are then transported primarily retrogradely. In axons, syd and activated JNK colocalize with p150Glued, a subunit of the dynactin complex, and with dynein. Finally, we found that injury induces an enhanced interaction between syd and dynactin. Thus, a mobile axonal JNK–syd complex may generate a transport-dependent axonal damage surveillance system

Somatosensory Brain Function and Gray Matter Regional Volumes Differ According to Exercise History : Evidence from Monozygotic Twins

Associations between long-term physical activity and cortical function and brain structure are poorly known. Our aim was to assess whether brain functional and/or structural modulation associated with long-term physical activity is detectable using a discordant monozygotic male twin pair design. Nine monozygotic male twin pairs were carefully selected for an intrapair difference in their leisure-time physical activity of at least three years duration (mean age 34 +/- 1 years). We registered somatosensory mismatch response (SMMR) in EEG to electrical stimulation of fingers and whole brain MR images. We obtained exercise history and measured physical fitness and body composition. Equivalent electrical dipole sources of SMMR as well as gray matter (GM) voxel counts in regions of interest indicated by source analysis were evaluated. SMMR dipolar source strengths differed between active and inactive twins within twin pairs in postcentral gyrus, medial frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus and in anterior cingulate (AC) GM voxel counts differed similarly. Compared to active twins, their inactive twin brothers showed greater dipole strengths in short periods of the deviant-elicited SMMR and larger AC GM voxel counts. Stronger activation in early unattended cortical processing of the deviant sensory signals in inactive co-twins may imply less effective gating of somatosensory information in inactive twins compared to their active brothers. Present findings indicate that already in 30's long-term physical activity pattern is linked with specific brain indices, both in functional and structural domains.Peer reviewe

Developing fine-grained nationwide predictions of valuable forests using biodiversity indicator bird species

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.The use of indicator species in forest conservation and management planning can facilitate enhanced preservation of biodiversity from the negative effects of forestry and other uses of land. However, this requires detailed and spatially comprehensive knowledge of the habitat preferences and distributions of selected focal indicator species. Unfortunately, due to limited resources for field surveys, only a small proportion of the occurrences of focal species is usually known. This shortcoming can be circumvented by using modelling techniques to predict the spatial distribution of suitable sites for the target species. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) and other remote sensing (RS) techniques have the potential to provide useful environmental data covering systematically large areas for these purposes. Here, we focused on six bird of prey and woodpecker species known to be good indicators of boreal forest biodiversity values. We used known nest sites of the six indicator species based on nestling ringing records. Thus, the most suitable nesting sites of these species provide important information for biodiversity-friendly forest management and conservation planning. We developed fine-grained, i.e., 96 x 96 m grid cell resolution, predictive maps across the whole of Finland of the suitable nesting habitats based on ALS and other RS data and spatial information on the distribution of important forest stands for the six studied biodiversity indicator bird species based on nesting habitat suitability modelling, i.e., the MaxEnt model. Habitat preferences of the study species, as determined by MaxEnt, were in line with the previous knowledge of species-habitat relations. The proportion of suitable habitats of these species in protected areas was considerable, but our analysis also revealed many potentially high-quality forest stands outside protected areas. However, many of these sites are increasingly threatened by logging due to increased pressures for using forests for bioeconomy and forest industry based on National Forest Strategy. Predicting habitat suitability based on information on the nest sites of indicator species provides a new tool for systematic conservation planning over large areas in boreal forests in Europe, and corresponding approach would also be feasible and recommendable elsewhere where similar data are available.The use of indicator species in forest conservation and management planning can facilitate enhanced preservation of biodiversity from the negative effects of forestry and other uses of land. However, this requires detailed and spatially comprehensive knowledge of the habitat preferences and distributions of selected focal indicator species. Unfortunately, due to limited resources for field surveys, only a small proportion of the occurrences of focal species is usually known. This shortcoming can be circumvented by using modeling techniques to predict the spatial distribution of suitable sites for the target species. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) and other remote sensing (RS) techniques have the potential to provide useful environmental data covering systematically large areas for these purposes. Here, we focused on six bird of prey and woodpecker species known to be good indicators of boreal forest biodiversity values. We used known nest sites of the six indicator species based on nestling ringing records. Thus, the most suitable nesting sites of these species provide important information for biodiversity-friendly forest management and conservation planning. We developed fine-grained, that is, 96 x 96 m grid cell resolution, predictive maps across the whole of Finland of the suitable nesting habitats based on ALS and other RS data and spatial information on the distribution of important forest stands for the six studied biodiversity indicator bird species based on nesting-habitat suitability modeling, that is, the MaxEnt model. Habitat preferences of the study species, as determined by MaxEnt, were in line with the previous knowledge of species-habitat relations. The proportion of suitable habitats of these species in protected areas (PAs) was considerable, but our analysis also revealed many potentially high-quality forest stands outside PAs. However, many of these sites are increasingly threatened by logging because of increased pressures for using forests for bioeconomy and forest industry based on National Forest Strategy. Predicting habitat suitability based on information on the nest sites of indicator species provides a new tool for systematic conservation planning over large areas in boreal forests in Europe, and a corresponding approach would also be feasible and recommendable elsewhere where similar data are available.Peer reviewe

Utilization of Tissue Ploidy Level Variation in de Novo Transcriptome Assembly of Pinus sylvestris

Compared to angiosperms, gymnosperms lag behind in the availability of assembled and annotated genomes. Most genomic analyses in gymnosperms, especially conifer tree species, rely on the use of de novo assembled transcriptomes. However, the level of allelic redundancy and transcript fragmentation in these assembled transcriptomes, and their effect on downstream applications have not been fully investigated. Here, we assessed three assembly strategies for short-reads data, including the utility of haploid megagametophyte tissue during de novo assembly as single-allele guides, for six individuals and five different tissues in Pinus sylvestris. We then contrasted haploid and diploid tissue genotype calls obtained from the assembled transcriptomes to evaluate the extent of paralog mapping. The use of the haploid tissue during assembly increased its completeness without reducing the number of assembled transcripts. Our results suggest that current strategies that rely on available genomic resources as guidance to minimize allelic redundancy are less effective than the application of strategies that cluster redundant assembled transcripts. The strategy yielding the lowest levels of allelic redundancy among the assembled transcriptomes assessed here was the generation of SuperTranscripts with Lace followed by CD-HIT clustering. However, we still observed some levels of heterozygosity (multiple gene fragments per transcript reflecting allelic redundancy) in this assembled transcriptome on the haploid tissue, indicating that further filtering is required before using these assemblies for downstream applications. We discuss the influence of allelic redundancy when these reference transcriptomes are used to select regions for probe design of exome capture baits and for estimation of population genetic diversity.Peer reviewe

Miten johtajuutta viestitään? : Suomalaiset toimitusjohtajat Twitterissä

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Surface Water Intrusion, Land Use Impacts, and Bacterial Community Composition in Shallow Groundwater Wells Supplying Potable Water in Sparsely Populated Areas of a Boreal Region

Rural communities often rely on groundwater for potable water supply. In this study, untreated groundwater samples from 28 shallow groundwater wells in Finland ( IMPORTANCE Standard physicochemical water quality analyses and microbial indicator analyses leave much of the (largely uncultured) complexity of groundwater microbial communities unexplored. This study combined these standard methods with additional analyses of stable water isotopes, bacterial community data, and environmental data about the surrounding areas to investigate the associations between physicochemical and microbial properties of 28 shallow groundwater wells in Finland. We detected impaired groundwater quality in some wells, identified potential land use impacts, and revealed indications of surface water intrusion which were negatively correlated with bacterial alpha diversity. The potential influence of surface water intrusion on groundwater wells and their bacterial communities is of particular interest and warrants further investigation because surface water intrusion has previously been linked to groundwater contamination, which is the primary cause of waterborne outbreaks in the Nordic region and one of the major causes in the United States and Canada.Peer reviewe

Physical Activity Reduces the Risk of Fragility Fracture

The authors discuss a new study, with a 35 year follow up, showing that exercise reduces the risk of fragility fractures in men