154 research outputs found
A Unique Tegumentary Cell Type and Unicellular Glands Associated with the Scolex of Eubothrium Crassum(Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea)
Paper by C. Arme and L. T. Threadgol
The structural invisibility of outsiders: the role of migrant labour in the meat-processing industry
This article examines the role of migrant workers in meat-processing factories in the UK. Drawing on materials from mixed methods research in a number of case study towns across Wales, we explore the structural and spatial processes that position migrant workers as outsiders. While state policy and immigration controls are often presented as a way of protecting migrant workers from work-based exploitation and ensuring jobs for British workers, our research highlights that the situation ‘on the ground’ is more complex. We argue that ‘self-exploitation’ among the migrant workforce is linked to the strategies of employers and the organisation of work, and that hyper-flexible work patterns have reinforced the spatial and social invisibilities of migrant workers in this sector. While this creates problems for migrant workers, we conclude that it is beneficial to supermarkets looking to supply consumers with the regular supply of cheap food to which they have become accustomed
The effects of stimulus complexity and conceptual fluency on aesthetic judgments of abstract art: Evidence for a default-interventionist account
We report an experiment investigating how stimulus complexity and conceptual fluency (i.e., the ease of deriving meaning) influence aesthetic liking judgments for abstract artworks. We presented participants with paintings at two levels of complexity (high vs. low) and five levels of conceptual fluency (determined from a prior norming study) and requested separate ratings of beauty and creativity. Our predictions were derived from the PIA Model (Pleasure-Interest Model of Aesthetic Liking by Graf & Landwehr, 2015), which views aesthetic preferences as being formed by two, distinct fluency-based processes: an initial, automatic, stimulus-driven, default process and a subsequent, perceiver-driven deliberative process. A key trigger for deliberative processing is assumed to be disfluency at the default stage, as caused by factors such as visual complexity. We predicted that complexity and conceptual fluency would interact in determining aesthetic liking, with people preferring complex stimuli, but only when these are relatively easy to process conceptually. Our results supported this prediction for beauty judgments, although creativity judgments showed a curiously uniform profile. Nevertheless, the predictive capacity of the PIA Model in relation to beauty judgments attests to the explanatory strength of this default–interventionist theory of aesthetic liking. We conclude by noting important parallels between the PIA Model and the Revised Optimal Innovation Hypothesis (Giora et al., 2017), which likewise has broad reach in explaining how defaultness and non-defaultness affect pleasure across a range of linguistic and pictorial stimuli
Fasciola hepatica Gastrodermal Cells Selectively Release Extracellular Vesicles via a Novel Atypical Secretory Mechanism
Publication history: Accepted - 12 May, 2022; Published - 15 may 2022.The liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica, is an obligate blood-feeder, and the gastrodermal cells of
the parasite form the interface with the host’s blood. Despite their importance in the host–parasite
interaction, in-depth proteomic analysis of the gastrodermal cells is lacking. Here, we used laser
microdissection of F. hepatica tissue sections to generate unique and biologically exclusive tissue
fractions of the gastrodermal cells and tegument for analysis by mass spectrometry. A total of
226 gastrodermal cell proteins were identified, with proteases that degrade haemoglobin being the
most abundant. Other detected proteins included those such as proton pumps and anticoagulants
which maintain a microenvironment that facilitates digestion. By comparing the gastrodermal cell
proteome and the 102 proteins identified in the laser microdissected tegument with previously
published tegument proteomic datasets, we showed that one-quarter of proteins (removed by freeze–
thaw extraction) or one-third of proteins (removed by detergent extraction) previously identified
as tegumental were instead derived from the gastrodermal cells. Comparative analysis of the laser
microdissected gastrodermal cells, tegument, and F. hepatica secretome revealed that the gastrodermal
cells are the principal source of secreted proteins, as well as showed that both the gastrodermal cells
and the tegument are likely to release subpopulations of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Microscopical
examination of the gut caeca from flukes fixed immediately after their removal from the host bile
ducts showed that selected gastrodermal cells underwent a progressive thinning of the apical plasma
membrane which ruptured to release secretory vesicles en masse into the gut lumen. Our findings
suggest that gut-derived EVs are released via a novel atypical secretory route and highlight the
importance of the gastrodermal cells in nutrient acquisition and possible immunomodulation by
the parasite.This work was supported by a grant to M.W.R. (BB/L019612/1) from the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). A.P.S.B. was supported by a postgraduate studentship
from the Department for the Economy (DfE) Northern Ireland
A novel mutation of the calcium sensing receptor gene is associated with chronic pancreatitis in a family with heterozygous SPINK1 mutations
BACKGROUND: The role of mutations in the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene in chronic pancreatitis is still a matter of debate. Active SPINK1 is thought to antagonize activated trypsin. Cases of SPINK1 mutations, especially N34S, have been reported in a subset of patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. However, the inheritance pattern is still unknown. Some cases with N34S heterozygosity have been reported with and without evidence for CP indicating neither an autosomal recessive nor dominant trait. Therefore SPINK1 mutations have been postulated to act as a disease modifier requiring additional mutations in a more complex genetic model. Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) caused by heterozygous inactivating mutations in the calcium sensing receptor (CASR) gene is considered a benign disorder with elevated plasma calcium levels. Although hypercalcemia represents a risk factor for pancreatitis, increased rates of pancreatitis in patients with FHH have not been reported thus far. METHODS: We studied a family with a FHH-related hypercalcemia and chronic pancreatitis. DNA samples were analysed for mutations within the cationic trypsinogen (N29I, R122H) and SPINK1 (N34S) gene using melting curve analysis. Mutations within CASR gene were identified by DNA sequencing. RESULTS: A N34S SPINK1 mutation was found in all screened family members. However, only two family members developed chronic pancreatitis. These patients also had FHH caused by a novel, sporadic mutation in the CASR gene (518T>C) leading to an amino acid exchange (leucine->proline) in the extracellular domain of the CASR protein. CONCLUSION: Mutations in the calcium sensing receptor gene might represent a novel as yet unidentified predisposing factor which may lead to an increased susceptibility for chronic pancreatitis. Moreover, this family analysis supports the hypothesis that SPINK1 mutations act as disease modifier and suggests an even more complex genetic model in SPINK1 related chronic pancreatitis
The efficacy of high-throughput sequencing and target enrichment on charred archaeobotanical remains
The majority of archaeological plant material is preserved in a charred state. Obtaining reliable ancient DNA data from these remains has presented challenges due to high rates of nucleotide damage, short DNA fragment lengths, low endogenous DNA content and the potential for modern contamination. It has been suggested that high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies coupled with DNA enrichment techniques may overcome some of these limitations. Here we report the findings of HTS and target enrichment on four important archaeological crops (barley, grape, maize and rice) performed in three different laboratories, presenting the largest HTS assessment of charred archaeobotanical specimens to date. Rigorous analysis of our data-excluding false-positives due to background contamination or incorrect index assignments-indicated a lack of endogenous DNA in nearly all samples, except for one lightly-charred maize cob. Even with target enrichment, this sample failed to yield adequate data required to address fundamental questions in archaeology and biology. We further reanalysed part of an existing dataset on charred plant material, and found all purported endogenous DNA sequences were likely to be spurious. We suggest these technologies are not suitable for use with charred archaeobotanicals and urge great caution when interpreting data obtained by HTS of these remains
Priming Analogical Reasoning with False Memories
Like true memories, false memories are capable of priming answers to insight-based problems. Recent research has attempted to extend this paradigm to more advanced problem-solving tasks, including those involving verbal analogical reasoning. However, these experiments are constrained inasmuch as problem solutions could be generated via spreading activation mechanisms (much like false memories themselves) rather than using complex reasoning processes. In three experiments we examined false memory priming of complex analogical reasoning tasks in the absence of simple semantic associations. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated the robustness of false memory priming in analogical reasoning when backward associative strength among the problem terms was eliminated. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we extended these findings by demonstrating priming on newly created homonym analogies that can only be solved by inhibiting semantic associations within the analogy. Overall, the findings of the present experiments provide evidence that the efficacy of false memory priming extends to complex analogical reasoning problems
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