Wide-Field Motion Integration in Fly VS Cells: Insights from an Inverse Approach

Fly lobula plate tangential cells are known to perform wide-field motion integration. It is assumed that the shape of these neurons, and in particular the shape of the subclass of VS cells, is responsible for this type of computation. We employed an inverse approach to investigate the morphology-function relationship underlying wide-field motion integration in VS cells. In the inverse approach detailed, model neurons are optimized to perform a predefined computation: here, wide-field motion integration. We embedded the model neurons to be optimized in a biologically plausible model of fly motion detection to provide realistic inputs, and subsequently optimized model neuron with and without active conductances (gNa, gK, gK(Na)) along their dendrites to perform this computation. We found that both passive and active optimized model neurons perform well as wide-field motion integrators. In addition, all optimized morphologies share the same blueprint as real VS cells. In addition, we also found a recurring blueprint for the distribution of gK and gNa in the active models. Moreover, we demonstrate how this morphology and distribution of conductances contribute to wide-field motion integration. As such, by using the inverse approach we can predict the still unknown distribution of gK and gNa and their role in motion integration in VS cells

Vaccine Assemblages on Three HPV Vaccine-Critical Facebook Pages in Denmark from 2012 to 2019

Misinformation about vaccines on social media is a growing concern among healthcare professionals, medical experts, and researchers. Although such concerns often relate to the total sum of information flows generated online by many groups of stakeholders, vaccination controversies tend to vary across time, place, and the vaccine at issue. We studied content generated by administrators on three Facebook pages in Denmark established to promote critical debate about Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. We developed a qualitative coding frame allowing us to analyze administrators’ posts in terms of prevalent topics and intertextual material incorporated by linking and sharing. We coded more than a third of the posts (n = 699) occurring in the period from November 2012, when the first page was founded, to May 2019. We found that the pages mainly addressed the reports of adverse events following HPV vaccination and the (perceived) inadequate response of healthcare systems. To construct their central message, the pages assembled different sources, mostly reporting from Danish news media, but also personal narratives, scientific information, political assertions, and more. We conclude that HPV vaccination assemblages such as these pages are heterogeneous and contextual. They are not uniform sites of vaccine criticism, but rather seem to respond to and exchange information and misinformation within the communication environment in which they are embedded

A Sparse Reformulation of the Green's Function Formalism Allows Efficient Simulations of Morphological Neuron Models

We prove that when a class of partial differential equations, generalized from the cable equation, is defined on tree graphs and the inputs are restricted to a spatially discrete, well chosen set of points, the Green's function (GF) formalism can be rewritten to scale as O (n) with the number n of inputs locations, contrary to the previously reported O (n(2)) scaling. We show that the linear scaling can be combined with an expansion of the remaining kernels as sums of exponentials to allow efficient simulations of equations from the aforementioned class. We furthermore validate this simulation paradigm on models of nerve cells and explore its relation with more traditional finite difference approaches. Situations in which a gain in computational performance is expected are discussed.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Burial depth and post-Early Cretaceous uplift of Lower–Middle Jurassic strata in the Fennoscandian Border Zone based on organic maturity

The burial depth and the magnitude of Late Cretaceous – Early Cenozoic and Neogene–Pleistocene uplift of Lower–Middle Jurassic strata in the Fennoscandian Border Zone are estimated from measurements of huminite reflectance and comparison with a regional coalification gradient. The regional coalification curve is constructed by plotting uplift-corrected sample depths against more than 300 huminite/vitrinite reflectance values from Upper Triassic – Lower Cretaceous deposits in the Danish Basin and the Fennoscandian Border Zone. The present sample depths are corrected for Late Cretaceous inversion in the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone and for Neogene–Pleistocene regional uplift. A coalification curve is erected; it cuts the abscissa at 0.2 %Ro corresponding to the reflectance of peat. This curve is considered to approximate to a reliable coalification profile over much of the study area. The Jurassic coals from the Fennoscandian Border Zone are of low rank and, based on the regional coalification curve, they have been buried to c. 625–2450 m. In the eastern part of the Rønne Graben, in the Kolobrzeg Graben and in the Arnager–Sose Fault Block, the Jurassic strata were subsequently uplifted c. 290–1400 m, corresponding to the amount of Late Cretaceous – Early Cenozoic inversion observed on seismic sections. Thus, it appears that Neogene–Pleistocene uplift did not influence the Bornholm area significantly. The data from the Höganäs Basin and Fyledal indicate a total uplift of c. 1450–2450 m, corresponding to estimates from the inversion zone in the Kattegat. The data from Anholt, on the eastern margin of the inversion zone, indicate c. 975 m of uplift

Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants and warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation:propensity weighted nationwide cohort study

Objective To study the effectiveness and safety of the non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (novel oral anticoagulants, NOACs) dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban compared with warfarin in anticoagulant naïve patients with atrial fibrillation. Design Observational nationwide cohort study. Setting Three Danish nationwide databases, August 2011 to October 2015. Participants 61 678 patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who were naïve to oral anticoagulants and had no previous indication for valvular atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism. The study population was distributed according to treatment type: warfarin (n=35 436, 57%), dabigatran 150 mg (n=12 701, 21%), rivaroxaban 20 mg (n=7192, 12%), and apixaban 5 mg (n=6349, 10%). Main outcome measures Effectiveness outcomes defined a priori were ischaemic stroke; a composite of ischaemic stroke or systemic embolism; death; and a composite of ischaemic stroke, systemic embolism, or death. Safety outcomes were any bleeding, intracranial bleeding, and major bleeding. Results When the analysis was restricted to ischaemic stroke, NOACs were not significantly different from warfarin. During one year follow-up, rivaroxaban was associated with lower annual rates of ischaemic stroke or systemic embolism (3.0% v 3.3%, respectively) compared with warfarin: hazard ratio 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.69 to 0.99). The hazard ratios for dabigatran and apixaban (2.8% and 4.9% annually, respectively) were non-significant compared with warfarin. The annual risk of death was significantly lower with apixaban (5.2%) and dabigatran (2.7%) (0.65, 0.56 to 0.75 and 0.63, 0.48 to 0.82, respectively) compared with warfarin (8.5%), but not with rivaroxaban (7.7%). For the combined endpoint of any bleeding, annual rates for apixaban (3.3%) and dabigatran (2.4%) were significantly lower than for warfarin (5.0%) (0.62, 0.51 to 0.74). Warfarin and rivaroxaban had comparable annual bleeding rates (5.3%). Conclusion All NOACs seem to be safe and effective alternatives to warfarin in a routine care setting. No significant difference was found between NOACs and warfarin for ischaemic stroke. The risks of death, any bleeding, or major bleeding were significantly lower for apixaban and dabigatran compared with warfarin

Impact of a vegan diet on the human salivary microbiota

Abstract Little is known about the effect of long-term diet patterns on the composition and functional potential of the human salivary microbiota. In the present study, we sought to contribute to the ongoing elucidation of dietary effects on the oral microbial community by examining the diversity, composition and functional potential of the salivary microbiota in 160 healthy vegans and omnivores using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We further sought to identify bacterial taxa in saliva associated with host inflammatory markers. We show that compositional differences in the salivary microbiota of vegans and omnivores is present at all taxonomic levels below phylum level and includes upper respiratory tract commensals (e.g. Neisseria subflava, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, and Rothia mucilaginosa) and species associated with periodontal disease (e.g. Campylobacter rectus and Porphyromonas endodontalis). Dietary intake of medium chain fatty acids, piscine mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and dietary fibre was associated with bacterial diversity, community structure, as well as relative abundance of several species-level operational taxonomic units. Analysis of imputed genomic potential revealed several metabolic pathways differentially abundant in vegans and omnivores indicating possible effects of macro- and micro-nutrient intake. We also show that certain oral bacteria are associated with the systemic inflammatory state of the host

Conjugated C-6 hydroxylated bile acids in serum relate to human metabolic health and gut Clostridia species

Knowledge about in vivo effects of human circulating C-6 hydroxylated bile acids (BAs), also called muricholic acids, is sparse. It is unsettled if the gut microbiome might contribute to their biosynthesis. Here, we measured a range of serum BAs and related them to markers of human metabolic health and the gut microbiome. We examined 283 non-obese and obese Danish adults from the MetaHit study. Fasting concentrations of serum BAs were quantified using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass-spectrometry. The gut microbiome was characterized with shotgun metagenomic sequencing and genome-scale metabolic modeling. We find that tauro- and glycohyocholic acid correlated inversely with body mass index (P = 4.1e-03, P = 1.9e-05, respectively), waist circumference (P = 0.017, P = 1.1e-04, respectively), body fat percentage (P = 2.5e-03, P = 2.3e-06, respectively), insulin resistance (P = 0.051, P = 4.6e-4, respectively), fasting concentrations of triglycerides (P = 0.06, P = 9.2e-4, respectively) and leptin (P = 0.067, P = 9.2e-4). Tauro- and glycohyocholic acids, and tauro-a-muricholic acid were directly linked with a distinct gut microbial community primarily composed of Clostridia species (P = 0.037, P = 0.013, P = 0.027, respectively). We conclude that serum conjugated C-6-hydroxylated BAs associate with measures of human metabolic health and gut communities of Clostridia species. The findings merit preclinical interventions and human feasibility studies to explore the therapeutic potential of these BAs in obesity and type 2 diabetes.Peer reviewe