Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities

Advancing phenology is one of the most visible effects of climate change on plant communities, and has been especially pronounced in temperature-limited tundra ecosystems. However, phenological responses have been shown to differ greatly between species, with some species shifting phenology more than others. We analysed a database of 42,689 tundra plant phenological observations to show that warmer temperatures are leading to a contraction of community-level flowering seasons in tundra ecosystems due to a greater advancement in the flowering times of late-flowering species than early-flowering species. Shorter flowering seasons with a changing climate have the potential to alter trophic interactions in tundra ecosystems. Interestingly, these findings differ from those of warmer ecosystems, where early-flowering species have been found to be more sensitive to temperature change, suggesting that community-level phenological responses to warming can vary greatly between biomes

Can Cognitive Bias Modification Simultaneously Target Two Behaviors? Approach Bias Retraining for Alcohol and Condom Use

This study tested the effectiveness of a cognitive bias modification (CBM) intervention to simultaneously reduce approach biases toward alcohol and increase approach biases toward condoms among high-risk young adults. Participants (N = 102) were randomly assigned to either a training condition or a sham-training condition. Participants in the training condition were trained to make avoidance movements away from alcohol stimuli and approach movements toward condom stimuli over four training sessions. Approach biases and behavior were assessed at pretest, posttest, and 3-month follow-up. Approach biases changed for both stimulus categories in accordance with training condition. Condom behavior and attitudes also changed as a function of training condition, such that participants in the training condition reported fewer instances of condom nonuse and a more positive attitudes toward condoms at a three-month follow-up. Participants in both conditions had significant reductions in alcohol consumption following the intervention and did not differ by training condition

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: First detection of a transition in spin orientation with respect to cosmic filaments in the stellar kinematics of galaxies

We present the first detection of mass dependent galactic spin alignments with local cosmic filaments with over 2 sigma confidence using IFS kinematics. The 3D network of cosmic filaments is reconstructed on Mpc scales across GAMA fields using the cosmic web extractor DisPerSe. We assign field galaxies from the SAMI survey to their nearest filament segment in 3D and estimate the degree of alignment between SAMI galaxies kinematic spin axis and their nearest filament in projection. Low-mass galaxies align their spin with their nearest filament while higher mass counterparts are more likely to display an orthogonal orientation. The stellar transition mass from the first trend to the second is bracketed between log stellar masses 10.4 and 10.9, with hints of an increase with filament scale. Consistent signals are found in the HorizonAGN cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. This supports a scenario of early angular momentum build-up in vorticity rich quadrants around filaments at low stellar mass followed by progressive flip of spins orthogonal to the cosmic filaments through mergers at high stellar mass. Conversely, we show that dark-matter only simulations post-processed with a semi-analytic model treatment of galaxy formation struggles to reproduce this alignment signal. This suggests that gas physics is key in enhancing the galaxy-filament alignment

Dictyostelium EB1 Is a Genuine Centrosomal Component Required for Proper Spindle Formation

EB1 proteins are ubiquitous microtubule-associated proteins involved in microtubule search and capture, regulation of microtubule dynamics, cell polarity, and chromosome stability. We have cloned a complete cDNA of Dictyostelium EB1 (DdEB1), the largest known EB1 homolog (57 kDa). Immunofluorescence analysis and expression of a green fluorescent protein-DdEB1 fusion protein revealed that DdEB1 localizes along microtubules, at microtubule tips, centrosomes, and protruding pseudopods. During mitosis, it was found at the spindle, spindle poles, and kinetochores. DdEB1 is the first EB1-homolog that is also a genuine centrosomal component, because it was localized at isolated centrosomes that are free of microtubules. Furthermore, centrosomal DdEB1 distribution was unaffected by nocodazole treatment. DdEB1 colocalized with DdCP224, the XMAP215 homolog, at microtubule tips, the centrosome, and kinetochores. Furthermore, both proteins were part of the same cytosolic protein complex, suggesting that they may act together in their functions. DdEB1 deletion mutants expressed as green fluorescent protein or maltose-binding fusion proteins indicated that microtubule binding requires homo-oligomerization, which is mediated by a coiled-coil domain. A DdEB1 null mutant was viable but retarded in prometaphase progression due to a defect in spindle formation. Because spindle elongation was normal, DdEB1 seems to be required for the initiation of the outgrowth of spindle microtubules

Functional MRI of neural plasticity and drug effect in the brain

Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have opened up new perspectives for understanding brain function and its plasticity after damage or even in the process of learning and memory. Using functional MRI (fMRI), reorganization of the cortical representation can be detected after the peripheral nerves deafferentation or digit amputation. To detect the more trivial changes during learning and memory, we established two techniques. One is to use manganese as a contrast agent to detect minute reorganization of hippocampal mossy fiber after training with hidden platform in Morris water maze. The other technique detects the synchrony in fMRI signal among neural areas that represents functional connectivity. We demonstrated the spatial memory network can be visualized in water maze trained animal. Furthermore, we showed that synchrony rather than activity in the brain can be modulated by receptor targeted pharmaceuticals, which indicate a different drug mechanism. The translation of these methods will facilitate our understanding of brain plasticity, early diagnosis of dementia, and evaluation of drug efficacy