Land-Ocean Interaction Affected by the Monsoon Regime Change in Western Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait is a conduit between East China Sea (ECS) and South China Sea (SCS). Seasonal monsoon winds drive the southbound Zhejiang-Fujian Coastal Current and northbound SCS Warm Current through the strait. Water masses carried by these major current systems also carry fluvial signals from two major rivers, the Changjiang (Yangtze) River in ECS and the Zhujiang (Pearl) River in SCS through the strait. Here we show a switch occurred to signify the monsoon regime change on the western side of this conduit around 10:00 on May 8, 2015. Our data came from water mass properties and environmental proxies of N/P ratio in the surface water and 7Be and 210Pbex isotopes in surface sediments. The timings of the demarcation were identical in the water column and on the water-sediment interface. Our findings put a specific time point in the monsoon regime change in 2015.

Developmental malformations resulting from high-dose maternal tamoxifen exposure in the mouse

Tamoxifen is an estrogen receptor (ER) ligand with widespread use in clinical and basic research settings. Beyond its application in treating ER-positive cancer, tamoxifen has been co-opted into a powerful approach for temporal-specific genetic alteration. The use of tamoxifen-inducible Cre-recombinase mouse models to examine genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of development and disease is now prevalent in biomedical research. Understanding off-target effects of tamoxifen will inform its use in both clinical and basic research applications. Here, we show that prenatal tamoxifen exposure can cause structural birth defects in the mouse. Administration of a single 200 mg/kg tamoxifen dose to pregnant wildtype C57BL/6J mice at gestational day 9.75 caused cleft palate and limb malformations in the fetuses, including posterior digit duplication, reduction, or fusion. These malformations were highly penetrant and consistent across independent chemical manufacturers. As opposed to 200 mg/kg, a single dose of 50 mg/kg tamoxifen at the same developmental stage did not result in overt structural malformations. Demonstrating that prenatal tamoxifen exposure at a specific time point causes dose-dependent developmental abnormalities, these findings argue for more considerate application of tamoxifen in Cre-inducible systems and further investigation of tamoxifen’s mechanisms of action.

Fatherhood Is Associated with Increased Infidelity and Moderates the Link between Relationship Satisfaction and Infidelity

Background: Relationship satisfaction has been identified as an important factor in terms of extradyadic sexual involvement. However, in men, fatherhood might be associated with infidelity by leading to changes in relationship satisfaction and the social life of parents. To date, no study has focused on the association of fatherhood and infidelity, nor the influence of fatherhood on the association between relationship satisfaction and infidelity. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 137 fathers and 116 non-fathers were assessed regarding relationship satisfaction, infidelity, and potential confounds. Results: Significantly more fathers reported having been unfaithful in the current relationship than non-fathers (30.7% vs. 17.2%). Fathers also reported longer relationship duration, higher relationship satisfaction, and lower neuroticism than non-fathers. Furthermore, fatherhood moderated the association between relationship satisfaction and infidelity insofar that only in non-fathers reduced relationship satisfaction was associated with infidelity. Conclusions: The results suggest that fatherhood increases the risk of engaging in extradyadic sexual activities and moderates the link between relationship satisfaction and infidelity. However, results need to be interpreted with caution due to the cross-sectional study design and the lack of information about the specific time point of the infidelity incident(s).

Consistency in mutualism relies on local, rather than wider community biodiversity

Mutualistic interactions play a major role in shaping the Earth’s biodiversity, yet the consistent drivers governing these beneficial interactions are unknown. Using a long-term (8 year, including > 256 h behavioural observations) dataset of the interaction patterns of a service-resource mutualism (the cleaner-client interaction), we identified consistent and dynamic predictors of mutualistic outcomes. We showed that cleaning was consistently more frequent when the presence of third-party species and client partner abundance locally increased (creating choice options), whilst partner identity regulated client behaviours. Eight of our 12 predictors of cleaner and client behaviour played a dynamic role in predicting both the quality (duration) and quantity (frequency) of interactions, and we suggest that the environmental context acting on these predictors at a specific time point will indirectly regulate their role in cleaner-client interaction patterns: context-dependency can hence regulate mutualisms both directly and indirectly. Together our study highlights that consistency in cleaner-client mutualisms relies strongly on the local, rather than wider community—with biodiversity loss threatening all environments this presents a worrying future for the pervasiveness of mutualisms.

Evaluation of Colostral Immunity Against Equine Herpesvirus Type 1 (EHV-1) in Martina Franca's Foals

Eight Martina Franca pregnant jennies were selected in order to evaluate the transfer of colostral antibodies against equine herpesvirus type 1 in their relative foals after immunization with a commercial inactivated vaccine, compared with an unvaccinated group. Samples of serum and colostrums/milk were collected from jennies and foals under study starting from 10 min before and up to 21 days after the foaling. Specific anti-EHV-1 antibody titers were evaluated by means of a serum neutralization test, and the results obtained from both groups were analyzed. The serological titers in the vaccinated jennies was significantly higher (p < 0.01). No significant differences were found in the specific time-point intervals in both groups examined (p > 0.05). The antibody titers in milk at the time of delivery and subsequent withdrawal (T0 and T1) were very high in both groups, but no significant differences were found between the two groups (p > 0.05). In the foal sera, a significant difference was found between foals in the vaccinated group compared with those in the unvaccinated group (p < 0.05). Finally, a significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between the antibody titers found in serum and colostrum of jennies and the foal titers in the first time-point sampling (up to 12 h after foaling). The results confirm a substantial homology in the antibody production compared with other most investigated equids, highlighting the efficacy of the vaccination against EHV-1 of the jennies to ensure the protective immunity to their foals during the first weeks after delivery.

Time-sequential Neuroinflammatory Response After Organophosphate-induced Status Epilepticus

Background: Organophosphate compounds (OPs), either pesticides or chemical warfare agents are characterized by irreversible cholinesterase inhibition. In addition to severe peripheral symptoms, high doses of OPs can lead to seizures and status epilepticus (SE). Long lasting seizure activity and subsequent neurodegeneration promote neuroinflammation leading to profound pathological alterations of the brain. The aim of this study was to characterize neuroinflammatory responses at key time points after DFP-induced SE.Methods: SE was induced by diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) injection in male Swiss mice. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses of microglial (Iba1) and astrocytic (GFAP) cell markers were studied at 1, 4, 24 h and 3 days post-SE in the hippocampus. In parallel, using RT-qPCR, microglial and astrocytic phenotype markers were quantified on isolated CD11B (microglia) and GLAST (astrocytes)-positive cells after DFP-induced SE.Results: At earlier stages (1-4 h) after SE, although IHC analysis presented no modification, an increase in pro-inflammatory (M1-like) markers and A2-specific markers was observed in CD11B and GLAST-positive isolated cells respectively. Microglial cells sequentially expressed immuno-regulatory (M2b-like) and anti-inflammatory (M2a-like) at 4 h and 24 h of SE induction. At later stages (24 h and 3 days), microglial and astrocytic activations were visible by IHC and Iba1-positive cells were increased in number in DFP animals compared to controls. Finally, at these later stages, A1-specific markers were increased in isolated astrocytes.Conclusions: Our work identified sequential microglial and astrocytic phenotype activations. Although the role of each phenotype in SE cerebral consequences requires further study, targeting specific markers at specific time point could be a beneficial strategy for OP-induced SE treatment.

Basic psychological need satisfaction across the retirement transition: Changes and longitudinal associations with depressive symptoms

Drawing on self-determination theory, the present study examined how satisfaction of the basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) changes across the retirement transition and how need satisfaction was related to depressive symptoms across the retirement transition. Participants (N = 2655) were drawn from the HEalth, Ageing and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study. Latent growth curve modeling showed that autonomy need satisfaction increased across the retirement transition, whereas competence and relatedness remained relatively stable. Higher need satisfaction was related to less depressive symptoms at baseline, however, pre-retirement need satisfaction was not a statistically significant predictor of subsequent changes in depressive symptoms (or vice versa) across the retirement transition. At the within-person level, higher than usual need satisfaction at a specific time point was related to less than usual depressive symptoms. Need satisfaction may be an important factor to consider across the retirement transition and need satisfying activities prior, during, and after the transition may ease peoples’ adjustment to retirement.

An Inducible Diabetes Mellitus Murine Model Based on MafB Conditional Knockout under MafA-Deficient Condition

Diabetes mellitus is an increasingly severe chronic metabolic disease that is occurring at an alarming rate worldwide. Various diabetic models, including non-obese diabetic mice and chemically induced diabetic models, are used to characterize and explore the mechanism of the disease’s pathophysiology, in hopes of detecting and identifying novel potential therapeutic targets. However, this is accompanied by disadvantages, such as specific conditions for maintaining the incidence, nonstable hyperglycemia induction, and potential toxicity to other organs. Murine MAFA and MAFB, two closely-linked islet-enriched transcription factors, play fundamental roles in glucose sensing and insulin secretion, and maintenance of pancreatic β-cell, respectively, which are highly homologous to human protein orthologs. Herein, to induce the diabetes mellitus model at a specific time point, we generated Pdx1-dependent Mafb-deletion mice under Mafa knockout condition (A0BΔpanc), via tamoxifen-inducible Cre-loxP system. After 16 weeks, metabolic phenotypes were characterized by intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT), urine glucose test, and metabolic parameters analysis. The results indicated that male A0BΔpanc mice had obvious impaired glucose tolerance, and high urine glucose level. Furthermore, obvious renal lesions, impaired islet structure and decreased proportion of insulin positive cells were observed. Collectively, our results indicate that A0BΔpanc mice can be an efficient inducible model for diabetes research.

Minimal residual disease in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the context of hematopoetic stem cell transplantation

Minimal or measurable residual disease (MRD) is considered the most important independent prognostic factor in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). MRD status after clinical remission has been used to establish the risk of relapse and therapeutic stratification, identifying patients who can benefit from therapeutic intensification, including allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). The pre alloSCT MRD also identifies patients eligible for transplant and those with low or high risk of relapse after transplantation, according to the level of MRD detected. However, MRD status post-alloSCT has been shown to be a more powerful predictor of relapse than pre-transplant MRD. In addition, it is important to take into account that there are some factors to be considered to better interpret MRD information, these include: the method used for MRD assessment and its sensitivity and specificity, which may vary according to each specific time point of evaluation; the treatment regimen used; and the identification of genetic lesions that combined with MRD information can further improve the management of patients with ALL.

Estimating the Necessary Amount of Driving Data for Assessing Driving Behavior

The aim of this paper was to provide a methodological framework for estimating the amount of driving data that should be collected for each driver in order to acquire a clear picture regarding their driving behavior. We examined whether there is a specific discrete time point for each driver, in the form of total driving duration and/or the number of trips, beyond which the characteristics of driving behavior are stabilized over time. Various mathematical and statistical methods were employed to process the data collected and determine the time point at which behavior converges. Detailed data collected from smartphone sensors are used to test the proposed methodology. The driving metrics used in the analysis are the number of harsh acceleration and braking events, the duration of mobile usage while driving and the percentage of time driving over the speed limits. Convergence was tested in terms of both the magnitude and volatility of each metric for different trips and analysis is performed for several trip durations. Results indicated that there is no specific time point or number of trips after which driving behavior stabilizes for all drivers and/or all metrics examined. The driving behavior stabilization is mostly affected by the duration of the trips examined and the aggressiveness of the driver.