DENV-Mimetic Polymersome Nanoparticles Bearing Multi-Epitope Lipopeptides Antigen as the Next-Generation Dengue Vaccine

Dengue remains a severe threat to public health. The safety and efficacy of the licensed dengue vaccine is not clinically satisfactory, which necessitate the need of new approach in designing an effective dengue vaccine without eliciting adverse reaction. Herein, we have designed a lipidated multi-epitope peptide vaccine (LipoDV) that can elicit highly targeted humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. To improve its immunogenicity, LipoDV was presented on the surface of MPLA-functionalized polymersome nanoparticles (PNs-LipoDV-MPLA). The as-constructed vaccine delivery platform resembles the structural morphology of DENV owing to its spherical nanoscale particle size and surface immunostimulatory properties given by LipoDV and MPLA that emulating the functional role of DENV E and prM/M proteins respectively. A proof-of-concept study demonstrated that BALB/c mice immunized with PNs-LipoDV-MPLA induced a stronger antigen-specific antibody response with an enhanced cell-mediated immunity as characterized by the elevated IFN-γ secretion in comparison to other tested vaccine candidates which possess a lesser structural trait of DENV. The DENV-mimicking nanoparticles vaccine exhibited negligible toxicity as analyzed by hemolytic test, MTT assay, histopathological examination and abnormal toxicity test on immunized mice. Collectively, our study provides a strong foundation in designing an effective peptide-based vaccine delivery platform against DENV infection.

The Dynamics, Processes, Mechanisms, and Functioning of Personality: An Overview of the Field

Personality psychology has long focused on structural trait models, but it can also offer a rich understanding of the dynamics, processes, mechanisms, and functioning of individual differences or entire persons. The field of personality dynamics, which works towards such an understanding, has experienced a renaissance in the last two decades. This review article seeks to act as a primer of that field. It covers its historical roots, summarizes current research strands – along with their theoretical backbones and methodologies – in an accessible way, and sketches some considerations for the future. In doing so, we introduce relevant concepts, give an overview of different topics and phenomena subsumed under the broad umbrella term “dynamics”, and highlight the interdisciplinarity as well as applied relevance of the field. We hope this article can serve as a useful overview for scholars within and outside of personality psychology who are interested in the dynamic nature of human behavior and experience.

Intraspecific trait variation influences physiological performance and fitness in the South Africa shrub genus Protea (Proteaceae)

Background and Aims Global plant trait datasets commonly identify trait relationships that are interpreted to reflect fundamental trade-offs associated with plant strategies, but often these trait relationships are not identified when evaluating them at smaller taxonomic and spatial scales. In this study we evaluate trait relationships measured on individual plants for five widespread Protea species in South Africa to determine whether broad-scale patterns of structural trait (e.g. leaf area) and physiological trait (e.g. photosynthetic rates) relationships can be detected within natural populations, and if these traits are themselves related to plant fitness. Methods We evaluated the variance structure (i.e. the proportional intraspecific trait variation relative to among-species variation) for nine structural traits and six physiological traits measured in wild populations. We used a multivariate path model to evaluate the relationships between structural traits and physiological traits, and the relationship between these traits and plant size and reproductive effort. Key Results While intraspecific trait variation is relatively low for structural traits, it accounts for between 50 and 100 % of the variation in physiological traits. Furthermore, we identified few trait associations between any one structural trait and physiological trait, but multivariate regressions revealed clear associations between combinations of structural traits and physiological performance (R2 = 0.37–0.64), and almost all traits had detectable associations with plant fitness. Conclusions Intraspecific variation in structural traits leads to predictable differences in individual-level physiological performance in a multivariate framework, even though the relationship of any particular structural trait to physiological performance may be weak or undetectable. Furthermore, intraspecific variation in both structural and physiological traits leads to differences in plant size and fitness. These results demonstrate the importance of considering measurements of multivariate phenotypes on individual plants when evaluating trait relationships and how trait variation influences predictions of ecological and evolutionary outcomes.

Time for a Plant Structural Economics Spectrum

<p>We argue that tree and crown structural diversity can and should be integrated in the whole-plant economics spectrum. Ecologists have found that certain functional trait combinations have been more viable than others during evolution, generating a trait trade-off continuum which can be summarized along a few axes of variation, such as the “worldwide leaf economics spectrum” and the “wood economics spectrum”. However, for woody plants the crown structural diversity should be included as well in the recently introduced “global spectrum of plant form and function”, which now merely focusses on plant height as structural factor. The recent revolution in terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) unlocks the possibility to describe the three dimensional structure of trees quantitatively with unprecedented detail. We demonstrate that based on TLS data, a multidimensional structural trait space can be constructed, which can be decomposed into a few descriptive axes or spectra. We conclude that the time has come to develop a “structural economics spectrum” for woody plants based on structural trait data across the globe. We make suggestions as to what structural features might lie on this spectrum and how these might help improve our understanding of tree form-function relationships.</p>

METHODS OF CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH

The article deals with the methods used in the study of the phenomena that make up the subject of criminology. The main task is to analyze the content of the methodology, general scientific methods, private methods and techniques used in criminological studies. In the course of their work, the authors used metaphysics and dialectic as a methodology; showed the specifics of their application to crime, as well as legal background for the nature of criminality e.g. its public danger. The authors used such general scientific methods as general scientific approaches and mid-level theories. In the case of criminality, the use of a systematic approach and philosophical teaching about human activity is shown. This enabled them to present criminality as a system the structural trait of which is a crime, and a holistic quality is a public danger which synthesizes the public danger of crimes, perpetrators and criminal groups. As a theory of the middle level, the theory of psychological alienation of the person is applied, according to which the typological feature of the criminal's personality is its anxiety for its social or biological status since the crime is psychological protection for external circumstances that cause such anxiety. Among private methods, the emphasis is on the statis-tical method used to characterize quantitative-quality crime indicators and a sociological one (interviewing, conversation, interviews, expert evaluation, analysis of documents, observa-tion). The methods above have limited possibilities: criminal statistics operate with data only on the recorded crimes, reflected in the documents of primary records, the closed criminal environment does not allow to use the method of included surveillance; the method of inter-viewing the participants of criminal groups and their relatives often gives false information, or cannot be applied because the persons in question refuse to be involved in questioning at all; the experiment deals only with certain aspects of criminal justice. The authors conclude that the combination of methodology, general scientific and specific research methods, the specificity of their application to group crime form the methodology of its study. They point out the application in criminology of sociometric and stratometric methods, by which the mechanism of formation, the dynamics of the development of criminal groups is shown, their classification is given, the number of group members is revealed, their status in the group and the structure of the group is established.

Brain coding of social network structure

To successfully navigate our social world, we keep track of other individuals’ relations to ourselves and to each other. But how does the brain encode this information? To answer this question, we mined participants’ social media (FacebookTM) profiles to objectively characterize the relations between individuals in their real-life social networks. Under fMRI, participants answered questions on each of these individuals. Using representational similarity analysis, we identified social network structure coding in the default-mode network (medial prefrontal, medial parietal and lateral parietal cortices). When regressing out subjective factors (ratings of personal affiliation, appearance and personality), social network structure information was uniquely found in the retrosplenial complex, a region implicated in spatial processing. In contrast, information on individuals’ personality traits and affiliation to the subjects was found in the medial prefrontal and parietal cortices, respectively. These findings demonstrate a cortical division between representation of structural, trait-based and self-referenced social knowledge.

A Mata Meridional Pernambucana e o subdesenvolvimento: uma aproximação a partir da teoria de Celso Furtado

No século XX os debates econômicos voltavam-se, sobretudo, às teorias clássicas para explicar o processo de desenvolvimento das nações, havendo uma lacuna quanto à reflexão específica sobre países e regiões periféricas. Diante da incapacidade em explicar o subdesenvolvimento destas áreas, Celso Furtado, dentre outros economistas, passou a avaliar a permanência do subdesenvolvimento como um traço histórico-estrutural da formação das economias periféricas. Neste contexto, enquadra-se a Microrregião da Mata Meridional Pernambucana, constituída desde o período colonial a partir da indústria canavieira e que, na atualidade, mantém padrões de subdesenvolvimento típicos daquela fase. Tomando-se como hipótese a validade das reflexões furtadianas para a compreensão do subdesenvolvimento microrregional e mediante pesquisa bibliográfica e levantamento de dados, o presente texto tem como objetivo geral avaliar a pertinência da teoria desenvolvida por Furtado quanto à análise do quadro de subdesenvolvimento da Microrregião na atualidade. Como objetivos específicos busca-se relacionar o desenvolvimento de economias centrais e periféricas; descrever o processo de subdesenvolvimento; e identificar elementos socioeconômicos que caracterizam a Microrregião atualmente. Tendo em vista as características histórico-estruturais locais conclui-se que as reflexões engendradas pelo autor são aplicáveis à compreensão da permanente, mas não inalterável, situação de subdesenvolvimento microrregional. Abstract MATA MERIDIONAL PERNAMBUCANA AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT: AN APPROACH THROUGH THE CELSO FURTADO’S THEORY In the twentieth century the economic debates turned mainly to the classical theories to explain the process of development of the nations, and there is a gap regarding the specific reflection on countries and peripheral regions. Faced with the inability to explain the underdevelopment of these areas, Furtado, among other economists, began to evaluate the persistence of underdevelopment as a historical-structural trait of the formation of peripheral economies. In this context, the Mata Meridional Pernambucana, constituted since the colonial period from the sugar cane industry and which at present maintains patterns of underdevelopment typical. Taking as a hypothesis the validity of Furtado’s reflections for the understanding of microregional underdevelopment and from bibliographical research and data collection, the present text has as general objective to evaluate the pertinence of the theory developed by Furtado in the analysis of the framework of underdevelopment of the Microregion today. Specific objectives are related to the development of central and peripheral economies; describe the process of underdevelopment and; identify socioeconomic elements that characterize the Microregion today. Through the local historical-structural characteristics, it is concluded that the reflections generated by the author are applicable to the understanding of the permanent, but not unalterable, of microregional’s underdevelopment.

Juvenile plumage whiteness is associated with the evolution of clutch size in passerines

The offspring of many animals are conspicuous during parental dependence, despite juveniles generally suffering from high predation risk. However, to date, it is unclear whether offspring structural ornaments play a role in intrafamily communication. This is the case of conspicuous plumage in young birds, which is worn unchanged during a long period after fledging, when they still depend on their parents. If plumage color facilitates intrafamily interactions, its role should be more important in large-brooded species, where the strength of intrafamily conflict is potentially stronger. We therefore performed a comparative study in 210 passerine bird species to test whether an offspring structural trait, white plumage, evolves more frequently in lineages with larger clutches. We also explored the number of broods raised per year as another source of intrafamily conflict. First, we found that juvenile whiteness was more frequent in open-nesting species. Moreover, in agreement with our prediction, the presence of juvenile white tail/wing patches was strongly and positively associated with clutch size. This relationship was not due to the strong resemblance between offspring and adult plumage, which was controlled for in the statistical analyses. Moreover, the association remained significant after taking into account predation risk, for which there was information for a subset of species. In contrast, juvenile whiteness was not associated with the number of broods raised per year. These results may suggest that the evolution of juvenile conspicuousness is favored in species with potentially stronger intrabrood sibling conflict.

Integrating transcriptomic network reconstruction and QTL analyses reveals mechanistic connections between genomic architecture and Brassica rapa development

ABSTRACTPlant developmental dynamics can be heritable, genetically correlated with fitness and yield, and undergo selection. Therefore, characterizing the mechanistic connections between the genetic architecture governing plant development and the resulting ontogenetic dynamics of plants in field settings is critically important for agricultural production and evolutionary ecology. We use a hierarchical Bayesian Function-Valued Trait (FVT) approach to estimate Brassica rapa growth curves throughout ontogeny, across two treatments and in two growing seasons. We find that the shape of growth curves is relatively plastic across environments compared to final height, and that there are trade-offs between growth rate and duration. We determined that combining FVT Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) and genes/eigengene expression identified via transcriptomic co-expression network reconstructions best characterized phenotypic variation. Further, targeted eQTL analyses identified regulatory hotspots that colocalized with FVT QTL and co-expression network identified genes and mechanistically link FVT QTL with structural trait variation throughout development in agroecologically relevant field settings.