Independent Sites Research Articles

A Study on the Prototype Setting for Energy Independent Site Planning

A Study on the Prototype Setting for Energy Independent Site Planning

Жамбыл облысында жануарлардың өнімділігіне маусымдық жайылымдық айналымның әсері

Complex research is carried out on the rational use of natural pastures with seasonal use in a specific area. The research was conducted in 2015-2017 on the lands of “Batyr” farm in Korday district of Zhambyl region. The pasture lands of the farm consists of 5 independent sites and are located in 3 geographical areas:foothill-steppe (950 hа), foothill-dry steppe (1370 hа) and foothill-semi-desert (1880 hа). The total area of distant pastures is 4.200 hectares. As a result of conducting of geobotanical researches, the farm territory of peasant farm "Batyr" in Korday district of Zhambyl region was divided into seasons (spring-summer-autumn) of their use, the yield of natural herbage and live weight gain of animals was determined. Results of accounting of productivity of natural herbages on zones, seasons of year are given in article and the gain of livemass of animals for the pasturable period is defined. When determining efficiency of sheep it is revealed that higher additional weight of a liveweight is received in experimental group of animal. The seasonal pasture on average in three years of researches at the end of the pasturable period provided an increase of a live weight of rams on 3.370 kg/head at ewes on 8.020 kg/head and lambs of birth year on 8.640 kg/head is more in comparison with control groups of animals. It should be noted that for the pasturable period the increase of alive mass of animals in experimental group in 2017 is higher than a research in comparison with previous years. In 2017 at a pasture of animals on seasonal sites it was applied intra seasonal pasture turnover at which unproductive driving of animals in search of a forage on the grazing square is practically reduced three times, besides degradation of the pasturable territory is completely excluded. It was found that the use of seasonal use of pastures provides more weight gain studied animals compared to animals that graze in one place with an unsystematic manner of grazing. The implementation of the results created the conditions for the restoration of degraded pastures with an increase in the growth and development of vegetation cover up to 15-18 % and an increase in livestock production through rational grazing up to 12 %.

Measuring personality traits in Eurasian red squirrels: A critical comparison of different methods

AbstractAnimal personality, behavioural differences among individuals which are consistent through time and contexts, is generally described by one or more traits. Different methods are used to measure these traits, such as behavioural observations and trapping indices. Comparing several methods allows to validate different tests and to better identify which aspect of an animal's personality is being measured. Here, we measured activity, exploration and immobility of Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) using observations from the open field test (OFT), and compared them with trappability and trap‐diversity indices calculated from capture–mark–recapture data in six independent study sites. Trappability measures the willingness to enter a baited trap (boldness), while trap‐diversity can be a proxy for exploration tendency. Our first aim was to test their repeatability, thus their appropriateness as candidate measures of personality traits. Next, we explored the predictions that (i) trappability, measuring boldness, does not correlate with any of the OFT personality traits, since risk‐taking cannot be expressed in our arena test; and (ii) trap‐diversity correlates with exploration obtained from the OFT. Considering the species ecology and study design, we used multivariate Bayesian models based on different time intervals (session/year) and habitat types (alpine/plain). We found significant repeatabilities for trappability, for trap‐diversity and for most OFT personality traits, except exploration in the plain sites. Independently from habitat type or time interval, trappability did not correlate with either activity, exploration or immobility from OFT, thus measuring a different personality axis, which we considered a proxy for boldness. Trap‐diversity did not correlate with exploration from OFT, but seems related to a different aspect of red squirrels' exploration tendency. Our study emphasizes that caution is needed when using behaviours from OFT to measure multiple personality traits and that applying extra methods based on animals’ responses to trapping can provide reliable proxies for boldness and exploration tendency.

Generalizable brain network markers of major depressive disorder across multiple imaging sites.

Many studies have highlighted the difficulty inherent to the clinical application of fundamental neuroscience knowledge based on machine learning techniques. It is difficult to generalize machine learning brain markers to the data acquired from independent imaging sites, mainly due to large site differences in functional magnetic resonance imaging. We address the difficulty of finding a generalizable marker of major depressive disorder (MDD) that would distinguish patients from healthy controls based on resting-state functional connectivity patterns. For the discovery dataset with 713 participants from 4 imaging sites, we removed site differences using our recently developed harmonization method and developed a machine learning MDD classifier. The classifier achieved an approximately 70% generalization accuracy for an independent validation dataset with 521 participants from 5 different imaging sites. The successful generalization to a perfectly independent dataset acquired from multiple imaging sites is novel and ensures scientific reproducibility and clinical applicability.

Crosstalk between vrille transcripts, proteins, and regulatory elements controlling circadian rhythms and development in Drosophila.

SummaryThe vrille (vri) gene encodes a transcriptional repressor required for Drosophila development as well as circadian behavior in adults. Alternate first exons produce vri transcripts predicted to produce a short VRI isoform during development and long VRI in adults. A vri mutant (vriΔ679) lacking long VRI transcripts is viable, confirming that short VRI is sufficient for developmental functions, yet behavioral rhythms in vriΔ679 flies persist, showing that short VRI is sufficient for clock output. E-box regulatory elements that drive rhythmic long VRI transcript expression are required for developmental expression of short VRI transcripts. Surprisingly, long VRI transcripts primarily produce short VRI in adults, apparently due to a poor Kozak sequence context, demonstrating that short VRI drives circadian behavior. Thus, E-box-driven long VRI transcripts primarily control circadian rhythms via short VRI, whereas the same E-boxes drive short VRI transcripts that control developmental functions using short VRI.

Analyses of structural dynamics revealed flexible binding mechanism for the Agrilus mali odorant binding protein 8 towards plant volatiles.

Volatiles from host plants are an important source of insect pest attractants and repellents. Insect odorant binding proteins (OBPs) have been widely characterized, but the molecular binding dynamics and underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. Thus, we characterized binding characteristics of AmalOBP8 from the apple buprestid beetle (Agrilus mali Matsumura), an unprecedented serious threat to rare apple germplasm resources and local ecosystems. Fluorescence studies demonstrated that the quenching mechanism was clearly static. AmalOBP8 was found to bind with both volatiles at single independent sites. Negative thermodynamic parameters suggested that binding interactions between AmalOBP8 and both volatiles could occur spontaneously. Hydrogen bonding was the key force in AmalOBP8's binding to geranyl formate, for which the amino acid residue Trp106 played a critical role in the binding pocket. Multiple Leu residues in AmalOBP8 created a strong hydrophobic environment, and formed the binding pocket for (Z)-3-hexenyl hexanoate. Compared to classic OBPs, in addition to lack of one disulfide bridge, AmalOBP8 had a small α-helix (α7) at the C-terminus, resulting in greater flexibility and adaptability for this protein to bind with different compound molecules. Key residues of AmalOBP8 in binding interactions with plant volatiles were clarified. AmalOPB8 had a large ligand binding spectrum and great flexibility in binding with plant volatiles, providing good molecular targets for screening insect attractants and repellents. Our results can promote understanding of insects' perception of various odorants, and establish a foundation for discovery of new pest control agents. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Allosterically Coupled Multisite Binding of Testosterone to Human Serum Albumin.

Human serum albumin (HSA) acts as a carrier for testosterone, other sex hormones, fatty acids, and drugs. However, the dynamics of testosterone's binding to HSA and the structure of its binding sites remain incompletely understood. Here, we characterize the dynamics of testosterone's binding to HSA and the stoichiometry and structural location of the binding sites using 2-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR), fluorescence spectroscopy, 4,4'-dianilino-1,1'-binaphthyl-5,5'-disulfonic acid dipotassium salt partitioning, and equilibrium dialysis, complemented by molecular modeling. 2D NMR studies showed that testosterone competitively displaced 18-[13C]-oleic acid from at least 3 known fatty acid binding sites on HSA that also bind many drugs. Binding isotherms of testosterone's binding to HSA generated using fluorescence spectroscopy and equilibrium dialysis were nonlinear and the apparent dissociation constant varied with different concentrations of testosterone and HSA. The binding isotherms neither conformed to a linear binding model with 1:1 stoichiometry nor to 2 independent binding sites; the binding isotherms were most consistent with 2 or more allosterically coupled binding sites. Molecular dynamics studies revealed that testosterone's binding to fatty acid binding site 3 on HSA was associated with conformational changes at site 6, indicating that residues in in these 2 distinct binding sites are allosterically coupled. There are multiple, allosterically coupled binding sites for testosterone on HSA. Testosterone shares these binding sites on HSA with free fatty acids, which could displace testosterone from HSA under various physiological states or disease conditions, affecting its bioavailability.

Support vector machine-based classification of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls using structural magnetic resonance imaging from two independent sites.

Structural brain alterations have been repeatedly reported in schizophrenia; however, the pathophysiology of its alterations remains unclear. Multivariate pattern recognition analysis such as support vector machines can classify patients and healthy controls by detecting subtle and spatially distributed patterns of structural alterations. We aimed to use a support vector machine to distinguish patients with schizophrenia from control participants on the basis of structural magnetic resonance imaging data and delineate the patterns of structural alterations that significantly contributed to the classification performance. We used independent datasets from different sites with different magnetic resonance imaging scanners, protocols and clinical characteristics of the patient group to achieve a more accurate estimate of the classification performance of support vector machines. We developed a support vector machine classifier using the dataset from one site (101 participants) and evaluated the performance of the trained support vector machine using a dataset from the other site (97 participants) and vice versa. We assessed the performance of the trained support vector machines in each support vector machine classifier. Both support vector machine classifiers attained a classification accuracy of >70% with two independent datasets indicating a consistently high performance of support vector machines even when used to classify data from different sites, scanners and different acquisition protocols. The regions contributing to the classification accuracy included the bilateral medial frontal cortex, superior temporal cortex, insula, occipital cortex, cerebellum, and thalamus, which have been reported to be related to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. These results indicated that the support vector machine could detect subtle structural brain alterations and might aid our understanding of the pathophysiology of these changes in schizophrenia, which could be one of the diagnostic findings of schizophrenia.

YIrIn with ZrNiAl-type structure

Abstract The indide YIrIn was synthesized from the elements in a sealed tantalum ampoule in a high-frequency furnace. YIrIn adopts the ZrNiAl type. The crystal structure was refined from single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data: P6–2m, a = 750.63(6), c = 392.04(3) pm, wR = 0.0346, 308 F 2 values and 16 variables. Refinement of the occupancy parameters revealed a small degree of Ir/In mixing (0.912(9) Ir2/0.088(9) In1) on the 2d site. The YIrIn structure contains two crystallographically independent iridium sites, both with tri-capped trigonal prismatic coordination: Ir1@In6Y3 and Ir2@In3Y6.

Structure, Magnetic Properties, and 151 Eu Mössbauer Spectra of the Indium‐rich Phase Eu 3 Rh 2 In 15

Structure, Magnetic Properties, and ¹⁵¹ Eu Mössbauer Spectra of the Indium‐rich Phase Eu ₃ Rh ₂ In ₁₅

Principles for Guiding the Selection of Early Childhood Neurodevelopmental Risk and Resilience Measures: HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study as an Exemplar.

The vast individual differences in the developmental origins of risk and resilience pathways combined with sophisticated capabilities of big data science increasingly point to the imperative of large, neurodevelopmental consortia to capture population heterogeneity and key variations in developmental trajectories. At the same time, such large-scale population-based designs involving multiple independent sites also must weigh competing demands. For example, the need for efficient, scalable assessment strategies must be balanced with the need for nuanced, developmentally sensitive phenotyping optimized for linkage to neural mechanisms and specification of common and distinct exposure pathways. Standardized epidemiologic batteries designed for this purpose such as PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox provide excellent “off the shelf” assessment tools that are well-validated and enable cross-study comparability. However, these standardized toolkits can also constrain ability to leverage advances in neurodevelopmental measurement over time, at times disproportionately advantaging established measures. In addition, individual consortia often expend exhaustive effort “reinventing the wheel,” which is inefficient and fails to fully maximize potential synergies with other like initiatives. To address these issues, this paper lays forth an early childhood neurodevelopmental assessment strategy, guided by a set of principles synthesizing developmental and pragmatic considerations generated by the Neurodevelopmental Workgroup of the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Planning Consortium. These principles emphasize characterization of both risk- and resilience-promoting processes. Specific measurement recommendations to HBCD are provided to illustrate application. However, principles are intended as a guiding framework to transcend any particular initiative as a broad neurodevelopmentally informed, early childhood assessment strategy for large-scale consortia science.

A Nonlinear Optical Switchable Sulfate of Ultrawide Bandgap

Nonlinear optical (NLO) switchable materials have attracted intense attention because of their promising applications in optoelectronic devices. However, previous studies are mainly limited to mole...

Logging drives contrasting animal body-size effects on tropical forest mammal communities

Anthropogenic disturbance of tropical ecosystems can re-configure mammalian communities, frequently through a process of differential impact on animal species, whereby medium- and large-bodied animals are more impacted than small-bodied animals, which often are even favored. Here we examine if logging –a prevalent activity in the tropics– drives a pattern of differential defaunation in a Neotropical forest managed by a community of indigenous people. Using a match-paired design, we conducted mammalian surveys during four consecutive years in three independent sites, each one including (1) areas for logging practiced by Maya communities of the Yucatan Peninsula (selective and interspaced harvesting), and (2) adjacent areas set aside as reserves. We found that in logged areas the abundance of medium and large mammals decreased (4.3-fold, overall), while the abundance of small mammals increased (2.5-fold, overall). We posit that these changes result from a combination of factors, including: (1) facilitated access for hunters of medium- and large-sized game, comprising both predators (potentially leading to small-prey release) and competitors of small-bodied species; (2) changes in vegetation (e.g., more shelter and food for rodents); and (3) contrasting animal life history traits (population growth rate, home range size). We conclude that although non-intensive logging interventions have negative consequences for the mammalian community (for at least ten years after harvesting), the indigenous practices of rotational harvesting and maintaining reserves help to prevent the landscape-wide mammalian declines known to occur under large-scale industrial logging.

CIM6P/IGF-2 Receptor Ligands Reverse Deficits in Angelman Syndrome Model Mice.

Angelman syndrome (AS), a genetic disorder that primarily affects the nervous system, is characterized by delayed development, intellectual disability, severe speech impairment, and problems with movement and balance (ataxia). Most affected children also have recurrent seizures (epilepsy). No existing therapies are capable of comprehensively treating the deficits in AS; hence, there is an urgent need to identify new treatments. Here we show that insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) and mannose-6-phosphate (M6P), ligands of two independent binding sites of the cation-independent M6P/IGF-2 receptor (CIM6P/IGF-2R), reverse most major deficits of AS modeled in mice. Subcutaneous injection of IGF-2 or M6P in mice modeling AS restored cognitive impairments as assessed by measurements of contextual and recognition memories, motor deficits assessed by rotarod and hindlimb clasping, and working memory/flexibility measured by Y-maze. IGF-2 also corrected deficits in marble burying and significantly attenuated acoustically induced seizures. An observational battery of tests confirmed that neither ligand changed basic functions including physical characteristics, general behavioral responses, and sensory reflexes, indicating that they are relatively safe. Our data provide strong preclinical evidence that targeting CIM6P/IGF-2R is a promising approach for developing novel therapeutics for AS. LAY SUMMARY: There is no effective treatment for the neurodevelopmental disorder Angelman syndrome (AS). Using a validated AS mouse model, the Ube3am-/p+ , in this study we show that systemic administration of ligands of the cation independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor, also known as insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (CIM6P/IGF-2R) reverses cognitive impairment, motor deficits, as well as seizures associated with AS. Thus, ligands that activate the CIM6P/IGF-2R may represent novel, potential therapeutic targets for AS.

Functional Characterization of a Dual Enhancer/Promoter Regulatory Element Leading Human CD69 Expression.

The CD69 gene encodes a C-type lectin glycoprotein with immune regulatory properties which is expressed on the cell surfaces of all activated hematopoietic cells. CD69 activation kinetics differ by developmental stage, cell linage and activating conditions, and these differences have been attributed to the participation of complex gene regulatory networks. An evolutionarily conserved regulatory element, CNS2, located 4kb upstream of the CD69 gene transcriptional start site, has been proposed as the major candidate governing the gene transcriptional activation program. To investigate the function of human CNS2, we studied the effect of its endogenous elimination via CRISPR-Cas9 on CD69 protein and mRNA expression levels in various immune cell lines. Even when the entire promoter region was maintained, CNS2-/- cells did not express CD69, thus indicating that CNS2 has promoter-like characteristics. However, like enhancers, inverted CNS2 sustained transcription, although at a diminished levels, thereby suggesting that it has dual promoter and enhancer functions. Episomal luciferase assays further suggested that both functions are combined within the CNS2 regulatory element. In addition, CNS2 directs its own bidirectional transcription into two different enhancer-derived RNAs molecules (eRNAs) which are transcribed from two independent transcriptional start sites in opposite directions. This eRNA transcription is dependent on only the enhancer sequence itself, because in the absence of the CD69 promoter, sufficient RNA polymerase II levels are maintained at CNS2 to drive eRNA expression. Here, we describe a regulatory element with overlapping promoter and enhancer functions, which is essential for CD69 gene transcriptional regulation.

Synthetic sex-aggregation pheromone of Lutzomyia longipalpis, the South American sand fly vector of Leishmania infantum, attracts males and females over long-distance.

BackgroundIn South America the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis is the predominant vector of Leishmania infantum, the parasite that causes canine and human visceral leishmaniasis. Co-location of synthetic male sex-aggregation pheromone with an insecticide provided protection against canine seroconversion, parasite infection, reduced tissue parasite loads, and female sand fly densities at households. Optimising the sex-aggregation pheromone + insecticide intervention requires information on the distance over which female and male Lu. longipalpis would be attracted to the synthetic pheromone in the field.Methodology/Principal findingsWild Lu. longipalpis were collected at two peridomestic study sites in Governador Valadares (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Sand flies were marked with coloured fluorescent powder using an improved protocol and then released into an existing domestic chicken shed at two independent sites, followed by recapture at synthetic-pheromone host-odour baited traps placed up to 30 metres distant from the release point.In total 1704 wild-caught Lu. longipalpis were released into the two chicken sheds. Overall 4.3% of the marked flies were recaptured in the pheromone baited experimental chicken sheds compared to no marked flies recaptured in the control sheds. At the first site, 14 specimens (10.4% of the marked and released specimens) were recaptured at 10m, 36 (14.8%) at 20m, and 15 (3.4%) at 30m. At the second site, lower recapture rates were recorded; 8 marked specimens (1.3%) were recaptured at 5 and 10m and no marked specimens were recaptured at 15m. Approximately 7x more marked males than females were recaptured although males were only 2x as common as females in the released population. 52% of the marked Lu. longipalpis were collected during the first night of sampling, 32% on the second night, and 16% on the third night.Conclusions/SignificanceThe study established that both male and female sand flies can be attracted to the synthetic sex-aggregation pheromone in the presence of host odour over distances up to at least 30m in the field depending on local environmental and meterological conditions.

Interpretations of key food odorant dose-olfactory response curves using statistical physics method

In this work, statistical physics treatment has been employed to understand the olfaction mechanism through the study of the dose-olfactory response of putative adsorption process of key food odorants onto the human olfactory receptor OR2W1. This is in order to obtain new steric and energetic characterizations at the molecular level of this chemical sense system. Three models have been proposed: a monolayer, a double layer and a three layers model. The monolayer model with identical and independent receptor sites has been chosen as an appropriate one to present a good correlation with the experimental dose-response curves. Indeed, the numerical values of the three fitted parameters (RM, n, C1/2) are used to characterize the size of the human olfactory receptor binding sites and the interactions between eight key food odorants i.e., (R)-(−)-carvone, (S)-(−)-limonene, (R)-(+)-limonene, 2-phenylethanthiol, 3-mercaptohexyl acetate, methyl cinnamate, cinnamyl acetate and 2-phenylethyl acetate and OR2W1 through the receptor site size distribution (RSD) and to determine an olfactory band of these odorants through the determination of the adsorption energy values and the adsorption energy distributions (AEDs).

Probing Molecular Interactions between Surface-Immobilized Antimicrobial Peptides and Lipopolysaccharides In Situ.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Recently, a label-free immobilized antimicrobial peptide (AMP) surface plasmon resonance platform was developed to successfully distinguish LPS from multiple bacterial strains. Among the tested AMPs, SMAP29 exhibited excellent affinity with LPS and has two independent LPS-binding sites located at two termini of the peptide. In this study, sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy was applied to investigate molecular interactions between three LPS samples and surface-immobilized SMAP29 via the N-terminus, the C-terminus, and a middle site at the solid/liquid interface in situ in real-time, supplemented by circular dichroism spectroscopy. It was found that the conformations and orientations of surface-immobilized SMAP29 via different sites are different when interacting with the same LPS, with different interaction kinetics. The same SMAP29 sample also has different structures and interaction kinetics while interacting with different LPS samples with different charge densities and hydrophobicities. The observed results on molecular interactions between surface-immobilized peptides and LPS can well interpret the different adsorption amounts of various LPSs on different surface-immobilized peptides.

Structural, spectral and thermal properties of a supramolecular assembly based on p-phenylenediamine and trichloroacetic acid: A combined experimental and computational study

Single-crystals of the p-phenylenediammonium bis(trichloroacetate) sesquihydrate compound (I) have been grown by slow evaporation method. XRD study showed the presence of two symmetrically independent water sites; one water site is fully occupied while the other one shows partial occupancy (0.5). The new compound has been characterized by FT-IR, Raman and UV-visible spectroscopies. Thermal behavior of (I) has been studied by TGA/DSC analysis. In the structure of (I), the coherence of the 3-D supramolecular assembly is ensured by conventional hydrogen bonds (O-H…O and N-H…O) and C-Cl…π interactions. Nature and contribution of the different intermolecular interactions that occur in compound (I) were probed through the 3-D Hirshfeld surface and the associated 2-D fingerprint plots. O…H/H…O interactions (related to the H-bonds) contribute by 30.5% to the total Hirshfeld surface; furthermore, contacts involving chlorine atoms represent ca. 54% of the total surface. Quantum chemical study performed with DFT (B3LYP and HSEH1PBE) methods at 6-311G++(d.p) level has permitted calculation of optimized geometry, modes of vibrations, atomic charges, thermodynamic parameters, FMOs and NBOs of the title molecule. The detailed vibrational interpretation has been evaluated by potential energy distribution (PED) analysis. The UV-Vis spectrum has been calculated by TD-DFT/B3LYP/6-311G++(d,p) method in two solvents (water and methanol).

Enumeration as a Tool for Structure Solution: A Materials Genomic Approach to Solving the Cation-Ordered Structure of Na3V2(PO4)2F3

While powder diffraction methods are routinely utilized to optimize structural models for compounds whose crystal structures are known, the determination of unknown structures is far more challenging. When the unknown structure is large, structure solution can become a virtually intractable problem using standard structure solution methodologies, especially when the space group cannot be unambiguously resolved. One such system is the promising Na-ion battery cathode material Na3V2(PO4)2F3, whose high-temperature and room-temperature structures were previously solved, but whose more complex low-temperature structure could not be determined. Here, a novel materials genomic approach is demonstrated for the solution of the unknown 100 K structure of Na3V2(PO4)2F3 in which enumeration methods are first used to generate a large number (∼3000) of trial structures based on plausible orderings of Na ions and then automated Rietveld refinements are carried out to optimize each of these trial structures. Based on both the analysis of the ensemble of optimized trial structures and the density functional theory energy minimization of selected trial structures, the 100 K structure of Na3V2(PO4)2F3 is best described as belonging to the space group A21am with unit cell dimensions of a = 9.01928(4), b = 27.1379(1), and c = 10.73307(5). The 100 K unit cell has a large volume of 2627.07(2) Å3 with Z = 12 and 33 independent crystallographic sites (9 Na, 3 V, 3 P, 12 O, and 6 F) that is 3× and 6× larger than the room- and high-temperature polymorphs of this phase, respectively. The novel methods described here will be generally applicable for the solution of the complex cation-ordered structures that commonly occur for battery materials.