Key Regions Research Articles

Nobody's land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia.

The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region "nobody's land" during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.

Resting-state functional connectivity of goal-directed and habitual-learning systems: The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder

BackgroundThere is an imbalance between goal-directed and habitual-learning system in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). At present, the relationship between cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as a first-line therapy and goal-directed and habitual-learning disorder is still unclear. We attempted to discuss the effect of CBT treatment in patients with OCD, using abnormalities in goal-directed and habitual-learning-related brain regions at baseline as predictive factors. MethodsA total of 71 subjects, including 35 OCD patients and 36 healthy controls, were recruited. The OCD patients underwent 8 weeks of CBT. These patients were divided into two groups based on treatment response (Nresponders = 18, Nnonresponders = 17). Further subgroup analysis was conducted based on disease duration (Nshort = 17, Nlong = 18) and age of onset (Nearly = 14, Nlate = 21). We collected resting-state ROI-ROI functional connectivity data and apply repeated-measures linear mixed-effects models to investigate the differences of different subgroups. ResultsCBT led to symptom improvement in OCD patients, with varying degrees of effectiveness across subgroups. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and insula, key regions for goal-directed behavior and habitual-learning, respectively, showed significant impacts on CBT efficacy in subgroups with different disease durations and ages of onset. ConclusionThe findings suggest that the goal-directed system may influence the efficacy of CBT through goal selection, maintenance, and emotion regulation. Furthermore, we found that disease duration and age of onset may affect treatment outcomes by modulating functional connectivity between goal-directed and habitual-learning brain regions.

Enhanced Hybrid Vision Transformer with Multi-Scale Feature Integration and Patch Dropping for Facial Expression Recognition.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have made significant progress in the field of facial expression recognition (FER). However, due to challenges such as occlusion, lighting variations, and changes in head pose, facial expression recognition in real-world environments remains highly challenging. At the same time, methods solely based on CNN heavily rely on local spatial features, lack global information, and struggle to balance the relationship between computational complexity and recognition accuracy. Consequently, the CNN-based models still fall short in their ability to address FER adequately. To address these issues, we propose a lightweight facial expression recognition method based on a hybrid vision transformer. This method captures multi-scale facial features through an improved attention module, achieving richer feature integration, enhancing the network's perception of key facial expression regions, and improving feature extraction capabilities. Additionally, to further enhance the model's performance, we have designed the patch dropping (PD) module. This module aims to emulate the attention allocation mechanism of the human visual system for local features, guiding the network to focus on the most discriminative features, reducing the influence of irrelevant features, and intuitively lowering computational costs. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our approach significantly outperforms other methods, achieving an accuracy of 86.51% on RAF-DB and nearly 70% on FER2013, with a model size of only 3.64 MB. These results demonstrate that our method provides a new perspective for the field of facial expression recognition.

Differences in the Distribution of Aβ in the Brain between U.S. Veterans and Adults aged 62+ and suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.

Elevated concentration of amyloids in the cerebrum results in elevated risks for cerebral hemorrhage and early AD onset following early depression/dementia onset. In this study, we compare patterns of amyloid depositions across eight regions of interest of the human brain between U.S. Veterans and non-Veterans adults aged 62+. Data were taken from the ADNI and DoD-ADNI studies. A pseudo-randomization algorithm was applied to achieve comparability, reduce bias due to age mismatching, and account for non-treatment-related differences between subsamples extracted from DoD-ADNI and ADNI databases. The pool of participants included data about age, race, apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOE) status, modified Hachinski Ischemic Score, education level, and geriatric depression score, which were used to build a propensity score. Aβ concentration, resulting from the PET image analysis, in key brain regions of interest, and two categorical variables describing the 0.79 and 1.11 cutoffs were used as outcomes, while the Veteran and AD status were used as predictors. To balance subsamples, we applied a pseudo-randomization algorithm, eliminating the observed sources of heterogeneity. We used a generalized linear model for continuous variables and the logistic regression model for binary variables. The pattern of the Aβ distribution in Veteran's brains was found to be different from the classic AD pattern. The amyloid depositions following Veteran status were concentrated in cerebellar gray matter and the cerebellum in general. In contrast, the AD pattern shows more Aβ depositions in the frontal lobe, cingulate cortex, parietal, and temporal lobes, along with higher whole-cerebrum concentration of amyloids. Since Florbetapir PET cannot distinguish between senile plaques and depositions in blood vessels, the elevated concentration of amyloids in a cerebellum for participants with the Veteran status may suppose elevated risks for cerebral hemorrhage and early AD onset following early depression/dementia onset.

Climate variability in northern Africa during the late Holocene: A multiproxy perspective from El-Beida Lake (Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt)

North Africa is a key region hosting ca. 230 million people that are dependent on climate to maintain their subsistence through agriculture. Because of the current global changes, understanding the mechanisms behind the climate variations that occurred in this region is extremely important. To contribute to a more accurate modelling projection, we reconstructed the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental variations from the Meghalayan (∼1,500 ka) to recent using palynological and geochemical data from a sediment core from El-Beida Lake (Wadi El-Natrun area, north Western Desert of Egypt). North Africa underwent significant shifts in climatic conditions forced by different drivers since the Roman Warm Period (RWP) until recent. Our sediment core record indicates that this region experienced a persistent dry and warm climate during the RWP until the first half of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). The positive North Atlantic Oscillation was the main driver for controlling the precipitation pattern and pushing the precipitation towards central and north Europe and favoring the dry climate in North Africa during the RWP. The dry and slightly cold conditions in the study area during the Dark Age Cold Period (DACP) can be ascribed to the coupling between the more southward position of the Azores Front and the weak Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Northern Africa showed variable climatic conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) due to the complicated thermohaline circulation of the Mediterranean Sea. During this time, the Eastern Mediterranean experienced a cold or partially cold MCA that may be extended to the present study area. An abrupt change to humid and cold climatic conditions occurred in northern Africa during the Little Ice Age (LIA) due to large-scale processes like the ENSO and NAO. The SST warming of the North Tropical Atlantic (NTA), significantly influenced by ENSO, causes the position of the Atlantic ITCZ to be shifted northward affecting precipitation in Africa.

Normativity vs. uniqueness: effects of social relationship strength on neural representations of others.

Understanding others involves inferring traits and intentions, a process complicated by our reliance on stereotypes and generalized information when we lack personal information. Yet, as relationships are formed, we shift toward nuanced and individualized perceptions of others. This study addresses how relationship strength influences the creation of unique or normative representations of others in key regions known to be involved in social cognition. Employing a round-robin interpersonal perception paradigm (N = 111, 20 groups of five to six people), we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether the strength of social relationships modulated the degree to which multivoxel patterns of activity that represented a specific other were similar to a normative average of all others in the study. Behaviorally, stronger social relationships were associated with more normative trait endorsements. Neural findings reveal that closer relationships lead to more unique representations in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, areas associated with mentalizing and person perception. Conversely, more generalized representations emerge in posterior regions like the posterior cingulate cortex, indicating a complex interplay between individuated and generalized processing of social information in the brain. These findings suggest that cortical regions typically associated with social cognition may compute different kinds of information when representing the distinctiveness of others.

New perspectives on South Atlantic storm track through an automatic method for detecting extratropical cyclones' lifecycle

AbstractThis study introduces new insights into the climatology of South Atlantic (SAt) cyclones by employing a novel cyclone life cycle detection method, the CycloPhaser. Utilizing the minimum relative vorticity series and its derivative at the cyclone centre, the program effectively identifies distinct phases in the cyclone life cycle. Cyclone tracks are obtained through the analysis of relative vorticity at 850 hPa, using the ERA5 dataset. The study identified six main cyclone life cycle patterns from the analysis of 28,458 systems. The predominant cyclone type, accounting for approximately 60% of the analysed systems, exhibited a four‐phase configuration: incipient, intensification, mature and decay. Detailed statistics for each developmental phase and the overall life cycle are presented, offering valuable comparisons and new insights while corroborating previous research findings. Key genesis regions in the SAt are identified, along with track density maps that reveal distinct preferences in cyclone developmental cycle. The main outcome of this study is the demonstration that the automated classification procedure enables the analysis of cyclones' life cycles to be conducted promptly and with low computing costs, facilitating the comprehensive study of cyclone behaviour with high efficiency.

Unveiling Hidden Sources of Dynamic Functional Connectome through a Novel Regularized Blind Source Separation Approach

Abstract The investigation of the brain’s functional connectome and its dynamic changes can provide valuable insights into brain organization and its reconfiguration. However, the analysis of dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) faces major challenges, including the high dimensionality of brain networks, unknown latent sources underlying observed dFC, and the large number of brain connections that increase the risk of spurious findings. In this paper, we propose a new regularized blind source separation (BSS) method called dyna-LOCUS to address these challenges. dyna-LOCUS decomposes observed dFC measures to reveal latent source connectivity traits and their dynamic temporal expression profiles. By utilizing low-rank factorization and novel regularizations, dyna-LOCUS achieves efficient and reliable mapping of connectivity traits underlying the dynamic brain functional connectome, characterizes temporal changes of the connectivity traits that contribute to the reconfiguration in the observed dFC, and generates parsimonious and interpretable results in identifying whole-brain dFC states. We introduce a highly efficient iterative Node-Rotation algorithm that solves the non-convex optimization problem for learning dyna-LOCUS. Simulation studies demonstrate the advantages of our proposed method. Application of dyna-LOCUS to the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) study unveils latent connectivity traits and key brain connections and regions driving each of these neural circuits, reveals temporal expressions and interactions of these connectivity traits, and generates new findings regarding gender differences in the neurodevelopment of an executive function-related connectivity trait.

Increased Thalamocortical Functional Connectivity on Discontinuation of Treatment in Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.

Altered functional connectivity has been demonstrated in key brain regions involved in pain processing in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (Painful-DPN). However, the impact of neuropathic pain treatment on functional connectivity has not been investigated. Sixteen participants underwent resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) when optimally treated for neuropathic pain during their involvement in the OPTION-DM trial and 1-week following withdrawal of treatment. On discontinuation of pain treatment, there was a rise in functional connectivity between the left thalamus and primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the left thalamus and insular cortex, key brain regions that are involved in cerebral processing of pain. The changes in functional connectivity between scans also correlated with measures of pain (baseline pain severity and neuropathy pain symptom inventory). Moreover, when participants were stratified into higher and lower than average baseline pain sub-groups, the change in thalamic-S1 cortical functional connectivity between scans was significantly greater in those with high baseline pain compared with the lower baseline pain group. This study shows that thalamo-cortical functional connectivity has the potential to act as an objective biomarker for neuropathic pain in diabetes for use in clinical pain trials.

Nexus between the deficit in moisture transport and drought occurrence in regions with projected drought trends

In this article, we focus on studying the nexus between moisture transport deficit and drought occurrence in nine key regions across the world where the magnitude of meteorological drought is projected to increase from 1850 to 2100 under a high anthropogenic emission scenario. These regions are central America, southwestern South America, northern Brazil, the Amazon, northeastern Brazil, the western Mediterranean, southern Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and southwestern Australia. Using the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART, we identify the specific moisture sources of the regions (the own region, the nearby continental source and the oceanic sources) and obtain their contributions to the precipitation in the regions for the period 1980–2018. For each region and specific moisture source, the conditional probability of meteorological drought occurrence given an equivalent contribution deficit from the source is estimated using copula models, a statistical methodology that allows us to capture complex relationships between variables. We identify the dominant moisture source in each region, which is the source for which the contribution deficit maximises drought probability. A variety of cases are found: in three regions, the dominant source is the region itself, in one region, it is the nearby terrestrial source, and in five regions, it is an oceanic source. In general, contribution deficits from specific moisture sources are associated with only slightly greater drought probabilities than those from major global moisture sources. We also reveal that the source that contributes the most to precipitation in a given region is not necessarily the dominant source of drought in the region. These results highlight the importance of understanding the role of dominant moisture sources and moisture transport deficits on meteorological drought occurrence at a regional scale.

Developmental exposure to environmentally relevant doses of phthalates alters the neural control of male and female reproduction in mice

The present study aims to analyze the effects of developmental exposure to phthalates at environmentally relevant doses on the neural control of male and female reproduction. For this purpose, C57Bl/6J mice were exposed to di-(2-ethylexyl) phthalate (DEHP) alone (5 or 50 μg/kg/d), or DEHP (5 μg/kg/d) in a phthalate mixture. Exposure through diet started 6 weeks before the first mating and lasted until weaning of litters from the second gestation (multiparous dams). Analyses of offspring born from multiparous dams exposed to DEHP alone or in a phthalate mixture showed that females experienced a delayed pubertal onset, and as adults they had prolonged estrous cyclicity and reduced Kiss1 expression in the preoptic area and mediobasal hypothalamus. Male littermates showed a reduced anogenital distance and delayed pubertal onset compared with controls. However, in adulthood the weight of androgen-sensitive organs and hypothalamic Kiss1 expression were unaffected, suggesting normal functioning of the male gonadotropic axis. Developmental exposure to DEHP alone or in a phthalate mixture reduced the ability of intact males and ovariectomized and hormonally primed females to attract a sexual partner and to express copulatory behaviors. In addition, females were unable to discriminate between male and female stimuli in the olfactory preference test. Social interaction was also impaired in females, while locomotor activity and anxiety-like behavior in both sexes were unaffected by the treatment. The sexual deficiencies were associated with reduced expression of the androgen receptor in the preoptic area and progesterone receptor in the mediobasal hypothalamus, the key regions involved in male and female sexual behavior, respectively. Thus, the neural structures controlling reproduction are vulnerable to developmental exposure to phthalates at environmentally relevant doses in male and female mice. Adult females had an impaired gonadotropic axis and showed more affected behaviors than adult males.

Genetic Characterization and Pathogenicity of a Recombinant Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Strain in China.

Since it was first reported in 2013, the NADC30-like PRRSV has been epidemic in China. Hubei Province is known as China's key hog-exporting region. To understand the prevalence and genetic variation of PRRSV, herein, we detected and analyzed 317 lung tissue samples from pigs with respiratory disease in Hubei Province, and demonstrated that the NADC30-like strain was the second-most predominant strain during 2017-2018, following the highly pathogenic PRRSV (HP-PRRSV). Additionally, we isolated a new NADC30-like PRRSV strain, named CHN-HB-2018, which could be stably passaged in Marc-145 cells. Genetic characterization analysis showed that compared with the NADC30 strain, the CHN-HB-2018 strain had several amino acid variations in glycoprotein (GP) 3, GP5, and nonstructural protein 2 (NSP2). Moreover, the CHN-HB-2018 strain showed a unique 5-amino acid (aa) deletion in NSP2, which has not previously been reported. Gene recombination analysis identified the CHN-HB-2018 strain as a potentially recombinant PRRSV of the NADC30-like strain and HP-PRRSV. Animal experiments indicated that the CHN-HB-2018 strain has a mild pathogenicity, with no mortality and only mild fever observed in piglets. This study contributes to defining the evolutionary characteristics of PRRSV and its molecular epidemiology in Hubei Province, and provides a potential candidate strain for PRRSV vaccine development.

Arctic environmental governance: challenges of sustainable development

The Arctic is one of the key regions in relation to global climate change, experiencing radical transformations in environmental governance as well as challenges in terms of its ecological protection. The region is witnessing a number of irreversible climatic shifts, such as melting permafrost, rising sea levels, contamination of the Global Ocean, and changes in the lives of indigenous people. The Arctic is a global hot spot in climate change where international cooperation (scientific, environmental, diplomatic, etc.) should be a priority to overcome existing ecological challenges. This article provides detailed analysis of these issues from cross-disciplinary perspectives, bringing insights from economics, history, anthropology, international relations, and political science from the perspective of literature on environmental regionalism. The article analyzes a selection of heterogeneous actors, many of whom have contradictory rules, norms, and priorities. Analysis of the Arctic through the lens of regional environmental governance aspires to contribute to understanding of the complexity of existing challenges and their potential solutions. This article offers an analysis of the major findings in this topical collection. It contributes to the development of cross-disciplinary approach to the studies of the Artic and outlines a research agenda.

ATRT-16. MAPPING THE DISORDERED METHYLOME IN ATRT

Abstract BACKGROUND Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) is an aggressive pediatric brain tumor driven by inactivation of the chromatin regulator SMARCB1, with remarkably few other mutations. SMARCB1 loss leads to epigenetic dysregulation which plays a pivotal role in ATRT development and progression, and DNA methylation profiling has distinguished molecular subgroups of this disease. However, studies that provide a static view of the epigenome may not capture epigenetic variability that drives cellular plasticity and heterogeneity. Mapping epigenetic variability is crucial to understanding the phenotypic plasticity of this tumor and its ability to evade therapeutic interventions in the clinic. METHODS We performed whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) on 22 ATRT samples, 4 normal fetal brain controls, and 1 hindbrain neural stem cell control, and applied a novel analytic pipeline (InformME) to generate DNA methylation potential energy landscapes encapsulating epigenetic stochasticity. This characterizes mean methylation as well as methylation entropy. We identified key genes and regulatory regions with the most stochastic methylation signatures. RESULTS We find that ATRT exhibits a globally destabilized epigenome, with markedly elevated methylation entropy (a measure of variability/disorder). Methylation discordance mapped to key regulatory regions including bivalent promoters, quiescent chromatin regions, and enhancers, and specific genes, with an enrichment for targets of the Polycomb repressive complex 2 and regulators of pluripotency and differentiation. CONCLUSIONS The disordered methylome of ATRT could play a critical role in the tumor’s ability to evade therapies. Mapping the targets of epigenetic instability can identify targets for intervention. Moreover, strategies to constrain epigenetic variability may have therapeutic benefit by limiting the number of epigenetic states available to cancer cells.

The lateral septum partakes the regulation of propofol-induced anxiety-like behavior

Repeated exposure to propofol during early brain development is associated with anxiety disorders in adulthood, yet the mechanisms underlying propofol-induced susceptibility to anxiety disorders remain elusive. The lateral septum (LS), primarily composed of γ-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) neurons, serves as a key brain region in the regulation of anxiety. However, it remains unclear whether LS GABAergic neurons are implicated in propofol-induced anxiety. Therefore, we conducted c-Fos immunostaining of whole-brain slices from mice exposed to propofol during early life. Our findings indicate that propofol exposure activates GABAergic neurons in the LS. Selective activation of LS GABAergic neurons resulted in increased anxiety-like behavior, while selective inhibition of these neurons reduced such behaviors. These results suggest that the LS is a critical brain region involved in propofol-induced anxiety. Furthermore, we investigated the molecular mechanism of propofol-induced anxiety in the LS. Microglia activation underlies the development of anxiety. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analysis of LS revealed activated microglia and significantly elevated levels of phospho–NF–κB p65 protein. Additionally, a decrease in the number of neuronal spines was observed. Our study highlights the crucial role of the LS in the development of anxiety-like behavior in adulthood following childhood propofol exposure, accompanied by the activation of inflammatory pathways.

Effects of cannabidiol, with and without ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol, on anxiety-like behavior following alcohol withdrawal in mice.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is commonly associated with anxiety disorders and enhanced stress-sensitivity; symptoms that can worsen during withdrawal to perpetuate continued alcohol use. Alcohol increases neuroimmune activity in the brain. Our recent evidence indicates that alcohol directly modulates neuroimmune function in the central amygdala (CeA), a key brain region regulating anxiety and alcohol intake, to alter neurotransmitter signaling. We hypothesized that cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which are thought to reduce neuroinflammation and anxiety, may have potential utility to alleviate alcohol withdrawal-induced stress-sensitivity and anxiety-like behaviors via modulation of CeA neuroimmune function. We tested the effects of CBD and CBD:THC (3:1 ratio) on anxiety-like behaviors and neuroimmune function in the CeA of mice undergoing acute (4-h) and short-term (24-h) withdrawal from chronic intermittent alcohol vapor exposure (CIE). We further examined the impact of CBD and CBD:THC on alcohol withdrawal behaviors in the presence of an additional stressor. We found that CBD and 3:1 CBD:THC increased anxiety-like behaviors at 4-h withdrawal. At 24-h withdrawal, CBD alone reduced anxiety-like behaviors while CBD:THC had mixed effects, showing increased center time indicating reduced anxiety-like behaviors, but increased immobility time that may indicate increased anxiety-like behaviors. These mixed effects may be due to altered metabolism of CBD and THC during alcohol withdrawal. Immunohistochemical analysis showed decreased S100β and Iba1 cell counts in the CeA at 4-h withdrawal, but not at 24-h withdrawal, with CBD and CBD:THC reversing alcohol withdrawal effects.. These results suggest that the use of cannabinoids during alcohol withdrawal may lead to exacerbated anxiety depending on timing of use, which may be related to neuroimmune cell function in the CeA.

Topological abnormalities of the morphometric similarity network of the cerebral cortex in schizophrenia

A morphometric similarity (MS) network can be constructed using multiple magnetic resonance imaging parameters of each cortical region. An MS network can be used to assess the similarity between cortical regions. Although MS networks can detect microstructural alterations and capture connections between histologically similar cortical areas, the influence of schizophrenia on the topological characteristics of MS networks remains unclear. We obtained T1- and diffusion-weighted images of 239 healthy controls and 190 individuals with schizophrenia to construct the MS network. Group comparisons of the mean MS of the cortical regions and subnetworks were performed. The strengths of the connections between the cortical regions and the global and nodal network indices were compared between the groups. Clinical associations with the network indices were tested using Spearman’s rho. Compared with healthy controls, individuals with schizophrenia had significant group differences in the mean MS of several cortical regions and subnetworks. Individuals with schizophrenia had both superior and inferior strengths of connections between cortical regions compared with those of healthy controls. We observed regional abnormalities of the MS network in individuals with schizophrenia regarding lower centrality values of the pars opercularis, superior frontal, and superior temporal areas. Specific nodal network measures of the right pars opercularis and left superior temporal areas were associated with illness duration in individuals with schizophrenia. We identified regional abnormalities of the MS network in schizophrenia with the left superior temporal area possibly being a key region in topological organization and cortical connections.

ICDP workshop on the Deep Drilling in the Turkana Basin project: exploring the link between environmental factors and hominin evolution over the past 4 Myr

Abstract. Scientific drill cores provide unique windows into the processes of the past and present. In the dynamic tectonic, environmental, climatic, and ecological setting that is eastern Africa, records recovered through scientific drilling enable us to look at change through time in unprecedented ways. Cores from the East African Rift System can provide valuable information about the context in which hominins have evolved in one of the key regions of hominin evolution over the past 4 Myr. The Deep Drilling in the Turkana Basin (DDTB) project seeks to explore the impact of several types of evolution (tectonic, climatic, biological) on ecosystems and environments. This includes addressing questions regarding the region's complex and interrelated rifting and magmatic history, as well as understanding processes of sedimentation and associated hydrothermal systems within the East African Rift System. We seek to determine the relative impacts of tectonic and climatic evolution on eastern African ecosystems. We ask the follow questions: what role (if any) did climate change play in the evolution of hominins? How can our understanding of past environmental change guide our planning for a future shaped by anthropogenic climate change? To organize the scientific community's goals for deep coring in the Turkana Basin, we hosted a 4 d ICDP supported workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2022. The team focused on how a 4 Myr sedimentary core from the Turkana Basin will uniquely address key scientific research objectives related to basin evolution, paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and modern resources. Participants also discussed how DDTB could collaborate with community partners in the Turkana Basin, particularly around the themes of access to water and education. The team concluded that collecting the proposed Pliocene to modern record is best accomplished through a two-phase drilling project with a land-based transect of four cores spanning the interval from 4 Ma to the Middle–Late Pleistocene (< 0.7 Ma) and a lake-based core targeting the interval from ∼ 1 Ma to present. The second phase, while logistically more challenging due to the lack of drilling infrastructure currently on Lake Turkana, would revolutionize our understanding of a significant interval in the evolution and migration of Homo sapiens for a time period not currently accessible from the Kenyan part of the Turkana Basin. Collectively, the DDTB project will provide exceptional tectonic and climatic data directly associated with one of the world's richest hominin fossil localities.

Neonatal Chlamydia muridarum respiratory infection causes neuroinflammation within the brainstem during the early postnatal period

Respiratory infections are one of the most common causes of illness and morbidity in neonates worldwide. In the acute phase infections are known to cause wide-spread peripheral inflammation. However, the inflammatory consequences to the critical neural control centres for respiration have not been explored. Utilising a well characterised model of neonatal respiratory infection, we investigated acute responses within the medulla oblongata which contains key respiratory regions. Neonatal mice were intranasally inoculated within 24 h of birth, with either Chlamydia muridarum or sham-infected, and tissue collected on postnatal day 15, the peak of peripheral inflammation. A key finding of this study is that, while the periphery appeared to show no sex-specific effects of a neonatal respiratory infection, sex had a significant impact on the inflammatory response of the medulla oblongata. There was a distinct sex-specific response in the medulla coincident with peak of peripheral inflammation, with females demonstrating an upregulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines and males showing very few changes. Microglia also demonstrated sex-specificity with the morphology of females and males differing based upon the nuclei. Astrocytes showed limited changes during the acute response to neonatal infection. These data highlight the strong sex-specific impact of a respiratory infection can have on the medulla in the acute inflammatory phase.

The evolution of Political thought in Central Asia: challenges and prospects for Kazakhstan

Central Asia, with its rich history and multinational composition, remains a key region in terms of geopolitics and national security for Kazakhstan. The evolution of political thought in this region has a direct impact on internal and external political processes. This article examines the evolution of political thought and the main challenges faced by Central Asia, as well as the prospects for cooperation to ensure the national security of Kazakhstan. The authors analyze the variety of challenges faced by the countries of the region, including religious radicalism, interethnic conflicts and geopolitical dynamics of cooperation with other states. The changes in the political environment of Central Asia after the change of political regimes in some countries are analyzed. The article emphasizes the need for an in-depth analysis of political processes to ensure stability and national security in the region.