Major Subdivisions Research Articles

A national prevalence and profile of single and multiple developmental delays among children aged from 1 year up to 12 years: an Egyptian community-based study

ObjectiveThis study aimed at providing a national prevalence of single and multiple developmental delays (DDs) among 41,640 Egyptian children aged 1 to 12 years and exploring DDs’ associated risk and protective factors.MethodsA national household survey from eight governorates of Egypt representing the four major subdivisions of Egypt was conducted through systematic probability proportionate to size. All enrolled children were assessed according to Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, (VABS) as a reliable screening questionnaire for identifying categories of DDs that were verified by pediatrics’ specialists.ResultsThe overall prevalence of children with DDs was 6.7%. The prevalence of a single DD was 3.9% versus 2.8% multiple DDs. Communication deficit was the most prevalent type (5.3%). Lower prevalence was identified for fine motor delay (1.0%), gross motor delay, and socialization deficit (1.5% each). Whereas deficits in daily life skills (self-help and adaptive behavior delay) amounted to 2.3%. Living without mothers and/or fathers in homes was associated with increased odds of having DDs by one and a half times (OR = 1.72 and OR = 1.34 respectively). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed the most predictors for DDs including children who suffer from convulsions after birth (OR = 3.10), low birth weight babies (OR = 1.94), male sex (OR = 1.75), mothers having health problems during pregnancy (OR = 1.70) and belonging to middle socioeconomic status (OR = 1.41). Children who suffered from cyanosis after birth was found to be at risk for any or multiple DDs. Difficult labor was significantly associated with increased odds for multiple DDs (OR = 1.55). Higher paternal and maternal education was associated with decreased odds to have any DDs by 40% (OR = 0.60 and OR = 0.58 respectively).ConclusionsThe detected prevalence of DDs is within the estimated range of prevalence of DDs for the pediatric population. The majority of the detected risk factors are preventable. Developmental screening is recommended to be implemented in all primary care settings as a routine practice.

Neurochemical profile of the myenteric plexus in the rat colorectal region.

The enteric nervous system, a major subdivision of the autonomic nervous system, is known for its neurochemical heterogeneity and complexity. The myenteric plexus, one of its two principal components, primarily controls peristalsis and its dysfunction may lead to a number of gastrointestinal motility disorders. The myenteric neurons have been described to use a wide variety of neurotransmitters although no evidence has been reported for the existence of adrenergic neurons in the hindgut. This study aims at elucidating the chemical coding of neurons in the myenteric plexus of the rat colon and anorectal region with particular emphasis on cholinergic and the so-called nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) transmitter systems. The immunostaining for choline acetyltransferase revealed an intense staining of the myenteric ganglia with clear delineation of their neuronal cell bodies and without local distributional differences in the colonic region. The myenteric ATPergic structures were mostly limited to fiber bundles surrounding unstained myenteric neurons and penetrating the two muscle layers. We also observed an abundance of intensely stained varicose substance P-immunopositive fibers, ensheathing the immunonegative myenteric neuronal cell bodies in a basket-like manner. Applying NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry and nitric oxide synthase immunohistochemistry, we were able to demonstrate numerous nitrergic somata of myenteric neurons with Dogiel Type I morphology. Apart from the observed nitrergic distributional patterns, no distinct variations were found in the staining intensity or distribution of myenteric structures in the colon and anorectal area. Our results suggest that myenteric neurons in the distal intestinal portion utilize a broad spectrum of enteric transmitters, including classical and NANC transmitters.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in a songbird brain.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate fast synaptic transmission and cell signaling, which contribute to learning, memory, and the execution of motor skills. Birdsong is a complex learned motor skill in songbirds. Although the existence of 15 nAChR subunits has been predicted in the avian genome, their expression patterns and potential contributions to song learning and production have not been comprehensively investigated. Here, we cloned all the 15 nAChR subunits (ChrnA1-10, B2-4, D, and G) from the zebra finch brain and investigated the mRNA expression patterns in the neural pathways responsible for the learning and production of birdsong during a critical period of song learning. Although there were no detectable hybridization signals for ChrnA1, A6, A9, and A10, the other 11 nAChR subunits were uniquely expressed in one or more major subdivisions in the song nuclei of the songbird brain. Of these 11 subunits, ChrnA3-5, A7, and B2 were differentially regulated in the song nuclei compared with the surrounding anatomically related regions. ChrnA5 was upregulated during the critical period of song learning in the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium. Furthermore, single-cell RNA sequencing revealed ChrnA7 and B2 to be the major subunits expressed in neurons of the vocal motor nuclei HVC and robust nucleus of the arcopallium, indicating the potential existence of ChrnA7-homomeric and ChrnB2-heteromeric nAChRs in limited cell populations. These results suggest that relatively limited types of nAChR subunits provide functional contributions to song learning and production in songbirds.

An Update on the Molecular Mechanism of the Vertebrate Isthmic Organizer Development in the Context of the Neuromeric Model.

A crucial event during the development of the central nervous system (CNS) is the early subdivision of the neural tube along its anterior-to-posterior axis to form neuromeres, morphogenetic units separated by transversal constrictions and programed for particular genetic cascades. The narrower portions observed in the developing neural tube are responsible for relevant cellular and molecular processes, such as clonal restrictions, expression of specific regulatory genes, and differential fate specification, as well as inductive activities. In this developmental context, the gradual formation of the midbrain-hindbrain (MH) constriction has been an excellent model to study the specification of two major subdivisions of the CNS containing the mesencephalic and isthmo-cerebellar primordia. This MH boundary is coincident with the common Otx2-(midbrain)/Gbx2-(hindbrain) expressing border. The early interactions between these two pre-specified areas confer positional identities and induce the generation of specific diffusible morphogenes at this interface, in particular FGF8 and WNT1. These signaling pathways are responsible for the gradual histogenetic specifications and cellular identity acquisitions with in the MH domain. This review is focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the specification of the midbrain/hindbrain territory and the formation of the isthmic organizer. Emphasis will be placed on the chick/quail chimeric experiments leading to the acquisition of the first fate mapping and experimental data to, in this way, better understand pioneering morphological studies and innovative gain/loss-of-function analysis.

Structural Connectivity of Human Inferior Colliculus Subdivisions Using in vivo and post mortem Diffusion MRI Tractography.

Inferior colliculus (IC) is an obligatory station along the ascending auditory pathway that also has a high degree of top-down convergence via efferent pathways, making it a major computational hub. Animal models have attributed critical roles for the IC in in mediating auditory plasticity, egocentric selection, and noise exclusion. IC contains multiple functionally distinct subdivisions. These include a central nucleus that predominantly receives ascending inputs and external and dorsal nuclei that receive more heterogeneous inputs, including descending and multisensory connections. Subdivisions of human IC have been challenging to identify and quantify using standard brain imaging techniques such as MRI, and the connectivity of each of these subnuclei has not been identified in the human brain. In this study, we estimated the connectivity of human IC subdivisions with diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography, using both anatomical-based seed analysis as well as unsupervised k-means clustering. We demonstrate sensitivity of tractography to overall IC connections in both high resolution post mortem and in vivo datasets. k-Means clustering of the IC streamlines in both the post mortem and in vivo datasets generally segregated streamlines based on their terminus beyond IC, such as brainstem, thalamus, or contralateral IC. Using fine-grained anatomical segmentations of the major IC subdivisions, the post mortem dataset exhibited unique connectivity patterns from each subdivision, including commissural connections through dorsal IC and lateral lemniscal connections to central and external IC. The subdivisions were less distinct in the context of in vivo connectivity, although lateral lemniscal connections were again highest to central and external IC. Overall, the unsupervised and anatomically driven methods provide converging evidence for distinct connectivity profiles for each of the IC subdivisions in both post mortem and in vivo datasets, suggesting that dMRI tractography with high quality data is sensitive to neural pathways involved in auditory processing as well as top-down control of incoming auditory information.

Ecological Effects and Vulnerability Assessment of Flooding in Udu Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria

This study is based on the ecological effects and vulnerability assessment of flooding within Udu Local Government in the Delta State region. This research adopted the survey design. Five (5) flood vulnerable communities which represent the major subdivisions in Udu were investigated. Stratified random technique of sampling was used to divide the communities into quarters for effectiveness in data collection, while simple random technique was adopted in the collection of data. Data collection was on the communities covered by flood, causative factors of flooding, and the resultant effects on human inhabitants, environment, and the prevailing economic activities within the region. Data collection was through direct field survey and the use of questionnaires. The instrument’s level of reliability was achieved at 0.89 using the test-retest method; while instrument validity was determined by experts’ judgements. Data collected were analysed using the descriptive, ANOVA and regression statistics. Results showed that the communities investigated are vulnerable to flooding; significant difference was not found in the observed causative factors of flooding among the vulnerable communities; the effect of flooding is high within the study area; the differences in the effects of flooding within the different flood vulnerable communities in the study area is not significant at 0.05 level of confidence; and no significant relationship exists between the causative factors and the effects of flooding at 0.05 level of confidence. Therefore, good settlement planning, construct of drainage, and selective terrain cultivation are recommended.

Single-cell analysis of early chick hypothalamic development reveals that hypothalamic cells are induced from prethalamic-like progenitors.

SUMMARYThe hypothalamus regulates many innate behaviors, but its development remains poorly understood. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) to profile multiple stages of early hypothalamic development in the chick. Hypothalamic neuroepithelial cells are initially induced from prethalamic-like cells. Two distinct hypothalamic progenitor populations then emerge and give rise to tuberal and mammillary/paraventricular hypothalamic cells. At later stages, the regional organization of the chick and mouse hypothalamus is highly similar. We identify selective markers for major subdivisions of the developing chick hypothalamus and many previously uncharacterized candidate regulators of hypothalamic induction, regionalization, and neurogenesis. As proof of concept for the power of the dataset, we demonstrate that prethalamus-derived follistatin inhibits hypothalamic induction. This study clarifies the organization of the nascent hypothalamus and identifies molecular mechanisms that may control its induction and subsequent development.

In vivo evaluation of the levator ani muscle in primiparous women using diffusion tensor imaging and fiber tractography.

To characterize the levator ani muscle (LAM) injury after first vaginal delivery and investigate the clinical application of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and fiber tractography in evaluating the LAM. Fifty-eight primiparous women at 6weeks after vaginal delivery and 27 nulliparous women as controls underwent T2-weighted sequence and DTI sequence of the pelvic floor. A LAM scoring system was used to characterize the morphological changes. Fiber tractography of each major subdivision of LAM was performed, followed by assessment of the quality of fiber tracking. Fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fiber volume, and length were calculated. Puborectalis and iliococcygeus injuries were observed in 30/58 (51.7%) and 10/58 (17.2%) primiparae, respectively. No LAM defects were identified in the control group. For the puborectalis, the FA values were lower (P=0.010) and ADC values were higher (P=0.024) in the primiparous group than in the control group. For the iliococcygeus, the fiber volume values were lower in the primiparous group than in the control group (P=0.004). Vaginal delivery can result in LAM injury at the puborectalis. DTI parameters can assist in the quantitative diagnosis of the LAM injury.

Plastomes from tribe Plantagineae (Plantaginaceae) reveal infrageneric structural synapormorphies and localized hypermutation for Plantago and functional loss of ndh genes from Littorella

Tribe Plantagineae (Plantaginaceae) comprises ~ 270 species in three currently recognized genera (Aragoa, Littorella, Plantago), of which Plantago is most speciose. Plantago plastomes exhibit several atypical features including large inversions, expansions of the inverted repeat, increased repetitiveness, intron losses, and gene-specific increases in substitution rate, but the prevalence of these plastid features among species and subgenera is unknown. To assess phylogenetic relationships and plastomic evolutionary dynamics among Plantagineae genera and Plantago subgenera, we generated 25 complete plastome sequences and compared them with existing plastome sequences from Plantaginaceae. Using whole plastome and partitioned alignments, our phylogenomic analyses provided strong support for relationships among major Plantagineae lineages. General plastid features—including size, GC content, intron content, and indels—provided additional support that reinforced major Plantagineae subdivisions. Plastomes from Plantago subgenera Plantago and Coronopus have synapomorphic expansions and inversions affecting the size and gene order of the inverted repeats, and particular genes near the inversion breakpoints exhibit accelerated nucleotide substitution rates, suggesting localized hypermutation associated with rearrangements. The Littorella plastome lacks functional copies of ndh genes, which may be related to an amphibious lifestyle and partial reliance on CAM photosynthesis.

Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography and diversification patterns of a diverse group of moths (Geometridae: Boarmiini)

Understanding how and why some groups have become more species-rich than others, and how past biogeography may have shaped their current distribution, are questions that evolutionary biologists have long attempted to answer. We investigated diversification patterns and historical biogeography of a hyperdiverse lineage of Lepidoptera, the geometrid moths, by studying its most species-rich tribe Boarmiini, which comprises ca. 200 genera and ca. known 3000 species. We inferred the evolutionary relationships of Boarmiini based on a dataset of 346 taxa, with up to eight genetic markers under a maximum likelihood approach. The monophyly of Boarmiini is strongly supported. However, the phylogenetic position of many taxa does not agree with current taxonomy, although the monophyly of most major genera within the tribe is supported after minor adjustments. Three genera are synonymized, one new combination is proposed, and four species are placed in incertae sedis within Boarmiini. Our results support the idea of a rapid initial diversification of Boarmiini, which also implies that no major taxonomic subdivisions of the group can currently be proposed. A time-calibrated tree and biogeographical analyses suggest that boarmiines appeared in Laurasia ca. 52 Mya, followed by dispersal events throughout the Australasian, African and Neotropical regions. Most of the transcontinental dispersal events occurred in the Eocene, a period of intense geological activity and rapid climate change. Diversification analyses showed a relatively constant diversification rate for all Boarmiini, except in one clade containing the species-rich genus Cleora. The present work represents a substantial contribution towards understanding the evolutionary origin of Boarmiini moths. Our results, inevitably biased by taxon sampling, highlight the difficulties with working on species-rich groups that have not received much attention outside of Europe. Specifically, poor knowledge of the natural history of geometrids (particularly in tropical clades) limits our ability to identify key innovations underlying the diversification of boarmiines.

Postweaning Isolation Alters the Responses of Auditory Neurons to Serotonergic Modulation.

Juvenile social experience, such as social isolation, has profound effects on communicative behavior, including signal production and reception. In the current study, we explored responsiveness to the neuromodulator serotonin as a potential mechanistic link between early life social isolation and auditory processing. The serotonergic system is sensitive to social isolation in many brain regions including the inferior colliculus (IC), an auditory midbrain nucleus. We investigated the effects of social experience on serotonergic responsiveness by measuring cFos, an immediate early gene product, in the IC of female mice. Serotonin was manipulated pharmacologically by administering fenfluramine, pCPA, or saline to mice that had undergone an extreme dichotomy in social experience after weaning: being housed in social groups versus individually. These mice were exposed to a 60-min recording of vocalizations from an opposite-sex interaction and perfused. Using immunohistochemistry, we measured the density of cFos-positive (cFos+) nuclei in the major subdivisions of the IC. Housing condition, drug treatment, and IC subregion all had a significant effect on cFos+ density. The central IC showed the highest density of cFos+ cells and also the most pronounced effects of housing condition and drug treatment. In the central IC, cFos+ density was higher following fenfluramine treatment than saline, and lower following pCPA treatment than fenfluramine. Individually housed mice showed a higher cFos+ density than socially housed mice in both of the pharmacological treatment groups, but not in the saline group. Drug treatment but not housing condition had strong effects on the behaviors of grooming, digging, rearing, and movement. Once the effects of drug condition were controlled, there were no across-individual correlations between cFos+ densities and behaviors. These findings suggest that the responses of auditory neurons to neuromodulation by serotonin are influenced by early life experience.

As above, so below: Whole transcriptome profiling demonstrates strong molecular similarities between avian dorsal and ventral pallial subdivisions.

Over the last two decades, beginning with the Avian Brain Nomenclature Forum in 2000, major revisions have been made to our understanding of the organization and nomenclature of the avian brain. However, there are still unresolved questions on avian pallial organization, particularly whether the cells above the vestigial ventricle represent distinct populations to those below it or similar populations. To test these two hypotheses, we profiled the transcriptomes of the major avian pallial subdivisions dorsal and ventral to the vestigial ventricle boundary using RNA sequencing and a new zebra finch genome assembly containing about 22,000 annotated, complete genes. We found that the transcriptomes of neural populations above and below the ventricle were remarkably similar. Each subdivision in dorsal pallium (Wulst) had a corresponding molecular counterpart in the ventral pallium (dorsal ventricular ridge). In turn, each corresponding subdivision exhibited shared gene co‐expression modules that contained gene sets enriched in functional specializations, such as anatomical structure development, synaptic transmission, signaling, and neurogenesis. These findings are more in line with the continuum hypothesis of avian brain subdivision organization above and below the vestigial ventricle space, with the pallium as a whole consisting of four major cell populations (intercalated pallium, mesopallium, hyper‐nidopallium, and arcopallium) instead of seven (hyperpallium apicale, interstitial hyperpallium apicale, intercalated hyperpallium, hyperpallium densocellare, mesopallium, nidopallium, and arcopallium). We suggest adopting a more streamlined hierarchical naming system that reflects the robust similarities in gene expression, neural connectivity motifs, and function. These findings have important implications for our understanding of overall vertebrate brain evolution.

A Study on the Occupational Carbon Footprint and Environmental Sustainability

Global Warming is a well renowned common threat and carbon dioxide is its core which places the entire ecosystem under grave peril. Carbon footprint is an effective tool to measure the menacing acts which emit innumerable amounts of carbon. This study majorly focuses on the influence of income and commute on the Carbon Footprint and Environmental Sustainability. It is designed in such a way to explicitly pinpoint the causes of carbon emissions under various heads like commute, travel, diet, energy and family spend. Primary data from five major subdivisions of population like Entrepreneurs, Home makers, Labors, Professionals and students were considered for the study purpose. A questionnaire that combines general questions and access to a virtual carbon footprint calculator (Shado Calculator) was used to find out the carbon emission of the individual respondent. The findings state that the average carbon footprint increase with an increase in the income level and it is also shaped by commute emissions which contribute the most to the overall carbon footprint. The carbon footprint is generally determined by the occupational and financial soundness. Required initiatives in the form of individual efforts and changes in policy implications must be undertaken at all the levels of the society to control and downsize the impact of the carbon footprint on the environment.

Spatio-Temporal Non-Stationarity and Its Influencing Factors of Commercial Land Price: A Case Study of Hangzhou, China

Investigating the characteristics and mechanisms of the spatial and temporal variations of commercial land prices and its major subdivisions has great theoretical and practical significance in the study of urban economy and its spatial refinement management. Unlike general commodity prices, land prices are influenced by geographical location and tend to fluctuate over time. However, most scholars have not explored the influence mechanism of commercial land prices in both time and space. To help bridge this gap, this study takes the sample commercial land prices in the main urban area of Hangzhou from 2006 to 2015 as the empirical research object and investigates the spatiotemporal evolution mechanism of urban commercial land prices through a comparative analysis of the multiple regression analysis (MRA) with ordinary least squares (OLS), the geographically weighted regression (GWR), the temporally weighted regression (TWR), and the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) models. Results indicate that the land prices of land for financial facilities (Commercial Land Category 1) and commercial-business land (Commercial Land Category 2) in Hangzhou show different spatial and temporal evolutions and are influenced by the common factors of residential land price level (PL), maturity of living services (EN), and plot ratio (FRO) in the district. Meanwhile the main difference between the two influencing factors is the significant difference in sensitivity to locational centrality and industrial structure. Furthermore, we find that the spatial and temporal evolution of commercial land prices has three main mechanism: location selection, point-axis evolution, and function-promoting. Our findings will provide guidelines for scientifically guiding the coordinated development of urban land price and industrial economy and realizing the fine management and allocation of urban spatial resources.

Accelerating Hepatitis C virus elimination in Egypt by 2030: A national survey of communication for behavioral development as a modelling study.

Aim of the workThis study aimed at assessing the dominance of risk practices associated with HCV endemicity in Egypt and detecting the behavioral development level concerning different aspects of HCV risk behaviors with respect to age and gender. The survey highlights the most cost-effective strategies that could accelerate HCV elimination in Egypt.Subjects and methodsA national household survey targeted 3780 individuals (age range: 10–85 years). The sample was a systematic probability proportionate to size from 6 governorates representing the six major subdivisions of Egypt. The indicators used for assessing the behavioral development level towards HCV included six domains: awareness (7 indicators), perceived risk (5 indicators), motivation with the intention to change (4 and 5 indicators for males and females respectively), trial, rejection or adoption (6 and 5 indicators for males and females respectively).ResultsThe study revealed that along the continuum of behavior development, the percentage of the participants who acquired half of the scores was as follows: 73.1% aware, 69.8% developed perceived risk, 80.6% motivated with only 28.9% adopting the recommended behaviors, 32% rejected them, 2.3% were in the trial stage versus 35.8% who did not try any. Adolescents had significantly lower levels of development for almost all domains when compared to adults. Statistical higher significance was detected in favor of adults, employees, married, Lower Egypt governorates, and university-educated participants (p<0.001) regarding awareness, perceived risk, and motivation scores. More than half of the participants incorrectly believed that contaminated food, sharing food utilities, contaminated water, mosquitoes, and schistosomiasis would lead to HCV transmission.ConclusionEgypt would be closer to HCV elimination when cost-effective strategies are directed not towards creating awareness, perceived risk or motivation to change- (at an acceptable level)- but towards motivating adopting risk-reduction behaviors for HCV, tackling misconceptions and reinforcement of social support.

Исследования среднепалеолитических комплексов Чагырской пещеры в полевом сезоне 2021 года

The article presents the results of field studies of the Chagyrskaya Cave, a key site of the Sibiryachikha facies of the Altai Middle Paleolithic in 2021. In the 2021 field season, the main objectives of the work were to study the site stratigraphy, determine the contribution of predators and humans to the taphocenoses of osteological remains, and techno-typological analysis of archaeological materials from the Middle Paleolithic complexes of the cave. Geological studies have shown that the stratigraphic sequences contain seven major subdivisions of the Holocene and Pleistocene periods. In the course of the excavations, a specific section of layer 6c/2 was determined; its non-disturbed position was supported by the stratigraphic and micromorphological data. The complex of the Neanderthal material culture in layer 6c/2 represents the remains of the Neanderthal base camp for hunting prey consumption. On the other hand, layer 6a was formed as a result of colluvial processes; the artifacts and paleontological remains from layer 6c/2 were redeposited in the overlying stratigraphic unit. Functionally, this layer is defined as a den of hyenas, which used the cave for cub breeding. This conclusion is supported by the shares of bones with traces of acid corrosion determined for the complexes of layers 6a and 6c/2 in 2021. In the course of fieldwork new retouchers were found supplementing the collection of bone artifacts of the Chagyrskaya cave. The discovery of an anthropological fossil indicates the prospect of continuing archaeological studies at the site.

MBRS-46. CHARTING NEOPLASTIC AND IMMUNE CELL HETEROGENEITY IN HUMAN AND GEM MODELS OF MEDULLOBLASTOMA USING scRNAseq

We explored cellular heterogeneity in medulloblastoma using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq), immunohistochemistry and deconvolution of bulk transcriptomic data. Over 45,000 cells from 31 patients from all main subgroups of medulloblastoma (2 WNT, 10 SHH, 9 GP3, 11 GP4 and 1 GP3/4) were clustered using Harmony alignment to identify conserved subpopulations. Each subgroup contained subpopulations exhibiting mitotic, undifferentiated and neuronal differentiated transcript profiles, corroborating other recent medulloblastoma scRNAseq studies. The magnitude of our present study builds on the findings of existing studies, providing further characterization of conserved neoplastic subpopulations, including identification of a photoreceptor-differentiated subpopulation that was predominantly, but not exclusively, found in GP3 medulloblastoma. Deconvolution of MAGIC transcriptomic cohort data showed that neoplastic subpopulations are associated with major and minor subgroup subdivisions, for example, photoreceptor subpopulation cells are more abundant in GP3-alpha. In both GP3 and GP4, higher proportions of undifferentiated subpopulations is associated with shorter survival and conversely, differentiated subpopulation is associated with longer survival. This scRNAseq dataset also afforded unique insights into the immune landscape of medulloblastoma, and revealed an M2-polarized myeloid subpopulation that was restricted to SHH medulloblastoma. Additionally, we performed scRNAseq on 16,000 cells from genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models of GP3 and SHH medulloblastoma. These models showed a level of fidelity with corresponding human subgroup-specific neoplastic and immune subpopulations. Collectively, our findings advance our understanding of the neoplastic and immune landscape of the main medulloblastoma subgroups in both humans and GEM models.

Loss of habenular Prkar2a reduces hedonic eating and increases exercise motivation.

The habenula (Hb) is a bilateral, evolutionarily conserved epithalamic structure connecting forebrain and midbrain structures that has gained attention for its roles in depression, addiction, rewards processing, and motivation. Of its 2 major subdivisions, the medial Hb (MHb) and lateral Hb (LHb), MHb circuitry and function are poorly understood relative to those of the LHb. Prkar2a codes for cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) regulatory subunit IIα (RIIα), a component of the PKA holoenzyme at the center of one of the major cell-signaling pathways conserved across systems and species. Type 2 regulatory subunits (RIIα, RIIβ) determine the subcellular localization of PKA, and unlike other PKA subunits, Prkar2a has minimal brain expression except in the MHb. We previously showed that RIIα-knockout (RIIα-KO) mice resist diet-induced obesity. In the present study, we report that RIIα-KO mice have decreased consumption of palatable, “rewarding” foods and increased motivation for voluntary exercise. Prkar2a deficiency led to decreased habenular PKA enzymatic activity and impaired dendritic localization of PKA catalytic subunits in MHb neurons. Reexpression of Prkar2a in the Hb rescued this phenotype, confirming differential roles for Prkar2a in regulating the drives for palatable foods and voluntary exercise. Our findings show that in the MHb decreased PKA signaling and dendritic PKA activity decrease motivation for palatable foods, while enhancing the motivation for exercise, a desirable combination of behaviors.

Update on bladder cancer molecular subtypes.

In 2014, there was a burst of studies on the molecular subtypes of bladder cancer in the published literature that was made possible by the advances in high-throughput technologies. Based on gene expression profiling, the major molecular classification subdivisions were basal and luminal subtypes, which resembled to those observed in breast cancers. These basal and luminal subtypes were further subdivided by TCGA into squamous, infiltrated, luminal-papillary, luminal/genomically unstable (GU), and neuronal/small cell carcinoma (SCC) subtypes. Recently, an international subtypes consensus project further expanded on the TCGA subtypes by defining a consensus molecular classification (CMC). A multidisciplinary team of experts generated CMC to overcome the difficulties of clinical applications due to several published bladder cancer molecular classifications with various nomenclatures and molecular features. It included six molecular subtypes with the addition of one more luminal subtype (luminal nonspecified) compared to the TCGA subtype classification. The initial research efforts have focused on the characterization of each subtype at the molecular and histopathologic levels, but more recent studies have examined their significance in terms of clinical utility, i.e., biomarkers that inform prognostication and/or to predict therapeutic responses to be tested in future clinical trials. This review provides an overview of recent investigations into the relationship between molecular subtypes and the clinical management of patients with bladder cancer.

Anxiety and the Neurobiology of Temporally Uncertain Threat Anticipation.

When extreme, anxiety-a state of distress and arousal prototypically evoked by uncertain danger-can be debilitating. Uncertain anticipation is a shared feature of situations that elicit signs and symptoms of anxiety across psychiatric disorders, species, and assays. Despite the profound significance of anxiety for human health and wellbeing, the neurobiology of uncertain-threat anticipation remains unsettled. Leveraging a paradigm adapted from animal research and optimized for fMRI signal decomposition, we examined the neural circuits engaged during the anticipation of temporally uncertain and certain threat in 99 men and women. Results revealed that the neural systems recruited by uncertain and certain threat anticipation are anatomically colocalized in frontocortical regions, extended amygdala, and periaqueductal gray. Comparison of the threat conditions demonstrated that this circuitry can be fractionated, with frontocortical regions showing relatively stronger engagement during the anticipation of uncertain threat, and the extended amygdala showing the reverse pattern. Although there is widespread agreement that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and dorsal amygdala-the two major subdivisions of the extended amygdala-play a critical role in orchestrating adaptive responses to potential danger, their precise contributions to human anxiety have remained contentious. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that these regions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat anticipation. These observations provide a framework for conceptualizing anxiety and fear, for understanding the functional neuroanatomy of threat anticipation in humans, and for accelerating the development of more effective intervention strategies for pathological anxiety.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Anxiety-an emotion prototypically associated with the anticipation of uncertain harm-has profound significance for public health, yet the underlying neurobiology remains unclear. Leveraging a novel neuroimaging paradigm in a relatively large sample, we identify a core circuit responsive to both uncertain and certain threat anticipation, and show that this circuitry can be fractionated into subdivisions with a bias for one kind of threat or the other. The extended amygdala occupies center stage in neuropsychiatric models of anxiety, but its functional architecture has remained contentious. Here we demonstrate that its major subdivisions show statistically indistinguishable responses to temporally uncertain and certain threat. Collectively, these observations indicate the need to revise how we think about the neurobiology of anxiety and fear.