Tripartite Organization Research Articles

Cucumber mosaic virus among ornamental crops in the Russian Far East

Aim. To summarise and analyse scientific data on Cucumber mosaic virus strains (CMV – Cucumber mosaic virus) (Martellivirales: Bromoviridae, Cucumovirus) isolated from ornamental plants in the Far East of the Russian Federation. Discussion. The paper describes the genome structure and tripartite organization of CMV virions. Strains of this virus isolated from ornamental cultures in the south of the Russian Far East are described: Garden balsam, Common snapdragon, Dahlias, Hybrid gladiolus, Hybrid delphinium, Cambria, Indian canna, Cattleya, Tiger lily, Garden petunia, Primula obconica, Moth orchids, Fatshedera from Lize Freres, Weeping fig, Common hollyhock, Purple coneflower. The physicochemical properties (i. e. point of thermal inactivation, period of preservation of infectivity at a temperature of 20 °C, maximum dilution of juice causing disease of healthy plants) and the symptoms of these strains on a wide range of species and varieties of indicator plants are systematised according to the Russian Collection of East Asian Viruses, functioning at the Laboratory of Virology of the Federal Scientific Center for East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Conclusions. The limiting factor in the development of floriculture is infectious diseases, among which viral infections (including CMV) are of the greatest importance, demonstrating a high strain diversity in the south of the Russian Far East. Thus, the study of the biological, physico‐chemical, immunochemical and molecular biological properties of CMV is an urgent task, as it opens up the possibility of studying isolates of this virus and classifying its strains taking into account individual characteristics and kinship relationships.

Assessing Usability and Ambulatory Clinical Staff Satisfaction with Two Electronic Health Records.

A growing body of literature has linked usability limitations within electronic health records (EHRs) to adverse outcomes which may in turn affect EHR system transitions. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (CU), and Weill Cornell Medical College (WC) are a tripartite organization with large academic medical centers that initiated a phased transition of their EHRs to one system, EpicCare. This article characterizes usability perceptions stratified by provider roles by surveying WC ambulatory clinical staff already utilizing EpicCare and CU ambulatory clinical staff utilizing iterations of Allscripts before the implementation of EpicCare campus-wide. A customized 19-question electronic survey utilizing usability constructs based on the Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale was anonymously administered prior to EHR transition. Responses were recorded with self-reported demographics. A total of 1,666 CU and 1,065 WC staff with ambulatory self-identified work setting were chosen. Select demographic statistics between campus staff were generally similar with small differences in patterns of clinical and EHR experience. Results demonstrated significant differences in EHR usability perceptions among ambulatory staff based on role and EHR system. WC staff utilizing EpicCare accounted for more favorable usability metrics than CU across all constructs. Ordering providers (OPs) denoted less usability than non-OPs. The Perceived Usefulness and User Control constructs accounted for the largest differences in usability perceptions. The Cognitive Support and Situational Awareness construct was similarly low for both campuses. Prior EHR experience demonstrated limited associations. Usability perceptions can be affected by role and EHR system. OPs consistently denoted less usability overall and were more affected by EHR system than non-OPs. While there was greater perceived usability for EpicCare to perform tasks related to care coordination, documentation, and error prevention, there were persistent shortcomings regarding tab navigation and cognitive burden reduction, which have implications on provider efficiency and wellness.

International labor organization and international non-governmental organizations: interaction on human rights

The interaction of representatives of civil society – INGOs – with specialized international organizations at the global level involves the development of recommendations, the adoption of international conventions and other acts aimed at the effective legal regulation of socio-economic human rights. As a rule, the result of consultations, exchange of views, search for a compromise on complex and controversial issues of ensuring socio-economic rights is the development of the most general variant of behavior, which further forms a specific legal norm in the national social security system and other areas of current legislation. The article analyzes interaction of the International Labor Organization and international non-governmental organizations regarding human rights promotion. As a tripartite organization, the ILO does not just cooperate with non-governmental organizations, but actually integrates sectors of civil society into its structure. The ILO interacts with INGOs that have a consultative status, cooperates at the operational level with various international, regional, national and local organizations. The article also analyzes the procedure for monitoring the practical application of the conventions is the consideration of complaints from various public organizations, as well as states.

Mapping caudal inferior parietal cortex supports the hypothesis about a modulating cortical area

The cytoarchitectonically tripartite organization of the inferior parietal cortex (IPC) into the rostral, the middle and the caudal clusters has been generally ignored when associating different functions to this part of the cortex, resulting in inconsistencies about how IPC is understood. In this study, we investigated the patterns of functional connectivity of the caudal IPC in a task requiring cognitive control, using multiband EPI. This part of the cortex demonstrated functional connectivity patterns dissimilar to a cognitive control area and at the same time the caudal IPC showed negative functional associations with both task-related brain areas and the precuneus cortex, which is active during resting state. We found evidence suggesting that the traditional categorization of different brain areas into either task-related or resting state-related networks cannot accommodate the functions of the caudal IPC. This underlies the hypothesis about a new brain functional category as a modulating cortical area proposing that its involvement in task performance, in a modulating manner, is marked by deactivation in the patterns of functional associations with parts of the brain that are recognized to be involved in doing a task, proportionate to task difficulty; however, its patterns of functional connectivity in some other respects do not correspond to the resting state-related parts of the cortex.

The Galenic Heart in the Gothic Cathedral and the Adjournment in Discovery of Circulation.

Aristotle's tripartite concept of man-body, soul and spirit-formed the basis of the Galenic system that distinguished nurturing, vitalizing and animating tributary domains, governed by the liver, heart and brain, respectively. The Gothic cathedral structures into similar tripartite arrangements of nave, choir and sanctuary. We studied whether consistent parallels can be found between the Galenic concept of man, the Galenic heart itself and the structuring of the Gothic cathedral. Galenic literature along with scholastic texts were reviewed. Examples of Gothic cathedrals were visited and studied in locations. We used medieval analytical tools to compare characteristics of cathedral architecture and contemporary concepts on man and the heart. Consistent parallels were found between the Galenic system and the structural parts of the Gothic cathedral. The principle of homology, intrinsic to both the Galenic system and Gothic architecture, identified the same tripartite organization in the Galenic heart itself and the segments could be projected onto the cathedral structure. Thus, the physical/nurturing domain was identified with the right ventricle inlet and the nave; the psychological/vitalizing domain corresponded with the right ventricle outlet/interventricular septum and the cathedral's choir; the animating/spiritual domain paralleled with the left ventricle/aortic valve and the sanctuary in the cathedral. The Aristotelian/Galenic tripartite concept appears consistent with Gothic architecture and both provided a comprehensive view of the world; their relationship stems in a common philosophical and symbolic foundation. The tripartite interpretation was so coherent that it effectively delayed recognition of circulation and the heart's role in it.

Of Cockroaches and Symbionts: Recent Advances in the Characterization of the Relationship between Blattella germanica and Its Dual Symbiotic System.

Mutualistic stable symbioses are widespread in all groups of eukaryotes, especially in insects, where symbionts have played an essential role in their evolution. Many insects live in obligate relationship with different ecto- and endosymbiotic bacteria, which are needed to maintain their hosts’ fitness in their natural environment, to the point of even relying on them for survival. The case of cockroaches (Blattodea) is paradigmatic, as both symbiotic systems coexist in the same organism in two separated compartments: an intracellular endosymbiont (Blattabacterium) inside bacteriocytes located in the fat body, and a rich and complex microbiota in the hindgut. The German cockroach Blattella germanica is a good model for the study of symbiotic interactions, as it can be maintained in the laboratory in controlled populations, allowing the perturbations of the two symbiotic systems in order to study the communication and integration of the tripartite organization of the host–endosymbiont–microbiota, and to evaluate the role of symbiotic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in host control over their symbionts. The importance of cockroaches as reservoirs and transmission vectors of antibiotic resistance sequences, and their putative interest to search for AMPs to deal with the problem, is also discussed.

Striatal topographical organization: Bridging the gap between molecules, connectivity and behavior.

The striatum represents the major hub of the basal ganglia, receiving projections from the entire cerebral cortex and it is assumed to play a key role in a wide array of complex behavioral tasks. Despite being extensively investigated during the last decades, the topographical organization of the striatum is not well understood yet. Ongoing efforts in neuroscience are focused on analyzing striatal anatomy at different spatial scales, to understand how structure relates to function and how derangements of this organization are involved in various neuropsychiatric diseases. While being subdivided at the macroscale level into dorsal and ventral divisions, at a mesoscale level the striatum represents an anatomical continuum sharing the same cellular makeup. At the same time, it is now increasingly ascertained that different striatal compartments show subtle histochemical differences, and their neurons exhibit peculiar patterns of gene expression, supporting functional diversity across the whole basal ganglia circuitry. Such diversity is further supported by afferent connections which are heterogenous both anatomically, as they originate from distributed cortical areas and subcortical structures, and biochemically, as they involve a variety of neurotransmitters. Specifically, the cortico-striatal projection system is topographically organized delineating a functional organization which is maintained throughout the basal ganglia, subserving motor, cognitive and affective behavioral functions. While such functional heterogeneity has been firstly conceptualized as a tripartite organization, with sharply defined limbic, associative and sensorimotor territories within the striatum, it has been proposed that such territories are more likely to fade into one another, delineating a gradient-like organization along medio-lateral and ventro-dorsal axes. However, the molecular and cellular underpinnings of such organization are less understood, and their relations to behavior remains an open question, especially in humans. In this review we aimed at summarizing the available knowledge on striatal organization, especially focusing on how it links structure to function and its alterations in neuropsychiatric diseases. We examined studies conducted on different species, covering a wide array of different methodologies: from tract-tracing and immunohistochemistry to neuroimaging and transcriptomic experiments, aimed at bridging the gap between macroscopic and molecular levels.

Functional anatomy of the frontal aslant tract and surgical perspectives.

The frontal aslant tract (FAT) is an intralobar white matter fasciculus providing dense connections between the medial part of the superior frontal gyrus, in particular the presupplementary motor area (SMA) and the SMA proper, and the lateral part of the frontal lobe, especially the inferior frontal gyrus. Although this tract has been characterized belatedly, it has received important attention in recent years due notably to its increasingly evidenced role in the speech and language networks. As cerebral tumors frequently affect the frontal lobe, an improved knowledge of the functional anatomy of the FAT is mandatory to refine the way neurosurgeries are performed and to give the patients the best opportunities to recover after surgery. In this work, we first describe the spatial arrangement of the FAT and detail its cortical projections. We then provide a comprehensive review of the functions supposedly mediated by this transverse frontal connectivity. It is structured following a tripartite organization where the linguistic (i.e. speech and language), supralinguistic (i.e. functions that interact with speech and language: executive functions, working memory, and social communication) and extralinguistic implications (i.e. functions outside the linguistic domain: visuospatial processing, praxis and motor skills) are successively addressed. We lastly discussed this knowledge in the context of wide-awake neurosurgeries for brain tumors. We emphasize the need to evaluate thoroughly the functions conveyed by FAT by means of longitudinally-designed studies to first estimate its plasticity potential and then to determine which tasks should be selected to avoid lasting impairments due to its disconnective breakdown.

Moving from Vatican Bling to Malchus’s Ear: Taking the “Catholic Imagination” Seriously When Thinking About Catholic Devotions in Centuries Past

Moving from Vatican Bling to Malchus’s EarTaking the “Catholic Imagination” Seriously When Thinking About Catholic Devotions in Centuries Past Michael P. Carroll (bio) Every year the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City stages a gala to raise money for its Costume Institute and that gala is always associated with a themed exhibition that is open to the public once the gala itself is over (the Met Gala for 2020, of course, was canceled because of Covid-19). In 2018, the exhibition theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Most press coverage of the gala itself focused on the female celebrities who attended (including, among others, Rihanna, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Serena Williams, and Lady Gaga) and the costumes they wore in order to reflect the exhibition’s theme. But what would make the 2018 exhibition especially distinctive was that it would become the most visited exhibition in the recorded history of the Met, beating out the King Tut exhibition in the 1970s.1 On the face of things, then, it would seem there is much public interest in the “Catholic Imagination.” What did people see at this particular exhibition? As commentators were quick to note, the exhibition had a tripartite organization. [End Page 124] One section was devoted to what one churlish commentator called “Vatican bling.”2 On view there were nearly four dozen papal vestments on loan from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which had never been outside Rome, and which included tiaras (including a tiara set with 19,000 gems, mostly diamonds); papal chasubles, and pectoral crosses. By agreement with Church authorities, these objects were kept separate from the more secular fashions displayed in the rest of the exhibition. A second section of the exhibition displayed secular clothing by leading fashion designers that had been inspired by religious dress and religious art. Finally, a third section was on display at the Cloisters, the Met’s extension in northern Manhattan, and this also involved secular designs that had been inspired by sacred art. At one level then, the exhibition was concerned with exactly what its title suggests, namely, the influence of Catholic art and clerical dress on secular fashion—though as one commentator noted, this was only true if “fashion” consistently meant “women’s fashion.”3 On the other hand, reading through the scholarly essays published in the exhibition catalogue, it seems clear that the organizers had an aspirational goal that reached for a bit more, namely, they wanted to explore the nature and importance of the “Catholic Imagination” in the Catholic tradition generally. This is especially clear in the introductory essay in the exhibition’s catalogue, which was written by Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute and the organizer of the exhibition. Bolton starts by noting that the term “Catholic Imagination” was popularized by the priest/sociologist Andrew Greeley (1928–2013) in his book of that title, and Bolton summarizes Greeley by saying that “metaphor is the essential characteristic of a distinctively Catholic sensibility, or consciousness, which he [Greeley] defines as the Catholic Imagination.”4 Bolton goes on to quote an extended passage from Greeley’s book. Since that particular passage also appeared on a wall of the exhibition (which, incidentally, I did visit at the time), it is worth repeating here: [End Page 125] Catholics live in an enchanted world, a world of statues and holy water, stained glass and votive candles, saints and religious medals, rosary beads and holy pictures. But these Catholic paraphernalia are mere hints of a deeper and more pervasive religious sensibility to see the Holy lurking in Creation. . . . The Catholic Imagination in all its many manifestations . . . tends to emphasize the metaphorical nature of creation. . . . Everything in creation, from the exploding cosmos to the whirling, dancing, and utterly mysterious quantum particles discloses something about God and, in so doing, brings God among us. Greeley’s argument, Bolton notes, was derived from an earlier argument developed by the theologian David Tracy,5 and indeed Tracy contributed his own essay to the exhibition catalogue.6 Despite the fact that this very explicit acknowledgement of Andrew Greeley’s work was (literally) built into the exhibition, the exhibition and...

Genetic Diversity of the Noncoding Control Region of the Novel Human Polyomaviruses.

The genomes of polyomaviruses are characterized by their tripartite organization with an early region, a late region and a noncoding control region (NCCR). The early region encodes proteins involved in replication and transcription of the viral genome, while expression of the late region generates the capsid proteins. Transcription regulatory sequences for expression of the early and late genes, as well as the origin of replication are encompassed in the NCCR. Cell tropism of polyomaviruses not only depends on the appropriate receptors on the host cell, but cell-specific expression of the viral genes is also governed by the NCCR. Thus far, 15 polyomaviruses have been isolated from humans, though it remains to be established whether all of them are genuine human polyomaviruses (HPyVs). The sequences of the NCCR of these HPyVs show high genetic variability and have been best studied in the human polyomaviruses BK and JC. Rearranged NCCRs in BKPyV and JCPyV, the first HPyVs to be discovered approximately 30 years ago, have been associated with the pathogenic properties of these viruses in nephropathy and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, respectively. Since 2007, thirteen novel PyVs have been isolated from humans: KIPyV, WUPyV, MCPyV, HPyV6, HPyV7, TSPyV, HPyV9, HPyV10, STLPyV, HPyV12, NJPyV, LIPyV and QPyV. This review describes all NCCR variants of the new HPyVs that have been reported in the literature and discusses the possible consequences of NCCR diversity in terms of promoter strength, putative transcription factor binding sites and possible association with diseases.

Comparison of the Tripartite Organization of Synaptic Terminals in Intraocular Septal Transplants and in the Septal Area of the Brain

The septal area of the brain is functionally connected to other limbic structures and is involved in cognitive processes. Intraocular neural transplants provide an experimental model for studying the endogenous morphofunctional properties of the septum. The aim of the present work was to compare the structure of synaptic contacts in septal intraocular neural transplants and in the septal area of the brain in situ. Neurons are regarded as thee-component complexes including not only pre- and postsynaptic components, but also the astrocyte processes encircling them. Ultrastructural studies showed that despite the absence of normal afferent and efferent connections in intraocular neural transplants, their synapses reproduced the tripartite organization. Morphometric analysis of their parameters showed a decrease in the statistical mean area and perimeter of the presynaptic compartment as compared with normal. At the same time, the extent of encirclement by perisynaptic astrocyte processes in transplants was, conversely, significantly greater than in the septum in situ. The mean extents of active zones in synaptic profiles in transplanted neurons was greater than that in controls. The morphometric data obtained here indicate coordinated regulation of the sizes of the three compartments of synapses depending on the functional state of the synaptic apparatus overall.

Beyond “Legal Equality” vs. “Difference” Feminism: Leah F. Vosko Interviews Eileen Boris on Women and the ILO

Beyond “Legal Equality” vs. “Difference” Feminism: Leah F. Vosko Interviews Eileen Boris on Women and the ILO

Comparative Characterization of Two cxcl8 Homologs in Oplegnathus fasciatus: Genomic, Transcriptional and Functional Analyses

CXCL8 (interleukin-8, IL-8) is a CXC family chemokine that recruits specific target cells and mediates inflammation and wound healing. This study reports the identification and characterization of two cxcl8 homologs from rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus. Investigation of molecular signature, homology, phylogeny, and gene structure suggested that they belonged to lineages 1 (L1) and 3 (L3), and designated Ofcxcl8-L1 and Ofcxcl8-L3. While Ofcxcl8-L1 and Ofcxcl8-L3 revealed quadripartite and tripartite organization, in place of the mammalian ELR (Glu-Leu-Arg) motif, their peptides harbored EMH (Glu-Met-His) and NSH (Asn-Ser-His) motifs, respectively. Transcripts of Ofcxcl8s were constitutively detected by Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR) in 11 tissues examined, however, at different levels. Ofcxcl8-L1 transcript robustly responded to treatments with stimulants, such as flagellin, concanavalin A, lipopolysaccharide, and poly(I:C), and pathogens, including Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae, and rock bream iridovirus, when compared with Ofcxcl8-L3 mRNA. The differences in the putative promoter features may partly explain the differential transcriptional modulation of Ofcxcl8s. Purified recombinant OfCXCL8 (rOfCXCL8) proteins were used in in vitro chemotaxis and proliferation assays. Despite the lack of ELR motif, both rOfCXCL8s exhibited leukocyte chemotactic and proliferative functions, where the potency of rOfCXCL8-L1 was robust and significant compared to that of rOfCXCL8-L3. The results, taken together, are indicative of the crucial importance of Ofcxcl8s in inflammatory responses and immunoregulatory roles in rock bream immunity.

Regulation and Roles of the Nucleolus in Embryonic Stem Cells: From Ribosome Biogenesis to Genome Organization.

The nucleolus is the largest compartment of the eukaryotic cell's nucleus. It acts as a ribosome factory, thereby sustaining the translation machinery. The nucleolus is also the subnuclear compartment with the highest transcriptional activity in the cell, where hundreds of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes transcribe the overwhelming majority of RNAs. The structure and composition of the nucleolus change according to the developmental state. For instance, in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), rRNA genes display a hyperactive transcriptional state and open chromatin structure compared with differentiated cells. Increasing evidence indicates that the role of the nucleolus and rRNA genes might go beyond the control of ribosome biogenesis. One such role is linked to the genome architecture, since repressive domains are often located close to the nucleolus. This review highlights recent findings describing how the nucleolus is regulated in ESCs and its role in regulating ribosome biogenesis and genome organization for the maintenance of stem cell identity.

Insights into the Evolutionary Origin of Mediterranean Sandfly Fever Viruses.

Sandfly-transmitted phleboviruses (family Phenuiviridae, order Bunyavirales) are associated with febrile illness and infections of the nervous system in humans. These viruses are almost exclusively found in tropical areas of the New World and restricted to semiarid and temperate zones in the Old World. Here, we discovered seven strains of four previously unknown phleboviruses, named Bogoria virus (BOGV), Embossos virus (EMRV), Kiborgoch virus (KBGV), and Perkerra virus (PERV), as well as the recently discovered Ntepes virus, in sandflies collected in the Kenyan Rift Valley. The genomes have a tripartite organization with conserved termini typical of phleboviruses. LOBV, PERV, and EMBV showed low similarity to known phleboviruses, with less than 55% pairwise amino acid identities in the RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRp) proteins, and defined a highly diversified monophyletic clade in sister relationship to the sandfly fever Sicilian serocomplex. All three viruses failed to react with sandfly fever Sicilian virus antisera in recombinant immunofluorescence assays (rIFA), suggesting that the viruses belong to a yet-unknown serogroup. In contrast, KBGV was closely related to Toscana virus (84% identity of RdRp proteins) and shared a most recent common ancestor with the clade comprising sandfly fever Naples and Toscana viruses. KBGV reacted with sandfly fever Naples and Toscana virus antisera in rIFA. The genetic diversity of the detected viruses and their phylogenetic positions implies that the Old World sandfly-borne phleboviruses originated from sub-Saharan Africa. Importantly, our findings suggest that diseases associated with sandfly-borne phlebovirus infections may also affect the Kenyan population.IMPORTANCE Studies on the genetic diversity of arthropod-borne viruses circulating in rural regions can provide critical early indications on new emerging viruses essential for global epidemic preparedness. In this study, we describe the discovery of four phleboviruses in sandflies from the Kenyan Rift Valley. The novel viruses are related to the two medically important serocomplexes, sandfly fever Naples and sandfly fever Sicilian, that are associated with febrile illness and neuroinvasive infections and which were previously not known to occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Knowledge on the occurrence of sandfly-borne phleboviruses in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa can help to decipher their contributions in the etiologies of fevers of unknown origin in patients. Our findings on five genetically diverse phleboviruses detected in Kenya suggest that the common ancestor of Old World phleboviruses existed in sub-Saharan Africa, a hot spot for emerging arboviruses.

L’OIT, les normes et l’histoire

Cette contribution retrace l’histoire de l’Organisation internationale du Travail (OIT), aujourd’hui une agence spécialisée de l’ONU, à travers son activité principale : l’élaboration, l’adoption et l’application des normes internationales du travail. L’OIT est une organisation tripartite où les normes internationales du travail sont négociées entre les représentants des gouvernements, des travailleurs et des employeurs. L’article analyse les débuts d’une législation internationale du travail au XIX e siècle, le contexte spécifique de la création de l’OIT comme institution tripartite en 1919 et l’impact qu’ont eu sur son action normative le paradigme des droits de l’homme, la guerre froide, la décolonisation et, finalement, la mondialisation sous les auspices du néo-libéralisme. Les conséquences sociales, économiques et politiques de cette dernière ont contribué à déclencher une crise profonde de l’action normative qui se traduit notamment par une difficulté croissante des constituants de l’OIT à négocier des compromis.

The First Non-LRV RNA Virus in Leishmania.

In this work, we describe the first Leishmania-infecting leishbunyavirus—the first virus other than Leishmania RNA virus (LRV) found in trypanosomatid parasites. Its host is Leishmania martiniquensis, a human pathogen causing infections with a wide range of manifestations from asymptomatic to severe visceral disease. This virus (LmarLBV1) possesses many characteristic features of leishbunyaviruses, such as tripartite organization of its RNA genome, with ORFs encoding RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, surface glycoprotein, and nucleoprotein on L, M, and S segments, respectively. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that LmarLBV1 originated from leishbunyaviruses of monoxenous trypanosomatids and, probably, is a result of genomic re-assortment. The LmarLBV1 facilitates parasites’ infectivity in vitro in primary murine macrophages model. The discovery of a virus in L. martiniquensis poses the question of whether it influences pathogenicity of this parasite in vivo, similarly to the LRV in other Leishmania species.

The LisH Domain-Containing N-Terminal Fragment is Important for the Localization, Dimerization, and Stability of Katnal2 in Tetrahymena.

Katanin-like 2 protein (Katnal2) orthologs have a tripartite domain organization. Two highly conserved regions, an N-terminal LisH (Lis-homology) domain and a C-terminal AAA catalytic domain, are separated by a less conserved linker. The AAA domain of Katnal2 shares the highest amino acid sequence homology with the AAA domain of the canonical katanin p60. Katnal2 orthologs are present in a wide range of eukaryotes, from protists to humans. In the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, a Katnal2 ortholog, Kat2, co-localizes with the microtubular structures, including basal bodies and ciliary outer doublets, and this co-localization is sensitive to levels of microtubule glutamylation. The functional analysis of Kat2 domains suggests that an N-terminal fragment containing a LisH domain plays a role in the subcellular localization, dimerization, and stability of Kat2.

Cognitive demand modulates connectivity patterns of rostral inferior parietal cortex in cognitive control of language

ABSTRACT The inferior parietal cortex (IPC) is involved in different cognitive functions including language. In line with the correlated transmitter receptor-based organization of the IPC, this part of the brain is parcellated into the rostral, the middle and the caudal clusters; however, the tripartite organization of the IPC has not been addressed in studies with a focus on cognitive control of language. Using multiband EPI, in this study we investigated how the rostral IPC contributes to this executive function in bilinguals. In doing so, we focused on the functional connectivity patterns of this part of the cortex with other brain areas in a context characterized with language engagement and disengagement that recruits the neural mechanisms of cognitive control. We found that in switching to L2, which was cognitively less demanding, the right rostral IPC had positive functional connectivity with the anterior division of the cingulate gyrus and the precentral gyrus. However, in switching to L1, which was cognitively more demanding, the right IPC rostral cluster had negative functional coupling with the postcentral gyrus and the precuneus cortex and positive connectivity with the posterior lobe of the cerebellum. In this condition, the left IPC rostral cluster had negative functional coupling with the superior frontal gyrus and the precuneus cortex. Thus, the connectivity patterns of the rostral IPC was influenced by the cognitive demand in an asymmetrical and lateral manner during cognitive control of language.

Biochemical and molecular identification of a novel hepcidin type 2-like antimicrobial peptide in the skin mucus of the pufferfish Takifugu pardalis

Fish skin mucus is considered to act as the first line of defense against waterborne pathogens and to be potential source of novel antimicrobial components. Here we report the purification and characterization of a novel hepcidin type 2-like antimicrobial peptide (TpHAMP2) from the skin mucus of the pufferfish Takifugu pardalis. The purified TpHAMP2 comprised of 23 amino acids (AAs) with eight Cys residues that form four intramolecular disulfide bonds. The TpHAMP2 gene shared overall structural characteristics with all known hepcidins, which have a tripartite exon-intron gene organization and three structural signatures in the precursor protein. Phylogenetically, TpHAMP2 was classified as HAMP2 class in acanthopterygian fish. Interestingly, the AA sequence of TpHAMP2 did not contain a proprotein cleavage site (RXXR motif) that conserved in most hepcidins and showed a highly positive charged (RKR-) short N-terminus and Val18 and Gly22 residues, which are distinctive structures compared to other known active hepcidins. Recombinant TpHAMP2 identical to the native form exhibited a broad spectrum and potent antimicrobial activity against tested gram-positive and -negative bacteria. Expression of TpHAMP2 mRNA was predominant in the liver and was upregulated in the liver, the spleen, the intestine, and the skin of T. pardalis post immune challenge. Thus, our findings suggests that TpHAMP2 might be of importance in the framework of discovering the fish hepcidins, especially type 2s, and provide noteworthy insight into its gene structure and expression and in the innate immunity as well as the mucosal immunity in regard to hepcidins’ evolutionary history in fish species.