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Abstract Background Sensory systems evolved intricate designs to accurately encode perplexing environments. However, this encoding task may become particularly challenging for animals harboring a small number of sensory neurons. Here, we studied how the compact resource-limited chemosensory system of Caenorhabditis elegans uniquely encodes a range of chemical stimuli. Results We find that each stimulus is encoded using a small and unique subset of neurons, where only a portion of the encoding neurons sense the stimulus directly, and the rest are recruited via inter-neuronal communication. Furthermore, while most neurons show stereotypical response dynamics, some neurons exhibit versatile dynamics that are either stimulus specific or network-activity dependent. Notably, it is the collective dynamics of all responding neurons which provides valuable information that ultimately enhances stimulus identification, particularly when required to discriminate between closely related stimuli. Conclusions Together, these findings demonstrate how a compact and resource-limited chemosensory system can efficiently encode and discriminate a diverse range of chemical stimuli.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of Covid‐19 vaccination (Pfizer–BioNTech BNT162b2) during the third trimester of pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Design: A multicentre, retrospective computerised database. Population: Women who gave birth at >24 weeks of gestation in Israel, between January and April 2021, with full records of Covid‐19 disease and vaccination status. Methods: Women who received two doses of the vaccine were compared with unvaccinated women. Women who were recorded as having disease or a positive Covid‐19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab during pregnancy or delivery were excluded from both study groups. Univariate analysis was followed by multivariate logistic regression. Main outcome measures: Composite adverse maternal outcomes. Secondary outcomes were vaccination rate and composite adverse neonatal outcomes. Results: The overall uptake of one or both vaccines was 40.2%; 712 women who received two doses of the Covid‐19 vaccine were compared with 1063 unvaccinated women. Maternal composite outcomes were comparable between the groups; however, women who received the vaccine had higher rates of elective caesarean deliveries (CDs) and lower rates of vacuum deliveries. An adjusted multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that Covid‐19 vaccination was not associated with maternal composite adverse outcome (aOR 0.8, 95% CI 0.61–1.03); a significant reduction in the risk for neonatal composite adverse outcomes was observed (aOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.36–0.74). Conclusions: In a motivated population covered by a National Health Insurance Plan, we found a 40.2% rate of vaccination for the Covid‐19 vaccine during the third trimester of pregnancy, which was not associated with adverse maternal outcomes and, moreover, decreased the risk for neonatal adverse outcomes. Covid‐19 vaccine during pregnancy is safe for both mother and fetus. Covid‐19 vaccine during pregnancy is safe for both mother and fetus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement(s) Genetic variation Technology Type(s) Whole Exome Sequencing Factor Type(s) Diversity • Coverage • Population Structure Sample Characteristic - Organism Bos taurus

A major goal in neuroscience is to elucidate the principles by which memories are stored in a neural network. Here, we have systematically studied how four types of associative memories (short- and long-term memories, each as positive and negative associations) are encoded within the compact neural network of Caenorhabditis elegans worms. Interestingly, sensory neurons were primarily involved in coding short-term, but not long-term, memories, and individual sensory neurons could be assigned to coding either the conditioned stimulus or the experience valence (or both). Moreover, when considering the collective activity of the sensory neurons, the specific training experiences could be decoded. Interneurons integrated the modulated sensory inputs and a simple linear combination model identified the experience-specific modulated communication routes. The widely distributed memory suggests that integrated network plasticity, rather than changes to individual neurons, underlies the fine behavioral plasticity. This comprehensive study reveals basic memory-coding principles and highlights the central roles of sensory neurons in memory formation.

Objective: To evaluate the risk for major malformations following first-trimester exposure to vaginal azoles.Design: A population-based retrospective cohort study of women exposed to vaginal azoles from the first day of the last menstrual period until the 90th gestational day.Setting: A combination of four computerised databases: medications, birth, infant hospitalizations, and pregnancy terminations.Population: All women who gave birth or underwent a pregnancy termination at Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel, between 1999 and 2009.Methods: Crude and adjusted relative risks for major congenital malformations and for specific malformations according to organ systems were calculated using a multivariate negative binomial regression. Potential confounders were assessed and controlled for included parity, maternal age, ethnicity, maternal diabetes, smoking, and year of birth or pregnancy termination. Additional analysis using propensity score matching was performed for selected malformations.Main Outcome Measures: Major malformations as well as specific malformations according to organ systems.Results: Of 101 615 pregnancies, 1993 (1.96%) were exposed to clotrimazole vaginal tablets and 313 (0.31%) to miconazole vaginal tablets during the first trimester of pregnancy. No association was found between first-trimester exposure to clotrimazole and major or specific malformations. An association was found between miconazole exposure and musculoskeletal malformation in general and other congenital musculoskeletal anomalies in particular. However, no association was detected when propensity score matching was used.Conclusions: Intrauterine exposure to vaginal azoles during the first trimester of pregnancy was not associated with either major or specific malformations according to organ systems.Tweetable Abstract: First-trimester exposure to vaginal azoles is not associated with either major or specific malformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Efficient navigation based on chemical cues is an essential feature shared by all animals. These cues may be encountered in complex spatiotemporal patterns and with orders of magnitude varying intensities. Nevertheless, sensory neurons accurately extract the relevant information from such perplexing signals. Here, we show how a single sensory neuron in Caenorhabditis elegans animals can cell‐autonomously encode complex stimulus patterns composed of instantaneous sharp changes and of slowly changing continuous gradients. This encoding relies on a simple negative feedback in the G‐protein‐coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathway in which TAX‐6/Calcineurin plays a key role in mediating the feedback inhibition. This negative feedback supports several important coding features that underlie an efficient navigation strategy, including exact adaptation and adaptation to the magnitude of the gradient's first derivative. A simple mathematical model explains the fine neural dynamics of both wild‐type and tax‐6 mutant animals, further highlighting how the calcium‐dependent activity of TAX‐6/Calcineurin dictates GPCR inhibition and response dynamics. As GPCRs are ubiquitously expressed in all sensory neurons, this mechanism may be a general solution for efficient cell‐autonomous coding of external stimuli.

The stochastic expression of fewer than 60 clustered protocadherin (cPcdh) isoforms provides diverse identities to individual vertebrate neurons and a molecular basis for self-/nonself-discrimination. cPcdhs form chains mediated by alternating cis and trans interactions between apposed membranes, which has been suggested to signal self-recognition. Such a mechanism requires that cPcdh cis dimers form promiscuously to generate diverse recognition units, and that trans interactions have precise specificity so that isoform mismatches terminate chain growth. However, the extent to which cPcdh interactions fulfill these requirements has not been definitively demonstrated. Here, we report biophysical experiments showing that cPcdh cis interactions are promiscuous, but with preferences favoring formation of heterologous cis dimers. Trans homophilic interactions are remarkably precise, with no evidence for heterophilic interactions between different isoforms. A new C-type cPcdh crystal structure and mutagenesis data help to explain these observations. Overall, the interaction characteristics we report for cPcdhs help explain their function in neuronal self-/nonself-discrimination.

C. elegans worms exhibit an innate preference for various stimuli. Here the authors test the pairwise behavioral preference between a large set of stimuli and report that the worms’ behavior does not conform to rationality theory due to asymmetric modulatory effects within single sensory neurons.

Oil spill events are one of the major risks to marine and coastal ecosystems and, therefore, early detection is crucial for minimizing environmental contamination. Oil spill events have a unique appearance in satellite images created by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, because they are byproducts of the oil’s influence on the surface capillary, causing short gravity waves that change the radar’s backscatter intensity and result in unique dark formations in the SAR images. This signature’s appearance can be utilized to monitor and automatically detect oil spills in SAR images. Although SAR sensors capture these dark formations, which are likely connected to oil spills, it is hard to distinguish them from ships, ocean, land, and other oil-like formations. Most of the approaches for automatic detection and classification of oil spill events employ semantic segmentation with convolutional neural networks (CNNs), using a custom-made dataset. However, these approaches struggle to distinguish between oil spills and spots that resemble them. Therefore, developing a tailor-made sequence of methods for the oil spill recognition challenge is an essential need, and should include examination and choice of the most effective preprocessing tools, CNN models, and datasets that are specifically effective for the oil spill detection challenge. This paper suggests a new sequence of methods for accurate oil spill detection. First, a SAR image filtering technique was used for emphasizing the unique physical characteristics and appearance of oil spills. Each filter’s impact on leading CNN architectures performances was examined. Then, a method of a model ensemble was used, aiming to reduce the generalization error. All experiments demonstrated in this paper confirm that using the sequence suggested, in comparison to the common formula, leads to a 4.2% of improvement in the intersection over union score (IoU) for oil spill detection, and a 9.3% of improvement in the mean IoU among several relevant classes.

Microarray-based genomic selection is a central tool to increase the genetic gain of economically significant traits in dairy cattle. Yet, the effectivity of this tool is slightly limited, as estimates based on genotype data only partially explain the observed heritability. In the analysis of the genomes of 17 Israeli Holstein bulls, we compared genotyping accuracy between whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and microarray-based techniques. Using the standard GATK pipeline, the short-variant discovery within sequence reads mapped to the reference genome (ARS-UCD1.2) was compared to the genotypes from Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip and to an alternative method, which computationally mimics the hybridization procedure by mapping reads to 50 bp spanning the BeadChip source sequences. The number of mismatches between the BeadChip and WGS genotypes was low (0.2%). However, 17,197 (40% of the informative SNPs) had extra variation within 50 bp of the targeted SNP site, which might interfere with hybridization-based genotyping. Consequently, with respect to genotyping errors, BeadChip varied significantly and systematically from WGS genotyping, introducing null allele-like effects and Mendelian errors (

Thyroid hormones (THs; T3 and T4) enter cells using specific transporters and regulate development and metabolism. Mutation in the TH transporter monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8, SLC16A2) is associated with brain hypothyroidism and neurological impairment. We established mct8 mutant (mct8−/−) zebrafish as a model for MCT8 deficiency, which causes endocrinological, neurological, and behavioral alterations. Here, we profiled the transcriptome of mct8−/− larvae. Among hundreds of differentially expressed genes, the expression of a cluster of vision-related genes was distinct. Specifically, the expression of the opsin 1 medium wave sensitive 2 (opn1mw2) decreased in two mct8 mutants: mct8−/− and mct8−25bp−/− larvae, and under pharmacological inhibition of TH production. Optokinetic reflex (OKR) assays showed a reduction in the number of conjugated eye movements, and live imaging of genetically encoded Ca2+ indicator revealed altered neuronal activity in the pretectum area of mct8−25bp−/− larvae. These results imply that MCT8 and THs regulate the development of the visual system and suggest a mechanism to the deficiencies observed in the visual system of MCT8-deficiency patients.

Finding one’s way to a food source along a complex gradient is central to survival for many animals. Here, the authors report that in C. elegans, the distinct response dynamics of two sensory neurons to odor gradients can support a navigation model more efficient than the biased-random walk.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Evidence is conflicting regarding the association between Helicobacter pylori infection and diabetes mellitus. The study objective was to examine associations of H. pylori infection, gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers, with diabetes mellitus.This cross-sectional study was undertaken using coded data from the computerized database of Maccabi Health Services in Israel, on 147,936 individuals aged 25-95 years who underwent the urea breath test during 2002-2012. Multiple logistic regression models were conducted, while adjusting for known risk factors for diabetes mellitus.A H. pylori positive test was recorded for 76,992 (52.0%) individuals and diabetes for 12,207 (8.3%). The prevalence of diabetes was similar in individuals with and without H. pylori infection, but this association was modified (P for heterogeneity 0.049) by body mass index (BMI): adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.16 (95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.04-1.29) in persons with BMI

The video-recordings presented here were made at the conference Photography and Britishness, held at the Yale Center for British Art on November 4 – 5, 2016. The conference was the result of a collaboration between the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London, and the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino—three research institutions that have a converging interest in British art. The conference sought to investigate the various ways in which notions of “Britishness” have been communicated, inflected, and contested through the photographic image. It was not a conference about the history of photography in Britain, or about British photography. Rather, it sought to consider the nature of the relationship between photography and Britishness: the notion that photography can capture images of Britishness, at the same time that our sense of what Britishness constitutes is produced by the photographic image. A key question for the conference was whether Britishness can have a photographic referent—or whether it is itself an effect of representation. Speakers at the conference approached these questions from a wide range of perspectives and focusing on a diverse number of photographic materials—from family albums and studio portraits to advertisements, reportage, and aerial photography—which demonstrated the complexities and instabilities not only of the term Britishness, but also of the medium of photography. The conference was opened with an introduction by John Tagg. The videos included here are presented in the order they were delivered.

Stochastic cell-surface expression of α-, β-, and γ-clustered protocadherins (Pcdhs) provides vertebrate neurons with single-cell identities that underlie neuronal self-recognition. Here we report crystal structures of ectodomain fragments comprising cell-cell recognition regions of mouse γ-Pcdhs γA1, γA8, γB2, and γB7 revealing trans-homodimers, and of C-terminal ectodomain fragments from γ-Pcdhs γA4 and γB2, which depict cis-interacting regions in monomeric form. Together these structures span the entire γ-Pcdh ectodomain. The trans-dimer structures reveal determinants of γ-Pcdh isoform-specific homophilic recognition. We identified and structurally mapped cis-dimerization mutations to the C-terminal ectodomain structures. Biophysical studies showed that Pcdh ectodomains from γB-subfamily isoforms formed cis dimers, whereas γA isoforms did not, but both γA and γB isoforms could interact in cis with α-Pcdhs. Together, these data show how interaction specificity is distributed over all domains of the γ-Pcdh trans interface, and suggest that subfamily- or isoform-specific cis-interactions may play a role in the Pcdh-mediated neuronal self-recognition code.

We would like to make our readers aware of the publication by Cohen et al., which reports irrational behaviour in C. elegans olfactory preference[1] . These complementary studies establish C. elegans as a model system to explore the neural mechanisms of decision making.