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The epigenetic landscape metaphor proposed by Waddington was an attempt to reconcile the deterministic and nondeterministic view of cell differentiation. Rediscovered by the recent emergence of epigenetics, it can be interpreted in two ways: as a representation of a noisy but deterministic system, or alternatively, as a stochastic system contingent on its own lineage trajectory recorded by the epigenetic memory and constrained by the actual environment. The present paper aims to build a working model that explains cell differentiation in a step-by-step manner on the basis of the nondeterministic vision of the cell. We explore the historical roots of the fundamental concepts that make possible, and the most recent experimental observations that make necessary this initiative.

Background: Since 2010, Israel has expanded the adoption of procedure-related group (PRG) based payments for hospitals. While there is a rich quantitative literature that assesses the effects of payment reforms on efficiency or quality of care, very few qualitative studies have focused on the impacts of diagnosis-related group (DRG)-like payments on hospitals from the perspective of hospital workers as change agents. Methods: We used a qualitative, thematic analysis based on 33 semi-structured in-depth interviews with chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), ward directors and physicians conducted in five public hospitals in Israel, sampled by maximum variation according to hospital characteristics. Results: Interviewees reported that the payment reform led to organizational changes such as increased transparency and enhanced supervision. Interviewees also reported several actions in response to the economic incentives of PRGbased payment. These included (1) shifting activities to afterhours and using operating rooms (ORs) more efficiently to enable increased surgical volumes; (2) reducing costs by shortening lengths of stay and increasing cost-consciousness in procurement; and (3) increasing revenues by improving coding and selecting procedures. Moderating factors reduced the effects of the reform. For example, organizational factors such as the public nature of hospitals or the (un)availability of healthcare resources did not always allow hospitals to increase the number of cases treated. Also, conflicting incentives such as multiple payment mechanisms or underpricing of procedures blurred the incentives of the reform. Finally, managers and physicians have many other considerations that outweigh the economic ones. Conclusion: PRG payments affected the organizational dynamics of hospitals and changed decision-making about admission and treatment policies. However, such effects were moderated by many other factors that should be considered when shaping and analyzing hospital payment reforms.

BackgroundDespite extensive efforts to prevent recurrent Aedes-borne arbovirus epidemics, there is a steady rise in their global incidence. Vaccines/treatments show very limited efficacy and together with the emergence of mosquito resistance to insecticides, it has become urgent to develop alternative solutions for efficient, sustainable and environmentally benign mosquito vector control. Here we present a new Sterile Insect Technology (SIT)-based program that uses large-scale releases of sterile male mosquitoes produced by a highly effective, safe and environmentally benign method.Methods and findingsTo test the efficacy of this approach, a field trial was conducted in a Brazilian city (Jacarezinho), which presented a history of 3 epidemics of dengue in the past decade. Sterile male mosquitoes were produced from a locally acquired Aedes aegypti colony, and releases were carried out on a weekly basis for seven months in a predefined area. This treated area was matched to a control area, in terms of size, layout, historic mosquito infestation index, socioeconomic patterns and comparable prevalence of dengue cases in past outbreaks. Releases of sterile male mosquitoes resulted in up to 91.4% reduction of live progeny of field Ae. aegypti mosquitoes recorded over time. The reduction in the mosquito population was corroborated by the standard monitoring system (LIRAa index) as determined by the local municipality, which found that our treated neighborhoods were almost free of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes after 5 months of release, whereas neighborhoods adjacent to the treated area and the control neighborhoods were highly infested. Importantly, when a dengue outbreak started in Jacarezinho in March 2019, the effective mosquito population suppression was shown to be associated with a far lower incidence of dengue in the treated area (16 cases corresponding to 264 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) almost 16 times lower than the dengue incidence in the control area (198 cases corresponding to 4,360 dengue cases per 100,000 inhabitants).ConclusionsOur data present the first demonstration that a SIT-based intervention has the potential to prevent the spread of dengue, opening exciting new opportunities for preventing mosquito-borne disease.

The initial stages following the in vitro cytokine stimulation of human cord blood CD34+ cells overlap with the period when lentiviral gene transfer is typically performed. Single-cell transcriptional profiling and time-lapse microscopy were used to investigate how the vector-cell crosstalk impacts on the fate decision process. The single-cell transcription profiles were analyzed using a new algorithm, and it is shown that lentiviral transduction during the early stages of stimulation modifies the dynamics of the fate choice process of the CD34+ cells. The cells transduced with a lentiviral vector are biased toward the common myeloid progenitor lineage. Valproic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor known to increase the grafting potential of the CD34+ cells, improves the transduction efficiency to almost 100%. The cells transduced in the presence of valproic acid can subsequently undergo normal fate commitment. The higher gene transfer efficiency did not alter the genomic integration profile of the vector. These observations open the way to substantially improving lentiviral gene transfer protocols.

Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are neuropeptides that govern the social-emotional functioning of humans. We contend that to fully understand their function, research should consider how they are flexibly fitted to maximize survival and reproduction given the variety of human experience. In a series of two studies, we show that early life stress is associated with change in the core function of OT and AVP in evolutionary predictable ways: Under high early life stress, AVP promotes threat-detection capabilities, whereas OT motivates non-selective proximity seeking to others. Conversely, under low early life stress these neuropeptides have an opposite, yet adaptive response: AVP promotes low vigilance and preservation of energy, whereas OT increases detection of interpersonal flaws. Our results demonstrate the plasticity of neuropeptide functioning that mirrors the variance in human social-emotional functioning.

Are groups superior to individuals in detecting lies, and are there certain personality traits that significantly contribute to a collective lie-detecting capability? In the current research, we compared the ability of small groups to detect deception compared with individuals, and further examined whether small groups comprising more members high in attachment anxiety would show superior performance in detecting deceit. To this end, we asked 233 participants (40 groups and 113 individuals) to watch a series of clips showing a person making either truthful or untruthful statements, and then decide whether the speaker was honest or dishonest. Results confirmed our expectations and showed superior deceit-detection abilities in small groups, and that this ability was proportionate to the number of people high in attachment anxiety in the group. These results are discussed from the perspective of social defense theory, and the utility of diverse social groups in coping with diverse threats.

Islamic banking has crossed the milestone of forty years since the Dubai Islamic Bank and the Islamic Development Bank were established in 1975. Islamic banking windows, standalone Islamic banking systems and even full-fledged Islamic banks, are operating as a part of global finance industry in the scenario wherein interest based institutions capture the overwhelming part of the business. Islamic banking institutions (IBIs) use Islamic equivalents of almost all conventional finance products for financing and liquidity and risk management, from ‘over draft’ to the most toxic derivatives like swaps to compete with the conventional banks in profitability. As a commercial necessity and the need to compete for profitability, many Islamic finance professionals, academics and some Sharī‘ah scholars advocate for the use of such products and devices treating it ‘╒ājjah’ for risk hedging on the basis of ‘ma╖la╒ah’ or ‘umūm balwa’. The path dependency syndrome may lead to credibility loss to Islamic finance resulting in persistent financial exclusion of the faith based clients / investors. This paper discusses the severity of the dichotomy between economic goals and the Sharī‘ah compliance focusing on the negative impact of financial derivatives and suggests some policy initiatives and steps to reduce it and make Islamic banking and finance an increasingly sustainable global discipline based on sound principles. It recommends that the jurists and Islamic finance professionals should explore the Sharī‘ah rules and real business potentials to find answers to the current Islamic banking conundrum and lead the industry on the right path of developing Sharī‘ah based ethical products and using really Sharī‘ah based devices to hedge risk.

The cells of a multicellular organism are derived from a single zygote and genetically identical. Yet, they are phenotypically very different. This difference is the result of a process commonly called cell differentiation. How the phenotypic diversity emerges during ontogenesis or regeneration is a central and intensely studied but still unresolved issue in biology. Cell biology is facing conceptual challenges that are frequently confused with methodological difficulties. How to define a cell type? What stability or change means in the context of cell differentiation and how to deal with the ubiquitous molecular variations seen in the living cells? What are the driving forces of the change? We propose to reframe the problem of cell differentiation in a systemic way by incorporating different theoretical approaches. The new conceptual framework is able to capture the insights made at different levels of cellular organization and considered previously as contradictory. It also provides a formal strategy for further experimental studies.

The cells of a multicellular organism are derived from a single zygote and genetically identical. Yet, they are phenotypically very different. This difference is the result of a process commonly called cell differentiation. How the phenotypic diversity emerges during ontogenesis or regeneration is a central and intensely studied but still unresolved issue in biology. Cell biology is facing conceptual challenges that are frequently confused with methodological difficulties. How to define a cell type? What stability or change means in the context of cell differentiation and how to deal with the ubiquitous molecular variations seen in the living cells? What are the driving forces of the change? We propose to reframe the problem of cell differentiation in a systemic way by incorporating different theoretical approaches. The new conceptual framework is able to capture the insights made at different levels of cellular organization and considered previously as contradictory. It also provides a formal strategy for further experimental studies.

International audience

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui karakteristik kelompok tani, mendeskripsikan proses komunikasi, dan efektivitas komunikasi penyuluhan pertanian di kecamatan Batang Anai. Penelitian telah dilaksanakan di kelompok tani Sapilin, Kampung Baru, Korong Simpang Kataping, Nagari Kataping Kecamatan Batang Anai Kabupaten Padang Pariaman. Penelitian ini berlangsung dari tanggal 15 Februari sampai dengan 20 April 2017. Metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah metode studi kasus. Responden penelitian seluruh anggota kelompok tani sebanyak 26 orang dan 1 orang PPL yang mendampingi kelompok. Analisis data yang digunakan analisis deskriptif kualitatif, pengukuran data yang digunakan metode perbedaan semantik (Semantic Differentials). Hasil penelitian menjelaskan Karakteristik kelompok tani Sapilin, berdasarkan ciri kelompok tani sudah sesuai Peraturan Menteri Pertanian Nomor 82/Permentan/OT.140/8/2013, tentang pedoman pembinaan kelompok tani dan gabungan kelompok tani, sedangkan berdasarkan unsur pengikat kelompok tani terdapat ada perbedaan yaitu kelompok tani Sapilin belum memilki kawasan usaha yang menjadi tangguang jawab bersama dan berdasarkan fungsi kelompok tani juga terdapat perbedaan yaitu kelompok tani Sapilin belum menjadikan kelompok sebagai unit produksi, Proses komunikasi penyuluhan pertanian di kecamatan Batang Anai Kabupaten Padang Pariaman, dimulai dari sumber (penyuluh), kemudian pesan (sesuai dengan kebutuhan) disampaikan menggunakan saluran (metode penyampaian: teori dan Praktek), kemudian dilanjutkan kepenerima (anggota kelompok tani, pelaku utama, pelaku usaha dan keluarganya) setelah informasi diterima penerima akan menimbulkan respon secara langsung yaitu berupa umpan-balik dan secara tidak langsung berupa akibat atau efek atas informasi yang diterima. Efektivitas komunikasi penyuluhan pertanian di Kecamatan Batang Anai Kabupaten Padang Pariaman, dari segi komunikator dan reseptor (penerima) tergolong kedalam kategori efektif. Kata Kunci: Efektivitas Komunikasi, Penyuluhan Pertanian dan Kelompok Tani.

International audience; Cell differentiation is a longitudinal and dynamic process. Studying and quantifying such a process require tools combining precise time resolution and statistical power. Imaging flow cytometry (IFC) provides statistically significant number of microscopy images of individual cells in a sample at a given time point. Time-lapse microscopy (TLM) is the method of choice for studying the dynamics of cell processes at a high temporal, but low statistical resolution. In this work, we show that the dynamic changes of cord-blood derived CD34+ cells in response to cytokine stimulation can be successfully studied, in a label-free way, by the combination of the IFCs statistical power and the TLM's high time resolution. Cell morphology phenotypes were quantified through roundness and surface area, measured both in IFC and with a homemade segmentation algorithm in TLM. Two distinct morphologies-polarized and round-were observed in cord-blood derived CD34+. We show that some cells have the ability to fluctuate between these morphologies, suggesting that the apparent stable composition of round and polarized cells may actually represent a dynamic equilibrium. This example demonstrates that the different resolutions and modalities of IFC and TLM are complementary and allow the study of complex dynamic biological processes. (c) 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.