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Black band disease is a globally distributed and easily recognizable coral disease. Despite years of study, the etiology of this coral disease, which impacts dozens of stony coral species, is not completely understood. Although black band disease mats are predominantly composed of the cyanobacterial species Roseofilum reptotaenium, other filamentous cyanobacterial strains and bacterial heterotrophs are readily detected. Through chemical ecology and metagenomic sequencing, we uncovered cryptic strains of Roseofilum species from Siderastrea siderea corals that differ from those on other corals in the Caribbean and Pacific. Isolation of metabolites from Siderastrea-derived Roseofilum revealed the prevalence of unique forms of looekeyolides, distinct from previously characterized Roseofilum reptotaenium strains. In addition, comparative genomics of Roseofilum strains showed that only Siderastrea-based Roseofilum strains have the genetic capacity to produce lasso peptides, a family of compounds with diverse biological activity. All nine Roseofilum strains examined here shared the genetic capacity to produce looekeyolides and malyngamides, suggesting these compounds support the ecology of this genus. Similar biosynthetic gene clusters are not found in other cyanobacterial genera associated with black band disease, which may suggest that looekeyolides and malyngamides contribute to disease etiology through yet unknown mechanisms.

BackgroundGenetic mutations underlying familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) were identified decades ago, but the field is still in search of transformative therapies for patients. While mouse models based on overexpression of mutated transgenes have yielded key insights in mechanisms of disease, those models are subject to artifacts, including random genetic integration of the transgene, ectopic expression and non-physiological protein levels. The genetic engineering of novel mouse models using knock-in approaches addresses some of those limitations. With mounting evidence of the role played by microglia in AD, high-dimensional approaches to phenotype microglia in those models are critical to refine our understanding of the immune response in the brain.MethodsWe engineered a novel App knock-in mouse model (AppSAA) using homologous recombination to introduce three disease-causing coding mutations (Swedish, Arctic and Austrian) to the mouse App gene. Amyloid-β pathology, neurodegeneration, glial responses, brain metabolism and behavioral phenotypes were characterized in heterozygous and homozygous AppSAA mice at different ages in brain and/ or biofluids. Wild type littermate mice were used as experimental controls. We used in situ imaging technologies to define the whole-brain distribution of amyloid plaques and compare it to other AD mouse models and human brain pathology. To further explore the microglial response to AD relevant pathology, we isolated microglia with fibrillar Aβ content from the brain and performed transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses and in vivo brain imaging to measure energy metabolism and microglial response. Finally, we also characterized the mice in various behavioral assays.ResultsLeveraging multi-omics approaches, we discovered profound alteration of diverse lipids and metabolites as well as an exacerbated disease-associated transcriptomic response in microglia with high intracellular Aβ content. The AppSAA knock-in mouse model recapitulates key pathological features of AD such as a progressive accumulation of parenchymal amyloid plaques and vascular amyloid deposits, altered astroglial and microglial responses and elevation of CSF markers of neurodegeneration. Those observations were associated with increased TSPO and FDG-PET brain signals and a hyperactivity phenotype as the animals aged.DiscussionOur findings demonstrate that fibrillar Aβ in microglia is associated with lipid dyshomeostasis consistent with lysosomal dysfunction and foam cell phenotypes as well as profound immuno-metabolic perturbations, opening new avenues to further investigate metabolic pathways at play in microglia responding to AD-relevant pathogenesis. The in-depth characterization of pathological hallmarks of AD in this novel and open-access mouse model should serve as a resource for the scientific community to investigate disease-relevant biology.

Several studies have analysed the impact of attending early childhood education centres on communication, regulatory skills and social-emotional development. These educational institutions have increased in presence annually, partially due to the access of women to the labour market. It has been found that infant education may modulate development in vulnerable contexts (typically associated with negative cognitive outcomes), although the results are contradictory. We presented a study that evaluated Latin American dyads of mothers-infants aged 18 to 24 months regarding the influence of infant education and social vulnerability on Executive Functions (EF) and Communication Skills (CS). To address these goals, toddlers completed several EF tasks and the Early Social Communication Scales. Parents completed the Socioeconomic Level Scale from INDEC. Results revealed that social vulnerability was associated with both EF and CS, daycare attendance was positively related to CS and finally, the contribution of daycare varied by SES on EF. These findings highlight the importance of considering infant education and socioeconomic status to generate equal opportunities from the first months of life. [Translation from Spanish by Mary Black.]

A growing body of experimental work highlights the potential value of unstructured, interactive, or spontaneous motions, including gestures, dance, shifting body postures, physical object-manipulation, drawing, etc. to favorably impact creative performance. However, despite these favorable findings, to our knowledge, no systematic review has been conducted to explore the totality of evidence for embodied activities in this arena. Thus, the objective of this paper was to systematically evaluate the potential effects of embodied experimental manipulations on traditionally assessed creativity outcomes. A systematic review was conducted utilizing PubMed, PsychInfo, Sports Discus, and Google Scholar databases. The 20 studies evaluated employed a variety of methodological approaches regarding study design, embodied manipulation, and selection of specific creativity outcomes. Despite these variations, embodied movement robustly enhanced creativity across nearly all studies (90%), with no studies showing a detrimental effect. Based on the evaluation of the studies reviewed, several common themes emerged. These included the relevance of symbolic metaphors and distributed embodied cognitions, selection of embodied modality, specific measurement considerations, as well as the importance for implementing true, inactive control conditions in embodied creativity research. This review expands on these findings and places them in the context of improving future embodied creativity research.

This study examined the link between creative cognition andmeaningful physical movement among university students (N = 151) from a cognitive offloading perspective. A linearmixedmodel, repeatedmeasures design examined whether divergent thinking on three Alternative Uses Tasks (AUTs; within-subjects factor) was influenced by movement in three independent experimental groups: (1) gesture as meaningful movement (n = 51), (2) meaningless movement (n = 50), and (3) restricted movement (n = 50). Linear mixed model results indicated that changes in AUT fluency, flexibility, and originality across trials did not significantly interact with group. However, baseline gesture frequency was positively associated with all four creativity outcome measures and moderated group-level changes in originality across trials. Infrequent baseline gesturers demonstrated lower originality scores in the gesture as meaningful movement group compared to those in the restricted movement group. More frequent baseline gesturers experienced higher originality in both the gesture as meaningful movement and meaningless movement groups compared to those in the restricted movement group. This study demonstrates that the cognitive processes involved in novel idea generation may be differentially impacted by movement and may be more sensitive to individual differences in movement predisposition than experimental movement manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although executive functions (EFs) have been identified as a cornerstone of cognitive development, knowledge of this fundamental ability in children is based primarily on research with North American and Western European samples of middle to high socioeconomic status (SES). In this article, we highlight advances in research on developmental EFs from Latin American regions, an understudied area that provides a unique context important to understanding EFs. Our narrative review suggests the potential for both universality (e.g., increasing cohesion and longitudinal stability among EFs' task performance, general positive associations with age, and other social and cognitive abilities) and cultural specificity in EF development (i.e., contributions of SES, educational environments, parenting styles, and cultural values). It is important to consider the development of EFs outside of typically examined samples—and specifically within Latin American countries—to understand more thoroughly these abilities and to generate interventions that consider cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory cytokines play a dominant role in the pathogenesis of disc degeneration. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) are noninvasive biophysical stimulus that has been used extensively in the orthopaedic field for many years. However, the specific cellular responses and mechanisms involved are still unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the time-dependent PEMF effects on pro-inflammatory factor IL-6 expression in disc nucleus pulposus cells using a novel green fluorescence protein (GFP) reporter system. An MS2-tagged GFP reporter system driven by IL-6 promoter was constructed to visualize PEMF treatment effect on IL-6 transcription in single living cells. IL-6-MS2 reporter-labeled cells were treated with IL-1α to mimic the in situ inflammatory environment of degenerative disc while simultaneously exposed to PEMF continuously for 4 h. Time-lapse imaging was recorded using a confocal microscope to track dynamic IL-6 transcription activity that was demonstrated by GFP. Finally, real-time RT-PCR was performed to confirm the imaging data. Live cell imaging demonstrated that pro-inflammatory factor IL-1α significantly promoted IL-6 transcription over time as compared with DMEM basal medium condition. Imaging and PCR data demonstrated that the inductive effect of IL-1α on IL-6 expression could be significantly inhibited by PEMF treatment in a time-dependent manner (early as 2 h of stimulus initiation). Our data suggest that PEMF may have a role in the clinical management of patients with chronic low back pain. Furthermore, this study shows that the MS2-tagged GFP reporter system is a useful tool for visualizing the dynamic events of mechanobiology in musculoskeletal research. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research® Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society. J Orthop Res 35:778-787, 2018.

Background contextProlonged microgravity exposure is associated with localized low back pain and an elevated risk of post-flight disc herniation. Although the mechanisms by which microgravity impairs the spine are unclear, they should be foundational for developing in-flight countermeasures for maintaining astronaut spine health. Because human spine anatomy has adapted to upright posture on Earth, observations of how spaceflight affects the spine should also provide new and potentially important information on spine biomechanics that benefit the general population.PurposeThis study compares quantitative measures of lumbar spine anatomy, health, and biomechanics in astronauts before and after 6 months of microgravity exposure on board the International Space Station (ISS).Study designThis is a prospective longitudinal study.SampleSix astronaut crewmember volunteers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with 6-month missions aboard the ISS comprised our study sample.Outcome measuresFor multifidus and erector spinae at L3-L4, measures include cross-sectional area (CSA), functional cross-sectional area (FCSA), and FCSA/CSA. Other measures include supine lumbar lordosis (L1-S1), active (standing) and passive (lying) flexion-extension range of motion (FE ROM) for each lumbar disc segment, disc water content from T2-weighted intensity, Pfirrmann grade, vertebral end plate pathology, and subject-reported incidence of chronic low back pain or disc injuries at 1-year follow-up.Methods3T magnetic resonance imaging and dynamic fluoroscopy of the lumbar spine were collected for each subject at two time points: approximately 30 days before launch (pre-flight) and 1 day following 6 months spaceflight on the ISS (post-flight). Outcome measures were compared between time points using paired t tests and regression analyses.ResultsSupine lumbar lordosis decreased (flattened) by an average of 11% (p=.019). Active FE ROM decreased for the middle three lumbar discs (L2-L3: -22.1%, p=.049; L3-L4: -17.3%, p=.016; L4-L5: -30.3%, p=.004). By contrast, no significant passive FE ROM changes in these discs were observed (p>.05). Disc water content did not differ systematically from pre- to post-flight. Multifidus and erector spinae changed variably between subjects, with five of six subjects experiencing an average decrease 20% for FCSA and 8%-9% for CSA in both muscles. For all subjects, changes in multifidus FCSA strongly correlated with changes in lordosis (r2=0.86, p=.008) and active FE ROM at L4-L5 (r2=0.94, p=.007). Additionally, changes in multifidus FCSA/CSA correlated with changes in lordosis (r2=0.69, p=.03). Although multifidus-associated changes in lordosis and ROM were present among all subjects, only those with severe, pre-flight end plate irregularities (two of six subjects) had post-flight lumbar symptoms (including chronic low back pain or disc herniation).ConclusionsWe observed that multifidus atrophy, rather than intervertebral disc swelling, associated strongly with lumbar flattening and increased stiffness. Because these changes have been previously linked with detrimental spine biomechanics and pain in terrestrial populations, when combined with evidence of pre-flight vertebral end plate insufficiency, they may elevate injury risk for astronauts upon return to gravity loading. Our results also have implications for deconditioned spines on Earth. We anticipate that our results will inform new astronaut countermeasures that target the multifidus muscles, and research on the role of muscular stability in relation to chronic low back pain and disc injury.

Low passing rates are common in asynchronous introductory accounting courses due to the challenging material and the online setting. While peer support involving knowledgeable peer assistants has been shown to improve face-to-face students' performance, it is unknown whether it will be effective when used online. Another issue of traditional peer support is the low participation rate. This study implemented a modified peer support model that involved a direct peer assistant (DPA) actively engaging online introductory accounting students. We found that students with a DPA participated in substantially more peer-supported activities (PSAs), especially when their current exam performance was low. Further, PSA participants had more positive subsequent grade changes and visited learning and homework systems more frequently than non-participants. Overall, the study suggests that in asynchronous introductory accounting, peer support carefully designed to provide extra student engagement will achieve desired participation rates and increase student grades and effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]