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Ecological Memory of Historical Contamination Influences the Response of Phytoplankton Communities
Get PDFEcological memory (EM) recognizes the importance of previous stress encounters in promoting community tolerance and thereby enhances ecosystem stability, provided that gained tolerances are preserved during non-stress periods. Drawing from this concept, we hypothesized that the recruitment of tolerant species can be facilitated by imposing an initial sorting process (conditioning) during the early stages of community assembly, which should result in higher production (biomass development and photosynthetic efficiency) and stable community composition. To test this, phytoplankton resting stages were germinated from lake sediments originating from two catchments that differed in contamination history: one impacted by long-term herbicides and pesticides exposures (historically contaminated lake) from an agricultural catchment compared to a low-impacted one (near-pristine lake) from a forested catchment. Conditioning was achieved by adding an herbicide (Isoproturon, which was commonly used in the catchment of the historically contaminated lake) during germination. Afterward, the communities obtained from germination were exposed to an increasing gradient of Isoproturon. As hypothesized, upon conditioning, the phytoplankton assemblages from the historically contaminated lake were able to rapidly restore photosynthetic efficiency (p > 0.01) and became structurally (community composition) more resistant to Isoproturon. The communities of the near-pristine lake did not yield these positive effects regardless of conditioning, supporting that EM was a unique attribute of the historically stressed ecosystem. Moreover, assemblages that displayed higher structural resistance concurrently yielded lower biomass, indicating that benefits of EM in increasing structural stability may trade-off with production. Our results clearly indicate that EM can foster ecosystem stability to a recurring stressor
The structure of the mouse ADAT2/ADAT3 complex reveals the molecular basis for mammalian tRNA wobble adenosine-to-inosine deamination
Get PDFPost-transcriptional modification of tRNA wobble adenosine into inosine is crucial for decoding multiple mRNA codons by a single tRNA. The eukaryotic wobble adenosine-to-inosine modification is catalysed by the ADAT (ADAT2/ADAT3) complex that modifies up to eight tRNAs, requiring a full tRNA for activity. Yet, ADAT catalytic mechanism and its implication in neurodevelopmental disorders remain poorly understood. Here, we have characterized mouse ADAT and provide the molecular basis for tRNAs deamination by ADAT2 as well as ADAT3 inactivation by loss of catalytic and tRNA-binding determinants. We show that tRNA binding and deamination can vary depending on the cognate tRNA but absolutely rely on the eukaryote-specific ADAT3 N-terminal domain. This domain can rotate with respect to the ADAT catalytic domain to present and position the tRNA anticodon-stem-loop correctly in ADAT2 active site. A founder mutation in the ADAT3 N-terminal domain, which causes intellectual disability, does not affect tRNA binding despite the structural changes it induces but most likely hinders optimal presentation of the tRNA anticodon-stem-loop to ADAT2
FireProt(ASR): A Web Server for Fully Automated Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction
Get PDFThere is a great interest in increasing proteins' stability to widen their usability in numerous biomedical and biotechnological applications. However, native proteins cannot usually withstand the harsh industrial environment, since they are evolved to function under mild conditions. Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a well-established method for deducing the evolutionary history of genes. Besides its applicability to discover the most probable evolutionary ancestors of the modern proteins, ancestral sequence reconstruction has proven to be a useful approach for the design of highly stable proteins. Recently, several computational tools were developed, which make the ancestral reconstruction algorithms accessible to the community, while leaving the most crucial steps of the preparation of the input data on users' side. FireProt(ASR) aims to overcome this obstacle by constructing a fully automated workflow, allowing even the unexperienced users to obtain ancestral sequences based on a sequence query as the only input
Change in physical activity and stress during COVID-19 in a sample of older adults with exercise habits
Get PDFBACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak forced many states to introduce public health and social me-asures (PHSM), which may pose an obstacle to performing physical activity (PA). METHODS: This study investigated PA levels and their changes and perceived stress in a sample of 193 participants (aged 71.21 ± 4.87 years) engaged in exercise lessons prior to PSHM. Data were collected via an online survey distributed directly to the participants. The survey included two instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale. RESULTS: The results indicate that sports habits may be a protective factor in staying active and meting PA recommendations. Nevertheless, there were no associations between the number of exercise lessons in the pre-COVID-19 period and PA level or the perceived change in PA during PSHM. Ability to replace the cancelled exercise lesson with PA of similar duration and intensity was negatively associated with PA levels and its change. The PSS-10 score suggests that the sample did not experience a significant increase in perceived stress, but the relationship of this outcome to PA is unclear.CONCLUSIONS: The promotion of alternative PA that could be performed during PHSM and building long-term exercise habits in older adults should be considered.BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak forced many states to introduce public health and social me-asures (PHSM), which may pose an obstacle to performing physical activity (PA). METHODS: This study investigated PA levels and their changes and perceived stress in a sample of 193 participants (aged 71.21 ± 4.87 years) engaged in exercise lessons prior to PSHM. Data were collected via an online survey distributed directly to the participants. The survey included two instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale. RESULTS: The results indicate that sports habits may be a protective factor in staying active and meting PA recommendations. Nevertheless, there were no associations between the number of exercise lessons in the pre-COVID-19 period and PA level or the perceived change in PA during PSHM. Ability to replace the cancelled exercise lesson with PA of similar duration and intensity was negatively associated with PA levels and its change. The PSS-10 score suggests that the sample did not experience a significant increase in perceived stress, but the relationship of this outcome to PA is unclear.CONCLUSIONS: The promotion of alternative PA that could be performed during PHSM and building long-term exercise habits in older adults should be considered
Training Knowledge Graph Embedding Models
Get PDFKnowledge graph embedding (KGE) models have become popular means for making discoveries in knowledge graphs (e.g., RDF graphs) in an efficient and scalable manner. The key to success of these models is their ability to learn low-rank vector representations for knowledge graph entities and relations. Despite the rapid development of KGE models, state-of-the-art approaches have mostly focused on new ways to represent embeddings interaction functions (i.e., scoring functions). In this paper, we argue that the choice of other training components such as the loss function, hyperparameters and negative sampling strategies can also have substantial impact on the model efficiency. This area has been rather neglected by previous works so far and our contribution is towards closing this gap by a thorough analysis of possible choices of training loss functions, hyperparameters and negative sampling techniques. We finally investigate the effects of specific choices on the scalability and accuracy of knowledge graph embedding models.Knowledge graph embedding (KGE) models have become popular means for making discoveries in knowledge graphs (e.g., RDF graphs) in an efficient and scalable manner. The key to success of these models is their ability to learn low-rank vector representations for knowledge graph entities and relations. Despite the rapid development of KGE models, state-of-the-art approaches have mostly focused on new ways to represent embeddings interaction functions (i.e., scoring functions). In this paper, we argue that the choice of other training components such as the loss function, hyperparameters and negative sampling strategies can also have substantial impact on the model efficiency. This area has been rather neglected by previous works so far and our contribution is towards closing this gap by a thorough analysis of possible choices of training loss functions, hyperparameters and negative sampling techniques. We finally investigate the effects of specific choices on the scalability and accuracy of knowledge graph embedding models
Social Media in Use: A Uses and Gratifications Approach
Get PDFInformation technologies have caused radical changes in many areas, they have also changed marketing activities. Today, marketing activities are carried out in digital environments, facilitating the work of companies and helping consumers around the world. Consumers get the right information and data about products and services much easier and faster, as well as access different forms of entertainment. Therefore, it can be said that the place of traditional marketing today has been replaced by digital marketing. This paper tries to shed some light on how consumers of Western Balkans and specifically in Kosovo, use social media and how those shape their attitudes, based on the uses and gratifications approach. This is the first paper from this region, which analyzes social media, based on the previously mentioned approach. Since research in the region was prohibitive for us, we selected a sample of 200 consumers from Kosovo, active on social media. The findings of this paper serve managers in better attracting online customers through social media.Information technologies have caused radical changes in many areas, they have also changed marketing activities. Today, marketing activities are carried out in digital environments, facilitating the work of companies and helping consumers around the world. Consumers get the right information and data about products and services much easier and faster, as well as access different forms of entertainment. Therefore, it can be said that the place of traditional marketing today has been replaced by digital marketing. This paper tries to shed some light on how consumers of Western Balkans and specifically in Kosovo, use social media and how those shape their attitudes, based on the uses and gratifications approach. This is the first paper from this region, which analyzes social media, based on the previously mentioned approach. Since research in the region was prohibitive for us, we selected a sample of 200 consumers from Kosovo, active on social media. The findings of this paper serve managers in better attracting online customers through social media
Gender Differences in Depressive Traits among Rural and Urban Chinese Adolescent Students: Secondary Data Analysis of Nationwide Survey CFPS
Get PDFMany previous studies have indicated that urban adolescents show a higher level of mental health in China compared to rural adolescents. Specifically, girls in rural areas represented a high-risk group prior to the 21st century, demonstrating more suicidal behaviour and ideation than those in the urban areas because of the severe gender inequality in rural China. However, because of the urbanisation process and centralised policy to eliminate gender inequality in recent decades, the regional and gender differences in mental health might decrease. This research aimed to probe the gender and regional differences in depressive traits among adolescent students currently in China. We adopted the national survey dataset Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) conducted in 2018. Accordingly, 2173 observations from 10–15-year-old subjects were included. CFPS utilised an eight-item questionnaire to screen individuals’ depressive traits. Two dimensions of depressive traits were confirmed by CFA, namely depressed affect and anhedonia. The measurement invariance tests suggested that the two-factor model was applicable for both males and females and rural and urban students. Based on the extracted values from the CFA model, MANOVA results revealed that, compared to boys, girls experienced more depressed affect. Moreover, rural students demonstrated more anhedonia symptoms. There was no interaction between gender and region. The results suggest that, even though the gender and regional differences are small, being a female and coming from a rural area are still potential risk factors for developing depressive traits among adolescent students in China
Dissociation, Cognitive Reflection and Health Literacy Have a Modest Effect on Belief in Conspiracy Theories about COVID-19
Get PDFUnderstanding the predictors of belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories and willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may aid the resolution of current and future pandemics. We investigate how psychological and cognitive characteristics influence general conspiracy mentality and COVID-related conspiracy theories. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from an online survey of a sample of Czech university students (n = 866) collected in January 2021, using multivariate linear regression and mediation analysis. Sixteen percent of respondents believed that COVID-19 is a hoax, and 17% believed that COVID-19 was intentionally created by humans. Seven percent of the variance of the hoax theory and 10% of the variance of the creation theory was explained by (in descending order of relevance) low cognitive reflection, low digital health literacy, high experience with dissociation and, to some extent, high bullshit receptivity. Belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories depended less on psychological and cognitive variables compared to conspiracy mentality (16% of the variance explained). The effect of digital health literacy on belief in COVID-related theories was moderated by cognitive reflection. Belief in conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 was influenced by experience with dissociation, cognitive reflection, digital health literacy and bullshit receptivity
Soziale Ordnung als Kippbild. Klassische und neuere Perspektiven
Get PDFDie folgenden Überlegungen sind »Kippbildern« sozialer Ordnung gewidmet, Theorien, die soziale Ordnung und ihr »Anderes« in ein produktives Verhältnis setzen. Es sollen klassische und neuere Ansätze, die soziale Ordnung als Kippbild verstehen, diskutiert werden. Eine herausragende Rolle spielt zunächst Émile Durkheim, dessen Früh- und Spätwerk jeweils eine eigenständige Perspektive auf soziale Ordnung als Kippfigur werfen. In Durkheims frühen Arbeiten wird Gesellschaft als normative Ordnung konzipiert, deren Übertretung sich als konstitutiv für dieselbe erweist – ein Ansatz, der im deutsch-sprachigen Raum insbesondere in der Skandalforschung fruchtbar gemacht wurde. Hingegen begreift der späte Durkheim Gesellschaft als eine religiöse Ordnung, in der das kollektive Heilige in einen radikalen Gegensatz zur profanen Lebenswelt des Einzelnen tritt, diese aber zugleich begründet und überschreitet. Durkheims »religiöse« Soziologie fand ihre Fortsetzung in den Arbeiten des Collège de Sociologie, insbesondere bei George Bataille, sowie in der Sozial-anthropologie, beispielsweise bei Viktor Turner und Mary Douglas. Sie diente auch als theoretische Grundlage für die Soziologie des Ausserordentlichen von Bernhard Giesen, mit der wir uns im letzten Abschnitt eingehender auseinandersetzen wollen. Giesen versteht Gesellschaft als eine kulturelle Ordnung, als System von Unterscheidungen, für deren Fortbestand Ambivalenz und Ambiguität entscheidend sind. In eine ähnliche Richtung weisen auch neuere Ansätze einer Soziologie des »Exzeptionellen« (Bröckling) oder »Singulären« (Reckwitz) im deutschsprachigen Raum.This paper adresses ambiguous images of social dis/order, theories in which social order and its "other" are creatively related to each other. I will discuss classical and newer approaches, first of all the earlier as well as the late work of Émile Durkheim, both of which develope a genuine perspective on social order. The early Durkheim conceptualizes social order as normative order, the late Durkheim as religious order, in which the collective sacred is radically seperated from the profane or mundane world of the individual, but also its foundation and transgression. This line of thought found its continuation in the works of the Collège de Sociologie, especially with George Bataille, as well as social anthropology, for example Viktor Turner and Mary Douglas. And it served as theoretical foundation for the sociology of the extraordinary of Bernhard Giesen, who conceptualizes society as cultural order, an order of differences that relies on ambivalence and ambiguity
Personal therapeutic approach in Gestalt therapists working with clients suffering from medically unexplained psychosomatic symptoms
Get PDFTreatment specificity and adherence to treatment manuals represent essential components of the medical model in psychotherapy. The model assumes that psychotherapists who work with the same type of clients and who identify with the same theoretical approach work very similarly. This study illustrates the shortcomings of that assumption and explores how therapists’ individuality forms and shapes their unique approaches that resonate with their own personalities, inclinations, and worldviews. Semi-structured interviews with eight Gestalt therapists working with clients who experienced medically unexplained physical symptoms were analysed using the grounded theory method. Considerable differences were found among the therapists within four domains of the personal therapeutic approach, namely Case Conceptualization, Therapeutic Task, Therapist’s Position, and Alternative Strategy. However, regardless of the differences, all the therapists endeavoured, either implicitly or explicitly, to convey to the clients what they considered to be healthy functioning. There is considerable diversity in the way therapists work even when they subscribe to the same psychotherapeutic approach and work with the same type of clients. The exploration of psychotherapists’ usual strategies, as well as the alternative strategies they use when their usual strategies do not work, appears helpful for capturing their personal therapeutic approaches