MSTPublications: November 2017
Congratulations to all of our MSTP students on their successful publications! Take a look at the great work our students are doing.
First Author Original Research:
De Niear MA, Gupta PB, Baum SH, Wallace MT.
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2017 Oct 28. pii: S1074-7427(17)30167-3. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2017.10.016. [Epub ahead of print]
The temporal relationship between auditory and visual cues is a fundamental feature in the determination of whether these signals will be integrated. The window of perceived simultaneity (TBW) is a construct that describes the epoch of time during which asynchronous auditory and visual stimuli are likely to be perceptually bound. Recently, a number of studies have demonstrated the capacity for perceptual training to enhance temporal acuity for audiovisual stimuli (i.e., narrow the TBW). These studies, however, have only examined multisensory perceptual learning that develops in response to feedback that is provided when making judgments on simple, low-level audiovisual stimuli (i.e., flashes and beeps). Here we sought to determine if perceptual training was capable of altering temporal acuity for audiovisual speech. Furthermore, we also explored whether perceptual training with simple or complex audiovisual stimuli generalized across levels of stimulus complexity. Using a simultaneity judgment (SJ) task, we measured individuals' temporal acuity (as estimated by the TBW) prior to, immediately following, and one week after four consecutive days of perceptual training. We report that temporal acuity for audiovisual speech stimuli is enhanced following perceptual training using speech stimuli. Additionally, we find that changes in temporal acuity following perceptual training do not generalize across the levels of stimulus complexity in this study. Overall, the results suggest that perceptual training is capable of enhancing temporal acuity for audiovisual speech in adults, and that the dynamics of the changes in temporal acuity following perceptual training differ between simple audiovisual stimuli and more complex audiovisual speech stimuli. (By Matt De Niear, M4)
Graepel KW, Lu X, Case JB, Sexton NR, Smith EC, Denison MR.
MBio. 2017 Nov 7;8(6). pii: e01503-17. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01503-17.
Genetic variability is essential for viral adaptation but risks the accumulation of detrimental changes that lead to viral extinction. In most RNA viruses, genetic variability is determined by a single piece of machinery, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). RdRps are like typewriters — they have no way to fix mistakes. They thus have low “replication fidelity.” By contrast, coronaviruses (CoVs) have both an RdRp and a proofreading exoribonuclease (ExoN), the latter acting as a backspace key that reduces replication errors (high replication fidelity). ExoN activity is supremely important for coronavirus fitness. CoVs that lack ExoN activity are either nonviable or have significant defects in replication, RNA synthesis, genetic diversity, and virulence. In this study, we disrupted ExoN activity in murine hepatitis virus, a prototypical CoV, and showed that this virus could adapt to overcome the critical defects. We also showed that reducing the error rate of the RdRp-typewriter could partially compensate for the loss of the ExoN backspace key. Our results implicated a complex interplay of multiple replicase proteins in CoV fidelity regulation and demonstrated that high-fidelity replication is critical for CoV fitness. (By Kevin Graepel, G3)
Interpregnancy Interval After Pregnancy Loss and Risk of Repeat Miscarriage.
Sundermann AC, Hartmann KE, Jones SH, Torstenson ES, Velez Edwards DR.
Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Nov 3. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002318. [Epub ahead of print]
Read more about this paper in Reuters Health here!
After a miscarriage, women often seek guidance from their healthcare providers for how long to wait before attempting to conceive again. Currently, there is no consensus for optimal spacing after a miscarriage. Our analysis includes 514 women in the Right from the Start community-based pregnancy cohort that had their most recent pregnancy prior to cohort enrollment end in miscarriage. This cohort is optimal for studying predictors of miscarriage since it prioritized enrollment of participants very early in gestation and did not rely on maternal engagement with the healthcare system to capture miscarriage history or miscarriage in the research pregnancy. As the first prospective cohort to address this question, we found that women with interpregnancy intervals of less than three months had a significantly reduced risk of miscarriage in the subsequent pregnancy than women with longer intervals. Further, attempting to conceive immediately after loss did not increase risk of miscarriage in next pregnancy. This implies counseling women to delay conception to reduce risk of miscarriage may not be warranted. (By Alex Sundermann, G3)
Co-authorships, Clinical Studies, and Reviews:
Testosterone Attenuates Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell-Mediated Airway Inflammation
Cephus JY, Stier MT, Fuseini H, Yung JA, Toki S, Bloodworth MH, Zhou W, Goleniewska K, Zhang J, Garon SL, Hamilton RG, Poloshukin VV, Boyd KL, Peebles RS Jr., Newcomb DC.
Cell Reports. 2017 Nov 28. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.10.110
Read more about this publication here!
Desquamating Rash in a Patient with Undiagnosed Netherton Syndrome.
De Niear MA, Gigante J.
J Pediatr. 2017 Oct 26. pii: S0022-3476(17)31219-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.09.022. [Epub ahead of print]
Vascular-derived connective tissue growth factor (Ctgf) is critical for pregnancy-induced β cell hyperplasia in adult mice.
Pasek RC, Dunn JC, Elsakr JM, Aramandla M, Matta AR, Gannon M.
Islets. 2017 Nov 7:e1356963. doi: 10.1080/19382014.2017.1356963. [Epub ahead of print]
A Case of a 4-Year-Old Female with a Primary Spinal Malignancy Presenting with Froin's Syndrome.
Hale AT, Fricker GP, Crook TW.
Pediatr Neurosurg. 2017 Nov 2. doi: 10.1159/000481514. [Epub ahead of print]
Differentiating meningioma grade by imaging features on magnetic resonance imaging.
Hale AT, Wang L, Strother MK, Chambless LB.
J Clin Neurosci. 2017 Nov 22. pii: S0967-5868(17)30294-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2017.11.013. [Epub ahead of print
The Combined Utility of Ex vivo IFN-γ Release Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSpot Assay and In vivo Skin Testing in Patients With Antibiotic-Associated Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions.
Trubiano JA, Strautins K, Redwood AJ, Pavlos R, Konvinse KC, Aung AK, Slavin MA, Thursky KA, Grayson ML, Phillips EJ.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017 Oct 31. pii: S2213-2198(17)30728-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2017.09.004. [Epub ahead of print]
Lower cardiac index levels relate to lower cerebral blood flow in older adults.
Jefferson AL, Liu D, Gupta DK, Pechman KR, Watchmaker JM, Gordon EA, Rane S, Bell SP, Mendes LA, Davis LT, Gifford KA, Hohman TJ, Wang TJ, Donahue MJ.
Neurology. 2017 Nov 8. pii: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004707. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004707. [Epub ahead of print]