Most individuals infected with or vaccinated against COVID-19 develop antigenic neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Although neutralizing antibodies ...are biomarkers of the adaptive immune response, their mere presence is insufficient to explain the protection afforded against the disease or its pathology. IgG exhibits other secondary effector functions that activate innate immune components, including complement, natural killer cells, and macrophages. The affinity for effector cells depends on the isotypes and glycosylation of IgG antibodies. The anti-spike IgG titer should be sufficient to provide significant Fc-mediated effects in severe COVID-19, mRNA, and protein subunit vaccinations. In combination with aberrant effector cells, pro-inflammatory afucosylated IgG1 and IgG3 may be detrimental in severe COVID-19. The antibody response of mRNA vaccines leads to higher fucosylation and a less inflammatory IgG profile, with a long-term shift to IgG4, which is correlated with protection from disease.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The vertebrate diencephalic A11 system provides the sole dopaminergic innervation of hindbrain and spinal cord and has been implicated in modulation of locomotion and sensory processes. However, the ...exact contributions of sensory stimuli and motor behavior to A11 dopaminergic activity remain unclear. We recorded cellular calcium activity in four anatomically distinct posterior tubercular A11-type dopaminergic subgroups and two adjacent hypothalamic dopaminergic groups in GCaMP7a-transgenic, semi-restrained zebrafish larvae. Our analyses reveal the contributions of different sensory modalities and motor states to dopaminergic activity. Each posterior tubercular and hypothalamic subgroup showed distinct activity patterns, while activity was synchronous within individual subgroups. Caudal and dorsomedial hypothalamic dopaminergic neurons are activated following vigorous tail movements and stay active for about 10 s, revealing predominantly post-motor activity. In contrast, posterior tubercular dopaminergic neurons are predominantly sensory driven, with subgroups differentially responding to different tactile or visual sensory modalities. In the anterior subgroups, neuronal response magnitudes are tuned to tactile stimulus intensities, revealing features similar to sensory systems. We identify the lateral line system as source for this tactile tuning. In contrast, the posterior subgroup is responsive to distinct moving visual stimuli. Specifically, translational forward stimuli, which may indicate insufficient rheotaxis and drift, induce dopaminergic activity, but backward or rotational stimuli not. The activation of posterior tubercular dopaminergic neurons by sensory stimuli, and their projections onto peripheral mechanosensory systems, suggests a participation of A11-type neurons in the feedback regulation of sensory systems. Together with the adjacent hypothalamic neurons, they may serve to set basic behavioral states.
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•Ventral diencephalic A11-type dopaminergic neurons are a “sensory” dopamine system•A11-type subgroups selectively respond to mechanosensory or visual stimulation•Mechanosensory-related A11 dopaminergic activity is tuned to stimulus intensity•Hypothalamic dopaminergic groups show prolonged post-motor activity
Ventral diencephalic A11-type dopaminergic neurons project widely in the CNS, but the context of their activation is not well understood. Reinig et al. show that distinct A11-type subgroups are tuned to distinct mechanosensory and visual stimuli, revealing it as a “sensory” dopaminergic system.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Kryptowährungen, die Blockchain-Technologie sowie verschiedene Neuerungen im Bereich der geltenden Richtlinien für Finanzdienstleister haben eine Vielzahl neuer Geschäftsmodelle und Unternehmen, ...sogenannte FinTechs, hervorgebracht. Diese FinTechs sind entlang der Wertschöpfungskette etablierter Finanzdienstleister unterschiedlich aufgestellt und werden von diesen als eine Bedrohung ihrer Geschäftsmodelle betrachtet. Nennenswerte Marktsegmente dieser FinTechs sind der Zahlungsverkehr, Infrastrukturangebote für Blockchains, Kryptowährungen und alternative Bezahlverfahren sowie das Vermögensmanagement. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, FinTechs hinsichtlich der Bedrohung für etablierte Finanzdienstleister zu analysieren. In der Literatur sind bereits verschiedene Metaanalysen des FinTech-Begriffs durchgeführt worden, wobei diese nur die Ausprägungen von FinTechs analysieren, nicht aber das mögliche Bedrohungspotenzial aus Sicht tradierter Finanzdienstleister. Aus der Literatur werden zu diesem Zweck Bewertungskriterien abgeleitet, die anhand eines festgelegten Bewertungsschemas auf die Ausprägungen von insgesamt 38 FinTechs angewendet werden. Die Ausprägungen der einzelnen Kriterien und des ermittelten Gesamtwerts lassen eine Bewertung der FinTechs hinsichtlich des potenziellen Risikos auf etablierte Finanzdienstleister zu, wobei die untersuchten Unternehmen in insgesamt vier Bedrohungsklassen gruppiert werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das größte Bedrohungspotenzial von der Kryptowährung Bitcoin und der Ethereum-Blockchain ausgeht. Aber auch verschiedene Crowdlending-Modelle stellen aufgrund ihres Eingriffs in das klassische Kreditwesen große Bedrohungen für etablierte Finanzdienstleister dar. Da es erste (bislang noch überwiegend theoretische) Ansätze gibt, Crowdlending mithilfe der Ethereum-Blockchain umzusetzen, zeichnet sich hier eine sogar noch größere Bedrohung aus Sicht etablierter Finanzdienstleister ab, als dies bislang der Fall ist.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The largest explosive volcanic eruption of the Common Era in terms of estimated sulphur yield to the stratosphere was identified in glaciochemical records 40 years ago, and dates to the ...mid-thirteenth century. Despite eventual attribution to the Samalas (Rinjani) volcano in Indonesia, the eruption date remains uncertain, and the climate response only partially understood. Seeking a more global perspective on summer surface temperature and hydroclimate change following the eruption, we present an analysis of 249 tree-ring chronologies spanning the thirteenth century and representing all continents except Antarctica. Of the 170 predominantly temperature sensitive high-frequency chronologies, the earliest hints of boreal summer cooling are the growth depressions found at sites in the western US and Canada in 1257 CE. If this response is a result of Samalas, it would be consistent with an eruption window of circa May–July 1257 CE. More widespread summer cooling across the mid-latitudes of North America and Eurasia is pronounced in 1258, while records from Scandinavia and Siberia reveal peak cooling in 1259. In contrast to the marked post-Samalas temperature response at high-elevation sites in the Northern Hemisphere, no strong hydroclimatic anomalies emerge from the 79 precipitation-sensitive chronologies. Although our findings remain spatially biased towards the western US and central Europe, and growth-climate response patterns are not always dominated by a single meteorological factor, this study offers a global proxy framework for the evaluation of paleoclimate model simulations.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Paleoclimatic evidence is necessary to place the current warming and drying of the western Mediterranean basin in a long-term perspective of natural climate variability. Annually resolved and ...absolutely dated temperature proxies south of the European Alps that extend back into medieval times are, however, mainly limited to measurements of maximum latewood density (MXD)fromhigh-elevation conifers. Here, the authors present the world’s best replicated MXD site chronology of 414 living and relict Pinus uncinata trees found >2200m above mean sea level (MSL) in the Spanish central Pyrenees. This composite record correlates significantly (p ≤ 0.01) with May–June and August–September mean temperatures over most of the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa (r = 0.72; 1950–2014). Spanning the period 1186–2014 of the Common Era (CE), the new reconstruction reveals overall warmer conditions around 1200 and 1400, and again after around 1850. The coldest reconstructed summer in 1258 (−4.4°C compared to 1961–90) followed the largest known volcanic eruption of the CE. The twentieth century is characterized by pronounced summer cooling in the 1970s, subsequently rising temperatures until 2003, and a slowdown of warming afterward. Little agreement is found with climate model simulations that consistently overestimate recent summer warming and underestimate preindustrial temperature changes. Interannual–multidecadal covariability with regional hydroclimate includes summer pluvials after large volcanic eruptions. This study demonstrates the relevance of updating MXD-based temperature reconstructions, not only back in time but also toward the present, and emphasizes the importance of comparing temperature and hydroclimatic proxies, as well as model simulations for understanding regional climate dynamics.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Paleoclimatic evidence is necessary to place the current warming and drying of the western Mediterranean basin in a long-term perspective of natural climate variability. Annually resolved and ...absolutely dated temperature proxies south of the European Alps that extend back into medieval times are, however, mainly limited to measurements of maximum latewood density (MXD) from high-elevation conifers. Here, the authors present the world’s best replicated MXD site chronology of 414 living and relict Pinus uncinata trees found >2200 m above mean sea level (MSL) in the Spanish central Pyrenees. This composite record correlates significantly (p ≤ 0.01) with May-June and August-September mean temperatures over most of the Iberian Peninsula and northern Africa (r = 0.72; 1950-2014). Spanning the period 1186-2014 of the Common Era (CE), the new reconstruction reveals overall warmer conditions around 1200 and 1400, and again after around 1850. The coldest reconstructed summer in 1258 (−4.4°C compared to 1961-90) followed the largest known volcanic eruption of the CE. The twentieth century is characterized by pronounced summer cooling in the 1970s, subsequently rising temperatures until 2003, and a slowdown of warming afterward. Little agreement is found with climate model simulations that consistently overestimate recent summer warming and underestimate preindustrial temperature changes. Interannual-multidecadal covariability with regional hydroclimate includes summer pluvials after large volcanic eruptions. This study demonstrates the relevance of updating MXD-based temperature reconstructions, not only back in time but also toward the present, and emphasizes the importance of comparing temperature and hydroclimatic proxies, as well as model simulations for understanding regional climate dynamics.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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