The complete genome of Chelonus insularis reveals dynamic arrangement of genome components in parasitoid wasps that produce bracoviruses

Bracoviruses (BVs) are endogenized nudiviruses in parasitoid wasps of the microgastroid complex (family Braconidae). Microgastroid wasps have coopted nudivirus genes to produce replication-defective virions that females use to transfer virulence genes to parasitized hosts. The microgastroid complex further consists of six subfamilies and ∼50,000 species but current understanding of BV gene inventories and organization primarily derives from analysis of two wasp species in the subfamily Microgastrinae ( Microplitis demolitor and Cotesia congregata ) that produce M. demolitor BV (MdBV) and C. congregata BV (CcBV). Notably, several genomic features of MdBV and CcBV remain conserved since divergence of M. demolitor and C. congregata ∼53 million years ago (MYA). However, it is unknown whether these conserved traits more broadly reflect BV evolution, because no complete genomes exist for any microgastroid wasps outside of the Microgastrinae. In this regard, the subfamily Cheloninae is of greatest interest because it diverged earliest from the Microgastrinae (∼85 MYA) after endogenization of the nudivirus ancestor. Here, we present the complete genome of Chelonus insularis , which is an egg-larval parasitoid in the Cheloninae that produces C. insularis BV (CinsBV). We report that the inventory of nudivirus genes in C. insularis is conserved but are dissimilarly organized when compared to M. demolitor and C. congregata . Reciprocally, CinsBV proviral segments share organizational features with MdBV and CcBV but virulence gene inventories exhibit almost no overlap. Altogether, our results point to the functional importance of a conserved inventory of nudivirus genes and a dynamic set of virulence genes for the successful parasitism of hosts. Our results also suggest organizational features previously identified in MdBV and CcBV are likely not essential for BV virion formation. Significance Bracoviruses are a remarkable example of virus endogenization, because large sets of genes from a nudivirus ancestor continue to produce virions that thousands of wasp species rely upon to parasitize hosts. Understanding how these genes interact and have been coopted by wasps for novel functions is of broad interest in the study of virus evolution. This manuscript characterizes bracovirus genome components in the parasitoid wasp Chelonus insularis , which together with existing wasp genomes captures a large portion of the diversity among wasp species that produce bracoviruses. Results provide new information about how bracovirus genome components are organized in different wasps while also providing additional insights on key features required for function.

Modeling the Use of Online Knowledge Community: A Perspective of Needs-Affordances-Features

With the support of network information technology, the Online Knowledge Community (OKC) has emerged. Among different OKC applications, some entered into the new era of popular knowledge production, while others experienced the process to decline. In order to solve the dilemma faced by the OKC platforms, the needs-affordances-features (NAF) perspective on OKC is proposed by taking Zhihu, one of the most popular OKC applications in China as an example. According to NAF, the psychological needs of individuals motivate the use of Zhihu to the extent to which Zhihu offers affordances that satisfy the individuals’ needs. By collecting data through questionnaires and using SPSS and AMOS for data analysis, the relationship between individuals’ psychological needs and Zhihu affordances is identified. This paper generates two aspects of implications. In terms of theoretical implications, a more comprehensive framework is developed for the affordances of OKC as a whole, and the NAF model is leveraged to identify related psychological needs which motivate the use of a specific OKC application—Zhihu. Further research can leverage NAF to identify different OKC platform features which satisfy the psychological needs of their targeting users to optimize the system of OKC platforms. As for practical implications, by building the relationship between the affordances of OKC platforms and users’ psychological needs, marketers have to realize that although the digital platform system has a certain degree of imitability, the value positioning, user community, and core capabilities behind those platforms are all different. Thus, the platform system must also be differentiated. In order to determine the appropriate business model, a clear understanding of these organizational features should be identified.

Prawne i praktyczne aspekty bezpieczeństwa pracy mediatora – badania pilotażowe

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the functioning of the mediator profession in various aspects of its effectiveness. This implies the need for research in all dimen-sions of his work. Much has been said about the mediation procedure, about the ways of conducting it, about ethics and even the desired qualities of a mediator, but it has not yet been examined whether his/her work is safe, and if not, what constitutes the greatest threat in it. The work of a mediator is distinguished not only by specific technical and organizational features, but also based on unique competences, skills and knowledge. The role of the mediator is to perform specific tasks that are characterized by high social usefulness, and his activity is primarily focused on working with peo-ple. The article describes the specificity of the mediator's profession and discusses the pilot studies carried out among professionally active mediators in Poland in terms of the safety of their work, in general and psychological aspects.

Debate in informatics lessons using the Kialo Edu resource

The article discusses the need for the formation of communicative competence in students at the level of basic general education. It is proposed to use the "Debate" technology as a means of forming communicative competence. The stages and organizational features of the classic Karl Popper debates are described, the main difculties associated with their conduct in the classroom are highlighted. A list of possible topics for organizing debates in informatics lessons is given. A description of the Kialo Edu resource that facilitates debate is given. The resource toolkit is demonstrated in detail. The examples show how you can use the resource to accompany the debate on one or more theses, how to create counterarguments and leave comments on the added statements. An example of organizing a debate in 9th grade on the topic "Internet communication as a worthy substitute for real contacts" within the framework of the study of the theme "Communication technologies" using Kialo Edu is given.

Cx43 carboxyl terminal domain determines AQP4 and Cx30 endfoot organization and blood brain barrier permeability

The neurovascular unit (NVU) consists of cells intrinsic to the vessel wall, the endothelial cells and pericytes, and astrocyte endfeet that surround the vessel but are separated from it by basement membrane. Endothelial cells are primarily responsible for creating and maintaining blood–brain-barrier (BBB) tightness, but astrocytes contribute to the barrier through paracrine signaling to the endothelial cells and by forming the glia limitans. Gap junctions (GJs) between astrocyte endfeet are composed of connexin 43 (Cx43) and Cx30, which form plaques between cells. GJ plaques formed of Cx43 do not diffuse laterally in the plasma membrane and thus potentially provide stable organizational features to the endfoot domain, whereas GJ plaques formed of other connexins and of Cx43 lacking a large portion of its cytoplasmic carboxyl terminus are quite mobile. In order to examine the organizational features that immobile GJs impose on the endfoot, we have used super-resolution confocal microscopy to map number and sizes of GJ plaques and aquaporin (AQP)-4 channel clusters in the perivascular endfeet of mice in which astrocyte GJs (Cx30, Cx43) were deleted or the carboxyl terminus of Cx43 was truncated. To determine if BBB integrity was compromised in these transgenic mice, we conducted perfusion studies under elevated hydrostatic pressure using horseradish peroxide as a molecular probe enabling detection of micro-hemorrhages in brain sections. These studies revealed that microhemorrhages were more numerous in mice lacking Cx43 or its carboxyl terminus. In perivascular domains of cerebral vessels, we found that density of Cx43 GJs was higher in the truncation mutant, while GJ size was smaller. Density of perivascular particles formed by AQP4 and its extended isoform AQP4ex was inversely related to the presence of full length Cx43, whereas the ratio of sizes of the particles of the AQP4ex isoform to total AQP4 was directly related to the presence of full length Cx43. Confocal analysis showed that Cx43 and Cx30 were substantially colocalized in astrocyte domains near vasculature of truncation mutant mice. These results showing altered distribution of some astrocyte nexus components (AQP4 and Cx30) in Cx43 null mice and in a truncation mutant, together with leakier cerebral vasculature, support the hypothesis that localization and mobility of gap junction proteins and their binding partners influences organization of astrocyte endfeet which in turn impacts BBB integrity of the NVU.

Is the (Mass) Party Really Over? The Case of the Dutch Forum for Democracy

Over the past decades, the Netherlands has witnessed the rise of several influential populist radical right parties, including the Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn), Geert Wilders’s Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid) and, more recently, the Forum for Democracy (Forum voor Democratie [FvD]). By analyzing the party’s organizational structures, this article seeks to determine whether the FvD may be considered a new “mass party” and to what extent ordinary members can exert influence over the party’s internal procedures. The party’s efforts to establish a large membership base suggest that the FvD set out to build a relatively complex mass organization. Through targeted advertising campaigns, the party made strategic use of social media platforms to rally support. Thus, while the means may have changed with the advent of the internet, the FvD invested in creating some organizational features that are commonly associated with the “mass party” model. At the same time, however, the party did not really seek to foster a community of loyal partisan activists among its membership base but instead treated its members as donors. The party is clearly characterized by centralized leadership in the sense that the party’s spearhead, Thierry Baudet, maintains full control over key decision-making areas such as ideological direction, campaigning, and internal procedures. At first sight, the party appears to have departed from Wilders’s leader-centered party model. However, a closer look at the party apparatus demonstrates that the FvD is, in fact, very hierarchical, suggesting that the party’s internal democracy is much weaker than the party’s name might suggest.

Impact of the Work Environment on Patients’ Safety as Perceived by Nurses in Poland—A Cross-Sectional Study

Numerous studies have found that organizational features connected with the work environment of nurses have a significant influence on patients’ safety. The aim of this research was to capture nurses’ opinions about patients’ safety and discern relationships with work environment characteristics. This cross-sectional study surveyed 1825 nurses. The research used questionnaire consisting of four parts: (1) covered The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI); (2) assessed the quality of nursing care and care safety; (3) contained information on the most recent duty served by the nurses and (4) captured social and demographic data of participants. The research identified strong association between patient safety assessment and work environment of nurses in the aspect of employment adequacy, cooperation between nurses and doctors, support for nurses from the managing staff, the possibility to participate in the management as well as professional promotion of nurses employed in the hospital (p < 0.001). Nurses rated patient safety higher when responsible for a smaller number of patients. Work environment factors such as proper staffing, good cooperation with doctors, support from the management, as well as professional independence are significantly related to nurses’ assessment of patients’ safety.

Encounters in Three Dimensions: How Nuclear Topology Shapes Genome Integrity

Almost 25 years ago, the phosphorylation of a chromatin component, histone H2AX, was discovered as an integral part of the DNA damage response in eukaryotes. Much has been learned since then about the control of DNA repair in the context of chromatin. Recent technical and computational advances in imaging, biophysics and deep sequencing have led to unprecedented insight into nuclear organization, highlighting the impact of three-dimensional (3D) chromatin structure and nuclear topology on DNA repair. In this review, we will describe how DNA repair processes have adjusted to and in many cases adopted these organizational features to ensure accurate lesion repair. We focus on new findings that highlight the importance of chromatin context, topologically associated domains, phase separation and DNA break mobility for the establishment of repair-conducive nuclear environments. Finally, we address the consequences of aberrant 3D genome maintenance for genome instability and disease.

ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES OF THE FUNCTIONAL AND PLANNING STRUCTURE OF SERVICE AREAS IN SMALL HOTELS

Nowadays, small hotels are the most popular and intensively developing sector of the hotel industry. The modern typology of small hotels has significantly expanded and it includes new types of focus at a specific target segment of consumers. Customer focus is the most characteristic feature of small hotels and it is reflected in the organizational features of the functional and planning structure of the service areas in small hotels. The article is devoted to the discusses of the main and additional functional areas of small hotels (service part) based on the analysis of modern experience in the design and construction of small hotels, as well as the analysis of regulatory documents and scientific work on the design of this type of facilities. The main variants of functional schemes of the reception and lobby area, public catering area, consumer service and trade area, cultural and leisure, business, fitness and recreation, administrative and production areas, and areas for servicing cars (only for motels) are given. Conclusions are drawn about the direct relationship between the form of organization of the functional and planning structure of the service areas of small hotels with their specialization. It is concluded that the presence and composition of various functional areas of small hotels is always determined by a combination of the following external factors: type of hotel, location, level of comfort, contingent of guests. The tendency of consolidation and unification of separate functional zones of small hotels for maximum optimization of their space is revealed.