eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Beyond gradients: Factorized, geometric control of interference and generalization

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Daniel N Scott
   2. Michael J Frank

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study introduces a novel method for controlling generalization and interference in neural networks undergoing continual learning. The authors provide solid evidence that their parsimonious method performs better than online gradient descent in several continual learning situations while providing biologically plausible links to three-factor learning rules. However, empirical validation is limited to linear networks, which raises questions about the generality of the results in non-linear networks. While the work is interesting to theoretical and experimental neuroscientists, improving the article presentation by clearly defining terminology before using it and providing more details on the setup of the simulation experiments would be vital to make the article more accessible.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Long non-coding RNA Malat1 fine-tunes bone homeostasis and repair by orchestrating cellular crosstalk and β-catenin-OPG/Jagged1 pathway

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Yongli Qin
   2. Jumpei Shirakawa
   3. Cheng Xu
   4. Ruge Chen
   5. Xu Yang
   6. Courtney Ng
   7. Shinichi Nakano
   8. Mahmoud Elguindy
   9. Zhonghao Deng
   10. Kannanganattu V Prasanth
   11. Moritz F Eissmann
   12. Shinichi Nakagawa
   13. William M Ricci
   14. Baohong Zhao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is an important and convincing dataset shedding new light on a role for Malat1 in osteoblast physiology. The work is of value to areas other than the bone field because it supports a role and mechanism for beta-catenin that is novel and unusual. The findings are significant in that they support the presence of another anabolic pathway in bone that can be productively targeted for therapeutic goals. Revisions further improved the paper and addressed the reviewers' concerns.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Quantifying microbial fitness in high-throughput experiments

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Justus Wilhelm Fink
   2. Michael Manhart

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript applies a theoretical analysis to two published datasets on yeast and bacterial evolution to compare different ways of quantifying fitness. It makes an important advance by clarifying how discrepancies can arise by using different approaches and provides recommendations for best practices. While the evidence is solid, some improvements in the presentation of the data and a greater focus on the causes of the discrepancies between the various fitness estimates would strengthen the paper further.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Shc1 cooperates with Frs2 and Shp2 to recruit Grb2 in FGF-induced lens development

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Qian Wang
   2. Hongge Li
   3. Yingyu Mao
   4. Ankur Garg
   5. Eun Sil Park
   6. Yihua Wu
   7. Alyssa Chow
   8. John Peregrin
   9. Xin Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This fundamental article significantly advances our understanding of FGF signalling, and in particular highlights the complex modifications affecting this pathway. The evidence for the authors' claims is convincing, combining state of the art conditional gene deletion in the mouse lens with histological and molecular approaches. This work should be of great interest to molecular and developmental biologists beyond the lens community.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Operation of spinal sensorimotor circuits controlling phase durations during tied-belt and split-belt locomotion after a lateral thoracic hemisection

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Ilya A Rybak
   2. Natalia A Shevtsova
   3. Johannie Audet
   4. Sirine Yassine
   5. Sergey N Markin
   6. Boris I Prilutsky
   7. Alain Frigon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important modeling study alters a previous model of the intact cat spinal locomotor network to simulate a lateral hemi-section of the spinal cord. The modeling and experimental work described provide convincing evidence that this model is capable of qualitatively predicting alterations to the swing and stance phase durations during locomotion at different speeds on intact or split-belt treadmills. This paper will interest neuroscientists studying vertebrate motor systems, including researchers working on motor dysfunction after spinal cord injury.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Pyrotinib after trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (PERSIST): A multicenter phase II trial

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Feilin Cao
   2. Zhaosheng Ma
   3. Zenggui Wu
   4. Weizhu Wu
   5. Ouchen Wang
   6. Binbin Cui
   7. Xiaotao Zhu
   8. Jing Hao
   9. Xiaochun Ji
   10. Zhanwen Li
   11. Deyou Tao
   12. Qingjing Feng
   13. Wei Lin
   14. Dongbo Shi
   15. Jingde Shu
   16. Jichun Zhou
   17. Shifen Huang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The study by Ma et al. provides fundamental findings and compelling evidence that Pyrotinib after trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer (PERSIST): A multicenter phase II trial. The findings enhance the understanding of HER2-positive breast cancer. The claims are fully supported by the types of experiments that were performed.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Decapping activators Edc3 and Scd6 act redundantly with Dhh1 in post-transcriptional repression of starvation-induced pathways

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Rakesh Kumar
   2. Fan Zhang
   3. Shreyas Niphadkar
   4. Chisom Onu
   5. Anil Kumar Vijjamarri
   6. Miriam L Greenberg
   7. Sunil Laxman
   8. Alan G Hinnebusch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study reports on the redundant roles of the decapping activators Edc3 and Scd6 in orchestrating post-transcriptional programs to modulate metabolic responses to nutrients in yeast. The authors employed mutagenesis studies in conjunction with a battery of transcriptome-wide analyses to provide convincing evidence supporting their conclusions. Considering the broad implications of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, this study will be of interest across a variety of biomedical disciplines ranging from biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology to those specializing in studying various pathologies.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Evolutionary and functional analyses reveal a role for the RHIM in tuning RIPK3 activity across vertebrates

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Elizabeth J Fay
   2. Kolya Isterabadi
   3. Charles M Rezanka
   4. Jessica Le
   5. Matthew D Daugherty

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study provides compelling evidence for the evolutionary diversification and conserved NFκB-inducing function of RHIM-containing RIP kinase proteins across animal lineages, combining thorough bioinformatic analysis with functional assays in human cells. The findings are of broad interest to immunologists and evolutionary biologists, though some novel observations would benefit from deeper conceptual integration.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Mid1 deletion leads to cognitive dysfunction in Opitz syndrome by regulates neural rhythms through the inhibition of p-Creb by PP2Ac

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Ziye Yang
   2. Pengxiang Li
   3. Yue Chen
   4. Xiaoyu Guo
   5. Ping Liu
   6. Guangjian Ni
   7. Shuang Liu
   8. Liqun Chen
   9. Dong Ming

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights into the role of the Mid1 gene in hippocampal development and its implications in Opitz G/BBB syndrome, with much evidence supporting its impact on synaptic plasticity, neural rhythms, and cognitive functions. The methods, data, and analyses are solid, supporting the claims, presenting several minor weaknesses, and establishing Mid1 as a potential therapeutic target for neurological deficits associated with OS. The conclusions are largely supported by the results, but additional data are needed.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Accept–reject decision-making revealed via a quantitative and ethological study of C. elegans foraging

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Jessica A Haley
    2. Tianyi Chen
    3. Mikio Aoi
    4. Sreekanth H Chalasani

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      Understanding how neural circuits mediate decision-making is a core problem in neuroscience. In this interesting and important work, the authors use detailed behavioral analysis and rigorous quantitative modeling to convincingly support the idea that the nematode C. elegans uses an "accept-reject" behavioral strategy, based on learned features of its environment, to make decisions upon encountering food patches. The work expands our understanding of the behavioral repertoire of this species, providing a foundation for future mechanistic studies in this powerful model system.

    Reviewed by eLife