A highly resolved network reveals the role of terrestrial herbivory in structuring aboveground food webs.

Comparative studies suggest remarkable similarities among food webs across habitats, including systematic changes in their structure with diversity and complexity (scale-dependence). However, historic aboveground terrestrial food webs (ATFWs) have coarsely grouped plants and insects such that these webs are generally small, and herbivory is disproportionately under-represented compared to vertebrate predator-prey interactions. Furthermore, terrestrial herbivory is thought to be structured by unique processes compared to size-structured feeding in other systems.

Prospecting for Zoonotic Pathogens by Using Targeted DNA Enrichment.

More than 60 zoonoses are linked to small mammals, including some of the most devastating pathogens in human history. Millions of museum-archived tissues are available to understand natural history of those pathogens. Our goal was to maximize the value of museum collections for pathogen-based research by using targeted sequence capture.

Investigating the free-roaming dog population and gastrointestinal parasite diversity in Tulúm, México.

Free-roaming domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) pose major conservation and public health risks worldwide. To better understand the threat of domestic dogs to wildlife and people and add to the growing literature on free-roaming dog ecology, a study was conducted to estimate the dog population in Tulúm, México. A modified mark-recapture technique and program MARK were used to obtain dog population estimates along six different transects dividing the city.

Two new species of (Cricetidae: Neotominae) from the Transverse Volcanic Belt of Mexico.

Specimens of the species group distributed in the western and northeastern montane regions of Michoacán, México, historically have been assigned to . Previous studies indicated that these specimens possessed mitochondrial DNA haplotypes that were distinct from both and , a recently named species in the species group from northeastern Michoacán and western Morelos. Herein karyotypic, DNA sequence, and morphological data were analyzed from those populations to evaluate their taxonomic affinity.

Overexpression of ferroptosis defense enzyme Gpx4 retards motor neuron disease of SOD1G93A mice.

Degeneration and death of motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are associated with increased lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation is the driver of ferroptosis, an iron-dependent oxidative mode of cell death. However, the importance of ferroptosis in motor neuron degeneration of ALS remains unclear.

Leveraging natural history biorepositories as a global, decentralized, pathogen surveillance network.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic reveals a major gap in global biosecurity infrastructure: a lack of publicly available biological samples representative across space, time, and taxonomic diversity. The shortfall, in this case for vertebrates, prevents accurate and rapid identification and monitoring of emerging pathogens and their reservoir host(s) and precludes extended investigation of ecological, evolutionary, and environmental associations that lead to human infection or spillover. Natural history museum biorepositories form the backbone of a critically needed, decentralized, global network for zoonotic pathogen surveillance, yet this infrastructure remains marginally developed, underutilized, underfunded, and disconnected from public health initiatives.

Preserve a Voucher Specimen! The Critical Need for Integrating Natural History Collections in Infectious Disease Studies.

Despite being nearly 10 months into the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, the definitive animal host for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the causal agent of COVID-19, remains unknown. Unfortunately, similar problems exist for other betacoronaviruses, and no vouchered specimens exist to corroborate host species identification for most of these pathogens. This most basic information is critical to the full understanding and mitigation of emerging zoonotic diseases.

Microbiology and Nitrogen Cycle in the Benthic Sediments of a Glacial Oligotrophic Deep Andean Lake as Analog of Ancient Martian Lake-Beds.

Potential benthic habitats of early Mars lakes, probably oligotrophic, could range from hydrothermal to cold sediments. Dynamic processes in the water column (such as turbidity or UV penetration) as well as in the benthic bed (temperature gradients, turbation, or sedimentation rate) contribute to supply nutrients to a potential microbial ecosystem. High altitude, oligotrophic, and deep Andean lakes with active deglaciation processes and recent or past volcanic activity are natural models to assess the feasibility of life in other planetary lake/ocean environments and to develop technology for their exploration.

Genetic diversity of chemokine XCL1 and its receptor XCR1 in murine rodents.

The chemokine ligand XCL1 plays critical roles in immune responses with diverse physiological and pathological implications through interactions with a cognate G protein-coupled receptor XCR1. To shed insight into their versatile nature, we analyzed genetic variations of XCL1 and XCR1 in murine rodents, including commonly-used model organisms Mus musculus (house mouse) and Rattus norvegicus (Norway rat). Our results showed that adaptive selection has contributed to the genetic diversification of these proteins in murine lineage.

Tau protein aggregation is associated with cellular senescence in the brain.

Tau protein accumulation is the most common pathology among degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and over twenty others. Tau-containing neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) accumulation is the closest correlate with cognitive decline and cell loss (Arriagada, Growdon, Hedley-Whyte, & Hyman, ), yet mechanisms mediating tau toxicity are poorly understood. NFT formation does not induce apoptosis (de Calignon, Spires-Jones, Pitstick, Carlson, & Hyman, 2009), which suggests that secondary mechanisms are driving toxicity.

What Is ? Evidence from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences suggests the need for a new classification.

The evolutionary relationships between , , , , , , and are poorly understood. In order to further explore the evolutionary boundaries of and compare potential taxonomic solutions for this diverse group and its relatives, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from alcohol dehydrogenase (1-I2), beta fibrinogen (-I7), interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (3), and cytochrome- (). Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear genes produced similar topologies although levels of nodal support varied.

Multilocus analyses indicate a mosaic distribution of hybrid populations in ground squirrels (genus Ictidomys).

DNA sequence data from mitochondrial cytochrome-b (Cytb) and Y-linked structural maintenance of chromosomes (SmcY) genes were combined with 478 nuclear loci obtained from amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) to assess the extent of hybridization and genetic spatial structure of populations in two hybridizing species of ground squirrel (Ictidomys parvidens and Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). Based on AFLP analyses of 134 individuals from 28 populations, 10 populations were identified that possessed hybrid individuals. Overall estimates of F ST values revealed strong support for population structure in the Cytb data set; however, analyses of the SmcY gene and the AFLP data indicated ongoing gene flow between species.

A phenomenological model for the photocurrent transient relaxation observed in ZnO-based photodetector devices.

We present a phenomenological model for the photocurrent transient relaxation observed in ZnO-based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) planar photodetector devices based on time-resolved surface band bending. Surface band bending decreases during illumination, due to migration of photogenerated holes to the surface. Immediately after turning off illumination, conduction-band electrons must overcome a relatively low energy barrier to recombine with photogenerated holes at the surface; however, with increasing time, the adsorption of oxygen at the surface or electron trapping in the depletion region increases band bending, resulting in an increased bulk/surface energy barrier that slows the transport of photogenerated electrons.

Ion-specific nutrient management in closed systems: the necessity for ion-selective sensors in terrestrial and space-based agriculture and water management systems.

The ability to monitor and control plant nutrient ions in fertigation solutions, on an ion-specific basis, is critical to the future of controlled environment agriculture crop production, be it in traditional terrestrial settings (e.g., greenhouse crop production) or as a component of bioregenerative life support systems for long duration space exploration.

Flow currents and ventilation in Langstroth beehives due to brood thermoregulation efforts of honeybees.

Beekeepers universally agree that ensuring sufficient ventilation is vital for sustaining a thriving, healthy honeybee colony. Despite this fact, surprisingly little is known about the ventilation and flow patterns in bee hives. We take a first step towards developing a model-based approach that uses computational fluid dynamics to simulate natural ventilation flow inside a standard Langstroth beehive.