Trophic ecology and mercury bioaccumulation among Lake Superior lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush) ecotypes.

The Lake Superior lake charr population consists of siscowet, lean, humper and redfin ecological morphotypes or ecotypes. In addition to morphological and physiological differences, these fish occupy different habitats in Lake Superior and partition various invertebrate and fish prey resources. In this study, we measured the stable isotopes of carbon (δC) and nitrogen (δN) and mercury (Hg) concentrations among these ecotypes collected from the waters surrounding Lake Superior's Isle Royale.

A Comprehensive Review: Biology of , an Understudied Malaria Vector in Africa.

With ongoing global efforts to eliminate malaria, several countries have entered a pre-elimination stage, in which populations of the primary mosquito vector are reduced and the rates of malaria transmission are low. Efforts to eliminate malaria have changed the dynamics of disease transmission, causing a shift in anopheline community composition in some regions. One of the most abundant species of found in pre-elimination areas, such as southern Africa, is (Theobald, 1901; Diptera: Culicidae).

Corticosterone predicts double-brooding in female savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis).

Given that double-brooding (rearing two broods within a season) can increase annual fecundity, it is unclear why some females in multi-brooded populations rear only one brood per season. The Quality Hypothesis proposes that double-brooded females are high quality and, thus, have sufficient energetic resources available to bear the costs of rearing two broods per season. Glucocorticoids - endocrine hormones that have a critical role in energy regulation - could reflect female quality, and, therefore, also have the potential to indicate whether a female will rear a second brood.

Structure-Based Design of Novel TLR7/8 Agonist Payloads Enabling an Immunomodulatory Conjugate Approach.

Dual activation of the TLR7 and TLR8 pathways leads to the production of type I interferon and proinflammatory cytokines, resulting in efficient antigen presentation by dendritic cells to promote T-cell priming and antitumor immunity. We developed a novel series of TLR7/8 dual agonists with varying ratios of TLR7 and TLR8 activity for use as payloads for an antibody-drug conjugate approach. The agonist-induced production of several cytokines in human whole blood confirmed their functional activity.