The importance of peripheral populations in the face of novel environmental change.

Anthropogenically driven environmental change has imposed substantial threats on biodiversity, including the emergence of infectious diseases that have resulted in declines of wildlife globally. In response to pathogen invasion, maintaining diversity within host populations across heterogenous environments is essential to facilitating species persistence. White-nose syndrome is an emerging fungal pathogen that has caused mass mortalities of hibernating bats across North America.

Microfilaria in the Urine of a Dog with Concurrent Urinary Bladder Sarcoma.

A 12 yr old female spayed American Staffordshire terrier was referred for stranguria, pollakiuria, and concern for a mass in the trigone of the urinary bladder. A urinalysis and abdominal ultrasound were performed to further investigate the bladder mass. Nematode larvae were identified in the urine, termed microfilaruria, while a caudal abdominal mass was found on ultrasound impinging on the urethra.

Modulation of the JAK2-STAT3 pathway promotes expansion and maturation of human iPSCs-derived myogenic progenitor cells.

Generation of induced pluripotent cells (hiPSCs)-derived skeletal muscle progenitor cells (SMPCs) holds great promise for regenerative medicine for skeletal muscle wasting diseases, as for example Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Multiple approaches, involving ectopic expression of key regulatory myogenic genes or small molecules cocktails, have been described by different groups to obtain SMPC towards cell-transplantation as a therapeutic approach to skeletal muscle diseases. However, hiPSCs-derived SMPC generated using transgene-free protocols are usually obtained in a low amount and resemble a more embryonal/fetal stage of differentiation.

Low-side and multitone suppression in the base of the gerbil cochlea.

The cochlea's mechanical response to sound stimulation is nonlinear, likely due to saturation of the mechanoelectric transduction current that is part of an electromechanical feedback loop. The ability of a second tone or tones to reduce the response to a probe tone is one manifestation of nonlinearity, termed suppression. Using optical coherence tomography to measure motion within the organ of Corti, regional motion variations have been observed.

Visualizing motions within the cochlea's organ of Corti and illuminating cochlear mechanics with optical coherence tomography.

Beginning in 2006, optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been adapted for use as a vibrometer for hearing research. The application of OCT in this field, particularly for studying cochlear mechanics, represents a revolutionary advance over previous technologies. OCT provides detailed evidence of the motions of components within the organ of Corti, extending beyond the first-encountered surface of observation.