The influence of season, hunting mode, and habitat specialization on riparian spiders as key predators in the aquatic-terrestrial linkage.

Freshwater ecosystems subsidize riparian zones with high-quality nutrients via the emergence of aquatic insects. Spiders are dominant consumers of these insect subsidies. However, little is known about the variation of aquatic insect consumption across spiders of different hunting modes, habitat specializations, seasons, and systems.

Fast-exchanging spirocyclic rhodamine probes for aptamer-based super-resolution RNA imaging.

Live-cell RNA imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution remains a major challenge. Here we report the development of RhoBAST:SpyRho, a fluorescent light-up aptamer (FLAP) system ideally suited for visualizing RNAs in live or fixed cells with various advanced fluorescence microscopy modalities. Overcoming problems associated with low cell permeability, brightness, fluorogenicity, and signal-to-background ratio of previous fluorophores, we design a novel probe, SpyRho (Spirocyclic Rhodamine), which tightly binds to the RhoBAST aptamer.

Novel method for highly multiplexed gene expression profiling of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) captured from the blood of women with metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has proven clinical significance for monitoring patients with metastatic cancers. Multiplexed gene expression profiling of CTCs is a potential tool for assessing disease status and monitoring treatment response. The Parsortix technology enables the capture and harvest of CTCs from blood based on cell size and deformability.

Avidity-based bright and photostable light-up aptamers for single-molecule mRNA imaging.

Fluorescent light-up aptamers (FLAPs) have emerged as valuable tools to visualize RNAs, but are mostly limited by their poor brightness, low photostability, and high fluorescence background in live cells. Exploiting the avidity concept, here we present two of the brightest FLAPs with the strongest aptamer-dye interaction, high fluorogenicity, and remarkable photostability. They consist of dimeric fluorophore-binding aptamers (biRhoBAST and biSiRA) embedded in an RNA scaffold and their bivalent fluorophore ligands (bivalent tetramethylrhodamine TMR and silicon rhodamine SiR).

Making the Invisible Visible? Using Stable Isotope Analysis to Detect Indirect Toxicant Effects.

Although stable isotope analysis (SIA) is widely used to address ecological research questions, its application in an ecotoxicological context has been limited. Recent studies have proposed an effect of chemical stressors on an organism's isotope signature, questioning the use of SIA in food webs impacted by toxicants. Against this background, the present study investigates 1) whether trophic enrichment factors (TEFs; i.

Malignancy Assessment Using Gene Identification in Captured Cells Algorithm for the Prediction of Malignancy in Women With a Pelvic Mass.

Objective: To evaluate the detection of malignancy in women with a pelvic mass by using multiplexed gene expression analysis of cells captured from peripheral blood.

Methods: This was an IRB-approved, prospective clinical study. Eligible patients had a pelvic mass and were scheduled for surgery or biopsy.

Periarticular calcifications containing giant pseudo-crystals of francolite in skeletal fluorosis from 1,1-difluoroethane "huffing".

Inhalant use disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by repeated deliberate inhalation from among a broad range of household and industrial chemical products with the intention of producing psychoactive effects. In addition to acute intoxication, prolonged inhalation of fluorinated compounds can cause skeletal fluorosis (SF). We report a young woman referred for hypophosphatasemia and carrying a heterozygous ALPL gene variant (c.

Development of a Flow-free Gradient Generator Using a Self-Adhesive Thiol-acrylate Microfluidic Resin/Hydrogel (TAMR/H) Hybrid System.

Microfluidic gradient generators have been used to study cellular migration, growth, and drug response in numerous biological systems. One type of device combines a hydrogel and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to generate "flow-free" gradients; however, their requirements for either negative flow or external clamps to maintain fluid-tight seals between the two layers have restricted their utility among broader applications. In this work, a two-layer, flow-free microfluidic gradient generator was developed using thiol-ene chemistry.

Aptamer-based proximity labeling guides covalent RNA modification.

We describe the development of a proximity-induced bio-orthogonal inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction that exploits the high-affinity interaction between a dienophile-modified RhoBAST aptamer and its tetramethyl rhodamine methyltetrazine substrate. We applied this concept for covalent RNA labeling in proof-of-principle experiments.

Super-resolution RNA imaging using a rhodamine-binding aptamer with fast exchange kinetics.

Overcoming limitations of previous fluorescent light-up RNA aptamers for super-resolution imaging, we present RhoBAST, an aptamer that binds a fluorogenic rhodamine dye with fast association and dissociation kinetics. Its intermittent fluorescence emission enables single-molecule localization microscopy with a resolution not limited by photobleaching. We use RhoBAST to image subcellular structures of RNA in live and fixed cells with about 10-nm localization precision and a high signal-to-noise ratio.

Chronic effects of the strobilurin fungicide azoxystrobin in the leaf shredder Gammarus fossarum (Crustacea; Amphipoda) via two effect pathways.

Fungicides pose a risk for crustacean leaf shredders serving as key-stone species for leaf litter breakdown in detritus-based stream ecosystems. However, little is known about the impact of strobilurin fungicides on shredders, even though they are presumed to be the most hazardous fungicide class for aquafauna. Therefore, we assessed the impact of the strobilurin azoxystrobin (AZO) on the survival, energy processing (leaf consumption and feces production), somatic growth (growth rate and molting activity), and energy reserves (neutral lipid fatty and amino acids) of the amphipod crustacean Gammarus fossarum via waterborne exposure and food quality-mediated (through the impact of leaf colonizing aquatic microorganisms) and thus indirect effects using 2 × 2-factorial experiments over 24 days.

Infochemicals Influence Neonicotinoid Toxicity-Impact in Leaf Consumption, Growth, and Predation of the Amphipod Gammarus fossarum.

Infochemicals act as inter- or intraspecific messengers. The literature suggests complex interactions between infochemicals (mainly predator cues) and chemical (e.g.

Nanoparticles transported from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via emerging aquatic insects compromise subsidy quality.

Nanoparticle contaminants enter aquatic ecosystems and are transported along the stream network. Here, we demonstrate a novel pathway for the return of nanoparticles from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via cross-boundary subsidies. During their emergence, trichopteran caddisflies carried titanium dioxide and gold nanoparticles into their terrestrial life stages.

Inhibition Mechanisms of 2'-Hydroxybiphenyl-2-sulfinate Desulfinase ().

Naturally occurring enzymatic pathways enable highly specific, rapid thiophenic sulfur cleavage occurring at ambient temperature and pressure, which may be harnessed for the desulfurization of petroleum-based fuel. One pathway found in bacteria is a four-step catabolic pathway (the 4S pathway) converting dibenzothiophene (DBT), a common crude oil contaminant, into 2-hydroxybiphenyl (HBP) without disrupting the carbon-carbon bonds. 2'-Hydroxybiphenyl-2-sulfinate desulfinase (), the rate-limiting enzyme in the enzyme cascade, is capable of selectively cleaving carbon-sulfur bonds.

Effects of a Systemic Pesticide Along an Aquatic Tri-Trophic Food Chain.

Systemic pesticides, such as the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, can be introduced into aquatic ecosystems through contaminated plant material, which is the basis for detrital (brown) aquatic food-webs. With the aim of exemplarily assessing for indirect effects on the level of predators, we first offered imidacloprid contaminated and uncontaminated alder leaves to the stonefly shredder Protonemura sp. for 72 h.

Is Hyalella azteca a Suitable Model Leaf-Shredding Benthic Crustacean for Testing the Toxicity of Sediment-Associated Metals in Europe?

The leaf-shredding crustacean Hyalella azteca, which is indigenous to Northern and Central America, is used to assess environmental risks associated with (metal-)contaminated sediments and to propose sediment quality standards also in Europe. Yet, it is unknown if H. azteca is protective for European crustacean shredders.

Waterborne and diet-related effects of inorganic and organic fungicides on the insect leaf shredder Chaetopteryx villosa (Trichoptera).

It is well-documented that fungicides can affect crustacean leaf shredders via two effect pathways, namely waterborne exposure and their diet (i.e., via dietary uptake of fungicides adsorbed to leaf material and an altered microorganism-mediated food quality).

Synthesis, Magnetic Properties, and Catalytic Properties of a Nickel(II)-Dependent Biomimetic of Metallohydrolases.

A dinickel(II) complex of the ligand 1,3-bis(bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)propan-2-ol (HL1) has been prepared and characterized to generate a functional model for nickel(II) phosphoesterase enzymes. The complex, [Ni(L1)(μ-OAc)(HO)](ClO)·HO, was characterized by microanalysis, X-ray crystallography, UV-visible, and IR absorption spectroscopy and solid state magnetic susceptibility measurements. Susceptibility studies show that the complex is antiferromagnetically coupled with the best fit parameters = -27.

The evil within? Systemic fungicide application in trees enhances litter quality for an aquatic decomposer-detritivore system.

Waterborne exposure towards fungicides is known to trigger negative effects in aquatic leaf-associated microbial decomposers and leaf-shredding macroinvertebrates. We expected similar effects when these organisms use leaf material from terrestrial plants that were treated with systemic fungicides as a food source since the fungicides may remain within the leaves when entering aquatic systems. To test this hypothesis, we treated black alder (Alnus glutinosa) trees with a tap water control or a systemic fungicide mixture (azoxystrobin, cyprodinil, quinoxyfen, and tebuconazole) at two worst-case application rates.

A Static Microfluidic Device for Investigating the Chemotaxis Response to Stable, Non-linear Gradients.

Microfluidic technology allows fast and precise measurement of chemotaxis responses to both attractant and repellent signals. One of the major drawbacks of current microfluidic chemotaxis assays is the presence of bacterial cells within the concentration gradient flow field, which has the potential for flow effects masking the chemotaxis response. This chapter describes a new microfluidic device for producing stable concentration gradients and measuring the response of cells to the gradient without exposing them to any flow.

UV-irradiation and leaching in water reduce the toxicity of imidacloprid-contaminated leaves to the aquatic leaf-shredding amphipod Gammarus fossarum.

Systemic neonicotinoid insecticides such as imidacloprid are increasingly applied against insect pest infestations on forest trees. However, leaves falling from treated trees may reach nearby surface waters and potentially represent a neonicotinoid exposure source for aquatic invertebrates. Given imidacloprid's susceptibility towards photolysis and high water solubility, it was hypothesized that the leaves' toxicity might be modulated by UV-irradiation during decay on the forest floor, or by leaching and re-mobilization of the insecticide from leaves within the aquatic ecosystem.

Relative importance of dietary uptake and waterborne exposure for a leaf-shredding amphipod exposed to thiacloprid-contaminated leaves.

Systemic neonicotinoids are commonly used in forest pest management programs. Senescent leaves containing neonicotinoids may, however, fall from treated trees into nearby streams. There, leaf-shredding invertebrates are particularly exposed due to their diet (feeding on neonicotinoid-contaminated leaves) or collaterally via the water phase (leaching of a neonicotinoid from leaves) - a fact not considered during aquatic environmental risk assessment.

Transient effects following peak exposures towards pesticides - An explanation for the unresponsiveness of in situ measured functional variables.

Invertebrate-mediated leaf litter decomposition is frequently used to assess stress-related implications in stream ecosystem integrity. In situ measures such as the mass loss from leaf bags or the feeding of caged invertebrates deployed for days or weeks may, however, fail to detect transient effects due to recovery or compensatory mechanisms. We assessed the relevance of transient effects using the peak exposure towards an insecticide (i.