A new species of the genus Atarphia Reitter, 1884 is described from Phongsaly province, Laos. The new species, Atarphia mammutha sp. nov.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurons on the left and right sides of the nervous system often show asymmetric properties, but how such differences arise is poorly understood. Genetic screening in zebrafish revealed that loss of function of the transmembrane protein Cachd1 resulted in right-sided habenula neurons adopting left-sided identity. Cachd1 is expressed in neuronal progenitors, functions downstream of asymmetric environmental signals, and influences timing of the normally asymmetric patterns of neurogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMorphology is a defining feature of neuronal identity. Like neurons, glia display diverse morphologies, both across and within glial classes, but are also known to be morphologically plastic. Here, we explored the relationship between glial morphology and transcriptional signature using the Drosophila central nervous system (CNS), where glia are categorised into 5 main classes (outer and inner surface glia, cortex glia, ensheathing glia, and astrocytes), which show within-class morphological diversity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Patient and public involvement (PPI) in clinical research has a well-established infrastructure in the UK, and while there has been good progress within pharmaceutical-industry-sponsored research, further improvements are still needed. This review aims to share learnings from quality assessments of historical PPI projects within Pfizer UK to inform future projects and drive PPI progress in the pharmaceutical industry.
Design And Setting: Internal assessments of Pfizer UK PPI projects were conducted to identify all relevant projects across the medicines development continuum between 2017 and 2021.
South Pacific islands provide an ideal study system to explore patterns of speciation, specifically examining the role of dispersal versus vicariance. Dispersal is often the suggested mechanism of diversification in the South Pacific, specifically among remote island chains. Here, we provide a phylogeny of several related genera of Coenagrionidae (Odonata: Zygoptera) from the South Pacific, based on five molecular loci, in order to examine patterns of speciation in the region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConservation agriculture practices such as eliminating tillage and planting high residue cover crops are becoming increasingly important in field crop systems in the US Mid-Atlantic. However, these practices have sometimes been associated with an increase in moderate to severe damage to field crops by slugs. Conserving natural enemy populations is a desirable way to manage slug infestations because remedial control measures are limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe understand very little about the timing and origins of bioluminescence, particularly as a predator avoidance strategy. Understanding the timing of its origins, however, can help elucidate the evolution of this ecologically important signal. Using fireflies, a prevalent bioluminescent group where bioluminescence primarily functions as aposematic and sexual signals, we explore the origins of this signal in the context of their potential predators.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on the cervical screening programme in Wales for the eligible women, sample takers, and laboratory and colposcopy services.
Aims: To explore what changes due to the pandemic have adversely affected screening outcomes in Wales and what lessons can be learned to improve cervical screening in Wales and elsewhere.
Methods: A review of the screening performance in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 in Wales as well as a comparison with other cervical screening programme responses to the pandemic.
The coastal areas of Vanuatu are under a multitude of threats stemming from commercialization, human development, and climate change. Atyphella Olliff is a genus of firefly that includes species endemic to these coastal areas and will need protection. The research that has already been conducted was affected by accessibility due to the remote nature of the islands which left numerous knowledge gaps caused by a lack of distributional data (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOber and Staniczek is a genus of damselfly endemic to Vanuatu. Little is known about the distribution and general natural history of the genus. We present the results of 14 weeks of fieldwork in Vanuatu to provide a better understanding of the biology of this genus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarpophiline-ID is presented, a matrix-based Lucid key, for the adult stage of the known species of Carpophilinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) of North America, east of the Mississippi River. An overview of the features and technical specifications used to build the key is provided. The list of terminal taxa used in the key represents the most current regional account for Carpophilinae, a beetle subfamily of agricultural and ecological importance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHundreds of human genes are associated with neurological diseases, but translation into tractable biological mechanisms is lagging. Larval zebrafish are an attractive model to investigate genetic contributions to neurological diseases. However, current CRISPR-Cas9 methods are difficult to apply to large genetic screens studying behavioural phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArthropod Struct Dev
November 2020
The leg regeneration capabilities of damselflies are understudied. Here we present the first data of regenerated limbs across a genus of damselfly based on adult specimens collected in the field to illustrate the prevalence of limb loss among nymphs. We show that this phenomenon is much more prevalent than previously thought, as 42 percent of individuals were found with regenerated limbs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdditional work on the islands of Vanuatu has improved our understanding of the actual diversity of South Pacific coastal fireflies. Prior to recent fieldwork in Vanuatu, the only known lampyrid from Vanuatu was Atyphella aphrogeneia (Ballantyne), a coastal species also found in Papua New Guinea. After further examination, we determined that specimens from Vanuatu formerly classified as Atyphella aphrogeneia actually belong to an undescribed species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new species of the genus Carpophilus Stephens is described from Australia. This species is currently placed in the subgenus Myothorax Murray, although the group is in need of formal revision. A diagnosis is given to distinguish the new species from all other species of Myothorax in Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe subfamily Carpophilinae, in particular the genus Carpophilus Stephens, represents one of the most speciose lineages within Nitidulidae. The subfamily was first recognized by Erichson (1843) in a much broader sense, including what is now the Cillaeinae. According to Kirejtshuk (2008), there are seven genera and 13 subgenera within Carpophilinae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVoltage-gated calcium channel auxiliary α2δ subunits are important for channel trafficking and function. Here, we compare the effects of α2δ-1 and an α2δ-like protein called Cachd1 on neuronal N-type (Ca2.2) channels, which are important in neurotransmission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEleven species of billbugs (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae: Sphenophorus spp. Schönherr) infest managed turfgrass in North America. However, the regional variation in species composition remains unresolved and the seasonal phenology of several species has not been well documented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
November 2017
A highly effective vaccine would be a valuable weapon in the drive toward malaria elimination. No such vaccine currently exists, and only a handful of the hundreds of potential candidates in the parasite genome have been evaluated. In this study, we systematically evaluated 29 antigens likely to be involved in erythrocyte invasion, an essential developmental stage during which the malaria parasite is vulnerable to antibody-mediated inhibition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe subfamily Carpophilinae, in particular the genus Carpophilus Stephens, represents one of the most speciose lineages within Nitidulidae. The subfamily is comprised of more than 250 described species that are found worldwide in every habitable region, and have been transported by man in stored products to remote islands and archipelagos (Ewing & Cline 2005; Parsons 1943). The ubiquitous Carpophilus dimidiatus (L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral known or putative glycosyltransferases are required for the synthesis of laminin-binding glycans on alpha-dystroglycan (αDG), including POMT1, POMT2, POMGnT1, LARGE, Fukutin, FKRP, ISPD and GTDC2. Mutations in these glycosyltransferase genes result in defective αDG glycosylation and reduced ligand binding by αDG causing a clinically heterogeneous group of congenital muscular dystrophies, commonly referred to as dystroglycanopathies. The most severe clinical form, Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS), is characterized by congenital muscular dystrophy and severe neurological and ophthalmological defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 41-year-old man presented with chylous ascites 6 weeks after a laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. The chyle leak was successfully treated with laparoscopic ligation of the leaking duct at the right crus. We would now recommend early consideration of this as a treatment option for this rare complication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mammalian JAM family is composed of three cell surface receptors. Interactions between the proteins have well-characterised roles in inflammation and tight junction formation, but little is known about their function in early development. Recently, we identified a role for jamb and jamc in zebrafish myocyte fusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkeletal muscle is formed by the iterative fusion of precursor cells (myocytes) into long multinuclear fibres. Extensive studies of fusion in Drosophila embryos have lead to a paradigm in which myoblasts are divided into two distinct subtypes - founder and fusion-competent myoblasts (FCMs) - that can fuse to each other, but not among themselves. Only founder cells can direct the formation of muscle fibres, while FCMs act as a cellular substrate.
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