Insect responses to seasonal time constraints under global change are facilitated by warming and counteracted by invasive alien predators.

In seasonal environments, organisms with complex life cycles not only contend with seasonal time constraints (TC) but also increasingly face global change stressors that may interfere with responses to TC. Here, we tested how warming and predator stress imposed during the egg and larval stages shaped life history and behavioural responses to TC in the temperate damselfly Ischnura elegans. Eggs from early and late clutches in the season were subjected to ambient and 4 °C warming temperature and the presence or absence of predator cues from perch and signal crayfish.

Calculating transmembrane voltage on the electric pulse-affected cancerous cell membrane: using molecular dynamics and finite element simulations.

Context: Electroporation is a technique that creates electrically generated pores in the cell membrane by modifying transmembrane potential. In this work, the finite element method (FEM) was used to examine the induced transmembrane voltage (ITV) of a spherical-shaped MCF-7 cell, allowing researchers to determine the stationary ITV. A greater ITV than the critical value causes permeabilization of the membrane.

Effects of overwintering on the transcriptome and fitness traits in a damselfly with variable voltinism across two latitudes.

Winter diapause consists of cessation of development that allows individuals to survive unfavourable conditions. Winter diapause may bear various costs and questions have been raised about the evolutionary mechanisms maintaining facultative diapause. Here, we explored to what extent a facultative winter diapause affects life-history traits and the transcriptome in the damselfly Ischnura elegans, and whether these effects were latitude-specific.

Performance of a deep learning enhancement method applied to PET images acquired with a reduced acquisition time.

Background: This study aims to evaluate the performance of a deep learning enhancement method in PET images reconstructed with a shorter acquisition time, and different reconstruction algorithms. The impact of the enhancement on clinical decisions was also assessed.

Material And Methods: Thirty-seven subjects underwent clinical whole-body [18F]FDG PET/CT exams with an acquisition time of 1.

How generalisable are material extrusion additive manufacturing parameter optimisation studies? A systematic review.

Goal: Material extrusion additive manufacturing, is a relatively inexpensive and popular manufacturing technique that can be used to fabricate complex 3D geometries at low cost. However, parts produced by this process are often characterised by poor quality, particularly with regards to dimensional and geometrical accuracy. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of experimental studies conducted over the past 25 years that have aimed to improve these quality variables via printing parameter optimisation.

The First Online Capillary Electrophoresis-Microscale Thermophoresis (CE-MST) Method for the Analysis of Dynamic Equilibria-The Determination of the Acidity Constant of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate.

This article presents the first successful application of a capillary electrophoresis-microscale thermophoresis tandem technique (CE-MST) for determining the values of equilibrium constant, realized by connecting online the CE and MST instruments using a fused-silica capillary. The acid-base dissociation of fluorescein isothiocyanate, expressed by the acidity constant value (p), was used as a model. The measurement procedure consisted of introducing a mixture containing the analyte and a deliberately added interferent into the CE capillary, electrophoretic separation of the analyte from the interferent, the detection of the analyte with a CE-integrated detector, detection with a MST detector, and then stopping the flow temporarily by turning off the voltage source to conduct the thermophoretic measurement.

Cross-Latitude Behavioural Axis in an Adult Damselfly (Harris, 1780).

Behavioural variation is important for evolutionary and ecological processes, but can also be useful when predicting consequences of climate change and effects on species ranges. Latitudinal differences in behaviour have received relatively limited research interest when compared to morphological, life history and physiological traits. This study examined differences in expression of three behavioural axes: activity, courtship and boldness, and their correlations, along a European latitudinal gradient spanning ca.

Adult insect personality in the wild- as a model for field studies.

Animal personality has received increasing interest and acknowledgment within ecological research over the past two decades. However, some areas are still poorly studied and need to be developed. For instance, field studies focused on invertebrates are currently highly underrepresented in the literature.

An Automated Hydrodynamically Mediated Technique for Preparation of Calibration Solutions via Capillary Electrophoresis System as a Promising Alternative to Manual Pipetting.

In this paper, a novel procedure for preparing calibration solutions for capillary electrophoresis (CE)-based quantitative analysis is proposed. Our approach, named the automated hydrodynamically mediated technique (AHMT), uses a capillary and a pressure system to deliver the expected amount of working solution and diluent directly to a sample vial. As a result, calibration solutions are prepared automatically inside the CE instrument, without any or with minimal manual operation.

Development of CE-CD Method for Determination Tropane Alkaloids.

A fast method for the determination of tropane alkaloids, using a portable CE instrument with a capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (CE-CD) was developed and validated for determination of atropine and scopolamine in seeds from family plants. Separation was obtained within 5 min, using an optimized background electrolyte consisting of 0.5 M acetic acid with 0.

Body and wing size, but not wing shape, vary along a large-scale latitudinal gradient in a damselfly.

Large-scale latitudinal studies that include both north and south edge populations and address sex differences are needed to understand how selection has shaped trait variation. We quantified the variation of flight-related morphological traits (body size, wing size, ratio between wing size and body size, and wing shape) along the whole latitudinal distribution of the damselfly Lestes sponsa, spanning over 2700 km. We tested predictions of geographic variation in the flight-related traits as a signature of: (1) stronger natural selection to improve dispersal in males and females at edge populations; (2) stronger sexual selection to improve reproduction (fecundity in females and sexual behaviors in males) at edge populations.

Two experimental designs generate contrasting patterns of behavioral differentiation along a latitudinal gradient in -Common-garden not so common after all?

Understanding why and how behavioral profiles differ across latitudes can help predict behavioral responses to environmental change. The first response to environmental change that an organism exhibits is commonly a behavioral response. Change in one behavior usually results in shifts in other correlated behaviors, which may adaptively or maladaptively vary across environments and/or time.

Novel Approach to Sample Preconcentration by Solvent Evaporation in Flow Analysis.

A preconcentration module operated in flow mode and integrated with a sequential injection system with spectrophotometric detection was developed. Using the system, preconcentration was performed in continuous mode and was based on a membraneless evaporation process under diminished pressure. The parameters of the proposed system were optimized and the system was tested on the example of the spectrophotometric determination of Cr(III).

Size-mediated priority and temperature effects on intra-cohort competition and cannibalism in a damselfly.

A shift in the relative arrival of offspring, for example a shift in hatching time, can affect competition at the intraspecific level through size-mediated priority effects, where the larger individuals gain more resources. These priority effects are likely to be affected by climate warming and the rate of intraspecific predation, that is cannibalism. In a laboratory experiment, we examined size-mediated priority effects in larvae of the univoltine damselfly, Lestes sponsa, at two different temperatures (21 and 23°C).

The genetic variance but not the genetic covariance of life-history traits changes towards the north in a time-constrained insect.

Seasonal time constraints are usually stronger at higher than lower latitudes and can exert strong selection on life-history traits and the correlations among these traits. To predict the response of life-history traits to environmental change along a latitudinal gradient, information must be obtained about genetic variance in traits and also genetic correlation between traits, that is the genetic variance-covariance matrix, G. Here, we estimated G for key life-history traits in an obligate univoltine damselfly that faces seasonal time constraints.

Modifying impact of gene haplotypes on medullary thyroid carcinoma clinical course.

The clinical course of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) associated with the MEN2A syndrome as well as of sporadic MTC shows considerable heterogeneity. The disease picture varies not only between the same proto-oncogene mutation carriers but also among sporadic MTC patients with no germinal mutations, which suggests the involvement of additional modulators of the disease. However, genetic factors responsible for this heterogeneity of the MTC clinical course still remain unknown.

Acidity of substituted cathinones studied by capillary electrophoresis using the standard and fast alternative approaches.

Cathinone derivatives are notorious but still weakly characterized molecules, known mainly as components of the designer and illicit drugs. The knowledge on their acidity is scarce and incomplete, therefore, we decided to determine the pK values for six of them: 2-methylmethcathinone, 3-methylmethcathinone, 4-methylmethcathinone, α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone and ephedrone. For that purpose we employed capillary electrophoresis, which is known for its accurateness in comparison to other analytical techniques.

Comparative studies of physical properties of kinesiotapes.

Background: Nowadays we observe growing popularity of kinesiotaping as a supportive method in physiotherapy. In documents available on kinesiotaping we can find that mechanical properties of tapes are similar to the ones of a human skin, but usually there is hardly any numerical data characterizing these properties.

Objective: Therefore, testing and comparing physical properties of commercially available kinesiotapes seems to be important.

Cannibalism and activity rate in larval damselflies increase along a latitudinal gradient as a consequence of time constraints.

Background: Predation is ubiquitous in nature. One form of predation is cannibalism, which is affected by many factors such as size structure and resource density. However, cannibalism may also be influenced by abiotic factors such as seasonal time constraints.

Latitudinal and age-specific patterns of larval mortality in the damselfly Lestes sponsa: Senescence before maturity?

Latitudinal differences in life history traits driven by differences in seasonal time constraints have been widely documented. Yet, latitudinal patterns in (age-specific) mortality rates have been poorly studied. Here, we studied latitudinal differences in pre-adult age-specific mortality patterns in the strictly univoltine damselfly Lestes sponsa.

Pituitary Microsomal Autoantibodies in Patients with Childhood-Onset Combined Pituitary Hormone Deficiency: an Antigen Identification Attempt.

The role of autoimmunization in the pathogenesis of pituitary disorders is poorly understood. The presence of pituitary autoantibodies (APA) has been detected in various pituitary disorders. Their role, however, remains elusive.

A wearable headset for monitoring electromyography responses within spinal surgery.

Purpose: This research examines an approach for enhancing the efficiency of spinal surgery utilising the technological capabilities and design functionalities of wearable headsets, in this case Google Glass. The aim was to improve the efficiency of the selective dorsal rhizotomy neurosurgical procedure initially through the use of Glass via an innovative approach to information design for an intraoperative monitoring display.

Methods: Utilising primary and secondary research methods the development of a new electromyography response display for a wearable headset was undertaken.

Diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis in patients with liver metastases from follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC).

Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) is the second most common type of thyroid cancer (TC) and accounts for approximately 10% of all TC cases. Liver metastases are a rare presentation in 0.5-1% of follicular thyroid cancers, usually occurring in the setting of widely disseminated FTC disease, and their presence is associated with poor prognosis.

Seasonal time constraints reduce genetic variation in life-history traits along a latitudinal gradient.

Time constraints cause strong selection on life-history traits, because populations need to complete their life cycles within a shorter time. We therefore expect lower genetic variation in these traits in high- than in low-latitude populations, since the former are more time-constrained. The aim was to estimate life-history traits and their genetic variation in an obligately univoltine damselfly along a latitudinal gradient of 2730 km.

The c.470 T > C CHEK2 missense variant increases the risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma in the Great Poland population.

Background: Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) originates from thyroid follicular epithelial cells and belongs to a group of slowly progressing tumors with a relatively good prognosis. However, recurrences and metastases are a serious problem in advanced stages. Furthermore, progression from a well differentiated thyroid carcinoma to an aggressive anaplastic one is possible.