An assessment of methods to combine evolutionary history and conservation: A case study in the Brazilian campo rupestre.

Premise: Conservation policies typically focus on biodiversity hotspots. An alternative approach involves analyzing the evolutionary history of lineages in geographic areas along with their threat levels to guide conservation efforts. Mountains exhibit high levels of plant species richness and micro-endemism, and biogeographic studies commonly point to recent and rapid evolutionary radiations in these areas.

Resource availability and disturbance frequency shape evolution of plant life forms in Neotropical habitats.

Organisms use diverse strategies to thrive in varying habitats. While life history theory partly explains these relationships, the combined impact of resource availability and disturbance frequency on life form strategy evolution has received limited attention. We use Chamaecrista species, a legume plant lineage with a high diversity of plant life forms in the Neotropics, and employ ecological niche modeling and comparative phylogenetic methods to examine the correlated evolution of plant life forms and environmental niches.

Synthetic gene circuits for cell state detection and protein tuning in human pluripotent stem cells.

During development, cell state transitions are coordinated through changes in the identity of molecular regulators in a cell type- and dose-specific manner. The ability to rationally engineer such transitions in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) will enable numerous applications in regenerative medicine. Herein, we report the generation of synthetic gene circuits that can detect a desired cell state using AND-like logic integration of endogenous miRNAs (classifiers) and, upon detection, produce fine-tuned levels of output proteins using an miRNA-mediated output fine-tuning technology (miSFITs).

Effect of Admixtures on Durability and Physical-Mechanical Properties of Alkali-Activated Materials.

The results of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) tests in alkali-activated systems show that, with its use, it is possible to produce promising materials with the required properties. Unfortunately, GGBS is becoming a scarce commodity on the market, so the effort is to partially replace its volume in these materials with other secondary materials, while maintaining the original properties. This paper focuses on a comparison of two basic types of mixtures.

Mechanical, Thermal, and Fire Properties of Composite Materials Based on Gypsum and PCM.

One of the solutions for overheating the interior in the summer without increasing energy consumption is the integration of phase change material (PCM) into interior plasters. However, adding PCM to plasters deteriorates their properties and thus their usability. The aim of this paper is to determine how the microencapsulated PCM affects the mechanical, thermal, and fire properties of plasters and how much PCM can be added to the plaster.