Flight activity and effort of breeding pied flycatchers in the wild, revealed with accelerometers and machine learning.

Flight behaviours of birds have been extensively studied from different angles such as their kinematics, aerodynamics and, more generally, their migration patterns. Nevertheless, much is still unknown about the daily foraging flight activity and behaviour of breeding birds, and potential differences among males and females. The recent development of miniaturized accelerometers allows us a glimpse into the daily life of a songbird.

Translocated wild birds are predisposed to learn songs of their ancestral population.

Population differences in socially learned mating signals like oscine birdsong are particularly vulnerable to breakdown through dispersal. Despite this challenge, geographic variation in learned signals is ubiquitous. A proposed explanation for this pattern is that birds express predispositions to selectively learn and produce population-typical songs.

Developmental adaptations of γδ T cells and B cells in blood and intestinal mucosa from birth until weaning in Holstein bull calves.

This study aimed to characterize the development of systemic and colon tissue resident B and γδ T cells in newborn calves from birth until weaning. At birth, calves have limited capacity to initiate immune responses, and the immune system gradually matures over time. Gamma delta (γδ) T cells are an important lymphocyte subset in neonatal calves that confer protection and promote immune tolerance.

A novel method for isolation and flow cytometry analysis of intraepithelial lymphocytes from colon biopsies.

Investigating the immune responses of the intestine in response to different insults is predominantly limited to indirect methods such as circulating markers of intestinal health or gene expression from dissections. We describe here a validated protocol for the isolation and subsequent flow cytometry analysis of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) from colonic biopsy samples. Colon biopsy samples were collected with endoscopy forceps from Holstein dairy bull calves at d 2, 28, and 42 of life.

Adaptation to climate change through dispersal and inherited timing in an avian migrant.

Many organisms fail to adjust their phenology sufficiently to climate change. Studies have concentrated on adaptive responses within localities, but little is known about how latitudinal dispersal enhances evolutionary potential. Rapid adaptation is expected if dispersers from lower latitudes have improved synchrony to northern conditions, thereby gain fitness and introduce genotypes on which selection acts.

Value of prolonged scrotal drainage after penile prosthesis implantation: a multicenter prospective nonrandomized pilot study.

We aimed to understand the risks and benefits of post-inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) implantation drainage and optimal duration. Our patients were divided into 3 groups: Group 1 (n = 114) had no drain placed, Group 2 had a drain placed for 24 h (n = 114) and Group 3 had a drain placed for 72 h (n = 117). Postoperative scrotal hematoma and prosthesis infection rates were compared between the groups.

Immunotolerance of dairy heifers in response to repeated exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide endotoxin.

Dairy cattle face a variety of stressful events on a daily basis. More specifically, climate change has resulted in more frequent heat stress events that increase the incidence of chronic bacterial infections by inducing conditions like leaky gut syndrome, whereby the integrity of the intestinal epithelium is compromised allowing for luminal bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin to infiltrate the host's bloodstream resulting in acute or chronic systemic stimulation of the innate immune system. Repeated exposure to LPS over a short period of time is reported to induce immunotolerance within the host.

Gold Nanorods Induce Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Autocrine Inflammatory Activation in Human Neutrophils.

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) are promising agents for diverse biomedical applications such as drug and gene delivery, bioimaging, and cancer treatment. Upon in vivo application, AuNRs quickly interact with cells of the immune system. On the basis of their strong intrinsic phagocytic activity, polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are specifically equipped for the uptake of particulate materials such as AuNRs.

Unravelling the causes and consequences of dispersal syndromes in a wild passerine.

Evidence accumulates that dispersal is correlated with individual behavioural phenotype (dispersal syndrome). The evolutionary causes and consequences of such covariation depend on the degree of plasticity versus inheritance of the traits, which requires challenging experiments to implement in mobile organisms. Here, we combine a forced dispersal experiment, natural colonization and longitudinal data to establish if dispersal and aggression levels are integrated and to test their adaptive nature in pied flycatchers ().

Dynamic changes in Holstein heifer circulatory stress biomarkers in response to lipopolysaccharide immune challenge.

Dairy cattle routinely face a variety of stressors. For example, climate change has resulted in more frequent heat stress events that increase the incidence of bacterial infections by inducing conditions like leaky gut syndrome, whereby the integrity of the intestinal epithelium is compromised allowing for luminal bacteria and their membrane components to infiltrate the host's bloodstream resulting in systemic inflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a well-characterized and biologically relevant microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) that makes up the outer membrane of pathogenic and commensal Gram-negative bacteria and is known to contribute to inflammatory disorders including mastitis, acidosis and septicemia.

Functional analysis of bovine interleukin-10 receptor alpha in response to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis lysate using CRISPR/Cas9.

Background: The interleukin-10 receptor alpha (IL10RA) gene codes for the alpha chain of the IL-10 receptor which binds the cytokine IL-10. IL-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine with immunoregulatory function during the pathogenesis of many inflammatory disorders in livestock, including Johne's disease (JD). JD is a chronic enteritis in cattle caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp.

Intra-articular xenogeneic mesenchymal stem cell-based therapy increases CD4CD25 cells in synovial fluid.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease afflicting a substantial portion of the world's population with no currently available cure. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies have been observed to have a mild beneficial effect in OA but the mechanism behind their action remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the lymphocytic response to a xenogeneic human umbilical cord-derived MSC-based cell therapy.

Effects of experimental light at night on extra-pair paternity in a songbird.

Light pollution is increasing worldwide and significantly affects animal behavior. In birds, these effects include advancement of morning activity and onset of dawn song, which may affect extra-pair paternity. Advanced dawn song of males may stimulate females to engage in extra-pair copulations, and the earlier activity onset may affect the males' mate guarding behavior.

Collaborative hospital orientation: simulation as a teaching strategy.

For nurses, the stress caused by entering a new place of employment may give rise to insecurity and a lack of confidence. Lack of confidence in one's nursing skills can affect performance and, ultimately, patient care and safety. In healthcare, growing fiscal constraints have resulted in lost resources, and support for new nursing staff is limited by both time and cost considerations.

GFAP and S100B are biomarkers of traumatic brain injury: an observational cohort study.

Background: Biomarker levels in blood after traumatic brain injury (TBI) may offer diagnostic and prognostic tools in addition to clinical indices. This study aims to validate glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S100B concentrations in blood as outcome predictors of TBI using cutoff levels of 1.5 μg/L for GFAP and 1.

A mathematical model gives insights into the effects of vitamin B-6 deficiency on 1-carbon and glutathione metabolism.

We experimented with a mathematical model for 1-carbon metabolism and glutathione (GSH) synthesis to investigate the effects of vitamin B-6 deficiency on the reaction velocities and metabolite concentrations in this metabolic network. The mathematical model enabled us to independently alter the activities of each of the 5 vitamin B-6-dependent enzymes and thus determine which inhibitions were responsible for the experimentally observed consequences of a vitamin B-6 deficiency. The effect of vitamin B-6 deficiency on serine and glycine concentrations in tissues and plasma was almost entirely due to its effects on the activity of glycine decarboxylase.

Cerebrospinal fluid IgM index correlates with cranial MRI lesion load in patients with multiple sclerosis.

In multiple sclerosis intrathecal IgM synthesis correlates with an unfavourable disease course. Whether this reflects a pathogenic role of IgM, possibly in conjunction with complement, is a matter of debate. In a cross-sectional study we measured intrathecal synthesis of IgM and the complement component C3, and on cranial MRI lesion load and central brain atrophy in clinically active patients, 17 relapsing-remitting, 16 secondary progressive.

Rapid immunoassay for the determination of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in serum.

Background: This study was aimed to develop a sensitive and rapid assay for the determination of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in serum and to evaluate the clinical applicability in serum samples from patients with acute stroke.

Methods: The two-site chemiluminometric immunoassay, intended to use in a near-patient setting with a single incubation step (20 min), was used to measure serum samples from healthy blood donors and from patients with brain injury and correlated to serum S100B levels.

Results: The GFAP assay covered a concentration range up to 18 microg/L with an analytical sensitivity of 0.

Glial and neuronal proteins in serum predict outcome after severe traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To study the ability of glial (glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP] and S100b) and neuronal (neuron specific enolase [NSE]) protein levels in peripheral blood to predict outcome after severe traumatic brain injury.

Methods: Eighty-five patients with severe traumatic brain injury (admission Glasgow Coma Score [GCS] < or = 8) were included. Blood samples taken at the time of hospital admission were analyzed for S100b, GFAP, and NSE.

Protein S-100B, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), myelin basic protein (MBP) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood of neurological patients.

In this study, data about protein S-100B, neuron-specific enolase, myelin basic protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein in cerebrospinal fluid and blood of patients with an acute or chronic progressive neurological disorder with brain damage are reviewed. Especially in disorders with acute brain damage, determination of these proteins in CSF and blood can be helpful to establish structural and/or functional brain damage to determine severity and prognosis of the disease process and to monitor treatment effects.

Peri-operative levels of s-100 protein in serum: marker for surgical manipulation and postoperative complications.

Although minimally invasive neurosurgical techniques are highly sophisticated nowadays, almost any operative procedure causes an inevitable surgical trauma to the brain. As a consequence unfavorable functional outcomes are not rare. Intraoperative biochemical monitoring can be helpful first to detect but also to prevent brain damage.

Measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein in blood: an analytical method.

Background: In the present study, a new assay for the measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in human blood is described. The aim of the study was to present the characteristics of a new GFAP assay for blood analysis.

Methods: The method, a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was validated using blood samples from healthy blood donors and from patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Intraoperative values of S-100 protein, myelin basic protein, lactate, and albumin in the CSF and serum of neurosurgical patients.

Objectives: To assess the concentrations of S-100 protein, myelin basic protein (MBP), and lactate, and the (CSF)/serum albumin ratio (Qalb) during intracranial neurosurgical procedures.

Methods: Samples of CSF from 91 patients with various CNS diseases were obtained by aspiration of cisternal CSF at the beginning of surgery (before starting surgical manipulation of the brain) and concentrations of S-100 protein, MBP, and lactate, and Qalb were determined. At the same time blood was sampled for determination of serum S-100 protein concentration.