Conservation of rib skeleton regionalization in the homoplastic evolution of the snake-like body form in squamates.

Squamates have independently evolved an elongate, limb-reduced body form numerous times. This transition has been proposed to involve either changes to regulatory gene expression or downstream modification of target enhancers to produce a homogeneous, deregionalized axial skeleton. Analysis of vertebral morphology has suggested that regionalization is maintained in snake-like body forms, but morphological variation in the other primary component of the axial skeleton, the dorsal ribs, has not been previously examined.

Using lake sediments to assess the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activity in tropical river deltas.

Tropical river deltas, and the social-ecological systems they sustain, are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic activity and climatic change. Baseline data to inform sustainable management options for resilient deltas is urgently needed and palaeolimnology (reconstructing past conditions from lake or wetland deposits) can provide crucial long-term perspectives needed to identify drivers and rates of change. We review how palaeolimnology can be a valuable tool for resource managers using three current issues facing tropical delta regions: hydrology and sediment supply, salinisation and nutrient pollution.

Inhibition of neutrophil rolling and migration by caADAMTS13 in vitro and in mouse models of thrombosis and inflammation.

Recent investigation of a constitutively active ADAMTS13 variant (caADAMTS13) in murine models of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) have revealed a potential anti-inflammatory mechanism of action contributing to its protective effect. However, it remains unclear whether these observations are a direct result of VWF proteolysis by caADAMTS13. We have implemented state of the art in vitro assays of neutrophil rolling and transmigration to quantify the impact of caADAMTS13 on these processes.

In flux: Annual transport and deposition of suspended heavy metals and trace elements in the urbanised, tropical Red River Delta, Vietnam.

Due to the depositional environment, river deltas are said to act as filters and sinks for pollutants. However, many deltas are also densely populated and rapidly urbanizing, creating new and increased sources of pollutants. These sources pose the risk of tipping these environments from pollution sinks to sources, to the world's oceans.

Do Concentration or Activity of Selenoproteins Change in Acute Stroke Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

Introduction: Stroke is characterized by deleterious oxidative stress. Selenoprotein enzymes are essential endogenous antioxidants, and detailed insight into their role after stroke could define new therapeutic treatments. This systematic review aimed to elucidate how blood selenoprotein concentration and activity change in the acute phase of stroke.

gene expression predicts tetrapod-like axial regionalization in the skate, .

The axial skeleton of tetrapods is organized into distinct anteroposterior regions of the vertebral column (cervical, trunk, sacral, and caudal), and transitions between these regions are determined by colinear anterior expression boundaries of , , , and paralogy group genes within embryonic paraxial mesoderm. Fishes, conversely, exhibit little in the way of discrete axial regionalization, and this has led to scenarios of an origin of -mediated axial skeletal complexity with the evolutionary transition to land in tetrapods. Here, combining geometric morphometric analysis of vertebral column morphology with cell lineage tracing of gene expression boundaries in developing embryos, we recover evidence of at least five distinct regions in the vertebral skeleton of a cartilaginous fish, the little skate ().

Potent Tetrahydroquinolone Eliminates Apicomplexan Parasites.

Apicomplexan infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality, worldwide. New, improved therapies are needed. Herein, we create a next generation anti-apicomplexan lead compound, JAG21, a tetrahydroquinolone, with increased sp3-character to improve parasite selectivity.

On the origin of giant seeds: the macroevolution of the double coconut (Lodoicea maldivica) and its relatives (Borasseae, Arecaceae).

Seed size shapes plant evolution and ecosystems, and may be driven by plant size and architecture, dispersers, habitat and insularity. How these factors influence the evolution of giant seeds is unclear, as are the rate of evolution and the biogeographical consequences of giant seeds. We generated DNA and seed size data for the palm tribe Borasseae (Arecaceae) and its relatives, which show a wide diversity in seed size and include the double coconut (Lodoicea maldivica), the largest seed in the world.

Physiological and perceptual correlates of masculinity in children's voices.

Low frequency components (i.e. a low pitch (F0) and low formant spacing (ΔF)) signal high salivary testosterone and height in adult male voices and are associated with high masculinity attributions by unfamiliar listeners (in both men and women).

The importance of neutral over niche processes in structuring Ediacaran early animal communities.

The relative influence of niche vs. neutral processes in ecosystem dynamics is an on-going debate, but the extent to which they structured the earliest animal communities is unknown. Some of the oldest known metazoan-dominated paleocommunities occur in Ediacaran age (~ 565 million years old) strata in Newfoundland, Canada and Charnwood Forest, UK.

Children can control the expression of masculinity and femininity through the voice.

Pre-pubertal boys and girls speak with acoustically different voices despite the absence of a clear anatomical dimorphism in the vocal apparatus, suggesting that a strong component of the expression of gender through the voice is behavioural. Initial evidence for this hypothesis was found in a previous study showing that children can alter their voice to sound like a boy or like a girl. However, whether they can spontaneously modulate these voice components within their own gender in order to vary the expression of their masculinity and femininity remained to be investigated.