Investigation of the distribution patterns in moinids (Crustacea: Cladocera: Moinidae) forming ephippia with two resting eggs.

During last two decades, morphological and genetic studies of the microcrustaceans from the family Moinidae Goulden, 1968 (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Cladocera) were intensified. However, species diversity within this family remains underestimated. It refers to both subtropical and tropical areas of different continents that have traditionally been less studied compared with Central Europe and some other Palaearctic regions.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Pediatrics and Adolescent Women: A Systematic Review of Sex-Based Differences Between Girls and Boys.

Background/objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is marked by repetitive occurrences of upper airway (UA) obstruction during sleep. Morbidities impacting the metabolic, cardiovascular (CV) and neurological systems are correlated with OSA. Only a few studies have described the existence of different characteristics depending on sex and, to date, the girl phenotype in OSA pediatrics is not well known.

Regulation of formin INF2 and its alteration in INF2-linked inherited disorders.

Formins are proteins that catalyze the formation of linear filaments made of actin. INF2, a formin, is crucial for correct vesicular transport, microtubule stability and mitochondrial division. Its activity is regulated by a complex of cyclase-associated protein and lysine-acetylated G-actin (KAc-actin), which helps INF2 adopt an inactive conformation through the association of its N-terminal diaphanous inhibitory domain (DID) with its C-terminal diaphanous autoinhibitory domain.

INF2 formin variants linked to human inherited kidney disease reprogram the transcriptome, causing mitotic chaos and cell death.

Mutations in the human INF2 gene cause autosomal dominant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)-a condition characterized by podocyte loss, scarring, and subsequent kidney degeneration. To understand INF2-linked pathogenicity, we examined the effect of pathogenic INF2 on renal epithelial cell lines and human primary podocytes. Our study revealed an increased incidence of mitotic cells with surplus microtubule-organizing centers fostering multipolar spindle assembly, leading to nuclear abnormalities, particularly multi-micronucleation.

Structure-Antitumor Activity Relationships of Aza- and Diaza-Anthracene-2,9,10-Triones and Their Partially Saturated Derivatives.

The 1,8-Diazaanthracene-2,9,10-triones, their 5,8-dihydro derivatives, and 1,8-diazaanthracene-2,7,9,10-tetraones, structurally related to the diazaquinomycin family of natural products, were synthesized in a regioselective fashion employing Diels-Alder strategies. These libraries were studied for their cytotoxicity in a variety of human cancer cell lines in order to establish structure-activity relationships. From the results obtained, we conclude that some representatives of the 1,8-diazaanthracene-2,9,10-trione framework show potent and selective cytotoxicity against solid tumors.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Epidemiological Situation of Pulmonary Tuberculosis-Using Natural Language Processing.

Background: We aimed to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) using artificial intelligence. To do so, we compared the real-life situation during the pandemic with the pre-2020 situation.

Methods: This non-interventional, retrospective, observational study applied natural language processing to the electronic health records of the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain.

Updates from Optics Letters: editorial.

Optics Letters' Editor-in-Chief Miguel Alonso provides a journal update and discusses journal criteria.

The MAL Family of Proteins: Normal Function, Expression in Cancer, and Potential Use as Cancer Biomarkers.

The MAL family of integral membrane proteins consists of MAL, MAL2, MALL, PLLP, CMTM8, MYADM, and MYADML2. The best characterized members are elements of the machinery that controls specialized pathways of membrane traffic and cell signaling. This review aims to help answer the following questions about the -family genes: (i) is their expression regulated in cancer and, if so, how? (ii) What role do they play in cancer? (iii) Might they have biomedical applications? Analysis of large-scale gene expression datasets indicated altered levels of -family transcripts in specific cancer types.

Coherence in the radial degree of freedom.

Coherence quantifies the statistical fluctuations in an optical field and has been extensively studied in the space, time, and polarization degrees of freedom. In the context of space, coherence theory has been formulated between two transverse positions as well as between two azimuthal positions, referred to as transverse spatial coherence and angular coherence, respectively. In this paper, we formulate the theory of coherence for optical fields in the radial degree of freedom and discuss the associated concepts of coherence radial width, radial quasi-homogeneity, and radial stationarity with some physically realizable examples of radially partially coherent fields.

Diversity and distribution of Anostraca in temporary ponds in Western Africa with description of a new species of Streptocephalus Baird, 1852 (Pancrustacea: Branchiopoda: Streptocephalidae).

Three genera of Anostraca have been recorded so far in Senegal: Streptocephalus Baird, 1852, Branchinella Sayce, 1903 and Artemia Leach, 1819. The occurrence of the previously recorded freshwater species in Senegal have been confirmed in this work, namely Streptocephalus zeltneri Daday, 1910, S. sudanicus Daday, 1910 and Branchinella (Branchinellites) chudeaui (Daday, 1910).

100 years of Emil Wolf: introduction.

The groundbreaking research and ideas introduced by Emil Wolf continue to inspire researchers and motivate ongoing research in the wave properties of light. This special issue commemorates the legacy of Emil Wolf with research in physical optics, with specific focus on those areas where Wolf was active, such as optical coherence theory, inverse problems, singular optics, imaging, and polarization, and the intersection of these fields of study. Here we discuss the life of Emil Wolf and his influence on optical science and the optics community.

Observation of Polarization Singularities and Topological Textures in Sound Waves.

Polarization singularities and topological polarization structures are generic features of inhomogeneous vector wave fields of any nature. However, their experimental studies mostly remain restricted to optical waves. Here, we report the observation of polarization singularities, topological Möbius-strip structures, and skyrmionic textures in 3D polarization fields of inhomogeneous sound waves.

Structure and function of the N-terminal extension of the formin INF2.

In INF2-a formin linked to inherited renal and neurological disease in humans-the DID is preceded by a short N-terminal extension of unknown structure and function. INF2 activation is achieved by Ca-dependent association of calmodulin (CaM). Here, we show that the N-terminal extension of INF2 is organized into two α-helices, the first of which is necessary to maintain the perinuclear F-actin ring and normal cytosolic F-actin content.

A new fairy shrimp, Branchinecta piurae sp. nov. (Branchiopoda: Anostraca), from Peru.

South American species of Branchinecta that inhabit high altitude biotopes are so far represented by B. brushi and B. papillata.

Space-time wave packets localized in all dimensions.

Optical wave packets that are localized in space and time, but nevertheless overcome diffraction and travel rigidly in free space, are a long sought-after field structure with applications ranging from microscopy and remote sensing, to nonlinear and quantum optics. However, synthesizing such wave packets requires introducing non-differentiable angular dispersion with high spectral precision in two transverse dimensions, a capability that has eluded optics to date. Here, we describe an experimental strategy capable of sculpting the spatio-temporal spectrum of a generic pulsed beam by introducing arbitrary radial chirp via two-dimensional conformal coordinate transformations of the spectrally resolved field.

Benchmarking Object Detection Deep Learning Models in Embedded Devices.

Object detection is an essential capability for performing complex tasks in robotic applications. Today, deep learning (DL) approaches are the basis of state-of-the-art solutions in computer vision, where they provide very high accuracy albeit with high computational costs. Due to the physical limitations of robotic platforms, embedded devices are not as powerful as desktop computers, and adjustments have to be made to deep learning models before transferring them to robotic applications.

MALL, a membrane-tetra-spanning proteolipid overexpressed in cancer, is present in membraneless nuclear biomolecular condensates.

Proteolipids are proteins with unusual lipid-like properties. It has long been established that PLP and plasmolipin, which are two unrelated membrane-tetra-spanning myelin proteolipids, can be converted in vitro into a water-soluble form with a distinct conformation, raising the question of whether these, or other similar proteolipids, can adopt two different conformations in the cell to adapt their structure to distinct environments. Here, we show that MALL, another proteolipid with a membrane-tetra-spanning structure, distributes in membranes outside the nucleus and, within the nucleus, in membrane-less, liquid-like PML body biomolecular condensates.

Plasmolipin regulates basolateral-to-apical transcytosis of ICAM-1 and leukocyte adhesion in polarized hepatic epithelial cells.

Apical localization of Intercellular Adhesion Receptor (ICAM)-1 regulates the adhesion and guidance of leukocytes across polarized epithelial barriers. Here, we investigate the molecular mechanisms that determine ICAM-1 localization into apical membrane domains of polarized hepatic epithelial cells, and their effect on lymphocyte-hepatic epithelial cell interaction. We had previously shown that segregation of ICAM-1 into apical membrane domains, which form bile canaliculi and bile ducts in hepatic epithelial cells, requires basolateral-to-apical transcytosis.

Immersive virtual-reality computer-assembly serious game to enhance autonomous learning.

Unlabelled: Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments create a very strong sense of presence and immersion. Nowadays, especially when student isolation and online autonomous learning is required, such sensations can provide higher satisfaction and learning rates than conventional teaching. However, up until the present, learning outcomes with VR tools have yet to prove their advantageous aspects over conventional teaching.

Adaptive Lipid Immiscibility and Membrane Remodeling Are Active Functional Determinants of Primary Ciliogenesis.

Lipid liquid-liquid immiscibility and its consequent lateral heterogeneity have been observed under thermodynamic equilibrium in model and native membranes. However, cholesterol-rich membrane domains, sometimes referred to as lipid rafts, are difficult to observe spatiotemporally in live cells. Despite their importance in many biological processes, robust evidence for their existence remains elusive.

Formins in Human Disease.

Almost 25 years have passed since a mutation of a formin gene, , was identified as being responsible for a human inherited disorder: a form of sensorineural hearing loss. Since then, our knowledge of the links between formins and disease has deepened considerably. Mutations of and six other formin genes (, , , , and ) have been identified as the genetic cause of a variety of inherited human disorders, including intellectual disability, renal disease, peripheral neuropathy, thrombocytopenia, primary ovarian insufficiency, hearing loss and cardiomyopathy.