Long-term hybridization in a karst window reveals the genetic basis of eye loss in cavefish.

Eye loss is a hallmark trait of animals inhabiting perpetual darkness, such as caves. The Mexican tetra ( provides an unparalleled model for studying the genetic basis of eye loss. There are two interfertile morphs of the Mexican tetra, sighted surface fish and multiple independently evolved eyeless, blind cavefish populations.

A structured model for continuous improvement methodology deployment and sustainment: A case study.

This research focuses on designing a clear methodology for problem-solving. It investigates the application of a defined 'Lean' methodology for the proactive application of process improvement activities using a phased digitized measurement and monitoring system. This case study in a Medtech organisation utilized the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) model to develop a Lean system and structure to support managing the process improvement or project management element of a Continuous Improvement (CI) framework.

Elevated DNA Damage without signs of aging in the short-sleeping Mexican Cavefish.

Dysregulation of sleep has widespread health consequences and represents an enormous health burden. Short-sleeping individuals are predisposed to the effects of neurodegeneration, suggesting a critical role for sleep in the maintenance of neuronal health. While the effects of sleep on cellular function are not completely understood, growing evidence has identified an association between sleep loss and DNA damage, raising the possibility that sleep facilitates efficient DNA repair.

Defining the Unseen: Population-Specific Markers for Blind Cavefish.

is an emerging model system used to study development, evolution, and behavior of multiple cavefish populations that have repeatedly evolved from conspecific surface fish. Although surface and cavefish live and breed in the laboratory, there are no rapid methods for distinguishing between different cavefish populations. We present 2 methods for genotyping fish for a total of 16 population-specific markers using methods that are easy and inexpensive to implement in a basic molecular biology laboratory.

Male recognition of conspecific female chemical cues in a diverse clade of freshwater fishes.

Where orangethroat darters (Etheostoma: Ceasia) and rainbow darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) co-occur, males prefer conspecific over heterospecific females. The cues males use to identify conspecific females remain unclear. We conducted behavioral trials to ask whether chemical cues function in conspecific recognition.

Phylogeographic relationships and morphological evolution between cave and surface Astyanax mexicanus populations (De Filippi 1853) (Actinopterygii, Characidae).

The Astyanax mexicanus complex includes two different morphs, a surface- and a cave-adapted ecotype, found at three mountain ranges in Northeastern Mexico: Sierra de El Abra, Sierra de Guatemala and Sierra de la Colmena (Micos). Since their discovery, multiple studies have attempted to characterize the timing and the number of events that gave rise to the evolution of these cave-adapted ecotypes. Here, using RADseq and genome-wide sequencing, we assessed the phylogenetic relationships, genetic structure and gene flow events between the cave and surface Astyanax mexicanus populations, to estimate the tempo and mode of evolution of the cave-adapted ecotypes.

Genetic mapping of craniofacial traits in the Mexican tetra reveals loci associated with bite differences between cave and surface fish.

Background: The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, includes interfertile surface-dwelling and cave-dwelling morphs, enabling powerful studies aimed at uncovering genes involved in the evolution of cave-associated traits. Compared to surface fish, cavefish harbor several extreme traits within their skull, such as a protruding lower jaw, a wider gape, and an increase in tooth number. These features are highly variable between individual cavefish and even across different cavefish populations.

Selection-driven trait loss in independently evolved cavefish populations.

Laboratory studies have demonstrated that a single phenotype can be produced by many different genotypes; however, in natural systems, it is frequently found that phenotypic convergence is due to parallel genetic changes. This suggests a substantial role for constraint and determinism in evolution and indicates that certain mutations are more likely to contribute to phenotypic evolution. Here we use whole genome resequencing in the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, to investigate how selection has shaped the repeated evolution of both trait loss and enhancement across independent cavefish lineages.

Spitting on my sources: Depression, DNA, and the ambivalent historian.

While writing a book on the history of postpartum depression in the United States, I became interested in an ongoing study about possible genetic markers of postpartum mental illness. I participated in the first step, an online survey. When I qualified for the next step, saliva collection, I was torn over whether or not to continue.

Improving Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates in High-risk Children in Specialty Clinics.

Background And Objectives: Pediatric patients with immunocompromising or certain chronic medical conditions have an increased risk of acquiring invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) is recommended for patients ≥2 years at high risk for IPDs. The aim of this project was to improve PPSV23 vaccination rates for children at high risk for IPD who were seen in 3 specialty clinics from ∼20% to 50% over a 12-month period.

Hybridization underlies localized trait evolution in cavefish.

Introgressive hybridization may play an integral role in local adaptation and speciation (Taylor and Larson, 2019). In the Mexican tetra , cave populations have repeatedly evolved traits including eye loss, sleep loss, and albinism. Of the 30 caves inhabited by , Chica cave is unique because it contains multiple pools inhabited by putative hybrids between surface and cave populations (Mitchell et al.

Diaryl triazenes inhibit cytochrome P450 1A1 and 1B1 more strongly than aryl morpholino triazenes.

Several diaryl triazene derivatives were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit cytochrome P450 1A1 and 1B1 as a potential means to prevent and treat cancer. These compounds are more planar than their conformational flexible aryl morpholino triazene counterparts that were previously shown to inhibit the above enzymes. As a result, the diaryl triazenes are more likely to exhibit increased binding to the enzyme active sites and inhibit these enzymes more strongly than the aryl morpholino triazenes.

Pleiotropic function of the oca2 gene underlies the evolution of sleep loss and albinism in cavefish.

Adaptation to novel environments often involves the evolution of multiple morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits. One striking example of multi-trait evolution is the suite of traits that has evolved repeatedly in cave animals, including regression of eyes, loss of pigmentation, and enhancement of non-visual sensory systems. The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, consists of fish that inhabit at least 30 caves in Mexico and ancestral-like surface fish that inhabit the rivers of Mexico and southern Texas.

Environmental and Nutritional Determinants of Macular Pigment in a Mexican Population.

Purpose: The carotenoids lutein (L), zeaxanthin (Z), and meso-zeaxanthin deposit at the macula as macular pigment (MP) and provide visual benefits and protection against macular diseases. The present study investigated MP, its nutritional and environmental determinants, and its constituent carotenoids in serum from a Mexican sample, in healthy participants and with metabolic diseases. Additionally, we compared these variables with an Irish sample.

Stewardship of global collective behavior.

Collective behavior provides a framework for understanding how the actions and properties of groups emerge from the way individuals generate and share information. In humans, information flows were initially shaped by natural selection yet are increasingly structured by emerging communication technologies. Our larger, more complex social networks now transfer high-fidelity information over vast distances at low cost.

Sequence Analysis and Ontogenetic Expression Patterns of Cone Opsin Genes in the Bluefin Killifish (Lucania goodei).

Sensory systems allow for the transfer of environmental stimuli into internal cues that can alter physiology and behavior. Many studies of visual systems focus on opsins to compare spectral sensitivity among individuals, populations, and species living in different lighting environments. This requires an understanding of the cone opsins, which can be numerous.

Mental health training to improve communication with children and adolescents: A process evaluation.

Aims And Objective: To characterise the intervention components, mechanisms of change and barriers to implementation of an intervention to improve communication behaviour of hospital staff surrounding mental health with children and adolescents.

Background: Healthcare professionals consistently report a lack of confidence and knowledge to care for young people experiencing mental health difficulties. We Can Talk is a one-day training, delivered to hospital staff, which provides tools to improve their communication with children and adolescents about mental health.

Rapture-ready darters: Choice of reference genome and genotyping method (whole-genome or sequence capture) influence population genomic inference in Etheostoma.

Researchers studying nonmodel organisms have an increasing number of methods available for generating genomic data. However, the applicability of different methods across species, as well as the effect of reference genome choice on population genomic inference, remain difficult to predict in many cases. We evaluated the impact of data type (whole-genome vs.

The Impact of Formulation on Lutein, Zeaxanthin, and -Zeaxanthin Bioavailability: A Randomised Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study.

Lutein (L), zeaxanthin (Z), and -zeaxanthin (MZ) have been the focus of research and commercial interest for their applications in human health. Research into formulations to enhance their bioavailability is merited. This 6 month randomised placebo-controlled trial involving 81 healthy volunteers compared the bioavailability of different formulations of free L, Z, and MZ in sunflower or omega-3 oil versus L, Z, and MZ diacetates (Ld, Zd, and MZd) in a micromicellar formulation.

Genomic Resources for Darters (Percidae: Etheostominae) Provide Insight into Postzygotic Barriers Implicated in Speciation.

Comparative genomic approaches are increasingly being used to study the evolution of reproductive barriers in nonmodel species. Although numerous studies have examined prezygotic isolation in darters (Percidae), investigations into postzygotic barriers have remained rare due to long generation times and a lack of genomic resources. Orangethroat and rainbow darters naturally hybridize and provide a remarkable example of male-driven speciation via character displacement.

Circulating Micronutrient Biomarkers Are Associated With 3 Measures of Frailty: Evidence From the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing.

Objectives: To examine the associations between 3 frailty instruments and circulating micronutrients in a large representative sample of older adults.

Design: Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative cohort study conducted between October 2009 and July 2011.

Participants And Setting: Adults age ≥50 years (n = 4068) living in the community in Ireland.

Hybridization and postzygotic isolation promote reinforcement of male mating preferences in a diverse group of fishes with traditional sex roles.

Behavioral isolation is thought to arise early in speciation due to differential sexual and/or natural selection favoring different preferences and traits in different lineages. Instead, behavioral isolation can arise due to reinforcement favoring traits and preferences that prevent maladaptive hybridization. In darters, female preference for male coloration has been hypothesized to drive speciation, because behavioral isolation evolves before F1 inviability.