Stabilizing selection in an identified multisensory neuron in blind cavefish.

The ability to follow the evolutionary trajectories of specific neuronal cell types has led to major insights into the evolution of the vertebrate brain. Here, we study how cave life in the Mexican tetra () has affected an identified giant multisensory neuron, the Mauthner neuron (MN). Because this neuron is crucial in driving rapid escapes, the absence of predation risk in the cave forms predicts a massive reduction in this neuron.

Mathematical modeling predicts that endemics by generalist insects are eradicated if nearly all plants produce constitutive defense.

Plants with constitutive defense chemicals exist widely in nature. The phenomenon is backed by abundant data from plant chemical ecology. Sufficient data are also available to conclude that plant defenses act as deterrent and repellent to attacking herbivores, particularly deleterious generalist insects.

Exposure to phthalate plasticizer compromises normal brain function in an adult vertebrate.

Phthalates are key additives in many plastic products and among the most frequently used plasticizers. The release of some of them into the environment has been shown to have serious effects on development and reproduction. Based on such effects, diisononyl phthalate (DINP) has been advocated as a safer alternative to di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP).

A critical view on five rules of how behavioural experiments could be run.

In everyday life it can be tempting to follow some convenient rules, but it is important to sometimes pause and to consider whether these rules are actually useful: Do they help or obscure our understanding of the full beauty of animal behavior?

Including glutamine in a resource allocation model of energy metabolism in cancer and yeast cells.

Energy metabolism is crucial for all living cells, especially during fast growth or stress scenarios. Many cancer and activated immune cells (Warburg effect) or yeasts (Crabtree effect) mostly rely on aerobic glucose fermentation leading to lactate or ethanol, respectively, to generate ATP. In recent years, several mathematical models have been proposed to explain the Warburg effect on theoretical grounds.

Constructing networks for comparison of collagen types.

Collagens are structural proteins that are predominantly found in the extracellular matrix of multicellular animals, where they are mainly responsible for the stability and structural integrity of various tissues. All collagens contain polypeptide strands (α-chains). There are several types of collagens, some of which differ significantly in form, function, and tissue specificity.

Optimal hematocrit theory: a review.

In humans and many animals, a trade-off between a sufficiently high concentration of erythrocytes (hematocrit) to bind oxygen and sufficiently low blood viscosity to allow rapid blood flow has been achieved during evolution. The optimal value lies between the extreme cases of pure blood plasma, which cannot practically transport any oxygen, and 100% hematocrit, which would imply very slow blood flow or none at all. As oxygen delivery to tissues is the main task of the cardiovascular system, it is reasonable to expect that maximum oxygen delivery has been achieved during evolution.

Archerfish foraging success varies with immediate competition level but not group size.

Group living can lead to kleptoparasitism, the theft of resources by competitors. Under such conditions, foragers may alter their behavior to minimize competition. However, it is unclear how such behavioral changes impact foraging performance.

Dynamic changes in tumor profiling reveal intra- and inter-tumoral heterogeneity focused on an uncharacterized HER2 mutation: a case report of a young breast cancer patient.

Despite multiple recent advances in systemic therapy for metastatic breast cancer, cases which display suboptimal response to guideline-driven treatment are frequently seen in the clinic. Effective options for such patients are limited, particularly in later line of therapy, and selection of optimal treatment options is essentially empirical and based largely on considerations of previous regimens received. Comprehensive cancer profiling includes detection of genetic alterations in tissue and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), immunohistochemistry (IHC) from re-biopsied metastatic disease, circulating tumor cells (CTCs), gene expression analysis and pharmacogenomics.

Studying mixed-species biofilms of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus using evolutionary game theory.

Mixed-species biofilms of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus pose a significant clinical challenge due to their resistance to the human immune system and antimicrobial therapy. Using evolutionary game theory and nonlinear dynamics, we analyse the complex interactions between these organisms to understand their coexistence in the human host. We determine the Nash equilibria and evolutionary stable strategies of the game between C.

How Plant Toxins Cause Early Larval Mortality in Herbivorous Insects: An Explanation by Modeling the Net Energy Curve.

Plants store chemical defenses that act as toxins against herbivores, such as toxic isothiocyanates (ITCs) in Brassica plants, hydrolyzed from glucosinolate (GLS) precursors. The fitness of herbivorous larvae can be strongly affected by these toxins, causing immature death. We modeled this phenomenon using a set of ordinary differential equations and established a direct relationship between feeding, toxin exposure, and the net energy of a larva, where the fitness of an organism is proportional to its net energy according to optimal foraging theory.

Statistical analysis of synonymous and stop codons in pseudo-random and real sequences as a function of GC content.

Knowledge of the frequencies of synonymous triplets in protein-coding and non-coding DNA stretches can be used in gene finding. These frequencies depend on the GC content of the genome or parts of it. An example of interest is provided by stop codons.

Selection pressure by specialist and generalist insect herbivores leads to optimal constitutive plant defense. A mathematical model.

Brassicaceae plants have the glucosinolate-myrosinase defense system, jointly active against herbivory. However, constitutive glucosinolate (GLS) defense is observed to occur at levels that do not deter all insects from feeding. That prompts the question of why Brassicaceae plants have not evolved a higher constitutive defense.

Game-theoretical description of the go-or-grow dichotomy in tumor development for various settings and parameter constellations.

A medically important feature of several types of tumors is their ability to "decide" between staying at a primary site in the body or leaving it and forming metastases. The present theoretical study aims to provide a better understanding of the ultimate reasons for this so-called "go-or-grow" dichotomy. To that end, we use game theory, which has proven to be useful in analyzing the competition between tumors and healthy tissues or among different tumor cells.

The archerfish predictive C-start.

A very quick decision enables hunting archerfish to secure downed prey even when they are heavily outnumbered by competing other surface-feeding fish. Based exclusively on information that is taken briefly after the onset of prey motion, the fish select a rapid C-start that turns them right towards the later point of catch. Moreover, the C-start, and not later fin strokes, already lends the fish the speed needed to arrive at just the right time.

Recordings in an integrating central neuron reveal the mode of action of isoeugenol.

Although isoeugenol is one of the most widely used anesthetics in fish, its actual mode of action and thus its applicability for particular interventions is poorly understood. Here we determined effects of isoeugenol on various aspects of sensory and neural function, taking advantage of intracellular in vivo recordings in a uniquely suited identified neuron, the Mauthner neuron in the brain of goldfish. We show that isoeugenol strongly affects hearing and vision, but sensitivity and time course of action differed largely in these two senses.

Accurate prostate cancer detection based on enrichment and characterization of prostate cancer specific circulating tumor cells.

Background: The low specificity of serum PSA resulting in the inability to effectively differentiate prostate cancer from benign prostate conditions is a persistent clinical challenge. The low sensitivity of serum PSA results in false negatives and can miss high-grade prostate cancers. We describe a non-invasive test for detection of prostate cancer based on functional enrichment of prostate adenocarcinoma associated circulating tumor cells (PrAD-CTCs) from blood samples followed by their identification by immunostaining for pan-cytokeratins (PanCK), prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), alpha methyl-acyl coenzyme-A racemase (AMACR), epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and common leucocyte antigen (CD45).

Bioinformatics Analysis of the Periodicity in Proteins with Coiled-Coil Structure-Enumerating All Decompositions of Sequence Periods.

A coiled coil is a structural motif in proteins that consists of at least two α-helices wound around each other. For structural stabilization, these α-helices form interhelical contacts via their amino acid side chains. However, there are restrictions as to the distances along the amino acid sequence at which those contacts occur.

Electric catfish hearts are not intrinsically immune to electric shocks.

High voltage electric shocks cause life threatening cardiac injuries such as sudden cardiac standstill or severe myocardial injury. Here, we analysed the physiology of the heart of the strongly electric catfish (Malapterurus beninensis) that stuns prey with high-voltage shocks but is immune to its own, as well as external, high-voltage shocks. Neither a detailed analysis of the electrocardiogram nor the structure of the heart indicated a specialized cardiac conduction system.

Accurate Screening for Early-Stage Breast Cancer by Detection and Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells.

Background: The early detection of breast cancer (BrC) is associated with improved survival. We describe a blood-based breast cancer detection test based on functional enrichment of breast-adenocarcinoma-associated circulating tumor cells (BrAD-CTCs) and their identification via multiplexed fluorescence immunocytochemistry (ICC) profiling for GCDFP15, GATA3, EpCAM, PanCK, and CD45 status.

Methods: The ability of the test to differentiate BrC cases ( = 548) from healthy women ( = 9632) was evaluated in a case-control clinical study.

Case Report: Extensive Tumor Profiling in Primary Neuroendocrine Breast Cancer Cases as a Role Model for Personalized Treatment in Rare and Aggressive Cancer Types.

Neuroendocrine breast cancer (NEBC) is a rare entity accounting for <0.1% of all breast carcinomas and <0.1% of all neuroendocrine carcinomas.

Circulating tumor cell assay to non-invasively evaluate PD-L1 and other therapeutic targets in multiple cancers.

Biomarker directed selection of targeted anti-neoplastic agents such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, small molecule inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies form an important aspect of cancer treatment. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of the tumor tissue is the method of choice to evaluate the presence of these biomarkers. However, a significant barrier to biomarker testing on tissue is the availability of an adequate amount of tissue and need for repetitive sampling due to tumor evolution.

Agent-based modelling of iron cycling bacteria provides a framework for testing alternative environmental conditions and modes of action.

Iron-reducing and iron-oxidizing bacteria are of interest in a variety of environmental and industrial applications. Such bacteria often co-occur at oxic-anoxic gradients in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In this paper, we present the first computational agent-based model of microbial iron cycling, between the anaerobic ferric iron (Fe)-reducing bacteria spp.

MALDI mass spectrometry imaging workflow for the aquatic model organisms Danio rerio and Daphnia magna.

Lipids play various essential roles in the physiology of animals. They are also highly dependent on cellular metabolism or status. It is therefore crucial to understand to which extent animals can stabilize their lipid composition in the presence of external stressors, such as chemicals that are released into the environment.