Broad-Scale Assessment of Methylmercury in Adult Amphibians.

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic contaminant that has been mobilized and distributed worldwide and is a threat to many wildlife species. Amphibians are facing unprecedented global declines due to many threats including contaminants. While the biphasic life history of many amphibians creates a potential nexus for methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in aquatic habitats and subsequent health effects, the broad-scale distribution of MeHg exposure in amphibians remains unknown.

Tropicalization of temperate ecosystems in North America: The northward range expansion of tropical organisms in response to warming winter temperatures.

Tropicalization is a term used to describe the transformation of temperate ecosystems by poleward-moving tropical organisms in response to warming temperatures. In North America, decreases in the frequency and intensity of extreme winter cold events are expected to allow the poleward range expansion of many cold-sensitive tropical organisms, sometimes at the expense of temperate organisms. Although ecologists have long noted the critical ecological role of winter cold temperature extremes in tropical-temperate transition zones, the ecological effects of extreme cold events have been understudied, and the influence of warming winter temperatures has too often been left out of climate change vulnerability assessments.

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) not detected in an intensive survey of wild North American amphibians.

The salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans [Bsal]) is causing massive mortality of salamanders in Europe. The potential for spread via international trade into North America and the high diversity of salamanders has catalyzed concern about Bsal in the U.S.

Amphibian Monitoring in Hardwood Forests: Optimizing Methods for Contaminant-Based Compensatory Restorations.

Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders provide important services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have been proposed as useful indicators of progress and success for ecological restoration projects. Limited guidance is available, however, on the costs and benefits of different amphibian monitoring techniques that might be applied to sites restored in compensation for contaminant injury. We used a variety of methods to document the amphibian communities present at 4 restored bottomland hardwood sites in Indiana, USA, and to compare the information return and cost of each method.

Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities.

Changing climate will impact species' ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using >500,000 time-series observations for 81 species across 86 North American study areas.

NOVEL DERMATOPHILOSIS AND CONCURRENT AMYLOIDOSIS IN SANDERLINGS ( CALIDRIS ALBA) FROM LOUISIANA, USA.

:  We observed Sanderlings ( Calidris alba) with facial growths in coastal Louisiana, US during summer of 2016. Severe lesions were associated with lethargy and lack of a flight response. We determined that the skin growth etiology was a bacterium of the genus Dermatophilus, rarely reported infecting birds.

Quantitative evidence for the effects of multiple drivers on continental-scale amphibian declines.

Since amphibian declines were first proposed as a global phenomenon over a quarter century ago, the conservation community has made little progress in halting or reversing these trends. The early search for a "smoking gun" was replaced with the expectation that declines are caused by multiple drivers. While field observations and experiments have identified factors leading to increased local extinction risk, evidence for effects of these drivers is lacking at large spatial scales.

Exploring the energetics of histone H1.1 and H1.4 duplex DNA interactions.

H1.1 and H1.4 bind tightly to both short DNA oligomers and to CT-DNA (Ka≈1×10(7)).

Calorimetric studies of the interactions of linker histone H1(0) and its carboxyl (H1(0)-C) and globular (H1(0)-G) domains with calf-thymus DNA.

Histone H1 is a chromatin protein found in most eukaryotes. ITC and CD have been used to study the binding of H1(0) and its C-terminal, H1(0)-C, and globular, H1(0)-G, domains to a highly polymerized DNA. ITC results indicate that H1(0) and H1(0)-C bind tightly to DNA (Ka≈1×10(7)), with an unfavorable ΔH (ΔH≈+22kcal/mol) and a favorable ΔS (-TΔS≈-30kcal/mol).

Phonation threshold pressure and the elastic shear modulus: comparison of two-mass model calculations with experiments.

Ishizaka and Flanagan's classic two-mass model of vocal fold motion is applied to small oscillations where the equations become linear and the aerodynamic driving force is described by an effective stiffness. The solution of these equations includes an analytic formula for the two eigenfrequencies; this shows that conjugate imaginary parts of the frequencies emerge beyond eigenvalue synchronization and that one of the imaginary parts becomes zero at a pressure signaling the instability associated with the onset of threshold. Using recent measurements by Fulcher et al.

A new parameterization for estimating co-occurrence of interacting species.

Models currently used to estimate patterns of species co-occurrence while accounting for errors in detection of species can be difficult to fit when the effects of covariates on species occurrence probabilities are included. The source of the estimation problems is the particular parameterization used to specify species co-occurrence probability. We develop a new parameterization for estimating patterns of co-occurrence of interacting species that allows the effects of covariates to be specified quite naturally without estimation problems.

Radiofrequency ablation of liver and lung tumors.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a procedure in which radiofrequency energy is used to heat and destroy abnormal tissue. This article discusses the evolution of RFA and its use to treat liver and lung tumors.

ACT-5 is an essential Caenorhabditis elegans actin required for intestinal microvilli formation.

Investigation of Caenorhabditis elegans act-5 gene function revealed that intestinal microvillus formation requires a specific actin isoform. ACT-5 is the most diverged of the five C. elegans actins, sharing only 93% identity with the other four.

Hemodynamics, electrolytes, and organ histology of larger-volume liposuction in a porcine model.

Liposuction is a procedure that allows the surgical removal of excess adipose tissue in healthy individuals. Lipoplasty is commonly performed with few clinical side effects. However, with increased lipoaspirate volumes, complications have been reported.

Comparative efficacy of acustimulation (ReliefBand) versus ondansetron (Zofran) in combination with droperidol for preventing nausea and vomiting.

Background: Antiemetic drugs are costly, are associated with variable efficacy, and can produce unwanted side effects when used for prophylaxis against postoperative nausea and vomiting. This clinical study was designed to compare the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation using a ReliefBand to ondansetron (Zofran) when utilized alone or in combination for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting after plastic surgery.

Methods: A single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and sham-controlled study design was conducted to compare three prophylactic antiemetic treatment regimens in 120 outpatients undergoing plastic surgery procedures with routine low-dose droperidol prophylaxis: (1) ondansetron (n = 40), 4 mg intravenous ondansetron and a sham ReliefBand; (2) acustimulation (n = 40), 2 ml intravenous saline and an active ReliefBand; and (3) combination (n = 40), 4 mg intravenous ondansetron and an active ReliefBand.

The aurora kinase AIR-2 functions in the release of chromosome cohesion in Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis.

Accurate chromosome segregation during cell division requires not only the establishment, but also the precise, regulated release of chromosome cohesion. Chromosome dynamics during meiosis are more complicated, because homologues separate at anaphase I whereas sister chromatids remain attached until anaphase II. How the selective release of chromosome cohesion is regulated during meiosis remains unclear.

Genome-wide responses to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to diverse cellular and organismal responses. We used DNA microarrays to characterize the transcriptional responses to different mitochondrial perturbations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We examined respiratory-deficient petite cells and respiratory-competent wild-type cells treated with the inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation antimycin, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, or oligomycin.

Asymmetric segregation of PIE-1 in C. elegans is mediated by two complementary mechanisms that act through separate PIE-1 protein domains.

The CCCH finger protein PIE-1 is a regulator of germ cell fate that segregates with the germ lineage in early embryos. At each asymmetric division, PIE-1 is inherited preferentially by the germline daughter and is excluded from the somatic daughter. We show that this asymmetry is regulated at the protein level by two complementary mechanisms.

Computed tomography of humans and bowed stringed instruments. Some interesting similarities.

We have used computed tomography to evaluate bowed stringed instruments and have noted interesting analogies with CT scans of humans. In humans, CT commonly detects a broad range of normal anatomic variations. Similarly, CT of violins and cellos demonstrates a wide range of normal structural variations.

Phase I and pharmacokinetic analysis of high-dose tamoxifen and chemotherapy in normal and tumor-bearing dogs.

Purpose: To determine whether tamoxifen plasma concentrations capable of blocking P-glycoprotein (Pgp) in vitro can be safely achieved in dogs and whether doxorubicin pharmacokinetic alterations occur when tamoxifen is coadministered.

Methods: Tamoxifen dose escalation studies were conducted in 7 normal dogs and in 19 tumor-bearing dogs receiving full-dose chemotherapy. Plasma tamoxifen and serum doxorubicin disposition were analyzed for putative drug interactions.

Use of CT in detection of internal damage and repair and determination of authenticity in high-quality bowed stringed instruments.

Computed tomography (CT) was used to evaluate 17 high-quality violins and cellos crafted between 1633 and 1872 by master craftsmen such as Guarneri, Amati, and Stradivari. Multiple high-resolution CT scans were obtained in each instrument, and additional scans were obtained when defects or repair was detected. Varying degrees of internal damage (eg, wormholes, air gaps, plastic deformities of wood) or repair (eg, glue lines, filler material, wooden cleats and patches) not seen at visual inspection were detected in all 17 instruments.

Postanesthesia care unit length of stay: quantifying and assessing dependent factors.

Unlabelled: Postanesthesia care unit (PACU) monitoring reduces morbidity and is the standard of care for postsurgical patients. PACUs require large nurse to patient ratios, which contributes to the cost of care. Despite the importance and cost of PACU length of stay (LOS), no standards have been established.

Regulated nuclear translocation of the Mig1 glucose repressor.

Glucose represses the transcription of many genes in bakers yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Mig1 is a Cys2-His2 zinc finger protein that mediates glucose repression of several genes by binding to their promoters and recruiting the general repression complex Ssn6-Tup1. We have found that the subcellular localization of Mig1 is regulated by glucose.

CT analysis of bowed stringed instruments.

Purpose: To determine the utility of computed tomography (CT) for the noninvasive evaluation of bowed stringed instruments.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-seven instruments that ranged in quality from student instruments to exquisite Stradivarius violins were analyzed with CT. Accuracy of thickness measurements was determined from 24 measurements of cross-sectional pieces sawed from a student violin.

Movement of cortical actin patches in yeast.

In yeast, actin forms patches associated with the plasma membrane. Patch distribution correlates with polarized growth during the cell cycle and in response to external stimuli. Using green fluorescent protein fused to capping protein to image actin patches in living cells, we find that patches move rapidly and over long distances.