Food environmental footprint: Evolution of the countryside species-area relationship (SAR) with new methodologies.

The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the oldest in ecology, linking the increase in species richness in sampling area. Later, new parameters were incorporated into its equation, such as taxon-specific responses, habitats use by species and species adapted to human-modified habitats, originating the Countryside SAR, a version intended to integrate the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, which is still inefficiencies when used to evaluate food production systems. Therefore, we present the first attempt to incorporate into Countryside SAR the minimum land demand parameter for food production, the food environmental footprint - EFP, and improve the use of the method within the agricultural sciences scope.

Association between major depressive disorder or depressive symptoms and the risk of vascular complications among patients with type 2 diabetes, and the mediating role of metabolic biomarkers: an analysis of the UK Biobank cohort.

Background: Depression is a severe mental disorder commonly co-morbid with diabetes, but it remains to elucidate whether depression is associated with the risks of a wide range of vascular complications in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and whether metabolic biomarkers may mediate this pathway.

Methods: We conducted this prospective analysis among the participants of the UK Biobank who were diagnosed with T2DM and free of vascular complications at baseline between March 13, 2006 and September 30, 2010. Major depressive disorder (MDD) was ascertained according to the hospital admission records and self-report of doctor-diagnosed conditions, while the presence of depressive symptoms was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2.

Why usefulness is rarely useful.

Mate selection plays an important role in breeding programs. The Usefulness Criterion was proposed to improve mate selection, combining information on both the mean and standard deviation of the potential offspring of a cross, particularly in clonally propagated species where large family sizes are possible. Predicting the mean value of a cross is generally easier than predicting the standard deviation, especially in outbred species when the linkage of alleles is unknown and phasing is required.

Embedding cultural perspectives into animal welfare science education through study abroad opportunities.

Animal welfare is a global issue. The ability of our future workforce to solve global issues is contingent on their understanding of and ability to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Study abroad programming can improve cross-cultural abilities of participating students.

Heat-Induced Phosphatidylserine Changes Drive HSPA1A's Plasma Membrane Localization.

Heat shock protein A1A (HSPA1A) is a molecular chaperone crucial in cell survival. In addition to its cytosolic functions, HSPA1A translocates to heat-shocked and cancer cells' plasma membrane (PM). In cancer, PM-localized HSPA1A (mHSPA1A) is associated with increased tumor aggressiveness and therapeutic resistance, suggesting that preventing its membrane localization could have therapeutic value.

FLEXIBILITY IN GENE COEXPRESSION AT DEVELOPMENTAL AND EVOLUTIONARY TIMESCALES.

The explosion of next-generation sequencing technologies has allowed researchers to move from studying single genes, to thousands of genes, and thereby to also consider the relationships within gene networks. Like others, we are interested in understanding how developmental and evolutionary forces shape the expression of individual genes, as well as the interactions among genes. To this end, we characterized the effects of genetic background and developmental environment on brain gene coexpression in two parallel, independent evolutionary lineages of Trinidadian guppies ().

Grape pomace supplementation reduced methane emissions and improved milk quality in lactating dairy cows.

Grape pomace (GP) is a byproduct of the viticulture industry and shows promise for feeding dairy cattle as well as reducing enteric methane (CH) emissions. This study investigates the potential of using fresh GP in dairy cow feeding and its effects on CH emissions. Multiparous Holstein dairy cows (n = 24, 205 ± 39 DIM) were housed in free stall barns and provided rations consisting of alfalfa hay, wheat hay, almond hulls, cottonseed, and grain mix.

Undergraduate STEM Students' Perceptions of Grading Practices Reveal that Quiz Retakes Positively Impact Drivers of Self-determination.

Grades are a staple of education and a gateway to future career opportunities. Yet, grading practices can (re)produce inequities and cause students to feel inadequate and unmotivated. Alternative grading practices may address these problems, but these strategies are often time intensive and impractical in larger classroom settings.

A linker histone acts as a transcription factor to orchestrate malic acid accumulation in apple in response to sorbitol.

High carbohydrate availability promotes malic acid accumulation in fleshy fruits, but the underlying mechanism is not known. Here, we show that antisense repression of ALDOSE-6-PHOSPHATE REDUCTASE in apple (Malus domestica) decreases the concentrations of sorbitol and malate and the transcript levels of several genes involved in vacuolar malate transport, including the aluminum-activated malate transporter (ALMT) gene MdALMT9 (Ma1), the P-ATPase gene MdPH5, the MYB transcription factor gene MdMYB73, and the cold-induced basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor gene MdCIbHLH1, in fruit and leaves. We identified a linker histone H1 variant, MdH1.

Little evidence that nonmonogamous family structures are detrimental to children's well-being in Mpimbwe, Tanzania.

Nuclear family structures are often thought to be essential for the well-being of children. Divorce, the loss of either biological parent, the presence of step-parents, and the practice of polygynous marriage have all been claimed to negatively impact child well-being. However, empirical research on these topics has been limited by the routine use of cross-regional and cross-sectional databases.

Improved aboveground biomass estimation and regional assessment with aerial lidar in California's subalpine forests.

Background: Understanding the impacts of climate change on forest aboveground biomass is a high priority for land managers. High elevation subalpine forests provide many important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, and are vulnerable to climate change, which has altered forest structure and disturbance regimes. Although large, regional studies have advanced aboveground biomass mapping with satellite data, typically using a general approach broadly calibrated or trained with available field data, it is unclear how well these models work in less prevalent and highly heterogeneous forest types such as the subalpine.

Intercontinental insights into autism spectrum disorder: a synthesis of environmental influences and DNA methylation.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a broad range of symptoms. The etiology of ASD is thought to involve complex gene-environment interactions, which are crucial to understanding its various causes and symptoms. DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that potentially links genetic predispositions to environmental factors in the development of ASD.

"The PO-Driven Model": A Basic Science Pipeline for the Bioeconomy with Solutions Inspired by Convergent Evolution for Connecting Parallel Research Ideas.

Basic science research, also called "curiosity-driven research," is fundamental work done with no immediate economic goals but rather a focus on discovery for discovery's sake. However, basic science research is often needed to seed more applied, economically-oriented, research. Both basic and applied research efforts are important aspects of the "bioeconomy" defined here as the contributions to the overall economy from various biology-related fields spanning everything from museum-based natural history research to agricultural food and material production to healthcare.

United States Dairy Farms and Global Warming.

Several metrics have developed for combining the warming effects of various greenhouse gases (GHG). The metric used can affect the life cycle assessment and comparison of dairy production systems due to the weighting placed on long- versus short-lived gases in the atmosphere. Global warming potential with a time horizon of 100 years (GWP-100) has become the standard but metrics are also available for other time horizons.

Introducing "Identification Probability" for Automated and Transferable Assessment of Metabolite Identification Confidence in Metabolomics and Related Studies.

Methods for assessing compound identification confidence in metabolomics and related studies have been debated and actively researched for the past two decades. The earliest effort in 2007 focused primarily on mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and resulted in four recommended levels of metabolite identification confidence─the Metabolite Standards Initiative (MSI) Levels. In 2014, the original MSI Levels were expanded to five levels (including two sublevels) to facilitate communication of compound identification confidence in high resolution mass spectrometry studies.

CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGIC PRESENTATIONS OF YERSINIOSIS IN VARIOUS NONDOMESTIC SPECIES: AN INVESTIGATION OF OUTBREAKS FROM FOUR NORTH AMERICAN ZOOLOGICAL INSTITUTIONS.

Yersiniosis due to can be associated with high morbidity and mortality in various species and has been a cosmopolitan management challenge in zoological institutions. This gram-negative, environmental bacterium thrives in cold, wet conditions and poses a risk to zoo species. Outbreaks can be costly and impact conservation efforts through loss of threatened and endangered species.

SEASONAL VARIATION OF BLOOD ANALYTES ASSOCIATED WITH SKIN HEALTH IN ALASKAN ICE SEALS.

Recent unusual mortality events involving skin pathology in bearded (), ringed (), and spotted seals () in Alaska highlight the potential sensitivity of ice-associated species to the complex effects of climate change. The regulation of thyroid hormones, cortisol, and vitamin A have been shown to play essential roles in skin health and seasonal molt in some pinnipeds. Unfortunately, the lack of available reference data for healthy Alaskan ice seals has prevented the adequate evaluation of these factors in cases associated with mortality events.

PHARMACOKINETICS OF CEFTAZIDIME IN SIGNAL CRAYFISH () FOLLOWING A SINGLE DOSE.

Crustaceans are housed in zoos and aquariums and have also gained importance in the private sector and food industry. Shell lesions are common and often attributed to bacterial infections. However, few controlled studies have been performed evaluating antibiotics in crustaceans.

DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION OF AMERICAN ROBINS () WITH FATAL ETHYLENE GLYCOL TOXICOSIS AND CONCURRENT SPP. INFECTION WITH RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF 44 YEARS OF DIAGNOSTIC DATA.

We describe a mortality event involving at least 44 adult American robins () that were found dead on the morning of February 25, 2023 in a residential backyard in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Five carcasses were submitted for diagnostic evaluation. All five robins were in good nutritional and feather condition with no external indicators of injury or illness.

Which casein micelle removal method is suitable for studies of human milk extracellular vesicles? A systematic comparison of four different treatments for casein depletion before extracellular vesicle isolation from human milk.

This study aimed to systematically compare four casein micelle removal methods on the particle and protein characteristics of the isolated human milk EVs. The defatted milk was treated with 1% sodium citrate, 20 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 1% acetic acid, or 1% chymosin/calcium chloride for 30 min at 4 °C to remove casein micelles. EV isolation was performed using qEV size exclusion chromatography.

Ketamine induces plasticity in a norepinephrine-astroglial circuit to promote behavioral perseverance.

Transient exposure to ketamine can trigger lasting changes in behavior and mood. We found that brief ketamine exposure causes long-term suppression of futility-induced passivity in larval zebrafish, reversing the "giving-up" response that normally occurs when swimming fails to cause forward movement. Whole-brain imaging revealed that ketamine hyperactivates the norepinephrine-astroglia circuit responsible for passivity.

Tree drought physiology: critical research questions and strategies for mitigating climate change effects on forests.

Droughts of increasing severity and frequency are a primary cause of forest mortality associated with climate change. Yet, fundamental knowledge gaps regarding the complex physiology of trees limit the development of more effective management strategies to mitigate drought effects on forests. Here, we highlight some of the basic research needed to better understand tree drought physiology and how new technologies and interdisciplinary approaches can be used to address them.

High spatial resolution PET detectors based on 10 mm × 10 mm linearly-graded SiPMs and 0.5 mm pitch LYSO arrays.

. Position-sensitive silicon photomultipliers (PS-SiPMs) are promising photodetectors for ultra-high spatial resolution small-animal positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. This paper evaluated the performance of the latest generation of linearly-graded SiPMs (LG-SiPMs), a type of PS-SiPM, for ultra-high spatial resolution PET applications using LYSO arrays from two vendors.

Synthesis of evidence yields high social cost of carbon due to structural model variation and uncertainties.

Estimating the cost to society from a ton of CO-termed the social cost of carbon (SCC)-requires connecting a model of the climate system with a representation of the economic and social effects of changes in climate, and the aggregation of diverse, uncertain impacts across both time and space. A growing literature has examined the effect of fundamental structural elements of the models supporting SCC calculations. This work has accumulated in a piecemeal fashion, leaving their relative importance unclear.