Metagenome-assembled genome of the glacier alga Ancylonema yields insights into the evolution of streptophyte life on ice and land.

Contemporary glaciers are inhabited by streptophyte algae that balance photosynthesis and growth with tolerance of low temperature, desiccation and UV radiation. These same environmental challenges have been hypothesised as the driving force behind the evolution of land plants from streptophyte algal ancestors in the Cryogenian (720-635 million years ago). We sequenced, assembled and analysed the metagenome-assembled genome of the glacier alga Ancylonema nordenskiöldii to investigate its adaptations to life in ice, and whether this represents a vestige of Cryogenian exaptations.

Undergraduate Students' Awareness of and Beliefs About Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena.

One hundred and forty undergraduate students responded to an online survey investigating their awareness of and beliefs about 12 unusual end-of-life phenomena (EOLP). Three quarters or more of the students had heard about the following EOLP: deathbed visions (75%), after-death communications (84%), near-death experiences (86%), and dying people choosing their time of death (88%). Students were least aware of the phenomena of shapes leaving the body after death (30%) and clocks or watches stopping when someone dies (26%).

First Measurement Using Elliptically Polarized Photons of the Double-Polarization Observable E for γp→pπ^{0} and γp→nπ^{+}.

We report the measurement of the helicity asymmetry E for the pπ^{0} and nπ^{+} final states using, for the first time, an elliptically polarized photon beam in combination with a longitudinally polarized target at the Crystal Ball experiment at MAMI. The results agree very well with data that were taken with a circularly polarized photon beam, showing that it is possible to simultaneously measure polarization observables that require linearly (e.g.

Computational investigation of turmeric phytochemicals targeting PTR1 enzyme of species.

In this study, we used techniques to identify available parasite treatments, representing a promising therapeutic avenue. Building upon our computational initiatives aimed at discovering natural inhibitors for various target enzymes from parasites causing neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), we present novel findings on three turmeric-derived phytochemicals as inhibitors of pteridine reductase I (PTR1) through methodologies. PTR1, a crucial enzyme in the unique folate metabolism of trypanosomatid parasites, holds established therapeutic significance.

The impacts of diel thermal variability on growth, development and performance of wild Atlantic salmon () from two thermally distinct rivers.

Temperature in many natural aquatic environments follows a diel cycle, but to date, we know little on how diel thermal cycles affect fish biology. The current study investigates the growth, development and physiological performance of wild Atlantic salmon collected from the Miramichi and Restigouche rivers (NB, Canada). Fish were collected as parr and acclimated to either 16-21 or 19-24°C diel thermal cycles throughout the parr and smolt life stages.

Is This a Deceased Loved One That I See Before Me or Am I Only Dreaming?

This article makes a case for examining dying person's visions during wakefulness and their dreams during sleep as separate and unique phenomena. The reason being that the mode of experience, for example, being visited by a deceased loved one while awake and conscious vs having a deceased loved one appear in a dream while asleep, may have a different impact on the dying person. A better understanding of the content and impact of waking visions and sleeping dreams, respectively, may be beneficial to both dying persons and their families.

Younger and Older Adults' Health Lies to Close Others.

Objectives: Lying is a common social behavior; however, there is limited research on lying about health and if this differs into later life. This study sought to explore age differences in the frequency of and motivations behind telling health-related lies and if lying differs within romantic and parent/child relationships.

Methods: Younger (N = 158) and older adults (N = 149) reported how often they told general health-related lies, how often they lied about health to their romantic partner and parent or adult child, and why they told health lies.

CyanoCyc cyanobacterial web portal.

CyanoCyc is a web portal that integrates an exceptionally rich database collection of information about cyanobacterial genomes with an extensive suite of bioinformatics tools. It was developed to address the needs of the cyanobacterial research and biotechnology communities. The 277 annotated cyanobacterial genomes currently in CyanoCyc are supplemented with computational inferences including predicted metabolic pathways, operons, protein complexes, and orthologs; and with data imported from external databases, such as protein features and Gene Ontology (GO) terms imported from UniProt.

The Photoprotective Behavior of a Motile Benthic Diatom as Elucidated from the Interplay Between Cell Motility and Physiological Responses to a Light Microgradient Using a Novel Experimental Setup.

It has long been hypothesized that benthic motile pennate diatoms use phototaxis to optimize photosynthesis and minimize photoinhibitory damage by adjusting their position within vertical light gradients in coastal benthic sediments. However, experimental evidence to test this hypothesis remains inconclusive, mainly due to methodological difficulties in studying cell behavior and photosynthesis over realistic spatial microscale gradients of irradiance and cell position. In this study, a novel experimental approach was developed and used to test the hypothesis of photosynthesis optimization through motility, based on the combination of single-cell in vivo chlorophyll fluorometry and microfluidic chips.

Occupancy trends of overwintering coastal waterbird communities reveal guild-specific patterns of redistribution and shifting reliance on existing protected areas.

Climate change and anthropogenic stressors are redistributing species and altering community composition globally. Protected areas (PAs) may not sufficiently protect populations of species undergoing distributional shifts, necessitating that we evaluate existing PAs and identify areas for future protection to conserve biodiversity across regional and temporal scales. Coastal waterbirds are important indicators of marine ecosystem health, representing mobile, long-lived, higher trophic-level consumers.

'Snapshot in time': a cross-sectional study exploring stakeholder experiences with environmental scans in health services delivery research.

Objective: To describe stakeholder characteristics and perspectives about experiences, challenges and information needs related to the use of environmental scans (ESs).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting And Participants: A web-based survey platform was used to disseminate an online survey to stakeholders who had experience with conducting ESs in a health services delivery context (eg, researchers, policy makers, practitioners).

Comparing extinction and contrast effects for operant wheel running and lever pressing on a multiple schedule.

Extinction and positive contrast effects were assessed on a multiple schedule with lever pressing as the operant in one component and wheel running as the operant in the other component. FR 15 schedules produced 15% sucrose reinforcement in each component. Contrast for both operants was generated by placing responding in the alternate component on extinction.

Undergraduate Students' Attitudes Towards Medical Assistance in Dying for Mental Illness.

Seventy-one undergraduate students took part in a study examining their attitudes toward medical assistance in dying (MAiD) for mental illness. More than half (52%) of the students did not know that a change to Canada's MAiD law will allow people with a mental illness as their sole underlying condition to request a medically assisted death next spring (ie, March, 2024). Less than a one-third (28%) of the students agreed/strongly agreed with the statement that MAiD should be offered to people receiving treatment for mental illness (42% disagreed/strongly disagreed), and even less (14%) agreed/strongly agreed with the statement that people waiting for treatment for mental illness should be able to access MAiD (71% disagreed/strongly disagreed).

Tunable Approach to Induce the Formation of Flexible Nanofilms from Small (3 nm) Gold Nanoparticles at Oil-Water Interfaces.

The self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into thin films at the liquid-liquid interface has promising applications in industries such as catalysis, optics, and sensors. However, precise control over their formation is complex, influenced by several factors which scale differently with core size. Due to their small free energy of adsorption, there are few examples of AuNPs with core diameters <10 nm.

Toxoplasma gondii infection in small ruminants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: Seroprevalence, spatial distribution and associated risk factors.

The primary aim of this investigation was to assess the occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among sheep and goats in five districts within the southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Additionally, the study aimed to pinpoint potential factors associated with the spread of this infection. Serum samples were gathered from a total of 3505 small ruminants, comprising 1810 sheep and 1695 goats.

Constructing an ELISA for Detection of Anti-Borrelia in Wildlife and Agricultural Animals.

Zoonotic diseases have major impacts on human and animal health, as well as being ecologically significant. Lyme Borreliosis or Lyme disease, caused by infection by pathogenic members of the Borrelia genus, is among these zoonotic diseases. Serology is one of the most accessible means for indirect surveillance of pathogen presence by monitoring the presence, abundance, and type of immune response to the pathogen or pathogen-associated epitopes.

Fluorescence-based primary productivity estimates are influenced by non-photochemical quenching dynamics in Arctic phytoplankton.

Chlorophyll fluorescence-based estimates of primary productivity typically include dark or low-light pre-treatments to relax non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), a process that influences the relationship between PSII photochemistry and fluorescence yields. The time-scales of NPQ relaxation vary significantly between phytoplankton taxa and across environmental conditions, creating uncertainty in field-based productivity measurements derived from fluorescence. To address this practical challenge, we used fast repetition rate fluorometry to characterize NPQ relaxation kinetics in Arctic Ocean phytoplankton assemblages across a range of hydrographic regimes.

"I Was Worshiped and in Control": Sugar Arrangements Involving Transactional Sex from the Perspective of Both Sugar Babies and Sugar Benefactors.

Sugar dating arrangements involve an older partner ("sugar daddy/mommy") who provides financial support to a younger partner ("sugar baby") in exchange for intimacy. The current study recruited a U.S.

Molecular detection of and blood parameters' investigation reveal hematological and biochemical alterations in babesiosis-infected Lohi sheep in Multan, Pakistan.

Background: infections in sheep can cause a wide range of clinical and laboratory presentations. Changes in blood parameters are a meaningful manifestation of physiological and pathological changes in an organism.

Aim: Therefore, the present study was conducted to analyze and compare hematological and biochemical parameters between blood profiles of Lohi sheep naturally infected and uninfected with , the main causative agent of ovine babesiosis.

Engaging care partners of persons living with dementia in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) programs: a scoping review.

Objectives: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a relatively new type of psychotherapy effective for treating depression and anxiety amongst family care partners of persons living with dementia [PLWD]. However, care partner engagement in mental health services is low and specific guidelines for designing ACT programs for care partners of PLWD do not exist. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine patterns in care partner engagement in ACT programs to identify program factors potentially influencing engagement.

Hypometabolism to survive the long polar night and subsequent successful return to light in the diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus.

Diatoms, the main eukaryotic phytoplankton of the polar marine regions, are essential for the maintenance of food chains specific to Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems, and are experiencing major disturbances under current climate change. As such, it is fundamental to understand the physiological mechanisms and associated molecular basis of their endurance during the long polar night. Here, using the polar diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus, we report an integrative analysis combining transcriptomic, microscopic and biochemical approaches to shed light on the strategies used to survive the polar night.

Memory representations in a cross-modal matching task: evidence for a verbal component.

In everyday tasks, one often uses touch to find what has been seen. Recent research has identified that when individuals view or touch an object, they may create a verbal memory representation; however, this research involved object naming, which may have prompted the use of verbal strategies. Research has also identified variability in memory representations for objects, which may indicate individual differences.