The evolutionary genomics of adaptation to stress in wild rhizobium bacteria.

Microbiota comprise the bulk of life's diversity, yet we know little about how populations of microbes accumulate adaptive diversity across natural landscapes. Adaptation to stressful soil conditions in plants provides seminal examples of adaptation in response to natural selection via allelic substitution. For microbes symbiotic with plants however, horizontal gene transfer allows for adaptation via gene gain and loss, which could generate fundamentally different evolutionary dynamics.

Buffering effect of fiction on negative emotions: engagement with negatively valenced fiction decreases the intensity of negative emotions.

Previous research has investigated how the context of perception affects emotional response. This study investigated how engagement with perceived fictional content vs perceived everyday-life content affects the way people experience negative emotions. Four studies with an experimental design tested how engagement with perceived fictional content vs perceived everyday life content affects the intensity of negative emotional response to negative emotional content, the motivation to decrease negative emotions, and cognitive reappraisal.

Characterization of anthropogenic noise and oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) calling behavior in urban and small-town coastal soundscapesa).

The oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) is an ideal model to examine the effects of anthropogenic noise on behavior because they rely on acoustic signals for mate attraction and social interactions. We predict that oyster toadfish have acclimated to living in noise-rich environments because they are common in waterways of urban areas, like New York City (NYC). We used passive acoustic monitoring at two locations to see if calling behavior patterns are altered in areas of typically high boat traffic versus low boat traffic (Pier 40, NYC, NY, and Eel Pond, Woods Hole, MA, respectively).

Corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 M HCl using water soluble chitosan derivative of vanillin.

The water-soluble chitosan derivative (WSCD) was made by mixing chitosan with sodium hydroxide, treating the mixture with chloroacetic acid, and then forming a Schiff base with vanillin in an acidic medium. In this study, we examined the corrosion-inhibiting ability of a WSCD on mild steel surfaces in acidic environments. Weight loss, EIS, PDP, LPS, and OCP measurements were used to study the corrosion resistance on mild steel surfaces in 1 M HCl solutions with known concentrations of WSCD.

Understanding profound autism: implications for stigma and supports.

Introduction: Societal perceptions and lack of understanding of autism spectrum disorder can be stigmatizing for autistic individuals and their families. This may be particularly the case for individuals who meet criteria for profound autism. Despite the considerable service needs of this marginalized group, there is little data on the prevalence of profound autism, nor on the experiences of those with profound autism and their families.

Teaching at the intersection of science and society: An activity on healthcare disparities.

Understanding the relationship between science and society is an objective of science education and is included as a core competency in the AAAS guidelines for biology education. However, traditional undergraduate biology instruction emphasizes scientific practice and generally avoids potentially controversial issues at the intersection of biology and society. By including these topics in biology coursework, instructors can challenge damaging ideologies and systemic inequalities that have influenced science, such as biological essentialism and health disparities.

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using aqueous extract of shilajit and their anticancer activity against HeLa cells.

In the present study, ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesized using an aqueous extract of shilajit. The nanoparticles were characterized using different techniques such as UV (ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer), FTIR (Fourier transform infrared), XRD (X-ray diffraction), particle size analysis, SEM (scanning electron microscope) and EDAX (Energy-dispersive X-ray) analysis. The UV absorption peak at 422.

Biochemical engineering for elemental sulfur from flue gases through multi-enzymatic based approaches - A review.

Flue gases are the gases which are produced from industries related to chemical manufacturing, petrol refineries, power plants and ore processing plants. Along with other pollutants, sulfur present in the flue gas is detrimental to the environment. Therefore, environmentalists are concerned about its removal and recovery of resources from flue gases due to its activation ability in the atmosphere to transform into toxic substances.

Development and adaptation of the Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire for adolescents.

Introduction: The ability to effectively regulate one's emotions is important for adolescent mental health. However, extant assessments of how adolescents regulate their emotions can be expanded upon in several ways, including incorporating more strategies (e.g.

Neuronal deletion of phosphatase and tensin homolog in mice results in spatial dysregulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

Adult neurogenesis is a persistent phenomenon in mammals that occurs in select brain structures in both healthy and diseased brains. The tumor suppressor gene, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 () has previously been found to restrict the proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) . In this study, we aimed to provide a comprehensive picture of how conditional deletion of may regulate the genesis of adult NSPCs in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone bordering the lateral ventricles.

Recent advances in remediation strategies for mitigating the impacts of emerging pollutants in water and ensuring environmental sustainability.

The proliferation of emerging pollutants (EPs), encompassing a range of substances such as phthalates, phenolics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, personal care products, surfactants, and disinfection agents, has become a significant global concern due to their potential risks to the environment and human well-being. Over the past two decades, numerous research studies have investigated the presence of EPs in wastewater and aquatic ecosystems, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) categorizing these newly introduced chemical compounds as emerging contaminants due to their poorly understood impact. EPs have been linked to adverse health effects in humans, including genotoxic and cytotoxic effects, as well as conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and reproductive abnormalities, often associated with their estrogenic action.

Warming and top-down control of stage-structured prey: Linking theory to patterns in natural systems.

Warming has broad and often nonlinear impacts on organismal physiology and traits, allowing it to impact species interactions like predation through a variety of pathways that may be difficult to predict. Predictions are commonly based on short-term experiments and models, and these studies often yield conflicting results depending on the environmental context, spatiotemporal scale, and the predator and prey species considered. Thus, the accuracy of predicted changes in interaction strength, and their importance to the broader ecosystems they take place in, remain unclear.

2-Amino Thiazole Derivatives as Prospective Aurora Kinase Inhibitors against Breast Cancer: QSAR, ADMET Prediction, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamic Simulation Studies.

The aurora kinase is a key enzyme that is implicated in tumor growth. Research revealed that small molecules that target aurora kinase have beneficial effects as anticancer agents. In the present study, in order to identify potential antibreast cancer agents with aurora kinase inhibitory activity, we employed QSARINS software to perform the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR).

Collagenase treatment reduces the anisotropy of ultrasonic backscatter in rat myocardium by reducing collagen crosslinks.

Dysregulation of collagen deposition, degradation, and crosslinking in the heart occur in response to increased physiological stress. Collagen content has been associated with ultrasonic backscatter (brightness), and we have shown that the anisotropy of backscatter can be used to measure myofiber alignment, that is, variation in the brightness of a left ventricular short-axis ultrasound. This study investigated collagen's role in anisotropy of ultrasonic backscatter; female Sprague-Dawley rat hearts were treated with a collagenase-containing solution, for either 10 or 30 min, or control solution for 30 min.

A Critical Review on Therapeutic Potential of Benzimidazole Derivatives: A Privileged Scaffold.

Benzimidazole nucleus is a predominant heterocycle displaying a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities. The privileged nature of the benzimidazole scaffold has been revealed by its presence in most small molecule drugs and in its ability to bind multiple receptors with high affinity. A literature review of the scaffold reveals several instances where structural modifications of the benzimidazole core have resulted in high-affinity lead compounds against a variety of biological targets.

Losses of sexual dichromatism involve rapid changes in female plumage colors to match males in New World blackbirds.

Differences in coloration between the sexes (sexual dichromatism) can increase or decrease in a species through evolutionary changes in either or both sexes diverging or converging in their colors. Few previous studies, however, have examined the relative rates of such changes, particularly when dichromatism is lost. Using reflectance data from 37 species of the New World blackbird family (Icteridae), we compared evolutionary rates of plumage color change in males and females when dichromatism was either increasing (colors diverging) or decreasing (colors converging).

A review of chemical signaling pathways in the quorum sensing circuit of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an increasingly common competitive and biofilm organism in healthcare infection with sophisticated, interlinked and hierarchic quorum systems (Las, Rhl, PQS, and IQS), creates the greatest threats to the medical industry and has rendered prevailing chemotherapy medications ineffective. The rise of multidrug resistance has evolved into a concerning and potentially fatal occurrence for human life. P.

Impact of visitation restrictions on the mental health of family caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study.

Aim: To examine the mental health conditions of family caregivers residing away from their loved ones who experienced visitation restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Design: A mixed-methods design applying the Kessler Scale-10 for the quantitative measurement of psychological distress and an open-ended question for qualitative analysis.

Methods: The participants were recruited from care facilities between February and September 2021.

Low-Performing Students Confidently Overpredict Their Grade Performance throughout the Semester.

When asked to predict how they will perform on an upcoming exam, students are often poorly calibrated, typically in the direction of overpredicting their performance. Research shows that low-performing students' calibration tends to remain poor across multiple tests over the course of a semester. We tested whether these students remain confident in these erroneously high grade predictions across the semester or whether their confidence wanes, suggesting some degree of metacognitive awareness.

N-Myc Downstream Regulated Gene-1 May Play an Important Role in the Prognosis of Ovarian Cancer, in Its Association with Beta-Catenin.

NDRG1 is a nickel- and calcium-inducible gene that plays important roles in the primary growth of malignant tumors, as well as in invasion and metastasis. This study investigated the associations of NDRG1 expression with cell adhesion and other clinicopathological factors in ovarian cancer. The clinical records of 123 women who underwent surgery for ovarian cancer in our institute were reviewed retrospectively.

Supra-second interval timing in bipolar disorder: examining the role of disorder sub-type, mood, and medication status.

Background: Widely reported by bipolar disorder (BD) patients, cognitive symptoms, including deficits in executive function, memory, attention, and timing are under-studied. Work suggests that individuals with BD show impairments in interval timing tasks, including supra-second, sub-second, and implicit motor timing compared to the neuronormative population. However, how time perception differs within individuals with BD based on disorder sub-type (BDI vs II), depressed mood, or antipsychotic medication-use has not been thoroughly investigated.

Bergson, Pan(en)theism, and 'Being-in-Life'.

Recent philosophy has witnessed a renewed interest in the works and ideas of Henri Bergson (1859-1941). But while contemporary scholarship has sought to rehabilitate Bergson's insights on time, memory, consciousness, and human freedom, comparatively little attention has been paid to Bergson's relationship to pantheism. By revisiting the 'pantheism' controversy surrounding Bergsonian philosophy during Bergson's lifetime, this article argues that the panentheistic notion of 'being-in-God' can serve as an illuminating framework for the interpretation of Bergson's philosophy.