Chemical cues of conspecific predation elicit distinct behavioural responses in cannibalistic poison frog tadpoles.

In cannibalistic species, conspecifics can be both predators and prey. As a result, conspecifics present a unique conflict at the intersection of predation, competition and nutritional resources in these species. To better understand how individuals respond to the complex information of conspecific chemical cues, we studied aggressive and cannibalistic tadpoles of the dyeing poison frog, .

Acquisition of non-contrastive focus in Russian by adult English-dominant bilinguals.

This study investigates the acquisition of sentence focus in Russian by adult English-Russian bilinguals, while paying special attention to the relative contribution of constituent order and prosodic expression. It aims to understand how these factors influence perceived word-level prominence and focus assignment during listening. We present results of two listening tasks designed to examine the influence of pitch cues and constituent order on perceived word prominence (Experiment 1) and focus assignment (Experiment 2) during the auditory comprehension of SV[O] and OV[S] sentences in Russian.

[Effect of an intervention in physical education classes on the reduction of sedentary behavior in adolescents].

This study aimed to analyze the effect of different intervention strategies in physical education classes on the reduction of sedentary time. This is a randomized, school-based intervention with factorial characteristics, carried out with freshmen high school students from 11 full-time schools, allocated in three intervention situations: (A) schools with two extra physical education classes per week; (B) schools with training and engagement actions for physical education teachers; (C) Schools with both A and B strategies; and (D) a group of control schools. Accelerometry was used to obtain the effect measure of the main outcome (sedentary behavior).

Anticipatory Violence and Health Among Black Adults in the United States.

This study analyzes the relationship between anticipatory community and police violence and health outcomes including mental and physical well-being, sleep problems, and functional disability. Using data from a nationally representative survey of 3015 self-identified Black and African American adults in the USA collected in 2023, findings from a series of regression analyses reveal that anticipating community violence is linked to poorer self-rated health and increased sleep problems. Anticipatory police violence is associated with poorer physical health and sleep disturbances.

N-Acetyl cysteine exhibits antimicrobial and anti-virulence activity against Salmonella enterica.

Salmonella enterica is a common foodborne pathogen that causes intestinal illness varying from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening systemic infections. The frequency of outbreaks due to multidrug-resistant Salmonella has been increased in the past few years with increasing numbers of annual deaths. Therefore, new strategies to control the spread of antimicrobial resistance are required.

Speciation and historical invasions of the Asian black-spined toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus).

Animal translocations provide striking examples of the human footprint on biodiversity. Combining continental-wide genomic and DNA-barcoding analyses, we reconstructed the historical biogeography of the Asian black-spined toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), a toxic commensal amphibian that currently threatens two biodiversity hotspots through biological invasions (Wallacea and Madagascar). The results emphasize a complex diversification shaped by speciation and mitochondrial introgression that comprises two distinct species.

Yerba mate () genome provides new insights into convergent evolution of caffeine biosynthesis.

Yerba mate (YM, ) is an economically important crop marketed for the elaboration of mate, the third-most widely consumed caffeine-containing infusion worldwide. Here, we report the first genome assembly of this species, which has a total length of 1.06 Gb and contains 53,390 protein-coding genes.

Sex-specific trends in educational attainment and self-rated health, 1972-2018.

This study examines sex-specific trends in self-rated health and educational attainment in the United States. We also consider how educational improvements shape trends in self-rated health and whether these associations differ by sex. We draw on 1972-2018 General Social Survey data to extend past research through the recent period when American population health has stalled or declined.

Epistatic hotspots organize antibody fitness landscape and boost evolvability.

The course of evolution is strongly shaped by interaction between mutations. Such epistasis can yield rugged sequence-function maps and constrain the availability of adaptive paths. While theoretical intuition is often built on global statistics of large, homogeneous model landscapes, mutagenesis measurements necessarily probe a limited neighborhood of a reference genotype.

Genetic and biochemical characterization of a radical SAM enzyme required for post-translational glutamine methylation of methyl-coenzyme M reductase.

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), the key catalyst in the anoxic production and consumption of methane, contains an unusual 2-methylglutamine residue within its active site. data show that a B12-dependent radical SAM (rSAM) enzyme, designated MgmA, is responsible for this post-translational modification (PTM). Here, we show that two different MgmA homologs are able to methylate MCR when expressed in , an organism that does not normally possess this PTM.

Correction: Barkjohn et al. Correction and Accuracy of PurpleAir PM Measurements for Extreme Wildfire Smoke. 2022, , 9669.

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HK Methylation and Demethylation in Fungal Pathogens: The Epigenetic Toolbox for Survival and Adaptation in the Host.

Pathogenic fungi represent a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms that significantly impact human health and agriculture. In recent years, the role of epigenetic modifications, particularly histone modifications, in fungal pathobiology has emerged as a prominent area of interest. Among these modifications, methylation of histone H3 at lysine-4 (H3K4) has garnered considerable attention for its implications in regulating gene expression associated with diverse cellular processes.

Diagnosis, Pathophysiology and Management of Microvascular Dysfunction in Diabetes Mellitus.

Microcirculation is an essential system that regulates oxygen and nutrients to cells and tissues in response to various environmental stimuli and pathophysiological conditions. Diabetes mellitus can cause microvascular complications including nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy. The pathogenesis of microvascular dysfunction in diabetes is associated with hyperglycemia and the result of an interplay of various factors.

Redox-induced phosphorus release from critical source areas following rainfall events in New Zealand.

Critical source areas (CSAs) can act as a source of phosphorus (P) during intermittent rainfall events and contribute to dissolved P loss via runoff. Dissolved forms of P are readily accessible for plant and algal uptake; hence it is a concern in terms of the eutrophication of freshwater bodies. The potential of CSAs to release dissolved P to surface runoff upon intermittent short-term submergence caused by different rainfall events has not been studied at a field-scale in New Zealand previously.

Linkage-based ortholog refinement in bacterial pangenomes with CLARC.

Bacterial genomes exhibit significant variation in gene content and sequence identity. Pangenome analyses explore this diversity by classifying genes into core and accessory clusters of orthologous groups (COGs). However, strict sequence identity cutoffs can misclassify divergent alleles as different genes, inflating accessory gene counts.

Epitaxy of Emerging Materials and Advanced Heterostructures for Microelectronics and Quantum Sciences.

Epitaxy, a process to prepare crystalline materials in nanostructures and thin films, is the core technology for preparing high-quality materials as a key enabler of next-generation microelectronics and quantum information system. Progress in epitaxy has been expanding the choice of materials and their heterostructures beyond the combinations limited by materials compatibility. However, the improvement of material quality, physical implementation of materials with unique properties, and integration of incommensurate materials in an architecture have been the challenging issues.

Supporting implementation of universal prevention initiatives in K-12 schools: impacts on fidelity through organizational readiness and team functioning in a cluster-randomized trial.

Background: Rural School Support Strategies (RS3) is a bundle of implementation supports (including training, technical assistance, and a virtual learning collaborative) designed for the scale-up of universal prevention initiatives. This study addresses mechanisms of action, exploring whether positive effects of RS3 on implementation fidelity are attributable to improvements in functioning of school implementation teams, and increases in organizational readiness.

Methods: Data are from a cluster-randomized hybrid Type 3 implementation-effectiveness trial of RS3 among rural Idaho schools implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).

Comparison of mucosal microbiota populations across the gastrointestinal tract of healthy dogs.

The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota plays a crucial role in host health and disease in dogs, but the knowledge regarding the mucosal associated microbiota along the GI tract is limited in dogs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the phylogeny and predicted functional capacity of microbiota residing on the gut mucosa across five GI regions of healthy young adult and geriatric dogs fed different diets. Twelve weanling (8 weeks old) and 12 senior (11.

Evaluating the ingress of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) specifically naphthalene through firefighter hoods and base layers.

Structural firefighters are exposed to an array of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as a result of incomplete combustion of both synthetic and natural materials. PAHs are found in both the particulate and vapor phases in the firefighting environment and are significantly associated with acute and chronic diseases, including cancer. Using a fireground exposure simulator (FES) and standing mannequins dressed in four different firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) conditions, each with varying levels of protective hood interface and particulate-blocking features, the efficacy of the hoods was assessed against the ingress of PAHs (specifically, naphthalene).

Genomic Introgression Between Critically Endangered and Stable Species of Darwin's Tree Finches on the Galapagos Islands.

Natural hybridisation among rare or endangered species and stable congenerics is increasingly topical for the conservation of species-level diversity under anthropogenic impacts. Evidence for beneficial genes being introgressed into or selected for in hybrids raises concurrent questions about its evolutionary significance. In Darwin's tree finches on the island of Floreana (Galapagos Islands, Ecuador), the Critically Endangered medium tree finch () undergoes introgression with the stable small tree finch (), and hybrids regularly backcross with Earlier studies in 2005-2013 documented an increase in the frequency of hybridisation on Floreana using field-based and microsatellite data.

Egg shape and color mediate acceptance thresholds in diverse avian host species with different rates of antiparasitic egg rejection.

Eggshell recognition in parental birds is vital for nest management, defense against brood parasitism, optimal embryonic development, and minimizing disease and predation risks. This process relies on acceptance thresholds balancing the risk of rejecting own eggs against the benefit of excluding foreign ones, following signal detection theory. We investigated the role of object shape in egg rejection decisions among three host species of the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), each with a varying known response to parasitic eggs.

The optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate for maize in the US Midwest is increasing.

Fertilizing maize at an optimum nitrogen rate is imperative to maximize productivity and sustainability. Using a combination of long-term (n = 379) and short-term (n = 176) experiments, we show that the economic optimum nitrogen rate for US maize production has increased by 2.7 kg N ha yr from 1991 to 2021 (1.

Differences in motivation for biology learning: A measurement invariance testing and latent mean comparison approach.

Educational and psychological research often involves comparing motivation across groups. It is critical to ensure that observed differences in motivation are true variations by group, not due to measurement biases. With a diverse sample of undergraduate students (N = 2200), this study measured internal consistency and gathered validity evidence based on the internal structure of five motivation scales.