Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy as a Method for Identifying Variation in Puparial Morphology and Establishing Characters for Taxonomic Determination.

Calliphoridae, or blow flies, are of much ecological and practical importance given their roles in decompositional ecology, medical and veterinary myiasis, and forensic entomology. As ephemeral and rapidly developing species, adults are frequently not present for identification, but puparia (the remaining outer integument of the third instar larvae) are frequently found. These heavily sclerotized remains are stable in the environment but they are of a conservative character.

Microscopic Analysis of Temperature Effects on Surface Colonization and Biofilm Morphology of .

represents a diverse group of pathogens commonly associated with food contamination including red meat. Even though pre- and post-harvest cleaning and sanitization procedures are widely implemented at meat processing plants to mitigate the hazard, cells may escape the process by colonizing, on contact, surfaces in the form of a biofilm that functions as an aggregated microbial community to facilitate mutual protection, antimicrobial resistance, proliferation and dissemination. Biofilm development is a complex process that can be affected by a variety of factors including environmental temperature.

Proximal remote sensing: an essential tool for bridging the gap between high-resolution ecosystem monitoring and global ecology.

A new proliferation of optical instruments that can be attached to towers over or within ecosystems, or 'proximal' remote sensing, enables a comprehensive characterization of terrestrial ecosystem structure, function, and fluxes of energy, water, and carbon. Proximal remote sensing can bridge the gap between individual plants, site-level eddy-covariance fluxes, and airborne and spaceborne remote sensing by providing continuous data at a high-spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we review recent advances in proximal remote sensing for improving our mechanistic understanding of plant and ecosystem processes, model development, and validation of current and upcoming satellite missions.

Inactivation of Zika Virus with Hydroxypropyl-Beta-Cyclodextrin.

: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is associated with life-threatening diseases in humans. To date, there are no available FDA-approved therapies or vaccines for the specific treatment or prevention of ZIKV infection. Variation in the ZIKV envelope protein (Env), along with its complex quaternary structure, presents challenges to synthetic approaches for developing an effective vaccine and broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs).

Identification of Filovirus Entry Inhibitors from Marine Fungus-Derived Indole Alkaloids.

Filoviruses, mainly consisting of the two genera of and , are enveloped negative-strand RNA viruses that can infect humans to cause severe hemorrhagic fevers and outbreaks with high mortality rates. However, we still do not have effective medicines for treating these diseases. To search for effective drugs, we have identified three marine indole alkaloids that exhibit potent activities against filovirus infection.

Childhood executive control and adolescent substance use: Mediation via parent-child relationship quality.

Objective: The goal of the current study was to test prospective direct and indirect associations between preschool executive control (EC), parental affective quality and harsh discipline, and adolescent substance use (e-cigarettes, cannabis, and alcohol) while accounting for participants' age, sex, family history of substance use, and family socioeconomic status.

Method: Participants were 313 youth (49% boys; 70.9% European American) and their parents who participated in a longitudinal cohort-sequential study on the development of EC in preschool and its associations with subsequent health outcomes.

Posttraumatic resilience and growth: A network analysis of character strengths among sexual assault survivors.

Objective: Defined as dispositional qualities that elevate well-being, character strengths such as love and kindness can be developed and enhanced to improve quality of life. Yet, little is known how specific strengths are associated with posttrauma mental health. The present study explored their concurrent associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a sample of 405 women sexual assault survivors.

The psychometric properties of a new scale of dehumanizing deindividuation in couples.

Emerging research indicates that dehumanization may occur in couples with serious consequences; however, this research is in its infancy, and there is a need to integrate dehumanization perspectives with key theories of intimate relationships to best understand this phenomenon. Drawing on work on individuation in couples, we present an integrated framework of dehumanizing deindividuation that is characterized by derogation (viewing a partner with contempt), disregard (ignoring or overlooking a partner), and denial of autonomy (restricting a partner's self-determination). We present data from two samples highlighting the reliability and validity of a new measure, the Dehumanizing Deindividuation in Couples (DDC) scale, which was internally consistent and had excellent construct replicability.

Synergistic interaction between wheat streak mosaic virus and Triticum mosaic virus modulates wheat transcriptome to favor disease severity.

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV; ) and Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV; ), the type members of the genera and , respectively, in the family , are economically important wheat viruses in the Great Plains region of the USA. Co-infection of wheat by WSMV and TriMV results in disease synergism. Wheat transcriptome from singly (WSMV or TriMV) and doubly (WSMV+TriMV) infected upper uninoculated leaves were analyzed by RNA-Seq at 9, 12, and 21 days postinoculation.

Genome Sequence of Bacteriophage Wheezy.

Bacteriophage Wheezy, a lytic phage with siphoviral morphology isolated using the host 3612, has a genome of 67,021 base pairs and is 65.9% GC. The genome sequence of Wheezy aligns most closely with subcluster CR2 phages Tracker and NatB6.

CrTiCT MXene as an adsorbent material in ultrasonic-assisted d-μ-solid phase extraction for trace detection of heavy metals.

MXenes are a large family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides. While MXenes have great potential for applications in analytical chemistry, most of the studies in this field are focused on TiCT, the most popular MXene material. For example, several studies employed TiCT as an adsorbent for the trace detection of toxic analytes, but there is limited knowledge on the utility of other MXene materials for this application.

Rapid Microwave Fixation of the Brain Reveals Seasonal Changes in the Phosphoproteome of Hibernating Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrels.

Hibernating mammals such as the thirteen-lined ground squirrel () experience significant reductions in oxidative metabolism and body temperature when entering a state known as torpor. Animals entering or exiting torpor do not experience permanent loss of brain function or other injuries, and the processes that enable such neuroprotection are not well understood. To gain insight into changes in protein function that occur in the dramatically different physiological states of hibernation, we performed quantitative phosphoproteomics experiments on thirteen-lined ground squirrels that are summer-active, winter-torpid, and spring-active.

Achilles tendon morphology adaptations in chronic post-stroke hemiparesis: a comparative analysis with neurologically intact controls.

Introduction: In individuals with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis, slow walking speed is a significant concern related to inadequate propulsion of the paretic limb. However, an overlooked factor is this population's altered morphology of the Achilles tendon, which may compromise the propulsive forces by the paretic limb. This study aimed to explore changes in Achilles tendon morphology, including gross thickness and intra-tendinous collagen fiber bundle organization, following stroke-induced brain lesions.

Determination of an Effective Sanitizing Procedure for Listeria innocua in Personal Protective Equipment Used in Dairy Facilities.

The presence of Listeria monocytogenes in the dairy environment remains a food safety challenge. The source of microbial contamination may include employees and their personal protective equipment (PPE). This study investigated the effectiveness of cleaning protocols (i.

SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and detection in wild, captive, and domesticated animals in Nebraska: 2021-2023.

Widespread surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 was conducted across wildlife, captive animals in zoological collections, and domestic cats in Nebraska from 2021 to 2023. The goal of this effort was to determine the prevalence, phylogenetic and spatial distribution characteristics of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants using various diagnostic methodologies that can utilize both antemortem and postmortem samples, which may be required for wildlife such as white-tailed deer. Statewide surveillance testing revealed high variation in SARS-CoV-2 prevalence among species, with white-tailed deer identified as the primary reservoir.

Dietary inclusion of high Amylose cornstarch increased Lactobacillus and Terrisporobacter and decreased Streptococcus in the cecal digesta of weanling pigs.

The study investigated the effect of dietary inclusion of high amylose cornstarch (HA-starch) on cecal microbiota composition and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations in weanling pigs fed high levels of cold-pressed canola cake (CPCC). Weaned pigs (240 mixed sex; 7.1 ± 1.

Similar Conditions With Opposite Effects: Predation-Risk Effects on Prey Abundance Are Highly Contingent.

Experiments have shown that predation-risk effects on prey fitness can be highly contingent on environmental conditions, suggesting a potential difficulty in generalizing risk effects on prey abundance in natural settings. Rather than study the influence of a particular controlled factor, we examine the problem with a novel approach. We examined the influence of risk effects in multiple experiments performed under similar study conditions.

Advances in our understanding of the estrous cycle and applications for improving targeted reproductive management in livestock.

The scientific discipline of endocrinology has been invaluable to our understanding of the estrous cycle. In the second half of the twentieth century the development of immunoassay technologies provided a rapid and sensitive method to quantify circulating concentrations of reproductive hormones and relate them to stage of the estrous cycle and physiological status of the animal. Ovarian ultrasonography provided the ability to track the growth and regression of ovarian structures within the same animal across the estrous cycle in real time and, in combination with hormonal profiling, accurately identify mechanisms regulating the estrous cycle and early pregnancy.

colonization is not mediated by bile salts and utilizes Stickland fermentation of proline in an model.

Treatment with antibiotics is a major risk factor for infection, likely due to depletion of the gastrointestinal microbiota. Two microbiota-mediated mechanisms thought to limit colonization include the conversion of conjugated primary bile salts into secondary bile salts toxic to growth and competition between the microbiota and for limiting nutrients. Using a continuous flow model that simulates the nutrient conditions of the distal colon, we investigated how treatment with 6 clinically used antibiotics influenced susceptibility to infection in 12 different microbial communities cultivated from healthy individuals.

Building a near-infrared (NIR) soil spectral dataset and predictive machine learning models using a handheld NIR spectrophotometer.

This near-infrared spectral dataset consists of 2,106 diverse mineral soil samples scanned, on average, on six different units of the same low-cost commercially available handheld spectrophotometer. Most soil samples were selected from the USDA NRCS National Soil Survey Center-Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (NSSC-KSSL) soil archives to represent the diversity of mineral soils (0-30 cm) found in the United States, while 90 samples were selected from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria to represent available African soils in the same archive. All scanning was performed on dried and sieved (<2 mm) soil samples.

Comparing simulated aerial and chemigation insecticide applications to manage western bean cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in corn.

The efficacy of aerial application and chemigation of insecticides is not well explored for western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith), management in corn. In the short term, inadequate application of insecticides can lead to control failures when insect pests are not effectively targeted. In the longer term, exposure to sublethal insecticide concentrations can contribute to the evolution of insecticide resistance.

Unveiling shared genetic regulators of plant architectural and biomass yield traits in sorghum.

Sorghum is emerging as an ideal genetic model for designing high-biomass bioenergy crops. Biomass yield, a complex trait influenced by various plant architectural characteristics, is typically regulated by numerous genes. This study aimed to dissect the genetic regulators underlying fourteen plant architectural traits and ten biomass yield traits in the Sorghum Association Panel across two growing seasons.

Beyond Trial Counts: Considerations for Measuring Play and Engagement During Early Intervention for Autistic Children.

Play is critical to child development. In early childhood, object play evolves from exploratory behavior to complex symbolic play. Engagement during play, particularly joint engagement, is essential for learning and social interaction.

Development and use of DJ-1 affinity microcolumns to screen and study small drug candidates for Parkinson's disease.

Background: DJ-1 is a protein whose mutation causes rare heritable forms of Parkinson's disease (PD) and is of interest as a target for treating PD and other disorders. This work used high performance affinity microcolumns to screen and examine the binding of small molecules to DJ-1, as could be used to develop new therapeutics or to study the role of DJ-1 in PD. Non-covalent entrapment was used to place microgram quantities of DJ-1 in an unmodified form within microcolumns, which were then used in multiple studies to analyze binding by model compounds and possible drug candidates to DJ-1.

Woody plant reinvasion shortens the lifespan of grassland restoration treatments.

An important question in restoration ecology is whether restored ecological regimes are more vulnerable to transitions back to a degraded state. In woody-invaded grasslands, high-intensity fire can collapse woody plant communities and induce a shift back to a grass-dominated regime. Yet, legacies from woody-dominated regimes often persist and it remains unclear whether restored regimes are at heightened vulnerability to reinvasion.