Ungulates often alter behavior and space use in response to interspecific competition. Despite observable changes in behavior caused by competitive interactions, research describing the effects of ...competition on survival or growth is lacking. We used spatial modeling to determine if habitat use by female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) was affected by other ungulate species prior to, during, and after parturition. We conducted our study in the Book Cliffs region of eastern Utah, USA, during 2019 and 2020. We used resource selection function (RSF) analysis to model space use of 4 ungulate species that potentially competed with mule deer: bison (Bos bison), cattle, elk (Cervus canadensis), and feral horses. We incorporated RSF models for competing species into a random forest analysis to determine if space use by mule deer was influenced by these other ungulate species. We used survival and growth data from neonate mule deer to directly assess potential negative effects of other ungulates. Habitat use by elk was an important variable in predicting use locations of mule deer during birthing and rearing. The relationship was positive, suggesting interference competition was not occurring. Survival of neonate mule deer increased as the probability of use by elk increased (hazard ratio = 0.185 ± 0.497 SE). Further, probability of use by elk in rearing habitat had no influence on growth of neonate mule deer from birth to 6 months of age, suggesting that exploitative competition was not occurring.
We analyzed potential competitive interactions between mule deer and other native and nonnative ungulates during the birthing and rearing period. We found no evidence of competitive interactions between mule deer and other ungulate species during birthing and rearing of young.
New insights into cisplatin ototoxicity Brock, Penelope R.
Cancer,
January 1, 2022, 2022-Jan-01, 2022-01-00, 20220101, Letnik:
128, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Lay Summary
Platinum‐containing chemotherapy is often used to treat children with cancer.
Although it is a very effective medication, unfortunately, it causes permanent hearing loss in more than ...one‐half of the children who receive it.
In this issue of Cancer, an article by Meijer and colleagues shows that very young children are affected early on in their treatment and suggests that the younger the child the more frequently their hearing should be tested during treatment.
This proposal is a real challenge for oncology centers and families practically, emotionally, and socioeconomically.
The findings are provocative but equally stimulating and encouraging; hopefully, they will lead to a new standard of multidisciplinary care for children receiving platinum chemotherapy.
Direct toxicity to the ear from platinum chemotherapy during treatment is a serious risk for children. A close working relationship is needed between oncologists and audiologists along with the involvement of parents and patients in decision making to manage the risk of developing hearing loss.
Extensive characterisations of the zebrafish genome and proteome have established a foundation for the use of the zebrafish as a model organism; however, characterisation of the zebrafish lipidome ...has not been as comprehensive. In an effort to expand current knowledge of the zebrafish sphingolipidome, a Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM)-based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method was developed to comprehensively quantify zebrafish ceramides. Comparison between zebrafish and a human cell line demonstrated remarkable overlap in ceramide composition, but also revealed a surprising lack of most sphingadiene-containing ceramides in the zebrafish. PRM analysis of zebrafish embryogenesis identified developmental stage-specific ceramide changes based on long chain base (LCB) length. A CRISPR-Cas9-generated zebrafish model of Farber disease exhibited reduced size, early mortality, and severe ceramide accumulation where the amplitude of ceramide change depended on both acyl chain and LCB lengths. Our method adds an additional level of detail to current understanding of the zebrafish lipidome, and could aid in the elucidation of structure-function associations in the context of lipid-related diseases.
Native ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) has emerged as an information-rich technique for gas phase protein structure characterization; however, IM resolution is currently insufficient for the ...detection of subtle structural differences in large biomolecules. This challenge has spurred the development of collision-induced unfolding (CIU) which utilizes incremental gas phase activation to unfold a protein in order to expand the number of measurable descriptors available for native protein ions. Although CIU is now routinely used in native mass spectrometry studies, the interlaboratory reproducibility of CIU has not been established. Here we evaluate the reproducibility of the CIU data produced across three laboratories (University of Michigan, Texas A&M University, and Vanderbilt University). CIU data were collected for a variety of protein ions ranging from 8.6-66 kDa. Within the same laboratory, the CIU fingerprints were found to be repeatable with root mean square deviation (RMSD) values of less than 5%. Collision cross section (CCS) values of the CIU intermediates were consistent across the laboratories, with most features exhibiting an interlaboratory reproducibility of better than 1%. In contrast, the activation potentials required to induce protein CIU transitions varied between the three laboratories. To address these differences, three source assemblies were constructed with an updated ion activation hardware design utilizing higher mechanical tolerance specifications. The production-grade assemblies were found to produce highly consistent CIU data for intact antibodies, exhibiting high precision ion CCS and CIU transition values, thus opening the door to establishing databases of CIU fingerprints to support future biomolecular classification efforts.
Collision induced unfolding (CIU) is a potentially transformative method for biomolecular stability assays. Here, we carry out a rigorous inter-laboratory evaluation of CIU, identifying an instrument design that enables reproduceable measurements.
Background: Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. The total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) of gingival crevicular fluid volume (GCF) and plasma appears compromised in ...periodontitis, but it is unclear whether this predisposes to, or results from the inflammatory process.
Aim: To investigate longitudinal changes in GCF and plasma TAOC following reductions in periodontal inflammation with successful non‐surgical therapy.
Materials and Methods: Two longitudinal studies were run in series on non‐smokers with chronic periodontitis (CP). Study‐1 (n=17) assessed index sites with mild disease; Study‐2 (n=18) investigated deep sites. GCF sampling and clinical measures were performed at baseline and 3 months post‐therapy. Plasma and GCF TAOC was determined by enhanced chemiluminescence and 32 age/sex‐matched periodontally healthy controls were used.
Results: Therapy improved clinical outcomes consistent with the literature. There were no differences in plasma TAOC between periodontitis patients (507±92 μMTeq) and controls (520±100 μMTeq; p=0.57) at baseline, but GCF TAOC was lower (p<0.0001) in CP patients (680±371 μMTeq) than controls (1129±722 μMTeq). Successful periodontal therapy did not alter plasma TAOC (p=0.56), but GCF TAOC increased (by 449±722 μMTeq, p<0.001) to control subject levels (p=0.47)
Conclusions: Local total antioxidant capacity in CP appears to reflect increased oxygen radical activity during periodontal inflammation and can be restored to control subject levels by successful non‐surgical therapy.
Hunting pressure alters the spatial ecology of many ungulate species. During hunting periods, game species often select areas that have reduced hunter accessibility by increasing use of forest cover, ...remaining farther from roads, or moving to private land as a means of refuge. Our objectives were to determine if elk (Cervus canadensis) in central Utah, USA, shifted distribution towards areas of refuge (private land) in response to hunting and whether allocating hunting permits to refuge areas could reduce selection of refugia by elk. We captured 445 elk between January 2015 and March 2017 on the Wasatch Front in central Utah and fitted each individual with a global positioning system collar. We used logistic regression models and Bayesian change point analyses to determine differences in daily use of public land in response to the addition of private‐land hunting. We detected shifts in elk distribution at the beginning of the archery hunting season and during the rifle season, suggesting elk selected for private land as refuge from hunters. At the conclusion of the hunting season, we detected a shift back to public land. The addition of private‐land hunting increased use of public land by elk during the rifle season (from 29% in 2015 to 41% in 2016). Our results show that the distribution of elk across a matrix of public and private land can be influenced by manipulating hunting pressure. Hunter access, the ability of hunters to access target game species, can be a concern in areas with private‐land refuges. This can be particularly problematic when management strategies rely on hunter harvest to maintain population objectives; however, this problem can be mitigated by the introduction of hunting on private lands, if landowners provide hunter access.
Private land often serves as a refuge for game species to avoid public land hunters. By adding hunting on private land, we were able to remove this refuge effect and shift the distribution of elk back onto public land, thereby increasing hunter access and improving management efforts.
Astrophysical ionizing radiation events have been recognized as a potential threat to life on Earth, primarily through depletion of stratospheric ozone and subsequent increase in surface-level solar ...ultraviolet radiation. Simulations of the atmospheric effects of a variety of events (such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and solar proton events) have been previously published, along with estimates of biological damage at Earth's surface. In this work, we employed the Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible (TUV) radiative transfer model to expand and improve calculations of surface-level irradiance and biological impacts following an ionizing radiation event. We considered changes in surface-level UVB, UVA, and photosynthetically active radiation (visible light) for clear-sky conditions and fixed aerosol parameter values. We also considered a wide range of biological effects on organisms ranging from humans to phytoplankton. We found that past work overestimated UVB irradiance but that relative estimates for increase in exposure to DNA-damaging radiation are still similar to our improved calculations. We also found that the intensity of biologically damaging radiation varies widely with organism and specific impact considered; these results have implications for biosphere-level damage following astrophysical ionizing radiation events. When considering changes in surface-level visible light irradiance, we found that, contrary to previous assumptions, a decrease in irradiance is only present for a short time in very limited geographical areas; instead we found a net increase for most of the modeled time-space region. This result has implications for proposed climate changes associated with ionizing radiation events.
Abstract
Background
Mule deer rely on fat and protein stored prior to the winter season as an energy source during the winter months when other food sources are sparse. Since associated ...microorganisms (‘microbiota’) play a significant role in nutrient metabolism of their hosts, we predicted that variation in the microbiota might be associated with nutrient storage and overwintering in mule deer populations. To test this hypothesis we performed a 16S rRNA marker gene survey of fecal samples from two deer populations in the western United States before and after onset of winter.
Results
PERMANOVA analysis revealed the deer microbiota varied interactively with geography and season. Further, using metadata collected at the time of sampling, we were able to identify different fecal bacterial taxa that could potentially act as bioindicators of mule deer health outcomes. First, we identified the abundance of
Collinsella
(family:
Coriobacteriaceae
) reads as a possible predictor of poor overwintering outcomes for deer herds in multiple locations. Second, we showed that reads assigned to the
Bacteroides
and
Mollicutes
Order RF39 were both positively correlated with deer protein levels, leading to the idea that these sequences might be useful in predicting mule deer protein storage.
Conclusions
These analyses confirm that variation in the microbiota is associated with season-dependent health outcomes in mule deer, which may have useful implications for herd management strategies.
Studies of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among adult populations demonstrate that such injuries can lead to aggressive behaviors. Related findings suggest that incarcerated individuals have high rates ...of brain injuries. Such studies suggest that traumatic brain injury may be related to the etiology and recidivism of criminal behavior. Relatively few studies have examined the prevalence of TBI using a delinquent juvenile sample. In order to assess the relationship between TBI and juvenile offender status, the current study used meta-analytic techniques to examine the odds of having a TBI among juvenile offenders. Across 9 studies, we found that approximately 30% of juvenile offenders have sustained a previous brain injury. Across 5 studies that used a control group, a calculated summary odds ratio of 3.37 suggests that juvenile offenders are significantly more likely to have a TBI compared to controls. Results suggest that the rate of TBIs within the juvenile offender population is significant and that there may be a relationship between TBIs and juvenile criminal behavior.
Rapid, facile, and noncovalent cell membrane modification with alkyl-grafted anionic polymers was sought as an approach to enhance intracellular delivery and bioactivity of cationic peptides. We ...synthesized a library of acrylic acid-based copolymers containing varying amounts of an amine-reactive pentafluorophenyl acrylate monomer followed by postpolymerization modification with a series of alkyl amines to afford precise control over the length and density of aliphatic alkyl side chains. This synthetic strategy enabled systematic investigation of the effect of the polymer structure on membrane binding, potentiation of peptide cell uptake, pH-dependent disruption of lipid bilayers for endosome escape, and intracellular bioavailability. A subset of these polymers exhibited pK a of ∼6.8, which facilitated stable membrane association at physiological pH and rapid, pH-dependent endosomal disruption upon endocytosis as quantified in Galectin-8-YFP reporter cells. Cationic cell penetrating peptide (CPP) uptake was enhanced up to 15-fold in vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro when peptide treatment was preceded by a 30-min pretreatment with lead candidate polymers. We also designed and implemented a new and highly sensitive assay for measuring the intracellular bioavailability of CPPs based on the NanoLuciferase (NanoLuc) technology previously developed for measuring intracellular protein–protein interactions. Using this split luciferase class of assay, polymer pretreatment enhanced intracellular delivery of the CPP-modified HiBiT peptide up to 30-fold relative to CPP-HiBiT without polymer pretreatment (p < 0.05). The overall structural analyses show that polymers containing 50:50 or 70:30 molar ratios of carboxyl groups to alkyl side chains of 6–8 carbons maximized peptide uptake, pH-dependent membrane disruption, and intracellular bioavailability and that this potentiation effect was maximized by pairing with CPPs with high cationic charge density. These results demonstrate a rapid, mild method for polymer modification of cell surfaces to potentiate intracellular delivery, endosome escape, and bioactivity of cationic peptides.
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