Memory Performance Influences Male Reproductive Success in a Wild Bird.

Not applicableMarsden Fund (Royal Society of New Zealand

Male New Zealand robins (Petroica longipes) cater to their mate's desire when sharing food in the wild.

In many species that have bi-parental care, food-sharing males provide vital nutritional resources to their mates during reproduction. However, it is currently unknown whether females can signal specific desires to their mates, or if males can cater to female desire in the wild. Here we investigate whether and how wild male North Island robins (Petroica longipes) respond to changes in their mates' desires and nutritional need when sharing food. We demonstrate that wild female robins' desire for particular foods changes over short time periods; when given the choice between two types of insect larvae, females prefer the type they have not recently eaten. In our experiments, wild male robins preferentially shared the larvae type that their mate was most likely to desire and also increased the quantity of food shared if she had begun incubating. Males catered to their mates' desire when female behaviour was the only cue available to guide their choices. This is the first evidence that females may behaviourally communicate their specific food desires to their mates, enabling males to cater to fine-scale changes in their mates' nutritional requirements in the wild. Such a simple behaviour-reading mechanism has the potential to be widespread among other food-sharing species

Differential renal effects of candesartan at high-and ultra-high doses in diabetic mice: potential role of ACE2/AT2R/Mas

High doses of Ang II receptor (AT1R) blockers (ARBs) are renoprotective in diabetes. Underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We evaluated whether high/ultra-high doses of candesartan (ARB) up-regulate angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)/Ang II type 2 receptor (AT2R)/Mas receptor [protective axis of the of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS)] in diabetic mice. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), albuminuria and expression/activity of RAS components were assessed in diabetic db/db and control db/+ mice treated with increasing candesartan doses (intermediate, 1 mg/kg/d; high, 5 mg/kg/d; ultra-high, 25 and 75 mg/kg/d; 4 weeks). Lower doses candesartan did not influence SBP, but ultra-high doses reduced SBP in both groups. Plasma glucose and albuminuria were increased in db/db compared with db/+ mice. In diabetic mice treated with intermediate dose candesartan, renal tubular damage and albuminuria were ameliorated and expression of ACE2, AT2R and Mas and activity of ACE2 were increased, effects associated with reduced ERK1/2 phosphorylation, decreased fibrosis and renal protection. Ultra-high doses did not influence the ACE2/AT2R/Mas axis and promoted renal injury with increased renal ERK1/2 activation and exaggerated fibronectin expression in db/db mice. Our study demonstrates dose-related effects of candesartan in diabetic nephropathy: intermediate–high dose candesartan is renoprotective, whereas ultra-high dose candesartan induces renal damage. Molecular processes associated with these effects involve differential modulation of the ACE2/AT2R/Mas axis: intermediate–high dose candesartan up-regulating RAS protective components and attenuating pro-fibrotic processes, and ultra-high doses having opposite effects. These findings suggest novel mechanisms through the protective RAS axis, whereby candesartan may ameliorate diabetic nephropathy. Our findings also highlight potential injurious renal effects of ultra-high dose candesartan in diabetes

Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings

We report the discovery of several large "propeller" moons in the outer part of Saturn's A ring, objects large enough to be followed over the 5-year duration of the Cassini mission. These are the first objects ever discovered that can be tracked as individual moons, but do not orbit in empty space. We infer sizes up to 1--2 km for the unseen moonlets at the center of the propeller-shaped structures, though many structural and photometric properties of propeller structures remain unclear. Finally, we demonstrate that some propellers undergo sustained non-keplerian orbit motion. (Note: This arXiv version of the paper contains supplementary tables that were left out of the ApJL version due to lack of space).Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; Published in ApJ

Risk Model Development and Validation for Prediction of Coronary Artery Aneurysms in Kawasaki Disease in a North American Population.

Background Accurate prediction of coronary artery aneurysms ( CAAs ) in patients with Kawasaki disease remains challenging in North American cohorts. We sought to develop and validate a risk model for CAA prediction. Methods and Results A binary outcome of CAA was defined as left anterior descending or right coronary artery Z score ≥2.5 at 2 to 8 weeks after fever onset in a development cohort (n=903) and a validation cohort (n=185) of patients with Kawasaki disease. Associations of baseline clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables with later CAA were assessed in the development cohort using logistic regression. Discrimination (c statistic) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow) of the final model were evaluated. A practical risk score assigning points to each variable in the final model was created based on model coefficients from the development cohort. Predictors of CAAs at 2 to 8 weeks were baseline Z score of left anterior descending or right coronary artery ≥2.0, age <6 months, Asian race, and C-reactive protein ≥13 mg/ dL (c=0.82 in the development cohort, c=0.93 in the validation cohort). The CAA risk score assigned 2 points for baseline Z score of left anterior descending or right coronary artery ≥2.0 and 1 point for each of the other variables, with creation of low- (0-1), moderate- (2), and high- (3-5) risk groups. The odds of CAA s were 16-fold greater in the high- versus the low-risk groups in the development cohort (odds ratio, 16.4; 95% CI , 9.71-27.7 [ P<0.001]), and >40-fold greater in the validation cohort (odds ratio, 44.0; 95% CI, 10.8-180 [ P<0.001]). Conclusions Our risk model for CAA in Kawasaki disease consisting of baseline demographic, laboratory, and echocardiographic variables had excellent predictive utility and should undergo prospective testing

Treatment Intensification in Patients With Kawasaki Disease and Coronary Aneurysm at Diagnosis.

BackgroundCoronary artery aneurysms (CAA) are a serious complication of Kawasaki disease. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) within 10 days of fever onset reduces the risk of CAA from 25% to <5%. Corticosteroids and infliximab are often used in high-risk patients or those with CAA at diagnosis, but there are no data on their longer-term impact on CAA.MethodsRetrospective multicenter study including children who had CAA with a z score ≥2.5 and <10 at time of diagnosis and who received primary therapy with IVIg alone or in combination with either corticosteroids or infliximab within 10 days of onset of fever.ResultsOf 121 children, with a median age of 2.8 (range 0.1-15.5) years, 30 (25%) received primary therapy with corticosteroids and IVIg, 58 (48%) received primary therapy with infliximab and IVIg, and 33 (27%) received primary therapy with IVIg only. Median coronary z scores at the time of diagnosis did not differ among treatment groups (P = .39). Primary treatment intensification with either corticosteroids or infliximab were independent protective factors against progression of coronary size on follow-up (coefficient: -1.31 [95% confidence interval: -2.33 to -0.29]; coefficient: -1.07 [95% confidence interval: -1.95 to -0.19], respectively).ConclusionsAmong a high-risk group of patients with Kawasaki disease with CAA on baseline echocardiography, those treated with corticosteroids or infliximab in addition to IVIg had less progression in CAA size compared with those treated with IVIg alone. Prospective randomized trials are needed to determine the best adjunctive treatment of patients who present with CAA

The Grizzly, September 16, 2010

Activities Fair Brings Light to Organizations • Computer Science Students Begin Exciting New Projects • UC United Society of Leaders Emerges on Campus • Brandon Kamin Launches into MC Role for ABC\u27s Show Eaglemania • Calorie Counting Hits Zack\u27s • Theater Preview • Meet up with Two New Professors on Campus • Blend Cafe Hosts Open Mic Night for Students and Community • Opinions: Primaries are More Overrated Than They are Important; Unpredictable Turmoils of the Unreliable Ursinus WiFi • Ursinus Women\u27s Volleyball Heads Into Promising Seasonhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1817/thumbnail.jp

A search-based geographic metadata curation pipeline to refine sequencing institution information and support public health

BackgroundThe National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive (SRA) has amassed a vast reservoir of genetic data since its inception in 2007. These public data hold immense potential for supporting pathogen surveillance and control. However, the lack of standardized metadata and inconsistent submission practices in SRA may impede the data’s utility in public health.MethodsTo address this issue, we introduce the Search-based Geographic Metadata Curation (SGMC) pipeline. SGMC utilized Python and web scraping to extract geographic data of sequencing institutions from NCBI SRA in the Cloud and its website. It then harnessed ChatGPT to refine the sequencing institution and location assignments. To illustrate the pipeline’s utility, we examined the geographic distribution of the sequencing institutions and their countries relevant to polio eradication and categorized them.ResultsSGMC successfully identified 7,649 sequencing institutions and their global locations from a random selection of 2,321,044 SRA accessions. These institutions were distributed across 97 countries, with strong representation in the United States, the United Kingdom and China. However, there was a lack of data from African, Central Asian, and Central American countries, indicating potential disparities in sequencing capabilities. Comparison with manually curated data for U.S. institutions reveals SGMC’s accuracy rates of 94.8% for institutions, 93.1% for countries, and 74.5% for geographic coordinates.ConclusionSGMC may represent a novel approach using a generative AI model to enhance geographic data (country and institution assignments) for large numbers of samples within SRA datasets. This information can be utilized to bolster public health endeavors