Age and environment affect constitutive immune function in Red Knots (Calidris canutus)

We studied subspecies, age and environmental effects on constitutive immune function (natural antibody and complement titres, haptoglobin activity and leukocyte concentrations) in Red Knots (Calidris canutus). We compared C. c. islandica and C. c. canutus in the Wadden Sea and found no difference in immune function between subspecies. However, C. c. canutus on their wintering grounds in Banc d’Arguin had higher natural antibody and lower complement levels than C. c. canutus or C. c. islandica in the Wadden Sea. This suggests that immune function is determined more by the surrounding environment than by subspecies. We also compared age classes in the Wadden Sea and found that first year birds had significantly lower natural antibody levels than adults, but that second year birds no longer differed from adults. Finally, we examined the interaction of age and environment in Banc d’Arguin. We found that first year birds (but not adults) in a low quality habitat had higher leukocyte concentrations than first year birds or adults in a high quality habitat. Differences in available resources and defence needs between environments, and differences among individuals differentially distributed between sites, are likely important contributors to the variation in immune function we report. Future studies, which examine these factors on wild birds, will be important for our understanding of how animals function in their natural environment.

Isabelle Modelchecking for insider threats

The Isabelle Insider framework formalises the technique of social explanation for modeling and analysing Insider threats in infrastructures including physical and logical aspects. However, the abstract Isabelle models need some refinement to provide sufficient detail to explore attacks constructively and understand how the attacker proceeds. The introduction of mutable states into the model leads us to use the concepts of Modelchecking within Isabelle. Isabelle can simply accommodate classical CTL type Modelchecking. We integrate CTL Modelchecking into the Isabelle Insider framework. A running example of an IoT attack on privacy motivates the method throughout and illustrates how the enhanced framework fully supports realistic modeling and analysis of IoT Insiders

No Evidence for Immune Priming in Ants Exposed to a Fungal Pathogen

There is accumulating evidence that invertebrates can acquire long-term protection against pathogens through immune priming. However, the range of pathogens eliciting immune priming and the specificity of the response remain unclear. Here, we tested if the exposure to a natural fungal pathogen elicited immune priming in ants. We found no evidence for immune priming in Formica selysi workers exposed to Beauveria bassiana. The initial exposure of ants to the fungus did not alter their resistance in a subsequent challenge with the same fungus. There was no sign of priming when using homologous and heterologous combinations of fungal strains for exposure and subsequent challenges at two time intervals. Hence, within the range of conditions tested, the immune response of this social insect to the fungal pathogen appears to lack memory and strain-specificity. These results show that immune priming is not ubiquitous across pathogens, hosts and conditions, possibly because of immune evasion by the pathogen or efficient social defences by the host

Texture analysis-and support vector machine-assisted diffusional kurtosis imaging may allow in vivo gliomas grading and IDH-mutation status prediction:a preliminary study

We sought to investigate, whether texture analysis of diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) enhanced by support vector machine (SVM) analysis may provide biomarkers for gliomas staging and detection of the IDH mutation. First-order statistics and texture feature extraction were performed in 37 patients on both conventional (FLAIR) and mean diffusional kurtosis (MDK) images and recursive feature elimination (RFE) methodology based on SVM was employed to select the most discriminative diagnostic biomarkers. The first-order statistics demonstrated significantly lower MDK values in the IDH-mutant tumors. This resulted in 81.1% accuracy (sensitivity = 0.96, specificity = 0.45, AUC 0.59) for IDH mutation diagnosis. There were non-significant differences in average MDK and skewness among the different tumour grades. When texture analysis and SVM were utilized, the grading accuracy achieved by DKI biomarkers was 78.1% (sensitivity 0.77, specificity 0.79, AUC 0.79); the prediction accuracy for IDH mutation reached 83.8% (sensitivity 0.96, specificity 0.55, AUC 0.87). For the IDH mutation task, DKI outperformed significantly the FLAIR imaging. When using selected biomarkers after RFE, the prediction accuracy achieved 83.8% (sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.64, AUC 0.88). These findings demonstrate the superiority of DKI enhanced by texture analysis and SVM, compared to conventional imaging, for gliomas staging and prediction of IDH mutational status

Prediction and Topological Models in Neuroscience

In the last two decades, philosophy of neuroscience has predominantly focused on explanation. Indeed, it has been argued that mechanistic models are the standards of explanatory success in neuroscience over, among other things, topological models. However, explanatory power is only one virtue of a scientific model. Another is its predictive power. Unfortunately, the notion of prediction has received comparatively little attention in the philosophy of neuroscience, in part because predictions seem disconnected from interventions. In contrast, we argue that topological predictions can and do guide interventions in science, both inside and outside of neuroscience. Topological models allow researchers to predict many phenomena, including diseases, treatment outcomes, aging, and cognition, among others. Moreover, we argue that these predictions also offer strategies for useful interventions. Topology-based predictions play this role regardless of whether they do or can receive a mechanistic interpretation. We conclude by making a case for philosophers to focus on prediction in neuroscience in addition to explanation alone

Cloning and endogenous expression of a Eucalyptus grandis UDP-glucose dehydrogenase cDNA

UDP-glucose dehydrogenase (UGDH) catalyzes the oxidation of UDP-glucose (UDP-Glc) to UDP-glucuronate (UDP-GlcA), a key sugar nucleotide involved in the biosynthesis of plant cell wall polysaccharides. A full-length cDNA fragment coding for UGDH was cloned from the cambial region of 6-month-old E. grandis saplings by RT-PCR. The 1443-bp-ORF encodes a protein of 480 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 53 kDa. The recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli catalyzed the conversion of UDP-Glc to UDP-GlcA, confirming that the cloned cDNA encodes UGDH. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA showed a high degree of identity with UGDH from several plant species. The Southern blot assay indicated that more than one copy of UGDH is present in Eucalyptus. These results were also confirmed by the proteomic analysis of the cambial region of 3- and 22-year-old E. grandis trees by 2-DE and LC-MS/MS, showing that at least two isoforms are present. The cloned gene is mainly expressed in roots, stem and bark of 6-month-old saplings, with a lower expression in leaves. High expression levels were also observed in the cambial region of 3- and 22-year-old trees. The results described in this paper provide a further view of the hemicellulose biosynthesis during wood formation in E. grandis

Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic undertaking behaviour

Abstract Background Social insects form densely crowded societies in environments with high pathogen loads, but have evolved collective defences that mitigate the impact of disease. However, colony-founding queens lack this protection and suffer high rates of mortality. The impact of pathogens may be exacerbated in species where queens found colonies together, as healthy individuals may contract pathogens from infectious co-founders. Therefore, we tested whether ant queens avoid founding colonies with pathogen-exposed conspecifics and how they might limit disease transmission from infectious individuals. Results Using Lasius niger queens and a naturally infecting fungal pathogen Metarhizium brunneum, we observed that queens were equally likely to found colonies with another pathogen-exposed or sham-treated queen. However, when one queen died, the surviving individual performed biting, burial and removal of the corpse. These undertaking behaviours were performed prophylactically, i.e. targeted equally towards non-infected and infected corpses, as well as carried out before infected corpses became infectious. Biting and burial reduced the risk of the queens contracting and dying from disease from an infectious corpse of a dead co-foundress. Conclusions We show that co-founding ant queens express undertaking behaviours that, in mature colonies, are performed exclusively by workers. Such infection avoidance behaviours act before the queens can contract the disease and will therefore improve the overall chance of colony founding success in ant queens

Disease Dynamics in a Specialized Parasite of Ant Societies

Coevolution between ant colonies and their rare specialized parasites are intriguing, because lethal infections of workers may correspond to tolerable chronic diseases of colonies, but the parasite adaptations that allow stable coexistence with ants are virtually unknown. We explore the trade-offs experienced by Ophiocordyceps parasites manipulating ants into dying in nearby graveyards. We used field data from Brazil and Thailand to parameterize and fit a model for the growth rate of graveyards. We show that parasite pressure is much lower than the abundance of ant cadavers suggests and that hyperparasites often castrate Ophiocordyceps. However, once fruiting bodies become sexually mature they appear robust. Such parasite life-history traits are consistent with iteroparity– a reproductive strategy rarely considered in fungi. We discuss how tropical habitats with high biodiversity of hyperparasites and high spore mortality has likely been crucial for the evolution and maintenance of iteroparity in parasites with low dispersal potential

The prognostic value of multivoxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy determined metabolite levels in white and grey matter brain tissue for adverse outcome in term newborns following perinatal asphyxia

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy can identify brain metabolic changes in perinatal asphyxia by providing ratios of metabolites, such as choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and lactate (Lact) [Cho/Cr, Lact/NAA, etc.]. The purpose of this study was to quantify the separate white and grey matter metabolites in a slab cranial to the ventricles and relate these to the outcome. A standard 2D-chemical shift imaging protocol was used for measuring a transverse volume of interest located cranial to the ventricles allowing for direct comparison of the metabolites in white and grey matter brain tissue in 24 term asphyxiated newborns aged 3 to 16 days. Cho, NAA and Lact showed significant differences between four subgroups of asphyxiated infants with more and less favourable outcomes. High levels of Cho and Lact in the grey matter differentiated non-survivors from survivors (P = 0.003 and P = 0.017, respectively). In perinatal asphyxia the levels of Cho, NAA and Lact in both white and grey matter brain tissue are affected. The levels of Cho and Lact measured in the grey matter are the most indicative of survival. It is therefore advised to include grey matter brain tissue in the region of interest examined by multivoxel MR spectroscopy. aEuro cent Magnetic resonance spectroscopy can identify brain metabolic changes in perinatal asphyxia. aEuro cent Choline and lactate levels in grey matter seem the best indicators of survival. aEuro cent Both grey and white matter should be examined during spectroscopy for perinatal asphyxia

Consistent Pattern of Local Adaptation during an Experimental Heat Wave in a Pipefish-Trematode Host-Parasite System

Extreme climate events such as heat waves are expected to increase in frequency under global change. As one indirect effect, they can alter magnitude and direction of species interactions, for example those between hosts and parasites. We simulated a summer heat wave to investigate how a changing environment affects the interaction between the broad-nosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) as a host and its digenean trematode parasite (Cryptocotyle lingua). In a fully reciprocal laboratory infection experiment, pipefish from three different coastal locations were exposed to sympatric and allopatric trematode cercariae. In order to examine whether an extreme climatic event disrupts patterns of locally adapted host-parasite combinations we measured the parasite's transmission success as well as the host's adaptive and innate immune defence under control and heat wave conditions. Independent of temperature, sympatric cercariae were always more successful than allopatric ones, indicating that parasites are locally adapted to their hosts. Hosts suffered from heat stress as suggested by fewer cells of the adaptive immune system (lymphocytes) compared to the same groups that were kept at 18°C. However, the proportion of the innate immune cells (monocytes) was higher in the 18°C water. Contrary to our expectations, no interaction between host immune defence, parasite infectivity and temperature stress were found, nor did the pattern of local adaptation change due to increased water temperature. Thus, in this host-parasite interaction, the sympatric parasite keeps ahead of the coevolutionary dynamics across sites, even under increasing temperatures as expected under marine global warming