Nicotinamide N-Methyltransferase: An Emerging Protagonist in Cancer Macro(r)evolution

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) has progressed from being considered merely a Phase II metabolic enzyme to one with a central role in cell function and energy metabolism. Over the last three decades, a significant body of evidence has accumulated which clearly demonstrates a central role for NNMT in cancer survival, metastasis, and drug resistance. In this review, we discuss the evidence supporting a role for NNMT in the progression of the cancer phenotype and how it achieves this by driving the activity of pro-oncogenic NAD+-consuming enzymes. We also describe how increased NNMT activity supports the Warburg effect and how it promotes oncogenic changes in gene expression. We discuss the regulation of NNMT activity in cancer cells by both post-translational modification of the enzyme and transcription factor binding to the NNMT gene, and describe for the first time three long non-coding RNAs which may play a role in the regulation of NNMT transcription. We complete the review by discussing the development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics which target NNMT and provide insight into how NNMT-based therapies may be best employed clinically

Examining the effects of local weather variation on the seasonal fecundity of passerines, using the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica as a model

Climate change will result in shifts in local weather conditions, with ramifications for important demographic processes such as seasonal fecundity. These may be mediated by the behavioural and strategic decisions associated with them. Despite predictions of increased wind speeds, few studies have examined the impact of wind, or the interactive effects of different weather variables, on seasonal fecundity. I test for these using the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica as a model species. Twenty years of nest data from across Britain revealed interactive effects of both weather and land use on clutch size, hatching success and brood size. Next, a model to describe seasonal fecundity based on a single population, that simultaneously considered weather-related carry-over effects from one stage to the next, revealed not all stages of seasonal fecundity were affected equally by weather. Conditions that promoted a positive response in one stage often resulted in a negative response in the following stage: for example conditions that promoted higher clutch sizes often resulted in reduced hatching success. I next examined weather-related effects on female incubation behaviour; the sensitivity of which varied between hourly and daily time scales. There were weather related impacts, including from wind speed, on both female behaviour and the thermal environment of the nest. Similarly, the mass of nestlings was more sensitive to weather than that of recent fledglings at both daily and lifetime scales. Nestling mass was negatively related to both temperature and rainfall, but this relationship was mediated by wind speed. Fledgling mass declined with temperature on days with high rainfall. Overall, my results show that the interactive effects of weather can have important implications for seasonal fecundity. Wind speed typically has an overall negative effect on seasonal fecundity, through increasing the negative effects of rainfall or temperature; this may have implications for population trends and persistence of species such as the Barn Swallow, given predictions for increased wind speeds under future climate change

The effects of supplementary food on the breeding performance of Eurasian reed warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus; implications for climate change impacts

Understanding the mechanisms by which climate variation can drive population changes requires information linking climate, local conditions, trophic resources, behaviour and demography. Climate change alters the seasonal pattern of emergence and abundance of invertebrate populations, which may have important consequences for the breeding performance and population change of insectivorous birds. In this study, we examine the role of food availability in driving behavioural changes in an insectivorous migratory songbird; the Eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. We use a feeding experiment to examine the effect of increased food supply on different components of breeding behaviour and first-brood productivity, over three breeding seasons (2012–2014). Reed warblers respond to food-supplementation by advancing their laying date by up to 5.6 days. Incubation periods are shorter in supplemented groups during the warmest mean spring temperatures. Nestling growth rates are increased in nests provisioned by supplemented parents. In addition, nest predation is reduced, possibly because supplemented adults spend more time at the nest and faster nestling growth reduces the period of vulnerability of eggs and nestlings to predators (and brood parasites). The net effect of these changes is to advance the fledging completion date and to increase the overall productivity of the first brood for supplemented birds. European populations of reed warblers are currently increasing; our results suggest that advancing spring phenology, leading to increased food availability early in the breeding season, could account for this change by facilitating higher productivity. Furthermore, the earlier brood completion potentially allows multiple breeding attempts. This study identifies the likely trophic and behavioural mechanisms by which climate-driven changes in invertebrate phenology and abundance may lead to changes in breeding phenology, nest survival and net reproductive performance of insectivorous birds

Supplemental food alters nest defence and incubation behaviour of an open-nesting wetland songbird

© 2018 The Authors Climate-driven increases in spring temperatures are expected to result in higher prey availability earlier in the breeding season for insectivorous birds breeding in wetland habitats. Predation during the incubation phase is a major cause of nesting failure in open-nesting altricial birds such as the Eurasian reed warbler. The nest predation rate in this species has recently been shown to be substantially reduced under conditions of experimentally elevated invertebrate prey availability. Food availability near the nest may be an important determinant of adult incubation and nest defence behaviours during the incubation period. We used two experimental studies to compare incubation behaviour and nest defence in food-supplemented and unsupplemented adult Eurasian reed warblers during the incubation phase. In the first study we measured nest defence behavioural responses to a taxidermic mount of a native predator (stoat Mustela erminea). In the second study we used temperature loggers installed in nests to measure breaks in incubation as a measure of nest vulnerability. Food-supplemented birds responded aggressively to the presence of a predator more quickly than those in the unsupplemented group, suggesting they are closer to their nest and can more quickly detect a predator in the vicinity. Food-supplemented birds also had shorter breaks in incubation (both in terms of maximum and mean off-bout durations), presumably because they were foraging for shorter periods or over shorter distances from the nest. This study therefore identifies the behavioural mechanisms by which changes in food availability may lead to changes in nest survival and thus breeding productivity, in open-nesting insectivorous birds

Association of lower fractional flow reserve values with higher risk of adverse cardiac events for lesions deferred revascularization among patients with acute coronary syndrome

BACKGROUND: The safety of deferring revascularization based on fractional flow reserve (FFR) during acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is unclear. We evaluated the association of FFR and adverse cardiac events among patients with coronary lesions deferred revascularization based on FFR in the setting of ACS versus non-ACS. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population (674 patients; 816 lesions) was divided into ACS (n=334) and non-ACS (n=340) groups based on the diagnosis when revascularization was deferred based on FFR values >0.80 between October 2002 and July 2010. The association and interaction between FFR and clinical outcomes was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models within each group (mean follow-up of 4.5±2.1 years). Subsequent revascularization of a deferred lesion was classified as a deferred lesion intervention (DLI), whereas the composite of DLI or myocardial infarction (MI) attributed to a deferred lesion was designated as deferred lesion failure (DLF). In the non-ACS group, lower FFR values were not associated with any increase in adverse cardiac events. In the ACS group, every 0.01 decrease in FFR was associated with a significantly higher rate of cardiovascular death, MI, or DLI (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.12), MI or DLI (HR, 1.09; 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.14), DLF (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.18), MI (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.14), and DLI (HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.18). CONCLUSION: Lower FFR values among ACS patients with coronary lesions deferred revascularization based on FFR are associated with a significantly higher rate of adverse cardiac events. This association was not observed in non-ACS patients

Raspberry Pi nest cameras: An affordable tool for remote behavioral and conservation monitoring of bird nests.

Funder: Cardiff UniversityFunder: Project CASE partner ‐ Eco‐explore Community Interest CompanyBespoke (custom-built) Raspberry Pi cameras are increasingly popular research tools in the fields of behavioral ecology and conservation, because of their comparative flexibility in programmable settings, ability to be paired with other sensors, and because they are typically cheaper than commercially built models.Here, we describe a novel, Raspberry Pi-based camera system that is fully portable and yet weatherproof-especially to humidity and salt spray. The camera was paired with a passive infrared sensor, to create a movement-triggered camera capable of recording videos over a 24-hr period. We describe an example deployment involving "retro-fitting" these cameras into artificial nest boxes on Praia Islet, Azores archipelago, Portugal, to monitor the behaviors and interspecific interactions of two sympatric species of storm-petrel (Monteiro's storm-petrel Hydrobates monteiroi and Madeiran storm-petrel Hydrobates castro) during their respective breeding seasons.Of the 138 deployments, 70% of all deployments were deemed to be "Successful" (Successful was defined as continuous footage being recorded for more than one hour without an interruption), which equated to 87% of the individual 30-s videos. The bespoke cameras proved to be easily portable between 54 different nests and reasonably weatherproof (~14% of deployments classed as "Partial" or "Failure" deployments were specifically due to the weather/humidity), and we make further trouble-shooting suggestions to mitigate additional weather-related failures.Here, we have shown that this system is fully portable and capable of coping with salt spray and humidity, and consequently, the camera-build methods and scripts could be applied easily to many different species that also utilize cavities, burrows, and artificial nests, and can potentially be adapted for other wildlife monitoring situations to provide novel insights into species-specific daily cycles of behaviors and interspecies interactions

A systematic review of reinvestment motor control as a risk factor for falls in older adults

Thirty-seven million falls require medical attention each year with the majority suffered by adults over the age of 60. Reinvestment explains how conscious control of well learned movement has a detrimental effect on performance in a range of activities and propensity for this is measured with the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS). The current systematic review is the first to assess the effects of reinvestment on the risk of falling for adults over 60 years old. Searches were completed on CINAHL, PubMed, SportDiscus and Science Direct for papers published between January 2010 and December 2022. Key phrases searched were “Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale falls elderly” OR “Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale falls older adults”. Reference lists of included papers were searched manually with relevant articles sourced. Experimental design studies that utilised MSRS and measured performance outcomes based on a falls related metric with adults over 60 years old, without specific diagnosed cognitive impairment, neurological or musculoskeletal conditions were included. Assessment of quality was completed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) (2023) checklists by one researcher. Numeric data and results extracted from original papers were included in tables. Narrative review was completed for summary of findings and analysis. Fifteen studies (participants n = 761) were included. Six themes became evident within the literature and were investigated in narrative review: History of Falling; Anxiety; Task Difficulty; Manipulation of Attention; Prediction of Performance Outcomes; Visuospatial Recognition. The review provides insight into conscious motor processing as a factor in the performance of activities associated with the risk of falling as well as considerations and recommendations for future research

The Ring-necked Parakeet Psittacula krameri in Wales: A preliminary review of records

The Ring-necked Parakeet is a widespread and invasive species with feral populations across the world. The feral population in Britain is expanding its distribution, with increasing numbers of sightings in Wales. There were 511 recorded sightings of the species in Wales between 1974 and 2017 collated by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN). The distribution of sightings is correlated with urban areas especially in the South East and North East of Wales. While there is no evidence of contemporary breeding, these findings strongly suggest population establishment, via multiple releases. We examined Welsh Bird Reports spanning 1995-2018 to explore flock size; although the maximum flock size was 6, 83% of records related to single birds. The current distribution of historical and more contemporary records does not indicate current impacts on native cavity nesting bird species, although this does not exclude localised impacts on these or other cavity users. However, the current distribution may point to issues ahead for fruit growers in Wales, as well as noise disturbance. We recommend increased vigilance and more detailed recording of all sightings of this species in Wales