Molecular Assessment of Three Reproducing Populations of the Clubshell Mussel (Pleurobema clava) Reveals Historic Hybridization with Pleurobema Sintoxia

The clubshell (Pleurobema clava) is a federally endangered species of freshwater mussel endemic to Ohio that is currently found in fewer than ten river systems in the United States (\u3e85% range reduction). Two of the USFWS’s (1993) recovery goals are to establish ten viable populations and maintain any existing genetic viability. In order to recover the clubshell, conservation efforts including translocation and captive propagation have been used to augment existing populations. In order to maintain the genetic diversity and population level specificity, a molecular assessment is needed. In this study, we generated nuclear microsatellite data and mitochondrial (mtDNA) sequence data from three populations of clubshell to assess population structure.https://fuse.franklin.edu/forum-2013/1020/thumbnail.jp

Mitochondrial DNA Suggests Stonerollers (Campostoma anomalum) From Upper Shavers Fork Have Strong Genetic Similarities With The Recently Identified New River Form

A recent analysis of cytochrome b sequence data suggested the presence of two distinct lineages of stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum) in West Virginia: one form that occurs throughout most waters of the Ohio and Potomac River basins, and a second that is restricted to the New River basin. In Michael Sovic and Dr. Kody Kuehnl\u27s study, cytochrome b data are presented for individuals sampled from the upper reaches of Shavers Fork, a tributary of the Cheat River that is geographically proximate to, but not within the New River drainage. Haplotypes observed in the individuals from Shavers Fork are most similar to those from the New River. This result is consistent with the hypothesis of a historical connection between Shavers Fork and waters of the New River basin. In addition, if the two forms are formally recognized taxonomically, these data suggest that the range of the New River form may extend into Shavers Fork, and highlight the need for additional sampling in nearby drainages to better understand the full extent of the distribution of this unique stoneroller lineage in West Virginia.https://fuse.franklin.edu/forum-2013/1023/thumbnail.jp

Effects of 17β-Estradiol Exposure on Gamete Development and Viability in Freshwater Unionids

Evidence of a functional role for vertebrate steroids has been demonstrated in a number of invertebrate species, including molluscs. This knowledge has generated interest into the possibility of invertebrate endocrine disruption due to exposure to both exogenous steroid hormones and xenobiotics which can mimic the action of these compounds. Exposure to the natural vertebrate estrogen, 17β-estradiol (E2), for example, has been shown to induce accelerated gamete development in multiple mollusc species. Little information exists, however, for freshwater mussels, a group of exceptional conservation interest. Here, Daniel Sovic, Raoman Lanno, Dr. Kody Kuehnl, and G. Thomas Watters report the findings of two field studies on gametogenesis (Elliptio complanata, Pleurobema clava) as they relate to seasonal estrogenicity of extracts from Polar Organic Compound Integrative Samplers (POCIS) as determined using the Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES) assay. In order to investigate effects of E2 exposure on gamete maturation and viability in freshwater mussels, Elliptio insulsa were dosed at one of three exposure levels. Effects on ova and sperm development were determined on biopsies collected 10 days and 6 months post-exposure and biopsy-generated data were compared with histological sections of vicera collected immediately following final biopsy collection. Comparisons of data collected via biopsy and traditional histological techniques provided data to evaluate the potential for utilizing non-lethal biopsy sampling to assess Unionid gametogenesis.https://fuse.franklin.edu/forum-2013/1022/thumbnail.jp

Freshwater Mussels as Biological Indicators

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a devastating rhabdovirus affecting freshwater fishes worldwide. In 2005, a new genotype of VHSV (IVb) was discovered in Lake St. Clair and has consequently spread throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes. While it is widely known that freshwater fishes are hosts and transmitters of VHSV, little is known about the ability of invertebrates to take up and carry the virus. Our (Vera Kazaniwskyj, Y. Zhang, G. Thomas Watters, Dr. Kody Kuehnl, and Barbara Wolfe) objective in this study was to investigate the ability of freshwater mussels to accumulate and transmit VHSV by using two commonly occurring freshwater mussel species (Corbicula fluminea and Amblema plicata) and to assess the efficacy of freshwater mussels as bioindicators of viral presence. Experiments used inoculations of 100 and 200 Tissue Culture Infective Dose units of VHSV. Mussel tissues were tested for VHS at 72h, 120h, and 168h post-exposure using rt-PCR. Initial results indicate that freshwater mussels have the ability to harbor the VHS virus, especially when inoculated with high doses, and thus can serve as valuable indicators of viral presence. These results also indicate mussels are not likely to maintain VHS long term within their tissues, and are therefore not likely vectors of the disease.https://fuse.franklin.edu/forum-2013/1021/thumbnail.jp

Road Detection for Supporting Autonomous Guided Electric Vehicle Robot

Road detection is a vital part in autonomous guided vehicle or robot. In this paper, we describe a road detection method for urban area. The challenge of road detection in urban area is some part of the roads are covered by vehicles. To solve that problem, we propose a method that consists of 3 main steps. First is an image capturing to takes digital image. Second is pre-processing that consists of prediction and cutting road area in an image, and the last is line detection and road labeling. The method has good performance and its has evaluated by using precision, recall and accuracy. That result have been presented in this paper

Biology-inspired microphysiological systems to advance patient benefit and animal welfare in drug development

The first microfluidic microphysiological systems (MPS) entered the academic scene more than 15 years ago and were considered an enabling technology to human (patho)biology in vitro and, therefore, provide alternative approaches to laboratory animals in pharmaceutical drug development and academic research. Nowadays, the field generates more than a thousand scientific publications per year. Despite the MPS hype in academia and by platform providers, which says this technology is about to reshape the entire in vitro culture landscape in basic and applied research, MPS approaches have neither been widely adopted by the pharmaceutical industry yet nor reached regulated drug authorization processes at all. Here, 46 leading experts from all stakeholders - academia, MPS supplier industry, pharmaceutical and consumer products industries, and leading regulatory agencies - worldwide have analyzed existing challenges and hurdles along the MPS-based assay life cycle in a second workshop of this kind in June 2019. They identified that the level of qualification of MPS-based assays for a given context of use and a communication gap between stakeholders are the major challenges for industrial adoption by end-users. Finally, a regulatory acceptance dilemma exists against that background. This t4 report elaborates on these findings in detail and summarizes solutions how to overcome the roadblocks. It provides recommendations and a roadmap towards regulatory accepted MPS-based models and assays for patients' benefit and further laboratory animal reduction in drug development. Finally, experts highlighted the potential of MPS-based human disease models to feedback into laboratory animal replacement in basic life science research.Toxicolog

NM23 proteins: innocent bystanders or local energy boosters for CFTR?

NM23 proteins NDPK-A and -B bind to the cystic fibrosis (CF) protein CFTR in different ways from kinases such as PKA, CK2 and AMPK or linkers to cell calcium such as calmodulin and annexins. NDPK-A (not -B) interacts with CFTR through reciprocal AMPK binding/control, whereas NDPK-B (not -A) binds directly to CFTR. NDPK-B can activate G proteins without ligand-receptor coupling, so perhaps NDPK-B's binding influences energy supply local to a nucleotide-binding site (NBD1) needed for CFTR to function. Curiously, CFTR (ABC-C7) is a member of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) protein family that does not obey 'clan rules'; CFTR channels anions and is not a pump, regulates disparate processes, is itself regulated by multiple means and is so pleiotropic that it acts as a hub that orchestrates calcium signaling through its consorts such as calmodulin/annexins. Furthermore, its multiple partners make CFTR dance to different tunes in different cellular and subcellular locations as it recycles from the plasma membrane to endosomes. CFTR function in airway apical membranes is inhibited by smoking which has been dubbed 'acquired CF'. CFTR alone among family members possesses a trap for other proteins that it unfurls as a 'fish-net' and which bears consensus phosphorylation sites for many protein kinases, with PKA being the most canonical. Recently, the site of CFTR's commonest mutation has been proposed as a knock-in mutant that alters allosteric control of kinase CK2 by log orders of activity towards calmodulin and other substrates after CFTR fragmentation. This link from CK2 to calmodulin that binds the R region invokes molecular paths that control lumen formation, which is incomplete in the tracheas of some CF-affected babies. Thus, we are poised to understand the many roles of NDPK-A and -B in CFTR function and, especially lumen formation, which is defective in the gut and lungs of many CF babies

Biology, Business and Brain Science: The Strangest of Attractors?

The fields of biology, business and brain science seem headed down a path toward either collision or convergence. Although neither ordained nor inevitable, the growing interconnections of the three fields, like a snowball going downhill, appear to be currently gaining both momentum and magnitude. The implications of such a coming together are likely to be the subject of intensified debate and controversy among many of the affected parties well into the near-term future. Written from the perspective of practitioners and academics representing each of the three disciplines, this paper employs the concept of “strange attractor” from chaos theory as an integrating feature. This work will discuss several of the salient characteristics and principles existing within the fields of biology, business and brain science. It will also examine the gathering forces moving toward a furthered combination of the disciplines, examine enriched associations between them, and consider possible advantages and disadvantages of their linkages. Additionally, it will explore the possibilities inherent in their greater inter-disciplinary connections as well as peer into the darker side of an enhanced relationship