Age-related response to playback of calls of sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus) by American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) males.

BirdsAbstract We investigated whether the response of American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is influenced by age. We recorded song rates before and after playback of a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) call, and how long after playback redstarts took to sing again. Our results showed no significant differences in response between first year and second year males, but significant reduction in song rate for all redstarts was found immediately post-playback. Future studies should further explore the relationship between response of different aged American Redstarts males and calls of potential predator classes.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101746/1/Dou_Langenburg_Mooney_Pad_2013.pd

Lipid Nanoparticle-mediated siRNA Transfer Against PCTAIRE1/PCTK1/Cdk16 Inhibits In Vivo Cancer Growth

PCTAIRE1/CDK16/PCTK1 plays critical roles in cancer cell proliferation and antiapoptosis. To advance our previously published in vitro results with PCTAIRE1 silencing, we examined the in vivo therapeutic potential of this approach by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) encapsulated by lipid nanoparticles. Therapy experiments of PCTAIRE1 siRNA were performed using human HCT116 colorectal cancer cells and human A2058 melanoma cells. A single dose of PCTAIRE1 siRNA-lipid nanoparticles was found to be highly effective in reducing in vivo PCTAIRE1 expression for up to 4 days as assayed by immunoblotting. Therapy experiments were started 4 days after subcutaneous injection of cancer cells. Treatment with PCTAIRE1 siRNA-lipid nanoparticles (0.5 mg/kg RNA, twice a week) reduced tumor volume and weight significantly compared with the scramble-control group. Histopathological analysis (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling) showed increased apoptosis of tumor cells treated with PCTAIRE1-siRNA. Overall, our results demonstrate that siRNA treatment targeting PCTAIRE1 is effective in vivo, suggesting that PCTAIRE1 siRNA-lipid nanoparticles might be a novel therapeutic approach against cancer cells