Omura’s whales (Balaenoptera omurai) off northwest Madagascar: ecology, behaviour and conservation needs

The Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai) was described as a new species in 2003 and then soon after as an ancient lineage basal to a Bryde’s/sei whale clade. Currently known only from whaling and stranding specimens primarily from the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans, there exist no confirmed field observations or ecological/behavioural data. Here we present, to our knowledge, the first genetically confirmed documentation of living Omura’s whales including descriptions of basic ecology and behaviour from northwestern Madagascar. Species identification was confirmed through molecular phylogenetic analyses of biopsies collected from 18 adult animals. All individuals shared a single haplotype in a 402 bp sequence of mtDNA control region, suggesting low diversity and a potentially small population. Sightings of 44 groups indicated preference for shallow-water shelf habitat with sea surface temperature between 27.4°C and 30.2°C. Frequent observations were made of lunge feeding, possibly on zooplankton. Observations of four mothers with young calves, and recordings of a song-like vocalization probably indicate reproductive behaviour. Social organization consisted of loose aggregations of predominantly unassociated single individuals spatially and temporally clustered. Photographic recapture of a female re-sighted the following year with a young calf suggests site fidelity or a resident population. Our results demonstrate that the species is a tropical whale without segregation of feeding and breeding habitat, and is probably non-migratory; our data extend the range of this poorly studied whale into the western Indian Ocean. Exclusive range restriction to tropical waters is rare among baleen whale species, except for the various forms of Bryde’s whales and Omura’s whales. Thus, the discovery of a tractable population of Omura’s whales in the tropics presents an opportunity for understanding the ecological factors driving potential convergence of life-history patterns with the distantly related Bryde’s whales

Magnetic Vortex Core Reversal by Excitation of Spin Waves

Micron-sized magnetic platelets in the flux closed vortex state are characterized by an in-plane curling magnetization and a nanometer-sized perpendicularly magnetized vortex core. Having the simplest non-trivial configuration, these objects are of general interest to micromagnetics and may offer new routes for spintronics applications. Essential progress in the understanding of nonlinear vortex dynamics was achieved when low-field core toggling by excitation of the gyrotropic eigenmode at sub-GHz frequencies was established. At frequencies more than an order of magnitude higher vortex state structures possess spin wave eigenmodes arising from the magneto-static interaction. Here we demonstrate experimentally that the unidirectional vortex core reversal process also occurs when such azimuthal modes are excited. These results are confirmed by micromagnetic simulations which clearly show the selection rules for this novel reversal mechanism. Our analysis reveals that for spin wave excitation the concept of a critical velocity as the switching condition has to be modified.Comment: Minor corrections and polishing of previous versio

Gene and protein expression of glucose transporter 1 and glucose transporter 3 in human laryngeal cancer—the relationship with regulatory hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression, tumor invasiveness, and patient prognosis

Increased glucose uptake mediated by glucose transporters and reliance on glycolysis are common features of malignant cells. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α supports the adaptation of hypoxic cells by inducing genes related to glucose metabolism. The contribution of glucose transporter (GLUT) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) activity to tumor behavior and their prognostic value in head and neck cancers remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the predictive value of GLUT1, GLUT3, and HIF-1α messenger RNA (mRNA)/protein expression as markers of tumor aggressiveness and prognosis in laryngeal cancer. The level of hypoxia/metabolic marker genes was determined in 106 squamous cell laryngeal cancer (SCC) and 73 noncancerous matched mucosa (NCM) controls using quantitative realtime PCR. The related protein levels were analyzed by Western blot. Positive expression of SLC2A1, SLC2A3, and HIF-1α genes was noted in 83.9, 82.1, and 71.7 % of SCC specimens and in 34.4, 59.4, and 62.5 % of laryngeal cancer samples. Higher levels of mRNA/protein for GLUT1 and HIF-1α were noted in SCC compared to NCM (p<0.05). SLC2A1 was found to have a positive relationship with grade, tumor front grading (TFG) score, and depth and mode of invasion (p<0.05). SLC2A3 was related to grade and invasion type (p<0.05). There were also relationships of HIF-1α with pTNM, TFG scale, invasion depth and mode, tumor recurrences, and overall survival (p<0.05). In addition, more advanced tumors were found to be more likely to demonstrate positive expression of these proteins. In conclusion, the hypoxia/metabolic markers studied could be used as molecular markers of tumor invasiveness in laryngeal cancer.This work was supported, in part, by the statutory fund of the Department of Cytobiochemistry, University of Łódź, Poland (506/811), and by grant fromtheNational Science Council, Poland (N403 043 32/2326)

Timed inhibition of CDC7 increases CRISPR-Cas9 mediated templated repair.

Repair of double strand DNA breaks (DSBs) can result in gene disruption or gene modification via homology directed repair (HDR) from donor DNA. Altering cellular responses to DSBs may rebalance editing outcomes towards HDR and away from other repair outcomes. Here, we utilize a pooled CRISPR screen to define host cell involvement in HDR between a Cas9 DSB and a plasmid double stranded donor DNA (dsDonor). We find that the Fanconi Anemia (FA) pathway is required for dsDonor HDR and that other genes act to repress HDR. Small molecule inhibition of one of these repressors, CDC7, by XL413 and other inhibitors increases the efficiency of HDR by up to 3.5 fold in many contexts, including primary T cells. XL413 stimulates HDR during a reversible slowing of S-phase that is unexplored for Cas9-induced HDR. We anticipate that XL413 and other such rationally developed inhibitors will be useful tools for gene modification

Clinical and physiological effects of transcranial electrical stimulation position on motor evoked potentials in scoliosis surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During intraoperative monitoring for scoliosis surgery, we have previously elicited ipsilateral and contralateral motor evoked potentials (MEP) with cross scalp stimulation. Ipsilateral MEPs, which may have comprised summation of early ipsilaterally conducted components and transcallosally or deep white matter stimulated components, can show larger amplitudes than those derived purely from contralateral motor cortex stimulation. We tested this hypothesis using two stimulating positions. We compared intraoperative MEPs in 14 neurologically normal subjects undergoing scoliosis surgery using total intravenous anesthetic regimens.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Trancranial electrical stimulation was applied with both cross scalp (C3C4 or C4C3) or midline (C3Cz or C4Cz) positions. The latter was assumed to be more focal and result in little transcallosal/deep white matter stimulation. A train of 5 square wave stimuli 0.5 ms in duration at up to 200 mA was delivered with 4 ms (250 Hz) interstimulus intervals. Averaged supramaximal MEPs were obtained from the tibialis anterior bilaterally.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cross scalp stimulating position resulted in supramaximal MEPs that were of significantly higher amplitude, shorter latency and required lower stimulating intensity to elicit overall (Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, p < 0.05 for all), as compared to the midline stimulating position. However, no significant differences were found for all 3 parameters comparing ipsilaterally and contralaterally recorded MEPs (p > 0.05 for all), seen for both stimulating positions individually.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that cross scalp stimulation resulted in MEPs obtained ipsilaterally and contralaterally which may be contributed to by summation of ipsilateral and simultaneous transcallosally or deep white matter conducted stimulation of the opposite motor cortex. Use of this stimulating position is advocated to elicit MEPs under operative circumstances where anesthetic agents may cause suppression of cortical and spinal excitability. Although less focal in nature, cross scalp stimulation would be most suitable for infratentorial or spinal surgery, in contrast to supratentorial neurosurgical procedures.</p

Brezin-Gross-Witten model as "pure gauge" limit of Selberg integrals

The AGT relation identifies the Nekrasov functions for various N=2 SUSY gauge theories with the 2d conformal blocks, which possess explicit Dotsenko-Fateev matrix model (beta-ensemble) representations the latter being polylinear combinations of Selberg integrals. The "pure gauge" limit of these matrix models is, however, a non-trivial multiscaling large-N limit, which requires a separate investigation. We show that in this pure gauge limit the Selberg integrals turn into averages in a Brezin-Gross-Witten (BGW) model. Thus, the Nekrasov function for pure SU(2) theory acquires a form very much reminiscent of the AMM decomposition formula for some model X into a pair of the BGW models. At the same time, X, which still has to be found, is the pure gauge limit of the elliptic Selberg integral. Presumably, it is again a BGW model, only in the Dijkgraaf-Vafa double cut phase.Comment: 21 page

Comprehensive screening and quantification of veterinary drugs in milk using UPLC–ToF-MS

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–ToF-MS) has been used for screening and quantification of more than 100 veterinary drugs in milk. The veterinary drugs represent different classes including benzimidazoles, macrolides, penicillins, quinolones, sulphonamides, pyrimidines, tetracylines, nitroimidazoles, tranquillizers, ionophores, amphenicols and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs). After protein precipitation, centrifugation and solid-phase extraction (SPE), the extracts were analysed by UPLC–ToF-MS. From the acquired full scan data the drug-specific ions were extracted for construction of the chromatograms and evaluation of the results. The analytical method was validated according to the EU guidelines (2002/657/EC) for a quantitative screening method. At the concentration level of interest (MRL level) the results for repeatability (%RSD < 20% for 86% of the compounds), reproducibility (%RSD < 40% for 96% of the compounds) and the accuracy (80–120% for 88% of the compounds) were satisfactory. Evaluation of the CCβ values and the linearity results demonstrates that the developed method shows adequate sensitivity and linearity to provide quantitative results. Furthermore, the method is accurate enough to differentiate between suspected and negative samples or drug concentrations below or above the MRL. A set of 100 samples of raw milk were screened for residues. No suspected (positive) results were obtained except for the included blind reference sample containing sulphamethazine (88 μg/l) that tested positive for this compound. UPLC–ToF-MS combines high resolution for both LC and MS with high mass accuracy which is very powerful for the multi-compound analysis of veterinary drugs. The technique seems to be powerful enough for the analysis of not only veterinary drugs but also organic contaminants like pesticides, mycotoxins and plant toxins in one single method

Association study of the KCNJ3 gene as a susceptibility candidate for schizophrenia in the Chinese population

We recently reported the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of schizophrenia in the Japanese population. In that study, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs3106653) in the KCNJ3 (potassium inwardly rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 3) gene located at 2q24.1 showed association with schizophrenia in two independent sample sets. KCNJ3, also termed GIRK1 or Kir3.1, is a member of the G protein-activated inwardly rectifying K+ channel (GIRK) group. GIRKs are widely distributed in the brain and play an important role in regulating neural excitability through the activation of various G protein-coupled receptors. In this study, we set out to examine this association using a different population. We first performed a gene-centric association study of the KCNJ3 gene, by genotyping 38 tagSNPs in the Chinese population. We detected nine SNPs that displayed significant association with schizophrenia (lowest P = 0.0016 for rs3106658, Global significance = 0.036). The initial marker SNP (rs3106653) examined in our prior GWAS in the Japanese population also showed nominally significant association in the Chinese population (P = 0.028). Next, we analyzed transcript levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of postmortem brains from patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and from healthy controls, using real-time quantitative RT-PCR. We found significantly lower KCNJ3 expression in postmortem brains from schizophrenic and bipolar patients compared with controls. These data suggest that the KCNJ3 gene is genetically associated with schizophrenia in Asian populations and add further evidence to the “channelopathy theory of psychiatric illnesses”

Tunable energy transfer between dipolar-coupled magnetic disks by stimulated vortex gyration

A wide variety of coupled harmonic oscillators exist in nature1. Coupling between different oscillators allows for the possibility of mutual energy transfer between them2-4 and the information-signal propagation5,6. Low-energy input signals and their transport with low-energy dissipation are the key technical factors in the design of information processing devices7. Here, utilizing the concept of coupled oscillators, we experimentally demonstrated a robust new mechanism for energy transfer between spatially separated dipolar-coupled magnetic disks - stimulated vortex gyration. Direct experimental evidence was obtained by time-resolved soft X-ray microscopy. The rate of energy transfer from one disk to the other was deduced from the two normal modes' frequency splitting caused by dipolar interaction. This mechanism provides the advantages of tunable energy transfer rate, low-power input signal, and low-energy dissipation for magnetic elements with negligible damping. Coupled vortex-state disks are promising candidates for information-signal processing devices that operate above room temperature