Surprisingly Little Population Genetic Structure In A Fungus-Associated Beetle Despite Its Exploitation Of Multiple Hosts

In heterogeneous environments, landscape features directly affect the structure of genetic variation among populations by functioning as barriers to gene flow. Resource-associated population genetic structure, in which populations that use different resources (e.g., host plants) are genetically distinct, is a well-studied example of how environmental heterogeneity structures populations. However, the pattern that emerges in a given landscape should depend on its particular combination of resources. If resources constitute barriers to gene flow, population differentiation should be lowest in homogeneous landscapes, and highest where resources exist in equal proportions. In this study, we tested whether host community diversity affects population genetic structure in a beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus) that exploits three sympatric host fungi. We collected B.cornutus from plots containing the three host fungi in different proportions and quantified population genetic structure in each plot using a panel of microsatellite loci. We found no relationship between host community diversity and population differentiation in this species; however, we also found no evidence of resource-associated differentiation, suggesting that host fungi are not substantial barriers to gene flow. Moreover, we detected no genetic differentiation among B.cornutus populations separated by several kilometers, even though a previous study demonstrated moderate genetic structure on the scale of a few hundred meters. Although we found no effect of community diversity on population genetic structure in this study, the role of host communities in the structuring of genetic variation in heterogeneous landscapes should be further explored in a species that exhibits resource-associated population genetic structure

Morphological Correlates Of A Combat Performance Trait In The Forked Fungus Beetle, Bolitotherus Cornutus

Combat traits are thought to have arisen due to intense male-male competition for access to females. While large and elaborate weapons used in attacking other males have often been the focus of sexual selection studies, defensive traits (both morphological and performance) have received less attention. However, if defensive traits help males restrict access to females, their role in the process of sexual selection could also be important. Here we examine the morphological correlates of grip strength, a defensive combat trait involved in mate guarding, in the tenebrionid beetle Bolitotherus cornutus. We found that grip strength was repeatable and differed between the sexes. However, these differences in performance were largely explained by body size and a non-additive interaction between size and leg length that differed between males and females. Our results suggest that leg size and body size interact as part of an integrated suite of defensive combat traits

The Influence of Posture, Applied Force and Perturbation Direction on Hip Joint Viscoelasticity.

Limb viscoelasticity is a critical neuromechanical factor used to regulate the interaction with the environment. It plays a key role in modelling human sensorimotor control, and can be used to assess the condition of healthy and neurologically affected individuals. This paper reports the estimation of hip joint viscoelasticity during voluntary force control using a novel device that applies a leg displacement without constraining the hip joint. The influence of hip angle, applied limb force and perturbation direction on the stiffness and viscosity values was studied in ten subjects. No difference was detected in the hip joint stiffness between the dominant and non-dominant legs, but a small dependency was observed on the perturbation direction. Both hip stiffness and viscosity increased monotonically with the applied force magnitude, with posture being observed to have a slight influence. These results are in line with previous measurements carried out on upper limbs, and can be used as a baseline for lower limb movement simulation and further neuromechanical investigations

COVID-19 Trends Among Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Living in Residential Group Homes in New York State through July 10, 2020

While COVID-19 case rates increased between April 10, 2020 and July 10, 2020 for both groups, from April 10 to May 1, the case rate increased by 2.5 times for people with IDD, from 2,225 to 5,544 cases per 100,000, but only increased by 1.6 times for New York State, from 886 to 1,584 cases per 100,000

Development of triamcionolone based lipid nanocapsules as platforms for ocular drug delivery

Purpose Triamcinolone acetonide (TAA) is considered a first-line drug by itself or as a combined treatment of several intraocular diseases such as macular edema, retinal vein thrombosis, uveitis and age-related macular degeneration. The development of TAA dosage forms is limited due to its poor solubility in water and physiologically acceptable solvents. Lipid nanocapsules (LNCs) are biocompatible systems that allow loading both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. LNCs present a versatile composition and application suitable for different routes of administration. The aim of this work was to develop and characterize a novel lipid LNCs formulation containing TAA as drug delivery system. Methods LNCs were prepared in triplicate using an optimized phase inversion-based method described by Heurtault et al., 2002. Due to the poor solubility of TAA in the oily phase of the original formulation, two co-surfactants (captex® 500p -Glyceryl triacetate and oleic acid) in three proportions (20, 30 and 50%) were tested. The average particle size (APS), polydispersity index (PI), zeta potential (ZP) and entrapment efficacy (EE) were measured. Results Acceptable results were obtained with a 20% of both co-surfactants. LNCs with captex® 500p leads to about (40±1) nm size nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (PI less than 0.2), a negative ZP (-1.2±0.7) mV and EE (85.8±0.8) % while LNCs with oleic acid showed an APS of (35.9± 0.6) nm and a PI below 0.1 with a negative ZP (-3.6±0.6) mV and EE (87±2) %. Moreover, both systems were stable for two months. Conclusions LNCs allow encapsulation of TAA and their properties remain constant over long periods of time. Thus, LNCs are promising systems than may be a potential strategy to improve efficacy and decrease side effects of this drug so used in the treatment of intraocular diseases

Using a Newly Developed Computer-Based Program to Evaluate Learning of Visuomotor Procedures in Children with Autism: A Pilot Study

Inspired by the recent literature, we designed a computer-based program that allows, with the aid of a digital tablet, to evaluate learning of visuomotor procedures, similar to the ones involved in handwriting. After extensive trials on children with typical development, we conducted a preliminary study to assess the effectiveness of this program in evaluating these abilities in children with ASD

Cardio-respiratory monitoring in archery using a smart textile based on flexible fiber bragg grating sensors

In precision sports, the control of breathing and heart rate is crucial to help the body to remain stable in the shooting position. To improve stability, archers try to adopt similar breathing patterns and to have a low heartbeat during each shot. We proposed an easy-to-use and unobtrusive smart textile (ST) which is able to detect chest wall excursions due to breathing and heart beating. The sensing part is based on two FBGs housed into a soft polymer matrix to optimize the adherence to the chest wall and the system robustness. The ST was assessed on volunteers to figure out its performance in the estimation of respiratory frequency (fR) and heart rate (HR). Then, the system was tested on two archers during four shooting sessions. This is the first study to monitor cardio-respiratory activity on archers during shooting. The good performance of the ST is supported by the low mean absolute percentage error for fR and HR estimation (≤1.97% and ≤5.74%, respectively), calculated with respect to reference signals (flow sensor for fR, photopletismography sensor for HR). Moreover, results showed the capability of the ST to estimate fR and HR during different phases of shooting action. The promising results motivate future investigations to speculate about the influence of fR and HR on archers’ performance

Obesity and common pathways of cancer and cardiovascular disease

Abstract Obesity is constantly increasing worldwide due to the progressive globalization of sedentary lifestyle and diet rich in lipids and processed food. Cardiovascular complications and cancer are the two most fearsome long-term sequelae of obesity that justify the recent definition of this threaten as 'obesity epidemic'. Shared biological pathways can be recognized for obesity-induced cardiovascular and oncological complications that might prompt targeted interventions with potentially double beneficial effect. The present review aims at summarizing main common biological pathways linking obesity with cardiovascular diseases and cancer in order to provide a research framework within which therapeutic strategies might have at the same time cardiovascular-protective and cancer-preventive effects

Use of quercetin in animal feed : effects on the P-gp expression and pharmacokinetics of orally administrated enrofloxacin in chicken

Modulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp, encoded by Mdr1) by xenobiotics plays central role in pharmacokinetics of various drugs. Quercetin has a potential to modulate P-gp in rodents, however, its effects on P-gp modulation in chicken are still unclear. Herein, study reports role of quercetin in modulation of P-gp expression and subsequent effects on the pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin in broilers. Results show that P-gp expression was increased in a dose-dependent manner following exposure to quercetin in Caco-2 cells and tissues of chicken. Absorption rate constant and apparent permeability coefficient of rhodamine 123 were decreased, reflecting efflux function of P-gp in chicken intestine increased by quercetin. Quercetin altered pharmacokinetic of enrofloxacin by decreasing area under curve, peak concentration, and time to reach peak concentration and by increasing clearance rate. Molecular docking shows quercetin can form favorable interactions with binding pocket of chicken xenobiotic receptor (CXR). Results provide convincing evidence that quercetin induced P-gp expression in tissues by possible interaction with CXR, and consequently reducing bioavailability of orally administered enrofloxacin through restricting its intestinal absorption and liver/kidney clearance in broilers. The results can be further extended to guide reasonable use of quercetin to avoid drug-feed interaction occurred with co-administered enrofloxacin or other similar antimicrobials.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) pathway activation by quercetin in human lens epithelial cells

Quercetin is a dietary bioflavonoid which has been shown to inhibit lens opacification in a number of models of cataract. The objectives of this study were to determine gene expression changes in human lens epithelial cells in response to quercetin and to investigate in detail the mechanisms underlying the responses. FHL-124 cells were treated with quercetin (10 µM) and changes in gene expression were measured by microarray. It was found that 65% of the genes with increased expression were regulated by the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) pathway. Quercetin (10 and 30 µM) induced a time-dependent increase in HIF-1a protein levels. Quercetin (30 µM) was also responsible for a rapid and long-lasting translocation of HIF-1a from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Activation of HIF-1 signaling by quercetin was confirmed by qRT–PCR which showed upregulation of the HIF-1 regulated genes EPO, VEGF, PGK1 and BNIP3. Analysis of medium taken from FHL-124 cells showed a sustained dose-dependent increase in VEGF secretion following quercetin treatment. The quercetin-induced increase and nuclear translocation of HIF-1a was reversed by addition of excess iron (100 µM). These results demonstrate that quercetin activates the HIF-1 signaling pathway in human lens epithelial cells