Anti-cancer activities of cytokinin ribosides

Phytochemistry Reviews - Cytokinins are plant hormones and play essential roles in regulating plant growth and development. They also have diverse pharmacological effects in animals and humans....     

Comparison of five different scoring methods in the evaluation of inflammatory infiltration (tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes) in superficial spreading and nodular melanoma

The objective of our study was to compare the five different scoring methods of tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) assessment in a group of 213 cases of superficial spreading and nodular melanoma. The scoring methods include (a) Clark scoring; (b) Melanoma Institute Australia system; (c) scoring system used in the study of Saldanha et al.; (d) scoring system used in the TCGA study and modified by Park et al.; and (e) the system recently proposed by the “International Immuno‐Oncology Biomarker Working Group” for TILs scoring in all solid tumors. Prediction of survival with three main outcomes—disease‐specific‐free survival, local recurrence‐free survival, and distant metastasis‐free survival—was evaluated. The prognostic value of TILs showed statistical significance in univariate analysis regarding all three of the outcomes only for three of the five evaluated methods; the Clark scoring, the Melanoma Institute Australia system, and the system proposed by the “International Immuno‐Oncology Biomarker Working Group”. However, in multivariate analysis with covariants including Breslow thickness, type of melanoma, location, sex, and age, we did not find TILs to be an independent prognostic factor.     

Effects of Bark Beetle Disturbance on Soil Nutrient Retention and Lake Chemistry in Glacial Catchment

Ecosystems - Forest ecosystems worldwide are subjected to human-induced stressors, including eutrophication and acidification, and to natural disturbances (for example, insect infestation,...     

High-quality draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa san ai,an environmental isolate resistant to heavy metals

Extremophiles - The strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa san ai, isolated from an extreme environment (industrial mineral cutting oil, pH 10), is able to survive and persist in the presence of a variety...     

Identification of selective sweeps using a dynamically adjusted number of linked microsatellites

There is currently large interest in distinguishing the signatures of genetic variation produced by demographic events from those produced by natural selection. We propose a simple multilocus statistical test to identify candidate sites of selective sweeps with high power. The test is based on the variability profile measured in an array of linked microsatellites. We also show that the analysis of flanking markers drastically reduces the number of false positives among the candidates that are identified in a genomewide survey of unlinked loci and find that this property is maintained in many population-bottleneck scenarios. However, for a certain range of intermediately severe population bottlenecks we find genomic signatures that are very similar to those produced by a selective sweep. While in these worst-case scenarios the power of the proposed test remains high, the false-positive rate reaches values close to 50%. Hence, selective sweeps may be hard to identify even if multiple linked loci are analyzed. Nevertheless, the integration of information from multiple linked loci always leads to a considerable reduction of the false-positive rate compared to a genome scan of unlinked loci. We discuss the application of this test to experimental data from Drosophila melanogaster.     

New players in the field: Ecology and biocontrol potential of three species of mollusc-parasitic nematodes of the genus Phasmarhabditis

BioControl - Nematodes of the genus Phasmarhabditis are facultative parasites of molluscs with a world-wide distribution but, so far, only one species P. hermaphrodita has been thoroughly studied...     

Reintroduction of large herbivores restored plant species richness in abandoned dry temperate grassland

Naturalistic grazing by large herbivores is an increasingly practiced way of managing habitats with conservational value. It has the potential to restore and enhance biodiversity, creating self-sustainable environments vital for organisms requiring regular disturbances to moderate and/or reverse successional changes. European bison, Exmoor pony, and Tauros cattle were introduced in 2015 to a former military training area in Milovice, Czech Republic. The prevailing vegetation type is a forest-steppe savanna with Bromus erectus-dominated xeric grasslands mixed with deciduous shrubs and trees. After the cessation of military use, the area was abandoned which led to successional changes, including the dominance of tall grasses, litter accumulation, and bush encroachment. In 2017–2021, we monitored grassland vegetation in 30 grazed permanent plots (2?×?2 m) and 5 control plots representative of ungrazed, abandoned vegetation adjacent to the grazed areas. Naturalistic grazing increased species richness and the cover of forbs, while the cover of grasses and legumes was minimally affected. Grazing increased functional diversity of plant community, promoted a compositional change to small statured species and an increased incidence of red-list species. Seven years of continuous grazing increased the conservation value of this forest-steppe vegetation, a habitat type rapidly declining in Europe.

     

Effects of temperature on sperm motility of burbot Lota lota: spontaneous activation and calcium dependency

Several factors regulating activation of spermatozoon motility in Eurasian burbot, Lota lota, including osmolality, calcium (Ca²⁺) ions, and temperature were investigated. Spermatozoon motility in Eurasian burbot, Lota lota was assessed at 4 and 30°C in seminal fluid, isotonic media (with and without Ca²⁺) and hypotonic media (with and without Ca²⁺). Spermatozoa were spontaneously activated in seminal fluid at 20°C and the maximum motility was recorded at 30°C, which is out of the spawning temperature range, indicating that no risk of activation occurs during routine semen handling in artificial insemination. Initiation of spermatozoon motility in L. lota is mediated by Ca²⁺ and sensitivity to Ca²⁺ is dependent on temperature.