Education Reform in Democratic Spain.

Education Reform in Democratic Spain. Oliver Boyd-Barrett and Pamela O'Malley, eds. New York: Routledge, 1995. 265 pp.     

The P2X7 receptor antagonist JNJ-47965567 administered thrice weekly from disease onset does not alter progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in SOD1G93A mice

Purinergic Signalling - The ATP-gated P2X7 ion channel has emerging roles in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression. Pharmacological blockade of P2X7 with Brilliant Blue G can ameliorate...     

Could the glycosylation analysis of seminal plasma clusterin become a novel male infertility biomarker?

Male infertility is becoming a rapidly growing problem around the world, mainly in the highly developed countries. Seminal proteome composition seems to be one of the crucial factors of the proper course of fertilization ‐ clusterin (CLU) is among the most important ones. CLU, as one of the crucial seminal plasma glycoproteins, plays a very important role in sperm capacitation and immune tolerance in the female reproductive tract. CLU is also known as a sensitive marker of oxidative stress. It has six n ‐glycosylation sites and also exhibits chaperone activity. An analysis of changes in the profile and degree of CLU glycosylation may shed some new light on the molecular mechanisms of the fertilization process and may be used as an additional diagnostic marker of male fertility. This study constitutes a review of the recently available literature concerning human seminal CLU, including changes in its glycosylation, analyzed in the context of human reproduction.     

PEATmoss (Physcomitrella Expression Atlas Tool): a unified gene expression atlas for the model plant Physcomitrella patens

Physcomitrella patens is a bryophyte model plant that is often used to study plant evolution and development. Its resources are of great importance for comparative genomics and evo‐devo approaches. However, expression data from Physcomitrella patens were so far generated using different gene annotation versions and three different platforms: CombiMatrix and NimbleGen expression microarrays and RNA sequencing. The currently available P. patens expression data are distributed across three tools with different visualization methods to access the data. Here, we introduce an interactive expression atlas, Physcomitrella Expression Atlas Tool (PEATmoss), that unifies publicly available expression data for P. patens and provides multiple visualization methods to query the data in a single web‐based tool. Moreover, PEATmoss includes 35 expression experiments not previously available in any other expression atlas. To facilitate gene expression queries across different gene annotation versions, and to access P. patens annotations and related resources, a lookup database and web tool linked to PEATmoss was implemented. PEATmoss can be accessed at https://peatmoss.online.uni-marburg.de     

Reductions in the dietary niche of southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) from the Holocene to the Anthropocene

The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal hunted to near extinction during the 1800s. Despite their well‐known modern importance as a keystone species, we know little about historical sea otter ecology. Here, we characterize the ecological niche of ancient southern sea otters (E. lutris nereis) using δ¹³C analysis and δ¹⁵N analysis of bones recovered from archaeological sites spanning ~7,000 to 350 years before present (N = 112 individuals) at five regions along the coast of California. These data are compared with previously published data on modern animals (N = 165) and potential modern prey items. In addition, we analyze the δ¹⁵N of individual amino acids for 23 individuals to test for differences in sea otter trophic ecology through time. After correcting for tissue‐specific and temporal isotopic effects, we employ nonparametric statistics and Bayesian niche models to quantify differences among ancient and modern animals. We find ancient otters occupied a larger isotopic niche than nearly all modern localities; likely reflecting broader habitat and prey use in prefur trade populations. In addition, ancient sea otters at the most southerly sites occupied an isotopic niche that was more than twice as large as ancient otters from northerly regions. This likely reflects greater invertebrate prey diversity in southern California relative to northern California. Thus, we suggest the potential dietary niche of sea otters in southern California could be larger than in central and northern California. At two sites, Año Nuevo and Monterey Bay, ancient otters had significantly higher δ¹⁵N values than modern populations. Amino acid δ¹⁵N data indicated this resulted from shifting baseline isotope values, rather than a change in sea otter trophic ecology. Our results help in better understanding the contemporary ecological role of sea otters and exemplify the strength of combing zooarchaeological and biological information to provide baseline data for conservation efforts.     

Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo Nest-Site Selection and Success in Restored and Natural Riparian Forests

The western distinct population segment of yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus; western cuckoo) has been extirpated from most of its former breeding range in the United States because of widespread loss and degradation of riparian cottonwood (Populus spp.)-willow (Salix spp.) forests. Restoration and management of breeding habitat is important to the recovery of this federally threatened species, and identification of high-quality breeding habitat can help improve the success of recovery. In 2005, the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, a long-term, multi-agency effort, was initiated to maintain and create wildlife habitat within the historical floodplain of the lower Colorado River (LCR) for federally endangered and threatened species, including western cuckoos. We conducted an empirical, multi-scale field investigation from 2008–2012 to identify habitat characteristics selected by nesting western cuckoos along the LCR. Multiple logistic regression models revealed that western cuckoos selected nest sites characterized by increased densities of small, native, early successional trees measuring 8–23 cm diameter at breast height, and lower diurnal temperature compared to available habitat in restoration and natural forests. Nesting cuckoos selected sites with increased percent canopy closure, which was also important for nest success in restoration sites along the LCR. Our results show habitat components selected by nesting western cuckoos in restoration and natural riparian forests and can help guide the creation, enhancement, and management of riparian forests with habitat conditions necessary to promote nesting of western cuckoos. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

A QTL on the Ca7 chromosome of chickpea affects resistance to the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei

Molecular Breeding - Plant height is vital for crop yield by influencing plant architecture and resistance to lodging. Although lots of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling plant height had...