Temperature‐correlated shifts in the timing of egg‐laying in House Finches Haemorhous mexicanus

Although temperature‐correlated shifts in the timing of egg‐laying have been documented in numerous bird species, the vast majority of species examined to date have been those that breed in Europe and have an animal‐based diet during breeding. However, given that the timing of breeding can be driven, either in the proximate or in the ultimate sense, by seasonal fluctuations in food availability, the relationship between temperature and laying may differ with diet. Here, we report on patterns of reproductive timing in House Finches Haemorhous mexicanus, a North American species that breeds on a primarily seed‐based diet. Analysing nest records from House Finches in California spanning more than a century, we found that egg‐laying occurred significantly earlier in warmer springs. We also found that although the timing of egg‐laying does not show long‐term changes in most of California, in the hottest region of the state (the southeast desert basin) it has advanced significantly.     

Root density distribution and biomass allocation of co-occurring woody plants on contrasting soils in a subtropical savanna parkland

Plant and Soil - Mechanisms and transporters responsible for Ni uptake in plants are largely unknown. To characterize Ni uptake mechanisms in Ni hyperaccumulators, we compared the effects of...     

Optical sensory arrays for the detection of urinary bladder cancer‐related volatile organic compounds

Non‐invasive detection of urinary bladder cancer remains a significant challenge. Urinary volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a promising alternative to cell‐based biomarkers. Herein, we demonstrate a novel diagnosis system based on an optic fluorescence sensor array for detecting urinary bladder cancer VOCs biomarkers. This study describes a fluorescence‐based VOCs sensor array detecting system in detail. The choice of VOCs for the initial part was based on an extensive systematic search of the literature and then followed up using urinary samples from patients with urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma. Canonical discriminant analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA) were employed and correctly detected 31/48 urinary bladder cancer VOC biomarkers and achieved an overall 77.75% sensitivity and 93.25% specificity by PLS‐DA modelling. All five urine samples from bladder cancer patients, and five healthy controls were successfully identified with the same sensor arrays. Overall, the experiments in this study describe a real‐time platform for non‐invasive bladder cancer diagnosis using fluorescence‐based gas‐sensor arrays. Pure VOCs and urine samples from the patients proved such a system to be promising; however, further research is required using a larger population sample.      

SUPT4H1 Depletion Leads to a Global Reduction in RNA

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High-Resolution Structure of Cas13b and Biochemical Characterization of RNA Targeting and Cleavage

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Pharmacological clearance of senescent cells improves survival and recovery in aged mice following acute myocardial infarction

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in individuals over 60 years old. Aging is associated with an increased prevalence of coronary artery disease and a poorer prognosis following acute myocardial infarction (MI). With age, senescent cells accumulate in tissues, including the heart, and contribute to age‐related pathologies. However, the role of senescence in recovery following MI has not been investigated. In this study, we demonstrate that treatment of aged mice with the senolytic drug, navitoclax, eliminates senescent cardiomyocytes and attenuates profibrotic protein expression in aged mice. Importantly, clearance of senescent cells improved myocardial remodelling and diastolic function as well as overall survival following MI. These data provide proof‐of‐concept evidence that senescent cells are major contributors to impaired function and increased mortality following MI and that senolytics are a potential new therapeutic avenue for MI.     

Photoacoustic and fluorescent effects in multilayer plasmon‐dye interfaces

Progress in understanding the cell biology and diseases depends on advanced imaging and labeling techniques. Here, we address this demand by exploring novel multilayered nanocomposites (MNCs) with plasmonic nanoparticles and absorbing dyes in thin nonabsorbing shells as supercontrast multimodal photoacoustic (PA) and fluorescent agents in the near‐infrared range. The proof of concept was performed with gold nanorods (GNRs) and indocyanine green (ICG) dispersed in a matrix of biodegradable polymers. We demonstrated synergetic PA effects in MNCs with the gold‐ICG interface that could not be achieved with ICG and GNRs alone. We also observed ultrasharp PA and emission peaks that could be associated with nonlinear PA and spaser effects, respectively. Low‐toxicity multimodal MNCs with unique plasmonic, thermal and acoustic properties have the potential to make a breakthrough in PA flow cytometry and near‐infrared spasers in vivo by using the synergetic interaction of plasmonic modes with a nearby absorbing medium.      

Human Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Directed to Seasonal Influenza A Viruses Cross-React with the Newly Emerging H7N9 Virus

In February 2013, zoonotic transmission of a novel influenza A virus of the H7N9 subtype was reported in China. Although at present no sustained human-to-human transmission has been reported, a pandemic outbreak of this H7N9 virus is feared. Since neutralizing antibodies to the hemagglutinin (HA) globular head domain of the virus are virtually absent in the human population, there is interest in identifying other correlates of protection, such as cross-reactive CD8⁺ T cells (cytotoxic T lymphocytes [CTLs]) elicited during seasonal influenza A virus infections. These virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells are known to recognize conserved internal proteins of influenza A viruses predominantly, but it is unknown to what extent they cross-react with the newly emerging H7N9 virus. Here, we assessed the cross-reactivity of seasonal H3N2 and H1N1 and pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus-specific polyclonal CD8⁺ T cells, obtained from HLA-typed study subjects, with the novel H7N9 virus. The cross-reactivity of CD8⁺ T cells to H7N9 variants of known influenza A virus epitopes and H7N9 virus-infected cells was determined by their gamma interferon (IFN-γ) response and lytic activity. It was concluded that, apart from recognition of individual H7N9 variant epitopes, CD8⁺ T cells to seasonal influenza viruses display considerable cross-reactivity with the novel H7N9 virus. The presence of these cross-reactive CD8⁺ T cells may afford some protection against infection with the new virus.