Spatially Explicit Assessment of Sandhill Crane Exposure to Potential Transmission Line Collision Risk

Infrastructure development can affect avian populations through direct collision mortality. Estimating the exposure of local bird populations to the risk of direct mortality from infrastructure development requires site- and species-specific data, which managers may find difficult to obtain at the scale over which management decisions are made. We quantify the potential exposure of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) to collision with horizontal structures (e.g., transmission lines) within vital wintering grounds of the Middle Rio Grande Valley (MRGV), New Mexico, USA, 2014–2020. Limited maneuverability and visual acuity make sandhill cranes vulnerable to collisions with infrastructure bisecting their flight paths. We used data from 81 global positioning system (GPS)-tagged cranes to estimate the spatially explicit flight height distribution along the MRGV, the passage rate across hypothetical transmission lines, and the resulting exposure rate (exposed passes/crane/day). The exposure rate ranged from 0–0.28 exposed passes/crane/day (median = 0.015) assuming an exposure zone of 7–60 m above ground level, and identified hotspots of potential exposure within the MRGV. Mapped exposure rates can assist in the siting of proposed high-voltage transmission lines, or other infrastructure, to limit effects on sandhill cranes and other avian species at risk of collision. Our approach can be replicated and applied in similar situations where birds are exposed to possible collision with power lines. © 2021 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Wildlife Society.     

Benchmarking and optimization of a high-throughput sequencing based method for transgene sequence variant analysis in biotherapeutic cell line development

In recent years, High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) based methods to detect mutations in biotherapeutic transgene products have become a key quality step deployed during the development of manufacturing cell line clones. Previously we reported on a higher throughput, rapid mutation detection method based on amplicon sequencing (targeting transgene RNA) and detailed its implementation to facilitate cell line clone selection. By gaining experience with our assay in a diverse set of cell line development programs, we improved the computational analysis as well as experimental protocols. Here we report on these improvements as well as on a comprehensive benchmarking of our assay. We evaluated assay performance by mixing amplicon samples of a verified mutated antibody clone with a non-mutated antibody clone to generate spike-in mutations from ∼60% down to ∼0.3% frequencies. We subsequently tested the effect of 16 different sample and HTS library preparation protocols on the assay's ability to quantify mutations and on the occurrence of false-positive background error mutations (artifacts). Our evaluation confirmed assay robustness, established a high confidence limit of detection of ∼0.6%, and identified protocols that reduce error levels thereby significantly reducing a source of false positives that bottlenecked the identification of low-level true mutations.     

An in vitro study of Ocimum sanctum as a chemotherapeutic agent on oral cancer cell-line

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most commom cancer in the world. If remain untreated for several years, it may be fatal. Hence, it is important to prevent and treat OSCC at an early stage. In this study the effect of aqueous and dry leaves extract of Ocimum sanctum was observed on Ca9-22 cell line, which is an OSCC cell line. For this, Ca9-22 cell line was cultured and maintained. After 24 h, the cells were treated with aqueous and dry leaves extract of Ocimum sanctum plant. Viability of the cancerous cells were studied by 3-(4, 5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and neutral red uptake (NRU) assay. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC), lethal concentration₂₅ (LC₂₅), lethal concentration₅₀ (LC₅₀) and highest permissive concentration (HPC) was calculated by probit computational method. Experimentally, the MIC value was 5 mg/L, whereas the HPC was 30 mg/L of the plant extract in aqueous state. For the dry extract the MIC was 5 mg/L whereas the HPC was 35 mg/L for both MTT and NRU assays. For MTT assay LC values: 7.41 (LC₂₅), 14.79 (LC₅₀) and 26.91 mg/L (LC₇₅) for aqueous extract and 12.58 (LC₂₅), 20.89 (LC₅₀), 29.51 mg/L (LC₇₅) for dry extract. For NRU assay LC values were 10.23 (LC₂₅), 14.79 (LC₅₀) and 20.89 mg/L (LC₇₅) aqueous extract, and 16.59 (LC₂₅), 23.44 (LC₅₀), 30.19 mg/L (LC₇₅) dry extract of the plant. From the above study it was concluded that, Ocimum sanctum have anti-cancerous activity. It can further be used for therapeutic purposes.     

A method for 3D detection of symmetry line in asymmetric postures

The methods for symmetry line detection presented in the literature are typically suited to analyse symmetric upright postures, both standing and seated. The proposed method focuses on the symmetry line detection in subjects assuming asymmetric postures in which this line falls far outside the sagittal plane. The proposed approach evaluates the symmetry line by means of an autoregressive process in order to determine the set of planes suited to slice the back coherently with its geometric spatial configuration. The method is analysed assuming the cutaneous marking as reference and it is compared with a previous one, also developed by these authors. Results are analysed and critically discussed.     

A general synthetic method toward uridylylated picornavirus VPg proteins

Small proteins called viral protein genome‐linked (VPg), attached to the 5′‐end of the viral RNA genome are found as common structure in the large family of picornaviruses. The replication of these viruses is primed by this VPg protein linked to a single uridylyl residue. We report a general procedure to obtain such nucleoproteins employing a pre‐uridylylated tyrosine building block in an on‐line solid phase‐based approach. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous Determination of Purine and Pyrimidine Metabolites in Hprt-Deficient Cell Lines

Genetic mutations in the purine salvage enzyme, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT), are known to cause Lesch–Nyhan syndrome and Kelley–Seegmiller syndrome. In patients, purine metabolism is different from that of normal persons. We have previously developed a method for simultaneously determining the concentration of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and nucleotides. This system was applied to determine the concentrations of nucleosides and nucleotides in HPRT-deficient cell lines. The amount of inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP) was different in Lesch–Nyhan syndrome, Kelley–Seegmiller syndrome, and control cell lines. The difference in the amount of IMP confirmed the mutation of the enzyme.     

Characterization of an alpine tree line using airborne LiDAR data and physiological modeling

Understanding what environmental drivers control the position of the alpine tree line is important for refining our understanding of plant stress and tree development, as well as for climate change studies. However, monitoring the location of the tree line position and potential movement is difficult due to cost and technical challenges, as well as a lack of a clear boundary. Advanced remote sensing technologies such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) offer significant potential to map short individual tree crowns within the transition zone despite the lack of predictive capacity. Process‐based forest growth models offer a complementary approach by quantifying the environmental stresses trees experience at the tree line, allowing transition zones to be defined and ultimately mapped. In this study, we investigate the role remote sensing and physiological, ecosystem‐based modeling can play in the delineation of the alpine tree line. To do so, we utilize airborne LiDAR data to map tree height and stand density across a series of altitudinal gradients from below to above the tree line within the Swiss National Park (SNP), Switzerland. We then utilize a simple process‐based model to assess the importance of seasonal variations on four climatically related variables that impose non‐linear constraints on photosynthesis. Our results indicate that all methods predict the tree line to within a 50 m altitudinal zone and indicate that aspect is not a driver of significant variations in tree line position in the region. Tree cover, rather than tree height is the main discriminator of the tree line at higher elevations. Temperatures in fall and spring are responsible for the major differences along altitudinal zones, however, changes in evaporative demand also control plant growth at lower altitudes. Our results indicate that the two methods provide complementary information on tree line location and, when combined, provide additional insights into potentially endangered forest/grassland transition zones.     

Seasonal variation in grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) abundance in the Ngorongoro Crater,Tanzania

There are few quantitative estimates of numbers of Africa's endangered grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum), yet conservation of this species will depend on such estimates. We used line-transect distance sampling on multiple 2-km segments of an existing road network to estimate the abundance of grey crowned cranes in a portion of the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, during the wet (April) and dry (August) seasons of 2016. We analysed data from 106 transects on which we observed 174 groups of 1–61 cranes (median and mode = 2). Abundance and density estimates on the areas surveyed were best modelled without group size as a covariate and indicated that mean crane densities were significantly lower in the wet season (2.4/km²) than in the dry season (20.2 cranes/km²). Even based on survey areas of different size, minimum estimated numbers of cranes in the Crater (wet season: 108–133; dry season: 362–401) likely reflect the concentration of cranes in the nonbreeding (dry) season in the perennial wetlands of the Crater and reinforce the notion of the Crater being a key seasonal habitat for crane populations in northern Tanzania, as previously suggested in the literature.