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The Pacific sardine, (Sardinops sagax), is a small, coastal pelagic species in the family Clupeidae. Sardine are ecologically important forage for many animals, and have historically supported a large commercial fishery. To expand on previous evolutionary genetic studies of population structure and to test if population structure is present in Pacific sardine was reflective of long-term processes, 434 individuals were examined ranging from Vancouver Island, British Columbia to Bahia Magdalena, Baja California, and from the Gulf of California. A 1062 bp fragment of the cytochrome b gene yielded small but significant fixation estimates of [[PHI].sub.ST] (0.01136, p = 0.032). Concordantly low fixation was observed for two [[PHI].sub.CT] groupings (0.00435, p = 0.128 and 0.00923, p = 0.021). These data support the null hypothesis of an absence of genetic structure in the Pacific sardine., Analysis of population structure is important to the study of species and to the field of evolutionary biology. Molecular analysis of populations in relation to hypothesized barriers to gene flow [...]

Fish is an important resource in Malawi as a source of food for the majority as it provides affordable source of dietary animal protein as well as income. A number of fish species in the Malawi water bodies have their population dwindling. One of the species under serious threat of extinction is the Opsaridium microlepis - a potamodromous fish species that migrate to the rivers during its spawning period and its management seems a nightmare. A number of studies reveal contrasting results on genetic makeup and morphological aspect of this fish species. With changes in the ecosystems of the rivers connecting Lake Malawi, coupled with absence of strong management measures in the major rivers adjoining the lake, problems have arisen in the conservation of potamodromous fish species. This necessitated the present study to investigate if the morphological features of stocks of O. microlepis are the same or not and if they have changed to adapt to changes in the ecosystems. One hundred and eleven O. microlepis fish samples were collected from Linthipe River (48), Bua River (59) and North Rumphi River (4) monthly from March to August 2020 using trawled and static gillnets. Twenty-four morphometric characteristics were measured to determine if any morphological differences existed among the fish samples from the three rivers. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to compare morphology of the fish. Results of the study showed no significant morphological differences among stocks from the three rivers, implying that O. microlepis in these rivers belong to same stock morphologically. The study reveals that the species do not differ morphologically even though they migrate to different rivers for breeding. The study further notes that numerous activities taking place along the tributary rivers (as observed during the study) such as modification of fishing gears as well as fishing methods and the deterioration of the spawning grounds due to siltation from soil erosion caused by deforestation and agriculture, are putting the potamodromous fish species such as O. microlepis under serious threat. The study recommends that the populations of O. microlepis from the rivers can be managed equally since they are morphologically similar. Adopting uniform catchment management and sustainable exploitation of O. microlepis (such as regulations on mesh sizes and fishing methods, closing the rivers from fishing activities during spawning period, river bank and catchment management and restoration) with the aim of conserving the stocks from further overexploitation in these rivers is recommended so that the communities and the people at large continue to utilize the resource sustainably and at the same time, sustaining their livelihood. Key words: Potamodromous, Linthipe River, Bua River, North Rumphi River, principal component analysis, INTRODUCTION Fish morphometrics are studied extensively in fisheries science [1]. Variations in fish morphology and body shape have often been described subjectively and qualitatively [2]. Such kind of morphological variations [...]

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Play is a suite of apparently non‐functional, pleasurable behaviours observed in human and non‐human animals. Although the phenomenon has been studied extensively, no adaptationist behavioural theory of how play evolved can be supported by the available evidence. However, the advancement of the extended evolutionary synthesis and developments in systems biology offer alternative avenues for non‐adaptationist physiological hypotheses. I therefore propose a hypothesis of play, based upon a complex ACh activity that is under agential control of the organism, whereby play initiates ACh‐mediated feedforward and feedback processes which act to: (i) regulate metabolic processes; (ii) form new ACh receptors via ACh mRNA activity; (iii) mediate attention, memory consolidation and learning; and (iv) mediate social behaviours, reproduction and embryonic development. However, play occurs across taxa, but does not occur across all taxonomic groups or within all species of a taxonomic group. Thus, to support the validity of the proposed hypothesis, I further propose potential explanations for this anomaly, which include sampling and observer biases, altricial versus precocial juvenile development, and the influence of habitat niche and environmental conditions on behaviour. The proposed hypothesis thus offers new avenues for study in both the biological and social sciences, in addition to having potential applications in applied sciences, such as animal welfare and biomedical research. Crucially, it is hoped that this hypothesis will promote further study of a valid and behaviourally significant, yet currently enigmatic, biological phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An anonymous online survey in French was used to assess if endometriosis patients would be as ready as unaffected women to donate their menstrual blood for biological research on endometriosis and evaluate potential barriers to such donation. It was distributed in September 2022 by social media and two mailing lists, including a French patient organization. The questionnaire assessed participant age and brief medical history (hormonal contraception, endometriosis diagnosis, type of endometriosis), menstrual experience (menstrual blood abundance, dysmenorrhea), and whether participants would donate menstrual blood. Women who self-declared with an established endometriosis diagnosis versus no endometriosis were compared. Seven hundred seventy-eight women answered the survey. Among women with menstruation (n = 568), 78% are willing to donate menstrual blood for research. Importantly, this proportion was higher in women who declared having an established endometriosis diagnosis (83%, n = 299) compared to self-declared unaffected women (68%, n = 134, p < 0.001). The previous use of a menstrual cup and dysmenorrhea were significantly associated with the willingness to donate menstrual blood, while the use of hormonal contraception was significantly associated with an unwillingness to donate. Only the previous use of the menstrual cup had a predictive value for menstrual blood donation. No significant relationship was observed between menstrual blood donation and age, heavy menstrual bleeding and in endometriosis patients, endometriosis subtypes. In conclusion, women affected or not by endometriosis are largely willing to donate their menstrual blood for research on endometriosis, dysmenorrhea is not a barrier for donation, and women who use a menstrual cup are the more likely to donate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is one of the most advanced sequencing technologies for studying transcriptome landscape at the single-cell revolution. It provides numerous advantages over traditional RNA-seq. Since it was first used to profile single-cell transcriptome in plants in 2019, it has been extensively employed to perform different research in plants. Recently, scRNA-seq was also quickly adopted by the cotton research community to solve lots of scientific questions which have been never solved. In this comment, we highlighted the significant progress in employing scRNA-seq to cotton genetic and genomic study and its future potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug delivery systems play a pivotal role in targeted pharmaceutical transport and controlled release at specific sites. Liposomes, commonly used as drug carriers, constitute a fundamental part of these systems. Moreover, the drug–liposome model serves as a robust platform for investigating interaction processes at both cellular and molecular levels. To advance our understanding of drug carrier uptake mechanisms, we employed fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), leveraging the unique benefits of two-photon (2P) excitation. Our approach utilized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) as a simplified model system for cell membranes, labelled with the amphiphilic fluorescent dye 3,3′-dioctadecyloxa-carbocyanine (DiOC18(3)). Additionally, large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) functioned as a drug carrier system, incorporating the spectrally distinct fluorescent sulforhodamine 101 (SRh101) as a surrogate drug. The investigation emphasized the diverse interactions between GUVs and LUVs based on the charged lipids employed. We examined the exchange kinetics and structural alterations of liposome carriers during the uptake process. Our study underscores the significance of employing 2P excitation in conjunction with FLIM and FCS. This powerful combination offers a valuable methodological approach for studying liposome interactions, positioning them as an exceptionally versatile model system with a distinct technical advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many biomedical applications, laser-assisted methods are essential to enhance the three-dimensional (3D) resolution of a light microscope. In this report, we review possibilities to improve the 3D imaging potential by axial tomography. This method allows us to rotate the object in a microscope into the best perspective required for imaging. Furthermore, images recorded under variable angles can be combined to one image with isotropic resolution. After a brief review of the technical state of the art, we show some biomedical applications, and discuss future perspectives for Deep View Microscopy and Molecular Imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to promote research and make it visible to various audiences has led to the emergence of various digital genres which seek to draw attention to research publications. Tweetorials, long Twitter threads to communicate complex concepts, are increasingly being used by medical researchers to report on and promote their own published articles and preprints, in the competive context of academic publishing. The main purpose of this article is to examine the strategies employed by researchers to recontextualize scientific discourse in these tweetorials. The analysis of a corpus of 50 biomedical publication-promoting tweetorials has revealed five categories of strategies: strategies to establish the authors' authority and credibility; strategies to make claims and arguments convincing; strategies to engage the reader, by creating intimacy and dialogic involvement or by attracting their attention to the tweetorials; strategies to facilitate quick processing of information; and strategies to deal with space constraints. The results suggest that the recontextualization strategies used in the composition of these tweetorials are determined by the promotional purpose of the genre, the audience, the affordances and constraints of the medium, and the genre contextual features. • Recontextualization strategies in publication-promoting tweetorials are analyzed. • These tweetorials recontextualize the discourse of RAs to promote them online. • Frequent use of strategies to engage the audience and attract their attention. • Strategies to facilitate quick processing and deal with space constraints. • The medium and the genre contextual features have an influence on the strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elucidating the 3D nanoscale structure of tissues and cells is essential for understanding the complexity of biological processes. Electron microscopy (EM) offers the resolution needed for reliable interpretation, but the limited throughput of electron microscopes has hindered its ability to effectively image large volumes. We report a workflow for volume EM with FAST-EM, a novel multibeam scanning transmission electron microscope that speeds up acquisition by scanning the sample in parallel with 64 electron beams. FAST-EM makes use of optical detection to separate the signals of the individual beams. The acquisition and 3D reconstruction of ultrastructural data from multiple biological samples is demonstrated. The results show that the workflow is capable of producing large reconstructed volumes with high resolution and contrast to address biological research questions within feasible acquisition time frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of shape memory polymers to change shape upon external stimulation makes them exceedingly useful in various areas, from biomedical engineering to soft robotics. Especially, shape memory hydrogels (SMHs) are well-suited for biomedical applications due to their inherent biocompatibility, excellent shape morphing performance, tunable physiochemical properties, and responsiveness to a wide range of stimuli (e.g., thermal, chemical, electrical, light). This review provides an overview of the unique features of smart SMHs from their fundamental working mechanisms to types of SMHs classified on the basis of applied stimuli and highlights notable clinical applications. Moreover, the potential of SMHs for surgical, biomedical, and tissue engineering applications is discussed. Finally, this review summarizes the current challenges in synthesizing and fabricating reconfigurable hydrogel-based interfaces and outlines future directions for their potential in personalized medicine and clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific validation of the interventions used for the treatment of various ailments in Ayush systems of medicine (ASM) is currently an emerging field. The stakeholders hesitate to promote the traditional knowledge to resolve the current health issues without exploring the scientific rationale and rigorous experimentation. It seems that scientific validation of traditional approaches has become a roadblock for the translation of the aged old experiences and wisdom into clinical practice. This systematic review has been done to study the evolving research trends, existing policy, current regulatory mechanism and publication criteria for the research meant for scientific validation of ASM. This review is based on the analysis of the published clinical trials, ethical and regulatory guidelines published between 2001 and 2022. The major databases were searched such as Medline, AYUSH Research Portal, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science. The analysis showed that the trends for scientific validation studies had continuously been on the rise in the past two decades. The guidelines for validation studies, safety studies, good clinical practices and ethical guidelines for biomedical research had been framed for research in ASM. We observed that there were no defined minimum standards for an intervention to be declared scientifically validated so that the research could be directional. Our study concludes that the concept of scientific validation of traditional approaches has not been comprehensively defined so far. As a result, scientific validation studies are not conducted in such a direction leading to achieve the set targets in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Type 2 diabetes is caused by a complex combination of genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors, which contributes to its rising global incidence. a-amylase is a critical pharmaceutical target for reducing postprandial hyperglycemia in diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Because of the numerous side effects associated with synthetic anti-diabetic drugs, the use of natural substances for diabetes management has grown in popularity in recent years. Methods: In this study, potential a-amylase inhibitors were identified using virtual screening approaches, with a focus on bioactive compounds derived from Zingiber officinale. A comprehensive screening of 383 compounds was performed against the a-amylase active site. Following that, 14 compounds were identified as having greater binding energy efficacy than the control compounds. Results: The compounds LTS0006138, LTS0117761, LTS0176515, LTS0102243, and LTS0018665 exhibited notable interactions with the catalytic residues of a-amylase in this study, particularly by forming hydrogen bonds with multiple residues within the enzyme. Furthermore, an analysis of the molecular properties and descriptors of these five compounds showed promising drug-like properties. Conclusion: These compounds show promise as potential novel a-amylase inhibitors; nevertheless, further experimental validation is required to optimize their potency as a-amylase inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the anatomical structure of the human kidney, particularly its zonal and segmental organization, is crucial for both theoretical knowledge and practical applications in surgical procedures. That is why the purpose of the article was to study the variants of the zonal and segmental structure of human kidneys. Methods: 116 corrosive preparations of the arterial system of the human kidney served as the material for the study. The authors identified their extra-organ branches: a) the number of arterial vessels in the kidney hilum; b) the topographic and anatomical features of the renal artery trunks. In a 3D projection, zones of local zonal blood supply to areas of the renal parenchyma were identified, depending on the di- and trichotomic variants of the division of the main renal artery, A. renalis (I). Results: It was found that some lines of the passage of the zones of natural divisibility of the kidneys with different variants of the division of A. renalis (I). There were from 5 to 7 (6 ± 1) segments in the kidneys on average. It is possible that if a four-zone blood supply system with corresponding zones of natural kidney divisibility is found in the kidneys, where the zones mostly don’t coincide with the boundaries of the passage of segments in their classical version, the number of segments will be even greater. Conclusion: The results of the conducted study show that considering the generally accepted zones and boundaries of the passage of segments with zones of natural divisibility, which were not previously considered, the kidneys have an individual segmental structure, which requires revision. The authors believe that the generally accepted classical five-segment kidney model is outdated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vascular corrosion casting is an old method that has found application by anatomists for a long time. Initially, the viscosity of casting media was very high and thus the technique failed to cast the entire circulatory system from the arterial injection site through small arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, small veins and caval veins. Casting media soon were improved and thus enabled casting of the entire circulatory system. Examination of these vascular casts under the light microscope does not allow a thorough analysis with high resolution. Only when in 1971 Murakami applied Scanning Electron Microscopy SEM. to study vascular corrosion casts a breakthrough was achieved and for the first time, microvascular networks, too, were able to be analysed with a spatial resolution high enough to study the surface of the casts also termed injection replicas. and a depth of focus high enough to examine a large field of view enabling to reliably trace individual vessels either over very short or over extremely long distances. Scanning electron microscopy SEM. is a tool with great potential for morphological research. The images generated via SEM have great resolution and a high depth of focus, which gives SEM micrographs pseudo three-dimensionality. Adversely, the high depth of focus prevents accurate dimensional or spatial measurements of imaged microstructures from either the SEM video-display, printed micrographs or from photonegatives. Macroscopic objects are viewed close up using binocular vision. Binocular vision is also used in microscopy where stereophotogrammetry and related techniques applying stereo paired images, and a variety of hardware tools calculate the third dimension z-coordinate. using the parallax. Morphometric SEM 3D analysis is currently used to analyse i. the geometry of microvascular trees in terms of vascular parameters i.e., diameters, interbranching distances, branching angles and intervascular distances. and ii. to determine bifurcation indices, asymmetry and area ratios given in arterial bifurcations respectively in venous mergings. Moreover, it allows to generate anaglyphic 3D images and to calculate optimality principles underlying the construction and maintenance of such delicate vascular networks i.e. principles of minimal lumen volume, minimal pumping power, minimal lumen surface and minimal endothelial shear force. Aim: The main goal of the method is to characterize microvascular networks in human and animal tissues in order to demonstrate their anatomical situations and to reflect onto their physiological conditions. These methods enable not only to qualitatively describe but also to quantitatively explore the microvascularisation by means of three-dimensional morphometry and thus to compare different developmental stages and progress of disease. Conclusions: The combination of the techniques described above allows a thorough study of microvascular networks in healthy- and pathologic tissues and organs. This enables i. to enhance the knowledge of vascular- / anatomical situations and development, ii. to compare the physiological conditions in health and different pathologies and iii. to gain insights and to develop therapeutical strategies in various clinical pictures, which are critically dependent on a proper functioning vascularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcriptomics is one of the largest areas of research in biological sciences. Aside from RNA expression levels, the significance of RNA spatial context has also been unveiled in the recent decade, playing a critical role in diverse biological processes, from subcellular kinetic regulation to cell communication, from tissue architecture to tumor microenvironment, and more. To systematically unravel the positional patterns of RNA molecules across subcellular, cellular, and tissue levels, spatial transcriptomics techniques have emerged and rapidly became an irreplaceable tool set. Herein, we review and compare current spatial transcriptomics techniques on their methods, advantages, and limitations, as well as applications across a wide range of biological investigations. This review serves as a comprehensive guide to spatial transcriptomics for researchers interested in adopting this powerful suite of technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Family Commelinaceae is considered one of the largest families in the plant kingdom, comprising 41 genera and 731 species. The biodiversity in Maha Sarakham Province plays a significant role in the daily lives of its inhabitants. It’s used as local food, vegetables, medicinal and ornamental plants, rituals, natural dyes, traditional cosmetics, and construction materials. This study aimed to determine Commelinaceae’s diversity, conservation status and traditional uses in Maha Sarakham Province, northeastern Thailand. Seven genera with 26 species of Commelinaceae were collected between January and December 2021 in field surveys. The genus diversity was Murdannia (7 species), Cyanoyis and Tradescantea (5 species each), Commelina (4 species), Callisia (3 species), Amischotolype and Floscopa (1 species each). Callisia repens, Callisia fragrans, and Tradescantia spathacea are popular ornamental species with varied leaf colour. Commelinaceae is significantly distributed in the Kantharawichai District in four ecosystems: deciduous dipterocarp forest (13 species), mixed deciduous forest (4 species), river basin (5 species) and 11 species in home gardens. This study reported 15 native (57.69%) and 11 cultivated species (42.31%) grouped into non-common species (50%) and common species (50%). The phenology is presented from June to September. The conservation status of five species is Least Concern (LC). The study revealed that 16 species from the research area are used for food, ornamental (9 species), rituals (1 species), medicine (4 species), and other purposes (8 species). This study provides important biological resource data on Commelinaceae; to our knowledge, this is the first biodiversity survey of the family [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisms increase in size over time (age) due to excess assimilation over metabolic (respiration) energy demands. Most organisms reach a maximum size with increasing age as gain and loss balance. The von Bertalanffy length-at-age relationship, which is commonly used in fishery assessment calculations, imposes such a maximum size. However, some fished species, such as ocean quahogs, Arctica islandica, are long lived and continue to grow at old age. The Tanaka age-at-length relationship has continued growth at old age, but is rarely used in stock assessment models. A modified form of the von Bertalanffy model is presented, which mimics the continued growth at old age of the Tanaka model by allowing the growth parameter (K) to decline with age. This form is suitable for inclusion in stock assessment models based on von Bertalanffy. The proposed model matches Tanaka curves with precision appropriate for the scatter of data used to fit the curves. The observations of ocean quahog length at age and growth rate from New Jersey and Georges Bank demonstrate the ability of the modified von Bertalanffy relationship to represent continued growth at old age for this fished species. Simulated data generated with continued growth at old age were fit with the Stock Synthesis model (SS3). Results comparing traditional and modified growth relationships showed that the original von Bertalanffy model can reasonably approximate modest nonasymptotic growth as long as the number of observations is sufficient to constrain the parameter values. KEY WORDS: Arctica islandica, shellfish fisheries, length-at-age, growth model, ocean quahog, Bertalanffy growth, INTRODUCTION Most organisms increase in size over time in response to excess assimilated energy above metabolic demands, often termed scope for growth (Barilleet al. 1997, Munroeet al. 2013, Sanders et [...]

Animal personality can be defined as behavioral individual consistency across contexts and time, and sociability may facilitate it. Boldness and exploration can be considered as social conflictive behaviors and in lizards, social scent can either diminish or promote social conflicts. We studied boldness and exploration in Liolaemus albiceps Lobo and Laurent, 1995 and Liolaemus coeruleus Cei and Ortiz, 1983, and tested whether Liolaemus albiceps, a lesser aggressive species, presents higher individual consistency in a socially nonconflictive behavior, such as escape (boldness). We also expect Liolaemus coeruleus, a more aggressive species, to present higher individual consistency in exploration, which is socially more conflictive behavior. We exposed lizards to their own conspecifics and control scent treatments. We calculated the repeatability for boldness and exploration, analyzed their correlation, and tested for behavioral plasticity. Boldness and exploration were repeatable in Liolaemus albiceps at species level, with females showing highly repeatable boldness, and males, highly repeatable exploration. Liolaemus coeruleus exhibited no significant repeatability for either behavior. There was no correlation between these two behaviors, and both species showed plasticity. Liolaemus albiceps individuals were bolder and explored less under conspecific scents. Liolaemus coeruleus individuals explored less in presence of their own scents than novelty scents, and presented interindividual variation in plasticity. A peaceful lifestyle may favor behavioral consistency within individuals, whereas a more aggressive lifestyle may constrain within and among individual consistency in a chemical communication context. However, individual differences in plasticity could counterbalance this constraint. Key words: behavioral types, plasticity, repeatability, Squamata, Introduction Animal personality can be defined as those consistent individual differences in the same behavior across distinct contexts, situations, and times (Dall et al. 2004; Dingemanse et al. 2010; Reale [...]