Urban expansion is a major driver of habitat fragmentation, shrinking wildlife habitat, and restricting wildlife movements and activity patterns. In this novel environment, species also must adapt to the new composition of wildlife communities. For example, red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are commonly found in urban environments, while their potential predators have also managed to accommodate and even thrive in cities. Consequently, studying species interactions in an urban landscape provides crucial insights into our understanding of species’ plasticity and behavioural adjustments to novel situations. This study aims to understand the potentially novel predator-prey interactions in private gardens of Berlin, specifically between red squirrels and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), raccoons (Procyon lotor), martens (Martes sp.), and cats (Felis catus). We used a raster of 200 camera traps per season, in total 575, located in private gardens of citizens of Berlin, which detected the species during four sampling seasons between 2019 and 2020. We first applied single occupancy models for each species separately to understand the variation in the detection and occupancy of each species at given environmental variables. We then assessed the co-occurrence of squirrels with the meso-carnivores by applying a multi-species occupancy model. We found that squirrels were more likely to occur during autumn than in spring and at a higher percentage of local tree cover, which has been confirmed by previous studies. Additionally, results suggested that squirrels are more likely to occur when cats were absent, suggesting an avoidance of the latter. However, squirrels did not display clear patterns of negative or positive co-occurrence with other wild meso-carnivores. These results demonstrate the complexity of species interactions in urban settings.

Understanding the conservation status of species is imperative to stem global declines. To better inform conservation, we summarize the global conservation status of New World (Family Odontophoridae) and Old World (Family Phasianidae) true quail species. We used data from the 2021 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and IUCN list of threatened categories to conduct our research. We summarized information from the Red List relative to general habitat use, native geographic region, extent/quality of habitat, primary and secondary threats to the population, and reported population trends. We also conducted a literature review for species/genus/families of true quails across a 20-year (2000–2020) timescale to summarize available information. Native ranges for the 47 species of quail include 21 in South America, 14 in North America, nine in Asia, three in Australia, and two in Africa. The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) is migratory and occurs in Africa, Asia, and Europe. According to the 2021 IUCN assessment, 34 (72.3%) species were identified as Least Concern, one (2.1%; Manipur bush quail [Perdicula manipurensis]) was Endangered, and one (2.1%; New Zealand quail [Coturnix novaezelandiae]) is Extinct. Five species each (21.3% total) were recognized as Vulnerable or Near Threatened, and one (2.1%; Himalayan quail [Ophrysia superciliosa]) was Critically Endangered. The quality and quantity of habitats are declining for 11 (23.4%) true quail, with IUCN noting habitat quality and quantity as “unknown” for the remaining 36 (76.6%) species. Threats to most populations are unknown, but intensive agricultural and biological resource use affected half of true quail species. Coturnix and Cytonyx were the most extensively studied genera, composing 47.6–49.2% and 34.0–36.8% of studies within half decades from 2000–2020, respectively. Our review revealed the need for more attention to true quail from researchers and practitioners alike.

Fences are increasingly used globally as a management tool in conservation to reduce wildlife depredations, disease transmission, and wildlife mortality. There are a limited number of studies on the genetic effects of perimeter fencing of protected areas on megaherbivores. Using population genetic analyses on 226 sequences of a 400 bp fragment of the mtDNA Dloop from 10 East African buffalo populations (3 fenced and 7 unfenced), the influence of spatial isolation and fencing on buffalo population genetic diversity and genetic differentiation were examined. Mean gene diversity between fenced and unfenced buffalo populations was not different (fenced: 0.978 ± 0.003, unfenced: 0.973 ± 0.004, P = 0.300) but nucleotide diversity was higher in fenced than unfenced populations (fenced: 0.038 ± 0.019, unfenced: 0.030 ± 0.015, P = 0.005). Genetic differentiation among buffalo populations based on haplotype frequencies and model-based genetic distance was weak (FST = 0.08, ΦST = 0.06) and contributed to 6.2% and 8.5% of total genetic variance respectively. Ninety three percent of population pairs were genetically differentiated by distances determined from haplotype frequencies but only 51% of population pairs were differentiated using modelled distances suggesting recent differentiation. There was no correlation between linearized FST and geographical distance (r = -0.005, P = 0.52), but linearized ΦST was moderately correlated with geographic distance (r = 0.329, P = 0.03). The distance effect was greater when fenced populations were excluded (ΦST: r = 0.464, P = 0.05), suggesting that insularization due to fencing is distorting isolation by distance. SSD analyses revealed that 2 of 3 fenced populations and 2 of 7 unfenced populations had non-unimodal distributions suggesting demographically declining populations. Our study reveals the high genetic diversity but warn that genetic erosion due to isolation, including fencing, is only beginning to have an impact on East African buffalo populations.

Previous studies indicated that ectomycorrhizal (EM) hyphae can access non-host plant roots and inhibit their growth, with the underlying mechanisms remaining largely unexplored. This study established a tripartite co-culture system consisting of EM fungi supported Quercus mongolica and non-host plants Arabidopsis thaliana or Setaria italica. Plant growth, nutrient concentrations, transcriptome (mRNAs and miRNAs), microbial communities, and fatty acids were determined to comprehensively understand the effects of EM on non-host plants. The results showed that roots of non-host plants were colonized by EM hyphae of Scleroderma. EM hyphae colonization significantly inhibited non-host plant growth and decreased their leaf [N], but increased leaf [P] and leaf free fatty acid concentrations. A small amount of 15N was transferred from non-host to Q. mongolica leaves. Foliar N application alleviated EM hyphae inhibited non-host plant growth. EM hyphae colonization activated expression of genes associated with plant-pathogen interaction responses but suppressed those involved in photosynthesis in A. thaliana leaves. Our findings suggest that a growth-defense trade-off, in conjunction with a leaf N: P stoichiometric imbalance, explain the observed inhibition of non-host plant growth by EM hyphae. This study provides insights into ectomycorrhiza mediated host and non-host plants interaction, which is important for plant community establishment.

The increasing affordability of whole genome resequencing in the past five years and numbers of published reference genomes have enabled multispecies population genomic and phylogenomic studies on non-model organisms, but they raise new questions: what reference genomes should be used for read mapping in comparative studies, and what mapping methods provide the greatest and least bias in comparative genomics? Focusing on Eastern North American white oaks (Quercus sect. Quercus), which have an estimated 36 Ma divergence, we compared the effects of mapping resequencing data to four Quercus reference genomes, using three read-mapping methods: Bowtie2 –end-to-end, Bowtie2 –local, and BWA mapping methods. We analyzed the reference genomes and read-mapping methods in a fully factorial design to call variants and invariants for nine Quercus genome resequencing samples, then used the resulting datasets to test how different combinations of reference genome and method influence genotyping accuracy and bias. We found that both the genetic distance of the reference genome to the ingroup samples and mapping method together impacted sample heterozygosity, tree topology, and tree branch lengths. Specifically, the heterozygosity of closely-related sample/reference genome pairs using Bowtie2 –end-to-end alone was not significantly different from the average heterozygosity of samples that match the reference species. The outgroup reference genome resulted in low base pair recovery, low heterozygosity, and unbalanced phylogenies. We concluded that using a closely related, but not conspecific reference is ideal to minimize bias from the reference and Bowtie2 –end-to-end minimizes mismapping enabling the most accurate calls.

Background: Sarcopenia (SP) is described as a prognostic factor in adult and pediatric cancer patients. However, there is no data regarding Wilms Tumor (WT). Our aim was to study the association between sarcopenia and oncological outcomes in WT. Methods: A retrospective study of patients diagnosed with WT at our institution between 2010-2022 was performed. SP at diagnosis was assessed by measuring the psoas muscle area (PMA) at the L4-L5 level on CT/MRI, and was defined as z-score values <-2. Demographics, complications and outcomes were analyzed. Results: Forty-eight patients (50% male) were included, with a mean age of 44.91±31.12 months. Twelve patients (25%) had SP at diagnosis vs. 36 (75%) who did not. Forty-one patients (85.4%) underwent total nephrectomy and 7 (14.6%) nephron-sparing surgery (NSS). No statistical differences were found in demographics, risk group or treatment between the SP and non-sarcopenic (NSP) groups. SP was associated with a higher rate of postsurgical complications (33.3% for the SP-group vs. 5.6% for the NSP-group; p=0.023) and with a higher rate of relapse (33.3% vs. 13.8% respectively; p=0.09). With a median follow-up of 57.75 (1.87-150.8) months, event-free survival (EFS) was lower for the SP-group (84.20±17.45 vs. 135.40±8.65 months respectively; p=0,08). One patient in the SP-group died. The 5-years overall survival (OS) was 89% for the SP-group vs. 100% for the NSP-group. Conclusions: Among our patients, SP can be considered as a risk factor for complications in patients with WT and could be associated with poor outcomes, increasing the risk of relapse and decreasing EFS.

Homeobox (HOX) transcription factors are essential for gene expression during embryonic development and hematopoiesis, and their dysregulation is potentially linked to several types of cancer. Recently, liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has been proposed as a key mechanism in various physiological processes. Using computational tools and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we found that the human HOX transcription factors have a strong potential to undergo phase separation. The large disordered regions of the HOX factors drive phase separation via a fly-casting mechanism, where the terminal segments of the disordered regions extend out to interact with and draw in neighboring molecules. Interestingly, formation of transient secondary structures in the short linear motifs (SliMs) of the disordered regions was observed in the simulations of both isolated molecules and their clustered states. This suggests that HOX transcription factors may act as scaffold proteins and recruit partner molecules, such as TALE proteins, in the biomolecular co-condensates, via interaction with these preformed structural elements. Furthermore, a total of 352 SLiMs were mapped with the droplet-promoting disordered regions of the human HOX transcription factors, which indicated an abundance of possible binding sites. These results have been curated in an interactive webpage ([https://sdelab-hoxverse.netlify.app/](https://sdelab-hoxverse.netlify.app/)) that generates motif maps, indicating the location of the motifs in the disordered regions of the HOX transcription factors. Overall, this work highlights the potential of phase separation of the human HOX factors particularly through the lens of context-dependent interactions, which may lead to novel insights into HOX-related processes.

In this paper, a class of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation model with virus-to-cell HIV infection is proposed to characterize the competitive exclusion and coexistence between the host CD4+T cells and donor CD4+T cells. First, the positivity and boundedness of solutions as well as the basic reproduction number R are obtained. Second, criteria on the locally and globally asymptotical stability of all feasiable equilibria are established. Furthermore, bifurcation analysis is performed on the mixed chimerism infection equilibrium. Finally, the theoretical results are illustrated by numerical simulation, we find that chimerism is an important indicator of model stability, and AIDS may be cured when chimerism reaches a certain threshold.

Wearable devices are increasingly used to evaluate psychophysiological markers of anxiety for continuous health monitoring. Consumer-grade wearable devices, such as Fitbits, have potential for widespread use and dissemination given their affordability and accessibility for both research and clinical settings. However, validation of consumer-grade devices against research-grade devices is required. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the accuracy of the Fitbit Charge 5 against a research-grade wearable device, the Equivital EQ02, in measuring psychophysiological parameters of anxiety, specifically heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin response (GSR). Fifty-five undergraduate students ( Mage = 19.4, SDage = 1.6, 46% female) wore both Fitbit and Equivital devices whilst completing social stressor and reading tasks. Statistical analyses revealed statistically significant moderate bivariate correlations ( rs = .5–.6) and intraclass correlations (ICCs = .53–.72) for HR estimates and moderate intraclass correlations (ICCs = .46–.64) for GSR estimates across conditions ( ps < .05). Furthermore, Bland–Altman analyses revealed that the Fitbit showed a pattern of underestimation of HR (ranging from 24 –32bpm) and overestimation of GSR (ranging from –12.92 to 10.29µS) compared to the Equivital. These findings highlight potential reliability concerns with the Fitbit Charge 5 in measuring physiological data. While the device may have some utility in assessing HR and GSR, it is crucial to approach the interpretation of data from consumer-grade wearable devices with caution due to potential accuracy limitations.

The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized architectural rendering, enhancing both efficiency and creativity. This paper explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) innovations on architectural rendering, specifically comparing the EvolveLab plugin with Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion. EvolveLab, an artificial intelligence (AI) based tool, facilitates advanced rendering techniques, while Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion are cutting-edge generative models. This study evaluates the performance, quality, and applicability of these artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the architectural domain, providing insights into their practical implementations and benefits. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into architectural workflows, designers can achieve unprecedented levels of detail and realism in their renderings.

Background: Environmental pollutants such as diesel exhaust particles (DEP) have been implicated in exacerbating allergic airway inflammation. However, the precise immune cell dynamics triggered by DEP inhalation remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the immunological mechanisms underlying DEP-induced airway inflammation, focusing on the recruitment and activation of monocyte-derived cells and their role in promoting asthma-like responses. Methods: Mice were exposed to DEP via inhalation. Lung immune cells were analyzed using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and flow cytometry, while histological analysis was used to localize DEP within the lungs. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung homogenates were assessed for cytokine levels, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured in alveolar macrophages (AMs). The role of CCR2 + monocytes was further evaluated using CCR2-deficient mice in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model. Results: scRNA-seq analysis revealed increased infiltration of classical monocytes in DEP-exposed lungs, with monocyte-derived AMs contributing to enhanced MCP-1 production. DEP localized predominantly in AMs, driving MCP-1 synthesis via ROS-dependent pathways. DEP exposure aggravated eosinophilic airway inflammation in OVA-challenged mice, with significant CCR2 + monocyte recruitment and elevated cytokine levels, including MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and RANTES. In CCR2-deficient mice, DEP-induced monocyte recruitment and asthma exacerbation were markedly reduced, highlighting the critical role of CCR2 in these processes. Conclusions: DEP exposure promotes airway inflammation through ROS-driven MCP-1 production in AMs, leading to CCR2-dependent recruitment of classical monocytes. These findings offer novel insights into the immune mechanisms underlying DEP-induced respiratory diseases and suggest potential therapeutic targets for intervention.

Speciation is a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology and understanding mechanisms driving speciation remains the foremost research topic within this field. Hybridisation is often involved in speciation and can influence its rates, potentially accelerating, decelerating, or even reversing the process. This study investigates the evolutionary history of the New Guinean bird genus Melidectes, consisting of six species that inhabit various montane regions at different elevations. While most Melidectes species have allopatric distributions, two species overlap in the central mountain range and hybridise. However, plumage differences and elevational adaptations are assumed to maintain the species' boundaries. Utilising specimens from natural history collections and comprehensive genomic analyses, including a de novo genome assembly, we characterise allopatric speciation patterns within the genus and highlight potential future speciation driven by climate change. Contrary to previous hypotheses, our findings suggest that in the two distributionally overlapping species, phenotypic differences do not prevent gene flow. We find limited acoustic differentiation and extensive admixture across most of their distributions. Divergence and admixture levels conform poorly to the current taxonomy and follow a geographical pattern in which the most isolated populations at the ends of the distributions are most divergent and show least admixture. However, their mitochondrial genomes are grouping more in accordance with suggested species identities into two deeply divergent lineages. We propose that this system demonstrates the ephemeral nature of speciation, in which two incipient species have started mixing extensively as they came into secondary contact resulting in nearly complete fusion into a single lineage.

As the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices increases, securing IoT communication protocols becomes critical. Due to the resource constraints of IoT networks, these protocols are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Traditional security measures often fail to address the unique challenges posed by IoT communication, highlighting the need for specialized solutions. This research evaluates security vulnerabilities in key IoT communication protocols: MQTT, CoAP, and XMPP by identifying their strengths and weaknesses in handling various attack scenarios. A practical comparison is made for MQTT, examining the impact of using Transport Layer Security (TLS) on its security, while for XMPP, a theoretical comparison for using JSON Web Token (JWT) authentication is conducted. Additionally, the study explores the use of JWT in combination with a complementary nonce-based solution to enhance security and protect against inadequately addressed attacks in CoAP. The findings offer valuable insights that contribute to the development of more secure implementations for the three IoT communication protocols.

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of emotion regulation training in reducing pain catastrophizing, negative emotion, and pain intensity in women with dysmenorrhea. The research employed a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest and a control group. The statistical population included all women with dysmenorrhea in Tehran in 2020. From this group, 30 participants were purposefully selected based on inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to experimental (15) and control (15) groups. Data were collected using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Chronic Pain Intensity Questionnaire, and Negative emotion Questionnaire. Results from univariate and multivariate covariance revealed that emotion regulation training significantly reduced pain catastrophizing (rumination, magnification, and helplessness), negative emotion, and pain intensity in the experimental group.

The Richmond River forms a significant part of the coastal region of New South Wales (NSW) Australia, and is of great environmental, social and economic importance. The history river reflects its role in providing the needs upon which human life depends – water, fertile soil and food. Paradoxically, human impact since colonisation have threatened those elements. The establishment of settlements on the river reflected the needs at the time, which influenced the transformation that accompanied socio-economic use. Such changes have often been pursued to serve one particular outcome, such as flood mitigation, disregarding its effect elsewhere. The accumulated impact of settlement and land use and the development of its catchment and floodplains are reflected in the state of the river and inscribed in archival records, newspapers, reports and scientific research. Drawing on those records, this paper describes the historical transformation of the river and floodplain and consequences of these actions on catchment and river health.

utilizing the quantum chemical methods. From these studies, we can infer that our designed dyes are promising candidates

LaTaON 2 is a promising visible-light-responsive photocatalyst for water splitting because of its broad visible light absorption and suitable band edge positions. However, the high defect concentration hinders the charge transfer and results in the poor photocatalytic performance of LaTaON 2. Loading proper cocatalysts is one of the most efficient strategies for promoting charge separation/transfer and achieving high reaction activity. In this work, we have used density functional theory calculations to study the depositions of Pt, Ru and Ni single atom cocatalysts on LaTaON 2(010) surface. The most stable adsorption configuration is the same site for all the elements, namely the top of the N atom on the La-terminated surface and the fourfold hollow site on the Ta-terminated surface. The adsorption of metal single atom on Ta-termination is stronger than that on La-termination due to the formation of more bonds. Upon the deposition, no localized impurity states appear in the middle of the forbidden gap since the n d states of metal adatoms are located within the valence band and conduction band of LaTaON 2. The efficiency of the photocatalysts is probed by investigating their ability to adsorb H atom in a thermodynamically manner. Our results reveal that the energetically favorable sites of HER are the N atom on the La-termination and the O and N atoms on the Ta-termination, respectively. Compared with the clean surface, the surfaces with Pt, Ru and Ni single adatoms exhibit higher performance for HER because loading metal cocatalysts can further activate the surface nonmetal atoms and reduce the Gibbs free energy of hydrogen adsorption. The work gives an atom-level insight into the role of metal single atom cocatalysts in LaTaON 2 photocatalyst for hydrogen production.

The brain clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus receives direct retinal input providing the entire body with an internal representation of external solar time. The pathways by which this small nucleus signals so broadly involve co-occurring nervous and diffusible output signals, though the latter are less understood. Portal pathways, such as the well-known pituitary portal pathway, provide a mechanism whereby signals of neural origin can reach local, specialized targets without suffering dilution in the systemic blood supply. The newly discovered pathways involve direct connections between each of the sensory circumventricular nuclei at their point of their attachment to the brain. These nuclei line the brain’s ventricles, and their leaky blood vessels and large perivascular spaces represent a route whereby secretions from the SCN can be relayed and then amplified, providing a pathway to achieve global coordination of circadian clock signaling. This review provides a narrative that incorporates our understanding of SCN neural and diffusible output signals, with particular emphasis on the contribution of brain fluid compartments and the fluids therein.