Hyoscyamine (HYO) and scopolamine (SCO) are tropane alkaloids acting as anticholinergic factors on the parasympathetic nervous system in humans and are produced by Solanaceous plants. Two strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, A4 and LBA9402, were used to infect Atropa acuminata Royle ex Miers and Atropa belladonna L. leaf explants. A. acuminata was inoculated either by direct infection or sonicated-assisted A. rhizogenes-mediated transformation (SAAT) was performed. A. belladonna was inoculated with the A4 strain using a direct method. The selected hairy root lines of both species were elicited with 50 mM methyl-β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), 0.5 μM coronatine (Cor) or 50 mM β-CD + 0.5 μM Cor on Day 14 of culture. The elicitor effect on growth and HYO and SCO content was analyzed after one (T1) and two (T2) weeks of treatment. In A. acuminata explants, the highest transformation percentage (T%) was obtained with strain A4 and the SAAT method (T% 96.43). Cor significantly reduced the growth of A. acuminata hairy roots (fresh weight and dry weight [DW] 2.52 and 0.3 g, respectively), whereas β-CD increased their DW (0.4 g). Also, the combined β-CD + Cor treatment had a positive significant effect on the DW of A. belladonna hairy roots (0.41 g). In A. acuminata hairy roots, the HYO level was lower under Cor treatment than in the control at both sampling times. In contrast, the SCO content was increased 10-fold by Cor elicitation at T1 compared to the control (10.95 mg g-1 DW) and was also positively affected by β-CD + Cor. In A. belladonna hairy roots, all the elicitors had a negative effect on both HYO and SCO production. This report is the first assessment of the effect of β-CD and Cor elicitors on tropane alkaloid production.The extinction of species is a non-random process, and understanding why some species are more likely to go extinct than others is critical for conservation efforts. Functional trait-based approaches offer a promising tool to achieve this goal. In forests, deadwood-dependent (saproxylic) beetles comprise a major part of threatened species, but analyses of their extinction risk have been hindered by the availability of suitable morphological traits. To better understand the mechanisms underlying extinction in insects, we investigated the relationships between morphological features and the extinction risk of saproxylic beetles. Specifically, we hypothesised that species darker in colour, with a larger and rounder body, a lower mobility, lower sensory perception and more robust mandibles are at higher risk. We first developed a protocol for morphological trait measurements and present a database of 37 traits for 1,157 European saproxylic beetle species. Based on 13 selected, independent traits characterising aspidly growing field of ecological and conservation studies of deadwood.Camera traps are an increasingly popular tool to monitor wildlife distributions. However, traditional analytical approaches to camera trap data are difficult to apply to visible wildlife characteristics in single images, such as infection status. Several parasites produce visible signs of infection that could be sampled via camera traps. Sarcoptic mange Sarcoptes scabiei is an ideal disease to study using cameras because it results in visible hair loss and affects a broad host range. Here, we developed a multi-state occupancy model to estimate the occurrence of mange in coyotes Canis latrans across an urban gradient. This model incorporates a secondary detection function for apparent by-image infection status to provide detection-corrected estimates of mange occurrence. We analysed a multi-year camera trap dataset in Chicago, Illinois, United States, to test whether the apparent occurrence of sarcoptic mange in coyotes Canis latrans increases with urbanization or varies through time. We documented visible sigse. More generally, our model could provide detection-corrected occupancy estimates of visible characteristics that vary by image such as body condition or injuries.Gaslighting is an insidious, pernicious form of bullying that is gaining notoriety in nursing academia anecdotally. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ABT-888.html Attempting to identify the behaviors associated with gaslighting are difficult because of the subtle nature with which gaslighting is performed by the perpetrator. Traditional tools/models used for identifying bullying and horizontal violence are not sensitive enough to pick up gaslighting behaviors. Perpetual lies and mistruths, vexatious or frivolous complaints, praise and positive reinforcement, the use of blame or mobbing, and coercion are some of the tactics a gaslighter will use to create confusion and chaos for the gaslightee. The psychological harm for the gaslightee can lead to self-doubt, hypervigilance, depression, anxiety, addiction, and suicidal ideation as well as the physical symptoms associated with stress. Left with very few choices the gaslightee either adheres to the behavior or leaves. It is important to raise awareness and perhaps education and training of this form of bullying behavior because of the deleterious effects it has personally and professionally.Climate change may have dramatic consequences for communities through both direct effects of peak temperatures upon individual species and through interspecific mismatches in thermal sensitivities of interacting organisms which mediate changes in interspecific interactions (i.e. predation). Despite this, there is a paucity of information on the patterns of spatial physiological sensitivity of interacting species (at both landscape and local scales) which could ultimately influence geographical variation in the effects of climate change on community processes. In order to assess where these impacts may occur, we first need to evaluate the spatial heterogeneity in the degree of mismatch in thermal tolerances between interacting organisms. We quantify the magnitude of interspecific mismatch in maximum (CTmax ) and minimum (CTmin ) thermal tolerances among a predator-prey system of dragonfly and anuran larvae in tropical montane (242-3,631 m) and habitat (ponds and streams) gradients. To compare thermal mismatchey naiad predators may further increase the vulnerability of lowland tadpoles to warming due to potentially enhanced indirect effects of higher predation rates by more heat-tolerant dragonfly predators. However, further experimental work is required to establish the individual and population-level consequences of this thermal tolerance mismatch upon biotic interactions such as predator-prey. .
Microaggressions, a concept originally introduced for ethnic minorities, represent subtle day-to-day discrimination, damaging the psychological health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals as well. This study aimed to assess whether microaggressions occur in psychotherapists' assessments of clients who identify as either lesbian or transgender woman when compared with those identifying as heterosexual woman.
The study included a sample of 135 licensed psychotherapists (110 cisgender women and 25 cisgender men). Participants were presented with an audio file of a woman introducing herself during her first therapy session. Three versions were presented a transgender, a lesbian, and a heterosexual client. Participants were asked to assess the clinical relevance of 10 questions defined as neutral (N = 5) and microaggressive (N = 5), used to determine a clinical impression of the client. A repeated measure analysis of variance was conducted to understand the likelihood of clients of different gender identity and sexual orientation receiving microaggressions.
Participants were more prone to consider microaggressive questions relevant where the client identified as either lesbian or transgender.
The findings highlighted a bias against lesbian and trans women in evaluating the relevance and usefulness of clinical information while making a psychological assessment of a case.
The findings highlighted a bias against lesbian and trans women in evaluating the relevance and usefulness of clinical information while making a psychological assessment of a case.Understanding the forces that shape species distributions is increasingly important in a fast-changing world. Although major disturbance events can adversely affect natural populations, they can also present new opportunities, for example by opening up habitat for colonization by other lineages. Following extensive geographic sampling, we use genomic data to infer a range extension following disturbance for an ecologically important intertidal macroalgal species. Specifically, we genotyped 288 southern bull kelp (Durvillaea) plants from 28 localities across central New Zealand. All specimens from the North Island were expected to be D. antarctica, but unexpectedly 10 samples from four sites were identified as D. poha. Extensive sampling from the northern South Island (105 samples at five locations) confirmed the absence of D. poha north of the Kaikōura Peninsula. The North Island specimens of D. poha therefore reveal a biogeographic disjunction, some 150 km northeast of the nearest (South Island) population of this species. Based on strong geographic correspondence between these North Island samples and historic disturbance, we infer that tectonic upheaval, particularly earthquake-generated landslides, likely extirpated local D. antarctica and created an opportunity for a northward range expansion event by D. poha. Close phylogenomic relationships between this new North Island population and South Island samples support a geologically recent northward expansion, rather than a deeper evolutionary origin. These findings indicate the potential of large-scale disturbances to facilitate sudden biogeographic range expansions, and they emphasize the ability of genomic analyses with fine-scale sampling to reveal long-lasting signatures of past disturbance, dispersal, and colonization.Infectious diseases affecting habitat-forming species can have significant impacts on population dynamics and alter the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. Recently, a fungal infection was described as the causative agent of necrotic lesions on the stipe of the forest-forming macroalga Phyllospora comosa, a disease named "stipe rot" (SR). Here, we developed a quantitative PCR (qPCR) method for rapid detection and quantification of this pathogen, which was applied to evaluate the level of SR infection in eight P. comosa populations spanning the entire latitudinal distribution of this species along southeastern Australia. We also investigated the relationship between the abundance and prevalence of Stipe Rot Fungus (SRF) and potential host chemical defenses as well as its relationship with morphological and ecophysiological traits of P. comosa. qPCR estimates of SRF abundance reflected the levels of infection estimated by visual assessment, with higher numbers of SRF copies being observed in individuals showing high or intermediate levels of visual symptoms of SR. Concordance of conventional PCR and visual assessments was 92 and 94%, respectively, compared to qPCR detection. SRF prevalence was positively related to fucoxanthin content and herbivory, but not significant related to other traits measured (phlorotannin content, total length, thallus diameter, stipe width, number of branches, frond width, fouling, bleaching, gender, and photosynthetic efficiency). These results provide confidence for previous reports of this disease based upon visual assessments only, contribute to the development of monitoring and conservation strategies for safeguarding P. comosa forests, and generate insights into potential factors influencing host-pathogen interactions in this system.