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X-linked Alport syndrome (XLAS) is a progressive kidney disease caused by genetic abnormalities of COL4A5. Lack of collagen IV α5 chain staining and "basket-weave" by electron microscopy (EM) in glomerular basement membrane (GBM) are its typical pathology. However, the causal relationship between GBM defects and progressive nephropathy is unknown. We analyzed sequential pathology in a mouse model of XLAS harboring a human nonsense mutation of COL4A5. In mutant mice, nephropathy commenced from focal GBM irregularity by EM at 6 weeks of age, prior to exclusive crescents at 13 weeks of age. Low-vacuum scanning EM demonstrated substantial ragged features in GBM, and crescents were closely associated with fibrinoid exudate, despite lack of GBM break and podocyte depletion at 13 weeks of age. Crescents were derived from two sites by different cellular components. One was CD44 + cells, often with fibrinoid exudate in the urinary space, and the other was accumulation of α-SMA + cells in the thickened Bowman's capsule. These changes finally coalesced, leading to global obliteration. In conclusion, vulnerability of glomerular and capsular barriers to the structural defect in collagen IV may cause non-necrotizing crescents via activation of PECs and migration of interstitial fibroblasts, promoting kidney disease in this model.Animals thriving in hot deserts rely on extraordinary adaptations and thermoregulatory capacities to cope with heat. Uncovering such adaptations, and how they may be favoured by selection, is essential for predicting climate change impacts. Recently, the arid-adapted zebra finch was discovered to program their offspring's development for heat, by producing 'heat-calls' during incubation in hot conditions. Intriguingly, heat-calls always occur during panting; and, strikingly, avian evaporative cooling mechanisms typically involve vibrating an element of the respiratory tract, which could conceivably produce sound. Therefore, we tested whether heat-call emission results from a particular thermoregulatory mechanism increasing the parent's heat tolerance. We repeatedly measured resting metabolic rate, evaporative water loss (EWL) and heat tolerance in adult wild-derived captive zebra finches (n = 44) at increasing air temperatures up to 44 °C. We found high within-individual repeatability in thermoregulatory patterns, with heat-calling triggered at an individual-specific stage of panting. As expected for thermoregulatory mechanisms, both silent panting and heat-calling significantly increased EWL. However, only heat-calling resulted in greater heat tolerance, demonstrating that "vocal panting" brings a thermoregulatory benefit to the emitter. Our findings therefore not only improve our understanding of the evolution of passerine thermal adaptations, but also highlight a novel evolutionary precursor for acoustic signals.Swimming performance is a key feature that mediates fitness and survival in aquatic animals. Dispersal, habitat selection, predator-prey interactions and reproduction are processes that depend on swimming capabilities. Testing the critical swimming speed (Ucrit) of fish is the most straightforward method to assess their prolonged swimming performance. We analysed the contribution of several predictor variables (total body length, experimental water temperature, time step interval between velocity increments, species identity, taxonomic affiliation, native status, body shape and form factor) in explaining the variation of Ucrit, using linear models and random forests. [https://www.selleckchem.com/products/2-d08.html https://www.selleckchem.com/products/2-d08.html] compiled in total 204 studies testing Ucrit of 35 inland fishes of the Iberian Peninsula, including 17 alien species that are non-native to that region. We found that body length is largely the most important predictor of Ucrit out of the eight tested variables, followed by family, time step interval and species identity. By contrast, form factor, temperature, body shape and native status were less important. Results showed a generally positive relationship between Ucrit and total body length, but regression slopes varied markedly among families and species. #link# By contrast, linear models did not show significant differences between native and alien species. In conclusion, the present study provides a first comprehensive database of Ucrit in Iberian freshwater fish, which can be thus of considerable interest for habitat management and restoration plans. The resulting data represents a sound foundation to assess fish responses to hydrological alteration (e.g. water flow tolerance and dispersal capacities), or to categorize their habitat preferences.Publicly available pharmacogenomics (PGx) databases enable translation of genotype data into clinically actionable information. As variation within pharmacogenes is population-specific, this study investigated the spectrum of 25 clinically relevant pharmacogenes in the Thai population (n = 291) from whole genome sequencing. The bioinformatics tool Stargazer was used for phenotype prediction, through assignment of alleles and detection of structural variation. Known and unreported potentially deleterious PGx variants were identified. Over 25% of Thais carried a high-risk diplotype in CYP3A5, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, NAT2, SLCO1B1, and UGT1A1. CYP2D6 structural variants accounted for 83.8% of all high-risk diplotypes. Of 39 known PGx variants identified, six variants associated with adverse drug reactions were common. Allele frequencies of CYP3A5*3 (rs776746), CYP2B6*6 (rs2279343), and NAT2 (rs1041983) were significantly higher in Thais than East-Asian and global populations. 121 unreported variants had potential to exert clinical impact, majority were rare and population-specific, with 60.3% of variants absent from gnomAD database. This study demonstrates the population-specific variation in clinically relevant pharmacogenes, the importance of CYP2D6 structural variation detection in the Thai population, and potential of unreported variants in explaining drug response. These findings are essential in development of dosing guidelines, PGx testing, clinical trials, and drugs.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health issue and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. How to identify the high-risk CKD patients is very important to improve the long-term outcome. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores are clinically useful scores to evaluate the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, there was no literature discussing about the usefulness of CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores for cardiovascular (CV) and all-cause mortality prediction in CKD patients. This longitudinal study enrolled 437 patients with CKD. CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores were calculated for each patient. CV and all-cause mortality data were collected for long-term outcome prediction. The median follow-up to mortality was 91 (25th-75th percentile 59-101) months. There were 66 CV mortality and 165 all-cause mortality. In addition to age and heart rate, CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores (both P value  less then  0.001) were significant predictors of CV and all-cause mortality in the multivariate analysis.