Conwayguldborg3689

By inferring and validating plant-mediated communities of competing herbivore species, we find that observed combinations of herbivores have an expected probability of species persistence higher than half of all potential combinations. Our findings open up the opportunity to establish a formal probabilistic and predictive understanding of the composition of ecological communities.AbstractSoil microorganisms influence a variety of processes in plant communities. Many theoretical and empirical studies have shown that dynamic feedbacks between plants and soil microbes can stabilize plant coexistence by generating negative frequency-dependent plant population dynamics. However, inferring the net effects of soil microbes on plant coexistence requires also quantifying the degree to which they provide one species an average fitness advantage, an effect that has received little empirical attention. see more We conducted a greenhouse study to quantify microbially mediated stabilization and fitness differences among 15 pairs of annual plants that co-occur in southern California grasslands. We found that although soil microbes frequently generate negative frequency-dependent dynamics that stabilize plant interactions, they simultaneously generate large average fitness differences between species. The net result is that if the plant species are otherwise competitively equivalent, the impact of plant-soil feedbacks is to often favor species exclusion over coexistence, a result that becomes evident only by quantifying the microbially mediated fitness difference. Our work highlights that comparing the stabilizing effects of plant-soil feedbacks to the fitness difference they generate is essential for understanding the influence of soil microbes on plant diversity.Vibrio coralliilyticus, a prominent pathogenic bacteria, is known to cause tissue damage in the coral Pocillopora damicornis and is attracted towards the coral via chemotaxis. However, the potential of V. coralliilyticus to infect most of the other coral hosts via chemotaxis is unknown. The present study used capillary assays to quantify the chemotactic response of V. coralliilyticus to the mucus of four tank-cultivated corals, Cataphyllia jardine, Mussidae sp., Nemenzophyllia turbida and Euphyllia ancora and mucus from three wild corals, Acropora sp., Porites sp. & Montipora sp. The bacteria showed positive chemotactic response to each coral mucus tested, with the highest response recorded to the mucus of Acropora sp and the lowest response to the mucus of Montipora sp. A microfluidic chip was then used to assess the chemotactic preference of V. coralliilyticus to the mucus of the tank cultivated corals. Here too, the bacteria showed positive response with a slightly different ranking order. The strong chemotactic response of V. coralliilyticus towards the mucus tested could indicate a broader host range of V. coralliilyticus and in extension its threat to weakened coral reefs worldwide.Studies concerning the process of aging for women tend to focus on age-related physical changes and their correlates, often overlooking the psychosocial aspects of aging. The current study aims to understand women's experiences of aging, while also validating recently developed separate Q-sort scales of ego integrity and despair. Data drawn from a larger study of older college-educated women were used to examine relationships between health, concern about aging, ego integrity, despair, and well-being. Hierarchical linear regression results indicate that despair - but not ego integrity - was related to well-being over and above health status and levels of aging concern.Interindividual variability for training-induced changes in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is well described following continuous aerobic and high-intensity interval training. Whether similar variability is observed following time-efficient sprint interval training with minimal training volume (i.e., reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training; REHIT) is unknown. We conducted a pooled analysis of n=117 (68 men) training participants (mean±SD age 30±10 y; VO2max 34.8±7.5 ml·kg-1·min-1), who completed a VO2max assessment before and 3 days after 6 weeks of REHIT comprising of two 10-20 second 'all-out' cycling sprints per session, and n=40 no-intervention control participants (age 30±13 y; VO2max 31.5±6.5 ml·kg-1·min-1) who completed repeated VO2max tests over a comparable timeframe. Individual responses estimated using 50% confidence intervals derived from the technical error were interpreted against a smallest worthwhile change (SWC) of 1.75 ml·kg-1·min-1. The standard deviation of individual responses was 2.39 ml·kg-1·min-1 demonstrating clinically meaningful heterogeneity in training-induced changes in VO2max following REHIT that exceed the technical, biological and random within-subjects variability of VO2max assessment. The likely (75% probability) non-response rate was 18% (21/117), and 49% (57/117) of individuals demonstrated increases in VO2max likely higher than the SWC. We conclude that the well-described increase in VO2max following REHIT at the group level is subject to substantial variability in magnitude at an individual level. This has important implications for exercise prescription and can be harnessed to elucidate mechanisms of adaptation. Novelty • There is substantial heterogeneity in VO2max responses following time-efficient sprint interval training • Proportion of non-response was 18% and ∽50% of individuals show clinically meaningful increases in VO2max.

Berberine (BBR) is used to treat diarrhoea and gastroenteritis in the clinic. It was found to have anticolon cancer effects.

To study the anticolon cancer mechanism of BBR by connectivity map (CMAP) analysis.

CMAP based mechanistic prediction was conducted by comparing gene expression profiles of 10 μM BBR treated MCF-7 cells with that of clinical drugs such as helveticoside, ianatoside C, pyrvinium, gossypol and trifluoperazine. The treatment time was 12 h and two biological replications were performed. The DMSO-treated cells were selected as a control. The interaction between 100 μM BBR and target protein was measured by cellular thermal shift assay. The protein expression of 1-9 μM BBR treated SW480 cells were measured by WB assay. Apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of 1-9 μM BBR treated SW480 cells were measured by flow cytometry and Hoechst 33342 staining methods.

CMAP analysis found 14 Hsp90, HDAC, PI3K or mTOR protein inhibitors have similar functions with BBR.