Biology

The question of whether biological systems are maintained by top-down versus bottom-up drivers is a recurring one in ecology. It is a particularly important question to address in the management of coral reefs, which are at risk from a variety of anthropogenic stressors. Here, we explicitly test whether the abundance of different feeding guilds of coral-associated Chaetodon butterflyfishes are controlled by top-down or bottom-up drivers, and we assess the relative influence of all statistically significant drivers. We find that the abundance and species richness of Chaetodon butterflyfishes are predominately determined by bottom-up drivers. The abundance of corallivores is primarily driven by availability of branching and tabular live corals, whereas the abundance of generalists is most strongly influenced by a negative association with macroalgal cover. We also find evidence of weak top-down control on the abundance of corallivorous butterflyfish by gape-limited mesopredators, but ...

Researchers analyzed semen from 49 men whose partners had lost three or more consecutive pregnancies before the 20-week mark. [23]
Single-molecule fluorescent measurements provide fresh insights into a process for keeping errors out of our genomes. [22]
Histones are proteins that regulate the unwinding of DNA in the cell nucleus and the expression of genes based on chemical modifications or "marks" that are placed on their tails. [21]

I will propose that the cause and origin of "Why do men dominate leadership and power positions" can be better understood from an evolutionary point of view. In this perspective, men have always occupied most leadership and power positions because they have always needed and sought (as they still need and seek) resources that increase their potential or real value in the race and market of Mating and reproduction.

Large nations enjoy numerous strengths across the political, economic, and social fronts that lure many small countries to form a confederation of states. Some of the advantages that vast economies enjoy include having a huge market for local products, advancing technological prowess, sharing of political ideologies, as well as streamlining administrative processes and policies to support socio-economic development (Arthur, 2017; Sampath, 2014). For Africa, the dream of uniting states into a single nation that enjoys the privileges of the large economies and societies remains alive amid the challenges currently facing the continent. The existence of African Union as well as several regional economic blocs in the continent, a high resemblance in socio-economic stages of development, and the nearly shared political and social ideologies reinforces the possibility of a United States of Africa.

The Petri dish, like a Rorschach inkblot, or DNA’s double helix, has become a popular cultural icon. While denotatively, the Petri dish is a covered glass plate used in scientific laboratories, connotatively, it alludes to something brewing under investigation. In this real or imagined container a concept or a substance, if allowed to ferment, will sprout its hidden dimensions. From seeds, to politics, to toxic environments inside, such a dish brings forth a host of arresting results.

ISSN 1756-9575

RESUMEN Con el objetivo de evaluar el comportamiento agro productivo de nuevas variedades de Cenchrus purpureus (CT-601, CT-603, CT-605, CT-608, CT-609 y CT-115 como control) en diferentes edades de rebrote (60, 90, 120, 150 días) en la época lluviosa, se desarrolló un estudio en un diseño de bloques al azar en arreglo factorial (6×4) en variables productivas y agronómicas. Se observó el mayor (P≤0,001) rendimiento de Materia Verde a los 120 días de edad en el CT-605 (22,8 tha-1), similar comportamiento para el rendimiento de materia seca (5,41tha-1 MS) para variedad y edad, para esta última variable no se observaron diferencias con respecto al control dentro de las diferentes edades. La mayor altura de la planta se observó a los 150 días en la variedad CT-608 (110,7cm), esta variable no mostró diferencias significativas con respecto al control (93,36cm), el ancho de la hoja se vio favorecido en todas las variedades a la edad de 120 días y en el resto de las edades no se observaron diferencias significativas (P≥0,001). Las variables, número de nudos, longitud de la hoja, grosor del tallo y longitud del cuarto entrenudo no se vieron afectadas por la interacción de segundo grado. Las nuevas variedades en la época lluviosa del Valle del Cauto manifiestan una respuesta productiva de MS que oscila entre 1,01 y 5,41 t ha-1 , con marcadas diferencias entre las edades y variedades que se uniforman a los 120 días. Todas son potenciales productoras de forrajes en las condiciones del Valle del Cauto, Cuba. Palabras claves: Estacionalidad; rendimiento; ecosistemas adversos; precipitaciones. SUMMARY With the objective of evaluating the agro productive behavior of new varieties of Cenchrus purpureus (CT-601, CT-603, CT-605, CT-608, CT-609 and CT-115 as control) in different ages of regrowth (60, 90, 120, 150 days) in the rainy season, a study was developed in a random block design in factorial arrangement and interaction of the factors (6×4) in the productive and agronomic variables. The highest (P≤0,001) yield of Green Matter at 120 days of age was observed in CT-605 (22,8tha-1), similar behavior for dry matter yield (5,41tha-1 DM) for variety and age, for this last variable no differences were observed with respect to control within different ages. The highest height of the plant was observed at 150 days in the variety CT-608 (110,7cm), this variable did not show significant differences with respect to the control (93,36cm), the width of the leaf was favored in all the varieties at the age of 120 days and in the rest of the ages no significant differences were observed (P≥0,001). The variables, number of nodes, leaf length, stem thickness and internode quarter length were not affected by the second degree interaction. It is concluded that the new varieties in the rainy season of the Cauto Valley show a favorable productive response that resembles the CUBA CT-115 parent. Its use is recommended between 90 and 120 days of regrowth. The new varieties in the rainy season of Valle del Cauto show a productive response of DM that ranges between 1.01 and 5.41 t ha-1 , with marked differences between the ages and varieties that become uniform after 120 days. All are potential forage producers in the conditions of Valle del Cauto, Cuba.

We present 1) a novel unified conception of science, cognition and phenomenology in terms of the Klein Bottle logophysics; 2) as a supradual creative agency based on self and hetero-reference and multistate logic associated to the non-orientable topologies of the Möbius strip and Klein Bottle surfaces; 3) related to the Golden ratio in several areas of biology (particularly genomics), cognition, perception, physics and music, and the multiple biochemical codes of life; 4) semiosis and topological folding in the genesis of life; 5) the torsion geometries and non-orientable topologies, their relation to active time and chronomes, standing waves and cyclical process, providing an ontology for "chance" and apply them to 6) human-bodyplan, neurosciences, music cognition, structure and processes of thinking, particularly Quantum Mechanics, creativity and the logics of the psyche; 7) a universal principle of self-organization and the genesis of life, the π-related visual cortex and holography; 8) as an harmonic principle in the brain's pattern formation, pattern recognition and morphogenesis, and the topological paradigm to neuroscience proposing an explanation for the higher dimensional organization of brain connectomes based on the Klein Bottle as the metaform for patterns; 9) higher-order cybernetics, ontopoiesis and autopoiesis in Systems Biology,the psyche's bi-logic; 10) the supradual nature of phenomenology, its relation to cosmological cycles, and an examination of the forceful omission of supraduality in academic philosophy vis-à-vis the foundations of science and philosophy in ancient Greece; 11) a rebuttal of Dr. Liu et all's PLOS article claiming the appearance of Phi in genomes as accidental, in terms of the supradual ontopoiesis hereby presented and by reviewing several codes of life discovered by Pérez, which elicit their unity already starting at the level of the periodic table of elements and Life compounds atomic mass and 12) the Golden mean in the rituals of whales and the supradual logophysics of social organization.

Scientists seek to eliminate all forms of bias from their research. However, all scientists also make assumptions of a non-empirical nature about topics such as causality, determinism and reductionism when conducting research. Here, we argue that since these 'philosophical biases' cannot be avoided, they need to be debated critically by scientists and philosophers of science.

Forty genotypes of tobacco (Nicotiana rustica L.) studied for correlations and path analysis during 2012-13. The estimates of correlation coefficient revealed that cured leaf yield was positively correlated at both genotypic and phenotypic levels with days to flowering, number of leaves per plant, plant height, days to maturity, leaf length and leaf width, while it was negatively correlated with leaf thickness and reducing sugar content. Path analysis based on genotypic correlation showed that number of leaves per plant, plant height and leaf length are important characters that exerted considerable direct effect on cured leaf yield revealing scope for considering these characters in selection programme for bringing out desired improvement in tobacco yield.

Bacteria are ubiquitously distributed throughout our planet, mainly in the form of adherent communities in which cells exhibit specific traits. The mechanisms underpinning the physiological shift in surface-attached bacteria are complex, multifactorial and still partially unclear. Here we address the question of the existence of early surface sensing through implementation of a functional response to initial surface contact. For this purpose, we developed a new experimental approach enabling simultaneous monitoring of free-floating, aggregated and adherent cells via the use of dispersed surfaces as adhesive substrates and flow cytometry analysis. With this system, we analyzed, in parallel, the constitutively expressed GFP content of the cells and production of a respiration probe--a fluorescent reduced tetrazolium ion. In an Escherichia coli strain constitutively expressing curli, a major E. coli adhesin, we found that single cell surface contact induced a decrease in the cell respi...

A NIMH researcher delivers a polemic on urban boxes, and formulates an image of the future, and a new predictive technology. In the process, he becomes a leading voice within the burgeoning Environmental Design movement.
[Abstract forthcoming; please message for full draft]

A new study by University of Pennsylvania post-doc Farshid Jafarpour from the Department of Physics & Astronomy, who works in the lab of Andrea Liu, reveals that variations in generation times don't accumulate over multiple generations in single-celled organisms, like bacteria. [24]
Genes in living cells are activated – or not – by proteins called transcription factors. The mechanisms by which these proteins activate certain genes and deactivate others play a fundamental role in many biological processes. [23]

Single-molecule fluorescent measurements provide fresh insights into a process for keeping errors out of our genomes. [22]
Histones are proteins that regulate the unwinding of DNA in the cell nucleus and the expression of genes based on chemical modifications or "marks" that are placed on their tails. [21]
Now, in a new paper published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Mayo researchers have determined how one DNA repair protein gets to the site of DNA damage. [20]