Cedar Hollow, an early Holocene faunal site From Whidbey Island, Washington

Coastal erosion at central Whidbey Island reveals a cross-section view of dune sands that contain the only known record of animals that inhabited the Pacific Northwest coast during the early Holocene. Mammal fossils include bones and teeth of deer, wolf, brown bear, and several species of rodents. A deer vertebra from basal beds yielded a 14 C age of 8840 ± 50 yr BP. The faunal diversity suggests that the region was repopulated relatively quickly following the final retreat of the Cordilleran sheet. This paleofauna was quite different from that of the late Pleistocene, when the region was inhabited by mammoth, musk oxen, giant sloth, and other large mammals. Avian remains include hawks, geese, and seabirds, 3 groups that occupied quite different ecological niches. Early Holocene bird fossils from Whidbey Island are dissimilar to late Pleistocene avifaunas from inland sites in California and Oregon, evidence that the coastal environment offered habitat conditions quite unlike those of interior wetlands.     

Sulindac sulfide suppresses 5-lipoxygenase at clinically relevant concentrations

Sulindac is a non-selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenases (COX) used to treat inflammation and pain. Additionally, non-COX targets may account for the drug’s chemo-preventive efficacy against colorectal cancer and reduced gastrointestinal toxicity. Here, we demonstrate that the pharmacologically active metabolite of sulindac, sulindac sulfide (SSi), targets 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of proinflammatory leukotrienes (LTs). SSi inhibited 5-LO in ionophore A23187- and LPS/fMLP-stimulated human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (IC₅₀ ≈ 8–10 μM). Importantly, SSi efficiently suppressed 5-LO in human whole blood at clinically relevant plasma levels (IC₅₀ = 18.7 μM). SSi was 5-LO-selective as no inhibition of related lipoxygenases (12-LO, 15-LO) was observed. The sulindac prodrug and the other metabolite, sulindac sulfone (SSo), failed to inhibit 5-LO. Mechanistic analysis demonstrated that SSi directly suppresses 5-LO with an IC₅₀ of 20 μM. Together, these findings may provide a novel molecular basis to explain the COX-independent pharmacological effects of sulindac under therapy.     

Notes on reproduction of the side-blotched lizard Uta stansburiana stansburiana in southwest Idaho

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} In 1968 and 1973 in southwestern Idaho, 275 Uta stansburiana were collected. Uta occupies low hills with rocky outcrops and flat sparse vegetation consisting of the following shrubs: Artemisia tridentata, Grayia spinosa, Atriplex confertifolia, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, and Atriplex canescens. Emergence from hibernation occurs from mid-March to early April and the first yolked follicles appear in early April, with oviducal eggs present in late April. Testicular cycle begins with the emergence of males, and spermatozoa are produced from April through July. Uta reaches sexual maturity in one year at a SVL of 40.0 mm in males and 43 mm in females. Overall clutch size is 3.75 eggs (1–2 clutches per year). Fat body size at emergence is not known, but what is present shows a decline in males and females until July, when a substantial increase occurs. Sex ratios are about 1:1 in all months and seasons except June 1968, according to chi-square analysis.       

Second occurrence of the long-nosed snake, Rhinocheilus lecontei lecontei, in Idaho

A second record of the long-nosed snake in Idaho was taken at the entrance to Bruneau Dunes State Park, Owghee County     

Substrate color matching in the grasshopper, Circotettix rabula (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Mechanisms important in maintaining substrate color matching in the grasshopper, Circotettix rabula, were studied near Aspen, Colorado, during the summers of 1968 – 70. Studies concentrated on populations on gray shale and red sandstone substrates. In both areas, collections revealed appreciable numbers of mismatched phenotypes among all age groups. The possibility of developmental homochromy was examined by observation of nymphs held in rearing boxes on matching and contrasting soil colors. The behavioral selection of matching substrate colors was tested by preference experiments. While not negating the possibility of these mechanisms, results suggested that they were of minor importance. Predation experiments, using Sceloporus lizards, demonstrated significant levels of selective predation on mismatched nymphs on both red and gray substrates. Experiments with bird and mammal predators, using adult grasshoppers, gave similar results. Release - recapture experiments with marked adults in areas of red and gray substrates showed markedly higher disappearance rates for mismatched animals. These results are interpreted to indicate that selective predation on mismatched animals is a major factor in maintaining substrate color matching in this species.     

Butterflies of the Toquima Range, Nevada: distribution, natural history, and comparison to the Toiyabe Range

Studies of Great Basin faunas can provide information for landscape-level adaptive management by federal agencies and shed light on potential effects of climate change in continental interior landscapes. To provide such information, we characterized the butterfly fauna of the Toquima Range, a mountain range in the heart of the Great Basin with topography typical of the region. We also compared the butterfly fauna of the Toquima Range to that of the adjacent Toiyabe Range, which is more topographically complex and species rich but less representative of the Great Basin on the whole. We explicitly addressed the effects of area and water availability on butterfly species richness. Butterfly species presence data were compiled for 14 canons and 1 peak in the Toquima Range. Data from 11 canyons that we inventoried systematically were amenable to statistical analysis. Eighty butterfly species (59 residents) have been recorded from the Toquima Range since 1935. By comparison, 99 species have been recorded from the Toiyabe Range. Mean canyon-level butterfly species richness was significantly lower in the Toquima Range than in the Toiyabe Range. This difference cannot be explained by differences in canyon size between mountain ranges. Within the Toquima Range water availability seems to have a dominant effect on butterfly species richness. Between mountain ranges species richness is influenced by interactions among areas, moisture, and topography. These data should assist managers in developing guidelines for conservation planning in the Great Basin.     

Forecasting Australia's real house price index: A comparison of time series and machine learning methods

We employ 47 different algorithms to forecast Australian log real house prices and growth rates, and compare their ability to produce accurate out-of-sample predictions. The algorithms, which are specified in both single- and multi-equation frameworks, consist of traditional time series models, machine learning (ML) procedures, and deep learning neural networks. A method is adopted to compute iterated multistep forecasts from nonlinear ML specifications. While the rankings of forecast accuracy depend on the length of the forecast horizon, as well as on the choice of the dependent variable (log price or growth rate), a few generalizations can be made. For one- and two-quarter-ahead forecasts we find a large number of algorithms that outperform the random walk with drift benchmark. We also report several such outperformances at longer horizons of four and eight quarters, although these are not statistically significant at any conventional level. Six of the eight top forecasts (4 horizons × 2 dependent variables) are generated by the same algorithm, namely a linear support vector regressor (SVR). The other two highest ranked forecasts are produced as simple mean forecast combinations. Linear autoregressive moving average and vector autoregression models produce accurate olne-quarter-ahead predictions, while forecasts generated by deep learning nets rank well across medium and long forecast horizons.     

Amygdala intercalated neurons are required for expression of fear extinction

Congruent findings from studies of fear learning in animals and humans indicate that research on the circuits mediating fear constitutes our best hope of understanding human anxiety disorders. In mammals, repeated presentations of a conditioned stimulus that was previously paired to a noxious stimulus leads to the gradual disappearance of conditioned fear responses. Although much evidence suggests that this extinction process depends on plastic events in the amygdala, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Intercalated (ITC) amygdala neurons constitute probable mediators of extinction because they receive information about the conditioned stimulus from the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and contribute inhibitory projections to the central nucleus (CEA), the main output station of the amygdala for conditioned fear responses. Thus, after extinction training, ITC cells could reduce the impact of conditioned-stimulus-related BLA inputs to the CEA by means of feed-forward inhibition. Here we test the hypothesis that ITC neurons mediate extinction by lesioning them with a toxin that selectively targets cells expressing micro-opioid receptors (microORs). Electron microscopic observations revealed that the incidence of microOR-immunoreactive synapses is much higher in ITC cell clusters than in the BLA or CEA and that microORs typically have a post-synaptic location in ITC cells. In keeping with this, bilateral infusions of the microOR agonist dermorphin conjugated to the toxin saporin in the vicinity of ITC neurons caused a 34% reduction in the number of ITC cells but no significant cell loss in surrounding nuclei. Moreover, ITC lesions caused a marked deficit in the expression of extinction that correlated negatively with the number of surviving ITC neurons but not CEA cells. Because ITC cells exhibit an unusual pattern of receptor expression, these findings open new avenues for the treatment of anxiety disorders.     

3D DNA origami designed with caDNAno

For about three decades, DNA-based nanotechnology has been undergoing development as an assembly method for nanostructured materials. The DNA origami method pioneered by Rothemund paved the way for the formation of 3D structures using DNA self assembly. The origami approach uses a long scaffold strand as the input for the self assembly of a few hundred staple strands into desired shapes. Herein, we present a 3D origami "roller" (75 nm in length) designed using caDNAno software. This has the potential to be used as a template to assemble nanoparticles into different pre-defined shapes. The "roller" was characterized with agarose gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).