Broch Ditlevsen (sackriver2)

Observational studies in the wild suggest that birds select material to build their nests based on functional aspects of material that promote reproductive success. How birds select material for nest building from the variety of materials available in their environment is unclear. In the current laboratory experiment we manipulated breeding success (i.e. raising fledglings) of zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) pairs to test if this affects the subsequent selection of nest material between a familiar versus a novel material, that differ in structural properties. All birds experienced one breeding attempt using coconut fiber as nest material during which their breeding success was manipulated half of the breeding pairs fledged their nestlings while the remaining pairs had their eggs removed to simulate nest failure. In a second nest-building attempt, all pairs were given access to both familiar nesting material (coconut fiber) and a novel nesting material (white cotton string). Pairs that were successful in their first breeding attempt built their second nest with significantly more familiar material compared to novel material. Pairs that were unsuccessful, however, incorporated similar amounts of familiar and novel material in their second attempt. Our results show that experiencing either a successful or an unsuccessful breeding attempt influences how birds select between familiar and novel material with different structural properties (e.g. flexibility, thickness) to build a second nest. Moreover, our experiment shows that learning from experience plays an important role for decision making in future structure-building endeavors.Three new tricyclic cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) related alkaloids asperorydines N-P (1-3), together with six known compounds (4-9) were isolated and characterized from the fungus Aspergillus flavus SCSIO F025 derived from the deep-sea sediments of South China Sea. The structures including absolute configurations of 1-3 were deduced from spectroscopic data, X-ray diffraction analysis, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). All compounds were evaluated for the antioxidative activities against DPPH, cytotoxic activities against four tumor cell lines (SF-268, HepG-2, MCF-7, and A549), and antimicrobial activities. Compound 9 showed significant radical scavenging activities against DPPH with an IC50 value of 62.23 μM and broad-spectrum cytotoxicities against four tumor cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 24.38 to 48.28 μM. Furthermore, compounds 4-9 exhibited weak antimicrobial activities against E scherichia coli, and compound 9 also showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus thuringiensis, Micrococcus lutea, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.Four new lathyrane-type diterpenoids (1-4) and a novel macrocyclic diterpenoid (5) featuring a 5/7/7/4-fused ring system, together with seventeen known ones (6-22), were isolated from the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses and single crystal X-ray crystallography. These isolates were evaluated for their inhibition against nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in BV-2 microglial cells. As a result, the inhibitory rates of compounds 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9-11, 13-15, 20, and 21 on NO production were more than 40% with the cell viability more than 80% at their effective concentrations. In addition, compounds 6 and 11 markedly reduced the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-1β in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells.Circular RNAs (circRNA) have gained recent interest due to their functional versatility due to their interactions with other RNA species and proteins, all of which underline complex regulatory networks involved in pathogenic mechanisms. As a result, recent insights in circRNA biology are investigating their biomarker and therapeutic potential. One such circRNA is CircFOXO3, which consists of the circularized s