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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0037.v1

Recommendations for Healthy Daytime, Evening, and Night-Time Indoor Light Exposure

Timothy Brown, George Brainard, Christian Cajochen, Charles Czeisler, John Hanifin, Steven Lockley, Robert Lucas, Mirjam Munch, John O'Hagan, Stuart Peirson, Luke Price, Till Roenneberg, Luc Schlangen, Debra Skene, Manuel Spitschan, Celine Vetter, Phyllis Zee, Kenneth Wright Jr.

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: light; circadian; melatonin

Online: 1 December 2020 (16:06:08 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202203.0076.v1

The Advantage of Inactivated Vaccine for Preventing the Omicron Outbreak

Xinbo Lian, Jianping Huang, Li Zhang, Yingjie Zhao, Danfeng Wang, Shuoyuan Gao, Rui Wang, Xiaodong Song

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: COVID-19; Omicron; inactivated vaccines

Online: 4 March 2022 (09:10:15 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201711.0183.v1

A Novel Non-Invasive Selection Criterion for the Preservation of Primitive Dutch Konik Horses

Sharon May-Davis, Wendy Y Brown, Kathleen Shorter, Zefanja Vermeulen, Raquel Butler, Marianne Koekkoek

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Dutch Konik; Metacarpal; Metatarsal; primitive horse; splint bones; Tarpan

Online: 29 November 2017 (07:01:17 CET)

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Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202205.0212.v1

Biological Constraint as a Cause of Aging

David Gems, Carina Kern

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: aging; antagonistic pleiotropy; biological constraint; hyperfunction; hypofunction; programmatic aging; trade-off

Online: 16 May 2022 (14:02:16 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0327.v1

Cannabis Yield Increased Proportionally With Light Intensity, but Additional Ultraviolet Radiation Did Not Affect Yield or Cannabinoid Content

David Llewellyn, Scott Golem, Elizabeth Foley, Steve Dinka, Max Jones, Youbin Zheng

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: cannabis; UV; cannabinoid; yield

Online: 11 March 2021 (16:18:09 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202209.0367.v1

Physical Impact of a Typical Training Session With Different Volumes on the Day Preceding a Match in Academy Soccer Players

Tom Douchet, Christos Paizis, Nicolas Babault

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Tapering; Workload; Performance; Microcycle; Youth

Online: 23 September 2022 (09:27:20 CEST)

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Preprint SHORT NOTE | doi:10.20944/preprints202008.0205.v3

The Anomalous Nature of the Fecal Swab Data, Receptor Binding Domain and Other Questions in RaTG13 Genome

Monali Rahalkar, Rahul Bahulikar

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: RaTG13; SARS-COV-2; Illumina sequencing, amplicon sequencing, NGS; fecal swab

Online: 5 October 2020 (12:20:17 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0284.v1

Building Consensus around the Assessment and Interpretation of Symbiodiniaceae Diversity

Sarah Davies, Matthew H. Gamache, Lauren I. Howe-Kerr, Nicola G. Kriefall, Andrew C. Baker, Anastazia T. Banaszak, Line K. Bay, Anthony J. Bellantuono, Debashish Bhattacharya, Cheong Xin Chan, Danielle C. Claar, Mary Alice Coffroth, Ross Cunning, Simon K. Davy, Javier del Campo, Erika M. Diaz-Almeyda, Jorg C. Frommlet, Lauren E. Fuess, Raul A. Gonzalez-Pech, Tamar L. Goulet, Kenneth D. Hoadley, Emily J. Howells, Benjamin C. C. Hume, Dustin W. Kemp, Carly, D. Kenkel, Sheila A. Kitchen, Todd C. LaJeunesse, Senjie Lin, Shelby McIlroy, Ryan McMinds, Matthew R. Nitschke, Clinton A. Oakley, Raquel S. Peixoto, Carlos Prada, Hollie M. Putnam, Kate Quigley, Hannah G. Reich, James Davis Reimer, Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty, Stephanie Rosalas, Osama S. Saad, Eugenia M. Sampayo, Scott Santos, Eiichi Shoguchi, Edward G. Smith, Michael Stat, Timothy G. Stephens, Marie E. Strader, David J. Suggett, Timothy D. Swain, Cawa Tran, Nikki Traylor-Knowles, Christian R. Voolstra, Mark E. Warner, Virginia M. Weis, Rachel Wright, Tingting Xiang, Hiroshi Yamashita, Maren Ziegler, Adrienne M.S. Correa, John Everett Parkinson

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Symbiodinaceae; genetic diversity; coral symbiosis

Online: 21 June 2022 (04:49:04 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201907.0196.v1

Pathological Mechanisms Underlying Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Daniel Missailidis, Sarah Annesley, Paul Fisher

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME/CFS, diagnosis, metabolism, mitochondria, inflammation, immune system, signaling, gut microbiota.

Online: 16 July 2019 (12:41:26 CEST)

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Preprint ESSAY | doi:10.20944/preprints202104.0436.v1

Revisiting Van Valen's Red Queen Hypothesis

Ricard Sole

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Complexity; population dynamics; Red Queen; scales; coevolution; extinction

Online: 16 April 2021 (11:02:26 CEST)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202003.0400.v1

Susceptibility of the Elderly to SARS-CoV-2 Infection: ACE-2 Overexpression, Shedding and Antibody-dependent Enhancement (ADE)

Jean Pierre Schatzmann Peron, Helder Nakaya

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; ACE-2

Online: 27 March 2020 (02:48:01 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201901.0190.v1

A Hypothesis Regarding how Sleep can Calibrate Neuronal Excitability in the Central Nervous System and thereby Offer Stability, Sensitivity and the Best Possible Cognitive Function

Sture Hansson

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Sleep, neuronal excitability, central nervous system, sensitivity, cognitive function

Online: 18 January 2019 (12:23:11 CET)

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The function of sleep in mammal and other vertebrates is one of the great mysteries of biology. Many hypotheses have been proposed, but few of these have made even the slightest attempt to explain the essence of sleep - the uncompromising need for reversible unconsciousness. During sleep, epiphenomena - often of a somatic character - occur, but these cannot explain the core function of sleep. One answer could be hidden in the observations made for long periods of time of the function of the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS is faced with conflicting requirements on stability and excitability. A high level of excitability is desirable, and is also a prerequisite for sensitivity and quick reaction times; however, it can also lead to instability and the risk of feedback, with life-threatening epileptic seizures. Activity-dependent negative feedback in neuronal excitability improves stability in the short term, but not to the degree that is required. A hypothesis is presented here demonstrating how calibration of individual neurons - an activity which occurs only during sleep - can establish the balanced and highest possible excitability while also preserving stability in the CNS. One example of a possible mechanism is the observation of slow oscillations in EEGs made on birds and mammals during slow wave sleep. Calibration to a genetically determined level of excitability could take place in individual neurons during the slow oscillation, so that action potentials are generated during the oscillations “up-phase”. This can only take place offline, which explains the need for sleep. The hypothesis can explain phenomena such as the need for unconsciousness during sleep, with the disconnection of sensory stimuli, slow EEG oscillations, the relationship of sleep and epilepsy, age, the effects of sleep on neuronal firing rate and the effects of sleep deprivation and sleep homeostasis. This is with regard primarily to mammals, including humans, but also all other vertebrates.

Working Paper HYPOTHESIS

How to Become a Crab: Phenotypic Constraints on a Recurring Body Plan

Joanna M. Wolfe, Javier Luque, Heather D. Bracken-Grissom

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Crustacea; Anomura; Brachyura; Carcinization; Phylogeny; Convergent evolution; Morphological integration

Online: 2 March 2021 (12:43:52 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201908.0187.v1

Basic Mechanism of Sweating and Its Role in Temperature and Appetite Regulation: An Ayurvedic Perspective

Sushil Kumar Dubey, Anam Aftab, Suyash Tripathi, Ramesh Kant Dubey, Shivani Srivastava, Yamini Bhusan Tripathi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: sweat; sveda; Pitta; Svedavaha srotasa; thermoregulation; digestion; Agni

Online: 18 August 2019 (02:18:37 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201702.0016.v1

Anaphase A: Melting Microtubules Move Chromosomes toward Spindle Poles

Charles L. Asbury

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: anaphase A; kinetochore; chromosome-to-pole motion; pac-man; microtubule poleward flux; conformational wave; biased diffusion

Online: 5 February 2017 (09:39:32 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201610.0027.v1

Impaired Adipose Tissue Expansion Caused by LXR Activation is Associated with Insulin Resistance in HFD Mice

Yueting Dong, Zhiye Xu, Ziyi Zhang, Xueyao Yin, Xihua Lin, Qianqian Pan, Hong Li, Fenping Zheng

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Liver X receptor (LXR); Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ); Adipose expansion; Insulin resistance

Online: 10 October 2016 (07:56:30 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0460.v2

Ideas in Genomic Selection with the Potential to Transform Plant Molecular Breeding: A Review

Matthew McGowan, Jiabo Wang, Haixiao Dong, Xiaolei Liu, Yi Jia, Xianfeng Wang, Hiroyoshi Iwata, Yutao Li, Alexander E. Lipka, Zhiwu Zhang

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: plant breeding; genomic selection; Bayes; BLUP; machine learning

Online: 18 November 2020 (11:21:50 CET)

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Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202104.0560.v1

Microbiome-Inspired Green Infrastructure (MIGI): A Bioscience Roadmap for Urban Ecosystem Health

Jake Robinson, Harry Watkins, Ioana Man, Craig Liddicoat, Ross Cameron, Brenda Parker, Marcos Cruz, Laura Meagher

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: MIGI; microbiome-inspired green infrastructure; microbiome; urban microbiome; nature-based intervention; biodiversity; greenspace; green infrastructure; multispecies urbanism; EcoHealth

Online: 21 April 2021 (09:01:13 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201701.0050.v1

Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist (IL1RA) and Interleukin-4 (IL4) Genes Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTRs) Are Associated with Adiposity in Malaysian Subjects

Yung-Yean Kok, Hing-Huat Ong, Yee-How Say

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra); Interleukin-4 (IL-4); Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR); obesity; adiposity; Malaysia.

Online: 10 January 2017 (10:27:41 CET)

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Preprint SHORT NOTE | doi:10.20944/preprints202106.0121.v1

SARS-CoV-2 Origin: An Affair of Codons?

Antonio Ramón Romeu, Enric Ollé

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 origin; Furin Cleavage Site; Arginine Codon Usage; Bioinformatics

Online: 4 June 2021 (08:00:03 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0519.v1

Harnessing Agronomics Through Genomics and Phenomics in Plant Breeding: A Review

Zhiwu Zhang, Chunpeng Chen, Jessica Rutkoski, James Schnable, Seth Murray, Lizhi Wang, Xiuliang Jin, Benjamin Stich, Jose Crossa, Ben Hayes

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Genomic selection; GWAS; Bayesian methods; BLUP; Image analysis; Machine learning

Online: 22 March 2021 (11:21:29 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201612.0151.v1

Expression and Potential Function of Plasma Exosomal microRNAs (miR-483-5p, miR-671-5p, and miR-150-3p) in a Mouse Mode and in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients

Shaofeng Yan, Guiyang Liu, Wenyan Xie, Dawei Meng, Hua Zhang, Fangang Meng, Kai Zhang, Yin Jiang, Xin Zhang, Jianguo Zhang

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: epilepsy; exosoma; microRNA

Online: 30 December 2016 (07:43:42 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201610.0014.v1

Complementariness and Functional Parcellation of Neurotrophin Actions on the Oculomotor System

Beatriz Benítez-Temiño, María A. Davis-López De Carrizosa, Sara Morcuende, Esperanza R. Matarredona, Rosa R. de la Cruz, Angel M Pastor

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Trophic factors; nervous system; development; plasticity; axotomy

Online: 7 October 2016 (09:51:38 CEST)

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Preprint BRIEF REPORT | doi:10.20944/preprints202002.0167.v1

Profiling the Immune Vulnerability Landscape of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus

James Zhu, Jiwoong Kim, Xue Xiao, Yunguan Wang, Danni Luo, Ran Chen, Lin Xu, He Zhang, Guanghua Xiao, Xiaowei Zhan, Tao Wang, Yang Xie

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: 2019-nCoV; Immune; B cell; T cell; COVID-19

Online: 13 February 2020 (10:53:40 CET)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0247.v1

Epigallocatechin-Gallate and Theaflavin-Gallate Interaction in SARS CoV-2 Spike-Protein Central-Channel with Reference to the Hydroxychloroquine Interaction: Bioinformatics and Molecular Docking Study

Smarajit Maiti, Amrita Banerjee

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: SARS CoV-2; COVID 19; pandemic global-outbreak; Spike glycoprotein; ACE2; PatchDock; hydroxychloroquine

Online: 15 April 2020 (10:50:13 CEST)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202006.0168.v1

Tissue Tectonics and the Multi-Scale Regulation of Developmental Timing

Lara Busby, Benjamin Steventon

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: pattern formation; morphogenesis; systems biology; embryology

Online: 14 June 2020 (12:29:45 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201608.0192.v1

Demands of Geometry on Color Vision

Dale Purves, Chidambaram Yegappan

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: trichromacy; opponency; color circularity; spectral images; unique colors; four-color map problem; perception

Online: 23 August 2016 (10:34:13 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201608.0108.v1

Quantifying Mosaic Development: Towards an Evo-Devo Postmodern Synthesis of the Evolution of Development via Differentiation Trees of Embryos

Bradly Alicea, Richard Gordon

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: developmental biology; computational biology; lineage trees; embryogenesis; biological complexity

Online: 10 August 2016 (11:36:39 CEST)

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Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0546.v1

Bacterial Nomenclature in the Era of Genomics

Mark John Pallen

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Bacterial nomenclature; taxonomy; microbial genomics

Online: 23 July 2021 (14:22:59 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0531.v1

HALO-RPD: In Searching for RNA-Binding Protein Targets in Plants

Anastasia Shamustakimova

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: A.thaliana; HaloTag; RNA-binding proteins; RNA pulldown assay; RNA-protein complexes; cold shock domain protein

Online: 23 July 2021 (09:32:28 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201705.0208.v1

Oligonol Attenuates Diabetes-Induced Pancreatic Damage by Inhibiting Inflammatory Responses via Oxidative Stress-Dependent MAPK/NF-kB Signaling

Chan Hum Park, Joo Young Lee, Sung Ho Shin, Min Yeong Kim, Eun Suk Lee, Yu Su Shin, Young Ock Kim, Sang Won Lee, Jae Sue Choi, Takako Yokozawa

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: oligonol; diabetes; pancreas; antioxidative stress; anti-inflammation

Online: 30 May 2017 (06:29:46 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201609.0077.v1

How Glutamate Is Managed by the Blood-Brain Barrier

Richard A. Hawkins, Juan R. Viña

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: glutamate; glutamine; BBB (blood brain-barrier); brain; oxoproline; amino acid transport

Online: 23 September 2016 (03:23:29 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0708.v1

Phytochemicals as Therapeutics Against COVID-19: An In-Silico Study

Debraj Koiri, Ditam Chakraborty, Pranotosh Das, Rajkumar Rana, Soumyanil Chatterjee, Tanmoy Das, Paltu Kumar Dhal

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Phytochemicals; SARS-CoV-2; S-Protein; Molecular docking; ACE 2

Online: 28 December 2020 (16:51:12 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0273.v1

Current Research on Microbe-Plastic Interactions in the Marine Environment

Mira Latva, Vinko Zadjelovic, Robyn Wright

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Plastisphere; Plastic biofilms; Microbial communities; Marine plastic pollution; Plastic biodegradation

Online: 12 July 2021 (22:12:28 CEST)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0177.v1

Interference of SARS-CoV-2 with the Homeostasis of Ventilation and Perfusion in the Lung

Clemente F. Arias, Francisco J. Acosta, Federica Bertocchini, Cristina Fernández-Arias

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; homeostasis; hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction; renin-angiotensin system; hydrostatic edema; permeability edema

Online: 10 May 2020 (17:22:59 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202106.0238.v1

Role of N501Y Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Structure

Urmi Roy

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Immunoinformatics; Molecular dynamics simulation; mutation; SARS-CoV-2; Spike protein; Virus structure

Online: 8 June 2021 (13:57:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0123.v1

Repellent Effect of the Pandanus (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) and Neem (Azadirachta indica) Against Rice Weevil Sitophilus oryzae L. (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)

Slamet Fauzi, Sigit Prastowo

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Sitophilus oryzae; Natural insecticides; Pandanus amaryllifolius; Azadirachta indica

Online: 6 July 2021 (08:07:57 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0491.v1

Rapamycin and Rapalogs

Dudley Lamming

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: mTORC1; mTORC2; rapamycin; rapalog; aging; lifespan; longevity

Online: 22 February 2021 (15:34:25 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201901.0176.v1

The Energy Homeostasis Principle: Neuronal Energy Regulation Drives Local Network Dynamics Generating Behavior

Rodrigo C. Vergara, Sebastián Jaramillo-Riveri, Alejandro Luarte, Cristóbal Moënne-Loccoz, Rómulo Fuentes, Andrés Couve, Pedro E. Maldonado

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: homeostasis, energy, neuronal networks, behavior, emergent properties

Online: 17 January 2019 (11:58:15 CET)

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A major goal of neuroscience is understanding how neurons arrange themselves into neural networks that result in behavior. Most theoretical and experimental efforts have focused on a top-down approach which seeks to identify neuronal correlates of behaviors. This has been accomplished by effectively mapping specific behaviors to distinct neural patterns, or by creating computational models that produce a desired behavioral outcome. Nonetheless, these approaches have only implicitly considered the fact that neural tissue, like any other physical system, is subjected to several restrictions and boundaries of operations.Here, we propose a new, bottom-up conceptual paradigm: The Energy Homeostasis Principle, where the balance between energy income, expenditure, and availability are the key parameters in determining the dynamics of the found neuronal phenomena from molecular to behavioral levels. Neurons display high energy consumption relative to other cells, with metabolic consumption of the brain representing 20% of the whole-body oxygen uptake, contrasting with this organ representing only 2% of the body weight. Also, neurons have specialized surrounding tissue providing the necessary energy which, in the case of the brain, is provided by astrocytes. Moreover, and unlike other cell types with high energy demands such as muscle cells, neurons have strict aerobic metabolism. These facts indicate that neurons are highly sensitive to energy limitations, with Gibb’s free energy dictating the direction of all cellular metabolic processes. From this activity, the largest energy, by far, is expended by action potentials and post-synaptic potentials; therefore, plasticity can be reinterpreted in terms of their energy context. Consequently, neurons, through their synapses, impose energy demands over post-synaptic neurons in a close loop-manner, modulating the dynamics of local circuits. Subsequently, the energy dynamics end up impacting the homeostatic mechanisms of neuronal networks. Furthermore, local energy management also emerges as a neural population property, where most of the energy expenses are triggered by sensory or other modulatory inputs. Local energy management in neurons may be sufficient to explain the emergence of behavior, enabling the assessment of which properties arise in neural circuits and how. Essentially, the proposal of the Energy Homeostasis Principle is also readily testable for simple neuronal networks.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201908.0063.v1

The Matrisome during Aging and Longevity: A Systems-Level Approach towards Defining Matreotypes Promoting Healthy Aging

Collin Ewald

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: matreotype; proteomics; transcriptomics; lifespan; extracellular matrix; ECM; collagen; MMP; homeostasis

Online: 5 August 2019 (14:22:17 CEST)

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Accumulation of damage is generally considered the cause of aging. Interventions that delay aging mobilize mechanisms that protect and repair cellular components. Consequently, research has been focused on studying the protective and homeostatic mechanisms within cells. However, in humans and other multicellular organisms, cells are surrounded by extracellular matrices (ECM), which are important for tissue structure, function and intercellular communication. During aging, components of the ECM become damaged through fragmentation, glycation, crosslinking, and accumulation of protein aggregation, all of which contribute to age-related pathologies. Interestingly, placing senescent cells into a young ECM rejuvenates them and we found that many longevity-assurances pathways re-activate de-novosynthesis of ECM proteins during aging. This raises the question of what constitutes a young ECM to reverse aging or maintain health? In order to make inroads to answering this question, I suggest a systems-level approach of quantifying the matrisome or ECM compositions reflecting health, pathology, or phenotype and propose a novel term, the “matreotype”, to describe this. The matreotype is defined as the composition and modification of ECM or matrisome proteins associated with or caused by a phenotype, such as longevity, or a distinct and acute physiological state, as observed during aging or disease. Every cell type produces its unique ECM. Interestingly, cancer-cell types can even be identified based on their unique ECM composition. Thus, the matreotype reflects cellular identity and physiological status. Defined matreotypes could be used as biomarkers or prognostic factors for disease or health status during aging with potential relevance for personalized medicine. Treatment with biologics that alter ECM-to-cell mechanotransduction might be a strategy to reverse age-associated pathologies. An understanding of how to reverse from an old to a young matreotype might point towards novel strategies to rejuvenate cells and help maintain tissue homeostasis to promote health during aging.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201608.0118.v1

Uncovering Spatio-Temporal and Treatment-Derived Differences in the Molecular Physiology of a Model Coral-Dinoflagellate Mutualism with Multivariate Statistical Approaches

Anderson Mayfield

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: acclimation; coral reefs; endosymbiosis; molecular biology; multivariate statistics; temperature; upwelling

Online: 11 August 2016 (11:03:03 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201905.0092.v1

Chronotype and Social Jetlag - a (self-)critical review

Till Roenneberg, Luisa Pilz, Giulia Zerbini, Eva Winnebeck

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: sleep-wake timing; circadian clock; entrainment; light; period; phase

Online: 8 May 2019 (11:11:49 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201611.0111.v1

A Y-Shaped Microfluidic Device to Study the Combined Effect of Wall Shear Stress and ATP Signals on Intracellular Calcium Dynamics in Vascular Endothelial Cells

Zong-Zheng Chen, Zheng-Ming Gao, De-Pei Zeng, Bo Liu, Yong Luan, Kai-Rong Qin

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Y-shaped microfluidic device; wall shear stress; adenosine triphosphate (ATP) signal; combined effect; vascular endothelial cells; calcium dynamics

Online: 22 November 2016 (09:51:31 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201807.0197.v1

Theoretical Explanation for Reduced Body Mass Index and Obesity Rates in Cannabis Users

Thomas Clark, Jessica Jones,, Alexis Hall, Sara Tabner, Rebecca Kmiec

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Cannabis, obesity, body mass index, CB1R, AEA, 2-AG, meta-analysis, theory, causation

Online: 11 July 2018 (11:49:02 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201704.0016.v1

Nrf2 Inhibits Periodontal Ligament Stem Cell Apoptosis under Excessive Oxidative Stress

Yanli Liu, Hongxu Yang, Yinhua Zhao, Min Zhang, Yongjin Chen

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: periodontitis; the periodontal ligament stem cells; the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2; oxidative stress; apoptosis

Online: 4 April 2017 (08:58:13 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202201.0428.v1

Dynamical Feedback Control: Motor Cortex as an Optimal Feedback Controller Based on Neural Dynamics

Christopher Versteeg, Lee Miller

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Motor Control; Feedback; Dynamical Systems

Online: 28 January 2022 (08:03:31 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202104.0531.v1

Omics in Major Cereals: Applications, Challenges, and Prospects

Balwinder Kaur, Karansher S. Sandhu, Roop Kamal, Kawalpreet Kaur, Jagmohan Singh, Marion S. Röder, Quddoos H. Muqaddasi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: cereals; omics; gemomics; transcriptomics; proteomics; metabolomics; phenomics.

Online: 20 April 2021 (11:25:07 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0125.v1

Nature’s Role in Supporting Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Geospatial and Socioecological Study

Jake M. Robinson, Paul Brindley, Ross Cameron, Danielle MacCarthy, Anna Jorgensen

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; green space; planetary health; nature connectedness; public health; nature-based interventions

Online: 6 January 2021 (15:04:09 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0203.v2

A Guide to Curating New World Melastomataceae Collections with a Linear Generic Sequence to World-Wide Melastomataceae

Fabian Michelangeli, Frank Almeda, Renato Goldenberg, Darin Penneys

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Herbarium curation; Melastomataceae; Neotropics; New World; Taxonomy

Online: 19 October 2020 (11:16:45 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0416.v1

From Zoo to Social Media: The Evolution of Human-Captive Wildlife Relations

Christian Lenzi, Siobhan Speiran, Chiara Grasso

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: zoo animals; visitor attitudes; wildlife encounters; wildlife tourism; selfie

Online: 18 February 2021 (12:13:24 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202106.0473.v1

Application of Earth Observation Data and Google Earth Engine for Monitoring Coral Reef Exposure to Environmental Stressors

Michael J. Williamson, Emma J. Tebbs, Henry J. Thompson, Terrence P. Dawson, Catherine E. I. Head, David M. P. Jacoby

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: bleaching; coral reef; environmental stress; Google Earth Engine; monitoring; remote sensing; satellite

Online: 18 June 2021 (10:43:50 CEST)

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Coral reefs are critical ecosystems globally for marine fauna, biodiversity and through the services they provide to humanity. However, they are significantly threatened by anthropogenic stressors, such as climate change. By combining 9 environmental variables and ecological and health-based thresholds obtained from the available literature, we develop, using fuzzy logic (discontinuous functions), a Coral Reef Stress Exposure Index (CRSEI) for remotely monitoring coral reef exposure to environmental stressors. Our approach capitalises on the abundance of readily available satellite Earth Observation (EO) data available in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based geospatial processing platform. CRSEI values from 3157 distinct reefs were generated and mapped across 12 important coral reef ecosystem regions. Quantitative analyses indicated that the index detected significant temporal differences in stress and was, therefore, able to capture historic change at a global scale. We also applied the CRSEI to three case-study reef ecosystems, previously well-monitored for stress and disturbance using other methods. PCA analysis indicated that depth, current, sea surface temperature (SST) and SST anomaly accounted for the greatest contribution to the variance in stress in these three regions. The CRSEI corroborated temporal and spatial differences in stress exposure from known disturbances within these reference regions, in addition to identifying the potential drivers of inter- and intra-region differences in stress, namely depth, degree heating weeks and SST anomaly. We discuss how the index can be further improved in future with site-specific thresholds for each stress variable, and the incorporation of additional variables not currently available in GEE. This index provides an open access tool, built around a free and powerful processing platform, that has broad potential to assist in the regular monitoring of our increasingly imperilled coral reef ecosystems, and, in particular, those that are remote or inaccessible.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0129.v1

Oil Palm in the 2020s and Beyond: Challenges and Solutions

Denis Murphy, Kirstie Goggin, Russell Paterson

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: oil palm; breeding; sustainability; certification; diseases; basal stem rot; phytophthora; climate change; modelling; supply chains; biodiesel; covid-19

Online: 7 December 2020 (08:50:30 CET)

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Background Oil palm (OP), Elaeis guineensis , is by far the most important global oil crop, supplying about 40% of total traded vegetable oil. Palm oils are key dietary components consumed daily by over three billion people, mostly in Asia, and also have a wide range of important non-food uses including in cleansing and sanitising products. Main body Oil palm is a perennial crop with a >25-year life cycle and an exceptionally small land footprint compared to annual oilseed crops. Oil palm crops globally produce an annual 81 million tonnes (Mt) of oil from about 19 million hectares (Mha). In contrast, the second and third largest vegetable oil crops, soybean and rapeseed, yield a combined 84 Mt oil but occupy over 163 Mha of increasingly scarce arable land. Despite this advantage, oil palm has acquired a poor environmental reputation, especially in Europe and North America, although soybean planting is now responsible for more deforestation. Oil palm crops face other challenges in the 2020s. On the demand side, these include changing consumer purchasing habits, threats to global trade systems, and diminishing demand for liquid fuels as transport systems become increasingly electrified. On the supply side, major issues include stagnant yields in ageing plantations, sluggish replanting of improved varieties, labour shortages, diseases and climatic/ environmental threats. The latter include the increasing incidence of new and existing pests/diseases and a general lack of climatic resilience, especially relating to elevated temperatures and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. This review surveys the oil palm sector in the 2020s and beyond, its major challenges and options for future progress. Conclusions Oil palm crops face many future challenges, including emerging threats from climate change and new pests and diseases, that require more effective international collaboration. Nevertheless, new breeding technologies are providing the promise of improvements, such as much higher yielding varieties, improved oil profiles, enhanced disease resistance and modified crop architecture to enable harvesting mechanisation. The industry also needs to redouble its efforts to engage with global consumers in a constructive dialogue aimed at addressing its image problem and explaining the many benefits of its products.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202106.0060.v1

COVID-19: Unmasking Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines and Therapeutic Strategies

Renuka Raman, Krishna J. Patel, Kishu Ranjan

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; variants; vaccines; immune dysregulated; comorbidities; antibody; Spike protein; biomolecules; coronavirus

Online: 2 June 2021 (09:56:14 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202106.0317.v1

Cannabis Inflorescence Yield and Cannabinoid Concentration Are Not Improved with Long-Term Exposure to Short-Wavelength Ultraviolet-B Radiation

Victoria Rodriguez-Morrison, David Llewellyn, Youbin Zheng

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Cannabis sativa; potency; ultraviolet; indoor; sole source; terpene

Online: 11 June 2021 (11:31:18 CEST)

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It is commonly believed that exposing Cannabis sativa (cannabis) plants to ultraviolet (UV) radiation can enhance Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) concentrations in female inflorescences and associated foliar tissues. However, a lack of published scientific studies has left knowledge-gaps in the effects of UV on cannabis that must be elucidated before UV can be utilized as a horticultural management tool in commercial cannabis production. In this study we investigated the effects of UV exposure level on photosynthesis, growth, inflorescence yield, and secondary metabolite composition of two indoor-grown cannabis cultivars: ‘Low Tide’ (LT) and ‘Breaking Wave’ (BW). After growing vegetatively for 2 weeks under a canopy-level photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of ≈225 μmol·m^–2·s^–1 in an 18-h light/6-h dark photoperiod, plants were grown for 9 weeks in a 12-h light/12-h dark “flowering” photoperiod under a canopy-level PPFD of ≈400 µmol·m^–2·s^–1 and 3.5 h·d^–1 of supplemental UV radiation with UV photon flux densities (UV-PFD) ranging from 0.01 to 0.8 μmol·m^–2·s^–1 provided by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a peak wavelength of 287 nm (i.e., biologically-effective UV doses of 0.16 to 13 kJ·m^–2·d^–1). The severity of UV-induced morphology (e.g., whole-plant size and leaf size reductions, leaf malformations, and stigma browning) and physiology (e.g., reduced leaf photosynthetic rate and reduced F_v/F_m) symptoms worsened as UV exposure level increased. While the proportion of dry inflorescence yield that was derived from apical tissues decreased in both cultivars with increasing UV exposure level, total dry inflorescence yield only decreased in LT. The equivalent Δ⁹-THC and cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations also decreased in LT inflorescences with increasing UV exposure level. While the total terpene content in inflorescences decreased with increasing UV exposure level in both cultivars, the relative concentrations of individual terpenes varied by cultivar. The potential for using UV to enhance cannabis quality must still be confirmed before it can be used as a production tool for modern, indoor-grown cannabis cultivars.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0629.v1

A Comprehensive Review of the Coffee Leaf Miner Leucoptera Coffeella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae), With Special Regard to Neotropical Impacts, Pest Management and Control

Juliana Dantas, Isabela Motta, Leonardo Vidal, João Bílio, Júlia M. Pupe, Adriano Veiga, Carlos H. S. Carvalho, Rogerio B. Lopes, Thales L. Rocha, Luciano P. Silva, José R. Pujol-Luz, Érika V.S. Albuquerque

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: resistance; cultivar; biopesticide; biological control; chemical control; life cycle; CLM

Online: 30 October 2020 (08:52:51 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201706.0131.v1

Calcium Sparks in Cardiac Cells in Silico

Alexander Ryvkin, N.S. Markov

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: calcium signaling; calcium release; sparks; ventricular cardiac myocytes; RyR-channels

Online: 30 June 2017 (11:29:29 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0135.v1

Fermentation Technology as a Driver of Human Brain Expansion

Katherine Bryant, Christi Hansen, Erin Hecht

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: evolution diet; metabolism; australopith; encephalization; hominin; colon; behavioral ecology

Online: 6 October 2020 (15:14:56 CEST)

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Working Paper REVIEW

Incorporating Machine Learning Into Bioinformatics Frameworks

Noam Auslander, Ayal Gussow, Eugene Koonin

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: machine learning; deep learning; bioinformatics; phylogenetics; cancer evolution

Online: 17 February 2021 (09:40:45 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202304.0247.v1

Morphology of the Ventral Process of the Sixth Cervical Vertebra in Extinct and Extant Equus: Functional Implications

Sharon May-Davis, Robert Hunter, Richard White

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Caudal ventral tubercle (CVT); Cranial ventral tubercle (CrVT); Equus ferus caballus; Longus colli; Sixth cervical vertebra (C6); Ventral tubercle.

Online: 12 April 2023 (06:07:46 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0619.v1

Smart Nanoparticles in Biomedicine: An Overview of Recent Developments and Applications

Simona Campora, Giulio Ghersi

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Nanotechnology 1; Nanomedicine 2; organic and inorganic nanoparticles 3; drug delivery 4; antitumour therapy5; tissue engineering 6.

Online: 26 February 2021 (13:31:45 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201705.0212.v1

Activation of the EGF Receptor by Ligand Binding and Oncogenic Mutations: The “Rotation Model”

Endang R. Purba, Ei-ichiro Saita, Ichiro N. Maruyama

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: cancer; cell-surface receptor; EGFR; molecular mechanism; phosphorylation; receptor tyrosine kinase; transmembrane signal transduction

Online: 30 May 2017 (08:34:04 CEST)

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Working Paper REVIEW

Rhizosphere Microbiome Modulators: Contributions of Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria towards Sustainable Agriculture

Nicholas Ozede Igiehon, Olubukola Oluranti Babalola

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: microbiomes; next generation sequencing, plant yield; rhizobacteria; rhizosphere; sustainable agriculture

Online: 25 January 2018 (17:41:19 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0149.v1

Advances in Melon Breeding (Cucumis melo L.): An Update

Hari Kesh, Prashant Kaushik

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: breeding; diversity; genetic engineering; genomics; male sterility; melon; QTLs

Online: 7 October 2020 (09:22:33 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0196.v1

De Novo Spatial Reconstruction of Single Cells by Developmental Coalescent Embedding of Transcriptomic Networks

Yuxuan Zhao, Shiqiang Zhang, Carlo Vittorio Cannistraci, Jing-Dong J. Han

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Single cell RNA-seq; spatial reconstruction; development; coalescent embedding

Online: 5 March 2021 (21:21:59 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202011.0019.v1

Semelparity and Reproductive Death in Caenorhabditis elegans

David Gems, Carina Kern, Joseph Nour, Marina Ezcurra

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: aging; biomass conversion; C. elegans; reproductive death; semelparity; senescent pathology

Online: 2 November 2020 (10:45:56 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0261.v3

Love Bites – Do Venomous Arachnids Make Safe Pets?

Tobias J. Hauke, Volker Herzig

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Arachnid; Scorpion; Spider; Pet; Bite; Sting; Envenomation; Pain; Symptoms

Online: 1 December 2020 (10:32:10 CET)

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Preprint HYPOTHESIS | doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0470.v1

The Most Recent Common Ancestor of Modern Humans was Born in Eurasia

vicente cabrera

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Human; ancientDNA; Phylogeny

Online: 18 December 2020 (14:03:16 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202011.0256.v2

An Introduction to the Callithrix Genus and Overview of Recent Advances in Marmoset Research

Joanna Malukiewicz, Vanner Boere, Maria Adelia Borstelmann de Oliveira, Mirela D’Arc, Jessica Viviane Amorim Ferreira, Jeffery French, Genevieve Houman, Claudia Almeida Igayara de Souza, Leandro Jerusalinsky, Fabiano Rodrigues de Melo, Mônica Mafra Valença-Montenegro, Silvia Bahadian Moreira, Ita de Oliveira e Silva, Felipe Santos Pacheco, Jeff Rogers, Alcides Pissinatti, Ricardo del Rosario, Corinna Ross, Carlos R. Ruiz-Miranda, Luiz C.M. Pereira, Nicola Schiel, Fernanda de Fátima Rodrigues da Silva, Antonio Souto, Vedrana Šlipogor, Suzette Tardif

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: marmoset; Neotropical; Brazil; biomedical; arbovirus; conservation; hybridization; biological invasion

Online: 18 February 2021 (15:52:32 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202108.0097.v1

Goat Milk: Compositional, Technological, Nutritional, and Therapeutic Aspects

Ahmed R. A. Hammam, Saleh M. Salman, Mohamed S. Elfaruk, Khalid A. Alsaleem

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Goat population; Goat milk; Milk production; Milk composition; Goat cheese; Therapeutic properties

Online: 3 August 2021 (15:57:07 CEST)

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Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints201901.0161.v1

Unveiling Mesenchymal Stromal Cells’ Organizing Function in Regeneration

Peter P. Nimiritsky, Roman Yu. Eremichev, Natalia A. Alexandrushkina, Anastasia Yu. Efimenko, Vsevolod A. Tkachuk, Pavel I. Makarevich

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: stem cell; stromal cell; mesenchymal stromal cell; regeneration; cell sheet; cell delivery

Online: 16 January 2019 (09:39:55 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201806.0373.v1

The Role of Archaic Human Genes in the Current Epidemic of Diabetes Mellitus in Indigenous Australians

Malgorzata Brzozowska, Richard Allen

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: archaic human genes; obesity; diabetes mellitus; Indigenous Australians

Online: 25 June 2018 (08:13:36 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201803.0080.v1

Are Changes in Physical Work Capacity Induced by High-Intensity Functional Training Related to Changes in Associated Physiologic Measures?

Derek A. Crawford, Nicholas B. Drake, Michael J. Carper, Justin Deblauw, Katie M. Heinrich

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: high-intensity functional training; work capacity; performance

Online: 12 March 2018 (05:33:23 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201904.0104.v1

Comparative Distal Limb Anatomy Reveals a Primitive Trait in 2 Breeds of Equus caballus

Sharon May-Davis, Zefanja Vermeulen, Wendy Y. Brown

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: 2nd, 3rd, 4th interosseous muscle; Dutch Konik; Bosnian mountain horse; donkey; Przewalski; zebra; atavism

Online: 9 April 2019 (11:32:50 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0102.v1

Assessment of the Host Range of Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Manica Province, Mozambique

Albasini Caniço, António Mexia, Luisa Santos

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: invasive species; Noctuidae; host plants; polyphagous insects; host-strain; pest management

Online: 5 January 2021 (17:12:12 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202005.0244.v1

B Cells Over-Activation by Viral Proteins <70 kDa Causes Th2 Immune Suppression in COVID-19 Sepsis

Javier Martín

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antigen; monovalent; oligovalent; protein; kilodalton (kDa); Th1 response; Th2 response; B cell activation; B cell receptor (BCR); macrophage; dendritic cell; apoptosis; subcapsular sinus; immunoglobulin; interleukin; cytokine; Cytokine Storm Syndrome (CSS); allergen; immune paralysis; vaccine; polymer

Online: 14 May 2020 (15:19:53 CEST)

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Working Paper TECHNICAL NOTE

Application of Flow-Virometry for Large-Scale Screening of COVID 19 Cases

Niraja Soni, Puja Pai, Raja Krishna Kumar G., Venkatesh Prasad, Santanu Dasgupta, Bhaskar Bhadra

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: COVID-19; Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); SAR-CoV-2; flow cytometry; flow virometry; viral particles; herpes simplex virus; HSV; nanoparticles

Online: 12 May 2020 (07:45:53 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201709.0018.v1

Zebrafish Xenograft: An Evolutionary Experiment in Tumour Biology

Rachael A. Wyatt, Nhu P. V. Trieu, Bryan D. Crawford

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: xenograft; zebrafish; extracellular matrix; matrix metalloproteinases; MMPs

Online: 6 September 2017 (08:55:20 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0791.v1

Identification of Mint Scents Using a QCM Based E-Nose

Salih Okur, Mohammed Sarheed, Robert Huber, Zejun Zhang, Lars Heinke, Adnan Kanbar, Christof Wöll, Peter Nick, Uli Lemmer

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Mint; Plant volatiles; Electronic Nose; Principal Component Analysis; Linear Discriminant Analysis; k-Nearest-Neighbors Analysis

Online: 31 December 2020 (11:45:40 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0193.v1

New Therapeutic Approaches to Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia: The Role of Ginkgo Biloba (EGb 761®)

Carlo Tomino, Sara Ilari, Vincenzo Solfrizzi, Valentina Malafoglia, Guglielmo Zilio, Patrizia Russo, Federica Marcolongo, Giovanni Scapagnini, Carolina Muscoli, Paolo Maria Rossini

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: mild cognitive impairment (MCI); mild dementia; Alzheimer’s disease; Ginkgo biloba (EGb761®); Tebonin; anti-dementia drugs; randomized controlled trials

Online: 8 February 2021 (11:37:05 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0490.v1

The Cancer Stem Cell Marker CD44 Play Key Roles in Immune Suppression/Evasion, Drug Resistance, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, and Metastasis in Several Human Cancers

Kevin Dzobo, Musalula Sinkala

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: CD44; Cancer Stem Cells; Tumorigenesis; Drug Resistance; Immune Markers; Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition; Therapeutic Targeting

Online: 25 January 2021 (12:23:49 CET)

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One of the most used markers of cancer stem cells in several cancers, including colorectal cancer and breast cancer, is CD44. CD44 is a glycoprotein that traverses the cell membrane and binds to many ligands including hyaluronan resulting in activation of signaling cascades. Several reports have shown conflicting data on the expression of CD44 and that the expression depends on modes of investigations and subtypes of cancers. In addition, the correlation between CD44 expression and drug resistance, immune infiltration, EMT, metastasis and patients prognosis in several cancer types remains unclear. This study investigated CD44 expression in several cancers and explored its relationship with tumorigenesis using various publicly available databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, GEPIA, Oncomine, Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource. Our analysis reveals that CD44 is differentially expressed in different cancers. CD44 expression is significantly associated with cancer patients’ survival in gastric, pancreatic and colorectal cancers. In addition, CD44 expression is closely linked with immune infiltration and immune suppressive features in pancreatic, colon adenocarcinoma and stomach cancer. High CD44 expression was significantly correlated with the expression of drug resistance-, EMT- and metastasis- linked genes. Tumors expressing high CD44 have higher mutation burden and afflict older patients than tumors expressing low CD44. Cell lines expressing high CD44 are more resistant to anti-cancer drugs compared to those expressing low CD44. Protein-protein interaction investigations and functional enrichment analysis showed that CD44 interacts with gene products related to cell-substrate adhesion, migration, platelet activation, and cellular response to stress. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that these genes play key roles in biological adhesion, cell component organization, locomotion, G-α-signaling and the response to stimulus. Overall, this investigation reveals that CD44 play significant roles in tumorigenesis, can be used as a prognostic biomarker in several cancers and can be therapeutically targeted in cancer therapy.

Preprint CONCEPT PAPER | doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0160.v1

The Next Million Names for Archaea and Bacteria

Mark J. Pallen, Andrea Telatin, Aharon Oren

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: nomenclature; Candidatus; metagenome-assembled genomes; genome-based taxonomy

Online: 7 October 2020 (15:08:01 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202106.0363.v1

Linking Omics and Gene Editing Tools for Rapid Improvement of Traditional Food Plants for Diversified Foods and Sustainable Food Security

Ajay Kumar, Anju T, Sushil Kumar, Sushil Satish Chhapekar, Sajana Sreedharan, Sonam Singh, Nirala Ramchiary, Su Ryun Choi, Yong Pyo Lim

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Traditional food crops; Climate change; Food security; Omics; Translational genomics; Gene editing

Online: 14 June 2021 (13:02:24 CEST)

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The indigenous communities across the globe especially in the rural areas consume locally available plants known as Traditional Food Plants (TFPs) for their nutritional and health-related needs. Recent research shows that many of the traditional food plants are highly nutritious as they contain health beneficial metabolites, vitamins, mineral elements and other nutrients. Excessive reliance on the mainstream staple crops has its own disadvantages. TFPs are nowadays considered important crops of the future and can act as supplementary foods for the burgeoning global population. They can also act as emergency foods in times of pandemics and other situations like COVID-19. The current situation necessitates locally available alternative nutritious TFPs for sustainable food production. To increase the cultivation or improve the traits in TFPs, it is essential to understand the molecular basis of the genes that regulate some important traits such as nutritional components and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. The integrated use of modern omics and gene editing technologies provide great opportunities to better understand the genetic and molecular basis of superior nutrient content, climate-resilient traits and adaptation to local agroclimatic zones. Recently, realising the importance and benefits of TFPs, scientists have shown interest in the prospection and sequencing of traditional food plants for their improvements, further cultivation and mainstreaming. Integrated omics such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and ionomics are successfully used in plants and have provided a comprehensive understanding of gene-protein-metabolite networks. Combined use of omics and editing tools has led to successful editing of beneficial traits in few TFPs. This suggests that there is ample scope of integrated use of modern omics and editing tools/techniques for improvement of TFPs and their use for sustainable food production. In this article, we highlight the importance, scope and progress towards improvement of TFPs for valuable traits by integrated use of omics and gene editing techniques.

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202009.0419.v1

In vivo Modelling of Toxicity of Eight Commercial Artificial Sweeteners in Daphnia Neonates and Zebrafish Embryos through Cardiac Performance Assessments

Ferry Saputra, Yu-Heng Lai, Rey Arturo Fernandez, Allan Patrick G. Macabeo, Hong-Thih Lai, Jong-Chin Huang, Chung-Der Hsiao

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: artificial sweeteners; zebrafish; Daphnia; cardiac performance; toxicity

Online: 18 September 2020 (04:47:33 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0752.v1

Assessing Combined Effects for Mixtures of Similar and Dissimilar Acting Neuroactive Substances on Zebrafish Embryo Movement

Afolarin Olaposi Ogungbemi, Riccardo Massei, Rolf Altenburger, Stefan Scholz, Eberhard Küster

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Mixture toxicity; Neurotoxicity; Antagonism; Organophosphate; Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; GABA; Behavior; Risk assessment; Spontaneous movement activity

Online: 31 March 2021 (07:52:05 CEST)

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Risk assessment of chemicals is usually conducted for individual chemicals whereas mixtures of chemical are occurring in the environment. Considering that neuroactive chemicals are a group of contaminants that dominate in the environment, it is then imperative to understand the combined effects from mixtures. The commonly used models to predict mixture effects, namely concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA), are thought suitable for mixtures of similarly or dissimilarly acting components, respectively. For mixture toxicity prediction, one important challenge is to clarify whether to group neuroactive substances based on similar mechanisms of action, e.g. same molecular target or rather similar toxicological response, e.g. hyper- or hypoactivity (effect direction). We addressed this by using the spontaneous tail coiling (STC) of zebrafish embryos, which represents the earliest observable motor activity in the developing neural network, as a model to elucidate the link between mechanism of action and toxicological response. Two questions were asked: 1.) Can the mixture models CA or IA be used to predict combined effects for neuroactive chemical mixtures when the components share a similar mode of action (i.e. hyper- or hypoativity) but show different mechanism of action? 2.) Will a mixture of chemicals where the components show opposing effect directions result in an antagonistic combined effect? Results indicate that mixture toxicity of chemicals such as propafenone and abamectin as well as chlorpyrifos and hexaconazole that are known to show different mechanisms of action but similar effect directions were predictable using CA and IA models. This could be interpreted with the convergence of effects on the neural level leading to either a collective activation or inhibition of synapses. We also found antagonistic effects for mixtures containing substances with opposing effect direction. Finally, we discuss how the STC may be used to amend risk assessment.

Preprint COMMUNICATION | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0633.v1

Biofortification - Associated Costs and Finding Alternatives?

Avik Ray

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Biofortification; Agro-biodiversity; HarvestPlus; Hidden Hunger; Orphan Crops; Wild edibles

Online: 28 July 2021 (16:18:29 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0244.v1

Mining Synergistic Microbial Interactions: A Roadmap on How to Integrate Multi-Omics Data

João Pedro Saraiva, Anja Worrich, Canan Karakoç, Rene Kallies, Antonis Chatzinotas, Florian Centler, Ulisses Nunes da Rocha

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: microbial communities; synergistic interactions; ecosystem processes; multi-omics

Online: 9 February 2021 (16:59:36 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0367.v1

WHO Fever Management Guidelines: Challenges in Harnessing the Benefits During Covid-19 Pandemic

Samer Singh, Dhiraj Kishore, Rakesh Singh

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Fever; Beneficial fever; Infections; WHO; Fever Management; Guidelines; Antipyretic; Mortality; Heat Shock; Inflammation; COVID-19; Respiratory diseases; Paracetamol

Online: 16 July 2021 (09:40:35 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202103.0318.v1

Group Maintenance in Aggregative Multicellularity

Israt Jahan, Tyler Larsen, Joan Strassmann, David Queller

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: multicellularity; social evolution; myxococcus; dictyostelium; major transitions

Online: 11 March 2021 (11:51:08 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202201.0254.v1

Formalizing Insect Morphological Data: A Model-Based, Extensible Insect Anatomy Ontology and Its Potential Applications in Biodiversity Research and Informatics

Jennifer C. Girón, Sergei Tarasov, Luis A. González Montaña, Nicolas Matentzoglu, Aaron D. Smith, Markus Koch, Brendon E. Boudinot, Patrice Bouchard, Roger Burks, Lars Vogt, Matt Yoder, David Osumi-Sutherland, Frank Friedrich, Rolf Beutel, István Mikó

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Morphology; insects; biodiversity research; ontology development

Online: 18 January 2022 (11:49:54 CET)

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The spectacular radiation of insects has produced a stunning diversity of phenotypes. During the last 250 years, research on insect systematics has generated hundreds of terms for naming and comparing those phenotypes. In its current form, this terminological diversity is presented in natural language and lacks formalization, which prohibits computer-assisted comparison using semantic web technologies. Here we propose a Model for Describing Insect Anatomical Structures (MoDIAS) which incorporates structural properties and positional relationships for standardized, consistent, and reproducible descriptions of insect phenotypes. We applied the MoDIAS framework in creating the ontology for the Anatomy of the Insect Skeleto-Muscular system (AISM). The AISM is the first general insect ontology that aims to cover all taxa by providing generalized, fully logical, and queryable, definitions for each term. It was built using the Ontology Development Kit (ODK), which maximizes interoperability with Uberon (Uberon multi-species anatomy ontology) and other basic ontologies, enhancing the integration of insect anatomy into the broader biological sciences. A template system for adding new terms, extending and linking the AISM to additional anatomical, phenotypic, genetic, and chemical ontologies is also introduced. The AISM is proposed as the backbone for taxon-specific insect ontologies and has potential applications spanning systematic biology and biodiversity informatics, allowing users to (1) use controlled vocabularies and create semi-automated computer-parsable insect morphological descriptions; (2) integrate insect morphology into broader fields of research, including ontology-informed phylogenetic methods, logical homology hypothesis testing, evo-devo studies, and genotype to phenotype mapping; and (3) automate the extraction of morphological data from the literature, enabling the generation of large-scale phenomic data, by facilitating the production and testing of informatic tools able to extract, link, annotate, and process morphological data. This system will allow for clear and semantically interoperable integration of insect phenotypes in biodiversity studies.

Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints201709.0026.v1

µ-Conotoxins Modulating Sodium Currents in Pain Perception and Transmission

Elisabetta Tosti, Raffaele Boni, Alessandra Gallo

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: conotoxin; µ-conotoxin; ion current; sodium channel; pain transmission

Online: 8 September 2017 (08:22:26 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202208.0248.v1

Additional Proposed Tests of the Soliton/Wave-Action Potential Model, and How the Thermodynamic/Theory-Based Philosophical Approach Abandons the Scientific Method

Scott Meissner

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: action potential; soliton/wave; lipid phase transition; scientific method; membrane

Online: 15 August 2022 (04:27:26 CEST)

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Working Paper ARTICLE

Steroid Receptors and Vertebrate Evolution

Michael Baker

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Steroids, Vertebrate Evolution, Amphioxus, Ancestral Estrogen, Cambrian Explosion, Snowball Earth

Online: 1 April 2019 (13:50:13 CEST)

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Considering that life on earth evolved about 3.7 billion years ago, vertebrates are young, appearing in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion about 542 to 515 million years ago. Results from sequence analyses of genomes from bacteria, yeast, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates indicate that receptors for adrenal steroids (aldosterone, cortisol), and sex steroids (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) also are young, with an estrogen receptor and a 3-ketosteroid receptor first appearing in basal chordates (cephalochordates: amphioxus), which are close ancestors of vertebrates. Through gene duplication and divergence of the 3-ketosteroid receptor, receptors that respond to androgens, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and progestins evolved in vertebrates. Thus, an ancestral progesterone receptor and an ancestral corticoid receptor, the common ancestor of the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors, evolved in jawless vertebrates (cyclostomes: lampreys, hagfish). This was followed by evolution of an androgen receptor, distinct glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors and estrogen receptor-α and -β in cartilaginous fishes (gnathostomes: sharks). Further evolution of mineralocorticoid signaling occurred with the evolution of aldosterone synthase in lungfish, a forerunner of terrestrial vertebrates. Adrenal and sex steroid receptors are not found in echinoderms: and hemichordates, which are ancestors in the lineage of cephalochordates and vertebrates. The evolution of steroid receptors at key nodes in the evolution of vertebrates, in which steroid receptors act as master switches to regulate differentiation, development, reproduction, immune responses, electrolyte homeostasis and stress responses, argues for an important role for steroid receptors in the evolutionary success of vertebrates, considering that the human genome contains about 22,000 genes, which is not much larger than genomes of invertebrates, such as Caenorhabditis elegans (~18,000 genes) and Drosophila (~14,000 genes).

Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints201901.0196.v2

Corticospinal Excitability to the Biceps Brachii Is not Different when Arm Cycling at a Self-Selected or Fixed Cadence

Evan J. Lockyer, Anna P. Nippard, Kaitlyn Kean, Nicole Hollohan, Duane C. Button, Kevin E. Power

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: motor evoked potential; MEP; arm cranking; pedaling; exercise

Online: 13 February 2019 (09:54:08 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0340.v1

Functional Connectivity in Multi-Habitat Marine Species

Elizabeth Porter, Aurore Ponchon, Rebekka Allgayer, Samantha Finnegan, Justin Travis, Kara Layton

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: functional connectivity; structural connectivity; multihabitat; barrier; nursery; life stage

Online: 18 January 2021 (13:49:20 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202011.0390.v1

Self Incompatibility, Inbreeding Depression, and Potential to Develop Inbred Lines in Alfalfa: A Review

Atit Parajuli, Longxi Yu, Michael Peel, Deven See, Steven Wagner, Steven Norberg, Zhiwu Zhang

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Hybrid Vigor; Heterosis; Bulked Segregant Analysis; Marker Assisted Selection

Online: 13 November 2020 (15:47:40 CET)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202107.0333.v1

The Tardigrade Damage Suppressor Protein Promotes Transcription Factor Activation and Expression of DNA Repair Genes in Human Cells in Response to Hydroxyl Radicals and UV-C Exposure

Claudia Ricci, Giulia Riolo, Carlotta Marzocchi, Jlenia Brunetti, Alessandro Pini, Silvia Cantara

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Dsup; tardigrade; UV-C; Oxidative stress; DNA repair; transcription factors

Online: 14 July 2021 (12:49:11 CEST)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202104.0444.v1

Breeding for Root-Knot Nematode Resistance in Eggplant: Progress and Prospects

Meenakshi Sharma, Prashant Kaushik

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Eggplant, Galls, Meloidogyne, Root-knot, Nematodes

Online: 16 April 2021 (11:50:41 CEST)

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Preprint ARTICLE | doi:10.20944/preprints202102.0079.v1

Effects of NPS and Bio-organic Fertilizers on Yield and Yield Components of Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) in Gozamin District, East Gojjam, Ethiopia

Addisu Ebbisa, Tadele Amdemariam

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Faba Bean; Farmyard Manure (FYM); Nodulation; NPS Fertilizers; Rhizobium; Yield

Online: 2 February 2021 (09:40:58 CET)

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Preprint REVIEW | doi:10.20944/preprints202004.0532.v1

Potential Role of Cellular Senescence on Coronavirus Infections

Prem Chapagain

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: cellular senescence; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; aging

Online: 30 April 2020 (13:58:41 CEST)

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Working Paper ARTICLE

Long-Distance Water Transport of Land Plants Using the Thermodynamic Sorption Principle

Karlheinz Hahn

Subject: Biology And Life Sciences, Anatomy And Physiology Keywords: Plant water transport, plant long-distance water transport, sorption hypothesis, cohesion theory, cohesion-tension theory

Online: 12 April 2019 (20:55:26 CEST)

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In the case of vascular plants the process of water loss by leafs and water absorption by the root is well known. There is agreement on the passive nature of long-distance moisture movement in the dead cells of the xylem; however, controversy exists focusing on the long-distance water transport principle. Hales (1726) founded a view of bulk flow based on water suction after experiments with cut twigs. The previous doctrine of long-distance water transport within vessel elements and tracheid of the xylem of intact plants – the relevant cohesion theory in text books – was developed mainly by Boehm (1893), Renner (1911) and Dixon (1914) with plant artefacts. Water movement according to this theory is based on an assumed hydrodynamic bulk fluid flow in xylem in continuous water columns (free of water vapour space), under tension, according to the law of Poiseuille (see e.g. Dixon 1914). Physically hydrodynamics is part of fluid mechanics, as a result Poiseuille’s law is usually valid only for hydrodynamic bulk flow in ideal capillaries (Sutera & Skalak, 1993). Besides the basic requirement for transport, according to cohesion theory, the existence of ideal capillaries is not compatible with either: “Because vessel elements and tracheid do not stand as ideal capillaries. …” (Bresinsky et al. 2008, translated from German). Unlike ideal capillaries, the walls of vessel elements and tracheid interact with the transported water. These walls are able to function as a source or as a sink for the transported water because of interaction with the cell walls. With the interaction, vessel elements and tracheid, part of the xylem, can shrink and swell, unlike ideal capillaries. Because the xylem (in woody plants part of the wood) is inconsistent with the basic law of fluid flow, the equation of mass balance (Zimmermann et al. 2004) and cohesion theory are not strictly followed.Many plant physiologists view the cohesion theory as appropriate, however, this theory remains controversial, i.e. by Eisenhut (1988), Laschimke (1990) and Hahn (1993). Nultsch (1996) gives doubts referring to the present doctrine of plant water transport. Zimmermann et al. (2004) reject the cohesion theory and conclude: “... that the arguments of the proponents of the Cohesion Theory are completely misleading” (Zimmermann et al. 2004). Hence cohesion theory can be treated as inapplicable and the question arises: how does water transport in fact function? In the following, it is gone into in more detail. A sorption hypothesis of actual water transport, based on empirical fact, shall be addressed in this paper.

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