Impact of Collared Peccaries Dycotiles tajacu (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) on understory vegetation in the tropical rainforest of the Nogal-La Selva Biological Corridor, Costa Rica / Impacto del pecarí de collar, Dycotiles tajacu (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) en la vegetación del sotobosque del bosque tropical húmedo del Corredor Biológico Local Nogal-La Selva, Costa Rica

Abstract Introduction: Evidence suggests that herbivores, such as peccaries, shape vegetation structure and diversity through predation, trampling, dispersal, and rooting behavior. Objective: To evaluate the impact of peccaries (Dycotiles tajacu) on the understory vegetation of the tropical rainforest in the Nogal-La Selva Local Biological Corridor, Costa Rica, comparing a site with the absence of peccaries to another with the presence of these animals. Methodology: From June to November 2021, 20 experimental exclusions and 20 free access plots, each measuring 2 m2 were used to quantify herbivory, the number of leaf blades, damaged leaves, healthy leaves, sapling height, and fallen biomass at both sites. Results: A higher sapling density was found in the Nogal Reserve, but a lower sapling diversity, while in La Selva there was a higher sapling diversity, but a lower density of seedlings. Herbivory and sapling height in La Selva exceeded those in Nogal. The exclusion of peccaries reduced seedling damage but did not affect the dynamics of fallen biomass. Conclusion: For the design, implementation, and evaluation of the effectiveness of biological corridors, it is crucial to consider plant-animal interactions to enhance the flow of ecological processes through functional and structural connectivity, analyzed from interactions such as those presented in this paper.

Resumen Introducción: Existe evidencia que herbívoros, como los saínos, dan forma a la estructura y diversidad de la vegetación a través del comportamiento de depredación, pisoteo, dispersión y enraizamiento. Objetivo: Evaluar el impacto de los saínos (Dycotiles tajacu) en la vegetación del sotobosque del bosque tropical húmedo en el Corredor Biológico Local Nogal-La Selva, Costa Rica, en un sitio con ausencia y en otro con presencia de saínos. Métodos: De junio a noviembre de 2021 se utilizaron 20 exclusiones experimentales y 20 parcelas de acceso libre de 2 m2, se cuantifico la herbivoría, número de láminas foliares, hojas dañadas, hojas sanas, altura de brinzales y biomasa caída en ambos sitios. Resultados: Se encontró una mayor densidad de brinzales en Reserva Nogal pero una menor diversidad, contrario en La Selva donde se encontró una mayor diversidad de brinzales, pero una menor densidad de plántulas. La herbivoría y la altura de brinzales en La Selva fue mayor que en Nogal. La exclusión de los saínos disminuyó el daño a las plántulas, pero no afectó la dinámica de la biomasa caída. Conclusión: Es necesario contemplar para el diseño, implementación y evaluación de la efectividad de corredores biológicos, las interacciones planta-animal, para potencializar el flujo de procesos ecológicos mediante la conectividad funcional y estructural, analizada a partir de interacciones como las presentadas en este trabajo.

Therapeutic potential of Buddleja Polystachya Fresen (stem and leaves) extracts: antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties for ocular disease management.

This study on Buddleja polystachya highlights its phytochemical composition, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxic impacts. The study emphasizes the plant's potential to treat ocular diseases by identifying important compounds involved in the bioactivity through GC-MS analysis. This study explores the antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential of Buddleja polystachya (stem and leaves) extracts, with a focus on their application in treating bacterial ocular infections and their efficacy against MCF7, HT29, and HepG2 cancer cells. Through comprehensive GC-MS analysis, a diverse array of phytochemicals was identified within Buddleja polystachya stem and leaves extracts, including carbohydrates, phenolic derivatives, fatty acids, and steroidal components. The extracts were then evaluated for their biological activities, revealing significant antimicrobial properties against a range of bacterial strains implicated in ocular infections. The research findings demonstrate that stem extracts derived from Buddleja polystachya demonstrated high to moderate cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines MCF7, HT29, and HepG2. Notably, these effects were characterized by varying IC50 values, which suggest distinct levels of sensitivity. In contrast, leaf extracts exhibited reduced cytotoxicity when tested against all these cell lines, although they did so with a significantly higher cytotoxicity aganist HepG2 cells. The results of this investigation highlight the potential therapeutic utilization of Buddleja polystachya extracts in the management of ocular infections and cancer. These results support the need for additional research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action of these extracts and explore their potential as drugs.

Retention forestry as a climate solution: Assessing biomass, soil carbon and albedo impacts in a northern temperate coniferous forest.

Forest management pathways for nature-based climate solutions, such as variable retention harvesting (VRH), have been gaining traction in recent years; however, their net biochemical and biophysical impacts remain unknown. Here, we use a combination of close-range and satellite remote sensing, eddy covariance technique, and ground-based biometric measurements to investigate forest thinning density and aggregation that maintain ecosystem nutrients, enhance tree growth and provide a negative feedback to the local climate in a northern temperate coniferous forest stand in Ontario, Canada. Our results showed that soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in VRH plots were significantly lower (p < 0.05) for all VRH treatments compared to unharvested plots. On average, soil C was reduced by -0.64 ± 0.22 Δ% C and N by -0.023 ± 0.008 Δ% N in VRH plots. We also observed the largest loss of soil C and N in open areas of aggregate plots. Furthermore, the changes in albedo resulting from VRH treatment were equivalent to removing a large amount of C from the atmosphere, ranging from 1.3 ± 0.2 kg C yr-1 m-2 in aggregate 33 % crown retention plots to 3.4 ± 0.5 kg C yr-1 m-2 in dispersed 33 % crown retention plots. Our findings indicate that spatially dispersed VRH resulted in minimal loss of soil C and N and the highest understory growth and C uptake, while enhanced tree growth and local cooling through increased albedo were observed in dispersed VRH plots with the fewest residual trees. These findings suggest that using the harvested trees from VRH in a way that avoids releasing C into the atmosphere makes dispersed VRH the preferred forest management pathway for nature-based climate solutions.

Fatty acid and nutrient profiles, diosgenin and trigonelline contents, mineral composition, and antioxidant activity of the seed of some Iranian Trigonella L. species.

BACKGROUND: Fenugreeks (Trigonella L. spp.), belonging to the legume family (Fabaceae), are well-known multipurpose crops that their materials are currently received much attention in the pharmaceutical and food industries for the production of healthy and functional foods all over the world. Iran is one of the main diversity origins of this valuable plant. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids profile, proximate composition, content of diosgenin, trigonelline, phenolic acids, total carotenoids, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, and tannins, mucilage and bitterness value, and antioxidant activity of the seed of thirty populations belonging to the ten different Iranian Trigonella species. RESULTS: We accordingly identified notable differences in the nutrient and bioactive compounds of each population. The highest content (mg/100 g DW) of ascorbic acid (18.67 ± 0.85‒22.48 ± 0.60) and α-tocopherol (31.61 ± 0.15‒38.78 ± 0.67) were found in the populations of T. filipes and T. coerulescens, respectively. Maximum content of catechin was found in the populations of T. teheranica (52.67 ± 0.05‒63.50 ± 0.72 mg/l). Linoleic acid (> 39.11% ± 0.61%) and linolenic acid (> 48.78 ± 0.39%) were the main polyunsaturated fatty acids, with the majority in the populations of T. stellata (54.81 ± 1.39‒63.46 ± 1.21%). The populations of T. stellata were also rich in trigonelline (4.95 ± 0.03‒7.66 ± 0.16 mg/g DW) and diosgenin (9.06 ± 0.06‒11.03 ± 0.17 mg/g DW). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained data provides baseline information to expand the inventory of wild and cultivated Iranian Trigonella species for further exploitation of rich chemotypes in the new foods and specific applications.

Enhancing Human Health and Wellbeing through Sustainably and Equitably Unlocking a Healthy Ocean's Potential.

A healthy ocean is essential for human health, and yet the links between the ocean and human health are often overlooked. By providing new medicines, technologies, energy, foods, recreation, and inspiration, the ocean has the potential to enhance human health and wellbeing. However, climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and inequity threaten both ocean and human health. Sustainable realisation of the ocean's health benefits will require overcoming these challenges through equitable partnerships, enforcement of laws and treaties, robust monitoring, and use of metrics that assess both the ocean's natural capital and human wellbeing. Achieving this will require an explicit focus on human rights, equity, sustainability, and social justice. In addition to highlighting the potential unique role of the healthcare sector, we offer science-based recommendations to protect both ocean health and human health, and we highlight the unique potential of the healthcare sector tolead this effort.

Genetic diversity and natural selection analysis of VAR2CSA and vir genes: implication for vaccine development.

Variable surface antigens (VSAs) encoded by var and vir genes in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, respectively, are known to be involved in malaria pathogenesis and host immune escape through antigenic variations. Knowledge of the genetic diversity of these antigens is essential for malaria control and effective vaccine development. In this study, we analysed the genetic diversity and evolutionary patterns of two fragments (DBL2X and DBL3X) of VAR2CSA gene and four vir genes (vir 4, vir 12, vir 21 and vir 27) from different endemic regions, including Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. High levels of segregating sites (S) and haplotype diversity (Hd) were observed in both var and vir genes. Among vir genes, vir 12 (S = 131, Hd = 0.996) and vir 21 (S = 171, Hd = 892) were found to be more diverse as compared to vir 4 (S = 11, Hd = 0.748) and vir 27 (S = 23, Hd = 0.814). DBL2X (S = 99, Hd = 0.996) and DBL3X (S = 307, Hd = 0.999) fragments showed higher genetic diversity. Our analysis indicates that var and vir genes are highly diverse and follow the similar evolutionary pattern globally. Some codons showed signatures of positive or negative selection pressure, but vir and var genes are likely to be under balancing selection. This study highlights the high variability of var and vir genes and underlines the need of functional experimental studies to determine the most relevant allelic forms for effective progress towards vaccine formulation and testing.

Quest for malaria management using natural remedies.

Malaria, transmitted through the bite of a Plasmodium-infected Anopheles mosquito, remains a significant global health concern. This review examines the complex life cycle of Plasmodium, emphasizing the role of humans and mosquitoes in its transmission and proliferation. Malarial parasites are transmitted as sporozoites to the human body by biting an infected female Anopheles mosquito. These sporozoites then invade liver cells, multiply, and release merozoites, which infect red blood cells, perpetuating the cycle. As this cycle continues, the affected person starts experiencing the clinical symptoms of the disease. The current treatments for malaria, including chloroquine, artemisinin-based combination therapy, and quinine, are discussed alongside the challenges of drug resistance and misdiagnosis. Although efforts have been made to develop a malarial vaccine, they have so far been unsuccessful. Additionally, the review explores the potential of medicinal plants as remedies for malaria, highlighting the efficacy of compounds derived from Artemisia annua, Cinchona species, and Helianthus annuus L., as well as exploration of plants and phytocompounds like cryptolepine, and isoliquiritigenin against drug-resistant Plasmodium species. Moreover, studies from Pakistan further highlight the diverse vegetal resources utilized in malaria treatment, emphasizing the need for further research into natural remedies. Despite the advantages of herbal medicines, including cost-effectiveness, and fewer side effects; their limitations must be taken into account, including variations in potency and potential drug interactions. The review concludes by advocating for a balanced approach to malaria treatment and prevention, emphasizing the importance of early detection, accurate diagnosis, and integrated efforts to combat the disease in the endemic regions.

From vision to text: A comprehensive review of natural image captioning in medical diagnosis and radiology report generation.

Natural Image Captioning (NIC) is an interdisciplinary research area that lies within the intersection of Computer Vision (CV) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Several works have been presented on the subject, ranging from the early template-based approaches to the more recent deep learning-based methods. This paper conducts a survey in the area of NIC, especially focusing on its applications for Medical Image Captioning (MIC) and Diagnostic Captioning (DC) in the field of radiology. A review of the state-of-the-art is conducted summarizing key research works in NIC and DC to provide a wide overview on the subject. These works include existing NIC and MIC models, datasets, evaluation metrics, and previous reviews in the specialized literature. The revised work is thoroughly analyzed and discussed, highlighting the limitations of existing approaches and their potential implications in real clinical practice. Similarly, future potential research lines are outlined on the basis of the detected limitations.

Clinical and molecular characterization of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2G/R7 in a large cohort of Brazilian patients.

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2G/R7 (LGMD2G/R7) is an ultra-rare condition initially identified within the Brazilian population. We aimed to expand clinical and genetic information about this disease, including its worldwide distribution. A multicenter historical cohort study was performed at 13 centers in Brazil in which data from index cases and their affected relatives from consecutive families with LGMD2G/R7 were reviewed from July 2017 to August 2023. Additionally, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify case reports and series of the disease worldwide. Forty-one LGMD2G/R7 cases were described in the Brazilian cohort, being all subjects homozygous for the c.157C>T/(p.Gln53*) variant in TCAP. Survival curves showed that the median disease duration before individuals required walking aids was 21 years. Notably, women exhibited a slower disease progression, requiring walking aids 13 years later than men. LGMD2G/R7 was frequently reported not only in Brazil but also in China and Bulgaria, with 119 cases identified globally, with possible founder effects in the Brazilian, Eastern European, and Asian populations. These findings are pivotal in raising awareness of LGMD2G/R7, understanding its progression, and identifying potential modifiers. This can significantly contribute to the development of future natural history studies and clinical trials for this disease.

Persistent and Bioaccumulative Halogenated Natural Products in Various Tropical Reef Fish Species from the Seychelles, Western Indian Ocean.

Gas chromatography with electron capture negative ion mass spectrometry (GC/ECNI-MS) was used to quantify and compare halogenated natural products (HNPs) and selected anthropogenic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in individual samples of 17 fish species from the Seychelles (Western Indian Ocean). The sum-HNP amounts (9.5-1100 ng/g lipid mass (lm)) were between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude higher than those of the sum of seven abundant polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (0.2-15 ng/g lm) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane-related compounds (DDTs) (<1.1-43 ng/g lm). Within the group of HNPs, the two tetrabrominated phenoxyanisoles (aka methoxylated diphenyl ethers, MeO-BDEs), 2'-MeO-BDE 68 ≫ 6-MeO-BDE 47, were predominant in most cases. Pearson correlation analysis showed that MeO-BDE levels were positively correlated with less abundant HNPs (2,2'-diMeO-BB 80, 2',6-diMeO-BDE 68, and Br6-DBP) (p < 0.01). Accordingly, HNPs, rather than PCBs and DDTs, were the predominant polyhalogenated contaminants in the current species.

RNA editing sites and triplet usage in exomes of bat RNA virus genomes of the family Paramyxoviridae.

Bats contain a diverse spectrum of viral species in their bodies. The RNA virus family Paramyxoviridae tends to infect several vertebrate species, which are accountable for a variety of devastating infections in both humans and animals. Viruses of this kind include measles, mumps, and Hendra. Some synonymous codons are favoured over others in mRNAs during gene-to-protein synthesis process. Such phenomenon is termed as codon usage bias (CUB). Our research emphasized many aspects that shape the CUB of genes in the Paramyxoviridae family found in bats. Here, the nitrogenous base A occurred the most. AT was found to be abundant in the coding sequences of the Paramyxoviridae family. RSCU data revealed that A or T ending codons occurred more frequently than predicted. Furthermore, 3 overrepresented codons (CAT, AGA, and GCA) and 7 underrepresented codons (CCG, TCG, CGC, CGG, CGT, GCG and ACG) were detected in the viral genomes. Correspondence analysis, neutrality plot, and parity plots highlight the combined impact of mutational pressure and natural selection on CUB. The neutrality plot of GC12 against GC3 yielded a regression coefficient value of 0.366, indicating that natural selection had a significant (63.4%) impact. Moreover, RNA editing analysis was done, which revealed the highest frequency of C to T mutations. The results of our research revealed the pattern of codon usage and RNA editing sites in Paramyxoviridae genomes.

Molecular and cellular basis of sodium sensing in Drosophila labellum.

Appropriate ingestion of salt is essential for physiological processes such as ionic homeostasis and neuronal activity. Generally, low concentrations of salt elicit attraction, while high concentrations elicit aversive responses. Here, we observed that sugar neurons in the L sensilla of the Drosophila labellum cf. responses to NaCl, while sugar neurons in the S-c sensilla do not respond to NaCl, suggesting that gustatory receptor neurons involved in NaCl sensing may employ diverse molecular mechanisms. Through an RNAi screen of the entire Ir and ppk gene families and molecular genetic approaches, we identified IR76b, IR25a, and IR56b as necessary components for NaCl sensing in the Drosophila labellum. Co-expression of these three IRs in heterologous systems such as S2 cells or Xenopus oocytes resulted in a current in response to sodium stimulation, suggesting formation of a sodium-sensing complex. Our results should provide insights for research on the diverse combinations constituting salt receptor complexes.

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4L preserves skeletal muscle stem cell quiescence by inhibiting their activation.

Adult stem cells play a critical role in tissue repair and maintenance. In tissues with slow turnover, including skeletal muscle, these cells are maintained in a mitotically quiescent state yet remain poised to re-enter the cell cycle to replenish themselves and regenerate the tissue. Using a panomics approach we show that the PAX7/NEDD4L axis acts against muscle stem cell activation in homeostatic skeletal muscle. Our findings suggest that PAX7 transcriptionally activates the E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4L and that the conditional genetic deletion of Nedd4L impairs muscle stem cell quiescence, with an upregulation of cell cycle and myogenic differentiation genes. Loss of Nedd4L in muscle stem cells results in the expression of doublecortin (DCX), which is exclusively expressed during their in vivo activation. Together, these data establish that the ubiquitin proteasome system, mediated by Nedd4L, is a key contributor to the muscle stem cell quiescent state in adult mice.

Incorporation of natural and synthetic polymers into honey hydrogel for wound healing: A review.

Background and Aims: The difficulty in treating chronic wounds due to the prolonged inflammation stage has affected a staggering 6.5 million people, accompanied by 25 billion USD annually in the United States alone. A 1.9% rise in chronic wound prevalence among Medicare beneficiaries was reported from 2014 to 2019. Besides, the global wound care market values were anticipated to increase from USD 20.18 billion in 2022 to USD 30.52 billion in 2030, suggesting an expected rise in chronic wounds financial burdens. The lack of feasibility in using traditional dry wound dressings sparks hydrogel development as an alternative approach to tackling chronic wounds. Since ancient times, honey has been used to treat wounds, including burns, and ongoing studies have also demonstrated its wound-healing capabilities on cellular and animal models. However, the fluidity and low mechanical strength in honey hydrogel necessitate the incorporation of other polymers. Therefore, this review aims to unravel the characteristics and feasibility of natural (chitosan and gelatin) and synthetic (polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene glycol) polymers to be incorporated in the honey hydrogel. Methods: Relevant articles were identified from databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct) using keywords related to honey, hydrogel, and polymers. Relevant data from selected studies were synthesized narratively and reported following a structured narrative format. Results: The importance of honey's roles and mechanisms of action in wound dressings were discussed. Notable studies concerning honey hydrogels with diverse polymers were also included in this article to provide a better perspective on fabricating customized hydrogel wound dressings for various types of wounds in the future. Conclusion: Honey's incapability to stand alone in hydrogel requires the incorporation of natural and synthetic polymers into the hydrogel. With this review, it is hoped that the fabrication and commercialization of the desired honey composite hydrogel for wound treatment could be brought forth.

Perils and opportunities in using large language models in psychological research.

The emergence of large language models (LLMs) has sparked considerable interest in their potential application in psychological research, mainly as a model of the human psyche or as a general text-analysis tool. However, the trend of using LLMs without sufficient attention to their limitations and risks, which we rhetorically refer to as "GPTology", can be detrimental given the easy access to models such as ChatGPT. Beyond existing general guidelines, we investigate the current limitations, ethical implications, and potential of LLMs specifically for psychological research, and show their concrete impact in various empirical studies. Our results highlight the importance of recognizing global psychological diversity, cautioning against treating LLMs (especially in zero-shot settings) as universal solutions for text analysis, and developing transparent, open methods to address LLMs' opaque nature for reliable, reproducible, and robust inference from AI-generated data. Acknowledging LLMs' utility for task automation, such as text annotation, or to expand our understanding of human psychology, we argue for diversifying human samples and expanding psychology's methodological toolbox to promote an inclusive, generalizable science, countering homogenization, and over-reliance on LLMs.

Mining raw plant transcriptomic data for new cyclopeptide alkaloids.

In recent years, genome and transcriptome mining have dramatically expanded the rate of discovering diverse natural products from bacteria and fungi. In plants, this approach is often more limited due to the lack of available annotated genomes and transcriptomes combined with a less consistent clustering of biosynthetic genes. The recently identified burpitide class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products offer a valuable opportunity for bioinformatics-guided discovery in plants due to their short biosynthetic pathways and gene encoded substrates. Using a high-throughput approach to assemble and analyze 700 publicly available raw transcriptomic data sets, we uncover the potential distribution of split burpitide precursor peptides in Streptophyta. Metabolomic analysis of target plants confirms our bioinformatic predictions of new cyclopeptide alkaloids from both known and new sources.

Lipid-lowering effect and oral transport characteristics study of curculigoside.

Introduction: The incidence of metabolic disorders during pregnancy is increasing year by year, with diseases including hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Statins are the primary drugs for treating hyperlipidemia or atherosclerosis, yet some patients remain unresponsive to them, and pregnant women are prohibited from taking statins. Curculigoside is the major biologically active natural product present in Curculigo orchioides. Methods: In this study, A high-fat mice model was developed to study the lipid-lowering effect of curculigoside. Using intestinal Caco-2 cell monolayer, the curculigoside transport properties at two temperatures and possible transporters were systemically studied. Results: Curculigoside at concentrations used during the experiments have no toxic effect to Caco-2 cells. The curculigoside transfer from the apical to the basolateral side was strongly influenced by temperature. P-glycoprotein, breast cancer resistance protein, and efflux transporters are crucial components of the human intestinal cell line Caco-2. The curculigoside can significantly affect the contents of total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in mice. Discussion: The transport properties and potential mechanism of curculigoside offer valuable insights for the design of development of hypolipidemic drugs like anti-atherosclerotic drugs and also be helpful to the further study of the pharmacological activity of curculigoside.

Disseminating "hidden" scientific collections: the medium and large-sized terrestrial mammals at the Museo di Anatomia Comparata "Giovanni Battista Grassi", Roma, Italy.

The dissemination of specimen data in scientific collections is a crucial step in making them available to the scientific community. However, even today, especially in some countries, little or nothing is known about the contents of the naturalistic collections of some museums. This is regrettable, especially in cases where the collections include historic specimens and endangered species. The Museum of Comparative Anatomy "Giovanni Battista Grassi", situated in Rome, Italy, houses historical anatomical and didactic collections, with specimens gathered from 1600s and almost worldwide. The collection holds 444 specimens of medium and large-sized terrestrial mammals, comprising 25 fossils, 40 skins, 186 skulls, 70 skeletons and 123 anatomical pieces, representing 63% of recent mammal orders, mainly from localities of Africa and Europe. A list of this material, indexed by the orders and families, is provided, as well as comments on the conservation status of the species. Remarkable data are summarised, including new data on a hippopotamus specimen from an extinct population and the record of three rhinoceros species from 1600s. Besides comparative anatomical studies, the Museum of Comparative Anatomy of Sapienza University emerges as a source of important material for biodiversity genomics.

Is Boundary Annotation Necessary? Evaluating Boundary-Free Approaches to Improve Clinical Named Entity Annotation Efficiency: Case Study.

BACKGROUND: Named entity recognition (NER) is a fundamental task in natural language processing. However, it is typically preceded by named entity annotation, which poses several challenges, especially in the clinical domain. For instance, determining entity boundaries is one of the most common sources of disagreements between annotators due to questions such as whether modifiers or peripheral words should be annotated. If unresolved, these can induce inconsistency in the produced corpora, yet, on the other hand, strict guidelines or adjudication sessions can further prolong an already slow and convoluted process. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to address these challenges by evaluating 2 novel annotation methodologies, lenient span and point annotation, aiming to mitigate the difficulty of precisely determining entity boundaries. METHODS: We evaluate their effects through an annotation case study on a Japanese medical case report data set. We compare annotation time, annotator agreement, and the quality of the produced labeling and assess the impact on the performance of an NER system trained on the annotated corpus. RESULTS: We saw significant improvements in the labeling process efficiency, with up to a 25% reduction in overall annotation time and even a 10% improvement in annotator agreement compared to the traditional boundary-strict approach. However, even the best-achieved NER model presented some drop in performance compared to the traditional annotation methodology. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate a balance between annotation speed and model performance. Although disregarding boundary information affects model performance to some extent, this is counterbalanced by significant reductions in the annotator's workload and notable improvements in the speed of the annotation process. These benefits may prove valuable in various applications, offering an attractive compromise for developers and researchers.

Glial expression of a steroidogenic enzyme underlies natural variation in hitchhiking behavior.

Phoresy is an interspecies interaction that facilitates spatial dispersal by attaching to a more mobile species. Hitchhiking species have evolved specific traits for physical contact and successful phoresy, but the regulatory mechanisms involved in such traits and their evolution are largely unexplored. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans displays a hitchhiking behavior known as nictation during its stress-induced developmental stage. Dauer-specific nictation behavior has an important role in natural C. elegans populations, which experience boom-and-bust population dynamics. In this study, we investigated the nictation behavior of 137 wild C. elegans strains sampled throughout the world. We identified species-wide natural variation in nictation and performed a genome-wide association mapping. We show that the variants in the promoter of nta-1, encoding a putative steroidogenic enzyme, underlie differences in nictation. This difference is due to the changes in nta-1 expression in glial cells, which implies that glial steroid metabolism regulates phoretic behavior. Population genetic analysis and geographic distribution patterns suggest that balancing selection maintained two nta-1 haplotypes that existed in ancestral C. elegans populations. Our findings contribute to further understanding of the molecular mechanism of species interaction and the maintenance of genetic diversity within natural populations.