Bat-swarming sites where thousands of individuals meet in late summer were recently proposed as 'hot spots' for gene flow among populations. If, due to female philopatry, nursery colonies are genetically differentiated, and if males and females of different colonies meet at swarming sites, then we would expect lower differentiation of maternally inherited genetic markers among swarming sites and higher genetic diversity within. To test these predictions, we compared genetic variance from three swarming sites to 14 nursery colonies. We analysed biparentally (five nuclear and one sex-linked microsatellite loci) and maternally (mitochondrial D-loop, 550 bp) inherited molecular markers. Three mtDNA D-loop haplolineages that were strictly separated at nursery colonies were mixed at swarming sites. As predicted by the 'extra colony-mating hypothesis', genetic variance among swarming sites (V ST ) for the D-loop drastically decreased compared to the nursery population genetic variance (V PT ) (31 and 60%, respectively), and genetic diversity increased at swarming sites. Relatedness was significant at nursery colonies but not at swarming sites, and colony relatedness of juveniles to females was positive but not so to males. This suggests a breakdown of colony borders at swarming sites. Although there is behavioural and physiological evidence for sexual interaction at swarming sites, this does not explain why mating continues throughout the winter. We therefore propose that autumn roaming bats meet at swarming sites across colonies to start mating and, in addition, to renew information about suitable hibernacula.

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The gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) determined by measuring dye coupling with Lucifer yellow, decreased within 3 d from 66% to 28% in monocultures of rat liver parenchymal cells. Coculturing of the parenchymal cells with a nonparenchymal epithelial cell line from rat liver resulted in increased and stabilized intercellular communication (83% after 3 d). The presence of isolated plasma membrane vesicles of the nonparenchymal epithelial cells also stabilized the intercellular communication between the liver parenchymal cells (70% after 3 d). When liver parenchymal cells were cocultured with a rat liver fibroblast cell line the gap junctional communication between the parenchymal cells was not stabilized (43% after 3 d), and isolated plasma membrane vesicles of the fibroblast were also unable to support the GJIC in parenchymal cells (35% after 3 d). It is concluded that plasma membrane constituents of the nonparenchymal epithelial cells were responsible for the stabilization of the GJIC between parenchymal cells. A heterotypic gap junctional communication between parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells was not observed.

There is a growing trend to incorporate humanities into health sciences education, with a natural entry point being anatomy. Yet, there is a gap in the literature about the potential professional or personal benefits for academic participants in such activities.The Modern Human Anatomy (MHA) program and the English Department at the University of Colorado recently collaborated on an innovative, interdisciplinary exhibit: “Mapping the Body: Poetry & Anatomical Art”. The public exhibit featured 21 original works of anatomical art created by MHA affiliates (2 faculty, 8 alumni, 11 students). Thirteen works were accompanied by original poetry created by creative writing students, directly inspired by the art. An opening reception with poetry readings provided opportunity for artists, poets, and the public to meet. The exhibit was displayed February – March 2018 and is available online (https://mappingthebodyexhibit.wordpress.com). This study aimed to evaluate the experience of participants in terms of impact on professional and personal development, and explore the motivation to participate for both science and humanities students.An IRB‐exempt study was designed, and artist and poet participants were recruited to voluntarily complete an online survey comprised of 5 open‐ended, 6 Likert, and 4 demographic items. Responses were analyzed by descriptive statistics and an inductive approach was used to code open‐ended responses for common themes, with a focus on in‐vivo coding.Six artists (1 faculty, 2 alumni, 3 students; 29% response rate) and 9 poets (69% response rate) completed the survey (45% overall response rate). Respondents were positive about their experience with the exhibit; 83% of artists and 100% of poets agreed strongly that they would recommend participation in similar activities to future students. Both artists and poets commented on the sense of community and camaraderie the exhibit fostered, especially with individuals outside of their own discipline. Regarding motivation to participate, the main artist theme was a creative outlet through which to share the beauty of anatomy, while poets focused on the opportunity to work on a new type of descriptive (ekphrastic) project. Reflections on the benefits of participation also revealed different themes across the two groups: artists focused on the emotional aspect of participation, while poets highlighted professional development as the main benefit. Public speaking and the public display of works were also reported as valued by the poets.Though small, our evaluative dataset highlights the professional and personal development that can arise from collaborative projects between humanities and anatomy. Moreover, the results suggest that motivation to participate, as well as perceived benefits, may differ between humanities and science cohorts, which are important factors to consider when designing interdisciplinary educational activities.Support or Funding InformationUniversity of Colorado President's Fund for the HumanitiesThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.