Functional Conservation of the Glide/Gcm Regulatory Network Controlling Glia, Hemocyte, and Tendon Cell Differentiation in Drosophila.

High-throughput screens allow us to understand how transcription factors trigger developmental processes, including cell specification. A major challenge is identification of their binding sites because feedback loops and homeostatic interactions may mask the direct impact of those factors in transcriptome analyses. Moreover, this approach dissects the downstream signaling cascades and facilitates identification of conserved transcriptional programs. Here we show the results and the validation of a DNA adenine methyltransferase identification (DamID) genome-wide screen that identifies the direct targets of Glide/Gcm, a potent transcription factor that controls glia, hemocyte, and tendon cell differentiation in Drosophila. The screen identifies many genes that had not been previously associated with Glide/Gcm and highlights three major signaling pathways interacting with Glide/Gcm: Notch, Hedgehog, and JAK/STAT, which all involve feedback loops. Furthermore, the screen identifies effector molecules that are necessary for cell-cell interactions during late developmental processes and/or in ontogeny. Typically, immunoglobulin (Ig) domain-containing proteins control cell adhesion and axonal navigation. This shows that early and transiently expressed fate determinants not only control other transcription factors that, in turn, implement a specific developmental program but also directly affect late developmental events and cell function. Finally, while the mammalian genome contains two orthologous Gcm genes, their function has been demonstrated in vertebrate-specific tissues, placenta, and parathyroid glands, begging questions on the evolutionary conservation of the Gcm cascade in higher organisms. Here we provide the first evidence for the conservation of Gcm direct targets in humans. In sum, this work uncovers novel aspects of cell specification and sets the basis for further understanding of the role of conserved Gcm gene regulatory cascades.We thank the DHSB and the Bloomington Stock Center for reagents and flies as well as J. Veenstra (INCIA UMR 5287 CNRS, France) for the gift of the Anti-DH31 antibody and B. Altenhein (U Mainz, Germany) for fly strains. We thank K. Jamet for initial bioinformatics analyses. We thank C. Diebold, C. Delaporte, and IGBMC facilities for technical assistance. We thank the members of the lab for valuable input and comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by INSERM, CNRS, UDS, Hôpital de Strasbourg, ARC, INCA and ANR grants. A. Popkova and P. Cattenoz were funded by the FRM and by the ANR, respectively. A. Popkova also benefitted from a short Development traveling fellowship to visit the laboratory of A. Brand in Cambridge (UK). The IGBMC was also supported by a French state fund through the ANR labex. T.D.S and A.H.B were funded by Wellcome Trust Programme Grants 068055 and 092545 to A.H.B. A.H.B acknowledges core funding to the Gurdon Institute from the Wellcome Trust (092096) and CRUK (C6946/A14492).This is the final version of the article. It was first available from the American Genetics Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1534/genetics.115.18215

The Pulse of War: Writing a Response

Introduction and a series of articles and poetry concerning the war on terror being imposed by the U.S., and more. Writes Kevin Bowen: One year into the war in Iraq, the ugliness of the undertaking has become more and more inescapable. If anything, the experience has reaffirmed a few simple facts that deserve reiteration. There is no such thing as an easily winnable war. There is no such thing as a humane war. In every war, long after the fighting ends, peace will remain elusive, and memories of suffering will endure through generations. Of course we knew all this before. Writers have been trying to tell us such things for centuries. The writings that follow illustrate ways contemporary writers confront these truths. From Tony Aiello\u27s memories of the First Gulf War, a war that Colin Powell told us was conducted more humanely than any war in history through Almira El-Zein\u27s incredible evocation of mortality in Is this Desolation for Me Alone ; through Carolyn Forche\u27s testimony to the role of writers; Chris Agee\u27s meditation on conflicts in Bosnia and Rwanda to present-day Iraq; Fred Marchant\u27s essay on war poetry and Fanny Howe\u27s beautiful understated testiment we are reminded of the ways good writers take the complicated pulse of war and why now, more than ever, we need their voices

Characterization of the Fecal Microbiome from Non-Human Wild Primates Reveals Species Specific Microbial Communities

BACKGROUND: Host-associated microbes comprise an integral part of animal digestive systems and these interactions have a long evolutionary history. It has been hypothesized that the gastrointestinal microbiome of humans and other non-human primates may have played significant roles in host evolution by facilitating a range of dietary adaptations. We have undertaken a comparative sequencing survey of the gastrointestinal microbiomes of several non-human primate species, with the goal of better understanding how these microbiomes relate to the evolution of non-human primate diversity. Here we present a comparative analysis of gastrointestinal microbial communities from three different species of Old World wild monkeys. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed fecal samples from three different wild non-human primate species (black-and-white colobus [Colubus guereza], red colobus [Piliocolobus tephrosceles], and red-tailed guenon [Cercopithecus ascanius]). Three samples from each species were subjected to small subunit rRNA tag pyrosequencing. Firmicutes comprised the vast majority of the phyla in each sample. Other phyla represented were Bacterioidetes, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Lentisphaerae, Tenericutes, Planctomycetes, Fibrobacateres, and TM7. Bray-Curtis similarity analysis of these microbiomes indicated that microbial community composition within the same primate species are more similar to each other than to those of different primate species. Comparison of fecal microbiota from non-human primates with microbiota of human stool samples obtained in previous studies revealed that the gut microbiota of these primates are distinct and reflect host phylogeny. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our analysis provides evidence that the fecal microbiomes of wild primates co-vary with their hosts, and that this is manifested in higher intraspecies similarity among wild primate species, perhaps reflecting species specificity of the microbiome in addition to dietary influences. These results contribute to the limited body of primate microbiome studies and provide a framework for comparative microbiome analysis between human and non-human primates as well as a comparative evolutionary understanding of the human microbiome

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.Comment: accepted by PASP for JWST Overview Special Issue; 34 pages, 25 figure

Preface

Model checkers and model-based development tools are becoming increasingly prominent in industrial practice. There are a wide variety of these tools available, with a number of different capabilities suited to different kinds of problems. We felt that the variety poses two problems, however. First, it is difficult for researchers outside of these specific domains to understand what capabilities exist in practice, and so to avoid duplicating theory that is already embodied in a tool. Second, while the variety is of great benefit to practitioners, it is intimidating to know which tool to choose for a particular problem when no comprehensive discussion comparing and contrasting the different tools is available. We felt that to help with the technology transfer of the state of the art in software engineering, a better characterization of the different tools and the problems they can help solve is necessary. In the Spring of 2006, we led a graduate seminar attempting to study some of these tools, characterizing their capabilities and comparing them with other tools in their class. Each student in the class studied one tool in depth, reported back to the class on what they found, and created a set of simple exercises that the class completed to get a feel for the tool. Also, the group of students working on model checkers and the group working on model-based development tools each met to compare and contrast the tools they studied

A review of bovine fasciolosis and other trematode infections in Nigeria

Trematode infections cause serious economic losses to livestock worldwide. Global production losses due to fasciolosis alone exceed US$3 billion annually. Many trematode infections are also zoonotic and thus a public health concern. The World Health Organization has estimated that about 56 million people worldwide are infected by at least one zoonotic trematode species, and up to 750 million people are at risk of infection. Fasciolosis caused by the fluke Fasciola gigantica is endemic in Nigeria and is one of the most common causes of liver condemnation in abattoirs. Total cattle losses from Fasciola infection in Nigeria have been estimated to cost £32.5 million. Other trematode infections of cattle, including paramphistomosis, dicrocoeliasis and schistosomiasis, have all been reported in various parts of Nigeria, with varying prevalence. Most publications on trematode infections are limited to Nigerian local and national journals, with very few international reports. This paper therefore summarized the current data on distribution, control and zoonotic trematode infections in Nigeria and other African countries. We also identified research gaps and made recommendations for future research and areas for funding for policy/planning.</p

ISARIC-COVID-19 dataset: A Prospective, Standardized, Global Dataset of Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19

The International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) COVID-19 dataset is one of the largest international databases of prospectively collected clinical data on people hospitalized with COVID-19. This dataset was compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic by a network of hospitals that collect data using the ISARIC-World Health Organization Clinical Characterization Protocol and data tools. The database includes data from more than 705,000 patients, collected in more than 60 countries and 1,500 centres worldwide. Patient data are available from acute hospital admissions with COVID-19 and outpatient follow-ups. The data include signs and symptoms, pre-existing comorbidities, vital signs, chronic and acute treatments, complications, dates of hospitalization and discharge, mortality, viral strains, vaccination status, and other data. Here, we present the dataset characteristics, explain its architecture and how to gain access, and provide tools to facilitate its use