Evidence for Secretion of a Netrin-1-like Protein by Tetrahymena thermophila

Netrin-1 is a pleiotropic signaling molecule with targets in many mammalian cell types. Though first characterized as a chemotactic signal involved in neuronal guidance during development, netrin-1 has since been found to have a regulatory role in angiogenesis, and is also used as a biomarker in certain cancers. Tetrahymena thermophila are free-living protists that rely on chemotactic signals to find food, as well as to escape predators. Chemoattractants cause the cells to swim faster in the forward direction, while chemorepellents cause ciliary reversal, resulting in movement of the cell away from the noxious stimulus. We have previously found that netrin-1 is a chemorepellent in T. thermophila. More recently, we have detected netrin-1 by ELISA in both whole cell extract and secreted protein samples obtained from T. thermophila. In addition, we have immunolocalized netrin-1 staining to the cytosol of T. thermophila using an anti-netrin-1 antibody. We are currently running Western blots to determine the molecular weight of this protein and compare it to its vertebrate counterparts. Further experimentation is needed to determine the physiological role of this protein in T. thermophila

Combination of searches for heavy spin-1 resonances using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combination of searches for new heavy spin-1 resonances decaying into different pairings of W, Z, or Higgs bosons, as well as directly into leptons or quarks, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at = 13 TeV collected during 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting quark pairs (qq, bb, , and tb) or third-generation leptons (τν and ττ) are included in this kind of combination for the first time. A simplified model predicting a spin-1 heavy vector-boson triplet is used. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confidence level and are compared with predictions for the benchmark model. These limits are also expressed in terms of constraints on couplings of the heavy vector-boson triplet to quarks, leptons, and the Higgs boson. The complementarity of the various analyses increases the sensitivity to new physics, and the resulting constraints are stronger than those from any individual analysis considered. The data exclude a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 5.8 TeV in a weakly coupled scenario, below 4.4 TeV in a strongly coupled scenario, and up to 1.5 TeV in the case of production via vector-boson fusion

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Combination of searches for heavy spin-1 resonances using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combination of searches for new heavy spin-1 resonances decaying into different pairings of W, Z, or Higgs bosons, as well as directly into leptons or quarks, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV collected during 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting quark pairs (qq, bb, tt¯, and tb) or third-generation leptons (τν and ττ) are included in this kind of combination for the first time. A simplified model predicting a spin-1 heavy vector-boson triplet is used. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confidence level and are compared with predictions for the benchmark model. These limits are also expressed in terms of constraints on couplings of the heavy vector-boson triplet to quarks, leptons, and the Higgs boson. The complementarity of the various analyses increases the sensitivity to new physics, and the resulting constraints are stronger than those from any individual analysis considered. The data exclude a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 5.8 TeV in a weakly coupled scenario, below 4.4 TeV in a strongly coupled scenario, and up to 1.5 TeV in the case of production via vector-boson fusion

Combination of searches for heavy spin-1 resonances using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A combination of searches for new heavy spin-1 resonances decaying into diferent pairings of W, Z, or Higgs bosons, as well as directly into leptons or quarks, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV collected during 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting quark pairs (qq, bb, tt¯, and tb) or third-generation leptons (τν and τ τ ) are included in this kind of combination for the frst time. A simplifed model predicting a spin-1 heavy vector-boson triplet is used. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confdence level and are compared with predictions for the benchmark model. These limits are also expressed in terms of constraints on couplings of the heavy vector-boson triplet to quarks, leptons, and the Higgs boson. The complementarity of the various analyses increases the sensitivity to new physics, and the resulting constraints are stronger than those from any individual analysis considered. The data exclude a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 5.8 TeV in a weakly coupled scenario, below 4.4 TeV in a strongly coupled scenario, and up to 1.5 TeV in the case of production via vector-boson fusion

Change in physical self-perceptions across the transition to secondary school: relationships with perceived teacher-emphasised achievement goals in physical education

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effects of change in perceived teacher achievement goal emphasis in physical education (PE) on physical self-perceptions and self-esteem across the transition to secondary school. Design & Methods: A longitudinal design was adopted with three time points, one at the end of primary school and two during the first year of secondary school. Participants (N = 491) were cross-classified by primary (N = 42) and secondary (N = 46) PE class in order to examine the association between perceived class-level teacher-emphasised goals and within-class student goals with self-beliefs. Results: Personal approach goals and class perceptions of teacher mastery approach goal promotion were all positively associated with ratings of co-ordination, sport competence, flexibility, and endurance in primary school. More favourable perceptions of coordination, sport competence, strength, flexibility, and endurance during the first year of secondary school were predicted by an increase in performance approach goal emphasis, whereas ratings of sport competence and flexibility were negatively associated with an increase in mastery approach goal emphasis. Conclusions: Although not entirely consonant with theoretical predictions, current findings suggest that teacher-emphasised performance approach goals in PE can promote development of several physical self-perceptions in the initial year of secondary school

Genetic analysis reveals different functions for the products of the thyroid hormone receptor alpha

Thyroid hormone receptors are encoded by the TR � (NR1A1) and TR � (NR1A2) loci. These genes are transcribed into multiple variants whose functions are unclear. Analysis by gene inactivation in mice has provided new insights into the functional complexity of these products. Different strategies designed to modify the TR � locus have led to strikingly different phenotypes. In order to analyze the molecular basis for these alterations, we generated mice devoid of all known isoforms produced from the TR � locus (TR � 0/0). These mice are viable and exhibit reduced linear growth, bone maturation delay, moderate hypothermia, and reduced thickness of the intestinal mucosa. Compounding TR � 0 and TR � � mutations produces viable TR � 0/0 � �/� mice, which display a more severe linear growth reduction and a more profound hypothermia as well as impaired hearing. A striking phenotypic difference is observed between TR � 0/0 and the previously described TR � �/ � mice, which retain truncated TR� � isoforms arising from a newly described promoter in intron 7. The lethality and severe impairment of the intestinal maturation in TR � �/ � mice are rescued in TR � 0/0 animals