Active wetting of epithelial tissues

Development, regeneration and cancer involve drastic transitions in tissue morphology. In analogy with the behavior of inert fluids, some of these transitions have been interpreted as wetting transitions. The validity and scope of this analogy are unclear, however, because the active cellular forces that drive tissue wetting have been neither measured nor theoretically accounted for. Here we show that the transition between 2D epithelial monolayers and 3D spheroidal aggregates can be understood as an active wetting transition whose physics differs fundamentally from that of passive wetting phenomena. By combining an active polar fluid model with measurements of physical forces as a function of tissue size, contractility, cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion, and substrate stiffness, we show that the wetting transition results from the competition between traction forces and contractile intercellular stresses. This competition defines a new intrinsic lengthscale that gives rise to a critical size for the wetting transition in tissues, a striking feature that has no counterpart in classical wetting. Finally, we show that active shape fluctuations are dynamically amplified during tissue dewetting. Overall, we conclude that tissue spreading constitutes a prominent example of active wetting --- a novel physical scenario that may explain morphological transitions during tissue morphogenesis and tumor progression

Impact of Sexualized Substance Use and Other Risk Practices on HCV Microelimination in gbMSM Living with HIV: Urgent Need for Targeted Strategies

In the original publication of the article, the article funding note was incorrectly published, the correct one should read as: This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the project ‘‘PI18/00583’’ and co-funded by European Regional Development Fund ‘‘A way to make Europe’’. This has been corrected in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022

Supracricoid partial laryngectomy in the management of t3 laryngeal cancer

Objective. To evaluate the oncologic results only in T3 glottic and supraglottic cancers regarding supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL) not requiring total laryngectomy and to assess functional results by self-evaluation by the patient. Study Design. Case series with medical record review. Setting. Single tertiary care center. Subjects and Methods. Thirty-two patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, previously untreated, who underwent SCPL with cricohyoidopexy or cricohyoidoepiglottopexy were reviewed. Results. At 1, 3, and 5 years, the disease-free survival rates were 96.9%, 89.4%, and 78.2%; overall survival rates were 96.9%, 93.2%, and 87.3%; local control and locoregional control rates were 100%, 96.2%, and 96.2%; and distant metastasis-free survival rates were 100%, 100%, and 88.2%, respectively. Aspiration pneumonia was the most common complication observed. The 3 laryngeal functions (speech, swallowing, and breathing) were spared in 83.9% of patients. Conclusion. Supracricoid partial laryngectomy for selected glottic and supraglottic T3 tumors has excellent oncologic and functional results

GNSS multi-frequency receiver single-satellite measurement validation method

A method is presented for real-time validation of GNSS measurements of a single receiver, where data from each satellite are independently processed. A geometry- free observation model is used with a reparameterized form of the unknowns to overcome rank deficiency of the model. The ionosphere error and non-constant biases such as multipath are assumed changing relatively smoothly as a function of time. Data validation and detection of errors are based on statistical testing of the observation residuals using the detection–identification–adaptation approach. The method is applicable to any GNSS with any number of frequencies. The performance of validation method was evaluated using multi-frequency data from three GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo) that span 3 days in a test site at Curtin University, Australia. Performance of the method in detection and identification of outliers in code observations, and detection of cycle slips in phase data were examined. Results show that the success rates vary according to precision of observations and their number as well as size of the errors. The method capability is demonstrated when processing four IOV Galileo satellites in a single-point-positioning mode and in another test by comparing its performance with Bernese software in detection of cycle slips in precise point-positioning processing using GPS data

Improving biomass production and saccharification in Brachypodium distachyon through overexpression of a sucrose-phosphate synthase from sugarcane

The substitution of fossil by renewable energy sources is a major strategy in reducing CO2 emission and mitigating climate change. In the transport sector, which is still mainly dependent on liquid fuels, the production of second generation ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstock is a promising strategy to substitute fossil fuels. The main prerequisites on designated crops for increased biomass production are high biomass yield and optimized saccharification for subsequent use in fermentation processes. We tried to address these traits by the overexpression of a sucrose-phosphate synthase gene (SoSPS) from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. The resulting transgenic B. distachyon lines not only revealed increased plant height at early growth stages but also higher biomass yield from fully senesced plants, which was increased up to 52 % compared to wild-type. Additionally, we determined higher sucrose content in senesced leaf biomass from the transgenic lines, which correlated with improved biomass saccharification after conventional thermo-chemical pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Combining increased biomass production and saccharification efficiency in the generated B. distachyon SoSPS overexpression lines, we obtained a maximum of 74 % increase in glucose release per plant compared to wild-type. Therefore, we consider SoSPS overexpression as a promising approach in molecular breeding of energy crops for optimizing yields of biomass and its utilization in second generation biofuel production

Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis

Background: Insects are associated with microorganisms that contribute to the digestion and processing of nutrients. The European Corn Borer (ECB) is a moth present world-wide, causing severe economical damage as a pest on corn and other crops. In the present work, we give a detailed view of the complexity of the microorganisms forming the ECB midgut microbiota with the objective of comparing the biodiversity of the midgut-associated microbiota and explore their potential as a source of genes and enzymes with biotechnological applications. Methodological/Principal Findings: A high-throughput sequencing approach has been used to identify bacterial species, genes and metabolic pathways, particularly those involved in plant-matter degradation, in two different ECB populations (field-collected vs. lab-reared population with artificial diet). Analysis of the resulting sequences revealed the massive presence of Staphylococcus warneri and Weissella paramesenteroides in the lab-reared sample. This enabled us to reconstruct both genomes almost completely. Despite the apparently low diversity, 208 different genera were detected in the sample, although most of them at very low frequency. By contrast, the natural population exhibited an even higher taxonomic diversity along with a wider array of cellulolytic enzyme families. However, in spite of the differences in relative abundance of major taxonomic groups, not only did both metagenomes share a similar functional profile but also a similar distribution of non-redundant genes in different functional categories. Conclusions/Significance: Our results reveal a highly diverse pool of bacterial species in both O. nubilalis populations, with major differences: The lab-reared sample is rich in gram-positive species (two of which have almost fully sequenced genomes) while the field sample harbors mainly gram-negative species and has a larger set of cellulolytic enzymes. We have found a clear relationship between the diet and the midgut microbiota, which reveals the selection pressure of food on the community of intestinal bacteria. © 2011 Belda et al.The research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, under grant agreement CIT-010000-2008-5 and by a MICINN (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) TIN2009-12359 ArtBioCom project. Arnau Montagud acknowledges Generalitat Valenciana grant BFPI/2007/283. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Belda Cuesta, EA.; Pedrola, L.; Peretó Magraner, J.; Martinez Blanch, JF.; Montagud Aquino, A.; Navarro-Peris, E.; Urchueguía Schölzel, JF.... (2011). Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis. PLoS ONE. 6(6):21751-21751. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021751S21751217516

Factor structure and measurement invariance across various demographic groups and over time for the phq-9 in primary care patients in spain

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely-used screening tool for depression in primary care settings. The purpose of the present study is to identify the factor structure of the PHQ-9 and to examine the measurement invariance of this instrument across different sociodemographic groups and over time in a sample of primary care patients in Spain. Data came from 836 primary care patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (PsicAP study) and a subsample of 218 patients who participated in a follow-up assessment at 3 months. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test one- and two-factor structures identified in previous studies. Analyses of multiple-group invariance were conducted to determine the extent to which the factor structure is comparable across various demo- graphic groups (i.e., gender, age, marital status, level of education, and employment situa- tion) and over time. Both one-factor and two-factor re-specified models met all the pre- established fit criteria. However, because the factors identified in the two-factor model were highly correlated (r = .86), the one-factor model was preferred for its parsimony. Multi-group CFA indicated measurement invariance across different demographic groups and across time. The present findings suggest that physicians in Spain can use the PHQ-9 to obtain a global score for depression severity in different demographic groups and to reliably monitor changes over time in the primary care setting

Serum Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein Levels Predict Severity of Lung Injury and Mortality in Patients with Severe Sepsis

Background: There is a need for biomarkers insuring identification of septic patients at high-risk for death. We performed a prospective, multicenter, observational study to investigate the time-course of lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) serum levels in patients with severe sepsis and examined whether serial serum levels of LBP could be used as a marker of outcome. Methodology/Principal Findings: LBP serum levels at study entry, at 48 hours and at day-7 were measured in 180 patients with severe sepsis. Data regarding the nature of infections, disease severity, development of acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and intensive care unit (ICU) outcome were recorded. LBP serum levels were similar in survivors and non-survivors at study entry (117.4±75.7 µg/mL vs. 129.8±71.3 µg/mL, P = 0.249) but there were significant differences at 48 hours (77.2±57.0 vs. 121.2±73.4 µg/mL, P<0.0001) and at day-7 (64.7±45.8 vs. 89.7±61.1 µg/ml, p = 0.017). At 48 hours, LBP levels were significantly higher in ARDS patients than in ALI patients (112.5±71.8 µg/ml vs. 76.6±55.9 µg/ml, P = 0.0001). An increase of LBP levels at 48 hours was associated with higher mortality (odds ratio 3.97; 95%CI: 1.84–8.56; P<0.001). Conclusions/Significance: Serial LBP serum measurements may offer a clinically useful biomarker for identification of patients with severe sepsis having the worst outcomes and the highest probability of developing sepsis-induced ARDS

Capturing Single Cell Genomes of Active Polysaccharide Degraders: An Unexpected Contribution of Verrucomicrobia

Microbial hydrolysis of polysaccharides is critical to ecosystem functioning and is of great interest in diverse biotechnological applications, such as biofuel production and bioremediation. Here we demonstrate the use of a new, efficient approach to recover genomes of active polysaccharide degraders from natural, complex microbial assemblages, using a combination of fluorescently labeled substrates, fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and single cell genomics. We employed this approach to analyze freshwater and coastal bacterioplankton for degraders of laminarin and xylan, two of the most abundant storage and structural polysaccharides in nature. Our results suggest that a few phylotypes of Verrucomicrobia make a considerable contribution to polysaccharide degradation, although they constituted only a minor fraction of the total microbial community. Genomic sequencing of five cells, representing the most predominant, polysaccharide-active Verrucomicrobia phylotype, revealed significant enrichment in genes encoding a wide spectrum of glycoside hydrolases, sulfatases, peptidases, carbohydrate lyases and esterases, confirming that these organisms were well equipped for the hydrolysis of diverse polysaccharides. Remarkably, this enrichment was on average higher than in the sequenced representatives of Bacteroidetes, which are frequently regarded as highly efficient biopolymer degraders. These findings shed light on the ecological roles of uncultured Verrucomicrobia and suggest specific taxa as promising bioprospecting targets. The employed method offers a powerful tool to rapidly identify and recover discrete genomes of active players in polysaccharide degradation, without the need for cultivation