Open data from the third observing run of LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO

The global network of gravitational-wave observatories now includes five detectors, namely LIGO Hanford, LIGO Livingston, Virgo, KAGRA, and GEO 600. These detectors collected data during their third observing run, O3, composed of three phases: O3a starting in 2019 April and lasting six months, O3b starting in 2019 November and lasting five months, and O3GK starting in 2020 April and lasting two weeks. In this paper we describe these data and various other science products that can be freely accessed through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center at https://gwosc.org. The main data set, consisting of the gravitational-wave strain time series that contains the astrophysical signals, is released together with supporting data useful for their analysis and documentation, tutorials, as well as analysis software packages

Paneth cells: maestros of the small intestinal crypts

Paneth cells are highly specialized epithelial cells of the small intestine, where they coordinate many physiological functions. First identified more than a century ago on the basis of their readily discernible secretory granules by routine histology, these cells are located at the base of the crypts of Lieberkuhn, tiny invaginations that line the mucosal surface all along the small intestine. Investigations over the past several decades determined that these cells synthesize and secrete substantial quantities of antimicrobial peptides and proteins. More recent studies have determined that these antimicrobial molecules are key mediators of host-microbe interactions, including homeostatic balance with colonizing microbiota and innate immune protection from enteric pathogens. Perhaps more intriguing, Paneth cells secrete factors that help sustain and modulate the epithelial stem and progenitor cells that cohabitate in the crypts and rejuvenate the small intestinal epithelium. Dysfunction of Paneth cell biology contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory bowel disease

Supplementary Material for: Activity, Expression and Genetic Variation of Canine β-Defensin 103: A Multifunctional Antimicrobial Peptide in the Skin of Domestic Dogs

The skin functions as more than a physical barrier to infection. Epithelial cells of the skin can synthesize antimicrobial peptides, including defensins, which exhibit direct antimicrobial activity. Here we characterize the expression pattern, genetic variation and activity of the major β-defensin expressed in canine skin, canine β-defensin 103 (CBD103). The gene encoding CBD103 exhibits two forms of polymorphism: a common 3-basepair deletion allele and a gene copy-number variation. Golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers were the only breeds that encoded the variant allele of <i>CBD103,</i> termed <i>CBD103</i>Δ<i>G23</i>. Both these breeds also exhibited a <i>CBD103</i> gene copy-number polymorphism that ranged from 2 to 4 gene-copies per diploid genome. Recombinant CBD103 and CBD103ΔG23, as well as the human ortholog human β-defensin 3 (hBD3) and hBD3ΔG23, showed potent and comparable antimicrobial killing against both methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus pseudintermedius</i>. Skin biopsy specimens from dogs with atopic dermatitis revealed <i>CBD103</i> expression levels similar to those in healthy controls and comparable at lesional and nonlesional sites. This expression pattern in dogs differs from the previously reported reduced expression of the human ortholog in atopic dermatitis. Overall, the similarities of CBD103 and its human ortholog reported here support the notion that the domestic dog may serve as a valuable model for studying β-defensin biology in the skin