The restricted expression pattern of the POU factor Oct-6 during early development of the mouse nervous system

Oce-6 is a POU transcription factor that is thought to play a role in the differentiation of cells of neuroectodermal origin. To investigate whether the Oct-6 protein could play a role in the establishment of neuroectoderm in vivo we studied the expression of the Oct-6 protein during early mouse development. Expression is first observed in the primitive ectoderm of the egg cylinder stage embryo. In gastrulating embryos, Oct-6 protein is found in the extra-embryonic ectoderm of the chorion and the anterior ectoderm of the embryo proper. As development proceeds, Oct-6 expression becomes more restricted to the anterior medial part of the embryo until Oct-6 positive cells are observed only in the neural groove of the headfold stage embryo. In the late headfold stage embryo, Oct-6 expression is detected in the neuroepithelium of the entire brain and later is restricted to a more ventral and anterior position. As the anterior neuropore closes, Oct-6 protein is detected in a segment-like pattern in the mid- and forebrain. Thus, the expression pattern of the Oct-6 gene agrees with a role for the Oct-6 protein in the establishment and regional specification of the neuroectoderm in vivo. The two waves of widespread induction of the Oct-6 gene, one in the primitive ectoderm and another in the primitive brain, both followed by a progressive restriction in the expression patterns suggest a mechanism for the regulation of the gene

A new occurence of the genus Tonkinella in northern Spain and the Middle Cambrian intercontinental correlation

The genus Tonkinella is a typical polimeroid trilobite in lower Middle Cambrian rocks from Vietnam, Canada, U.S.A., India, Korea, Siberia, China and Argentina. It has recently been found in the Mediterranean region (Iberian Chain, northeastern Spain). In this paper we refer the finding of Tonkinella aff. breviceps in the Leonian (lower Middle Cambrian) of the Cantabrian Mountains (northern Spain), analysing its stratigraphical position, fossil assemblages, biochronology and utility for intercontinental correlation. The presence of this taxon allows us to make a more accurate correlation between the Middle Cambrian biochronological scales of Laurentia, the Mediterranean area and China

First report of Crumillospongia (Demospongea) from the Cambrian of Europe (Murero biota, Spain)

The demosponge genus Crumillospongia, originally described from the Burgess Shale (middle Cambrian of Canada), has only been cited from lower and middle Cambrian localities of North America and China. The taxon is now also described from uppermost lower Cambrian rocks of the Murero Lagerstätte (Zaragoza Province, NE Spain). Crumillospongia mureroensis sp. nov. is a small to medium sized sack-shaped to elongate demosponge characterized by the presence of densely packed pores of three sizes, considerably larger than those in any other species of the genus. The Spanish material represents a link in the chronostratigraphical gap between the Chinese and North American material.Peer reviewe

THE EUROPEAN NUCLEAR EDUCATION NETWORK AND ITS ACTIONS IN FAVOUR OF EDUCATION, TRAINING, INFORMATION AND TRANSFER OF EXPERTISE

The European Nuclear Education Network (ENEN) Association is a non-profit organization established by the consortium of the EU 5th Framework Programme (FP) “ENEN” project in 2003. The ENEN Association started as a network of universities and research centers involved in education and training in nuclear engineering in EU countries and is presently involved in the challenging role of coordinating E&T in the nuclear fields in Europe. The main objective of ENEN is, in fact, the preservation and further development of expertise in the nuclear fields by higher education and training. Its members are now universities, research centers and industrial bodies established in European Countries; in addition, MoUs have been signed with several institutions and networks beyond the borders of European Union, thus reaching the number of more than 60 members. The objective of this paper is to provide an up to date view of the actions and plans of the Association in pursuing its missions

The stochastic modelling of kleptoparasitism using a Markov process

Kleptoparasitism, the stealing of food items from other animals, is a common behaviour observed across a huge variety of species, and has been subjected to significant modelling effort. Most such modelling has been deterministic, effectively assuming an infinite population, although recently some important stochastic models have been developed. In particular the model of Yates and Broom (Stochastic models of kleptoparasitism. J. Theor. Biol. 248 (2007), 480–489) introduced a stochastic version following the original model of Ruxton and Moody (The ideal free distribution with kleptoparasitism. J. Theor. Biol. 186 (1997), 449–458), and whilst they generated results of interest, they did not solve the model explicitly. In this paper, building on methods used already by van der Meer and Smallegange (A stochastic version of the Beddington-DeAngelis functional response: Modelling interference for a finite number of predators. J. Animal Ecol. 78 (2009) 134–142) we give an exact solution to the distribution of the population over the states for the Yates and Broom model and investigate the effects of some key biological parameters, especially for small populations where stochastic models can be expected to differ most from their deterministic equivalents

Crystal structure of 8,8′-di-p-tolyl-8′H-7,8′-biacenaphtho[1,2-d]imidazole, C40H26N4

The crystal structure is shown in the figure. Tables 1 and 2 contain details on crystal structure and measurement conditions and a list of the atoms including atomic coordinates and displacement parameters

Assessing the role of the cadherin/catenin complex at the Schwann cell-axon interface and in the initiation of myelination

Myelination is dependent on complex reciprocal interactions between the Schwann cell (SC) and axon. Recent evidence suggests that the SC–axon interface represents a membrane specialization essential for myelination; however, the manner in which this polarized-apical domain is generated remains a mystery. The cell adhesion molecule N-cadherin is enriched at the SC–axon interface and colocalizes with the polarity protein Par-3. The asymmetric localization is induced on SC–SC and SC–axon contact. Knockdown of N-cadherin in SCs cocultured with DRG neurons disrupts Par-3 localization and delays the initiation of myelination. However, knockdown or overexpression of neuronal N-cadherin does not influence the distribution of Par-3 or myelination, suggesting that homotypic interactions between SC and axonal N-cadherin are not essential for the events surrounding myelination. To further investigate the role of N-cadherin, mice displaying SC-specific gene ablation of N-cadherin were generated and characterized. Surprisingly, myelination is only slightly delayed, and mice are viable without any detectable myelination defects. β-Catenin, a downstream effector of N-cadherin, colocalizes and coimmunoprecipitates with N-cadherin on the initiation of myelination. To determine whether β-catenin mediates compensation on N-cadherin deletion, SC-specific gene ablation of β-catenin was generated and characterized. Consistent with our hypothesis, myelination is more severely delayed than when manipulating N-cadherin alone, but without any defect to the myelin sheath. Together, our results suggest that N-cadherin interacts with β-catenin in establishing SC polarity and the timely initiation of myelination, but they are nonessential components for the formation and maturation of the myelin sheath

Neural crest–derived cells with stem cell features can be traced back to multiple lineages in the adult skin

Given their accessibility, multipotent skin-derived cells might be useful for future cell replacement therapies. We describe the isolation of multipotent stem cell–like cells from the adult trunk skin of mice and humans that express the neural crest stem cell markers p75 and Sox10 and display extensive self-renewal capacity in sphere cultures. To determine the origin of these cells, we genetically mapped the fate of neural crest cells in face and trunk skin of mouse. In whisker follicles of the face, many mesenchymal structures are neural crest derived and appear to contain cells with sphere-forming potential. In the trunk skin, however, sphere-forming neural crest–derived cells are restricted to the glial and melanocyte lineages. Thus, self-renewing cells in the adult skin can be obtained from several neural crest derivatives, and these are of distinct nature in face and trunk skin. These findings are relevant for the design of therapeutic strategies because the potential of stem and progenitor cells in vivo likely depends on their nature and origin