Capability of ERTS-1 imagery to investigate geological and structural features in a sedimentary basin (Bassin Parisien, France)

A preliminary study of the MSS imagery of a sedimentary basin whose structure is regular is reported. Crops and natural vegetation are distributed all over the site located under temperate climate. Ground data available concern plant species geology and tectonic and are correlated with results from ERTS 1 imagery. This comparison shows a good correlation. The main geological units are detected or enhanced by way of agricultural land use and/or natural vegetation. Alluvial deposits are outlined by vegetation grass land and poplar trees. Some spatial relationship of geostructures, suspected until now, are identified or extended in associating results from different spectral bands

Functionalisation of bolaamphiphiles with mononuclear bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) complexes for application in self assembled monolayers

A novel ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complex connected competently to a bolaamphiphile, containing amide linkages to provide rigidity via hydrogen bonding in the monolayer, has been prepared. The ruthenium(II) complexes of this ligand and of the intermediates in the synthesis were prepared by modification of the coordinated ligands, demonstrating the synthetic versatility and robustness of this family of complexes. All ruthenium complexes were characterised by electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques and were found to have similar properties to the parent complex [Ru(bipy)[3]][2][+], and remain versatile photosensitisers, with well-defined properties, despite extensive substitution of the bipy ligand

DNA methylation-based subtype prediction for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access.We present a method that utilizes DNA methylation profiling for prediction of the cytogenetic subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells from pediatric ALL patients. The primary aim of our study was to improve risk stratification of ALL patients into treatment groups using DNA methylation as a complement to current diagnostic methods. A secondary aim was to gain insight into the functional role of DNA methylation in ALL.We used the methylation status of ~450,000 CpG sites in 546 well-characterized patients with T-ALL or seven recurrent B-cell precursor ALL subtypes to design and validate sensitive and accurate DNA methylation classifiers. After repeated cross-validation, a final classifier was derived that consisted of only 246 CpG sites. The mean sensitivity and specificity of the classifier across the known subtypes was 0.90 and 0.99, respectively. We then used DNA methylation classification to screen for subtype membership of 210 patients with undefined karyotype (normal or no result) or non-recurrent cytogenetic aberrations ('other' subtype). Nearly half (n = 106) of the patients lacking cytogenetic subgrouping displayed highly similar methylation profiles as the patients in the known recurrent groups. We verified the subtype of 20% of the newly classified patients by examination of diagnostic karyotypes, array-based copy number analysis, and detection of fusion genes by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Using RNA-seq data from ALL patients where cytogenetic subtype and DNA methylation classification did not agree, we discovered several novel fusion genes involving ETV6, RUNX1, and PAX5.Our findings indicate that DNA methylation profiling contributes to the clarification of the heterogeneity in cytogenetically undefined ALL patient groups and could be implemented as a complementary method for diagnosis of ALL. The results of our study provide clues to the origin and development of leukemic transformation. The methylation status of the CpG sites constituting the classifiers also highlight relevant biological characteristics in otherwise unclassified ALL patients.Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research RBc08-008 Swedish Cancer Society CAN2010/592 Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation 11098 Swedish Research Council for Science and Technology 90559401 Swedish Research Council FORTE Swedish Research Council FORMAS Swedish Research Council VINNOVA Swedish Research Council VR 259-2012-2

DNA methylation-based subtype prediction for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia

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A Novel Mouse c-fos Intronic Promoter That Responds to CREB and AP-1 Is Developmentally Regulated In Vivo

BACKGROUND: The c-fos proto-oncogene is an archetype for rapid and integrative transcriptional activation. Innumerable studies have focused on the canonical promoter, located upstream from the transcriptional start site. However, several regulatory sequences have been found in the first intron. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe an extremely conserved region in c-fos first intron that contains a putative TATA box, and functional TRE and CRE sites. This fragment drives reporter gene activation in fibroblasts, which is enhanced by increasing intracellular calcium and cAMP and by cotransfection of CREB or c-Fos/c-Jun expression vectors. We produced transgenic mice expressing a lacZ reporter controlled by the intronic promoter. Lac Z expression of this promoter is restricted to the developing central nervous system (CNS) and the mesenchyme of developing mammary buds in embryos 12.5 days post-conception, and to brain tissue in adults. RT-QPCR analysis of tissue mRNA, including the anlage of the mammary gland and the CNS, confirms the existence of a novel, nested mRNA initiated in the first intron. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results provide evidence for a novel, developmentally regulated promoter in the first intron of the c-fos gene

Continuous-time modeling of cell fate determination in Arabidopsis flowers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genetic control of floral organ specification is currently being investigated by various approaches, both experimentally and through modeling. Models and simulations have mostly involved boolean or related methods, and so far a quantitative, continuous-time approach has not been explored.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose an ordinary differential equation (ODE) model that describes the gene expression dynamics of a gene regulatory network that controls floral organ formation in the model plant <it>Arabidopsis thaliana</it>. In this model, the dimerization of MADS-box transcription factors is incorporated explicitly. The unknown parameters are estimated from (known) experimental expression data. The model is validated by simulation studies of known mutant plants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The proposed model gives realistic predictions with respect to independent mutation data. A simulation study is carried out to predict the effects of a new type of mutation that has so far not been made in <it>Arabidopsis</it>, but that could be used as a severe test of the validity of the model. According to our predictions, the role of dimers is surprisingly important. Moreover, the functional loss of any dimer leads to one or more phenotypic alterations.</p

Forest Biodiversity Assessment in Peruvian Andean Montane Cloud Forest

Cloud forests are unusual and fragile habitats, being one of the least studied and least understood ecosystems. The tropical Andean dominion is considered one of the most significant places in the world as rega rds biological diversity, with a very high level of endemism. The biodiversity was analysed in an isolated remnant area of a tropical montane cloud forest known as the ?Bosque de Neblina de Cuyas?, in the North of the Peruvian Andean range. Composition, structure and dead wood were measured or estimated. The values obtained were compared with other cloud forests. The study revealed a high level of forest biodiversity, although the level of biodiversity differs from one area to another: in the inner areas, where human pressure is almost inexistent, the biodiversity values increase. The high species richness and the low dominance among species bear testimony to this montane cloud forest as a real enclave of biodiversity

Pharmacological Analysis of the Activation and Receptor Properties of the Tonic GABACR Current in Retinal Bipolar Cell Terminals

GABAergic inhibition in the central nervous system (CNS) can occur via rapid, transient postsynaptic currents and via a tonic increase in membrane conductance, mediated by synaptic and extrasynaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) respectively. Retinal bipolar cells (BCs) exhibit a tonic current mediated by GABACRs in their axon terminal, in addition to synaptic GABAAR and GABACR currents, which strongly regulate BC output. The tonic GABACR current in BC terminals (BCTs) is not dependent on vesicular GABA release, but properties such as the alternative source of GABA and the identity of the GABACRs remain unknown. Following a recent report that tonic GABA release from cerebellar glial cells is mediated by Bestrophin 1 anion channels, we have investigated their role in non-vesicular GABA release in the retina. Using patch-clamp recordings from BCTs in goldfish retinal slices, we find that the tonic GABACR current is not reduced by the anion channel inhibitors NPPB or flufenamic acid but is reduced by DIDS, which decreases the tonic current without directly affecting GABACRs. All three drugs also exhibit non-specific effects including inhibition of GABA transporters. GABACR ρ subunits can form homomeric and heteromeric receptors that differ in their properties, but BC GABACRs are thought to be ρ1-ρ2 heteromers. To investigate whether GABACRs mediating tonic and synaptic currents may differ in their subunit composition, as is the case for GABAARs, we have examined the effects of two antagonists that show partial ρ subunit selectivity: picrotoxin and cyclothiazide. Tonic and synaptic GABACR currents were differentially affected by both drugs, suggesting that a population of homomeric ρ1 receptors contributes to the tonic current. These results extend our understanding of the multiple forms of GABAergic inhibition that exist in the CNS and contribute to visual signal processing in the retina