Ancient Urban Ecology Reconstructed from Archaeozoological Remains of Small Mammals in the Near East

Acknowledgments We especially thank the many archaeologists who collaborated closely with our project and invested pioneering efforts in intensive fine-scale retrieval of the archaeozoological samples that provided the basis for this study: Shai Bar, Amnon Ben-Tor, Amit Dagan, Yosef Garfinkel, Ayelet Gilboa, Zvi Greenhut, Amihai Mazar, Stefan Munger, Ronny Reich, Itzhaq Shai, Ilan Sharon, Joe Uziel, Sharon Zuckerman, and additional key excavation personnel who were instrumental in collection of the samples or in assisting the work including: Shimrit Bechar, Jacob Dunn, Norma Franklin, Egon Lass and Yiftah Shalev. Funding:The research was funded by a post-doctoral grant awarded to L.W. from the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007e2013)/ERC grant agreement number 229418. The laboratory work was also supported by funding by the Israel Science Foundation (Grant 52/10). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Formation of microtubule-based traps controls the sorting and concentration of vesicles to restricted sites of regenerating neurons after axotomy

Transformation of a transected axonal tip into a growth cone (GC) is a critical step in the cascade leading to neuronal regeneration. Critical to the regrowth is the supply and concentration of vesicles at restricted sites along the cut axon. The mechanisms underlying these processes are largely unknown. Using online confocal imaging of transected, cultured Aplysia californica neurons, we report that axotomy leads to reorientation of the microtubule (MT) polarities and formation of two distinct MT-based vesicle traps at the cut axonal end. Approximately 100 μm proximal to the cut end, a selective trap for anterogradely transported vesicles is formed, which is the plus end trap. Distally, a minus end trap is formed that exclusively captures retrogradely transported vesicles. The concentration of anterogradely transported vesicles in the former trap optimizes the formation of a GC after axotomy

Heterogeneity and developmental dynamics of LYVE-1 perivascular macrophages distribution in the mouse brain

International audienceBrain perivascular macrophages (PVMs) are border-associated macrophages situated along blood vessels in the Virchow-Robin space and are thus found at a unique anatomical position between the endothelium and the parenchyma. Owing to their location and phagocytic capabilities, PVMs are regarded as important components that regulate various aspects of brain physiology in health and pathophysiological states. Here, we used LYVE-1 to identify PVMs in the mouse brain using brain-tissue sections and cleared whole-brains to learn about how they are distributed within the brain and across different developmental postnatal stages. We find that LYVE-1 + PVMs associate with the vasculature in different patterns and proportions depending on vessel diameter or arterio-venous differentiation. LYVE-1 + PVMs relate to blood vessels in a brain-region-dependent manner. We show that their postnatal distribution is developmentally dynamic and peaks at P10-P20 depending on the brain region. We further demonstrate that their density is reduced in the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease proportionally to beta-amyloid deposits. In conclusion, our results reveal unexpected heterogeneity and dynamics of LYVE-1 + PVMs, with selective coverage of brain vasculature, compatible with potential unexplored roles for this population of PVMs in postnatal development, and in regulating brain functions in steady-state and disease conditions

Metrology of Multiphoton Microscopes Using Second Harmonic Generation Nanoprobes

International audienceIn multiphoton microscopy, the ongoing trend toward the use of excitation wavelengths spanning the entire near‐infrared range calls for new standards in order to quantify and compare the performances of microscopes. This article describes a new method for characterizing the imaging properties of multiphoton microscopes over a broad range of excitation wavelengths in a straightforward and efficient manner. It demonstrates how second harmonic generation (SHG) nanoprobes can be used to map the spatial resolution, field curvature, and chromatic aberrations across the microscope field of view with a precision below the diffraction limit and with unique advantages over methods based on fluorescence. KTiOPO4 nanocrystals are used as SHG nanoprobes to measure and compare the performances over the 850–1100 nm wavelength range of several microscope objectives designed for multiphoton microscopy. Finally, this approach is extended to the post‐acquisition correction of chromatic aberrations in multicolor multiphoton imaging. Overall, the use of SHG nanoprobes appears as a uniquely suited method to standardize the metrology of multiphoton microscopes

Rarefaction analysis of urban and rural assemblages.

<p>Data used for this analysis excludes taxa that are rare in the urban assemblages and indicate abandonment/intrusion (<i>Meriones</i>, <i>Microtus</i>, <i>Spalax</i>, <i>Gerbillus</i>). NISP is the number of identified specimens.</p

A NIRS-Aided Methodology to Elucidate the Nutrition of the Endangered Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella) Using Samples of Rumen Contents from Roadkills

The populations of the endangered mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), which inhabit large parts of Israel, across various ecosystems and climatic conditions, shrunk drastically over the last decades. To date, data on gazelle nutrition, how these relate with individual characteristics and respond to seasonal and environmental changes, have not been available. We analyzed 110 samples from gazelle rumen contents collected throughout the country from occasional fatalities, mainly roadkills, and tested the feasibility of using them for near-infrared spectrometry (NIRS) calibrations. Although NIR calibrations for crude protein, in vitro dry matter digestibility, and ash were reasonable, we found that using calibrations based on local forage and feed plant species performed better, and used these to estimate several nutritional constituents in gazelle rumens, using NIRS. We tested how constituents relate to the sex, age-class, and weight of the individual gazelle, and to season and ecosystem type, and found that season plays a major role in gazelle nutrition. Winter is the most propitious season, when crude protein, ash and digestibility are highest, and acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and the carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio are lowest. Autumn, being the harshest season, mirrors winter conditions, and summer and spring show intermediate levels. Yet the relative changes between seasons were mild: about 30%, for crude protein, digestibility, and ash, and 14–22% for ADF, NDF, and C:N ratio. Ecosystem type affected several constituents, and nutrition was slightly better in Mediterranean than in dry ecosystems. Gazelle sex, weight, and age-class had minor effects on nutrition. Overall, it seems that the adaptation of gazelles to their environment is germane to keeping relatively steady nutrition throughout the year. Our results, which do not show a dramatic decline in the quality of gazelle nutrition during any season or among the climatic regions that were studied, suggest that nutrition is not a major driver of the survival of gazelles in the populations surveyed

Contrast between a large-scale mound site and a single-period small-scale settlement.

<p>Tel Megiddo has a history of thousands of years of dense urban occupation (above; photographed by Skyview and the Megiddo Expedition) whereas Khirbet ed-Dawwara is a single-period small-scale settlement with shallow accumulation above the natural hill topography (below; photographed by I. Finkelstein). The original rocky surface of Khirbet ed-Dawara can be glimpsed in the excavation area only slightly below the present-day surface and in the surrounding hilly landscape. This site is a fortified rural settlement situated in the Jerusalem area and dated to the Iron Age IIA period at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE.</p

Taxonomic incidence and sample sizes across the study sites.

<p>*For site names see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091795#pone.0091795.s003" target="_blank">Table S1</a>.</p