Co- variation in soil biodiversity and biogeochemistry in northern and southern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Data from six sites in Victoria Land (72–77°S) investigating co-variation in soil communities (microbial and invertebrate) with biogeochemical properties showthe influence of soil properties on habitat suitability varied among local landscapes as well as across climate gradients. Species richness of metazoan invertebrates (Nematoda, Tardigrada and Rotifera) was similar to previous descriptions in this region, though identification of three cryptic nematode species of Eudorylaimus through DNA analysis contributed to the understanding of controls over habitat preferences for individual species. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis profiles revealed unexpectedly high diversity of bacteria. Distribution of distinct bacterial communities was associated with specific sites in northern and southern Victoria Land, as was the distribution of nematode and tardigrade species. Variation in soil metazoan communities was related to differences in soil organic matter, while bacterial diversity and community structure were not strongly correlated with any single soil property. There were no apparent correlations between metazoan and bacterial diversity, suggesting that controls over distribution and habitat suitability are different for bacterial and metazoan communities. Our results imply that top-down controls over bacterial diversity mediated by their metazoan consumers are not significant determinants of bacterial community structure and biomass in these ecosystems

A Near-Surface Microstructure Sensor System Used During TOGA COARE. Part II: Turbulence Measurements

New techniques developed for near-surface turbulence measurements during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) employ a difference in spatial scales of turbulence and surface waves. According to this approach, high relative speed of the measurements provides separation of the turbulence and surface wave signals. During the TOGA COARE field studies, highresolution probes of pressure, temperature, conductivity, fluctuation velocity, and acceleration were mounted on the bow of the vessel at a 1.7-m depth in an undisturbed region ahead of the moving vessel. The localization in narrow frequency bands of the vibrations of the bow sensors allows accurate calculation of the dissipation rate. A coherent noise reduction algorithm effectively removes vibration contamination of the velocity dataset. Due to the presence of surface waves and the associated pitching of the vessel, the bow probes ‘‘scanned’’ the near-surface layer of the ocean. Contour plots calculated using the bow signals provide a spatial context for the analysis of near-surface turbulence. A fast-moving free-rising profiler equipped by similar probes sampled the near-surface turbulence during stations. Theory of the three-component electromagnetic velocity sensor and examples of data obtained by bow sensors and free-rising profiler are also presented in this paper

A Slippery Place / music by J. Bodewalt Lampe; words by P. M. Hacker

Cover: caricature of an African American male playing a trombone; description reads a comic rag march; Publisher: Jerome H. Remick and Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_c/1021/thumbnail.jp

Lenvatinib Targets PDGFR-β Pericytes and Inhibits Synergy with Thyroid Carcinoma Cells: Novel Translational Insights

Context: Pericyte populations abundantly express tyrosine kinases (eg, platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β [PDGFR-β]) and impact therapeutic response. Lenvatinib is a clinically available tyrosine kinase inhibitor that also targets PDGFR-β. Duration of therapeutic response was shorter in patients with greater disease burden and metastasis. Patients may develop drug resistance and tumor progression. Objectives: Develop a gene signature of pericyte abundance to assess with tumor aggressiveness and determine both the response of thyroid-derived pericytes to lenvatinib and their synergies with thyroid carcinoma-derived cells. Design: Using a new gene signature, we estimated the relative abundance of pericytes in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and normal thyroid (NT) TCGA samples. We also cocultured CD90+;PAX8- thyroid-derived pericytes and BRAFWT/V600E-PTC-derived cells to determine effects of coculture on paracrine communications and lenvatinib response. Results: Pericyte abundance is significantly higher in BRAFV600E-PTC with hTERT mutations and copy number alterations compared with NT or BRAFWT-PTC samples, even when data are corrected for clinical-pathologic confounders. We have identified upregulated pathways important for tumor survival, immunomodulation, RNA transcription, cell-cycle regulation, and cholesterol metabolism. Pericyte growth is significantly increased by platelet-derived growth factor-BB, which activates phospho(p)-PDGFR-β, pERK1/2, and pAKT. Lenvatinib strongly inhibits pericyte viability by down-regulating MAPK, pAKT, and p-p70S6-kinase downstream PDGFR-β. Critically, lenvatinib significantly induces higher BRAFWT/V600E-PTC cell death when cocultured with pericytes, as a result of pericyte targeting via PDGFR-β. Conclusions: This is the first thyroid-specific model of lenvatinib therapeutic efficacy against pericyte viability, which disadvantages BRAFWT/V600E-PTC growth. Assessing pericyte abundance in patients with PTC could be essential to selection rationales for appropriate targeted therapy with lenvatinib

Host specificity and species colouration mediate the regional decline of nocturnal moths in central European forests

The high diversity of insects has limited the volume of long-term community data with a high taxonomic resolution and considerable geographic replications, especially in forests. Therefore, trends and causes of changes are poorly understood. Here we analyse trends in species richness, abundance and biomass of nocturnal macro moths in three quantitative data sets collected over four decades in forests in southern Germany. Two local data sets, one from coppiced oak forests and one from high oak forests included 125K and 48K specimens from 559 and 532 species, respectively. A third regional data set, representing all forest types in the temperate zone of central Europe comprised 735K specimens from 848 species. Generalized additive mixed models revealed temporal declines in species richness (−38%), abundance (−53%) and biomass (−57%) at the regional scale. These were more pronounced in plant host specialists and in dark coloured species. In contrast, the local coppiced oak forests showed an increase, in species richness (+62%), while the high oak forests showed no clear trends. Left and right censoring as well as cross validation confirmed the robustness of the analyses, which led to four conclusions. First, the decline in insects appears in hyper diverse insect groups in forests and affects species richness, abundance and biomass. Second, the pronounced decline in host specialists suggests habitat loss as an important driver of the observed decline. Third, the more severe decline in dark species might be an indication of global warming as a potential driver. Fourth, the trends in coppiced oak forests indicate that maintaining complex and diverse forest ecosystems through active management may be a promising conservation strategy in order to counteract negative trends in biodiversity, alongside rewilding approaches

PAR1- and PAR2-induced innate immune markers are negatively regulated by PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in oral keratinocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protease-Activated Receptors (PARs), members of G-protein-coupled receptors, are activated by proteolytic activity of various proteases. Activation of PAR1 and PAR2 triggers innate immune responses in human oral keratinocytes (HOKs), but the signaling pathways downstream of PAR activation in HOKs have not been clearly defined. In this study, we aimed to determine if PAR1- and PAR2-mediated signaling differs in the induction of innate immune markers CXCL3, CXCL5 and CCL20 via ERK, p38 and PI3K/Akt.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our data show the induction of innate immunity by PAR1 requires both p38 and ERK MAP kinases, while PAR2 prominently signals via p38. However, inhibition of PI3K enhances expression of innate immune markers predominantly via suppressing p38 phosphorylation signaled by PAR activation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data indicate that proteases mediating PAR1 and PAR2 activation differentially signal via MAP kinase cascades. In addition, the production of chemokines induced by PAR1 and PAR2 is suppressed by PI3K/Akt, thus keeping the innate immune responses of HOK in balance. The results of our study provide a novel insight into signaling pathways involved in PAR activation.</p

Toward vicarious calibration of microwave remote-sensing satellites in arid environments

The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite marks the commencement of dedicated global surface soil moisture missions, and the first mission to make passive microwave observations at L-band. On-orbit calibration is an essential part of the instrument calibration strategy, but on-board beam-filling targets are not practical for such large apertures. Therefore, areas to serve as vicarious calibration targets need to be identified. Such sites can only be identified through field experiments including both in situ and airborne measurements. For this purpose, two field experiments were performed in central Australia. Three areas are studied as follows: 1) Lake Eyre, a typically dry salt lake; 2) Wirrangula Hill, with sparse vegetation and a dense cover of surface rock; and 3) Simpson Desert, characterized by dry sand dunes. Of those sites, only Wirrangula Hill and the Simpson Desert are found to be potentially suitable targets, as they have a spatial variation in brightness temperatures of <4 K under normal conditions. However, some limitations are observed for the Simpson Desert, where a bias of 15 K in vertical and 20 K in horizontal polarization exists between model predictions and observations, suggesting a lack of understanding of the underlying physics in this environment. Subsequent comparison with model predictions indicates a SMOS bias of 5 K in vertical and 11 K in horizontal polarization, and an unbiased root mean square difference of 10 K in both polarizations for Wirrangula Hill. Most importantly, the SMOS observations show that the brightness temperature evolution is dominated by regular seasonal patterns and that precipitation events have only little impact

Preclinical In Vitro

Molecular imaging probes such as PET-tracers have the potential to improve the accuracy of tumor characterization by directly visualizing the biochemical situation. Thus, molecular changes can be detected early before morphological manifestation. The A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) is described to be highly expressed in colon cancer cell lines and human colorectal cancer (CRC), suggesting this receptor as a tumor marker. The aim of this preclinical study was the evaluation of [F]FE@SUPPY as a PET-tracer for CRC using in vitro imaging and in vivo PET imaging. First, affinity and selectivity of FE@SUPPY and its metabolites were determined, proving the favorable binding profile of FE@SUPPY. The human adenocarcinoma cell line HT-29 was characterized regarding its hA3AR expression and was subsequently chosen as tumor graft. Promising results regarding the potential of [F]FE@SUPPY as a PET-tracer for CRC imaging were obtained by autoradiography as 2.3-fold higher accumulation of [F]FE@SUPPY was found in CRC tissue compared to adjacent healthy colon tissue from the same patient. Nevertheless, first in vivo studies using HT-29 xenografts showed insufficient tumor uptake due to (1) poor conservation of target expression in xenografts and (2) unfavorable pharmacokinetics of [F]FE@SUPPY in mice. We therefore conclude that HT-29 xenografts are not adequate to visualize hA3ARs using [F]FE@SUPPY.(VLID)481541