Flowering time: from physiology, through genetics to mechanism.

Plant species have evolved different requirements for environmental/endogenous cues to induce flowering. Originally, these varying requirements were thought to reflect the action of different molecular mechanisms. Thinking changed when genetic and molecular analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed that a network of environmental and endogenous signalling input pathways converge to regulate a common set of 'floral pathway integrators'. Variation in the predominance of the different input pathways within a network can generate the diversity of requirements observed in different species. Many genes identified by flowering time mutants were found to encode general developmental and gene regulators, with their targets having a specific flowering function. Studies of natural variation in flowering were more successful at identifying genes acting as nodes in the network central to adaptation and domestication. Attention has now turned to mechanistic dissection of flowering time gene function and how that has changed during adaptation. This will inform breeding strategies for climate-proof crops and help define which genes act as critical flowering nodes in many other species. [Abstract copyright: © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of American Society of Plant Biologists.

Molecular haplotyping by linking emulsion PCR: analysis of paraoxonase 1 haplotypes and phenotypes

Linking emulsion PCR (LE-PCR) enables formation of minichromosomes preserving phase information of two polymorphic loci, hence the haplotype. Emulsion PCR confines two amplicons of two linked polymorphic sites on a single template molecule to one aqueous-phase droplet. Linking PCR uses biotinylated, overlapping linking primers to connect these amplicons in the droplet. After LE-PCR, unlinked amplicons are removed on streptavidin-coated magnetic beads and single-stranded runoff products are capped by primer extension. Quantitative ASPCR can then be used to ascertain the haplotypes of the two polymorphic loci on the minichromosomes. Using LE-PCR, we determined the human paraoxonase-1 [PON1] molecular haplotypes at three loci (−909g>c, L55M, Q192R) in women who were compound heterozygotes for −909g>c/L55M (n = 89), −909g>c/Q192R (n = 77) and L55M/Q192R (n = 68). We observed a strong association between PON1 substrate specificity (paraoxon/phenylacetate substrate activity ratios) and −909g>c/Q192R haplotype. We have demonstrated here a powerful molecular haplotyping technology that can be applied in population studies

CrisisReady\u27s Novel Framework for Transdisciplinary Translation: Case-Studies in Wildfire and Hurricane Response

Extreme weather events including wildfires and hurricanes are becoming increasingly hazardous due to climate change, and often result in transient or permanent population displacements. Disaster-related disruptions in infrastructure, workforce, wages, and social networks can combine with population displacements to result in interruptions in health care access and prolonged impacts on morbidity and mortality. The data needed to make health systems and emergency management approaches more resilient to these hazards, and more responsive to the needs of affected populations, are sequestered in silos across private corporations and public agencies. In two case studies, we describe how our research team at CrisisReady negotiated access to privately held and novel data sources like anonymized geolocation data from cell-phones, while striking a balance between data security and public health utility. We describe how our analytic tools are embedded into disaster response workflows by co-developing our research questions and outputs with responders and policy-makers. ReadyMapper, an interactive data visualization tool to track population mobility, infrastructure damage, and health system capacity, in near real-time, was deployed during wildfires in California and during the Hurricane Ida response in Louisiana. The Data-Methods-Translational framework we have developed is scalable and relies on sharing science and co-creating products with policy makers and response agencies to ensure real-world applicability. These attributes make the framework particularly useful for formulating evidence-based approaches to protect human health through climate change adaptation

1d WCIP and FEM hybridization

National audienceAn hybridization between two numerical methods, the 1d Wave Concept Iterative Procedure (WCIP) and the 2d Finite Element Method (FEM), is developed. Using two examples, comparisons are provided between the new hybrid method and an analytic solution, when available, or the WCIP alone

1D WCIP and FEM hybridization

International audienceThe hybridization between two numerical methods, the 1D Wave Concept Iterative Procedure (WCIP) and the 2D Finite Element Method (FEM), is introduced. Preliminary numerical results are also presented

Combining Habitat Analysis and Autoencoder Neural Network for Feature Extraction to Predict COVID 19 Infection in CT Images

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp21/1254/thumbnail.jp

The metabolomic effects of tripeptide gut hormone infusion compared to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and caloric restriction

Context: The gut-derived peptide hormones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), oxyntomodulin (OXM), and peptide YY (PYY) are regulators of energy intake and glucose homeostasis, and are thought to contribute to the glucose-lowering effects of bariatric surgery. Objective: To establish the metabolomic effects of a combined infusion of GLP-1, OXM and PYY (tripeptide “GOP”) in comparison to a placebo infusion, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery, and a very low-calorie diet (VLCD). Design and setting: Sub-analysis of a single-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study of GOP infusion (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01945840), including VLCD and RYGB comparator groups. Patients and interventions: 25 obese patients with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes were randomly allocated to receive a 4-week subcutaneous infusion of GOP (n=14) or 0.9% saline control (SAL; n=11). An additional 22 patients followed a VLCD, and 21 underwent RYGB surgery. Main outcome measures: Plasma and urine samples collected at baseline and 4 weeks into each intervention were subjected to cross-platform metabolomic analysis, followed by unsupervised and supervised modelling approaches to identify similarities and differences between the effects of each intervention. Results: Aside from glucose, very few metabolites were affected by GOP, contrasting with major metabolomic changes seen with VLCD and RYGB. Conclusions: Treatment with GOP provides a powerful glucose-lowering effect but does not replicate the broader metabolomic changes seen with VLCD and RYGB. The contribution of these metabolomic changes to the clinical benefits of RYGB remains to be elucidated

Length Scale of the Spin Seebeck Effect

We investigate the origin of the spin Seebeck effect in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) samples for film thicknesses from 20 nm to 50  μm at room temperature and 50 K. Our results reveal a characteristic increase of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect amplitude with the thickness of the insulating ferrimagnetic YIG, which levels off at a critical thickness that increases with decreasing temperature. The observed behavior cannot be explained as an interface effect or by variations of the material parameters. Comparison to numerical simulations of thermal magnonic spin currents yields qualitative agreement for the thickness dependence resulting from the finite magnon propagation length. This allows us to trace the origin of the observed signals to genuine bulk magnonic spin currents due to the spin Seebeck effect ruling out an interface origin and allowing us to gauge the reach of thermally excited magnons in this system for different temperatures. At low temperature, even quantitative agreement with the simulations is found.United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Science (Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center Grant DE-SC0001299)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award ECCS1231392

Brief Report: Human Perivascular Stem Cells and Nel-Like Protein-1 Synergistically Enhance Spinal Fusion in Osteoporotic Rats

Autologous bone grafts (ABGs) are considered as the gold standard for spinal fusion. However, osteoporotic patients are poor candidates for ABGs due to limited osteogenic stem cell numbers and function of the bone microenvironment. There is a need for stem cell-based spinal fusion of proven efficacy under either osteoporotic or nonosteoporotic conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of human perivascular stem cells (hPSCs), a population of mesenchymal stem cells isolated from adipose tissue, in the presence and absence of NELL-1, an osteogenic protein, for spinal fusion in the osteoporosis. Osteogenic differentiation of hPSCs with and without NELL-1 was tested in vitro. The results indicated that NELL-1 significantly increased the osteogenic potential of hPSCs in both osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic donors. Next, spinal fusion was performed by implanting scaffolds with regular or high doses of hPSCs, with or without NELL-1 in ovariectomized rats (n = 41). Regular doses of hPSCs or NELL-1 achieved the fusion rates of only 20%-37.5% by manual palpation. These regular doses had previously been shown to be effective in nonosteoporotic rat spinal fusion. Remarkably, the high dose of hPSCs+NELL-1 significantly improved the fusion rates among osteoporotic rats up to approximately 83.3%. Microcomputed tomography imaging and quantification further confirmed solid bony fusion with high dose hPSCs+NELL-1. Finally, histologically, direct in situ involvement of hPSCs in ossification was shown using undecalcified samples. To conclude, hPSCs combined with NELL-1 synergistically enhances spinal fusion in osteoporotic rats and has great potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for osteoporotic patients. © 2015 AlphaMed Press

Midlife Determinants of Healthy Cardiovascular aging: the atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (Aric) Study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Risk factor cutoffs are derived from associations with clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD), but how these risk factors associate with preserved cardiovascular health into old age is not well studied. We investigated midlife determinants of healthy versus nonhealthy cardiovascular aging in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. METHODS: ARIC participants were categorized by cardiovascular status in older age (mean age 75.8 ± 5.3 years, range 66-90): healthy, subclinical disease (assessed by biomarkers and left ventricular function), clinical CVD (coronary heart disease, stroke, or heart failure), or prior death. We examined associations of midlife (mean age 52.1 ± 5.1 years) systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and body mass index (BMI) with cardiovascular status in older age using multinomial logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Compared with healthy status, odds for subclinical disease (odds ratio [OR] 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.55) and clinical CVD (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.53-2.29) at older age increased starting with midlife SBP 120-129 mmHg, whereas odds for death increased starting with SBP 110-119 mmHg (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.10-1.52); findings were similar for DBP. Odds for subclinical disease increased for HbA1c ≥ 6.5% and BMI starting at 30-/m CONCLUSIONS: More-stringent levels of modifiable risk factors in midlife beyond current clinical practice and guidelines were associated with preserved cardiovascular health in older age