Using an Indoor Localization System for Activity Recognition

Recognizing the activity performed by users is importantin many application domains, from e-health to home automation. Thispaper explores the use of a fine-grained indoor localization system, basedon ultra-wideband, for activity recognition. The user is supposed to weara number of active tags. The position of active tags is first determinedwith respect to the space where the user is moving, then some position-independent metrics are estimated and given as input to a previouslytrained system. Experimental results show that accuracy values as highas∼95% can be obtained when using a personalized model

Patent Human Infections with the Whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, Are Not Associated with Alterations in the Faecal Microbiota

Background: The soil-transmitted helminth (STH), Trichuris trichiura colonises the human large intestine where it may modify inflammatory responses, an effect possibly mediated through alterations in the intestinal microbiota. We hypothesised that patent T. trichiura infections would be associated with altered faecal microbiota and that anthelmintic treatment would induce a microbiota resembling more closely that observed in uninfected individuals. Materials and Methods: School children in Ecuador were screened for STH infections and allocated to 3 groups: uninfected, T. trichiura only, and mixed infections with T. trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides. A sample of uninfected children and those with T. trichiura infections only were given anthelmintic treatment. Bacterial community profiles in faecal samples were studied by 454 pyrosequencing of 16 S rRNA genes. Results: Microbiota analyses of faeces were done for 97 children: 30 were uninfected, 17 were infected with T. trichiura, and 50 with T. trichiura and A. lumbricoides. Post-treatment samples were analyzed for 14 children initially infected with T. trichiura alone and for 21 uninfected children. Treatment resulted in 100% cure of STH infections. Comparisons of the microbiota at different taxonomic levels showed no statistically significant differences in composition between uninfected children and those with T. trichiura infections. We observed a decreased proportional abundance of a few bacterial genera from the Clostridia class of Firmicutes and a reduced bacterial diversity among children with mixed infections compared to the other two groups, indicating a possible specific effect of A. lumbricoides infection. Anthelmintic treatment of children with T. trichiura did not alter faecal microbiota composition. Discussion: Our data indicate that patent human infections with T. trichiura may have no effect on faecal microbiota but that A. lumbricoides colonisation might be associated with a disturbed microbiota. Our results also catalogue the microbiota of rural Ecuadorians and indicate differences with individuals from more urban industrialised societies

Glutamate receptor-like channels are essential for chemotaxis and reproduction in mosses

The deposited article version is a "Accelerated Article Preview" provided by Nature Publishing Group, and it contains attached the supplementary materials within the pdf.». This publication hasn't any creative commons license associated.Glutamate receptors are well characterized channels that mediate cell-to-cell communication during neurotransmission in animals. Nevertheless, information regarding their functional role in organisms without nervous systems is still limited. In plants, Glutamate Receptor-like (GLR) genes have been implicated in defence against pathogens, reproduction, control of stomata aperture and light signal transduction(1-5). However, the numerous GLR genes present in angiosperm genomes (20 to 70)(6) has prevented the observation of strong phenotypes in loss-of-function mutants. Here, we show that in the moss Physcomitrella patens, a basal land plant, mutation of GLR genes cause sperm failure in targeting the female reproductive organs. In addition, we show that GLR genes encode non-selective Ca(2+) permeable channels that can regulate cytoplasmic Ca(2+) and are needed to induce the expression of a BELL1-like transcription factor essential for zygote development. Our work reveals novel functions for GLRs in sperm chemotaxis and transcriptional regulation. Sperm chemotaxis is essential for fertilization in both animals and early land plants like bryophytes and pteridophytes. Therefore, our results are suggestive that ionotropic glutamate receptors may have been conserved throughout plant evolution to mediate cell-to-cell communication during sexual reproduction.Phillips University; Oxford University; University of Marburg; University of Muenster; MarieCurie ITN-Plant Origins grant: (FP7-PEOPLE-ITN-2008); FCT grants: (BEX-BCM/0376/2012; PTDC/BIA-PLA/4018/2012); NSF-US grant: (MCB 1616437/2016).info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The bHLH transcription factor SPATULA enables cytokinin signaling, and both activate auxin biosynthesis and transport genes at the medial domain of the gynoecium

[EN] Fruits and seeds are the major food source on earth. Both derive from the gynoecium and, therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that guide the development of this organ of angiosperm species. In Arabidopsis, the gynoecium is composed of two congenitally fused carpels, where two domains: medial and lateral, can be distinguished. The medial domain includes the carpel margin meristem (CMM) that is key for the production of the internal tissues involved in fertilization, such as septum, ovules, and transmitting tract. Interestingly, the medial domain shows a high cytokinin signaling output, in contrast to the lateral domain, where it is hardly detected. While it is known that cytokinin provides meristematic properties, understanding on the mechanisms that underlie the cytokinin signaling pattern in the young gynoecium is lacking. Moreover, in other tissues, the cytokinin pathway is often connected to the auxin pathway, but we also lack knowledge about these connections in the young gynoecium. Our results reveal that cytokinin signaling, that can provide meristematic properties required for CMM activity and growth, is enabled by the transcription factor SPATULA (SPT) in the medial domain. Meanwhile, cytokinin signaling is confined to the medial domain by the cytokinin response repressor ARABIDOPSIS HISTIDINE PHOSPHOTRANSFERASE 6 (AHP6), and perhaps by ARR16 (a type-A ARR) as well, both present in the lateral domains (presumptive valves) of the developing gynoecia. Moreover, SPT and cytokinin, probably together, promote the expression of the auxin biosynthetic gene TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS 1 (TAA1) and the gene encoding the auxin efflux transporter PIN-FORMED 3 (PIN3), likely creating auxin drainage important for gynoecium growth. This study provides novel insights in the spatiotemporal determination of the cytokinin signaling pattern and its connection to the auxin pathway in the young gynoecium.IRO, VMZM, HHU and PLS were supported by the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) with a PhD fellowship (210085, 210100, 243380 and 219883, respectively). Work in the SDF laboratory was financed by the CONACyT grants CB-2012-177739, FC-2015-2/1061, and INFR-2015-253504, and NMM by the CONACyT grant CB-2011-165986. SDF, CF and LC acknowledge the support of the European Union FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IRSES project EVOCODE (grant no. 247587) and H2020-MSCARISE-2015 project ExpoSEED (grant no. 691109). SDF also acknowledges the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole for a scholarship for the Gene Regulatory Networks for Development Course 2015 (GERN2015). IE acknowledges the International European Fellowship-METMADS project and the Universita degli Studi di Milano (RTD-A; 2016). Research in the laboratory of MFY was funded by NSF (grant IOS-1121055), NIH (grant 1R01GM112976-01A1) and the Paul D. Saltman Endowed Chair in Science Education (MFY). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Reyes Olalde, J.; Zuñiga, V.; Serwatowska, J.; Chávez Montes, R.; Lozano-Sotomayor, P.; Herrera-Ubaldo, H.; Gonzalez Aguilera, K.... (2017). The bHLH transcription factor SPATULA enables cytokinin signaling, and both activate auxin biosynthesis and transport genes at the medial domain of the gynoecium. PLoS Genetics. 13(4):1-31. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1006726S131134Reyes-Olalde, J. I., Zuñiga-Mayo, V. M., Chávez Montes, R. A., Marsch-Martínez, N., & de Folter, S. (2013). Inside the gynoecium: at the carpel margin. Trends in Plant Science, 18(11), 644-655. doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2013.08.002Alvarez-Buylla, E. R., Benítez, M., Corvera-Poiré, A., Chaos Cador, Á., de Folter, S., Gamboa de Buen, A., … Sánchez-Corrales, Y. E. (2010). Flower Development. The Arabidopsis Book, 8, e0127. doi:10.1199/tab.0127Bowman, J. L., Baum, S. F., Eshed, Y., Putterill, J., & Alvarez, J. (1999). 4 Molecular Genetics of Gynoecium Development in Arabidopsis. Current Topics in Developmental Biology Volume 45, 155-205. doi:10.1016/s0070-2153(08)60316-6Chávez Montes, R. A., Herrera-Ubaldo, H., Serwatowska, J., & de Folter, S. (2015). Towards a comprehensive and dynamic gynoecium gene regulatory network. Current Plant Biology, 3-4, 3-12. doi:10.1016/j.cpb.2015.08.002Marsch-Martínez, N., & de Folter, S. (2016). Hormonal control of the development of the gynoecium. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 29, 104-114. doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2015.12.006Marsch-Martínez, N., Ramos-Cruz, D., Irepan Reyes-Olalde, J., Lozano-Sotomayor, P., Zúñiga-Mayo, V. M., & de Folter, S. (2012). The role of cytokinin during Arabidopsis gynoecia and fruit morphogenesis and patterning. The Plant Journal, 72(2), 222-234. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2012.05062.xZhao, Z., Andersen, S. U., Ljung, K., Dolezal, K., Miotk, A., Schultheiss, S. J., & Lohmann, J. U. (2010). Hormonal control of the shoot stem-cell niche. Nature, 465(7301), 1089-1092. doi:10.1038/nature09126Ashikari, M. (2005). Cytokinin Oxidase Regulates Rice Grain Production. Science, 309(5735), 741-745. doi:10.1126/science.1113373Bartrina, I., Otto, E., Strnad, M., Werner, T., & Schmülling, T. (2011). Cytokinin Regulates the Activity of Reproductive Meristems, Flower Organ Size, Ovule Formation, and Thus Seed Yield in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell, 23(1), 69-80. doi:10.1105/tpc.110.079079Hwang, I., Sheen, J., & Müller, B. (2012). Cytokinin Signaling Networks. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 63(1), 353-380. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-042811-105503Schaller, G. E., Bishopp, A., & Kieber, J. J. (2015). The Yin-Yang of Hormones: Cytokinin and Auxin Interactions in Plant Development. The Plant Cell, 27(1), 44-63. doi:10.1105/tpc.114.133595Kieber, J. J., & Schaller, G. E. (2010). The Perception of Cytokinin: A Story 50 Years in the Making: Figure 1. Plant Physiology, 154(2), 487-492. doi:10.1104/pp.110.161596Long, J. A., Moan, E. I., Medford, J. I., & Barton, M. K. (1996). A member of the KNOTTED class of homeodomain proteins encoded by the STM gene of Arabidopsis. Nature, 379(6560), 66-69. doi:10.1038/379066a0Jasinski, S., Piazza, P., Craft, J., Hay, A., Woolley, L., Rieu, I., … Tsiantis, M. (2005). KNOX Action in Arabidopsis Is Mediated by Coordinate Regulation of Cytokinin and Gibberellin Activities. Current Biology, 15(17), 1560-1565. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.07.023Yanai, O., Shani, E., Dolezal, K., Tarkowski, P., Sablowski, R., Sandberg, G., … Ori, N. (2005). Arabidopsis KNOXI Proteins Activate Cytokinin Biosynthesis. Current Biology, 15(17), 1566-1571. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.07.060Scofield, S., Dewitte, W., Nieuwland, J., & Murray, J. A. H. (2013). The Arabidopsis homeobox gene SHOOT MERISTEMLESS has cellular and meristem-organisational roles with differential requirements for cytokinin and CYCD3 activity. The Plant Journal, 75(1), 53-66. doi:10.1111/tpj.12198Gordon, S. P., Chickarmane, V. S., Ohno, C., & Meyerowitz, E. M. (2009). Multiple feedback loops through cytokinin signaling control stem cell number within the Arabidopsis shoot meristem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(38), 16529-16534. doi:10.1073/pnas.0908122106Chickarmane, V. S., Gordon, S. P., Tarr, P. T., Heisler, M. G., & Meyerowitz, E. M. (2012). Cytokinin signaling as a positional cue for patterning the apical-basal axis of the growing Arabidopsis shoot meristem. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(10), 4002-4007. doi:10.1073/pnas.1200636109Leibfried, A., To, J. P. C., Busch, W., Stehling, S., Kehle, A., Demar, M., … Lohmann, J. U. (2005). WUSCHEL controls meristem function by direct regulation of cytokinin-inducible response regulators. Nature, 438(7071), 1172-1175. doi:10.1038/nature04270Werner, T., Motyka, V., Laucou, V., Smets, R., Van Onckelen, H., & Schmülling, T. (2003). Cytokinin-Deficient Transgenic Arabidopsis Plants Show Multiple Developmental Alterations Indicating Opposite Functions of Cytokinins in the Regulation of Shoot and Root Meristem Activity. The Plant Cell, 15(11), 2532-2550. doi:10.1105/tpc.014928Larsson, E., Franks, R. G., & Sundberg, E. (2013). Auxin and the Arabidopsis thaliana gynoecium. Journal of Experimental Botany, 64(9), 2619-2627. doi:10.1093/jxb/ert099Weijers, D., & Wagner, D. (2016). Transcriptional Responses to the Auxin Hormone. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 67(1), 539-574. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-043015-112122Robert, H. S., Crhak Khaitova, L., Mroue, S., & Benková, E. (2015). The importance of localized auxin production for morphogenesis of reproductive organs and embryos inArabidopsis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 66(16), 5029-5042. doi:10.1093/jxb/erv256Kuusk, S., Sohlberg, J. J., Magnus Eklund, D., & Sundberg, E. (2006). Functionally redundantSHIfamily genes regulate Arabidopsis gynoecium development in a dose-dependent manner. The Plant Journal, 47(1), 99-111. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2006.02774.xSohlberg, J. J., Myrenås, M., Kuusk, S., Lagercrantz, U., Kowalczyk, M., Sandberg, G., & Sundberg, E. (2006). STY1regulates auxin homeostasis and affects apical-basal patterning of the Arabidopsis gynoecium. The Plant Journal, 47(1), 112-123. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2006.02775.xStåldal, V., Sohlberg, J. J., Eklund, D. M., Ljung, K., & Sundberg, E. (2008). Auxin can act independently ofCRC,LUG,SEU,SPTandSTY1in style development but not apical-basal patterning of theArabidopsisgynoecium. New Phytologist, 180(4), 798-808. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02625.xVan Gelderen, K., van Rongen, M., Liu, A., Otten, A., & Offringa, R. (2016). An INDEHISCENT-Controlled Auxin Response Specifies the Separation Layer in Early Arabidopsis Fruit. Molecular Plant, 9(6), 857-869. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2016.03.005José Ripoll, J., Bailey, L. J., Mai, Q.-A., Wu, S. L., Hon, C. T., Chapman, E. J., … Yanofsky, M. F. (2015). microRNA regulation of fruit growth. Nature Plants, 1(4). doi:10.1038/nplants.2015.36Larsson, E., Roberts, C. J., Claes, A. R., Franks, R. G., & Sundberg, E. (2014). Polar Auxin Transport Is Essential for Medial versus Lateral Tissue Specification and Vascular-Mediated Valve Outgrowth in Arabidopsis Gynoecia. Plant Physiology, 166(4), 1998-2012. doi:10.1104/pp.114.245951Nole-Wilson, S., Azhakanandam, S., & Franks, R. G. (2010). Polar auxin transport together with AINTEGUMENTA and REVOLUTA coordinate early Arabidopsis gynoecium development. Developmental Biology, 346(2), 181-195. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2010.07.016De Folter, S. (2016). Auxin Is Required for Valve Margin Patterning in Arabidopsis After All. Molecular Plant, 9(6), 768-770. doi:10.1016/j.molp.2016.05.005Moubayidin, L., & Østergaard, L. (2014). Dynamic Control of Auxin Distribution Imposes a Bilateral-to-Radial Symmetry Switch during Gynoecium Development. Current Biology, 24(22), 2743-2748. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.080Girin, T., Paicu, T., Stephenson, P., Fuentes, S., Körner, E., O’Brien, M., … Østergaard, L. (2011). INDEHISCENT and SPATULA Interact to Specify Carpel and Valve Margin Tissue and Thus Promote Seed Dispersal in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 23(10), 3641-3653. doi:10.1105/tpc.111.090944Ioio, R. D., Nakamura, K., Moubayidin, L., Perilli, S., Taniguchi, M., Morita, M. T., … Sabatini, S. (2008). A Genetic Framework for the Control of Cell Division and Differentiation in the Root Meristem. Science, 322(5906), 1380-1384. doi:10.1126/science.1164147Bishopp, A., Help, H., El-Showk, S., Weijers, D., Scheres, B., Friml, J., … Helariutta, Y. (2011). A Mutually Inhibitory Interaction between Auxin and Cytokinin Specifies Vascular Pattern in Roots. Current Biology, 21(11), 917-926. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.04.017De Rybel, B., Adibi, M., Breda, A. S., Wendrich, J. R., Smit, M. E., Novák, O., … Weijers, D. (2014). Integration of growth and patterning during vascular tissue formation in Arabidopsis. Science, 345(6197), 1255215. doi:10.1126/science.1255215Pernisova, M., Klima, P., Horak, J., Valkova, M., Malbeck, J., Soucek, P., … Hejatko, J. (2009). Cytokinins modulate auxin-induced organogenesis in plants via regulation of the auxin efflux. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(9), 3609-3614. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811539106Cheng, Z. J., Wang, L., Sun, W., Zhang, Y., Zhou, C., Su, Y. H., … Zhang, X. S. (2012). Pattern of Auxin and Cytokinin Responses for Shoot Meristem Induction Results from the Regulation of Cytokinin Biosynthesis by AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR3. Plant Physiology, 161(1), 240-251. doi:10.1104/pp.112.203166Alvarez, J., & Smyth, D. R. (2002). CRABS CLAWandSPATULAGenes Regulate Growth and Pattern Formation during Gynoecium Development inArabidopsis thaliana. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 163(1), 17-41. doi:10.1086/324178Groszmann, M., Bylstra, Y., Lampugnani, E. R., & Smyth, D. R. (2010). Regulation of tissue-specific expression of SPATULA, a bHLH gene involved in carpel development, seedling germination, and lateral organ growth in Arabidopsis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 61(5), 1495-1508. doi:10.1093/jxb/erq015Smyth, D. R., Bowman, J. L., & Meyerowitz, E. M. (1990). Early flower development in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 2(8), 755-767. doi:10.1105/tpc.2.8.755Müller, B., & Sheen, J. (2008). Cytokinin and auxin interaction in root stem-cell specification during early embryogenesis. Nature, 453(7198), 1094-1097. doi:10.1038/nature06943Argyros, R. D., Mathews, D. E., Chiang, Y.-H., Palmer, C. M., Thibault, D. M., Etheridge, N., … Schaller, G. E. (2008). Type B Response Regulators of Arabidopsis Play Key Roles in Cytokinin Signaling and Plant Development. The Plant Cell, 20(8), 2102-2116. doi:10.1105/tpc.108.059584Mason, M. G., Mathews, D. E., Argyros, D. A., Maxwell, B. B., Kieber, J. J., Alonso, J. M., … Schaller, G. E. (2005). Multiple Type-B Response Regulators Mediate Cytokinin Signal Transduction in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell, 17(11), 3007-3018. doi:10.1105/tpc.105.035451Ishida, K., Yamashino, T., Yokoyama, A., & Mizuno, T. (2008). Three Type-B Response Regulators, ARR1, ARR10 and ARR12, Play Essential but Redundant Roles in Cytokinin Signal Transduction Throughout the Life Cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant and Cell Physiology, 49(1), 47-57. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcm165Yokoyama, A., Yamashino, T., Amano, Y.-I., Tajima, Y., Imamura, A., Sakakibara, H., & Mizuno, T. (2006). Type-B ARR Transcription Factors, ARR10 and ARR12, are Implicated in Cytokinin-Mediated Regulation of Protoxylem Differentiation in Roots of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant and Cell Physiology, 48(1), 84-96. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcl040Schuster, C., Gaillochet, C., & Lohmann, J. U. (2015). Arabidopsis HECATE genes function in phytohormone control during gynoecium development. Development, 142(19), 3343-3350. doi:10.1242/dev.120444Toledo-Ortiz, G., Huq, E., & Quail, P. H. (2003). The Arabidopsis Basic/Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor Family. The Plant Cell, 15(8), 1749-1770. doi:10.1105/tpc.013839Reymond, M. C., Brunoud, G., Chauvet, A., Martínez-Garcia, J. F., Martin-Magniette, M.-L., Monéger, F., & Scutt, C. P. (2012). A Light-Regulated Genetic Module Was Recruited to Carpel Development in Arabidopsis following a Structural Change to SPATULA. The Plant Cell, 24(7), 2812-2825. doi:10.1105/tpc.112.097915Ballester, P., Navarrete-Gómez, M., Carbonero, P., Oñate-Sánchez, L., & Ferrándiz, C. (2015). Leaf expansion in Arabidopsis is controlled by a TCP-NGA regulatory module likely conserved in distantly related species. Physiologia Plantarum, 155(1), 21-32. doi:10.1111/ppl.12327Hellens, R., Allan, A., Friel, E., Bolitho, K., Grafton, K., Templeton, M., … Laing, W. (2005). Plant Methods, 1(1), 13. doi:10.1186/1746-4811-1-13Makkena, S., & Lamb, R. S. (2013). The bHLH transcription factor SPATULA regulates root growth by controlling the size of the root meristem. BMC Plant Biology, 13(1), 1. doi:10.1186/1471-2229-13-1Stepanova, A. N., Robertson-Hoyt, J., Yun, J., Benavente, L. M., Xie, D.-Y., Doležal, K., … Alonso, J. M. (2008). TAA1-Mediated Auxin Biosynthesis Is Essential for Hormone Crosstalk and Plant Development. Cell, 133(1), 177-191. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.01.047Bhargava, A., Clabaugh, I., To, J. P., Maxwell, B. B., Chiang, Y.-H., Schaller, G. E., … Kieber, J. J. (2013). Identification of Cytokinin-Responsive Genes Using Microarray Meta-Analysis and RNA-Seq in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology, 162(1), 272-294. doi:10.1104/pp.113.217026Sakai, H., Aoyama, T., & Oka, A. (2000). Arabidopsis ARR1 and ARR2 response regulators operate as transcriptional activators. The Plant Journal, 24(6), 703-711. doi:10.1046/j.1365-313x.2000.00909.xSakai, H. (2001). ARR1, a Transcription Factor for Genes Immediately Responsive to Cytokinins. Science, 294(5546), 1519-1521. doi:10.1126/science.1065201Moubayidin, L., Di Mambro, R., Sozzani, R., Pacifici, E., Salvi, E., Terpstra, I., … Sabatini, S. (2013). Spatial Coordination between Stem Cell Activity and Cell Differentiation in the Root Meristem. Developmental Cell, 26(4), 405-415. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2013.06.025Benková, E., Michniewicz, M., Sauer, M., Teichmann, T., Seifertová, D., Jürgens, G., & Friml, J. (2003). Local, Efflux-Dependent Auxin Gradients as a Common Module for Plant Organ Formation. Cell, 115(5), 591-602. doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(03)00924-3Okada, K., Ueda, J., Komaki, M. K., Bell, C. J., & Shimura, Y. (1991). Requirement of the Auxin Polar Transport System in Early Stages of Arabidopsis Floral Bud Formation. The Plant Cell, 677-684. doi:10.1105/tpc.3.7.677Blilou, I., Xu, J., Wildwater, M., Willemsen, V., Paponov, I., Friml, J., … Scheres, B. (2005). The PIN auxin efflux facilitator network controls growth and patterning in Arabidopsis roots. Nature, 433(7021), 39-44. doi:10.1038/nature03184Mahonen, A. P. (2006). Cytokinin Signaling and Its Inhibitor AHP6 Regulate Cell Fate During Vascular Development. Science, 311(5757), 94-98. doi:10.1126/science.1118875Besnard, F., Refahi, Y., Morin, V., Marteaux, B., Brunoud, G., Chambrier, P., … Vernoux, T. (2013). Cytokinin signalling inhibitory fields provide robustness to phyllotaxis. Nature, 505(7483), 417-421. doi:10.1038/nature12791Longabaugh, W. J. R., Davidson, E. H., & Bolouri, H. (2005). Computational representation of developmental genetic regulatory networks. Developmental Biology, 283(1), 1-16. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.04.023Faure, E., Peter, I. S., & Davidson, E. H. (2013). A New Software Package for Predictive Gene Regulatory Network Modeling and Redesign. Journal of Computational Biology, 20(6), 419-423. doi:10.1089/cmb.2012.0297Mangan, S., & Alon, U. (2003). Structure and function of the feed-forward loop network motif. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(21), 11980-11985. doi:10.1073/pnas.2133841100Chen, Q., Liu, Y., Maere, S., Lee, E., Van Isterdael, G., Xie, Z., … Vanneste, S. (2015). A coherent transcriptional feed-forward motif model for mediating auxin-sensitive PIN3 expression during lateral root development. Nature Communications, 6(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms9821Qiu, K., Li, Z., Yang, Z., Chen, J., Wu, S., Zhu, X., … Zhou, X. (2015). EIN3 and ORE1 Accelerate Degreening during Ethylene-Mediated Leaf Senescence by Directly Activating Chlorophyll Catabolic Genes in Arabidopsis. PLOS Genetics, 11(7), e1005399. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1005399Seaton, D. D., Smith, R. W., Song, Y. H., MacGregor, D. R., Stewart, K., Steel, G., … Halliday, K. J. (2015). Linked circadian outputs control elongation growth and flowering in response to photoperiod and temperature. Molecular Systems Biology, 11(1), 776. doi:10.15252/msb.20145766Roeder, A. H. K., & Yanofsky, M. F. (2006). Fruit Development in Arabidopsis. The Arabidopsis Book, 4, e0075. doi:10.1199/tab.0075Marsch-Martínez, N., Reyes-Olalde, J. I., Ramos-Cruz, D., Lozano-Sotomayor, P., Zúñiga-Mayo, V. M., & de Folter, S. (2012). Hormones talking. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 7(12), 1698-1701. doi:10.4161/psb.22422Balanza, V., Navarrete, M., Trigueros, M., & Ferrandiz, C. (2006). Patterning the female side of Arabidopsis: the importance of hormones. Journal of Experimental Botany, 57(13), 3457-3469. doi:10.1093/jxb/erl188Kamiuchi, Y., Yamamoto, K., Furutani, M., Tasaka, M., & Aida, M. (2014). The CUC1 and CUC2 genes promote carpel margin meristem formation during Arabidopsis gynoecium development. Frontiers in Plant Science, 5. doi:10.3389/fpls.2014.00165Scofield, S., Dewitte, W., & Murray, J. A. H. (2007). The KNOX gene SHOOT MERISTEMLESS is required for the development of reproductive meristematic tissues in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal, 50(5), 767-781. doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2007.03095.xLi, K., Yu, R., Fan, L.-M., Wei, N., Chen, H., & Deng, X. W. (2016). DELLA-mediated PIF degradation contributes to coordination of light and gibberellin signalling in Arabidopsis. Nature Communications, 7(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms11868Oh, E., Zhu, J.-Y., & Wang, Z.-Y. (2012). Interaction between BZR1 and PIF4 integrates brassinosteroid and environmental responses. Nature Cell Biology, 14(8), 802-809. doi:10.1038/ncb2545Sharma, N., Xin, R., Kim, D.-H., Sung, S., Lange, T., & Huq, E. (2016). NO FLOWERING IN SHORT DAY (NFL) is a bHLH transcription factor that promotes flowering specifically under short-day conditions inArabidopsis. Development, 143(4), 682-690. doi:10.1242/dev.128595Varaud, E., Brioudes, F., Szécsi, J., Leroux, J., Brown, S., Perrot-Rechenmann, C., & Bendahmane, M. (2011). AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR8 Regulates Arabidopsis Petal Growth by Interacting with the bHLH Transcription Factor BIGPETALp. The Plant Cell, 23(3), 973-983. doi:10.1105/tpc.110.081653Savaldi-Goldstein, S., & Chory, J. (2008). Growth coordination and the shoot epidermis. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 11(1), 42-48. doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2007.10.009Schuster, C., Gaillochet, C., Medzihradszky, A., Busch, W., Daum, G., Krebs, M., … Lohmann, J. U. (2014). A Regulatory Framework for Shoot Stem Cell Co

Marine Biodiversity in the Caribbean: Regional Estimates and Distribution Patterns

This paper provides an analysis of the distribution patterns of marine biodiversity and summarizes the major activities of the Census of Marine Life program in the Caribbean region. The coastal Caribbean region is a large marine ecosystem (LME) characterized by coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses, but including other environments, such as sandy beaches and rocky shores. These tropical ecosystems incorporate a high diversity of associated flora and fauna, and the nations that border the Caribbean collectively encompass a major global marine biodiversity hot spot. We analyze the state of knowledge of marine biodiversity based on the geographic distribution of georeferenced species records and regional taxonomic lists. A total of 12,046 marine species are reported in this paper for the Caribbean region. These include representatives from 31 animal phyla, two plant phyla, one group of Chromista, and three groups of Protoctista. Sampling effort has been greatest in shallow, nearshore waters, where there is relatively good coverage of species records; offshore and deep environments have been less studied. Additionally, we found that the currently accepted classification of marine ecoregions of the Caribbean did not apply for the benthic distributions of five relatively well known taxonomic groups. Coastal species richness tends to concentrate along the Antillean arc (Cuba to the southernmost Antilles) and the northern coast of South America (Venezuela – Colombia), while no pattern can be observed in the deep sea with the available data. Several factors make it impossible to determine the extent to which these distribution patterns accurately reflect the true situation for marine biodiversity in general: (1) highly localized concentrations of collecting effort and a lack of collecting in many areas and ecosystems, (2) high variability among collecting methods, (3) limited taxonomic expertise for many groups, and (4) differing levels of activity in the study of different taxa

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries

Background Global inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia. Methods Cancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995-99, 2000-04, and 2005-09), sex, and age at diagnosis (< 1, 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Findings We analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995-99, 5-year agestandardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10.6% (95% CI 3.1-18.2) in the Chinese registries to 86.8% (81.6-92.0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005-09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52.4% (95% CI 42.8-61.9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91.6% (89.5-93.6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33.3% (18.9-47.7) in Bulgaria to 78.2% (72.0-84.3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000-04 and 2005-09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls. Interpretation Global inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood survival

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.