Charting human subcortical maturation across the adult lifespan with in vivo 7 T MRI

The human subcortex comprises hundreds of unique structures. Subcortical functioning is crucial for behavior, and disrupted function is observed in common neurodegenerative diseases. Despite their importance, human subcortical structures continue to be difficult to study in vivo. Here we provide a detailed account of 17 prominent subcortical structures and ventricles, describing their approximate iron and myelin contents, morphometry, and their age-related changes across the normal adult lifespan. The results provide compelling insights into the heterogeneity and intricate age-related alterations of these structures. They also show that the locations of many structures shift across the lifespan, which is of direct relevance for the use of standard magnetic resonance imaging atlases. The results further our understanding of subcortical morphometry and neuroimaging properties, and of normal aging processes which ultimately can improve our understanding of neurodegeneration

Small differences in biohydrogenation resulted from the similar retention times of fluid in the rumen of cattle grazing wet season C3 and C4 forage species

The effects of forage type and season on retention time (RT) and the fatty acid (FA) profile of the rumen fluid (RF) of steers grazing a range of grasses and a legume/grass mix were evaluated. Four rumen cannulated steers (790 +/- 17 kg body weight (BW) grazed individual wet season pastures (herbage mass 2600-6200 kg DM/ha of C3 ryegrass Lolium perenne and C4 grasses pangola Digitaria eriantha, signal grass Brachiaria decumbens, star grass Cynodon dactylon, kikuyu Penniseturn clandestinum, and speargrass Heteropogon contortus in both seasons, and a mixture of leucaena Leucaena leucocephala and green panic Panicum maximum in the dry season. Each grazing period consisted of at least 21 d, followed by a 3 d collection period. On d 22 CrEDTA was used to estimate RT (182 mg Cr/100 kg BW via the cannula) and RF samples were collected at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 28, 32 and 48 h after dosing for Cr analysis. Diet crude protein (CP) and dry matter digestibility (DMD) were estimated by faecal NIBS. Concentration of NH3N and volatile fatty acids (VFA) in RF was determined at 0, 8 and 16 h after dosing. Dry season speargrass had the lowest CP (18 and 39 g/kg DM in plucked sample (PS) and estimated by faecal NIRS, respectively) and DMD (49%), which was associated with a low NH3N (9 mg NH3N/L) and VFA concentration (70 mM) in RF, and much longer RT of Cr (20 h) than the other grasses. The RT of Cr of the other wet season grasses was similar across all forage species (8- to 11 hours). Total VFA in RF was lowest for steers grazing dry season grass, intermediate for grasses in the wet season and highest for steers grazing the legume/grass mix. Speargrass had the highest non-glucogenic:glucogenic VFA. Ryegrass had higher CP (190 g/kg DM) and DMD (68%), but steers grazing this pasture had similar NH3N concentration in RF to steers grazing kikuyu and leaucaena/grass mix (above 100 mg NH3N/L). Palmitic and stearic acid in RF were much higher than in plucked samples, but all grasses had similar total saturated FA in RF with a greater degree of saturation for ryegrass. A higher CLA c9,t11 in RF of steers grazing ryegrass most likely resulted from the linoleic content in the forage and the higher intake of ryegrass resulting in accumulation in RF. Total unsaturated FA (TUFA) content of RF was reduced markedly compared to forage samples with some small differences between species indicating an extensive biohydrogenation despite the grass type and season. It was concluded that RT of Cr in the rumen of cattle grazing wet season grasses was similar across all forage species (8 to 11 hours) and would not result in different times for biohydrogenation within the rumen

Everglades Ridge, Slough, and Tree Island Mosaics: Year 2 Annual Report

Status and history of the Ridge-Slough Mosaic The Florida Everglades is a large subtropical wetland with diverse hydrologic, edaphic, and vegetative characteristics. Historically, a significant portion of this system was a slow moving river originating from the Kissimmee River floodplain, flowing into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee, and draining south-southwest over extensive peatlands into Florida Bay (McVoy 2011). Human-induced alterations to the hydrologic regime, including reduction, stabilization, and impoundment of water flow through diversion and compartmentalization of water via canals and levees have degraded pre-drainage vegetation patterns and microtopographic structure (Davis and Ogden 1994, Ogden 2005, McVoy 2011). The Everglades peatland emerged 5,000 years ago with the stabilization of sea level at approximately current elevations (Loveless 1959, Gleason and Stone 1994). This, combined with subtropical rainfalls, allowed a vast mass of water to slowly flow over a limestone bedrock platform 160 km long and 50 km wide at a near uniform descent totaling about 6 m, ultimately reaching Florida Bay (Stephens 1956, Gleason and Stone 1994, McVoy 2011). Vegetation quickly colonized the area, and peat, in the absence of adequate respiration, accumulated on the limestone bedrock to a depth of 3-3.7 m (Gleason and Stone 1994, McVoy et al. 2011). The “River of Grass” referenced by Douglas (1947) alludes to the dually intertwined processes of the historic riverine nature of the Everglades and the vast sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) communities that have dominated the landscape for about the last 1,000 years (Bernhardt and Willard 2009)

Separated at Birth? Microarray Analysis of Two Strikingly Similar Yersinia Species

This is the final version of the article. Available from [publisher] via the DOI in this record.--We acknowledge financial support for this project from DSTL and The Wellcome Trust. We also acknowledge BµG@S (the Bacterial Microarray Group at St George’s) and The Wellcome Trust for funding their work; Keith Vass from the University of Glasgow; and Mike Prentice from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital for his advice and expertise in all things Yersinia

A high-resolution multi-shell 3T diffusion magnetic resonance imaging dataset as part of the Amsterdam Ultra-high field adult lifespan database (AHEAD)

In order to further our understanding of brain function and the underlying networks, more advanced diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI MRI) data are essential. Here we present freely available high-resolution multi-shell multi-directional 3 Tesla (T) DWI MRI data as part of the 'Amsterdam Ultra-high field adult lifespan database' (AHEAD). The 3T DWI AHEAD dataset include 1.28mm isotropic whole brain DWI data of 49 healthy adult participants between 18 and 90 years old. The acquired data include DWIs at three non-zero b-values (48 directions, b-value 700 s/mm2; 56 directions, b-value 1000 s/mm2; 64 directions, b-value 1600 s/mm2) including a total of twelve volumes with a b-value of 0 s/mm2 (b0 volumes). In addition, eight b0 volumes with a reversed phase encoding direction were acquired to correct for distortions. To facilitate future use, the DWI data have been denoised, corrected for eddy currents, susceptibility-induced off-resonance field distortions, bias fields, and are skull stripped

Multicomponent analysis of the tumour microenvironment reveals low CD8 T cell number, low stromal caveolin-1 and high tenascin-C and their combination as significant prognostic markers in non-small cell lung cancer

The complex interplay of the tumour microenvironment (TME) and its role in disease progression and response to therapy is poorly understood. The majority of studies to date focus on individual components or molecules within the TME and so lack the power correlative analysis. Here we have performed a multi-parameter analysis of the TME in 62 resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) specimens detailing number and location of immune infiltrate, assessing markers of cancer-associated fibroblasts, caveolin-1 and tenascin-C, and correlating with clinicopathological details, as well as markers of disease progression such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The influence of individual parameters on overall survival was determined in univariate and multivariate analysis and the combination of risk factors and interplay between components analysed. Low numbers of CD8 T cells, low stromal levels of caveolin-1 or high levels of tenascin-C were significant prognostic markers of decreased overall survival in both univariate and multivariate analysis. Patients with two or more risk factors had dramatically reduced overall survival and those with all three a median survival of just 7.5 months. In addition, low levels of tumour E-cadherin correlated with reduced immune infiltrate into the tumour nests, possibly linking EMT to the avoidance of CD8 T cell control. The multicomponent approach has allowed identification of the dominant influences on overall survival, and exploration of the interplay between different components of the TME in NSCLC