Diamonds in the Rough: A Case Study of Team Development Across Disciplines, Distances, and Institutions

The ethnographic case study reported here analyzed the experiences of a team of faculty from different universities in a technology-intensive project. Team development mirrored Tuckman\u27s model of small group development. Contrary to previous research, the leader did not have higher status than members, and approached the role with empathy rather than aggression. Motivation levels, timeline pressures, inadequate evaluation and rewards, leadership style, need for cohesion and interaction, and importance of trust are reported

Broiler pulmonary hypertension syndrome. II. The direct measurement of right ventricular and pulmonary artery pressures in the closed chest domestic fowl

A technique for the catheterisation of the right ventricle and pulmonary artery of the domestic fowl is described. Mean peak systolic, minimum diastolic and mean pressures measured in the right ventricle and pulmonary artery of a group of clinically normal broilers housed at a medium altitude of 1 300 m were 24,3; 8,1; 17,8; 25,0; 22,1 and 22,3 mm Hg respectively. The pulmonary artery pressures are different from those reported elsewhere using the open chest technique. These differences are possibly due to both the effect of opening the thoracic cavity and the hypoxic pressor effect at this altitude.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.lmchunu2014mn201

Synaptogenic gene therapy with FGF22 improves circuit plasticity and functional recovery following spinal cord injury

Functional recovery following incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) depends on the rewiring of motor circuits during which supraspinal connections form new contacts onto spinal relay neurons. We have recently identified a critical role of the presynaptic organizer FGF22 for the formation of new synapses in the remodeling spinal cord. Here, we now explore whether and how targeted overexpression of FGF22 can be used to mitigate the severe functional consequences of SCI. By targeting FGF22 expression to either long propriospinal neurons, excitatory interneurons, or a broader population of interneurons, we establish that FGF22 can enhance neuronal rewiring both in a circuit-specific and comprehensive way. We can further demonstrate that the latter approach can restore functional recovery when applied either on the day of the lesion or within 24 h. Our study thus establishes viral gene transfer of FGF22 as a new synaptogenic treatment for SCI and defines a critical therapeutic window for its application

Human footprint and protected areas shape elephant range across Africa

Over the last two millennia, and at an accelerating pace, the African elephant (Loxodonta spp. Lin.) has been threatened by human activities across its range. We investigate the correlates of elephant home range sizes across diverse biomes. Annual and 16-day elliptical time density home ranges were calculated by using GPS tracking data collected from 229 African savannah and forest elephants (L. africana and L. cyclotis, respectively) between 1998 and 2013 at 19 sites representing bushveld, savannah, Sahel, and forest biomes. Our analysis considered the relationship between home range area and sex, species, vegetation productivity, tree cover, surface temperature, rainfall, water, slope, aggregate human influence, and protected area use. Irrespective of these environmental conditions, long-term annual ranges were overwhelmingly affected by human influence and protected area use. Only over shorter, 16-day periods did environmental factors, particularly water availability and vegetation productivity, become important in explaining space use. Our work highlights the degree to which the human footprint and existing protected areas now constrain the distribution of the world’s largest terrestrial mammal. A habitat suitability model, created by evaluating every square kilometer of Africa, predicts that 18,169,219 km2 would be suitable as elephant habitat—62% of the continent. The current elephant distribution covers just 17% of this potential range of which 57.4% falls outside protected areas. To stem the continued extirpation and to secure the elephants’ future, effective and expanded protected areas and improved capacity for coexistence across unprotected range are essential

Utilizing multi-objective decision support tools for protected area selection

Establishing and maintaining protected areas (PAs) is a key action in delivering post-2020 biodiversity targets. PAs often need to meet multiple objectives, ranging from biodiversity protection to ecosystem service provision and climate change mitigation, but available land and conservation funding is limited. Therefore, optimizing resources by selecting the most beneficial PAs is vital. Here, we advocate for a flexible and transparent approach to selecting PAs based on multiple objectives, and illustrate this with a decision support tool on a global scale. The tool allows weighting and prioritization of different conservation objectives according to user-specified preferences as well as real-time comparison of the outcome. Applying the tool across 1,346 terrestrial PAs, we demonstrate that decision makers frequently face trade-offs among conflicting objectives, e.g., between species protection and ecosystem integrity. Nevertheless, we show that transparent decision support tools can reveal synergies and trade-offs associated with PA selection, thereby helping to illuminate and resolve land-use conflicts embedded in divergent societal and political demands and values.publishedVersio

The \u3cem\u3eChlamydomonas\u3c/em\u3e Genome Reveals the Evolution of Key Animal and Plant Functions

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a unicellular green alga whose lineage diverged from land plants over 1 billion years ago. It is a model system for studying chloroplast-based photosynthesis, as well as the structure, assembly, and function of eukaryotic flagella (cilia), which were inherited from the common ancestor of plants and animals, but lost in land plants. We sequenced the ∼120-megabase nuclear genome of Chlamydomonas and performed comparative phylogenomic analyses, identifying genes encoding uncharacterized proteins that are likely associated with the function and biogenesis of chloroplasts or eukaryotic flagella. Analyses of the Chlamydomonas genome advance our understanding of the ancestral eukaryotic cell, reveal previously unknown genes associated with photosynthetic and flagellar functions, and establish links between ciliopathy and the composition and function of flagella

Combined De-Repression of Chemoresistance Associated Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14 and Activating Transcription Factor 2 by Loss of microRNA-622 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Chemoresistance is a major hallmark driving the progression and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Limited chemoresponse of HCC was demonstrated to be mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14) and activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2). Recently, we have demonstrated loss of control of RAS-RAF-ERK-signaling as a consequence of miR-622 downregulation in HCC. However, the majority of target genes of this potent tumorsuppressive microRNA had remained elusive. The MAPK14-ATF2-axis represents a collateral pathway ensuring persisting ERK-activation in the presence of sorafenib-mediated RAF-inhibition. In contrast to the function of the MAPK14-ATF2-axis, both the expression and regulation of MAPK14 and ATF2 in human HCC remained to be clarified. We found combined overexpression of MAPK14 and ATF2 in human HCC cells, tissues and in sorafenib resistant cell lines. High expression of MAPK14 and ATF2 was associated with reduced overall survival in HCC patients. Deciphering the molecular mechanism promoting combined upregulation of MAPK14 and ATF2 in HCC, we revealed that miR-622 directly targets both genes, resulting in combined de-repression of the MAPK14-ATF2-axis. Together, miR-622 represents a superior regulator of both RAS-RAF-ERK as well as MAPK14-ATF2-signaling pathways in liver cancer

FROM’MIR : Développer des outils de prédiction et de conseil pour maîtriser la fromageabilité des laits destinés à la fabrication des fromages traditionnels franc-comtois

Ce volume regroupe les textes issus du programme Casdar "Innovation et Partenariat" et "Recherche finalisée et innovation" de 2014. Il a été réalisé sous l’égide du GIS Relance Agronomique.Mid-infrared spectroscopy prediction equations of the cheese-making properties of milk, established inthe Franche-Comté PDO/PGI context, exist for the first time in France. Laboratory curd yield in DryMatter was consistent with the yields observed in mini-manufactures of soft and pressed cookedcheeses and it is the best predicted parameter. Under our conditions, some coagulation properties suchas curd firmness could be estimated. The acidification properties, which heavily depend on themicrobiological component of milk, are poorly estimated. The best prediction performances wereobtained on individual cow milks. The performances were poorer on the scale of bulk milks, herd tankmilk but especially dairy vat milk. The study of variation factors made it possible to highlight theimportant weight of genetics with a high level of heritability and strong effects of the genome regionsinvolved. The quality and quantity of fodder and the distribution of calves were influential in the contextstudied. In this same context, few factors of variation have been identified at the scale of dairy vat milks,as the practices were very much governed by the PDO specifications. At the end of this project, anobservatory, from the quality of the milk to the quality of the cheese, will be set up in Franche Comté.Studies will also be carried out at the national level to consolidate and improve the equations in othercontexts.Des équations MIR (spectrométrie moyen infrarouge) d'estimation de la fromageabilité des laits,établies en contexte AOP/IGP franc-comtois, existent pour la première fois en France. Le rendementlaboratoire extrait sec (ES), cohérent avec les rendements observés en mini-fabrications de fromages àpâte molle et à pâte pressée cuite, est le paramètre le mieux prédit. Dans nos conditions, certainsaspects de l'aptitude à la coagulation enzymatique, comme la fermeté des gels, peuvent être estimés.L’aptitude à l’acidification, dépendant fortement de la composante microbiologique des laits, est quant àelle mal estimée. Les meilleures performances de prédiction sont obtenues sur les laits individuels devaches. Les performances sont moins bonnes à l’échelle des laits de mélange, des laits de troupeauxmais surtout des laits de cuves de fromagerie. L'étude des facteurs de variation a permis de mettre enévidence le poids important de la génétique avec un niveau d’héritabilité élevé et des effets forts desrégions du génome impliquées. La qualité et la quantité de fourrages ainsi que la répartition desvêlages sont influents dans le contexte étudié. Dans ce même contexte, peu de facteurs de variationont été mis en évidence à l’échelle des laits de cuves, les pratiques étant très encadrées par le cahierdes charges AOP. A l’issue de ce projet, un observatoire, depuis la qualité des laits jusqu’à celle desfromages, va être mis en place en Franche Comté. Des études seront aussi mises en œuvre au niveaunational pour permettre notamment une consolidation et une amélioration des équations dans d'autrescontextes

DNA methylation-based classification of sinonasal tumors

The diagnosis of sinonasal tumors is challenging due to a heterogeneous spectrum of various differential diagnoses as well as poorly defined, disputed entities such as sinonasal undifferentiated carcinomas (SNUCs). In this study, we apply a machine learning algorithm based on DNA methylation patterns to classify sinonasal tumors with clinical-grade reliability. We further show that sinonasal tumors with SNUC morphology are not as undifferentiated as their current terminology suggests but rather reassigned to four distinct molecular classes defined by epigenetic, mutational and proteomic profiles. This includes two classes with neuroendocrine differentiation, characterized by IDH2 or SMARCA4/ARID1A mutations with an overall favorable clinical course, one class composed of highly aggressive SMARCB1-deficient carcinomas and another class with tumors that represent potentially previously misclassified adenoid cystic carcinomas. Our findings can aid in improving the diagnostic classification of sinonasal tumors and could help to change the current perception of SNUCs