Gtsf1 is essential for proper female sex determination and transposon silencing in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Sex determination pathways are astoundingly diverse in insects. For instance, the silk moth Bombyx mori uniquely use various components of the piRNA pathway to produce the Fem signal for specification of the female fate. In this study, we identified BmGTSF1 as a novel piRNA factor which participates in B. mori sex determination. We found that BmGtsf1 has a distinct expression pattern compared to Drosophila and mouse. CRISPR/Cas9 induced mutation in BmGtsf1 resulted in partial sex reversal in genotypically female animals by shifting expression of the downstream targets BmMasc and Bmdsx to the male pattern. As levels of Fem piRNAs were substantially reduced in female mutants, we concluded that BmGtsf1 plays a critical role in the biogenesis of the feminizing signal. We also demonstrated that BmGTSF1 physically interacted with BmSIWI, a protein previously reported to be involved in female sex determination, indicating BmGTSF1 function as the cofactor of BmSIWI. BmGtsf1 mutation resulted in piRNA pathway dysregulation, including piRNA biogenesis defects and transposon derepression, suggesting BmGtsf1 is also a piRNA factor in the silkworm. Furthermore, we found that BmGtsf1 mutation leads to gametogenesis defects in both male and female. Our data suggested that BmGtsf1 is a new component involved in the sex determination pathway in B. mori

Adverse effects of extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) for acute respiratory failure: a systematic review protocol

Background The extracorporeal membrane carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) system is primarily designed for the purpose of removing CO2 from the body for patients with potentially reversible severe acute hypercapnic respiratory failure or being considered for lung transplantation. Systematic reviews have focused on the effectiveness of ECCO2R. To the author’s best knowledge, this is the first systematic review to focus on the adverse effects of this procedure. Methods We will conduct a systematic review of procedure-related adverse effects of ECCO2R systems. A high sensitivity search strategy will be employed in Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and product regulatory databases and ongoing trial registers to identify citations. Reference lists of relevant studies and grey literature will also be searched. Screening of the results will be performed by two reviewers independently using pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Clinical trials and observational studies will be included. Data will be extracted using a purposefully developed extraction form. Appropriateness for statistical pooling of the results will be determined and carried out if heterogeneity is low to moderate. The GRADE framework will be employed to grade the overall quality of the evidence. Discussion In the UK, the current access to the use of ECCO2R is possible only with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent and for audit or research. Current evidence on ECCO2R suggests that there are a number of well-recognised complications which vary greatly across studies. This systematic review will consolidate the existing knowledge on adverse effects resulting from the use of ECCO2R.</p

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation for aortic stenosis in high surgical risk patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Symptomatic aortic stenosis has a poor prognosis. Many patients are considered inoperable or at high surgical risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), reflecting their age, comorbidities and frailty. The clinical effectiveness and safety of TAVI have not been reviewed systematically for these high levels of surgical risk. This systematic review compares mortality and other important clinical outcomes up to 5 years post treatment following TAVI or other treatment in these risk groups. Methods A systematic review protocol was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42016048396). The Cochrane Library, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination Databases, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ZETOC were searched from January 2002 to August 2016. Clinical trials or matched studies comparing TAVI with other treatments for AS in patients surgically inoperable or operable at a high risk were included. Data extraction and quality assessment were conducted by two reviewers. Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. The main outcomes were all-cause mortality, efficacy and major complications. Results Three good quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included. Patients’ mean age ranged from 83- 85 years, around half were female and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV ranged from 83.8% to 94.2% with frequent comorbidities. In 358 surgically inoperable patients from one RCT, TAVI was superior to medical therapy for all-cause mortality at 1 year (hazard ratio (HR) 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.36−0.92), 2 years (HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.39−0.65), 3 years (HR 0.53, 95% CI 0.41to 0.68) and 5 years (HR 0.50, 95% CI 0.39−0.65), and NYHA class III or IV at 2 years (TAVI 16.8% (16/95), medical therapy 57.5% (23/40), p In a meta-analysis including 1,494 high risk surgically operable patients from two non-inferiority RCTs TAVI showed no significant differences from SAVR in all-cause mortality at two years (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.82−1.29) and up to 5 years (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.83−1.12). There were no statistically significant differences in major vascular complications and myocardial infarction at any time point, discrepant results for major bleeding on variable definitions and no differences in stroke rate at any time point. Using the GRADE tool, this evidence was considered of low quality. Conclusions Symptomatic aortic stenosis can be lethal without intervention but surgical resection is contraindicated for some patients and high risk for others. We found that all-cause mortality up to 5 years of follow-up did not differ significantly between TAVI and SAVR in patients surgically operable at a high risk, but favoured TAVI over medical therapy in patients surgically inoperable. TAVI is a viable life-extending treatment option in these surgical high risk groups.</p

Characterizing the multi-dimensional reaction dynamics of dihalomethanes using XUV-induced Coulomb explosion imaging

Site-selective probing of iodine 4d orbitals at 13.1 nm was used to characterize the photolysis of CH2I2 and CH2BrI initiated at 202.5 nm. Time-dependent fragment ion momenta were recorded using Coulomb explosion imaging mass spectrometry and used to determine the structural dynamics of the dissociating molecules. Correlations between these fragment momenta, as well as the onset times of electron transfer reactions between them, indicate that each molecule can undergo neutral three-body photolysis. For CH2I2, the structural evolution of the neutral molecule was simultaneously characterized along the C-I and I-C-I coordinates, demonstrating the sensitivity of these measurements to nuclear motion along multiple degrees of freedom

Assessing the Potential of Regulating Ecosystem Services as Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Areas

Mounting research assesses the provision of regulating ecosystem services by green infrastructure in urban areas, but the extent to which these services can offer effective nature-based solutions for addressing urban climate change-related challenges is rarely considered. In this chapter, we synthesize knowledge from assessments of urban green infrastructure carried out in Europe and beyond to evaluate the potential contribution of regulating ecosystem services to offset carbon emissions, reduce heat stress and abate air pollution at the metropolitan, city and site scales. Results from this review indicate that the potential of regulating ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructure to counteract these three climate change-related pressures is often limited and/or uncertain, especially at the city and metropolitan levels. However, their contribution can have a substantially higher impact at site scales such as in street canyons and around green spaces. We note that if regulating ecosystem services are to offer effective nature-based solutions in urban areas, it is critically important that green infrastructure policies target the relevant implementation scale. This calls for a coordination between authorities dealing with urban and environmental policy and for the harmonization of planning and management instruments in a multilevel governance approach. Regulating ecosystem services • Urban green infrastructure • Global climate regulation • Local climate regulation • Air quality regulation • Multi-scale assessmentpublishedVersio