Cell Lineage Tracing Identifies Hormone-Regulated and Wnt-Responsive Vaginal Epithelial Stem Cells.

The intact vaginal epithelium is essential for women's reproductive health and provides protection against HIV and sexually transmitted infections. How this epithelium maintains itself remains poorly understood. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to define the diverse cell populations in the vaginal epithelium. We show that vaginal epithelial cell proliferation is limited to the basal compartment without any obvious label-retaining cells. Furthermore, we developed vaginal organoids and show that the basal cells have increased organoid forming efficiency. Importantly, Axin2 marks a self-renewing subpopulation of basal cells that gives rise to differentiated cells over time. These cells are ovariectomy-resistant stem cells as they proliferate even in the absence of hormones. Upon hormone supplementation, these cells expand and reconstitute the entire vaginal epithelium. Wnt/β-catenin is essential for the proliferation and differentiation of vaginal stem cells. Together, these data define heterogeneity in vaginal epithelium and identify vaginal epithelial stem cells

The Molecular Clockwork of the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta

This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication

Evolutionary relationships among barley and <i>Arabidopsis</i> core circadian clock and clock-associated genes

The circadian clock regulates a multitude of plant developmental and metabolic processes. In crop species, it contributes significantly to plant performance and productivity and to the adaptation and geographical range over which crops can be grown. To understand the clock in barley and how it relates to the components in the Arabidopsis thaliana clock, we have performed a systematic analysis of core circadian clock and clock-associated genes in barley, Arabidopsis and another eight species including tomato, potato, a range of monocotyledonous species and the moss, Physcomitrella patens. We have identified orthologues and paralogues of Arabidopsis genes which are conserved in all species, monocot/dicot differences, species-specific differences and variation in gene copy number (e.g. gene duplications among the various species). We propose that the common ancestor of barley and Arabidopsis had two-thirds of the key clock components identified in Arabidopsis prior to the separation of the monocot/dicot groups. After this separation, multiple independent gene duplication events took place in both monocot and dicot ancestors. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00239-015-9665-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

First report of venereal and vertical transmission of canine leishmaniosis from naturally infected dogs in Germany

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is a zoonotic disease caused by <it>Leishmania (L.) infantum</it>. It is endemic to several tropical and subtropical countries but also to the Mediterranean region. It is transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies but occasional non-vector transmissions have been reported, including vertical and horizontal transmission.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The authors report a case of CanL in a female boxer dog from Dusseldorf, Germany, that had never been in an endemic region. A serum sample from the bitch was tested positive for antibodies against <it>Leishmania </it>(IFAT 1:2,000, ELISA 72). The bitch had whelped three litters, and one puppy from the third litter was also found to be seropositive for <it>Leishmania </it>antibodies (IFAT 1:4,000, ELISA 78).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Up to now, despite intensive searching, the occurrence of sandflies could not be proved in the bitch's region of origin. Thus, vertical and horizontal transmission are to be discussed as possible ways of infection. This may be the first report of venereal and vertical transmission of <it>L. infantum </it>in naturally infected dogs in Germany.</p

Implication of the F-Box Protein FBXL21 in Circadian Pacemaker Function in Mammals

In mammals, the circadian clock relies on interlocked feedback loops involving clock genes and their protein products. Post-translational modifications control intracellular trafficking, functionality and degradation of clock proteins and are keys to the functioning of the clock as recently exemplified for the F-Box protein Fbxl3. The SCFFbxl3 complex directs degradation of CRY1/2 proteins and Fbxl3 murine mutants have a slower clock. To assess whether the role of Fbxl3 is phylogenetically conserved, we investigated its function in the sheep, a diurnal ungulate. Our data show that Fbxl3 function is conserved and further reveal that its closest homologue, the F-Box protein Fbxl21, also binds to CRY1 which impairs its repressive action towards the transcriptional activators CLOCK/BMAL1. However, while Fbxl3 appears to be ubiquitously expressed, Fbxl21 expression is tissue-specific. Furthermore, and in sharp contrast with Fbxl3, Fbxl21 is highly expressed within the suprachiasmatic nuclei, site of the master clock, where it displays marked circadian oscillations apparently driven by members of the PAR-bZIP family. Finally, for both Fbxl3 and Fbxl21 we identified and functionally characterized novel splice-variants, which might reduce CRY1 proteasomal degradation dependent on cell context. Altogether, these data establish Fbxl21 as a novel circadian clock-controlled gene that plays a specific role within the mammalian circadian pacemaker

An experimental study on the response of blanket bog vegetation and water tables to ditch blocking

We studied the effect of ditch blocking on vegetation composition and water-table depths in a blanket peatland. Measurements were made for a period of four years (water tables) and five years (vegetation) in the inter-ditch areas of three experimental treatments: (i) open ditches, (ii) ditches blocked with closely-spaced dams and (iii) ditches partially infilled with peat and blocked with dams. It is often assumed that ditch blocking will lead to an increase in the abundance of Sphagnum and, potentially, a reduction in the abundance of sedges, particularly the cotton grasses. However, our data show no treatment effects on the abundance of either group. We did find an effect of time, with the abundance of both sedges and Sphagnum spp. varying significantly between some years. For the sedges there was no systematic change over time, while for the Sphagnum spp. abundance tended to increase through the study period. This systematic change was not related to a measure of the vigour of the sedges, although vigour was lower towards the end of the study compared to the beginning. Our vegetation data are consistent with our water-table data. As with plant type abundance, we did not find any statistically significant differences in water-table depths between treatments, both for annual averages and summer averages. We comment on why ditch blocking does not seem to have affected water tables and vegetation composition at our study site

Gender and respiratory factors associated with dyspnea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

RATIONALE: We had shown that COPD women expressed more dyspnea than men for the same degree of airway obstruction. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate gender differences in respiratory factors associated with dyspnea in COPD patients. METHODS: In a FEV(1 )% matched population of 100 men and women with COPD we measured: age, MMRC, FEV(1), FVC, TLC, IC/TLC, PaO(2), PaCO(2), D(LCO), P(imax), P(0.1), Ti/Ttot, BMI, ffmi, 6MWD and VAS scale before and after the test, the Charlson score and the SGRQ. We estimated the association between these parameters and MMRC scores. Multivariate analysis determined the independent strength of those associations. RESULTS: MMRC correlated with: BMI (men:-0.29, p = 0.04; women:-0.28, p = 0.05), ffmi (men:-0.39, p = 0.01), FEV(1 )% (men:-0.64, p < 0.001; women:-0.29, p = 0.04), FVC % (men:-0.45, p = 0.001; women:-0.33, p = 0.02), IC/TLC (men:-0.52, p < 0.001; women: -0.27, p = 0.05), PaO(2 )(men:-0.59, p < 0.001), PaCO(2 )(men:0.27, p = 0.05), D(LCO )(men:-0.54, p < 0.001), P(0.1)/P(imax )(men:0.46, p = 0.002; women:0.47, p = 0.005), dyspnea measured with the Visual Analog Scale before (men:0.37, p = 0.04; women:0.52, p = 0.004) and after 6MWD (men:0.52, p = 0.002; women:0.48, p = 0.004) and SGRQ total (men:0.50, p < 0.001; women:0.59, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that P(0.1)/P(imax )in women (r(2 )= 0.30) and BMI, DL(CO), PaO(2 )and P(0.1)/P(imax )in men (r(2 )= 0.81) were the strongest predictors of MMRC scores. CONCLUSION: In mild to severe COPD patients attending a pulmonary clinic, P(0.1)/P(imax )was the unique predictor of MMRC scores only in women. Respiratory factors explain most of the variations of MMRC scores in men but not in women. Factors other than the respiratory ones should be included in the evaluation of dyspnea in women with COPD

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT