Factors Influencing Arthropod Diversity on Green Roofs

Green roofs have potential for providing substantial habitat to plants, birds, and arthropod species that are not well supported by other urban habitats. Whereas the plants on a typical green roof are chosen and planted by people, the arthropods that colonize it can serve as an indicator of the ability of this novel habitat to support a diverse community of organisms. The goal of this observational study was to determine which physical characteristics of a roof or characteristics of its vegetation correlate with arthropod diversity on the roof. We intensively sampled the number of insect families on one roof with pitfall traps and also measured the soil arthropod species richness on six green roofs in the Boston, MA area. We found that the number of arthropod species in soil, and arthropod families in pitfall traps, was positively correlated with living vegetation cover. The number of arthropod species was not significantly correlated with plant diversity, green roof size, distance from the ground, or distance to the nearest vegetated habitat from the roof. Our results suggest that vegetation cover may be more important than vegetation diversity for roof arthropod diversity, at least for the first few years after establishment. Additionally, we found that even green roofs that are small and isolated can support a community of arthropods that include important functional groups of the soil food web

The CD8α+ Dendritic Cell Is Responsible for Inducing Peripheral Self-Tolerance to Tissue-associated Antigens

We previously described a mechanism for the maintenance of peripheral self-tolerance. This involves the cross-presentation of tissue-associated antigens by a bone marrow–derived cell type that stimulates the proliferation and ultimate deletion of self-reactive CD8 T cells. This process has been referred to as cross-tolerance. Here, we characterize the elusive cell type responsible for inducing cross-tolerance as a CD8α+ dendritic cell (DC). To achieve this aim, transgenic mice were generated expressing yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) linked to CTL epitopes for ovalbumin and glycoprotein B (gB) of herpes simplex virus under the rat insulin promoter (RIP). Although tracking of YFP was inconclusive, the use of a highly sensitive gB-specific hybridoma that produced β-galactosidase on encounter with antigen, enabled detection of antigen presentation by cells isolated from the pancreatic lymph node. This showed that a CD11c+CD8α+ cell was responsible for cross-tolerance, the same DC subset as previously implicated in cross-priming. These data indicate that CD8α+ DCs play a critical role in both tolerance and immunity to cell-associated antigens, providing a potential mechanism by which cytotoxic T lymphocyte can be immunized to viral antigens while maintaining tolerance to self

Experimental Results for Communications Blackout Amelioration Using Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77188/1/AIAA-45490-250.pd

Plasma cell-free DNA methylation analysis for ovarian cancer detection: Analysis of samples from a case-control study and an ovarian cancer screening tria

Analysis of cell-free DNA methylation (cfDNAme), alone or combined with CA125, could help to detect ovarian cancers earlier and may reduce mortality. We assessed cfDNAme in regions of ZNF154, C2CD4D and WNT6 via targeted bisulfite sequencing in diagnostic and early detection (preceding diagnosis) settings. Diagnostic samples were obtained via prospective blood collection in cell-free DNA tubes in a convenience series of patients with a pelvic mass. Early detection samples were matched case-control samples derived from the UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study (UKFOCSS). In the diagnostic set (ncases  = 27, ncontrols  = 41), the specificity of cfDNAme was 97.6% (95% CI: 87.1%-99.9%). High-risk cancers were detected with a sensitivity of 80% (56.3%-94.3%). Combination of cfDNAme and CA125 resulted in a sensitivity of 94.4% (72.7%-99.9%) for high-risk cancers. Despite technical issues in the early detection set (ncases  = 29, ncontrols  = 29), the specificity of cfDNAme was 100% (88.1%-100.0%). We detected 27.3% (6.0%-61.0%) of high-risk cases with relatively lower genomic DNA (gDNA) contamination. The sensitivity rose to 33.3% (7.5%-70.1%) in samples taken <1 year before diagnosis. We detected ovarian cancer in several patients up to 1 year before diagnosis despite technical limitations associated with archival samples (UKFOCSS). Combined cfDNAme and CA125 assessment may improve ovarian cancer screening in high-risk populations, but future large-scale prospective studies will be required to validate current findings

Image acquisition and quality assurance in the Boston Adolescent Neuroimaging of Depression and Anxiety study

The Connectomes Related to Human Diseases (CRHD) initiative was developed with the Human Connectome Project (HCP) to provide high-resolution, open-access, multi-modal MRI data to better understand the neural correlates of human disease. Here, we present an introduction to a CRHD project, the Boston Adolescent Neuroimaging of Depression and Anxiety (BANDA) study, which is collecting multimodal neuroimaging, clinical, and neuropsychological data from 225 adolescents (ages 14–17), 150 of whom are expected to have a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety. Our transdiagnostic recruitment approach samples the full spectrum of depressed/anxious symptoms and their comorbidity, consistent with NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC). We focused on an age range that is critical for brain development and for the onset of mental illness. This project sought to harmonize imaging sequences, hardware, and functional tasks with other HCP studies, although some changes were made to canonical HCP methods to accommodate our study population and questions. We present a thorough overview of our imaging sequences, hardware, and scanning protocol. We detail similarities and dif-ferences between this study and other HCP studies. We evaluate structural-, diffusion-, and functional-image-quality measures that may be influenced by clinical factors (e.g., disorder, symptomatology). Signal-to-noise and motion estimates from the first 140 adolescents suggest minimal influence of clinical factors on image quality. We anticipate enrollment of an additional 85 participants, most of whom are expected to have a diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression. Clinical and neuropsychological data from the first 140 participants are currently freely available through the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA)

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

A pre-registered, multi-lab non-replication of the Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE)

The Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) is a well-known demonstration of the role of motor activity in the comprehension of language. Participants are asked to make sensibility judgments on sentences by producing movements toward the body or away from the body. The ACE is the finding that movements are faster when the direction of the movement (e.g., toward) matches the direction of the action in the to-be-judged sentence (e.g., Art gave you the pen describes action toward you). We report on a pre-registered, multi-lab replication of one version of the ACE. The results show that none of the 18 labs involved in the study observed a reliable ACE, and that the meta-analytic estimate of the size of the ACE was essentially zero.Fil: Morey, Richard. Cardiff University; Reino UnidoFil: Kaschak, Michael. Florida State University; Estados UnidosFil: Díez Álamo, Antonio. Universidad de Salamanca; España. Arizona State University; Estados UnidosFil: Glenberg, Arthur. Arizona State University; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Salamanca; EspañaFil: Zwaan, Rolf A.. Erasmus University Rotterdam; Países BajosFil: Lakens, Daniël. Eindhoven University of Technology; Países BajosFil: Ibáñez, Santiago Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. University of San Francisco; Estados Unidos. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Trinity College Dublin; IrlandaFil: García, Adolfo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentina. University of San Francisco; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Educación Elemental y Especial; Argentina. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Gianelli, Claudia. Universitat Potsdam; Alemania. Scuola Universitaria Superiore; ItaliaFil: Jones, John L.. Florida State University; Estados UnidosFil: Madden, Julie. University of Tennessee; Estados UnidosFil: Alifano Ferrero, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bergen, Benjamin. University of California at San Diego; Estados UnidosFil: Bloxsom, Nicholas G.. Ashland University; Estados UnidosFil: Bub, Daniel N.. University of Victoria; CanadáFil: Cai, Zhenguang G.. The Chinese University; Hong KongFil: Chartier, Christopher R.. Ashland University; Estados UnidosFil: Chatterjee, Anjan. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Conwell, Erin. North Dakota State University; Estados UnidosFil: Wagner Cook, Susan. University of Iowa; Estados UnidosFil: Davis, Joshua D.. University of California at San Diego; Estados UnidosFil: Evers, Ellen R. K.. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: Girard, Sandrine. University of Carnegie Mellon; Estados UnidosFil: Harter, Derek. Texas A&m University Commerce; Estados UnidosFil: Hartung, Franziska. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Herrera, Eduar. Universidad ICESI; ColombiaFil: Huettig, Falk. Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Países BajosFil: Humphries, Stacey. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Juanchich, Marie. University of Essex; Reino UnidoFil: Kühne, Katharina. Universitat Potsdam; AlemaniaFil: Lu, Shulan. Texas A&m University Commerce; Estados UnidosFil: Lynes, Tom. University of East Anglia; Reino UnidoFil: Masson, Michael E. J.. University of Victoria; CanadáFil: Ostarek, Markus. Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Países BajosFil: Pessers, Sebastiaan. Katholikie Universiteit Leuven; BélgicaFil: Reglin, Rebecca. Universitat Potsdam; AlemaniaFil: Steegen, Sara. Katholikie Universiteit Leuven; BélgicaFil: Thiessen, Erik D.. University of Carnegie Mellon; Estados UnidosFil: Thomas, Laura E.. North Dakota State University; Estados UnidosFil: Trott, Sean. University of California at San Diego; Estados UnidosFil: Vandekerckhove, Joachim. University of California at Irvine; Estados UnidosFil: Vanpaeme, Wolf. Katholikie Universiteit Leuven; BélgicaFil: Vlachou, Maria. Katholikie Universiteit Leuven; BélgicaFil: Williams, Kristina. Texas A&m University Commerce; Estados UnidosFil: Ziv Crispel, Noam. BehavioralSight; Estados Unido

The earliest thymic T cell progenitors sustain B cell and myeloid lineage potential

The stepwise commitment from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow to T lymphocyte-restricted progenitors in the thymus represents a paradigm for understanding the requirement for distinct extrinsic cues during different stages of lineage restriction from multipotent to lineage-restricted progenitors. However, the commitment stage at which progenitors migrate from the bone marrow to the thymus remains unclear. Here we provide functional and molecular evidence at the single-cell level that the earliest progenitors in the neonatal thymus had combined granulocyte-monocyte, T lymphocyte and B lymphocyte lineage potential but not megakaryocyte-erythroid lineage potential. These potentials were identical to those of candidate thymus-seeding progenitors in the bone marrow, which were closely related at the molecular level. Our findings establish the distinct lineage-restriction stage at which the T cell lineage-commitment process transits from the bone marrow to the remote thymus. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved