miRNA regulates the expression of protein coding genes and plays a regulatory role in human development and disease. The human iPSCs and their differentiated progenies provide a unique opportunity to ...identify these miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms. To identify miRNA-mRNA regulatory interactions in human nervous system development, well characterized NSCs were differentiated from six validated iPSC lines and analyzed for differentially expressed (DE) miRNome and transcriptome by RNA sequencing. Following the criteria, moderated
statistics, FDR-corrected
-value ≤ 0.05 and fold change-absolute (FC-abs) ≥2.0, 51 miRNAs and 4033 mRNAs were found to be significantly DE between iPSCs and NSCs. The miRNA target prediction analysis identified 513 interactions between 30 miRNA families (mapped to 51 DE miRNAs) and 456 DE mRNAs that were paradoxically oppositely expressed. These 513 interactions were highly enriched in nervous system development functions (154 mRNAs; FDR-adjusted
-value range: 8.06 × 10
-1.44 × 10
). Furthermore, we have shown that the upregulated miR-10a-5p, miR-30c-5p, miR23-3p, miR130a-3p and miR-17-5p miRNA families were predicted to down-regulate several genes associated with the differentiation of neurons, neurite outgrowth and synapse formation, suggesting their role in promoting the self-renewal of undifferentiated NSCs. This study also provides a comprehensive characterization of iPSC-generated NSCs as dorsal neuroepithelium, important for their potential use in in vitro modeling of human brain development and disease.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The in vitro modeling of cardiac development and cardiomyopathies in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) provides opportunities to aid the discovery of genetic, ...molecular, and developmental changes that are causal to, or influence, cardiomyopathies and related diseases. To better understand the functional and disease modeling potential of iPSC-differentiated CMs and to provide a proof of principle for large, epidemiological-scale disease gene discovery approaches into cardiomyopathies, well-characterized CMs, generated from validated iPSCs of 12 individuals who belong to four sibships, and one of whom reported a major adverse cardiac event (MACE), were analyzed by genome-wide mRNA sequencing. The generated CMs expressed CM-specific genes and were highly concordant in their total expressed transcriptome across the 12 samples (correlation coefficient at 95% CI =0.92 ± 0.02). The functional annotation and enrichment analysis of the 2116 genes that were significantly upregulated in CMs suggest that generated CMs have a transcriptomic and functional profile of immature atrial-like CMs; however, the CMs-upregulated transcriptome also showed high overlap and significant enrichment in primary cardiomyocyte (
-value = 4.36 × 10
), primary heart tissue (
-value = 1.37 × 10
) and cardiomyopathy (
-value = 1.13 × 10
) associated gene sets. Modeling the effect of MACE in the generated CMs-upregulated transcriptome identified gene expression phenotypes consistent with the predisposition of the MACE-affected sibship to arrhythmia, prothrombotic, and atherosclerosis risk.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The medium-sized cities of Brazil are those with populations of between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants. These cities are growing rapidly, and are characterized by poor urban planning, a loss of ...biodiversity and decreasing health prospects for residents. Historically, urbanization in Brazil has been associated with incentives to increase the use of private vehicles for local transport. The air pollution resulting from this "car dependency" has been quantified in some major cities in Brazil, such as the megacity of São Paulo. In this paper, we demonstrate through a bioindication study carried out in the Brazilian city of Rondonópolis, that atmospheric pollution resulting from vehicular emissions is also a measurable reality for medium-sized cities. Most Brazilian cities lack air quality measurement equipment, and we used an inexpensive and easy to apply bioindication assay to measure air pollution, and this approach could be easily implemented in those cities and beyond.
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BFBNIB, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The European mole Talpa europaea is common across much of Britain. It has a unique fossorial lifestyle, and evidence of its presence is readily identified through the presence of characteristic ...molehills. Although molehills are often a common sight in urban greenspaces, moles are remarkably understudied, with very few studies to date exploring the urban ecology of moles. Here, we investigate if factors such as greenspace (largely urban parks and playing fields) area, intensity of management, distance to nearest patch, amount of time the patch had been isolated from other green patches, and the amount of urbanization (constructed surfaces) surrounding the patch, influence the distribution and abundance of urban moles. Mole signs (hills and surface runs) were counted in all discrete urban greenspaces (excluding domestic gardens and one private golf course) within an 89.5 km2 area in the UK town of Reading. We found that 17 out of 59 surveyed sites contained moles, with their presence being recorded in greenspaces with a minimum patch area of approximately 0.1 km2 (10 ha). Where present, the abundance of mole territories in the greenspaces was associated with both the area of greenspace and degree of urbanization within 150 m of the patch boundary. While the former was not surprising, the latter outcome may be a consequence of sites with an increased risk of flooding being home to fewer moles, and the surrounding area is also less likely to be built upon. This case study highlights how choices made in designing urban green infrastructure will determine which species survive in urban areas long into the future.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) is a charismatic and easily recognized species. While they are classified as being of “least concern” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature ...(IUCN) Red List, their populations are declining. In Brazil, the accelerated destruction of one of its key habitats, the Cerrado biome, is a principal cause of their decreasing abundance. As with other species affected by loss of the Cerrado, active conservation measures are required. While usually rare in urban ecosystems, Ara ararauna occurs and breeds in small numbers in the city of Rondonópolis, a medium-sized city located in Mato Grosso, Central-West Region of Brazil. Blue-and-yellow macaw pairs nest in the tops of dead palm trees, but as the macaws are nest-site limited and suitable dead trees are scarce in urban areas, the installation of artificial nest sites in domestic backyards could help that urban population to thrive. To investigate whether local people would be willing to engage with conservation efforts and in particular to support macaw conservation, we surveyed the attitudes of Rondonópolis residents to measure: (1) citizens’ preferences among the bird species that occur in the city; (2) the average area of their yards, and (3) the willingness of residents to: (a) plant fruit trees to attract macaws to their yards and (b) to install artificial nests in their yards. Larger and more colorful birds (Ara ararauna, the Red-and-green macaw Ara chloropterus and Toco Toucan Ramphastos toco) were the bird species most valued across all socio-economic groups, suggesting that the charismatic species would be more likely to be supported by urbanites. Overall, people had good biodiversity knowledge, with respondents being able to identify half of our sample of local bird species, on average, and almost half had seen a nest site. The great majority were willing to plant fruit trees (78%) and provide nest sites (70%) for macaws. This willingness to engage was not affected by socioeconomic differences. These data indicate that a municipal macaw conservation program could be successful in Rondonópolis, and we argue that macaws could be a flagship species which would benefit wider efforts to engage Brazilian urbanites in active engagement with nature.
Translational ecology is an approach according to scientists, decision-makers, legislators, and managers work together to solve sociological, ecological, and politician environmental problems. ...Research projects in this approach are characterized by long-term partnerships between research institutions, legislators, and managers. In this essay, we present and discuss 10 successful research projects with a translational ecological approach, conducted in partnership among the graduate programs of Geography, and Environmental Management and Technology of UFMT, European universities, the Environmental Steering Committee, Public Ministry of the State of Mato Grosso, and County Secretary of Environment of Rondonópolis.
The global large-scale urbanization of the territory is one of the most important ecological phenomena today. The standards used in urban growth are crucial to the protection of biodiversity and ...affect the provision of a reasonable quality of life for the urban population. Contrary to the views of many biologists and other scholars, cities are barren environments. Contrary to nature, urban ecology, as a necessary interdisciplinary science, recent developments show that cities are heterotrophic ecosystems, which need to be planned in a way to reduce their impact on the biosphere and improve their ability to maintain biodiversity.
Translational ecology is an approach according to scientists, decision-makers, legislators, and managers work together to solve sociological, ecological, and political environmental problems. ...Research projects in this approach are characterized by long-term partnerships between research institutions, legislators, and managers. In this essay we present and discuss 10 successful research projects with a translational ecological approach, conducted in partnership among the graduate programs of Geography, and Environmental Management and Technology of UFMT, European universities, the Environmental Steering Committee, Public Ministry of the State of Mato Grosso, and County Secretary of Environment of Rondonópolis.
The European mole Talpa europaea is common across much of Britain. It has a unique fossorial lifestyle, and evidence of its presence is readily identified through the presence of characteristic ...molehills. Although molehills are often a common sight in urban greenspaces, moles are remarkably understudied, with very few studies to date exploring the urban ecology of moles. Here, we investigate if factors such as greenspace (largely urban parks and playing fields) area, intensity of management, distance to nearest patch, amount of time the patch had been isolated from other green patches, and the amount of urbanization (constructed surfaces) surrounding the patch, influence the distribution and abundance of urban moles. Mole signs (hills and surface runs) were counted in all discrete urban greenspaces (excluding domestic gardens and one private golf course) within an 89.5 km.sup.2 area in the UK town of Reading. We found that 17 out of 59 surveyed sites contained moles, with their presence being recorded in greenspaces with a minimum patch area of approximately 0.1 km.sup.2 (10 ha). Where present, the abundance of mole territories in the greenspaces was associated with both the area of greenspace and degree of urbanization within 150 m of the patch boundary. While the former was not surprising, the latter outcome may be a consequence of sites with an increased risk of flooding being home to fewer moles, and the surrounding area is also less likely to be built upon. This case study highlights how choices made in designing urban green infrastructure will determine which species survive in urban areas long into the future. Keywords: urban ecology; urban planning; urban greening; urban biodiversity; mammal; habitat management; species area relationships The European mole is a burrowing mammal which is widely distributed across Britain and much of continental Europe. Its presence is readily confirmed by the presence of molehills, which contain the spoil heaps left behind as the mole digs its underground tunnels. Despite being easy to record, there are very few studies of moles in an urban environment. We asked how area of greenspace (largely parks, recreation areas, nature reserves and playing fields), distance to the nearest patch, human disturbance, how long the green patch had been isolated for, and degree of urban construction around the patch affected mole presence and abundance. We found that patch size affected mole presence, with a minimum greenspace of approximately 10 ha required. Where moles were found, larger patches had more signs of moles and surprisingly, mole abundance was also associated with the degree of urban construction around the greenspace. This result shows how urban planning can affect the presence of unusual species, such as the European mole.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The objective of this paper is to draw broad view of the urban afforestation in Brazil, since the data of the trees around the households from of the Census 2010, made available by IBGE. We try to ...analyze the dynamics involved in this scenario. These data become very important to help understand the current reality of urban trees in different regions of the country and from these, open doors to new initiatives with the challenge of improving the quality of the urban environment and the environmental services involved. Our data analysis has revealed a positive relationship between urban planning and urban trees. In addition, we’ve found that smaller cities had a higher percentage of trees compared to large and medium cities.
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