European forests are suffering considerably from the consequences of the droughts of recent years, and the exact reasons and influencing factors for this are still not fully understood. This study ...was conducted to characterize the changes and dynamics of soil moisture in a mixed forest in northern Bavaria within 1 year. Since electrical resistivity correlates well with soil water content, we used two‐dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) monitoring and time‐lapse analyses to supplement punctual measurements by sensors and soil analyses to show soil moisture changes throughout a whole year (2020–2021). While the topsoil dries out significantly from summer to autumn down to a depth of about 3 m, a clear increase in soil water content and a decrease in resistivity below 3 m can be observed during winter period. Anomalies in the topsoil (0–1 m) showing lower resistivities than the surrounding substrate could be related to tree positions by additional terrestrial laser scans. A significant relationship could be found between tree crown projection area and resistivity in 1–2 m depth. We found a trend that mean resistivity below pine is lower as below beech. ERT data were also used to estimate the soil water content via Archie's law and the results correlate strongly with the measured values, but the degree of correlation varies depending on the depth level. ERT as a noninvasive method, in combination with additional data, for example, on the vitality status of individual trees, could help to better understand root water uptake and water supply to trees, especially during periods of drought.
Core Ideas
In situ soil moisture monitoring for realistic assessment of tree water supply.
ERT monitoring can help understand root water uptake in a mixed forest.
Resistivity of subsurface anomalies correlates with the crown projection area of trees.
Resistivity anomalies show descriptive differences between tree species.
Volumetric water content can be estimated via Archie's law, calibrated with in situ data.
1.1.1 Hintergrund und Ziele Biofunktionalisierte Implantatoberflächen haben das Ziel den Einheilprozess zu beschleunigen. Untersucht wurden Vakuum-Titan-Plasma-Spray- und ...Kalziumphosphatbeschichtungen bezüglich ihres funktionellen und strukturellen Verbundes mit dem periimplantären Knochen. Überdies wurden die tierexperimentell erzielten Ergebnisse mit dentalen, humanen Explantaten korreliert. 1.1.2 Material und Methode In die Schädelkalotte von 24 Hausschweinen wurden je 9 Implantate, i.e. 3 Implantate pro Beschichtung, randomisiert inseriert. Die Entnahme erfolgte nach 3, 7, 14, 21, 30, 56, 84 und 180 Tagen, wobei je 3 Tiere geopfert wurden. Folgende Parameter wurden analysiert: Osteozytendichte (OD), Knochendichte (KD), Kollagenfaserorientierung (KF) und Knochenimplantatkontakt (KIK). Den tierexperimentell ermittelten Werten wurden 50 humanen Proben, davon 34 Gaumenexplantate und 16 Kieferexplantate (acht je Ober- und Unterkiefer), gegenübergestellt. 1.1.3 Ergebnisse Bezüglich der Osteozytendichte und longitudinalen Kollagenfaserorientierung zeigte VTPS® im Vergleich zu den anderen Gruppen die signifikant höchsten Werte. Longitudinale Faserverläufe finden sich vornehmlich in unbelasteten Implantaten. Im Gegensatz dazu wiesen die kalziumphosphatbeschichteten Oberflächen BONITex® und VTPS-Bonit® die für belastete Implantate typischen transversalen Faserverläufe auf. Im Hinblick auf die Knochendichte ähnelten sich die Werte der drei Versuchsgruppen, wobei 30 Tage p.o. ein konstantes Niveau erreicht wurde. Der Knochenimplantatkontakt belief sich bei den Gaumenexplantaten auf 38,92 ± 33,67% und bei den humanen Kieferexplantaten auf 39,45 ± 41,51% im Oberkiefer, sowie auf 59,46 ± 37,89% im Unterkiefer. Die Ergebnisse der humanen Proben lagen bei allen Parametern innerhalb des Wertebereichs der im Tierversuch gesetzten Implantate. 1.1.4 Schlussfolgerung Trotz der deutlich niedrigeren Osteozytendichte konnte bei den Kalziumphosphatbeschichtungen BONITex® und VTPS-Bonit® eine genauso hohe Knochendichte wie bei den VTPS®-Implantaten nachgewiesen werden. Weiterhin schien BONITex® initiale Osseointegrationsvorgänge positiv zu beeinflussen. Somit stellen biofunktionelle Oberflächenmodifikationen dentaler Implantate eine zukunftsträchtige Maßnahme zur Optimierung von Einheilprozessen dar. Hinsichtlich der Übertragbarkeit der Ergebnisse auf den Menschen bewährte sich das Hausschwein als verlässliches Tiermodell.
This paper focuses on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), an educational approach where a foreign language is used to teach non-language subjects. More specifically, this contribution ...presents new insights into an under-researched area, namely the potential of CLIL in fostering the learning and use of subject-specific target language vocabulary (SSV). This is investigated in a case study analysing spontaneous oral classroom productions of two groups of advanced, secondary-school students in an Austrian CLIL programme within the subject European economics and politics. Based on a holistic definition of SSV comprising both single and multi-word lexical units, complementary quantitative lexical and qualitative discourse-embedded research methods are employed to present a comprehensive picture of the engagement of learners with subject-specific vocabulary. Findings of the lexical analysis show a substantial and active use of SSV with some homogeneity but also considerable variation between students. Discursive investigations of the affordances for learning arising in interactions indicate that in constructing and negotiating SSV, the students make use of a range of learning and communication strategies, which indicates their heightened level of SSV learning awareness.
Discovery of rare or low frequency variants in exome or genome data that are associated with complex traits often will require use of very large sample sizes to achieve adequate statistical power. ...For a fixed sample size, sequencing of individuals sampled from the tails of a phenotype distribution (i.e., extreme phenotypes design) maximizes power and this approach was recently validated empirically with the discovery of variants in DCTN4 that influence the natural history of P. aeruginosa airway infection in persons with cystic fibrosis (CF; MIM219700). The increasing availability of large exome/genome sequence datasets that serve as proxies for population-based controls affords the opportunity to test an alternative, potentially more powerful and generalizable strategy, in which the frequency of rare variants in a single extreme phenotypic group is compared to a control group (i.e., extreme phenotype vs. control population design). As proof-of-principle, we applied this approach to search for variants associated with risk for age-of-onset of chronic P. aeruginosa airway infection among individuals with CF and identified variants in CAV2 and TMC6 that were significantly associated with group status. These results were validated using a large, prospective, longitudinal CF cohort and confirmed a significant association of a variant in CAV2 with increased age-of-onset of P. aeruginosa airway infection (hazard ratio = 0.48, 95% CI=0.32, 0.88) and variants in TMC6 with diminished age-of-onset of P. aeruginosa airway infection (HR = 5.4, 95% CI=2.2, 13.5) A strong interaction between CAV2 and TMC6 variants was observed (HR=12.1, 95% CI=3.8, 39) for children with the deleterious TMC6 variant and without the CAV2 protective variant. Neither gene showed a significant association using an extreme phenotypes design, and conditions for which the power of an extreme phenotype vs. control population design was greater than that for the extreme phenotypes design were explored.
Background
The treatment of canine adrenal insufficiency consists of hormone substitution and requires high owner compliance and intense human–dog interaction. This might affect the quality of life ...(QoL) of owners and their pets. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of hypoadrenocorticism and its treatment on the QoL of dogs and their owners.
Methods
Owners completed a web‐based survey that contained items concerning signalment, owner QoL, dog QoL and long‐term therapy.
Results
Three hundred and twenty‐two owners participated. Most owners feared an adrenal crisis. Approximately half of the participants reported that the bond between them and their pet increased after diagnosis. Although many participants felt that their own QoL was not affected by their dog's disease, worries about costs and leaving their dog unsupervised were frequently reported. Half of the study participants increased their dog's glucocorticoid doses when a stressful situation was foreseeable (‘boosting’ of therapy). Some administered hydrocortisone, mostly switched from prednisolone, resulting in a reduction in side effects.
Conclusions
Special attention should be given to glucocorticoid therapy and owner's QoL. The overall worry of an adrenal crisis might increase caregivers’ burden, reducing their overall QoL. Hydrocortisone might be a safe alternative to prednisolone, but further research is necessary to evaluate its long‐term efficacy and safety in dogs.
Despite binding similar cis elements in multiple locations, a single transcription factor (TF) often performs context-dependent functions at different loci. How factors integrate cis sequence and ...genomic context is still poorly understood and has implications for off-target effects in genetic engineering. The Drosophila context-dependent TF chromatin-linked adaptor for male-specific lethal proteins (CLAMP) targets similar GA-rich cis elements on the X-chromosome and at the histone gene locus but recruits very different, locus-specific factors. We discover that CLAMP leverages information from both cis element and local sequence to perform context-specific functions. Our observations imply the importance of other cues, including protein-protein interactions and the presence of additional cofactors.
The Rho GTPase Miro1, located at the mitochondrial outer membrane is known to properly distribute mitochondria to synapses, aid calcium buffering and initiate PINK1-Parkin mediated mitophagy. Several ...heterozygous
/Miro1 variants were identified in sporadic Parkinson's disease patients. Miro1 R272Q is located within a calcium binding domain, but the functional outcome of this point mutation and its contribution to the development of disease are unclear. To address this, we introduced a heterozygous
/Miro1 R272Q point mutation in healthy induced pluripotent stem cells. In dopaminergic neurons, Miro1 R272Q does not affect Miro1 protein levels, CCCP-induced mitophagy, nor mitochondrial movement yet causes the fragmentation of mitochondria with reduction of cristae and ATP5A. Inhibition of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter phenocopied Miro1 R272Q cytosolic calcium response to Thapsigargin in active neurons, a similar effect was observed during the calcium buffering phase in Miro1 knockdown neuroblastoma cells. Altered mitochondrial calcium regulation is associated with reduced mitochondrial respiration and reduced catecholamine neurotransmitter uptake. Synaptic changes are not coupled to dopamine distribution or dopamine transporters but are linked to Miro1 R272Q-related calcium handling
the mitochondria concomitant with defective dopamine regulation at the mitochondrial surface by monoamine oxidase. We conclude that the Miro1 R272Q heterozygous point mutation dampens mitochondrial-calcium regulation and mitochondrial capacity
events at the outer membrane that are sufficient to disrupt dopaminergic function.
The Y chromosome directly reflects male genealogies, but the extremely low Y chromosome sequence diversity in horses has prevented the reconstruction of stallion genealogies 1, 2. Here, we resolve ...the first Y chromosome genealogy of modern horses by screening 1.46 Mb of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) in 52 horses from 21 breeds. Based on highly accurate pedigree data, we estimated the de novo mutation rate of the horse MSY and showed that various modern horse Y chromosome lineages split much later than the domestication of the species. Apart from few private northern European haplotypes, all modern horse breeds clustered together in a roughly 700-year-old haplogroup that was transmitted to Europe by the import of Oriental stallions. The Oriental horse group consisted of two major subclades: the Original Arabian lineage and the Turkoman horse lineage. We show that the English Thoroughbred MSY was derived from the Turkoman lineage and that English Thoroughbred sires are largely responsible for the predominance of this haplotype in modern horses.
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•Y chromosomes of modern horse breeds arose from a single ancestor after domestication•Sex-biased selection increased a few Oriental-derived Y chromosome lineages•English Thoroughbred founder stallions can be traced back to a Turkoman origin
Wallner et al. show that all Y chromosome lineages in modern horse breeds arose after domestication and that most stallion lines of European and American breeds can be traced back to an Oriental ancestor.
Esophageal cancer is one of the 10 most common cancers worldwide and its incidence is dramatically increasing. Despite some improvements, the current surveillance protocol with white light endoscopy ...and random untargeted biopsies collection (Seattle protocol) fails to diagnose dysplastic and cancerous lesions in up to 50% of patients. Therefore, new endoscopic imaging technologies in combination with tumor-specific molecular probes are needed to improve early detection. Herein, we investigated the use of the fluorescent Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP1)-inhibitor PARPi-FL for early detection of dysplastic lesions in patient-derived organoids and transgenic mouse models, which closely mimic the transformation from non-malignant Barrett's Esophagus (BE) to invasive esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC).
We determined PARP1 expression via immunohistochemistry (IHC) in human biospecimens and mouse tissues. We also assessed PARPi-FL uptake in patient- and mouse-derived organoids. Following intravenous injection of 75 nmol PARPi-FL/mouse in L2-IL1B (n = 4) and L2-IL1B/IL8Tg mice (n = 12), we conducted fluorescence molecular endoscopy (FME) and/or imaged whole excised stomachs to assess PARPi-FL accumulation in dysplastic lesions. L2-IL1B/IL8Tg mice (n = 3) and wild-type (WT) mice (n = 2) without PARPi-FL injection served as controls. The imaging results were validated by confocal microscopy and IHC of excised tissues.
IHC on patient and murine tissue revealed similar patterns of increasing PARP1 expression in presence of dysplasia and cancer. In human and murine organoids, PARPi-FL localized to PARP1-expressing epithelial cell nuclei after 10 min of incubation. Injection of PARPi-FL in transgenic mouse models of BE resulted in the successful detection of lesions via FME, with a mean target-to-background ratio > 2 independently from the disease stage. The localization of PARPi-FL in the lesions was confirmed by imaging of the excised stomachs and confocal microscopy. Without PARPi-FL injection, identification of lesions via FME in transgenic mice was not possible.
PARPi-FL imaging is a promising approach for clinically needed improved detection of dysplastic and malignant EAC lesions in patients with BE. Since PARPi-FL is currently evaluated in a phase 2 clinical trial for oral cancer detection after topical application, clinical translation for early detection of dysplasia and EAC in BE patients via FME screening appears feasible.
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