Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are formed after neutrophils expelled their chromatin content in order to primarily capture and eliminate pathogens. However, given their characteristics due in ...part to DNA and different granular proteins, NETs may induce a procoagulant response linking inflammation and thrombosis. Unraveling NET formation molecular mechanisms as well as the intracellular elements that regulate them is relevant not only for basic knowledge but also to design diagnostic and therapeutic tools that may prevent their deleterious effects observed in several inflammatory pathologies (e.g., cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, cancer). Among the potential elements involved in NET formation, several studies have investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) as important regulators of this process. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that have been involved in the control of almost all physiological processes in animals and plants and that are associated with the development of several pathologies. In this review, we give an overview of the actual knowledge on NETs and their implication in pathology with a special focus in cardiovascular diseases. We also give a brief overview on miRNA biology to later focus on the different miRNAs implicated in NET formation and the perspectives opened by the presented data.
B chromosomes are dispensable chromosomes found in >2000 eukaryotic species, usually behaving as genomic parasites. Most B chromosomes seem to be made up of the same kind of DNA sequences present in ...the A chromosomes. This sequence similarity makes it difficult to obtain specific molecular probes that may permit B-presence diagnosis without cytogenetic analysis. We have developed a sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker for B chromosomes in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, which specifically amplifies a 1510-bp DNA fragment exclusively in B-carrying individuals. Fluorescent in situ hybridization and fiber FISH analyses showed that this marker is a tandemly repeated DNA sequence closely intermingled with 45S rDNA. PCR reactions showed the presence of SCAR-like sequences in the A chromosomes, but in two separate fragments, supporting the intraspecific origin of B chromosomes in this species. SCAR marker DNA sequence showed to be identical in B chromosome variants from several localities from Spain and Morocco, and it was very similar to those found in B chromosome variants from Greece and Armenia. This strongly suggests that this sequence was already present in the ancestral B chromosome of this species. In addition, the scarce sequence variation observed among several B variants from very distant populations suggests either a functional constraint or, more likely, a recent and unique origin for B chromosomes in this species.
Inflammation is a tightly coordinated response of the host immune system to bacterial and viral infections, triggered by the production of inflammatory cytokines. Sepsis is defined as a systemic ...inflammatory response followed by immunosuppression of the host and organ dysfunction. This imbalance of the immune response increases the risk of mortality of patients with sepsis, making it a major problem for critical care units worldwide. The P2X7 receptor plays a crucial role in activating the immune system by inducing the activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In this study, we analyzed a cohort of abdominal origin septic patients and found that the expression of the P2X7 receptor in the plasma membrane is elevated in the different subsets of lymphocytes. We observed a direct relationship between the percentage of P2X7-expressing lymphocytes and the early inflammatory response in sepsis. Additionally, in patients whose lymphocytes presented a higher percentage of P2X7 surface expression, the total lymphocytes populations proportionally decreased. Furthermore, we found a correlation between elevated soluble P2X7 receptors in plasma and inflammasome-dependent cytokine IL-18. In summary, our work demonstrates that P2X7 expression is highly induced in lymphocytes during sepsis, and this correlates with IL-18, along with other inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, IL-8, and procalcitonin.
The estimation of biophysical variables is at the core of remote sensing science, allowing a close monitoring of crops and forests. Deriving temporally resolved and spatially explicit maps of ...parameters of interest has been the subject of intense research. However, deriving products from optical sensors is typically hampered by cloud contamination and the trade-off between spatial and temporal resolutions. In this work we rely on the HIghly Scalable Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (HISTARFM) algorithm to generate long gap-free time series of Landsat surface reflectance data by fusing MODIS and Landsat reflectances. An artificial neural network is trained on PROSAIL inversion to predict monthly biophysical variables at 30 m spatial resolution with associated, realistic uncertainty bars. We emphasize the need for a more thorough analysis of uncertainty, and propose a general and scalable approach to combine both epistemic and aleatoric uncertainties by exploiting Monte Carlo (MC) dropout techniques from the trained artificial network and the propagation of HISTARFM uncertainties through the model, respectively. A model recalibration was performed in order to provide reliable uncertainties. We provide new high resolution products of several key variables to quantify the terrestrial biosphere: Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR), Canopy Water Content (CWC) and Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC) are at 30 m Landsat spatial resolution and over large continental areas. Two study areas are considered: the large heterogeneous but moderately cloud covered contiguous United States, and the homogeneous but largely cloud covered Amazonia. The produced vegetation products largely agree with the test dataset (R = 0.90, RMSE = 0.80 m2/m2 and ME = 0.12 m2/m2 for LAI, and R = 0.98, RMSE = 0.07 and ME = 0.01 for FAPAR) providing low error and high accuracy. Additionally, the validation considers a thorough comparison with operational and largely validated medium resolution products, such as the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Copernicus Global Land Service. Our products presented a good agreement and consistency with both MODIS (R = 0.84 and R = 0.85 for LAI and FAPAR, respectively) and Copernicus (R = 0.92 and R = 0.91 for LAI and FAPAR, respectively). To foster a wider adoption and reproducibility of the methodology we provide an application in GEE and source code at:https://github.com/IPL-UV/ee_BioNet/
•Proposed a methodology based on RTM inversion with NN for biophysical parameter estimation.•Uncertainty quantification considering model and data uncertainties.•Biophysical parameters and realistic uncertainties gap-free maps at high resolution (30 m).•Implications for high resolution carbon fluxes and phenologies applications.
In gregarious animals, competition for resources, such as water, food, and shelter, is common. Sleeping sites are one such resource that also may serve strategic functions, such as food or group ...defense. We investigated whether groups of wild crested macaques (
Macaca nigra
) compete for sleeping sites and two potential strategic functions of these sites: food defense and group protection. We gathered data from three habituated groups (Pantai Batu 1, Rambo 1, and Rambo 2) in Tangkoko Nature Reserve in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. We collected information on sleeping site use between October 2015 and June 2016, for 192, 156, and 41 nights, for each group respectively. We recorded 229, 207, and 183 travel routes for the three study groups and used these to calculate their home ranges and core areas using Brownian Bridge Movement Models. We also documented 304 intergroup encounters (IGE) among the three habituated groups and their neighbors. We found that suitable sleeping sites for crested macaques are limited, frequently reused, and shared sequentially, but not used simultaneously. There was a strong link between core areas and sleeping site density. However, we found no significant relationship between high IGE risk areas and sleeping site density, nor between core or high IGE risk areas and sleeping site reuse frequency. The study found no correlation between the distance traveled post-encounter to sleeping sites and the encounter's outcome or intensity. Overall, our study adds to the evidence that primates are selective in choosing sleeping sites, whose additional functions might be population specific.
Desde que empezó su carrera en solitario, el cantante puertorriqueño Enrique Martín Morales (1971-), conocido artísticamente como Ricky Martin, mantuvo su esfera privada alejada de los medios de ...comunicación. Sin embargo, el 29 de marzo del 2010, y tras varios años de especulaciones por parte de la prensa, aceptó públicamente su homosexualidad. En su autobiografía, titulada Yo (2010), esboza el proceso de interiorización de su orientación sexual y su posterior anuncio a través de las redes sociales. En el contexto del binomio vergüenza/orgullo, se pretende analizar los discursos de rechazo/aceptación que subyacen en la autobiografía y valorar sus significaciones. Asimismo, se atenderá a los obstáculos que deben enfrentar los personajes públicos que manifiestan sexualidades disidentes, así como los beneficios que su salida del armario aportan a la sociedad.
Summary
Large‐scale disturbances can be important components of the temporal landscape of natural ecosystems, but generalities regarding ecosystem impacts are difficult due to their infrequent and ...unpredictable nature. Volcanic eruptions figure as one of the most prominent of these natural disturbances, but the effects on microbes and ground‐dwelling arthropods, which modulate carbon and nutrient turnover, are relatively unknown.
We evaluated the effects of the 2011 Puyehue‐Cordón Caulle eruption in Patagonia, Argentina, on the litter and soil microbial and faunal communities in natural and afforested semi‐arid ecosystems located 70 km west of the epicentre of the eruption. We hypothesized that volcanic ash deposition would strongly reduce soil faunal and microbial communities due to insecticidal effects of ash on arthropods, with a concomitant reduction in ecosystem processes.
Our objective was to quantify the impact of the volcanic eruption by comparing pre‐ and post‐eruption time points in the same study site, with nearly identical field methodology. We measured environmental variables of soil and litter moisture, pH, microbial biomass, and soil and litter microbial enzymatic activity. We evaluated ground‐dwelling arthropods and nematodes using pitfall traps and soil extraction, respectively. Additionally, a parallel, controlled‐condition experiment of simulated ash deposition was conducted to evaluate ash effects on litter decomposition and enzymatic activity.
In the field, post‐eruption soils had lower soil water content, pH and soil organic matter. Additionally, nematode abundance and soil microbial enzyme activity were significantly reduced. In contrast, ground‐dwelling arthropods and litter enzymatic activity increased significantly. Finally, with simulated ash deposition, litter decomposition increased fourfold for native litter decomposition.
Large‐scale disturbances may play a key role in biogeochemical cycling in affected natural ecosystems, but not necessarily due to their catastrophic effects. In contrast to our original predictions, we observed a marked stimulation of biotic activity and carbon turnover in the aftermath of the Puyehue volcanic eruption, which demonstrates that the biotic component of these ecosystems has a substantial capacity to respond to these disturbances in short time frames. These results can contribute to placing the role of these large‐scale infrequent disturbances in a more robust ecological context.
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Lay Summary
Gastroschisis is one of the most prevalent human birth defects concerning the ventral body wall development. Recent research has given a better understanding of gastroschisis pathogenesis through the ...identification of multiple novel pathogenetic pathways implicated in ventral body wall closure. Deciphering the underlying genetic factors segregating among familial gastroschisis allows better detection of novel susceptibility variants than the screening of pooled unrelated cases and controls, whereas bioinformatic-aided analysis can help to address new insights into human biology and molecular mechanisms involved in gastroschisis. Technological advances in DNA sequencing (Next Generation Sequencing), computing power, and machine learning techniques provide opportunities to the scientific communities to assess significant gaps in research and clinical practice. Thus, in an effort to study the role of gene variation in gastroschisis, we employed whole exome sequencing in a Mexican family with recurrence for gastroschisis. Stringent bioinformatic analyses were implemented to identify and predict pathogenetic networks comprised of potential gastroschisis predispositions. This is the first database for gene variants and metabolic networks implicated in familial gastroschisis. The dataset provides information on gastroschisis annotated genes, gene variants, and metabolic networks and constitutes a useful source to enhance further investigations in gastroschisis.
According to the current view, each microRNA regulates hundreds of genes. Computational tools aim at identifying microRNA targets, usually selecting evolutionarily conserved microRNA binding sites. ...While the false positive rates have been evaluated for some prediction programs, that information is rarely put forward in studies making use of their predictions. Here, we provide evidence that such predictions are often biologically irrelevant. Focusing on miR-223-guided repression, we observed that it is often smaller than inter-individual variability in gene expression among wild-type mice, suggesting that most predicted targets are functionally insensitive to that microRNA. Furthermore, we found that human haplo-insufficient genes tend to bear the most highly conserved microRNA binding sites. It thus appears that biological functionality of microRNA binding sites depends on the dose-sensitivity of their host gene and that, conversely, it is unlikely that every predicted microRNA target is dose-sensitive enough to be functionally regulated by microRNAs. We also observed that some mRNAs can efficiently titrate microRNAs, providing a reason for microRNA binding site conservation for inefficiently repressed targets. Finally, many conserved microRNA binding sites are conserved in a microRNA-independent fashion: Sequence elements may be conserved for other reasons, while being fortuitously complementary to microRNAs. Collectively, our data suggest that the role of microRNAs in normal and pathological conditions has been overestimated due to the frequent overlooking of false positive rates.
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