Flow and Diffusion in Channel-Guided Cell Migration

Collective migration of mechanically coupled cell layers is a notable feature of wound healing, embryonic development, and cancer progression. In confluent epithelial sheets, the dynamics have been found to be highly heterogeneous, exhibiting spontaneous formation of swirls, long-range correlations, and glass-like dynamic arrest as a function of cell density. In contrast, the flow-like properties of one-sided cell-sheet expansion in confining geometries are not well understood. Here, we studied the short- and long-term flow of Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells as they moved through microchannels. Using single-cell tracking and particle image velocimetry (PIV), we found that a defined averaged stationary cell current emerged that exhibited a velocity gradient in the direction of migration and a plug-flow-like profile across the advancing sheet. The observed flow velocity can be decomposed into a constant term of directed cell migration and a diffusion-like contribution that increases with density gradient. The diffusive component is consistent with the cell-density profile and front propagation speed predicted by the Fisher-Kolmogorov equation. To connect diffusion-mediated transport to underlying cellular motility, we studied single-cell trajectories and occurrence of vorticity. We discovered that the directed large-scale cell flow altered fluctuations in cellular motion at short length scales: vorticity maps showed a reduced frequency of swirl formation in channel flow compared with resting sheets of equal cell density. Furthermore, under flow, single-cell trajectories showed persistent long-range, random-walk behavior superimposed on drift, whereas cells in resting tissue did not show significant displacements with respect to neighboring cells. Our work thus suggests that active cell migration manifests itself in an underlying, spatially uniform drift as well as in randomized bursts of short-range correlated motion that lead to a diffusion-mediated transport.     

Zur Frage der ChimÄrenbildung und Umstimmbarkeit

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Amazonian biodiversity: assessing conservation priorities with taxonomic data

Data from 3991 records of museum collections representing 421 species of plants, arthropods, amphibians, fish, and primates were analyzed with GIS to identify areas of high species diversity and endemism in Amazonia. Of the 472 1 × 1° grid cells in Amazonia, only nine cells are included in the highest species diversity category (43–67 total species) and nine in the highest endemic species diversity category (4–13 endemic species). Over one quarter of the grid cells have no museum records of any of the organisms in our study. Little correspondence exists between the centers of species diversity identified by our collections-based data and those areas recommended for conservation in an earlier qualitative study of Amazonian biodiversity. Museum collections can play a vital role in identifying species-rich areas for potential conservation in Amazonia, but a concerted and structured effort to increase the number and distribution of collections is needed to take maximum advantage of the information they contain.     

New Trityl-Based Protecting Groups with a Mild Two-Step Removal

Abstract

Two specifically designed protecting groups 4-(9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl)oxy-4′, 4″-dimethoxytrityl (1) and 4-(9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl)amino-4′,4″-dimethoxytrityl (2) have been investigated for possible use in oligonucleotide synthesis.     

Age of menarche in pigtail monkeys (Macaca nemestrina): A cross-sectional survey of perineal tumescence

A four-month survey of perineal tumescence in 131 young female pigtail monkeys ($\text{Macaca nemestrina}$) revealed that most females had begun to swell by the time they were 3 years old. Those that had not begun to swell by that time were generally of lower weight than their peers. Those that tumesced before they were 3 years old tended to be heavier than their peers, but were not necessarily heavier than older, nonswelling females.     

Über die Erregungsvorgänge bei Seismonastischen Bewegungen

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 6 Textabbildungen.     

Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Flora von West-Bosnien

Ohne Zusammenfassung