Multiscale morphogenesis of the mouse blastocyst by actomyosin contractility

During preimplantation development, the mouse embryo forms the blastocyst, which consists of a squamous epithelium enveloping a fluid-filled lumen and a cluster of pluripotent cells. The shaping of the blastocyst into its specific architecture is a prerequisite to implantation and further development of the embryo. Recent studies identified the central role of the actomyosin cortex in generating the forces driving the successive steps of blastocyst morphogenesis. As seen in other developing animals, actomyosin functions across spatial scales from the subcellular to the tissue levels. In addition, the slow development of the mouse embryo reveals that actomyosin contractility operates at multiple timescales with periodic cortical waves of contraction every ∼80 s and tissue remodeling over hours.     

Recognizing pulses of extinction from clusters of last occurrences

The distribution of last occurrences of fossil taxa in a stratigraphic column are used to infer the pattern, timing and tempo of extinction from the fossil record. Clusters of last occurrences are commonly interpreted as an abrupt pulse of extinction. However, stratigraphic architecture alone can produce clusters of last occurrences that can be misinterpreted as an extinction pulse. These clusters will typically occur in strata that immediately underlie facies changes and sequence‐stratigraphic surfaces. It has been proposed that a basin‐wide analysis of the fossil record within a sequence‐stratigraphic framework can be used to distinguish between clusters of last occurrences caused solely by extinction pulses from those generated by sequence‐stratigraphic architecture. A basin‐wide approach makes it possible to observe lateral facies shifts in response to sea‐level change, mitigating the effects of stratigraphic architecture. Using computer simulations of plausible Late Ordovician mass‐extinction scenarios tuned to an inferred Late Ordovician sea‐level curve, we show that stratigraphically‐generated clusters of last occurrences are observed even in basin‐wide analyses of the simulated fossil records due to the basin‐wide loss of preferred facies for many taxa. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that by coarsening the stratigraphic resolution to the systems‐tract level and identifying facies preferences of simulated taxa, we can filter out taxa whose last occurrences coincide with the basin‐wide loss of their preferred facies. This enables consistent identification of the underlying extinction pattern for a wide variety of extinction scenarios. Applying this approach to empirical field data can help to constrain underlying extinction patterns from the fossil record.     

New advances on the Aurignacian in the central Iberian Mediterranean basin

This study aims to obtain a chronological and cultural framework of the Evolved Aurignacian in the central Iberian Mediterranean basin and find agreement between this framework and other sequences of the Iberian southeast. Over the last few years, there has been remarkable progress in the research of the Evolved Aurignacian sites in the Valencian area, making a review of the main characteristics of the technocomplex on a regional scale necessary. The recent fieldwork carried out in Cova de les Malladetes (Valencia) and in Cova de les Cendres (Alicante) have been key to understanding the lithic, osseous and ornament assemblages ascribed to the Evolved Aurignacian. Several Bayesian modelled ages have been constructed from the large dataset of chronological dates obtained at Malladetes and Cendres, as well as in other sites. The Bayesian models have allowed us to chronologically place the characteristics of the analysed assemblages. The present research supports the importance of the Aurignacian as the first technocomplex of the Upper Palaeolithic in this area of the Iberian Peninsula.     

Neumark-Nord 2 – A multiphase Middle Palaeolithic open-air site in the Geisel Valley (Central Germany)

The lake basin Neumark-Nord 2 (NN 2) is located in the Geisel Valley in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany). It was scientifically investigated between 2003 and 2008. The sediment sequence, which is about 10 to 11 m thick, consists of limnic deposits, mostly silts mixed with clays and sands. Sedimentological as well as palynological, malacological and palaeomagnetic investigations, supported by absolute datings, date the entire sequence into the Eemian and Early Weichselian. Within the deposits several archaeological find horizons were discovered. Neumark-Nord 2/2 (NN 2/2) at the beginning of the Eemian and Neumark-Nord 2/0 (NN 2/0) with an early Weichselian were the most important archaeological horizons. Both find horizons represent former lake shore sites, where numerous crushed animal bones and other faunal debris were found, which can be regarded as remains of hunted game. With regard to the rich lithic material, both find horizons differ remarkably. In NN2/2, a simple artefact spectrum with a certain Levallois component and a dominance of denticulated, notched and laterally retouched specimens. In NN 2/0, on the other hand, bifacial tools such as backed knives and sometimes finely retouched scrapers are dominant, while the Levallois component fades completely into the background. Thus, NN 2 is one of the few open-air sites in archaeological landscape of Central German where several middle Palaeolithic find horizons occur in superposition.     

牙形动物取食方式推测——来自华北寒武纪晚期−奥陶纪早期牙形刺化石的证据

牙形刺作为牙形动物的咽部进食器官,具有其独特的生物学特征。基于山东青州尧王山寒武系-奥陶系剖面产出的较丰富的牙形刺化石资料,本文讨论了牙形刺在牙形动物行使滤食等进食功能时产生的生理性磨损,与前人对石炭纪牙形刺的磨损类型的三种:破裂(指牙形刺的突出部分受外力而折断、脱离牙形刺主体的现象)、剥落(外层的生长层被剥落,而露出内层的生长层)、磨光(指牙形刺表面的纹饰在磨蚀作用下变浅或变得光滑)进行了对比,并提出一种新的磨损方式:磨花(与磨光类似,然而原有纹饰变浅或消失之后,继续磨蚀而使刺体表面变得不光滑的现象),以及磨损后修复的现象。根据磨损类型分析,将牙形动物的取食方式分为"沙粒翻找型"与"浮游捕食型"两种。为推测牙形动物的取食方式提供佐证。     

Endocytosis of the non-catalytic ADAM23: Recycling and long half-life properties

A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease 23 (ADAM23) is a member of the ADAMs family of transmembrane proteins, mostly expressed in nervous system, and involved in traffic and stabilization of Kv1-potassium channels, synaptic transmission, neurite outgrowth, neuronal morphology and cell adhesion. Also, ADAM23 has been linked to human pathological conditions, such as epilepsy, cancer metastasis and cardiomyopathy. ADAM23 functionality depends on the molecule presence at the cell surface and along the secretory pathway, as expected for a cell surface receptor. Because endocytosis is an important functional regulatory mechanism of plasma membrane receptors and no information is available about the traffic or turnover of non-catalytic ADAMs, we investigated ADAM23 internalization, recycling and half-life properties. Here, we show that ADAM23 undergoes constitutive internalization from the plasma membrane, a process that depends on lipid raft integrity, and is redistributed to intracellular vesicles, especially early and recycling endosomes. Furthermore, we observed that ADAM23 is recycled from intracellular compartments back to the plasma membrane and thus has longer half-life and higher cell surface stability compared with other ADAMs. Our findings suggest that regulation of ADAM23 endocytosis/stability could be exploited therapeutically in diseases in which ADAM23 is directly involved, such as epilepsy, cancer progression and cardiac hypertrophy.     

腔镜下腺体切除术对早期乳腺癌患者血清免疫球蛋白及TNF-α、IL-10水平变化的影响

摘要 目的：分析腔镜下腺体切除术对早期乳腺癌患者血清免疫球蛋白及TNF-α、IL-10水平的影响,从而对其优势评估。方法：选择2017年2月-2020年2月于本院实施乳腺癌手术患者100例,根据其选择手术方式的不同分为2组：A组（腔镜下腺体切除术,59例）和B组（开放乳房皮下腺体切除术,41例）,分别统计患者手术时间、术后拔管时间以及住院时间;术后1个月,取患者外周血,离心取血清,采用免疫比浊法检测患者血清免疫功能相关指标IgM和IgG含量、采用人酶联免疫吸附实验（ELISA）试剂盒检测患者血清中炎症反应指标TNF-α和IL-10含量、统计术后两组患者出现术野皮下出血、皮下积液、乳头乳晕坏死等并发症的例数;术后一年,统计两组患者出现复发和淋巴结转移等现象的例数。结果：A组患者手术时间显著长于B组,而其拔管时间和住院时间均显著短于B组（P＜0.05）。A组并发症发生率（5.00 %）显著高于B组（25.71%）（P<0.05）。术前1 d,两组患者血清免疫指标IgM和IgG水平和炎症反应指标TNF-α和IL-10水平相比差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）,而术后3 d~术后1 m,A组患者血清免疫指标IgM和IgG水平以及抗炎因子IL-10水平均显著高于B组,促炎因子TNF-α水平显著低于B组（P＜0.05）。A组患者术后1年内乳腺癌复发率（3.3%）与B组（10.0%）相比差异不具有统计学意义（P＞0.05）。结论：腔镜下腺体切除术治疗早期乳腺癌具有拔管时间以及术后住院时间短、并发症发生率低等优势,其原因可能与该手术对患者血清免疫球蛋白IgM和IgG及炎症因子TNF-α、IL-10水平影响程度较小、术后恢复较快有关。     

Association of polymorphisms in genes involved in enamel formation,taste preference and immune response with early childhood caries in Saudi pre-school children

Dental caries is primarily elicited by modifiable factors such as inadequate oral hygiene, poor dietary practices and deficient fluoride exposure. However, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting the profound influence of genetic factors in dental caries susceptibility. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ENAM (rs12640848), MMP20 (rs1784418), TAS2R38 (rs713598), and LTF (rs4547741) genes and early childhood caries (ECC) in Saudi preschool children. This case-control study enrolled 360 Saudi preschool children (262 with ECC and 98 caries-free). Data on environmental factors were collected through a questionnaire. However, caries experience and oral hygiene data were obtained during clinical examination. Buccal swab samples were collected for DNA extraction and SNPs were genotyped using PCR and DNA sequencing. Children with ECC were compared to caries free children (control), then they were categorized into two categories based on ECC severity as follows; non-severe ECC (NS-ECC), and severe-ECC (S-ECC). Association between the SNPs, ECC, NS-ECC, and S-ECC was reported as an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The majority of the children (72.8%) exhibited ECC (31.7% NS-ECC and 41.1% S-ECC) with mean dmft of 4.20 ± 4.05. Multivariate analyses of environmental factors showed that nocturnal feeding was a risk factor for ECC (P = 0.008). Poor oral hygiene was also a risk factor for both NS-ECC and S-ECC (ECC: P < 0.0001, NS-ECC: P = 0.032 and S-ECC: P < 0.0001). Univariate analysis showed that the AG genotype of rs1784418 of MMP20 gene was protective against ECC (OR = 0.532; 95% CI = 0.316–0.897, P = 0.018) and against NS-ECC (OR = 0.436; 95% CI = 0.238–0.798, P = 0.007). When environmental risk factors for ECC were included as covariates during multivariate analysis, AG variant in rs1784418 of MMP20 gene remained less frequent in NS-ECC cases compared to controls with borderline significance (OR = 0.542; 95% CI = 0.285–1.033, P = 0.063). Our findings concluded that MMP20 rs1784418 SNP might be associated with protection against ECC in Saudi preschool children.     

Next generation mothers: Maternal control of germline development in zebrafish

Abstract

In many animals, factors deposited by the mother into the egg control the earliest events in development of the zygote. These maternal RNAs and proteins play critical roles in oocyte development and the earliest steps of embryogenesis such as fertilization, cell division and embryonic patterning. Here, this article summarizes recent discoveries made on the maternal control of germline specification in zebrafish. Moreover, this review will discuss the major gaps remaining in our understanding of this process and highlight recent technical innovations in zebrafish, which allow tackling some of these questions in the near future.