Crypt density and recruited enhancers underlie intestinal tumour initiation.

Oncogenic mutations that drive colorectal cancer can be present in healthy intestines for long periods without overt consequence. Mutation of Adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc), the most common initiating event in conventional adenomas, activates Wnt signalling, hence conferring fitness on mutant intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Apc mutations may occur in ISCs that arose by routine self-renewal or by dedifferentiation of their progeny.

Mindin/spondin-2 regulates fibroblast subpopulations through distinct Src family kinases during fibrogenesis.

Fibrosis results from excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, causing tissue stiffening and organ dysfunction. Activated fibroblasts, central to fibrosis, exhibit increased migration, proliferation, contraction, and ECM production. However, it remains unclear if the same fibroblast performs all of the processes that fall under the umbrella term of "activation".

Mindin (SPON2) Is Essential for Cutaneous Fibrogenesis in a Mouse Model of Systemic Sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis is a fibrotic disease that initiates in the skin and progresses to internal organs, leading to a poor prognosis. Unraveling the etiology of a chronic, multifactorial disease such as systemic sclerosis has been aided by various animal models that recapitulate certain aspects of the human pathology. We found that the transcription factor SNAI1 is overexpressed in the epidermis of patients with systemic sclerosis, and a transgenic mouse recapitulating this expression pattern is sufficient to induce many clinical features of the human disease.

Snail maintains the stem/progenitor state of skin epithelial cells and carcinomas through the autocrine effect of matricellular protein Mindin.

Preservation of a small population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a heterogeneous carcinoma serves as a paradigm to understand how select cells in a tissue maintain their undifferentiated status. In both embryogenesis and cancer, Snail has been correlated with stemness, but the molecular underpinning of this phenomenon remains largely ill-defined. In models of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), we discovered a non-epithelial-mesenchymal transition function for the transcription factor Snail in maintaining the stemness of epidermal keratinocytes.

Isolation and Quantification of Mouse γδT-cells and .

The skin plays an important role in protecting the body from pathogens and chemicals in the external environment. Upon injury, a healing program is rapidly initiated and involves extensive intercellular communication to restore tissue homeostasis. The deregulation of this crosstalk can lead to abnormal healing processes and is the foundation of many skin diseases.

Interactions Between Epidermal Keratinocytes, Dendritic Epidermal T-Cells, and Hair Follicle Stem Cells.

The interplay of immune cells and stem cells in maintaining skin homeostasis and repair is an exciting new frontier in cutaneous biology. With the growing appreciation of the importance of this new crosstalk comes the requirement of methods to interrogate the molecular underpinnings of these leukocyte-stem cell interactions. Here we describe how a combination of FACS, cellular coculture assays, and conditioned media treatments can be utilized to advance our understanding of this emerging area of intercellular communication between immune cells and stem cells.

PAI1 mediates fibroblast-mast cell interactions in skin fibrosis.

Fibrosis is a prevalent pathological condition arising from the chronic activation of fibroblasts. This activation results from the extensive intercellular crosstalk mediated by both soluble factors and direct cell-cell connections. Prominent among these are the interactions of fibroblasts with immune cells, in which the fibroblast-mast cell connection, although acknowledged, is relatively unexplored.

Toll-Like Receptor 9 Activation Rescues Impaired Antibody Response in Needle-free Intradermal DNA Vaccination.

The delivery of plasmid DNA to the skin can target distinct subsets of dermal dendritic cells to confer a superior immune response. The needle-free immunization technology offers a reliable, safe and efficient means to administer intradermal (ID) injections. We report here that the ID injection of DNA vectors using an NF device (NF-ID) elicits a superior cell-mediated immune response, at much lesser DNA dosage, comparable in magnitude to the traditional intramuscular immunization.

MODIS derived fire characteristics and aerosol optical depth variations during the agricultural residue burning season, north India.

Agricultural residue burning is one of the major causes of greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols in the Indo-Ganges region. In this study, we characterize the fire intensity, seasonality, variability, fire radiative energy (FRE) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) variations during the agricultural residue burning season using MODIS data. Fire counts exhibited significant bi-modal activity, with peak occurrences during April-May and October-November corresponding to wheat and rice residue burning episodes.

Fire risk evaluation using multicriteria analysis--a case study.

Forest fires are one of the major causes of ecological disturbance and environmental concerns in tropical deciduous forests of south India. In this study, we use fuzzy set theory integrated with decision-making algorithm in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) framework to map forest fire risk. Fuzzy set theory implements classes or groupings of data with boundaries that are not sharply defined (i.

Spatial patterns in vegetation fires in the Indian region.

In this study, we used fire count datasets derived from Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) satellite to characterize spatial patterns in fire occurrences across highly diverse geographical, vegetation and topographic gradients in the Indian region. For characterizing the spatial patterns of fire occurrences, observed fire point patterns were tested against the hypothesis of a complete spatial random (CSR) pattern using three different techniques, the quadrat analysis, nearest neighbor analysis and Ripley's K function. Hierarchical nearest neighboring technique was used to depict the 'hotspots' of fire incidents.

Case study of a dust storm over Hyderabad area, India: its impact on solar radiation using satellite data and ground measurements.

According to the Earth Observatory dust outbreaks are considered as natural hazards, which affect the ecosystems and human life. The main objective of this study is to assess and monitor the movement of aerosols and pollutants from local or other sources, both natural and anthropogenic, using a combination of ground-based monitoring and satellite data. The turbid and polluted atmosphere in the densely-populated area of Hyderabad, India is further degradated from dust outbreaks originated from Thar desert.

Biophysical and anthropogenic controls of forest fires in the Deccan Plateau, India.

Forest fires constitute one of the most serious environmental problems in several forested regions of India. In the Indian sub-continent, relatively few studies have focused on the assessment of biophysical and anthropogenic controls of forest fires at a landscape scale and the spatial aspects of these relationships. In this study, we used fire count data sets from satellite remote sensing data covering 78 districts over four different states of the Deccan Plateau, India, for assessing the underlying causes of fires.

Spatial distribution of forest fires and controlling factors in Andhra Pradesh, India using SPOT satellite datasets.

Fires are one of the major causes of forest disturbance and destruction in several dry deciduous forests of southern India. In this study, we use remote sensing data sets in conjunction with topographic, vegetation, climate and socioeconomic factors for determining the potential causes of forest fires in Andhra Pradesh, India. Spatial patterns in fire characteristics were analyzed using SPOT satellite remote sensing datasets.

Seasonal variations of PM10 and PM2.5 particles loading over tropical urban environment.

The extent to which airborne particles penetrate into the human respiratory system is determined mainly by their size, with possible health effects. The research over the scientific evidence of airborne particles to adverse health effects has been intensified in recent years. In the present study particulate matter (PM), PM10 and PM2.

Factors influencing aerosol characteristics over urban environment.

Atmospheric aerosols are an important contributing factor to turbidity in urban areas besides having impact on health. Aerosol characteristics show a high degree of variability in space and time as nthropogenic share of total aerosol loading is quite substantial and is essential to monitor the aerosol features over long time scales. In the present study extensive observations of columnar aerosol optical depth (AOD), total columnar ozone (TCO) and precipitable water content (PWC) have been carried over a tropical urban city of Hyderabad, India.

Climatic controls of vegetation vigor in four contrasting forest types of India--evaluation from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer datasets (1990-2000).

Ten-day advanced very high resolution radiometer images from 1990 to 2000 were used to examine spatial patterns in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and their relationships with climatic variables for four contrasting forest types in India. The NDVI signal has been extracted from homogeneous vegetation patches and has been found to be distinct for deciduous and evergreen forest types, although the mixed-deciduous signal was close to the deciduous ones. To examine the decadal response of the satellite-measured vegetation phenology to climate variability, seven different NDVI metrics were calculated using the 11-year NDVI data.

Shortwave radiative forcing efficiency of urban aerosols--a case study using ground based measurements.

Aerosols reduce the surface reaching solar flux by scattering the incoming solar radiation out to space. Various model studies on climate change suggest that surface cooling induced by aerosol scattering is the largest source of uncertainty in predicting the future climate. In the present study measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and its direct radiative forcing efficiency has been presented over a typical tropical urban environment namely Hyderabad during December, 2003.

Regional inventory of soil surface nitrogen balances in Indian agriculture (2000-2001).

Nitrogen regulates several ecological and biogeochemical processes and excess reactive nitrogen in the environment can lead to pollution problems, including the deterioration of air quality, disruption of forest processes, acidification of lakes and streams, and degradation of coastal waters. Much of the excess nitrogen inputs are related to food and energy production. An important step to understanding the sources of nitrogen and ultimately defining solutions to excess nitrogen is to describe the geographic distribution of agricultural nitrogen contributions from different regions.

Characterization of aerosols and its radiative impacts over urban and rural environments--a case study from Hyderabad and Srisailam.

In the troposphere anthropogenic aerosol emissions are increasing in recent decades, which can influence the earth's climate. The present study addresses the characterization of aerosols and their radiative impacts over urban (Hyderabad) and rural (Srisailam) environments by using aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from MICROTOPS-II sunphotometer. AOD measurements over the urban site showed high values compared to the rural site.

Characterization of aerosols from biomass burning--a case study from Mizoram (Northeast), India.

Physical and optical properties of biomass burning aerosols in Northeastern region, India analyzed based on measurements made during February 2002. Large spatial extent of Northeastern Region moist tropical to moist sub-tropical forests in India have high frequency of burning in annual dry seasons. Characterization of resultant trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning is important for the atmospheric radiative process.