Arginase 1+ microglia reduce Aβ plaque deposition during IL-1β-dependent neuroinflammation.

Background: Neuroinflammation has long been considered a driver of Alzheimer's disease progression. However, experiments developed to explore the interaction between neuroinflammation and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology showed a surprising reduction in amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque deposition. We sought to understand this unexpected outcome by examining microglia phenotypes during chronic neuroinflammation.

ENCODE data at the ENCODE portal.

The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project is in its third phase of creating a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome. This phase of the project includes an expansion of assays that measure diverse RNA populations, identify proteins that interact with RNA and DNA, probe regions of DNA hypersensitivity, and measure levels of DNA methylation in a wide range of cell and tissue types to identify putative regulatory elements. To date, results for almost 5000 experiments have been released for use by the scientific community.

DREADD-Induced Silencing of the Medial Olfactory Tubercle Disrupts the Preference of Female Mice for Opposite-Sex Chemosignals(1,2,3).

Attraction to opposite-sex pheromones during rodent courtship involves a pathway that includes inputs to the medial amygdala (Me) from the main and accessory olfactory bulbs, and projections from the Me to nuclei in the medial hypothalamus that control reproduction. However, the consideration of circuitry that attributes hedonic properties to opposite-sex odors has been lacking. The medial olfactory tubercle (mOT) has been implicated in the reinforcing effects of natural stimuli and drugs of abuse.

Providing Access to Genomic Variant Knowledge in a Healthcare Setting: A Vision for the ClinGen Electronic Health Records Workgroup.

The Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded collaborative program that brings together a variety of projects designed to provide high-quality, curated information on clinically relevant genes and variants. ClinGen's EHR (Electronic Health Record) Workgroup aims to ensure that ClinGen is accessible to providers and patients through EHR and related systems. This article describes the current scope of these efforts and progress to date.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor deletion in cerebellar granule neuron precursors impairs neurogenesis.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated member of the basic-helix-loop-helix/PER-ARNT-SIM(PAS) transcription factor superfamily that also mediates the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Increasing evidence suggests that AhR influences the development of many tissues, including the central nervous system. Our previous studies suggest that sustained AhR activation by TCDD and/or AhR deletion disrupts cerebellar granule neuron precursor (GNP) development.

Direct Detection Phenomenology in Models Where the Products of Dark Matter Annihilation Interact with Nuclei.

We investigate the direct detection phenomenology of a class of dark matter (DM) models in which DM does not directly interact with nuclei, but rather, the products of its annihilation do. When these annihilation products are very light compared to the DM mass, the scattering in direct detection experiments is controlled by relativistic kinematics. This results in a distinctive recoil spectrum, a nonstandard and/or even absent annual modulation, and the ability to probe DM masses as low as a ∼10  MeV.

Risk Factors Associated With Infant Deaths From Pertussis: A Case-Control Study.

Background: In the current era, most pertussis deaths occur in infants <3 months of age. Leukocytosis with lymphocytosis and pneumonia are commonly observed among cases of severe pertussis.

Methods: Risk factors associated with fatal pertussis were identified by comparing fatal pertussis cases among patients <120 days of age occurring from 1 January 1998 through 26 December 2014, matched by age (<120 days), county of residence, and closest symptom onset date with 1-4 nonfatal hospitalized cases.

Arctic cyclone water vapor isotopes support past sea ice retreat recorded in Greenland ice.

Rapid Arctic warming is associated with important water cycle changes: sea ice loss, increasing atmospheric humidity, permafrost thaw, and water-induced ecosystem changes. Understanding these complex modern processes is critical to interpreting past hydrologic changes preserved in paleoclimate records and predicting future Arctic changes. Cyclones are a prevalent Arctic feature and water vapor isotope ratios during these events provide insights into modern hydrologic processes that help explain past changes to the Arctic water cycle.

Can neural activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex predict responsiveness to information? An application to egg production systems and campaign advertising.

Consumers prefer to pay low prices and increase animal welfare; however consumers are typically forced to make tradeoffs between price and animal welfare. Campaign advertising (i.e.

Apples or candy? Internal and external influences on children's food choices.

The goal of this concise narrative review is to examine the current literature regarding endogenous and exogenous influences on youth food choices. Specifically, we discuss internal factors such as interoception (self-awareness) of pain and hunger, and neural mechanisms (neurofunctional aspects) of food motivation. We also explore external factors such as early life feeding experiences (including parenting), social influences (peers), and food marketing (advertising).

Neurofunctional correlates of ethical, food-related decision-making.

For consumers today, the perceived ethicality of a food's production method can be as important a purchasing consideration as its price. Still, few studies have examined how, neurofunctionally, consumers are making ethical, food-related decisions. We examined how consumers' ethical concern about a food's production method may relate to how, neurofunctionally, they make decisions whether to purchase that food.

AGAPE (Automated Genome Analysis PipelinE) for pan-genome analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The characterization and public release of genome sequences from thousands of organisms is expanding the scope for genetic variation studies. However, understanding the phenotypic consequences of genetic variation remains a challenge in eukaryotes due to the complexity of the genotype-phenotype map. One approach to this is the intensive study of model systems for which diverse sources of information can be accumulated and integrated.

Ontology application and use at the ENCODE DCC.

The Encyclopedia of DNA elements (ENCODE) project is an ongoing collaborative effort to create a catalog of genomic annotations. To date, the project has generated over 4000 experiments across more than 350 cell lines and tissues using a wide array of experimental techniques to study the chromatin structure, regulatory network and transcriptional landscape of the Homo sapiens and Mus musculus genomes. All ENCODE experimental data, metadata and associated computational analyses are submitted to the ENCODE Data Coordination Center (DCC) for validation, tracking, storage and distribution to community resources and the scientific community.

Serological misdiagnosis of acute liver failure associated with echovirus 25 due to immunological similarities to hepatitis A virus and prozone effect.

We describe a case of acute liver failure caused by echovirus 25 (E25) in a previously healthy 2-year-old boy. Initial serological studies were consistent with hepatitis A virus (HAV), with prozone phenomenon. The similarity of E25 to HAV may obscure accurate diagnosis in some cases of hepatitis.

RNAcentral: an international database of ncRNA sequences.

The field of non-coding RNA biology has been hampered by the lack of availability of a comprehensive, up-to-date collection of accessioned RNA sequences. Here we present the first release of RNAcentral, a database that collates and integrates information from an international consortium of established RNA sequence databases. The initial release contains over 8.

Decoding gene patents in Australia.

Patents directed to naturally occurring genetic material, such as DNA, RNA, chromosomes, and genes, in an isolated or purified form have been granted in Australia for many years. This review provides scientists with a summary of the gene patent debate from an Australian perspective and specifically reviews how the various levels of the legal system as they apply to patents-the Australian Patent Office, Australian courts, and Australian government-have dealt with the issue of whether genetic material is proper subject matter for a patent.

6-Hydroxydopamine lesions of the anteromedial ventral striatum impair opposite-sex urinary odor preference in female mice.

Rodents rely upon their olfactory modality to perceive opposite-sex pheromonal odors needed to motivate courtship behaviors. Volatile and nonvolatile components of pheromonal odors are processed by the main (MOS) and accessory olfactory system (AOS), respectively, with inputs converging in the medial amygdala (Me). The Me in turn targets the mesolimbic dopamine system, including the nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) and shell (AcbSh), the ventral pallidum (VP), medial olfactory tubercle (mOT) and ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Assays for the identification and prioritization of drug candidates for spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder resulting in degeneration of α-motor neurons of the anterior horn and proximal muscle weakness. It is the leading cause of genetic mortality in children younger than 2 years. It affects ∼1 in 11,000 live births.

H3K4me3 breadth is linked to cell identity and transcriptional consistency.

Trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me3) is a chromatin modification known to mark the transcription start sites of active genes. Here, we show that H3K4me3 domains that spread more broadly over genes in a given cell type preferentially mark genes that are essential for the identity and function of that cell type. Using the broadest H3K4me3 domains as a discovery tool in neural progenitor cells, we identify novel regulators of these cells.