The effect of jaw suspension on cartilage strength in elasmobranchs.

The jaws and their supporting cartilages are tessellated in elasmobranchs and exhibit an abrupt increase in stiffness under compression. The major jaw-supporting cartilage, the hyomandibula, varies widely by shape and size and the extent of the load-bearing role is hypothesized to be inversely related to the number of craniopalatine articulations. Here, we test this hypothesis by evaluating the strength of the hyomandibular cartilage under compression in 13 species that represent all four jaw suspension systems in elasmobranchs (amphistyly, orbitostyly, hyostyly, and euhyostyly).

Non-canonical functions of UHRF1 maintain DNA methylation homeostasis in cancer cells.

DNA methylation is an essential epigenetic chromatin modification, and its maintenance in mammals requires the protein UHRF1. It is yet unclear if UHRF1 functions solely by stimulating DNA methylation maintenance by DNMT1, or if it has important additional functions. Using degron alleles, we show that UHRF1 depletion causes a much greater loss of DNA methylation than DNMT1 depletion.

A novel bioinformatic approach reveals cooperation between Cancer/Testis genes in basal-like breast tumors.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women worldwide. Within breast tumors, the basal-like subtype has the worst prognosis, prompting the need for new tools to understand, detect, and treat these tumors. Certain germline-restricted genes show aberrant expression in tumors and are known as Cancer/Testis genes; their misexpression has diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

The effect of tessellation on stiffness in the hyoid arch of elasmobranchs.

Tessellated cartilage forms much of the skeleton of sharks and rays, in contrast to most other aquatic vertebrates who possess a skeleton of bone. Interestingly, many species of sharks and rays also regularly generate exceptionally high forces in the execution of day-to-day activities, such as when feeding on bony fish, mammals, and hard-shelled invertebrates. Tessellated cartilage differs from other types of cartilage in that they are covered by an outer layer of small mineralized tiles (tesserae) that are connected by fibrous connective tissue.

Locus-level L1 DNA methylation profiling reveals the epigenetic and transcriptional interplay between L1s and their integration sites.

Long interspersed element 1 (L1) retrotransposons are implicated in human disease and evolution. Their global activity is repressed by DNA methylation, but deciphering the regulation of individual copies has been challenging. Here, we combine short- and long-read sequencing to unveil L1 methylation heterogeneity across cell types, families, and individual loci and elucidate key principles involved.

E4F1 and ZNF148 are transcriptional activators of the -57A > C and wild-type promoter.

Point mutations within the promoter are the most recurrent somatic noncoding mutations identified across different cancer types, including glioblastoma, melanoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and bladder cancer. They are most abundant at -146C > T and -124C > T, and rarer at -57A > C, with the latter originally described as a familial case, but subsequently shown also to occur somatically. All three mutations create de novo E26-specific (ETS) binding sites and result in activation of the gene, allowing cancer cells to achieve replicative immortality.

Bridging Total Force Fitness and Whole Health in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention.

Introduction: The Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention project is a VA-DoD initiative, supported by the Joint Incentive Fund. The goal of the project is to create an innovative, 3D virtual space within the VA-Virtual Medical Center (VA-VMC) platform that provides Veterans and Active Duty Service Members with educational resources on the prevention of CVD.

Materials And Methods: The Performance Health and Wellness Center is a new center within the VA-VMC.

A genetic screen identifies BEND3 as a regulator of bivalent gene expression and global DNA methylation.

Epigenetic mechanisms are essential to establish and safeguard cellular identities in mammals. They dynamically regulate the expression of genes, transposable elements and higher-order chromatin structures. Consequently, these chromatin marks are indispensable for mammalian development and alterations often lead to disease, such as cancer.

Effect of parabranchial position on ventilatory pressures in the Pacific spiny dogfish (Squalus suckleyi).

The mechanics of ventilation in elasmobranchs have been described as a two-pump system which is dependent on the generation of differential pressures between the orobranchial and parabranchial cavities. However, this general model does not take into account sources of variation in parabranchial form and function. For example, the relative pressures that drive flow in each parabranchial chamber during ventilation remain largely unexplored.

A genome-wide screen reveals new regulators of the 2-cell-like cell state.

In mammals, only the zygote and blastomeres of the early embryo are totipotent. This totipotency is mirrored in vitro by mouse '2-cell-like cells' (2CLCs), which appear at low frequency in cultures of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Because totipotency is not completely understood, we carried out a genome-wide CRISPR knockout screen in mouse ESCs, searching for mutants that reactivate the expression of Dazl, a gene expressed in 2CLCs.

Microbes in fingerprints: A source for dating crime evidence?

Interest in the human microbiome has grown in recent years because of increasing applications to biomedicine and forensic science. However, the potential for dating evidence at a crime scene based upon time-dependent changes in microbial signatures has not been established, despite a relatively straightforward scientific process for isolating the microbiome. We hypothesize that modifications in microbial diversity, abundance, and succession can provide estimates of the time a surface was touched for investigative purposes.

Unchanged PCNA and DNMT1 dynamics during replication in DNA ligase I-deficient cells but abnormal chromatin levels of non-replicative histone H1.

DNA ligase I (LigI), the predominant enzyme that joins Okazaki fragments, interacts with PCNA and Pol δ. LigI also interacts with UHRF1, linking Okazaki fragment joining with DNA maintenance methylation. Okazaki fragments can also be joined by a relatively poorly characterized DNA ligase IIIα (LigIIIα)-dependent backup pathway.

Characterization of aerosolized particles in effluents from carbon fibre composites incorporating nanomaterials during simultaneous fire and impact.

This work investigates the aerosols emitted from carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy composites (CFC) incorporating nanomaterials (nanoclays and nanotubes), subjected to simultaneous fire and impact, representing an aeroplane or automotive crash. Simultaneous fire and impact tests were performed using a previously described bespoke testing methodology with the capability to collect particles released from the front/back faces of the impacted composites plus the effluents. In this work the methodology has been further developed by connecting the Dekati Low Pressure Impactor (DLPI) and Mini Particle Sampler (MPS) sampling system in the extraction chimney.

Effect of Hygrothermal Ageing on the Mechanical and Fire Properties of a Flame Retardant Flax Fiber/Epoxy Composite.

In engineering applications, natural fiber composites must comply with fire requirements including the use of flame retardant. Furthermore, biocomposites are known to be water sensitive. Whether flame retardants affect the water sensitivity and whether water absorption affects the fire behavior and the mechanical performance of biocomposites are the two main topics addressed in this work.

Ecomechanics and the Rules of Life: a Critical Conduit Between the Physical and Natural Sciences.

Nature provides the parameters, or boundaries, within which organisms must cope in order to survive. Therefore, ecological conditions have an unequivocal influence on the ability of organisms to perform the necessary functions for survival. Biomechanics brings together physics and biology to understand how an organism will function under a suite of conditions.

Graphene oxide incorporating carbon fibre-reinforced composites submitted to simultaneous impact and fire: Physicochemical characterisation and toxicology of the by-products.

The toxicological profile of particulates released from carbon fibre-reinforced composites (CFC) incorporating nanoadditives, under impact and fire conditions (e.g. aircraft crash), is unknown to date.

DNA methylation atlas and machinery in the developing and regenerating annelid Platynereis dumerilii.

Background: Methylation of cytosines in DNA (5mC methylation) is a major epigenetic modification that modulates gene expression and constitutes the basis for mechanisms regulating multiple aspects of embryonic development and cell reprogramming in vertebrates. In mammals, 5mC methylation of promoter regions is linked to transcriptional repression. Transcription regulation by 5mC methylation notably involves the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase complex (NuRD complex) which bridges DNA methylation and histone modifications.

Linking ecomechanical models and functional traits to understand phenotypic diversity.

Physical principles and laws determine the set of possible organismal phenotypes. Constraints arising from development, the environment, and evolutionary history then yield workable, integrated phenotypes. We propose a theoretical and practical framework that considers the role of changing environments.

New Biosourced Flame Retardant Agents Based on Gallic and Ellagic Acids for Epoxy Resins.

The aim of this work was an investigation of the ability of gallic (GA) and ellagic (EA) acids, which are phenolic compounds encountered in various plants, to act as flame retardants (FRs) for epoxy resins. In order to improve their fireproofing properties, GA and EA were treated with boric acid (to obtain gallic acid derivatives (GAD) and ellagic acid derivatives (EAD)) to introduce borate ester moieties. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) highlighted the good charring ability of GA and EA, which was enhanced by boration.

Extreme premaxillary protrusion in the king-of-the-salmon, Trachipterus altivelis.

The king-of-the-salmon, Trachipterus altivelis (Lampriformes), has an unusual set of oral jaws which allow it the ability to protrude the entire upper jaw, containing the premaxilla and the maxilla bones, to extreme distances. Here, we provide a short description of the cranial anatomy and mechanism of jaw protrusion in T. altivelis using hand-drawn illustrations (by KF), supplemented by CT-scans.

Lysine Methylation Regulators Moonlighting outside the Epigenome.

Landmark discoveries made nearly two decades ago identified known transcriptional regulators as histone lysine methyltransferases. Since then, the field of lysine methylation signaling has been dominated by studies of how this small chemical posttranslational modification regulates gene expression and other chromatin-based processes. However, recent advances in mass-spectrometry-based proteomics have revealed that histones are just a subset of the thousands of eukaryotic proteins marked by lysine methylation.

REPLATINUM Phase III randomized study: RRx-001 + platinum doublet versus platinum doublet in third-line small cell lung cancer.

RRx-001 is a cysteine-directed anticancer alkylating agent with activity in a Phase II study in platinum refractory small cell lung cancer. Here, we describe the design of REPLATINUM, an open-label, Phase III trial. 120 patients with previously platinum-treated small cell lung cancer in third line will be randomized 1:1 to receive RRx-001 followed by four cycles of a platinum doublet, and then alternating cycles of RRx-001 and single agent platinum until progression versus four cycles of a platinum doublet.

Lignin Nanoparticles as A Promising Way for Enhancing Lignin Flame Retardant Effect in Polylactide.

The present study investigates the effect of using lignin at nanoscale as new flame-retardant additive for polylactide (PLA). Lignin nanoparticles (LNP) were prepared from Kraft lignin microparticles (LMP) through a dissolution-precipitation process. Both micro and nano lignins were functionalized using diethyl chlorophosphate (LMP-diEtP and LNP-diEtP, respectively) and diethyl (2-(triethoxysilyl)ethyl) phosphonate (LMP-SiP and LNP-SiP, respectively) to enhance their flame-retardant effect in PLA.

Some Key Factors Influencing the Flame Retardancy of EDA-DOPO Containing Flexible Polyurethane Foams.

The role of various additives (emulsifier, anti-dripping agent) and formulation procedures (pre-dispersion of solid additives in polyol via milling) which influence the flame retardancy of 6,6'-[ethan-1,2-diylbis(azandiyl)]bis(6H-dibenzo[c,e][1,2]oxaphosphin-6-oxid) (EDA-DOPO) containing flexible polyurethane foams has been investigated in this work. For comparison, the flame retardancy of two additional structurally-analogous bridged 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO)-based compounds, i.e.