Remote sensing of ice albedo using harmonized Landsat and Sentinel 2 datasets: validation.

Albedo plays a key role in regulating the absorption of solar radiation within ice surfaces and hence strongly regulates the production of meltwater. A combination of Landsat and Sentinel 2 data provides the longest continuous medium resolution (10-30 m) earth surface observatory records. An albedo product (harmonized satellite albedo, hereafter HSA) has already been developed and validated for the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), using harmonized Landsat 4-8 and Sentinel 2 datasets.

Engineered vascular grafts lend unique insight to pathophysiology of aortic aneurysms.

Yang et al. generate tissue engineered blood vessels from hiPSC-derived smooth muscle cells harboring a mutation found in Loeys-Dietz syndrome. In vitro and in vivo data from these vessels provide new insight into the molecular physiology of aortic aneurysms and may create a paradigm for understanding a suite of vascular diseases.

Emerging effects of temperature on human cognition, affect, and behaviour.

Human body core temperature is tightly regulated within approximately 37 °C. Global near surface temperature has increased by over 1.2 °C between 1850 and 2020.

Revealing four decades of snow cover dynamics in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

Knowledge about the distribution and dynamics of seasonal snow cover (SSC) is of high importance for climate studies, hydrology or hazards assessment. SSC varies considerably across the Hindu Kush Himalaya both in space and time. Previous studies focused on regional investigations or the influence of snow melt on the local hydrological system.

Bioengineering Human Tissues and the Future of Vascular Replacement.

Cardiovascular defects, injuries, and degenerative diseases often require surgical intervention and the use of implantable replacement material and conduits. Traditional vascular grafts made of synthetic polymers, animal and cadaveric tissues, or autologous vasculature have been utilized for almost a century with well-characterized outcomes, leaving areas of unmet need for the patients in terms of durability and long-term patency, susceptibility to infection, immunogenicity associated with the risk of rejection, and inflammation and mechanical failure. Research to address these limitations is exploring avenues as diverse as gene therapy, cell therapy, cell reprogramming, and bioengineering of human tissue and replacement organs.

Anthropogenic influence on surface changes at the Olivares glaciers; Central Chile.

We have investigated the source and role of light-absorbing impurities (LAIs) deposited on the glaciers of the Olivares catchment, in Central Chile. LAIs can considerably darken (lowered albedo) the glacier surface, enhancing their melt. We combined chemical and mineralogical laboratory analyses of surface and ice core samples with field-based spectral reflectance measurements to investigate the nature and properties of such LAIs.

Hot Spots of Glacier Mass Balance Variability in Central Asia.

The Tien Shan and Pamir mountains host over 28,000 glaciers providing essential water resources for increasing water demand in Central Asia. A disequilibrium between glaciers and climate affects meltwater release to Central Asian rivers, challenging the region's water availability. Previous research has neglected temporal variability.

Storage and export of microbial biomass across the western Greenland Ice Sheet.

The Greenland Ice Sheet harbours a wealth of microbial life, yet the total biomass stored or exported from its surface to downstream environments is unconstrained. Here, we quantify microbial abundance and cellular biomass flux within the near-surface weathering crust photic zone of the western sector of the ice sheet. Using groundwater techniques, we demonstrate that interstitial water flow is slow (~10 m d), while flow cytometry enumeration reveals this pathway delivers 5 × 10 cells m d to supraglacial streams, equivalent to a carbon flux up to 250 g km d.

Confirmation of COL4A6 variants in X-linked nonsyndromic hearing loss and its clinical implications.

Hearing loss (HL) is one of the most common sensory defects, of which X-linked nonsyndromic hearing loss (NSHL) accounts for only 1-2%. While a COL4A6 variant has been reported in a single Hungarian family with NSHL associated with inner ear malformation, causative role of COL4A6 variants and their phenotypic consequences in NSHL remain elusive. Here we report two families in which we identified a male member with X-linked HL.

Synthetic Biology Category Wins the 350th Anniversary Merck Innovation Cup.

Over the past 350 years, Merck has developed science and technology especially in health care, life sciences, and performance materials. To celebrate so many productive years, Merck conducted a special expanded anniversary edition of the Innovation Cup in combination with the scientific conference Curious2018 - Future Insight in Darmstadt, Germany.

Design of a Cyclin G Associated Kinase (GAK)/Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Inhibitor Set to Interrogate the Relationship of EGFR and GAK in Chordoma.

We describe the design of a set of inhibitors to investigate the relationship between cyclin G associated kinase (GAK) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in chordoma bone cancers. These compounds were characterized both in vitro and using in cell target engagement assays. The most potent chordoma inhibitors were further characterized in a kinome-wide screen demonstrating narrow spectrum profiles.

Cell Invasion In Vivo via Rapid Exocytosis of a Transient Lysosome-Derived Membrane Domain.

Invasive cells use small invadopodia to breach basement membrane (BM), a dense matrix that encases tissues. Following the breach, a large protrusion forms to clear a path for tissue entry by poorly understood mechanisms. Using RNAi screening for defects in Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell (AC) invasion, we found that UNC-6(netrin)/UNC-40(DCC) signaling at the BM breach site directs exocytosis of lysosomes using the exocyst and SNARE SNAP-29 to form a large protrusion that invades vulval tissue.

A Sensitized Screen for Genes Promoting Invadopodia Function In Vivo: CDC-42 and Rab GDI-1 Direct Distinct Aspects of Invadopodia Formation.

Invadopodia are specialized membrane protrusions composed of F-actin, actin regulators, signaling proteins, and a dynamically trafficked invadopodial membrane that drive cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) barriers in development and cancer. Due to the challenges of studying invasion in vivo, mechanisms controlling invadopodia formation in their native environments remain poorly understood. We performed a sensitized genome-wide RNAi screen and identified 13 potential regulators of invadopodia during anchor cell (AC) invasion into the vulval epithelium in C.

UNC-6 (netrin) stabilizes oscillatory clustering of the UNC-40 (DCC) receptor to orient polarity.

The receptor deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) directs dynamic polarizing activities in animals toward its extracellular ligand netrin. How DCC polarizes toward netrin is poorly understood. By performing live-cell imaging of the DCC orthologue UNC-40 during anchor cell invasion in Caenorhabditis elegans, we have found that UNC-40 clusters, recruits F-actin effectors, and generates F-actin in the absence of UNC-6 (netrin).

ADF/cofilin promotes invadopodial membrane recycling during cell invasion in vivo.

Invadopodia are protrusive, F-actin-driven membrane structures that are thought to mediate basement membrane transmigration during development and tumor dissemination. An understanding of the mechanisms regulating invadopodia has been hindered by the difficulty of examining these dynamic structures in native environments. Using an RNAi screen and live-cell imaging of anchor cell (AC) invasion in Caenorhabditis elegans, we have identified UNC-60A (ADF/cofilin) as an essential regulator of invadopodia.

Effects of milnacipran on cognitive flexibility following chronic stress in rats.

Cognitive dysfunction is a component of affective disorders, including depression. Chronic stress is a risk factor for depression, and we have shown that exposing rats to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) induces a deficit of cognitive flexibility, the ability to modify behavior based on feedback from a changing environment. Deficits of cognitive flexibility, measured by extra-dimensional set-shifting on the Attentional Set-shifting Test (AST), are consistent with dysregulation of prefrontal cortical function, also characteristic of depression.

A unique histone deacetylase inhibitor alters microRNA expression and signal transduction in chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells.

Previously, we demonstrated potent antineoplastic activity of a distinctive histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI), AR42, against chemoresistant CP70 ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Here, in follow-up to that work, we explored AR42 global mechanisms-of-action by examining drug-associated, genome-wide microRNA and mRNA expression profiles, which differed from those of the well-studied HDACI vorinostat. Expression of microRNA genes in negative correlation with their "target" coding gene (mRNA) transcripts, and transcription factor genes with expression positively correlated with coding genes having their cognate binding sites, were identified and subjected to gene ontology analyses.