Application and performance of a Low Power Wide Area Sensor Network for distributed remote hydrological measurements.

Communication distances of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are greatly limited in settings where vegetation coverage is moderate or dense, and power consumption can be an issue in remote environmental settings. A newer innovative technology called "Low Power Wide Area Sensor Networks" (LPWAN) is capable of greater communication distances while consuming less power than traditional WSNs. This research evaluates the design and in-field performance of a LPWAN configuration in headwater catchments to measure environmental variables.

Identifying transcript-level differential expression in primary human immune cells.

Background: Multipotential hematopoietic stem cells differentiate into a wide variety of immune cells with a diversity of functions, including the ability to respond to a variety of stimuli. Importantly, numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of gene transcription in defining cell identity and functions. While these studies have primarily been performed at the level of the gene, it is known that key immune genes such as CD44 and CD45 generate multiple different transcripts that are differentially expressed across different immune cells, and that encode proteins with different sequences and functions.

Prostaglandins and calprotectin are genetically and functionally linked to the Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Background: Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified and validated more than 200 genomic loci associated with the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), although for most the causal gene remains unknown. Given the importance of myeloid cells in IBD pathogenesis, the current study aimed to uncover the role of genes within IBD genetic loci that are endogenously expressed in this cell lineage.

Methods: The open reading frames (ORF) of 42 genes from IBD-associated loci were expressed via lentiviral transfer in the THP-1 model of human monocytes and the impact of each of these on the cell's transcriptome was analyzed using a RNA sequencing-based approach.

IBD-associated G protein-coupled receptor 65 variant compromises signalling and impairs key functions involved in inflammation.

Background And Aims: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) result in chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Genetic studies have shown that the GPR65 gene, as well as its missense coding variant, GPR65*Ile231Leu, is associated with IBD. We aimed to define the signalling and biological pathways downstream of GPR65 activation and evaluate the impact of GPR65*231Leu on these.

Functional screen of inflammatory bowel disease genes reveals key epithelial functions.

Background: Genetic studies have been tremendously successful in identifying genomic regions associated with a wide variety of phenotypes, although the success of these studies in identifying causal genes, their variants, and their functional impacts has been more limited.

Methods: We identified 145 genes from IBD-associated genomic loci having endogenous expression within the intestinal epithelial cell compartment. We evaluated the impact of lentiviral transfer of the open reading frame (ORF) of these IBD genes into the HT-29 intestinal epithelial cell line via transcriptomic analyses.