For over a century the relationships between the four major groups of the phylum Arthropoda (Chelicerata, Crustacea, Hexapoda and Myriapoda) have been debated. Recent molecular evidence has confirmed a close relationship between the Crustacea and the Hexapoda, and has included the suggestion of a paraphyletic Hexapoda. To test this hypothesis we have sequenced the complete or near-complete mitochondrial genomes of three crustaceans (Parhyale hawaiensis, Squilla mantis and Triops longicaudatus), two collembolans (Onychiurus orientalis and Podura aquatica) and the insect Thermobia domestica. We observed rearrangement of transfer RNA genes only in O. orientalis, P. aquatica and P. hawaiensis. Of these, only the rearrangement in O. orientalis, an apparent autapomorphy for the collembolan family Onychiuridae, was phylogenetically informative.We aligned the nuclear and amino acid sequences from the mitochondrial protein-encoding genes of these taxa with their homologues from other arthropod taxa for phylogenetic analysis. Our dataset contains many more Crustacea than previous molecular phylogenetic analyses of the arthropods. Neighbourjoining, maximum-likelihood and Bayesian posterior probabilities all suggest that crustaceans and hexapods are mutually paraphyletic. A crustacean clade of Malacostraca and Branchiopoda emerges as sister to the Insecta sensu stricto and the Collembola group with the maxillopod crustaceans. Some, but not all, analyses strongly support this mutual paraphyly but statistical tests do not reject the null hypotheses of a monophyletic Hexapoda or a monophyletic Crustacea. The dual monophyly of the Hexapoda and Crustacea has rarely been questioned in recent years but the idea of both groups' paraphyly dates back to the nineteenth century. We suggest that the mutual paraphyly of both groups should seriously be considered.

Public data archives are the backbone of modern biological research. Biomolecular archives are well established, but bioimaging resources lag behind them. The technology required for imaging archives is now available, thus enabling the creation of the first public bioimage datasets. We present the rationale for the construction of bioimage archives and their associated databases to underpin the next revolution in bioinformatics discovery.

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Retinoids are signaling molecules that are involved in proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis during development. Retinoids exert their effects, in part, by binding to nuclear receptors, thereby altering gene expression. Clinical use of retinoids in the treatment of neuroblastoma is of interest due to their success in management of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Using the SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma cell line we investigated the effect of the differentiation agent, all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) on manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) expression, an enzyme previously shown to enhance differentiation in vitro. Manganese superoxide dismutase mRNA, protein and activity levels increased in a time dependent manner upon treatment with ATRA. Nuclear levels of the NFκB proteins, p50 and p65, increased within 24 h of ATRA administration. This increase paralleled the degradation of the cytoplasmic inhibitor, IκB-β. Furthermore an increase in DNA binding activity to a NFκB element occurred within a 342 base pair enhancer (I2E) of the SOD2 gene with 10 μM ATRA treatment. Reporter analysis showed that ATRA-mediated I2E dependent luciferase expression was attenuated upon mutation of the NFκB element, suggesting a contribution of this transcription factor in retinoid-mediated upregulation of MnSOD. This study identifies SOD2 to be a retinoid responsive gene and demonstrates activation of the NFκB pathway in response to ATRA treatment of SK-N-SH cells. These results suggest signaling events involving NFκB and SOD2 may contribute to the effects of retinoids used in cancer therapy.

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Radiocarbon (14C) accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating has played a significant role towards improving our understanding of the timing of events and rates of change in archaeological and environmental records over the last 50 000 years. Although it is not always possible to find suitable macrofossils for 14C dating, microfossils, notably plant pollen, are a viable alternative. Obtaining preserved pollen samples of known provenance and of sufficient quantity for dating by 14C AMS is, however, challenging because of time‐consuming methods of extraction and purification and possible contamination from other organic material. Here we report a new, rapid and straightforward method using flow cytometry (FCM) to distinguish, sort and collect sufficient quantities of fossil pollen with minimal contamination from lake sediments for radiocarbon dating. Using this approach, we demonstrate 14C AMS ages that date back to at least 40 ka BP. While future work may be required to refine purification methodologies for different sample types and to precisely quantify the dating limit of this approach, FCM dating of microfossils shows considerable promise in generating robust geochronological frameworks for sequences that have previously proved problematic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Endometriosis is a disease characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and is associated with chronic pelvic pain. Peritoneal fluid (PF) of women with endometriosis is a dynamic milieu, rich in inflammatory markers and pain-inducing prostaglandins PGE2/PGF2α and lipid peroxides, and the endometriotic tissue is innervated with nociceptors. Our clinical study showed the abundance of oxidatively-modified lipoproteins in the PF of women with endometriosis and the ability of antioxidant supplementation to alleviate endometriosis-associated pain. We hypothesized that oxidatively-modified lipoproteins present in the PF are the major source of nociceptive molecules that play a key role in endometriosis-associated pain. In this study, PF obtained from women with endometriosis or control women were used for (i) the detection of lipoprotein derived oxidation-sensitive pain molecules, (ii) the ability of such molecules to induce nociception, and (iii) the ability of antioxidants to suppress this nociception. LC-MS/MS showed the generation of eicosanoids by oxidized-lipoproteins similar to that seen in the PF. The oxidatively-modified lipoproteins induced hypothermia (intra-cerebroventricular) in CD-1 mice and nociception in the Hargreaves paw-withdrawal latency assay in Sprague-Dawley rats. Antioxidants, vitamin-E and N-acetylcysteine and the NSAID, indomethacin suppressed the pain inducing ability of oxidatively-modified lipoproteins. Treatment of human endometrial cells with oxidatively-modified lipoproteins or PF from women with endometriosis showed up-regulation of similar genes belonging to the opioid and inflammatory pathways. Our finding that oxidatively-modified lipoproteins can induce nociception has a broader impact not only in the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain but also in other diseases associated with chronic pain.