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The first measurement of jet shapes, defined as the fractional transverse momentum radial distribution, for inclusive jets produced in heavy-ion collisions is presented. Data samples of PbPb and pp collisions, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 150 mu b(-1) and 5.3 pb(-1) respectively, were collected at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The jets are reconstructed with the anti-k(T) algorithm with a distance parameter R = 0.3, and the jet shapes are measured for charged particles with transverse momentum P-T > 1 GeV/c. The jet shapes measured in PbPb collisions in different collision centralities are compared to reference distributions based on the pp data. A centrality-dependent modification of the jet shapes is observed in the more central PbPb collisions, indicating a redistribution of the energy inside the jet cone. This measurement provides information about the parton shower mechanism in the hot and dense medium produced in heavy-ion collisions. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Mechanosensitive ion channels underlie neuronal responses to physical forces in the sensation of touch, hearing, and other mechanical stimuli. The fundamental basis of force transduction in eukaryotic mechanosensitive ion channels is unknown. Are mechanical forces transmitted directly from membrane to channel as in prokaryotic mechanosensors or are they mediated through macromolecular tethers attached to the channel? Here we show in cells that the K+ channel TRAAK (K2P4.1) is responsive to mechanical forces similar to the ion channel Piezo1 and that mechanical activation of TRAAK can electrically counter Piezo1 activation. We then show that the biophysical origins of force transduction in TRAAK and TREK1 (K2P2.1) two-pore domain K+ (K2P) channels come from the lipid membrane, not from attached tethers. These findings extend the "force-from-lipid" principle established for prokaryotic mechanosensitive channels MscL and MscS to these eukaryotic mechanosensitive K+ channels.

The transcription factors c-Myc and N-Myc-encoded by Myc and Mycn, respectively-regulate cellular growth(1) and are required for embryonic development(2,3). A third paralogue, Mycl1, is dispensable for normal embryonic development but its biological function has remained unclear(4). To examine the in vivo function of Mycl1 in mice, we generated an inactivating Mycl1(gfp) allele that also reports Mycl1 expression. We find that Mycl1 is selectively expressed in dendritic cells (DCs) of the immune system and controlled by IRF8, and that during DC development, Mycl1 expression is initiated in the common DC progenitor(5) concurrent with reduction in c-Myc expression. Mature DCs lack expression of c-Myc and N-Myc but maintain L-Myc expression even in the presence of inflammatory signals such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. All DC subsets develop in Mycl1-deficient mice, but some subsets such as migratory CD103(+) conventional DCs in the lung and liver are greatly reduced at steady state. Importantly, loss of L-Myc by DCs causes a significant decrease in in vivo T-cell priming during infection by Listeria monocytogenes and vesicular stomatitis virus. The replacement of c-Myc by L-Myc in immature DCs may provide for Myc transcriptional activity in the setting of inflammation that is required for optimal T-cell priming(6).

Correlation between gut microbiota and host phylogeny could reflect codiversification over shared evolutionary history or a selective environment that is more similar in related hosts. These alternatives imply substantial differences in the relationship between host and symbiont, but can they be distinguished based on patterns in the community data themselves? We explored patterns of phylogenetic correlation in the distribution of gut bacteria among species of turtle ants (genus Cephalotes), which host a dense gut microbial community. We used 16S rRNA pyrosequencing from 25 Cephalotes species to show that their gut community is remarkably stable, from the colony to the genus level. Despite this overall similarity, the existing differences among species' microbiota significantly correlated with host phylogeny. We introduced a novel analytical technique to test whether these phylogenetic correlations are derived from recent bacterial evolution, as would be expected in the case of codiversification, or from broader shifts more likely to reflect environmental filters imposed by factors such as diet or habitat. We also tested this technique on a published data set of ape microbiota, confirming earlier results while revealing previously undescribed patterns of phylogenetic correlation. Our results indicated a high degree of partner fidelity in the Cephalotes microbiota, suggesting that vertical transmission of the entire community could play an important role in the evolution and maintenance of the association. As additional comparative microbiota data become available, the techniques presented here can be used to explore trends in the evolution of host-associated microbial communities.

A search for three-jet hadronic resonance production in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV has been conducted by the CMS Collaboration at the LHC with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 fb(-1). The search method is model independent, and events are selected that have high jet multiplicity and large values of jet transverse momenta. The signal models explored assume R-parity-violating supersymmetric gluino pair production and have final states with either only light-flavour jets or both light- and heavy-flavour jets. No significant deviation is found between the selected events and the expected standard model multijet and t (t) over bar background. For a gluino decaying into light-flavour jets, a lower limit of 650 GeV on the gluino mass is set at a 95% confidence level, and for a gluino decaying into one heavy- and two light-flavour jets, gluino masses between 200 and 835 GeV are, for the first time, likewise excluded. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

The RNA binding proteins Rbfox1/2/3 regulate alternative splicing in the nervous system, and disruption of Rbfox1 has been implicated in autism. However, comprehensive identification of functional Rbfox targets has been challenging. Here, we perform HITS-CLIP for all three Rbfox family members in order to globally map, at a single-nucleotide resolution, their in vivo RNA interaction sites in the mouse brain. We find that the two guanines in the Rbfox binding motif UGCAUG are critical for protein-RNA interactions and crosslinking. Using integrative modeling, these interaction sites, combined with additional datasets, define 1,059 direct Rbfox target alternative splicing events. Over half of the quantifiable targets show dynamic changes during brain development. Of particular interest are 111 events from 48 candidate autism-susceptibility genes, including syndromic autism genes Shank3, Cacna1c, and Tsc2. Alteration of Rbfox targets in some autistic brains is correlated with downregulation of all three Rbfox proteins, supporting the potential clinical relevance of the splicing-regulatory network.

Staphylococcus aureus virulence is regulated when secreted autoinducing peptides (AIPs) are recognized by a membrane-bound receptor histidine kinase (RHK), AgrC. Some AIPs are agonists of virulence gene expression, while others are antagonists. It is unclear how AIP binding regulates AgrC activity. Here, we reconstitute an AgrC family member, AgrC-I, using nanometer-scale lipid bilayer discs. We show that AgrC-I requires membranes rich in anionic lipids to function. The agonist, AIP-I, binds AgrC-I noncooperatively in a 2: 2 stoichiometry, while an antagonist ligand, AIP-II, functions as an inverse agonist of the kinase activity. We also demonstrate the kinase and sensor domains in AgrC are connected by a helical linker whose conformational state exercises rheostat-like control over the kinase activity. Binding of agonist or inverse-agonist peptides results in twisting of the linker in different directions. These two observations provide a view of the molecular motions triggered by ligand binding in an intact membrane-bound RHK.

Although the safety and efficacy of tricaine methanesulfonate (MS222) for anesthesia of fish are well established, other anesthetics used less commonly in fish have been less extensively evaluated. Therefore, we compared gradual cooling, lidocaine hydrochloride (300, 325, and 350 mg/L), metomidate hydrochloride (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mg/L), and isoflurane (0.5 mL/L) with MS222 (150 mg/L) for anesthesia of adult zebrafish. The efficacy and safety of each agent was evaluated by observing loss of equilibrium, slowing of opercular movement, response to tail-fin pinch, recovery time, and anesthesia-associated mortality rates. At 15 min after anesthetic recovery, we used a novel-tank test to evaluate whether anesthetic exposure influenced short-term anxiety-like behavior. Behavioral parameters measured included latency to enter and number of transitions to the upper half of the tank, number of erratic movements, and number of freezing bouts. Behavior after anesthesia was unaltered regardless of the anesthetic used. Efficacy and safety differed among the anesthetics evaluated. Gradual cooling was useful for short procedures requiring immobilization only, but all instrumentation and surfaces that come in contact with fish must be maintained at approximately 10 C. MS222 and lidocaine hydrochloride at 325 mg/L were effective as anesthetic agents for surgical procedures in adult zebrafish, but isoflurane and high-dose lidocaine hydrochloride were unsuitable as sole anesthetic agents due to high (30%) mortality rates. Although MS222 remains the best choice for generating a surgical plane of anesthesia, metomidate hydrochloride and gradual cooling were useful for sedation and immobilization for nonpainful procedures.

Background: Guidance molecules are normally presented to cells in an overlapping fashion; however, little is known about how their signals are integrated to control the formation of neural circuits. In the thalamocortical system, the topographical sorting of distinct axonal subpopulations relies on the emergent cooperation between Slit1 and Netrin-1 guidance cues presented by intermediate cellular targets. However, the mechanism by which both cues interact to drive distinct axonal responses remains unknown. Results: Here, we show that the attractive response to the guidance cue Netrin-1 is controlled by Slit/Robo1 signaling and by FLRT3, a novel coreceptor for Robo1. While thalamic axons lacking FLRT3 are insensitive to Netrin-1, thalamic axons containing FLRT3 can modulate their Netrin-1 responsiveness in a context-dependent manner. In the presence of Slit1, both Robo1 and FLRT3 receptors are required to induce Netrin-1 attraction by the upregulation of surface DCC through the activation of protein kinase A. Finally, the absence of FLRT3 produces defects in axon guidance in vivo. Conclusions: These results highlight a novel mechanism by which interactions between limited numbers of axon guidance cues can multiply the responses in developing axons, as required for proper axonal tract formation in the mammalian brain.

We developed a strategy for creating epitope maps of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bind to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) containing photo-cross-linkers. Using human CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) as a model system, we genetically incorporated the photolabile unnatural amino acid p-azido-L-phenylalanine (azF) at various positions within extracellular loop 2 (EC2). We then mapped the interactions of the azF-CXCR4 variants with mAb 12G5 using targeted loss-of-function studies and photo-cross-linking in whole cells in a microplate-based format. We used a novel variation of a whole cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantitate cross-linking efficiency. 12G5 cross-linked primarily to residues 184, 178, and 189 in EC2 of CXCR4. Mapping of the data to the crystal structure of CXCR4 showed a distinct mAb epitope footprint with the photo-cross-linked residues clustered around the loss-of-function sites. We also used the targeted photo-cross-linking approach to study the interaction of human CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) with PRO 140, a humanized mAb that inhibits human immunodeficiency virus-1 cellular entry, and 2D7. The mAbs produced distinct cross-linking patterns on EC2 of CCR5. PRO 140 cross-linked primarily to residues 174 and 175 at the aminoterminal end of EC2, and 2D7 cross-linked mainly to residues 170, 176, and 184. These results were mapped to the recent crystal structure of CCR5 in complex with maraviroc, showing cross-linked residues at the tip of the maraviroc binding crevice formed by EC2. As a strategy for mapping mAb epitopes on GPCRs, our targeted photo-cross-linking method is complementary to loss-of-function mutagenesis results and should be especially useful for studying mAbs with discontinuous epitopes.