A resonant sextuplet of sub-Neptunes transiting the bright star HD 110067

Planets with radii between that of the Earth and Neptune (hereafter referred to as 'sub-Neptunes') are found in close-in orbits around more than half of all Sun-like stars1,2. However, their composition, formation and evolution remain poorly understood3. The study of multiplanetary systems offers an opportunity to investigate the outcomes of planet formation and evolution while controlling for initial conditions and environment. Those in resonance (with their orbital periods related by a ratio of small integers) are particularly valuable because they imply a system architecture practically unchanged since its birth. Here we present the observations of six transiting planets around the bright nearby star HD 110067. We find that the planets follow a chain of resonant orbits. A dynamical study of the innermost planet triplet allowed the prediction and later confirmation of the orbits of the rest of the planets in the system. The six planets are found to be sub-Neptunes with radii ranging from 1.94R⊕ to 2.85R⊕. Three of the planets have measured masses, yielding low bulk densities that suggest the presence of large hydrogen-dominated atmospheres.

A novel sequencing-based vaginal health assay combining self-sampling, HPV detection and genotyping, STI detection, and vaginal microbiome analysis

The composition of the vaginal microbiome, including both the presence of pathogens involved in sexually transmitted infections (STI) as well as commensal microbiota, has been shown to have important associations for a woman's reproductive and general health. Currently, healthcare providers cannot offer comprehensive vaginal microbiome screening, but are limited to the detection of individual pathogens, such as high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), the predominant cause of cervical cancer. There is no single test on the market that combines HPV, STI, and microbiome screening. Here, we describe a novel inclusive vaginal health assay that combines self-sampling with sequencing-based HPV detection and genotyping, vaginal microbiome analysis, and STI-associated pathogen detection. The assay includes genotyping and detection of 14 hrHPV types, 5 low-risk HPV types (lrHPV), as well as the relative abundance of 31 bacterial taxa of clinical importance, including Lactobacillus, Sneathia, Gardnerella, and 3 pathogens involved in STI, with high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility. For each of these taxa, reference ranges were determined in a group of 50 self-reported healthy women. The HPV sequencing portion of the test was evaluated against the digene High-Risk HPV HC2 DNA test. For hrHPV genotyping, agreement was 95.3% with a kappa of 0.804 (601 samples); after removal of samples in which the digene hrHPV probe showed cross-reactivity with lrHPV types, the sensitivity and specificity of the hrHPV genotyping assay were 94.5% and 96.6%, respectively, with a kappa of 0.841. For lrHPV genotyping, agreement was 93.9% with a kappa of 0.788 (148 samples), while sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 92.9%, respectively. This novel assay could be used to complement conventional cervical cancer screening, because its self-sampling format can expand access among women who would otherwise not participate, and because of its additional information about the composition of the vaginal microbiome and the presence of pathogens.

A dust-enshrouded tidal disruption event with a resolved radio jet in a galaxy merger

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) are transient flares produced when a star is ripped apart by the gravitational field of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). We have observed a transient source in the western nucleus of the merging galaxy pair Arp 299 that radiated >1.5 × 10⁵² erg at infrared and radio wavelengths but was not luminous at optical or x-ray wavelengths. We interpret this as a TDE with much of its emission reradiated at infrared wavelengths by dust. Efficient reprocessing by dense gas and dust may explain the difference between theoretical predictions and observed luminosities of TDEs. The radio observations resolve an expanding and decelerating jet, probing the jet formation and evolution around a SMBH.

Self-Sampling for Human Papillomavirus Testing: Increased Cervical Cancer Screening Participation and Incorporation in International Screening Programs

In most industrialized countries, screening programs for cervical cancer have shifted from cytology (Pap smear or ThinPrep) alone on clinician-obtained samples to the addition of screening for human papillomavirus (HPV), its main causative agent. For HPV testing, self-sampling instead of clinician-sampling has proven to be equally accurate, in particular for assays that use nucleic acid amplification techniques. In addition, HPV testing of self-collected samples in combination with a follow-up Pap smear in case of a positive result is more effective in detecting precancerous lesions than a Pap smear alone. Self-sampling for HPV testing has already been adopted by some countries, while others have started trials to evaluate its incorporation into national cervical cancer screening programs. Self-sampling may result in more individuals willing to participate in cervical cancer screening, because it removes many of the barriers that prevent women, especially those in low socioeconomic and minority populations, from participating in regular screening programs. Several studies have shown that the majority of women who have been underscreened but who tested HPV-positive in a self-obtained sample will visit a clinic for follow-up diagnosis and management. In addition, a self-collected sample can also be used for vaginal microbiome analysis, which can provide additional information about HPV infection persistence as well as vaginal health in general.

Astronomical algorithms for automated analysis of tissue protein expression in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

High-throughput evaluation of tissue biomarkers in oncology has been greatly accelerated by the widespread use of tissue microarrays (TMAs) and immunohistochemistry. Although TMAs have the potential to facilitate protein expression profiling on a scale to rival experiments of tumour transcriptomes, the bottleneck and imprecision of manually scoring TMAs has impeded progress.

METHODS

We report image analysis algorithms adapted from astronomy for the precise automated analysis of IHC in all subcellular compartments. The power of this technique is demonstrated using over 2000 breast tumours and comparing quantitative automated scores against manual assessment by pathologists.

RESULTS

All continuous automated scores showed good correlation with their corresponding ordinal manual scores. For oestrogen receptor (ER), the correlation was 0.82, P<0.0001, for BCL2 0.72, P<0.0001 and for HER2 0.62, P<0.0001. Automated scores showed excellent concordance with manual scores for the unsupervised assignment of cases to 'positive' or 'negative' categories with agreement rates of up to 96%.

CONCLUSION

The adaptation of astronomical algorithms coupled with their application to large annotated study cohorts, constitutes a powerful tool for the realisation of the enormous potential of digital pathology.

PathGrid: a service-orientated architecture for microscopy image analysis

This paper describes 'PathGrid'--an analysis and data integration system, developed initially to meet the demands in the analysis of medical microscopy imaging data. An overview of the current system is given, describing the techniques used in developing the data handling infrastructure and the analysis algorithm development. The use of software created in the context of systems designed for the astronomy domain is noted, specifically infrastructure from the astronomy virtual observatory movement for data discovery, access and workflow management, and astronomical image analysis software adapted for the analysis of high-throughput astronomy imaging surveys. This paper notes the applicability of the techniques from the astronomy domain. The testbed infrastructure deployment is described, emphasizing its speed and ease of use and support. The validity of the analysis techniques is confirmed through the pilot study described here--with the application to a large sample of immunohistochemistry microscopy data obtained in part for assessing the oestrogen receptor status of breast cancers. The analysis showed that the specificity and sensitivity values for the automatic scoring using PathGrid were within the errors of those obtained via a 'gold standard' manual pathologist scoring.

Specific tumor suppressor function for E2F2 in Myc-induced T cell lymphomagenesis

Deregulation of the Myc pathway and deregulation of the Rb pathway are two of the most common abnormalities in human malignancies. Recent in vitro experiments suggest a complex cross-regulatory relationship between Myc and Rb that is mediated through the control of E2F. To evaluate the functional connection between Myc and E2Fs in vivo, we used a bitransgenic mouse model of Myc-induced T cell lymphomagenesis and analyzed tumor progression in mice deficient for E2f1, E2f2, or E2f3. Whereas the targeted inactivation of E2f1 or E2f3 had no significant effect on tumor progression, loss of E2f2 accelerated lymphomagenesis. Interestingly, loss of a single copy of E2f2 also accelerated tumorigenesis, albeit to a lesser extent, suggesting a haploinsufficient function for this locus. The combined ablation of E2f1 or E2f3, along with E2f2, did not further accelerate tumorigenesis. Myc-overexpressing T cells were more resistant to apoptosis in the absence of E2f2, and the reintroduction of E2F2 into these tumor cells resulted in an increase of apoptosis and inhibition of tumorigenesis. These results identify the E2f2 locus as a tumor suppressor through its ability to modulate apoptosis.

Characterization of glucagon-expressing neurons in the chicken retina

We recently identified large glucagon-expressing neurons that densely ramify neurites in the peripheral edge of the retina and regulate the proliferation of progenitors in the circumferential marginal zone (CMZ) of the postnatal chicken eye (Fischer et al. [2005] J Neurosci 25:10157-10166). However, nothing is known about the transmitters and proteins that are expressed by the glucagon-expressing neurons in the avian retina. We used antibodies to cell-distinguishing markers to better characterize the different types of glucagon-expressing neurons. We found that the large glucagon-expressing neurons were immunoreactive for substance P, neurofilament, Pax6, AP2alpha, HuD, calretinin, trkB, and trkC. Colocalization of glucagon and substance P in the large glucagon-expressing neurons indicates that these cells are the "bullwhip cells" that have been briefly described by Ehrlich et al. ([1987] J Comp Neurol 266:220-233). Similar to the bullwhip cells, the conventional glucagon-expressing amacrine cells were immunoreactive for calretinin, HuD, Pax6, and AP2alpha. Unlike bullwhip cells, the conventional glucagon-expressing amacrine cells were immunoreactive for GABA. While glucagon-immunoreactive amacrine cells were negative for substance P in central regions of the retina, a subset of this type of amacrine cell was immunoreactive for substance P in far peripheral regions of the retina. An additional type of glucagon/substance P-expressing neuron, resembling the bullwhip cells, was found in far peripheral and dorsal regions of the retina. Based on morphology, distribution within the retina, and histological markers, we conclude that there may be four different types of glucagon-expressing neurons in the avian retina.

Glucagon-expressing neurons within the retina regulate the proliferation of neural progenitors in the circumferential marginal zone of the avian eye

Glucagon-expressing retinal amacrine cells have been implicated in regulating postnatal ocular growth. Furthermore, experimentally accelerated rates of ocular growth increase the number of neurons added to the peripheral edge of the retina. Accordingly, we assayed whether glucagon-expressing neurons within the retina regulate the proliferation of progenitors in the circumferential marginal zone (CMZ) of the postnatal chicken eye. We found that glucagon-containing neurites are heavily clustered within the CMZ at the peripheral edge of the retina. Many of these neurites originate from a cell type that is distinct from other types of retinal neurons, which we termed large glucagon-expressing neurons (LGENs). The LGENs are immunoreactive for glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1), have a unipolar morphology, produce an axon that projects into the CMZ, and are found only in ventral regions of the retina. In dorsal regions of the retina, a smaller version of the LGENs densely ramifies neurites in the CMZ. Intraocular injections of glucagon or GLP1 suppressed the proliferation of progenitors in the CMZ, whereas a glucagon-receptor antagonist promoted proliferation. In addition, we found that glucagon, GLP1, and glucagon antagonist influenced the number of progenitors in the CMZ. We conclude that the LGENs may convey visual information to the CMZ to control the addition of new cells to the edge of the retina. We propose that glucagon/GLP1 released from LGENs acts in opposition to insulin (or insulin-like growth factor) to regulate precisely the proliferation of retinal progenitors in the CMZ.