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- Garcia-Alonso, L, et al.
(författare)
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Single-cell roadmap of human gonadal development
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 607:7919, s. 540-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gonadal development is a complex process that involves sex determination followed by divergent maturation into either testes or ovaries1. Historically, limited tissue accessibility, a lack of reliable in vitro models and critical differences between humans and mice have hampered our knowledge of human gonadogenesis, despite its importance in gonadal conditions and infertility. Here, we generated a comprehensive map of first- and second-trimester human gonads using a combination of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility assays and fluorescent microscopy. We extracted human-specific regulatory programmes that control the development of germline and somatic cell lineages by profiling equivalent developmental stages in mice. In both species, we define the somatic cell states present at the time of sex specification, including the bipotent early supporting population that, in males, upregulates the testis-determining factor SRY and sPAX8s, a gonadal lineage located at the gonadal–mesonephric interface. In females, we resolve the cellular and molecular events that give rise to the first and second waves of granulosa cells that compartmentalize the developing ovary to modulate germ cell differentiation. In males, we identify human SIGLEC15+ and TREM2+ fetal testicular macrophages, which signal to somatic cells outside and inside the developing testis cords, respectively. This study provides a comprehensive spatiotemporal map of human and mouse gonadal differentiation, which can guide in vitro gonadogenesis.
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| 2. |
- Xin, P., et al.
(författare)
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Surface Water and Groundwater Interactions in Salt Marshes and Their Impact on Plant Ecology and Coastal Biogeochemistry
- 2022
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Ingår i: Reviews of Geophysics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 8755-1209 .- 1944-9208. ; 60:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salt marshes are highly productive intertidal wetlands providing important ecological services for maintaining coastal biodiversity, buffering against oceanic storms, and acting as efficient carbon sinks. However, about half of these wetlands have been lost globally due to human activities and climate change. Inundated periodically by tidal water, salt marshes are subjected to strong surface water and groundwater interactions, which affect marsh plant growth and biogeochemical exchange with coastal water. This paper reviews the state of knowledge and current approaches to quantifying marsh surface water and groundwater interactions with a focus on porewater flow and associated soil conditions in connection with plant zonation as well as carbon, nutrients, and greenhouse gas fluxes. Porewater flow and solute transport in salt marshes are primarily driven by tides with moderate regulation by rainfall, evapotranspiration and sea level rise. Tidal fluctuations play a key role in plant zonation through alteration of soil aeration and salt transport, and drive the export of significant fluxes of carbon and nutrients to coastal water. Despite recent progress, major knowledge gaps remain. Previous studies focused on flows in creek-perpendicular marsh sections and overlooked multi-scale 3D behaviors. Understanding of marsh ecological-hydrological links under combined influences of different forcing factors and boundary disturbances is lacking. Variations of surface water and groundwater temperatures affect porewater flow, soil conditions and biogeochemical exchanges, but the extent and underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We need to fill these knowledge gaps to advance understanding of salt marshes and thus enhance our ability to protect and restore them.
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| 3. |
- Moffett, Bianca D., et al.
(författare)
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Digital delivery of behavioural activation therapy to overcome depression and facilitate social and economic transitions of adolescents in South Africa (the DoBAt study) : protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 12:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Scalable psychological treatments to address depression among adolescents are urgently needed. This is particularly relevant to low-income and middle-income countries where 90% of the world's adolescents live. While digital delivery of behavioural activation (BA) presents a promising solution, its feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness among adolescents in an African context remain to be shown.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study is a two-arm single-blind individual-level randomised controlled pilot trial to assess the feasibility, acceptability and initial efficacy of digitally delivered BA therapy among adolescents with depression. The intervention has been coproduced with adolescents at the study site. The study is based in the rural northeast of South Africa in the Bushbuckridge subdistrict of Mpumalanga province. A total of 200 adolescents with symptoms of mild to moderately severe depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire Adolescent Version will be recruited (1:1 allocation ratio). The treatment group will receive BA therapy via a smartphone application (the Kuamsha app) supported by trained peer mentors. The control group will receive an enhanced standard of care. The feasibility and acceptability of the intervention will be evaluated using a mixed methods design, and signals of the initial efficacy of the intervention in reducing symptoms of depression will be determined on an intention-to-treat basis. Secondary objectives are to pilot a range of cognitive, mental health, risky behaviour and socioeconomic measures; and to collect descriptive data on the feasibility of trial procedures to inform the development of a further larger trial.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the University of the Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee (MED20-05-011) and the Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee (OxTREC 34-20). Study findings will be published in scientific open access peer-reviewed journals, presented at scientific conferences and communicated to participants, their caregivers, public sector officials and other relevant stakeholders.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: This trial was registered on 19 November 2020 with the South African National Clinical Trials Registry (DOH-27-112020-5741) and the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR202206574814636).
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