| 1. |
- Bell, Taylor, et al.
(författare)
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Nightside clouds and disequilibrium chemistry on the hot Jupiter WASP-43b
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - 2397-3366. ; 8:7, s. 879-898
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hot Jupiters are among the best-studied exoplanets, but it is still poorly understood how their chemical composition and cloud properties vary with longitude. Theoretical models predict that clouds may condense on the nightside and that molecular abundances can be driven out of equilibrium by zonal winds. Here we report a phase-resolved emission spectrum of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b measured from 5 μm to 12 μm with the JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument. The spectra reveal a large day–night temperature contrast (with average brightness temperatures of 1,524 ± 35 K and 863 ± 23 K, respectively) and evidence for water absorption at all orbital phases. Comparisons with three-dimensional atmospheric models show that both the phase-curve shape and emission spectra strongly suggest the presence of nightside clouds that become optically thick to thermal emission at pressures greater than ~100 mbar. The dayside is consistent with a cloudless atmosphere above the mid-infrared photosphere. Contrary to expectations from equilibrium chemistry but consistent with disequilibrium kinetics models, methane is not detected on the nightside (2σ upper limit of 1–6 ppm, depending on model assumptions). Our results provide strong evidence that the atmosphere of WASP-43b is shaped by disequilibrium processes and provide new insights into the properties of the planet’s nightside clouds. However, the remaining discrepancies between our observations and our predictive atmospheric models emphasize the importance of further exploring the effects of clouds and disequilibrium chemistry in numerical models.
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| 2. |
- Bernal, Ximena E., et al.
(författare)
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Empowering Latina scientists
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 363:6429, s. 825-826
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 3. |
- Caceres, Eva F.
(författare)
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Genomic and evolutionary exploration of Asgard archaea
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Current evolutionary theories postulate that eukaryotes emerged from the symbiosis of an archaeal host with, at least, one bacterial symbiont. However, our limited grasp of microbial diversity hampers insights into the features of the prokaryotic ancestors of eukaryotes. This thesis focuses on the study of a group of uncultured archaea to better understand both existing archaeal diversity and the origin of eukaryotes.In a first study, we used short-read metagenomic approaches to obtain eight genomes of Lokiarchaeum relatives. Using these data we described the Asgard superphylum, comprised of at least four different phyla: Lokiarchaeota, Odinarchaeota, Thorarchaeota and Heimdallarchaoeta. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that eukaryotes affiliate with the Asgard group, albeit the exact position of eukaryotes with respect to Asgard archaea members remained inconclusive. Comparative genomics showed that Asgard archaea genomes encoded homologs of numerous eukaryotic signature proteins (ESPs), which had never been observed in Archaea before. Among these, there were several components of proteins involved in vesicle formation and membrane remodelling.In a second study, we used similar approaches to uncover additional members of the Asgard superphylum. Based on genome-centric metagenomics we recovered 69 new genomes from which we identified five additional candidate phyla: Freyarchaeota, Baldrarchaeota, Gefionarchaeota, Friggarchaeota and Idunnarchaeota. In this expanded dataset we could detect additional homologs for unreported ESPs. Updated phylogenies showed support for a scenario in which eukaryotes emerged from within Asgard archaea.We further took advantage of the increased Asgard diversity to delimit the gene content of the last common archaeal ancestor of eukaryotes using ancestral reconstruction analyses. The results suggest that the archaeal host cell who gave rise to eukaryotes already contained many of the genes associated with eukaryotic cellular complexity. Based on these analyses, we discussed the metabolic capabilities of the archaeal ancestor of eukaryotes.Finally, we reconstructed several nearly complete Lokiarchaeota genomes, one of them in only three contigs, using both short- and long-read metagenomics. These analyses indicate that long-read metagenomics is a promising approach to obtain highly complete and contiguous genomes directly from environmental samples, even from complex populations in the presence of microdiversity and low abundant members. This study further supports that the presence of ESPs in Asgard genomes is not the result of assembly and binning artefacts. In conclusion, this thesis highlights the value of using culture-independent approaches together with phylogenomics and comparative genomics to improve our understanding of microbial diversity and to shed light into relevant evolutionary questions.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Carter, Aarynn L., et al.
(författare)
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A benchmark JWST near-infrared spectrum for the exoplanet WASP-39 b
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - 2397-3366. ; In Press
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A combined analysis of datasets across four JWST instrument modes provides a benchmark transmission spectrum for the Saturn-mass WASP-39 b. The broad wavelength range and high resolution constrain orbital and stellar parameters to below 1%.
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| 6. |
- Charman, Tony, et al.
(författare)
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The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP) : clinical characterisation.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Molecular Autism. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2040-2392. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP) is to date the largest multi-centre, multi-disciplinary observational study on biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current paper describes the clinical characteristics of the LEAP cohort and examines age, sex and IQ differences in ASD core symptoms and common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms. A companion paper describes the overall design and experimental protocol and outlines the strategy to identify stratification biomarkers.METHODS: From six research centres in four European countries, we recruited 437 children and adults with ASD and 300 controls between the ages of 6 and 30 years with IQs varying between 50 and 148. We conducted in-depth clinical characterisation including a wide range of observational, interview and questionnaire measures of the ASD phenotype, as well as co-occurring psychiatric symptoms.RESULTS: The cohort showed heterogeneity in ASD symptom presentation, with only minimal to moderate site differences on core clinical and cognitive measures. On both parent-report interview and questionnaire measures, ASD symptom severity was lower in adults compared to children and adolescents. The precise pattern of differences varied across measures, but there was some evidence of both lower social symptoms and lower repetitive behaviour severity in adults. Males had higher ASD symptom scores than females on clinician-rated and parent interview diagnostic measures but not on parent-reported dimensional measures of ASD symptoms. In contrast, self-reported ASD symptom severity was higher in adults compared to adolescents, and in adult females compared to males. Higher scores on ASD symptom measures were moderately associated with lower IQ. Both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms were lower in adults than in children and adolescents, and males with ASD had higher levels of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms than females.CONCLUSIONS: The established phenotypic heterogeneity in ASD is well captured in the LEAP cohort. Variation both in core ASD symptom severity and in commonly co-occurring psychiatric symptoms were systematically associated with sex, age and IQ. The pattern of ASD symptom differences with age and sex also varied by whether these were clinician ratings or parent- or self-reported which has important implications for establishing stratification biomarkers and for their potential use as outcome measures in clinical trials.
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| 7. |
- Djedovic, Neda, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of dendritic cells obtained from autoimmunty-prone and resistant rats
- 2019
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Ingår i: Immunobiology. - : ELSEVIER GMBH. - 0171-2985 .- 1878-3279. ; 224:3, s. 470-476
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dendritic cells (DC) are responsible for the initiation and shaping of the adaptive immune response and are in the focus of autoimmunity research. We were interested in comparison of DC obtained from autoimmunity-prone Dark Agouti (DA) rats and autoimmunity-resistant Albino Oxford (AO) rats. DC were generated from bone marrow precursors and matured (mDC) by lipopolysaccharide. Tolerogenic DC (tolDC) obtained by vitamin D3 treatment were studied in parallel. Profile of cytokine production was different in AO and DA mDC and tolDC. Expression of MHC class II molecules and CD86 were higher in DA DC, while vitamin D3 reduced their expression in dendritic cells of both strains. Allogeneic proliferation of CD4(+) T cells was reduced by AO tolDC, but not with DA tolDC in comparison to respective mDC. Finally, expression of various genes identified as differentially expressed in human mDC and tolDC was also analyzed in AO and DA DC. Again, AO and DA DC differed in the expression of the analyzed genes. To conclude, AO and DA DC differ in production of cytokines, expression of antigen presentation-related molecules and in regulation of CD4(+) T proliferation. The difference is valuable for understanding the divergence of the strains in their susceptibility to autoimmunity.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Eme, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Inference and reconstruction of the heimdallarchaeial ancestry of eukaryotes
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 618:7967, s. 992-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the ongoing debates about eukaryogenesis-the series of evolutionary events leading to the emergence of the eukaryotic cell from prokaryotic ancestors-members of the Asgard archaea play a key part as the closest archaeal relatives of eukaryotes(1). However, the nature and phylogenetic identity of the last common ancestor of Asgard archaea and eukaryotes remain unresolved(2-4). Here we analyse distinct phylogenetic marker datasets of an expanded genomic sampling of Asgard archaea and evaluate competing evolutionary scenarios using state-of-the-art phylogenomic approaches. We find that eukaryotes are placed, with high confidence, as a well-nested clade within Asgard archaea and as a sister lineage to Hodarchaeales, a newly proposed order within Heimdallarchaeia. Using sophisticated gene tree and species tree reconciliation approaches, we show that analogous to the evolution of eukaryotic genomes, genome evolution in Asgard archaea involved significantly more gene duplication and fewer gene loss events compared with other archaea. Finally, we infer that the last common ancestor of Asgard archaea was probably a thermophilic chemolithotroph and that the lineage from which eukaryotes evolved adapted to mesophilic conditions and acquired the genetic potential to support a heterotrophic lifestyle. Our work provides key insights into the prokaryote-to-eukaryote transition and a platform for better understanding the emergence of cellular complexity in eukaryotic cells.
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| 10. |
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