The evolutionary history of the CD209 (DC-SIGN) family in humans and non-human primates

The CD209 gene family that encodes C-type lectins in primates includes CD209 (DC-SIGN), CD209L (L-SIGN) and CD209L2. Understanding the evolution of these genes can help understand the duplication events generating this family, the process leading to the repeated neck region and identify protein domains under selective pressure. We compiled sequences from 14 primates representing 40 million years of evolution and from three non-primate mammal species. Phylogenetic analyses used Bayesian inference, and nucleotide substitutional patterns were assessed by codon-based maximum likelihood. Analyses suggest that CD209 genes emerged from a first duplication event in the common ancestor of anthropoids, yielding CD209L2 and an ancestral CD209 gene, which, in turn, duplicated in the common Old World primate ancestor, giving rise to CD209L and CD209. K(A)/K(S) values averaged over the entire tree were 0.43 (CD209), 0.52 (CD209L) and 0.35 (CD209L2), consistent with overall signatures of purifying selection. We also assessed the Toll-like receptor (TLR) gene family, which shares with CD209 genes a common profile of evolutionary constraint. The general feature of purifying selection of CD209 genes, despite an apparent redundancy (gene absence and gene loss), may reflect the need to faithfully recognize a multiplicity of pathogen motifs, commensals and a number of self-antigens

Exhumation history of the NW Indian Himalaya revealed by fission track and 40Ar/39Ar ages

New fission track and Ar/Ar geochronological data provide time constraints on the exhumation history of the Himalayan nappes in the Mandi (Beas valley) - Tso Monad transect of the NW Indian Himalaya. Results from this and previous studies suggest that the SW-directed North Himalayan nappes were emplaced by detachment from the underthrusted upper Indian crust by 55 Ma and metamorphosed by ca. 48-40 Ma. The nappe stack was subsequently exhumed to shallow upper crustal depths (<10 km) by 40-30 Ma in the Tso Monad dome (northern section of the transect) and by 30-20 Ma close to frontal thrusts in the Baralacha La region. From the Oligocene to the present, exhumation continued slowly.

Leading Double Lives: The History of the Double House in Des Moines, 2005

How people choose to live depends on a variety of social and economic circumstances. Single family dwellings, extended family compounds, and communal apartment blocks are all forms of residential architecture that have ancient roots and occur in every culture. Each form both reflects and affects the living styles of the people who reside there. The double house, which shelters two families in units separated by a wall or floor, balances the convenience of an apartment with the psychological comforts of a home. During the mid to late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States, the double house was hugely popular in some cities, such as Minneapolis and Milwaukee, but only a minimal presence in Des Moines

The History of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Iowa,1945.

History of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Iowa from when Iowa was a Territory to 1938

The History of the Establishment of the Division of Child Welfare of the Social Welfare Department of the State of Iowa, 1938

History of Child Welfare Legislation in the State of Iowa 1838-1898; Establishment of the Iowa State board of Control in 1898 and its influence on Child Welfare Legislation until 1925; Immediate background, organizing and the administration functions of the Child Welfare Division of the Social Welfare Department of the State of Iowa. NOTE: This document has pagination errors.

History of the Trappist Abbey of New Melleray, in Dubuque County, Iowa,1892

Written by William Rufus Perkins this book is the history of the Trappist Abbey of New Melleray in Dubuque County, Iowa. New Melleray is a Cistercian (Trappist) monastery located in the rolling farmland south of Dubuque

Comparative genomics of the odorant-binding and chemosensory protein gene families across the arthropoda: origin and evolutionary history of the chemosensory system

Chemoreception is a biological process essential for the survival of animals, as it allows the recognition of important volatile cues for the detection of food, egg-laying substrates, mates or predators, among other purposes. Furthermore, its role in pheromone detection may contribute to evolutionary processes such as reproductive isolation and speciation. This key role in several vital biological processes makes chemoreception a particularly interesting system for studying the role of natural selection in molecular adaptation. Two major gene families are involved in the perireceptor events of the chemosensory system: the odorant-binding protein (OBP) and chemosensory protein (CSP) families. Here, we have conducted an exhaustive comparative genomic analysis of these gene families in twenty Arthropoda species. We show that the evolution of the OBP and CSP gene families is highly dynamic, with a high number of gains and losses of genes, pseudogenes and independent origins of subfamilies. Taken together, our data clearly support the birth-and-death model for the evolution of these gene families with an overall high gene-turnover rate. Moreover, we show that the genome organization of the two families is significantly more clustered than expected by chance and, more important, that this pattern appears to be actively maintained across the Drosophila phylogeny. Finally, we suggest the homologous nature of the OBP and CSP gene families, dating back their MRCA (most recent common ancestor) to 380¿420 Mya, and we propose a scenario for the origin and diversification of these families.

A LIBRARY IN THE MAKING: Pioneer History of the Territorial and State Library of Iowa,October 1912

The discovery of early manuscript reports of Territorial and State Librarians, buried in the mass of old official papers transferred from the several departments of State to the new Department of Archives in the Historical Building, has suggested the propriety of completing as far as possible, the historical record of Iowa's State Library, "from the earliest period to the present time." After a thorough research through the papers on file in the Archives Department, the published Journals and departmental reports in the State Library and documents and private papers loaned me by Mr. Newton R. Parvin, librarian of the Iowa Masonic Library, Cedar Rapids. I am now able to present the following historical sketch, Supplemented by the hitherto unpublished papers referred to this filling a gap in the history of a State institution which from very small beginnings has grown to large proportions and has made for itself a firm place in the respect and esteem of every citizen of Iowa.

A history of the renewal of the corneal epithelium : a 3D animation

Background: To compare the different schemes that have been proposed during the last thirteen years to explain the renewal of the corneal epithelium. Material and Methods:We analyzed all the data present in the literature to explain the renewal of the corneal epithelium in mammals. According to the schemes proposed in the literature we developed a 3D animation to facilitate the understanding of the different concepts. Results:Three different schemes have been proposed to explain the renewal of the corneal epithelium in mammals during the last thirteen years. 1950-1981: the corneal epithelium was thought being renewed by mitosis of cells located in the basal layer. At this time scientist were not talking about stem cells. 1981-1986 was the period of the "XYZ hypothesis" or the transdifferentiation paradigm. At this time the conjunctival epithelium renewed the corneal epithelium in a centripetal migration. 1986-2008: the limbal stem cell paradigm, there were no stem cells in the corneal epithelium, all the corneal stem cells were located in the limbus and renewed the central cornea after a migration of 6 to 7 mm of transient amplifying cells toward the centre of the cornea. 2008, epithelial stem cells were found in the central cornea in mammals (Nature, Majo et al. November 2008). Discussion:We thought that the renewal of the corneal epithelium was completely defined. According to the last results we published in Nature, the current paradigm will be revisited. The experiments we made were on animals and the final demonstration on human has still to be done. If we find the same results in human, a new paradigm will be define and will change the way we consider ocular surface therapy and reconstruction.

Evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) inferred from analysis of mtDNA, Y, and X chromosome markers.

We investigate the evolutionary history of the greater white-toothed shrew across its distribution in northern Africa and mainland Europe using sex-specific (mtDNA and Y chromosome) and biparental (X chromosome) markers. All three loci confirm a large divergence between eastern (Tunisia and Sardinia) and western (Morocco and mainland Europe) lineages, and application of a molecular clock to mtDNA divergence estimates indicates a more ancient separation (2.25 M yr ago) than described by some previous studies, supporting claims for taxonomic revision. Moroccan ancestry for the mainland European population is inconclusive from phylogenetic trees, but is supported by greater nucleotide diversity and a more ancient population expansion in Morocco than in Europe. Signatures of rapid population expansion in mtDNA, combined with low X and Y chromosome diversity, suggest a single colonization of mainland Europe by a small number of Moroccan shrews >38 K yr ago. This study illustrates that multilocus genetic analyses can facilitate the interpretation of species' evolutionary history but that phylogeographic inference using X and Y chromosomes is restricted by low levels of observed polymorphism.

History of the Benton Street Bridge, Iowa City, Iowa, April 7, 2010

Video from the Iowa Department of Transportation about the construction and remodel of the Benton Street Bridge in Iowa City. This video is a interview of Samuel Cartsens interviewed but Hank Zeletel the Librarian of the DOT at the time the video was produced.