All rights reserved.Phytochromes are red and far-red light receptors in plants that control growth and development in response to changes in the environment. Light-activated phytochromes enter the nucleus and act on a set of downstream signalling components to regulate gene expression. PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) belong to the basic helix-loop-helix family of transcription factors and directly bind to light-activated phytochromes. Potential homologs of PIFs have been identified in ferns, bryophytes, and streptophyte algae, and it has been shown that the potential PIF homologs from Physcomitrella patens, PIF1 to PIF4, have PIF function when expressed in Arabidopsis. However, their function in Physcomitrella is still unknown. Seed plant PIFs bind to G-box containing promoters and therefore we searched the Physcomitrella genome for genes that contain G-boxes in their promoter. Here, we show that Physcomitrella PIFs activate these promoters in a G-box dependent manner, suggesting that they could be direct PIF targets. Furthermore, we generated Physcomitrella pif1, pif2, pif3 and pif4 knock out mutant lines and quantified expression of potential PIF direct target genes. Expression of these genes was generally reduced in pif mutants compared to the wildtype but for several genes the relative induction upon a short light treatment was higher in pif mutants than the wildtype. In contrast, expression of these genes was strongly repressed in continuous light, and pif mutants showed partial downregulation of these genes in the dark. Thus, the overall function of PIFs in light-regulated gene expression might be an ancient property of PIFs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.We describe unusual mid-trimester sonography of subtle fetal facial dysmorphic features including; flattened nasofrontal angle with an almost vertically positioned nasal bone, acute nasolabial angle, and convexity of the maxillary areas in a fetus with otherwise normal anatomy. Microarray identified a 64.5 KB interstitial deletion of 2q25.3, which includes one exon of MYT1L. Mutations and deletions in MTY1L have been associated with autosomal dominant intellectual disability, autistic features, and obesity. Association of these features and 2p25.3 microdeletion has not been reported previously. This case emphasizes the importance of detailed microarray analysis following the sonographic recognition of subtle fetal dysmorphic features.Objective Compared to the upper limb, lower limb distal nerve transfer (DNT) outcomes are poor, likely due to the longer length of regeneration required. DNT surgery to treat foot drop entails rerouting a tibial nerve branch to the denervated common fibular nerve stump to reinnervate the tibialis anterior muscle to ankle dorsiflexion. Conditioning electrical stimulation (CES) prior to a nerve repair surgery accelerates nerve regeneration and promotes sensorimotor recovery. We hypothesize that CES prior to DNT will promote nerve regeneration to restore ankle dorsiflexion. Methods One week following common fibular nerve crush, CES was delivered to the tibial nerve in half the animals and at two weeks, all animals received a DNT. To investigate the effects of CES on nerve regeneration, a series of kinetic, kinematic, skilled locomotion, electrophysiologic, and immunohistochemical outcomes were assessed. The effects of CES on the nerve were investigated. Results CES treated animals had significantly accelerated nerve regeneration (p less then 0.001) and they had accelerated walking speed with improved skilled locomotion. The injured limb had greater vertical peak forces, with improved duty factor, near-complete recovery of braking, propulsive forces and dorsiflexion (p less then 0.01). Reinnervation of the tibialis anterior muscle was confirmed with nerve conduction studies and immunohistochemical analysis of the neuromuscular junction. Capsazepine Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that CES does not induce Wallerian degeneration nor does it cause macrophage infiltration of the distal tibial nerve. Interpretation Tibial nerve CES prior to DNT significantly improved functional recovery of the common fibular nerve and its muscle targets without inducing injury to the donor nerve. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Structures resembling Meissner corpuscles have been described in various nerve sheath tumors, including schwannomas and neurofibromas. When present, they are focal or scattered, and rarely a prominent feature of the lesion. Here we report a case of a 39-year-old female who presented with an isolated lesion on her abdomen. Histopathologically, the tumor was almost exclusively composed of Meissner corpuscle-like structures (pseudo-meissnerian bodies). At a small edge of the tumor, there were features of a classic neurofibroma, with a mixture of Schwann cells, fibroblast-like cells and interspersed mast cells. We propose the term “meissnerian neurofibroma” for this extremely rare variant of neurofibroma. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Knowledge of skate ecology must be improved to ensure their effective protection. This study represents the first description of diet composition for one of the largest European rajid, the blue skate Dipturus cf. flossada. A total of 346 specimens collected in Celtic Sea from 2012 to 2015 were analysed for their gut content, with respect to individual total length, maturity stage and sex. Overall, blue skate diet mainly consisted of shrimps and prawns, crabs and teleost fishes. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and ANOSIM analyses revealed major ontogenetic shifts in feeding strategy that were related to size and maturity, but not to sex. Shrimps and prawns, mostly composed of Crangon allmanni, dominated the diet of small and immature individuals, while mod-size skate primarily preyed on crabs. The prevalence of crustaceans decreased with size and maturity and was gradually replaced by teleost fishes in large mature individuals. A concomitant increase of the trophic level with size revealed that large blue skate become a top predator within the ecosystem. These results highlight the need to include the ontogenetic changes in the diet description. As individuals grow and mature, blue skates can play a fundamental role in the structure of the Celtic Sea food web. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.