Université libre de Bruxelles

About: Université libre de Bruxelles is a education organization based out in Brussels, Belgium. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Breast cancer. The organization has 24974 authors who have published 56969 publications receiving 2084303 citations. The organization is also known as: ULB.

TET2 and TET3 regulate GlcNAcylation and H3K4 methylation through OGT and SET1/COMPASS

Abstract: TET proteins convert 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, an emerging dynamic epigenetic state of DNA that can influence transcription. Evidence has linked TET1 function to epigenetic repression complexes, yet mechanistic information, especially for the TET2 and TET3 proteins, remains limited. Here, we show a direct interaction of TET2 and TET3 with O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT). OGT does not appear to influence hmC activity, rather TET2 and TET3 promote OGT activity. TET2/3–OGT co-localize on chromatin at active promoters enriched for H3K4me3 and reduction of either TET2/3 or OGT activity results in a direct decrease in H3K4me3 and concomitant decreased transcription. Further, we show that Host Cell Factor 1 (HCF1), a component of the H3K4 methyltransferase SET1/COMPASS complex, is a specific GlcNAcylation target of TET2/3–OGT, and modification of HCF1 is important for the integrity of SET1/COMPASS. Additionally, we find both TET proteins and OGT activity promote binding of the SET1/COMPASS H3K4 methyltransferase, SETD1A, to chromatin. Finally, studies in Tet2 knockout mouse bone marrow tissue extend and support the data as decreases are observed of global GlcNAcylation and also of H3K4me3, notably at several key regulators of haematopoiesis. Together, our results unveil a step-wise model, involving TET–OGT interactions, promotion of GlcNAcylation, and influence on H3K4me3 via SET1/COMPASS, highlighting a novel means by which TETs may induce transcriptional activation.

A minimal cascade model for the mitotic oscillator involving cyclin and cdc2 kinase.

Abstract: A minimal model for the mitotic oscillator is presented. The model, built on recent experimental advances, is based on the cascade of post-translational modification that modulates the activity of cdc2 kinase during the cell cycle. The model pertains to the situation encountered in early amphibian embryos, where the accumulation of cyclin suffices to trigger the onset of mitosis. In the first cycle of the bicyclic cascade model, cyclin promotes the activation of cdc2 kinase through reversible dephosphorylation, and in the second cycle, cdc2 kinase activates a cyclin protease by reversible phosphorylation. That cyclin activates cdc2 kinase while the kinase triggers the degradation of cyclin has suggested that oscillations may originate from such a negative feedback loop [Felix, M. A., Labbe, J. C., Doree, M., Hunt, T. & Karsenti, E. (1990) Nature (London) 346, 379-382]. This conjecture is corroborated by the model, which indicates that sustained oscillations of the limit cycle type can arise in the cascade, provided that a threshold exists in the activation of cdc2 kinase by cyclin and in the activation of cyclin proteolysis by cdc2 kinase. The analysis shows how miototic oscillations may readily arise from time lags associated with these thresholds and from the delayed negative feedback provided by cdc2-induced cyclin degradation. A mechanism for the origin of the thresholds is proposed in terms of the phenomenon of zero-order ultrasensitivity previously described for biochemical systems regulated by covalent modification.

Search for dark matter, extra dimensions, and unparticles in monojet events in proton–proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

Abstract: Results are presented from a search for particle dark matter (DM), extra dimensions, and unparticles using events containing a jet and an imbalance in transverse momentum. The data were collected by the CMS detector in proton-proton collisions at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$ at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The number of observed events is found to be consistent with the standard model prediction. Limits are placed on the DM-nucleon scattering cross section as a function of the DM particle mass for spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions. Limits are also placed on the scale parameter $M_\mathrm{D}$ in the ADD model of large extra dimensions, and on the unparticle model parameter $\Lambda_\mathrm{U}$. The constraints on ADD models and unparticles are the most stringent limits in this channel and those on the DM-nucleon scattering cross section are an improvement over previous collider results.

Why psychologists should by default use Welch's t-test instead of student's t-test

Abstract: When comparing two independent groups, psychology researchers commonly use Student’s t-tests. Assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance underlie this test. More often than not, when these conditions are not met, Student’s t-test can be severely biased and lead to invalid statistical inferences. Moreover, we argue that the assumption of equal variances will seldom hold in psychological research, and choosing between Student’s t-test and Welch’s t-test based on the outcomes of a test of the equality of variances often fails to provide an appropriate answer. We show that the Welch’s t-test provides a better control of Type 1 error rates when the assumption of homogeneity of variance is not met, and it loses little robustness compared to Student’s t-test when the assumptions are met. We argue that Welch’s t-test should be used as a default strategy.