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Summary Nephron progenitor cells differentiate to form nephrons during embryonic kidney development. In contrast, self-renewal maintains progenitor numbers and premature depletion leads to impaired kidney function. Here we analyze the PI3K pathway as a point of convergence for the multiple pathways that are known to control self-renewal in the kidney. We demonstrate that a reduction in PI3K signaling triggers premature differentiation of the progenitors and activates a differentiation program that precedes the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition through ectopic activation of the β-catenin pathway. Therefore, the combined output of PI3K and other pathways fine-tunes the balance between self-renewal and differentiation in nephron progenitors., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Nephron progenitor cells require PI3K signaling for self-renewal • Reduced PI3K activity enhances β-catenin-induced differentiation • Nephron progenitor cells can differentiate prior to completion of epithelialization, The fate of nephron progenitor cells is controlled by multiple signaling pathways. Hohenstein, Lindstrom, and colleague identify the PI3K pathway as a new player in this process. PI3K signaling affects the β-catenin-mediated control of these cells and has additional crosstalk with the BMP pathway. Moreover, PI3K inhibition shows differentiation and epithelialization of the nephron progenitor cells can be uncoupled.

One of the oldest and most exciting questions in science is: are we alone in the universe? During the last four billion years of Earth’s history, countless organisms have inhabited almost every environmental niche on the planet, from the deepest sea to driest deserts. However, so far no extraterrestrial life has been found. Studying the propensity for life on our neighboring planet, Mars,helps us understanding its potential for past and present life, and guides future missions. Liquid water is a prerequisite for life as we know it and recently, evidence of transient night time liquidbrines on the surface of present day Mars have been theorized. These brines may be hyper-salinewith high ionic strengths and varying pH-values. Halobacterium salinarum is an extremophilic (saltloving) halophilic archaeon whose natural habitat includes hyper-saline brines, desiccating conditions and exposure to high fluences of solar UV radiation. Herein, we report the response of Hbt.salinarum following exposure to simulated Martian conditions, with regard to survival and DNAintegrity. The simulated conditions include the synthetic Martian Brine Analogues (MBAs), diurnalnocturnaltemperature cycling, prolonged desiccation and Mars-like solar UV (200-400 nm) radiation.We also addressed the prolific space hardware contaminant, Bacillus subtilis whose endospores show substantial resistance against space conditions. The ambition was to investigate potentia linterplanetary forward contamination by Hbt. salinarum, should it have bacterial spores available as nutrients in the Martian brines. Halophiles are some of our best candidates for studying unicellular life on Mars and other bodies where liquid water is also stabilized by high salt concentrations.Moreover, Hbt. salinarum was able to survive over one month in the Martian brines, albeit with growth limited to one particularly hospitable brine. It displayed survival in the brines at relevant temperatures and with diurnal-nocturnal cycling but only when first desiccated to remove preventwater crystal formation. The radiation resistance was highly dependent on the choice of brine inwhich Hbt. salinarum was confined and desiccated. Even in the hospitable brines, the halophile lost over 90% of its viable population following irradiation equal to one Martian day, in our experimentalsetup. The inter-brine difference in DNA fragmentation following irradiation confirmed the differencein survival. Hbt. salinarum was subsequently unable to digest B. subtilis endospores for nutrient exploit and responded no differently than when nutrient-deprived. Surprisingly, the addition of otherwise available nutrients in the brines caused a hurried decrease in survival, with the exception of the hospitable brine. Despite its extremophilic and polyextremotolerant character, Hbt. salinarumis unlikely to survive, not to mention thrive, in a combination of all tested stressors.

One of the oldest and most exciting questions in science is: are we alone in the universe? During the last four billion years of Earth’s history, countless organisms have inhabited almost every environmental niche on the planet, from the deepest sea to driest deserts. However, so far no extraterrestrial life has been found. Studying the propensity for life on our neighboring planet, Mars,helps us understanding its potential for past and present life, and guides future missions. Liquid water is a prerequisite for life as we know it and recently, evidence of transient night time liquidbrines on the surface of present day Mars have been theorized. These brines may be hyper-salinewith high ionic strengths and varying pH-values. Halobacterium salinarum is an extremophilic (saltloving) halophilic archaeon whose natural habitat includes hyper-saline brines, desiccating conditions and exposure to high fluences of solar UV radiation. Herein, we report the response of Hbt.salinarum following exposure to simulated Martian conditions, with regard to survival and DNAintegrity. The simulated conditions include the synthetic Martian Brine Analogues (MBAs), diurnalnocturnaltemperature cycling, prolonged desiccation and Mars-like solar UV (200-400 nm) radiation.We also addressed the prolific space hardware contaminant, Bacillus subtilis whose endospores show substantial resistance against space conditions. The ambition was to investigate potentia linterplanetary forward contamination by Hbt. salinarum, should it have bacterial spores available as nutrients in the Martian brines. Halophiles are some of our best candidates for studying unicellular life on Mars and other bodies where liquid water is also stabilized by high salt concentrations.Moreover, Hbt. salinarum was able to survive over one month in the Martian brines, albeit with growth limited to one particularly hospitable brine. It displayed survival in the brines at relevant temperatures and with diurnal-nocturnal cycling but only when first desiccated to remove preventwater crystal formation. The radiation resistance was highly dependent on the choice of brine inwhich Hbt. salinarum was confined and desiccated. Even in the hospitable brines, the halophile lost over 90% of its viable population following irradiation equal to one Martian day, in our experimentalsetup. The inter-brine difference in DNA fragmentation following irradiation confirmed the differencein survival. Hbt. salinarum was subsequently unable to digest B. subtilis endospores for nutrient exploit and responded no differently than when nutrient-deprived. Surprisingly, the addition of otherwise available nutrients in the brines caused a hurried decrease in survival, with the exception of the hospitable brine. Despite its extremophilic and polyextremotolerant character, Hbt. salinarumis unlikely to survive, not to mention thrive, in a combination of all tested stressors.

Sanden, M & Lindström N. Avvikelserapportering - hinder och möjligheter. En litteraturstudie om sjuksköterskans uppfattningar kring avvikelsehantering. Examensarbete i omvårdnad 10 poäng. Malmö högskola: Hälsa och samhälle, Utbildningsområde omvårdnad, 2006.Avvikelserapportering synliggör tillbud och avvikelser, samt är ett viktigt verktyg i processen med avvikelsehantering, för att öka patientsäkerheten och höja vårdkvaliteten. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka vilka hinder sjuksköterskor uppfattar att det finns för avvikelserapportering, samt vilka åtgärder som finns för att öka denna rapportering. I denna litteraturstudie har 10 vetenskapliga artiklar kvalitetsgranskats. Resultatet visar att det finns faktorer av psykologisk och administrativ karaktär som både hindrar och bidrar till avvikelserapportering.Nyckelord: avvikelse, avvikelserapportering, hinder, sjuksköterska, uppfattning. Sanden, M & Lindström N. Incident Reporting: Obstacles and OpportunitiesAn analysis around the nurses understanding of incident reportingDegree Project, 10 Credit Points. Nursing programme, Malmö University: Health and Society, Department of Nursing, 2006.As a tool, ’incident reporting’ visualizes events and deviations, an important aspect in the process of nursing to help increase patient safety and raise the quality of care. The purpose of our analysis is to investigate the obstacles which nurses perceive to stand in the way of incident reporting and what measurements can be taken to improve the incident reporting process. Ten scientific articles have been reviewed within the scope of this review. The results of our analysis show that there are factors of both a psychological and administrative nature which produces both obstacles and positive contributions to incident reporting.Keywords: incident, incident reporting, obstacles, nurse, understanding.