Three-dimensional (3D) culturing techniques can recapitulate the stratified nature of multicellular epithelial tissues. Organotypic 3D epithelial tissue culture methods have several applications, including the study of tissue development and function, drug discovery and toxicity testing, host-pathogen interactions, and the development of tissue-engineered constructs for use in regenerative medicine. We grew 3D organotypic epithelial tissues from foreskin, cervix, and tonsil-derived primary cells and characterized the transcriptome of thesein vitrotissue equivalents. Using the same 3D culturing method, all three tissues yielded stratified squamous epithelium, validated histologically using basal and superficial epithelial cell markers. The goal of this study was to use RNA-seq to compare gene expression patterns in these three types of epithelial tissues to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying their function and identify potential therapeutic targets for various diseases. Functional profiling by over-representation and gene set enrichment analysis revealed tissue-specific differences:i.e., cutaneous homeostasis and lipid metabolism in foreskin, extracellular matrix remodeling in cervix, and baseline innate immune differences in tonsil. Specifically, tonsillar epithelia may play an active role in shaping the immune microenvironment of the tonsil balancing inflammation and immune responses in the face of constant exposure to microbial insults. Overall, these data serve as a resource, with gene sets made available for the research community to explore, and as a foundation for understanding the epithelial heterogeneity and how it may impact theirin vitrouse. An online resource is available to investigate these data (https://viz.datascience.arizona.edu/3DEpiEx/).

The WINDS (Water-Use, Irrigation, Nitrogen, Drainage, and Salinity) model was developed to provide decision support for irrigated-crop management in the U.S. Southwest. The model uses a daily time-step soil water balance (SWB) to simulate the dynamics of water content in the soil profile and evapotranspiration. The model employs a tipping bucket approach during infiltration events and Richards’ equation between infiltration events. This research demonstrates WINDS simulation of a furrow-irrigated cotton experiment, conducted in 2007 in central Arizona, U.S. Calibration procedures for WINDS include the crop coefficient curve or segmented crop coefficient curve, rate of root growth, and root activity during the growing season. In this research, field capacity and wilting point were measured in the laboratory at each location and in each layer. Field measurements included water contents in layers by neutron moisture meter (NMM), irrigation, crop growth, final yield, and actual ETc derived by SWB. The calibrated WINDS model was compared to the neutron probe moisture contents. The average coefficient of determination was 0.92, and average root mean squared error (RMSE) was 0.027 m3 m−3. The study also demonstrated WINDS ability to reproduce measured crop evapotranspiration (ETc actual) during the growing season. This paper introduces the online WINDS model.

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