Testing the measurement invariance of the Eating Disorder Inventory in nonclinical samples of Hispanic and Caucasian women.

Objective: The factor structure of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) has not been thoroughly tested in Hispanic populations, yet researchers commonly use this instrument in Hispanic samples. Thus, it is important to establish the validity of the EDI in Hispanic populations. This article investigated measurement invariance of the EDI's three eating- and weight-related (eat/wt) scales because they are the most frequently used and are often used in isolation.

Developmental expression of Musashi-1 and Musashi-2 RNA-binding proteins during spermatogenesis: analysis of the deleterious effects of dysregulated expression.

Spermatogenesis is a complex developmental process whereby diploid spermatogenic stem cells become haploid and undergo a series of morphological changes to produce physically mature spermatozoa. Crucial to this process are a number of RNA-binding proteins, responsible for the posttranscriptional control of essential mRNAs and particularly pertinent to the two periods of inactive transcription that occur in spermatogenesis. One such group of RNA-binding proteins is the Musashi family, specifically Musashi-1 (MSI1) and Musashi-2 (MSI2), which act as key translational regulators in various stem cell populations and have been linked with the induction of tumorigenesis.

Dynamic Hedgehog signalling pathway activity in germline stem cells.

Although the contribution of Hedgehog (Hh) signalling to stem cell development and oncogenesis is well recognised, its importance for spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) has not been established. Here we interrogate adult rat SSCs using an established model in which only undifferentiated spermatogonial cells remain in the testis at 15 weeks following irradiation, and spermatogonial differentiation is induced within 4 weeks by gonadotrophin-releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH-ant) administration. Synthesis of Hh pathway components in untreated adult rat testes was compared with that in irradiated testes prior to and after GnRH-ant exposure using in situ hybridization.

The rise of testicular germ cell tumours: the search for causes, risk factors and novel therapeutic targets.

Since the beginning of the 20th century there has been a decline in the reproductive vitality of men within the Western world. The declining sperm quantity and quality has been associated with increased overt disorders of sexual development including hypospadias, undescended testes and type II testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs). The increase in TGCTs cannot be accounted for by genetic changes in the population.

The APC/C activator FZR1 is essential for meiotic prophase I in mice.

Fizzy-related 1 (FZR1) is an activator of the Anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and an important regulator of the mitotic cell division cycle. Using a germ-cell-specific conditional knockout model we examined its role in entry into meiosis and early meiotic events in both sexes. Loss of APC/C(FZR1) activity in the male germline led to both a mitotic and a meiotic testicular defect resulting in infertility due to the absence of mature spermatozoa.

Structural insights into the interactions of xpt riboswitch with novel guanine analogues: a molecular dynamics simulation study.

Ligand recognition in purine riboswitches is a complex process requiring different levels of conformational changes. Recent efforts in the area of purine riboswitch research have focused on ligand analogue binding studies. In the case of the guanine xanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (xpt) riboswitch, synthetic analogues that resemble guanine have the potential to tightly bind and subsequently influence the genetic expression of xpt mRNA in prokaryotes.

Group therapy for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Aim: To investigate the acceptability and feasibility of adapted group therapy for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder in a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Method: A total of 32 children aged 9-13 years were randomised to immediate or delayed therapy using the 'Exploring Feelings' manual (Attwood, 2004). Child and parent groups were run in parallel, for seven weekly sessions, under the supervision of experienced psychologists.

RBM5 is a male germ cell splicing factor and is required for spermatid differentiation and male fertility.

Alternative splicing of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is common in mammalian cells and enables the production of multiple gene products from a single gene, thus increasing transcriptome and proteome diversity. Disturbance of splicing regulation is associated with many human diseases; however, key splicing factors that control tissue-specific alternative splicing remain largely undefined. In an unbiased genetic screen for essential male fertility genes in the mouse, we identified the RNA binding protein RBM5 (RNA binding motif 5) as an essential regulator of haploid male germ cell pre-mRNA splicing and fertility.

Immune regulation of ovarian development: programming by neonatal immune challenge.

Neonatal immune challenge by administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produces enduring alterations in the development and activity of neuroendocrine, immune and other physiological systems. We have recently reported that neonatal exposure to an immune challenge by administration of LPS results in altered reproductive development in the female Wistar rat. Specifically, LPS-treated animals exhibited diminished ovarian reserve and altered reproductive lifespan.

Manipulating sleep duration alters emotional functioning and cognitive performance in children.

Objective: To examine the impact of sleep duration on emotional functioning and cognitive performance in children.

Methods: 32 children (8-12 years) wore actigraphs for 3 weeks. Following a week of typical sleep, each child was randomly assigned to go to bed 1 hr earlier for 4 nights (Long Sleep) or 1 hr later for 4 nights (Short Sleep) relative to their typical bedtime.

The BRCA1-binding protein BRAP2 can act as a cytoplasmic retention factor for nuclear and nuclear envelope-localizing testicular proteins.

Regulation of nuclear protein import is central to many cellular processes such as development, with a key mechanism being factors that retain cargoes in the cytoplasm that normally localize in the nucleus. The breast cancer antigen BRCA1-binding protein BRAP2 has been reported as a novel negative regulator of nuclear import of various nuclear localization signal (NLS)-containing viral and cellular proteins, but although implicated in differentiation pathways and highly expressed in tissues including testis, the gamut of targets for BRAP2 action in a developmental context is unknown. As a first step towards defining the BRAP2 interactome, we performed a yeast-2-hybrid screen to identify binding partners of BRAP2 in human testis.

Incidental findings in trauma patients: dedicated communication with the primary care physician ensures adequate follow-up.

Background: Frequent use of computed tomography (CT) in trauma patients results in frequent detection of non-trauma-related incidental findings (IFs). Inpatient documentation and disclosure at discharge are infrequent, even when they are potentially serious. We aimed to not only identify the incidence of IFs but also to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention to trigger follow-up.

The Musashi family of RNA binding proteins: master regulators of multiple stem cell populations.

In order to maintain their unlimited capacity to divide, stem cells require controlled temporal and spatial protein expression. The Musashi family of RNA-binding proteins have been shown to exhibit this necessary translational control through both repression and activation in order to regulate multiple stem cell populations. This chapter looks in depth at the initial discovery and characterisation of Musashi in the model organism Drosophila, and its subsequent emergence as a master regulator in a number of stem cell populations.

Scrambled and fried: cigarette smoke exposure causes antral follicle destruction and oocyte dysfunction through oxidative stress.

Cigarette smoke is a reproductive hazard associated with pre-mature reproductive senescence and reduced clinical pregnancy rates in female smokers. Despite an increased awareness of the adverse effects of cigarette smoke exposure on systemic health, many women remain unaware of the adverse effects of cigarette smoke on female fertility. This issue is compounded by our limited understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind cigarette smoke induced infertility.

The chemokine CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 are implicated in human seminoma metastasis.

Seminoma and non-seminoma tumours increasingly occur within the western population. These tumours originate from carcinoma in situ (CIS) cells, which arise from dysfunctional gonocytes. CXCL12 and its receptors, CXCR4 and CXCR7, have been implicated in migration, proliferation and survival of gonocytes and their precursors and progeny, primordial germ cells and spermatogonial stem cells respectively.

Reduced chromosome cohesion measured by interkinetochore distance is associated with aneuploidy even in oocytes from young mice.

It is becoming clear that reduced chromosome cohesion is an important factor in the rise of maternal age-related aneuploidy. This reduction in cohesion has been observed both in human and mouse oocytes, and it can be measured directly by an increase with respect to maternal age in interkinetochore (iKT) distance between a sister chromatid pair. We have observed variations in iKT distance even in oocytes from young mice and wondered if such differences may predispose those oocytes displaying the greatest iKT distances to be becoming aneuploid.

Investigation of the mechanisms by which the molecular chaperone HSPA2 regulates the expression of sperm surface receptors involved in human sperm-oocyte recognition.

A unique characteristic of mammalian spermatozoa is that, upon ejaculation, they are unable to recognize and bind to an ovulated oocyte. These functional attributes are only realized following the cells' ascent of the female reproductive tract whereupon they undergo a myriad of biochemical and biophysical changes collectively referred to as 'capacitation'. We have previously shown that this functional transformation is, in part, engineered by the modification of the sperm surface architecture leading to the assembly and/or presentation of multimeric sperm-oocyte receptor complexes.

Intracellular signalling during female gametogenesis.

Female reproductive potential is dictated by the size of the primordial follicle pool and the correct regulation of oocyte maturation and activation--events essential for production of viable offspring. Although a substantial body of work underpins our understanding of these processes, the molecular mechanisms of follicular and oocyte development are not fully understood. This review summarizes recent findings which have improved our conception of how folliculogenesis and oocyte competence are regulated, and discusses their implications for assisted reproductive techniques.

Drosophila Rbp6 is an orthologue of vertebrate Msi-1 and Msi-2, but does not function redundantly with dMsi to regulate germline stem cell behaviour.

The vertebrate RNA-binding proteins, Musashi-1 (Msi-1) and Musashi-2 (Msi-2) are expressed in multiple stem cell populations. A role for Musashi proteins in preventing stem cell differentiation has been suggested from genetic analysis of the Drosophila family member, dMsi, and both vertebrate Msi proteins function co-operatively to regulate neural stem cell behaviour. Here we have identified a second Drosophila Msi family member, Rbp6, which shares more amino acid identity with vertebrate Msi-1 and Msi-2 than dMsi.

Effectiveness of a web-based protocol for the screening and phenotyping of individuals with Tourette syndrome for genetic studies.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and other emerging technologies offer great promise for the identification of genetic risk factors for complex psychiatric disorders, yet such studies are constrained by the need for large sample sizes. Web-based collection offers a relatively untapped resource for increasing participant recruitment. Therefore, we developed and implemented a novel web-based screening and phenotyping protocol for genetic studies of Tourette syndrome (TS), a childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics.

Phenyl shifts in substituted arenes via ipso arenium ions.

The isomerization of substituted arenes through ipso arenium ions is an important and general molecular rearrangement that leads to interconversions of constitutional isomers. We show here that the superacid trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH), ca. 1 M in dichloroethane (DCE), provides reliable catalytic reaction conditions for these rearrangements, easily applied at ambient temperature, reflux (84 °C), or in a microwave reactor for higher temperatures.

A unique combination of male germ cell miRNAs coordinates gonocyte differentiation.

The last 100 years have seen a concerning decline in male reproductive health associated with decreased sperm production, sperm function and male fertility. Concomitantly, the incidence of defects in reproductive development, such as undescended testes, hypospadias and testicular cancer has increased. Indeed testicular cancer is now recognised as the most common malignancy in young men.