Actin Polymerization Status Regulates Tenocyte Homeostasis Through Myocardin-Related Transcription Factor-A.

The actin cytoskeleton is a potent regulator of tenocyte homeostasis. However, the mechanisms by which actin regulates tendon homeostasis are not entirely known. This study examined the regulation of tenocyte molecule expression by actin polymerization via the globular (G-) actin-binding transcription factor, myocardin-related transcription factor-a (MRTF).

Actin Polymerization Status Regulates Tendon Homeostasis through Myocardin-Related Transcription Factor-A.

The actin cytoskeleton is a potent regulator of tenocyte homeostasis. However, the mechanisms by which actin regulates tendon homeostasis are not entirely known. This study examined the regulation of tenocyte molecule expression by actin polymerization via the globular (G-) actin-binding transcription factor, myocardin-related transcription factor-a (MRTF).

Acoustically evoked K-complexes together with sleep spindles boost verbal declarative memory consolidation in healthy adults.

Over the past decade, phase-targeted auditory stimulation (PTAS), a neuromodulation approach which presents auditory stimuli locked to the ongoing phase of slow waves during sleep, has shown potential to enhance specific aspects of sleep functions. However, the complexity of PTAS responses complicates the establishment of causality between specific electroencephalographic events and observed benefits. Here, we used down-PTAS during sleep to specifically evoke the early, K-complex (KC)-like response following PTAS without leading to a sustained increase in slow-wave activity throughout the stimulation window.

Timing and cortical region matter: theta power differences between teenagers affected by Major Depression and healthy controls.

In adults affected by Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), most findings point to higher electroencephalographic (EEG) theta power during wake compared to healthy controls (HC) as a potential biomarker aiding the diagnostic process or subgrouping for stratified treatment. Besides these group differences, theta power is modulated by time of day, sleep/wake history, and age. Thus, we aimed at assessing if the time of recording alters theta power in teenagers affected by MDD or HC.

Extended wakefulness alters the relationship between EEG oscillations and performance in a sustained attention task.

During drowsiness, maintaining consistent attention becomes difficult, leading to behavioural lapses. Bursts of oscillations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) might predict such lapses, given that alpha bursts increase during inattention and theta bursts increase with time spent awake. Paradoxically, however, alpha bursts decrease with time awake and theta bursts increase during focussed attention and cognitive tasks.

Wake EEG oscillation dynamics reflect both sleep need and brain maturation across childhood and adolescence.

An objective measure of brain maturation is highly insightful for monitoring both typical and atypical development. Slow wave activity, recorded in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG), reliably indexes changes in brain plasticity with age, as well as deficits related to developmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Unfortunately, measuring sleep EEG is resource-intensive and burdensome for participants.

PIF4 enhances the expression of genes to promote growth in response to nitrate.

Nitrate supply is fundamental to support shoot growth and crop performance, but the associated increase in stem height exacerbates the risks of lodging and yield losses. Despite their significance for agriculture, the mechanisms involved in the promotion of stem growth by nitrate remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the elongation of the hypocotyl of , used as a model, responds rapidly and persistently to upshifts in nitrate concentration, rather than to the nitrate level itself.

How and when EEG reflects changes in neuronal connectivity due to time awake.

Being awake means forming new memories, primarily by strengthening neuronal synapses. The increase in synaptic strength results in increasing neuronal synchronicity, which should result in higher amplitude electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations. This is observed for slow waves during sleep but has not been found for wake oscillations.

The Theta Paradox: 4-8 Hz EEG Oscillations Reflect Both Sleep Pressure and Cognitive Control.

Human electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations characterize specific behavioral and vigilance states. The frequency of these oscillations is typically sufficient to distinguish a given state; however, theta oscillations (4-8 Hz) have instead been found in near-opposite conditions of drowsiness during sleep deprivation and alert cognitive control. While the latter has been extensively studied and is often referred to as "frontal midline theta," (fmTheta) the former has been investigated far less but is considered a marker for sleep pressure during wake.

Boosting Recovery During Sleep by Means of Auditory Stimulation.

Sufficient recovery during sleep is the basis of physical and psychological well-being. Understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying this restorative function is essential for developing novel approaches to promote recovery during sleep. Phase-targeted auditory stimulation (PTAS) is an increasingly popular technique for boosting the key electrophysiological marker of recovery during sleep, slow-wave activity (SWA, 1-4 Hz EEG power).

Neuromodulation by means of phase-locked auditory stimulation affects key marker of excitability and connectivity during sleep.

The propagating pattern of sleep slow waves (high-amplitude oscillations < 4.5 Hz) serves as a blueprint of cortical excitability and brain connectivity. Phase-locked auditory stimulation is a promising tool for the modulation of ongoing brain activity during sleep; however, its underlying mechanisms remain unknown.

SAUR proteins and PP2C.D phosphatases regulate H+-ATPases and K+ channels to control stomatal movements.

Activation of plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase activity is crucial in guard cells to promote light-stimulated stomatal opening, and in growing organs to promote cell expansion. In growing organs, SMALL AUXIN UP RNA (SAUR) proteins inhibit the PP2C.D2, PP2C.

The organochlorine pesticides pentachlorophenol and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane increase secretion and production of interleukin 6 by human immune cells.

The environmental contaminants pentachlorophenol (PCP) and 4, 4'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) are detected in some human blood samples at levels as high as 5 μM (PCP) and 260 nM (DDT). Several cancers are associated with exposures to these contaminants. IL-6 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that when dysregulated stimulates inflammatory diseases and tumor progression.

The Intersections of Race, Gender, Age, and Socioeconomic Status: Implications for Reporting Discrimination and Attributions to Discrimination.

This study employed an intersectional approach (operationalized as the combination of more than one social identity) to examine the relationship between aspects of social identity (i.e., race, gender, age, SES), self-reported level of mistreatment, and attributions for discrimination.

Audio-tactile enhancement of cortical speech-envelope tracking.

Viewing a speaker's lip movements can improve the brain's ability to 'track' the amplitude envelope of the auditory speech signal and facilitate intelligibility. Whether such neurobehavioral benefits can also arise from tactually sensing the speech envelope on the skin is unclear. We hypothesized that tactile speech envelopes can improve neural tracking of auditory speech and thereby facilitate intelligibility.

Cell-Based Model of the Generation and Maintenance of the Shape and Structure of the Multilayered Shoot Apical Meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana.

One of the central problems in animal and plant developmental biology is deciphering how chemical and mechanical signals interact within a tissue to produce organs of defined size, shape, and function. Cell walls in plants impose a unique constraint on cell expansion since cells are under turgor pressure and do not move relative to one another. Cell wall extensibility and constantly changing distribution of stress on the wall are mechanical properties that vary between individual cells and contribute to rates of expansion and orientation of cell division.

The Return of Actionable Variants Empirical (RAVE) Study, a Mayo Clinic Genomic Medicine Implementation Study: Design and Initial Results.

Objectives: To identify clinically actionable genetic variants from targeted sequencing of 68 disease-related genes, estimate their penetrance, and assess the impact of disclosing results to participants and providers.

Patients And Methods: The Return of Actionable Variants Empirical (RAVE) Study investigates outcomes following the return of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in 68 disease-related genes. The study was initiated in December 2016 and is ongoing.

Cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccination: exploring gendered perspectives, knowledge, attitudes, and cultural taboos among Mexican American adults.

Gendered perspectives may be particularly important in shaping norms and values around HPV and HPV vaccination, as previous research suggests that sexuality taboos (e.g. promiscuity) may contribute to low perceived risk among adolescent and young adult Hispanic females.

Educated and At-Risk: How the Shortage of Available Partners Influences HIV Risk for College-Educated African-American Women.

Background: African-Americans have the greatest gender-ratio imbalance compared to other racial groups in the United States. This has been associated with higher rates of concurrent sexual partnerships, increasing risk of HIV infection. College-educated African-American women are of particular interest as they are not often represented in studies on HIV prevention, while their dating and sexual negotiation patterns may differ from those of their lower-educated and lower-income counterparts more often the subject of study in HIV research among African-Americans.

Cytokinin stabilizes WUSCHEL by acting on the protein domains required for nuclear enrichment and transcription.

Concentration-dependent transcriptional regulation and the spatial regulation of transcription factor levels are poorly studied in plant development. WUSCHEL, a stem cell-promoting homeodomain transcription factor, accumulates at a higher level in the rib meristem than in the overlying central zone, which harbors stem cells in the shoot apical meristems of Arabidopsis thaliana. The differential accumulation of WUSCHEL in adjacent cells is critical for the spatial regulation and levels of CLAVATA3, a negative regulator of WUSCHEL transcription.

Lateralized Basal Ganglia Vulnerability to Pesticide Exposure in Asymptomatic Agricultural Workers.

Pesticide exposure is linked to Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder marked by dopamine cell loss in the substantia nigra of the basal ganglia (BG) that often presents asymmetrically. We previously reported that pesticide-exposed agricultural workers (AW) have nigral diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) changes. The current study sought to confirm this finding, and explore its hemisphere and regional specificity within BG structures using an independent sample population.

Citizenship, length of stay, and screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer in women, 2000-2010.

Background: Two factors jointly account for significant gaps in access to health care among immigrants who are present in the U.S.-legal status, and length of residence.

Reports of self-rated health by citizenship and homeownership, United States 2000-2010.

Citizenship facilitates home ownership, which promotes access to additional resources and structures social context, factors that improve the health of individuals and communities. The objective of this study was to examine whether citizenship moderated the association between homeownership and self-rated health. We used multivariate logistic regression models and propensity score matching techniques to examine this association using pooled years 2000-2010 of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data linked with the National Health Interview Survey to examine U.