Early social attachments lie at the heart of emotional and social development in many mammals, including humans. In nature, monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) experience considerable natural variation in early social attachment opportunities due to differences in family structure [e.g., single-mothers (SM), solitary breeding pairs, and communal groups]. We exploited some of this natural variation in family structure to examine the influence of early social environment on the development of adult social behavior. First, we characterized the parental care received by pups reared biparentally (BP) or by SM in the laboratory. Second, we examined whether BP- and SM-reared offspring differed in adult nurturing, bonding, and emotional behaviors. Finally, we investigated the effects of rearing condition on neuropeptide systems that regulate adult social behavior [oxytocin (OT), vasopressin, and corticotropin-releasing factor, (CRF)]. Observations revealed that SM-reared pups were exposed more frequently (P < 0.01), licked and groomed less (P < 0.01), and matured more slowly (P < 0.01) than BP-reared pups. In adulthood, there were striking socio-behavioral differences: SM-reared females showed low spontaneous, pup-directed alloparental behavior (P < 0.01) and both males and females from the SM-reared condition showed delayed partner preference formation. While rearing did not impact neuropeptide receptor densities in the ventral forebrain as we predicted, SM-reared animals, particularly females, had increased OT content (P < 0.01) and greater dorsal raphe CRF2 densities (P < 0.05) and both measures correlated with licking and grooming experienced during the first 10 days of life. These results suggest that naturalistic variation in social rearing conditions can introduce diversity into adult nurturing and attachment behaviors.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/neuro.08.017.2009 | DOI Listing |
J Adolesc Health
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Gender Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Department of Pediatrics, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, San Francisco, California.
Purpose: Limited data exist about the emotional health of transgender youth, either before or after initiation of gender-affirming hormone (GAH). The objectives were: (1) Investigate and verify the factor structure of the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Emotional Battery (NIHTB-EB) among trans and non-binary (TNB) youth; (2) Examine changes in emotional health over 24 months of GAH treatment; and (3) Examine the extent to which changes in emotional health were associated with improved appearance congruence (AC).
Methods: Study respondents were from Trans Youth Care - United States (TYCUS) study, an observational, prospective, longitudinal study of adolescents initiating GAH enrolled between 2016 and 2019.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, China; Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, China. Electronic address:
Bacterial adaptive immunity, driven by CRISPR-Cas systems, protects against foreign nucleic acids from mobile genetic elements (MGEs), like bacteriophages. The type I-E CRISPR-Cas system employs the Cascade (CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense) complex for target DNA cleavage, guided by crRNA. Anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins, such as AcrIE7, counteract this defense by inhibiting Cascade activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Chem Chem Phys
January 2025
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China.
Globin X is a newly discovered member of the globin family, while its structure and function are not fully understood. In this study, we performed protein modelling studies using Alphafold3 and molecular dynamics simulations, which suggested that the protein adopts a typical globin fold, with the formation of a potential disulfide bond of Cys65 and Cys141. To elucidate the role of this unique disulfide in protein structure and stability, we constructed a double mutant of C65S/C141S by mutating the two cysteine residues to serine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Signal Behav
December 2025
Technology Center, China Tobacco Jiangsu Industrial Co, Ltd, Nanjing, China.
Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) represents a group of transcription factors commonly present in higher eukaryotes, typically consisting of three subunits: NF-YA, NF-YB, and NF-YC. They play crucial roles in the embryonic development, photosynthesis, flowering, abiotic stress responses, and other essential processes in plants. To better understand the genome-wide NF-Y domain-containing proteins, the protein physicochemical properties, chromosomal localization, synteny, phylogenetic relationships, genomic structure, promoter -elements, and protein interaction network of NtNF-Ys in tobacco ( L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemistry
January 2025
University of Hyderabad School of Chemistry, School of Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, 500046, Hyderabad, INDIA.
The amorphous/crystalline (A/C) assembly in molecular solids has a direct bearing on their attributes and applications, including mechanical, pharmaceutical, electronic and photophysical. A systematic analysis of the molecular features and interactions that determine the predilection towards the A, C or bi-stable A-C states is critical. This fundamental problem is addressed through an exhaustive investigation of a large family of alkoxyalkyl diaminodicyanoquinodimethanes (ROR'-DADQs); enhancement of their fluorescence from the solution, to the A, to the C state serves as an excellent signature of the phase preference and temporal stability.
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