Engineering and Application of Zinc Finger Proteins and TALEs for Biomedical Research.

Engineered DNA-binding domains provide a powerful technology for numerous biomedical studies due to their ability to recognize specific DNA sequences. Zinc fingers (ZF) are one of the most common DNA-binding domains and have been extensively studied for a variety of applications, such as gene regulation, genome engineering and diagnostics. Another novel DNA-binding domain known as a transcriptional activator-like effector (TALE) has been more recently discovered, which has a previously undescribed DNA-binding mode.

Comprehensive study of excess phosphate response reveals ethylene mediated signaling that negatively regulates plant growth and development.

Excess Phosphorus (P) in agriculture is causing serious environmental problems like eutrophication of lakes and rivers. Unlike the enormous information available for phosphate starvation response (P), very few information is available for the effect of excess phosphate P on plants. Characterization of Excess Phosphate Response (EPR) is essential for designing strategies to increase phosphate accumulation and tolerance.

Effect of Ionic Strength on Solvation Geometries in Aqueous Nitrate Ion Solutions.

Temperature-dependent infrared spectra of aqueous nitrate solutions with a range of concentrations and ionic strengths are used to determine the effect of ionic strength on the relative stabilities of different solvation geometries in aqueous nitrate ion. The asymmetric stretching absorption band from 1250 to 1450 cm changes line shape with temperature, allowing two distinct peaks to be fit for each spectrum. Because each peak is assigned based on electronic structure calculations as a proxy to a different solvation motif, van't Hoff plots provide insight into the thermodynamics of exchange between different solvation geometries.

The Roles of Fathers' Involvement and Coparenting in Relationship Quality among Cohabiting and Married Parents.

Relationship quality often declines following the birth of child, likely reflecting in part the shift towards role traditionalization that occurs through gender specialization. The current study used longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, an urban birth cohort in 2000 consisting of structured interviews of mothers and fathers who were followed over 5 years (=1275), to examine whether low levels of fathers' involvement and coparenting, two indicators of role traditionalization, were linked to negative trajectories of mothers' and fathers' relationship quality for couples whose first child was born in marriage or cohabitation. We carefully consider union transitions in the 5 years postpartum by including between-subjects variables indicating that the parents were continually married, continually cohabiting, were cohabiting at the child's birth and got married after, or were cohabiting or married at the child's birth but subsequently separated.

Measuring a conceptual model of the relationship between compulsive cell phone use, in-vehicle cell phone use, and motor vehicle crash.

Objectives: Previous research suggests that anticipation of incoming phone calls or messages and impulsivity are significantly associated with motor vehicle crash. We took a more explanative approach to investigate a conceptual model regarding the direct and indirect effect of compulsive cell phone use and impulsive personality traits on crash risk.

Methods: We recruited a sample of 307 undergraduate college students to complete an online survey that included measures of cell phone use, impulsivity, and history of motor vehicle crash.

The influence of androgens on hibernation phenology of free-living male arctic ground squirrels.

Free-living ground squirrel species are sexually dimorphic in hibernation phenology. The underlying causes of these differences are not yet known. Androgens, testosterone (T) in particular, inhibit hibernation.

Comparing and refining karst disturbance index methods through application in an island karst setting.

The interconnected nature of surface and subsurface karst environments allows easy disturbance to their aquifers and specialized ecosystems from anthropogenic impacts. The karst disturbance index is a holistic tool used to measure disturbance to karst environments and has been applied and refined through studies in Florida and Italy, among others. Through these applications, the karst disturbance index has evolved into two commonly used methods of application; yet, the karst disturbance index is still susceptible to evaluation and modification for application in other areas around the world.

Social capital and health in Kenya: A multilevel analysis.

Despite the acknowledgment that social capital is an important predictor of good health and overall well being in wealthy countries, little empirical research has been conducted in developing countries, particularly in Africa, to examine this relationship. This study examines the association between cognitive (trust) and structural (membership in organization) social capital on health at both the individual and contextual levels. Health was measured using answers to a subjective question on physical health and anxiety/worry suffered by individuals within the last 30 days.

Reprint of: Silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticle toxicity in plants: A review of current research.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have become widely used in recent years for many manufacturing and medical processes. Recent literature suggests that many metallic nanomaterials including those of silver (Ag) and titanium dioxide (TiO) cause significant toxic effects in animal cell culture and animal models, however, toxicity studies using plant species are limited. This review examines current progress in the understanding of the effect of silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on plant species.

Parenting style and perceptions of children's weight among US Hispanics: a qualitative analysis.

Parental perceptions of their children's weight status may limit their willingness to participate in or acknowledge the importance of early interventions to prevent childhood obesity. This study aimed to examine potential differences in Hispanic mothers' and fathers' perceptions of childhood obesity, lifestyle behaviors and communication preferences to inform the development of culturally appropriate childhood obesity interventions. A qualitative study using focus groups was conducted.

Silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticle toxicity in plants: A review of current research.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have become widely used in recent years for many manufacturing and medical processes. Recent literature suggests that many metallic nanomaterials including those of silver (Ag) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) cause significant toxic effects in animal cell culture and animal models, however, toxicity studies using plant species are limited. This review examines current progress in the understanding of the effect of silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on plant species.

Phylogeny of the Oniticellini and Onthophagini dung beetles (Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) from morphological evidence.

A phylogenetic study was conducted to hypothesize relationships of most of the genera of the Oniticellini and Onthophagini for the first time using morphological characters from a diverse array of external and internal sclerites. The monophyly and sister relationship of both tribes was found using Bayesian and parsimony analyses with heavily to moderately weighted data. An alternative hypothesis based on parsimony analyses of unweighted or slightly weighted data show a paraphyletic Oniticellini without the Onthophagini, although recognition of the subtribe Helictopleurina as a tribe would eliminate non-monophyly.

Comparative transcriptome and proteome analysis to reveal the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles in Arabidopsis.

A large number of plants have been tested and exploited in search of a green chemistry approach for the fabrication of gold or other precious metal nanomaterials. Despite the potential of plant based methods, very little is known about the underlying biochemical reactions and genes involved in the biotransformation mechanism of AuCl4 into gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). In this research, we thus focused on studying the effect of Au on growth and nanoparticles formation by analyses of transcriptome, proteome and ionome shift in Arabidopsis.

Microarray analysis of Arabidopsis under gold exposure to identify putative genes involved in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).

Very little is known about the genes responsible for Au uptake, reduction and detoxification in plants, which indeed essential to understand the complex trait of AuNP biosynthesis. We designed a targeted experiment to elucidate the response of plant at transcriptional level under Au exposure, and a microarray was performed on root tissue treated with AuCl4 (-) in the absence of nutrient media to record specific gene expression signature. Here, we describe the experimental procedures and data analysis in detail to reproduce the results (available at GEO database under GSE55436) published by Shukla et al.

A novel link between FMR gene and the JNK pathway provides clues to possible role in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive form of thoracic cancer with poor prognosis. While some studies have identified the molecular alterations associated with MPM, little is known about their role in MPM. For example, fragile X mental retardation (FMR) gene is up-regulated in MPM but its role in MPM is unknown.

A Cathepsin-L is required for invasive behavior during Air Sac Primordium development in Drosophila melanogaster.

The Drosophila Air Sac Primordium (ASP) has emerged as an important structure where cellular, genetic and molecular events responsible for invasive behavior and branching morphogenesis can be studied. In this report we present data which demonstrate that a Cathepsin-L encoded by the gene CP1 in Drosophila is necessary for invasive behavior during ASP development. We find that CP1 is expressed in ASP and knockdown of CP1 results in suppression of migratory and invasive behavior observed during ASP development.

Marangoni convection in a thin film on a vertically oscillating plate.

Thermocapillary (Marangoni) convection in a thin film on a plate oscillating with a frequency ranging from ultralow to high is considered. By adjusting the vibration amplitude, the impact of the vibration is kept non-negligible. Using the long-wave approximation framework, the amplitude equations are derived for each frequency interval, and linear and weakly nonlinear stability analyses are performed, supplemented by computations where necessary.

Generation of chlorine by-products in simulated wash water.

Free chlorine (FC) reacting with organic matter in wash water promotes the formation of chlorine by-products. This study aims to evaluate the dynamic impact of FC and organic load on the generation of haloacetic acids (HAAs) and trihalomethanes (THMs) in simulated wash water. Lettuce juice was sequentially added into FC solution with FC periodically replenished.

Associations Between Hypertension and Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference in U.S. Adults: A Comparative Analysis by Gender.

Introduction: The body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are a risk of hypertension, but their potentially multiplicative effect on hypertension is underexplored.

Aim: To examine modifying effects of BMI and WC on hypertension using a nationally representative U.S.

Ligand control in the photochemical generation of high-valent porphyrin-iron-oxo derivatives.

Visible-light irradiation of photo-labile bromate porphyrin-iron(III) salts gave iron(IV)-oxo porphyrin radical cations (compound I model) or the neutral iron(IV)-oxo porphyrin (compound II model), depending on the electronic structure of porphyrin ligands.

Light-induced plasticity in leaf hydraulics, venation, anatomy, and gas exchange in ecologically diverse Hawaiian lobeliads.

Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf ) quantifies the capacity of a leaf to transport liquid water and is a major constraint on light-saturated stomatal conductance (gs ) and photosynthetic rate (Amax ). Few studies have tested the plasticity of Kleaf and anatomy across growth light environments. These provided conflicting results.

Astrophysics. Multiple images of a highly magnified supernova formed by an early-type cluster galaxy lens.

In 1964, Refsdal hypothesized that a supernova whose light traversed multiple paths around a strong gravitational lens could be used to measure the rate of cosmic expansion. We report the discovery of such a system. In Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we have found four images of a single supernova forming an Einstein cross configuration around a redshift z = 0.

Regulation of a serine protease homolog by the JNK pathway during thoracic development of Drosophila melanogaster.

The importance of the Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) pathway during normal development and tumor invasion has been well documented in Drosophila. Here, this pathway plays important roles in epithelial morphogenesis, wound healing, apoptosis, immunity and regulation of lifespan. However, which downstream molecules facilitate these effects is not very well elucidated.

Synthesis and molecular structure of the 5-methoxycarbonylpentyl α-glycoside of the upstream, terminal moiety of the O-specific polysaccharide of Vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Inaba.

The trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMSOTf)-catalyzed reaction of methyl 6-hydroxyhexanoate with 3-O-benzyl-4-(2,4-di-O-acetyl-3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-dideoxy-2-O-levulinoyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate followed by a two-step deprotection (hydrogenolysis over Pd/C catalyst and Zemplén deacylation, to simultaneously remove the acetyl and levulinoyl groups) gave 5-(methoxycarbonyl)pentyl 4-(3-deoxy-L-glycero-tetronamido)-4,6-dideoxy-α-D-mannopyranoside. The structure of the latter, for which crystals were obtained in the analytically pure state for the first time, followed from its NMR and high-resolution mass spectra and was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The molecule has two approximately linear components; a line through the aglycon intersects a line through the mannosyl and tetronylamido groups at 120°.