Comparative assessment of ActiGraph data processing techniques for measuring sedentary behavior in adults with COPD.

The ActiGraph is commonly used for measuring sedentary behavior (SB), but the best data processing technique is not established for sedentary adults with chronic illness. The purpose of this study was to process ActiGraph vertical axis and vector magnitude data with multiple combinations of filters, non-wear algorithm lengths, and cut-points and to compare ActiGraph estimates to activPAL-measured sedentary time in sedentary adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).This study was a secondary analysis of adults ≥50 years ( = 59; mean age: 69.

Author Correction: A novel atypical sperm centriole is functional during human fertilization.

In the original version of this Article, the affiliation details for Jadranka Loncarek and Vito Mennella were incorrectly given as 'Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada' and 'Laboratory of Protein Dynamics and Signaling, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, 1050 Boyles Street, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA', respectively. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

A novel atypical sperm centriole is functional during human fertilization.

The inheritance of the centrosome during human fertilization remains mysterious. Here we show that the sperm centrosome contains, in addition to the known typical barrel-shaped centriole (the proximal centriole, PC), a surrounding matrix (pericentriolar material, PCM), and an atypical centriole (distal centriole, DC) composed of splayed microtubules surrounding previously undescribed rods of centriole luminal proteins. The sperm centrosome is remodeled by both reduction and enrichment of specific proteins and the formation of these rods during spermatogenesis.

Spinal Circuits Transmitting Mechanical Pain and Itch.

In 1905, Henry Head first suggested that transmission of pain-related protopathic information can be negatively modulated by inputs from afferents sensing innocuous touch and temperature. In 1965, Melzak and Wall proposed a more concrete gate control theory of pain that highlights the interaction between unmyelinated C fibers and myelinated A fibers in pain transmission. Here we review the current understanding of the spinal microcircuits transmitting and gating mechanical pain or itch.

The distribution of echinostome parasites in ponds and implications for larval anuran survival.

Parasites can influence host population dynamics, community composition and evolution. Prediction of these effects, however, requires an understanding of the influence of ecological context on parasite distributions and the consequences of infection for host fitness. We address these issues with an amphibian - trematode (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) host-parasite system.

Host food resource supplementation increases echinostome infection in larval anurans.

Host-parasite interactions are often influenced by environmental factors through multiple mechanisms. For example, changes in host food resources may affect multiple host traits (e.g.

Low-Volatility Model Demonstrates Humidity Affects Environmental Toxin Deposition on Plastics at a Molecular Level.

Despite the ever-increasing prevalence of plastic debris and endocrine disrupting toxins in aquatic ecosystems, few studies describe their interactions in freshwater environments. We present a model system to investigate the deposition/desorption behaviors of low-volatility lake ecosystem toxins on microplastics in situ and in real time. Molecular interactions of gas-phase nonylphenols (NPs) with the surfaces of two common plastics, poly(styrene) and poly(ethylene terephthalate), were studied using quartz crystal microbalance and sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy.

Phylogenetic divergence between the obligate luminous symbionts of flashlight fishes demonstrates specificity of bacteria to host genera.

The luminous bacterial symbionts of anomalopid flashlight fishes, which appear to be obligately dependent on their hosts for growth, share several evolutionary patterns with unrelated obligate bacteria. However, only one flashlight fish symbiont species has been characterized in detail, and it is therefore not known if the bacteria from other anomalopid species are highly divergent (a pattern common to obligate symbionts). Unlike most obligate symbionts, the bacteria symbiotic with anomalopids are extracellular and spend time outside their hosts in the environment, from which they are thought to colonize new host generations.

Homology blocks of Plasmodium falciparum var genes and clinically distinct forms of severe malaria in a local population.

Background: The primary target of the human immune response to the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), is encoded by the members of the hyper-diverse var gene family. The parasite exhibits antigenic variation via mutually exclusive expression (switching) of the ~60 var genes within its genome.

Genomic signatures of obligate host dependence in the luminous bacterial symbiont of a vertebrate.

The majority of bacteria engaged in bioluminescent symbiosis are environmentally acquired and facultatively symbiotic. A few enigmatic bioluminescent symbionts have not been successfully cultured, which has led to speculation that they may be obligately dependent on their hosts. Here, we report the draft genome of the uncultured luminous symbiont of an anomalopid flashlight fish, 'Candidatus Photodesmus katoptron'.

Trapping and visualizing intermediate steps in the mismatch repair pathway in vivo.

During mismatch repair, MutS is responsible for mismatch detection and the recruitment of MutL to the mismatch through a mechanism that is unknown in most organisms. Here, we identified a discrete site on MutS that is occupied by MutL in Bacillus subtilis. The MutL binding site is composed of two adjacent phenylalanine residues located laterally in an exposed loop of MutS.

Optimizing de novo assembly of short-read RNA-seq data for phylogenomics.

Background: RNA-seq has shown huge potential for phylogenomic inferences in non-model organisms. However, error, incompleteness, and redundant assembled transcripts for each gene in de novo assembly of short reads cause noise in analyses and a large amount of missing data in the aligned matrix. To address these problems, we compare de novo assemblies of paired end 90 bp RNA-seq reads using Oases, Trinity, Trans-ABySS and SOAPdenovo-Trans to transcripts from genome annotation of the model plant Ricinus communis.

Natural merodiploidy of the lux-rib operon of Photobacterium leiognathi from coastal waters of Honshu, Japan.

Sequence analysis of the bacterial luminescence (lux) genes has proven effective in helping resolve evolutionary relationships among luminous bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis using lux genes, however, is based on the assumptions that the lux genes are present as single copies on the bacterial chromosome and are vertically inherited. We report here that certain strains of Photobacterium leiognathi carry multiple phylogenetically distinct copies of the entire operon that codes for luminescence and riboflavin synthesis genes, luxCDABEG-ribEBHA.

Evolution of cis-regulatory sequence and function in Diptera.

Cis-regulatory sequences direct patterns of gene expression essential for development and physiology. Evolutionary changes in these sequences contribute to phenotypic divergence. Despite their importance, cis-regulatory regions remain one of the most enigmatic features of the genome.

Genomic and phylogenetic characterization of luminous bacteria symbiotic with the deep-sea fish Chlorophthalmus albatrossis (Aulopiformes: Chlorophthalmidae).

Bacteria forming light-organ symbiosis with deep-sea chlorophthalmid fishes (Aulopiformes: Chlorophthalmidae) are considered to belong to the species Photobacterium phosphoreum. The identification of these bacteria as P. phosphoreum, however, was based exclusively on phenotypic traits, which may not discriminate between phenetically similar but evolutionarily distinct luminous bacteria.

Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from identified spinal neurons in the zebrafish embryo.

We describe a preparation for obtaining patch-clamp recordings from identified embryonic spinal cord interneurons, motoneurons and sensory neurons in an in vivo zebrafish preparation. This preparation is used to study the spatial and temporal patterns of spontaneous and touch-evoked electrical activity during the initial development of circuitry in the spinal cord. The combination of these physiological techniques with the powerful genetic and molecular tools available in the zebrafish has the potential to increase our understanding of the complex interactions between genes and electrical activity during the development of the vertebrate nervous system.