Examining and Supporting Mechanistic Explanations Across Chemistry and Biology Courses.

Causal mechanistic reasoning is a thinking strategy that can help students explain complex phenomena using core ideas commonly emphasized in separate undergraduate courses, as it requires students to identify underlying entities, unpack their relevant properties and interactions, and link them to construct mechanistic explanations. As a crossdisciplinary group of biologists, chemists, and teacher educators, we designed a scaffolded set of tasks that require content knowledge from biology and chemistry to construct nested hierarchical mechanistic explanations that span three scales (molecular, macromolecular, and cellular). We examined student explanations across seven introductory and upper-level biology and chemistry courses to determine how the construction of mechanistic explanations varied across courses and the relationship between the construction of mechanistic explanations at different scales.

The epigenome under pressure: On regulatory adaptation to chronic stress in the brain.

Chronic stress (CS) can have long-lasting consequences on behavior and cognition, that are associated with stable changes in gene expression in the brain. Recent work has examined the role of the epigenome in the effects of CS on the brain. This review summarizes experimental evidence in rodents showing that CS can alter the epigenome and the expression of epigenetic modifiers in brain cells, and critically assesses their functional effect on genome function.

Defusing the legal and ethical minefield of epigenetic applications in the military, defense, and security context.

Epigenetic research has brought several important technological achievements, including identifying epigenetic clocks and signatures, and developing epigenetic editing. The potential military applications of such technologies we discuss are stratifying soldiers' health, exposure to trauma using epigenetic testing, information about biological clocks, confirming child soldiers' minor status using epigenetic clocks, and inducing epigenetic modifications in soldiers. These uses could become a reality.

Feasibility and usability of a very low-cost bubble continuous positive airway pressure device including oxygen blenders in a Ugandan level two newborn unit.

Background: Preterm birth and resulting respiratory failure is a leading cause of newborn death- the majority of which occur in resource-constrained settings and could be prevented with bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP). Commercialized devices are expensive, however, and sites commonly use improvised devices utilizing 100% oxygen which can cause blindness. To address this, PATH and a multidisciplinary team developed a very low-cost bCPAP device including fixed-ratio oxygen blenders.

Associations of different hormonal contraceptive methods with hair concentrations of cortisol, cortisone, and testosterone in young women.

Hair concentrations of cortisol, cortisone, and testosterone are non-invasive measures of cumulative steroid hormone levels. Use of contraceptives co-varies with levels of cortisol and cortisone in women's hair. It is unclear, however, how different contraceptive methods (i.

Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions.

The hallmarks of cancer conceptualization is a heuristic tool for distilling the vast complexity of cancer phenotypes and genotypes into a provisional set of underlying principles. As knowledge of cancer mechanisms has progressed, other facets of the disease have emerged as potential refinements. Herein, the prospect is raised that phenotypic plasticity and disrupted differentiation is a discrete hallmark capability, and that nonmutational epigenetic reprogramming and polymorphic microbiomes both constitute distinctive enabling characteristics that facilitate the acquisition of hallmark capabilities.

Epigenetics of childhood trauma: Long term sequelae and potential for treatment.

Childhood trauma (CT) can have persistent effects on the brain and is one of the major risk factors for neuropsychiatric diseases in adulthood. Recent advances in the field of epigenetics suggest that epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, as well as regulatory processes involving non-coding RNA are associated with the long-term sequelae of CT. This narrative review summarizes current knowledge on the epigenetic basis of CT and describes studies in animal models and human subjects examining how the epigenome and transcriptome are modified by CT in the brain.

Indirect Estimation of Breathing Rate from Heart Rate Monitoring System during Running.

Recent advances in wearable technologies integrating multi-modal sensors have enabled the in-field monitoring of several physiological metrics. In sport applications, wearable devices have been widely used to improve performance while minimizing the risk of injuries and illness. The objective of this project is to estimate breathing rate (BR) from respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) using heart rate (HR) recorded with a chest belt during physical activities, yielding additional physiological insight without the need of an additional sensor.

Long-Term Impact of Social Isolation and Molecular Underpinnings.

Prolonged periods of social isolation can have detrimental effects on the physiology and behavior of exposed individuals in humans and animal models. This involves complex molecular mechanisms across tissues in the body which remain partly identified. This review discusses the biology of social isolation and describes the acute and lasting effects of prolonged periods of social isolation with a focus on the molecular events leading to behavioral alterations.

Impact of Parental Exposure on Offspring Health in Humans.

The possibility that parental life experiences and environmental exposures influence mental and physical health across generations is an important concept in biology and medicine. Evidence from animal models has established the existence of a non-genetic mode of inheritance. This form of heredity involves transmission of the effects of parental exposure to the offspring through epigenetic changes in the germline.

Global analysis of FSH-regulated gene expression and histone modification in mouse granulosa cells.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) regulates ovarian follicular development through a specific gene expression program. We analyzed FSH-regulated transcriptome and histone modification in granulosa cells during follicular development. We used super-stimulated immature mice and collected granulosa cells before and 48 h after stimulation with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG).

Transgene-free remote magnetothermal regulation of adrenal hormones.

The field of bioelectronic medicines seeks to modulate electrical signaling within peripheral organs, providing temporally precise control of physiological functions. This is usually accomplished with implantable devices, which are often unsuitable for interfacing with soft and highly vascularized organs. Here, we demonstrate an alternative strategy for modulating peripheral organ function, which relies on the endogenous expression of a heat-sensitive cation channel, transient receptor potential vanilloid family member 1 (TRPV1), and heat dissipation by magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in remotely applied alternating magnetic fields.

ATAD5 deficiency alters DNA damage metabolism and sensitizes cells to PARP inhibition.

Replication factor C (RFC), a heteropentamer of RFC1-5, loads PCNA onto DNA during replication and repair. Once DNA synthesis has ceased, PCNA must be unloaded. Recent findings assign the uloader role primarily to an RFC-like (RLC) complex, in which the largest RFC subunit, RFC1, has been replaced with ATAD5 (ELG1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae).

Imbalanced Regulation of Fungal Nutrient Transports According to Phosphate Availability in a Symbiocosm Formed by Poplar, Sorghum, and .

In arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, key components of nutrient uptake and exchange are specialized transporters that facilitate nutrient transport across membranes. As phosphate is a nutrient and a regulator of nutrient exchanges, we investigated the effect of P availability to extraradical mycelium (ERM) on both plant and fungus transcriptomes and metabolomes in a symbiocosm system. By perturbing nutrient exchanges under the control of P, our objectives were to identify new fungal genes involved in nutrient transports, and to characterize in which extent the fungus differentially modulates its metabolism when interacting with two different plant species.

Why Include the Public in Genome Editing Governance Deliberation?

With the birth of genetically engineered twins in November 2018, international debate about human genome editing governance has moved from an emphasis on mutual engagement among multiple stakeholders to a self-regulatory model enacted through high-level expert groups with little or no public input. This article reconstructs this paradigm shift and suggests that inclusive public deliberation should still have a role in public decision making about genome editing.

Remotely controlled chemomagnetic modulation of targeted neural circuits.

Connecting neural circuit output to behaviour can be facilitated by the precise chemical manipulation of specific cell populations. Engineered receptors exclusively activated by designer small molecules enable manipulation of specific neural pathways. However, their application to studies of behaviour has thus far been hampered by a trade-off between the low temporal resolution of systemic injection versus the invasiveness of implanted cannulae or infusion pumps.

Synthetic lethality between BRCA1 deficiency and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition is modulated by processing of endogenous oxidative DNA damage.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) facilitate the repair of DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs). When PARPs are inhibited, unrepaired SSBs colliding with replication forks give rise to cytotoxic double-strand breaks. These are normally rescued by homologous recombination (HR), but, in cells with suboptimal HR, PARP inhibition leads to genomic instability and cell death, a phenomenon currently exploited in the therapy of ovarian cancers in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

Maternal Overnutrition Induces Long-Term Cognitive Deficits across Several Generations.

Ample evidence from epidemiological studies has linked maternal obesity with metabolic disorders such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes in the next generation. Recently, it was also shown that maternal obesity has long-term effects on the progeny's central nervous system. However, very little is known regarding how maternal overnutrition may affect, in particular, the cognitive abilities of the offspring.

Psychological Antecedents of Retirement Planning: A Systematic Review.

As workforce aging continues through the next decade, the number of persons who will retire from long-held jobs and careers will increase. In recent years, researchers across disciplines of psychology have focused attention on the impact of the retirement process on post-retirement adjustment and well-being. The objective of the current review is twofold.

Transgenerational Epigenetics of Traumatic Stress.

Traumatic stress is a type of environmental experience that can modify behavior, cognition and physiological functions such as metabolism, in mammals. Many of the effects of traumatic stress can be transmitted to subsequent generations even when individuals from these generations are not exposed to any traumatic stressor. This book chapter discusses the concept of epigenetic/non-genomic inheritance of such traits involving the germline in mammals.

Chop and Change: A Commentary and Demonstration of Classical vs. Modern Measurement Models for Interpreting Latent-Stability of Occupational-Future Time Perspective.

This commentary article was initially motivated by an empirical paper published in the journal of that reported support for stability (non-decreasing) future time perspectives (FTP) over two repeated-measurements. That is, empirical evidence supporting the temporal stability of an adapted measure (occupational-FTP [O-FTP]) serves as guiding framework for demonstrating limitations of classical test theory (CTT) and modern psychometrics' (IRT) enabling extension for stronger substantive inferences from response data. The focal authors' quantitative attention to study design and statistical analysis is commendable.