Chloroplast mRNAs are 3' polyuridylylated in the Green Alga Pithophora roettleri (Cladophorales).

Species within the green algal order Cladophorales have an unconventional plastome structure where individual coding regions or small numbers of genes occur as linear single-stranded DNAs folded into hairpin structures. Another group of photosynthetic organisms with an equivalently reduced chloroplast genome are the peridinin dinoflagellates of the Alveolata eukaryotic lineage whose plastomes are mini-circles carrying one or a few genes required for photosynthesis. One unusual aspect of the Alveolata is the polyuridylylation of mRNA 3' ends among peridinin dinoflagellates and the chromerid algae.

Mitochondrial mRNA fragments are circularized in a human HEK cell line.

The relatively recent focus on the widespread occurrence and abundance of circular RNAs (circRNA) in the human cell nucleus has sparked an intensive interest in their existence and possible roles in cell gene expression and physiology. The presence of circRNAs in mammalian mitochondria, however, has been under-explored. Mitochondrial mRNAs differ from those produced from nuclear genes because they lack introns and are transcribed as poly-cistronic transcripts that are endonucleolytically cleaved, leaving transcripts with very small 5' and 3' UTRs.

Toward understanding the impact of mHealth features for people with HIV: a latent class analysis of PositiveLinks usage.

PositiveLinks (PL) is a multi-feature smartphone-based platform to improve engagement-in-care and viral suppression (VS) among clinic patients living with HIV. Features include medication reminders, mood/stress check-ins, a community board, and secure provider messaging. Our goal was to examine how PL users interact with the app and determine whether usage patterns correlate with clinical outcomes.

Synthesis, characterization, DNA binding, topoisomerase inhibition, and apoptosis induction studies of a novel cobalt(III) complex with a thiosemicarbazone ligand.

In this study, 9-anthraldehyde-N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone (MeATSC) 1 and [Co(phen)(OCO)]Cl·6HO 2 (where phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) were synthesized. [Co(phen)(OCO)]Cl·6HO 2 was used to produce anhydrous [Co(phen)(HO)](NO)3. Subsequently, anhydrous [Co(phen)(HO)](NO)3 was reacted with MeATSC 1 to produce [Co(phen)(MeATSC)](NO)·1.

Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Knowledge Carry Over in Middle School Students?

Conceptual knowledge development in physical education is critical to helping learners become physically literate. Understanding physical education learners' long-term knowledge development is one of the first steps in designing effective curriculum. Guided by the constructivist learning theory, this study aimed to determining the extent to which the cardiorespiratory fitness knowledge learned in the first year contributed to further knowledge development in the second year.

Stabilizing defects in metal-organic frameworks: pendant Lewis basic sites as capping agents in UiO-66-type MOFs toward highly stable and defective porous materials.

An isostructural series of zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (ZrMOFs) with UiO-66-type structure (including three previously unreported materials) have been successfully synthesized from combination of mono- and di-substituted terephthalic acids (H2BDC-R, -R = -2OH: 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid; -2SH: 2,5-dimercaptoterephthalic acid; -SMe: 2-methylsulfanyl-terephthalic acid; -2SEtSMe: 2,5-bis[[2-(methylthio)ethyl]thio]-terephthalic acid; -2OEtOMe: 2,5-bis[[2-(methyloxy)ethyl]oxy]terephthalic acid) and ZrCl4 to produce the MOFs termed UiO-66-R. UiO-66-2SEtSMe is found to be highly defective, with approximately half the expected number of ligands missing (as compared to nondefective structure), and exhibiting mesoporosity. Thioether functionalities are shown to stabilize UiO-66-type MOFs in acidic (pH = 2) and basic (pH = 12) aqueous environments.

The chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of the green algae isolated from Central Georgia (USA).

A (Chlorophyta) strain was isolated from a freshwater system in Milledgeville, Georgia and its chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes sequenced. The chloroplast genome was 199,241 bp with 136 genes and the mitochondrial 40,756 bp with 40 genes, both were circular. Comparison of the 'Milledgeville' plastome to other isolates revealed a nearly identical sequence identity to archived genes and genomic fragments from the strain UTEX1364 which was isolated from Lake Machovo in 1962.

Community Perceptions of Comprehensive Harm Reduction Programs and Stigma Towards People Who Inject Drugs in Rural Virginia.

The spread of infectious diseases, including Human Immunodeficiency virus and Hepatitis C virus, is a major risk of injection drug use. The Center for Disease Control's 2015 ranking of counties vulnerable to rapid dissemination of HIV/HCV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID) places Dickenson County, Virginia at 29th in the nation and 2nd in Virginia. Comprehensive Harm Reduction is an evidence-based intervention shown to reduce the negative impacts of drug use including the spread of infectious diseases, overdose and death among people who are unable or not ready to stop using drugs.

Polynuclear ruthenium organometallic compounds induce DNA damage in human cells identified by the nucleotide excision repair factor XPC.

Ruthenium organometallic compounds represent an attractive avenue in developing alternatives to platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents. While evidence has been presented indicating ruthenium-based compounds interact with isolated DNA , it is unclear what effect these compounds exert in cells. Moreover, the antibiotic efficacy of polynuclear ruthenium organometallic compounds remains uncertain.

The complete chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of the diatom Nitzschia palea (Bacillariophyceae) demonstrate high sequence similarity to the endosymbiont organelles of the dinotom Durinskia baltica.

Nitzschia palea is a common freshwater diatom used as a bioindicator because of its tolerance of polluted waterways. There is also evidence it may be the tertiary endosymbiont within the "dinotom" dinoflagellate Durinskia baltica. A putative strain of N.

Polynuclear ruthenium organometallic complexes containing a 1,3,5-triazine ligand: synthesis, DNA interaction, and biological activity.

It is now well established that ruthenium complexes are attractive alternatives to platinum-based anticancer agents. Most of the ruthenium compounds currently under investigation contain a single metal center. The synthesis of multinuclear analogues may provide access to novel complexes with enhanced biological activity.

Leaderless mRNAs are circularized in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mitochondria.

The mitochondrial genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii encodes eight protein coding genes transcribed on two polycistronic primary transcripts. The mRNAs are endonucleolytically cleaved from these transcripts directly upstream of their AUG start codons, creating leaderless mRNAs with 3' untranslated regions (UTR) comprised of most or all of their downstream intergenic regions. In this report, we provide evidence that these processed linear mRNAs are circularized, which places the 3' UTR upstream of the 5' start codon, creating a leader sequence ex post facto.

Plastid Transcript Editing across Dinoflagellate Lineages Shows Lineage-Specific Application but Conserved Trends.

Dinoflagellates are a group of unicellular protists with immense ecological and evolutionary significance and cell biological diversity. Of the photosynthetic dinoflagellates, the majority possess a plastid containing the pigment peridinin, whereas some lineages have replaced this plastid by serial endosymbiosis with plastids of distinct evolutionary affiliations, including a fucoxanthin pigment-containing plastid of haptophyte origin. Previous studies have described the presence of widespread substitutional RNA editing in peridinin and fucoxanthin plastid genes.

Copper complexes containing thiosemicarbazones derived from 6-nitropiperonal: Antimicrobial and biophysical properties.

A series of four thiosemicarbazones from 6-nitropiperonal along with the corresponding copper complexes were synthesized. The biophysical characteristics of the complexes were investigated by the binding to DNA and human serum albumin. The binding to DNA is moderate; the binding constants run from (0.

Deep Transcriptome Sequencing of Two Green Algae, Chara vulgaris and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Provides No Evidence of Organellar RNA Editing.

Nearly all land plants post-transcriptionally modify specific nucleotides within RNAs, a process known as RNA editing. This adaptation allows the correction of deleterious mutations within the asexually reproducing and presumably non-recombinant chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes. There are no reports of RNA editing in any of the green algae so this phenomenon is presumed to have originated in embryophytes either after the invasion of land or in the now extinct algal ancestor of all land plants.

Evaluation of a Clinical Cancer Trial Research Training Workshop: Helping Nurses Build Capacity in Southwest Virginia.

Residents of Southwest Virginia (SWVA) face significant barriers in accessing the most advanced forms of cancer care, cancer risk reduction, and clinical trials involvement. A collaboration between the University of Virginia (UVA) Cancer Center and UVA School of Nursing was forged with oncology caregivers in this region to build community capacity to support Cancer Clinical trials (CCT) by strengthening the workforce, and thus improving health outcomes for this underserved region of Appalachia. The UVA School of Nursing designed an educational workshop focusing on the basics of CCT to facilitate the development of a skilled nursing workforce in the SWVA region that could provide care to patients on protocol and/or to encourage residents to participate in trials.

Health Beliefs and Breast Cancer Screening in Rural Appalachia: An Evaluation of the Health Belief Model.

Purpose: This study explored the role of the Health Belief Model in predicting breast cancer screening among women in rural Appalachia. Health beliefs (perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, severity of breast cancer, and benefits and barriers to screening) were used to predict health behavior (mammogram frequency).

Method: A total of 170 women aged 18-78 were recruited at a free health clinic in central Appalachia.

Has adult sleep duration declined over the last 50+ years?

The common assumption that population sleep duration has declined in the past few decades has not been supported by recent reviews, which have been limited to self-reported data. The aim of this review was to assess whether there has been a reduction in objectively recorded sleep duration over the last 50+ years. The literature was searched for studies published from 1960 to 2013, which assessed objective sleep duration (total sleep time (TST)) in healthy normal-sleeping adults.

Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria That Use Furans as the Sole Carbon Source.

Five bacterial strains were isolated from wastewater treatment facilities which were able to use furfural as the sole carbon source. Based on 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis, these strains were identified as Cupriavidus pinatubonensis (designated ALS1280), Pigmentiphaga sp. (ALS1172), Pseudomonas sp.

Digital divide 2.0: the role of social networking sites in seeking health information online from a longitudinal perspective.

Adopting a longitudinal angle, this study analyzed data from the Pew Internet's Health Tracking Survey in 2006, 2008, and 2010 to identify potential communication inequalities in social networking site use. Results showed that with the growing role of social networking site use in predicting people's likelihood of seeking health information online, the socioeconomic and demographic factors that contributed to the disparities in social networking site use could also lead to disparities in seeking health information online. Also, results indicated that people are more likely to seek heath-related information online if they or their close family or friends have a chronic disease situation.

Anxious solitude and the middle school transition: a diathesis × stress model of peer exclusion and victimization trajectories.

Consistent with a Diathesis × Stress model, it was hypothesized that anxious solitude (individual vulnerability) and the middle school transition (environmental stress) would jointly predict peer exclusion and victimization trajectories. Youth (N = 688) were followed from 3rd through 7th grade, with the middle school transition in 6th grade. Peer-reported peer exclusion and physical victimization trajectories across the middle school transition were modeled with piecewise growth curves.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii from free-ranging black bears ( Ursus americanus ) from Florida.

Toxoplasma gondii is a significant worldwide parasitic protozoan. In the present study, prevalence of antibodies of T. gondii was examined from 29 free-ranging black bears ( Ursus americanus ) from south-central Florida where the host species was listed as state threatened during this project.