Perceived marital quality and stability of intermarried couples: a study of Asian-white, Black-white, and Mexican-white couples

Journal ArticleThe purpose of this study is to compare intermarried and intramarried couples with respect to their marital happiness and perceived marital stability White, black, Mexican, or Asian spouses in black-white, Mexican-white or Asian-white unions were compared to intramarried couples based on data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households. The final sample included 4,522 married couples. The results suggest that differences in marital happiness and perceived stability between intermarried and intramarried couples vary by race/ethnicity and gender. Our findings indicate that only interracially married white females reported significantly lower marital happiness and stability than their intramarried counterparts. Conversely, spouses in Mexican male-white female and white male-Asian female unions reported significantly higher marital quality and/or stability than their white counterparts

Genomic Reconstruction of an Uncultured Hydrothermal Vent Gammaproteobacterial Methanotroph (Family Methylothermaceae) Indicates Multiple Adaptations to Oxygen Limitation

Hydrothermal vents are an important contributor to marine biogeochemistry, producing large volumes of reduced fluids, gasses, and metals and housing unique, productive microbial and animal communities fueled by chemosynthesis. Methane is a common constituent of hydrothermal vent fluid and is frequently consumed at vent sites by methanotrophic bacteria that serve to control escape of this greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Despite their ecological and geochemical importance, little is known about the ecophysiology of uncultured hydrothermal vent-associated methanotrophic bacteria. Using metagenomic binning techniques, we recovered and analyzed a near-complete genome from a novel gammaproteobacterial methanotroph (B42) associated with a white smoker chimney in the Southern Lau basin. B42 was the dominant methanotroph in the community, at ∼80x coverage, with only four others detected in the metagenome, all on low coverage contigs (7x–12x). Phylogenetic placement of B42 showed it is a member of the Methylothermaceae, a family currently represented by only one sequenced genome. Metabolic inferences based on the presence of known pathways in the genome showed that B42 possesses a branched respiratory chain with A- and B-family heme copper oxidases, cytochrome bd oxidase and a partial denitrification pathway. These genes could allow B42 to respire over a wide range of oxygen concentrations within the highly dynamic vent environment. Phylogenies of the denitrification genes revealed they are the result of separate horizontal gene transfer from other Proteobacteria and suggest that denitrification is a selective advantage in conditions where extremely low oxygen concentrations require all oxygen to be used for methane activation

Bone CLARITY: Clearing, imaging, and computational analysis of osteoprogenitors within intact bone marrow

Bone tissue harbors unique and essential physiological processes, such as hematopoiesis, bone growth, and bone remodeling. To enable visualization of these processes at the cellular level in an intact environment, we developed “Bone CLARITY,” a bone tissue clearing method. We used Bone CLARITY and a custom-built light-sheet fluorescence microscope to detect the endogenous fluorescence of Sox9-tdTomato+ osteoprogenitor cells in the tibia, femur, and vertebral column of adult transgenic mice. To obtain a complete distribution map of these osteoprogenitor cells, we developed a computational pipeline that semiautomatically detects individual Sox9-tdTomato+ cells in their native three-dimensional environment. Our computational method counted all labeled osteoprogenitor cells without relying on sampling techniques and displayed increased precision when compared with traditional stereology techniques for estimating the total number of these rare cells. We demonstrate the value of the clearing-imaging pipeline by quantifying changes in the population of Sox9-tdTomato–labeled osteoprogenitor cells after sclerostin antibody treatment. Bone tissue clearing is able to provide fast and comprehensive visualization of biological processes in intact bone tissue

Archaerhodopsin variants with enhanced voltage-sensitive fluorescence in mammalian and Caenorhabditis elegans neurons

Probing the neural circuit dynamics underlying behaviour would benefit greatly from improved genetically encoded voltage indicators. The proton pump ​Archaerhodopsin-3 (​Arch), an optogenetic tool commonly used for neuronal inhibition, has been shown to emit voltage-sensitive fluorescence. Here we report two ​Arch variants with enhanced radiance (Archers) that in response to 655 nm light have 3–5 times increased fluorescence and 55–99 times reduced photocurrents compared with ​Arch WT. The most fluorescent variant, Archer1, has 25–40% fluorescence change in response to action potentials while using 9 times lower light intensity compared with other ​Arch-based voltage sensors. Archer1 is capable of wavelength-specific functionality as a voltage sensor under red light and as an inhibitory actuator under green light. As a proof-of-concept for the application of ​Arch-based sensors in vivo, we show fluorescence voltage sensing in behaving Caenorhabditis elegans. Archer1’s characteristics contribute to the goal of all-optical detection and modulation of activity in neuronal networks in vivo

Localization of hRad9 in breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>hRad9 </it>is a cell cycle checkpoint gene that is up-regulated in breast cancer. We have previously shown that the mRNA up-regulation correlated with tumor size and local recurrence. Immunohistochemical studies were made to better define the role of <it>hRad9 </it>in breast carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Localisation of hRad9 protein were performed on paired tumor and normal breast tissues. Immunoblotting with and without dephosphorylation was used to define the protein isolated from breast cancer cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Increased hRad9 protein was observed in breast cancer cells nucleus compared to non-tumor epithelium. This nuclear protein existed in hyperphosphorylated forms which may be those of the hRad9-hRad1-hHus1 complex.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Finding of hyperphosphorylated forms of hRad9 in the nucleus of cancer cells is in keeping with its function in ameliorating DNA instability, whereby it inadvertently assists tumor growth.</p

Status of 48Ca double beta decay search and its future prospect in CANDLES

CANDLES(CAlcium fluoride for the study of Neutrinos and Dark matters by Low Energy Spectrometer) is the experiment to search for the neutrino-less double beta decay(0vββ) of 48Ca with CaF2 scintillator. 48Ca has the highest Qββ-value (4.3 MeV) among all isotope candidates for 0vββ. It enables us to measure signals with very low background condition. After rejection analysis with 131 days × 86 kg data for background events from radioactive contaminations in the CaF2 scintillators, no events are observed in the Qββ-value region. As a result, the 0vββ half-life of 48Ca is greater than 6.2 × 1022 yr (90% confidence level). For further high sensitive measurement of 48Ca 0vββ search, we have been developing the 48Ca enrichment and CaF2 scintillating bolometer techniques. In this paper, the latest result for CANDLES and the status of scintillating bolometer development are described

Engineered AAVs for efficient noninvasive gene delivery to the central and peripheral nervous systems

Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are commonly used for in vivo gene transfer. Nevertheless, AAVs that provide efficient transduction across specific organs or cell populations are needed. Here, we describe AAV-PHP.eB and AAV-PHP.S, capsids that efficiently transduce the central and peripheral nervous systems, respectively. In the adult mouse, intravenous administration of 1 × 1011 vector genomes (vg) of AAV-PHP.eB transduced 69% of cortical and 55% of striatal neurons, while 1 × 1012 vg of AAV-PHP.S transduced 82% of dorsal root ganglion neurons, as well as cardiac and enteric neurons. The efficiency of these vectors facilitates robust cotransduction and stochastic, multicolor labeling for individual cell morphology studies. To support such efforts, we provide methods for labeling a tunable fraction of cells without compromising color diversity. Furthermore, when used with cell-type-specific promoters and enhancers, these AAVs enable efficient and targetable genetic modification of cells throughout the nervous system of transgenic and non-transgenic animals

Cre-dependent selection yields AAV variants for widespread gene transfer to the adult brain

Recombinant adeno-associated viruses (rAAVs) are commonly used vehicles for in vivo gene transfer. However, the tropism repertoire of naturally occurring AAVs is limited, prompting a search for novel AAV capsids with desired characteristics. Here we describe a capsid selection method, called Cre recombination–based AAV targeted evolution (CREATE), that enables the development of AAV capsids that more efficiently transduce defined Cre-expressing cell populations in vivo. We use CREATE to generate AAV variants that efficiently and widely transduce the adult mouse central nervous system (CNS) after intravenous injection. One variant, AAV-PHP.B, transfers genes throughout the CNS with an efficiency that is at least 40-fold greater than that of the current standard, AAV9, and transduces the majority of astrocytes and neurons across multiple CNS regions. In vitro, it transduces human neurons and astrocytes more efficiently than does AAV9, demonstrating the potential of CREATE to produce customized AAV vectors for biomedical applications

GLACE: the global land–atmosphere coupling experiment. Part I: overview

Permission to place copies of these works on this server has been provided by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The AMS does not guarantee that the copies provided here are accurate copies of the published work. © Copyright 2006 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form on servers, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or [email protected] Global Land–Atmosphere Coupling Experiment (GLACE) is a model intercomparison study focusing on a typically neglected yet critical element of numerical weather and climate modeling: land–atmosphere coupling strength, or the degree to which anomalies in land surface state (e.g., soil moisture) can affect rainfall generation and other atmospheric processes. The 12 AGCM groups participating in GLACE performed a series of simple numerical experiments that allow the objective quantification of this element for boreal summer. The derived coupling strengths vary widely. Some similarity, however, is found in the spatial patterns generated by the models, with enough similarity to pinpoint multimodel “hot spots” of land–atmosphere coupling. For boreal summer, such hot spots for precipitation and temperature are found over large regions of Africa, central North America, and India; a hot spot for temperature is also found over eastern China. The design of the GLACE simulations are described in full detail so that any interested modeling group can repeat them easily and thereby place their model’s coupling strength within the broad range of those documented here

Unraveling the Molecular Basis of Temperature-Dependent Genetic Regulation in Penicillium marneffei

Penicillium marneffei is an opportunistic fungal pathogen endemic in Southeast Asia, causing lethal systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. P. marneffei grows in a mycelial form at the ambient temperature of 25°C and transitions to a yeast form at 37°C. The ability to alternate between the mycelial and yeast forms at different temperatures, namely, thermal dimorphism, has long been considered critical for the pathogenicity of P. marneffei, yet the underlying genetic mechanisms remain elusive. Here we employed high-throughput sequencing to unravel global transcriptional profiles of P. marneffei PM1 grown at 25 and 37°C. Among ∼11,000 protein-coding genes, 1,447 were overexpressed and 1,414 were underexpressed at 37°C. Counterintuitively, heat-responsive genes, predicted in P. marneffei through sequence comparison, did not tend to be overexpressed at 37°C. These results suggest that P. marneffei may take a distinct strategy of genetic regulation at the elevated temperature; the current knowledge concerning fungal heat response, based on studies of model fungal organisms, may not be applicable to P. marneffei. Our results further showed that the tandem repeat sequences (TRSs) are overrepresented in coding regions of P. marneffei genes, and TRS-containing genes tend to be overexpressed at 37°C. Furthermore, genomic sequences and expression data were integrated to characterize gene clusters, multigene families, and species-specific genes of P. marneffei. In sum, we present an integrated analysis and a comprehensive resource toward a better understanding of temperature-dependent genetic regulation in P. marneffei