Molecular medicine of microRNAs: structure, function and implications for diabetes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of endogenous small noncoding RNA molecules, of 19–28 nucleotides in length. In humans, up to 3% of all genes are estimated to encode these evolutionarily conserved sequences. miRNAs are thought to control expression of thousands of target mRNAs. Mammalian miRNAs generally negatively regulate gene expression by repressing translation, possibly through effects on mRNA stability and compartmentalisation, and/or the translation process itself. An extensive range of in silico and experimental techniques have been applied to our understanding of the occurrence and functional relevance of such sequences, and antisense technologies have been successfully used to control miRNA expression in vitro and in vivo. Interestingly, miRNAs have been identified in both normal and pathological conditions, including differentiation and development, metabolism, proliferation, cell death, viral infection and cancer. Of specific relevance and excitement to the area of diabetes research, miRNA regulation has been implicated in insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells, diabetic heart conditions and nephropathy. Further analyses of miRNAs in vitro and in vivo will, undoubtedly, enable us determine their potential to be exploited as therapeutic targets in diabetes

A prototype analysis of New Zealand adolescents’ conceptualizations of wellbeing

This research investigated New Zealand adolescents’ (aged 11 to 13, N = 361) perceptions of wellbeing from a prototype perspective. Specifically, three studies examined what constitutes and promotes wellbeing, whether adolescents’ perspectives are aligned with adults’ conceptualizations and academic models of wellbeing, whether socioeconomic status influences adolescents’ conceptualization, and whether wellbeing is prototypically organized. Results showed that wellbeing is prototypically organized as some components are more central to the concept of wellbeing and others more peripheral. Contrary to lay adults’ conceptualizations and popular wellbeing models, adolescents consider enjoyment/having fun, feeling safe, and being kind/helpful as central components of wellbeing, and sense of satisfaction as a peripheral component of wellbeing. Furthermore, low socio-economic status adolescents consider comfort/being wealthy, being focused, good physical health, good values, and success/achievements as more central for wellbeing than high-socioeconomic status adolescents. Consistent with the current literature, positive family relationships, positive friendships, and physical activity/sport were the most frequently reported pathways to wellbeing among adolescents. Overall, researchers and practitioners should consider adolescents’ understanding of wellbeing in the development of wellbeing assessments and interventions

Nanosecond laser texturing for high friction applications

AbstractA nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG fibre laser with wavelength of 1064nm was used to texture several different steels, including grade 304 stainless steel, grade 316 stainless steel, Cr–Mo–Al ‘nitriding’ steel and low alloy carbon steel, in order to generate surfaces with a high static friction coefficient. Such surfaces have applications, for example, in large engines to reduce the tightening forces required for a joint or to secure precision fittings easily. For the generation of high friction textures, a hexagonal arrangement of laser pulses was used with various pulse overlaps and pulse energies. Friction testing of the samples suggests that the pulse energy should be high (around 0.8mJ) and the laser pulse overlap should be higher than 50% in order to achieve a static friction coefficient of more than 0.5. It was also noted that laser processing increases the surface hardness of samples which appears to correlate with the increase in friction. Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) measurements indicate that this hardness is caused by the formation of hard metal-oxides at the material surface

The Art of Managing Expectations: Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors as Mediators of Expectations between Clients who are Deaf and Potential Employers

Services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) often include tailored strategies for successful employment placement. Using Oliver’s (1980) Expectation Confirmation Theory, this study utilized exploratory and confirmatory analyses of semi-structured interviews of 10 VR professionals to examine their view of the role expectations play in their assessment of important factors that lead to successful outcomes for DHH clients. Analysis revealed a complex, multilevel system in which VRCs operate as active mediators of the expectations of both clients who are DHH and their potential employers

Spring phytoplankton communities of the Labrador Sea (2005–2014): pigment signatures, photophysiology and elemental ratios

The Labrador Sea is an ideal region to study the biogeographical, physiological, and biogeochemical implications of phytoplankton community composition due to sharp transitions between distinct water masses across its shelves and central basin. We have investigated the multi-year (2005–2014) distributions of late spring and early summer (May to June) phytoplankton communities in the various hydrographic settings of the Labrador Sea. Our analysis is based on pigment markers (using CHEMTAX analysis), and photophysiological and biogeochemical characteristics associated with each phytoplankton community. Diatoms were the most abundant group, blooming first in shallow mixed layers of haline-stratified Arctic shelf waters. Along with diatoms, chlorophytes co-dominated at the western end of the section (particularly in the polar waters of the Labrador Current (LC)), whilst Phaeocystis co-dominated in the east (modified polar waters of the West Greenland Current (WGC)). Pre-bloom conditions occurred in deeper mixed layers of the central Labrador Sea in May, where a mixed assemblage of flagellates (dinoflagellates, prasinophytes, prymnesiophytes, particularly coccolithophores, and chrysophytes/pelagophytes) occurred in low-chlorophyll areas, succeeding to blooms of diatoms and dinoflagellates in thermally stratified Atlantic waters in June. Light-saturated photosynthetic rates and saturation irradiance levels were highest at stations where diatoms were the dominant phytoplankton group ( >  70 % of total chlorophyll a), as opposed to stations where flagellates were more abundant (from 40 up to 70 % of total chlorophyll a). Phytoplankton communities from the WGC (Phaeocystis and diatoms) had lower light-limited photosynthetic rates, with little evidence of photoinhibition, indicating greater tolerance to a high light environment. By contrast, communities from the central Labrador Sea (dinoflagellates and diatoms), which bloomed later in the season (June), appeared to be more sensitive to high light levels. Ratios of accessory pigments (AP) to total chlorophyll a (TChl a) varied according to phytoplankton community composition, with polar phytoplankton (cold-water related) having lower AP  :  TChl a. Polar waters (LC and WGC) also had higher and more variable particulate organic carbon (POC) to particulate organic nitrogen (PON) ratios, suggesting the influence of detritus from freshwater input, derived from riverine, glacial, and/or sea ice meltwater. Long-term observational shifts in phytoplankton communities were not assessed in this study due to the short temporal frame (May to June) of the data. Nevertheless, these results add to our current understanding of phytoplankton group distribution, as well as an evaluation of the biogeochemical role (in terms of C  :  N ratios) of spring phytoplankton communities in the Labrador Sea, which will assist our understanding of potential long-term responses of phytoplankton communities in high-latitude oceans to a changing climate

Measuring telomere length and telomere dynamics in evolutionary biology and ecology

Telomeres play a fundamental role in the protection of chromosomal DNA and in the regulation of cellular senescence. Recent work in human epidemiology and evolutionary ecology suggests adult telomere length (TL) may reflect past physiological stress and predict subsequent morbidity and mortality, independent of chronological age. Several different methods have been developed to measure TL, each offering its own technical challenges. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the advantages and drawbacks of each method for researchers, with a particular focus on issues that are likely to face ecologists and evolutionary biologists collecting samples in the field or in organisms that may never have been studied in this context before. We discuss the key issues to consider and wherever possible try to provide current consensus view regarding best practice with regard to sample collection and storage, DNA extraction and storage, and the five main methods currently available to measure TL. Decisions regarding which tissues to sample, how to store them, how to extract DNA, and which TL measurement method to use cannot be prescribed, and are dependent on the biological question addressed and the constraints imposed by the study system. What is essential for future studies of telomere dynamics in evolution and ecology is that researchers publish full details of their methods and the quality control thresholds they employ

Biogeographical patterns and environmental controls of phytoplankton communities from contrasting hydrographical zones of the Labrador Sea

The Labrador Sea is an important oceanic sink for atmospheric CO2 because of intensive convective mixing during winter and extensive phytoplankton blooms that occur during spring and summer. Therefore, a broad-scale investigation of the responses of phytoplankton community composition to environmental forcing is essential for understanding planktonic food-web organisation and biogeochemical functioning in the Labrador Sea. Here, we investigated the phytoplankton community structure (>4 μm) from near surface blooms (1.2 mg chla m−3) occurred on and near the shelves in May and in offshore waters of the central Labrador Sea in June due to haline- and thermal-stratification, respectively. Sea ice-related (Fragilariopsis cylindrus and F. oceanica) and Arctic diatoms (Fossula arctica, Bacterosira bathyomphala and Thalassiosira hyalina) dominated the relatively cold (<0 °C) and fresh (salinity < 33) waters over the Labrador shelf (e.g., on the southwestern side of the Labrador Sea), where sea-ice melt and Arctic outflow predominates. On the northeastern side of the Labrador Sea, intense blooms of the colonial prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii and diatoms, such as Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii, Pseudo-nitzschia granii and Chaetoceros socialis, occurred in the lower nutrient waters (nitrate < 3.6 μM) of the West Greenland Current. The central Labrador Sea bloom occurred later in the season (June) and was dominated by Atlantic diatoms, such as Ephemera planamembranacea and Fragilariopsis atlantica. The data presented here demonstrate that the Labrador Sea spring and early summer blooms are composed of contrasting phytoplankton communities, for which taxonomic segregation appears to be controlled by the physical and biogeochemical characteristics of the dominant water masses

Results from New Zealand's 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

In New Zealand (NZ), 88% of health loss is now caused by non-communicable diseases, in part attributed to low levels of physical activity (PA) and high levels of inactivity, and the downstream impacts of these, including suboptimal blood glucose profiles, body size, and blood pressure.1 While the NZ 2016 PA Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth2 revealed relatively high levels of PA, approximately one-third of NZ children and youth did not meet PA recommendations of ≥60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the methods for grade calculation and results of the 2018 update of the PA Report Card for NZ

Results from New Zealand's 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

In New Zealand (NZ), 88% of health loss is now caused by non-communicable diseases, in part attributed to low levels of physical activity (PA) and high levels of inactivity, and the downstream impacts of these, including suboptimal blood glucose profiles, body size, and blood pressure.1 While the NZ 2016 PA Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth2 revealed relatively high levels of PA, approximately one-third of NZ children and youth did not meet PA recommendations of ≥60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the methods for grade calculation and results of the 2018 update of the PA Report Card for NZ

Does perception equal reality? Weight misperception in relation to weight-related attitudes and behaviors among overweight and obese US adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Weight misperception might preclude the adoption of healthful weight-related attitudes and behaviors among overweight and obese individuals, yet limited research exists in this area. We examined associations between weight misperception and several weight-related attitudes and behaviors among a nationally representative sample of overweight and obese US adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used. Analyses included non-pregnant, overweight and obese (measured body mass index ≥ 25) adults aged 20 and older. Weight misperception was identified among those who reported themselves as "underweight" or "about the right weight". Outcome variables and sample sizes were: weight-loss attitudes/behaviors (wanting to weigh less and having tried to lose weight; n = 4,784); dietary intake (total energy intake; n = 4,894); and physical activity (meets 2008 US physical activity recommendations, insufficiently active, and sedentary; n = 5,401). Multivariable regression models were stratified by gender and race/ethnicity. Analyses were conducted in 2009-2010.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>These overweight/obese men and women who misperceived their weight were 71% (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.25-0.34) and 65% (RR 0.35, 95% CI 0.29-0.42) less likely to report that they want to lose weight and 60% (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.30-0.52) and 56% (RR 0.44, 95% CI 0.32-0.59) less likely to have tried to lose weight within the past year, respectively, compared to those who accurately perceived themselves as overweight. Blacks were particularly less likely to have tried to lose weight. Weight misperception was not a significant predictor of total energy intake among most subgroups, but was associated with lower total energy intake among Hispanic women (change -252.72, 95% CI -433.25, -72.18). Men who misperceived their weight were less likely (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.52-0.89) to be insufficiently active (the strongest results were among Black men) and women who misperceived their weight were less likely (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.54, 1.00, <it>p </it>= 0.047) to meet activity recommendations compared to being sedentary.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, weight misperception among overweight and obese adults was associated with less likelihood of interest in or attempts at weight loss and less physical activity. These associations varied by gender and race/ethnicity. This study highlights the importance of focusing on inaccurate weight perceptions in targeted weight loss efforts.</p