Conserved enhancers control notochord expression of vertebrate Brachyury.

The cell type-specific expression of key transcription factors is central to development and disease. Brachyury/T/TBXT is a major transcription factor for gastrulation, tailbud patterning, and notochord formation; however, how its expression is controlled in the mammalian notochord has remained elusive. Here, we identify the complement of notochord-specific enhancers in the mammalian Brachyury/T/TBXT gene. Using transgenic assays in zebrafish, axolotl, and mouse, we discover three conserved Brachyury-controlling notochord enhancers, T3, C, and I, in human, mouse, and marsupial genomes. Acting as Brachyury-responsive, auto-regulatory shadow enhancers, in cis deletion of all three enhancers in mouse abolishes Brachyury/T/Tbxt expression selectively in the notochord, causing specific trunk and neural tube defects without gastrulation or tailbud defects. The three Brachyury-driving notochord enhancers are conserved beyond mammals in the brachyury/tbxtb loci of fishes, dating their origin to the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates. Our data define the vertebrate enhancers for Brachyury/T/TBXTB notochord expression through an auto-regulatory mechanism that conveys robustness and adaptability as ancient basis for axis development

Ancient Latin American objects in the archive: selections from the George and Louise Patten collection of Salem Hyde cultural artifacts at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

https://scholar.utc.edu/exhibition-records/1004/thumbnail.jp

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Academic Coaching for Nursing Education

The goal of this project is to describe the most effective interventions that academic coaches can provide to nursing students to promote academic success

Rationality is Gendered

Shared rationality is the common ground of scientific progress. However, some theorists have argued that this common ground may not be level, in that subtle assumptions embedded within lay views of rationality marginalize some would-be participants. Specifically, feminist philosophers have argued that rationality is associated with male rather than female discourse. This claim has frequently been dismissed as incoherent, but a straightforward interpretation is readily available: The concept reason is semantically associated with the concept male. We support this hypothesis in four studies (total N > 900), finding that at both the explicit and implicit level, reason is preferentially associated with male, feeling is preferentially associated with female, male faces prime unrelated judgments of reason/rationality, and gendered associations are related to interest in academic disciplines as well as estimates of the (mis)representation of women within those disciplines. Implications for gender stereotyping and the representation of women in different fields are discussed

Scoping Review

The methods and rationale for a scoping review that describes the most effective interventions that academic coaches can provide nursing students is listed here

Learning and Memory Deficits Upon TAU Accumulation in Drosophila Mushroom Body Neurons

Mutations in the neuronal-specific microtubule-binding protein TAU are associated with several dementias and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the effects of elevated TAU accumulation on behavioral plasticity are unknown. We report that directed expression of wild-type vertebrate and Drosophila TAU in adult mushroom body neurons, centers for olfactory learning and memory in Drosophila, strongly compromised associative olfactory learning and memory, but olfactory conditioning-relevant osmotactic and mechanosensory responses remained intact. In addition, TAU accumulation in mushroom body neurons did not result in detectable neurodegeneration or premature death. Therefore, TAU-mediated structural or functional perturbation of the microtubular cytoskeleton in mushroom body neurons is likely causal of the behavioral deficit. These results indicate that behavioral plasticity decrements may be the earliest detectable manifestations of tauopathies

Unmet supportive care needs of people with advanced cancer and their caregivers: A systematic scoping review

Examining and addressing unmet care needs is integral to improving the provision and quality of cancer services. This review explored the prevalence of unmet supportive care needs, and factors associated with unmet need, in adults with advanced cancers (solid and hematological malignancies) and their caregivers. Electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE) were searched, producing 85 papers representing 81 included studies. People with advanced cancer reported the highest unmet needs in financial, health system and information, psychological, and physical and daily living domains, whereas caregivers reported the highest unmet needs in psychological, and patient care and support domains. Distress, depression, and anxiety were associated with higher unmet needs across all unmet need domains for people with advanced cancer and their caregivers. Substantial heterogeneity in study populations and methods was observed. Findings from this review can inform targeted strategies and interventions to address these unmet needs in people with advanced cancer

Conserved enhancers control notochord expression of vertebrate Brachyury.

The cell type-specific expression of key transcription factors is central to development and disease. Brachyury/T/TBXT is a major transcription factor for gastrulation, tailbud patterning, and notochord formation; however, how its expression is controlled in the mammalian notochord has remained elusive. Here, we identify the complement of notochord-specific enhancers in the mammalian Brachyury/T/TBXT gene. Using transgenic assays in zebrafish, axolotl, and mouse, we discover three conserved Brachyury-controlling notochord enhancers, T3, C, and I, in human, mouse, and marsupial genomes. Acting as Brachyury-responsive, auto-regulatory shadow enhancers, in cis deletion of all three enhancers in mouse abolishes Brachyury/T/Tbxt expression selectively in the notochord, causing specific trunk and neural tube defects without gastrulation or tailbud defects. The three Brachyury-driving notochord enhancers are conserved beyond mammals in the brachyury/tbxtb loci of fishes, dating their origin to the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates. Our data define the vertebrate enhancers for Brachyury/T/TBXTB notochord expression through an auto-regulatory mechanism that conveys robustness and adaptability as ancient basis for axis development