RNA interference is ineffective as a routine method for gene silencing in chick embryos as monitored by fgf8 silencing.

The in vivo accessibility of the chick embryo makes it a favoured model system for experimental developmental biology. Although the range of available techniques now extends to miss-expression of genes through in ovo electroporation, it remains difficult to knock out individual gene expression. Recently, the possibility of silencing gene expression by RNAi in chick embryos has been reported. However, published studies show only discrete quantitative differences in the expression of the endogenous targeted genes and unclear morphological alterations. To elucidate whether the tools currently available are adequate to silence gene expression sufficiently to produce a clear and specific null-like mutant phenotype, we have performed several experiments with different molecules that trigger RNAi: dsRNA, siRNA, and shRNA produced from a plasmid coexpressing green fluorescent protein as an internal marker. Focussing on fgf8 expression in the developing isthmus, we show that no morphological defects are observed, and that fgf8 expression is neither silenced in embryos microinjected with dsRNA nor in embryos microinjected and electroporated with a pool of siRNAs. Moreover, fgf8 expression was not significantly silenced in most isthmic cells transformed with a plasmid producing engineered shRNAs to fgf8. We also show that siRNA molecules do not spread significantly from cell to cell as reported for invertebrates, suggesting the existence of molecular differences between different model systems that may explain the different responses to RNAi. Although our results are basically in agreement with previously reported studies, we suggest, in contrast to them, that with currently available tools and techniques the number of cells in which fgf8 gene expression is decreased, if any, is not sufficient to generate a detectable mutant phenotype, thus making RNAi useless as a routine method for functional gene analysis in chick embryos

Graphene Multi-Protonation: a Cooperative Mechanism for Proton Permeation

The interaction between protons and graphene is attracting a large interest due to recent experiments showing that these charged species permeate through the 2D material following a low barrier (~ 0.8 eV) activated process. A possible explanation involves the flipping of a chemisorbed proton (rotation of the C-H$^+$ bond from one to the other side of the carbon layer) and previous studies have found so far that the energy barriers (around 3.5 eV) are too high to explain the experimental findings. Contrarily to the previously adopted model assuming an isolated proton, in this work we consider protonated graphene at high local coverage and explore the role played by nearby chemisorbed protons in the permeation process. By means of density functional theory calculations exploiting large molecular prototypes for graphene it is found that, when various protons are adsorbed on the same carbon hexagonal ring, the permeation barrier can be reduced down to 1.0 eV. The related mechanism is described in detail and could shed a new light on the interpretation of the experimental observations for proton permeation through graphene.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Green's functions for far-side seismic images: a polar expansion approach

We have computed seismic images of magnetic activity on the far surface of the Sun by using a seismic-holography technique. As in previous works, the method is based on the comparison of waves going in and out of a particular point in the Sun but we have computed here the Green's functions from a spherical polar expansion of the adiabatic wave equations in the Cowling approximation instead of using the ray-path approximation previously used in the far-side holography. A comparison between the results obtained using the ray theory and the spherical polar expansion is shown. We use the gravito-acoustic wave equation in the local plane-parallel limit in both cases and for the latter we take the asymptotic approximation for the radial dependencies of the Green's function. As a result, improved images of the far-side can be obtained from the polar-expansion approximation, especially when combining the Green's functions corresponding to two and three skips. We also show that the phase corrections in the Green's functions due to the incorrect modeling of the uppermost layers of the Sun can be estimated from the eigenfrequencies of the normal modes of oscillation.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Astrophysical Journal, accepted (2010

Three-Dimensional Wave Packet Approach for the Quantum Transport of Atoms through Nanoporous Membranes

Quantum phenomena are relevant to the transport of light atoms and molecules through nanoporous two-dimensional (2D) membranes. Indeed, confinement provided by (sub-)nanometer pores enhances quantum effects such as tunneling and zero point energy (ZPE), even leading to quantum sieving of different isotopes of a given element. However, these features are not always taken into account in approaches where classical theories or approximate quantum models are preferred. In this work we present an exact three-dimensional wave packet propagation treatment for simulating the passage of atoms through periodic 2D membranes. Calculations are reported for the transmission of $^3$He and $^4$He through graphdiyne as well as through a holey graphene model. For He-graphdiyne, estimations based on tunneling-corrected transition state theory are correct: both tunneling and ZPE effects are very important but competition between each other leads to a moderately small $^4$He/$^3$He selectivity. Thus, formulations that neglect one or another quantum effect are inappropriate. For the transport of He isotopes through leaky graphene, the computed transmission probabilities are highly structured suggesting widespread selective adsorption resonances and the resulting rate coefficients and selectivity ratios are not in agreement with predictions from transition state theory. Present approach serves as a benchmark for studies of the range of validity of more approximate methods.Comment: 4 figure

Bendito Amor: Religion and Relationships among Married and Unmarried Latinos in Urban America

The family arrangements of Latinos in the U.S. are increasingly diverse, with growing numbers of Latino children living in households headed by married and unmarried parents. Latinos also tend to be more religious than the population at large. Yet no research has examined the associations between religion and relationship quality among married and unmarried Latinos. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which focuses on new parents in urban America, we find that the religious attendance of Latino fathers promotes higher-quality relationships among both fathers and mothers; by contrast, the effect of maternal attendance on relationship quality is insignificant or negative.