Latent profiles of psychopathic traits among emerging adult college students: Functional and dysfunctional psychopathy and related outcomes

Psychopathy research continues to study the adaptability of psychopathic characteristics and differentiate between functional and dysfunctional features. The current study identified latent profiles in emerging adults and compared them across behavioral/cognitive correlates, functional outcomes, aggression types, and also examined gender differences. Results demonstrated that men scored higher across cold-heartedness and fearless dominance profiles, but not self-centered impulsivity. The low psychopathy group had lower proactive aggression than the high psychopathy group; no other differences were observed. Additionally, men and women in the high psychopathy group did not significantly differ regarding experienced outcomes. Lastly, higher psychopathy was not associated with higher proactive aggression when functioning was high, whereas it was associated when functioning was low; no other interactions were observed. Continuing to research how functional and dysfunctional characteristics differ between men and women and detecting these characteristics early to provide intervention could help ameliorate maladaptive traits, which could lead to better outcomes

The Development of the Jimmy Carter Library\u27s Audiovisual Collection

The audio-visual (AV) collection of a presidential library offers the world a unique record of the life and times of a United States President and his administration. The nature of presidential AV records also creates a considerable challenge for the Office of Presidential Libraries within the National Archives and Records Administration. To meet the needs of the president, the public, and future scholars, special archival policies and practices must be implemented when dealing with presidential AV records. The development of the Jimmy Carter Library AV Collection presents an excellent case study of the policies, programs, and problems involved in administering a presidential AV collection

Selective Laser Sintering of Passive Dynamic Ankle-Foot Orthoses

Passive dynamic ankle-foot orthoses (AFO’s) are used to improve gait performance in those with various neuromuscular disorders. An important design characteristic of passive dynamic AFOs is the storage and release of elastic energy within its structure to help satisfy the energetic demands of walking. Thus, minimizing energy dissipation through internal friction is a fundamental criterion for selecting the appropriate AFO material. This study compared the mechanical damping of a carbon-fiber AFO to three geometrically identical AFO’s fabricated using selective laser sintering with different materials. Mechanical damping characteristics ranked the materials as Nylon 11 (best), followed by DuraformTM PA and DuraformTM GF (worst).Mechanical Engineerin

Evolution of the core and pan-genome of Streptococcus: positive selection, recombination, and genome composition

Comparative evolutionary analyses of 26 Streptococcus genomes show that recombination and positive selection have both had important roles in the adaptation of different species to different hosts

The foot and ankle structures reveal emergent properties analogous to passive springs during human walking

An objective understanding of human foot and ankle function can drive innovations of bio-inspired wearable devices. Specifically, knowledge regarding how mechanical force and work are produced within the human foot-ankle structures can help determine what type of materials or components are required to engineer devices. In this study, we characterized the combined functions of the foot and ankle structures during walking by synthesizing the total force, displacement, and work profiles from structures distal to the shank. Eleven healthy adults walked at four scaled speeds. We quantified the ground reaction force and center-of-pressure displacement in the shank’s coordinate system during stance phase and the total mechanical work done by these structures. This comprehensive analysis revealed emergent properties of foot-ankle structures that are analogous to passive springs: these structures compressed and recoiled along the longitudinal axis of the shank, and performed near zero or negative net mechanical work across a range of walking speeds. Moreover, the subject-to-subject variability in peak force, total displacement, and work were well explained by three simple factors: body height, mass, and walking speed. We created a regression-based model of stance phase mechanics that can inform the design and customization of wearable devices that may have biomimetic or non-biomimetic structures

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of an Atlantic Ocean Shortfin Mako Shark, Isurus oxyrinchus

We report the first complete mitochondrial genome of a shortfin mako shark from the Atlantic Ocean. The genome had 16,700 base pairs and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a non-coding D-loop. There were 81 individual differences compared to the published mitochondrial genome of a shortfin mako from the Pacific Ocean, with most variability found in protein coding genes, especially ND5, ND3, and ND1. These highly variable genes may be useful population markers in future studies, and availability of a second mitogenome will assist with future, genome-scale studies of this IUCN Endangered species

Comparative genomic analysis of the genus Staphylococcus including Staphylococcus aureus and its newly described sister species Staphylococcus simiae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Staphylococcus </it>belongs to the Gram-positive low G + C content group of the Firmicutes division of bacteria. <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>is an important human and veterinary pathogen that causes a broad spectrum of diseases, and has developed important multidrug resistant forms such as methicillin-resistant <it>S. aureus </it>(MRSA). <it>Staphylococcus simiae </it>was isolated from South American squirrel monkeys in 2000, and is a coagulase-negative bacterium, closely related, and possibly the sister group, to <it>S. aureus</it>. Comparative genomic analyses of closely related bacteria with different phenotypes can provide information relevant to understanding adaptation to host environment and mechanisms of pathogenicity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We determined a Roche/454 draft genome sequence for <it>S. simiae </it>and included it in comparative genomic analyses with 11 other <it>Staphylococcus </it>species including <it>S. aureus</it>. A genome based phylogeny of the genus confirms that <it>S. simiae </it>is the sister group to <it>S. aureus </it>and indicates that the most basal <it>Staphylococcus </it>lineage is <it>Staphylococcus pseudintermedius</it>, followed by <it>Staphylococcus carnosus</it>. Given the primary niche of these two latter taxa, compared to the other species in the genus, this phylogeny suggests that human adaptation evolved after the split of <it>S. carnosus</it>. The two coagulase-positive species (<it>S. aureus </it>and <it>S. pseudintermedius</it>) are not phylogenetically closest but share many virulence factors exclusively, suggesting that these genes were acquired by horizontal transfer. Enrichment in genes related to mobile elements such as prophage in <it>S. aureus </it>relative to <it>S. simiae </it>suggests that pathogenesis in the <it>S. aureus </it>group has developed by gene gain through horizontal transfer, after the split of <it>S. aureus </it>and <it>S. simiae </it>from their common ancestor.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Comparative genomic analyses across 12 <it>Staphylococcus </it>species provide hypotheses about lineages in which human adaptation has taken place and contributions of horizontal transfer in pathogenesis.</p

Characterization of the Heart Transcriptome of the White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)

Background: The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a globally distributed, apex predator possessing physical, physiological, and behavioral traits that have garnered it significant public attention. In addition to interest in the genetic basis of its form and function, as a representative of the oldest extant jawed vertebrate lineage, white sharks are also of conservation concern due to their small population size and threat from overfishing. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about the biology of white sharks, and genomic resources are unavailable. To address this deficit, we combined Roche-454 and Illumina sequencing technologies to characterize the first transcriptome of any tissue for this species. Results: From white shark heart cDNA we generated 665,399 Roche 454 reads (median length 387-bp) that were assembled into 141,626 contigs (mean length 503-bp). We also generated 78,566,588 Illumina reads, which we aligned to the 454 contigs producing 105,014 454/Illumina consensus sequences. To these, we added 3,432 non-singleton 454 contigs. By comparing these sequences to the UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot database we were able to annotate 21,019 translated open reading frames (ORFs) of ≥ 20 amino acids. Of these, 19,277 were additionally assigned Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotations. While acknowledging the limitations of our single tissue transcriptome, Fisher tests showed the white shark transcriptome to be significantly enriched for numerous metabolic GO terms compared to the zebra fish and human transcriptomes, with white shark showing more similarity to human than to zebra fish (i.e. fewer terms were significantly different). We also compared the transcriptome to other available elasmobranch sequences, for signatures of positive selection and identified several genes of putative adaptive significance on the white shark lineage. The white shark transcriptome also contained 8,404 microsatellites (dinucleotide, trinucleotide, or tetranucleotide motifs ≥ five perfect repeats). Detailed characterization of these microsatellites showed that ORFs with trinucleotide repeats, were significantly enriched for transcription regulatory roles and that trinucleotide frequency within ORFs was lower than for a wide range of taxonomic groups including other vertebrates. Conclusion: The white shark heart transcriptome represents a valuable resource for future elasmobranch functional and comparative genomic studies, as well as for population and other biological studies vital for effective conservation of this globally vulnerable species

Role of angiopoietin-like protein 3 in sugar-induced dyslipidemia in rhesus macaques: suppression by fish oil or RNAi.

Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) inhibits lipid clearance and is a promising target for managing cardiovascular disease. Here we investigated the effects of a high-sugar (high-fructose) diet on circulating ANGPTL3 concentrations in rhesus macaques. Plasma ANGPTL3 concentrations increased ∼30% to 40% after 1 and 3 months of a high-fructose diet (both P &lt; 0.001 vs. baseline). During fructose-induced metabolic dysregulation, plasma ANGPTL3 concentrations were positively correlated with circulating indices of insulin resistance [assessed with fasting insulin and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)], hypertriglyceridemia, adiposity (assessed as leptin), and systemic inflammation [C-reactive peptide (CRP)] and negatively correlated with plasma levels of the insulin-sensitizing hormone adropin. Multiple regression analyses identified a strong association between circulating APOC3 and ANGPTL3 concentrations. Higher baseline plasma levels of both ANGPTL3 and APOC3 were associated with an increased risk for fructose-induced insulin resistance. Fish oil previously shown to prevent insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia in this model prevented increases of ANGPTL3 without affecting systemic inflammation (increased plasma CRP and interleukin-6 concentrations). ANGPTL3 RNAi lowered plasma concentrations of ANGPTL3, triglycerides (TGs), VLDL-C, APOC3, and APOE. These decreases were consistent with a reduced risk of atherosclerosis. In summary, dietary sugar-induced increases of circulating ANGPTL3 concentrations after metabolic dysregulation correlated positively with leptin levels, HOMA-IR, and dyslipidemia. Targeting ANGPTL3 expression with RNAi inhibited dyslipidemia by lowering plasma TGs, VLDL-C, APOC3, and APOE levels in rhesus macaques

Transcriptome Derived Microsatellites Demonstrate Strong Genetic Differentiation in Pacific White Sharks

Recent advances in genome-scale sequencing technology have allowed the development of high resolution genetic markers for the study of non-model taxa. In particular, transcriptome sequencing has proven to be highly useful in generating genomic markers for use in population genetic studies, allowing for insight into species connectivity, as well as local adaptive processes as many transcriptome-derived markers are found within or associated with functional genes. Herein, we developed a set of 30 microsatellite markers from a heart transcriptome for the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), a widely distributed and globally vulnerable marine predator. Using these markers as well as ten published anonymous genomic microsatellite loci, we provide (i) the first nuclear genetic assessment of the cross-Pacific connectivity of white sharks, and (ii) a comparison of the levels of inferred differentiation across microsatellite marker sets (i.e., transcriptome versus anonymous) to assess their respective utility to elucidate the population genetic dynamics of white sharks. Significant (FST = 0.083, P = 0.05; G”ST = 0.200; P = 0.001) genetic differentiation was found between Southwestern Pacific (n = 19) and Northeastern Pacific (n = 20) white sharks, indicating restricted, cross Pacific gene flow in this species. Transcriptome-derived microsatellite marker sets identified much higher (up to 2X) levels of genetic differentiation than anonymous genomic markers, underscoring potential utility of transcriptome markers in identifying subtle population genetic differences within highly vagile, globally distributed marine species