Analysis of the transcriptional levels of guinea pig sines and lines

Short and long interspersed DNA elements (SINEs and LINEs, respectively) can “jump” in germ-line cells generating new copies in other chromosomal regions. There is a sharp contrast in the number of SINEs within various rodent genomes. The purpose of this investigation is to assess the relative paucity of SINEs in the guinea pig genome in relation to other rodents. RNA was isolated from brain and kidney tissues of guinea pigs, and from the brain tissue of mice, in order to develop a method to assess the transcriptional regulation of SINEs and the loci that serve as source genes. This involved the use of rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and C-RACE. The latter technique involved C-tailing the RNA prior to RT-PCR. It was verified that RT-PCR products were amplified. In the future, assaying in gonadal tissues will be contrasted to copy number estimates of SINEs within the genomes of guinea pigs, mice, hamsters, and rabbits

Identification of an active ID-like group of SINEs in the mouse

AbstractThe mouse genome consists of five known families of SINEs: B1, B2, B4/RSINE, ID, and MIR. Using RT-PCR we identified a germ-line transcript that demonstrates 92.7% sequence identity to ID (excluding primer sequence), yet a BLAST search identified numerous matches of 100% sequence identity. We analyzed four of these elements for their presence in orthologous genes in strains and subspecies of Mus musculus as well as other species of Mus using a PCR-based assay. All four analyzed elements were identified either only in M. musculus or exclusively in both M. musculus and M. domesticus, indicative of recent integrations. In conjunction with the identification of transcripts, we present an active ID-like group of elements that is not derived from the proposed BC1 master gene of ID elements. A BLAST of the rat genome indicated that these elements were not in the rat. Therefore, this family of SINEs has recently evolved, and since it has thus far been observed mainly in M. musculus, we refer to this family as MMIDL

The Global Health System: Lessons for a Stronger Institutional Framework

Governmen

Examining the relationships between early childhood experiences and adolescent and young adult health status in a resource-limited population: A cohort study

Background: Adolescence is a critical point in the realization of human capital, as health and educational decisions with long-term impacts are made. We examined the role of early childhood experiences on health, cognitive abilities, and educational outcomes of adolescents followed up from a longitudinal cohort study in Pakistan, hypothesizing that early childhood experiences reflecting poverty would manifest in reduced health and development in adolescence.Methods and findings: Adolescents/young adults previously followed as children aged under 5 years were interviewed. Childhood data were available on diarrhea, pneumonia, and parental/household characteristics. New data were collected on health, anthropometry, education, employment, and languages spoken; nonverbal reasoning was assessed. A multivariable Bayesian network was constructed to explore structural relationships between variables. Of 1,868 children originally enrolled, 1,463 (78.3%) were interviewed as adolescents (range 16.0-29.3 years, mean age 22.6 years); 945 (65%) lived in Oshikhandass. While 1,031 (70.5%) of their mothers and 440 (30.1%) of their fathers had received no formal education, adolescents reported a mean of 11.1 years of education. Childhood diarrhea (calculated as episodes/child-year) had no association with nonverbal reasoning score (an arc was supported in just 4.6% of bootstrap samples), health measures (with BMI, 1% of bootstrap samples; systolic and diastolic blood pressure, 0.1% and 1.6% of bootstrap samples, respectively), education (0.7% of bootstrap samples), or employment (0% of bootstrap samples). Relationships were found between nonverbal reasoning and adolescent height (arc supported in 63% of bootstrap samples), age (84%), educational attainment (100%), and speaking English (100%); speaking English was linked to the childhood home environment, mediated through maternal education and primary language. Speaking English (n = 390, 26.7% of adolescents) was associated with education (100% of bootstrap samples), self-reported child health (82%), current location (85%) and variables describing childhood socioeconomic status. The main limitations of this study were the lack of parental data to characterize the home setting (including parental mental and physical health, and female empowerment) and reliance on self-reporting of health status.Conclusions: In this population, investments in education, especially for females, are associated with an increase in human capital. Against the backdrop of substantial societal change, with the exception of a small and indirect association between childhood malnutrition and cognitive scores, educational opportunities and cultural language groups have stronger associations with aspects of human capital than childhood morbidity

The Global Health System: Actors, Norms, and Expectations in Transition

In the first in a series of four articles highlighting the changing nature of global health institutions, Nicole Szlezák and colleagues outline the origin and aim of the series

Extreme Ultraviolet Reflective Grating Characterization and Simulationsfor the Aspera SmallSat Mission

The Aspera SmallSat mission is designed to detect and map the warm-hot gaseous component of the halos of nearby galaxies through long-slit spectroscopy of the ionized O VI emission line (103.2 nm) for the first time. The Aspera Rowland circle type spectrograph uses a toroidal grating coated with a multilayer film consisting of aluminum, lithium fluoride, and magnesium fluoride capping to optimize reflectivity in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) waveband from 103 to 104nm. We discuss the grating characterization test setup at the University of Arizona (UA), which will validate the multilayer coating and grating efficiency in a UV vacuum chamber. We also simulate the reflectivity of the multilayer thin film coating using IMD IDL software to compare simulated results with measured reflectivity. Additionally, non-sequential ray trace simulations and 3D CAD modeling are used for verification of the test setup. Finally, the implications of the differences between the measured and simulated reflectivity and grating efficiencies are considered, including impact to the mission

Genomic Damage in Endstage Renal Disease—Contribution of Uremic Toxins

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), whether on conservative, peritoneal or hemodialysis therapy, have elevated genomic damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes and an increased cancer incidence, especially of the kidney. The damage is possibly due to accumulation of uremic toxins like advanced glycation endproducts or homocysteine. However, other endogenous substances with genotoxic properties, which are increased in ESRD, could be involved, such as the blood pressure regulating hormones angiotensin II and aldosterone or the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. This review provides an overview of genomic damage observed in ESRD patients, focuses on possible underlying causes and shows modulations of the damage by modern dialysis strategies and vitamin supplementation