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ELAV links paused Pol II to alternative polyadenylation in the Drosophila nervious system
Alternative polyadenylation (APA) has been implicated in a variety of developmental and disease processes. A particularly dramatic form of APA occurs in the developing nervous system of flies and mammals, whereby various developmental genes undergo coordinate 3' UTR extension. In Drosophila, the RNA-binding protein ELAV inhibits RNA processing at proximal polyadenylation sites, thereby fostering the formation of exceptionally long 3' UTRs. Here, we present evidence that paused Pol II promotes recruitment of ELAV to extended genes. Replacing promoters of extended genes with heterologous promoters blocks normal 3' extension in the nervous system, while extension-associated promoters can induce 3' extension in ectopic tissues expressing ELAV. Computational analyses suggest that promoter regions of extended genes tend to contain paused Pol II and associated cis-regulatory elements such as GAGA. ChIP-seq assays identify ELAV in the promoter regions of extended genes. Our study provides evidence for a regulatory link between promoter-proximal pausing and APA
Decision Processes about Condom Use among Shelter-Homeless LGBT Youth in Manhattan
Health behavior interventions based on Theory of Planned Behavior address participants' personally-held beliefs, perceived social norms, and control over the behavior. New data are always needed to âmember checkâ participants' decision processes and inform interventions. This qualitative study investigates decision processes around condom use among 81 homeless LGBT youth ages 18â26. Findings indicated considerable endorsement of the conventional policy of always using condoms, promulgated in HIV prevention education targeting this population. Although some participants reported risk behavior in contexts of sex work, survival sex, casual encounters, open relationships, and substance use, most were aware of these risks and consistently safe in those situations. Condoms use boundaries became vulnerable in states of emotional need and negative mood. The only effect participants acknowledged of homelessness on condom use was indirect, through negative mood states. The most prevalent context of condom non-use was with long-term primary partners, a potential area of vulnerability because, of 13 participants for HIV or HCV, nine mentioned how they had been infected, and all nine believed they had acquired it from a primary partner. Findings imply programs should emphasize HIV risk potential within long-term romantic partnerships and mental health services to remediate negative mood states
The Effects of an AGN on Host Galaxy Colour and Morphology Measurements
We assess the effects of simulated active galactic nuclei (AGNs) on the
colour and morphology measurements of their host galaxies. To test the
morphology measurements, we select a sample of galaxies not known to host AGNs
and add a series of point sources scaled to represent specified fractions of
the observed V band light detected from the resulting systems; we then compare
morphology measurements of the simulated systems to measurements of the
original galaxies. AGN contributions >20 per cent bias most of the morphology
measurements tested, though the extent of the apparent bias depends on the
morphological characteristics of the original galaxies. We test colour
measurements by adding to non-AGN galaxy spectra a quasar spectrum scaled to
contribute specified fractions of the rest-frame B band light detected from the
resulting systems. A quasar fraction of 5 per cent can move the NUV-r colour of
an elliptical galaxy from the UV-optical red sequence to the green valley, and
20 per cent can move it into the blue cloud. Combining the colour and
morphology results, we find that a galaxy/AGN system with an AGN contribution
>20 per cent may appear bluer and more bulge-dominated than the underlying
galaxy. We conclude that (1) bulge-dominated, E/S0/Sa, and early-type
morphology classifications are accurate for red AGN host galaxies and may be
accurate for blue host galaxies, unless the AGN manifests itself as a
well-defined point source; and (2) although highly unobscured AGNs, such as the
quasar used for our experiments, can significantly bias the measured colours of
AGN host galaxies, it is possible to identify such systems by examining optical
images of the hosts for the presence of a point source and/or measuring the
level of nuclear obscuration.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Susceptibility to Taura Syndrome Virus of Some Penaeid Shrimp Species Native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeastern United States
Experimental studies demonstrated that Penaeus setiferus, but not Penaeus aztecus or Penaeus duorarum, could be killed by Taura syndrome virus (TSV). However, specimens of P. setiferus that survived infection and both P. aztecus and P. duorarum at least 79 days postexposure that did not demonstrate gross signs of infection were shown to harbor virus by bioassay using Penaeus vannamei, a highly susceptible target host. Consequently, all three of those penaeids native to the southeast United States can serve as carriers or reservoir hosts of TSV without necessarily exhibiting disease. Infections in P. setiferus took longer to cause mortality than in P. vannamei and killed a smaller percentage of that host. Also, histological lesions diagnostic of TSV infection were not always evident in sectioned tissue of infected P. setiferus, and they generally were more conspicuous during Days 4â7 postexposure compared with lesions that also occurred at both earlier and later days in tissues of P. vannamei. Infections could be produced by injection, ingestion, and incorporation of the infective material into dietary brine shrimp. There appeared to be a difference in susceptibility to TSV disease by different stocks of P. setiferus, but different experiments produced conflicting evidence regarding a relationship between age and predilection to mortality. Large and small specimens of equal-aged shrimp succumbed similarly to TSV infections for both P. vannamei and P. setiferus. The nonnative species P. chinensis demonstrated a high susceptibility to experimental TSV disease
Mainstreaming education for sustainable development: Elaborating the role of position-practice systems using seven laminations of scale
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 proposes that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) should be included at all levels of education, known as âmainstreamingâ. However, there is little guidance as to how to achieve this. ESD mainstreaming demands more than simply a technical policy transfer; it also requires attention to the position-practice systems of involved agents. This article critically assesses the mainstreaming of ESD in the case of university educators in Africa who have participated in the International Training Programme on ESD in higher education. It clarifies their position-practice systems in terms of Bhaskarâs seven laminations of scale. This article therefore provides a detailed description of the ways in which agents' position-practice systems enable and constrain ESD mainstreaming. It also demonstrates that a critical realist perspective can contribute towards the understanding and achievement of transformation towards sustainability and can help to ensure the flourishing of both current and future generations
Evolution of dopant-induced helium nanoplasmas
Two-component nanoplasmas generated by strong-field ionization of doped
helium nanodroplets are studied in a pump-probe experiment using few-cycle
laser pulses in combination with molecular dynamics simulations. High yields of
helium ions and a pronounced, droplet size-dependent resonance structure in the
pump-probe transients reveal the evolution of the dopant-induced helium
nanoplasma. The pump-probe dynamics is interpreted in terms of strong inner
ionization by the pump pulse and resonant heating by the probe pulse which
controls the final charge states detected via the frustration of electron-ion
recombination
HST Morphologies of z~2 Dust Obscured Galaxies I: Power-law Sources
We present high spatial resolution optical and near-infrared imaging obtained
using the ACS, WFPC2 and NICMOS cameras aboard the Hubble Space Telescope of 31
24um--bright z~2 Dust Obscured Galaxies (DOGs) identified in the Bootes Field
of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey. Although this subset of DOGs have mid-IR
spectral energy distributions dominated by a power-law component suggestive of
an AGN, all but one of the galaxies are spatially extended and not dominated by
an unresolved component at rest-frame UV or optical wavelengths. The observed
V-H and I-H colors of the extended components are 0.2-3 magnitudes redder than
normal star-forming galaxies. All but 1 have axial ratios >0.3, making it
unlikely that DOGs are composed of an edge-on star-forming disk. We model the
spatially extended component of the surface brightness distributions of the
DOGs with a Sersic profile and find effective radii of 1-6 kpc. This sample of
DOGs is smaller than most sub-millimeter galaxies (SMGs), but larger than
quiescent high-redshift galaxies. Non-parametric measures (Gini and M20) of DOG
morphologies suggest that these galaxies are more dynamically relaxed than
local ULIRGs. We estimate lower limits to the stellar masses of DOGs based on
the rest-frame optical photometry and find that these range from ~10^(9-11)
M_sun. If major mergers are the progenitors of DOGs, then these observations
suggest that DOGs may represent a post-merger evolutionary stage.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables, accepted to ApJ; lower limits on
stellar mass revised upwards by factor of (1+z
Laser-Cluster-Interaction in a Nanoplasma-Model with Inclusion of Lowered Ionization Energies
The interaction of intense laser fields with silver and argon clusters is
investigated theoretically using a modified nanoplasma model. Single pulse and
double pulse excitations are considered. The influence of the dense cluster
environment on the inner ionization processes is studied including the lowering
of the ionization energies. There are considerable changes in the dynamics of
the laser-cluster interaction. Especially, for silver clusters, the lowering of
the ionization energies leads to increased yields of highly charged ions.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure
HST Morphologies of z ~ 2 Dust-Obscured Galaxies II: Bump Sources
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of 22 ultra-luminous infrared
galaxies (ULIRGs) at z~2 with extremely red R-[24] colors (called dust-obscured
galaxies, or DOGs) which have a local maximum in their spectral energy
distribution (SED) at rest-frame 1.6um associated with stellar emission. These
sources, which we call "bump DOGs", have star-formation rates of 400-4000
Msun/yr and have redshifts derived from mid-IR spectra which show strong
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission --- a sign of vigorous on-going
star-formation. Using a uniform morphological analysis, we look for
quantifiable differences between bump DOGs, power-law DOGs (Spitzer-selected
ULIRGs with mid-IR SEDs dominated by a power-law and spectral features that are
more typical of obscured active galactic nuclei than starbursts),
sub-millimeter selected galaxies (SMGs), and other less-reddened ULIRGs from
the Spitzer extragalactic First Look Survey (XFLS). Bump DOGs are larger than
power-law DOGs (median Petrosian radius of 8.4 +/- 2.7 kpc vs. 5.5 +/- 2.3 kpc)
and exhibit more diffuse and irregular morphologies (median M_20 of -1.08 +/-
0.05 vs. -1.48 +/- 0.05). These trends are qualitatively consistent with
expectations from simulations of major mergers in which merging systems during
the peak star-formation rate period evolve from M_20 = -1.0 to M_20 = -1.7.
Less obscured ULIRGs (i.e., non-DOGs) tend to have more regular, centrally
peaked, single-object morphologies rather than diffuse and irregular
morphologies. This distinction in morphologies may imply that less obscured
ULIRGs sample the merger near the end of the peak star-formation rate period.
Alternatively, it may indicate that the intense star-formation in these
less-obscured ULIRGs is not the result of a recent major merger.Comment: Accepted to ApJ; 22 pages, 8 Figures, 7 Table
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