Latrunculin A delays anaphase onset in fission yeast by disrupting an ase1-independent pathway controlling mitotic spindle stability

It has been proposed previously that latrunculin A, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, delays the onset of anaphase by causing spindle misorientation in fission yeast. However, we show that {Delta}mto1 cells, which are defective in nucleation of cytoplasmic microtubules, have profoundly misoriented spindles but are not delayed in the timing of sister chromatid separation, providing compelling evidence that fission yeast does not possess a spindle orientation checkpoint. Instead, we show that latrunculin A delays anaphase onset by disrupting interpolar microtubule stability. This effect is abolished in a latrunculin A-insensitive actin mutant and exacerbated in cells lacking Ase1, which cross-links antiparallel interpolar microtubules at the spindle midzone both before and after anaphase. These data indicate that both Ase1 and an intact actin cytoskeleton are required for preanaphase spindle stability. Finally, we show that loss of Ase1 activates a checkpoint that requires only the Mad3, Bub1, and Mph1, but not Mad1, Mad2, or Bub3 checkpoint proteins

What are the most effective interventions to reduce childhood obesity?

Efforts to increase physical activity or decrease sedentary activities have shown some short-term benefit, and adding dietary changes may be more effective. Aiming interventions at parents, intensive family therapy, comprehensive school-based programs, and selecting motivated children for subspecialty care may improve success. (Grade of recommendation: B, based on poor-quality randomized controlled trials [RCTs] and heterogeneous systematic reviews.) Other potentially effective short-term strategies include screening with body mass index (BMI) for age (grade of recommendation: C, extrapolation from cohort studies and ecological research) or dietary counseling (grade of recommendation: D, conflicting poor-quality RCTs). No drugs are currently approved for pediatric obesity therapy in the United States

A decreased probability of habitable planet formation around low-mass stars

Smaller terrestrial planets (< 0.3 Earth masses) are less likely to retain the substantial atmospheres and ongoing tectonic activity probably required to support life. A key element in determining if sufficiently massive "sustainably habitable" planets can form is the availability of solid planet-forming material. We use dynamical simulations of terrestrial planet formation from planetary embryos and simple scaling arguments to explore the implications of correlations between terrestrial planet mass, disk mass, and the mass of the parent star. We assume that the protoplanetary disk mass scales with stellar mass as Mdisk ~ f Mstar^h, where f measures the relative disk mass, and 1/2 < h < 2, so that disk mass decreases with decreasing stellar mass. We consider systems without Jovian planets, based on current models and observations for M stars. We assume the mass of a planet formed in some annulus of a disk with given parameters is proportional to the disk mass in that annulus, and show with a suite of simulations of late-stage accretion that the adopted prescription is surprisingly accurate. Our results suggest that the fraction of systems with sufficient disk mass to form > 0.3 Earth mass habitable planets decreases for low-mass stars for every realistic combination of parameters. This "habitable fraction" is small for stellar masses below a mass in the interval 0.5 to 0.8 Solar masses, depending on disk parameters, an interval that excludes most M stars. Radial mixing and therefore water delivery are inefficient in lower-mass disks commonly found around low-mass stars, such that terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of most low-mass stars are likely to be small and dry.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 11 pages, 6 figure

The evolution of solar flux from 0.1 nm to 160 μm : quantitative estimates for planetary studies

Understanding changes in the solar flux over geologic time is vital for understanding the evolution of planetary atmospheres because it affects atmospheric escape and chemistry, as well as climate. We describe a numerical parameterization for wavelength-dependent changes to the non-attenuated solar flux appropriate for most times and places in the solar system. We combine data from the Sun and solar analogs to estimate enhanced UV and X-ray fluxes for the young Sun and use standard solar models to estimate changing visible and infrared fluxes. The parameterization, a series of multipliers relative to the modern top of the atmosphere flux at Earth, is valid from 0.1 nm through the infrared, and from 0.6 Gyr through 6.7 Gyr, and is extended from the solar zero-age main sequence to 8.0 Gyr subject to additional uncertainties. The parameterization is applied to a representative modern day flux, providing quantitative estimates of the wavelength dependence of solar flux for paleodates relevant to the evolution of atmospheres in the solar system (or around other G-type stars). We validate the code by Monte Carlo analysis of uncertainties in stellar age and flux, and with comparisons to the solar proxies κ1 Cet and EK Dra. The model is applied to the computation of photolysis rates on the Archean Earth.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Bub3-Bub1 binding to Spc7/KNL1 toggles the spindle checkpoint switch by licensing the interaction of Bub1 with Mad1-Mad2

The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) ensures that sister chromatids do not separate until all chromosomes are attached to spindle microtubules and bi-oriented. Spindle checkpoint proteins, including Mad1, Mad2, Mad3 (BubR1), Bub1, Bub3, and Mph1 (Mps1), are recruited to unattached and/or tensionless kinetochores. SAC activation catalyzes the conversion of soluble Mad2 (O-Mad2) into a form (C-Mad2) that binds Cdc20, BubR1, and Bub3 to form the mitotic checkpoint complex (MCC), a potent inhibitor of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C). SAC silencing de-represses Cdc20-APC/C activity allowing poly-ubiquitination of Securin and Cyclin B, leading to the dissolution of sister chromatids and anaphase onset [1]. Understanding how microtubule interaction at kinetochores influences the timing of anaphase requires an understanding of how spindle checkpoint protein interaction with the kinetochore influences spindle checkpoint signaling. We, and others, recently showed that Mph1 (Mps1) phosphorylates multiple conserved MELT motifs in the Spc7 (Spc105/KNL1) protein to recruit Bub1, Bub3, and Mad3 (BubR1) to kinetochores [2-4]. In budding yeast, Mps1 phosphorylation of a central non-catalytic region of Bub1 promotes its association with the Mad1-Mad2 complex, although this association has not yet been detected in other organisms [5]. Here we report that multisite binding of Bub3 to the Spc7 MELT array toggles the spindle checkpoint switch by permitting Mph1 (Mps1)-dependent interaction of Bub1 with Mad1-Mad2

Attached winter floral assemblages on sand from Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/23695/1/0000665.pd

Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astrophysics Divisio

The prospects for environmental accounting and accountability in China

Foucault’s ideas on episteme change are used to help understand change taking place in China from the “industrial civilization” to an “ecological civilization”. If episteme change is taking place this could be reflected in the philosophies and attitudes of Chinese accountants and their environmental accounting work will be developing. The conclusions are that: China is slowly moving towards an ecological civilisation; based around the thinking of Chinese accountants an epistemic change is in evidence in tandem with an emerging interest in ancient Chinese philosophy; Chinese accountants’ engagement with environmental accounting and accountability is evidence of reduced specialisation

Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015

Maternal iodine status in a multi-ethnic UK birth cohort:Associations with child cognitive and educational development

Background: Maternal iodine requirements increase during pregnancy to supply thyroid hormones critical for fetal neurodevelopment. Iodine insufficiency may result in poorer cognitive or child educational outcomes but current evidence is sparse and inconsistent. Objectives: To quantify the association between maternal iodine status and child educational outcomes. Methods: Urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) and iodine/creatinine ratios (I:Cr) were measured in 6971 mothers at 26-28 weeks' gestation participating in the Born in Bradford cohort. Maternal iodine status was examined in relation to child school achievement (early years foundation stage (EYFS), phonics, and Key Stage 1 (KS1)), other learning outcomes, social and behavioural difficulties, and sensorimotor control in 5745 children aged 4-7 years. Results: Median (interquartile range) UIC was 76 µg/L (46, 120), and I:Cr was 83 µg/g (59, 121). Overall, there was no strong or consistent evidence to support associations between UIC or I:Cr and neurodevelopmental outcomes. For instance, predicted EYFS and phonics scores (primary outcomes) at the 25th vs 75th I:Cr percentiles (99% confidence intervals) were similar, with no evidence of associations: EYFS scores were 32 (99% CI 31, 33) and 33 (99% CI 32, 34), and phonics scores were 34 (99% CI 33, 35) and 35 (99% CI 34, 36), respectively. Conclusions: In the largest single study of its kind, there was little evidence of detrimental neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born to pregnant women with iodine insufficiency as defined by World Health Organization–outlined thresholds. Alternative functional biomarkers for iodine status in pregnancy and focused assessment of other health outcomes may provide additional insight.</p