259 research outputs found
Parental Expectations and Prosocial Behavior of Adolescents From Low-Income Backgrounds: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Three Countries¿Argentina, Colombia, and Spain
Parental expectations are influenced by cultural models, which in turn are subject to a great influence from historically fluctuating features of the socioeconomic background. Parental expectations seem to be linked to children¿s social and emotional development in terms of empathy and prosocial behavior. The current study aims to (a) compare low-income adolescents¿ perceptions of parental expectations of prosocial and antisocial behavior across three Latin countries (Argentina, Colombia, and Spain), (b) compare the empathy and prosocial behavior between the three countries, (c) compare the prosocial behavior between the three countries, and (d) study the effect of perceived parental expectations and empathy on the prosocial behavior of adolescents in all three of the countries studied in this research. The sample was made up of 446 Argentinean adolescents, 474 Colombian adolescents, and 632 Spanish adolescents. The Expected Parental Reactions Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire were used to measure the variables included in this study. Results reveal considerable differences between children¿s perceptions of parental expectations in different countries. Results also show the existence of significant differences between male and female adolescents. In all three countries, girls score more highly than boys in prosocial behavior and empathy. Furthermore, we find that low-income Argentinean adolescents score more highly than Spanish and Colombian adolescents in prosocial behavior measures. Finally, expected parental reactions toward prosocial behavior and empathy seem to have an influence on the adolescents¿ development of prosocial behavior in all three countries
Higher-precision radial velocity measurements with the SOPHIE spectrograph using octagonal-section fibers
High-precision spectrographs play a key role in exoplanet searches using the
radial velocity technique. But at the accuracy level of 1 m.s-1, required for
super-Earth characterization, stability of fiber-fed spectrograph performance
is crucial considering variable observing conditions such as seeing, guiding
and centering errors and, telescope vignetting. In fiber-fed spectrographs such
as HARPS or SOPHIE, the fiber link scrambling properties are one of the main
issues. Both the stability of the fiber near-field uniformity at the
spectrograph entrance and of the far-field illumination on the echelle grating
(pupil) are critical for high-precision radial velocity measurements due to the
spectrograph geometrical field and aperture aberrations. We conducted tests on
the SOPHIE spectrograph at the 1.93-m OHP telescope to measure the instrument
sensitivity to the fiber link light feeding conditions: star decentering,
telescope vignetting by the dome,and defocussing.
To significantly improve on current precision, we designed a fiber link
modification considering the spectrograph operational constraints. We have
developed a new link which includes a piece of octagonal-section fiber, having
good scrambling properties, lying inside the former circular-section fiber, and
we tested the concept on a bench to characterize near-field and far-field
scrambling properties.
This modification has been implemented in spring 2011 on the SOPHIE
spectrograph fibers and tested for the first time directly on the sky to
demonstrate the gain compared to the previous fiber link. Scientific validation
for exoplanet search and characterization has been conducted by observing
standard stars.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Proceedings of SPIE 201
Self-Organization, Layered Structure, and Aggregation Enhance Persistence of a Synthetic Biofilm Consortium
Microbial consortia constitute a majority of the earth’s biomass, but little is known about how these cooperating
communities persist despite competition among community members. Theory suggests that non-random spatial structures
contribute to the persistence of mixed communities; when particular structures form, they may provide associated
community members with a growth advantage over unassociated members. If true, this has implications for the rise and
persistence of multi-cellular organisms. However, this theory is difficult to study because we rarely observe initial instances
of non-random physical structure in natural populations. Using two engineered strains of Escherichia coli that constitute a
synthetic symbiotic microbial consortium, we fortuitously observed such spatial self-organization. This consortium forms a
biofilm and, after several days, adopts a defined layered structure that is associated with two unexpected, measurable
growth advantages. First, the consortium cannot successfully colonize a new, downstream environment until it selforganizes
in the initial environment; in other words, the structure enhances the ability of the consortium to survive
environmental disruptions. Second, when the layered structure forms in downstream environments the consortium
accumulates significantly more biomass than it did in the initial environment; in other words, the structure enhances the
global productivity of the consortium. We also observed that the layered structure only assembles in downstream
environments that are colonized by aggregates from a previous, structured community. These results demonstrate roles for
self-organization and aggregation in persistence of multi-cellular communities, and also illustrate a role for the techniques
of synthetic biology in elucidating fundamental biological principles
Microbial engineering for production of N-functionalized amino acids and amines
Mindt M, Walter T, Kugler P, Wendisch VF. Microbial engineering for production of N-functionalized amino acids and amines. Biotechnology Journal . 2020;15(7): 1900451.N‐ functionalized amines play important roles in nature and occur, for example, in the antibiotic vancomycin, the immunosuppressant cyclosporine, the cytostatic actinomycin, the siderophore aerobactin, the cyanogenic glucoside linamarin, and the polyamine spermidine. In the pharmaceutical and fine‐chemical industries N‐ functionalized amines are used as building blocks for the preparation of bioactive molecules. Processes based on fermentation and on enzyme catalysis have been developed to provide sustainable manufacturing routes to N‐ alkylated, N‐ hydroxylated, N‐ acylated, or other N‐ functionalized amines including polyamines. Metabolic engineering for provision of precursor metabolites is combined with heterologous N‐ functionalizing enzymes such as imine or ketimine reductases, opine or amino acid dehydrogenases, N‐ hydroxylases, N‐ acyltransferase, or polyamine synthetases. Recent progress and applications of fermentative processes using metabolically engineered bacteria and yeasts along with the employed enzymes are reviewed and the perspectives on developing new fermentative processes based on insight from enzyme catalysis are discussed
Advanced cell-based modeling of the royal disease: characterization of the mutated F9 mRNA
Essentials The Royal disease (RD) is a form of hemophilia B predicted to be caused by a splicing mutation. We generated an iPSC-based model of the disease allowing mechanistic studies at the RNA level. F9 mRNA analysis in iPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells showed the predicted abnormal splicing. Mutated F9 mRNA level was very low but we also found traces of wild type transcripts.
SUMMARY:
Background The royal disease is a form of hemophilia B (HB) that affected many descendants of Queen Victoria in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was found to be caused by the mutation F9 c.278-3A>G. Objective To generate a physiological cell model of the disease and to study F9 expression at the RNA level. Methods Using fibroblasts from skin biopsies of a previously identified hemophilic patient bearing the F9 c.278-3A>G mutation and his mother, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Both the patient's and mother's iPSCs were differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) and their F9 mRNA was analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Results and Conclusion We demonstrated the previously predicted aberrant splicing of the F9 transcript as a result of an intronic nucleotide substitution leading to a frameshift and the generation of a premature termination codon (PTC). The F9 mRNA level in the patient's HLCs was significantly reduced compared with that of his mother, suggesting that mutated transcripts undergo nonsense-mediated decay (NMD), a cellular mechanism that degrades PTC-containing mRNAs. We also detected small proportions of correctly spliced transcripts in the patient's HLCs, which, combined with genetic variability in splicing and NMD machineries, could partially explain some clinical variability among affected members of the European royal families who had lifespans above the average. This work allowed the demonstration of the pathologic consequences of an intronic mutation in the F9 gene and represents the first bona fide cellular model of HB allowing the study of rare mutations at the RNA level
Parkinson’s disease patient-specific neuronal networks carrying the LRRK2 G2019S mutation unveil early functional alterations that predate neurodegeneration
A deeper understanding of early disease mechanisms occurring in Parkinson's disease (PD) is needed to reveal restorative targets. Here we report that human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived dopaminergic neurons (DAn) obtained from healthy individuals or patients harboring LRRK2 PD-causing mutation can create highly complex networks with evident signs of functional maturation over time. Compared to control neuronal networks, LRRK2 PD patients' networks displayed an elevated bursting behavior, in the absence of neurodegeneration. By combining functional calcium imaging, biophysical modeling, and DAn-lineage tracing, we found a decrease in DAn neurite density that triggered overall functional alterations in PD neuronal networks. Our data implicate early dysfunction as a prime focus that may contribute to the initiation of downstream degenerative pathways preceding DAn loss in PD, highlighting a potential window of opportunity for pre-symptomatic assessment of chronic degenerative diseases
Novel Genetic Tools for Diaminopimelic Acid Selection in Virulence Studies of Yersinia pestis
Molecular studies of bacterial virulence are enhanced by expression of
recombinant DNA during infection to allow complementation of mutants and
expression of reporter proteins in vivo. For highly pathogenic
bacteria, such as Yersinia pestis, these studies are currently
limited because deliberate introduction of antibiotic resistance is restricted
to those few which are not human treatment options. In this work, we report the
development of alternatives to antibiotics as tools for host-pathogen research
during Yersinia pestis infections focusing on the
diaminopimelic acid (DAP) pathway, a requirement for cell wall synthesis in
eubacteria. We generated a mutation in the dapA-nlpB(dapX)
operon of Yersinia pestis KIM D27 and CO92 which eliminated the
expression of both genes. The resulting strains were auxotrophic for
diaminopimelic acid and this phenotype was complemented in
trans by expressing dapA in single and multi-copy.
In vivo, we found that plasmids derived from the p15a
replicon were cured without selection, while selection for DAP enhanced
stability without detectable loss of any of the three resident virulence
plasmids. The dapAX mutation rendered Y.
pestis avirulent in mouse models of bubonic and septicemic plague
which could be complemented when dapAX was inserted in single
or multi-copy, restoring development of disease that was indistinguishable from
the wild type parent strain. We further identified a high level, constitutive
promoter in Y. pestis that could be used to drive expression of
fluorescent reporters in dapAX strains that had minimal impact
to virulence in mouse models while enabling sensitive detection of bacteria
during infection. Thus, diaminopimelic acid selection for single or multi-copy
genetic systems in Yersinia pestis offers an improved
alternative to antibiotics for in vivo studies that causes
minimal disruption to virulence
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