22 research outputs found
Factors Affecting GUM Clinic Attenders Decisions and Intentions to Seek HIV Testing
Abstract Not Provided
Natural Variants of AtHKT1 Enhance Na(+) Accumulation in Two Wild Populations of Arabidopsis
Plants are sessile and therefore have developed mechanisms to adapt to their environment, including the soil mineral nutrient composition. Ionomics is a developing functional genomic strategy designed to rapidly identify the genes and gene networks involved in regulating how plants acquire and accumulate these mineral nutrients from the soil. Here, we report on the coupling of high-throughput elemental profiling of shoot tissue from various Arabidopsis accessions with DNA microarray-based bulk segregant analysis and reverse genetics, for the rapid identification of genes from wild populations of Arabidopsis that are involved in regulating how plants acquire and accumulate Na(+) from the soil. Elemental profiling of shoot tissue from 12 different Arabidopsis accessions revealed that two coastal populations of Arabidopsis collected from Tossa del Mar, Spain, and Tsu, Japan (Ts-1 and Tsu-1, respectively), accumulate higher shoot levels of Na(+) than do Col-0 and other accessions. We identify AtHKT1, known to encode a Na(+) transporter, as being the causal locus driving elevated shoot Na(+) in both Ts-1 and Tsu-1. Furthermore, we establish that a deletion in a tandem repeat sequence approximately 5 kb upstream of AtHKT1 is responsible for the reduced root expression of AtHKT1 observed in these accessions. Reciprocal grafting experiments establish that this loss of AtHKT1 expression in roots is responsible for elevated shoot Na(+). Interestingly, and in contrast to the hkt1–1 null mutant, under NaCl stress conditions, this novel AtHKT1 allele not only does not confer NaCl sensitivity but also cosegregates with elevated NaCl tolerance. We also present all our elemental profiling data in a new open access ionomics database, the Purdue Ionomics Information Management System (PiiMS; http://www.purdue.edu/dp/ionomics). Using DNA microarray-based genotyping has allowed us to rapidly identify AtHKT1 as the casual locus driving the natural variation in shoot Na(+) accumulation we observed in Ts-1 and Tsu-1. Such an approach overcomes the limitations imposed by a lack of established genetic markers in most Arabidopsis accessions and opens up a vast and tractable source of natural variation for the identification of gene function not only in ionomics but also in many other biological processes
Wellbeing and Nurture: Physical and Emotional Security in Childhood
While there is increasing concern about developing and reinforcing children’s physical and emotional security, researchers have been busy working out the actual mechanics, even at the cellular level, of how this can be achieved. This report will provide a concise update on what is known about optimising children’s wellbeing and security in childhood and far beyond. In examining the ways in which children grow and develop, we can learn from that because their physical and emotional wellbeing and therefore that of our future society will depend on it. This report represents what we have learned and we hope that it will contribute in a small way to the making of the brave new ‘post-Covid’ world
Mental Health Through Movement
Children’s mental health: ‘has become an issue of real concern, in the media and to both politicians and NHS leaders, over the last five years in particular. It has prompted numerous inquiries, reports, recommendations and pledges by politicians and NHS leaders to improve the situation’: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/22/what-is-happening-withchildrens-mental-health On July 1st 2019, the Local Government Association released statistics to show that: ‘There were 205,720 cases where a child was identified as having a mental health issue in 2017/18, compared with 133,600 in 2014/15- up 54%’: https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/councils-seeing-more-560-child-mentalhealth-cases-every-day It is within this context that the All-Party Parliamentary Group on A Fit and Healthy Childhood presents its 14th Report: ‘Positive Mental Health Through Movement’. With 1 in 10 children now having a mental health diagnosis and 1 in 4 an undiagnosed mental health issue, this, our third Report on the issue of child mental health, addresses the link between positive mental health and physical activity and movement experiences at a time when, paradoxically, today’s children and young people are more inactive and play less than ever before. The growing recognition of a link between mental health and movement is fortuitous because from September 2019, health education in English schools will be statutory alongside the expectation that they will offer their pupils at least 30 ‘active minutes’ per day. The APPG on A Fit and Healthy Childhood welcomes the change whilst recognising that those responsible for implementing the new strategy (including practitioners and families) will need guidance as they help children to develop individual strategies to address future adverse events and foster the positive sense of self that will enable them to lead fulfilled, healthy lives. This Report is therefore presented as a practical contribution to an essential debate. It offers new strategies against the persistence of historical and traditional ways of thinking; examines and collates best practice in the devolved Home Countries as well as the wider world and discusses exactly what is required to ensure that future child mental health strategy is holistic. It is respectful of equalities and is aware that the successful outcome of policies is entirely dependent upon the expertise and confidence of those tasked with the responsibility of delivering them. As the 21st century advances, we consider the effects of the digital age and its impact on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and the crucial role of parents and carers who want the best for their children in a societal climate where, all too often, fears of ‘nanny state’ meddling serve to isolate families who suffer in silence – until a disaster that may have been all too predictable and preventable overtakes them, making a private grief a public concern. The trajectory of progress in mental health policy has been ‘stop start’ rather than linear, with legislative change in 1959 and 1983, an increase in spending from 1997- 2010 and radical changes to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2000. The Wessely Independent Review of the Mental Health Act is another such milestone: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/independent-review-of-the-mentalhealth-act The APPG on A Fit and Healthy Childhood anticipates that the Government will fulfil its pledge to parents, children and practitioners by introducing much needed mental health legislation - and that our trio of Reports and the holistic theme of this one will help to inform a strategy that works for 21st century children
Successful Reproduction Requires the Function of Arabidopsis YELLOW STRIPE-LIKE1 and YELLOW STRIPE-LIKE3 Metal-Nicotianamine Transporters in Both Vegetative and Reproductive Structures1[W][OA]
Several members of the Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) family of proteins are transporters of metals that are bound to the metal chelator nicotianamine or the related set of mugineic acid family chelators known as phytosiderophores. Here, we examine the physiological functions of three closely related Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) YSL family members, AtYSL1, AtYSL2, and AtYSL3, to elucidate their role(s) in the allocation of metals into various organs of Arabidopsis. We show that AtYSL3 and AtYSL1 are localized to the plasma membrane and function as iron transporters in yeast functional complementation assays. By using inflorescence grafting, we show that AtYSL1 and AtYSL3 have dual roles in reproduction: their activity in the leaves is required for normal fertility and normal seed development, while activity in the inflorescences themselves is required for proper loading of metals into the seeds. We further demonstrate that the AtYSL1 and AtYSL2 proteins, when expressed from the AtYSL3 promoter, can only partially rescue the phenotypes of a ysl1ysl3 double mutant, suggesting that although these three YSL transporters are closely related and have similar patterns of expression, they have distinct activities in planta. In particular, neither AtYSL1 nor AtYSL2 is able to functionally complement the reproductive defects exhibited by ysl1ysl3 double mutant plants
Recommended from our members
Vocabulary comprehension in adults with fragile X syndrome (FXS)
Contribution of Tsu-1 <i>HKT1</i> Allele to Survival Under NaCl Stress
<div><p>(A) Relative NaCl tolerance of <i>hkt1–1</i>, Col-0, and Tsu-1. Five-week-old <i>hkt1–1</i>, Col-0, and Tsu-1 plants were treated biweekly with 100 mM NaCl. Picture was taken 6 wk after beginning of the salt treatment.</p><p>(B) NaCl tolerance of F2 plants from a Tsu-1 × Col-0 cross. Picture of one of four plant growth trays used in the experiment. Each tray includes plants from each parent (Col-0 and Tsu-1) as well as F2 plants.</p><p>(C) Distribution of the parental lines Col-0 (<i>n</i> = 11) and Tsu-1 (<i>n</i> = 14) recorded dead each week after beginning of the salt treatment. Presented data are percentage of plants dead each week after beginning of salt treatment.</p><p>(D) Distribution of F2 plants (Tsu-1 × Col-0, <i>n</i> = 95) genotyped as Col-0 homozygous or Tsu-1 homozygous or heterozygous for the <i>HKT1</i> allele and recorded dead each week after beginning of the salt treatment. Presented data are percentage of plants dead each week after beginning of salt treatment.</p></div
The Tandem Repeat Upstream of At<i>HKT1</i> Is Determinant for At<i>HKT1</i> Expression and Maintenance of Shoot Na<sup>+</sup> Accumulation
<div><p>(A) Diagram of the T-DNA insertions in Line 1425. Represented are the two tandem repeats (hatched boxes), positions of the two T-DNA insertions (inverted triangles), and the arrows indicating the orientation of the left border (LB) for each T-DNA insertion. Numbering is based on the A of the At4g10310 start codon ATG as +1. The diagram is not drawn to scale.</p><p>(B) At<i>HKT1</i> expression using quantitative real-time PCR in Col-0, <i>sos3–1</i> (Col-0 <i>gl1</i>), Line 1425, and <i>hkt1–1</i>. RNA was isolated from shoot and root of 6-wk-old plants grown in soil under short-day conditions. For normalization across samples, the expression of the <i>Actin 1</i> gene was used, and relative fold induction was calculated in comparison to At<i>HKT1</i> expression in Col-0 shoot using the ΔΔ<i>C</i><sub>t</sub> method. Presented data are the mean of at least three biological replicates, and the error bars represent ±SD.</p><p>(C) Na<sup>+</sup> accumulation in shoot tissue of Col-0, <i>sos3–1</i> (Col-0 <i>gl1</i>), Line 1425, <i>sos3–1 hkt1–1,</i> and <i>hkt1–1</i> grown for 6 wk in soil under short-day conditions (same plants used for quantitative real-time PCR above). Presented data are the mean ± SE (<i>n</i> = 12).</p></div