Vasopressin and Oxytocin Reduce Food Sharing Behavior in Male, but Not Female Marmosets in Family Groups

Oxytocin (OT) is critical for lactation and maternal care, but OT and the related nonapeptide vasopressin are important for caregiving behaviors in fathers and alloparents as well. This experiment tested the effects of vasopressin and OT on food sharing in marmoset families. We treated caregivers (parents, siblings) with intranasal vasopressin, OT, or saline, and then paired them with the youngest marmoset in the family. Caregivers were given preferred food, and then observed for food sharing and aggressive behavior with young marmosets. OT reduced food sharing from male alloparents to youngest siblings, and fathers that received vasopressin refused to share food with their youngest offspring more often than when treated with OT. Vasopressin increased aggressive vocalizations directed toward potential food recipients in all classes of caregivers. These results indicate that vasopressin and OT do not always enhance prosocial behavior: modulation of food sharing depends on both sex and parental status

Assessing Candidate Gene nsSNPs for Phenotypic Differences in Double-Strand Break Repair Using Radiation-Induced γH2A.X Foci

Nonsynonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) in DNA repair genes may be important determinants of DNA damage and cancer risk. We applied a set of screening criteria to a large number of nsSNPs and selected a subset of SNPs that were likely candidates for phenotypic effects on DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR). In order to induce and follow DSBR, we exposed panels of cell lines to gamma irradiation and followed the formation and disappearance of γH2A.X foci over time. All panels of cell lines showed significant increases in number, intensity, and area of foci at both the 1-hour and 3-hour time points. Twenty four hours following exposure, the number of foci returned to preexposure levels in all cell lines, whereas the size and intensity of foci remained significantly elevated. We saw no significant difference in γH2A.X foci between controls and any of the panels of cell lines representing the different nsSNPs

Hfq binding changes the structure of Escherichia coli small noncoding RNAs OxyS and RprA, which are involved in the riboregulation of rpoS

OxyS and RprA are two small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) that modulate the expression of rpoS, encoding an alternative sigma factor that activates transcription of multiple Escherichia coli stress-response genes. While RprA activates rpoS for translation, OxyS down-regulates the transcript. Crucially, the RNA binding protein Hfq is required for both sRNAs to function, although the specific role played by Hfq remains unclear. We have investigated RprA and OxyS interactions with Hfq using biochemical and biophysical approaches. In particular, we have obtained the molecular envelopes of the Hfq–sRNA complexes using small-angle scattering methods, which reveal key molecular details. These data indicate that Hfq does not substantially change shape upon complex formation, whereas the sRNAs do. We link the impact of Hfq binding, and the sRNA structural changes induced, to transcript stability with respect to RNase E degradation. In light of these findings, we discuss the role of Hfq in the opposing regulatory functions played by RprA and OxyS in rpoS regulation

RELIC: a novel dye-bias correction method for Illumina Methylation BeadChip

Supplementary_Material. This docx file contains all supplementary tables and supplementary figures. (DOCX 424 kb

Next generation software environments : principles, problems, and research directions

The past decade has seen a burgeoning of research and development in software environments. Conferences have been devoted to the topic of practical environments, journal papers produced, and commercial systems sold. Given all the activity, one might expect a great deal of consensus on issues, approaches, and techniques. This is not the case, however. Indeed, the term "environment" is still used in a variety of conflicting ways. Nevertheless substantial progress has been made and we are at least nearing consensus on many critical issues.The purpose of this paper is to characterize environments, describe several important principles that have emerged in the last decade or so, note current open problems, and describe some approaches to these problems, with particular emphasis on the activities of one large-scale research program, the Arcadia project. Consideration is also given to two related topics: empirical evaluation and technology transition. That is, how can environments and their constituents be evaluated, and how can new developments be moved effectively into the production sector

Leu8 and Pro8 oxytocin agonism differs across human, macaque, and marmoset vasopressin 1a receptors

Oxytocin (OXT) is an important neuromodulator of social behaviors via activation of both oxytocin receptors (OXTR) and vasopressin (AVP) 1a receptors (AVPR1a). Marmosets are neotropical primates with a modified OXT ligand (Pro8-OXT), and this ligand shows significant coevolution with traits including social monogamy and litter size. Pro8-OXT produces more potent and efficacious responses at primate OXTR and stronger behavioral effects than the consensus mammalian OXT ligand (Leu8-OXT). Here, we tested whether OXT/AVP ligands show differential levels of crosstalk at primate AVPR1a. We measured binding affinities and Ca2+ signaling responses of AVP, Pro8-OXT and Leu8-OXT at human, macaque, and marmoset AVPR1a. We found that AVP binds with higher affinity than OXT across AVPR1a, and marmoset AVPR1a show a 10-fold lower OXT binding affinity compared to human and macaque AVPR1a. Both Leu8-OXT and Pro8-OXT produce a less efficacious response than AVP at human AVPR1a and higher efficacious response than AVP at marmoset AVPR1a. These data suggest that OXT might partially antagonize endogenous human AVPR1a signaling and enhance marmoset AVPR1a signaling. These findings aid in further understanding inconsistencies observed following systemic intranasal administration of OXT and provide important insights into taxon-specific differences in nonapeptide ligand/receptor coevolution and behavior

Using the Gibbs Function as a Measure of Human Brain Development Trends from Fetal Stage to Advanced Age

We propose to use a Gibbs free energy function as a measure of the human brain development. We adopt this approach to the development of the human brain over the human lifespan: from a prenatal stage to advanced age. We used proteomic expression data with the Gibbs free energy to quantify human brain’s protein–protein interaction networks. The data, obtained from BioGRID, comprised tissue samples from the 16 main brain areas, at different ages, of 57 post-mortem human brains. We found a consistent functional dependence of the Gibbs free energies on age for most of the areas and both sexes. A significant upward trend in the Gibbs function was found during the fetal stages, which is followed by a sharp drop at birth with a subsequent period of relative stability and a final upward trend toward advanced age. We interpret these data in terms of structure formation followed by its stabilization and eventual deterioration. Furthermore, gender data analysis has uncovered the existence of functional differences, showing male Gibbs function values lower than female at prenatal and neonatal ages, which become higher at ages 8 to 40 and finally converging at late adulthood with the corresponding female Gibbs functions

An Ice-Core-Based, Late Holocene History for the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica

Ice core records (major anions and cations, MSA, oxygen isotopes and particles) developed from two shallow (~200 m depth) sites in the Transantarctic Mountains provide documentation of much of the Holocene paleoenvironmental history of this region. From the more southerly site, Dominion Range, an ~7000-year-long record reveals change in the influence of tropospheric transport to the region. At this site, milder conditions and increased tropospheric inflow prior to ~1500 yr BP are characterized by increased seasalt (ss), terrestrial and marine biogenic inputs. Increased persistence and/or extent of polar stratospheric clouds accompanying generally cooler conditions characterize much of the period since ~1500 yr BP. From the more northerly site, Newall Glacier, the dramatic influence of the retreat of grounded ice from McMurdo Sound dated at[Denton et al., 1989] dominates much of the ice core record. This regional environmental change is documented by massive influxes to the core site of evaporitic salts from areas exposed during low lake level stands. During the past ~150 yr, both Dominion Range and Newall Glacier appear to be experiencing an overall increase in the exposure of ice-free terrain