Parenting style as a predictor of music preference

Although previous research has established relationships between perceived parenting styles and children’s deviant behaviours and links between these behaviours and a liking for intense and rebellious music, no research has explored the associations between perceived parenting styles and children’s liking for different music styles. Whereas previous research has considered musical taste by looking at a small number of individual difference variables in isolation from one another, the present research used a cross-sectional correlational design to investigate whether parenting styles, the Big Five personality traits, sensation seeking, age, and gender were associated with a liking for different music styles. In total, 336 Australians completed an online, self-report questionnaire. Analyses demonstrated there were relationships between five of the six parenting style variables and five of the music styles considered. This indicates that various parenting styles were associated with musical taste, and the nature of these associations extends well beyond those concerning rebellious music and neglectful parenting that have been identified by previous research

Follicular lymphoma, a B cell malignancy addicted to epigenetic mutations

K Korfi, S Ali, J Heward and J Fitzgibbon are supported by Cancer Research UK Programme Grant [C15966/A15968] and Bloodwise Programme Grant [15002]. S Ali is also a recipient of Cancer Research UK Clinical Careers Committee research bursary [C56515/A21397]

Novel ATP-Independent RNA Annealing Activity of the Dengue Virus NS3 Helicase

The flavivirus nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) bears multiple enzymatic activities and represents an attractive target for antiviral intervention. NS3 contains the viral serine protease at the N-terminus and ATPase, RTPase, and helicase activities at the C-terminus. These activities are essential for viral replication; however, the biological role of RNA remodeling by NS3 helicase during the viral life cycle is still unclear. Secondary and tertiary RNA structures present in the viral genome are crucial for viral replication. Here, we used the NS3 protein from dengue virus to investigate functions of NS3 associated to changes in RNA structures. Using different NS3 variants, we characterized a domain spanning residues 171 to 618 that displays ATPase and RNA unwinding activities similar to those observed for the full-length protein. Interestingly, we found that, besides the RNA unwinding activity, dengue virus NS3 greatly accelerates annealing of complementary RNA strands with viral or non-viral sequences. This new activity was found to be ATP-independent. It was determined that a mutated NS3 lacking ATPase activity retained full-RNA annealing activity. Using an ATP regeneration system and different ATP concentrations, we observed that NS3 establishes an ATP-dependent steady state between RNA unwinding and annealing, allowing modulation of the two opposing activities of this enzyme through ATP concentration. In addition, we observed that NS3 enhanced RNA-RNA interactions between molecules representing the ends of the viral genome that are known to be necessary for viral RNA synthesis. We propose that, according to the ATP availability, NS3 could function regulating the folding or unfolding of viral RNA structures

Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Downregulate Checkpoint Kinase 1 Expression to Induce Cell Death in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Background: Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) are promising anticancer drugs; however, the molecular mechanisms leading to HDACi-induced cell death have not been well understood and no clear mechanism of resistance has been elucidated to explain limited efficacy of HDACis in clinical trials. Methods and Findings: Here, we show that protein levels of checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1), which has a major role in G2 cell cycle checkpoint regulation, was markedly reduced at the protein and transcriptional levels in lung cancer cells treated with pan-and selective HDACis LBH589, scriptaid, valproic acid, apicidin, and MS-275. In HDACi treated cells Chk1 function was impaired as determined by decreased inhibitory phosphorylation of cdc25c and its downstream target cdc2 and increased expression of cdc25A and phosphorylated histone H3, a marker of mitotic entry. In time course experiments, Chk1 downregulation occurred after HDACi treatment, preceding apoptosis. Ectopic expression of Chk1 overcame HDACiinduced cell death, and pretreating cells with the cdc2 inhibitor purvalanol A blocked entry into mitosis and prevented cell death by HDACis. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of Chk1 showed strong synergistic effect with LBH589 in lung cancer cells. Conclusions: These results define a pathway through which Chk1 inhibition can mediate HDACi-induced mitotic entry and cell death and suggest that Chk1 could be an early pharmacodynamic marker to assess HDACi efficacy in clinical samples

π-Bond screening in benzonorbornadienes : the role of 7-Substituents in governing the facial selectivity for the Diels-Alder reaction of Benzonorbornadienes with 3,6-Di(2-pyridyl)-s-Tetrazine

Benzonorbornadiene 21, 7-spirocyclopropylbenzonorbornadiene 23, 7,7- dimethylbenzonorbornadiene 25, and 7-spirocyclopentylbenzonorbornadiene 27 have been reacted with 3,6-di(2-pyridyl)-s-tetrazine (rate: 21>23>25=27) to form symmetrical 4,5- dihydropyridazines which are stable towards fragmentation but rearrange with varying facility to their 1,4 isomers. The facial selectivity of attack on the π-bond changes from exo-attack for 21 and 23 to endo-attack for 25 and 27. The 7-spirocyclopropyl benzonorbornadiene 23 typically forms a mixture of dihydropyridazines with exo-stereochemistry, which undergo further stereochemical isomerisation to an exo-fused product upon acetylation (acetyl chloride in hot pyridine). Oxidation with DDQ of the dihydropyridazines individually or as mixtures gives the corresponding fused 3,6-di(2-pyridyl) pyridazines

Small field in-air output factors: the role of miniphantom design and dosimeter type

The commissioning of treatment planning systems and beam modeling requires measured input parameters. The measurement of relative output in-air, Sc is particularly difficult for small fields. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of miniphantom design and detector selection on measured Sc values for small fields and to validate the measurements against Monte Carlo simulations. Measurements were performed using brass caps (with sidewalls) or tops (no sidewalls) of varying heights and widths. The performance of two unshielded diodes (60012 and SFD), EBT2 radiochromic film, and a fiber optic dosimeter (FOD) were compared for fields defined by MLCs (5-100 mm) and SRS cones (4-30 mm) on a Varian Novalis linear accelerator. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to theoretically predict Sc as measured by the FOD. For all detectors, Sc agreed to within 1% for fields larger than 10 mm and to within 2.3% for smaller fields. Monte Carlo simulation matched the FOD measurements for all size of cone defined fields to within 0.5%. Miniphantom design is the most important variable for reproducible and accurate measurements of the in-air output ratio, Sc, in small photon fields (less than 30 mm). Sidewalls are not required for fields less than or equal too 30 mm and tops are therefore preferred over the larger caps. Unlike output measurements in water, Scp, the selection of detector type for Sc is not critical, provided the active dosimeter volume is small relative to the field siz

Crystal structure of dimethyl (1a,2b,3a,4b,7b,8a,9b,10a)-13-isopropylidene-pentacyclo[8.2.1.1.4,7.02,9.03,8]tetradeca-5,11-diene-2,9-dicarboxylate, c21h24o4

C21H2404. monoclinic, Pl2]/nl (No. 14). a = 9.547(2) A, b = 19.014(3) A, c = 9.877(2) A, ~ = 91.42(2)°, V = 1792.4 A3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.062, wRret(F2) = 0.194, T= 293 K