Defining the Limits and Mapping the Control Sequences of the Gene, Enhancer of Rudimentary, in Drosophila melanogaster

The enhancer of rudimentary gene, e(r) is a highly conserved gene located on the X chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster. The gene encodes a transcriptional co-factor of 104 amino acids in length, and although the exact function is still unclear it has been shown to be involved in pyrimidine biosynthesis, oogenesis, and the cell cycle. Mutations in e(r) are characterized by low viability and decreased fertility. They have also been shown to enhance phenotypes caused by mutations in two genes involved in neurogenesis, notch and deltex, suggesting a possible role in neurogenesis. In the present study, transgenes of e(r) were used to map the sequences necessary for normal expression. All of the sequences necessary for normal e(r) expression mapped to a 2,618 bp fragment that included the transcribed region plus 787 bp upstream of the start of transcription. The two introns of e(r) were shown not to contain transcription control sequences. These studies also mapped a transcription enhancer to a 5\u27 region from -338 to -787 and a transcription silencer to a 5\u27 region from -45 to -338. Along with the transgene study, deletions caused by P-element excision, exclusively located in the control region of e(r) were isolated and analyzed to determine effect on gene activity. The further refined region was then used with the EvoPrinter program, which .uses the 12 other Drosophila species as a comparison to determine any conservation of these sequences and TESS which uses input sequence to look for possible transcription factor binding sites

Over-claiming as a Predictor of Insider Threat Activities in Individuals

Insiders can engage in malicious activities against organizations such as data theft and sabotage. Prior research on insider threat behavior indicates that once motivated to commit malicious activity, insiders seek opportunity where they can act without being detected. In this research we set up an experiment where we leverage this opportunistic behavior and present participants with messages signaling opportunity for data theft. In the experiment, students were engaged in routine tasks with a bonus based on their performance. While working on their assigned tasks, they were presented with opportunities (probes) to steal data that would increase their payout. Their pre and post probe behavior was observed to test if they engaged in behavior that was deemed suspicious when they received the probe. The goal of the project is to test whether the overclaiming personality trait is a predictor of malicious insider behavior and this was measured through the Over Claiming questionnaire developed by Paulhaus (Paulhaus et al. 2003) The results indicated that over claiming proved to be a strong predictor of malicious insider behavior

The Human and Drosophila ERH are Functionally Equivalent: Evidence from Transgenic Studies

The enhancer of rudimentary, e(r), gene encodes a small highly conserved protein, enhancer of rudimentary homolog (ERH), which has been shown to have a regulatory function in cell division, Notch signaling, and cancer progression. Human and Drosophila ERH, both 104 amino acids in length, are 76% identical and 84% similar. The high sequence identity translates into nearly identical tertiary structures. Previous studies on the expression of the human and Drosophila e(r) genes reveal that the two genes are similarly regulated. Data in the present study using an e(r)-eGFP reporter gene confirm these results, showing a high expression of the reporter in the ovaries, testes, and brain. The high structural and regulatory conservation of e(r) and ERH argue that human and Drosophila ERH may be biochemically and functionally equivalent. To test this hypothesis, a chimeric transgene containing the Drosophila e(r) non-coding regions and the human e(r) coding region was constructed and used to establish transgenic Drosophila stocks. This transgene can rescue all of the mutant phenotypes of an e(r) deletion, and Drosophila stocks in which the fly ERH has been replaced with the human ERH are fully healthy and viable. These studies demonstrate that the human and Drosophila ERH are functionally equivalent, suggesting that studies on the activity of the human ERH can be done in Drosophila, where a multitude of genetic and developmental tools are available

Feasibility of Podcasts and City by City Analysis for Upside.FM

The objective of the project is to conduct a feasibility study for Upside, with regard to their underlying business model. We then hope to make recommendations for other cities and complementary products that can fit under the Upside umbrella

Serialization of Behavior During Car Following in Older Drivers

Age-related declines in cognitive functioning can push older adults to adopt strategies that may or may not improve their driving safety. Previous research suggests one strategy involves performing complex driving tasks (e.g., right turn negotiation) in discrete steps (“serialization”) rather than fluidly. The current study used simulator scenarios developed to test possible age-related serialization of behavior during complex car following. In all scenarios, participants closely monitored a lead vehicle using sustained attention. During multi-tasking scenarios, drivers performed an additional localization task designed to increase the demands on attention. The results demonstrate that older adults showed general impairments in multi-tasking and vehicle control during car following. Importantly, ageassociated changes in task execution were observed, demonstrating older adults also serialize car following behavior under certain conditions. As a result, older drivers withdrew attention from the lead vehicle for several seconds. This pattern of behavior identifies a remediable situation where age-associated impairments may increase crash risk

COVID-19 and Visual Disability: Can’t Look and Now Don’t Touch

Article provides a scientific explanation for pandemic-related challenges blind and visually impaired (BVI) people experience. These challenges include spatial cognition, nonvisual information access, and environmental perception. Also offers promising technical solutions for the above challenges

Paper Spray Ionization: Applications and Perspectives

Paper spray ionization has grown to become one of the most successful ambient ionization methods within the past decade. Requiring little to no sample preparation and being remarkably simple to construct, this technique has seen application in a wide number of fields. This review approaches the mechanism of how paper spray works, and seeks to better classify what it is and is not in a rapidly expanding field of ambient techniques. Additionally, many applications of the technique in clinical, forensic, environmental, and reaction monitoring regimes are explored. Finally, perspectives towards the future of how paper spray could be utilized will be expanded upon, including unexplored substrates and possibilities for the 'omics space

Maternal Diabetes and Obesity Influence the Fetal Epigenome in a Largely Hispanic Population

BACKGROUND: Obesity and diabetes mellitus are directly implicated in many adverse health consequences in adults as well as in the offspring of obese and diabetic mothers. Hispanic Americans are particularly at risk for obesity, diabetes, and end-stage renal disease. Maternal obesity and/or diabetes through prenatal programming may alter the fetal epigenome increasing the risk of metabolic disease in their offspring. The aims of this study were to determine if maternal obesity or diabetes mellitus during pregnancy results in a change in infant methylation of CpG islands adjacent to targeted genes specific for obesity or diabetes disease pathways in a largely Hispanic population. METHODS: Methylation levels in the cord blood of 69 newborns were determined using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Over 850,000 different probe sites were analyzed to determine whether maternal obesity and/or diabetes mellitus directly attributed to differential methylation; epigenome-wide and regional analyses were performed for significant CpG sites. RESULTS: Following quality control, agranular leukocyte samples from 69 newborns (23 normal term (NT), 14 diabetes (DM), 23 obese (OB), 9 DM/OB) were analyzed for over 850,000 different probe sites. Contrasts between the NT, DM, OB, and DM/OB were considered. After correction for multiple testing, 15 CpGs showed differential methylation from the NT, associated with 10 differentially methylated genes between the diabetic and non-diabetic subgroups, CCDC110, KALRN, PAG1, GNRH1, SLC2A9, CSRP2BP, HIVEP1, RALGDS, DHX37, and SCNN1D. The effects of diabetes were partly mediated by the altered methylation of HOOK2, LCE3C, and TMEM63B. The effects of obesity were partly mediated by the differential methylation of LTF and DUSP22. CONCLUSIONS: The presented data highlights the associated altered methylation patterns potentially mediated by maternal diabetes and/or obesity. Larger studies are warranted to investigate the role of both the identified differentially methylated loci and the effects on newborn body composition and future health risk factors for metabolic disease. Additional future consideration should be targeted to the role of Hispanic inheritance. Potential future targeting of transgenerational propagation and developmental programming may reduce population obesity and diabetes risk