From Endogenous to Synthetic microRNA-Mediated Regulatory Circuits: An Overview

MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that are evolutionarily conserved and are pivotal post-transcriptional mediators of gene regulation. Together with transcription factors and epigenetic regulators, they form a highly interconnected network whose building blocks can be classified depending on the number of molecular species involved and the type of interactions amongst them. Depending on their topology, these molecular circuits may carry out specific functions that years of studies have related to the processing of gene expression noise. In this review, we first present the different over-represented network motifs involving microRNAs and their specific role in implementing relevant biological functions, reviewing both theoretical and experimental studies. We then illustrate the recent advances in synthetic biology, such as the construction of artificially synthesised circuits, which provide a controlled tool to test experimentally the possible microRNA regulatory tasks and constitute a starting point for clinical applications

Kinetic modelling of competition and depletion of shared miRNAs by competing endogenous RNAs

Non-conding RNAs play a key role in the post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA translation and turnover in eukaryotes. miRNAs, in particular, interact with their target RNAs through protein-mediated, sequence-specific binding, giving rise to extended and highly heterogeneous miRNA-RNA interaction networks. Within such networks, competition to bind miRNAs can generate an effective positive coupling between their targets. Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) can in turn regulate each other through miRNA-mediated crosstalk. Albeit potentially weak, ceRNA interactions can occur both dynamically, affecting e.g. the regulatory clock, and at stationarity, in which case ceRNA networks as a whole can be implicated in the composition of the cell's proteome. Many features of ceRNA interactions, including the conditions under which they become significant, can be unraveled by mathematical and in silico models. We review the understanding of the ceRNA effect obtained within such frameworks, focusing on the methods employed to quantify it, its role in the processing of gene expression noise, and how network topology can determine its reach.Comment: review article, 29 pages, 7 figure

Analysis of the impact of length of stay on the quality of service experience, satisfaction and loyalty

Although length of stay is a relevant variable in destination management, little research has been produced connecting it with tourists' post-consumption behaviour. This research compares the post-consumption behaviour of same-day visitors with overnight tourists in a sample of 398 domestic vacationers at two Mediterranean heritage-and-beach destinations. Although economic research on length of stay posits that there are destination benefits in longer stays, same-day visitors score higher in most of the post-consumption variables under study. Significant differences arise in hedonic aspects of the tourist experience and destination loyalty. Thus, we propose that length of stay can be used as a segmentation variable. Furthermore, destination management organisations need to consider length of stay when designing tourism policies. The tourist product and communication strategies might be adapted to different vacation durations

Friction forces position the neural anlage

During embryonic development, mechanical forces are essential for cellular rearrangements driving tissue morphogenesis. Here, we show that in the early zebrafish embryo, friction forces are generated at the interface between anterior axial mesoderm (prechordal plate, ppl) progenitors migrating towards the animal pole and neurectoderm progenitors moving in the opposite direction towards the vegetal pole of the embryo. These friction forces lead to global rearrangement of cells within the neurectoderm and determine the position of the neural anlage. Using a combination of experiments and simulations, we show that this process depends on hydrodynamic coupling between neurectoderm and ppl as a result of E-cadherin-mediated adhesion between those tissues. Our data thus establish the emergence of friction forces at the interface between moving tissues as a critical force-generating process shaping the embryo

Neoliberal Penality: A Brief Genealogy

Plants depend on the signalling of the phytohormone auxin for their development and for responding to environmental perturbations. The associated biomolecular signalling network involves a negative feedback on Aux/IAA proteins which mediate the influence of auxin (the signal) on the auxin response factor (ARF) transcription factors (the drivers of the response). To probe the role of this feedback, we consider alternative in silico signalling networks implementing different operating principles. By a comparative analysis, we find that the presence of a negative feedback allows the system to have a far larger sensitivity in its dynamical response to auxin and that this sensitivity does not prevent the system from being highly resilient. Given this insight, we build a new biomolecular signalling model for quantitatively describing such Aux/IAA and ARF responses

Determinants of residential mobility intentions: a mixed binary logit model

Individuals and households experience several residential moves throughout their lives. These moves are the result of individuals/households’ evaluations of their current house and their impact on daily activity-travel behavior. The intention to move is generally triggered by different variables such as attributes of the house, life cycle events and location of the house vis-a-vis the work place and activity locations. In this paper, we investigate these determinants of the intention to move house. The analysis is based on the 2012 Dutch Housing Survey. This data contains information about households’ willingness to move house within the next two years. We applied mixed binary logit analysis on the intention to move or not. The results give insights into the residential mobility of Dutch citizens and show that socio-demographics, house characteristics and variables related to the work commute influence the intention to move

Context-dependent regret minimizing model of housing choice

In contributing to the state of the art in travel behaviour research in developing stated choice models of decision-making under risk, the aim of the present study is to model residential choice behaviour under risky conditions. The model’s objective is to predict the probability that an individual intends to buy a house of any particular profile, considering the risky context conditions, which prevail in the housing market. More specifically, a binomial random parameters logistic regression was estimated. Results indicate that respondents are less willing to move house when the risk related to mortgage rates, prospects of reselling the house, having a job and reselling the house in the future increases

Determinants of residential mobility intentions: a mixed binary logit model

Individuals and households experience several residential moves throughout their lives. These moves are the result of individuals/households’ evaluations of their current house and their impact on daily activity-travel behavior. The intention to move is generally triggered by different variables such as attributes of the house, life cycle events and location of the house vis-a-vis the work place and activity locations. In this paper, we investigate these determinants of the intention to move house. The analysis is based on the 2012 Dutch Housing Survey. This data contains information about households’ willingness to move house within the next two years. We applied mixed binary logit analysis on the intention to move or not. The results give insights into the residential mobility of Dutch citizens and show that socio-demographics, house characteristics and variables related to the work commute influence the intention to move