Functional diversification of the nematode mbd2/3 gene between Pristionchus pacificus and Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract Background Several members of the Methyl-Binding Domain protein family link DNA methylation with chromatin remodeling complexes in vertebrates. Amongst the four classes of MBD proteins, MBD2/3 is the most highly conserved and widespread in metazoans. We have previously reported that an mbd2/3 like gene (mbd-2) is encoded in the genomes of the nematodes Pristionchus pacificus, Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae. RNAi knock-down of mbd-2 in the two Caenorhabditis species results in varying percentages of lethality. Results Here, we report that a general feature of nematode MBD2/3 proteins seems to be the lack of a bona fide methyl-binding domain. We isolated a null allele of mbd-2 in P. pacificus and show that Ppa-mbd-2 mutants are viable, fertile and display a fully penetrant egg laying defect. This egg laying defect is partially rescued by treatment with acetylcholine or nicotine suggesting a specific function of this protein in vulval neurons. Using Yeast-two-hybrid screens, Ppa-MBD-2 was found to associate with microtubule interacting and vesicle transfer proteins. Conclusion These results imply that MBD2/3 proteins in nematodes are more variable than their relatives in insects and vertebrates both in structure and function. Moreover, nematode MBD2/3 proteins assume functions independent of DNA methylation ranging from the indispensable to the non-essential.</p

The interactions of disability and impairment

Theoretical work on disability is going through an expansive period, built on the growing recognition of disability studies as a discipline and out of the political and analytical push to bring disability into a prominent position within accounts of the intersecting social categories that shape people's lives. A current debate within critical disability studies is whether that study should include impairment and embodiment within its focus. This article argues it should and does so by drawing from symbolic interactionism and embodiment literatures in order to explore how differences in what bodies can do-defined as impairments-come to play a role in how people make sense of themselves through social interaction. We argue that these everyday interactions and the stories we tell within them and about them are important spaces and narratives through which impairment and disability are produced. Interactions and stories are significant both in how they are shaped by wider social norms, collective stories and institutional processes, and also how they at times can provide points of resistance and challenges to such norms, stories and institutions. Therefore, the significance of impairment and interaction is the role they play in both informing self-identity and also broader dynamics of power and inequality

Application of geographic information systems and simulation modelling to dental public health: Where next?

Public health research in dentistry has used geographic information systems since the 1960s. Since then, the methods used in the field have matured, moving beyond simple spatial associations to the use of complex spatial statistics and, on occasions, simulation modelling. Many analyses are often descriptive in nature; however, and the use of more advanced spatial simulation methods within dental public health remains rare, despite the potential they offer the field. This review introduces a new approach to geographical analysis of oral health outcomes in neighbourhoods and small area geographies through two novel simulation methods-spatial microsimulation and agent-based modelling. Spatial microsimulation is a population synthesis technique, used to combine survey data with Census population totals to create representative individual-level population datasets, allowing for the use of individual-level data previously unavailable at small spatial scales. Agent-based models are computer simulations capable of capturing interactions and feedback mechanisms, both of which are key to understanding health outcomes. Due to these dynamic and interactive processes, the method has an advantage over traditional statistical techniques such as regression analysis, which often isolate elements from each other when testing for statistical significance. This article discusses the current state of spatial analysis within the dental public health field, before reviewing each of the methods, their applications, as well as their advantages and limitations. Directions and topics for future research are also discussed, before addressing the potential to combine the two methods in order to further utilize their advantages. Overall, this review highlights the promise these methods offer, not just for making methodological advances, but also for adding to our ability to test and better understand theoretical concepts and pathways

Review of the projected impacts of climate change on coastal fishes in southern Africa

The coastal zone represents one of the most economically and ecologically important ecosystems on the planet, none more so than in southern Africa. This manuscript examines the potential impacts of climate change on the coastal fishes in southern Africa and provides some of the first information for the Southern Hemisphere, outside of Australasia. It begins by describing the coastal zone in terms of its physical characteristics, climate, fish biodiversity and fisheries. The region is divided into seven biogeographical zones based on previous descriptions and interpretations by the authors. A global review of the impacts of climate change on coastal zones is then applied to make qualitative predictions on the likely impacts of climate change on migratory, resident, estuarine-dependent and catadromous fishes in each of these biogeographical zones. In many respects the southern African region represents a microcosm of climate change variability and of coastal habitats. Based on the broad range of climate change impacts and life history styles of coastal fishes, the predicted impacts on fishes will be diverse. If anything, this review reveals our lack of fundamental knowledge in this field, in particular in southern Africa. Several research priorities, including the need for process-based fundamental research programs are highlighted