Chromatin insulator elements: establishing barriers to set heterochromatin boundaries

Epigenomic profiling has revealed that substantial portions of genomes in higher eukaryotes are organized into extensive domains of transcriptionally repressive chromatin. The boundaries of repressive chromatin domains can be fixed by DNA elements known as barrier insulators, to both shield neighboring gene expression and to maintain the integrity of chromosomal silencing. Here, we examine the current progress in identifying vertebrate barrier elements and their binding factors. We overview the design of the reporter assays used to define enhancer-blocking and barrier insulators. We look at the mechanisms vertebrate barrier proteins, such as USF1 and VEZF1, employ to counteract Polycomb- and heterochromatin-associated repression. We also undertake a critical analysis of whether CTCF could also act as a barrier protein. There is good evidence that barrier elements in vertebrates can form repressive chromatin domain boundaries. Future studies will determine whether barriers are frequently used to define repressive domain boundaries in vertebrates

Perceptions of a Bible Belt State\u27s Proposed Casino Gaming Legislation by Religious Affiliation: The Case of Kentucky Residents

This study seeks to explore whether differences exist among Kentucky residents\u27 perception of casino gaming based on religious affiliation. A survey was conducted to sample 600 residents regarding currently a widely debated introduction of land-based casinos in the state, yielding a response rate of 38.4%. The results support earlier studies regarding the impact religion has on people\u27s attitudes toward gaming. The findings suggest that Catholics have a more positive attitude toward the legalization of gambling than persons of Protestant faiths

Assessment of the Leadership Behavior of Home Economics Chief Administrators with Special Attention to Job-Related Stress

Food, Nutrition and Institution Administratio

Angler‐Caught Piscivore Diets Reflect Fish Community Changes in Lake Huron

Examination of angler‐caught piscivore stomachs revealed that Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush, Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and Walleyes Sander vitreus altered their diets in response to unprecedented declines in Lake Huron’s main‐basin prey fish community. Diets varied by predator species, season, and location but were nearly always dominated numerically by some combination of Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, Rainbow Smelt Osmerus mordax, Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides, Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus, or terrestrial insects. Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (steelhead), Coho Salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch, and Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar had varied diets that reflected higher contributions of insects. Compared with an earlier (1983–1986) examination of angler‐caught predator fishes from Lake Huron, the contemporary results showed an increase in consumption of nontraditional prey (including conspecifics), use of smaller prey, and an increase in insects in the diet, suggesting that piscivores were faced with chronic prey limitation during this study. The management of all piscivores in Lake Huron will likely require consideration of the pervasive effects of changes in food webs, especially if prey fish remain at low levels.Received December 19, 2013; accepted June 30, 2014Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141251/1/tafs1419.pd

Operational reliability assessment of the GEOS A spacecraft

Decision theory application to GEOS A spacecraft operational reliability assessmen

Predicting responses to psychedelics: a prospective study

Responses to psychedelics are notoriously difficult to predict, yet significant work is currently underway to assess their therapeutic potential and the level of interest in psychedelics among the general public appears to be increasing. We aimed to collect prospective data in order to improve our ability to predict acute- and longer-term responses to psychedelics. Individuals who planned to take a psychedelic through their own initiative participated in an online survey (www.psychedelicsurvey.com). Traits and variables relating to set, setting and the acute psychedelic experience were measured at five different time points before and after the experience. Principle component and regression methods were used to analyse the data. Sample sizes for the five time points included N= 654, N= 535, N= 379, N= 315, and N= 212 respectively. Psychological well-being was increased two weeks after a psychedelic experience and remained at this level after four weeks. This increase was larger for individuals who scored higher for a ‘mystical-type experience’, and smaller for those who scored higher for ‘challenging experience’. Having ‘clear intentions’ for the experience was conducive to mystical-type experiences. Having a positive ‘set’, as well as having the experience with intentions related to ‘recreation’, were both found to decrease the likelihood of having a challenging experience. The trait ‘absorption’ and higher drug doses promoted both mystical-type and challenging experiences. When comparing different types of variables, traits variables seemed to explain most variance in the change in well-being after a psychedelic experience. These results confirm the importance of extra-pharmacological factors in determining responses to a psychedelic. We view this study as an early step towards the development of empirical guidelines that can evolve and improve iteratively with the ultimate purpose of guiding crucial clinical decisions about whether, when, where and how to dose with a psychedelic, thus helping to reduce risks while maximising potential benefits in an evidence-based manner

Ex post aggregate real rates of return in Canada: 1947-1976

Cover title"June 1981."Series statement handwritten on cover"This is a draft of a study to be published by the Economic Council of Canada. It is made available to participants in the Rates of Return Conference on the strict understanding that it is not to be circulated or quoted without permission from the Economic Council of Canada."Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-80

Origin of Native Driving Force in Protein Folding

We derive an expression with four adjustable parameters that reproduces well the 20x20 Miyazawa-Jernigan potential matrix extracted from known protein structures. The numerical values of the parameters can be approximately computed from the surface tension of water, water-screened dipole interactions between residues and water and among residues, and average exposures of residues in folded proteins.Comment: LaTeX file, Postscript file; 4 pages, 1 figure (mij.eps), 2 table

Knowledge Levels, Attitude and Beliefs of Men towards the Digital Rectal Examinations (DRE): A study in Trinidad

Background: Trinidad and Tobago have been ranked as having one of the highest cancer mortality rates in the Caribbean. Prostate cancer was identified as the most common cancer in men, with a higher mortality than any other cancer. At least 1 in 9 men in Trinidad and Tobago will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine knowledge levels, attitudes, and beliefs of men aged 40 years and over regarding digital rectal examination (DRE). The investigators considered this crucial following the scourge of prostate cancer in Trinidad and Tobago and an apparent lack of the use of the DRE, a noted method of screening for the condition for early detection. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken using 216 men who were at least 40 years old and who gave their informed consent; these men were attending a central mall in Trinidad in the month of April 2018 when the data was collected. Data was collected using the researchers’ designed, self-administered questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 20. Result: Results indicate that most men (95.8%) are knowledgeable/very knowledgeable about DRE. Similarly, most (64.6%) of the men have favourable/very favourable attitudes towards DRE while 59.3% of them indicated that their beliefs have little or major influence regarding their participation in DRE. It also showed that the men’s beliefs are associated with their ethnicity (pDiscussion/Recommendation/Conclusion: The findings suggest that perhaps the attitudes and beliefs of men aged 40 years and over attending this mall are better predictors of intentions than their knowledge. This needs to be explored further given the need to curb the prevalence of prostate cancer amongst men in Trinidad and Tobago

Axonal BACE1 dynamics and targeting in hippocampal neurons: a role for Rab11 GTPase

BACKGROUND: BACE1 is one of the two enzymes that cleave amyloid precursor protein to generate Alzheimer's disease (AD) beta amyloid peptides. It is widely believed that BACE1 initiates APP processing in endosomes, and in the brain this cleavage is known to occur during axonal transport of APP. In addition, BACE1 accumulates in dystrophic neurites surrounding brain senile plaques in individuals with AD, suggesting that abnormal accumulation of BACE1 at presynaptic terminals contributes to pathogenesis in AD. However, only limited information is available on BACE1 axonal transport and targeting. RESULTS: By visualizing BACE1-YFP dynamics using live imaging, we demonstrate that BACE1 undergoes bi-directional transport in dynamic tubulo-vesicular carriers along axons in cultured hippocampal neurons and in acute hippocampal slices of transgenic mice. In addition, a subset of BACE1 is present in larger stationary structures, which are active presynaptic sites. In cultured neurons, BACE1-YFP is preferentially targeted to axons over time, consistent with predominant in vivo localization of BACE1 in presynaptic terminals. Confocal analysis and dual-color live imaging revealed a localization and dynamic transport of BACE1 along dendrites and axons in Rab11-positive recycling endosomes. Impairment of Rab11 function leads to a diminution of total and endocytosed BACE1 in axons, concomitant with an increase in the soma. Together, these results suggest that BACE1 is sorted to axons in endosomes in a Rab11-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal novel information on dynamic BACE1 transport in neurons, and demonstrate that Rab11-GTPase function is critical for axonal sorting of BACE1. Thus, we suggest that BACE1 transcytosis in endosomes contributes to presynaptic BACE1 localization