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  • McCallum posted an update 7 months, 1 week ago

    Pluripotent state can be established via reprogramming of somatic nuclei by factors within an oocyte or by ectopic expression of a few transgenes. Considered as being extensive and intensive, the full complement of genes to be reprogrammed, however, has never been defined, nor has the degree of reprogramming been determined quantitatively. Here, we propose a new concept of reprogramome, which is defined as the full complement of genes to be reprogrammed to the expression levels found in pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). This concept in combination with RNA-seq enables us to precisely profile reprogramome and sub-reprogramomes, and study the reprogramming process with the help of other available tools such as GO analyses. With reprogramming of human fibroblasts into PSCs as an example, we have defined the full complement of the human fibroblast-to-PSC reprogramome. Furthermore, our analyses of the reprogramome revealed that WNT pathways and genes with roles in cellular morphogenesis should be extensively and intensely reprogrammed for the establishment of pluripotency. We further developed a new mathematical model to quantitate the overall reprogramming, as well as reprogramming in a specific cellular feature such as WNT signaling pathways and genes regulating cellular morphogenesis. We anticipate that our concept and mathematical model may be applied to study and quantitate other reprogramming (pluripotency reprogramming from other somatic cells, and lineage reprogramming), as well as transcriptional and epigenetic differences between any two types of cells including cancer cells and their normal counterparts.The popular idea that extraverted behavior is mentally depleting has received support in one previous study. The present research attempted to replicate this finding and rule out some alternative explanations. An experience-sampling study was conducted to this end (N = 74, observations = 1046). The results showed that extraverted behavior was indeed related to feeling tired 2-3 h later. The results provide empirical evidence of an everyday life pattern between behavior and feelings states.The aim of this article is to explore how personal values and the role of the representative influence representation principles when making decisions in natural resource management. This was tested in an empirical case of wildlife management in Sweden, the regional Wildlife Conservation Committees (WCCs). These WCCs consist of a mix of actors in collaborative settings, where both politicians and interest organization representatives make decisions on wildlife related issues. The results show that the value dimension of self-enhancement, associated with giving importance to values such as achievement and power, significantly affects a representational style associated with following the representative’s personal preferences when making decisions, the trustee principle. The role of the representative also significantly affects representational style when making decisions in these cases, where the interest organizational representatives more often follow the party principle, i.e., the view of the parties or organization they represent, than the political actors. Age also had a significant impact where older representatives relied more on the trustee principle than their younger peers. The implications of these results are that personal values in this case matters for decision-making, which is in line with earlier research on decision-making on environmental issues. Further, politicians behave atypically for the Swedish context relying more on the trustee principle rather than the party principle, which policy makers should take into consideration when designing collaborative arenas similar to the WCCs.Background The brain’s major inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) play important roles in several stress-related disorders. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) allows for non-invasive quantification of GABA concentration in the brain. We investigated the relationship between GABA concentration in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and BDNF concentration in the serum in a community-based sample of young subjects. Methods For the GABA measurement a single voxel MR spectrum was assessed in the prefrontal lobe (25 × 40 × 30 mm) using the MEGA-PRESS method in 276 subjects. BDNF serum concentrations were assessed with an ELISA kit. For 147 subjects we had both MRS and BDNF serum data, and for 79 subjects we had genotype data on the BDNF rs6265 polymorphism. NSC 123127 Depressive psychopathology was assessed using Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Structured Clinical Interviews for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (SCID) for DSM-IV. Results GABA concentration in the left DLPFC was negatively associated with BDNF serum concentration (r = -.264, p = .001). This correlation remained significant if corrected for sex (r = -.264, p = .001). BDNF serum concentration was also positively associated with volumes and surface areas of the left prefrontal cortex (p = .048, p = .005). There were no significant associations or interaction with depressive psychopathology (BDI, MADRS, SCID) or rs6265. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that GABA, BDNF and prefrontal brain volumes are interrelated, but do not show a strong association to depressive psychopathology, possibly due to the mild forms of psychiatric conditions present in our community-based sample.The amount of palm oil mill residues increases rapidly and will become a severe problem in the future. One potential technique for alleviating this concerning environmental problem is to convert these residues into biochar by the pyrolysis process. Pyrolysis of three types of palm oil mill residues (namely, palm kernel shells, empty palm fruit bunches, and oil palm fibers) was conducted in a fixed bed reactor at 500 °C and 2 L/min of nitrogen flow rate for 60 min. The optimization of biochar production was performed using the Box-Behnken design and analyzed using response surface methodology. The effects of three potential factors, including pyrolysis temperatures, nitrogen flow rates, and biomass particle sizes, were studied. The results showed that the highest biochar yield (44.91 wt%) was obtained from pyrolysis of palm kernel shells at 525 °C with a nitrogen flow rate of 2 L/min and a particle size of 750 μm. Application of biochar produced from palm kernel shells for carbon dioxide capture was tested in a packed bed adsorber of 3.

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