Family Organization Research Articles

The Landscape of the Genomic Distribution and the Expression of the F-Box Genes Unveil Genome Plasticity in Hexaploid Wheat during Grain Development and in Response to Heat and Drought Stress

FBX proteins are subunits of the SCF complex (Skp1–cullin–FBX) belonging to the E3 ligase family, which is involved in the ubiquitin–proteasome 26S (UPS) pathway responsible for the post-translational protein turnover. By targeting, in a selective manner, key regulatory proteins for ubiquitination and 26S proteasome degradation, FBX proteins play a major role in plant responses to diverse developmental and stress conditions. Although studies on the genomic organization of the FBX gene family in various species have been reported, knowledge related to bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is scarce and needs to be broadened. Using the latest assembly of the wheat genome, we identified 3670 TaFBX genes distributed non-homogeneously within the three subgenomes (A, B and D) and between the 21 chromosomes, establishing it as one of the richest gene families among plant species. Based on the presence of the five different chromosomal regions previously identified, the present study focused on the genomic distribution of the TaFBX family and the identification of differentially expressed genes during the embryogenesis stages and in response to heat and drought stress. Most of the time, when comparing the expected number of genes (taking into account the formal gene distribution on the entire wheat genome), the TaFBX family harbors a different pattern at the various stratum of observation (subgenome, chromosome, chromosomal regions). We report here that the local gene expansion of the TaFBX family must be the consequence of multiple and complex events, including tandem and small-scale duplications. Regarding the differentially expressed TaFBX genes, while the majority of the genes are localized in the distal chromosomal regions (R1 and R3), differentially expressed genes are more present in the interstitial regions (R2a and R2b) than expected, which could be an indication of the preservation of major genes in those specific chromosomal regions.

ПАТРІОТИЧНЕ ВИХОВАННЯ В СИСТЕМІ ВИЩОЇ ВІЙСЬКОВОЇ ОСВІТИ ЯК СКЛАДОВА ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ УКРАЇНИ

У статті розглянуто роль та місце патріотичного виховання у системі забезпечення національної безпеки України. Проаналізовано різні наукові підходи щодо визначення поняття патріотизму. Виявлені концептуальні засади, складові, напрями та проблеми патріотичного виховання в національній системі вищої військової освіти, розкриті його вплив на ефективність забезпечення національної безпеки України. Визначені суб’єкти й об’єкти патріотичного виховання у Збройних Силах України.

Genome Sequencing of a Historic Staphylococcus aureus Collection Reveals New Enterotoxin Genes and Sheds Light on the Evolution and Genomic Organization of This Key Virulence Gene Family.

We take advantage of a historic collection of 133 Staphylococcus aureus strains accessioned between 1924 and 2016, whose genomes have been long-read sequenced as part of a major National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) initiative, to conduct a gene family-wide computational analysis of enterotoxin genes. We identify two novel staphylococcal enterotoxin (pseudo)genes (sel29p and sel30), the former of which has not been observed in any contemporary strain to date. We provide further information on five additional enterotoxin genes or gene variants that either have recently entered the literature or for which the nomenclature or description is currently unclear (selz, sel26, sel27, sel28, and ses-2p). An examination of over 11,000 RefSeq genomes in search of wider support for these seven (pseudo)genes led to the identification of an additional three novel enterotoxin gene family members (sel31, sel32, and sel33) plus two new variants (seh-2p and ses-3p). We cast light on the genomic distribution of the enterotoxin genes, further defining their arrangement in gene clusters. Finally, we show that cooccurrence of enterotoxin genes is prevalent, with individual NCTC strains possessing as many as 18 enterotoxin genes and pseudogenes, and that clonal complex membership rather than time of isolation is the key factor in determining enterotoxin load.IMPORTANCEStaphylococcus aureus strains pose a significant health risk to both human and animal populations. Key among this species' virulence factors is the staphylococcal enterotoxin gene family. Certain enterotoxin forms can induce a potentially life-threatening immune response, while others are implicated in less fatal though often severe conditions such as food poisoning. Genetic characterization of staphylococcal enterotoxin gene family members has steadily accumulated over recent decades, with over 20 genes now established in the literature. Despite the current wealth of knowledge on this important gene family, questions remain about the presence of additional enterotoxin genes and the genomic composition of family members. This study further expands knowledge of the staphylococcal enterotoxins while shedding light on their evolution over the last century.

Under State Protection Aeschylus’ the Suppliants and the Shift from Clan to State

Aeschylos’ tragedy The Suppliantsis in this article related to an opposition between clan and state—and more specifically with the development in ancient Greece from barbarism to civilization, from a lawless, uncultivated and disorganised world, to a clan-based social order and from there to a state-based organisation, which in many ways would set the pattern for the development in Europe for centuries to come.In the play, fifty sisters are fleeing from Egypt to Argos, persecuted by their fifty male cousins. The women seek protection and therefore refer to their shared origins with the population of Argos.The fact that Danaus has fifty daughters but no son, implies that if the daughters marry their cousins the legacy will stay within the clan. What the daughters’ uncle Aegyptus and his sons demand is that Danaus and his daughters should act in accordance with the regulatory framework of the clan system. This stipulates that in cases where fathers in patrilineal systems only have daughters, these daughters must marry endogamically (that is inwards) instead of exogamic ally (outwardly, and in the corresponding way for sons in matrilineal systems).The article shows how Argos, governed by King Pelasgus, is depicted in the play in contrast to the claustrophobic catatonia of incestuous relations, the latter illustrated by an imagery that stems from archaic Greek mythology. The claustrophobic feeling that links the family and kin in The Suppliants, through events such as incestuous marriages and family-related cannibalism, gives a picture of the individual’s room for manoeuvre being strictly regulated—in fact almost non-existent—in the extended family. It is such a claustrophobic world that the women in The Suppliants (like Orestes in Oresteia) are fleeing from.Instead they seek out a city state based on fundamentally different ideas than the family, kinship and clan-related organisation principles of the Egyptians. The Greek city state thereby appears to aim to liberate the archaic human from a claustrophobic captivity.

Family Dynamics and the Alzheimer's Disease Experience.

Using constructivist grounded theory, this study explored how family groups respond to Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. Seven family units (N = 22) participated in a series of 26 longitudinal interviews and 14 other family caregivers took part in three focus groups at a later stage for refinement and verification of the findings. Data analysis revealed four types of family dynamics: close dynamics at the start that were maintained throughout the experience, close dynamics at the start which became conflicting, conflicting dynamics at the start which remained problematic, and conflicting dynamic at the start which became closer over time. Factors such as prior relationships and family history, motivation to care, family organization, communication, and the family vision for future shaped the development of these dynamics. This theory of family dynamics in Alzheimer's disease has the potential to inform the development of more adequate early interventions for families living with the illness.

“Hikikomori” and Dependency on Family: Focusing on Father–Son Relationships

Hikikomori is a Japanese term referring to the condition of being “shut‐in” or someone with that condition. Japanese national surveys indicated that the total number of hikikomori is over one million. This paper seeks to elucidate the “hikikomori” problem faced by families and connect those microscopic experiences to a macroscopic common problem related to some social backgrounds of Japanese society. For the study, I examined statistical data from national and KHJ (a nationwide organization of hikikomori families) surveys, and case studies of fathers of hikikomori sons. One of the main findings was that the common problem of families with hikikomori people is not the shut‐in condition of them, but the “dependency” of these adult‐aged children. Fathers' attempts to reduce the dependency included encouraging their sons to secure stable employment or connect them to adequate social security, such as public assistance. However, these efforts are often ineffectual because of social structural backgrounds: transformation of the labor market, inadequate social security, and the infinite duty of family to sustain children. This paper also focused on the policies of the “Japanese model of welfare society” as a political factor that reinforced the family dependency by developing a combination of workfare regime and familialism. The Japanese model of welfare society assumes that the employment of men as breadwinners would be stable. Instability of the employment of men makes the model dysfunctional. The expansion of the hikikomori problem as a family dependency problem is evidence of the dysfunction of the model.

Social distress among medical oncologists and other healthcare professionals during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread to every country around the world taking on pandemic proportions. Since 8 March 2020, the Italian government ordered a nationwide lockdown with unavoidable social isolation. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) represent the most physically and emotionally involved category. The aim of this study is to assess the social distress among HCPs in Italy.Patients and methodsIn this online, totally anonymous survey, 24 multiple choice questions were posed to medical staff employed in the Italian Healthcare System during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection was performed from 30 March to 24 April 2020.ResultsA total of 600 HCPs completed the questionnaire. The majority of respondents expressed the fear of being at higher risk of contagion than the general population (83.3%) and the weighty concern of infecting their families (72.5%). An insufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE; P = 0.0003) and inadequate training about procedures to follow (P = 0.0092) were seen to significantly coincide with these worries. More than two-thirds declared a change in family organisation, which showed a significant correlation with the concern of infecting their relatives (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsThis is the first Italian survey on social distress among HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unavailability of PPE, screening procedures and adequate training strongly affected HCPs' emotional status. Although there was a predominance of oncologists (especially from the North of Italy), which impairs the generalisation of our findings, this survey underlined the social impact that this health emergency has had on HCPs.

The Impact of Succession Planning on Product and Service Innovation at Family Businesses in Yemen.

As increasing numbers of family businesses are emerging, the marketplace is in danger of becoming saturated with products that end users do not understand while competition between businesses becomes stiffer. For businesses that operate in a saturated space to access new opportunities, they need to continually invest in the development of new products and services via a process of creativity and innovation. However, in the contemporary business landscape, innovation has extended beyond being a means of gaining a competitive advantage to being a necessity. To achieve this objective, family firms need to develop an understanding of the factors that influence innovation in order to promote, preserve, and boost innovative practices. This research investigated the impact of succession planning on product and service innovation in Yemeni family businesses. Quantitative approach was employed for the purpose of answering the research questions and testing the underlying hypotheses. A survey questionnaire was utilized as the main instrument to gather the required data from the owners of family firms and organizations that the Yemen Tax Authority has classified as top taxpayers. The sample size consisted of 120 family businesses whose headquarters were located in Sana'a City, Republic of Yemen. Only 116 questionnaires were completed with no invalid data, representing a high response rate of 97%. The results show significant relationships between succession planning and its four dimensions; successor selection and training, post-succession business strategy, post-succession role of incumbent, dissemination of the succession decision with product and service innovation. In addition, the results of Regression analysis reveal that succession planning as the whole independent variable has a significant impact on innovation. Furthermore, results show that the four dimensions of succession planning; successor selection and training, post-succession business strategy, post-succession role of incumbent, and dissemination of the succession decision have a significant impact on product and service innovation. These results provide recommendations to the family business owners, at that they should establish strong and vested plans for succession. They should pay attention to the quality of training that is offered to potential successors. Family businesses should build and rely on "family constitution", which is considered as an important document that includes a definition of the basic values, vision, and general objectives of the company.

Cтановлення та розвиток системи взаємодії сім’ї і школи у вихованні гіперактивних учнів

This article is generalized attempts by different scientists who has tried to identify the peculiarities of the cooperation as a social mechanism. The analysis of historical periods of work development with such families in secondary schools was carried out. The most scientists’ works and legislative acts of the specified period were analyzed. The main purpose of education and raising a hyperactive child was justified. It provides cooperation in interdependent activities in the system of relations between parents and teachers. The genesis of the families and schools’ cooperation in the education of hyperactive students has been investigated. In the course of investigation it was determined that the cooperation is based on help social institutions to each other and to a smart combination of opportunities and efforts in organizing the students’ life. It was allocated the main characteristics directions in the organization of families and schools’ cooperation in education of hyperactive students. The article finds that despite the fact that the problem of interaction between family and school in teaching and educating students does not belong to a new field of scientific knowledge and covers a wide academic environment, there is not enough scientific and pedagogical literature, which, given for its importance, can be used as a scientific foundation of modern pedagogical practices in the interaction of family and school in the social support of hyperactive students.

Distance to Innovations, Kinship Intensity, and Psychological Traits

Psychological traits exhibit substantial variation worldwide, especially among the so-called WEIRD populations. Such psychological variation could be explained by the intensity of kinship family ties that, we hypothesize, depends on the reception of innovations in family organizations. These innovations originated from several centers that also spread other crucial novelties such as agriculture. Less exposed to these innovations to family organizations, areas far from these centers should exhibit lower kinship intensity. Indeed, we show that the distance to innovation centers is strongly associated with kinship intensity as measured by a kinship intensity index and the rate of cousin marriage both across countries worldwide and across regions within European countries. This association is stronger than that with Church exposure introduced by Schulz et al. (2019). This distance is also associated with psychological traits observed through different indicators at different levels, although it is stronger outside Western Europe, where exposure to the Church seems to play an additional role.

General Parenting and Hispanic Mothers' Feeding Practices and Styles.

Previous research has shown that general parenting styles, general parenting dimensions, maternal feeding styles, and maternal feeding practices all show specific relationships with the weight status of young children. This study examined the relationships between general parenting and maternal feeding styles/practices in a sample of 187 Hispanic mothers with low incomes. As part of a larger study, mothers of preschool children were recruited through Head Start programs and completed validated questionnaires assessing their general parenting, feeding styles, and feeding practices. Results identified numerous associations between general parenting dimensions and specific feeding practices: i.e., maternal nurturance was positively associated with healthy eating guidance and feeding responsiveness; inconsistency was positively associated with restriction for weight and promotion of overconsumption; follow through on discipline was positively associated with monitoring, healthy eating guidance, and feeding responsiveness; and family organization was positively associated with monitoring and healthy eating guidance. General parenting styles were associated with feeding practices as well, with authoritative mothers showing the highest levels of healthy eating guidance and authoritarian mothers showing the lowest levels of monitoring. There were no significant associations between mothers’ general parenting styles and mothers’ feeding styles. Implications of these findings for the prevention of childhood obesity are considered.

Lucean Arthur Headen: The Making of a Black Inventor and Entrepreneur by Jill D. Snider

Reviewed by: Lucean Arthur Headen: The Making of a Black Inventor and Entrepreneur by Jill D. Snider Geoff D. Zylstra Lucean Arthur Headen: The Making of a Black Inventor and Entrepreneur. By Jill D. Snider. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020. Pp. xvi, 310. $29.95, ISBN 978-1-4696-5435-5.) In Lucean Arthur Headen: The Making of a Black Inventor and Entrepreneur, Jill D. Snider has written a biography of a Black man who not only invented and manufactured new technologies but also constructed the social arrangements required to finance and produce those technologies. Born in Moore County, North Carolina, in 1879, Lucean Arthur Headen grew up surrounded by family members who worked as artisans. His great-uncle, a blacksmith and toolmaker, and his wheelwright grandfather showed Headen that technological pursuits engendered both respect and economic benefits. Over the course of his life, Headen worked as a Pullman porter, flew airplanes, and founded the Headen Motor Company and manufactured automobiles. In addition, he patented numerous devices such as cloaking mirrors for ships, deicing technologies for airplane wings, and fuel manifolds for automobiles and tractors. Moving back and forth between southern and northern states and finally settling in England in 1931, Headen produced innovative technologies and the social and economic networks required to create technological success. This book participates in a growing literature that focuses on Black inventors and adds to that literature by highlighting the importance of networks and coalitions. Headen relied on social connections for successful innovation. Snider points out that Headen “had few hopes of joining the white inventors who were to become the vaunted ‘industrial scientists’ of DuPont, Ford Motor [End Page 740] Company, and Bell Laboratories” (p. 75). The world of collaborative technological research that emerged in the United States developed as a white world; Lewis Latimer’s work for Thomas Edison was an exception that highlights the lack of Black inventors in these collaborative settings. Snider describes how Headen created coalitions of supporters using many different types of social resources. Pragmatically, Headen pursued technological entrepreneurship through what Snider terms “coalition economics” (p. 167). Headen used family, educational, publishing, and religious organizations to raise financial support. Lacking ways to promote his automobile company, he founded the Afro-American Automobile Association, a racing organization he used to advertise and sell the automobiles he manufactured. Snider shows how Headen, when faced with a social environment that denied opportunities to Black inventors, forged coalitions that enabled innovation and entrepreneurship. In the epilogue, Snider specifically addresses issues of Jim Crow segregation and Headen’s attitude toward racial inequalities. The author portrays Headen as an inventor who “enthusiastically embraced attempts to improve the social and economic prospects of African Americans” (p. 163). Snider attributes some of this attitude to his upbringing in North Carolina and characterizes his subsequent technologies, particularly his automobiles, “as socially transformative, capable of bypassing Jim Crow and of building economic power” (p. 164). In this way, Snider views race as interlaced into Headen’s vision for innovation and business. Researching and writing a book that addresses Black invention is not easy. Archival research on Black entrepreneurs is often difficult due to a lack of sources. Lucean Arthur Headen provides an example of how to use broader historical context to investigate and describe the biographical details of one person’s life. In order to write a biography based on scattered correspondence, statements to reporters, commercial brochures, patent records, and trade publications, all of which provide “glimpses” into Headen’s life, Snider has reconstructed the world around Headen (p. xi). The author builds “a larger scaffolding on which to hang the small number of personal sources . . . for Headen” (p. xii). This approach to sources enables historians to produce narratives and analyses of Black historical figures. Through this method, Snider has written a history of Headen, addressing experiences of Black entrepreneurs more generally that otherwise may have remained less visible. Geoff D. Zylstra New York City College of Technology (CUNY) Copyright © 2021 The Southern Historical Association

Instruments of support in promotion of healthy food and food safety culture

Food is imperative for biological survival. It is a necessity and a source of health and vitality if taken with the awareness of all the correlations between food and health and development. This paper aims to research the correlation between food, health, and longevity, and the factors in the chain of food safety and healthy food and diet to determine their role and significance and offer recommendations based on results and conclusions. Since children and adolescents are more likely to be affected by an unhealthy diet in the long term, their dietary habits were also researched. The paper identified the elements of importance for this problem - individuals, family, education system, media, food producers, state and international organizations. After analysis of the roles of all the elements and stakeholders in the chain of food safety and healthy diet, recommendations for each link in that chain were given.

The effects of user generated content and traditional reference groups on purchase intentions of young consumers: A comparative study on electronic products

This paper investigates the impact of post-purchase user generated content (UGC) and traditional reference groups on the purchase intentions for electronic products (e-products) among young consumers in Jordan. To achieve this, a descriptive methodology was adapted, with a quantitative approach and survey strategy utilizing a five-point Likert scale questionnaire distributed to 450 university and college students in Jordan. 400 filtered and screened copies underwent statistical analyses. SPSS version 21 was utilized to describe and analyze the data. The results revealed a strong impact of post-purchase UGC on purchase intentions of e-products among young consumers. The results also revealed that traditional reference groups have a lower significant impact on the purchase intentions of young consumers, indicating that young consumers rely on online communities more than they rely on family, friends, colleagues, and other social organizations. The findings are discussed with a view to their implications, with recommendations for future research.

The 7 Keys to Communicating in Mexico: An Intercultural Approach by Olivia Hernández-Pozas, Orlando R. Kelm and David A. Victor

Reviewed by: The 7 Keys to Communicating in Mexico: An Intercultural Approach by Olivia Hernández-Pozas, Orlando R. Kelm and David A. Victor Sarah Kersten Albrecht Hernández-Pozas, Olivia, Orlando R. Kelm, and David A. Victor. The 7 Keys to Communicating in Mexico: An Intercultural Approach. Georgetown UP, 2020. Pp. 250. ISBN 978-1-62616-722-3. The 7 Keys to Communicating in Mexico: An Intercultural Approach is third in a series of books designed to facilitate intercultural communication. Two of the authors, Kelm and Victor, have collaborated on each book, while Hernández-Pozas has joined with expertise from Mexico. All are professors specializing in intercultural business. The book’s stated purpose is to help a variety of audiences, including students, academics, and business people, recognize issues in cross-cultural communication. Additionally, secondary or postsecondary world language teachers would benefit from evaluating Victor’s original LESCANT model of cultural understanding and selectively utilizing the text’s content. LESCANT refers to language, environment and technology, social organization, contexting, authority conception, nonverbal behavior, and time conception. The book’s introduction explains the authors’ decision to use American and North American to refer only to the United States and Canada, then details the book’s organization into eight chapters according to the LESCANT model and one case study. Each chapter ends with a table that summarizes its content, and several chapters include figures and tables to illustrate key information. The book incorporates extensive black and white photos; these are generally useful but at times the subject of the photo is hard to discern. Extensive endnotes cite scholarly and non-scholarly sources and include further explanation of information in the body of the text. Chapter 1 begins with the relation of language to culture. It includes strategies English and Spanish speakers can use to understand speakers of the other language and how the two languages convey emphasis or emotion differently, which can send incorrect messages in translation. Some of the topics are sensitive, such as the use of heritage Spanish in Mexico, face-saving situations when claimed language ability falls short, and choosing the appropriate language to use in different business environments. These scenarios are specifically tied to business, yet the cultural care required is universal. Chapter 2, a broad examination of how the environment shapes culture and vice versa, ranges from Mexico’s population size and density, topography, and climate; to crime, architecture and technology; and sense of time and space. At times the reader seems left to connect descriptions of the physical environment to cultural understanding, but other explanations, such as how to perceive closed doors at work and how to interpret precautions against crime, are very helpful. Chapter 3 engages in an important discussion about the complexity of social organization. To contrast views on multiculturalism, the authors characterize Mexican multiculturalism in terms of Indigenous and European mestizaje, the United States in terms of the assimilative melting pot, and Canada in terms of the non-assimilative cultural mosaic. The authors also note collective family organization, wealth distribution, gender roles, religion and history, and regional differences as factors in social organization and recommend attending to differences in views on multiculturalism and to observing and respecting what is valued in different sectors of society. In chapter 4, the authors apply Hall’s (1959) high and low context model of communication, with Mexico being high and the United States and Canada being low context cultures. High-context cultures rely on listener interpretation, while low-context cultures rely on speaker explanation. The authors effectively discuss low-context cultural elements from Mexico such as indirectness in discussion; the varying and subtle effects of diminutives, including a unique discussion of Náhuatl agglutinatives; and the use of proverbs to obliquely convey messages. They end the chapter with useful recommendations for how members of both low- and high-context cultures can work effectively together. Chapter 5 compares authority conception in Mexico to that of Canada and the United States, noting the connection of power perception to culture. The authors frame authority conception in Mexico through graduated spheres and note that its function is seen as a buffer [End Page 317] against corruption. Each sphere is based...

Family-Level Executive Functioning and At-Risk Pediatric Hearing Loss Outcomes.

Purpose Using a new measure of family-level executive functioning (EF; the Family Characteristics Scale [FCS]), we investigated associations between family-level EF, spoken language, and neurocognitive skills in children with hearing loss (HL), compared to children with normal hearing. Method Parents of children with HL (n = 61) or children with normal hearing (n = 65) completed the FCS-Parent, and clinicians evaluated families using the FCS-Examiner. Children completed an age-appropriate version of the Concepts and Following Directions subtest of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition. Child EF was assessed via the parent report Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Results Two higher order components were derived from FCS subscales: Family Inhibition and Family Organization. For both samples, Family Inhibition was positively associated with child inhibition, child shifting, and child language comprehension skills. Family Organization was differentially associated with child inhibition, working memory, and planning/organization skills across the samples. Additionally, Family Inhibition was associated with child planning and organization skills for children with HL. Conclusions Results support the FCS as a measure of family-level EF. Family-level inhibition related to better child inhibition, flexibility/shifting, and language comprehension across both samples and to better planning and organization skills in children with HL. As children with HL experienced greater difficulties in EF, families demonstrated greater organization, possibly as a compensatory measure. Results suggest that inhibition and organization at a family level may be important targets for the development of novel interventions to promote EF and language outcomes for children with HL.

Genomic Organization, Phylogenetic Comparison, and Differential Expression of the Nuclear Factor-Y Gene Family in Apple (Malus Domestica).

The nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) as a transcription factor plays an important role in plants growth and development, and response to stress. However, few genome-wide analyzes and functional research of the NF-Y family has been undertaken in apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) so far. In this study, we comprehensively identified the 43 MdNF-Y genes in apple, which dispersedly distributed among the three subgroups based on their sequence alignment analysis, including 11 MdNF-YAs, 22 MdNF-YBs and 10 MdNF-YCs. The members in the same subgroups had similar evolution relationships, gene structures, and conserved motifs. The gene duplication analysis suggested that all the genes were dispersed followed by 27 segmental duplication. Moreover, based on synteny analysis of MdNF-Ys with eight plant species results suggested that some ortholog genes were preserved during the evolution of these species. Cis-element analysis showed potential functions of MdNF-Ys in apple growth and development and responded to abiotic stress. Furthermore, the interaction among MdNF-Ys protein were investigated in yeast two-hybrid assays. The expression patterns of MdNF-Ys in tissue-specific response reveled divergence and might play important role in apple growth and development. Subsequently, whole MdNF-Y genes family was carried out for RT-PCR in response to five abiotic stress (ABA, drought, heat, cold, and salinity) to identify their expression patterns. Taken together, our study will provide a foundation for the further study to the molecular mechanism of apple in growing development and response to abiotic stresses.

Genome analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium bacteriophage L, indicator for StySA (StyLT2III) restriction-modification system action.

Bacteriophage L, a P22-like phage of Salmonella enterica sv Typhimurium LT2, was important for definition of mosaic organization of the lambdoid phage family and for characterization of restriction-modification systems of Salmonella. We report the complete genome sequences of bacteriophage L cI–40 13–am43 and L cII–101; the deduced sequence of wildtype L is 40,633 bp long with a 47.5% GC content. We compare this sequence with those of P22 and ST64T, and predict 72 Coding Sequences, 2 tRNA genes and 14 intergenic rho-independent transcription terminators. The overall genome organization of L agrees with earlier genetic and physical evidence; for example, no secondary immunity region (immI: ant, arc) or known genes for superinfection exclusion (sieA and sieB) are present. Proteomic analysis confirmed identification of virion proteins, along with low levels of assembly intermediates and host cell envelope proteins. The genome of L is 99.9% identical at the nucleotide level to that reported for phage ST64T, despite isolation on different continents ∼35 years apart. DNA modification by the epigenetic regulator Dam is generally incomplete. Dam modification is also selectively missing in one location, corresponding to the P22 phase-variation-sensitive promoter region of the serotype-converting gtrABC operon. The number of sites for SenLTIII (StySA) action may account for stronger restriction of L (13 sites) than of P22 (3 sites).

A comprehensive study on core enzymes involved in starch metabolism in the model nutricereal, foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.)

Starch biosynthesis is an important process in plants as starch serves as a source of carbon and energy. In cereals, starch is the predominant constituent of the grains that provide carbohydrates in food and feed. Given its importance, the biosynthesis and accumulation of starch have been well studied in major cereals. However, in millets, no such study provides insights into the starch biosynthesis and diversity of enzymes involved in this process. In foxtail millet (Setaria italica), we have identified and characterized six classes of enzyme-encoding genes involved in starch metabolism, viz., ADP glucose phosphorylase, starch synthase, starch branching enzyme, starch debranching enzyme, phosphorylase, and disproportionating enzyme. Analysis of gene structure, chromosomal localization, phylogenetic analysis, and study of domain composition were performed to gain insights into the structure and organization of these gene families. Further, expression profiling of these genes in two cultivars contrastingly differing in grain amylose content was performed at different seed development stages. The expression data showed spatiotemporally divergent expression patterns of the genes and pinpointed several candidate genes that could be targeted for further functional characterization to study the starch metabolism in millets as well as to improve starch content through genomics approaches.

Chronic pain acceptance and Social Support Among Patients with Chronic Disease

Chronic pain acceptance is developing as a vital concept to understand ways that chronic pain patients can remain engaged with valued parts of life. If patients find their pain inacceptable, they will likely work to avoid it at all costs and readily seek to reduce or eliminate it. Such measures may not be of best interest when they require no pain reduction and many missed opportunities to work more effectively and productively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of chronic pain acceptance among individuals who suffering chronic disease as well as to identify the differences in chronic pain acceptance due to gender and age. Furthermore, the study aimed to identify the extent to which social support (family, friends, and government organizations) contribute to predict the acceptance of chronic pain in patients with chronic diseases. The researchers selected a random sample consisted of (254) (104 males, 150 females) patients, their age ranged between (20-60) year were participated in this study. Two measurement tools have been used; chronic pain acceptance questioner (CPAQ) and social support scale. The results showed that females were reported higher level of chronic pain acceptance than male. In addition, the results found a statistically significant positive correlation between a type of social support (family, friends, and government) and acceptance of chronic pain. To measure the contribution of social support sources to the acceptance of pain, the results showed that all sources of social support (family, friends and government) contributed to the acceptance of pain, but the support of friends was the highest contribution to the acceptance of pain.