Typical Family Research Articles

The resilience value of residential solar + storage systems in the continental U.S.

Abstract Behind the meter rooftop solar plus storage (PVESS) has the potential to benefit the hosting customers by providing affordability, environmental, and reliability and resilience value. Whereas the bill reduction and environmental benefits of PVESS are well studied, its monetary resilience benefits are less understood. The increasing trend of power interruptions driven by extreme weather events heightens the need to understand these benefits. This study leverages various publicly available datasets to perform a cost benefit analysis of adding to determine the resilience value of PVESS for a typical single family home in each county in the continental U.S. We find that PVESS is very effective to technically mitigate interruptions across the country. However, the monetary benefits in the base case only cover about 14% of battery costs, with no county exceeding 60%. This is somewhat expected, given that PVESS provide other monetary benefits that are not part of this analysis. Through sensitivities, we find that higher frequency of extreme weather events roughly triples the resilience value of PVESS and that higher values of lost load double the same metric. Our sensitivity analysis shows that the benefit cost ratio of PVESS for customers living in areas with higher-than-average frequency of long duration interruptions and value of lost load is already above one even without considering other value streams. We conclude with recommendations that regulators and utilities could implement to enable customers to calculate and capture the resilience value of PVESS more efficiently.

Source leaves are regulated by sink strengths through non-coding RNAs and alternative polyadenylation in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

BackgroundThe yield of major crops is generally limited by sink capacity and source strength. Cucumber is a typical raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs)–transporting crop. Non-coding RNAs and alternative polyadenylation (APA) play important roles in the regulation of growth process in plants. However, their roles on the sink‒source regulation have not been demonstrated in RFOs–translocating species.ResultsHere, whole–transcriptome sequencing was applied to compare the leaves of cucumber under different sink strength, that is, no fruit-carrying leaves (NFNLs) and fruit-carrying leaves (FNLs) at 12th node from the bottom. The results show that 1101 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, 79 DE long non–coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and 23 DE miRNAs were identified, which were enriched in photosynthesis, energy production and conversion, plant hormone signal transduction, starch and carbohydrate metabolism and protein synthesis pathways. Potential co–expression networks like, DE lncRNAs–DE mRNAs/ DE miRNAs–DE mRNAs, and competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulation models (DE lncRNAs–DE miRNAs–DE mRNAs) associated with sink‒source allocation, were constructed. Furthermore, 37 and 48 DE genes, which enriched in MAPK signaling and plant hormone signal transduction pathway, exist differentially APA, and SPS (CsaV3_2G033300), GBSS1 (CsaV3_5G001560), ERS1 (CsaV3_7G029600), PNO1 (CsaV3_3G003950) and Myb (CsaV3_3G022290) may be regulated by both ncRNAs and APA between FNLs and NFNLs, speculating that ncRNAs and APA are involved in the regulation of gene expression of cucumber sink‒source carbon partitioning.ConclusionsThese results reveal a comprehensive network among mRNAs, ncRNAs, and APA in cucumber sink–source relationships. Our findings also provide valuable information for further research on the molecular mechanism of ncRNA and APA to enhance cucumber yield.

Analysis of gene mutation in a family with Muir-Torre syndrome accompanied with extraorbital cystic sebaceous carcinoma

This study reported a family of MLH1 mutation-induced Muir-Torre syndrome (MTS) and evaluated it's clinical and genetic characteristics. A 51 year-old patient with extraorbital cystic sebaceous and colon adenocarcinoma diagnosed in November 2021 in Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen University was included. The clinical data of the family were collected and a pedigree chart was drawn, which was in line with the Chinese Lynch syndrome diagnostic criteria and was a typical MTS family. NM_000249.4:c.298C>T(p.R100*) of MLH1 gene in exon 3 was detected by whole exome sequencing and multiplex ligation dependent amplification, which is a pathogenic mutation. After the pathogenic mutation was identified, Sanger sequencing was performed on 4 direct members of the family for MLH1 gene, and 3 family members were found to have detected the mutation and included in MTS risk control. Until December 25 2023, follow-up showed the proband patients were not suffered from recurrence or new occurrence of skin or gastrointestinal tumors. The study reported a typical MTS family and found a possible pathogenic nonsense mutation in the MLH1 gene, which provides new evidence for the pathogenicity of this mutation.

Understanding the Activity Performance of Comets 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 64P/Swift-Gehrels and C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) through Broadband Photometric Observations

In this work, we report observations of three comets: 38P/Stephan-Oterma, 64P/Swift-Gehrels, and C/2017 M4 (ATLAS), conducted with the Nanshan one-meter wide-field telescope in 2018 August and November, and 2019 January. We extracted morphological features through image enhancement techniques and calculated the dust activity parameter, Afρ, along with dust mass loss rates and coma color indices using broadband photometric data. Our morphological analysis uncovered a spectrum of dust characteristics among the observed comets, ranging from a significant twisted structure in comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma’s coma to the regular coma envelope surrounding comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels. The Af ρ values varied between 148.8 ± 0.3 cm for 64P/Swift-Gehrels and 1118.5 ± 6.2 cm for C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) (measured within a reference aperture radius of ρ = 6″), indicating a range from moderate to high activity levels. Dust mass loss rates were estimated from 328.1 kg s−1 for comet 64P/Swift-Gehrels to 1395.5 kg s−1 for comet C/2017 M4 (ATLAS). The color indices of comets 38P/Stephan-Oterma and C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) closely resemble the average colors of active short-period comets and active long-period comets, respectively. In contrast, 64P/Swift-Gehrels exhibits a significantly bluer hue than typical Jupiter family comets.

Family Involvement and Physical Education: A Collaborative Strategy to Enhance Students' Physical Literacy

This study examines the impact of family involvement on students' physical education literacy and proposes effective collaborative strategies. Through a case study of a typical family, interview data from students, parents and physical education teachers as well as observation records of classroom and extracurricular activities were collected. The results show that active family involvement can significantly improve students' physical education interest, skills and knowledge. Based on this, this paper proposes a variety of strategies to promote synergistic co-operation between families and schools in physical education in order to enhance students' physical literacy in a holistic manner.

Construction of Porous Aromatic Frameworks with Specifically Designed Motifs for Charge Storage and Transport.

ConspectusPorous frameworks possess high porosity and adjustable functions. The two features conjointly create sufficient interfaces for matter exchange and energy transfer within the skeletons. For crystalline porous frameworks, including metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), their long-range ordered structures indeed play an important role in managing versatile physicochemical behaviors such as electron transfer or band gap engineering. It is now feasible to predict their functions based on the unveiled structures and structure-performance relationships. In contrast, porous organic frameworks (POFs) represent a member of the porous solid family with no long-range regularity. For the case of POFs, the randomly packed building units and their disordered connections hinder the electronic structural consistency throughout the entire networks. However, many investigations have demonstrated that the functions of POFs could also be designed and originated from their local motifs.In this Account, we will first provide an overview of the design and synthesis principles for porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), which are a typical family of POFs with high porosity and exceptional stability. Specifically, the functions achieved by the specific design and synthesis of in-framework motifs will be demonstrated. This strategy is particularly intuitive to introduce desired functions to PAFs, owing to the exceptional tolerance of PAFs to harsh chemical treatments and synthetic conditions. The local structures can be either obtained by selecting suitable building units, sometimes with the aid of computational screening, or emerge as the product of coupling reactions during the synthetic process. Radical PAFs can be obtained by incorporating a persistent radical molecule as a building unit, and the rigid and porous framework may facilitate the formation of radical species by trapping spins in the organic network, which could avoid the delocalizing and recombining processes. Alternatively, radical motifs can also be formed during the formation of the framework linkages. The coupling reaction plays an important role in the construction of functional motifs like diacetylene. The highly porous, radical PAFs showed significant performance as anodes of lithium-ion batteries. To improve the charge transport within the framework, the building units and their connecting manner were cohesively considered, and the framework with a fully conjugated backbone was built up. In another case, the explicit product of the cross-coupling reaction ensured the precise assembly of two building units with electron donating and accepting abilities; therefore, the moving direction of photogenerated electrons was rationally controlled. Constructing a fully conjugated backbone or rationally designing a D-A system for charge transfer in porous frameworks introduced exciting properties for photovoltaic and photocatalysis, and their highly porous, stable frameworks improved their functional applications for perovskite solar cells and chemical productions. These investigations shed light on the designable combination of intrinsic functional motifs with highly porous organic frameworks for effective energy storage and conversion.

Analysis of Organizational Culture and Climate

Integrating culture and climate in analyzing organizational profiles has become a major area of research in organizational studies. Building on this discussion, this pilot study aims to combine two instruments of cultural and climate assessment (OCAI and OCQ) to identify how a less typical family business needs to change to ensure its success. This article concludes by examining the implications of combining the two instruments, as well as by offering insights into possible future changes that managers can implement.

A rare missense p.C125Y mutation in the TNFRSF1A gene identified in a Chinese family with tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder with a low incidence in Asia. The most frequent clinical manifestations include fever, rash, myalgia, joint pain and abdominal pain. Misdiagnosis rates are high because of the clinical and genetic variability of the disease. The pathogenesis of TRAPS is complex and yet to be fully defined. Early genetic diagnosis is the key to precise treatment. In this study, a Chinese family with suspected TRAPS were analyzed by genome-wide SNP genotyping, linkage analysis and targeted sequencing for identification of mutations in causative genes. To study the pathogenicity of the identified gene mutation, we performed a conservation analysis of the mutation site and protein structure analysis. Flow cytometry was used to detect TNFRSF1A shedding and quantitative real-time PCR were used to assess the activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) in the mutation carriers and healthy individuals. A typical TRAPS family history, with a pattern of autosomal dominant inheritance, led to the identification of a rare mutation in the TNFRSF1A gene (c.G374A [p.Cys125Tyr]) with unknown significance. The patient responded well to corticosteroids, and long-term therapy with colchicine effectively reduced the inflammatory attacks. No amyloid complications occurred during the 6-year follow-up. In silico protein analysis showed that the mutation site is highly conversed and the mutation prevents the formation of intrachain disulfide bonds in the protein. Despite a normal shedding of the TNFRSF1A protein from stimulated monocytes in the TRAPS patients with p.C125Y mutation, the expression of CHOP and the splicing of XBP1 was significantly higher than healthy controls, suggesting the presence of an activation UPR. This is the first report of a Chinese family with the rare p.C125Y mutation in TNFRSF1A. The p.C125Y mutation does not result in aberrant receptor shedding, but instead is associated with an activated UPR in these TRAPS patients, which may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of this rare mutation in TRAPS.

OsCOL5 suppresses heading through modulation of Ghd7 and Ehd2, enhancing rice yield.

OsCOL5, an ortholog of Arabidopsis COL5, is involved in photoperiodic flowering and enhances rice yield through modulation of Ghd7 and Ehd2 and interactions with OsELF3-1 and OsELF3-2. Heading date, also known as flowering time, plays a crucial role in determining the adaptability and yield potential of rice (Oryza sativa L.). CONSTANS (CO)-like is one of the most critical flowering-associated gene families, members of which are evolutionarily conserved. Here, we report the molecular functional characterization of OsCOL5, an ortholog of Arabidopsis COL5, which is involved in photoperiodic flowering and influences rice yield. Structural analysis revealed that OsCOL5 is a typical member ofCO-like family, containing two B-box domains and one CCT domain. Rice plants overexpressing OsCOL5 showed delayed heading and increases in plant height, main spike number, total grain number per plant, and yield per plant under both long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) conditions. Gene expression analysis indicated that OsCOL5 was primarily expressed in the leaves and stems with a diurnal rhythm expression pattern. RT-qPCR analysis of heading date genes showed that OsCOL5 suppressed flowering by up-regulating Ghd7 and down-regulating Ehd2, consequently reducing the expression of Ehd1, Hd3a, RFT1, OsMADS14, and OsMADS15. Yeast two-hybrid experiments showed direct interactions of OsCOL5 with OsELF3-1 and OsELF3-2. Further verification showed specific interactions between the zinc finger/B-box domain of OsCOL5 and the middle region of OsELF3-1 and OsELF3-2. Yeast one-hybrid assays revealed that OsCOL5 may bind to the CCACA motif. The results suggest that OsCOL5 functions as a floral repressor, playing a vital role in rice's photoperiodic flowering regulation. This gene shows potential in breeding programs aimed at improving rice yield by influencing the timing of flowering, which directly impacts crop productivity.

Biochemical properties and application of a multi-domain β-1,3-1,4-glucanase from Fibrobacter sp.

A novel glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 16 multi-domain β-1,3-1,4-glucanase (FsGlc16A) from Fibrobacter sp. UWP2 was identified, heterogeneously expressed, and its enzymatic properties, protein structure and application potential were characterized. Enzymological characterization showed that FsGlc16A performed the optimal catalytic activity at pH 4.5 and 50 °C with a specific activity of 3263 U/mg. FsGlc16A exhibited the substrate specificity towards oat β-glucan, barley β-glucan and lichenan, and in addition, it hydrolyzed oat β-glucan and lichenan into different β-glucooligosaccharides with polymerization degrees of 3–4, which further illustrated that it belonged to the endo-type β-1,3-1,4-glucanase. FsGlc16A was classified in subfamily25 of GH16. A ‘PXSSSS’ repeats domain was identified at the C-terminus of FsGlc16A, which was distinct from the typical GH family 16 β-1,3-1,4-glucanases. Removing the ‘PXSSSS’ repeats domain affected the binding of the substrate to FsGlc16A and reduced the enzyme activity. FsGlc16A displayed good potential for the applications, which hydrolyzed oat bran into β-glucooligosaccharides, and reduced filtration time (18.89 %) and viscosity (3.64 %) in the saccharification process. This study investigated the enzymatic properties and domain function of FsGlc16A, providing new ideas and insights into the study of β-1,3-1,4-glucanase.

Role of Medaka (Oryzias latipes) Foxo3 in Resistance to Nervous Necrosis Virus Infection.

Upon encountering a virus, fish initiate an innate immune response, guided by IFNs. Foxo3 plays a part in the body's immune response; however, its specific role in the IFN-guided immune response in fish is yet to be clarified. In this study, we characterized foxo3 in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and examined its role in the IFN-dependent immune response upon infection with the RGNNV. The results show that the coding region of the medaka foxo3 gene is 2007 base pairs long, encoding 668 amino acids, and possesses a typical forkhead protein family structural domain. The product of this gene shares high homology with foxo3 in other fish species and is widely expressed, especially in the brain, eyes, testes, and heart. Upon RGNNV infection, foxo3-/- mutant larvae showed a lower mortality rate, and adults exhibited a significant reduction in virus replication. Moreover, the absence of foxo3 expression led to an increase in the expression of irf3, and a decrease in the expression of other IFN-related genes such as tbk1 and mapk9, implying that foxo3 may function as a negative regulator in the antiviral signaling pathway. These findings provide crucial insights for disease-resistant breeding in the aquaculture industry.

Identification, functional characterization and immune response profiles of interleukin-10 in Nibea albiflora

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an immunosuppressive cytokine, which plays a vital role in regulating inflammation for inhibiting the generation and function of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vivo or in vitro. In the present study, the full length cDNA of IL-10 was characterized from Nibea albiflora (named as NaIL-10) of 1238 base pairs (bp), containing a 5′-UTR (untranslated region) of 350 bp, a 3′-UTR of 333 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 555 bp (Fig. 1A) to encode 184 amino acid residues with a signal peptide at the N-terminus. The sequence analysis showed that NaIL-10 possessed the typical IL-10 family symbolic motif and conversed cysteine residues, similar to its teleost orthologues. Real-time PCR indicated that NaIL-10 had wide distribution in different healthy tissues, with a relatively high expression in immune-related tissues (head kidney, spleen, kidney, liver and gill). Significantly, up-regulations of NaIL-10 after infection against Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and Poly I:C were also observed. Subcellular localization manifested that NaIL-10 mainly distributed in the cytoplasm unevenly and aggregately, and there was also a small amount on the cell membrane, indicating that NaIL-10 was secreted to the extracellular space as the known IL-10 homologous molecules. It could co-locate with IL-10 Rα on the membrane of HEK293T cells for their potential interaction, and GST pull-down and Co-IP studies certified the specific and direct interaction between NaIL-10 and NaIL-10 Rα, confirming that an IL-10 ligand-receptor system existed in N.albiflora. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, were dramatically inhibited in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages pre-incubated with recombinant NaIL-10 protein, demonstrating its anti-inflammatory roles. Taken together, the results demonstrated the existence of IL-10 ligand-receptor system in N.albiflora for the first time, and indicated the suppressive function of NaIL-10 on pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in inflammatory response, which would be conducive to better comprehending the role of IL-10 in the immunomodulatory mechanisms of teleost.

Alcohol and Substance Use Among Different Subgroups/Ethnicities of East Asian American Youth in the United States

This reading challenges the prevailing Model Minority Myth perspective which influences the examination of substance use patterns among different subgroups of East Asian American (EAA) youth. A disaggregated analysis of existing literature reveals significant variations in substance use across EAA subgroups. This article explores influencing factors such as acculturation, cultural norms, and peer dynamics, emphasizing distinctions between Chinese Americans, Taiwanese Americans, Korean Americans, and Japanese Americans. Several EAA subgroups show a higher prevalence of cigarette or alcohol use than their white counterparts, a finding normally hidden by the aggregation of Asian American data. These unrealized differences prompt a call for tailored and culturally appropriate treatment approaches. Data shows EAA youth are more likely to not seek treatment or to drop out after beginning treatment (Wang & Kim, 2010 as cited in Ong, 2023). Understanding the typical family dynamics as well as the discrimination faced by EAA communities, including cultural stigma and culture-specific syndromes, plays a crucial role in improving treatment adherence. Additionally, studies of treatment preferences show that implementing family-based programs, outreach efforts, and involving culturally attuned treatment providers is crucial to actively address the unique needs of youth of different EAA subgroups (Lee et al., 2004). Keywords: substance use, treatment approach, culturally appropriate care, East Asian American, model minority

Wi-Cyclops: Room-Scale WiFi Sensing System for Respiration Detection Based on Single-Antenna

Recent years have witnessed the emerging development of single-antenna wireless respiration detection that can be integrated into IoT devices with a single transceiver chain. However, existing single-antenna-based solutions are all limited by the short sensing range within 2-4 m due to noise interference, which makes them difficult to be adopted in most room-scale scenarios. To deal with this dilemma, we propose a room-scale, noise-resistance, and accurate respiration monitoring system, named Wi-Cyclops , 1 which captures CSI changes induced by respiratory movements only via one antenna on commercial WiFi devices. To push the limits of effective sensing distance, we innovatively supply a new perspective to review the CSI samples along the sub-carrier dimension. From this dimension, we find that the interrelationship between sub-carriers with different timestamps still shows a high correlation even though the SNR decreases. Based on that, we analyze the noise characteristics along the sub-carrier dimension and correspondingly design a series of denoising schemes. Specifically, we carefully design a PCA-based denoising method to filter out ambient noises. After that, considering the low distribution densities of the AGC-induced noise, we then remove it by optimizing the DBSCAN denoising method with the K-Means-based adaptive radius search. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our system can work effectively in three typical family scenarios. Wi-Cyclops can achieve 98% accuracy even when the person is 7 m away from the transceiver pair. Compared with the start-of-art single-antenna-based approaches in real scenarios, Wi-Cyclops can improve the sensing range from 3 m to 7 m, which can meet the requirements of room-scale respiration monitoring. Additionally, to show the high compatibility with smart home devices, Wi-Cyclops is deployed on seven commercial IoT devices and still achieves a low average absolute error with 0.41 bpm.

Uniform agricultural tax abolition and differential household labor supply: Evidence from China's urban household survey

Uniform government public policy has steadily shaped the labor supply from households in the past few decades in China with possible differential impact on each parent. This paper investigates how uniform tax policy change plays differential roles in household's labor supply through government public education spending. Utilizing the exogenous shock from China's agricultural tax abolition in 2005, we find that the abolition results in a reduction in female employment but an increase in male employment. Specifically, a 1% increase of agricultural tax to public revenue ratio in the reference year leads to a 0.485% labor supply reduction and 1.50 fewer hours of work per month for married women, whereas the married men's labor supply increases by 0.191% and their working hours by 1.06 h in a typical urban family with school-going children. The effects are greater on married women with primary school-age children and married men from high-asset households. Our mechanism analysis indicates that public education spending works as a substitute for private education spending and affects the household labor supply through investment in children's human capital. Our findings offer a new perspective on the decreasing female labor supply and the widening employment gap between (married) women and (married) men in the Chinese labor market. The findings suggest that public tax policy could lead to unintended consequences on household's labor supply decisions, and thus exacerbate the gender employment gap in the labor market.

Unveiling Hidden Traumas: Examining Freudian Concepts in Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like a Man

Trauma is one of the strongest natural phenomena that nature has added to human lives. It is assumed that trauma shatters human beings in a way that recollecting the pieces of their personality makes it too difficult to stand up and lead a normal life for those who experience this phenomenon. In literature, the writers tried their hands at recreating the events that caused human lives to experience trauma. However, whether the text conveys the exact effect of the feeling or not that is another study but several novels including graphic novels like Maus, are referred to as good examples of this kind of writing in literature. According to psychologists, trauma is caused not only by events or the horrors that one faces in life but their memories about the events leading to the particular feelings. Like William Wordsworth’s definition of poetry “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of the powerful feeling; it takes its origin from emotion recollected in Tranquility” – William Wordsworth. The unpleasant feelings of past events get collected in memories, reflecting situationally or throughout life creating trauma for a lifetime. It could also be considered the part of Neurosis that makes the experiences turn out to be Traumatic and difficult to manage. Exploring the literature review Mahesh Dattani’s Dance Like a Man is one of the Indian plays that discussed several issues including culture, gender discrimination, a sense of loss of identity, and much more similar. However, this paper focuses on the different angles of the play based on Freud’s theory on Trauma; the traumatic experiences that the family goes through on an individual level without the knowledge of each other’s pain. The concept of a typical family is exhibited in the play yet the couple leads their lives in the name of Love, Care, Support, and Ambition, which seem to be partially fake and hollow.

Pre-proenkephalin 1 is Downregulated Under Unloading and is Involved in Osteoblast Biology.

Pre-proenkephalin 1 (Penk1) is a pro-neuropeptide that belongs to the typical opioid peptide's family, having analgesic properties. We previously found Penk1 to be the most downregulated gene in a whole gene profiling analysis performed in osteoblasts subjected to microgravity as a model of mechanical unloading. In this work, Penk1 downregulation was confirmed in the bones of two in vivo models of mechanical unloading: tail-suspended and botulinum toxin A (botox)-injected mice. Consistently, in the sera from healthy volunteers subjected to bed rest, we observed an inverse correlation between PENK1 and bed rest duration. These results prompted us to investigate a role for this factor in bone. Penk1 was highly expressed in mouse bone, but its global deletion failed to impact bone metabolism in vivo. Indeed, Penk1 knock out (Penk1-/-) mice did not show an overt bone phenotype compared to the WT littermates. Conversely, in vitro Penk1 gene expression progressively increased during osteoblast differentiation and its transient silencing in mature osteoblasts by siRNAs upregulated the transcription of the Sost1 gene encoding sclerostin, and decreased Wnt3a and Col1a1 mRNAs, suggesting an altered osteoblast activity due to an impairment of the Wnt pathway. In line with this, osteoblasts treated with the Penk1 encoded peptide, Met-enkephalin, showed an increase of Osx and Col1a1 mRNAs and enhanced nodule mineralization. Interestingly, primary osteoblasts isolated from Penk1-/- mice showed lower metabolic activity, ALP activity, and nodule mineralization, as well as a lower number of CFU-F compared to osteoblasts isolated from WT mice, suggesting that, unlike the transient inhibition, the chronic Penk1 deletion affects both osteoblast differentiation and activity. Taken together, these results highlight a role for Penk1 in the regulation of the response of the bone to mechanical unloading, potentially acting on osteoblast differentiation and activity in a cell-autonomous manner.

Making family meals happen: Working mothers' work–family boundary management strategies in Singapore

AbstractObjectiveWe examined how working mothers, who often juggle paid work and family meal preparation, manage work–family boundaries to optimize their family meal practice.BackgroundDespite the well‐established benefits of family meals, reconciliation of work demands with family meal preparation represents a challenge for many working mothers. A better understanding of malleable antecedents of family meals can be instrumental in enabling more families to have meals together.MethodFull‐time working mothers of young children (aged below 12) in Singapore were individually interviewed (N = 34). In addition to the information about their typical family meal arrangements, we explored work and family factors that shape family meals and the strategies working mothers use to manage work–family boundaries. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsWorking mothers adopt various work–family boundary management strategies (temporal, behavioral, and communication) to achieve desired family meal frequency and quality of mealtime interactions. Mothers' broad views on work–family management and thoughts about family meals undergird their choice of specific strategies.ConclusionThis research revealed working mothers' active management of work–family boundaries as a novel answer to the critical question of how working mothers of young children make family meals happen.ImplicationsOur research has practical implications for working mothers' ability to facilitate family meals.

Energy performance analysis of alternative building retrofit interventions for the four climatic zones of Greece

Climatic conditions determine which retrofit strategy can result in a satisfactory improvement of a building's thermal performance. This study systematically investigates alternative retrofit actions, as standalone and in combination, and assesses their energy performance. The retrofit actions include i) insulation on the external walls, ii) the incorporation of phase change material (PCM) on the roof and the increase of the building thermal inertia, iii) a mechanical ventilation system with a summer period operation, and iv) a cool roof coating. The energy analysis concerns a typical two-story family building and the four climatic categories of Greece and is conducted with the INTEMA.building tool, a dynamic energy analysis software developed in Modelica language. The importance of the present study is that it serves as a guideline for the selection of the energetically optimum single retrofit or multiple-retrofit strategy regarding a building's location climatic data, and provides calculations concerning the annual heating and cooling loads, and the corresponding heat pump electricity consumption. The retrofit actions of external wall insulation and PCM roof addition are characterized as more effective in reducing a building's heating energy loads, while the mechanical ventilation system and cool roof coating are more effective in reducing a building's cooling loads. The quadruple retrofit strategy results in the maximum electricity savings for Heraklion (28.01%), Athens (21.15%), and Thessaloniki (16.54%), while the triple retrofit strategy which does not include the cool roof coating, results in the maximum electricity savings for Kastoria (10.79%). Lastly, an economic analysis of the energetically optimum renovation strategies is conducted.

Molecular Cloning, Characterization, and Expression of a Receptor for Activated Protein Kinase C1 (RACK1) Gene in Exopalaemon carinicauda Zoea Larvae under Aroclor 1254 Stress.

The receptor for activated protein kinase C1 (RACK1) belongs to the typical WD repeat family, which is extremely conservative and important in multiple signal transduction pathways related to growth and development that coordinate the intracellular role of various life activities. As a novel protein with versatile functions, it was found in a variety of organisms. In a previous study, we identified the RACK1 sequence of white shrimp from transcriptome data. In this study, we employed specialized bioinformatics software to conduct an in-depth analysis of EcRACK1 and compare its amino acid sequence homology with other crustaceans. Furthermore, we investigated the expression patterns of RACK1 at different developmental stages and tissues, as well as at various time points after exposure to Aroclor 1245, aiming to elucidate its function and potential response towards Aroclor 1245 exposure. The length of EcRACK1 is 957 nucleotides, which encodes 318 amino acids. Moreover, there were seven typical WD repeats in EcRACK1, which have more than a 96% sequence identity with the RACK1 proteins of Penaeus. The results of tissue expression and spatiotemporal expression showed that it was significantly increased in the II and IV stages, but had a significant tissue specificity in the hepatopancreas, spermary, and muscle tissues of E. carinicauda, adult stage. Compared to the control, EcRACK1 was significantly induced in E. carinicauda zoea larvae exposed to Aroclor 1254 for 6, 10, 20, and 30 d (p < 0.05). These results suggested that EcRACK1 may play an important role in the larval development and environmental defense of E. carinicauda.