The early stages of regeneration after injury are similar to those of wound healing. The ascidian Botrylloides diegensis can regenerate an entire adult from a small fragment of vascular tunic ...following the removal of all zooids in an injury-induced regeneration model. We investigated the molecular and cellular changes following injury to determine the differences between the healing process and the initiation of whole-body regeneration (WBR). We conducted transcriptome analysis at specific time points during regeneration and wound healing to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the unique biological processes associated with each state. Our findings revealed 296 DEGs at 10 h post-injury (hpi), with 71 highly expressed in healed tissue and 225 expressed during the WBR process. These DEGs were predicted to play roles in tissue reorganization, integrin signaling, extracellular matrix organization, and the innate immune system. Pathway analysis of the upregulated genes in the healed tunic indicated functional enrichment related to tissue repair, as has been observed in other species.
Additionally, we examined the cell types in the tunic and ampullae in both tissue states using histology and in situ hybridization for six genes identified by transcriptome analysis. We observed strong mRNA expression in cells within the WBR tunic, and in small RNA-positive granules near the tunic edge. We hypothesized that many of these genes function in the compaction of the ampullae tunic, which is a pivotal process for WBR and dormancy in B. diegensis, and in an immune response. These findings establish surprising similarities between ascidian regeneration and human wound healing, emphasizing the potential for future investigations into human regenerative and repair mechanisms. This study provides valuable insights into the gene sets specifically activated during regeneration compared to wound healing, shedding light on the divergent activities of these processes.
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•RNA-seq uncovers parallels between whole-body regeneration and wound healing in B. diegensis.•Similarities in gene expression and tunic cell behavior mirror epidermal wound healing.•Innate immune responses activated post-injury, in both healing and regeneration.•Cellular responses involve tunic contraction, vascular budding, and angiogenesis.•Extracellular vesicles and granules may contribute to communication and regeneration processes.
Antibiotics inhibit essential bacterial processes, resulting in arrest of growth and, in some cases, cell death. Many antibiotics are also reported to trigger endogenous production of reactive oxygen ...species (ROS), which damage DNA, leading to induction of the mutagenic SOS response associated with the emergence of drug resistance. However, the type of DNA damage that arises and how this triggers the SOS response are largely unclear. We found that several different classes of antibiotic triggered dose-dependent induction of the SOS response in Staphylococcus aureus, indicative of DNA damage, including some bacteriostatic drugs. The SOS response was heterogenous and varied in magnitude between strains and antibiotics. However, in many cases, full induction of the SOS response was dependent upon the RexAB helicase/nuclease complex, which processes DNA double-strand breaks to produce single-stranded DNA and facilitate RecA nucleoprotein filament formation. The importance of RexAB in repair of DNA was confirmed by measuring bacterial survival during antibiotic exposure, with most drugs having significantly greater bactericidal activity against
mutants than against wild-type strains. For some, but not all, antibiotics there was no difference in bactericidal activity between wild type and
mutant under anaerobic conditions, indicative of a role for reactive oxygen species in mediating DNA damage. Taken together, this work confirms previous observations that several classes of antibiotics cause DNA damage in S. aureus and extends them by showing that processing of DNA double-strand breaks by RexAB is a major trigger of the mutagenic SOS response and promotes bacterial survival.
There are a variety of conditions under which religiosity may be positively or negatively associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction. To better understand these conditions, we conducted two ...studies using two separate samples: one with individuals (1,695 individuals), and one with couples (481 dyads), to test how sexual sanctification and sexual mindfulness moderate these associations. Across studies sexual mindfulness was positively associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction for the individual and partner, but there was no evidence for moderation; sexual sanctification was consistently associated with higher sexual and relationship satisfaction, and in some cases moderated the association between religiosity and both sexual and relationship satisfaction for women and men. In Study 1, religiosity was associated with lower sexual and relationship satisfaction for both men and women when sexual sanctification was low, but not with either type of satisfaction when sexual sanctification was high. In Study 2, religiosity was positively associated with sexual satisfaction for men but only when sexual sanctification was high. The combined evidence indicates that sexual sanctification may be one factor that distinguishes whether religion helps or hinders sexual and relationship satisfaction.
Ascidians are marine filter-feeder chordates. Botrylloides ascidians possess diverse biological properties such as whole-body regeneration (WBR), hibernation/aestivation, blastogenesis, ...metamorphosis, and natural chimerism. However, the absence of distinctive morphological features often makes identification difficult. Botrylloides diegensis is an ascidian that has been misidentified in previous studies and is recorded in GenBank as Botrylloides leachii owing to the high morphological similarity between the sister species. More available sequences and strategies for identification would help resolve some of the confusion surrounding its ambiguous nature. We collected several Botrylloides samples from seven locations in Aotearoa New Zealand (Dunedin, Christchurch, Picton, Nelson, Whangateau, New Plymouth, and Invercargill) and barcoded the species based on Cytochrome Oxidase I, Histone 3, 18S, and 28S ribosomal RNA markers. Network and Bayesian trees confirmed the presence of three Botrylloides species: B. diegensis, Botrylloides jacksonianum, and Botrylloides affinis anceps.
Abstract
Background
Colorectal cancer screening program using a fecal immunochemical test aims to reduce morbidity and mortality through early detection. Although screening participation is ...free-of-charge, almost 40% of the invited individuals choose not to participate. To bring new insight into how non-participation can be identified and targeted, we examined the association between marital status and screening participation; with a focus on partner concordance in participation and sex differences.
Methods
This nationwide cross-sectional study included all Danish citizens aged 50–74 years, who were invited to colorectal cancer screening between 2014 and 2017. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) of participation while adjusting for sociodemographic variables.
Results
A total of 1 909 662 individuals were included in the analysis of which 62.7% participated in the screening program. Participation was highest among women. Stratified by marital status, screening participation was markedly lower in widowed (61.5%), divorced (54.8%) and single (47.3%), while participation reached 68.4% in married individuals. This corresponded to ORs of 0.59 (95% CI 0.58–0.59) for widowed, 0.56 (95% CI 0.55–0.56) for divorced and 0.47 (95% CI 0.47–0.48) for single, compared to married individuals. Individuals married to a participating partner were five times more likely to participate than married individuals with a non-participating partner, regardless of gender.
Conclusions
Marital status was strongly associated with participation in colorectal cancer screening, and participation was even higher in married individuals with a participating partner. Future efforts to increase participation in colorectal cancer screening could potentially benefit from considering the role of partner concordance.
Co-trimoxazole (SXT) is a combination therapeutic that consists of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim that is increasingly used to treat skin and soft-tissue infections caused by methicillin-resistant
...(MRSA). However, the use of SXT is limited to the treatment of low-burden, superficial
infections and its therapeutic value is compromised by the frequent emergence of resistance. As a first step towards the identification of approaches to enhance the efficacy of SXT, we examined the role of bacterial DNA repair in antibiotic susceptibility and mutagenesis. We found that mutants lacking the DNA repair complex RexAB had a modest 2-fold lower SXT MIC than wild-type strains but were killed 50-5000-fold more efficiently by the combination antibiotic at the breakpoint concentration. SXT-mediated DNA damage occurred via both thymidine limitation and the generation of reactive oxygen species, and triggered induction of the SOS response in a RexAB-dependent manner. SOS induction was associated with a 50% increase in the mutation rate, which may contribute to emergence of resistant strains during SXT therapy. In summary, this work determined that SXT caused DNA damage in
via both thymidine limitation and oxidative stress, which was repaired by the RexAB complex, leading to induction of the mutagenic SOS response. Small molecule inhibitors of RexAB could therefore have therapeutic value by increasing the efficacy of SXT and decreasing the emergence of drug-resistance during treatment of infections caused by
.
Curvilinearity has been found for sexual frequency, but research has not examined whether curvilinear associations exist for other aspects of sexual relationships like orgasm consistency.
We examined ...whether there is curvilinearity and the nature of that curvilinearity between orgasm consistency and sexual and relational satisfaction for men and women.
With pooled samples of 1,619 and 1,695 men and women from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, we examined the differences of orgasm consistency values and both sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction through analysis of variance. We then tested for curvilinearity between orgasm consistency and sexual and relational satisfaction with regression analyses.
For men we found no evidence of a curvilinear relationship, but for women we found a curvilinear relationship between orgasm consistency values and both sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction.
Across tests, the overall picture suggests that there is no curvilinear association for men, but there is for women. For women, with each unit increase in orgasm consistency, the increase in sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction became progressively smaller. Past the 61-80% threshold for orgasm consistency, there was little gain in sexual satisfaction and no gain in relational satisfaction.
Physicians, therapists, and educators can reorient women's orgasm expectations by explaining that having regular orgasms-not necessarily always-is associated with satisfaction in their relationship and sexual experience.
Converging large samples and data analytic techniques evinced the curvilinear association between orgasm consistency and both relational and sexual satisfaction for women. However, this study is cross-sectional and correlational, which limits the conclusions we can draw from it.
While men's orgasm consistency is linearly associated with relational and sexual satisfaction, more consistent orgasms seem to be associated with women's sexual and relational satisfaction, to a point. Leavitt CE, Leonhardt ND, Busby DM, et al. When Is Enough Enough? Orgasm's Curvilinear Association With Relational and Sexual Satisfaction. J Sex Med 2021;18:167-178.
We based this study on the sexual wholeness model, which considers emotional, physical, and meaning elements of sexuality, and previous research that indicates variability in the associations among ...orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction.
We performed a person-based latent class approach to examine variables linked with the trifecta of orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction.
We used a Mechanical Turk sample that consisted of 1645 sexually active participants (1032 women) to evaluate classes and related variables.
Women divided into 5 classes and men into 3 classes. High orgasm consistency alone did not ensure sexual or relational satisfaction.
We found that 5 groups emerged for women: high orgasm/low satisfaction (6%), low trifecta (8%), low orgasm/high satisfaction (16%), moderate orgasm/high satisfaction (15%), and high trifecta (55%). For men, 3 groups emerged: lower orgasm/high satisfaction (12%), moderate trifecta (14%), and high trifecta (74%). We also found that high orgasm consistency for women did not guarantee relational and sexual satisfaction, nor did lower orgasm consistency for men or women guarantee problematic relational and sexual satisfaction.
Communication, attachment, and sexual harmony were key elements associated with positive trifecta outcomes. Clinicians and educators may emphasize the importance of these variables when individuals encounter sexual or relational distress.
Data analytic techniques revealed a variety of groups for men and women and associations between a host of physical, psychological, and meaning variables and the trifecta of orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. However, this study is cross-sectional and correlational, which limits the conclusions that we can draw from it.
While the variables of orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction are each informative, together they help clinicians, educators, and researchers better understand the complexity of sex.
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