Previous U.S. studies showed that many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) young adults hold optimistic views about their occupational careers, despite their risk for facing labor market ...disadvantages as LGBQ workers. The present study uses Japan as a comparison case and illustrates how young LGBQ people plan their careers in a different national context. Analysis of in-depth interviews shows that many LGBQ young adults in Japan anticipate financial insecurity and consequently prioritize stability over pursuit of personal interests in their career planning. Their career concerns vary by gender and represent their responses to high levels of occupational gender segregation and earnings inequality as well as strong social expectations for heterosexual marriage and gendered division of household responsibilities. Overall, the study endorses ongoing efforts to understand occupational and economic disparities across sexuality groups from global perspectives by paying close attention to macro conditions.
Wnt signaling pathways play important roles in tumorigenesis and are initiated by binding of Wnt to various receptors including frizzleds (FZDs). FZDs are one of several families of receptors ...comprised of FZD/LRP/ROR2/RYK in the Wnt signaling pathway. Expression of some FZD receptors are up regulated, thereby activating the Wnt signaling pathway and is correlated with cancer malignancy and patient outcomes (recurrence and survival) in many cancers. The FZD family contains ten genes in humans and their function has not been completely examined including the regulatory mechanisms of FZD genes in cancer. Knockdown of FZDs may suppress the Wnt signaling pathway resulting in decreased cell growth, invasion, motility and metastasis of cancer cells. Recently a number of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified and reported to be important in several cancers. MiRNAs regulate target gene expression at both the transcription and translation levels. The study of miRNA is a newly emerging field and promises to be helpful in understanding the pathogenesis of FZDs in cancer. In addition, miRNAs may be useful in regulating FZDs in cancer cells. Therefore, the aim of this review is to discuss current knowledge of the functional mechanisms of FZDs in cancer, including regulation by miRNAs and the potential for possible use of miRNAs and FZDs in future clinical applications.
Little attention has been paid to whether violence in adolescent romantic relationships is associated with relationship violence later in young adulthood. This study examined the continuation of ...intimate partner violence (IPV) from adolescence to young adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, results from negative binomial models and propensity score models showed that being victimized by relationship partners in adolescence was significantly associated with both perpetration and victimization in romantic relationships in young adulthood. Women reported higher levels of perpetration and lower levels of victimization than men did. Those who were living together (married or cohabiting) reported higher levels of victimization and perpetration than those who were dating. Further, such associations existed beyond the effects of parent—child violence and general aggression tendencies, suggesting the continuation of relationship-specific violence. Finally, these patterns persisted after controlling for participants' age, race and ethnicity, parental education, and family structure.
Objective: This study examines difference in sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalence between sexual minority and heterosexual older adults using lifetime experience of same-sex contact (SSC) as ...a measure of sexual orientation. Method: Data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (N = 2,519) are analyzed using negative binomial regression and propensity matching models to test for differences in average STD counts by sexual orientation. Results: Older adults who report any SSC have higher lifetime counts of STDs. This difference persists even when controlling for sex, race, education, age, military status, and incarceration. Propensity matching models show that this difference persists when respondents are matched on several factors that may influence SSC prior to STD contraction. Discussion: The present results call for greater attention from policy makers and researchers because the sexual orientation differences in STDs may exacerbate disparities in overall health status and quality of life.
MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a), a potent mediator of tumor suppressor p53, has been reported to function as a tumor suppressor and miR-34a was found to be downregulated in prostate cancer tissues. We studied ...the functional effects of miR-34a on c-Myc transcriptional complexes in PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Transfection of miR-34a into PC-3 cells strongly inhibited in vitro cell proliferation, cell invasion and promoted apoptosis. Transfection of miR-34a into PC-3 cells also significantly inhibited in vivo xenograft tumor growth in nude mice. miR-34a downregulated expression of c-Myc oncogene by targeting its 3' UTR as shown by luciferase reporter assays. miR-34a was found to repress RhoA, a regulator of cell migration and invasion, by suppressing c-Myc-Skp2-Miz1 transcriptional complex that activates RhoA. Overexpression of c-Myc reversed miR-34a suppression of RhoA expression, suggesting that miR-34a inhibits invasion by suppressing RhoA through c-Myc. miR-34a was also found to repress c-Myc-pTEFB transcription elongation complex, indicating one of the mechanisms by which miR-34a has profound effects on cellular function. This is the first report to document that miR-34a suppresses assembly and function of the c-Myc-Skp2-Miz1 complex that activates RhoA and the c-Myc-pTEFB complex that elongates transcription of various genes, suggesting a novel role of miR-34a in the regulation of transcription by c-Myc complex.
Past research has examined straight allyship to the queer community from allies' perspectives, but little is known about how queer people evaluate straight allies. Drawing on in-depth interviews with ...20 LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students from a large, public university in the southeastern United States, we show that respondents formulate their expectations by leaning on their understanding of their own queerness in relation to other privileged and marginalized identities they possess. We find two opposing camps of thought: one that allies should be attuned to the individual needs of queer people in their personal lives, and the other that they should be actively dedicated to supporting the broader queer community. Some respondents expressed sentiments of both camps, showcasing how expectations range with diverse identity constellations. We conclude with discussions of how diverse expectations complicate allyship as a vehicle for social change, and the implications of these results for allies' roles in queer rights movements.
Onco-miR-182-5p has been reported to be over-expressed in bladder cancer (BC) tissues however a detailed functional analysis of miR-182-5p has not been carried out in BC. Therefore the purpose of ...this study was to: 1. conduct a functional analysis of miR-182-5p in bladder cancer, 2. assess its usefulness as a tumor marker, 3. identify miR-182-5p target genes in BC. Initially we found that miR-182-5p expression was significantly higher in bladder cancer compared to normal tissues and high miR-182-5p expression was associated with shorter overall survival in BC patients. To study the functional significance of miR-182-5p, we over-expressed miR-182-5p with miR-182-5p precursor and observed that cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities were increased in BC cells. However cell apoptosis was inhibited by miR-182-5p. We also identified Smad4 and RECK as potential target genes of miR-182-5p using several algorithms. 3'UTR luciferase activity of these target genes was significantly decreased and protein expression of these target genes was significantly up-regulated in miR-182-5p inhibitor transfected bladder cancer cells. MiR-182-5p also increased nuclear beta-catenin expression and while Smad4 repressed nuclear beta-catenin expression. In conclusion, our data suggests that miR-182-5p plays an important role as an oncogene by knocking down RECK and Smad4, resulting in activation of the Wnt-beta-catenin signaling pathway in bladder cancer.
The aim of this study was to identify angiogenic microRNAs (miRNAs) that could be used in the treatment of hindlimb ischemic tissues. miRNAs contained in extracellular vesicles (EVs) deriving from ...the plasma were analyzed in C57BL/6 mice, which have ischemia tolerance, and in BALB/c mice without ischemia tolerance as part of a hindlimb ischemia model; as a result 43 angiogenic miRNA candidates were identified. An aortic ring assay was employed by using femoral arteries isolated from BALC/c mice and EVs containing miRNA; as a result, the angiogenic miRNA candidates were limited to 14. The blood flow recovery was assessed after injecting EVs containing miRNA into BALB/c mice with hindlimb ischemia, and miR-709 was identified as a promising angiogenic miRNA. miR-709-encapsulating EVs were found to increase the expression levels of the fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) mRNA in the thigh tissues of hindlimb ischemia model BALB/c mice. miR-709 was also found to bind to the 3'UTR of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B) in three places. GSK3B-knockdown human artery-derived endothelial cells were found to express high levels of FGF2, and were characterized by increased cell proliferation. These findings indicate that miR-709 induces an upregulation of FGF2 through the downregulation of GSK3B.
One-step biosensing methods enable the quick and simplified detection of biological substances. In this study, we developed a sensitive one-step method on the basis of a waveguide-mode sensor, which ...is an optical sensor utilizing waveguide-mode resonance and evanescent light. Streptavidin-conjugated and gold-nanoparticle-conjugated antibodies were reacted with a target substance and applied onto a biotinylated sensing plate. The target substance was detected by observing changes in sensor signals caused by binding the immunocomplex to the sensing surface. Performance of the developed one-step method was examined using a C-reactive protein (CRP) as a target substance. A sensor signal corresponding to the concentration of CRP was obtained. The minimal detectable CRP concentration of the developed method was 10 pM. The developed method greatly simplifies quantitative protein detection without reducing sensitivity.
Recently miR-182 has been reported to be over-expressed in prostate cancer (PC) tissues, however detailed functional analysis of miR-182-5p has not been carried out. The purpose of this study was to: ...1. analyze the function of miR-182-5p in prostate cancer, 2. assess its usefulness as a tumor marker, 3. identify miR-182-5p target genes in PC, 4. investigate the potential for miR-182-5p inhibitor to be used in PC treatment. Initially we found that miR-182-5p expression was significantly higher in prostate cancer tissues and cell lines compared to normal prostate tissues and cells. Moreover high miR-182-5p expression was associated with shorter overall survival in PC patients. To study the functional significance of miR-182-5p, we knocked down miR-182-5p with miR-182-5p inhibitor. After miR-182-5p knock-down, prostate cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion were decreased. We identified FOXF2, RECK and MTSS1 as potential target genes of miR-182-5p using several algorithms which was confirmed by 3'UTR luciferase assay and Western analysis. Knock-down of miR-182-5p also significantly decreased in vivo prostate tumor growth. In conclusion this is the first report documenting that over-expression of miR-182-5p is associated with prostate cancer progression and potentially useful as a prognostic biomarker. Also knock down of miR-182-5p in order to increase expression of tumor suppressor genes FOXF2, RECK and MTSS1 may be of therapeutic benefit in prostate cancer treatment.
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