NSUN4 Is a Dual Function Mitochondrial Protein Required for Both Methylation of 12S rRNA and Coordination of Mitoribosomal Assembly

Biogenesis of mammalian mitochondrial ribosomes requires a concerted maturation of both the small (SSU) and large subunit (LSU). We demonstrate here that the m(5)C methyltransferase NSUN4, which forms a complex with MTERF4, is essential in mitochondrial ribosomal biogenesis as mitochondrial translation is abolished in conditional Nsun4 mouse knockouts. Deep sequencing of bisulfite-treated RNA shows that NSUN4 methylates cytosine 911 in 12S rRNA (m5C911) of the SSU. Surprisingly, NSUN4 does not need MTERF4 to generate this modification. Instead, the NSUN4/MTERF4 complex is required to assemble the SSU and LSU to form a monosome. NSUN4 is thus a dual function protein, which on the one hand is needed for 12S rRNA methylation and, on the other hand interacts with MTERF4 to facilitate monosome assembly. The presented data suggest that NSUN4 has a key role in controlling a final step in ribosome biogenesis to ensure that only the mature SSU and LSU are assembled.

Mother's Narratives of Trauma: An exploratory study of how mothers' narrate the impact of trauma on their families

This study explored the narratives of 10 mothers whose families had been impacted by potentially traumatising events. The study was set in the context of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a relatively narrow psychiatric construct, which currently dominates much professional discourse and practice in traumatology, but references literature that provides a theoretical rationale for a broader approach. Narrative Interviewing methodology was employed and mothers of families referred to a specialist clinical service were interviewed prior to professional therapeutic intervention. The 10 mothers' narratives were analysed thematically via a rigorous process involving two independent analysts and the data organised into an evolving theoretical framework of themes and supra-themes. As hypothesised, PTSD symptomatology constituted a small proportion of the mothers' narratives (6.2%). The major components of the narratives included family and relational distress (35.7%), non-pathological individual distress (24.4%), resilience (16.7%) and a prior history of adversity (16.6%). Although exploratory in nature, the results of this study are sufficiently strong to warrant further investigation and raise tentative questions regarding the appropriateness of many existing therapeutic services for people impacted by trauma.

For vulnerable families, continued postnatal care, provided by family midwives, is associated with improved maternal care and parent–child relationship

This paper illustrates how findings from two related studies can enhance nursing and midwifery practice through the evaluation of the effectiveness of a family midwives (FMs) intervention.

Weaving behavior into feature models for embedded system families

Product Line software Engineering depends on capturing the commonality and variability within a family of products, typically using feature modeling, and using this information to evolve a generic reference architecture for the family. For embedded systems, possible variability in hardware and operating system platforms is an added complication. The design process can be facilitated by first exploring the behavior associated with features. In this paper we outline a bidirectional feature modeling scheme that supports the capture of commonality and variability in the platform environment as well as within the required software. Additionally, 'behavior' associated with features can be included in the overall model. This is achieved by integrating the UCM path notation in a way that exploits UCM's static and dynamic stubs to capture behavioral variability and link it to the feature model structure. The resulting model is a richer source of information to support the architecture development process.

Relational architecture description language for software families

Software Product-Line Engineering has emerged in recent years, as an important strategy for maximising reuse within the context of a family of related products. In current approaches to software product-lines, there is general agreement that the definition of a reference-architecture for the product-line is an important step in the software engineering process. In this paper we introduce ADLARS, a new form of architecture Description language that places emphasis on the capture of architectural relationships. ADLARS is designed for use within a product-line engineering process. The language supports both the definition of architectural structure, and of important architectural relationships. In particular it supports capture of the relationships between product features, component and task architectures, interfaces and parameter requirements.

Improved APF strategies for dual-arm local motion planning

Manipulator motion planning is a classic problem in robotics, with a number of complete solutions available for their motion in controlled (industrial) environments. Owing to recent technological advances in the field of robotics, there has been a significant development of more complex robots with high-fidelity sensors and more computational power. One such example has been a rise in the production of humanoid robots equipped with dual-arm manipulators which require complex motion planning algorithms. Also, the technological advances have resulted in a shift from using manipulators in strictly controlled environments, to investigating the deployment of manipulators in dynamic or unknown environments. As a result, a greater emphasis has been put on the development of local motion planners, which can provide real-time solutions to these problems. Artificial Potential Fields (APFs) is one such popular local motion planning technique, which can be applied to manipulator motion planning, however, the basic algorithm is severely prone to local minima problems. Here, two modified APF-based strategies for solving the dual-arm motion planning task in unknown environments are proposed. Both techniques make use of configuration sampling and subgoal selection to assist the APFs in avoiding these local minima scenarios. Extensive simulation results are presented to validate the efficacy of the proposed methodology.

Integrating intrinsic and global kinetics as a dual kinetic model for automotive catalysis

The majority of the kinetic models employed in catalytic after-treatment of exhaust emissions use a global kinetic approach owing to the simplicity because one expression can account for all the steps in a reaction. The major drawback of this approach is the limited predictive capabilities of the models. The intrinsic kinetic approach offers much more information about the processes occurring within the catalytic converter; however, it is significantly more complex and time consuming to develop. In the present work, a methodology which allows accessing a model that combines the simplicity of the global kinetic approach and the accuracy of the intrinsic kinetic approach is reported. To assess the performance of this new approach, the oxidation of carbon monoxide in the presence of nitric oxide as well as a driving cycle was investigated. The modelling of carbon monoxide oxidation with oxygen which utilised the intrinsic kinetic approach with the global kinetic approach was used for the carbon monoxide + nitric oxide reaction (and all remaining reactions for the driving cycle). The comparison of the model results for the dual intrinsic + global kinetic approach with the experimental data obtained for both the reactor and the driving cycle indicate that the dual approach is promising with results significantly better than those obtained with only the global kinetics approach.

Career motivation in nursing students and the perceived influence of significant others

This paper is a report of a study investigating the motivation of nursing students, their reasons for entering nursing and the perceived influence of others in their decision-making.

Impact of vitamin D3 on cutaneous immunity and antimicrobial peptide expression

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are effectors of cutaneous innate immunity and protect primarily against microbial infections. An array of AMPs can be found in and on the skin. Those include peptides that were first discovered for their antimicrobial properties but also proteins with antimicrobial activity first characterized for their activity as chemokines, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors and neuropeptides. Cathelicidins were among the first families of AMPs discovered in skin. They are now known to exert a dual role in innate immune defense: they have direct antimicrobial activity and will also initiate a host cellular response resulting in cytokine release, inflammation and angiogenesis. Altered cathelicidin expression and function was observed in several common inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, rosacea and psoriasis. Until recently the molecular mechanisms underlying cathelicidin regulation were not known. Lately, vitamin D3 was identified as the major regulator of cathelicidin expression and entered the spotlight as an immune modulator with impact on both, innate and adaptive immunity. Therapies targeting vitamin D3 signalling may provide novel approaches for the treatment of infectious and inflammatory skin diseases by affecting both innate and adaptive immune functions through AMP regulation.