University of Nevada, Reno

About: University of Nevada, Reno is a education organization based out in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 13561 authors who have published 28217 publications receiving 882002 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Nevada & Nevada State University.

Tissue-dependent paired expression of miRNAs

Abstract: It is believed that depending on the thermodynamic stability of the 5′-strand and the 3′-strand in the stem-loop structure of a precursor microRNA (pre-miRNA), cells preferentially select the less stable one (called the miRNA or guide strand) and destroy the other one (called the miRNA* or passenger strand). However, our expression profiling analyses revealed that both strands could be co-accumulated as miRNA pairs in some tissues while being subjected to strand selection in other tissues. Our target prediction and validation assays demonstrated that both strands of a miRNA pair could target equal numbers of genes and that both were able to suppress the expression of their target genes. Our finding not only suggests that the numbers of miRNAs and their targets are much greater than what we previously thought, but also implies that novel mechanisms are involved in the tissue-dependent miRNA biogenesis and target selection process.

Chloroplast Division in Higher Plants Requires Members of Two Functionally Divergent Gene Families with Homology to Bacterial ftsZ

Abstract: The division of plastids is critical for viability in photosynthetic eukaryotes, but the mechanisms associated with this process are still poorly understood. We previously identified a nuclear gene from Arabidopsis encoding a chloroplast-localized homolog of the bacterial cell division protein FtsZ, an essential cytoskeletal component of the prokaryotic cell division apparatus. Here, we report the identification of a second nuclear-encoded FtsZ-type protein from Arabidopsis that does not contain a chloroplast targeting sequence or other obvious sorting signals and is not imported into isolated chloroplasts, which strongly suggests that it is localized in the cytosol. We further demonstrate using antisense technology that inhibiting expression of either Arabidopsis FtsZ gene (AtFtsZ1-1 or AtFtsZ2-1) in transgenic plants reduces the number of chloroplasts in mature leaf cells from 100 to one, indicating that both genes are essential for division of higher plant chloroplasts but that each plays a distinct role in the process. Analysis of currently available plant FtsZ sequences further suggests that two functionally divergent FtsZ gene families encoding differentially localized products participate in chloroplast division. Our results provide evidence that both chloroplastic and cytosolic forms of FtsZ are involved in chloroplast division in higher plants and imply that important differences exist between chloroplasts and prokaryotes with regard to the roles played by FtsZ proteins in the division process.

Exploring the Association Between Body Weight, Stigma of Obesity, and Health Care Avoidance

Abstract: Purpose To explore the stigma of obesity and its effect on health care utilization, associations between self-esteem, attribution for weight, body mass index (BMI), satisfaction with medical care and the behavior of delaying/avoiding health care were examined. Data Sources A convenience sample of 216 women recruited from church sites in Las Vegas completed self-administered questionnaires. Conclusions The findings show an increase in BMI is asso-ciated with an increase in the delay/avoidance of health care. Weight-related reasons for delaying/avoiding health care included having “gained weight since last health care visit,” not wanting to “get weighed on the provider's scale,” and knowing they would be told to “lose weight.” Implications for Practice The obese are a stigmatized and vulnerable population. Nurse practitioners are challenged to be aware of attitudes towards obesity and to identify ways to promote continuity of care and regular health maintenance. The goals of Healthy People 2010 to reduce obesity-related morbidity cannot be met if health care is delayed/avoided.

Stochastic solution of space-time fractional diffusion equations.

Abstract: Classical and anomalous diffusion equations employ integer derivatives, fractional derivatives, and other pseudodifferential operators in space. In this paper we show that replacing the integer time derivative by a fractional derivative subordinates the original stochastic solution to an inverse stable subordinator process whose probability distributions are Mittag-Leffler type. This leads to explicit solutions for space-time fractional diffusion equations with multiscaling space-fractional derivatives, and additional insight into the meaning of these equations.