Does paternity or paternal investment determine the level of paternal care and does female choice explain egg stealing in the fifteen-spined stickleback?

An earlier field study on the fifteen-spined stickleback (Spinachia spinachia) showed that frequent male—male interactionsresult in high frequencies of sneaking and egg stealing. Moreover,sneaking behavior was performed not only by males adoptingalternative mating strategies, but also by males with theirown nests. The advantage of sneaking is easily understood, but it is more difficult to explain the evolutionary benefitof stealing eggs from other males. I investigated whether malessuffering from sneaking adjust their paternal effort in relationto their degree of paternity. I also examined whether femalesprefer males that have more eggs in their nests, as this couldexplain egg stealing. There was no relationship between thedegree of paternity and fanning activity, hatching success,or nest defense. However, the older the eggs become, the morethe males increase their attack rate toward potential egg predators(goldsinny wrasse and shore crabs). Thus, males adjusted theirlevel of defense to the amount of energy and time already investedin the clutch. Females did not prefer males with more eggs intheir nests. On the contrary, females preferred males withreduced clutches over males with enlarged clutches. Therefore,female choice is unlikely to be a driving force behind eggstealing in this species.     

Validation of DNA methylation profiling in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 Microarray

A formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) sample usually yields highly degraded DNA, which limits the use of techniques requiring high-quality DNA, such as Infinium Methylation microarrays. To overcome this restriction, we have applied an FFPE restoration procedure consisting of DNA repair and ligation processes in a set of paired fresh-frozen (FF) and FFPE samples. We validated the FFPE results in comparison with matched FF samples, enabling us to use FFPE samples on the Infinium HumanMethylation450 Methylation array.     

A nonradioisotope biomedical assay for intact oligonucleotide and its chain-shortened metabolites used for determination of exposure and elimination half-life of antisense drugs in tissue.

Rigorous extraction methods coupled with capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) provide a basis for a nonradiolabel assay for quantitation of intact antisense drug and its numerous chain-shortened metabolites. As part of the validation of the CGE method, we compared the quantitation of unlabeled ISIS 3521 (ISI 641A) and its chain-shortened metabolites with total radioactivity of [(35)S]-ISIS 3521. ISIS 3521 was labeled on the fifth nucleotide linkage from the 5'-end with (35)S by well-established methods. Multiple tissues collected from rats after administration of [(35)S]-ISIS 3521 were assayed by both radiolabel (liquid scintillation spectroscopy) and CGE methods. The CGE method provided accurate quantitation of the drug and its metabolites in kidney cortex and liver tissues. The correlation between methods for multiple tissues over time was excellent with 88.5% of the measurements being statistically equivalent. These data suggest that CGE is an accurate means of quantitating oligonucleotide in tissue and that it compares favorably with traditional radiochemical techniques. Clearance half-lives for total measurable oligonucleotides were equivalent to clearance of total radioactivity in both liver and kidney with the longest clearance half-life associated with the kidney.     

High Rates of Obesity and Chronic Disease Among United Methodist Clergy

We used self‐reported data from United Methodist clergy to assess the prevalence of obesity and having ever been told certain chronic disease diagnoses. Of all actively serving United Methodist clergy in North Carolina (NC) 95% (n = 1726) completed self‐report height and weight items and diagnosis questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). We calculated BMI categories and diagnosis prevalence rates for the clergy and compared them to the NC population using BRFSS data. The obesity rate among clergy aged 35–64 years was 39.7%, 10.3% (95% CI = 8.5%, 12.1%) higher than their NC counterparts. Clergy also reported significantly higher rates of having ever been given diagnoses of diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, angina, and asthma compared to their NC peers. Health interventions that address obesity and chronic disease among clergy are urgently needed.