title: Antimicrobial Peptides in Jawed and Jawless Vertebrates

authors: Gibbons, Olivia Robyn

subjects: Antimicrobial Peptides

abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a major part of the innate immune defence system which shows a broad spectrum of activity, defending the host against invading microbes. The aim of this work was to identify the AMPs present in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and pouched lamprey (Geotria australis) and use molecular techniques to fully sequence their cDNA and quantify their expression in adult individuals.

Using bioinformatic approaches candidate AMP genes were ascertained from available S. lalandi and G. australis RNA-seq transcriptomic databases, obtained from various tissues. Selected AMPs were chosen to have their full cDNA sequence amplified using RACE-PCR, which were then cloned and sequenced. Complete cDNA sequences were obtained for S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin, whereas attempts to complete the G. australis defensin-like cDNA were unsuccessful. Comparison of the S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin protein sequences with proteins already characterised in other fish showed good homology and conservation of important features. In addition, specific primers were designed to examine the expression levels of S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin in gill, liver or spleens of three fish. Analysis showed hepcidin expression to be highest in liver tissues, whereas moronecidin expression was highest in the gills and spleens.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the AMP genes present in S. lalandi and G. australis and some initial characterisation of S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin, which will permit the development of future research applications. Overall, characterising AMP genes in jawed and jawless vertebrates is vital for economical and successful fish farming, while also providing possible therapeutic benefits associated with AMP research in biomedicine and disease in wild fish stocks.

text: Antimicrobial Peptides in Jawed and Jawless Vertebrates Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a major part of the innate immune defence system which shows a broad spectrum of activity, defending the host against invading microbes. The aim of this work was to identify the AMPs present in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and pouched lamprey (Geotria australis) and use molecular techniques to fully sequence their cDNA and quantify their expression in adult individuals.

Using bioinformatic approaches candidate AMP genes were ascertained from available S. lalandi and G. australis RNA-seq transcriptomic databases, obtained from various tissues. Selected AMPs were chosen to have their full cDNA sequence amplified using RACE-PCR, which were then cloned and sequenced. Complete cDNA sequences were obtained for S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin, whereas attempts to complete the G. australis defensin-like cDNA were unsuccessful. Comparison of the S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin protein sequences with proteins already characterised in other fish showed good homology and conservation of important features. In addition, specific primers were designed to examine the expression levels of S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin in gill, liver or spleens of three fish. Analysis showed hepcidin expression to be highest in liver tissues, whereas moronecidin expression was highest in the gills and spleens.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the AMP genes present in S. lalandi and G. australis and some initial characterisation of S. lalandi hepcidin and moronecidin, which will permit the development of future research applications. Overall, characterising AMP genes in jawed and jawless vertebrates is vital for economical and successful fish farming, while also providing possible therapeutic benefits associated with AMP research in biomedicine and disease in wild fish stocks.

year: 2016

title: Child past and future thinking: What children remember and imagine, and the role of parental mind-mindedness and elaboration

authors: Cuttance-Dunne, Demi

subjects: episodic memory

abstract: Thinking about memories and possible future events allows us to prepare for the future. Whilst we are beginning to understand how past and future thinking develops in early childhood, little is known about these processes in middle childhood and how parental factors, like mind-mindedness and elaborations, influence them. This study examined the content of past and future thoughts in 11- to 13-year-olds and the role of these parental factors. We collected data from 21 parent-child dyads in three different phases: a) parents completed an online survey involving a measure of mind-mindedness; b) parents and children completed a joint Zoom session measuring parental elaborations; c) children completed an independent Zoom session measuring past and future thoughts. Children generated more relevant details for past thoughts than future thoughts, while the amount of off-topic details was similar between past and future thoughts. This pattern indicates that children are proficient at retrieving relevant information, but they are more proficient at this retrieval when thinking about memories than imagining the future. Children subjectively rated past and future thoughts as similarly important and vivid but reported thinking more frequently about future thoughts than past thoughts. This pattern illustrates that, for children, memories and future events are equally important and visualised equally. However, children imagine the future more often than they reminisce about the past. These findings enhance our understanding of the functioning of past and future thinking in middle childhood. No relationship was found between parents’ understanding of their children, parents’ elaborations, and children’s past and future thoughts. We replicated and extended previous findings with a novel age group, thereby contributing to a lifespan overview of past and future thinking. Our research has practical implications for parents, teachers, and clinicians. A longitudinal design in future research would further assist in understanding past and future thinking across childhood.

text: Child past and future thinking: What children remember and imagine, and the role of parental mind-mindedness and elaboration Thinking about memories and possible future events allows us to prepare for the future. Whilst we are beginning to understand how past and future thinking develops in early childhood, little is known about these processes in middle childhood and how parental factors, like mind-mindedness and elaborations, influence them. This study examined the content of past and future thoughts in 11- to 13-year-olds and the role of these parental factors. We collected data from 21 parent-child dyads in three different phases: a) parents completed an online survey involving a measure of mind-mindedness; b) parents and children completed a joint Zoom session measuring parental elaborations; c) children completed an independent Zoom session measuring past and future thoughts. Children generated more relevant details for past thoughts than future thoughts, while the amount of off-topic details was similar between past and future thoughts. This pattern indicates that children are proficient at retrieving relevant information, but they are more proficient at this retrieval when thinking about memories than imagining the future. Children subjectively rated past and future thoughts as similarly important and vivid but reported thinking more frequently about future thoughts than past thoughts. This pattern illustrates that, for children, memories and future events are equally important and visualised equally. However, children imagine the future more often than they reminisce about the past. These findings enhance our understanding of the functioning of past and future thinking in middle childhood. No relationship was found between parents’ understanding of their children, parents’ elaborations, and children’s past and future thoughts. We replicated and extended previous findings with a novel age group, thereby contributing to a lifespan overview of past and future thinking. Our research has practical implications for parents, teachers, and clinicians. A longitudinal design in future research would further assist in understanding past and future thinking across childhood.

year: 2024

title: Family structure and change in early childhood and the wellbeing of tamariki Maori

authors: Kukutai, Tahu

subjects: family structure

abstract: Internationally there is growing evidence that family structure, and changes in structure, have an impact on children’s health and wellbeing and the intergenerational transmission of inequity. The effects, however, vary by socio-economic context and ethnicity. Using longitudinal data from Growing Up in New Zealand (n = 1349), we examine family structure and change for tamariki Māori during early childhood, and the potential impacts on their development and wellbeing. We find that a stable two-parent family is the primary experience for tamariki Māori, and sole parenthood is transitory. Diverse family trajectories appear to be linked to poorer cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes but are not the main driver. More important are maternal factors, notably age and education, and material hardship. Importantly, higher levels of cultural connectedness among tamariki Māori, which are associated with diverse family forms, seem to promote socio-emotional development. Our study provides further incentive for policy and programmes that centre equity and support access to the determinants of health for tamariki Māori.

text: Family structure and change in early childhood and the wellbeing of tamariki Maori Internationally there is growing evidence that family structure, and changes in structure, have an impact on children’s health and wellbeing and the intergenerational transmission of inequity. The effects, however, vary by socio-economic context and ethnicity. Using longitudinal data from Growing Up in New Zealand (n = 1349), we examine family structure and change for tamariki Māori during early childhood, and the potential impacts on their development and wellbeing. We find that a stable two-parent family is the primary experience for tamariki Māori, and sole parenthood is transitory. Diverse family trajectories appear to be linked to poorer cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes but are not the main driver. More important are maternal factors, notably age and education, and material hardship. Importantly, higher levels of cultural connectedness among tamariki Māori, which are associated with diverse family forms, seem to promote socio-emotional development. Our study provides further incentive for policy and programmes that centre equity and support access to the determinants of health for tamariki Māori.

year: 2020