The Effectiveness of Pain Science Education on Caregiver and Children's Knowledge, Beliefs, Attitudes, and Behaviors-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Pain science education (PSE) can be used as part of treatment and prevention for chronic pain in children. We assessed the effectiveness of PSE on knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in children and the people that care for children. We set a minimum criterion for education to address pain biology knowledge. We included studies aimed at both treatment and prevention of chronic pain. We conducted searches using 5 databases. We assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. Data were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis or assessed using a narrative synthesis. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation. We screened 14,505 records and included 7 studies involving 351 caregivers and 1,285 children. Four studies were included in meta-analyses. We found low-certainty evidence that PSE has a large beneficial effect on caregiver knowledge and beliefs compared with alternative education (standardized mean difference = 1.14 [95% confidence interval: .88-1.42]; I2 = 0%). We found no difference in functional disability in children with chronic pain after PSE (Functional Disability Inventory score mean difference = .73 [95% confidence interval: -.81 to 2.27; I = 0%]). Narrative syntheses showed low-certainty evidence for improved knowledge and beliefs in children with preventative and treatment effects. Overall, we found few studies, and along with high risk of bias, this significantly contributed to the low certainty of findings. The effect of learning pain science for both preventative and treatment effects in children, carers, and the child/carer dyad remains mostly unknown. This review was prospectively registered with The international Prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42022344382) on July 22, 2022. PERSPECTIVE: This review examines the effect of PSE on pain-related knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in children and the people that care for children (0-18). The findings contribute to knowledge about pain treatments and health promotion for caregivers and their children with and without chronic pain.

Enhancing immigrant families' mental health through the promotion of structural and community-based support.

Immigrant communities in the United States are diverse and have many assets. Yet, they often experience stressors that can undermine the mental health of residents. To fully promote mental health and well-being among immigrant communities, it is important to emphasize population-level policies and practices that may serve to mitigate stress and prevent mental health disorders. In this paper, we describe the stressors and stress experienced by immigrant families, using Sunset Park, Brooklyn as an example. We discuss ways to build structures and policies in support of equitable environments that promote mental health at the population level and enable families and their children to thrive.

Barriers and enablers of older adults initiating a deprescribing conversation.

OBJECTIVE: To examine older adults' perceptions and identify barriers and enablers to initiating a conversation about stopping medication(s) with their healthcare provider. METHODS: We conducted one focus group (n = 3) and in-depth, face-to-face, individual interviews (n = 6) using an interview guide. Older adults aged ≥65 years in a retirement community who were taking ≥5 medications were recruited. Focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Both a deductive analysis, informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework, and an inductive analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Five themes and fourteen sub-themes were identified. Theme 1, 'older adult-related barriers', discusses limited or varying self-efficacy, past unsuccessful deprescribing experiences and limited familiarity with medications/deprescribing. Theme 2, 'provider-related barriers', discusses trust, short office visits, lack of communication and multiple providers. Theme 3, 'environmental/social-related barriers', involves limited availability of resources and access to telehealth/internet. The remaining themes (Themes 4-5) identified enablers including strategies to promote older adults' self-efficacy and improved healthcare communication. CONCLUSION: Consumer-centric tools could improve older adults' self-efficacy to initiate deprescribing conversations. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Removing barriers and implementing enablers may empower older adults to initiate deprescribing conversations with providers to take fewer medications. Ultimately, this could be a catalyst for increased translation of deprescribing in practice.

Self-Reported Speeding Among New York City Adult Drivers, 2015-2016.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury related deaths. Urban areas accommodate multiple road users and pedestrians account for a larger share of traffic fatalities. Speed reduction has been one component of New York City's multidisciplinary approach to reduce traffic fatalities-Vision Zero. Data from the New York City (NYC) Community Health Survey 2015-2016 were used to document population-based estimates of self-reported speeding (defined as driving ten miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit in the past 30 days) among NYC adult drivers collected soon after the adoption of Vision Zero in 2014. Self-reported speeding is common, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of adult drivers indicating they ever sped and 13% often speeding. In adjusted multivariable models, often speeding was more common among younger drivers vs. older drivers (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.77; 95%CI 1.93-3.98), males vs. females (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.59; 95%CI 1.35-1.87), wealthier drivers vs. poorer drivers (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.37; 95%CI 1.10-1.70) and those reporting worse perceived social cohesion vs. better perceived social cohesion (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.51; 95%CI 1.09-2.10). Population-based health surveys facilitate exploration of a range of potential influences on health behaviors.

Lessons Learned in Developing and Testing a Methotrexate Case Study for Pharmacy Education.

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a complex methotrexate ethics case used in teaching a Pharmacy Law and Ethics course. Qualitative analysis of student reflective writings provided useful insight into the students' experience and comfort level with the final ethics case in the course. These data demonstrate a greater student appreciation of different perspectives, the potential for conflict in communicating about such cases, and the importance of patient autonomy. Faculty lessons learned are also described, facilitating adoption of this methotrexate ethics case by other healthcare profession educators.

The role of surface active species in the fabrication and functionality of edible solid lipid particles.

Lipid particles are very promising candidates for utilisation as Pickering stabilisers, and fabrication of these species has been attracting considerable academic and industrial research. Nonetheless, current understanding of these systems is hindered by the fact that, as a whole, studies reporting on the fabrication and Pickering utilisation of lipid particles vary significantly in processing conditions being utilised and formulation parameters considered. The present study investigates, under well-controlled processing and formulation conditions, the fabrication of edible lipid particles from two lipid sources in the presence of two different types of amphiphilic species (surfactant or protein) via melt-emulsification and subsequent crystallisation. Fabricated solid lipid particles were assessed in terms of their particle size, interfacial and thermal behaviour, as well as stability, as these microstructure attributes have established links to Pickering functionality. Lipid particle size and stability were controlled by the type and concentration of the used amphiphilic species (affecting the melt emulsification step) and the type of lipid source (influencing the crystallisation step). Interfacial behaviour was closely linked to the type and concentration of the surface active component used. Finally, the types of lipid and amphiphilic agents employed were found to affect lipid particle thermal behaviour the most.

Linkage of traffic crash and hospitalization records with limited identifiers for enhanced public health surveillance.

BACKGROUND: Motor vehicle traffic (MVT) crashes kill or seriously injure approximately 4250 people in New York City (NYC) each year. Traditionally, NYC surveillance practices use hospitalization and crash data separately to monitor trends in MVT-related injuries, but key information linking crash circumstances to health outcomes is lost when analyzing these data sources in isolation. Our objective was to match crash reports to hospitalization records to create a traffic injury surveillance dataset that can be used to describe crash circumstances and related injury outcomes. The linkage of the two systems presents a unique challenge since the system tracking crashes and the system tracking hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits lack key identifying data such as names and dates of birth. METHODS: NYC Department of Transportation provided electronic records based on reports of motor vehicle crashes submitted to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for all crashes occurring in NYC from 2009 to 2013. New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) ED and hospitalization administrative data from NYC hospitals were used to identify unintentional MVT-related injuries using external cause of injury codes. Since the two systems do not share unique individual identifiers, probabilistic record linkage was conducted using LinkSolv9.0. Sensitivity/specificity calculations and chi-square analyses of linkage rates were conducted to assess linkage results. RESULTS: From 2009-2013, there were 1,054,344 individuals involved in MVT crashes in NYC and 280,340 ED visits and hospitalizations from MVT-related injuries. There were 145,003 linked pairs, giving a linkage rate of 52% of the total MVT-related hospital records. This linkage had a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 93%. Linkage rates were comparable by age, sex, crash role, collision type, hospital county, injury location, hospital type, and hospital status, indicating no apparent biases in the match by these variables. CONCLUSIONS: Performing a probabilistic linkage between MVT crash reports and hospitalization records is possible with a limited set of identifying variables. These linked data will inform traffic safety policies by providing new information on how crash circumstances translate to health outcomes.

A comparative study on the capacity of a range of food-grade particles to form stable O/W and W/O Pickering emulsions.

Whilst literature describing edible Pickering emulsions is becoming increasingly available, current understanding of these systems still suffers from a lack of consistency in terms of the (processing and formulation) conditions within which these structures have been studied. The current study aims to provide a comparative analysis of the behaviour of different edible Pickering candidates and their ability to stabilise emulsion droplets, under well-controlled and uniform experimental conditions, in order to clearly identify the particle properties necessary for successful Pickering functionality. More specifically, an extensive investigation into the suitability of various food-grade material to act as Pickering particles and provide stable oil-in-water (O/W) and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions was carried out. Polysaccharide and flavonoid particles were characterised in terms of their size, ζ-potential, interfacial activity and wettability, under equivalent conditions. Particles were subsequently used to stabilise 20% w/w O/W and W/O emulsions, in the absence of added surfactant or other known emulsifying agents, through different processing routes. All formed Pickering emulsions were shown to resist significant droplet size variation and remain stable at particle concentrations between 2 and 3% w/w. The main particle prerequisites for successful Pickering stabilisation were: particle size (200nm - 1µm); an affinity for the emulsion continuous phase and a sufficient particle charge to extend stability. Depending upon the employed emulsification process, the resulting emulsion formation and stability behaviour can be reasonably predicted a priori from the evaluation of specific particle characteristics.

Emulsion oil droplet size significantly affects satiety: A pre-ingestive approach.

Previous research has demonstrated that the manipulation of oil droplet size within oil-in-water emulsions significantly affects sensory characteristics, hedonics and expectations of food intake, independently of energy content. Smaller oil droplets enhanced perceived creaminess, increased Liking and generated greater expectations of satiation and satiety, indicating that creaminess is a satiety-relevant sensory cue within these systems. This paper extends these findings by investigating the effect of oil droplet size (d4,3: 2 and 50 µm) on food intake and appetite. Male participants (n = 34 aged 18-37; BMI of 22.7 ± 1.6 kg/m(2); DEBQ restricted eating score of 1.8 ± 0.1.) completed two test days, where they visited the laboratory to consume a fixed-portion breakfast, returning 3 h later for a "drink", which was the emulsion preload containing either 2 or 50 µm oil droplets. This was followed 20 min later with an ad libitum pasta lunch. Participants consumed significantly less at the ad libitum lunch after the preload containing 2 µm oil droplets than after the 50 µm preload, with an average reduction of 12% (62.4 kcal). Despite the significant differences in intake, no significant differences in sensory characteristics were noted. The findings show that the impact that an emulsion has on satiety can be enhanced without producing significantly perceivable differences in sensory properties. Therefore, by introducing a processing step which results in a smaller droplets, emulsion based liquid food products can be produced that enhance satiety, allowing covert functional redesign. Future work should consider the mechanism responsible for this effect.

Designing food structures for nutrition and health benefits.

In addition to providing specific sensory properties (e.g., flavor or textures), there is a need to produce foods that also provide functionality within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, over and above simple nutrition. As such, there is a need to understand the physical and chemical processes occurring in the mouth, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, in addition to the food structure-physiology interactions. In vivo techniques and in vitro models have allowed us to study and simulate these processes, which aids us in the design of food microstructures that can provide functionality within the human body. Furthermore, it is important to be aware of the health or nutritional needs of different groups of consumers when designing food structures, to provide targeted functionality. Examples of three groups of consumers (elderly, obese, and athletes) are given to demonstrate their differing nutritional requirements and the formulation engineering approaches that can be utilized to improve the health of these individuals. Eating is a pleasurable process, but foods of the future will be required to provide much more in terms of functionality for health and nutrition.

Rax2 is important for directional establishment of growth sites, but not for reorientation of growth axes, during Candida albicans hyphal morphogenesis.

Hyphae of filamentous fungi maintain generally linear growth over long distances. In Candida albicans, hyphae are able to reorient their growth in the direction of certain environmental cues. In previous work, the C. albicans bud-site selection proteins Rsr1 and Bud2 were identified as important for hyphae to maintain linear growth and were necessary for hyphal responses to directional cues in the environment (tropisms). To ask if hyphal directional responses are general functions of all yeast bud-site selection proteins, we studied the role of Rax2, ortholog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae bud-site selection protein Rax2, in C. albicans hyphal morphogenesis. Rax2-YFP localized to the hyphal cell surface in puncta and at the hyphal tip in a crescent. Strains lacking Rax2 had hyphal morphologies that did not differ from control strains. In non-cued growth conditions, rax2 mutant strains had defects in both yeast (bud) and hyphal (branch) site selection and mutant hyphae exhibited non-linear growth trajectories as compared to control hyphae. In contrast, when encountering a directional environmental cue, hyphae lacking Rax2 retained the ability to reorient growth in response to both topographical (thigmotropism) and electric-field (galvanotropism) stimuli but exhibited a reduced ability to establish hyphal growth in the direction of a cathodal stimulus. In conclusion, these results indicate that C. albicans Rax2 is important for establishing sites of emergence of yeast and hyphal daughters and for maintaining the linearity of hyphal growth. In contrast to Rsr1 and Bud2, Rax2 is not involved in responses that require a reorientation of the direction of already established hyphal growth (tropisms). Thus, it appears that some hyphal directionality responses are separable in that they are mediated by a different set of polarity proteins.

Preventive dental care among New York City children, 2009.

This study aims to describe the prevalence of preventive dental care among New York City (NYC) children, including disparities by race/ethnicity or poverty and to identify health care utilization factors associated with these outcomes. Data were obtained from the 2009 NYC Child Community Health Survey. Descriptive statistics were calculated for preventive dental visits in the past 12 months among children aged 2-12 years (n = 2,435) and receipt of sealants among children aged 6-12 years (n = 1,416). Multivariable logistic regression was used to compute adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs). One in four (23.3 %) NYC children aged 2-12 years, including 57.3 % of 2-3-year olds, had no preventive dental visit in the past 12 months. Lack of preventive visits was more prevalent among Asian/Pacific Islander children compared with non-Hispanic white children (aPR 1.42 [95 % CI 1.07-1.89]), and among children living in poorer households compared with wealthier households (aPR 1.47 [95 % CI 1.13-1.92]). Two-thirds (64.5 %) of children aged 6-12 years never had sealants. Compared with non-Hispanic white children, Asian/Pacific Islander (aPR 1.26 [95 % CI 1.01-1.56]), non-Hispanic black (aPR 1.24 [95 % CI 1.06-1.46]), and Hispanic (aPR 1.21 [95 % CI 1.04-1.41]) children were more likely not to have sealants, as were children without a personal health care provider compared with children with a provider (aPR 1.33 [95 % CI 1.14-1.56]). Disparities in preventive dental care exist by race/ethnicity, poverty, and health care utilization. Personal health care providers may improve children's oral health by linking them to preventive dental care and promoting sealant application.

Matrix adhesion polarizes heart progenitor induction in the invertebrate chordate Ciona intestinalis.

Cell-matrix adhesion strongly influences developmental signaling. Resulting impacts on cell migration and tissue morphogenesis are well characterized. However, the in vivo impact of adhesion on fate induction remains ambiguous. Here, we employ the invertebrate chordate Ciona intestinalis to delineate an essential in vivo role for matrix adhesion in heart progenitor induction. In Ciona pre-cardiac founder cells, invasion of the underlying epidermis promotes localized induction of the heart progenitor lineage. We found that these epidermal invasions are associated with matrix adhesion along the pre-cardiac cell/epidermal boundary. Through targeted manipulations of RAP GTPase activity, we were able to manipulate pre-cardiac cell-matrix adhesion. Targeted disruption of pre-cardiac cell-matrix adhesion blocked heart progenitor induction. Conversely, increased matrix adhesion generated expanded induction. We were also able to selectively restore cell-matrix adhesion and heart progenitor induction through targeted expression of Ci-Integrin ß2. These results indicate that matrix adhesion functions as a necessary and sufficient extrinsic cue for regional heart progenitor induction. Furthermore, time-lapse imaging suggests that cytokinesis acts as an intrinsic temporal regulator of heart progenitor adhesion and induction. Our findings highlight a potentially conserved role for matrix adhesion in early steps of vertebrate heart progenitor specification.

Rsr1 focuses Cdc42 activity at hyphal tips and promotes maintenance of hyphal development in Candida albicans.

The extremely elongated morphology of fungal hyphae is dependent on the cell's ability to assemble and maintain polarized growth machinery over multiple cell cycles. The different morphologies of the fungus Candida albicans make it an excellent model organism in which to study the spatiotemporal requirements for constitutive polarized growth and the generation of different cell shapes. In C. albicans, deletion of the landmark protein Rsr1 causes defects in morphogenesis that are not predicted from study of the orthologous protein in the related yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, thus suggesting that Rsr1 has expanded functions during polarized growth in C. albicans. Here, we show that Rsr1 activity localizes to hyphal tips by the differential localization of the Rsr1 GTPase-activating protein (GAP), Bud2, and guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF), Bud5. In addition, we find that Rsr1 is needed to maintain the focused localization of hyphal polarity structures and proteins, including Bem1, a marker of the active GTP-bound form of the Rho GTPase, Cdc42. Further, our results indicate that tip-localized Cdc42 clusters are associated with the cell's ability to express a hyphal transcriptional program and that the ability to generate a focused Cdc42 cluster in early hyphae (germ tubes) is needed to maintain hyphal morphogenesis over time. We propose that in C. albicans, Rsr1 "fine-tunes" the distribution of Cdc42 activity and that self-organizing (Rsr1-independent) mechanisms of polarized growth are not sufficient to generate narrow cell shapes or to provide feedback to the transcriptional program during hyphal morphogenesis.

A randomized controlled trial of a comprehensive migraine intervention prior to discharge from an emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: Patients who use an emergency department (ED) for acute migraine headaches have higher migraine disability scores, lower socioeconomic status, and are unlikely to have used a migraine-specific medication prior to presentation to the ED. The objective was to determine if a comprehensive migraine intervention, delivered just prior to ED discharge, could improve migraine impact scores 1 month after the ED visit. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial of a comprehensive migraine intervention versus typical care among patients who presented to an ED for management of acute migraine. At the time of discharge, for patients randomized to comprehensive care, the research team reinforced their diagnosis, shared a migraine education presentation from the National Library of Medicine, provided them with six tablets of sumatriptan 100 mg and 14 tablets of naproxen 500 mg, and if they wished, provided them with an expedited free appointment to the institution's headache clinic. Patients randomized to typical care received the care their attending emergency physicians (EPs) felt was appropriate. The primary outcome was a between-group comparison of the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) score, a validated headache assessment instrument, 1 month after ED discharge. Secondary outcomes included an assessment of satisfaction with headache care and use of migraine-specific medication within that 1-month period. RESULTS: Over a 19-month period, 50 migraine patients were enrolled. One-month follow-up was successfully obtained in 92% of patients. Baseline characteristics were comparable. One-month HIT-6 scores in the two groups were nearly identical (59 vs. 56, 95% confidence interval [CI] for difference of 3 = -5 to 11), as was dissatisfaction with overall headache care (17% vs. 18%, 95% CI for difference of 1% = -22% to 24%). Patients randomized to the comprehensive intervention were more likely to be using triptans or migraine-specific therapy (43% vs. 0%, 95% CI for difference of 43% = 20 to 63%) 1 month later. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive migraine intervention, when compared to typical care, did not improve HIT-6 scores (a validated measure of the effect of migraine on one's daily life) 1 month after ED discharge. Future work is needed to define a migraine intervention that is practical and useful in an ED, where many underserved patients, of necessity, present for care.

In vitro effects of herbicides and insecticides on human breast cells.

Numerous studies have indicated that the pesticides and herbicides used in agricultural processes in the United States and Europe may have detrimental effects upon human health. Many of these compounds have been indicated as potential endocrine and reproductive disruptors, although the studies have examined supraphysiological levels well above the US EPA safe levels for drinking water and have often examined these effects in "model" cell lines such as Chinese hamster ovary cells. We have now examined the cytotoxicity of more environmentally relevant concentrations of four herbicides, acetochlor, atrazine, cyanazine, and simazine, and two insecticides, chlorpyrifos and resmethrin, in three human breast cell lines. Interestingly, cytotoxicity was not observed in the estrogen-dependent MCF-7 mammary epithelial carcinoma cells; rather increases in cell viability were seen for some of the compounds at select concentrations. These results vary greatly from what was observed in the estrogen independent MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and the non-cancerous MCF-10A breast cells. This gives insight into how different tumors may respond to pesticide exposure and allows us to make more accurate conclusions about the potential cytotoxicity or, at times, stimulatory actions of these pesticides.

Impact of osteopathic manipulative treatment on secretory immunoglobulin a levels in a stressed population.

CONTEXT: High levels of human secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) have been shown to decrease the incidence of acquiring upper respiratory tract infections. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) has been shown to improve cardiac indices, increase lymph flow rates through the thoracic duct, and decrease sympathetic tone in postoperative patients and those in intensive care. Therefore, we hypothesized that OMT may also increase sIgA levels in people under high levels of emotional and psychological stress, thereby enhancing immunity and potentially preventing subsequent infections. OBJECTIVE: To determine if OMT increases sIgA levels in highly stressed individuals. METHODS: Twenty-five second-year osteopathic medical students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=12) or a control group (n=13). All participants were scheduled to take their national board examination (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA) within 2 to 3 weeks after the experiment. After each participant submitted a saliva sample for a baseline sIgA level assessment, the experimental group received 20 minutes of OMT while the control group sat quietly and relaxed in a separate area for 20 minutes. Participants in both groups rested quietly for 1 hour after the 20-minute session and then submitted a second saliva sample. RESULTS: A 2 × 2 repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that the experimental group displayed a statistically significant greater increase in postintervention sIgA levels than the control group (F1,23), 5.92; P<.025). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the positive effect of OMT on sIgA levels in persons experiencing high stress. Results suggest that OMT may then have therapeutic preventive and protective effects on both healthy and hospitalized patients, especially those experiencing high levels of emotional or physiological stress and those at higher risk of acquiring upper respiratory tract infections.

ERα-associated protein networks.

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that, upon binding hormone, interacts with specific recognition sequences in DNA. An extensive body of literature has documented the association of individual regulatory proteins with ERα. It has recently become apparent that, instead of simply recruiting individual proteins, ERα recruits interconnected networks of proteins with discrete activities that play crucial roles in maintaining the structure and function of the receptor, stabilizing the receptor-DNA interaction, influencing estrogen-responsive gene expression, and repairing misfolded proteins and damaged DNA. Together these studies suggest that the DNA-bound ERα serves as a nucleating factor for the recruitment of protein complexes involved in key processes including the oxidative stress response, DNA repair, and transcription regulation.

Two regions within the proximal steroidogenic factor 1 promoter drive somatic cell-specific activity in developing gonads of the female mouse.

Targets of steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1; also known as NR5A1 and AD4BP) have been identified within cells at every level of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal and -adrenal axes, revealing SF1 to be a master regulator of major endocrine systems. Mouse embryos express SF1 in the genital ridge until Embryonic Day 13.5 (E13.5). Thereafter, expression persists in the male and is substantially lower in the female gonad until birth. We hypothesize that the sexually dimorphic expression of Sf1 during gonadogenesis is mediated by sex-specific regulation of its promoter. To investigate dimorphic regulation within the fetal gonad, we developed an experimental strategy using transient transfection of E13.5 gonad explant cultures and evaluated various Sf1 promoter constructs for sexually dimorphic DNA elements. The proximal Sf1 promoter correctly targeted reporter activity to SF1-expressing cells in both XY and XX gonads. Stepwise deletion of sequences from the Sf1 promoter revealed two regions that affected regulation within female gonads. Mutation of both sequences together did not cause further disruption of reporter activity, suggesting the two sites might work in concert to promote activity in female somatic cells. Results from gel mobility shift assays and fetal gonad-chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that TCFAP2 binds to one of the two female-specific sites within the proximal promoter of Sf1. Together, we show that transient transfection experiments performed within developing testes and ovaries are a powerful tool to uncover elements within the Sf1 promoter that contribute to sex-specific expression.

Histone H1 phosphorylation is associated with transcription by RNA polymerases I and II.

Histone H1 phosphorylation affects chromatin condensation and function, but little is known about how specific phosphorylations impact the function of H1 variants in higher eukaryotes. In this study, we show that specific sites in H1.2 and H1.4 of human cells are phosphorylated only during mitosis or during both mitosis and interphase. Antisera generated to individual H1.2/H1.4 interphase phosphorylations reveal that they are distributed throughout nuclei and enriched in nucleoli. Moreover, interphase phosphorylated H1.4 is enriched at active 45S preribosomal RNA gene promoters and is rapidly induced at steroid hormone response elements by hormone treatment. Our results imply that site-specific interphase H1 phosphorylation facilitates transcription by RNA polymerases I and II and has an unanticipated function in ribosome biogenesis and control of cell growth. Differences in the numbers, structure, and locations of interphase phosphorylation sites may contribute to the functional diversity of H1 variants.