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Spatial behavior, including home-ranging behaviors, habitat selection, and movement, can be extremely informative in estimating how animals respond to landscape heterogeneity. Responses in these spatial behaviors to factors such as human modification and resources on the landscape can highlight a species’ spatial strategy to maximize fitness and minimize risk. These strategies can vary on spatial, temporal, and individual scales, and the combination of behaviors on these scales can lead to very different strategies among species. Harnessing the variation present at these scales, we developed a framework for predicting how species may respond to changes in their environments on a gradient ranging from generic, where a species exhibits broad-stroke spatial responses to their environment, to nuanced, in which a species uses a combination of temporal and spatial strategies paired with functional responses in selection behaviors. Using 46 GPS-tracked bobcats and coyotes inhabiting a landscape encompassing a range of human modification, we evaluated where each species falls along the generic-to-nuanced gradient. Bobcats and coyotes studied occupied opposite ends of this gradient, using different strategies in response to human modification in their home ranges, with bobcats broadly expanding their home range with increases in human modification and clearly selecting for or avoiding features on the landscape with temporal consistency. Meanwhile, coyotes did not expand their home ranges with human modification, but instead displayed temporal and spatial adjustments in their functional responses to human modification. These differences in response to habitat, resources, and risk between the two species highlighted the variation in spatial behaviors animals can use to exist in anthropogenic environments influenced by interspecific variation in behavioral plasticity. Categorizing animal spatial behavior based on the generic-to-nuanced gradient can help in predicting how a species will respond to future change based on their current spatial behavior.

Global detection and identification of protein post-translational modification (PTM) is a major bottleneck due to its dynamic property and rather low abundance. Tremendous efforts have been since made to develop antibody-based immunoaffinity enrichment or bioorthogonal chemistry-based chemical reporter approach but both suffer from inherent limitations. Following our previously reported steric-free tagging strategy, we hereby report the invention of selenol as a new generation of fluorine-displacement probe. The fluorine-selenol based displacement reaction enabled us to efficiently label and image acetylation and glycosylation at cellular level. We further pursued FSeDR in tandem with SILAC based quantitative proteomics to globally profile acetylation substrate proteins in a representative prostate cancer cell line PC3. Our results unraveled the fluorine-based toolbox for powerful chemical biology probing and allow for the future study of PTMs in a systemic manner.

We have developed a novel bioorthogonal reaction that can selectively displace fluorine substitutions alpha to amide bonds. This fluorine–thiol displacement reaction (FTDR) allows for fluorinated cofactors or precursors to be utilized as chemical reporters, hijacking acetyltransferase-mediated acetylation both in vitro and in live cells, which cannot be achieved with azide- or alkyne-based chemical reporters. The fluoroacetamide labels can be further converted to biotin or fluorophore tags using FTDR, enabling the general detection and imaging of acetyl substrates. This strategy may lead to a steric-free labeling platform for substrate proteins, expanding our chemical toolbox for functional annotation of post-translational modifications in a systematic manner.

BackgroundRecent studies have suggested that fatty acid oxidation (FAO) is a key metabolic pathway for the growth of triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs), particularly those that have high expression of MYC. However, the underlying mechanism by which MYC promotes FAO remains poorly understood.MethodsWe used a combination of metabolomics, transcriptomics, bioinformatics, and microscopy to elucidate a potential mechanism by which MYC regulates FAO in TNBC.ResultsWe propose that MYC induces a multigenic program that involves changes in intracellular calcium signalling and fatty acid metabolism. We determined key roles for fatty acid transporters (CD36), lipases (LPL), and kinases (PDGFRB, CAMKK2, and AMPK) that each contribute to promoting FAO in human mammary epithelial cells that express oncogenic levels of MYC. Bioinformatic analysis further showed that this multigenic program is highly expressed and predicts poor survival in the claudin-low molecular subtype of TNBC, but not other subtypes of TNBCs, suggesting that efforts to target FAO in the clinic may best serve claudin-low TNBC patients.ConclusionWe identified critical pieces of the FAO machinery that have the potential to be targeted for improved treatment of patients with TNBC, especially the claudin-low molecular subtype.

We have developed a novel bioorthogonal reaction that can selectively displace fluorine substitutions alpha to amide bonds. This fluorine-thiol displacement reaction (FTDR) allows for fluorinated cofactors or precursors to be utilized as chemical reporters; hijacking acetyltransferase mediated acetylation both in vitro and in live cells, which cannot be achieved with azide- or al- kyne- based chemical reporters. The fluoroacetamide labels can be further converted to biotin or fluorophore tags using FTDR, enabling the general detection and imaging of acetyl substrates. This strategy may lead to a steric-free labeling platform for substrate proteins, expanding our chemical toolbox for functional annotation of post-translational modifications (PTMs) in a systematic manner.

Older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) in rural communities have less access to cardiac specialty care. Telehealth offers a viable approach to provide cardiac care, yet little is known about patients’ and providers’ views on telehealth’s potential to support rural patients with AF. This qualitative descriptive study examines patient and health providers’ perspectives, an important first step in planning a telehealth initiative. Eight patients with AF, along with one partner from rural communities, were recruited through an urban-based AF clinic. Five providers were recruited through professional practice leads in the health region. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with both stakeholder groups. The overriding theme was variability in patient and provider receptiveness to telehealth. Receptiveness reflected differences in past experience with telehealth, in perceived adequacy of rural health services, and in perceived gaps in AF care. These are important considerations in planning effective and sustainable telehealth in rural communities.

Objective:The purpose of this study was to explore the stressors and coping strategies of older adults with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) before and after direct current cardioversion. Method: The study used a qualitative descriptive design. Sixteen patients were recruited through an AF clinic to participate in individual interviews prior to the cardioversion and at 6 and 12 weeks post procedure. Results: Pre-cardioversion, older adults experienced symptom and health care–related stressors superimposed on existing non-AF stressors. They used a range of emotion and problem-focused coping. Non-AF stressors increased post procedure at the same time that participants perceived less need for coping strategies with a return to regular rhythm. Discussion: There was a shift from AF to non-AF related stressors following the cardioversion but a decrease in coping strategies. Older adults with AF should be encouraged to maintain use of coping strategies to manage ongoing stress and reduce the risk of AF recurrence.

Amino-terminal (N-terminal) sequence analysis is used to identify the order of amino acids of proteins or peptides, starting at their N-terminal end. This unit describes the sequence analysis of protein or peptide samples in solution or bound to PVDF membranes using a Perkin-Elmer Procise Sequencer. Sequence analysis of protein or peptide samples in solution or bound to PVDF membranes using a Hewlett-Packard Model G1005A sequencer is also described. Methods are provided for optimizing separation of PTH amino acid derivatives on Perkin-Elmer instruments and for increasing the proportion of sample injected onto the PTH analyzer on older Perkin-Elmer instruments by installing a modified sample loop. The amount of data obtained from a single sequencer run is substantial, and careful interpretation of this data by an experienced scientist familiar with the current operation performance of the instrument used for this analysis is critically important. A discussion of data interpretation is therefore provided. Finally, discussion of optimization of sequencer performance as well as possible solutions to frequently encountered problems is included.