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Background: Studies attempting to distinguish suicide attempters from ideators have found that impulsivity is consistently associated with attempts across the spectrum of suicidal behavior from self-harm to lethal suicidal behavior. Impulsivity is readily assessed using complementary clinical and laboratory measures, making it a viable target for pharmacological strategies to prevent suicide risk. Lithium reduces suicidal behavior across diagnoses, and has been implicated in the reduction of impulsivity triggered by stress mediated phosphatidylinositol turnover. We used a placebo controlled cross-over design to study the effects of repeated lithium dosing on risk factors predisposing to suicidal behavior. Methods: 15 patients with a recent (past year) medically severe suicide attempt (MSSA) (37.5% male, 40.13 ± 13.66 years) received lithium carbonate and matching pill placebo separately in a randomized double-blind crossover design administered six weeks apart. To test the effect of lithium on measures of impulsivity and arousal, participants completed the Immediate Memory Task (IMT), Internal State Scale (ISS), and the Time Perception Task (TPT). We conducted separate analyses for each variable using repeated measures analysis of covariance. Results: Lithium dosing was associated with increased IMT response latency (p = .017, pη2 = 0.23), and decision bias (p = .048, pη2 = 0.21). Lithium did not significantly alter time perception or activation. Conclusions: Our results suggest that lithium may reduce risk in MSSA survivors by increasing the response latency and increasing conservative response bias during decision-making. Future studies should conduct long-term follow-ups with adjunct behavioral therapy with lithium on factors contributing to suicidal behavior.

Abstract. Background. An increase in life expectancy has led to an increased elderly population. In turn, this aging population is more likely to develop health conditions, such as pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). This study aimed to assess the prevalence of these disorders and the associated quality of life in institutionalized and noninstitutionalized elderly women. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 80 female participants older than 60 years, divided into 2 groups: institutionalized and noninstitutionalized participants. The Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory Short-Form and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used. A chi-squared test was used to assess the differences in prevalence between groups. Results. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the prevalence of PFDs or quality of life. In this study, the prevalence of PFDs was higher than that reported previously. In institutionalized women, a higher prevalence of PFDs and impaired quality of life were expected, although not observed. Conclusions. There was a higher prevalence of pelvic disorders and impaired quality of life due to these disorders in elderly women.

Abstract A 6‐year‐old female spayed Great Dane was evaluated for acute onset cluster seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) identified a mass in the olfactory bulbs with a large mucoid component caudal to the primary mass. The mass was removed via transfrontal craniotomy and histopathology revealed a tyrosine crystalline‐rich, fibrous meningioma with a high mitotic index. Repeat MRI at 6 months showed no detectable tumor regrowth. The dog is clinically normal with no seizures at the time of publication 10 months after surgery. This meningioma subtype is rare in humans. This unique meningioma occurred in a dog of younger age and uncommon breed for intracranial meningioma. Biological progression of this tumor subtype is unknown; however, growth rate might be slow despite the high mitotic index.

Abstract Background Genetic variation in regulatory sequences that alter transcription factor (TF) binding is a major cause of phenotypic diversity. Brassinosteroid is a growth hormone that has major effects on plant phenotypes. Genetic variation in brassinosteroid-responsive cis-elements likely contributes to trait variation. Pinpointing such regulatory variations and quantitative genomic analysis of the variation in TF-target binding, however, remains challenging. How variation in transcriptional targets of signaling pathways such as the brassinosteroid pathway contributes to phenotypic variation is an important question to be investigated with innovative approaches. Results Here, we use a hybrid allele-specific chromatin binding sequencing (HASCh-seq) approach and identify variations in target binding of the brassinosteroid-responsive TF ZmBZR1 in maize. HASCh-seq in the B73xMo17 F1s identifies thousands of target genes of ZmBZR1. Allele-specific ZmBZR1 binding (ASB) has been observed for 18.3% of target genes and is enriched in promoter and enhancer regions. About a quarter of the ASB sites correlate with sequence variation in BZR1-binding motifs and another quarter correlate with haplotype-specific DNA methylation, suggesting that both genetic and epigenetic variations contribute to the high level of variation in ZmBZR1 occupancy. Comparison with GWAS data shows linkage of hundreds of ASB loci to important yield and disease-related traits. Conclusion Our study provides a robust method for analyzing genome-wide variations of TF occupancy and identifies genetic and epigenetic variations of the brassinosteroid response transcription network in maize.

Abstract Background Many plant species exhibit genetic variation for coping with environmental stress. However, there are still limited approaches to effectively uncover the genomic region that regulates distinct responsive patterns of the gene across multiple varieties within the same species under abiotic stress. Results By analyzing the transcriptomes of more than 100 maize inbreds, we reveal many cis- and trans-acting eQTLs that influence the expression response to heat stress. The cis-acting eQTLs in response to heat stress are identified in genes with differential responses to heat stress between genotypes as well as genes that are only expressed under heat stress. The cis-acting variants for heat stress-responsive expression likely result from distinct promoter activities, and the differential heat responses of the alleles are confirmed for selected genes using transient expression assays. Global footprinting of transcription factor binding is performed in control and heat stress conditions to document regions with heat-enriched transcription factor binding occupancies. Conclusions Footprints enriched near proximal regions of characterized heat-responsive genes in a large association panel can be utilized for prioritizing functional genomic regions that regulate genotype-specific responses under heat stress.

Abstract The Heat Shock Factor (HSF) transcription factor family is a central and required component of plant heat stress responses and acquired thermotolerance. The HSF family has dramatically expanded in plant lineages, often including a repertoire of 20 or more genes. Here we assess and compare the composition, heat responsiveness, and chromatin profiles of the HSF families in maize and Setaria viridis (Setaria), two model C4 panicoid grasses. Both species encode a similar number of HSFs, and examples of both conserved and variable expression responses to a heat stress event were observed between the two species. Chromatin accessibility and genome‐wide DNA‐binding profiles were generated to assess the chromatin of HSF family members with distinct responses to heat stress. We observed significant variability for both chromatin accessibility and promoter occupancy within similarly regulated sets of HSFs between Setaria and maize, as well as between syntenic pairs of maize HSFs retained following its most recent genome duplication event. Additionally, we observed the widespread presence of TF binding at HSF promoters in control conditions, even at HSFs that are only expressed in response to heat stress. TF‐binding peaks were typically near putative HSF‐binding sites in HSFs upregulated in response to heat stress, but not in stable or not expressed HSFs. These observations collectively support a complex scenario of expansion and subfunctionalization within this transcription factor family and suggest that within‐family HSF transcriptional regulation is a conserved, defining feature of the family.