The Drosophila segment polarity gene product Porcupine (Porc) was first identified as being necessary for processing Wingless (Wg), a Drosophila Wnt (Wnt) family member. Mouse and Xenopus homologs of porc (Mporc and Xporc) were identified and found to encode endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins with multiple transmembrane domains. In contrast with porc, four different types of Mporc and Xporc mRNA (A±D) are generated from a single gene by alternative splicing. Mporc mRNA is differentially expressed during embryogenesis and in various adult tissues, demonstrating that the alternative splicing is regulated to synthesize the specific types of Mporc. In transfected mammalian cells, all Mporc types affect the processing of mouse Wnt 1, 3A, 4, 6, and 7B but not 5A. Furthermore, all Mporc types are co-immunoprecipitated with various Wnt proteins. These results suggest that Mporc may function as a chaperone-like molecule for Wnt. Interestingly, all Mporc types can substitute for Porc, as they are able to rescue the phenotypes of Drosophila porc embryos. Consistent with this observation, Mporc, like Porc, modifies the processing of Wg expressed in mammalian cells. These results demonstrate that the porc gene family encodes the multitransmembrane ER proteins, which are evolutionarily well conserved and involved in processing the Wnt family.

Pronatal norms exist in various countries to varying degrees. Depending on the strength of pronatalism, adults who remain childless can experience negative sanctions that could affect their happiness and life satisfaction. We test these ideas on childless respondents from 36 nations in two waves of the World Values Survey (1994-1999 and 1999-2004). Childless adults are unhappier and less satisfied if they live in highly pronatalist nations than in other nations. The negative relationship between childlessness and life satisfaction is stronger for childless people in strongly pronatalist nations that have below-replacement fertility or low-to-medium scores on the Human Development Index than in strongly pronatalist nations with at- or above-replacement fertility or high scores on the Human Development Index. The findings show the importance of taking national-level contextual factors into account in understanding the mental well-being of childless people.

Despite the clubhouse model's 60-year existence internationally, the central nature of its core program, the "work-ordered day" (WOH) (Beard et al. in Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal 5:47-53, 1982), is not well understood; hence, the primary focus of the present study was to explore members' experiences of the nature and meaning of the WOH. The study drew on qualitative interview data collected in 2009-2013 through open-ended questions and probes with 102 members and 24 staff from 5 Clubhouse International-certified clubhouses (2 US and 3 Finnish). Participant observation supplemented the interviews and all data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Charmaz in Rethinking methods in psychology, 1995; Glaser and Strauss in The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research, 1967). Two major themes clustered around: (a) WOH in service of autonomy (things to do, sense of accomplishment, respite, development of occupational skills) and (b) WOH in service of relationships (receiving support; collaboration; and making contributions to the clubhouse community). Clubhouse members appeared to experience the WOH as meaningful because it helps them, as its best, reconstruct a life, develop their occupational self and skill sets, and experientially learn and live what parallels a good life in the general community. It appears that these experiences, interconnecting with the fundamental human needs for autonomy and relationship, point to wellbeing and recovery as part of personal growth. These findings can guide clubhouse daily practice in assessing members' psychosocial strengths and needs pertaining to recovery. Future research should elaborate on influences of sources of meaning, including work designs and the contributions of everyday socio-cultural interactive and reciprocal processes to these meanings.

To explore how member, staff, and family experience the contributions of the clubhouse model to outcomes for adults with severe mental illness. Given the significant role social and vocational arenas play in promoting wellbeing, irrespective of health status, explorations of the role such arenas can play in helping individuals accomplish their life and vocational goals may be useful in guiding policy and practice. A metaethnography was conducted using 11 qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2015. Four themes and an overarching metaphor were identified: (1) Stepping out of limiting realities; (2) anchoring; (3) creating ways of flourishing; and (4) prospects of a life outside the clubhouse. "Pushing out the boat" as a metaphor holds promise in facilitating discussions about the subjective outcomes of the clubhouse model and for expanding knowledge about clubhouses as multi-dimensional programs that provide social, educational, and vocational opportunities for adults recovering from mental health problems. Our findings show that clubhouses are valuable communities for meaningful doings for individuals to build self-confidence, relations, and perspective-all crucial for processes of recovery. Clubhouses provide people a place to establish an anchor in a supportive environment where they can try things out and regain their self-confidence. From there, they may choose to push their boat out. However, many members might need to choose not to-the seas may be too rough or their boat may not yet be strong enough for the journey. Further research is needed to examine members' experiences with integration into mainstream social networks and employment. It will also be important to examine how practitioners can intentionally interact with Clubhouse members and their families to promote the individuals' processes of social integration outside the clubhouse.

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