bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
My Body is a Testimony: Appearance, Health, and Sin in an Evangelical Weight-loss Program
Authors: Gerber Lynne
Published: September 2009

Christian weight loss programs in the United States are significant sites of evangelical negotiation between cultural distinction and cultural participation. First Place, a Christian weight loss program sponsored in churches across the country, both appropriates dominant American concerns about health and fears of obesity, and reinscribes them in a cultural context that gives religious meaning to this seemingly worldly pursuit. The author, basing herself on qualitative research, examines three critical areas in which First Place distinguishes itself from its secular counterparts and renders weight loss a spiritually significant task: motivation for weight loss, the problem of physical appearance, and the question of sin. The author argues that First Place is an example of both evangelical submission to and cultivation of cultural capital and symbolic power.
Entre désécularisation et resacralisation: Bouddhistes laïcs, temples et organisations philanthropiques en Chine
Authors: Laliberté André
Published: September 2009

L’auteur se penche sur le renouveau de la philanthropie bouddhiste en République Populaire de Chine (RPC) durant la dernière décennie, dans le but d’aborder la problématique plus vaste de l’utilité sociale de la religion aux yeux des autorités politiques et de constater dans quelle mesure les récents débats relatifs à la théorie de la sécularisation peuvent être pertinents vis-à-vis de la réalité chinoise. Un contexte de changements considérables survenus au niveau des conditions politiques, économiques et sociales, caractérisé par un désengagement de l’État dans la prestation de plusieurs services sociaux, révèle l’émergence de la philanthropie bouddhiste. L’auteur décrit quelques organisations qui offrent une assistance aux plus démunis, voire certains services relatifs aux soins de santé et à l’éducation. Cet essor de la philanthropie bouddhiste, cependant, ne peut être interprété comme annonciateur d’un processus de “resacralisation” en Chine, puisque le Parti-État communiste poursuit une politique de sécularisation manifeste.
Toward a Contextualized Concept of Civil Religion
Authors: Lüchau Peter
Published: September 2009

A new definition of civil religion is needed because there are almost as many definitions as there are writers on the subject. By combining two existing concepts it can be shown that most existing definitions of civil religion are related. The two concepts are religious pluralism versus monoculture and public versus private religion. The first takes into consideration that civil religion will look different in a mono-religious country than in a multi-religious country. The second makes a distinction between civil religion at a rhetorical level (e.g. speeches) and at a personal level (individual religiosity). Although there are many different definitions of civil religion, the differences can be reconciled if the religious situation and the analytical level are taken into consideration. Hopefully this will make future discussions and analyses of civil religion more comparable.
Crosscultural Life of Social Values and Organizational Analysis: An Introduction to the Special Themed Section
Authors: Magala Slawomir
Published: September 2009

‘Crosscultural Life of Social Values’, a conference organized by the Rotterdam School of Management, Department of Organization Studies and Human Resource Management (Erasmus University, May 18—19, 2007) and International Association for Crosscultural Competence and Management (IACCM) signaled major challenges to the dominant theories of national and organizational cultures. Growing criticism of quasi-paradigmatic model of national culture (the Hofstedian canon) manifested increasing awareness of the need for a sustainable, ‘culturally attentive’ perspective on cross-cultural comparative studies. Latest AoM publications confirm post-paradigmatic shifts in theories of national and organizational cultures and in professionalization of cross-cultural competence.
Dynamic Diversity: Variety and Variation Within Countries
Authors: McSweeney Brendan
Published: September 2009

National models of social action over-privilege continuity and uniformity. They discount change — which they lack the capacity to explain (other than through exogenous shocks) — and neglect diversity within countries. This paper focuses on the national culture model which it argues requires commitment to illogical arguments and to suppositions which are theoretically and empirically untenable. An evaluation of each, it is argued, points to the existence of, and possibilities for, considerable national diversity and change — not pervasive and enduring national uniformity. Reflecting on the model’s rise and fall in anthropology, the paper also provides an outline explanation of its retention within organization studies and speculates about its future within that discipline.
Multiplicity Across Cultures: Multiple National Identities and Multiple Value Systems
Authors: Stelzl Monika , Seligman Clive
Published: September 2009

When we ask ourselves the question ‘Who am I?’, we usually utilize various self-descriptions through which we defined ourselves in the past. Those self-definitions may depend on group memberships, roles and social categories such as culture or religion. We were interested in the question of whether people with dual national identities associate distinct national value systems with each of those identities. In particular, we had focused on first and second generation Asian-Canadians and tested the hypothesis that distinct value systems are linked to each of one’s two national identities. Participants of South-East and East Asian origin or descent completed Schwartz’s (1992) value survey, once as Asians and once as Canadians. The participants revealed discrepancies in how they ranked the value types when instructed to do so as Canadians and as Asians. Specifically, the value types of universalism, self-direction, hedonism and stimulation were rated as significantly more important when participants were responding as Canadians, and the value types of conformity and tradition were rated significantly higher when the same participants were responding as Asians. These results are consistent with the results of other research that compares separate samples in Asia and in the West. But, the present research is fairly unusual in its examination and demonstration of separate value systems within individuals who have two national identities. The implications of having separate value systems associated with each of one’s national identities for the interplay between self-identification and culture and for value theory are discussed.
Through Western Eyes: Insights into the Intercultural Training Field
Authors: Szkudlarek Betina
Published: September 2009

Intercultural corporate training is a growing branch of the coaching and consulting industries and it appears to be both theory and practice driven. The growth of the relevant academic literature reveals a focus on the successful adaptation to host cultures and organizations, but little attention to the ethical dimensions of newly learned rules and newly accepted values. This article introduces a number of concerns related to ethical principles within this growing industry. The issues of profit-maximization, knowledge-access inequalities, the authenticity dilemma and the in-built Western bias of cross-cultural research are presented. Triggered by the author’s experiences in the intercultural corporate training industry and inspired by participation in a number of field-specific training-for-trainers events, this essai is an opening statement in a long-overdue discussion on ethics in intercultural training.
Solidarity in Question: Critical Theory, Labor, and Anti-Semitism
Authors: Smith David Norman
Published: September 2009

During World War II, Frankfurt School researchers studied attitudes in factories across America, finding high levels of anti-Semitism. Since the CIO’s birth in 1935, labor had grown meteorically and seemed fundamentally progressive. But the Frankfurt study of Labor anti-Semitism showed the other side of the coin — namely, that many workers held anti-Semitic views of a kind familiar from fascist propaganda, even during an anti-fascist war. In this issue of Critical Sociology, we excerpt Paul Massing’s contribution to this large unpublished study. Massing’s findings, and those of his co-authors, went almost entirely unnoticed and the corrosive bias they exposed has now largely vanished in the USA. Yet the findings of this study remain pertinent at a moment when, after many shifts of register and key, both labor and anti-Semitism remain significant global forces. The articles by present-day authors that accompany Massing’s article address related issues.
Es Kommt Die Nacht: Paul Massing, the Frankfurt School, and the Question of Labor Authoritarianism during World War II
Authors: Worrell Mark P.
Published: September 2009

During World War II, Paul Massing, a research assistant at the Institute of Social Research (the famous ‘Frankfurt School’), helped conduct one of the most important research projects in the history of Marxist sociology. Following on the Institute’s earlier work on family and authority dynamics as well as the Weimar proletariat study, the wartime American labor anti-Semitism study resulted in a massive report that was never published. This article introduces Paul Massing, his role in the labor study, and some important findings regarding the effect of union affiliation and other key variables in regard to working-class authoritarianism.
Union Influence on Worker Anti-Semitism during World War II
Authors: Massing Paul W.
Published: September 2009

Resistance to anti-Semitism, the avant-garde form of political and emotional authoritarianism, was found to be higher among the younger and more highly educated workers organized by the CIO during World War II than those belonging to the AFL or simply unorganized. The CIO’s greater integration of women also contributed greatly to this group’s lower levels of anti-Jewish hatred.
Race-Making and the Garrison State
Authors: Cassano Graham
Published: September 2009

This essay explores the implications of Paul Massing’s findings that CIO union members were slightly more resistant to authoritarianism than AFL affiliated unionists. I begin by sketching the contours of the different forms of union consciousness produced by the AFL’s craft unionism and the CIO’s industrial unionism. Then, paying special attention to the ‘ethnic’ constituency of CIO unions, I argue that the CIO offered a particularly egalitarian vision of union democracy, at least until the onset of World War II. In the second half of the essay, I examine cinematic representations of race and the manner in which those representations corresponded to a changing racial consciousness among American workers. I end with a discussion of the contours of Cold War unionism, the decline of union democracy as a result of the wartime ‘no-strike’ pledge and Taft-Hartley, and the manner in which the American union movement displaced exploitation onto a racialized ‘Third World’ work force.
Speculative Profit Fetishism in the Age of Finance Capital
Authors: Krier Dan
Published: September 2009

This article tracks the rise of a new speculative form of ‘profit fetishism’ in the American stock market in the late 20th century as the control of American corporations shifted decisively from production-oriented managers to earning-oriented stockholders. During these years, speculative capitalists made the trading price of corporate stock the primary focus of corporate management. The heightened focus upon stock price coincided with a convergence of stock market actors upon the capitalized earnings model as the primary frame used to value corporate stock, displacing two formerly dominant frames, which focused (respectively) on hard assets and dividend payouts. Despite the notoriously unreliable and unstable nature of speculative accounting with respect to projected future earnings, such accounting profits have become the fetish of an age of speculative finance capital.
A Tough ‘Cell’: Implementing Lean Production at Toledo Jeep
Authors: Howison Jeffrey D.
Published: September 2009

This article attempts to expose the contradictions embedded in lean production by examining the early stages of transition from a Fordist to ‘lean’ model at the Toledo Jeep Assembly Plant in north-west Ohio. Initial research was conducted during 1999 and 2000 — prior to the opening of the new production facility — and is based on interviews with production workers, UAW representatives, and plant management, in addition to direct observations and content analyses of DaimlerChrysler documents. The effort is seen as part of a larger literature that deals with changing perceptions of, resistance to, and acceptance of new forms of work.
Maquiladora Production, Rising Expectations, and Alterglobalization Strategy
Authors: Horowitz Mark
Published: September 2009

Hailed by advocates as engines of job growth, the export factories in Mexico’s maquiladora zone often spur severe criticism in activist circles for worker exploitation and abuses. Yet how do workers themselves perceive their wages and working conditions? In this essay I draw from several years of cross-border advocacy and 130 interviews with maquiladora workers in Reynosa and Juarez, Mexico to describe workers’ perceptions. I demonstrate that workers’ views are dynamic and ambivalent, bound up with their migratory histories and cross-border reference groups. Specifically, workers tend to express contentment with their working conditions, while sharply condemning their wages. Next, I consider the implications of the growing ‘cross-border justice movement’ along the Mexico-US border. I argue that a deepening of transnational advocacy networks holds the most strategic promise as a ‘counterhegemonic’, progressive politics.
Evolution of the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS) 1998–2008
Authors: Warren Charles W. , Lee Juliette , Lea Veronica , Goding Ann , O'hara Brandon , Carlberg Michelle , Asma Samira , Mckenna Matthew
Published: September 2009

Tobacco use is one of the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Given that country-specific international data on tobacco use were limited or nonexistent, in 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) initiated the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS) to assist countries in establishing tobacco control surveillance and monitoring programs. GTSS includes collection of data through three school-based surveys: the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) for youth; the Global School Personnel Survey (GSPS), and the Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) for adults; and one household survey: the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) for adults. The GTSS provides a globally implemented and consistent framework for conducting surveillance including standard sampling procedures, core questionnaire items, training in field procedures and analysis of data consistent across all GTSS countries. The GTSS also enhances the role of the nongovernmental sector by supporting participation of civil society agencies in surveillance, monitoring, and policy and program development. The synergy between countries passing tobacco control laws, regulations or decrees, ratifying and complying with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and conducting GTSS surveys offers a unique opportunity to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive tobacco control policy that can be helpful to each country document the development, growth, and collaboration in sustaining the GTSS. The report highlights countries’ involvement in tobacco control measures and the establishment of comprehensive tobacco control programs worldwide. This report can assist countries in prioritizing and developing tobacco control programs, including surveillance, evaluation, and policy development. (Global Health Promotion, 2009; Supp (2): pp. 04-37)
Change in tobacco use among 13-15 year olds between 1999 and 2008: Findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey
Authors: Warren Charles W. , Lea Veronica , Lee Juliette , Jones Nathan R. , Asma Samira , Mckenna Matthew
Published: September 2009

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the world; yet little is known about the levels or patterns of youth tobacco use on a global basis. The purpose of this paper is to focus on change in youth tobacco use using data from 100 sites that have conducted repeat Global Youth Tobacco Surveys (GYTS). The GYTS is a school-based survey that collects data from students aged 13–15 years using a standardized methodology for constructing the sample frame, selecting schools and classes, and processing data. GYTS is conducted in school classes using self-administered anonymous data collection. The GYTS sample produces representative, independent, cross-sectional estimates for each sampling frame. Of the 100 sites surveyed, 61 reported no change over time in prevalence of cigarette smoking, likewise in 50 of the 97 sites with data on use of other tobacco products there was no change. However, 34 sites reported an increase in other tobacco use. This appears to be attributed to waterpipe, an emerging trend in tobacco use. Evidence was found supporting the idea that tobacco use among adolescent girls is likely increasing. The global tobacco control effort continues to face many challenges in reversing the tobacco epidemic. Few countries have implemented comprehensive tobacco control legislation laid out by the World Health Organization. The few countries that have adopted some of these proven policies can serve as examples in achieving positive results in curbing the tobacco epidemic. (Global Health Promotion, 2009; Supp (2): pp. 38–90)
Formulation of novel lipid-coated magnetic nanoparticles as the probe for in vivo imaging
Authors: Huang Huey-Chung , Chang Po-Yuan , Chang Karen , Chen Chao-Yu , Lin Chung-Wu , Chen Jyh-Horng , Mou Chung-Yuan , Chang Zee-Fen , Chang Fu-Hsiung
Published: September 2009

Background

Application of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) as the contrast agent has improved the quality of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Low efficiency of loading the commercially available iron oxide nanoparticles into cells and the cytotoxicity of previously formulated complexes limit their usage as the image probe. Here, we formulated new cationic lipid nanoparticles containing SPIOs feasible forin vivoimaging.

Methods

Hydrophobic SPIOs were incorporated into cationic lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-3-(trimethylammonium) propane (DOTAP) and polyethylene-glycol-2000-1,2-distearyl-3-sn-phosphatidylethanolamine (PEG-DSPE) based micelles by self-assembly procedure to form lipid-coated SPIOs (L-SPIOs). Trace amount of Rhodamine-dioleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (Rhodamine-DOPE) was added as a fluorescent indicator. Particle size and zeta potential of L-SPIOs were determined by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV), respectively. HeLa, PC-3 and Neuro-2a cells were tested for loading efficiency and cytotoxicity of L-SPIOs using fluorescent microscopy, Prussian blue staining and flow cytometry. L-SPIO-loaded CT-26 cells were tested forin vivoMR imaging.

Results

The novel formulation generates L-SPIOs particle with the average size of 46 nm. We showed efficient cellular uptake of these L-SPIOs with cationic surface charge into HeLa, PC-3 and Neuro-2a cells. The L-SPIO-loaded cells exhibited similar growth potential as compared to unloaded cells, and could be sorted by a magnet stand over ten-day duration. Furthermore, when SPIO-loaded CT-26 tumor cells were injected into Balb/c mice, the growth status of these tumor cells could be monitored using optical and MR images.

Conclusion

We have developed a novel cationic lipid-based nanoparticle of SPIOs with high loading efficiency, low cytotoxicity and long-term imaging signals. The results suggested these newly formulated non-toxic lipid-coated magnetic nanoparticles as a versatile image probe for cell tracking.
Finding local communities in protein networks
Authors: Voevodski Konstantin , Teng Shang-Hua , Xia Yu
Published: September 2009

Background

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play fundamental roles in nearly all biological processes, and provide major insights into the inner workings of cells. A vast amount of PPI data for various organisms is available from BioGRID and other sources. The identification of communities in PPI networks is of great interest because they often reveal previously unknown functional ties between proteins. A large number of global clustering algorithms have been applied to protein networks, where the entire network is partitioned into clusters. Here we take a different approach by looking for local communities in PPI networks.

Results

We develop a tool, named Local Protein Community Finder, which quickly finds a community close to a queried protein in any network available from BioGRID or specified by the user. Our tool uses two new local clustering algorithms Nibble and PageRank-Nibble, which look for a good cluster among the most popular destinations of a short random walk from the queried vertex. The quality of a cluster is determined by proportion of outgoing edges, known as conductance, which is a relative measure particularly useful in undersampled networks. We show that the two local clustering algorithms find communities that not only form excellent clusters, but are also likely to be biologically relevant functional components. We compare the performance of Nibble and PageRank-Nibble to other popular and effective graph partitioning algorithms, and show that they find better clusters in the graph. Moreover, Nibble and PageRank-Nibble find communities that are more functionally coherent.

Conclusion

The Local Protein Community Finder, accessible at http://xialab.bu.edu/resources/lpcf, allows the user to quickly find a high-quality community close to a queried protein in any network available from BioGRID or specified by the user. We show that the communities found by our tool form good clusters and are functionally coherent, making our application useful for biologists who wish to investigate functional modules that a particular protein is a part of.
Feature selection for fMRI-based deception detection
Authors: Jin Bo , Strasburger Alvin , Laken Steven J , Kozel F Andrew , Johnson Kevin A , George Mark S , Lu Xinghua
Published: September 2009

Background

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a technology used to detect brain activity. Patterns of brain activation have been utilized as biomarkers for various neuropsychiatric applications. Detecting deception based on the pattern of brain activation characterized with fMRI is getting attention – with machine learning algorithms being applied to this field in recent years. The high dimensionality of fMRI data makes it a difficult task to directly utilize the original data as input for classification algorithms in detecting deception. In this paper, we investigated the procedures of feature selection to enhance fMRI-based deception detection.

Results

We used the t-statistic map derived from the statistical parametric mapping analysis of fMRI signals to construct features that reflect brain activation patterns. We subsequently investigated various feature selection methods including an ensemble method to identify discriminative features to detect deception. Using 124 features selected from a set of 65,166 original features as inputs for a support vector machine classifier, our results indicate that feature selection significantly enhanced the classification accuracy of the support vector machine in comparison to the models trained using all features and dimension reduction based models. Furthermore, the selected features are shown to form anatomic clusters within brain regions, which supports the hypothesis that specific brain regions may play a role during deception processes.

Conclusion

Feature selection not only enhances classification accuracy in fMRI-based deception detection but also provides support for the biological hypothesis that brain activities in certain regions of the brain are important for discrimination of deception.
Mechanism-anchored profiling derived from epigenetic networks predicts outcome in acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Yang Xinan , Huang Yong , Chen James L , Xie Jianming , Sun Xiao , Lussier Yves A
Published: September 2009

Background

Current outcome predictors based on "molecular profiling" rely on gene lists selected without consideration for their molecular mechanisms. This study was designed to demonstrate that we could learn about genes related to a specific mechanism and further use this knowledge to predict outcome in patients – a paradigm shift towards accurate "mechanism-anchored profiling". We propose a novel algorithm, PGnet, which predicts a tripartite mechanism-anchored network associated to epigenetic regulation consisting of phenotypes, genes and mechanisms. Genes termed as GEMs in this network meet all of the following criteria: (i) they are co-expressed with genes known to be involved in the biological mechanism of interest, (ii) they are also differentially expressed between distinct phenotypes relevant to the study, and (iii) as a biomodule, genes correlate with both the mechanism and the phenotype.

Results

This proof-of-concept study, which focuses on epigenetic mechanisms, was conducted in a well-studied set of 132 acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) microarrays annotated with nine distinct phenotypes and three measures of response to therapy. We used established parametric and non parametric statistics to derive the PGnet tripartite network that consisted of 10 phenotypes and 33 significant clusters of GEMs comprising 535 distinct genes. The significance of PGnet was estimated from empirical p-values, and a robust subnetwork derived from ALL outcome data was produced by repeated random sampling. The evaluation of derived robust network to predict outcome (relapse of ALL) was significant (p = 3%), using one hundred three-fold cross-validations and the shrunken centroids classifier.

Conclusion

To our knowledge, this is the first method predicting co-expression networks of genes associated with epigenetic mechanisms and to demonstrate its inherent capability to predict therapeutic outcome. This PGnet approach can be applied to any regulatory mechanisms including transcriptional or microRNA regulation in order to derive predictive molecular profiles that are mechanistically anchored. The implementation of PGnet in R is freely available at http://Lussierlab.org/publication/PGnet.
The potential for automated question answering in the context of genomic medicine: an assessment of existing resources and properties of answers
Authors: Overby Casey Lynnette , Tarczy-Hornoch Peter , Demner-Fushman Dina
Published: September 2009

Knowledge gained in studies of genetic disorders is reported in a growing body of biomedical literature containing reports of genetic variation in individuals that map to medical conditions and/or response to therapy. These scientific discoveries need to be translated into practical applications to optimize patient care. Translating research into practice can be facilitated by supplying clinicians with research evidence. We assessed the role of existing tools in extracting answers to translational research questions in the area of genomic medicine. We: evaluate the coverage of translational research terms in the Unified Medical Language Systems (UMLS) Metathesaurus; determine where answers are most often found in full-text articles; and determine common answer patterns. Findings suggest that we will be able to leverage the UMLS in development of natural language processing algorithms for automated extraction of answers to translational research questions from biomedical text in the area of genomic medicine.
Dynamic localisation of Ran GTPase during the cell cycle
Authors: Hutchins James RA , Moore William J , Clarke Paul R
Published: September 2009

Background

Ran GTPase has multiple functions during the cell division cycle, including nucleocytoplasmic transport, mitotic spindle assembly and nuclear envelope formation. The activity of Ran is determined by both its guanine nucleotide-bound state and its subcellular localization.

Results

Here, we have characterised the localisation and mobility of Ran coupled to green fluorescent protein (GFP) during the cell cycle in live human cells. Ran-GFP is nuclear during interphase and is dispersed throughout the cell during mitosis. GFP-RanQ69L, a mutant locked in the GTP-bound state, is less highly concentrated in the nucleus and associates with nuclear pore complexes within the nuclear envelope. During mitosis, GFP-RanQ69L is excluded from chromosomes and localizes to the spindle. By contrast, GFP-RanT24N, a mutant with low affinity for nucleotides, interacts relatively stably with chromatin throughout the cell cycle and is highly concentrated on mitotic chromosomes.

Conclusion

These results show that Ran interacts dynamically with chromatin, nuclear pore complexes and the mitotic spindle during the cell cycle. These interactions are dependent on the nucleotide-bound state of the protein. Our data indicate that Ran-GTP generated at chromatin is highly mobile and interacts dynamically with distal structures that are involved in nuclear transport and mitotic spindle assembly.
Regression-based approach for testing the association between multi-region haplotype configuration and complex trait
Authors: Hu Yanling , Jason Sinnwell , Wang Qishan , Pan Yuchun , Zhang Xiangzhe , Zhao Hongbo , Li Changlong , Sun Libin
Published: September 2009

Background

It is quite common that the genetic architecture of complex traits involves many genes and their interactions. Therefore, dealing with multiple unlinked genomic regions simultaneously is desirable.

Results

In this paper we develop a regression-based approach to assess the interactions of haplotypes that belong to different unlinked regions, and we use score statistics to test the null hypothesis of non-genetic association. Additionally, multiple marker combinations at each unlinked region are considered. The multiple tests are settled via theminPapproach. ThePvalue of the "best" multi-region multi-marker configuration is corrected via Monte-Carlo simulations. Through simulation studies, we assess the performance of the proposed approach and demonstrate its validity and power in testing for haplotype interaction association.

Conclusion

Our simulations showed that, for binary trait without covariates, our proposed methods prove to be equal and even more powerful than htr and hapcc which are part of the FAMHAP program. Additionally, our model can be applied to a wider variety of traits and allow adjustment for other covariates. To test the validity, our methods are applied to analyze the association between four unlinked candidate genes and pig meat quality.
Fibroblasts from patients with Diamond-Blackfan anaemia show abnormal expression of genes involved in protein synthesis, amino acid metabolism and cancer
Authors: Avondo Federica , Roncaglia Paola , Crescenzio Nicoletta , Krmac Helena , Garelli Emanuela , Armiraglio Marta , Castagnoli Carlotta , Campagnoli Maria Francesca , Ramenghi Ugo , Gustincich Stefano , Santoro Claudio , Dianzani Irma
Published: September 2009

Background

Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is a rare inherited red cell hypoplasia characterised by a defect in the maturation of erythroid progenitors and in some cases associated with malformations. Patients have an increased risk of solid tumors. Mutations have been found in several ribosomal protein (RP) genes, i.e RPS19, RPS24, RPS17, RPL5, RPL11, RPL35A. Studies in haematopoietic progenitors from patients show that haplo-insufficiency of an RP impairs rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis. DBA lymphocytes show reduced protein synthesis and fibroblasts display abnormal rRNA processing and impaired proliferation.

Results

To evaluate the involvement of non-haematopoietic tissues in DBA, we have analysed global gene expression in fibroblasts from DBA patients compared to healthy controls. Microarray expression profiling using Affymetrix GeneChip Human Genome U133A 2.0 Arrays revealed that 421 genes are differentially expressed in DBA patient fibroblasts. These genes include a large cluster of ribosomal proteins and factors involved in protein synthesis and amino acid metabolism, as well as genes associated to cell death, cancer and tissue development.

Conclusion

This analysis reports for the first time an abnormal gene expression profile in a non-haematopoietic cell type in DBA. These data support the hypothesis that DBA may be due to a defect in general or specific protein synthesis.
Osteopontin: an early innate immune marker of Escherichia coli mastitis harbors genetic polymorphisms with possible links with resistance to mastitis
Authors: Alain Karin , Karrow Niel A , Thibault Catherine , St-Pierre Jessika , Lessard Martin , Bissonnette Nathalie
Published: September 2009

Background

Mastitis is the most important disease in dairy cows and it causes significant lost of profit to producers. Identification of the genes, and their variants, involved in innate immune responses is essential for the understanding of this inflammatory disease and to identify potential genetic markers for resistance to mastitis. The progeny of dairy cows would benefit from receiving favourable alleles that support greater resistance to infection, thus reducing antibiotic use. This study aims to identify a key gene in the innate immune response to mastitis, led us to evaluate its genetic association with somatic cell score (SCS), which is an indicator of clinical mastitis, and to evaluate its impact on other traits related to milk production.

Results

The osteopontin transcript (SPP1) was identified in the somatic cells from cows experimentally infected withEscherichia coli. By selecting bulls with extreme estimated breeding values (EBVs) for SCS, which is an indicator of mammary gland health, four DNA polymorphisms in theSPP1genomic sequence were found. Statistical analysis revealed that the SNPSPP1c.-1301G>Ahas an impact on EBV for SCS (P< 0.001) Using an allele substitution model,SPP1c.-1251C>T,SPP1c.-430G>A, andSPP1c.*40A>Chave an impact on SCS whereasSPP1c.-1301G>Ahas an effect on the EBVs for milk yield (second and third lactations), fat and protein percentages (all three lactations). Analysis revealed statistically significant differences between haplotype groups at a comparison-wise level with sire EBVS for SCS for the first (P= 0.012), second (P< 0.001), and third (P< 0.001) lactations.

Conclusion

This study reports the link between DNA polymorphisms ofSPP1, the number of milk immune cells and, potentially, the susceptibility to mastitis. These SNPs were identified byin silicosearch to be located in transcription factor recognition sites which factors are presumably involved in the Th1 immune response and in the Th2 regulation pathway. Indeed, one SNP abolished the SP1 recognition site, whereas another SNP affected the transcription binding factor IKAROS. All together, these findings support the genetic potential of these variants in terms of selection for the improvement of mastitis resistance in dairy cows.
Use of in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT) for the identification of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 in vivo-induced bacterial protein antigens
Authors: Gu Hongwei , Zhu Haodan , Lu Chengping
Published: September 2009

Background

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is a zoonotic agent that causes death and disease in both humans and swine. A better understanding of SS2-host molecular interactions is crucial for understanding SS2 pathogenesis and immunology. Conventional genetic and biochemical approaches used to study SS2 virulence factors are unable to take into account the complex and dynamic environmental stimuli associated with the infection process. In this study, in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT), an immunoscreening technique, was used to identify the immunogenic bacterial proteins that are induced or upregulated in vivo during SS2 infection.

Results

Convalescent-phase sera from pigs infected with SS2 were pooled, adsorbed against in vitro antigens, and used to screen SS2 genomic expression libraries. Upon analysis of the identified proteins, we were able to assign a putative function to 40 of the 48 proteins. These included proteins implicated in cell envelope structure, regulation, molecule synthesis, substance and energy metabolism, transport, translation, and those with unknown functions. The in vivo-induced changes in the expression of 10 of these 40 genes were measured using real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, revealing that the expression of 6 of the 10 genes was upregulated in the in vivo condition. The strain distribution of these 10 genes was analyzed by PCR, and they were found in the most virulent SS2 strains. In addition, protein sequence alignments of the newly identified proteins demonstrate that three are putative virulence-associated proteins.

Conclusion

Collectively, our results suggest that these in vivo-induced or upregulated genes may contribute to SS2 disease development. We hypothesize that the identification of factors specifically induced or upregulated during SS2 infection will aid in our understanding of SS2 pathogenesis and may contribute to the control SS2 outbreaks. In addition, the proteins identified using IVIAT may be useful potential vaccine candidates or virulence markers.
Mapping of HNF4α target genes in intestinal epithelial cells
Authors: Boyd Mette , Bressendorff Simon , Møller Jette , Olsen Jørgen , Troelsen Jesper T
Published: September 2009

Background

The role of HNF4α has been extensively studied in hepatocytes and pancreatic β-cells, and HNF4α is also regarded as a key regulator of intestinal epithelial cell differentiation. The aim of the present work is to identify novel HNF4α target genes in the human intestinal epithelial cells in order to elucidate the role of HNF4α in the intestinal differentiation progress.

Methods

We have performed a ChIP-chip analysis of the human intestinal cell line Caco-2 in order to make a genome-wide identification of HNF4α binding to promoter regions. The HNF4α ChIP-chip data was matched with gene expression and histone H3 acetylation status of the promoters in order to identify HNF4α binding to actively transcribed genes with an open chromatin structure.

Results

1,541 genes were identified as potential HNF4α targets, many of which have not previously been described as being regulated by HNF4α. The 1,541 genes contributed significantly to gene ontology (GO) pathways categorized by lipid and amino acid transport and metabolism. An analysis of the homeodomain transcription factor Cdx-2 (CDX2), the disaccharidase trehalase (TREH), and the tight junction protein cingulin (CGN) promoters verified that these genes are bound by HNF4α in Caco2 cells. For the Cdx-2 and trehalase promoters the HNF4α binding was verified in mouse small intestine epithelium.

Conclusion

The HNF4α regulation of the Cdx-2 promoter unravels a transcription factor network also including HNF1α, all of which are transcription factors involved in intestinal development and gene expression.
Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors have distinct effects on the hemodynamics of the liver
Authors: Halverscheid Leonie , Deibert Peter , Schmidt René , Blum Hubert E , Dunkern Torsten , Pannen Benedikt HJ , Kreisel Wolfgang
Published: September 2009

Background

The NO - cGMP system plays a key role in the regulation of sinusoidal tonus and liver blood flow with phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) terminating the dilatory action of cGMP. We, therefore, investigated the effects of PDE-5 inhibitors on hepatic and systemic hemodynamics in rats.

Methods

Hemodynamic parameters were monitored for 60 min. after intravenous injection of sildenafil and vardenafil [1, 10 and 100 μg/kg (sil1, sil10, sil100, var1, var10, var100)] in anesthetized rats.

Results

Cardiac output and heart rate remained constant. After a short dip, mean arterial blood pressure again increased. Systemic vascular resistance transiently decreased slightly. Changes in hepatic hemodynamic parameters started after few minutes and continued for at least 60 min. Portal (var10 -31%, sil10 -34%) and hepatic arterial resistance (var10 -30%, sil10 -32%) decreased significantly (p < 0.05). At the same time portal venous (var10 +29%, sil10 +24%), hepatic arterial (var10 +34%, sil10 +48%), and hepatic parenchymal blood flow (var10 +15%, sil10 +15%) increased significantly (p < 0.05). The fractional liver blood flow (total liver flow/cardiac output) increased significantly (var10 26%, sil10 23%). Portal pressure remained constant or tended to decrease. 10 μg/kg was the most effective dose for both PDE-5 inhibitors.

Conclusion

Low doses of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors have distinct effects on hepatic hemodynamic parameters. Their therapeutic use in portal hypertension should therefore be evaluated.
Interferon for the treatment of genital warts: a systematic review
Authors: Yang Jin , Pu Yu-guo , Zeng Zhong-ming , Yu Zhi-jian , Huang Na , Deng Qi-wen
Published: September 2009

Background

Interferon has been widely used in the treatment of genital warts for its immunomodulatory, antiproliferative and antiviral properties. Currently, no evidence that interferon improves the complete response rate or reduces the recurrence rate of genital warts has been generally provided. The aim of this review is to assess, from randomized control trials (RCTs), the efficacy and safety of interferon in curing genital warts.

Methods

We searched Cochrane Sexually Transmitted Diseases Group's Trials Register (January, 2009), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (2009, issue 1), PubMed (1950-2009), EMBASE (1974-2009), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) (1975-2009), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1979-2009), VIP database (1989-2009), as well as reference lists of relevant studies. Two reviewers independently screened searched studies, extracted data and evaluated their methodological qualities. RevMan 4.2.8 software was used for meta-analysis

Results

12 RCTs involving 1445 people were included. Among them, 7 studies demonstrated the complete response rate of locally-used interferon as compared to placebo for treating genital warts. Based on meta-analysis, the rate of Complete response of the two interventions differed significantly (locally-used interferon:44.4%; placebo:16.1%). The difference between the two groups had statistical significance (RR 2.68, 95% CI 1.79 to 4.02, P < 0.00001). 5 studies demonstrated the complete response rate of systemically-used interferon as compared to placebo for treating genital warts. Based on meta-analysis, the rate of Complete response of the two interventions had no perceivable discrepancy (systemically-used interferon:27.4%; placebo:26.4%). The difference between the two groups had no statistical significance (RR1.25, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.95, P > 0.05). 7 studies demonstrated the recurrence rate of interferon as compared to placebo for treating genital warts. Based on meta-analysis, the recurrence rate of the two interventions had no perceivable discrepancy(interferon 21.1%; placebo: 34.2%). The difference between the two groups had no statistical significance (RR0.56, 95% CI 0.27 to 1.18, P > 0.05). However, subgroup analysis showed that HPV-infected patients with locally administered interferon were less likely than those given placebo to relapse, but that no significant difference in relapse rates was observed between systemic and placebo. The reported adverse events of interferon were mostly mild and transient, which could be well tolerated.

Conclusion

Interferon tends to be a fairly well-tolerated form of therapy. According to different routes of administration, locally-used interferon appears to be much more effective than both systemically-used interferon and placebo in either improving the complete response rate or reducing the recurrence rate for the treatment of genital warts.
Polymorphisms of the SIPA1 gene and sporadic breast cancer susceptibility
Authors: Hsieh Szu-Min , Smith Robert A , Lintell Nicholas A , Hunter Kent W , Griffiths Lyn R
Published: September 2009

Background

The novel breast cancer metastasis modulator gene signal-induced proliferation-associated 1 (Sipa1) underlies the breast cancer metastasis efficiency modifier locus Mtes 1 and has been shown to influence mammary tumour metastatic efficiency in the mouse, with an ectopically expressing Sipa1 cell line developing 1.5 to 2 fold more surface pulmonary metastases. Sipa1 encodes a mitogen-inducible GTPase activating (GAP) protein for members of the Ras-related proteins; participates in cell adhesion and modulates mitogen-induced cell cycle progression. Germline SIPA1 SNPs showed association with positive lymph node metastasis and hormonal receptor status in a Caucasian cohort. We hypothesized that SIPA1 may also be correlated to breast carcinoma incidence as well as prognosis. Therefore, this study investigated the potential relationship of SIPA1 and human breast cancer incidence by a germline SNP genotype frequency association study in a case-control Caucasian cohort in Queensland, Australia.

Methods

The SNPs genotyped in this study were identified in a previous study and the genotyping assays were carried out using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. The data were analysed with chi-square method and the Monte Carlo style CLUMP analysis program.

Results

Results indicated significance with SIPA1 SNP rs3741378; the CC genotype was more frequently observed in the breast cancer group compared to the disease-free control group, indicating the variant C allele was associated with increased breast cancer incidence.

Conclusion

This observation indicates SNP rs3741378 as a novel potential sporadic breast cancer predisposition SNP. While it showed association with hormonal receptor status in breast cancer group in a previous pilot study, this exonic missense SNP (Ser (S) to Phe (F)) changes a hydrophilic residue (S) to a hydrophobic residue (F) and may significantly alter the protein functions of SIPA1 in breast tumourgenesis. SIPA1 SNPs rs931127 (5' near gene), and rs746429 (synonymous (Ala (A) to Ala (A)), did not show significant associations with breast cancer incidence, yet were associated with lymph node metastasis in the previous study. This suggests that SIPA1 may be involved in different stages of breast carcinogenesis and since this study replicates a previous study of the associated SNP, it implicates variants of the SIPA1 gene as playing a potential role in breast cancer.