Search results for "position"

Multiple factor analysis: principal component analysis for multitable and multiblock data sets

2013

Female Oviposition Decisions and Their Impact on Progeny Life-History Traits

2008

An important factor affecting the life-history of an organism is parental investment in reproduction: reproductive decisions are almost invariably costly. Therefore, reproductive decisions should be beneficial in terms of increased offspring number or fitness. For example, egg laying decisions in many insects can influence resource availability of the offspring through changes in the larval density, and resource availability will have effects on many life-history traits. Here we studied whether female reproductive decisions affect offspring fitness in Callosobruchus maculatus seed beetles. Females laid more eggs on black-eye beans than on mung beans. However, when the difference in the surf…

Myotonic dystrophy: candidate small molecule therapeutics

2017

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a rare multisystemic neuromuscular disorder caused by expansion of CTG trinucleotide repeats in the noncoding region of the DMPK gene. Mutant DMPK transcripts are toxic and alter gene expression at several levels. Chiefly, the secondary structure formed by CUGs has a strong propensity to capture and retain proteins, like those of the muscleblind-like (MBNL) family. Sequestered MBNL proteins cannot then fulfill their normal functions. Many therapeutic approaches have been explored to reverse these pathological consequences. Here, we review the myriad of small molecules that have been proposed for DM1, including examples obtained from computational rational …

A STAT4 variant increases liver fibrosis risk in Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis B

2018

Background Host genetic modifiers of the natural history of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remain poorly understood. Recently, a genome-wide association study (GWAS)-identified polymorphism in the STAT4 gene that contributes to the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was shown to be associated with the full spectrum of hepatitis B virus (HBV) outcomes in Asian patients. However, the functional mechanisms for this effect are unknown and the role of the variant in modulating HBV disease in Caucasians has not been investigated. Aims To determine whether STAT4 genetic variation is associated with liver injury in Caucasian patients with CHB and to investigate potential mechanisms mediating this e…

Association of interleukin-10G microsatellite polymorphism with the susceptibility of ankylosing spondylitis

2013

Study suggests an association of IL10.G poly- morphisms with AS which might contribute to the increased or decreased susceptibility to AS. IL10.G8 and G7 microsatellites alleles appear as protective alleles against the development of AS in the German subjects investigated here. Allele IL10.G9 seems to be a risk factor for the development of AS. This protective effect of variant promoter alleles could be related to differences in IL- 10 production, which may be clinically relevant.

HLA Class II Differentiates Between Thyroid and Polyglandular Autoimmunity.

2015

The HLA class II genes are susceptibility genes for autoimmune endocrine diseases; however, scarce data are available pertaining to the determinants of genetic susceptibility to polyglandular autoimmunity (PGA). A total of 300 consecutive and unselected patients with either PGA or monoglandular autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) and 100 healthy control subjects were genotyped for the HLA class II DRB1, -DQA1, and -DQB1 alleles. Compared to patients with AITD and controls, the HLA-DRB1*03 (pc =0.001), *04 (pc<0.001), -DQA1*03 (pc<0.001), and -DQB1*02 (pc =0.001) alleles were increased in patients with PGA. When dividing patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) into those with PGA (PGA-HT) v…

Differences in estimates of change of bone accrual and body composition in children because of scan mode selection with the prodigy densitometer.

2004

Abstract Girls of age 10–13 yr with Tanner stage I–III maturation status ( n = 155) were measured using the Prodigy (GE Lunar) densitometer. Bone area (BA), bone mineral content (BMC), and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed for the whole body, lumbar spine, and proximal femur using the Thin (T) and Standard (S) scan modes at years 1 and 3 of the study. The differences obtained between the T and S mode at year 1 were 1–2% for the lumbar spine and proximal femur and 5–11% for the whole body. For those girls whose default mode changed from T at year 1 to S mode at year 3, the estimated gain in BA, BMC, and BMD was 3.4%, 7.6%, and 3.1% respectively, lower than that obtained when scanning …

HLA class II haplotypes differentiate between the adult autoimmune polyglandular syndrome types II and III.

2013

Background: Genetics of the adult autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS) is poorly understood. Aim: The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the genetics of the adult APS types. Site: The study was conducted at a university referral center. Methods: The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles, haplotypes, and genotypes were determined in a large cohort of patients with APS, autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), and type 1 diabetes and in healthy controls by the consistent application of high-resolution typing at a four-digit level. Results: Comparison of the allele and haplotype frequencies significantly discriminated patients with APS vs AITD and controls. The HLA class…

Synthesis, electron microscopy and X-ray characterization of oxymagnesite, MgO·2MgCO3, formed from amorphous magnesium carbonate

2014

At present, the peculiar compound called oxymagnesite, MgO·2MgCO3, an intermediate formed during thermal decomposition of hydrated magnesium carbonates, has only been described a handful of times without a distinct description of its formation or morphology. In the current work we present the first scanning and transmission electron microscopy images of an oxymagnesite crystal together with its crystallographic data. Oxymagnesite was synthesized in a controlled manner via decomposition of amorphous magnesium carbonates (AMCs) subjected to varying relative humidity. We show that oxymagnesite is formed only when AMC is hydrated above a certain level, which we attribute to structural inequival…

Analysis of weight gain composition determined in preterm infants with Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)

1999

Analysis of weight gain composition determined in preterm infants with Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)