Bioinformatics for genomics purposes

Sinds enkele jaren wordt op het RIVM genomicsonderzoek uitgevoerd. Genomics omvat grootschalig onderzoek naar het erfelijk materiaal (DNA) van organismen. Dit onderzoek levert inzicht op in de manier waarop erfelijke eigenschappen zich vertalen naar het functioneren van een cel, en uiteindelijk een heel organisme. De praktische uitvoering van genomicsexperimenten is recentelijk beschreven in rapport 340200001 "Genomics: Implementatie, toepassing en toekomst", dat in december 2006 is verschenen. Dit rapport gaat in op de bioinformatica die het RIVM heeft opgezet en ontwikkeld. Bioinformatica is de wetenschap die methoden uit de informatica gebruikt om biologische data te kunnen verwerken en analyseren. Deze specifieke kennis is nodig om de grote hoeveelheden data die genomicsexperimenten genereren, te kunnen analyseren. De verschillende stappen in de data-analyse, zoals beeldverwerking, kwaliteitscontrole, normalisatie, statistische analyse, patroonherkenning, verlopen succesvol volgens algemeen geaccepteerde methoden. De bioinformatica voor de verdere biologische interpretatie van de resultaten is wereldwijd nog volop in ontwikkeling. In samenwerking met andere instituten wordt dit onderzoeksgebied gevolgd en worden nieuwe ontwikkelingen toegepast. De komende jaren zullen er via de literatuur meer data van genomicsexperimenten beschikbaar komen. Om die te kunnen vergelijken en te combineren zijn bioinformatica-methoden beschikbaar, die zich de komende jaren verder zullen ontwikkelen. Naast genomicsdata zullen ook steeds meer andere gegevens (bijvoorbeeld eiwit- en metabolietgegevens) beschikbaar komen. Dit biedt mogelijkheden om meerdere soorten data te integreren. Deze aanpak wordt "systems biology" genoemd en is vooral interessant om tot een betere risicoschatting van stoffen te komen. Ook bestaat behoefte aan bioinformatica voor grootschalig eiwitonderzoek (proteomics), dat het RIVM wil gebruiken voor bevolkingsonderzoeken en screeningsprogramma's van micro-organismen.Genomics constitutes large-scale research on hereditary material (DNA) of organisms. The genomics research that has been carried out the last few years at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has given us insight into the way hereditary information is translated into the functioning of a cell and eventually a whole organism. Practical realization of genomics experiments has recently been described in report 340200001 "Genomics: Implementation, application, and future".analysis demands specific expertise. The last few years has seen the set-up and further development of the bioinformatics required. The various steps in the data analysis, including image analysis, quality control, normalisation, statistical analysis and pattern recognition, are carried out successfully according to generally accepted methods. The bioinformatics concerned with interpretation of the results is worldwide in full development. This field will be closely followed and new developments applied in cooperation with other institutes. More genomics experimental data will become available via the literature in the coming years. Bioinformatics methods for comparing and combining these data are available and will develop further in the future. In addition, an increasing number of other kinds of data sets (like protein or metabolite data) will become available, thereby creating possibilities for integration of multidisciplinary data. This approach is called systems biology and is especially interesting for a better risk assessment for chemicals. Furthermore, there will be a need for bioinformatics for proteomics, which the RIVM aims to use for population screening programmes and screening applications on microorganisms.RIV

ESHRE task force on ethics and law 15: Cross-border reproductive care

This paper analyses the ethical aspects of cross-border reproductive care. Ethical questions are raised by some of the main reasons of cross-border travelling, i.e. law evasion and unequal access to treatment. The phenomenon also generates possible conflicts linked to the responsibility of the professionals. Three points are discussed: the moral obligation of the physician to refer the patient, his/her duty to provide information and counselling and the acceptability of fee-splitting. The recommendations focus on measures to reduce or limit the number of patients that have to travel abroad and on steps to guarantee the safety and quality of the treatment wherever it is provided

Comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments. Second report (Carers)

Purpose of the report: This is the second report of the study of comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments. This report considers assessment systems for carer payments in relation to disability status of an adult cared-for person. The purpose of the research, as set out in the RFT,is to examine systems for medical/disability assessment and review used in other comparable jurisdictions and to draw key learning for the Irish system.Methodology: The research looks at assessment systems for adult carers payments in a number of OECD countries, using 1) a review of relevant literature (including review of various online academic databases and legal databases) 2) access to online information from social security authorities and others 3) review of detailed evaluations of assessment systems (where these are available) 4)contacts with key informants in the chosen countries. The researchers first carried out a rapid review of assessment systems in a range of OECD countries (see Initial Review). On the basis of this study it was agreed to focus the research on Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nova Scotia (Canada) and the United Kingdom (UK).Structure of the report: In chapter 2, we provide a short overview of issues concerning support for carers drawing on the available literature. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the assessment systems in the five jurisdictions. Finally chapter 4 discusses the relevance of the findings to the Irish system.The detailed country reports are set out in the Annexes

What do We Know about Social Entrepreneurship: An Analysis of Empirical Research

Despite the growing attention to social entrepreneurship as a scholarly field of research, it is still in a stage of infancy. Research in the past two decades has been primarily dedicated to establishing a conceptual foundation, which has resulted in a considerable stream of conceptual papers. Empirical articles have gradually appeared since the turn of the century. Although they are still outnumbered by conceptual articles, empirical articles are of considerable significance for the evolution of social entrepreneurship as a field of scientific inquiry. The purpose of this paper is to gauge the current state of empirical research in the field by reviewing 31 empirical research studies on social entrepreneurship, classifying them along four dimensions and summarising research findings for each of these dimensions. To serve this purpose in a meaningful fashion requires discriminating between different perspectives on social entrepreneurship. Hence, four different schools of thought are presented, and the articles in our sample are classified accordingly

Channel Contract Behavior: the Role of Risk Attitudes, Risk Perceptions, and Channel Members' Market Structures

By integrating elements of both marketing and finance, we show how risk influences channel contract behavior. We model risk behavior as the interaction between risk attitude and risk perception (IRAP). An analysis of the joint channel decisions of 208 producers, wholesalers, and processors provides three results. First, risk attitudes significantly vary across different levels of channel members. Second, IRAP in combination with the channel member's market structure on the buying and selling side is a strong predictor of contract behavior. Third, increases in channel power strengthen the impact of IRAP on channel contract behavior

Ultracompact monolithic integration of balanced, polarization diversity photodetectors for coherent lightwave receivers

The authors have monolithically integrated an optical front-end on InP for balanced, polarization-diversity coherent lightwave reception which is only 1.3-mm long. Low on-chip insertion loss (<4.5 dB) and balanced photoresponse (1.05:1 or better) are achieved at 1.5-μm wavelength using straightforward, regrowth-free fabrication. Low-capacitance photodetectors (≤0.15 pF) are employed for high bandwidth operation

Aging Is Accompanied by a Blunted Muscle Protein Synthetic Response to Protein Ingestion.

Published onlineJournal ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.PURPOSE: Progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass with aging (sarcopenia) forms a global health concern. It has been suggested that an impaired capacity to increase muscle protein synthesis rates in response to protein intake is a key contributor to sarcopenia. We assessed whether differences in post-absorptive and/or post-prandial muscle protein synthesis rates exist between large cohorts of healthy young and older men. PROCEDURES: We performed a cross-sectional, retrospective study comparing in vivo post-absorptive muscle protein synthesis rates determined with stable isotope methodologies between 34 healthy young (22±1 y) and 72 older (75±1 y) men, and post-prandial muscle protein synthesis rates between 35 healthy young (22±1 y) and 40 older (74±1 y) men. FINDINGS: Post-absorptive muscle protein synthesis rates did not differ significantly between the young and older group. Post-prandial muscle protein synthesis rates were 16% lower in the older subjects when compared with the young. Muscle protein synthesis rates were >3 fold more responsive to dietary protein ingestion in the young. Irrespective of age, there was a strong negative correlation between post-absorptive muscle protein synthesis rates and the increase in muscle protein synthesis rate following protein ingestion. CONCLUSIONS: Aging is associated with the development of muscle anabolic inflexibility which represents a key physiological mechanism underpinning sarcopenia

Latitudinal Variation in Top-Down and Bottom-Up Control of a Salt Marsh Food Web

The shrub Iva frutescens, which occupies the terrestrial border of U.S. Atlantic Coast salt marshes, supports a food web that varies strongly across latitude. We tested whether latitudinal variation in plant quality (higher at high latitudes), consumption by omnivores (a crab, present only at low latitudes), consumption by mesopredators (ladybugs, present at all latitudes), or the life history stage of an herbivorous beetle could explain continental-scale field patterns of herbivore density. In a mesocosm experiment, crabs exerted strong top-down control on herbivorous beetles, ladybugs exerted strong top-down control on aphids, and both predators benefited plants through trophic cascades. Latitude of plant origin had no effect on consumers. Herbivorous beetle density was greater if mesocosms were stocked with beetle adults rather than larvae, and aphid densities were reduced in the “adult beetle” treatment. Treatment combinations representing high and low latitudes produced patterns of herbivore density similar to those in the field. We conclude that latitudinal variation in plant quality is less important than latitudinal variation in top consumers and competition in mediating food web structure. Climate may also play a strong role in structuring high-latitude salt marshes by limiting the number of herbivore generations per growing season and causing high overwintering mortality

DNA methylation immediately adjacent to active histone marking does not silence transcription

Active promoters generally contain histone H3/H4 hyperacetylation and tri-methylation at H3 lysine 4, whereas repressed promoters are associated with DNA methylation. Here we show that the repressed erythroid-specific carbonic anhydrase II (CAII) promoter has active histone modifications localized around the transcription start, while high levels of CpG methylation are present directly upstream from these active marks. Despite the presence of active histone modifications, the repressed promoter requires hormone-induced activation for efficient preinitiation complex assembly. Transient and positional changes in histone H3/H4 acetylation and local changes in nucleosome density are evident during activation, but the bipartite epigenetic code is stably maintained. Our results suggest that active histone modifications may prevent spreading of CpG methylation towards the promoter and show that repressive DNA methylation immediately adjacent to a promoter does not necessarily repress transcription

The influence of a fibrin-coating inside a biodegradable poly(DL-lactide-e-caprolactone) nerve guide on peripheral nerve regeneration

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a fibrin-coating on the inner surface of a biodegradable poly(DL-lactide-ε-caprolactone) nerve guide on the speed and quality of the nerve regeneration. The nerve regeneration and orientation of the nerve fibers, as well as the fibrous tissue formation were evaluated. On the short term, nerve regeneration was slightly faster in the non-coated nerve guide. After longer implantation periods (≥ 4 weeks), nerve regeneration in the fibrin-coated nerve guides was characterized by a severe inflammatory response with large numbers of macrophages and polymorphonuclear cells (PMN's). This study clearly demonstrates that nerve regeneration in a fibrin-coated nerve guide is not faster when compared with a non-coated nerve guide, and that nerve regeneration in the fibrin-coated nerve guide is even worse after longer implantation periods.</p