Transitioning to Adulthood: An Annotated Bibliography of the PSID-TA Publications

This report provides an annotated bibliography of all 100 publications published to date on the Transition to Adulthood Supplement (TAS) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Of these publications, 79 are articles in peer-reviewed journals, 6 are book chapters, and 15 are doctoral student dissertations. In terms of topic area, 40 publications focus on the impact of economics and socioeconomic status, another 18 study the effect of childhood and youth savings accounts, 41 study educational attainment and college-level outcomes, 32 study health and wellbeing, 20 investigate marriage and family dynamics, 31 explicitly attend to race and ethnicity, 10 study work and occupations, 7 neighborhood effects, 7 social capital and trust, 3 criminal activity, and 5 explicitly engage technology (note: since publications often engage multiple topics, these categories are not mutually-exclusive)

A framework and resource for global collaboration in non-human primate neuroscience

As science and technology evolve, there is an increasing need for promotion of international scientific exchange. Collaborations, while offering substantial opportunities for scientists and benefit to society, also present challenges for those working with animal models, such as non-human primates (NHPs). Diversity in regulation of animal research is sometimes mistaken for the absence of common international welfare standards. Here, the ethical and regulatory protocols for 13 countries that have guidelines in place for biomedical research involving NHPs were assessed with a focus on neuroscience. Review of the variability and similarity in trans-national NHP welfare regulations extended to countries in Asia, Europe and North America. A tabulated resource was established to advance solution-oriented discussions and scientific collaborations across borders. Our aim is to better inform the public and other stakeholders. Through cooperative efforts to identify and analyze information with reference to evidence-based discussion, the proposed key ingredients may help to shape and support a more informed, open framework. This framework and resource can be expanded further for biomedical research in other countries

Comparative analysis of histologically classified oligodendrogliomas reveals characteristic molecular differences between subgroups

Background Molecular data of histologically classified oligodendrogliomas are available offering the possibility to stratify these human brain tumors into clinically relevant molecular subtypes. Methods Gene copy number, mutation, and expression data of 193 histologically classified oligodendrogliomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were analyzed by well-established computational approaches (unsupervised clustering, statistical testing, network inference). Results We applied hierarchical clustering to tumor gene copy number profiles and revealed three molecular subgroups within histologically classified oligodendrogliomas. We further screened these subgroups for molecular glioma markers (1p/19q co-deletion, IDH mutation, gain of chromosome 7 and loss of chromosome 10) and found that our subgroups largely resemble known molecular glioma subtypes. We excluded glioblastoma-like tumors (7a10d subgroup) and derived a gene expression signature distinguishing histologically classified oligodendrogliomas with concurrent 1p/19q co-deletion and IDH mutation (1p/19q subgroup) from those with predominant IDH mutation alone (IDHme subgroup). Interestingly, many signature genes were part of signaling pathways involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and cell-cell contacts. We further learned a gene regulatory network associated with the gene expression signature revealing novel putative major regulators with functions in cytoskeleton remodeling (e.g. APBB1IP, VAV1, ARPC1B), apoptosis (CCNL2, CREB3L1), and neural development (e.g. MYTIL, SCRT1, MEF2C) potentially contributing to the manifestation of differences between both subgroups. Moreover, we revealed characteristic expression differences of several HOX and SOX transcription factors suggesting the activity of different glioma stemness programs in both subgroups. Conclusions We show that gene copy number profiles alone are sufficient to derive molecular subgroups of histologically classified oligodendrogliomas that are well-embedded into general glioma classification schemes. Moreover, our revealed novel putative major regulators and characteristic stemness signatures indicate that different developmental programs might be active in these subgroups, providing a basis for future studies

Electrical microstimulation of the ventral tegmental area reinforces cue selection in monkeys

Activity within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) correlates with increased dopamine concentrations and modulation of neural activity throughout a widespread network of VTA-projections sites. Electrical and optogenetic stimulation in rodents have causally demonstrated that these VTA-mediated dopamine signals play a key role in motivational behavior, reinforcement learning and cortical plasticity. In contrast, while electrophysiological experiments in monkeys have greatly enhanced our understanding of VTA’s response properties, there has been a lack of causal investigations selectively targeting primate VTA. This gap in understanding is further compounded by the fact that the dopamine system of primates is greatly expanded relative to that of rodents (Berger et al., 1991), suggesting that the primate VTA may exert an even greater influence over cortical function than what has been found in rodents. In an effort to bridge the gap between refined perturbation studies in rodents and monkey electrophysiology, we developed a technique for chronic, neuronavigation-guided electrical microstimulation of macaque VTA (VTA-EM). After electrode implantation, we tested the hypothesis that VTA plays a causal role in positive reinforcement by electrically stimulating this region during Pavlovian and operant conditioning paradigms. Stimulation of this mesolimbic ventral midbrain region caused pronounced stimulus-driven reinforcement effects during both of these paradigms. More specifically, the delivery of VTA-EM directly following the selection of a specific visual cue by the monkey (operant conditioning) or after the consistent temporal association of a visual cue and VTA-EM (Pavlovian conditioning) increased the likelihood that that cue would be selected during subsequent trials. In an effort to determine the functional network modulated by reinforcing VTA-EM, we then combined VTA-EM with concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This allowed us to visualize the brain-wide cortical and subcortical structures directly influenced by VTA stimulation. Importantly, several nodes in the primate dopamine system were among the regions significantly modulated by VTA-EM. These results establish for the first time a causal role for primate VTA in stimulus-driven positive reinforcement and help elucidate the functional network of cortical and subcortical regions involved in this process.status: publishe

Additional file 3 of Comparative analysis of histologically classified oligodendrogliomas reveals characteristic molecular differences between subgroups

Comparison of revealed subtypes to subtypes revealed for histologically classified oligoastrocytomas and astrocytomas. (PDF 2365 kb

A new scoring system for primary central nervous system lymphoma - a retrospective multi-center analysis in Taiwan

[[abstract]]Background: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Two independent prognostic scoring systems have been developed at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG). The former considers age and Karnofski’s performance status (PS) as prognostic parameters(JCO. 2006;24:5711). The latter includes age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) PS, the presence of deep lesions, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)(JCO 2003;21:266). Neither of the two systems has been verified in the Asian population, leading to concerns regarding applicability in this region. Aims: This study was conducted to test the prognostic power of the 2 systems in PCNSL patients in Taiwan. In addition, we analyzed the parameters of the IELSG system to figure out the most powerful prognostic factors and then established a new scoring system. Methods: The medical records of patients with tissue-proven PCNSL were retrieved from 15 academic hospitals in Taiwan through January 2002 to December 2011. They were stratified into different groups according to the MSKCC or the IELSG system and the overall survivals (OS) were evaluated. All parameters in the IELSG system were checked by multi-variable analysis to establish a new scoring system. Results: When the IELSG scoring system was applied, the 2-year OS in low, intermediate and high-risk groups were 78.3%, 43.9% and 37.5% respectively with a crossover in the latter 2 groups（Figure 1）. When the patients were stratified by the MSKCC scoring system, the 2-year OS of class I, II and III were 65%, 68% and 20% （Figure 2）, respectively. We conducted single-variable analysis of the 5 parameters included in the IELSG scoring system and only age and ECOG PS were statistically significant. In the multi-variable analysis, these 2 factors were almost equally weighted. Based on these findings, we re-stratified the patients into 3 groups. Group 1 comprised patients with both age < 60 and ECOG PS < 2 and Group 3 with both age ≧ 60 and ECOG PS ≧ 2. The patients not fulfilling criteria of either Group1 or Group 3 were categorized as Group 2. According to this new scoring system, the median OS of Groups 1, 2 and 3 were 1,573, 548 and 304 days（Figure 3）, respectively, and their OS curves could be nicely distinguished

Additional file 6 of Comparative analysis of histologically classified oligodendrogliomas reveals characteristic molecular differences between subgroups

1006 transcription factors of the gene signature. (XLSX 92.4 kb