101 research outputs found
Differences in zinc status and the leptin axis in anorexic and recovered adolescents and young adults: a pilot study
Evidence from animal studies suggests that leptin metabolism is associated with zinc (Zn) status. However, research investigating this relationship in adolescents and young adults with anorexia nervosa (AN) is scarce; the present study aims to fill that gap.Serum concentrations of leptin, the soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) and the free leptin index (FLI) were obtained in healthy control subjects (n=19), acutely ill individuals (n=14) and recovered patients with AN (n=15). Serum Zn concentrations noted in previous research data were also incorporated for all groups.Leptin, FLI and Zn concentrations were higher in recovered subjects with AN when compared with acutely ill AN patients. Remitted patients showed higher sOB-R concentrations but no difference in FLI compared with the control group. Leptin and FLI were lower in the acutely ill patients compared with the control subjects, who showed no differences in Zn concentrations. Zn concentrations were not correlated with leptin, sOB-R or FLI concentrations in any of the three investigated subgroups.The present investigation does not entirely support an association between Zn, Leptin and FLI concentrations in subjects with AN, possibly due to limited statistical power. Further research and replication of the present findings related to the interaction between leptin and Zn is warranted. However, with respect to serum leptin levels the data of the present investigation indicate that acutely ill and remitted patients with AN differ as regards serum leptin concentrations and FLI, which is in line with previous research
Coamplification of DAD-R, SOX5, and EKI1 in human testicular seminomas, with specific overexpression of DAD-R, correlates with reduced levels of apoptosis and earlier clinical manifestation
Seminomas and nonseminomas represent the invasive stages of testicular
(TGCTs) of adolescents and adults. Although TGCTs are characterized by
extra copies of the short arm of chromosome 12, the genetic basis for gain
of 12p in the pathogenesis of this cancer is not yet understood. We have
demonstrated that gain of 12p is related to invasive growth and that
amplification of specific 12p sequences, i.e., 12p11.2-p12.1, correlates
with reduced apoptosis in the tumors. Here we show that three known genes
map within the newly determined shortest region of overlap of
amplification (SROA): DAD-R, SOX5, and EKI1. Whereas EKI1 maps close to
the telomeric region of the SROA, DAD-R is the first gene at the
centromeric region within the 12p amplicon. Although all three genes are
amplified to the same level within the SROA, expression of DAD-R is
significantly up-regulated in seminomas with the restricted 12p
amplification compared with seminomas without this amplicon. DAD-R is also
highly expressed in nonseminomas of various histologies and derived cell
lines, both lacking such amplification. This finding is of particular
interest because seminomas with the restricted 12p amplification and
nonseminomas are manifested clinically in the third decade of life and
show a low degree of apoptosis. In contrast, seminomas lacking a
restricted 12p amplification, showing significantly lower levels of DAD-R
with pronounced apoptosis, manifest clinically in the fourth decade of
life. A low level of DAD-R expression is also observed in normal
testicular parenchyma and in parenchyma containing the precursor cells of
this cancer, i.e., carcinoma in situ. Therefore, elevated DAD-R expression
in seminomas and nonseminomas correlates with invasive growth and a
reduced level of apoptosis associated with an earlier clinical
presentation. These data implicate DAD-R as a candidate gene responsible
in part for the pathological effects resulting from gain of 12p sequences
in TGCTs. In addition, our results also imply differences in expression
regulation of DAD-R between seminomas and nonseminomas
Analysis of Fourier transform valuation formulas and applications
The aim of this article is to provide a systematic analysis of the conditions
such that Fourier transform valuation formulas are valid in a general
framework; i.e. when the option has an arbitrary payoff function and depends on
the path of the asset price process. An interplay between the conditions on the
payoff function and the process arises naturally. We also extend these results
to the multi-dimensional case, and discuss the calculation of Greeks by Fourier
transform methods. As an application, we price options on the minimum of two
assets in L\'evy and stochastic volatility models.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Appl. Math. Financ
Low-risk susceptibility alleles in 40 human breast cancer cell lines
Background: Low-risk breast cancer susceptibility alleles or SNPs confer only modest breast cancer risks ranging from just over 1.0 to 1.3 fold. Yet, they are common among most populations and therefore are involved in the development of essentially all breast cancers. The mechanism by which the low-risk SNPs confer breast cancer risks is currently unclear. The breast cancer association consortium BCAC has hypothesized that the low-risk SNPs modulate expression levels of nearby located genes. Methods: Genotypes of five low-risk SNPs were determined for 40 human breast cancer cell lines, by direct sequencing of PCR-amplified genomic templates. We have analyzed expression of the four genes that are located nearby the low-risk SNPs, by using real-time RT-PCR and Human Exon microarrays. Results: The SNP genotypes and additional phenotypic data on the breast cancer cell lines are presented. We did not detect any effect of the SNP genotypes on expression levels of the nearby-located genes MAP3K1, FGFR2, TNRC9 and LSP1. Conclusion: The SNP genotypes provide a base line for functional studies in a well-characterized cohort of 40 human breast cancer cell lines. Our expression analyses suggest that a putative disease mechanism through gene expression modulation is not operative in breast cancer cell lines
Selberg Supertrace Formula for Super Riemann Surfaces III: Bordered Super Riemann Surfaces
This paper is the third in a sequel to develop a super-analogue of the
classical Selberg trace formula, the Selberg supertrace formula. It deals with
bordered super Riemann surfaces. The theory of bordered super Riemann surfaces
is outlined, and the corresponding Selberg supertrace formula is developed. The
analytic properties of the Selberg super zeta-functions on bordered super
Riemann surfaces are discussed, and super-determinants of Dirac-Laplace
operators on bordered super Riemann surfaces are calculated in terms of Selberg
super zeta-functions.Comment: 43 pages, amste
Exon expression arrays as a tool to identify new cancer genes
Background: Identification of genes that are causally implicated in oncogenesis is a major goal in cancer research. An estimated 10-20% of cancer-related gene mutations result in skipping of one or more exons in the encoded transcripts. Here we report on a strategy to screen in a global fashion for such exon-skipping events using PAttern based Correlation (PAC). The PAC algorithm has been used previously to identify differentially expressed splice variants between two predefined subgroups. As genetic changes in cancer are sample specific, we tested the ability of PAC to identify aberrantly expressed exons in single samples. Principal Findings: As a proof-of-principle, we tested the PAC strategy on human cancer samples of which the complete coding sequence of eight cancer genes had been screened for mutations. PAC detected all seven exon-skipping mutants among 12 cancer cell lines. PAC also identified exon-skipping mutants in clinical cancer specimens although detection was compromised due to heterogeneous (wild-type) transcript expression. PAC reduced the number candidate genes/exons for subsequent mutational analysis by two to three orders of magnitude and had a substantial true positive rate. Importantly, of 112 randomly selected outlier exons, sequence analysis identified two novel exon skipping events, two novel base changes and 21 previously reported base changes (SNPs). Conclusions: The ability of PAC to enrich for mutated transcripts and to identify known and novel genetic changes confirms its suitability as a strategy to identify candidate cancer genes
Computation of eigenmodes on a compact hyperbolic 3-space
Measurements of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy are ideal
experiments for discovering the non-trivial global topology of the universe. To
evaluate the CMB anisotropy in multiply-connected compact cosmological models,
one needs to compute the eigenmodes of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. Using the
direct boundary element method, we numerically obtain the low-lying eigenmodes
on a compact hyperbolic 3-space called the Thurston manifold which is the
second smallest in the known compact hyperbolic 3-manifolds. The computed
eigenmodes are expanded in terms of eigenmodes on the unit three-dimensional
pseudosphere. We numerically find that the expansion coefficients behave as
Gaussian pseudo-random numbers for low-lying eigenmodes. The observed
gaussianity in the CMB fluctuations can partially be attributed to the Gaussian
pseudo-randomness of the expansion coefficients assuming that the Gaussian
pseudo-randomness is the universal property of the compact hyperbolic spaces.Comment: 40 pages, 8 EPS figures; error estimation is included; accepted
Classical and Quantum Gravit
Effective-Range Expansion of the Neutron-Deuteron Scattering Studied by a Quark-Model Nonlocal Gaussian Potential
The S-wave effective range parameters of the neutron-deuteron (nd) scattering
are derived in the Faddeev formalism, using a nonlocal Gaussian potential based
on the quark-model baryon-baryon interaction fss2. The spin-doublet low-energy
eigenphase shift is sufficiently attractive to reproduce predictions by the
AV18 plus Urbana three-nucleon force, yielding the observed value of the
doublet scattering length and the correct differential cross sections below the
deuteron breakup threshold. This conclusion is consistent with the previous
result for the triton binding energy, which is nearly reproduced by fss2
without reinforcing it with the three-nucleon force.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures and 6 tables, submitted to Prog. Theor. Phy
The CHEK2 1100delC mutation identifies families with a hereditary breast and colorectal cancer phenotype
Because of genetic heterogeneity, the identification of breast
cancer-susceptibility genes has proven to be exceedingly difficult. Here,
we define a new subset of families with breast cancer characterized by the
presence of colorectal cancer cases. The 1100delC variant of the cell
cycle checkpoint kinase CHEK2 gene was present in 18% of 55 families with
hereditary breast and colorectal cancer (HBCC) as compared with 4% of 380
families with non-HBCC (P<.001), thus providing genetic evidence for the
HBCC phenotype. The CHEK2 1100delC mutation was, however, not the major
predisposing factor for the HBCC phenotype but appeared to act in synergy
with another, as-yet-unknown susceptibility gene(s). The unequivocal
definition of the HBCC phenotype opens new avenues to search for thi
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