Using WebGIS to Develop a Spatial Bibliography for Organizing, Mapping, and Disseminating Research Information: A Case Study of Quaking Aspen

On the Ground • Spatial data is valuable to researchers for locating studies that occur in a particular area of interest, or one with similar attributes. • Without a standard in publishing protocol, spatial data largely goes unreported, or is difficult to find without searching the publication. • Assigning location data and displaying points on a public web map makes locating publications based on spatial location possible

Bioenergetic Consequences of PINK1 Mutations in Parkinson Disease

BACKGROUND: Mutations of the gene for PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) are a cause of familial Parkinson's disease (PD). PINK1 protein has been localised to mitochondria and PINK1 gene knockout models exhibit abnormal mitochondrial function. The purpose of this study was to determine whether cells derived from PD patients with a range of PINK1 mutations demonstrate similar defects of mitochondrial function, whether the nature and severity of the abnormalities vary between mutations and correlate with clinical features. METHODOLOGY: We investigated mitochondrial bioenergetics in live fibroblasts from PINK1 mutation patients using single cell techniques. We found that fibroblasts from PINK1 mutation patients had significant defects of bioenergetics including reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, altered redox state, a respiratory deficiency that was determined by substrate availability, and enhanced sensitivity to calcium stimulation and associated mitochondrial permeability pore opening. There was an increase in the basal rate of free radical production in the mutant cells. The pattern and severity of abnormality varied between different mutations, and the less severe defects in these cells were associated with later age of onset of PD. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide insight into the molecular pathology of PINK1 mutations in PD and also confirm the critical role of substrate availability in determining the biochemical phenotype--thereby offering the potential for novel therapeutic strategies to circumvent these abnormalities

Mutations in PINK1 and Parkin Impair Ubiquitination of Mitofusins in Human Fibroblasts

PINK1 and Parkin mutations cause recessive Parkinson's disease (PD). In Drosophila and SH-SY5Y cells, Parkin is recruited by PINK1 to damaged mitochondria, where it ubiquitinates Mitofusins and consequently promotes mitochondrial fission and mitophagy

The German National Registry of Primary Immunodeficiencies (2012-2017)

Introduction: The German PID-NET registry was founded in 2009, serving as the first national registry of patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in Germany. It is part of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry. The primary purpose of the registry is to gather data on the epidemiology, diagnostic delay, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 2,453 patients from 36 German PID centres in an online registry. Data was analysed with the software Stata® and Excel. Results: The minimum prevalence of PID in Germany is 2.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among patients aged 1–25, there was a clear predominance of males. The median age of living patients ranged between 7 and 40 years, depending on the respective PID. Predominantly antibody disorders were the most prevalent group with 57% of all 2,453 PID patients (including 728 CVID patients). A gene defect was identified in 36% of patients. Familial cases were observed in 21% of patients. The age of onset for presenting symptoms ranged from birth to late adulthood (range 0–88 years). Presenting symptoms comprised infections (74%) and immune dysregulation (22%). Ninety-three patients were diagnosed without prior clinical symptoms. Regarding the general and clinical diagnostic delay, no PID had undergone a slight decrease within the last decade. However, both, SCID and hyper IgE- syndrome showed a substantial improvement in shortening the time between onset of symptoms and genetic diagnosis. Regarding treatment, 49% of all patients received immunoglobulin G (IgG) substitution (70%—subcutaneous; 29%—intravenous; 1%—unknown). Three-hundred patients underwent at least one hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Five patients had gene therapy. Conclusion: The German PID-NET registry is a precious tool for physicians, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, and ultimately the patients, for whom the outcomes will eventually lead to a more timely diagnosis and better treatment

An Information Literacy Snapshot: Authentic Assessment Across the Curriculum

This paper outlines the process and results of an authentic assessment of student work using a revised version of the AAC&U\u27s Information Literacy VALUE rubric. This rigorous assessment, which included the scoring of nearly 900 student papers from four different stages across the undergraduate curriculum, revealed much about the process of authentic assessment of student learning, the struggles and competencies of our students, and a clear path forward for improving practice. It also gave us a broad view of student learning, allowing us to immerse ourselves in student work and providing a stronger narrative to share with stakeholders

Rapid and reliable detection of exon rearrangements in various movement disorders genes by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification.

Because of the occurrence of different types of mutations, comprehensive genetic testing for Parkinson's disease (PD), dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD), and myoclonus-dystonia (M-D) should include screening for small sequence changes and for large exonic rearrangements in disease-associated genes. In diagnostic and research settings, the latter is frequently omitted or performed by laborious and expensive quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Our study aimed to evaluate the utility of a novel method, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), in molecular diagnostics of movement disorders. We have analyzed, by MLPA, genomic DNA from 21 patients affected with PD, DRD, or M-D, in which the presence of exon rearrangement(s) (n = 20) or of a specific point mutation (detectable by MLPA, n = 1) had been established previously by qPCR or sequencing. In parallel, we have studied, in a blinded fashion, DNA from 49 patients with an unknown mutational status. Exon rearrangements were evident in 20 samples with previously established mutations; in the 21st sample the known specific point mutation was detected. We conclude that MLPA represents a reliable method for large-scale and cost-effective gene dosage screening of various movement disorders genes. This finding reaches far beyond a simple technical advancement and has two major implications: (1) By improving the availability of comprehensive genetic testing, it supports clinicians in the establishment of a genetically defined diagnosis; (2) By enabling gene dosage testing of several genes simultaneously, it significantly facilitates the mutational analysis of large patient and control populations and thereby constitutes the prerequisite for meaningful phenotype-genotype correlations