CSGM Designer: a platform for designing cross-species intron-spanning genic markers linked with genome information of legumes.

BackgroundGenetic markers are tools that can facilitate molecular breeding, even in species lacking genomic resources. An important class of genetic markers is those based on orthologous genes, because they can guide hypotheses about conserved gene function, a situation that is well documented for a number of agronomic traits. For under-studied species a key bottleneck in gene-based marker development is the need to develop molecular tools (e.g., oligonucleotide primers) that reliably access genes with orthology to the genomes of well-characterized reference species.ResultsHere we report an efficient platform for the design of cross-species gene-derived markers in legumes. The automated platform, named CSGM Designer (URL: http://tgil.donga.ac.kr/CSGMdesigner), facilitates rapid and systematic design of cross-species genic markers. The underlying database is composed of genome data from five legume species whose genomes are substantially characterized. Use of CSGM is enhanced by graphical displays of query results, which we describe as "circular viewer" and "search-within-results" functions. CSGM provides a virtual PCR representation (eHT-PCR) that predicts the specificity of each primer pair simultaneously in multiple genomes. CSGM Designer output was experimentally validated for the amplification of orthologous genes using 16 genotypes representing 12 crop and model legume species, distributed among the galegoid and phaseoloid clades. Successful cross-species amplification was obtained for 85.3% of PCR primer combinations.ConclusionCSGM Designer spans the divide between well-characterized crop and model legume species and their less well-characterized relatives. The outcome is PCR primers that target highly conserved genes for polymorphism discovery, enabling functional inferences and ultimately facilitating trait-associated molecular breeding

Prediction of Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Korea, 2011

PURPOSE: To estimate the current cancer burden in Korea, cancer incidence and mortality were projected for the year 2011. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cancer incidence data from 1999-2008 were obtained from the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database, and the cancer mortality data from 1993-2009 were obtained from the Korea National Statistics Office. Cancer incident cases and rates in 2011 were projected from fitting a linear regression model on observed age-specific cancer incidence rates against observed years, then multiplying the projected age-specific rates by the age-specific population. For cancer mortality, a similar procedure was applied for projection except that a Joinpoint regression model was used to determine at which year the linear trend significantly changed. RESULTS: A total of 216,809 new cancer cases and 71,036 cancer deaths are projected to occur in Korea in 2011. For all sites combined, the crude incidence rates are projected to be 437.9 and 420.5 and the age-standardized incidence rates are projected to be 336.5 and 279.7 per 100,000 for men and women, respectively. CONCLUSION: Cancer has become an important public health concern in Korea, and as Korea becomes an aged society, the cancer burden will continue to increase.ope

Educational implications of assessing learning outcomes with multiple choice questions and short essay questions

Purpose This study investigates the characteristics of different item types to assess learning outcomes and explore the educational implications that can be obtained from the results of learning outcome assessments. Methods Forty-five second-year premedical students participated in this study. Multiple choice question (MCQ) and short essay question (SEQ) scores and pass rates for 10 learning outcomes were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results The correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant correlation between SEQs and pass rate but there was no significant correlation between MCQs and pass rate. Some students with identical scores on the MCQs had different scores on the SEQs or on the learning outcomes. Conclusion This study showed that students’ achievement of learning outcomes can be assessed using various types of questions in outcome-based education

Kuwait’s Strategic Response to its Developmental Challenges: Recasting its Strategic Options and Implementation Strategy from a Korean Perspective

Chapter 01. Introduction: Confronting Kuwait’s Present Reality Chapter 02. Critical Factors and SWOT Analysis for Crafting Strategic Response Chapter 03. Managing Stakeholders and Crafting the Implementation Strategy Chapter 04. Labor Market Reform Chapter 05. Updating Education and Human Resources Chapter 06. Fiscal Reform in Kuwait Chapter 07. Other Focal Areas Of Policy Initiatives For The Upcoming Five-Year Development Pla

COMPARISON OF ANGULAR KINEMATIC PATTERNS BETWEEN CARVING TURN AND SKIDDING TURN DURING ALPINE SKIING

The purpose of this study was to investigate the movement patterns between segments (lower spine, pelvis, thigh, shank) and ski using the relative angular displacement on anteroposterior and vertical axis. Fourteen alpine ski instructors were participated in this study. Eight inertial measurement units were used to measure kinematic variables. Each skier was asked to perform ten carving turns and ten skidding turns on the groomed 15°slope, respectively. On the vertical axis, relative angular displacement of lower spine-ski was significantly increased during carving turn, whereas relative angular displacement of shank-ski was significantly increased during skidding turn. On the anteroposterior axis, relative angular displacement of lower spine-ski, pelvis-ski and thigh-ski were significantly increased during carving turn