Journal of Experimental Social Psychology / The power of we : evidence for group-based control

Membership in social groups may restore people's sense of global control when personal control is questioned. Therefore, ethnocentric tendencies might be increased as a consequence of personal control threat. Testing hypotheses derived from a novel model of group-based control in five experiments, we show that making lack of personal control salient increased ingroup bias and pro-organizational behavior (Studies 15). These effects were independent of parallel effects of uncertainty (Study 2) and most pronounced for highly identified group members (Study 3). Studies 4 and 5 lend support to the assumption that perceiving the ingroup as a unitary actor is critical for symbolic control restoration: threat to collective homogeneity and agency catalyzed the effect personal control threat had on ingroup support and defense. These findings complement previous research on motivated intergroup behavior and socio-cognitive strategies to cope with deficits in personal control.FWF-I654 (Control motivation and collective identity)(VLID)176249

Identification of Y-Box Binding Protein 1 As a Core Regulator of MEK/ERK Pathway-Dependent Gene Signatures in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Transcriptional signatures are an indispensible source of correlative information on disease-related molecular alterations on a genome-wide level. Numerous candidate genes involved in disease and in factors of predictive, as well as of prognostic, value have been deduced from such molecular portraits, e.g. in cancer. However, mechanistic insights into the regulatory principles governing global transcriptional changes are lagging behind extensive compilations of deregulated genes. To identify regulators of transcriptome alterations, we used an integrated approach combining transcriptional profiling of colorectal cancer cell lines treated with inhibitors targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)/RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, computational prediction of regulatory elements in promoters of co-regulated genes, chromatin-based and functional cellular assays. We identified commonly co-regulated, proliferation-associated target genes that respond to the MAPK pathway. We recognized E2F and NFY transcription factor binding sites as prevalent motifs in those pathway-responsive genes and confirmed the predicted regulatory role of Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1) by reporter gene, gel shift, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. We also validated the MAPK-dependent gene signature in colorectal cancers and provided evidence for the association of YBX1 with poor prognosis in colorectal cancer patients. This suggests that MEK/ERK-dependent, YBX1-regulated target genes are involved in executing malignant properties

Reduction of treatment volume and radiation doses to surrounding tissues with intraprostatic gold markers in prostate cancer radiotherapy

Contains fulltext : 96271.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: High-precision radiotherapy with gold marker implantation is a standard technique for prostate cancer treatment. To provide insight into the beneficial effect of gold markers, the influence on treatment volume and radiation doses to healthy tissues was investigated. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three consecutive treatment margins were constructed, for 10 patients with localized prostate cancer, to show the reduction of planning target volume (PTV): PTV 10 mm (no markers), PTV 7 mm (markers), and PTV 7/5 mm (markers and online correction). On planning computed tomography (CT) scan, the prostate, bladder, rectal wall, and anal canal were contoured. The treatment volume and radiation doses to surrounding organs were calculated. In 65 patients, with the online protocol and gold markers, late toxicity was evaluated. Results : With gold markers a significant PTV reduction of 27% was achieved (P < .001). Subsequently, radiation dose reductions to the mean of 17% (+/- 4.5%) to the bladder, 19% (+/- 4.7%) to the anal canal, and 12% (+/- 3%) to the rectal wall, respectively were seen (P < .001). With 5-mm posterior margins an additional PTV reduction of 3.7% (P < .001) and total radiation dose reduction to the mean of 24% (+/- 4%), and 16% (+/- 4.5%) to anal canal and rectal wall, respectively were seen (P < .001). Late Grade 1-2 genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity was seen in 32%, and 33%, respectively. Grade 3 toxicity was less than 10%. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a significant reduction of treatment volume and radiation doses to healthy tissues with intraprostatic gold markers