Using Social Networking Sites for Communicable Disease Control: Innovative Contact Tracing or Breach of Confidentiality?

Social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have attained huge popularity, with more than three billion people and organizations predicted to have a social networking account by 2015. Social media offers a rapid avenue of communication with the public and has potential benefits for communicable disease control and surveillance. However, its application in everyday public health practice raises a number of important issues around confidentiality and autonomy. We report here a case from local level health protection where the friend of an individual with meningococcal septicaemia used a social networking site to notify potential contacts

The fables of pity: Rousseau, Mandeville and the animal-fable

Copyright @ 2012 Edinburgh University PressPrompted by Derrida’s work on the animal-fable in eighteenth-century debates about political power, this article examines the role played by the fiction of the animal in thinking of pity as either a natural virtue (in Rousseau’s Second Discourse) or as a natural passion (in Mandeville’s The Fable of the Bees). The war of fables between Rousseau and Mandeville – and their hostile reception by Samuel Johnson and Adam Smith – reinforce that the animal-fable illustrates not so much the proper of man as the possibilities and limitations of a moral philosophy that is unable to address the political realities of the state

BMP2 commitment to the osteogenic lineage involves activation of Runx2 by DLX3 and a homeodomain transcriptional network

Several homeodomain (HD) proteins are critical for skeletal patterning and respond directly to BMP2 as an early step in bone formation. RUNX2, the earliest transcription factor proven essential for commitment to osteoblastogenesis, is also expressed in response to BMP2. However, there is a gap in our knowledge of the regulatory cascade from BMP2 signaling to the onset of osteogenesis. Here we show that BMP2 induces DLX3, a homeodomain protein that activates Runx2 gene transcription. Small interfering RNA knockdown studies in osteoblasts validate that DLX3 is a potent regulator of Runx2. Furthermore in Runx2 null cells, DLX3 forced expression suffices to induce transcription of Runx2, osteocalcin, and alkaline phosphatase genes, thus defining DLX3 as an osteogenic regulator independent of RUNX2. Our studies further show regulation of the Runx2 gene by several homeodomain proteins: MSX2 and CDP/cut repress whereas DLX3 and DLX5 activate endogenous Runx2 expression and promoter activity in non-osseous cells and osteoblasts. These HD proteins exhibit distinct temporal expression profiles during osteoblast differentiation as well as selective association with Runx2 chromatin that is related to Runx2 transcriptional activity and recruitment of RNA polymerase II. Runx2 promoter mutagenesis shows that multiple HD elements control expression of Runx2 in relation to the stages of osteoblast maturation. Our studies establish mechanisms for commitment to the osteogenic lineage directly through BMP2 induction of HD proteins DLX3 and DLX5 that activate Runx2, thus delineating a transcriptional regulatory pathway mediating osteoblast differentiation. We propose that the three homeodomain proteins MSX2, DLX3, and DLX5 provide a key series of molecular switches that regulate expression of Runx2 throughout bone formation. <br/

BOLD Temporal Dynamics of Rat Superior Colliculus and Lateral Geniculate Nucleus following Short Duration Visual Stimulation

Background: The superior colliculus (SC) and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) are important subcortical structures for vision. Much of our understanding of vision was obtained using invasive and small field of view (FOV) techniques. In this study, we use non-invasive, large FOV blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI to measure the SC and LGN's response temporal dynamics following short duration (1 s) visual stimulation. Methodology/Principal Findings: Experiments are performed at 7 tesla on Sprague Dawley rats stimulated in one eye with flashing light. Gradient-echo and spin-echo sequences are used to provide complementary information. An anatomical image is acquired from one rat after injection of monocrystalline iron oxide nanoparticles (MION), a blood vessel contrast agent. BOLD responses are concentrated in the contralateral SC and LGN. The SC BOLD signal measured with gradient-echo rises to 50% of maximum amplitude (PEAK) 0.2±0.2 s before the LGN signal (p<0.05). The LGN signal returns to 50% of PEAK 1.4±1.2 s before the SC signal (p<0.05). These results indicate the SC signal rises faster than the LGN signal but settles slower. Spin-echo results support these findings. The post-MION image shows the SC and LGN lie beneath large blood vessels. This subcortical vasculature is similar to that in the cortex, which also lies beneath large vessels. The LGN lies closer to the large vessels than much of the SC. Conclusions/Significance: The differences in response timing between SC and LGN are very similar to those between deep and shallow cortical layers following electrical stimulation, which are related to depth-dependent blood vessel dilation rates. This combined with the similarities in vasculature between subcortex and cortex suggest the SC and LGN timing differences are also related to depth-dependent dilation rates. This study shows for the first time that BOLD responses in the rat SC and LGN following short duration visual stimulation are temporally different. © 2011 Lau et al

Integrated Molecular Meta-Analysis of 1,000 Pediatric High-Grade and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

We collated data from 157 unpublished cases of pediatric high-grade glioma and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma and 20 publicly available datasets in an integrated analysis of >1,000 cases. We identified co-segregating mutations in histone-mutant subgroups including loss of FBXW7 in H3.3G34R/V, TOP3A rearrangements in H3.3K27M, and BCOR mutations in H3.1K27M. Histone wild-type subgroups are refined by the presence of key oncogenic events or methylation profiles more closely resembling lower-grade tumors. Genomic aberrations increase with age, highlighting the infant population as biologically and clinically distinct. Uncommon pathway dysregulation is seen in small subsets of tumors, further defining the molecular diversity of the disease, opening up avenues for biological study and providing a basis for functionally defined future treatment stratification

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar) accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) survey which publicly releases infra-red spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the sub-survey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey (SPIDERS) sub-survey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated Value Added Catalogs (VACs). This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), Local Volume Mapper (LVM) and Black Hole Mapper (BHM) surveys

Functional diversity and co-operativity between subclonal populations of paediatric glioblastoma and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma cells

The failure to develop effective therapies for pediatric glioblastoma (pGBM) and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is in part due to their intrinsic heterogeneity. We aimed to quantitatively assess the extent to which this was present in these tumors through subclonal genomic analyses and to determine whether distinct tumor subpopulations may interact to promote tumorigenesis by generating subclonal patient-derived models in vitro and in vivo. Analysis of 142 sequenced tumors revealed multiple tumor subclones, spatially and temporally coexisting in a stable manner as observed by multiple sampling strategies. We isolated genotypically and phenotypically distinct subpopulations that we propose cooperate to enhance tumorigenicity and resistance to therapy. Inactivating mutations in the H4K20 histone methyltransferase KMT5B (SUV420H1), present in <1% of cells, abrogate DNA repair and confer increased invasion and migration on neighboring cells, in vitro and in vivo, through chemokine signaling and modulation of integrins. These data indicate that even rare tumor subpopulations may exert profound effects on tumorigenesis as a whole and may represent a new avenue for therapeutic development. Unraveling the mechanisms of subclonal diversity and communication in pGBM and DIPG will be an important step toward overcoming barriers to effective treatments

Risk perception and use of personal care products by race and ethnicity among a diverse population

Personal care products can contain phthalates, parabens and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals. However, information on perception of risks from personal care product use and how use varies by race and ethnicity is limited. We evaluated differences in personal care product use and risk perception in a diverse sample of participants recruited from a US college campus and online. A self-administered questionnaire captured information on sociodemographic factors, personal care product use trends and perception of risk associated with them. Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to determine differences in personal care product use and risk perception by race and ethnicity. Ordered logistic regressions were performed to measure associations between personal care product use frequency across racial/ethnic categories. Participant (n = 770) mean age was 22.8 years [standard deviation ± 6.0]. Daily use of make-up (eye = 29.3%; other = 38.0%; all = 33.7%) and skincare products (55%) was most frequently reported among Middle Eastern and North African participants. Non-Hispanic Black participants reported the highest daily use of hairstyling products (52%) and lotion (78%). Daily make-up use was more frequently reported among females (41%) than males (24.6%). Levels of agreement were similar across racial and ethnic groups, that personal care product manufacturers should be required to list all ingredients (≥87%). There were significant associations between the frequency of use of some personal care products and racial/ethnic categories when the use frequencies of participants from other racial/ethnic categories were compared to the use frequency of non-Hispanic White participants. There were significant differences in daily use frequency, levels of trust, perception of safety and health risks associated with personal care products by race and ethnicity, underscoring that there may be different sources of exposure to chemicals in personal care products by race and ethnicity

Survival responses of human embryonic stem cells to DNA damage

Pluripotent human embryonic stem (hES) cells require mechanisms to maintain genomic integrity in response to DNA damage that could compromise competency for lineage-commitment, development, and tissue-renewal. The mechanisms that protect the genome in rapidly proliferating hES cells are minimally understood. Human ES cells have an abbreviated cell cycle with a very brief G1 period suggesting that mechanisms mediating responsiveness to DNA damage may deviate from those in somatic cells. Here, we investigated how hES cells react to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation (IR) and whether genomic insult evokes DNA repair pathways and/or cell death. We find that hES cells respond to DNA damage by rapidly inducing Caspase-3 and -8, phospho-H2AX foci, phosphorylation of p53 on Ser15 and p21 mRNA levels, as well as concomitant cell cycle arrest in G2 based on Ki67 staining and FACS analysis. Unlike normal somatic cells, hES cells and cancer cells robustly express the anti-apoptotic protein Survivin, consistent with the immortal growth phenotype. SiRNA depletion of Survivin diminishes hES survival post-irradiation. Thus, our findings provide insight into pathways and processes that are activated in human embryonic stem cells upon DNA insult to support development and tissue regeneration