Concentrations of total phenols and antioxidant activity in apple do not differ between conventional and organic orchard Management

Reprint Address: Yuri, JA (reprint author), Talca Univ, Agr Sci Fac, Pomaceas Ctr, Talca, Chile.The apple is one of the most widely consumed fresh fruits in the world. It constitutes a major contribution of phytochemical compounds to the diet, which are associated with a reduced risk to develop degenerative diseases. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of conventional and organic management of apple cultivation, the stage of development and sunburn damage on polyphenol concentrations, antioxidant activity and pigments in three apple cultivars. Two experiments were carried out during the 2009/2010 season to study (1) the effect of the type of management and the development stage of the fruit during the season on the concentration and content of total and specific phenolics, antioxidant activity in the whole fruit, and pigments (chlorophylls, carotenoids and anthocyanins) in the peel of cvs. Gala (Galaxy and Brookfield), Granny Smith and Fuji (Raku Raku and Stripped) and (2) the effect of the type of management and the presence of sunburn at harvest on phenolics concentrations and antioxidant activity in both the whole fruit and peel, as well as pigments in peel, in two cultivars. Phenolics concentrations and antioxidant activity increased in the First weeks of fruit development and then decreased until harvest. The concentration of chlorophyll and carotenoids tended to decrease throughout the season, while anthocyanin concentration increased. In the case of tissue damaged by sunburn, phenolics concentrations and antioxidant activity were higher in damaged fruit, while changes in pigment concentrations varied according to the cultivar. The practices of conventional and organic management did neither influence significantly phenolics and pigments concentrations and antioxidant activity, except at certain stages of fruit development

Corporate social responsibility in micro and small companies in southwest Finland : involvement, contribution and benefits

Corporate social responsibility offers companies tools for managing the prevailing role change due to globalization that is recognized as a force steered by businesses worldwide. The tools assist the companies to meet the stakeholder demands and shareholder expectations of producing more with fever resources in a sustainable way and being accountable for the company’s impact on society and environment. In Finland corporate social responsibility is mainly enclosed to big companies in forms of annual CSR reports, programs and codes of conduct. Micro and small companies offer ideal settings for corporate social responsibility because of flexible management systems and suitable corporate governance. Micro and small companies in Finland are not really involved in corporate social responsibility in a desired way regardless of the existing potential. The objective of this research was to study the contribution and involvement of micro and small companies in southwest Finland to CSR and sustainability and the benefits of the contribution to the companies. To conduct the research the quantitative research method was chosen in the form of a questionnaire that was distributed to micro and small companies in southwest Finland. The findings of this research indicate that micro and small companies in southwest Finland contribute to corporate social responsibility by recycling, corporate philanthropy, creating codes of conduct and reshaping the supply chain. The motives of contributing consist of personal values of the CEO and the availability of resources. The obtained advantages concentrate on the formation of a steady business environment, new business opportunities and enhanced image and reputation. Inside this research and the chosen population the results and analysis can be regarded as reliable, valid and generalized.Yhteiskuntavastuu tarjoaa yrityksille keinoja globalisaation vauhdittaman yritysten roolinmuutoksen toteuttamiseen. Nykypäivänä globalisaatio tiedostetaan voimaksi, jota liiketoiminta maailmanlaajuisesti ohjaa. Keinot auttavat yrityksiä vastaamaan sidosryhmälähtöisiin vaatimuksiin ja yhtiön osakkaiden odotuksiin tuottamalla enemmän vähemmillä resursseilla kestävänkehityksen periaatteiden mukaisesti ja olemaan vastuussa yritysten vaikutuksista yhteiskuntaan ja ympäristöön. Suomessa yhteiskuntavastuu liitetään isoihin yrityksiin yhteiskuntavastuu raporttien, yhteiskunnallisten ohjelmien ja toimintaperiaatteiden muodossa. Mikro- ja pienyritysten ominaisuudet tarjoavat ihanteellisen alustan yhteiskuntavastuun toteuttamiselle joustavien johtamismallien ansiosta. Olemassa olevasta potentiaalista huolimatta mikro- ja pienyritykset Suomessa eivät osallistu yhteiskuntavastuuseen halutulla tavalla. Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on kartoittaa Varsinaissuomalaisten mikro- ja pienyritysten tapoja ja motiiveja osallistua yhteiskuntavastuuseen sekä osallistumisesta seuranneita hyötyjä. Tutkimusmenetelmäksi tämän opinnäytetyön toteuttamiseksi valikoitui kvantitatiivinen tutkimus kyselyn muodossa. Kysely lähetettiin Varsinaissuomalaisiin mikro- ja pienyrityksiin. Suoritetun tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että Varsinaissuomalaiset mikro- ja pienyritykset osallistuvat yhteiskuntavastuuseen kierrättämällä, lahjoituksin, luomalla toimintamalleja ja sääntöjä sekä toimitusketjun uudelleen muotoilun keinoin. Motiivit osallistumiselle koostuvat yrityksen toimitusjohtajan arvomaailmasta ja resurssien käytettävyydestä. Saavutetut hyödyt koostuvat vakaan liiketoimintaympäristön muodostumisesta, uusien liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien esiintymisestä ja yrityksen parantuneesta maineesta sekä imagosta. Vain tämän opinnäytetyön puitteissa saavutetut tulokset ja päätelmät voidaan tulkita luotettaviksi, voimassaoleviksi ja yleistettäviksi

Morphometric and physical characteristics distinguishing adult Patagonian lamprey, Geotria macrostoma from the pouched lamprey, Geotria australis

The pouched lamprey, Geotria australis Gray, 1851, has long been considered monotypic in the Geotriidae family with a wide southern temperate distribution across Australasia and South America. Recent studies have provided molecular and morphological evidence for a second Geotria species in South America; Geotria macrostoma (Burmeister, 1868). The aim of this study was to determine morphometric and physical characteristics of adult G. macrostoma that further differentiate this re-instated species of Geotriidae from G. australis. The diagnostic features discriminating immature adult G. macrostoma from G. australis when entering fresh water, are distinct differences in dentition, oral papillae and fimbriae counts and differences in coloration. In addition, G. macrostoma display greater growth of the prebranchial region and oral disc and has a deeper body depth and higher condition factor. All current ecological knowledge of the genus Geotria is based on Australasian populations, which may not be applicable to G. macrostoma. To ensure the conservation and protection of the Patagonian lamprey as a re-identified species, further investigations are needed to understand its life history, biology and ecology throughout its range

FGF receptor genes and breast cancer susceptibility: results from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium

Background:Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. Genome-wide association studies have identified FGFR2 as a breast cancer susceptibility gene. Common variation in other fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors might also modify risk. We tested this hypothesis by studying genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and imputed SNPs in FGFR1, FGFR3, FGFR4 and FGFRL1 in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Methods:Data were combined from 49 studies, including 53 835 cases and 50 156 controls, of which 89 050 (46 450 cases and 42 600 controls) were of European ancestry, 12 893 (6269 cases and 6624 controls) of Asian and 2048 (1116 cases and 932 controls) of African ancestry. Associations with risk of breast cancer, overall and by disease sub-type, were assessed using unconditional logistic regression. Results:Little evidence of association with breast cancer risk was observed for SNPs in the FGF receptor genes. The strongest evidence in European women was for rs743682 in FGFR3; the estimated per-allele odds ratio was 1.05 (95 confidence interval=1.02-1.09, P=0.0020), which is substantially lower than that observed for SNPs in FGFR2. Conclusion:Our results suggest that common variants in the other FGF receptors are not associated with risk of breast cancer to the degree observed for FGFR2. © 2014 Cancer Research UK

PHIP - a novel candidate breast cancer susceptibility locus on 6q14.1

Most non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer families have no identified genetic cause. We used linkage and haplotype analyses in familial and sporadic breast cancer cases to identify a susceptibility locus on chromosome 6q. Two independent genome-wide linkage analysis studies suggested a 3 Mb locus on chromosome 6q and two unrelated Swedish families with a LOD > 2 together seemed to share a haplotype in 6q14.1. We hypothesized that this region harbored a rare high-risk founder allele contributing to breast cancer in these two families. Sequencing of DNA and RNA from the two families did not detect any pathogenic mutations. Finally, 29 SNPs in the region were analyzed in 44,214 cases and 43,532 controls from BCAC, and the original haplotypes in the two families were suggested as low-risk alleles for European and Swedish women specifically. There was also some support for one additional independent moderate-risk allele in Swedish familial samples. The results were consistent with our previous findings in familial breast cancer and supported a breast cancer susceptibility locus at 6q14.1 around the PHIP gene.Peer reviewe

Genetic predisposition to ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

Background: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive form of breast cancer. It is often associated with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), and is considered to be a non-obligate precursor of IDC. It is not clear to what extent these two forms of cancer share low-risk susceptibility loci, or whether there are differences in the strength of association for shared loci. Methods: To identify genetic polymorphisms that predispose to DCIS, we pooled data from 38 studies comprising 5,067 cases of DCIS, 24,584 cases of IDC and 37,467 controls, all genotyped using the iCOGS chip. Results: Most (67 %) of the 76 known breast cancer predisposition loci showed an association with DCIS in the same direction as previously reported for invasive breast cancer. Case-only analysis showed no evidence for differences between associations for IDC and DCIS after considering multiple testing. Analysis by estrogen receptor (ER) status confirmed that loci associated with ER positive IDC were also associated with ER positive DCIS. Analysis of DCIS by grade suggested that two independent SNPs at 11q13.3 near CCND1 were specific to low/intermediate grade DCIS (rs75915166, rs554219). These associations with grade remained after adjusting for ER status and were also found in IDC. We found no novel DCIS-specific loci at a genome wide significance level of P < 5.0x10-8. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study provides the strongest evidence to date of a shared genetic susceptibility for IDC and DCIS. Studies with larger numbers of DCIS are needed to determine if IDC or DCIS specific loci exist

The BRCA2 c.68-7T > A variant is not pathogenic : A model for clinical calibration of spliceogenicity

Although the spliceogenic nature of the BRCA2 c.68-7T > A variant has been demonstrated, its association with cancer risk remains controversial. In this study, we accurately quantified by real-time PCR and digital PCR (dPCR), the BRCA2 isoforms retaining or missing exon 3. In addition, the combined odds ratio for causality of the variant was estimated using genetic and clinical data, and its associated cancer risk was estimated by case-control analysis in 83,636 individuals. Co-occurrence in trans with pathogenic BRCA2 variants was assessed in 5,382 families. Exon 3 exclusion rate was 4.5-fold higher in variant carriers (13%) than controls (3%), indicating an exclusion rate for the c.68-7T > A allele of approximately 20%. The posterior probability of pathogenicity was 7.44x10(-115). There was neither evidence for increased risk of breast cancer (OR 1.03; 95% CI 0.86-1.24) nor for a deleterious effect of the variant when co-occurring with pathogenic variants. Our data provide for the first time robust evidence of the nonpathogenicity of the BRCA2 c.68-7T > A. Genetic and quantitative transcript analyses together inform the threshold for the ratio between functional and altered BRCA2 isoforms compatible with normal cell function. These findings might be exploited to assess the relevance for cancer risk of other BRCA2 spliceogenic variants.Peer reviewe

Fine-Scale Mapping of the 5q11.2 Breast Cancer Locus Reveals at Least Three Independent Risk Variants Regulating MAP3K1

Peer reviewe

No evidence that protein truncating variants in BRIP1 are associated with breast cancer risk: implications for gene panel testing.

BACKGROUND: BRCA1 interacting protein C-terminal helicase 1 (BRIP1) is one of the Fanconi Anaemia Complementation (FANC) group family of DNA repair proteins. Biallelic mutations in BRIP1 are responsible for FANC group J, and previous studies have also suggested that rare protein truncating variants in BRIP1 are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. These studies have led to inclusion of BRIP1 on targeted sequencing panels for breast cancer risk prediction. METHODS: We evaluated a truncating variant, p.Arg798Ter (rs137852986), and 10 missense variants of BRIP1, in 48 144 cases and 43 607 controls of European origin, drawn from 41 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC). Additionally, we sequenced the coding regions of BRIP1 in 13 213 cases and 5242 controls from the UK, 1313 cases and 1123 controls from three population-based studies as part of the Breast Cancer Family Registry, and 1853 familial cases and 2001 controls from Australia. RESULTS: The rare truncating allele of rs137852986 was observed in 23 cases and 18 controls in Europeans in BCAC (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.58 to 2.03, p=0.79). Truncating variants were found in the sequencing studies in 34 cases (0.21%) and 19 controls (0.23%) (combined OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.48 to 1.70, p=0.75). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that truncating variants in BRIP1, and in particular p.Arg798Ter, are not associated with a substantial increase in breast cancer risk. Such observations have important implications for the reporting of results from breast cancer screening panels.The COGS project is funded through a European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme grant (agreement number 223175 - HEALTH-F2-2009-223175). BCAC is funded by Cancer Research UK [C1287/A10118, C1287/A12014] and by the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement number 223175 (grant number HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS). Funding for the iCOGS infrastructure came from: the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A 10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, C8197/A16565), the National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 16 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112 - the GAME-ON initiative), the Department of Defense (W81XWH-10-1- 0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer, Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. This study made use of data generated by the Wellcome Trust Case Control consortium. Funding for the project was provided by the Wellcome Trust under award 076113. The results published here are in part based upon data generated by The Cancer Genome Atlas Project established by the National Cancer Institute and National Human Genome Research Institute.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from BMJ Group at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103529

Identification of independent association signals and putative functional variants for breast cancer risk through fine-scale mapping of the 12p11 locus.

BACKGROUND: Multiple recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs10771399, at 12p11 that is associated with breast cancer risk. METHOD: We performed a fine-scale mapping study of a 700 kb region including 441 genotyped and more than 1300 imputed genetic variants in 48,155 cases and 43,612 controls of European descent, 6269 cases and 6624 controls of East Asian descent and 1116 cases and 932 controls of African descent in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC; http://bcac.ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/ ), and in 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). Stepwise regression analyses were performed to identify independent association signals. Data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements project (ENCODE) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used for functional annotation. RESULTS: Analysis of data from European descendants found evidence for four independent association signals at 12p11, represented by rs7297051 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.09, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.12; P = 3 × 10(-9)), rs805510 (OR = 1.08, 95 % CI = 1.04-1.12, P = 2 × 10(-5)), and rs1871152 (OR = 1.04, 95 % CI = 1.02-1.06; P = 2 × 10(-4)) identified in the general populations, and rs113824616 (P = 7 × 10(-5)) identified in the meta-analysis of BCAC ER-negative cases and BRCA1 mutation carriers. SNPs rs7297051, rs805510 and rs113824616 were also associated with breast cancer risk at P < 0.05 in East Asians, but none of the associations were statistically significant in African descendants. Multiple candidate functional variants are located in putative enhancer sequences. Chromatin interaction data suggested that PTHLH was the likely target gene of these enhancers. Of the six variants with the strongest evidence of potential functionality, rs11049453 was statistically significantly associated with the expression of PTHLH and its nearby gene CCDC91 at P < 0.05. CONCLUSION: This study identified four independent association signals at 12p11 and revealed potentially functional variants, providing additional insights into the underlying biological mechanism(s) for the association observed between variants at 12p11 and breast cancer risk.UK funding includes Cancer Research UK and NIH.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from BioMed Central via http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13058-016-0718-