16 research outputs found
Chromosomal radiosensitivity of lymphocytes in South African breast cancer patients of different ethnicity: An indirect measure of cancer susceptibility
Background. Breast cancer is the leading cancer among South African (SA) women. SA has citizens from diverse ethnic groups, and the lifetime risk of breast cancer differs according to ethnicity. Candidate genes for increased breast cancer risk are those involved in DNA damage repair pathways, and mutations in these genes are characterised by increased chromosomal radiosensitivity. Several European studies have shown that breast cancer patients are more sensitive to ionising radiation than healthy individuals.Objectives. To investigate the in vitro chromosomal radiosensitivity of SA women with breast cancer and the possible influence of ethnicity and clinical parameters on chromosomal radiosensitivity.Methods. Chromosomal radiosensitivity was analysed with the micronucleus assay using lymphocytes of breast cancer patients and healthy individuals of different ethnic groups. Lymphocytes were irradiated in vitro with 2 Gy or 4 Gy, and micronuclei (MN) were scored 70 hours after irradiation. These MN frequencies were correlated with the ethnicity and clinical parameters of the breast cancer patients.Results. MN values were higher in breast cancer patients than in healthy controls. This was noted for black and white breast cancer patients at the different radiation doses. No correlations could be demonstrated between MN values and clinical parameters of the breast cancer, except that MN values were significantly higher in oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers.Conclusion. SA breast cancer patients have elevated chromosomal radiosensitivity compared with healthy controls. ER positivity also influences chromosomal radiosensitivity
COSORE: A community database for continuous soil respiration and other soilâatmosphere greenhouse gas flux data
Globally, soils store two to three times as much carbon as currently resides in the atmosphere, and it is critical to understand how soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and uptake will respond to ongoing climate change. In particular, the soilâtoâatmosphere CO2 flux, commonly though imprecisely termed soil respiration (RS), is one of the largest carbon fluxes in the Earth system. An increasing number of highâfrequency RS measurements (typically, from an automated system with hourly sampling) have been made over the last two decades; an increasing number of methane measurements are being made with such systems as well. Such high frequency data are an invaluable resource for understanding GHG fluxes, but lack a central database or repository. Here we describe the lightweight, openâsource COSORE (COntinuous SOil REspiration) database and software, that focuses on automated, continuous and longâterm GHG flux datasets, and is intended to serve as a community resource for earth sciences, climate change syntheses and model evaluation. Contributed datasets are mapped to a single, consistent standard, with metadata on contributors, geographic location, measurement conditions and ancillary data. The design emphasizes the importance of reproducibility, scientific transparency and open access to data. While being oriented towards continuously measured RS, the database design accommodates other soilâatmosphere measurements (e.g. ecosystem respiration, chamberâmeasured net ecosystem exchange, methane fluxes) as well as experimental treatments (heterotrophic only, etc.). We give brief examples of the types of analyses possible using this new community resource and describe its accompanying R software package
Memes and symbolic violence: #proudboys and the use of memes for propaganda and the construction of collective identity
Additional file 1: Table S1. of BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2 mutations and CHEK2 c.1100delC in different South African ethnic groups diagnosed with premenopausal and/or triple negative breast cancer
Overview of grading and staging of breast cancer on diagnosis (DOC 30ĂÂ kb
Additional file 2: Table S2. of BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2 mutations and CHEK2 c.1100delC in different South African ethnic groups diagnosed with premenopausal and/or triple negative breast cancer
Overview of sequencing coverage per run (DOC 29ĂÂ kb