Diasporas and secessionist conflicts : the mobilization of the Armenian, Albanian and Chechen diasporas

This article examines the impact of diasporas on secessionist conflicts, focusing on the Albanian, Armenian and Chechen diasporas and the conflicts in Kosovo, Karabakh and Chechnya during the 1990s. How do diasporas radicalize these conflicts? I argue that despite differences in diaspora communal characteristics and the types of the secessionist conflicts, a common pattern of mobilization develops. Large-scale diasporic support for secessionism emerges only after independence is proclaimed by the local elites. From that point onwards diasporas become engaged in a conflict spiral, and transnational coalitions are formed between local secessionist and diaspora groups. Depending on the organizational strength of the local strategic centre and the diasporic institutions, these coalitions endure or dissipate. Diasporas exert radicalization influences on the conflict spiral on two specific junctures – when grave violations of human rights occur in the homeland and when local moderate elites start losing credibility that they can achieve the secessionist goal

Variants in autophagy-related genes and clinical characteristics in melanoma: a population-based study

Autophagy has been linked with melanoma risk and survival, but no polymorphisms in autophagy-related (ATG) genes have been investigated in relation to melanoma progression. We examined five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in three ATG genes (ATG5; ATG10; and ATG16L) with known or suspected impact on autophagic flux in an international population-based case-control study of melanoma. DNA from 911 melanoma patients was genotyped. An association was identified between (GG) (rs2241880) and earlier stage at diagnosis (OR 0.47; 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = 0.27-0.81, P = 0.02) and a decrease in Breslow thickness (P = 0.03). The ATG16L heterozygous genotype (AG) (rs2241880) was associated with younger age at diagnosis (P = 0.02). Two SNPs in ATG5 were found to be associated with increased stage (rs2245214 CG, OR 1.47; 95% CI = 1.11-1.94, P = 0.03; rs510432 CC, OR 1.84; 95% CI = 1.12-3.02, P = 0.05). Finally, we identified inverse associations between ATG5 (GG rs2245214) and melanomas on the scalp or neck (OR 0.20, 95% CI = 0.05-0.86, P = 0.03); ATG10 (CC) (rs1864182) and brisk tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) (OR 0.42; 95% CI = 0.21-0.88, P = 0.02), and ATG5 (CC) (rs510432) with nonbrisk TILs (OR 0.55; 95% CI = 0.34-0.87, P = 0.01). Our data suggest that ATG SNPs might be differentially associated with specific host and tumor characteristics including age at diagnosis, TILs, and stage. These associations may be critical to understanding the role of autophagy in cancer, and further investigation will help characterize the contribution of these variants to melanoma progression

Associations of Cumulative Sun Exposure and Phenotypic Characteristics with Histologic Solar Elastosis

Solar elastosis adjacent to melanomas in histologic sections is regarded as an indicator of sun exposure although the associations of ultraviolet (UV) exposure and phenotype with solar elastosis are yet to be fully explored

Evaluation of ELISA-Based Multiplex Peptides for the Detection of Human Serum Antibodies Induced by Zika Virus Infection across Various Countries

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus with a positive-sense RNA genome, which are generally transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. ZIKV infections could be associated with neurological sequelae that, and otherwise produces similar clinical symptoms as other co-circulating pathogens. Past infection with one member of the Flavivirus genus often induces cross-reactive antibodies against other flaviruses. These attributes complicate the ability to differentially diagnose ZIKV infection from other endemic mosquito-borne viruses, making it both a public health issue as well as a diagnostic challenge. We report the results from serological analyses using arbovirus-specific peptides on 339 samples that were previously collected from 6 countries. Overall, we found that our multiplexed peptide-based ELISA was highly efficient for identifying ZIKV antibodies as early as 2 weeks post infection, and that it correlates with microneutralization, plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNTs) and commercial tests for ZIKV in previously characterized samples. We observed that seropositivity varied by patient cohort, reflecting the sampling period in relation to the 2015–2016 ZIKV outbreak. This work evaluates the accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of our peptide-based ELISA method for detecting ZIKV antibodies from geographically diverse regions. These findings can contribute to ongoing serological methods development and can be adapted for use in future studies

Variants in autophagy-related genes and clinical characteristics in melanoma: a population-based study.

Autophagy has been linked with melanoma risk and survival, but no polymorphisms in autophagy-related (ATG) genes have been investigated in relation to melanoma progression. We examined five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in three ATG genes (ATG5; ATG10; and ATG16L) with known or suspected impact on autophagic flux in an international population-based case-control study of melanoma. DNA from 911 melanoma patients was genotyped. An association was identified between (GG) (rs2241880) and earlier stage at diagnosis (OR 0.47; 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = 0.27-0.81, P = 0.02) and a decrease in Breslow thickness (P = 0.03). The ATG16L heterozygous genotype (AG) (rs2241880) was associated with younger age at diagnosis (P = 0.02). Two SNPs in ATG5 were found to be associated with increased stage (rs2245214 CG, OR 1.47; 95% CI = 1.11-1.94, P = 0.03; rs510432 CC, OR 1.84; 95% CI = 1.12-3.02, P = 0.05). Finally, we identified inverse associations between ATG5 (GG rs2245214) and melanomas on the scalp or neck (OR 0.20, 95% CI = 0.05-0.86, P = 0.03); ATG10 (CC) (rs1864182) and brisk tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) (OR 0.42; 95% CI = 0.21-0.88, P = 0.02), and ATG5 (CC) (rs510432) with nonbrisk TILs (OR 0.55; 95% CI = 0.34-0.87, P = 0.01). Our data suggest that ATG SNPs might be differentially associated with specific host and tumor characteristics including age at diagnosis, TILs, and stage. These associations may be critical to understanding the role of autophagy in cancer, and further investigation will help characterize the contribution of these variants to melanoma progression