The Reconnection Process:Mobilizing the Social Capital of Dormant Ties

Prior research has identified the value of reconnecting dormant ties (i.e., people you used to know), allowing individuals to refresh relationships and mobilize the value inherent in a tie (i.e., its social capital). However, less well understood is how this reconnection process occurs, including how it can be done well or poorly. To address this lack of knowledge, we conducted multi-organizational research combining an inductive, qualitative field study of professional reconnections by individuals in the North Italian textile district (Study 1) and, to validate our findings, a vignette-based experiment with U.S. workers (Study 2). We find that the process of reconnecting dormant ties can and does fail, sometimes dramatically, when people do not refresh the tie and, as a result, do not trust where they stand with each other. Specifically, we find that three elements—remembering, catching up, and perceiving the tie similarly—are key to successfully mobilizing the value of a dormant tie

Biased estimates of clonal evolution and subclonal heterogeneity can arise from PCR duplicates in deep sequencing experiments

Accurate allele frequencies are important for measuring subclonal heterogeneity and clonal evolution. Deep-targeted sequencing data can contain PCR duplicates, inflating perceived read depth. Here we adapted the Illumina TruSeq Custom Amplicon kit to include single molecule tagging (SMT) and show that SMT-identified duplicates arise from PCR. We demonstrate that retention of PCR duplicate reads can imply clonal evolution when none exists, while their removal effectively controls the false positive rate. Additionally, PCR duplicates alter estimates of subclonal heterogeneity in tumor samples. Our method simplifies PCR duplicate identification and emphasizes their removal in studies of tumor heterogeneity and clonal evolution

Representation of the penalty term of dynamic concave utilities

In this paper we will provide a representation of the penalty term of general dynamic concave utilities (hence of dynamic convex risk measures) by applying the theory of g-expectations.Comment: An updated version is published in Finance & Stochastics. The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Effects of Hypericum Perforatum, in a rodent model of periodontitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Hypericum perforatum </it>is a medicinal plant species containing many polyphenolic compounds, namely flavonoids and phenolic acids. In this study we evaluate the effect of <it>Hypericum perforatum </it>in animal model of periodontitis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Periodontitis was induced in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats by placing a nylon thread ligature around the lower 1st molars. Hypericum perforatum was administered at the dose of 2 mg/kg os, daily for eight days. At day 8, the gingivomucosal tissue encircling the mandibular first molar was removed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Periodontitis in rats resulted in an inflammatory process characterized by edema, neutrophil infiltration and cytokine production that was followed by the recruitment of other inflammatory cells, production of a range of inflammatory mediators such as NF-κB and iNOS expression, the nitration of tyrosine residues and activation of the nuclear enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase; apoptosis and the degree of gingivomucosal tissues injury. We report here that Hypericum perforatum exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects significantly reducing all of the parameters of inflammation as described above.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, our results clearly demonstrate that treatment with Hypericum reduces the development of inflammation and tissue injury, events associated with periodontitis.</p

The feasibility of gene therapy in the treatment of head and neck cancer

Standard approach to the treatment of head and neck cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. More recently, dramatic increases in our knowledge of the molecular and genetic basis of cancer combined with advances in technology have resulted in novel molecular therapies for this disease. In particular, gene therapy, which involves the transfer of genetic material to cells to produce a therapeutic effect, has become a promising approach. Clinical trials concerning gene therapy strategies in head and neck cancer as well as combination of these strategies with chemotherapy and radiation therapy will be discussed

The Pancreatic Expression Database: 2018 update.

The Pancreatic Expression Database (PED, http://www.pancreasexpression.org) continues to be a major resource for mining pancreatic -omics data a decade after its initial release. Here, we present recent updates to PED and describe its evolution into a comprehensive resource for extracting, analysing and integrating publicly available multi-omics datasets. A new analytical module has been implemented to run in parallel with the existing literature mining functions. This analytical module has been created using rich data content derived from pancreas-related specimens available through the major data repositories (GEO, ArrayExpress) and international initiatives (TCGA, GENIE, CCLE). Researchers have access to a host of functions to tailor analyses to meet their needs. Results are presented using interactive graphics that allow the molecular data to be visualized in a user-friendly manner. Furthermore, researchers are provided with the means to superimpose layers of molecular information to gain greater insight into alterations and the relationships between them. The literature-mining module has been improved with a redesigned web appearance, restructured query platforms and updated annotations. These updates to PED are in preparation for its integration with the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Tissue Bank (PCRFTB), a vital resource of pancreas cancer tissue for researchers to support and promote cutting-edge research.Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund [Tissue Bank grant]; Cancer Research UK [Grant A12008]; Breast Cancer Campaign [Tissue Bank Bioinformatics grant TB2016BIF]

Genetic Inhibition of the Ubiquitin Ligase Rnf5 Attenuates Phenotypes Associated to F508del Cystic Fibrosis Mutation

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the CFTR chloride channel. Deletion of phenylalanine 508 (F508del), the most frequent CF mutation, impairs CFTR trafficking and gating. F508del-CFTR mistrafficking may be corrected by acting directly on mutant CFTR itself or by modulating expression/activity of CFTR-interacting proteins, that may thus represent potential drug targets. To evaluate possible candidates for F508del-CFTR rescue, we screened a siRNA library targeting known CFTR interactors. Our analysis identified RNF5 as a protein whose inhibition promoted significant F508del-CFTR rescue and displayed an additive effect with the investigational drug VX-809. Significantly, RNF5 loss in F508del-CFTR transgenic animals ameliorated intestinal malabsorption and concomitantly led to an increase in CFTR activity in intestinal epithelial cells. In addition, we found that RNF5 is differentially expressed in human bronchial epithelia from CF vs. control patients. Our results identify RNF5 as a target for therapeutic modalities to antagonize mutant CFTR proteins

Predicting complexity perception of real world images

The aim of this work is to predict the complexity perception of real world images.We propose a new complexity measure where different image features, based on spatial, frequency and color properties are linearly combined. In order to find the optimal set of weighting coefficients we have applied a Particle Swarm Optimization. The optimal linear combination is the one that best fits the subjective data obtained in an experiment where observers evaluate the complexity of real world scenes on a web-based interface. To test the proposed complexity measure we have performed a second experiment on a different database of real world scenes, where the linear combination previously obtained is correlated with the new subjective data. Our complexity measure outperforms not only each single visual feature but also two visual clutter measures frequently used in the literature to predict image complexity. To analyze the usefulness of our proposal, we have also considered two different sets of stimuli composed of real texture images. Tuning the parameters of our measure for this kind of stimuli, we have obtained a linear combination that still outperforms the single measures. In conclusion our measure, properly tuned, can predict complexity perception of different kind of images

Association of the DNMT3B -579G>T polymorphism with risk of thymomas in patients with myasthenia gravis

Increasing evidence suggests a contribution of epigenetic processes in promoting cancer and autoimmunity. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease mediated, in approximately 80% of the patients, by antibodies against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR+). Moreover, epithelial tumours (thymomas) are present in about 10-20% of the patients, and there is indication that changes in DNA methylation might contribute to the risk and progression of thymomas. However, the role of epigenetics in MG is still not completely clarified. In the present study we investigated if a common polymorphism (-579G&gt;T: rs1569686) in the promoter of the DNMT3B gene coding for the DNA methyltransferase 3B, an enzyme that mediates DNA methylation, increases the risk to develop MG or MG-associated thymomas. The study polymorphism was selected based on recent reports and a literature meta-analysis suggesting association with increased risk of various types of cancer. We screened 324 AChR+ MG patients (140 males and 184 females, mean age 56.0 \ub1 16.5 years) and 735 healthy matched controls (294 males and 441 females, mean age 57.3 \ub1 15.6 years). 94 of the total MG patients had a thymoma. While there was no association with the whole cohort of MG patients, we found a statistically significant association of the DNMT3B-579T allele (OR = 1.51; 95% CI=1.1-2.1, P = 0.01) and the TT homozygous genotype (OR = 2.59; 95% CI=1.4-4.9, P = 0.006) with the risk of thymoma. No association was observed in MG patients without thymoma, even after stratification into clinical subtypes. Present results suggest that the DNMT3B-579T allele might contribute to the risk of developing thymoma in MG patients, particularly in homozygous TT subjects