Perspectives and limitations of gene expression profiling in rheumatology: new molecular strategies

The deciphering of the sequence of the human genome has raised the expectation of unravelling the specific role of each gene in physiology and pathology. High-throughput technologies for gene expression profiling provide the first practical basis for applying this information. In rheumatology, with its many diseases of unknown pathogenesis and puzzling inflammatory aspects, these advances appear to promise a significant advance towards the identification of leading mechanisms of pathology. Expression patterns reflect the complexity of the molecular processes and are expected to provide the molecular basis for specific diagnosis, therapeutic stratification, long-term monitoring and prognostic evaluation. Identification of the molecular networks will help in the discovery of appropriate drug targets, and permit focusing on the most effective and least toxic compounds. Current limitations in screening technologies, experimental strategies and bioinformatic interpretation will shortly be overcome by the rapid development in this field. However, gene expression profiling, by its nature, will not provide biochemical information on functional activities of proteins and might only in part reflect underlying genetic dysfunction. Genomic and proteomic technologies will therefore be complementary in their scientific and clinical application

Evolutionary associations between host traits and parasite load: insights from Lake Tanganyika cichlids

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.Parasite diversity and abundance (parasite load) vary greatly among host species. However, the influence of host traits on variation in parasitism remains poorly understood. Comparative studies of parasite load have largely examined measures of parasite species richness, and are predominantly based on records obtained from published data. Consequently, little is known about the relationships between host traits and other aspects of parasite load, such as parasite abundance, prevalence, and aggregation. Meanwhile, understanding of parasite species richness may be clouded by limitations associated with data collation from multiple independent sources. We conducted a field study of Lake Tanganyika cichlid fishes and their helminth parasites. Using a Bayesian phylogenetic comparative framework, we tested evolutionary associations between five key host traits (body size, gut length, diet breadth, habitat complexity, number of sympatric hosts) predicted to influence parasitism, together with multiple measures of parasite load. We find that the number of host species that a particular host may encounter due to its habitat preferences emerges as a factor of general importance for parasite diversity, abundance, and prevalence, but not parasite aggregation. In contrast, body size and gut size are positively related to aspects of parasite load within, but not between species. The influence of host phylogeny varies considerably among measures of parasite load, with the greatest influence exerted on parasite diversity. These results reveal that both host morphology and biotic interactions are key determinants of host-parasite associations, and that consideration of multiple aspects of parasite load is required to fully understand patterns in parasitism

In-beam internal conversion electron spectroscopy with the SPICE detector

The SPectrometer for Internal Conversion Electrons (SPICE) has been commissioned for use in conjunction with the TIGRESS $\gamma$-ray spectrometer at TRIUMF's ISAC-II facility. SPICE features a permanent rare-earth magnetic lens to collect and direct internal conversion electrons emitted from nuclear reactions to a thick, highly segmented, lithium-drifted silicon detector. This arrangement, combined with TIGRESS, enables in-beam $\gamma$-ray and internal conversion electron spectroscopy to be performed with stable and radioactive ion beams. Technical aspects of the device, capabilities, and initial performance are presented

Supplement 24, Part 6, Parasite-Subject Catalogue, Treatment

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr

Supplement 21, Part 2, Parasite-Subject Catalogue, Parasites: Protozoa

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr

Supplement 21, Part 4, Parasite-Subject Catalogue, Parasites: Nematoda and Acanthocephala

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr

Supplement 22, Part 5, Parasite-Subject Catalogue, Parasites: Arthropoda And Miscellaneous Phyla

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr

Supplement 24, Part 1, Authors: A To Z

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr

Supplement 21, Part 7, Parasite-Subject Catalogue, Hosts

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr