Interactive Visual Analysis of Heterogeneous Cohort Study Data

Cohort studies in medicine are conducted to enable the study of medical hypotheses in large samples. Often, a large amount of heterogeneous data is acquired from many subjects. The analysis is usually hypothesis-driven, i.e., a specific subset of such data is studied to confirm or reject specific hypotheses. In this paper, we demonstrate how we enable the interactive visual exploration and analysis of such data, helping with the generation of new hypotheses and contributing to the process of validating them. We propose a data-cube based model which handles partially overlapping data subsets during the interactive visualization. This model enables seamless integration of the heterogeneous data, as well as linking spatial and non-spatial views on these data. We implemented this model in an application prototype, and used it to analyze data acquired in the context of a cohort study on cognitive aging. We present case-study analyses of selected aspects of brain connectivity by using the prototype implementation of the presented model, to demonstrate its potential and flexibility

Identification of a novel cis-regulatory element for UV-B-induced transcription in Arabidopsis

Ultraviolet-B light (UV-B) regulates the expression of genes in a wavelength- and fluence rate-dependent fashion. A signaling pathway consisting of CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENESIS 1 (COP1) and UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR 8) mediates responsiveness to longer wavelength, low intensity UV-B light-activating, for example, HY5 gene expression. By contrast, transcription of another group of genes, including ANAC13, modulated by shorter wavelength, higher intensity UV-B is controlled by a yet unknown and largely COP1-independent signaling cascade. Here we provide evidence by promoter deletion analysis, and characterization of genetic mutants displaying aberrant expression patterns, that two cis-regulatory elements, designated MRE(ANAC13) and UVBox(ANAC13), are required for maximal UV-B induction of the ANAC13 gene in transgenic plants. These elements are located in the proximal 150-bp region of the ANAC13 promoter. They show no significant similarity to each other; the putative MRE(ANAC13) (-AACCTT-) is closely related to MRE(CHS) (-AACCTA-) found in the CHALCONE SYNTHASE (CHS) gene, whereas UVBox(ANAC13) (with core sequence CAAG) represents a novel cis-regulatory element. The novel UVBox(ANAC13) sequence is significantly enriched in the promoter region of a subset of UV-B-induced genes with similar activation properties as ANAC13. In addition, we demonstrate that expression of a chimeric gene containing only the dimerized 12-mer containing UVBox(ANAC13) fused to a minimal CaMV35S promoter/luciferase reporter is (i) efficiently induced by shorter wavelength, higher intensity UV-B, but (ii) does not respond either to longer wavelength UV-B and red light or (iii) to abscisic acid treatment and osmotic, salt, heat and cold stresses

Identification of a novel cis-regulatory element for UV-B-induced transcription in Arabidopsis

Ultraviolet-B light (UV-B) regulates the expression of genes in a wavelength- and fluence rate-dependent fashion. A signaling pathway consisting of CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENESIS 1 (COP1) and UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR 8) mediates responsiveness to longer wavelength, low intensity UV-B light-activating, for example, HY5 gene expression. By contrast, transcription of another group of genes, including ANAC13, modulated by shorter wavelength, higher intensity UV-B is controlled by a yet unknown and largely COP1-independent signaling cascade. Here we provide evidence by promoter deletion analysis, and characterization of genetic mutants displaying aberrant expression patterns, that two cis-regulatory elements, designated MRE(ANAC13) and UVBox(ANAC13), are required for maximal UV-B induction of the ANAC13 gene in transgenic plants. These elements are located in the proximal 150-bp region of the ANAC13 promoter. They show no significant similarity to each other; the putative MRE(ANAC13) (-AACCTT-) is closely related to MRE(CHS) (-AACCTA-) found in the CHALCONE SYNTHASE (CHS) gene, whereas UVBox(ANAC13) (with core sequence CAAG) represents a novel cis-regulatory element. The novel UVBox(ANAC13) sequence is significantly enriched in the promoter region of a subset of UV-B-induced genes with similar activation properties as ANAC13. In addition, we demonstrate that expression of a chimeric gene containing only the dimerized 12-mer containing UVBox(ANAC13) fused to a minimal CaMV35S promoter/luciferase reporter is (i) efficiently induced by shorter wavelength, higher intensity UV-B, but (ii) does not respond either to longer wavelength UV-B and red light or (iii) to abscisic acid treatment and osmotic, salt, heat and cold stresses