The differentiation of intestinal stem cells involves few DNA methylation changes, assayed by bisulfite sequencing, in contrast to other adult somatic stem cell hierarchies.Please see related ...Research article: http://genomebiology.com/2013/14/5/R50
The E11.5 mouse metanephros is comprised of a T-stage ureteric epithelial tubule sub-divided into tip and trunk cells surrounded by metanephric mesenchyme (MM). Tip cells are induced to undergo ...branching morphogenesis by the MM. In contrast, signals within the mesenchyme surrounding the trunk prevent ectopic branching of this region. In order to identify novel genes involved in the molecular regulation of branching morphogenesis we compared the gene expression profiles of isolated tip, trunk and MM cells using Compugen mouse long oligo microarrays. We identified genes enriched in the tip epithelium,
sim-1,
Arg2,
Tacstd1,
Crlf-1 and
BMP7; genes enriched in the trunk epithelium,
Innp1, Itm2b, Mkrn1, SPARC, Emu2 and
Gsta3 and genes spatially restricted to the mesenchyme surrounding the trunk,
CSPG2 and
CV-2, with overlapping and complimentary expression to
BMP4, respectively. This study has identified genes spatially expressed in regions of the developing kidney involved in branching morphogenesis, nephrogenesis and the development of the collecting duct system, calyces, renal pelvis and ureter.
Empirical analysis requires researchers to choose which variables to use as controls in their models. Theory should dictate this choice, yet often in social science there are several theories that ...may suggest the inclusion or exclusion of certain variables as controls. The result of this is that researchers may use different variables in their models and come to disparate conclusions with respect to predicted effects and their statistical significance. In such cases one is uncertain of which particular set of regressors forms the model that represents the data. The approach used below accounts for uncertainty in variable selection by using Bayesian model averaging (BMA). Accounting for uncertainty, we demonstrate that BMA provides better out-of-sample prediction for university graduation rates than results based on alternative variable selection methods.
Highlights • Strict infection control measures are required to terminate an RSV outbreak. • Other viruses of outbreak potential may be detectable among health care workers. • RSV-B may be less ...virulent than RSV-A among immunocompromised adults.
Background To date, no ischemic stroke outcome prediction scores have been validated for use in the setting of both endovascular and non-endovascular stroke treatments. The Totaled Health Risks in ...Vascular Events (THRIVE) score has been previously validated in patients undergoing endovascular stroke treatment, and we hypothesized that it would perform similarly well in patients receiving intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) or no acute therapy. Methods We compared the performance of the THRIVE score between patients in the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) tPA trial and patients in the Mechanical Embolus Removal in Cerebral Ischemia (MERCI) trials of endovascular stroke treatment. The predictive performance of the THRIVE score was compared using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. In the NINDS cohort, separate analyses were also performed for patients receiving tPA versus those receiving placebo. Results ROC curve analysis revealed a good prediction of outcomes across the range of THRIVE scores in both the NINDS and MERCI datasets. As we have previously found in the MERCI datasets, the THRIVE score, which encompasses the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, age, and chronic disease burden, was a better predictor of outcomes than NIHSS and age alone in the NINDS trial dataset. THRIVE score and tPA administration both strongly predicted outcome, but these effects were statistically independent. Conclusions The THRIVE score provides accurate prediction of long-term neurologic outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke regardless of treatment modality. Both the THRIVE score and tPA administration predict outcome, but the THRIVE score does not influence the impact of tPA on outcome, and tPA administration does not influence the impact of THRIVE score on outcome.
The importance that is placed on graduation rates as a measure of the success of institutions of higher education warrant the ongoing research into understanding the determinants of these educational ...outcomes. This study examines the role of institutional factors in determining graduation rates at doctoral universities. While controlling for student characteristics, we find that institutional characteristics are an important determinant of four-, five-, and six-year graduation rates. Student-faculty ratios, percentage of faculty that are full time, total expenditures and tuition and fees all play a significant role in explaining graduation rates at the universities in our sample.
Members of the caspase family of cysteine proteases coordinate the morphological and biochemical events that typify apoptosis. However, neutralization of caspase activity in mammals fails to block ...death in response to most proapoptotic stimuli. This is because many cell death triggers provoke mitochondrial dysfunction upstream of caspase activation as a consequence of BAX/BAK channel opening. Although genetic or pharmacological inactivation of caspases fails to block cell death in most instances, it does convert the phenotype from apoptosis to necrosis. This has important implications for how the immune system responds to such cells, as necrotic cells provoke inflammation whereas apoptotic cells typically do not. Here, we propose an alternative perspective on apoptosis-associated caspase function by suggesting that these proteases are activated, not to kill, but to extinguish the proinflammatory properties of dying cells. This perspective unifies the mammalian caspase family as either positive or negative regulators of inflammation.
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