Global Standards: Recent Developments betweend the Poles of Privacy and Cloud Computing

The development of the Internet has made it possible to transfer data ‘around the globe at the click of a mouse’. Especially fresh business models such as cloud computing, the newest driver to illustrate the speed and breadth of the online environment, allow this data to be processed across national borders on a routine basis. A number of factors cause the Internet to blur the lines between public and private space: Firstly, globalization and the outsourcing of economic actors entrain an ever-growing exchange of personal data. Secondly, the security pressure in the name of the legitimate fight against terrorism opens the access to a significant amount of data for an increasing number of public authorities.And finally,the tools of the digital society accompany everyone at each stage of life by leaving permanent individual and borderless traces in both space and time. Therefore, calls from both the public and private sectors for an international legal framework for privacy and data protection have become louder. Companies such as Google and Facebook have also come under continuous pressure from governments and citizens to reform the use of data. Thus, Google was not alone in calling for the creation of ‘global privacystandards’. Efforts are underway to review established privacy foundation documents. There are similar efforts to look at standards in global approaches to privacy and data protection. The last remarkable steps were the Montreux Declaration, in which the privacycommissioners appealed to the United Nations ‘to prepare a binding legal instrument which clearly sets out in detail the rights to data protection and privacy as enforceable human rights’. This appeal was repeated in 2008 at the 30thinternational conference held in Strasbourg, at the 31stconference 2009 in Madrid and in 2010 at the 32ndconference in Jerusalem. In a globalized world, free data flow has become an everyday need. Thus, the aim of global harmonization should be that it doesn’t make any difference for data users or data subjects whether data processing takes place in one or in several countries. Concern has been expressed that data users might seek to avoid privacy controls by moving their operations to countries which have lower standards in their privacy laws or no such laws at all. To control that risk, some countries have implemented special controls into their domestic law. Again, such controls may interfere with the need for free international data flow. A formula has to be found to make sure that privacy at the international level does not prejudice this principle.

EGFR exon-level biomarkers of the response to bevacizumab/erlotinib in non-small cell lung cancer

Activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are recognized biomarkers for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). EGFR TKIs can also have activity against NSCLC without EGFR mutations, requiring the identification of additional relevant biomarkers. Previous studies on tumor EGFR protein levels and EGFR gene copy number revealed inconsistent results. The aim of the study was to identify novel biomarkers of the response to TKIs in NSCLC by investigating whole genome expression at the exon-level. We used exon arrays and clinical samples from a previous trial (SAKK19/05) to investigate the expression variations at the exon-level of 3 genes potentially playing a key role in modulating treatment response: EGFR, V-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA). We identified the expression of EGFR exon 18 as a new predictive marker for patients with untreated metastatic NSCLC treated with bevacizumab and erlotinib in the first line setting. The overexpression of EGFR exon 18 in tumor was significantly associated with tumor shrinkage, independently of EGFR mutation status. A similar significant association could be found in blood samples. In conclusion, exonic EGFR expression particularly in exon 18 was found to be a relevant predictive biomarker for response to bevacizumab and erlotinib. Based on these results, we propose a new model of EGFR testing in tumor and blood.

Analysis of ⁸⁵Kr: a comparison at the 10-14 level using micro-liter samples

The isotopic abundance of 85Kr in the atmosphere, currently at the level of 10−11, has increased by orders of magnitude since the dawn of nuclear age. With a half-life of 10.76 years, 85Kr is of great interest as tracers for environmental samples such as air, groundwater and ice. Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) is an emerging method for the analysis of rare krypton isotopes at isotopic abundance levels as low as 10−14 using krypton gas samples of a few micro-liters. Both the reliability and reproducibility of the method are examined in the present study by an inter-comparison among different instruments. The 85Kr/Kr ratios of 12 samples, in the range of 10−13 to 10−10, are measured independently in three laboratories: a low-level counting laboratory in Bern, Switzerland, and two ATTA laboratories, one in Hefei, China, and another in Argonne, USA. The results are in agreement at the precision level of 5%.

Patient Characteristics and Outcomes of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Patients Undergoing Imatinib Plasma Level Testing

Although gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is effectively treated with imatinib, there are a number of clinical challenges in the optimal treatment of these patients. The plasma steady-state trough level of imatinib has been proposed to correlate with clinical outcome. Plasma imatinib level may be affected by a number of patient characteristics. Additionally, the ideal plasma trough concentration of imatinib is likely to vary based on the KIT genotype (genotype determines imatinib binding affinity) of the individual patient. Patients’ genotype or plasma imatinib level may influence the type and duration of response that is appreciable by clinical evaluation. The objectives of this study were to determine effects of genotype on the type of response appreciable by current imaging criteria, to determine the distribution of plasma imatinib levels in patients with GIST, to determine factors that correlate with plasma imatinib level, to determine the incremental effects of imatinib dose escalation; and to explore the median plasma levels and outcomes of patients with various KIT mutations. We therefore obtained KIT mutation information and analyzed CT response for size and density measurement of GISTs at baseline and within the first four moths of imatinib treatment. In 126 patients with metastatic/unresectable disease, the KIT genotype of patients’ tumor was significantly associated with unique response characteristics measurable by CT. Furthermore, hepatic and peritoneal metastases differed in their response characteristics. A subgroup of patients with KIT exon 9 mutation, who received higher doses of imatinib and experienced higher trough imatinib levels, experienced improved progression-free survival similar to that of KIT exon 11 patients. Therefore, we have found that imatinib plasma levels were higher in patients with elevated Aspartate amino transferase, were women, were older, or were being treated concomitantly with CYP450 substrate drugs. As expected, CYP450 inducers correlated with a lower plasma imatinib levels in GIST patients. Renal metabolism of imatinib accounts for <10%, so it was not included in the analysis but may affect covariates. Interestingly, there was a trend for low imatinib levels and inferior progression-free survival in patients who had undergone complete gastrectomy. Patients with KIT exon 9 mutation in our cohort received higher imatinib doses, experienced higher trough imatinib levels, and experienced a PFS similar to that of KIT exon 11 patients. In conclusion, imatinib plasma levels are influenced by a number of patient characteristics. The optimal imatinib plasma level for individual patients is not known but is an area of intense investigation. Our study confirms patients with KIT exon 9 mutations benefit from high-dose imatinib and higher trough imatinib levels.

Molecular basis of retinoid action: The role of retinoic acid receptors in retinoic acid-induced tissue transglutaminase expression

Retinoic acid has profound effects on the cellular growth and differentiation of a variety of cells. However, the molecular basis of retinoic acid action has, until recently, not been well understood. The identification of retinoic acid receptors which bear a high degree of homology to members of the steroid receptor super-family has dramatically altered our understanding of the biology of retinoids. The focus of this dissertation has been toward identification of retinoic acid binding proteins responsible for the effects of this molecule on gene expression.^ We have characterized in detail the retinoic acid-dependent induction of tissue transglutaminase gene expression in a myeloid cell line, human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60 cells). Using cDNA probes specific for tissue transglutaminase, we have determined that the retinoic acid induced increase in enzyme level is due to an increase in the level of tissue transglutaminase mRNA. We have used this model as a probe to investigate the molecular basis of retinoid regulated gene expression.^ This thesis demonstrates that retinoic acid receptors are expressed in cells which induce tissue transglutaminase expression in response to retinoic acid. In Hl-60 cells retinoic acid-induced transglutaminase expression is associated with saturable nuclear retonic acid binding. Transcripts for both the alpha and beta forms of the retinoic acid receptors can be detected in these cells. Pretreatment of HL-60 cells with agents that potentiate retinoic acid-induced transglutaminase expression also modestly induced the alpha form of the retinoic acid receptor. Studies in macrophages and umbilical vein endothelial cells have also associated expression of the beta form of the retinoic acid with retinoic acid induced tissue transglutaminase expression.^ To investigate directly if retinoic acid receptors regulate retinoic acid-induced tissue transglutaminase expression we developed a series of stably transfected Balb-c 3T3 cells expressing different levels of the beta or gamma form of the retinoic acid receptor. These studies indicated that either the beta or gamma receptor can stimulate endogenous tissue transglutaminase expression in response to retinoic acid. These are among the first studies in the steroid field to describe regulation of an endogenous gene by a transfected receptor. ^

THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SURVEY INSTRUMENT FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

Using stress and coping as a unifying theoretical concept, a series of five models was developed in order to synthesize the survey questions and to classify information. These models identified the question, listed the research study, described measurements, listed workplace data, and listed industry and national reference data.^ A set of 38 instrument questions was developed within the five coping correlate categories. In addition, a set of 22 stress symptoms was also developed. The study was conducted within two groups, police and professors, on a large university campus. The groups were selected because their occupations were diverse, but they were a part of the same macroenvironment. The premise was that police officers would be more highly stressed than professors.^ Of a total study group of 80, there were 37 respondents. The difference in the mean stress responses was observable between the two groups. Not only were the responses similar within each group, but the stress level of response was also similar within each group. While the response to the survey instrument was good, only 3 respondents answered the stress symptom survey properly. It was determined that none of the 37 respondents believed that they were ill. This perception of being well was also evidenced by the grand mean of the stress scores of 2.76 (3.0 = moderate stress). This also caused fewer independent variables to be entered in the multiple regression model.^ The survey instrument was carefully designed to be universal. Universality is the ability to transcend occupational or regional definitions as applied to stress. It is the ability to measure responses within broad categories such as physiological, emotional, behavioral, social, and cognitive functions without losing the ability to measure the detail within the individual questions, or the relationships between questions and categories.^ Replication is much easier to achieve with standardized categories, questions, and measurement procedures such as those developed for the universal survey instrument. Because the survey instrument is universal it can be used as an analytical device, an assessment device, a basic tool for planning and a follow-up instrument to measure individual response to planned reductions in occupational stress. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) ^

Persistence of Artemisia steppe in the Tangra Yumco Basin, west-central Tibet, China: despite or in consequence of Holocene lake-level changes?

The closed Tangra Yumco Basin underwent the strongest Quaternary lake-level changes so far recorded on the Tibetan Plateau. It was hitherto unknown what effect this had on local Holocene vegetation development. A 3.6-m sediment core from a recessional lake terrace at 4,700 m a.s.l., 160 m above the present lake level of Tangra Yumco, was studied to reconstruct Holocene flooding phases (sedimentology and ostracod analyses), vegetation dynamics and human influence (palynology, charcoal and coprophilous fungi analyses). Peat at the base of the profile proves lake level was below 4,700 m a.s.l. during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. A deep-lake phase started after 11 cal ka BP, but the ostracod record indicates the level was not higher than similar to 4,720 m a.s.l. (180 m above present) and decreased gradually after the early Holocene maximum. Additional sediment ages from the basin suggest recession of Tangra Yumco from the coring site after 2.6 cal ka BP, with a shallow local lake persisting at the site until similar to 1 cal ka BP. The final peat formation indicates drier conditions thereafter. Persistence of Artemisia steppe during the Holocene lake high-stand resembles palynological records from west Tibet that indicate early Holocene aridity, in spite of high lake levels that may have resulted from meltwater input. Yet pollen assemblages indicate humidity closer to that of present potential forest areas near Lhasa, with 500-600 mm annual precipitation. Thus, the early mid-Holocene humidity was sufficient to sustain at least juniper forest, but Artemisia dominance persisted as a consequence of a combination of environmental disturbances such as (1) strong early Holocene climate fluctuations, (2) inundation of habitats suitable for forest, (3) extensive water surfaces that served as barriers to terrestrial diaspore transport from refuge areas, (4) strong erosion that denuded the non-flooded upper slopes and (5) increasing human influence since the late glacial.

More Money, Fewer Problems? Cross-Level Effects of Economic Deprivation on Political Representation

While equal political representation of all citizens is a fundamental democratic goal, it is hampered empirically in a multitude of ways. This study examines how the societal level of economic inequality affects the representation of relatively poor citizens by parties and governments. Using CSES survey data for citizens’ policy preferences and expert placements of political parties, empirical evidence is found that in economically more unequal societies, the party system represents the preferences of relatively poor citizens worse than in more equal societies. This moderating effect of economic equality is also found for policy congruence between citizens and governments, albeit slightly less clear-cut.

Effect of sedation level on the prevalence of delirium when assessed with CAM-ICU and ICDSC

Purpose We hypothesized that reduced arousability (Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale, RASS, scores −2 to −3) for any reason during delirium assessment increases the apparent prevalence of delirium in intensive care patients. To test this hypothesis, we assessed delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) and Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC) in intensive care patients during sedation stops, and related the findings to the level of sedation, as assessed with RASS score. Methods We assessed delirium in 80 patients with ICU stay longer than 48 h using CAM-ICU and ICDSC during daily sedation stops. Sedation was assessed using RASS. The effect of including patients with a RASS of −2 and −3 during sedation stop (“light to moderate sedation”, eye contact less than 10 s or not at all, respectively) on prevalence of delirium was analyzed. Results A total of 467 patient days were assessed. The proportion of CAM-ICU-positive evaluations decreased from 53 to 31 % (p < 0.001) if assessments from patients at RASS −2/−3 (22 % of all assessments) were excluded. Similarly, the number of positive ICDSC results decreased from 51 to 29 % (p < 0.001). Conclusions Sedation per se can result in positive items of both CAM-ICU and ICDSC, and therefore in a diagnosis of delirium. Consequently, apparent prevalence of delirium is dependent on how a depressed level of consciousness after sedation stop is interpreted (delirium vs persisting sedation). We suggest that any reports on delirium using these assessment tools should be stratified for a sedation score during the assessment.

Plant-plant interactions, environmental gradients and plant diversity: A global synthesis of community-level studies

Previous syntheses on the effects of environmental conditions on the outcome of plant-plant interactions summarize results from pairwise studies. However, the upscaling to the community-level of such studies is problematic because of the existence of multiple species assemblages and species-specific responses to both the environmental conditions and the presence of neighbors. We conducted the first global synthesis of community-level studies from harsh environments, which included data from 71 alpine and 137 dryland communities to: (i) test how important are facilitative interactions as a driver of community structure, (ii) evaluate whether we can predict the frequency of positive plant-plant interactions across differing environmental conditions and habitats, and (iii) assess whether thresholds in the response of plant-plant interactions to environmental gradients exists between ``moderate'' and ``extreme'' environments. We also used those community-level studies performed across gradients of at least three points to evaluate how the average environmental conditions, the length of the gradient studied, and the number of points sampled across such gradient affect the form and strength of the facilitation-environmental conditions relationship. Over 25% of the species present were more spatially associated to nurse plants than expected by chance in both alpine and chyland areas, illustrating the high importance of positive plant-plant interactions for the maintenance of plant diversity in these environments. Facilitative interactions were more frequent, and more related to environmental conditions, in alpine than in dryland areas, perhaps because drylands are generally characterized by a larger variety of environmental stress factors and plant functional traits. The frequency of facilitative interactions in alpine communities peaked at 1000 mm of annual rainfall, and globally decreased with elevation. The frequency of positive interactions in dtyland communities decreased globally with water scarcity or temperature annual range. Positive facilitation-drought stress relationships are more likely in shorter regional gradients, but these relationships are obscured in regions with a greater species turnover or with complex environmental gradients. By showing the different climatic drivers and behaviors of plant-plant interactions in dryland and alpine areas, our results will improve predictions regarding the effect of facilitation on the assembly of plant communities and their response to changes in environmental conditions.

Delayed HIV diagnosis and initiation of antiretroviral therapy: inequalities by educational level, COHERE in EuroCoord.

OBJECTIVES In Europe and elsewhere, health inequalities among HIV-positive individuals are of concern. We investigated late HIV diagnosis and late initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) by educational level, a proxy of socioeconomic position. DESIGN AND METHODS We used data from nine HIV cohorts within COHERE in Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, collecting data on level of education in categories of the UNESCO/International Standard Classification of Education standard classification: non-completed basic, basic, secondary and tertiary education. We included individuals diagnosed with HIV between 1996 and 2011, aged at least 16 years, with known educational level and at least one CD4 cell count within 6 months of HIV diagnosis. We examined trends by education level in presentation with advanced HIV disease (AHD) (CD4 <200 cells/μl or AIDS within 6 months) using logistic regression, and distribution of CD4 cell count at cART initiation overall and among presenters without AHD using median regression. RESULTS Among 15 414 individuals, 52, 45,37, and 31% with uncompleted basic, basic, secondary and tertiary education, respectively, presented with AHD (P trend <0.001). Compared to patients with tertiary education, adjusted odds ratios of AHD were 1.72 (95% confidence interval 1.48-2.00) for uncompleted basic, 1.39 (1.24-1.56) for basic and 1.20 (1.08-1.34) for secondary education (P < 0.001). In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, median CD4 cell count at cART initiation was lower with poorer educational level. CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomic inequalities in delayed HIV diagnosis and initiation of cART are present in European countries with universal healthcare systems and individuals with lower educational level do not equally benefit from timely cART initiation.

Imputation of sequence level genotypes in the Franches-Montagnes horse breed

BACKGROUND A cost-effective strategy to increase the density of available markers within a population is to sequence a small proportion of the population and impute whole-genome sequence data for the remaining population. Increased densities of typed markers are advantageous for genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic predictions. METHODS We obtained genotypes for 54 602 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in 1077 Franches-Montagnes (FM) horses and Illumina paired-end whole-genome sequencing data for 30 FM horses and 14 Warmblood horses. After variant calling, the sequence-derived SNP genotypes (~13 million SNPs) were used for genotype imputation with the software programs Beagle, Impute2 and FImpute. RESULTS The mean imputation accuracy of FM horses using Impute2 was 92.0%. Imputation accuracy using Beagle and FImpute was 74.3% and 77.2%, respectively. In addition, for Impute2 we determined the imputation accuracy of all individual horses in the validation population, which ranged from 85.7% to 99.8%. The subsequent inclusion of Warmblood sequence data further increased the correlation between true and imputed genotypes for most horses, especially for horses with a high level of admixture. The final imputation accuracy of the horses ranged from 91.2% to 99.5%. CONCLUSIONS Using Impute2, the imputation accuracy was higher than 91% for all horses in the validation population, which indicates that direct imputation of 50k SNP-chip data to sequence level genotypes is feasible in the FM population. The individual imputation accuracy depended mainly on the applied software and the level of admixture.

Motivational profiles of sport event volunteers.

Aim of the study Due to the valuable contribution made by volunteers to sporting events, a better understanding of volunteers’ motivation is imperative for event managers in order to develop effective volunteer re-cruitment and retention strategies. The adoption of working conditions and task domains to the mo-tives and needs of volunteers is one of the key challenges in volunteer management. Conversely, an ignorance of the motives and needs of volunteers could negatively affect their performance and attitude, which will have negative consequences for the execution of events (Strigas & Jackson, 2003). In general, the motives of volunteers are located on a continuum between selflessness (e.g. helping others), and self-interest (e.g. pursuing one’s own interests). Furthermore, it should take into account that volunteers may be motivated by more than one need or goal, and therefore, configure different bundles of motives, resulting in heterogeneous types of motives for voluntary engagement (Dolnicar & Randle, 2007). Despite the extensive number of studies on the motives of sport event volunteers, only few studies focus on the analysis of individual motive profiles concerning volun-teering. Accordingly, we will take a closer look at the following questions: To what extent do volun-teers at sporting events differ in the motives of their engagement, and how can the volunteers be ade-quately classified? Theoretical Background According to the functional approach, relevant subjective motives are related to the outcomes and consequences that volunteering is supposed to lead to and to produce. This means, individuals’ mo-tives determine which incentives are anticipated in return for volunteering (e.g. increase in social contacts), and are important for engaging in volunteering, e.g. the choice between different oppor-tunities for voluntary activity, or different tasks (Stukas et al., 2009). Additionally, inter-individual differences of motive structures as well as matching motives in the reflections of voluntary activities will be considered by using a person-oriented approach. In the person-oriented approach, it is not the specific variables that are made the entities of investigation, but rather persons with a certain combination of characteristic features (Bergmann et al., 2003). Person-orientation in the field of sports event volunteers, it is therefore essential to implement an orientation towards people as a unit of analysis. Accordingly, individual motive profiles become the object of investigation. The individ-ual motive profiles permit a glimpse of intra-individual differences in the evaluation of different motive areas, and thus represent the real subjective perspective. Hence, a person will compare the importance of individual motives for his behaviour primarily in relation to other motives (e.g. social contacts are more important to me than material incentives), and make fewer comparisons with the assessments of other people. Methodology, research design and data analysis The motives of sports event volunteers were analysed in the context of the European Athletics Championships 2014 in Zürich. After data cleaning, the study sample contained a total of 1,169 volunteers, surveyed by an online questionnaire. The VMS-ISA scale developed by Bang and Chel-ladurai (2009) was used and replicated successfully by a confirmatory factor analysis. Accordingly, all seven factors of the scale were included in the subsequent cluster analysis to determine typical motive profiles of volunteers. Before proceeding with the cluster analysis, an intra-individual stand-ardization procedure (according to Spiel, 1998) was applied to take advantage of the intra-individual relationships between the motives of the volunteers. Intra-individual standardization means that every value of each motive dimension was related to the average individual level of ex-pectations. In the final step, motive profiles were determined using a hierarchic cluster analysis based on Ward’s method with squared Euclidean distances. Results, discussion and implications The results reveal that motivational processes differ among sports event volunteers, and that volunteers sometimes combine contradictory bundles of motives. In our study, four different volunteer motive profiles were identified and described by their positive levels on the individual motive dimension: the community supporters, the material incentive seekers, the social networkers, and the career and personal growth pursuers. To describe the four identified motive profiles in more detail and to externally validate them, the clusters were analysed in relation to socio-economic, sport-related, and voluntary work characteristics. This motive-based typology of sports event volunteers can provide valuable guidance for event managers in order to create distinctive and designable working conditions and tasks at sporting events that should, in relation to a person-oriented approach, be tailored to a wide range of individ-ual prerequisites. Furthermore, specific recruitment procedures and appropriate communication measures can be defined in order to approach certain groups of potential volunteers more effectively. References Bang, H., & Chelladurai, P. (2009). Development and validation of the volunteer motivations scale for international sporting events (VMS-ISE). International Journal Sport Management and Market-ing, 6, 332-350. Bergmann, L. R., Magnusson, D., & El-Khouri, B. M. (2003). Studying individual development in an interindividual context. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Dolnicar, S., & Randle, M. (2007). What motivates which volunteers? Psychographic heterogeneity among volunteers in Australia. Voluntas, 18, 135-155. Spiel, C. (1998). Four methodological approaches to the study of stability and change in develop-ment. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 3, 8-22. Stukas, A. A., Worth, K. A., Clary, E. G., & Snyder, M. (2009). The matching of motivations to affordances in the volunteer environment: an index for assessing the impact of multiple matches on volunteer outcomes. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, 5-28.

Longitudinal study on the colonisation and transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pig farms.

Knowledge about the dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pigs lacks detail at the level of individual animal. The aim of our study was therefore to determine the colonisation status of MRSA in individual pigs from birth to slaughter in order to gain a better understanding of substantial factors involved in transmission. Two farrow-to-finish and two grow-to-finish herds were included in the study. A total of 1728 nasal swabs from 390 pigs and 592 environmental wipes were collected at 11 different time points. Intermittent colonisation throughout the entire production cycle was conspicuous in the tracking of MRSA in individual pigs. Almost all pigs from a MRSA-positive herd changed MRSA status several times, which implies that pigs are transiently rather than permanently colonised. We highly recommend the definition of MRSA status at herd level rather that at the level of the individual pig when considering prevention measures against MRSA. Therefore, to avoid the further spread of MRSA in countries with moderate prevalence, such as in Switzerland, defining farms as MRSA positive or MRSA negative and allowing the trade of pigs only within herds of the same status seems feasible. This will also be important for combating the further dissemination of livestock-associated (LA)-MRSA into healthcare facilities and the community via humans who have close contact with animals.

Physiogenomic Analysis of Weight Loss Induced by Dietary Carbohydrate Restriction

ABSTRACT : BACKGROUND : Diets that restrict carbohydrate (CHO) have proven to be a successful dietary treatment of obesity for many people, but the degree of weight loss varies across individuals. The extent to which genetic factors associate with the magnitude of weight loss induced by CHO restriction is unknown. We examined associations among polymorphisms in candidate genes and weight loss in order to understand the physiological factors influencing body weight responses to CHO restriction. METHODS : We screened for genetic associations with weight loss in 86 healthy adults who were instructed to restrict CHO to a level that induced a small level of ketosis (CHO ~10% of total energy). A total of 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected from 15 candidate genes involved in fat digestion/metabolism, intracellular glucose metabolism, lipoprotein remodeling, and appetite regulation. Multiple linear regression was used to rank the SNPs according to probability of association, and the most significant associations were analyzed in greater detail. RESULTS : Mean weight loss was 6.4 kg. SNPs in the gastric lipase (LIPF), hepatic glycogen synthase (GYS2), cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) and galanin (GAL) genes were significantly associated with weight loss. CONCLUSION : A strong association between weight loss induced by dietary CHO restriction and variability in genes regulating fat digestion, hepatic glucose metabolism, intravascular lipoprotein remodeling, and appetite were detected. These discoveries could provide clues to important physiologic adaptations underlying the body mass response to CHO restriction.