Association of PCK1 with Body Mass Index and Other Metabolic Features in Patients With Psychotropic Treatments.

Weight gain is a major health problem among psychiatric populations. It implicates several receptors and hormones involved in energy balance and metabolism. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 is a rate-controlling enzyme involved in gluconeogenesis, glyceroneogenesis and cataplerosis and has been related to obesity and diabetes phenotypes in animals and humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 polymorphisms with metabolic traits in psychiatric patients treated with psychotropic drugs inducing weight gain and in general population samples. One polymorphism (rs11552145G > A) significantly associated with body mass index in the psychiatric discovery sample (n = 478) was replicated in 2 other psychiatric samples (n1 = 168, n2 = 188), with AA-genotype carriers having lower body mass index as compared to G-allele carriers. Stronger associations were found among women younger than 45 years carrying AA-genotype as compared to G-allele carriers (-2.25 kg/m, n = 151, P = 0.009) and in the discovery sample (-2.20 kg/m, n = 423, P = 0.0004). In the discovery sample for which metabolic parameters were available, AA-genotype showed lower waist circumference (-6.86 cm, P = 0.008) and triglycerides levels (-5.58 mg/100 mL, P < 0.002) when compared to G-allele carriers. Finally, waist-to-hip ratio was associated with rs6070157 (proxy of rs11552145, r = 0.99) in a population-based sample (N = 123,865, P = 0.022). Our results suggest an association of rs11552145G > A polymorphism with metabolic-related traits, especially in psychiatric populations and in women younger than 45 years.

The Key Features of Knowledge and Knowledge Management in Product Development Process

Tutkimusongelmana oli kuinka tiedon johtamisella voidaan edesauttaa tuotekehitysprosessia. Mitkä ovat ne avaintekijät tietoympäristössä kuin myös itse tiedossa, joilla on merkitystä erityisesti tuotekehitysprosessin arvon muodostumiseen ja prosessien kehittämiseen? Tutkimus on laadullinen Case-tutkimus. Tutkimusongelmat on ensin selvitetty kirjallisuuden avulla, jonka jälkeen teoreettinen viitekehys on rakennettu tutkimaan rajattua ongelma-aluetta case-yrityksestä. Empiirisen tutkimuksen materiaali koostuu pääasiallisesti henkilökohtaisten teemahaastattelujen aineistosta. Tulokset merkittävimmistä tiedon hyväksikäytön haittatekijöistä, kuten myös parannusehdotukset on lajiteltu teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä esitettyjen oletustekijöiden mukaan. Haastatteluissa saadut vastaukset tukevat kirjallisuudesta ja alan ammattilaiselta saatua käsitystä tärkeimmistä vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Tärkeimmät toimenpiteet ja aloitteet joilla parannettaisiin tiedon muodostumista, koskivat ennnen kaikkea työnteon ulkoisia olosuhteita, eikä niinkään tiedon muodostumisen prosessia itseään. Merkittävimpiä haittatekijöitä olivat kultturiin, fyysiseen ja henkiseen tilaan ja henkilöstöresursseihin liittyvät ongelmat. Ratkaisuja ongelmiin odotettiin saatavan lähinnä tietotekniikan, henkilöstöresurssien ja itse tiedon muokkaamisen avulla. Tuotekehitysprosessin ydin tietovirtojen ja –pääomien luokittelu ja tulkitseminen tiedon muodostusta kuvaavan Learning Spiralin avulla antoi lähinnä teoreettisia viitteitä siitä millaisia keinoja on olemassa tiedon lisäämiseen ja jakamiseen eri tietotyypeittäin. Tulosten perusteella caseyrityksessä pitäisi kiinnittää erityistä huomiota tiedon dokumentointiin ja jakamiseen erityisesti sen tiedon osalta, joka on organisaatiossa vain harvalla ja/tai luonteeltaan hyvin tacitia.

Characterization of volatile organic gunshot residues in fired handgun cartridges by headspace sorptive extraction

In forensic investigation of firearm-related cases, determination of the residual amount of volatile compounds remaining inside a cartridge could be useful in estimating the time since its discharge. Published approaches are based on following the decrease of selected target compounds as a function of time by using solid phase micro-extraction (SPME). Naphthalene, as well as an unidentified decomposition product of nitrocellulose (referred to as "TEA2"), are usually employed for this purpose. However, reliability can be brought into question given their high volatility and the low reproducibility of their extracted quantities. In order to identify alternatives and therefore develop improved dating methods, an extensive study on the composition and variability of volatile residues in nine different types of cartridges was carried out. Analysis was performed using headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE), which is a more exhaustive technique compared to SPME. 166 compounds were identified (several of which for the first time), and it was observed that the final compositional characteristics of each residue were strongly dependent on its source. Variability of single identified compounds within and between different types of cartridge, as well as their evolution over time, was also studied. Many explosion products containing up to 4 aromatic rings were found to be globally present in high proportions amongst residues. 27 of them (excluding naphthalene) also presented detectable decreases during the first 24 h. Therefore, they could be used as complementary target analytes in future dating methods.

COMPARISON OF RNA EXTRACTION METHODS FOR Passiflora edulis SIMS LEAVES

ABSTRACT Functional genomic analyses require intact RNA; however, Passiflora edulis leaves are rich in secondary metabolites that interfere with RNA extraction primarily by promoting oxidative processes and by precipitating with nucleic acids. This study aimed to analyse three RNA extraction methods, Concert™ Plant RNA Reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA), TRIzol® Reagent (Invitrogen) and TRIzol® Reagent (Invitrogen)/ice -commercial products specifically designed to extract RNA, and to determine which method is the most effective for extracting RNA from the leaves of passion fruit plants. In contrast to the RNA extracted using the other 2 methods, the RNA extracted using TRIzol® Reagent (Invitrogen) did not have acceptable A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios and did not have ideal concentrations. Agarose gel electrophoresis showed a strong DNA band for all of the Concert™ method extractions but not for the TRIzol® and TRIzol®/ice methods. The TRIzol® method resulted in smears during electrophoresis. Due to its low levels of DNA contamination, ideal A260/A280 and A260/A230 ratios and superior sample integrity, RNA from the TRIzol®/ice method was used for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the resulting amplicons were highly similar. We conclude that TRIzol®/ice is the preferred method for RNA extraction for P. edulis leaves.

Addition of MR imaging features and genetic biomarkers strengthens glioblastoma survival prediction in TCGA patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to assess whether a model combining clinical factors, MR imaging features, and genomics would better predict overall survival of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) than either individual data type. METHODS: The study was conducted leveraging The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) effort supported by the National Institutes of Health. Six neuroradiologists reviewed MRI images from The Cancer Imaging Archive (http://cancerimagingarchive.net) of 102 GBM patients using the VASARI scoring system. The patients' clinical and genetic data were obtained from the TCGA website (http://www.cancergenome.nih.gov/). Patient outcome was measured in terms of overall survival time. The association between different categories of biomarkers and survival was evaluated using Cox analysis. RESULTS: The features that were significantly associated with survival were: (1) clinical factors: chemotherapy; (2) imaging: proportion of tumor contrast enhancement on MRI; and (3) genomics: HRAS copy number variation. The combination of these three biomarkers resulted in an incremental increase in the strength of prediction of survival, with the model that included clinical, imaging, and genetic variables having the highest predictive accuracy (area under the curve 0.679±0.068, Akaike's information criterion 566.7, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: A combination of clinical factors, imaging features, and HRAS copy number variation best predicts survival of patients with GBM.

Neotectonic features in the Catalan Coastal Ranges, Northeastern Spain

The Catalan Coastal Ranges constitute the northwestem emerged sector of the Catalan-Valencian domain of the Valencia trough. Since late Oligocene this domain of the Valencia trough was subjected to extension wich gradually attenuated during later periods. The Miocene tectonic evolution of the Catalan Coastal Ranges is relativelly well known while the Pliocene to-Quaternary stages have not been studied in detail. The recorded seismicity of the area is moderate and constant but not sufficiently intense to cliaracterize and locate recent tectonics. However, geological analysis provides further information. A morphotectonic and deformational analysis of the Catalan Coastal Ranges is presented in this paper.

Hire me: Computational inference of hirability in employment interviews based on nonverbal behavior

Understanding the basis on which recruiters form hirability impressions for a job applicant is a key issue in organizational psychology and can be addressed as a social computing problem. We approach the problem from a face-to-face, nonverbal perspective where behavioral feature extraction and inference are automated. This paper presents a computational framework for the automatic prediction of hirability. To this end, we collected an audio-visual dataset of real job interviews where candidates were applying for a marketing job. We automatically extracted audio and visual behavioral cues related to both the applicant and the interviewer. We then evaluated several regression methods for the prediction of hirability scores and showed the feasibility of conducting such a task, with ridge regression explaining 36.2% of the variance. Feature groups were analyzed, and two main groups of behavioral cues were predictive of hirability: applicant audio features and interviewer visual cues, showing the predictive validity of cues related not only to the applicant, but also to the interviewer. As a last step, we analyzed the predictive validity of psychometric questionnaires often used in the personnel selection process, and found that these questionnaires were unable to predict hirability, suggesting that hirability impressions were formed based on the interaction during the interview rather than on questionnaire data.

New features of the layer-by-layer deposition of microcrystalline silicon films revealed by spectroscopic ellipsometry and high resolution transmission electron microscopy

Spectroscopic ellipsometry and high resolution transmission electron microscopy have been used to characterize microcrystalline silicon films. We obtain an excellent agreement between the multilayer model used in the analysis of the optical data and the microscopy measurements. Moreover, thanks to the high resolution achieved in the microscopy measurements and to the improved optical models, two new features of the layer-by-layer deposition of microcrystalline silicon have been detected: i) the microcrystalline films present large crystals extending from the a-Si:H substrate to the film surface, despite the sequential process in the layer-by-layer deposition; and ii) a porous layer exists between the amorphous silicon substrate and the microcrystalline silicon film.

CBS: an open platform that integrates predictive methods and epigenetics information to characterize conserved regulatory features in multiple Drosophila genomes.

Background: Information about the composition of regulatory regions is of great value for designing experiments to functionally characterize gene expression. The multiplicity of available applications to predict transcription factor binding sites in a particular locus contrasts with the substantial computational expertise that is demanded to manipulate them, which may constitute a potential barrier for the experimental community. Results: CBS (Conserved regulatory Binding Sites, http://compfly.bio.ub.es/CBS) is a public platform of evolutionarily conserved binding sites and enhancers predicted in multiple Drosophila genomes that is furnished with published chromatin signatures associated to transcriptionally active regions and other experimental sources of information. The rapid access to this novel body of knowledge through a user-friendly web interface enables non-expert users to identify the binding sequences available for any particular gene, transcription factor, or genome region. Conclusions: The CBS platform is a powerful resource that provides tools for data mining individual sequences and groups of co-expressed genes with epigenomics information to conduct regulatory screenings in Drosophila.

On Option Price Information Content and Extraction of Implied Probability Distributions

In this study we used market settlement prices of European call options on stock index futures to extract implied probability distribution function (PDF). The method used produces a PDF of returns of an underlying asset at expiration date from implied volatility smile. With this method, the assumption of lognormal distribution (Black-Scholes model) is tested. The market view of the asset price dynamics can then be used for various purposes (hedging, speculation). We used the so called smoothing approach for implied PDF extraction presented by Shimko (1993). In our analysis we obtained implied volatility smiles from index futures markets (S&P 500 and DAX indices) and standardized them. The method introduced by Breeden and Litzenberger (1978) was then used on PDF extraction. The results show significant deviations from the assumption of lognormal returns for S&P500 options while DAX options mostly fit the lognormal distribution. A deviant subjective view of PDF can be used to form a strategy as discussed in the last section.

Influence of the claimant’s behavioural features on motor compensation outcomes

The decision to settle a motor insurance claim by either negotiation or trial is analysed. This decision may depend on how risk and confrontation adverse or pessimistic the claimant is. The extent to which these behavioural features of the claimant might influence the final compensation amount are examined. An empirical analysis, fitting a switching regression model to a Spanish database, is conducted in order to analyze whether the choice of the conflict resolution procedure is endogenous to the compensation outcomes. The results show that compensations awarded by courts are always higher, although 95% of cases are settled by negotiation. We show that this is because claimants are adverse to risk and confrontation, and are pessimistic about their chances at trial. By contrast, insurers are risk - confrontation neutral and more objective in relation to the expected trial compensation. During the negotiation insurers accept to pay the subjective compensation values of claimants, since these values are lower than their estimates of compensations at trial.

Unique features of odorant-binding proteins of the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis revealed by genome annotation and comparative analyses

Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, comprising over 90% of all metazoan life forms, and have adapted to a wide diversity of ecosystems in nearly all environments. They have evolved highly sensitive chemical senses that are central to their interaction with their environment and to communication between individuals. Understanding the molecular bases of insect olfaction is therefore of great importance from both a basic and applied perspective. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are some of most abundant proteins found in insect olfactory organs, where they are the first component of the olfactory transduction cascade, carrying odorant molecules to the olfactory receptors. We carried out a search for OBPs in the genome of the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis and identified 90 sequences encoding putative OBPs. This is the largest OBP family so far reported in insects. We report unique features of the N. vitripennis OBPs, including the presence and evolutionary origin of a new subfamily of double-domain OBPs (consisting of two concatenated OBP domains), the loss of conserved cysteine residues and the expression of pseudogenes. This study also demonstrates the extremely dynamic evolution of the insect OBP family: (i) the number of different OBPs can vary greatly between species; (ii) the sequences are highly diverse, sometimes as a result of positive selection pressure with even the canonical cysteines being lost; (iii) new lineage specific domain arrangements can arise, such as the double domain OBP subfamily of wasps and mosquitoes.