Cultural adaptation and resilience: Controversies, issues and emerging models

What enables people to bounce back from stressful experiences? How do certain individuals maintain a sense of purpose and direction over the long term, even in the face of adversity? This is the first book to move beyond childhood and adolescence to explore resilience across the lifespan. Coverage ranges from genetic and physiological factors through personal, family, organizational, and community processes. Contributors examine how resilience contributes to health and well-being across the adult life cycle; why—and what happens when—resilience processes fail; ethnic and cultural dimensions of resilience; and ways to enhance adult resilience, including reviews of exemplary programs.

Resilience: A new definition of health for people and communities

What enables people to bounce back from stressful experiences? How do certain individuals maintain a sense of purpose and direction over the long term, even in the face of adversity? This is the first book to move beyond childhood and adolescence to explore resilience across the lifespan. Coverage ranges from genetic and physiological factors through personal, family, organizational, and community processes. Contributors examine how resilience contributes to health and well-being across the adult life cycle; why—and what happens when—resilience processes fail; ethnic and cultural dimensions of resilience; and ways to enhance adult resilience, including reviews of exemplary programs.

Firms’ information system characteristics and management accounting adaptability

This study explores the relationship between the qualities of an information system and management accounting adaptability (MAA) and effectiveness in firms. Design/methodology/approach I develop and empirically test a model where the qualities of the information system and management accounting effectiveness are mediated by MAA. Findings Information system flexibility (ISF) and shared knowledge had a significant and positive correlation with MAA, which in turn had a positive and significant correlation with management accounting effectiveness. There was also a moderation effect of ISF on the correlation betweeen information system integration and MAA. Research implications Information system integration may not lead to management accounting stability, but the lack of flexibility of a system and a lack of cooperation between the stakeholders might lead to its stagnation. Practical implications Organizations are advised to implement solutions that are relatively flexible and modular, as well as encourage cooperation between stakeholders to fully leverage and improve the existing and future systems. Originality/value The study extends the discourse on the interaction between management accounting and information systems by exploring the role of a number of factors that drive MAA.

Genomewide screens in ankylosing spondylitis

Efforts to identify genes other than HLA-B27 in AS have been driven by the strength of the evidence from genetic epidemiology studies indicating that HLA-B27, although a major gene in AS, is clearly not the only significant gene operating. This is the case for both genetic determinants of disease-susceptibility and phenotypic characteristics such as disease severity and associated disease features. In this chapter the genetic epidemiology of AS and the gene-mapping studies performed to date will be reviewed and the future direction of research in this field discussed.

Susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis in twins: The role of genes, HLA, and the environment

Objective To determine the relative effects of genetic and environmental factors in susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods Twins with AS were identified from the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases database. Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed to establish diagnoses, and disease severity was assessed using a combination of validated scoring systems. HLA typing for HLA-B27, HLA-B60, and HLA-DR1 was performed by polymerase chain reaction with sequence- specific primers, and zygosity was assessed using microsatellite markers. Genetic and environmental variance components were assessed with the program Mx, using data from this and previous studies of twins with AS. Results Six of 8 monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs were disease concordant, compared with 4 of 15 B27-positive dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs (27%) and 4 of 32 DZ twin pairs overall (12.5%). Nonsignificant increases in similarity with regard to age at disease onset and all of the disease severity scores assessed were noted in disease-concordant MZ twins compared with concordant DZ twins. HLA-B27 and B60 were associated with the disease in probands, and the rate of disease concordance was significantly increased among DZ twin pairs in which the co- twin was positive for both B27 and DR1. Additive genetic effects were estimated to contribute 97% of the population variance. Conclusion Susceptibility to AS is largely genetically determined, and the environmental trigger for the disease is probably ubiquitous. HLA-B27 accounts for a minority of the overall genetic susceptibility to AS.

Is disease severity in ankylosing spondylitis genetically determined?

Objective. To assess the role of genes and the environment in determining the severity of ankylosing spondylitis. Methods: One hundred seventy-three families with >1 case of ankylosing spondylitis were recruited (120 affected sibling pairs, 26 affected parent-child pairs, 20 families with both first- and second-degree relatives affected, and 7 families with only second-degree relatives affected), comprising a total of 384 affected individuals. Disease severity was assessed by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and functional impairment was determined using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). Disease duration and age at onset were also studied. Variance-components modeling was used to determine the genetic and environmental components Contributing to familiality of the traits examined, and complex segregation analysis was performed to assess different disease models. Results. Both the disease activity and functional capacity as assessed by the BASDAI and the BASFI, respectively, were found to be highly familial (BASDAI familiality 0.51 [P = 10-4], BASFI familiality 0,68 [P = 3 × 10-7]). No significant shared environmental component was demonstrated to be associated with either the BASDAI or the BASFI. Including age at disease onset and duration of disease as covariates made no difference in the heritability assessments. A strong correlation was noted between the BASDAI and the BASFI (genetic correlation 0.9), suggesting the presence of shared determinants of these 2 measures. However, there was significant residual heritability for each measure independent of the other (BASFI residual heritability 0.48, BASDAI 0,36), perhaps indicating that not all genes influencing disease activity influence chronicity. No significant heritability of age at disease onset was found (heritability 0.18; P = 0.2). Segregation studies suggested the presence of a single major gene influencing the BASDAI and the BASFI. Conclusion. This study demonstrates a major genetic contribution to disease severity in ankylosing spondylitis. As with susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis, shared environmental factors play little role in determining the disease severity.

A novel LEMD3 mutation common to patients with osteopoikilosis with and without melorheostosis

Recent studies have reported loss of function mutations in the LEMD3 gene, encoding an inner nuclear membrane protein that influences Smad signaling, as a cause of osteopoikilosis, Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome, and melorheostosis. We investigated LEMD3 in a three-generation family with osteopoikilosis from the Azores, an affected father and daughter from Ireland with osteopoikilosis (the daughter also had melorheostosis), and two other individuals from the UK with isolated melorheostosis. We found a novel C to T substitution at position 2032 bp (cDNA) in exon 8 of LEMD3, resulting in a premature stop codon at amino acid position 678. This mutation co-segregates with the osteopoikilosis phenotype in both the Azorean family and the Irish family. It was not detected in any of the six unaffected family members or in 342 healthy Caucasian individuals. No LEMD3 mutations were detected in the two patients with sporadic melorheostosis. The LEMD3 mutation reported was clearly the cause of osteopoikilosis in the two families but its relationship to melorheostosis in one of the family members is still unclear. Perhaps unsurprisingly in what is a segmental disease, we did not find LEMD3 mutations in peripheral-blood-derived DNA from the two other individuals with sporadic melorheostosis. The nature of the additional genetic and/or environmental influences required for the development of melorheostosis in those with osteopoikilosis requires further investigation.

Comparison of visual status of Iranian military and commercial drivers

Background There is no legal requirement for Iranian military truck drivers to undergo regular visual checkups as compared to commercial truck drivers. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the impact of drivers’ visual checkups by comparing the visual function of Iranian military and commercial truck drivers. Patients and Methods In this comparative cross-sectional study, two hundred military and 200 commercial truck drivers were recruited and their Visual Acuity (VA), Visual Field (VF), color vision and Contrast Sensitivity (CS) were assessed and compared using the Snellen chart, confrontation screening method, D15 test and Pelli-Robson letter chart, respectively. A questionnaire regarding driving exposure and history of motor-vehicle crashes (MVCs) was also filled by drivers. Results were analyzed using an independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA (assessing difference in number of MVCs across different age groups), chi-square test and Pearson correlation at statistical significance level of P < 0.05. Results Mean age was 41.6 ± 9.2 for the military truck drivers and 43.4 ± 10.9 for commercial truck drivers (P > 0.05). No significant difference between military and commercial drivers was found in terms of driving experience, number of MVCs, binocular VA, frequency of color vision defects and CS scores. In contrast, the last ocular examination was significantly earlier in military drivers than commercial drivers (P < 0.001). In addition, 4% of military drivers did not meet the national standards to drive as opposed to 2% of commercial drivers. There was a significant but weak correlation between binocular VA and age (r = 0.175, P < 0.001). However, CS showed a significantly moderate correlation with age (r = -0.488, P < 0.001). Conclusions The absence of legal requirement for regular eye examination in military drivers caused the incompetent drivers to be missed in contrast to commercial drivers. The need for scientific revision of VA standard for Iranian drivers is also discussed. The CS measurement in visual checkups of older drivers deserves to be investigated more thoroughly.

Modeling meat yield based on measurements of body traits in genetically improved giant freshwater prawn (GFP) Macrobrachium rosenbergii

A single-generation dataset consisting of 1,730 records from a selection program for high growth rate in giant freshwater prawn (GFP, Macrobrachium rosenbergii) was used to derive prediction equations for meat weight and meat yield. Models were based on body traits [body weight, total length and abdominal width (AW)] and carcass measurements (tail weight and exoskeleton-off weight). Lengths and width were adjusted for the systematic effects of selection line, male morphotypes and female reproductive status, and for the covariables of age at slaughter within sex and body weight. Body and meat weights adjusted for the same effects (except body weight) were used to calculate meat yield (expressed as percentage of tail weight/body weight and exoskeleton-off weight/body weight). The edible meat weight and yield in this GFP population ranged from 12 to 15 g and 37 to 45 %, respectively. The simple (Pearson) correlation coefficients between body traits (body weight, total length and AW) and meat weight were moderate to very high and positive (0.75–0.94), but the correlations between body traits and meat yield were negative (−0.47 to −0.74). There were strong linear positive relationships between measurements of body traits and meat weight, whereas relationships of body traits with meat yield were moderate and negative. Step-wise multiple regression analysis showed that the best model to predict meat weight included all body traits, with a coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.99 and a correlation between observed and predicted values of meat weight of 0.99. The corresponding figures for meat yield were 0.91 and 0.95, respectively. Body weight or length was the best predictor of meat weight, explaining 91–94 % of observed variance when it was fitted alone in the model. By contrast, tail width explained a lower proportion (69–82 %) of total variance in the single trait models. It is concluded that in practical breeding programs, improvement of meat weight can be easily made through indirect selection for body trait combinations. The improvement of meat yield, albeit being more difficult, is possible by genetic means, with 91 % of the variation in the trait explained by the body and carcass traits examined in this study.

A mouse model for spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita with secondary osteoarthritis due to a Col2a1 mutation

Progeny of mice treated with the mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) revealed a mouse, designated Longpockets (Lpk), with short humeri, abnormal vertebrae, and disorganized growth plates, features consistent with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC). The Lpk phenotype was inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Lpk/+ mice were viable and fertile and Lpk/Lpk mice died perinatally. Lpk was mapped to chromosome 15 and mutational analysis of likely candidates from the interval revealed a Col2a1 missense Ser1386Pro mutation. Transient transfection of wild-type and Ser1386Pro mutant Col2a1 c-Myc constructs in COS-7 cells and CH8 chondrocytes demonstrated abnormal processing and endoplasmic reticulum retention of the mutant protein. Histology revealed growth plate disorganization in 14-day-old Lpk/+ mice and embryonic cartilage from Lpk/+ and Lpk/Lpk mice had reduced safranin-O and type-II collagen staining in the extracellular matrix. The wild-type and Lpk/+ embryos had vertical columns of proliferating chondrocytes, whereas those in Lpk/Lpk mice were perpendicular to the direction of bone growth. Electron microscopy of cartilage from 18.5 dpc wild-type, Lpk/+, and Lpk/Lpk embryos revealed fewer and less elaborate collagen fibrils in the mutants, with enlarged vacuoles in the endoplasmic reticulum that contained amorphous inclusions. Micro-computed tomography (CT) scans of 12-week-old Lpk/+ mice revealed them to have decreased bone mineral density, and total bone volume, with erosions and osteophytes at the joints. Thus, an ENU mouse model with a Ser1386Pro mutation of the Col2a1 C-propeptide domain that results in abnormal collagen processing and phenotypic features consistent with SEDC and secondary osteoarthritis has been established.

Genetics and genomics of ankylosing spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common, highly heritable arthropathy, the pathogenesis of which is poorly understood. The mechanism by which the main gene for the disease, HLA-B27, leads to AS is unknown. Genetic and genomic studies have demonstrated involvement of the interleukin-23 (IL-23) signaling pathway in AS, a finding which has stimulated much new research into the disease and has led to therapeutic trials. Several other genes and genetic regions, including further major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and non-MHC loci, have been shown to be involved in the disease, but it is not clear yet how they actually induce the condition. These findings have shown that there is a strong genetic overlap between AS and Crohn's disease in particular, although there are also major differences in the genes involved in the two conditions, presumably explaining their different presentations. Genomic and proteomic studies are in an early phase but have potential both as diagnostic/prognostic tools and as a further hypothesis-free tool to investigate AS pathogenesis. Given the slow progress in studying the mechanism of association of HLA-B27 with AS, these may prove to be more fruitful approaches to investigating the pathogenesis of the disease. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Genetic disorders of the LRP5-Wnt signalling pathway affecting the skeleton

Osteoporosis is a common, increasingly prevalent and potentially debilitating condition of men and women. Genetic factors are major determinants of bone mass and the risk of fracture, but few genes have been definitively demonstrated to be involved. The identification of these factors will provide novel insights into the processes of bone formation and loss and thus the pathogenesis of osteoporosis, enabling the rational development of novel therapies. In this article, we present the extensive genetic and functional data indicating that the LRP5 gene and the Wnt signalling pathway are key players in bone formation and the risk of osteoporosis, and that LRP5 signalling is essential for normal morphology, developmental processes and bone health.

Analysing commercial catch and effort data from a penaeid trawl fishery: A comparison of linear models, mixed models, and generalised estimating equations approaches

Statistical methods are often used to analyse commercial catch and effort data to provide standardised fishing effort and/or a relative index of fish abundance for input into stock assessment models. Achieving reliable results has proved difficult in Australia's Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF), due to a combination of such factors as the biological characteristics of the animals, some aspects of the fleet dynamics, and the changes in fishing technology. For this set of data, we compared four modelling approaches (linear models, mixed models, generalised estimating equations, and generalised linear models) with respect to the outcomes of the standardised fishing effort or the relative index of abundance. We also varied the number and form of vessel covariates in the models. Within a subset of data from this fishery, modelling correlation structures did not alter the conclusions from simpler statistical models. The random-effects models also yielded similar results. This is because the estimators are all consistent even if the correlation structure is mis-specified, and the data set is very large. However, the standard errors from different models differed, suggesting that different methods have different statistical efficiency. We suggest that there is value in modelling the variance function and the correlation structure, to make valid and efficient statistical inferences and gain insight into the data. We found that fishing power was separable from the indices of prawn abundance only when we offset the impact of vessel characteristics at assumed values from external sources. This may be due to the large degree of confounding within the data, and the extreme temporal changes in certain aspects of individual vessels, the fleet and the fleet dynamics.

Reclassification of Pasteurella gallinarum, [Haemophilus] paragallinarum, Pasteurella avium and Pasteurella volantium as Avibacterium gallinarum gen. nov., comb. nov., Avibacterium paragallinarum comb. nov., Avibacterium avium comb. nov. and Avibacterium volantium comb. nov.

This paper describes a phenotypic and genotypic investigation of the taxonomy of [Haemophilus] paragallinarum, Pasteurella gallinarum, Pasteurella avium and Pasteurella volantium, a major subcluster within the avian 16S rRNA cluster 18 of the family Pasteurellaceae. An extended phenotypic characterization was performed of the type strain of [Haemophilus] paragallinarum, which is NAD-dependent, and eight NAD-independent strains of [Haemophilus] paragallinarum. Complete 16S rRNA gene sequences were obtained for one NAD-independent and four NAD-dependent [Haemophilus] paragallinarum strains. These five sequences along with existing 16S rRNA gene sequences for 11 other taxa within avian 16S rRNA cluster 18 as well as seven other taxa from the Pasteurellaceae were subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The analysis demonstrated that [Haemophilus] paragallinarum, Pasteurella gallinarum, Pasteurella avium and Pasteurella volantium formed a monophyletic group with a minimum of 96·8% sequence similarity. This group can also be separated by phenotypic testing from all other recognized and named taxa within the Pasteurellaceae. As both genotypic and phenotypic testing support the separate and distinct nature of this subcluster, the transfer is proposed of Pasteurella gallinarum, [Haemophilus] paragallinarum, Pasteurella avium and Pasteurella volantium to a new genus Avibacterium as Avibacterium gallinarum gen. nov., comb. nov., Avibacterium paragallinarum comb. nov., Avibacterium avium comb. nov. and Avibacterium volantium comb. nov. The type strains are NCTC 1118T (Avibacterium gallinarum), NCTC 11296T (Avibacterium paragallinarum), NCTC 11297T (Avibacterium avium) and NCTC 3438T (Avibacterium volantium). Key characteristics that separate these four species are catalase activity (absent only in Avibacterium paragallinarum) and production of acid from galactose (negative only in Avibacterium paragallinarum), maltose (negative only in Avibacterium avium) and mannitol (negative in Avibacterium gallinarum and Avibacterium avium).

Assessing the relationship between shire winter crop yield and seasonal variability of the MODIS NDVI and EVI images

Australian researchers have been developing robust yield estimation models, based mainly on the crop growth response to water availability during the crop season. However, knowledge of spatial distribution of yields within and across the production regions can be improved by the use of remote sensing techniques. Images of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation indices, available since 1999, have the potential to contribute to crop yield estimation. The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between winter crop yields and the spectral information available in MODIS vegetation index images at the shire level. The study was carried out in the Jondaryan and Pittsworth shires, Queensland , Australia . Five years (2000 to 2004) of 250m resolution, 16-day composite of MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) images were used during the winter crop season (April to November). Seasonal variability of the profiles of the vegetation index images for each crop season using different regions of interest (cropping mask) were displayed and analysed. Correlation analysis between wheat and barley yield data and MODIS image values were also conducted. The results showed high seasonal variability in the NDVI and EVI profiles, and the EVI values were consistently lower than those of the NDVI. The highest image values were observed in 2003 (in contrast to 2004), and were associated with rainfall amount and distribution. The seasonal variability of the profiles was similar in both shires, with minimum values in June and maximum values at the end of August. NDVI and EVI images showed sensitivity to seasonal variability of the vegetation and exhibited good association (e.g. r = 0.84, r = 0.77) with winter crop yields.