The extracellular Leucine-Rich Repeat superfamily; a comparative survey and analysis of evolutionary relationships and expression patterns

Correction to Dolan J, Walshe K, Alsbury S, Hokamp K, O'Keeffe S, Okafuji T, Miller SF, Tear G, Mitchell KJ: The extracellular leucine-rich repeat superfamily; a comparative survey and analysis of evolutionary relationships and expression patterns. BMC Genomics 2007, 8:320.     

A feature selection approach for identification of signature genes from SAGE data

Background  

One goal of gene expression profiling is to identify signature genes that robustly distinguish different types or grades of tumors. Several tumor classifiers based on expression profiling have been proposed using microarray technique. Due to important differences in the probabilistic models of microarray and SAGE technologies, it is important to develop suitable techniques to select specific genes from SAGE measurements.     

Polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor gene that modulate glucocorticoid sensitivity are associated with rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction  

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) plays an important regulatory role in the immune system. Four polymorphisms in the GR gene are associated with differences in glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity; the minor alleles of the polymorphisms N363 S and BclI are associated with relative hypersensitivity to GCs, while those of the polymorphisms ER22/23EK and 9β are associated with relative GC resistance. Because differences in GC sensitivity may influence immune effector functions, we examined whether these polymorphisms are associated with the susceptibility to develop Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and RA disease severity.     

A comparison of menotropin, highly-purified menotropin and follitropin alfa in cycles of intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Background  

Over the last several decades, as a result of an evolution in manufacturing processes, a marked development has been made in the field of gonadotropins for ovarian stimulation. Initially, therapeutic gonadotropins were produced from a simple process of urine extraction and purification; now they are produced via a complex system involving recombinant technology, which yields gonadotropins with high levels of purity, quality, and consistency.     

Relationships of water temperature and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure with non-native riparian plant densities in the southern Cape,South Africa

Non-native vegetation in the riparian zone impacts on water temperatures, flow patterns, degree of shading, channel modification, and changes to natural sediment loads. Freshwater ecosystems in the Garden Route Initiative planning domain are of particular conservation value, because of the rich Gondwanaland relict aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna found in the rivers there, which are vulnerable to thermal changes. Data were collected during 2013 and 2014 at 19 sites on seven river systems between George and Knysna in the southern Cape, South Africa. These included 12 months of hourly water temperatures at all sites, and quantitative sampling of aquatic macroinvertebrates at ten sites. Each site was characterised in terms of water quality (pH, conductivity and turbidity) and general characteristics, including impacts such as density of non-native riparian trees. At the family level, aquatic macroinvertebrate communities showed variation between sites and seasons. Differences were more pronounced on the basis of natural land cover type (fynbos versus indigenous forest) than densities of non-native invasive riparian vegetation. Conservation of these river systems will depend on maintaining a mosaic of natural vegetation types.     

Quantitative genomics of locomotor behavior in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

Background  

Locomotion is an integral component of most animal behaviors, and many human health problems are associated with locomotor deficits. Locomotor behavior is a complex trait, with population variation attributable to many interacting loci with small effects that are sensitive to environmental conditions. However, the genetic basis of this complex behavior is largely uncharacterized.