The relation between cartilage biomarkers (C2C,C1,2C,CS846, and CPII) and the long-term outcome of rheumatoid arthritis patients within the CAMERA trial

Introduction  

The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum biomarker levels of C2C, C1,2C, CS846, and CPII can predict the long-term course of disease activity and radiographic progression early in the disease course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).     

Ethnicity and population structure in personal naming networks

Personal naming practices exist in all human groups and are far from random. Rather, they continue to reflect social norms and ethno-cultural customs that have developed over generations. As a consequence, contemporary name frequency distributions retain distinct geographic, social and ethno-cultural patterning that can be exploited to understand population structure in human biology, public health and social science. Previous attempts to detect and delineate such structure in large populations have entailed extensive empirical analysis of naming conventions in different parts of the world without seeking any general or automated methods of population classification by ethno-cultural origin. Here we show how 'naming networks', constructed from forename-surname pairs of a large sample of the contemporary human population in 17 countries, provide a valuable representation of cultural, ethnic and linguistic population structure around the world. This innovative approach enriches and adds value to automated population classification through conventional national data sources such as telephone directories and electoral registers. The method identifies clear social and ethno-cultural clusters in such naming networks that extend far beyond the geographic areas in which particular names originated, and that are preserved even after international migration. Moreover, one of the most striking findings of this approach is that these clusters simply 'emerge' from the aggregation of millions of individual decisions on parental naming practices for their children, without any prior knowledge introduced by the researcher. Our probabilistic approach to community assignment, both at city level as well as at a global scale, helps to reveal the degree of isolation, integration or overlap between human populations in our rapidly globalising world. As such, this work has important implications for research in population genetics, public health, and social science adding new understandings of migration, identity, integration and social interaction across the world.     

Discovery of a potent and selective 5-ht5A receptor antagonist by high-throughput chemistry

High-throughput screening of an array of biphenylmethylamines synthesised by high-throughput solid-phase chemistry resulted in the identification of compounds with high-affinity for the 5-ht5A receptor. The structure-activity relationship within this series and further array synthesis led to the identification of the biphenylmethylamine derivative 11, a potent and selective 5-ht5A receptor antagonist.     

A new crystalline form of tropomyosin

Crystalline aggregates of tropomyosin precipitated with divalent cations at acid pH are described. The structure appears to consist of obliquely striated sheets in which the unit cell is 400 Å long and 18 Å wide. A three-dimensional model is presented, made by a parallel stacking of these sheets, which in projection simulates the appearance of the electron micrographs.     

Effect of temperature on seed production in the invasive grass Glyceria maxima (Hartm.) Holmb. (Poaceae) in South Africa

Temperature is one of the main factors that determine sexual reproduction in terrestrial and emergent aquatic plant species. The effect of temperature on sexual reproduction and seed production of Glyceria maxima (Hartm.) Holmb. in the southern hemisphere is unknown. Glyceria maxima collections in February 2010 at three isolated infestations in KwaZulu-Natal failed to yield a single seed, only empty panicles. Laboratory experiments showed that vernalisation had no consistent effect on seed production. Field- and laboratory-grown plants produced seeds in the 2010/2011 season, because of having sufficient time at optimum temperatures required for seed production (1 491 and 1 585 hours, respectively), compared to a shorter period (1 352 hours) of suitable temperatures during the 2009/2010 growing season. An inadequate period of optimum temperatures (15–25°C) during seed production resulted in the lack of seeds in the field in the 2009/2010 growing season. This study showed that temperature and duration of exposure thereto during the seed-production period play vital roles in G. maxima sexual reproduction.     

Marmoset phylogenetics, conservation perspectives, and evolution of the mtDNA control region

Marmosets (genus Callithrix) are a diverse group of platyrrhine primates with 13-15 purported taxa, many of them considered endangered. Morphological analyses constitute most of the basis for recognition of these forms as distinct taxa. The purpose of this study was to provide a molecular view, based on mitochondrial control region sequences, of the evolutionary history of the marmosets, concomitant with a molecular phylogenetic perspective on species diversity within the group. An additional purpose was to provide the first comparative examination of a complete New World monkey control region sequence with those of other mammals. The phylogenetic analyses provide convincing support for a split between the Atlantic forest and Amazonian marmosets, with the inclusion of the pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) at the base of the Amazonian clade. The earliest branch of the Atlantic forest group was C. aurita. In the Amazonian group, the analyses do not support the recognition of C. humeralifer and the recently described C mauesi as distinct taxa. They do, however, support a clear distinction between C. argentata and a strongly supported mixed clade of C. humeralifer and C. mauesi. In the Atlantic forest group, the phylogenetic tree suggests mixing between C. penicillata, C. kuhli, and possibly C. jacchus. Most of the sequence features characteristic of other mammal control regions were also evident in marmosets, with the exception that conserved sequence blocks (CSBs) 2 and 3 were not clearly identifiable. Tandem repeat units often associated with heteroplasmy in a variety of other mammals were not evident in the marmoset sequences.