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Interpretive Problems (interpretive + problem)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Comprehensive linkage and linkage heterogeneity analysis of 4344 sibling pairs affected with hypertension from the Family Blood Pressure Program

GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
Tiffany A. Greenwood
Abstract Linkage analyses of complex, multifactorial traits and diseases, such as essential hypertension, have been difficult to interpret and reconcile. Many published studies provide evidence suggesting that different genes and genomic regions influence hypertension, but knowing which of these studies reflect true positive results is challenging. The reasons for this include the diversity of analytical methods used across these studies, the different samples and sample sizes in each study, and the complicated biological underpinnings of hypertension. We have undertaken a comprehensive linkage analysis of 371 autosomal microsatellite markers genotyped on 4,334 sibling pairs affected with hypertension from five ethnic groups sampled from 13 different field centers associated with the Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP). We used a single analytical technique known to be robust to interpretive problems associated with a lack of completely informative markers to assess evidence for linkage to hypertension both within and across the ethnic groups and field centers. We find evidence for linkage to a number of genomic regions, with the most compelling evidence from analyses that combine data across field center and ethnic groups (e.g., chromosomes 2 and 9). We also pursued linkage analyses that accommodate locus heterogeneity, which is known to plague the identification of disease susceptibility loci in linkage studies of complex diseases. We find evidence for linkage heterogeneity on chromosomes 2 and 17. Ultimately our results suggest that evidence for linkage heterogeneity can only be detected with large sample sizes, such as the FBPP, which is consistent with theoretical sample size calculations. Genet. Epidemiol. 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

The Crisis in the Investiture Crisis Narrative

HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2009
Maureen C. Miller
Recent research has undermined the connection between lay investiture and the iconic event usually seen as the most dramatic expression of the investiture conflict: the encounter of Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV of Germany at Canossa. This is just one, however, of many interpretive problems plaguing historical narratives of the investiture crisis. This essay briefly summarizes the classic interpretations that have dominated 20th-century understanding of these events and sets out the major problem raised in more recent research. Arguing that a new interpretive framework is necessary, the author suggests two paths forward: a radical reconsideration of the papacy from a truly post-confessional perspective and a reevaluation of the conflict in the context of new understandings of lordship and political change. [source]

Relative limb strength and locomotion in Homo habilis

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
Christopher Ruff
Abstract The Homo habilis OH 62 partial skeleton has played an important, although controversial role in interpretations of early Homo locomotor behavior. Past interpretive problems stemmed from uncertain bone length estimates and comparisons using external bone breadth proportions, which do not clearly distinguish between modern humans and apes. Here, true cross-sectional bone strength measurements of the OH 62 femur and humerus are compared with those of modern humans and chimpanzees, as well as two early H. erectus specimens,KNM-WT 15000 and KNM-ER 1808. The comparative sections include two locations in the femur and two in the humerus in order to encompass the range of possible section positions in the OH 62 specimens. For each combination of section locations, femoral to humeral strength proportions of OH 62 fall below the 95% confidence interval of modern humans, and for most comparisons, within the 95% confidence interval of chimpanzees. In contrast, the two H. erectus specimens both fall within or even above the modern human distributions. This indicates that load distribution between the limbs, and by implication, locomotor behavior, was significantly different in H. habilis from that of H. erectus and modern humans. When considered with other postcranial evidence, the most likely interpretation is that H. habilis, although bipedal when terrestrial, still engaged in frequent arboreal behavior, while H. erectus was a completely committed terrestrial biped. This adds to the evidence that H. habilis (sensu stricto) and H. erectus represent ecologically distinct, parallel lineages during the early Pleistocene. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Interlaboratory reproducibility of a microsatellite-based typing assay for Aspergillus fumigatus through the use of allelic ladders: proof of concept

CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 2 2009
H. A. De Valk
Abstract An interlaboratory study was performed with the aim of investigating the reproducibility of a multiplex microbial microsatellite-based typing assay for Aspergillus fumigatus in different settings using a variety of experimental and analytical conditions and with teams having variable prior microsatellite typing experience. In order to circumvent problems with exchange of sizing data, allelic ladders are introduced as a straightforward and universally applicable concept for standardization of such typing assays. Allelic ladders consist of mixtures of well-characterized reference fragments to act as reference points for the position in an electrophoretic trace of fragments with established repeat numbers. Five laboratories independently analysed six microsatellite markers in 18 samples that were provided either as DNA or as A. fumigatus conidia. Allelic data were reported as repeat numbers and as sizes in nucleotides. Without the use of allelic ladders, size differences of up to 6.7 nucleotides were observed, resulting in interpretation errors of up to two repeat units. Difficulties in interpretation were related to non-specific amplification products (which were resolved with explanation) and bleed-through of the different fluorescent labels. In contrast, after resolution of technical or interpretive problems, standardization of sizing data by using allelic ladders enabled all participants to produce identical typing data. The use of allelic ladders as a routine part of molecular typing using microsatellite markers provides robust results suitable for interlaboratory comparisons and for deposition in a global typing database. [source]