Multiple Variations (multiple + variation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A multi-ontology framework to guide agriculture and food towards diet and health

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 8 2007
Matthew C Lange
Abstract Global increases in metabolic diseases that can be influenced by diet have re-emphasized the importance of considering how different foods can improve human health. The entire agricultural enterprise has an unprecedented opportunity to increase its value by producing foods that improve the health of consumers. Research efforts in agriculture/food science/nutrition are endeavoring to do so, although little tangible success has been achieved. At the core of the problem is a failure to define the goal itself: health. Health, as a scientifically measurable concept, is poorly defined relative to disease, and yet consensus-based, curated vocabularies that describe the multiple variations in human health in useful terms are critical to unifying the scientific fields related to agriculture and nutrition. Each of the life-science disciplines relating to health has developed databases, thesauri, and/or ontologies to capture such knowledge. High-throughput and -omic technologies are expanding both the amount and heterogeneity of available information. Unfortunately, the language used to describe substantially similar (even logically equivalent) concepts is often different between information systems. Increasing the future value of agriculture, therefore, will depend on creating a process for generating common ontologies of the concept of health, and guiding the development of a common language. This paper illustrates a framework for integrating heterogeneous ontologies into interdisciplinary, foods-for-health knowledge systems. A common system of language that describes health and is shared by all the life-science disciplines will provide immediate benefits in terms of increased health-claim regulatory efficiencies and predictive functions for individualized diets. Ultimately, these vocabularies will guide agriculture to its next goal of producing health-enhancing foods. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Impact of genetic variation on perioperative bleeding

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2008
Jochen D. Muehlschlegel
Variation in bleeding in the perioperative period is a complex and multifactorial event associated with immediate and delayed consequences for the patient and health care resources. Little is known about the complex genetic influences on perioperative bleeding. With the discovery of multiple variations in the human genome and ever-growing databases of well-phenotyped surgical patients, better identification of patients at risk of bleeding is becoming a reality. In this review, polymorphisms in the platelet receptor genes, plasminogen activator inhibitor, and angiotensin genes among others will be discussed. We will explore the nature, effects, and implications of the genetics that influence perioperative bleeding above and beyond surgical bleeding, particularly in cardiac surgery. Am. J. Hematol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Strategic shotgun proteomics approach for efficient construction of an expression map of targeted protein families in hepatoma cell lines

PROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 12 2003
Chih-Lei Lee
Abstract An expression map of the most abundant proteins in human hepatoma HepG2 cells was established by a combination of complementary shotgun proteomics approaches. Two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC)-nano electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) as well as one-dimensional LC-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization MS/MS were evaluated and shown that additional separation introduced at the peptide level was not as efficient as simple prefractionation of protein extracts in extending the range and total number of proteins identified. Direct LC-nanoESI MS/MS analyses of peptides from total solubilized fraction and the excised gel bands from one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis fractionated insolubilized fraction afforded the best combination in efficient construction of a nonredundant cell map. Compiling data from multiple variations of rapid shotgun proteomics analyses is nonetheless useful to increase sequence coverage and confidence of hits especially for those proteins identified primarily by a single or two peptide matches. While the returned hit score in general reflects the abundance of the respective proteins, it is not a reliable index for differential expression. Using another closely related hepatoma Hep3B as a comparative basis, 16 proteins with more than two-fold difference in expression level as defined by spot intensity in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis were identified which notably include members of the heat shock protein (Hsp) and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRPN) families. The observed higher expression level of hnRNP A2/B1 and Hsp90 in Hep3B led to a search for reported functional roles mediated in concert by both these multifunctional cellular chaperones. In agreement with the proposed model for telomerase and telomere bound proteins in promoting their interactions, data was obtained which demonstrated that the expression proteomics data could be correlated with longer telomeric length in tumorigenic Hep3B. This biological significance constitutes the basis for further delineation of the dynamic interactions and modifications of the two protein families and demonstrated how proteomic and biological investigation could be mutually substantiated in a productive cycle of hypothesis and pattern driven research. [source]


Variable morphology of the sacrum in a Chinese population

CLINICAL ANATOMY, Issue 5 2009
Li-Ping Wu
Abstract Although several morphological variations of sacrum have been reported in western populations, little attention has been paid to this anatomic issue in eastern people, and classification of sacral variability in particular. In this research of sacral morphology in Chinese people, we investigated and measured thoroughly and systematically 203 specimens of intact dry Chinese adult sacra. Morphological features of sacral variations were observed by visual inspection, and correlation parameters of variability were measured with a vernier caliper. The incidence of sacral variations was calculated. We found that the overall rate of sacral variations was 58.1% (male: 57.4%; female: 59.5%). The anatomical variants that we observed fell into the following five categories: accessory auricular surface (25 specimens, 12.3%); sacral skewness (48 specimens, 23.6%); transitional vertebra (34 specimens, 16.7%); sacral spina bifida occulta (57 specimens, 28.1%), Degrees I, II, and III of which were 36, 14, and 7 specimens, respectively; multiple variations (42 specimens, 20.7%), the types of which were diversified. This study reveals that sacral variations are common in Chinese population. The sacral variants in anatomic morphology should be taken into consideration when diagnosing and treating sacrum-related diseases. Clin. Anat. 22:619,626, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Surgically important variations of the jugular veins

CLINICAL ANATOMY, Issue 6 2006
B. Satheesha Nayak
Abstract Knowledge of variations of veins of head and neck in relation to external jugular, anterior jugular, internal jugular, and facial veins is important to surgeons doing head and neck surgery as well as to radiologists doing catheterization and to clinicians in general. In the current case, multiple variations in the veins of the left side of neck are reported. The anterior division of retromandibular vein was absent. The facial vein continued as anterior jugular vein. The internal jugular vein was duplicated above the level of hyoid bone. There was a large communicating vein between the anterior jugular vein and anterior division of internal jugular vein. Lingual vein drained into the communicating vein. Jugular venous arch was abnormally large, doubled, and highly placed. The veins of the right side were normal. Clin. Anat. 19:544,546, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]