Search results for: gene regulation
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2708

Search results for: gene regulation

2678 Association of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Gene with Obesity and Metabolic Traits in Malaysian Adults

Authors: Yamunah Devi Apalasamy, Sanjay Rampal, Tin Tin Su, Foong Ming Moy, Hazreen Abdul Majid, Awang Bulgiba, Zahurin Mohamed

Abstract:

Obesity is a growing global health issue. Obesity results from a combination of environmental and genetics factors. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a gene encodes the BDNF protein and the BDNF gene have been linked to regulation of body weight and appetite. Genome-wide association studies have identified the BDNF variants to be related to obesity among Caucasians, East Asians, and Filipinos. However, the role of BDNF in other ethnic groups remains inconclusive. This case control study aims to investigate the associations of BDNF gene polymorphisms with obesity and metabolic parameters in Malaysian Malays. BDNF rs4074134, BDNF rs10501087 and BDNF rs6265 were genotyped using Sequenom MassARRAY. Anthropometric, body fat, fasting lipids and glucose levels were measured. A total of 663 subjects (194 obese and 469 non-obese) were included in this study. There were no significant associations association between BDNF SNPs and obesity. The allelic and genotype frequencies of the BDNF SNPs were similar in the obese and non-obese groups. After adjustment for age and sex, the BDNF variants were not associated with obesity, body fat, fasting lipids and glucose levels. Haplotypes at the BDNF gene region, were not significantly associated with obesity. The BDNF rs4074134 was in strong LD with BDNF rs10501087 (D'=0.98) and BDNF rs6265 (D'=0.87). The BDNF rs10501087 was also in strong LD with BDNF rs6265 (D'=0.91). Our findings suggest that the BDNF variants and the haplotypes of BDNF gene were not associated with obesity and metabolic traits in this study population. Further research is needed to explore other BDNF variants with a larger sample size with gene-environment interactions in multi ethnic Malaysian population.

Keywords: genomics of obesity, SNP, BMI, haplotypes

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2677 Protection and Immune Responses of DNA Vaccines Targeting Virulence Factors of Streptococcus iniae in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Authors: Pattanapon Kayansamruaj, Ha Thanh Dong, Nopadon Pirarat, Channarong Rodkhum

Abstract:

Streptococcus iniae (SI) is a devastating pathogenic bacteria causing heavy mortality in farmed fish. The application of commercialized bacterin vaccine has been reported failures as the outbreaks of the new serotype of SI were emerged in farms after vaccination and subsequently caused severe losses. In the present study, we attempted to develop effective DNA vaccines against SI infection using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as an animal model. Two monovalent DNA vaccines were constructed by the insertion of coding sequences of cell wall-associated virulence factors-encoding genes, comprised of eno (α-enolase) and mtsB (hydrophobic membrane protein), into cytomegalovirus expression vector (pCI-neo). In the animal trial, 30-g Nile tilapia were injected intramuscularly with 15 µg of each vaccine (mock vaccine group was injected by naked pCI-neo) and maintained for 35 days prior challenging with pathogenic SI at the dosage of 107 CFU/fish. At 13 days post-challenge, the relative percent survival of pEno, pMtsB and mock vaccine were 57%, 45% and 27%, respectively. The expression levels of immune responses-associated genes, namely, IL1β, TNF-α, TGF-β, COX2, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-13, were investigated from the spleen of experimental animal at 7 days post-vaccination (PV) and 7 days post-challenge (PC) using quantitative RT-PCR technique. Generally, at 7 days PV, the pEno vaccinated group exhibited highest level of up-regulation (1.7 to 2.9 folds) of every gene, but TGF-β, comparing to pMtsB and mock vaccine groups. However, at 7 days PC, pEno group showed significant up-regulation (1.4 to 8.5 folds) of immune-related genes as similar as mock vaccine group, while pMtsB group had lowest level of up-regulation (0.7 to 3.3 folds). Summarily, this study indicated that the pEno and pMtsB vaccines could elicit the immune responses of the fish and the magnitude of gene expression at 7 days PV was also consistent with the protection level conferred by the vaccine.

Keywords: gene expression, DNA vaccine, Nile tilapia, Streptococcus iniae

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2676 Finding Bicluster on Gene Expression Data of Lymphoma Based on Singular Value Decomposition and Hierarchical Clustering

Authors: Alhadi Bustaman, Soeganda Formalidin, Titin Siswantining

Abstract:

DNA microarray technology is used to analyze thousand gene expression data simultaneously and a very important task for drug development and test, function annotation, and cancer diagnosis. Various clustering methods have been used for analyzing gene expression data. However, when analyzing very large and heterogeneous collections of gene expression data, conventional clustering methods often cannot produce a satisfactory solution. Biclustering algorithm has been used as an alternative approach to identifying structures from gene expression data. In this paper, we introduce a transform technique based on singular value decomposition to identify normalized matrix of gene expression data followed by Mixed-Clustering algorithm and the Lift algorithm, inspired in the node-deletion and node-addition phases proposed by Cheng and Church based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC). Experimental study on standard datasets demonstrated the effectiveness of the algorithm in gene expression data.

Keywords: agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC), biclustering, gene expression data, lymphoma, singular value decomposition (SVD)

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2675 Transcriptomic Analysis of Fragrant Rice Reveals the Involvement of Post-transcriptional Regulation in Response to Zn Foliar Application

Authors: Muhammad Imran, Sarfraz Shafiq, Xiangru Tang

Abstract:

Alternative splicing (AS) is an important post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism to generate transcripts variability and proteome diversity in plants. Fragrant rice (Oryza sativa L.) has a high economic and nutritional value, and the application of micronutrients regulate 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) production, which is responsible for aroma in fragrant rice. However, no systematic investigation of AS events in response to micronutrients (Zn) has been performed in fragrant rice. Furthermore, the post-transcriptional regulation of genes involved in 2-AP biosynthesis is also not known. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of AS events under two gradients of Zn treatment in two different fragrant rice cultivars (Meixiangzhan-2 and Xiangyaxiangzhan) was performed. A total of 386 and 598 significant AS events were found in Meixiangzhan-2 treated with low and high doses of Zn, respectively. In Xiangyaxiangzhan, a total of 449 and 598 significant AS events were found in low and high doses of Zn, respectively. Go analysis indicated that these genes were highly enriched in physiological processes, metabolism, and cellular process in both cultivars. However, genotype and dose-dependent AS events were also detected in both cultivars. By comparing differential AS (DAS) events with differentially expressed genes (DEGs), we found a weak overlap among DAS and DEGs in both fragrant rice cultivars, indicating that only a few genes are post-transcriptionally regulated in response to Zn treatment. We further report that Zn differentially regulates the expression of 2-AP biosynthesis-related genes in both cultivars, and Zn treatment altered the editing frequency of SNPs in the genes involved in 2-AP biosynthesis. Finally, we showed that epigenetic modifications associated with active gene transcription are generally enriched over 2-AP biosynthesis-related genes. Taken together, our results provide evidence of the post-transcriptional gene regulation in fragrant rice in response to Zn treatment and highlight that the 2-AP biosynthesis pathway may also be post-transcriptionally regulated through epigenetic modifications. These findings will serve as a cornerstone for further investigation to understand the molecular mechanisms of 2-AP biosynthesis in fragrant rice.

Keywords: fragrant rice, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, gene expression, zinc, alternative splicing, SNPs

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2674 Jurisdictional Issues in E-Commerce Law after the 'Recast Brussels Regulation'

Authors: Seyedeh Sajedeh Salehi

Abstract:

The Regulation No. 1215/2012/EC also known as the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) deals with jurisdictional disputes in civil and commercial matters. The main aim of the Recast (as in-line with its predecessor Regulation) is to bring a reform in procuring more simplified and faster circulation of civil and commercial judgments within the EU. Hence it is significant to take a closer look at the function of this regulatory tool. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze a clear understanding of the post-Recast situation on e-commerce relevant jurisdictional matters. The e-consumer protection and the choice-of-court agreements along with the position of the Court of Justice of the European Union in its decisions within the Recast Regulation will be also taken into consideration throughout this paper.

Keywords: choice-of-court agreements, consumer protection, e-commerce, jurisdiction, Recast Brussels I Regulation

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2673 Mutations in MTHFR Gene Associated with Mental Retardation and Cerebral Palsy Combined with Mental Retardation in Erbil City

Authors: Hazha Hidayat, Shayma Ibrahim

Abstract:

Folate metabolism plays a crucial role in the normal development of the neonatal central nervous system. It is regulated by MTHFR gene polymorphism. Any factors, which will affect this metabolism either by hereditary or gene mutation will lead to many mental disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether MTHFR gene mutation contributes to the development of mental retardation and CP combined with mental retardation in Erbil city. DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood samples of 40 cases suffering from mental retardation (MR) and CP combined with MR were recruited, sequence the 4, 6, 7, 8 exons of the MTHFR gene were done to identify the variants. Exons were amplified by PCR technique and then sequenced according to Sanger method to show the differences with MTHFR reference sequences. We observed (14) mutations in 4, 6, 7, 8 exons in the MTHFR gene associated with Cerebral Palsy combined with mental retardation included deletion, insertion, Substitution. The current study provides additional evidence that multiple variations in the MTHFR gene are associated with mental retardation and Cerebral Palsy.

Keywords: methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, SNPs, homocysteine, sequencing

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2672 ISMARA: Completely Automated Inference of Gene Regulatory Networks from High-Throughput Data

Authors: Piotr J. Balwierz, Mikhail Pachkov, Phil Arnold, Andreas J. Gruber, Mihaela Zavolan, Erik van Nimwegen

Abstract:

Understanding the key players and interactions in the regulatory networks that control gene expression and chromatin state across different cell types and tissues in metazoans remains one of the central challenges in systems biology. Our laboratory has pioneered a number of methods for automatically inferring core gene regulatory networks directly from high-throughput data by modeling gene expression (RNA-seq) and chromatin state (ChIP-seq) measurements in terms of genome-wide computational predictions of regulatory sites for hundreds of transcription factors and micro-RNAs. These methods have now been completely automated in an integrated webserver called ISMARA that allows researchers to analyze their own data by simply uploading RNA-seq or ChIP-seq data sets and provides results in an integrated web interface as well as in downloadable flat form. For any data set, ISMARA infers the key regulators in the system, their activities across the input samples, the genes and pathways they target, and the core interactions between the regulators. We believe that by empowering experimental researchers to apply cutting-edge computational systems biology tools to their data in a completely automated manner, ISMARA can play an important role in developing our understanding of regulatory networks across metazoans.

Keywords: gene expression analysis, high-throughput sequencing analysis, transcription factor activity, transcription regulation

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2671 Age Related Changes in the Neural Substrates of Emotion Regulation: Mechanisms, Consequences, and Interventions

Authors: Yasaman Mohammadi

Abstract:

Emotion regulation is a complex process that allows individuals to manage and modulate their emotional responses in order to adaptively respond to environmental demands. As individuals age, emotion regulation abilities may decline, leading to an increased vulnerability to mood disorders and other negative health outcomes. Advances in neuroimaging techniques have greatly enhanced our understanding of the neural substrates underlying emotion regulation and age-related changes in these neural systems. Additionally, genetic research has identified several candidate genes that may influence age-related changes in emotion regulation. In this paper, we review recent findings from neuroimaging and genetic research on age-related changes in the neural substrates of emotion regulation, highlighting the mechanisms and consequences of these changes. We also discuss potential interventions, including cognitive and behavioral approaches, that may be effective in mitigating age-related declines in emotion regulation. We propose that a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying age-related changes in emotion regulation may lead to the development of more targeted interventions aimed at promoting healthy emotional functioning in older adults. Overall, this paper highlights the importance of studying age-related changes in emotion regulation and provides a roadmap for future research in this field.

Keywords: emotion regulation, aging, neural substrates, neuroimaging, emotional functioning, healthy aging

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2670 A Web-Based Systems Immunology Toolkit Allowing the Visualization and Comparative Analysis of Publically Available Collective Data to Decipher Immune Regulation in Early Life

Authors: Mahbuba Rahman, Sabri Boughorbel, Scott Presnell, Charlie Quinn, Darawan Rinchai, Damien Chaussabel, Nico Marr

Abstract:

Collections of large-scale datasets made available in public repositories can be used to identify and fill gaps in biomedical knowledge. But first, these data need to be made readily accessible to researchers for analysis and interpretation. Here a collection of transcriptome datasets was made available to investigate the functional programming of human hematopoietic cells in early life. Thirty two datasets were retrieved from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and loaded in a custom, interactive web application called the Gene Expression browser (GXB), designed for visualization and query of integrated large-scale data. Multiple sample groupings and gene rank lists were created based on the study design and variables in each dataset. Web links to customized graphical views can be generated by users and subsequently be used to graphically present data in manuscripts for publication. The GXB tool also enables browsing of a single gene across datasets, which can provide information on the role of a given molecule across biological systems. The dataset collection is available online. As a proof-of-principle, one of the datasets (GSE25087) was re-analyzed to identify genes that are differentially expressed by regulatory T cells in early life. Re-analysis of this dataset and a cross-study comparison using multiple other datasets in the above mentioned collection revealed that PMCH, a gene encoding a precursor of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), a cyclic neuropeptide, is highly expressed in a variety of other hematopoietic cell types, including neonatal erythroid cells as well as plasmacytoid dendritic cells upon viral infection. Our findings suggest an as yet unrecognized role of MCH in immune regulation, thereby highlighting the unique potential of the curated dataset collection and systems biology approach to generate new hypotheses which can be tested in future mechanistic studies.

Keywords: early-life, GEO datasets, PMCH, interactive query, systems biology

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2669 A Review of Effective Gene Selection Methods for Cancer Classification Using Microarray Gene Expression Profile

Authors: Hala Alshamlan, Ghada Badr, Yousef Alohali

Abstract:

Cancer is one of the dreadful diseases, which causes considerable death rate in humans. DNA microarray-based gene expression profiling has been emerged as an efficient technique for cancer classification, as well as for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment purposes. In recent years, a DNA microarray technique has gained more attraction in both scientific and in industrial fields. It is important to determine the informative genes that cause cancer to improve early cancer diagnosis and to give effective chemotherapy treatment. In order to gain deep insight into the cancer classification problem, it is necessary to take a closer look at the proposed gene selection methods. We believe that they should be an integral preprocessing step for cancer classification. Furthermore, finding an accurate gene selection method is a very significant issue in a cancer classification area because it reduces the dimensionality of microarray dataset and selects informative genes. In this paper, we classify and review the state-of-art gene selection methods. We proceed by evaluating the performance of each gene selection approach based on their classification accuracy and number of informative genes. In our evaluation, we will use four benchmark microarray datasets for the cancer diagnosis (leukemia, colon, lung, and prostate). In addition, we compare the performance of gene selection method to investigate the effective gene selection method that has the ability to identify a small set of marker genes, and ensure high cancer classification accuracy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to compare gene selection approaches for cancer classification using microarray gene expression profile.

Keywords: gene selection, feature selection, cancer classification, microarray, gene expression profile

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2668 An Integrated Visualization Tool for Heat Map and Gene Ontology Graph

Authors: Somyung Oh, Jeonghyeon Ha, Kyungwon Lee, Sejong Oh

Abstract:

Microarray is a general scheme to find differentially expressed genes for target concept. The output is expressed by heat map, and biologists analyze related terms of gene ontology to find some characteristics of differentially expressed genes. In this paper, we propose integrated visualization tool for heat map and gene ontology graph. Previous two methods are used by static manner and separated way. Proposed visualization tool integrates them and users can interactively manage it. Users may easily find and confirm related terms of gene ontology for given differentially expressed genes. Proposed tool also visualize connections between genes on heat map and gene ontology graph. We expect biologists to find new meaningful topics by proposed tool.

Keywords: heat map, gene ontology, microarray, differentially expressed gene

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2667 Application of KL Divergence for Estimation of Each Metabolic Pathway Genes

Authors: Shohei Maruyama, Yasuo Matsuyama, Sachiyo Aburatani

Abstract:

The development of the method to annotate unknown gene functions is an important task in bioinformatics. One of the approaches for the annotation is The identification of the metabolic pathway that genes are involved in. Gene expression data have been utilized for the identification, since gene expression data reflect various intracellular phenomena. However, it has been difficult to estimate the gene function with high accuracy. It is considered that the low accuracy of the estimation is caused by the difficulty of accurately measuring a gene expression. Even though they are measured under the same condition, the gene expressions will vary usually. In this study, we proposed a feature extraction method focusing on the variability of gene expressions to estimate the genes' metabolic pathway accurately. First, we estimated the distribution of each gene expression from replicate data. Next, we calculated the similarity between all gene pairs by KL divergence, which is a method for calculating the similarity between distributions. Finally, we utilized the similarity vectors as feature vectors and trained the multiclass SVM for identifying the genes' metabolic pathway. To evaluate our developed method, we applied the method to budding yeast and trained the multiclass SVM for identifying the seven metabolic pathways. As a result, the accuracy that calculated by our developed method was higher than the one that calculated from the raw gene expression data. Thus, our developed method combined with KL divergence is useful for identifying the genes' metabolic pathway.

Keywords: metabolic pathways, gene expression data, microarray, Kullback–Leibler divergence, KL divergence, support vector machines, SVM, machine learning

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2666 The Use of Medical Biotechnology to Treat Genetic Disease

Authors: Rachel Matar, Maxime Merheb

Abstract:

Chemical drugs have been used for many centuries as the only way to cure diseases until the novel gene therapy has been created in 1960. Gene therapy is based on the insertion, correction, or inactivation of genes to treat people with genetic illness (1). Gene therapy has made wonders in Parkison’s, Alzheimer and multiple sclerosis. In addition to great promises in the healing of deadly diseases like many types of cancer and autoimmune diseases (2). This method implies the use of recombinant DNA technology with the help of different viral and non-viral vectors (3). It is nowadays used in somatic cells as well as embryos and gametes. Beside all the benefits of gene therapy, this technique is deemed by some opponents as an ethically unacceptable treatment as it implies playing with the genes of living organisms.

Keywords: gene therapy, genetic disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis

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2665 General Framework for Price Regulation of Container Terminals

Authors: Murat Yildiz, Burcu Yildiz

Abstract:

Price Cap Regulation is a form of economic regulation designed in the 1980s in the United Kingdom. Price cap regulation sets a cap on the price that the utility provider can charge. The cap is set according to several economic factors, such as the price cap index, expected efficiency savings and inflation. It has been used by several countries as a regulatory regime in several sectors. Container port privatization is still in early stages in some countries. Lack of a general framework can be an impediment to privatization. This paper aims a general framework to comprising decisions to be made for variables which are able to accommodate the variety of container terminals. Several approaches that may be needed as well as a passage between approaches.

Keywords: Price Cap Regulation, ports privatization, container terminal price regime, earning sharing

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2664 PRKAG3 and RYR1 Gene in Latvian White Pigs

Authors: Daina Jonkus, Liga Paura, Tatjana Sjakste, Kristina Dokane

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to analyse PRKAG3 and RYR1 gene and genotypes frequencies in Latvian White pigs’ breed. Genotypes of RYR1 gene two loci (rs196953058 and rs323041392) in 89 exon and PRKAG3 gene two loci (rs196958025 and rs344045190) in gene promoter were detected in 103 individuals of Latvian white pigs’ breed. Analysis of RYR1 gene loci rs196953058 shows all individuals are homozygous by T allele and all animals are with genotypes TT, its mean - in 2769 position is Phenylalanine. Analysis of RYR1 gene loci rs323041392 shows all individuals are homozygous by G allele and all animals are with genotypes GG, its mean - in 4119 positions is Asparagine. In loci rs196953058 and rs323041392, there were no gene polymorphisms. All analysed individuals by two loci rs196953058-rs323041392 have TT-GG genotypes or Phe-Asp amino acids. In PRKAG3 gene loci rs196958025 and rs344045190 there was gene polymorphisms. In both loci frequencies for A allele was higher: 84.6% for rs196958025 and 73.0% for rs344045190. Analysis of PRKAG3 gene loci rs196958025 shows 74% of individuals are homozygous by An allele and animals are with genotypes AA. Only 4% of individuals are homozygous by G allele and animals are with genotypes GG, which is associated with pale meat colour and higher drip loss. Analysis of PRKAG3 gene loci rs344045190 shows 46% of individuals are homozygous with genotypes AA and 54% of individuals are heterozygous with genotypes AG. There are no individuals with GG genotypes. According to the results, in Latvian white pigs population there are no rs344435545 (RYR1 gene) CT heterozygous or TT recessive homozygous genotypes, which is related to the meat quality and pigs’ stress syndrome; and there are 4% rs196958025 (PRKAG3 gene) GG recessive homozygote genotypes, which is related to the meat quality. Acknowledgment: the investigation is supported by VPP 2014-2017 AgroBioRes Project No. 3 LIVESTOCK.

Keywords: genotype frequencies, pig, PRKAG3, RYR1

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2663 Bioinformatic Study of Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor (FSHR) Gene in Different Buffalo Breeds

Authors: Hamid Mustafa, Adeela Ajmal, Kim EuiSoo, Noor-ul-Ain

Abstract:

World wild, buffalo production is considered as most important component of food industry. Efficient buffalo production is related with reproductive performance of this species. Lack of knowledge of reproductive efficiency and its related genes in buffalo species is a major constraint for sustainable buffalo production. In this study, we performed some bioinformatics analysis on Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor (FSHR) gene and explored the possible relationship of this gene among different buffalo breeds and with other farm animals. We also found the evolution pattern for this gene among these species. We investigate CDS lengths, Stop codon variation, homology search, signal peptide, isoelectic point, tertiary structure, motifs and phylogenetic tree. The results of this study indicate 4 different motif in this gene, which are Activin-recp, GS motif, STYKc Protein kinase and transmembrane. The results also indicate that this gene has very close relationship with cattle, bison, sheep and goat. Multiple alignment (MA) showed high conservation of motif which indicates constancy of this gene during evolution. The results of this study can be used and applied for better understanding of this gene for better characterization of Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor (FSHR) gene structure in different farm animals, which would be helpful for efficient breeding plans for animal’s production.

Keywords: buffalo, FSHR gene, bioinformatics, production

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2662 The Effects of Governmental Regulation on Technological Innovation in Korean Firms

Authors: SeungKu Ahn, Sewon Lee

Abstract:

This study examines the effects of regulatory policies on corporate R&D activities and innovation and suggests regulatory directions for the enhancement of corporate performance. This study employs a regression model with R&D activities as dependent variables and the regulatory index as an independent variable. The results of this study are as follows: The regulation is negatively associated with the input and output of R&D activities. The regulation encourages small and medium-sized firms to invest in R&D. The regulation has a positive effect on patent applications for small and medium-sized firms.

Keywords: governmental regulation, research and development performance, small and medium-sized firms, technological innovation

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2661 Polymorphism of Candidate Genes for Meat Production in Lori Sheep

Authors: Shahram Nanekarania, Majid Goodarzia

Abstract:

Calpastatin and callipyge have been known as one of the candidate genes in meat quality and quantity. Calpastatin gene has been located to chromosome 5 of sheep and callipyge gene has been localized in the telomeric region on ovine chromosome 18. The objective of this study was identification of calpastatin and callipyge genes polymorphism and analysis of genotype structure in population of Lori sheep kept in Iran. Blood samples were taken from 120 Lori sheep breed and genomic DNA was extracted by salting out method. Polymorphism was identified using the PCR-RFLP technique. The PCR products were digested with MspI and FaqI restriction enzymes for calpastatin gene and callipyge gene, respectively. In this population, three patterns were observed and AA, AB, BB genotype have been identified with the 0.32, 0.63, 0.05 frequencies for calpastatin gene. The results obtained for the callipyge gene revealed that only the wild-type allele A was observed, indicating that only genotype AA was present in the population under consideration.

Keywords: polymorphism, calpastatin, callipyge, PCR-RFLP, Lori sheep

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2660 EU Regulation 868/04: Report of a Unilateral Approach on Unfair Subsidisation and Unfair Pricing Practices and Its Failure

Authors: Andrea Trimarchi

Abstract:

This paper is designed to provide a comprehensive overview on the EU Regulation No. 868/2004 concerning protection against subsidisation and unfair pricing practices regarding non-EU carriers and causing injury to Community air carriers. The analysis will focus, at first, on the exegetical scrutiny of the legal categories encompassed by the Regulation. In addition to that, while considering the peculiarities of such legal instrument, the attention will be addressed on the assessment on its effectiveness. The Regulation, indeed, having received lots of criticism, is in need of a profound revision. In this context, the present work will try to take into account the policy alternatives. In light of the failure of Regulation 868, which is to be seen as the expression of a unilateral and regional approach, there would seem to be the necessity for the aviation sector to reconsider the topic of subsidisation and unfair pricing practices in a more international oriented manner.

Keywords: non-EU airlines, aviation, subisidisation, unfair

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2659 “Self-efficacy, Task value and Metacognitive Self-regulation as Predictors of English Language Achievement”

Authors: Omar Baissane and, Hassan Zaid

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The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-efficacy, task value, and metacognitive self-regulation predict students’ English language achievement among Vietnamese high school students. In this non-experimental quantitative study, 403 Vietnamese random participants were required to fill out the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire to measure self-efficacy, task value and metacognitive self-regulation. Criterion for English language achievement was the final grade that students themselves reported. The results revealed that, unlike metacognitive self-regulation, self-efficacy and task value were significantly correlated with language achievement. Moreover, the findings showed that self-efficacy was the only significant predictor of language achievement.

Keywords: language achievement, metacognitive self-regulation, predictor, self-efficacy, task value

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2658 Septin 11, Cytoskeletal Protein Involved in the Regulation of Lipid Metabolism in Adipocytes

Authors: Natalia Moreno-Castellanos, Amaia Rodriguez, Gema Frühbeck

Abstract:

Introduction: In adipocytes, the cytoskeleton undergoes important expression and distribution in adipocytes rearrangements during adipogenesis and in obesity. Indeed, a role for these proteins in the regulation of adipocyte differentiation and response to insulin has been demonstrated. Recently, septins have been considered as new components of the cytoskeletal network that interact with other cytoskeletal elements (actin and tubulin) profoundly modifying their dynamics. However, these proteins have not been characterized as yet in adipose tissue. In this work, were examined the cellular, molecular and functional features of a member of this family, septin 11 (SEPT11), in adipocytes and evaluated the impact of obesity on the expression of this protein in human adipose tissue. Methods: Adipose gene and protein expression levels of SEPT11 were analysed in human samples. SEPT11 distribution was evaluated by immunocytochemistry, electronic microscopy, and subcellular fractionation techniques. GST-pull down, immunoprecipitation and a Yeast-Two Hybrid (Y2H) screening were used to identify the SEPT11 interactome. Gene silencing was employed to assess the role of SEPT11 in the regulation of insulin signaling and lipid metabolism in adipocytes. Results: SEPT11 is expressed in human adipocytes, and its levels increased in both omental and subcutaneous adipose tissue in obesity, with SEPT11 mRNA content positively correlating with parameters of insulin resistance in subcutaneous fat. In non-stimulated adipocytes, SEPT11 immunoreactivity showed a ring-like distribution at the cell surface and associated to caveolae. Biochemical analyses showed that SEPT11 interacted with the main component of caveolae, caveolin-1 (CAV1) as well as with the fatty acid-binding protein, FABP5. Notably, the three proteins redistributed and co-localized at the surface of lipid droplets upon exposure of adipocytes to oleate. In this line, SEPT11 silencing in 3T3-L1 adipocytes impaired insulin signaling and decreased insulin-induced lipogenesis. Conclusions: Those findings demonstrate that SEPT11 is a novel component of the adipocyte cytoskeleton that plays an important role in the regulation of lipid traffic, metabolism and can thus represent a potential biomarker of insulin resistance in obesity in adipocytes through its interaction with both CAV1 and FABP5.

Keywords: caveolae, lipid metabolism, obesity, septins

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2657 Gene Names Identity Recognition Using Siamese Network for Biomedical Publications

Authors: Micheal Olaolu Arowolo, Muhammad Azam, Fei He, Mihail Popescu, Dong Xu

Abstract:

As the quantity of biological articles rises, so does the number of biological route figures. Each route figure shows gene names and relationships. Annotating pathway diagrams manually is time-consuming. Advanced image understanding models could speed up curation, but they must be more precise. There is rich information in biological pathway figures. The first step to performing image understanding of these figures is to recognize gene names automatically. Classical optical character recognition methods have been employed for gene name recognition, but they are not optimized for literature mining data. This study devised a method to recognize an image bounding box of gene name as a photo using deep Siamese neural network models to outperform the existing methods using ResNet, DenseNet and Inception architectures, the results obtained about 84% accuracy.

Keywords: biological pathway, gene identification, object detection, Siamese network

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2656 Using Gene Expression Programming in Learning Process of Rough Neural Networks

Authors: Sanaa Rashed Abdallah, Yasser F. Hassan

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The paper will introduce an approach where a rough sets, gene expression programming and rough neural networks are used cooperatively for learning and classification support. The Objective of gene expression programming rough neural networks (GEP-RNN) approach is to obtain new classified data with minimum error in training and testing process. Starting point of gene expression programming rough neural networks (GEP-RNN) approach is an information system and the output from this approach is a structure of rough neural networks which is including the weights and thresholds with minimum classification error.

Keywords: rough sets, gene expression programming, rough neural networks, classification

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2655 Job Characteristics, Emotion Regulation and University Teachers' Well-Being: A Job Demands-Resources Analysis

Authors: Jiying Han

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Teaching is widely known to be an emotional endeavor, and teachers’ ability to regulate their emotions is important for their well-being and the effectiveness of their classroom management. Considering that teachers’ emotion regulation is an underexplored issue in the field of educational research, some studies have attempted to explore the role of emotion regulation in teachers’ work and to explore the links between teachers’ emotion regulation, job characteristics, and well-being, based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. However, those studies targeted primary or secondary teachers. So far, very little is known about the relationships between university teachers’ emotion regulation and its antecedents and effects on teacher well-being. Based on the job demands-resources model and emotion regulation theory, this study examined the relationships between job characteristics of university teaching (i.e., emotional job demands and teaching support), emotion regulation strategies (i.e., reappraisal and suppression), and university teachers’ well-being. Data collected from a questionnaire survey of 643 university teachers in China were analysed. The results indicated that (1) both emotional job demands and teaching support had desirable effects on university teachers’ well-being; (2) both emotional job demands and teaching support facilitated university teachers’ use of reappraisal strategies; and (3) reappraisal was beneficial to university teachers’ well-being, whereas suppression was harmful. These findings support the applicability of the job demands-resources model to the contexts of higher education and highlight the mediating role of emotion regulation.

Keywords: emotional job demands, teaching support, emotion regulation strategies, the job demands-resources model

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2654 Parental Bonding and Cognitive Emotion Regulation

Authors: Fariea Bakul, Chhanda Karmaker

Abstract:

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of parental bonding on adult’s cognitive emotion regulation and also to investigate gender differences in parental bonding and cognitive emotion regulation. Data were collected by using convenience sampling technique from 100 adult students (50 males and 50 females) of different universities of Dhaka city, ages between 20 to 25 years, using Bengali version of Parental Bonding Inventory and Bengali version of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed by using multiple regression analysis and independent samples t-test. The results revealed that fathers care (β =0.317, p < 0.05) was only significantly positively associated with adult’s cognitive emotion regulation. Adjusted R² indicated that the model explained 30% of the variance in adult’s adaptive cognitive emotion regulation. No significant association was found between parental bonding and less adaptive cognitive emotion regulations. Results from independent samples t-test also revealed that there was no significant gender difference in both parental bonding and cognitive emotion regulations.

Keywords: cognitive emotion regulation, parental bonding, parental care, parental over-protection

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2653 Self-Regulation in Socially Rejected Pupils

Authors: Karla Hrbackova, Irena Balaban Cakirpaloglu

Abstract:

This paper is a report on self-regulation in socially rejected pupils. A certain form of social rejection can be found in almost every class within the school environment. Research shows that due to social rejection mechanisms supporting the individual´s effort of reintegration into the group are not triggered. Paradoxically the opposite tendency arises, i.e., an increase in selfish and defeating behaviour. The link between peer exposure and self-regulation is likely to vary as a function of a type and quality of peer interaction (e.g., rejection or acceptance). The paper aims to clarify the level of self-regulation related to interpersonal cognitive problem-solving within the process of social rejection in a school class. The research was done on a sample of 1,133 upper-primary school pupils using the Means-Ends Problem Solving technique (MEPS) and peer sociometric nomination. The results showed that the level of self-regulated skills is related to the status of social rejection. Socially rejected pupils achieve lower levels of self-regulation than other classmates. We found deficiency in the regulation of behaviour, emotions and the regulation of will in the peer rejected pupils with the exception of cognitive regulation in which no differences were detected between socially rejected pupils and other classmates. The results have implications for early prevention and intervention efforts to foster adaptive self-regulation and reduce the risk of later social rejection.

Keywords: interpersonal cognitive problem-solving, self-regulation, socially rejected pupils, upper-primary school pupils

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2652 Regulation, Co-Regulation and Self-Regulation of Civil Unmanned Aircrafts in Europe

Authors: M. de Miguel Molina, V. Santamarina Campos, M. V. Segarra Oña, B. de Miguel Molina

Abstract:

Safety and security concerns play a key role during the design of civil UAs (aircraft controlled by a pilot who is not onboard it) by the producers and the offer of different services by the operators. At present, European countries have fragmented regulations about the manufacture and use of civil drones, therefore the European institutions are trying to approach all these regulations into a common one. In this sense, not only law but also ethics can give guidelines to the industry in order to obtain better reports from their clients. With our results, we would like to give advice to the European industry, as well as give new insights to the academia and policymakers.

Keywords: ethics, regulation, safety, security

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2651 Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E4 Gene Variation as Risk Factor for Cervical Cancer

Authors: Yudi Zhao, Ziyun Zhou, Yueting Yao, Shuying Dai, Zhiling Yan, Longyu Yang, Chuanyin Li, Li Shi, Yufeng Yao

Abstract:

HPV16 E4 gene plays an important role in viral genome amplification and release. Therefore, a variation of the E4 gene nucleic acid sequence may affect the carcinogenicity of HPV16. In order to understand the relationship between the variation of HPV16 E4 gene and cervical cancer, this study was to amplify and sequence the DNA sequences of E4 genes in 118 HPV16-positive cervical cancer patients and 151 HPV16-positive asymptomatic individuals. After obtaining E4 gene sequences, the phylogenetic trees were constructed by the Neighbor-joining method for gene variation analysis. The results showed that: 1) The distribution of HPV16 variants between the case group and the control group differed greatly (P = 0.015),and the Asian-American(AA)variant was likely to relate to the occurrence of cervical cancer. 2) DNA sequence analysis showed that there were significant differences in the distribution of 8 variants between the case group and the control group (P < 0.05). And 3) In European (EUR) variant, two variations, C3384T (L18L) and A3449G (P39P), were associated with the initiation and development of cervical cancer. The results suggested that the variation of HPV16 E4 gene may be a contributor affecting the occurrence as well as the development of cervical cancer, and different HPV16 variants may have different carcinogenic capability.

Keywords: cervical cancer, HPV16, E4 gene, variations

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2650 Evolution of DNA-Binding With-One-Finger Transcriptional Factor Family in Diploid Cotton Gossypium raimondii

Authors: Waqas Shafqat Chattha, Muhammad Iqbal, Amir Shakeel

Abstract:

Transcriptional factors are proteins that play a vital role in regulating the transcription of target genes in different biological processes and are being widely studied in different plant species. In the current era of genomics, plant genomes sequencing has directed to the genome-wide identification, analyses and categorization of diverse transcription factor families and hence provide key insights into their structural as well as functional diversity. The DNA-binding with One Finger (DOF) proteins belongs to C2-C2-type zinc finger protein family. DOF proteins are plant-specific transcription factors implicated in diverse functions including seed maturation and germination, phytohormone signalling, light-mediated gene regulation, cotton-fiber elongation and responses of the plant to biotic as well as abiotic stresses. In this context, a genome-wide in-silico analysis of DOF TF family in diploid cotton species i.e. Gossypium raimondii has enabled us to identify 55 non-redundant genes encoding DOF proteins renamed as GrDofs (Gossypium raimondii Dof). Gene distribution studies have shown that all of the GrDof genes are unevenly distributed across 12 out of 13 G. raimondii chromosomes. The gene structure analysis illustrated that 34 out of 55 GrDof genes are intron-less while remaining 21 genes have a single intron. Protein sequence-based phylogenetic analysis of putative 55 GrDOFs has divided these proteins into 5 major groups with various paralogous gene pairs. Molecular evolutionary studies aided with the conserved domain as well as gene structure analysis suggested that segmental duplications were the principal contributors for the expansion of Dof genes in G. raimondii.

Keywords: diploid cotton , G. raimondii, phylogenetic analysis, transcription factor

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2649 Social Support and Self-Regulation on Changes in Exercise Behavior Among Infertile Women: A Cross-Sectional Study to Comparison of External and Internal Factors

Authors: Babak Nemat

Abstract:

Background: Exercise behavior (EB) has a significant impact on infertility, but the magnitude of the effect is not easily determined. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of social support and self-regulation, as external and internal factors, on changes in exercise behavior among infertile women. Methods: For a cross-sectional study conducted in Sanandaj (Iran) in 2023, we recruited infertile women (n=483) from 35 comprehensive healthcare centers by means of convenience sampling. Standardized face-to-face interviews were conducted using established and reliable instruments for the assessment of EB, social support, and self-regulation. Logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between EB, social support and self-regulation. Results: The majority of the participants (56.7%) had secondary infertility, while 70.8% of them did not perform any exercise. Self-regulation and social support were significantly higher in women with secondary infertility than in those with primary infertility (p < 0.01). Self-regulation was significantly lower in women whose height was below 160 centimeters (cm) (p<0.05). Social support was significantly higher among participants aged ≥ 35 years and weighing ≥ 60 kilograms (kg) (p < 0.01). The odds of EB adoption increased with self-regulation and social support (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.02-1.09, p <0.01), (OR=1.06, 95% CI=1.02-1.11, p <0.01). Conclusion: Social support and self-regulation almost equally influenced EB in infertile women. Designing support and consultation programs can be considered in encouraging infertile women to exercise in future research.

Keywords: social support, regulation, infertility, women

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