Does Context Matter? Convergent and Divergent Findings in the Cross-Institutional Evaluation of Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Programs.

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play important instructional roles in introductory science courses, yet they often have little training in pedagogy. The most common form of teaching professional development (PD) for GTAs is a presemester workshop held at the course, department, or college level. In this study, we compare the effectiveness of presemester workshops at three northeastern research universities, each of which incorporated scientific teaching as the pedagogical content framework.

Pathways over Time: Functional Genomics Research in an Introductory Laboratory Course.

National reports have called for the introduction of research experiences throughout the undergraduate curriculum, but practical implementation at many institutions faces challenges associated with sustainability, cost, and large student populations. We describe a novel course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that introduces introductory-level students to research in functional genomics in a 3-credit, multisection laboratory class. In the Pathways over Time class project, students study the functional conservation of the methionine biosynthetic pathway between divergent yeast species.

The role of IREB2 and transforming growth factor beta-1 genetic variants in COPD: a replication case-control study.

Background: Genetic factors are known to contribute to COPD susceptibility and these factors are not fully understood. Conflicting results have been reported for many genetic studies of candidate genes based on their role in the disease. Genome-wide association studies in combination with expression profiling have identified a number of new candidates including IREB2.

Mature human neutrophils constitutively express the transcription factor EGR-1.

The immediate early response gene, Early Growth Response 1 (EGR-1) has emerged as a central regulator of early inflammatory and immune processes by rapidly regulating the transcription of a wide array of downstream effector genes. Neutrophils, which are among the first circulating leukocytes to respond to inflammatory signals, exhibit a broad set of transcriptional changes immediately upon exposure to inflammatory and pathogenic stimuli. Such transcriptional changes are likely to be controlled by early gene transcription factors such as EGR-1.

Association of MMP-2 polymorphisms with severe and very severe COPD: a case control study of MMPs-1, 9 and 12 in a European population.

Background: Genetic factors play a role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but are poorly understood. A number of candidate genes have been proposed on the basis of the pathogenesis of COPD. These include the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) genes which play a role in tissue remodelling and fit in with the protease--antiprotease imbalance theory for the cause of COPD.

Association of improved pulmonary phenotype in Irish cystic fibrosis patients with a 3' enhancer polymorphism in alpha-1-antitrypsin.

Modifier genes other than CFTR are thought to influence lung disease phenotype in cystic fibrosis (CF). In this study, we investigated the relationship between a polymorphism (1237 G --> A) in the 3' enhancer region of the alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) gene and pulmonary disease severity in 320 CF patients recruited from two independent adult referral centers in Ireland, and evaluated the in vivo effect of the polymorphism on AAT levels during acute infection. When corrected for confounding variables, the polymorphism was found to make a small but significant contribution to variance in percent predicted forced expired volume in 1 sec (FEV1) (1.

13 Protein L-isoaspartyl, D-aspartyl O-methyltransferases: Catalysts for protein repair.

Protein L-isoaspartyl, D-aspartyl O-methyltransferases (PIMTs) are ancient enzymes distributed through all phylogenetic domains. PIMTs catalyze the methylation of L-isoaspartyl, and to a lesser extent D-aspartyl, residues arising from the spontaneous deamidation and isomerization of protein asparaginyl and aspartyl residues. PIMTs catalyze the methylation of isoaspartyl residues in a large number of primary sequence configurations, which accounts for the broad specificity of the enzyme for protein substrates both in vitro and in vivo.

Cryptic haplotypes of SERPINA1 confer susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. While cigarette smoking is a major cause of COPD, only 15% of smokers develop the disease, indicating major genetic influences. The most widely recognized candidate gene in COPD is SERPINA1, although it has been suggested that SERPINA3 may also play a role.

Cystic fibrosis, disease severity, and a macrophage migration inhibitory factor polymorphism.

Rationale: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a key proinflammatory mediator. It contributes toward an exaggerated gram-negative inflammatory response via its ability to induce Toll-like receptor-4 expression. Studies have shown that MIF knockout mice have less aggressive Pseudomonas infection (compared with wild-type).

Cystic fibrosis sputum stimulates CD18-independent neutrophil migration across endothelial cells.

Excessive neutrophil recruitment to the lung underlies inflammatory-mediated lung damage in cystic fibrosis (CF). Neutrophils can migrate to the lung using either a CD18-dependent or CD18-independent mechanism. To determine if one of these migratory pathways is preferentially utilized by neutrophils migrating to the CF airways, this study examined the CD18 dependency of neutrophil transendothelial migration stimulated by the soluble fraction of CF sputum (SOL).

Catalytic implications from the Drosophila protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase structure and site-directed mutagenesis.

Protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferases (PIMT; EC 2.1.1.