Adjustment of costly extra-group paternity according to inbreeding risk in a cooperative mammal.

Females of many animal species seek mating opportunities with multiple males, despite being able to obtain sufficient sperm to father their offspring from a single male. In animals that live in stable social groups, females often choose to mate outside their group resulting in extra-group paternity (EGP). One reason proposed to explain female choice for extra-group males is to obtain compatible genes, for example, in order to avoid inbreeding depression in offspring.

Association of Parity and Time since Last Birth with Breast Cancer Prognosis by Intrinsic Subtype.

Background: Parity and time since last birth influence breast cancer risk and vary by intrinsic tumor subtype, but the independent effects of these factors on prognosis have received limited attention.

Methods: Study participants were 1,140 invasive breast cancer patients from phases I and II of the population-based Carolina Breast Cancer Study, with tissue blocks available for subtyping using immunohistochemical markers. Breast cancer risk factors, including pregnancy history, were collected via in-person interviews administered shortly after diagnosis.

Elevated glucocorticoid concentrations during gestation predict reduced reproductive success in subordinate female banded mongooses.

Dominant females in social species have been hypothesized to reduce the reproductive success of their subordinates by inducing elevated circulating glucocorticoid (GC) concentrations. However, this 'stress-related suppression' hypothesis has received little support in cooperatively breeding species, despite evident reproductive skews among females. We tested this hypothesis in the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), a cooperative mammal in which multiple females conceive and carry to term in each communal breeding attempt.

Training in the Conduct of Population-Based Multi-Site and Multi-Disciplinary Studies: the Cancer Research Network's Scholars Program.

Expanding research capacity of large research networks within health care delivery systems requires strategically training both embedded and external investigators in necessary skills for this purpose. Researchers new to these settings frequently lack the skills and specialized knowledge conducive to multi-site and multi-disciplinary research set in delivery systems. This report describes the goals and components of the Cancer Research Network (CRN) Scholars Program, a 26-month training program developed to increase the capacity for cancer research conducted within the network's participating sites, its progression from training embedded investigators to a mix of internal and external investigators, and the content evolution of the training program.

Post-diagnosis adiposity and survival among breast cancer patients: influence of breast cancer subtype.

Purpose: Adiposity has been linked with increased breast cancer risk and mortality. It is established that etiologic associations for adiposity vary by tumor subtype, but the influence of adiposity on subtype-specific survival is unknown.

Methods: Study participants were 1,109 invasive breast cancer participants in the population-based Carolina Breast Cancer Study, diagnosed between 1993 and 2001, and with tissue blocks available for immunohistochemical subtyping.

Functional inhibition of PAR2 alleviates allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation.

Background: Proteinase-activated receptor 2 (PAR2 ) is a G protein-coupled receptor activated by trypsin-like serine proteinases. PAR2 activation has been associated with inflammation including allergic airway inflammation. We have also shown that PAR2 activation in the airways leads to allergic sensitization.

Overall and central adiposity and breast cancer risk in the Sister Study.

Background: Greater body mass index (BMI), a measure of overall adiposity, is associated with a higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. The role of central adiposity, often measured by waist circumference, is less well understood, especially among premenopausal women. The objective of the current study was to examine multiple measures of adiposity in relation to breast cancer in a prospective cohort study.

Banded mongooses avoid inbreeding when mating with members of the same natal group.

Inbreeding and inbreeding avoidance are key factors in the evolution of animal societies, influencing dispersal and reproductive strategies which can affect relatedness structure and helping behaviours. In cooperative breeding systems, individuals typically avoid inbreeding through reproductive restraint and/or dispersing to breed outside their natal group. However, where groups contain multiple potential mates of varying relatedness, strategies of kin recognition and mate choice may be favoured.

Building a funded research program in cancer health disparities: considerations for young investigators.

A workshop entitled "Building a funded research program in cancer health disparities" was held at the 38th Annual American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) Meeting. Organized by the Junior Members Interest Group, the session addressed topics relevant to career development for cancer disparities investigators. Such considerations include the development of research programs on a backdrop of existing multi- and transdisciplinary teams, recognizing opportunities for advancing their research, given the growth of consortia-related research, and development of effective community-based partnerships.

Anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations in premenopausal women and breast cancer risk.

Laboratory models support an inverse association between anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and breast tumor development. Human studies are lacking; one study (N = 105 cases, 204 controls) with prospectively collected serum reported the opposite-an approximate 10-fold increase in breast cancer risk comparing fourth with first quartile AMH levels. We investigated the relation between serum AMH levels and breast cancer risk in a case-control (N = 452 cases, 902 controls) study nested within the prospective Sister Study cohort of 50,884 women.

Hormone therapy and young-onset breast cancer.

Estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy (HT) is associated with an increased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, but few studies have examined the impact of HT use on the risk of breast cancer in younger women. We assessed the association between estrogen plus progestin HT or unopposed estrogen HT and young-onset breast cancer using data from the Two Sister Study (2008-2010), a sister-matched study of 1,419 cases diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 years and 1,665 controls. We assessed exposures up to a family-specific index age to ensure comparable opportunities for exposures and used propensity scores to control for birth cohort effects on HT use.

Evidence for frequent incest in a cooperatively breeding mammal.

As breeding between relatives often results in inbreeding depression, inbreeding avoidance is widespread in the animal kingdom. However, inbreeding avoidance may entail fitness costs. For example, dispersal away from relatives may reduce survival.

Risk-benefit profiles of women using tamoxifen for chemoprevention.

Background: Tamoxifen has been US Food and Drug Administration-approved for primary prevention of breast cancer since 1998 but has not been widely adopted, in part because of increased risk of serious side effects. Little is known about the risk-benefit profiles of women who use chemoprevention outside of a clinical trial. We examined characteristics associated with initiation and discontinuation of tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer within a large cohort of women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer.

Policing of reproduction by hidden threats in a cooperative mammal.

The evolution of cooperation in animal and human societies is associated with mechanisms to suppress individual selfishness. In insect societies, queens and workers enforce cooperation by "policing" selfish reproduction by workers. Insect policing typically takes the form of damage limitation after individuals have carried out selfish acts (such as laying eggs).

Respiratory-gated noncontrast SPACE MR angiography sequence at 3T for evaluation of the central veins of the chest: a feasibility study.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of a respiratory-gated noncontrast magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) sequence for imaging the central veins of the chest.

Materials And Methods: Eleven healthy subjects underwent MRA of the central veins of the chest with a respiratory-gated noncontrast (SPACE) sequence. Qualitative visualization and signal homogeneity of each central venous segment were scored by two radiologists on a scale of 1-4.

Pre-diagnosis oophorectomy, estrogen therapy and mortality in a cohort of women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Introduction: Pre-diagnosis oophorectomy and estrogen therapy could impact mortality due to breast cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among breast cancer survivors. Elective bilateral oophorectomy at the time of hysterectomy for benign conditions is not uncommon among US women.

Methods: We examined the association between pre-diagnosis total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingooophorectomy (TAHBSO) and both overall and cause-specific mortality in the Collaborative Breast Cancer Studies cohort.

Tubal ligation in relation to menopausal symptoms and breast cancer risk.

Background: Local inflammation after tubal ligation may affect ovarian function and breast cancer risk.

Methods: We analysed tubal ligation, menopausal characteristics, and breast cancer risk in the Sister Study cohort (N=50,884 women).

Results: Tubal ligation was associated with hot flashes (hazard ratio (HR) 1.

β-Arrestin-2 mediates the proinflammatory effects of proteinase-activated receptor-2 in the airway.

Proteinase-Activated receptor-2 (PAR(2)), a G-protein-coupled Receptor, activated by serine proteinases, is reported to have both protective and proinflammatory effects in the airway. Given these opposing actions, both inhibitors and activators of PAR(2) have been proposed for treating asthma. PAR(2) can signal through two independent pathways: a β-arrestin-dependent one that promotes leukocyte migration, and a G-protein/Ca(2+) one that is required for prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production and bronchiolar smooth muscle relaxation.

Fine-scale spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation reflect budding dispersal coupled with strong natal philopatry in a cooperatively breeding mammal.

The relatedness structure of animal populations is thought to be a critically important factor underlying the evolution of mating systems and social behaviours. While previous work has shown that population structure is shaped by many biological processes, few studies have investigated how these factors vary over time. Consequently, we explored the fine-scale spatiotemporal genetic structure of an intensively studied population of cooperatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) over a 10-year period.

Postoophorectomy estrogen use and breast cancer risk.

Objective: To estimate whether the protective effect of premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy on breast cancer risk is mitigated by estrogen therapy use after surgery.

Methods: In pooled data from four population-based case-control studies spanning 1992-2007, we examined estrogen use after total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAHBSO) and subsequent breast cancer risk. We identified cases of postmenopausal invasive breast cancer in women (n=10,449) aged 50-79 years from three state tumor registries and age-matched control group participants without breast cancer (n=11,787) from driver's license and Medicare lists.

Congenital heart disease-causing Gata4 mutation displays functional deficits in vivo.

Defects of atrial and ventricular septation are the most frequent form of congenital heart disease, accounting for almost 50% of all cases. We previously reported that a heterozygous G296S missense mutation of GATA4 caused atrial and ventricular septal defects and pulmonary valve stenosis in humans. GATA4 encodes a cardiac transcription factor, and when deleted in mice it results in cardiac bifida and lethality by embryonic day (E)9.

Inhibitory role of Notch1 in calcific aortic valve disease.

Aortic valve calcification is the most common form of valvular heart disease, but the mechanisms of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) are unknown. NOTCH1 mutations are associated with aortic valve malformations and adult-onset calcification in families with inherited disease. The Notch signaling pathway is critical for multiple cell differentiation processes, but its role in the development of CAVD is not well understood.

Disturbances in body ownership in schizophrenia: evidence from the rubber hand illusion and case study of a spontaneous out-of-body experience.

Background: A weakened sense of self may contribute to psychotic experiences. Body ownership, one component of self-awareness, can be studied with the rubber hand illusion (RHI). Watching a rubber hand being stroked while one's unseen hand is stroked synchronously can lead to a sense of ownership over the rubber hand, a shift in perceived position of the real hand, and a limb-specific drop in stimulated hand temperature.

A novel approach for mining polymorphic microsatellite markers in silico.

An important emerging application of high-throughput 454 sequencing is the isolation of molecular markers such as microsatellites from genomic DNA. However, few studies have developed microsatellites from cDNA despite the added potential for targeting candidate genes. Moreover, to develop microsatellites usually requires the evaluation of numerous primer pairs for polymorphism in the focal species.