University of New Mexico

About: University of New Mexico is a education organization based out in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 28870 authors who have published 64767 publications receiving 2578371 citations. The organization is also known as: UNM & Universitatis Novus Mexico.

Perspective: Evolution and detection of genetic robustness.

Abstract: Robustness is the invariance of phenotypes in the face of perturbation. The robustness of phenotypes appears at various levels of biological organization, including gene expression, protein folding, metabolic flux, physiological homeostasis, development, and even organismal fitness. The mechanisms underlying robustness are diverse, ranging from thermodynamic stability at the RNA and protein level to behavior at the organismal level. Phenotypes can be robust either against heritable perturbations (e.g., mutations) or nonheritable perturbations (e.g., the weather). Here we primarily focus on the first kind of robustness-genetic robustness-and survey three growing avenues of research: (1) measuring genetic robustness in nature and in the laboratory; (2) understanding the evolution of genetic robustness; and (3) exploring the implications of genetic robustness for future evolution.

How strategy‐making processes can make a difference

Abstract: Strategy-making is usually portrayed in dichotomous terms: rational vs. incremental, or formulation vs. implementation. It may, however, be more valid to think of organizations as entities capable of developing resources and skills in multiple strategy-making process modes. This paper first develops measures to identify firms with different levels and types of strategy-making process ‘capability’ then examines empirically their relationships to five dimensions of perceived performance, using data collected from a sample of 285 top managers. Results indicate that firms with high process capability–the simultaneous use of multiple strategy-making process modes–outperfom single-mode or less process-capable organizations.

Genotyping of 27 Human Papillomavirus Types by Using L1 Consensus PCR Products by a Single-Hybridization, Reverse Line Blot Detection Method

Abstract: Amplification of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA by L1 consensus primer systems (e.g., MY09/11 or GP5(+)/6(+)) can detect as few as 10 to 100 molecules of HPV targets from a genital sample. However, genotype determination by dot blot hybridization is laborious and requires at least 27 separate hybridizations for substantive HPV-type discrimination. A reverse blot method was developed which employs a biotin-labeled PCR product hybridized to an array of immobilized oligonucleotide probes. By the reverse blot strip analysis, genotype discrimination of multiple HPV types can be accomplished in a single hybridization and wash cycle. Twenty-seven HPV probe mixes, two control probe concentrations, and a single reference line were immobilized to 75- by 6-mm nylon strips. Each individual probe line contained a mixture of two bovine serum albumin-conjugated oligonucleotide probes specific to a unique HPV genotype. The genotype spectrum discriminated on this strip includes the high-risk, or cancer-associated, HPV genotypes 16, 18, 26, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 55, 56, 58, 59, 68 (ME180), MM4 (W13B), MM7 (P291), and MM9 (P238A) and the low-risk, or non-cancer-associated, genotypes 6, 11, 40, 42, 53, 54, 57, 66, and MM8 (P155). In addition, two concentrations of beta-globin probes allowed for assessment of individual specimen adequacy following amplification. We have evaluated the performance of the strip method relative to that of a previously reported dot blot format (H. M. Bauer et al., p. 132-152, in C. S. Herrington and J. O. D. McGee (ed.), Diagnostic Molecular Pathology: a Practical Approach, (1992), by testing 328 cervical swab samples collected in Digene specimen transport medium (Digene Diagnostics, Silver Spring, Md.). We show excellent agreement between the two detection formats, with 92% concordance for HPV positivity (kappa = 0.78, P < 0.001). Nearly all of the discrepant HPV-positive samples resulted from weak signals and can be attributed to sampling error from specimens with low concentrations (<1 copy/microliter) of HPV DNA. The primary advantage of the strip-based detection system is the ability to rapidly genotype HPVs present in genital samples with high sensitivity and specificity, minimizing the likelihood of misclassification.

A genome-wide search for asthma susceptibility loci in ethnically diverse populations

Abstract: Asthma is an inflammatory airwaysdisease associated with intermittent respiratory symptoms, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and reversible airflow obstruction and is phenotypically heterogeneous1,2. Patterns of clustering and segregation analyses in asthma families have suggested a genetic component to asthma3–6. Previous studies reported linkage of BHR and atopy to chromosomes 5q (refs 7–9), 6p (refs 10–12), 11q (refs 13–15), 14q (ref. 16), and 12q (ref. 17) using candidate gene approaches. However, the relative roles of these genes in the pathogenesis of asthma or atopy are difficult to assess outside of the context of a genome-wide search. One genome-wide search in atopic sib pairs has been reported18, however, only 12% of their subjects had asthma. We conducted a genome-wide search in 140 families with ≥2 asthmatic sibs, from three racial groups and report evidence for linkage to six novel regions: 5p15 (P= 0.0008) and 17p11.1–q11.2 (/> = 0.0015) in African Americans; 11p15 (P = 0.0089) and 19q13 (P = 0.0013) in Caucasians; 2q33 (P = 0.0005) and 21q21 (P = 0.0040) in Hispanics. Evidence for linkage was also detected in five regions previously reported to be linked to asthma-associated phenotypes: 5q23–31 (P = 0.0187), 6p21.3–23 (P = 0.0129), 12q14–24.2 (P = 0.0042), 13q21.3–qter (P = 0.0014), and 14q11.2–13 (P = 0.0062) in Caucasians and 12q14–24.2 (P = 0.0260) in Hispanics.

Adaptive variation in the vulnerability of woody plants to xylem cavitation

Abstract: The ability of plants to supply water to their leaves is intimately associated with survival. Water supply to leaves depends on maintaining an intact water column in the xylem from the roots to shoots. Because this hydraulic pathway is under tension, it is vulnerable to breakage through the induction of air emboli (cavitation). Although the phys- iological benefit of resistance to water-stress-induced xylem cavitation for desiccation tol- erance is clear, there is considerable interspecific variation within and across climates. To understand the adaptive significance of this variation and the potential trade-off with water transport, we compiled a database of 167 species from 50 seed plant families and examined relationships among resistance to xylem cavitation, water transport capacity (as determined by the specific conductivity of xylem ( KS)), and climate. Relationships were evaluated using standard cross-species correlations ( r). Because inferences about the adaptive significance of these correlations can be biased by the potential similarity of closely related species, we also analyzed our data using phylogenetically independent contrast correlations (PIC) calculated over a range of alternate seed plant phylogenies. Resistance to cavitation, ex- pressed as the xylem tension at which 50% of hydraulic conductivity was lost (C50), ranged from 20.18 to 29.9 MPa for angiosperms and from 21.5 to 214.1 MPa for conifers. Conifers were most resistant to cavitation, with mean C50 80% more negative than angio- sperms. In contrast, KS was 270% higher in angiosperms than conifers. Across all species, cavitation resistance increased with decreasing mean annual precipitation. However, sig- nificant phylogenetically independent contrast correlations between C50 and annual precip- itation were found within the evergreen angiosperms and conifers but not in the deciduous angiosperms. Thus, the adaptive significance of increased resistance to cavitation as a mechanism of drought tolerance may be of primary importance in evergreen angiosperms and conifers. In contrast, analysis of independent contrasts indicated that KS increased with decreasing rainfall in deciduous angiosperms, whereas there was no association between KS and water availability for evergreen angiosperms and conifers. These results suggest that the evolution of increased KS may be a critical adaptation to water limitation in de- ciduous angiosperms. Although there was a significant cross-species correlation between C50 and KS, this relationship was not supported by the independent contrast correlation, suggesting that the evolutionary basis for a trade-off between cavitation resistance and water transport capacity is weak.