University of Tennessee Health Science Center

About: University of Tennessee Health Science Center is a education organization based out in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 15716 authors who have published 26884 publications receiving 1176697 citations.

First report of the collaborative outcome data project on the effectiveness of psychological treatment for sex offenders.

Abstract: This meta-analytic review examined the effectiveness of psychological treatment for sex offenders by summarizing data from 43 studies (combined n = 9,454). Averaged across all studies, the sexual offence recidivism rate was lower for the treatment groups (12.3%) than the comparison groups (16.8%, 38 studies, unweighted average). A similar pattern was found for general recidivism, although the overall rates were predictably higher (treatment 27.9%, comparison 39.2%, 30 studies). Current treatments (cognitive–behavioral, k = 13; systemic, k = 2) were associated with reductions in both sexual recidivism (from 17.4 to 9.9%) and general recidivism (from 51 to 32%). Older forms of treatment (operating prior to 1980) appeared to have little effect. Future directions for improving the quality of sex offender treatment outcome evaluations are discussed.

The Ectocarpus genome and the independent evolution of multicellularity in brown algae

Abstract: Brown algae (Phaeophyceae) are complex photosynthetic organisms with a very different evolutionary history to green plants, to which they are only distantly related. These seaweeds are the dominant species in rocky coastal ecosystems and they exhibit many interesting adaptations to these, often harsh, environments. Brown algae are also one of only a small number of eukaryotic lineages that have evolved complex multicellularity (Fig. 1). We report the 214 million base pair (Mbp) genome sequence of the filamentous seaweed Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngbye, a model organism for brown algae closely related to the kelps (Fig. 1). Genome features such as the presence of an extended set of light-harvesting and pigment biosynthesis genes and new metabolic processes such as halide metabolism help explain the ability of this organism to cope with the highly variable tidal environment. The evolution of multicellularity in this lineage is correlated with the presence of a rich array of signal transduction genes. Of particular interest is the presence of a family of receptor kinases, as the independent evolution of related molecules has been linked with the emergence of multicellularity in both the animal and green plant lineages. The Ectocarpus genome sequence represents an important step towards developing this organism as a model species, providing the possibility to combine genomic and genetic approaches to explore these and other aspects of brown algal biology further

Early T-cell precursor leukaemia: a subtype of very high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Abstract: Summary Background About a fifth of children with acute T-lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) succumb to the disease, suggesting an unrecognised biological heterogeneity that might contribute to drug resistance. We postulated that T-ALL originating from early T-cell precursors (ETPs), a recently defined subset of thymocytes that retain stem-cell-like features, would respond poorly to lymphoid-cell-directed therapy. We studied leukaemic cells, collected at diagnosis, to identify cases with ETP features and determine their clinical outcome. Methods Leukaemic cells from 239 patients with T-ALL enrolled at St Jude Children's Research Hospital (n=139) and in the Italian national study Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) ALL-2000 (n=100) were assessed by gene-expression profiling, flow cytometry, and single nucleotide polymorphism array analysis. Probabilities of survival and treatment failure were calculated for subgroups considered to have ETP-ALL or typical T-ALL. Findings 30 patients (12·6%) had leukaemic lymphoblasts with an ETP-related gene-expression signature or its associated distinctive immunophenotype (CD1a − , CD8 − , CD5 weak with stem-cell or myeloid markers). Cases of ETP-ALL showed increased genomic instability, in terms of number and size of gene lesions, compared with those with typical T-ALL. Patients with this form of leukaemia had high risk of remission failure or haematological relapse (72% [95% CI 40–100] at 10 years vs 10% [4–16] at 10 years for patients with typical T-ALL treated at St Jude Children's Research Hospital; and 57% [25–89] at 2 years vs 14% [6–22] at 2 years for patients treated in the AIEOP trial). Interpretation ETP-ALL is a distinct, previously unrecognised, pathobiological entity that confers a poor prognosis with use of standard intensive chemotherapy. Its early recognition, by use of the gene expression and immunophenotypic criteria outlined here, is essential for the development of an effective clinical management strategy. Funding US National Cancer Institute, Cariplo Foundation, Citta della Speranza Foundation, Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC), Italian Ministry for University and Research, and American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC).