Variants within the COMP and THBS2 genes are not associated with Achilles tendinopathy in a case-control study of South African and Australian populations

Abstract

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein is a structural protein of the extracellular matrix, while thrombospondin-2 is a matricellular protein involved in cell–matrix interactions. Recent studies have shown that genetic variation is a significant risk factor for Achilles tendinopathy, and the genes encoding cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and thrombospondin-2 (THBS2) were identified as good candidate genes for association with Achilles tendinopathy. This study aimed to test the association of sequence variants within these candidate genes with the risk of Achilles tendinopathy in participants from South Africa (SA) and Australia (AUS). Three-hundred and forty (133 SA; 207 AUS) control participants with no history of Achilles tendinopathy and 178 (94 SA; 84 AUS) participants clinically diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy were genotyped for five single nucleotide polymorphisms within the COMP and THBS2 genes in this case-control study. There was no difference in genotype distributions between control and tendinopathy groups for either the THBS2 variants rs9505888, rs6422747 and rs9283850, or the COMP variants rs730079 and rs28494505 in the SA and AUS populations. As the selection of COMP and THBS2 as candidate genes was hypothesis driven, based on biological function, the possibility that other variants within these genes are associated with Achilles tendinopathy cannot be excluded.     

The Cost of the Veil: Visual Communication Impacts of Hijab on News Judgments

Using disposition theory as a framework, this 2 (headscarf vs. no headscarf) by 2 (US citizen vs. refugee) experiment sought to elucidate the impact of visual and verbal cues in mediated messages on conclusions drawn from a television news package about a woman accused of consorting with a known terrorist group in the US, in terms of parochial empathy for and perceived innocence of the woman. Parochial empathy measures the difference between ingroup and outgroup empathy; higher levels indicate ingroup empathy is greater than outgroup empathy, meaning the individual’s empathy is very narrow in scope or “parochial.” Political identity was a measured independent variable. The data supported a model in which political identity was a significant moderator of the headscarf’s effect on parochial empathy, and that parochial empathy mediated the relationship between the manipulated and measured predictor variables on perceived innocence. Details of the relationships among variables are reported and the implications for theory and journalism practice are discussed.     

Schools,psychosocial well-being and agency: From fragmentation to coherence

This article is about the relationship between everyday practice in schools and the development of agency. It examines two areas of current concern in which agency is seen to play a key role: young people's mental health or human flourishing and their development as citizens. The argument is made that the foundation stone of agency is self-efficacy and that related crucial attitudes and beliefs are learned in school. The role of agency in learning and its importance in young people's psychosocial development are discussed. The latter part of the article focuses upon how schools can become effectively agency orientated.     

科学资源对公众科学兴趣的贡献(上)

学校、科学中心、电视媒体、纸质媒体及网络是五种主要的公共科学教育资源。本研究以美国三座大城市的3000名成人为样本,调查了以上资源对公众科学兴趣的价值及认知倾向的作用。通过文献回顾,确定了以成人现在的科学兴趣价值观和认知倾向与其现在和过去使用相关科学资源的关系为研究目标,通过对洛杉矶、凤凰城和费城家庭样本使用CATI随机抽样得到的数据,采用主成分分析法得出最终问卷,并开展了相关人口统计学变量分析。     

科学资源对公众科学兴趣的贡献(下)

学校、科学中心、广播媒体、纸质媒体及互联网是五种主要的公共科学教育资源。本研究以美国三座大城市的3000名成人为样本,调查了以上资源对公众科学兴趣的价值及认知倾向的作用。下篇展示了如下调查结果:有五种经历对预测成年后的科学兴趣、价值及认知倾向具有特殊重要性,即青少年早期参观科学中心;青少年早期观看科学类电视节目;成年后参观科学中心;成年后阅读科学类书籍杂志;成年后使用互联网学习科学。本文同时讨论了自我选择、经历的质量以及科学学习生态系统的复杂性和协同性。     

Preparing teacher leaders: Perceptions of the impact of a cohort-based, job embedded, blended teacher leadership program

This qualitative study was designed to examine teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of the impact of a graduate program designed to prepare teacher leaders. Impact was investigated through interviews with 20 graduates and 6 principals. Using Mezirow’s concept of transformational learning, the study documents perceived transformation of teachers’ frames of reference: two related to teaching (adopt an inquiry stance; learn to view oneself as an autonomous professional), and two related to leadership (adopt a leadership stance; view student learning as a communal responsibility). The study includes implications for the design of graduate level teacher education programs to enhance their impact and effectiveness.