This study investigates whether project management maturity (PMM) relates to perceived organizational performance and how an organization's cultural orientation is a contributing factor. Perceived organizational performance is defined as project effectiveness and efficiency followed by resulting business performance. A survey‐based research was conducted with 86 project professionals from various U.S. service and manufacturing organizations. The study revealed that PMM is significantly related to business performance but not to project performance. Furthermore, while clan organizational culture is a sole contributing factor for project and business performances, PMM interacts with market culture in improving business performance. This study shows that in order to deal with project time, budget, and expectations issues, an organizational culture change toward sharing, collaboration, and empowerment is a must. Furthermore, an increasing project management maturity along with a results‐oriented organizational culture improves an organization's competitiveness, resulting in cost savings and increased sales. PMM efforts are therefore crucial. PMM accompanied by an understanding of cultural orientation is a best strategy for today's project‐based organizations.

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Lower global DNA methylation is associated with genomic instability and it is one of the epigenetic mechanisms relevant to carcinogenesis. Emerging evidence for several cancers suggests that lower overall levels of global DNA methylation in blood are associated with different cancer types, although less is known about breast cancer. We examined global DNA methylation levels using a sibling design in 273 sisters affected with breast cancer and 335 unaffected sisters from the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry. We measured global DNA methylation in total white blood cell (WBC) and granulocyte DNA by two different methods, the [ ( 3) H]-methyl acceptance assay and the luminometric methylation assay (LUMA). Global methylation levels were only modestly correlated between sisters discordant for breast cancer (Spearman correlation coefficients ranged from -0.08 to 0.24 depending on assay and DNA source). Using conditional logistic regression models, women in the quartile with the lowest DNA methylation levels (as measured by the [ ( 3) H]-methyl acceptance assay) had a 1.8-fold (95% CI = 1.0-3.3) higher relative association with breast cancer than women in the quartile with the highest DNA methylation levels. When we examined the association on a continuous scale, we also observed a positive association (odds ratio, OR = 1.3, 95% CI = 1.0-1.7, for a one unit change in the natural logarithm of the DPM/μg of DNA). We observed no association between measures by the LUMA assay and breast cancer risk. If replicated in prospective studies, this study suggests that global DNA methylation levels measured in WBC may be a potential biomarker of breast cancer risk even within families at higher risk of cancer.

To date, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in breast and/or ovarian patients have not been characterized in the Turkish population. We investigated the presence of BRCA mutations in 53 individuals with a personal and family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, and 52 individuals with a personal history of breast cancer diagnosed below age 50 without additional family history. We have identified 11 mutations (nine BRCA1 and two BRCA2) using combined techniques involving protein truncation test, direct sequencing and heteroduplex analysis. We found eight out of 53 patients (15.1%) with a family history to carry BRCA gene mutations (seven BRCA1 and one BRCA2). Of these, four were found in 43 families presenting only breast cancer histories, and four were found in families presenting ovarian cancer with or without breast cancer. We also demonstrated two BRCA1 and one BRCA2 mutations in three out of 52 (5.8%) early-onset breast cancer cases without additional family history. Three of nine BRCA1 and both BRCA2 mutations detected in this study were not reported previously. These mutations may be specific to the Turkish population. The BRCA1 5382insC mutation, specific to Ashkenazi and Russian populations, was found twice in our study group, representing a possible founder mutation in the Turkish population. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign

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SUMMARY Radiological sacroiliitis in Behqet's syndrome (BS) has been a subject of controversy.We have examined pelvic radiographs of 38 patients with BS and 28 age and sex matched controls which we reported previously, and also 17 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 27 with non-renal familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), and 33 with primary osteoarthrosis (OA). Initially, five observers assessed radiographs on two different occasions according to the New York criteria for sacroiliitis in a blind protocol. Later, three of them examined the various possible abnormalities of the sacroiliac (SI) joints after training sessions. Although the inter-and intraobserver variation was quite high, all observers found the expected changes in patients with AS. The abnormalities detected in the other diseases were either mild, inconsistent, or both. Erosions were confined to patients with AS, and osteophytes and glenoid sulci to patients with OA. We conclude that high observer variation in interpreting a film of the anteroposterior (AP) view of the pelvis for sacroiliitis may be a major cause of reported 'sacroiliitis' in BS and FMF.

Genetic factors that contribute to the risk of breast cancer are largely not known and association studies have revealed several genes with low penetrance risk alleles for breast cancer. Analysis of these genes may provide important information on the risk factors affecting carcinogenesis. Variations in the ARLTS1, RAD51 and MDM2 genes have been associated with increased risk of different cancer types but for breast cancer the results are not consistent. In this study we investigated the role of the allelic variants in candidate genes acting in the tumor suppressor, DNA repair and p53 pathways as risk factors for familial breast cancer in 147 patients displaying characteristics of familial disease. Presence of the polymorphic variants were investigated by amplification of the corresponding regions and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Genotype and allele frequencies in the patients were significantly different for all three variants. Our results indicate that the polymorphic variants might affect individual susceptibility towards breast cancer.

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