Testicular cancer and antecedent diseases.

A case-control study of the aetiology of testicular cancer was conducted using information obtained by interview and from case-notes of 259 cases with testicular cancer and two sets of control patients -238 men with diagnoses other than testicular cancer attending the same radiotherapy centres as those attended by the cases, and 251 hospital in-patients not attending radiotherapy departments. Logistic regression analyses were performed, after stratifying by age and region of residence, to estimate the relative risks (RRs) associated with various aspects of prior medical history. The risk of testicular cancer was found to be raised for men with a history of cryptorchidism (RR based on comparison with all controls = 6.3; P less than 0.001), inguinal hernia (RR = 1.6; P = 0.14), mumps orchitis (RR = 12.7; P = 0.006), atopy (RR = 1.8; P = 0.03), and meningitis (RR = 3.0; P = 0.21). Inguinal herniorrhaphy before the age of 15 years was particularly a risk factor for seminoma, whereas the relative risks were similar for seminoma and teratoma for the other factors. The results add to the growing evidence that congenital abnormalities involving the process of testicular descent and closure of the processus vaginalis are risk factors for testicular cancer, and that some types of testicular damage later in life may also be important. The findings of associations with previous atopy and certain infections suggest a possible second aetiological mechanism - that immunological abnormalities may be associated with an increased risk of testis cancer

Prenatal and familial associations of testicular cancer.

In a case-control study of testis cancer 259 cases with testicular cancer, 238 controls treated at radiotherapy centres and 251 non-radiotherapy hospital in-patient controls were interviewed about some possible prenatal and familial risk factors for the tumour. For firstborn men, the risk of testis cancer increased significantly according to maternal age at the subject's birth, and this effect was most marked for seminoma. The association with maternal age was not apparent for cases other than firstborn. The risk of testis cancer was also significantly raised for men from small sibships and of early birth order. These results accord with the theory that raised maternal levels of available oestrogen during the early part of pregnancy are aetiological for testicular cancer in the son, although other explanations are possible; there is evidence that seminoma risk may particularly be affected

Inspiring the next generation: the RCUK School-University Partnership Initiative (SUPI) summary report

Copy of the final report of the RCUK-SUPI Project (2014-2018). Provides an overview of key lessons relating to engagement activities designed to inspire the next generation of researchers

Gravidezes subseqüentes: quem as tem e quem as quer? Observações em um centro urbano da região Sul do Brasil

Em um estudo de coorte de base populacional, foram estudados todos os 6.011 nascimentos hospitalares ocorridos na cidade de Pelotas, RS, em 1982. As parturientes foram entrevistadas logo após o parto, e 80% delas foram novamente contactadas em suas residências no início de 1986, em média 43 meses mais tarde. Dessas mulheres, 39% haviam engravidado novamente. Esta proporção variou inversamente em relação à idade materna, anos de escolaridade e renda familiar. Quanto à paridade, a proporção de gravidezes subsqüentes foi maior para primíparas e para multíparas. Mães cujos filhos nasceram através de cesareana também apresentaram menor fecundidade, mesmo após exclusão daquelas que, por ocasião da operação cesárea, sofreram ligadura de trompas. Análise através de regressão logística mostrou que esses fatores permaneceram significativamente associados à fecundidade mesmo após o ajuste estatístico para as demais variáveis. Das mães que engravidaram após 1982, 60% informaram que não a desejaram. A proporção das gravidezes indesejadas foi mais elevada em mulheres de maior paridade, sendo esta tendência mais marcada em mulheres de famílias de alta renda.Subsequent pregnancies in mothers of a birth cohort from Pelotas, Southern Brazil, were studied in relation to maternal and socio-economic factors. Within about 3 1/2 years of the cohort child's birth, 39% of mothers had experienced at least one further pregnancy. This proportion decreased with increasing maternal age, years of schooling and family income. A U-shaped trend was observed with respect to parity. Mothers who had delivered the cohort child by caesarean section were also less likely to have another pregnancy within that time. Logistic regression analysis showed that each of these factors remained significantly associated with further pregnancies after controlling for the remaining variables. Analysis of the first subsequent pregnancy showed that a high proportion of mothers had not wanted the pregnancy. Unwanted pregnancies were also significantly associated with older women, low educational status, higher parity and low family income

Prenatal screening for Down syndrome in twin pregnancies: Estimates of screening performance based on 61 affected and 7302 unaffected twin pregnancies

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/pd.538

Wheat with greatly reduced accumulation of free asparagine in the grain, produced by CRISPR/Cas9 editing of asparagine synthetase gene TaASN2

Free asparagine is the precursor for acrylamide, which forms during the baking, toasting and high-temperature processing of foods made from wheat. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9 was used to knock out the asparagine synthetase gene, TaASN2, of wheat (Triticum aestivum) cv. Cadenza. A 4-gRNA polycistronic gene was introduced into wheat embryos by particle bombardment and plants were regenerated. T1 plants derived from 11 of 14 T0 plants were shown to carry edits. Most edits were deletions (up to 173 base pairs), but there were also some single base pair insertions and substitutions. Editing continued beyond the T1 generation. Free asparagine concentrations in the grain of plants carrying edits in all six TaASN2 alleles (both alleles in each genome) were substantially reduced compared with wildtype, with one plant showing a more than 90 % reduction in the T2 seeds. A plant containing edits only in the A genome alleles showed a smaller reduction in free asparagine concentration in the grain, but the concentration was still lower than in wildtype. Free asparagine concentration in the edited plants was also reduced as a proportion of the free amino acid pool. Free asparagine concentration in the T3 seeds remained substantially lower in the edited lines than wildtype, although it was higher than in the T2 seeds, possibly due to stress. In contrast, the concentrations of free glutamine, glutamate and aspartate were all higher in the edited lines than wildtype. Low asparagine seeds showed poor germination but this could be overcome by exogenous application of asparagine

What are the causal effects of breastfeeding on IQ, obesity and blood pressure? Evidence from comparing high-income with middle-income cohorts

Background A novel approach is explored for improving causal inference in observational studies by comparing cohorts from high-income with low- or middle-income countries (LMIC), where confounding structures differ. This is applied to assessing causal effects of breastfeeding on child blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI) and intelligence quotient (IQ)

An Energy-Saving Development Initiative Increases Birth Rate and Childhood Malnutrition in Rural Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Evolutionary life history theory predicts that, in the absence of contraception, any enhancement of maternal condition can increase human fertility. Energetic trade-offs are likely to be resolved in favour of maximizing reproductive success rather than health or longevity. Here we find support for the hypothesis that development initiatives designed to improve maternal and child welfare may also incur costs associated with increased family sizes if they do not include a family planning component. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Demographic and anthropometric data were collected in a rural Ethiopian community benefiting from a recent labour-saving development technology that reduces women's energetic expenditure ( n = 1,976 households). Using logistic hazards models and general linear modelling techniques, we found that whilst infant mortality has declined, the birth rate has increased, causing greater scarcity of resources within households. CONCLUSIONS: This study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate a link between a technological development intervention and an increase in both birth rate and childhood malnutrition. Women's nutritional status was not improved by the energy-saving technology, because energy was diverted into higher birth rates. We argue that the contribution of biological processes to increased birth rates in areas of the developing world without access to modern contraception has been overlooked. This highlights the continued need for development programmes to be multisectoral, including access to and promotion of contraception