A Contribution of the Trivial Connection to Jones Polynomial and Witten's Invariant of 3d Manifolds I

We use the Chern-Simons quantum field theory in order to prove a recently conjectured limitation on the 1/K expansion of the Jones polynomial of a knot and its relation to the Alexander polynomial. This limitation allows us to derive a surgery formula for the loop corrections to the contribution of the trivial connection to Witten's invariant. The 2-loop part of this formula coincides with Walker's surgery formula for Casson-Walker invariant. This proves a conjecture that Casson-Walker invariant is a 2-loop correction to the trivial connection contribution to Witten's invariant of a rational homology sphere. A contribution of the trivial connection to Witten's invariant of a manifold with nontrivial rational homology is calculated for the case of Seifert manifolds.Comment: 28 page

Quantitative techniques in 18FDG PET scanning in oncology

The clinical applications of 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (18FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in oncology are becoming established. While simple static scanning techniques are used for the majority of routine clinical examinations, increasing use of PET in clinical trials to monitor treatment response with 18FDG and novel tracers reflecting different pharmacodynamic end points, often necessitates a more complex and quantitative analysis of radiopharmaceutical kinetics. A wide range of PET analysis techniques exist, ranging from simple visual analysis and semiquantitative methods to full dynamic studies with kinetic analysis. These methods are discussed, focusing particularly on the available methodologies that can be utilised in clinical trials

Оптимизация магнитной пружины конструкции ''два постоянных магнита''

Изучена возможность оптимизации магнитной пружины типа ''два постоянных магнита''. Проведено теоретическое исследование зависимости усилия втягивания (вытягивания) и длины рабочего хода пружины от ее геометрических размеров. Все полученные результаты были подтверждены экспериментально. Отмечается хорошее соответствие теоретических и экспериментальных результатов. Установлены оптимальные соотношения между диаметрами внешнего и внутреннего цилиндрических магнитов для получения максимального усилия втягивания при заданной длине хода пружины. Предложена перспективная конструкция магнитной пружины с применением торцевого диска и проведены ее экспериментальные исследования.Вивчено можливість оптимізації магнітної пружини типу ''два постійні магніти''. Проведено теоретичне дослідження взаємозв'язку геометричних розмірів пружини з її зусиллям втягування (витягування) і довжиною робочого ходу. Всі отримані результати було підтверджено експериментально. Відзначається хороша відповідність теоретичних і експериментальних результатів. Встановлено оптимальні співвідношення між діаметрами зовнішнього й внутрішнього циліндричних магнітів для отримання максимального зусилля втягування при заданій довжині ходу пружини. Запропоновано перспективну конструкцію магнітної пружини із застосуванням торцевого диску й проведено її експериментальні дослідження.Optimization possibilities of a magnetic spring (''two permanent magnets'' type) are investigated. The theoretical calculation of the relationship of geometrical sizes and forces is carried out. All theoretical results are checked experimentally. A very good agreement of theoretical and experimental data is detected. The optimal ratio between two diameters of cylinder magnets for the maximal force at a given spring length is calculated. The perspective construction of a magnetic spring with applying the butt-end soft magnetic material disk is offered, and its experimental tests are carried out

Genome-wide association of major depression: description of samples for the GAIN Major Depressive Disorder Study: NTR and NESDA biobank projects.

To identify the genomic regions that confer risk and protection for major depressive disorder (MDD) in humans, large-scale studies are needed. Such studies should collect multiple phenotypes, DNA, and ideally, biological material that allows gene expression analysis, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic studies. In this paper, we briefly review linkage studies of MDD and then describe the large-scale nationwide biological sample collection in Dutch twin families from the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) and in participants in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Within these studies, 1862 participants with a diagnosis of MDD and 1857 controls at low liability for MDD have been selected for genome-wide genotyping by the US Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Genetic Association Information Network. Stage 1 genome-wide association results are scheduled to be accessible before the end of 2007. Genome-wide association results are open-access and can be viewed at the dbGAP web portal (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Approved users can download the genotype and phenotype data, which have been made available as of 9 October 2007

AMFR dysfunction causes autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia in human that is amenable to statin treatment in a preclinical model

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP) are rare, inherited neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental disorders that mainly present with lower limb spasticity and muscle weakness due to motor neuron dysfunction. Whole genome sequencing identified bi-allelic truncating variants in AMFR, encoding a RING-H2 finger E3 ubiquitin ligase anchored at the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in two previously genetically unexplained HSP-affected siblings. Subsequently, international collaboration recognized additional HSP-affected individuals with similar bi-allelic truncating AMFR variants, resulting in a cohort of 20 individuals from 8 unrelated, consanguineous families. Variants segregated with a phenotype of mainly pure but also complex HSP consisting of global developmental delay, mild intellectual disability, motor dysfunction, and progressive spasticity. Patient-derived fibroblasts, neural stem cells (NSCs), and in vivo zebrafish modeling were used to investigate pathomechanisms, including initial preclinical therapy assessment. The absence of AMFR disturbs lipid homeostasis, causing lipid droplet accumulation in NSCs and patient-derived fibroblasts which is rescued upon AMFR re-expression. Electron microscopy indicates ER morphology alterations in the absence of AMFR. Similar findings are seen in amfra-/- zebrafish larvae, in addition to altered touch-evoked escape response and defects in motor neuron branching, phenocopying the HSP observed in patients. Interestingly, administration of FDA-approved statins improves touch-evoked escape response and motor neuron branching defects in amfra-/- zebrafish larvae, suggesting potential therapeutic implications. Our genetic and functional studies identify bi-allelic truncating variants in AMFR as a cause of a novel autosomal recessive HSP by altering lipid metabolism, which may potentially be therapeutically modulated using precision medicine with statins

Birth weight in a large series of triplets

Background: Triplets are often born premature and with a low birth weight. Because the incidence of triplet births is rare, there are relatively few studies describing triplet birth weight characteristics. Earlier studies are often characterized by small sample sizes and lack information on important background variables such as zygosity. The objective of this study is to examine factors associated with birth weight in a large, population-based sample of triplets registered with the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR).Methods: In a sample of 1230 triplets from 410 families, the effects of assisted reproductive techniques, zygosity, birth order, gestational age, sex, maternal smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy on birth weight were assessed. The resemblance among triplets for birth weight was estimated as a function of zygosity. Birth weight discordance within families was studied by the pair-wise difference between triplets, expressed as a percentage of the birth weight of the heaviest child. We compare data from triplets registered with the NTR with data from population records, which include live births, stillbirths and children that have deceased within days after birth.Results: There was no effect of assisted reproductive techniques on triplet birth weight. At gestational age 24 to 40 weeks triplets gained on average 130 grams per week; boys weighed 110 grams more than girls and triplets of smoking mothers weighted 104 grams less than children of non-smoking mothers. Monozygotic triplets had lower birth weights than di- and trizygotic triplets and birth weight discordance was smaller in monozygotic triplets than in di- and trizygotic triplets. The correlation in birth weight among monozygotic and dizygotic triplets was 0.42 and 0.32, respectively. In nearly two-thirds of the families, the heaviest and the lightest triplet had a birth weight discordance over 15%. The NTR sample is representative for the Dutch triplet population that is still alive 28 days after birth.Conclusion: Birth weight is an important determinant of childhood development. Triplet status, gestational age, sex, zygosity and maternal smoking affect birth weight. The combined effects amount to a difference of 364 grams between monozygotic girl triplets of smoking mothers compared to dizygotic boy triplets of non-smoking mothers of the same gestational age. Birth weight in triplets is also influenced by genetic factors, as indicated by a larger correlation in monozygotic than in di- and trizygotic triplets

Latin American Consensus: Children Born Small for Gestational Age

72-87Cuatrimestra

Scripts of Sexual Desire and Danger in US and Dutch Teen Girl Magazines: A Cross-National Content Analysis

The aim of this comparative quantitative content analysis was to investigate how US and Dutch teen girl magazines cover sexual desire (i.e., sexual wanting, and pleasure) and sexual danger (i.e., sexual risk, and negative physical/health consequences of sex). Relying on the sexual scripts framework and Hofstede’s cultural dimension of masculinity/femininity, we examined (a) how the coverage varied for boys and girls, (b) how it differed between the United States and the Netherlands, and (c) how gender differences varied by country. The sample comprised 627 sex-related feature stories from all 2006–2008 issues of three US (i.e., Seventeen, CosmoGirl! United States edition, and Teen) and three Dutch teen girl magazines (i.e., Fancy, CosmoGirl! Netherlands edition, and Girlz!). Overall, sexual wanting occurred more frequently in the US magazines than in the Dutch magazines. In the US coverage, boys’ sexual wanting received more attention than girls’ sexual wanting, whereas in the Dutch coverage sexual wanting was depicted equally often for boys and girls. The depiction of sexual pleasure did not vary by gender in either country, but was generally more visible in the Dutch magazines than in the US magazines. Sexual risks and the negative consequences of sex were associated with girls more than with boys, and were primarily depicted in the US magazines rather than in the Dutch magazines

Investigating the relationships between unfavourable habitual sleep and metabolomic traits:evidence from multi-cohort multivariable regression and Mendelian randomization analyses

BACKGROUND: Sleep traits are associated with cardiometabolic disease risk, with evidence from Mendelian randomization (MR) suggesting that insomnia symptoms and shorter sleep duration increase coronary artery disease risk. We combined adjusted multivariable regression (AMV) and MR analyses of phenotypes of unfavourable sleep on 113 metabolomic traits to investigate possible biochemical mechanisms linking sleep to cardiovascular disease.METHODS: We used AMV (N = 17,368) combined with two-sample MR (N = 38,618) to examine effects of self-reported insomnia symptoms, total habitual sleep duration, and chronotype on 113 metabolomic traits. The AMV analyses were conducted on data from 10 cohorts of mostly Europeans, adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. For the MR analyses, we used summary results from published European-ancestry genome-wide association studies of self-reported sleep traits and of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) serum metabolites. We used the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method and complemented this with sensitivity analyses to assess MR assumptions.RESULTS: We found consistent evidence from AMV and MR analyses for associations of usual vs. sometimes/rare/never insomnia symptoms with lower citrate (- 0.08 standard deviation (SD)[95% confidence interval (CI) - 0.12, - 0.03] in AMV and - 0.03SD [- 0.07, - 0.003] in MR), higher glycoprotein acetyls (0.08SD [95% CI 0.03, 0.12] in AMV and 0.06SD [0.03, 0.10) in MR]), lower total very large HDL particles (- 0.04SD [- 0.08, 0.00] in AMV and - 0.05SD [- 0.09, - 0.02] in MR), and lower phospholipids in very large HDL particles (- 0.04SD [- 0.08, 0.002] in AMV and - 0.05SD [- 0.08, - 0.02] in MR). Longer total sleep duration associated with higher creatinine concentrations using both methods (0.02SD per 1 h [0.01, 0.03] in AMV and 0.15SD [0.02, 0.29] in MR) and with isoleucine in MR analyses (0.22SD [0.08, 0.35]). No consistent evidence was observed for effects of chronotype on metabolomic measures.CONCLUSIONS: Whilst our results suggested that unfavourable sleep traits may not cause widespread metabolic disruption, some notable effects were observed. The evidence for possible effects of insomnia symptoms on glycoprotein acetyls and citrate and longer total sleep duration on creatinine and isoleucine might explain some of the effects, found in MR analyses of these sleep traits on coronary heart disease, which warrant further investigation.</p

Genetic risk profiles for depression and anxiety in adult and elderly cohorts

The first generation of genome-wide association studies (GWA studies) for psychiatric disorders has led to new insights regarding the genetic architecture of these disorders. We now start to realize that a larger number of genes, each with a small contribution, are likely to explain the heritability of psychiatric diseases. The contribution of a large number of genes to complex traits can be analyzed with genome-wide profiling. In a discovery sample, a genetic risk profile for depression was defined based on a GWA study of 1738 adult cases and 1802 controls. The genetic risk scores were tested in two population-based samples of elderly participants. The genetic risk profiles were evaluated for depression and anxiety in the Rotterdam Study cohort and the Erasmus Rucphen Family (ERF) study. The genetic risk scores were significantly associated with different measures of depression and explained up to ∼0.7% of the variance in depression in Rotterdam Study and up to ∼1% in ERF study. The genetic score for depression was also significantly associated with anxiety explaining up to 2.1% in Rotterdam study. These findings suggest the presence of many genetic loci of small effect that influence both depression and anxiety. Remarkably, the predictive value of these profiles was as large in the sample of elderly participants as in the middle-aged samples