27 research outputs found
Comparison of Marker-based Pairwise Relatedness Estimators on a Pedigreed Plant Population
Several estimators have been proposed that use molecular marker data to infer the degree of relatedness for pairs of individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of seven estimators when applied to marker data of a set of 33 key individuals from a large complex apple pedigree. The evaluation considered different scenarios of allele frequencies and different numbers of marker loci. The method of moments estimators were Similarity, Queller-Goodknight, Lynch-Ritland and Wang. The maximum likelihood estimators were Thompson, Anderson-Weir and Jacquard. The pedigree-based coancestry coefficients were taken as the point of reference in calculating correlations and root mean square error (RMSE). The marker data comprised 86 multi-allelic SSR markers on 17 linkage groups, covering 11 Morgans. Additionally, we simulated 10 datasets conditional on the real pedigree to support the results on the real dataset. None of the estimators outperformed the others. Knowledge of allele frequencies appeared to be the most influential, i.e., the highest correlations and lowest RMSE were found when frequencies from the founder population were available. When equal allele frequencies were used, all estimators resulted in very similar, but on average lower, correlations. The use of allele frequencies estimated from the set of 33 individuals gave, on average, the poorest results. The maximum likelihood estimators and the Lynch-Ritland estimator were the most sensitive to allele frequencies. The results from the simulation study fully supported the trends in results of the real dataset. This study indicated that high correlations (up to 0.90) and small RMSE (below 0.03), may be obtained when population allelic frequencies are available. In this scenario, the performances of the various estimators were similar, but seemed to favor the maximum likelihood estimators. In the absence of reliable allele frequencies the method of moments estimators were shown to be more robust. The number of marker loci influenced the average performance of the estimators; however, the ranking was not affected. Correlations up to 0.80 were obtained when two markers per chromosome and appropriate allele frequencies were available. Adding more markers to the current dataset may lead to marginal improvements
Life's Essential 8: Updating and Enhancing the American Heart Association's Construct of Cardiovascular Health: A Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association
In 2010, the American Heart Association defined a novel construct of cardiovascular health to promote a paradigm shift from a focus solely on disease treatment to one inclusive of positive health promotion and preservation across the life course in populations and individuals. Extensive subsequent evidence has provided insights into strengths and limitations of the original approach to defining and quantifying cardiovascular health. In response, the American Heart Association convened a writing group to recommend enhancements and updates. The definition and quantification of each of the original metrics (Life's Simple 7) were evaluated for responsiveness to interindividual variation and intraindividual change. New metrics were considered, and the age spectrum was expanded to include the entire life course. The foundational contexts of social determinants of health and psychological health were addressed as crucial factors in optimizing and preserving cardiovascular health. This presidential advisory introduces an enhanced approach to assessing cardiovascular health: Life's Essential 8. The components of Life's Essential 8 include diet (updated), physical activity, nicotine exposure (updated), sleep health (new), body mass index, blood lipids (updated), blood glucose (updated), and blood pressure. Each metric has a new scoring algorithm ranging from 0 to 100 points, allowing generation of a new composite cardiovascular health score (the unweighted average of all components) that also varies from 0 to 100 points. Methods for implementing cardiovascular health assessment and longitudinal monitoring are discussed, as are potential data sources and tools to promote widespread adoption in policy, public health, clinical, institutional, and community settings
Soccer and homosexuality: the conflicts that lie within the affective game of the coach-adolescent athlete relationship
Discussions regarding homosexuality within a sports context are mediated by emotional nuances, especially in the world of soccer, where practitioners are required to have attributes such as strength, masculinity and aggressiveness. As a consequence, this work aimed to analyze the symbolic representation of homosexual relationships between
adolescent soccer players and their coaches; and, furthermore, to understand the intention behind homoerotic relationships that are established between members of the management team and its players. In this study, researchers used the life history methodology, with participation from three adolescent athletes, ages 14, 15 and 16, and three former athletes, ages 26, 28 and 45, who we called speakers. Based on the collection and analysis of research participantsâ testimonies, homosexual relations were found to have occurred between athletes and coaches, or between athletes and other members of the management team, as a part of a âsocial contractâ that is exclusively linked to their professional objectives. These relationships appear to be purely objective; authentic affective links are absent, due apparently to the transient nature of the athletes in these groups. Too, this context is usually marked by the athleteâs physical and emotional vulnerability, and the agreements he makes within this context are accompanied with moral dilemmas, because such adolescents idealize the coach as a paternal archetype.âFutebol e homossexualidade: Os conflitos que se encontram dentro do jogo afetivo da relação treinador-atleta
adolescente.â As discussĂ”es a respeito da homossexualidade no contexto esportivo sĂŁo mediadas por nuanças emocionais,
especialmente no mundo do futebol que exige de seus praticantes atributos de força, virilidade e agressividade. Por este
motivo este trabalho teve como objetivos diagnosticar existĂȘncia de relaçÔes homossexuais entre atletas adolescentes da
modalidade de futebol e seus técnicos e sua representação simbólica e ainda, compreender a intencionalidade das relaçÔes
homoafetivas que se estabelecem entre componentes da equipe diretiva e os jogadores. Esta pesquisa Ă© de natureza qualitativa
e a tĂ©cnica adotada foi a âhistĂłria de vidaâ e a participação de trĂȘs atletas adolescentes em atividade, com idade de
14, 15 e 16 anos e trĂȘs ex-atletas profissionais, com idades 26, 28 e 45 anos serviram de base metodolĂłgica. A partir da
anålise e tratamento dos depoimentos verificou-se que ocorreram relaçÔes homossexuais nas categorias de base envolvendo
técnico e atleta, ou com outros membros da equipe diretiva, como parte dos contratos sociais, ligados exclusivamente a
objetivos profissionais. Estas relaçÔes parecem ser puramente objetais, nĂŁo parecendo existir vĂnculos afetivos duradouros,
aparentemente, devido à natureza transitória de atletas nesses grupos. Também, nesses ambientes, muitas vezes marcados
pela vulnerabilidade fĂsica e emocional dos atletas, os acertos para as relaçÔes homossexuais sĂŁo permeadas por dilemas
morais, tendo em vista que os atletas adolescentes idealizam o treinador como o arquĂ©tipo paterno ideal.âEl fĂștbol y la homosexualidad: Los conflictos que se encuentran dentro del juego afectivo de la relaciĂłn
atleta-entrenador de los adolescentes.â Las discusiones sobre la homosexualidad en contexto deportivo estĂĄn mediadas por
matices emocionales, sobre todo en el mundo del fĂștbol que exige a sus jugadores atributos como la fuerza, la virilidad y los jugadores. En este estudio, los investigadores utilizaron la metodologĂa de la historia de vida, con la participaciĂłn de
tres atletas adolescentes, con 14, 15 y 16 años, y tres ex atletas con 26, 28 y 45 años, que llamamos âoradoresâ. Basado
en la recogida y anĂĄlisis de testimonios de participantes en la investigaciĂłn, se encontrĂł que las relaciones homosexuales
que se han producido entre los atletas y entrenadores, o entre atletas y otros miembros del equipo de gestiĂłn, son como
parte de un âcontrato socialâ que estĂĄ vinculado exclusivamente a sus objetivos profesionales. Estas relaciones parecen
ser solamente como un objeto; porque a veces no hay vĂnculos afectivos autĂ©nticos, debido aparentemente a la naturaleza
transitoria de los atletas en estos grupos. Demasiado, este contexto es generalmente marcado por la vulnerabilidad fĂsica
y emocional del deportista, y los acuerdos que hace dentro de este contexto se acompañan con dilemas morales, debido
a que tales adolescentes idealizan el entrenador como un arquetipo paterno.
la agresividad. Por lo tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo diagnosticar la existencia de relaciones homosexuales entre
adolescentes atletas de fĂștbol y sus entrenadores y la representaciĂłn simbĂłlica de estas relaciones. TambiĂ©n comprender
la intencionalidad de las relaciones homoafetivas que se intercambian entre algunos componentes del equipo directivo y(undefined
âThe Times They Are A-Changinââ at Diabetes Care
Every five years or so, the editorial team leading Diabetes Care turns over with the appointment of new leadership. This issue of volume 46 represents the first of a new editorial team, making it the tenth group to be responsible for the scientific content of the journal. Starting in 1978 with Jay Skyler as its first editor, Diabetes Care has gone from strength to strength with new initiatives and a steady increase in its influence. This impact has been in line with the charge given at the journalâs founding by the then president of the American Diabetes Association Norbert Freinkel when he wrote, âThe new journal is designed to promote better patient care by serving the expanded needs of all health professionals committed to the care of patients with diabetes.
ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries
This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors