Characterisation of age and polarity at onset in bipolar disorder

Background Studying phenotypic and genetic characteristics of age at onset (AAO) and polarity at onset (PAO) in bipolar disorder can provide new insights into disease pathology and facilitate the development of screening tools. Aims To examine the genetic architecture of AAO and PAO and their association with bipolar disorder disease characteristics. Method Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and polygenic score (PGS) analyses of AAO (n = 12 977) and PAO (n = 6773) were conducted in patients with bipolar disorder from 34 cohorts and a replication sample (n = 2237). The association of onset with disease characteristics was investigated in two of these cohorts. Results Earlier AAO was associated with a higher probability of psychotic symptoms, suicidality, lower educational attainment, not living together and fewer episodes. Depressive onset correlated with suicidality and manic onset correlated with delusions and manic episodes. Systematic differences in AAO between cohorts and continents of origin were observed. This was also reflected in single-nucleotide variant-based heritability estimates, with higher heritabilities for stricter onset definitions. Increased PGS for autism spectrum disorder (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), major depression (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), schizophrenia (β = −0.39 years, s.e. = 0.08), and educational attainment (β = −0.31 years, s.e. = 0.08) were associated with an earlier AAO. The AAO GWAS identified one significant locus, but this finding did not replicate. Neither GWAS nor PGS analyses yielded significant associations with PAO. Conclusions AAO and PAO are associated with indicators of bipolar disorder severity. Individuals with an earlier onset show an increased polygenic liability for a broad spectrum of psychiatric traits. Systematic differences in AAO across cohorts, continents and phenotype definitions introduce significant heterogeneity, affecting analyses

Wild vascular plants gathered for consumption in the Polish countryside: a review

BACKGROUND: This paper is an ethnobotanical review of wild edible plants gathered for consumption from the end of the 18(th )century to the present day, within the present borders of Poland. METHODS: 42 ethnographic and botanical sources documenting the culinary use of wild plants were analyzed. RESULTS: The use of 112 species (3.7% of the flora) has been recorded. Only half of them have been used since the 1960s. Three species: Cirsium rivulare, Euphorbia peplus and Scirpus sylvaticus have never before been reported as edible by ethnobotanical literature. The list of wild edible plants which are still commonly gathered includes only two green vegetables (Rumex acetosa leaves for soups and Oxalis acetosella as children's snack), 15 folk species of fruits and seeds (Crataegus spp., Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Fragaria vesca, Malus domestica, Prunus spinosa, Pyrus spp., Rosa canina, Rubus idaeus, Rubus sect. Rubus, Sambucus nigra, Vaccinium myrtillus, V. oxycoccos, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea) and four taxa used for seasoning or as preservatives (Armoracia rusticana root and leaves, Carum carvi seeds, Juniperus communis pseudo-fruits and Quercus spp. leaves). The use of other species is either forgotten or very rare. In the past, several species were used for food in times of scarcity, most commonly Chenopodium album, Urtica dioica, U. urens, Elymus repens, Oxalis acetosella and Cirsium spp., but now the use of wild plants is mainly restricted to raw consumption or making juices, jams, wines and other preserves. The history of the gradual disappearance of the original barszcz, Heracleum sphondylium soup, from Polish cuisine has been researched in detail and two, previously unpublished, instances of its use in the 20(th )century have been found in the Carpathians. An increase in the culinary use of some wild plants due to media publications can be observed. CONCLUSION: Poland can be characterized as a country where the traditions of culinary use of wild plants became impoverished very early, compared to some parts of southern Europe. The present use of wild plants, even among the oldest generation, has been almost entirely restricted to fruits

Włókniny o właściwościach magazynowania ciepła oparte na włóknach polipropylenowych modyfikowanych parafiną

A series of nonwovens with various mechanical and thermal properties was prepared by a textile technique based on melt-spun continuous PP fibres modified with paraffin as a phase change material (PCM). The PCM is not encapsulated; it forms a structure like “islands in sea” in the PP fibres. This permits the addition of a larger amount of the active substance to the fibre than in the encapsulated version. The nonwovens made of such fibres retained high thermal resistance. Paraffin was added to the PP fibre in amounts of 10 - 30 wt%; 20 wt% appeared to be best in terms of thermal properties and processability. To prevent fibre to fibre sticking at elevated temperatures, the nonwovens were made of a blend of paraffin-modified and standard PP fibres in variable proportions. The thermal activity determined by the kind of paraffin used was estimated to be in the range of 30 - 60 °C. The fibre heat accumulation capacity stemming from the phase transition in the PCM was in the range of 3.6 - 19.4 kJ/m2, at a thermal regulation factor (TRF) from 0.8 to 0.4.Bazując na włóknach ciągłych uzyskanych techniką przędzenia stopowego z polipropylenu (PP) modyfikowanego parafiną jako czynnikiem PCM (Phase Change Material) wytworzono, technikami włókienniczymi, serię włóknin o różnych właściwościach mechanicznych i termicznych. Czynnik PCM nie jest zamknięty w kapsułkach i tworzy strukturę „islands on the sea” we włóknach PP. Sposób ten umożliwia wprowadzenie większych ilości czynnika aktywnego do włókien niż w przypadku kapsułek, a włóknina wytworzona z takich włókien zachowuje wysoki opór termiczny. Udział masowy wprowadzonej parafiny do włókien PP był od 10 do 30 % wag., przy czym poziom 20 %wag. okazał się obecnie najbardziej dogodny ze względu na właściwości termiczne i zdolność do przerobu. W celu ograniczenia możliwości sklejania się włókien w podwyższonych temperaturach wytworzono włókniny z mieszanin włókien PP modyfikowanych parafiną i standardowych o różnych ich udziałach. Zakres aktywności termicznej determinowany typem zastosowanej parafiny oceniono na około 30÷60 °C. Zdolność akumulacji ciepła przez włókniny, wywołana przemianami fazowymi w PCM, była w zakresie 3,6 ÷ 19,4 kJ/m2 przy współczynniku TRF odpowiednio od 0,8 do 0,4