Cord blood epigenome-wide meta-analysis in six European-based child cohorts identifies signatures linked to rapid weight growth

BACKGROUND: Rapid postnatal growth may result from exposure in utero or early life to adverse conditions and has been associated with diseases later in life and, in particular, with childhood obesity. DNA methylation, interfacing early-life exposures and subsequent diseases, is a possible mechanism underlying early-life programming. METHODS: Here, a meta-analysis of Illumina HumanMethylation 450K/EPIC-array associations of cord blood DNA methylation at single CpG sites and CpG genomic regions with rapid weight growth at 1 year of age (defined with reference to WHO growth charts) was conducted in six European-based child cohorts (ALSPAC, ENVIRONAGE, Generation XXI, INMA, Piccolipiù, and RHEA, N = 2003). The association of gestational age acceleration (calculated using the Bohlin epigenetic clock) with rapid weight growth was also explored via meta-analysis. Follow-up analyses of identified DNA methylation signals included prediction of rapid weight growth, mediation of the effect of conventional risk factors on rapid weight growth, integration with transcriptomics and metabolomics, association with overweight in childhood (between 4 and 8 years), and comparison with previous findings. RESULTS: Forty-seven CpGs were associated with rapid weight growth at suggestive p-value <1e-05 and, among them, three CpGs (cg14459032, cg25953130 annotated to ARID5B, and cg00049440 annotated to KLF9) passed the genome-wide significance level (p-value <1.25e-07). Sixteen differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified as associated with rapid weight growth at false discovery rate (FDR)-adjusted/Siddak p-values < 0.01. Gestational age acceleration was associated with decreasing risk of rapid weight growth (p-value = 9.75e-04). Identified DNA methylation signals slightly increased the prediction of rapid weight growth in addition to conventional risk factors. Among the identified signals, three CpGs partially mediated the effect of gestational age on rapid weight growth. Both CpGs (N=3) and DMRs (N=3) were associated with differential expression of transcripts (N=10 and 7, respectively), including long non-coding RNAs. An AURKC DMR was associated with childhood overweight. We observed enrichment of CpGs previously reported associated with birthweight. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide evidence of the association between cord blood DNA methylation and rapid weight growth and suggest links with prenatal exposures and association with childhood obesity providing opportunities for early prevention

Survivorship of Anopheles darlingi (Diptera: Culicidae) in Relation with Malaria Incidence in the Brazilian Amazon

We performed a longitudinal study of adult survival of Anopheles darlingi, the most important vector in the Amazon, in a malarigenous frontier zone of Brazil. Survival rates were determined from both parous rates and multiparous dissections. Anopheles darlingi human biting rates, daily survival rates and expectation of life where higher in the dry season, as compared to the rainy season, and were correlated with malaria incidence. The biting density of mosquitoes that had survived long enough for completing at least one sporogonic cycle was related with the number of malaria cases by linear regression. Survival rates were the limiting factor explaining longitudinal variations in Plasmodium vivax malaria incidence and the association between adult mosquito survival and malaria was statistically significant by logistic regression (P<0.05). Survival rates were better correlated with malaria incidence than adult mosquito biting density. Mathematical modeling showed that P. falciparum and P. malariae were more vulnerable to changes in mosquito survival rates because of longer sporogonic cycle duration, as compared to P. vivax, which could account for the low prevalence of the former parasites observed in the study area. Population modeling also showed that the observed decreases in human biting rates in the wet season could be entirely explained by decreases in survival rates, suggesting that decreased breeding did not occur in the wet season, at the sites where adult mosquitoes were collected. For the first time in the literature, multivariate methods detected a statistically significant inverse relation (P<0.05) between the number of rainy days per month and daily survival rates, suggesting that rainfall may cause adult mortality

Validity and reliability of Arabic version of the ID Pain screening questionnaire in the assessment of neuropathic pain

Diagnosis of neuropathic pain (NP) can be challenging. The ID Pain (ID-P) questionnaire, a screening tool for NP, has been used widely both in the original version and translated forms. The aim of this study was to develop an Arabic version of ID-P and assess its validity and reliability in detecting neuropathic pain. The original ID-P was translated in Arabic language and administered to the study population. Reliability of the Arabic version was evaluated by percentage observed agreement, and Cohen’s kappa; and validity by sensitivity, specificity, correctly classified, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Physician diagnosis was considered as the gold standard for comparing the diagnostic accuracy. The study included 375 adult patients (153 [40.8%] with NP; 222 [59.2%] with nociceptive pain). Overall observed percentage agreement and Cohen’s kappa were >90% and >0.80, respectively. Median (range) score of ID-P scale was 3 (2–4) and 1 (0–2) in the NP group and NocP group, respectively (p<0.001). Area under the ROC curve was 0.808 (95% CI, 0.764–0.851). For the cut-off value of ≥2, sensitivity was 84.3%, specificity was 66.7%, and correct classification was 73.9%. Thus, the Arabic version of ID-P showed moderate reliability and validity as a pain assessment tool. This article presents the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of ID Pain questionnaire. This Arabic version may serve as a simple yet important screening tool, and help in appropriate management of neuropathic pain, specifically in primary care centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Stress distribution patterns at mini-implant site during retraction and intrusion - a three-dimensional finite element study

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stress patterns produced in mini-implant and alveolar bone, for various implant dimensions, under different directions of simulated orthodontic force, using a three-dimensional finite element method. Methods Eight finite element (FE) models of mini-implant and bone were generated with insertion angles of 30° and 60°, diameters of 1 and 1.3 mm, and lengths of 6 and 8 mm. A simulated constant orthodontic force of 2 N was applied to each of these FE models in three directions simulating anterior retraction, anterior intrusion and retraction, and molar intrusion. Results Comparison of the maximum von Mises stress in the mini-implant showed that the 1-mm diameter produced significantly high stress, and the amount of stress produced was more for a mini-implant inserted at an angle of 60°. The cortical bone showed that high stresses were generated for the 1-mm-diameter mini-implant and on increasing the insertion angulation from 30° to 60°, the stress produced increased as well. The comparison of von Mises stress in the cancellous bone was insignificant as the amount of stress transmitted was very low. Conclusions The 1-mm-diameter mini-implants are not safe to be used clinically for orthodontic anchorage. The 1.3 × 6 mm dimension mini-implants are recommended for use during anterior segment retraction and during simultaneous intrusion and retraction, and the 1.3 × 8 mm dimension mini-implant is recommended for use during molar intrusion. All mini-implants should be inserted at a 30° angle into the bone for reduced stress and improved stability

Outcome and quality of life after aorto-bifemoral bypass surgery

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aorto-bifemoral bypass (AFB) is commonly performed to treat aorto-iliac disease and a durable long-term outcome is achieved. Most studies documenting beneficial outcomes after AFB have been limited to mortality and morbidity rates, costs and length of hospital stay (LOS). Few studies have examined the dependency of patients and how their perception of their own health changes after surgery. The aim of the present study was to evaluate outcome after AFB and to study its determinants.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This retrospective study was carried out in the multidisciplinary Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) with five intensive care beds. Out of 1597 intensive care patients admitted to the PACU, 75 were submitted to infrarenal AFB and admitted to these intensive care unit (ICU) beds over 2 years. Preoperative characteristics and outcome were evaluated by comparing occlusive disease with aneurysmatic disease patients. Six months after discharge, the patients were contacted to complete a Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36) and to have their dependency in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) evaluated. Patient's characteristics and postoperative follow-up data were compared using Mann-Whitney U test, t test for independent groups, chi-square or Fisher's exact test. Patient preoperative characteristics were evaluated for associations with mortality using a multiple logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mortality rate was 12% at six months. Multivariate analysis identified congestive heart disease and APACHE II as independent determinants for mortality. Patients submitted to AFB for occlusive disease had worse SF-36 scores in role physical and general health perception. Patients submitted to AFB had worse SF-36 scores for all domains than a comparable urban population and had similar scores to other PACU patients. Sixty-six percent and 23% of patients were dependent in at least one activity in instrumental and personal ADL, respectively, but 64% reported having better general health.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that congestive heart disease and APACHE II were risk factors for mortality after AFB surgery. Survivors who have undergone AFB perceive an improved quality of life although they are more dependent in ADL tasks and have worse scores in almost all SF-36 than the population to which they belong.</p

Computational complexity analysis of decision tree algorithms

YesDecision tree is a simple but powerful learning technique that is considered as one of the famous learning algorithms that have been successfully used in practice for various classification tasks. They have the advantage of producing a comprehensible classification model with satisfactory accuracy levels in several application domains. In recent years, the volume of data available for learning is dramatically increasing. As a result, many application domains are faced with a large amount of data thereby posing a major bottleneck on the computability of learning techniques. There are different implementations of the decision tree using different techniques. In this paper, we theoretically and experimentally study and compare the computational power of the most common classical top-down decision tree algorithms (C4.5 and CART). This work can serve as part of review work to analyse the computational complexity of the existing decision tree classifier algorithm to gain understanding of the operational steps with the aim of optimizing the learning algorithm for large datasets

Serotonergic, brain volume and attentional correlates of trait anxiety in primates.

Trait anxiety is a risk factor for the development and maintenance of affective disorders, and insights into the underlying brain mechanisms are vital for improving treatment and prevention strategies. Translational studies in non-human primates, where targeted neurochemical and genetic manipulations can be made, are critical in view of their close neuroanatomical similarity to humans in brain regions implicated in trait anxiety. Thus, we characterised the serotonergic and regional brain volume correlates of trait-like anxiety in the marmoset monkey. Low- and high-anxious animals were identified by behavioral responses to a human intruder (HI) that are known to be sensitive to anxiolytic drug treatment. Extracellular serotonin levels within the amygdala were measured with in vivo microdialysis, at baseline and in response to challenge with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, citalopram. Regional brain volume was assessed by structural magnetic resonance imaging. Anxious individuals showed persistent, long-term fearful responses to both a HI and a model snake, alongside sustained attention (vigilance) to novel cues in a context associated with unpredictable threat. Neurally, high-anxious marmosets showed reduced amygdala serotonin levels, and smaller volumes in a closely connected prefrontal region, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. These findings highlight behavioral and neural similarities between trait-like anxiety in marmosets and humans, and set the stage for further investigation of the processes contributing to vulnerability and resilience to affective disorders.This research was supported by a Medical Research Programme Grant (G0901884) from the Medical Research Council UK (MRC) to Angela Roberts, and a PhD studentship from MRC and final-term funding from Trinity College, Cambridge, UK to Yevheniia Mikheenko.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NPG at http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v40/n6/full/npp2014324a.htm

Computational complexity analysis of decision tree algorithms

YesDecision tree is a simple but powerful learning technique that is considered as one of the famous learning algorithms that have been successfully used in practice for various classification tasks. They have the advantage of producing a comprehensible classification model with satisfactory accuracy levels in several application domains. In recent years, the volume of data available for learning is dramatically increasing. As a result, many application domains are faced with a large amount of data thereby posing a major bottleneck on the computability of learning techniques. There are different implementations of the decision tree using different techniques. In this paper, we theoretically and experimentally study and compare the computational power of the most common classical top-down decision tree algorithms (C4.5 and CART). This work can serve as part of review work to analyse the computational complexity of the existing decision tree classifier algorithm to gain understanding of the operational steps with the aim of optimizing the learning algorithm for large datasets

Adverse psychosocial working conditions and minor psychiatric disorders among bank workers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In most countries, the financial service sector has undergone great organizational changes in the past decades, with potential negative impact on bank workers' mental health. The aim of this paper is to estimate the prevalence of minor psychiatric disorders (MPD) among Brazilian bank workers and to investigate whether they are associated with an adverse psychosocial working environment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study of a random sample of 2,500 workers in a Brazilian state bank in 2008. The presence of MPD was determined by the General Health Questionnaire.(GHQ). Psychosocial work conditions were assessed by means of the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) and Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). The presence and magnitude of the independent associations between MPD and adverse psychosocial working conditions were determined by Prevalence Ratios, obtained by Poisson regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 2,337 eligible workers, 88% participated. The prevalence of MPD was greater among women (45% vs. 41%; p > 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, the prevalence of MPD was twice as high among bank workers exposed to high psychological demand and low control at work and under high effort and low reward working conditions. The lack of social support at work and the presence of over-commitment were also associated with higher prevalence of MPD. A negative interaction effect was found between over-commitment and effort-reward imbalance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of MPD is high among bank workers. The results reinforce the association between MPD and adverse psychosocial working conditions, assessed by the JCQ and ERI models. The direction of the interaction observed between over-commitment and ERI was contrary to what was expected.</p

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur