Psoriatic disease and body composition : a systematic review and narrative synthesis

Background Obesity is a leading comorbidity in psoriatic disease, including both psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and is associated with adverse metabolic and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. Anthropometric parameters, such as weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio, have been extensively reported in psoriatic disease. However, the associations of body composition and fat distribution with psoriasis have not yet been fully defined. Objectives To identify whether patients with psoriatic disease, including psoriatic arthritis, have altered body composition compared with the general population, and to review existing modalities for the assessment of body composition. Methods Electronic searches of the literature were conducted in PubMed, Medline (Ovid®), Embase (Ovid®), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and Google Scholar. Titles and abstracts were reviewed by two authors independently against a set of prespecified inclusion/exclusion criteria. The research question was answered with a systematic literature review and results were summarized narratively. Results Twenty-five full text articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final narrative analysis. The studies were of heterogeneous design and used a range of objective measures to assess body composition, including simple anthropometric measures, bioimpedance analysis (BIA), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and computed tomography (CT). Few studies met all the quality assessment criteria. Clinical heterogeneity prevented meta-analysis. Conclusions Patients with psoriatic disease reveal defined body composition changes that are independent of obesity and the customary metabolic syndrome, including higher overall body fat, visceral fat and sarcopenia. These findings emphasize that patients with psoriatic disease should be screened for abnormal adipose effects beyond their weight and body mass index (BMI). Our findings show that the last decade has seen an exciting expansion of research interest in the development and validation of new modalities for the assessment of body composition. There is no consensus on the optimal assessment method of body composition for this diverse group; hence there is a need for validation of existing modalities and standardization of assessment tools

Tracing the interplay between syntactic and lexical features: fMRI evidence from agreement comprehension

Available online 29 March 2018The current fMRI study was designed to investigate whether the processing of different gender-related cues embedded in nouns affects the computation of agreement dependencies and, if so, where this possible interaction is mapped in the brain. We used the Spanish gender agreement system, which makes it possible to manipulate two different factors: the agreement between different sentence constituents (i.e., by contrasting congruent versus incongruent determiner-noun pairs) and the formal (i.e., orthographical/morphological) and/or lexical information embedded in the noun –i.e., by contrasting transparent (e.g., libromasc. [book]; lunafem. [moon]) and opaque nouns (e.g., l apizmasc. [pencil]; vejezfem. [old age]). Crucially, these data illustrated, for the first time, how the network underlying agreement is sensitive to different gender-to-ending cues: different sources of gender information associated with nouns affect the neural circuits involved in the computation of local agreement dependencies. When the gender marking is informative (as in the case of transparent nouns), both formal and lexical information is used to establish grammatical relations. In contrast, when no formal cues are available (as in the case of opaque nouns), gender information is retrieved from the lexicon. We demonstrated the involvement of the posterior MTG/STG, pars triangularis within the IFG, and parietal regions during gender agreement computation. Critically, in order to integrate the different available information sources, the dynamics of this fronto-temporal loop change and additional regions, such as the hippocampus, the angular and the supramarginal gyri are recruited. These results underpin previous neuroanatomical models proposed in the context of both gender processing and sentence comprehension. But, more importantly, they provide valuable information regarding how and where the brain's language system dynamically integrates all the available form-based and lexical cues during comprehension.This research was partially supported by Severo Ochoa program grant SEV-2015-049; grant ERC-2011-ADG-295362 from the European Research Council, and grants PSI2015-67353-R and PSI2015-65694-P from the MINECO

Does acute passive stretching increase muscle length in children with cerebral palsy?

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ The Authors. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.Background: Children with spastic cerebral palsy experience increased muscle stiffness and reduced muscle length, which may prevent elongation of the muscle during stretch. Stretching performed either by the clinician, or children themselves is used as a treatment modality to increase/maintain joint range of motion. It is not clear whether the associated increases in muscle–tendon unit length are due to increases in muscle or tendon length. The purpose was to determine whether alterations in ankle range of motion in response to acute stretching were accompanied by increases in muscle length, and whether any effects would be dependent upon stretch technique. Methods: Eight children (6–14 y) with cerebral palsy received a passive dorsiflexion stretch for 5 × 20 s to each leg, which was applied by a physiotherapist or the children themselves. Maximum dorsiflexion angle, medial gastrocnemius muscle and fascicle lengths, and Achilles tendon length were calculated at a reference angle of 10° plantarflexion, and at maximum dorsiflexion in the pre- and post-stretch trials. Findings: All variables were significantly greater during pre- and post-stretch trials compared to the resting angle, and were independent of stretch technique. There was an approximate 10° increase in maximum dorsiflexion post-stretch, and this was accounted for by elongation of both muscle (0.8 cm) and tendon (1.0 cm). Muscle fascicle length increased significantly (0.6 cm) from pre- to post-stretch. Interpretation: The results provide evidence that commonly used stretching techniques can increase overall muscle, and fascicle lengths immediately post-stretch in children with cerebral palsy

The Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylation complex suppresses transcriptional noise during lineage commitment.

Multiprotein chromatin remodelling complexes show remarkable conservation of function amongst metazoans, even though components present in invertebrates are often found as multiple paralogous proteins in vertebrate complexes. In some cases, these paralogues specify distinct biochemical and/or functional activities in vertebrate cells. Here, we set out to define the biochemical and functional diversity encoded by one such group of proteins within the mammalian Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylation (NuRD) complex: Mta1, Mta2 and Mta3. We find that, in contrast to what has been described in somatic cells, MTA proteins are not mutually exclusive within embryonic stem (ES) cell NuRD and, despite subtle differences in chromatin binding and biochemical interactions, serve largely redundant functions. ES cells lacking all three MTA proteins exhibit complete NuRD loss of function and are viable, allowing us to identify a previously unreported function for NuRD in reducing transcriptional noise, which is essential for maintaining a proper differentiation trajectory during early stages of lineage commitment.Funding to the BH and MV labs was provided through EU FP7 Integrated Project “4DCellFate” (277899). The BH lab further benefitted from a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship (098021/Z/11/Z) and from core funding to the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute from the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council (097922/Z/11/Z and 203151/Z/16/Z). The Vermeulen lab is part of the Oncode Institute, which is partly funded by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF)

ActivPAL-measured sitting levels and patterns in 9-10 year old children from a UK city.

Background: There is insufficient evidence of sitting time in UK children from validated objective measures. This study explored sitting patterns in primary school children from Bradford, UK, using the validated activPAL inclinometer. Methods: Overall, 79 children (9.8 (SD 0.3) years old, 52% boys; 70% South Asian) wore activPALs for 7 days. Total sitting time, sitting time accumulated in different bout lengths, and the proportion of wear time spent in these variables were explored and compared across different periods of the week. Results: Children spent 614 ± 112 (median ± IQR) min/day on school days and 690 ± 150 min/day on weekend days sitting. The proportion of time spent sitting was significantly higher on weekend days compared to school days (mean±SD: 74 ± 10% versus 68 ± 8%,P 30 min sitting bouts (mean±CI: 28 ± 27-33% versus 20 ± 20-22%, P 30 min) sitting bouts (mean±CI: 19 ± 16-22% versus 11 ± 10-14%, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Children spent large proportions of their waking day sitting, often accumulated in prolonged uninterrupted bouts and particularly after school and on weekends. Interventions to reduce sitting time in children are urgently needed

Inclusivity in Pre-Assessment Support

An attainment gap persists between our UK domiciled white students and students of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups (BAME), despite the best efforts of the inclusive curriculum framework. It has previously been identified that use of academic language can be a contributing factor to lower attainment for BAME students (Open University Annual Report, 2013) and that they may be less likely to access support (Stuart et al., 2011). I set up a SADRAS project in collaboration with students and staff to investigate the use of pre-assessment support in Sport Science courses at Kingston University and explored students’ preferences, to determine whether differences were evident between BAME and white students. Results suggested differences in both use of academic support and preferences between student groups, with availability and location highlighted as constraints of use for BAME students. The results of this preliminary study were presented at the Advance HE Assessment and Feedback Symposium, leading to further dissemination at an invited seminar with the Open University STEM Pedagogy Group (eSTEeM). I am now extending the research with a second SADRAS project, extending the analysis to undergraduate students throughout the SEC Faculty

Reducing children's classroom sitting time using sit-to-stand desks: findings from pilot studies in UK and Australian primary schools.

BACKGROUND: This research examined the influence of sit-to-stand desks on classroom sitting time in primary school children. METHODS: Pilot controlled trials with similar intervention strategies were conducted in primary schools in Melbourne, Australia, and Bradford, UK. Sit-to-stand desks replaced all standard desks in the Australian intervention classroom. Six sit-to-stand desks replaced a bank of standard desks in the UK intervention classroom. Children were exposed to the sit-to-stand desks for 9-10 weeks. Control classrooms retained their normal seated desks. Classroom sitting time was measured at baseline and follow-up using the activPAL3 inclinometer. RESULTS: Thirty UK and 44 Australian children provided valid activPAL data at baseline and follow-up. The proportion of time spent sitting in class decreased significantly at follow-up in both intervention groups (UK: -9.8 ± 16.5% [-52.4 ± 66.6 min/day]; Australian: -9.4 ± 10% [-43.7 ± 29.9 min/day]). No significant changes in classroom sitting time were observed in the UK control group, while a significant reduction was observed in the Australian control group (-5.9 ± 11.7% [-28.2 ± 28.3 min/day]). CONCLUSIONS: Irrespective of implementation, incorporating sit-to-stand desks into classrooms appears to be an effective way of reducing classroom sitting in this diverse sample of children. Longer term efficacy trials are needed to determine effects on children's health and learning

Genetic and phenotypic associations between root architecture, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonisation and low phosphate tolerance in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa)

Background: Phosphate is an essential plant macronutrient required to achieve maximum crop yield. Roots are able to uptake soil phosphate from the immediate root area, thus creating a nutrient depletion zone. Many plants are able to exploit phosphate from beyond this root nutrient depletion zone through symbiotic association with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). Here we characterise the relationship between root architecture, AMF association and low phosphate tolerance in strawberries. The contrasting root architecture in the parental strawberry cultivars ‘Redgauntlet’ and ‘Hapil’ was studied through a mapping population of 168 progeny. Low phosphate tolerance and AMF association was quantified for each genotype to allow assessment of the phenotypic and genotypic relationships between traits. Results: A “phosphate scavenging” root phenotype where individuals exhibit a high proportion of surface lateral roots was associated with a reduction in root system size across genotypes. A genetic correlation between “root system size” traits was observed with a network of pleiotropic QTL found to represent five “root system size” traits. By contrast, average root diameter and the distribution of roots appeared to be under two discrete methods of genetic control. A total of 18 QTL were associated with plant traits, 4 of which were associated with solidity that explained 46% of the observed variation. Investigations into the relationship between AMF association and root architecture found that a higher root density was associated with greater AMF colonisation across genotypes. However, no phenotypic correlation or genotypic association was found between low phosphate tolerance and the propensity for AMF association, nor root architectural traits when plants are grown under optimal nutrient conditions. Conclusions: Understanding the genetic relationships underpinning phosphate capture can inform the breeding of strawberry varieties with better nutrient use efficiency. Solid root systems were associated with greater AMF colonisation. However, low P-tolerance was not phenotypically or genotypically associated with root architecture traits in strawberry plants. Furthermore, a trade-off was observed between root system size and root architecture type, highlighting the energetic costs associated with a “phosphate scavenging” root architecture