Factor V Leiden and thrombosis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis.

The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of the association between the factor V Leiden polymorphism (FVL) and thrombosis among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and/or antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) positivity. Included studies recruited patients based on SLE or aPL-positive status, confirmed subjects' SLE diagnosis as defined by the American College of Rheumatology, and documented thrombotic events. Excluded studies were non-English or considered only arterial thrombosis. Individual patient data, available from 5 studies, together with unpublished data from 1210 European-American SLE patients from the UCSF Lupus Genetics Collection genotyped for FVL, were further analyzed. Seventeen studies (n=2090 subjects) were included in the initial meta-analysis. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated to assess association of FVL with thrombosis. The OR for association of thrombosis with FVL was 2.88 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.98-4.20). In the secondary analysis with our individual patient dataset (n=1447 European-derived individuals), SLE subjects with the FVL polymorphism still had more than two times the odds of thrombosis compared to subjects without this polymorphism, even when adjusting for covariates such as gender, age and aPL status. SLE and/or aPL-positive patients with the FVL variant have more than two times the odds of thrombosis compared to those without this polymorphism

Green Exercise Linking Nature, Health and Well-being

The concept of Green Exercise has now been widely adopted and implies a synergistic health benefit of being active in the presence of nature. This book provides a balanced overview and synthesis text on all aspects of Green Exercise and integrates evidence from many different disciplines including physiology, ecology, psychology, sociology and the environmental sciences, and across a wide range of countries. It describes the impact of Green Exercise on human health and well-being through all stages of the lifecourse and covers a wide spectrum from cellular processes such as immune function through to facilitating human behavioural change. It demonstrates the value of Green Exercise for activity and education purposes in both schools and the workplace, as well as its therapeutic properties. Green Exercise is an effective intervention for vulnerable groups and promoting healthy ageing, with activities including wilderness therapy, therapeutic horticulture and the use of forests and water. Chapters also integrate cross-cutting key themes which are relevant to all stages of the lifecourse and have significantly contributed to the Green Exercise research base, such as forest bathing and blue exercise. The book also explores the future of Green Exercise, the way in which research can be used to influence green design and planning and how health, social care and environmental agendas can be integrated to enable Green Exercise to be more widely used as a mechanism for improving health

Coastal upwelling and downwelling forcing of circulation in a semi-enclosed bay: Ria de Vigo

Semi-enclosed bays in upwelling regions are exposed to forcing related to winds, currents and buoyancy over the shelf. The influence of this external forcing is moderated by factors such as connectivity to the open ocean, shelter by surrounding topography, dimensions of the bay, and freshwater outflows. Such bays, preferred locations for ports, mariculture, marine industry, recreational activities and coastal settlement, present a range of characteristics, understanding of which is necessary to their rational management. Observations in such a semi-enclosed bay, the Ria de Vigo in Spain, are used to characterize the influence of upwelling and downwelling pulses on its circulation. In this location, near the northern limit of the Iberian upwelling system, upwelling events dominate during a short summer season and downwelling events the rest of the year. The ria response to the external forcing is central to nutrient supply and resultant plankton productivity that supports its high level of cultured mussel production. Intensive field studies in September 2006 and June 2007 captured a downwelling event and an upwelling event, respectively. Data from eight current profiler moorings and boat-based MiniBat/ADCP surveys provided an unprecedented quasi-synoptic view of the distribution of water masses and circulation patterns in any ria. In the outer ria, circulation was dominated by the introduction of wind-driven alongshore flow from the external continental shelf through the ria entrances and its interaction with the topography. In the middle ria, circulation was primarily related to the upwelling/downwelling cycle, with a cool, salty and dense lower layer penetrating to the inner ria during upwelling over the shelf. A warmer, lower salinity and less dense surface layer of coastal waters flowed inward during downwelling. Without external forcing, the inner ria responded primarily to tides and buoyancy changes related to land runoff. Under both upwelling and downwelling conditions, the flushing of the ria involved shelf responses to wind pulses. Their persistence for a few days was sufficient to allow waters from the continental shelf to penetrate the innermost ria. Longer term observations supported by numerical modeling are required to confirm the generality of such flushing events in the ria and determine their typical frequency, while comparative studies should explore how these scenarios fit into the range of conditions experienced in other semi-enclosed bays

Human burial evidence from Hattab II Cave and the question of continuity in Late Pleistocene-Holocene mortuary practices in Northwest Africa

Archaeological excavations in 2002-3 at Hattab H Cave in northwestern Morocco revealed all undisturbed Late Palaeolithic Iberomaurusian human burial. This is the first Iberomaurusian inhumation discovered in the region. The skeleton is probably that Of a male aged between 25 and 30 years. The individual shows a characteristic absence of the central upper incisors reported in other Iberomaurusian burials. Accompanying the burial are a stone core and a number of grave goods including bone points, a marine gastropod and a gazelle horn core. Thermoluminescence dating of a burnt stone artefact in association with the burial has provided an age of 8900 +/- 1100 BP. This is one of the youngest ages reported for the Iberomaurusian and raises questions about persistence of hunter-gatherer societies in the Maghreb and the potential for continuity in burial practices with the earliest Neolithic

HLA-A and -B alleles and haplotypes in 240 index patients with common variable immunodeficiency and selective IgG subclass deficiency in central Alabama

BACKGROUND: We wanted to quantify HLA-A and -B phenotype and haplotype frequencies in Alabama index patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and selective IgG subclass deficiency (IgGSD), and in control subjects. METHODS: Phenotypes were detected using DNA-based typing (index cases) and microlymphocytotoxicity typing (controls). RESULTS: A and B phenotypes were determined in 240 index cases (114 CVID, 126 IgGSD) and 1,321 controls and haplotypes in 195 index cases and 751 controls. Phenotyping revealed that the "uncorrected" frequencies of A*24, B*14, B*15, B*35, B*40, B*49, and B*50 were significantly greater in index cases, and frequencies of B*35, B*58, B*62 were significantly lower in index cases. After Bonferroni corrections, the frequencies of phenotypes A*24, B*14, and B*40 were significantly greater in index cases, and the frequency of B*62 was significantly lower in index cases. The most common haplotypes in index cases were A*02-B*44 (frequency 0.1385), A*01-B*08 (frequency 0.1308), and A*03-B*07 (frequency 0.1000), and the frequency of each was significantly greater in index cases than in control subjects ("uncorrected" values of p < 0.0001, 0.0252, and 0.0011, respectively). After performing Bonferroni corrections, however, the frequency of A*02-B*44 alone was significantly increased in probands (p < 0.0085). Three other haplotypes were also significantly more frequent in index cases (A*03-B*14, A*31-B*40, and A*32-B*14). The combined frequencies of three latter haplotypes in index patients and control subjects were 0.0411 and 0.0126, respectively ("uncorrected" value of p < 0.0002; "corrected" value of p = 0.0166). Most phenotype and haplotype frequencies in CVID and IgGSD were similar. 26.7% of index patients were HLA-haploidentical with one or more other index patients. We diagnosed CVID or IgGSD in first-degree or other relatives of 26 of 195 index patients for whom HLA-A and -B haplotypes had been ascertained; A*01-B*08, A*02-B*44, and A*29-B*44 were most frequently associated with CVID or IgGSD in these families. We conservatively estimated the combined population frequency of CVID and IgGSD to be 0.0092 in adults, based on the occurrence of CVID and IgGSD in spouses of the index cases. CONCLUSIONS: CVID and IgGSD in adults are significantly associated with several HLA haplotypes, many of which are also common in the Alabama Caucasian population. Immunoglobulin phenotype variability demonstrated in index cases and family studies herein suggests that there are multiple gene(s) on Ch6p or other chromosomes that modify immunoglobulin phenotypes of CVID and IgGSD. The estimated prevalence of CVID and IgGSD in central Alabama could be reasonably attributed to the fact that many HLA haplotypes significantly associated with these disorders are also common in the general population

Effects of cigarette smoke on endothelial function of pulmonary arteries in the guinea pig

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cigarette smoking may contribute to pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by altering the structure and function of pulmonary vessels at early disease stages. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of long-term exposure to cigarette smoke on endothelial function and smooth muscle-cell proliferation in pulmonary arteries of guinea pigs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>19 male Hartley guinea pigs were exposed to the smoke of 7 cigarettes/day, 5 days/week, for 3 and 6 months. 17 control guinea pigs were sham-exposed for the same periods. Endothelial function was evaluated in rings of pulmonary artery and aorta as the relaxation induced by ADP. The proliferation of smooth muscle cells and their phenotype in small pulmonary vessels were evaluated by immunohistochemical expression of α-actin and desmin. Vessel wall thickness, arteriolar muscularization and emphysema were assessed morphometrically. The expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was evaluated by Real Time-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Exposure to cigarette smoke reduced endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in pulmonary arteries (ANOVA p < 0.05) but not in the aorta. Endothelial dysfunction was apparent at 3 months of exposure and did not increase further after 6 months of exposure. Smoke-exposed animals showed proliferation of poorly differentiated smooth muscle cells in small vessels (p < 0.05) after 3 months of exposure. Prolonged exposure resulted in full muscularization of small pulmonary vessels (p < 0.05), wall thickening (p < 0.01) and increased contractility of the main pulmonary artery (p < 0.05), and enlargement of the alveolar spaces. Lung expression of eNOS was decreased in animals exposed to cigarette smoke.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the guinea pig, exposure to cigarette smoke induces selective endothelial dysfunction in pulmonary arteries, smooth muscle cell proliferation in small pulmonary vessels and reduced lung expression of eNOS. These changes appear after 3 months of exposure and precede the development of pulmonary emphysema.</p

Thread embedded into penile tissue over time as an unusual hair thread tourniquet injury to the penis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Hair thread tourniquet syndrome has been recognized since the 1960s. Since then, sporadic reports have appeared in the literature describing different degrees of strangulation and/or amputation of the penis caused by a hair thread being inadvertently tied around the penis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 9-year-old boy presented with a 3-year history of hair thread tourniquet injury to his penis. Instead of the usual strangulation or amputation, the tourniquet had become embedded into the penile tissue, manifesting with exuberant granulation tissue and a tight urethral stricture. At surgery, the intact tourniquet was still in place, embedded in dense fibrous tissue and associated with a dense urethral fibrosis which measured about 2 cm long. The tourniquet was divided and removed, the fibrotic urethra excised and a distal penile pedicled skin flap used to perform a single-stage substitution urethroplasty. The patient has been voiding well for 28 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This case is unusual and is the first report of its kind. It is also the first report of a hair thread tourniquet as the cause of pediatric penile injury in Nigeria.</p

MiMiR - an integrated platform for microarray data sharing, mining and analysis

Background: Despite considerable efforts within the microarray community for standardising data format, content and description, microarray technologies present major challenges in managing, sharing, analysing and re-using the large amount of data generated locally or internationally. Additionally, it is recognised that inconsistent and low quality experimental annotation in public data repositories significantly compromises the re-use of microarray data for meta-analysis. MiMiR, the Microarray data Mining Resource was designed to tackle some of these limitations and challenges. Here we present new software components and enhancements to the original infrastructure that increase accessibility, utility and opportunities for large scale mining of experimental and clinical data.Results: A user friendly Online Annotation Tool allows researchers to submit detailed experimental information via the web at the time of data generation rather than at the time of publication. This ensures the easy access and high accuracy of meta-data collected. Experiments are programmatically built in the MiMiR database from the submitted information and details are systematically curated and further annotated by a team of trained annotators using a new Curation and Annotation Tool. Clinical information can be annotated and coded with a clinical Data Mapping Tool within an appropriate ethical framework. Users can visualise experimental annotation, assess data quality, download and share data via a web-based experiment browser called MiMiR Online. All requests to access data in MiMiR are routed through a sophisticated middleware security layer thereby allowing secure data access and sharing amongst MiMiR registered users prior to publication. Data in MiMiR can be mined and analysed using the integrated EMAAS open source analysis web portal or via export of data and meta-data into Rosetta Resolver data analysis package.Conclusion: The new MiMiR suite of software enables systematic and effective capture of extensive experimental and clinical information with the highest MIAME score, and secure data sharing prior to publication. MiMiR currently contains more than 150 experiments corresponding to over 3000 hybridisations and supports the Microarray Centre's large microarray user community and two international consortia. The MiMiR flexible and scalable hardware and software architecture enables secure warehousing of thousands of datasets, including clinical studies, from microarray and potentially other -omics technologies