Childhood adversity and asthma prevalence: evidence from 10 US states (2009–2011)

Background: Existing evidence on stress and asthma prevalence has disproportionately focused on pregnancy and postpregnancy early life stressors, largely ignoring the role of childhood adversity as a risk factor. Childhood adversity (neglect, stressful living conditions and maltreatment) may influence asthma prevalence through mechanisms on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Methods: Data from the Center for Disease Control's (CDC's) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys were used to examine cross-sectional associations of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) with lifetime and current asthma prevalence. Information on childhood adversity was available from 84 786 adult respondents in 10 US states. Poisson regression models (with robust SE) were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) relating overall ACE score and dimensions of exposure ACE to asthma prevalence, adjusting for socioeconomic status. Results: Greater ACE was associated with a higher prevalence of asthma (adjusted PRcat 4=1.78 (95% CI 1.69 to 1.87), adjusted PRcat 1=1.21 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.27)). Reported experiences of sexual abuse (adjusted PR=1.48* (1.42 to 1.55)) and physical abuse (adjusted PR=1.38* (1.33 to 1.43)) were associated with a higher asthma prevalence. No clear socioeconomic gradient was noted, but those reporting lowest education and income levels reported high rates of asthma and adversity. Sensitivity analyses indicated that ACE exposures were interrelated. Conclusions: Report of childhood adversity predicts asthma prevalence among US adults. Frameworks for asthma prevention need to recognise and integrate aspects related to childhood adversity. Further investigation into specific time periods of exposure would provide meaningful inferences for interventions

Effects of IFN-B on TRAIL and Decoy Receptor Expression in Different Immune Cell Populations from MS Patients with Distinct Disease Subtypes

Using quantitative RT-PCR, we compared mRNA levels for TRAIL [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)–related apoptosis-inducing ligand] and its receptors in various immune cell subsets derived from the peripheral blood of untreated normal subjects (NS) and patients with distinct subtypes of multiple sclerosis (MS): active relapsing-remitting MS (RRA), quiescent relapsing-remitting MS (RRQ), secondary-progressive MS (SPMS) or primary-progressive MS (PPMS). Consistent with a role for TRAIL in the mechanism of action of interferon-β (IFN-β), TRAIL mRNA levels were increased in monocytes from patients clinically responsive to IFN-β (RRQ) but not those unresponsive to this therapeutic (RRA). TRAIL-R3 (decoy receptor) expression was elevated in T cells from untreated RRMS patients while IFN-β therapy reversed this increase suggesting that IFN-β may promote the apoptotic elimination of autoreactive T cells by increasing the amount of TRAIL available to activate TRAIL death receptors. Serum concentrations of soluble TRAIL were increased to a similar extent by IFN-β therapy in RRQ, RRA and SPMS patients that had not generated neutralizing antibodies against this cytokine. Although our findings suggest altered TRAIL signaling may play a role in MS pathogenesis and IFN-β therapy, they do not support use of TRAIL as a surrogate marker for clinical responsiveness to this therapeutic

Nutritional studies of Chara corallina

Physico-chemical analysis of the pond water supporting growth of Chara corallina and of those grown in different culture media in the laboratory conditions have been carried out. The physico-chemical parameters of the water of Napli forest and P.N. Mehra Botanical Garden show that Chara corallina requires less amount of nutrients and the level of pollution is quite low as is evident from the data and standards. The water is clear enough to allow penetration of visibility to its bottom. Napli forest and P.N. Mehra Botanical Garden lack rich diversity which may be attributed to some chemicals released by Chara corallina. In laboratory culture, it is found that Chara corallina can be grown in all three culture media, viz., Allen and Arnon’s medium , Chu-10 medium and BG-11 medium but growth is seen to be the best in Allen and Arnon’s culture medium in comparison with the other two culture media

Perioperative outcomes and adverse events of robotic colorectal resections for inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic literature review

The purpose of this study was to assess outcome measures and cost-effectiveness of robotic colorectal resections in adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The Cochrane Library, PubMed/Medline and Embase databases were reviewed, using the text “robotic(s)” AND (“inflammatory bowel disease” OR “Crohn’s” OR “Ulcerative Colitis”). Two investigators screened abstracts for eligibility. All English language full-text articles were reviewed for specified outcomes. Data were pre - sented in a summarised and aggregate form, since the lack of higher-level evidence studies precluded meta-analysis. Primary outcomes included mortality and postoperative complications. Secondary outcomes included readmission rate, length of stay, conversion rate, procedure time, estimated blood loss and functional outcome. The tertiary outcome was cost-effectiveness. Eight studies (3 case-matched observational studies, 4 case series and 1 case report) met the inclusion criteria. There was no reported mortality. Overall, complications occurred in 81 patients (54%) including 30 (20%) Clavien-Dindo III–IV complica - tions. Mean length of stay was 8.6 days. Eleven cases (7.3%) were converted to open. The mean robotic operating time was 99 min out of a mean total operating time of 298.6 min. Thirty-two patients (24.7%) were readmitted. Functional outcomes were comparable among robotic, laparoscopic and open approaches. Case-matched observational studies comparing robotic to laparoscopic surgery revealed a significantly longer procedure time; however, conversion, complication, length of stay and readmission rates were similar. The case-matched observational study comparing robotic to open surgery also revealed a longer procedure time and a higher readmission rate; postoperative complication rates and length of stay were similar. No studies compared cost-effectiveness between robotic and traditional approaches. Although robotic resections for inflamma - tory bowel disease are technically feasible, outcomes must be interpreted with caution due to low-quality studies

Chronic Intestinal Inflammatory Condition Generates IL-10-Producing Regulatory B Cell Subset Characterized by CD1d Upregulation

AbstractB cells possess a variety of immune functions that are involved in normal and abnormal immune responses, including autoimmune disorders. Through murine models of intestinal inflammation, we here demonstrate a B cell subset that is induced in gut-associated lymphoid tissues and is characterized by CD1d upregulation. This B cell subset appears under a chronic inflammatory environment, produces IL-10, and suppresses progression of intestinal inflammation by downregulating inflammatory cascades associated with IL-1 upregulation and STAT3 activation rather than by altering polarized T helper responses. This study indicates that B cells, by producing cytokines such as IL-10, can act as regulatory cells in immunologically mediated inflammatory reactions

Reconstruction of Network Evolutionary History from Extant Network Topology and Duplication History

Genome-wide protein-protein interaction (PPI) data are readily available thanks to recent breakthroughs in biotechnology. However, PPI networks of extant organisms are only snapshots of the network evolution. How to infer the whole evolution history becomes a challenging problem in computational biology. In this paper, we present a likelihood-based approach to inferring network evolution history from the topology of PPI networks and the duplication relationship among the paralogs. Simulations show that our approach outperforms the existing ones in terms of the accuracy of reconstruction. Moreover, the growth parameters of several real PPI networks estimated by our method are more consistent with the ones predicted in literature.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, submitted to ISBRA 201

The absurdity of research registration for community-oriented knowledge coproduction

Summary box: ►Requirement for a priori registration of research builds on the colonial roots of global health, excluding community-based researchers from global conversations. ► When communities and community-based organisations (CBOs) coproduce knowledge, it is more relevant, acceptable, appropriate, responsive and effective in generating change. ► Recognising the inherent value of studies which are small, specific, local, descriptive, observational or which focus on implementation reorders the current hierarchies of rigour and contributes to decolonising global health. ► Registration provides one pathway to public accountability, but perhaps a more rigorous pathway to accountability is long-term, engaged and documented relationships between researchers and communities. ► When necessary, global health research should allow for retrospective registration, with full fee waivers for researchers from CBOs and low-income and middle-income settings

Land Use Increases the Correlation between Tree Cover and Biomass Carbon Stocks in the Global Tropics

Tree cover (TC) and biomass carbon stocks (CS) are key parameters for characterizing vegetation and are indispensable for assessing the role of terrestrial ecosystems in the global climate system. Land use, through land cover change and land management, affects both parameters. In this study, we quantify the empirical relationship between TC and CS and demonstrate the impacts of land use by combining spatially explicit estimates of TC and CS in actual and potential vegetation (i.e., in the hypothetical absence of land use) across the global tropics (~23.4° N to 23.4° S). We find that land use strongly alters both TC and CS, with stronger effects on CS than on TC across tropical biomes, especially in tropical moist forests. In comparison to the TC-CS correlation observed in the potential vegetation (biome-level R based on tropical ecozones = 0.56–0.90), land use strongly increases this correlation (biome-level R based on tropical ecozones = 0.87–0.94) in the actual vegetation. Increased correlations are not only the effects of land cover change. We additionally identify land management impacts in closed forests, which cause CS reductions. Our large-scale assessment of the TC-CS relationship can inform upcoming remote sensing efforts to map ecosystem structure in high spatio-temporal detail and highlights the need for an explicit focus on land management impacts in the tropic