Identifying predictors of translocation success in rare plant species

The fundamental goal of a rare plant translocation is to create self-sustaining populations with the evolutionary resilience to persist in the long term. Yet, most plant translocation syntheses focus on a few factors influencing short-term benchmarks of success (e.g., survival and reproduction). Short-term benchmarks can be misleading when trying to infer future growth and viability because the factors that promote establishment may differ from those required for long-term persistence. We assembled a large (n = 275) and broadly representative data set of well-documented and monitored (7.9 years on average) at-risk plant translocations to identify the most important site attributes, management techniques, and species' traits for six life-cycle benchmarks and population metrics of translocation success. We used the random forest algorithm to quantify the relative importance of 29 predictor variables for each metric of success. Drivers of translocation outcomes varied across time frames and success metrics. Management techniques had the greatest relative influence on the attainment of life-cycle benchmarks and short-term population trends, whereas site attributes and species' traits were more important for population persistence and long-term trends. Specifically, large founder sizes increased the potential for reproduction and recruitment into the next generation, whereas declining habitat quality and the outplanting of species with low seed production led to increased extinction risks and a reduction in potential reproductive output in the long-term, respectively. We also detected novel interactions between some of the most important drivers, such as an increased probability of next-generation recruitment in species with greater seed production rates, but only when coupled with large founder sizes. Because most significant barriers to plant translocation success can be overcome by improving techniques or resolving site-level issues through early intervention and management, we suggest that by combining long-term monitoring with adaptive management, translocation programs can enhance the prospects of achieving long-term success

European consensus statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD: The European Network Adult ADHD.

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that persists into adulthood in the majority of cases. The evidence on persistence poses several difficulties for adult psychiatry considering the lack of expertise for diagnostic assessment, limited treatment options and patient facilities across Europe. METHODS: The European Network Adult ADHD, founded in 2003, aims to increase awareness of this disorder and improve knowledge and patient care for adults with ADHD across Europe. This Consensus Statement is one of the actions taken by the European Network Adult ADHD in order to support the clinician with research evidence and clinical experience from 18 European countries in which ADHD in adults is recognised and treated. RESULTS: Besides information on the genetics and neurobiology of ADHD, three major questions are addressed in this statement: (1) What is the clinical picture of ADHD in adults? (2) How can ADHD in adults be properly diagnosed? (3) How should ADHD in adults be effectively treated? CONCLUSIONS: ADHD often presents as an impairing lifelong condition in adults, yet it is currently underdiagnosed and treated in many European countries, leading to ineffective treatment and higher costs of illness. Expertise in diagnostic assessment and treatment of ADHD in adults must increase in psychiatry. Instruments for screening and diagnosis of ADHD in adults are available and appropriate treatments exist, although more research is needed in this age group

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Potentially avoidable inter-hospital transfer for gynaecology consultation at a tertiary care centre: a retrospective study

Inter-hospital transfers for consultation are common and costly in the USA. Our objective was to evaluate the inter-hospital transfers between the emergency departments (ED) for a gynaecology consultation and to identify markers for potentially avoidable transfers. We performed a retrospective chart review of all transfers accepted by a tertiary care hospital gynaecology service via the ED over two years. Our primary outcome was the designation of the transfer as ‘potentially avoidable’, defined as a patient discharged home directly from the ED, with no workup or treatment prior to their discharge. The Chi-square tests were used to assess what patient characteristics and medical diagnoses are associated with potentially avoidable transfers. Of 156 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, a total of 38 (24.4%) were potentially avoidable transfers. Women with potentially avoidable transfers were more likely to be pregnant than those whose transfers were necessary (63.2% vs. 40.7% p = .02), and more likely to specifically have a pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) or a complete abortion (p < .01)

Prospect theory for continuous distributions

Prospect theory, Cumulative prospect theory, Continuity, Probability weighting, First-order stochastic dominance, D81,

Improving genetic diagnosis in Mendelian disease with transcriptome sequencing

Exome and whole-genome sequencing are becoming increasingly routine approaches in Mendelian disease diagnosis. Despite their success, the current diagnostic rate for genomic analyses across a variety of rare diseases is approximately 25 to 50%. We explore the utility of transcriptome sequencing [RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)] as a complementary diagnostic tool in a cohort of 50 patients with genetically undiagnosed rare muscle disorders. We describe an integrated approach to analyze patient muscle RNA-seq, leveraging an analysis framework focused on the detection of transcript-level changes that are unique to the patient compared to more than 180 control skeletal muscle samples. We demonstrate the power of RNA-seq to validate candidate splice-disrupting mutations and to identify splice-altering variants in both exonic and deep intronic regions, yielding an overall diagnosis rate of 35%. We also report the discovery of a highly recurrent de novo intronic mutation in COL6A1 that results in a dominantly acting splice-gain event, disrupting the critical glycine repeat motif of the triple helical domain. We identify this pathogenic variant in a total of 27 genetically unsolved patients in an external collagen VI-like dystrophy cohort, thus explaining approximately 25% of patients clinically suggestive of having collagen VI dystrophy in whom prior genetic analysis is negative. Overall, this study represents a large systematic application of transcriptome sequencing to rare disease diagnosis and highlights its utility for the detection and interpretation of variants missed by current standard diagnostic approachesThis project was supported by funding from the Broad Institute’s BroadIgnite and Broadnext10 programs. B.B.C. is supported by the NIH GM096911 training grant. T.T. is supported by the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Orion-Farmos Research Foundation, and the Emil Aaltonen Foundation. M.L. is supported by the Australian NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) CJ Martin Fellowship, the Australian American Association Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship, and a Muscular Dystrophy Association/American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (MDA/AANEM) development grant. L.B.W., S.A.S., N.G.L., N.F.C., K.N.N., and E.C.O. are supported by the NHMRC of Australia (1080587, 1075451, 1002147, 1113531, 1022707, 1031893, and 1090428). K.J.K. is supported by a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) fellowship grant (F32GM115208). A.H.O.-L. is supported by an NIGMS fellowship grant (4T32GM007748). A.H.B. is supported by the NIH R01 HD075802 and R01 AR044345 and by MDA383249 from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. P.B.K., E.E., and H.K.M. are supported by NIH R01NS080929. Funding relevant to this research includes fellowship support of S.T.C. and a project grant supporting an Australian-wide program about gene discovery in inherited neuromuscular disorders performed in collaboration with D.G.M. [NHMRC APP1048816 (2013–2017) and NHMRC APP1080587 (2015–2019)]. The Broad CMG was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the National Eye Institute, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grant UM1 HG008900 to D.G.M. and H. Rehm. The GTEx project was supported by the Common Fund of the Office of the Director of the NIH (http://commonfund.nih.gov/GTEx). Additional funds were provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NHGRI, NHLBI, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Donors were enrolled at Biospecimen Source Sites that were funded by NCI/Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)–Frederick Inc. (SAIC-F) subcontracts to the National Disease Research Interchange (10XS170) and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (10XS171). The Laboratory, Data Analysis, and Coordinating Center (LDACC) was funded through a contract (HHSN268201000029C) to the Broad Institute Inc. Biorepository operations were funded through an SAIC-F subcontract to the Van Andel Institute (10ST1035). Additional data repository and project management were provided by SAIC-F (HHSN261200800001E). The Brain Bank was supported by a supplement to the University of Miami grant DA00622

The Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ERICH) Study Protocol

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Epidemiologic studies of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have consistently demonstrated variation in incidence, location, age at presentation, and outcomes among non-Hispanic white, black, and Hispanic populations. We report here the design and methods for this large, prospective, multi-center case-control study of ICH. METHODS: The ERICH study is a multi-center, prospective case-control study of ICH. Cases are identified by hot-pursuit and enrolled using standard phenotype and risk factor information and include neuroimaging and blood sample collection. Controls are centrally identified by random digit dialing to match cases by age (+/−5 years), race, ethnicity, gender and metropolitan region. RESULTS: As of March 22, 2013, 1,655 cases of ICH had been recruited into the study which is 101.5% of the target for that date and 851 controls had been recruited which is 67.2% of the target for that date (1,267 controls) for a total of 2,506 subjects which is 86.5% of the target for that date (2,897 subjects). Of the 1,655 cases enrolled, 1,640 cases had the case interview entered into the database of which 628 (38%) were non-Hispanic black, 458 (28%) were non-Hispanic white and 554 (34%) were Hispanic. Of the 1,197 cases with imaging submitted, 876 (73.2%) had a 24 hour follow-up CT available In addition to CT imaging, 607 cases have had MRI evaluation. CONCLUSION: The ERICH study is a large, case-control study of ICH with particular emphasis on recruitment of minority populations for the identification of genetic and epidemiologic risk factors for ICH and outcomes after ICH