A prospective investigation of body size, body fat composition and colorectal cancer risk in the UK biobank

Obesity has been consistently associated with a greater colorectal cancer risk, but this relationship is weaker among women. In the UK Biobank, we investigated the associations between body size (body mass index [BMI], height, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio) and body fat composition (total body fat percentage and trunk fat percentage) measurements with colorectal cancer risk among 472,526 men and women followed for 5.6 years on average. Multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for developing colorectal cancer (2,636 incident cases) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Among men, when the highest and lowest fifths were compared, BMI (HR = 1.35, 95%CI: 1.13–1.61; Ptrend < 0.0001), waist circumference (HR = 1.66, 95%CI: 1.39–1.99; Ptrend < 0.0001), waist-to-hip ratio (HR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.31–1.91; Ptrend < 0.0001), total body fat percentage (HR = 1.27, 95%CI: 1.06–1.53; Ptrend = 0.002), and trunk fat percentage (HR = 1.31, 95%CI: 1.09–1.58; Ptrend = 0.002) were associated with greater colorectal cancer risk. For women, only waist-to-hip ratio (HR for highest versus lowest fifth = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.08–1.65; Ptrend = 0.005) was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk. Greater body size (overall and abdominal adiposity) was positively associated with colorectal cancer development in men. For women, abdominal adiposity, rather than overall body size, was associated with a greater colorectal cancer risk

Spatial distribution and male mating success of Anopheles gambiae swarms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Anopheles gambiae </it>mates in flight at particular mating sites over specific landmarks known as swarm markers. The swarms are composed of males; females typically approach a swarm, and leave <it>in copula</it>. This mating aggregation looks like a lek, but appears to lack the component of female choice. To investigate the possible mechanisms promoting the evolution of swarming in this mosquito species, we looked at the variation in mating success between swarms and discussed the factors that structure it in light of the three major lekking models, known as the female preference model, the hotspot model, and the hotshot model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found substantial variation in swarm size and in mating success between swarms. A strong correlation between swarm size and mating success was observed, and consistent with the hotspot model of lek formation, the <it>per capita </it>mating success of individual males did not increase with swarm size. For the spatial distribution of swarms, our results revealed that some display sites were more attractive to both males and females and that females were more attracted to large swarms. While the swarm markers we recognize help us in localizing swarms, they did not account for the variation in swarm size or in the swarm mating success, suggesting that mosquitoes probably are attracted to these markers, but also perceive and respond to other aspects of the swarming site.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Characterizing the mating system of a species helps understand how this species has evolved and how selective pressures operate on male and female traits. The current study looked at male mating success of <it>An. gambiae </it>and discussed possible factors that account for its variation. We found that swarms of <it>An. gambiae </it>conform to the hotspot model of lek formation. But because swarms may lack the female choice component, we propose that the <it>An. gambiae </it>mating system is a lek-like system that incorporates characteristics pertaining to other mating systems such as scramble mating competition.</p

Has education lost sight of children?

The reflections presented in this chapter are informed by clinical and personal experiences of school education in the UK. There are many challenges for children and young people in the modern education system and for the professionals who support them. In the UK, there are significant gaps between the highly selective education provided to those who pay privately for it and to the majority of those educated in the state-funded system. Though literacy rates have improved around the world, many children, particularly boys, do not finish their education for reasons such as boredom, behavioural difficulties or because education does not ‘pay’. Violence, bullying, and sexual harassment are issues faced by many children in schools and there are disturbing trends of excluding children who present with behavioural problems at school whose origins are not explored. Excluded children are then educated with other children who may also have multiple problems which often just make the situation worse. The experience of clinicians suggests that school-related mental health problems are increasing in severity. Are mental health services dealing with the consequences of an education system that is not meeting children’s needs? An education system that is testing- and performance-based may not be serving many children well if it is driving important decisions about them at increasingly younger ages. Labelling of children and setting them on educational career paths can occur well before they reach secondary schools, limiting potential very early on in their developmental trajectory. Furthermore, the emphasis at school on testing may come at the expense of creativity and other forms of intelligence, which are also valuable and important. Meanwhile the employment marketplace requires people with widely different skills, with an emphasis on innovation, creativity, and problem solving. Is education losing sight of the children it is educating

Priorities and strategies for improving disabled women's access to maternity services when they are affected by domestic abuse:a multi-method study using concept maps

BACKGROUND: Domestic abuse is a significant public health issue. It occurs more frequently among disabled women than those without a disability and evidence suggests that a great deal of domestic abuse begins or worsens during pregnancy. All women and their infants are entitled to equal access to high quality maternity care. However, research has shown that disabled women who experience domestic abuse face numerous barriers to accessing care. The aim of the study was to identify the priority areas for improving access to maternity services for this group of women; develop strategies for improved access and utilisation; and explore the feasibility of implementing the identified strategies. METHODS: This multi-method study was the third and final part of a larger study conducted in the UK between 2012 and 2014. The study used a modified concept mapping approach and was theoretically underpinned by Andersen’s model of healthcare use. Seven focus group interviews were conducted with a range of maternity care professionals (n = 45), incorporating quantitative and qualitative components. Participants ranked perceived barriers to women’s access and utilisation of maternity services in order of priority using a 5-point Likert scale. Quantitative data exploration used descriptive and non-parametric analyses. In the qualitative component of each focus group, participants discussed the barriers and identified potential improvement strategies (and feasibility of implementing these). Qualitative data were analysed inductively using a framework analysis approach. RESULTS: The three most highly ranked barriers to women’s access and utilisation of maternity services identified in the quantitative component were: 1) staff being unaware and not asking about domestic abuse and disability; 2) the impact of domestic abuse on women; 3) women’s fear of disclosure. The top two priority strategies were: providing information about domestic abuse to all women and promoting non-judgemental staff attitude. These were also considered very feasible. The qualitative analysis identified a range of psychosocial and environmental barriers experienced by this group of women in accessing maternity care. Congruent with the quantitative results, the main themes were lack of awareness and fear of disclosure. Key strategies were identified as demystifying disclosure and creating physical spaces to facilitate disclosure. CONCLUSIONS: The study supports findings of previous research regarding the barriers that women face in accessing and utilising maternity services, particularly regarding the issue of disclosure. But the study provides new evidence on the perceived importance and feasibility of strategies to address such barriers. This is an important step in ensuring practice-based acceptability and ease with which improvement strategies might be implemented in maternity care settings

Molecular markers for tolerance of European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) to dieback disease identified using Associative Transcriptomics

Tree disease epidemics are a global problem, impacting food security, biodiversity and national economies. The potential for conservation and breeding in trees is hampered by complex genomes and long lifecycles, with most species lacking genomic resources. The European Ash tree Fraxinus excelsior is being devastated by the fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, which causes ash dieback disease. Taking this system as an example and utilizing Associative Transcriptomics for the first time in a plant pathology study, we discovered gene sequence and gene expression variants across a genetic diversity panel scored for disease symptoms and identified markers strongly associated with canopy damage in infected trees. Using these markers we predicted phenotypes in a test panel of unrelated trees, successfully identifying individuals with a low level of susceptibility to the disease. Co-expression analysis suggested that pre-priming of defence responses may underlie reduced susceptibility to ash dieback

Memantine reduces consumption of highly palatable food in a rat model of binge eating

Excessive consumption of highly palatable food has been linked to the development of eating disorders and obesity, and can be modeled in non-food-deprived rats by offering them a limited (2-h daily) access to an optional dietary fat. Since the glutamatergic system has recently emerged as a viable target for binge-eating medication development, we compared the effects of subchronic treatment with glutamatergic receptor antagonists to the effects of a reference appetite-suppressing agent sibutramine on highly palatable food (lard) and normal chow intake. In three separate experiments, the consumption of a standard laboratory chow and lard were measured during 12 days of medication treatment and for 6 days afterwards. Generalized estimating equations analysis demonstrated that sibutramine (7.5 mg/kg, PO) significantly decreased lard consumption, with a concurrent increase in chow consumption. Sibutramine effects disappeared after treatment discontinuation. The NMDA receptor antagonist memantine (5 mg/kg, IP) significantly decreased lard consumption and increased chow consumption, comparable to effects of sibutramine; however, memantine’s effects persisted after treatment discontinuation. The effects of the mGluR5 antagonist MTEP (7.5 mg/kg, IP) on food consumption were in the same direction as seen with memantine, but the observed differences were not significant. In an additional control experiment, sibutramine and memantine reduced unlimited (24 h) chow intake during the treatment phase. Present results provide evidence that glutamatergic neurotransmission might be involved in the regulation of excessive consumption of highly palatable foods, and suggest that NMDA receptor may be an attractive target for developing obesity and disordered eating pharmacotherapies

Holographic Vitrification

We establish the existence of stable and metastable stationary black hole bound states at finite temperature and chemical potentials in global and planar four-dimensional asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. We determine a number of features of their holographic duals and argue they represent structural glasses. We map out their thermodynamic landscape in the probe approximation, and show their relaxation dynamics exhibits logarithmic aging, with aging rates determined by the distribution of barriers.Comment: 100 pages, 25 figure

Development of a multiplex DNA-based traceability tool for crop plant materials

The authenticity of food is of increasing importance for producers, retailers and consumers. All groups benefit from the correct labelling of the contents of food products. Producers and retailers want to guarantee the origin of their products and check for adulteration with cheaper or inferior ingredients. Consumers are also more demanding about the origin of their food for various socioeconomic reasons. In contrast to this increasing demand, correct labelling has become much more complex because of global transportation networks of raw materials and processed food products. Within the European integrated research project ‘Tracing the origin of food’ (TRACE), a DNA-based multiplex detection tool was developed—the padlock probe ligation and microarray detection (PPLMD) tool. In this paper, this method is extended to a 15-plex traceability tool with a focus on products of commercial importance such as the emmer wheat Farro della Garfagnana (FdG) and Basmati rice. The specificity of 14 plant-related padlock probes was determined and initially validated in mixtures comprising seven or nine plant species/varieties. One nucleotide difference in target sequence was sufficient for the distinction between the presence or absence of a specific target. At least 5% FdG or Basmati rice was detected in mixtures with cheaper bread wheat or non-fragrant rice, respectively. The results suggested that even lower levels of (un-)intentional adulteration could be detected. PPLMD has been shown to be a useful tool for the detection of fraudulent/intentional admixtures in premium foods and is ready for the monitoring of correct labelling of premium foods worldwide

Local Sensitivity Analysis of Kinetic Models for Cellulose Pyrolysis

Abstract: The first and nth order kinetic models are usually used to describe cellulose pyrolysis. In this work, the local sensitivities of the conversion and derivative conversion with respect to the frequency factor, the logarithm of the frequency factor, the activation energy and the reaction order for the first and nth order kinetic models are calculated by using the finite difference method. The results show that the sensitivities of the first and nth order kinetic models with respect to the activation energy and the logarithm of the frequency factor are significant, while the frequency factor and the reaction order affect the nth order kinetic model slightly. Compared with the frequency factor, the natural logarithm of the frequency factor is a better choice in the parameter estimation of the first and nth order kinetic models. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Social prescribing for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their carers: what works, for whom, under what circumstances and why – protocol for a complex intervention systematic review

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024.Introduction Dementia is a complex medical condition that poses significant challenges to healthcare systems and support services. People living with dementia (PLWD) and their carers experience complex needs often exacerbated by social isolation and challenges in accessing support. Social prescribing (SP) seeks to enable PLWD and their carers to access community and voluntary sector resources to support them address such needs. Existing research, however, does not describe what SP interventions are currently in place in dementia care. Little is known about the needs these interventions are designed to address, the reasons that lead PLWD and their carers to participate in them, their effectiveness and the extent to which they could increase positive health outcomes if adopted and how. Methods and analysis A complex intervention systematic review of SP for PLWD and/or their carers will be conducted using an iterative logic model approach. Six electronic (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane/CENTRAL) and two grey literature databases (EThOS and CORE) were searched for publications between 1 January 2003 and June 2023, supplemented by handsearching of reference lists of included studies. Study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment, using Gough’s Weight of Evidence Framework, will be independently performed by two reviewers. A narrative approach will be employed to synthesise and report quantitative and qualitative data. Reporting will be informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Complex Interventions extension statement and checklist. Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required due to this systematic review operating only with secondary sources. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and meetings with key stakeholders including healthcare professionals, patient and carer groups, community organisations (eg, the Social Prescribing Network and the Evidence Collaborative at the National Academy for Social Prescribing), policymakers and funding bodies. PROSPERO registration number CRD42023428625