SurgiCal Obesity Treatment Study (SCOTS): protocol for a national prospective cohort study of patients undergoing bariatric surgery in Scotland.

Introduction The efficacy of bariatric surgery for large-scale, long-term weight loss is well established. However, many questions remain over the continual benefits and cost-effectiveness of that weight loss for overall health, particularly when accounting for potential complications and adverse events of surgery. Health research institutes in the UK and the USA have called for high-quality longitudinal cohort studies of patients undergoing bariatric surgery, assessing outcomes such as surgical complications, mortality, diabetes remission, microvascular complications, cardiovascular events, mental health, cost and healthcare use. Methods and analysis SurgiCal Obesity Treatment Study (SCOTS) is a national, prospective, observational, cohort study of patients undergoing primary bariatric surgical procedures in Scotland. This study aims to recruit 2000 patients and conduct a follow-up for 10 years postbariatric surgery using multiple data collection methods: surgeon-recorded data, electronic health record linkage, and patient-reported outcome measures. Outcomes measured will include: mortality, weight change, diabetes, surgical, cardiovascular, cancer, behavioural, reproductive/urological and nutritional variables. Healthcare utilisation and economic productivity will be collected to inform cost-effectiveness analysis. Ethics and dissemination The study has received a favourable ethical opinion from the West of Scotland Research Ethics committee. All publications arising from this cohort study will be published in open-access peer-reviewed journals. All SCOTS investigators (all members of the research team at every recruiting site) will have the ability to propose research suggestions and potential publications using SCOTS data; a publications committee will approve all requests for use of SCOTS data and propose writing committees and timelines. Lay-person summaries of all research findings will be published simultaneously on the SCOTS website (http://www.scotsurgeystudy.org.uk)

Bruce Scott, Physics, interviewed for the University of Tasmania Oral History Project 1978 - 1983 and Memories of Physics in the Army Huts at Sandy Bay written by Bruce Scott in 2018

The recording forms part of a collection of interviews with UTAS staff, former staff and alumni students. The interviews were conducted by Mrs Hilary Webster, John Roberts and others as part of the University of Tasmania Centenary Committee Oral History Project chaired by Prof. Michael Roe, School of History 1978 - 1983 (Collection UT 388/2-17b) See also Index to entire project collection UT388 http://eprints.utas.edu.au/18337/ The article entitled Memories of Physics in the army huts at Sandy Bay was written by Bruce Scott in 2018 and documents the early days of the Physics Department on the Sandy Bay Campus of the University of Tasmania. Dr Bruce Scott, BSc 1945; PhD 1956 (Tasmania); DSc Hon Silpakorn Uni (Thailand) 1986, besides teaching and research in physics and biophysics at UTAS from 1945 to 1988, also served terms as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Chairman of the Schools Board of Tasmania. He was also involved with setting up linkages between universities in South East Asia and those in Australia and continued with this into retirement

Genomic organization and evolution of the ULBP genes in cattle

BACKGROUND: The cattle UL16-binding protein 1 (ULBP1) and ULBP2 genes encode members of the MHC Class I superfamily that have homology to the human ULBP genes. Human ULBP1 and ULBP2 interact with the NKG2D receptor to activate effector cells in the immune system. The human cytomegalovirus UL16 protein is known to disrupt the ULBP-NKG2D interaction, thereby subverting natural killer cell-mediated responses. Previous Southern blotting experiments identified evidence of increased ULBP copy number within the genomes of ruminant artiodactyls. On the basis of these observations we hypothesized that the cattle ULBPs evolved by duplication and sequence divergence to produce a sufficient number and diversity of ULBP molecules to deliver an immune activation signal in the presence of immunogenic peptides. Given the importance of the ULBPs in antiviral immunity in other species, our goal was to determine the copy number and genomic organization of the ULBP genes in the cattle genome. RESULTS: Sequencing of cattle bacterial artificial chromosome genomic inserts resulted in the identification of 30 cattle ULBP loci existing in two gene clusters. Evidence of extensive segmental duplication and approximately 14 Kbp of novel repetitive sequences were identified within the major cluster. Ten ULBPs are predicted to be expressed at the cell surface. Substitution analysis revealed 11 outwardly directed residues in the predicted extracellular domains that show evidence of positive Darwinian selection. These positively selected residues have only one residue that overlaps with those proposed to interact with NKG2D, thus suggesting the interaction with molecules other than NKG2D. CONCLUSION: The ULBP loci in the cattle genome apparently arose by gene duplication and subsequent sequence divergence. Substitution analysis of the ULBP proteins provided convincing evidence for positive selection on extracellular residues that may interact with peptide ligands. These results support our hypothesis that the cattle ULBPs evolved under adaptive diversifying selection to avoid interaction with a UL16-like molecule whilst preserving the NKG2D binding site. The large number of ULBPs in cattle, their extensive diversification, and the high prevalence of bovine herpesvirus infections make this gene family a compelling target for studies of antiviral immunity

Development of a EST dataset and characterization of EST-SSRs in a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. Et Zucc.) Maxim

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Epimedium sagittatum </it>(Sieb. Et Zucc.) Maxim, a traditional Chinese medicinal plant species, has been used extensively as genuine medicinal materials. Certain <it>Epimedium </it>species are endangered due to commercial overexploition, while sustainable application studies, conservation genetics, systematics, and marker-assisted selection (MAS) of <it>Epimedium </it>is less-studied due to the lack of molecular markers. Here, we report a set of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) identified in these ESTs for <it>E. sagittatum</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>cDNAs of <it>E. sagittatum </it>are sequenced using 454 GS-FLX pyrosequencing technology. The raw reads are cleaned and assembled into a total of 76,459 consensus sequences comprising of 17,231 contigs and 59,228 singlets. About 38.5% (29,466) of the consensus sequences significantly match to the non-redundant protein database (E-value < 1e-10), 22,295 of which are further annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) terms. A total of 2,810 EST-SSRs is identified from the <it>Epimedium </it>EST dataset. Trinucleotide SSR is the dominant repeat type (55.2%) followed by dinucleotide (30.4%), tetranuleotide (7.3%), hexanucleotide (4.9%), and pentanucleotide (2.2%) SSR. The dominant repeat motif is AAG/CTT (23.6%) followed by AG/CT (19.3%), ACC/GGT (11.1%), AT/AT (7.5%), and AAC/GTT (5.9%). Thirty-two SSR-ESTs are randomly selected and primer pairs are synthesized for testing the transferability across 52 <it>Epimedium </it>species. Eighteen primer pairs (85.7%) could be successfully transferred to <it>Epimedium </it>species and sixteen of those show high genetic diversity with 0.35 of observed heterozygosity (<it>Ho</it>) and 0.65 of expected heterozygosity (<it>He</it>) and high number of alleles per locus (11.9).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A large EST dataset with a total of 76,459 consensus sequences is generated, aiming to provide sequence information for deciphering secondary metabolism, especially for flavonoid pathway in <it>Epimedium</it>. A total of 2,810 EST-SSRs is identified from EST dataset and ~1580 EST-SSR markers are transferable. <it>E. sagittatum </it>EST-SSR transferability to the major <it>Epimedium </it>germplasm is up to 85.7%. Therefore, this EST dataset and EST-SSRs will be a powerful resource for further studies such as taxonomy, molecular breeding, genetics, genomics, and secondary metabolism in <it>Epimedium </it>species.</p

Do Health Claims and Front-of-Pack Labels Lead to a Positivity Bias in Unhealthy Foods?

Health claims and front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) may lead consumers to hold more positive attitudes and show a greater willingness to buy food products, regardless of their actual healthiness. A potential negative consequence of this positivity bias is the increased consumption of unhealthy foods. This study investigated whether a positivity bias would occur in unhealthy variations of four products (cookies, corn flakes, pizzas and yoghurts) that featured different health claim conditions (no claim, nutrient claim, general level health claim, and higher level health claim) and FoPL conditions (no FoPL, the Daily Intake Guide (DIG), Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL), and the Health Star Rating (HSR)). Positivity bias was assessed via measures of perceived healthiness, global evaluations (incorporating taste, quality, convenience, etc.) and willingness to buy. On the whole, health claims did not produce a positivity bias, while FoPLs did, with the DIG being the most likely to elicit this bias. The HSR most frequently led to lower ratings of unhealthy foods than the DIG and MTL, suggesting that this FoPL has the lowest risk of creating an inaccurate positivity bias in unhealthy foods

Highly syntenic regions in the genomes of soybean, Medicago truncatula, and Arabidopsis thaliana

BACKGROUND: Recent genome sequencing enables mega-base scale comparisons between related genomes. Comparisons between animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria demonstrate extensive synteny tempered by rearrangements. Within the legume plant family, glimpses of synteny have also been observed. Characterizing syntenic relationships in legumes is important in transferring knowledge from model legumes to crops that are important sources of protein, fixed nitrogen, and health-promoting compounds. RESULTS: We have uncovered two large soybean regions exhibiting synteny with M. truncatula and with a network of segmentally duplicated regions in Arabidopsis. In all, syntenic regions comprise over 500 predicted genes spanning 3 Mb. Up to 75% of soybean genes are colinear with M. truncatula, including one region in which 33 of 35 soybean predicted genes with database support are colinear to M. truncatula. In some regions, 60% of soybean genes share colinearity with a network of A. thaliana duplications. One region is especially interesting because this 500 kbp segment of soybean is syntenic to two paralogous regions in M. truncatula on different chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis of individual genes within these regions demonstrates that one is orthologous to the soybean region, with which it also shows substantially denser synteny and significantly lower levels of synonymous nucleotide substitutions. The other M. truncatula region is inferred to be paralogous, presumably resulting from a duplication event preceding speciation. CONCLUSION: The presence of well-defined M. truncatula segments showing orthologous and paralogous relationships with soybean allows us to explore the evolution of contiguous genomic regions in the context of ancient genome duplication and speciation events

Using molecular diet analysis to inform invasive species management: A case study of introduced rats consuming endemic New Zealand frogs

The decline of amphibians has been of international concern for more than two decades, and the global spread of introduced fauna is a major factor in this decline. Conservation management decisions to implement control of introduced fauna are often based on diet studies. One of the most common metrics to report in diet studies is Frequency of Occurrence (FO), but this can be difficult to interpret, as it does not include a temporal perspective. Here, we examine the potential for FO data derived from molecular diet analysis to inform invasive species management, using invasive ship rats (Rattus rattus) and endemic frogs (Leiopelma spp.) in New Zealand as a case study. Only two endemic frog species persist on the mainland. One of these, Leiopelma archeyi, is Critically Endangered (IUCN 2017) and ranked as the world\u27s most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered amphibian (EDGE, 2018). Ship rat stomach contents were collected by kill-trapping and subjected to three methods of diet analysis (one morphological and two DNA-based). A new primer pair was developed targeting all anuran species that exhibits good coverage, high taxonomic resolution, and reasonable specificity. Incorporating a temporal parameter allowed us to calculate the minimum number of ingestion events per rat per night, providing a more intuitive metric than the more commonly reported FO. We are not aware of other DNA-based diet studies that have incorporated a temporal parameter into FO data. The usefulness of such a metric will depend on the study system, in particular the feeding ecology of the predator. Ship rats are consuming both species of native frogs present on mainland New Zealand, and this study provides the first detections of remains of these species in mammalian stomach contents

A single nucleotide mutation in Nppc is associated with a long bone abnormality in lbab mice

BACKGROUND: The long bone abnormality (lbab) mouse is a new autosomal recessive mutant characterized by overall smaller body size with proportionate dwarfing of all organs and shorter long bones. Previous linkage analysis has located the lbab mutation on chromosome 1 between the markers D1Mit9 and D1Mit488. RESULTS: A genome-based positional approach was used to identify a mutation associated with lbab disease. A total of 122 genes and expressed sequence tags at the lbab region were screened for possible mutation by using genomic DNA from lbabl/lbab, lbab/+, and +/+ B6 mice and high throughput temperature gradient capillary electrophoresis. A sequence difference was identified in one of the amplicons of gene Nppc between lbab/lbab and +/+ mice. One-step reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed to validate the difference of Nppc in different types of mice at the mRNA level. The mutation of Nppc was unique in lbab/lbab mice among multiple mouse inbred strains. The mutation of Nppc is co-segregated with lbab disease in 200 progenies produced from heterozygous lbab/+ parents. CONCLUSION: A single nucleotide mutation of Nppc is associated with dwarfism in lbab/lbab mice. Current genome information and technology allow us to efficiently identify single nucleotide mutations from roughly mapped disease loci. The lbab mouse is a useful model for hereditary human achondroplasia