Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Aging Ment Health

To examine the relationship between hearing loss and depression in older adults longitudinally. This paper uses a dimensional approach to conceptualising depression, with the aim of further enhancing understanding of this relationship. 8344 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and above enrolled in the Three-City prospective cohort study were included. Relationships between baseline self-reported hearing loss (HL) with the trajectory of different dimensions of depression symptoms over 12 years were examined using linear mixed models. Depression dimensions were determined using the four-factor structure of the Centre for Epidemiology Studies-Depression Scale (CESD): depressed affect, positive affect, somatic symptoms and interpersonal problems. HL was associated with somatic symptoms of depression both at baseline ( = .07,  = .04) and over 12 years ( = .01,  = .04). HL was associated with poorer depressed affect and interpersonal problems at baseline ( = .05,  = .001,  = .35,  < .001; respectively), but not over follow-up. HL was associated with poorer positive affect symptoms over time ( = -.01,  = .01). HL had varied relationships with different dimensions of depression symptoms, and there were different patterns of adjustment for the dimensions. HL was primarily associated with somatic symptoms, suggesting that shared disease processes might partly underlie the relationship between HL and depression. Targeted assessment and treatment of somatic and positive affect symptoms in older adults with HL might facilitate better wellbeing in this population.Ears, Eyes and Mind: The ‘SENSE-Cog Project’ to improve mental well-being for elderly Europeans with sensory impairmen

Int Psychogeriatr

ABSTRACTObjectives:To examine the longitudinal risk of vision loss (VL) or hearing loss (HL) for experiencing suicidal ideation in older adults. DESIGN: The Three-City study, examining data from three waves of follow-up (2006-2008, 2008-2010, and 2010-2012). SETTING: Community-dwelling older French adults. PARTICIPANTS: N = 5,438 adults aged 73 years and over. MEASUREMENTS: Suicidality was assessed by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Major Depressive Disorder module. Mild VL was defined as Parinaud of 3 or 4 and severe VL as Parinaud >4. Mild HL was self-reported as difficulty understanding a conversation and severe HL as inability to understand a conversation. RESULTS: Severe VL was associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation at baseline (OR = 1.59, 95% CIs = 1.06-2.38) and over five years (OR = 1.65, 95% CIs = 1.05-2.59). Mild and severe HL were associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, both at baseline (OR = 1.29, 95% CIs = 1.03-1.63; OR = 1.78, 95% CIs = 1.32-2.40) and over five years (OR = 1.47, 95% CIs = 1.17-1.85; OR = 1.97, 95% CIs = 1.44-2.70). CONCLUSION: Sensory losses in late life pose a risk for suicidal ideation. Suicidality requires better assessment and intervention in this population

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to examine the longitudinal relationship between hearing loss (HL) with depression in older adults over 12 years of follow-up. METHOD: Eight thousand three hundred forty-four French community-dwelling adults aged 65 and above participated in the Three-City prospective population-based study. Baseline relationships between self-reported mild and severe HL with depression-assessed by both the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview and by the Centre for Epidemiology Studies Depression scale-were explored using logistic regression analyses. Logistic mixed models assessed whether baseline HL was associated with incident depression diagnosis or symptom onset over 12 years in those who were depression-free at baseline. RESULTS: At baseline, mild and severe HL were associated with depression symptoms as assessed by the CESD (OR = 1.29, 95% CIs 1.14-1.47; OR = 1.51, 95% CIs 1.22-1.87; respectively), although only mild HL was significantly related to major depression diagnosis (OR = 1.51, 95% CIs 1.07-2.12). Over 12 years, mild and severe HL were associated with incident depression as assessed by the CESD in those without depression at baseline (OR = 1.36, 95% CIs 1.15-1.61; OR = 1.69, 95% CIs 1.15-2.30; respectively), but was not associated with a major depression diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Both mild and severe thresholds of HL are associated with depression symptoms over time, but not with incident diagnosis of major depression. Improved and ongoing detection of subthreshold depression amongst older adults with HL may improve quality of life for this population

J Affect Disord

BACKGROUND: The established relationship between vision impairment and depression is limited by the examination of depression only as a unidimensional construct. The present study explores the vision-depression relationship using a dimensional approach. METHODS: 9036 participants aged 65 years and above enrolled in the Three-City study were included. Relationships between baseline near Vision Impairment (VI) or self-reported distance Visual Function (VF) loss with trajectory of four dimensions of depression - depressed affect, positive affect, somatic symptoms and interpersonal problems - over 12 years were examined using mixed-effects models. Depression dimensions were determined using the four-factor structure of the Centre for Epidemiology Studies-Depression Scale (CESD). RESULTS: In the fully adjustment models, mild near VI predicted poorer depressed affect (b=0.04, p=.002) and positive affect (b=-0.06, p<0.001) over time, with evidence of longer term adjustment. Distance VF loss was associated with poorer depressed affect (b=0.27, p</=.001), positive affect (b=-0.15, p=.002), and somatic symptoms (b=0.18, p</=.001) at baseline, although only the association with depressed affect was significant longitudinally (b=0.01, p=.001). Neither near VI nor distance VF loss was associated with interpersonal problems. LIMITATIONS: This paper uses a well-supported model of depression dimensions, however, there remains no definite depression dimension model. Distance VF loss was self-reported, which can be influenced by depression symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Vision impairment in older adults is primarily associated with affective dimensions of depression. A reduction in social connectedness and ability to engage in pleasurable activities may underlie the depression-vision relationship. Older adults with vision impairment may benefit from targeted treatment of affective symptoms, and pleasant event scheduling

Age Ageing

Objective: the aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional association of vision loss (VL) and hearing loss (HL) with anxiety over a 12-year period. Design: this was a prospective population-based study. Setting: community-dwelling French adults. Participants: the study included 3,928 adults aged 65 and above from the Three-City study. Methods: the relationships of VL, as assessed by near visual acuity and self-reported HL to a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) were assessed over 12 years. A further objective was to explore whether sensory loss has a differential relationship with GAD than with anxiety symptoms, assessed by the Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results: at baseline, HL [odds ratio (OR) = 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.96, P = 0.04], but not mild or moderate to severe VL, was associated with self-reported anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.07 95% CI 0.63-1.83, P = 0.80; OR = 0.66 95% CI 0.12-2.22, P = 0.50, respectively). Neither vision nor HL was significantly associated with incident GAD. Baseline GAD was related to increased risk of incident HL (OR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.07-1.28, P < 0.001), but not mild or moderate to severe vision loss (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.96-1.06, P = 0.81; OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.89-1.05, P = 0.45, respectively). Conclusions: increased anxiety symptoms were observed in older adults with HL, whereas we found no evidence for an association between VL and anxiety. Anxiety was prospectively associated with increased risk of reporting HL. Improved detection of anxiety in older adults with HL may improve quality of life

Increasing fire and the decline of fire adapted black spruce in the boreal forest

Intensifying wildfire activity and climate change can drive rapid forest compositional shifts. In boreal North America, black spruce shapes forest flammability and depends on fire for regeneration. This relationship has helped black spruce maintain its dominance through much of the Holocene. However, with climate change and more frequent and severe fires, shifts away from black spruce dominance to broadleaf or pine species are emerging, with implications for ecosystem functions including carbon sequestration, water and energy fluxes, and wildlife habitat. Here, we predict that such reductions in black spruce after fire may already be widespread given current trends in climate and fire. To test this, we synthesize data from 1,538 field sites across boreal North America to evaluate compositional changes in tree species following 58 recent fires (1989 to 2014). While black spruce was resilient following most fires (62%), loss of resilience was common, and spruce regeneration failed completely in 18% of 1,140 black spruce sites. In contrast, postfire regeneration never failed in forests dominated by jack pine, which also possesses an aerial seed bank, or broad-leaved trees. More complete combustion of the soil organic layer, which often occurs in better-drained landscape positions and in dryer duff, promoted compositional changes throughout boreal North America. Forests in western North America, however, were more vulnerable to change due to greater long-term climate moisture deficits. While we find considerable remaining resilience in black spruce forests, predicted increases in climate moisture deficits and fire activity will erode this resilience, pushing the system toward a tipping point that has not been crossed in several thousand years