Immunological, hematological, and serum biochemical effects of high level dietary fish oil and vitamin E supplementation in the dog

Inflammation is a component of the innate immune response. However, severe or prolonged inflammation can be detrimental. Dietary n-3 fatty acid supplementation has proven clinical benefits in chronic inflammatory diseases, most likely due to reduced synthesis of inflammatory mediators and inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation and function. The purposes of this study were to characterize alterations in inflammatory mediator production, and lymphocyte proliferation, in dogs fed a diet consisting of 0.65% n-3 fatty acids (DMB) with an n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio of 3.4:1. Fifteen dogs were randomly assigned to one of three dietary groups for twelve weeks. Group Sunflower oil received a basal diet supplemented with 12.4g of sunflower oil/day. Groups Fish oil and Fish oil +E each received the same basal diet supplemented with 0.6g of sunflower oil and 7g of menhaden fish oil. Group Fish oil + E also received 0.18g of vitamin E. IL-1, IL-6, TNF-á, PGE2, and PAF were evaluated both in mononuclear cell culture, and in serum after in vivo stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. Lymphocyte proliferation was evaluated by incorporation of tritiated thymidine as well as sequential halving of a fluorochrome dye, CFSE, using flow cytometry. Potential adverse effects of dietary n-3 fatty acid supplementation were assessed through serum vitamin E concentrations, plasma lipid peroxidation, platelet aggregation, and standard hematologic and serum biochemical parameters. Serum levels of IL-6 and PGE2 as well as mononuclear cell culture levels of PGE2 were significantly higher among dogs of Group Sunflower oil compared to dogs in Groups Fish oil or Fish oil + E. Lymphocyte proliferation as evaluated by flow cytometry was significantly reduced in Group Fish oil at 12 weeks compared to Groups Sunflower oil and Fish oil + E. There was no significant diet effect on platelet aggregation, lipid peroxidation, or hematologic and biochemical parameters, with the exception of decreased triglycerides in Group Fish oil. These data demonstrate that a significant degree of immunomodulation is possible with a safe dietary intake and ratio of n-3 fatty acids. Future studies should focus on the clinical role of dietary n-3 fatty acid supplementation for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and hyperlipidemia

Update of Guidelines for laparoscopic treatment of ventral and incisional abdominal wall hernias (International Endohernia Society (IEHS)) : Part B

In 2014 the International Endohernia Society (IEHS) published the first international "Guidelines for laparoscopic treatment of ventral and incisional abdominal wall hernias". Guidelines reflect the currently best available evidence in diagnostics and therapy and give recommendations to help surgeons to standardize their techniques and to improve their results. However, science is a dynamic field which is continuously developing. Therefore, guidelines require regular updates to keep pace with the evolving literature. Methods For the development of the original guidelines all relevant literature published up to year 2012 was analyzed using the ranking of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based-Medicine. For the present update all of the previous authors were asked to evaluate the literature published during the recent years from 2012 to 2017 and revise their statements and recommendations given in the initial guidelines accordingly. In two Consensus Conferences (October 2017 Beijing, March 2018 Cologne) the updates were presented, discussed, and confirmed. To avoid redundancy, only new statements or recommendations are included in this paper. Therefore, for full understanding both of the guidelines, the original and the current, must be read. In addition, the new developments in repair of abdominal wall hernias like surgical techniques within the abdominal wall, release operations (transversus muscle release, component separation), Botox application, and robot-assisted repair methods were included. Results Due to an increase of the number of patients and further development of surgical techniques, repair of primary and secondary abdominal wall hernias attracts increasing interests of many surgeons. Whereas up to three decades ago hernia-related publications did not exceed 20 per year, currently this number is about 10-fold higher. Recent years are characterized by the advent of new techniques-minimal invasive techniques using robotics and laparoscopy, totally extraperitoneal repairs, novel myofascial release techniques for optimal closure of large defects, and Botox for relaxing the abdominal wall. Furthermore, a concomitant rectus diastasis was recognized as a significant risk factor for recurrence. Despite still insufficient evidence with respect to these new techniques it seemed to us necessary to include them in the update to stimulate surgeons to do research in these fields. Conclusion Guidelines are recommendations based on best available evidence intended to help the surgeon to improve the quality of his daily work. However, science is a continuously evolving process, and as such guidelines should be updated about every 3 years. For a comprehensive reference, however, it is suggested to read both the initially guidelines published in 2014 together with the update. Moreover, the presented update includes also techniques which were not known 3 years before

Update of guidelines for laparoscopic treatment of ventral and incisional abdominal wall hernias (International Endohernia Society (IEHS))-Part A

In 2014, the International Endohernia Society (IEHS) published the first international "Guidelines for laparoscopic treatment of ventral and incisional abdominal wall hernias." Guidelines reflect the currently best available evidence in diagnostics and therapy and give recommendations to help surgeons to standardize their techniques and to improve their results. However, science is a dynamic field which is continuously developing. Therefore, guidelines require regular updates to keep pace with the evolving literature. Methods For the development of the original guidelines, all relevant literature published up to year 2012 was analyzed using the ranking of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. For the present update, all of the previous authors were asked to evaluate the literature published during the recent years from 2012 to 2017 and revise their statements and recommendations given in the initial guidelines accordingly. In two Consensus Conferences (October 2017 Beijing, March 2018 Cologne), the updates were presented, discussed, and confirmed. To avoid redundancy, only new statements or recommendations are included in this paper. Therefore, for full understanding both of the guidelines, the original and the current, must be read. In addition, the new developments in repair of abdominal wall hernias like surgical techniques within the abdominal wall, release operations (transversus muscle release, component separation), Botox application, and robot-assisted repair methods were included. Results Due to an increase of the number of patients and further development of surgical techniques, repair of primary and secondary abdominal wall hernias attracts increasing interests of many surgeons. Whereas up to three decades ago hernia-related publications did not exceed 20 per year, currently this number is about 10-fold higher. Recent years are characterized by the advent of new techniques-minimal invasive techniques using robotics and laparoscopy, totally extraperitoneal repairs, novel myofascial release techniques for optimal closure of large defects, and Botox for relaxing the abdominal wall. Furthermore, a concomitant rectus diastasis was recognized as a significant risk factor for recurrence. Despite insufficient evidence with respect to these new techniques, it seemed to us necessary to include them in the update to stimulate surgeons to do research in these fields. Conclusion Guidelines are recommendations based on best available evidence intended to help the surgeon to improve the quality of his daily work. However, science is a continuously evolving process, and as such guidelines should be updated about every 3 years. For a comprehensive reference, however, it is suggested to read both the initial guidelines published in 2014 together with the update. Moreover, the presented update includes also techniques which were not known 3 years before

GWAS for executive function and processing speed suggests involvement of the CADM2 gene

To identify common variants contributing to normal variation in two specific domains of cognitive functioning, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of executive functioning and information processing speed in non-demented older adults from the CHARGE (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology) consortium. Neuropsychological testing was available for 5429-32 070 subjects of European ancestry aged 45 years or older, free of dementia and clinical stroke at the time of cognitive testing from 20 cohorts in the discovery phase. We analyzed performance on the Trail Making Test parts A and B, the Letter Digit Substitution Test (LDST), the Digit Symbol Substitution Task (DSST), semantic and phonemic fluency tests, and the Stroop Color and Word Test. Replication was sought in 1311-21860 subjects from 20 independent cohorts. A significant association was observed in the discovery cohorts for the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs17518584 (discovery P-value=3.12 × 10(-8)) and in the joint discovery and replication meta-analysis (P-value=3.28 × 10(-9) after adjustment for age, gender and education) in an intron of the gene cell adhesion molecule 2 (CADM2) for performance on the LDST/DSST. Rs17518584 is located about 170 kb upstream of the transcription start site of the major transcript for the CADM2 gene, but is within an intron of a variant transcript that includes an alternative first exon. The variant is associated with expression of CADM2 in the cingulate cortex (P-value=4 × 10(-4)). The protein encoded by CADM2 is involved in glutamate signaling (P-value=7.22 × 10(-15)), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transport (P-value=1.36 × 10(-11)) and neuron cell-cell adhesion (P-value=1.48 × 10(-13)). Our findings suggest that genetic variation in the CADM2 gene is associated with individual differences in information processing speed.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 14 April 2015; doi:10.1038/mp.2015.37

Food Insecurity Prevalence Across Diverse Sites During COVID-19: A Year of Comprehensive Data

Key Findings NFACT includes 18 study sites in 15 states as well as a national poll, collectively representing a sample size of more than 26,000 people. Some sites have implemented multiple survey rounds, here we report results from 22 separate surveys conducted during the year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. 18 out of 19 surveys in 14 sites with data for before and since the pandemic began found an increase in food insecurity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to before the pandemic. In nearly all surveys (18/19) that measured food insecurity both before and during the pandemic, more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) were classified as food insecure during the pandemic as compared to before it began. Prevalence of food insecurity for BIPOC respondents was higher than the overall population in the majority of surveys (19/20) sampling a general population. In almost all surveys (21/22), the prevalence of food insecurity for households with children was higher than the overall prevalence of food insecurity. Food insecurity prevalence was higher for households experiencing a negative job impact during the pandemic (i.e. job loss, furlough, reduction in hours) in nearly all surveys and study sites (21/22). Food insecurity prevalence in most sites was significantly higher before COVID-19 than estimates from that time period. Reporting a percent change between pre and during COVID-19 prevalence may provide additional information about the rate of change in food insecurity since the start of the pandemic, which absolute prevalence of food insecurity may not capture. Results highlight consistent trends in food insecurity outcomes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, across diverse study sites, methodological approaches, and time

Plutonic foundation of a slow-spreading ridge segment : oceanic core complex at Kane Megamullion, 23°30′N, 45°20′W

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 9 (2008): Q05014, doi:10.1029/2007GC001645.We mapped the Kane megamullion, an oceanic core complex on the west flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge exposing the plutonic foundation of a ∼50 km long, second-order ridge segment. The complex was exhumed by long-lived slip on a normal-sense detachment fault at the base of the rift valley wall from ∼3.3 to 2.1 Ma (Williams, 2007). Mantle peridotites, gabbros, and diabase dikes are exposed in the detachment footwall and in outward facing high-angle normal fault scarps and slide-scar headwalls that cut through the detachment. These rocks directly constrain crustal architecture and the pattern of melt flow from the mantle to and within the lower crust. In addition, the volcanic carapace that originally overlay the complex is preserved intact on the conjugate African plate, so the complete internal and external architecture of the paleoridge segment can be studied. Seafloor spreading during formation of the core complex was highly asymmetric, and crustal accretion occurred largely in the footwall of the detachment fault exposing the core complex. Because additions to the footwall, both magmatic and amagmatic, are nonconservative, oceanic detachment faults are plutonic growth faults. A local volcano and fissure eruptions partially cover the northwestern quarter of the complex. This volcanism is associated with outward facing normal faults and possible, intersecting transform-parallel faults that formed during exhumation of the megamullion, suggesting the volcanics erupted off-axis. We find a zone of late-stage vertical melt transport through the mantle to the crust in the southern part of the segment marked by a ∼10 km wide zone of dunites that likely fed a large gabbro and troctolite intrusion intercalated with dikes. This zone correlates with the midpoint of a lineated axial volcanic high of the same age on the conjugate African plate. In the central region of the segment, however, primitive gabbro is rare, massive depleted peridotite tectonites abundant, and dunites nearly absent, which indicate that little melt crossed the crust-mantle boundary there. Greenschist facies diabase and pillow basalt hanging wall debris are scattered over the detachment surface. The diabase indicates lateral melt transport in dikes that fed the volcanic carapace away from the magmatic centers. At the northern edge of the complex (southern wall of the Kane transform) is a second magmatic center marked by olivine gabbro and minor troctolite intruded into mantle peridotite tectonite. This center varied substantially in size with time, consistent with waxing and waning volcanism near the transform as is also inferred from volcanic abyssal-hill relief on the conjugate African plate. Our results indicate that melt flow from the mantle focuses to local magmatic centers and creates plutonic complexes within the ridge segment whose position varies in space and time rather than fixed at a single central point. Distal to and between these complexes there may not be continuous gabbroic crust, but only a thin carapace of pillow lavas overlying dike complexes laterally fed from the magmatic centers. This is consistent with plate-driven flow that engenders local, stochastically distributed transient instabilities at depth in the partially molten mantle that fed the magmatic centers. Fixed boundaries, such as large-offset fracture zones, or relatively short segment lengths, however, may help to focus episodes of repeated melt extraction in the same location. While no previous model for ocean crust is like that inferred here, our observations do not invalidate them but rather extend the known diversity of ridge architecture.NSF Grants OCE-0118445, OCE-0624408 and OCE-0621660 supported this research. B. Tucholke was also supported by the Henry Bryant Bigelow Chair in Oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Ovarian cancer molecular pathology.

Peer reviewe

Correspondence Between Perceived Pubertal Development and Hormone Levels in 9-10 Year-Olds From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.

Aim: To examine individual variability between perceived physical features and hormones of pubertal maturation in 9-10-year-old children as a function of sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: Cross-sectional metrics of puberty were utilized from the baseline assessment of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study—a multi-site sample of 9–10 year-olds (n = 11,875)—and included perceived physical features via the pubertal development scale (PDS) and child salivary hormone levels (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone in all, and estradiol in females). Multi-level models examined the relationships among sociodemographic measures, physical features, and hormone levels. A group factor analysis (GFA) was implemented to extract latent variables of pubertal maturation that integrated both measures of perceived physical features and hormone levels. Results: PDS summary scores indicated more males (70%) than females (31%) were prepubertal. Perceived physical features and hormone levels were significantly associated with child\u27s weight status and income, such that more mature scores were observed among children that were overweight/obese or from households with low-income. Results from the GFA identified two latent factors that described individual differences in pubertal maturation among both females and males, with factor 1 driven by higher hormone levels, and factor 2 driven by perceived physical maturation. The correspondence between latent factor 1 scores (hormones) and latent factor 2 scores (perceived physical maturation) revealed synchronous and asynchronous relationships between hormones and concomitant physical features in this large young adolescent sample. Conclusions: Sociodemographic measures were associated with both objective hormone and self-report physical measures of pubertal maturation in a large, diverse sample of 9-10 year-olds. The latent variables of pubertal maturation described a complex interplay between perceived physical changes and hormone levels that hallmark sexual maturation, which future studies can examine in relation to trajectories of brain maturation, risk/resilience to substance use, and other mental health outcomes