Succession of fungi on dead and live wood in brackish water in Brunei

published_or_final_versio

Genetic contributions to stability and change in intelligence from childhood to old age

Understanding the determinants of healthy mental ageing is a priority for society today1,2. So far, we know that intelligence differences show high stability from childhood to old age3,4 and there are estimates of the genetic contribution to intelligence at different ages5,6. However, attempts to discover whether genetic causes contribute to differences in cognitive ageing have been relatively uninformative7–10. Here we provide an estimate of the genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change in intelligence across most of the human lifetime. We used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 1,940 unrelated individuals whose intelligence was measured in childhood (age 11 years) and again in old age (age 65, 70 or 79 years)11,12. We use a statistical method that allows genetic (co)variance to be estimated from SNP data on unrelated individuals13–17. We estimate that causal genetic variants in linkage disequilibrium with common SNPs account for 0.24 of the variation in cognitive ability change from childhood to old age. Using bivariate analysis, we estimate a genetic correlation between intelligence at age 11 years and in old age of 0.62. These estimates, derived from rarely available data on lifetime cognitive measures, warrant the search for genetic causes of cognitive stability and change

How is place of death from cancer changing and what affects it? Analysis of cancer registration and service data

We aimed to compare trends in place of cancer death with the growth of palliative care and nursing home services, and investigate demographic, disease-related and area influences on individual place of death, using registration data for 216404 patients with breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancer and aggregate data on services in South East England. Between 1985 and 1994 there was a trend away from hospital death (67–44%), to home (17–30%) and hospice death (8–20%). After 1995, this partly reversed. By 2002, hospital death rose to 47%, home death dropped to 23%, hospice death remained stable and nursing home death rose from 3 to 8%. Numbers of palliative care services increased, but trends for hospice and nursing home deaths most clearly followed the beds available. Cancer diagnosis and treatment influenced individual place of death, but between 1998 and 2002, age and area of residence were associated with most variation. Older patients and those living in more deprived areas died more often in hospitals and less often at home. Despite more palliative care services the proportion of people dying at home has not increased. Variation by age, deprivation and area of residence is unlikely to reflect patient preference. More active surveillance and planning must support policies for choice in end of life care

Alcohol consumption and lifetime change in cognitive ability:a gene × environment interaction study

Studies of the effect of alcohol consumption on cognitive ability are often confounded. One approach to avoid confounding is the Mendelian randomization design. Here, we used such a design to test the hypothesis that a genetic score for alcohol processing capacity moderates the association between alcohol consumption and lifetime change in cognitive ability. Members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 completed the same test of intelligence at age 11 and 70 years. They were assessed for recent alcohol consumption in later life and genotyped for a set of four single-nucleotide polymorphisms in three alcohol dehydrogenase genes. These variants were unrelated to late-life cognition or to socioeconomic status. We found a significant gene × alcohol consumption interaction on lifetime cognitive change (p = 0.007). Individuals with higher genetic ability to process alcohol showed relative improvements in cognitive ability with more consumption, whereas those with low processing capacity showed a negative relationship between cognitive change and alcohol consumption with more consumption. The effect of alcohol consumption on cognitive change may thus depend on genetic differences in the ability to metabolize alcohol

Thermal Behavior of Benzoic Acid/lsonicotinamide Binary Cocrystals

A comprehensive study of the thermal behavior of the 1:1 and 2:1 benzoic acid/isonicotinamide cocrystals is reported. The 1:1 material shows a simple unit cell expansion followed by melting upon heating. The 2:1 crystal exhibits more complex behavior. Its unit cell first expands upon heating, as a result of C–H···π interactions being lengthened. It then is converted into the 1:1 crystal, as demonstrated by significant changes in its X-ray diffraction pattern. The loss of 1 equiv of benzoic acid is confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis–mass spectrometry. Hot stage microscopy confirms that, as intuitively expected, the transformation begins at the crystal surface. The temperature at which conversion occurs is highly dependent on the sample mass and geometry, being reduced when the sample is under a gas flow or has a greater exposed surface area but increased when the heating rate is elevated

Randomised controlled trial of a new palliative care service: Compliance, recruitment and completeness of follow-up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Palliative care has been proposed for progressive non-cancer conditions but there have been few evaluations of service developments. We analysed recruitment, compliance and follow-up data of a fast track (or wait list control) randomised controlled trial of a new palliative care service – a design not previously used to assess palliative care.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>An innovative palliative care service (comprising a consultant in palliative medicine, a clinical nurse specialist, an administrator and a psychosocial worker) was delivered to people severely affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), and their carers, in southeast London. Our design followed the MRC Framework for the Evaluation of Complex Interventions. In phase II we conducted randomised controlled trial, of immediate referral to the service (fast-track) versus a 12-week wait (standard best practice). Main outcome measures were: compliance (the extent the trial protocol was adhered to), recruitment (target 50 patients), attrition and missing data rates; trial outcomes were Palliative Care Outcome Scale and MS Impact Scale.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>69 patients were referred, 52 entered the trial (26 randomised to each arm), 5 refused consent and 12 were excluded from the trial for other reasons, usually illness or urgent needs, achieving our target numbers. 25/26 fast track and 21/26 standard best practice patients completed the trial, resulting in 217/225 (96%) of possible interviews completed, 87% of which took place in the patient's home. Main reasons for failure to interview and/or attrition were death or illness. There were three deaths in the standard best practice group and one in the fast-track group during the trial. At baseline there were no differences between groups. Missing data for individual questionnaire items were small (median 0, mean 1–5 items out of 56+ items per interview), not associated with any patient or carer characteristics or with individual questionnaires, but were associated with interviewer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first time a fast track (or wait list) randomised trial has been reported in palliative care. We found it achieved good recruitment and is a feasible method to evaluate palliative care services when patients are expected to live longer than 3–6 months. Home interviews are needed for a trial of this kind; interviewers need careful recruitment, training and supervision; and there should be careful separation from the clinical service of the control patients to prevent accidental contamination.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials.Gov NCT00364963</p

Common Genetic Variants Explain the Majority of the Correlation Between Height and Intelligence : The Generation Scotland Study

Creative Commons Attribution LicensePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Stress induced polarization of immune-neuroendocrine phenotypes in Gallus gallus

Immune-neuroendocrine phenotypes (INPs) stand for population subgroups differing in immune-neuroendocrine interactions. While mammalian INPs have been characterized thoroughly in rats and humans, avian INPs were only recently described in Coturnix coturnix (quail). To assess the scope of this biological phenomenon, herein we characterized INPs in Gallus gallus (a domestic hen strain submitted to a very long history of strong selective breeding pressure) and evaluated whether a social chronic stress challenge modulates the individuals’ interplay affecting the INP subsets and distribution. Evaluating plasmatic basal corticosterone, interferon-γ and interleukin-4 concentrations, innate/acquired leukocyte ratio, PHA-P skin-swelling and induced antibody responses, two opposite INP profiles were found: LEWIS-like (15% of the population) and FISCHER-like (16%) hens. After chronic stress, an increment of about 12% in each polarized INP frequency was found at expenses of a reduction in the number of birds with intermediate responses. Results show that polarized INPs are also a phenomenon occurring in hens. The observed inter-individual variation suggest that, even after a considerable selection process, the population is still well prepared to deal with a variety of immune-neuroendocrine challenges. Stress promoted disruptive effects, leading to a more balanced INPs distribution, which represents a new substrate for challenging situations.Fil: Nazar, Franco Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Estevez, Inma. Centro de Investigación. Neiker - Tecnalia; EspañaFil: Correa, Silvia Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Marin, Raul Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentin