Data on genetic associations of carotid atherosclerosis markers in Mexican American and European American rheumatoid arthritis subjects

Carotid Intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque are well established markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and are widely used for identifying subclinical atherosclerotic disease. We performed association analyses using Metabochip array to identify genetic variants that influence variation in CIMT and plaque, measured using B-mode ultrasonography, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Data on genetic associations of common variants associated with both CIMT and plaque in RA subjects involving Mexican Americans (MA) and European Americans (EA) populations are presented in this article. Strong associations were observed after adjusting for covariate effects including baseline clinical characteristics and statin use. Susceptibility loci and genes and/or nearest genes associated with CIMT in MAs and EAs with RA are presented. In addition, common susceptibility loci influencing CIMT and plaque in both MAs and EAs have been presented. Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) plots showing complementary evidence for the observed CIMT and plaque association signals are also shown in this article. For further interpretation and details, please see the research article titled A Genetic Association Study of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (CIMT) and Plaque in Mexican Americans and European Americans with Rheumatoid Arthritis which is being published in Atherosclerosis (Arya et al., 2018) [1].(Arya et al., in press) Thus, common variants in several genes exhibited significant associations with CIMT and plaque in both MAs and EAs as presented in this article. These findings may help understand the genetic architecture of subclinical atherosclerosis in RA populations

A genetic association study of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque in Mexican Americans and European Americans with rheumatoid arthritis

Background and aims: Little is known about specific genetic determinants of carotid-intima-media thickness (CIMT) and carotid plaque in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We have used the Metabochip array to fine map and replicate loci that influence variation in these phenotypes in Mexican Americans (MAs) and European Americans (EAs). Methods: CIMT and plaque were measured using ultrasound from 700 MA and 415 EA patients with RA and we conducted association analyses with the Metabochip single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data using PLINK. Results: In MAs, 12 SNPs from 11 chromosomes and 6 SNPs from 6 chromosomes showed suggestive associations (p \u3c 1 × 10-4) with CIMT and plaque, respectively. The strongest association was observed between CIMT and rs17526722 (SLC17A2 gene) (β ± SE = -0.84 ± 0.18, p = 3.80 × 10-6). In EAs, 9 SNPs from 7 chromosomes and 7 SNPs from 7 chromosomes showed suggestive associations with CIMT and plaque, respectively. The top association for CIMT was observed with rs1867148 (PPCDC gene, β ± SE = -0.28 ± 0.06, p = 5.11 × 10-6). We also observed strong association between plaque and two novel loci: rs496916 from COL4A1 gene (OR = 0.51, p = 3.15 × 10-6) in MAs and rs515291 from SLCA13 gene (OR = 0.50, p = 3.09 × 10-5) in EAs. Conclusions: We identified novel associations between CIMT and variants in SLC17A2 and PPCDC genes, and between plaque and variants from COL4A1 and SLCA13 that may pinpoint new candidate risk loci for subclinical atherosclerosis associated with RA

Trends in the Study of Motivation in Schizophrenia: A Bibliometric Analysis of Six Decades of Research (1956-2017)

Motivation in schizophrenia has been a key research aim for several decades. Motivation is a very complex process underlying negative symptoms that has been assessed and identified using very different instruments and terminologies. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the growing literature production and highlights an extensive set of variables to better understand the study of motivation. Electronic databases were searched in order to compile relevant studies of motivation in individuals with schizophrenia. The initial search identified 3,248 potentially interesting records, and of these, 161 articles published between 1956 and 2017 were finally included. Information such as year of publication, journal, country, and number of authors was codified. Variables related to sample characteristics, methodological aspects, and motivational terms were also extracted. The results revealed a significant growth trend in literature production, especially since the 2000s, with reward as the main term studied. In addition, questionnaires were identified as the preferred instrument to assess motivation in patients with schizophrenia. Other aspects such as country of publication, authors, journals of publication, and co-citation network analysis were also examined. The discussion offers recommendations for future research

Relationships, love and sexuality: what the Filipino teens think and feel

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to achieve a change among teens' sexual behavior, an important step is to improve our knowledge about their opinions concerning relationships, love and sexuality.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A questionnaire including topics on relationships, love and sexuality was distributed to a target population of 4,000 Filipino students from third year high school to third year college. Participants were obtained through multi-stage sampling of clusters of universities and schools. This paper concentrates on teens aged 13 to 18.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Students reported that they obtained information about love and sexuality mainly from friends. However, they valued parents' opinion more than friends'. They revealed few conversations with their parents on these topics. A majority of them would like to have more information, mainly about emotion-related topics. Almost half of respondents were not aware that condoms are not 100% effective in preventing STIs or pregnancies. More girls, compared to boys, were sensitive and opposed to several types of sexism. After adjusting for sex, age and institution, the belief of 100% condom effectiveness and the approval of pornography and sexism were associated with being sexually experienced.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is room for further encouraging parents to talk more with their children about sexuality, specially aspects related to feelings and emotions in order to help them make better sexual choices. Indeed, teens wish to better communicate with their parents on these issues. Condoms are regarded as safer than what they really are by almost half of the participants of this study, and such incorrect knowledge seems to be associated with sexual initiation.</p

Exploring the active galactic nuclei population with extreme X-ray-to-optical flux ratios (fx/fo > 50)

The cosmic history of the growth of supermassive black holes in galactic centres parallels that of star formation in the Universe. However, an important fraction of this growth occurs inconspicuously in obscured objects, where ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared emission is heavily obscured by dust. Since the X-ray flux is less attenuated, a high X-ray-to-optical flux ratio (fx/fo) is expected to be an efficient tool to find out these obscured accreting sources. We explore here via optical spectroscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and infrared photometry the most extreme cases of this population (those with fx/fo > 50, EXO50 sources hereafter), using a well-defined sample of seven X-ray sources extracted from the 2XMM catalogue. Five EXO50 sources (~70?per?cent of the sample) in the bright flux regime explored by our survey (f(2-10?keV) = 1.5 × 10-13 erg?cm-2?s-1) are associated with obscured AGN (NH > 1022 cm-2), spanning a redshift range between 0.75 and 1 and characterized by 2–10 keV intrinsic luminosities in the QSO regime (e.g. well in excess to 1044 erg?s-1). We did not find compelling evidence of Compton thick active galacic nuclei (AGN). Overall, the EXO50 type 2 QSOs do not seem to be different from standard X-ray-selected type 2 QSOs in terms of nuclear absorption; a very high AGN/host galaxy ratio seems to play a major role in explaining their extreme properties. Interestingly, three out of five EXO50 type 2 QSO objects can be classified as extreme dust-obscured galaxies (EDOGs, f24?µm/fR = 2000), suggesting that a very high AGN/host ratios (along with the large amount of dust absorption) could be the natural explanation also for a part of the EDOG population. The remaining two EXO50 sources are classified as BL Lac objects, having rather extreme properties, and which are good candidates for TeV emission.SM and FJC acknowledge financial support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through grants AYA2010-21490-C02-01 and AYA2012-31447 and from the ARCHES project, funded by the 7th Frameworkof the European Union (project no. 313146). AR acknowledgesfinancial support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through grant AYA2012-3144

Visita del Conseller de Recerca i Universitats, Joaquim Nadal i Farreras a l'ETSAB

Visita del Conseller de Recerca i Universitats, Joaquim Nadal i Farreras a l'ETSAB. En la imatge Joaquim Nadal davant l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona amb Daniel Crespo, Rector de la UPC i Jordi Ros, professor del Departament de Projectes Arquitectònics ETSAB

Visita de Joaquim Nadal, Conseller d'Universitats i Recerca a l'Arxiu Gràfic de l'ETSAB

Visita de Joaquim Nadal, Conseller d'Universitats i Recerca a l'Arxiu Gràfic de l'ETSAB. En la imatge Joaquim Nadal amb Silvia Sunyer, Responsable de l'Arxiu Gràfic - Càtedra Gaudí, Daniel Crespo, Rector de la UPC i Neus Vilaplana, Cap de la Biblioteca Oriol Bohigas

Visita de Joaquim Nadal, Conseller d'Universitats i Recerca a l'Arxiu Gràfic de l'ETSAB

Visita de Joaquim Nadal, Conseller d'Universitats i Recerca a l'Arxiu Gràfic de l'ETSAB. En la imatge Joaquim Nadal amb Neus Vilaplana, Cap de la Biblioteca Oriol Bohigas, Daniel Crespo, Rector UPC, Silvia Sunyer, Responsable de l'Arxiu Gràfic - Càtedra Gaudí, Ernest Redondo, professor del Departament de Representació Arquitectònica i Jordi Ros, professor del Departament de Projectes Arquitectònics ETSAB