Healthy snacks in hospitals : testing the potential effects of changes in availability

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank the food retail staff and managers in each location and the food retailers who provided access to their sales data. Funding: Study 1 was funded by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office [CGA/16/17]. Study 2 was conducted while JA was a Royal Society of Edinburgh Sabbatical Grant Holder. Open access via Sage agreementPeer reviewedPostprin

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis Identifies LIF as a Negative Regulator of Human Th2 Cell Differentiation

In this study we show that IL-4 is crucial during reinforcement window of human Th2 differentiation for optimal Th2 development. We have also shown here that during this stage, IL-4 helps in cellular decision-making process of differentiation versus proliferation. We have combined computational and experimental methods to analyze Th2 transcription network to name novel players of the process of Th2 differentiation. Here we report that LIF through STAT3 negatively regulates Th2 differentiation. This approach can be generalized to analyze “omics” data to identify key regulatory modules

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer in a Korean population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study was designed to investigate an association between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and the risk of gastric and colorectal cancer in the Korean population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a population-based large-scale case-control study involving 2,213 patients with newly diagnosed gastric cancer, 1,829 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer, and 1,700 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed with peripheral blood DNA for MTHFR C677T polymorphisms. The statistical significance was estimated by logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The MTHFR C677T frequencies of CC, CT, and TT genotypes were 35.2%, 47.5%, and 17.3% among stomach cancer, 34%, 50.5%, and 15.5% in colorectal cancer, and 31.8%, 50.7%, and 17.5% in the controls, respectively. The MTHFR 677TT genotype showed a weak opposite association with colorectal cancer compared to the homozygous CC genotype [adjusted age and sex odds ratio (OR) = 0.792, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.638-0.984, <it>P </it>= 0.035]. Subjects with the MTHFR 677CT showed a significantly reduced risk of gastric cancer compared whose with the 677CC genotype (age- and sex-adjusted OR = 0.810; 95% CI = 0.696-0.942, <it>P </it>= 0.006). We also observed no significant interactions between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and smoking or drinking in the risk of gastric and colorectal cancer.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The T allele was found to provide a weak protective association with gastric cancer and colorectal cancer.</p

The rumen microbial metagenome associated with high methane production in cattle

Acknowledgements The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health and SRUC are funded by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) of the Scottish Government. The project was supported by Defra and the DA funded Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research Platform, the Technology Strategy Board (Project No: TP 5903–40240) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; BB/J004243/1, BB/J004235/1). Our thanks are due to the excellent support staff at the SRUC Beef and Sheep Research Centre, Edinburgh, and to Silvia Ramos Garcia for help in interrogating the data. MW and RR contributed equally to the paper and should be considered as joint last authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Rare and common genetic causes of chemical individuality and their effects on human health

Garrod’s concept of “chemical individuality” has contributed to comprehension of molecular origins of human diseases. Untargeted high throughput metabolomic technologies provide an in-depth snapshot of human metabolism at scale. Here we studied the genetic architecture of the human plasma metabolome using 913 metabolites assayed in 19,994 individuals. We identified 2,599 variant-metabolite associations (P<1.25x10-11) within 330 genomic regions, with rare variants (MAF≤1%) explaining 9.4% of associations. Jointly modelling metabolites in each region, we identified 423 regional, co-regulated, variant-metabolite clusters (Genetically Influenced Metabotypes). We assigned causal genes for 62.4% of GIMs, providing new insights into fundamental metabolite physiology and their clinical relevance, including metabolite guided discovery of potential adverse drug effects (DPYD, SRD5A2). We show strong enrichment of Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM)-causing genes, with examples of metabolite associations and clinical phenotypes of non-pathogenic variant carriers matching characteristics of IEMs. Systematic, phenotypic follow-up of metabolite-specific genetic scores revealed multiple potential aetiological relationships