The association between baseline persistent pain and weight change in patients attending a specialist weight management service

To quantify the influence of baseline pain levels on weight change at one-year follow-up in patients attending a National Health Service specialist weight management programme.We compared one-year follow-up weight (body mass) change between patient sub-groups of none-to-mild, moderate, and severe pain at baseline. A mean sub-group difference in weight change of ≥5kg was considered clinically relevant.Of the 141 complete cases, n = 43 (30.5%) reported none-to-mild pain, n = 44 (31.2%) reported moderate pain, and n = 54 (38.3%) reported severe pain. Covariate-adjusted mean weight loss (95%CI) was similar for those with none-to-mild (8.1kg (4.2 to 12.0kg)) and moderate pain (8.3kg (4.9 to 11.7kg). The mean weight loss of 3.0kg (-0.4 to 6.4kg) for the severe pain group was 5.1kg (-0.6 to 10.7, p = 0.08) lower than the none-to-mild pain group and 5.3kg (0.4 to 10.2kg, p = 0.03) lower than the moderate pain group.Patients with severe pain upon entry to a specialist weight management service in England achieve a smaller mean weight loss at one-year follow-up than those with none-to-moderate pain. The magnitude of the difference in mean weight loss was clinically relevant, highlighting the importance of addressing severe persistent pain in obese patients undertaking weight management programmes

Genetic Signatures of Exceptional Longevity in Humans

Like most complex phenotypes, exceptional longevity is thought to reflect a combined influence of environmental (e.g., lifestyle choices, where we live) and genetic factors. To explore the genetic contribution, we undertook a genome-wide association study of exceptional longevity in 801 centenarians (median age at death 104 years) and 914 genetically matched healthy controls. Using these data, we built a genetic model that includes 281 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and discriminated between cases and controls of the discovery set with 89% sensitivity and specificity, and with 58% specificity and 60% sensitivity in an independent cohort of 341 controls and 253 genetically matched nonagenarians and centenarians (median age 100 years). Consistent with the hypothesis that the genetic contribution is largest with the oldest ages, the sensitivity of the model increased in the independent cohort with older and older ages (71% to classify subjects with an age at death>102 and 85% to classify subjects with an age at death>105). For further validation, we applied the model to an additional, unmatched 60 centenarians (median age 107 years) resulting in 78% sensitivity, and 2863 unmatched controls with 61% specificity. The 281 SNPs include the SNP rs2075650 in TOMM40/APOE that reached irrefutable genome wide significance (posterior probability of association = 1) and replicated in the independent cohort. Removal of this SNP from the model reduced the accuracy by only 1%. Further in-silico analysis suggests that 90% of centenarians can be grouped into clusters characterized by different “genetic signatures” of varying predictive values for exceptional longevity. The correlation between 3 signatures and 3 different life spans was replicated in the combined replication sets. The different signatures may help dissect this complex phenotype into sub-phenotypes of exceptional longevity

Strategic and institutional effects on foreign IPO performance : Examining the impact of country of origin, corporate governance, and host country effects

By integrating signaling research with an institutional perspective we examine how country of origin, corporate governance, and host market effects impact foreign IPO performance. Using a sample of 202 foreign IPOs listed in the U.S. or U.K in 2002-2007 results indicate both the legal environment surrounding these organizations in their countries of origin and board independence impact the success of foreign firms at IPO. However, the institutional environment of the chosen IPO market impacts the salience of country and corporate governance signals for foreign IPO firms suggesting a more contextualized framework of IPO valuation is necessary

GPIHBP1 stabilizes lipoprotein lipase and prevents its inhibition by angiopoietin-like 3 and angiopoietin-like 4

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored HDL-binding protein (GPIHBP1) binds both LPL and chylomicrons, suggesting that GPIHBP1 is a platform for LPL-dependent processing of triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins. Here, we investigated whether GPIHBP1 affects LPL activity in the absence and presence of LPL inhibitors angiopoietin-like (ANGPTL)3 and ANGPTL4. Like heparin, GPIHBP1 stabilized but did not activate LPL. ANGPTL4 potently inhibited nonstabilized LPL as well as heparin-stabilized LPL but not GPIHBP1-stabilized LPL. Like ANGPTL4, ANGPTL3 inhibited nonstabilized LPL but not GPIHBP1-stabilized LPL. ANGPTL3 also inhibited heparin-stabilized LPL but with less potency than nonstabilized LPL. Consistent with these in vitro findings, fasting serum TGs of Angptl4−/−/Gpihbp1−/− mice were lower than those of Gpihbp1−/− mice and approached those of wild-type littermates. In contrast, serum TGs of Angptl3−/−/Gpihbp1−/− mice were only slightly lower than those of Gpihbp1−/− mice. Treating Gpihbp1−/− mice with ANGPTL4- or ANGPTL3-neutralizing antibodies recapitulated the double knockout phenotypes. These data suggest that GPIHBP1 functions as an LPL stabilizer. Moreover, therapeutic agents that prevent LPL inhibition by ANGPTL4 or, to a lesser extent, ANGPTL3, may benefit individuals with hyperlipidemia caused by gene mutations associated with decreased LPL stability

Walking the Talk on Diversity: CEO Beliefs, Moral Values, and the Implementation of Workplace Diversity Practices

Although CEO commitment is recognized as being crucial to organizational diversity efforts, we know little about how CEOs signal their priorities and mobilize key organizational actors to implement diversity management. We tested an integrative model in which CEO beliefs about diversity were theorized to predict the implementation of organizational diversity practices through two consecutive mediating steps—via greater CEO engagement in pro-diversity behavior, and in turn, higher perceived CEO commitment by their HR manager. In this model, we also proposed a moderating effect such that when CEOs have less positive beliefs about diversity, CEOs espousing higher moral values will display greater pro-diversity behavior. Results supported the proposed model. Taken together, our findings indicate that a CEO’s words and actions alone are not sufficient for the implementation of diversity management practices. HR managers must view their CEOs as being committed to workplace diversity in order for diversity management practices to be implemented