Genetic variance in fitness indicates rapid contemporary adaptive evolution in wild animals

The rate of adaptive evolution, the contribution of selection to genetic changes that increase mean fitness, is determined by the additive genetic variance in individual relative fitness. To date, there are few robust estimates of this parameter for natural populations, and it is therefore unclear whether adaptive evolution can play a meaningful role in short-term population dynamics. We developed and applied quantitative genetic methods to long-term datasets from 19 wild bird and mammal populations and found that, while estimates vary between populations, additive genetic variance in relative fitness is often substantial and, on average, twice that of previous estimates. We show that these rates of contemporary adaptive evolution can affect population dynamics and hence that natural selection has the potential to partly mitigate effects of current environmental change

Association analyses identify 38 susceptibility loci for inflammatory bowel disease and highlight shared genetic risk across populations

Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Effect of pressure on the magnetic phase diagram of the antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave alloy Cr-1.6% Si

A neutron diffraction experiment has been performed to study the effects of high pressure on the magnetic phase diagram of a single crystal specimen of Cr-1.6%Si. At applied pressures up to 0.49 GPa there are two clear transitions. At T{sub NC} there is a transition from a paramagnetic (P) to a commensurate spin density wave (CSDW), while at lower temperatures there is a transition to a mixed state where the CSDW seems to coexist with an incommensurate SDW (ISDW) state. T{sub NC} decreases with the application of pressure while the transition temperature T{sub CI} to the mixed C-I state seems to be insensitive to pressure. At 0.69 GPa the ISDW state disappears while the P-C transition changes drastically

Influence of growth morphology on the Neel temperature of CrRu thin films and heterostructures

Dimensionality effects on epitaxial and polycrystalline Cr1-xRux alloy thin films and in Cr/Cr–Ru heterostructures are reported. X-ray analysis on Cr0.9965Ru0.0035 epitaxial films indicates an increase in the coherence length in growth directions(100) and (110) with increasing thickness(d), in the range 20≤d≤300nm. Atomic force microscopy studies on these films show pronounced vertical growth for d>50nm, resulting in the formation of columnar structures. The Néel temperatures (TN) of the Cr0.9965Ru0.0035 films show anomalous behaviour as a function of d at thickness d≈50 nm. It is interesting to note that this thickness corresponds to that for which a change in film morphology occurs. Experiments on epitaxial Cr1-xRux thin films, with 0≤x≤0.013 and d = 50 nm, give TN–x curves that correspond well with that of bulk Cr1-xRux alloys. Studies on Cr/Cr0.9965Ru0.0035 superlattices prepared on MgO (100), with the Cr layer thickness varied between 10 and 50nm, keeping the Cr0.9965Ru0.0035 thickness constantat 10nm, indicate a sharp decrease in TN as the Cr separation layers reaches a thickness of 30nm; ascribed to spin density wave pinning in the Cr layers for d< 30nm by the adjacent CrRu layers