Genome-wide meta-analysis of muscle weakness identifies 15 susceptibility loci in older men and women

Low muscle strength is an important heritable indicator of poor health linked to morbidity and mortality in older people. In a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of 256,523 Europeans aged 60 years and over from 22 cohorts we identify 15 loci associated with muscle weakness (European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People definition: n = 48,596 cases, 18.9% of total), including 12 loci not implicated in previous analyses of continuous measures of grip strength. Loci include genes reportedly involved in autoimmune disease (HLA-DQA1p = 4 × 10−17), arthritis (GDF5p = 4 × 10−13), cell cycle control and cancer protection, regulation of transcription, and others involved in the development and maintenance of the musculoskeletal system. Using Mendelian randomization we report possible overlapping causal pathways, including diabetes susceptibility, haematological parameters, and the immune system. We conclude that muscle weakness in older adults has distinct mechanisms from continuous strength, including several pathways considered to be hallmarks of ageing

Making knowledge work for health: a strategy for health research.

The Strategy for Health Research emphasises a partnership approach to developing a thriving research culture in the health services, a partnership between health agencies, third level institutions, the research charities and the healthcare industry. The framework proposed in this document is built on the foundation of partnership and provides a structure for much greater co-operation between the interests involved. It also recognises the added value to be gained from co-operation in research for the island of Ireland as a whole. The core proposals in this document are for a strengthening of support for scientific research for health and the development of an innovative research and development function in the health services. These proposals are complementary and mutually supportive. Funding for both strands of the research strategy will be allocated according to the principle of competitive peer review to ensure quality and value for money

A Monad for Basic Java Semantics

This paper describes the role of a computational monad in the denotational semantics of sequential Java and investigates some of its properties. This denotational semantics is an abstraction of the one used for the verication of (sequential) Java programs using proof tools, see [11,15]

The importance of being light : aerodynamic forces and weight in ski jumping

Développement, à partir de données recueillies en coupe du monde et lors de mesures en soufflerie, d'un modèle du saut à ski de haut niveau prenant en compte le poids corporel du skieur, afin de vérifier l'importance de ce paramètre dans la performanc