Genotype moderates the impact of food additives on hyperactive behavior in children

Introduction: The claim of a relationship between artificial food color and additive (AFCs) intake and behavior is highly contentious. We have shown in a previous population-based trial with 3yo children adverse effects of food additives on parentally-rated hyperactive behaviour (Bateman et al, 2004). The possible role of genetic polymorphisms in moderating this adverse effect has not been previously examined. Methods A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled, within subject crossover food challenge was used for 144, 8 to 9 year old children and 153, 3 year old children. Following baseline assessment children were placed on a diet eliminating food additives and a benzoate preservative for 6 weeks during which time they were challenged for weekly periods with either a placebo mix or a drink containing sodium benzoate (45mg daily) and one of two mixes of AFCs.: Results: The T939C and Thr105Ile polymorphisms of the histamine N-methyltransferase gene (HNMT) moderated the adverse effect s of AFCs but the polymorphisms in catecholamine genes COMT Val108Met and ADRA2A C1291G did not. These findings point to a possible role for histamine in mediating the effects of food additives and help to explain why there has been inconsistency between previous studies. Conclusions: Genes influencing a range of neurotransmitter systems and their interplay with environmental factors, such as diet, need to be examined to understand genetic influences on hyperactivity.<br/

Test-retest reliability of a new delay aversion task and executive function measure.

Despite the wide adoption of measures of executive functions and motivational tendencies in studies of developmental disorders and child psychopathology, few studies have investigated their test-retest reliability. The present paper examines the reliability of a new measure of delay aversion, three measures of working memory, a response inhibition measure and a measure of dual task performance. The children, aged between 7 and 15 years, performed the tasks twice, with a 2-week period in between the sessions. Using a relatively conservative criterion, only the delay aversion task and one of the working memory measures (delayed response alternation) demonstrated satisfactory test-retest reliability. The other two working memory measures (sentence span and counting span) showed modest reliability. For the inhibition measure (stop task) the results were mixed, with poor to modest reliabilities obtained for the various derived measures. The dual task failed to demonstrate adequate test-retest reliability. These differential reliabilities need to be borne in mind when interpreting the results of studies using these measures. In particular the effect of low reliability on statistical power and the Type II error rate should be considered

Importance of Estrus Expression Before Fixed-time AIon Conception Rates in Beef Cattle

Expression of estrus prior to fixed-time AI has been reported to strongly impact overall pregnancy success. Behavioral estrus is a visual indicator that a cow or heifer’s internal environment is prepared for breeding. Insemination of a cow or heifer after estrus has been expressed will yield greater pregnancy success due to adequate uterine environment, increased fertilization rates, increased accessory sperm numbers, and increased overall embryo survival. It can be difficult to analyze the effects of estrus on pregnancy success across studies due to differences in number of animals and proportion of animals exhibiting estrus per study. In order to accurately analyze such data, a meta-analysis was used to place all studies on an equal level, thus, eliminating study bias. In the present study, a meta-analysis was conducted using data available on 10,116 beef cows and heifers in 26 studies that utilized the 5 most common fixed-time AI protocols to examine the effect of expression of estrus prior to insemination on conception rates. The overall model indicated a positive effect of estrus on conception rates with cows expressing estrus before fixed-time AI having greater conception rates compared with those not exhibiting estrus. There are also numerous management factors that can influence expression of estrus. Data were available on 547 cows that were synchronized with a CIDR based fixed-time AI protocol for estrus for 2 to 4 years. Analysis of these cows indicated that days postpartum did not impact estrus expression. In contrast, Body Condition Score (BCS) influenced estrus expression with cows in a BCS of ≤ 4 having decreased expression of estrus compared to those with a BCS \u3e 4. Initiation of estrous cycles before the breeding season also influenced estrus expression, with anestrous cows having greater expression of estrus compared with estrus-cycling cows. Fixed-time AI protocols offer producers the added benefit of reduced labor needed for heat detection, but the results of this study indicate the importance of detecting an animal in estrus prior to breeding. In conclusion, among all currently recommended fixed-time AI protocols, cows expressing estrus before fixed-time AI had improved conception rates, and BCS and estrus-cycling status had the greatest influence on expression of estrus

RNAseq analysis of heart tissue from mice treated with atenolol and isoproterenol reveals a reciprocal transcriptional response.

The transcriptional response to many widely used drugs and its modulation by genetic variability is poorly understood. Here we present an analysis of RNAseq profiles from heart tissue of 18 inbred mouse strains treated with the β-blocker atenolol (ATE) and the β-agonist isoproterenol (ISO). Differential expression analyses revealed a large set of genes responding to ISO (n = 1770 at FDR = 0.0001) and a comparatively small one responding to ATE (n = 23 at FDR = 0.0001). At a less stringent definition of differential expression, the transcriptional responses to these two antagonistic drugs are reciprocal for many genes, with an overall anti-correlation of r = -0.3. This trend is also observed at the level of most individual strains even though the power to detect differential expression is significantly reduced. The inversely expressed gene sets are enriched with genes annotated for heart-related functions. Modular analysis revealed gene sets that exhibit coherent transcription profiles across some strains and/or treatments. Correlations between these modules and a broad spectrum of cardiovascular traits are stronger than expected by chance. This provides evidence for the overall importance of transcriptional regulation for these organismal responses and explicits links between co-expressed genes and the traits they are associated with. Gene set enrichment analysis of differentially expressed groups of genes pointed to pathways related to heart development and functionality. Our study provides new insights into the transcriptional response of the heart to perturbations of the β-adrenergic system, implicating several new genes that had not been associated to this system previously

Identification and validation of copy number variants using SNP genotyping arrays from a large clinical cohort.

BACKGROUND: Genotypes obtained with commercial SNP arrays have been extensively used in many large case-control or population-based cohorts for SNP-based genome-wide association studies for a multitude of traits. Yet, these genotypes capture only a small fraction of the variance of the studied traits. Genomic structural variants (GSV) such as Copy Number Variation (CNV) may account for part of the missing heritability, but their comprehensive detection requires either next-generation arrays or sequencing. Sophisticated algorithms that infer CNVs by combining the intensities from SNP-probes for the two alleles can already be used to extract a partial view of such GSV from existing data sets. RESULTS: Here we present several advances to facilitate the latter approach. First, we introduce a novel CNV detection method based on a Gaussian Mixture Model. Second, we propose a new algorithm, PCA merge, for combining copy-number profiles from many individuals into consensus regions. We applied both our new methods as well as existing ones to data from 5612 individuals from the CoLaus study who were genotyped on Affymetrix 500K arrays. We developed a number of procedures in order to evaluate the performance of the different methods. This includes comparison with previously published CNVs as well as using a replication sample of 239 individuals, genotyped with Illumina 550K arrays. We also established a new evaluation procedure that employs the fact that related individuals are expected to share their CNVs more frequently than randomly selected individuals. The ability to detect both rare and common CNVs provides a valuable resource that will facilitate association studies exploring potential phenotypic associations with CNVs. CONCLUSION: Our new methodologies for CNV detection and their evaluation will help in extracting additional information from the large amount of SNP-genotyping data on various cohorts and use this to explore structural variants and their impact on complex traits

Shear and Mixing in Oscillatory Doubly Diffusive Convection

To investigate the mechanism of mixing in oscillatory doubly diffusive (ODD) convection, we truncate the horizontal modal expansion of the Boussinesq equations to obtain a simplified model of the process. In the astrophysically interesting case with low Prandtl number, large-scale shears are generated as in ordinary thermal convection. The interplay between the shear and the oscillatory convection produces intermittent overturning of the fluid with significant mixing. By contrast, in the parameter regime appropriate to sea water, large-scale flows are not generated by the convection. However, if such flows are imposed externally, intermittent overturning with enhanced mixing is observed.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamic

High Energy Gamma Ray Production from Proton Induced Reactions on D, C, Zn, Pb at Incident Energies of 104, 145, and 195 MeV

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

Rapid inverting of the polarization of a neutron beam using large amplitude oscillating magnetic fields

During the course of designing and constructing a pulsed-neutron-polarization-inverter (PNPI) to be used in the study of magnetic excitations in solids, it was necessary to re-examine the oscillating field method of magnetic resonance in the region where the amplitude of the rf field B1 is comparable to the dc field B0. It is found that the phase of the rf field at the instant the neutron enters the spatial region of the field becomes an increasingly important considerations asB1/B0 becomes comparable to 1. Analog and digital computer solutions are given for the equations of motion of the neutron's magnetic moment in the presence of various field configurations important in the construction of a PNPI.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32785/1/0000158.pd

The climatic challenge: which plants will people use in the next century?

More than 31,000 useful plant species have been documented to fulfil needs and services for humans or the animals and environment we depend on. Despite this diversity, humans currently satisfy most requirements with surprisingly few plant species; for example, just three crops – rice, wheat and maize – comprise more than 50% of plant derived calories. Here, we synthesize the projected impact of global climatic change on useful plants across the spectrum of plant domestication. We illustrate the demographic, spatial, ecophysiological, chemical, functional, evolutionary and cultural traits that are likely to characterise useful plants and their resilience in the next century. Using this framework, we consider a range of possible pathways for future human use of plants. These are centred on two trade-offs: i) diversification versus specialization in the range of species we utilize, and ii) substitutionof the species towards those better suited to future climate versus facilitating adaptation in our existing suite of dominant useful plants. In the coming century, major challenges to agriculture and biodiversity will be dominated by increased climatic variation, shifting species ranges, disruption to biotic interactions, nutrient limitation and emerging pests and pathogens. These challenges must be mitigated, whilst enhancing sustainable production to meet the needs of a growing population and a more resource intensive standard of living. With the continued erosion of biodiversity, our future ability to choose among these pathways and trade-offs is likely to be diminished

First-person narratives around sexuality in residential healthcare settings: a meta-ethnographic synthesis

The aim of this review is to identify, critically appraise, and synthesise the existing literature exploring adults’ narratives around sexuality within residential healthcare settings from a first-person perspective. A systematic literature review was undertaken. Six databases were searched. A meta-ethnographic approach was used to synthesise studies’ findings. Thirteen studies using qualitative methodology that met the inclusion criteria were identified. The synthesis revealed six key themes: how service users define sexuality, sexuality as something not to be discussed (“privates are private”), sexuality as a separate aspect of the self (“sectionality”), hopes and fears for the future, the impact of the environment (“physicality of being physical”), and adapted sexuality. The studies included were of varying quality. Sexuality remains an important aspect for many residents, yet is rarely noted or discussed with them by healthcare staff. The residential healthcare environment presents implicit and explicit barriers to sexuality expression, causing residents to adapt how they experience their sexuality. Findings from this review highlight the importance of considering service users’ perspectives, and the need for open communication between residents and practitioners to facilitate care provision that acknowledges the barriers of the environment on sexuality and considers the person beyond the presenting illness