Test‐retest reliability of amygdala response to emotional faces

In the current study, we evaluated the test‐retest reliability of amygdala response using an emotional face‐matching task that has been widely used to examine pathophysiology and treatment mechanisms in psychiatric populations. Activation within the fusiform face area ( FFA ) was also examined. Twenty‐seven healthy volunteers completed a variation of the face‐matching paradigm developed by Hariri et al. (2000) at two time points approximately 90 days apart. Estimates of test‐retest reliability of amygdala response to fearful faces were moderate, whereas angry and happy faces showed poor reliability. Test‐retest reliability of the FFA was moderate to strong, regardless of facial affect. Collectively, these findings indicate that the reliability of the BOLD MR signal in the amygdala varies substantially by facial affect. Efforts to improve measurement precision, enlarge sample sizes, or increase the number of assessment occasions seem warranted.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100342/1/psyp12129.pd

Imiquimod Does not Affect Shedding of Viable Chlamydiae in a Murine Model of Chlamydia trachomatis Genital Tract Infection

Objective: We postulated that either oral or vaginal administration of the immune response modifier imiquimod would decrease vaginal shedding of Chlamydia trachomatis, mouse pneumonitis strain (MoPn), in a murine model. Methods: Female BALB/c mice were infected intravaginally withC. trachomatis (MoPn) and were administered imiquimod either orally (30 mg/kg) or vaginally (10 μl of 5%imiquimod cream) prior to infection and every second day after infection for a total of four doses. The course of infection was monitored by collecting cervical–vaginal swabs and isolation in HeLa 229 cell culture. To determine whether the drug affected T helper type 1 or T helper type 2 immune response polarization, immunoglobulinG(IgG) subclass antibody responses were assessed at day 56 after infection. Results: There was no significant difference in the course of infection when imiquimod-treated mice were compared with sham-treated controls, regardless of whether the drug was administered orally or vaginally. IgG subclass antibody responses, and by extension, T helper type 1 to T helper type 2 immune response polarization, were also unaffected. Conclusions: Imiquimod has no efficacy in controllingC. trachomatis (MoPn) infection in the murine model

Persistent effects of in utero overnutrition on offspring adiposity: the Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study

Aims/hypothesis: We previously showed that intrauterine exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases selected markers of adiposity in pre-pubertal adolescents. In the present study, we examined these associations in adolescence, and explored whether they are strengthened as the participants transition through puberty. Methods: Data from 597 individuals (505 unexposed, 92 exposed) participating in the longitudinal Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study in Colorado were collected at two research visits when the participants were, on average, 10.4 and 16.7 years old. Adiposity measures included BMI, waist/height ratio, and visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (as determined by MRI). Separate general linear mixed models were used to assess the longitudinal relationships between exposure to maternal GDM and each adiposity outcome. We tested whether the effect changed over time by including an interaction term between exposure and age in our models, and whether the associations were explained by postnatal behaviours. Results: Compared with unexposed participants, those exposed to maternal GDM had higher BMI (β = 1.28; 95% CI 0.35, 2.21; p < 0.007), waist/height ratio (β = 0.03; 95% CI 0.01, 0.04; p = 0.0004), visceral adipose tissue (β = 4.81; 95% CI 1.08, 8.54; p = 0.01) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (β = 35.15; 95% CI 12.43, 57.87; p < 0.003). The magnitude of these differences did not change over time and the associations did not appear to be explained by postnatal behaviours. Conclusions/interpretation: Our data provide further evidence that intrauterine exposure to maternal GDM is associated with increased offspring adiposity, an effect that appears early in life and tracks throughout adolescence. Efforts to prevent childhood obesity following intrauterine exposure to maternal GDM should target the prenatal or early life periods

The adaptation of a youth diabetes prevention program for Aboriginal children in Central Australia: community perspectives

This study reports on integrating community perspectives to adapt a family-focused, culturally appropriate behavioural intervention program to prevent diabetes among Aboriginal children (6-11 years) in Central Australia. A participatory action research approach was used to engage a range of service providers, cultural advisors, and family groups. Appropriateness, acceptability, content, and delivery of a prevention program within the Central Australian context were discussed through a series of workshops with twenty-five service providers and seven family groups separately. The data obtained were deductively coded for thematic analysis. Main findings included: (i) the strong need for a diabetes prevention program that is community owned, (ii) a flexible and culturally appropriate program delivered by upskilling community members as program facilitators, and (iii) consideration of social and environmental factors when implementing the program. It is recommended that a trial of the adapted prevention program for effectiveness and implementation is led by an Aboriginal community-controlled health service.Athira Rohit, Leisa McCarthy, Shiree Mack, Bronwyn Silver, Sabella Turner, Louise A. Baur, Karla Canuto, John Boffa, Dana Dabelea, Katherine A. Sauder, Louise Maple-Brown, and Renae Kirkha

Associations between maternal physical activity in early and late pregnancy and offspring birth size: remote federated individual level meta-analysis from eight cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence on the impact of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in pregnancy on birth size is inconsistent. We aimed to examine the association between LTPA during early and late pregnancy and newborn anthropometric outcomes. DESIGN: Individual level meta-analysis, which reduces heterogeneity across studies. SETTING: A consortium of eight population-based studies (seven European and one US) comprising 72,694 participants. METHODS: Generalised linear models with consistent inclusion of confounders (gestational age, sex, parity, maternal age, education, ethnicity, BMI, smoking and alcohol intake) were used to test associations between self-reported LTPA at either early (8-18 weeks gestation) or late pregnancy (30+ weeks) and the outcomes. Results were pooled using random effects meta-analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Birth weight, Large-for-gestational age (LGA), macrosomia, small-for-gestational age (SGA), %body fat and ponderal index at birth. RESULTS: Late, but not early, gestation maternal moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), vigorous activity and LTPA energy expenditure were modestly inversely associated with BW, LGA, macrosomia and ponderal index, without heterogeneity (all: I-square=0%). For each extra hour/week of MVPA, RR for LGA and macrosomia were 0.97 (95% CI: 0.96, 0.98) and 0.96 (95%CI: 0.94, 0.98) respectively. Associations were only modestly reduced after additional adjustments for maternal BMI and gestational diabetes. No measure of LTPA was associated with risk for SGA. CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity in late, but not early, pregnancy is consistently associated with modestly lower risk of LGA and macrosomia, but not SGA. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Includes MRC, Wellcome Trust and NIHR

Next-generation transcriptome sequencing of the premenopausal breast epithelium using specimens from a normal human breast tissue bank

Introduction Our efforts to prevent and treat breast cancer are significantly impeded by a lack of knowledge of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland. In order to provide the specimens that will facilitate such an understanding, The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center (KTB) was established. The KTB is, to our knowledge, the only biorepository in the world prospectively established to collect normal, healthy breast tissue from volunteer donors. As a first initiative toward a molecular understanding of the biology and developmental genetics of the normal mammary gland, the effect of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptives on DNA expression in the normal breast epithelium was examined. Methods Using normal breast tissue from 20 premenopausal donors to KTB, the changes in the mRNA of the normal breast epithelium as a function of phase of the menstrual cycle and hormonal contraception were assayed using next-generation whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq). Results In total, 255 genes representing 1.4% of all genes were deemed to have statistically significant differential expression between the two phases of the menstrual cycle. The overwhelming majority (221; 87%) of the genes have higher expression during the luteal phase. These data provide important insights into the processes occurring during each phase of the menstrual cycle. There was only a single gene significantly differentially expressed when comparing the epithelium of women using hormonal contraception to those in the luteal phase. Conclusions We have taken advantage of a unique research resource, the KTB, to complete the first-ever next-generation transcriptome sequencing of the epithelial compartment of 20 normal human breast specimens. This work has produced a comprehensive catalog of the differences in the expression of protein-coding genes as a function of the phase of the menstrual cycle. These data constitute the beginning of a reference data set of the normal mammary gland, which can be consulted for comparison with data developed from malignant specimens, or to mine the effects of the hormonal flux that occurs during the menstrual cycle

Maternal Diet Quality During Pregnancy and Offspring Hepatic Fat in Early Childhood: The Healthy Start Study

Background: Overnutrition in utero may increase offspring risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but the specific contribution of maternal diet quality during pregnancy to this association remains understudied in humans. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations of maternal diet quality during pregnancy with offspring hepatic fat in early childhood (median: 5 y old, range: 4–8 y old). Methods: Data were from 278 mother–child pairs in the longitudinal, Colorado-based Healthy Start Study. Multiple 24-h recalls were collected from mothers during pregnancy on a monthly basis (median: 3 recalls, range: 1–8 recalls starting after enrollment), and used to estimate maternal usual nutrient intakes and dietary pattern scores [Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010), Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), and Relative Mediterranean Diet Score (rMED)]. Offspring hepatic fat was measured in early childhood by MRI. Associations of maternal dietary predictors during pregnancy with offspring log-transformed hepatic fat were assessed using linear regression models adjusted for offspring demographics, maternal/perinatal confounders, and maternal total energy intake. Results: Higher maternal fiber intake and rMED scores during pregnancy were associated with lower offspring hepatic fat in early childhood in fully adjusted models [Back-transformed β (95% CI): 0.82 (0.72, 0.94) per 5 g/1000 kcal fiber; 0.93 (0.88, 0.99) per 1 SD for rMED]. In contrast, higher maternal total sugar and added sugar intakes, and DII scores were associated with higher offspring hepatic fat [Back-transformed β (95% CI): 1.18 (1.05, 1.32) per 5% kcal/d added sugar; 1.08 (0.99, 1.18) per 1 SD for DII]. Analyses of dietary pattern subcomponents also revealed that lower maternal intakes of green vegetables and legumes and higher intake of “empty calories” were associated with higher offspring hepatic fat in early childhood. Conclusions: Poorer maternal diet quality during pregnancy was associated with greater offspring susceptibility to hepatic fat in early childhood. Our findings provide insights into potential perinatal targets for the primordial prevention of pediatric NAFLD