Is the growth of the child of a smoking mother influenced by the father's prenatal exposure to tobacco? A hypothesis generating longitudinal study

OBJECTIVES: Transgenerational effects of different environmental exposures are of major interest, with rodent experiments focusing on epigenetic mechanisms. Previously, we have shown that if the study mother is a non-smoker, there is increased mean birth weight, length and body mass index (BMI) in her sons if she herself had been exposed prenatally to her mother's smoking. The aim of this study was to determine whether the prenatal smoke exposure of either parent influenced the growth of the fetus of a smoking woman, and whether any effects were dependent on the fetal sex. DESIGN: Population-based prebirth cohort study. SETTING: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were residents of a geographic area with expected date of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992. Among pregnancies of mothers who smoked during pregnancy, data were available concerning maternal and paternal prenatal exposures to their own mother smoking for 3502 and 2354, respectively. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Birth weight, length, BMI and head circumference. RESULTS: After controlling for confounders, there were no associations with birth weight, length or BMI. There was a strong adjusted association of birth head circumference among boys whose fathers had been exposed prenatally (mean difference −0.35 cm; 95% CI −0.57 to −0.14; p=0.001). There was no such association with girls (interaction p=0.006). Similar associations were found when primiparae and multiparae were analysed separately. In order to determine whether this was reflected in child development, we examined the relationships with IQ; we found that the boys born to exposed fathers had lower IQ scores on average, and that this was particularly due to the verbal component (mean difference in verbal IQ −3.65 points; 95% CI −6.60 to −0.70). CONCLUSIONS: Head size differences concerning paternal fetal exposure to smoking were unexpected and, as such, should be regarded as hypothesis generating

Universality in escape from a modulated potential well

We show that the rate of activated escape $W$ from a periodically modulated potential displays scaling behavior versus modulation amplitude $A$. For adiabatic modulation of an optically trapped Brownian particle, measurements yield $\ln W\propto (A_{\rm c} - A)^{\mu}$ with $\mu = 1.5$. The theory gives $\mu=3/2$ in the adiabatic limit and predicts a crossover to $\mu=2$ scaling as $A$ approaches the bifurcation point where the metastable state disappears.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Lambda-prophage induction modeled as a cooperative failure mode of lytic repression

We analyze a system-level model for lytic repression of lambda-phage in E. coli using reliability theory, showing that the repressor circuit comprises 4 redundant components whose failure mode is prophage induction. Our model reflects the specific biochemical mechanisms involved in regulation, including long-range cooperative binding, and its detailed predictions for prophage induction in E. coli under ultra-violet radiation are in good agreement with experimental data.Comment: added referenc

Cohort profile: the avon longitudinal study of parents and children: ALSPAC mothers cohort

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) was established to understand how genetic and environmental characteristics influence health and development in parents and children. All pregnant women resident in a defined area in the South West of England, with an expected date of delivery between 1st April 1991 and 31st December 1992, were eligible and 13 761 women (contributing 13 867 pregnancies) were recruited. These women have been followed over the last 19–22 years and have completed up to 20 questionnaires, have had detailed data abstracted from their medical records and have information on any cancer diagnoses and deaths through record linkage. A follow-up assessment was completed 17–18 years postnatal at which anthropometry, blood pressure, fat, lean and bone mass and carotid intima media thickness were assessed, and a fasting blood sample taken. The second follow-up clinic, which additionally measures cognitive function, physical capability, physical activity (with accelerometer) and wrist bone architecture, is underway and two further assessments with similar measurements will take place over the next 5 years. There is a detailed biobank that includes DNA, with genome-wide data available on >10 000, stored serum and plasma taken repeatedly since pregnancy and other samples; a wide range of data on completed biospecimen assays are available. Details of how to access these data are provided in this cohort profile

Living apart, losing sympathy? How neighbourhood context affects attitudes to redistribution and to welfare recipients

Rising levels of income inequality have been directly linked to rising levels of spatial segregation. In this paper, we explore whether rising segregation may in turn erode support for the redistributive policies of the welfare state, further increasing levels of inequality – a form of positive feedback. The role of the neighbourhood has been neglected in attitudes research but, building on both political geography and ‘neighbourhood effects’ literatures, we theorise that neighbourhood context may shape attitudes through the transmission of attitudes directly and through the accumulation of relevant knowledge. We test this through multilevel modelling of data from England on individual attitudes to redistribution in general and to welfare benefit recipients in particular. We show that the individual factors shaping these attitudes are quite different and that the influence of neighbourhood context also varies as a result. The findings support the idea that neighbourhood context shapes attitudes, with the knowledge accumulation mechanism likely to be the more important. Rising spatial segregation would appear to erode support for redistribution but to increase support for welfare recipients – at least in a context where the dominant media discourse presents such a stigmatising image of those on welfare benefits

Digit ratio and autism spectrum disorders in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children:a birth cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), a measure commonly used as a proxy for fetal testosterone exposure, is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), as predicted by the extreme male brain theory of autism.DESIGN: A birth cohort study.SETTING: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).PARTICIPANTS: 6015 ALSPAC children with data on digit ratio, at least 1 outcome measure and information on potential confounding variables (parental occupational class, maternal education and age at digit ratio measurement). Digit ratio was measured by the photocopy and calliper method.OUTCOMES: ASD diagnosis (cases were identified previously by record linkage or maternal report) and 4 measures that combine optimally within ALSPAC to predict ASD: the Children's Communication Checklist (coherence subscale), the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist, a repetitive behaviour measure, and the Emotionality, Activity and Sociability scale (sociability subscale). These measures were dichotomised, with approximately 10% defined as the 'risk' group.RESULTS: Using logistic regression, we examined the association of 2D:4D with ASDs and 4 dichotomised ASD traits. Covariates were occupational class, maternal education and age at 2D:4D measurement. 2D:4D was not associated with ASDs in males (adjusted OR per 1 SD increase in mean 2D:4D, 0.88 (95% CI 0.65 to 1.21), p=0.435) or females (adjusted OR=1.36 (95% CI 0.81 to 2.28), p=0.245). Similar results were observed after adjustment for IQ. There was 1 weak association between reduced coherence and increased left 2D:4D in males, in the opposite direction to that predicted by the extreme male brain theory (adjusted OR=1.15 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.29), p=0.023). Given multiple comparisons, this is consistent with chance.CONCLUSIONS: In this population-based study, there was no strong evidence of an association between 2D:4D and ASD diagnosis or traits, although the CIs were wide. These results are not consistent with the extreme male brain theory.</p

Surface water flood forecasting for urban communities

Key findings and recommendations: • This research has addressed the challenge of surface water flood forecasting by producing the UK’s first operational surface water flood risk forecast with a 24-hour lead time. This was successfully used in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games in 2014. • The methodology of the Glasgow Pilot has been developed to use nationally available datasets and a transferrable approach which will help urban areas in Scotland improve their resilience to and preparedness for future flooding. • It also delivered a novel method for forecasting the impacts of flooding in real-time and increased knowledge on communicating uncertainties in flood risk. • A real-time forecasting system for surface water flooding from intense rainfall needs to use models that represent surface runoff production, surface water inundation and movement, and how water travels via surface and sub-surface pathways, including urban sewerage and drainage networks. Ensemble rainfall prediction models are key to quantifying uncertainty in forecasting the rainfall that causes surface water flooding. • Detailed surface water flood inundation models exist and are widely used in design and research activities, but none were found to be ready for real-time use. The Grid-to-Grid (G2G) distributed hydrological model was chosen for used in the Glasgow Pilot as it can provide ensemble forecasts of surface water flooding, and takes account of the intensity and pattern of rainfall, land cover and slope, and antecedent conditions. • The research developed a novel methodology for impact assessment that links surface runoff to the severity of flooding impacts on people, property and transport. Use is made of a library of information based on SEPA’s Regional Pluvial (rainfall-related) Flood Hazard maps. • For the Glasgow Pilot, G2G was operated over a 10km by 10km area encompassing Glasgow’s East End and the main areas of activity for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The research team developed an operational application, called FEWS Glasgow, to support running the model in real-time and reporting on the likely impacts of surface water flooding. A new Daily Glasgow Daily Surface Water Flood Forecast was designed and produced based on operational requirements and emergency responder feedback

Theory of periodic swarming of bacteria: application to Proteus mirabilis

The periodic swarming of bacteria is one of the simplest examples for pattern formation produced by the self-organized collective behavior of a large number of organisms. In the spectacular colonies of Proteus mirabilis (the most common species exhibiting this type of growth) a series of concentric rings are developed as the bacteria multiply and swarm following a scenario periodically repeating itself. We have developed a theoretical description for this process in order to get a deeper insight into some of the typical processes governing the phenomena in systems of many interacting living units. All of our theoretical results are in excellent quantitative agreement with the complete set of available observations.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

A reaction-diffusion model for the growth of avascular tumor

A nutrient-limited model for avascular cancer growth including cell proliferation, motility and death is presented. The model qualitatively reproduces commonly observed morphologies for primary tumors, and the simulated patterns are characterized by its gyration radius, total number of cancer cells, and number of cells on tumor periphery. These very distinct morphological patterns follow Gompertz growth curves, but exhibit different scaling laws for their surfaces. Also, the simulated tumors incorporate a spatial structure composed of a central necrotic core, an inner rim of quiescent cells and a narrow outer shell of proliferating cells in agreement with biological data. Finally, our results indicate that the competition for nutrients among normal and cancer cells may be a determinant factor in generating papillary tumor morphology.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in PR