Association of polymorphisms at the ADIPOR1 regulatory region with type 2 diabetes and body mass index in a Brazilian population with European or African ancestry

Association studies between ADIPOR1 genetic variants and predisposition to type 2 diabetes (DM2) have provided contradictory results. We determined if two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP c.-8503G>A and SNP c.10225C>G) in regulatory regions of ADIPOR1 in 567 Brazilian individuals of European (EA; N = 443) or African (AfA; N = 124) ancestry from rural (quilombo remnants; N = 439) and urban (N = 567) areas. We detected a significant effect of ethnicity on the distribution of the allelic frequencies of both SNPs in these populations (EA: -8503A = 0.27; AfA: -8503A = 0.16; P = 0.001 and EA: 10225G = 0.35; AfA: 10225G = 0.51; P < 0.001). Neither of the polymorphisms were associated with DM2 in the case-control study in EA (SNP c.-8503G>A: DM2 group -8503A = 0.26; control group -8503A = 0.30; P = 0.14/SNP 10225C>G: DM2 group 10225G = 0.37; control group 10225G = 0.32; P = 0.40) and AfA populations (SNP c.-8503G>A: DM2 group -8503A = 0.16; control group -8503A = 0.15; P = 0.34/SNP 10225C>G: DM2 group 10225G = 0.51; control group 10225G = 0.52; P = 0.50). Similarly, none of the polymorphisms were associated with metabolic/anthropometric risk factors for DM2 in any of the three populations, except for HDL cholesterol, which was significantly higher in AfA heterozygotes (GC = 53.75 ± 17.26 mg/dL) than in homozygotes. We conclude that ADIPOR1 polymorphisms are unlikely to be major risk factors for DM2 or for metabolic/anthropometric measurements that represent risk factors for DM2 in populations of European and African ancestries.FAPESP 04/0185-5CEPIDHospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegr

A Study of the Natural History of Vitreomacular Traction Syndrome by OCT

PURPOSE: To examine the natural history of vitreomacular traction syndrome (VMTS) in the absence of other ocular comorbidities. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical case series. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 183 eyes of 159 patients diagnosed with VMTS with no other ocular comorbidity. METHODS: Patients with VMTS were identified from an OCT database at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. Sequential OCT scans and patient notes were reviewed over a minimum period of 6 months. Data collected included patient demographics, best-corrected visual acuity, and OCT features of vitreomacular adhesion. Contingency tests and binary logistic modeling were used to identify baseline predictors of stability and progression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The rates of spontaneous resolution (defined by release of traction), progression to full-thickness macular hole, and surgical intervention were analyzed. RESULTS: Presenting visual acuity was 0.3±0.3 logMAR units. The mean length of follow-up was 17.4±12.1 months. During this period, VMTS persisted in 60% and resolved in 20% (occurring on average at 15 months). Of the remainder, 12% developed a macular hole and 8% elected to proceed with surgery for symptoms. Focal adhesion <1500 μm was present in 87%. A premacular membrane with macular pucker (PMM) was present in 20%. With persistent VMTS, vision and central foveal thickness remained unchanged. The relative risk of resolution increased in those cases with better presenting visual acuities, lesser foveal thicknesses, and no associated PMMs; vision significantly improved in those cases with resolution. CONCLUSIONS: VMTS persists in the majority of patients but despite this, visual acuities did not deteriorate significantly over the study period unless patients developed a full-thickness macular hole or required surgical intervention for symptoms. Resolution spontaneously occurred in 20%, with an improvement in vision

A Modeling Study on How Cell Division Affects Properties of Epithelial Tissues Under Isotropic Growth

Cell proliferation affects both cellular geometry and topology in a growing tissue, and hence rules for cell division are key to understanding multicellular development. Epithelial cell layers have for long times been used to investigate how cell proliferation leads to tissue-scale properties, including organism-independent distributions of cell areas and number of neighbors. We use a cell-based two-dimensional tissue growth model including mechanics to investigate how different cell division rules result in different statistical properties of the cells at the tissue level. We focus on isotropic growth and division rules suggested for plant cells, and compare the models with data from the Arabidopsis shoot. We find that several division rules can lead to the correct distribution of number of neighbors, as seen in recent studies. In addition we find that when also geometrical properties are taken into account other constraints on the cell division rules result. We find that division rules acting in favor of equally sized and symmetrically shaped daughter cells can best describe the statistical tissue properties

Technical note: Reanalysis of Aura MLS chemical observations

This paper presents a reanalysis of the atmospheric chemical composition from the upper troposphere to the lower mesosphere from August 2004 to December 2017. This reanalysis is produced by the Belgian Assimilation System for Chemical ObsErvations (BASCOE) constrained by the chemical observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on board the Aura satellite. BASCOE is based on the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) method and includes a chemical transport model driven by the winds and temperature from the ERA-Interim meteorological reanalysis. The model resolution is 3.75∘ in longitude, 2.5∘ in latitude and 37 vertical levels from the surface to 0.1 hPa with 25 levels above 100 hPa. The outputs are provided every 6 h. This reanalysis is called BRAM2 for BASCOE Reanalysis of Aura MLS, version 2. Vertical profiles of eight species from MLS version 4 are assimilated and are evaluated in this paper: ozone (O3), water vapour (H2O), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric acid (HNO3), hydrogen chloride (HCl), chlorine oxide (ClO), methyl chloride (CH3Cl) and carbon monoxide (CO). They are evaluated using independent observations from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) and N2O observations from a different MLS radiometer than the one used to deliver the standard product and ozonesondes. The evaluation is carried out in four regions of interest where only selected species are evaluated. These regions are (1) the lower-stratospheric polar vortex where O3, H2O, N2O, HNO3, HCl and ClO are evaluated; (2) the upper-stratospheric–lower-mesospheric polar vortex where H2O, N2O, HNO3 and CO are evaluated; (3) the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS) where O3, H2O, CO and CH3Cl are evaluated; and (4) the middle stratosphere where O3, H2O, N2O, HNO3, HCl, ClO and CH3Cl are evaluated. In general BRAM2 reproduces MLS observations within their uncertainties and agrees well with independent observations, with several limitations discussed in this paper (see the summary in Sect. 5.5). In particular, ozone is not assimilated at altitudes above (i.e. pressures lower than) 4 hPa due to a model bias that cannot be corrected by the assimilation. MLS ozone profiles display unphysical oscillations in the tropical UTLS, which are corrected by the assimilation, allowing a good agreement with ozonesondes. Moreover, in the upper troposphere, comparison of BRAM2 with MLS and independent observations suggests a positive bias in MLS O3 and a negative bias in MLS H2O. The reanalysis also reveals a drift in MLS N2O against independent observations, which highlights the potential use of BRAM2 to estimate biases between instruments. BRAM2 is publicly available and will be extended to assimilate MLS observations after 201

Eclogite or jadeitite: The two colours involved in the transfer of alpine axeheads in western Europe

During the 5th and 4th millennia BC, the Neolithic extraction of stone around Mont Viso and in the Mont Beigua massif in the north Italian Alps resulted in the production of large polished axeheads in ecologite, omphacitite, jadeitite and amphibolite - raw materials which were not only rare but which also have remarkable mechanical and aesthetic properties. These axeheads circulated around western Europe over great distances and in particular, between the Alps, the Atlantic and the North Sea. Among these Alpine jades, research suggests a tendency for different raw materials to be represented in different geographic areas. Axeheads and other items made from dark-coloured rocks from the family of eclogites and omphacitites tend to predominate in the Paris Basin, in Germany and in Great Britain and Ireland. This paper documents the manufacture, circulation and deposition of different types of Alpine axeheads over time. More specifically, it discusses observed trends in relation to variability in the supply of raw materials and finished objects, the nature of regional traditions and long-distance transfer, and ultimately, the changing significance of axeheads as socially valorized artefacts

Four-dimensional variational assimilation of ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Aura satellite

Ozone profiles from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) onboard the Aura satellite of the NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) were experimentally added to the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) four-dimensional variational (4D-var) data assimilation system of version CY30R1, in which total ozone columns from Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) onboard the Envisat satellite and partial profiles from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV/2) instrument onboard the NOAA-16 satellite have been operationally assimilated. As shown by results for the autumn of 2005, additional constraints from MLS data significantly improved the agreement of the analyzed ozone fields with independent observations throughout most of the stratosphere, owing to the daily near-global coverage and good vertical resolution of MLS observations. The largest impacts were seen in the middle and lower stratosphere, where model deficiencies could not be effectively corrected by the operational observations without the additional information on the ozone vertical distribution provided by MLS. Even in the upper stratosphere, where ozone concentrations are mainly determined by rapid chemical processes, dense and vertically resolved MLS data helped reduce the biases related to model deficiencies. These improvements resulted in a more realistic and consistent description of spatial and temporal variations in stratospheric ozone, as demonstrated by cases in the dynamically and chemically active regions. However, combined assimilation of the often discrepant ozone observations might lead to underestimation of tropospheric ozone. In addition, model deficiencies induced large biases in the upper stratosphere in the medium-range (5-day) ozone forecasts

Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in uveitis

Abstract Background Retinal detachment is more common among uveitis patients than in the general population. Here, we aimed to assess the prevalence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in a uveitis population. Methods We retrospectively studied 851 uveitis patients, recording characteristics such as uveitis duration, anatomical location, and cause; RRD occurrence; proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) at presentation; surgical approach; reattachment rate; and initial and final visual acuity (VA). Results RRD occurred in 26 patients (3.1%; 29 affected eyes) and was significantly associated with posterior uveitis (p < 0.001), infectious uveitis (p < 0.001), and male gender (p = 0.012). Among cases of infectious uveitis, cytomegalovirus and varicella zoster virus were most commonly associated with RRD development. RRD in non-infectious uveitis was not found to be associated with any specific uveitis entity. The rate of single-operation reattachment was 48%, and the rate of final reattachment was 83%. Mean final VA was 20/125, with 41% of eyes ultimately having a VA of less than 20/200. Conclusion Uveitis is a risk factor for RRD development, which carries a poor prognosis

Increase in Ocular Syphilis Cases at Ophthalmologic Reference Center, France, 2012–2015

We describe the frequency, demographic and clinical features, and visual outcomes of ocular syphilis infections observed during 2012–2015 at a tertiary reference center in Paris, France. Twenty-one cases (29 eyes) were identified. The occurrence of ocular syphilis increased from 1 case in 2012 to 5 cases in 2013, 6 cases in 2014, and 9 cases in 2015 (2.22–25.21/1,000 individual patients/year for the period). Among case-patients, an annual 20%–33% were co-infected with HIV. Seventy-six percent of ocular syphilis infections occurred in men who have sex with men. Seventy-five percent of case-patients had a good final visual outcome (best-corrected visual acuity >0.3 logMAR score). Visual outcome was worse for HIV-positive patients than for HIV-negative patients (p = 0.0139). At follow-up, the best visual outcomes were observed in patients whose mean time from first ocular symptom to consultation was 15 days (SD +19 days)