A 19-SNP coronary heart disease gene score profile in subjects with type 2 diabetes: the coronary heart disease risk in type 2 diabetes (CoRDia study) study baseline characteristics

Background: The coronary risk in diabetes (CoRDia) trial (n = 211) compares the effectiveness of usual diabetes care with a self-management intervention (SMI), with and without personalised risk information (including genetics), on clinical and behavioural outcomes. Here we present an assessment of randomisation, the cardiac risk genotyping assay, and the genetic characteristics of the recruits. / Methods: Ten-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk was calculated using the UKPDS score. Genetic CHD risk was determined by genotyping 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using Randox’s Cardiac Risk Prediction Array and calculating a gene score (GS). Accuracy of the array was assessed by genotyping a subset of pre-genotyped samples (n = 185). / Results: Overall, 10-year CHD risk ranged from 2–72 % but did not differ between the randomisation groups (p = 0.13). The array results were 99.8 % concordant with the pre-determined genotypes. The GS did not differ between the Caucasian participants in the CoRDia SMI plus risk group (n = 66) (p = 0.80) and a sample of UK healthy men (n = 1360). The GS was also associated with LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.05) and family history (p = 0.03) in a sample of UK healthy men (n = 1360). / Conclusions: CHD risk is high in this group of T2D subjects. The risk array is an accurate genotyping assay, and is suitable for estimating an individual’s genetic CHD risk. / Trial registration: This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov; registration identifier NCT0189178

Psychological predictors of 'living well' with dementia: findings from the IDEAL study.

OBJECTIVES:Increasingly, research has explored how psychological resources enable adaptation to illness. However, it is unclear whether psychological resources protect against the potential negative effects on living well with a progressive and life-limiting condition such as dementia. This paper examines the association between psychological resources and the ability to 'live well' with dementia. METHOD:Data from 1547 people with mild-to-moderate dementia in the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life (IDEAL) cohort were used. Multivariate linear regression was employed to examine the association between self-reported measures of psychological resources (self-efficacy, optimism and self-esteem) and indices of capability to 'live well' (quality of life, well-being and life satisfaction). RESULTS:All three measures of psychological resources had positive and independent associations with indices of living well and the effect sizes were similar. Effect sizes reduced when accounting for shared variance between psychological resources, showing some overlap in these constructs. CONCLUSION:Self-efficacy, optimism and self-esteem were each associated with capability to 'live well'. Overlap between these three resources is evident and when combined they may provide greater resilience when dealing with the challenges of living with dementia. Interventions for people with dementia could seek to improve levels of these potentially-modifiable psychological resources.Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the National Institute for Health Research (UK

Living well with dementia: a systematic review and correlational meta-analysis of factors associated with quality of life, well-being and life satisfaction in people with dementia - CORRIGENDUM

This is the final version. Available on open access from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this recor

A comprehensive model of factors associated with capability to ‘live well’ for family caregivers of people living with mild-to-moderate dementia: findings from the IDEAL study

© 2018 The Author(s). Introduction: Understanding key influences on outcomes for caregivers of people with dementia is hampered by inconsistent conceptualisation and measurement of outcomes and limited evidence about the relative impact of different variables. We aimed to address these issues. Method: We analysed data from 1283 caregivers of community-dwelling individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia in the IDEAL cohort. We generated a ‘living well’ latent factor from measures of quality of life, satisfaction with life and well-being. We used structural equation modelling to derive latent variables for seven domains reflecting caregivers’ perceptions of their personal resources and experiences, and to examine the associations with caregivers’ perceptions of their capability to ‘live well’. Results: The domain of Psychological characteristics and psychological health was most strongly related to living well (2.53; 95% CI 2.08, 2.97), followed by Physical fitness and physical health (1.48, 95% CI 1.04, 1.91) and Experiencing caregiving (1.34; 95% CI 0.99, 1.70). Capitals, assets and resources (0.68, 95% CI 0.35, 1.00) and Relationship with the person with dementia (-0.22, 95% CI -0.41, -0.03) had smaller, significant associations. Social location (0.28, 95% CI -0.33, 0.89) and Managing everyday life with dementia (0.06, 95% CI -0.15, 0.28) were not significantly associated with living well. Discussion: These findings demonstrate the importance of supporting caregivers’ psychological and physical health and their ability to develop and maintain positive coping strategies, as well as enabling them to maintain vital social capitals, assets and resources.Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the National Institute for Health Research (UK

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) Candidate Bacteria: Associations with BV and Behavioural Practices in Sexually-Experienced and Inexperienced Women

BACKGROUND: In recent years several new fastidious bacteria have been identified that display a high specificity for BV; however no previous studies have comprehensively assessed the behavioural risk associations of these bacterial vaginosis-candidate organisms (BV-COs). METHODS: We examined the associations between 8 key previously described BV-COs and BV status established by Nugent's score (NS). We also examined the sexual practices associated with each BV-CO. We incorporated 2 study populations: 193 from a sexually-inexperienced university population and 146 from a highly sexually-active clinic population. Detailed behavioural data was collected by questionnaire and vaginal smears were scored by the Nugent method. Stored samples were tested by quantitative PCR assays for the 8 BV-COs: Atopobium vaginae, Gardnerella vaginalis, Leptotrichia spp., Megasphaera type I, Sneathia spp., and the Clostridia-like bacteria BVAB1, BVAB2 and BVAB3. Associations between BV-COs and BV and behaviours were examined by univariate and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: On univariate analysis, all BV-COs were more common in BV compared to normal flora. However, only Megasphaera type I, BVAB2, A. vaginae and G. vaginalis were significantly independently associated with BV by multivariable analysis. Six of the eight BV-COs (Megasphaera type I, BVAB2, BVAB3, Sneathia, Leptotrichia and G. vaginalis) were rare or absent in sexually-unexposed women, and demonstrated increasing odds of detection with increasing levels of sexual activity and/or numbers of lifetime sexual partners. Only G. vaginalis and A. vaginae were commonly detected in sexually-unexposed women. Megasphaera type I was independently associated with women-who-have-sex-with women (WSW) and lifetime sexual partner numbers, while unprotected penile-vaginal-sex was associated with BVAB2 detection by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Four of eight key BV-COs were significantly associated with BV after adjusting for the presence of other BV-COs. The majority of BV-COs were absent or rare in sexually-unexposed women, and associated with increasing sexual exposure, suggesting potential sexual transmission of BV-COs

The MPI Facial Expression Database — A Validated Database of Emotional and Conversational Facial Expressions

The ability to communicate is one of the core aspects of human life. For this, we use not only verbal but also nonverbal signals of remarkable complexity. Among the latter, facial expressions belong to the most important information channels. Despite the large variety of facial expressions we use in daily life, research on facial expressions has so far mostly focused on the emotional aspect. Consequently, most databases of facial expressions available to the research community also include only emotional expressions, neglecting the largely unexplored aspect of conversational expressions. To fill this gap, we present the MPI facial expression database, which contains a large variety of natural emotional and conversational expressions. The database contains 55 different facial expressions performed by 19 German participants. Expressions were elicited with the help of a method-acting protocol, which guarantees both well-defined and natural facial expressions. The method-acting protocol was based on every-day scenarios, which are used to define the necessary context information for each expression. All facial expressions are available in three repetitions, in two intensities, as well as from three different camera angles. A detailed frame annotation is provided, from which a dynamic and a static version of the database have been created. In addition to describing the database in detail, we also present the results of an experiment with two conditions that serve to validate the context scenarios as well as the naturalness and recognizability of the video sequences. Our results provide clear evidence that conversational expressions can be recognized surprisingly well from visual information alone. The MPI facial expression database will enable researchers from different research fields (including the perceptual and cognitive sciences, but also affective computing, as well as computer vision) to investigate the processing of a wider range of natural facial expressions

Methods for quick, accurate and cost-effective determination of the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score (T1D-GRS) - dataset

Genotypes of 10 SNPs used to calculate the T1D-GRS in 300 samples and by use of three different techniques; Sanger sequencing, KASP chemistry and Randox BiochipThis is the dataset used for the Locke et al. (2019) article "Methods for quick, accurate and cost-effective determination of the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score (T1D-GRS)" published in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Wellcome TrustDiabetes U