Long-term cardiometabolic disease risk in women with PCOS:a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with cardiometabolic disease, but recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses of longitudinal studies that quantify these associations are lacking. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: Is PCOS a risk factor for cardiometabolic disease? SEARCH METHODS: We searched from inception to September 2019 in MEDLINE and EMBASE using controlled terms (e.g. MESH) and text words for PCOS and cardiometabolic outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, myocardial infarction, hypertension (HT), type 2 diabetes (T2D), metabolic syndrome and dyslipidaemia. Cohort studies and case-control studies comparing the prevalence of T2D, HT, fatal or non-fatal CVD and/or lipid concentrations of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TGs) between women with and without PCOS of ≥18 years of age were eligible for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Studies were eligible regardless of the degree to which they adjusted for confounders including obesity. Articles had to be written in English, German or Dutch. Intervention studies, animal studies, conference abstracts, studies with a follow-up duration less than 3 years and studies with less than 10 PCOS cases were excluded. Study selection, quality assessment (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale) and data extraction were performed by two independent researchers. OUTCOMES: Of the 5971 identified records, 23 cohort studies were included in the current systematic review. Women with PCOS had increased risks of HT (risk ratio (RR): 1.75, 95% CI 1.42 to 2.15), T2D (RR: 3.00, 95% CI 2.56 to 3.51), a higher serum concentration of TC (mean difference (MD): 7.14 95% CI 1.58 to 12.70 mg/dl), a lower serum concentration of HDL-C (MD: -2.45 95% CI -4.51 to -0.38 mg/dl) and increased risks of non-fatal cerebrovascular disease events (RR: 1.41, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.94) compared to women without PCOS. No differences were found for LDL-C (MD: 3.32 95% CI -4.11 to 10.75 mg/dl), TG (MD 18.53 95% CI -0.58 to 37.64 mg/dl) or coronary disease events (RR: 1.78, 95% CI 0.99 to 3.23). No meta-analyses could be performed for fatal CVD events due to the paucity of mortality data. WIDER IMPLICATIONS: Women with PCOS are at increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. This review quantifies this risk, which is important for clinicians to inform patients and to take into account in the cardiovascular risk assessment of women with PCOS. Future clinical trials are needed to assess the ability of cardiometabolic screening and management in women with PCOS to reduce future CVD morbidity

Effect of dual actuating strip guidance systems in a continuous steel annealing line

In the past, Royal Hoogovens, a main primary steel and aluminum manufacturer in the Netherlands, used pre-shaped rolls and sophisticated tension tables to guarantee good strip tracking for all strip geometry's in both their Continuous Annealing lines. However: with an increasing product mix (wider range of geometrical dimensions: widths between 800 - 1200 mm and thickness' between. 0.15 - 0.30 mm) in combination with high annealing temperatures of approximately 1000 K, these methods were not sufficient anymore. The steel strips became too vulnerable for wrinkles. To prevent wrinkles and tracking problems, Hoogovens Packaging Steel improved the flexibility of a processing line by partly substituting the pre-shaped rolls by flat rolls and new steering rolls. Before this process was started, a lot of time was spent, developing a suitable new steering roll type. This steering roll, it is called the DUal Actuating strip guidance System (DUAS), has a minimal influence on the strip tension distribution, basically consists of a flat roll and two hydraulic actuators mounted on a small frame and fits in an existing installations without large modifications. In December '95 the first system was placed in the furnace of one of the Hoogovens annealing lines and in November '96 another two

Managing hedgerows for nocturnal wildlife:Do bats and their insect prey benefit from targeted agri-environment schemes?

1. Mitigating the detrimental impacts of intensive farming on biodiversity requires the implementation of cost-effective conservation actions. Targeted agri-environment-schemes (AESs) to enhance populations of threatened species inhabiting farmland have been proposed for this purpose, yet their effectiveness for nocturnal wildlife remains unknown. 2. We assessed whether hedgerow management prescribed by targeted AESs to improve habitat conditions for the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) in England may positively influence the species, the entire bat assemblage and the insect prey of bats. We specifically investigated the responses of bats (occurrence, activity, and species richness) and insects (biomass, abundance, and diversity) to time since last trimming (from 1 up to 10 years). We explored the mechanisms underlying the effects of AES via changes in trimming regime on bats. Moreover, we investigated the effects of landscape context on bats as we expected that highly mobile species would benefit further from landscape-scale management. 3. Bat species richness significantly increased with time since last trimming. Three bat taxa of major conservation concern in Western Europe substantially benefited from the targeted prescription, namely R. ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros and Plecotus spp. Insect-family richness and dipteran abundance were also significantly greater at hedgerows that were untrimmed for at least three years. The activity of more common bat species (i.e. pipistrelle bats) was not influenced by time since last trimming. 4. Changes in trimming regime strongly affected hedgerow height which directly and indirectly (by increasing prey abundance) influenced bat occurrence, activity and species richness along hedgerows. 5. The activity of highly mobile bat species was mainly associated with a range of landscape attributes. The amount of semi-natural grassland within 0.5 km of the sampling sites positively influenced R. ferrumequinum while the presence of urban areas negatively affected light-sensitive bat species. 6. Synthesis and applications. The implementation of targeted agri-environment-schemes can include effective measures to enhance bats and their insect prey in farmland. Although we highlight the success of current prescriptions on hedgerow management, we suggest that their effectiveness can easily be optimized by encouraging farmers to keep hedgerows untrimmed for longer periods (>3 up to 10 years). We also highlight that a multi-scale management approach is required to successfully promote bats in farmland

Samenvatting en synthese: perspectieven voor hoogveenherstel in Nederland

De gebrekkige kennis over hoe in Nederland hoogvenen hersteld moeten worden waren voor de Directie Natuurbeheer van het ministerie van LNV en het EC-LNV aanleiding om in het kader van de regeling Overlevingsplan Bos & Natuur een subsidie beschikbaar te stellen voor onderzoek naar hoogveenherstel in Nederland. In eerste instantie is het preadvies samengesteld waarin de bestaande kennis bijeengebracht is en benodigd onderzoek geformuleerd is (Schouwenaars et al. 1997). Op basis van het preadvies zijn keuzes gemaakt waarbij uiteindelijk de meeste knellende kennislacunes geprioriteerd werden voor de eerste onderzoeksfase. Dit betekent dat niet alle vragen die voor het beheer en herstel van hoogvenen van belang kunnen zijn aan bod zijn gekomen. In deze eerste fase heeft nog erg de nadruk gelegen op het beheren en herstellen van de typische hoogveenvegetaties, omdat deze, zoals hierna zal worden uitgelegd, de basis vormen voor een goed functionerend hoogveensysteem

Guidelines for consideration of bats in lighting projects.

Eighty percent of the world’s population are currently exposed to light-polluted skies, and the Milky Way is no longer visible to more than a third of humanity. The pace the light pollution is increasing is faster than global population growth and economic development. While environmental conditions at night are being dramatically and rapidly altered, circadian rhythms, behaviour and ecology of plants and animals are imminently influenced. In the same time, effects of artificial lighting, various illumination schemes and spectra on biodiversity, including bats, are currently insufficiently understood, whereas only a vague notion of required mitigation and compensation activities exists among decision-makers and other parties involved in lighting projects. Although the bats are almost exclusively nocturnal and extremely sensitive to multiple effects of light pollution, its negative impact on bats alongside essential measures needed to preserve unfragmented nightscapes for these animals are often disregarded during impact assessments, planning and operation. In this volume, we tried to compile available evidence related to the effect of artificial light at night on the European bats. Based on the current state of knowledge, solutions are proposed concerning possible ways to avoid, mitigate and compensate the adverse effects which lighting projects may have on bats and their functional habitats. We also outlined research priorities for future studies, required for in-depth understanding of the problem and assessing efficiency of proposed mitigative measures

Follicular lymphoma, a B cell malignancy addicted to epigenetic mutations

K Korfi, S Ali, J Heward and J Fitzgibbon are supported by Cancer Research UK Programme Grant [C15966/A15968] and Bloodwise Programme Grant [15002]. S Ali is also a recipient of Cancer Research UK Clinical Careers Committee research bursary [C56515/A21397]

Do Bat Gantries and Underpasses Help Bats Cross Roads Safely?

Major roads can reduce bat abundance and diversity over considerable distances. To mitigate against these effects and comply with environmental law, many European countries install bridges, gantries or underpasses to make roads permeable and safer to cross. However, through lack of appropriate monitoring, there is little evidence to support their effectiveness. Three underpasses and four bat gantries were investigated in northern England. Echolocation call recordings and observations were used to determine the number of bats using underpasses in preference to crossing the road above, and the height at which bats crossed. At gantries, proximity to the gantry and height of crossing bats were measured. Data were compared to those from adjacent, severed commuting routes that had no crossing structure. At one underpass 96% of bats flew through it in preference to crossing the road. This underpass was located on a pre-construction commuting route that allowed bats to pass without changing flight height or direction. At two underpasses attempts to divert bats from their original commuting routes were unsuccessful and bats crossed the road at the height of passing vehicles. Underpasses have the potential to allow bats to cross roads safely if built on pre-construction commuting routes. Bat gantries were ineffective and used by a very small proportion of bats, even up to nine years after construction. Most bats near gantries crossed roads along severed, pre-construction commuting routes at heights that put them in the path of vehicles. Crossing height was strongly correlated with verge height, suggesting that elevated verges may have some value in mitigation, but increased flight height may be at the cost of reduced permeability. Green bridges should be explored as an alternative form of mitigation. Robust monitoring is essential to assess objectively the case for mitigation and to ensure effective mitigation

Droplet impact of Newtonian fluids and blood on simple fabrics: effect of fabric pore size and underlying substrate

When a droplet impacts a fabric mesh at a sufficiently high impact velocity, it not only spreads over the fabric but also penetrate its pores. To determine the influence of this liquid penetration of the fabric on droplet spreading on thin fabric meshes, we measured the droplet spreading ratio on fabric with and without an underlying substrate using a high-speed camera. For fabrics without a substrate, the droplet spreading ratio is reduced as the fabric penetration by the liquid reduces the droplet volume spreading on top of the fabric. Using entropic lattice Boltzmann simulations, we find that the lower droplet spreading ratio on fabrics, both with and without a substrate, is due to an increase of viscous losses inside the droplet during spreading. Comparing droplet impact of blood with its Newtonian counterpart, we show that for spreading on fabrics, just like on smooth surfaces, blood can be approximated as a Newtonian fluid.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, 2 Supplemental Movies (not included