39 research outputs found
Genome-Wide and Abdominal MRI-Imaging Data Provides Evidence that a Genetically Determined Favourable Adiposity Phenotype is Characterized by Lower Ectopic Liver Fat and Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease and Hypertension
Recent genetic studies have identified alleles associated with opposite effects on
adiposity and risk of type 2 diabetes. We aimed to identify more of these variants and
test the hypothesis that such âfavourable adiposityâ alleles are associated with higher
subcutaneous fat and lower ectopic fat. We combined magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) data with genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of body fat % and
metabolic traits. We report 14 alleles, including 7 newly characterized alleles,
associated with higher adiposity, but a favourable metabolic profile. Consistent with
previous studies, individuals carrying more âfavourable adiposityâ alleles had higher
body fat % and higher BMI, but lower risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and
hypertension. These individuals also had higher subcutaneous fat, but lower liver fat
and lower visceral-to-subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio. Individual alleles associated
with higher body fat % but lower liver fat and lower risk of type 2 diabetes included
those in PPARG, GRB14 and IRS1, whilst the allele in ANKRD55 was paradoxically
associated with higher visceral fat but lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Most identified
âfavourable adiposityâ alleles are associated with higher subcutaneous and lower liver
fat, a mechanism consistent with the beneficial effects of storing excess triglyceride in
metabolically low risk depots.Diabetes UK RD Lawrence fellowship, European Research Council, Wellcome Trust and Royal Society grant, European Regional Development Fund, Medical Research Council, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, German Research Foundation, Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking, European Union's
Seventh Framework Programme, Dutch Science Organisation, Scottish Government Health Directorates, Scottish Funding Council and Medical Research Council UK and the Wellcome Trust
The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape : A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age-and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of European descent) with genome-wide chip and/or Metabochip data by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium. Each study tested the association of up to similar to 2.8M SNPs with BMI and WHRadjBMI in four strata (men 50y, women 50y) and summary statistics were combined in stratum-specific meta-analyses. We then screened for variants that showed age-specific effects (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR= 50y). No sex-dependent effects were identified for BMI. For WHRadjBMI, we identified 44 loci (27 previously established for main effects, 17 novel) with sex-specific effects, of which 28 showed larger effects in women than in men, five showed larger effects in men than in women, and 11 showed opposite effects between sexes. No age-dependent effects were identified for WHRadjBMI. This is the first genome-wide interaction meta-analysis to report convincing evidence of age-dependent genetic effects on BMI. In addition, we confirm the sex-specificity of genetic effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may providefurther insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape.Peer reviewe
Measurement of forward charged hadron flow harmonics in peripheral PbPb collisions at âsNN = 5.02 TeV with the LHCb detector
Flow harmonic coefficients,
v
n
, which are the key to studying the hydrodynamics of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in heavy-ion collisions, have been measured in various collision systems and kinematic regions and using various particle species. The study of flow harmonics in a wide pseudorapidity range is particularly valuable to understand the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of the QGP. This paper presents the first LHCb results of the second- and the third-order flow harmonic coefficients of charged hadrons as a function of transverse momentum in the forward region, corresponding to pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.9, using the data collected from PbPb collisions in 2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02
TeV
. The coefficients measured using the two-particle angular correlation analysis method are smaller than the central-pseudorapidity measurements at ALICE and ATLAS from the same collision system but share similar features
Helium identification with LHCb
The identification of helium nuclei at LHCb is achieved using a method based on measurements of ionisation losses in the silicon sensors and timing measurements in the Outer Tracker drift tubes. The background from photon conversions is reduced using the RICH detectors and an isolation requirement. The method is developed using pp collision data at â(s) = 13 TeV recorded by the LHCb experiment in the years 2016 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.5 fb-1. A total of around 105 helium and antihelium candidates are identified with negligible background contamination. The helium identification efficiency is estimated to be approximately 50% with a corresponding background rejection rate of up to O(10^12). These results demonstrate the feasibility of a rich programme of measurements of QCD and astrophysics interest involving light nuclei
Curvature-bias corrections using a pseudomass method
Momentum measurements for very high momentum charged particles, such as muons from electroweak vector boson decays, are particularly susceptible to charge-dependent curvature biases that arise from misalignments of tracking detectors. Low momentum charged particles used in alignment procedures have limited sensitivity to coherent displacements of such detectors, and therefore are unable to fully constrain these misalignments to the precision necessary for studies of electroweak physics. Additional approaches are therefore required to understand and correct for these effects. In this paper the curvature biases present at the LHCb detector are studied using the pseudomass method in proton-proton collision data recorded at centre of mass energy â(s)=13 TeV during 2016, 2017 and 2018. The biases are determined using ZâÎŒ + ÎŒ - decays in intervals defined by the data-taking period, magnet polarity and muon direction. Correcting for these biases, which are typically at the 10-4 GeV-1 level, improves the ZâÎŒ + ÎŒ - mass resolution by roughly 18% and eliminates several pathological trends in the kinematic-dependence of the mean dimuon invariant mass
SALUTE E IMMIGRATI: INTEGRAZIONE TRA MEDICINE TRADIZIONALI E CULTURA BIOMEDICA MODERNA NELLA PROVINCIA DI CAGLIARI
An ethnobotanical study of traditional antinflammatory plants used in the folk medicine of Ogliastra (central-eastern Sardinia, Italy)
In this work the authors propose the results of an ethnobotanical investigation developed in Ogliastra, a subregion of Sardinia, whose territory, between the sea and mountains, is characterized by a variety of natural environments. In this territory there is a strictly traditionalist structure and an evident cultural isolation. These conditions have consolidated the relationship between humans and the environment, people and plants. Previous ethnobotanical studies (Ballero et al., 1994, 1997a, b, 1998, 2001; Bruni et al., 1997; Loi et al., 2002, 2004; Palmese et al., 2001; Sanna et al., 2006) showed in Sardinia a rich contingent of plant species for medicine uses: 397 plants (about 16% of the total) are recognized as medicinal herbs (Gastaldo, 1987) and 20 are included in the F.U.I. The investigation presented in this work was carried out by the method of the survey led by an interview, aimed at filling in a pre-formulated form, semi-structured, according to present indications of ethnobotanical investigation (Waller, 1993; Cotton 2002). The 317 interviews have highlighted a contingent of 36 plant species belonging to 35 genera and 27 families, used in folk medicine for the treatment of inflammatory processes. With regard to taking, the investigation showed a greater use of the decoction (23.4% of reports), followed by the directly application on the skin of fresh parts of the plant (23.2%), the infusion (19.5%) and the cataplasm (12.9%). There are no signs of more complex handling of the drugs. The main parts used are the leaves (28.3%), whole plant (21.7%), fruits (6.9%), flowers (6.9%) and root (6.8% ), moreover latex (4.8%) and resin (2.1%) are also used