Exhaustive measurement of food items in the home using a universal product code scanner

We aimed to develop, test and describe the Exhaustive Home Food Inventory (EHFI), which measures foods in the home using scanning of the universal product code (UPC) and EHFI software to link codes to food identities and energy values

Sample Size and Repeated Measures Required in Studies of Foods in the Homes of African-American Families

Measurement of the home food environment is of interest to researchers because it affects food intake and is a feasible target for nutrition interventions. The objective of this study was to provide estimates to aid the calculation of sample size and number of repeated measures needed in studies of nutrients and foods in the home. We inventoried all foods in the homes of 80 African-American first-time mothers and determined 6 nutrient-related attributes. Sixty-three households were measured 3 times, 11 were measured twice, and 6 were measured once, producing 217 inventories collected at ~2-mo intervals. Following log transformations, number of foods, total energy, dietary fiber, and fat required only one measurement per household to achieve a correlation of 0.8 between the observed and true values. For percent energy from fat and energy density, 3 and 2 repeated measurements, respectively, were needed to achieve a correlation of 0.8. A sample size of 252 was needed to detect a difference of 25% of an SD in total energy with one measurement compared with 213 with 3 repeated measurements. Macronutrient characteristics of household foods appeared relatively stable over a 6-mo period and only 1 or 2 repeated measures of households may be sufficient for an efficient study design

Relationship between Home Fruit and Vegetable Availability and Infant and Maternal Dietary Intake in African-American Families: Evidence from the Exhaustive Home Food Inventory

The availability of foods in the home is likely to be related to consumption. We know of no studies that have reported this association in African American participants, and few studies have examined home food availability using objective methods

A heart failure self-management program for patients of all literacy levels: A randomized, controlled trial [ISRCTN11535170]

Abstract: Background: Self-management programs for patients with heart failure can reduce hospitalizations and mortality. However, no programs have analyzed their usefulness for patients with low literacy. We compared the efficacy of a heart failure self-management program designed for patients with low literacy versus usual care. Methods: We performed a 12-month randomized controlled trial. From November 2001 to April 2003, we enrolled participants aged 30–80, who had heart failure and took furosemide. Intervention patients received education on self-care emphasizing daily weight measurement, diuretic dose self-adjustment, and symptom recognition and response. Picture-based educational materials, a digital scale, and scheduled telephone follow-up were provided to reinforce adherence. Control patients received a generic heart failure brochure and usual care. Primary outcomes were combined hospitalization or death, and heart failure-related quality of life. Results: 123 patients (64 control, 59 intervention) participated; 41% had inadequate literacy. Patients in the intervention group had a lower rate of hospitalization or death (crude incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.69; CI 0.4, 1.2; adjusted IRR = 0.53; CI 0.32, 0.89). This difference was larger for patients with low literacy (IRR = 0.39; CI 0.16, 0.91) than for higher literacy (IRR = 0.56; CI 0.3, 1.04), but the interaction was not statistically significant. At 12 months, more patients in the intervention group reported monitoring weights daily (79% vs. 29%, p < 0.0001). After adjusting for baseline demographic and treatment differences, we found no difference in heart failure-related quality of life at 12 months (difference = -2; CI -5, +9). Conclusion: A primary care-based heart failure self-management program designed for patients with low literacy reduces the risk of hospitalizations or death

A heart failure self-management program for patients of all literacy levels: A randomized, controlled trial [ISRCTN11535170]

BACKGROUND: Self-management programs for patients with heart failure can reduce hospitalizations and mortality. However, no programs have analyzed their usefulness for patients with low literacy. We compared the efficacy of a heart failure self-management program designed for patients with low literacy versus usual care. METHODS: We performed a 12-month randomized controlled trial. From November 2001 to April 2003, we enrolled participants aged 30–80, who had heart failure and took furosemide. Intervention patients received education on self-care emphasizing daily weight measurement, diuretic dose self-adjustment, and symptom recognition and response. Picture-based educational materials, a digital scale, and scheduled telephone follow-up were provided to reinforce adherence. Control patients received a generic heart failure brochure and usual care. Primary outcomes were combined hospitalization or death, and heart failure-related quality of life. RESULTS: 123 patients (64 control, 59 intervention) participated; 41% had inadequate literacy. Patients in the intervention group had a lower rate of hospitalization or death (crude incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.69; CI 0.4, 1.2; adjusted IRR = 0.53; CI 0.32, 0.89). This difference was larger for patients with low literacy (IRR = 0.39; CI 0.16, 0.91) than for higher literacy (IRR = 0.56; CI 0.3, 1.04), but the interaction was not statistically significant. At 12 months, more patients in the intervention group reported monitoring weights daily (79% vs. 29%, p < 0.0001). After adjusting for baseline demographic and treatment differences, we found no difference in heart failure-related quality of life at 12 months (difference = -2; CI -5, +9). CONCLUSION: A primary care-based heart failure self-management program designed for patients with low literacy reduces the risk of hospitalizations or death

Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) for Pan-Genomic Evolutionary Studies of Non-Model Organisms

Background: High-throughput tools for pan-genomic study, especially the DNA microarray platform, have sparked a remarkable increase in data production and enabled a shift in the scale at which biological investigation is possible. The use of microarrays to examine evolutionary relationships and processes, however, is predominantly restricted to model or near-model organisms. Methodology/Principal Findings: This study explores the utility of Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) in evolutionary studies of non-model organisms. DArT is a hybridization-based genotyping method that uses microarray technology to identify and type DNA polymorphism. Theoretically applicable to any organism (even one for which no prior genetic data are available), DArT has not yet been explored in exclusively wild sample sets, nor extensively examined in a phylogenetic framework. DArT recovered 1349 markers of largely low copy-number loci in two lineages of seed-free land plants: the diploid fern Asplenium viride and the haploid moss Garovaglia elegans. Direct sequencing of 148 of these DArT markers identified 30 putative loci including four routinely sequenced for evolutionary studies in plants. Phylogenetic analyses of DArT genotypes reveal phylogeographic and substrate specificity patterns in A. viride, a lack of phylogeographic pattern in Australian G. elegans, and additive variation in hybrid or mixed samples. Conclusions/Significance: These results enable methodological recommendations including procedures for detecting and analysing DArT markers tailored specifically to evolutionary investigations and practical factors informing the decision to use DArT, and raise evolutionary hypotheses concerning substrate specificity and biogeographic patterns. Thus DArT is a demonstrably valuable addition to the set of existing molecular approaches used to infer biological phenomena such as adaptive radiations, population dynamics, hybridization, introgression, ecological differentiation and phylogeography

Assembly of Connexin43 into Gap Junctions Is Regulated Differentially by E-Cadherin and N-Cadherin in Rat Liver Epithelial Cells

E-cadherin and N-cadherin affect the assembly of connexin43 into gap junctions differentially. N-cadherin disrupts assembly by triggering endocytosis of connexin43, whereas E-cadherin facilitates the assembly

Mechanism of KMT5B haploinsufficiency in neurodevelopment in humans and mice.

Pathogenic variants in KMT5B, a lysine methyltransferase, are associated with global developmental delay, macrocephaly, autism, and congenital anomalies (OMIM# 617788). Given the relatively recent discovery of this disorder, it has not been fully characterized. Deep phenotyping of the largest (n = 43) patient cohort to date identified that hypotonia and congenital heart defects are prominent features that were previously not associated with this syndrome. Both missense variants and putative loss-of-function variants resulted in slow growth in patient-derived cell lines. KMT5B homozygous knockout mice were smaller in size than their wild-type littermates but did not have significantly smaller brains, suggesting relative macrocephaly, also noted as a prominent clinical feature. RNA sequencing of patient lymphoblasts and Kmt5b haploinsufficient mouse brains identified differentially expressed pathways associated with nervous system development and function including axon guidance signaling. Overall, we identified additional pathogenic variants and clinical features in KMT5B-related neurodevelopmental disorder and provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of the disorder using multiple model systems