Metals in Urine and Peripheral Arterial Disease

Exposure to metals may promote atherosclerosis. Blood cadmium and lead were associated with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the 1999–2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the present study we evaluated the association between urinary levels of cadmium, lead, barium, cobalt, cesium, molybdenum, antimony, thallium, and tungsten with PAD in a cross-sectional analysis of 790 participants ≥40 years of age in NHANES 1999–2000. PAD was defined as a blood pressure ankle brachial index < 0.9 in at least one leg. Metals were measured in casual (spot) urine specimens by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. After multivariable adjustment, subjects with PAD had 36% higher levels of cadmium in urine and 49% higher levels of tungsten compared with noncases. The adjusted odds ratio for PAD comparing the 75th to the 25th percentile of the cadmium distribution was 3.05 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.97 to 9.58]; that for tungsten was 2.25 (95% CI, 0.97 to 5.24). PAD risk increased sharply at low levels of antimony and remained elevated beyond 0.1 μg/L. PAD was not associated with other metals. In conclusion, urinary cadmium, tungsten, and possibly antimony were associated with PAD in a representative sample of the U.S. population. For cadmium, these results strengthen previous findings using blood cadmium as a biomarker, and they support its role in atherosclerosis. For tungsten and antimony, these results need to be interpreted cautiously in the context of an exploratory analysis but deserve further study. Other metals in urine were not associated with PAD at the levels found in the general population

Why are eligible patients not prescribed aspirin in primary care? A qualitative study indicating measures for improvement

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence-based guidelines, aspirin prescribing for the secondary prevention of stroke is sub-optimal. Little is known about why general practitioners do not prescribe aspirin to indicated patients. We sought to identify and describe factors that lead general practitioners (GPs) not to prescribe aspirin to eligible stroke patients. This was the first stage of a study exploring the need for and means of improving levels of appropriate aspirin prescribing. METHOD: Qualitative interviews with 15 GPs in the West Midlands. RESULTS: Initially, many GPs did not regard their prescribing as difficult or sub-optimal. However on reflection, they gave several reasons that lead to them not prescribing aspirin for eligible patients or being uncertain. These include: difficulties in applying generic guidelines to individuals presenting in consultations, patient resistance to taking aspirin, the prioritisation of other issues in a time constrained consultation and problems in reviewing the medication of existing stroke patients. CONCLUSION: In order to improve levels of appropriate aspirin prescribing, the nature and presentation risk information available to GPs and patients must be improved. GPs need support in assessing the risks and benefits of prescribing for patients with combinations of complicating risk factors, while means of facilitating improved GP-patient dialogue are required to help address patient uncertainty. A decision analysis based support system is one option. Decision analysis could synthesise current evidence and identify risk data for a range of patient profiles commonly presenting in primary care. These data could then be incorporated into a user-friendly computerised decision support system to help facilitate improved GP-patient communication. Measures of optimum prescribing based upon aggregated prescribing data must be interpreted with caution. It is not possible to assess whether low levels of prescribing reflect appropriate or inappropriate use of aspirin in specific patients where concordance between the GP and the patient is practised

Citizen science and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Traditional data sources are not sufficient for measuring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. New and non-traditional sources of data are required. Citizen science is an emerging example of a non-traditional data source that is already making a contribution. In this Perspective, we present a roadmap that outlines how citizen science can be integrated into the formal Sustainable Development Goals reporting mechanisms. Success will require leadership from the United Nations, innovation from National Statistical Offices and focus from the citizen-science community to identify the indicators for which citizen science can make a real contribution

A new mutant genetic resource for tomato crop improvement by TILLING technology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the last decade, the availability of gene sequences of many plant species, including tomato, has encouraged the development of strategies that do not rely on genetic transformation techniques (GMOs) for imparting desired traits in crops. One of these new emerging technology is TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions In Genomes), a reverse genetics tool, which is proving to be very valuable in creating new traits in different crop species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To apply TILLING to tomato, a new mutant collection was generated in the genetic background of the processing tomato cultivar Red Setter by treating seeds with two different ethylemethane sulfonate doses (0.7% and 1%). An associated phenotype database, LycoTILL, was developed and a TILLING platform was also established. The interactive and evolving database is available online to the community for phenotypic alteration inquiries. To validate the Red Setter TILLING platform, induced point mutations were searched in 7 tomato genes with the mismatch-specific ENDO1 nuclease. In total 9.5 kb of tomato genome were screened and 66 nucleotide substitutions were identified. The overall mutation density was estimated and it resulted to be 1/322 kb and 1/574 kb for the 1% EMS and 0.7% EMS treatment respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The mutation density estimated in our collection and its comparison with other TILLING populations demonstrate that the Red Setter genetic resource is suitable for use in high-throughput mutation discovery. The Red Setter TILLING platform is open to the research community and is publicly available via web for requesting mutation screening services.</p

Discovery of nucleotide polymorphisms in the Musa gene pool by Ecotilling

Musa (banana and plantain) is an important genus for the global export market and in local markets where it provides staple food for approximately 400 million people. Hybridization and polyploidization of several (sub)species, combined with vegetative propagation and human selection have produced a complex genetic history. We describe the application of the Ecotilling method for the discovery and characterization of nucleotide polymorphisms in diploid and polyploid accessions of Musa. We discovered over 800 novel alleles in 80 accessions. Sequencing and band evaluation shows Ecotilling to be a robust and accurate platform for the discovery of polymorphisms in homologous and homeologous gene targets. In the process of validating the method, we identified two single nucleotide polymorphisms that may be deleterious for the function of a gene putatively important for phototropism. Evaluation of heterozygous polymorphism and haplotype blocks revealed a high level of nucleotide diversity in Musa accessions. We further applied a strategy for the simultaneous discovery of heterozygous and homozygous polymorphisms in diploid accessions to rapidly evaluate nucleotide diversity in accessions of the same genome type. This strategy can be used to develop hypotheses for inheritance patterns of nucleotide polymorphisms within and between genome types. We conclude that Ecotilling is suitable for diversity studies in Musa, that it can be considered for functional genomics studies and as tool in selecting germplasm for traditional and mutation breeding approaches

A method for automatic segmentation and splitting of hyperspectral images of raspberry plants collected in field conditions

Abstract Hyperspectral imaging is a technology that can be used to monitor plant responses to stress. Hyperspectral images have a full spectrum for each pixel in the image, 400–2500 nm in this case, giving detailed information about the spectral reflectance of the plant. Although this technology has been used in laboratory-based controlled lighting conditions for early detection of plant disease, the transfer of such technology to imaging plants in field conditions presents a number of challenges. These include problems caused by varying light levels and difficulties of separating the target plant from its background. Here we present an automated method that has been developed to segment raspberry plants from the background using a selected spectral ratio combined with edge detection. Graph theory was used to minimise a cost function to detect the continuous boundary between uninteresting plants and the area of interest. The method includes automatic detection of a known reflectance tile which was kept constantly within the field of view for all image scans. A method to split images containing rows of multiple raspberry plants into individual plants was also developed. Validation was carried out by comparison of plant height and density measurements with manually scored values. A reasonable correlation was found between these manual scores and measurements taken from the images (r2 = 0.75 for plant height). These preliminary steps are an essential requirement before detailed spectral analysis of the plants can be achieved

Otitis media in young Aboriginal children from remote communities in Northern and Central Australia: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: Middle ear disease (otitis media) is common and frequently severe in Australian Aboriginal children. There have not been any recent large-scale surveys using clear definitions and a standardised middle ear assessment. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of middle ear disease (otitis media) in a high-risk population of young Aboriginal children from remote communities in Northern and Central Australia. METHODS: 709 Aboriginal children aged 6–30 months living in 29 communities from 4 health regions participated in the study between May and November 2001. Otitis media (OM) and perforation of the tympanic membrane (TM) were diagnosed by tympanometry, pneumatic otoscopy, and video-otoscopy. We used otoscopic criteria (bulging TM or recent perforation) to diagnose acute otitis media. RESULTS: 914 children were eligible to participate in the study and 709 were assessed (78%). Otitis media affected nearly all children (91%, 95%CI 88, 94). Overall prevalence estimates adjusted for clustering by community were: 10% (95%CI 8, 12) for unilateral otitis media with effusion (OME); 31% (95%CI 27, 34) for bilateral OME; 26% (95%CI 23, 30) for acute otitis media without perforation (AOM/woP); 7% (95%CI 4, 9) for AOM with perforation (AOM/wiP); 2% (95%CI 1, 3) for dry perforation; and 15% (95%CI 11, 19) for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). The perforation prevalence ranged from 0–60% between communities and from 19–33% between regions. Perforations of the tympanic membrane affected 40% of children in their first 18 months of life. These were not always persistent. CONCLUSION: Overall, 1 in every 2 children examined had otoscopic signs consistent with suppurative ear disease and 1 in 4 children had a perforated tympanic membrane. Some of the children with intact tympanic membranes had experienced a perforation that healed before the survey. In this high-risk population, high rates of tympanic perforation were associated with high rates of bulging of the tympanic membrane