The effect of early child care attendance on childhood asthma and wheezing: A meta-analysis.

ObjectiveResearch evidence offers mixed results regarding the relationship between early child care attendance and childhood asthma and wheezing. A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the current research evidence of the association between early child care attendance and the risk of childhood asthma and wheezing.MethodPeer reviewed studies published from 1964-January 2017 were identified in MEDLINE, CINAL, and EMBASE using MeSH headings relevant to child care and asthma. Two investigators independently reviewed the selected articles from this search. All relevant articles that met our inclusion criteria were selected for further analysis. Data were extracted from studies that had sufficient data to analyze the odds of asthma or wheezing among children who attended child care.ResultsThe meta-analysis of 32 studies found that (1) early child care attendance is protective against asthma in children 3-5 years of age but not for children with asthma 6 years of age or older. (2) Early child care attendance increases the risk of wheezing among children 2 years of age or younger, but not the risk of wheezing for children over 2 years of age.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis shows that early child care attendance is not significantly associated with the risk of asthma or wheeze in children 6 years of age or older

Investigating Multiple Candidate Genes and Nutrients in the Folate Metabolism Pathway to Detect Genetic and Nutritional Risk Factors for Lung Cancer

Purpose: Folate metabolism, with its importance to DNA repair, provides a promising region for genetic investigation of lung cancer risk. This project investigates genes (MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, CBS, SHMT1, TYMS), folate metabolism related nutrients (B vitamins, methionine, choline, and betaine) and their gene-nutrient interactions. Methods: We analyzed 115 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 15 nutrients from 1239 and 1692 non-Hispanic white, histologically-confirmed lung cancer cases and controls, respectively, using stochastic search variable selection (a Bayesian model averaging approach). Analyses were stratified by current, former, and never smoking status. Results: Rs6893114 in MTRR (odds ratio [OR] = 2.10; 95% credible interval [CI]: 1.20–3.48) and alcohol (drinkers vs. non-drinkers, OR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.26–0.84) were associated with lung cancer risk in current smokers. Rs13170530 in MTRR (OR = 1.70; 95% CI: 1.10–2.87) and two SNP*nutrient interactions [betaine*rs2658161 (OR = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.19–0.88) and betaine*rs16948305 (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30–0.91)] were associated with lung cancer risk in former smokers. SNPs in MTRR (rs13162612; OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.11–0.58; rs10512948; OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41–0.90; rs2924471; OR = 3.31; 95% CI: 1.66–6.59), and MTHFR (rs9651118; OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.43–0.95) and three SNP*nutrient interactions (choline*rs10475407; OR = 1.62; 95% CI: 1.11–2.42; choline*rs11134290; OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.27–0.92; and riboflavin*rs8767412; OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.15–0.95) were associated with lung cancer risk in never smokers. Conclusions: This study identified possible nutrient and genetic factors related to folate metabolism associated with lung cancer risk, which could potentially lead to nutritional interventions tailored by smoking status to reduce lung cancer risk

Ecosystem Interactions Underlie the Spread of Avian Influenza A Viruses with Pandemic Potential

Despite evidence for avian influenza A virus (AIV) transmission between wild and domestic ecosystems, the roles of bird migration and poultry trade in the spread of viruses remain enigmatic. In this study, we integrate ecosystem interactions into a phylogeographic model to assess the contribution of wild and domestic hosts to AIV distribution and persistence. Analysis of globally sampled AIV datasets shows frequent two-way transmission between wild and domestic ecosystems. In general, viral flow from domestic to wild bird populations was restricted to within a geographic region. In contrast, spillover from wild to domestic populations occurred both within and between regions. Wild birds mediated long-distance dispersal at intercontinental scales whereas viral spread among poultry populations was a major driver of regional spread. Viral spread between poultry flocks frequently originated from persistent lineages circulating in regions of intensive poultry production. Our analysis of long-term surveillance data demonstrates that meaningful insights can be inferred from integrating ecosystem into phylogeographic reconstructions that may be consequential for pandemic preparedness and livestock protection.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Centers for Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS, contract # HHSN266200700010C))National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Centers for Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS, contract # HHSN272201400008C))National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Centers for Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS, contract # HHSN272201400006C)

Cosmic Flows on 100 Mpc/h Scales: Standardized Minimum Variance Bulk Flow, Shear and Octupole Moments

The low order moments, such as the bulk flow and shear, of the large scale peculiar velocity field are sensitive probes of the matter density fluctuations on very large scales. In practice, however, peculiar velocity surveys are usually sparse and noisy, which can lead to the aliasing of small scale power into what is meant to be a probe of the largest scales. Previously, we developed an optimal ``minimum variance'' (MV) weighting scheme, designed to overcome this problem by minimizing the difference between the measured bulk flow (BF) and that which would be measured by an ideal survey. Here we extend this MV analysis to include the shear and octupole moments, which are designed to have almost no correlations between them so that they are virtually orthogonal. We apply this MV analysis to a compilation of all major peculiar velocity surveys, consisting of 4536 measurements. Our estimate of the BF on scales of ~ 100 Mpc/h has a magnitude of |v|= 416 +/- 78 km/s towards Galactic l = 282 degree +/- 11 degree and b = 6 degree +/- 6 degree. This result is in disagreement with LCDM with WMAP5 cosmological parameters at a high confidence level, but is in good agreement with our previous MV result without an orthogonality constraint, showing that the shear and octupole moments did not contaminate the previous BF measurement. The shear and octupole moments are consistent with WMAP5 power spectrum, although the measurement noise is larger for these moments than for the BF. The relatively low shear moments suggest that the sources responsible for the BF are at large distances.Comment: 13 Pages, 7 figures, 4 tables. Some changes to reflect the published versio

TRIO RVEMVS: A Bayesian framework for rare variant association analysis with expectation-maximization variable selection using family trio data

It is commonly reported that rare variants may be more functionally related to complex diseases than common variants. However, individual rare variant association tests remain challenging due to low minor allele frequency in the available samples. This paper proposes an expectation maximization variable selection (EMVS) method to simultaneously detect common and rare variants at the individual variant level using family trio data. TRIO_RVEMVS was assessed in both large (1500 families) and small (350 families) datasets based on simulation. The performance of TRIO_RVEMVS was compared with gene-level kernel and burden association tests that use pedigree data (PedGene) and rare-variant extensions of the transmission disequilibrium test (RV-TDT). At the region level, TRIO_RVEMVS outperformed PedGene and RV-TDT when common variants were included. TRIO_RVEMVS performed competitively with PedGene and outperformed RV-TDT when the analysis was only restricted to rare variants. At the individual variants level, with 1,500 trios, the average true positive rate of individual rare variants that were polymorphic across 500 datasets was 12.20%, and the average false positive rate was 0.74%. In the datasets with 350 trios, the average true and false positive rates of individual rare variants were 13.10% and 1.30%, respectively. When applying TRIO_RVEMVS to real data from the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program, it identified 3 rare variants in q24.21 and q24.22 associated with the risk of orofacial clefts in the Kids First European population

Use of Active Video Games With or Without Videoconferencing on Health Outcomes in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors experience greater functional deficits compared to non-cancer peers or older survivors with a similar diagnosis. Physical activity (PA) is a key strategy for mitigating functional decline, and motivation and peer support are critical PA facilitators in AYA cancer survivors. Active video games (AVGs) may be a gateway method to promote PA. Further, integrating AVGs into group videoconferencing, a medium used by AYAs to socialize, can capitalize on peer support needed for PA motivation. Thus, we examined the use of AVGs and/or videoconferencing in PA interventions that included AYA survivors and the effect on physical function and health outcomes. METHODS: Seven electronic databases were searched from incept to January 2020. Search terms included videoconferencing, video games, exercise, and cancer. The protocol is registered on PROSPERO: CRD42020163491. Two reviewers evaluated eligibility and methodological quality using Cochrane\u27s risk of bias tools. RESULTS: Six unique studies were included with 97% reviewer agreement. All used AVGs, none used videoconferencing alone, and one used both. Study designs and outcome measures were heterogeneous. Only one study solely targeted AYA survivors. Most were low to medium quality. Few showed significant improvements in quality of life (QOL) and fatigue (n=3), coordination/balance (n=2), and aerobic capacity (n=1). CONCLUSIONS: PA interventions using AVGs and/or videoconferencing may improve QOL and fatigue, but evidence on function is lacking. Rigorous interventions targeting AYA survivors are needed. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Using AVGs and/or videoconferencing to facilitate PA may improve QOL and fatigue

A Machine Learning Compatible Method For ordinal Propensity Score Stratification and Matching

Although machine learning techniques that estimate propensity scores for observational studies with multivalued treatments have advanced rapidly in recent years, the development of propensity score adjustment techniques has not kept pace. While machine learning propensity models provide numerous benefits, they do not produce a single variable balancing score that can be used for propensity score stratification and matching. This issue motivates the development of a flexible ordinal propensity scoring methodology that does not require parametric assumptions for the propensity model. The proposed method fits a one-parameter power function to the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the generalized propensity score (GPS) vector resulting from any machine learning propensity model, and is henceforth called the GPS-CDF method. The estimated parameter from the GPS-CDF method

Communications Biophysics

Contains reports on seven research projects split into three sections, with research objective for the final section.National Institutes of Health (Grant 2 PO1 NS 13126)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS 18682)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS 20322)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS 20269)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 T32 NS 07047)Symbion, Inc.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS10916)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS16917)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS83-19874)National Science Foundation (Grant BNS83-19887)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS12846)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS21322)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS 11080