Euclidean ramsey theorems. I

AbstractThe general Ramsey problem can be described as follows: Let A and B be two sets, and R a subset of A × B. For a ϵ A denote by R(a) the set {b ϵ B | (a, b) ϵ R}. R is called r-Ramsey if for any r-part partition of B there is some a ϵ A with R(a) in one part. We investigate questions of whether or not certain R are r-Ramsey where B is a Euclidean space and R is defined geometrically

Predicting Post-Deployment Family Adaptation in U.S. Navy Families

Background: Although military families worldwide face changes that include adapting to peace and wartime deployments, few studies have explored how military families adapt to the post-deployment return of a service member. Objectives: To identify variables that predicted post-deployment adaptation of U.S. Navy families. Methods: A mixed method study guided by the Roy Adaptation Model included a convenience sample of 142 spouses of service members recently returned from deployment. The degree to which length of deployment, prior deployments, and years married, number of children, participation in religious and family support groups, communication, race, and interdependence predicted post-deployment family adaptation was tested. Multiple regression analysis and content analysis were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data to better understand post- deployment adaptation of military families. Results: Post-deployment family adaptation was significantly predicted by having been previously deployed and by scores measuring family interdependence. Content analysis of qualitative responses from 10 spouses indicated that 90% experienced integrated adaptive responses. Conclusions: Family interdependence and prior deployments predicted levels of post-deployment family adaptation. Families who give time to adjust, communicate, and resume family routines experienced levels of adaptive response

A qualitative understanding of the effects of reusable sanitary pads and puberty education: Implications for future research and practice

BACKGROUND: The management of menstruation has come to the fore as a barrier to girls’ education attainment in low income contexts. Interventions have been proposed and piloted, but the emerging nature of the field means limited evidence is available to understand their pathways of effect. // METHODS: This study describes and compares schoolgirls’ experiences of menstruation in rural Uganda at the conclusion of a controlled trial of puberty education and sanitary pad provision to elucidate pathways of effect in the interventions. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with schoolgirls who participated in the Menstruation and the Cycle of Poverty trial concurrent with the final set of quantitative surveys. A framework approach and cross-case analysis were employed to describe and compare the experiences of 27 menstruating girls across the four intervention conditions; education (n = 8), reusable sanitary pads (n = 8), education with reusable sanitary pads (n = 6), and control (n = 5). // RESULTS: Themes included: menstrual hygiene, soiling, irritation and infection, physical experience, knowledge of menstruation, psychological, social and cultural factors, and support from others. Those receiving reusable pads experienced improvements in comfort and reliability. This translated into reduced fears around garment soiling and related school absenteeism. Other menstrual hygiene challenges of washing, drying and privacy remained prominent. Puberty education improved girls’ confidence to discuss menstruation and prompted additional support from teachers and peers. // CONCLUSIONS: Findings have important implications for the development and evaluation of future interventions. Results suggest the provision of menstrual absorbents addresses one core barrier to menstrual health, but that interventions addressing broader needs such as privacy may improve effectiveness. Puberty education sessions should increase attention to body awareness and include strategies to address a wider range of practical menstrual challenges, including pain management. Interviews revealed possibilities for improving quantitative surveys in future research

A study of sertraline in dialysis (ASSertID) : a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of drug treatment for depression in patients undergoing haemodialysis

© 2015 Friedli et al. Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise statedBACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression in people receiving haemodialysis is high with estimates varying between 20 and 40 %. There is little research on the effectiveness of antidepressants in dialysis patients with the few clinical trials suffering significant methodological issues. We plan to carry out a study to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial in patients on haemodialysis who have diagnosed Major Depressive Disorder.METHODS/DESIGN: The study has two phases, a screening phase and the randomised controlled trial. Patients will be screened initially with the Beck Depression Inventory to estimate the number of patients who score 16 or above. These patients will be invited to an interview with a psychiatrist who will invite those with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder to take part in the trial. Consenting patients will be randomised to either Sertraline or placebo. Patients will be followed-up for 6 months. Demographic and clinical data will be collected at screening interview, baseline interview and 2 weeks, and every month (up to 6 months) after baseline. The primary outcome is to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomised, double blind, placebo pilot trial in haemodialysis patients with depression. Secondary outcomes include estimation of the variability in the outcome measures for the treatment and placebo arms, which will allow for a future adequately powered definitive trial. Analysis will primarily be descriptive, including the number of patients eligible for the trial, drug exposure of Sertraline in haemodialysis patients and the patient experience of participating in this trial.DISCUSSION: There is an urgent need for this research in the dialysis population because of the dearth of good quality and adequately powered studies. Research with renal patients is particularly difficult as they often have complex medical needs. This research will therefore not only assess the outcome of anti-depressants in haemodialysis patients with depression but also the process of running a randomised controlled trial in this population. Hence, the outputs of this feasibility study will be used to inform the design and methodology of a definitive study, adequately powered to determine the efficacy of anti-depressants in patient on haemodialysis with depression.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN registry ISRCTN06146268 and EudraCT reference: 2012-000547-27.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Persistent Expression of FLAG-tagged Micro dystrophin in Nonhuman Primates Following Intramuscular and Vascular Delivery

Animal models for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have species limitations related to assessing function, immune response, and distribution of micro- or mini-dystrophins. Nonhuman primates (NHPs) provide the ideal model to optimize vector delivery across a vascular barrier and provide accurate dose estimates for widespread transduction. To address vascular delivery and dosing in rhesus macaques, we have generated a fusion construct that encodes an eight amino-acid FLAG epitope at the C-terminus of micro-dystrophin to facilitate translational studies targeting DMD. Intramuscular (IM) injection of AAV8.MCK.micro-dys.FLAG in the tibialis anterior (TA) of macaques demonstrated robust gene expression, with muscle transduction (50–79%) persisting for up to 5 months. Success by IM injection was followed by targeted vascular delivery studies using a fluoroscopy-guided catheter threaded through the femoral artery. Three months after gene transfer, >80% of muscle fibers showed gene expression in the targeted muscle. No cellular immune response to AAV8 capsid, micro-dystrophin, or the FLAG tag was detected by interferon-γ (IFN-γ) enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) at any time point with either route. In summary, an epitope-tagged micro-dystrophin cassette enhances the ability to evaluate site-specific localization and distribution of gene expression in the NHP in preparation for vascular delivery clinical trials

Transgenic Overexpression of the Type I Isoform of Neuregulin 1 Affects Working Memory and Hippocampal Oscillations but not Long-term Potentiation

Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) is a growth factor involved in neurodevelopment and plasticity. It is a schizophrenia candidate gene, and hippocampal expression of the NRG1 type I isoform is increased in the disorder. We have studied transgenic mice overexpressing NRG1 type I (NRG1tg-type I) and their wild-type littermates and measured hippocampal electrophysiological and behavioral phenotypes. Young NRG1tg-type I mice showed normal memory performance, but in older NRG1tg-type I mice, hippocampus-dependent spatial working memory was selectively impaired. Hippocampal slice preparations from NRG1tg-type I mice exhibited a reduced frequency of carbachol-induced gamma oscillations and an increased tendency to epileptiform activity. Long-term potentiation in NRG1tg-type I mice was normal. The results provide evidence that NRG1 type I impacts on hippocampal function and circuitry. The effects are likely mediated via inhibitory interneurons and may be relevant to the involvement of NRG1 in schizophrenia. However, the findings, in concert with those from other genetic and pharmacological manipulations of NRG1, emphasize the complex and pleiotropic nature of the gene, even with regard to a single isoform

Childhood in Sociology and Society: The US Perspective

The field of childhood studies in the US is comprised of cross-disciplinary researchers who theorize and conduct research on both children and youth. US sociologists who study childhood largely draw on the childhood literature published in English. This article focuses on American sociological contributions, but notes relevant contributions from non-American scholars published in English that have shaped and fueled American research. This article also profiles the institutional support of childhood research in the US, specifically outlining the activities of the ‘Children and Youth’ Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), and assesses the contributions of this area of study for sociology as well as the implications for an interdisciplinary field.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Six Novel Susceptibility Loci for Early-Onset Androgenetic Alopecia and Their Unexpected Association with Common Diseases

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a highly heritable condition and the most common form of hair loss in humans. Susceptibility loci have been described on the X chromosome and chromosome 20, but these loci explain a minority of its heritable variance. We conducted a large-scale meta-analysis of seven genome-wide association studies for early-onset AGA in 12,806 individuals of European ancestry. While replicating the two AGA loci on the X chromosome and chromosome 20, six novel susceptibility loci reached genome-wide significance (p = 2.62×10−9–1.01×10−12). Unexpectedly, we identified a risk allele at 17q21.31 that was recently associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) at a genome-wide significant level. We then tested the association between early-onset AGA and the risk of PD in a cross-sectional analysis of 568 PD cases and 7,664 controls. Early-onset AGA cases had significantly increased odds of subsequent PD (OR = 1.28, 95% confidence interval: 1.06–1.55, p = 8.9×10−3). Further, the AGA susceptibility alleles at the 17q21.31 locus are on the H1 haplotype, which is under negative selection in Europeans and has been linked to decreased fertility. Combining the risk alleles of six novel and two established susceptibility loci, we created a genotype risk score and tested its association with AGA in an additional sample. Individuals in the highest risk quartile of a genotype score had an approximately six-fold increased risk of early-onset AGA [odds ratio (OR) = 5.78, p = 1.4×10−88]. Our results highlight unexpected associations between early-onset AGA, Parkinson's disease, and decreased fertility, providing important insights into the pathophysiology of these conditions

Comparative performances of machine learning methods for classifying Crohn Disease patients using genome-wide genotyping data

Abstract: Crohn Disease (CD) is a complex genetic disorder for which more than 140 genes have been identified using genome wide association studies (GWAS). However, the genetic architecture of the trait remains largely unknown. The recent development of machine learning (ML) approaches incited us to apply them to classify healthy and diseased people according to their genomic information. The Immunochip dataset containing 18,227 CD patients and 34,050 healthy controls enrolled and genotyped by the international Inflammatory Bowel Disease genetic consortium (IIBDGC) has been re-analyzed using a set of ML methods: penalized logistic regression (LR), gradient boosted trees (GBT) and artificial neural networks (NN). The main score used to compare the methods was the Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) statistics. The impact of quality control (QC), imputing and coding methods on LR results showed that QC methods and imputation of missing genotypes may artificially increase the scores. At the opposite, neither the patient/control ratio nor marker preselection or coding strategies significantly affected the results. LR methods, including Lasso, Ridge and ElasticNet provided similar results with a maximum AUC of 0.80. GBT methods like XGBoost, LightGBM and CatBoost, together with dense NN with one or more hidden layers, provided similar AUC values, suggesting limited epistatic effects in the genetic architecture of the trait. ML methods detected near all the genetic variants previously identified by GWAS among the best predictors plus additional predictors with lower effects. The robustness and complementarity of the different methods are also studied. Compared to LR, non-linear models such as GBT or NN may provide robust complementary approaches to identify and classify genetic markers