Smoking, dementia and cognitive decline in the elderly, a systematic review.

Background. Nicotine may aid reaction time, learning and memory, but smoking increases cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular risk factors have been linked to increased risk of dementia. A previous meta-analysis found that current smokers were at higher risk of subsequent dementia, Alzheimers disease, vascular dementia and cognitive decline. Methods. In order to update and examine this further a systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out using different search and inclusion criteria, database selection and more recent publications. Both reviews were restricted to those aged 65 and over. Results. The review reported here found a significantly increased risk of Alzheimers disease with current smoking and a likely but not significantly increased risk of vascular dementia, dementia unspecified and cognitive decline. Neither review found clear relationships with former smoking. Conclusion. Current smoking increases risk of Alzheimers disease and may increase risk of other dementias. This reinforces need for smoking cessation, particularly aged 65 and over. Nicotine alone needs further investigation. © 2008 Peters et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Decolonising quantitative research methods pedagogy: teaching contemporary politics to challenge hierarchies from data

Decolonisation of the curriculum in higher education is a radical, transformative process of change that interrogates the enduring Eurocentric and racist narratives surrounding the production of academic ‘knowledge’. Our key argument is that it is essential for students of politics to understand the authorities and hierarchies exerted through quantitative data. In this paper, we show that (1) quantitative methods and data literacy can be an explicit tool in the endeavour to challenge structures of oppression, and (2) there is a need to apply decolonial principles to the teaching of quantitative methods, prioritising the historical contextualisation and anti-racist critique of the ways in which statistics amplify existing micro and macro power relations. To explain how this can be done, we begin with a commentary on the ‘state of decolonisation’ in higher education, its relevance to the sub-disciplines of politics, and its application to quantitative teaching in the UK. We then suggest some guiding principles for a decolonial approach to quantitative methods teaching, and present substantive examples from political sociology, international political economy, and international development. These suggestions and examples show how a decolonial lens advances critical and emancipatory thinking in undergraduate students of politics when it is used with quantitative methods

ATOS-1: Designing the infrastructure for an advanced spacecraft operations system

The space industry has identified the need to use artificial intelligence and knowledge based system techniques as integrated, central, symbolic processing components of future mission design, support and operations systems. Various practical and commercial constraints require that off-the-shelf applications, and their knowledge bases, are reused where appropriate and that different mission contractors, potentially using different KBS technologies, can provide application and knowledge sub-modules of an overall integrated system. In order to achieve this integration, which we call knowledge sharing and distributed reasoning, there needs to be agreement on knowledge representations, knowledge interchange-formats, knowledge level communications protocols, and ontology. Research indicates that the latter is most important, providing the applications with a common conceptualization of the domain, in our case spacecraft operations, mission design, and planning. Agreement on ontology permits applications that employ different knowledge representations to interwork through mediators which we refer to as knowledge agents. This creates the illusion of a shared model without the constraints, both technical and commercial, that occur in centralized or uniform architectures. This paper explains how these matters are being addressed within the ATOS program at ESOC, using techniques which draw upon ideas and standards emerging from the DARPA Knowledge Sharing Effort. In particular, we explain how the project is developing an electronic Ontology of Spacecraft Operations and how this can be used as an enabling component within space support systems that employ advanced software engineering. We indicate our hope and expectation that the core ontology developed in ATOS, will permit the full development of standards for such systems throughout the space industry

Locations of marine animals revealed by carbon isotopes

Knowing the distribution of marine animals is central to understanding climatic and other environmental influences on population ecology. This information has proven difficult to gain through capture-based methods biased by capture location. Here we show that marine location can be inferred from animal tissues. As the carbon isotope composition of animal tissues varies with sea surface temperature, marine location can be identified by matching time series of carbon isotopes measured in tissues to sea surface temperature records. Applying this technique to populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) produces isotopically-derived maps of oceanic feeding grounds, consistent with the current understanding of salmon migrations, that additionally reveal geographic segregation in feeding grounds between individual philopatric populations and age-classes. Carbon isotope ratios can be used to identify the location of open ocean feeding grounds for any pelagic animals for which tissue archives and matching records of sea surface temperature are available

A yeast model for target-primed (non-LTR) retrotransposition

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Target-primed (non-LTR) retrotransposons, such as the human L1 element, are mobile genetic elements found in many eukaryotic genomes. They are often present in large numbers and their retrotransposition can cause mutations and genomic rearrangements. Despite their importance, many aspects of their replication are not well understood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed a yeast model system for studying target-primed retrotransposons. This system uses the Zorro3 element from <it>Candida albicans</it>. A cloned copy of Zorro3, tagged with a retrotransposition indicator gene, retrotransposes at a high frequency when introduced into an appropriate <it>C. albicans </it>host strain. Retrotransposed copies of the tagged element exhibit similar features to the native copies, indicating that the natural retrotransposition pathway is being used. Retrotransposition is dependent on the products of the tagged element's own genes and is highly temperature-regulated. The new assay permits the analysis of the effects of specific mutations introduced into the cloned element.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This Zorro3 retrotransposition assay system complements previously available target-primed retrotransposition assays. Due to the relative simplicity of the growth, manipulation and analysis of yeast cells, the system should advance our understanding of target-primed retrotransposition.</p

Presentations of major peripheral arterial disease and risk of major outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes: results from the ADVANCE-ON study.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is known to be associated with high cardiovascular risk, but the individual impact of PAD presentations on risk of macrovascular and microvascular events has not been reliably compared in patients with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to evaluate the impact of major PAD, and its different presentations, on the 10-year risk of death, major macrovascular events, and major clinical microvascular events in these patients. METHODS: Participants in the action in diabetes and vascular disease: PreterAx and DiamicroN modified-release controlled evaluation (ADVANCE) trial and the ADVANCE-ON post-trial study were followed for a median of 5.0 (in-trial), 5.4 (post-trial), and 9.9 (overall) years. Major PAD at baseline was subdivided into lower-extremity chronic ulceration or amputation secondary to vascular disease and history of peripheral revascularization by angioplasty or surgery. RESULTS: Among 11,140 participants, 516 (4.6 %) had major PAD at baseline: 300 (2.7 %) had lower-extremity ulceration or amputation alone, 190 (1.7 %) had peripheral revascularization alone, and 26 (0.2 %) had both presentations. All-cause mortality, major macrovascular events, and major clinical microvascular events occurred in 2265 (20.3 %), 2166 (19.4 %), and 807 (7.2 %) participants, respectively. Compared to those without PAD, patients with major PAD had increased rates of all-cause mortality (HR 1.35, 95 % CI 1.15-1.60, p = 0.0004), and major macrovascular events (1.47 [1.23-1.75], p < 0.0001), after multiple adjustments for region of origin, cardiovascular risk factors and treatments, peripheral neuropathy markers, and randomized treatments. We have also observed a trend toward an association of baseline PAD with risk of major clinical microvascular events [1.31 (0.96-1.78), p = 0.09]. These associations were comparable for patients with a lower-extremity ulceration or amputation and for those with a history of peripheral revascularization. Furthermore, the risk of retinal photocoagulation or blindness, but not renal events, increased in patients with lower-extremity ulceration or amputation [1.53 (1.01-2.30), p = 0.04]. CONCLUSIONS: Lower-extremity ulceration or amputation, and peripheral revascularization both increased the risks of death and cardiovascular events, but only lower-extremity ulceration or amputation increased the risk of severe retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Screening for major PAD and its management remain crucial for cardiovascular prevention in patients with type 2 diabetes (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00949286)

Report of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) Hypertension Teaching Seminar organized by the ISH Africa Regional Advisory Group: Maputo, Mozambique, 2016

The International Society of Hypertension (ISH), in fulfilment of its mission of promoting hypertension control and prevention and also of advancing knowledge globally, organizes hypertension teaching seminars or ‘summer schools’ worldwide through the ISH Regional Advisory Groups. In Africa, seven of such seminars have been organized. This is a report of the eighth seminar held in Maputo, Mozambique, April, 2016. The seminar was attended by over 65 participants from 11 African countries. The Faculty consisted of 11 international hypertension experts. The eighth African hypertension seminar was a great success as confirmed by a pre- and post-test questionnaire

Estimation of individual beneficial and adverse effects of intensive glucose control for patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Intensive glucose control reduces the risk of vascular complications while increasing the risk of severe hypoglycaemia at a group level. We sought to estimate individual beneficial and adverse effects of intensive glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We performed a post hoc analysis of the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial, a randomised controlled trial evaluating standard vs intensive glucose control (HbA1c target ≤6.5% [48 mmol/mol]). In 11,140 participants, we estimated the individual 5 year absolute risk reduction (ARR) for the composite outcome of major micro- and macrovascular events and absolute risk increase (ARI) for severe hypoglycaemia for intensive vs standard glucose control. Predictions were based on competing risks models including clinical characteristics and randomised treatment. RESULTS: Based on these models, 76% of patients had a substantial estimated 5 year ARR for major vascular events (>1%, 5 year number-needed-to-benefit [NNTB5] 200). Similarly, 36% of patients had a substantial estimated ARI for severe hypoglycaemia (5 year number-needed-to-harm [NNTH5] 200). When assigning similar or half the weight to severe hypoglycaemia compared with a major vascular event, net benefit was positive in 85% or 99% of patients, respectively. Limiting intensive treatment to the 85% patient subgroup had no significant effect on the overall incidence of major vascular events and severe hypoglycaemia compared with treating all patients. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Taking account of the effects of intensive glucose control on major micro- and macrovascular events and severe hypoglycaemia for individual patients, the estimated net benefit was positive in the majority of the participants in the ADVANCE trial. The estimated individual effects can inform treatment decisions once individual weights assigned to positive and adverse effects have been specified. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00145925