Affinity Seeking in the Writing Center: An Analysis of One-on-One Tutoring Sessions

This study applied the instructional communication concept of affinity seeking to one-on-one peer tutoring sessions. Using content analysis of video recorded tutoring sessions, this study found that tutors most frequently use five affinity seeking strategies: Self Concept Confirmation, Nonverbal Immediacy, Assume Control, Personal Autonomy, and Listening. These strategies differ from those used by teachers and graduate teaching assistants. Differences in tutor affinity-seeking strategies were identified based on gender, especially in sessions with male tutees. Addressing these contextual and gender differences will provide opportunities for improved tutor training and practice

International Students, University Health Centers, and Memorable Messages About Health

International students entering US universities often experience a variety of important socialization messages. One important message is learning about and using the US health system. International students often first encounter the US health system through their experiences with university health centers. The authors explore the memorable messages international students receive about using university health centers. Participants identified three important messages: (a) the insurance imperative, (b) triaging your own health, and (c) passing the TB “test”. These messages help to socialize international students, but also create confusion because of ambiguity and assumption of previous knowledge

Waging a professional turf war: an examination of professionalization as a strategic communication practice used by registered dietitians

In 2012, the American Dietetic Association changed its name to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The following year, the association allowed their members to select between two titles: registered dietitian (RD) or registered dietitian nutritionist. Based on interviews with dietitians, we argue that these semantic changes added fuel to a pre-existing discursive struggle for professional legitimacy. As of June 2017, there were over 100,000 registered dietetic practitioners, globally. Approximately 74% of RDs are members of the Academy, a notably high percent of representation, suggesting the influence of this professional organization on the occupation. Academy members work in a variety of occupational settings and fields, including hospitals, nonprofit organizations, and the food industry, and as such make significant contributions to patient health and public health outcomes.The Academy and its members have established a discursive turf war to strategically establish and defend boundaries within the field of nutrition and dietetics. Their discursive turf war has implications on the day-to-day work life of registered dietitians and other nutritional professionals as well as perceptions of professionalism made by audiences outside the field

Association of the FTO Obesity Risk Variant rs8050136 With Percentage of Energy Intake From Fat in Multiple Racial/Ethnic Populations

Common obesity risk variants have been associated with macronutrient intake; however, these associations' generalizability across populations has not been demonstrated. We investigated the associations between 6 obesity risk variants in (or near) the NEGR1, TMEM18, BDNF, FTO, MC4R, and KCTD15 genes and macronutrient intake (carbohydrate, protein, ethanol, and fat) in 3 Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) studies: the Multiethnic Cohort Study (1993–2006) (n = 19,529), the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (1987–1989) (n = 11,114), and the Epidemiologic Architecture for Genes Linked to Environment (EAGLE) Study, which accesses data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1991–1994) (n = 6,347). We used linear regression, with adjustment for age, sex, and ethnicity, to estimate the associations between obesity risk genotypes and macronutrient intake. A fixed-effects meta-analysis model showed that the FTO rs8050136 A allele (n = 36,973) was positively associated with percentage of calories derived from fat (βmeta = 0.2244 (standard error, 0.0548); P = 4 × 10−5) and inversely associated with percentage of calories derived from carbohydrate (βmeta = −0.2796 (standard error, 0.0709); P = 8 × 10−5). In the Multiethnic Cohort Study, percentage of calories from fat assessed at baseline was a partial mediator of the rs8050136 effect on body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) obtained at 10 years of follow-up (mediation of effect = 0.0823 kg/m2, 95% confidence interval: 0.0559, 0.1128). Our data provide additional evidence that the association of FTO with obesity is partially mediated by dietary intake

Fine-mapping, novel loci identification, and SNP association transferability in a genome-wide association study of QRS duration in African Americans

The electrocardiographic QRS duration, a measure of ventricular depolarization and conduction, is associated with cardiovascular mortality. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with QRS duration have been identified at 22 loci in populations of European descent, the genetic architecture of QRS duration in non-European populations is largely unknown. We therefore performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of QRS duration in 13,031 African Americans from ten cohorts and a transethnic GWAS meta-analysis with additional results from populations of European descent. In the African American GWAS, a single genome-wide significant SNP association was identified (rs3922844, P = 4 × 10−14) in intron 16 of SCN5A, a voltage-gated cardiac sodium channel gene. The QRS-prolonging rs3922844 C allele was also associated with decreased SCN5A RNA expression in human atrial tissue (P = 1.1 × 10−4). High density genotyping revealed that the SCN5A association region in African Americans was confined to intron 16. Transethnic GWAS meta-analysis identified novel SNP associations on chromosome 18 in MYL12A (rs1662342, P = 4.9 × 10−8) and chromosome 1 near CD1E and SPTA1 (rs7547997, P = 7.9 × 10−9). The 22 QRS loci previously identified in populations of European descent were enriched for significant SNP associations with QRS duration in African Americans (P = 9.9 × 10−7), and index SNP associations in or near SCN5A, SCN10A, CDKN1A, NFIA, HAND1, TBX5 and SETBP1 replicated in African Americans. In summary, rs3922844 was associated with QRS duration and SCN5A expression, two novel QRS loci were identified using transethnic meta-analysis, and a significant proportion of QRS–SNP associations discovered in populations of European descent were transferable to African Americans when adequate power was achieved

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Causal effect of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 on coronary heart disease

Background--Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) plays an essential role in the fibrinolysis system and thrombosis. Population studies have reported that blood PAI-1 levels are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it is unclear whether the association reflects a causal influence of PAI-1 on CHD risk. Methods and Results--To evaluate the association between PAI-1 and CHD, we applied a 3-step strategy. First, we investigated the observational association between PAI-1 and CHD incidence using a systematic review based on a literature search for PAI-1 and CHD studies. Second, we explored the causal association between PAI-1 and CHD using a Mendelian randomization approach using summary statistics from large genome-wide association studies. Finally, we explored the causal effect of PAI-1 on cardiovascular risk factors including metabolic and subclinical atherosclerosis measures. In the systematic meta-analysis, the highest quantile of blood PAI-1 level was associated with higher CHD risk comparing with the lowest quantile (odds ratio=2.17; 95% CI: 1.53, 3.07) in an age- and sex-adjusted model. The effect size was reduced in studies using a multivariable-adjusted model (odds ratio=1.46; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.88). The Mendelian randomization analyses suggested a causal effect of increased PAI-1 level on CHD risk (odds ratio=1.22 per unit increase of log-transformed PAI-1; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.47). In addition, we also detected a causal effect of PAI-1 on elevating blood glucose and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusions--Our study indicates a causal effect of elevated PAI-1 level on CHD risk, which may be mediated by glucose dysfunction

Author Correction:Study of 300,486 individuals identifies 148 independent genetic loci influencing general cognitive function

Christina M. Lill, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the article

Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk

The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project–imputed genotype data in up to ~370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P < 5 × 10$^{−8}$) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain ~7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to ~25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate ~250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility