Measurement of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in primary and secondary prevention patients: Insights from the PALM registry

Background The 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults recommended testing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( LDL -C) to identify untreated patients with LDL -C ≥190 mg/dL, assess lipid-lowering therapy adherence, and consider nonstatin therapy. We sought to determine whether clinician lipid testing practices were consistent with these guidelines. Methods and Results The PALM (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management) registry enrolled primary and secondary prevention patients from 140 US cardiology, endocrinology, and primary care offices in 2015 and captured demographic data, lipid treatment history, and the highest LDL -C level in the past 2 years. Core laboratory lipid levels were drawn at enrollment. Among 7627 patients, 2787 (36.5%) had no LDL -C levels measured in the 2 years before enrollment. Patients without chart-documented LDL -C levels were more often women, nonwhite, uninsured, and non-college graduates (all P\u3c0.01). Patients without prior lipid testing were less likely to receive statin treatment (72.6% versus 76.0%; P=0.0034), a high-intensity statin (21.5% versus 24.3%; P=0.016), nonstatin lipid-lowering therapy (24.8% versus 27.3%; P=0.037), and had higher core laboratory LDL -C levels at enrollment (median 97 versus 92 mg/dL; P\u3c0.0001) than patients with prior LDL -C testing. Of 166 individuals with core laboratory LDL -C levels ≥190 mg/dL, 36.1% had no LDL -C measurement in the prior 2 years, and 57.2% were not on a statin at the time of enrollment. Conclusions In routine clinical practice, LDL -C testing is associated with higher-intensity lipid-lowering treatment and lower achieved LDL -C level

Functional and quality of life outcomes of localised prostate cancer treatments (prostate testing for cancer and treatment [ProtecT] study)

Objective To investigate the functional and quality of life (QoL) outcomes of treatments for localised prostate cancer and inform treatment decision-making. Patients and Methods Men aged 50–69 years diagnosed with localised prostate cancer by prostate-specific antigen testing and biopsies at nine UK centres in the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) trial were randomised to, or chose one of, three treatments. Of 2565 participants, 1135 men received active monitoring (AM), 750 a radical prostatectomy (RP), 603 external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with concurrent androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and 77 low-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT, not a randomised treatment). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) completed annually for 6 years were analysed by initial treatment and censored for subsequent treatments. Mixed effects models were adjusted for baseline characteristics using propensity scores. Results Treatment-received analyses revealed different impacts of treatments over 6 years. Men remaining on AM experienced gradual declines in sexual and urinary function with age (e.g., increases in erectile dysfunction from 35% of men at baseline to 53% at 6 years and nocturia similarly from 20% to 38%). Radical treatment impacts were immediate and continued over 6 years. After RP, 95% of men reported erectile dysfunction persisting for 85% at 6 years, and after EBRT this was reported by 69% and 74%, respectively (P < 0.001 compared with AM). After RP, 36% of men reported urinary leakage requiring at least 1 pad/day, persisting for 20% at 6 years, compared with no change in men receiving EBRT or AM (P < 0.001). Worse bowel function and bother (e.g., bloody stools 6% at 6 years and faecal incontinence 10%) was experienced by men after EBRT than after RP or AM (P < 0.001) with lesser effects after BT. No treatment affected mental or physical QoL. Conclusion Treatment decision-making for localised prostate cancer can be informed by these 6-year functional and QoL outcomes

Linkage disequilibrium between fitness QTLs and the sugary1 allele of maize

Understanding how biological systems evolve across changing conditions has been a crucial focus of research. Mutations change the genetic context in which genes are expressed and yet the mechanisms underlying mutation fitness are still unclear. We use the sweet corn mutant sugary1 (su1) as a model for understanding the genetic regulation of mutant fitness, focusing on the mutant × genotype interaction across diverse environments. In a previous work, we identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting fitness in a mapping population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between field corn (B73) × sweet corn (P39 or IL14h) parents; however, the epistatic effects of these QTLs on su1 fitness were not investigated. In the present study, we estimated fitness for two seed production environments. Viability of su1 is under genetic and environmental controls, regulated by multiple genes with minor contributions, and these genes depend on the genotype into which the mutation is introduced and on the environment. Some QTLs were in linkage disequilibrium with the maize gene Su1 and had epistatic effects on su1 fitness. These QTLs could be used by sweet corn breeders by combining the most favorable alleles associated with su1 viability in breeding new genotypes from field × sweet corn crosses. These results also have implications for mutagenesis breeding or genome editing because the epistatic effects of the target genome on the new alleles generated by these techniques could affect the success of the breeding program.This work was supported by the Spanish Plan for Research and Development (grant number AGL2016-77628-R); FEDER (grant number AGL2016-77628-R); and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (University of WisconsinMadison)

Exploring the emergence of participatory plant breeding in countries of the Global North - A review

Participatory plant breeding (PPB), commonly applied in the Global South to address the needs of underserved farmers, refers to the active collaboration between researchers, farmers and other actors throughout the breeding process. In spite of significant public and private investments in crop variety improvement in the Global North, PPB is increasingly utilized as an approach to address cropping system needs. The current study conducted a state-of-the-art review, including a comprehensive inventory of projects and five case studies, to explore the emergence of PPB in the Global North and inform future PPB efforts. Case studies included maize (Zea mays), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), Brassica crops (Brassica oleracea), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and potato (Solanum tuberosum). The review identified 47 projects across the United States, Canada and Europe including 22 crop species representing diverse crop biology. Improved adaptation to organic farming systems and addressing principles and values of organic agriculture emerged as consistent themes. While projects presented evidence that PPB has expanded crop diversity and farmer's access to improved varieties, obstacles to PPB also emerged including challenges in sustained funding as well as addressing regulatory barriers to the commercial distribution of PPB varieties. Agronomic improvements were only one lens motivating PPB, with many projects identifying goals of conservation of crop genetic diversity, farmers' seed sovereignty and avoidance of certain breeding techniques. The authors conclude that a multidisciplinary approach is needed to fully understand the social, political and agroecological influences driving the emergence of projects in the Global North and factors impacting success

Data from: Genome-wide association and genomic prediction models of tocochromanols in fresh sweet corn kernels

Sweet corn (Zea mays L.), a highly consumed fresh vegetable in the United States, varies for tocochromanol (tocopherol and tocotrienol) levels, but makes limited contribution to daily intake of vitamin E and antioxidants. We performed a genome-wide association study of six tocochromanol compounds and 14 derivative traits across a sweet corn inbred line association panel to identify genes associated with natural variation for tocochromanols and vitamin E in fresh kernels. Concordant with prior studies in mature maize kernels, an association was detected between vte4 (γ-tocopherol methyltransferase) and α-tocopherol content, along with vte1 (tocopherol cyclase) and hggt1 (homogentisate geranylgeranyltransferase) for tocotrienol variation. Additionally, two kernel starch synthesis genes, shrunken2 (sh2) and sugary1 (su1), were associated with tocotrienols, with the strongest evidence for sh2, in combination with fixed, strong vte1 and hggt1 alleles, accounting for the greater amount of tocotrienols in su1sh2 and sh2 lines. In prediction models with genome-wide markers, predictive abilities were higher for tocotrienols than tocopherols, and these models were superior to those that used marker sets targeting a priori genes involved in the biosynthesis and/or genetic control of tocochromanols. Through this quantitative genetic analysis, we have established a key step for increasing tocochromanols in fresh kernels of sweet corn for human health and nutrition