Transport mode choice and body mass index: Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from a European-wide study.

BACKGROUND: In the fight against rising overweight and obesity levels, and unhealthy urban environments, the renaissance of active mobility (cycling and walking as a transport mode) is encouraging. Transport mode has been shown to be associated to body mass index (BMI), yet there is limited longitudinal evidence demonstrating causality. We aimed to associate transport mode and BMI cross-sectionally, but also prospectively in the first ever European-wide longitudinal study on transport and health. METHODS: Data were from the PASTA project that recruited adults in seven European cities (Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Oerebro, Rome, Vienna, Zurich) to complete a series of questionnaires on travel behavior, physical activity levels, and BMI. To assess the association between transport mode and BMI as well as change in BMI we performed crude and adjusted linear mixed-effects modeling for cross-sectional (n = 7380) and longitudinal (n = 2316) data, respectively. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally, BMI was 0.027 kg/m2 (95%CI 0.015 to 0.040) higher per additional day of car use per month. Inversely, BMI was -0.010 kg/m2 (95%CI -0.020 to -0.0002) lower per additional day of cycling per month. Changes in BMI were smaller in the longitudinal within-person assessment, however still statistically significant. BMI decreased in occasional (less than once per week) and non-cyclists who increased cycling (-0.303 kg/m2, 95%CI -0.530 to -0.077), while frequent (at least once per week) cyclists who stopped cycling increased their BMI (0.417 kg/m2, 95%CI 0.033 to 0.802). CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses showed that people lower their BMI when starting or increasing cycling, demonstrating the health benefits of active mobility

Sex-specific associations between particulate matter exposure and gene expression in independent discovery and validation cohorts of middle-aged men and women

BACKGROUND: Particulate matter (PM) exposure leads to premature death, mainly due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVES: Identification of transcriptomic biomarkers of air pollution exposure and effect in a healthy adult population. METHODS: Microarray analyses were performed in 98 healthy volunteers (48 men, 50 women). The expression of eight sex-specific candidate biomarker genes (significantly associated with PM(10) in the discovery cohort and with a reported link to air pollution-related disease) was measured with qPCR in an independent validation cohort (75 men, 94 women). Pathway analysis was performed using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Average daily PM(2.5) and PM(10) exposures over 2-years were estimated for each participant’s residential address using spatiotemporal interpolation in combination with a dispersion model. RESULTS: Average long-term PM(10) was 25.9 (± 5.4) and 23.7 (± 2.3) μg/m(3) in the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively. In discovery analysis, associations between PM(10) and the expression of individual genes differed by sex. In the validation cohort, long-term PM(10) was associated with the expression of DNAJB5 and EAPP in men and ARHGAP4 (p = 0.053) in women. AKAP6 and LIMK1 were significantly associated with PM(10) in women, although associations differed in direction between the discovery and validation cohorts. Expression of the eight candidate genes in the discovery cohort differentiated between validation cohort participants with high versus low PM(10) exposure (area under the receiver operating curve = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.00; p = 0.0002 in men, 0.86; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.96; p = 0.004 in women). CONCLUSIONS: Expression of the sex-specific candidate genes identified in the discovery population predicted PM(10) exposure in an independent cohort of adults from the same area. Confirmation in other populations may further support this as a new approach for exposure assessment, and may contribute to the discovery of molecular mechanisms for PM-induced health effects. CITATION: Vrijens K, Winckelmans E, Tsamou M, Baeyens W, De Boever P, Jennen D, de Kok TM, Den Hond E, Lefebvre W, Plusquin M, Reynders H, Schoeters G, Van Larebeke N, Vanpoucke C, Kleinjans J, Nawrot TS. 2017. Sex-specific associations between particulate matter exposure and gene expression in independent discovery and validation cohorts of middle-aged men and women. Environ Health Perspect 125:660–669; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP37

First observation of Bs -> D_{s2}^{*+} X mu nu decays

Using data collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, the semileptonic decays Bs -> Ds+ X mu nu and Bs -> D0 K+ X mu nu are detected. Two structures are observed in the D0 K+ mass spectrum at masses consistent with the known D^+_{s1}(2536) and $D^{*+}_{s2}(2573) mesons. The measured branching fractions relative to the total Bs semileptonic rate are B(Bs -> D_{s2}^{*+} X mu nu)/B(Bs -> X mu nu)= (3.3\pm 1.0\pm 0.4)%, and B(Bs -> D_{s1}^+ X munu)/B(Bs -> X mu nu)= (5.4\pm 1.2\pm 0.5)%, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This is the first observation of the D_{s2}^{*+} state in Bs decays; we also measure its mass and width.Comment: 8 pages 2 figures. Published in Physics Letters

Cochlin Induced TREK-1 Co-Expression and Annexin A2 Secretion: Role in Trabecular Meshwork Cell Elongation and Motility

Fluid flow through large interstitial spaces is sensed at the cellular level, and mechanistic responses to flow changes enables expansion or contraction of the cells modulating the surrounding area and brings about changes in fluid flow. In the anterior eye chamber, aqueous humor, a clear fluid, flows through trabecular meshwork (TM), a filter like region. Cochlin, a secreted protein in the extracellular matrix, was identified in the TM of glaucomatous patients but not controls by mass spectrometry. Cochlin undergoes shear induced multimerization and plays a role in mechanosensing of fluid shear. Cytoskeletal changes in response to mechanosensing in the ECM by cochlin will necessitate transduction of mechanosensing. TREK-1, a stretch activated outward rectifying potassium channel protein known to act as mechanotransducer was found to be expressed in TM. Cochlin expression results in co-expression of TREK-1 and filopodia formation. Prolonged cochlin expression results in expression and subsequent secretion of annexin A2, a protein known to play a role in cytoskeletal remodeling. Cochlin interacts with TREK-1 and annexin A2. Cochlin-TREK-1 interaction has functional consequences and results in changes in cell shape and motility. Annexin A2 expression and secretion follows cochlin-TREK-1 syn-expression and correlates with cell elongation. Thus cytoskeleton changes in response to fluid shear sensed by cochlin are further mediated by TREK-1 and annexin A2

Performance of the LHCb outer tracker

The LHCb Outer Tracker is a gaseous detector covering an area of 5 × 6 m2 with 12 double layers of straw tubes. The detector with its services are described together with the commissioning and calibration procedures. Based on data of the first LHC running period from 2010 to 2012, the performance of the readout electronics and the single hit resolution and efficiency are presented. The efficiency to detect a hit in the central half of the straw is estimated to be 99.2%, and the position resolution is determined to be approximately 200 μm. The Outer Tracker received a dose in the hottest region corresponding to 0.12 C/cm, and no signs of gain deterioration or other ageing effects are observed

The Role of Attention in Ambiguous Reversals of Structure-From-Motion

Multiple dots moving independently back and forth on a flat screen induce a compelling illusion of a sphere rotating in depth (structure-from-motion). If all dots simultaneously reverse their direction of motion, two perceptual outcomes are possible: either the illusory rotation reverses as well (and the illusory depth of each dot is maintained), or the illusory rotation is maintained (but the illusory depth of each dot reverses). We investigated the role of attention in these ambiguous reversals. Greater availability of attention – as manipulated with a concurrent task or inferred from eye movement statistics – shifted the balance in favor of reversing illusory rotation (rather than depth). On the other hand, volitional control over illusory reversals was limited and did not depend on tracking individual dots during the direction reversal. Finally, display properties strongly influenced ambiguous reversals. Any asymmetries between ‘front’ and ‘back’ surfaces – created either on purpose by coloring or accidentally by random dot placement – also shifted the balance in favor of reversing illusory rotation (rather than depth). We conclude that the outcome of ambiguous reversals depends on attention, specifically on attention to the illusory sphere and its surface irregularities, but not on attentive tracking of individual surface dots

The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide

Background: A plant-based diet protects against chronic oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants. It has been hypothesized that plant antioxidants may contribute to the beneficial health effects of dietary plants. Our objective was to develop a comprehensive food database consisting of the total antioxidant content of typical foods as well as other dietary items such as traditional medicine plants, herbs and spices and dietary supplements. This database is intended for use in a wide range of nutritional research, from in vitro and cell and animal studies, to clinical trials and nutritional epidemiological studies. Methods: We procured samples from countries worldwide and assayed the samples for their total antioxidant content using a modified version of the FRAP assay. Results and sample information (such as country of origin, product and/or brand name) were registered for each individual food sample and constitute the Antioxidant Food Table. Results: The results demonstrate that there are several thousand-fold differences in antioxidant content of foods. Spices, herbs and supplements include the most antioxidant rich products in our study, some exceptionally high. Berries, fruits, nuts, chocolate, vegetables and products thereof constitute common foods and beverages with high antioxidant values. Conclusions: This database is to our best knowledge the most comprehensive Antioxidant Food Database published and it shows that plant-based foods introduce significantly more antioxidants into human diet than non-plant foods. Because of the large variations observed between otherwise comparable food samples the study emphasizes the importance of using a comprehensive database combined with a detailed system for food registration in clinical and epidemiological studies. The present antioxidant database is therefore an essential research tool to further elucidate the potential health effects of phytochemical antioxidants in diet

Genome-Wide Association Study of Relative Telomere Length

Telomere function is essential to maintaining the physical integrity of linear chromosomes and healthy human aging. The probability of forming proper telomere structures depends on the length of the telomeric DNA tract. We attempted to identify common genetic variants associated with log relative telomere length using genome-wide genotyping data on 3,554 individuals from the Nurses' Health Study and the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial that took part in the National Cancer Institute Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility initiative for breast and prostate cancer. After genotyping 64 independent SNPs selected for replication in additional Nurses' Health Study and Women's Genome Health Study participants, we did not identify genome-wide significant loci; however, we replicated the inverse association of log relative telomere length with the minor allele variant [C] of rs16847897 at the TERC locus (per allele β = −0.03, P = 0.003) identified by a previous genome-wide association study. We did not find evidence for an association with variants at the OBFC1 locus or other loci reported to be associated with telomere length. With this sample size we had >80% power to detect β estimates as small as ±0.10 for SNPs with minor allele frequencies of ≥0.15 at genome-wide significance. However, power is greatly reduced for β estimates smaller than ±0.10, such as those for variants at the TERC locus. In general, common genetic variants associated with telomere length homeostasis have been difficult to detect. Potential biological and technical issues are discussed

Diagnostic tools in Rhinology EAACI position paper

This EAACI Task Force document aims at providing the readers with a comprehensive and complete overview of the currently available tools for diagnosis of nasal and sino-nasal disease. We have tried to logically order the different important issues related to history taking, clinical examination and additional investigative tools for evaluation of the severity of sinonasal disease into a consensus document. A panel of European experts in the field of Rhinology has contributed to this consensus document on Diagnostic Tools in Rhinology