Examining the possible causal relationship between Lung Function, COPD and Alzheimers Disease. A Mendelian Randomization Study

RATIONALE: Large retrospective case-control studies have reported an association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), reduced lung function and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. However, it remains unclear if these diseases are causally linked, or due to shared risk factors. Conventional observational epidemiology suffers from unmeasured confounding and reverse causation. Additional analyses addressing causality are required. OBJECTIVES: To examine a causal relationship between COPD, lung function and Alzheimer’s disease. METHODS: Using two-sample Mendelian randomisation, we used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in a genome wide association study (GWAS) for lung function as instrumental variables (exposure). Additionally, we used SNPs discovered in a GWAS for COPD in those with moderate to very severe obstruction. The effect of these SNPs on Alzheimer’s disease (outcome) was taken from a GWAS based on a sample of 24 807 patients and 55 058 controls. RESULTS: We found minimal evidence for an effect of either lung function (OR: 1.02 per SD; 95% CI 0.91 to 1.13; p value 0.68) or liability for COPD on Alzheimer’s disease (OR: 0.97 per SD; 95% CI 0.92 to 1.03; p value 0.40). CONCLUSION: Neither reduced lung function nor liability COPD are likely to be causally associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, any observed association is likely due to unmeasured confounding. Scientific attention and health prevention policy may be better focused on overlapping risk factors, rather than attempts to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting impaired lung function or COPD directly

Dis-Locations: Mapping the Banlieue

Representations of the French suburbs in contemporary French film have, since the late 1980s, identified an apparent generic specificity that is linked closely to this location. I will explore the narrative tropes of alienation and exclusion—as dislocations—which have dominated the filmic representation of banlieue spaces and their populations before examining examples in which the realignment of sociocultural topographies and film space foregrounds the question of whether representations of the banlieue remain inherently and generically connected to realist discourses dominated by spatial representation of exclusions, or whether the over-determined spaces of the banlieue can act as décor, as setting and wider spatial frame. I will then focus on the presence and function of banlieue spaces and narratives in two recent French films—Girlhood/Bande de filles (Céline Sciamma 2014) and Palme d’or winner Dheepan (Jacques Audiard 2015)—suggesting that the banlieue continues to provide a complex site that both asserts socio-economic specificities and serves as a stylized setting through which to foreground other negotiations of territory and agency

Diasporic Belgian cinema: transnational and transcultural approaches to Molenbeek and Matonge in 'Black'

Since the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris (13 November 2015) and Brussels (23 March 2016), the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek and the diasporic communities of Belgium—and in particular, Brussels—have been frequently analysed in European and Western media outlets. Two days before the tragic events in Paris, the (francophone) Belgian film Black (Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, 2015) was released to Belgian audiences. The film achieved critical valorisation after winning the Discovery prize at the Toronto international film festival, prior to its screening at film festivals in Belgium, namely the Ghent film festival (in Flanders) and the Festival International de Film Francophone (FIFF) in Namur (Wallonia) (Feuillère 2015). The contextual backdrop of terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism has led to a synchronic interpretation of Black as a potentially radical and subversive film. This chapter argues that Black represents the futile hope of a multicultural understanding of Belgian nationalism, as it reinforces the separation between excluded groups

Facilitating Student Learning Through Contextualization

This Brief, based on a longer review that considers the hypothesis that low-skilled students can learn more effectively and advance to college-level programs more readily through contextualization of basic skills instruction, presents two forms of contextualization that have been studied: “contextualized“ and “integrated“ instruction. There is more descriptive work on the contextualization of basic skills than studies with student outcome data. In addition, many studies with quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of contextualization have methodological flaws that limit conclusions. Further, only a small number of studies are with college students. However, despite these problems, contextualization seems to be a promising direction for accelerating the progress of academically underprepared college students. The method of contextualization is grounded in a conceptual framework relating to the transfer of skill and student motivation; practitioners who use it observe positive results, and the available quantitative evidence indicates that it has the potential to increase achievement

Genome wide association study of Preserved Ratio Impaired Spirometry (PRISm)

Background: Preserved Ratio Impaired Spirometry (PRISm) is defined as FEV1 &lt;80% predicted, FEV1/FVC ≥0.70. PRISm is associated with respiratory symptoms and co-morbidities. Our objective was to discover novel genetic signals for PRISm and see if they provide insight into the pathogenesis of PRISm and associated co-morbidities.Methods: We undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of PRISm in UK Biobank participants (Stage 1), and selected SNPs reaching genome-wide significance for replication in 13 cohorts (Stage 2). A combined meta-analysis of Stage 1 and Stage 2 was done to determine top SNPs. We used cross-trait Linkage Disequilibrium score regression to estimate genome-wide genetic correlation between PRISM and pulmonary and extra-pulmonary traits. Phenome-wide association studies of top SNPs was performed. Results: 22 signals reached significance in the joint meta-analysis, including four signals novel for lung function. A strong genome-wide genetic correlation (rg) between PRISm and spirometric COPD (rg = 0.62, p-value &lt;0.001) was observed, and genetic correlation with type II diabetes (rg = 0.12, p-value 0.007). PheWAS showed that 18 of 22 signals were associated with diabetic traits and 7 with blood pressure traits.Discussion: This is the first GWAS to successfully identify SNPs associated with PRISm. Four of the signals; rs7652391 (nearest gene MECOM), rs9431040 (HLX), rs62018863 (TMEM114) and rs185937162 (HLA-B) have not been described in association with lung function before, demonstrating the utility of using different lung function phenotypes in GWAS. Genetic factors associated with PRISm are strongly correlated with risk of both other lung diseases and extra-pulmonary co-morbidity.<br/

Population and Environmental Correlates of Maize Yields in Mesoamerica: a Test of Boserup’s Hypothesis in the Milpa

Using a sample of 40 sources reporting milpa and mucuna-intercropped maize yields in Mesoamerica, we test Boserup’s (1965) prediction that fallow is reduced as a result of growing population density. We further examine direct and indirect effects of population density on yield. We find only mixed support for Boserupian intensification. Fallow periods decrease slightly with increasing population density in this sample, but the relationship is weak. Controlling for other covariates, fallow-unadjusted maize yields first rise then fall with population density. Fallow-adjusted maize yields peak at 390 kg/ha/yr for low population densities (8 persons / km2) and decline to around 280 kg/ha/yr for the highest population densities observed in our dataset. Fallow practices do not appear to mediate the relationship between population density and yield. The multi-level modeling methods we adopt allow for data clustering, accurate estimates of group-level variation, and they generate conditional predictions, all features essential to the comparative study of prehistoric and contemporary agricultural yields