THE INFLUENCE OF FGFR1 VARIANTS ON NORMAL HUMAN CRANIOFACIAL SHAPE

The factors influencing the morphology of the human face are of interest to researchers in a variety of different fields. Craniofacial morphology is modified by both genetic and epigenetic events, and factors influencing craniofacial morphology include, but are not limited to, age, sex, mechanical function, soft-tissue matrices, hormones, and genetics. Mutations discovered within FGFR1 offer insight into the importance of this particular gene in controlling craniofacial skeletal development, and the evidence thus far connecting FGFR1 variants to quantitative craniofacial traits in the general population is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between FGFR1 variants and several measures of cranial and facial shape in a sample of healthy human subjects and to serve as a replication sample for prior genotype-phenotype studies with positive findings for FGFR1. This study comprised 1375 subjects (544 Male, 795 Female, 36 unknown sex) recruited as part of the 3D Facial Norms Project. 3D facial surface images were captured using digital stereophotogrammetry and eight craniofacial measurements were analyzed: maximum cranial width, maximum cranial length, morphological face height, upper face height, nasal protrusion, cephalic index, facial index and upper facial index. Two SNP’s of FGFR1 were genotyped: rs6983315 (intronic variant) and rs13317 (3’ UTR variant). Genotype-phenotype associations were tested with linear regression, using an additive model and a full dominant model, where age and sex were included as covariates in all analyses. Results were considered significant if p ≤ 0.0015. No significant associations were observed between either of the two SNPs and any of the eight craniofacial measurements, and the association results of previous studies could not be replicated

Australian Unity wellbeing index survey 25.1 part A : report "The wellbeing of Australians - bushfires and floods : following up the effects of fires in Victoria and floods in Queensland"

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index monitors the subjective wellbeing of the Australian population. Our first survey was conducted in April 2001 and this report concerns a special Survey 25.1, undertaken in October 2011. The survey was commissioned to detect whether the disastrous floods in North Queensland in the period December 2010 through February 2011, and fires in Victoria in the period January through February 2009, continued to affect the subjective wellbeing of people continuing to live in the disaster areas.This survey involved 1,215 respondents, with 600 drawn from Victoria and 615 from Queensland. The questionnaire comprised only the Personal Wellbeing Index and a small set of demographic questions. In all other respects the methodology of the survey followed our normal procedures.