Transfusion Therapy and Blood Banking in the Dog and Cat

The first successful transfusion of blood from one dog to another was first reported in 1665 by Richard Lower. He anastomosed a carotid artery of a donor dog to the jugular vein of an acutely bled recipient. At this time in history, blood was regarded as the essence of life and useful only for its alleged psychic effects. It wasn\u27t until 1818 that whole blood was used for its intrinsic value when a London obstetrician initiated blood replacement therapy for postpartum hemorrhage. As veterinary critical care becomes more and more sophisticated, the advantages of a basic knowledge of transfusion therapy and blood banking are increasingly apparent. The purpose of this article is to offer current knowledge on: 1) storing blood, 2) selection of donors, 3) blood grouping and crossmatching, 4) blood collection, 5) indications for component transfusions, 6) administration, and 7) complications

Finding genes and variants for lipid levels after genome-wide association analysis

We review the main findings from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for levels of HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, including approaches to identify the functional variant(s) or gene(s). We discuss study design and challenges related to whole genome or exome sequencing to identify novel genes and variants

Informing Policy: Mapping Information Literacy Research to Education Policy

Information literacy, defined as the skills and stages of successful information problem-solving, is often cited as a goal of education efforts at every level, pre-kindergarten through higher education. For these efforts to be effective, they must be guided by empirical research on information literacy. This study sought to determine the extent to which evidence of how students develop information literacy skills gleaned from empirical research is explicitly represented in a high-profile education policy initiative, the Common Core State Standards. Results reveal that not all stages of the information problem-solving process are represented in these standards, and that the crucial stage of Task Definition is not explicitly represented at all. Implications and directions for future research are presented.publishedye

Evolution of cooperation driven by zealots

Recent experimental results with humans involved in social dilemma games suggest that cooperation may be a contagious phenomenon and that the selection pressure operating on evolutionary dynamics (i.e., mimicry) is relatively weak. I propose an evolutionary dynamics model that links these experimental findings and evolution of cooperation. By assuming a small fraction of (imperfect) zealous cooperators, I show that a large fraction of cooperation emerges in evolutionary dynamics of social dilemma games. Even if defection is more lucrative than cooperation for most individuals, they often mimic cooperation of fellows unless the selection pressure is very strong. Then, zealous cooperators can transform the population to be even fully cooperative under standard evolutionary dynamics.Comment: 5 figure

The promoter polymorphism -232C/G of the PCK1 gene is associated with type 2 diabetes in a UK-resident South Asian population

Background: The PCK1 gene, encoding cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK-C), has previously been implicated as a candidate gene for type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility. Rodent models demonstrate that over-expression of Pck1 can result in T2D development and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of human PCK1 (-232C/G) has exhibited significant association with the disease in several cohorts. Within the UK-resident South Asian population, T2D is 4 to 6 times more common than in indigenous white Caucasians. Despite this, few studies have reported on the genetic susceptibility to T2D in this ethnic group and none of these has investigated the possible effect of PCK1 variants. We therefore aimed to investigate the association between common variants of the PCK1 gene and T2D in a UK-resident South Asian population of Punjabi ancestry, originating predominantly from the Mirpur area of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. \ud \ud Methods: We used TaqMan assays to genotype five tagSNPs covering the PCK1 gene, including the -232C/G variant, in 903 subjects with T2D and 471 normoglycaemic controls. \ud \ud Results: Of the variants studied, only the minor allele (G) of the -232C/G SNP demonstrated a significant association with T2D, displaying an OR of 1.21 (95% CI: 1.03 - 1.42, p = 0.019). \ud \ud Conclusion: This study is the first to investigate the association between variants of the PCK1 gene and T2D in South Asians. Our results suggest that the -232C/G promoter polymorphism confers susceptibility to T2D in this ethnic group. \ud \ud Trial registration: UKADS Trial Registration: ISRCTN38297969

Replication of LDL SWAs hits in PROSPER/PHASE as validation for future (pharmaco)genetic analyses

<p><b>Background:</b> The PHArmacogenetic study of Statins in the Elderly at risk (PHASE) is a genome wide association study in the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at risk for vascular disease (PROSPER) that investigates the genetic variation responsible for the individual variation in drug response to pravastatin. Statins lower LDL-cholesterol in general by 30%, however not in all subjects. Moreover, clinical response is highly variable and adverse effects occur in a minority of patients. In this report we first describe the rationale of the PROSPER/PHASE project and second show that the PROSPER/PHASE study can be used to study pharmacogenetics in the elderly.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> The genome wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using the Illumina 660K-Quad beadchips following manufacturer's instructions. After a stringent quality control 557,192 SNPs in 5,244 subjects were available for analysis. To maximize the availability of genetic data and coverage of the genome, imputation up to 2.5 million autosomal CEPH HapMap SNPs was performed with MACH imputation software. The GWAS for LDL-cholesterol is assessed with an additive linear regression model in PROBABEL software, adjusted for age, sex, and country of origin to account for population stratification.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Forty-two SNPs reached the GWAS significant threshold of p = 5.0e-08 in 5 genomic loci (APOE/APOC1; LDLR; FADS2/FEN1; HMGCR; PSRC1/CELSR5). The top SNP (rs445925, chromosome 19) with a p-value of p = 2.8e-30 is located within the APOC1 gene and near the APOE gene. The second top SNP (rs6511720, chromosome 19) with a p-value of p = 5.22e-15 is located within the LDLR gene. All 5 genomic loci were previously associated with LDL-cholesterol levels, no novel loci were identified. Replication in WOSCOPS and CARE confirmed our results.</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> With the GWAS in the PROSPER/PHASE study we confirm the previously found genetic associations with LDL-cholesterol levels. With this proof-of-principle study we show that the PROSPER/PHASE study can be used to investigate genetic associations in a similar way to population based studies. The next step of the PROSPER/PHASE study is to identify the genetic variation responsible for the variation in LDL-cholesterol lowering in response to statin treatment in collaboration with other large trials.</p&gt

Magnesium in Kidney Function and Disease—Implications for Aging and Sex—A Narrative Review

Magnesium (Mg) has a vital role in the human body, and the kidney is a key organ in the metabolism and excretion of this cation. The objective of this work is to compile the available evidence regarding the role that Mg plays in health and disease, with a special focus on the elderly population with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the eventual sex differences. A narrative review was carried out by executing an exhaustive search in the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases. Ten studies were found in which the role of Mg and sex was evaluated in elderly patients with CKD in the last 10 years (2012–2022). The progression of CKD leads to alterations in mineral metabolism, which worsen as the disease progresses. Mg can be used as a coadjuvant in the treatment of CKD patients to improve glomerular filtration, but its use in clinical applications needs to be further characterized. In conclusion, there’s a need for well-designed prospective clinical trials to advise and standardize Mg supplementation in daily clinical practice, taking age and sex into consideration

Cohort profile: the avon longitudinal study of parents and children: ALSPAC mothers cohort

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) was established to understand how genetic and environmental characteristics influence health and development in parents and children. All pregnant women resident in a defined area in the South West of England, with an expected date of delivery between 1st April 1991 and 31st December 1992, were eligible and 13 761 women (contributing 13 867 pregnancies) were recruited. These women have been followed over the last 19–22 years and have completed up to 20 questionnaires, have had detailed data abstracted from their medical records and have information on any cancer diagnoses and deaths through record linkage. A follow-up assessment was completed 17–18 years postnatal at which anthropometry, blood pressure, fat, lean and bone mass and carotid intima media thickness were assessed, and a fasting blood sample taken. The second follow-up clinic, which additionally measures cognitive function, physical capability, physical activity (with accelerometer) and wrist bone architecture, is underway and two further assessments with similar measurements will take place over the next 5 years. There is a detailed biobank that includes DNA, with genome-wide data available on >10 000, stored serum and plasma taken repeatedly since pregnancy and other samples; a wide range of data on completed biospecimen assays are available. Details of how to access these data are provided in this cohort profile