Vocational perspectives after spinal cord injury

Objective: To give insight into the vocational situation several years after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and describe the personal experiences and unmet needs; to give an overview of health and functional status per type of SCI and their relationship with employment status. Design: Descriptive analysis of data from a questionnaire. Setting: Dutch rehabilitation centre with special department for patients with spinal cord injuries. Subjects: Fifty-seven patients with a traumatic SCI, aged 18-60 years, admitted to the rehabilitation centre from 1990 to 1998. Main measures: Questionnaire with items related to vocational outcome, job experiences, health and functional status. Results: Of 49 patients who were working at the moment of SCI 60% currently had a paid job. Vocational outcome was related to a higher educational level. A significant relation between the SCI-specific health and functional status and employment was not found. The respondents who changed to a new employer needed more time to resume work, but seemed more satisfied with the job and lost fewer working hours than those who resumed work with the same employer. In spite of reasonable to good satisfaction with the current work situation, several negative experiences and unmet needs were reported. Conclusions: Despite a high participation in paid work following SCI, the effort of the disabled worker to have and keep a job should not be underestimated

Drainage-structuring of ancestral variation and a common functional pathway shape limited genomic convergence in natural high- and low-predation guppies

This is the final version. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record. Data Availability: Raw sequencing reads are available on ENA: PRJEB43917 (Aripo, Madamas, Tacarigua) and PRJEB10680 (Guanapo and Oropouche). Final VCF data are available on FigShare, doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14315771. Other data and scripts used to analyse data are available on github: github.com/JimWhiting91/guppy_convergence. This repository is archived with Zenodo, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4740381.Studies of convergence in wild populations have been instrumental in understanding adaptation by providing strong evidence for natural selection. At the genetic level, we are beginning to appreciate that the re-use of the same genes in adaptation occurs through different mechanisms and can be constrained by underlying trait architectures and demographic characteristics of natural populations. Here, we explore these processes in naturally adapted high- (HP) and low-predation (LP) populations of the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata. As a model for phenotypic change this system provided some of the earliest evidence of rapid and repeatable evolution in vertebrates; the genetic basis of which has yet to be studied at the whole-genome level. We collected whole-genome sequencing data from ten populations (176 individuals) representing five independent HP-LP river pairs across the three main drainages in Northern Trinidad. We evaluate population structure, uncovering several LP bottlenecks and variable between-river introgression that can lead to constraints on the sharing of adaptive variation between populations. Consequently, we found limited selection on common genes or loci across all drainages. Using a pathway type analysis, however, we find evidence of repeated selection on different genes involved in cadherin signaling. Finally, we found a large repeatedly selected haplotype on chromosome 20 in three rivers from the same drainage. Taken together, despite limited sharing of adaptive variation among rivers, we found evidence of convergent evolution associated with HP-LP environments in pathways across divergent drainages and at a previously unreported candidate haplotype within a drainage.H2020 European Research CouncilNatural Environment Research Counci

Rapid genomic convergent evolution in experimental populations of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData archiving: The data that support these findings are openly available at: European Nucleotide Archive (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ena/ browser/home)—reference numbers: PRJEB42705 (all introduction populations) and PRJEB10680 (GHP). All scripts and associated data are available on Github repository: mapping and SNP calling (https://github.com/josieparis/gatk-snp-calling); population genomics and haplotype scans (https://github.com/ bfraser-commits/Rapid_genomic_adaptation_guppies); the software for multivariate AF analyses (AF-vapeR) (https://github. com/JimWhiting91/afvaper); and simulation analyses (https:// github.com/JimWhiting91/fibr_simulations).Although rapid phenotypic evolution has been documented often, the genomic basis of rapid adaptation to natural environments is largely unknown in multicellular organisms. Population genomic studies of experimental populations of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) provide a unique opportunity to study this phenomenon. Guppy populations that were transplanted from high-predation (HP) to low-predation (LP) environments have been shown to evolve toward the phenotypes of naturally colonized LP populations in as few as eight generations. These changes persist in common garden experiments, indicating that they have a genetic basis. Here, we report results of whole genome variation in four experimental populations colonizing LP sites along with the corresponding HP source population. We examined genome-wide patterns of genetic variation to estimate past demography and used a combination of genome scans, forward simulations, and a novel analysis of allele frequency change vectors to uncover the signature of selection. We detected clear signals of population growth and bottlenecks at the genome-wide level that matched the known history of population numbers. We found a region on chromosome 15 under strong selection in three of the four populations and with our multivariate approach revealing subtle parallel changes in allele frequency in all four populations across this region. Investigating patterns of genome-wide selection in this uniquely replicated experiment offers remarkable insight into the mechanisms underlying rapid adaptation, providing a basis for comparison with other species and populations experiencing rapidly changing environments.Max Planck SocietyEuropean Research Council (ERC)Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)University of SussexUniversity of ExeterNational Science Foundation (NSF

Climacteric Lowers Plasma Levels of Platelet-Derived Microparticles: A Pilot Study in Pre-versus Postmenopausal Women

Background: Climacteric increases the risk of thrombotic events by alteration of plasmatic coagulation. Up to now, less is known about changes in platelet-(PMP) and endothelial cell-derived microparticles (EMP). Methods: In this prospective study, plasma levels of microparticles (MP) were compared in 21 premenopausal and 19 postmenopausal women. Results: No altered numbers of total MP or EMP were measured within the study groups. However, the plasma values of CD61-exposing MP from platelets/megakaryocytes were higher in premenopausal women (5,364 x 10(6)/l, range 4,384-17,167) as compared to postmenopausal women (3,808 x 10(6)/l, range 2,009-8,850; p = 0.020). This differentiation was also significant for the subgroup of premenopausal women without hormonal contraceptives (5,364 x 10(6)/l, range 4,223-15,916; p = 0.047; n = 15). Furthermore, in premenopausal women, higher plasma levels of PMP exposing CD62P were also present as compared to postmenopausal women (288 x 10(6)/l, range 139-462, vs. 121 x 10(6)/l, range 74-284; p = 0.024). This difference was also true for CD63+ PMP levels (281 x 10(6)/l, range 182-551, vs. 137 x 10(6)/l, range 64-432; p = 0.015). Conclusion: Climacteric lowers the level of PMP but has no impact on the number of EMP in women. These data suggest that PMP and EMP do not play a significant role in enhancing the risk of thrombotic events in healthy, postmenopausal women. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

New physics searches at near detectors of neutrino oscillation experiments

We systematically investigate the prospects of testing new physics with tau sensitive near detectors at neutrino oscillation facilities. For neutrino beams from pion decay, from the decay of radiative ions, as well as from the decays of muons in a storage ring at a neutrino factory, we discuss which effective operators can lead to new physics effects. Furthermore, we discuss the present bounds on such operators set by other experimental data currently available. For operators with two leptons and two quarks we present the first complete analysis including all relevant operators simultaneously and performing a Markov Chain Monte Carlo fit to the data. We find that these effects can induce tau neutrino appearance probabilities as large as O(10^{-4}), which are within reach of forthcoming experiments. We highlight to which kind of new physics a tau sensitive near detector would be most sensitive.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX

Total laparoscopic hysterectomy versus total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for endometrial carcinoma: a randomised controlled trial with 5-year follow-up

This report is on recovery and long-term outcomes in a small-scale randomised controlled trial (RCT) after total laparoscopic hysterectomy versus total abdominal hysterectomy in (potential) endometrial carcinoma patients. An RCT was performed among women with atypical endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma scheduled for hysterectomy in a teaching hospital in The Netherlands. Women were randomised to total laparoscopic hysterectomy versus total abdominal hysterectomy both with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and were followed until 5 years after the intervention. Patients completed the RAND 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (RAND-36), Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) and Recovery Index-10 (RI-10) until 12 weeks after surgery. Main outcome measure was quality of life and recovery in the first 12 weeks after surgery. A linear mixed model was used for statistical analysis while accounting for baseline values where applicable. Seventeen women were included, of whom 11 allocated to the laparoscopic arm and 6 to the abdominal arm. Laparoscopic hysterectomy performed better on all scales and subscales used in the study. A statistically significant treatment effect, favouring laparoscopic hysterectomy, was found in the total RAND-36 (difference between groups 142 units, 95% confidence interval 46; 236). Clinical follow-up was completed after median 60 months, but this study was too small for conclusions regarding the safety and survival. Laparoscopic hysterectomy results in better postoperative quality of life in the first 12 weeks after surgery when compared with abdominal hysterectomy

Elevated white cell count in acute coronary syndromes: relationship to variants in inflammatory and thrombotic genes

BACKGROUND: Elevated white blood cell counts (WBC) in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) increase the risk of recurrent events, but it is not known if this is exacerbated by pro-inflammatory factors. We sought to identify whether pro-inflammatory genetic variants contributed to alterations in WBC and C-reactive protein (CRP) in an ACS population. METHODS: WBC and genotype of interleukin 6 (IL-6 G-174C) and of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN intronic repeat polymorphism) were investigated in 732 Caucasian patients with ACS in the OPUS-TIMI-16 trial. Samples for measurement of WBC and inflammatory factors were taken at baseline, i.e. Within 72 hours of an acute myocardial infarction or an unstable angina event. RESULTS: An increased white blood cell count (WBC) was associated with an increased C-reactive protein (r = 0.23, p < 0.001) and there was also a positive correlation between levels of β-fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (r = 0.42, p < 0.0001). IL1RN and IL6 genotypes had no significant impact upon WBC. The difference in median WBC between the two homozygote IL6 genotypes was 0.21/mm(3 )(95% CI = -0.41, 0.77), and -0.03/mm(3 )(95% CI = -0.55, 0.86) for IL1RN. Moreover, the composite endpoint was not significantly affected by an interaction between WBC and the IL1 (p = 0.61) or IL6 (p = 0.48) genotype. CONCLUSIONS: Cytokine pro-inflammatory genetic variants do not influence the increased inflammatory profile of ACS patients

Strong coupling, discrete symmetry and flavour

We show how two principles - strong coupling and discrete symmetry - can work together to generate the flavour structure of the Standard Model. We propose that in the UV the full theory has a discrete flavour symmetry, typically only associated with tribimaximal mixing in the neutrino sector. Hierarchies in the particle masses and mixing matrices then emerge from multiple strongly coupled sectors that break this symmetry. This allows for a realistic flavour structure, even in models built around an underlying grand unified theory. We use two different techniques to understand the strongly coupled physics: confinement in N=1 supersymmetry and the AdS/CFT correspondence. Both approaches yield equivalent results and can be represented in a clear, graphical way where the flavour symmetry is realised geometrically.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, updated references and figure