The effect of whole grain wheat sourdough bread consumption on serum lipids in healthy normoglycemic/normoinsulinemic and hyperglycemic/hyperinsulinemic adults depends on presence of the APOE E3/E3 genotype: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epidemiological studies associate consumption of whole grain foods, including breads, with reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk; however, few studies have compared wheat whole grains with wheat refined grains.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study investigated effects of 6-week consumption of whole grain wheat sourdough bread in comparison to white bread on fasting serum lipids in normoglycemic/normoinsulinemic (NGI; n = 14) and hyperglycemic/hyperinsulinemic (HGI; n = 14) adults. The influence of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, 3 within the <it>APOE </it>gene (E2, E3, E4) and 2 within the hepatic lipase gene promoter (<it>LIPC </it>-514C>T, LIPC -250G>A) were considered.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline, HGI participants had significantly higher body weight, waist circumference, body fat, and fasted glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), glucagon, triacylglycerols (TAG) and TAG:HDL-cholesterol, compared to NGI participants; however, none of these in addition to none of the other serum lipids, differed between bread treatments, within either participant group. For participants with the <it>APOE </it>E3/E3 genotype, LDL-cholesterol (<it>P </it>= 0.02) increased in the NGI group (n = 7), and TAG (<it>P </it>= 0.03) and TAG:HDL-cholesterol (<it>P </it>= 0.04) increased in the HGI group (n = 10), following consumption of whole grain wheat sourdough compared to white bread.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, 6-week consumption of whole grain wheat sourdough bread did not significantly modulate serum lipids in NGI or HGI adults; however, it significantly increased LDL-cholesterol, TAG and TAG:HDL-cholesterol in participants with the <it>APOE </it>E3/E3 genotype. These data add to limited literature comparing wheat whole grains to wheat refined grains on CVD risk and highlight the need to consider genetic variation in relation to lipoprotein lipid content and CVD risk.</p

The relationship between types of childhood victimisation and young adulthood criminality

BackgroundPrevious research suggests that some types of childhood abuse and neglect are related to an increased likelihood of perpetrating criminal behaviour in adulthood. Little research, however, has examined associations between multiple different types of childhood victimisation and adult criminal behaviour.AimsWe sought to examine the contribution of multiple and diverse childhood victimisations on adult criminal behaviour. Our central hypothesis was that, after controlling for gender, substance use and psychopathy, each type of childhood victimisation â specifically experience of property offences, physical violence, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and witnessed violence â would be positively and independently related to criminal behaviour in young adults.MethodsWe examined data from a large, nationally representative sample of 2244 young Swedish adults who reported at least one form of victimisation, using hierarchical regression analysis to also account for gender, substance use and psychopathy.ResultsExperiences of physical assaults, neglect and witnessing violence as a child were significantly associated with adult criminal behaviour, but not experiences of property, verbal or sexual victimizations.ConclusionsOur findings help to identify those forms of harm to children that are most likely to be associated with later criminality. Even after accounting for gender, substance misuse and psychopathology, childhood experience of violence â directly or as a witness â carries risk for adulthood criminal behaviour, so such children need targeted support and treatment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138903/1/cbm2002.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138903/2/cbm2002_am.pd

Finding balance : an evaluation governance model to ease tension between independence and inclusion

Includes abstract in FrenchPractitioners and theorists have documented the benefits of user engagement and participation in evaluation and, at the same time, the value of neutral and impartial evaluative evidence. Yet producing both an independent and inclusive evaluation is a leading challenge in our field. In this practice note, we present one solution. We describe the design of an evaluation governance structure that was used to find balance between these two themes. We also identify key elements of this experience and present these for adaptation by others, given appropriate tailoring. We have documented our experience as we believe that governance provides currently uncharted potential for this discipline spanning challenge.Les spécialistes et les théoriciens ont documenté les avantages de la participation des utilisateurs en évaluation et, de la même façon, la valeur dedonnées d’évaluation neutres et impartiales. Il reste que réaliser une évaluation aussi indépendante qu’inclusive est encore un défi de taille dans notre domaine. Dans la présente note de pratique, nous présentons une solution. Nous décrivons le design d’une structure d’évaluation de la gouvernance qui a servi à trouver un équilibre entre les deux thèmes. Nous nommons aussi les éléments clés de cette expérience et expliquons comment ils peuvent être adaptés pour répondre à des besoins particuliers. Nous avons documenté notre expérience puisque nous croyons que la gouvernance est une avenue prometteuse pour relever ce défi qui touche de nombreuses disciplines

Analysis of lesion localisation at colonoscopy: outcomes from a multi-centre U.K. study

Background: Colonoscopy is currently the gold standard for detection of colorectal lesions, but may be limited in anatomically localising lesions. This audit aimed to determine the accuracy of colonoscopy lesion localisation, any subsequent changes in surgical management and any potentially influencing factors. Methods: Patients undergoing colonoscopy prior to elective curative surgery for colorectal lesion/s were included from 8 registered U.K. sites (2012–2014). Three sets of data were recorded: patient factors (age, sex, BMI, screener vs. symptomatic, previous abdominal surgery); colonoscopy factors (caecal intubation, scope guide used, colonoscopist accreditation) and imaging modality. Lesion localisation was standardised with intra-operative location taken as the gold standard. Changes to surgical management were recorded. Results: 364 cases were included; majority of lesions were colonic, solitary, malignant and in symptomatic referrals. 82% patients had their lesion/s correctly located at colonoscopy. Pre-operative CT visualised lesion/s in only 73% of cases with a reduction in screening patients (64 vs. 77%; p = 0.008). 5.2% incorrectly located cases at colonoscopy underwent altered surgical management, including conversion to open. Univariate analysis found colonoscopy accreditation, scope guide use, incomplete colonoscopy and previous abdominal surgery significantly influenced lesion localisation. On multi-variate analysis, caecal intubation and scope guide use remained significant (HR 0.35, 0.20–0.60 95% CI and 0.47; 0.25–0.88, respectively). Conclusion: Lesion localisation at colonoscopy is incorrect in 18% of cases leading to potentially significant surgical management alterations. As part of accreditation, colonoscopists need lesion localisation training and awareness of when inaccuracies can occur

Understanding drivers of antibiotic resistance genes in High Arctic soil ecosystems

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Soils in tropical and temperate locations are known to be a sink for the genetic potential of anthropogenic-driven acquired antibiotic resistance (AR). In contrast, accumulation of acquired AR is less probable in most Polar soils, providing a platform for characterizing background resistance and establishing a benchmark for assessing AR spread. Here, high-throughput qPCR and geochemistry were used to quantify the abundance and diversity of both antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and selected mobile genetic elements (MGEs) across eight soil clusters in the Kongsfjorden region of Svalbard in the High Arctic. Relative ARG levels ranged by over two orders of magnitude (10−6 to 10−4 copies/16S rRNA gene copy), and showed a gradient of potential human and wildlife impacts across clusters as evidenced by altered geochemical conditions and increased “foreign” ARG abundances (i.e., allochthonous), including blaNDM-1. Impacted clusters exhibited 100× higher total ARGs and MGEs in tandem with elevated secondary nutrients, especially available P that is typically low and limiting in Arctic soils. In contrast, ARGs in less-impacted clusters correlated strongly to local soil lithology. The most plausible source of exogenous P and allochthonous ARGs in this region is bird and other wildlife guano, disseminated either by local human wastes or via direct carriage and deposition. Regardless of pathway, accumulation of apparent allochthonous ARGs and MGEs in High Arctic soils is concerning, highlighting the importance of characterizing Arctic sites now to establish benchmarks for tracking AR spread around the world

Immunoresponsive Gene 1 Augments Bactericidal Activity of Macrophage-Lineage Cells by Regulating β-Oxidation-Dependent Mitochondrial ROS Production

SummaryEvidence suggests the bactericidal activity of mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species (mROS) directly contributes to killing phagocytozed bacteria. Infection-responsive components that regulate this process remain incompletely understood. We describe a role for the mitochondria-localizing enzyme encoded by Immunoresponsive gene 1 (IRG1) during the utilization of fatty acids as a fuel for oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and associated mROS production. In a zebrafish infection model, infection-responsive expression of zebrafish irg1 is specific to macrophage-lineage cells and is regulated cooperatively by glucocorticoid and JAK/STAT signaling pathways. Irg1-depleted macrophage-lineage cells are impaired in their ability to utilize fatty acids as an energy substrate for OXPHOS-derived mROS production resulting in defective bactericidal activity. Additionally, the requirement for fatty acid β-oxidation during infection-responsive mROS production and bactericidal activity toward intracellular bacteria is conserved in murine macrophages. These results reveal IRG1 as a key component of the immunometabolism axis, connecting infection, cellular metabolism, and macrophage effector function

Assessing Health Research and Innovation Impact: Evolution of a Framework and Tools in Alberta, Canada

Publicly funded research and innovation (R&amp;I) organizations around the world are facing increasing demands to demonstrate the impacts of their investments. In most cases, these demands are shifting from academically based outputs to impacts that benefit society. Funders and other organizations are grappling to understand and demonstrate how their investments and activities are achieving impact. This is compounded with challenges that are inherent to impact assessment, such as having an agreed understanding of impact, the time lag from research to impact, establishing attribution and contribution, and consideration of diverse stakeholder needs and values. In response, many organizations are implementing frameworks and using web-based tools to track and assess academic and societal impact. This conceptual analysis begins with an overview of international research impact frameworks and emerging tools that are used by an increasing number of public R&amp;I funders to demonstrate the value of their investments. From concept to real-world, this paper illustrates how one organization, Alberta Innovates, used the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) impact framework to guide implementation of its fit-for-purpose impact framework with an agnostic international six-block protocol. The implementation of the impact framework at Alberta Innovates is also supported by adopting emerging web-based tools. Drawing on the lessons learned from this continuous organizational endeavor to assess and measure R&amp;I impact, we present preliminary plans for developing an impact strategy for Alberta Innovates that can be applied across sectors, including energy, environment and agriculture, and may possibly be adopted by other international funders

A structure in the early Universe at z 1.3 that exceeds the homogeneity scale of the R-W concordance cosmology

A Large Quasar Group (LQG) of particularly large size and high membership has been identified in the DR7QSO catalogue of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It has characteristic size (volume^1/3) ~ 500 Mpc (proper size, present epoch), longest dimension ~ 1240 Mpc, membership of 73 quasars, and mean redshift = 1.27. In terms of both size and membership it is the most extreme LQG found in the DR7QSO catalogue for the redshift range 1.0 = 1.28, which is itself one of the more extreme examples. Their boundaries approach to within ~ 2 deg (~ 140 Mpc projected). This new, huge LQG appears to be the largest structure currently known in the early universe. Its size suggests incompatibility with the Yadav et al. scale of homogeneity for the concordance cosmology, and thus challenges the assumption of the cosmological principle

Nitroglycerin for treatment of retained placenta: a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicentre double blind trial in the UK

Funding: The GOT-IT trial was funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR; https://www.nihr.ac.uk) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Program in response to a specific commissioned grant call (Project number 12/29/01). The following co-authors were grant holders: FCD, GM, MP, JB, GS, JL, JN and JEN. The funders played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. This work was undertaken in the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health which is funded by MRC Centre grant (MRC G1002033). Data Availability: The GOT-IT Trial contains a centrally-managed cross centre dataset which is available, upon request, from the Digital Curation Centre within the University of Edinburgh. Data requests can be made at [email protected] reviewedPublisher PD