Post-Streptococcal Antibodies Are Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in a Population-Based Cohort

Background: Streptococcal infections are known to trigger autoimmune disorders, affecting millions worldwide. Recently, we found an association between post-streptococcal autoantibodies against Protein Disulphide Isomerase (PDI), an enzyme involved in insulin degradation and insulin resistance. This led us to evaluate associations between post-streptococcal antibodies and metabolic syndrome, as defined by the updated National Cholesterol Education Program definition, 2005. Methods and Findings: Metabolic data (HDL, triglycerides, fasting glucose, blood pressure, waist circumference, BMI, smoking), post-streptococcal antibodies (anti-Streptolysin O (ASO) and anti-PDI), and C-reactive protein (CRP, as a general inflammatory marker), were assessed in 1156 participants of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. Anti-PDI antibodies were found in 308 participants (26.6%), ASO$100 in 258 (22.3%), and 482 (41.7%) met diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. Anti-PDI antibodies but not ASO were significantly associated with metabolic syndrome [n = 1156, OR 1.463 (95 % CI 1.114, 1.920), p = 0.0062; adjusted for age, gender, education, smoking]. Importantly, the anti-PDI- metabolic syndrome association remained significant after adjusting for CRP and fasting insulin. Conclusions: Post-streptococcal anti-PDI antibodies are associated with metabolic syndrome regardless of fasting insulin and CRP levels. Whereas these data are in line with a growing body of evidence linking infections, immunity an

Mechanisms of cerebellar tonsil herniation in patients with Chiari malformations as guide to clinical management

Background The pathogenesis of Chiari malformations is incompletely understood. We tested the hypothesis that different etiologies have different mechanisms of cerebellar tonsil herniation (CTH), as revealed by posterior cranial fossa (PCF) morphology. Methods In 741 patients with Chiari malformation type I (CM-I) and 11 patients with Chiari malformation type II (CM-II), the size of the occipital enchondrium and volume of the PCF (PCFV) were measured on reconstructed 2D-CT and MR images of the skull. Measurements were compared with those in 80 age- and sex-matched healthy control individuals, and the results were correlated with clinical findings. Results Significant reductions of PCF size and volume were present in 388 patients with classical CM-I, 11 patients with CM-II, and five patients with CM-I and craniosynostosis. Occipital bone size and PCFV were normal in 225 patients with CM-I and occipitoatlantoaxial joint instability, 55 patients with CM-I and tethered cord syndrome (TCS), 30 patients with CM-I and intracranial mass lesions, and 28 patients with CM-I and lumboperitoneal shunts. Ten patients had miscellaneous etiologies. The size and area of the foramen magnum were significantly smaller in patients with classical CM-I and CM-I occurring with craniosynostosis and significantly larger in patients with CM-II and CM-I occurring with TCS. Conclusions Important clues concerning the pathogenesis of CTH were provided by morphometric measurements of the PCF. When these assessments were correlated with etiological factors, the following causal mechanisms were suggested: (1) cranial constriction; (2) cranial settling; (3) spinal cord tethering; (4) intracranial hypertension; and (5) intraspinal hypotension

Communication in production animal medicine: modelling a complex interaction with the example of dairy herd health medicine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The importance of communication skills in veterinary medicine is increasingly recognised. Appropriate communication skills towards the client are of utmost importance in both companion animal practice and production animal field and consultancy work. The need for building a relationship with the client, alongside developing a structure for the consultation is widely recognised and applies to both types of veterinary practice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Veterinary advisory practice in production animal medicine is, however, characterised by a more complex communication on different levels. While the person-orientated communication is a permanent process between veterinarian and client with a rather personal perspective and defines the roles of interaction, the problem-orientated communication deals with emerging difficulties; the objective is to solve an acute health problem. The solution - orientated communication is a form of communication in which both veterinarian and client address longstanding situations or problems with the objective to improve herd health and subsequently productivity performance. All three forms of communication overlap.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on this model, it appears useful for a veterinary practice to offer both a curative and an advisory service, but to keep these two separated when deemed appropriate. In veterinary education, the strategies and techniques necessary for solution orientated communication should be included in the teaching of communication skills.</p

Evaluating a Measure of Social Health Derived from Two Mental Health Recovery Measures: The California Quality of Life (CA-QOL) and Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program Consumer Survey (MHSIP)

Social health is important to measure when assessing outcomes in community mental health. Our objective was to validate social health scales using items from two broader commonly used measures that assess mental health outcomes. Participants were 609 adults receiving psychological treatment services. Items were identified from the California Quality of Life (CA-QOL) and Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) outcome measures by their conceptual correspondence with social health and compared to the Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ) using correlational analyses. Pearson correlations for the identified CA-QOL and MSHIP items with the SFQ ranged from .42 to .62, and the identified scale scores produced Pearson correlation coefficients of .56, .70, and, .70 with the SFQ. Concurrent validity with social health was supported for the identified scales. The current inclusion of these assessment tools allows community mental health programs to include social health in their assessments

Aboriginal mothers in prison in Australia: a study of social, emotional and physical wellbeing

© 2019 The Authors Objective: To describe the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of Aboriginal mothers in prison. Methods: Cross-sectional survey, including a Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (5-item version) administered to Aboriginal women who self-identified as mothers. Results: Seventy-seven Aboriginal mothers in New South Wales (NSW) and 84 in Western Australia (WA) participated in the study. Eighty-three per cent (n=59) of mothers in NSW were in prison for drug-related offences, 64.8% (n=46) of mothers in WA were in prison for offences committed under the influence of alcohol. Sixty-eight per cent (n=52) of mothers in NSW and 35% (n=28) of mothers in WA reported mental health problems. Physical (PCS) and Mental (MCS) component scores of SF-12 varied for mothers in NSW and WA. Mothers in NSW experienced poorer health and functioning than mothers in WA (NSW: PCS 49.5, MCS 40.6; WA: PCS 54.4, MCS 48.3) and high levels of psychological distress (NSW: 13.1; WA 10.1). Conclusions: Aboriginal mothers in prison have significant health needs associated with physical and mental health, and psychological distress. Implications for public health: Adoption of social and emotional wellbeing as an explanatory framework for culturally secure healthcare in prison is essential to improving health outcomes of Aboriginal mothers in prison in Australia

Microstructural evolution and trace element mobility in Witwatersrand pyrite

Microstructural analysis of pyrite from a single sample of Witwatersrand conglomerate indicates a complex deformation history involving components of both plastic and brittle deformation. Internal deformation associated with dislocation creep is heterogeneously developed within grains, shows no systematic relationship to bulk rock strain or the location of grain boundaries and is interpreted to represent an episode of pyrite deformation that predates the incorporation of detrital pyrite grains into the Central Rand conglomerates. In contrast, brittle deformation, manifest by grain fragmentation that transects dislocation-related microstructures, is spatially related to grain contacts and is interpreted to represent post-depositional deformation of the Central Rand conglomerates. Analysis of the low-angle boundaries associated with the early dislocation creep phase of deformation indicates the operation of {100} slip systems. However, some orientation boundaries have geometrical characteristics that are not consistent with simple {100} deformation.These boundaries may represent the combination of multiple slip systems or the operation of the previously unrecognized {120} slip system. These boundaries are associated with order of magnitude enrichments in As, Ni and Co that indicate a deformation control on the remobilization of trace elements within pyrite and a potential slip system control on the effectiveness of fast-diffusion pathways. The results confirm the importance of grain-scale elemental remobilization within pyrite prior to their incorporation into the Witwatersrand gold-bearing conglomerates. Since the relationship between gold and pyrite is intimately related to the trace element geochemistry of pyrite, the results have implications for the application of minor element geochemistry to ore deposit formation, suggest a reason for heterogeneous conductivity and localized gold precipitation in natural pyrite and provide a framework for improving mineral processing

Assessing Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Literature Review

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a multifaceted disease, with a high impact on patients’ psychological and physical well-being. There is increasing recognition that assessment of both clinical aspects of disease and patient identified concerns, such as fatigue, work disability, and treatment satisfaction need to be addressed. Only then can we fully understand disease burden and make well-informed treatment decisions aimed at improving patients’ lives. In recent years, there has been much progress in the development of unidimensional and composite measures of disease activity, as well as questionnaires capturing the patient’s perspective in psoriatic disease. Despite these advances, there remains disagreement amongst clinicians as to which instruments should be used. As a consequence, they are yet to receive widespread implementation in routine clinical practice. This review aims to summarize currently available clinical and patient-derived assessment tools, which will provide clinicians with a practical and informative resource

Temperature Influences Selective Mortality during the Early Life Stages of a Coral Reef Fish

For organisms with complex life cycles, processes occurring at the interface between life stages can disproportionately impact survival and population dynamics. Temperature is an important factor influencing growth in poikilotherms, and growth-related processes are frequently correlated with survival. We examined the influence of water temperature on growth-related early life history traits (ELHTs) and differential mortality during the transition from larval to early juvenile stage in sixteen monthly cohorts of bicolor damselfish Stegastes partitus, sampled on reefs of the upper Florida Keys, USA over 6 years. Otolith analysis of settlers and juveniles coupled with environmental data revealed that mean near-reef water temperature explained a significant proportion of variation in pelagic larval duration (PLD), early larval growth, size-at-settlement, and growth during early juvenile life. Among all cohorts, surviving juveniles were consistently larger at settlement, but grew more slowly during the first 6 d post-settlement. For the other ELHTs, selective mortality varied seasonally: during winter and spring months, survivors exhibited faster larval growth and shorter PLDs, whereas during warmer summer months, selection on PLD reversed and selection on larval growth became non-linear. Our results demonstrate that temperature not only shapes growth-related traits, but can also influence the direction and intensity of selective mortality

Genetic association of zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8) autoantibodies in type 1 diabetes cases

Autoantibodies to zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) are associated with risk of type 1 diabetes. Apart from the SLC30A8 gene itself, little is known about the genetic basis of ZnT8A. We hypothesise that other loci in addition to SLC30A8 are associated with ZnT8A. The levels of ZnT8A were measured in 2,239 British type 1 diabetic individuals diagnosed before age 17 years, with a median duration of diabetes of 4 years. Cases were tested at over 775,000 loci genome wide (including 53 type 1 diabetes associated regions) for association with positivity for ZnT8A. ZnT8A were also measured in an independent dataset of 855 family members with type 1 diabetes. Only FCRL3 on chromosome 1q23.1 and the HLA class I region were associated with positivity for ZnT8A. rs7522061T &gt; C was the most associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the FCRL3 region (p = 1.13 x 10(-16)). The association was confirmed in the family dataset (p a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 9.20 x 10(-4)). rs9258750A &gt; G was the most associated variant in the HLA region (p = 2.06 x 10(-9) and p = 0.0014 in family cases). The presence of ZnT8A was not associated with HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1, HLA-A, HLA-B or HLA-C (p &gt; 0.05). Unexpectedly, the two loci associated with the presence of ZnT8A did not alter risk of having type 1 diabetes, and the 53 type 1 diabetes risk loci did not influence positivity for ZnT8A, despite them being disease specific. ZnT8A are not primary pathogenic factors in type 1 diabetes. Nevertheless, ZnT8A testing in combination with other autoantibodies facilitates disease prediction, despite the biomarker not being under the same genetic control as the disease