USING ENGEL CURVES TO ESTIMATE BIAS IN THE CANADIAN CPI AS A COST OF LIVING INDEX

Consumer/Household Economics,

Alterations in Task-Related Brain Activation in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults at Familial High-Risk for Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder - A Systematic Review.

Children, adolescents, and young adults with at least one first-degree relative [familial high-risk (FHR)] with either schizophrenia (SZ) or bipolar disorder (BD) have a one-in-two risk of developing a psychiatric disorder. Here, we review functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies which examined task-related brain activity in young individuals with FHR-SZ and FHR-BD. A systematic search identified all published task-related fMRI studies in children, adolescents, and young adults below an age of 27 years with a first-degree relative with SZ or BD, but without manifest psychotic or affective spectrum disorder themselves. The search identified 19 cross-sectional fMRI studies covering four main cognitive domains: 1) working memory (n = 3), 2) cognitive control (n = 4), 3) reward processing (n = 3), and 4) emotion processing (n = 9). Thirteen studies included FHR-BD, five studies included FHR-SZ, and one study included a pooled FHR group. In general, task performance did not differ between the respective FHR groups and healthy controls, but 18 out of the 19 fMRI studies revealed regional alterations in task-related activation. Brain regions showing group differences in peak activation were regions associated with the respective task domain and showed little overlap between FHR-SZ and FHR-BD. The low number of studies, together with the low number of subjects, and the substantial heterogeneity of employed methodological approaches within the domain of working memory, cognitive control, and reward processing impedes finite conclusions. Emotion processing was the most investigated task domain in FHR-BD. Four studies reported differences in activation of the amygdala, and two studies reported differences in activation of inferior frontal/middle gyrus. Together, these studies provide evidence for altered brain processing of emotions in children, adolescents, and young adults at FHR-BD. More studies of higher homogeneity, larger sample sizes and with a longitudinal study design are warranted to prove a shared or specific FHR-related endophenotypic brain activation in young first-degree relatives of individuals with SZ or BD, as well as to pinpoint specific alterations in brain activation during cognitive-, emotional-, and reward-related tasks

Screen time behaviours may interact with obesity genes, independent of physical activity, to influence adolescent BMI in an ethnically diverse cohort

Background There has been little investigation of gene-by-environment interactions related to sedentary behaviour, a risk factor for obesity defined as leisure screen time (ST; i.e. television, video and computer games). Objective To test the hypothesis that limiting ST use attenuates the genetic predisposition to increased body mass index (BMI), independent of physical activity. Design Using 7642 wave II participants of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, (Add Health; mean=16.4 years, 52.6% female), we assessed the interaction of ST (hweek-1) and 41 established obesity single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with age- and sex-specific BMI Z-scores in 4788 European-American (EA), 1612 African-American (AA) and 1242 Hispanic American (HA) adolescents. Results Nominally significant SNP ST interaction were found for FLJ35779 in EA, GNPDA2 in AA and none in HA (EA: beta [SE]=0.016[0.007]), AA: beta [SE]=0.016[0.011]) per 7hweek-1 ST and one risk allele in relation to BMI Z-score. Conclusions While for two established BMI loci, we find evidence that high levels of ST exacerbate the influence of obesity susceptibility variants on body mass; overall, we do not find strong evidence for interactions between the majority of established obesity loci. However, future studies with larger sample sizes, or that may build on our current study and the growing published literature, are clearly warranted

Moderate to vigorous physical activity interactions with genetic variants and body mass index in a large US ethnically diverse cohort

Summary What is already known about this subject Genome-Wide Association Studies have successfully identified numerous genetic loci that influence body mass index in European-descent middle-aged adults. Adolescence is a high-risk period for the development of adult obesity and severe obesity. Physical activity is one of the most promising behavioural candidates for preventing and reducing weight gain, particularly among youth. What this study adds An examination of the joint association between 41 of the well-established obesity susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms with <5 vs. ≥5 bouts of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week in relation to body mass index (BMI)-for-age Z-score in a nationally representative sample of European American, African-American and Hispanic American adolescents. Three nominally significant interactions (P < 0.05) varied by race/ethnicity. Overall, the estimated effect of the risk allele on BMI-for-age Z-score was greater in individuals with <5 than those with ≥5 bouts MVPA per week. Background Little is known about the interaction between genetic and behavioural factors during lifecycle risk periods for obesity and how associations vary across race/ethnicity. Objective The objective of this study was to examine joint associations of adiposity-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with body mass index (BMI) in a diverse adolescent cohort. Methods Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 8113: Wave II 1996; ages 12-21, Wave III; ages 18-27), we assessed interactions of 41 well-established SNPs and MVPA with BMI-for-age Z-scores in European Americans (EA; n = 5077), African-Americans (AA; n = 1736) and Hispanic Americans (HA; n = 1300). Results Of 97 assessed, we found nominally significant SNP-MVPA interactions on BMI-for-age Z-score in EA at GNPDA2 and FTO and in HA at LZTR2/SEC16B. In EA, the estimated effect of the FTO risk allele on BMI-for-age Z-score was lower (β = -0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.08, 0.18) in individuals with ≥5 vs. <5 (β = 0.24; CI: 0.16, 0.32) bouts of MVPA per week (P for interaction 0.02). Race/ethnicity-pooled meta-analysis showed nominally significant interactions for SNPs at TFAP2B, POC5 and LYPLAL1. Conclusions High MVPA may attenuate underlying genetic risk for obesity during adolescence, a high-risk period for adult obesity

The young star cluster system of the Antennae galaxies

“The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com”. Copyright Springer. DOI: 10.1007/s10509-009-0103-xThe study of young star cluster (YSC) systems, preferentially in starburst and merging galaxies, has seen great interest in the recent past, as it provides important input to models of star formation. However, even some basic properties (such as the luminosity function; LF) of YSC systems are still being debated. Here, we study the photometric properties of the YSC system in the nearest major merger system, the Antennae galaxies. We find evidence for the existence of a statistically significant turnover in the LF.Peer reviewe