3D finite compartment modeling of formation and healing of bruises may identify methods for age determination of bruises

Simulating the spatial and temporal behavior of bruises may identify methods that allow accurate age determination of bruises to assess child abuse. We developed a numerical 3D model to simulate the spatial kinetics of hemoglobin and bilirubin during the formation and healing of bruises. Using this model, we studied how skin thickness, bruise diameter and diffusivities affect the formation and healing of circular symmetric bruises and compared a simulated bruise with a natural inhomogeneous bruise. Healing is faster for smaller bruises in thinner and less dense skin. The simulated and natural bruises showed similar spatial and temporal dynamics. The different spatio-temporal dynamics of hemoglobin and bilirubin allows age determination of model bruises. Combining our model predictions with individual natural bruises may allow optimizing our model parameters. It may particularly identify methods for more accurate age determination than currently possible to aid the assessment of child abuse

Enhanced Botrytis cinerea resistance of Arabidopsis plants grown in compost may be explained by increased expression of defense-related genes, as revealed by microarray analysis

Composts are the products obtained after the aerobic degradation of different types of organic matter waste and can be used as substrates or substrate/soil amendments for plant cultivation. There is a small but increasing number of reports that suggest that foliar diseases may be reduced when using compost, rather than standard substrates, as growing medium. The purpose of this study was to examine the gene expression alteration produced by the compost to gain knowledge of the mechanisms involved in compost-induced systemic resistance. A compost from olive marc and olive tree leaves was able to induce resistance against Botrytis cinerea in Arabidopsis, unlike the standard substrate, perlite. Microarray analyses revealed that 178 genes were differently expressed, with a fold change cut-off of 1, of which 155 were up-regulated and 23 were down-regulated in compost-grown, as against perlite-grown plants. A functional enrichment study of up-regulated genes revealed that 38 Gene Ontology terms were significantly enriched. Response to stress, biotic stimulus, other organism, bacterium, fungus, chemical and abiotic stimulus, SA and ABA stimulus, oxidative stress, water, temperature and cold were significantly enriched, as were immune and defense responses, systemic acquired resistance, secondary metabolic process and oxireductase activity. Interestingly, PR1 expression, which was equally enhanced by growing the plants in compost and by B. cinerea inoculation, was further boosted in compost-grown pathogen-inoculated plants. Compost triggered a plant response that shares similarities with both systemic acquired resistance and ABA-dependent/independent abiotic stress responses

Evaluating the evidence for models of life course socioeconomic factors and cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: A relatively consistent body of research supports an inverse graded relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). More recently, researchers have proposed various life course SES hypotheses, which posit that the combination, accumulation, and/or interactions of different environments and experiences throughout life can affect adult risk of CVD. Different life course designs have been utilized to examine the impact of SES throughout the life course. This systematic review describes the four most common life course hypotheses, categorizes the studies that have examined the associations between life course SES and CVD according to their life course design, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the different designs, and summarizes the studies' findings. METHODS: This research reviewed 49 observational studies in the biomedical literature that included socioeconomic measures at a time other than adulthood as independent variables, and assessed subclinical CHD, incident CVD morbidity and/or mortality, and/or the prevalence of traditional CVD risk factors as their outcomes. Studies were categorized into four groups based upon life course design and analytic approach. The study authors' conclusions and statistical tests were considered in summarizing study results. RESULTS: Study results suggest that low SES throughout the life course modestly impacts CVD risk factors and CVD risk. Specifically, studies reviewed provided moderate support for the role of low early-life SES and elevated levels of CVD risk factors and CVD morbidity and mortality, little support for a unique influence of social mobility on CVD, and consistent support for the detrimental impact of the accumulation of negative SES experiences/conditions across the life course on CVD risk. CONCLUSIONS: While the basic life course SES study designs have various methodologic and conceptual limitations, they provide an important approach from which to examine the influence of social factors on CVD development. Some limitations may be addressed through the analysis of study cohorts followed from childhood, the evaluation of CVD risk factors in early and middle adulthood, and the use of multiple SES measures and multiple life course analysis approaches in each life course study

Association Testing Of Copy Number Variants in Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: Autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia have been associated with an overlapping set of copynumber variant loci, but the nature and degree of overlap in copy number variants (deletions compared toduplications) between these two disorders remains unclear.Methods: We systematically evaluated three lines of evidence: (1) the statistical bases for associations of autismspectrum disorders and schizophrenia with a set of the primary CNVs thus far investigated, from previous studies;(2) data from case series studies on the occurrence of these CNVs in autism spectrum disorders, especially amongchildren, and (3) data on the extent to which the CNVs were associated with intellectual disability anddevelopmental, speech, or language delays. We also conducted new analyses of existing data on these CNVs inautism by pooling data from seven case control studies.Results: Four of the CNVs considered, dup 1q21.1, dup 15q11-q13, del 16p11.2, and dup 22q11.21, showed clearstatistical evidence as autism risk factors, whereas eight CNVs, del 1q21.1, del 3q29, del 15q11.2, del 15q13.3, dup16p11.2, dup 16p13.1, del 17p12, and del 22q11.21, were strongly statistically supported as risk factors forschizophrenia. Three of the CNVs, dup 1q21.1, dup 16p11.2, and dup 16p13.1, exhibited statistical support as riskfactors for both autism and schizophrenia, although for each of these CNVs statistical significance was nominal fortests involving one of the two disorders. For the CNVs that were statistically associated with schizophrenia but werenot statistically associated with autism, a notable number of children with the CNVs have been diagnosed withautism or ASD; children with these CNVs also demonstrate a high incidence of intellectual disability anddevelopmental, speech, or language delays.Conclusions: These findings suggest that although CNV loci notably overlap between autism and schizophrenia,the degree of strongly statistically supported overlap in specific CNVs at these loci remains limited. These analysesalso suggest that relatively severe premorbidity to CNV-associated schizophrenia in children may sometimes bediagnosed as autism spectrum disorder

Current issues in medically assisted reproduction and genetics in Europe: research, clinical practice, ethics, legal issues and policy. European Society of Human Genetics and European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

In March 2005, a group of experts from the European Society of Human Genetics and European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology met to discuss the interface between genetics and assisted reproductive technology (ART), and published an extended background paper, recommendations and two Editorials. Seven years later, in March 2012, a follow-up interdisciplinary workshop was held, involving representatives of both professional societies, including experts from the European Union Eurogentest2 Coordination Action Project. The main goal of this meeting was to discuss developments at the interface between clinical genetics and ARTs. As more genetic causes of reproductive failure are now recognised and an increasing number of patients undergo testing of their genome before conception, either in regular health care or in the context of direct-to-consumer testing, the need for genetic counselling and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) may increase. Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) thus far does not have evidence from randomised clinical trials to substantiate that the technique is both effective and efficient. Whole-genome sequencing may create greater challenges both in the technological and interpretational domains, and requires further reflection about the ethics of genetic testing in ART and PGD/PGS. Diagnostic laboratories should be reporting their results according to internationally accepted accreditation standards (International Standards Organisation - ISO 15189). Further studies are needed in order to address issues related to the impact of ART on epigenetic reprogramming of the early embryo. The legal landscape regarding assisted reproduction is evolving but still remains very heterogeneous and often contradictory. The lack of legal harmonisation and uneven access to infertility treatment and PGD/PGS fosters considerable cross-border reproductive care in Europe and beyond. The aim of this paper is to complement previous publications and provide an update of selected topics that have evolved since 2005

Collection of sterile root exudates from foliar pathogen-inoculated plants

In nature and agriculture, plants interact with an astonishing number of microbes, collectively referred to as the "plant microbiome." Roots are a microbial hotspot where beneficial plant-microbe interactions are established that support plant growth and provide protection against pathogens and insects. Recently, we discovered that in response to foliar pathogen attack, plant roots can recruit specific protective microbes into the rhizosphere. Root exudates play an essential role in the interaction between plant roots and rhizosphere microbiota. In order to study the chemical communication between plant roots and the rhizosphere microbiome, it is essential to study the metabolite profile of root exudates. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for the collection of sterile root exudates that are secreted by Arabidopsis thaliana roots in response to inoculation of the leaves with the biotrophic pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis