Perceived neighbourhood social cohesion and depressive symptom trajectories in older adults: a 12-year prospective cohort study

Purpose: To model the dynamic age-related rate of change in depressive symptomatology in later life and to test the hypothesis that low perceived neighbourhood social cohesion is associated with steeper trajectories of depressive symptoms in older adults. Methods: We analysed data on 11,037 participants aged 50+ from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Perceived social cohesion (PSC) of participants’ neighbourhoods was assessed at baseline (2002/2003). Depressive symptoms were measured using CES-D scores (ranging from 0 to 8) on 7 occasions from baseline to 2014/2015. Trajectories of depressive symptoms by baseline PSC were estimated using latent growth modelling. Results: At baseline, adults with low PSC had more depressive symptoms than age counterparts with high PSC. Consistent with the U-shaped trajectory of depressive symptoms by age, the association between PSC tertile and changes in depressive symptoms over follow-up was modified by age. Fifty-year-old participants with low PSC reported an average decrease in CES-D score from 0.66 to 0.54 during the 12-year follow up, compared to a change from 0.47 to 0.3

Patient-reported outcome measures for hip-related pain: A review of the available evidence and a consensus statement from the International Hip-related Pain Research Network, Zurich 2018

Hip-related pain is a well-recognised complaint among active young and middle-aged active adults. People experiencing hip-related disorders commonly report pain and reduced functional capacity, including difficulties in executing activities of daily living. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are essential to accurately examine and compare the effects of different treatments on disability in those with hip pain. In November 2018, 38 researchers and clinicians working in the field of hip-related pain met in Zurich, Switzerland for the first International Hip-related Pain Research Network meeting. Prior to the meeting, evidence summaries were developed relating to four prioritised themes. This paper discusses the available evidence and consensus process from which recommendations were made regarding the appropriate use of PROMs to assess disability in young and middle-aged active adults with hip-related pain. Our process to gain consensus had five steps: (1) systematic review of systematic reviews; (2) preliminary discussion within the working group; (3) update of the more recent high-quality systematic review and examination of the psychometric properties of PROMs according to established guidelines; (4) formulation of the recommendations considering the limitations of the PROMs derived from the examination of their quality; and (5

A2ML1 and otitis media: novel variants, differential expression, and relevant pathways

A genetic basis for otitis media is established, however, the role of rare variants in disease etiology is largely unknown. Previously a duplication variant within A2ML1 was identified as a significant risk factor for otitis media in an indigenous Filipino population and in US children. In this report exome and Sanger sequencing was performed using DNA samples from the indigenous Filipino population, Filipino cochlear implantees, US probands, Finnish, and Pakistani families with otitis media. Sixteen novel, damaging A2ML1 variants identified in otitis media patients were rare or low-frequency in population-matched controls. In the indigenous population, both gingivitis and A2ML1 variants including the known duplication variant and the novel splice variant c.4061 + 1 G>C were independently associated with otitis media. Sequencing of salivary RNA samples from indigenous Filipinos demonstrated lower A2ML1 expression according to the carriage of A2ML1 variants. Sequencing of additional salivary RNA samples from US patients with otitis media revealed differentially expressed genes that are highly correlated with A2ML1 expression levels. In particular, RND3 is upregulated in both A2ML1 variant carriers and high-A2ML1 expressors. These findings support a role for A2ML1 in keratinocyte differentiation within the middle ear as part of otitis media pathology and the potential application of ROCK inhibition in otitis media

FUT2 Variants Confer Susceptibility to Familial Otitis Media

Non-secretor status due to homozygosity for the common FUT2 variant c.461G>A (p.Trp154∗) is associated with either risk for autoimmune diseases or protection against viral diarrhea and HIV. We determined the role of FUT2 in otitis media susceptibility by obtaining DNA samples from 609 multi-ethnic families and simplex case subjects with otitis media. Exome and Sanger sequencing, linkage analysis, and Fisher exact and transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) were performed. The common FUT2 c.604C>T (p.Arg202∗) variant co-segregates with otitis media in a Filipino pedigree (LOD = 4.0). Additionally, a rare variant, c.412C>T (p.Arg138Cys), is associated with recurrent/chronic otitis media in European-American children (p = 1.2 × 10−5) and US trios (TDT p = 0.01). The c.461G>A (p.Trp154∗) variant was also over-transmitted in US trios (TDT p = 0.01) and was associated with shifts in middle ear microbiota composition (PERMANOVA p 20 were combined, FUT2 variants were over-transmitted in trios (TDT p = 0.001). Fut2 is transiently upregulated in mouse middle ear after inoculation with non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae. Four FUT2 variants—namely p.Ala104Val, p.Arg138Cys, p.Trp154∗, and p.Arg202∗—reduced A antigen in mutant-transfected COS-7 cells, while the nonsense variants also reduced FUT2 protein levels. Common and rare FUT2 variants confer susceptibility to otitis media, likely by modifying the middle ear microbiome through regulation of A antigen levels in epithelial cells. Our families demonstrate marked intra-familial genetic heterogeneity, suggesting that multiple combinations of common and rare variants plus environmental factors influence the individual otitis media phenotype as a complex trait

Reading tea leaves worldwide: decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilisation

The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models

Executive Incentive Schemes in Initial Public Offerings: The Effects of Multiple-Agency Conflicts and Corporate Governance

Combining a behavioral agency perspective with research on multiple-agency conflicts, this article examines factors affecting the implementation of equity-based incentive schemes in initial public offerings (IPOs). With a unique sample of U.K. IPO companies between the years 1998 and 2002, it shows that conditional (performance-related) incentive schemes are negatively associated with share ownership and board power of the IPO’s founding directors. However, the retained ownership of venture capital firms is positively associated with the probability of conditional incentive schemes. Board independence weakly effects on the toughness of executive compensation. The article’s interesting findings suggest a number of avenues for a future analysis of the governance development process in threshold firms

How to accelerate the heat transition: a guide for local government and actors: Module 4- Technology choices, data, and mapping for sustainable heating

This document is one of a four-part guide on how to accelerate the heattransition in cities. In this module the technical and physical aspects of the transition from fossil to renewable heating are emphasised. In the first section the reader is informed about the reasons why we need to transition our heating systems in the built environment to renewable sources. The second section provides the reader with an overview of technology choices and strategies, and is aimed at helping you make technical decisions.Organisation & GovernanceClimate Design and Sustainabilit