Attention, memory, and self-efficacy differences between ADHD and aging individuals

Attention and memory abilities decline with age. Although a similar pattern of attentional and memory decrement has been observed in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these two populations have never been directly compared. The present study examined performance on attention, self-efficacy (SE), and memory tasks by ADHD young adults and non-ADHD younger and older adults. ADHD adults displayed lower attentional SE than both non-ADHD younger and older adults, but performed comparably to older adults on an attention task on which non-ADHD younger adults outperformed both groups. ADHD adults and older adults had lower memory SE than non-AD HD younger adults, but ADHD and non-AD HD younger adults both performed better than older adults on a category cued-recall task. These results suggest that the attentional deficits that characterize both a clinical population and an aging population have similar features. Future directions for research comparing clinical and aging populations on tests of cognitive function are addressed

Five Kepler target stars that show multiple transiting exoplanet candidates

We present and discuss five candidate exoplanetary systems identified with the Kepler spacecraft. These five systems show transits from multiple exoplanet candidates. Should these objects prove to be planetary in nature, then these five systems open new opportunities for the field of exoplanets and provide new insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. We discuss the methods used to identify multiple transiting objects from the Kepler photometry as well as the false-positive rejection methods that have been applied to these data. One system shows transits from three distinct objects while the remaining four systems show transits from two objects. Three systems have planet candidates that are near mean motion commensurabilities---two near 2:1 and one just outside 5:2. We discuss the implications that multitransiting systems have on the distribution of orbital inclinations in planetary systems, and hence their dynamical histories; as well as their likely masses and chemical compositions. A Monte Carlo study indicates that, with additional data, most of these systems should exhibit detectable transit timing variations (TTV) due to gravitational interactions---though none are apparent in these data. We also discuss new challenges that arise in TTV analyses due to the presence of more than two planets in a system.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Prescribed burning, atmospheric pollution and grazing effects on peatland vegetation composition

1. Peatlands are valued for ecosystem services including carbon storage, water provision and biodiversity. However, there are concerns about the impacts of land management and pollution on peatland vegetation and function. 2. We investigated how prescribed vegetation burning, atmospheric pollution and grazing are related to vegetation communities and cover of four key taxa (Sphagnum spp., Calluna vulgaris, Eriophorum vaginatum and Campylopus introflexus) using two datasets from a total of 2,013 plots across 95 peatland sites in the UK. 3. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling and permutational multivariate analysis of variance showed differences in vegetation community composition between burned and unburned plots at regional and national scales. 4. Analysis showed that burned sites had less Sphagnum and greater C. vulgaris cover on a national scale. On a regional scale, plots burned between 2 and 10 years ago had greater cover of invasive moss C. introflexus and less E. vaginatum than unburned sites. 5. Livestock presence was associated with less Sphagnum and C. vulgaris, while atmospheric pollution was associated with less Sphagnum, but greater C. introflexus cover, and appeared to have more impact on burned sites. 6. Synthesis and applications. Burning, grazing and atmospheric pollution are associated with peatland vegetation composition and cover of key species, including Sphagnum. We suggest that, to promote cover of peat‐forming species, peatlands should not be routinely burned or heavily grazed. Current or historical atmospheric pollution may hinder peat‐forming species, particularly on burned sites

Circumstellar discs: What will be next?

This prospective chapter gives our view on the evolution of the study of circumstellar discs within the next 20 years from both observational and theoretical sides. We first present the expected improvements in our knowledge of protoplanetary discs as for their masses, sizes, chemistry, the presence of planets as well as the evolutionary processes shaping these discs. We then explore the older debris disc stage and explain what will be learnt concerning their birth, the intrinsic links between these discs and planets, the hot dust and the gas detected around main sequence stars as well as discs around white dwarfs.Comment: invited review; comments welcome (32 pages

Common genetic variants in the CLDN2 and PRSS1-PRSS2 loci alter risk for alcohol-related and sporadic pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a complex, progressively destructive inflammatory disorder. Alcohol was long thought to be the primary causative agent, but genetic contributions have been of interest since the discovery that rare PRSS1, CFTR, and SPINK1 variants were associated with pancreatitis risk. We now report two significant genome-wide associations identified and replicated at PRSS1-PRSS2 (1×10-12) and x-linked CLDN2 (p < 1×10-21) through a two-stage genome-wide study (Stage 1, 676 cases and 4507 controls; Stage 2, 910 cases and 4170 controls). The PRSS1 variant affects susceptibility by altering expression of the primary trypsinogen gene. The CLDN2 risk allele is associated with atypical localization of claudin-2 in pancreatic acinar cells. The homozygous (or hemizygous male) CLDN2 genotype confers the greatest risk, and its alleles interact with alcohol consumption to amplify risk. These results could partially explain the high frequency of alcohol-related pancreatitis in men – male hemizygous frequency is 0.26, female homozygote is 0.07

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development