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Household food insecurity and associations with energy, nutrient intake, and sociodemographic characteristics in young New Zealand children
- R. Jupiterwala, C. Conlon, K. Beck, R. Taylor, A-L. Heath, J. Haszard, I. Katiforis, R. Paul, K. Brown, M. Casale, E. Jones, A. Wei, L. Fangupo, B. Bruckner, V. Pulu, M. Healy, P. von Hurst
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- Journal:
- Proceedings of the Nutrition Society / Volume 83 / Issue OCE1 / April 2024
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 07 May 2024, E85
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Although food insecurity affects a significant proportion of young children in New Zealand (NZ)(1), evidence of its association with dietary intake and sociodemographic characteristics in this population is lacking. This study aims to assess the household food security status of young NZ children and its association with energy and nutrient intake and sociodemographic factors. This study included 289 caregiver and child (1-3 years old) dyads from the same household in either Auckland, Wellington, or Dunedin, NZ. Household food security status was determined using a validated and NZ-specific eight-item questionnaire(2). Usual dietary intake was determined from two 24-hour food recalls, using the multiple source method(3). The prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake was assessed using the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) cut-point method and full probability approach. Sociodemographic factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, ethnicity, caregiver education, employment status, household size and structure) were collected from questionnaires. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations with statistical significance set at p <0.05. Over 30% of participants had experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months. Of all eight indicator statements, “the variety of foods we are able to eat is limited by a lack of money,” had the highest proportion of participants responding “often” or “sometimes” (35.8%). Moderately food insecure children exhibited higher fat and saturated fat intakes, consuming 3.0 (0.2, 5.8) g/day more fat, and 2.0 (0.6, 3.5) g/day more saturated fat compared to food secure children (p<0.05). Severely food insecure children had lower g/kg/day protein intake compared to food secure children (p<0.05). In comparison to food secure children, moderately and severely food insecure children had lower fibre intake, consuming 1.6 (2.8, 0.3) g/day and 2.6 (4.0, 1.2) g/day less fibre, respectively. Severely food insecure children had the highest prevalence of inadequate calcium (7.0%) and vitamin C (9.3%) intakes, compared with food secure children [prevalence of inadequate intakes: calcium (2.3%) and vitamin C (2.8%)]. Household food insecurity was more common in those of Māori or Pacific ethnicity; living in areas of high deprivation; having a caregiver who was younger, not in paid employment, or had low educational attainment; living with ≥2 other children in the household; and living in a sole-parent household. Food insecure young NZ children consume a diet that exhibits lower nutritional quality in certain measures compared to their food-secure counterparts. Food insecurity was associated with various sociodemographic factors that are closely linked with poverty or low income. As such, there is an urgent need for poverty mitigation initiatives to safeguard vulnerable young children from the adverse consequences of food insecurity.
4 Evaluating Plasma GFAP for the Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia
- Madeline Ally, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow, Nicholas J. Ashton, Thomas K. Karikari, Hugo Aparicio, Michael A. Sugarman, Brandon Frank, Yorghos Tripodis, Ann C. McKee, Thor D. Stein, Brett Martin, Joseph N. Palmisano, Eric G. Steinberg, Irene Simkina, Lindsay Farrer, Gyungah Jun, Katherine W. Turk, Andrew E. Budson, Maureen K. O’Connor, Rhoda Au, Wei Qiao Qiu, Lee E. Goldstein, Ronald Killiany, Neil W. Kowall, Robert A. Stern, Jesse Mez, Michael L. Alosco
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 408-409
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Objective:
Blood-based biomarkers represent a scalable and accessible approach for the detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Plasma phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and neurofilament light (NfL) are validated biomarkers for the detection of tau and neurodegenerative brain changes in AD, respectively. There is now emphasis to expand beyond these markers to detect and provide insight into the pathophysiological processes of AD. To this end, a reactive astrocytic marker, namely plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), has been of interest. Yet, little is known about the relationship between plasma GFAP and AD. Here, we examined the association between plasma GFAP, diagnostic status, and neuropsychological test performance. Diagnostic accuracy of plasma GFAP was compared with plasma measures of p-tau181 and NfL.
Participants and Methods:This sample included 567 participants from the Boston University (BU) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Longitudinal Clinical Core Registry, including individuals with normal cognition (n=234), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n=180), and AD dementia (n=153). The sample included all participants who had a blood draw. Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery (sample sizes across tests varied due to missingness). Diagnoses were adjudicated during multidisciplinary diagnostic consensus conferences. Plasma samples were analyzed using the Simoa platform. Binary logistic regression analyses tested the association between GFAP levels and diagnostic status (i.e., cognitively impaired due to AD versus unimpaired), controlling for age, sex, race, education, and APOE e4 status. Area under the curve (AUC) statistics from receiver operating characteristics (ROC) using predicted probabilities from binary logistic regression examined the ability of plasma GFAP to discriminate diagnostic groups compared with plasma p-tau181 and NfL. Linear regression models tested the association between plasma GFAP and neuropsychological test performance, accounting for the above covariates.
Results:The mean (SD) age of the sample was 74.34 (7.54), 319 (56.3%) were female, 75 (13.2%) were Black, and 223 (39.3%) were APOE e4 carriers. Higher GFAP concentrations were associated with increased odds for having cognitive impairment (GFAP z-score transformed: OR=2.233, 95% CI [1.609, 3.099], p<0.001; non-z-transformed: OR=1.004, 95% CI [1.002, 1.006], p<0.001). ROC analyses, comprising of GFAP and the above covariates, showed plasma GFAP discriminated the cognitively impaired from unimpaired (AUC=0.75) and was similar, but slightly superior, to plasma p-tau181 (AUC=0.74) and plasma NfL (AUC=0.74). A joint panel of the plasma markers had greatest discrimination accuracy (AUC=0.76). Linear regression analyses showed that higher GFAP levels were associated with worse performance on neuropsychological tests assessing global cognition, attention, executive functioning, episodic memory, and language abilities (ps<0.001) as well as higher CDR Sum of Boxes (p<0.001).
Conclusions:Higher plasma GFAP levels differentiated participants with cognitive impairment from those with normal cognition and were associated with worse performance on all neuropsychological tests assessed. GFAP had similar accuracy in detecting those with cognitive impairment compared with p-tau181 and NfL, however, a panel of all three biomarkers was optimal. These results support the utility of plasma GFAP in AD detection and suggest the pathological processes it represents might play an integral role in the pathogenesis of AD.
5 Antemortem Plasma GFAP Predicts Alzheimer’s Disease Neuropathological Changes
- Madeline Ally, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow, Nicholas J. Ashton, Thomas K. Karikari, Hugo Aparicio, Michael A. Sugarman, Brandon Frank, Yorghos Tripodis, Brett Martin, Joseph N. Palmisano, Eric G. Steinberg, Irene Simkina, Lindsay Farrer, Gyungah Jun, Katherine W. Turk, Andrew E. Budson, Maureen K. O’Connor, Rhoda Au, Wei Qiao Qiu, Lee E. Goldstein, Ronald Killiany, Neil W. Kowall, Robert A. Stern, Jesse Mez, Bertran R. Huber, Ann C. McKee, Thor D. Stein, Michael L. Alosco
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- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 409-410
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Objective:
Blood-based biomarkers offer a more feasible alternative to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) detection, management, and study of disease mechanisms than current in vivo measures. Given their novelty, these plasma biomarkers must be assessed against postmortem neuropathological outcomes for validation. Research has shown utility in plasma markers of the proposed AT(N) framework, however recent studies have stressed the importance of expanding this framework to include other pathways. There is promising data supporting the usefulness of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in AD, but GFAP-to-autopsy studies are limited. Here, we tested the association between plasma GFAP and AD-related neuropathological outcomes in participants from the Boston University (BU) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC).
Participants and Methods:This sample included 45 participants from the BU ADRC who had a plasma sample within 5 years of death and donated their brain for neuropathological examination. Most recent plasma samples were analyzed using the Simoa platform. Neuropathological examinations followed the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center procedures and diagnostic criteria. The NIA-Reagan Institute criteria were used for the neuropathological diagnosis of AD. Measures of GFAP were log-transformed. Binary logistic regression analyses tested the association between GFAP and autopsy-confirmed AD status, as well as with semi-quantitative ratings of regional atrophy (none/mild versus moderate/severe) using binary logistic regression. Ordinal logistic regression analyses tested the association between plasma GFAP and Braak stage and CERAD neuritic plaque score. Area under the curve (AUC) statistics from receiver operating characteristics (ROC) using predicted probabilities from binary logistic regression examined the ability of plasma GFAP to discriminate autopsy-confirmed AD status. All analyses controlled for sex, age at death, years between last blood draw and death, and APOE e4 status.
Results:Of the 45 brain donors, 29 (64.4%) had autopsy-confirmed AD. The mean (SD) age of the sample at the time of blood draw was 80.76 (8.58) and there were 2.80 (1.16) years between the last blood draw and death. The sample included 20 (44.4%) females, 41 (91.1%) were White, and 20 (44.4%) were APOE e4 carriers. Higher GFAP concentrations were associated with increased odds for having autopsy-confirmed AD (OR=14.12, 95% CI [2.00, 99.88], p=0.008). ROC analysis showed plasma GFAP accurately discriminated those with and without autopsy-confirmed AD on its own (AUC=0.75) and strengthened as the above covariates were added to the model (AUC=0.81). Increases in GFAP levels corresponded to increases in Braak stage (OR=2.39, 95% CI [0.71-4.07], p=0.005), but not CERAD ratings (OR=1.24, 95% CI [0.004, 2.49], p=0.051). Higher GFAP levels were associated with greater temporal lobe atrophy (OR=10.27, 95% CI [1.53,69.15], p=0.017), but this was not observed with any other regions.
Conclusions:The current results show that antemortem plasma GFAP is associated with non-specific AD neuropathological changes at autopsy. Plasma GFAP could be a useful and practical biomarker for assisting in the detection of AD-related changes, as well as for study of disease mechanisms.
Association of maternal psychosocial stress with newborn body composition in the Healthy Start study
- Kaitlin E. Buck, Satvinder K. Dhaliwal, Dana Dabelea, Wei Perng
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- Journal:
- Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease / Volume 14 / Issue 5 / October 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 11 September 2023, pp. 576-583
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Maternal psychosocial stress is associated with delivery of both small- and large-for-gestational-age newborns. Prior studies have relied on methods that do not capture fat mass (FM) vs. fat-free mass (FFM). We aimed to assess the relationship of maternal psychosocial stress, using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), with newborn body composition. The sample included 604 mother/newborn pairs in the Healthy Start study. We used linear regression to examine associations of EPDS (>6.5 vs. ≤6.5) and PSS (>21 vs. ≤21) with newborn adiposity (FM and %FM measured by air displacement plethysmography [ADP], BMI-for-age, weight-for-length, and weight-for-age z-scores) and lean mass (FFM and length-for-age z-score). Average age of the women was 29.2 ± 6 y. Fifty-five percent of the women were white, 26.2% Hispanic, and 12.1% Black. Twenty-four percent of women had EPDS >6.5 and 18.1% had PSS >21. Mean ± SD birthweight was 3136 ± 437 g. After adjustment for confounders, EPDS >6.5 vs. ≤6.5 corresponded with 35.3 (95% CI: 6.6, 64.0) g lower offspring FM and 0.18 (−0.03, 0.39) units shorter length z-score. PSS was not associated with any neonatal outcomes. Maternal psychosocial stress is associated with delivery of shorter newborns with less FM.
Characterisation of age and polarity at onset in bipolar disorder
- Janos L. Kalman, Loes M. Olde Loohuis, Annabel Vreeker, Andrew McQuillin, Eli A. Stahl, Douglas Ruderfer, Maria Grigoroiu-Serbanescu, Georgia Panagiotaropoulou, Stephan Ripke, Tim B. Bigdeli, Frederike Stein, Tina Meller, Susanne Meinert, Helena Pelin, Fabian Streit, Sergi Papiol, Mark J. Adams, Rolf Adolfsson, Kristina Adorjan, Ingrid Agartz, Sofie R. Aminoff, Heike Anderson-Schmidt, Ole A. Andreassen, Raffaella Ardau, Jean-Michel Aubry, Ceylan Balaban, Nicholas Bass, Bernhard T. Baune, Frank Bellivier, Antoni Benabarre, Susanne Bengesser, Wade H Berrettini, Marco P. Boks, Evelyn J. Bromet, Katharina Brosch, Monika Budde, William Byerley, Pablo Cervantes, Catina Chillotti, Sven Cichon, Scott R. Clark, Ashley L. Comes, Aiden Corvin, William Coryell, Nick Craddock, David W. Craig, Paul E. Croarkin, Cristiana Cruceanu, Piotr M. Czerski, Nina Dalkner, Udo Dannlowski, Franziska Degenhardt, Maria Del Zompo, J. Raymond DePaulo, Srdjan Djurovic, Howard J. Edenberg, Mariam Al Eissa, Torbjørn Elvsåshagen, Bruno Etain, Ayman H. Fanous, Frederike Fellendorf, Alessia Fiorentino, Andreas J. Forstner, Mark A. Frye, Janice M. Fullerton, Katrin Gade, Julie Garnham, Elliot Gershon, Michael Gill, Fernando S. Goes, Katherine Gordon-Smith, Paul Grof, Jose Guzman-Parra, Tim Hahn, Roland Hasler, Maria Heilbronner, Urs Heilbronner, Stephane Jamain, Esther Jimenez, Ian Jones, Lisa Jones, Lina Jonsson, Rene S. Kahn, John R. Kelsoe, James L. Kennedy, Tilo Kircher, George Kirov, Sarah Kittel-Schneider, Farah Klöhn-Saghatolislam, James A. Knowles, Thorsten M. Kranz, Trine Vik Lagerberg, Mikael Landen, William B. Lawson, Marion Leboyer, Qingqin S. Li, Mario Maj, Dolores Malaspina, Mirko Manchia, Fermin Mayoral, Susan L. McElroy, Melvin G. McInnis, Andrew M. McIntosh, Helena Medeiros, Ingrid Melle, Vihra Milanova, Philip B. Mitchell, Palmiero Monteleone, Alessio Maria Monteleone, Markus M. Nöthen, Tomas Novak, John I. Nurnberger, Niamh O'Brien, Kevin S. O'Connell, Claire O'Donovan, Michael C. O'Donovan, Nils Opel, Abigail Ortiz, Michael J. Owen, Erik Pålsson, Carlos Pato, Michele T. Pato, Joanna Pawlak, Julia-Katharina Pfarr, Claudia Pisanu, James B. Potash, Mark H Rapaport, Daniela Reich-Erkelenz, Andreas Reif, Eva Reininghaus, Jonathan Repple, Hélène Richard-Lepouriel, Marcella Rietschel, Kai Ringwald, Gloria Roberts, Guy Rouleau, Sabrina Schaupp, William A Scheftner, Simon Schmitt, Peter R. Schofield, K. Oliver Schubert, Eva C. Schulte, Barbara Schweizer, Fanny Senner, Giovanni Severino, Sally Sharp, Claire Slaney, Olav B. Smeland, Janet L. Sobell, Alessio Squassina, Pavla Stopkova, John Strauss, Alfonso Tortorella, Gustavo Turecki, Joanna Twarowska-Hauser, Marin Veldic, Eduard Vieta, John B. Vincent, Wei Xu, Clement C. Zai, Peter P. Zandi, Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) Bipolar Disorder Working Group, International Consortium on Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen), Colombia-US Cross Disorder Collaboration in Psychiatric Genetics, Arianna Di Florio, Jordan W. Smoller, Joanna M. Biernacka, Francis J. McMahon, Martin Alda, Bertram Müller-Myhsok, Nikolaos Koutsouleris, Peter Falkai, Nelson B. Freimer, Till F.M. Andlauer, Thomas G. Schulze, Roel A. Ophoff
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- Journal:
- The British Journal of Psychiatry / Volume 219 / Issue 6 / December 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 25 August 2021, pp. 659-669
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- December 2021
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Background
Studying phenotypic and genetic characteristics of age at onset (AAO) and polarity at onset (PAO) in bipolar disorder can provide new insights into disease pathology and facilitate the development of screening tools.
AimsTo examine the genetic architecture of AAO and PAO and their association with bipolar disorder disease characteristics.
MethodGenome-wide association studies (GWASs) and polygenic score (PGS) analyses of AAO (n = 12 977) and PAO (n = 6773) were conducted in patients with bipolar disorder from 34 cohorts and a replication sample (n = 2237). The association of onset with disease characteristics was investigated in two of these cohorts.
ResultsEarlier AAO was associated with a higher probability of psychotic symptoms, suicidality, lower educational attainment, not living together and fewer episodes. Depressive onset correlated with suicidality and manic onset correlated with delusions and manic episodes. Systematic differences in AAO between cohorts and continents of origin were observed. This was also reflected in single-nucleotide variant-based heritability estimates, with higher heritabilities for stricter onset definitions. Increased PGS for autism spectrum disorder (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), major depression (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), schizophrenia (β = −0.39 years, s.e. = 0.08), and educational attainment (β = −0.31 years, s.e. = 0.08) were associated with an earlier AAO. The AAO GWAS identified one significant locus, but this finding did not replicate. Neither GWAS nor PGS analyses yielded significant associations with PAO.
ConclusionsAAO and PAO are associated with indicators of bipolar disorder severity. Individuals with an earlier onset show an increased polygenic liability for a broad spectrum of psychiatric traits. Systematic differences in AAO across cohorts, continents and phenotype definitions introduce significant heterogeneity, affecting analyses.
Daily Cannabis Use is Associated With Lower CNS Inflammation in People With HIV
- C. Wei-Ming Watson, Laura M. Campbell, Ni Sun-Suslow, Suzi Hong, Anya Umlauf, Ronald J. Ellis, Jennifer E. Iudicello, Scott Letendre, Thomas D. Marcotte, Robert K. Heaton, Erin E. Morgan, Igor Grant
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- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 27 / Issue 6 / July 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 15 July 2021, pp. 661-672
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Objective:
Recent cannabis exposure has been associated with lower rates of neurocognitive impairment in people with HIV (PWH). Cannabis’s anti-inflammatory properties may underlie this relationship by reducing chronic neuroinflammation in PWH. This study examined relations between cannabis use and inflammatory biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma, and cognitive correlates of these biomarkers within a community-based sample of PWH.
Methods:263 individuals were categorized into four groups: HIV− non-cannabis users (n = 65), HIV+ non-cannabis users (n = 105), HIV+ moderate cannabis users (n = 62), and HIV+ daily cannabis users (n = 31). Differences in pro-inflammatory biomarkers (IL-6, MCP-1/CCL2, IP-10/CXCL10, sCD14, sTNFR-II, TNF-α) by study group were determined by Kruskal–Wallis tests. Multivariable linear regressions examined relationships between biomarkers and seven cognitive domains, adjusting for age, sex/gender, race, education, and current CD4 count.
Results:HIV+ daily cannabis users showed lower MCP-1 and IP-10 levels in CSF compared to HIV+ non-cannabis users (p = .015; p = .039) and were similar to HIV− non-cannabis users. Plasma biomarkers showed no differences by cannabis use. Among PWH, lower CSF MCP-1 and lower CSF IP-10 were associated with better learning performance (all ps < .05).
Conclusions:Current daily cannabis use was associated with lower levels of pro-inflammatory chemokines implicated in HIV pathogenesis and these chemokines were linked to the cognitive domain of learning which is commonly impaired in PWH. Cannabinoid-related reductions of MCP-1 and IP-10, if confirmed, suggest a role for medicinal cannabis in the mitigation of persistent inflammation and cognitive impacts of HIV.
Pollen-mediated gene flow and transfer of resistance alleles from herbicide-resistant broadleaf weeds
- Amit J. Jhala, Jason K. Norsworthy, Zahoor A. Ganie, Lynn M. Sosnoskie, Hugh J. Beckie, Carol A. Mallory-Smith, Jun Liu, Wei Wei, Junming Wang, David E. Stoltenberg
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- Journal:
- Weed Technology / Volume 35 / Issue 2 / April 2021
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 September 2020, pp. 173-187
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Pollen-mediated gene flow (PMGF) refers to the transfer of genetic information (alleles) from one plant to another compatible plant. With the evolution of herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds, PMGF plays an important role in the transfer of resistance alleles from HR to susceptible weeds; however, little attention is given to this topic. The objective of this work was to review reproductive biology, PMGF studies, and interspecific hybridization, as well as potential for herbicide resistance alleles to transfer in the economically important broadleaf weeds including common lambsquarters, giant ragweed, horseweed, kochia, Palmer amaranth, and waterhemp. The PMGF studies involving these species reveal that transfer of herbicide resistance alleles routinely occurs under field conditions and is influenced by several factors, such as reproductive biology, environment, and production practices. Interspecific hybridization studies within Amaranthus and Ambrosia spp. show that herbicide resistance allele transfer is possible between species of the same genus but at relatively low levels. The widespread occurrence of HR weed populations and high genetic diversity is at least partly due to PMGF, particularly in dioecious species such as Palmer amaranth and waterhemp compared with monoecious species such as common lambsquarters and horseweed. Prolific pollen production in giant ragweed contributes to PMGF. Kochia, a wind-pollinated species can efficiently disseminate herbicide resistance alleles via both PMGF and tumbleweed seed dispersal, resulting in widespread occurrence of multiple HR kochia populations. The findings from this review verify that intra- and interspecific gene flow can occur and, even at a low rate, could contribute to the rapid spread of herbicide resistance alleles. More research is needed to determine the role of PMGF in transferring multiple herbicide resistance alleles at the landscape level.
Personality Polygenes, Positive Affect, and Life Satisfaction
- Alexander Weiss, Bart M. L. Baselmans, Edith Hofer, Jingyun Yang, Aysu Okbay, Penelope A. Lind, Mike B. Miller, Ilja M. Nolte, Wei Zhao, Saskia P. Hagenaars, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Lindsay K. Matteson, Harold Snieder, Jessica D. Faul, Catharina A. Hartman, Patricia A. Boyle, Henning Tiemeier, Miriam A. Mosing, Alison Pattie, Gail Davies, David C. Liewald, Reinhold Schmidt, Philip L. De Jager, Andrew C. Heath, Markus Jokela, John M. Starr, Albertine J. Oldehinkel, Magnus Johannesson, David Cesarini, Albert Hofman, Sarah E. Harris, Jennifer A. Smith, Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen, Laura Pulkki-Råback, Helena Schmidt, Jacqui Smith, William G. Iacono, Matt McGue, David A. Bennett, Nancy L. Pedersen, Patrik K. E. Magnusson, Ian J. Deary, Nicholas G. Martin, Dorret I. Boomsma, Meike Bartels, Michelle Luciano
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- Journal:
- Twin Research and Human Genetics / Volume 19 / Issue 5 / October 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 22 August 2016, pp. 407-417
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Approximately half of the variation in wellbeing measures overlaps with variation in personality traits. Studies of non-human primate pedigrees and human twins suggest that this is due to common genetic influences. We tested whether personality polygenic scores for the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) domains and for item response theory (IRT) derived extraversion and neuroticism scores predict variance in wellbeing measures. Polygenic scores were based on published genome-wide association (GWA) results in over 17,000 individuals for the NEO-FFI and in over 63,000 for the IRT extraversion and neuroticism traits. The NEO-FFI polygenic scores were used to predict life satisfaction in 7 cohorts, positive affect in 12 cohorts, and general wellbeing in 1 cohort (maximal N = 46,508). Meta-analysis of these results showed no significant association between NEO-FFI personality polygenic scores and the wellbeing measures. IRT extraversion and neuroticism polygenic scores were used to predict life satisfaction and positive affect in almost 37,000 individuals from UK Biobank. Significant positive associations (effect sizes <0.05%) were observed between the extraversion polygenic score and wellbeing measures, and a negative association was observed between the polygenic neuroticism score and life satisfaction. Furthermore, using GWA data, genetic correlations of -0.49 and -0.55 were estimated between neuroticism with life satisfaction and positive affect, respectively. The moderate genetic correlation between neuroticism and wellbeing is in line with twin research showing that genetic influences on wellbeing are also shared with other independent personality domains.
Altered corticostriatal functional connectivity in individuals with high social anhedonia
- Y. Wang, W.-H. Liu, Z. Li, X.-H. Wei, X.-Q. Jiang, F.-L. Geng, L.-Q. Zou, S. S. Y. Lui, E. F. C. Cheung, C. Pantelis, R. C. K. Chan
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- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 46 / Issue 1 / January 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 28 August 2015, pp. 125-135
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Background.
Dysregulation of the striatum and altered corticostriatal connectivity have been associated with psychotic disorders. Social anhedonia has been identified as a predictor for the development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine corticostriatal functional connectivity in individuals with high social anhedonia.
Method.Twenty-one participants with high social anhedonia score and 30 with low social anhedonia score measured by the Chinese version of the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale were recruited from university undergraduates (age 17–21 years) to undergo resting-state functional MRI scans. Six subdivisions of the striatum in each hemisphere were defined as seeds. Voxel-wise functional connectivity analyses were conducted between each seed and the whole brain voxels, followed by repeated-measures ANOVA for the group effect.
Results.Participants with high social anhedonia showed hyper-connectivity between the ventral striatum and the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula, and between the dorsal striatum and the motor cortex. Hypo-connectivity in participants with high social anhedonia was also observed between the ventral striatum and the posterior cingulate cortex. Partial correlation analyses further showed that the functional connectivity between the ventral striatum and the prefrontal cortex was associated with pleasure experience and emotional suppression.
Conclusions.Our findings suggest that altered corticostriatal connectivity can be found in participants with high levels of social anhedonia. Since social anhedonia has been considered a predictor for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, our results may provide novel evidence on the early changes in brain functional connectivity in at-risk individuals.
Coordinated Microanalyses of Seven Particles of Probable Interstellar Origin from the Stardust Mission.
- Andrew J. Westphal, Rhonda M. Stroud, Hans A. Bechtel, Frank E. Brenker, Anna L. Butterworth, George J. Flynn, David R. Frank, Zack Gainsforth, Jon K. Hillier, Frank Postberg, Alexandre S. Simionovici, Veerle J. Sterken, Carlton Allen, David Anderson, Asna Ansari, Saˇsa Bajt, Ron K. Bastien, Nabil Bassim, John Bridges, Donald E. Brownlee, Mark Burchell, Manfred Burghammer, Hitesh Changela, Peter Cloetens, Andrew M. Davis, Ryan Doll, Christine Floss, Eberhard Gru¨n, Philipp R. Heck, Peter Hoppe, Bruce Hudson, Joachim Huth, Anton Kearsley, Ashley J. King, Barry Lai, Jan Leitner, Laurence Lemelle, Ariel Leonard, Hugues Leroux, Robert Lettieri, William Marchant, Larry R. Nittler, Ryan Ogliore, Wei Jia Ong, Mark C. Price, Scott A. Sandford, Juan-Angel Sans Tresseras, Sylvia Schmitz, Tom Schoonjans, Kate Schreiber, Geert Silversmit, Vicente A. Solé, Ralf Srama, Frank Stadermann, Thomas Stephan, Julien Stodolna, Stephen Sutton, Mario Trieloff, Peter Tsou, Tolek Tyliszczak, Bart Vekemans, Laszlo Vincze, Joshua Von Korff, Naomi Wordsworth, Daniel Zevin, Michael E. Zolensky
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- Journal:
- Microscopy and Microanalysis / Volume 20 / Issue S3 / August 2014
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 27 August 2014, pp. 1692-1693
- Print publication:
- August 2014
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Vibrio illness in Florida, 1998–2007
- K. E. WEIS, R. M. HAMMOND, R. HUTCHINSON, C. G. M. BLACKMORE
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- Epidemiology & Infection / Volume 139 / Issue 4 / April 2011
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 14 June 2010, pp. 591-598
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This study characterized the current epidemiology of vibrio infections in Florida and examined cases reported from 1998 to 2007. Logistic regression was used to determine risk of death. There were 834 vibrio infections in 825 individuals (average annual incidence rate 4·8/1 000 000). Common Vibrio species reported were Vibrio vulnificus (33%), V. parahaemolyticus (29%), and V. alginolyticus (16%). Most exposures were attributed to wounds (42%), and the most common clinical syndromes were wound infections (45%) and gastroenteritis (42%). Almost half of individuals reported an underlying health condition. Risk of death was associated with any underlying condition and increased with the number of conditions (P<0·0001). In Florida, incidence of vibriosis associated with raw oyster consumption has decreased while incidence associated with wound infections has increased. Most prevention efforts to date have focused on oyster consumption. New educational messages focusing on the risk of vibriosis from wound infections should target high-risk populations.
Görtler vortex formation at the inner cylinder in Taylor–Couette flow
- T. Wei, E. M. Kline, S. H.-K. Lee, S. Woodruff
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- Journal:
- Journal of Fluid Mechanics / Volume 245 / December 1992
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 26 April 2006, pp. 47-68
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The evolution of small counter-rotating circumferential vortices in Taylor–Couette flow was examined using the laser induced fluorescence and alumina particle flow visualization techniques. The objective of the study was to critically evaluate the hypothesis of Barcilon et al. (1979) and Barcilon & Brindley (1984) that Görtler vortices form close to the cylinder walls at moderately high Taylor numbers. Three radius ratios spanning an order of magnitude, 0.084 [les ] Rn/Rt [les ] 0.877, were examined over a Taylor number range of 3 × 104 [les ] Ta [les ] 3 × 108. Still-photograph sequences taken from video records of the LIF experiments are presented showing vortex pairs close to the inner cylinder wall at Taylor numbers an order of magnitude smaller than those reported by Barcilon and co-workers. Measurements of the core-to-core separation between counter-rotating vortices were made in order to estimate the wavenumber of the instability. These measurements agree remarkably well with the theoretical analysis of Barcilon and co-workers particularly for the small- and medium-gap experiments. The present measurements indicate that there is a $-\frac{1}{3}$ power law relationship between the Görtler wavelength and Taylor number. This is consistent with the work of Barcilon & Brindley (1984). However, the present study indicates that the Görtler vortices first form at the inner cylinder wall, and that a full theoretical treatment must include inner-wall effects.
Design and Fabrication of Large CCDs for the Keck Observatory DEIMOS Spectrograph
- R. J. Stover, W. E. Brown, D. K. Gilmore, M. Wei
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- Journal:
- Symposium - International Astronomical Union / Volume 167 / 1995
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 07 August 2017, pp. 19-26
- Print publication:
- 1995
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- Article
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The Keck II Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph (DEIMOS) is a general purpose, faint object, multi-slit, double-beam spectrograph which offers wide spectral coverage, high spectral resolution, high throughput, and long slit length on the sky. This powerful instrument will be the principal optical spectrograph on the Keck II telescope. DEIMOS is optimized for faint-object spectroscopy of individual point sources, low-surface-brightness extended objects, or widely distributed samples of faint objects on the sky. To obtain high resolution (∼ 1 å) and wide spectral coverage (up to 5000 å) the spectrograph uses wide angle cameras and large CCD detectors with many pixels.
This paper describes some of the work being carried out to obtain the CCD detectors required for the DEIMOS spectrograph. In addition, results are presented on the fabrication and characterization of a 4k × 2k three-side buttable CCD produced by Orbit Semiconductor, a silicon foundry in San Jose, California. This CCD was fabricated to test the ability of Orbit to produce high quality scientific CCDs with the characteristics required for detectors to be used in DEIMOS and other optical instruments of the Keck Observatory.
Spectroscopic and Molecular Weight Studies of Polytoluidines
- Y. Wei, K. F. Hsueh, S. Nagy, A. Ray, A. G. MacDiarmid, J. Dykins, A. J. Epstein, G. E. Wnek
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- Journal:
- MRS Online Proceedings Library Archive / Volume 173 / 1989
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 25 February 2011, 341
- Print publication:
- 1989
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Poly(o-toluidine) and poly(m-toluidine) in base form have been characterized by infrared and lH NMR spectroscopy. Assignments of the proton NMR signals have been facilitated by the use of model compounds. The distinction between benzenoid and quinoid methyl resonances in the NMR permits a semi-quantitative estimation of the oxidation states of the polytoluidines. Infrared studies are consistent with a polyaniline-type backbone having pendant methyl groups. Field desorption mass spectrometry (FD-MS) was employed for estimation of the molecular weight of poly(o-toluidine). Gel-permeation chromatography of the same sample showed a bimodal elution pattern, suggesting that the FD-MS technique detects only the lower molecular weight fraction of the polymer. Despite this inherent limitation, FD-MS yields the interesting information that the polymer contains chains of both odd and even numbers of repeat units, necessitating the coexistence of different oxidation states in the base form of the polymer.
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