| 21. |
- Ried, Janina S., et al.
(författare)
-
A principal component meta-analysis on multiple anthropometric traits identifies novel loci for body shape
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large consortia have revealed hundreds of genetic loci associated with anthropometric traits, one trait at a time. We examined whether genetic variants affect body shape as a composite phenotype that is represented by a combination of anthropometric traits. We developed an approach that calculates averaged PCs (AvPCs) representing body shape derived from six anthropometric traits (body mass index, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio). The first four AvPCs explain >99% of the variability, are heritable, and associate with cardiometabolic outcomes. We performed genome-wide association analyses for each body shape composite phenotype across 65 studies and meta-analysed summary statistics. We identify six novel loci: LEMD2 and CD47 for AvPC1, RPS6KA5/C14orf159 and GANAB for AvPC3, and ARL15 and ANP32 for AvPC4. Our findings highlight the value of using multiple traits to define complex phenotypes for discovery, which are not captured by single-trait analyses, and may shed light onto new pathways.
|
|
| 22. |
- Silventoinen, K., et al.
(författare)
-
Educational attainment of same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins : An individual-level pooled study of 19 twin cohorts
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Hormones and Behavior. - : Elsevier. - 0018-506X .- 1095-6867. ; 136
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Comparing twins from same- and opposite-sex pairs can provide information on potential sex differences in a variety of outcomes, including socioeconomic-related outcomes such as educational attainment. It has been suggested that this design can be applied to examine the putative role of intrauterine exposure to testosterone for educational attainment, but the evidence is still disputed. Thus, we established an international database of twin data from 11 countries with 88,290 individual dizygotic twins born over 100 years and tested for differences between twins from same- and opposite-sex dizygotic pairs in educational attainment. Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated by linear regression models after adjusting for birth year and twin study cohort. In contrast to the hypothesis, no difference was found in women (β = −0.05 educational years, 95% CI −0.11, 0.02). However, men with a same-sex co-twin were slightly more educated than men having an opposite-sex co-twin (β = 0.14 educational years, 95% CI 0.07, 0.21). No consistent differences in effect sizes were found between individual twin study cohorts representing Europe, the USA, and Australia or over the cohorts born during the 20th century, during which period the sex differences in education reversed favoring women in the latest birth cohorts. Further, no interaction was found with maternal or paternal education. Our results contradict the hypothesis that there would be differences in the intrauterine testosterone levels between same-sex and opposite-sex female twins affecting education. Our findings in men may point to social dynamics within same-sex twin pairs that may benefit men in their educational careers.
|
|
| 23. |
- Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O, et al.
(författare)
-
Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: a meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children.
- 2011
-
Ingår i: PLoS medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1676 .- 1549-1277. ; 8:11
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n=218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n=19,268). METHODS AND FINDINGS: All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r(2)>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (p(interaction) =0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio =1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio =1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The association of the FTO risk allele with the odds of obesity is attenuated by 27% in physically active adults, highlighting the importance of PA in particular in those genetically predisposed to obesity.
|
|
| 24. |
- Roger, T., et al.
(författare)
-
Precise Determination of the Unperturbed B8 Neutrino Spectrum
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Phys. Rev. Lett.. ; 108:16, s. Art. no. 162502-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A measurement of the final state distribution of the 8B beta decay, obtained by implanting a 8B beam in a double-sided silicon strip detector, is reported here. The present spectrum is consistent with a recent independent precise measurement performed by our collaboration at the IGISOL facility, Jyvaskyla [O. S.Kirsebom et al., Phys. Rev. C 83, 065802 (2011)]. It shows discrepancies with previously measuredspectra, leading to differences in the derived neutrino spectrum. Thanks to a low detection threshold, theneutrino spectrum is for the first time directly extracted from the measured final state distribution, thusavoiding the uncertainties related to the extrapolation of R-matrix fits. Combined with the IGISOL data,this leads to an improvement of the overall errors and the extension of the neutrino spectrum at highenergy. The new unperturbed neutrino spectrum represents a benchmark for future measurements of thesolar neutrino flux as a function of energy.
|
|
| 25. |
- Koenig, Julian, et al.
(författare)
-
Cortical thickness and resting-state cardiac function across the lifespan : A cross-sectional pooled mega-analysis
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Psychophysiology. - : Wiley. - 0048-5772 .- 1469-8986 .- 1540-5958. ; 58:7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the association between autonomic nervous system [ANS] function and brain morphology across the lifespan provides important insights into neurovisceral mechanisms underlying health and disease. Resting-state ANS activity, indexed by measures of heart rate [HR] and its variability [HRV] has been associated with brain morphology, particularly cortical thickness [CT]. While findings have been mixed regarding the anatomical distribution and direction of the associations, these inconsistencies may be due to sex and age differences in HR/HRV and CT. Previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes, which impede the assessment of sex differences and aging effects on the association between ANS function and CT. To overcome these limitations, 20 groups worldwide contributed data collected under similar protocols of CT assessment and HR/HRV recording to be pooled in a mega-analysis (N = 1,218 (50.5% female), mean age 36.7 years (range: 12–87)). Findings suggest a decline in HRV as well as CT with increasing age. CT, particularly in the orbitofrontal cortex, explained additional variance in HRV, beyond the effects of aging. This pattern of results may suggest that the decline in HRV with increasing age is related to a decline in orbitofrontal CT. These effects were independent of sex and specific to HRV; with no significant association between CT and HR. Greater CT across the adult lifespan may be vital for the maintenance of healthy cardiac regulation via the ANS—or greater cardiac vagal activity as indirectly reflected in HRV may slow brain atrophy. Findings reveal an important association between CT and cardiac parasympathetic activity with implications for healthy aging and longevity that should be studied further in longitudinal research.
|
|
| 26. |
|
|
| 27. |
- Pollard, R. B., et al.
(författare)
-
Safety and efficacy of the peptide-based therapeutic vaccine for HIV-1, Vacc-4x : A phase 2 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
- 2014
-
Ingår i: The Lancet - Infectious diseases. - 1473-3099 .- 1474-4457. ; 14:4, s. 291-300
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Present combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) alone does not cure HIV infection and requires lifelong drug treatment. The potential role of HIV therapeutic vaccines as part of an HIV cure is under consideration. Our aim was to assess the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of Vacc-4x, a peptide-based HIV-1 therapeutic vaccine targeting conserved domains on p24Gag, in adults infected with HIV-1. Methods: Between July, 2008, and June, 2010, we did a multinational double-blind, randomised, phase 2 study comparing Vacc-4x with placebo. Participants were adults infected with HIV-1 who were aged 18-55 years and virologically suppressed on cART (viral load <50 copies per mL) with CD4 cell counts of 400 × 106 cells per L or greater. The trial was done at 18 sites in Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Participants were randomly assigned (2:1) to Vacc-4x or placebo. Group allocation was masked from participants and investigators. Four primary immunisations, weekly for 4 weeks, containing Vacc-4x (or placebo) were given intradermally after administration of adjuvant. Booster immunisations were given at weeks 16 and 18. At week 28, cART was interrupted for up to 24 weeks. The coprimary endpoints were cART resumption and changes in CD4 counts during treatment interruption. Analyses were by modified intention to treat: all participants who received one intervention. Furthermore, safety, viral load, and immunogenicity (as measured by ELISPOT and proliferation assays) were assessed. The 52 week follow-up period was completed in June, 2011. For the coprimary endpoints the proportion of participants who met the criteria for cART resumption was analysed with a logistic regression model with the treatment effect being assessed in a model including country as a covariate. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00659789. Findings: 174 individuals were screened; because of slow recruitment, enrolment stopped with 136 of a planned 345 participants and 93 were randomly assigned to receive Vacc-4x and 43 to receive placebo. There were no differences between the two groups for the primary efficacy endpoints in those participants who stopped cART at week 28. Of the participants who resumed cART, 30 (34%) were in the Vacc-4x group and 11 (29%) in the placebo group, and percentage changes in CD4 counts were not significant (mean treatment difference -5·71, 95% CI -13·01 to 1·59). However, a significant difference in viral load was noted for the Vacc-4x group both at week 48 (median 23 100 copies per mL Vacc-4x vs 71 800 copies per mL placebo; p=0·025) and week 52 (median 19 550 copies per mL vs 51 000 copies per mL; p=0·041). One serious adverse event, exacerbation of multiple sclerosis, was reported as possibly related to study treatment. Vacc-4x was immunogenic, inducing proliferative responses in both CD4 and CD8 T-cell populations. Interpretation: The proportion of participants resuming cART before end of study and change in CD4 counts during the treatment interruption showed no benefit of vaccination. Vacc-4x was safe, well tolerated, immunogenic, seemed to contribute to a viral-load setpoint reduction after cART interruption, and might be worth consideration in future HIV-cure investigative strategies. Funding: Norwegian Research Council GLOBVAC Program and Bionor Pharma ASA.
|
|
| 28. |
|
|
| 29. |
- Brogaard, K., et al.
(författare)
-
Age and helium content of the open cluster NGC 6791 from multiple eclipsing binary members : III. Constraints from a subgiant
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 649
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Models of stellar structure and evolution can be constrained using accurate measurements of the parameters of eclipsing binary members of open clusters. Multiple binary stars provide the means to tighten the constraints and, in turn, to improve the precision and accuracy of the age estimate of the host cluster. In the previous two papers of this series, we have demonstrated the use of measurements of multiple eclipsing binaries in the old open cluster NGC 6791 to set tighter constraints on the properties of stellar models than was previously possible, thereby improving both the accuracy and precision of the cluster age. Aims. We identify and measure the properties of a non-eclipsing cluster member, V56, in NGC 6791 and demonstrate how this provides additional model constraints that support and strengthen our previous findings. Methods. We analyse multi-epoch spectra of V56 from FLAMES in conjunction with the existing photometry and measurements of eclipsing binaries in NGC6971. Results. The parameters of the V56 components are found to be Mp = 1.103 ± 0.008 Mpdbl and Ms = 0.974 ± 0.007 Mpdbl, Rp = 1.764 ± 0.099 Rpdbl and Rs = 1.045 ± 0.057 Rpdbl, Teff,p = 5447 ± 125 K and Teff,s = 5552 ± 125 K, and surface [Fe/H] = +0.29 ± 0.06 assuming that they have the same abundance. Conclusions. The derived properties strengthen our previous best estimate of the cluster age of 8.3 ± 0.3 Gyr and the mass of stars on the lower red giant branch (RGB), which is MRGB = 1.15 ± 0.02 Mpdbl for NGC 6791. These numbers therefore continue to serve as verification points for other methods of age and mass measures, such as asteroseismology.
|
|
| 30. |
|
|
