| 1. |
- Horikoshi, Momoko, et al.
(författare)
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New loci associated with birth weight identify genetic links between intrauterine growth and adult height and metabolism.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 45:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Birth weight within the normal range is associated with a variety of adult-onset diseases, but the mechanisms behind these associations are poorly understood. Previous genome-wide association studies of birth weight identified a variant in the ADCY5 gene associated both with birth weight and type 2 diabetes and a second variant, near CCNL1, with no obvious link to adult traits. In an expanded genome-wide association meta-analysis and follow-up study of birth weight (of up to 69,308 individuals of European descent from 43 studies), we have now extended the number of loci associated at genome-wide significance to 7, accounting for a similar proportion of variance as maternal smoking. Five of the loci are known to be associated with other phenotypes: ADCY5 and CDKAL1 with type 2 diabetes, ADRB1 with adult blood pressure and HMGA2 and LCORL with adult height. Our findings highlight genetic links between fetal growth and postnatal growth and metabolism.
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| 2. |
- Connolly, L. J., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of small-volume soccer and vibration training on body composition, aerobic fitness, and muscular PCr kinetics for inactive women aged 20-45
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Sport and Health Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2095-2546. ; 3:4, s. 284-292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The present study investigated the effects of 16 weeks of small-volume, small-sided soccer training soccer group (SG, n = 13) and oscillating whole-body vibration training vibration group (VG, n = 17) on body composition, aerobic fitness, and muscle PCr kinetics in healthy inactive premenopausal women in comparison with an inactive control group (CO, n = 14). Methods: Training for SG and VG consisted of twice-weekly 15-min sessions with average heart rates (HRs) of similar to 155 and 90 bpm respectively. Pre- and post-measurements of body composition (DXA), phosphocreatine (PCr) on-and off-kinetics, and HR measurements during standardised submaximal exercise were performed. Results: After 16 weeks of training in SG, fat percentage was lowered (p = 0.03) by 1.7% +/- 2.4% from 37.5% +/- 6.9% to 35.8% +/- 6.2% and the PCr decrease in the quadriceps during knee-extension ramp exercise was attenuated (4% +/- 8%, p = 0.04), with no changes in VG or CO (time-group effect: p = 0.03 and p = 0.03). Submaximal exercise HR was also reduced in SG after 16 weeks of training (6% +/- 5% of HRmax, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Short duration soccer training for 16 weeks appears to be sufficient to induce favourable changes in body composition and indicators of aerobic fitness and muscle oxidative capacity in untrained premenopausal women. Copyright (C) 2014, Shanghai University of Sport. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Bowtell, J. L., et al.
(författare)
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Short Duration Small Sided Football and to a Lesser Extent Whole Body Vibration Exercise Induce Acute Changes in Markers of Bone Turnover
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biomed Research International. - : Hindawi Limited. - 2314-6133 .- 2314-6141.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We aimed to study whether short-duration vibration exercise or football sessions of two different durations acutely changed plasma markers of bone turnover and muscle strain. Inactive premenopausal women (n = 56) were randomized to complete a single bout of short (FG15) or long duration (FG60) small sided football or low magnitude whole body vibration training (VIB). Procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) was increased during exercise for FG15 (51.6 +/- 23.0 to 56.5 +/- 22.5 mu g.L-1, mean +/- SD, P < 0.05) and FG60 (42.6 +/- 11.8 to 50.2 +/- 12.8 mu g.L-1, P < 0.05) but not for VIB (38.8 +/- 15.1 to 36.6 +/- 14.7 mu g.L-1, P > 0.05). An increase in osteocalcin was observed 48 h after exercise (P < 0.05), which did not differ between exercise groups. C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen was not affected by exercise. Blood lactate concentration increased during exercise for FG15 (0.6 +/- 0.2 to 3.4 +/- 1.2mM) and FG60 (0.6 +/- 0.2 to 3.3 +/- 2.0 mM), but not for VIB (0.6 +/- 0.2 to 0.8 +/- 0.4mM) (P < 0.05). Plasma creatine kinase increased by 55 +/- 63% and 137 +/- 119% 48 h after FG15 and FG60 (P < 0.05), but not after VIB (26 +/- 54%, NS). In contrast to the minor elevation in osteocalcin in response to a single session of vibration exercise, both short and longer durations of small sided football acutely increased plasma P1NP, osteocalcin, and creatine kinase. This may contribute to favorable effects of chronic training on musculoskeletal health.
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| 4. |
- Green, Jonathan M. H., et al.
(författare)
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Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food, energy, water and the environment
- 2017
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Ingår i: Sustainability Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1862-4065 .- 1862-4057. ; 12:2, s. 319-331
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the 'nexus' of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.
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| 5. |
- Bowtell, J. L., et al.
(författare)
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Improved Exercise Tolerance with Caffeine Is Associated with Modulation of both Peripheral and Central Neural Processes in Human Participants
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Nutrition. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-861X. ; 5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Caffeine has been shown to enhance exercise performance and capacity. The mechanisms remain unclear but are suggested to relate to adenosine receptor antagonism, resulting in increased central motor drive, reduced perception of effort, and altered peripheral processes such as enhanced calcium handling and extracellular potassium regulation. Our aims were to investigate how caffeine (i) affects knee extensor PCr kinetics and pH during repeated sets of single-leg knee extensor exercise to task failure and (ii) modulates the interplay between central and peripheral neural processes. We hypothesized that the caffeine-induced extension of exercise capacity during repeated sets of exercise would occur despite greater disturbance of the muscle milieu due to enhanced peripheral and corticospinal excitatory output, central motor drive, and muscle contractility. Methods: Nine healthy active young men performed five sets of intense single-leg knee extensor exercise to task failure on four separate occasions: for two visits (6 mg.kg(-1) caffeine vs placebo), quadriceps P-31-magnetic resonance spectroscopy scans were performed to quantify phosphocreatine kinetics and pH, and for the remaining two visits (6 mg.kg-1 caffeine vs placebo), femoral nerve electrical and transcranial magnetic stimulation of the quadriceps cortical motor area were applied pre- and post exercise. Results: The total exercise time was 17.9 +/- 6.0% longer in the caffeine (1,225 +/- 86 s) than in the placebo trial (1,049 +/- 73 s, p = 0.016), and muscle phosphocreatine concentration and pH (p < 0.05) were significantly lower in the latter sets of exercise after caffeine ingestion. Voluntary activation (VA) (peripheral, p = 0.007; but not supraspinal, p = 0.074), motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitude (p = 0.007), and contractility (contraction time, p = 0.009; and relaxation rate, p = 0.003) were significantly higher after caffeine consumption, but at task failure MEP amplitude and VA were not different from placebo. Caffeine prevented the reduction in M-wave amplitude that occurred at task failure (p = 0.039). Conclusion: Caffeine supplementation improved high-intensity exercise tolerance despite greater-end exercise knee extensor phosphocreatine depletion and H+ accumulation. Caffeine-induced increases in central motor drive and corticospinal excitability were attenuated at task failure. This may have been induced by the afferent feedback of the greater disturbance of the muscle milieu, resulting in a stronger inhibitory input to the spinal and supraspinal motor neurons. However, causality needs to be established through further experiments.
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| 6. |
- Fulford, A. J. C., et al.
(författare)
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Disproportionate early fetal growth predicts postnatal thymic size in humans
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. - 2040-1744 .- 2040-1752. ; 4:3, s. 223-231
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prenatal events can affect neonatal thymus size and adult immune function. The causal insults are unknown, although fetal nutrient restriction is suspected. We used ultrasound at three time points during pregnancy (14, 19 and 30 weeks) to measure the growth of six fetal dimensions in rural Bangladeshi women participating in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Interventions, Matlab study. Postnatal ultrasound was used to calculate thymic index (TI) at birth, 2, 6 and 12 m. Of the 3267 women recruited, 2861 participated by providing data at least at one fetal biometry and one TI time point. Patterns of fetal growth were summarized using principal components calculated from fetal dimension z-scores. Random effects regression, controlling for infant size and season of measurement were used to relate these patterns to TI. We found that smaller leg length relative to head circumference, characteristic of head-sparing growth restriction, was predictive of lower TI. This association was significant at all time points but strongest in earlier pregnancy. Each standard deviation increase in leg-head proportion was associated with an increase in TI of similar to 5%. We conclude that growth patterns typical of poor fetal nutrition are associated with poor thymic development. The greater strength of this association in the first trimester is consistent with a period of vulnerability during the early ontogeny of the thymus and suggests that preventative intervention would need to be given in early pregnancy.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Hawkesworth, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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Combined Food and Micronutrient Supplements during Pregnancy Have Limited Impact on Child Blood Pressure and Kidney Function in Rural Bangladesh
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-3166 .- 1541-6100. ; 143:5, s. 728-734
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observational evidence suggests nutritional exposures during in utero development may have long-lasting consequences for health; data from interventions are scarce. Here, we present a trial follow-up study to assess the association between prenatal food and micronutrient supplementation and childhood blood pressure and kidney function. During the MINIMat Trial in rural Bangladesh, women were randomly assigned early in pregnancy to receive an early or later invitation to attend a food supplementation program and additionally to receive either iron and folate or multiple micronutrient tablets daily. The 3267 singleton birth individuals with measured anthropometry born during the trial were eligible for a follow-up study at 4.5 y old. A total of 77% of eligible individuals were recruited and blood pressure, kidney size by ultrasound, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR; calculated from plasma cystatin c) were assessed. In adjusted analysis, early invitation to food supplementation was associated with a 0.72-mm Hg [(95% CI: 0.16, 1.28); P = 0.01] lower childhood diastolic blood pressure and maternal MMS supplementation was associated with a marginally higher [0.87 mm Hg (95% CI: 0.18, 1.56); P = 0.01] childhood diastolic blood pressure. There was also some evidence that a supplement higher in iron was associated with a higher offspring GFR. No other effects of the food or micronutrient interventions were observed and there was no interaction between the interventions on the outcomes studied. These marginal associations and small effect sizes suggest limited public health importance in early childhood.
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| 9. |
- Hawkesworth, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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Early exposure to toxic metals has a limited effect on blood pressure or kidney function in later childhood, rural Bangladesh
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 42:1, s. 176-185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Chronic exposure to toxic metals such as arsenic and cadmium has been implicated in the development of kidney and cardiovascular diseases but few studies have directly measured exposure during in utero and early child development. Methods We investigated the impact of exposure to arsenic (mainly in drinking water) and cadmium (mainly in rice) during pregnancy on blood pressure and kidney function at 4.5 years of age in rural Bangladesh. The effect of arsenic exposure in infancy was also assessed. Results Within a cohort of 1887 children recruited into the MINIMat study, exposure to arsenic (maternal urinary arsenic, U-As), but not cadmium, during in utero development was associated with a minimal increase in blood pressure at 4.5 years. Each 1 mg/l increase in pregnancy U-As was associated with 3.69 mmHg (95% CI: 0.74, 6.63; P: 0.01) increase in child systolic and a 2.91 mmHg (95% CI: 0.41, 5.42; P: 0.02) increase in child diastolic blood pressure. Similarly, a 1 mg/l increase in child U-As at 18 months of age was associated with a 8.25 mmHg (95% CI: 1.37, 15.1; P: 0.02) increase in systolic blood pressure at 4.5 years. There was also a marginal inverse association between infancy U-As and glomerular filtration rate at 4.5 years (-33.4 ml/min/1.72 m(2); 95% CI: -70.2, 3.34; P: 0.08). No association was observed between early arsenic or cadmium exposure and kidney volume at 4.5 years assessed by ultrasound. Conclusions These modest effect sizes provide some evidence that arsenic exposure in early life has long-term consequences for blood pressure and maybe kidney function.
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| 10. |
- Humphries, Matthew P., et al.
(författare)
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A case-matched gender comparison transcriptomic screen identifies eIF4E and eIF5 as potential prognostic markers in male breast cancer
- 2017
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 23:10, s. 2575-2583
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Breast cancer affects both genders, but is understudied in men. Although still rare, male breast cancer (MBC) is being diagnosed more frequently. Treatments are wholly informed by clinical studies conducted in women, based on assumptions that underlying biology is similar. Experimental Design: A transcriptomic investigation of male and female breast cancer was performed, confirming transcriptomic data in silico. Biomarkers were immunohistochemically assessed in 697 MBCs (n = 477, training; n = 220, validation set) and quantified in pre- and posttreatment samples from an MBC patient receiving everolimus and PI3K/mTOR inhibitor. Results: Gender-specific gene expression patterns were identified. eIF transcripts were upregulated in MBC. eIF4E and eIF5 were negatively prognostic for overall survival alone (log-rank P = 0.013; HR = 1.77, 1.12-2.8 and P = 0.035; HR = 1.68, 1.03-2.74, respectively), or when coexpressed (P = 0.01; HR = 2.66, 1.26-5.63), confirmed in the validation set. This remained upon multivariate Cox regression analysis [eIF4E P = 0.016; HR = 2.38 (1.18-4.8), eIF5 P = 0.022; HR = 2.55 (1.14-5.7); coexpression P = 0.001; HR = 7.04 (2.22-22.26)]. Marked reduction in eIF4E and eIF5 expression was seen post BEZ235/everolimus, with extended survival. Conclusions: Translational initiation pathway inhibition could be of clinical utility in MBC patients overexpressing eIF4E and eIF5. With mTOR inhibitors that target this pathway now in the clinic, these biomarkers may represent new targets for therapeutic intervention, although further independent validation is required.
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