Most previous research found that within-family resemblance on social outcomes and intelligence is mostly due to genetic factors with a limited role of the shared environment, with the exception of ...educational attainment. Hypotheses about a gene-environment interaction with SES, with a presumably smaller role of genetic factors in families with low social status, have been only partially confirmed. However, these results do not necessarily generalize to all societies, and data from Central or Eastern European countries is currently deficient. In the current work we replicate using data from the Hungarian Twin Registry that intelligence, income, and educational attainment are substantially heritable, with limited role of the shared environment. In contrast to studies in Anglo-Saxon or Western European countries, we found an influence of the shared environment on standardized high school test scores, especially history. Both genetic and shared environmental (but not nonshared environmental) correlations were substantial, in line with generalist genes and shared environments but specific nonshared environmental effects. The results show that the heritability of social traits is observable in Central/Eastern Europe, but they highlight a potentially problematic aspect of Hungarian high school final tests, as students' family of origin appears to be a potent determinant of grades.
•Central/Eastern European societies are unique but sociogenomic studies are rare.•Twin study of intelligence, income, years in education and high school final exam grades•Intelligence, income, years education and mathematics grades substantially heritable•Shared environmental effects on finals grades in humanities
Background: Recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep is a common feature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Risk factors for the development of OSA include obesity, male gender and smoking. In ...addition, anatomical factors contribute to the development of the disease; however, the heritability of the anatomical structures that determine upper airway narrowing is poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the background of anatomical structures associated with upper airway narrowing in discordant monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs. Methods: 33 adult MZ twin pairs (median age and Q1-Q3: 50 (42–56) years) from the Hungarian Twin Registry underwent head and neck MR (Philips Ingenia 1.5 T). T1- and T2-weighted images in sagittal, coronal and axial planes were used to measure cephalometric, soft tissue and adipose tissue structures. In addition, the twin pairs underwent carotid and femoral ultrasound scans (Samsung RS85) and full-body composition measurements (OMRON BF500). The analysis of discordant MZ twins for anatomical markers in relation to clinical background, blood test, vascular ultrasound and body composition results was performed using a paired permutation test. Results: We found a significant association between parapharyngeal adipose tissue area and body weight, waist circumference and metabolism (p < 0.05). Submental adipose tissue thickness showed an association with lower body muscle percentage (<0.05). Carotid intima-media thickness showed a negative association with parapharyngeal adipose tissue, tongue volume and submental adipose tissue thickness (<0.05). Conclusions: Our study found a significant association between anatomical structures potentially involved in upper airway narrowing and obesity-related markers such as weight, BMI, hip and waist circumference, and whole body composition analysis results (body fat percentage, visceral fat percentage, muscle percentage). This study may help to better understand the background of anatomical structures potentially involved in upper airway narrowing and the possible development of obstructive sleep apnea.
: Aortic arch calcification (AoAC) is associated with a variety of cardiovascular complications. The measurement and grading of AoAC using posteroanterior (PA) chest X-rays are well established. The ...cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) can be simultaneously measured with PA chest X-rays and used as an index of cardiomegaly. The genetic and environmental contributions to the degree of the AoAC and CTR are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of genetics and environmental factors on the AoAC and CTR.
: A total of 684 twins from the South Korean twin registry (261 monozygotic, MZ and 81 dizygotic, DZ pairs; mean age 38.6 ± 7.9 years, male/female = 264/420) underwent PA chest X-rays. Cardiovascular risk factors and anthropometric data were also collected. The AoAC and CTR were measured and graded using a standardized method. A structural equation method was used to calculate the proportion of variance explained by genetic and environmental factors behind AoAC and CTR.
: The within-pair differences were low regarding the grade of AoAC, with only a few twin pairs showing large intra-pair differences. We found that the thoracic width showed high heritability (0.67, 95% CI: 0.59-0.73,
= 1). Moderate heritability was detected regarding cardiac width (0.54, 95% CI: 0.45-0.62,
= 0.572) and CTR (0.54, 95% CI: 0.44-0.62,
= 0.701).
: The heritable component was significant regarding thoracic width, cardiac width, and the CTR.
Purpose
The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on the ultrasound (US) features of the diaphragm and to determine if diaphragmatic US may be a useful ...screening tool for patients with possible OSA.
Methods
Patients complaining of snoring were prospectively enrolled for overnight polygraphy using the ApneaLink Air device. Thickness and motion of the diaphragm during tidal and deep inspiration were measured. Logistic regression was used to assess parameters of the diaphragm associated with OSA.
Results
Of 100 patients, 64 were defined as having OSA. Thicknesses of the left and right hemidiaphragms were significantly different between OSA and control groups. Using a combination of diaphragmatic dimensions, diaphragm dilation, age, sex, and BMI, we developed an algorithm that predicted the presence of OSA with 91% sensitivity and 81% specificity.
Conclusion
A combination of anthropometric measurements, demographic factors, and US imaging may be useful for screening patients for possible OSA. These findings need to be confirmed in larger sample sizes in different clinical settings.
Abstract There is abundant evidence that bone mineral content is highly heritable, while the heritability of bone quality (i.e. trabecular bone score TBS and quantitative ultrasound index QUI) is ...rarely investigated. We aimed to disentangle the role of genetic, shared and unique environmental factors on TBS and QUI among Hungarian twins. Our study includes 82 twin (48 monozygotic, 33 same-sex dizygotic) pairs from the Hungarian Twin Registry. TBS was determined by DXA, QUI by calcaneal bone ultrasound. To estimate the genetic and environmental effects, we utilized ACE-variance decomposition. For the unadjusted model of TBS, an AE model provided the best fit with > 80% additive genetic heritability. Adjustment for age, sex, BMI and smoking status improved model fit with 48.0% of total variance explained by independent variables. Furthermore, there was a strong dominant genetic effect (73.7%). In contrast, unadjusted and adjusted models for QUI showed an AE structure. Adjustments improved model fit and 25.7% of the total variance was explained by independent variables. Altogether 70–90% of the variance in QUI was related to additive genetic influences. We found a strong genetic heritability of bone quality in unadjusted models. Half of the variance of TBS was explained by age, sex and BMI. Furthermore, the adjusted model suggested that the genetic component of TBS could be dominant or an epistasis could be present. In contrast, independent variables explained only a quarter of the variance of QUI and the additive heritability explained more than half of all the variance.
Film criticism in the United States went through significant changes over the last 50 years due to the technological involvements and, thus, the altering needs of the moviegoers. In the 20th century, ...the evaluations of the film critics mattered more to the consumer who sought recommendation for movies. Through the examination of the paradigm shifts that occurred from the second half of the 20th century until today such as the widespread popularity of the television, the home video, and the Web 2.0 one can observe a transformation in the American film critic industry, that also led to the rise of amateur film reviews. This paper focuses on American film criticism from the 1960s and discusses in what ways the television, the home video, the film rating websites (IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic) and the social media network Twitter have altered both professional and amateur film criticism.
Autologous hemopoietic stem cell transplantation remains a promising therapy in certain malignant and non-malignant conditions. The procedure, however, will increase the risk of complications, most ...notably early and late infections.
To analyze the frequency and spectrum of pathogens in early (<+100 days) post-transplant infections and to evaluate risk factors for mortality.
Prospectively collected data from 699 patients undergoing autologous hemopoietic stem cell transplantation between 2007 and 2014 at our center were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed.
The median age of 699 patients was 56 (interquartile range: 43-62) years, 54% (376) were male. 25 patients have been transferred to other centers and 19 patients were lost to follow up. Neutropenic fever occurred in 69.8% (488) of patients. In addition, 102 infectious episodes in 96 patients were identified. Most commonly bacteremia occurred (49 episodes) with a median onset of 7 (5-11) days. The majority (33/49) of bacteremias have been observed during the pre-engraftment period. Their incidence proved to be higher in patients with malignant lymphoma compared to individuals with plasma cell disorders (p = 0.0005, OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.49-3.99). 12 episodes of viral infections and 8 cases of proven or probable invasive mycoses have been identified. Among the 655 patients with complete follow up, 16 in-hospital deaths (2.4%) occurred, 8 of them were associated with infections. Survival was adversely affected by early infections (p = 0.0001).
In autologous stem cell transplantation, microbiologically unconfirmed neutropenic fever is common. Documented early bacteremia, however, is infrequent. Lymphoma patients have a significantly higher chance to develop bloodstream infections compared to individuals with plasma cell disorders. Early infections decrease the chance of survival; thus, an effective prophylaxis and therapy remains of paramount importance. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(3): 103-109.
There is an increasing focus on the effect of the gut microbiome on developing atherosclerosis, but there is still no unified standpoint. We aimed to find associations between intestinal microbiome ...diversity and a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT).
Recruited from the Hungarian Twin Registry, 108 monozygotic (MZ) twins (mean age 52.4 ± 14.1 years, 58% female) underwent a comprehensive carotid ultrasound examination (Samsung RS85). Of the 108 MZ twins, 14 pairs (mean age 65 ± 6.4 years, 71% female) discordant for carotid IMT were selected to undergo a stool sample collection. A special stool sampling container was mailed and received from each participant. After DNA extraction, library construction was performed specifically for the V3-V4 hypervariable region of microbial 16S rRNA. Next, the microbiome composition of the samples was determined using Kraken software. Two hypotheses were tested with the exact permutation test: (1) in the group with normal IMT, the Shannon index of the phyla is higher; and (2) the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio is greater in the group with high IMT values. Furthermore, the abundance of different bacterial strains present at higher and normal IMT was also explored. Statistical analysis was carried out using R software.
Increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was associated with increased IMT (mean Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of IMT > 0.9 and IMT < 0.9 groups: 2.299 and 1.436, respectively;
= 0.031). In the group with normal IMT values, a substantially higher fraction of
was observed in contrast with subjects having subclinical atherosclerosis. However, there was no significant difference in the alpha diversity between the two groups.
The determining role of individual genera and their proportions in the development and progression of atherosclerosis can be assumed. Further studies are needed to clarify if these findings can be used as potential therapeutic targets.
Background and Objectives: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease, a tauopathy, which results in a wide clinical spectrum of neurological symptoms. The diagnosis is ...mostly based on clinical signs and neuroimaging; however, possible biomarkers for screening have been under investigation, and the role of the gut microbiome is unknown. The aim of our study was to identify potential blood biomarkers and observe variations in the gut microbiome within a PSP discordant monozygotic twin pair. Materials and Methods: Anthropometric measurements, neuropsychological tests, and the neurological state were evaluated. Blood was collected for metabolic profiling and for the detection of neurodegenerative and vascular biomarkers. Both the gut microbiome and brain MRI results were thoroughly examined. Results: We found a relevant difference between alpha-synuclein levels and moderate difference in the levels of MMP-2, MB, Apo-A1, Apo-CIII, and Apo-H. With respect to the ratios, a small difference was observed for ApoA1/SAA and ApoB/ApoA1. Using a microbiome analysis, we also discovered a relative dysbiosis, and the MRI results revealed midbrain and frontoparietal cortical atrophy along with a reduction in overall brain volumes and an increase in white matter lesions in the affected twin. Conclusions: We observed significant differences between the unaffected and affected twins in some risk factors and blood biomarkers, along with disparities in the gut microbiome. Additionally, we detected abnormalities in brain MRI results and alterations in cognitive functions.
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