A microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) consensus map of barley was constructed by joining six independent genetic maps based on the mapping populations 'Igri x Franka', 'Steptoe x Morex', ...'OWB(Rec) x OWB(Dom)', 'Lina x Canada Park', 'L94 x Vada' and 'SusPtrit x Vada'. Segregation data for microsatellite markers from different research groups including SCRI (Bmac, Bmag, EBmac, EBmag, HVGeneName, scsssr), IPK (GBM, GBMS), WUR (GBM), Virginia Polytechnic Institute (HVM), and MPI for Plant Breeding (HVGeneName), generated in above mapping populations, were used in the computer program RECORD to order the markers of the individual linkage data sets. Subsequently, a framework map was constructed for each chromosome by integrating the 496 "bridge markers" common to two or more individual maps with the help of the computer programme JoinMap 3.0. The final map was calculated by following a "neighbours" map approach. The integrated map contained 775 unique microsatellite loci, from 688 primer pairs, ranging from 93 (6H) to 132 (2H) and with an average of 111 markers per linkage group. The genomic DNA-derived SSR marker loci had a higher polymorphism information content value (average 0.61) as compared to the EST/gene-derived SSR loci (average 0.48). The consensus map spans 1,068 cM providing an average density of one SSR marker every 1.38 cM. Such a high-density consensus SSR map provides barley molecular breeding programmes with a better choice regarding the quality of markers and a higher probability of polymorphic markers in an important chromosomal interval. This map also offers the possibilities of thorough alignment for the (future) physical map and implementation in haplotype diversity studies of barley.
Changes in medical practice that limit instruction time and patient
availability, the expanding options for diagnosis and management, and advances
in technology are contributing to greater use of ...simulation technology in
medical education. Four areas of high-technology simulations currently being
used are laparoscopic techniques, which provide surgeons with an opportunity
to enhance their motor skills without risk to patients; a cardiovascular disease
simulator, which can be used to simulate cardiac conditions; multimedia computer
systems, which includes patient-centered, case-based programs that constitute
a generalist curriculum in cardiology; and anesthesia simulators, which have
controlled responses that vary according to numerous possible scenarios. Some
benefits of simulation technology include improvements in certain surgical
technical skills, in cardiovascular examination skills, and in acquisition
and retention of knowledge compared with traditional lectures. These systems
help to address the problem of poor skills training and proficiency and may
provide a method for physicians to become self-directed lifelong learners.
Exercise for depression Cooney, Gary M; Dwan, Kerry; Greig, Carolyn A ...
Cochrane database of systematic reviews,
09/2013, Letnik:
2013, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Background
Depression is a common and important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Depression is commonly treated with antidepressants and/or psychological therapy, but some people may ...prefer alternative approaches such as exercise. There are a number of theoretical reasons why exercise may improve depression. This is an update of an earlier review first published in 2009.
Objectives
To determine the effectiveness of exercise in the treatment of depression in adults compared with no treatment or a comparator intervention.
Search methods
We searched the Cochrane Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Review Group’s Controlled Trials Register (CCDANCTR) to 13 July 2012. This register includes relevant randomised controlled trials from the following bibliographic databases: The Cochrane Library (all years); MEDLINE (1950 to date); EMBASE (1974 to date) and PsycINFO (1967 to date). We also searched www.controlled‐trials.com, ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. No date or language restrictions were applied to the search.
We conducted an additional search of the CCDANCTR up to 1st March 2013 and any potentially eligible trials not already included are listed as 'awaiting classification.'
Selection criteria
Randomised controlled trials in which exercise (defined according to American College of Sports Medicine criteria) was compared to standard treatment, no treatment or a placebo treatment, pharmacological treatment, psychological treatment or other active treatment in adults (aged 18 and over) with depression, as defined by trial authors. We included cluster trials and those that randomised individuals. We excluded trials of postnatal depression.
Data collection and analysis
Two review authors extracted data on primary and secondary outcomes at the end of the trial and end of follow‐up (if available). We calculated effect sizes for each trial using Hedges' g method and a standardised mean difference (SMD) for the overall pooled effect, using a random‐effects model risk ratio for dichotomous data. Where trials used a number of different tools to assess depression, we included the main outcome measure only in the meta‐analysis. Where trials provided several 'doses' of exercise, we used data from the biggest 'dose' of exercise, and performed sensitivity analyses using the lower 'dose'. We performed subgroup analyses to explore the influence of method of diagnosis of depression (diagnostic interview or cut‐off point on scale), intensity of exercise and the number of sessions of exercise on effect sizes. Two authors performed the 'Risk of bias' assessments. Our sensitivity analyses explored the influence of study quality on outcome.
Main results
Thirty‐nine trials (2326 participants) fulfilled our inclusion criteria, of which 37 provided data for meta‐analyses. There were multiple sources of bias in many of the trials; randomisation was adequately concealed in 14 studies, 15 used intention‐to‐treat analyses and 12 used blinded outcome assessors.
For the 35 trials (1356 participants) comparing exercise with no treatment or a control intervention, the pooled SMD for the primary outcome of depression at the end of treatment was ‐0.62 (95% confidence interval (CI) ‐0.81 to ‐0.42), indicating a moderate clinical effect. There was moderate heterogeneity (I² = 63%).
When we included only the six trials (464 participants) with adequate allocation concealment, intention‐to‐treat analysis and blinded outcome assessment, the pooled SMD for this outcome was not statistically significant (‐0.18, 95% CI ‐0.47 to 0.11). Pooled data from the eight trials (377 participants) providing long‐term follow‐up data on mood found a small effect in favour of exercise (SMD ‐0.33, 95% CI ‐0.63 to ‐0.03).
Twenty‐nine trials reported acceptability of treatment, three trials reported quality of life, none reported cost, and six reported adverse events.
For acceptability of treatment (assessed by number of drop‐outs during the intervention), the risk ratio was 1.00 (95% CI 0.97 to 1.04).
Seven trials compared exercise with psychological therapy (189 participants), and found no significant difference (SMD ‐0.03, 95% CI ‐0.32 to 0.26). Four trials (n = 300) compared exercise with pharmacological treatment and found no significant difference (SMD ‐0.11, ‐0.34, 0.12). One trial (n = 18) reported that exercise was more effective than bright light therapy (MD ‐6.40, 95% CI ‐10.20 to ‐2.60).
For each trial that was included, two authors independently assessed for sources of bias in accordance with the Cochrane Collaboration 'Risk of bias' tool. In exercise trials, there are inherent difficulties in blinding both those receiving the intervention and those delivering the intervention. Many trials used participant self‐report rating scales as a method for post‐intervention analysis, which also has the potential to bias findings.
Authors' conclusions
Exercise is moderately more effective than a control intervention for reducing symptoms of depression, but analysis of methodologically robust trials only shows a smaller effect in favour of exercise. When compared to psychological or pharmacological therapies, exercise appears to be no more effective, though this conclusion is based on a few small trials.
A total of 568 new simple sequence repeat (SSR)-based markers for barley have been developed from a combination of database sequences and small insert genomic libraries enriched for a range of short ...simple sequence repeats. Analysis of the SSRs on 16 barley cultivars revealed variable levels of informativeness but no obvious correlation was found with SSR repeat length, motif type, or map position. Of the 568 SSRs developed, 242 were genetically mapped, 216 with 37 previously published SSRs in a single doubled-haploid population derived from the F(1) of an interspecific cross between the cultivar Lina and Hordeum spontaneum Canada Park and 26 SSRs in two other mapping populations. A total of 27 SSRs amplified multiple loci. Centromeric clustering of markers was observed in the main mapping population; however, the clustering severity was reduced in intraspecific crosses, supporting the notion that the observed marker distribution was largely a genetical effect. The mapped SSRs provide a framework for rapidly assigning chromosomal designations and polarity in future mapping programs in barley and a convenient alternative to RFLP for aligning information derived from different populations. A list of the 242 primer pairs that amplify mapped SSRs from total barley genomic DNA is presented.
Raised risks of several cancers have been found in patients with type II diabetes, but there are few data on cancer risk in type I diabetes. We conducted a cohort study of 28 900 UK patients with ...insulin-treated diabetes followed for 520 517 person-years, and compared their cancer incidence and mortality with national expectations. To analyse by diabetes type, we examined risks separately in 23 834 patients diagnosed with diabetes under the age of 30 years, who will almost all have had type I diabetes, and 5066 patients diagnosed at ages 30-49 years, who probably mainly had type II. Relative risks of cancer overall were close to unity, but ovarian cancer risk was highly significantly raised in patients with diabetes diagnosed under age 30 years (standardised incidence ratio (SIR)=2.14; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22-3.48; standardised mortality ratio (SMR)=2.90; 95% CI 1.45-5.19), with greatest risks for those with diabetes diagnosed at ages 10-19 years. Risks of cancer at other major sites were not substantially raised for type I patients. The excesses of obesity- and alcohol-related cancers in type II diabetes may be due to confounding rather than diabetes per se.
In many cultivated crop species there is limited genetic variation available for the development of new higher yielding varieties adapted to climate change and sustainable farming practises. The ...distant relatives of crop species provide a vast and largely untapped reservoir of genetic variation for a wide range of agronomically important traits that can be exploited by breeders for crop improvement. In this paper, in what we believe to be the largest introgression programme undertaken in the monocots, we describe the transfer of the entire genome of Festuca pratensis into Lolium perenne in overlapping chromosome segments. The L. perenne/F. pratensis introgressions were identified and characterised via 131 simple sequence repeats and 1612 SNPs anchored to the rice genome. Comparative analyses were undertaken to determine the syntenic relationship between L. perenne/F. pratensis and rice, wheat, barley, sorghum and Brachypodium distachyon. Analyses comparing recombination frequency and gene distribution indicated that a large proportion of the genes within the genome are located in the proximal regions of chromosomes which undergo low/very low frequencies of recombination. Thus, it is proposed that past breeding efforts to produce improved varieties have centred on the subset of genes located in the distal regions of chromosomes where recombination is highest. The use of alien introgression for crop improvement is important for meeting the challenges of global food supply and the monocots such as the forage grasses and cereals, together with recent technological advances in molecular biology, can help meet these challenges.
Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) analogues are a new class of drugs used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. They are given by injection, and regulate glucose levels by stimulating glucose-dependent ...insulin secretion and biosynthesis, suppressing glucagon secretion, and delaying gastric emptying and promoting satiety. This systematic review aims to provide evidence on the clinical effectiveness of the GLP-1 agonists in patients not achieving satisfactory glycaemic control with one or more oral glucose lowering drugs.
MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched to find the relevant papers. We identified 28 randomised controlled trials comparing GLP-1 analogues with placebo, other glucose-lowering agents, or another GLP-1 analogue, in patients with type 2 diabetes with inadequate control on a single oral agent, or on dual therapy. Primary outcomes included HbA1c, weight change and adverse events.
Studies were mostly of short duration, usually 26 weeks. All GLP-1 agonists reduced HbA1c by about 1% compared to placebo. Exenatide twice daily and insulin gave similar reductions in HbA1c, but exenatide 2 mg once weekly and liraglutide 1.8 mg daily reduced it by 0.20% and 0.30% respectively more than glargine. Liraglutide 1.2 mg daily reduced HbA1c by 0.34% more than sitagliptin 100 mg daily. Exenatide and liraglutide gave similar improvements in HbA1c to sulphonylureas. Exenatide 2 mg weekly and liraglutide 1.8 mg daily reduced HbA1c by more than exenatide 10 μg twice daily and sitagliptin 100 mg daily. Exenatide 2 mg weekly reduced HbA1c by 0.3% more than pioglitazone 45 mg daily.Exenatide and liraglutide resulted in greater weight loss (from 2.3 to 5.5 kg) than active comparators. This was not due simply to nausea. Hypoglycaemia was uncommon, except when combined with a sulphonylurea. The commonest adverse events with all GLP-1 agonists were initial nausea and vomiting. The GLP-1 agonists have some effect on beta-cell function, but this is not sustained after the drug is stopped.
GLP-1 agonists are effective in improving glycaemic control and promoting weight loss.
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