•There are few studies regarding the genetics of bipolar disorder in youth.•Of 35 genetic variants examined, 4 were associated with adolescent bipolar disorder.•Genes related to systemic processes, ...neurotransmitters, and BD-related conditions.•The multi-gene risk score did not discriminate between bipolar disorder and controls.
Few studies have examined multiple genetic variants concurrently for the purpose of classifying bipolar disorder (BD); the literature among youth is particularly sparse. We selected 35 genetic variants, previously implicated in BD or associated characteristics, from which to identify the most robustly predictive group of genes.
215 Caucasian adolescents (114 BD and 101 healthy controls (HC), ages 13–20 years) were included. Psychiatric diagnoses were determined based on semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva for genotyping. Two models were used to calculate a multi-gene risk score (MGRS). Model 1 used forward and backward regressions, and model 2 used a PLINK generated method.
In model 1, GPX3 rs3792797 was significant in the forward regression, DRD4 exonIII was significant in the backward regression; IL1β rs16944 and DISC1 rs821577 were significant in both the forward and backward regressions. These variants are involved in dopamine neurotransmission; inflammation and oxidative stress; and neuronal development. Model 1 MGRS did not significantly discriminate between BD and HC. In model 2, ZNF804A rs1344706 was significantly associated with BD; however, this association did not predict diagnosis when entered into the weighted model.
This study was limited by the number of genetic variants examined and the modest sample size.
Whereas regression approaches identified four genetic variants that significantly discriminated between BD and HC, those same variants no longer discriminated between BD and HC when computed as a MGRS. Future larger studies are needed evaluating intermediate phenotypes such as neuroimaging and blood-based biomarkers.
The iPlant Collaborative (iPlant) is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project that aims to create an innovative, comprehensive, and foundational cyberinfrastructure in support ...of plant biology research (PSCIC, 2006). iPlant is developing cyberinfrastructure that uniquely enables scientists throughout the diverse fields that comprise plant biology to address Grand Challenges in new ways, to stimulate and facilitate cross-disciplinary research, to promote biology and computer science research interactions, and to train the next generation of scientists on the use of cyberinfrastructure in research and education. Meeting humanity's projected demands for agricultural and forest products and the expectation that natural ecosystems be managed sustainably will require synergies from the application of information technologies. The iPlant cyberinfrastructure design is based on an unprecedented period of research community input, and leverages developments in high-performance computing, data storage, and cyberinfrastructure for the physical sciences. iPlant is an open-source project with application programming interfaces that allow the community to extend the infrastructure to meet its needs. iPlant is sponsoring community-driven workshops addressing specific scientific questions via analysis tool integration and hypothesis testing. These workshops teach researchers how to add bioinformatics tools and/or datasets into the iPlant cyberinfrastructure enabling plant scientists to perform complex analyses on large datasets without the need to master the command-line or high-performance computational services.
El dengue es la arbovirosis humana que más morbimortalidad ocasiona mundialmente. Durante 2016, se registró, en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, la mayor epidemia de esta enfermedad. Objetivo: ...describir las características clínicas y hematológicas en una población pediátrica. Métodos: estudio de corte transversal que incluyó a pacientes atendidos del 18-1-16 al 15-4-16 en el Hospital de Niños "Dr. Ricardo Gutiérrez". Resultados: se registraron 156 casos, 82 confirmados por virología; 130 (83 %), autóctonos. Las manifestaciones clínicas más frecuentes fueron fiebre, cefalea y dolor retroocular. Las alteraciones del laboratorio significativas fueron leucopenia, plaquetopenia y aumento de transaminasas. Se internaron 35 pacientes (23 %), 25 (16 %) con signos de alarma. No se presentó ningún caso de dengue grave. Conclusiones: el reconocimiento oportuno de los signos de alarma y el control hematológico resultan fundamentales para detectar a los niños en riesgo y ofrecerles tratamiento de soporte en forma precoz.
Abstract
Background
Mycobacterium canettii forms part of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Mycobacterium canettii infections are mainly described in the Horn of Africa. The permanent presence ...of French soldiers in Djibouti raises the question of the risk of being infected with M. canettii. Here, we describe M. canettii infections among French military and their families between 1998 and 2015.
Methods
This retrospective study relied on 3 sources of data: the reference center for mycobacteria in the Biology Department at Percy Military Hospital in Paris, the French Military Center for Epidemiology and Public Health, and the scientific literature. After an exhaustive census of the strains, we studied the epidemiological data on 20 cases among French soldiers and their families.
Results
Twenty cases of M. canettii infections are reported, including 5 unpublished cases. Adenitis predominates (n = 15), especially in the cervico facial area and among children; 1 case was observed 1 month after dental care in Djibouti. The pulmonary forms were less frequent (n = 6), and 3 atypical forms are described. All patients had stayed in Djibouti.
Conclusions
Cases of M. canettii infection among the French military consisted mainly of adenitis; disseminated forms were possible with immunodeficiency. Their evolution under specific treatments was comparable to that of tuberculosis. The presumed origin of the infection seemed to be environmental, possibly a water reservoir, and not due to human-to-human contagion.
At Djibouti from 1998 to 2015, 20 cases of Mycobacterium canettii infections are reported, including adenitis, especially in the cervico facial area and among children, and also pulmonary forms. The presumed origin of the infection seemed to be environmental.
Indonesia has one of the largest surface expressions of ultramafic rocks on Earth and in parallel hosts one of the most species-rich floras. Despite the extensive knowledge of the botanical diversity ...and the chemistry of these substrates, until recently the records for nickel hyperaccumulator plant species in the region have been scant. Identification of native local hyperaccumulator species is the critical initial step for developing local phytomining as these species naturally match ambient bioclimatic, geochemical and physiological conditions. Prior to this research just 11 nickel hyperaccumulator plant species were known from the whole of Indonesia. This field-based investigation at Weda Bay on the Island of Halmahera in the North Maluku Province revealed the existence of 13 nickel, two cobalt, one manganese and 10 aluminium hyperaccumulator plant species. Phylogenetic affinity for nickel hyperaccumulation is diverse and spans several orders, but was most frequent in the Malpighiales, as in other ultramafic regions of Southeast Asia. In contrast to global patterns, hyperaccumulation was infrequent in the Phyllanthaceae.
•This is the first study on hyperaccumulator plants on Halmahera Island.•The field survey revealed the existence of 13 nickel hyperaccumulator species.•Two manganese hyperaccumulator plant species were discovered at Weda Bay.•Rinorea aff. bengalensis is a Ni and Co hyperaccumulator.•The highest Ni availability is in Ferralic Cambisols (Magnesic).
•34 genetic variants were used to create a risk score for bipolar disorder.•Risk scores were examined in relation to interaction effects on brain structure.•Risk scores were significantly different ...between youth BD and HC.•IL6 gene variant found to be significantly associated with youth BD.•vlPFC was identified in ROI analyses, overlapping with vertex-wise findings.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is among the most heritable psychiatric disorders, particularly in early-onset cases, owing to multiple genes of small effect. Here we examine a multi-gene risk score (MGRS), to address the gap in multi-gene research in early-onset BD.
MGRS was derived from 34 genetic variants relevant to neuropsychiatric diseases and related systemic processes. Multiple MGRS were calculated across a spectrum of inclusion p-value thresholds, based on allelic associations with BD. Youth participants (123 BD, 103 healthy control HC) of European descent were included, of which 101 participants (58 BD, 43 HC) underwent MRI T1-weighted structural neuroimaging. Hierarchical regressions examined for main effects and MGRS-by-diagnosis interaction effects on 6 regions-of-interest (ROIs). Vertex-wise analysis also examined MGRS-by-diagnosis interactions.
MGRS based on allelic association p≤0.60 was most robust, explaining 6.8% of variance (t(226)=3.46, p=.001). There was an MGRS-by-diagnosis interaction effect on ventrolateral prefrontal cortex surface area (vlPFC; β=.21, p=.0007). Higher MGRS was associated with larger vlPFC surface area in BD vs. HC. There were 8 significant clusters in vertex-wise analyses, primarily in fronto-temporal regions, including vlPFC.
Cross-sectional design, modest sample size.
There was a diagnosis-by-MGRS interaction effect on vlPFC surface area, a region involved in emotional processing, emotional regulation, and reward response. Vertex-wise analysis also identified several clusters overlapping this region. This preliminary study provides an example of an approach to imaging-genetics that is intermediate between candidate gene and genome-wide association studies, enriched for genetic variants with established relevance to neuropsychiatric diseases.
The extent of the French forces' territory in the Sahel band generates long medical evacuations. In case of many victims, to respect the golden hour rule, first-line sorting is essential. Through ...simulation situations, the aim of our study was to assess whether the use of ultrasound was useful to military doctors.
In combat-like exercise conditions, we provided trainees with a pocket-size ultrasound. Every patient for whom the trainees chose to perform ultrasound in role 1 was included. An extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (E-FAST) was performed with six basic sonographic views. We evaluated whether these reference views were obtained or not. Once obtained by the trainees, pathological views corresponding to the scenario were shown to assess whether the trainees modified their therapeutic management strategy and their priorities.
168 patients were treated by 15 different trainee doctors. Of these 168 patients, ultrasound (E-FAST or point-of-care ultrasound) was performed on 44 (26%) of them. In 51% (n=20/39) of the situations, the practitioners considered that the realisation of ultrasound had a significant impact in terms of therapeutic and evacuation priorities. More specifically, it changed therapeutic decisions in 67% of time (n=26/39) and evacuation priorities in 72% of time (n=28/39).
This original work showed that ultrasound on the battlefield was possible and useful. To confirm these results, ultrasound needs to be democratised and assessed in a real operational environment.
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