Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution.

Waist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies for WHR adjusted for body mass index (comprising up to 77,167 participants), following up 16 loci in an additional 29 studies (comprising up to 113,636 subjects). We identified 13 new loci in or near RSPO3, VEGFA, TBX15-WARS2, NFE2L3, GRB14, DNM3-PIGC, ITPR2-SSPN, LY86, HOXC13, ADAMTS9, ZNRF3-KREMEN1, NISCH-STAB1 and CPEB4 (P = 1.9 �� 10⁻⁹ to P = 1.8 �� 10⁻⁴⁰) and the known signal at LYPLAL1. Seven of these loci exhibited marked sexual dimorphism, all with a stronger effect on WHR in women than men (P for sex difference = 1.9 �� 10⁻�� to P = 1.2 �� 10⁻&supl;��). These findings provide evidence for multiple loci that modulate body fat distribution independent of overall adiposity and reveal strong gene-by-sex interactions.

Derivation of soil-specific streaming potential electrical parameters from hydrodynamic characteristics of partially saturated soils

Water movement in unsaturated soils gives rise to measurable electrical potential differences that are related to the flow direction and volumetric fluxes, as well as to the soil properties themselves. Laboratory and field data suggest that these so-called streaming potentials may be several orders of magnitudes larger than theoretical predictions that only consider the influence of the relative permeability and electrical conductivity on the self potential (SP) data. Recent work has improved predictions somewhat by considering how the volumetric excess charge in the pore space scales with the inverse of water saturation. We present a new theoretical approach that uses the flux-averaged excess charge, not the volumetric excess charge, to predict streaming potentials. We present relationships for how this effective excess charge varies with water saturation for typical soil properties using either the water retention or the relative permeability function. We find large differences between soil types and the predictions based on the relative permeability function display the best agreement with field data. The new relationships better explain laboratory data than previous work and allow us to predict the recorded magnitudes of the streaming potentials following a rainfall event in sandy loam, whereas previous models predict values that are three orders of magnitude too small. We suggest that the strong signals in unsaturated media can be used to gain information about fluxes (including very small ones related to film flow), but also to constrain the relative permeability function, the water retention curve, and the relative electrical conductivity function.

Finiteness obstructions and Euler characteristics of categories

"Vegeu el resum a l'inici del document del fitxer adjunt."

Variation in the cytoadherence characteristics of malaria parasites: is this a true virulence factor?

The sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to the endothelial cells of brain capillaries is believed to represent one of the determining factors in the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. In vitro studies of cytoadherence provide an experimental approach to understand the mechanism of sequestration and the respective roles played by parasite and host components in this interaction. This paper critically reviews current studies on cytoadherence, with particular emphasis on the nature of the information provided by such studies and their limitations. The paper also describes how cytoadherence studies using the patient's own monocytes can provide original information on the level of receptor up-regulation in the course of malarial infection.

Automatic DVB signal analyser

El problema de controlar les emissions de televisi�� digital a tota Europa pel desenvolupament de receptors robustos i fiables ��s cada vegada m��s significant, per aix��, sorgeix la necessitat d���automatitzar el proc��s d���an��lisi i control d���aquests senyals. Aquest projecte presenta el desenvolupament software d���una aplicaci�� que vol solucionar una part d���aquest problema. L���aplicaci�� s���encarrega d���analitzar, gestionar i capturar senyals de televisi�� digital. Aquest document fa una introducci�� a la mat��ria central que ��s la televisi�� digital i la informaci�� que porten els senyals de televisi��, concretament, la que es refereix a l���est��ndard "Digital Video Broadcasting". A continuaci�� d���aquesta part, l���escrit es concentra en l���explicaci�� i descripci�� de les funcionalitats que necessita cobrir l'aplicaci��, aix�� com introduir i explicar cada etapa d���un proc��s de desenvolupament software. Finalment, es resumeixen els avantatges de la creaci�� d���aquest programa per l���automatitzaci�� de l���an��lisi de senyal digital partint d���una optimitzaci�� de recursos.

Post-traumatic mutism in children: clinical characteristics, pattern of recovery and clinicopathological correlations.

Among the numerous clinical syndromes observed after severe traumatic head injury, post-traumatic mutism is a disorder rarely reported in adults and not studied in any detail in children. We report seven children between the ages of 3 1/2 and 14 years who sustained severe head injury and developed post-traumatic mutism. We aim to give a precise clinical characterization of this disorder, discuss differential diagnosis and correlations with brain imaging and suggest its probable neurological substrate. After a coma lasting from 5 to 25 days, the seven patients who suffered from post-traumatic mutism went through a period of total absence of verbal production lasting from 5 to 94 days, associated with the recovery of non-verbal communication skills and emotional vocalization. During the first days after the recovery of speech, all patients were able to produce correct small sentences with a hypophonic and monotonous voice, moderate dysarthria, word finding difficulties but no signs of aphasia, and preserved oral comprehension. The neurological signs in the acute phase (III nerve paresis in three of seven patients, signs of autonomic dysfunctions in five of seven patients), the results of the brain imaging and the experimental animal data all suggest the involvement of mesencephalic structures as playing a key role in the aetiology of post-traumatic mutism.

Parental education and family characteristics: educational opportunities across cohorts in Italy and Spain

Drawing on data contained in the 2005 EU-SILC, this paper investigates the disparities in educational opportunities in Italy and Spain. Its main objective is to analyse the predicted probabilities of successfully completing upper-secondary and tertiary education for individuals with different parental backgrounds, and the changes in these probabilities across birth cohorts extending from 1940 to 1980. The results suggest that the disparities in tertiary education opportunities in Italy tend to increase over time. By contrast, the gap in educational opportunity in Spain shows a marked decrease across the cohorts. Moreover, by using an intuitive decomposition strategy, the paper shows that a large part of the educational gap between individuals of different backgrounds is ���composed��� of the difference in the endowment of family characteristics. Specifically, it seems that more highly educated parents are more able to endow their children with a better composition of family characteristics, which accounts for a significant proportion of the disparities in educational opportunity.

Mathematical description of bacterial traveling pulses

The Keller-Segel system has been widely proposed as a model for bacterial waves driven by chemotactic processes. Current experiments on E. coli have shown precise structure of traveling pulses. We present here an alternative mathematical description of traveling pulses at a macroscopic scale. This modeling task is complemented with numerical simulations in accordance with the experimental observations. Our model is derived from an accurate kinetic description of the mesoscopic run-and-tumble process performed by bacteria. This model can account for recent experimental observations with E. coli. Qualitative agreements include the asymmetry of the pulse and transition in the collective behaviour (clustered motion versus dispersion). In addition we can capture quantitatively the main characteristics of the pulse such as the speed and the relative size of tails. This work opens several experimental and theoretical perspectives. Coefficients at the macroscopic level are derived from considerations at the cellular scale. For instance the stiffness of the signal integration process turns out to have a strong effect on collective motion. Furthermore the bottom-up scaling allows to perform preliminary mathematical analysis and write efficient numerical schemes. This model is intended as a predictive tool for the investigation of bacterial collective motion.

Opportunities and constraints in schistosomiasis vaccine development: infection characteristics and industry realities

The notes provided in this article relate to two components of the development of vaccines against schistosomiasis: (1) The characteristics of schistosome infections (eg. features of the schistosome life cycle), and the parasite itself, that have implications for vaccination strategies; (2) The characteristics of the biopharmaceutical industry that have implications for product development. As will be seen, these two topic areas are not vastly disparate.

A UV signal of offspring condition mediates context-dependent parental favouritism.

As fitness returns during a breeding attempt are context-dependent, parents are predicted to bias their food allocation within a brood from poor towards good condition nestlings when environmental conditions deteriorate. We tested this prediction in the Alpine swift and the European starling, two migratory bird species, by modifying an ultraviolet (UV) visual signal of condition in nestlings and exploring how parents allocate food to their young as the season progresses. We show in both species that: (i) UV light reflected by the body skin of offspring positively correlates with their stature (i.e. body mass and skeletal size) and (ii) parental favouritism towards young with more UV reflective skin gradually increases as the season progresses. Early-breeding parents supplied food preferentially to UV pale (i.e. small stature) nestlings, whereas late-breeding parents favoured UV bright offspring (i.e. large stature). These results emphasize that parents use UV signals of offspring condition to adjust their feeding strategies depending on the ecological context.

Biochemical, immunological and toxicological characteristics of the crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. medellin

Characterization of the insecticidal and hemolytic activity of solubilized crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp. medellin (Btmed) was performed and compared to solubilized crystal proteins of isolates 1884 of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) and isolate PG-14 of B. thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni (Btm). In general, at acid pH values solubilization of the Bt crystalline parasporal inclusions (CPI) was lower than at alkaline pH. The larvicidal activity demonstrated by the CPI of Btmed indicated that optimal solubilization of CPI takes place at a pH value of 11.3, in Bti at pH values from 5.03 to 11.3 and in Btm at pH values from 9.05 to 11.3. Hemolytic activity against sheep red blood cells was mainly found following extraction at pH 11.3 in all Bt strains tested. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions revealed that optimal solubilization of the CPI in all Bt strains takes place at the alkaline pH values from 9.05 to 11.3. An enriched preparation of Btmed crystals was obtained, solubilized and crystal proteins were separated on a size exclusion column (Sephacryl S-200). Three main protein peaks were observed on the chromatogram. The first peak had two main proteins that migrate between 90 to 100 kDa. These proteins are apparently not common to other Bt strains isolated to date. The second and third peaks obtained from the size exclusion column yielded polypeptides of 68 and 28-30 kDa, respectively. Each peak independently, showed toxicity against 1st instar Culex quinquefasciatus larvae. Interestingly, combinations of the fractions corresponding to the 68 and 30 kDa protein showed an increased toxicity. These results suggest that the 94 kDa protein is an important component of the Btmed toxins with the highest potency to kill mosquito larvae. When crystal proteins of Bti were probed with antisera raised independently against the three main protein fractions of Btmed, the only crystal protein that showed cross reaction was the 28 kDa protein. These data suggest that Btmed could be an alternative bacterium for mosquito control programs in case mosquito larval resistance emerges to Bti toxic proteins.

Tuberculosis in HIV-negative and HIV-infected patients in a low-incidence country: clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes.

BACKGROUND: In Switzerland and other developed countries, the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases has been decreasing for decades, but HIV-infected patients and migrants remain risk groups. The aim of this study was to compare characteristics of TB in HIV-negative and HIV-infected patients diagnosed in Switzerland, and between coinfected patients enrolled and not enrolled in the national Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS). METHODS AND FINDINGS: All patients diagnosed with culture-confirmed TB in the SHCS and a random sample of culture-confirmed cases reported to the national TB registry 2000-2008 were included. Outcomes were assessed in HIV-infected patients and considered successful in case of cure or treatment completion. Ninety-three SHCS patients and 288 patients selected randomly from 4221 registered patients were analyzed. The registry sample included 10 (3.5%) coinfected patients not enrolled in the SHCS: the estimated number of HIV-infected patients not enrolled in the SHCS but reported to the registry 2000-2008 was 146 (95% CI 122-173). Coinfected patients were more likely to be from sub-Saharan Africa (51.5% versus 15.8%, P<0.0001) and to present disseminated disease (23.9% vs. 3.4%, P<0.0001) than HIV-negative patients. Coinfected patients not enrolled in the SHCS were asylum seekers or migrant workers, with lower CD4 cell counts at TB diagnosis (median CD4 count 79 cells/��L compared to 149 cells/��L among SHCS patients, P&#8202;=&#8202;0.07). There were 6 patients (60.0%) with successful outcomes compared to 82 (88.2%) patients in the SHCS (P&#8202;=&#8202;0.023). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical presentation of coinfected patients differed from HIV-negative TB patients. The number of HIV-infected patients diagnosed with TB outside the SHCS is similar to the number diagnosed within the cohort but outcomes are poorer in patients not followed up in the national cohort. Special efforts are required to address the needs of this vulnerable population.

Euler characteristics of categories and homotopy colimits

"Vegeu el resum a l'inici del document del fitxer adjunt."

Relating the permeability of quartz sands to their grain size and spectral induced polarization characteristics

Recently, Revil &amp; Florsch proposed a novel mechanistic model based on the polarization of the Stern layer relating the permeability of granular media to their spectral induced polarization (SIP) characteristics based on the formation of polarized cells around individual grains. To explore the practical validity of this model, we compare it to pertinent laboratory measurements on samples of quartz sands with a wide range of granulometric characteristics. In particular, we measure the hydraulic and SIP characteristics of all samples both in their loose, non-compacted and compacted states, which might allow for the detection of polarization processes that are independent of the grain size. We first verify the underlying grain size/permeability relationship upon which the model of Revil &amp; Florsch is based and then proceed to compare the observed and predicted permeability values for our samples by substituting the grain size characteristics by corresponding SIP parameters, notably the so-called Cole-Cole time constant. In doing so, we also asses the quantitative impact of an observed shift in the Cole-Cole time constant related to textural variations in the samples and observe that changes related to the compaction of the samples are not relevant for the corresponding permeability predictions. We find that the proposed model does indeed provide an adequate prediction of the overall trend of the observed permeability values, but underestimates their actual values by approximately one order-of-magnitude. This discrepancy in turn points to the potential importance of phenomena, which are currently not accounted for in the model and which tend to reduce the characteristic size of the prevailing polarization cells compared to the considered model, such as, for example, membrane polarization, contacts of double-layers of neighbouring grains, and incorrect estimation of the size of the polarized cells because of the irregularity of natural sand grains.