Case-control analysis of paternal age and trisomic anomalies.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether older paternal age increases the risk of fathering a pregnancy with Patau (trisomy 13), Edwards (trisomy 18), Klinefelter (XXY) or XYY syndrome. DESIGN: Case-control: cases with each of these syndromes were matched to four controls with Down syndrome from within the same congenital anomaly register and with maternal age within 6 months. SETTING: Data from 22 EUROCAT congenital anomaly registers in 12 European countries. PARTICIPANTS: Diagnoses with observed or (for terminations) predicted year of birth from 1980 to 2005, comprising live births, fetal deaths with gestational age ≥ 20 weeks and terminations after prenatal diagnosis of the anomaly. Data include 374 cases of Patau syndrome, 929 of Edwards syndrome, 295 of Klinefelter syndrome, 28 of XYY syndrome and 5627 controls with Down syndrome. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Odds ratio (OR) associated with a 10-year increase in paternal age for each anomaly was estimated using conditional logistic regression. Results were adjusted to take account of the estimated association of paternal age with Down syndrome (1.11; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.23). RESULTS: The OR for Patau syndrome was 1.10 (95% CI 0.83 to 1.45); for Edwards syndrome, 1.15 (0.96 to 1.38); for Klinefelter syndrome, 1.35 (1.02 to 1.79); and for XYY syndrome, 1.99 (0.75 to 5.26). CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant increase in the odds of Klinefelter syndrome with increasing paternal age. The larger positive associations of Klinefelter and XYY syndromes with paternal age compared with Patau and Edwards syndromes are consistent with the greater percentage of these sex chromosome anomalies being of paternal origin.

Vielä murteen ja identiteetin suhteesta

Keskustelun alku: Murre ja identiteetti / Harri Mantila // Virittäjä 3/2004

Diversidade genética de populações de andiroba no Baixo Acre

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a diversidade genética em duas populações de Carapa guianensis Aubl. (andiroba), no Estado do Acre, e comparar os parâmetros de diversidade com os observados em outras populações da espécie (no Brasil: Flona Tapajós, PA, Porto Acre, AC; e na Costa Rica). Foram avaliados 77 indivíduos adultos com sete locos polimórficos de microssatélites. Observaram-se 51 alelos nas duas populações, em que o número efetivo de alelos por loco (Âe = 3,2) foi inferior ao número médio de alelos por loco (Â = 7,3), o que indica elevado número de alelos com baixa freqüência. Os valores estimados de f não diferiram de zero, o que mostra que não ocorre endogamia nas populações. A taxa de cruzamento aparente foi alta (t a = 1,11 na população Porto Acre, e t a= 0,88 na de Rio Branco), resultado indicador de que a espécie se reproduz por alogamia. Foi observado, por meio das estimativas de Â, He (diversidade gênica) e Ne (número efetivo populacional) que as populações de andiroba, comparadas neste trabalho, tiveram padrões de diversidade semelhantes, porém, proporções de alelos raros diferentes.

Mikä kertomus on? : tieteidenvälisyyden haasteita "kertomusten" tarkastelussa

Katsaus

Suomen Akatemian rahoitusperiaatteista Pietariselle

Vastine professori Juhani Pietarisen kirjoitukseen TT -lehdessä 8/2005 Suomen Akatemian rahoitusperiaatteista otsikolla "Suomen Akatemia ja tutkijan urakehitys".

Is Internet use unhealthy? A cross-sectional study of adolescent Internet overuse.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether problematic internet use is associated with somatic complaints and whether this association remains when checking for internet activity among a random sample of adolescents living in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of 3,067 8th graders (50.3% females) divided into average (n = 2,708) and problematic (n = 359) Internet users and compared for somatic complaints (backache, overweight, headaches, musculoskeletal pain, sleep problems and sight problems) controlling for sociodemographic and internet-related variables. Logistic regressions were performed for each complaint and for all of them simultaneously controlling variables significant at the bivariate level. RESULTS: At the multivariate level, when taken separately, problematic internet users were more likely to have a chronic condition (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] with 95% CI: 1.58 [1.11:2.23]) and to report back pain (aOR: 1.46 [1.04:2.05]), overweight (aOR: 1.74 [1.03:2.93]), musculoskeletal pain (aOR: 1.36 [1.00:1.84]) and sleep problems (aOR: 2.16 [1.62:2.88]). When considered in the full model, only sleep problems remained significant (aOR: 2.03 [1.50:2.74]). CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that problematic internet users report health problems more frequently, with lack of sleep being the most strongly associated and seeming to act as mediator regarding the other ones. Clinicians should remember to screen for excessive internet use their patients complaining of sleep-related problems, back or musculoskeletal pain or overweight. Clinicians should advise parents to limit the amount of time their adolescent children can spend online for leisure activities. Furthermore, limiting the number of devices used to connect to the internet could help warrant enough sleeping time.