Publications by authors named "AG Jones"

Transcriptome analysis has become a central tool in evolutionary and functional genomics. However, variation among biological samples and analysis techniques can greatly influence results, potentially compromising insights into the phenomenon under study. Here, we evaluate differences in the brain transcriptome between female and male Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli).

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Aims: In many low-income countries, fasting glucose is the primary measure for monitoring glycaemic control. Many patients in these countries walk long distances to the clinic, but the impact of walking on fasting glucose in type 2 diabetes is unknown. We aimed to determine the impact of walking on fasting glucose in people with type 2 diabetes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers are studying type 2 diabetes, which happens when there is too much sugar in the blood, to see how certain substances in the body, called metabolites, are connected to it.
  • They looked at 3,000 blood samples and analyzed 911 metabolites to find out how these substances relate to blood sugar levels.
  • They discovered several metabolites that are different in people with normal blood sugar, those with prediabetes, and those with type 2 diabetes, mainly focusing on specific amino acids and fats.
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Humans display sexual dimorphism across many traits, but little is known about underlying genetic mechanisms and impacts on disease. We utilized single-cell RNA-seq of 480 lymphoblastoid cell lines to reveal that the vast majority (79%) of sex-biased genes are targets of transcription factors that display sex-biased expression. Further, we developed a two-step regression method that identified sex-biased expression quantitative trait loci (sb-eQTL) across the genome.

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Introduction: We undertook phenotypic characterization of early-onset and late-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adult black African and white European populations with recently diagnosed T2D to explore ethnic differences in the manifestation of early-onset T2D.

Research Design And Methods: Using the Uganda Diabetes Phenotype study cohort of 500 adult Ugandans and the UK StartRight study cohort of 714 white Europeans with recently diagnosed islet autoantibody-negative T2D, we compared the phenotypic characteristics of participants with early-onset T2D (diagnosed at <40 years) and late-onset T2D (diagnosed at ≥40 years).

Results: One hundred and thirty-four adult Ugandans and 113 white Europeans had early-onset T2D.

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Tropical glaciers have retreated over recent decades, but whether the magnitude of this retreat exceeds the bounds of Holocene fluctuations is unclear. We measured cosmogenic beryllium-10 and carbon-14 concentrations in recently exposed bedrock at the margin of four glaciers spanning the tropical Andes to reconstruct their past extents relative to today. Nuclide concentrations are near zero in almost all samples, suggesting that these locations were never exposed during the Holocene.

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Most genetic variants identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are suspected to be regulatory in nature, but only a small fraction colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs, variants associated with expression of a gene). Therefore, it is hypothesized but largely untested that integration of disease GWAS with context-specific eQTLs will reveal the underlying genes driving disease associations. We used colocalization and transcriptomic analyses to identify shared genetic variants and likely causal genes associated with critically ill COVID-19 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

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We investigated whether characterization of full-length GAD (f-GADA) antibody (GADA) responses could identify early insulin requirement in adult-onset diabetes. In 179 f-GADA-positive participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, we assessed associations of truncated GADA (t-GADA) positivity, f-GADA IgG subclasses, and f-GADA affinity with early insulin requirement (<5 years), type 1 diabetes genetic risk score (T1D GRS), and C-peptide. t-GADA positivity was lower in f-GADA-positive without early insulin in comparison with f-GADA-positive type 2 diabetes requiring insulin within 5 years, and T1D (75% vs.

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Aims/hypothesis: Older adults are under-represented in trials, meaning the benefits and risks of glucose-lowering agents in this age group are unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in people with type 2 diabetes aged over 70 years using causal analysis.

Methods: Hospital-linked UK primary care data (Clinical Practice Research Datalink, 2013-2020) were used to compare adverse events and effectiveness in individuals initiating SGLT2i compared with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i).

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Background: Type 2 diabetes is common in relatively lean individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. It is unclear whether phenotypic differences exist between underweight and normal-weight African patients with type 2 diabetes. This study compared specific characteristics between underweight (body mass index <18.

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Aim: We aimed to determine the performance of European prediction models in an Indian population to classify type 1 diabetes(T1D) and type 2 diabetes(T2D).

Methods: We assessed discrimination and calibration of published models of diabetes classification, using retrospective data from electronic medical records of 83309 participants aged 18-50 years living in India. Diabetes type was defined based on C-peptide measurement and early insulin requirement.

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Article Synopsis
  • Glutamine synthetase (GS), encoded by the GLUL gene, converts glutamate to glutamine and plays a crucial role in neurotransmitter production and ammonia detoxification in the brain.
  • *Variations in the GLUL gene can lead to severe developmental delays and neurological disorders in infants due to improper regulation of GS levels.
  • *Research indicates that certain genetic mutations can result in a stable but non-regulated form of GS, highlighting the need for careful control of glutamine metabolism during brain development.
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Non-typhoidal cause an estimated 1 million cases of gastroenteritis annually in the United States. These serovars use secreted protein effectors to mimic and reprogram host cellular functions. We previously discovered that the secreted effector SarA ( anti-inflammatory response activator; also known as SteE) was required for increased intracellular replication of .

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Aims/hypothesis: A precision medicine approach in type 2 diabetes could enhance targeting specific glucose-lowering therapies to individual patients most likely to benefit. We aimed to use the recently developed Bayesian causal forest (BCF) method to develop and validate an individualised treatment selection algorithm for two major type 2 diabetes drug classes, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RA).

Methods: We designed a predictive algorithm using BCF to estimate individual-level conditional average treatment effects for 12-month glycaemic outcome (HbA) between SGLT2i and GLP1-RA, based on routine clinical features of 46,394 people with type 2 diabetes in primary care in England (Clinical Practice Research Datalink; 27,319 for model development, 19,075 for hold-out validation), with additional external validation in 2252 people with type 2 diabetes from Scotland (SCI-Diabetes [Tayside & Fife]).

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Background: Research on long-term outcomes of severe childhood malnutrition is scarce. Existing evidence suggests potential associations with cardiometabolic disease and impaired cognition. We aimed to assess outcomes in adolescents who were exposed to severe childhood malnutrition compared with peers not exposed to severe childhood malnutrition.

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 To assess and correlate sleep quality and depressed mood symptoms in the late pregnancy and early postpartum periods.  In a prospective pilot observational study, participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaires at delivery, 1, and 2 months postpartum. Pearson's correlation coefficients and PROC MIXED function estimated overall correlation for repeated measures.

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Objective: With high prevalence of obesity and overlapping features between diabetes subtypes, accurately classifying youth-onset diabetes can be challenging. We aimed to develop prediction models that, using characteristics available at diabetes diagnosis, can identify youth who will retain endogenous insulin secretion at levels consistent with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Research Design And Methods: We studied 2,966 youth with diabetes in the prospective SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study (diagnosis age ≤19 years) to develop prediction models to identify participants with fasting C-peptide ≥250 pmol/L (≥0.

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Objective: With the high prevalence of pediatric obesity and overlapping features between diabetes subtypes, accurately classifying youth-onset diabetes can be challenging. We aimed to develop prediction models that, using characteristics available at diabetes diagnosis, can identify youth who will retain endogenous insulin secretion at levels consistent with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: We studied 2,966 youth with diabetes in the prospective SEARCH study (diagnosis age ≤19 years) to develop prediction models to identify participants with fasting c-peptide ≥250 pmol/L (≥0.

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Article Synopsis
  • Precision medicine is an evolving approach in healthcare that aims to enhance decision-making and health outcomes, particularly in managing diabetes, which poses serious health risks for millions globally.
  • The second international consensus report on precision diabetes medicine reviews current findings on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis across different forms of diabetes, highlighting the potential for translating research into clinical practice.
  • The report also identifies knowledge gaps and sets out key milestones for better clinical implementation, emphasizing the need for standards addressing cost-effectiveness, health equity, and accessibility in treatment options.
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Article Synopsis
  • A systematic review was conducted to explore the relationship between clinical and biological features and the effectiveness of two diabetes treatments: SGLT2-inhibitors and GLP1-receptor agonists, focusing on outcomes like glycaemic control, cardiovascular health, and kidney function.
  • Out of over 5,600 studies screened, only 101 for SGLT2-inhibitors and 75 for GLP1-receptor agonists were included, but many had methodological flaws that limited their reliability in assessing how different patients react to these treatments.
  • Findings suggest that factors like lower kidney function and reduced insulin secretion could affect treatment responses, but overall evidence is weak; further well-designed studies are needed to better understand treatment diversity and enhance
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Diagnosing type 1 diabetes in adults is difficult since type 2 diabetes is the predominant diabetes type, particularly with an older age of onset (approximately >30 years). Misclassification of type 1 diabetes in adults is therefore common and will impact both individual patient management and the reported features of clinically classified cohorts. In this article, we discuss the challenges associated with correctly identifying adult-onset type 1 diabetes and the implications of these challenges for clinical practice and research.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines genetic regulation of mRNA, proteins, and metabolites in blood samples from over 3,000 people, revealing that many genetic variants influence multiple molecular traits.* -
  • It finds that there's a strong genetic connection between gene expression and protein levels (66.6%), and shows broad connections across various tissues, highlighting the shared genetic basis for different traits.* -
  • By creating networks of known genetic variants, the research indicates that these variants are more frequently linked to gene expression rather than other molecular traits, helping to clarify the mechanisms behind genetic associations.*
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Forest fires in North America are becoming larger in area and burning with higher severity as a result of climate change and land management practices. High-severity, stand-replacement fires can inflict major changes to forest insect communities, potentially extirpating many species through altered post-fire habitat resources. We assessed forest-dwelling macrolepidopteran moth communities in mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests during the first year after the 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, USA.

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