Association between metabolic syndrome and depressive symptoms in middle-aged adults: results from the Whitehall II study.

Objective: Although it is possible that the association between depression and the metabolic syndrome is a "two-way street," the metabolic syndrome as a predictor of depression has been little investigated. We examined whether the metabolic syndrome is associated with the onset of depressive symptoms in a cohort of middle-aged British civil servants.

Research Design And Methods: Analyses included 5,232 participants (41-61 years of age) from the Whitehall II prospective cohort study.

Elevated levels of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-1 receptor antagonist precede the onset of type 2 diabetes: the Whitehall II study.

Objective: Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), a natural inhibitor of interleukin-1 beta, has been shown to improve beta-cell function and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether baseline systemic levels of IL-1Ra are associated with incident type 2 diabetes during more than 10 years of follow-up.

Research Design And Methods: We measured serum IL-1Ra concentrations in a nested case-control study (181 case and 376 age-, sex-, and BMI-matched normoglycemic control subjects) within the Whitehall II cohort (U.

Association between IL6 gene variants -174G>C and -572G>C and serum IL-6 levels: interactions with social position in the Whitehall II cohort.

Objective: To examine the impact of -174G>C and -572G>C variants in the promoter region of the IL6 gene, and their interactions with social position, on interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in the Whitehall II cohort.

Methods And Results: SNPs were genotyped by TaqMan. IL-6 was measured by ELISA.

[Oral health in young adults in Germany--a comparison between women and men of the German army].

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to compare oral health in young German women and men. We paired female and male soldiers of the German armed force (Bundeswehr) on the basis of age, school qualification and origin. All participants underwent a clinical examination.

Chemical correlates of reproduction and worker policing in a myrmicine ant.

In a number of wasps, bees, and in particular ponerine ants, quantitative and qualitative variation in the profile of cuticular hydrocarbons is associated with variation in fecundity and is likely to serve for communicating the reproductive status of an individual. Here, we demonstrate that the chemical profile on the cuticle of fertile workers and queens of the myrmicine ant Temnothorax unifasciatus is different from that of non-reproductive workers. Fertility and apparently also cuticular signatures are reversible under the influence of policing by worker aggression.

SLC2A9 is a high-capacity urate transporter in humans.

Background: Serum uric acid levels in humans are influenced by diet, cellular breakdown, and renal elimination, and correlate with blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, gout, and cardiovascular disease. Recent genome-wide association scans have found common genetic variants of SLC2A9 to be associated with increased serum urate level and gout. The SLC2A9 gene encodes a facilitative glucose transporter, and it has two splice variants that are highly expressed in the proximal nephron, a key site for urate handling in the kidney.

A proteome catalog of Drosophila melanogaster: an essential resource for targeted quantitative proteomics.

Proteomic analyses are critically important for systems biology because important aspects related to the structure, function and control of biological systems are only amenable by direct protein measurements. It has become apparent that the current proteomics technologies are unlikely to allow routine, quantitative measurements of whole proteomes. We have therefore suggested and largely implemented a two-step strategy for quantitative proteome analysis.

Estimated prevalence and predictors of vitamin C deficiency within UK's low-income population.

Background: Recent case reports of scurvy indicate that vitamin C deficiency may be more prevalent that generally assumed. The Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey (2003-05) of a representative sample of the low-income/materially deprived UK population included a plasma vitamin C measurement.

Methods: Adults aged >or=19 years from all countries/regions of UK were screened to identify low-income/materially deprived households.

Cumulative exposure to high-strain and active jobs as predictors of cognitive function: the Whitehall II study.

Objectives: A high-strain job (a combination of high job demands and low job control) is expected to increase the risk of health problems, whereas an active job (high demands and high control) can be hypothesised to be associated with a greater capacity to learn. We tested associations between high-strain and active jobs and cognitive function in middle-aged men and women.

Methods: Data on 4146 British civil servants (2989 men and 1157 women) aged 35-55 years at baseline came from the Whitehall II study.

Biological and behavioural explanations of social inequalities in coronary heart disease: the Whitehall II study.

Aims/hypothesis: We determined the degree to which metabolic syndrome components, inflammation and health behaviours account for the social gradient in CHD.

Methods: A total of 5312 men, initially aged 39 to 63 years, were followed for 13.1 years for incident coronary death or non-fatal myocardial infarction according to socioeconomic position (employment grade).

Does high C-reactive protein concentration increase atherosclerosis? The Whitehall II Study.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, is associated with risk of coronary events and sub-clinical measures of atherosclerosis. Evidence in support of this link being causal would include an association robust to adjustments for confounders (multivariable standard regression analysis) and the association of CRP gene polymorphisms with atherosclerosis (Mendelian randomization analysis).

Methodology/principal Findings: We genotyped 3 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) [+1444T>C (rs1130864); +2303G>A (rs1205) and +4899T>G (rs 3093077)] in the CRP gene and assessed CRP and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a structural marker of atherosclerosis, in 4941 men and women aged 50-74 (mean 61) years (the Whitehall II Study).

Inflammation, insulin resistance, and diabetes--Mendelian randomization using CRP haplotypes points upstream.

Background: Raised C-reactive protein (CRP) is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. According to the Mendelian randomization method, the association is likely to be causal if genetic variants that affect CRP level are associated with markers of diabetes development and diabetes. Our objective was to examine the nature of the association between CRP phenotype and diabetes development using CRP haplotypes as instrumental variables.

Fish, human health and marine ecosystem health: policies in collision.

Background: Health recommendations advocating increased fish consumption need to be placed in the context of the potential collapse of global marine capture fisheries.

Methods: Literature overview.

Results: In economically developed countries, official healthy eating advice is to eat more fish, particularly that rich in omega-3 oils.

Low HDL cholesterol is a risk factor for deficit and decline in memory in midlife: the Whitehall II study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fasting serum lipids and short-term verbal memory in middle-aged adults.

Methods And Results: Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, and memory were measured twice, at mean ages 55 and 61, in 3673 male and female participants of the Whitehall II study. Short-term verbal memory was assessed using a 20-word list.

Associations of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 with cognitive symptoms of depression: 12-year follow-up of the Whitehall II study.

Background: A lack of longitudinal studies has made it difficult to establish the direction of associations between circulating concentrations of low-grade chronic inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, and cognitive symptoms of depression. The present study sought to assess whether C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 predict cognitive symptoms of depression or whether these symptoms predict inflammatory markers.

Method: In a prospective occupational cohort study of British white-collar civil servants (the Whitehall II study), serum C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and cognitive symptoms of depression were measured at baseline in 1991-1993 and at follow-up in 2002-2004, an average follow-up of 11.

[Burnout and coping in long term care units. A regional comparison in registered nurses].

The daily routine of nurses in long term care units is characterized by a variety of physical and psychological burdens. This study is dedicated to work load, burnout, health and coping of this target group. Registered nurses were surveyed in two federal states of Austria, namely in Vienna (n = 78) and Carinthia (n = 59).

Dietary patterns and 15-y risks of major coronary events, diabetes, and mortality.

Background: Few studies have examined the long-term effect of habitual diet on risks of incident diabetes, coronary heart disease, and mortality.

Objective: We analyzed the prospective relation of dietary patterns with incident chronic disease and mortality during 15 y of follow-up in the Whitehall II study.

Design: We conducted a prospective analysis (106,633 person-years at risk) among men and women (n = 7731) with a mean age of 50 y at the time of dietary assessment (127-item food-frequency questionnaire).

Decontamination efficacy of erbium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet and diode laser light on oral Candida albicans isolates of a 5-day in vitro biofilm model.

The different forms of superficial and systemic candidiasis are often associated with biofilm formation on surfaces of host tissues or medical devices. The biofilm formation of Candida spp., in general, necessitates significantly increased amounts of antifungal agents for therapy.

Damaged DNA binding protein 2 plays a role in breast cancer cell growth.

The Damaged DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2), is involved in nucleotide excision repair as well as in other biological processes in normal cells, including transcription and cell cycle regulation. Loss of DDB2 function may be related to tumor susceptibility. However, hypothesis of this study was that DDB2 could play a role in breast cancer cell growth, resulting in its well known interaction with the proliferative marker E2F1 in breast neoplasia.

Fibrillin-1 in incisional hernias: an immunohistochemical study in scar and non-scar regions of human skin and muscle fasciae.

Incisional hernias represent one of the most common complications after laparotomy. Specific pre-operative risk factors have not yet been identified. Recent studies indicate that changes in extracellular matrix components such as collagen I and collagen III may be involved in hernia development.

The association between father's social class and adult obesity is not explained by educational attainment and an unhealthy lifestyle in adulthood.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of father's social class on central and general obesity in adulthood. To test the role of educational attainment and adult health behaviours as mediators in this association.

Methods: BMI, Waist-hip-ratio, smoking status, alcohol consumption, leisure-time physical activity and dietary intake (semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire) were assessed at phase 5 (1997-1998) of the Whitehall II cohort study.

Socio-demographic influences on trends of fish consumption during later adult life in the Whitehall II study.

Our aim was to investigate how socio-demographic factors influence trends and age-related trajectories of fish consumption. We examined consumption of total, fried and recommended fish (white and oily fish, and shellfish) in the Whitehall II study over 11 years in participants aged 39-59 years at phase 3. The cohort included 8358 British civil servants who completed a FFQ at phase 3 (1991-3), phase 5 (1997-9, n 5430) and phase 7 (2002-4, n 5692).

Socioeconomic position and risk of short-term weight gain: prospective study of 14,619 middle-aged men and women.

Background: The association between socioeconomic position in middle age and risk of subsequent, short-term weight gain is unknown. We therefore assessed this association in a prospective population based cohort study in Norfolk, UK.

Methods: We analysed data on 14,619 middle-aged men and women (aged between 40-75 at baseline) with repeated objective measures of weight and height at baseline (1993-1997) and follow up (1998-2000).

CD137 ligand reverse signaling has multiple functions in human dendritic cells during an adaptive immune response.

T cell activation via dendritic cells (DC) is an important step in the adaptive immune response, which requires DC maturation, migration to lymph nodes and presentation of antigen to T cells. CD137 receptor expressed on activated T cells is a potent costimulatory molecule. Here, we investigated the functions of CD137 ligand (CD137L) in human monocyte-derived DC during an immune response.