Development of a method for the imputation of the multi-allelic serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in the Japanese population.

Serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), a variable number of tandem repeats in the promoter region of serotonin transporter gene, is classified into short (S) and long (L) alleles. Initial case-control association studies claiming the risks of the S allele in depression and anxiety were not completely supported by recent studies. However, most studies, especially those on East Asian populations, have overlooked the complexity of 5-HTTLPR, which involves multiple different alleles with distinct functional properties.

Silencing Osa-miR827 via CRISPR/Cas9 protects rice against the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. In plants, miRNAs participate in diverse developmental processes and adaptive responses to biotic and abiotic stress. MiR827 has long been recognized to be involved in plant responses to phosphate starvation.

Diabetic foot disease carries an intrinsic high risk of mortality and other severe outcomes in type 2 diabetes: a propensity score-matched retrospective population-based study.

Background: To evaluate the association between diabetic foot disease (DFD) and the incidence of fatal and non-fatal events in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) from primary-care settings.

Methods: We built a cohort of people with a first DFD episode during 2010-2015, followed up until 2018. These subjects were 1 to 1 propensity score matched to subjects with T2DM without DFD.

Clinical characteristics and degree of cardiovascular risk factor control in patients with newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetes in Catalonia.

Introduction: Women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) face a greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and encounter challenges in managing cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF); however, limited data are available in individuals with newlydiagnosed T2DM.

Methods: This study aimed to examine differences between women and men at the onset of T2DM in terms of clinical characteristics, glycaemic status, and CVRF management. This was a retrospective cohort study including subjects with newly-diagnosed T2DM from the System for the Development of Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP) database in Catalonia (Spain).

Exploration of cell type-specific somatic mutations in schizophrenia and the impact of maternal immune activation on the somatic mutation profile in the brain.

Aim: Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe psychiatric disorder caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Although somatic mutations that occur in the brain after fertilization may play an important role in the cause of SZ, their frequencies and patterns in the brains of patients and related animal models have not been well studied. This study aimed to find somatic mutations related to the pathophysiology of SZ.

Phosphate accumulation in rice leaves promotes fungal pathogenicity and represses host immune responses during pathogen infection.

Rice is one of the most important crops in the world and a staple food for more than half of the world's population. At present, the blast disease caused by the fungus poses a severe threat to food security through reduction of rice yields worldwide. High phosphate fertilization has previously been shown to increase blast susceptibility.

Quantification of cytosine modifications in the aged mouse brain.

Quantifying cytosine modifications in various brain regions provides important insights into the gene expression regulation and pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. In this study, we quantified 5-methylcytosine (5-mC), 5-hydroxymethylation (5-hmC), and 5-formylcytosine (5-fC) levels in five brain regions (the frontal lobe, cerebral cortical region without frontal lobe, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and the cerebellum) and the heart at three developmental periods (12, 48, and 101 weeks). We observed significant regional variations in cytosine modification.

LINE-1 hypomethylation, increased retrotransposition and tumor-specific insertion in upper gastrointestinal cancer.

The long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) retrotransposons are a major family of mobile genetic elements, comprising approximately 17% of the human genome. The methylation state of LINE-1 is often used as an indicator of global DNA methylation levels and it regulates the retrotransposition and somatic insertion of the genetic element. We have previously reported the significant relationship between LINE-1 hypomethylation and poor prognosis in upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

A novel assessment, diagnostic and treatment system for diabetic foot.

Background: This report aims to present a novel system for the management of foot lesions in patients with diabetes. It was developed in the diabetic foot unit (DFU) of the Mutua de Terrassa University Hospital (HUMT) by primary care professionals, the Diabetic Foot Clinic (DFC), and during emergency cases treated by our group based on daily activities in patients with neuropathy or neuroischemia. BODY: This system considers five degrees of action based on two fixed variables: presence of infection and lesion depth.

Sex-dependent behavioral alterations in a poly(I:C)-induced maternal immune activation mouse model without segment filamentous bacteria.

Maternal immune activation is one of the environmental risk factors for offspring to develop psychiatric disorders. A synthetic viral mimetic immunogen, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)), is used to induce maternal immune activation in animal models of psychiatric disorders. In the mouse poly(I:C) model, the existence of segment filamentous bacteria (SFB) in the maternal intestine has been reported to be important for the induction of ASD-related behavioral alterations as well as atypical cortical development called cortical patches.

How ambient temperature affects mood: an ecological momentary assessment study in Switzerland.

Background: Recent research has suggested that an increase in temperature can negatively affect mental health and increase hospitalization for mental illness. It is not clear, however, what factors or mechanisms mediate this association. We aimed to (1) investigate the associations between ambient temperatures and bad daily mood, and (2) identify variables affecting the strength of these associations (modifiers) including the time, the day of the week and the year of the mood rating, socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, psychiatric disorders and the personality trait neuroticism in the community.

Identification of epigenetically active L1 promoters in the human brain and their relationship with psychiatric disorders.

Long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1, L1) affects the transcriptome landscape in multiple ways. Promoter activity within its 5'UTR plays a critical role in regulating diverse L1 activities. However, the epigenetic status of L1 promoters in adult brain cells and their relationship with psychiatric disorders remain poorly understood.

Prediction of outcomes in subjects with type 2 diabetes and diabetic foot ulcers in Catalonian primary care centers: a multicenter observational study.

Background: Diabetic foot and lower limb complications are an important cause of morbidity and mortality among persons with diabetes mellitus. Very few studies have been carried out in the primary care settings. The main objective was to assess the prognosis of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in patients from primary care centers in Catalonia, Spain, during a 12-month follow-up period.

Marker-Assisted Introgression of the Salinity Tolerance Locus Saltol in Temperate Japonica Rice.

Background: Rice is one of the most salt sensitive crops at seedling, early vegetative and reproductive stages. Varieties with salinity tolerance at seedling stage promote an efficient growth at early stages in salt affected soils, leading to healthy vegetative growth that protects crop yield. Saltol major QTL confers capacity to young rice plants growing under salt condition by maintaining a low Na/K molar ratio in the shoots.

Prevalence and risk factors of diabetic foot disease among the people with type 2 diabetes using real-world practice data from Catalonia during 2018.

Background: Our study aimed to assess the prevalence of diabetic foot disease (DFD) and its associated risk factors among subjects attending primary care centers in Catalonia (Spain).

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of data from the primary health care (SIDIAP) database. The presence of comorbidities and concomitant medication were analyzed for subjects with or without DFD.

A Method for Detection of Somatic LINE-1 Insertions at the Single-Cell Level from Postmortem Human Brain.

Long Interspersed Element-1 (LINE-1, L1) is a retrotransposon that has the ability to amplify its copy in the genome autonomously. L1Hs is a human-specific active subtype of L1 reported to amplify its copy in neural progenitor cells causing genomic mosaicism. This chapter describes a new method named NECO-seq (Novel Elements Concentrated-sequence) to identify the genomic locus of L1Hs insertions at the single-cell level.

Antipsychotics function as epigenetic age regulators in human neuroblastoma cells.

Recent epigenetic age studies suggested accelerated aging in schizophrenia. Although antipsychotics may modulate epigenetic age, direct estimation of their roles was impeded when tissues derived from patients were used for analysis. By using a cellular model, we found that antipsychotics generally worked as epigenetic age regulators in vitro.

Loss-of-function of NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION confers disease resistance in Arabidopsis by modulating hormone signaling and camalexin content.

Phosphorus is an important macronutrient required for plant growth and development. It is absorbed by the roots in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi). Under Pi limiting conditions, plants activate the Phosphate Starvation Response (PSR) system to enhance Pi acquisition.

Nationwide Analysis of the Heat- and Cold-Related Mortality Trends in Switzerland between 1969 and 2017: The Role of Population Aging.

Background: Because older adults are particularly vulnerable to nonoptimal temperatures, it is expected that the progressive population aging will amplify the health burden attributable to heat and cold due to climate change in future decades. However, limited evidence exists on the contribution of population aging on historical temperature-mortality trends.

Objectives: We aimed to ) assess trends in heat- and cold-related mortality in Switzerland between 1969 and 2017 and ) to quantify the contribution of population aging to the observed patterns.

Integrative Approach for Precise Genotyping and Transcriptomics of Salt Tolerant Introgression Rice Lines.

Rice is the most salt sensitive cereal crop and its cultivation is particularly threatened by salt stress, which is currently worsened due to climate change. This study reports the development of salt tolerant introgression lines (ILs) derived from crosses between the salt tolerant rice variety FL478, which harbors the quantitative trait (QTL), and the salt-sensitive elite cultivar OLESA. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASPar) genotyping, in combination with step-wise phenotypic selection in hydroponic culture, were used for the identification of salt-tolerant ILs.

Trends in the Degree of Control and Treatment of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in People With Type 2 Diabetes in a Primary Care Setting in Catalonia During 2007-2018.

Objective: To assess the trends in cardiovascular risk factor control and drug therapy from 2007 to 2018 in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional analysis using yearly clinical data and treatment obtained from the SIDIAP database. Patients aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of T2DM seen in primary care in Catalonia, Spain.

Phosphate-induced resistance to pathogen infection in Arabidopsis.

In nature, plants are concurrently exposed to a number of abiotic and biotic stresses. Our understanding of convergence points between responses to combined biotic/abiotic stress pathways remains, however, rudimentary. Here we show that MIR399 overexpression, loss-of-function of PHOSPHATE2 (PHO2), or treatment with high phosphate (Pi) levels is accompanied by an increase in Pi content and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Arabidopsis thaliana.