Chronic Offending and Its Relation to Homicide in a Large, Prospective Brazilian Birth Cohort.

Background: Many studies have found that a small group of chronic offenders is responsible for the majority of crimes and tend to be particularly violent. However, there is a major lack of evidence on chronic offending in low- and middle-income countries; understanding these patterns is especially important in settings with very high levels of serious violence, such as Brazil.

Aims: To identify the extent that crime is concentrated in chronic offenders and linked to violence and homicide in a Brazilian cohort.

Gene-by-environment interactions involving maternal exposures with orofacial cleft risk in Filipinos.

Maternal exposures are known to influence the risk of isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) - a common and highly heritable birth defect with a multifactorial etiology. To identify new CL/P risk loci, we conducted a genome-wide gene-environment interaction (GEI) analysis of CL/P on a sample of 540 cases and 260 controls recruited from the Philippines, incorporating the interaction effects of genetic variants with maternal smoking and vitamin use. As GEI analyses are typically low in power and the results can be difficult to interpret, we used multiple testing frameworks to evaluate potential GEI effects: 1 degree-of-freedom (1df) GxE test, the 3df joint test, and the two-step EDGE approach.

Ritlecitinib, a JAK3 /TEC inhibitor, modulates the markers of celiac autoimmunity in alopecia areata and vitiligo patients.

Background: Celiac disease (CeD) has shown an association with autoimmune disorders including vitiligo and alopecia areata (AA). Ritlecitinib, a JAK3 and TEC kinase family inhibitor, has been approved for treatment of patients with AA and is in late-stage development for vitiligo. Ritlecitinib inhibits cytotoxic T cells, NK cells, and B cells which play a role in the pathogenesis of CeD.

Familial Oculoauriculovertebral Spectrum: A Genomic Investigation of Autosomal Dominant Inheritance.

Objective: Oculoauriculovertebral spectrum (OAVS) encompasses abnormalities on derivatives from the first and second pharyngeal arches including macrostomia, hemifacial microsomia, micrognathia, preauricular tags, ocular, and vertebral anomalies. We present genetic findings on a 3-generation family affected with macrostomia, preauricular tags and ptosis following an autosomal dominant pattern.

Design: We generated whole-genome sequencing data for the proband, affected father, and unaffected paternal grandmother followed by Sanger sequencing on 23 family members for the top candidate gene mutations.