Large-scale analysis of iliopsoas muscle volumes in the UK Biobank.

Psoas muscle measurements are frequently used as markers of sarcopenia and predictors of health. Manually measured cross-sectional areas are most commonly used, but there is a lack of consistency regarding the position of the measurement and manual annotations are not practical for large population studies. We have developed a fully automated method to measure iliopsoas muscle volume (comprised of the psoas and iliacus muscles) using a convolutional neural network.

Methods for evaluating variability in human health dose-response characterization.

The Reference Dose (RfD) and Reference Concentration (RfC) are human health reference values (RfVs) representing exposure concentrations at or below which there is presumed to be little risk of adverse effects in the general human population. The 2009 National Research Council report recommended redefining RfVs as "a risk-specific dose (for example, the dose associated with a 1 in 100,000 risk of a particular end point)." Distributions representing variability in human response to environmental contaminant exposures are critical for deriving risk-specific doses.

Making an impact through research.

Julie Fitzpatrick grew up in rural Ayrshire, surrounded by dogs, cats, ponies and other animals, with aspirations of working in mixed practice. She now heads the Moredun Group in Edinburgh.

Rifaximin in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: An open-label pilot study.

Aim: Gut microbial dysbiosis is implicated in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We investigated downstream effects of gut microbiota modulation on markers of hepatic inflammation, steatosis, and hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity in patients with NASH using rifaximin therapy.

Methods: Patients with biopsy-proven NASH and elevated aminotransferase values were included in this open-label pilot study, all receiving 6 weeks rifaximin 400 mg twice daily, followed by a 6-week observation period.

A longitudinal study of patients with cirrhosis treated with L-ornithine L-aspartate, examined with magnetization transfer, diffusion-weighted imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The presence of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is associated with structural, metabolic and functional changes in the brain discernible by use of a variety of magnetic resonance (MR) techniques. The changes in patients with minimal HE are less well documented. Twenty-two patients with well-compensated cirrhosis, seven of whom had minimal HE, were examined with cerebral 3 Tesla MR techniques, including T- and T-weighted, magnetization transfer and diffusion-weighted imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy sequences.

Changes in Liver Volume in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Undergoing Antiviral Therapy.

Aim: Liver volumetric analysis has not been used to detect hepatic remodelling during antiviral therapy before. We measured liver volume (LV) changes on volumetric magnetic resonance imaging during hepatitis C antiviral therapy.

Methods: 22 biopsy-staged patients (median [range] age 45(19-65) years; 9F, 13M) with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were studied.

Increased colonic propionate reduces anticipatory reward responses in the human striatum to high-energy foods.

Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), metabolites produced through the microbial fermentation of nondigestible dietary components, have key roles in energy homeostasis. Animal research suggests that colon-derived SCFAs modulate feeding behavior via central mechanisms. In humans, increased colonic production of the SCFA propionate acutely reduces energy intake.

Integrating serological and genetic data to quantify cross-species transmission: brucellosis as a case study.

Epidemiological data are often fragmented, partial, and/or ambiguous and unable to yield the desired level of understanding of infectious disease dynamics to adequately inform control measures. Here, we show how the information contained in widely available serology data can be enhanced by integration with less common type-specific data, to improve the understanding of the transmission dynamics of complex multi-species pathogens and host communities. Using brucellosis in northern Tanzania as a case study, we developed a latent process model based on serology data obtained from the field, to reconstruct Brucella transmission dynamics.

Validation of a fast method for quantification of intra-abdominal and subcutaneous adipose tissue for large-scale human studies.

Central obesity is the hallmark of a number of non-inheritable disorders. The advent of imaging techniques such as MRI has allowed for a fast and accurate assessment of body fat content and distribution. However, image analysis continues to be one of the major obstacles to the use of MRI in large-scale studies.

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging in patients with cirrhosis: a cross-sectional study.

Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging was undertaken, at 3 Tesla field strength, employing magnetization transfer (MT) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences, in 26 patients with well-compensated cirrhosis, free of overt hepatic encephalopathy. Results were compared to those from 18 aged-matched healthy volunteers. Cerebral magnetization transfer ratios (MTR) were reduced in the frontal white matter, caudate, putamen and globus pallidus in patients with cirrhosis, compared to healthy controls, while the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) on DWI were significantly increased in the genu and body of the corpus callosum.

The impact of oligofructose on stimulation of gut hormones, appetite regulation and adiposity.

Objective: To investigate the effect of nutrient stimulation of gut hormones by oligofructose supplementation on appetite, energy intake (EI), body weight (BW) and adiposity in overweight and obese volunteers.

Methods: In a parallel, single-blind and placebo-controlled study, 22 healthy overweight and obese volunteers were randomly allocated to receive 30 g day(-1) oligofructose or cellulose for 6 weeks following a 2-week run-in. Subjective appetite and side effect scores, breath hydrogen, serum short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), plasma gut hormones, glucose and insulin concentrations, EI, BW and adiposity were quantified at baseline and post-supplementation.

Modulation of neural activation following treatment of hepatic encephalopathy.

Objective: To measure changes in psychometric state, neural activation, brain volume (BV), and cerebral metabolite concentrations during treatment of minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Methods: As proof of principle, 22 patients with well-compensated, biopsy-proven cirrhosis of differing etiology and previous minimal hepatic encephalopathy were treated with oral l-ornithine l-aspartate for 4 weeks. Baseline and 4-week clinical review, blood chemistry, and psychometric evaluation (Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score and Cognitive Drug Research Score) were performed.

Accuracy and reliability of microbubble ultrasound measurements for the non-invasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C.

Aim:   Contrast-enhanced ultrasound can be used to assess liver disease severity non-invasively by observing intra- and extrahepatic hemodynamic changes. Transit times are calculated to include intra- and extrahepatic components (hepatic vein transit time, HVTT) or the intrahepatic component (hepatic transit time, HTT), but these have not been compared directly. We aimed to compare diagnostic accuracy of HVTT and HTT in gauging the severity of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and to assess inter- and intra-observer reliability.

Quantitative trait loci associated with the immune response to a bovine respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.

Infectious disease is an important problem for animal breeders, farmers and governments worldwide. One approach to reducing disease is to breed for resistance. This linkage study used a Charolais-Holstein F2 cattle cross population (n = 501) which was genotyped for 165 microsatellite markers (covering all autosomes) to search for associations with phenotypes for Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) specific total-IgG, IgG1 and IgG2 concentrations at several time-points pre- and post-BRSV vaccination.

The missing risk: MRI and MRS phenotyping of abdominal adiposity and ectopic fat.

Individual compartments of abdominal adiposity and lipid content within the liver and muscle are differentially associated with metabolic risk factors, obesity and insulin resistance. Subjects with greater intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT) and hepatic fat than predicted by clinical indices of obesity may be at increased risk of metabolic diseases despite their "normal" size. There is a need for accurate quantification of these potentially hazardous depots and identification of novel subphenotypes that recognize individuals at potentially increased metabolic risk.

Functional cardiac MRI in preterm and term newborns.

Objective: To use cardiac MRI techniques to assess ventricular function and systemic perfusion in preterm and term newborns, to compare techniques to echocardiographic methods, and to obtain initial reference data.

Design: Observational magnetic resonance and echocardiographic imaging study.

Setting: Neonatal Unit, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, London, UK.

A comparison of single-voxel clinical in vivo hepatic 31P MR spectra acquired at 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla in health and diseased states.

With the increasing availability of human MR scanners at various field strengths, the optimal field strength for in vivo clinical MR studies of the liver has become a focus of attention. Comparison between results at 3.0 and 1.

Quantifying risk factors for human brucellosis in rural northern Tanzania.

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonosis of veterinary, public health and economic significance in most developing countries. Human brucellosis is a severely debilitating disease that requires prolonged treatment with a combination of antibiotics. The disease can result in permanent and disabling sequel, and results in considerable medical expenses in addition to loss of income due to loss of working hours.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and ultrasound for hepatic fat quantification.

Aim: The increasing prevalence of fatty liver disease requires routine assessment methods. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) is increasingly used for steatosis measurement, but due to cost, is unlikely to become a widely-used screening tool. Ultrasound is cheaper and more widely available, although subject to observer variability.

Hepatic lipid profiling in chronic hepatitis C: an in vitro and in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Background & Aims: Hepatic steatosis is an important factor in pathogenesis, progression and response to treatment in hepatitis C. We aimed to investigate differences in hepatic lipid composition in liver biopsies from patients with chronic hepatitis C using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) and to translate these findings to the in vivo clinical setting.

Methods: Two cohorts of patients with histologically defined chronic hepatitis C were studied.

Problem formulation in the environmental risk assessment for genetically modified plants.

Problem formulation is the first step in environmental risk assessment (ERA) where policy goals, scope, assessment endpoints, and methodology are distilled to an explicitly stated problem and approach for analysis. The consistency and utility of ERAs for genetically modified (GM) plants can be improved through rigorous problem formulation (PF), producing an analysis plan that describes relevant exposure scenarios and the potential consequences of these scenarios. A properly executed PF assures the relevance of ERA outcomes for decision-making.

Occurrence of lactational mastitis and medical management: a prospective cohort study in Glasgow.

Background: Lactational mastitis is a painful, debilitating condition that if inappropriately managed, may lead women to discontinue breastfeeding prematurely. The aim of this paper is to report the incidence of mastitis in the first six months postpartum in a Scottish population, its impact on breastfeeding duration and to describe the type and appropriateness of the support and management received by affected women from health professionals.

Methods: A longitudinal study of 420 breastfeeding women was undertaken in Glasgow in 2004/05.

Quantitative 3T MR imaging of the descending thoracic aorta: patients with familial hypercholesterolemia have an increased aortic plaque burden despite long-term lipid-lowering therapy.

Purpose: To compare the aortic plaque burden in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia on long-term statin treatment with that of matched control subjects.

Materials And Methods: The authors studied 11 heterozygous, nonsmoking, nondiabetic, and nonhypertensive patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (mean age, 44 years +/- 10) who had been receiving cholesterol-lowering management for a mean of 12 years +/- 5, including 8.25 years +/- 4.