Genotype-based dietary and physical activity advice can be delivered to young adults before unhealthy lifestyle behaviours or metabolic and physiological conditions have developed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors that influence the intention to adopt genotype-based personalised advice on diet and physical activity in young adults who perceive themselves to be a healthy weight versus those who perceive themselves to be overweight or obese. An online survey of 396 young adults (18-25 years) evaluated background factors (participant characteristics (including perception of body weight), psychological factors, belief composites) and constructs of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) related to the adoption of genotype-based personalised advice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEquity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is an established concept and is an important issue in health research. It is now recognized that measures to address EDI in research can have a positive impact on the value of health research outputs and health outcomes based on this knowledge. EDI strategies, guidelines, and education and training are now embraced by national research funders and local research organizations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Current interventions for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are primarily medication, behavioural therapy and parent training. However, research suggests dietary manipulations may provide therapeutic benefit for some. There is accumulating evidence that the gut microbiome may be atypical in ADHD, and therefore, manipulating gut bacteria in such individuals may help alleviate some of the symptoms of this condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInformal supporters (friends, family, colleagues, and community members) play a crucial role in societal-wide responses to victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse. Familial and social networks, however, report a sense of helplessness and difficulties in knowing how to respond. This mixed method systematic review examines the effectiveness, and perceived effectiveness, of training informal supporters to improve their responses to victim-survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Several underlying mechanisms potentially account for the link between sleep and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including inflammation. However, studies so far have been cross sectional. We investigate (a) the association between early childhood sleep and probable ADHD diagnosis in childhood and (b) whether childhood circulating inflammatory markers mediate these prospective associations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to significantly impact the global population, thus countermeasure platforms that enable rapid development of therapeutics against variants of SARS-CoV-2 are essential. We report use of a phage display human antibody library approach to rapidly identify neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against SARS-CoV-2. We demonstrate the binding and neutralization capability of two nAbs, STI-2020 and STI-5041, against the SARS-CoV-2 WA-1 strain as well as the Alpha and Beta variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dietary interventions have been previously explored in children with ADHD. Elimination diets and supplementation can produce beneficial behaviour changes, but little is known about the mechanisms mediating change. We propose that these interventions may work, in part, by causing changes in the gut microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study aimed to investigate associations between proximity seeking, stress and paranoia in the context of daily life, and whether these relationships are moderated by trait attachment styles.
Methods: Sixty non-clinical participants completed 3423 assessments of state stress, proximity seeking and paranoia over a 6-day period using an experience sampling method. Multilevel linear regression was performed to evaluate relationships between variables.
Manipulating gut bacteria in the microbiome, through the use of probiotics and prebiotics, has been found to have an influence on both physical and emotional wellbeing. This study uses a dietary manipulation 'The Gut Makeover' designed to elicit positive changes to the gut bacteria within the microbiome. 21 healthy participants undertook 'The Gut Makeover' for a four week period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTools that allow cost-effective screening of the susceptibility of cell lines to operating conditions which may apply during full scale processing are central to the rapid development of robust processes for cell-based therapies. In this paper, an ultra scale-down (USD) device has been developed for the characterization of the response of a human cell line to membrane-based processing, using just a small quantity of cells that is often all that is available at the early discovery stage. The cell line used to develop the measurements was a clinically relevant human fibroblast cell line.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe chromosome 15q13.3 region has been implicated in epilepsy, intellectual disability and neuropsychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia. Deficiency of the acetylcholine receptor gene CHRNA7 and the partial duplication, CHRFAM7A, may contribute to these phenotypes and we sought to comprehensively analyze these genes in genetic generalized epilepsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) can be sporadic or autosomal dominant; some families have nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit mutations. We report a novel autosomal recessive phenotype in a single family and identify the causative gene.
Methods: Whole exome sequencing data was used to map the family, thereby narrowing exome search space, and then to identify the mutation.
Our ability to differentiate between simple facial expressions of emotion develops between infancy and early adulthood, yet few studies have explored the developmental trajectory of emotion recognition using a single methodology across a wide age-range. We investigated the development of emotion recognition abilities through childhood and adolescence, testing the hypothesis that children's ability to recognize simple emotions is modulated by chronological age, pubertal stage and gender. In order to establish norms, we assessed 478 children aged 6-16 years, using the Ekman-Friesen Pictures of Facial Affect.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Chronic treatment with valproate (VPA) is commonly associated with weight gain, which potentially has important health implications, in particular increased central fat distribution. We utilized a VPA-discordant same-sex, twin and matched sibling pair study design to primarily examine for differences in fat distribution between patients with epilepsy treated with VPA compared to their matched twin or sibling control. Weight, blood pressure, and leptin levels were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Analysis of twins with epilepsy to explore the genetic architecture of specific epilepsies, to evaluate the applicability of the 2010 International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) organization of epilepsy syndromes, and to integrate molecular genetics with phenotypic analyses.
Methods: A total of 558 twin pairs suspected to have epilepsy were ascertained from twin registries (69%) or referral (31%). Casewise concordance estimates were calculated for epilepsy syndromes.
Objective: To establish the occurrence of an autosomal dominant form of vasovagal syncope (VVS) by detailed phenotyping of multiplex families and identification of the causative locus.
Methods: Patients with VVS and a family history of syncope were recruited. A standardized questionnaire was administered to all available family members and medical records were reviewed.
Purpose: Febrile seizures (FS) are the most common seizure syndrome. A strong genetic component has been well established through family and twin studies; however, such studies have not examined the genetics of different FS types (simple, complex, febrile status epilepticus) and sub-syndromes (true FS, febrile seizures plus (FS+), 'FS with later epilepsy'). Here we used a community-based twin sample to analyze genetic factors within different FS subtypes and FS syndromes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We examined whether glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) deficiency causes common idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGEs).
Methods: The IGEs are common, heritable epilepsies that usually follow complex inheritance; currently little is known about their genetic architecture. Previously considered rare, GLUT1 deficiency, due to mutations in SLC2A1, leads to failure of glucose transport across the blood-brain barrier and inadequate glucose for brain metabolism.