Hypoglycemia Prevention and User Acceptance of an Insulin Pump System with Predictive Low Glucose Management.

Background: The MiniMed 640G sensor-augmented insulin pump system (Medtronic, Inc., Northridge, CA) can automatically suspend insulin delivery in advance of predicted hypoglycemia and restart it upon recovery. The aims of this analysis were to determine the rate at which predicted hypoglycemia was avoided with this strategy, as well as to assess user acceptance of the system and its insulin management features.

Screening for sleep-disordered breathing in a bariatric population.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing frequently associated with obesity. Obese subjects undergoing elective surgical procedures with general anesthesia are potentially at risk if this condition is not identified. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of bariatric patients with undiagnosed OSA following pre-operative assessment and who could benefit from peri-procedural respiratory management.

Pleiotropy across academic subjects at the end of compulsory education.

Research has shown that genes play an important role in educational achievement. A key question is the extent to which the same genes affect different academic subjects before and after controlling for general intelligence. The present study investigated genetic and environmental influences on, and links between, the various subjects of the age-16 UK-wide standardized GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) examination results for 12,632 twins.

Developmentally dynamic genome: Evidence of genetic influences on increases and decreases in conduct problems from early childhood to adolescence.

The development of conduct problems in childhood and adolescence is associated with adverse long-term outcomes, including psychiatric morbidity. Although genes constitute a proven factor of stability in conduct problems, less is known regarding their role in conduct problems' developmental course (i.e.

ADAM8 as a drug target in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a grim prognosis with <5% survivors after 5 years. High expression levels of ADAM8, a metalloprotease disintegrin, are correlated with poor clinical outcome. We show that ADAM8 expression is associated with increased migration and invasiveness of PDAC cells caused by activation of ERK1/2 and higher MMP activities.

Dietary patterns derived with multiple methods from food diaries and breast cancer risk in the UK Dietary Cohort Consortium.

Background/objectives: In spite of several studies relating dietary patterns to breast cancer risk, evidence so far remains inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate associations of dietary patterns derived with three different methods with breast cancer risk.

Subjects/methods: The Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), principal components analyses (PCA) and reduced rank regression (RRR) were used to derive dietary patterns in a case-control study of 610 breast cancer cases and 1891 matched controls within four UK cohort studies.

The correlation between reading and mathematics ability at age twelve has a substantial genetic component.

Dissecting how genetic and environmental influences impact on learning is helpful for maximizing numeracy and literacy. Here we show, using twin and genome-wide analysis, that there is a substantial genetic component to children's ability in reading and mathematics, and estimate that around one half of the observed correlation in these traits is due to shared genetic effects (so-called Generalist Genes). Thus, our results highlight the potential role of the learning environment in contributing to differences in a child's cognitive abilities at age twelve.

Glutamate/glutamine and neuronal integrity in adults with ADHD: a proton MRS study.

There is increasing evidence that abnormalities in glutamate signalling may contribute to the pathophysiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([1H]MRS) can be used to measure glutamate, and also its metabolite glutamine, in vivo. However, few studies have investigated glutamate in the brain of adults with ADHD naive to stimulant medication.

Copy number variants and therapeutic response to antidepressant medication in major depressive disorder.

It would be beneficial to find genetic predictors of antidepressant response to help personalise treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Rare copy number variants (CNVs) have been implicated in several psychiatric disorders, including MDD, but their role in antidepressant response has yet to be investigated. CNV data were available for 1565 individuals with MDD from the NEWMEDS (Novel Methods leading to New Medications in Depression and Schizophrenia) consortium with prospective data on treatment outcome with either a serotonergic or noradrenergic antidepressant.

Aversive learning in adolescents: modulation by amygdala-prefrontal and amygdala-hippocampal connectivity and neuroticism.

Neuroticism involves a tendency for enhanced emotional and cognitive processing of negative affective stimuli and a propensity to worry and be anxious. It is known that this trait modulates fear learning and the activation of brain regions involved in it such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex and their connectivity. Thirty-nine (21 female) 14-year-old healthy adolescents participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of aversive pavlovian differential delay conditioning.

Midbrain dopamine function in schizophrenia and depression: a post-mortem and positron emission tomographic imaging study.

Elevated in vivo markers of presynaptic striatal dopamine activity have been a consistent finding in schizophrenia, and include a large effect size elevation in dopamine synthesis capacity. However, it is not known if the dopaminergic dysfunction is limited to the striatal terminals of dopamine neurons, or is also evident in the dopamine neuron cell bodies, which mostly originate in the substantia nigra. The aim of our studies was therefore to determine whether dopamine synthesis capacity is altered in the substantia nigra of people with schizophrenia, and how this relates to symptoms.

Extrasinus zygomatic implant placement in the rehabilitation of the atrophic maxilla: three-dimensional finite element stress analysis.

Placement of zygomatic implants lateral to the maxillary sinus, according to the extrasinus protocol, is one of the treatment options in the rehabilitation of severely atrophic maxilla or following maxillectomy surgery in patients with head and neck cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical behavior of a full-arch fixed prosthesis supported by 4 zygomatic implants in the atrophic maxilla under occlusal loading. Results indicated that maximum von Mises stresses were significantly higher under lateral loading compared with vertical loading within the prosthesis and its supporting implants.

Methylomic analysis of monozygotic twins discordant for autism spectrum disorder and related behavioural traits.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) defines a group of common, complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Although the aetiology of ASD has a strong genetic component, there is considerable monozygotic (MZ) twin discordance indicating a role for non-genetic factors. Because MZ twins share an identical DNA sequence, disease-discordant MZ twin pairs provide an ideal model for examining the contribution of environmentally driven epigenetic factors in disease.

Systematic meta-analyses and field synopsis of genetic association studies of violence and aggression.

A large number of candidate gene studies for aggression and violence have been conducted. Successful identification of associations between genetic markers and aggression would contribute to understanding the neurobiology of antisocial behavior and potentially provide useful tools for risk prediction and therapeutic targets for high-risk groups of patients and offenders. We systematically reviewed the literature and assessed the evidence on genetic association studies of aggression and related outcomes in order to provide a field synopsis.

Learning from the public: citizens describe the need to improve end-of-life care access, provision and recognition across Europe.

Background: Despite ageing populations and increasing cancer deaths, many European countries lack national policies regarding palliative and end-of-life care. The aim of our research was to determine public views regarding end-of-life care in the face of serious illness.

Methods: Implementation of a pan-European population-based survey with adults in England, Belgium (Flanders), Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Demand-side financing measures to increase maternal health service utilisation and improve health outcomes: a systematic review of evidence from low- and middle-income countries.

Background: In many countries financing for health services has traditionally been disbursed directly from governmental and non-governmental funding agencies to providers of services: the 'supply-side' of healthcare markets. Demand-side financing offers a supplementary model in which some funds are instead channelled through, or to, prospective users. In this review we considered evidence on five forms of demand-side financing that have been used to promote maternal health in developing countries: OBJECTIVES: The overall review objective was to assess the effects of demand-side financing interventions on maternal health service utilisation and on maternal health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.