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Complete poetry and translation, Transnational Literature May 2018
No full textComplete poetry for Transnational Literature, May 2018, in one file for ease of downloading or printing. Also includes Translation from Ruckert
Genome-wide association studies for diabetic macular edema and proliferative diabetic retinopathy
Get PDF© The Author(s). 2018 This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Abstract
Background
Diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) are sight-threatening complications of diabetes mellitus and leading causes of adult-onset blindness worldwide. Genetic risk factors for diabetic retinopathy (DR) have been described previously, but have been difficult to replicate between studies, which have often used composite phenotypes and been conducted in different populations. This study aims to identify genetic risk factors for DME and PDR as separate complications in Australians of European descent with type 2 diabetes.
Methods
Caucasian Australians with type 2 diabetes were evaluated in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to compare 270 DME cases and 176 PDR cases with 435 non-retinopathy controls. All participants were genotyped by SNP array and after data cleaning, cases were compared to controls using logistic regression adjusting for relevant covariates.
Results
The top ranked SNP for DME was rs1990145 (p = 4.10 × 10− 6, OR = 2.02 95%CI [1.50, 2.72]) on chromosome 2. The top-ranked SNP for PDR was rs918519 (p = 3.87 × 10− 6, OR = 0.35 95%CI [0.22, 0.54]) on chromosome 5. A trend towards association was also detected at two SNPs reported in the only other reported GWAS of DR in Caucasians; rs12267418 near MALRD1 (p = 0.008) in the DME cohort and rs16999051 in the diabetes gene PCSK2 (p = 0.007) in the PDR cohort.
Conclusion
This study has identified loci of interest for DME and PDR, two common ocular complications of diabetes. These findings require replication in other Caucasian cohorts with type 2 diabetes and larger cohorts will be required to identify genetic loci with statistical confidence. There is considerable overlap in the patient cohorts with each retinopathy subtype, complicating the search for genes that contribute to PDR and DME biology
Exploring Grandparents' Roles in Young Children's Lifestyle Behaviors and the Prevention of Childhood Obesity: An Australian Perspective
Get PDF© 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier, Inc. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (Feb 2018) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policy.Childhood obesity remains a significant public health issue. Because lifestyle behaviors and weight are established early and track through life stages, prevention strategies must commence in the first years of life. Traditionally, such strategies target parents or formal child care providers. Yet grandparents are increasingly providing care to grandchildren and therefore have an important role in their eating and activity behaviors, which creates a major research gap. This commentary piece, focusing on the Australian context, argues that it is imperative and timely for obesity prevention research to include investigations regarding the role of grandparents in the prevention of obesity-related behaviors in young children
Shear stress mediated scrolling of graphene oxide
Get PDF© 2018 Elsevier. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This author accepted manuscript is made available following 24 month embargo from date of publication (May 2018) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyGraphene oxide scrolls (GOS) are fabricated in high yield from a colloidal suspension of graphene oxide (GO) sheets under shear stress in a vortex fluidic device (VFD) while irradiated with a pulsed laser operating at 1064 nm and 250 mJ. This is in the absence of any other reagents with the structure of the GOS established using powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy
The association between body fat and musculoskeletal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Get PDF© The Author(s). 2018
Open Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver
(http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background
Obesity and musculoskeletal pain are strongly related, but there is emerging evidence that body fat, not body weight, may be a better indicator of risk. There is, therefore, a need to determine if body fat is associated with musculoskeletal pain as it may improve management strategies. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the association between body fat and musculoskeletal pain.
Methods
Seven electronic databases were searched from inception to 8th January 2018. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies investigating the association between measures of body fat and musculoskeletal pain were included. All included articles were assessed for methodological rigour using the Epidemiology Appraisal Instrument. Standardised mean differences (SMDs) and effect estimates were pooled for meta-analysis.
Results
A total of 10,221 citations were identified through the database searching, which after abstract and full-text review, yielded 28 unique articles. Fourteen studies were included in the meta-analyses, which found significant cross-sectional associations between total body fat mass and widespread pain (SMD 0.49, 95% CI 0.37–0.61, p < 0.001). Individuals with low-back pain and knee pain had a higher body fat percentage than asymptomatic controls (SMD 0.34, 95% CI 0.17–0.52, p < 0.001 and SMD 0.18, 95% CI 0.05–0.32, p = 0.009, respectively). Fat mass index was significantly, albeit weakly, associated with foot pain (SMD 0.05, 95% CI 0.03–0.06, p < 0.001). Longitudinal studies (n = 8) were unsuitable for meta-analysis, but were largely indicative of elevated body fat increasing the risk of incident and worsening joint pain. There was conflicting evidence for an association between body fat percentage and incident low-back pain (3 studies, follow-up 4–20 years). Increasing knee pain (1 study) and incident foot pain (2 studies) were positively associated with body fat percentage and fat mass index. The percentage of items in the EAI graded as ‘yes’ for each study ranged from 23 to 85%, indicating variable methodological quality of the included studies.
Conclusions
This systematic review and meta-analysis identified positive cross-sectional associations between increased body fat and widespread and single-site joint pain in the low-back, knee and foot. Longitudinal studies suggest elevated body fat may infer increased risk of incident and worsening joint pain, although further high-quality studies are required.TPW is funded by a Nursing and Allied Health Scholarship and Support Scheme funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and administered by Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health. JBA is currently supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Research Fellowship (ID: 1120560)
Aberrant detection of phenotypic markers in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) lymphocytes following cryopreservation
Get PDFThe cryopreservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is a routine research
laboratory process, enabling long-term storage of primary patient blood samples.
Retrospective analysis of these samples has the potential to identify markers which may
associate with prognosis and response to treatment. In order to draw valid biological
conclusions from this type of analysis, it is essential to ensure that any observed changes are directly related to the pathology of the disease rather than the preservation process itself.
Therefore, we have investigated 15 cell surface markers which are relevant to chronic
lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) on matched fresh and thawed samples to determine the effect of
cryopreservation on their detection. We found that the number of CLL cells positive for the
markers CD22, CD40, CD49d, CD54, CD69 and CXCR3 was significantly decreased following
cryopreservation. In addition, the MFI of 10 of the 15 markers significantly changed following
cryopreservation. These findings demonstrate that care must be taken when interpreting this
type of analysis on thawed samples.Funding: This research is funded by Faculty of Medicine Seeding Grant, Nursing and Health
Sciences, Flinders University, Australia and The Joan Tallis Leukemia and Lymphoma
Fellowshi
Climatic and environmental controls on stable isotopes in atmospheric water vapor near the surface observed in Changsha, China
Get PDFContinuous measurements were made of isotopic compositions in atmospheric water vapor (δv) and in atmospheric precipitation (δp) near the surface in the subtropical monsoon region (Changsha, China) from October 2014 to March 2017 to investigate the change characteristics of vapor isotopes and their interactions with precipitation isotopes. On a diurnal time scale, the δ18Ov values were more negative in the daytime and more positive at night, and the change in dv was reversed during non-rainy days; however, the δ18Ov values were more positive in the daytime and more negative at night, and the variation in dv was not significant during rainy days. On a seasonal time scale, affected by distinctive moisture sources, the vapor isotopes had obvious seasonal variations, with higher δ18Ov and dv values occurring in cold seasons than in warm seasons. There were generally consistent and significant negative linear relationships of dv with temperature and absolute humidity, but the linear relationships between δ18Ov and meteorological factors were variable on the different time scales, which was closely associated with the local weather conditions on the short time scales from diurnal to intra-seasonal and movements of air masses with distinct thermodynamic properties on seasonal and sometimes intra-seasonal time scales. Although the change trend of daily δ18Ov closely approximated that of δ18Op, δ18Op experienced significant relative enrichment compared to δ18Ov, with an average enrichment of 9.18‰. Overall, the isotopic compositions of atmospheric water vapor were in equilibrium with those of precipitation while rainfall events occurred, except for those in the cold season in 2014, and when tracing short-duration weather events, δ18Ov provided more details and information related to weather processes than δ18Op.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41571021)
and the first-class disciplines (Geography) in Hunan Normal University (Grant No. 810006)
Cultural factors influencing e-commerce usability in Saudi Arabia
Get PDF© 2018 The Authors. Published by IASE. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).E-commerce is internet based business activity, such as online retail activity.
In Saudi Arabia, e-commerce has not kept pace with the global growth of
online shopping. In order to find the reasons for low participation in ecommerce,
this study explored the influence of several cultural factors in
Saudi Arabia related to age, gender, and computer proficiency. Hypotheses
were developed for the demographic and cultural factors influencing the
adoption of e-commerce in Saudi Arabia based on the literature review. To
test the hypotheses, data were collected by means of an online questionnaire.
Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, K-means clustering,
and hypothesis testing through Chi-square tests. Three categories of online
shoppers were identified during the analysis. The study found that factors
related to age, gender, and computer proficiency influenced the adoption and
use of online shopping in the kingdom. Three kinds of online retail
participants were found: high frequency users, moderate frequency users,
and low frequency users. High frequency users were usually young people,
with a relatively higher percentage of women showing superior skill in
shopping online. Moderate users were mostly male and middle aged, and
their ICT knowledge was moderate. Low frequency male and female users
were most likely to be between the ages of 18 and 24. This study will
potentially assist professionals interested in services supported by ICT, the
wider business community, and the government in undertaking
comprehensive, effective, and sustainable solutions for the betterment of ecommerce
in Saudi Arabia
Punching above their weight: a network to understand broader determinants of increasing life expectancy
Get PDFOpen Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver
(
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise statedBackground
Life expectancy initially improves rapidly with economic development but then tails off. Yet, at any level of economic development, some countries do better, and some worse, than expected – they either punch above or below their weight. Why this is the case has been previously researched but no full explanation of the complexity of this phenomenon is available.
New research network
In order to advance understanding, the newly formed Punching Above Their Weight Research Network has developed a model to frame future research. It provides for consideration of the following influences within a country: political and institutional context and history; economic and social policies; scope for democratic participation; extent of health promoting policies affecting socio-economic inequities; gender roles and power dynamics; the extent of civil society activity and disease burdens.
Conclusion
Further research using this framework has considerable potential to advance effective policies to advance health and equity.The Rockefeller Foundation supported the Bellagio meeting at which the
Punching Above Their Weight Research Network
was formed.
Flinders University provided a capacity building grant to support the research
reported in this paper
Crowd-sourced Ontology for Photoleukocoria: Identifying Common Internet Search Terms for a Potentially Important Pediatric Ophthalmic Sign
Get PDFThis is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Purpose: Leukocoria is the most common presenting sign for pediatric eye disease
including retinoblastoma and cataract, with worse outcomes if diagnosis is delayed.
We investigated whether individuals could identify leukocoria in photographs
(photoleukocoria) and examined their subsequent Internet search behavior.
Methods: Using a web-based questionnaire, in this cross-sectional study we invited
adults aged over 18 years to view two photographs of a child with photoleukocoria,
and then search the Internet to determine a possible diagnosis and action plan. The
most commonly used search terms and websites accessed were recorded.
Results: The questionnaire was completed by 1639 individuals. Facebook advertisement
was the most effective recruitment strategy. The mean age of all respondents
was 38.95 6 14.59 years (range, 18–83), 94% were female, and 59.3% had children. An
abnormality in the images presented was identified by 1613 (98.4%) participants. The
most commonly used search terms were: ‘‘white,’’ ‘‘pupil,’’ ‘‘photo,’’ and ‘‘eye’’
reaching a variety of appropriate websites or links to print or social media articles.
Conclusions: Different words or phrases were used to describe the same observation
of photoleukocoria leading to a range of websites. Variations in the description of
observed signs and search words influenced the sites reached, information obtained,
and subsequent help-seeking intentions.
Translational Relevance: Identifying the most commonly used search terms for
photoleukocoria is an important step for search engine optimization. Being directed
to the most appropriate websites informing of the significance of photoleukocoria
and the appropriate actions to take could improve delays in diagnosis of important
pediatric eye disease such as retinoblastoma or cataract.This work was supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Postgraduate Scholarship #1114932 (SES), NHMRC Fellowships #1090129 (PGS), #1065433 (JEC), #1103329 (AWH) and NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) #1023911. SES further supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. The Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) receives Operational Infrastructure Support from the Victorian Government and NHMRC IRIIS