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PURPOSE: To investigate the predictive validity for health decline of a standard of living, a measure that combines basic necessities and consumer durables.METHOD:A nationally representative sample of those aged 55-69 years was interviewed at home in the Great Britain Retirement and Retirement Plans Survey, (1988; n=3,541). In 1994, 2,247 were re-interviewed, response rate being 70% of survivors. Relationships between socioeconomic status and health decline were investigated using polytomous logistic regression modelling. The outcomes were onset of functional limitation and mortality.RESULTS:Standard of living was an independent predictor of 6-year functional limitation onset (Odds Ratio compared to good standard of living 2.2; 95% Confidence Interval 1.3-3.8) and mortality (OR=4.6; 95% CI 2.3-8.9) in women, with age, household type, educational qualifications and social class taken into account. However, in men, weaker associations were largely accounted for by differences in education and social class (adjusted OR for functional limitation onset 1.0; 95% CI 0.5-1.9; adjusted OR for mortality 1.4; 95% CI 0.6-2.9). A combined indicator of housing tenure and property value was also an independent predictor of functional limitation onset in women.CONCLUSIONS: Poor standard of living identifies women but not men at risk of health decline who are missed by social class and educational level. Measures of current home-based material resources are a useful addition to minimum datasets for monitoring health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Food security is an issue that has come under renewed scrutiny amidst concerns that substantial yield increases in cereal crops are required to feed the world’s booming population. Wheat is of fundamental importance in this regard being one of the three most important crops for both human consumption and livestock feed; however, increase in crop yields have not kept pace with the demands of a growing world population. In order to address this issue, plant breeders require new molecular tools to help them identify genes for important agronomic traits that can be introduced into elite varieties. Studies of the genome using next-generation sequencing enable the identification of molecular markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms that may be used by breeders to identify and follow genes when breeding new varieties. The development and application of next-generation sequencing technologies has made the characterisation of SNP markers in wheat relatively cheap and straightforward. There is a growing need for the widespread dissemination of this information to plant breeders. Description CerealsDB is an online resource containing a range of genomic datasets for wheat (Triticum aestivum) that will assist plant breeders and scientists to select the most appropriate markers for marker assisted selection. CerealsDB includes a database which currently contains in excess of 100,000 putative varietal SNPs, of which several thousand have been experimentally validated. In addition, CerealsDB contains databases for DArT markers and EST sequences, and links to a draft genome sequence for the wheat variety Chinese Spring. Conclusion CerealsDB is an open access website that is rapidly becoming an invaluable resource within the wheat research and plant breeding communities.

Abstract Background Multi-center magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies present an opportunity to advance research by pooling data. However, brain measurements derived from MR-images are susceptible to differences in MR-sequence parameters. It is therefore necessary to determine whether there is an interaction between the sequence parameters and the effect of interest, and to minimise any such interaction by careful choice of acquisition parameters. As an exemplar of the issues involved in multi-center studies, we present data from a study in which we aimed to optimize a set of volumetric MRI-protocols to define a protocol giving data that are consistent and reproducible across two centers and over time. Methods Optimization was achieved based on data quality and quantitative measures, in our case using FreeSurfer and Voxel Based Morphometry approaches. Our approach consisted of a series of five comparisons. Firstly, a single-center dataset was collected, using a range of candidate pulse-sequences and parameters chosen on the basis of previous literature. Based on initial results, a number of minor changes were implemented to optimize the pulse-sequences, and a second single-center dataset was collected. FreeSurfer data quality measures were compared between datasets in order to determine the best performing sequence(s), which were taken forward to the next stage of testing. We subsequently acquired short-term and long-term two-center reproducibility data, and quantitative measures were again assessed to determine the protocol with the highest reproducibility across centers. Effects of a scanner software and hardware upgrade on the reproducibility of the protocols at one of the centers were also evaluated. Results Assessing the quality measures from the first two datasets allowed us to define artefact-free protocols, all with high image quality as assessed by FreeSurfer. Comparing the quantitative test and retest measures, we found high within-center reproducibility for all protocols, but lower between-center reproducibility for some protocols than others. The upgrade showed no important effects. Conclusions We were able to determine (for the scanners used in this study) an optimised protocol, which gave the highest within- and between-center reproducibility of those assessed, and give details of this protocol here. More generally, we discuss some of the issues raised by multi-center studies and describe a methodical approach to take towards optimization and standardization, and recommend performing this kind of procedure to other investigators.

Abstract Background Previous Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies of people with anorexia nervosa (AN) have shown differences in brain structure. This study aimed to provide preliminary extensions of this data by examining how different levels of appetitive restraint impact on brain volume. Methods Voxel based morphometry (VBM), corrected for total intracranial volume, age, BMI, years of education in 14 women with AN (8 RAN and 6 BPAN) and 21 women (HC) was performed. Correlations between brain volume and dietary restraint were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results Increased right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and reduced right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left cerebellum and right posterior cingulate volumes in AN compared to HC. RAN compared to BPAN had reduced left orbitofrontal cortex, right anterior insular cortex, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and left cerebellum. Age negatively correlated with right DLPFC volume in HC but not in AN; dietary restraint and BMI predicted 57% of variance in right DLPFC volume in AN. Conclusions In AN, brain volume differences were found in appetitive, somatosensory and top-down control brain regions. Differences in regional GMV may be linked to levels of appetitive restraint, but whether they are state or trait is unclear. Nevertheless, these discrete brain volume differences provide candidate brain regions for further structural and functional study in people with eating disorders.

Abstract Background The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans makes a developmental decision based on environmental conditions: larvae either arrest as dauer larva, or continue development into reproductive adults. There is natural variation among C. elegans lines in the sensitivity of this decision to environmental conditions; that is, there is variation in the phenotypic plasticity of dauer larva development. We hypothesised that these differences may be transcriptionally controlled in early stage larvae. We investigated this by microarray analysis of different C. elegans lines under different environmental conditions, specifically the presence and absence of dauer larva-inducing pheromone. Results There were substantial transcriptional differences between four C. elegans lines under the same environmental conditions. The expression of approximately 2,000 genes differed between genetically different lines, with each line showing a largely line-specific transcriptional profile. The expression of genes that are markers of larval moulting suggested that the lines may be developing at different rates. The expression of a total of 89 genes was putatively affected by dauer larva or non-dauer larva-inducing conditions. Among the upstream regions of these genes there was an over-representation of DAF-16-binding motifs. Conclusion Under the same environmental conditions genetically different lines of C. elegans had substantial transcriptional differences. This variation may be due to differences in the developmental rates of the lines. Different environmental conditions had a rather smaller effect on transcription. The preponderance of DAF-16-binding motifs upstream of these genes was consistent with these genes playing a key role in the decision between development into dauer or into non-dauer larvae. There was little overlap between the genes whose expression was affected by environmental conditions and previously identified loci involved in the plasticity of dauer larva development.

Abstract Background Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) is a powerful tool for genome-wide transcription studies. Unlike microarrays, it has the ability to detect novel forms of RNA such as alternatively spliced and antisense transcripts, without the need for prior knowledge of their existence. One limitation of using SAGE on an organism with a complex genome and lacking detailed sequence information, such as the hexaploid bread wheat Triticum aestivum, is accurate annotation of the tags generated. Without accurate annotation it is impossible to fully understand the dynamic processes involved in such complex polyploid organisms. Hence we have developed and utilised novel procedures to characterise, in detail, SAGE tags generated from the whole grain transcriptome of hexaploid wheat. Results Examination of 71,930 Long SAGE tags generated from six libraries derived from two wheat genotypes grown under two different conditions suggested that SAGE is a reliable and reproducible technique for use in studying the hexaploid wheat transcriptome. However, our results also showed that in poorly annotated and/or poorly sequenced genomes, such as hexaploid wheat, considerably more information can be extracted from SAGE data by carrying out a systematic analysis of both perfect and "fuzzy" (partially matched) tags. This detailed analysis of the SAGE data shows first that while there is evidence of alternative polyadenylation this appears to occur exclusively within the 3' untranslated regions. Secondly, we found no strong evidence for widespread alternative splicing in the developing wheat grain transcriptome. However, analysis of our SAGE data shows that antisense transcripts are probably widespread within the transcriptome and appear to be derived from numerous locations within the genome. Examination of antisense transcripts showing sequence similarity to the Puroindoline a and Puroindoline b genes suggests that such antisense transcripts might have a role in the regulation of gene expression. Conclusion Our results indicate that the detailed analysis of transcriptome data, such as SAGE tags, is essential to understand fully the factors that regulate gene expression and that such analysis of the wheat grain transcriptome reveals that antisense transcripts maybe widespread and hence probably play a significant role in the regulation of gene expression during grain development.

Abstract Background The nematode Strongyloides ratti has two adult phases in its lifecycle: one obligate, female and parasitic and one facultative, dioecious and free-living. The molecular control of the development of this free-living generation remains to be elucidated. Results We have constructed an S. ratti cDNA microarray and used it to interrogate changes in gene expression during the free-living phase of the S. ratti life-cycle. We have found very extensive differences in gene expression between first-stage larvae (L1) passed in faeces and infective L3s preparing to infect hosts. In L1 stages there was comparatively greater expression of genes involved in growth. We have also compared gene expression in L2 stages destined to develop directly into infective L3s with those destined to develop indirectly into free-living adults. This revealed relatively small differences in gene expression. We find little evidence for the conservation of transcription profiles between S. ratti and S. stercoralis or C. elegans. Conclusion This is the first multi-gene study of gene expression in S. ratti. This has shown that robust data can be generated, with consistent measures of expression within computationally determined clusters and contigs. We find inconsistencies between EST representation data and microarray hybridization data in the identification of genes with stage-specific expression and highly expressed genes. Many of the genes whose expression is significantly different between L1 and iL3s stages are unknown beyond alignments to predicted genes. This highlights the forthcoming challenge in actually determining the role of these genes in the life of S. ratti.