Investigation of the relationship between sleep-related parameters and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among youths in the Southeast of Iran.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: There are few studies and inconsistent findings on the role of sleep-related parameters in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among youths. In this study, we aim to investigate the relationship between sleep-related parameters and MetS among youths in a large sample size in Rafsanjan, a region in the southeast of Iran. METHODS: The current cross-sectional study was performed on 3,006 young adults aged 15-35, who registered for Rafsanjan Youth Cohort Study (RYCS), as part of Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS)). In fact, RCS is a branch of the prospective epidemiological research studies in Iran (PERSIAN). In the present study, we included 2,867 youths after excluding some subjects with missing information on MetS components. MetS was diagnosed based on Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria. Besides, data on sleep-related parameters were collected by self-report questionnaires. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of MetS was 7.74% among the participants. In addition, bedtime, wake time, napping, night shift work, and sleep duration per night and day had no association with the higher odds of having MetS. In contrast, long sleep duration at night was associated with the lower odds of high waist circumference (WC) (OR: 0.82,95% CI :0.67-0.99). CONCLUSION: In the present study, long sleep duration at night was associated with lower odds of central obesity. However, more longitudinal studies with the objective measurement of sleep-related parameters are needed to verify the associations reported in the current study.

Developmental competence of IVF and SCNT goat embryos is improved by inhibition of canonical WNT signaling.

The specific role of the canonical WNT/ß-catenin signaling pathway during the preimplantation development of goat remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate the expression of ß-CATENIN, one of the critical components of Wnt signaling pathway, in IVF embryos and compare it with SCNT embryos in goat. In addition, we evaluated the consequence of inhibition of ß-catenin using IWR1. Initially, we observed cytoplasmic expression of ß-CATENIN in 2 and 8-16 cell stage embryos and membranous expression of ß-CATENIN in compact morula and blastocyst stages. Furthermore, while we observed exclusively membranous localization of ß-catenin in IVF blastocysts, we observed both membranous and cytoplasmic localization in SCNT blastocysts. We observed that Inhibition of WNT signaling by IWR1 during compact morula to blastocyst transition (from day 4 till day 7 of in vitro culture) increased blastocyst formation rate in both IVF and SCNT embryos. In conclusion, it seems that WNT signaling system has functional role in the preimplantation goat embryos, and inhibition of this pathway during the period of compact morula to blastocyst transition (D4-D7) can improve preimplantation embryonic development.

Resilience and Suicidal Thoughts in Young People: Based on the Rafsanjan Youth Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a serious public health problem, and suicide attempt is defined as one of the important indicators of mental health in a society. The present study investigated the relationship between resilience and suicidal thoughts in Rafsanjani youth. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study examined 3006 young people aged 15-35 who referred to Rafsanjan Cohort Study (RCS). Connor and Davidson's questionnaire was used to measure resilience. The data, including demographic characteristics and cases related to suicide, were extracted from the computer system, which is part of the Rafsanjan Youth Cohort Program. Independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Tukey's post-hoc test, Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression model were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 3006 individuals were studied, of whom 1685 (56.1%) were women, and 1321 (43.9%) were men. The average age of the participants was 25.75±6.09 years. Men had a significantly higher average score of resilience (P<0.001) and suicidal thoughts (P=0.002) than women. In addition, the average score of suicidal thoughts in divorced and widowed people was significantly higher than single and married people (P=0.029). It was shown that older age groups had higher average resilience (P<0.001) and fewer suicidal thoughts (P=0.003), and people over 30 years had the lowest average suicidal thoughts. CONCLUSION: The results indicate an inverse and significant relationship between resilience and suicidal thoughts in both men and women. Therefore, more evaluations are necessary to investigate the factors affecting resilience and take measures to improve it among young people.

OnabotulinumtoxinA Dosing, Disease Severity, and Treatment Benefit in Patients With Cervical Dystonia: A Cohort Analysis From CD PROBE.

Introduction: The Cervical Dystonia Patient Registry for Observation of OnabotulinumtoxinA Efficacy (CD PROBE) study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00836017), a multicenter, prospective, observational registry, was designed to identify real-world practices and outcomes for patients with cervical dystonia (CD) treated with onabotulinumtoxinA (onabotA). This secondary analysis from CD PROBE aims to determine the impact of presentation subtype on onabotA utilization and CD severity. Materials and Methods: The study cohort includes those who completed all 3 treatments, 4 office visits, and had data recorded for all assessments. Patient outcomes were assessed with the Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58), Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS), and determination of CD severity. Treatment interval, dose, and adverse events (AEs) were also recorded. Data were stratified according to prior exposure to botulinum toxins (BoNTs) and analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: Torticollis was the most common presentation subtype in the study cohort (N = 350); the proportion of patients with torticollis was highest in those with severe disease. At each treatment, between 40.7 and 65.2% of those categorized as severe shifted to moderate or mild severity after treatment. Sustained improvements in CDIP-58 and TWSTRS were observed regardless of prior exposure to BoNTs. Dosing of onabotA generally increased from injection 1 to injection 3 and tended to be lower for patients naïve to BoNT. Median time interval between injections for the study cohort was 94.0 to 97.5 days. The most common AEs (dysphagia, muscular weakness) and injection intervals were similar between naïve vs. non-naïve patients; there were no serious treatment-related AEs. Conclusions: This secondary cohort analysis from CD PROBE demonstrates that three repeat treatments with onabotA at intervals consistent with labeling attenuated disease severity and neck pain, resulting in sustained improvements in physician- and patient-reported outcomes. No new safety signals were identified.

Population Genetic Inference With MIGRATE.

Many evolutionary biologists collect genetic data from natural populations and then need to investigate the relationship among these populations to compare different biogeographic hypotheses. MIGRATE, a useful tool for exploring relationships between populations and comparing hypotheses, has existed since 1998. Throughout the years, it has steadily improved in both the quality of algorithms used and in the efficiency of carrying out those calculations, thus allowing for a larger number of loci to be evaluated. This efficiency has been enhanced, as MIGRATE has been developed to perform many of its calculations concurrently when running on a computer cluster. The program is based on the coalescence theory and uses Bayesian inference to estimate posterior probability densities of all the parameters of a user-specified population model. Complex models, which include migration and colonization parameters, can be specified. These models can be evaluated using marginal likelihoods, thus allowing a user to compare the merits of different hypotheses. The three presented protocols will help novice users to develop sophisticated analysis techniques useful for their research projects. © 2019 The Authors. Basic Protocol 1: First steps with MIGRATE Basic Protocol 2: Population model specification Basic Protocol 3: Prior distribution specification Basic Protocol 4: Model selection Support Protocol 1: Installing the program MIGRATE Support Protocol 2: Installation of parallel MIGRATE.

The Role of Maternal Dietary Proteins in Development of Metabolic Syndrome in Offspring.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and obesity has been increasing. Pre-natal environment has been suggested as a factor influencing the risk of metabolic syndrome in adulthood. Both observational and experimental studies showed that maternal diet is a major modifier of the development of regulatory systems in the offspring in utero and post-natally. Both protein content and source in maternal diet influence pre- and early post-natal development. High and low protein dams' diets have detrimental effect on body weight, blood pressure191 and metabolic and intake regulatory systems in the offspring. Moreover, the role of the source of protein in a nutritionally adequate maternal diet in programming of food intake regulatory system, body weight, glucose metabolism and blood pressure in offspring is studied. However, underlying mechanisms are still elusive. The purpose of this review is to examine the current literature related to the role of proteins in maternal diets in development of characteristics of the metabolic syndrome in offspring.