Evidence for a Possibly X-Linked Trait Related to Affective Illness

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 730-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E. Vaillant ◽  
George E. Vaillant ◽  
Maren Batalden ◽  
John Orav ◽  
Diane Roston ◽  
...  

Objective: The present report attempts to replicate on the probands' brothers, a previously reported (1992) negative relationship between maternal grandfather longevity (MGFL) and affective illness in grandsons. Hitherto this finding had not been replicated. To provide further evidence that the association may be recessive and X-linked, we also examined the association between MGFL and affective illness in the probands' mothers. Finally, in order to examine why MGFL might be a predictor of affective illness, the report examines the association of the probands' affective illness and their own mortality. Method: A 60-year prospective study of men selected in 1940 and followed until the present day provided good information on depressive illness in relatives and longevity of ancestors. To overcome the uncertainty of depressive diagnoses, we assessed affective illness in the probands categorically, dimensionally, operationally and with the Lazare Personality Inventory. Results: Presence of affective illness in brothers was negatively associated with MGFL (p=0.003) but maternal affective illness was independent of MGFL. Test items suggesting emotional lability in the probands were significantly and negatively associated with MGFL. Consistent with the association of increased MGFL with low affective distress in the probands, the 70 probands showing the least evidence of affective distress before age 50 had twofold (p<0.001) lower mortality at 80 than the rest of the sample. The 31 probands manifesting the greatest affective distress manifested twofold higher mortality before age 65 (p<0.001) than the rest of the sample. Conclusion: The strong negative association of proband affective distress – and equally important – the positive association of proband mental health with MGFL and the lack of association of maternal longevity and depression with MGFL points to the possibility of a recessive X-gene or genes playing a role in depressive illness.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-16
Author(s):  
Arne Høstmark

Relative amounts of variables, such as body fatty acids, might be positively or negatively associated. The purpose of the present work was to investigate further, how such correlations might arise. One particular feature seemed to be that distributions of the variables were crucial for obtaining either positive or negative correlations, and for their strength, suggesting the name Distribution Dependent Correlations (DDC). The present work suggests that, with three positive scale variables, two of which (A, B) having very low variability relative to a third one (R), we should expect a positive association between percent A and percent B, the slope being estimated by the B/A ratio. Furthermore, we should expect a negative relationship between %R and %A (%B), in the current context. On the other hand, if A and B have high numbers and broad ranges relative to R, then %A should relate inversely to %B. Thus, ranges of A, B, and R seem to govern associations between their relative amounts, and alterations in the ranges have appreciable effects to change the associations. We suggest that evolution might utilize DDC to regulate metabolism, as suggested to occur with body fatty acids.


Author(s):  
Onome Christopher Edo ◽  
Anthony Okafor ◽  
Akhigbodemhe Emmanuel Justice

Objective – The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of corporate taxes on the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nigeria between 1983 and 2017. Methodology/Technique – This study adopts an ex-post facto research design. Secondary data was sourced from the World Bank Development Indicator, the Central Bank of Nigeria database, and the Federal Inland Revenue database. The research data was analyzed using the Error Correction Model (ECM). Findings – The coefficient of determination (R2) shows that approximately 77% of systematic changes in FDI are attributed to the combined effect of all of the explanatory variables used in this study. Specifically, the study concludes that Company Income Tax, Value Added Tax, and Custom and Excise Duties have a significant but negative relationship with FDI. In contrast, Tertiary Education Tax has a positive association with FDI. Further, Exchange Rate has a negative but significant relationship with FDI, Inflation had an insignificant but positive association with FDI, and GDP growth Rate and Trade Openness demonstrate a positive and significant association with FDI. Novelty – The findings of this study are distinguishable from previous studies, as it uncovers new evidence that higher Education Tax Rates influences FDI and emerging evidence on the effect of non-tax variables on FDI inflow. Type of Paper: Empirical. JEL Classification: E22, F21, H2, P33. Keywords: Corporate Taxes; Foreign Direct Investment; Error Correction Model; Nigeria; Non-Tax Variables. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Edo, O.C; Okafor, A; Justice, A.E. 2020. Corporate Taxes and Foreign Direct Investment: An Impact Analysis, Acc. Fin. Review 5 (2): 28 – 43. https://doi.org/10.35609/afr.2020.5.2(1)


Author(s):  
Chinwe Ifeoma Ikegwuonu ◽  
Ikenna Kingsley Uchendu ◽  
Chukwudi Ignatius Maduka

Background and Objective: Perimenopause is a physiological occurrence in women, and is characterized by endocrine and biochemical changes. During perimenopause phase, many derangements or abnormal health conditions start developing as a result of hormonal changes. These derangements in health conditions and biochemical changes lead to higher incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) occurrence with or without bone involvement. There is scarcity of information on MetS in Enugu, Southern Nigeria and there is no available data on the correlation of selected bone-related biochemicals with endocrine parameters and MetS in perimenopausal women from the region. Material and Methods: We consecutively sampled 200 apparently healthy women, and categorized them into 120 perimenopausal women (age ( Results: Calcium was predominantly high in the three criteria (p<0.05). LH and FSH showed positive correlation with FPG while E2 was negatively associated with FPG. Similarly LH showed positive association with inorganic phosphate while E2 was negatively associated with alkaline phosphatase (p<0.05). Conclusion: Perimenopausal women are at higher risk for developing osteoporosis than premenopausal women. This emphasizes the need for timely diagnosis of osteoporosis in perimenopausal women.


1986 ◽  
Vol 149 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Post ◽  
David R. Rubinow ◽  
James C. Ballenger

Few biological theories of manic-depressive illness have focused on the longitudinal course of affective dysfunction and the mechanisms underlying its often recurrent and progressive course. The authors discuss two models for the development of progressive behavioural dysfunction—behavioural sensitisation and electrophysiological kindling—as they provide clues to important clinical and biological variables relevant to sensitisation in affective illness. The role of environmental context and conditioning in mediating behavioural and biochemical aspects of this sensitisation is emphasised. The sensitisation models provide a conceptual approach to previously inexplicable clinical phenomena in the longitudinal course of affective illness and may provide a bridge between psychoanalytic/psychosocial and neurobiological formulations of manic-depressive illness.


Pain Medicine ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. e102-e113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manasi M Mittinty ◽  
Sara Kindt ◽  
Murthy N Mittinty ◽  
Sonia Bernardes ◽  
Annmarie Cano ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Dyadic coping is a process of coping within couples that is intended not only to support the patient with chronic pain but also to maintain equilibrium in the relationship. This study aims to investigate the effect of patient-perceived and spouse-reported dyadic coping on both the patient and their partner’s relationship quality and anxiety, stress, and depression over time. Methods One hundred thirty-nine couples, with one partner experiencing chronic pain, participated in this study. Spanning three measurements over six months, couples reported on their anxiety, stress, depression, relationship quality, and dyadic coping. Results Patient-perceived supportive dyadic coping was positively associated with both partners’ relationship quality but was negatively associated with spouses’ stress over time. Patient-perceived negative dyadic coping was negatively associated with both partners’ relationship quality and positively associated with patients’ depression and spouses’ depression and stress over time. Spouse-reported supportive dyadic coping showed a positive association with their own relationship quality and a negative association with spouses’ depression at baseline and patients’ depression at three-month follow-up. Spouse-reported negative dyadic coping was negatively associated with their relationship quality at baseline and positively associated with their partner’s anxiety and stress at six-month and three-month follow-up, respectively. Similar inference was observed from the findings of growth curve model. Conclusions As compared with spouse report, patient perception of dyadic coping is a better predictor of both partners’ relationship quality and psychological outcomes over time. Both partners may benefit from early psychosocial intervention to improve their dyadic coping, relationship quality, and psychological outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2068-2071
Author(s):  
Avneet Kaur ◽  
Shwetha T.S

Existing literature has explored the role of mindfulness and mind-wandering on creative processes. However, it has overlooked the diversity in the creative domains as well as the experience of the artist while accounting for their relationship. In the present study, mindfulness and mind wandering- deliberate and spontaneous were explored among performing artists, i.e. musicians, theatre artists, and dancers. The study also looked at the artists’ experience in their field. After an initial screening using a creativity tool, 66 performing artists were recruited, following which two self-report indices that assessed mind wandering and mindfulness were administered. The data collected was subjected to quantitative data analysis in SPSS. A Oneway ANOVA showed significant effect of the creative domain on mindfulness for the three groups, with a significant difference between musicians and dancers. Among the musicians, a significant negative relationship between mind wandering spontaneous and years of experience was seen. Among the dancers, there was a significant positive association between mind wandering spontaneous, mind wandering deliberate and years of experience. The current study highlighted the need to approach the study of creativity using a contextual perspective. Keywords: Creativity, Dance, Music, Theatre.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Sudta ◽  
D.M. Salcido ◽  
M.L. Forister ◽  
T. Walla ◽  
S. Villamarín-Cortez ◽  
...  

AbstractSome of the most common ecological interactions are between plants and herbivorous insects, and these relationships are central to the study of ecological specialization. We address established assumptions about the positive association between local abundance and dietary specialization using a 17-year dataset on the caterpillars of Ecuador. Our long-term data include standardized plot-based samples as well as general, regional collections, allowing for investigations across spatial scales and using different indices of abundance for 1917 morphospecies of Lepidoptera from 33 families. We find that specialists are locally more abundant than generalists, consistent with a key component of the “jack of all trades, master of none” hypothesis, which has otherwise received poor to mixed support from previous studies that have mostly involved fewer species and shorter time series. Generalists achieve greater prevalence across the landscape, and we find some evidence for geographic variation in the abundance-diet breadth relationship, in particular among elevational bands. Interspecific variation in abundance also had a negative relationship with diet breadth, with specialists having more variable abundances across species. The fact that more specialized species can be both rare and common highlights the ecological complexity of specialization.


BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathilde His ◽  
Vivian Viallon ◽  
Laure Dossus ◽  
Julie A. Schmidt ◽  
Ruth C. Travis ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Metabolomics is a promising molecular tool for identifying novel etiological pathways leading to cancer. In an earlier prospective study among pre- and postmenopausal women not using exogenous hormones, we observed a higher risk of breast cancer associated with higher blood concentrations of one metabolite (acetylcarnitine) and a lower risk associated with higher blood concentrations of seven others (arginine, asparagine, phosphatidylcholines (PCs) aa C36:3, ae C34:2, ae C36:2, ae C36:3, and ae C38:2). Methods To identify determinants of these breast cancer-related metabolites, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis to identify their lifestyle and anthropometric correlates in 2358 women, who were previously included as controls in case-control studies nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort and not using exogenous hormones at blood collection. Associations of each metabolite concentration with 42 variables were assessed using linear regression models in a discovery set of 1572 participants. Significant associations were evaluated in a validation set (n = 786). Results For the metabolites previously associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, concentrations of PCs ae C34:2, C36:2, C36:3, and C38:2 were negatively associated with adiposity and positively associated with total and saturated fat intakes. PC ae C36:2 was also negatively associated with alcohol consumption and positively associated with two scores reflecting adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Asparagine concentration was negatively associated with adiposity. Arginine and PC aa C36:3 concentrations were not associated to any of the factors examined. For the metabolite previously associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, acetylcarnitine, a positive association with age was observed. Conclusions These associations may indicate possible mechanisms underlying associations between lifestyle and anthropometric factors, and risk of breast cancer. Further research is needed to identify potential non-lifestyle correlates of the metabolites investigated.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Rakesh Mishra ◽  
Srinivas Goli ◽  
Swastika Chakravorty ◽  
Anu Rammohan

Abstract Against the backdrop of the alarming rise in Caesarean section (C-section) births in India, this study aimed to examine the association between C-section births, fertility decline and female sterilization in the country. A cross-sectional design was used to investigate the association between C-section delivery and subsequent reproductive behaviour in women in India. Data were from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4). The study sample comprised 255,726 currently married women in the age group of 15–49 years. The results showed a strong positive relationship between C-section births and female sterilization. The predicted probabilities (PP) from the multivariate regression model indicated a higher chance of female sterilization in women with C-section births (PP = 0.39, p<0.01) compared with those with non-C-section births (PP = 0.20, p<0.01). Both state-level correlation plots and Poisson regression estimates showed a strong negative relationship between C-section births and mean children ever born (CEB). Based on the results, it may be concluded that the use of C-sections and sterilization were strongly correlated in India at the time of the NFHS-4, thus together contributing to fertility decline. A strong negative association was found between the occurrence of C-sections and CEB. The increased and undesired use of C-section births and consequent female sterilization is a regressive socio-demographic process that often violates women’s rights. Fertility decline should happen through informed choice of family planning and must protect the reproductive rights of women.


Author(s):  
Subikash Mookherjee ◽  
Debasish Mondal

Aspirations for being urban in character are considered as a significant phenomenon of socio-economic development in developing countries. Urbanization, in economic sense only, means intensive economic activities by a large number of people in a relatively small plot of land, where secondary and tertiary sectors play a dominant role and where certain amenities are bound to be available for general citizens, though it doesn't seem complete without addressing the issue of nature. Though urbanization of an area is tried to be measured by some academicians through applying the method of indexing with available indicators and their data-driven weights, environmental issues are not incorporated there for any kind of factor analysis to identify their individual relative importance. This chapter intervenes at this juncture and focuses on construction of an urbanization index for some selected “town area units” belonging to some selected districts of West Bengal and run a factor analysis of it on some identified environmental factors. It observes negative relationship between QVSE and IGU, positive association between IGU and PR, and positive relation between IWDS and IGU.


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