Publications

We outline the design of a recommendation system (MyPYTHIA) implemented as a Web portal. MyPYTHIA's design objectives include evaluating the quality and performance of scientific software on Grid platforms, creating knowledge about which software and computational services should be selected for solving particular problems, selecting parameters of software (or of computational services) based on user‐specified computational objectives, providing access to performance data and knowledge bases over the Web and enabling recommendations for targeted application domains. MyPYTHIA uses a combination of statistical analysis, pattern extraction techniques and a database of software performance to map feature‐based representations of problem instances to appropriate software. MyPYTHIA's open architecture allows the user to customize it for conducting individual case studies. We describe the architecture as well as several scientific domains of knowledge enabled by such case studies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction: Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) in European populations. Evidence is limited from U.S. populations, for specific UPF subgroups, and in the diet quality context. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that U.S. women with higher UPF intake have higher CVD risk and evaluated this association by UPF subgroup and diet quality. Methods: Women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; n=75,639; 30-55y) and NHSII (n=90,770; 25-42y) with complete dietary intake data and without CVD/cancer at baseline were prospectively followed (1984-2014 and 1991-2015). Diet, demographics, lifestyle, and medical history were assessed every 2-4y using validated food frequency questionnaires and follow-up questionnaires. NOVA-classified UPF (% of energy) included ten subgroups: bread and cereals; sauces, spreads, and condiments; sweet snacks and desserts; savory snacks; sugar-sweetened beverages; animal-based products; ready-to-eat/heat dishes; yogurt and dairy desserts; hard liquors, and artificially sweetened beverages. The Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) measured diet quality. Primary outcomes were non-fatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease (CHD), and non-fatal/fatal stroke. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression estimated the associations of cumulatively-averaged UPF and subgroup intake quintiles with CVD risk. Each cohort was analyzed separately, and data were meta-analyzed (fixed effects models). Results: We identified 7,659 CVD cases (CHD=3,889; stroke=3,855) in NHS during 2,002,986 person-years of follow-up, and 1,588 CVD cases (CHD=807; stroke=786) in NHSII during 2,308,569 person-years. Pooled multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios [HRs (95%CIs)] of CVD, CHD, and stroke for the highest quintile of UPF intake ( vs. lowest) were 1.11 (1.04, 1.19; p-trend =0.002), 1.18 (1.08, 1.30; p-trend <0.001), and 1.05 (0.95, 1.15; p-trend =0.37), respectively. Positive associations remained for participants with higher diet quality (AHEI above the sample median): CVD [HR=1.15 (1.05, 1.25; p-trend =0.009)] and CHD [HR=1.24 (1.09, 1.41; p-trend =0.007)]. Values of I 2 were non-significant. For UPF subgroups, intake for the highest quintile of sugar-sweetened beverages and animal-based products was significantly associated with higher risk of CVD, CHD, and stroke. Significant inverse associations were noted for bread and cereals and yogurt and dairy dessert with CVD, CHD, and stroke, for savory snacks with CHD, and for ready-to-eat/heat dishes with stroke. Conclusion: U.S. women with long-term higher total UPF intake had a higher CHD risk, even with a high-quality diet. Sugary drinks and animal-based products were predominant for CVD risk. Some UPF subgroups may contain beneficial components, warranting more nuanced food subgroup analyses. Replication is needed in racially/ethnically-diverse populations.

Preeclampsia, a new-onset hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, is associated with lifetime cardiovascular disease risk, but less is known about risk after other pregnancy-related hypertension.The Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 included all expected births from 1 year (N=12 055 women). Blood pressure measurements and other prospective data were determined from prenatal care records and questionnaires for 10 314 women. Subsequent diagnoses were ascertained from Finnish registries (average follow-up, 39.4 years). Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) estimate risks in hypertensive women compared with normotensive women. Hypertension during pregnancy was associated with increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease and arterial hypertension. Women with chronic hypertension and superimposed preeclampsia/eclampsia had high risk for future diseases. Gestational hypertension was associated with increased risk of ischemic heart disease (HR, 1.44 [95% CI, 1.24-1.68]), myocardial infarcts (HR, 1.75 [95% CI, 1.40-2.19]), myocardial infarct death (HR, 3.00 [95% CI, 1.98-4.55]), heart failure (HR, 1.78 [95% CI, 1.43-2.21]), ischemic stroke (HR, 1.59 [95% CI, 1.24-2.04]), kidney disease (HR, 1.91 [95% CI, 1.18-3.09]), and diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.21-1.89]). Isolated systolic hypertension was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarct death (HR, 2.15 [95% CI, 1.35-3.41]), heart failure (HR, 1.43 [95% CI, 1.13-1.82]), and diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.42 [95% CI, 1.13-1.78]), whereas isolated diastolic hypertension was associated with increased risk of ischemic heart disease (HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.05-1.50]). Results were similar in nonsmoking women aged <35 years with normal weight and no diabetes mellitus during pregnancy.Elevated blood pressure during pregnancy, regardless of type and even without known risk factors, signals high risk of later cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus. Clinical monitoring, risk factor evaluation, and early intervention could benefit women with hypertension in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess whether exposure to risk factors in early life from conception to puberty continue to contribute to lung function decline later in life by using a pooled cohort comprising approx. 11,000 adults followed for more than 20 years and with up to three lung function measurements. METHODS: Participants (20-68 years) in the ECRHS and NFBC1966 cohort studies followed in the periods 1991-2013 and 1997-2013, respectively, were included. Mean annual decline in maximum forced expired volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) were main outcomes. Associations between early life risk factors and change in lung function were estimated using mixed effects linear models adjusted for sex, age, FEV1, FVC and height at baseline, accounting for personal smoking. FINDINGS: Decline in lung function was accelerated in participants with mothers that smoked during pregnancy (FEV1 2.3 ml/year; 95% CI: 0.7, 3.8) (FVC 2.2 ml/year; 0.2, 4.2), with asthmatic mothers (FEV1 2.6 ml/year; 0.9, 4.4) (FEV1/FVC 0.04 per year; 0.04, 0.7) and asthmatic fathers (FVC 2.7 ml/year; 0.5, 5.0), and in women with early menarche (FVC 2.4 ml/year; 0.4, 4.4). Personal smoking of 10 pack-years contributed to a decline of 2.1 ml/year for FEV1 (1.8, 2.4) and 1.7 ml/year for FVC (1.3, 2.1). Severe respiratory infections in early childhood were associated with accelerated decline among ever-smokers. No effect-modification by personal smoking, asthma symptoms, sex or cohort was found. INTERPRETATION: Mothers' smoking during pregnancy, parental asthma and early menarche may contribute to a decline of FEV1 and FVC later in life comparable to smoking 10 pack-years. FUNDING: European Union's Horizon 2020; Research Council of Norway; Academy of Finland; University Hospital Oulu; European Regional Development Fund; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation; Generalitat de Catalunya.

Enhanced synthetic control of the morphology, crystal structure, and composition of nanostructures can drive advances in nanoscale devices. Axial and radial semiconductor nanowires are examples of nanostructures with one and two structural degrees of freedom, respectively, and their synthetically tuned and modulated properties have led to advances in nanotransistor, nanophotonic, and thermoelectric devices. Similarly, developing methods that allow for synthetic control of greater than two degrees of freedom could enable new opportunities for functional nanostructures. Here we demonstrate the first regioselective nanowire shell synthesis in studies of Ge and Si growth on faceted Si nanowire surfaces. The selectively deposited Ge is crystalline, and its facet position can be synthetically controlled in situ. We use this synthesis to prepare electrically addressable nanocavities into which solution soluble species such as Au nanoparticles can be incorporated. The method furnishes multicomponent nanostructures with unique photonic properties and presents a more sophisticated nanodevice platform for future applications in catalysis and photodetection.

Women with the highest number of PTSD symptoms had a nearly 2-fold increased risk of T2D over follow-up than women with no trauma exposure. Health professionals treating women with PTSD should be aware that these patients are at risk of increased body mass index and T2D. Comprehensive PTSD treatment should be expanded to address the health behaviors that contribute to obesity and chronic disease in affected populations.