Publications

Background Investigation of the environmental influences on human behavioral phenotypes is important for our understanding of the causation of psychiatric disorders. However, there are complexities associated with the assessment of environmental influences on behavior. Methods/Principal Findings We conducted a series of analyses using a prospective, longitudinal study of a nationally representative birth cohort from Finland (the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort). Participants included a total of 3,761 male and female cohort members who were living in Finland at the age of 16 years and who had complete temperament scores. Our initial analyses (Wessman et al., in press) provide evidence in support of four stable and robust temperament clusters. Using these temperament clusters, as well as independent temperament dimensions for comparison, we conducted a data-driven analysis to assess the influence of a broad set of life course measures, assessed pre-natally, in infancy, and during adolescence, on adult temperament. Results Measures of early environment, neurobehavioral development, and adolescent behavior significantly predict adult temperament, classified by both cluster membership and temperament dimensions. Specifically, our results suggest that a relatively consistent set of life course measures are associated with adult temperament profiles, including maternal education, characteristics of the family’s location and residence, adolescent academic performance, and adolescent smoking. Conclusions Our finding that a consistent set of life course measures predict temperament clusters indicate that these clusters represent distinct developmental temperament trajectories and that information about a subset of life course measures has implications for adult health outcomes.

Two biological activities of butyrate in the colon (suppression of proliferation of colonic epithelial stem cells and inflammation) correlate with inhibition of histone deacetylases. Cellular and biochemical studies of molecules similar in structure to butyrate, but different in molecular details (functional groups, chain-length, deuteration, oxidation level, fluorination, or degree of unsaturation) demonstrated that these activities were sensitive to molecular structure, and were compatible with the hypothesis that butyrate acts by binding to the Zn<sup>2+</sup> in the catalytic site of histone deacetylases. Structure-activity relationships drawn from a set of 36 compounds offer a starting point for the design of new compounds targeting the inhibition of histone deacetylases. The observation that butyrate was more potent than other short-chain fatty acids is compatible with the hypothesis that crypts evolved (at least in part), to separate stem cells at the base of crypts from butyrate produced by commensal bacteria.

This paper describes the derivation of a Knowledge-Based Potential for intermolecular interactions from the statistical information stored in the Cambridge Structural Database. We develop a statistical mechanical method that relates the occurrences of intermolecular contacts in the database to their energies. Our approach allows us to quantify (in the form of energy) the geometrical preferences of interactions. We use our method to construct energy maps for a hydrogen bond between carbonyl oxygen and amino hydrogen. Our results demonstrate high orientational selectivity of this type of hydrogen bonding.

Rationale: Dietary monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) can come from both plant and animal sources with divergent nutrient profiles that may potentially obscure the associations of total MUFAs with chronic diseases. Objective: To investigate the associations of cis -MUFA intake from plant (MUFA-P) and animal (MUFA-A) sources with total and cause-specific mortality. Methods and Results: We followed 63 412 women from the NHS (Nurses’ Health Study; 1990–2012) and 29 966 men from the HPFS (Health Professionals Follow-Up Study; 1990–2012). MUFA-Ps and MUFA-As were calculated based on data collected through validated food frequency questionnaires administered every 4 years and updated food composition databases. During 1 896 864 person-years of follow-up, 20 672 deaths occurred. Total MUFAs and MUFA-Ps were inversely associated with total mortality after adjusting for potential confounders, whereas MUFA-As were associated with higher mortality. When MUFA-Ps were modeled to isocalorically replace other macronutrients, hazard ratios (HRs, 95% CIs) of total mortality were 0.84 (0.77–0.92; P <0.001) for replacing saturated fatty acids, 5% of energy); 0.86 (0.82–0.91; P <0.001) for replacing refined carbohydrates (5% energy); 0.91 (0.85–0.97; P <0.001) for replacing trans fats (2% energy), and 0.77 (0.71–0.82; P <0.001) for replacing MUFA-As (5% energy). For isocalorically replacing MUFA-As with MUFA-Ps, HRs (95% CIs) were 0.74 (0.64–0.86; P <0.001) for cardiovascular mortality; 0.73 (0.65–0.82; P <0.001) for cancer mortality, and 0.82 (0.73–0.91; P <0.001) for mortality because of other causes. Conclusions: Higher intake of MUFA-Ps was associated with lower total mortality, and MUFA-As intake was associated with higher mortality. Significantly lower mortality risk was observed when saturated fatty acids, refined carbohydrates, or trans fats were replaced by MUFA-Ps, but not MUFA-As. These data suggest that other constituents in animal foods, such as saturated fatty acids, may confound the associations for MUFAs when they are primarily derived from animal products. More evidence is needed to elucidate the differential associations of MUFA-Ps and MUFA-As with mortality.

'Polymeric Surface Modifications' published in 'Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology'

Although recognized for half a century or more, the mechanisms linking stature and coronary artery disease and stroke (hemorrhagic/ischemic) risk remain elusive. Several theories have been proposed, although a definitive mechanism is lacking. Small‐scale, largely experimental, studies support the hypothesis that blood pressure (BP) components (systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean; SBP, DBP, PP, MBP) are physiologically linked with dynamic vascular system features and height. The aim of the current study was to test the hypothesis that adult stature is associated with a distinct BP pattern consistent with epidemiological cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes by extending experimental observations to a representative sample of the US population. The evaluated sample included 11,602 non‐Hispanic (NH) white, NH black, and Mexican American participants (6,089 male; 5,513 female) in the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) who had complete measurements of height, weight, % fat, SBP, and DBP; PP and MBP were calculated as SBP‐DBP and DBP+1/3(SBP‐DBP), respectively. Subjects taking BP medications and a history of high BP were excluded from the analyses. The analysis aim was to establish if height remains a significant BP predictor variable after controlling for age, body mass index (BMI), and % fat in multiple regression models. With 4 BP measures and 6 sex and race/ethnic groups, 24 initial regression models were created. Height was a significant (p<0.05) predictor variable in 14 of these 24 models. Combined sex‐specific models were developed for each BP measure with race/ethnicity as a covariate. Height was a significant (p<0.01) predictor in all 8 of these BP regression models; NH black subjects had higher SBP, DBP, PP, and MBP in the 8 models (p<0.05). The findings were consistent across men and women: greater height was associated with lower SBP and PP and higher DBP and MBP. Greater height in US adults is thus accompanied by a distinct BP pattern across US NH white, NH black, and Mexican American men and women. The observed height‐BP pattern is consistent with earlier small‐scale human experimental studies that provide a mechanistic basis for these effects. These findings suggest height‐associated BP effects may contribute to the greater coronary artery disease and stroke risk in people who are short relative to their tall counterparts.

We developed a methylation age predictor specific for Chinese populations but also accurate for Caucasian populations. Our findings suggest that exposure to PAHs may be associated with an adverse impact on human aging and epigenetic alterations in Chinese populations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2773.

The assembly of nanowires and nanotubes into arrays patterned on multiple length scales is critical to the realization of integrated electronic and photonic nanotechnologies. A general and efficient solution-based method for controlling organization and hierarchy of nanowire structures over large areas has been developed. Nanowires were aligned with controlled nanometer to micrometer scale pitch using the Langmuir−Blodgett technique and transferred to planar substrates in a layer-by-layer process to form parallel and crossed nanowire structures. The parallel and crossed nanowire structures were efficiently patterned into repeating arrays of controlled dimensions and pitch using photolithography to yield hierarchical structures with order defined from the nanometer through centimeter length scales. In addition, electrical transport studies show that reliable electrical contacts can be made to the hierarchical nanowire arrays prepared by this method. This solution-based process offers a flexible pathway for bottom-up assembly of virtually any nanowire material into highly integrated and hierarchically organized nanodevices needed for a broad range of functional nanosystems.