Associations between the maternal circulating lipid profile in pregnancy and fetal imprinted gene alleles: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Imprinted genes, which are expressed in a parent of origin-specific manner, are thought to mediate the genetic priorities of each parent in pregnancy. Recently we reported that some fetal imprinted gene variants are associated with maternal glucose concentrations and blood pressures in pregnancy. We suggest that the conflict between the effects of paternal and maternal transmitted genes starts at conception and may already be evident in measures of maternal metabolism in early pregnancy, before gestational diabetes is manifest. METHODS: Lipid fractions in maternal non-fasting serum collected around week 15 of pregnancy were profiled using direct infusion mass spectrometry in a subset Discovery Cohort (n = 200) of women from the Cambridge Baby Growth Study using direct infusion mass spectrometry. Associations between 151 haplotype-tag fetal polymorphisms in 16 imprinted genes and lipids were determined using partial least squares discriminant analysis. Variable importance in projection scores were used to identify those lipid species that contribute most to the underlying variation in the lipid profile and the concentrations of these species tested for associations with fetal imprinted gene alleles using linear regression. In an internal Validation Cohort (n = 567 women from the same cohort) the lipid fraction was profiled using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested for associations with the same fetal imprinted gene variants as above, followed by meta-analysis of associations from the Discovery and Validation Cohorts. RESULTS: The most significant associations were between a monounsaturated triglyceride (44:1) and both paternally-transmitted fetal H19 rs7950932 (R = 0.14, p = 2.9 × 10- 3, n = 386) and maternally-transmitted fetal FAM99A rs7131362 (R = 0.18, p = 6.2 × 10- 3, n = 351; association with maternal-untransmitted allele R = 0.08, p = 0.07, n = 328). This same triglyceride isoform was also associated with subsequent week 28 fasting glucose concentrations (R = 0.09, p = 9.9 × 10- 3, n = 673) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (R = 0.09, p = 0.01, n = 664). CONCLUSIONS: Fetal imprinted genes may influence maternal circulating clinically relevant triglyceride concentrations early in pregnancy.

Lipidomic analyses, breast- and formula-feeding, and growth in infants.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate lipidomic differences between breast- and formula-fed infants. STUDY DESIGN: We utilized high-resolution mass-spectrometry methods to analyze 3.2 mm dried blood spot samples collected at ages 3 months (n = 241) and 12 months (n = 144) from a representative birth cohort study. Lipidomic profiles were compared between infants exclusively breast-fed, formula-fed, or mixed-fed, and related to 12-month infancy weight. Data analysis included supervised multivariate statistics (partial least squares discriminant analysis), and univariate analysis with correction for multiple testing. RESULTS: Distinct differences in 3-month lipidomic profiles were observed between exclusively breast-fed and formula-fed infants; mixed-fed infants showed intermediate profiles. Principle lipidomic characteristics of breast-fed infants were lower total phosphatidylcholines (PCs), with specifically lower short chain unsaturated PC but higher long chain polyunsaturated PC; higher cholesterol esters; and variable differences in sphingomyelins. At 12 months, lipidomic profiles were markedly different to those at 3 months, and differences between the earlier breast/formula/mixed-feeding groups were no longer evident. However, several specific lipid species, associated with breast-feeding at 3 months, also correlated with differences in 3- to 12-month weight. CONCLUSIONS: State-of-the-art dried blood spot sample lipidomic profiling demonstrated striking differences between breast-fed and formula-fed infants. Although these changes diminished with age, breast-fed lipidomic profiles at 3 months were associated with infancy weight and could potentially represent biomarkers of infant nutrition.

Multicomponent and multimodal lipsmacking in crested macaques (Macaca nigra).

Primates' communicative signals are often dynamic and composed of multiple components, sometimes belonging to different sensory modalities. Such multicomponent signals are of crucial importance in the study of communication: the addition of extra features to a signal has the potential to modulate or change the meaning and message of the specific signal. Traditionally, however, components of compound signals are studied in isolation from each other, or communicative displays are studied as static and invariant wholes. Both approaches may not allow us to assess the full function of the signals. In crested macaques (Macaca nigra), the lipsmack (a display mainly used in affiliative interactions) can be produced alone or combined with other visual and acoustic communicative features. We investigated whether the composition of the lipsmack influenced the outcome of social interaction while controlling for relationship quality. Our results show that lipsmacks composed of both visual and vocal components (i.e. multimodal signals) increased the probability of affiliative contact, and therefore have enhanced signal value. The total number of visual components involved in the display had no effect but some visual components seemed more influential than others. By analyzing lipsmacking behavior as a composite, dynamic display, we were able to reveal a level of complexity that is not apparent when looking at each component separately. The results highlight the importance of a more integrative, multimodal approach to the study of primate communication.

Janet Rogers Matthews (1944-2019).

Presents an obituary for Janet Rogers Matthews (1944-2019). Janet was a tenured psychology faculty at Creighton University before joining the Department of Psychology of Loyola University New Orleans. She remained on their faculty for 30 years, until 2014, when she became professor emerita. Janet described herself as "an APA junky." She served on the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Association (APA); the APA's Council of Representatives; and approximately 50 different boards, committees, and task forces of the association. She was a Fellow of nine divisions of APA (Divisions 1, 2, 12, 29, 31, 35, 40, 32, and 52), as well as president of Divisions 2 and 31. In addition, she served on the American Board of Assessment Psychology. She was very active in the Southwestern Psychological Association, where she also served as its president. Janet's legacy is as a mentor and teacher. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

An Unbiased Lipidomics Approach Identifies Early Second Trimester Lipids Predictive of Maternal Glycemic Traits and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between early second trimester serum lipidomic variation and maternal glycemic traits at 28 weeks and to identify predictive lipid biomarkers for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Prospective study of 817 pregnant women (discovery cohort, n = 200; validation cohort, n = 617) who provided an early second trimester serum sample and underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 28 weeks. In the discovery cohort, lipids were measured using direct infusion mass spectrometry and correlated with OGTT results. Variable importance in projection (VIP) scores were used to identify candidate lipid biomarkers. Candidate biomarkers were measured in the validation cohort using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested for associations with OGTT results and GDM status. RESULTS: Early second trimester lipidomic variation was associated with 1-h postload glucose levels but not with fasting plasma glucose levels. Of the 13 lipid species identified by VIP scores, 10 had nominally significant associations with postload glucose levels. In the validation cohort, 5 of these 10 lipids had significant associations with postload glucose levels that were independent of maternal age and BMI, i.e., TG(51.1), TG(48:1), PC(32:1), PCae(40:3), and PCae(40:4). All except the last were also associated with maternal GDM status. Together, these four lipid biomarkers had moderate ability to predict GDM (area under curve [AUC] = 0.71 ± 0.04, P = 4.85 × 10-7) and improved the prediction of GDM by age and BMI alone from AUC 0.69 to AUC 0.74. CONCLUSIONS: Specific early second trimester lipid biomarkers can predict maternal GDM status independent of maternal age and BMI, potentially enhancing risk factor-based screening.

A new interference score for the Stroop test.

A New interference calculation method for the Stroop test was developed based upon a neuropsychological model of the suppression of word reading in favor of color naming. Polynomial regression equations show a significant relationship between word reading and the New interference score that closely fits the underlying prediction of the New model, while the Golden [Stroop Color and Word Test, Stoelting Co., IL, Wood Dale, 1978] model (Old) produces only a random relationship. Constructs of developmental maturation and lateralized brain damage are supported by the New but not the Old method. The New compared to the Old method also gives a significant reduction in scores in a small sample of demented patients. It would be advisable to use this New model in both cognitive and neuropsychological comparisons of different lesions or different stimulus and response demands. The New model will also help promote finer clinical inferences when an understanding relative to the patient's own baselines is necessary.

The development and validation of a fast and robust dried blood spot based lipid profiling method to study infant metabolism.

Early life exposures and metabolic programming are associated with later disease risk. In particular lipid metabolism is thought to play a key role in the development of the metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in later life. Investigative studies of metabolic programming are limited by the ethics and practicalities of sample collection in small infants. Dried blood spots on filter paper, derived from heel pricks are considered as the most suitable option for this age group. We validated a novel lipid profiling method, based on high resolution mass spectrometry to successfully determine the lipid composition of infants using dried blood spots. The spotting and air drying of blood on paper has noticeable effects on many of the lipids, leading to lipid oxidation and hydrolysis, which demand careful interpretation of the obtained data. We compared the lipid profiles from plasma or whole blood samples and the results from dried blood spots to determine if these revealed the same inter-subject differences. The results from dried blood spots were no less reproducible than other lipid profiling methods which required comparatively larger sample volumes. Therefore, lipid profiles obtained from dried blood spots can be successfully used to monitor infancy lipid metabolism and we show significant differences in the lipid metabolism of infants at age 3 versus 12 months.

Personality assessment training: view from a licensing board.

The literature contains numerous surveys about assessment training at the level of both doctoral programs and internships. There is minimal information about how such training is assessed by state and provincial regulatory bodies. In this article, we describe the process used by one state licensing board to assess a licensure candidate's transcript, conduct an oral examination, and potentially recommend remediation when the candidate is found to be deficient in specified skills. Our focus in this article is on the application of this evaluation process to personality assessment, although we also examined other areas of practice in a comparable manner.