Comments on “Vitamin Pharmacogenomics:New Insight into Individual Differences in Diseases and Drug Responses”

<正>Dear Editor,I would like to offer some comments on the excellent article by Hai-Yan He and colleagues published in Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics on 1st April 2017[1].The authors include,in the list of genetic polymorphisms that have an effect on vitamins,the low concentrations of cellular and plasma vitamin B12in GG carriers of SNP rs602662(772 GA)in the gene encoding fucosyltransferase 2(FUT2).     

Differences in Breast Cancer Survival between Public and Private Care in New Zealand: Which Factors Contribute?

BackgroundPatients who received private health care appear to have better survival from breast cancer compared to those who received public care. This study investigated if this applied to New Zealand women and identified factors that could explain such disparities.MethodsThis study involved all women who were diagnosed with primary breast cancer in two health regions in New Zealand, covering about 40% of the national population, between June 2000 and May 2013. Patients who received public care for primary treatment, mostly surgical treatment, were compared with those who received private care in terms of demographics, mode of presentation, disease factors, comorbidity index and treatment factors. Cox regression modelling was performed with stepwise adjustments, and hazards of breast cancer specific mortality associated with the type of health care received was assessed.ResultsOf the 14,468 patients, 8,916 (61.6%) received public care. Compared to patients treated in private care facilities, they were older, more likely to be Māori, Pacifika or Asian and to reside in deprived neighbourhoods and rural areas, and less likely to be diagnosed with early staged cancer and to receive timely cancer treatments. They had a higher risk of mortality from breast cancer (hazard ratio: 1.95; 95% CI: 1.75, 2.17), of which 80% (95% CI: 63%, 100%) was explained by baseline differences, particularly related to ethnicity, stage at diagnosis and type of loco-regional therapy. After controlling for these demographic, disease and treatment factors, the risk of mortality was still 14% higher in the public sector patients.ConclusionsEthnicity, stage at diagnosis and type of loco-regional therapy were the three key contributors to survival disparities between patients treated in public and private health care facilities in New Zealand. The findings underscore the need for more efforts to improve the quality, timeliness and equitability of public cancer care services.     

Special Issue on “Biomarkers for Human Diseases and Translational Medicine”

正The journal Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics(GPB)is now inviting submissions for a special issue(to be published in the Spring of 2017)on the topic of‘‘Biomarkers for Human Diseases and Translational Medicine’’.In the personalized medicine era,disease biomarkers have potential application in diagnosis,prognosis,and guidance for treatment,and are important tools in translational medicine.     

Special Issue on “Biomarkers for Human Diseases and Translational Medicine”

正The journal Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics(GPB)is now inviting submissions for a special issue(to be published in the fall of 2016)on the topic of‘‘Biomarkers for Human Diseases and Translational Medicine’’.In the personalized medicine era,disease biomarkers have potential application in diagnosis,     

Special Issue on “Biomarkers for Human Diseases and Translational Medicine”

正The journal Genomics,ProteomicsBioinformatics(GPB)is now inviting submissions for a special issue(to be published in the fall of 2016)on the topic of‘‘Biomarkers for Human Diseases and Translational Medicine’’.In the personalized medicine era,disease biomarkers have potential application in diagnosis,prognosis,and guidance for treatment,and are important tools in translational medicine.     

Comments on Brodie and Post: Climate-driven declines in wolverine populations: causal connection or spurious correlation?

The recent paper by Brodie and Post (“Nonlinear responses of wolverine populations to declining winter snowpack”, Popul Ecol 52:279–287, 2010) reports conclusions that are unsupportable, in our opinion, due to both mis-interpretations of current knowledge regarding the wolverine’s (Gulo gulo) association with snow, and the uncritical use of harvest data to index wolverine populations. The authors argue that, because the wolverine is a snow-dependent species, average annual provincial snowfall, based on weather station data, can be expected to correlate strongly and positively with wolverine population numbers, which in turn can be accurately indexed by trapper harvests. Thus, correlations between declines in wolverine harvests and declining average snowpack are interpreted to reflect a climate-driven decrease in wolverine populations. This conclusion overstates the nature of the wolverine’s association with snow, and makes unsupportable assumptions about the reliability of harvest data as a proxy for population size.     

“Women Are Better Than Men”–Public Beliefs on Gender Differences and Other Aspects in Multitasking

Reports in public media suggest the existence of a stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. The present online survey aimed at supporting this incidental observation by empirical data. For this, 488 participants from various ethnic backgrounds (US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey, and others) filled out a self-developed online-questionnaire. Results showed that overall more than 50% of the participants believed in gender differences in multitasking abilities. Of those who believed in gender differences, a majority of 80% believed that women were better at multitasking. The main reasons for this were believed to be an evolutionary advantage and more multitasking practice in women, mainly due to managing children and household and/or family and job. Findings were consistent across the different countries, thus supporting the existence of a widespread gender stereotype that women are better at multitasking than men. Further questionnaire results provided information about the participants’ self-rated own multitasking abilities, and how they conceived multitasking activities such as childcare, phoning while driving, and office work.     

Vitamin D and neurocognitive dysfunction: Preventing “D”ecline?

A preponderance of evidence supports a role for vitamin D beyond the classical function in mineral homeostasis. Epidemiologic investigations have revealed a beneficial role of vitamin D in muscle function, cardiovascular health, diabetes, and cancer prevention. More recently, studies have suggested a potential beneficial role of vitamin D in cognitive function. Vitamin D exhibits functional attributes that may prove neuroprotective through antioxidative mechanisms, neuronal calcium regulation, immunomodulation, enhanced nerve conduction and detoxification mechanisms. Compelling evidence supports a beneficial role for the active form of vitamin D in the developing brain as well as in adult brain function. The vitamin D receptor and biosynthetic and degradative pathways for the hydroxylation of vitamin D have been found in the rodent brain; more recently these findings have been confirmed in humans. The vitamin D receptor and catalytic enzymes are colocalized in the areas of the brain involved in complex planning, processing, and the formation of new memories. These findings potentially implicate vitamin D in neurocognitive function.