No abstract

<p>Previous research in canids has revealed both group (dog versus wolf) and individual differences in object choice task (OCT) performance. These differences might be explained by variation in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene, as intranasally administered oxytocin has recently been shown to improve performance on this task by domestic dogs. This study looked at microsatellites at various distances from the OXTR gene to determine whether there was an association between this gene and: i) species (dog/wolf) and ii) good versus bad OCT performers. Ten primer sets were designed to amplify 10 microsatellites that were identified at various distances from the canine OXTR gene. We used 94 (52 males, 42 females) blood samples from shelter dogs, 75 (33 males, 42 females) saliva samples from pet dogs and 12 (6 males, 6 females) captive wolf saliva samples to carry out our analyses. Significant species differences were found in the two markers closest to the OXTR gene, suggesting that this gene may have played an important part in the domestic dogs’ evolution from the wolf. However, no significant, meaningful differences were found in microsatellites between good versus bad OCT performers, which suggests that other factors, such as different training and socialisation experiences, probably impacted task performance.</p>

Saliva and buccal samples are popular for epigenome wide association studies (EWAS) due to their ease of collection compared and their ability to sample a different cell lineage compared to blood. As these samples contain a mix of white blood cells and buccal epithelial cells that can vary within a population, this cellular heterogeneity may confound EWAS. This has been addressed by including cellular heterogeneity obtained through cytology at the time of collection or by using cellular deconvolution algorithms built on epigenetic data from specific cell types. However, to our knowledge, the two methods have not yet been compared. Here we show that the two methods are highly correlated in saliva and buccal samples (R = 0.84, P <0.0001) by comparing data generated from cytological staining and Infinium MethylationEPIC arrays and the EpiDISH deconvolution algorithm from buccal and saliva samples collected from twenty adults. In addition, by using an expanded dataset from both sample types, we confirmed our previous finding that age has a significant negative correlation with epithelial cell proportion in both sample types. However, children and adults showed a large within-population variation in cellular heterogeneity. Our results validate the use of the EpiDISH algorithm in estimating the effect of cellular heterogeneity in EWAS and showed DNA methylation generally underestimates the epithelial cell content obtained from cytology.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Parental preconception exposures to built and natural outdoor environments could influence pregnancy and birth outcomes either directly, or via a range of health-related behaviours and conditions. However, there is no existing review summarising the evidence linking natural and built characteristics, such as air and noise pollution, walkability, greenness with pregnancy and birth outcomes. Therefore, the planned scoping review aims to collate and map the published literature on parental preconception exposures to built and natural outdoor environments and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. We will search electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus) to identify studies for inclusion. Studies will be included if they empirically assess the relationship between maternal and paternal preconception exposures to physical natural and built environment features that occur outdoors in the residential neighbourhood and adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts, and then the full text. Data extraction and assessment of study quality will be performed by one researcher and checked by a second researcher. Results will be summarised in a narrative synthesis, with additional summaries presented as tables and figures. The scoping review will be disseminated via a peer-reviewed publication, at academic conferences, and published on a website.

No abstract