Cardiff University

About: Cardiff University is a education organization based out in Cardiff, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 34188 authors who have published 82643 publications receiving 3046531 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Cardiff & University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire.

The Amount of Recycled Crust in Sources of Mantle-Derived Melts

Abstract: Plate tectonic processes introduce basaltic crust (as eclogite) into the peridotitic mantle. The proportions of these two sources in mantle melts are poorly understood. Silica-rich melts formed from eclogite react with peridotite, converting it to olivine-free pyroxenite. Partial melts of this hybrid pyroxenite are higher in nickel and silicon but poorer in manganese, calcium, and magnesium than melts of peridotite. Olivine phenocrysts' compositions record these differences and were used to quantify the contributions of pyroxenite-derived melts in mid-ocean ridge basalts (10 to 30%), ocean island and continental basalts (many >60%), and komatiites (20 to 30%). These results imply involvement of 2 to 20% (up to 28%) of recycled crust in mantle melting.

Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns

Abstract: The purposes of this systematic review were to present and compare recent estimates of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-aged youth from 34 countries and to examine associations between overweight and selected dietary and physical activity patterns. Data consisted of a cross-sectional survey of 137 593 youth (10-16 years) from the 34 (primarily European) participating countries of the 2001-2002 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined based on self-reported height and weight and the international child body mass index standards. Logistic regression was employed to examine associations between overweight status with selected dietary and physical activity patterns. The two countries with the highest prevalence of overweight (pre-obese + obese) and obese youth were Malta (25.4% and 7.9%) and the United States (25.1% and 6.8%) while the two countries with the lowest prevalence were Lithuania (5.1% and 0.4%) and Latvia (5.9% and 0.5%). Overweight and obesity prevalence was particularly high in countries located in North America, Great Britain, and south-western Europe. Within most countries physical activity levels were lower and television viewing times were higher in overweight compared to normal weight youth. In 91% of the countries examined, the frequency of sweets intake was lower in overweight than normal weight youth. Overweight status was not associated with the intake of fruits, vegetables, and soft drinks or time spent on the computer. In conclusion, the adolescent obesity epidemic is a global issue. Increasing physical activity participation and decreasing television viewing should be the focus of strategies aimed at preventing and treating overweight and obesity in youth.

Patients with hippocampal amnesia cannot imagine new experiences

Abstract: Amnesic patients have a well established deficit in remembering their past experiences. Surprisingly, however, the question as to whether such patients can imagine new experiences has not been formally addressed to our knowledge. We tested whether a group of amnesic patients with primary damage to the hippocampus bilaterally could construct new imagined experiences in response to short verbal cues that outlined a range of simple commonplace scenarios. Our results revealed that patients were markedly impaired relative to matched control subjects at imagining new experiences. Moreover, we identified a possible source for this deficit. The patients' imagined experiences lacked spatial coherence, consisting instead of fragmented images in the absence of a holistic representation of the environmental setting. The hippocampus, therefore, may make a critical contribution to the creation of new experiences by providing the spatial context into which the disparate elements of an experience can be bound. Given how closely imagined experiences match episodic memories, the absence of this function mediated by the hippocampus, may also fundamentally affect the ability to vividly re-experience the past.

Genome-wide association study identifies eight loci associated with blood pressure

Abstract: Elevated blood pressure is a common, heritable cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. To date, identification of common genetic variants influencing blood pressure has proven challenging. We tested 2.5 million genotyped and imputed SNPs for association with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in 34,433 subjects of European ancestry from the Global BPgen consortium and followed up findings with direct genotyping (N ≤ 71,225 European ancestry, N ≤ 12,889 Indian Asian ancestry) and in silico comparison (CHARGE consortium, N = 29,136). We identified association between systolic or diastolic blood pressure and common variants in eight regions near the CYP17A1 (P = 7 × 10(-24)), CYP1A2 (P = 1 × 10(-23)), FGF5 (P = 1 × 10(-21)), SH2B3 (P = 3 × 10(-18)), MTHFR (P = 2 × 10(-13)), c10orf107 (P = 1 × 10(-9)), ZNF652 (P = 5 × 10(-9)) and PLCD3 (P = 1 × 10(-8)) genes. All variants associated with continuous blood pressure were associated with dichotomous hypertension. These associations between common variants and blood pressure and hypertension offer mechanistic insights into the regulation of blood pressure and may point to novel targets for interventions to prevent cardiovascular disease.