University of Queensland

About: University of Queensland is a education organization based out in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 51138 authors who have published 155721 publications receiving 5717659 citations. The organization is also known as: UQ & The University of Queensland.

Psychiatric genome-wide association study analyses implicate neuronal, immune and histone pathways

Abstract: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of psychiatric disorders have identified multiple genetic associations with such disorders, but better methods are needed to derive the underlying biological mechanisms that these signals indicate. We sought to identify biological pathways in GWAS data from over 60,000 participants from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. We developed an analysis framework to rank pathways that requires only summary statistics. We combined this score across disorders to find common pathways across three adult psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, major depression and bipolar disorder. Histone methylation processes showed the strongest association, and we also found statistically significant evidence for associations with multiple immune and neuronal signaling pathways and with the postsynaptic density. Our study indicates that risk variants for psychiatric disorders aggregate in particular biological pathways and that these pathways are frequently shared between disorders. Our results confirm known mechanisms and suggest several novel insights into the etiology of psychiatric disorders.

Ecological basis of extinction risk in birds: habitat loss versus human persecution and introduced predators.

Abstract: Understanding the ecological mechanisms that underlie extinction is fundamental to conservation. It is well established that not all taxa are equally vulnerable to extinction, but the reasons for these differences are poorly understood. This may be, in part, because different taxa are threatened by different mechanisms. Theoretically, sources of extinction risk that perturb the balance between fecundity and longevity, such as human persecution and introduced predators, should be particularly hazardous for taxa that have slow rates of population growth. In contrast, sources of extinction risk that reduce niche availability, such as habitat loss, should represent a particular threat to taxa that are ecologically specialized. Here we test these predictions by using a phylogenetic comparative method and a database on 95 families of birds. As theory predicts, extinction risk incurred through persecution and introduced predators is associated with large body size and long generation time but is not associated with degree of specialization, whereas extinction risk incurred through habitat loss is associated with habitat specialization and small body size but not with generation time. These results demonstrate the importance of considering separately the multiple mechanisms that underlie contemporary patterns of extinction. They also reveal why it has previously proven so difficult to identify simple ecological correlates of overall extinction risk.

Cohort Profile: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health

Abstract: major aspects of women’s health and well-being and health service use. The surveys cover major diagnosed diseases, symptoms, health behaviours, use of health services and medications, and a range of factors relating to psychological well-being, social roles, and life events. The study began with the objective of exploring five key themes: health service use; health-related behaviours (e.g. diet and exercise); time use (paid work, unpaid work, and leisure); life stages and key events (e.g. childbirth, divorce, and widowhood); and violence against women. 4 Changes in Australian government policy priorities and enhanced understanding of women’s needs resulting from earlier phases of the study have led to some modifications to the original emphases. Currently we identify four major research topics: chronic disease; health services and systems; social factors in health and well-being; and methodology for longitudinal studies. Continuing cross-cutting themes include rural and remote women’s health; intergenerational issues; tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs; weight, nutrition, and physical activity; and mental health.