Drivers and Cost Implications of Overnutrition in Kenya

Kenya's population is experiencing a rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. This trend poses a significant concern, as overweight and obesity are major risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), leading to increased human suffering, raised mortality, and substantial private and social costs. This issue coexists with ongoing challenges of undernutrition and infectious diseases, further straining the country's underfunded health system. The increase in overweight and obesity is driven by economic change, urbanization, and technological advancements, which have led to shifts in lifestyles and eating habits, including higher consumption of processed foods and reduced physical activity. This study first examines how socio-economic differences in food choice motives affect diet diversity and weight outcomes. The findings show notable differences in food choice motives by socio-economic group. High income is associated with higher prioritization of health, mood, sensory appeal, and weight, while higher education is linked to increased health and sensory motivations and reduced familiarity concerns. Results from mediation analysis show that sensory motives account for 29% of the income-BMI relationship and 30% of the education-BMI link. Familiarity concerns negatively mediate the education-BMI association by -4%. Health and sensory motives also positively mediate the education-diet diversity association by contributing 11% and 4%, respectively. Secondly, the study evaluates the impact of various types of physical activity (PA)—work, leisure, and transport—along with sedentary time on BMI and NCD outcomes, using 2015 and 2022 data with panel fixed effects, probit, and entropy balancing methods. Findings indicate a decline in overall physical activity (measured in metabolic equivalents, or METs), alongside increases in sedentary time, BMI, and the incidence of NCDs. Work-related PA was the largest contributor to total PA, followed by transport and leisure. An additional MET-hour per week of vigorous work, leisure, and transport PA was linked to reductions in BMI by 0.03%, 0.16%, and 0.05%, respectively. Similarly, increases in vigorous work, moderate work, and leisure PA decreased the probability of having an NCD by 0.15%, 0.11%, and 0.53%, respectively. In comparison, sedentary time was associated with a 0.18% increase in NCD risk. Finally, the study investigates the health costs of Kenya's current food system, focusing on the impact of unhealthy diets using 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data and two-part and instrumental variable methods. Results show that overweight and obesity increase the likelihood of outpatient and inpatient medical expenditures by 3.3 and 1.4 times, respectively. Overweight and obesity raised outpatient monthly expenditures by KES 445.0 (.61) and annual inpatient costs by KES 16,942.8 (7.33). An increase of one BMI unit raises marginal outpatient monthly healthcare spending by KES 277.8 (.25) and annual inpatient spending by KES 5,119.0 (.49). The social costs of overweight and obesity among adult women in 2022 amounted to .11 billion, or KES 10,557.2 (.57) per woman. This dissertation concludes by highlighting potential cost-effective policies to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity, including implementing a 20% sugar-sweetened beverage tax, mandatory kilojoule menu labeling, front-of-pack nutrition labeling, revising public food procurement policies, mass media campaigns for healthier diets, restricting harmful food marketing to children, promoting breastfeeding practices, and community-wide public education campaigns on physical activity

Dentate granule cells and slow gamma oscillations support the formation of precise memories

(noch nicht zugänglich / not yet accessible

Sedimentological characterisation and provenance analysis of the pre-collisional Betic & Rif turbidite systems

(noch nicht zugänglich / not yet accessible

Deciphering the impact of helminth parasites on the physiopathology of COVID-19 and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

(noch nicht zugänglich / not yet accessible

Development of Nuclear In-Situ Sequencing (NIS-Seq) : A method for the identification of immune signalling components by imaging-based functional genomics

(noch nicht zugänglich / not yet accessible

Effects of <em>Bacillus firmus</em> and Bacterial Secondary Metabolites on the Plant Parasitic Nematode <em>Heterodera schachtii</em> : Impact Assessment and Mechanistic Insights

Plant-parasitic nematodes cause enormous yield losses and economic damage to a wide range of economically important crops. Although synthetic chemicals can be effective in controlling plant-parasitic nematodes, their use raises significant environmental and health concerns. In this context, bio-based control strategies, particularly those utilizing microbes and microbial compounds, have emerged as promising alternatives. Our studies aim to explore the efficacy and mechanism of action of Bacillus firmus I-1582 and the bacterial secondary metabolites prodiginines and rhamnolipids as microbial control agents against the beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii using a multidisciplinary approach involving microbiology, molecular biology and bioinformatics. Chapters 2 and 3 present a comprehensive investigation of the potential of B. firmus I-1582 for biological control of H. schachtii. We have shown that B. firmus I-1582 can be attracted to Arabidopsis thaliana root exudates and that its colonization and development at the root of the host is pH-dependent. We also show that living bacterial cells clearly protect A. thaliana from infestation by H. schachtii. In contrast, dead bacterial cells or culture supernatant show no such effect. Interestingly, the living cells of B. firmus I-1582 also inhibit the infection, development and reproduction of the next generation juveniles. Since bacterial colonization of the host roots is not pronounced, no bacterial biofilm is present to prevent invasion of the invading J2 infective juveniles. We hypothesize that the 2nd generation J2 are less fit and that active molecules secreted by B. firmus I-1582 may have an inhibitory effect on the nematodes. In another experiment, direct contact of the cell-free supernatant with H. schachtii juveniles was shown to have a significant nematicidal effect when formed at higher temperatures. This lethal effect can be attributed to small molecules produced by B. firmus I-1582 under these conditions. Their molecular weight is below ~3 kDa and they are both protease-sensitive and protease-resistant. Using genome mining tools, a biosynthetic gene cluster was identified in the genome of B. firmus I-1582 encoding three putative lanthipeptides that are potential compounds active against nematodes. Gene expression analysis confirms the upregulation of all three putative lanthipeptide genes in B. firmus I-1582 and thus their presence in the culture supernatant. In Chapter 4, the use of prodiginines alone and together with rhamnolipids as active substances against nematodes is investigated. We observed that prodiginines remarkably inhibited parasitism of H. schachtii on its host plant by reducing the motility of J2 and the activity of the mouth stylet as an indicator of J2 infection activity. In addition, we investigated the synergistic effect of prodiginines and rhamnolipids for the first time and found that the application of both substances is more effective against the nematodes than the application of either substance alone. We are convinced that this research can improve the fundamental understanding and practical implementation of microbial-based control strategies and drive the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for integrated nematode management

Studies towards a first Total Synthesis of Vancoresmycin

(noch nicht zugänglich / not yet accessible

Generation of an isogenic stem cell model to decipher the pathogenesis of <em>SYNGAP1</em> syndrome in human neurons

The synaptic GTPase-activating protein SynGAP is an important constituent of the postsynaptic compartment. Haploinsufficiency of the SYNGAP1 gene is associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by mental retardation, moderate to severe intellectual disability, global developmental delay, and a generalized form of epilepsy. Most of the studies on SYNGAP1 syndrome were performed in Syngap1 +/- and -/- mouse models. Although animal-based experiments have made significant contributions to understanding disease mechanisms, these models are limited when it comes to human conditions, primarily due to major disparities in physiology and development. Here, we set out to model this disorder using isogenic engineered SYNGAP1 haploinsufficient human pluripotent stem cells and forward programmed them into neurons for disease modeling. SYNGAP1 +/- glutamatergic neurons (iGlutNs) showed increased Ras-GTP and phospho-Erk concentration, alterations in pathways downstream of SynGAP. These pathway alterations may contribute to increased neural complexity, as evidenced by the longer and more intricate dendritic structures observed in our model. At the synaptic level, we noted a general increase in spine surface area and length. Moreover, there was a rise in the proportion of mature, mushroom-shaped spines, suggesting enhanced differentiation. Electrophysiologically, at the network level, the SYNGAP1 +/- neurons showed a higher network burst frequency with concurrently shorter network bursts and fewer spikes per network burst, with overall lower synchrony. Additionally, SYNGAP1 +/- neurons demonstrated elevated expression of AMPA receptors, potentially leading to postsynaptic saturation. This saturation could result in the occlusion of long-term potentiation (LTP), a phenomenon that was confirmed through patch-clamp experiments. The increased network burst frequency and duration might be a phenotype originating from glutamatergic neurons, while the decreased number of spikes might evolve from GABAergic neurons, suggesting that SYNGAP1 also plays a role in inhibitory neurons. The pathoelectrophysiological network pattern might resemble the phenotypes to those found in primary neurons from mouse epilepsy models. Overall, these findings indicate that SynGAP, through alterations in RasGTP and Erk concentration may promote spine growth and synaptic strength through multiple pathways, including actin polymerization and AMPAR insertion. This ultimately may lead to impaired LTP resulting in altered neuronal activity

Rechtspopulismus in den sozialen Medien : Eine Fallstudie zu Donald J. Trumps Twitter-Kommunikation

Politische Kommunikation und soziale Medien sind in der heutigen Zeit untrennbar miteinander verbunden. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram und Co. haben sich inzwischen zu einem festen Bestandteil der Politik etabliert: Seit Februar 2022 ist mit Olaf Scholz unter @bundeskanzler nun erstmals ein deutscher Bundeskanzler offiziell auf Twitter vertreten und immer mehr politische Akteur/innen, Parteien, Verbände und Institutionen haben ihre Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit durch Social-Media-Kanäle erweitert. Einerseits machen immer mehr politische Akteur/innen Gebrauch von sozialen Netzwerken, um direkt mit Bürger/innen zu kommunizieren. Andererseits bietet Social Media für Nutzende auch die Möglichkeit der Partizipation am politischen Diskurs, des Einholens von politischen Informationen sowie der Entwicklung der eigenen Positionen. Außerdem haben sich die sozialen Medien zu einem politisch-publizistischen Taktgeber für sowohl Journalist/innen als auch Politiker/innen entwickelt. Viele Themen, die in der Öffentlichkeit und in den herkömmlichen Massenmedien diskutiert werden, haben zuerst die Gemüter auf Twitter, Facebook oder anderen sozialen Netzwerken erhitzt. Auch (Rechts-)Populist/innen nutzen den digitalen Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit, um den politischen Diskurs zu dominieren und ungefiltert Informationen an Bürger/innen zu übermitteln. Dabei hat insbesondere Donald J. Trump mit seinem erfolgreichen US-Präsidentschaftswahlkampf 2016 bewiesen, dass die politische Kommunikation in den sozialen Medien, speziell auf Twitter, keinesfalls nur einen Randbereich des Politischen darstellt, sondern vielmehr selbst treibende Kraft ist. Diese wissenschaftliche Arbeit beschreitet den Weg der Untersuchung des Rechtspopulismus-Phänomens Donald J. Trumps auf Twitter. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, Aufschluss darüber zu erlangen, wie der US-amerikanische Rechtspopulist in den sozialen Medien kommuniziert. Das Wie bezieht sich auf die sprachliche Dimension rechtspopulistischer Kommunikation, also zum Beispiel auf die rhetorischen Stilmittel, die Wortwahl oder die argumentativen Techniken. Der Social-Media-Kanal Twitter stellt entsprechend den Analyserahmen dar. Die zentrale Fragestellung dieser Untersuchung lautet: Wie kommunizieren Rechtspopulist/innen auf Twitter? Dazu greift diese Arbeit auf Erkenntnisse der Kommunikations- sowie Politikwissenschaft zurück und vergleicht die Twitter-Kommunikation von Donald J. Trump mit der Kommunikation von Marine Le Pen und Beatrix von Storch im Rahmen einer theoriegeleiteten Kritischen Diskursanalyse. Die Tweets der französischen und deutschen Rechtspopulistinnen dienen dabei als analytische Kontrastfolien, um die Merkmale rechtspopulistischer Online-Kommunikation Trumps besser erfassen zu können. Die Untersuchung der Twitter-Kommunikation von Trump, Le Pen und von Storch zeigt, dass das vorrangige Ziel ihrer Kommunikation darin besteht, den unabhängigen Journalismus obsolet sowie unglaubwürdig erscheinen zu lassen und eine digitale Gegenöffentlichkeit zu schaffen. So werden einerseits wahlkampfrelevante Informationen über den Microblog vermittelt, anderseits aktuelle Nachrichtenmeldungen sowie Tweets anderer Nutzer/innen aufgegriffen, kommentiert und richtiggestellt. Durch das Aufgreifen von Beiträgen der etablierten Nachrichtenmedien sowie vermeintliche Richtigstellungen geben sie vor, den Nutzer/innen unabhängige Informationen über Twitter zu liefern. Dabei werden in ihren Tweets vier grundlegende Konzepte transportiert: Die Erzeugung von Aufmerksamkeit, die Schaffung von Nähe zu der Wählerschaft, die Lieferung politischer Botschaften und die Stilisierung(politischer) Gegner/innen zu Feinden

Methods and tools for studying ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73)

(noch nicht zugänglich / not yet accessible