Uncovering the Determinants of Birth Weight: An Investigation on Pregnant Women in Makassar City

Birth weight is an essential indicator in assessing a baby's health and a factor that affects the baby's long-term health. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the Body Mass Index (BMI), Hemoglobin levels, and Blood Pressure of mothers during pregnancy and to birth weight of the baby. The study used a cross-sectional survey of a group of mothers who gave birth in Makassar. The data on mothers during pregnancy was the maternal history recorded in the mother and Child Health Book (KIA). And the data on the birth weight of the baby was also from the KIA book with the support of secondary data from the Community Health Center and Midwife. The results showed that 41.7% of the low-birth-weight babies had mothers who experienced underweight during pregnancy, 83.3% of the low-birth-weight babies had mothers who experienced Anemia during pregnancy, and 66.7% of the low-birth-weight babies had mothers who experienced hypertension during pregnancy. There was a significant and close relationship between the mother's BMI, Hemoglobin levels, and Blood Pressure to the baby's birth weight. There was a meaningful relationship between the mother's Body Mass Index, Anemia, and Hypertension during pregnancy to low birth weight. Therefore, it is important to maintain a good quality of nutrition for mothers both before and during pregnancy, following Islamic teachings that Allah SWT has decreed for every pregnant woman a thousand good deeds every day and erases a thousand misdeeds as motivation to remain strong throughout the pregnancy process

Determinants of Low Birth Weight in a Population-Based Sample of Zimbabwe

Low birth weight (LBW) is a major public health concern globally. Despite its negative social and economic impact on the family and community at large, it has remained relatively unexplored at population level in Zimbabwe. The purpose of the study was to establish determinants of LBW using data from the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey. The socioecological model was the conceptual framework for the study. A secondary analysis was conducted on 4,227 mother-infant dyads. Independent variables were duration of pregnancy, number of births within the past 5-year period, exposure to mass media, type of fuel used for cooking in the household, and intimate partner violence. Covariates were maternal age at delivery, place of residence, anemia, marital status, education, wealth index, ever terminated pregnancy, infant sex, and alcohol consumption. For parsimony, statistical significance was set at p \u3c 0.05 at the 95% confidence interval (CI). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that mild maternal anemia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.83 CI 1.17-2.87 p = 0.01), moderate to severe anemia (aOR 1.80 CI 1.01-3.19 p = 0.05), and being a female neonate (aOR 1.48 CI 1.17-2.87 p = 0.008) had higher odds for LBW. Pregnancy duration of 8 months (aOR 0.01 CI 0.003-0.039 p \u3c 0.001) and of 9 months (aOR 0.12 CI 0.04-0.33 p = 0.001) had lower odds for LBW. Birth of 2 infants within a 5-year period (aOR 2.40 CI 1.24-4.66 p = 0.01) was associated with LBW. Implications for positive social change include coming up with a health policy on the management of anemia during pregnancy and health promotion messages to promote optimal birth spacing, including strategies that reduce chances for preterm deliveries

The Effect of Dietary Interventions on Fetal Birth Weights in Pregnant Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Nutrition status during adolescent pregnancy and childbearing is a complex, multifaceted condition that can impact the health status of the teen mother and her baby. Adolescent mothers are at higher risk for low birth weight infants because of the unique dietary requirements needed to accommodate for both the growth needs of the adolescent mother and her unborn child. The purpose of this research was to examine dietary interventions that have the greatest effect on fetal birth weight outcomes in adolescent mothers. Secondly, this study explored dietary nutrients effective in reducing the likelihood of complications commonly associated with low birth weight infants in adolescent pregnancy. A systematic literature review was conducted from the following online databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medical Literature On-line (MEDLINE), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and PsycInfo. Initial search terms included \u27adolescent\u27, \u27nutrition\u27, \u27diet\u27, and \u27prenatal\u27. Further search items included \u27weight\u27 and \u27outcome\u27. Selected articles included those published between 2000-2013, written in English, and peer-reviewed. Significant evidence supported positive birth weight outcomes for dietary supplementation with zinc and calcium, and BMI-specific weight gains for adolescent pregnancy. No significant evidence was provided on the effect of iron and fatty acid composition on birth weight outcomes. Results for other dietary interventions and their effects on fetal birth weight were either inconclusive or absent. Discovering dietary interventions that work best in prenatal care of adolescent populations will allow for more individually-tailored, dietary specific interventions to be developed to combat the prevalence of low fetal birth weight infants in adolescent pregnancy

Exposure to active and passive smoking during pregnancy and severe small for gestational age at term

Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between active smoking as well as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and severe small for gestational age (SGA) at term in a sample of pregnant Italian women. Methods. A case-control study was conducted in nine cities in Italy between October 1999 and September 2000. Cases of severe SGA were singleton, live born, at term children with a birth weight5th percentile for gestational age. Controls (10:1 to cases) were enrolled from among singleton at term births that occurred in the same hospitals one or two days after delivery of the case, with a birth weight10th percentile for gestational age. A total of 84 cases of severe SGA and 858 controls were analyzed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess active smoking and ETS exposure, as well as potential confounders. Results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a relationship between active smoking during pregnancy and severe SGA (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13-3.68). ETS exposure was associated with severe SGA (adjusted OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.59-3.95) with a dose-response relationship to the number of smokers in the home

HIV prevalence and characteristics of sex work among female sex workers in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia.

OBJECTIVE: To measure prevalence of HIV and syphilis and describe characteristics of sex work among female sex workers (FSWs) in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey recruited 237 FSWs using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). A face-to-face, structured interview using handheld-assisted personal interviewing (HAPI) on personal digital assistants (PDAs) was completed and blood collected for serological testing. RESULTS: FSWs 15-19 years old accounted for 6.9% of the population; 20-24 year-old constituted an additional 18.0%. The majority (86.6%) never attended school. International (59.0%) and interzonal (10.7%) migration was common. Most (95.7%) reported no other source of income; 13.8% had five or more clients in the last 7 days. A minority (38.4%) had heard of STIs, even fewer (6.9%) held no misconceptions about HIV. Only 24% of FSW reported using a condom at last transactional sex, and 4% reported ever been tested for HIV. HIV prevalence was 5.2% and syphilis prevalence was 3.1%. CONCLUSION: Sex work in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Somalia, is characterized by high numbers of sexual acts and extremely low knowledge of HIV. This study illustrates the need for targeted HIV prevention interventions focusing on HIV testing, risk-reduction awareness raising, and review of condom availability and distribution mechanisms among FSWs and males engaging with FSWs

Prevention of Low Birthweight Infants Among Pregnant Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

The low birthweight (LBW) prevalence in Bangladesh varies between 22-50%, which positioned Bangladesh 4th globally among the countries having highest burden of LBW. LBW imposes greater risk of mortality and morbidities among children under five and creates a long-term negative impact on development and wellbeing in adolescence and adulthood. Therefore, the objective of the research was to investigate the effects of ‘balanced plate nutrition education’ (nutrition education on balanced diet with practical demonstration of balanced plate) in combination with engagement of family decision makers, to reduce incidences of LBW infants among pregnant women by increasing birthweight. The specific objectives included developing the ‘balanced plate nutrition education’ intervention for rural pregnant women and measuring the effect of the intervention on birthweight of infants and incidences of LBW, and exploring the barriers of and household coping strategies related to compliance. It also examined the association of household food insecurity and size of infants at birth. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied for this research. For the quantitative analysis, primary data were derived from a randomized controlled trial conducted in rural Bangladesh (Chapter 4) and secondary data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011 (Chapter 6). Statistical analyses were performed using multivariable linear and binomial regression with log link function. We adjusted for the clustered randomisation using generalised estimating equations (GEE). We constructed survey-weighted logistic regression models for BDHS data to account for different sampling probabilities and different response rate. A qualitative study was conducted in the trial area among the balanced plate nutrition education intervention recipients. We conducted in-depth interviews (n=10) with mothers of infants (0-6 months), focus group discussions (n=2) with their husbands and older women in the family and key informant interviews (n=4) with Shasthya Kormi (community health workers) of BRAC (an NGO in Bangladesh, formerly known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). Interviews were audio-recorded during collection, later transcribed in Bangla, and translated into English. The transcripts were manually coded and analysed using the thematic approach. Chapter 4 demonstrated that pregnant women who received balanced plate nutrition education had heavier infants compared to those received standard nutrition education. The incidence of low birthweight (LBW) was also lower among women in the balanced plate group compared to the latter. The mean birthweight increased by 125.3 g (95% confidence interval (CI) 5·7, 244·9; p=0·04) and the risk of LBW was reduced by 54% (relative risk (RR) 0·46; 95% CI 0·28, 0·78; p=0·004) in the intervention compared to the comparison group. The effect of intervention was greater among adolescent mothers in terms of birthweight and incidence of LBW than the non-adolescent mothers mean difference 297·3 g; 95% CI 85·0, 509·6; p=0·006 and RR 0·31; 95% CI 0·12, 0·77; p=0·01). Chapter 5 exhibited that accessing animal source food was the greatest barrier in practicing balanced diet. Perceived gap in understanding appropriate portion size and importance of diversified food for a pregnant woman were the other reported barriers. Mothers-in-law’s authority and control over pregnant women’s diet led to intrahousehold food mal-distribution with less nutritious food share for them. Active engagement of the family decision makers (husbands and elderly women in the family) in the nutrition counseling and demonstration session created an agreement on balanced diet for pregnant women. Husbands were inclined to finance more for purchasing nutritious foods such as cheap fishes, milk and fruits. Women were selfmotivated to increase consumption of vegetables and animal source foods with right proportion of rice. Mothers-in-law’s approval and husbands’ voluntary contribution enabled women to practice the balanced diet. Chapter 6 showed an inverse association between household food insecurity and perceived birth size of infants in Bangladesh. Infants from food insecure household were 36% more at risk of being small at birth compared to infants born in food secure households, which was aggravated by less utilization of antenatal care and first birth. There was an obvious regional variation of prevalence of smaller infants in geographically hard to reach areas; women in Sylhet and Chittagong districts were more vulnerable to give birth to smaller infants than mothers living in Barisal. In conclusion, balanced plate nutrition education in pregnancy impacted on the birthweight of infants and incidence of LBW in rural Bangladesh. Practical demonstration of making balanced plate in combination with family engagement can create an enabling environment for pregnant women to adopt a balanced diet with self-motivation. Household food insecurity is major driver in determining fetal growth and subsequent size of infants at birth. The insights from this research will help to design nutrition behaviour change communications for pregnant women and target household with greatest need to improve perinatal nutrition for better child survival, growth, development and productivity in Bangladesh and other LMICs

Nutrition of Indonesian women during pregnancy and lactation: a focus on vitamin A and iron

Nutrition during pregnancy is important for women's health, outcome of pregnancy and child survival. A community-based study was conducted in a rural area of West Java, Indonesia to investigate 1) the effect of weekly vitamin A and iron supplementation during pregnancy on iron and vitamin A status of women near term and on postpartum and pregnancy outcomes, 2) whether weekly iron supplementation was as effective as the ongoing national iron supplementation program in improving iron status. Women from 5 villages, 16 - 20 weeks pregnant, aged 17 - 35 years, parity &lt;6, and with hemoglobin concentrations 80 - 140 g/L, were randomly allocated on an individual basis to receive a weekly supplement either with 120 mg iron as Fe 2 SO 4 and 500μg folic acid (n = 121) or the same amount of iron and folic acid plus 4,800 RE vitamin A (n = 122). A third group participating in the ongoing national iron supplementation program in which women are advised to take iron tablets daily during pregnancy ("daily" group) was recruited at the same time from 4 neighboring villages (n = 123). At near term, the iron status of pregnant women in the group supplemented weekly with iron (n = 66) was not different from the "daily" group (n = 53). However, iron status decreased with daily iron supplementation if &lt;50 iron tablets were ingested. Hemoglobin concentrations in the group supplemented weekly with iron and vitamin A (n = 71) increased but serum ferritin concentrations decreased significantly, suggesting that vitamin A improved utilization of iron for hematopoiesis. Concentrations of serum transferrin receptor increased significantly in all groups. Serum retinol concentrations remained constant in the weekly iron and vitamin A group but decreased significantly in the other two groups. At4 months postpartum, compared with the weekly iron group (n = 88), the weekly iron and vitamin A group (n = 82) had significantly fewer subjects with serum retinol concentrations≤0.70μmol/L. The iron status of women in the weekly iron and vitamin A group did not differ from that of women in the weekly iron group. The concentrations of iron and retinol in transitional milk (4 - 7 days postpartum) was almost double than that in mature milk (3 months postpartum). Compared with the weekly iron group, the weekly iron and vitamin A group had significantly higher concentrations of retinol in transitional milk (asμmol/L) and in mature milk (asμmol/g fat). Neonatal weight (3094 ± 440 g) and length (49.1 ± 2.0 cm) did not differ among the three groups (n = 296). Iron and vitamin A status during pregnancy did not influence neonatal weight and length. Gestational age, maternal weight at the beginning of the second trimester and infant gender were the main predictors of neonatal weight and length. The proportion of women with a body mass index≤21.0 kg/m² was 37% at the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy and 52% at4 months postpartum. Low nutritional status of the women was associated with household characteristics reflecting a lower socioeconomic status. In conclusion, compared with weekly supplementation with iron alone, supplementation with vitamin A and iron given at the time when women entered their second trimester of pregnancy prevented the deterioration of vitamin A status near term and4 month postpartum, and increased retinol concentration in breast milk. The performance of weekly iron supplementation did not differ from the ongoing daily iron supplementation program in improving the iron status during pregnancy and lactation. Intervention did not influence weight and length of the neonates. It is recommended to include vitamin A in the iron supplementation program.</p

The Impact of Plant-Based Diets on Maternal and Offspring Health : A Health Technology Assessment

Abstract The number of women choosing a plant-based diet or a diet with reduced amounts of foods of animal origin increases. Vegetarian diet forms showed beneficial effects on coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes in adults, but the recommen- dations regarding critical stages of life such as pregnancy, lactation, and childhood are inconsistent due to potential nutrient deficiencies. The objective was to conduct a Health Technology Assessment to evaluate the evidence in terms of harms and benefits of plant- based diets and provide guidelines for health care professionals. A literature search in PubMed was carried out, including the keywords related to the forms of nutrition (vegetarian diet, vegan diet, macrobiotic diet, low meat diet, and Mediterranean diet) and the stages of life of mother and child which were relevant for the research ques- tion. Outcomes of interest in the mother were early abortion, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, anemia, neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Outcomes of interest in the child were preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age/intrauterine growth restriction, congenital heart defects, neural tube defects, hypospadias, feeding difficulties, neurological symptoms, anemia, physical growth markers, fine and gross motor skills, asthma and wheezing, and cognitive functions. A systematic review of evidence was per- formed. Meta-analyses were conducted to generate a pooled effect size if study designs allowed it. 113 publications met the inclusion criteria. The results of the meta-analyses showed a significantly lower risk of gestational diabetes mellitus and preterm delivery in women with high Mediterranean diet adherence. Women who followed a Mediterranean diet were less likely to develop other pregnancy-related outcomes such as hypertensive disorders and small for gestational age fetuses/intrauterine growth retardation/fetal growth restriction/low birth weight, but these associations were not statistically significant. Moreover, the findings indicated that a high Mediterranean diet adherence correlated with lower risks of over- weight and obesity. Additionally, a trend towards a lower body mass index, a lower risk of asthma and wheezing and higher scores in cognitive functions in children who followed a Mediterranean diet was observed. Analyses investigating the associations between vegetarian, vegan and low meat diet and maternal and offspring health yielded no clear results. Only the association between vege- tarian diet and a lower mean BMI in children and adolescents was statistically significant. The results suggest that the Mediterranean diet could be an essential component of metabol- ically healthy pregnancies and the basis of early prevention of metabolic disorders in chil- dren and adolescents. The Mediterranean diet as a cost-effective, low-risk intervention should not be neglected in future dietary recommendations and guidelines. Considering the present evidence regarding vegetarian diet forms, it would be inappropriate to discourage pregnant women from following a vegetarian or vegan diet as long as macronutrient and micronutrient requirements are fulfilled. Further research is needed to confirm the findings.Abstract: Die Anzahl der Frauen, die sich für die Reduktion oder den Verzicht auf tierische Lebens- mittel in der Ernährung entscheiden, wächst stetig. In Studien zeigten vegetarische Ernährungsformen protektive Effekte auf die Entstehung von koronarer Herzerkrankung, Krebserkrankungen und Typ 2 Diabetes bei Erwachsenen. Jedoch sind die Empfehlun- gen verschiedener Fachgesellschaften für kritische Lebensphasen wie Schwangerschaft, Stillzeit und Kindheit widersprüchlich aufgrund möglicher Nährstoffmängel. Das Ziel der Untersuchung war die Bewertung der aktuellen Evidenzlage in Form eines Health Technol- ogy Assessments, um Risiken und Nutzen pflanzlicher Ernährungsformen abzuwägen und Leitlinien für Fachleute im Gesundheitswesen zu erstellen. Für die Literaturrecherche bei PubMed wurde ein Term generiert, der die Schlüsselbe- griffe in Bezug auf Ernährungsform (vegetarische, vegane, makrobiotische und fleischarme Ernährung sowie Mediterrane Diät) und für unsere Fragestellung relevanten Lebensphasen von Mutter und Kind enthielt. Outcomes von Interesse bei der Mutter waren frühzeitige Aborte, Präeklampsie, Gestationsdiabetes, Anämie und neurologische und neuropsychia- trische Symptome. Outcomes von Interesse beim Kind waren Frühgeburtlichkeit, niedriges Geburtsgewicht, Small-for-Gestational-Age, intrauterine Wachstumsretardierung, ange- borene Herzfehler, Neuralrohrdefekte, Hypospadie, Fütterungsprobleme, neurologische Symptome, Anämie, Wachstum, fein- und grobmotorische Fähigkeiten, Asthma und kogni- tive Funktionen. Es wurde ein systematischer Review der Literatur durchgeführt. Im Falle von ausreichender Studienzahl und geeignetem Studiendesign wurden Metaanalysen für die jeweiligen Outcomes erstellt. 113 Publikationen erfüllten die Einschlusskriterien. Die Ergebnisse der Metaanalysen zeigten eine signifikante Assoziation zwischen Einhaltung der mediterranen Diät und einem verringerten Risiko für Gestationsdiabetes und Frühgeburtlichkeit. Frauen, die einer mediterranen Diät folgten, entwickelten außerdem seltener weitere Komplikatio- nen wie Schwangerschaftshypertonie oder Small-for-Gestational-Age-Feten, intrauterine Wachstumsretardierung und niedriges Geburtsgewicht. Allerdings waren diese Assozia- tionen nicht statistisch signifikant. Es konnte ein Zusammenhang zwischen Einhaltung der mediterranen Diät und einem verringerten Risiko für Übergewicht und Adipositas bei Kindern und Jugendlichen gezeigt werden. Zudem konnte bei Kindern, die einer mediterra- nen Diät folgten, eine Tendenz zu einem geringerem Body Mass Index, einem verminderten Risiko für die Entwicklung von Asthma und bessere kognitive Funktionen ermittelt werden. Unsere Analysen zu vegetarischer, veganer und fleischarmer Ernährung und der Gesund- heit von Mutter und Kind kamen zu keinen eindeutigen Ergebnissen. Nur die Assoziation zwischen vegetarischer Ernährung und einem niedrigeren mittleren BMI bei Kindern und Jugendlichen war statistisch signifikant. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die mediterrane Diät ein wesentlicher Bestandteil einer stoffwechselgesunden Schwangerschaft und die Grundlage für eine frühzeitige Prävention von Stoffwechselerkrankungen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen sein könnte. Die mediterrane Diät als kosteneffiziente, risikoarme Intervention sollte in künftigen Empfehlungen und Leitlinien nicht vernachlässigt werden. In Anbetracht der vorliegenden Erkenntnisse über vegetarische Ernährungsformen wäre es unangebracht, schwangeren Frauen von einer ve- getarischen oder veganen Ernährung abzuraten, solange der Bedarf an Nährstoffen gedeckt ist. Weitere Untersuchungen sind erforderlich, um die Ergebnisse zu bestätigen.The Ca2+ channel β subunits (Cavβs) 1, 2, 3 and 4 are essential for trafficking the poreforming Cavα1 subunit to the plasma membrane and for modulation of Ca2+ currents. We identified the Cavβ3 protein in embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) isolated from wildtype mice but we did not detect any functional depolarization-induced Ca2+ influx into these cells. Subcellular fractionation and confocal imaging of MEFs and Cavβ3 cDNA expressing HEK293 and Cos-7 cells reveal a localization of Cavβ3 all over the cytoplasm even when the Cav1.2 cDNA had been co-expressed. Fura-2 measurements during agonist-induced IP3 generation and flash photolysis of cagedIP3 show that IP3-dependent Ca2+ release was significantly increased in β3-deficient MEFs compared to wild-type cells. Vice versa, expression of Cavβ3 cDNA in cells which hardly express Cavβ3 gene endogenously like Cos-7 cells and HEK293 cells decreases significantly the IP3-dependent Ca2+ release. Using the anti-Cavβ3 antibody, the Cavβ3 protein was precipitated, and among the proteins associated with the retained Cavβ3 were the IP3R and vice versa. Cavβs contain two conserved regions, C1 and C2, essential for Cav channel regulation, which share homology with Src homology (SH) 3 domains (C1) and guanylate kinase (GK, C2). Results obtained with SH3- and GK-deficient and plasma-membrane targeted β3-protein show that i) the SH3-domain and ii) the localization within the cytoplasm are required for Cavβ3- IP3R interaction and for the β3-dependent decrease of agonist-induced Ca2+ release. Using glutathione S-transferase-pull-down experiment two novel binding sites for Cavβ3 protein were mapped to amino acid residues 346-917 and 1387-2249 of the IP3R type 3. MEFs obtained from Cavβ3-deficient mice revealed significant differences in migration compared to wild-type cells. By transferring this behavior into an in vivo integrative pathophysiological response we studied skin wound healing which occurred significantly faster in β3-deficient mice than in wild-type mice. In summary, we discovered a novel Cav-independent function of the Cavβ3 protein, which desensitizes cells to low IP3 concentrations apparently by interacting with the internal coupling domain of IP3R via its SH3 domain. This novel Cavβ3 function has a significant impact on fibroblasts migration in vitro and skin wound closure in vivo.Die β Untereinheiten Spannungs-aktivierter Kalzium (Ca2+) Kanäle, Cavβ 1, 2, 3 und 4, sind verantwortlich für den Transport der Poren-bildenden Cavα1 Untereinheit zur Plasmamembran und sie beeinflussen die Kinetik der Ca2+ -Ströme. In primären embryonalen Fibroblasten der Maus (MEFs) konnten wir Cavβ3 identifizieren, aber nach Depolarisation war kein Ca2+ -Einstrom in diesen Zellen zu detektieren. Subzelluläre Fraktionierung und konfokale Fluoreszenzaufnahmen der Fibroblasten und von Cavβ3 cDNA exprimierenden HEK293 und Cos-7 Zellen zeigen eine Lokalisation von Cavβ3 in Zytoplasma auch nach Koexpression der Cavα1.2 cDNA. Fura-2 Messungen während einer Agonisten-induzierten IP3 Bildung und FlashPhotolyse von „caged“ IP3 ergaben, dass β3-defiziente Fibroblasten im Vergleich zu Wildtyp Zellen eine signifikant erhöhte IP3-abhängige Ca2+ -Freisetzung aufweisen. Andererseits führt die Expression von Cavβ3 cDNA in Cos-7 und HEK293 Zellen, Zellen, die das Cavβ3 gen normalerweise nicht (Cos-7) oder nur sehr schwach exprimieren (HEK293), zu einer Reduktion der IP3-abhängigen Ca2+ -Freisetzung. Mithilfe von anti-Cavβ3 Antikörpern wurde das Cavβ3 Protein präzipitiert und unter den Proteinen, die mit dem präzipitierte Cavβ3 assoziiert sind, befand sich der IP3 Rezeptor. Die Koimmunpräzipitation funktioniert auch umgekehrt. Cavβ Proteine besitzen zwei konservierte Regionen, C1 und C2, die essentiell zur Regulation der Cav Kanäle sind und Homologien zur Src-Homologiedomäne 3 (SH3, C1) sowie Guanylatkinase (GK, C2) aufweisen. Experimente mit SH3- und GK-defizienten sowie mit Plasmamembran-assoziierten β3 Proteinen, die jeweils nach Mutation der cDNA erhalten wurden, zeigen, dass die SH3 Domäne und die zytosolische Lokalisation von β3 notwendig für die Interaktion von Cavβ3 und IP3 Rezeptoren sowie die β3- abhängige Reduktion der Agonisten-induzierten Ca2+ -Freisetzung sind. Mithilfe von Glutathion S-Transferase "Pull Down" Experimenten wurden zwei neue Bindestellen für Cavβ3 im Bereich der Aminosäurereste 346-917 und 1387-2249 des IP3R3 lokalisiert. Die Migration der Fibroblasten, die aus Cavβ3-defizienten Tieren präpariert werden, war signifikant verändert gegenüber Fibroblasten von Wildtyp-Tieren. Diese in vitro Experimente haben wir versucht in ein in vivo Experiment zu übertragen und haben die Wundheilung von Wildtyp Mäusen und β3-defizienten Mäusen vergleichend untersucht. Die Wundheilung der Haut verlief signifikant schneller bei β3-defizienten Mäusen im Vergleich zu Wildtyp Mäusen. Zusammenfassend haben wir eine bisher unbekannte Cav-unabhängige Funktion des Cavβ3 Proteins entdeckt: In Gegenwart Cavβ3 sind Zellen weniger sensitiv gegenüber niedrigen IP3 Konzentrationen, wahrscheinlich indem Cavβ3 über seine SH3-Domaine mit der internen Bindedomäne des IP3-Rezeptors interagiert. Dies hat eine signifikanten Einfluss auf die Migration von Fibroblasten in vitro und die Wundheilung der Haut in vivo

Malnutrition and poverty in Guatemala

The objective of this paper is to document the extent, and distribution of child, and adult malnutrition in Guatemala; to analyze the relationship between selected child, maternal, household and community characteristics, and children's nutritional status; and, to outline the implications of the most important findings for nutritional policy. The prevalence of chronic malnutrition among Guatemalan children in 2000, was the highest in Latin America, and among the highest in the world. The data show very strong socioeconomic, and geographic inequality. The econometric analysis reveals a strong impact of income, and of inter-generational effects. Education of adults in the household, and the availability of infrastructure, are other important determinants of children's growth attainment. Finally, even controlling for income, and other household and community characteristics, ethnicity remains an important determinant of child nutritional status. The study also reveals an increasing prevalence of excess weights, and obesity among children and adults. Over-nutrition tends to be higher among individuals living in urban areas, and among non-poor, and non-indigenous households.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Primary Education,Public Health Promotion,Early Childhood Development,Early Childhood Development,Youth and Governance,Nutrition,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health