Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol�which is a marker of cardiovascular risk�changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95 credible interval 3.7 million�4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world. © 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited

Inversion heterozygosity in the hybrid soybean × Glycine soja: Evidence from a pachytene loop configuration and other meiotic irregularities

Meiotic irregularities and partial sterility were found in the hybrid between the soybean, Glycine max and its presumed wild progenitor, Glycine soja. Chromosome bridges and fragments were believed to be caused by inversion heterozygosity. The presence of an inversion was confirmed by finding an inversion loop at pachytene. Other evidence for inversions came from bivalents that failed to separate in the first division. These bivalents acted as laggards or passed intact to one pole at anaphase I. Nondisjunction of the partners in the bivalents was believed to result from chiasmata occurring in the region of an inversion in the bivalents. The number of bridges, fragments, and lagging bivalents suggest the presence of more than two inversion differences between the two species.Chromosomal differentiation together with wide genetical and morphological differences provide evidence that G. max and G .soja are two distinctly separate species

Karyotype analysis in lignosus bean (Dipogon lignosus) and lablab bean (Lablab purpureus)

The experiment was conducted in the cytogenetics laboratory of the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding of Bangladesh Agricultural University during July 2008 to September 2009 aiming to analyze and compare the karyotypes of two genotypes of Lignosus bean (Dipogon lignosus L.) and Lablab bean (Lablab purpureus L.). Root tips from germinated seeds were collected, pretreated and fixed in acetic alcohol for using in slide preparation. Chromosome measurements were done from the prints of the photomicrographs of prometaphase plates. In both the genotypes, 2n = 22 chromosomes was found. The range of length of the individual chromosome was 1.22 to 2.17μ in Lignosus bean, and 1.17 to 3.00μ in Lablab bean. In the Lignosus bean genotype, the haploid complement consisted of 11 metacentric (m) chromosomes with 3 individually identifiable ones but incase of Lablab bean the haploid complement consisted of 11 m chromosomes with 5 individually identifiable ones. All identifiable chromosomes were metacentric. This karyotype analysis of Lignosus bean and Lablab bean will be useful for further genetic studies

Harmonising Individual Patient Level Cardiac Registry Data Across the Asia Pacific Region - A Feasibility Study of In-Hospital Outcomes of STEMI Patients From the Asia Pacific Evaluation of Cardiovascular Therapies (ASPECT) Network.

Objective The Asia-Pacific Evaluation of Cardiovascular Therapies (ASPECT) collaboration was established to inform on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the Asia-Pacific Region. Our aims were to (i) determine the operational requirements to assemble an international individual patient dataset and validate the processes of governance, data quality and data security, and subsequently (ii) describe the characteristics and outcomes for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing PCI in the ASPECT registry. Methods Seven (7) ASPECT members were approached to provide a harmonised anonymised dataset from their local registry. Patient characteristics were summarised and associations between the characteristics and in-hospital outcomes for STEMI patients were analysed. Results Six (6) participating sites (86%) provided governance approvals for the collation of individual anonymised patient data from 2015 to 2017. Five (5) sites (83%) provided >90% of agreed data elements and 68% of the collated elements had <10% missingness. From the registry (n=12,620), 84% were male. The mean age was 59.2±12.3 years. The Malaysian cohort had a high prevalence of previous myocardial infarction (34%), almost twice that of any other sites (p<0.001). Adverse in-hospital outcomes were the lowest in Hong Kong whilst in-hospital mortality varied from 2.7% in Vietnam to 7.9% in Singapore. Conclusions Governance approvals for the collation of individual patient anonymised data was achieved with a high level of data alignment. Secure data transfer process and repository were established. Patient characteristics and presentation varied significantly across the Asia-Pacific region with this likely to be a major predictor of variations in the clinical outcomes observed across the region.Christopher M. Reid, HuiJun Chih, Stephen J. Duffy, Angela L. Brennan, Andrew E. Ajani, John Beltrame, Rosanna Tavella, Bryan P. Yan, Diem Dinh, Chee Tang Chin, Loi Doan Do, Quang Ngoc Nguyen, Hoai T.T. Nguyen, Ika Prasetya Wijaya, Muhammad Yamin, Lusiani Rusdi, Idrus Alwi, Kui Hian Sim, Alan Yean Yip Fong, l, Wan Azman Wan Ahmad, Khung Keong Yeo, on behalf of the ASPECT Investigator

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions. © Copyright