Brief communication:getting Greenland’s glaciers right – a new data set of all official Greenlandic glacier names

Place names in Greenland can be difficult to get right, as they are a mix of Greenlandic, Danish, and other foreign languages. In addition, orthographies have changed over time. With this new data set, we give the researcher working with Greenlandic glaciers the proper tool to find the correct name for glaciers and ice caps in Greenland and to locate glaciers described in the historic literature with the old Greenlandic orthography. The data set contains information on the names of 733 glaciers, 285 originating from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and 448 from local glaciers and ice caps (LGICs)

Fish intake, erythrocyte n-3 fatty acid status and metabolic health in Danish adolescent girls and boys

Marinen-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) may have a beneficial effect on several aspects of the metabolic syndrome (dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, hypertension and abdominal obesity). The metabolic syndrome is increasing in prevalence during adolescence, but only few studies have investigated the effects ofn-3 LCPUFA in adolescence. The present study examines associations between fish intake (assessed by a 7 d pre-coded food diary), erythrocyte (RBC) DHA status (analysed by GC) and metabolic syndrome measures (anthropometry, blood pressure and plasma lipids, insulin and glucose) in 109 17-year-old children from the Copenhagen Birth Cohort Study. Of the children, 8 % were overweight or obese and few showed signs of the metabolic syndrome, but all the metabolic syndrome variables were correlated. Median fish intake was 10·7 (interquartile range 3·6–21·2) g/d. Boys tended to have a higher fish intake (P = 0·052), but girls had significantly higher RBC levels of DHA (P = 0·001). Sex and fish intake explained 37 % of the variance in RBC-DHA (P &lt; 0·001). After adjusting for confounders, high DHA status was found to be significantly correlated with higher systolic blood pressure (P = 0·014) and increased fasting insulin (P = 0·018), but no adverse association was observed with the mean metabolic syndromez-score. Overall, the present study showed the expected association between fish intake and RBC-DHA, which in contrast to our expectations tended to be associated with a poorer metabolic profile. Whether these results reflect the physiological function ofn-3 LCPUFA, lifestyle factors associated with fish intake in Denmark, or mere chance remains to be investigated.</jats:p

Fish oil supplementation from 9 to 18 months of age affects the insulin-like growth factor axis in a sex-specific manner in Danish infants

AbstractSeveral studies have investigated the effects of fish oil (FO) on infant growth, but little is known about the effects of FO and sex on insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), the main regulator of growth in childhood. We explored whether FOv. sunflower oil (SO) supplementation from 9 to 18 months of age affected IGF-1 and its binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and whether the potential effects were sex specific. Danish infants (n115) were randomly allocated to 5 ml/d FO (1·2 g/dn-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA)) or SO. We measured growth, IGF-1, IGFBP-3 and erythrocyte EPA, a biomarker ofn-3 LCPUFA intake and status, at 9 and 18 months. Erythrocyte EPA increased strongly with FO compared with SO (P&lt;0·001). There were no effects of FO compared with SO on IGF-1 in the total population, but a sex×group interaction (P=0·02). Baseline-adjusted IGF-1 at 18 months was 11·1 µg/l (95 % CI 0·4, 21·8;P=0·04) higher after FO compared with SO supplementation among boys only. The sex×group interaction was borderline significant in the model of IGFBP-3 (P=0·09), with lower IGFBP-3 with FO compared with SO among girls only (P=0·03). The results were supported by sex-specific dose–response associations between changes in erythrocyte EPA and changes in IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 (bothP&lt;0·03). Moreover, IGF-1 was sex specifically associated with BMI and length. In conclusion, FO compared with SO resulted in higher IGF-1 among boys and lower IGFBP-3 among girls. The potential long-term implications for growth and body composition should be investigated further.</jats:p

A study of associations between early DHA status and fatty acid desaturase (FADS) SNP and developmental outcomes in children of obese mothers

AbstractDHA from diet or endogenous synthesis has been proposed to affect infant development, however, results are inconclusive. In this study, we aim to verify previously observed fatty acid desaturase gene cluster (FADS) SNP-specific associations with erythrocyte DHA status in 9-month-old children and sex-specific association with developmental outcomes. The study was performed in 166 children (55 % boys) of obese mothers. Erythrocyte fatty acid composition was analysed in blood-samples obtained at 9 months of age, and developmental outcomes assessed by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire at 3 years. Erythrocyte DHA level ranged from 4·4 to 9·9 % of fatty acids, but did not show any association withFADSSNP or other potential determinants. Regression analysis showed associations between erythrocyte DHA and scores for personal–social skills (β1·8 (95 % CI 0·3, 3·3),P=0·019) and problem solving (β3·4 (95 % CI 1·2, 5·6),P=0·003). A tendency was observed for an association in opposite direction between minor alleles (G-variant) of rs1535 and rs174575 and personal–social skills (P=0·062 and 0·068, respectively), which became significant when the SNP were combined based on their previously observed effect on erythrocyte DHA at 9 months of age (β2·6 (95 % CI 0·01, 5·1),P=0·011). Sex–SNP interaction was indicated for rs174575 genotype on fine motor scores (P=0·016), due to higher scores among minor allele carrying girls (P=0·043), whereas no effect was seen among boys. In conclusion, DHA-increasingFADSSNP and erythrocyte DHA status were consistently associated with improved personal–social skills in this small cohort of children of obese mothers irrespective of sex, but the sample was too small to verify potential sex-specific effects.</jats:p

The association between newborn regional body composition and cord blood concentrations of C-peptide and insulin-like growth factor I

Third trimester fetal growth is partially regulated by C-peptide and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Prenatal exposures including maternal obesity and high gestational weight gain as well as high birth weight have been linked to subsequent metabolic disease. We evaluated the associations between newborn regional body composition and cord blood levels of C-peptide and IGF-I.We prospectively included obese and normal-weight mothers and their newborns; cord blood was collected and frozen. Analyses of C-peptide and IGF-I were performed simultaneously, after recruitment was completed. Newborn regional body composition was assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning (DXA) within 48 hours of birth.Three hundred thirty-six term infants were eligible to participate in the study; of whom 174 (52%) infants had cord blood taken. Total, abdominal and arm and leg fat mass were positively associated with C-peptide (p < 0.001). Arm and leg fat mass was associated with IGF-I concentration: 28 g [95% confidence interval: 4, 53] per doubling of IGF-I. There was no association between total or abdominal fat mass and IGF-I. Fat-free mass was positively associated with both C-peptide (p < 0.001) and IGF-I (p = 0.004).Peripheral fat tissue accumulation was associated with cord blood C-peptide and IGF-I. Total and abdominal fat masses were related to C-peptide but not to IGF-I. Thus, newborn adiposity is partially mediated through C-peptide and early linear growth is associated with IGF-I

Organic facies of the Frome Embayment and Callabonna Sub-basin: what and where are the uranium reductants?

Bernd H Michaelsen, Adrian J Fabris, John L Keeling, David M McKirdy, Laszlo F Katona and Les R Tucke

The role of leptin and other hormones related to bone metabolism and appetite regulation as determinants of gain in body fat and fat-free mass in 8-11-year-old children.

BACKGROUND: Regulation of body composition during childhood is complex. Numerous hormones are potentially involved. Leptin has been proposed to restrain weight gain, but results are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether baseline fasting levels of ghrelin, adiponectin, leptin, insulin, IGF-I, osteocalcin, and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were associated with body composition cross sectionally and longitudinally in 633 8-11-year-olds. DESIGN: Data on hormones and body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry from the OPUS School Meal Study were used. We looked at baseline hormones as predictors of baseline fat mass index (FMI) or fat-free mass index (FFMI), and also subsequent changes (3 and 6 months) in FMI or FFMI using models with hormones individually or combined. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally, baseline leptin was positively associated with FMI in girls (0.211 kg/m(2) pr. μg/mL; 97.5% confidence interval [CI],0.186-0.236; P < .001) and boys (0.231 kg/m(2) pr. μg/mL; 97.5% CI, 0.200-0.261; P < .001). IGF-I in both sexes and iPTH in boys were positively associated with FMI. An inverse association between adiponectin and FFMI in boys and a positive association between IGF-I and FFMI were found in girls. In longitudinal models, baseline leptin was inversely associated with subsequent changes in FMI (-0.018 kg/m(2) pr. μg/mL; 97.5% CI, -0.034 - -0.002; P = .028) and FFMI (-0.014 kg/m(2) pr. μg/mL; 97.5% CI, -0.024 - -0.003; P = .006) in girls. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectional findings support that leptin is produced in proportion to body fat mass, but the longitudinal observations support that leptin inhibits gains in FMI and FFMI in girls, a finding that may reflect preserved leptin sensitivity in this predominantly normal weight population.Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Stine-Mathilde Dalskov, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected]. This study was registered inClinicalTrials.gov as trial number NCT01457794. The OPUS study was financed by a Grant from the Nordea Foundation (grant number 02-2010-478 0389). A complete list of food suppliers providing full or partial food sponsorships to the study can be found at the website: http://foodoflife.ku.dk/ opus/wp/skolemadsprojektet/leverandorer. Sources of funding and donation had no role in the trial design; collection, analysis, interpretation of data or decision to publish.This is the accepted manuscript for a paper published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, March 2015, 100(3):1196 –1205, DOI: 10.1210/jc.2014-370