Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Both individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload) as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA). The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children. METHODS: Forty preschools (N = 542 children) of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland) participated in the study (Ballabeina Study). Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness), objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers) and agility performance (obstacle course). Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload) were assessed by questionnaire. RESULTS: Children from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ≥10%; all p ≤ 0.04). Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ≤8% (p ≤ 0.02). While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ≤9%, p ≤ 0.008), but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p = NS). Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children's skinfolds (all p ≤ 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The regional environment, especially the broader social environment, plays a prominent role in determining adiposity, PA and motor skills of young children and should be implicated in the prevention of obesity and promotion of PA in children

Spt2p Defines a New Transcription-Dependent Gross Chromosomal Rearrangement Pathway

Large numbers of gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) are frequently observed in many cancers. High mobility group 1 (HMG1) protein is a non-histone DNA-binding protein and is highly expressed in different types of tumors. The high expression of HMG1 could alter DNA structure resulting in GCRs. Spt2p is a non-histone DNA binding protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and shares homology with mammalian HMG1 protein. We found that Spt2p overexpression enhances GCRs dependent on proteins for transcription elongation and polyadenylation. Excess Spt2p increases the number of cells in S phase and the amount of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) that might be susceptible to cause DNA damage and GCR. Consistently, RNase H expression, which reduces levels of ssDNA, decreased GCRs in cells expressing high level of Spt2p. Lastly, high transcription in the chromosome V, the location at which GCR is monitored, also enhanced GCR formation. We propose a new pathway for GCR where DNA intermediates formed during transcription can lead to genomic instability

Neutron scattering from glycine and deuterated glycine

Dynamics of &#945;-glycine from normal, C-deuterated and N-deuterated samples at 20 K has been investigated through high-resolution neutron-scattering experiments in the energy-transfer range 5-250 meV. Torsional peak of NH<SUP>+</SUP><SUB>3</SUB> is found to be split, an observation made for the first time using neutrons. The torsional potential is seen to be anharmonic. Coupling of other modes to the motion of hydrogen atoms of NH<SUP>+</SUP><SUB>3</SUB> and CH<SUB>2</SUB> is discussed

Dynamics of H₂O in Ba(ClO₃)₂&middot;H₂O

Dynamics of water molecules in Ba(ClO3)2 · H2O has been investigated through high resolution neutron scattering experiments at 6 K in the energy transfer region 5-200 mev. The libration peaks are found to be correlation split, an observation made for the first time using neutrons. The libration potential is seen to be anharmonic. We have now carried out neutron scattering experiments on a powder sample at 6 K on a higher resolution instrument, TFXA (energy resolution about 15 cm-1 at 500 cm-1) at ISIS, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, U.K., covering the energy transfer (ℏω) region 5-200 mev

Артинские вести. 2021. № 086

© 2015 The Authors. Meteoritics & Planetary Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Meteoritical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License [4.0 license], which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The attached file is the published version of the article