Transitions of cardio-metabolic risk factors in the Americas between 1980 and 2014

Describing the prevalence and trends of cardiometabolic risk factors that are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is crucial for monitoring progress, planning prevention, and providing evidence to support policy efforts. We aimed to analyse the transition in body-mass index (BMI), obesity, blood pressure, raised blood pressure, and diabetes in the Americas, between 1980 and 2014

A century of trends in adult human height

Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5-22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3-19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8-144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries

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)

First Fossil of Rhinoclemmys Fitzinger, 1826 (Cryptodira, Geoemydidae) East of the Andes

We describe the first undisputable fossil of Rhinoclemmys (Cryptodira, Geoemydidae) east of the Andes, represented by an isolated nuchal bone found in one of the most important paleontological sites with association of fauna and humans (Muaco site, western Venezuela) from the Late Pleistocene of the southern Caribbean. The nuchal is complete and slightly wider (4.8 cm) than long (4.2 cm), preserving well-defined sulci of the cervical, vertebral 1, marginal 1, and pleural 1. Comparisons with extant and fossil specimens of Rhinoclemmys allow us to attribute this nuchal to Rhinoclemmys, albeit as an indeterminate species. The occurrence of Rhinoclemmys in the southern Paraguaná Peninsula indicates that during the Late Pleistocene this region had environmental conditions that allowed the survival of these freshwater-terrestrially adapted reptiles, particularly of 'paleo-springs' inside a semi-arid region. © 2019 Brazilian Society of Herpetology

A Review of the Fossil Record of Ecuador, with Insights about Its Challenges and Future Development

Here we present a review of paleontology in Ecuador for the last three centuries, including the most significant studies, localities and their fossil record. This review is focused on four major fields of paleontology, which are: vertebrate paleontology, invertebrate paleontology, paleobotany and micropaleontology-palynology. The main fossil discoveries for each of these fields are ordered chronologically by date of publication and summarized in tables, maps and figures. Finally, we briefly discuss the current and near future challenges of paleontological research in the country. © 2018 Asociacion Paleontologica Argentina. All rights reserved

DETERMINACION DE FACTORES ASOCIADOS AL HABITO DE FUMAR EN UNA POBLACION DE MUJERES EN EMBARAZO

Smoking during pregnancy can produce severe damage to the fetus. It is known the habit is more frequent in older, multiparous, nonmarried and lower education level mothers. A pilot study to define the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy and to describe the associated factors. 50 pregnant women at the Hospital de San Jose in Bogota, Colombia were surveyed about smoking habit, demographic variables and knowledge of nocives effects in the fetus. The t test was used to compare proportions and means. The 14% of the patients smoked and six out of seven stoped the habit during the pregnancy. The group of smokers had a higher age mean (p = 0.011) and all the nonsmokers were married (p = 0.013). To develop this study will help to increase the knowledge about this important problem in public health

DETERMINACION DE FACTORES ASOCIADOS AL HABITO DE FUMAR EN UNA POBLACION DE MUJERES EN EMBARAZO

Smoking during pregnancy can produce severe damage to the fetus. It is known the habit is more frequent in older, multiparous, nonmarried and lower education level mothers. A pilot study to define the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy and to describe the associated factors. 50 pregnant women at the Hospital de San Jose in Bogota, Colombia were surveyed about smoking habit, demographic variables and knowledge of nocives effects in the fetus. The t test was used to compare proportions and means. The 14% of the patients smoked and six out of seven stoped the habit during the pregnancy. The group of smokers had a higher age mean (p = 0.011) and all the nonsmokers were married (p = 0.013). To develop this study will help to increase the knowledge about this important problem in public health

Analysis of IL1B, TAP1, TAP2 and IKBL polymorphisms on susceptibility to tuberculosis

Genetic determinants of human susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) have not been completely elucidated. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1?) and the inhibitor of kB-like (IkBL) are important molecules that participate in the inflammatory response required for the immunological control of a broad spectrum of infectious agents. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) is involved in the antigen processing via major histocompatibility complex class I molecules and in turn might regulate the T-cell response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. To better characterize the host genetic factors determining the susceptibility to TB, we evaluated the influence of functional polymorphisms in IL1B, TAP and IKBL genes on the risk of developing pulmonary TB in a Northwestern Colombian population, an endemic area of M. tuberculosis infection. A total of 122 TB patients and 166 healthy controls (N = 166) negative for human immunodeficiency virus infection were examined for IL1B-511 and +3953, TAP1 and TAP2 and IKBL+738 polymorphisms. Univariate analysis disclosed significant differences between patients and controls for IL1B+3953 polymorphism. After unconditional logistic regression analysis, a strong protection conferred by IL1B+3953 T-allele-carrying genotypes was observed. A trend between TAP2*0201 allele and disease was observed. Association between IL1B-511, TAP1 or IKBL polymorphisms and TB disease was not found. These results indicate that a functional polymorphism in the IL1B gene influences the susceptibility to TB and suggest a role for IL-1? in the pathogenesis of mycobacterial infection. © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard