Development of a food frequency questionnaire to estimate habitual dietary intake in Japanese children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are used for epidemiological studies. Because of the wide variations in dietary habits within different populations, a FFQ must be developed to suit the specific group. To date, no FFQ has been developed for Japanese children. In this study, we developed a FFQ to assess the regular dietary intake of Japanese children. The FFQ included questions regarding both individual food items and mixed dishes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Children (3-11 years of age, n = 621) were recruited as subjects. Their parents or guardians completed a weighed dietary record (WDR) for each subject in one day. We defined FOOD to be not only as a single food item but also as a mixed dish. The dieticians conceptually grouped similar FOODs as FOOD types. We used a contribution analysis and a multiple regression analysis to select FOOD types.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We obtained a total of 586 children's dietary data (297 boys and 289 girls). In addition, we obtained 1,043 FOODs. Dieticians grouped into similar FOODs, yielding 275 FOOD types. A total of 115 FOOD types were chosen using a contribution analysis and a multiple regression analysis, then we excluded overlapping items. FOOD types that were eaten by fewer than 15 subjects were excluded; 74 FOOD types remained. We also added liver-based dishes that provided a high amount of retinol. A total of 75 FOOD types were finally determined for the FFQ. The frequency response formats were classified into four type categories: seven, eight, nine and eleven, according to the general intake frequency of each FOOD type. Information on portion size was obtained from the photographs of each listed FOOD type in real scale size, which was the average amount of the children's portion sizes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Using both a contribution analysis and a multiple regression analysis, we developed a 75-food item questionnaire from the study involving 586 children. The next step will involve the verification of FFQ reproducibility and validity.</p

Reproducibility and validity of the food frequency questionnaire for estimating habitual dietary intake in children and adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A previous study reported the development a 75-item food frequency questionnaire for Japanese children (CFFQ). The first aim was to examine the reproducibility and validity of the CFFQ in order to assess dietary intake among two groups; 3-11 year old children (YC group) and 12-16 year old children (AD group). The second aim was to use the CFFQ and the FFQ for adults (AFFQ), and to determine which was better suited for assessing the intake of children in each group.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of the 103 children participated in this study. The interval between the first CFFQ and AFFQ and the second CFFQ and AFFQ was one month. Four weighted dietary records (WDRs) were conducted once a week. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the first and second FFQs were calculated to test the reproducibility of each FFQ. Pearson's correlation coefficients between WDRs and the second FFQ were calculated for the unadjusted value and sex-, age-, and energy-adjusted values to determine the validity of each FFQ.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The final number of subjects participating in the analysis was 89. The median correlation coefficients between the first and second CFFQs and AFFQs were 0.76 and 0.73, respectively. There was some over/underestimation of nutrients in the CFFQ of the YC group and in the AFFQ of the AD group. The medians of the sex-, age-, and energy-adjusted correlation coefficients were not different between the YC and AD groups for each FFQ. The correlation coefficient in sex-, age-, and energy-adjusted value revealed that the largest number of subject with high (0.50 or more) value was obtained by the CFFQ in the YC group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study indicated that the CFFQ might be a useful tool for assessing habitual dietary intake of children in the YC group. Although the CFFQ agreed moderately with habitual intake, it was found to underestimate intake in theAD group. However, for the AFFQ, the ability to rank habitual intake was low. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new FFQ or modify an existing FFQ to accurately assess the habitual diet of children in the AD group.</p

Serum galectin-9 levels are elevated in the patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease

Background: Galectin-9 (Gal-9) induces apoptosis in activated T helper 1 (T(H)1) cells as a ligand for T cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (Tim-3). Gal-9 also inhibits the G1 phase cell cycle arrest and hypertrophy in db/db mice, the hallmark of early diabetic nephropathy, by reversing the high glucose-induced up-regulation of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors such as p27(Kip1) and p21(Cip1). Methods: We investigated the serum levels of Gal-9 in the patients with type 2 diabetes and various stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n = 182). Results: Serum Gal-9 levels in the patients with type 2 diabetes were 131.9 +/- 105.4 pg/ml and Log(10)Gal-9 levels significantly and positively correlated with age (r = 0.227, p = 0.002), creatinine (r = 0.175, p = 0.018), urea nitrogen (r = 0.162, p = 0.028) and osmotic pressure (r = 0.187, p = 0.014) and negatively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (r = -0.188, p = 0.011). Log(10)Gal-9 levels increased along with the progression of GFR categories of G1 to G4, and they were statistically significant by Jonckheere-Terpstra test (p = 0.012). Log(10)Gal-9 levels remained similar levels in albuminuria stages of A1 to A3. Conclusion: The elevation of serum Gal-9 in the patients with type 2 diabetes is closely linked to GFR and they may be related to the alteration of the immune response and inflammation of the patients with type 2 diabetes and CKD

The immunoreceptor adapter protein DAP12 suppresses B lymphocyte–driven adaptive immune responses

Human and mouse B cells lacking functional DAP12 are hyperresponsive, and DAP12 works with MAIR-II (CD300d) to negatively regulate B cell activity

The Impact of Schistosoma japonicum Infection and Treatment on Ultrasound-Detectable Morbidity: A Five-Year Cohort Study in Southwest China

Schistosomiasis is a water-borne parasite that infects approximately 200 million people worldwide. Schistosoma japonicum, found in Asia, causes disease by releasing eggs in the liver, leading to fibrosis, anemia, and, in children, impaired growth. Ultrasound can assess liver pathology from schistosomiasis; however more information is needed to evaluate the relevance of standard ultrasound measures. We followed 578 people for up to five years, testing for schistosomiasis infection and conducting ultrasound examinations to assess the relationship between infection and seven ultrasound measures and to evaluate the impact of treatment with anti-schistosomiasis chemotherapy (praziquantel) on morbidity. All infections were promptly treated. Fibrosis of the liver parenchyma, pathology unique to S. japonicum, was associated with schistosomiasis infection, and was most advanced in people with high worm burdens. Liver fibrosis declined significantly following treatment, but reversal of severe liver fibrosis was rare. Other ultrasound measures were not consistently related to schistosomiasis infection or treatment. These findings suggest parenchymal fibrosis can be used to measure morbidity attributable to S. japonicum and evaluate the impact of disease control efforts. Because reversal of severe fibrosis was limited, disease control efforts will be most effective if they can not only treat existing infections but also prevent new infections

Differential expression and the anti-apoptotic effect of human placental neurotrophins and their receptors.

Neurotrophin (NT) is important in the survival, maintenance and differentiation of neuronal tissue, and functions in follicle maturation, tumor growth, angiogenesis and immunomodulation; however, the expression of NT and its receptors (NTR) in human placenta and their influence on fetal growth are unclear. Here we investigated the correlation of NT and NTR in human placenta with uterine environment and fetal growth. TrkB, a NTR, mRNA was expressed on decidual and villous tissue and increased with gestational age, localizing in the trophoblast layer and endothelium by immunohistochemistry. Villous TrkB mRNA was significantly increased in preeclampsia (PE) than in controls and was higher in the normotensive small for gestational age (SGA) placenta, although it was not significant. It was also significantly increased in the small twin of discordant twin pregnancies. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the main ligand of TrkB, was expressed in membranous chorion and villous tissue and was significantly higher in maternal plasma in normotensive SGA and PE than in controls. TrkB mRNA expression was up-regulated on cultured villous tissue explants and on JEG-3, a choriocarcinoma cell line, by H(2)O(2) treatment. BDNF decreased apoptotic cells in H(2)O(2)-treated JEG-3, indicating that BDNF/TrkB signaling had anti-apoptotic effects against oxidative stress in JEG-3, suggesting a protective role of BDNF/TrkB in human villous tissue under unfavorable conditions in utero

Axion/hidden-photon dark matter conversion into condensed matter axion

The QCD axion or axion-like particles are candidates of dark matter of the universe. On the other hand, axion-like excitations exist in certain condensed matter systems, which implies that there can be interactions of dark matter particles with condensed matter axions. We discuss the relationship between the condensed matter axion and a collective spin-wave excitation in an anti-ferromagnetic insulator at the quantum level. The conversion rate of the light dark matter, such as the elementary particle axion or hidden photon, into the condensed matter axion is estimated for the discovery of the dark matter signals

Axion/hidden-photon dark matter conversion into condensed matter axion

The QCD axion or axion-like particles are candidates of dark matter of the universe. On the other hand, axion-like excitations exist in certain condensed matter systems, which implies that there can be interactions of dark matter particles with condensed matter axions. We discuss the relationship between the condensed matter axion and a collective spin-wave excitation in an anti-ferromagnetic insulator at the quantum level. The conversion rate of the light dark matter, such as the elementary particle axion or hidden photon, into the condensed matter axion is estimated for the discovery of the dark matter signals

Speaker-specific generalization of pragmatic inferences based on prenominal adjectives

To navigate many-to-many mappings between referents and linguistic expressions, listeners need to calibrate likelihood estimates for different referential expressions taking into account both the context and speaker-specific variation. Focusing on speaker variation, we present three experiments. Experiment 1 establishes that listeners generalize speakerspecific patterns of pre-nominal modification use across different adjective types. Experiment 2 examined a) the dimension of generalization (form-based or informativitybased); b) effects of the strength of the evidence (implicit or explicit); and c) individual differences in dimensions of generalization. Experiment 3 asked parallel questions for exposure to over-specified utterances; we predicted more conservative generalizations because in spontaneous utterances, speakers are more likely to over-modify than under-modify