Early Predictors of Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in 8–10 Year Old Children: The Gateshead Millennium Study

With a number of studies suggesting associations between early life influences and later chronic disease risk, it is suggested that associations between early growth and later physical activity (PA) may be a mediator. However, conflicting evidence exists for association between birth weight and childhood PA. In addition, it is important to know what other, potentially modifiable, factors may influence PA in children given its' association with childhood and later adiposity. We used the Gateshead Millennium Study (GMS) to identify predictors of childhood PA levels. The GMS is a cohort of 1029 infants born in 1999–2000 in Gateshead in northern England. Throughout infancy and early childhood, detailed information was collected. Assessments at age 9 years included body composition, objective measures of habitual PA and a range of lifestyle factors. Mean total volumes of PA (accelerometer count per minute, cpm) and moderate-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA), and the percentage of time spent in sedentary behaviour (%SB) were quantified and related to potential predictors using linear regression and path analysis. Children aged 8–10 years were included. Significant differences were seen in all three outcome variables between sexes and season of measurement (p<0.001). Restricting children’s access to television was associated with decreased MVPA. Increased paternal age was associated with significant increases in %SB (p = 0.02), but not MVPA or total PA. Increased time spent in out of school sports clubs was significantly associated with decreased %SB (p = 0.02). No significant associations were seen with birth weight. A range of factors, directly or indirectly, influenced PA and sedentary behaviour. However, associations differed between the different constructs of PA and %SB. Exploring further the sex differences in PA would appear to be useful, as would encouraging children to join out of school sports clubs

Differential Developmental Deficits in Retinal Function in the Absence of either Protein Tyrosine Sulfotransferase-1 or -2

To investigate the role(s) of protein-tyrosine sulfation in the retina and to determine the differential role(s) of tyrosylprotein sulfotransferases (TPST) 1 and 2 in vision, retinal function and structure were examined in mice lacking TPST-1 or TPST-2. Despite the normal histologic retinal appearance in both Tpst1−/− and Tpst2−/− mice, retinal function was compromised during early development. However, Tpst1−/− retinas became electrophysiologically normal by postnatal day 90 while Tpst2−/− mice did not functionally normalize with age. Ultrastructurally, the absence of TPST-1 or TPST-2 caused minor reductions in neuronal plexus. These results demonstrate the functional importance of protein-tyrosine sulfation for proper development of the retina and suggest that the different phenotypes resulting from elimination of either TPST-1 or -2 may reflect differential expression patterns or levels of the enzymes. Furthermore, single knock-out mice of either TPST-1 or -2 did not phenocopy mice with double-knockout of both TPSTs, suggesting that the functions of the TPSTs are at least partially redundant, which points to the functional importance of these enzymes in the retina

Knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices about colorectal cancer among adults in an area of Southern Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer for both sexes in developed countries. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices regarding CRC of adults in Italy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A random sample of 1165 adults received a self-administered questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics; knowledge regarding definition, risk factors, and screening; attitudes regarding perceived risk of contracting CRC and utility of screening tests; health-related behaviors and health care use; source of information.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 18.5% knew the two main modifiable risk factors (low physical activity, high caloric intake from fat) and this knowledge was significantly associated with higher educational level, performing physical activity, modification of dietary habits and physical activity for fear of contracting CRC, and lower risk perception of contracting CRC. Half of respondents identified fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) as main test for CRC prevention and were more knowledgeable those unmarried, more educated, who knew the main risk factors of CRC, and have received advice by physician of performing FOBT. Personal opinion that screening is useful for CRC prevention was high with a mean score of 8.3 and it was predicted by respondents' lower education, beliefs that CRC can be prevented, higher personal perceived risk of contracting CRC, and information received by physician about CRC. An appropriate behavior of performing FOBT if eligible or not performing if not eligible was significantly higher in female, younger, more educated, in those who have been recommended by physician for undergo or not undergo FOBT, and who have not personal history of precancerous lesions and familial history of precancerous lesions or CRC.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Linkages between health care and educational systems are needed to improve the levels of knowledge and to raise CRC screening adherence.</p

Can inorganic elements affect herpesvirus infections in European eels?

SHORT RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION ARTICLEIn combination, pollution and pathogens represent a serious threat to the health of European eels that has been increasingly recognized. Thus, the impact of contaminants, cadmium, lead,mercury, and selenium, on anguillid herpesvirus 1 infection inwild European eels has been evaluated. Despite the small sample size, results indicate that selenium and mercury concentrations may compromise the European eel immune system as herpesvirus infection was more prevalent in specimens with higher Hg and Se hepatic concentrations.Versión del editor2,65

What Point-of-Use Water Treatment Products Do Consumers Use? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial among the Urban Poor in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that household point-of-use (POU) water treatment products can reduce the enormous burden of water-borne illness. Nevertheless, adoption among the global poor is very low, and little evidence exists on why. METHODS: We gave 600 households in poor communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh randomly-ordered two-month free trials of four water treatment products: dilute liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite solution, marketed locally as Water Guard), sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablets (branded as Aquatabs), a combined flocculant-disinfectant powdered mixture (the PUR Purifier of Water), and a silver-coated ceramic siphon filter. Consumers also received education on the dangers of untreated drinking water. We measured which products consumers used with self-reports, observation (for the filter), and chlorine tests (for the other products). We also measured drinking water's contamination with E. coli (compared to 200 control households). FINDINGS: Households reported highest usage of the filter, although no product had even 30% usage. E. coli concentrations in stored drinking water were generally lowest when households had Water Guard. Households that self-reported product usage had large reductions in E. coli concentrations with any product as compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Traditional arguments for the low adoption of POU products focus on affordability, consumers' lack of information about germs and the dangers of unsafe water, and specific products not meshing with a household's preferences. In this study we provided free trials, repeated informational messages explaining the dangers of untreated water, and a variety of product designs. The low usage of all products despite such efforts makes clear that important barriers exist beyond cost, information, and variation among these four product designs. Without a better understanding of the choices and aspirations of the target end-users, household-based water treatment is unlikely to reduce morbidity and mortality substantially in urban Bangladesh and similar populations

Development and testing of the BONES physical activity survey for young children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Weight-bearing and high intensity physical activities are particularly beneficial for stimulating bone growth in children given that bone responds favorably to mechanical load. While it is important to assess the contribution and impact of weight-bearing physical activity on health outcomes, measurement tools that quantify and provide information on these activities separately from overall physical activity are limited. This study describes the development and evaluation of a pictorial physical activity survey (PAS) that measures children's participation and knowledge of high-intensity, weight-bearing ("bone smart") physical activity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To test reliability, two identical sets of the PAS were administered on the same day to 41 children (mean age 7.1 ± 0.8 years; 63% female) and compared. To test validity, accelerometry data from 40 children (mean age 7.7 ± 0.8 years; 50% female) were compared to data provided by the PAS. Agreements between categorical and ordinal items were assessed with Kappa statistics; agreements between continuous indices were assessed with Spearman's correlation tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The subjects produced reliable results in all 10 physical activity participation items (κ range: 0.36-0.73, all p < 0.05), but less reliable in answering if the physical activities were "bone smart" (κ range: -0.04-0.66). Physical activity indices, including metabolic equivalent time and weight-bearing factors, were significant in test-retest analyses (Spearman's <it>r </it>range: 0.57-0.74, all p < 0.001). Minutes of very vigorous activity from the accelerometer were associated with the self-reported weight-bearing activity, moderate-high, and high activity scores from the PAS (Spearman's <it>r </it>range: 0.47-0.48, all p < 0.01). However, accelerometer counts, counts per minute, and minutes of moderate-vigorous and vigorous activity were not associated with the PAS scores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Together, the results of these studies suggest that the PAS has acceptable test-retest reliability, but limited validity for early elementary school children. This survey demonstrates a first step towards developing a questionnaire that measures high intensity, weight-bearing activity in schoolchildren.</p

Time-course of exercise and its association with 12-month bone changes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exercise has been shown to have positive effects on bone density and strength. However, knowledge of the time-course of exercise and bone changes is scarce due to lack of methods to quantify and qualify daily physical activity in long-term. The aim was to evaluate the association between exercise intensity at 3, 6 and 12 month intervals and 12-month changes in upper femur areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and mid-femur geometry in healthy premenopausal women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Physical activity was continuously assessed with a waist-worn accelerometer in 35 healthy women (35-40 years) participating in progressive high-impact training. To describe exercise intensity, individual average daily numbers of impacts were calculated at five acceleration levels (range 0.3-9.2 <it>g</it>) during time intervals of 0-3, 0-6, and 0-12 months. Proximal femur aBMD was measured with dual x-ray absorptiometry and mid-femur geometry was evaluated with quantitative computed tomography at the baseline and after 12 months. Physical activity data were correlated with yearly changes in bone density and geometry, and adjusted for confounding factors and impacts at later months of the trial using multivariate analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Femoral neck aBMD changes were significantly correlated with 6 and 12 months' impact activity at high intensity levels (> 3.9 <it>g</it>, <it>r </it>being up to 0.42). Trochanteric aBMD changes were associated even with first three months of exercise exceeding 1.1 <it>g </it>(<it>r </it>= 0.39-0.59, <it>p </it>< 0.05). Similarly, mid-femoral cortical bone geometry changes were related to even first three months' activity (<it>r </it>= 0.38-0.52, <it>p </it>< 0.05). In multivariate analysis, 0-3 months' activity did not correlate with bone change at any site after adjusting for impacts at later months. Instead, 0-6 months' impacts were significant correlates of 12-month changes in femoral neck and trochanter aBMD, mid-femur bone circumference and cortical bone attenuation even after adjustment. No significant correlations were found at the proximal or distal tibia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The number of high acceleration impacts during 6 months of training was positively associated with 12-month bone changes at the femoral neck, trochanter and mid-femur. These results can be utilized when designing feasible training programs to prevent bone loss in premenopausal women.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Clinical trials.gov NCT00697957</p

Formation of Amyloid-Like Fibrils by Y-Box Binding Protein 1 (YB-1) Is Mediated by Its Cold Shock Domain and Modulated by Disordered Terminal Domains

YB-1, a multifunctional DNA- and RNA-binding nucleocytoplasmic protein, is involved in the majority of DNA- and mRNA-dependent events in the cell. It consists of three structurally different domains: its central cold shock domain has the structure of a β-barrel, while the flanking domains are predicted to be intrinsically disordered. Recently, we showed that YB-1 is capable of forming elongated fibrils under high ionic strength conditions. Here we report that it is the cold shock domain that is responsible for formation of YB-1 fibrils, while the terminal domains differentially modulate this process depending on salt conditions. We demonstrate that YB-1 fibrils have amyloid-like features, including affinity for specific dyes and a typical X-ray diffraction pattern, and that in contrast to most of amyloids, they disassemble under nearly physiological conditions

Further evidence of psychological factors underlying choice of elective cesarean delivery (ECD) by primigravidae

Objective: Requests for elective cesarean delivery (ECD) have increased in Iran. While some sociodemographic and fear-related factors have been linked with this choice, psychological factors such as self-esteem, stress, and health beliefs are under-researched. Methods: A total of 342 primigravidae (mean age = 25 years) completed questionnaires covering psychological dimensions such as self-esteem, perceived stress, marital relationship quality, perceived social support, and relevant health-related beliefs. Results: Of the sample, 214 (62.6%) chose to undergo ECD rather than vaginal delivery (VD). This choice was associated with lower self-esteem, greater perceived stress, belief in higher susceptibility to problematic birth and barriers to an easy birth, along with lower perceived severity of ECD, fewer perceived benefits from VD, lower self-efficacy and a lower feeling of preparedness. No differences were found for marital relationship quality or perceived social support. Conclusions: The pattern suggests that various psychological factors such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and perceived stress underpin the decision by primigravidae to have an ECD

Hick and Radhakrishnan on Religious Diversity: Back to the Kantian Noumenon

We shall examine some conceptual tensions in Hick’s ‘pluralism’ in the light of S. Radhakrishnan’s reformulation of classical Advaita. Hick himself often quoted Radhakrishnan’s translations from the Hindu scriptures in support of his own claims about divine ineffability, transformative experience and religious pluralism. However, while Hick developed these themes partly through an adaptation of Kantian epistemology, Radhakrishnan derived them ultimately from Śaṁkara (c.800 CE), and these two distinctive points of origin lead to somewhat different types of reconstruction of the diversity of world religions. Our argument will highlight the point that Radhakrishnan is not a ‘pluralist’ in terms of Hick’s understanding of the Real. The Advaitin ultimate, while it too like Hick’s Real cannot be encapsulated by human categories, is, however, not strongly ineffable, because some substantive descriptions, according to the Advaitic tradition, are more accurate than others. Our comparative analysis will reveal that they differ because they are located in two somewhat divergent metaphysical schemes. In turn, we will be able to revisit, through this dialogue between Hick and Radhakrishnan, the intensely vexed question of whether Hick’s version of pluralism is in fact a form of covert exclusivism.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11841-015-0459-