Body composition, VO2máx. and the lifestyle of young students of the higher education

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to characterize the subjects of the sample in what concerns their corporal composition, through the index of corporal mass and of the percentage of fat mass, their cardiorespiratory capacity, their eating and smoking habits, and indexes of practice of physical activity. It also aimed to verify if there were statistically relevant relationships between these variables. METHODS: The study was carried out in 2006 and 2007, in Beja, a city in the South of Portugal. The sample comprised 183 students attending the first year of all the courses of a higher education institution in the school year of 2006/07, with ages ranging from 18 to 40 years old. Through a questionnaire, the Astrand Test, and the technique of electric bioimpedance, we obtained the results that allowed us to reach the intended objectives. We used the program Bodygram to obtain the data related to the index of corporal mass and the percentage of fat mass, and the program SPSS, version 14.0, to accomplish the descriptive analysis of the data, a variance analysis and also a correlational analysis. RESULTS: We found evidence that 62.8% of the subjects of the sample presented values of percentage of fat mass above the recommended limits and that 55.7% obtained very low values of VO2max. We also found that 61.7% didn't consider themselves active subjects in what concerns the regular practice of physical activity, and that this variable was correlated with VO2máx. (p=0.01) CONCLUSIONS: We could conclude that most of the subjects of our sample presented low indexes of physical activity, deficient cardiorespiratory capacity and high values in what concerns the percentage of fat mass. The practice of physical activity showed to be positively correlated with the cardiorespiratory capacity. It is necessary to implement more effective campaigns to combat obesity and to sensitize for the regular practice of physical activity and for good eating habits

Variation in antiosteoporotic drug prescribing and spending across Spain. A population-based ecological cross-sectional study

Introduction: Evidence has shown that utilization of antiosteoporotic medications does not correspond with risk, and studies on other therapies have shown that adequacy of pharmaceutical prescribing might vary between regions. Nevertheless, very few studies have addressed the variability in osteoporotic drug consumption. We aimed to describe variations in pharmaceutical utilization and spending on osteoporotic drugs between Health Areas (HA) in Spain. Methods: Population-based cross-sectional ecological study of expenditure and utilization of the five therapeutic groups marketed for osteoporosis treatment in Spain in 2009. Small area variation analysis (SAVA) methods were used. The units of analysis were the 168 HA of 13 Spanish regions, including 7.2 million women aged 50 years and older. The main outcomes were the defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants and day (DDD/1000/Day) dispensed according to the pharmaceutical claims reimbursed, and the expenditure on antiosteoporotics at retail price per woman =50 years old and per year. Results: The average osteoporosis drug consumption was 116.8 DDD/1000W/Day, ranging from 78.5 to 158.7 DDD/1000W/Day between the HAs in the 5th and 95th percentiles. Seventy-five percent of the antiosteoporotics consumed was bisphosphonates, followed by raloxifene, strontium ranelate, calcitonins, and parathyroid hormones including teriparatide. Regarding variability by therapeutic groups, biphosphonates showed the lowest variation, while calcitonins and parathyroid hormones showed the highest variation. The annual expenditure on antiosteoporotics was €426.5 million, translating into an expenditure of €59.2 for each woman =50 years old and varying between €38.1 and €83.3 between HAs in the 5th and 95th percentiles. Biphosphonates, despite accounting for 79% of utilization, only represented 63% of total expenditure, while parathyroid hormones with only 1.6% of utilization accounted for 15% of the pharmaceutical spending. Conclusion: This study highlights a marked geographical variation in the prescription of antiosteoporotics, being more pronounced in the case of costly drugs such as parathyroid hormones. The differences in rates of prescribing explained almost all of the variance in drug spending, suggesting that the difference in prescription volume between territories, and not the price of the drugs, is the main source of variation in this setting. Data on geographical variation of prescription can help guide policy proposals for targeting areas with inadequate antiosteoporotic drug use

Epidemiological Differences between Localized and Nonlocalized Low Back Pain

Study Design. A cross-sectional survey with a longitudinal follow-up. Objectives. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that pain, which is localized to the low back, differs epidemiologically from that which occurs simultaneously or close in time to pain at other anatomical sites Summary of Background Data. Low back pain (LBP) often occurs in combination with other regional pain, with which it shares similar psychological and psychosocial risk factors. However, few previous epidemiological studies of LBP have distinguished pain that is confined to the low back from that which occurs as part of a wider distribution of pain. Methods. We analyzed data from CUPID, a cohort study that used baseline and follow-up questionnaires to collect information about musculoskeletal pain, associated disability, and potential risk factors, in 47 occupational groups (office workers, nurses, and others) from 18 countries. Results. Among 12,197 subjects at baseline, 609 (4.9%) reported localized LBP in the past month, and 3820 (31.3%) nonlocalized LBP. Nonlocalized LBP was more frequently associated with sciatica in the past month (48.1% vs. 30.0% of cases), occurred on more days in the past month and past year, was more often disabling for everyday activities (64.1% vs. 47.3% of cases), and had more frequently led to medical consultation and sickness absence from work. It was also more often persistent when participants were followed up after a mean of 14 months (65.6% vs. 54.1% of cases). In adjusted Poisson regression analyses, nonlocalized LBP was differentially associated with risk factors, particularly female sex, older age, and somatizing tendency. There were also marked differences in the relative prevalence of localized and nonlocalized LBP by occupational group. Conclusion. Future epidemiological studies should distinguish where possible between pain that is limited to the low back and LBP that occurs in association with pain at other anatomical locations

Identification of Sec36p, Sec37p, and Sec38p: Components of Yeast Complex That Contains Sec34p and Sec35p

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins Sec34p and Sec35p are components of a large cytosolic complex involved in protein transport through the secretory pathway. Characterization of a new secretion mutant led us to identify SEC36, which encodes a new component of this complex. Sec36p binds to Sec34p and Sec35p, and mutation of SEC36 disrupts the complex, as determined by gel filtration. Missense mutations of SEC36 are lethal with mutations in COPI subunits, indicating a functional connection between the Sec34p/sec35p complex and the COPI vesicle coat. Affinity purification of proteins that bind to Sec35p-myc allowed identification of two additional proteins in the complex. We call these two conserved proteins Sec37p and Sec38p. Disruption of either SEC37 or SEC38 affects the size of the complex that contains Sec34p and Sec35p. We also examined COD4, COD5, and DOR1, three genes recently reported to encode proteins that bind to Sec35p. Each of the eight genes that encode components of the Sec34p/sec35p complex was tested for its contribution to cell growth, protein transport, and the integrity of the complex. These tests indicate two general types of subunits: Sec34p, Sec35p, Sec36p, and Sec38p seem to form the essential core of a complex to which Sec37p, Cod4p, Cod5p, and Dor1p seem to be peripherally attached

Desempenho produtivo de cabritos alimentados com diferentes dietas líquidas, associadas com promotor de crescimento Effects of feeding different liquid diets with or without growth promoter on performance of kid goats

O experimento foi conduzido para se avaliar o desempenho de cabritos tratados com leite de cabra integral ou colostro de vaca fermentado com ou sem óleo de soja, e com aplicação ou não do promotor de crescimento Zeranol. Vinte e quatro cabritos da raça Alpina foram dispostos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial 3 x 2. Cada animal recebeu, pela manhã, 1 L da dieta líquida e 250 g/animal/dia de concentrado. Foram avaliados o ganho de peso dos animais, os consumos de concentrado e de matéria seca, a conversão alimentar e o tamanho dos órgãos. Houve diferenças entre as dietas líquidas, com ou sem a aplicação de Zeranol, para ganho de peso aos 29, 36, e 50 dias de idade, mas não para o ganho médio diário. A não aplicação de Zeranol nos tratamentos com leite de cabra e colostro fermentado com óleo de soja proporcionou diferença média de 8% no ganho de peso dos animais alimentados com leite de cabra. Não se observou diferença nos consumos de concentrado e de matéria seca e na conversão alimentar dos animais entre as diferentes dietas líquidas avaliadas. Não houve influência do Zeranol ou do óleo de soja nas dietas líquidas sobre nenhum dos órgãos estudados<br>The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of feeding whole goat milk or fermented cow colostrum supplemented or not with soy oil and with or without the growth promoter Zeranol on performance of kid goats. Twenty-four Alpine kid goats assigned to a completely randomized design in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement were used in this trial. The following variables were investigated: weight gain, intakes of dry matter and concentrate, feed conversion, and organ sizes. Significant differences were observed among liquid diets with or without Zeranol for weight gain at 29, 36, and 50 days old, but not for the average daily gain. No significant differences for intake of both dry matter and concentrate as well as for feed conversion were detected among liquid diets. Supplementation of the liquid diets with soy oil and injection of Zeranol did not change the organ sizes

Disabling musculoskeletal pain in working populations: Is it the job, the person, or the culture?

To compare the prevalence of disabling low back pain (DLBP) and disabling wrist/hand pain (DWHP) among groups of workers carrying out similar physical activities in different cultural environments, and to explore explanations for observed differences, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in 18 countries. Standardised questionnaires were used to ascertain pain that interfered with everyday activities and exposure to possible risk factors in 12,426 participants from 47 occupational groups (mostly nurses and office workers). Associations with risk factors were assessed by Poisson regression. The 1-month prevalence of DLBP in nurses varied from 9.6% to 42.6%, and that of DWHP in office workers from 2.2% to 31.6%. Rates of disabling pain at the 2 anatomical sites covaried (r = 0.76), but DLBP tended to be relatively more common in nurses and DWHP in office workers. Established risk factors such as occupational physical activities, psychosocial aspects of work, and tendency to somatise were confirmed, and associations were found also with adverse health beliefs and group awareness of people outside work with musculoskeletal pain. However, after allowance for these risk factors, an up-to 8-fold difference in prevalence remained. Systems of compensation for work-related illness and financial support for health-related incapacity for work appeared to have little influence on the occurrence of symptoms. Our findings indicate large international variation in the prevalence of disabling forearm and back pain among occupational groups carrying out similar tasks, which is only partially explained by the personal and socioeconomic risk factors that were analysed

Axion Dark Matter

Axions are well-motivated dark matter candidates with simple cosmological production mechanisms. They were originally introduced to solve the strong CP problem, but also arise in a wide range of extensions to the Standard Model. This Snowmass white paper summarizes axion phenomenology and outlines next-generation laboratory experiments proposed to detect axion dark matter. There are vibrant synergies with astrophysical searches and advances in instrumentation including quantum-enabled readout, high-Q resonators and cavities and large high-field magnets. This white paper outlines a clear roadmap to discovery, and shows that the US is well-positioned to be at the forefront of the search for axion dark matter in the coming decade.Axions are well-motivated dark matter candidates with simple cosmological production mechanisms. They were originally introduced to solve the strong CP problem, but also arise in a wide range of extensions to the Standard Model. This Snowmass white paper summarizes axion phenomenology and outlines next-generation laboratory experiments proposed to detect axion dark matter. There are vibrant synergies with astrophysical searches and advances in instrumentation including quantum-enabled readout, high-Q resonators and cavities and large high-field magnets. This white paper outlines a clear roadmap to discovery, and shows that the US is well-positioned to be at the forefront of the search for axion dark matter in the coming decade