Internal and external predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption in children

This thesis explored internal and external predictors of fruit and vegetable intake in children of different age groups. The first sample were toddlers between 2-3 years old and the second sample were children between 5-9 years old. Intake of fruit was analysed separately from intake of vegetables, and subgroups of fruit and vegetables with strong sensory properties were also analysed separately. The results showed that in the older sample lifetime exposure to variety of different fruit and vegetables was positively associated with quantity and diversity of fruit and vegetables consumed. In toddlers, liking of fruit and vegetables was not directly linked to their intake. In children of less controlling mothers fruit liking was positively associated with fruit intake and children of the more controlling mothers ate fruit independent of fruit liking. Past history of middle ear infections may affect adiposity and fruit and vegetable intake. Finally, individual levels of sensitivity to sweet taste may affect adiposity and intake of cruciferous vegetables and non-astringent fruit in school-age children. Parental intake was the strongest predictor of intake in both age groups. The results of this thesis show that fruit and vegetables have different predictors of intake and need to be considered separately

Demographic trends in rural areas in Poland taking into account the functional types of communes (survey research)

Praca powstała na podstawie wyników badań ankietowych nt. wielofunkcyjnego rozwoju obszarów wiejskich zrealizowanych w latach 2018/2019 i obejmujących szeroki zakres pytań dotyczących sfery gospodarczej, społecznej i planistycznej. Ankietę skierowano do wójtów i burmistrzów gmin wiejskichi miejsko-wiejskich. Wielofunkcyjny rozwój obszarów wiejskich w badaniu analizowano w relacji do typu funkcjonalnego gminy wyrażającego charakter gminy i specyfikę jej aktualnego rozwoju, w kontekście aktualnych trendów demograficznych. W artykule przeprowadzono ocenę sytuacji demograficznej w gminach, natomiast pominięto wątek działań władz samorządowychw zakresie gospodarczym i planistycznym i ich wpływ na wielofunkcyjny rozwójobszarów wiejskich. Badania wykazałyproces wyludniania się zdecydowanej większości obszarów wiejskich i duże zróżnicowanie przestrzenne tego zjawiska w odniesieniu do poszczególnych województw. Ocena wykazała, że obszary wiejskie w obrębie gmin miejsko-wiejskich podlegają depopulacji w większym stopniu niż w gminach wiejskich. Wykazano, że największy odsetek gmin utrzymujących ujemne saldo zaludnienia koncentruje się w gminach o charakterze typowo rolniczym, przygranicznym i leśnym.The work was based on the results of surveys on multifunctional rural development implemented in 2018/2019 and covering a wide range of questions about the economic, social and planning sphere. The survey was addressed to local authorities (mayors, commune administrators) of rural and urban-rural communes. In the study, multifunctional rural development was analyzed within the functional type of the commune expressing the character of the commune and the specificity of its current development in the context of current demographic trends. The article assesses the demographic situation in communes. Research has shown the intensive process of depopulation the most of rural areas and a large spatial diversity of this phenomenon in relation to provinces. The evaluation showed that rural areas within urban-rural communes are more depopulated compared to rural communes. Analyzing the process of depopulation by functional types, it was found that the largest percentage of communes maintaining a negative population balance is concentrated in typically agricultural, located at the border and forestry communes

Cohort profile : Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO)

The Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) is a preconception, longitudinal cohort study that aims to study the effects of nutrition, lifestyle, and maternal mood prior to and during pregnancy on the epigenome of the offspring and clinically important outcomes including duration of gestation, fetal growth, metabolic and neural phenotypes in the offspring. Between February 2015 and October 2017, the S-PRESTO study recruited 1039 Chinese, Malay or Indian (or any combinations thereof) women aged 18–45 years and who intended to get pregnant and deliver in Singapore, resulting in 1032 unique participants and 373 children born in the cohort. The participants were followed up for 3 visits during the preconception phase and censored at 12 months of follow up if pregnancy was not achieved (N = 557 censored). Women who successfully conceived (N = 475) were characterised at gestational weeks 6–8, 11–13, 18–21, 24–26, 27–28 and 34–36. Follow up of their index offspring (N = 373 singletons) is on-going at birth, 1, 3 and 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months and beyond. Women are also being followed up post-delivery. Data is collected via interviewer-administered questionnaires, metabolic imaging (magnetic resonance imaging), standardized anthropometric measurements and collection of diverse specimens, i.e. blood, urine, buccal smear, stool, skin tapes, epithelial swabs at numerous timepoints. S-PRESTO has extensive repeated data collected which include genetic and epigenetic sampling from preconception which is unique in mother–offspring epidemiological cohorts. This enables prospective assessment of a wide array of potential determinants of future health outcomes in women from preconception to post-delivery and in their offspring across the earliest development from embryonic stages into early childhood. In addition, the S-PRESTO study draws from the three major Asian ethnic groups that represent 50% of the global population, increasing the relevance of its findings to global efforts to address non-communicable diseases

Variants in PRKAR1B cause a neurodevelopmental disorder with autism spectrum disorder, apraxia, and insensitivity to pain

Purpose We characterize the clinical and molecular phenotypes of six unrelated individuals with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder who carry heterozygous missense variants of the PRKAR1B gene, which encodes the R1 beta subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). Methods Variants of PRKAR1B were identified by single- or trio-exome analysis. We contacted the families and physicians of the six individuals to collect phenotypic information, performed in vitro analyses of the identified PRKAR1B-variants, and investigated PRKAR1B expression during embryonic development. Results Recent studies of large patient cohorts with neurodevelopmental disorders found significant enrichment of de novo missense variants in PRKAR1B. In our cohort, de novo origin of the PRKAR1B variants could be confirmed in five of six individuals, and four carried the same heterozygous de novo variant c.1003C>T (p.Arg335Trp; NM_001164760). Global developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, and apraxia/dyspraxia have been reported in all six, and reduced pain sensitivity was found in three individuals carrying the c.1003C>T variant. PRKAR1B expression in the brain was demonstrated during human embryonal development. Additionally, in vitro analyses revealed altered basal PKA activity in cells transfected with variant-harboring PRKAR1B expression constructs. Conclusion Our study provides strong evidence for a PRKAR1B-related neurodevelopmental disorder