Newborn feeding and infant phenotype

Breastfeeding in infancy, when compared with formula feeding, is associated with a reduced incidence of components of the metabolic syndrome later in life. One potential mechanism is via an effect on lipid metabolism and storage, manifesting as altered adiposity and ectopic lipid deposition. I have examined the null hypothesis: no association is detectable between infant feeding and adiposity or ectopic lipid in infancy, through a meta-analysis of published studies and a prospective cohort study of healthy infants employing gold standard direct measurement techniques (magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy). Eleven studies were identified for meta-analysis: in formula-fed compared to breastfed infants, fat mass was lower at 3-4 months [mean difference (95% confidence interval)]: [-0.09 kg (-0.18, -0.01 kg)] and 6 months [-0.18 kg (- 0.34, -0.01 kg)]. Conversely, at 12 months, fat mass was higher in formula-fed infants [0.29 kg (-0.03, 0.61 kg)] than in breastfed infants. Eighty-seven infants were included in a prospective cohort, of which 73 were investigated at two time points. In healthy, term, breastfed infants adipose tissue accretion between birth and 2-3 months ages was predominantly within subcutaneous rather than internal adipose tissue compartments, and a significant increase in intrahepatocellular lipid was detected: median [interquartile range] 0.653 [0.367-1.900] after birth and 1.837 [1.408-2.429] at 2-3 months. Comparing breastfed with formula fed infants within this cohort no significant differences were detected in total adipose tissue, adipose tissue distribution or intrahepatocellular lipid between birth and 2-3 months. Significant associations were detected between maternal BMI, rate of weight gain in early infancy and gender, and adipose tissue partitioning at 2-3 months. While method of feeding is associated with altered infant fat mass up to 6 months, no association is detectable with adipose tissue partitioning or ectopic hepatic lipid at 2-3 months.Open Acces

The acid-activatable cysteine proteinases of the Dictyosteliaceae and other lower eukaryotes.

The cysteine proteinases of Dictyostelium discoideum are unique enzymes in that they are found to be reversibly activated by pH shuffles in their lysosomal/endosomal microenvironments. Previous work has hypothesised that proteinases were present in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the pseudoplasmodium of D. discoideum. This work shows that acid-activatable cysteine proteinases are secreted during the aggregation of myxamoebae and the migration of the pseudoplasmodium. When assayed by gelatin-SDS-PAGE during the course of multicellular development in D. discoideum, the intracellular level of proteinases was found to decrease as development proceeded. However, this work finds that there is an increase in external levels of cysteine proteinases as multicellular development proceeds. The disulfide bonding of D. discoideum spore proteinases ddCP43 and ddCP48 were characterized and were observed to lack interdisulfide bonds. Native-PAGE analysis reveals two separate bands when the same sample were analyzed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Biological Sciences. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .G35. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0448. Adviser: D. A. Cotter. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998

Stairway to heaven or highway to hell? : the potential missiological efficacy of liturgical rock music in Canada

1 online resource (v, 108 pages)Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-108).Music is a sacred language that facilitates divine encounter. The church has developed a unique musical language which is distinct from other contemporary genres. This thesis explores the efficacy of liturgies that use vernacular, functional, and communal forms to fulfill a missiology of radical welcome. Living in the midst of a consumer-driven environment, the church can employ popular forms to facilitate life-changing encounters with the living God, but it also must wrestle with a populace who has been raised to believe that relationality is expressed transactionally. Contemporary rock artists have already been authentically grappling with this reality for decades, making their music an ideal liturgical choice to facilitate contemporary peoples' encounter with the paschal mystery which is the eternal rhythmic heart-beat of Christ's living Body

Childhood trauma and schizotypy in non-clinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis

© 2022 Toutountzidis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, to view a copy of the license, see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/The association of early life adversities and psychosis symptoms is well documented in clinical populations; however, whether this relationship also extends into subclinical psychosis remains unclear. In particular, are early life adversities associated with increased levels of schizotypal personality traits in non-clinical samples? We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of associations between early life adversities and psychometrically defined schizotypal traits in non-clinical samples. The review followed PRISMA guidelines. The search using PubMed, Web of Science and EBSCO databases identified 1,609 articles in total. Twenty-five studies (N = 15,253 participants) met eligibility criteria for the review. An assessment of study quality showed that fewer than half of all studies were rated as methodologically robust. Meta-analyses showed that all forms of childhood abuse (emotional, physical and sexual) and neglect (emotional and physical) were significantly associated with psychometric schizotypy. The association of schizotypy traits with childhood emotional abuse (r = .33: 95%CI .30 to .37) was significantly larger than for all other form of abuse or neglect. Meta-regression analyses showed that the physical abuse-schizotypy relationship was stronger in samples with more women participants; and the sexual abuse-schizotypy relationship was stronger in younger samples. The current review identifies a dose-response relationship between all forms of abuse/neglect and schizotypy scores in non-clinical samples; however, a stronger association emerged for emotional abuse. More research is required to address the relationship of trauma types and specific symptom types. Future research should also address the under-representation of men.Peer reviewe

Breastfeeding, the use of docosahexaenoic acid-fortified formulas in infancy and neuropsychological function in childhood

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between breastfeeding, use of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-fortified formula and neuropsychological function in children. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Southampton, UK. SUBJECTS: 241 children aged 4 years followed up from birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: IQ measured by the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence (3rd edn), visual attention, visuomotor precision, sentence repetition and verbal fluency measured by the NEPSY, and visual form-constancy measured by the Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (Non-Motor). RESULTS: In unadjusted analyses, children for whom breast milk or DHA-fortified formula was the main method of feeding throughout the first 6 months of life had higher mean full-scale and verbal IQ scores at age 4 years than those fed mainly unfortified formula. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, particularly maternal IQ and educational attainment, the differences in IQ between children in the breast milk and unfortified formula groups were severely attenuated, but children who were fed DHA-fortified formula had full-scale and verbal IQ scores that were respectively 5.62 (0.98 to 10.2) and 7.02 (1.56 to 12.4) points higher than children fed unfortified formula. However, estimated total intake of DHA in milk up to age 6 months was not associated with subsequent IQ or with score on any other test. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in children's intelligence according to type of milk fed in infancy may be due more to confounding by maternal or family characteristics than to the amount of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids they receive in milk

Development of the Paranormal and Supernatural Beliefs Scale using classical and modern test theory

Background: This study describes the construction and validation of a new scale for measuring belief in paranormal phenomena. The work aims to address psychometric and conceptual shortcomings associated with existing measures of paranormal belief. The study also compares the use of classic test theory and modern test theory as methods for scale development. Method: We combined novel items and amended items taken from existing scales, to produce an initial corpus of 29 items. Two hundred and thirty-one adult participants rated their level of agreement with each item using a seven-point Likert scale. Results: Classical test theory methods (including exploratory factor analysis and principal components analysis) reduced the scale to 14 items and one overarching factor: Supernatural Beliefs. The factor demonstrated high internal reliability, with an excellent test–retest reliability for the total scale. Modern test theory methods (Rasch analysis using a rating scale model) reduced the scale to 13 items with a four-point response format. The Rasch scale was found to be most effective at differentiating between individuals with moderate-high levels of paranormal beliefs, and differential item functioning analysis indicated that the Rasch scale represents a valid measure of belief in paranormal phenomena. Conclusions: The scale developed using modern test theory is identified as the final scale as this model allowed for in-depth analyses and refinement of the scale that was not possible using classical test theory. Results support the psychometric reliability of this new scale for assessing belief in paranormal phenomena, particularly when differentiating between individuals with higher levels of belief.Peer reviewe

Long term health care use and costs in patients with stable coronary artery disease : a population based cohort using linked electronic health records (CALIBER)

Aims To examine long term health care utilisation and costs of patients with stable coronary artery disease (SCAD). Methods and results Linked cohort study of 94,966 patients with SCAD in England, 1st January 2001 to 31st March 2010, identified from primary care, secondary care, disease and death registries. Resource use and costs, and cost predictors by time and 5-year cardiovascular (CVD) risk profile were estimated using generalised linear models. Coronary heart disease hospitalisations were 20.5% in the first year and 66% in the year following a non-fatal (myocardial infarction, ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke) event. Mean health care costs were £3,133 per patient in the first year and £10,377 in the year following a non-fatal event. First year predictors of cost included sex (mean cost £549 lower in females); SCAD diagnosis (NSTEMI cost £656 more than stable angina); and co-morbidities (heart failure cost £657 more per patient). Compared with lower risk patients (5-year CVD risk 3.5%), those of higher risk (5-year CVD risk 44.2%) had higher 5-year costs (£23,393 vs. £9,335) and lower lifetime costs (£43,020 vs. £116,888). Conclusion Patients with SCAD incur substantial health care utilisation and costs, which varies and may be predicted by 5-year CVD risk profile. Higher risk patients have higher initial but lower lifetime costs than lower risk patients as a result of shorter life expectancy. Improved cardiovascular survivorship among an ageing CVD population is likely to require stratified care in anticipation of the burgeoning demand