Associations between initial change in physical activity level and subsequent change in regional body fat distributions

Background: Few studies have examined which lifestyle factors relate to the development of fat distribution. Therefore, the identification of the determinants of changes in fat deposition is highly relevant. Methods: The association between the change in physical activity (PA) and the subsequent changes in regional body fat distributions was examined. In total, 1,236 men and 1,201 women were included at baseline and participated in the Danish MONICA (MONItoring Trends and Determinants in CArdiovascular Disease) study. A questionnaire was used to assess PA at 5 and 11 years after baseline examination, while waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) were measured at both follow-ups. Results: Among men, WC increased in the constant active group to a lesser extent than in the non-constant active group (3.4 vs. 4.1 cm; p = 0.03) concerning leisure time physical activities (LTPA). A similar pattern was observed for both WC and HC in relation to occupational physical activities (OPA) (p = 0.02). Among women, the results went in the same direction for LTPA, whereas the associations with OPA were in the opposite direction (p = 0.001). Conclusion: LTPA and OPA were associated with reduced subsequent 6-year changes in regional fat distribution for men. For women, no associations were observed in relation to WC; however, OPA seemed to increase HC among women

Childhood body mass index and height and risk of histologic subtypes of endometrial cancer

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer risk factors include adult obesity and taller stature, but the influence of size earlier in life is incompletely understood. We examined whether childhood body mass index (BMI; kg m(−2)) and height were associated with histologic subtypes of endometrial cancer. METHODS: From the Copenhagen School Health Records Register, 155 505 girls born 1930–1989 with measured weights and heights from 7 to 13 years were linked to health registers. BMI and height were transformed to age-specific z-scores. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by Cox regressions. RESULTS: A total of 1020 endometrial cancers were recorded. BMI was non-linearly associated with all endometrial cancers, oestrogen-dependent cancers and the subtype of endometrioid adenocarcinomas; associations were statistically significant and positive above a z-score=0 and non-significant below zero. Compared with a 7-year-old girl with a BMI z-score=0, an equally tall girl who was 3.6 kg heavier (BMI z-score=1.5) had a hazard ratio=1.53 (95% confidence interval: 1.29–1.82) for endometrioid adenocarcinoma. BMI was not associated with non-oestrogen-dependent cancers, except at the oldest childhood ages. Height at all ages was statistically significant and positively associated with all endometrial cancers, except non-oestrogen-dependent cancers. At 7 years, per ~5.2 cm (1 z-score), the risk of endometrioid adenocarcinoma was 1.18 (95% confidence interval: 1.09–1.28). Among non-users of unopposed oestrogens, associations between BMI and endometrioid adenocarcinoma strengthened, but no effects on height associations were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Endometrial carcinogenesis is linked to early-life body size, suggesting that childhood BMI and height may be useful indicators for the risk of later development of endometrial cancer and might aid in the early prevention of obesity-related endometrial cancers

Taking ethics into account in farm animal breeding:what can the breeding companies achieve?

Animal welfare and the ethical issues it raises have been discussed intensively for a couple of decades. The emphasis has been on the direct effects of housing and husbandry, but more attention is now being given to problems originating in selective breeding. European attempts to adjust animal welfare legislation to deal with these problems have been largely unsuccessful, but the fact that selective breeding can introduce welfare problems continues to place an ethical responsibility on the animal breeding industry. Since breeding decisions are made centrally and, increasingly, internationally, strategic change is only likely to occur if it is embedded in an international agreement of some kind. The aim of this paper is to describe the key ethical issues facing animal breeding and assess the suggestion that the breeding industry itself can deal with ethical issues by means of an ethical code. Results from recent projects involving commercial breeding enterprises are presented

Biomarkers for exposure to ambient air pollution--comparison of carcinogen-DNA adduct levels with other exposure markers and markers for oxidative stress.

Human exposure to genotoxic compounds present in ambient air has been studied using selected biomarkers in nonsmoking Danish bus drivers and postal workers. A large interindividual variation in biomarker levels was observed. Significantly higher levels of bulky carcinogen-DNA adducts (75.42 adducts/10(8) nucleotides) and of 2-amino-apidic semialdehyde (AAS) in plasma proteins (56.7 pmol/mg protein) were observed in bus drivers working in the central part of Copenhagen, Denmark. In contrast, significantly higher levels of AAS in hemoglobin (55.8 pmol/mg protein), malondialdehyde in plasma (0. 96 nmol/ml plasma), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-albumin adduct (3.38 fmol/ microg albumin) were observed in the suburban group. The biomarker levels in postal workers were similar to the levels in suburban bus drivers. In the combined group of bus drivers and postal workers, negative correlations were observed between bulky carcinogen-DNA adduct and PAH-albumin levels (p = 0.005), and between DNA adduct and [gamma]-glutamyl semialdehyde (GGS) in hemoglobin (p = 0.11). Highly significant correlations were found between PAH-albumin adducts and AAS in plasma (p = 0.001) and GGS in hemoglobin (p = 0.001). Significant correlations were also observed between urinary 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine and AAS in plasma (p = 0.001) and PAH-albumin adducts (p = 0.002). The influence of the glutatione S-transferase (GST) M1 deletion on the correlation between the biomarkers was studied in the combined group. A significant negative correlation was only observed between bulky carcinogen-DNA adducts and PAH-albumin adducts (p = 0.02) and between DNA adduct and urinary mutagenic activity (p = 0.02) in the GSTM1 null group, but not in the workers who were homozygotes or heterozygotes for GSTM1. Our results indicate that some of the selected biomarkers can be used to distinguish between high and low exposure to environmental genotoxins

The Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack): role of the binary vector system and selection cassettes

The influence of two binary vector systems, pGreen and pCAMBIA, on the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation ability of wheat and triticale was studied. Both vectors carried selection cassettes with bar or nptII driven by different promoters. Two cultivars of wheat, Kontesa and Torka, and one cultivar of triticale, Wanad, were tested. The transformation rates for the wheat cultivars ranged from 0.00 to 3.58% and from 0.00 to 6.79% for triticale. The best values for wheat were 3.58% for Kontesa and 3.14% for Torka, and these were obtained after transformation with the pGreen vector carrying the nptII selection gene under the control of 35S promoter. In the case of the bar selection system, the best transformation rates were, respectively, 1.46 and 1.79%. Such rates were obtained when the 35S::bar cassette was carried by the pCAMBIA vector; they were significantly lower with the pGreen vector. The triticale cultivar Wanad had its highest transformation rate after transformation with nptII driven by 35S in pCAMBIA. The bar selection system for the same triticale cultivar was better when the gene was driven by nos and the selection cassette was carried by pGreen. The integration of the transgenes was confirmed with at least three pairs of specific starters amplifying the fragments of nptII, bar, or gus. The expression of selection genes, measured by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in relation to the actin gene, was low, ranging from 0.00 to 0.63 for nptII and from 0.00 to 0.33 for bar. The highest relative transcript accumulation was observed for nptII driven by 35S and expressed in Kontesa that had been transformed with pGreen

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Cleome gynandra L., a C4 dicotyledon that is closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana

In leaves of most C4 plants, the biochemistry of photosynthesis is partitioned between mesophyll and bundle sheath cells. In addition, their cell biology and development also differs from that in C3 plants. We have a poor understanding of the mechanisms that generate the cell-specific accumulation of proteins used in the C4 pathway, and there are few genes that have been shown to be important for the cell biology and development of C4 leaves. To facilitate functional analysis of C4 photosynthesis, and to enable knowledge from Arabidopsis thaliana to be translated to C4 species, an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation protocol was developed for the C4 species Cleome gynandra. A. tumefaciens, harbouring the binary vector SLJ1006, was used to transfer the uidA gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter into C. gynandra. Co-incubation of hypocotyls or cotyledons with SLJ1006 allowed efficient transfer of DNA into C. gynandra, and media that allowed callus production and then shoot regeneration were identified. Stable transformants of C. gynandra with detectable amounts of β-glucuronidase (GUS) were produced at an efficiency of 14%. When driven by the CaMV 35S promoter, GUS was visible in all leaf cells, whereas uidA translationally fused to a CgRbcS gene generated GUS accumulation specifically in bundle sheath cells. This transformation procedure is the first for an NAD-ME type C4 plant and should significantly accelerate the analysis of mechanisms underlying C4 photosynthesis