A parent motivational interviewing program for dental care in children of a rural population

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing-based educational program in reducing the number and intensity of new caries and bacterial dental plaque levels at 6 months post randomization. Study Design: A randomized and single blind clinical trial in 100 schoolchildren between 6-10 years of age presenting the highest risk score of caries according to the Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) criteria was performed. These patients were randomized to two groups: control (in which the mothers initially received an oral prevention informative session) and experimental (in which the mothers received the initial informative session, followed by individual motivational interviewing sessions during a period of 6 months). The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) scores and bacterial plaque were evaluated at baseline, at 6 and 12 months. Results: After 12 months, children in the experimental group had 2.12 ± 0.8 new caries versus 3.5 ± 0.9 in the control group (t=7.39; p <0.001). Caries in the experimental group was seen to be limited to the enamel, with a median intensity of 2 (range 0-3) versus 3 (0-6) in the control group (U=1594; p <0.0001). Bacterial plaque determined by the O'Leary index decreased in both groups; however, it decreased more in the experimental than in the control group (34.3 vs. 20.6; t=-3.12, p = 0.002) respectively. Conclusions: Motivational interviewing is better than traditional educational programs in preventing caries and decreasing bacterial plaque

Functional Consequences of the Human Leptin Receptor ( LEPR ) Q223R Transversion

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93715/1/oby.2008.489.pd

Evaluation of storm impact on sandy beaches of the Gulf of Valencia using Landsat imagery series

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.02.020. These data include Google maps of the most important areas described in this article.The impact of storms on sandy beaches and the subsequent recovery process is described from an analysis of the shoreline positions obtained from Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM + imagery. Shoreline extraction is based on an algorithm previously proposed by the authors that enables a positioning accuracy of 5 m root mean square error (RMSE). The impact of six storms registered over a period of seven months (between November 2001 and May 2002) and the beach recovery processes until December 2002 across a 100 km segment of the Gulf of Valencia on the Spanish Mediterranean coast were analysed by comparing 12 shoreline positions. The multiple shoreline positions obtained from Landsat images provide very useful information for describing the impact of storms and the recovery process across large segments of microtidal coast. This enables the identification of differences not only in the magnitude of change produced by a particular event but also in the cumulative effect associated with several storm events, and in the study of how the beach recovery process takes place. The results show a high level of spatial variability. Beaches with steep slopes experienced fewer changes than shallow slopes. The existence of well developed foredunes in some areas minimised the reduction in the beach width after the storms. Coastal orientation was another important factor in explaining storm impact and the recovery process. This factor affects not only the way the waves interact with the beaches but also the sediment longshore transport: beach regeneration is slower when the transport of sediments is limited by artificial infrastructures (groins, jetties, ports) or natural sediment traps (headlands). The main limitations of using the proposed methodology to obtain the shoreline position from Landsat images are related to: (i) the precision in the shoreline detection; (ii) the nature of the indicator obtained, that is, the water/land interface; and (iii) the registration instant defined by the image acquisition time. However, the high frequency of the data acquisition and the possibility to cover large coastal areas bring a new perspective that enriches other methods and tools used by coastal scientists.The authors appreciate the financial support provided by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion in the framework of the Projects CGL2009-14220-C02-01 and CGL2010-19591. We also thank the Direccion General de Costas in Valencia for making available the data for the tests and analysis. Finally, we would like to thank the useful suggestions provided by the anonymous referees and the assigned editor, which enabled us to improve the quality of this paper.Pardo Pascual, JE.; Almonacid Caballer, J.; Ruiz Fernández, LÁ.; Palomar-Vázquez, J.; Rodrigo-Alemany, R. (2014). Evaluation of storm impact on sandy beaches of the Gulf of Valencia using Landsat imagery series. Geomorphology. 214:388-401. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.02.020S38840121

Association between Variants of the Leptin Receptor Gene (LEPR) and Overweight: A Systematic Review and an Analysis of the CoLaus Study

BACKGROUND: Three non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (Q223R, K109R and K656N) of the leptin receptor gene (LEPR) have been tested for association with obesity-related outcomes in multiple studies, showing inconclusive results. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the association of the three LEPR variants with BMI. In addition, we analysed 15 SNPs within the LEPR gene in the CoLaus study, assessing the interaction of the variants with sex. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We searched electronic databases, including population-based studies that investigated the association between LEPR variants Q223R, K109R and K656N and obesity- related phenotypes in healthy, unrelated subjects. We furthermore performed meta-analyses of the genotype and allele frequencies in case-control studies. Results were stratified by SNP and by potential effect modifiers. CoLaus data were analysed by logistic and linear regressions and tested for interaction with sex. The meta-analysis of published data did not show an overall association between any of the tested LEPR variants and overweight. However, the choice of a BMI cut-off value to distinguish cases from controls was crucial to explain heterogeneity in Q223R. Differences in allele frequencies across ethnic groups are compatible with natural selection of derived alleles in Q223R and K109R and of the ancient allele in K656N in Asians. In CoLaus, the rs10128072, rs3790438 and rs3790437 variants showed interaction with sex for their association with overweight, waist circumference and fat mass in linear regressions. CONCLUSIONS: Our systematic review and analysis of primary data from the CoLaus study did not show an overall association between LEPR SNPs and overweight. Most studies were underpowered to detect small effect sizes. A potential effect modification by sex, population stratification, as well as the role of natural selection should be addressed in future genetic association studies

Insulin and Leptin Levels in Appropriate-for-Gestational-Age Infants of Diabetic Mother

Objective: Intensified management of gestational diabetes mellitus can normalize birth weight. However, it is still unknown whether intrauterine exposure to maternal diabetes is a risk factor for changing hormone levels involved in the development of insulin resistance in these infants. We compared insulin and leptin levels in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants of diabetic and non diabetic mothers. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in the department of Neonatology of the Hospital of Gynecology-Pediatrics, in Leon, Mexico. We evaluated 182 full term AGA newborns (86 infants of diabetic and 96 of non-diabetic mothers). A venous blood sample was taken from cord blood immediately after the separation of the placenta and glucose, insulin and leptin levels were measured. In all diabetic mothers HbA1c was also evaluated immediately post-partum. Findings: Leptin, insulin and insulin resistance index were significantly higher in infants of diabetic mothers. Leptin levels were positive correlated with insulin, parents` body mass index and age in the entire group. In infants of diabetic mothers only insulin levels showed a significantly correlation, whereas in those of nondiabetic mothers only mothers` age was significantly correlated with leptin levels. Conclusion: AGA infants of diabetic mothers showed higher leptin, insulin levels and insulin resistance index than those of non-diabetic mothers