Nature trips and traditional methods for food procurement in relation to weight status

Author's version of an article in the journal: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1403494812471446Aims: The purpose of this study is to assess the relationships between trips in nature, gathering of wild plants, fishing and hunting and weight status. Methods: Data from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 996 parents of sixth- and seventh-graders from 38 randomly chosen schools in two Norwegian counties. All data are self-reported: Weight and height (participants were considered as overweight if BMI were 25 or higher), family trips in nature (dichotomized into ayenonce a week vs. less than once a week), gathering of wild plants/mushrooms, fishing and hunting (all dichotomized into ayensometimes vs. never), sex, family education level and general physical activity level. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed with overweight as the dependent variable Results: Adjusting for all outdoor activities; those engaging in nature trips (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.37-0.75) and those engaging in gathering (OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.55-0.98) were less frequently overweight, while those fishing (OR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.35-2.47) were more frequently overweight. After also adjusting for sex, family education level and general physical activity level, nature trips (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.36-0.75) and fishing (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.12-2.10) were still significant, gathering was not. No association between hunting and weight status was observed. Conclusion: Frequent family trips in nature might be an important behaviour in order to reverse the obesity epidemic

Meal pattern among Norwegian primary-school children and longitudinal associations between meal skipping and weight status

Objective: To investigate meal pattern longitudinally and explore whether meal skipping was associated with overweight among Norwegian children and adolescents. Design: Longitudinal study. Children’s meal frequencies were reported by their parents using a retrospective FFQ. Weight and height were measured by public health nurses. Descriptive data comparing 4th and 7th grade were analysed by paired-sample t tests for continuous variables and x2 tests for categorical variables. Odds ratio estimates, including confidence intervals, with BMI category (normal/overweight) as the dependent variable, were determined through logistic regression analyses. Setting: Primary schools, Telemark County, Norway. Subjects: A cohort of 428 Norwegian boys and girls; 4th graders in 2007, 7th graders in 2010. Results: The number of children eating four main meals per day (regular meal frequency) decreased from 4th grade (47 %) to 7th grade (38 %; P 5 0?001). Those who ate regular meals in 4th grade but not in 7th grade had higher odds (OR 5 3?1; 95 % CI 1?1, 9?0) of being overweight in 7th grade after adjusting for gender, maternal education and physical activity, but the odds ratio was not statistically significant after adjusting for overweight in 4th grade (OR 5 2?8; 95 % CI 0?7, 11?6). Conclusions: The present study showed significant increases in overall meal skipping among children between 4th and 7th grade. The results indicate an association between overweight and meal skipping, but additional prospective and longitudinal analyses and intervention trials are warranted to confirm this relationship.publishedVersio

Changes in beverage consumption in Norwegian children from 2001 to 2008

Objective: To analyse (i) differences in beverage pattern among Norwegian children in 2001 and 2008; (ii) beverage intake related to gender, parental education and family composition; and (iii) potential disparities in time trends among the different groups. Design: Within the Fruits and Vegetables Make the Marks (FVMM) project, 6th and 7th grade pupils filled in a questionnaire about frequency of beverage intake (times/week) in 2001 and 2008. Setting: Twenty-seven elementary schools in two Norwegian counties. Subjects: In 2001 a total of 1488 and in 2008 1339 pupils participated. Results: Between 2001 and 2008, a decreased consumption frequency of juice (from 3.6 to 3.4 times/week, P=0.012), lemonade (from 4.8 to 2.5 times/week, P<0.001) and regular soft drinks (from 2.7 to 1.6 times/week, P<0.001), but an increased consumption frequency of diet soft drinks (from 1.2 to 1.6 times/week, P=0.001), were observed. From 2001 to 2008, boys increased their frequency of juice consumption (from 3.1 to 3.3 times/week) whereas girls decreased their frequency of juice consumption (3.8 to 3.4 times/week; interaction time x gender P=0.02). Children with higher educated parents increased their frequency of juice consumption (3.6 to 3.8 times/week) whereas those with lower educated parents decreased their frequency of juice consumption (3.3 to 3.0 times/week; interaction time x parental education P=0.04). Conclusion: A lower frequency of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was observed among pupils in 2008 than in 2001. This is in accordance with the Norwegian health authority's goals and strategies for this time period, and is an important step to improve the dietary health of adolescents

DUSP9 Modulates DNA Hypomethylation in Female Mouse Pluripotent Stem Cells

Blastocyst-derived embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and gonad-derived embryonic germ cells (EGCs) represent two classic types of pluripotent cell lines, yet their molecular equivalence remains incompletely understood. Here, we compare genome-wide methylation patterns between isogenic ESC and EGC lines to define epigenetic similarities and differences. Surprisingly, we find that sex rather than cell type drives methylation patterns in ESCs and EGCs. Cell fusion experiments further reveal that the ratio of X chromosomes to autosomes dictates methylation levels, with female hybrids being hypomethylated and male hybrids being hypermethylated. We show that the X-linked MAPK phosphatase DUSP9 is upregulated in female compared to male ESCs, and its heterozygous loss in female ESCs leads to male-like methylation levels. However, male and female blastocysts are similarly hypomethylated, indicating that sex-specific methylation differences arise in culture. Collectively, our data demonstrate the epigenetic similarity of sex-matched ESCs and EGCs and identify DUSP9 as a regulator of female-specific hypomethylation

The changing spectrum of microbial aetiology of respiratory tract infections in hospitalized patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was met with strict containment measures. We hypothesized that societal infection control measures would impact the number of hospital admissions for respiratory tract infections, as well as, the spectrum of pathogens detected in patients with suspected community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods: This study is based on aggregated surveillance data from electronic health records of patients admitted to the hospitals in Bergen Hospital Trust from January 2017 through June 2021, as well as, two prospective studies of patients with suspected CAP conducted prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic (pre-COVID cohort versus COVID cohort, respectively). In the prospective cohorts, microbiological detections were ascertained by comprehensive PCR-testing in lower respiratory tract specimens. Mann–Whitney’s U test was used to analyse continuous variables. Fisher’s exact test was used for analysing categorical data. The number of admissions before and during the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 was compared using two-sample t-tests on logarithmic transformed values. Results: Admissions for respiratory tract infections declined after the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (p < 0.001). The pre-COVID and the COVID cohorts comprised 96 and 80 patients, respectively. The proportion of viruses detected in the COVID cohort was significantly lower compared with the pre-COVID cohort [21% vs 36%, difference of 14%, 95% CI 4% to 26%; p = 0.012], and the proportion of bacterial- and viral co-detections was less than half in the COVID cohort compared with the pre-COVID cohort (19% vs 45%, difference of 26%, 95% CI 13% to 41%; p < 0.001). The proportion of bacteria detected was similar (p = 0.162), however, a difference in the bacterial spectrum was observed in the two cohorts. Haemophilus influenzae was the most frequent bacterial detection in both cohorts, followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae in the pre-COVID and Staphylococcus aureus in the COVID cohort. Conclusion: During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of admissions with pneumonia and the microbiological detections in patients with suspected CAP, differed from the preceding year. This suggests that infection control measures related to COVID-19 restrictions have an overall and specific impact on respiratory tract infections, beyond reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.publishedVersio

SALL4 Expression in Gonocytes and Spermatogonial Clones of Postnatal Mouse Testes

The spermatogenic lineage is established after birth when gonocytes migrate to the basement membrane of seminiferous tubules and give rise to spermatogonial stem cells (SSC). In adults, SSCs reside within the population of undifferentiated spermatogonia (Aundiff) that expands clonally from single cells (Asingle) to form pairs (Apaired) and chains of 4, 8 and 16 Aaligned spermatogonia. Although stem cell activity is thought to reside in the population of Asingle spermatogonia, new research suggests that clone size alone does not define the stem cell pool. The mechanisms that regulate self-renewal and differentiation fate decisions are poorly understood due to limited availability of experimental tools that distinguish the products of those fate decisions. The pluripotency factor SALL4 (sal-like protein 4) is implicated in stem cell maintenance and patterning in many organs during embryonic development, but expression becomes restricted to the gonads after birth. We analyzed the expression of SALL4 in the mouse testis during the first weeks after birth and in adult seminiferous tubules. In newborn mice, the isoform SALL4B is expressed in quiescent gonocytes at postnatal day 0 (PND0) and SALL4A is upregulated at PND7 when gonocytes have colonized the basement membrane and given rise to spermatogonia. During steady-state spermatogenesis in adult testes, SALL4 expression overlapped substantially with PLZF and LIN28 in Asingle, Apaired and Aaligned spermatogonia and therefore appears to be a marker of undifferentiated spermatogonia in mice. In contrast, co-expression of SALL4 with GFRα1 and cKIT identified distinct subpopulations of Aundiff in all clone sizes that might provide clues about SSC regulation. Collectively, these results indicate that 1) SALL4 isoforms are differentially expressed at the initiation of spermatogenesis, 2) SALL4 is expressed in undifferentiated spermatogonia in adult testes and 3) SALL4 co-staining with GFRα1 and cKIT reveals distinct subpopulations of Aundiff spermatogonia that merit further investigation. © 2013 Gassei, Orwig

Changes in meal pattern among Norwegian children from 2001 to 2008

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to analyse changes in meal pattern among Norwegian children from 2001 to 2008 in general; to analyse associations between meal pattern and gender, parental educational level and number of parents in the household; and to analyse the association between intake of unhealthy snacks, meal pattern and the mentioned variables. DESIGN: Within the Fruits and Vegetables Make the Marks (FVMM) project, two cross-sectional studies were conducted, one in 2001 and one in 2008, where participants from the same schools filled in a questionnaire on meals eaten the previous day. SUBJECTS: Participants were 6th and 7th grade pupils, n 1488 in 2001 and n 1339 in 2008. SETTING: Twenty-seven elementary schools in two Norwegian counties. RESULTS: There were no significant changes in children's meal pattern from 2001 to 2008. For both years more than 90 % of the participants reported that they had breakfast yesterday, while 95 % had lunch, 94 % had dinner and 82 % had supper. More girls than boys reported that they had lunch yesterday (96 % v. 94 %, P = 0·03). More children with higher v. lower educated parents reported that they had breakfast yesterday (93 % v. 88 %, P < 0·001). More children living with two parents v. one parent had breakfast (93 % v. 88 %, P = 0·001) and lunch yesterday (97 % v. 93 %, P < 0·001). CONCLUSIONS: There were no changes in meal pattern from 2001 to 2008 among Norwegian children. Characteristics associated with skipping meals were living in a one-parent family and having lower educated parents

Effects of Place of Articulation Changes on Auditory Neural Activity: A Magnetoencephalography Study

In casual speech, phonemic segments often assimilate such that they adopt features from adjacent segments, a typical feature being their place of articulation within the vocal tract (e.g., labial, coronal, velar). Place assimilation (e.g., from coronal /n/ to labial /m/: rainbow→*raimbow) alters the surface form of words. Listeners' ability to perceptually compensate for such changes seems to depend on the phonemic context, on whether the adjacent segment (e.g., the /b/ in “rainbow”) invites the particular change. Also, some assimilations occur frequently (e.g., /n/→/m/), others are rare (e.g., /m/→/n/). We investigated the effects of place assimilation, its contextual dependency, and its frequency on the strength of auditory evoked mismatch negativity (MMN) responses, using pseudowords. Results from magnetoencephalography (MEG) revealed that the MMN was modulated both by the frequency and contextual appropriateness of assimilations

Net Benefits to Agriculture from the Trinity River Project, Texas

The purpose of this study was to estimate the agricultural benefits due to flood protection provided by the proposed Trinity River Project. The area examined was the land located between the 100-year flood plain with the project and without the project. Benefits of the project were defined as reduced flood damages on current land uses and alternatively as increased net returns assuming a shift to a profit maximizing land use with flood protection provided. Annual flood damages were calculated by applying published seasonal flood damage factors and flood frequency as developed from a producer survey to annual gross returns. Annual net benefits were calculated as net returns with flood protection less net returns without flood protection. The reduction in net returns without flood protection represented annual flood damages with a constant land use assumption. The two estimates of flood protection benefits were developed for evaluation reaches 1 through 6 separately as well as on an aggregate basis. Total annual net benefits of the Trinity River Project were $676,392.43 assuming current land use and$4,579,688.55 assuming profit maximizing land use after flood protection. These benefits were capitalized to a present value using interest rates of 3 1/4% and 9%. Under current land use the total benefits were $20,812,074 at 3 1/4$7,515,471 at 9%. Similarity flood protection benefits were $140,913,493 and$50,885,429 respectively assuming the profit maximizing land use. Applying regional income multipliers, the increased annual household income was $2,171,796.66 assuming current land use and$12,163,887.68 assuming all land in the profit maximizing enterprise. The capitalized values of the regional impact were $66,824,513 and$24,131,075 under current land use, and $374,273,469 and$135,154,308 under profit maximizing land use at 3 1/4% and 9% respectively