A person-centred analysis of the time-use, daily activities and health-related quality of life of Irish school-going late adolescents

Purpose: The health, well-being and quality of life of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents are global priorities. A focus on their patterns or profiles of time-use and how these relate to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) may help to enhance their well-being and address the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases in adulthood. This study sought to establish whether distinct profiles of adolescent 24-h time-use exist and to examine the relationship of any identified profiles to self-reported HRQoL.Method: This cross-sectional study gathered data from a random sample of 731 adolescents (response rate 52 %) from 28 schools (response rate 76 %) across Cork city and county. A person-centred approach, latent profile analysis, was used to examine adolescent 24-h time-use and relate the identified profiles to HRQoL.Results: Three male profiles emerged, namely productive, high leisure and all-rounder. Two female profiles, higher study/lower leisure and moderate study/higher leisure, were identified. The quantitative and qualitative differences in male and female profiles support the gendered nature of adolescent time-use. No unifying trends emerged in the analysis of probable responses in the HRQoL domains across profiles. Females in the moderate study/higher leisure group were twice as likely to have above-average global HRQoL.Conclusion: Distinct time-use profiles can be identified amongst adolescents, but their relationship with HRQoL is complex. Rich mixed-method research is required to illuminate our understanding of how quantities and qualities of time-use shape lifestyle patterns and how these can enhance the HRQoL of adolescents in the twenty-first century

Reynolds-number Dependence of Streamwise Velocity Fluctuations in Turbulent Pipe Flow

Statistics of the streamwise velocity component in fully-developed pipe flow are examined for Reynolds numbers in the range 5.5 x 10^4 < Re_D < 5.7 x 10^6. The second moment exhibits two maxima: one in the viscous sublayer is Reynolds-number dependent while the other, near the lower edge of the log region, is also Reynolds-number dependent and follows roughly the peak in Reynolds shear stress. The behaviour of both peaks is consistent with the concept of inactive motion which increases with increasing Reynolds number and decreasing distance from the wall. No simple scaling is apparent, and in particular, so-called "mixed" scaling is no better than wall scaling in the viscous sublayer and is actually worse than wall scaling in the outer region. The second moment is compared with empirical and theoretical scaling laws and some anomalies are apparent. The scaling of spectra using y, R and u_τ is examined. It appears that even at the highest Reynolds number, they exhibit incomplete similarity only: while spectra do collapse with either inner or outer scales for limited ranges of wave number, these ranges do not overlap. Thus similarity may not be described as complete and any apparent k_1^(-1) range does not attract any special significance and does not involve universal constants. It is suggested that this is because of the influence of inactive motion. Spectra also show the presence of very long structures close to the wall

Development of the preterm gut microbiome in twins at risk of necrotising enterocolitis and sepsis

The preterm gut microbiome is a complex dynamic community influenced by genetic and environmental factors and is implicated in the pathogenesis of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) and sepsis. We aimed to explore the longitudinal development of the gut microbiome in preterm twins to determine how shared environmental and genetic factors may influence temporal changes and compared this to the expressed breast milk (EBM) microbiome. Stool samples (n = 173) from 27 infants (12 twin pairs and 1 triplet set) and EBM (n = 18) from 4 mothers were collected longitudinally. All samples underwent PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) analysis and a selected subset underwent 454 pyrosequencing. Stool and EBM shared a core microbiome dominated by Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Staphylococcaceae. The gut microbiome showed greater similarity between siblings compared to unrelated individuals. Pyrosequencing revealed a reduction in diversity and increasing dominance of Escherichia sp. preceding NEC that was not observed in the healthy twin. Antibiotic treatment had a substantial effect on the gut microbiome, reducing Escherichia sp. and increasing other Enterobacteriaceae. This study demonstrates related preterm twins share similar gut microbiome development, even within the complex environment of neonatal intensive care. This is likely a result of shared genetic and immunomodulatory factors as well as exposure to the same maternal microbiome during birth, skin contact and exposure to EBM. Environmental factors including antibiotic exposure and feeding are additional significant determinants of community structure, regardless of host genetics

Movement of the human foot in 100 pain free individuals aged 18–45 : implications for understanding normal foot function

Background: Understanding motion in the normal healthy foot is a prerequisite for understanding the effects of pathology and thereafter setting targets for interventions. Quality foot kinematic data from healthy feet will also assist the development of high quality and research based clinical models of foot biomechanics. To address gaps in the current literature we aimed to describe 3D foot kinematics using a 5 segment foot model in a population of 100 pain free individuals. Methods: Kinematics of the leg, calcaneus, midfoot, medial and lateral forefoot and hallux were measured in 100 self reported healthy and pain free individuals during walking. Descriptive statistics were used to characterise foot movements. Contributions from different foot segments to the total motion in each plane were also derived to explore functional roles of different parts of the foot. Results: Foot segments demonstrated greatest motion in the sagittal plane, but large ranges of movement in all planes. All foot segments demonstrated movement throughout gait, though least motion was observed between the midfoot and calcaneus. There was inconsistent evidence of movement coupling between joints. There were clear differences in motion data compared to foot segment models reported in the literature. Conclusions: The data reveal the foot is a multiarticular structure, movements are complex, show incomplete evidence of coupling, and vary person to person. The data provide a useful reference data set against which future experimental data can be compared and may provide the basis for conceptual models of foot function based on data rather than anecdotal observations

Limited effects of growth hormone replacement in patients with GH deficiency during long-term cure of acromegaly

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of replacement with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in patients with GH deficiency (GHD) after treatment of acromegaly. Intervention study. Sixteen patients (8 men, age 56 years), treated for acromegaly by surgery and radiotherapy, with an insufficient GH response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, were treated with 1 year of rhGH replacement. Study parameters were assessed at baseline and after 1 year of rhGH replacement. Study parameters were cardiac function, body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), fasting lipids, glucose, bone turnover markers, and Quality of Life (QoL). During rhGH replacement IGF-I concentrations increased from −0.4 ± 0.7 to 1.0 ± 1.5 SD (P = 0.001), with a mean daily dose of 0.2 ± 0.1 mg in men and 0.3 ± 0.2 mg in women. Nonetheless, rhGH replacement did not alter cardiac function, lipid and glucose concentrations, body composition or QoL. Bone turnover markers (PINP and β crosslaps) levels increased (P = 0.005 and P = 0.021, respectively), paralleled by a small, but significant decrease in BMD of the hip. The beneficial effects of rhGH replacement in patients with GHD during cure from acromegaly are limited in this study

Exendin-4 Improves Glycemic Control, Ameliorates Brain and Pancreatic Pathologies, and Extends Survival in a Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease

OBJECTIVE—The aim of this study was to find an effective treatment for the genetic form of diabetes that is present in some Huntington's disease patients and in Huntington's disease mouse models. Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a polyglutamine expansion within the huntingtin protein. Huntington's disease patients exhibit neuronal dysfunction/degeneration, chorea, and progressive weight loss. Additionally, they suffer from abnormalities in energy metabolism affecting both the brain and periphery. Similarly to Huntington's disease patients, mice expressing the mutated human huntingtin protein also exhibit neurodegenerative changes, motor dysfunction, perturbed energy metabolism, and elevated blood glucose levels

Different paths to the modern state in Europe: the interaction between domestic political economy and interstate competition

Theoretical work on state formation and capacity has focused mostly on early modern Europe and on the experience of western European states during this period. While a number of European states monopolized domestic tax collection and achieved gains in state capacity during the early modern era, for others revenues stagnated or even declined, and these variations motivated alternative hypotheses for determinants of fiscal and state capacity. In this study we test the basic hypotheses in the existing literature making use of the large date set we have compiled for all of the leading states across the continent. We find strong empirical support for two prevailing threads in the literature, arguing respectively that interstate wars and changes in economic structure towards an urbanized economy had positive fiscal impact. Regarding the main point of contention in the theoretical literature, whether it was representative or authoritarian political regimes that facilitated the gains in fiscal capacity, we do not find conclusive evidence that one performed better than the other. Instead, the empirical evidence we have gathered lends supports to the hypothesis that when under pressure of war, the fiscal performance of representative regimes was better in the more urbanized-commercial economies and the fiscal performance of authoritarian regimes was better in rural-agrarian economie