Complementary feeding practices and nutrient intakes of children aged 6\u201324 months from Bangladeshi background living in Tower Hamlets, East London: a feasibility study

Background: The aim of this study was to assess dietary intakes and complementary feeding practices of children aged 6\u201324 months who are from Bangladeshi ancestry and living in Tower Hamlets, London, and determine the feasibility of a larger, population-representative study. Methods: Questionnaires for demographic variables and feeding practices, and 24-h dietary recalls were administered to 25 mothers to determine whether it would be feasible to conduct a similar study on a representative sample size of the same population. Data from both tools were used to determine adequacy of complementary feeding practices through the WHO indicators and an infant and child feeding index score as well as overall macronutrient and micronutrient intake. Results: Four children had varying suboptimal complementary feeding practices: two children failed to achieve the minimum dietary diversity, one child was being fed cow\u2019s milk before the age of 1 year, and one scored \u2018poor\u2019 on the infant and child feeding index. Most notably, the mean protein intake (39.7 g/day, SD 18.2) was higher than RNIs for all age groups (P = 0.001). Vitamin D intake was below recommendations (P = 0.006) for the 12\u201324-month age group. For the 10\u201312-month age group, zinc intake fell below recommendations (P = 0.028). For the 6\u20139-month combined age group, iron and zinc intakes were below recommendations (P = 0.021 and P = 0.002, respectively). Conclusions: Given the feasibility of this study, the results obtained require a large-scale study to be conducted to confirm findings. Our initial results indicated that children from Bangladeshi heritage may not be meeting nutritional requirements; thus, a future intervention tailored to the needs of the Bangladeshi population may be required to improve aspects of complementary feeding practices and nutrient intakes of those children

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among saudi children: A comparison of two widely used international standards and the national growth references

ObjectiveTo compare three body mass index (BMI) classifications that are used to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Saudi children aged 6–13 years: the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age and gender cutoffs, the World Health Organization (WHO) growth references for school-aged children, and the Saudi (KSA) national growth references.MethodsThe sample comprised 2,169 children (52.5% girls) derived from two cross-sectional studies conducted in Riyadh and Jeddah during the 2017 and 2019 school years, respectively. Body weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated.ResultsThe proportions (%) of the participants who were classified as underweight, overweight, and obese varied according to the reference used: IOTF reference (13.8, 18.4, and 12.7), WHO reference (17.2, 19.1, and 18.9), and KSA reference (7.0, 22.4, and 9.3), respectively, indicating higher values for overweight and obesity prevalence when the WHO references were used. Kappa agreement measures between the three references were found to be high, with the coefficients ranging from 0.936 (between the IOTF and KSA references) to 0.849 (between the IOTF and WHO references). In all three classifications, girls exhibited lower overweight or obesity prevalence than boys. Family income, but not paternal or maternal education, was significantly (p = 0.015) associated with overweight/obesity when using the IOTF standards. In addition, having a small family in the house was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with obesity, irrespective of the classification system.ConclusionInconsistency was observed when estimating the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity among Saudi children. However, when defining the overall prevalence of overweight plus obesity among Saudi children, the IOTF classification system performed in a similar way to the KSA references (31.1% versus 31.7%) compared to the WHO references (38.0%)

Mapping the nexus of transitional justice and peacebuilding

This paper explores the convergences and divergence between transitional justice and peace-building, by considering some of the recent developments in scholarship and practice. We examine the notion of ‘peace’ in transitional justice and the idea of ‘justice’ in peacebuilding. We highlight that transitional justice and peacebuilding often engage with similar or related ideas, though the scholarship on in each field has developed, largely, in parallel to each other, and of-ten without any significant engagement between the fields of inquiry. We also note that both fields share other commonalities, insofar as they often neglect questions of capital (political, social, economic) and at times, gender. We suggest that trying to locate the nexus in the first place draws attention to where peace and justice have actually got to be produced in order for there not to be conflict and violence. This in turn demonstrates that locally, ‘peace’ and ‘justice’ do not always look like the ‘peace’ and ‘justice’ drawn up by international donors and peace-builders; and, despite the ‘turn to the local’ in international relations, it is surprising just how many local and everyday dynamics are (dis)missed as sources of peace and justice, or potential avenues of addressing the past

Breakfast Eating Habits and Lifestyle Behaviors among Saudi Primary School Children Attending Public Versus Private Schools

We investigated breakfast eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among Saudi school children attending public versus private schools. A random sample of 1149 children (girls: 54.4%) from public and private schools was selected from elementary schools using the multistage stratified cluster method. Measurements included body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and self-reported questionnaires filled by the child’s parents. There was no significant (p = 0.44) difference in the prevalence of breakfast intake between children attending public (20.6%) versus private (19.4%) schools. However, there was a gender by school type interactions in breakfast intake frequency, as boys in private but not in public schools had significantly (p = 0.006) higher (26.3%) daily breakfast intake than girls (13.3%). Over 56% of the children ate and drank from the school canteen, and impacting factors on children’s choices were children’s desire, food taste, and parental influence. More parents of children in private (12.1%) than in public (6.9%) schools were satisfied with the food in the school canteen. Younger age (aOR = 0.889, 95% CI = 0.815–0.970, p = 0.008), higher father education (aOR = 1.380, 95% CI = 1.130–1.686, p = 0.002), family income (aOR = 1.227, 95% CI = 1.005–1.498, p = 0.044), and insufficient sleep duration (aOR = 0.740, 95% CI = 0.553–0.990, p = 0.042) were significantly associated with being in a private school. Furthermore, no significant differences, when adjusted for socio-demographic factors, appeared in breakfast intake or overweight/obesity relative to school type. Interventions to improve daily breakfast consumption and lifestyle behaviors of Saudi children are warranted

Anthropometric, Familial- and Lifestyle-Related Characteristics of School Children Skipping Breakfast in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Breakfast is a vital meal that provides children with important nutrients and energy. This study examined the anthropometric, familial- and lifestyle-related characteristics of school children skipping breakfast. A total of 1149 children (boys: 45.5%), 6 to 12 years old (mean and SD: 9.3 ± 1.7 years), were randomly selected from elementary schools in Jeddah. Weight and height were measured. Breakfast eating frequency, socio-demographics, and lifestyle behaviors were assessed using a specifically designed self-report questionnaire reported by the parents. Nearly 80% of the children skipped daily breakfast at home with no significant age or gender differences. The most common reasons for skipping breakfast at home included not feeling hungry and waking up late for school. Fried egg sandwiches and breakfast cereals were most frequently consumed for breakfast. Strong parental support for breakfast as the main daily meal was significantly associated with daily breakfast intake. Logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age, gender, and socio-demographics, revealed that paternal education (aOR = 1.212, 95% CI = 1.020–1.440, p = 0.029), maternal education (aOR = 1.212, 95% CI = 1.003–1.464, p=0.046), insufficient sleep (aOR = 0.735, 95% CI = 0.567–0.951, p = 0.019), and BMI <25 kg/m2 (aOR = 1.333, 95% CI = 1.015–1.752, p = 0.039) were significantly associated with breakfast intake. The findings have implications for children’s health and school performance. Concerted effort is required to promote breakfast consumption among Saudi children

IDHwt glioblastomas can be stratified by their transcriptional response to standard treatment, with implications for targeted therapy

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) brain tumors lacking IDH1 mutations (IDHwt) have the worst prognosis of all brain neoplasms. Patients receive surgery and chemoradiotherapy but tumors almost always fatally recur.Results: Using RNA sequencing data from 107 pairs of pre- and post-standard treatment locally recurrent IDHwt GBM tumors, we identify two responder subtypes based on longitudinal changes in gene expression. In two thirds of patients, a specific subset of genes is upregulated from primary to recurrence (Up responders), and in one third, the same genes are downregulated (Down responders), specifically in neoplastic cells. Characterization of the responder subtypes indicates subtype-specific adaptive treatment resistance mechanisms that are associated with distinct changes in the tumor microenvironment. In Up responders, recurrent tumors are enriched in quiescent proneural GBM stem cells and differentiated neoplastic cells, with increased interaction with the surrounding normal brain and neurotransmitter signaling, whereas Down responders commonly undergo mesenchymal transition. ChIP-sequencing data from longitudinal GBM tumors suggests that the observed transcriptional reprogramming could be driven by Polycomb-based chromatin remodeling rather than DNA methylation.Conclusions: We show that the responder subtype is cancer-cell intrinsic, recapitulated in in vitro GBM cell models, and influenced by the presence of the tumor microenvironment. Stratifying GBM tumors by responder subtype may lead to more effective treatment.</p

Sexed Bodies and Military Masculinities : Gender Path Dependence in EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy

This article explores the European Union (EU)’s Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) through a framework based on feminist institutional theory that highlights the durability in the dynamics of gender relations. Path dependency based on historic features of military institutions—a strict sex division based on “gender war roles”—has influenced the development of different CSDP bodies. The CSDP is sexed because male bodies dominate the organizations studied, yet this remains invisible through normalization. A dominant EU hierarchical military masculinity is institutionalized in the EU’s Military Committee, combat heterosexual masculinity in the Battle groups, and EU protector masculinity in the EU Training missions. The CSDP embodies different types of military masculinities; the relations between them are important for the reproduction of the gender order through a gendered logic of appropriateness. Yet, this too is invisible as part of the informal aspects of organizations. While women’s bodies are written out of the CSDP, the construction of femininity in relation to the protector/protected binary is central to it. Two protected femininities are read in the texts. The vulnerable femininity of women in conflict areas is important for how the CSDP understands itself in relation to gender mainstreaming. In relation to the vulnerable femininity, CSDP constructs an EU protector masculinity, in turn, set against an aggressive violent masculinity in the areas where missions are deployed. Women’s bodies are absent from the CSDP and they lack agency but are nevertheless associated with a protected femininity

Defective expression of scavenger receptors in celiac disease mucosa.

Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten sensitive enteropathy characterized by a marked infiltration of the mucosa with immune cells, over-production of inflammatory cytokines and epithelial cell damage. The factors/mechanisms that sustain and amplify the ongoing mucosal inflammation in CD are not however fully understood. Here, we have examined whether in CD there is a defective clearance of apoptotic cells/bodies, a phenomenon that helps promote tolerogenic signals thus liming pathogenic responses. Accumulation of apoptotic cells and bodies was more pronounced in the epithelial and lamina propria compartments of active CD patients as compared to inactive CD patients and normal controls. Expression of scavenger receptors, which are involved in the clearance of apoptotic cells/bodies, namely thrombospondin (TSP)-1, CD36 and CD61, was significantly reduced in active CD as compared to inactive CD and normal mucosal samples. Consistently, lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) of active CD patients had diminished ability to phagocyte apoptotic cells. Interleukin (IL)-15, IL-21 and interferon-γ, cytokines over-produced in active CD, inhibited the expression of TSP-1, CD36, and CD61 in normal intestinal LPMC. These results indicate that CD-related inflammation is marked by diminished clearance of apoptotic cells/bodies, thus suggesting a role for such a defect in the ongoing mucosal inflammation in this disorder